A cold wind blows through a hollow land. I lay in the tall grass, weak and stripped of everything. Only one thing remains; my life. Even that seems to slip away from me, every second that passes, the further my soul slips into the endless darkness of death. It seems so strange that I should end like this. It all happened so fast, I was taken away, separated from my family, worked until I could not stand, and now I lay here. Yet I may be physically alone, I'm not spiritually. I think of how many lay here before me, in the same situation I am. I think of how many lost their lives before me, worked to the bone until they eventually collapsed on the cold earth and gave up. It's tragic, it's horrifying; it's life. Our life.
On the morning of the first spring, I was grazing with my herd. Then we heard it. The sounds of roaring engines, the shouts of man directing each other, the neighs of panicking horses, and the thundering of a thousand hooves on hard earth. I galloped beside my mother, not casting a glance behind me, fear of stumbling and what I might see. But, there was no escaping. A line of trucks and men stood before us, creating a blockade that even the bravest Mustang could not jump over. We turned, only to run into another blockade of men and trucks. There was no use in trying to turn around; we were trapped. There was no use in trying to escape; we were captured.
Many of us were shot for our wild acting; most of us stayed still, eyes steady on the long silver tubes that many of the men carried, some of them with smoke billowing out of the circular ends. My father lay dead before me, eyes closed and blood seeping from the wound in his chest. My mother stood over him, silently sobbing. My youngest and only sister stood beside me, pressing firmly against me. I stood my ground when a man came over to me. My ears pinned to my neck and I growled, my upper lip twitching. My sister whickered fearfully and anger flared inside of me like wildfire waiting to lash out. I nickered angrily, backing up slightly and turning partly to cover my sister. I wouldn't let them take her with them if my life depended on it. A rope secured itself tightly around my neck. I stood fast. My hooves rooted into the earth and I remained standing. I threw my head up, eyes rolling white and my teeth bore. I growled angrily and kept beside my sister. More ropes circled my neck; more pressure was put on the back of my neck, pulling me forward. My front right hoof stepped forward and that was the biggest mistake I'd ever make. A sudden pull on the ropes sent me in a nose dive. I heard my sister scream in fright and I tried to stand, but ropes were tied around my legs and a contraption was tied around my head, covering my mouth. I neighed into it, calling to my frenzied sister, but the sounds of gunshots, trampling hooves, neighs of fury, panic, and pain drowned it out. They roped her and drug her away from me. My mother was nowhere in sight, and I didn't even bother to call for her, knowing I wouldn't get a reply back. They loaded us into trailers and trucks and each took us separate ways. Lucky for me, I saw my sister and mother in the back of the trailer I was in. I called loudly to them and my ears caught their reply. They had heard me and I could hear the relief in their callings. I lay there on the floor, tied up and an unusual contraption about my face but one thing kept me calm; knowing my sister and mother were alive.
We arrived at a place with unfamiliar smells, noises, and sights. Many of us shied back from the humans as they grabbed for the ropes that dangled from our necks, but there was no point in doing so, we were on their property now, and our lives were in their hands. My sister and mother got off before me, and I was scared. I had lost sight of them and I was still in the trailer with many others to get out before I did. I called frantically for them, but I knew they couldn't hear me. I was finally drug out and the blinding sunlight hit my eyes. I squeezed them shut, hiding my eyes from the painful light that I had yet to grow used to. I felt my body travel over gravel, dirt, grass, and concrete. I cracked my eyes open and winced at the sun's light. I heard the cries of my little sister and I was quick on my feet, though I fell over since my hooves were bound. I heard the pain filled shrill of my mother and I fought the ropes that were tied around me. The ropes finally shred and I leapt to my hooves and bolted to where I heard my mother. I saw her rearing, flailing her legs in the air, fighting off the humans as they tried to pull her down. I charged forward, straight at the humans. A man saw me coming and warned the others, but by the time he got to another's ear, I had taken him down. I neighed furiously into the contraption that hugged my face, rearing and slamming the tips of my front hooves into the faces and other various parts of their upper body. When I thought I had fended off the last one, another ropes sailed through the air, wrapping itself around my neck from the back and pulling me backwards, off my hooves and onto my back. I felt my neck crack and I can't even begin to describe the pain I felt. My mother was taken away and I was left, grunting and groaning on the ground, letting the pain take over my senses and I closed my eyes. I heard the echo of footsteps on the ground and I knew that humans were coming for me. I nickered softly, feeling my body being dragged yet again. I heard the thudding of many prancing hooves and I knew that they were making them stand in line. It was now selection time.
