spookywolflee

[spookywolflee]

See now, this is where the Geography hits a little bit of a grey area. Although Jorvik is one country - it has borders restricting passage into certain areas. These areas are South Hoof, Epona, and here, The Valley. Typically, these areas are now quite deep in poverty and consist of the working-class and the ‘underclass’. The rest of the country is the ‘Mainland’. This is essentially the only part of the country the Royals care about, and the people within the Mainland are high middle-class and upper-class.

All these separate areas have their own laws and regulations, and “mini” Governments, but are all ultimately ruled by the Royals.. The borders were supposedly put into place after the war in ‘the interests and protection of the people’, which, to be honest, never made sense to me. If anything, it just segregated us, and saved them a tonne of money to line their own pockets. We were simply just not their problem anymore. If you want to pass through borders in the modern day - you need to apply for the rights to do so through the Royals. And, unsurprisingly, if you’re not from the mainland - you don’t tend to get approved.  

Since the war, strictly nobody is allowed access to The Valley except for higher up Government personnel and the Royal army. and similarly for us natives of The Valley - we are not allowed access - under any circumstance -  to the mainland or other areas. Why, you ask? We know the truth behind the war, and if that ever got out, it is very likely that it would cause tension and discourse, and the Royals would be prosecuted under international law for Genocide. So the rest of the country is taught religiously that this area is a dangerous, uninhabitable, arctic desert, with no sustainable life left. So, yes - They left us here to slowly die out so their secret remains hidden forever. 

[spookywolflee]

[spookywolflee]

-Amanda Drake’s POV- 

I’d followed Vivien obsessively for 2 weeks now. For a Police Officer, she didn’t seem to be very observant, because not once had she spotted me. Dumb pigs. During this time I got a solid idea of her boring routine. I quickly worked out her shift pattern, and where she got rotated to each week. I knew what time she started, and what time she finished. I knew where she ate, and what she liked to drink. I knew where she lived, I knew where she boarded that Irish thing of hers, and I even knew what time she went to bed. In fact, I didn’t just ‘know’. I was 100% sure. I had her life planned out to a T. 

It was a calm night. Everything seemed...still. It was like the consciousness of the world knew something was going to happen tonight, and it quickly waited with me. 

Chapel Alley, Governors Fall. The most famous Alley in Jorvik, and not in a good way. A lot of dodgy deals of all natures occurred in this alley. It had a weird feel to it. You could almost tell that it held secrets that nobody else knew about, and it was about to hold one more. I took a deep breath, but was quickly disgusted by the potent smell of urine. I was a criminal, but I wasn’t <i>this</i> type of criminal, who lived like a sewer rat, creeping around the city like a plague, doing dodgy deals in alleyways and pissing all over them afterwards. I stuck out here, a lot. 

But it didn’t matter. I wouldn’t be here long. I calmly lifted my watch towards my face. 21.25pm. Vivien was due to leave Jorvik City at 22.00pm. The next patrol didn’t arrive till around 21.55pm. Backup would take at least half an hour. She was alone. Perfect.

I keyed ‘999′ into my burner phone.

“Hello Jorvik Police Department, what’s your emergency?” A soothing voice answered. 

“H-Hello?! P...Please help me. I’m in Ch-Chapel Alley in Governors Fall, I-I was walking home when a v-van pulled over and cornered me...He t-tried to abduct me, b-but I m-managed to fight him off for now, but I t-think I’ve broken my ankle or something, because I...I can b-barely walk. H-he left his van here, so I th-ink he’s coming back. Please, send someone..” I cried hysterically into the phone. 

There was a slight pause, excitement and nerves shot through me. This was....exhilarating. Leading people who thought they were the smartest people in Jorvik straight into my perfect little trap.

“Okay ma’am, please stay where you are. If you can, stay on the line to me. I’ll send an officer over right now, okay? Help is on the way.” The soft voice finally replied reassuringly.  

“T-thank you so much...really....thank you..” I sniffled in a broken voice.

Then, I hung up.

[spookywolflee]

I didn’t even know how long it had been since Michael died. Every day the guilt consumed me a little more. But Jorvik didn’t stop for anybody, and there was still work to be done. I worked 15 hour shifts per day to try and take my mind off things. The team begged me to take time off. Yet, even when I eventually decided to call it a day, all I could do was lay in bed and stare at the ceiling.

However, today...today was different. The coroner informed me they’d released what was left of Michael’s body, and he would be getting laid to rest today.  

It was 5.43pm when I arrived at the funeral. If you could even call it that. Nobody bar me, a priest, and the guy who was burying Michael’s remains where there. I doubted Michael was religious, so the priest didn’t seem necessary. But in a way...it was nice.

“ And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.”

The priest finished. He gave me a solemn nod, and took his leave not long after that. The grave guy just awkwardly stared at me, waiting for me to go so he could finish work for the day. But I just sat there aboard Sunny, and I sat there until the sun was setting, just staring at the hollow, unmarked grave.

“I’m sorry, Michael.” I eventually mumbled, feeling tears spring to my eyes and the familiar feeling of guilt pull at my heart once again.

A breeze blew by in response.

I took a deep breath and propped my homemade cross made out of sticks in front of where he was going to be buried. With great difficulty, I’d scraped his first initial and surname into it. It wasn’t much, but it was more than anyone else had done.

With that, I clicked Sunny forwards and turned her left towards the exit of Doyle’s. The comforting warm light from the sunset shone on my face, and tears silently fell.

“I forgive you. Stop letting the guilt consume you”

I heard a gentle yet clear voice behind me.

