Lightning and Bolt

Lightning and Bolt

by Alan Strachan

Published by Alan Strachan at Smashwords

Copyright 2013 Alan Strachan

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE: CRANWILL STUD

CHAPTER TWO: LIGHTNING

CHAPTER THREE: FIRST RIDE

CHAPTER FOUR: RIDE TO HEAVEN

CHAPTER FIVE: RIDE TO HELL

CHAPTER SIX: MIXED FEELINGS

CHAPTER SEVEN: NEXT DAY

CHAPTER EIGHT: SNOW

CHAPTER NINE: CATCHING UP

CHAPTER TEN: BLACK, BLACK VALLEY

CHAPTER ELEVEN: FIRE

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE SAND AND THE PLAINS

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN: THE LAST LAP, THE ROAD HOME

CHAPTER ONE: CRANWILL STUD

Prologue

Jon sat holding the big horse steady. The horse, Lightning, was trembling from the crashes of thunder rolling around them.

What do you want Pieter? asked Jon’s riding partner, Dokey String.

Their way was blocked by the three men on horseback, blocking their path up the mountain side. A brilliant flash of lightning followed by an instant crash of thunder showed how close this storm was.

Lightning flinched; Jon held him steady and stroked his neck, talking softly to him. He had no idea of what was going on, the words between Dokey and the men in front were blown quickly away by the wind. Another flash of lightning illuminated them. Jon recognized Pieter Kunz

Your time has come old man, people will think your horse spooked because of the storm and you and the kid went over the edge. Pity. Pieter looked down into the gulley below. It looked as black as hell.

The men with Pieter laughed nervously

Don't be a damned fool Pieter, Dokey shouted.

The three men made a half circle around Dokey and Jon, pushing them closer to the edge. The thunder rolled overhead.

Dokey? Jon wanted to know what to do.

Pieter edged closer, the storm was directly overhead, the wind came screaming down the pass, the thunder pealed simultaneously with the lightning flashes. The rain came, falling in huge, hard drops.

Now Jon, Dokey yelled, charging at the group. He burst through the group, racing off into the darkness. Pieter and the others were caught in two minds what to do.

They turned to block Jon.

Jon was caught off guard, too slow to follow. Lightning spooked and reared high into the air almost as if he was drawing the lightning to him. The brilliant blue white charge of millions of volts of nature driven energy passed through Jon and Lightning in a millionth of a second, crumbling the edge of the cliff and tossing them over the side.

The side of the pass was steep but not so steep that Lightning could not manage to stay upright. The big horse stumbled and twisted his way through the stunted bushes, racing at breakneck speed downwards, narrowly avoiding the huge boulders and large trees. There were times he slid on his haunches, the rain making the ground underneath a river of mud.

Yet Jon managed to stay on. Rigid with fear and dazed from the shock he gripped with everything he could. His legs were like a steel vice around Lightning's girth. His fists clamped onto the reins wrapped around the saddle horn. He was not conscious enough to help the horse in any way and even if there was, the horse was doing magnificently.

The ride down lasted no longer than a few minutes although it seemed forever. Branches lashed at them, drawing blood. The huge boulders seemed to have a life of their own, forever jumping into their way making Lightning twist and turn, brushing roughly against them. Lightning slowed to a stop, his head hanging between his legs, breathing hard.

Jon, realizing they were down, fell to the ground, passing out. Lightning stood over him, too tired and sore to move. The rain hammered down on the two of them, drawing no response from either. The rain eased and still Jon did not move. Lightning nudged him gently.

He sat up slowly, holding his head.

What's happening, he thought to himself.

Lightning jumped back as if stung. Jon looked up at the horse.

What is going on in my head? His head spun, it was a kaleidoscope of feelings and thoughts. He was confused.

So too was Lightning. The horse pranced around, turning his head, looking for something he could not see. He snorted loudly, stamping his hooves on the ground.

What's up Lightning? Jon asked quietly.

