The Yard.
Sarah Turner
Copyright 2011 by Sarah Turner
Smashwords Edition
Teaser
A clear mist drowned the yard before me, the amount of times I had been here when it’s been misty but it’s never been this bad before, I continued into the yard, walking briskly to where my horse was stabled, the mist was starting to freak me out now, I continued to look around to find if anyone else was here and upon doing so I noticed that the mare and foal wasn’t in the paddock where they are usually kept, I glanced down at my wrist to see what time it was and noticed that my watch had stopped and looked liked it was also misted up, the mist was playing tricks on my eyes, forming shapes and making me believe there was something there but every time I ran over to the spot, there was nothing there.
Ever since I had stabled my horse here I always thought there was something creepy about this place even in the daytime never mind in the mist, it’s sort of one of those mists that you would see in a horror movie a really creepy type. By this time I had reached the back of the stallion stables and was just about to check up on Keano, looking over the stable door I saw him laying down in the corner back to me, he looked like he was asleep, so peaceful as I approached him I noticed something wasn’t right, I couldn’t see his auburn chest steadily rising and falling, I started to panic, I took a quick step towards him and was greeted by two dark red eyes, I froze to the spot with the eyes intently watching me, every step I took they followed until they started to approach me, I followed the eyes and was greeted by a grayish outline of what looked like a large dog, it was slowly creeping towards me I continued to walk backwards when my back touched something, I instantly knew that I had been cornered against a wall, it knew it had me and took the opportunity and lunged for me it seemed to disintegrate into thin air but I could swear the eyes lingered for a second more, but I don’t think it was that which freaked me out, I could see out of the corner of my eye there was something sat next to me……
Chapter 1
I awoke in a sweat of panic, with the sheets sticking to me I attempted to get out of bed, my legs felt like they were made of lead, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and attempted to flex my muscles, it took more effort than I thought to loosen the muscles in my legs, I ran my hands up and down my right leg as to aid them in loosening but it wasn’t until I ran my hands down my left leg had I paused half way through my mini examination, upon feeling it, it felt like three lines all parallel to themselves but I vaguely remember anything which I did which could have caused it to happen, I decided to shower quickly and get ready, I sat down at my dresser to do my hair and sat and thought about last night and the dream I had, I have been having that dream for a couple of weeks now but never thought anything of it as it seemed really petty to let it get to me, then it dawned on me, could the mysterious scratches on my left leg be anything to do with the dreams I keep having, I dismissed the absurd idea and continued to get ready, each stroke reminded me of the claw marks on my leg which kept wierding me out so I wise fully decided to hurry up and leave.
I threw on a light blue wolf print top with long sleeves and a pair of dark washed flare jeans and a pair of flat ankle high black boots and to finish it all off a nice blue jem to wear around my neck, I’m not that bothered about my appearance that much as long as I look nice and tidy I’m happy. I wouldn't say that I’m the most gorgeous girl a guy would run around after. I’m 5ft 5, quite slim a few curves here and there but I’m not the one to flaunt it off, I have piercing green eyes with a mid- long deep auburn hair, which is most of the time up and out of the way as I tend to dress practical. it was a Saturday so I had no college or anything to be worried about, so I packed my gear into a satchel and continued to the car, yes I was nearly 18 and could do almost anything but not without being checked upon by my mother dearest, I had almost escaped out the front door when I heard my mother shouting at me
"Kyra, where you going?" typical old mum always asking where I’m going, it’s not like she didn't trust me, she did but I think she always liked to know where I was, I chuckled to myself and replied loud enough for her to hear me,
"Up to the yard mum!" her response was quick
"What time you going to be back!?" but mine was quicker as I use it most of the time
“Don’t know mum but I will text you if anything changes" I walked out of the door before anything else could be said, asked or whatever else she could think of, I tossed my keys up and down in the air whilst walking to the car parked down the road, silently making a mental list of what I had to do... muck out.... feed....water...exercise....brush down..... By the time I had made a metal list of things to do I was already half way to the yard where Keano was stabled.
The journey to the yard was bland and boring but hey what do you expect when you live 5-10 min away from the yard, the yard was situated right next to a hotel sort of place which had a sports facility situated next to it for the guests to use so the road leading to the yard was regularly used, pulling through the gates of the yard made me think back to the horrid dream I kept having but I still couldn't make any sense of same dream, same ending every time it annoys me. I drove past the school and turned right at the next available spot, I pulled in facing the opposite sports centre. I turned the engine off and just sat there, the dream still playing in my mind. I pushed it to the darkest part of my mind and continued to exit the car upon doing so I looped my arm through my satchel and pulled it out with me, I left the car as it was as I felt no need to lock it.
