by Autumn Thompson, age 14

Chapter 1: Stacy’s New Horse

Stacy Mulligan sat in the Land Rover and watched with rapidly mounting excitement as the airplane taxied in from the wide, blue Arizona skies. “Oh my gosh, Mom!” she cried, “I just can’t believe I’m getting Wildfire’s first foal today!”

Stacy’s mom smiled at her daughter. “I’m just glad this new foal will have plenty of room to run on Grandma’s ranch, because if we were still living in California it would barely have room to trot a couple feet!” They both laughed as Stacy’s mom drove towards the tarmac where the cargo would be unloaded.

Stacy sighed with pleasure as she thought of all that had happened since she and her mom, a travel writer, had flown to Egypt last year. Her mom had been researching her next book, and Stacy had been allowed to come along. “We’ll make it part of your summer vacation,” her mom had said. However, once they’d arrived, a tourist adventure to the pyramids went terribly awry. Stacy and her mom had gone on a day trip to ride camels and experience Egypt’s ancient sites for themselves. Unfortunately, a sudden sandstorm had blown through without warning, spooking Stacy’s camel and throwing Stacy off into the desert. Separated from both her mother and guide in the swirling sand, and with meager supplies in her backpack, she’d stumbled through the burning desert sands for what seemed like an eternity before finding a secluded canyon. What she hadn’t expected to discover was a magnificent Arabian stallion living wild and alone inside the canyon.

When a starving mountain lion had viciously attacked Stacy, the blood bay stallion, who she named Wildfire, battled the lion to save her life. Incredibly, when the cat had turned on Wildfire, Stacy had fearlessly fought alongside the stallion! The danger over, Stacy had tended Wildfire’s wounds, and the two had formed a tentative bond, bound by their mutual struggle.

After three frightening days, Stacy had tapped the alliance to ride the red stallion out into the desert to find anyone who could rescue her; and remarkably, rescuers had found her. However, Stacy’s joy was soon overshadowed by what she heard from her rescuers about the history of this beautiful stallion: Wildfire had escaped from his cruel Spanish owner, Juan Rafael, who had moved to Egypt to breed racehorses. He had drugged the stallion illegally to insure him a win in a prestigious endurance race. Juan had eventually been found out, arrested, and his stallion confiscated. The local Egyptian authorities had held Wildfire in the only available space—a small boarding pen, usually reserved for calm police mounts. Fiercely resisting his new captivity, Wildfire had broken free of his confinement, and galloped into the surrounding desert night.

It was a week later that the owners of a world-famous Egyptian Arabian horse stud farm led the rescue that returned Stacy to her frantic mother, and captured the powerful steed. When the owners contacted police authorities about the Arabian, they were only too glad to turn the horse over to experienced hands, since they were unaccustomed to holding such fierce charges! The owners were grateful that Stacy and her mother were also glad to relinquish the horse into their capable care. Knowing the animal’s potential as a breeding stallion, they had told Stacy, in gratitude, that she would have the first foal of Wildfire’s line. That foal was now on its way to Stacy’s grandparents’ ranch in Tucson, Arizona. She and her mom had moved there from their previous home in California that year to help care for her ailing grandparents’ Blazin’ B Ranch.

Now, Stacy stood and watched as the plane’s hatch slowly dropped, and a man walked inside. Her heart pounded. What would the first foal of Wildfire look like? Would it be a filly or a colt? Ben, the stallion manager of the stud farm that now owned Wildfire, had written Stacy to tell her that the foal had been safely born, but he hadn’t said “filly” or “colt” — that was to be a surprise!

As Stacy leaned forward to see better through the windshield, a blasting, angry neigh from a horse rang through the air! “Uh-oh,” her mom spoke up. “Whichever gender this foal is, Stacy, it doesn’t sound too happy!”

“It sure doesn’t sound like a foal,” Stacy mused. “It sounds more like Wildfire screaming!”

The sounds of more squeals from Stacy’s new foal and shouts from its handler could be heard from nearby. Suddenly, the foal trumpeted—Stacy could hear it loud and clear, even from outside the plane—and the sounds of pounding hooves clanging on metal filled the air! She heard her mom gasp from beside her, but Stacy ignored it. Without thinking, she shoved the car door open and began to run towards the plane.

Stacy stopped at the bottom of the ramp and looked upwards into the dimness of the plane. She could see the outline of a small, dark horse rearing wildly upwards, with a man holding onto a long rope attached to its halter. Suddenly, she saw him raise a whip and bring it down on the foal’s hindquarters! Squealing in fury and pain, the foal leaped forward, dragging the man behind. But at the top of the ramp, it stopped and hesitated, looking around with sharply pricked ears. The handler, on his feet again, didn’t seem to care—he loudly cracked the whip with a snap like a gunshot. The foal trembled, leapt forward, and clambered down the ramp into the hot June sunshine.

Stacy was angry at the way the foal—her foal—was being treated. Obviously, it was afraid; did the guy have to hit it like that? Impulsively, she hollered out, “Hey! Stop treating MY horse that way, buddy!”

The foal calmed and turned towards her. The man, surprised, looked around and saw Stacy standing there. “Well then, if it’s your horse, why don’t you come and get it? I don’t know why those people who’re flying this plane gave me this little devil to handle, anyway. I already told them—no animals, okay? I don’t like animals—not dogs, not cats, and definitely not horses!” With a disgusted look on his face, he tossed the rope in her direction. Stacy raced up the ramp and snatched it up before the foal got it in his head to escape again.

