The Jessie Stories - The Saga Begins Chapter 7- Running From A Nightmare, a heartland fanfic

So, again, I wasn't planning on uploading till next week but I found a minute in my schedule to edit this chapter before I uploaded it... The story is really starting to get interesting... Who shot the girl? We won't know till the next chapter so I guess you will all have to wait and find out!

Thankyou to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! Your support is greatly appreciated!

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

'So, what's the news on the girl?' Calab asked Amy as she walked into the barn the next morning. He had heard about what had happened when he had gotten home the night before. 'Has Jack heard anything?'

'Nothing yet. He rang but they said that they didn't have anything to report and that they would ring when they had something.' She grabbed Spartans bridle off the hook then glanced back at him. 'I was going out for a ride, want to come along?'

'Sure. What horse can I take? I don't want to wear out Shorty for the rodeo.''

'Oh, you might as well take Pegasus. He does need the exercise.'

'Okay. Pegasus it is then.'

'See you outside,' She placed the bridle on Spartan then led him out of his stall and tied him to the hitching rail. Going back inside, she grabbed his saddle then went and saddled him up. Waiting for Calab, she saw the stallion in the round pen and walked over to check on him. 'Hey boy. How are you this morning?' The horse snorted as he looked at her, throwing his head up then resumed looking down the drive. 'Your missing her, aren't you?' He snorted again, and she looked over at his feed and water bucket. They hadn't been touched. 'You've got to at least drink something boy.'

'Ready for our ride?' Calab walked over, leading Pegasus behind him. 'What's up with him?'

'He hasn't touched his feed or water.' She climbed down off the fence and walked over to Spartan. Grabbing his reins off the rail, she mounted up and trotted up to Calab. 'He's pining for her.'

'He certainly looks like it.' He glanced over his shoulder at the horse then back at Amy. 'So, where are we going?'

'Anywhere, everywhere.' She laughed as she nudged Spartan into a gallop. 'Race you to the gorge!'

'Hey, that's not fair.' He nudged Pegasus faster, but at the same time was mindful of his age and didn't push him. 'You had a head start.'

'Eat my dust cowboy.' Amy laughed, urging Spartan on as they thundered up the trail towards the gorge at the back of the property. She laughed as the wind whipped her hair into her face, her hat flying off and bouncing on her back by the string. Her eyes stung from the wind, but she urged him on faster. The gorge soon loomed ahead and she slowed him down as Calab caught up. 'Beat you.'

'Yeh,yeh.' He patted Pegasus as he stopped him next to Amy, looking around. He never tired of the beauty of the landscape but something felt different. There was something that felt out of place. Then he saw something caught his eye in the grass and pointed to it. 'Amy, look.'

Amy looked down at where he was pointing, then grabbed her phone out from her pocket. 'I'm calling Grandpa.' She dialed his number, then waited for him to pick up. 'Grandpa, we found hoof prints and motorbike tracks in the clearing near the gorge….. Don't worry, Ty and I are being careful…. We won't touch anything…. How long will you be? Okay… See you soon… Bye.'

'Is he coming up to take a look?'

'Yep.' She placed her phone back in her pocket as she picked Spartans reins up. 'We'll just back up so we don't mess up the evidence. Grandpa is calling the police, and he'll be on his way.' She backed Spartan away from the tracks, then looked down at what she could see. 'Looks like they were getting chased by a motorbike.'

'A person on a motorbike with a gun.' He corrected. 'They had no chance.'

'No. Your right.' She patted Spartan as she looked around, a feeling of anger rising in her. 'Whoever shot at her shot her when she was trying to get away from them. They shot her in the back! Why would anyone do that?'

'I don't know.'

'They weren't far from home either. She must have been trying to get to Heartland to get help.' Calab didn't respond and she was left in her thoughts as she rubbed Spartans shoulder. By the hoof tracks, the horse had been in a full bolt, with the motorbike right on their tail. She could see the tracks of where she had stopped the horse, then they had ran again into the woods. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she picked it up, surprised to see that half an hour had passed already. 'Hi Grandpa…. No, we haven't touched anything…. Okay…. See you soon.' She hung up then placed the phone back away. 'He's on his way now, with Sargent Nick. They aren't far away.'

'Good.' Calab looked up at the cloudy sky. 'It looks like it's going to rain soon.'

'Good thing then we found the tracks when we did or they would be washed away.' She heard the sound of hoofbeats behind them and turned to look. 'It's them.'

'Good job finding this.' Nick dismounted his horse as he pulled up next to them. 'Sargent Nick Avery.'

'Amy Fleming and Calab O'Dell.' She hopped off Spartan and tied him up next to the horse the Sargent had borrowed. 'We haven't been anywhere near it, except for those tracks there.' She pointed to where her and Calab had stopped then backed away. 'We didn't see them till then, so once we did we left so we wouldn't mess it up.'

