Wild Blue - The Story of a Mustang Appaloosa by Annie Wedekind

Author:Annie Wedekind
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781250120359
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

CHAPTER 7

It was dark before Blue stopped running.

It was dark and the rain had slowed to a fine mist blurring the evening star that glanced out from behind the curtains of clouds. Blue had run blindly from the corral, her only goal to reach the hills that had meant freedom during her weeks in the pen. Now she was at their base and through the last light of the day she could see that they were gentle inclines, studded with rocks and sharp, prickly plants and muddy from the rains. She slowed to a trot, sides heaving from her exertions, mud, sweat, and rain blanketing her coat. Alternating between a fast walk and a jog, she picked her way carefully up the slick slope, her strong legs, sturdy build, and tough hooves keeping her upright and balanced.

Blue didn’t stop until she reached the top of the hill, where she finally let herself slow to a halt and surveyed the strange scene spread out in the valley below her.

It looked as if the stars had fallen from the night sky: Above, the clouds formed an unbroken curtain of darkness, and below, a thousand brightly colored flares twinkled in the foothills. To her left, a river of light seemed to snake around the dazzling field. Occasionally, moving lights streamed down the river. The field itself was composed of multicolored stars, some that flickered and others that were still. It stretched out as far as her eye could see to the right, but Blue could make out darkness on the other side of the light river. After several moments of indecision, she decided to head for that patch of night beyond this spectacle of fallen stars.

It was trickier going down the hill than it had been going up. The footing was slicker and the brightness below made it difficult for Blue to pick out a trail before her. Reluctantly, she slowed her pace. Tiredness began to steal through her, but she never stumbled. In this strange land, she was on full alert, tired or not. And focusing intently on the task ahead prevented her from thinking about what she had left behind.

After a few hours of steady slogging, the land under her hooves evened out and became easier to navigate. She was down the hill and level with the lights. Blue stopped and sniffed the air. She could smell rain and mud but also another familiar yet ominous scent: men’s trucks. Blue tossed her head, trying to determine the direction of the smell, but it was too diffuse. She pawed the ground briefly, uncertain what to do. It seemed as if the acrid odor was stronger toward the light river, but it came from the light field as well. Now that she was even with both, it was harder to tell which direction might be safer. Blue remembered her father standing atop the high crest of a hill on their home range, surveying the land for predators. It was better to be up

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