So sorry about not updating you guys. My beta is super busy but I don't want a new one cause she is really good. More at the bottom.
Chapter 3 first draft
The next week went by in a flash. Sam made some progress with Safari. Now she could at least stand in the corral with the mare. Brynna was satisfied with her progress. Her dad wasn't. Maybe he had expected her to magically calm the mare in a millisecond. That was not the case. And he was angry. Jake had asked her why he was angry about it and Sams only answer was, "he is used to having you train the horses ." Jake shook his head, "nah, he must know that your not as good as me," Sam looked bewildered. "Are you saying I'm not good with horses!" Sam spun around and stormed off. She mindlessly ran to Aces paddock. She was being melodramatic and she knew it. But she was as fragile as flowers ever since the avalanche. At a drop of a pin she would go off. She flawlessly vaulted over the fence. Ace looked up from his eating and trotted over to Sam. She buried her head in his mane. "C'mon boy, let's go," her whisper was muffled by his mane. She lightly bounded up into his back with a grace that only came with practise. She walked him over to the gate and opened it. She urged him into a gallop out into the open plains.
•••
Jake shivered at the look in Wyatts face. It was pure anger. They had been quickly passing through the kitchen to get a snack when Wyatt had frozen. He slowly turned to face the radio on the kitchen windowsill. He turned the volume up. A mans voice came through the speaker, "...we urge everyone to stay inside until the storm passes. We have been told that cars are upturned and flung in the air. Rooves have come off. Wait..." there was a pause, "yes, ok, we are curtain it is a tornado. So far, the death count is 38. Anyone with a local emergency centre close by, we recommend to get there as soon as possible. Anyone further out stay in your houses and secure windows and doors. That is it for tonight. I would say have a good day but that is unlikely. Live?" And with that, the speaker emitted a soft buzz. Wyatt had turned to Jake and gave him a look of pure hatred. "Why," he breathed out, "did," he closed his eyes, "you," he opened his eyes, "let," he looked down , "her," he clenched his fists, "go," he tried to calm himself, "out," her unclenched his fists, "there?" He looked Jake directly in the eye. Jake looked down. It wasn't as if he wasn't stressed as well. Grace rested a hand in Wyatts arm. "Wyatt, he didn't know. She goes off all the time. Let him be. He's stressed too," she gestured to Jakes hand. It was gripping the top of a chair so hard it looked as if it might break. Jake looked down at it and ungripped his hand. He walked over to the window and looked out with worry in his eyes.
•••
Sam landed in the ground with a thump. She rolled over and gripped her shoulder. When her hand came off, blood was smeared over her hand. She looked up as Ace galloped around a corner out of sight. She stood up and fell back down again. Slowly, she crawled over to a tree and used it to help her stand. Looking up, she realised what spooked Ace. Dark clouds saturated the sky. It was roughly the same colour as the bruise spreading across her upper arm. A dark, angry purple. She sighed. She had been gone three hours roughly. It was getting dark. And it was almost double the time to get back on foot. She limped across the path and walked through the trees. Within a rather short amount of time, she found a cliff face that overlooked one of the many playa between here and River Bend Ranch. Off in the distance she saw a large mass of clouds in a spiral shape. And then, a sudden realisation hit her. It wasn't a weird shaped cloud. It was a tornado. Coming in her direction. If it was a slow moving one, she might have up to seven hours. But slow ones where rare and she knew it. She might have two hours. Maybe three. She collapsed on the ground and rested her head in her hands. She silently sobbed. There was no way she could get back in time. No way. At all. Her foot slipped off the edge of the cliff. She looked at her foot and the rocks tumbling down to the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. If she wasn't going to make it then maybe...Maybe it would be easier to go with them. Less painful. She had read that when people fell from a decent height, they blacked out before they hit the bottom. It was a natural response from the human body to prevent pain. She crawled backward away from the ledge. What was she thinking!? If she had even the slightest chance of survival, then she would take it. And so far, she had a decent two hours on the tornado.
•••
Grace came through the front door. "I think we should call Sheriff Ballard," she said with concern written all over her face. Wyatt nodded. He sat down on the couch and hopped up almost immediately as if they were burning hot flames. He started pacing across the lounge. Jake was still looking out the window. He hadn't moved his eyes since he rested there. Grace sat down on the kitchen table next to Brynna. The atmosphere was tense and worried. Wyatt walked to the door and looked out. No sign of Sam. Grace picked up the phone and called the sheriffs office. She walked out of the room muttering into the mouth piece. Jake didn't speak. It was his fault. Just like last time. Sam was in trouble and it was because of him. He knew that if she got hurt, he would never forgive himself. The wind was whipping around the house resulting in a slight shake. Gram came back in with a deep crease in her forehead. "Ballard said he can't come out until the hurricane has past. He said the hurricane is moving fast so he hopes Sam won't try to come back. Just to get cover."
•••
Sam wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She needed to get down from the mountain. Find a cave or something similar. She had sat thinking of a plan. But now she needed to put it into practice. That was usually the point at which her plans went pear-shaped. She had been walking for too long. She needed to find something to hide in fast. She could see the hurricane rolling closer. From what she could see, it would miss the ranch house and its surroundings. A very near miss. She veered off the path to find a cave. After only a short amount of walked she came across exactly what she needed. She nearly missed it entirely if not for the slight glow coming from within the cave walls. She walked in with the arm full of wood that she had collected if the way there. Laying it down, she started to light a fire. After a few attempts, the wood sparked and light. She lay back of the ground and looked around. The cave walls glowed. Quite literally. She knew the cause. The cave walls were covered in gypsum, a mineral that reflected light. It covered the walls, resulting in the whole cavern lighting up. She was almost asleep when she heard a loud crash. She jumped up and ran outside. Running along the track up till she could see the sky, she was determined to see how far away the hurricane was. When it came in to view she panicked. The was only about 1 mile away. She ran back to the cave. She ran and ran. Then she came to the main trackg again. She turned around confused. She walked back but couldn't find the cave. And she could feel the pull of the hurricane already.
I have a great idea for this story. I will write and all that, then I will do more writing and when I'm way better I will dissect each chapter into big chapters. So like, 4 chapters for 1 chapter that u have now. And the new chapters will be in detail and all that. But I'm gonna be slower at updating because I broke two knuckles and dislocated my wrist and middle finger and my thumb. A whole hand down.
XOXO