“Hm?” I muttered, confused.

I halted Sunny and turned around in the saddle, thinking the grave guy was just some nutjob talking nonsense. But he was several yards away from me now, engrossed in burying Michael.

I gulped and my eyes scanned the Abbey. There was nobody else there. But I wasn’t scared. In Jorvik they say that spirits don’t leave this world if they have unfinished business.

I understood. 

[spookywolflee]

-PC Vivien Wolflee’s POV- 

The radio call had come in... 

7 minutes...it hadn’t even been 7 minutes since they’d left....and now, 2 officers seriously injured and Michael Drake was....dead. 

Dead.

I promised.

I promised them all I’d keep them safe. 

And I couldn’t even keep that promise.

I’d failed them.

I ran to the gates. 

The crash was just on Wine Road. The impact had started a fire almost instantly.

Several officers dashed past me. Silas....Alicia..Bird....Carolina... 

Where was Jamie?....Ethan? ... The rest of them?

My heart so badly wanted to help, but my legs wouldn’t move.

I was numb.

Everything moved in slow motion around me. 

And yet all I could do was watch in shock as my world turned to chaos around me.

[spookywolflee]

[spookywolflee]

-Michael Drake’s POV- 

For the first time in my life, I felt like I finally had someone on my side. Amanda was a hard woman to go up against, and not many did. But the Police had instilled a new hope inside of me. Even if they didn’t beat Amanda, they were willing to give it a go. The world suddenly didn’t seem so lonely anymore. 

I stepped out of the Police building, and took in a big deep breath of the clean countryside air. I felt free. I felt light. I felt....happy. There was still a long way to go, but this was just the start. 

Jes and Bella exited the Police building, midway through a conversation.

“....so yeah, Viv is really not happy with that Ethan dude.” Jes chattered.

“I don’t blame her, doesn’t he just up and leave like that all the time? No work ethic at all.” Bella replied, agitated.

Ethan...Why did I recognize that name from somewhere?  

I frowned but shook my head, it didn’t matter. I promised myself I wouldn’t dwell on past happenings. 

“Hey Michael!” Jes called. 

I met eyes with her.

“We’re ready when you are. Let’s go start your new life huh?” she affirmed excitedly.

I plodded over to the Police car and got in the back seat, accompanied by Bella. 

“I hope nobody recognizes me in this Police car..” I muttered, slightly nervous. 

“Nah, don’t worry. The Police base is just there, so there’s cars coming up and down this road all the time.” Bella reassured. I nodded and put my seat belt on, letting out a huge sigh and sitting back in the seat. 

We pulled away from the station, and off we headed to my new unknown home. Albeit a bit slow, but the drive down from the Police base was rather hilly, so Jes stayed in gear two and kept at about 25mph. 

I looked out of the window. Jorvik really was a beautiful place. It’s nature was unlike any other in the world. I was ashamed I’d helped exploit it...numerous times. 

As the corn fields and grape fields passed us by, something caught my eye. A woman, blonde hair, suit....was that?....No, it couldn’t have been.

I kept my eyes fixated on the little streak of blonde I could see amidst all the nature and green.

But that would be the last thing I would ever see. 

The car had come from nowhere. It had come at speed, but none of us had noticed it or heard it till the last second.

A tremendous force smashed into my side of the car.

Jes shrieked. 

Bella screamed.

The car flipped. 

Was that....fire? 

Pain...excruciating pain. 

My vision was the first to go. 

My ears were ringing so loud. 

My hearing went next.

I didn’t feel hot...nor cold.

But my skin was burning.

I felt nothing. 

All I could taste was iron.

It was then I knew my fate. 

Nothingness consumed me by the second.

I relaxed.

And at 11.58am on the 13th July 2019, my heart beat for the last time. 

[spookywolflee]

Amanda Drakes POV 

I always knew that Michael would come back to haunt me in one way or another one day, and here I was, wasting more time on that stupid worm of a man. I drummed my fingers on my desk, staring at my Macbook frustrated. 

I went easy on him. I allowed him to lead an quiet life as a dock worker. That way, he was at least earning a decent wage and an honest living for once in his life....sort of. He was usually in charge of ship inventory on the dock, and happened to ‘miss’ a few horses getting imported overseas a few times a day. But what more did he want? That was probably the nicest I’d ever been to someone.

I thought back to Ethan. I was relying on him, he’d better pull through. Or he’d be next. Ethan had infiltrated the Police force pretty easily. They were looking for a stable hand for the Police horses, the only skill needed was to be able to ride and know horse care basics. A job that was overlooked, but severely underestimated. I was 10 steps ahead of the whole Police force and that stupid blue haired bitch Vivien because of Ethan and his new ‘occupation’ and not one of them had a singe clue about it. 

In fact, Vivien was interviewing Michael right this minute. I fidgeted in my seat. This wasn’t like me. It was extremely rare things unnerved me like this, especially things to do with Michael. Why didn’t I just get rid of him when I had the chance? This is what happens when you’re soft on people. You worry. Unnecessarily worry about stupid trivial shit.

My phone beeped, and I must have been that in thought I flinched. Ethan. Finally, some news. 

We text back and forth a little. 

Ah. I see. These Police officers really are dumb-asses. And Michael...Oh Michael, you really are the shell of a man you once were. What happened? Did I break your spirit that badly? 

I never particularly wanted to harm him. I never loved him, per say, But I had a lot to thank him for. I wouldn’t be where I was if it wasn’t for him. Shame he was such a wimp and didn’t know how to dream big. 