'Well, I must thank you for that. It makes my job easier.' He grabbed the camera he was carrying out of the bag, then began to take photographs of the tracks. 'So, your grandpa was saying your good with horses. What do these hoof tracks tell you?'

'The girl had her horse in a full gallop, coming from the right across the clearing, then stopped and paused for a moment there-' She pointed to where the girl had wheeled the horse around. 'Then continued into the trees.'

'Very good. Maybe we could make a detective out of you.' He knelt down to pick up a bullet casing not far from where the girl had stopped after he had photographed it and held it up to look at it. 'Well, the one that your vet got out of the horse was fired from this shell.' There was a small pile of casings near where the motorbike had stopped, the imprint of someone going over the handlebars evident in the soft turf. There were footprints there too, male footprints. 'The girl stopped over there and took a shot at the man. He went over the handlebars when his tyre deflated and took shots standing at her here, then took off.'

'Do you think whoever shot her is still around here?'

'I don't think so.' He glanced around the surrounding area. 'I'd say he's long gone by now.' He grabbed the horses reins and mounted as Amy hopped on her own horse. 'I'll grab that video off you too before I leave if you wouldn't mind Jack.'

'Sure, I'll grab it for you when we get back.'

'Thanks.'

'So, have you guys had any luck finding out who she is?' Amy asked as she cantered Spartan up next to the Sargent. 'Does she have a name?'

'We haven't had any luck so far. The department that has her gun at the moment is trying to identify it and place it with a license so if they find its registered we could get a name. Other then that, we don't really have anything to go on until she wakes up.'

'Have you tried asking around Pike River?' She dodged a branch as they cantered under a tree back towards the house. 'Yesterday, when our vet came to look at the horse he found a mark on his neck and the horse had been one that was in the whole mess up with the rustlers stealing the horses in the park. Maybe she came from around there?'

Nick nodded. 'Well, we don't have anything else to go on, we can try there. Thanks.'

'Your welcome.' They continued on to the ranch, pulling up outside the barn. Amy dismounted, then grabbed the reins of the Sargent's horse and Paint. 'I'll take care of them Grandpa.'

'Alright, thanks Amy. I'll go grab you the thumb drive.'

'Appreciate it.' The Sargent looked over at the horse in the pen, then walked over closer to get a better look. The stallion saw him and snorted, then exploded as he charged at the fence. 'Woah!'

'Yeh, he doesn't like men.' Amy threw the horses reins at Calab and ran over. 'Whenever my Grandpa or Calab goes near the fence he goes like this.' The stallion reared again and bolted forward at them, crashing into the wooden rails. 'He hates men.'

'I can see that.' He backed away a good distance, then the stallion began to calm down again. 'Does he have a microchip or anything?'

'No, our vet checked. Apart from the scar on his neck where he was creased, there is nothing to identify him.'

'That doesn't help any.'

'I guess it wouldn't.'

'Here it is.' Jack walked over and handed him the thumb drive. 'It's the only file on there.'

'Thank you.' he grabbed it and placed it in his pocket. 'Have a nice day folks.'

Jack nodded as the Sargent turned and left, then he looked back at the horse. 'How's he doing?'

'He's not eating, and he hasn't drunk anything.' The stallion was looking down the road again. 'Have you heard anything from the hospital?'

'No change. The girl still hasn't woken.' He patted Amy on the shoulder. 'I think the stallion will be fine. He'll settle down and start eating soon.'

'I hope your right.'

'Trust me.' He winked at her. 'Lisa is coming over this afternoon, so we'll see if we can get him to eat from her.'

"How are you doing boy?' Lisa asked as she slowly and cautiously walked over to the fence, Jack standing a good way back. The stallion snorted and raised his head as he heard her voice, then watched her as she stopped next to the fence. 'Hey, do you want some food?' She held out a bucket with fresh oats and carrots. 'It's really nice boy. Come have some.'

His ears flicking, he watched her with his big brown eyes. The bucket looked tempting, but it wasn't his girl offering them to him. Something though in her voice was drawing him to her though and slowly he put one foot in front of the other until he was at the fence.

'Good boy.' The stallion started to smell the oats, then placed his muzzle in the bucket and began to eat. She looked over her shoulder at Jack and smiled, then turned back to the horse. 'Good boy. Good boy.'

Beep.

The noise was driving her crazy.

Beep.

What on earth was it?

Beep.

It was really starting to get on her nerves.

Beep.

There was a funny smell and it was driving her crazy.

Beep.

Where was she?

Beep.

What was she doing here?

Beep.

Why couldn't she open her eyes?

Beep.

She could hear voices.

Beep.

Where was her horse?

Beep.

Where was she?

Beep.

She was tired, so tired….

So, still no real news about the girl, no news of who she is or where she came from. Who is out to get her? Why did they shoot her? What do they want with her? I guess those burning questions will have to go unanswered for another chapter! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, Adios!