This close, she finally got a good look at the foal. She could see that it was, indeed, a colt—just as she and Ben had wanted! And Stacy could see he was Wildfire’s offspring–every inch of him, except for his coloring. His coat was as black as a moonless, starless night. At first, Stacy thought that it might actually be a dark bay coat that just looked pure black. But when she looked a little closer at the colt’s flanks and nose, where brown hairs would normally be on a dark bay, she discovered she wasn’t seeing things. Even in the bright sun, there were no brown hairs anywhere on this colt’s body! Wow! This must be the most amazing colt in the whole wide world–as good as Wildfire. Wildfire was gorgeous, but this colt is pure black—the most highly prized color among Arabians! And he’ll be fast as the desert winds, just like Wildfire, and big, too!

The colt’s head was finely dished, just like that of his sire. His neck was long and swan-like, his hindquarters, chest and shoulders powerfully muscled. The colt’s legs were long and powerful, his tail highly set, like a black banner floating on the breeze. But Stacy could see that he was slightly more finer-boned than Wildfire, and his back was shorter, so perhaps he wouldn’t be quite as tall when he got older. But to Stacy, he was the best horse in the world, next to Wildfire. And she was sure he was equal to Wildfire in beauty and power!

Just then, the dusty red Land Rover pulled up and Stacy’s mom jumped out. She jogged over to them. “Stacy, why didn’t you wait for me before taking it in your head to go running off like that? I do wish you would listen to me before acting so impulsively sometimes!” She shook her head, and then caught sight of the colt. “My, that foal is gorgeous, Stacy! Is it a colt or a filly?”

Stacy grinned. “It’s a colt, Mom, just like Ben and I wanted. And he’s pure black without any white markings on him! Isn’t he awesome?”

Her mom looked closer. “Actually, he isn’t quite pure black, honey–he has a white marking on his chest right there.”

Surprised, Stacy looked down and saw a white marking roughly half the size of her palm stamped in the middle of the prancing colt’s chest. “Huh. I didn’t notice that before. Guess he didn’t quite take after Wildfire in the no-white-markings category, did he?”
Without warning, the black colt suddenly whinnied wildly and reared up, almost yanking the lead line out of Stacy’s hands! “Aaahh!” she yelped in surprise, pulling on the lead rope. “Whoa there, fella! What’s the matter?”

The man who had been handling the colt had left a while ago, the signed turnover authorization papers in his hands, but Stacy looked around for anything that might have scared the colt. And right then, the black foal reached out and nipped her on the arm! “What the heck—what did you do that for?” she cried. “Don’t you bite me, little rascal!”

She glared at the foal, who had a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Oh boy,” her mom sighed. “Looks like this colt is going to be a handful, Stacy—are you sure you can handle him?”

“Sure I can, Mom,” Stacy answered. “He’s small, after all. He won’t be too hard to handle. And besides, he’s just a baby—he’ll grow out of any bad habits he has now, won’t he?”

Her mom eyed the colt suspiciously. “Well, I certainly hope he will! Come on, let’s get him in the trailer.”
As Stacy moved toward the vehicle, the colt didn’t follow along. Instead, he leaned back against the rope. “Well, well,” Stacy said, tugging on the rope. “Aren’t you a contrary little one? But you’re not going to get away with this.” She twisted the rope. The colt snorted and yanked his head back.

“Come on, little guy,” Stacy said. “I’m not going to hurt you—just come with me. You’ll like it at Grandma’s ranch. There’ll be lots of other horses to see, and all sorts of animals to play with.” Gently, she edged closer and reached out to touch him on his nose. Surprisingly, the young horse stood still and let her stroke him. “Good boy!” she said. “Now come on, let’s go inside the trailer.”

She began to walk that way once more. With a disgruntled snort, the colt finally walked after her and up the ramp. Stacy swiftly followed and closed the doors, and then walked back and joined her mom inside the Land Rover.

…………………………………………………

Several hours later, Stacy stood outside the round pen and watched as the colt sniffed back and forth around his new home. She considered what to name him. Let’s see, she thought, gazing at the colt’s silky ebony coat. He’s black all over, with just that one white marking on his chest…Star? No, that sounds more like a name for a filly. He’ll be fast, just like Wildfire, and he’s pure black…Black Lightning? Mmm, not quite right for him. She brainstormed more names, but nothing perfect came to mind.

At last, Stacy walked away from the colt and into the ranch house. She found her mom, her grandfather, and her grandmother sitting in the kitchen, talking. “So, Stacy,” Grandma said to her. “I hear you’ve gotten a new Arab colt. How is he?”

“He’s great, Grandma,” Stacy said brightly. “Except I can’t think of the perfect name for him.”

Grandpa frowned. “Pretty little things, Arabs, but too high-strung and nervous. I always had a liking for a good quarter horse, myself.”

Stacy crossed her arms and frowned, insulted. “They aren’t high-strung, Grandpa–they’re just spirited. And they can be good ranch horses–after all, there’s one ranch in Nevada that breeds only Arabians for that purpose!”