I casually walked over to the stable to where Keano was placed to be greeted by his familiar face, he was a deep auburn body colour with black mane and tail, which thinned out to a white shade at the tips, which tended to match his unusual blue eyes he was a gorgeous stallion which everyone wanted, I fell in love with him when he was just a foal and still am in love with him now, he may be a lot bigger but he is still my little baby, at 15 hands 3 he was a good height for jumping and boy was he good at it, his stable was one of 5, three faced the leisure centre whilst the other two faced the rest of the yard.
On the same side as Keano was stabled was a 17 hand horse called Tommy he was huge next to me never mind next to one of my friends, he was mostly a black colour with light colours showing through here and there to break up his overwhelming height and brought much joy to his owner. I played around with Keano’s mane for a bit while his head was stuck through the top part of the door, last night’s dream was still playing tricks on my mind which made me hesitant at first but quickly told myself to get a grip and went to collect the head collar from the shed on the other side, I swiped the key off the hook on my way, approaching the corner I greeted the mare and foal, Ruby was a beautiful white colour with blue eyes also, she had recently become a mother again she is the proud mother of a young Colt called Odin, he’s got the longest legs around which is quite unfortunate for him as his legs tend to get in the way of him getting to food, he’s currently a light dun and white but looks like he is going to become a darker brown when he grows up.
I managed to draw myself away from the mare and foal and actually managed to get to the food storage area only to find it already open, I couldn't work out who would be in it today as no one was usually in the feed area at this time on a Saturday, my ears were greeted by another riders shouting and screaming,
"AHHHH for fuck sake!!!!"
I was slightly took back by the sudden outburst as I wasn't expecting it, I approached the door, I cautiously peered round to find the owner of ruby and Odin struggling with a bag of foal nuts, I laughed a little too loud and got an evil glare from her,
"You ok there chick?" even though I was trying to be nice there was a sense of humour in my voice which I don't think she appreciated much, but lightened up when she realized it was me,
"Hey chick chick, yeah I’m ok as you can see" she sighed and sat on another bag of nuts as if giving up
“Yeah you look like you’re doing very well, give it here" I took the bag of nuts from her and emptied it into the nearby food tub only to be engulfed by the dust off the nuts, I slipped a snarky comment to her only to be greeted by another emotionless evil glare
"Bit weak aren't you blue" her response was a little on the squeaky side
" Leave me alone I’m not that weak!!!" I looked at her as if to say yeah yeah and she knew what I meant straight away.
"You done Ruby and Odin's feed yet?" she looked sheepish and responded quietly
"I was getting to it, I just got stuck Hahaha" I smiled at what she had said and commented
"Do you always get stuck at the first hurdle" luckily she had already gone off to sort Ruby and Odin, she was a good lass deep down, easy to wind up which made it more fun just with the looks you get off her, she was just a little shorter than me, nice blue eyes which stood out nicely, short cut dark brown/red hair she was a fun loving one who was quite competitive but never wanted to admit it and would always deny it when brought up with the saying
“I’m not my mother!!”, she always had those she loved close to heart but did love riding the most I think the most recent thing I can remember when with her was when she had just finished her cross country jump trial and had decided to scare me to death, I wasn’t her fault really, her chest guard was too tight which had restricted her breathing whilst jumping so nearly collapsed when she had finished but despite her nearly scaring me to death she still did well and managed to get 3rd place, her round lasted around 2 hours which was a lot of other competitors and she still managed to place 3rd.
I had sorted out Keano’s feed and hay bale and placed it in the wheelbarrow outside along with his saddle and bridle, I noticed the other wheelbarrow was gone so I assumed that Blue had taken the other one to empty out, I placed the wheelbarrow down outside Keano’s stable and continued to empty the contents. I went to get his lead rope and head collar and entered his stable, Keano’s head collar was easily attached and I continued to walk him out of the stable, as I was leading him out I swear I saw something move in the corner of the stable. I dismissed it once again and just said to myself that it was just a bird or something, whilst leading him out I noticed Tony fussing my mates dog Sky
"Ya’arite Tony!!!" I greeted him a little louder than expected and made him jump slightly, I tied Keano up whilst Tony was brushing himself down after kneeling next to Sky.
"GEEZ Kyra, ever tried not making anyone jump" he had the biggest smile on his face, if he smiled anymore I think his face would stay like it forever not complaining at all
"Where have you been? I’ve not seen you in agggggeeeessss!!!!" I gave him the biggest cuddle ever and just held it for what seemed like ages, these are the hugs I missed.
"I thought I told you that we had to go to Devon for a bit and then come back for our exams" he faked a yawn at the mention of exams which made me laugh quietly to myself
"Yeah you probably did, where’s Ace??"
"He's just coming down now, think he was talking to Blue's mum up by where Ruby and Odin are let out"
"Ahhhhh typical, wanna do me a favour, seen as you’re not doing anything....?" he looked at me as if to say I just got back and you want me to help you his response was the biggest tease of all
"Well..... It all depends...."
"On......" I paused anticipating the answer
"My reward for helping you out...."
"Sorry Tony..... You’re not my type.....joke joke.... your reward is the feeling of helping someone out..."