I was put in a corral with other horses that were going to be put to work dragging logs that the men cut down. I looked about for my mother and little sister, my eyes scanning about the vast lands fearfully. I saw them dragging my little sister into a large building and I neighed furiously, trying to break down the fence that kept me in. I reared, pounding my front hooves against the wooden railing harshly. I neighed furiously, the contraption still hugging my face, muffling my screams. My sister rooted her hooves into the ground and threw her head in my direction, looking straight at me. I neighed again, throwing my head to the side. She neighed back and then vanished around the corner and into the depths of the building that was in front of me. My baby sister. . . I never saw her again.
Sweat coated my neck, dripped down my body and landed on the sizzling earth. The summer sun beat down on me, causing my body heat to sky-rocket. The harness cut into my shoulders, blood slowly slid down my legs. My hooves ached as did my back legs from pushing myself forward so hard. My flanks stung from the constant whippings when I faltered in my step. A human stood by me, walking with me as I staggered through the woods that would soon be no more then a meat processing building. The log I dragged caught on a large root, and I was pulled back. I tried to strain myself forward, but the harness cut deeper into my chest and shoulders and blood seeped out more. The man raised the whip and it streaked across my flank and I jumped forward. Still the log wouldn't budge. The whip hit my flank again. I closed my eyes, my heart racing; throbbing painfully in my bleeding chest. The whip came down on my flank once more and I flung myself forward and the root finally gave and cracked, the log rushing forward with me. I drug the log the rest of the way to it's destination; a destination not only logs met, but also dead or dying horses, the flames. The harness's pressure left my body and I knew I was being taken back to my corral. When the gate closed and I heard the locks clang, my legs finally gave out and I collapsed on the ground. I closed my tired eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
I heard it again. The loud ringing echoing in my ears. It was the bell for selection. I opened my eyes slowly and lifted my head up, looking around. I was thrown upwards until I was standing and I stumbled forward with the running man trying to lead me. We all were lined up, one by one, swaying to stand, trying our best not to fall over because if you did, your fate was sealed. Vets inspected us, looking us all over, checking our legs, our heart and lungs, and basically everything. I looked around to find my mother and sister, but found neither of them. The doctor looked me over and stepped back, his brows raised in amazement.
"Out of all of these beasts this is the only one that seems to be fit."
Men smiled, looking at me, eyeing me in a way that I found no comfort in. They grabbed my rope and led me back to my corral. The halter was cruelly yanked off my face, searing the back of my ears and I grunted quietly. I attempted to lay back down, but the creaking of the wooden gate told me that I was not alone. I lifted my dull gaze up, meeting the gaze of a smirking man. He reached for me and I shied back in a weak effort of rebellion, but he roped my neck and tied a halter around me. I was taken away from this awful place, put in a trailer built for one horse, ropes tied on either side of the rope halter, hay and water in front of me, water, glorious water! My mouth plunged into the crystalline liquid, gulping down the cool substance greedily. I munched on the golden straw, eyes closing and all at once I felt relaxed. The sudden movement of the trailer startled me slightly but I soon grew used to it and ate happily. Though one thing still bothered me. I left my mother and sister back there with those cruel human beings. Honestly, how could people be so brutal to our kind? All we do is what they tell us, even when they tell us in a harsh manner. What wrong have we done to them? I don't understand any of it. After hours of traveling, the movement ceased and the clanging of the locks on the back of the trailer echoed in my ears. What new home awaited me? I was filled with excitement and dread at the same time. I was pulled back and a wave of fresh air filled my flared nostrils as I gathered the scents of my new home. I looked about at my new home, taking in all the surroundings and images. I saw horses grazing in fields with tall, lush, green grass. . . grass. Fences were put up, but they were nicely shaped- didn't have splinter or jagged edges for the sake of it. Buildings that actually looked inviting, and horses were being led out of few buildings, looking sweaty, or just given a bath. Other horses rolled in the field, lulled under the shadows of the large oak trees, or swam in the deepest place of the large pond that lay in the middle of the large field. My heart sang in joy as I looked around, feeling all the more safe. But I knew that looks could be deceiving.
