Unbridled Lightning
Chapter 3
"Okay."
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Nobody did anything the next day. Melanie was packing for her flight late that night. Christina had almost cried when Mel had told them that she was going. They were best friends. Kevin had seemed mad, although they all knew he really wasn't.
"I might still see you at Belmont. And I'll come visit," she had said. But it didn't make it any better. Mel had always been like a sister to Josh. He'd been eight when she came, and now he was fifteen. She'd lived with them for seven years.
That night, everyone came to the airport to say goodbye. Melanie had started to cry as she hugged everyone in turn.
"I'll come back. I promise."
They drove back in silence. Dinner was quiet. Suddenly, "She left because of Image." Everyone looked at Josh. "She didn't have special horse to ride. So she left. We just didn't have her special horse." But they all refused to believe him. "She went back because she missed her family," they all said. "She had always been an only child. Then Anne was born, and Mel just wanted to spend time with her." Only Raven would believe him.
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By Saturday, everything had almost gotten back to normal. Josh and Raven decided to go on the trail ride they had planned.
"Hey Josh, you almost ready?," Raven asked as she led Midnight Magic outside and mounted up.
"Yeah…" Josh came outside leading Peanut Brittle. He mounted up, and they started toward the trails.
They rode in silence, each thinking their own thoughts about why Melanie had left. They came to an intersection in the trails when suddenly, a horse came out of no where and flashed by them. It ran so fast that they couldn't tell who the rider was, or in fact, if it even had a rider.
"Stop! You're on private property," Josh yelled.
"Let's follow them," Raven replied.
They both shot of after the horse. Suddenly it rounded a bend in the trail, but when the followed it into a clearing, they could tell it had disappeared.
"Let's go back and tell someone," Josh said angrily.
They turned the horses around and started to walk them back. They hadn't even gotten out of the clearing when a howl made Josh's hair stand on end. With a scream of fear, Peanut and Midnight reared, throwing their riders and racing at full speed back.
Raven and Josh exchanged looks of horror as they realized that they had been left on foot, alone with a pack of wolves.
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Back at the training track, Ashleigh and Sammy were watching Shining Jewel, a filly that they co-owned, when a howl made them turn. They didn't think anything of it and turned back. Five minutes later, however, two horses screamed in fear and raced out of the woods.
"Oh No!," Ashleigh cried and dashed of towards the barn, with Sammy at her heels. Snatching two horses that had been led out from their grooms, Ashleigh and Sammy mounted up and raced off at full speed towards the woods.
Chapter Four