Chapter 4
Run
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"Run!" Kris heard Jackie. All three girls sprang up and went for it. Kris, though delayed, ran off behind them. She could here the man screaming behind them. It wasn't long that she regretted running out of the stable into the open where plenty of workers were. Some didn't really know what was going on and ignored them, others just watched with confusion, yet a number got the idea after seeing their co-worker chasing after the girls to help him out.
Courtney, panting, yelled, "Split up!" And easily, the three split up, making Kris feel abandoned and stupid for getting into this situation in the first-place. She turned her head, and noticed two men were chasing her.
She picked up speed.
Making a sharp turn, another choice to add to her list of regrets, Kris made her way through a wave of people and workers to lose her pursuers.
However, sprinting and bumping into people in a slow moving crowd tends to bring attention. She could hear her trackers yell after her for help. Kris spared a moment to look back at her pursuers, and was glad to know her fast speed was creating a distance between them. As she put her head forward she saw someone from her left try to grab her arm. Kris, who spun her body towards her opponent, gripped their arm and yanked it towards the ground, causing the person to go smack into the dirt. Kris, admiring her takedown, looked back to her original pursuers, only to notice they were merely a few yards from her.
Kris pivoted and ran like she'd never run ever again.
Panting, sweating, and legs fueled by adrenaline, Kris knew she needed to find a hidden spot to rest. Turning her head for she hoped would be the last time; she saw that her speed and endurance put a great distance between her and her pursuers. Making a sharp turn into a luckily employee-abandoned open-roofed stable, Kris collapsed in and behind an open stall, gasping for breath. It only took a mere few moments until she heard the men chasing her run down between the stalls, thinking that she ran all the way through to the other side. Waiting for her heart to calm down, Kris closed her eyes and laid her head against the stall. Taking in deep breaths, Kris thought of the other girls, whether they were caught or not, or whether her group had noticed her absence yet, or…
Some strange rumbling noise right in front of Kris's face made her jump. Eyes springing open, Kris realized she wasn't in the stable alone.
Slowly looking up, she noticed a very large muscled horse towering over her, providing her shade. With protesting muscles, Kris slowly stood up, staring very uncomfortably at the horse. It began to bring its head close to hers, breathing on her for a moment, allowing Kris to smell its horse breath.
"Ew, could it hurt to use a breath mint?" Kris asked, not really expecting a response as she looked around the door to see if the coast was clear.
Except, the horse did respond in its own, rumbling voice, nodding its head up and down. Kris returned her attention to the horse in a little bit of shock, thinking, 'Did he just understand me?' Footsteps from outside, however, made Kris remember that she was hiding. Thinking that a loud horse would attract attention, Kris tried to quiet it. "Shhh, quiet, boy! Or, girl… never did get a good look. C'mon, I'll give you something nice if you're quiet." Kris whispered, yet the horse didn't do so. It kept nodding its head up and down, not violently, though, which was a good thing for Kris. Thinking that petting it might help quiet the thing, Kris reached out, then took her hand back, then reached out again, and retracted her hand back. 'C'mon, Kris, just suck it up, and maybe you won't have to be behind bars again.'
With that thought, Kris slowly reached out, with one finger, and touched the horse. 'Ok, not so bad… now what?' Kris stood there for a moment, one finger on the horse's nose, and not moving. She was still, and things were quiet.
'Quiet… quiet! No footsteps! Ok, dodged that bullet…'
Kris, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, pulled her finger back down to side. Then she heard something.
It wasn't quiet.
It wasn't footsteps.
It was laughing.
Someone had witnessed Kris's first attempt to touch a horse.
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Hmm, apparently no one wants a vitual cookie as of yet.
Well, I have 40 hits so far, so I'm guessing that somebody has an interest in the story.
And if anybody's interested in a music video for Wildfire on youtube, check the bottom of my profile. Low quality clips, but the ending comes out pretty nice.