Mystic and the Midnight Ride. Stacy Gregg

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       CHAPTER 4

      Issie could hear hoofbeats. In the pitch black she saw the blurry grey shape of a horse galloping towards her. Just out of her reach, the horse reared to a stop. His nostrils flared, and he pawed the ground impatiently, flicking his head and nickering to her. Then, as suddenly as he had come, he wheeled around and galloped away again. Mystic? It had to be. Issie tried to yell out to him but she couldn’t speak. What was happening to her?

      “I think she’s coming round,” a voice broke through the blackness.

      Then another voice, softer, calling her, “Isadora. Isadora. Wake up.”

      And there she was, lying between the cool white sheets of a hospital bed, looking up into her mother’s eyes.

      “My God, Isadora! You gave me such a scare.” Mrs Brown had tears in her eyes as she hugged her daughter tightly. The embrace was so strong, Issie found it hard to breathe and had to gasp for air. As she took a deep breath her chest ached and she let out a squeal of pain.

      “Do your ribs hurt?” A woman in a white coat was leaning over her. Issie nodded yes.

      “Isadora, my name is Doctor Stone,” the woman said. “I don’t think your ribs are broken. I suspect it’s just bruising. We’ll be sending you down to x-ray shortly to check. But first I need to ask you a few questions, just to check that you’re OK. You had a bad fall and you may be suffering from concussion.” The doctor held up her hand. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

      “Three,” said Issie. She was surprised at how wobbly her voice was. “And what day is it?” Doctor Stone asked as she checked Issie’s eyes with a little torch light. “Umm…Saturday?”

      “Excellent.” The doctor was making notes on her chart now as she talked. “How old are you, Isadora?”

      “Twelve,” Issie had to think for a moment, “but I’ll be thirteen soon.”

      Doctor Stone gave her young patient a concerned look. “Now, I want you to think carefully, Isadora. I want you to try to remember the last thing that happened to you. Do you know why you’re here?”

      Issie shut her eyes and tried to think. What had happened to her? She remembered the sound of a truck horn, and the way Mystic had reared up, as if to protect her from the huge steel vehicle that was bearing down on them. Then nothing, nothing but the tarmac rushing up to meet her, that inhuman scream and then the blackness.

      “Where is Mystic?” Issie felt a wave of panic sweep over her. “Mum, is Mystic OK?”

      Her chest ached sharply as she tried to sit up. “Isadora, please try and stay still until we can get those ribs x-rayed,” Doctor Stone said firmly. She turned to Mrs Brown. “I don’t think we’ll need to keep her in overnight. If the x-ray comes out OK, she can be discharged this evening.”

      “But what about my horse?” Issie was cold with horror as she spoke. Her mum kept ignoring her questions about Mystic. Something was wrong. Mrs Brown had turned her head away from her now. At first she couldn’t speak. Finally she faced her daughter and took her hand. Her words came softly but in Issie’s ears they were like crashes of thunder.

      “Isadora, there was nothing anyone could have done. The truck…” Her mother’s voice trailed off for a moment. “…Isadora, Mystic is dead.”

      “No!” Issie felt hot tears running down her cheeks. She was shaking, gasping once more for breath. “No!”

      “I’m sorry, honey.” Her mother was still clutching her hand, and she was crying too. “Stella saw it all from the side of the road. You and Mystic saved the other horses, you know. If you hadn’t gone after them and herded them back up the driveway, who knows what would have happened. But then the truck came…” Mrs Brown stroked away her daughter’s tears. “You know, I think Mystic was trying to save you too. When he reared up and threw you clear of the truck, it saved your life. So it wasn’t just the other horses he saved. He saved you.”

      “Isadora,” the doctor interrupted, “I’m just going to give you a sedative. It’ll take away the pain and let you relax for a while.”

      Issie nodded vacantly. She didn’t really hear what the doctor was saying, and she could no longer feel the pain in her ribs. Instead, it was her heart that ached. An ache that consumed her entire soul. Mystic was dead.

      Issie barely even noticed the sting of the injection that Doctor Stone gave her, but she began to feel its effects almost immediately. She felt woozy, and her muscles went limp. Through half-closed eyes she could see her mother sitting beside the bed holding her hand, then she drifted off, back into darkness, back into black sleep.