Angela Dorsey’s Blog

« Horses are GOOD Medicine… - Main Blog - OUR STORIES Update! »

THE TROUBLE WITH CHAD

The next of the stories that we wrote last year will be on the website under OUR STORIES this weekend! Check out Shelby and the Ghost… It’s an awesome story!

And here is our next story, halfway finished. Read the story, and then send in the next paragraph and when this story is done, it will go under OUR STORIES too!

Here is:

THE TROUBLE WITH CHAD

by Tessa, Heather, Sara, Lexi, Shelby, Aubre, Kara, and Nicole… So Far! 


     Hannah stormed into the stable, leading Chad, her bay gelding. “Why do they blame me?” she yelled angrily. She plunked down on a hay bale and put her head in her hands.
     Chad nuzzled her hair as if to say, “It wasn’t your fault. I’m the one who stumbled.”
     “I’m sorry, Chad. I know it’s just a lousy horse show—But I thought the people in my Pony Club were my friends, that’s all. Just because we knocked down a pole, they’re all mad.” Hannah stroked Chad’s black forelock, then growled, “I hate them and I hate competing.”
     “I know it wasn’t you…” A creepy voice whispered from the shadows behind Hannah.
     “W… who are y… you?” Hannah shrieked.
     “Wow, it’s easy to scare you!” Hannah’s friend, Raven, popped into the open, laughing hard.
     “That isn’t funny!”
     “Yeah it is!”  Raven laughed even harder.
     “Hmmf!” Hannah marched out of the stable, dragging Chad by his lead behind her.
     “Look, I know it’s not your fault! Okay?” Raven said, following her out into the warm sunshine. “And I’m really sorry for saying you lost us the competition!”
     “Well, you should’ve said that five minutes ago when everyone freaked out at me!” Hannah replied.  “But it doesn’t matter now—I’m quitting the Pony Club!”
     “But–”
     “But nothing! I’m quitting and that’s final!”  With that Hannah leapt up and stormed away, pulling Chad behind her. She quickly gathered up all of her show supplies and started loading up the trailer.
     “Excuse me,” a soft voice said from behind her. Hannah turned around to see who it was.
     “Hi. I just wanted to say, I thought you did fine. It wasn’t your fault that your horse stumbled,” the girl said apologetically.
     “Thanks. It’s nice to know that not everyone is mad at me,” Hannah said, looking at the girl, trying to figure out where she’d seen her before.
     “I’m Janie Tillson. I just joined Pony Club. I’m not good enough to event yet. I just came to watch,” explained Janie. “You have a beautiful horse.”
     “Thank you!” Hannah said a bit more warmly, giving Chad a good scratch between his ears.  “He means everything to me.” 
     Janie smiled and nodded.  “He’s so sweet—I have a horse too, Minty.  She likes mints, so that’s how she got her name.” Janie paused. “What’s your horse’s name?”
     “This is Chad,” Hannah said.
     “Nice name,” said Janie. She turned as if she wanted to go, then stopped, looking embarrassed. “Do you want to practice for the next show with me tomorrow?”
     “I thought you said you weren’t good enough yet to compete,” Hannah said, puzzled.
     “I’m not, I just want to improve. If I get good enough, Jennifer might choose me to show next time.”
     Hannah agreed and soon she and Janie were meeting almost every day.  After a few weeks of practice, Janie was just as good as the other pony club riders! 
     At next Pony Club meeting Hannah checked the board.  She saw her name and started doing a happy dance all the way to her gelding’s stall.
     “Yes, I’m showing!  I’m showing!”
     Janie looked at the board too and noticed she was in advanced short stirrup. “Omigosh! YIPPEE! I’m in the show too!” She ran up to Hannah to tell her the good news.
     When Hannah heard Janie was in advanced, she was jealous. She’d been riding for a long time and she was the one in novice?  And Janie, a total beginner, was in advanced?  Totally not fair!
     Hannah pushed past Janie and ran towards the hay lift, throwing herself onto the gigantic piles of hay.
     “It’s not fair!  I trained, but I’m in a lower class than her!  Darn you Chad!  Why are you such lousy show horse?” Hannah screamed, pounding the hay with her fists.
     Holly, the barn owner, came around the corner to get hay for her horse, and overheard Hannah’s temper tantrum. It was impossible not to.
     “Why’d you pick that horse to ride?” Holly picked up a bale of hay.
     “Huh?” Hannah raised her head from the hay and looked at Holly.
     “You wanted that horse, so you have to stick with him.”
     “B… b… bu…” Hannah said.
     “No buts. Chad loves you! He tried his best—besides you were leaning too far in the saddle. You made him unbalanced. The only thing he could do was stumble,” Holly explained, wiping some of the sweat off her forehead.
     “No, I wasn’t!” Hannah protested.
     “Yes, you were,” Holly’s voice was firm. “Chad is a fine show horse.  You two just need to practice a little more—and you need to get control of your temper if you’re going to come to my barn.”
      Hannah got up, nodded sullenly and rushed away.
     All everyone does is tell me how wrong I am or how bad I ride, she thought.
     Another thought occurred to her and made her face redden with shame. Maybe, just maybe, Holly was right and she was partially to blame. 
     “I spent too much time with Janie, when I should have practicing more myself,” she muttered under her breath.
     Hannah found herself right outside Chad’s stall. The large bay gelding reached his head out to greet her with a slobbery wet nose, which just came out of the water bucket!
     “You goof!” Hannah giggled at the horse, while pushing him away.
     “Can I come in, please?” Janie’s quiet voice came from outside the stall.
     “No—you’re the absolute last person I want to see right now!”
     “I just wanted to say I’m sorry…” said Janie in small, squeaky voice and then she dashed away crying. Hannah looked up with surprise. She’d never seen anyone get that emotional at the barn before… besides herself anyway.
     “Maybe you should say you’re sorry to her,” said Holly from a nearby stall she was cleaning.
     Hannah jumped; she hadn’t noticed Holly there.
     “Why should I?”
     “Well, maybe she just wants to be your friend.”
     “Right now I don’t want to speak to her, let alone be her friend!” said Hannah, then she stomped out of the barn.
     Leaning against the side of the barn that faced toward the road, away from the riding ring and all the people smiling and chatting and being happy, Hannah scowled.  No one was ever on her side.  Did Holly even stop to think about how it would feel to have the girl she’d trained go ahead of her?  No, of course not!
     She was still complaining in her head, debating quitting the Pony Club for good, when a movement in the bushes near the gate to the farm caught her eye. It looked like—it was—Janie.  That was weird; what was she doing?  She should be riding with everyone else.  Then Hannah realized she wasn’t alone.  There was a van, almost totally hidden by the bushes, and someone dressed completely in black was talking to Janie. 
     Janie shook her head and looked like she was about to turn away, when all of a sudden, the person in black grabbed her and dragged her inside the van. Then the van sped away!  Hannah ran after it, straining to see the license plate.
