A Second Chance

Slaughterhouse

The small racehorse gave a loud whinny at the dust surrounding him, and tried to get up. His eyes wide, his nostrils flared, Parkway got to his feet. He couldn't see anything. Just the sound of panic, and the yelling of his jockey.
The dust cleared and the chestnut finally saw the scene that had unfolded. Of course, he had tripped and fallen to the ground, and his jockey had fallen off of him. His leg hurt terribly. He saw a few people run at him and his jockey from outside of the track and whinnied, rearing just a bit. He had never been so terrified in his entire life.
They came at him, snatching at his reins. Parkway reared again and took off towards the crowd, wanting to get away. But they were determined, as most humans were. They grabbed him and attempted to calm him down, resulting in one of them being hit by the Thoroughbred's hooves when he reared again. They pulled the terrified chestnut into the stables and locked him in his stall, alone, without food or water.
The horse paced the stall stomping around and nickering anxiously. His leg throbbed and pained him like sharp glass being stabbed into it. He whinnied loudly, wanting and needing care. Parkway soon came to a stop in the corner of his stall, realizing that nobody was going to come to care for him. He rested his hurt leg and breathed deeply- in pain, hungry, thirsty and scared.

No one came to him for hours, and when they did, it was hell. They would scream at him, try to hit him, curse at him. Some cried, some just stared him down. But one girl, after all the others had left, came into the barn quietly.
"Hey, boy." She clucked to him, but he didn't move.
"It's okay, Parkway." The girl slid her arms through the stall's bars and cooed sweetly to him. His ears swiveled at her voice. He wanted to be near her.
He took a step and stopped, as his leg was causing him great pain. But he had to get to this girl. He had to. With a small nicker, the young horse walked over to the girl with a slight limp. "Hey, it's okay." She smiled and rubbed his neck. "Nothing's gonna happen to you. I promise you."

Just then, a man came into the barn, his face hot and red, causing Parkway to whinny loudly and retreat to the corner of his stall. The girl turned around in fear. The man didn't seem phased by the girl and entered the stall with a lead rope. He attached it to his halter and gave a strong pull. "Come on, Parkway." He growled at the horse, continuing to pull. The little chestnut held his ground and gave a small nicker in fear while the girl watched with eyes full of fright. The man yelled at the horse and gave him a smack, and Parkway finally began to trail dreadfully behind him.
He was led outside to a worn down trailer, where he was loaded in. He whinnied and stomped a few times but soon fell silent. Nobody was coming to his rescue. Parkway hung his head and closed his eyes, hoping where he was going would be better than here. Slowly, the little chestnut drifted off to sleep. The rhythmic sound of the tires on the asphalt road was his lullaby.

He awoke to a sudden turn, startling him and causing him to slam into the side of the trailer. The horse gave a frightened whinny and stomped his hoof on the metal floor. Parkway looked through the beaten trailer's opening and saw a dreadful-looking place. It smelled of blood and fear. The truck came to a screeching stop and Parkway heard the engine turn off, followed by the heavy footsteps of the man. Two voices arose in conversation. He instantly made his way to the far corner of the trailer, huddling there in fear.

"'Cmon, Parkway. Let's just... Get this over with." He said in a soft voice, opening the trailer and walking over to the terrified colt. A lead rope was attached to his halter, and the man pulled on the rope. Defeated, Parkway took small steps, limping slightly. The man then handed the other a wad of money and the lead rope. Parkway never saw that man again.

He was then led to a small field surrounded by barb-wired fence, where the grass was dry and strange-tasting. Parkway didn't care; he was starving. The chestnut eagerly ate away at the dying grass before moving to a trough of water. He took a large gulp. It was bitterly cold and tasted of metal. The freezing liquid hit his stomach and pained him, but he was too thirsty to care. Parkway stood in the sad-looking paddock alone, his head hung low and his heart broken and empty. Little did he know, morning would bring a day like no other...

In the morning, Parkway awoke to the scream-like whinnies of horses and the shouts of men. It sent shivers throughout the thoroughbred's body. He wanted to run away, to go and be free. But he could not. With a curious nicker, the chestnut lifted his left back leg and gave the fence a kick. It sent fierce electric shocks through him, and he reared, darting away. Surely, someone would come to rescue him... They had to...

Afternoon quickly approached, and a man with a face of stone came for Parkway with a chain. The chestnut immediately rushed to the corner of his paddock and stood there, his body racked with violent shivers and shakes. The man entered and smacked the young horse when he wouldn't follow. Parkway reared up, hoping to scare the man off, but was only met with a blow to his face.
With a sputtered exhale, the horse lowered his head and followed after the harsh, tugging man. He was brought into a large, dull gray building that smelled of blood. Parkway was terrified. Everything about this place screamed danger in his face, telling his instincts to run away, but he couldn't. The little colt nickered and whinnied, tossed his head and bucked, but he was still in the tight grasp of these terrible humans.
Parkway was brought into a wash stall, where his halter was attached to two chains on each side, securing him in place. The wicked man began spraying him with extremely hot water, which gave off large bursts of steam as it hit his body. He turned and swayed his body at the uncomfortable heat, nickering nervously. But he did not stop. The young thoroughbred was soaked in the steaming hot water, and when he was finally done, he was being led once again. This time, it was to a small, concrete room, where blood stained the ground and walls. A single chain hung from the ceiling. Parkway pulled against his lead and whinnied, sensing the fear and terror that went on in this room. He was shoved forward into the room, and the chain was secured around his left rear leg. Slowly and painfully, Parkway was lifted from the ground by his leg and the man smiled with a twisted grin at the horses' struggles and whinnies.

Maybe this was the end... If only...