Red had to focus on something other than the storm. He fed the horses and checked on Angelfire again, who seemed to be pacing and whinnying more than ever. The other horses joined in on her frantic neighs sometimes, too – thusly on occasion there would be a long echo of whinnies all the way down the barn. It was something that was entirely unsettling, as if Red wasn't already unsettled enough.

He'd tried to put on a brave face for Max, who he was sure was still worrying, but he didn't feel brave in the least. In fact, if he felt anything, it was worry. It was the type of worry that was so stressful and exhausting it was starting to make him nauseous. Fortunately, Red was able to focus on the horses to keep his mind off everything else.

The most worrying thing at the moment was the large tree directly beside the stable. Red couldn't stop thinking about it. He knew there were other bigger trees that had already been pulled down – and he knew that tree had to go out soon. If it did, it would take out an entire section of stalls. Red hurried over to check on the tree from time to time. Each time he looked out the window up at it, it seemed to be weaker and weaker.

Finally Red started to move the horses that would be in the tree's path. He brought the mares to the indoor ring, as the other two pasture boards in there were mares, and he tied the gelding to one of the cross-ties at the other end of the hall near the wash stall. The two horses in the wash stall were positively frantic. Red had no idea what to do to calm them down, so he simply hoped they could calm themselves down and ignored them for the time being.

Red tried to measure how much more of the stable would be taken out if the tree fell. He groaned as he realized Max's office would be crushed. What am I supposed to do about that? Red wondered, as he rushed over and tried the door. Naturally, it was locked. He jiggled the knob a couple more times before giving up and kicking the door. It sent a throttle of pain up through his right leg.

"Awwh, dammit!" Red exclaimed, hopping away from the door. He looked back toward the window through which he could see the tree; he really needed to get everything of vital importance out of Max's office, right now. Red kicked the door again. He didn't think beforehand, which was why he kicked it with his already-hurting foot. Red cursed under his breath and stumbled away from the obstinate door, trying to keep from putting weight on his apparently injured foot.

Red was about to pick the lock when the landline rang. The phone itself was sitting on a bench outside Max's office, but its charger was inside. Red thought that stupid phone had better not die on me before he limped over and picked it up. He fully expected it to be Max, checking in for the sixth time. "'Lo?"

"Red! Everything still good?"

It was Max. He sounded worried out of his mind. Red sighed and threw himself onto the bench, afterwards propping his stinging leg up beside him. "Yeah, Max," said Red tiredly, running a hand through his hair. "Everything's still absolutely great."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Red automatically. He didn't need Max to worry about him, too. "But I really need to know how to get into your office. Apparently you locked it last night. Is there an extra key somewhere that I can use?"

Max hesitated before replying. "I have the only key, I think," he said, sounding angry with himself. "But I'm sure you can pick the lock on the door. D'you know how or should I Google it for you and give you instructions or something?"

"I know how," said Red darkly. "I've had practice."

"Well...all right then," Max replied slowly. "Remember, if you need anything at all, you just call me."

"I will, Max."

"I'm checking in again in an hour."

"I got it."

"Okay, good."

"Yep."

Red hung up before Max could start in on anything else. The second he pressed 'end' he dropped the phone onto the bench beside him and reached over to gingerly touch his leg. The pain was receding somewhat.

He thrust himself back to his feet and let out a yelp. What the hell did I do? Red wondered, as he hop-skipped back to the office door. He realized that he must have twisted his ankle a strange way while he'd been so busy trying to bust down the door. "You stupid idiot," Red muttered under his breath to himself; but he had a doorknob to focus on now, and he went about trying to locate a paperclip or a bobby pin in order to pick the lock.

Red was searching for something of use in the tack room when the mares in the indoor ring started to neigh. Soon the other horses were responding. Red looked around, wondering what on Earth the mares could be whinnying about. He abandoned his paperclip search, grabbed a broom, turned it upside-down, and propped it under his arm; he used the broom as a sort of cane as he hurried into the indoor ring.

"What is it?" Red asked the mares. One of them was cantering around the ring tossing her head, the white of her eyes showing. Red recognized her as the rabble-rouser and headed in her direction. "Hey," said Red, carefully approaching the frantic horse, "you're fine. We're all fine. It's just a little rain." He reached over the fence for her halter. The mare reared up, and Red took an unthinking step back, pain ricocheting up his leg again. "Listen, Bella," said Red, trying to force a calm tone of voice, "you're fine. You're okay. You're safe here with me."

Bella began to breathe easier. Red said softly, reaching for her halter again, "Nothing is going to happen to you. In fact, you guys out here in the ring are the safest of us all. No falling trees can hit you while you're out here." Bella allowed Red to take hold of her halter, and Red stroked her head, telling her that they were going to live through this all the while.

If only he could be so sure.

Once Red was sure Bella was completely calmed again, he checked on the other mares. He ascertained their safety and headed back into the main barn. The thought of the massive tree had escaped his mind, and when he caught sight of the inside of the main barn, he remembered and dropped the broom. Red half-ran and half-limped back to the tack room, where he rustled around in everything until he located a bobby pin.

Thank you, God, Red thought in all sincerity before hurrying back to the office door. He snapped the bobby pin in half and went about picking the lock, trying to remember how it worked. For a miserable minute, he thought he'd forgotten and he was going to have to call Max back – and then there was a slight click and the door swung open.

"You rock, God," Red said aloud before heading into the office, his right ankle trembling the whole way. He quickly went about searching Max's desk for everything that looked to be of importance, and whenever he found something, he quickly brought it back out and placed it on a tack box near the wash stall. By the end of his trips between the wash stall and Max's office, Red was sure that his ankle was the source of his walking problems.

Red unplugged the phone charger and brought it out into the aisle. Unfortunately, he was unable to locate another outlet, and he was forced to give up. He brought the charger back into Max's office and plugged it back in, placing the phone into the cradle. He left the phone there and went back out to make sure he had everything that could possibly matter.

He'd found a phone book, Max's book of contacts, a locked box, Max's calendar book, and a variety of other objects. Red allowed himself a few minutes to calm down. He seated himself on the floor beside the tack box and closed his eyes briefly, sweat dripping down his forehead from all that effort he'd put into walking.

Red sat there for longer than he'd intended. He realized he'd dozed off when the sound of the landline ringing woke him. "Oh, no!" Red cried, jumping to his aching feet. The first thing he did was run over and check on Angelfire. The mare was still pacing, but she obviously had yet to go into labor. That matter taken care of, Red turned, ready to sprint over and answer the phone.

Before he could, an ear-splitting creak rent the air. Red covered his ears as the horses began to neigh. Oh please God no, Red thought desperately right before the tree came crashing down.

A/N: I'm mean, aren't I? ;) Tell me all about it in a review. Speaking of reviews, thanks for them! :D