But, now, I had no choice. He’d gave me no choice. I thought he knew better.

He’d talked. He’d sided with the enemy, He’d gone against me. The man that was supposed to love me and would walk the earth and back for me....and for that....the death penalty. 

Oh Michael, you should know by now,

Nobody goes against me and get’s away with it. 

[spookywolflee]

So today was the day I could finally get some answers from Michael Drake. He’d been in custody for 48 hours, but I’d needed time to rest and recover after mine and Sunny’s dramatic voyage to the other island. 

I took my time getting ready, the longer he was bored to death in that cell, the more likely he would give us the answers we wanted. I arrived at the HQ at about 10am, coffee in one hand, clipboard in the other.

“Morning hero!” The Police Chief greeted. 

“Morning” I greeted back, taking a sip of my latte. 

“Your friend is waiting for you in Interview Room 2. Keeps rambling on about immunity.” She informed me. 

“Mmmm.” I sighed. 

“He mentioned something about that when he first got arrested.” I replied dismissively. 

I was keen for answers now, so I wasted no time making my way to Interview Room 2. And there he was, sat miserably in one of the two chairs in the room, with nothing but a dim light lighting up his not so flattering features. 

I entered the room. 

“No solicitor?” I asked him curiously. 

“No. No point.” He replied bluntly. 

I shrugged, fair enough. 

“Listen Michael..” I started, throwing my empty coffee cup in the bin.

He looked up at me. 

“I  don’t want to make this difficult. I can help you, if you help me. This doesn’t have to be some “good cop bad cop” TV show type shit. Just...let me help you.” I pleaded, sitting down opposite him. 

He twiddled his thumbs and looked down. 

“I still want immunity.” Is all he answered back. 

I sighed once again. 

“Okay...okay. I’ll see what I can sort out. But you promise to tell the truth?” I asked, pushing a fresh cup of water over to his side of the table. 

He nodded silently. 

“Okay....So please just confirm your name for the statement?” I began. 

“Mr. Michael Allen Drake.” He said clearly. 

I scribbled it down. 

“Great....Before we officially begin, would you mind telling me why you were hell bent on running away?” I questioned. 

His eyes remained fixed on the table. 

“Honestly....I am terrified of Amanda Drake. I’ve always adored her, and I always will adore her. But that woman is next level evil. When we first got together, she had big ideas. But I thought it was really all just a dream, that we could pretend we were some Bonnie and Clyde type couple who traveled around Jorvik doing whatever they wanted. But it wasn’t just a dream to her, it was all very real. And her ideas got bigger, and darker, and crueler, and she just got more and more greedy. Nothing was ever enough for her. But I seen what she was capable of. The woman told me she loved me, but truthfully, she’s a sociopath. She doesn’t even know what emotion is.” He started. 

It was like word vomit for him, I could tell this was painful for him. He wanted to stop, but he couldn’t. Every bit of him wanted to stop, but I could almost see the relief coming off of his shoulders as he told me. I think he finally knew he was doing the right thing. 

“What do you mean when you say ‘I seen what she was capable of?’“ I asked him, looking up from my notes. 

“Well..” he shuffled uncomfortably. 

“She had various....torture methods. She even had...or probably still has her own torture chambers if she wanted someone to talk. She’s never to my knowledge killed somebody, but then again I wouldn’t be surprised if she has. Animals were never an issue, she’d end their lives without a second thought. If somebody accidentally hacked onto her lands, she’d shoot their horse dead, and then shoot them in the leg and watch them try and slowly crawl away.” 

I felt anger rise inside of me, who does she think she is? It’s no one wonder we had nothing on her, nobody was brave enough to stand up to this woman, and to be honest, now I understood why Michael Drake ran. And I felt sorry for him. 

“Do you know about her plans with these horses that went missing? We know she tried to keep it subtle by blaming the hurricane, but we’re not stupid.” I explained. 

“Well...bits. Remember that we are divorced, and although she’s constantly got eyes on me, I’m not in the loop anymore. But this whole operation has been in talks for years, and it finally looks like she’s put it into motion.” He told me. I detected fear in his voice, what did she have planned? 

“So, she has international shareholders, and many rich clients overseas. Jorvik is a special place, everyone knows that. That’s why so many people try to exploit it. The native horses to this land are...special. For whatever reason, they’re better than the average horse, no matter how well bred another horse may be, Jorvik bred horses blow them out of the water. They can jump higher, run faster, they’re way more intelligent, less injury prone....and that’s just a few examples. So on the market, they are worth millions. But it is illegal, as you know, to take native horses from Jorvik and sell them overseas. That obviously has not stopped Amanda. Their coats as well, are worth a lot. More than ivory, and more sought after than Tigers....Jaguar’s...Leopards....So truthfully, the horses here are in a lot of danger. Many of the wrong people are after them.” He admitted. 

I couldn’t believe it. How had the bank not noticed all this money? The docks not suspected something fishy? Unless she had all of them keeping quiet for her too? Was this bigger than I ever originally thought?

“How has she hid that amount of money if each horse is worth millions, though?” I asked him. Then it hit me, money laundering. I knew that stupid water business she set up had been for something. I was stupid to ever think she had an actual interest in setting up a mineral water company. 

He almost read my expression. “Yeah...she conceals it through her various small businesses. So the banks don’t suspect a thing.” He confirmed. 

I suddenly felt lost. This was....massive. How did we stop this? I brought my hand to my mouth and just stared at the table for a minute. Michael Drake remained silent. 

“Thank you. This must have been....hard to tell me all of this.” I mumbled quietly. 

