Chapter 16
Blake
I was lonely. The tour group had left Dallas three weeks earlier and I’d been riding broncos for something to do and to keep a little income heading my way. I was no longer drinking, so much of the romance of the sport had dissipated for me. Now it felt like a job. There was no challenge, no reason to get up in the morning and no reason to swagger when I entered a crowd of people. I was just another cowboy.
We’d all gone over to a local bar after the event one Saturday night. Her name was Barbara and she came up to me at the bar as I sipped my Coke and said she had been there the day I’d gotten my legs crushed. Ordinarily, this wasn’t the sort of opening line that stimulated me, but like I say, I was lonely.
I asked her to take the stool next to mine and I bought her a couple of drinks. Turned out she’d been following me for some time and waiting for an opportunity to meet me face to face. Naturally this did quite a bit for my ego and I was content to let her lay it on.
We shot a few games of pool and I let her win, but it was close. She had a pretty good eye for that sort of thing and I had to play my best game to keep her attention.
Afterwards, I did what I’d always done best: I took her back to the motel with me and screwed her. My first reaction had been one of disgust; I’d not been with anyone since Silver left and this strange woman’s body bore no resemblance whatsoever to the woman I loved. Nevertheless, there was a case to be made that I might never see Silver again and I wasn’t in any hurry to be alone for the rest of my life.
Barbara’s reaction came closest to gratitude of anything I could pinpoint. It was very odd, almost as if she was a groupie but my fan following had dwindled considerably after I stopped riding bulls. She clung to me and followed the circuit, always popping up at the event or at the bar where I was afterwards. I never offered to pay her way or let her travel with me, yet she was always there. It began to get a bit spooky. Eventually, I didn’t want to sleep with her anymore, but she refused to leave me alone. No matter where I was, she popped up. Hell, I didn’t even know her last name. I stopped inviting her back to the room with me, but she didn’t seem the least deterred, even taking a room in the same motel and as close to mine as possible. I knew then what it was like to have a stalker.
The circuit’s next stop was Baton Rouge. I’d always like that area, lots of trees and old southern history. I was riding broncos that night and thought after the event I’d take in some of the local sights.
It was a hot night and it was an outdoor event. I had sweat stains almost down to my waist and the broncos were particularly ornery that night. I was to ride Chaos, an animal known for its bad temperament. I still stayed away from the bulls; it was as if I knew they held death for me.
I could smell the rain even before the storm made its appearance. The horses knew, too, and they were skittish and wanting to get back into their trailers where it would be dry and there’s be plenty of oats to eat. I was getting ready for my turn, watching as they brought Chaos in from the holding pens. His eyes were wide as a bolt of lightning raked across the sky. It took two handlers to hold him down.
I was a bit agitated by the storm myself for some unknown reason. It was as if I was being watched by a force unknown. Nevertheless, I pulled on my gloves and climbed up above the horse, ready to descend, but he was wild-eyed. This was uncharacteristic for him and I began to wonder whether he’d been injected with something to make him crazed. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d heard of something like that.
Thunder deafened the entire audience as the lightning struck in the center of the arena. Chaos leaped straight up in the air just as I was settling down upon him and had grabbed the leather. He was hell unleashed and the handlers couldn’t calm him. They hollered at me to get off him, to let him out and run himself calm but I shook my head. I’d lost so much face already over not riding the bulls, I couldn’t back down further. I shook my head vehemently and hollered, “Open it!” They looked at one another and shrugged; it was my call.
We exploded when the gate opened. I gripped the reins hard and held the horn, my legs and all those newly re-generated muscles clamped as tightly as I could. I felt my body slam into sections, waist ahead and then behind my torso. I felt like a deck of shuffled cards.
Chaos was literally screaming as his eyes, crazed in fear, looked for a way to unseat me. A funnel of wind formed on the arena floor and circled toward us, picking up sand and pebbles and I could hear the crowd screaming as they pointed toward the phenomenon. I kept my seat until the wind hit us; literally picking Chaos up into the air and dropping us down into the ring. I was trapped beneath his flailing body as he screamed. They were trying to pull him off me, but his hooves thrashed blindly through the air in pain. Eventually they threw me a rope and I held on for dear life as they dragged me from beneath him while he rolled away momentarily. It was clear that both his legs were broken. I had nothing more to fear from him. They helped me to my feet and I staggered toward the chute gate. Another bolt of lightning slapped the arena and I looked upward as the funnel lifted and rain bit my face. There, in the flash of light, stood a woman in a white dress and with silvery, whipping hair, looking like the goddess of lightning herself. She was standing in the first row of the stands and her expression was of terror as she looked at me. There stood my Silver. I heard a snap behind me and turned to see they had shot Chaos and were trying to cover him with a tarp until they could get a vehicle in to lift him out of the arena. His screams were silent then and all that remained was the awed vacuum of spectators, standing in the driving rain.
I looked around again, and she was gone.
* * *
I searched the stands for her throughout the rest of the event. There was no sign and I began to wonder whether she’d been real. I knew she was, though. I’d felt her presence even before we’d left the chute. Eventually the event was over and the crowds filtered off to go home. I stood by the gates and watched every single person leave; she was not among them.
In the meantime, I went into the event manager’s office and lodged an inquiry over what had happened with Chaos.
“He was spurred or high, I don’t know which. You need to order an autopsy.”
This was met with laughter. “Like who’s going to do something about it?” George guffawed.
“Damnit, it’s ruining the industry! How many of those kids out there are going to have nightmares tonight from watching that horse shot. You need to build some integrity or we’ll all go down with the boat!”
“Calm down, Blake. Just because you’ve had some hard times is no reason to take a shot at us!”
“Damnit, are you really so stupid as to think this is about me? It’s about the sport, the industry, the owners, and the corruption.”
George’s eyes narrowed. “I’d be careful who I said that around, Blake.”
“To hell with you all!” I hollered and left the trailer. It had been a really shitty night and it could have been so different … so different …