"If that’s all I get..... Than what you need me to do...." he looked slightly disappointed as if to try and wind me up so I got my own back on him
"Well for that, you can now muck out Keano's stable whilst I brush him down!
“Fine, I suppose I’ll do it as a one off” he rolled his eyes and walked over to the fork, grabbed the wheelbarrow and continue to help me out, he was easily swayed unlike his brother Ace who was more stubborn but the both shared something in common they were both quiet.
Whilst I was brushing Keano’s mane Blue came round to sort out her competition horse, a *Storm’s Rubix Cube aka Mr. Red if I can remember rightly Blue has had Red since he was about 1 year old he was a rescue horse and had been treated badly by men so now has a bad habit around them ever since Blue laid eyes on him she had fell in love with him not only because of what his breed was his markings as well, ok so maybe I should tell you abit more about the famous Red, he’s an Appaloosa breed with abit of mustang in him, she’s had him ever since she was about 10 so he’s about 8 years old and a good height of 15.1 hands, a dark chestnut colour with black wavy mane and tail but the interesting thing about him is that he may be a dark chestnut colour with a white frosting on his face and his back tends to fade out to a white colour with brown spots. You can tell he is one of Blues horses as he is an absolute poser who loves being in front of the camera, Blue is good with horses and is loyal to those who are close to her which has rubbed onto Red as he is very loyal to her. She has managed to rehabilitate him and can now ride him without a saddle or bridle even though he is a wild Stallion at heart, she has managed to bend him into show jumping, dressage and cross country but he is at his best when doing western. To narrow it all down he is an absolute beauty*.
By the time I had described Red, Blue had already brought him out of his stable and was already starting to muck him out.
“Yo Blue, you need a hand there?” I shouted to Blue whilst peering over Keano, she peered round the corner of the stable door with a big grin on her face
“If ya want to, I don’t mind its up to you” I couldn’t help but smirk at the response but it was what was behind her which made me smile more, her boyfriend Ace was sneaking up behind her whilst putting his finger to his lips as if to say shhhhh I did what he wanted and the choice was for the good because all of a sudden he wrapped his arms around her from behind and made her jump a little and looked out of the corner of her eye as if to say who the hell is that but as soon as she managed to see who it was she relaxed and embraced it, she turned around to cuddle him properly and just held it for what seemed like ages, I decided to continue grooming Keano but by this time I was already onto cleaning his hooves. I could hear Blue and Ace talking but couldn’t really hear what was said until I listened properly. It was Ace who I heard first
“Miss me” he asked whilst cupping her face with his hands,
“I missed something…” she spoke quietly whilst holding onto his hands,
“And what would that be… Better have been me….” He teased whilst moving his hands off her face but keeping hold of her hands
“Your Calvin Klein aftershave” her face crept into a huge smile as she said this, he dramatically acted hurt and started to sulk and walk away.
“Ohhhh don’t be like that Ace you know I didn’t mean it, I love you really!!” she sounded like she was running out of breath whilst saying it but at least she wasn’t going faint on me again. But this time I turned my attention to Tony,
“How you doing in there Tony?”
“You really want to know”
“Yeahhhhh……”
“Well let me give you a hint….. What’s tall, dark and handsome and has managed to get more muck on himself than in the wheelbarrow!!!!”
“Hmmmmm now that’s a hard one…… Is it GOD!!!!” I teased him playfully as I knew who he exactly meant
“Well unless I have magically turned into the most powerful being that ever lived than I think not mrs!!!” he sounded annoyed but I know he was trying to be annoying. Whilst he was complaining about missing the wheelbarrow I had managed to put Keano’s saddle on and was just finishing putting his bridle on, I went to see what he meant and saw how black he was,
“hahaha how could you miss the wheelbarrow” I was laughing so hard I was crying but the look on this face wasn’t right
“I don’t know” his response was plain and dull not like him what so ever I was starting to get worried now, I didn’t like the way he looked
“Tony… whats wro…..” I couldn’t finish what I was saying as he started to walk towards me, I didn’t like the way he was acting, I went in the opposite direction he was going but could go any further as my back hit something, I used my right hand to feel behind me and what my hand felt confirmed my suspicions… I had backed into the wall behind me.
I looked into his eyes to try and recognize anything familiar but what I saw I didn’t like, I bolted out of the door and jumped on Keano who startled slightly at the unexpected mount, but I managed to keep him under control.
“KYRA!!! WAAAIIITTTT!!!” I heard him shout me but I refused to listen I heard Blue and Ace come out.
“what happened?” it was Blue’s voice which spoke first but I couldn’t make out his response as I was halfway up the drive, I spurred Keano to go faster and reached the end of the driveway, I went to a place where I could think and be alone…. The grazing fields. It didn’t make sense… he was fine when he got here… but when I saw him in the stables he looked different… he looked black… and his eyes… his eyes were red.
