Chapter 7

A couple of hours later, Mr. Joe pulled into Whitebrook's driveway with Townsend Girl in the trailer. After pulling to a stop in front of the training barn, Craig Joe brought Townsend Girl out of the trailer and handed her over to Ashleigh to put into the stall next to Terminator. Townsend Girl seemed to have a little bit of a cold, but Craig told them it was nothing. After putting the door to the van back up he drove back to Edgerdale.

The next morning Townsend Girl seemed worse so Ashleigh decided to call the vet to come look at her. When the vet came to look at her Town, as she was known around the barn, was much worse already she was having trouble staying on her legs. Ashleigh took one look at her and was transported back to eighteen years ago when a virus similar to EIA, except that it attacked a horse's immune system and paralysis. had swept through Edgerdale killing several of her families best broodmares and one foal.

Even after all these years she still recognized the symptoms of the disease. She was so upset that she immediately put Town in the isolation barn where she couldn't infect any of the other horses. But the damage had already been done: Terminator, or Term as he was starting to become known as around the barn, was developing the early stages of the same illness as Town. So he was also put in the isolation barn. By the time the vet got there to look at Terminator, Town was too far along to be helped. They decided to give her twenty-four hours and then decide what to do for her if she was still alive.

Later that day, when Ashleigh went to check on Terminator and Townsend Girl, Term was trying to stay standing, but wasn't having much luck; Town on the other hand was doing much worse: she couldn't even stand up anymore, it was almost as if she knew she wouldn't last the night.

That night just before going to bed, Ashleigh decided to do one final check on Term and Town. When she got to the isolation barn she saw that Len was also there. Although he was close to eighty, Len still helped take care of the horses: trying to help them through their injuries, pains, and illnesses.

When Ash walked up next to him she could see tears in his eyes.

"Len what's wrong?" she asked him.

"Townsend Girl just died" he told her.

Ash was shocked and greatly dismayed. This was exactly the way it had started at Edgerdale eighteen years ago. And now it was happening again. But then Len showed her Terminator, who wasn't the type to give up, even after he had lost his best friend. Term made it through the night and was actually able to stand, even though it took a lot of strength and will power, the next morning. Townsend Girl was buried right next to Storm's Ransom the next day, she had a service and tombstone just like Storm did.

Six months later, after Challenge had been weaned, Wonder was bred to Lord Ainsley and eleven months later she had Wonder's Legacy.