Hannah didn’t know what to do. She ran to find Holly, but couldn’t find her anywhere. She tried to remember the van and license plate number, but couldn’t because she felt so panicky. Finally, she remembered it was a white astro-van with dark tinted windows and the license plate number was 583-FNE. She got out her cell phone and called the police, rushing her words about what happened, then sat on a bale of hay outside Chad’s stall to wait for the cops to arrive. She was crying and scared.
     They were barely on the scene, when Holly rushed over to Hannah.
     “What’s wrong? And why are the cops here?”
     “I saw people kidnap Janie. I had to call them!” Hannah burst into tears.
     Holly put her hands on her hips and one cop came over to them.
     “Are either of you named Hannah?” asked the cop. 
     Hannah slowly raised her hand.
     “You’re Hannah? Well, we found the van you saw, but it was empty. All that was left was this note.” The police officer handed Hannah a piece of paper:  Give us what we want or she will die.
     Hannah dropped the paper and fell to the ground. Everything went black.
     Hannah awoke moments later to hear Holly ask, “What do you think they want?”
     “Wait, there’s something on the back,” the cop turned the note over. “It says, “We want Chad, the valuable show horse in stall 5.  Give us the horse.’” The cop looked sternly at Hannah. “I’m afraid they mean it. Any suspects?”
     “I… I think so, maybe” Hannah stammered. “I saw Jim, the new stable hand, in the hayloft with a guy dressed all in black. I had to get some more hay for Chad and they were just there, talking. I didn’t think anything of it though….”
     “Wait, this horse is yours?”
     Hannah nodded, unable to speak.
     The cop wrote something on a notepad. “Thanks for the information.”
     “There’s a horse trailer behind the barn,” Holly said, “We can put Chad in there.” She called stable hand over to load Chad up.
     When the cops left to watch the stable hand, Holly and Hannah were alone. “But he’s mine!” Hannah protested.
     “Do you want to get Janie back or not?” Holly’s stern voice made Hannah stop struggling.  “We’ll find a way to bring them both home safely, I promise.” Holly’s voice softened a bit and Hannah nodded.
     Hannah helped load Chad onto the trailer. She gave him a big squeeze.
     “I don’t want to see you go, buddy!” Hannah buried her face into his mane and sobbed.
     “Hey, I have an idea. Maybe he won’t go!” Holly reached for her cell phone.
     “What do you mean?” Hannah pulled her face out of Chad’s mane.  Holly asked the truck’s driver to wait, then started dialing numbers on her hot pink razor cell phone.
     “Do you remember Chad’s sire?”
     “Yes,” Hannah replied hesitantly.
     “Well his sire looks exactly like him. I saw him at a horse fair,” Holly replied.
     “Oh!”
     Holly began to talk to somebody, but Hannah couldn’t understand a word she said.
     “Who’s she talking to? She seems to be talking gibberish to me!” Hannah asked Zack, Holly’s boyfriend, who’d come up from the main house as soon as he’d heard about the kidnapping.
     “Oh, she has a friend who’s Norwegian, and she talks fluent Norwegian with her.
     Hannah shifted from foot to foot nervously. What was Holly up to? She tried to make sense of what the young woman was saying, but it was no use.
     Holly hung up her phone and smiled brightly. “We have ourselves a plan!  My friend owns Gallant Tempest, Chad’s sire. If we can get Tempest here, we can set up the trap with Tempest as the bait—Chad will be perfectly safe, I promise!”
     “Great! But isn’t Tempest like worth a whole lot more than Chad?” asked Hannah.
     “Yes, but you don’t want to lose your horse, do you?” asked Holly, motioning for Chad to be taken out of the trailer.
     Hannah suddenly felt even more awful. It was her fault that all of this was happening. If she hadn’t gotten mad at Janie, Janie wouldn’t have went off on her own and gotten kidnapped. And now to fix the problem she made, Hannah had to put someone else’s horse in danger. Hannah hated herself, but another emotion was mixed with the hate. She was grateful to Holly’s friend for being so kind to them.
     Chad nuzzled Hannah.
     “Hold on.” Hannah pushed Chad’s muzzle aside. Chad nuzzled her again.
     “Hold on I said!” She pushed him away again.  He ignored her; this time he nudged her so hard that she lost her balance.  He lowered his neck, so she could grab him before she fell.  As soon as she was steady on her feet, he nudged her again. She finally got the idea—he was telling her to get on him.  She petted him apologetically. 
     “I get it, I get it—just a minute though, okay, boy?” she said to her horse.
     Holly looked at her questioningly.
     “I’m going to ride Chad to find Janie.  They couldn’t be far from here—look how quickly the police found the van.  I bet the kidnappers took her to the woods. I’ll—”
     “No,” Holly interrupted. “It’s too dangerous out there alone, and with kidnappers on the loose! Do you want to be next?”
     Chad stomped with his front hooves, but Hannah looked down at the ground and mumbled, “No…”
     Holly gave a weak smile. “We’ll get her back; don’t worry. I’m going to pick up Chad’s sire, you just sit tight, okay?” She climbed into the truck along with one of the police officers and drove away.
     Hannah cast a nervous glance towards the cop who had stayed behind to keep an eye on the stables. Maybe, just maybe she could slip away to find Janie without him noticing…
     She walked Chad to the barn door to see where the cop was—he was just turning the corner to the side of the barn.
     She had a moment then, but she’d have to be quick.  There was no time saddle or bridle Chad, so it was a good thing he was trained to take leg cues. Using an overturned bucket, she jumped onto Chad’s bare back.
     “C’mon,” she whispered, nudging him forward.
     Chad galloped into the woods. Hannah looked around. She didn’t want to get whacked in the face by a branch! Chad leaped over a log like he was flying. Suddenly the smell of smoke filled Hannah’s nose. A small log cabin lay ahead.  And it was on fire!
     Red and orange flames danced from the smoking roof, stopping Chad dead in his tracks. Not ready for the sudden halt, Hannah flew over his head. With a loud thump she hit the ground. She didn’t know if it was the pain or the heavy, black smoke that brought tears to her eyes. She slowly stood up and rubbed her back.
     The cabin was ramshackle and looked deserted. That was good, but what if a forest fire started? A sudden cry proved Hannah wrong. There was somebody in there! Knowing Chad wouldn’t come any closer to the fire, she ran to the cabin alone. She got as close as she could and peered through the flames.
     “Hello?”  she called.  “Is there anybody in there?  Can you hear me?”
     “Hannah?” a voice called back. It sounded like Janie!
      “Janie?” Hannah tried to peer through the flames in the doorway.  She thought she saw Janie lying on the floor.  A huge shadow moved in the centre of the fire—suddenly a man burst through the door.
     “Get out of here, Hannah!”  Janie yelled, but Hannah barely heard her over the sound the raging fire burning around her.
     The man charged toward Hannah who felt frozen with shock.  What could she do?  She couldn’t just leave….
     The man was almost upon her, fist raised, when she got an idea.
     “Chad!” she yelled. “CHAD!” she yelled again.
     The horse raised his head and looked at his human with curiosity. Now that Hannah had gotten his attention, she shook her arms at him and hollered, steering him in the opposite direction. She knew he would head for home and when Holly saw him she was sure to know that Hannah was in trouble. Chad was gone in a matter of seconds.    