Chapter 2
I don't know why I bolted like that, it didn't seem right, it couldn't have been right, I felt soooo stupid right now for just bolting like that, I wasn't the type who ran away from silly little things like that. luckily for me Keano knew where he was going so I was able to let the reins hang loose whilst I zoned out, I replayed the whole day so far, replaying what happened to try and find out what I had missed ... being reunited with him... joking with him... him helping me... nothing made sense, I was so angry with myself for not noticing anything, by the time I paid attention to where I was and what I was doing, Keano was already slowing to a stop, I gazed around at the Grazing Fields around me hesitant to dismount just yet whilst I was debating whether to dismount and looking around I could feel myself slowly relaxing more and more. I hadn't noticed that I had been keeping myself so tense whilst riding.
I could hear the regular beat of another horse cantering down the track behind me and I naturally tensed back up again, I twisted around in the saddle to see Blue coming down the track riding Red and as no surprise with no saddle or bridle. Typical. She was closing in fast but she managed to slow Red down, I could see that her face was plastered with worry as to my sudden take off, sometimes she knew me too well, yes she felt like a sister to me now but thankfully she doesn't know everything about me. She pulled Red up beside me.
"What happened back there Kyra?" her voice was ragged from riding but was still audible through all the short sharp breaths.
"What areee you on about?” I tried to play innocent as-if nothing interesting had happened
"Hmmm let me thinkkkk, your sudden take off with no explanation what so ever?" I knew what she meant but I wasn't going to let on to anything
"Ahhhhh that sudden take off... well I thought that you might have guessed that I was testing Keano’s reaction to a quick mount and takeoff." I smiled at her as-if to finish my point, but I knew I looked shifty but as I tried to hide it, it made it more obvious so she left the subject for a while, Blue relaxed and laid back on Red whilst I started to pace around her on the back of Keano, I heard a small giggle from the direction of where Blue was I looked over at her with a confused gaze
"What you giggling at Blue?"
"Your riding technique" I looked at her with the expression of you must be joking
"What are you on about, what's wrong with my riding technique?"
"You need to sit up and straighter more than you already are, it will improve your balance for you and your horse and also improve your control"
"Right... and this is coming from someone who rides with no saddle or bridle and is giving me advice on posture when she is currently LAYED on her horse..." she took the point and was hesitant on her response
"Yeeeaaahhh... but...YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" I didn't respond to it as I couldn't be asked to, I dismounted Keano and continued to walk aimlessly into the field to our left, I let go of Keano's reins and plonked myself under the tree, I watched as Blue slide off Red and came to join me. We watched as the horses watched us then with a grunt started chomping on the grass. Typical boys, food on the brain.
After a few minutes of just lazying around and teasing Blue about this and that, she challenged me to a race through the woods and into the next clearing, I wasn't in the mood to race her so I let her pull ahead bit by bit with her competitive side I don’t think she really noticed that I had dropped back, as I saw the woods closing in I thought about going around them but before I had a chance to decide, Keano had made it for me. Straight through. Yes it was a short trip but with all the ducks and dives I had to do with all the fricking trees it made it seem longer than it was.
I reached the clearing a little after Blue to see her already sprawled out on the grass with Red stood beside her I slowed Keano to a trot as we approached her,
"Took ya time Kyra" she smirked whilst covering her eyes from the sun to look up at me, I rolled my eyes at her sarcasticness but I knew she was only playing around, I dismounted Keano and went to join her letting Keano join Red as I did so. I watched Keano and Red trying to eat, they were succeeding at making a bare patch on the grass beneath them.
I could hear Blue mumbling something but couldn't make out what she said
"What ya say chick?" I asked whilst looking over to where she lay,
"I said you can talk to me you know" I refused to say anything and closed her eyes so she continued
"After all I have known you for almost three years, would have thought you could have trusted me by now that's all" I rolled my eyes at her as alert. if to say not that excuse again, I went to respond to her second attempt but paused, I noticed that Keano and red both had stopped eating and was intently staring at something with theirs ears both flat against their heads and looked very alert. Alert. I nudged Blue who gave me a glare supposedly to say f*** off I was sleeping.
"Whats wrong with them" I nodded towards the horses, she propped herself up with her elbows and peered against the sun in the direction I had nodded in
"I dunno what the looking at?" I glance over to where the horses where so intently staring to see someone stood next to a horse, I pointed them out to blue who was now looking in the same direction as me, I watched as her facial expression turned from a frown into one of confusion
"Who the hell..."
"How am I meant to know" I laughed at her sudden outburst and I continued to get up.
"Where you going now?" I heard her question me from where she lay, I turned, smile and with a wink spoke
"Well chick, curiosity has got the best of me..." with that I walked towards Keano
"Not again Kyra!" I could hear the humour in her voice as she followed. I sat atop Keano waiting for Blue to mount Red and join me. She saw the look in my eye and smiled
"You wanna race don’t ya" her smile grew as my grin widened, we set off racing but with Blues Mustang breed they easily pulled ahead, as we got closer to the stranger the only features I could make out were those of its steed, it looked like it was around 16 hands high and was of a deep midnight black colour with a rich white mane and by the looks his tail was the same but I couldn't tell from the distance I was at.
