End to a Ride

Static Dreams
Prologue: End to a Ride

It was the abrupt braking that made me fully aware of the ridiculous situation I had found myself in. I had no idea why Chris forgot the concept of slowing down; the windows in the horse trailer didn’t offer much of a view. This was partly due to the months of neglect, partly to the two large bodies partially blocking them. I was attempting to stay as far away from them as possible, valuing my unbroken bones. Luckily it was the type of trailer which has stalls, leaving room for gear and the occasional person. I had met the left stall head-first when Chris braked, due to the absence of a seat belt. How did the horses manage to stay on their feet? Perhaps having four made them more balanced. Not being a horse-lover, the pondering didn’t seem strange to me, although it might have to Chris. He had mocked me and my eternal ponderings often enough for me to be wary of ever mentioning this subject to him. Of course, the circumstances would make it difficult enough, anyway. I was disappointed about that. Despite his lack of subtlety, or perhaps because of it, I had spent many hours talking to him. He never complained, at least not believably, so I assume I didn’t make him want to claw his ears off. That’s always a good sign.

My nanny always used to say that to think of someone is to summon them. She was once again proven right by the sound of a slammed door followed by footsteps. I could have sworn we were in the middle of the road, making this rather out of character for Chris. If it were me driving, it would have been normal – I tend to “forget” about rules. I could hear him muttering to himself, the noise increasing, and I realised with horror that he was coming around to the back of the trailer. Ignoring my fear of pain, I let myself into a stall, intending to hide in front of the beast. It had other ideas, though, and started whinnying and snorting. The other one followed suit. Chris had said that horses react to human emotions – when I scoff at him, it never turns out right, this was more proof of that. I nevertheless made my way to the front of the stall, trying to avoid the suspicious looking dark patches of straw.

“Hush, Comanche, Vixen,” Chris soothed upon opening the door. The crack of light showed at the very bottom of the stall. The stall which I had failed to relock, I suddenly recalled. His calling me stupid was now justified. I crouched down closer to the ground, covering my nose. I didn’t care what he told me, horses did smell. Trust me to focus on the small problem. He was rustling around in his travel bag, from what I could hear, obviously looking for something. There was no edge to his voice when he continued to comfort the horses, which caused me to relax. The fact that we were still on the road still bugged me, though. I heard a triumphant noise, followed by a creak at the door. He was going, thank goodness. “Why’s that door open?” I heard him ask outloud – was he talking to the horses? My heart constricted and I shut my eyes. If  I couldn’t see him…

“Isobel?”

I shut them tighter.

“Isobel.”

I opened them, saw him standing in the open doorway and the stupid horse’s head turned to look at him – leaving a clear view of me. Slowly, I got to my feet, wiped my sweaty hands on my faded jeans, and tried to look casual. “Hi, Chris,” I muttered while walking towards him. “What are you doing here?” If I could just get past him, I could make a break for it.

“What am I doing here,” he repeated with a snort, looking at me with unhidden disbelief. After all, when did he ever bother to hide what he was thinking? “This is my truck. My father’s horse trailer and horses. I’m driving my truck. You are hiding. The question is more what are you doing here, isn’t it? And where you’ve been for the past couple of days? Oh god, please tell me you’re not still on about it. It was sorted. It was a misunderstanding. Get over it, Isobel.”

I clenched my fists at his dismissal. “Of course I’m still on about it! It was not sorted, it was not a misunderstanding. If you believe that you’re as stupid as Pheobe.” It stung, that he believed his parents over me. I had never lied to him, and why would I lie about this?

“Shut up, Isobel. I’ve heard enough about it. Come on, I’m driving you home before I take these horses to Paul’s.”

“Fine,” I replied after a pause. Letting him lead the way, I grabbed my bag from inside the food bucket. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me outside, the direct sunlight having caused me to wince. After opening the passenger door for me, he went around to his side, clearly thinking I had given in to him. I was not that weak. Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I set off at high speed, aiming for the fields on the left. Beyond them was a forest, where he wouldn’t be able to catch me. I might not be a track star, but I can hide. There was no way I would return to that farm, not unless it was within a coffin. The last thought I had before concentrating on eluding Chris was that the reason he had parked in the road was a stray cow standing sedately on the road.

Static Dreams: Chapters 1 & 2  [ASR] #1311594 Isobel's early life, before it changed for ever. by checkmate!