Wind Runner

Chapter Sixteen; Track Trouble

I am relaxing in my stall at the Belmont Stakes. The race is in a week, and if I win, I will be a Triple Crown winner. I had already won the Preakness, winning by 2 lengths ahead of the group. Joey had held me back. I'm sure I could've finished farther ahead but Rick and Ralph wanted me to be kind of the underdog who surprises the crowd. I don't know, but it seems like a good idea.

The incident with Keozolf was...still in progress, but I didn't care. I was, for the time, a horse, and I don't worry about stuff like that. No, I had to focus on the Belmont Stakes.

I chewed on my hay. It would be hard, but once I won the Triple Crown, I would need to move on. As much as I enjoyed being a racer, I wasn't truly one. I still had things to do and places to see.

I shook out of my thoughts when I saw Pierre come in with a sugar cube. I crunched it then looked at him skeptically. I knew he had another.

"You're going to get fat soon you know."

I just snort as I crunch the two others Pierre offers me.
Joey comes in and pats my neck as he pulls on my halter. We were going for an exercise run. I could hear people outside my stall waiting for a glimpse of me. I had become pretty popular.
.
.
.
I walked alongside Pierre as we cooled off, looking forwards to tomorrow.
As we get to the stables, I see a huge flea bitten grey stallion being unloaded into the stall by mine. I notice he is a shifter. I snort in surprise.

Pierre chuckles and leads me over. He thinks I want to say hi! I lean back, but he drags me over. I groan. Pierre just laughs.

The stallion looks up at me with interest, noticing I am a shifter too. He whickers a greeting and touches his nose to mine. I snort. Pierre strikes up a conversation with the stallions groom. The stallion also strikes up a conversation.

"Hello, I notice you are a shifter. It makes sense. The mare already known as the Triple Crown Winner is a shifter. Anyways, I am Red Luck, but you can call me Red."

"I hope you know I will beat you tomorrow, Red. Anyways, I am Silver Jinx, you can call me Silver Jinx."

I turn and go into my stall, dragging Pierre after me. Then I notice there's a window between mine and Red Luck's stall. I groan.

Pierre takes off my halter then feeds me, then goes back to talk to Quinn, Red's groom.

Red has his head over the wall, watching me. I ignore him.

"After you win, you're leaving."

I stop and look at him. Eyes narrowed. He just continues, oblivious of my killer glare.

"I'm leaving too. Returning to my gypsy herd. You should come. It's not like a normal herd you know."

I just swallow my hay and glare at him.
"It's a good place. We move around a lot, with no specific territory. We have an alpha and such, but not so strict. You really should come."

I am quiet. Thinking.

"When should we meet Red? I'm in lower Kentucky."

He thinks for a second, then answers.

"The herd'll be in Tennessee, so I'll meet you at your stable about a week after this race. That good?"

I nod, then Red moves away to eat his own food. And I am left thinking of this gypsy herd.

The next day I am put out in the small pasture with Red Luck. Apparently they're sure we won't attack each other or such.

I am grazing in the middle of the small pasture when Red Luck comes bounding up. I swear this horse acts more like a puppy than anything else.

"Hey, let's run, not a race, that's next week, but you know, run around, buck, play, come one, I'm bored."

I lift my head up and just look at him. Then I roll my eyes and return to grazing. I hear him move close to my shoulder then I feel a small nip on my neck.

I squeal and leap up, and there's Red, glaring at me.

"I am like you, I started out wild, and either through words or biting, you will move your lazy hide."

I glare at him then set off at a slow jog, then Red is by my side. I look at him out of the corner of my eye, then I kick out playfully. He dodges, then bumps me with his shoulder. I mock rear, and he rears too. We lightly hit each other with our hooves and play nip with our teeth. We squeal and snort and whinny then take off, leaping grassy hills and small puddles. Then I freeze.

Something doesn't feel right. Then I see ten men coming towards us, wearing black and carrying ropes.

We're in the far back of the pasture, all the grooms are up top. It's up to us.
I bugle and rear, pawing aggressively. Three men lunge forwards and I decide that there are too many to fight. I call to Red who'd reared up besides me. He nods and we are off, running quickly, trying to outrun the me , who are tearing after us on small fore wheelers. I bugle and run faster, then I see the hill, if we can get over it, we'll be safe.
Then I hear something.

Red stumbles, then three ropes are thrown around his neck. He's being dragged back, towards the men. I scream and bolt forwards, and the men jump back, I bite the ropes, breaking them and then shoving Red with my head. He stands and bolts, disappearing uphill. I am just about to cross, but a rope flies over my leg, and yanks me down. I fall, kicking out aggressively. The men surround me, trying to approach but unable to due to my flailing. One draws a needle, filled with some odd liquid. I eye it warily and the crook grins.

"Sleep stuff, strong enough to knock out an elephant in 10 minuets. Strong enough to kill a horse in five."

I flail even more as the needle pierces my neck, then freeze when I hear the needle drop, then shouting, the men all freeze, then bolt suddenly, leaping onto their fore wheelers and tearing away, the head crook stays the latest, glaring at me then speaking into a radio, I just hear it;

"Well sir we managed to inject the one, but not the other, the red stallion alerted the grooms."

I can't make out the other persons voice, for some reason it's hard to see and hear, but he sounds mad. The crook grimaces, gives me one last glare, the leaps onto his fore wheeler and leaves in a cloud of dust.

I lay limply on the ground, sides heaving. Red canters up to me, then nudges me to my feet and lets me lean on him. I'm wobbly, and the medicine is working fast, too fast. It's hard to stay awake. Too hard.

Why can't I stand up? Why does my heart beat sound so slow and so quiet?

I whinny weakly, my voice sounding more like a hollow whisper. My vision flickers. I struggle to stay awake.

Then it dawns on me.

I am dying.

I slowly slump to the ground, my legs giving out, and the world growing dim. The last thing I hear is frantic shouting and the sound of my heartbeat as it gets slower and quieter with each passing second.

And then nothing.

A/N: Sooo...
*shuffles feet nervously, inching towards a door*
I think I should go...
*bolts from room*
Don't kill me guys!
~Silver_Storyteller