Wild Horse Spring (8 page)

“Wow. What happened to them all?”

“Well, a lot of them were penned and tamed. In just the past decade, more than twenty of the mustangs have been shot.”

“Shot?” I couldn’t believe it. Who in the world would shoot a horse?

Sally nodded. “And as more people have begun to come here to live and vacation, sometimes they hit them and drive away without even reporting it.”

“I can’t believe someone would do that,” I said.

Sally nodded again. “Now the Wild Horse Fund offers rewards to people who witness cruelty to the horses and report it so that those involved can be charged with crimes. We’re also working on getting a law passed to protect the wild horses. They’re a important legacy of the Outer Banks. For one thing, we need to keep people away from them.”

What she meant was, other people. Not people like me.

“We are trying to grow the herd to prevent inbreeding. When they inbreed, they become more susceptible to disease and weakness.

“I saw a new foal in the harem with the black stallion. I named her Dark Angel.”

“Yes, she’s only a week old. This is foaling season, and we’re excited because we’ve got a couple more foals coming along soon. During foaling season we have to be very careful that the mares and foals aren’t stressed by the presence of too many people. The foals need time to nurse and bond with their mothers.”

On the sandy road behind us, we saw a small chestnut stallion accompanied by a sorrel mare and a foal. As the stallion lowered his head to herd his family down the road, a bulldozer pulled out of a cul-de-sac, blocking the family’s progress. The mare, confused, stopped, even though the stallion continued to try to herd her toward the bulldozer. Finally all three horses stopped, and the stallion, reconsidering, began to herd them in the opposite direction. Their heads hung low in the heat, their long manes stringy and matted with sweat.

“This is the story of their life,” Sally said.

“Do they have to remove horses from the herd very often?” I asked.

“Not too long ago, a mare had to be taken out of the herd because of a trauma wound to her neck. After she got well, she wasn’t able to return to the herd because she had been exposed to the diseases of domestic horses.” Sally hesitated, then went on. “Sometimes the horses become too used to people. One of our horses a few years ago knocked a woman down trying to get
her to feed him. So the herd manager had to remove him from the herd.”

“And they can never go back?”

“No.”

A lump formed in my throat, and tears pricked my eyes. It sounded so final. Why was nature so cruel?

“When they remove the horses from the herd, what do they do with them?”

“They adopt them out. The fund works with a couple of experienced horse trainers in particular to gentle the horses before they’re adopted. We make a point of finding really good homes for these guys. So, I hope that sorrel can stay in the wild. But if he can’t, we’ll make sure he has a good home. I’ve got to be going.” Sally climbed back into her SUV. “But if you see that the sorrel is looking worse—or if anyone is being cruel to the horses—get in touch.”

“I will.”

“Take care, Diana.”

I waved as she pulled away.

I walked home. The broad sky arched over me, a pale, washed-out blue with a few tattered wisps of clouds. The water had looked choppy and green yesterday, but today it was calmer, and an iridescent shade of blue.

Just beyond the dunes, I saw the triangular window of our gray house. I recognized Stephanie’s beach
towel hanging over the armrest of a chair sitting on the beach. But I didn’t see her anywhere.

I headed inside. I drank a big glass of milk and ate a peanut butter sandwich. I had a lot to think about. I hadn’t admitted to Sally that Firecracker had already eaten several carrots and an apple that I had fed him. If what Sally said was true, what I had fed Firecracker could make him sick, could give him colic.

I ran my hands over my face. If I had made Firecracker sick, I would never forgive myself. I made a promise to check on him tomorrow, and every day we were here, to make sure he was okay.

From the bottom of the stairs, I called for Stephanie. No answer. I went upstairs, and she wasn’t in the bedroom either. I headed back out onto the beach and saw her towel and book, abandoned on her beach chair. Her phone was gone, though.

Then I noticed tire tracks beside her chair.

I could not believe that she’d be out riding the ATV with Cody. She’d never get on an ATV! She was so scared of everything. But here were the tracks, and she was gone.

Slowly, at first, I started jogging along, following the ATV tracks. I was already tired from running before, and then walking, and right away I started getting these twinges in my right calf that sometimes meant I was
about to get a cramp. The sting of a blister throbbed on my left heel from sand getting into my socks.