I saw Blue reach the stranger and also saw Reds reaction to him, it wasn't a good one. I saw Blue scramble for Reds mane as his head went down I thought he was going to start bucking but instead did the opposite and reared up on his hind legs, Luckily Blue had managed to grab his mane in time and was able to stay atop of Red and keep him in control. Not alot of things spooked red and I couldn't work out what I could have been but the thing I did know for sure was that Blue would be very pissed by now. I pulled Keano up in front of the stranger and could see more of his steed’s features, his mane and tail were indeed rich white in colour but his eyes amazed me, they were the eyes of an albino horse.
I could see out of the corner of my eye the stranger watching me admire his horse, so I turned my attention back to him, what greeted my eyes astounded me. He had jet black hair which was slicked back like in the olden days but his dress sense said otherwise he wore a tight white vest which fitted snugly on his chest, he wore a black blazer type jacket to accompany his vest. He wore Texan riding style jeans which were held in place by a silver buckle belt with the initials Z and C entwined together, I presume they were of his initials. I could hear Red pawing the ground which brought my attention to his black patterned western style boots with spurs on the back of them. I made a mental note not to point them out to Blue as she would be pissed but the looks of it she already was. I brought my attention back to his face as he continued to watch me, I noticed that his eyes were of a stone white which looked strange but stood out nicely against his dark appearance.
I managed to draw my attention away from him and direct it to Blue who I could see was silently fuming in her saddle
"BLUE!" I spoke in a stern but assuring voice only to be greeted by three sets of eyes one set of annoyed ones from Blue herself, a set of questioning deep blue ones from the stranger and finally a set of albino eyes which were accompanied by his ears which were pricked up in my direction as if listening to me. I was looking at blue when he spoke
"Kyra, I'm looking for the stables from where you have come from" I froze in my saddle and even Blue gaze met my confused one. I turned to look at him
"What did you just say?" I looked at him with a questioning look although his eyes didn't give anything away
"I said I’m looking for the stables from where you came from" I was skeptical with what he said but went along with it
"My bad... thought you said something else" he looked at me with a confused look but I swear as I turned to look at Blue he looked smug.
"You ready?" I asked Blue and in response I saw her nod, turn Red and set off back to the yard, I also turned Keano around in the direction of which we were about to head and turned around in the saddle to see the stranger already waiting for me to lead the way, I turned back around to see Blue already halfway up the track, I eased Keano into a trot and easily caught up with Blue again, I glanced around to see the stranger confidently behind us.
"You ok chick?" I asked Blue as I could see she was still mad
"Yep. I’m fine." I was taken back by the sudden snap in response
"Ok... what ya think of the new guy?"
"He's a jerk"
"Blue! Don’t be harsh! You don't even know him! She sighed but remained stubborn
"He made Red rear with me on him! Red never rears! so at the moment that’s all I need to know!" with that she took off leaving me to lead the stranger back to the yard but I couldn't help but feel like he was watching me , it made me feel some what uneasy and I knew for sure I didn't like it. Not. One. Bit.
Chapter 3
Blue's pov
I couldn't believe it, what had got into you back there Red? The look he gave me when you reared, like it was my fault geez he's more a jerk than I thought god he's got me soooo wound up. Who did he think he was dressed like that... him in his tight white vest which hugged his chest like... WAIT why the hell am I thinking like this GEEZ BLUE get a grippp! I sighed and rolled my head back, gazing at the sky as I did so, releasing the tension I held as-well
"If only things weren't so annoying Red"
I felt his response with his nod of his head and smiled to myself.
It was approaching Dusk as I reached the yard, I could see Ace stood with Tony and oh god.... my mother. Ace saw me coming down the drive and started walking towards me, I slid off Reds Back and walked into Ace's embrace.
"You alright buddy?" he asked as I buried my face into his chest inhaling the Calvin Klein as I did so.
"Yeah I'm fine" he pulled out of our embrace but kept his hands on my shoulders, I could see his steel blue eyes looking into mine, as though they were searching for a more in depth answer. They were the type of eyes which no-one could lie to. Maybe I did. Once or twice.
"Yes I'm fine jammy" I laughed slightly as I tried to reassure him, I saw him relax more which put me to ease as-well. He pulled his gaze from mine and looked back up the drive. I followed his gaze to see Kyra coming down it with the stranger in tow, I also saw Tony's reaction as he also noticed her coming down the drive, I didn't feel it was necessary to point in out at this specific time but made a point to later.
"Mother, he'll want to talk to you most likely" she nodded in response and headed out to meet up with the stranger.
Ace put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer, we walked back to Reds stable with an unamused Red in tow. The short trip was one of silence and, I was grateful for at the time.
