Trickster

Chapter Thirteen

It takes a while to get the horses into the grooming stalls because they’re acting ornery. Zoe says they were also acting strange on the ride itself. David points out the horses are also all sweaty, despite them walking slowly. They were stressed out. David thinks maybe there’s a bug going around. Starfire is definitely sick at least.

Suddenly, Gertie coughs. Her body quivers and her eyes roll up in their sockets. Her legs shake, and then start to buckle. David pushes Sunita out of the way, and then it’s over. Gertie stops shaking and collapses to the floor, her legs folding under her. David grabs Gertie’s heavy head and tries to release the cross-tie still attached to the grooming poles so she doesn’t choke.

Sunita runs for Dr. Mac as Maggie, Zoe, and Brenna try to help with the cross-ties. They’re lifting Gertie’s head so high that she’ll be angry if she wakes up. When they finally release her cross-ties, her heart is racing.

When Dr. Mac comes, she orders everyone to move away. The volunteers stand in the aisle while Dr. Mac listens to Gertie’s heart and lungs with a stethoscope before moving down to her belly. Then, Gertie’s eyelids flutter and she thrashes her legs. The horse looks dazed, as if she doesn’t know where she is.

Dr. Mac instructs the horse to be brought to the paddock by the foaling barn. David says the other horses aren’t right either. Dr. Mac points at Maggie and tells her to take the others to wait by the van. They’re going home. They don’t have enough experience with horses to help.

The others take off, but David stays behind. He knows he can help. But before Dr. Mac can say anything, she’s calling in backup from Dr. Gabe, the clinic’s other veterinarian. On the phone, Dr. Mac says it could be a viral infection, something in the water, or something they ate. Either way, it’s getting ugly.

When Dr. Mac turns back to David, she emphasizes that these horses might be dying. He should go back with the others, too. It takes a second to sink in… Gertie’s seizure, Starfire’s heart problem, all the horses acting strange. Then he realizes. Trickster’s in trouble, too.