“Will you be able to protect me from her?” He asked, meeting my eyes. 

“I....I don’t know. I don’t want to lie to you. But I’ll try my best.” I promised. 

“If you promise to remain co-operative with us, I’ve no reason to keep you arrested. You’re free to go. I’m dropping the other charges against you. Try to act normal, always stay in a public place. Any communicating you need to do, do on a public phone. If she tries to get in touch...You ignore her. You hear me?” I instructed. 

“She will already know I’m here. She’s already got me tracked down. I know her too well. It’s no use.” He responded fearfully. 

“Well, if she finds you, you play stupid about everything. You haven’t told us shit. Do you want to go into protective custody?” I asked him. 

He shook his head. 

“No. We need to act as normal as possible. I’ll try my best to manage on my own, but please...if I call, it means I’m in trouble, and I need you to help me straight away.” He insisted. 

I nodded my head.

“Gotcha. Thank you again. You’ve been extremely helpful.” I thanked, finishing up the interview. I quickly scribbled my number down on a piece of paper and slid it over to him. 

“In case you need me in an emergency.” Is all I said, gathering my things and leaving the room. 

Shit. 

[spookywolflee]

(For a show in the future, just getting my entries ready now)

Vivien Wolflee with Southside Starboy.

So it’s my big giant’s first show. A simple two-day purebreed show at Jorvik Stables. I’ve wanted to get back on the show circuit, but to be honest, I wasn’t really in the mood for riding, or committing myself to a full 3-day-event. Plus, Sunny is still out of work and enduring daily physio. So eventing wasn’t really an option anyway.

Lunar has been coming on in leaps and bounds, and I thought finally introducing him to a busy show environment would give him a head start in the next steps of his career. We’ve started to develop a bond, if you call it that, and I trust him enough to behave. Not like he ever puts a foot out of line anyway.

So, off we went. The show was packed as predicted. He was slightly alert, but kept his head. The first day assessed conformation. Conformation is basically ‘correctness’ (bone structure, muscle, body proportion). Our slot was 1.10pm, so I was there prompt. Once the previous competitor had left the arena, I began slowly walking in, slightly tugging the lead rope. Lunar followed me with no quarrel.

“Hello there.” The vet greeted me.

“Hi!” I greeted back.

“So you must be Vivien Wolflee, and this is...Southside Starboy, correct?” She asked, looking up from her piece of paper.

I nodded.

“Yep”.

“Brilliant. Well, if it’s okay with you we will begin. Don’t mind us!” She chirped.

I knew it would be thorough, but this was...thorough. They started with his head, checked the usual eyes, mouth, teeth, ears. Then they moved down his body and examined his legs, bone structure, muscle, and looked at his body proportion from every angle you could think of, and how he held himself. They had me walk forwards, turn him a circle, walk him backwards a few steps and so on. The usual.

He stood like a diamond for most of it, but towards the end I think he was generally just fed up. He didn’t do anything malicious, but just couldn’t keep still in the end, so I had to  divert his attention with a carrot. Probably frowned upon, but he was only 4. Eventually it seemed as though they had finished, and both of them discussed a few yards away, scribbling god knows what on their clipboard.

“Thanks a lot Vivien, you’ll get your information sheet later on. He stood well for a 4 year old, and considering he’s 18hh, he’s put together quite well. Especially so young. Is this his first show? I’ve not seen anything on his record.” She asked inquisitively.

“Yeah, it is. Thought I’d ease him in gently, ya know?” I replied with a smile.

“Of course! Well anyway, don’t panic. We’ve had much worse. You both did fine.” She reassured me.

I didn’t mind how we did anyway, I was just glad for the experience and knowledge I would gain from it.

“Good lad.” I whispered, giving him a pat as I walked him towards the exit of the paddock, allowing the next competitor to come in.

[spookywolflee]

Lunar training 

[spookywolflee]

We’d got about 75% of the way across to the other island, but I could feel Sunny getting exhausted beneath me. No matter how fit a horse, this would be physically challenging to any. Horses were not designed to swim, not to mention her having me on her back and her tack. Any less of a horse wouldn’t have lasted this long, or wouldn’t have threw itself into the ocean on it’s owners commands in the first place. 

I dismounted Sunny and felt the chill of the ocean immediately engulf me. Honestly, I was petrified. It was pitch black, my horse was nearly drowning from exhaustion, and I didn’t know how I was going to get across myself without almost definitely getting hypothermia. I closed my eyes for a second, if we didn’t get across this passage we were going to die. That was my motivation. I ripped my Police vest off and let it float away with the ocean, it was way too heavy for me to stay afloat. I pulled Sunny’s reins over her head and began a front crawl to the shore. my bones ached and my body was tired, Sunny was frantically splashing at this point, doing anything to stay afloat. I heard her labored, panicked breathing. 

“Come on, girl. We’re nearly there.” I called out to her. 

Michael had just reached the shore. I watched as he took a glance behind him, ditched the boat, and ran.

A wave of water came and went right up my nose, making me choke slightly. I felt the water get stuck in my throat, and I violently spluttered in an effort to bring the water back out.  

I was only a few yards away now, but this swim had drained every last bit of my energy. I was freezing, my clothes were weighing me down, my horse was slowly drowning behind me...

“Viv!!! You can do it!” I heard a faint scream from behind me. 

Alicia? 

“Viv don’t give up now! Go and get that motherf*cker! A boat is on the way!” 

Silas? 

“More back up is on the way! You can do this...Forget the job, forget the case. You get on that shore for you and Sunny, for your own life!” 

