The Chase Read Online Free Page B

“I’m sure glad to see you.”
    “Where’s the horse?” Steve asked.
    “He’s still trapped in the trailer. You can’t see it from here.” The fireman gestured for them to follow him down the embankment. They half walked and half slid down the muddy slope until the fireman stopped and pointed. “There it is. Down in the tree line.”
    Jake looked towards the tree line and groaned. An aluminum two-horse trailer lay on its side, wedged between two trees, at the bottom of a steep drop.
    Steve whistled. “Holy shit. How are we ever going to get him out of there?”
    The fireman grunted in response and started to descend the slope again. “We can provide manpower to help. But we aren’t horse people. You’ll have to tell us what to do.”
    They entered an area that was especially thick with undergrowth. The fireman called out over his shoulder, “Watch your feet. I almost fell flat on my face when I came through here earlier.”
    Jake grabbed a hanging branch for support and picked his way through the brambles. He climbed over a fallen tree trunk and had just jumped down on the other side when he saw Steve flailing his arms in an effort to keep from falling. Steve’s feet were caught in a vine, and Jake reached a hand out and caught him by his arm, just in time to keep him from pitching headfirst into a tree. “Careful. We need you in one piece,” Jake said, and reached down to help Steve disentangle his feet from the vine.
    Steve let out a deep breath and smiled at Jake. “Thanks, man. I think you’re my guardian angel today.”
    They caught up with the fireman, who gestured towards the trees to his left. “Poor guy driving that sure didn’t have a guardian angel watching over him.”
    Jake followed the fireman’s gaze and saw a black Range Rover hugging the trunk of a lofty walnut tree. The roof of the vehicle was cut open, revealing a deflated air bag that hung limply from the steering wheel. Jake shuddered as he imagined what had happened to the driver.
    “They use the Jaws of Life to get him out?”
    The fireman nodded. “Yup. And it wasn’t an easy feat getting it down there, I’ll tell you that.”
    They were approaching the horse trailer, and Jake saw a small group gathered around it. The trailer lay on its left side, and the people door on the right side was open towards the sky. A woman in firefighter gear was crouched on top of the trailer, looking inside.
    “The rear doors don’t look like they sustained too much damage,” Steve said. “Hopefully, they’re still operable. Let’s take a look inside, and see how bad he is, before we try to open up the rear.”
    They stopped next to the trailer and looked up at the firefighter.
    “What’s the horse’s condition?” Steve asked.
    The firefighter looked down at them. “He’s was struggling some before, but now he’s quieted down. He seems to have difficulty breathing.”
    Steve stepped back and studied the trailer. “How’d you get up there?”
    “I climbed up on the hitch and then pulled myself up with that tree branch.” She gestured towards the front of the trailer.
    Steve climbed up the same way and peered through the trailer door. “I can’t see much. Anyone have a flashlight?”
    The firefighter removed a flashlight from her belt and handed it to Steve, who leaned down and aimed the light into the trailer. Jake heard the horse move inside, followed by a thump as one of the horse’s hooves kicked the trailer floor.
    “Easy, boy, I’m here to help you,” Steve said.
    Jake looked up at the sky. The clouds still hung heavy, but the fierce rain had let up, and the electrical storm seemed to have passed through the area.
    Steve lifted his head out of the doorway and turned to Jake. “I don’t see any obvious critical injuries. He has some abrasions on his head and legs, but they don’t look too serious. His breathing is awfully labored, though. Why don’t you come up here and take a look at him?”
    “Wait, I’ll come