A black blur sped across the Nevadan desert on that hot summer day in July. A stallion as wild as thunder and as black as midnight galloped at full speed. Following him were several motorcycles with riders clad in black racing after him. The horse had tried to avoid them all day and he was tiring out fast. Every muscle and tendon strained to cover as much dusty soil as possible. Foamy sweat formed around his sleek black neck and haunches. The black horse was giving his all. The men behind them sped like lighting and whistled and yelled at their target making him even more afraid. It was hard to believe that one minute, Seto Kaiba had been in his office looking at some ancient Indian artifact he had found and now he was running as fast as he could on four legs to out run three crazy men.
Seto had never been so angry, confused, or scared in his life and it was rare that things scared him to the point of giving his all to escape it. Weariness from the heat of the desert sun was bringing him down and he felt sore to even move his neck. The tall walls of canyons towered above him and he felt every muscle in his body give a sudden surge of energy. Surely, there was some way for him to evade them. Seto was even more upset that he couldn't remember how he became a horse. It was such a blur to him. It was almost scary. But after he realized he was in the middle of a thick forest he decided to find his way back home when the sound of roaring motors and the cries of men chased him away into the dry desert. Seto had come to Nevada for some stupid business reason and found a small Native American totem in the mail. After he threw the stupid artifact on the ground in an annoyed rage and that's when his quick, yet strange transformation had taken place. But he would worry about the consequences of being a mustang.
Pounding hooves joined in with Seto's and the ground began to vibrate as thousands of terrified mustangs galloped after him and into the tall canyon. Anxiously, Set tried to figure out as the hooves drowned out the motors' sound, why they were running and why they looked so terrified. He began to feel stupid as he followed them, but hopefully (if the dumb animals had any sense at all) the horses knew where to hide from them. But from what Set had heard this didn't look like an ordinary roundup, it looked like a trap. Seto neighed shrilly, trying to figure out what was going on. No horses gave him a decent answer except a few squeals of fear and confusion. The canyon walls rose higher and higher as the herd of horses ran deeper and deeper into the canyon's dangerous trap. A foal tripped and squealed in terror as she hit the hot floor. Seto knew that her delicate body would be trampled as easily as paper by the mad mustangs. He did the only thing sensible to do and nudged her to her feet. The foal bleated as she leapt to her feet and stumbled after the rest of the horses. Seto tried to get to the front, maybe he could change their course. But as he tried with all his might to get in front, the other horses playfully kicked and nipped him as if it were a race they were trying to win. Fatigue kept Seto from trying any harder than he was so he continued at a canter and gradually fell back. The horses, before they knew it, were trapped in a steel-barred corral, that looked like a giant prison in the red walled canyon. It was too late to turn back now, the gates were closed with a loud "bang" and it shook the earth. The black stallion snorted and wheeled around facing the man who had shut it. He had his cowboy hat covered his cold, dark eyes and he laughed softly. White-hot anger hissed in Seto's heart as he watched the man walk off. He reared and pawed at the gate. A loud clatter of hooves hitting metal echoed throughout the little canyon and dust stirred everywhere.
The other horses snorted with uncertainty and fear as they watched the black stallion throw his entire weight onto metal gate. Another earsplitting bang, split the nervous silence and with utter frustration, he sighed and stared warily at the three motorcycle men. They were talking but he could not make out what they were saying. What was going on? Did anyone else know about this? Seto's new horse instincts told him that he in the other mustangs were in danger, but his human instincts told him that he needed to find out what was really going on. Suspicion aroused anxiety in Set and the other horses sensed it too. They began to huddle together in a group, trembling. A huge truck came around a bend to where Seto could see it. The truck was green (or it used to be green because there were huge splotches of red mud all over it), and was towing an enormous cattle trailer. It was empty and Set began to feel even more nervous. They were towing them off, but to where? Auction? A dog food factory? What other places did mustangs go when they were herded like this? Seto could only remember a few and couldn't imagine what could be more worse. He even started to feel sorry for the poor, scrawny animals. The truck backed up to the gate of the corral and Set whirled around and cantered towards the other horses, yet he never took his eyes off of it. He whinnied and pawed the ground angrily. How dare hey do this to him, if only they realized who he really was. Then they would be sorry!
