Heart of Thunder 4
As soon as Michael was out of sight of the door. he ran to the trail head and scanned the ground with his bionic eye. The scanners in his eye zeroed in on Thunder's hoofprints. Just as he found them, Lisa Carole and Stevie came running up.
"Michael," said Lisa, "What is going on?!"
"Long story short," Replied Michael, "Because of what happened to him, you don't go near Thunder with any kind of stick in your hand and that includes a riding crop. Veronica didn't know this when she tried to ride him without permission, Thunder freaked out and ran, her father over reacted, hired some character to kill Thunder, and now to save my horse I have to find Thunder before the shooter does!"
"We'll help!" said Carole, "Come on, Guys, let's tack up!" the girls turned and raced toward the stables.
Michael turned and raced up the trail following the hoofprints. When he got to Cross Crest, the junction point of the three main trails, he started scanning with his bionic eye again and listening with his Bionic ear.
The infrared scanner in his bionic eye detected a slight heat signature radiating off a set of Thunder's prints. That meant these prints were more recent than the others. Michael was off like a shot running as fast as he could up the trail Thunder had taken.
As Michael rounded a corner in the trail he skidded to a stop. The tracks veered off the trail and stopped at the edge of a deep chasm known as dead man's gorge. From the top edge it was 400 feet straight down to the rapids of Willow Creek!
Michael scanned the other side of the gorge from where he was standing. His eye zoomed in on Thunder's hoofprints on the other side they were continuing away from the gorge.
He grinned to himself.
"Clever Thunder, Clever." He murmured, "you jumped the gorge!"
Michael backed up and easily made a flying leap across the 30-foot-wide gorge. As soon as he hit the ground, he took off running. He raced though a stand of trees and in the clearing on the other side, he found Thunder calmly grazing.
"Thunder." he smiled pausing in relief. Just as he started walking toward his horse. an ominous sound hit his bionic ear. It was the sound of the bolt on a hunting rifle sliding into place. He immediately began scanning the nearby bluffs. His infrared scanner locked in on the thermal image of someone crouching behind a rock up on the bluff.
Michael sprang into action. That shooter was already drawing a beat on Thunder. Michael sprinted toward Thunder. He ran in front of the Thunder just as the shooter fired. Michael threw up his bionic arm and there was a splash of sparks as the bullet ricocheted off of it.
Thunder just stood there looking at Michael with complete trust.
Michael jumped on Thunder and rode towards the bluff. Thunder accelerated to bionic speed and made a flying leap that carried him and Michael to top of the bluff in a single bound. The shooter was more than a little surprised when Michael and Thunder appeared in front of him. Michael jumped off of Thunder and twisted the rifle out of the man's hand.
He twisted the barrel shut and broke the butt of the gun over his knee. Then he threw it back to the man.
"The job's off, go home!" he growled in a low threatening voice.
The thoroughly spooked man didn't have to be told twice the grabbed the busted remains of his gun and took off.
Michael jumped back on Thunder and started back toward Pine Hollow.
He met the Saddle club girls coming up the trail. When they saw him and Thunder, they looked as relieved as Michael was sure he looked and felt.
They paused where they met as the girls gushed over Thunder and how happy they were to see him. Michael rubbed Thunder's muzzle too. Thunder knackered happily to be reunited with his friends.
When they got back to Pine Hollow, Michael put Thunder back into his stall. as he went to get Thunder a carrot, he made a point of giving Mr. DiAngelo one more dirty look."
As he fed the carrot to Thunder with one hand, he used his other to pulled out his phone. He called his father and filled him in on what had just happened.
"That DiAngelo," muttered his father, "He always was a hothead!"
"Well, he did think that Thunder tried to kill his daughter." Sighed Michael who had cooled off considerably now that Thunder was out of danger.
"I know," said Dr. Bennett, "But it is just like him to automatically assume the worst instead of staying calm and actually trying to find out what really happened. Tell you what I'll do, DiAngelo's company handles several of my laboratory's supply contracts. So, I'll drag my feet on renewing them for a few days and make him sweat a little!"
"Why, Dad," smirked Michael, "I never knew you had such a devious streak!"
"Where do you and your sister think you got it from?" chuckled Dr. Bennett
"Bye, dad," said Michael, "and thanks."
A little while later everything had calmed down and everybody got back to the business of training for the county tournament. Michael had turned Thunder out in one of the paddocks to give him time to relax after the events of the morning.
Carole and Stevie were practicing their jumping and Lisa was practicing her dressage routine. Michael was standing at the fence watching her, a written copy of the dressage routine in his hand, like she had asked him to.
One by one he checked off the different elements as she performed them. A few minutes later she gave her final salute and then came over to talk to Michael.
"Well, what do you think?" she asked.
"Well, you rushed that last flying change a little," said Michael honestly, "But other than that it was perfect."
"Yeah, we're working on that." Nodded Lisa patting her horse gently.
Michael was about to answer when Jess and Melanie came running around the corner of the building from the direction of the lounge.
"Guys," said Melanie when they reached the fence, "Come quick!"
"What is it?" Melanie asked Lisa, "Just come and see for yourself."
Michael and the others hurried toward the lounge. When the rounded the corner they stopped short. On the wall of the lounge painted in giant blood red paint was an ominous warning:
DROP OUT OF THE COUNTY TOURNAMENT, OR ELSE!
TO BE CONTINUED…. PLEASE REVIEW