Chapter 9- Fleeing the storm part 1
Dan felt queezy as the truck lurched along the road. He thought it would only get worse as this would most likely be a long journey.
When they stopped a short while later he was surprised and apprehensive. They must still be close to the town, so why had they stopped. Were they just going to dump him out now on the cold street. That, he thought in terror was a definite possibility.
He struggled within his bonds but could not make them move even an inch. The ropes were chaffing his skin making it sting with a fiery intensity. Behind him the horses snorted and shuffled their hooves as they too sensed something was going to happen.
The back of the truck was opened flat down minutes later and Ivan Fredricks came inside. He looked at Dan coldly. "Feeling scared are we Mangan. You should be" he growled. He approached him then and Dan felt himself tense. The man hauled him to his feet and shoved him forward, "move", he shouted. All Dan could manage was a shuffle as the bonds on his legs restricted further movement. Ivan smacked him a few times when he stumbled. "You could try untying me", Dan suggested calmly, trying not to sound like he would try and escape. Of course he would and Ivan knew that stating,"yeah, well I won't be". He slapped him hard on the back just to get his point made him fall face down onto the truck floor. The impact was juddering and his nose started to bleed. Ivan just laughed heartily for several minutes. When he did not get up he was kicked then Ivan hauled him up and partially dragging and partially carrying moved him down the ramp and out into the cold.
Dan stared through the whiteness of the snow at the building in front of him. He had heard about this place. It was an abandoned business, on the outskirts of Sleepyside. Its walls were tagged with many colours of paint and it had an unsavory smell. Dan did note that new boards had been placed upon the broken windows. "Get the horses into the building while I go make sure our guest is comfortable", Ivan ordered the other two men.
He was dragged in a side door and shoved down onto the dirty floor. Dan felt himself fall straight into a pile of smelly paper. "This is where you will be staying Mangan". It will be dark , cold and probably unpleasant and I hope you feel totally miserable', Ivan told him. Dan looked up at the man and dared to ask, "why are we here".
"This is our little hideout. We sent group of decoy trucks onward, taking several different routes. When your idiot uncle eventually notifies someone, and I am sure he will, they will have no clue as to our actual destination. We plan to wait here until the authorities are all busily engaged elsewhere before moving out in completely different trucks", Ivan smiled. "It's a good plan and nobody can mess it up".
Dan's stomach sunk, he knew that the others would be undertaking a fruitless search for him while he was imprisoned just a few miles away.
"I have a nice warm room to get too, so I will leave you here." Ivan pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket tied the middle into a knot then shoved it into his mouth and tied it off ."See you later Mangan", he mocked as he left.
For awhile Dan struggled , but he found it to be a useless endeavor. Ivan was good at tying ropes.
Once his struggles stopped his body began to shiver controllably. He could feel the cold air biting into his skin. Dan felt tears falling as he wondered about his fate. He could not really see a way out of this.
Despair crept closer and he tried to fight it off. He sat like that in the semi darkness sobbing for awhile. Then he told himself that crying was not helping .None of the others could come to his aid, so he had to get out of this on his own. Ivan had not tied him to anything, so he could at least move around. Maybe in this wreck of a place there would be something to use on his bonds.
Rubbish littered the floors and he had to slide his body through it. He felt something unpleasant brush his skin leaving behind a strong smell as well as a wet sticky feeling. The partially grey filtered light gave him impressions of things, mostly useless things he thought.
His movements were slow as the bonds dug into his body everytime he moved, just shuffling a short distance was exhausting. He had to stop within about ten minutes and he had not gotten far in that time. His stomach rumbled and his mouth felt like dried ashes, he'd had no water or nutrition in awhile now. He caught a glimpse of something shiny and bumped himself over toward it. As he moved he felt the gag dislodge from his mouth. He did not dare call out though, because no one but those men would hear him, the gag had been put in more as malice than anything else.
Slowly moving again he stopped just short of the shiny item when he heard something rustling ahead of him. He could not make out what it was. The sound increased and Dan felt fear fill him, something large was coming. It did not sound like footsteps so it could not be any of the men. He had a vision in his mind of a giant rat, or even worse, a bear, or catamount. Maypenny had told him many stories of what could live out here and right now they were causing him to feel very afraid.
In fact now he was sure he could see its eyes staring at him. He began to shuffle his body backwards in an effort to get away as the whatever it was got closer.
When his back hit a wall, he hunched himself over and started to sob loudly, "please don't hurt me", he begged to the giant mutant rat he was sure he was going to see.
When a snort answered him Dan found himself looking through the gloom into the dark eyes of a horse.
It was not one of Wheelers horses, he was not sure where the men had taken them, perhaps though they were not the only ones that had been stolen.
