"Strike Down"
By
Aranna Undomiel
A/N
Well, I know not many people will be reading stories in this forum anymore, but I found this sitting on my computer and it was nearly finished. And I figured since I had gone through the trouble of writing it, the least I could do was post it...;) So here it is, I hope someone will find it and read it!
Enjoy! Oh and obviously, not mine, otherwise this would have been an awesome episode on the show...lol ;P
*VLAM*
Still seething from his previous encounter with his soon-to-be-ex-wife Fiona, Alex Ryan slammed open the door to the shed. The person working in there on a piece of equipment nearly dropped his tools as he spun around to the origin of the noise. " Oi, you trying to give me a heart attack there mate?" He questioned
"I thought you army blokes were supposed to have nerves of wired steel, Riley?" Not giving his overseer a chance to respond to that, he continued: "The mob in the south paddock needs moving. Meet me out front in ten!" With that said, he marched out again.
"Yes, sir" Riley muttered sarcastically, while putting down his tools to saddle up his horse.
Riding out to the front of Killarney he found Alex already there, waiting impatiently. As Alex took notice of the horse Riley had saddled up, his look turned skeptical. " You sure that brumby of yours is ready for this job?" " Pilgrim will do fine, won't you boy?" Riley answered, patting the brown horse on his neck. The horse nickered softly, as if replying. " Fine, if you say so" " I do" "Let's get going then, no need to waste anymore time" Riley shook his head in amusement, making sure Alex didn't see it, before spurring on Pilgrim to take of behind after him.
" Hey…Hey, come on!" Both men ushered the sheep on down the road, both wanting to move them along faster. Much time had been lost, much to Alex' chagrin in collecting all of the mob. A fence had apparently gone down and the sheep, feeling the pull of the green grass on the other side, had wandered past it, spreading out as they grazed. Bringing them all back where they belonged and fixing the fence had cost them a few precious hours. It was a lot later than Alex had planned and that hadn't done much good for his already sour mood. Not to mention that Riley's carefree attitude at the whole matter annoyed him even more. Lost in his brooding thoughts, Alex didn't hear Riley approaching until the dark-haired man had literally placed his brumby in front of his own horse, effectively getting his attention.
" Oi, mate, you asleep? Been calling your name for hours" Riley waved his hand in front of Alex' face, grinning widely. Annoyed, Alex pushed his horse past Riley's, causing the brumby to throw his head back in reaction. It didn't take Riley long to calm his horse and move it back besides Alex. " Listen mate, we need to leave this mob and head back home ourselves. Look at that sky, that's gonna be a big one and I for one wouldn't want to be in it." Riley said, pointing behind them. Alex turned around in his saddle and got sight of the darkening sky, grayish-yellow clouds rolling along it. He judged the distance quickly and turned back to Riley. " We keep going." " What? No mate, I'm telling you we should head back now. No way were gonna make it at this pace!" " Riley, we keep going, that's final. It's just a bit of wind and rain!"
Riley opened his mouth to protest, but Alex beat him to it: " You want me to tell Jodi you're not half the hero you pretend to be?" Riley mouth shot closed with an almost audible clack and Alex couldn't help but feel his mood improve just a little at the comical look of shock on the younger man's face. " You wouldn't dare?" Riley grumbled. " Ah but I would, mate…Now come on." Alex nudged his horse forward, effectively closing the argument.
"You're the boss" Riley muttered, entirely unhappy with the situation, but having learned that with Alex in that mood, he wasn't going to be persuaded. He moved Pilgrim back to their place on the other side of the mob, casting glances behind him once in a while at the dark clouds gathering there…
The wind picked up speed and started to whirl around leaves and small branches. The sky had turned greenish-gray in the last half hour and faint rumbles could be heard in the distance.
The sheep bleated and Pilgrim had started to become restless, occasionally fighting against the reins. The two men drove the sheep forward at the highest pace they could must up, but Killarney was still a good hour on its way. Even Alex started to wonder if he maybe had better listened to Riley, as there was indeed no way they were going to reach the farm before this storm reached them. He once again had let his pig-headedness come in the way of logic and reason, he silently cursed himself…
Pilgrim suddenly bucked as the thunder rumbled and the wind speed increased a notch. It was almost dark around them, the storm clouds chasing away the midday-light and from behind a steadily increasing tingling sound could be heard. Before Alex could turn around to discover the origin of the sound, it already was upon them.
The rain pouring down drenched them within minutes, the sheep bleating unhappily as they were pelted by the large raindrops. Thunder rolled closer by and Pilgrim bucked and jumped aside, taking off in a run before Riley could get him back under his control. As Alex moved his horse closed to Riley, he noticed the tense look on the younger man's face as he struggled to keep his horse from bolting again. Trying to lighten the mood a bit, he shouted: " Hey Ward, told you not to bring this brumby along!" Without looking at him, Riley responded heatedly: " Yeah yeah, real funny Ryan. But he's doing fine!"
With the help of their flashlights they carefully maneuvered trough the bushes and trees that lined this part of Killarney. Suddenly their surroundings lit up brightly as lighting flashed and the ground shook as the thunder seemed to be released right over their heads. Being taken slightly of guard, Alex responded a few seconds to late as his own horse reared on his hind legs and than bucked forward. With a rather unmanly yelp he was sent flying over the neck of his horse, landing painfully on the soaked ground, watching his horse take of in the direction of home without him. Riley, already alert on every movement of his brumby, had managed to stay seated and now guided Pilgrim back to where he last saw Alex. Another flash of lightning made his search easier and he couldn't help but grin at the sight that was illuminated before him. " Whose horse should have been left behind, again?" he shouted over the wind and rain at a rather muddy Alex. With a sour look on his face, Alex opened his mouth to retort, when suddenly many things happened at once: lighting struck the tree next to them, splitting it in half, branches breaking off and falling down. Under it was Riley, trying to control Pilgrim as thunder clashed simultaneously. Before Alex could shout a warning, Riley and Pilgrim were covered by leaves and wood as they crashed to the ground with a resounding thud…
TBC….