Baylee, Chapter One: Run

(Hey guys! This is my new novella series that I will be posting on here. It’s about a mustang, a broken family, and freedom. I’m curious to hear what you think. The first chapter is pretty short but they’ll get longer as it goes along.)

Run.

It’s the word I’ve always known. The word that defined mustangs, who would live… and who would die.

The word that defined my destiny from the moment I was born.

“Lo siento, Rosa.” Apologetic murmurs swirled around me in the night air. Hours old and already struggling to my feet. It’s the way of mustangs. On the ground, we are vulnerable. On our legs, we are strong. We survive.

I knew this from instinct alone.

“Her legs es muy baja. Very short.” The harsh snort came from a different sort of horse, one who swarmed my vision and blocked out the light of the pale moon.

My sire.

Too short was what he was implying.

“Nameless.” My mother shoved me roughly, an insincere assistance to my plight to stand. “She shall have to be nameless. Simply won’t survive. Not with those legs.”

Why did they keep mentioning my legs? I looked down, staring at my hooves and sprawled limbs. They seemed plenty long enough to me. This standing business was ridiculous.

“Should we leave her?” Some of the mares murmured. “She’ll just slow the herd down. We can’t afford that.”

Leave her. The hardness of their words chilled me to the bone. I shivered, a new concept forming in my mind.

Fear. Fear of being left behind. Of being alone.

I wished I could scream, “Don’t leave me!” or “I can keep up!” Anything to defend myself. But I was still so young, and I didn’t yet know how to put thoughts into words.

The mares shuffled backwards. Even my mother stood, her familiar warmth replaced by cold night wind.

I could stand straighter now, but it only showed the shortness of my limbs. Some of the other mares in the herd turned their backs.

My fate was sealed.

“She can keep up.” The voice was young, but not as young as I. A black and white colt pushed through the mares, watching me with blue eyes. He was older than I was, but he didn’t turn away. “She might grow taller.”

Some of the mares laughed, their breath steaming in the night air.

I shivered and sneezed. The black and white colt stood close to me, sharing the warmth of his coat. “I’ll watch out for her.”

“You are young and foolish, Sombre.” A dark mare sneered. “You will be eaten with the Nameless filly. The metalbirds do not treat the weak kindly.”

He stood so firm next to me. My head could barely brush his shoulder, but I liked leaning against him. He was something solid. Gave my little legs a break.

“I speak for the filly.” He said. “I will be her Guardian when the herd runs.”

I heard slow footsteps forward from my mother behind us.

“So be it.” My sire, white spots standing out like moons on his dark coat, stared both of us down. “You will be her Guardian. Be foolish. Every colt has to learn what mistakes cost.”

The other mares and the stallion turned away. My mother came forward and shoved me again, towards her flank. “Eat, Nameless.” She snorted. “I suppose Sombre here has saved your life.”

I flicked my tail, so many new concepts trying to form in my mind, but only one that was truly clear.

Sombre, the black and white colt, would always protect me.

I had my first friend.