Soul Riders | Star Stable

Strength | Chapter 19

Lisa stopped before exciting the brush completely, she looked over her shoulder and saw Linda and Meteor exiting the brush cautiously. It was just her now, she had to stay strong. But Lisa couldn't help but shiver not only from the cold but from being alone. She focused on Starshine to calm herself and think about what she would do. After a few deep breaths she looked around and saw a tree close to where she was now. She stretched out her arm to reach for a branch on the tree, barely attached, the leaves had developed a yellow colour. Lisa broke the branch off and plucked the remaining leaves off. The stick was about an arms length long and surprisingly sturdy. Even if she was a Soul Rider, somehow wielding a stick made her feel safer.

She rode out into the open, riding quickly but making her appearance obvious. In a matter of seconds she knew she had been seen after pointing and shouts that carried through the sheets of rain. The intimidating black horses the dark riders rode reared up before charging after her. Starshine started galloping across the field, Lisa knew these were dangerous conditions and tried pulling on the reins to slow him down but it was no use. Starshine knew how fast the dark horses were, Lisa had no choice but to trust him. It would be far too easy for Starshine to slip and hurt not only himself but Lisa too. Bursts of dark energy were sent flying after Lisa, but the dark riders weren't close enough to see that it was just her. She took out her stick and whacked bushes as she sped by, hoping the sound would carry. Starshine was starting to slow down and Lisa could see why, they were coming to a dead end, a valley between the hills that lead only into a steep cliff. 

"No, no, no!" Lisa shouted into the night.

The dark riders were in sight, and the cliff was coming closer with every second. There was no turning back now.

A strike of energy once again shot at Lisa, she saw it and she knew there was no avoiding it, no where else to go. She felt the force of it hit the small of her back, the blow sent her flying off of Starshine. Hurtling towards the ground, she hit the wet Earth with a dull thud that was drowned out by the pounding rain. Her mind felt fuzzy as she heard Starshine neighing and the approaching hooves of horses.

"Where is the other one?" One of them asked harshly.

Lisa didn't know if the question was directed at her or one of the dark riders so she stayed quiet. Her body was aching from the strike it received, any slight movement sent sharp pains that throbbed, seeming to only become more painful. 

"I'm talking to you idiot! Get up!" One of them spoke.

Lisa tried to move but it wasn't worth it. She had done her part. She hoped that Linda had escaped so that this wasn't for nothing.

Something gripped her shoulders and she felt herself being flung over onto her back. She let out a groan from the pain and felt the raindrops splatter on her face mixing with her tears as she lay on the muddy ground. 

"Where is the other one of you?! Don't think I won't hurt you!" The angry voice sounded from somewhere distant.

Lisa opened her eyes and stared the dark rider determinedly in the eyes. It was Sabine, her hood had fallen from her head and anger was etched into every crevice of her face. 

"Gone."

Sabine's eyes turned a deadly black and she looked like she couldn't breathe for a second. She whipped her hand out and directed it at Lisa who lay defenseless on the ground and shot a strike of the same black energy towards her. Lisa absorbed the impact from it and left with a hateful look soon replaced by a blank face from the girl sprawled out on the ground. 

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Linda raced through the rain and wind, Meteor's legs became covered with mud as they galloped along the edge of the fields. Linda couldn't see too far without her glasses and the sheets of rain impaired her vision, she relied solely on Meteor to see for her. A blurry figure soon appeared in the far distance before becoming bigger and appearing as Rhiannon pulling out a rain jacket from her saddlebag. Looking up as Linda approached, a shocked expression soon took place on Rhiannon's face