Jake rescues Sam and realizes a few things in the aftermath. Rather Jake-centric this chapter. Characters belong to Terry Farley. Will be Sam/Jake.
There you are, wild and free
Reaching out like you needed me
A helping hand to make things right
I am holding you all through the night
Perception. That's all it was. Perception was to derive a conclusion from facts that supported it. So, what else could he make of the current situation.
His best friend was unconscious; her arms fell lifelessly at her side. He saw blood from where he stood, marring the pale blue of her tee shirt.
"Sam…" he whispered softly into the night, his voice carrying on the wind.
The magnificent silver stallion that had led him to Sam quickly turned his head, seeming to have just noticed his presence. He inhaled quickly, picking up the scent he associated with his Sam and gave a resounding snort.
What had happened? He had no idea. Wyatt had called him over two hours ago, saying that Ace had returned minus one rider and that he'd appreciate it if Jake could ride out and hunt Sam down. He'd agreed quickly, tacking up Witch in record time and heading out.
He'd followed the freshest hoof prints he could find and they'd led him to Lost Canyon, close to where he'd found Sam after her cougar encounter. He hadn't seen anything, but Witch had. She pawed at the ground, letting out a soft whinny that had caused Jake to look up the ridge, the speck of silver most anyone would have mistaken for a trick of the moonlight catching his eye.
The Phantom neighed loudly and stepped down, coming closer to Jake. He stopped just a few yards in front of Witch, pawing at the ground as the black mare before him had done just minutes ago. He snorted once and turned his head to the ridge again.
Jake gave Witch a gentle kick, telling her to go forward. The Phantom bobbed his head, backing a bit. This motion repeated until they were at the beginning of the path up. He'd followed the Phantom up to thetunnel at which point he had to dismount. Witch was taller than Ace and Jake's extra few inches wouldn't make them fit any easier.
"Come on, girl." He'd whispered, leading her through until the tunnel opened up into the large valley before them. The moonlight illuminated the area well; a small pond with several mares and foals was off to one side while several other mares grazed randomly among the lush grass. The Phantom had wandered over to an outcropping of rocks not far from where Jake stood.
He eyed the Phantom carefully, not wanting him to stampede and injure Sam further. Slowly, Jake edged closer, moving around the stallion in a circle until he faced Sam instead of her defender.
"Sam…" he whispered again, cautiously moving towards her.
The Phantom watched him carefully, allowing the human closer to Sam.
Finally he reached her side, kneeling down beside her, his eyes leaving the stallion standing guard over her. "Sam, wake up," he shook her lightly, looking her over for the source of the bleeding he'd seen previously. A large gash was evident across her left shoulder and was surrounded by purple bruises. The knees of her jeans were blown out and he could see the scraped and bruised flesh there as well as on her palms.
Jake pressed his fingers against Sam's neck, relieved to find she still had a pulse and noticed that she had flinched at his touch. He turned his attention back to the stallion that still stood his ground. "I'm going to need your help." He said softly. He didn't care if the Phantom had done this to her. Witch wouldn't cooperate if he put Sam on her. And he wasn't leaving her here, not like he had done last time.
He calmly stood up, taking a step closer to the stallion. The Phantom didn't protest as Jake ran his hand over his neck. "You remember me." Jake whispered.
To his surprise the calm colt turned wild horse neighed, bobbing his head as if he'd understood the statement.
"Sam needs your help." He whispered to the stallion.
The Phantom slowly dropped to his knees, lying down. He looked over his shoulder at Jake, who stood momentarily stunned.
Jake moved back to Sam, carefully lifting her into his arms. He stepped closer to the Phantom who had risked a lot with his actions and carefully set her on the magnificent stallions back, she subconsciously wrapped her arms around the Phantom's neck.
"Get up, boy." He asked the Phantom who he had once helped tame and nudged the stallion lightly. "Come on."
He walked slowly back to Witch and took her reins, walking back to the Phantom, who had not moved from his spot. Jake took a step forward and the Phantom did the same. Once they were out of the valley, Jake mounted up, silently begging Witch not to act up right now. He stayed about a foot away from the stallion, leading him towards the LaCharla River near River Bend. His eyes stayed on Sam, making sure she held on.
As the bridge to River Bend came into few the Phantom had slowed, taking hesitant steps.
Jake quickly dismounted, sending Witch across the bridge with a slapon the rump. When he turned back to the Phantom, the stallion was already lying down, waiting for Jake to take care of Sam. Without hesitating he carefully pulled her into his arms again, noting that the bleeding still hadn't stopped and walked across the bridge.
He turned, upon hearing a snort behind him and saw the Phantom rear up, tossing a 'you better not screw this up' look at him before taking off. "Don't worry. She'll be okay…" he whispered back to the stallion and continued on his way.
"JAKE!" He could make out Wyatt's form on the porch, quickly rushing over to him. "What happened?"
Jake didn't reply, but simply headed for Wyatt's truck, climbing into the passengers side with Sam still in his arms. After quickly running in to get the keys, Wyatt was beside him in the driver's seat.
Okay, been plotting this forever. I wanted to do a Phantom Stallion fic and this is what I came up with. The lyrics at the beginning inspired the story. They belong to the Backstreet Boys…. Make fun of me all you want, but that song is inspiring. Let me know what you think! Review and I'll update soon!