Ch 2

In the silence that seemed to follow, Alex jumped up to run towards man and horse, but a searing pain in his ankle sent him toppling down again. Biting back a cry he gingerly felt for the offending limb, prodding it carefully to assess the damage, finding it already swollen. Cursing under his breath, Alex rose again, this time not putting any weight on his left foot as he hobbled towards the fallen tree. Another flash of lightning clearly pointed out the tangled mass of branches, legs and feet ahead of him. After the noise of the next thunder slowly died out, a high-pitched shriek resounded, startling Alex. As the unearthly sound continued he started to realize it was Riley's terrified horse that was making it.

Reaching the site, he quickly began tearing off the branches that were covering Riley and his horse. Putting all his strength to good use, he finally managed to lift the heaviest one off of them. The brumby immediately started to struggle to get up, but his hind limbs made no sign of joining in the effort. Once again screaming, the horse kept franticly trying, the white of his eyes showing and his nostrils flaring. Alex stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds at the sight, but as the brumby flopped down tiredly on its right side again, he started looking for Riley. He found the young man as he shone his flashlight around the horse, his right leg caught underneath the horse's lower body. The whiteness of his face formed a sharp contrast with the red of his blood covering the left side of his face and neck. Alex quickly knelt down next to him and fearfully felt for a pulse. Breathing out in relief he felt it softly beating under his fingers. Not as strong as he would have liked but at least it was there. He tried to wake Riley, first by shouting his name in his ear, than by shaking his shoulder, but to no avail. Not even the movement of the horse as it once again tried to get up provoked a reaction. Getting no further with waking him, Alex started to try and free Riley's leg from underneath the horse, but his busted ankle and his quickly waning strength, proved yet another effort to be unsuccessful. He shivered in the cold of rain and wind, putting his hands deep in his pockets to try and warm them. His right hand touched something hard and cold and his hope flared as he realized his SAT-phone was in there. Quickly pulling it out, he dialed the alarm number, but the phone failed to make the connection. Muttering a curse, he slowly circled around his axis, hoping another direction would get the phone to find a satellite, but no suck luck. Stuffing it back into his pocket angrily he looked at Riley and than the sky above him, trying to figure out the best course of action: trying to walk home on his busted ankle getting Riley the much needed help, thus leaving him behind; or stay with him and wait for help to come to them, an action going against his very nature, always feeling compelled to do 'something'. The horse's new struggles and the sound of a low moan in response quickly settled his internal debate.

Dropping to his knees beside Riley's head, he watched intently as the dark eyelashes started to flutter and a frown appear on his forehead. Suddenly his eyes flew wide open and, to Alex ' surprise and shock, his body bolting upright, eyes searching franticly from right to left.

Snapping out his stupor, he quickly grabbed Riley's shoulders and held him steady as the consequences of the younger man's sudden movements caught up to him…

Before he knew what had happened he was moving to be on his feet again, eyes scanning his surroundings for possible enemies. Seconds later however a blinding light exploded in his head and a searing pain shot up from his abdomen. Not knowing which pain to deal with first, his body slowly fell back to the ground again, only to be steadied by two strong hands. Gritting his teeth and blinking his eyes he slowly turned his head towards those hands and the voice that drifted down to him "Whoa mate, easy there…"

Shaking his head to rid the cobwebs, his stomach immediately started to protest the movement. Breathing deeply, staying as still as possible, he somehow managed to avoid getting sick in front of…." Alex" he breathed " what?…" He blinked slowly.

" Riley, take it easy, mate. How are you feeling?" He got in response and he pondered the question carefully. How was he feeling…? He slowly turned his head back to scan his body, his confusion growing as he reached his lower legs, or where they should have been. Something brown and hairy covered them. He carefully raised his right hand to touch the strange object. In response to his touch, the object moved violently and blackness exploded behind his eyes…

His worry growing as he took in the vacant look in Riley's eyes and the lack of response, Alex felt Riley's body go limp again after the horse started trashing in reaction to his masters touch. Setting Riley's head in his lap to keep him comfortable, he leaned back against the nearest tree, trying to figure out what to do next. His body slowly started to relax however and soon fatigue overtook him, sending him into a fitful sleep…

TBC…