After about a half mile, the tracks led to a place where they went in a circle. Then they peeled off to the area behind the dunes. What had happened?

I kept following the tire tracks, over the dunes through the soft sand leading to the houses behind the dunes, and then down sandy paths farther away from the water and into the maritime forest. Because I was so tired, I stopped and walked through the forest for a while, listening to see if I could hear the sound of the ATV nearby.

This was probably hopeless. Cody and Stephanie were going much faster than I was, and I’d never catch up. I rounded a corner, and gnats swarmed my face.

I arrived at a fork where grass had grown over the path, and I couldn’t see the tire tracks anymore. Which way had they gone? I walked back and forth, but separating out the tracks I’d been following from other tracks was now impossible.

I thought I recognized where I was from yesterday. Then I heard a motor. It definitely sounded like an ATV. I stood to the side of the path, waiting, hoping, as it got louder and louder.

C
ody and I came flying around the corner, past a huge live oak, with me holding on to him for dear life, and there was Diana. Her face was white and sweaty.

Cody put on the brake, causing me to slide more tightly against his back, and squealed to a stop beside her.

“Oh my gosh, there you are!” I said. “We’ve been looking for you.”

“I’ve been looking for
you
!” she said.

“You look awful. Are you okay?” Because she looked so wiped out, I decided not to mention the fact that she’d left without even telling me where she was going.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “Maybe a little weak from running so much and not eating much.”

“Get on, and we’ll head back,” said Cody, turning his head to indicate the back of the ATV.

“Is there room for all three of us?” Diana said.

“I’ll scoot up.” I moved closer to Cody, leaving a narrow strip of seat behind me. I was sitting up so close to him, I felt my face get hot. “Cody, can you scrunch up a little bit?”

“Not much.” He inched forward, I moved up again, and Diana climbed on behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Her skin felt cold and clammy against mine.

“Stephanie, I can’t believe you’re riding this thing!”

“I can’t either,” I said with a laugh. I was wedged between the two of them, with barely room to breathe. “I don’t think they’re built for three people.”

“They’re not,” Cody said. “Ready?”

“Go slow!” I said.

“I’ll try.” He put the ATV into gear and took off down a path to our right.

“Where are you going?” Diana yelled to Cody, leaning forward.

“Back to the beach,” he yelled.

“This isn’t the right way,” she shouted. “We have to go the other way, to the left. That’s the way I came in.”

“No, the path goes in a wide circle,” he shouted.

“This is wrong,” she mumbled furiously, just next to my ear. Her arms tightened around me.

The path we were on did seem to be heading deeper into the shadows of the forest. The twisted branches of the trees closed in more tightly around us, and a damp coolness seeped into the air. Pine needles covered the path, muffling the sound of the engine. My heart began to thump, and I broke out in a sweat. Maybe Diana was right. Maybe we were lost.

“Cody, are you sure you know where we’re going?” I asked.

Then suddenly the path opened up, and we saw, in the middle of nowhere, a line of small shops, a café, some outdoor restrooms painted in pastels, and a sandy playground with spotty clumps of grass. All completely deserted. Not a soul was anywhere to be seen.

“What is this place?” Cody said, slowing us to a crawl.

“It seems like a deserted town, or a movie set,” I said.

“Told you it was the wrong way,” Diana said with an impatient tone.

Cody turned off the motor. “Listen.” We heard the thundering sound of many hoofbeats in the sand, and also other engines in the distance. Gradually, the engines increased in volume, coming closer.

In a few seconds, a herd of horses we hadn’t seen before, white-eyed with manes and tails flying, raced into the open area from a path on the other side, their hooves pounding the sand, their necks dark with sweat beneath their manes. Cody hit the foot brake and put one foot on the ground. As soon as the horses saw us, they veered off in a different direction, sending clouds of dust swirling.

“What’s going on?” Cody said.

My chest tightened.

Then we saw. Two guys on ATVs emerged from the woods on the path, their engines grinding at earsplitting volume, and the minute they spotted the horses, they turned and went after them.

