by Maggie Joan
My stomach jumped with excitement. “That’s fine, thank you.”
After she said that I couldn’t concentrate on anything, not even how to get out of here. All I wanted to do was see Blue and let him know everything would be ok. I would find us a way out of here if it damn near killed me.
***
None of the men spoke to me when they came in for tea. Edith told me to just ignore them so that’s what I did. I carried on watching TV, forgetting about shark shows and indulging in The Big Bang Theory instead. Humour was definitely something I needed whilst I tried to calm the mix of adrenaline and anxiety churning away inside me.
Around six-thirty, the men headed back outside, chatting amongst themselves, and Edith called me to the table. I expected a slice of beef and maybe a handful of veg. When I saw how much food they’d left, I dreaded to think how much had been served in the first place. There was enough leftover to have meals from for the next three days.
“Help yourself, dearie. You need some meat on your bones.”
I didn’t hold back. Seeing this amount of food, let alone how good it all looked and smelled, after ten days of surviving on rations was like heaven. I was as happy as a duck in a puddle. Piling on mashed potato, peas, carrots, parsnips, roast potatoes, and finally three slices of beef, I knew I wouldn’t be running anywhere tonight.
“I hope your belly is bigger than your eyes,” Edith said, smiling at me. “We have a clean plate policy in this house.”
I grinned at her and all but inhaled the entire plate. In less than ten minutes I’d eaten the lot. My stomach actually ached from being so full. I’d definitely be in a food coma soon, that was for sure.
“Shall we go and see that horse?” Edith said, rising from the table. “The sun is setting and dark falls quickly around here.”
“Sure,” I said, trying to sound as casual as I could.
“Follow me then,” she said, toddling towards the front door.
The terriers didn’t even bother with me this time, thankfully. Edith led me around the side of the house. A huge evergreen hedge, easily six foot tall, lined the edge of what I presumed was a paddock. A metal five bar gate with razor wire on top of it provided the only access in and out. As soon as I saw it, I knew that’s what Blue had jumped over. I swear I saw spots of blood on a couple of the razor tips.
Edith opened the gate and ushered me through into a large field. It wasn’t quite the setup I’d been expecting. I’d expected a field with some stables or maybe a field shelter. Instead, I saw a carefully constructed, well thought out set-up. A row of six stables lined the back edge of the field, each one with its own fenced area that reached over halfway across the field. Part of the fenced area was concrete, the rest grass. The same set up, with another six stables, sat on the right-hand side of the field, leaving a perfect square near the gate.
“Wow,” I said, rather taken aback. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“We deal with high end horses,” Edith said, leading me across the field. “We can’t afford to have them turned out together and possibly injuring each other in play. This way they’re still in company and can reach over the fences for scratches and such but kicking and play fighting is out of the question.”
“What if they eat all the grass in their bit?” I said, trying to guess the size of each one.
“They have nearly two acres each. If you look square on at one, you’ll notice the fence fans out from the line of the stable wall. We give them hay all year round as well to help save the grass as much as possible.”
As much as I hated to admit it, it was a very clever setup and it looked professional and well cared for. I spotted a stable on the right-hand side of the field, at the very end, that had both the bottom and top door of the stable shut.
“Is that where Blue is?” I asked, pointing at it.
She nodded. “We have to close the top door, or he’ll jump out. Little sod has tried it twice since he’s been back.”
I bit my lip to stem the flow of emotions rising inside me. He would be going stir crazy locked away in the dark, nothing to see and no way of seeing other horses. What the hell were they playing at?
As we approached the edge of his ‘field’, a loud crash sounded from inside his stable and the entire thing visibly shook. He neighed, but it wasn’t a friendly nicker, it was a shrill scream for help.
“You have to let him see,” I said, ducking through the post and rail fence and running to him. “He’s going insane.”
“That’s just his sedative wearing off,” Edith said, following me. “Barry will be back shortly with his next dose.”
I slid the bolt back on the top door and swung it open. When I saw Blue I gasped, my hands flying to my mouth. Tears instantly glazed over my vision. Drenched in sweat, he was almost black in colour, save for the white foam covering parts of his coat. His brown eyes, days ago so soft and peaceful, were wild and hardened over. He was shaking from head to toe.
Blood had smeared down his face and he also had red stains on one of his back legs. Parts of the stable wall had holes inside, chunks of the wood laid on his dirty bed. The smell of ammonia lingered in the back of my throat, almost choking me.
“Blue,” I cried, my voice shaking. “Hey, boy.”
His ears twitched and he turned to face me, his eyes softening just a fraction. Edith came to stand next to me and in that instant, the softness in his eyes vanished and he lunged at her, his ears pinned back, teeth bared, and a guttural grunt that made him sound like a wild animal.
“Whoa,” she said, ducking down out of the way. “And that is why we keep this closed.” She swung the top door shut again and slid the bolt across. “Not quite the horse you were riding two days ago, eh?”
“You have to let him out. You’re sending him crazy.”
“Sweetheart, that horse is crazy. There isn’t nothing we’re doing to make him crazy, trust me.”
“Will you let me be alone with him?”