Her grandfather cleared his throat. “Well, whatever kind of horse it is, just make sure you take good care of it.” He went back to drinking his coffee.

“Hey Mom, can I use your computer?” Stacy asked. When her mom nodded, she picked up the laptop and sat down at the table. She typed in “black horse names”. And suddenly, one name popped out of the sea of others: Black Falcon. Oh my gosh! she gasped inwardly. That’s the perfect name for the new colt! After all, people in Egypt and Arabia used falcons to hunt in the olden days, and the colt is as black as night and he‘ll be incredibly fast…or maybe, to honor his ancestors, his full name could be Aasifat’s Black Falcon and I could call him Falcon for short. Awesome! Quickly, Stacy went into her Facebook page and emailed Ben to tell him about the colt. Then she looked at her mom and grandparents.

“I know what I’m going to name the colt now,” she announced, out of the blue. “Aasifat’s Black Falcon!”

“Oh Stacy, that’s perfect,” Grandma said immediately. “A perfect Egyptian name!”

“Too fancy,” Grandpa groused, but Stacy could tell he was pleased.

“I’m sure Ben will be pleased,” Stacy’s mom said.

Outside, the subject of it all pranced around his pen, his mane and tail flowing through the air. Falcon was learning to be on his own.

…………………………………………………

Chapter 2: Training Begins

Spending her days with a horse like Black Falcon, the days seemed to fly by for Stacy. August rolled around quickly; summer vacation was almost over. Stacy had managed to train Falcon to lead, be tied up, and go on a lunge line. Now that the colt was nine months old, she and her grandparents and mom had decided to get him used to a saddle.

“You can just use this little endurance saddle for now,” Grandpa said, “and when he gets bigger, you can use a Western saddle.”

Stacy walked into the black colt’s corral with the saddle in her hands. “Falcon!” she called out. “Come here, boy!” Falcon looked up from munching on a pile of hay and trotted over to Stacy. But when he saw the saddle in her hands, he stopped and sniffed it all over. Slowly, Stacy picked up the saddle blanket and began to rub it all over the colt. Falcon jerked up his head and let out a snort, peering around to look at the object.

“It’s okay, fellow,” Stacy told him. “It’s just an itty bitty saddle blanket. Why, you could trample it into the ground if I’d let you!”

When Falcon got used to the saddle blanket, Stacy hefted it and the saddle ever so carefully, lifted both and placed them on his back. Then, she reached down and buckled the cinch loosely.

Unexpectedly, Falcon let out a loud squeal and reared, then broke away from Stacy and galloped across the corral, bucking and sunfishing the whole time. “What in the world?!” Stacy cried in amazement. “What was that for, Falcon? Come back here!” The colt whinnied wildly and thundered back in Stacy’s direction. She leaped out of the way as he raced by.

Finally, Falcon slid to a stop and Stacy walked over to him. The saddle was hanging below his belly, dragging on the ground. “Oh, great,” she sighed exasperatedly. “Well, I guess we’ll have to try that again, won’t we?” The black colt snorted and tossed his head, pawing the ground.

It took two more hours before Falcon consented to leaving the saddle on for a few minutes. “Okay, big boy,” Stacy told the colt. “We’ll try again later, huh?”

…………………………………………………

Actually, contrary to Stacy’s mom’s and grandparents’ opinion, it didn’t take Falcon very long to learn how to wear a Western saddle and a hackamore. Soon, Stacy was riding the colt across the Arizona desert with her grandpa and mom following on their mounts, getting Falcon used to new experiences.

One experience would take Stacy into the nearby town of Flagstaff. While her mom and grandfather did some shopping, she rode Falcon down a wide street. Suddenly, a rabbit dashed between his hooves. Startled, Falcon reared up and neighed frantically, almost tossing Stacy off! Grabbing the saddle horn with all her strength, she held on with a white-knuckled grip as the terrified colt sprinted into a full gallop down the street, jumping and knocking over anything in his way!

“Aaahhh!” Stacy hollered involuntarily. “Falcon, stop! It’s okay, it was just a rabbit!” Wildly, she pulled back on the reins to stop him. But it didn’t do any good—Falcon just kept running. The wind whistled past Stacy, and the sounds of the colt’s pounding hooves rang through the air, just like her first ride on Wildfire except that ride had been bareback. Startled townspeople yelled, dogs barked frantically—in all, there was general pandemonium!

At that point, a small gray and brown dog dashed in front of Falcon and yipped, taunting him mercilessly. The colt reacted with fury. Like a wild desert stallion, he screamed and reared up, his hooves flailing wildly at the sky! Meanwhile, the dog yapped and bounced like a piece of popcorn, just inches from Falcon’s deadly hooves.

Shoving her feet down into the stirrups and gripping tightly with her legs, Stacy pulled back on the reins–hard. “No, Falcon!” she shouted to the out-of-control colt. “You’re not here to fight! Calm down already!” She pulled back on the reins even tighter, her arms starting to ache from Falcon’s constant pulling.

Just then, Falcon snaked his head out and bared his teeth, snapping at the annoying dog. The dog scurried away, recognizing an enemy beyond his ability to defeat. Falcon stopped and pawed the ground, his large eyes blazing.

