Despite the meeting with Paris, around noon, I appeared at the crowd favorite stables that sat atop the tallest hill in town. When I first arrived, a memory of my parents and I visited flashed through my mind. It was when I first met my full-size marwari, Helix. Off to the side, I could see Helix being led to the back of the fields along with several other horses. Distraught owners crowded around the fence, desperately looking for the steeds. Tempted to go check up on Helix, I picked up my foot, but then Kino Oearl ran up to me, panicked.
"Sir!" he panted. "Sir, thank goodness you're here! There're people buried underneath the wood!" Dutifully, I nodded and ran into the now huge rubbish heap. Where a humble, lovely wooden building once stood, nothing but piles of scraps now lay. A strange feeling turned my stomach, remembering an argument my mother and I once had. She'd suggested tearing the stables down and rebuilding it with a steadier material as she expected it to burn down sometime in the next decade anyhow. Appalled and blinded by nostalgia, I refused to even consider it. I took a quick breather and followed Oearl as he pointed out where most survivors were being found and which areas were unsearched.
After around three quarters of an hour, when Oearl and the pretty large search team were fairly certain they'd covered everywhere, I then split them into three groups. One to do one last round as it was a pretty impressive building, one to help load the injured into the ambulances that just recently arrived, and the last to help Bebiche and the two other workers in the fields suffering alone with the unruly horses. Before the last group left, I asked a shorter teenage boy to send Bebiche up to meet me.
In the meantime, I made myself useful. I consulted the medics and asked for a count of the injuries and fatalities within a week. Construction workers came to clear the area and I talked to Dufrois, the manager, and asked him to ensure they left the foundation in tact. In between that, I attempted to comfort as many townspeople as possible.
As I pulled away from a hug with old Mrs. Posey, my former nanny, Acacia Lee came up from behind me. "Sir Gyran," she said, slowly and carefully, maintaining intense eye contact. "I wanted to talk about the future of the stables." I tore away from her gaze for a moment to stare at the rubble behind me. "I..." she grabbed my attention and I looked back at her. "I was hoping if I could buy the stables and rebuild them. Yara and I want to turn it into a more economical investment also."
I crossed my arms, gears turning in my head. Just a week prior, Bebiche had also mentioned something of the sort, attempting to generate revenue from the stables. "This would be a co-op project between you and Bebiche, yes?" Acacia quickly nodded. "Like I told her last week, it's not a bad idea. However, I haven't properly reviewed her proposal. So if the two of you could meet with me tonight at sundown, I should have time to discuss it. Thank you for bringing it up, Lee." Acacia smiled and walked off.
Immediately, Lachlan Greene ran up to me, appearing to be somewhat out of it. Greene nearly lunged at me, tugging at my arm. Panting and doubled over, he fumbled over his words and let me know that his older brother, Everly, was trapped under two support beams plus a mound of wood. In a split second, we had a hold of Oearl and his daughter, Mallory Oearl, and the four of us ran to the back of the rubble. Somehow the search team had missed this huge hunk of wood large enough for even five people to be hidden under.
Lachlan showed us where he saw his brother's hand with his engagement ring shining on it. The three of them immediately started recovering the body while I gathered the rest of the team back together to scan the site one more time. Once I'd looked over everything and gave them the all clear, they all dispersed and I met up with Oearl, Mallory, and Lachlan. By the time I returned, Everly's bruised, burned and dusted body lay on the ground with a few splinters in his overalls.
I called over a stretcher and a team of medics quickly worked to haul him on and load him in the ambulance with the last group of patients. As Everly was rolled over to the truck, I walked by his side, examining him. A couple minor patches and burn marks all over. A major one peeked out his side and seemed to coil around his back. And a few more serious scars here and there. But nothing as frightening as his face. Something about it looked off. Specifically, it was the dullness in his eyes, which, for whatever reason, were wide open. But I just assumed it was due to the accident he'd been in and shook it off.
Besides, a hysterical Carmen Harris caught my eye, wailing over her fallen fiance. I pulled myself away from Everly as they fastened him in the truck and went over to her. As she watched the ambulance drive away she squeezed her glossy eyes shut and started sobbing. I went in for a hug, wondering if I could distract her in any way.
Looking down at her, I muttered, "Hey, I'm really sorry." I decided to ease into the request, but the honest truth was that sentiments weren't my strong suit. "He'll be alright, a couple injuries, but nothing looked fatal. A few weeks of physical therapy and minor scarring will be all that's left of this incident." Carmen's face went numb, an obvious internal battle going on in her head. Her arms remained limp at her sides as I squeezed her and continued, "So, for now, we'll just tidy up here. If it's too much, you could always do something else for me?" She blinked, somewhat intrigued. "You could always make a quick round to Central Tower for me. I need to explain this situation to Dean Paris, let him know why I missed our meeting and reschedule. Though, I'm sure by the time you reach, word would've spread, but take the letter for me anyhow?" Carmen sheepishly nodded, so I quickly borrowed paper and pen from a nearby journalist and sent her off.
Everyone else still on site started rounding up the horses into the far side of the back fields for either their owners or temporary sitters to pick them up and sent away all the reporters and photographers. With the clear space, there were three dozen workers left who diligently worked to my orders and tidied up the area to make room for any major alterations. Within three and a half hours, Carmen returned with a response letter from Paris informing me that he was free next Saturday evening. An evening currently free for me, so I thanked Carmen and continued. By the time she'd returned, we were left with just under a dozen workers left. Which wasn't too much of a problem as there wasn't much left and the work day was just about ending. Still, we pushed ourselves to get as much done as possible.
Sunset; strips of pink and gold filled the sky and the harsh sun gave us a break from its fatal rays with a soft goodnight. I shook hands with the last worker left, Ryu, and he mounted a tar black friesian and galloped away. As I welcomed the evening, I placed my hat atop my mop of sweaty hair and looked around. Past the bottom of the hill and in the fields, I could see two people with two dozen horses. Confused, I hurried down and puffed, "Shouldn't you be returning home soon?" The two people looked at me, and the first things I saw Acacia's long, lavender ponytail and Bebiche's defining star-shaped birthmark right below her jaw.
"Yes, Sir," Bebiche answered and released the reigns of the horse she had a hold of. Her sleeves were rolled up, revealing two sweaty, frail arms. The kind that surprised someone to learn they were the arms of a stable worker. "But most of the horses' owners are in District Three right now for the competition. It'll be at least two days before word spreads of the fire. Another three until they start arriving in Gyran."
Acacia nodded, and looked at me, already exhausted from the extended day. "And there aren't enough space in Northern Gyran horses for many people to take in an extra." They looked at each other with loving, supportive eyes. I imagined the two of them spending the night here alone. Half tending to two dozen horses, the other half prepping to do so without their trusty stables. A miniature fjord brushed up against my legs.
I sighed.
"What do you need?"
Comments (0)
See all