Chapter Four: The First Muster
It wasn't long before the uneasiness of the mares spread to me, I was unsure of the pale dun mare's intentions. If she had just led the herd into certain danger, she would lose the trust and respect of the other mares, but she appeared confident and determined to keep up in the enclosed space. I tried to play along, to soothe the tension amongst my mares, between my calmness and the lead mare's aggressive defense of the path out, we kept the herd quiet and in check.
I walked over to her, questioning, but she was riled up and treated me with the same irritation as she was with the other mares. She was certain that this place was safe and we had to stay here, but it was clear to me, that this could not last. The mares were thirsty after their gallop and there was no grazing to be had in the rocky canyon, I did not want to undermine the pale dun's authority so soon after gaining her acceptance but something would have to give.
That something came with a loud thrumming, it started in the distance but gradually came close, the very air I breathed suddenly felt threatening, the sound shuddered deep through us and around the canyon. Something huge was coming and we were trapped, I wheeled around, quickly driving my mares for the exit. I saw the pale dun mare rear up in protest, but I and the herd were all too eager to leave and she was outnumbered. She looked at me once before leaving the canyon, ears flat and eyes rolling, then she took off, after her mares, driven to lead them, wherever that was. The canyon echoed loudly with our thundering hooves but it was nothing compared to the thundering sky.
Even as we reached the familiar grassy plains, I discovered we could not relax. Swooping down on us from the sky, a massive creature descended, and from it came the terrible thunder, so loud it drowned out all thought. I only knew we must get away, for nothing good could possibly come from such a creature. It hung above us, as if waiting to strike and no matter how hard and fast we desperately galloped, we could not outrun it.
Fear and adrenaline coursed through my body, this was the terrible thing the dun mare had wanted to hide from. It had never occurred to me that danger could come from the sky, I had never seen a creature so large or terrifying, suddenly the dun mare's desperation to stay hidden made sense. Our greatest defense, our speed was useless, I could see my mares were started to struggle, their thick coats matted and dripping with sweat.
The dun mare dived down, taking us through a small valley, the creature swooping low and angry above. Terrified we leaped through the river at the bottom, steam came up in great clouds as we kicked freezing water against overheated bodies. One of the younger mares stumbled, and I slowed my own frantic gallop to urge her along, I couldn't give up the hope we could outrun the creature, right now, we were still alive and that had to mean something. The young mare shifted and I saw the deep crack running up her front hoof, blood running from the middle. I had to bite her hard to get her to run on it, wounds could heal as long as you lived, it didn't matter how much it hurt in the mean time.
Something strange appeared in front of us, rising out of the ground, an accumulation of things I could not begin to fathom, if I was not running for my life, I would have been curious enough to investigate. As it was, when the pale dun made a desperate dive to veer the herd away from the strange objects, I did my best to support her, but the thundering creature swopped low, diving in front and we quickly changed paths. Least we run right into the waiting jaws of a monster, I did not know then, that by veering away from the creature and allowing ourselves to be driven forward, we galloped right into the jaws of another monster all together.
The nightmare had started and there was no end to it in sight.