Shakily, Stacy pulled her foot out of the stirrup and swung off Falcon. “It’s okay, fella,” she crooned. “Look, the dog’s gone—it’s not going to bother you anymore, I promise. You need to calm down, or we’re gonna get in big trouble!”

Suddenly, Stacy saw her mom and grandfather running towards them. “Stacy, are you all right?” her mom cried. “That must have been scary!”

“I’m fine,” Stacy said. “It wasn’t much different from riding Wildfire bareback for the first time. But it was a rodeo, that’s for sure!”

“What made him start?” Grandpa asked, reaching out to grab Falcon’s reins.

“A rabbit ran between his legs and scared him,” Stacy answered. “And then, a dog ran over and started pestering him, and he got mad. But he chased it away.”

“Well, we’ve finished our shopping,” said her mom, “so how about we head back?”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Stacy sighed. “At least Falcon and I learned something about hanging around crowded places—always watch what’s under your feet!”

…………………………………………………

Later that evening, Stacy, her mom, and her grandparents were all watching the news together when suddenly Stacy gasped and pointed to the TV screen. “Look!” she shouted. “There’s Falcon and me!”

The commentator’s voice filled the living room. “Well, folks, we were very privileged to see some prime rodeo action today. A teenage girl apparently let her horse, owned by the Blazin’ B Ranch and shipped all the way from a horse farm in Egypt, run rampant through the crowded streets of Flagstaff, Arizona.

Eventually, she managed to get control of the animal, but only after the horse tangled with a dog.” The screen showed Falcon rearing up to his full height, charging crazily past the cameras, and then it showed the black colt snapping at the dog with teeth bared. Meanwhile, Stacy looked like a rag doll just flip-flopping along for the ride. She couldn’t help chuckling at the sight, but then she focused on what the commentator had said about her.

“Hey!” she cried. “What are they talking about? I didn’t let Falcon run wild through the streets–I did everything I could to stop him! And how did they find out who his owners are, anyway?”

Grandpa chuckled dryly. “Well, they are right about one thing—that colt did put up a pretty interesting rodeo. As for how they found out about our ranch, gossip travels fast around here. Now everyone will know that the Blazin’ B has a purebred Arabian colt shipped all the way from Egypt.”

Just then, the phone rang. Grandma sighed. “Oh, great. Probably Mary Jean calling up to gossip about that video clip the press thinks is great enough to put on the local news.” She stood up and went into the kitchen to take the call. A few minutes later, she came out and beckoned to Stacy. Intrigued, Stacy got up and went over to her.

“Who was it?” she asked.

“Well, well, well! Looks like our little place will be getting more publicity than we thought we’d get,” Grandma answered, shaking her head. “Stacy, the call was from some reality TV show asking if they could play that video clip of you and the colt on their next episode, which is going to be aired in two weeks.”

“Really? What’s it called?” Stacy asked in interest.

“Something like Small Town U.S.A.,” replied Grandma. “Don’t have any idea what it’s about, though.”

Stacy’s eyes grew wide as saucers. “Well, shut my mouth!” she cried in amazement, accidentally borrowing one of her grandfather’s expressions. “Grandma, are you kidding? Oh my gosh, Falcon and I are going to be famous! Small Town U.S.A is, like, one of the most watched reality shows these days!”

…………………………………………………

Two weeks later, in a faraway country, another pair of eyes watched the TV screen where Stacy and Falcon pounded past the cameras. “Dios mio!” the tall, dark-skinned man cried to his cohort. “Look at that horse that girl is riding, Eduardo! A purebred black Arabian, one of the most prized horse breeds in the world!”

“Juan, why are you so fascinated with that estupido Americano TV show?” Eduardo groused, glancing momentarily at the small picture before turning away.

Juan wasn’t listening; he was too involved in closely studying the horse on the TV. “That horse—it looks just like the offspring of Aasifat, that brute of a horse I used to have before I spent the previous year in the slammer! I just know it from its speed and fire! A horse like that, being owned by a slip of a girl? I was meant to own Aasifat’s offspring, since the stallion himself was taken from me!” he shouted, shaking his fist at the television.

Eduardo secretly thought that there might be something wrong with Juan’s head, since he had spent a year in prison, after all. Guess I might as well leave, he thought, it isn’t exactly a boatload of fun staying over here!

“Well, adios amigo,” he called, slipping out the door. His “amigo” didn’t even turn around.

Jumping up from the couch, Juan turned off the TV and logged on to the computer. In a matter of minutes, he’d bought a ticket for a flight to Tucson, Arizona, that would be leaving in about an hour and arriving in Tucson at 3: 30 in the morning. “Well, here I go,” he laughed nastily, snatching up his jacket and slipping a hypodermic needle in his pocket. “Off to track down MY horse.”

…………………………………………………

That night, Stacy had a dream. She was riding Falcon on the freeways past the famous Hollywood sign, against traffic. The colt dodged and twisted to avoid oncoming cars and trucks, but Stacy could tell he was starting to get tired.

Leaning low over the colt’s neck, she yelled to him over the clatter and roar of traffic, “Falcon, get us home! After all, I’m not any use to you–I’m just a worthless sack of grain along for the ride!” Without warning, the deafening blast of a foghorn reverberated through the air, drowning out all other noise. Stacy looked up from hiding in Falcon’s mane to see an enormous semi truck bearing down on them, smoke streaming from its tires! Screaming with terror, she tried to steer Falcon away from the truck, but traffic surrounded her on either side, making them unable to veer away from their attacker!

