Hey guys! I want to apologize to everyone for having taken so long to get this chapter out…I have been really busy with my summer and getting ready for vacation bible school this week (I had to memorize six songs and scripts) and it starts today, so wish me luck! Anyways, this chapter isn't super long so I apologize in advance, but I promise that my next one will be twice as long! Love you guys, and thanks for being so patient. =)


Chapter Nine

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."

Harriet Beecher Stowe


"Finally!"

A week had passed and at last Samantha's body was back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get anyway. She was literally doing cart wheels across the yard towards the barn, not caring if anyone happened to be watching. Today was her day. She was going to do whatever she wanted, wherever she wanted, and that mainly included taking Ace out on a long, pleasant trail ride to make up for the days lost.

And this time, she was going to watch where she was going.

Humming happily as she strolled into the barn, Sam quickly grabbed Ace's things and scurried over to his stall, smiling when he picked his head up and gave her a nice long whinny in greeting.

It took her less than her usual five minutes to tack him up, and once that was done Sam led him out of the barn and into the warm, afternoon sunshine. She breathed in the hot desert air and then let out a long sigh of utter contentment.

"You ready for a good ride, Ace?" Sam asked her horse, patting him affectionately on the shoulder before hoisting herself up on the saddle and slipping her feet into the stirrups. Ace let loose a deep, charming nicker in response and in turn Sam grinned, taking this as a sign that he was, in fact, ready.

"All right then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Picking up the reins, Sam clicked her tongue and soon they were off, heading towards the direction of the sun. It was a beautiful day without a single cloud in the sky, and there was even a slight breeze coming from the north. Lifting her head, Sam closed her eyes briefly and let the harmonic movements of her and the horse soothe her, loving nothing more than the way horse and rider moved together, creating a smooth, perfect rhythm. That feeling never grew old, and for Sam it was like coming home.

I'll never grow tired of this, Sam thought, opening her eyes again to survey the vast, gorgeous landscape. She wanted to spend the rest of her life here; with her family, with the horses – with Jake.

Sam's eyes widened as that last thought popped into her mind, causing an inexplicable excitement to build up inside her chest.

"With Jake," she murmured softly to herself, surprised at how confident she sounded. She knew she loved Jake, but to want to spend the rest of her life with him? It made her wonder if she was going just a little bit too far. Spending the rest of her life with him meant commitment and not only that, but trust. And trust was already such a hard thing to come by, especially when you weren't certain that the person you needed to trust even trusted you back.

So how was she to know?

And most importantly, how was she even supposed to find out?

Shaking these troublesome thoughts to the back of her mind for the time being, Sam sighed and sped Ace up to a slow, steady canter. They rode like that for several minutes until Sam caught sight of something interesting off in the distance. Pursing her lips into a frown, Sam slowed Ace down to a walk and lifted her hand over her eyes to shield her curious gaze from the sun as she tried to make out what it was.

A sudden gasp escaped her throat as she realized what it was. Two horses, facing off. Both had their ears pinned back against their head, and they were circling each other, tails lashing and their powerful hooves scraping hard against the dirt. A shudder ran through her as she recognized the marked dance between the two stallions – this would be a fight to the death.

Wanting to get a closer look, Sam clicked her tongue softly and Ace trotted forward, ears flicking nervously as they headed towards the direction of the two wild stallions. She kept her hands firmly clenched around the reins and her feelings calm, not wanting to give Ace any reason to back off. The last thing she needed was for Ace to go crazy and run straight into the fight. It made Sam's stomach churn just thinking about it.

Once Sam was close enough while making sure that she wasn't too close, she leaned down lower in her saddle and peered between Ace's ears at the unfolding scene. As she gazed more closely at the horses, she was able to notice for the first time what they truly looked like. One was a large buckskin, with a mean scar running down the front of his left leg, and the other one appeared to look almost exactly like…

Sam nearly let out a scream but managed to stop it before she could, her right hand flying over her mouth as a strangled cry escaped her lips.

