Broken [In Revision 2023]

Chapter 25 - Fight

Dezi's ears flicked backwards, she twisted around with her head high to focus in on the movement. She snorted. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Jake, still struggling with Sunny. She pinned her ears back, rolled her eyes and charged towards them. Pushing Jake away from the approaching danger, towards the safety of the trailer.

A shadow circled the ground, its owner was high above them waiting for back up, her wing healed. She swooped low, talons extended, ready to puncture horseflesh. In her ignorance, she failed to credit them with enough intelligence.

At the last minute, the chestnut mare dropped her haunches and twisted out of the hawk's flight path. With the timing and grace of a much younger animal, Dezi struck out with her hind legs just as the bird was trying to regain altitude. She made contact, sending her attacker tumbling into the overgrown shrubbery surrounding the farmhouse.

Dezi spun around and snorted, the whites of her eyes visible as she tried to find the offending creature. The sound of many padded feet crossing the bare earth called her to attention. Digging her front hoof into the earth she kicked up the dust, honking and snaking her head as a warning to the approaching threat.

Jake felt sick, his heart had leapt into his throat as he watched the coyotes jump the far fence with ease. He knew it would only take a few seconds for them to cross the paddock and launch an attack on the two loose horses. His right hand brushed the cracked leather holster if his Grandfather's pistol, he had forgotten that he had wrapped it around his waist on the way out of the house.

Dezi's life in the wild equipped her with the skills necessary to fend off her attackers. She ran at them to drive them back, occasionally trying to jump on them in the hope of trampling them under her hooves.

Sunny didn't have the same wealth of experience, every manoeuvre he tried lacked Dezi's confidence. His hooves missed whereas hers made contact, but he didn't give in.

Dezi launched herself at the smallest coyote, her teeth snapping millimetres from his flesh. Something heavy landed on her back, its teeth pierced her flesh as claws scraped her sides. Driven by instinct, she dropped her shoulder and allowed her half-tonne of weight to crush the air out of her attacker's lungs. She groaned with effort as she hauled herself up from the ground ready to take on her next opponent.

Sunny's coat grew dark, foaming sweat building as he struggled to fend off a fox. The small animal was able to feign her direction and set Sunny to a disadvantage. As he tried to regroup and get all four of his legs underneath him, he noticed the hawk stirring from the bushes.

The hawk was a mess of feathers as it hobbled and flopped headfirst into the dust. Wailing pitifully its feathers started to fall out as it stood upright, stretching itself back into human form. With bare human flesh, it was easy to see the damage done, both bones of her left forearm were protruding and she walked with a gait that suggested she must have broken a few ribs too.

Sunny forgot the pesky fox and charged in the direction of the injured woman.

Sensing her defeat, Anne hobbled as quickly as she could towards the fence. She dived through the gap and landed in a heap on the other side. The pain in combination with the heavily soiled earth made her retch. She lay there staring up at the sky, struggling to breathe.

Jake's hand shook too much for him to be able to safely pull the trigger and put the young woman out of her misery. Instead, he stashed the gun back in the holster and snatched hold of Sunny's headcollar. Driven by fear he didn't give the horse a chance to think, he drove the horse up into the trailer and pulled the partition closed. Without breathing he ran out and slammed the door closed.

A crippling wave of guilt washed over him, tears streamed down his face as he said thanks to the mare who was giving him this chance of escape. He felt ashamed like he was betraying a loyal friend as he tapped on the window of the truck. He was leaving her behind to die.