//.Chapter Nine.\\
"I just got a phone call from Mr. Kenney..but of course, you already know what it's about,"Amy said, she was leaning aganst the kitchen counter, drying her hands with a dish towel. Through the window the sky was dark gray with clouds, and large, fluffy snowflakes were beginning to fall, a harsh wind picked up, causing an eerie whistling to fill the air for a few moments.
I was sitting at the kitchen table with Lou, it's polished wooden surface obscured with wedding catalogues, papers, invitation examples, and Lou's lap top, which she was hiding behind, acting like she was absorbed in whatever she was doing. my gaze went from Lou back to Amy, I had decided to take the same approach that I had used with Mr.Kenney towards Amy's lecture; shut-up and it'll be a lot less painful.
"You broke Tom's nose,"Amy said calmly, but her gaze was icy,"You're lucky his parents haven't called."
Hmm, I guess I didn't know the power of my own strength. I had thought Amy would at least partially understand where I
was coming from, Tom had started the fight, after all, but with the look she was giving me, I doubted she did. Thus, I came to my defense.
"He did start it,though,"I mumbled, avoiding Amy's gaze,"I warned him to stop."
"What?"Amy asked, frowning a little.
I sighed slightly, then explained,"He was saying things about Cody and my mom, I warned him to stop, but he didn't, so I punched him."
Amy shook her head,"You know better than to lower yourself to violence, you let him know that he was bothering you. You should have ignored him."
"I tried to,though!"I cried, then I sighed a little and continued,"This wasn't the first time that Tom started messing with me."
"Than you should have told a teacher,"Amy replied.
Well, I didn't have anything to reply to that. Amy was right, I should have told a teacher, but I had let my anger get the best of me. I knew violence was wrong, and I really didn't like getting into fights, but I really trusted Amy. I thought that to some extent she'd understand why I had punched Tom, that he had provoked me, but she didn't seem to get the picture at all.
Amy continued,"Jess, I'm really dissapointed in you. You've been given a chance to start over, something that not many people get, and you're just back at square one again. You have to stop messing around and buck up."
I couldn't believe her! Did she think I was just lazing off, that I didn't take anything seriously? I felt the rage from earlier begin to bubble again, so much that I suddenly stood up. The wind outside whistled and screamed.
"'Messing around'? Is that what you think I'm doing? I've been trying my best to help out and fit in! Do you think I want people to keep making comments about my dead brother, that I want people to think of me as 'the girl that screwed up on her bike'?"I shouted.
The room had fallen completely silent, Lou had stopped typing and was now watching Amy and I with wide eyes. Amy watched me, she had become silent. but there wasn't anger in her eyes, just shock that I had yelled. That's when I realized there were tears in my eyes, but I blinked them away. It was the second time today that I had flown off the handle, Christina would be dissapointed. I couldn't help it though, I was tired of people saying things and making comments, and I had to take it all with a smile on my face and keep going.
Amy didn't get to reply to my outburst though, because suddenly there was the sound of running footsteps and then the door burst open, letting in a burst of cold air. Scott stood in the doorway, snowflakes melting on his shoulders and in his black hair, his cheeks were red with the cold and his eyes were wide, his face anxious, almost scared.
"Lou, Amy -Byron and I have looked everywhere, we can't find Emily, she's missing!"
And that's when I realized what the cause of the fear was, it was fear for his missing daughter.
Lou suddenly jumped up from the table, her expression worried,"Are you sure?"
Scott nodded gravely,"Byron and I have checked the barns, the pastures, the back of the house, we can't find her anywhere."
"I'll call the police,"Amy said, walking over to the phone.
"Let me check the house,"Lou said, then quickly turned and went upstairs.
I walked over to one of the cabinets and took out a flash light, handing one to Scott, then I put my jacket on.
"I'll help you look outside, we'll go around the area again, maybe she'll turn up,"I suggested.
Scott nodded, I put my gloves on, then I walked out of the warm, comforting house, and into the cold of the storm. When I first stepped off the porch and onto the frozen ground a gust of wind suddenly picked up and stung my cheeks. I squinted against it and looked at the ground, there was already an inch of glistening white snow.
