Moriah could hear hoofbeats as their parents and Mr. Boston rode over. She was still trembling slightly, the adrenaline rush beginning to fizzle out. When they finally were a few feet away from them, their parents began bombarding them with questions. “Where were you?! Why did you go so far ahead!? Were those gunshots I heard in the distance!!??” Moriah and Autumn looked down awkwardly and muttered, “We accidentally entered private property. There was nothing signifying that though; no fences or signs.” Mrs. Stone’s eyes became as wide as full moons, “WHAT!? THEY TRIED TO SHOOT YOU?! THEY WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS!" And without another word, she urged her horse on and trotted toward where the man had last been. “You shouldn't have gone that far away,” her dad started with a hint of anger in his voice, “what if a bullet hit you or your horse?” He rode off after Mrs. Stone. Mr. Boston looked over and cleared his throat, “Don’t take your anger out on them. They didn’t know this is private property and were just having fun.” he glanced over at Moriah and Autumn, “I should probably get you home. Just follow the trail we took on the way here and I’ll catch up; I have to wait for your parents to get back.” In the distance, Moriah could hear her parents shouting furiously at the man, her dad occasionally swearing. Moriah nodded and turned her horse toward the path. Moriah and Autumn set off at a brisk trot, and once they were out of sight, slowed down. Moriah immediately let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding and glanced at her sister, who had silent tears slowly running down her face. Moriah wasn’t surprised; she was used to steeling herself and didn’t cry often, but she knew Autumn was much more sensitive. “What if something happened to you…?,” Autumn whimpered, letting out a small, quiet sob. “Nothing happened… it’s okay…” Moriah started, internally still terrified, but determined not to show it. She wished her mother was there to comfort Autumn; Moriah had never been good at giving sympathy. “I-I can’t afford to l-lose you… what would I do?!” Autumn whispered, slowly calming down. “It’s alright… you’ll always have me. I plan to stick around for quite a while,” Moriah murmured with a small smile. This seemed to cheer Autumn up quite a bit, “Same with me.” They looked at each other with small smiles, their need for one another showing plainly in their eyes. Hearing plodding hoofbeats and wild barking, Moriah saw that her parents and Mr. Boston had finally caught up to them. Autumn quickly wiped the tears from her face and glanced over at the approaching horses. “Hello!” Mr. Boston called, appearing weirdly unshaken by the incident. Moriah nodded in acknowledgment and waved at her parents. “If I could afford it, I would sue that monster,” her dad was grumbling under his breath. Moriah’s mom glanced over, “Calm down, Michael. At least the girls are okay.” Mr. Stone simply stared at the ground furiously. “Well, let’s get back,” he grumbled, his voice still laced with anger. He kicked his horse and beckoned for the others to follow. Once back at the camp, Moriah tied Liberty to the birch tree she had perched in, away from the others. She quickly untacked the bay gelding and began stroking him. She poured water from her water bottle into her hands and let Liberty lap it up until he didn’t want any more. After, she wet her hands and stroked him more, clearing off the sweat and grime he had acquired from the trail ride. “Okay, I have another trail ride booked for tomorrow, and I want these horses to get a good rest, so say your goodbyes,” Mr. Boston called from behind his horse. “Goodbye Liberty. Thank you for everything,” Moriah murmured to Liberty, leaning against his neck. Across the clearing, Moriah could hear Autumn saying her goodbyes as well. ...
The next day, Moriah woke up at around five in the morning. She sighed tiredly and tried to fall back asleep, but knew it was hopeless from the start. Like the day before, her legs itched to go explore, but the sensible part of her stayed, pressed flat against the mattress. She rolled over to see Autumn’s big brown eyes glinting back at her. “Happy birthday,” Autumn whispered with a small smile. “You too,” Moriah whispered back, returning her smile. “I’m sick of staying here; I’ve already been up for over an hour. Let’s explore,” Autumn started with a grin, “we’ll only be out for a while; they’ll never know.” Moriah took a deep breath; for ages, she had been wanting to go outside, and she finally succumbed to the desire, “You know what? You’re right; what they don’t know can’t hurt them…” “Then let’s go!” Autumn whispered, quieter still. One at a time, they crawled out of bed, making sure not to wake Layla, and, ever so slowly, opened the door. By that time, the light of early dawn had just begun to shine through the cloudy sky, giving the sisters just enough light to see. Moriah took a deep breath and stepped on to the ground. She continued her deep breaths, taking in the scents of the pine, oak, and birch trees, and started walking toward the trees. “Come on! We don’t have very much time!” Autumn called, already in the trees. Moriah chased after her, revelling in the strange satisfaction of breaking a rule. She tackled Autumn and they rolled around on the grass, landing in a heap, “I am very glad you convinced me to do this,” Moriah admitted, getting up and brushing the dirt off her pants. Autumn nodded with a grin and the two sisters kept running, side by side. They ran for a while, spotting several things on the way, when Moriah climbed through a thicket of bushes. When she got to the other side, she gasped; in front of her, she could see a river, gurgling as it’s sparkling currents rushed past her gaze. “Autumn, look at this!” She called back to her sister. She heard crackles in the bracken and Autumn appeared on the other side. “Wow…” Autumn gasped, trailing off as she gazed at the river. Suddenly, the bracken rustled and a twig snapped. Moriah instinctively jumped to defend her sister, but she slipped and began to fall into the sucking currents. Moriah gasped as she hit cold water, immediately swimming to the surface. She tried to stay up, but the rush of water knocked her back down. She could hear Autumn screaming her name and her parents yells. She was running out of breath. She surfaced, but something pulled her down and she plunged into darkness. Chapter 2 done! How is it?