The black colt reared and screamed his battle call of challenge, but the truck was now only inches away from crushing them into road kill!

At that moment, Stacy jerked awake, banging her head on the headboard of her bed! “Ouch!” she cried, rubbing the back of her head. “Man, that was intense! I’m amazed I didn’t start yelling in my sleep and waking up the entire household!” She listened, but all was quiet. Then her gaze turned to her alarm clock. Its numbers glowed green. It was 4:00 in the morning!

Stacy sat up and looked around her darkened room. From outside, a horse neighed and she heard the distinct sound of hoofbeats. It must be Falcon, she thought. “Well,” she said to her stuffed horse sitting at the foot of her bed, “I guess since I can’t go back to sleep, I might as well go out and see Falcon.” Getting up, she pulled on some jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweater, then went downstairs and out the door. What she couldn’t know was that a dark green pickup truck, pulling a stolen horse trailer, was now only a few miles away from their ranch, and would soon threaten the security of the ranch and its prized Falcon!

…………………………………………………

Chapter 3: Taken Captive by a Horse Thief!

The man’s headlights illuminated a wooden, arched sign that identified the Blazin’ B ahead of him. Quickly, he slowed the truck and switched off his headlights, and then the ignition. He coasted silently toward the sleeping ranch.

…………………………………………………

Stacy walked out the door and towards the barn, her boots clomping on the hard ground. She aimed her sights on Falcon’s corral just up ahead, and softly whistled, perhaps to calm the unidentified uneasiness that she felt. A blacker-than-black movement against the dark horizon identified Falcon as he trotted across the corral towards her. Stacy clambered up on the fence and stroked his neck. Then she carefully climbed on his back. Suddenly, Falcon lifted his head up and snorted. Stacy looked around and saw the dim outline of a silent looming vehicle moving toward them. She looked closer and identified it as a truck pulling a horse trailer behind it.

Apprehensively, she dismounted from Falcon and glanced towards the ranch house. “Maybe I’d better go and tell Mom and Grandpa and Grandma,” she whispered to the colt. “They’d know what to do.” But then she looked back towards the truck. It had come to a stop and now sat dark and menacingly in the yard just a few feet from Falcon’s corral, doing nothing.

That’s so weird, Stacy thought. Why is there a truck and trailer coming to the ranch this early and without its lights on? On second thought, I think I’ll hide and see what happens. Maybe I’m overreacting here. If I see anything that’s not right, then I’ll wake Grandpa and the others. I want to see who this mysterious person is! Being careful to keep a low profile, she climbed out of Falcon’s corral and crept into the barn. Then she stopped and peeked outside.

……………………………………………….

The man stopped the truck and looked out the window. The ranch looked typical–corrals filled with horses, a big red barn, and a ranch house. As he had hoped, it seemed that everyone was still asleep. He stealthily got out of the truck and picked up a halter and the hypodermic needle. Then he opened the trailer door and walked across the ranch yard.

Suddenly, he heard a horse snort, then the sounds of hoof beats. In the corral ahead he saw a tall black horse staring straight at him, snorting and pawing the ground. Oh yeah, that’s the one, the man thought. There’s Aasifat’s offspring—the one I’m looking for! What luck, I found him already!

Meanwhile, Stacy peered out of the barn and saw a figure get out of the truck, then begin to walk towards Falcon’s corral! Oh no! she gasped silently. It looks like there’s a horse thief on the prowl, and it also looks like he’s after Falcon! She saw the soundless figure climb up on top of the fence and then jump inside the corral.

The man pulled an apple and the hypodermic needle out of his pocket and held it out to the colt. Falcon sniffed the air cautiously. “Here, boy,” the man whispered. “Come on—look what I’ve got for you!”

Falcon finally got over his nervousness and stepped towards the man, who gave him the apple. Swiftly, the man picked up the needle, jabbed it into the colt’s shoulder, and buckled the halter on his head. Surprised, Falcon jerked up his head and sidestepped, but the man walked away from him, still holding on to the lead rope, and opened the gate of the corral. He tugged on the rope and clucked to the colt.

Stacy’s mind was working in slow motion. She knew she should act. She couldn’t clearly see what the horse thief was doing, but she could tell that he’d lured the colt over to him and placed a halter on him. And now he’d opened the gate and tried to get the colt to follow him! She heard Falcon squeal and saw him balk, but the man jerked on the rope again and whipped the colt on the haunches. Whinnying loudly, Falcon reared, but then Stacy saw him stumble and stagger as if he was ready to keel over. Suddenly she understood perfectly: the crook must have given the colt medicine to make him quiet! She tensed, planning her route back to the house to get help.

Falcon finally stopped his antics and walked towards the stranger, who led him up into the trailer and shut the door! Stacy bolted, but before she could get very far, she accidentally slipped on some loose hay that was on the barn floor and fell. “Ouch!” she cried automatically.

The man had just led the colt into the trailer and shut the door when he heard Stacy’s footsteps and her involuntary, “Ouch!” Stunned, he looked around quickly and saw, just inside the barn, a girl crouched on the floor, rubbing her leg. What the—there WAS someone watching me after all! Well, I know one thing–I’m not gonna let a girl foil my plans! I’m going to take her and that precious colt of hers away in the trailer, where neither of them can get out! Maybe I might even get some ransom for this one.