The lights from the barn gleamed brightly in the dark, seeming to give off a sense of warmth and hope. Scott and I walked to the barn, Byron and Ty were standing just outside.
"We check the hayloft, the tack room and the feed room,"Ty said, shaking his head a little,"There's no sign of her."
From the light of the barn I could see the look of dissapointment and worry on Scott's face,"Amy's called the police, so they should be here soon. I'll go look up by the road, you two check the pastures again. Jess, check around the barns and the house."
After the orders were given. the three of us went our separate ways. I turned my flashlight on and walked slowly around the barn, looking for Emily's purple Winter jacket, the snow kept falling unrelentlessly, falling in the same large white flakes. The wind howled and shrieked, tossing snow in all directions. I yelled Emily's name a few times, walking around the barns and the house twice, but there was no sign of her. I paused as I saw red and blue flashing lights in the distance, and I quickly realized it was a squad car, as they came closer I saw there was two of them, as they pulled into the drive way I began to walk away from the barn and towards them.
The snow was getting deeper every minute, and soon it would be difficult to walk through it. Byt the time I got to the cars, everyone was already gathered near them. Four police officers had come, two of them had hounds, which were jumping about and barking loudly. I stood next to Byron, watching as Lou handed a picture of Emily to one of the officers.
"We've looked everywhere, and we can't find her,"Lou said,"She went missing half an hour ago."
The police officer sighed slightly and looked around, he was a balding man in his late forties, his face creased with lines of worry and exhaustion,"Well, we can go around the area with the dogs, but we can't send out a search party just yet."
"Why not?"Ty asked defensively.
The police officer shook his head a little,"The storm's too rough to send anyone out now, we won't get that far, we'll have to wait until it lets up, I'm sorry."
Lou suddenly let out a sob and Scott went to her, hugging her close,murmuring quietly to her. I couldn't hear what they were saying over the wind, but I felt sorrow stab at my heart. I turned my gaze away from them and looked out at the stable yard, I couldn't see past the pasture fences, beyond them was complete darkness, nothing but woods and trails. I really began to wonder where Emily could be, imagining her somewhere in that darkness, lost, scared and cold; alone. With nothing but the darkness and the silent falling snow.
'But I want to go on a ride,daddy!'
"I should have kept a better eye on her,"Scott suddenly said, shaking his head a little.
"Don't beat yourself up,Scott,"Amy said,"We'll find her."
And I knew we would, because I had a pretty good idea of where Emily might be, but I would have to act, and fast. I took a few steps back from the group, then turned and began to walk away, past the barns and the pastures, they didn't even realize that I had left. My foot steps were completely silent on the fresh blanket of snow, which was getting higher every minute, within a few minutes, I knew, the falling snow would completely cover my tracks. I walked along the pasture fence for a while, the lights from the barn and the house becoming more distant with every step. Suddenly, the fence ended, and beyong that was the ominous expance of darkness, nothing but woods and trails. A harsh gust of wind suddenly blew back my hair, the sound screaming in my ears, telling me to turn back and go home. I shined my flashlight forward, finding the opening to the trails, then I took a steady breath, and entered the woods.
At first it wasn't hard to stay on the path, despite the snow, there was a definite gap between the trees, which I knew was the trail, so I followed it. Other than the beam from my falshlight, everything else was pitch black, the silence was complete, the only noise was the occasional whistle of the wind and my breathing. It was like I was in some dark, alien world, and I was the only living being. I immediately felt bad for Emily, being stuck in the dark and silence all alone, and without a flashlight, she was probably scared to death, being only four years old. I could remember being afraid of the dark when I was four, and how I thought there were monsters living under my bed, where there was complete darkness, all the time. Then my determination to find her grew.
"Emily!"I yelled loudly, my voice echoed into the darkness, sounding small,"Emily, it's Jess, everyone's looking for you!"
