The darkness of night fell over the Nevada sky like a cool blanket. Sam walked off the porch and towards the barn at a brisk walk. A high-pitched squeal pierced the night silence. Sam smiled and jogged towards the familiar box stall. "Hello my pretty girl." Same cooed to the little, delicate filly that was being nuzzled by her mother, Dark Sunshine, affectionately.

Sam retrieved Ace's tack and went to the ten acre pasture. "Hi Ace. Wanna go for a ride?" She asked him quietly. Ace bobbed his head and Sam took that as a yes and she slipped the halter off of his head. After she finished tacking him up, she led him out of the pasture and heard the other horses' protests. She mounted him and maneuvered him towards the La Charla River.

Ace tossed his head and Sam squeezed him into a jog. His bouncy jog carried them to the plank bridge that led to the road on the other side. Putting River Bend Ranch behind her, she urged Ace into a lope and went a mile before a ringing sound split through the air. Ace shied and tried to bolt but Sam kept him steady. Sam yanked the cellphone from her saddebag and answered it.

"Hello?" Sam answered angerly. Brynna had bought the Razor for her 16th birthday much to her father's dismay. He disliked the cellphone.

"Samantha! Where are you at this time of the night!?" Her father's also angered voice yelled into the phone.

"I was going to just go a mile up the road to check on those cougar prints that you told me to look at. You know, the ones that led to Three Ponies?"

"Oh...ok...but get home now." Her father commanded before hanging up.

Sam put the cellphone away after making sure it was on silent and stroked Ace to calm him down. "Sorry boy." She apologized before dismounting and grabbing a flashlight. Ace stayed by her as she searched the ground. Another set of pawprints led towards the Three Ponies but as she followed them the veered off into the brush.

She easily followed them to a tree. Scratch marks scored the tree which told her that the cougar climbed the tree. Sam looked at the ground surrounding the tree but no new tracks were visible. Jake had taught her how to track and she had gotten pretty good at it. Sighing, Sam mounted Ace and headed back to the road.

Before they could get a few steps, a roar spilt the peace. Sam gasped and kicked Ace. Ace reared up as the cougar jumped from the tree and landed on Ace's flank. Ace's fearful neigh and Sam's scream pierced the night. Sam and Ace fell backward and when saw hit the ground, she blacked out...

Two weeks later...

"Sam, Sam, please honey. Wake up...Please!" Gram's voiced awoke Sam from her long sleep. Sam tried to open her eyes but they felt as heavy as a thick log. Gram saw her efforts and kept repeating her name. Sam opened her eyes and light flooded her vision. She squinted and sat up slowly. Looking around she saw her dad holding her hand, Jake half asleep on a chair, Brynna holding her other hand, and Gram sitting on the foot of the hospital bed.

"Where am I?" Sam asked sleepily.

You're in the hospital, Honey." Gram said slowly.

"Where is Ace? The cougar, and Ace, and...and...I don't remember!" Sam broke out in tears and her Dad expained everything.

"Ace's flank was scratch severly and the cougar left pretty good wounds on Ace's back and neck. Ace got free from the cougar and the cougar went after you. It scratched your arm," Sam looked down at her right arm to see a long scar down her arm, "but before it could do anymore damage, Ace must have trampled it and killed it.

"When Brynna went to go look for you, she saw Ace by the barn without you having a fit and torn up. She took the Buick and found you, called 911, and here you are, two weeks later. You were in a coma." Her Dad took a deep breath and sighed.

Sam's eyes widened and she saw that Jake woke up and was staring at her. She looked at everyone and said firmly, "I want to see Ace."

After Sam recovered...

Gram's Buick pulled into the parking lot at Dr. Scott's clinic. It parked and the car doors flung open. Sam eased herself out of the car and used her crutches to rush to the clinic barn without anyone else. They all went into the office to get Dr. Scott. Sam hopped with the crutches to a large box stall that she guessed Ace was in. A large black blanket had been put up to hide the animal inside.