The corral was opened and most of the horses bolted in terror and went all over the place, screaming and trying to break loose. A young chestnut mare collided with Seto's shoulder and fell over on her back. Her hooves thrashed wildly as she struggled to get to her feet. Seto crow-hopped avoiding her hooves until she finally got to her feet and ran in another direction, whinnying fearfully. Seto's side was sore from where the mare hit and a icy pain over came him. He lowered his head and groaned softly until the pain finally passed. His head shot up again and he noticed that the horses were being driven into the trailer. Some were kicking and biting each other, one horse had blood oozing out of his leg. Seto winced as he thought of how it must have felt, but shook his head and beckoned for them to come down from the trailer. They ignored him. A sharp pain hit Seto's flank. He bolted in pain and turned to see one of the cowboys with a long whip. He cracked it violently making the horses even more terrified. First monsters on whirring things chased them into a prison cell and then threatened them with a long black snake. Seto gathered his remaining strength and approached the whip wielder, who was laughing under his breath. He faced him eye to eye like he would he opponent when he was dueling. The horse neighed violently and reared on his hind legs. He pinned his ears flat to his skull and charged at full speed, his mouth agape. The man struck the whip out. Seto ignored the warning and struck his sharp hoof at the man.
He dodged Seto's attack too and took the whip and it lashed with a sharp crack and it coiled itself around Seto's leg. The black stallion lost his balance and fell with a mighty thud on his chest. He tried to get up, but he was weak. He lifted his head and neighed mournfully. Finally he managed to get on three legs. His entangled leg throbbed and blood trickled down his fetlock. He snorted and faced the man again. He had let go of the long whip and was now roaring with laughter. Feeling enraged, Seto, ignoring the searing pain in his leg and chest galloped towards the man and rammed him with full force. The man cried out in pain and then blacked out. He lay still on the desert floor. Seto felt like crushing him with all his might, but his weariness got the better of him. He began to pant and saliva foamed around his black muzzle. He shook his head and limped away from the unconscious body. The whip had dug deep into his leg and with every breath he took it seemed to get even tighter. He gasped and sank to his knees. The other men crowded around him with guns in their hands.
Seto suddenly leapt to his feet and galloped clumsily into the trailer with the others. The mustangs hung their heads low. Seto knew they missed the sage and mountains and the wild blue sky, just as Seto missed Domino City and dueling, and his brother, Mokuba. Seto shook his head and sighed. His foot hurt to the point where it felt numb. The stallion licked his favored leg, he ignored the metallic bloody taste in his mouth and continued to clean his wound. Seto began gnawing at the black whip until finally it snapped and the whip lay on the bottom of the trailer like a coiled snake covered in blood. He pushed it aside with his nose and continued to clean his leg. The pain seemed to ease slowly and he had more feeling back in it. The horses remained calm until the truck started up.
Seto's head shot up. The horses began to panic. Their eyes rolled back in fear some of them tried to walk as the trailer rocketed back in forth bumping over the rocks and hills of the Nevadan desert. A chorus of frightful whinnies cried out from the tiny trailer. Set laid his ears back, annoyed by the commotion and the constant banging of hooves colliding with the metal walls. He wanted to tell them to shut up but knew that his anger would make them even more nervous. He decided to wait and prayed that the trailer would stop soon.
Rae Gilliland sat astride her huge Saddlebred gelding, Rex as she gazed on the vast plains of her home. There was not a single wild horse in sight and she began to feel more and more suspicious. Rex stamped his front hoof boredly and began nibbling on the tough desert grass. "I don't know where they could be, Rex," Rae said and patted her gelding's sturdy neck. The chestnut Saddlebred nipped Rae's boot and tossed his head. He wanted to run. "Rex, I can't let you do that, you'll throw me," Rae said and turned her gelding towards home. Rae squeezed Rex into a trot towards the main rode. Her father had told her that if she followed the rode, it would lead them to Pawson Creek Farms where Rae lived. Pawson Creek was a small bording farm that trained horses for three day eventing. Rae couldn't wait to get out of the uncomfortable Western saddle and into her new jumping saddle that she had won. Rex and his rider weren't used to the deep seated Western saddle that Rae was forced to ride in. Her father had said that they couldn't risk losing Rex if she fell out and he was dumb enough to go all the way back to San Fransico to his old farm.
