Marshall lay helpless on the floor of the cell, head curled into his forelegs. He hadn’t had anything to do but pity himself. The conversation with the rabbit left him with more questions than answers. Why didn’t they call his parents? The more he thought about what happened, the more he began to realize that his detainment was not a mistake. It was intentional. Just because he had associated himself with Orion and Laci, they saw him as a threat.

  He rose to get a glass of water, but before he could turn on the faucet, he was interrupted by the sound of hooves galloping toward him through the hall. A massive crash erupted from the door, a sizable dent appearing in the thought-to-be indestructible metal. Marshall panicked and ducked back into the corner, and the smashing sounds continued to rain against the door. With a terrible screech of shearing steel, the door was forced open and slammed backward into the wall on its hinges. The hall was dimly lit, starlight glittering through the narrow windows. Laci stood in the doorway, bloodstained and sides heaving.

  “Laci! Are you okay? What happened to you?” Right away, his eyes were drawn to the raised burns on her neck. There wasn’t a place on her body free from wounds. From the fresh scratch on her face to the festering scar reaching across her shoulder, her body told of the suffering she was forced to endure. She didn’t say a word, but let out a long breath and tucked her neck against his. He felt blood dribble down his shoulder where her head was resting, warm and wet.

  Behind her, the grey pony trotted up, coughing from exertion. His feet clattered loudly on the concrete floors. She was alerted right away, and shifted her body in front of Marshall protectively. Her ears were stiffly back, and she raised her head in fear.

  “Steady there. What’s going on, Laci?” The pony looked at Marshall. “Did you come all this way for him?”

  “Come on, Laci, let’s get out of here,” Marshall said, nudging her forward. She wouldn’t budge.

  “Wait! I want to help you,” the pony said.

  “We don’t need any more ‘help’ from Services. Laci, let’s go,” Marshall prodded.

  “No, you don’t understand. I saw what they did to her,” he said, pointing to her burns and gashes. “Let me help you. Wherever you’re going, I doubt you’ll be able to fix that. I can give you some supplies, at the very least.”

  “Why do you want to help us? Aren’t you a Services worker?” Marshall was suspicious, but the pony seemed genuine.

  “Just because I work for Services doesn’t mean I like everything they do, Marshall. I’m a doctor. I’m only here to help horses and get a paycheck,” the pony explained. “I’ll give you this, but you can’t tell anyone we spoke.” He held out a bag of bandaging materials and bute.

  Behind him, a slender grey mare turned the corner. She was wearing a white coat and had a sort of pomp to her walk that Marshall recognized from the most well-to-do mares at Rosewood. On either side of her were uniformed federal officers. Slowly, the pony turned to look at her, and he trembled with fear.

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  “I always knew I’d catch you, Gregory. It was just a matter of when,” she said, reaching for the tranquilizer in her pocket. The officers started to advance.

  “Doctor Wilhelm! I know this looks terrible. I’m managing the situation unconventionally,” the pony tried to say.

  Wilhelm seemed unamused. “A job like this isn’t meant for your kind, pony. Since your first day here, you’ve been-out of place,” she drawled. Marshall was appalled. Who spoke that way about ponies anymore?

  Laci exploded out from behind and grabbed the grey mare by the poll with her teeth. She screamed in pain and shock, but Laci didn’t even flinch. One of the officers grabbed onto her mane and tried to pull her off, but she struck him back with a hind leg, leaving behind a nasty cut and bruise. At first, Marshall was relieved that Laci was winning. But as she continued to beat the horses relentlessly, he grew concerned.

  “Alright, Laci, let’s go,” he said, trying to push her off of the grey mare.

  She howled at him wildly and danced backward in a panic, head held high and soaked red. She tried to dive back into the mess she’d made, struggling against his grip. He hardly knew who she was, out of control like this. Terrified, he pulled hard on her mane, trying to rip her away from the massacre.

  “Easy, Laci. You’re alright. Let them be. Let’s walk,” Doctor Greg said. He was calm and steady, and Laci responded right away. Marshall could tell this wasn’t his first time dealing with such a combative horse. If he was nervous, he didn’t show it.

  “I know a back door we can take out of here. Come this way,” Greg advised.

  Laci followed right behind Greg, but Marshall had to look back at the unmoving figures on the ground before he could leave. His heart sank when he saw her handiwork. She had torn them limb from limb. They would likely survive, he thought-they were all still breathing-but it was obvious she had done permanent damage. Doctor Greg beckoned him onward into the moonlit grass.

  “Come on, we’re going to get caught. We’d better get out of the city,” he said.

  Marshall could scarcely remember the escape. They didn’t move fast-Laci was injured and Greg was no racehorse-but the fear of being discovered racked his whole body. They made it to the outskirts undiscovered, and paused to catch their breath. Laci wandered over to the river, looking into it quizzically like a problem-solving crow. Greg walked over to see what she was looking at.

  “There’s something in the river,” he said, squinting at it.

  Marshall came closer and saw a red form rippling through the water. He leaned closer, but got splashed in the face as a horse emerged. It was Miracle, now soaking wet and shaking with cold.

  “I thought you were Services workers! I didn’t think there’d be three of you,” she said, relieved. She smiled brightly as she looked at Greg. “And who is this little guy? Is he a biter?”

  Marshall cringed. “Uh, no, not exactly-”

  “No, I don’t bite. I’m a Services doctor. Or I was,” Greg explained. Luckily, he didn’t appear too offended.

  “Oh! I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t mean anything by it,” she said. “I thought you were a lot younger-that is-”

  “It’s okay,” Greg interrupted. “I get that a lot.”

  “We should go to camp and get everyone caught up,” Marshall suggested. “Plus, Laci needs rest-or something.”

  She made a purring sound like a machine and her ears flickered. She looked quite unwell, covered head to toe in blood and eye whites popping out like a maniac. Marshall wasn’t sure what she needed to stop acting like that, but he hoped she would wake up normal in the morning.