    

Read the continuation of this story in the comments - and then add a paragraph of your own!

47 Responses to “THE TROUBLE WITH CHAD”

  1. Rachel Says:
    April 17th, 2008 at 8:35 pm

         The man got ahold of her arm. She screamed. “Please Hurry Chad PLEASE!” She managed before she felt a swift blow on the head and everything went absolutely black.
         When she opened her eyes she saw that the fire was under control. The man was tying Janie’s legs together. His tone was angry- and he was talking in low menacing tones. “If you try-” He went and tied her arms behind her back. “Another stunt like that- you are going to wish you hadn’t defied me- Understand?!” Janie nodded tearfully. When the man left the room Hannah saw that the room was charred.
         “What’s going on?” She whispered.
         “Hannah- I should have told you I’m sorry.” Janie whispered. “It’s my dad.”
         “What about him?” Hannah asked. Recalling that Jim had said Janie’s Dad had left her.
         “He’s had his eyes on Chad. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you- he was asking me all about him- and I had to tell him. OH Hannah! I messed everything up. I only trained with you to find out more about Chad. I wasn’t trying to out do you- really. I just- Oh Hannah!”
    Hannah felt more bad for Janie than enything just now. Especially if that man was her father.
    “But- you- you set that fire?”
         She nodded. “Dad said we were going to use this as the drop off for the ransom. He wouldn’t have killed me- but he’d have hurt me Hannah- and taken me away from mom! I didn’t know what to do! I set it so they’d be able to find us. I was panicking.” Janie broke down and sobbed.
         “It’s alright Janie.” Hannah whispered. She couldn’t imagine what she’d have done if her father was like that. Yesterday her biggest problem was stupid Pony Club. Janie had much bigger things to deal with.