Without a second thought, he leapt forward and grabbed the girl’s arm tightly. Slapping a hand over her mouth, he hissed in her ear, “You hush up, girl, and don’t make a sound!”

Stacy, petrified, tried vainly to scream as the stranger dragged her towards the trailer. Fighting frantically, she squirmed to try to break his grip, but without success. In a voice muffled by his hand she cried, “Let me go! I won’t say anything!”

“Oh no you don’t, you’re gonna take a little ride with that colt of yours, and then we’ll see what happens!” he snapped.

Jerking open the trailer door again, the stranger shoved Stacy inside. She landed in a heap next to Falcon, who lay on the floor, his eyes closed. And then, she screamed! “Help! Somebody!! HELP ME!!!”

The man leapt into the trailer and pinned Stacy’s arms behind her back. “I told you not to say anything, chica! Just for that, you’re getting trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey!” He grabbed a bunch of rope and pinned her to the floor, then tied her hands behind her back. Stacy screamed until her throat was sore, but the man paid no heed. He raced out of the trailer and slammed the door shut, then started the truck up.

“HELP!” shrieked Stacy. She wriggled towards the metal door of the trailer and kicked it as hard as she could. She continued screaming at the top of her lungs, her fear mounting as she felt the truck gathering speed on the road. She tried to escape from her bonds, but to no avail. Finally, she lay back on the sparsely hay-covered floor of the trailer in exhaustion and looked around, tears of fright, anger, and pain filling her eyes. What would happen to her now? If only she’d been quieter and watched where she was going, she could have alerted her mom and grandparents and her kidnapper would have been arrested! And Falcon was no help, since he’d been drugged and put to sleep. He could do nothing to save her or himself. What if we’re taken out of state or something really bad? Stacy thought. We could be separated, Falcon and I! How can we escape this madman before he does something horrible to us both?

Stacy lay still, gathering her wits, trying to think of some plan that would free them from the grips of this villain. She lamented that she didn’t have her cell phone, left in the charging stand beside her bed. No help there. What if she could escape, would she be able to provide a description of this character? She ran over in her mind what she could remember of him: Let’s see…I think he was tall, and he had a Spanish accent.

Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, it came to her. “Oh, my gosh! A guy with a Spanish accent…and he seemed to know how to handle horses pretty well…no way! Can it possibly be true? Could it be coincidental? After all, I know only one guy from Spain who knows how to handle horses as he does. And he was…let’s see, what was his name again–oh yeah! Juan Rafael!”

It all made sense to Stacy now. Juan Rafael had been the cruel owner of Aasifat—Wildfire’s Egyptian name—before he was arrested and the stallion confiscated. Stacy already knew his sentence was brief, only a year. Yes, he would be out of prison by now. Could he have seen Falcon on the TV? Suddenly Stacy knew she was right, and this man hadn’t wasted any time getting here, she thought. But how did he know that Falcon was Aasifat’s offspring? Stacy wondered. He only saw him on the TV for maybe a minute, or a minute and a half tops! But that didn’t matter now. What did matter was trying to escape from the predicament she and Falcon were in right now, and get Juan arrested again by the police!

…………………………………………………

Chapter 4: A Daring Escape

As the truck and trailer rumbled into the night, Stacy considered any conceivable escape plan. She looked around the trailer carefully—its four metal walls, a hay-covered floor, and a small window. To test her strength, Stacy tried to stand; as she did the confining ropes caught on the sharp protruding edge of the trailer frame. Immediately, she began to saw back and forth.

Finally, the ropes loosened slightly. Flexing her hands and fingers back and forth, Stacy hooked them back onto the sharp edge and pulled harder. It took awhile, but at long last, she was free! Yes! she thought triumphantly. Grabbing the ropes, she threw them as hard as she could away from her.

Stacy looked at her watch; it was now 5:30 in the morning. She desperately hoped her mom and grandparents had heard her screams and called the police! “If they didn’t hear me, then what am I going to do?” she whispered in fear.

Just then, a rustling in the straw attracted Stacy. Turning around, she saw that Falcon was starting to awaken from his drug-induced sleep! The colt snorted and his legs jerked back and forth. Stacy quickly moved out of the way so as not to get kicked. She watched intently as Falcon flailed back and forth in the straw. Uh-oh, she worried. What if he hurts himself, thrashing around like that? And he doesn’t know what happened to him—he’ll probably freak out! Carefully, she crouched next to Falcon and talked to him gently. The black colt let out a guttural neigh and his eyes flickered open. Then he began to get to his feet! Stacy scrambled up and out of the way as the colt stumbled up, his hooves thumping loudly against the trailer floor.

“Shhh, Falcon!” hissed Stacy. “You gotta be quiet, or Juan Rafael will hear you and drug you again! After you wake up a little more, we’ll escape from this place. And now I know just how we’ll do it!” She patted Falcon as he pawed the ground restlessly, his nostrils spread wide. It wasn’t long before the colt seemed to be himself again. Stacy scrambled up and looked out the window. They seemed to be on some rural back road. As her eyes adjusted to the dawn light, she recognized where they were—or at least, she thought she did. They were getting near Flagstaff, where Falcon had been on the news the previous day! Moving away from the window, Stacy untied the colt’s rope and tossed the end over his neck. Going around the other side, she tied that end to his halter to make a makeshift bridle.