This one came closer snorting at him again. Dan felt fear build up. He could not escape this animal and it could do anything to him. In fright he threw his body sideways and found the gap in the wall. Then he shuffled across the floor as fast as he could go.
When he finally stopped a few metres later he was glad when the horse did not try and approach him again. It was still looking though, he could feel its gaze.
"Be a nice horse and stay over there", Dan requested. Snort, a whinny answered him. It almost sounded disapproving Dan thought. As he watched the horse moved slowly forward, it would stop, whinny, then come closer again.
Maybe it was toying with him Dan thought, trying to scare him. It was working because he was feeling terrified. Memories of his experiences on the horse camp were returning full force. "Don't hurt me", he begged around another sob. Of course that horse would have no idea what he was saying, and it was not likely to listen. It seemed more like a lion stalking him, though it obviously was not going to eat him.
The horse stopped again and whinnied. "Alright stop doing that", Dan pleaded. Strangely enough the horse did not make any further noise, nor did it come closer again. It was just standing there staring into his face. Dan's terror began to abate a bit ."What do you want", he asked. It could have already hurt him and hadn't, the behavior was odd though. Then he wondered if like him the horse was hungry and hopeful he might have something tasty. "I don't have an apple. Not that I would share if I did, I am too hungry for that", Dan told the horse. It felt rather ridiculous to be talking to this animal. But the horse snickered at his comment almost like it understood and was laughing.
Dan did not move further away again, just watching the horse while it in turn watched him. It did not move, just gazing through the gloom with soft brown eyes.
The watching game continued and time passed. Dan guessed he had probably been here a couple of hours at the least. He was still shivering though the movement had helped him warm himself slightly.
The horse had not left, though it had plenty of room to move about. It was though it was waiting for something Dan thought. He remembered the greetings the Wheeler horses would call when his uncle walked into the stable. Perhaps it just sought his company. Yet that did not follow as surely the other horses were held here as well. Just talk to it, his exhausted mind told him. "What do you want", Dan repeated. Now that was silly he thought, it could hardly answer him. Though strangely the horse took one step closer, then stopped.
Dan stared. It felt almost like this horse could understand him. It took another step, then stopped and whinnied. So it was getting closer and for the first time Dan saw that it was not stalking him in an angry way, it was in fact trying not to scare him.
He swallowed, he thought he knew what it wanted, "do you want to come over here with me", he asked nervously. The horse whinnied again, took a step closer again then stopped. It looked at him with a clear invitation in its eyes.
Dan said nothing, 5 minutes passed, ten, then twenty. The horse just stood that entire time, not moving an inch, its head firmly focused upon him. Dan began to look the horses presence in a more logical way. What did he really have to lose if he invited it over he wondered. If it did hurt him then it could not be any worse than what he had already suffered. He was tired, cold and admittedly lonely, and could remain like that for even more hours unless he did something to change that. Feeling apprehensive Dan finally invited, "alright then, come'.
It did approaching him slowly. Up close Dan could see a thick blanket upon the horses back. It put its head down to his eye level and looked straight into his face. 'Hello ", Dan greeted nervously, "I am Dan', I guess you must have a name too. So we are both locked up together, we have something in common. Though you have a nice warm blanket and I am freezing", Dan shivered again more violently. He seemed to be unable to get any warmth into himself. He remembered some of the warnings Maypenny had given him about not wearing enough clothing and realized he was getting hypothermic.
"Great, I am going to freeze to death", he muttered out
The horse lifted its head in response to that comment. It then turned its head, and chewed at the bindings holding its blanket until it fell from its back to land at Dan's side.
Dan reached out, and took the blanket close, he was astounded at what had just happened. "I guess you must be my gift horse", he said lightly. The horse circled around him, its movements slow. Dan could not help the shiver of fear as its head moved out of sight. He wondered what it might be up to behind him.
When he felt a tongue wet and hot lick his hand, he flinched slightly. Then he felt the tongue move and the harder surface of teeth brush his hand. It had no goodwill toward him afterall and was just going to bite him. Dan moved his legs upward intending on shuffling away again. He found the horses head turning and placing itself on top of his legs so he could not move.
Dan closed his eyes at that, waiting for the moment he was attacked. When all that happened was a snort of hot air in his face he opened his eyes to find it staring at him again. "What do you want. I don't understand", Dan said. The head shifted forward unless its muzzle touched his bound hands. Hot air from its nostrils blasted over those hands.
Dan stared as a wild idea suddenly surfaced, "you want to let me loose", he said. The head went up and down, like it was nodding, which of course was ridiculous. Still it had helped him once already. "Do it then", he agreed. The horse lifted its head from his legs, it stopped to look at him slowly, and Dan guessed it was seeing if he was going to move. It does not know if I trust it, Dan realized. Do I, he asked himself. Yes, he decided, I do. He did not move. Again he felt the tongue lick then the teeth. When those teeth began to chew through his bindings Dan realized this horse was something very special indeed.
