Eye of the Storm

Erin. ‘He already thinks I’m strange because I don’t want to spend every minute of the day playing sport like he used to.’ She sighed. ‘He’s always telling me I should be outside more, getting fresh air, not sitting in my room.’
    As they walked on to the yard, it started to rain. Jackie was in her office. ‘You’re my only two helpers today. Everyone else has rung to say they won’t be here. Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it. Could you start by filling some haynets please?’
    Erin and Chloe nodded and headed up to the barn, bending their heads to avoid the rain.
    ‘At least Fran and Katie aren’t here today,’ said Erin, as they started to fill haynets, shaking up the slices of hay until it was loose and then stuffing it into the empty nets.
    Fran and Katie were two of the other helpers. They went to the same school as Erin and she had once been friends with them, but ever since they had discovered she would be going to a different secondary school in September, they had started being really mean to her. Fran was the worst. Chloe was always telling Erin she should stand up to them, but Erin hated arguments. She felt really glad she didn’t have to see them that day.
    They filled all the haynets and carried them two at a time to the stables. It was hard with the wind blowing into them.
    ‘Can you help me shut the top stable doors, girls?’ Jackie called, coming out of one of the stables. ‘Then I think it might be best if we get all the ponies in from the field. I don’t like the look of the sky.’
    Erin and Chloe helped close the top doors of the stables, their fingers slipping on the cold wet metal, and then they set off for the fields. In the first field, four of the ponies – Ziggy, Pippin, Smoky and Tango – were sheltering by the gate, while the remaining four ponies in the field were trotting around anxiously, heads up, ears flickering.
    The girls worked quickly, clipping lead ropes on and stroking and reassuring the ponies before leading them up to the barn. Back and forth they went, catching ponies and bringing them in. It started to rain more heavily. Their coats kept their bodies dry, but the rain streamed over their faces and bare hands and soaked through their jodhpurs. The sky turned darker, becoming the colour of a black bruise. There was a loud rumble of thunder.

    ‘Just Magpie and Kestrel to get in now,’ Chloe said to Erin.
    ‘Hurry up, girls!’ Jackie called. She was leading two horses in. ‘Once Kestrel and Magpie are in the barn I think we should go into the house. Your mum rang me on my mobile, Chloe – she’s coming to get you and Erin.’
    The dry earth of the track that led to the bottom field where Kestrel and Magpie were had turned to slippery mud. The girls started to run, but the storm suddenly broke. A flash of lightning forked across the sky. It was followed a few seconds later by a loud thunderclap.
    Magpie whinnied in alarm; he was standing under a tree by the gate. Kestrel was cantering around the field, his head high. ‘Here, boy,’ called Erin, leaving Chloe to get Magpie.
    Kestrel didn’t seem to see her. His eyes were wide and scared. ‘Kestrel!’ Erin shouted, but her voice was whipped away by the wind. ‘Kestrel! Come here!’
    Chloe was struggling to get the gate open. Erin went to help her, hoping that if Kestrel realized Magpie was going, he would come over.
    ‘I’ll take Mags in, Erin!’ shouted Chloe.
    Erin nodded. Seeing Chloe leading Magpie through the gate, Kestrel gave a shrieking whinny and started cantering towards them. Erin quickly pulled the gate shut so he couldn’t get out on his own.
    There was a bright white flash as lightning forked down. Erin screamed as it hit the tree beside the gate. There was a loud bang as the tree exploded. Instinctively she covered her head with her hands as branches filled the air. She heard Chloe shout her name and saw a huge burning bough falling straight towards her…

CHAPTER
Four
    The branch filled Erin’s vision. Then suddenly a grey shape cannoned into her, knocking her to one side. She landed a metre away, sprawling on the muddy ground.
    ‘Kestrel!’ she screamed as the grey pony shied to avoid the enormous branch himself. It thumped into the grass, missing him by centimetres. Losing his footing in the slippery mud, Kestrel crashed into the fence and fell to the ground. Erin scrambled to her feet, numb with fear. Kestrel tried to get up, but, as he thrashed around, one