Chapter 32

Spirit-Who-Could-Not-Be-Broken

The Lakota camp was in a disarray.

After that terrifying and ruthless attack, our tribe...at least what was left of it, had been living dead-quiet. They tried hard to rebuild our village, care for the wounded and peacefully honor those who had fallen. It's been a while since I had witnessed a chaotic situation. The horses, who had returned to us so unexpectedly, were a huge surprise to everyone in our tribe. In fact, it came as a complete shock.

The humans thought that they had been lost forever.

I was in disbelief. Didn't Silver Moon tell me that those who had been taken by the cavalry men never returned?

Great Conquest, Wind, Dawn, Blossom, Blaze and many more of our companions were all extremely happy to be back. They neighed and squealed in excitement, eagerly trotting up and down around the two-leggeds. The humans, upon recognizing their horses, met up to them with cheerful exclamations and tried to settle down the excited creatures.

I couldn't hold back either. Their unpredictable return perplexed me on many levels. I couldn't contain my exhilaration and naturally began rearing and calling to them anxiously. Aranda, who seemed more stoic, tried to calm me down but I couldn't resist. This was so exciting. Snorting and pawing the ground in eagerness, I became determined to get closer to my returning friends. But the woman, who had been instructed to care for me by Little Creek, came up to my side and gently tied a rope around my neck, easing me slowly.

"Gently girl, Whoa." She spoke in a smooth and calm tone. "Take it easy. Easy..." She continued softly, stroking me with gentle motions. "You're not entirely recovered yet. Relax."

Her soft, mild, caring voice and calming strokes made me ease up and I slowly settled down. "There you go, shhh..." She said and held on to me.

I watched curiously as the rest of the two-leggeds caught their bolting horses, relaxed them and began to take off the bizarre, metal chains from their bodies.

Once the bustling activity gradually dissolved and chaos was no longer at bay, the two-leggeds hustled together to talk it over amongst themselves how something like this could possibly happen. My kind however, was released in the fields where large bales of hay awaited them, and I too became quite anxious to join them. But the woman who held on to me, moved to where her fellow humans stood eagerly conversing amongst themselves and I had no other choice but to reluctantly follow her lead. Aranda quietly trailed after us, refusing to leave me even for a second.

"How did this happen?" Asked a middle-aged man, looking over at the reappeared horses. Because of his knowledge and experience, he was appointed as the new chief of the tribe. "Who's the brave warrior who managed to get our companions back?"

"We know not." Answered a young boy of twelve. "I was gathering wood for the fire when I heard them galloping towards us."

"It seems like they came alone." Joined in another man, who looked to be no more older than Little Creek.

"How strange." Murmured the new chief of our village. "And they're all back?"

"I counted them to be sure." Exclaimed the young boy, feeling proud of himself. "All of our horses are present. Including the one's we used for war. Great Conquest, Wind and Blaze."

"I can vouch for that." Said Long Knife, who was slowly healing from his severe wounds. "My war stallion, Great Conquest is indeed amongst them." He grunted under his breath, trying to stand proudly but failing due to pain.

"All of them have returned...all of them!" Happily exclaimed the little sister of that same woman holding on to me.

"So, does that mean that greedy, pale faced demons did not complete their railway mission?" Questioned the surprised chief, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Who knows really." Spoke the woman next to me. "As long as we have our horses back, we'll be fine."

"You speak with reason, White Doe." An old man wrapped in a thick blanket turned to the woman in a muffled voice. "The Winter season will be easier on us now that we have our reliable brothers and sisters back."

The humans kept talking and wondering about these matters, trying hard to guess how could an unexpected thing like this occur. But I was growing more anxious and anxious by the second. The unsure interpretations of the two-leggeds didn't suffice me. I desperately needed to get to my friends and ask them how they managed to escape. I glanced at the returned horses, who were eating and relaxing in the fields now. I tried hard to remain composed even though I was fretful and eager to gallop towards them.

"Perhaps your human had something to do with it?" Whispered Aranda in my ear.

"That's what I want to figure out." I nickered back helplessly. "But I'm waiting for her to let go of me." I eyed White Doe, who held on to the rope, showing no intention of releasing it.

Before Aranda could answer, three young warriors from the tribe, that had been sent few days ago to spy on the enemy, came running back and dashed towards our group completely breathless. I immediately perked my ears in alarm, their anxious aura so strong, that it made me shudder.