  2. Mirriam Says:
    April 21st, 2008 at 9:30 am

    Hannah moved over to Janie. “I really am sorry, Janie. If I had known, I-well, never mind. I was so selfish! Will you forgive me?”

    “Of course, Hannah! I am so sorry, I never should have done it, I just, I HAD to obey dad, or…” Janie began to cry again. “I’ve always wanted a nice dad, like yours.”

    “When have you seen MY dad?” asked Hannah, trying to remember if she had introduced them. She hadn’t.

    “When he came to pick you up from a Pony Club show,” Janie said, in a choked voice. “He looked so kind, and protective, and - and- like a real dad.”

    Hannah didn’t know what to say. Here she thought she had had the most problems in the world, but now she realized that she had everything. Two great parents, friends,and so much more. “Oh, Janie, I-” just then the door opened, and in stepped Janie’s dad.

  3. Mirriam Says:
    April 21st, 2008 at 1:18 pm

    Their heads shot up, and Hanna’s eyes widened. Janie’s red face grew redder. Hannah did not like the look in the fierce man’s eyes. He looked at Janie, and growled “If that horse doesn’t show up within an hour, you’ll never see your little friend here again.”

    Janie whimpered as he shut the door with a bang. Hannah felt like she would faint. Did he mean it? Janie had said he wouldn’t hurt HER, but she was his daughter! Would he hurt Hannah - or do worse? She shivered, even though the room was still warm from the fire. “And to think that just this morning I was throwing a hissy fit over not winning the competition,” she remarked.

    Janie gave a half - sob, half giggle. “I guess your life has changed a little bit since then. I wonder what your grandkids will say when you tell them this story.”

    “Yeah, I wonder.” said Hannah out loud, but she was thinking the grim thought “If I live that long.”

  4. Rachel Says:
    April 21st, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    “Don’t say that!” Janie gasped in despair.

    Hannah didn’t much like that either. “I’m sorry I’m like that, Janie,” she whispered. “I’m always dwelling on the bad things- and I know it.”

    “It’s easy to do.” Janie tilted her head to one side and sighed. “There’s so many things in this world that are just mesesed up.”

    “Well-” Hannah said with a sudeden determination. “I’m done fussing over it. We’ve got to get out of here.”

    Janie’s eyes widened. Her eyes were grey like her Dad’s- but they were a gentle grey- his were fiery and terrifying. “You heard him Hannah! We’ll make him angry!”

    “We can’t just wait here.” Hannah said firmly, glancing about the room, thinking fast, only this time she was going to really think - she wasn’t going to rush headlong like she had into the woods. She was really going to think. Their safety was at stake.

  5. Mirriam Says:
    April 22nd, 2008 at 9:11 am

    Her eyes lit on a loose board in the wall. It was black and charred. “Look, Janie! The fire weakened that board over there! If we put enough pressure on it, we can get out through there!”

    “You really think so?” asked Janie doubtfully.

    “Yes! You’re the one who just told me not to think like a pessimist - so I’m going full force in the other direction!”

    “Being unrealistic?”

    “No, being OPTIMISTIC! Now hurry up before your dad comes back.” The girls ran across the room. Pushing with all their strength against the board, they prayed that it would give even a little.

    After five minutes of pushing, Janie slumped down against the wall, sweat and tears streaming down her face. “It’s no use,” she whispered. “It’s only a little black, it’s not loose.”

    “Oh yes it is,” grunted Hannah, who was still pushing. Suddenly she fell back with a yelp. The board was sticking out of the wall, and she could see the trees outside. “Janie, look! We did it! Snap out of it, Janie! We’ve got to get out of here!”

  6. Mirriam Says:
    April 22nd, 2008 at 10:03 am

    Janie looked up and gasped. Their fingers dug into the softened wood with their fingers, and managed to yank the wood out of it’s position.

    Hannah peered out of the slat they had made. “No one out there! Come on, let’s hurry!!”

    They bolted out of the cabin and made for the woods. “Ow!” cried Janie. Hannah turned around to see her friend flat on her face, her sneaker twisted in a tree root portruding up from the ground. Hannah ran back and helped Janie up. They started running again, this time looking where they were going, when suddenly they heard a twig snap. They stopped dead in their tracks.

    “What was that?” whispered Janie to Hannah, who stood there, her eyes wide with fright. Another twig snapped, then they heard footsteps. Heavy ones. Headed their way! “Come on, Hannah! Let’s run!”

    Janie started to bolt in the opposite direction when Hannah grabbed her arm. “No, wait! don’t you hear something odd about those footsteps?” Janie stopped and listened. “Yes! They sound - like there’s two people!” Her face grew ashen. “What if it’s my dad, with someone else?”

    “I don’t want to risk it! Let’s get out of here!” they turned and started to run in the other direction, when they both let out a scream. Peering out from a clump of bushes was a face! Janie crumpled to the ground in a faint. Hannah began to laugh. It was Chad! He calmly plodded out from the bushes with Holly on his back.

    “What took you so long?” cried Hannah, and began to laugh histerically with relief.

    “I came as fast as I could!” answered Holly. “What’s wrong with Janie?”

    “To make a long, looong story short, the man is her dad. He’s had his eye on Chad for ages, and she joined the Pony club to keep an eye on him. He had us imprisoned in a little cabin, but we got out and were afraid you were him and someone else!” she said in a rush.

