Phantom: One Last Chance

by Belinda Rapley

  “Good boy!” Charlie cried, patting him without taking her hands off the reins. Whenever there was a straight path, Charlie leaned forward and urged the black horse on. Phantom responded, stretching his head, his neck down and lengthening his stride, with his silky mane flowing into Charlie’s face as she tucked low over him.

  His ears flickered backwards and forwards at the sound of her voice as she reassured him. She talked softly, to calm herself down as much as to calm the black horse as they tackled tangled turn after twisting bend. They flew over snow-laden branches that had fallen across the path, Phantom barely breaking his stride as Charlie softened her hands and tucked forward.

  Galloping up the final long slope before the bridge, she crouched low over Phantom’s withers, urging him on. He responded by dipping his neck further, his legs pumping faster. She knew that if her aching lungs were anything to go by, his must be burning too. Near the top of the slope she felt his stride start to labour and shorten beneath her, and she eased him up slightly, patting his sweating neck.

  “Nearly there,” she whispered. “Just this bend at the top, then it’s a straight downhill path to the stream.”

  They reached the bend and cantered round. Charlie’s heart leaped into her throat. There, blocking the path in front of them, was a huge fallen tree, its roughened, snow-decked trunk vast and broad. The path fell away so steeply on the other side that it looked as if it ended with the trunk and there was nothing beyond but air.

  Charlie sat upright, squeezing hard on her reins. Phantom, already tiring, skidded to a sliding halt at the base of the trunk, his muzzle bumping into it. Charlie slipped up his neck, nearly flying off sideways. She clung on, and then shuffled back – but not before she spotted a red coat in the distance.

  “Neve!” Charlie shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. Her cry bounced off the trees, whipped back by the icy wind as Phantom pranced restlessly, his sides heaving, beneath her. Neve didn’t look round: she didn’t even hear. Charlie glanced over at both sides of the path. The tangled thickets of bushes were too dense for her to attempt to get through. But she couldn’t abandon Phantom up there on the path by himself – she couldn’t risk him wandering off. There was only one way to get to the other side. They’d have to jump it.

  “We don’t have a choice, Phantom,” Charlie whispered, trying not to think about the fact that it was bigger than anything she’d ever jumped before. She turned Phantom away from the trunk, jogging him for a few strides, then turned again, taking a deep breath and squeezing her legs to his sides.

  The black horse responded at once, bouncing forward into a strong canter. He locked onto the trunk and lowered his head, but in the last stride he faltered. Charlie knew that it must look to him as if she was asking him to jump off the edge of the earth, but she clamped her legs to his sides, squeezing tighter. His ears flickered, and Charlie felt her heart flip: he was going to jump like she’d asked him, no matter what was on the other side. In that instant she realised that the black horse trusted her.

  Phantom launched himself into the air with a grunt, the crest of his neck knocking Charlie upwards. Her chin scraped on his mane as she folded forwards, trying desperately to stay in balance. He tucked up his hooves, suspended for what felt like for ever, before flicking them out and plunging to the ground on the other side. Charlie’s breath left her as he knuckled forward, and she leaned back, letting the reins slip through her fingers but not letting them go completely. Phantom scooped back up, then in the next stride they were skidding downhill, sending the powdery snow flying in every direction.

  “Well done Phantom! Good boy!” Charlie cried, patting his neck as she scanned the stream’s edge. Then she saw Neve, her arms circling wildly as she tried to balance on the rocks by the edge of the stream. As Charlie watched what happened next, it was as if things were suddenly in slow motion. Neve’s foot slipped from under her, and she plunged into the water.

  Charlie leaped off Phantom and raced to the water’s edge.

  “Neve!” she cried, looking around desperately for her.

  At that second, Neve bobbed back up, coughing and spluttering.

  Charlie could see her stumbling in the rushing current, which was waist-height and icy cold. Neve’s lips already looked blue and she was shivering all over, but her eyes were fixed on the black horse.

  “Fable?” she whispered.

  “It’s not Fable,” Charlie replied, trying to work out how to get Neve out of the water. “It’s Phantom.”