Uncertainty flashed through her eyes. “I don’t know about that.”
“You can stand at the gate and watch me. I’m not going to do anything but try and calm him down. Please?”
Edith sighed and pressed her lips together. “Ok. But any signs of funny business and you’ll be spending the night in the shed.”
I smiled at her. “Deal.”
She pottered away, negotiating her way through the fence before ambling over to the gate. She leaned against it and watched me like a hawk. Eager to gain her trust, I lifted my hand and waved, giving her a smile too. She nodded her head in return.
I turned back to the stable and started talking to Blue. Carefully sliding the bolt back and reopening the top door, I kept in the back of my mind that he may well ignore me and revert to his basic animal instincts which he’d just shown Edith.
“Hey, boy,” I said, leaning over the door. “How are you doing?”
His sides were heaving and his head hanging low. I guessed the attack he’d just launched on Edith had left him with little energy. I checked the corners of the stable for food and water. Nothing. No wonder he was lifeless.
I looked at the pen next to me and spotted a chestnut right down the far end, grazing. I jumped the fence and pinched its water bucket and hay net, sliding them under the fence. Back on Blue’s side, I dared unbolt his main door, talking to him about the amazing bath I’d had in the Victorian era replica bathtub.
The second I placed the water bucket down in his stable, he came over and drank from it, slurping as he struggled to take enough in at once. When he finally lifted his head, after draining the entire bucket, I showed him the hay net.
I expected him to snatch at it greedily, but he didn’t. He stuck his head forwards and touched my face with his nose, his warm breath blowing through his velvety soft nostrils.
“Hey, boy,” I whispered, raising my hand to tickle his chin. “I’m gonna get you out of here, I promise.”
He nuzzled my hair, his top lip ruffling through
my hair as if he were searching for food. I closed my eyes and giggled. The rush of happiness and peace had tears spilling down my cheeks and I knew without a doubt that I couldn’t turn my back on this horse. We were soul bound.
I opened the stable door a little further so I could get inside and hang his hay net up. As I did, Blue pushed past me at full speed, knocking me to the floor. His hooves clattered against the concrete then thundered onto the grass. He let out an ear-piercing scream right as I heard the shot of a gun.
Chapter 23
“Blue!” I yelled, scrabbling to my feet. I’d fallen onto my left shoulder and it throbbed with pain, but I ignored it. “Blue!”
I ran out of the stable to see one of Edith’s sons coming towards the pen, a rifle slung over his forearm. Blue had come to a stop and was teetering on his feet. Then I saw the pink feathered end of a dart sticking out of his neck.
At least it wasn’t a real bullet. He was alive. Dazed, but alive. I needed to get us out of here ASAP. The trauma he would be suffering because of this would be unreal. It wouldn’t be long before he couldn’t come back from it.
I thought Colin had been a big burly brute. He had nothing on this guy. He was like a walking giant. Striding across the field in a dark green boiler suit with muddy green wellies on and weathered face set like thunder, I wanted to run and hide.
“Get the fuck away from my ‘orse,” he said, pointing a finger at me.
I ignored him and ran to Blue, pulling the dart from his neck. “You can’t keep him like this. It’s cruel.”
He bent over and came underneath the fence. When he straightened up, he narrowed his dark eyes at me. “My ‘orse is my problem. You go back to my mam and do as you’re damn well told.”
I stood my ground. I’d met men like him time and again. “He won’t be your horse if you don’t feed and water him because he’ll be dead.” Blue tried to turn around, almost falling over in the process. “Look what you’ve done to him!”
“’E’ll learn ‘ventually that actin’ up don’t get him nothing but pain. If ‘e be’aves, e’ll get food ‘n water.”
Pick your battles wisely, Blue. Know when to fight and when to back away and strategise. One of my mum’s sayings. She’d suffered a particularly nasty beating from my dad one night and I’d asked her why she didn’t fight back or do something. That had been her reply.
Realising that this moment was not one to pick a fight, I backed down. My heart and soul shattered into a million pieces as I watched him use his gun to poke and prod Blue back into the dark, disgusting stable. When he bolted both doors shut, after taking the hay net out, I wanted to collapse into a heap of tears.
However, what made me want to collapse into a heap of tears also drove me on in my pursuit to get out of here by whatever means possible. I knew for a fact now that I was not leaving this place without Blue. Not even to fetch help. We’d either both leave together, or both suffer here together.
***
Edith didn’t say a word when I reached her. She simply gave me a sympathetic smile and led me back inside the house. I offered to help her clean away after tea, but she declined.
“That shoulder of yours took a fair old knock. You need to rest it.”
I sat back down in front of the TV and flicked on a Marvel movie. As I settled down, a mobile phone rang, the loud ring tone drowning out Thor’s beautiful voice.
“Bloody man,” Edith said.
I turned around to see her answering a black mobile.
“Hi, Mick…Yes, he’s left his phone laying around again…Ok, no problem, I’ll tell him. Bye.”
That was like music to my ears. Someone made a habit of leaving their phone behind. That was exactly what I needed.
I heard Edith put it down on the table. As the night wore on and Edith’s sons made their way indoors, Edith showed me to the guest room.