"A fire!" Panted one of them.

"A forest fire broke out on the Pacific Railroad, while we were silently scanning them from a distance!" Explained another.

"The steam locomotive was destroyed!" Threw in the third.

"Ruined and reduced to shreds, to be exact!" Pointed out the first speaker.

"Not just the train but everything was utterly demolished!" The third warrior cried, his voice shaking with subtle fear

"We quickly left the area to come and inform you that our horses that were all tied to the locomotive had been freed somehow." The second man said to the new chief.

"That, we know." Said the tribe's leader. "Just minutes before you came, they returned to us." He informed the young warriors and shifted his gaze to fields where the horses were stationed.

I gasped upon hearing this information, unable to decide what worried me more the fact that Little Creek was not back yet or the fact that no one seemed to mention him.

"Do you know what caused the railway construction sight to blow up in flames?" Asked Long Knife, who himself couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"It's hard to say." Started one of them unsurely, rubbing the back of his head.

"Everything happened so fast and before the fire could catch up to us we escaped." Finished another warrior.

Once their narrative was done, the new chief of our tribe began to speak in a low but firm tone. "The pale-faced devils had it coming. You reap what you sow. The Great Spirit himself avenged us."

I listened in complete alertness, trying to comprehend every syllable. His wise words echoed in my ears and for some reason, my mind concentrated and lingered on the Great Spirit part.

Spirit...

...Spirit!

Impossible!

Could it be?

My eyes grew as wide as the landscapes of our untamed territory. Sudden feeling of intuition and realization hitting me all at once.

As the two-leggeds began to murmur words of praise and sacred prayer, gazing up at the evening's clear sky, I decided to use this to my advantage. Rearing up in desperation, I let out a squeal of anxiety and startled my handler. My skittish action came as a surprise to White Doe, who dropped the rope which enabled me to slip away from her soft grip.

Turning promptly, I swiftly raced towards my reappeared friends, trying very hard to ignore the pressure and discomfort on my bruised shoulder.

"Rain!" I heard her calling after me together with the worried Aranda. "Come back!"

I increased my speed, ignoring their calls, my eyes focused on one direction only.

"Wind! Dawn!" I screamed as I galloped up to the relaxed horses. They instantly jerked their heads up, little alarmed at my high-strung behavior.

"Rain," Dawn nickered softly in surprise, walking over to greet me but I didn't let her.

"Please tell me, how did you manage to escape?" I blurted almost immediately, forgetting to take deep breaths and stay composed.

"Well-" Stuttered Dawn, exchanging worried glances with the rest of the horses. They were quite taken aback by my actions.

"Just tell me!" I neighed impatiently, my ears had already detected White Doe making her way towards me. I snapped my head back only to see her pick up the dragging rope from my neck and before I could protest, she was leading me back to the camp again.

"No!" I struggled, stubbornly refusing to obey her orders.

"What's gotten into you, Rain?" She questioned in surprise and attempted to calm me down.

I desperately, turned my head towards the other horses and neighed anxiously, my nostrils flaring. "What happened to Spirit? Where is Spirit?!" I screamed in panic at Wind, Dawn, Midnight and Blaze. They were standing in front of the herd, thus blocking others like Blossom, Silver Moon, her colt and even Great Conquest from my view.

White Doe yanked the rope hard enough to bring me back to my senses. "Rain, stop it!"

Other horses, noticing my state, began to neigh and whiny at me in equal anxiety. "What's going on? Why aren't you allowed to be with us?" Asked Wind, hating this tense situation.

"White Doe, let go off her!" A young girl yelled, as she rushed quickly and rebuked her older sister. "Can't you tell that she wants to be with her friends?"

"She's not allowed to stress. Rain isn't healed yet." White Doe stated with firmness. "Little Creek entrusted her in my care and I promised I wouldn't disappoint him." She tugged the rope, trying to take me back to the camp once more.

"Wait, stop!" I begged, digging my hooves in the snowy ground.

"You're gonna hurt her! Let her stay with her friends." The little girl pleaded, taking the rope from White Doe's hands and slipping it off from my neck. "She missed them." The girl smiled in understanding and rubbed my nose with her small, delicate hands, calming me down in the process.