    Holly’s mouth twitched. “That’s quite a story!” She pulled out her cell phone, and was just dialing 911 when Hannah screamed. “Look out, Holly!” Holly twisted in the saddle just in time to see Janie’s dad leap from off a rock behind the horse. Hannah screamed again as the man landed full force on Holly, knocking her off Chad. He snatched Chad’s reins and jumped onto his back. He gave the horse a ferocious kick in the ribs. “Come on, you stubborn mule! MOVE!” But Chad didn’t want to move. He didn’t like the man who had knocked Holly off him, and yanked on his bit. Chad reared.

  7. Rachel Says:
    April 22nd, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    “Daddy!” Janie cried in fear for her father.

    Hannah felt a momentarily confusion. When her loyal horse had reared she’d felt only triumph,. Why was Janie worried? Didn’t he want to hurt her? But none the less, Janie was muttering calming words to Chad to calm him. It didn’t work. Chad bolted. Her Dad lost his grasp and fell. He sprang up and grabed the person nearest to him - Janie.

    Chad trotted over to Hannah and rubbed his head against her breathing heavily.

    Janie whimpered as her Dad shrank back with her. “Hand over the horse,” he said. “HAND HIM OVER!” he yelled. He couldn’t hear horses creeping up behind him.

    Raven and Jim were there on their horses. Judging by the looks on their faces they were worried. Hannah’s eyes stung with tears when she realized that they were out looking for her. The last thime she spoke to Raven she’d been freaking out at her over Pony Club. She’d felt that she never wanted to speak to her again hadn’t she? The last time she’d said anything about Jim she’d been hinting to the cop that he was up to something hadn’t she? That all seemed so silly now. She felt especially bad about Raven, she’d been ready to throw thier friendship away. Raven liked to joke - and she too had an occasional temper, but, she was the kind of friend that would be there for you, no matter what.

  8. Rachel Says:
    April 22nd, 2008 at 7:54 pm

    They must have sensed trouble, because they both halted when they heard the man yell, their horses shifting with tension. Raven spotted Hannah and smiled a smile of nervous relief.

    And to think she’d been brushing her aside week after week!

  9. Mirriam Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 5:09 am

    Suddenly, Janie’s father lunged for Hannah, who held Chad’s reins. “I said, give me that horse!”

    Suddenly, something woke up in Janie. “No! leave my friend alone!” she shouted, darting over to them and grabbing her dad’s arm.

    He turned and stared down at her in surprise. “What did you say?” he growled.

    “If looks could kill, she’d be a pile of ashes on the ground.” thought Hannah, holding Chad’s reins as far out of reach of Janie’s father as she could, since he had her other arm. There was an awful silence for a minute, and then Janie’s dad merely shook her off, and began to grapple with Hannah for Chad’s reins.

    But suddenly, Jim gallopped forward on Starburst, one of the stable’s horses, and slid off right onto Janie’s dad. “AAh!” came from the man’s throat, as Jim got a tight hold around it. “Call nine one one, Raven!” he shouted, struggling to hold the man who was a little larger than he was.

    Hannah thought, “I wonder how many times I’ve heard ‘call nine one one’ today.” But she had no time for counting, for just then…

  10. Mirriam Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 5:10 am

    Hey, Rachel, I really like your writing style! It’s cool that we don’t even know each other, but we write onto each other’s stories! :)

  11. Rachel D. Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    I hate to interrupt - but thanks Mirriam! I really like your style too, and this story writing is a lot of fun! :D

  12. Angela Dorsey Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 4:00 pm

    Never feel bad about interrupting!!! That’s a new rule!  :D 

    I am really enjoying reading the story, guys. I can’t wait to know what happens!

  13. Mirriam Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm

    Thanks, guys!

  14. Rachel D. Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 7:06 pm

    Me neither… let’s see! :)

  15. Rachel D. Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 7:12 pm

    Just then- the worst happened. Janie’s dad, amidst his struggle with Jim, managed to reach into his pocket… and pulled out - Hannah felt her heart flutter up to her throat. He had a gun! But he had no control over where he aimed it. She was in a panic. He could shoot any one of them! She heard Raven scream into the phone. “OH! HE HAS A GUN!”

    Hannah’s thoughts were racing. Someone was going to get shot! No - none of that! Not now! Holly moaned on the ground. Jim was tiring from his struggle. The man stumbled forward and tripped over Holly. The confusion was mind boggling - and perhaps Hannah wasn’t thinking straight - or perhaps she had a plan of some sort - in any case she dove after the gun.

  16. Anika Says:
    April 23rd, 2008 at 9:13 pm

    She saw Raven looking wildly in her pockets. When Raven saw Hannah watching her she mouthed, “I can’t find my cell phone.” She looked in her pockets one more time, then shrugged, “I’m going to go get help,” she whispered. Then turned around and galloped off.

  17. Rachel D. Says:
    April 24th, 2008 at 7:38 pm

    Raven hadn’t seen the dreaded gun.

    All of the sudden a gunshot echoed through the woods.

    Raven came to a dead halt and Hannah felt her stomach lurch.

  18. Mirriam Says:
    April 25th, 2008 at 2:24 pm

    Hannah screamed. Raven slumped in the saddle. Hannah thought she would faint. Janie’s dad whirled around, and his eyes grew wide when he saw Raven struggling to stay in the saddle.

