Chapter 7:
Black and White
(Scene one: Mistake)
On the next day as promised, Whitney woke up soon, to meet Brian. She went to her home’s stable to meet Luna. “Good morning Luna! Oh sis!? Good morning.” she greeted. “Good morning.” Serena replied. Serena saw Whitney feeding Luna a mixture of oats and barley from both of her hands. “Grains? You aren’t feeding hay today?” she probed while petting Swifty. “Nope. Today I’m going on a field trip with friends. To the green peaks.” Whitney answered. “Hmm. Well, you have to keep track of Luna’s diet. Or else she won’t be in good condition to…well, whenever you need her in full energy.” Serena advised and put a pitchfork and a full stack of hay into Swifty’s pen. Then she went inside for breakfast which she was late to get. Whitney, without hesitation, mounted on Luna and headed to Brian’s house. She almost over-prepared Luna for the day. Luna was so clean; it was glistering in white.
Meanwhile, Brian was at the ranch helping a few other ranchers shearing the sheep, to supply the cotton to tailors, to make winter suits; though it was too early. But on one hand, it was efficient because after a few months another batch can also be taken, later when closer to winter. All Brian had to do was hold the sheep. He called James about his and Whitney’s plan for today and James replied to tag along. But he didn’t expect Mr. Paul’s wife would ask him to learn to cook breakfast for ALL ranchers. In fact, James was outstandingly terrible at cooking.
After preparing the table for the ranchers to eat, James
hid in the attic of the stable. Brian came all soaking with
sweat and mud. (He had to drag through the mud to stop a
runaway sheep). “The hero of the day. Please sit here.” A
rancher pulled out a chair and offered. Brian tried to
enter the room, but Mr. Paul’s wife stopped him. “Hero
or not, you have to be cleaner than THIS to eat on my
table.” “Thought it was ours” Natasha tried to back up.
“It’s mine because I made it.” Mr. Paul’s wife said. The whole table went speechless. Brian went to take a
shower. While on it, none of the ranchers ate, until Brian
sat in his chair. He came after a couple of minutes. “Please
welcome the day’s hero! Showered version.” The same
previous rancher said. Brian sat to eat while being
nervously proud. “Bon apatite!” everyone on the breakfast
table said and took the first bite. Next, several things
happened simultaneously: some suddenly started gulping
milk, some ran outside, some were coughing and two
went to the washroom. “Who the…calm down…WHO
MADE THIS?!” Natasha yelled. “JAMES!” Brian
figured out it was James. Brian excused himself and ran
directly to the stable. Whitney arrived there, after a
disappointing detour to Brian’s house. “Oh, hey
Bri…an?” Whitney couldn’t call out after she saw Brian
rolling up his sleeves with an annoyed face and going to the stable. She and Luna also slowly came to the stable.
On the way she heard, buckets smashing, throwing
sounds, and door slamming sounds. “What’s all this?”
Whitney asked while entering. Brian replied while
wearing off his exhaustion. Same with James, after
dodging attacks on Brian. “What are you two even doing
here?” Whitney questioned. “This guy made breakfast!”
Brian complained. “DID NOT!” James lied. “So what?”
Whitney didn’t see the problem. “Be my guest.” Brian
offered a plate of breakfast, that he was about to throw at
James. There was an egg omelette on the dish. Whitney
took a triangular-shaped piece and ate. “Mmm…MMM.
It’s actually not bad. Gimme a minute.” Whitney pushed
and held the food inside her cheek and ran outside and
spat it all out. “Mai tung pheels lile a sans paper.” Whitney
said while scratching her tongue. “SEE! Proof.” Brian
criticized. “I told you I didn’t make the breakfast. It
was…” James couldn’t finish because Paul’s wife
interrupted saying; “Oh there you are James. Well, you
have a long journey ahead of you to be a master cook.
No one actually enjoyed your breakfast, to be honest.
Sorry. See you later.”. Then she left, leaving Brian blazing in metaphorical flames of desire to knock off
James. “Brian, I know you are upset. But we’ll talk about
this…” “Oh, we know the reason.” All the other ranchers
showed up at the stable entrance. “You three have a trip,
right? THIS GUY, can’t go after he wasted our
breakfast. Paul is mad so we are punishing him for bad
food. You two can go.” Natasha said and the ranchers
rounded up, around James. Brian and Whitney nodded to each other and smiled. “Good luck James. Meet you in
the evening.” Whitney waved to James and went with
Brian, Phantom and Luna. “Ga…Guys!? GUYS!” James
yelled. “Forget it James. You have a lot of chores to do
now.” Natasha said and winked.