  “Oh, Fable…” Neve said, looking up, disorientated for a second before trying to scramble out. But then she slid back off the slippery rocks, almost submerging beneath the water.

  “Neve! Listen to me! Walk this way a bit,” Charlie shouted urgently, pointing up the stream, further away from the bridge. “The bank’s less steep there.”

  Neve tried to walk against the current of the flowing water, her teeth chattering and her clothes soaked and heavy. They weighed her down, so that every tiny step took for ever. Charlie could see that Neve was already tiring. She panicked, looking round. Then she saw Phantom, standing a few steps off, his neck flecked with sweat.

  Charlie rushed up to him and took the reins over his head. “Just one more effort, I promise,” she whispered as she started to lead him closer to the stream. He shied backwards from the water for a couple of strides before stopping stock still, his head raised, snorting through his blood-red, flaring nostrils. At the moment that she realised Phantom was scared, Charlie also realised that all her fear of the black horse had disappeared. She moved to his shoulder and stroked his neck, then walked him on again. Nervously, he took a step forward, keeping close to Charlie’s shoulder until he was near to the edge. Charlie flung the reins to Neve. She grabbed them with shaking, numb hands, as Charlie turned and took hold of Phantom’s bridle.

  “Walk on,” Charlie said, clicking and taking a step along the riverbank, encouraging her horse to follow. Phantom hesitated, panicking momentarily as he first felt the pull of Neve’s weight on his reins. They slipped through Neve’s fingers, but she kept hold. Charlie patted Phantom, then asked again. This time he sunk into his hindquarters and pushed off them, pausing every couple of steps before starting again as Charlie either ‘whoa-ed’ or clicked, responding to her even though he was unsure. Slowly, he helped pull Neve out of the water to the shallower ledge of the bank, then Charlie rushed to reach out her hand to help haul Neve the rest of the way.

  Neve collapsed on a tree stump. Charlie pulled off her own jacket and wrapped it around Neve’s narrow shoulders, reaching quickly for her mobile phone.

  “Everyone’s running round like mad trying to find you,” Charlie told her. She looked at Neve’s pale, troubled face, then texted Mia, Rosie and Alice:

  Found Neve at Whispering Bridge – wet but safe.

  She got a text back almost instantly from Mia:

  Phew!! Mr Honeycott on way with Will. They’ve got blankets.

  Neve looked away. “I told my nan and granddad I didn’t want to stay, but they wouldn’t listen,” she said in a quiet, shivery voice. “I just want everything to go back to how it was. I… I came here and made my wish, but then I slipped and fell into the water. Then I heard hoofbeats and looked up and saw… well, I just thought, somehow, my wish had come true…”

  Neve looked at the black horse with a longing that made Charlie’s heart ache. At that moment a voice called out, echoing through the silence of the woods. Charlie recognised it at once.

  “Alice!” she shouted back. “Down here!”

  A grey shape appeared out of the snow as Scout and Alice emerged at the brow of the hill, which led down to the stream from the long route. Alice gasped, stopping at the bank as she saw Neve sitting there soaked and chilled, her face paler than ever.

  “Can Neve ride back with you?” Charlie asked. “Phantom’s too tired to be ridden.”

  “’Course,” Alice replied, shuffling back in the saddle. Neve stood shakily and squelched to
wards Scout. Charlie helped her haul her wellies off, tipping out the water before putting them back on. Alice dragged off her own jacket for Neve to add on top of Charlie’s, then Charlie legged Neve up so that she was sat in front of Alice, to soak up what extra warmth she could.

  “Mr Honeycott and Will are on their way,” Charlie said, trying to smile. She cupped her hands in front of her mouth and blew into them. “They didn’t set out that long ago but they’re bringing blankets.”

  Alice nodded, looking down at Charlie, who was starting to shiver without her jacket to keep out the icy chill.

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay walking back?” Alice frowned as she turned Scout towards the slope. “It’ll take ages, and it might be a while before we bump into Will and Mr Honeycott.”

  Charlie nodded. However tired she might be, she could see that Phantom was weary and it would be kinder to lead him. “He’s done enough for today. You can go ahead if you want to – I don’t mind.”