“They’re chasing the horses!” Diana yelled.

As the riders flashed through the open area, we caught snatches of their laughter. They were both stocky and helmetless—the same two boys we’d seen yesterday, with the buzz cut and the curly, blond hair. They glanced at us as they drove by but didn’t acknowledge us at all, and soon we were looking at billows of their dust.

“Go after them! Make them stop!” Diana said.

Before I could tell them to let me off, Cody gave the ATV gas with a flick of his wrist. With a jerk that snapped my head back, we tore after them. I closed my eyes and tightened my hold on his waist, pressing my cheek against his back. Diana’s arms wrapped even more tightly around me. The ATV leaped forward, bumping over the dunes and picking up speed, and we closed the gap between us. My heart was beating so hard I could barely breathe. When our ATV was a few yards behind them, Diana yelled, “Stop chasing the horses!” But with the noise of the three vehicles, there was no way to hear.

The boys turned and glanced at us and then picked up their speed. They began to pull away, following the horses that had all raced out of sight to the left of a stand of live oaks, except two foals in the rear, struggling to keep up with their mothers.

Cody, with another flick of his wrist, upped our speed. “I’m going to cut them off,” he yelled back at me, and headed out to the right of the oaks.

I buried my face on his shoulder. As we curved around the trees, we spotted the horses on the other side, racing for a flat, marshy area just beyond us. Cody cut behind them and kept going straight, and in the next second, the other two boys emerged from the
opposite side. They veered to our right to try to get by us and stay with the horses, but Cody stayed on target, aiming right at them.

“Hey!” Curly shouted. “Watch out!”

Cody didn’t flinch. He kept going, heading directly for them.

“Cody!” I screamed, burying my head in his back.

The others, at the last minute, slammed on their brakes and skidded, brakes squealing, throwing up chunks of black dirt.

“What are you doing?” Buzz Cut screamed.

Cody hit the brakes and turned the handlebars into a skid so quickly, Diana and I both went flying.

I landed in a heap on the sand, sliding along my side, but I had so much adrenaline, I hardly felt a thing. As I scrambled to my feet, Diana was already up, screaming at the boys, shaking her fist at them.

“How dare you! Stop it! Stop chasing the horses!”

“What’s wrong with you? What the hell were you doing?” yelled Curly.

“She said don’t chase the horses!” Cody said.

“Are you kidding?” said Buzz Cut. “Are you trying to kill us, you moron?”

“Stay out of our way, you stupid idiots!” yelled Curly.

When those words came out of their mouths, I felt like someone had just slapped me in the face.

“Shut up!” Diana shouted. “These horses are defenseless! They aren’t hurting you! Leave them alone!”

“You shut up!” said Buzz Cut. “Come on, Jesse. Let’s get outta here.”

My chin had begun to tremble, and I was afraid I would cry if I tried to talk.

Curly revved his engine and spun away, deliberately trying to spray dirt in our faces. Buzz Cut lurched after him.

“I’m going to report you!” Diana choked out, running after them.

I was shaking all over.

“Stephanie, are you okay?” said Cody.

“I … I’m not sure.” I looked down and saw I had scrapes and bruises on both legs, and one of my arms was bleeding. “I … I just feel like someone beat me up. What were you doing? We could have crashed.”

Cody shrugged. “Diana said to go after them.”

“Do you do everything people tell you to do?”

“Well, it worked,” said Diana. She was trying to brush sand and dirt from a scrape on her thigh. One of her elbows was bleeding. But she was looking at Cody with a new, respectful expression on her thin face.

“Luckily!” I said.

“Are you okay, Diana?” Cody asked.

“Yeah.”

“Whew.” I sat down on the ground, just to stop the trembling of my legs. “Imagine how scared those horses must have been, with people chasing them like that.”

“I’m going to report them,” Diana said, wiping dirt from her cheek. “I met a lady who’s a volunteer for the Wild Horse Fund. I’m going to call them and tell them what we saw.”

“What lady?” I said.

“A lady named Sally. She told me to let them know if I saw anyone trying to feed or ride or hurt the horses.” Diana straightened and squared her shoulders. “The horses are wild. This is where they live. They need to be protected from people.”