Chapter Thirteen: From Bad to Worse
Stevie woke to the sound of dripping water. Some of the snow from the previous night had started to melt, and that cheered her up. She slowly sat up.
Her headache was still there, but had slowed a little. Her stomach was no longer queasy, and she didn't feel as hot. Smiling in relief, she turned over towards Phil's tarp.
It was empty.
Stevie leapt to her feet, ignoring her aching legs and the dizziness. She glanced around, panicked.
Phil was nowhere to be seen. Stevie glanced up and saw the broken window. She didn't know what had happened, but Phil had apparently left, and in a hurry. Stevie was a little disappointed that he hadn't woken her, but figured it must have been important for him to leave through a broken window. Stevie walked over towards the door. She gave it a small push and it slid open quite easily. Enough snow must have melted, because she was able to open it wide enough to get the horses out.
She walked over and led Belle out of the barn. She closed the door quickly before Teddy could follow. She assumed Phil would return for his horse.
After quickly tacking up Belle, she hoisted herself up using a fallen log. She was still too tired to try and do it without a little help.
Once on, she gave a light kiss and together they cantered off towards Pine Hollow.
About three minutes after Stevie had left, Phil, Max, and Red approached the barn. Phil quickly dismounted and ran towards the barn. He was surprised to find the main door propped open, and figured Stevie had opened it for him. He ran inside.
"Stevie! I'm back! I brought he-" He froze when he saw the barn empty, except for Teddy. Stevie had even cleaned up her tarp and blanket.
"Stevie?" Phil walked over and saw Belle was gone. Panic raced through him and he ran back outside as Max was getting off.
"She's not here!" He yelled.
Max tilted his head. "She's not? Where would she be?"
"I don't know!" Phil groaned. "She must have gotten the door to open and took Belle out!" He sat down in the snow. Max walked over and kneeled down next to him.
"It'll be okay! This is Stevie! Remember? She'll be fine! She's probably on her way to Pine Hollow right now!" Max reassured Phil. However, Phil just shook his head.
He explained last night to Max, about how she was feverish, and dizzy. Max's face went pale.
He ran over to Delilah and mounted up. "Come on! We have to get back to Pine Hollow!"
He gave Delilah a firm kick and they galloped off towards the barn, Phil following behind.
Stevie held Belle's mane as they flew over a fallen branch. She figured they were almost to Pine Hollow. Or at least, she hoped. The black dots were reappearing in her eyes, and the headache returned as well. This she tried to ignore, and focused on the task at hand, getting back to Pine Hollow.
She urged Belle on faster. They galloped through the woods, branches skimming off Stevie's face leaving multiple small scratches. She ignored that too, and kept going. After about twenty minutes, she slowed Belle down. They had approached another stretch of woods, and Stevie was getting worried. They should've been at Pine Hollow by now.
During the twenty minutes Stevie was in the woods, Phil followed Max back to Pine Hollow. They arrived soon, and Phil quickly got off. Carole, who was now awake, ran over to them. Lisa followed.
"Where's Stevie?" Carole asked.
"We don't know. We got there and she was gone." Max said. "I take it you haven't seen her?"
Both girls shook their heads.
Max sighed. "We'll check the closest trail; maybe she took a different route back." They galloped off once again leaving Carole and Lisa there stunned.
"We should help look!" Lisa said with a smile. "We know her best, so I'll bet we can find her the fastest!"
Carole nodded. They tacked up together and cantered off towards the woods.
Stevie led Belle through the woods. She didn't know where they were, and everything looked different in the snow. She figured she had accidentally strayed off the trail because the trail markers had disappeared.
Wiping her nose on her sleeve, she led Belle down a small slope. At the base was the creek. Stevie smiled. The creek led to Pine Hollow! She could follow it back! She didn't feel up to cantering, but her and Belle trot slowly along the creek bed, hope restored once again.
Carole and Lisa cantered through the woods. They didn't like rough riding as much as Stevie, but they wanted to find their friend.
They just hoped they could find her before it was too late.
Sorry for the short chapter! I've been having trouble finding time to write! Next few chapters should be longer!