Chasing the Stars

Isolated

(DISCLAIMER: I may use some horse terms and words in this chapter. I will explain most of them, but I won't explain all of them. Also, I'm going to use a healing method that I DID NOT LOOK UP. So if you come across a problem like this in real life, DO NOT USE IT! Ask a vet or a horse expert. With that said, please enjoy.)

Tested? Illegal? Drugs? I don't like the sound of those words. And the look on Doctor Mimi's face with Calia's horrified gasp doesn't help. 

"What? That's horrible!" Calia whispers. 

"It happens a lot. That's why we have to take these tests." Doctor Mimi shakes her head. "It's been happening a ton less, but I guess this girl is an exception."

"Can't you do something?"

The Doctor sighes. "The only thing we can do is the treatment we always do - leave her in isolation for weeks while giving her medication, so that the chemicals can leave her body without getting onto another horse. We'll also have to take weekly blood tests to make sure she's making progress, and that's its going in the right direction."

Calia presses her hands to her forehead. "You know I went to Jacobs farm to ride weekly about two years ago. There was nothing shady or malicious about him at all! Who could have done it?"

"People don't have to be shady or malicious to do the wrong thing. He could have been struggling with money, or-"

A memory rushes into my head with such force I think  might topple over.

Jacob stood next to me, a small needle in his hand.

"I'm struggling with the farm, girl." he whispered to me. "I found some folks who would give a lot of money for this drug."

I didn't know what that meant, as I was more interested in the bag of treats by his feet.

He laughed softly. "Those are for after. If - when you make it through. I can't call a vet to help you either, or I would get jailed up, my farm would get sold, and you and the other horses could get put up for sale, and the market the horse relocaters turn to turns to slaughter. I can't have that happening."

He sighed and pricked the needle on my shoulder.

I felt a sharp burst of pain before I started to feel woozy. The world was spinning, and Jacob turned into a smudgey blob of colour. Bright lights danced in front of my eyes.

"You'll make it through. I promise." he whispered, but it was strange-sounding, all garbled and weird.

I felt my legs crumple beneath me, and I heard. "Almost there. You're almost there."

And then everything went black.

I am jerked out of my memory by the sound of feet pacing outside the doorway. I blink my eyes and saw I am lying down in a big stall, with a tall gate. I slowly, wobbly stand up, peering over the stall door.

"You-" Calia starts to shout, but quickly thinks better of it. "You're awake!"  she whispers, rubbing my nose. "You passed out in the aisle, and we had to have  six people load you onto the mini-trailer. Usually it's easy to load someone on, but everything's an adventure with you, isn't that right girl?"

I groan and go to lick my side, because there is a sharp pain in my stomach.

"No." Calia slaps my face back towards her.

I am a little stunned when she did that, not because it was new, but because all I had done was move my head. I didn't do anything, did I?

"You can't lick the shot. If you do, the medicine can't affect you, and you won't heal." Calia explains, rubbing my nose. "And nobody wants that. You should have heard Rodrigo when Doctor Mimi told him. He was NOT happy." she snorts.

I nose my hand to her pocket. "Hey, you have any treats?" I ask.

She laughs. "I wish I could give you treats. But you can't eat anything that's not low-sugar low-fat hay for the nest week, assuming everything goes right. It could mess up your recovery."

I sigh and step back. Humans. I can never understand them.

(Okay, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't hate me for this!

Please >.<)

"Heeeey, who're you, mopey?" a voice bleats, and a small grey goat steps into the sunlight.

"Excuse me?"  I jump back, startled.

"Oh, don't be so rude Stormy!" a golden female goat scolds the grey goat. "She's in the sick barn! Of course she's sad!"

"Mommy, why are you mad at daddy?" a dark grey goat with little silver dots dappling their fur asks the golden goat.

"Oh, I'm not mad, sweetie. Daddy just needs to be more polite sometimes." the golden goat smiles at the younger goat.

"Hi! I'm Rainy!" the younger goat bounces up to my stall.

"I- i'm ..." I trail off. "My name was Isis."

"What is it now?"

"I ... don't know."

"How can you not kn-" Rainy starts before the golden goat shoots a stern look at her daughter.

"Rainy, don't make her uncomfortable." she gives me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. My name is Sunny, this is my mate Stormy, and this is my daughter, Rainy."

"Nice to meet you." I blink, confused.

"I see you've met the goats." Calia giggles, reminding me that she's still leaning on  another stall door, and she reaches down to ruffle Rainy's head, avoiding the little horn-nubs on her forhead.

I nod.

"Sunny and Stormy were at an auction last summer, and they were going to go to slaughter if someone didn't buy them. I snapped them up, bred them, and in early march we got this little bundle of cuteness." She picked up a bouncing Rainy.

"Calia! Calia Calia I have a new friend!" Rainy bleated, squirming around her arms.

Calia laughed. "Once a kid, always a kid." She placed Rainy on the farm. "They're the horses emotional support goats." she glanced at me. "I fact, cases like you are why we have them in the first place."

I snort. "Hmph. I don't want goats, I want to be around my kind."

Her silver slab rings, and she widenes her eyes. "I gotta get this call. Rodrigo will kill me if he sees me not following the 'no phones in the barn' rule." She dashed outside.

I sigh, and lie down. I miss those days when I knew what to expect. A jumping lesson, paddock time, and nothing else.

I roll over onto my side. What happened to make those days dissapear?

Those people who made jacob upset. My mind whispers.

And i feel a jolt of panic wash over me as I realize Doctor Mimi was one of them

(I'm so so so so so sorry I promise this isn't turning into a kids movie where all the animals talk I just had to add goats i couldn't help myself they'll only be there for one chapter

Please don't kill me. I WROTE 1,171 WORDS SO PLEASE I WANNA LIVE)