  Alice shook her head. “No way. We’ll go back together even if it takes longer,” she replied decisively. “I’m not leaving you, not like that.”

  Charlie smiled gratefully and passed Neve’s bag to Alice. Alice slung it over one shoulder. Then Charlie turned to Phantom, who stood with his head low, his sides still heaving and steam rising up off his neck. As she walked towards him, she just hoped that he would be okay too.

  “Come on, boy,” she said quietly, picking up his reins and walking him over to Alice. He set off stiffly, his muzzle at Charlie’s elbow.

  She scrunched in the snow beside him, one hand resting on his neck, as much for her as for him. Ahead of her Scout strode on purposefully, his stocky frame easily carrying Alice and Neve. They took the long path back; it wasn’t full of twists and turns like the short cut, and it seemed to take for ever. Everything around them was silent except for Scout and Phantom’s rhythmical hoofbeats, disrupted occasionally as Phantom wearily tripped over the odd tree root hidden by the snow. Then Charlie heard a groaning creak above her. She looked up, seeing the grey sky criss-crossed with branches. Something creaked again, more loudly this time; she glanced up just in time to see an old, gnarled branch split under the weight of the snow.

  “Alice – look out!” Charlie cried. Alice instinctively pressed her legs to Scout’s sides. Her grey pony scooted forwards, but Phantom had nowhere to go and he started, his ears flat back just as the branch swung down, cracking onto his hindquarters, its dead, spiky twigs catching his tail. Phantom’s head flew up, and even though he was tired he exploded upwards and forward, pulling Charlie off her feet as her frozen fingers couldn’t let go of the reins fast enough. She stumbled to the ground, her arm hitting a tree root and the weight of her body landing on top.

  “Steady!” Charlie heard Alice cry, and she looked up to see Phantom crashing past Scout, almost knocking Alice out of the saddle. She watched helplessly as Phantom flew up the path ahead, bucking with every stride as the branch remained caught in his tail. Suddenly it was dislodged and he bolted, scared into flight, his reins caught over his near foreleg.

  Charlie lay in the icy snow, unable to breathe for a second. Alice got a spooked Scout under control and jogged him back to where her friend was lying.

  “Are you hurt?” Alice asked anxiously. Charlie managed to sit up shakily. Shooting pains ran up her wrist.

  “I… I’m not sure,” Charlie said shakily. “My arm’s pretty painful.”

  As Charlie dizzily tried to stand, Alice felt her eyes well up, frightened and unsure what to do next. She didn’t want to leave her friend, but she didn’t know how to get her home, either. On top of that, Neve was sitting in front of her, shivering violently and Alice knew she couldn’t dither for long.

  “Maybe we should ride on until we find Mr Honeycott and Will?” Neve suggested through chattering teeth, looking back over her shoulder.

  “Good idea,” Alice said in a rush, scrabbling to pull her mobile phone from her pocket. “I’ll call them too, so they know to take the long path and to hurry. Charlie – are you okay to stay here while we carry on?”

  Charlie nodded, feeling too sick to move. With one last look Alice turned and squeezed Scout into a steady canter, reins in one hand, her mobile pressed to her ear. Charlie watched as Scout’s dappled grey rump merged into the falling snow and disappeared around a turn in the path.

  Charlie sat for a while in the heavy silence of the woods, waiting for her stomach to stop churning. Then she stood up. It felt as if she’d been alone for ages, and her legs were leaden as she started to walk slowly up the path. She hadn’t got far when she heard shouts and cries ahead. She looked up and saw Mr Honeycott and Will running towards her.

  “There you are!” Mr Honeycott puffed, looking seriously relieved as he reached her side and slid to a halt. “We set out as soon as Alice called – then Phantom galloped round a bend out of nowhere and almost knocked us flying! We didn’t know what to expect until we met Alice and Neve further up the track and they told us what had happened.”

  “Is Phantom…” Charlie asked. She was unable to finish, her voice coming out in a croak as she cradled her left wrist.

  “I’ve just called Rosie. Phantom’s found his way back to the stables and they’re seeing to him,” Will added as Mr Honeycott wrapped a blanket around Charlie’s shoulders. “But right now we need to concentrate on getting you home. That arm looks pretty sore.”