(Scene two: Trails)
“So, are we going back to your house?” Whitney asked.
“What? Oh no. Let’s just go to the mountains. I’ve never
been there.” Brian said. “I went sometime back when I
was little. Sis, me and Swifty.” Whitney said while
recalling her memories. Both of them mounted on their
saddles. “You ready boy?” “Shall we?” they spoke to
their horse buds; Phantom and Luna neighed in
agreement. Next, they jumped over the ranch’s fence
border instead of taking a small round trip via the
entrance. Then they rocketed to their destination; the
green peaks mountain range, which was situated toward
the east of the town. To the school, the dawn looked
delightful. Sun rising in between the two peaks of the
two tallest mountains in the mountain range. There’s no
way to explain that feeling when a person gets to see that
spectacular view.
Minutes later while on the race to the mountains, Brian
saw Luna getting faster and faster. “Whitney, be honest.
You fed the grain mixture I told you about, to Luna, right?”
Brian probed in confidence. “Yeah but, how did you
know?” Whitney asked. Then Brian hinted from his eyes
that her Lipizzan was speeding up. “Oh. Take it easy Luna, Let’s slow down a wee bit okay?” Whitney spoke
to Luna and it slowed enough to stay parallel with
Phantom.
After about a quarter an hour later, they came to the foot of the mountain range. From there, they saw the clouds in the sky float about a couple of yards below the highest point of the mountain. Since it was close to midday, they could see the top of the peaks, which turned to bright orange colour due to maple trees. The view like the top of the peak was covered by an orange cone. “We’ll go over there. We can still get a good view there.” Whitney pointed to a place on the ridge and suggested. It’s in between the two tall mountains. In other words, the place people see the sunrise. “I’m fine. But I think we should head to the top, like one or two yards below the clouds. The place you suggested is too perfect. And the fact gives me a creepy feeling.” Brian suggested. “Nonsense! I’m the one who invited you. So, I’ll guide.” “You really don’t gimme a choice, do you?” Brian asked, in reply to her austerity. “Nope. Let’s go.” Whitney said and lead the way. Brian sighed and asked Phantom to follow Luna. On the way, Phantom struggled multiple times to go past Luna because it wasn’t enjoyable going behind and following. He liked to lead. Kind of same thoughts as Brian but impatient and as said, vigorous. A couple of tiring hiking minutes later, they got close to the place suggested by Whitney. The more they get closer, the more the horses acted uneasily. But they still continued without any hard troubles. Finally, they reached their spot. But it was more stunning than what they expected. There were rocks that looked like benches, but they laid a mat on the nice firm grass. Phantom and Luna sat down beside Brian and Whitney. For the spot, the town looked beautiful as ever, all ranches, warehouses, and race tracks. And not to mention the market area, which looked like an irregular grey spot in a cream-coloured dish. By enjoying the view too much, they eventually, fell asleep on the mat but Phantom and Luna had enough energy so they stayed awake.
But the unexpected scene gradually led to something
uncalled for. The sky turned darker and darker,
thunderclaps started to rumble. Lightning started to
appear at random in whitish red colour, forming weird
patterns in the sky. The sound of the thunder woke up
Whitney and Brian. But at the moment Phantom and
Luna’s faces looked confused and worried and they kept
moving backwards. And time after time, they kept
standing on two legs and neighing as if to attack
something. Brian and Whitney went to their horses and
tried to pat and calm them down but it didn’t work. For a moment Phantom stood on its hind legs, and Brian was
thrown away. That made him see the obvious reason.
“Whitney, calm Luna. And don’t do any hostile
behaviour. Not even yelling.” Brian spoke slowly and
almost silently. “What Is It?” Whitney whispered while
calming down Luna. “Adders!” Brian said. “Don’t bring
up maths, Brian. I’m serious.” Whitney said. “I’m not
talking about math. Adders; meant adder snakes!” Brian detailed. “No no no no.” Whitney got scared and started
supporting Luna and went backwards. Phantom on the
other hand tried to defend itself and Brian. It used its
forelegs to warn the adders not to get close. But the
place was their territory and the two horses and the two
riders were the actual intruders and enemy. The adders
successfully trapped them inside a poison circle. One
hostile movement, you are done for, at the moment.
