Free Wild Horse Spring by Lisa Williams Kline Page A

face was white and sweaty.
    Cody put on the brake, causing me to slide more tightly against his back, and squealed to a stop beside her.
    “Oh my gosh, there you are!” I said. “We’ve been looking for you.”
    “I’ve been looking for
you
!” she said.
    “You look awful. Are you okay?” Because she looked so wiped out, I decided not to mention the fact that she’d left without even telling me where she was going.
    “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “Maybe a little weak from running so much and not eating much.”
    “Get on, and we’ll head back,” said Cody, turning his head to indicate the back of the ATV.
    “Is there room for all three of us?” Diana said.
    “I’ll scoot up.” I moved closer to Cody, leaving a narrow strip of seat behind me. I was sitting up so close to him, I felt my face get hot. “Cody, can you scrunch up a little bit?”
    “Not much.” He inched forward, I moved up again, and Diana climbed on behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Her skin felt cold and clammy against mine.
    “Stephanie, I can’t believe you’re riding this thing!”
    “I can’t either,” I said with a laugh. I was wedged between the two of them, with barely room to breathe. “I don’t think they’re built for three people.”
    “They’re not,” Cody said. “Ready?”
    “Go slow!” I said.
    “I’ll try.” He put the ATV into gear and took off down a path to our right.
    “Where are you going?” Diana yelled to Cody, leaning forward.
    “Back to the beach,” he yelled.
    “This isn’t the right way,” she shouted. “We have to go the other way, to the left. That’s the way I came in.”
    “No, the path goes in a wide circle,” he shouted.
    “This is wrong,” she mumbled furiously, just next to my ear. Her arms tightened around me.
    The path we were on did seem to be heading deeper into the shadows of the forest. The twisted branches of the trees closed in more tightly around us, and a damp coolness seeped into the air. Pine needles covered the path, muffling the sound of the engine. My heart began to thump, and I broke out in a sweat. Maybe Diana was right. Maybe we were lost.
    “Cody, are you sure you know where we’re going?” I asked.
    Then suddenly the path opened up, and we saw, in the middle of nowhere, a line of small shops, a café, some outdoor restrooms painted in pastels, and a sandy playground with spotty clumps of grass. All completely deserted. Not a soul was anywhere to be seen.
    “What is this place?” Cody said, slowing us to a crawl.
    “It seems like a deserted town, or a movie set,” I said.
    “Told you it was the wrong way,” Diana said with an impatient tone.
    Cody turned off the motor. “Listen.” We heard the thundering sound of many hoofbeats in the sand, and also other engines in the distance. Gradually, the engines increased in volume, coming closer.
    In a few seconds, a herd of horses we hadn’t seen before, white-eyed with manes and tails flying, raced into the open area from a path on the other side, their hooves pounding the sand, their necks dark with sweat beneath their manes. Cody hit the foot brake and put one foot on the ground. As soon as the horses saw us, they veered off in a different direction, sending clouds of dust swirling.
    “What’s going on?” Cody said.
    My chest tightened.
    Then we saw. Two guys on ATVs emerged from the woods on the path, their engines grinding at earsplitting volume, and the minute they spotted the horses, they turned and went after them.
    “They’re chasing the horses!” Diana yelled.
    As the riders flashed through the open area, we caught snatches of their laughter. They were both stocky and helmetless—the same two boys we’d seen yesterday, with the buzz cut and the curly, blond hair. They glanced at us as they drove by but didn’t acknowledge us at all, and soon we were looking at billows of their dust.
    “Go after them! Make them stop!” Diana said.
    Before I could tell them to let me