  19. Mirriam Says:
    April 27th, 2008 at 1:09 pm

    Okay, Rachel and Anika, we’re kind of lagging here! Let’s finish this once and for all! :D

  20. Erin Says:
    April 27th, 2008 at 4:19 pm

    Hannah couldn’t take it. Raven had been shot! The last time she’d talked to her she’d been so bitter. Now she might never she her again.Why was this happening to HER? Just then another shot rang through the woods. Hannah thought she was going to faint.

    Chad reared but all to late. He’d been hit! It seemed to have done little damage but HAD hit him in the leg. Hannah wanted to scream but could barely breathe. Janie’s father’s eyes widened in anger.

    “Great. Now the dang nags useless” he screamed in rage. He threw Jim off him and bolted, dropping the gun.

    Hannah gave Janie one glance and they were off. He was headed back towards the cabin. Then the best thing that had happened to Hannah all day happened. Janie’s father tripped over the same root just a short time ago Janie herself had.

    Hannah secured his legs to the ground and Janie made sure his arms couldn’t move. Then Hannah let out a small,short, nervous laugh. In all the panic she’d forgotten about her cell phone in her back pocket. She called 911 and told the cops where they were. Now all she had to do was get Chad to a vet.

    Or so she thought.

  21. Rachel D. Says:
    April 28th, 2008 at 10:09 am

    “You guys Raven’s bleeding bad!” Jim called to them. Hannah turned. Raven looked pale and faint. Jim was squeezing her arm to keep the blood from coming. Holly stood, looking dizzy and worried. She took her sweater from around her waist and wrapped it around Raven’s arm. Red blood soon bled through the white material.

  22. Mirriam Says:
    April 29th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

    Hannah started to cry. Holly patted her arm soothingly. “There, there. It only hit her arm, she’ll be okay!” But the fact that Holly looked worried too didn’t help much.

  23. Sara Says:
    April 30th, 2008 at 10:45 am

    It was only a matter of time before the pulse raising sound of the sirens screamed in our ears. Several police men came running up to arrest Janie’s father. And behind them were people from an ambulance, they had a stretcher, and were putting it to use. Raven wasn’t even crying as they properly bandaged her wound and carried her off. Hannah knew she probably wouldn’t be half as brave if she’d been the one shot.

    Janie looked at her dad as his arms were thrust behind his back and placed in hand cuffs. She never wanted him in jail. But somethings are unavoidable, and with all the things that had happened, he’s bound to be there for some time.

    Holly saw the terror in Janie and Hannah’s eye’s, what had happen today would definitely take a toll on them. They were both crying, and with good reason. Holly reached out and took them both in a comforting hug, and whispered “There will be a happy ending to today, somehow, I promise.”

  24. Rachel D. Says:
    April 30th, 2008 at 7:49 pm

    Hannah didn’t think that possible. Chad had been shot- Raven had been shot- Janie’s father as cruel as he was- imagine how it must feel to see your father in jail! A happy ending?

  25. Rachel D. Says:
    April 30th, 2008 at 7:50 pm

    Haha- right after I posted this on TV somone just said ‘You know- sometimes there are happy endings! Haha- that’s seriously funny

  26. Mirriam Says:
    May 1st, 2008 at 9:25 am

    Hannah smiled faintly at Holly and looked at Janie, who had tears streaming down her cheeks. “I don’t think there’ll be one for me,” she sniffed. “I don’t know what will happen now. I suppose I’ll stay with my Aunt, she lives about three miles from the stables.”

    Hannah gave Janie another hug. “That would be cool, because then we could still see each other,” she answered, willing herself to stop crying, so she wouldn’t upset Janie even more.

    Holly nodded. “You see, there’s something good right there!”

    Suddenly Janie tore from them and ran straight to her dad. She looked hesitatingly at the police, and they nodded, still keeping a firm grip on the man. Janie’s lower lip trembled as she reached up and gave her dad a hug. Hannah’s mouth dropped open, and Holly was staring in surprise. Then Janie did something even more astonishing and touching. She looked up at her dad, and whispered “I forgive you, daddy. I love you.”

    Her father stared at her for a minute, then said softly “I love you too, Janie.” The words sounded strange, as if he had never uttered them before. One of the policemen even had tears in his eyes. Hannah smiled.

  27. Mirriam Says:
    May 1st, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    Janie watched as the patrol cars drove away. One of the police officers stayed and looked at Hannah, Jim, Holly, and Janie. “We’ll need you to come down to the office to give your testimony, and file some papers,” he explained. They piled into the car, and Hannah put her arm around Janie in a comforting way.

    Hannah twisted and looked out the back window at the vet’s truck that was driving off, with Chad sedated in the back of it. “I hope he’s okay,” she whispered sadly. Now it was Janie’s turn to comfort. “He will be, Hannah. It’s like Raven, shot in the arm, kind of. He’ll be fine!”

  28. Mirriam Says:
    May 4th, 2008 at 5:44 pm

    Hannah felt ashamed of herself, crying over a horse that wasn’t even hers when Janie’s dad was being taken to jail, and her whole life practically falling apart. “I’m okay. Chad’ll be fine, I”m just a worrywort. Ask anyone!”