What is happening? The horse replied, not in words, but images, pictures, emotions, something indescribable. The words were not spoken but Jon heard them inside his head as clear as if they were. He shook his head not understanding what was going on.

Who is here, I sense someone with me, again, the words ran through his mind. The thoughts, pictures, ideas, all coming together to form the meaning.

Lightning, Jon was on his feet. The horse looked at him. It's all right, something has happened to us. Jon had not spoken a word; his thoughts were crossing to Lightning.

How can you do this? On my back, I can accept, in my mind, not. Lightning said.

Maybe we're dead, Jon choked on the words.

I do not feel dead, I feel much pain from the way down here, but I still feel alive. He stamped his front leg to prove it.

I do too, I feel like a herd of buffalo have ridden over me. Jon crossed over to the horse. Let me look at your wounds, you've been cut pretty badly in places.

I feel pain, but not serious pain. The wounds will heal, given time. Lightning replied.

Well I can give you a start; I've got some of that healing oil with me. Jon removed the oil and a clean handkerchief from the saddle bags and proceeded to clean the deeper cuts on Lightning's chest and legs.

I still can't believe this is happening, it must have been something to do with the storm. In fact I'll probably wake up just now and find it's all a dream. He pinched himself. It was no dream.

Lightning, do you understand what has happened? Nothing like this has ever happened before.

I do not even try to understand. Even your mind is too much for me to understand fully. It has so many strange things going on. The horse shook his head in an almost human fashion.

There was a rumble high above them.

What's that? Jon asked, peering into the dark.

The river comes, we must reach higher ground, Lightning said.

Flash flood, Jon understood. He looked around, trying to find a path out.

On my back, I see a trail, Lightning said.

Jon leapt onto the horse as he was moving; gripping tightly as Lightning took off at a rush towards the bank on the other side. Lightning pushed through a stand of trees, one low branch almost knocking Jon off. He stopped and looked around.

There, to the right, Jon pointed, pulling on the reins. The trail led further uphill.

Lightning made for the clearing.

There was a roar below them and the spray from the raging river soaked them worse than the storm did. They stopped to look back. The river had grown from a gentle flowing ten feet wide stream to a raging torrent thirty feet or more. The valley was narrow at this point causing the river to dam and rise.

Higher, Lightning, Jon said but his mind was joined to Lightning's. Lightning understood in an instant. He climbed further up the steep path, the going bad from the loose rubble and mud. Jon recognized this and climbed off, grabbing hold of Lightning's tail to help pull him up.

Again they looked back; the water was only a foot or so below them. Water surging so powerfully it carried whole trees and debris as if they were straws.

Ledge in front of us, can go no further, Lightning's mind flashed in fear.

Jon clambered ahead. There was no way past. He frantically searched for another way. None.

Lightning, he called. Ahead, there's a pretty big tree, the only thing we can do is wedge ourselves against it and hope the water doesn't come any higher.

The horse agreed. The water was lapping around their feet by the time they reached the huge Redwood. They stood on the downward side, sheltering from the flying spray and the water borne flotsam.

Lightning's eyes were wide with fear. Jon tried to calm him down by talking to him. The water was now up to Jon's knees and he could feel the strength in it as it tried to tug him into the surging flood. The tree protected them from most of the debris being pushed down by the swollen river, but Lightning was not as well protected as Jon was and was repeatedly struck by logs and branches.

It can't carry on like this Lightning, hold on, Jon said, forgetting that Lightning could read his true thoughts, which were not quite as bright. The water crept up to his thighs, cold from the high peaks. The two of them shivered continually. Lightning's mind was in turmoil; Jon could feel the fear raging through him. He began to pray, and the second miracle of the day happened. The water dropped as if a huge plug had been pulled. They watched it disappear down to twice the size of what it normally was but now something they could withstand. Dead branches hung from the trees, walls of leaves were caught up in the stunted bush. The place was now an untidy mess.

