The Centaur

1

I run through the forest, wild and free, whipping my black mane in the air.

Horses are not the type of animals to be solitary, but I don't belong to any herd. No protection, no loved ones, no friends, just myself and the wide-open space.

I run to the meadow to eat the luscious grass growing there. My hoofs graze across it as I consume the lush grass. As I chew, I glance upward.

Deer swarm the meadow, grazing the short, tender grasses.

I bend down for another bite, sniffing the air as I do.

There's a hunter nearby. An inexperienced hunter at that. He stands upwind! What a fool!

I eat more grass, unconcerned with the unwise hunter.

I'm a black horse in a field of deer. What do I have to worry about?

The deer seem to sense the hunter too.

They start heading in my direction, away from the hunter and towards the cover of the forest.

I hear a shot ring out.

The spooked deer immediately dash into the forest.

I rear on my hind legs, spooked by the sound even though I knew it was coming.

I hear another shot... and feel it. I start to run into the forest but don't get very far until I blackout.