  “It wasn’t Phantom’s fault,” Charlie said in a voice that sounded miles away. She was so cold, so tired, and her wrist was throbbing. She tried to ask how Neve was, but she couldn’t get the words out. The woods started to blur in front of her, then everything went black.

  Charlie had only fainted for a few moments. She came to, and leaned on Mr Honeycott and Will as they slowly made their way back to the yard. As they approached, Alice, Rosie and Mia rushed down between the paddocks to meet them.

  “You better get straight inside and have that arm checked,” Mr Honeycott said as the girls fussed over their friend and filled her in on Neve, who was in trouble with everyone for running away, but apart from that, was okay. She had been whipped off to Rosie’s bedroom for a sugar-filled hot chocolate and a change of clothes. Then they gave Charlie the news about Phantom, who’d reached the yard before she had. A second later Mrs Honeycott came running over with a worried look on her face, telling Charlie that she’d called her mother and announcing that she herself was first-aid trained and had the bandages out and ready.

  “Now, come on, Charlie – inside,” she said.

  “I’ve got to check on Phantom first,” Charlie insisted, ignoring Mrs Honeycott’s protests and trudging over on tired legs to Phantom’s box, the others around her.

  She let herself in. Hettie was standing protectively in front of Phantom. Charlie’s face fell when she saw him – his head and neck were low and he was unsettled, shifting his weight between his back hooves and leaving his haynet untouched.

  “I’ve put a sweat rug on under his lightest stable rug,” Mia told her. “And he’s had a bit of a drink, but we didn’t give him loads after he’d done so much as we didn’t want to risk giving him colic.”

  Charlie nodded her thanks, biting her lower lip to stop it wobbling.

  “He was as good as gold,” Rosie continued, looking hesitantly at the others, “which we thought was highly suspicious, so Alice called the new vet – the one that’s taken over from Mr McCuthers.”

  “He’s on his way, just to check him over,” Alice added quickly, trying to smile reassuringly and failing. Charlie watched as her black horse’s large, dark eyes stared ahead at the wooden stable wall, not caring, for the first time, that she was standing near him. Alice had done the right thing: she knew as well as they did that something looked very wrong.

  “It’s just badly bruised,” Mrs Honeycott announced, after the rest of the Pony Detectives had finally managed to usher Charlie away from Phantom’s stable and up to bed. Neve, wearing a collection of Rosie’s c
olourful knitted jumpers, slipped quietly from the room and Charlie sank, exhausted, into Rosie’s bed. The girls tucked her under the duvet and propped her up on a huge pile of pillows.

  Just as they finished, the door opened and Charlie’s mum came into the room. Her face was full of concern, made worse when she saw the crisp white bandage wound round Charlie’s wrist.

  “We’ll leave you to it,” Mrs Honeycott said, stepping out of the room. Mia beckoned to the others and they hurried out too.

  Charlie’s mum sat on the bed and carefully hugged Charlie. After checking she was okay, Charlie’s mum sighed. “I’ve called Pixie, and Mrs Millar,” she said gently. “I’m sorry darling, but Pixie’s agreed it’s time for Mrs Millar to start looking for a new buyer for Phantom.” As Charlie started to protest, her mum held up her hand. “He’s had his last chance, Charlie, he has to go. He’s just too dangerous. You should never have been on him in the first place today, in case you’d forgotten. Mrs Millar’s collecting him at lunchtime tomorrow.”

  There was a faint creak on the landing outside the room followed by the sound of light footsteps creeping down the stairs. Hot tears sprang to Charlie’s eyes.

  “But he did everything I asked of him!” she gulped. “It wasn’t his fault that I hurt my wrist! I know he spooked and bolted when the branch hit him, but that wasn’t his fault – he was scared! And we found out that he was taken away from his mother too early, and he’s been moved around to far too many homes, and he’s never had the chance to settle in any of them.”

  “Sweetheart, that’s very sad,” Charlie’s mum sighed, “but it still doesn’t stop him being untrustworthy and unsafe.”

  “He just needs time and love,” Charlie cried. “We can’t get rid of him now! And he’s improved so much since I got advice from…”