It was the Phantom!

Fear coursed through her like never before, and for a moment Sam could barely breathe.

This can't be happening, she thought frantically, followed by, I just knew this was going to happen!

The poor Phantom was being challenged by a younger, stronger stallion, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

…but watch.

The buckskin reared up on his hind legs and let out a high, fierce whinny, before stomping his hooves back down and creating a thick cloud of dust. The Phantom tossed his head in the air and bucked, letting the other stallion know that he wasn't going to back down.

His opponent snorted and with a joust for superiority, dared to learn forward and nip him non-too-gently on the shoulder. The Phantom bared his lips back and whinnied in rage, before charging forward and knocking the buckskin back roughly with his head.

Sam could almost imagine him saying, 'You, the next leader of MY herd? I don't think so, buddy!'

She held her breath as the buckskin reared up and lashed out with his hooves, striking the Phantom hard against his shoulder blade. The Phantom let out a very low-sounding growl from the depths of his throat, his neck arching to nip savagely at the buckskin's back, almost as if telling him, 'last chance!'

But the buckskin was fierce and out of control. He gave a loud, horrible scream before launching himself at the Phantom full-force, using his large body perfectly to his advantage. The Phantom stumbled sideways, momentarily losing his balance.

It gave the buckskin just enough time to perform his second attack. Rearing up, he slashed at The Phantom's side with his hooves, immediately spilling blood.

Sam's eyes widened and her hand flung instantly to her throat.

No! She screamed in her head, frozen in fear as she listened to her poor stallion scream its angry protests before whipping around and charging straight towards the buckskin. Hope flared within her, and she clenched her fingers tighter around the reins, mentally egging him on.

Come on, Blackie, you can do this! I know you can.

Sensing his owner's excitement, Ace nickered and swiveled his head around, ears flicking intently to the side. But Sam wasn't paying attention – her eyes were fixed solidly on the fight, almost as if they were glued there. After a moment Ace gave up trying to get her attention and instead began immersing himself in the short stubby grass that poked out between a pile of rocks.

Sam watched the two stallions fight for five long, heart-throbbing minutes, blood trickling down from the cuts and gashes that marked their injuries. For a moment it seemed as if the buckskin had finally decided to back off, causing Sam to let out a soft sigh of relief.

When the buckskin whipped around and lashed out once more with his hooves, catching the Phantom off guard, Sam nearly fell off Ace in shock. How long could this possibly go on?

She soon got her answer when the Phantom, physically exhausted and clearly in no shape to carry on, collapsed upon the ground on his blood-scraped knees, the dust rising in a cloud around his body.

Oh God, Sam thought, tears prickling at the back of her eyes. The buckskin was just too young, too strong…and now he would become the new leader of the Phantom's herd.

Come on Blackie, get back up! You have to get back up and show him whose boss!

But deep down, she knew that it was hopeless.

Sam watched helplessly as the buckskin reared up again, hooves flashing in the sunlight, and let out a high-pitched, piercing whinny. It was then that Sam realized what he intended to do…

"No!" Sam screamed, causing Ace's head to jerk up. Heart racing rampantly inside her chest, Sam forced Ace into a run.

Straight towards the Phantom and the stallion.

"Get away from him!" Sam exclaimed at the top of her lungs, waving her one arm frantically above her head in hopes that she'd get the buckskin's attention.

Success. The buckskin was distracted enough by the noise to turn his head and plant his deadly hooves back on the ground – away from the Phantom.

Knowing what she needed to do, had to do, in able to save the Phantom, Sam pushed Ace onward into a full-speed gallop, leaning forward with her hands clenched tightly around Ace's thick black mane – the reins laying forgotten around the saddle's horn. They were gaining ground, very nearly approaching them now. Sam could see Blackie trying to get up only to fall back down, failing miserably in his weak attempt.