    Janie shook her head, a faint smile coming to her face. “You are too brave, Hannah. I wish I were more like you.”

    Hannah stared. “Me, brave? You’ve got to be kidding.”

    Janie shook her head, her brown hair swinging. “Nope, I’m not exagerrating. You are way braver than I could ever be.”

    Hannah protested. “No, never! You lived with your father!” She suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t mean it like that, Janie!”

    Janie smiled sadly. “I don’t mind. I did, but I only obeyed him because he scared me. Now that I’m living with my aunt, things will be better.”

  29. Mirriam Says:
    May 5th, 2008 at 11:51 am

    Hannah mentally kicked herself for her stupid, blundering word all the way to the office. When they arrived there, they piled out of the car and went inside and filed out the stack of papers that Officer Gert had ready for them. Janie bit her lip as she filed out the witness papers against her father, and Holly saw several tears roll down her cheeks.

    Holly rubbed her back soothingly. “It’s all right, Janie. He won’t be in jail forever, and then maybe he’ll want to reform and you can be a family again.”

    Janie smiled hopefully. “You really think so?” she asked.

    “I do.” Holly replied firmly.

    Hannah looked up. “So do I. Why, before you know it, the end to your story will be ‘and they all lived happily ever after’, just wait and see!

    Janie managed a giggle and signed her name on the last sheet of papers. Officer Gert dismissed them, and they walked slowly back to the stables. As they passed the vet’s, Hannah rushed in, and Janie and Holly followed.

    Hannah nearly collided with a young vet with glasses who had been concentrating on a clipboard, a pen behind his ear. “Where’s Chad?” she demanded.

    “Chad?” he blinked owlishly behind his lenses.

    “The horse with a shot leg that came in about a half an hour ago! He’s a light bay, about fourteen point two hands high!”

    The vet nodded. “Oh, him. You can’t see him now, but if you wait Doctor Bowman will be out in about fifteen minutes.”

    They sat down on a bench in the waiting room. They waited for what seemed like an eternity, but finally the doctor came out, her white lab coat flowing behind her making her look like a mad scientist in a movie. There was nothing mad about her face, though. Her long brown hair was up in a hair net, and her large hazel eyes twinkled in a friendly way. “So you’re Hannah?” the vet asked, directed at the girl.

    “Y-yes, is Chad going to be all right?” The vet looked at her soberly. Hannah felt her insides turn to jelly, as she thought “Chad has been euthanized. He’s dead.”

    But suddenly the vet’s face broke into a huge smile as she said “He is going to be fine! It missed anything vital, and he’ll be walking fine in around two weeks.”

    Hannah jumped up and let out a half squeak, half shout. “You mean it? He’s fine?” the woman nodded, grinning. “Now here’s what you’ll have to do. If he seems fine the day after tomorrow, start walking him slowly up and down the stable aisle once or twice. As he improves, do it more. In two weeks he can go into the pasture, but only with gentle horses. Then…”

  30. Mirriam Says:
    May 7th, 2008 at 5:50 am

    One month later, Hannah and Janie were trotting around the outdoor arena. “No,Chad, I said trot, not balk!” Hannah reined Chad in and grinned at Janie, who was riding Spitfire, a flashy chestnut mare who wasn’t as wild as her name. “How’s Spitfire coming?” Hannah called out to her best friend.

    “She’s great! She still tries to buck me off when I ask her to go over cavaletti, though.”

    Hannah wiped her forehead with her sleeve and walked Chad over. He was fine now, and from the way he frolicked and jumped and bucked in the pasture, you couldn’t tell he had even been shot at all, except for the small scar on his leg. Suddenly Hannah laughed. She was inspecting the saddle and stirrups, and had found a small thorn.

    Janie’s mouth hung open. “But I checked every inch of it before I tacked her up!”

    Hannah thought for a minute, then said “I know! She must have brushed against the rosebush over there when she was shying from the cat that walked in!”

    Janie nodded. “That would explain it!”

    A movement by the fence caught the girl’s eyes, and turning they saw Lisa, Janie’s aunt standing there. Lisa looked almost more like a big sister than an aunt. She was twenty nine, had long black hair, sunglasses over her eyes, and was wearing blue jeans, cute cowboy boots and a loose white top, making her look like a teenager. Lisa smiled and waved. “Janie, I need to go talk to Eddie for a minute, but be ready to go in fifteen minutes!”

    Janie cupped her hand over her mouth and called back “Okay, Lisa! See you soon!”

    “I wonder what she wants to talk to the riding instructor about,” Hannah mused as she loosened Chad’s girth. He nudged her affectionately.

    Janie shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s grown to like him lately. I think she thinks he’s cute.”

    Hannah grinned in a conspiritorial way. “Well, he is cute for a guy in his thirties, don’t you think?”

    Janie narrowed her eyes at her friend. “What are you getting at?”

    Hannah shrugged and clucked to Chad as she started leading him towards the barn. “Nothing, nothing at all, except wouldn’t it be cool to have a riding instructor for an uncle?”

    Janie’s eyes grew huge. “I never knew you were a matchmaker!” Hannah shrugged happily, as she thought of how different things were now than they had been four weeks ago.

    Suddenly a car horn honked as Hannah’s dad’s car pulled into the drive. He rolled down the window and called “Hannah, leaving in fifteen minutes! I want to talk to Eddie.” The girls giggled and Hannah called back “Okay, Dad!”

