Free Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz

smelled of soot and diesel. The tunnel was a natural echo chamber. The
horses' hooves rattled all around them as they struck against the gravel
between the ties. What if his horse stumbled? Alex put the thought out of his
mind. The leather saddles creaked. Slowly his eyes got used to the dark. A
certain amount of sunshine was filtering in from behind. More comfortingly, the
way out was clearly visible straight ahead, the circle of light widening with
every step. He tried to relax. Perhaps this wasn't going to be so bad
after all.
    And then
Fiona spoke. She had slowed down, allowing his horse to catch up with hers.
"Are you still worried about the train, Alex?" she said scornfully.
"Perhaps you'd like to go faster."
    He heard the
riding crop whistle through the air and felt his horse jerk as Fiona whipped it
hard on the rear. The horse whinnied and leapt forward. Alex was almost thrown backward
off the saddle. Digging in with his legs, he just managed to cling on, but the
whole top of his body was at a crazy angle, the reins tearing into the
horse's mouth. Fiona laughed. And then Alex was aware only of the wind
rushing past him, the thick blackness spinning around his face and the
horses' hooves striking heavily at the gravel as the animal careened
forward. Soot blew into his eyes, blinding him. He thought he was going to
fall. Minutes seemed to pass in mere seconds.
    But then,
miraculously, they burst out into the light. Alex fought for his balance and
then brought the horse back under control, pulling back with the reins and
squeezing the horse's flanks with his knees. He took a deep breath and
waited for Fiona to appear.
    His horse had
come to rest on the bridge that she had mentioned. The bridge was fashioned out
of thick iron girders and spanned a river. There had been a lot of rain that
month and, about fifty feet below him, the water was racing past, dark green
and deep. Carefully, he turned around to face the tunnel. If he lost control
here, it would be easy to fall over the edge. The sides of the bridge
couldn't have been more than three feet high.
    He could hear
Fiona approaching. She had been cantering after him, probably laughing the
entire way. He gazed into the tunnel, and that was when Fiona's gray
horse burst out, raced past him, and disappeared through the gate crossing on
the other side of the bridge.
    But Fiona
wasn't on it.
    The horse had
come out alone.
    It took Alex
a few seconds to work it out. His head was reeling. She must have fallen off.
Perhaps her horse had stumbled. She could be lying inside the tunnel. On the
track. How long was there until the next train? Twenty minutes, she had said.
But at least five of those minutes had gone, and she might have been
exaggerating to begin with.
    Alex swore.
Damn this wretched girl with her spoiled brat behavior and her almost suicidal
games. But he couldn't leave her. He seized hold of the reins. Somehow he
would get this horse to obey him. He had to get her out, and he had to do it
fast.
    Perhaps his
desperation managed to communicate itself to the horse's brain. The
animal wheeled around and tried to back away, but when Alex kicked with his
heels, it stumbled forward and reluctantly entered the darkness of the tunnel
for a second time. Alex kicked again. He didn't want to hurt it, but he
could think of no other way to make it obey him.
    The horse
trotted on. Alex searched ahead. "Fiona!" he called out. There was
no reply. He had hoped that she would be walking toward him, but he
couldn't hear any footsteps. If only there were more light!
    The horse
stopped and there she was, right in front of him, lying on the ground, her arms
and chest actually on the line. If a train came now, it would cut her in half.
It was too dark to see her face, but when she spoke he heard the pain in her
voice.
    "Alex...,"
she said. "I think I've broken my ankle."
    "What
happened?"
    "There
was a cobweb or something. I was trying to keep up with you. It went in my face
and I lost my