“Okay, fella,” she said. “Ready to make our grand escape?” Falcon snorted as Stacy led him up to the trailer door. Then, she began to yell and pound on the door as hard as she could! Startled, Falcon neighed loudly and stamped his hooves.

“It’s alright, Falcon,” Stacy told her colt. “We’ll be out of here soon!” She continued thumping on the door and yelling as loud as she could.

Suddenly, she felt the trailer grind to a halt! “What’s goin’ on back there?” hollered Juan Rafael. Stacy’s adrenaline began to pound. Quickly, she backed Falcon away from the door and grabbed a handful of mane and rein. Then, she pushed off and leaped as high as she could. Luck was with her as she landed on Falcon’s back and held on tightly.

She heard Juan unlatching the trailer door, and suddenly, it opened. Light shone brightly inside, but Stacy shook the reins and kicked Falcon hard in the sides. “Go!” she hollered, bending as close as she dared to his ears.

The high-spirited colt needed no urging. As if he was coming out of a starting gate in the Kentucky Derby, he shot forward and thundered out of the trailer, knocking Juan out of the way! “Run, Falcon! Run!” screamed Stacy, squeezing her legs as tightly as possible around the colt’s sides. She heard Juan shouting, and then she heard the truck starting up!

Oh, shoot! Stacy groaned silently. He’s coming after us! She heard the truck and trailer gaining on them as it roared to life.

“Faster, boy!” Stacy shouted to her colt. “Show your sire what you’re made of!” Except for that one time with Wildfire, Stacy had never gone so fast on a horse before. She hung on doggedly as Falcon galloped even faster. But Juan was coming after them, blasting the truck’s horn as he went.

Screaming in fear, Falcon pinned his ears back against his head and bolted. Grass, earth, and sky became one big multicolored blur to Stacy as Falcon’s mane whipped back, stinging her face. The tempo of Falcon’s hooves changed to a clattering roar. Stacy wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life! The truck was still gaining on them! Stacy quickly looked back and saw that it was just twenty feet or so away from them. And inside the cab, Juan Rafael looked livid. Would he run them over?!

Stacy wasn’t sure yet, but she thought that Falcon was almost going all-out. By now, she was starting to think that the black colt was as fast as his sire—maybe even faster! Suddenly, she saw houses up ahead. They must be near Flagstaff! The truck roared up behind them, its bumper just inches away from Falcon’s tail. Terrified, Stacy slapped Falcon’s neck. She’d thought that he was going all-out before, but no, the colt found another gear. Stretching his powerful legs out to their limits, Falcon increased his pace, but Stacy could feel that he was getting tired…

They thundered into Flagstaff, Juan still blaring the truck’s horn deafeningly. “Come on, Falcon!” hollered Stacy. “You can do it—just a little bit more!” Then she yelled as loud as she could as they raced past astonished spectators, “Help! Police!! Help!!! Somebody!!!!” Just then, the sounds of sirens pealed through the air as four police cars zipped into town and surrounded the truck and trailer. It skidded to a halt. And right then, Falcon stumbled. Except for her white-knuckled grip around Falcon’s neck, Stacy would have gone flying through the air like a missile. The colt, still agitated, trotted left and right, his head jerking, eyes wild.

Shakily, Stacy slid off him and patted his sweaty neck. “Good boy, Falcon!” she gasped. “You were amazing—beating a truck with your speed! I’m beginning to wonder if even Wildfire could have done that!” She clucked to the colt and watched him carefully as he trotted around her. Although still breathing heavily after his grueling race, he seemed to be fine; thank goodness. She glanced towards the scene of the arrest and saw police handcuffing Juan Rafael! “Yes!” she yelled, pumping a fist in the air. Surprised, Falcon shied. “Sorry, boy.”

Exhaustedly pulling herself up on Falcon’s back, Stacy clucked to the colt and rode him over to the police. But Juan Rafael saw her first. “Hey! I’m not the one you need to arrest—it’s her! She galloped her horse in front of me when I was driving and practically made me crash!” The police all turned to stare at Stacy on Falcon.

Shocked, Stacy glared at her captor. Then she found her voice. “You deserve to be put in jail again, Juan Rafael, for trying to steal my colt and kidnapping me! He took me and my horse from the Blazin’ B Ranch this morning,” she told the police, “and he’s been arrested before in Egypt for animal abuse. Small wonder Aasifat ran away from you for the way you treated him before!” she finished, pointing her index finger at him like a dagger.

Juan looked stunned at how much she knew about him. “How did you know my real name and about my horse? You must have stolen him from me!”

“Oh, sure! I’m just a kid, and besides, I don’t even live in Egypt!” answered Stacy disdainfully. “And how did you know that my horse was Aasifat’s foal, anyway?”

“By his speed and temperament, of course!” Juan snapped. “He’s meant to be mine, I tell you, since his sire was taken from me before!”

Just then, a policeman interrupted him. “So he’s been charged with horse-stealing before? And he kidnapped you and stole your horse from your ranch?”