I paused and listened carefully, but there was no answer, after a few moments I kept walking. I wondered if Amy and the others realized I was missing yet, they probably had by now, and they'd be looking for me as well. I could picture Amy, Lou and Scott sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and waiting for any news, trying to start conversations, but what was there to say? All they could do was sit and wait, and worry. What about my parents? They had no idea I was out in the woods, looking for some little girl, they didn't have a clue. They were both probably sleeping right now, whilst I was wandering outside in the dark and the cold.
I stopped again to yell Emily's name, my breath being swept away by the wind, then I listened, but there was no answer. The snow was around my ankles now, and it was getting harder to walk through it. I sighed a little and looked around, more trees and just darkness. What was I thinking, going into the woods to find Emily? What if I was lost, and I had been walking in circles the whole time? What if I couldn't find my way back? How come I didn't mark my way as I walked? I hadn't even thought of this, even if I did find Emily I wouldn't be of any help to her, we'd be lost together. These woods went on for a few miles, how did I know Emily was on this trail? Maybe she wasn't even on the trail at all. Maybe I'd just go on looking for her, and then I'd collapse from exhaustion and freeze to death, and then weeks later they'd find my frozen body laying in the snow.
What if Emily had gotten frost bite and she had fallen down, and now she was laying somewhere, simply looking like some snow drift, and I had walked past her? So many questions, so many thoughts all on one little girl. I had never felt so small and alone in my entire life, standing in these woods; I was at mercy to the storm. I couldn't remember a time that I had been so scared, well, there was one time that was close to this, and that was the accident, when I had seen Cody go flying out of my reach, off the track, and then I had become airborne as well. Suddenly I saw a small lump off snow in the path, I shined my flash light on it and bent down, wiping the snow away and I picked it up. It was a black model horse, probably a Breyer model, I had had dozens of them when I was younger.
I knew of course, that this was a sign that Emily had been here at some point, and by the amount of snow that had fallen on the toy horse, it hadn't been too long ago. I yelled Emily's name as loud as I could, but no one answered. I frowned to myself a little and looked at the toy horse again, I had to be brave for Emily, and believe that things would turn out okay. Then, with new determination, I set off down the trail once again at a fast walk.
It wasn't long before I reached Clairedale road, the trail ended and there it was, a flat, white expanse of road. There weren't any cars, of course, the snow was too deep to get through, and there was ice underneath. When I had first stepped onto the road my hopes had picked up tremendously, and I started jogging along side of the road. This was a bad idea, I found out though, because no more than two seconds later I fell flat on my face. Yep, I was just gracefull. Pain immediately rushed to my knees, but I numbly picked myself up and kept walking, being more careful of the black ice. The wind whistled and the trees swayed slowly, thier branches creaking heavily in the breeze, the snow just kept on falling, being tossed and thrown by the harsh wind. The turn off loomed up ahead and I stepped back on the trail, picking my way carefully up the hill. When I finally got to the top I saw the house, the car and the shed, all three nearly unrecognizable from the snow. But amongst all the white the beam from my flashlight fell on a small girl wearing a puffy purple Winter jacket, sitting up against the shed.
I ran over to her, slipping on some of the loose snow, but I regained my balance and kneeled in front of her, and even though my face was numb, I was grinning.
"I think.."I said, handing her the toy horse,"..you dropped this."
Emily looked at me, her face red from the cold, and slowly tears began to run down her face.
I hugged her close to me, she was nearly frozen,"It's okay, I'm going to bring you home. Everything's going to be fine, I promise."
"I'm s-so c-c-cold,"Emily barely got out, she was shivering horribly in my arms.
I took off my jacket and put it around her, then I picked her up and began to walk back up the hill, she wasn't that heavy, but walking up hill and through the snow was difficult.
"How d-did you know I was h-here?"Emily asked in a small voice.
I carefully picked my way back up the hill, then started the descent,"Oh, I h-had a hunch."
