Page 3 of Rhett

The ferret popped its head up to look at me now and again.

Following it, I stood a good distance away in the grass, taking more photos.

The ferret glared at me before the little bugger bounded toward me.

Yelping, I backpedaled, then ran while it made angry sounds as it chased after me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw its back hunching between bounds like a furry slinky.

What the hell did I do to make it want to attack?

The ferret launched itself at me, chattering.

“Eek!” I screamed with arms flailing. Falling on my chest, I landed on the lush grass. Wasting no time, I rolled onto my back. I batted at the crazy ferret when its forepaws bounced off my belly, and then its teeth closed on the edge of my phone. With one hard yank, it had my cell and was scrambling away with my phone in its teeth.

“Oh no, you don’t, little shit.” Clumsily getting to my feet, I sprinted after it.

The little beast bounded ahead of me, too fast to catch but apparently enjoying the chase from the way it kept slowing a little and looking back at me.

“You’re teasing me.” I made a flying grab, catching the end of its fuzzy tail just before my body slammed onto the grass. The wind was knocked out of me, but I managed not to let go.

The ferret squeaked in outrage, dropping my phone, circling back to snap at me. Letting go at the last second, I scrambled forward, grabbing my phone, quickly pulling it under my belly.

The ferret bounded around me, chattering and squeaking until it caught one of my sneaker’s shoelaces in its teeth, untying it with a hard tug.

“Knock it off, you little shit.” I was laughing too hard to be really angry.

Holding the phone firmly against my chest, I sat up, and the ferret bounded off in the direction it had been fleeing.

“Don’t be mad!” I yelled after it. “I won our battle fair and square, my furry friend.”

Gingerly getting to my feet, I stuffed my phone in my front pocket, retied my shoelace, and stood up, shaking out my now-sore body. The ferret was gone.

“Playtime is over, Nova,” I mumbled.

Scanning the area, I noticed the ferret had led me into a clearing that had a break in the tree line ahead. My heart leaped with excitement at the possibility of finally finding help.

Walking through the gap in the trees, I found myself standing in another mossy green field with no one around except for a light gray horse that was galloping through the grass with wild abandon.

“Well, ain’t you a pretty horse,” I whispered, mesmerized by its beauty.

I traipsed across the field, making it halfway toward the horse before it stopped midprance, flicking its head to glare at me. One minute, the horse was there. The next, a tall nude old man with long gray hair and a handlebar mustache stood in the same spot.

I stumbled back. “What the fuck!”

I blinked, then blinked again. I wasn’t hallucinating. He’d just transformed from a horse into a man.

“You’re trespassing, female!” the man yelled while picking up a pile of clothes before striding toward me.

“What?” I squeaked, still trying to process what I’d just seen.

Placing his cowboy hat on his head, he responded, “You shouldn’t be here, hybrid.”

My heart pounded in my ears. “Hybrid?” I echoed.

Why is he calling me hybrid?

“You got cotton in your ears?” He stood before me, wearing nothing but his cowboy hat.

“What’s happening?” I asked.