“You find out what was wrong with Kyra and why she bolted like that earlier?"
I tied Red up as he spoke; I hesitated in my response as I realized she never did say what was wrong.
"I’m sure she's fine, what did Tony say?"
"Not much really" he leaned against the stable wall and continued “just that he was joking around with her like usual, he said that he went to walk towards her and she bolted, I thought he was joking but by the look on his face I guessed other wise"
"Well as it stands then, you know more than me"
He laughed at this but I cut him off with another sharp question
"What you mean by the look on his face?" this time I looked at his seriously
"Well after he told me what happened or what he could remember... he looked confused and worried"
"What he could remember... you saying he had a memory lapse or something?"
"Honestly I don’t know, but come to think of it I did notice that his eyes were different but I didn't think it was anything...”
I had just finished brushing Red down and threw the brush on the floor next to where Ace was.
"Ohhhh I dunno, its Kyra what do you expect' I summed up after a while
"Anyway" he moved on "Who’s the new guy that came with Kyra"
"I dunno who he is but I swear he said Kyra's name when we first met him"
He looked at me with a what and spoke
"How would he know her?"
"You’re asking mee this.... why?"
He smiled at my response and walked towards Red to put his hand on Reds neck. Red was having none of it.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you" I warned
"And why not..." he spoke playfully
"Did you forget that he hates men...?” I paused
I watched as he quickly withdrew his hand and looked sheepish. I saw Red's ears prick back up as he relaxed. I laughed at his sudden reaction to what I said. He shoved his hands back into his pockets and leant back against the stable walls. I lead Red into his stable, Kyra was coming around the corner as I closed the door of Red's stable and walked towards Ace.
"You ok Kyra?" She nodded in response but didn't voice her response
"You sure chick" I pushed for an answer as I knew there was more to it.
"Yes I’m fine!" I almost wish I never asked now, but I confirmed my suspicions
I looked over at Ace who game me the same quizzical look but neither of us went any further with the subject. What had happened when I left Kyra, last thing I knew she was her usual annoying self... I swore to find out what was wrong.
I heard some racket over the other side of the block, it sounded like it was coming from the unused stable. I thought I’d be like Kyra and be curious.
"Mother, whats going on" I asked as I rounded the corner
"I’ve loaned out the stable to Mr Stone here" he poked his head out at the mention of his name and nodded in acknowledgement to my presence before disappearing back inside. My mother continued "he's going to be using it for the next few months. Don't disappear as I’ll need to speak to you."
"When? Because I do have plans later with Ace...." I complained
"Well... Mr Stone has requested that you show him around the yard and I have agreed with his request"
"WAIT...WHAT! That guys a jerk. Why would I want to show him around?"
"I don't care what you think of the guy. You will show him around tomorrow. End of Blue!"
"Fine Mother! But that’s tomorrow and right now I'm going home with Ace!" with that I walked back around to get Ace.
I saw Ace talking to Kyra and walked straight up to him "sorry Kyra... Ace were leaving" he looked at me with the expression of wait what? But right now I wasn't in the mood
"Now Ace!"
I heard him apologize to Kyra and I threw her an apologetic look she smiled in understanding. I saw the stranger riding his horse up the drive and in the direction of the grazing fields. I saw him look around at us but refused to pay him any special attention. Ace noticed this and took hold of my hand as we walked towards the car.
Chapter 4
Kyra’s pov
It had been a long day at the yard with a lot of strange things happening, I just wanted to go home and relax. I had already said bye to Blue... sort of... and now all that was left was to go say bye to Keano. He stuck his head through the top part of his door as he heard me coming, I stroked his face and ruffled the part of his mane which fell onto his face from between his ears and threw an apple into his manger behind him.
I left Keano and walked past Jadie's car and up towards my car, I pulled the satchel off my shoulder and searched for my keys, upon finding them continued to pull them out. I was practically at my car when I heard an unwanted voice behind me
"Well well well if it isn't Miss Kyra Blackwater" the voice brought a chill to the deepest part of my body. It also brought back an unwanted memory...
It was a quiet night as we walked home, we had just finished watching a film in the local cinema and although Lucas had a deadline of when to be home, he still decided to walk me home. To be honest I was grateful as I was never keen on being out when it was dark.
He kissed my forehead as we walked and I looked up to him “thank you for tonight. I really enjoyed myself and think that we should do it more often” we was walking through a cul -de - sac when he responded "yeah sure not a problem babe". we reached the bottom of the cul-de-sac and stopped at the opening of the shortcut I had to take to get home quicker, it wasn't lit up and I was hesitant to walk though, he noticed this and offered to walk me though, I gratefully accepted the offer and we walked through but we only got half way. I felt a heavy force pushing me backwards with the aid of a foot behind me I fell backwards into the bushes. It was then he continued to rape me.