Luna, Phantom and Brian understood but Whitney
didn’t. She kept moving back and got too close to the
circle’s edge. Though she didn’t, Brian did, notice what
was about to happen. Adders behind Whitney started to
coil up to their defensive position, which was also their
attack position. Brian jumped on Whitney and threw her
away. But five adders near him attacked and only three
were able to strike because of the distance, and luckily
enough and unfortunately, one was able to deal a
successful death bite into Brian’s unguarded area in his left
leg; because the two attacked with it struck to the hard-woven boot. “BRIAN!” Whitney worried. “DON’T
move. NO. Get on to Luna. Hurry.” Brian said. “What if
they…” “They won’t. don’t go closer to them. Put your
eyes, face, and legs toward Luna and mount up.” Brian
said in confidence. Whitney did as he instructed. Brian
almost fell when he tried to mount using his left leg first.
The pain was unbearable. But he overcame the pain and
mounted up. He signalled Luna and Phantom by sliding
and tapping using a finger to their necks. He signalled to
attack or stomp and quickly retract the forelegs and
jumped. And it worked. “Take…us home, boy.” Brian asked Phantom without hinting any tiredness. But it felt the
pain that Brian’s trying to hide. Phantom and Luna did a
feint attack, so adders attack was belated by small
seconds. And that moment before they recoil back to
defence position jumped over and whooshed to the
mountain foot. After they ran through and came to the
flat land it started raining. Whitney rode closer to Brian.
And she felt awful about herself. And started blaming for
her actions. The symptoms started to gradually grow
abnormally. The poison was stronger than an ordinary
adder. He started swelling, and gradually became hard to
breathe. He felt dizzy and also felt like he was about
to faint. So, he hardly made two simple and strong knots
from the rein and tied both his arms. Then he kept trying
as hard as he can to stay wakeful. ‘Mind controls the
body. The mind controls the body. The mind controls the body.’
Brian kept thinking about the thought and gave it his full
concentration, so he can stay awake as intended.
(Scene three: Stay)
A couple of minutes later, Whitney brought Phantom
toward the infirmary. But still, the bad weather was the
same. Phantom started to make loud noises. Stomping
and neighing. Three medics rushed out of the infirmary.
Mr. Bolt heard Phantom’s neighs so he also came to see.
He went into shock, seeing Brian unconscious. “What’s
going on! Why’s my son like this?” Mr. Bolt was interrogated. “You might be his father. Stay inside the
infirmary please.” A male medic said and the other two
medics carried Brian inside. “Mr. Bolt…It…It was my fault.” Whitney started to cry. “I asked Brian to have a
trip to the mountain today. And when we…tri…tried to
come home, we got surrounded by adders. And…and…”
Mr. Bolt pat her on the head and stopped Whitney’s whines.
“All of it is in the past.” Mr. Bolt said. “Since it’s your
fault…” Whitney started to get shivers from what would
Mr. Bolt say as a punishment. “…would you look after
him until he recovers? Adder venom can be cured in
here, and I’ve got a ton of work to deal with. Beside this
isn’t the first time of his.” Mr. Bolt winked and asked. “I
WILL” Whitney replied. “I’m counting on you then. See
you later.” Mr. Bolt said, paid the infirmary for their
charges and left. Whitney stayed next to Brian. ‘I won’t
move until I see him open his eyes she thought to
herself. Jane and Jessica saw the incident too. They
directly went to meet James.
Half an hour later, when the rain just slowed for a moment,
James arrived running, worried sick. “HOW IS HE!?”
James slammed open the door and shouted. The doctors
looked at him in a scary impression; hinting him to stay
quiet. “Sorry.” James said with a nervous laugh. “May I
know who you’re looking for?” a nurse asked. “Oh. His
name’s Brian Bolt…guy bitten by an adder…” James put
up the information he received. “Brian Timber Bolt?”
“Yeah!” “He left for his home a couple of minutes ago.
