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Ch. 7- Double Trouble
Sam woke to the sound of horses screaming outside. She sat up quickly and her head throbbed but she ignored it. Suddenly the noise stopped. A second later Jake and Jen were both wide awake too. The clock glowed 4:00 AM. The screams started again and Sam jumped out of the bed. She ran down the stairs with Jake and Jen right behind her. They all ran out of the house to see almost all of the horses including Jeepers Creepers, Sweetheart, Ace, Penny, Strawberry, and Dark Sunshine galloping towards War Drum Flats. "Sam yelled, "What in the heck happened!" just as something hit her on the back of the head and she fell to the ground. She quickly scrambled to her feet and turned to see Rachel. She looked madder than she had ever before. She screamed and launched herself at Sam again and probably would've succeeded in knocking her out if Jake wouldn't have stepped in and grabbed both of her wrists. She was screaming and hissing like a cat. "My brother's in jail because of you!" Bryanna and Sam's dad came running out of the house looking very confused. They looked to Sam who nodded at Jake holding Rachel, then to the almost empty 10 acre pasture. Wyatt looked like he wanted to run over and slap Rachel across the face but didn't. He walked over and grabbed her, "Get the horses," he said to Jake. Rachel was extremely mad now. She was kicking and biting at Wyatt, but he easily dodged her and dragged her to the house. Jake grabbed Witch and began to saddle her. "I'm coming," Sam insisted, but Jake shook his head and pointed to the house. She looked at him with serious eyes and said again, "I'm coming Jake. You'll never be able to round all of those horses by yourself," and before he could say another word she went to the pasture and grabbed Popcorn and began to tack him up. "Sam, stay here. You've already had enough problems today. I don't need you to have a dizzy spell and fall off of that horse." Sam didn't listen to a word he said and mounted just after he did. They stood there silently for a moment. "You are so stubborn, you know it? If you're coming let's not waste any more time." And he took off at a gallop without another word. Sam smiled and urged Popcorn into a slow lope and then a gallop.
As they approached War Drum Flats they spotted the Phantom and his herd. Sam pulled Popcorn to a halt and scanned the herd. "There they are," Sam whispered to Jake trying not to spook them. He nodded and they began walking towards the herd. The Phantom noticed them before any of the other horses did and began to prance through the herd towards Sam and Jake. Great, no way is he going to give the horses back to us. Jake urged Sam to come closer. They halted and Jake whispered something in Sam's ear and she took off at a gallop towards Arroyo Azul and the Phantom followed at a gallop. He matched their stride. Popcorn didn't like having the Phantom that close, but he trusted Sam. They had been galloping for a few minutes when Popcorn finally began to settle into his stride. I just have to keep him away long enough for Jake to round up the horses. Oh no. Sam heard a high pitched whinny coming from the way they came. Popcorn and the Phantom both slowed and stopped. They both listened and as soon as one of the horses whinnied again the Phantom wheeled around and took off at a gallop. Sam turned around and galloped after the Phantom. The herd came into view and Jake was struggling. He had managed to get all of the horses but Ace. The other horses, including the Phantom's herd, were getting nervous. The Phantom began to circle the herd to move them away and forgot completely about Jake getting away with the others. Sam began to carefully weave her way through the herd towards Ace. She grabbed his halter and began to make her way out. She was trotting away with Ace at her side when the Phantom came whizzing past her. He was running straight towards Jake. Sam screamed, "Jake, watch out!" He turned around just in time and set off at a gallop with the other horses in front of him. Sam did the same and let Ace run with the rest of the horses. Then she pulled up next to the Phantom and made him veer off from the horses and Jake. Sam turned to make sure Jake was ok. Ace tried to escape but Jake was too quick for him. She turned around and concentrated on keeping the Phantom from turning around. They galloped back to the herd and both horses halted. The Phantom then trotted circles around his herd and stood watch. Everything seems alright now. Sam turned Popcorn around and began trotting towards River Bend careful not to distract the Phantom and cause him to follow her. When she thought it was safe she began to gallop and eventually Jake and the horses came into view. The sun was finally beginning to rise as Sam came to a walk next to the herd. She smiled at Jake as River Bend came into view. What a night, thought Sam.
Jake and Sam got all of the horses into the pasture without any problems and untacked Popcorn and Witch. Sam noticed her head was throbbing and clutched her neck. Jake noticed and came over. "You ok?" Sam nodded, "It just hurts. Rachel managed to hit me in almost the same spot as I hit it when I fell." Suddenly she felt dizzy. She swayed from side to side but Jake grabbed her waist to keep her from falling. She looked at him and smiled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. "I love you Jake." He pulled her in front of him and smiled. "I love you too," and he gently kissed her. When they broke apart they stood there for a moment in each others arms silently enjoying the company. Suddenly they heard screams coming from the house. They both looked at each other and said in unison, "Rachel." Jake put his arm around Sam's waist to steady her as they walked to the house. They walked into the house and into the den. Bryanna, Wyatt, and Jen were sitting in chairs, and Rachel was sitting on the sofa with the sheriff standing in front of her. He said, "Well hi again. What happened this time?" Sam and Jake looked at one another and smiled. Sam began, "Well, we heard screams around 4:00 AM this morning. We ran outside to see our horses galloping off towards War Drum Flats. Then Rachel came up behind me and hit me. She was about to launch at me again but Jake grabbed her by the wrists when my Dad and Bryanna came out and dragged her inside. Jake and I went and got the horses and here we are." The sheriff sighed, "So all you know is that Rachel let the horses out. Do you know why they were screaming?" Sam and Jake looked at one another then to Rachel. They hadn't even thought about that. Jake asked calmly at first, "Rachel, what did you do to them?" Rachel crossed her arms and refused to say a word. Jake asked a second time and still Rachel didn't say a word. Jake calmly walked up to her and grabbed her throat, not tight enough to choke her, just tight enough to get her attention. "I hit them with the whip lying on the ground outside." Jake released her and she tried to grab him but the sheriff was too quick. Then there was a knock on the door and Slocum came running into the room. He walked up to Rachel and slapped her, "You stupid girl. Just because your brother has 2 years in jail doesn't mean you need to, also." He stared her down till she finally had to break her eye contact with him. She looked at the floor, "I'm sorry daddy." The sheriff looked at Slocum and said, "I'm sorry too but I need to bring Rachel in." Slocum looked at her in disgust before stomping out of the room, starting his car, and pulling away. "Come on Rachel," and the sheriff grabbed her arm and led her to the car. Sam collapsed on the sofa. Jake sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "This is going to be a long week," sighed Sam. Jake nodded and pulled her closer, "Now we're going to have twice the trouble." Right now, neither of them wanted to even think about what would happen at school the next day.
Well, there's Ch. 7. What did you think? Hope it's as good as the other chapters. kat