Jamie? 

They’d come. They’d finally come. That was all I needed. I gritted my teeth, and hauled Sunny’s reins over my shoulder again.

“Come on, we’re a few yards away.” I whispered to her, continuing to swim. Each inch we covered felt like a million miles, but eventually, I felt Sunny stop struggling as she finally got her feet on the start of the shore. I swam slightly further and felt solid sand touch my boot. We’d done it. We’d crossed the fucking ocean onto another island and we survived. 

I led Sunny out of the water, but once I knew she was okay I dropped the reins and gave chase to Michael. I felt like I was going to drop, but I hadn’t just literally gone through hell for all of this to be for nothing. 

“Drake....stop running. You’re not getting away now.��� I shouted, panting. 

Nothing. 

I looked up the hill that led to the pirate’s cave where he was inevitably headed to escape, but he wasn’t there. He wasn’t that far in front of me, there’s no way he’d gotten that far up the hill, and I hadn’t seen anybody pick him up, or any other boats docked. He was a big guy, too. 

I went through my head where he could have gone, was he hiding? 

Then I heard someone bolt from behind me, it was Michael. He had been hiding. He was heading back towards the boat. 

“Oh no you don’t.” I murmured to myself. 

I pulled my gun out of the holster and held it at eye level, pointing it at Michael. 

“Don’t you dare get back on that boat, or I will shoot.” I threatened. 

He stopped dead in his tracks and raised his hands. 

“You can’t arrest me, I’ve done nothing wrong.” He shot with a scowl. 

“No. You -hadn’t- done anything wrong at first, but now? Well now, you’ve withheld information from a Police officer, failed to stop when asked, hindered a Police investigation, and if you wanna stretch it you could even be done for manslaughter had I have died in that ocean, so don’t pull that card.” I shot back, still holding my gun firmly in place but with a shaky hand. 

“What have you got to hide that it’s had to go this far, Michael? Are you still working for her? Or have you done something even worse? Innocent people don’t run.” I asked, slowly walking towards him. 

“No comment.” He answered blankly. 

I rolled my eyes. 

“That’s a guilty party’s favorite words.” I mumbled to myself. 

Red and blue lights suddenly caught my attention and a loud siren interrupted us.  

I raised my eyebrows and a smile came to my lips. We had him now. 

“Unlucky.” I mouthed as I watched Michael Drake’s face drop. 

Within minutes, a Police boat had docked the island. Officers flooded Michael and got him in handcuffs, vets surrounded Sunny, and paramedics were examining me. The whole thing was a blur, and even though I was exhausted and felt like I could sleep for a year, a wave of relief washed over me knowing my determination hadn’t been for nothing, and that me and Sunny were still alive. We were finally going to get answers.

I walked towards Sunny and passed Michael. 

“I’ll see you in a few days...and we’ll finally get to talk.” I snarled, walking away from him. 

“I want immunity if I talk.” Michael called to me. 

Sigh. 

“We’ll talk about that when I next see you.” I replied bluntly, climbing into the boat. I stared at the water that the boat was peacefully floating on top of. It was hard to believe I had just nearly died in this same water. 

I looked out at the horizon, and out of the corner of my eye I seen three figures also climbing into a boat and leaving the pirate’s island. They were undoubtedly the people Michael had summoned to help him escape. Too slow boys. 

“Shall we give chase boss and bring them in?” Jes asked me, squinting at the other boat. 

I shook my head. 

“No, it’s okay. I’m sure we’ll encounter them some day. Today was a big win, let’s leave it at that.” I responded with a smile.

[spookywolflee]

I was silent as we walked, Oran treading carefully on the beaten path prepared for us. We had been walking for hours. Clearly he must have galloped through here, or maybe he’s constantly been walking this whole time? We kept on the trail, blood here and there as well as pieces of torn rope, and broken branches. I sighed heavily, patting the grey’s neck. He was only just starting to pick up a sweat, he really was a good horse...”You’ll like Nox. He’s a bit like you” I sighed to the horse, who only just flicked his ears at me, nodding his head before proceeding to walk on. It was beautiful, the birds were chirping, the sun shining down upon us, rays shining through the tree tops, the sound of Oran walking, strong and firm, his gentle breathing.

And then suddenly, there was a loud, echoing neigh, catching both Oran and I off guard. Tightening the reins as we suddenly jolted. Another one, louder this time, longer, full of pain, it sounded so tired.

I recognized it - Nox.

Without thought, I kicked Oran. The powerful creature bursting forward into a gallop. Birds flew out of our path, surprised by our thundering presence. I began to yell, calling for him, which in return I got a few neighs and nickers. He could hear me, for sure he could. Off in the distance, I saw him. He was led down, tangled in a mess, bloody wounds open and still bleeding.

“Nox!” I yelled, causing the horse to whinny loudly.

Slowing Oran to a canter, before a steady walk, I jumped out of the saddle, taking hold of the reins. Despite wanting to run to him, who knew how badly he was tangled. I didn’t want him to get hurt further. I calmly set Oran to one side. Luckily he was well trained enough to know to stand where he was left unless there was an emergency. Leaving his side, I gently shushed the panicked horse, the whites of his eyes clear to me, still trying to escape from what trapped him, but as I got closer, he seemed to get calmer, slowly, he got quiet, simply letting out a tired, deep sigh. His eyes closed and I reached out my hand to him. Finally, I’ve found you.

