Hello! I am soooo sorry for not updating in so long. My senior year has been kicking me in the ass and my life is just non- stop busy! My horse's baby is doing great, he is just a crazy little fella! I named him Two Step because he does this little weird trot thing while playing and it kind of looks like a two step dance! Hahaha Also, I went on a cruise. AMAZING! AANNNDDD last but not least, I got accepted into the university I wanted to go to! It is the University of Belize in Belize City, Belize. If ya'll don't know where Belize is it is in central America. Parents are moving with me to start a new business. Okay, so enough with my life…here's the next chapter!

Bella POV

Chapter 4: Stampede

"Wow." All four of us peered over the edge to see a 500' drop off. Along the edge of the cliff, you could see the horse-made trail going in a zig- zag pattern.

"Oh my god, are we seriously going down there?" I looked over at Alice and she looked like she was about to have a panic attack.

"Yup," Jasper said, popping his p at the end. He made it sound like the easiest thing in the world. He and Edward started down the trail, camelbacks on their backs, without a second glance back at us.

Alice and I looked at each other puzzled but just shrugged it off and followed the boys.

The Switchback was only about 2 miles of the hike, and from what I'd heard, the hardest. People said it was so easy going down, but coming back up was the killer. Hopefully it would be worth it.

The Switchback was mostly shaded from the rising sun so the air was nice and crisp, not yet burned with the heat of the sun. With a few gusts of wind now and then, it was actually kind of cold. The scenery was breath-taking. The shadows from the cliffs above us casting down the opposite side of the canyon. The cloudless, bright blue sky. The red- brown boulders sitting on the ground. The high canyon walls towering over us. We even saw some wild life like a few cute squirrels or giant black hawks.

The Switchback was also very busy with natives from the village trying to get packs from the parking lot to the campground. Horses flew past us every now and then with huge bins of mail or groceries on their backs for the people in the village. We didn't see too many hikers on the trail, but I'm sure we will see some the closer we get to town.

We hiked the 2 miles in an easy conversation, telling our likes and dislikes and what we plan to do with our lives once we get out of college. I learned that Edward is originally from Chicago, Illinois and Jasper is from Huston, Texas. They are roommates along with their other best friend, Emmett, who couldn't make it for the hike.

Before we knew it, we were at the bottom of the Switchback and canyon. We had met the sun at the bottom of the Switchback and were immediately hit with the warmth. We stopped to take a break and stretch some more. We started walking again and every step getting hotter and hotter. We were having an overall good time when things went from good to bad.

We were about 5 miles into the hike when we started to feel the ground shake beneath our feet. We stopped and looked around but saw nothing and thought we were all imagining it.

That was weird.

But as we moved on, the ground kept shaking harder and we heard a low rumble, like thunder, stalk towards us. We all listened inventively and looked around us again.

"What is going on?" Alice asked in a scared voice.

"I don't know, maybe an earthquake," Edward too sounded scared but tried to hide it in his voice.

"We don't have earthquakes in Arizona!" Jasper said in a panicked tone.

Just then, we heard the stomping of hooves and turned our heads to see where the noise was coming from. Out of no where, about 50 horses came running along the path with packs on their backs, not slowing down, even with us in the middle of the path. We needed to get off the path. And fast.

My adrenaline was pumping so hard at that point. It felt like I was running the final mile of a marathon, so close to the finish line, yet so far away. The canyon walls felt like they were closing in on me, and I had no where to run. The horses, now a mere 20 feet away, would likely kill me if I didn't act fast.

As if thinking as one brain, all of us dived into a shrub a few feet off the path.

Fuck!

The shrubs had thorns!

We all covered our heads as the horses raced past us and rounded the corner. I noticed that Edward's body was half covering mine, as if protecting me.

As soon as the rumbling was no longer in hearing sight, we started to move.

"Ouch! Shit! Is everyone okay?" Edward asked getting out of the scrubs. He held out a hand for me to take to pull me up. Once I was safely back on my feet, out of the shrubs, I looked over my body. There were a ton of little scratches on my arms, legs, and neck, but nothing too serious. And looking over at everyone else, they seemed alright too.

"That was fucking awesome! Did you see how fast they were running? Oh, I wonder if they were carrying our bags," Jasper said.

"Okay, so lesson learned. The horses don't move for you, you move for them," Edward replied.

"You got that right!"

We carried on about 2 more miles until we came across a fork in the path.

Uh oh.

Which way do we go? What if we take the wrong path? What if we get lost and never find out way back to the Switchback or village? What if…

A thousand questions were running through my mind. But then something came to my rescue.

"Bark bark!"

"Was that a dog barking?" I asked.

Just then, a golden, short haired lab- looking dog came into our site. The dog came up to us and started sniffing and licking us.

He was very dirty. His fur matted with dry mud and his paws and nose covered in dirt.

"He must be from the village," Alice said.

"Maybe. He doesn't have a collar, but he doesn't look like a wild dog," I informed.

The canyon dog then started to walk away from us, going down a path. He looked behind him and barked, then walking faster.

"I think he wants us to follow him."

"Okay, let's do it!"

We caught up with the canyon dog and followed a little bit behind him.

"Hey, we should name him!" Of course Alice wanted to name him. I thought about it for a minute until I came up with a great name for him!

"His name should be Canyon!"

"Perfect!"

So, we set off again, with a new companion this time. Canyon was an excellent guide dog. I wonder if the people in the village trained him to do this or we were just following some random dog.

Well, we'll find out soon enough.

~O.O.O.O.O.O.O~

Well, what do ya'll think? When I did this hike, our weekend motto for the horses was "You move for them, they don't move for you." Good advice if you ever go on this hike! Also, we really did have a guide dog lead us to the village for about the last ¾ of the hike (And yes, I did name him Canyon).

So it is Halloween tomorrow! What are ya'll dressing up as? I am a cheerio cheerleader from Glee

Remember, review, review, review!

~Mads