After we done treating…” nurse said. James was
disappointed; about all his running to the infirmary
straight from ranch, even came passing Brian’s house.
“Then I’ll leave. Thanks for telling.” James thanked the nurses and left the infirmary. He was out of strength to
run back to Brian’s house, so he walked. Then few long
minutes of walking in the showering rain, James arrived at
Brian’s home, soaking wet as a sponge. Emily opened
the door and gasped and screamed saying, “RIVER
MONSTER!”. Then Whitney came running down stairs
to see. “Oh Emily, it’s just stupid James.” Whitney said
mocking. “Excuse me! I ran all the way to the infirmary
to meet you and Two-B. Yet a nurse came and told me
he left. I was disappointed.” Then James started to sing a
poem he just made, “…There I was, under a black sky,
getting wet from drizzling rain clouds, coming…” “Yeah
yeah stop the drama. You wanna see him or not?”
Whitney stopped him from singing and Emily threw a
towel to James before he entered the house.
Whitney showed Brian sleeping in his bed, to James.
“He sure was lucky.” James said. “Uh James, can you
come over here…” Whitney took James out and closed
Brian’s room door. “I knew it is restricted going there.
To the place where adders we met, live. I didn’t know
about a specific reason so I insisted on him. Even though he
asked me to go to a different location.” Whitney said.
“YOU KNEW!” James asked surprisingly. Then
Whitney started to cry for her wrongdoings. “It’s
actually okay. I bet my big brother will say the same
thing he said to me.” Emily said. “What are you talking
about?” Whitney probed while wiping off her tears.
Emily gestured to come downstairs. “There was this occasion. When I was five or four years
old, I played around almost anywhere. One time, for the
first time, saw an adder snake, and I tried to play with it. I
didn’t know it was dangerous. The adder kept moving its
head when I tried to poke it from a stick. Big brother was
trying to hang up the washed clothes and he dropped them
to a chair and ran toward me. The adder was coiled. Brother
quickly lifted me up. If he was seconds late, the adder
could’ve bitten or even killed me. The adder actually bit
brother’s leg. But his actions surprised me. He bent
down and rubbed the snake’s head and squeezed its
cheeks or beside its mouth. When the adder stopped
biting, he pulled and slowly kept it on the ground and
quickly retreated, to show he was not a threat. The adder
hissed and slithered away.” Emily told a story. James
and Whitney gasped. But not for long. “Then he fainted
on the spot. Luckily our dad was at home and took him
to the infirmary.…” Emily continued. “So that’s why
Mr. Bolt said ‘it ain’t the first time’.” Whitney recalled.
“…after dad yelled at me and Brian saved me from it
too.” Emily finished the story.
Seconds later the story finally ended, and a large bang came
from Brian’s room. The three downstairs rushed and
James opened the door. They saw Brian trying to crawl
under the bed. “Big brother!? What are you doing? You
need to rest.” Emily shouted. “I need to feed Phantom.”
Brian said wearily. ‘he recovered this quick!?’ Whitney
thought in astonishment. “Under the bed?” James asked.
“I need to find the coupon.” He said while struggling to find the slip of paper that Emily won from fall fest; about
the two years' worth of hay. “But why under the bed?
You said you kept it in the second drawer of your table two
weeks ago.” Emily remembered. “Wow, Two-B. your
sister has a good memory than you’d ever had.” Whitney
complimented. “Of cour…Ouch!” Brian tried to get up
but he ended up getting his head hit on the bed’s side
rail. “Man, that hurts than knock on the head.” He said
and stood up. He picked the slip from the drawer and
went outside whispering only to Whitney and James,
“Tomorrow morning, practises in the ‘place’.”. But
Emily ran and blocked the stairway. “Get back to your
room or I’ll tell everyone about how you…” “Okay
okay; sheesh.” Brian had to go back. Emily was grinning
about how the last words always work with him. “I’ll
get the hay, gimme the coupon.” Emily borrowed the
coupon and went downstairs. “Hey Emily, I’ll give you
five silvers for the secret.” James tried to make a deal.
“Not for a million gold James!” Brian yelled from inside
of his room. “Sorry, but secrets exist only when not
shared.” Emily said and opened the front door. “James,
you stay here, I’ll go with Emily to get the hay.”
Whitney said and went with Emily to the marketplace.
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