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The riders that had no runs that day took turns working with the new horses. Buck sagged against the fence he had no desire to do much with the horses today. He stared into the dust and memories of Ike crept into his mind. Tears welled up and the wind blowing over the ground blew dust into his eyes.
He wiped at the tears and dust with the back of his hand, angry at himself for falling into this depression.
His ears filled with his own thoughts, he almost missed what his friends were saying.
Noah's voice was disapproving, "Lou?"
"Oh Noah, it's my turn."
"Yeah, I know, but take a smaller one...that Mustang's a brute."
Lou squared off against her friend, her brown eyes staring up into his through the thin lenses of her glasses. "You know I pull my own weight around here, and this is the third time we've worked with him...I think he's pretty well broken by now." Not receiving an immediate answer from Noah, she looked to one of the other riders. "Jimmy? Kid?" No dice, "Buck?"
Buck stood up and looked over the rail, "Yeah Lou? Sure hon."
With a satisfied grin she turned on her heel and walked over to the stud. The horse shied away from her, nostrils flaring.
"Lou?" Jimmy called out, "leave him be ....you can do it tomorrow."
Now we all know that once Lou is told that something can't be done... she is all the more determined to see it through.
She called out softly to the horse, "Steady... whoa boy, it's just me... calm down... whooooooaa." Once again she reached for the ropes and
the horse steadied and let her take hold. "That's better, now just a second," she swung up onto the horse's back. A momentary balk had Lou grasping the ropes tighter and squeezing her legs around the horses middle.
Once she was up there, she realized that the horse seemed much bigger than she thought. He was several hands higher than Lightning, and the inherent strength of this horse was daunting.
For a moment, she felt panic, and then she quickly stored the feelings away... she knew the horse could sense - "Whoa!"
The clear morning sky filled her eyes in the space of a heartbeat. The horse was rearing on his hind legs and Lou was in real danger of falling off. The mustang's shrieks of rage disturbed the other horses in the ring, they began to toss their heads and trot around the ring.
The riders climbed on the rails and called out to Lou, "Hold on Lou!" "Hold tight, we'll be right there!"
"No!" she called back, terror thick in her voice, "Stay right where you are, the other horses will trample you!"
Buck remained frozen as he watched the man standing in the middle of the ring, his arms frantically waving in front of the horse. His black duster was flapping in a nonexistant breeze. He seemed to appear out of thin air and no one else seemed to react to him. Buck would almost swear this man was straight from his imagination, but to the horse he was real enough. With his ears plastered down to his head the horse reared again and again, lashing out with his hooves.
Lou was frantically clawing at the lead ropes as they pulled out of her hands. Her mouth wide with fear, she struggled to regain any control of the massive horse. It seemed for a moment, she regained a semblance of control as she wrapped one of the ropes around her forearm.
Kid was sitting on top of the railing, looking for any opening. Jimmy had his hat off and was crouched next to Kid, his eyes trained on Lou and the frantic horse. "Lou! Lou take the rope off your arm! If he throws you, he'll drag you and break it in two!"
Kid stared at Jimmy, "That's it, I'm going in there!"
Jimmy grabbed him by the shoulder, "Not yet... you'll probably get her killed. Let the pack calm down.."
Noah had opened the gate and a few horses had left the ring, but the majority continued to move in circles. Their heads tossing up and down, they circled ever closer to Lou and her mount.
"Don't you get it? They aren't calming down! We need to do something, or Lou.." Kid stopped screaming at Jimmy and looked back at Lou.
She was reaching for the second rope, her slim fingers just a hair away from grabbing it, when the horse reared again. Lou's legs slipped off the horse and landed on the dirt next to his hind legs. She released the rope from her other hand, but it remained coiled around her arm. "Oh God!" she called, "It won't come off."
Buck stared out at Lou, the man held her by the arm trapping the rope against her skin. "Let her go! Damn you, let her go!"
...what? I can't quite hear what you're saying...
She scratched at her skin, but the ropes stayed put. "Kid? Jimmy? Help me! Please!" Her tears were streaming down her cheeks and her voice was filled with sobs. Her arm felt like it was being pulled from her shoulder, the pain was incredible. The horse continued to rear and buck... Lou cried out as she crashed against the horse's side.
Buck reached through the wooden rails, his hand was battered by the spooked horses, "Did you hear me?! LET HER GO!"
The man paused for a second and the world seemed to grind to a halt,
...'Is that what you want? Well, fine, all you had to do was ASK...
The rope slid lose from her arm like a writhing snake. Lou slumped to the ground out of breath.
She pushed herself up on her right arm and stared through the sea of horses, "Help, please.... NO! NO! Stay away!"
The sun was gone and Lou looked up at the under belly of the mustang. The horse had turned and now stood above her. Eyes wild, the horse seemed to move in slow motion. One hoof and then the other rose up, the hot breath of the horse on her face felt like an oven... She had the distinct feeling that this would be the last thing she ever saw.
Lou threw her good arm over her head, turning to look down at the ground and protect her face. A moment later, the horse began to pound her into the ground. He had only gotten in a few good hits when Cody ran into the yard, shotgun raised. A single blast and the horse fell over dead. The other horses immediately quieted down and dashed from the ring.
Lou was immediately surrounded by the other riders. Noah had gone to fetch the doctor and Cody was standing over the horse. Jimmy tried to find somewhere to touch her that wasn't already black and blue and Kid tried to turn her over without moving her too much. Buck stood off to the side trying to make sense of what he had just seen. Who was this man?
Lou didn't move or open her eyes, but a soft sob racked her body. Kid leaned forward and listened to her breathing. A terrifying moment later he looked up at Jimmy, tears in his eyes, "I can barely hear anything, I don't know if she's...
"Don't say it," rasped Jimmy, "She's tough, and she'll make it through." He touched the side of her face, "I won't hear or believe anything else Kid!"
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