A huge green Chevy truck rumbled up the back road that Rae was about to cross. Rex snorted, he was used to trucks and honking horns because he used to be a police horse. "Just like the old days huh boy?" Rae asked and patted the gelding's glossy red shoulder. Rex nickered as if to respond and nuzzled her leg. Rae kept her eyes on the truck and heard the sound of metal banging and nervous whinnies coming from a huge cattle trailor. Rae shook her head. The BLM couldn't have been rounding up the mustangs this early in the summer. Rex called out to them but the truck dissapeared before the horses inside could answer. Something inside Rae told her that she needed to find out what was going on.
Instead of turning right to go home, she followed the truck at a slow gallop. Rex tossed his head, wanting to go faster. Rae gripped the reins tighter, never taking her green eyes off of the red trailer. The truck turned into another back road that Rae had never seen before. She felt a little reluctant but she continued to follow, slowing to a trot. The back road led into a thickly forested trail. There was a sign that said "Private Property" before it and a wide chain with a padlock blocked the rest of the trail. The truck came to a screeching stop causing the horses in the trailor to panic. Rae halted Rex as a man dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans got out of the truck. He mummbled something to himself as he unlocked the chain, got back into his vehicle, and drove further down the path. Rae held her breath until she was sure the truck was almost out of sight before breaking Rex into a trot again.
The trail led to a small feild where the repulsive smells of cigarette smoke, manure, and beer filled Rae's nostrils. Rex curled his upper lip intaking the umfamiliar scent. He snorted and shook his head. He hated it almost as much as Rae did. The bleating of goats and the bawling of cattle were also heard. Rae felt nervous as she waited for the truck to park near a huge corral next to a cattle pen. The truck was parked in reverse in front of the corral gate and several men in black jackets hurried to the trailor. One carefully opened the trailer door while the others stayed close by. As soon as the gate was opened several horses flew out crashing into the corral walls. They wheeled in panic and ran in circles they looked terrified.
Among them was a coal black stallion, as tall a a thoroughbred. He had a delicate Arabic dished face and a handsome neck. Not a single speck of white was on his body. His flanks were flecked with caked mud and he was limping. He looked more frightened than the other horses and it made Rae angry to see him be treated this way. Rae wanted to know what was happening, these people were no BLM workers they were horse rustlers! Rae's heart pouded, they were going to sell the horses for dog food! Rae froze for minute, these people were doing an illegal act. It was considered a felony to capture wild horses if you weren't a licsenced BLM worker. She wanted to go over there a demand the release of the horses, but she thought better of it. They wouldn't listen to a kid. Suddeny Rex whinnied to the other horses. Rae gasped and hissed at Rex. The gelding flung his head up and pawed with excitment. "Hey! It's a kid! Get her!" one of the men cried out. Rex grunted as Rae thumped her legs hard into his sides and he rocketed off at a full gallop. Rae's heart pounded harder as they exited the forest and into the bright sunlight. Rex reared on his hindlegs and Rae slammed her weight on his shoulders forcing him to stand. Rex galloped off again. Rae didn't dare look back, afraid that she would see men with guns following her. She swallowed hard and made Rex gallop faster until her house came into veiw. Rae felt relieved to be home and slowed her horse to a walk. Rex sighed, and Sam patted his sweaty neck. She dismounted him and led him to the cool barn. Rex whinnied when he saw the horses. Several other horses returned his shrill greeting. Rex nudged his owner's shoulder. Rae felt slightly shaky as she untacked and groomed Rex. She hoped the cruel men didn't follow her. The thought gave her a haunting feeling and she looked around to make sure no black jacket men were hiding anywhere. She sighed, seeing that there were none. Rae felt bad for the poor horses that were probably traumitized. She thought about the tiny foals and the big black stallion. She had to do something and fast!