He made me who I was today but in a way it was good as I always made sure the people closest to me were always safe He ruined my life once and I wasn't going to let him do it again.
the sudden voice startled me causing me to drop my keys,
"Lucas... what a surprise to see you here" my voice came out stronger than I thought it would which I was glad of as I didn't want him thinking I was weak. I slowly turned around to face him, to face the guy I had once trusted with everything.
"You would be surprised at how long I have been watching you Kyra" he had a smug look on his face and chuckled as he spoke I remained silent waiting for him to continue which he did
"You know... the only thing that gave you away was the fact that you continued what you loved the most" this time it was me which spoke up and challenged him in return
"So Lucas... what might that be"
"Well... let me tell you..." he shook his head from side to side smugly, knowing that my guard was dropping he started towards me.
"Your riding of course!" he threw his hands in the air to say can't believe you didn't know and continued towards me. I noticed him approaching me and continued to back up towards my car
“You moved... I moved, I’ve been watching you grow up and turn into the lovely girl you are now. I've watched you go out with friends. I've watched you go out with guys and each one never worked... if its my fault then I am truly sorry" he smirked "But through it all you never seemed to get my message..." by this time my back was firmly pressed against my car with him within inches of touching me.
I played Innocent, something I was good at but everyone knew it was false "I don't know Lucas, what did you tell me nevvver to do" he sighed and shook his head.
He placed his head within millimeters from my face and spoke just above a whisper but I could tell he was being deadly serious "I told you to NEVER run from me!" I attempted to slide to my left to escape his looming presence over me but was blocked by his right arm which was placed firmly on the car behind me "Don't even think about it" he warned but I was already looking towards my right, he was one step ahead of me and blocked my other escape route off. I slumped against the car and dropped my satchel in a sign of giving up and I saw that he noticed also "Now that I have your attention maybe we can ta..." I took the second advantage that I had and broke free, I ran aimlessly towards the stable block with the only purpose of escaping him. I heard him swear under his breath and give chase, I could hear his footsteps quickly gaining on me. I knew I had to escape. I could hear him right behind me and could hear his jagged breaths as he closed the gap between us.
I felt myself fall forward with the aid of his arms around my waist, I knew he wouldn't be able to hold me like he was for long I struggled the best I could and managed to break free for a second only for me to hear him growl in anger and tighten his grip, I felt him slowly working his way up my body as I was struggling just as I thought I had broken free, I was roughly turned onto my back. he restrained my body from moving by sitting on my waist and used his hands to pin my hands and arms to the side of my head " I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO NEVER RUN FROM ME" he shouted in my face I turned my head to one side to avoid his glare. My continuous struggling was only to be greeted with another comment
“You know I’m stronger than you Kyra so why are you so persistent"
My response was quick "you know I always try!"
"OH boy don't I know, just look at all the boyfriends you have had" that hurt and he knew it as he smiled.
I could hear a rapid beat coming from somewhere behind Lucas but as soon as they started they had stopped. Only to be replaced with the sound of someone dismounting a horse, it was then followed by purposeful footsteps which were getting closer and closer. Lucas was too busy pinning me down to notice and I used that to my advantage. It paid off.
The weight which was upon me was suddenly lifted and I was so relieved but I stayed where I was in fear it was just a fluke.
I heard Lucas growl but it wasn't his voice which I heard “Leave now, I have dealt with you once I will delightfully do it again!"
This time I was Lucas I heard "Zephyr what are you doing here?!"
"Now if I told you that it would ruin the surprise now wouldn’t it?" I looked up from where I lay to see Lucas standing directly in front of the stranger Lucas leant in and spat
"Stay out of this Zephyr" and with that he pushed passed the stranger and continued up the driveway, he turned around halfway up and shouted "I'll see YOU later Kyra" and with that he walked off.
The guy who had helped me walked over to where I was and and offered his hand out, I gratefully took it and was pulled to my feet, as I continued to brush myself down I saw him walk back to his horse, take its reins and lead him to his stable without another word said to me.
"Wait!!" I shouted after him hoping he would stop "you can't just help someone then walk away!!" he continued to ignore my pleas. I remembered what lucas had called him and hoped that I would get it right
"Zephyr!" I was right and I made him turn his head he had already stopped at his stable to tie up his horse but the fact that he responded to his name was good, I took the opportunity to join him only to be grabbed by the wrist and pulled around the corner this time it was his turn to talk.
"Tomorrow. Noon. Grazing fields. Be there. We need to talk.
Chapter 5
It was about 11 and I was laid on my bed, replaying everything which had happened during the day. Something wasn’t right. Something didn’t fit the equation. I wasn’t able to work it out fully as I had fallen asleep there and then.
Once again I was walking down the drive, yes it was a misty one. But this time I was able to move freely, it was the same setting but I was able to interact with it more I walked towards Ruby and Odin’s graze area and leaned on the already leaning fence. I heard the scuffle of footsteps behind me and spun round.