Months went by. Glorious, rejuvenating, healing months. If I had ever needed to call a place other then the west my home, this was it. Winter was on its way, and all of the horses were put into stalls. Only. . . I wasn't. I looked around, fear starting to fill my pounding heart. What now? I heard footsteps coming in my direction, and I grew scared. I soon relaxed when I saw my new friend, Elvira. She trotted up beside me, nuzzling me gently.
"Mornin Mustang."
She greeted cheerfully. I felt slightly unnerved when she called me that, but the fact was that I was a Mustang. I just hated it when other horses had the nerve to call me that. It's like saying you don't belong here because of your wild history. Thank God Almighty I'm not broken. Elvira looked around, snorted softly, flicked her ears about, and then bent down to nuzzle the hay in the corral that kept us in and nibbled it. She raised her head once more, gazing at the building inside of us. I saw a stallion go inside, following a man unknown to me. He wore all white, from the mask that covered his face to his white boots. Who was this man? I stared at the man for the longest time, trying to remember if I had seen even a glimpse of him about this place I called home. Elvira snorted and I looked at her.
"Don't bother yourself with him. He's called the Ghost around here because you never see him, except for short periods of time. And he's always wearing white, but when he comes out, it's not anymore."
I nodded shortly and then looked back at the closing door, ears pricked forward. What lay behind those closed doors, I wondered? Hours passed; the stallion and the man never came out. I still stood in the same place I had been since Elvira had entered my corral. The doors creaked open, but only the Ghost walked out. I saw some liquid dripping from his gloves and my eyes widen when I realized what it was. It was blood, no doubt the stallion's blood. The stallion's halter was slung over the Ghost's shoulder and soon joined a heap of other halters I assumed to be. The Ghost turned around and our eyes met. I saw the smile in his eyes and at that moment, I knew where the stallion went. This was no safe haven at all. It was a slaughterhouse.
Ropes tied themselves around me. I reared, thrashed, bucked, threw myself in any possible direction I could. The ropes grew tighter. My air supply was soon cut small and I wheezed. I stamped the ground heavily, fighting the darkness ahead of me. What covered my eyes, I had not a clue, but I tried to get it off. I tried to bend my neck down to rub my head against my legs, but the ropes made that move impossible. I threw myself to the right and felt a loose rope. I took the opportunity to rear and felt some of the ropes lose the intensity of their grip. I threw my head to the side, lashing my front hooves out angrily. My mouth was wide open, teeth bared under my curling lip. I gnashed my teeth furiously, froth flying from the corners of my mouth. I threw my head from side to side, backing up as far as I could. The ropes followed. I landed on my hooves and threw my back end in the air, kicking harshly. I threw my body to the side again, the ropes sawing my neck painfully, but I dealt with it, knowing that that pain was the least of my worries. Whatever covered my eyes flew off and my heart ceased to beat. I stood in front of the slaughterhouse doors. I rooted my hooves to the earth itself and refused to move.
"Get the whip to move this brute."
Whip. . . whip. . . I've heard that word before. Wait! I know what the whip is now, I remember! I threw myself to the side, turning my body, now on the side of the doors. The humans swung the leather snake at me and it grazed my face. The stinging sensation was brief, but no less painful. I shook my head and blinked a few timed and resumed backing up as far as I could, even with the ropes digging torturously into the back of my neck. I felt the blood slowly oozing out of the wounds and sliding slowly down my shoulders. I felt the cold winds blow through the lands and I shivered. The humans tugged me forward harshly and I stood my ground. I grunted as the pain grew even more brutally intense, but I didn't let it phase me. I gritted my teeth and held fast. They pulled forward again and I kicked up. My front right hoof nailed a man in the face, driving him backwards, rendering him unconscious. My left front hoof swung, but missed purposely. The men evaded my hooves, loosening their grip on the ropes. I took what little strength I had left in my neck and threw my head up and back. The ropes slid from their grips and I was sent careening backwards. I landed hard on my back and the wind was knocked out of me for a few moments. In the blink of an eye, I had bolted away and was heading for the gate. A gunshot thundered in the air and I grunted, feeling it hit my right flank. I didn't let it get to me. My eyes blazed in determination as I came closer and closer to the gate. I kicked my front legs up and folded them close to my chest. My back legs left the ground and I sailed over the gate. Another gunshot echoed, but no pain resulted. I galloped as hard as my legs would let me, hoping and trusting they would carry me far from this horrid place.