Sam heard squeals, rustling, and the sound of hooves striking the sides of the stall. She discarded the crutches and leaned against the stall. 'I don't know why they make me go around with those crutches. I don't need them. I can walk.' She thought as she unbolted the door silently. She poked her head in the come face to face with Ace.

Ace half-reared, spun around, and walked into the corner of a stall. Sam gasped at the scars covering his body. Ace swung his head around to look at her with sad eyes. A stray tear ran down her face as she stepped forward. Ace pinned his ears back but she kept going. "Ace...Ace..." Her voice faded away and she kept moving towards him. Ace spun around and pricked his ears at her.

Sam smiled and held out her hand, revealing a sugar cube. Ace took a step forward and lipped the sugar cube from her hand. Sam stroked his muzzle and he nickered softly. Sam carefully hugged his neck and Ace didn't even wince. "Good boy. I love you. I'm taking you home today whether my family or Dr. Scott thinks otherwise." Sam left the stall and grabbed her crutches.

She ran towards the office and entered the air conditioned room. "Why hello, Sam! How are you?" Dr. Scott asked as he held out his hand. Sam shook it and leaned her crutches against the doorway. Dr. Scott's blonde hair and rimmed glasses gave him a friendly look. He was a young doctor but knew a lot. "I'm fine...can I go see Ace? I didn't see him, I couldn't find his stall." She lied with ease.

"Yes, you can, but not without us. Have some of the cookies your grandmother brought." He snatched a cookie and took a bite of the oatmeal goodness. Sam shook her head. "No, I had some at home. I will go see Berry." Berry was a red roan mustang that was born in captivity and was at the clinic because of a case of colic that she pulled through.

Her family and the vet nodded and she left. Before she went to the barn she grabbed a halter and two lead ropes that she managed to sneak under the seat in the Buick. She walked calmly into the barn and stopped at Berry's stall. She was munching on a little bit of hay contently. Sam didn't disturb her but kept going to Ace's stall. She gently removed the part of the blanket that covered the top half of the stall door.

Ace put his head over the stall and nuzzled Sam affectionately. Sam laughed and slipped the halter over Ace's head. She clipped the lead ropes on each side of the halter, unbolted the stall door, threw it open, and led Ace out. He welcomed her on his back and didn't protest. 'Must not be in pain anymore.' She thought and they went out of the back of the barn.

Ace pulled into a lope headed onto the road. Fortunately the roads were clear. What seemed to be two hours later, Ace jogged over the La Charla bridge ans galloped to the barn. Sam dismounted, put him into the pasture, and raced into the house. Only when she made it to her room did she think about what her family would say.

Sam would probably get punished severely. 'I'm not going through that.' She thought as she imagined Ace being taken away from her. She made her decision and grabbed all of her clothes and shoved them into two bookbags from years before. Once the were full she grabbed another bag and put her hair brush, tooth brush, a box of 5 bottles of toothpaste, a pack of toilet paper that Gram always kept handy, a box of deoderant, ans other necessities.

When she went back to her room and put a picture of her mother into her pocket and grabbed a full of money. She had been saving up since she was 10 and had to have atleast a couple thousands of dollars in there. She put it in her bag and carried the bags downstairs. She quickly went out to the barn and grabbed a sack. She put grooming tools, a vet bag, grain, and backup gear in the sack. Sam headed out to the pasture with Ace's tack and tacked him up. She led him to the barn where she stopped at Dark Sunshine and Tempest's stall. Two halter and lead ropes were hanging on the stall.

Leaving Ace outside the stall, she haltered the mare and foal and led them out of the stall. Dark Sunshine, aka Sunny, was broke a month after Tempest was born. She saddled her up quickly and tied two of the bags to her saddle. She tied the other bags and the sack to Ace's saddle and tied Tempest's lead rope to the horn of Sunny's saddle. Sam led them all out and mounted Ace.

Sam clucked Ace into a jog and Sunny kept pace and so did Tempest. Tempest was now six months old and she was going to be weaned but because of Sam's predictament it was delayed. The horses headed up the ridge at a rough canter. Tempest charged ahead as far as the lead rope would allow her. They left River Bend Ranch behind them...forever.