Gratefulness
As I raced toward Doc Wheeler's, my heart pounded. I prayed that the fire I saw burning wasn't coming from the doctor's barn where I'd left Katie during the thunderstorm the night before. She had an abscess in her right front hoof that doc was tending to with a turpentine bath.
My worst fears were realized when I arrived at the doctor's and saw that the barn was on fire. I hurriedly dismounted and raced tot he barn,screaming the doc's name as I neared it. He didn't appear to be inside, but Katie was.
"Katie!"
She was trapped in a back stall with burning boards all around her. I tried as hard as i could to get to her, but I couldn't. She was thrashing about in her tight enclosure, her eyes wild, chest heaving, and her body shaking with fear.
"Katie!"I screamed her name again, choking on a breath filled with smoke. I coughed, filling my eyes fill with tears,and my chest burned as my lungs searched desperately for fresh air to fill them.
I staggered forward a step or two, flailing my arms out in front of me to protect my face from any falling, burning debris. I heard the eerie creak of a board breaking free of the roof overhead, and leaped back two feet to prevent myself from being struck free of the burning timber.
I started forward again, not caring about my safety, as I fought to get to my beloved steed. If it was the last thing I did, I would free Katie from her the burning inferno she was currently trapped in.
I thought I heard someone calling my name from outside, but I didn't answer it. I couldn't let anything to distract me from achieving my goal of saving Katie. Obviously, someone else thought saving my hide was more important, because I was suddenly being dragged out of the burning barn by Jimmy, Cody, and Ike. I fought them for all I was worth, terrified that if they succeeded in getting me outside, they wouldn't let me back inside to save Katie.
"Damn it Kid, stop fighting us!" Jimmy exclaimed, dodging one of my flailing fists.
"Let me go! I've got to save Katie!" I screamed, continuing to struggle against them.
"It's too late Kid, Katie's a goner!" Cody declared. "The sooner you accept it, the better it'll be for you!"
"No!"I continued my struggle to free myself from them, but knew I was on the losing end of the battle, as my weary body was starting to slow down.
Suddenly Ulysses was standing in front of me. "If you want to save your horse, come with me."
Jimmy and Cody released their hold on me at the same time I quit struggling. I pulled free of their hold on me and I followed Ulysses. The others hurried after us, and I was grateful that they were willing to help in anyway they could, if it meant helping me save Katie.
Ulysses quickly laid out the steps of his plan to save my horse. All of us would douse our heads in the horse trough. In teams of two, two people would bat at the fire from the front with wet towels, while two more of us would use axes to break through the wall of the stall that Katie was trapped in, until we were successful in freeing her.
Hearing his plan filled me with new hope and together Ulysses, the other riders and I, worked together to carry it out. In what seemed like hours, but was only minutes, we accomplished our goal of freeing a frightened Katie from her burning prison.
Tears of joy ran unhindered down my face as I hugged Katie. Gratitude filled me. I his plan, Katie would have died. I thanked him for helping me save her life and vowed to help him in anyway I could.