The Trench

Chapter 38 - The Fire (Part 2)

Rileys POV

The scene unfolding in front of me is everything nightmares are made of. The scent of scorched hair mixing in with the smoke was enough to make your stomach churn and at that moment it felt like I would never feel calm again. My heart would be forever racing and my soul never settled.

The adrenaline propelled me through getting the horses out. I knew with four of us we should be able to lead them out two at a time, Austin had asked me if we could just open the stalls and I shook my head.

In a panic situation horses seek out shelter and safety; their stalls. Even if the barn is on fire most will run back in craving the security their stall provides and that can be chaotic and disastrous; even more so then it is already.

When I counted the field I could feel my stomach drop, I could feel my body break out in a cold sweat and I counted the dark bodies once, twice, and three times coming up with the same number.

Nineteen...

I saw Titan in the shuffling herd, easing my worry only a fraction. I searched the field in mere seconds for the white horse and I didn't see her, I felt my head get dizzy in disbelief. For a second my mind went blank, one second I was telling everyone Hallow was missing, then after the whinny all I remember was heat.

I didn't recall running inside the barn, but I'm here now in the midst of the chaos. The entire top of the building was on fire sending sparks down into the dry straw in the stalls. I'm gagging and choking, struggling to breathe as I try to see through the smoke making my way down the isle.

At any moment the building will collapse, any moment from here on out could be my last and for a second I wonder if this is how I die. I push the thoughts from my mind.

Not here, not like this.

Something explodes above me and the lights go out, glass coming down in shards above me and I scream. The only light to go by now is the angry red flickering of the flames leading me in the barn further.

I get to Hallows stall and I faintly see her, pacing angrily. Her whinny is now hoarse and weak from her constant cries and the air being too thick. She rears up and strikes in front of her out of fear and I holler for her. She comes back down and whinnies again frantically searching for me as I enter the stall and fling the lead rope around her neck.

I start pulling her towards the door but she balks, leaning back on her hindquarters stubbornly too scared to leave. The wood cracking above us is getting louder as I struggle to get her to move, fear trying to take over my body.

For a second my mind clears and I remember my training for such an event. I quickly shrug off my coat and lay it over her face, tying the sleeves underneath her jaws.

In an event where a horse is panicked and refuses to leave an unsafe area, they will follow a trusted source easier if they're blindfolded. Unable to see the dangers that fall in front of them. In this instance, thankfully Hallow obliged and started to follow me out.

I had taken a few steps into the isle when the creaking upstairs turned into loud groaning. Before I could start running the ceiling collapses behind us shooting debris past us and covering Hallow and I in sparks.

My arms were now exposed and I could feel my skin burning, my entire body was hot but my only objective was getting her out. We run blindly towards where the front of the barn should be, jumping over downed beams and dodging stall doors that were knocked off their hinges.

Flames covered the exit and the doorframe was giving way, in a second the fire curved leaving a gape as if made just for us. We burst through the heat into the cold night air, snow still heavily falling from the sky. We jog down the small hill towards the open area by the outdoor area in the front of the barn, once we reach it people run over to help.