She stayed silent after that, I walked warily on the road, then started back on the trail again. The wind screamed hit at my face, which was completely numb by now. I couldn't feel my ears or my nose, and my legs felt like jelly, but I thought of Heartland and I kept going. I glanced down at Emily and saw her eye-lids beginning to droop. I panicked slightly, sleep was one of the first signs of hypothermia.
"Emily,"I said against the wind,"Whatever you do, just stay awake, keep your eyes open, alright? You need to stay awake."
"Okay,"Emily replied softly, her voice almost inaudible.
That's when I began to talk, I neede to keep her awake, so I told her about when I was four and I had first ridden a horse, and about how I was afraid of monsters under my bed, I told her about how I was afraid when I had gone off to look for her. I told her about the lessons my mom gave me on a pony named Domino and how horses were 'in my blood'. I told her anything I could to keep her awake, and at the same time, talking kept me awake and walking too.
Soon I stopped walking though, my legs were shaking badly, and I could feel my knees buckle, if we were going to make it home, I would have to sit for a few minutes to get my strength back. I sat down and put Emily next to me, resting my head against the trunk of a tree. I felt so exhausted, I could have fallen asleep right there, despite the cold and the wind. My whole body was completely numb, this is what it must have felt like in Antarctica, a cold, barren wasteland, completely unpopulated. I needed to keep talking to keep Emily awake.
"How about I tell you a story?"I suggested, staring ahead at the path.
"Okay,"Emily said quietly, huddled against me.
"Alright,"I murmured, thinking,"Once upon a time, far, far away in the Arabian desert there was a princess, and she lived in a beautiful palace, she ruled with kindness and bravery, and the people in the village always had food and they honored the princess as thier leader. Although the princess had riches beyond belief, her most prized possesion was a white pony. One day though, the pony went missing and was nowhere to be found.."
Emily was listening intently, trying to stay awake. But I had stopped talking because I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the path.
Amongst the wind and snow a figure was walking up to us, soon he came near us and halted, he was wearing jeans a dark gray shirt, he was tall and lean, standing around six foot. His skin was a nice tan, and his face was nicely defined. He had slightly long, dark brown hair the curled slightly and framed his face nicely, his most striking feature was his bright blue eyes. His gaze met mine and he grinned, like he really meant it.
Cody...
I knew it was a hallucination, a result from the cold and exhaustion. I felt a lump form in my throat.
"I'm sorry,"I whispered, my breath coming out in a visible puff.
Cody only looked at me and gave me a quiet smile, looking at me with concern, then he turned and looked down the path.
A soft snort filled the air and soon Novello could be seen in the ray from the flashlight. Her electric blue eyes observed me and she whickered softly, shaking her mane a little. Despite how cold I was I felt a smile form on my numb features. We were going to make it home.
I picked up Emily and put her on Novello's back, then I pulled myself up and put my arms in fron of Emily, holding onto Novello's mane. When I looked back, Cody was gone. as soon as I got on, Novello turned around and started walking, her hooves silent on the snow. She carefully picked her way along the path.
I continued with the story to keep Emily awake,"...The princess needed help to find her pony, so she called the legendary far rider. The rider was mysterious to the kingdom, but he was kind, and within a few days, he returned to the kingdom with the pony. The princess asked him how he had found her pony, and he replied, 'Your horse is your friend, trust your horse, and they will find thier way home.' "
Novello kept walking confidently, knowing how to get back to Heartland. Soon the trees became less dense, and we were out of the woods. I could see the lights from the house and the barn, the lights that helped us through the storm. Novello walked along the pasture fence, and as we neared the house I could hear some commotion from inside.
Lou suddenly pushed open the fron door and ran down the porch,"Emily!"She yelled happily.
I could see Scott, Ty, Byron, Amy and the police officers follow her, jogging towards us through the deep snow. I picked up Emily and put her down as easily as I could, then I watched as she ran towards Lou. Lou met her and pulled her into a hug.
I watched this joyful reunion for a few moments as Amy and Ty made thier way towards me, then I leaned down and hugged Novello's warm, fuzzy neck, she nickered softly.
"Good girl,"I murmured, then I closed my eyes and let the darkness meet me.