The very second I found myself free, I quickly trotted over to my kind. This time, with much more level-headed and collected manner.

"See?" Said the girl to her sister. "She's gonna be okay."

I nickered happily, pleased that they finally understood what I desired.

"Oh, alright." Giggled White Doe. "Have it your way, stubborn, little mare." And with a slight shake of her head, she left me as the younger sister ran after her with the rope in her hand.

Once they were gone, Dawn neared me, coming up to my side. "Rain, are you alright?" She whispered in concern. "I've never seen you so bothered."

"I'm fine." I responded, keeping my voice soft and calm.

"But you've got a wound on your shoulder." Midnight nickered, moving her nose to my damaged area.

"I feel better and I'm alright." I assured quickly, not paying heed to their worried little mutters. "Please tell me, how is that you've escaped? Silver Moon was not even sure you'd come back alive."

"It's true." Silver Moon spoke up in agreement, as she came forward. "It's about time you tell us how you've managed to free yourselves."

"And why isn't Spirit amongst you? Wasn't he captured by the cavalry as well?" I asked, my eyes searching for a dun-colored stallion. "Where is he?" My voice was shaking as I began to fear for the worst.

"Alright, Rain...we'll tell you everything we know." Wind said, as he reached forward to nuzzle me in a comforting way.

I stopped my fretting, my ears perked forward and I listened, eager to hear the most valid account of what had truly happened.

"As you may know," Wind started, his eyes focused on me and Silver Moon. "most of the able-bodied, young horses were captured to work for those very humans, who attacked our village. We were taken into a giant, black monster the two-leggeds call trains. River, Great Conquest and I were loaded into the wooden train car together."

Upon hearing this, my blue eyes automatically darted towards the grey war stallion, who stood silent, bit distanced away from our group. He met my gaze and then quickly looked away as Wind continued his recital.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid. I was petrified." Admitted the humble Wind. "I didn't know what was going to happen to us. The unbearable smell of smoke that reminded us all of gunfire stayed in our nostrils. The car was lonely and suffocating...at least, I was glad I had River and Great Conquest with me. But other than that, everything looked hopeless. The man-made enormous machine stood still. The more we waited, the more anxious I was growing."

"We were all unsure of what was going to happen." River, the dark bay gelding added.

"Alright but what about Spirit?" I burst, my impatience showing its signs again.

"We're getting there." Snapped Great Conquest at my restless behavior. "Your precious stallion was led in the cart after us. Although, I still couldn't understand how the two-leggeds managed to catch him."

"Yes, he was." Added Wind gently, ready to continue. "And Rain, believe me when I say this...we were all so very pleased to see him."

I had no reason to doubt Wind or River but I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Great Conquest might've been happy to see Spirit. That was an absurd. Either way, I ignored my thoughts and kept on listening.

"We knew how head-strong and determined he was when it came to freedom. Surely, he would be able to come up with something. But the miserable, depressed look on his face was enough to make us understand that even a wild stallion like Spirit was not going to withstand a storm that had fallen on our heads."

My heart stopped beating for a second.

Poor Spirit.

Great Conquest snorted in annoyance at Wind's words. "Don't be so dramatic." He then turned to me, slowly advancing to where I stood, my eyes filling with tears. "Rain, the only reason he was so upset was because he believed you were gone." He explained gently, not wanting to scare me with bad news.

"That's exactly what I was going to say." Wind retorted, rolling his eyes.

"What?" I gasped, letting a small tear roll down my cheek. "Spirit thinks I'm dead?"

"No, we aren't sure about it. Truth be told, we don't even know why he was so emotionally hurt. Great Conquest and Wind thought it had something to do with you." River joined in, adding his own insight.

"Judging from your shoulder wound, we were right." Great Conquest said stoically.

"I think you got off topic." Silver Moon stated, displeased at how diverted the stallions were.

"The whole train ride, Spirit refused to eat or interact with any of us until something changed in him during the end of our journey." Wind carried on with his narrative. "As the humans began to unload us, he quietly whispered that he'd come up with a plan. And I personally, was very excited and relieved."

"So was I." Agreed River with an eager nod.

"But I didn't trust him. I thought he was just being a show-off as always." Great Conquest admitted, slight coldness animating his countenance.

"Long story short, we were all tied in chains to a steaming locomotive and were expected to pull it towards where those humans would direct us." Wind nickered, as he slightly dipped his head.

