Free Reign

Chapter Nine

The moment Jade arrived back at Bright Fields, she knew something was off. There was a smell in the air, a prickling on her skin, a vibe check that came back negative. The three girls dismounted their horses, and Becky and Jade propped Susie between them, starting the short walk to the locker room, where they could call for help.

"Do you guys smell that?" Susie asked, "or do I have a hallucination-inducing concussion as well as a bunch of broken bones?"

Becky took in a deep breath. "No, I smell it too- like a sort of cooking smell."

"Yeah..." Jade said, not daring to believe her current hypothesis. She glanced at her right, where visitors' cars were parked, and her guess was confirmed. Immediately, she stopped in her tracks, causing a kerfuffle as Becky kept walking and Susie was torn between the two, falling to the ground.

"Jade!" Becky helped Susie off the ground, who was brushing dirt off her knees but otherwise looked fine. Well, as fine as you can be mere minutes after being run over by a horse.

"Whoops. Hey, maybe we should take the long way around. Go around the back of the stables. See the sights..." Jade trailed off as both blondes stared at her quizzically.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head too?" Susie asked, "In case you didn't remember, I'm pretty broken. Help needed. Hospital. Now."

Jade sighed. There was no use prolonging the inevitable. "Fine."

The girls resumed the short trek, pausing only when Becky would spot another one of the ribbons she had dropped earlier, scattered here or there across the grass. By the time they reached the locker room, Becky's pockets were full of pink ribbon and Jade's entire body was full of anticipation and dread. Jade took a deep breath and opened the door, revealing the horror show inside. 

"Jade!" Jade's mom cried as she saw who just walked in. "I made stew!"

---

After introductions had been made, and Susie had been driven off to the hospital, Becky and Jade sat down, and were served fresh bowls of something Jade's mom called "blood stew".

Becky stirred her stew with a spoon, looking skeptical. It was a dark, thick, liquid, the colour and consistency of, well, blood. "Looks... delicious." 

"Thank you! I find the pig's blood really compliments the cow's blood! Right, Jade?"

Jade grunted in agreement, already planning an excuse so that they could leave before her mom revealed her secret. Now was not the time for Becky to find out she had polio. If Jade had it her way, Becky might never find out.

 Unfortunately for Jade, she didn't always get her way. 

Jade's mom sat down with her own bowl of stew, and then said, with the casual tone normally reserved for asking about school, or horses, or the weather, or really anything but debilitating diseases, "So, Becky, did Jade tell you she has polio?" 

Becky blinked twice, looked at Jade, looked back at Jade's mom, and finally said, "I think I'm about to faint."

Becky fainted. Jade cursed. Horses neighed in the background.