I collapsed on the ground, heaving heavily, frost clinging to my whiskers. My breath came out in white clouds and vanished as it floated further into the air. I closed my eyes, not caring about anything. My sweat was soon becoming ice on my body and the blood was now frozen on me. Thundering hooves echoed in the ear that was pressed to the freezing earth and I wondered if they were heading in my direction. I soon figured out that they were.
'What now?'
The thundering grew louder and louder, until finally they stopped and I could hear heavy panting and chuckling.
"Well lookie here boys. A Mustang, wounded too. We shouldn't let her waste away in the frost now should we?"
Clamoring soon followed after, more men speaking to one another. I heard a few men get off their horses and walk over to me. They circled me, inspecting me like vultures inspecting their dead. I felt one bend down to me, his hand softly sliding across my shivering body. He fiddled with the knotted ropes and I grunted weakly because the wounds started to sting. I didn't open my eyes, fear of what I might see.
"She looks bad, sir. We should take her in."
Another man leaned down to my face and picked my head up. I grunted once more and I barely managed to open my eyes. I saw treetops reaching the heavens, the sky a perpetual gray tapestry. Men stood all about me, making me nervous and I tried to move my legs, but they refused to.
"You're right, she's in really bad shape. We'll take her to Copal, see what he says."
So then, another journey began. They lifted me to my hooves and I drug my heavy and weak body after them. The ropes applied constant pressure on my neck and I followed without putting up a fight. I was too weak to do so anyway. The snow began to drift down, the flakes softly kissing my shuddering skin. My hooves stumbled over one another and my eyes clouded over as the pain took over every sense in my body. Winter had just begun.
They led me to a train, waiting to be loaded, the steam rising from the engine, billowing out in white and gray mixed colors. I stopped, throwing my head up slightly and grunting. I stared at the cattle cars open, waiting to swallow any occupants it could to fill itself. I looked back down, my heart heavy with sorrow and my body weak as ever. I followed them as they led me to one of the cattle cars and I stumbled up the ramp, my hooves sounding hollow in my ears as they hit the wood. The man untied to ropes around my face and neck, patting me.
"It's going to be ok."
I didn't believe him. I staggered inside the cattle car and made my way to the very back, where I could stare outside. The snow rained down now, the sky growing darker, as if to claim everything in an endless night. I nickered weakly, resting my head on the wooden walls as they shut the door. No one except me was in the cattle car. Once again, I was alone.
The cold air hugged me and the snow danced across my shivering, weak body. Where was I going now? I knew I was too far from home and I knew now that I would never see my homeland again. My life would end before I even had a chance. My heart sank deeper into my chest and I nickered sadly. My herd. . . my father, mother, and baby sister. . . gone. There was nothing left for me. The only thing that I knew that lay before me was my own inevitable death. I closed my eyes and fell to the wooden floor, my head landing on a pile of freezing hay. I snorted softly, shivering furiously. Everything I once knew, everything I once loved and cared for was now gone. What else did I have to live for? I couldn't go on anymore. My body was too beaten. My spirit was too shattered. My heart was too broken. My life. . . was too lost to ever be found again. The train soon came to a stop but I didn't care. I was too weak to move. The door rolled open, the wheels squeaking as they were pushed backwards. Echoing footsteps filled my ears and I felt something being tied around my face. I felt pressure on the side of my face as the person tried to pull me up.
"Come on, Mustang. Get up."
I grunted, shuffling my hooves, trying to find which one was which and finally found myself standing. I barely managed to get out of the cattle car without collapsing, but when my hoof hit frozen soil, I stumbled and fell. Men laughed at me, but that was afterthoughts. How I was going to live for the next few days was now. I was dragged across the land and finally stopped. I opened my eyes and gazed up to a man in a blue uniform, a well-trimmed mustache, and a hard gaze. I flicked my ears back and nickered weakly.
"Where did you find this animal?'
"Out in the woods, sort of in the position she's in now."
The man stepped away, shaking his head.
"We have no use for Mustangs here. Get rid of her, or work her until she's dead. Or better yet. . ."
He walked off, vanishing under a flimsy cloth door, leading into a tent,
"Kill her."
The men looked at each other, then looked at me. I had no say in what happened in the last few remaining days of my life. I was worked hard pulling carts loaded with weapons, food, and sometimes people. I was put in a pasture with tall grass where I grazed for a few moments until finally collapsing. My eyes close and I feel a cold wind blow throughout the hollow land. Now, you know my story. Unfortunately, my story has no happy ending. My story has no further chapters. Goodbye my friends, for this is the end.
Fin