[spookywolflee]

Alicia had demonstrated some brilliant Policing and had tracked down Michael Drake within 20 minutes. She’d asked Captain Brus about him, who we were luckily well acquainted with. The good thing was, Michael wasn’t very hard to find. The bad thing was; they were due to leave the dock on a cargo ship at 10.00pm, and would be out at sea for anywhere between 3 to 6 weeks. Alicia kept him monitored from afar, and was hiding in some undergrowth, just so a Police presence didn’t spook him. I’d ordered her not too approach him without backup. Although I’d hacked all the way to Firgrove from Golden Hills, I didn’t have time to hack back. So I had Felicity drive both me and Sunny back. The quickest route would take bordering on 2 hours taking the shortest route and not following the speed limit. It was 7.49pm now. Time was of the essence. I was fidgeting in my seat although I knew that there was nothing I could do about it right now.

Time slowly passed, and during the trip I speed dialled the Police Chief and she answered after one ring.

“Hey Viv!” She answered.

“Hey...Sorry, can’t talk long. We’ve located Amanda Drake’s husband. Alicia has him visually tracked as we speak, but she’s not on horseback and she’s in Police gear. I’m not sending her to speak to him on her own, it’s too risky, and I fear if he sees Police Uniform he will think the worst and bolt. We can’t exactly arrest him, he’s done nothing wrong.” I informed the Police Chief.

“Mmmmm” She pondered.

“Are you going there?” She asked me, sounding slightly preoccupied.

“Yes, I’m on the way there undercover now. I was in Firgrove which is how I got the tip off. I’m not far from Golden Hills now.” I told her.

“You are to go to the dock in Police gear.” She ordered suddenly.

“What?” I asked incredulously.

For one, I didn’t have time to get into all my Police gear. Every second counted here, and for two, I was almost certain he was going to run away or hide if he seen Police snooping around the dock, and his fellow dock workers would help him, too.

“I’m not letting you go with no Police gear on, Viv. The dock workers down there are the shadiest type, they could be armed with anything. Even without your uniform on they will know you’re a Police Officer. Nobody with horses bar mounted Police venture down there. And the dock workers....They’re not exactly...fond of the Police, most of them are ex-offenders, or are probably still offending low key. We’ve had incidents down there before. You go in Police gear, or not at all.” She instructed.

I pursed my lips and sighed. She was my superior, I couldn’t argue with her.

“Fine.” I responded, putting the phone down. I knew I’d regret that.

“Felicity, I’d never encourage anyone to break the speed limit but right now I need you to put your foot down and get us to Golden Leaf stables as quick as you can...It’s an emergency.” I told her, feeling quite flustered now. The time was now 8.56pm. We were still about 30 minutes away from Golden Hills and I still needed to get changed. I still didn’t understand why the Police Chief seemed to want to sabotage the investigation like that, if we missed Michael Drake tonight then we had nothing for another 6 weeks potentially, and a lot can happen in 6 weeks. People deserved their horses back, and frankly I didn’t want Amanda Drake walking free for a day longer.

After what felt like forever, Cape West and the stables were finally in sight. But then Alicia radioed in. “Viv! I’ve been chased out of the dock. One of them had a knife, and another a gun. I’m so sorry, I don’t know how they found me, I suspect Captain Brus blew us up.” She updated me.

I felt myself tense up, how dare they run at Alicia like that. I gritted my teeth and felt myself started to sweat.

“Don’t apologize, you did the right thing leaving. Let me handle it. That ship is not leaving the dock with Michael Drake on it no matter what. If I have to arrest Captain Brus and all his stupid brain dead cronies I will.” I reassured her. I was furious, why had Brus done that to us? I was starting to understand now the Police Chief asking me to wear uniform. You really couldn’t trust nobody.

Before Felicity could even stop I jumped out of her Range Rover and ran to my cabin. I quickly took off my jumper and pulled my bulletproof Police vest over my head. I put my hat back on and swapped my boots. Then I walked over to the padlocked drawer where my gun was. I hated carrying this thing around, and I’d hate it even more if I had to use it. I hesitated picking it up.

“Get a grip, Viv. They’re armed.” I mumbled to myself, picking it up and making sure the safety was on. I tucked it into my holster and left the cabin. Felicity already had Sunny ready for me whilst I got changed.  

I bounced over and grabbed Sunny’s reins and put my foot in the stirrup and swung onto her back.

“Thanks so much Felicity. I owe you one, big time. If you ever need anything at all, let me know.” I said to her with a smile. But I had no time now. I clicked and pushed Sunny into a gallop out of the stables, and onto the the bridge leading to the dock. I’d galloped past Alicia and Speck, but I didn’t have time to stop. I was glad to see she looked unharmed, anyway.

Captain Brus came into my view, and my brow furrowed in anger. My hands tightened around my reins. Bastard. I urged Sunny on even more, she gave me a disproving snort, but obeyed nevertheless. As I approached him, I squeezed my knees into my saddle and pulled Sunny up.

“What’s your game captain? Huh? Getting a young female Police Officer chased out of the dock by a group of violent armed men? You’re tough!” I spat with a glare.

He took a long, cocky pull of his pipe and blinked at me slowly.

“I did want to help you. But, I’ll always have my men’s backs. I can’t make enemies of these people, they’d slit my throat in my sleep, and I’m trapped on a ship with them for most of the year. Michael Drake just wants an easy life. I think he deserves that.” Is all he said back. I rolled my eyes.

“And he can have an easy life. He’s not under arrest, but if keeps running away from Police then he will be.” I threatened.

“So where is he?” I asked, struggling to keep Sunny still.