Angry at the buckskin and at herself for not interfering sooner, Sam lifted her head and let out a loud, fierce battle cry, startling the buckskin and causing him to back up a step, ears flicking to the side uncertainly as the horse and rider drew closer.

That's it, Sam thought, lips forming into a determined line. Her long, auburn hair whipped around her face, giving her the exact appearance of a raging warrior goddess. As she closed in on the buckskin, Sam raised her arm again and shouted, screamed, hollered – did anything and everything to get the stallion away from the Phantom.

Ace, quite eagerly getting into the action, did the same by rearing up on his high legs and letting out an ear-splitting whinny as if daring the stallion to challenge his owner. The buckskin, clearly freaked out by this whole shenanigan, whipped around and bolted away, his long black tail trailing like a stream from behind him.

"Yes!" Grinning in triumph, Sam leaned over to talk to Ace. "Good job boy," she praised, calming him down by gently rubbing the palm of her hand over his neck. "You deserve a big old juicy carrot for when we get home."

Turning him around, Sam's heart fell when she saw the Phantom lying, defeated, on the ground. He was still alive – she could tell by the gentle rise and fall of his side, but she could see by the harsh flaring of his nostrils that each breath was an effort. Biting down hard on her bottom lip, Sam slid off Ace and walked slowly over to him, her whole arm trembling as she leaned down beside him and laid her hand gently on his head, the other on the deep gash on his shoulder.

"Oh, Zanzibar," Sam whispered, a fresh set of tears sliding down her cheeks and dripping down her chin. "I'm so sorry this happened to you…this just isn't fair. I wish…I wish…"

I wish you weren't old? Sam thought to herself, and she began to sob. Flinging her arms around Zanzibar's neck, she buried her head into his beautiful silver mane and cried her eyes out, right there on the bloody desert floor.

She didn't know how long she stayed there, but when she finally managed to snap out of it she stood up and wiped away the tears with her shirt sleeve. She glanced back down at the Phantom who just continued to lie there, and she knew that if she didn't get help for him soon he would surely die.

I have to get him back to the ranch, Sam thought, but how would she be able to manage that?

One word – well, more specifically, one name came immediately to mind as she pondered this.

Jake, she thought, and with a quick shake of her head she whipped around and hoisted herself back up on the saddle, causing Ace to let out a soft snort.

"We have to go back and get some help Ace," Sam told him, glancing down at the Phantom with fear clawing at her heart. Before it's too late…

Gathering up all of the strength that she had left, Sam murmured softly to the beautiful gray stallion, "I'll be back for you, Zanzibar. Promise me you'll hang in there."

Soon Sam and Ace were tearing across the Nevada desert, hooves pounding furiously against the sand as they made their way back to the ranch. It took longer than Sam had thought to get back, but it was mostly her fear speaking and telling her that if they weren't back soon, something could go seriously wrong.

No matter what, she was not going to allow that to happen.

Once they had approached the barn, Sam leaped off Ace and shouted, "Jake! Jake!"

She almost fainted with relief when she saw him coming out of the barn, a look of concern spreading across his tanned, handsome face.

"Sam, is that you? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Jake, you have to come! Quick! It's…it's the Phantom. Another stallion challenged him to a fight and now he's hurt…really hurt. He can't get up. Please, you have to come with me! We need to bring him back to the ranch and help him…" Trailing off, Sam stared desperately at Jake, her hands clenched tightly into fists.

Knowing how much the Phantom meant to Sam, and wanting to do anything he could to make her happy, Jake gave Sam one brief, heart-filled look before nodding his head once and murmuring, "All right, Sam. Let's go and get your Phantom."

As he went off to fetch Witch, Sam climbed back on Ace and gazed off into the distance, every moment feeling as if her heart was breaking.

Hang on please, Zanzibar, she thought, closing her eyes and inhaling a deep, shaky breath.

We're coming.


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