“You!” I questioned the person who stood in front of me, this couldn’t be correct as far as I knew this was a dream. This should have played out like the dream of which I have been dreaming for the past 2 weeks.
“Hello Kyra” his voice was a lot calmer than how I felt, I vaguely recognized his face but couldn’t quite place it. I admired his stone white eyes and suddenly felt a lot calmer. He smiled at me and walked towards me but for some reason I didn’t back away I in fact walked towards him. I watched as he placed his hands on my jaw line, I felt an involuntary intake of breath my hands shot up to his wrists but I didn’t pull his hands away instead i closed my eyes to embrace the feeling of which I felt.
I opened my eyes and held his gaze, his eyes were like a window to his soul. To his mind. To his memories. All of a sudden images were passing through my mind. I closed my eyes to try and clear the images up. I couldn’t make sense of it there were snapshots of the dreams I was having or something which was very similar. The thing that I kept noticing the most was the eyes. Deep red eyes hiding, following him jut like they were me. I saw the same as I saw when the Red eyes had lunged at me in that dream but it was from a different perspective.
I opened my eyes to be greeted by his searching mine, I returned the look with one full of questions. I began to speak but stopped when his finger was placed on my lips.
“All will be revealed soon. All questions will be answered soon. Just hold on” he walked backwards and turned to walk towards the stable block. I watched as he rounded the corner. Wait, I couldn’t let him go so easily, I ran to the corner where I lost sight of him to be greeted by something which made me stop in my tracks almost causing me to slip over.
Sat In front of me was a dark brown or black wolf with Stone white eyes which looked very familiar he sat there staring at me for a few minutes and cautiously plodded over to where I stood he bent his thick neck down and dropped something at my feet before going back to where he was. I bent down to pick up what he had dropped to notice it was a string necklace with a paw print attached to it, there was a white eye like symbol which was placed in the centre of the pad. I glanced back to where I last saw him to only find that he had vanished.
I carefully placed it around my neck and walked back up the drive.
Chapter 6
My eyes flung open but I remained where I was on my bed. Why had that dream changed. I was used to it now so why did it have to change. Come to think of it, it’s changed since that new guy turned up. Could he have something to do with it? I leant to my side in order to reach my phone, I checked my screen 10:17am – 1missed call – 3 new messages. I pulled down the notification tab on my samsung and saw what I already knew 1 missed call, 2 messages from Blue and one unknown number. I clicked on the unknown number to read what it said I’ve seen what you saw last night. Don’t forget. Noon. Grazing fields. Alone.
What the hell. How did he get my number. Fricking Stalker.
I was about to throw my phone on my bed when I realized that I hadn’t read Blue’s messages. I clicked them open. Message 1, 8:12 am where are you? You up yet? Message 2, 9:46am You up yard yet? I’m on my way. Call me. I sighed at her persistence and hit the dial button …
Ring… Ring…
Pick up the phone Blue…
Ring… Ring…
You have reached the O2 voicemail for 07..
I hung up before it managed to finish. ‘Ring me Kyra’, Sure Blue but fricking pick up!
I debated whether to get up or not and was greeted by a violent vibration on my bed, I looked up to see my phone flashing incoming call – Blue. So now you want to talk. geez.
I slid the unlock symbol to answer the call…
“Hey chick chick” she squealed down the phone
“hi… why so happy and hyper?”
“well I think I need to be seen as my mother has volunteered me to show the stranger around the yard today”
“hahaha have fun with that B” I teased her as she continued
“Shut up Kyra, I’m annoyed with the fact that he specifically asked for me despite our first little meet up”
“oooooo Blue’s got a secret admirer” I continued to wind her up “ anyway what was with all the texts?”
“I was going to wonder if you wanted to join me on showing him around”
“I’m still at home Blue and I’m busy today” I wasn’t going to tell her about the stranger wanting to meet up. Obviously he wouldn’t have told me to go alone if he wanted her to know so I kept it to myself.
“Damn it” I laughed at her outburst
“Take Ace with you?” I suggested in order to help her out
“That’s an idea, thanks Ky”
“Right well I got to go now Blue” I tried to end the conversation as I needed to work out what I was going to do about the stranger
“Yeah yeah sure not a problem, see ya later!!” with that I hung up and placed my phone on my bed next to me.
I thought It best that I actually get up and get ready, I threw myself off the bed only to stand on something causing me to lose my balance, I sat on the edge of the bed and gave the item evil glares until I noticed it looked very familiar. I leant down and hooked my fingers through the leather strap it was attached to. I placed the main piece in the centre of my palm and studied it.
A medium sized paw print was attached to a leather strap, upon looking at the paw print in closer detail I noticed tiny symbols were etched into the wood it was made of, I turned it over in my hands to see a white eye like symbol had been painted in the centre of the pad. I thought It was an unusual design but liked it all the same. It the dawned on me that I had seen this somewhere before. Last night in my dream. I acknowledge the fact and continued to place around my neck once again.
I checked my watch as I pulled