October Story Contest

Gates of Heaven
By: Masterpeice
Age: 16

  "Dallas, come here!" I ordered, knowing that the big bay quarter horse wasn't going to listen. He whinnied in delight while he trotted away from me. 

This was just great. I had a momentary lapse of concentration, and now I had a loose horse running around the property. He wasn't even MY horse. Well, he used to be. But then he got older, and so did I. I needed a show jumper, and Dallas was a trail horse. Not that I didn't love him, but it just worked out better for both of us if I gave him to my sister. My little sister Logan didn't show, but she did like to ride. So since Dallas was so gentle and well broke, they were a perfect match. 

Unfortunately, Dallas had a secret talent for opening gates. I don't know how he did it, but no matter what kind of latch or chain you secured it with, he managed to get it open and free himself. Although he was generally calm, sweet and gentle, sudden freedom went to his head. 

I grabbed a halter from the barn and approached Dallas carefully. He was standing by the gate to one of the pastures, looking to see if any of the horses wanted to make friends.  

"Easy Dallas..." I said, trying to make my voice sound sweet and friendly. I held out my hand as if I had a treat for him.  
Dallas didn't buy it. He looked at me mischievously and with a cruel toss of his pretty bay head, took off cantering. He shoved past me and cantered across he driveway and over towards the arena.

I huffed, stomping my foot. 
"Logan!" I yelled. "Come catch your horse!"
"Huh?" Logan's head popped out of the barn door. "Oh there he is!" she cried. 

I threw the halter at her.

"He can be a little hard to catch," I said. That was a complete lie. Dallas was awful to catch. Logan's horse, Logan's problem. 
A good thirty minutes later, Logan, Sam, (the stable hand) and I managed to corral him by the wash rack when we bribed him with a few apples. 
"You are very naughty!" Logan scolded him. Logan was eight, and had dark curly hair. 
"I told you to put the chain with the clip on it around his stall latch!" I said. 
"I did!" Logan said defensively. I rolled my eyes.
"Sam, can you think of anything else we can do to keep him in?" I asked.
 "You could put an extra latch on the bottom of his stall, where he can't reach it." he suggested.
"Good idea." 

After grooming Dallas and putting him back in his stall, we found another lock and attached it to the bottom corner of his stall door.
"Ha!" I said. "That'll keep him in." 
"I hope so," Logan replied. "Lex, do you think he's acting funny?" Dallas went to his water and drank for a while. Dallas always drank a lot.
"No. Why do you ask?"
"I don't know, he just doesn't seem himself." Logan patted him on the shoulder.
"C'mon," I said. "We have to get home. We'll see how he is tomorrow."

* * *

"Rrrrrrring!" I groaned when the phone rang, waking me up from a deep sleep. What time was it?
I glanced over at my alarm clock. One twenty! Who calls at one twenty?
"Rrrrrrrring!"
"Oh, goodness." I moaned. I grabbed the phone off my desk and answered it groggily. "Hello?"
"Lex, is that you?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah it's me." I rubbed my eyes.
"You guys need to get to the barn, now," I realized I was talking to Sam. "the horses are sick."
"What?" I said, more awake now. "Which horses?"
"Levi, Dallas, Loki, Apollo, Breeze... all of them are sick!"
"What? Why? What happened?" I cried.
"We're not sure... the vet thinks someone might have poisoned them."
I gasped. "I'll be there in a few minutes, hang on." I ran out of my room, flying down the hallway and into Logan's bedroom.
"Lex? Who was on the phone?" 
I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of her bed.
"It was Sam, the horses are sick. Let's go." We ran down the stairs and out the door.

Oak Ridge Riding Academy was just a few streets away from our house, so we ran all the way there. We ran up the driveway and into the barn, where the vet, the horse's owners and Sam were all gathered. I ran into Levi's stall. Levi was a tall bay crossbreed, and I loved him more than anything. He was laying on the ground.