He gave me a shrug back, and took another pull of his pipe. It smelt disgusting. I hated smoke.

“You know, people like you are the fucking worst. I expected more from you.” I cursed, quickly spinning Sunny around on the spot and kicking her into a canter again. I tended to unintentionally ride a bit harsher when I was involved in a chase, and my current anger didn’t help.

As I made my way through the dock, dock workers shouted profanities at me, and were throwing all sorts of strange foreign objects at me. One even threw a dead fish at me. Nice. I was starting to struggle to bite my tongue. Animals.

Where was he? I could not let this man slip through my grasp like his ex-wife.

“Viv? Over” Alicia radioed in.

“You okay?” I asked, my eyes scanning everyone and everything around me. I held the radio in one hand and my reins in the other. I slowed Sunny to a trot.  

“I’ve just got back to the stables, and I’ve just caught eye of a boat heading over to the Pirate’s island. I think Michael Drake is in the boat. Captain Brus has led us on a wild goose chase, he was never getting on that ship, he was fleeing from us the whole time. The ship thing was a distraction so he could get away.” She gulped, putting the pieces together.

“I’ll be there in 2 minutes, keep eyes on him Alicia.” I commanded. I put my radio back on my vest and grabbed both my reins. My blood was boiling right now, we’d been played big time.

“One last time for me girl.” I whispered to Sunny, encouraging her into a very flighty gallop back down the bridge. I steered her to the left once we’d reached the end and arrived onto the beach. It was dark now, but the ocean was peaceful. The waves overlapping every few seconds was one of the only sounds, along with Gulls calling to each other looking for their dinner. Sunny’s hooves thundered on the soft sand, and I weaved her around various bricks and rocks that had been washed up on the shore.

Then I spotted the boat.

“Michael Drake!!” I screeched, not slowing down and matching his speed on shore, But I feared I was too late. He was already halfway across to the other island, and there was nowhere I could get a boat from right now.

“Michael, you’re not in trouble! We just....need to speak to you about your wife. But if you continue to run away from us then I have no choice but to arrest you for hindering a Police investigation!” I shouted to him from the shore, panting quite heavily now.

“Amanda Drake has ruined my life enough. Leave me alone!” He shrieked from the boat, not even turning around. Great.

What was I going to do? I let out a deflated sigh. I’d called for backup but they were all coming from the other side of the country. I pulled Sunny up and watched helplessly as he drifted further and further away.  

I looked down at the dark tranquil water in front of me. The shores around here were the worst, Sharks were a common sight and there were other unsavory creatures that lurked in it’s depths. But I had no choice. Before even thinking it through properly, I nudged Sunny towards the water. It went from shallow to deep within one step. Sunny threw her ears back and snorted at me, seemingly unsure of what I was asking her to do. I turned her a tight circle and gave her a kick. She threw a buck and reared up.

“I don’t have time for this now!” I snapped, and with that, she launched herself into the water after the boat. What a saint of a horse. “Good girl Sunny! Good girl!” I praised her. Almost immediately it got too deep for her to stand and she started swimming. The water was freezing. We were literally swimming in the ocean, I looked to my left and saw nothing but endless water. If a current came or the weather turned, we were done for. It was so cold it took my breath away. But I had to get to that island. If I got onto that island before he could call someone to help him escape, then I had him and he was trapped. But it seemed a lot further away when you were swimming towards it aboard your horse, freezing to death, than when you were walking along the coast on a warm summers night. Come on Sunny, don’t give up on me.

[spookywolflee]

Despite it being my days off, I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t take waiting on others for information they had scrapped up for Nox. I returned to HQ and tacked up Oran, not all of our official gear, I wasn’t working. This was just extra. A few of the officers offered to come with me, but honestly, I was just in a sour mood and denied their help...I needed some time alone, to search where I thought was best. If Nox was out there, he wasn’t a stupid horse. He wouldn’t go somewhere that would hurt him. He must have found somewhere safe. The days had been a drag, no one hard hardly seen anything, too focused on the hurricane, understandably. I returned to the site, a few officers still there to help pick up the remaining scrap and such. Everything was still where it was left. Due to the hurricane we were unable to clean up much until now. They knew what I was doing and left me as be. Maybe it was my expression, or maybe it was how serious I seemed. Nobody spoke to me. Nobody had anything to say. Oran stood by me, relaxed as he waited for me as I looked around. Everything was the same, no clues...I was about to give up and head out and look at random places, try to find anything, until I looked up and saw something strange. Rope tangled in hedges and branches, torn and swaying in the wind. Walking up the hill, still holding onto Oran’s reins, I gently took hold of the end of the rope, watching it closely. I recognized it, suddenly it hit me -- this was the rope that was attached to Noxs’ headcollar, in the trailer, only his head collar was left. But the rope...Gone. This was part of it. He must have got himself tangled in the crash, Suddenly, there was more hope. Actual evidence rather than him just not being one of the bodies in the accident. I took a photo on my phone, turning to Oran and pulling myself up onto his back, and walking through the small hole in the hedge that had been made. Oran nodding his head and breaking into a short and quick trot as he got past the opening. Patting his neck to calm him, we walked. It was then I noticed the cold liquid on my hand...Blood. 

It was deep red, it looked fresh but it was cold, looking around I noticed there was dried blood in places. I must have brushed past a rather large spot of blood and broken through the dried crust on the top maybe...? I raised my fingers, staring at the blood, watching it for a moment. Worry was filling my chest as I stared at it, holding onto the reins in my one hand tighter, swallowing thickly as I looked onto the beaten path from something large that had clearly struggled. Nox had to have been here...

