Page 79 of Bull Rush

“Are you okay? You need air!” My heart hammers with worry as I see the smoke billowing out over her head.

“I’m fine. Wolfsbane.” She coughs and then takes another deep breath, racing through her next words. “He won’t budge for anyone else. He’s panicked, and he needs you. There’s not much time!” She urges me on, and I race through the stable doors, my boots pounding the pavement as I make my way through to the back.

He’s on the far side of the stables from the doors, and as I race through it, I can feel the heat from the fire. It seems to be coming from the east side of the stables, furthest away from the horse stalls, and mostly full of equipment. It buys us time, but it’s also fueling the fire and the smoke. The heat of its burn has me sweating by the time I reach his stall, and I can tell that we don’t have much longer to get the last of these guys out of here, so I’m just praying he cooperates.

Wolfsbane stamps his feet and neighs at the sound of another stall slamming as Kell rushes Lady Luck out of her slot. The fear and tension is evident in how he paces the enclosed stall and rears up more and more frequently as he hears the cacophony of the evacuation. His eyes bulge with fear, even as I approach. No wonder Hazel wasn’t able to him out of the stall, let alone the barn. In my hurry to get into the stall, I notice his halter is missing, and I scan the floor for it, spotting the cobalt blue lead rope attached to his halter in the shavings. I’m thankful Hazel always pushed for the horses to wear bright colors that didn’t always live up to the tourists’ aesthetics. I grab it and approach Wolfsbane slowly, my hands up and practicing the most soothing voice I can muster under the circumstances.

“Hey, buddy,” I call to him. “It’s me. I’m here now. I’ve got you. Just let me finish this, okay?” As soon as he hears myvoice, his eyes dart down, and he falls back to his four legs from his rear. He turns his head to me and blows air through his nostrils, an intimidating sound for most, but I know him. That’s his way of telling me it’s about damn time I got here. ”That’s right, buddy. It’s all right. Good boy.” I soothe him as I come closer. “I’ll get you out of here, bud,” I reassure him in a soothing voice.

I maneuver his halter in my left hand while I keep patting my way up his neck and down his jaw, eventually managing a hold on him that allows me some sort of control while I halter him, still saying his name softly and telling him he’s a good boy. I keep telling him it’s going to be okay until the coughing fit I have takes my voice away. The smoke is drifting lower, and I glance up to see it filling the rafters of the stables. I rip my shirt off, thankful I’d only worn an old cotton tee, and tear it in two quickly, wrapping it around my face and tying it.

I slide his stall door open, and he stomps his feet again as another stall door shuts. Kell and Elliot yell to one another that the fire is spreading faster now, and I hear them say they’ve got four more horses to go.

“Okay, buddy. Let’s get you out of here so I can go help them. You can be good for me, right?” I sweep my hand over his nose and forehead, trying to reassure him, but I can see the anxiety in his eyes. “I’ve got you. I promise I’ve got you.”

He blows out another loud snort, but he starts to move with me. I breathe a sigh of relief as we get halfway out of the stables, mopping the sweat off my brow with my free hand as we move toward the doors. Hazel’s coughing and guiding another horse out of a stall that I pass, but I see her eyes flood with relief, and she nods to me when she sees Wolfsbane. We exchange a look, and I nod to her, trying to let her know it’s going to be okay.

“Three more!” Kell calls as he runs back into the stablespast me, startling Wolfsbane enough so that he misses stepping on my foot by a centimeter or two and forcing me to pause to calm him one last time before we cross the threshold.

I walk him out to the corral with the rest of the horses. He’s not keen to go in or for me to walk away from him, but I call out one last reassurance, letting him know I’ll come get him when I’m done, and lock the gate behind him. I run like hell back into the stables, taking the last horse as Kell and Elliot get the other two.

Hazel starts to come in to help, bent over and coughing before she even gets past the first stall.

“Haze! Go back outside. Check on the horses in the corral.”

“I need to do a last check.” She shakes her head no, and I run to her, kneeling down to look up at her.

“We’ve got them all. I’ll be sure of it. You’re gonna collapse in here, and then we’ll have to save you instead of the horses. Please don’t be stubborn here, darlin’. Please,” I beg her, and her eyes open. They’re red with irritation from the smoke and crying, but she nods and goes back to the barn doors.

I run one last time to the stall. It’s Admiral that’s left, and he’s one of the best trail horses we’ve got. Calmer than the rest, and even now, when I can tell he’s agitated and nervous, he lets me halter him and lead him out with ease. He follows me with very little struggle, and it gives me the chance I need to check the stalls visually one last time to make sure everyone’s out.

I’m grateful for it because no sooner do I get Admiral through the barn doors, one of the beams on the east side of the stables tears away from the roof, the fire and the heat too much for it to take. It clatters to the ground, taking out a smaller crossbeam on the way down and smashing into a pile of equipment and feed. It ignites almost instantly, and the hay dust fuels its rapid spread across the floor.

“Jesus Christ.” Kell’s at my side as we both stare, and hetakes the lead rope from me to take Admiral to the rest of the horses. “We’re so fucking lucky.”

“Lucky…” I mutter in agreement. I rip the shirt off my face, the heat of the day and the fire and smoke all conspiring to steal the oxygen from my lungs. I bend over in another coughing fit, all the while searching for Haze and not seeing her.

I panic then, forgetting my own discomfort and spinning in a circle as I try to find some sign of her in the chaos of people and animals around me. I’m half worried she ignored my warning and went back in. But I finally spot her in the distance, sitting under a tree as Kit hands her a bottle of water. I head toward them, hoping that Haze didn’t get hurt in the madness.

Kit sees me first, and she pulls another bottle of water out of a pocket in her apron and hands it to me. She looks like she was just dragged out of the kitchen at the inn in the middle of prepping dinner. Green and red smears across her apron and her neatly tied-up hair is fraying at the sides. Her eyes sweep over me, looking for damage, and she seems satisfied when she finds nothing life-threatening.

“Drink some water. You need it too. You both look like hell. The fire department’s on the way,” she reassures us.

“Thank you.” I uncap the water and guzzle it down as I collapse under the tree next to Haze.

“You two should go to the hospital and be seen for smoke inhalation.”

“I can’t leave. The horses—we’ll need a plan for the night, and the fire’s not out yet,” Haze protests the instruction, even as she coughs again and leans back against the tree to try to open her lungs for a deeper breath.

“You should go,” I encourage her, my voice raspy from the smoke. Her eyes slide to me, and she shakes her head.

“There’s something you should see.” Sam comes over to us and nods back toward the stables.

“What?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer and just nods for us to follow.

When we get to the side of the stables, we can see the words scrawled in spray paint on the side, even as the fire licks at them. I watch as Sam snaps a couple of pictures of the warning the arsonists have left for us. One that isn’t very creative but has a clear message.

ALL STOCKTONS WILL DIE

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