"Oh Rain, it was so horrible." Midnight shrieked, hating those dark memories.

"They beat us with whips and didn't even allow us to take short breaks." Dawn spoke up, her eyes downcast in sadness.

"We dragged the thing for hours and hours." Wind continued in a low nicker. "One of those ruthless humans kept whipping us without mercy and that infuriated Spirit as he aggressively neighed at the man, protecting poor, exhausted Blossom."

My eyes shifted towards delicate Blossom, who nodded at me in confirmation.

"Just when we thought it was over and no one would save us now and we would forever be doomed to stay there... the spirited Mustang started neighing and squealing and before I knew what was happening, he was lifeless on the ground." Wind explained, his gaze fixed on me.

I shut my eyes tight at that and felt my heart failing.

"Not to worry, Rain." Quickly threw in Great Conquest, not allowing me to think of anything horrible. "He was pretending. Of course, humans didn't notice it, but I did. And...well, the fool that I am, I labeled him a coward. I thought he was probably tired and searching for an easy way out." The grey war stallion admitted, his tone was to my surprise, very guilt-ridden.

"But in a true Spirit-fashion, he proved me wrong. Before we had time to blink, not only did he manage to untie a chain from his leg as he was dragged away by mules, but he leaped over the thick metal chains between the last pair of horses in the team and engine itself. Workmen encircled him, hoping to corner him and catch him. I watched in shock while every other horse cheered as loud as they could. With powerful might, he kicked the connector that joined the chains to the engine and broke it. The half of the horses ran free. And though, I was entirely awe-struck at his incredible heroism, I felt the full weight of the locomotive beginning to pull the rest of us down the hill. But the chain suddenly disappeared with a loud snap, thanks to him. Immediately we all started galloping away, yet something stopped me midway as I looked back at the wild stallion. I had been a war horse all my life, and not once had I done anything so incredibly courageous and selfless. Wind and I called to the brave Mustang, telling him to come with us, but he eagerly insisted for us to leave and wished us all the best." Pure admiration was written all over the grey war horse's face.

"And in that moment, as we all began to make our journey back home, I realized that this was no mere stallion...but rather a son of the wind and sky itself, as wild and unbreakable as thunder over the land. I was so ashamed of myself for doubting his intentions. I'm ashamed now as I recall this. I don't know what happened to him afterwards, but Spirit like that will never be broken and I absolutely believe he made it out safe." As Great Conquest recited all this, he caught my intense gaze and stared deeply into my blue eyes. "I'm sorry for everything, Rain. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." He whispered, sniffing back...oh my, were they tears?

I couldn't believe it...Great Conquest never showed such a sensitive side to him. I didn't know what to say at all, and so I stared in amazement.

"I knew Spirit was going to save you all!" Exclaimed Silver Moon's yearling colt suddenly, jumping up and down joyfully.

"Upon my word, that stallion has a spirit of fire." Silver Moon gasped in disbelief.

"He was unbelievable! One stallion against so many humans and so many obstacles." Dawn nickered in exciement, very impressed.

"Yet he still managed to free us all!" Cried both Midnight and Blossom in unison.

"Don't forget that there were also other tribe horses that he saved, not just us." Added the equally impressed stallion, Blaze.

"I have no doubt that Spirit-Who-Could-Not-Be-Broken is alive and well." Wind turned to me, his voice had a confident ring to it.

"So I guess that answers my question." I mumbled in a stunned daze, barely managing to stand on my legs. "No one else could destroy a Pacific Railroad and set the whole forest ablaze all on their own except Spirit..." I blinked, completely and utterly astonished.

"I wouldn't be surprised if few months from now people start telling legends about a fiery untamed, stallion who could never be broken." Aranda came forward, striding up to where I stood and winked with a playful smirk.

"Well if they won't, I sure will." Firmly stated Great Conquest, and then caught my gaze again. Smiling tenderly, he spoke up. "He's the one who really deserves you, not me. What on earth was I thinking?" And with that, he turned and walked away.

Spirit rocks y'all! Leave reviews and share your thoughts. Thanks for all the wonderful support. I can't believe there's only one chapter left to go on this story.

Fun fact which I mentioned in this chapter. Lakota people regarded horses as their family members and called them brothers and sisters.