  Logan ran past me and into Dallas' stall. I heard her cry out, and left Levi to see Dallas. The vet was in the stall with him.
"Who owns this horse?" She asked.
"We do." I said.
"Girls, I need to speak with your parents." I nodded and asked if I could borrow her cell phone. She agreed, and I punched in our number quickly.
"Hello?"
"Mom, it's me."
"Lex? Where are you girls? You scared your father and I half to death!"
"We're at the barn, the horses are sick. The vet wants to talk to you about Dallas. Come fast." I hung up and gave the vet her phone back. She went to check on a young boy's pony, and then came back to us. Just then, my parents came into the barn. The vet shook my mom's hand, and shooed us away.
"I want to stay with him!" Logan sobbed.
"Come on, Logan." I said. "Let's go hang out with Levi." We went into Levi's stall. The vet had given him some kind of shot, and he already looked better. It was only a few minutes before we heard my mother's voice.
"I understand, Dr. Laura." We left Levi's stall, and went back to Dallas. My mom, dad, and Dr. Laura were standing beside Dallas.

Dallas was lying on the ground, breathing hard. I could see the sweat run down his dark neck despite the cool night air, and his sides heaved with every breath. His white blaze was pressed against the ground, and then he rolled over to lay helplessly on his side.
My mother moved to put her hand on my shoulder firmly.
"Lex, stay here with Dr. Laura. We're taking Logan home." I nodded.
"What's going on here?" I demanded as soon as they were gone.
"Lex, how old are you?"
"Thirteen."
"I think you're old enough to understand that sometimes, it's better to end the suffering." Dr. Laura took her glasses off and put them in her shirt pocket. "I don't know who did this, or why, but someone came in and poisoned these horses. I gave them all an injection to help with the pain, but since I don't know what it is, I can't treat it. Most of them seem better, and I think they'll all be fine except for your sister's horse."

"The shot didn't work on Dallas?" She shook her head.
"Whatever this was, Dallas got most of it. He's not responding to anything I give him, and if I don't put him down, he's going to-"
"Die. He'll die anyway." I said, tears stinging my eyes. "I understand. Go ahead, then. If you think it's the right thing to do."
"It's the only thing we can do." I could feel my throat close up and my heart sink. Tears streamed down my face as I knelt down beside him.

Dallas sat up again, looking at me.

"Dallas," I said, laying my head against his mane. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I'm going to miss you so much." I kissed his head.
"He won't feel anything... he'll just slip away." Dr. Laura said. After she gave him one last shot, his breathing evened out and was slow and steady. His eyes slowly closed, like he was falling asleep.
He laid his head down in the shavings, and then he was gone.


* * *

I helped with the other horses until every last one was acting normal again. I was exhausted. It was now about six in the morning, and I sat in the alleyway of the barn, listening to sound of the wind in the trees and the horses breathing. Besides those two things, it was silent. The other owners had gone home to get some sleep. Sam would be back in a couple of hours to feed the horses.

I didn't cry hard like I had the night before, no. I just leaned on the barn door, staring out at the gray dawn of the morning, letting a few silent tears glide down my cheeks. I breathed in the heavenly scent of the wildflowers, and felt refreshed when the cool morning air filled my lungs. I sighed, laying myself out on the barn floor. I was so tired. Tired from being up at one in the morning. Tired from running around to administer medicines to horses. Tired from no sleep. Tired from crying so hard when everybody left.

  I closed my eyes, just for a moment, dwelling in the sweet caress of sleep. I saw Dallas behind my closed eyes, dancing around me like he always had when I wanted to catch him.

I bought him when I was seven, he was fourteen, and still a bit crazy, but I handled him well. He turned twenty-one this year, and he'd settled down enough so that Logan could ride him easily. I needed a younger horse, and that's why I rescued Levi.
Logan loved him, but I loved him first.
Footsteps in the barn woke me from my half-asleep reverie.
"He's gone, isn't he?" Logan asked.
I nodded. I looked up at her, and her eyes were grave and sunken in.
"You look tired." I said.
"I was awake all night worrying." She replied.
"We all were." I said. Logan sat down next me. We sat there silently, watching the sun slowly climb into the sky.
"Hey Lex?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think the angels will be able to catch him when Dallas opens the gates of Heaven?"