“They like a beer and to have a poker game or two before bed,” she said. “Best if we stay out of their way. Especially after that little incident with Barry earlier.”
I smiled and nodded.
The guest room was homely and pleasant. Pale blue walls, old white furniture, and a huge King size bed, it provided all the necessities I hadn’t had over the past two weeks—a solid roof and a comfortable place to sleep.
I slipped beneath the duvet with my clothes on. I hoped and prayed that the phone downstairs remained there. Once everyone had gone to bed, I would grab it and call for help. With my head on soft pillows, a full stomach, and nice and warm, it didn’t take long at all before I fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke, I panicked, but seeing it was still dark outside, I calmed my racing heart and gave myself a few minutes to clear the sleep fog from my mind. Very quietly, I tip toed over to the door and opened it, inch by inch, waiting for any squeaks or creaks. Thankfully, none came.
A clock on the opposite wall told me it was 2 a.m. Plenty of time to do what I needed to do. In my utmost stealth mode, I crept across the red carpet towards the top of the stairs. My heart pounded so hard against my ribs I was certain the noise of it would wake one of them.
Step by step I navigated the stairs, none of them making a noise. About halfway down, I bent down to see into the kitchen and spotted the phone still on the table. I bit my lip to contain the ‘Yes!’ that wanted to escape me.
I raced across the flagstone floor, holding my breath at the cold beneath my feet. Tapping the screen, I saw a request for a pin code come up.
Goddammit!
However, I could still call the police. Urgency building inside me like a tidal wave, I dialled 999.
“Emergency; Which service do you require? Police, fire brigade, or ambulance?”
“Police,” I whispered.
“Just a moment.”
I turned around to face the stairs so I could see if anyone was coming down.
“Police, what’s your emergency?” said a friendly female voice.
“I’ve been kidnapped.”
“You’ve been kidnapped?”
“Yes. But I don’t know where I am.”
“What’s your name?”
“Blue. I ran away from my foster home two weeks ago. I’ve been kidnapped and me and my horse need help.”
“Your horse?”
“Yes. Please, just come.”
“Can you remember any defining features about where you are?”
I sighed, impatience getting the better of me. “I’m on a farm somewhere. There’s horses here. And six people. And six dogs. Please. You need to come now!”
“I have dispatched units to your approximate location but I need some help to pinpoint where you are exactly.”
“I don’t know!” I said, trying to keep my voice low. “All I know is there’s a mum and five sons. Edith, Colin, and Barry. That’s all I know.”
“Are you near any windows? Can you see outside for any landmarks or anything?”
I looked out of the kitchen window for a few seconds, squinting my eyes through the darkness. “It’s too dark. All I can see is a hedge. The stables are behind it.”
I checked over my shoulder to make sure no one had come down the stairs yet. The relief I felt when I saw an empty stairwell almost sent me dizzy.
“Please stay calm, Blue. I need you to stay with me on the phone. Do you understand?”
“They could come downstairs at any minute. I need to go. I need to go back to my room.”
“Blue, listen to me. I need you to stay on the line with me, ok? My name is Kimberley. Tell me what you see in front of you.”
My heart raced so fast the beats were almost one continuous rhythm. My throat had run so dry I could barely swallow. I’d broken out into a cold sweat and I couldn’t think straight, let alone form a coherent sentence. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down.
“Blue, are you there?”
“Yeah,” I croaked.
“Good. Tell me what you see in front of you.”
I opened my eyes and instantly froze. �
�Oh shit.”
Chapter 24
My little friend, Merry, stood in front of me, tail stuck straight up in the air, eyes pinned on me, and teeth bared.
“Blue,” Kimberley said. “Talk to me.”
“I gotta go,” I said, putting the phone down on the worktop behind me. I made sure not to hang up, just in case she could pinpoint my location.
“Shhhh,” I said, holding my hands out to Merry. “There’s a good girl.” Merry growled. “Boy. Good boy.” Merry growled again. “Whatever the hell you are. Good…thing. Shush now.”
I made a move to my left which the wretched thing followed, lunging forwards at me and snapping its teeth. “Ok, ok. We can be friends, right?”
I bent down, thinking if we were on the same level, it might calm her or him down. However, the instant I started moving, it growled louder.
“So what you gonna do, huh? Just keep me pinned here all damn night?”
It wagged its tail from side to side and came towards me again, still growling. I loved animals but right now I wanted nothing more than to kick this thing out of my way and get out. Apparently though, Merry had other ideas.
The longer I stared at the dog, the louder it growled. I figured if I broke eye contact, it might think it had won and leave me alone. So I broke eye contact.
Merry barked. Continuously. A proper terrier bark—high pitched and as irritating as a nettle rash. In less than thirty seconds, all six of them were up and heading down the stairs. Edith came down first, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“Blue, what are you doing?” she asked, padding over to me in her flowery dressing gown.
“Just getting a drink,” I said.
“But you’re dressed.”
“I fell asleep in my clothes.”
Her eyes fell on the worktop behind me. When she looked back at me, a hardened glare fell over her face like an iron curtain. “Barry!” she yelled. “It’s time.”
