Remembrance

Chapter 11: Runaway

Chapter Eleven: Runaway

The day started to pass by extremely slow. Each step we took, the air started to get stuffier and stuffier. The guys didn't seem as bothered, both making sure I was keeping up with them. Garroth and I were on one side of the bank while Laurance walked on the other. He was scanning anything that would have started to bob underneath the surface of the water and on his side of the bank while Garroth and I watched our side of the river and the ground nearby. We had stopped a few times at glistening objects but most of them were frogs and rocks.

"I feel like we aren't going to find anything..." I said as we reached a fork. One side was wider than the other and the water started to look a darker blue.

"We might. Are you seeing anything familiar?" Laurance asked, him pointing down the wider river bend as the way to go.

"I see water, does that count?" I asked, jumping over a thin part of the stream.

Garroth jumped over, his sheath clattering against his leg. "Everything also could have been swiped by any passers too." He said, "It's not any certainty that we'll find anything of value..."

"You're not wrong..." Laurance said, "But anything, even footprints or hoofprints would be helpful right now."

I shrugged as I started to scan the bank again. Some things looked familiar, especially the water starting to clear up a bit. I could see the bottom in some places, the fish that were trapped in it swimming the same direction we walked.

"No!"

My head started ringing as I stopped walking, my eyes shutting for a moment. I grimaced as I walked to the side, getting the river out of my sight.

"What's wrong?" Garroth asked, his steps coming to me.

Laurance paused at the other side of the river, him looking over before he looked down at horse hoofprints scattered around the dirt and sand.

"I think I know why..." Laurance said, him walking towards the little cut of ground and jumping towards the sandy bank.

I heard his shoes squish and looked over at him.

"Raine, what are you doing!?" My voice echoed in my head as I started walking over to the river. I looked down, hearing the distant grunting of a horse. I winced as the ring got stronger for a moment.

"Alaina, hey... breathe..." Garroth's voice echoed on my left, him coming over to me.

"N-No..." I whispered, my head looking up at the river and starting to stare down the river.

"Raine, don't! Not-!" My scream echoed as the boys disappeared.

I gasped, involuntarily spinning in circles as I saw a brown and white painted mare underneath me. Her ears started to twitch as her head turned around. She looked across the river.

"Raine, what's wrong, girl?" My voice asked as my lips didn't move. I felt stuck as I saw my hands moving without me controlling them.

The horse nickered again before she started to paw, moving around and she started to face the river.

"No... it's too deep, Raine. We won't make it."

Her nickers sounded panicked as she hurriedly looked over her shoulder before she started moving, her front hooves digging into the ground as her body weight shifted.