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More debris.

My legs were already tired, the hint of exhaustion a reminder of the ordeal.

I moved carefully, forced to step over some fallen debris, but not too much. The sound was getting louder.

Wait a minute. Was I hearing a horse? I stopped moving long enough to crane my neck.

There was a definite whinny.

No, two.

Oh, my God. More horses. I moved faster, pushing past even thicker trees, including scrubby pines. Either the trees were getting thicker or I’d spent more time in the forest than I’d anticipated. At least the moon was already adding some light, but soon, it might be too dark to make my way back home.

Just a few more steps.

When I finally came upon a clearing, I stood in awe even as shadows crept down from the horizon.

There were several large structures, so much grass and fencing.

And horses.

There had to be at least six horses roaming free inside a huge enclosure.

I moved closer, in awe of the majestic forms.

When I was almost to a portion of the fence, I stopped and took a few pictures, careful not to spook the horses. As Sadie had done with me before, when I approached, they were curious but kept their distance until I moved to the fence rails. I could tell they were afraid.

One horse decided to brave coming closer, doing so with a slow gait. That’s when I noticed he was severely underweight. I didn’t need any experts to tell me that.

But the horse walked closer, tossing his head up and down.

“Look at you,” I whispered. “Such a big boy.” A shiver coursed through me. What had happened to this horse and why would anyone starve an animal?

Anger swept through me as I stroked the horse’s nose.

As soon as I got back to the house, I was going to force Kage to contact the authorities. This kind of abuse couldn’t continue. I’d have the perpetrator arrested.

“Baby. Don’t worry. We’ll get you some food.”

The horse was happy to see someone, enjoying the attention. Meanwhile, I was growing angrier by the minute, also noticing another horse was limping. And another had burns similar to Sadie’s. And another had a bandage over her eye. What the fuck was going on here?

Oh, I was furious.

“I promise I’ll get you some help. I won’t let you suffer any longer.” I backed away, turning quickly to run back the way I came. The sooner the authorities were contacted, the sooner they could be taken away.

When I heard footsteps, I stopped short, suddenly realizing that I’d been a fool in leaving the safety of the house. Shit. Shit. What was I going to do?

The fear was starting to turn into panic. I couldn’t be taken again. I just… Fight. Fight.

I started to run away from the crashing sound just as I noticed a beam of light.

Then Tank bounded from the woods, racing toward me. When he jumped on me, I lost my footing, toppling backward onto the ground. “Oh, buddy. It’s you. Thank God.”

“What the fuck did you think you were doing?” Kage’s voice was now filled with rage. He lumbered forward, flashing the light directly in my eyes.

“I heard sounds. I told you I was right.” Tank licked my face, pressing the full weight of his body on mine.

“You ran off. I was explicit in my instructions that you were not to leave the property. Do you not understand what could have happened to you? Don’t you get it?”