He was soon untied. Trying to stand up was agony. He found himself falling and groaning at the pain in his arms and legs. That horse stood over him and its nose touched him gently, like it was trying to be reassuring. Dan slowly and carefully raised himself off the ground. 'Thank you", he said to the horse. "I guess you just wanted to help all along".
Dan looked around in the gloom, trying to see any obvious exits. Where will you go if you do escape, that thought circled around. It is even colder out there and you are miles away from town. Do you even know the way. Even if he found the main road there was no guarantee he would meet up with any cars. Most people would be staying off the roads because of the extreme weather conditions.
Seeing a crack of light Dan moved over to one of the boarded windows. He found he could not even budge the board a little bit. Perhaps the men had put these boards on while they have been in town he thought. They had prepared this place for this occupation. So there would be no way out through the windows, so what about the door Fredricks had shoved him through.
Placing his hands upon the walls, Dan used them as a guide to inch his way around the building. It was slow going as the piles of rubbish around his feet made it difficult to get a sure footing. He hated to think what he was actually standing upon. He was of course barefooted and if he felt anything sharp he had to move his footing until the sensation abated. It seemed to take forever, eventually though,he found the side door. Okay, I can at least try to find help he decided as he turned the handle. Of course it did not just open. He shook it hard, but found it to be unmovable. Running his hands over the surface, did not reveal any locks that could be opened. The men had thought of that too. They did not want anyone just barging in on them.
"Dammit", he swore.
He turned his head, looking back at the horses dark figure. It had not tried to follow him. Where had it come from he wondered. Perhaps it knew a way out.
Dan inched his way back to the horse. "Is there a way out", somewhere else he asked. He felt like he was being really desparate, expecting a horse to know an escape route.
It whinnied again and turned. With slow steps it plodded through the semi darkness, turning its head occassionly to see if he was still following.
This place, was large Dan reflected as he carefully made his way across to the horse. This route was even more slow going as he had no wall for support, or to tell him the way. He stumbled falling into the rubbish piled onto the floor. The impact jolted him and he sobbed a little again. Stop that, he told himself, keep going. He could feel his feet almost curling up underneath him, they were cold and brusied from their many encounters with something hard. His breath was coming out in white whispiness, as a moved and he though that breathing was mre labored than before. My body is struggling to keep warm, he realized, even the blanket was not adequately heating him. He pulled it tighter and kept going.
Finally he reached the horse. "Okay there does not seem to be a big sign with exit written all over it", Dan stated sarcastically. The horse blew air out his nostrils at him, then plodded forward and stopped.
Dan moved over to where the horse was standing and noted there was broken boarding in front of him. Touching it Dan found it was smooth and hard, not old and rotten like he would expect. So this had been placed here recently. When he touched the broken bits he felt jagged edging and decided it had been violently broken, a horses hoof would do that effectively. He felt a surge of admiration for the horse, it had heard him crying and broken the wood to come and investigate. The horse was a lot braver than he was right now, probably because if it was caught its fate would be different to his own. Ahead of him the horse slipped through the boarding. Dan sucked in his anxiety and followed.
A rush of warm air hit him then as he found himself in another section of the old building. This side had been done up as a very comfortable and warm stable. The boards on the windows would stop anyone on the outside coming in to notice the changes. It was clever Dan thought.
There tied to metal rings concreted in the walls were the Wheeler horses, along with several others that were unfamiliar. This was a huge consignment of merchandise Dan thought. That made him wonder about that night when he had been the lookout for the Cowhands. What had been in that warehouse, was it possible there were horses in that place. From his comments about him snitching, he guessed Ivan Fredricks was the man he had seen leading the Cowhands on that night. He had knowledge and experience of horses, to aid him in this theft, maybe that was established from years of stealing them.
He looked over at The Wheeler horses noting they seemed to be alright. Jupiter lifted his head briefly to stare at him. He looked so unlike the proud noble horse that Dan felt so scared of that he gulped. It was strange to realize that this fiery horse felt equally as afraid as he did.
Looking around him Dan noted the stairs in one corner of the large space. That was probably where the men were hiding . He also noted a large iron door, this is where they had brought the horses in, he realized. So there was a way out. He hurried to find a way to open the door. All he found was a huge padlock that firmly prevented him from sliding across the large bolt.
So the men were definitely playing it safe, more making sure that anyone on the outside could not open that door. The keys were probably in possession of those men. He looked over at the horse ,who now waited beside the other ones. It had done its part in bringing him this far, now the rest was up to him. He had to get that key.
If he got caught then Ivan just might decide to kill him. That very thought made him freeze. Yet if he did not do this, he was also going to an uncertain fate, the men had not been charitable towards him so far.
So he decided to take the risk.