    “That’s funny!” Janie said, still giggling. “I hope he doesn’t think Eddie’s cute, too!”

    Hannah gave her friend a good natured shove. “That’s gross!”

    “I’m just playing,” he friend replied, sticking her tongue out. Ten minutes later they had just finished grooming their horses when Lisa and Hannah’s dad came out to meet them, big smiles on their faces.

    “What’s all this?” Janie demanded, her hands on her hips in a playfully demanding way. Lisa held out her hand as an answer, and Janie nearly fell into the cross ties with surprise. “Is that what I think it is?” she gasped in astonishment.

    “Is what what you think it is?” Hannah asked, wondering at her friend’s amazement.

    Janie squealed. “A wedding ring! A real wedding ring! Oh, Lisa, who are you going to marry?”

    Lisa grinned so wide the girls wondered that her face didn’t crack. “Eddie Burke, your riding instructor!” she answered, beaming.

    The girls rushed over to each other and hugged and jumped up and down until Hannah’s dad decided to cinch the momentous occasion by handing a sheet of paper to Hannah. “And here is your fourteenth birthday present,” he said, looking like he would bust with happiness.

    Hannah promptly dropped the grooming bucket on her foot and cried “He’s mine? He’s really mine?”

    Her dad shook his head. “He’s being leased to you for a year, and if you’re still in love with him by then, he’s yours.”

    Janie later said that she thought Hannah would topple over in a dead faint, but she never did. She simply gave her dad the biggest hug Virginia had ever seen.

  31. Angela Dorsey Says:
    May 7th, 2008 at 8:53 am

    THE END!

    What a great story, guys! Your characters are awesome!!! :D :D :D

    Do you want to start a new story soon? I have a story start just waiting, compliments of Rachel!

  32. Mirriam Says:
    May 7th, 2008 at 2:44 pm

    THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LIKING MY ENDING! I CAN’T WAIT FOR ANOTHER STORY!!!!! THANKS FOR THE IDEA, RACHEL! YOU WERE A GREAT WRITING PARTNER!!! :D

  33. Rachel D. Says:
    May 7th, 2008 at 7:51 pm

    Bravo guys! THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! You are a great writing partner too Mirriam. I am the same Rachel and have been the whole time- I just added a D. to my name- only becuase there was a girl who worked on Zeb the Zony who’s name was Rachel. I really like how this story turned out!

  34. Rachel D. Says:
    May 7th, 2008 at 7:51 pm

    Oh and Angela- I’d LOVE to start working on another story! Thanks!

  35. Mirriam Says:
    May 9th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

    Thanks, Rachel a.k.a. Rachel D! If you haven’t, you should check out the Phantom Stallion books-they’re the best! ;)  It’d be soooo fun to do another story together! What was your fav part? I like the end ;D

  36. Mirriam Says:
    May 10th, 2008 at 6:36 pm

    When will there be another?

  37. Angela Dorsey Says:
    May 10th, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    Next week sometime. I usually don’t work over the weekend but as soon as I can next week, I’ll put the next one on. Thanks for being so patient!

  38. Mirriam Says:
    May 11th, 2008 at 5:41 am

    i ♥ these!

  39. Angela Dorsey Says:
    May 11th, 2008 at 9:55 am

    Me too. Its nice to both write for you guys and to read your stories!

  40. Mirriam Says:
    May 11th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    Thx, Angela!!!!!!

  41. Rachel D. Says:
    May 11th, 2008 at 8:12 pm

    Mirriam I LOVE the phantom stallion books! Is Terri Farley related to Waleter Farley do you know? He wrote the Black Stallion.

  42. Erin Says:
    May 13th, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    Hey Mirriam and Rachel. I LOVED what you did with this story. I only wrote one part but I’d like to work with you guys on the next story. I think with the three of us and Angela it might be the best one to come! :D

  43. Rachel D. Says:
    May 13th, 2008 at 7:58 pm

    I don’t know what my favorite part was- I think it was all pretty great. I think we did a good job of not getting mixed up and confused.

  44. Erin Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 6:28 pm

    Yeah that was a good thing. You 2 write incredibly. Soon we’ll all be able to start on the next story!

  45. Kathryn Says:
    May 17th, 2008 at 5:14 pm

    If you like Phantom Stallion books you should try Phantom Stallion Wild Horse Island. They’re by the same author but they’re a new series. I think #6 just came out. I like them better than Phantom Stallion.

  46. Tavia Says:
    May 20th, 2008 at 7:29 pm

    Yeah, me too. They’re based in Hawaii, and really awesome. I have #1-6 :) Phantom Stallion is just kind of repetitive - they’re good books, it’s just that almost every time the Phantom Stallion comes and saves the day. Anyway, whether or not you like Phantom Stallion, definitely read Wild Horse Island! :D

  47. Emma Says:
    July 19th, 2008 at 10:51 am

    I just bought number 7 but I’m the only one of me, Kate, and Tavia who has read it. They are better than Phantom Stallion. I know lots of people like it but I find the plot kind of boring! Wild Horse Island is more exciting for me!

Leave a Reply



Home | Writing | Blog | What's New | About the Author | Readers | Contacts


Content © 2005 - 2008 Angela Dorsey
Graphics and Design © 2005 - 2008 Pondside Web Productions