[spookywolflee]

I quickly found out who the arresting officer who was now retired of Michael Drake, and locating him was pretty easy too. Joey Arnold. He was involved in a lot of community and charity work around Firgrove since he stopped working for the force, so he was in the Jorvik Gazette a lot for his good deeds. I got my lovely Sunny ready and off we headed too Firgrove. It would have been a lot easier for me to drive, but honestly, I needed time to go through everything we already knew, and just think about it somewhere that wasn’t cooped up in the office. Besides, it had been a while since me and Sunny had been on a long lazy hack and not on patrol and in uniform.

It was a nice day, not too hot, but not cold enough to need a jacket. A jumper was enough. The roads and pathways were quiet, I saw about 4 riders max. I soon found myself in front of the towering wooden pike wall that protected Firgrove from the horrors of the mountains. It always made me uneasy riding alone around here, wolves and bears didn’t seem to have any fear of humans or horses. A ranger lazily left his post above me and pushed the button which opened the entrance. I waved a thanks and urged Sunny to walk on into the village.

I quickly found the stables and approached Felicity whom I knew pretty well from when I’d rented a stable for a few days whenever I had competitions.

“Hey Felicity” I greeted, pulling Sunny to a halt.

“Hey you! Day off?” She grinned, walking over and giving Sunny’s neck a pat.

“A day off? What’s that?” I giggled, loosening my rein.

“What brings you all the way down here then? Someone been naughty and in hiding in the mysterious Firgrove? You’d never find them in these parts!” She joked.

“No actually, but can you point me in the direction of where Joey Arnold lives? Retired Detective Sergeant?” I asked.

She shrugged.

“Sure could, but he’s actually in the stables. He’s just getting ready for a ride.” She told me.

That made things easier.

I dismounted Sunny and tied her up, and entered the stables. Joey Arnold wasn’t hard to spot, a big 6ft4in man who was carrying about 15 stone minimum, attending to a big bay Shire horse who was tied up, falling asleep whilst getting groomed.

“Joey Arnold?” I asked as I approached.

“That’s me!” He confirmed with a jolly tone, turning to face me.

“Hi, I’m Vivien Wolflee, and I work for Jorvik Police Department..I’m really sorry to bother you, but we’re working on a case involving Amanda Drake and wondered if you could help us with something” I asked with a hint of desperation in my voice.

He groaned slightly

“That woman never gives up.” He muttered.

“What can I help you with?” he asked, placing his grooming brushes back into his box.

“Basically, we’re investigating a large volume of missing horses, and we’re more than certain that she has something to do with it. However, we have no clue where she is. There’s barely anything on either of them on the database, and no address. The only lead we currently have is that she is divorced, and her husband was Michael Drake...we were hoping to find him to question him. See if we can get some sort of insight into what she could be up to. You actually arrested Michael a few times. Do you know where he lived? Or what area? anything?” I pleaded. I needed something here.

He took in what I told him, then slowly nodded.  

“I may be able to help you. Ride with me, you never know who’s listening.” He told me, his tone a lot more serious now.

We rode South West to Applegrove, and small talk was made about our lives, our jobs, horses, the usual. Finally, we found somewhere where it was just us.

“Michael Drake...He was never really troublesome, to be honest, and I think all the crimes he got charged for were never his idea. He was always protecting Amanda, covering for her, taking the blame...He was, and probably still is absolutely besotted with Amanda Drake. it was plain to see she wrung him dry of everything he had, she never loved him. But I guess love is blind huh.” He began. We continued walking. Interesting.

“To be honest, we never had a fixed address. We tried so hard to get a warrant to look into both of them and find their address for a search...but they were always annoyingly armed with very high profile solicitors. We couldn’t even scratch the surface.”  

My heart sank.

“No address?” I asked, not really wanting the answer confirmed.

He shook his head.

“Nope. No address. He was always caught in the act, which made us think he sort of wanted to get caught to take our attention away from something else that Amanda was doing. I guess it worked, we only managed to arrest her once, but had to let her go due to lack of evidence.”

“Do you have anything that could help us?” I asked him desperately.

“There was always one thing that stuck out. He reeked, and I mean...reeked...of fish. All the time.” he stated, scrunching his nose as if remembering the smell.

Fish? What a strange thing to smell of.

“Fish.....” I said aloud, as if it would help me come up with something.

The only time people really smelt like fish was if they worked in a fishmongers...or on the docks.

The docks.

It made sense for him to be there, that was more than likely how he first came into contact with Amanda. She was forever importing and exporting god knows what overseas. But what dock?

As if reading my mind, Joey chimed in.

“I think Golden Hills dock would be your best bet. That’s the busiest one, the others have died down over the years and aren’t really used anymore. He would go unnoticed there, and somebody like him has a lot of enemies. He’s trying to be invisible on purpose”.

I nodded, my heart started racing. I lived in Golden Hills at the minute, but it would take me at least 3 hours to get home. But Alicia did too. I pulled my radio from my back pocket.

“Alicia? Over” I radioed in.

“Hey Viv, what’s up? Over”. She radioed back quickly.

“I need you to get to Golden Hills Dock, and quickly. I need you to try and find a Michael Drake. 44. 6ft3in, 17 stone. You can’t miss him. Captain Brus has hopefully at least heard of him. Speak to him, over. ” I quickly directed.

“On it, Boss. Over.” She replied.

[spookywolflee]

Which one did you all buy? I bought the Birch Tree one for now...but will most definitely cave and get the Cherry Blossom one too!