Midnight by Anna Dove (books for new readers .TXT) 📕

the lead rope, she slowed her horse, and the others, just behind her, came to a stop at the bank of the creek. The horses breathed hard for a moment before dropping their heads to nibble at the young grass by the water’s edge.

“I’m so sorry,” said Elizabeth. “I didn’t remember the farmhouse being that close to the stable.”

“We were almost shot,” said Carlos. “Fuck. You’ve got to remember me better next time.”

“That was not her fault,” retorted Haley quickly. “It’s thanks to her that we even have these horses.”

“I just mean,” said Carlos, “that this is no game. And I have not grown up riding, and I don’t ride as well as you. You have to remember that. This was the first time I jumped, the first time I’ve even done more than ride at a walking pace. You two are racing ahead and leaving me behind, and that’s not how this should work. I’m doing my best, I’m staying afloat, but we need to stay together, and I happen to lack these particular skills. I will learn them, and quickly, but please, don’t forget that I am a beginner.”

“I’m sorry,” replied Elizabeth, and Haley nodded. “You’re right. We will be careful--and not just this--we have to think of this entire trek with that in mind. No one will be left behind.”

After a brief rest, they continued on, letting the horses walk. The moonlight illuminated the wood’s edge and reflected in a silver sheen off the dewy grass. Bareback they plodded northeastward, and Haley sat comfortably, her weight evenly distributed. The horses’ hooves sounded regularly and soothingly on the ground. Haley held onto the base of the horse’s ample mane, as well as clutching the lead rope.

On horseback they stopped every twenty to thirty minutes, straining their ears for any abnormal sounds, but heard nothing new. All was silent; there hung in the air a tenseness.

It was well into the early hours of the morning when Elizabeth rode up next to Haley.

“I’m exhausted. It might be a good idea to get a few hours’ sleep and then assess where we are in the morning. I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“Me too,” agreed Haley, and Carlos rode up beside Elizabeth.

“I’ll stand watch for the first two hours, then you each can take an hour and a half or so,” he added.

They turned their horses and entered the wood, but did not pass far into it before they halted and dismounted. A few large oaks clustered around, interspersed with small saplings, bushes and ferns. They tied the lead ropes to sapling trees, drank water and ate quickly, and then while Carlos sat at the base of an oak, the women laid down on the ferns.

It was not comfortable; sticks protruded at rude angles and Haley turned over on her back, trying to ease into sleep. She looked upwards and saw the blanket of leaves, through which an occasional star would twinkle. There was a definite chill in the air now, left over from a cold winter. As she watched the outlines of the leaves shift and sway, her eyes drooped shut.

The first hints of gray began to appear at the horizon, rising up from where the earth met the sky in slow persistence. The stars, so brilliant in a sky blacker than coal with no earthly light to hinder, now began to sleepily fade, disappearing with the breath of the dawn. Like a creeping tide, the gray spread upwards, onwards, until the trees became visible in the predawn mist. Birds began to twitter. A rust breasted robin flitted from the branch it sat on to the ground and back. Wakened from a fitful slumber by the chirping, Haley looked up and saw an array of small birds lining the treetops, singing to each other with gaiety, ushering in the first signs of the morning. She watched them absently, and as the gray lightened to color with the dawning of the sun, the blues and greens and reds and browns of the birds’ chests, wings, crests, and tails flashed and fluttered among the whispering leaves in the sycamores, maples and oaks. Laying with her head propped on the pile of leaves she had bundled, she lifted one arm, and with her fingers pretended to touch the creatures. As she did, lost in thought, the rays of the sun pierced the morning sky, highlighting golden bases of cumulus clouds and painting hues of pastel pink, orange and deep, beautiful blue.

There was a rustling beside her, and Carlos opened his eyes, gazing for a few moments at the color, looking quite lost. Elizabeth sat to his right. A quick realization overcame his expression and he breathed deeply, his brow furrowing.

“Let’s go,” he said softly.

And Haley realized that they had survived their first night, and she took a deep breath.

13.  East

“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”

―

Emma Donoghue, Room

Sitting on the ground under a tall oak, Haley chewed dry crackers and peanuts for lunch. They had now been travelling for two full days, riding on horseback through woods and fields. From the farm in Forest Heights they all had ridden northeast, crossing above the Joint Base Andrews into the Westphalia Estates, a heavily wooded area. From here, they decided to set their course due east until they encountered the Chesapeake Bay, and then to turn north until they had reached Annapolis.

Haley’s muscles were cramped and sore from riding, especially the insides of her thighs, which burned as the muscles complained of the exertion. She had not ridden regularly for a few years, and although the movements came back to her quite naturally, still her muscles were not quite adjusted. She stretched out her legs, reaching for her toes, feeling the pull of her back and thighs.

The sun burned bright above her and her companions, casting short patterns of