Part I
It was getting close to midnight as Cindy Blake stared at the book in her lap, and then at the crumpled piece of notebook paper beside her. The paper was smudged with pencil and eraser marks, and wrinkled from being crushed in her fist repeatedly. She hadn't thrown it away yet, not from a lack of desire, but fear of her foster parents' wrath if they caught her wasting their money again.
Her eyes crossed and she closed them briefly before focusing on the book again. Cindy had decided hours ago that long division was evil, right up there with her foster parents and her case worker, Mrs. Lovell. Reading the book was useless. She would just have to figure the problem out alone, the way she did everything.
Her long blond hair fell in front of her face as she bent over the paper and started writing, but she ignored it, staring through the pale curtain like it wasn't there. Finally she finished, hoping it was right. The Hadleys insisted on perfect grades from their foster children despite the fact that they repeatedly told Cindy she was stupid and useless, and made her spend hours of every day doing all the barn chores. She closed her book and shoved all her school things into her ratty backpack.
"Are you done?" came a voice from the other bed in the room.
It was Cat, the nine year old girl that Cindy shared a room with. Cat, who looked just like one with her small, lithe body and large, bright eyes, was two years younger than Cindy and looked up to her like she was Wonder Woman. Cindy had taken a liking to the little brown-haired girl, who had lost her single mother to a drug overdose a few weeks ago, and tried to help her adjust to foster care. But Cat living with the Hadleys was like a butterfly caught in a spiderweb, and Cindy didn't know how much longer she could survive.
"Yeah, I'm done."
"Can we go to the barn, Cindy?"
Hidden by her hair, Cindy chewed her lip apprehensively. If the Hadleys caught them out there again…But Cat loved the horses so much and never got to see them, unlike Cindy who worked around them every day.
"Sure, Cat. Let's go right now." She opened the window above her bed and crawled out, sliding her body slowly over the sill until her feet touched the ground below. Cat followed and Cindy stood beneath her as always, guiding her down and catching her in her arms for those last six inches that she couldn't reach. Then Cindy closed the window from the outside so that the Hadleys would never figure out their escape route.
Silently they crept from tree to tree, staying in the shadows cast by the quarter moon, until they reached the barn. Cindy opened the door just enough to let herself and Cat inside and then closed it. There were five horses inside, three owned by boarders who paid the Hadleys for the use of the stable and pastureland at their small Lexington farm, and two owned by Mr. and Mrs. Hadley.
To those two they went. The horses, Lady and Brownie, woke and whickered to the girls, by now used to late night visits.
"Good girl, Lady," Cat said in the confident voice that Cindy only heard during these times. She was stroking the placid old mare's face, which she could only just reach. Cindy let Cat into the stall and helped her mount, gripping her left leg tightly as Cat swung her right over the gray mare's back. Lady twitched her ears, but otherwise was still, aware of the precariously balanced weight on her back. Cat squirmed into place and sat up, her head held high and proud and her hands resting lightly on Lady's withers. She smiled widely, a rare thing, and Cindy smiled in return.
When she was sure that Cat was secure and Lady was calm, Cindy went to the next stall and pulled herself up onto Brownie. Through the bars of the partition the girls could see each other, and an idea came to Cindy.
"Let's pretend we're famous jockeys, Cat. We're in the starting gate right before the Kentucky Derby."
Cat giggled. "Okay, who are we riding?"
Cindy thought quickly. Last year, in a stroke of luck, she had seen the Kentucky Derby on television when the Hadleys had gone out and left Cindy's teenage foster brother in charge. It was a treat she would never forget.
"I am riding Wonder's Pride, the first son of the legendary Ashleigh's Wonder," she finished loftily, mimicking the words of the commentators before the race. "And you are on Ultrasound, his top rival."
Brownie shifted beneath her, putting his weight on three legs and cocking the fourth. Cindy sighed.
"I think Wonder's Pride just fell asleep. Oh well. Are you ready to race?" Cat nodded. "Good. And we're off. Wonder's Pride takes the lead, Ultrasound right behind him. They're going down the stretch and coming for home. Ultrasound pulls even. They're neck and neck. But Wonder's Pride fights back. He's ahead by one, now two-"
"Two what?"
Cindy frowned. "I'm not sure…And it's Wonder's Pride to win the Kentucky Derby. Next stop, Triple Crown."
"What's that?"
"Only the three biggest races in the country."
"Did Wonder's Pride win them all?"
"I don't know. That's the only race I ever saw."
They fell silent. Cindy brooded for a moment, but tried to cheer herself up by pretending she was riding Wonder's Pride in the Triple Crown, about to win, his hooves pounding the dirt, every stride carrying them closer, she was raising her fist in victory…
Cindy didn't hear the footsteps until it was almost too late.
"Hide!" she hissed to Cat and slid off Brownie's back. She made it to the concealing shadows of the corner of the stall and curled up to make herself as small as possible. Through the bars she could just see Cat's terrified face, lit by the harsh beam of a flashlight. Cindy's chest tightened in fear.
"You!" Mr. Hadley shouted. Brownie started and backed up, his left hind foot coming down inches from Cindy. Lady was moving too, trying to avoid the frightening man. Cindy hoped Cat wouldn't be thrown off. Mr. Hadley lunged into the stall and Cindy saw him grab Cat's thin arm. Cat gave a cry of pain.
"I warned you about coming back here. You're going to a new home tomorrow! I've had it with you, you worthless, money-eating baby! Now where's Cindy?" He shook Cat hard and she started to wail. Her words were garbled by crying, but Cindy clearly heard "not here" and "alone."
Cindy felt sick. Cat was covering for her and was going to get it even worse for it, but Cindy could not make herself get up to help the girl. She put her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes tightly shut until she dimly heard them leave, Mr. Hadley shouting and Cat sobbing. Long after the barn door shut she sat, huddled against the wall and trembling, afraid to move.
She pictured Cat's face.
"Are you done?" Cat had asked, nervous and hopeful, wanting only a little joy in her sad life. That anyone could hurt such a sweet child, or any child, disgusted Cindy. She made up her mind and stood, brushing straw off her jeans. Fearful that Mr. Hadley would come back at any moment, she quickly left the stall and climbed the ladder to the hay loft. A couple of minutes of searching uncovered the backpack she had hidden there the last time Mr. Hadley had caught them in the barn at night.
She'd found it under her bed, a castaway from a previous child, and filled it with food filched from the Hadleys' kitchen, extra clothes, and the few possessions she had. The next day she had hidden it in the hay loft to wait for her until the time came. She would have run away immediately, but Cat had needed her.
Now Cat was going to a new home and there was no reason for Cindy to stay. The food would keep her going for at least a week, and her light jacket would keep her warm enough in the late spring weather. She put her arms through the straps.
"Yeah, I'm done," she decided. She climbed down, slipped out of the barn, and fled into the moonlit night, heedless of her own shadow, until she reached the dark safety of the woods behind the property. Weaving around the trees, Cindy walked until she could just see the lights of the Hadleys' house. Tears came suddenly to her eyes, welling up and falling down her cheeks.
"Good luck, Cat," she whispered. Cindy turned and didn't look back again.