Jon watched some of the smaller animals caught up in the flood; disengage themselves from the trees, wide- eyed with fear. The shock overcoming their fear of Jon as they scrambled past, searching for a dry hole to settle down in.

He could feel Lightning returning to normal, the horse now looking around for a way down, survival now the most important thing.

We need to get back up to the other side, Jon said, do you think there's a way up?

Too dark, very dangerous for us to try now. We must wait until light.

"Okay, but we need to get a place where we can spend the night and try and dry off.

Lightning motioned towards a huge willow tree, the branches hanging down to the water. Beneath the drooping branches was a living cave. Jon and Lightning made their way over to it. The ground was fairly dry; the Willow had avoided the rush of water.

Lightning lay down in the clearing beneath the branches. Jon looked into his saddlebags which had stayed on and brought out a couple of blankets. Thank goodness for Ling, even the blankets were protected by oilskins

Jon threw the blankets over Lightning then crawled underneath to nestle against the big horse's belly. Gradually he felt warmer, steam coming from both of them.

I see in your mind that people call you Jon, and you call me Lightning. What do they mean? I recognise my sound from when you call me with your voice.

Everyone has a name, it is a way to identify each other," Jon explained.

Why do you not smell each other? Lightning asked.

That’s something we have lost the ability to do, Lightning, we have gained many things but lost a lot more.

I see many things rushing through my head, I do not understand. If you can talk slower maybe I can try and see what you are meaning

Okay, let me explain how it all started and how we ended up here.

I know how we ended up here, Lightning replied, showing a slight sense of humour.

Right, then let me tell you why we are here, and no funny remarks. Its going to be a long night until the sun rises.

You may continue, said Lightning,

Jon began with his story

Jonathon Bolt stood at the end of the dusty lane. The signboard, hanging by a chain on the H-frame in front of him indicated that Cramwill Stud was another five miles down the long, dry road.

You going to be alright kid? The elderly farmer in the truck waiting at his side asked.

Sure, thanks for the ride mister, I appreciate it. He took his bag from amongst the sacks of feed and grain, the grocery shopping; odds and ends on the back of the flat bed truck and set it down in front of him.

Take care son, the farmer said. He grated the pick-up into gear and pulled away slowly in a cloud of dust.

Jon waved a forlorn goodbye. That ride had been the best part of his trip. It had taken him four days to travel three hundred miles on a variety of transport until the truck had stopped and brought him the last seventy miles in three hours.

It now gave him a good eight hours to get down the road before sundown. He looked up at the midday sun, it beat mercilessly down. Mid august was not the time to be out walking, especially with a backpack. Not that there was much in it. His belongings amounted to a few pieces of clothing, a few momentous of his mother and a Spanish style bridle that had belonged to his father.

The bridle held a mixture of emotions for Jon. It held faint memories of his father, giving him joy. On the other hand his father had deserted his mother and himself so it also held anger towards him.

Jon picked up the carpet bag, hefted it onto his narrow shoulders and began the long trudge down the dirt road. He was fifteen years old, medium built for his age, only five foot four but the build was deceiving, in that wiry frame he had muscles built up from working on his grandparents’ farm? His hair was dark and curly; his sparkling blue eyes twinkled in his tanned face. The faded blue denim pants and the well-worn red-chequered shirt were dusty and starting to smell from his 4 days of travelling. He imagined sitting in a deep, cool bath and being able to get into clean clothes. Well, all he had to do was get down the long road ahead and he was at his final destination

The sun beat down harshly, making him stop and pull a wide brimmed hat from his bag. It added a couple of years onto his boyish face. His high-heeled cowboy boots scuffed the thick dust in the middle of the road, the sooner he got there the sooner his new life would begin.

The road stretched as far as the eye could see as he doggedly took step after weary step. In the four days since he left his grandparents’ farm he had slept little.

His mind wandered back to the week before his leaving. He had been sitting outside on the porch of the old wooden farmhouse, watching the last of the sun's rays disappear behind the