concordia

sixteen

word count: 1.4k

date written: 10.6.19

verse: horse-riding au

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elle paused abruptly, eyes widening as she spied something shining amidst the tall grass lining the path up ahead. she immediately hurried forward, wondering what it was, but her breath caught in her throat when she stopped beside the object and realized just what it might be. her grip on the horses' reigns loosened, and she released them altogether when she crouched down to get a better look. connie's silver charm bracelet was sitting in the grass, marred with dried mud and reflecting the little sunlight that was filtering through the dense trees. elle reached out to retrieve it, fingers trembling as she slipped them under the chain and carefully lifted the bracelet up. thankfully, it wasn't broken, and she tried to remove some of the dirt with her thumb to no avail. it wouldn't budge, hardened onto the metal.

she rose to her feet, worriedly glancing around before placing the bracelet gently inside her front pocket for safekeeping. she'd heard connie boast that it was pure silver countless times in the past and wanted to be able to return it to her in one piece. wherever she was. elle recollected claire's and pancake's reigns, winding them around her hand as she continued to lead them all slowly along the path.

despite her best efforts, she couldn't help feeling more concerned now than ever before. losing track of claire and her bracelet was wildly unlike connie, and elle was struggling not to think the worst. she scanned the forest as she walked, scrutinizing every shrub and tree for clues, but it was only a few minutes after her first discovery that she stumbled upon something else.

elle came to a dead stop without warning, panic building in her chest as she stared up the trail in horror. several feet ahead of her, connie's bag lay burst open in the middle of the path where her raincoat had spilled out onto the dirt, its sleeve reaching for a lone apple that had rolled off. the sight and state of her belongings, however, wasn't the main issue. just beyond the bag, barely visible among the crushed undergrowth, elle could see someone's leg.

"connie..."

stunned by what she was faced with, it took elle a moment to react, and her body moved without instruction as she frantically shook the horses' reigns free of her hand. she sprinted up the path, narrowly avoiding connie's bag, and only slowed down when she neared the body in the bushes. despite her suspicions, she still felt sick when the rest of the figure came into view. "connie!" she tried not to catch her feet on the tangled foliage as she maneuvered through it to connie's side, falling to her knees once she reached her. elle's hands hovered uncertainly over her limp body, visibly shaking as she tried to assess the situation.

connie was out cold and although her helmet was still on her head, albeit slightly askew, there was a noticeable dent closer to the back of it. elle's gaze flickered briefly to the large stone beside her head, peering out of the tall grass, before she inspected the rest of her for further injuries. her clothes were torn in places, the ripped fabric shadowing a number of cuts -- some far more serious than others -- and her left leg was bent at an awkward angle.

elle knew without a doubt that it was broken and quickly withdrew her hands, too scared to touch her friend. although she had hopes of becoming a doctor in the future, she was leagues out of her depth right now. holding her breath, she reached out and pressed her fingers against connie's neck, searching anxiously for a pulse. she exhaled in relief when she felt one, faint as it was, and quickly fumbled in her coat pocket for her phone.

her heart sank when the screen lit up and told her the bad news: there was no cell service. for a brief moment, she'd forgotten she was in the middle of a forest where the signal was notoriously weak. so much so that riders were frequently warned of it before going in. elle stumbled to her feet, reluctantly leaving connie behind as she held her phone in the air and desperately tried to locate some sort of signal.

"come on," she hissed, wandering back down the path in search of it. she lowered her phone, hitting the side of it as though that would make any difference, and hurried past the horses to try again. her eyes lit up when she discovered that her phone had managed to find a connection and immediately dialed 999 before it was too late. she held the phone up to her ear, trying not to move so much as even a muscle for fear that the signal would dip back out right when she needed it most.

she held her breath, waiting for someone to pick up. "999, what's your emergency?" came the cool female voice a moment later. elle didn't even know where to start.

"i, um..." she swallowed thickly, trying to gather herself. "i think my friend fell off her horse. her leg's broken and she might have a head injury. please, i need an ambulance as soon as possible." she heard the faint tapping of a keyboard from the other end of the phone before the woman spoke again.

"alright, sweetheart, where are you?"

elle faltered. she hadn't thought about that. she was in the middle of the woods on a hillside only accessible by trail. how was an ambulance ever going to reach them? "we're in the woods," she answered, only to immediately shake her head. no, that was useless. it wasn't even remotely enough to help anyone. "bluebell woods, just off the road from cedar's grove. y'know, the stables at the edge of town? there's a trail on the right that leads up the hillside and we're, i don't know, five minutes into the woods?"

there was more tapping followed by a brief pause. "alright, i've sent someone your way but it could be 20 minutes or so before they arrive," the operator warned. elle tensed. twenty minutes was a long time. too long in a lot of cases although hopefully not hers. but evening was quickly approaching and if they took any longer... she barely caught the rest of the woman's sentence. "-stay on the line with you."

elle frowned. "what? no, i can't," she explained, turning back to face the horses. "the connection up here's really spotty and-" elle cut herself off when she heard the familiar beeping of a dead line right on cue and lowered her phone with a sigh. stuffing it hastily back in her pocket, she returned to where pancake and claire were patiently waiting, unfazed by the situation. elle gathered their reigns before guiding them to the edge of the path and tying the leather around a nearby tree trunk. although she doubted they would run off, as they hadn't thus far, it might not stay that way when help arrived, and she secured the reigns in place with a double knot. she couldn't afford missing horses on top of everything else.

she stroked pancake's muzzle before moving away, pausing again when she reached connie's bag and bending down to retrieve her coat. elle dusted it off slightly as she returned to the other girl, picking her way through the foliage much quicker the second time and kneeling down beside her once again.

"don't worry, connie," she said quietly, draping the coat over connie's figure. "help's coming, i promise." she tucked the fabric in at the edges to keep her warm before reaching out and gently brushing the hair from her face. elle grimaced at the large scrape on her forehead that had been hidden behind it, streaked with dirt, before glancing over at connie's twisted leg instead. she knew she had to consider the possibility that she'd need to carry connie back to the stables herself but she had no idea how she was going to manage it if the situation arose. there were too many variables at play: the horses, the long trek back, her own strength, the time, connie's leg itself and the fact that she could have a spinal injury elle was none the wiser to. elle inhaled shakily, nervously picking at the hem of her jacket. she had to remember that help was coming but could only hope that it would find them.