“Yep,” Stacy replied. “The horse that he abused in Egypt is now standing stud at an Arabian horse ranch there. I’m sure that if you look up Desert Wings Stud Farm on the Internet and email the owners, you’ll find out plenty of information in that regard!”

“Well, that’s all the information we need on our suspect here,” the officer answered briskly. “Juan Rafael, you’re under arrest—it doesn’t sound like you’ll be seeing the light of day for a long, long time!”

Just then, another officer said to Stacy, “How about you call your house on my cell phone and tell them you’re safe? They can come here and pick you up.” Without hesitation, Stacy dialed her home phone number. It had scarcely rung before her mother picked it up. “Hello?”

“Mom, it’s me!” Stacy said.

“Oh Stacy, where are you? Are you okay?” her mom cried.

“I’m in Flagstaff with Falcon,” Stacy answered. “The police arrested Juan Rafael for kidnapping me and Falcon this morning.”

Her mom gasped. “Are you kidding me? Juan Rafael kidnapped you?! Wasn‘t he the one who–”

“Yeah, he’s the creep who abused Wildfire in Egypt,” Stacy interrupted. “He saw Falcon on TV and wanted to have him as his own. Somehow, he knew that Falcon was Wildfire’s foal just from seeing him on TV. Juan drugged Falcon and tied me up in his horse trailer, but we managed to escape.”

“Hang on, Stacy,” her mom said. “We’ll be right there, and then you can tell me the whole story!”

Chapter Five: The End–Or Is it Just The Beginning?

The next day, after a ride, Stacy galloped Falcon across the desert towards home. The case with Juan Rafael was pending, but newspaper accounts of the story predicted that he would be imprisoned for many years.
Like in one of those old fairy-tales, Stacy thought, smiling, everyone lived happily ever after. Okay, maybe not quite happily ever after, but still…

When they got back to the ranch, Stacy got on the computer and logged in to her email account. There was a new email from Ben in her inbox! Immediately, she clicked on it and scrolled down the page. Ben was giving her a weekly update on Wildfire, and was praising her courage in the daring escape with Falcon. Sighing happily, Stacy was about to turn off the computer when all of a sudden, she noticed a few more lines at the very bottom of the email:

“Oh, and by the way, Stacy, I happened to see Black Falcon on the TV last night. Apparently, someone saw you galloping in on the colt and being chased by Juan Rafael’s truck and got some footage of the chase on their camera. Whoever it was gave it to the local TV news station, and it was the clip seen by the most viewers! It’s a little fuzzy, but it gave me an idea of how fast Falcon is—almost as fast as his amazing sire. In fact, since Aasifat—or your Wildfire—is only four years old, I got an idea.

I am suggesting that your mother write a travel book on Arabia and come there to see the great Dubai World Cup horse race in June next summer. I will be there, looking at some prospective horses for my stables. Maybe she could bring you along with her, and we could see Aasifat as well. How does that sound?

But one more thing before I go. Your colt is so fast, he could be a prospective racehorse. Wouldn’t it be exciting to see which horse would be faster—Aasifat or Black Falcon? Maybe you could bring your colt along here and we could race the two together. Well, I have to go now, but I hope you’ll take me up on the offer.

Regards, Ben.”

Stacy almost shrieked in shock and incredulity. Ben wanted Wildfire and Black Falcon to have a match race together?! This was almost too good to be true! Oh my gosh! I HAVE to go tell Mom! Leaving the computer on, she raced downstairs.

“Mom, come see what Ben sent me! It’s really important!” she cried, charging down the stairs.

Her mom looked up from where she was sitting at the kitchen table. “Well, if you’re that excited about it, maybe I’d better have a look right now! She got up and followed her daughter.

A few minutes later, Stacy’s mom looked up and shook her head. “Well, Ben has a point there. Going to Arabia would be an interesting summer vacation next year—and I haven’t written a book about Arabia yet, so…”

“Did you see that he wanted Wildfire and Falcon to have a match race together?” Stacy exclaimed. “We’ve gotta go, Mom! Just think how exciting it would be to see the Dubai World Cup! And we’d get to see Wildfire, too! Oh please Mom, tell Ben yes!”

Her mom frowned. “Well, I’m not so sure about the match-race part, but, well…” Suddenly, she grinned. “If we can fit it into our schedule, then yes…we’ll be going! This is just too good of an opportunity to pass up, Stacy.”

Stacy lunged forwards and hugged her mom. “YES!!! Oh my gosh, it’ll be torture to wait all this time before summer vacation starts! Whoo-hoo!” she whooped, punching the air with her fist.

Her mom laughed. “Go ahead and tell Ben yes, Stacy; I’m sure he’ll be pleased!” Grinning, she walked out of the room.

Stacy’s fingers flew over the keyboard as she typed an email message back to Ben, then ran outside to tell Falcon the good news. “Oh man, Falcon,” she sighed. “Looks like you just might have the chance to show your sire just how bright a desert star can be next summer, huh?”

Aasifat’s Black Falcon tossed his head high and let out a piercing whinny, rearing up to his full height—a model for a living black statue.

THE END

Black Falcon of Arizona is the sequel to Egyptian Wildfire, first place winner in the 13-17 age group from the 2009 Girls Horse Club Fiction Competition.

You might also like...

• Shining Legacy
• Egyptian Wildfire
• The Legend of Shadow