Chapter 1

When Zack awoke, he found himself in his own bed. He got out of bed, his head pounding, and searched the house for his mother. When he found the house was empty, he made his way back to his bedroom and fell asleep.

The second time he awoke, it was to the sound of an incoming text message from Tim.

“where u ?” it read.

“skipped” he replied.

“screw u dude. ur gfs ticked I think she knos wat happened”

“w/e” Zack texted back.

After sending his last text, Zack made his way to the kitchen where he cooked himself a bowl of soup. He plopped down on the couch with his soup and began to channel surf. After a few minutes of that, he found a movie that slightly interested him. Before he knew it, 2:30 had come, and there was a knock at his door. It was Katelynn.

“Hey, Katie Baby,” Zack said, greeting her with a kiss which was followed by a slap.

“Don’t ‘Hey Katie Baby’ me, Zack!” she shrieked.

“What’s your problem?” he asked, rubbing his face.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I’m not as stupid as you may like me to be.”

“I never said you were stupid.” Another slap.

“What is your problem!?” Zack yelled.

“You!” she replied. “Obviously I’m not good enough for you if you have to cheat on me with some drunk slut.” Zack didn’t say anything. He didn’t know how she found out. But then again, women always find those things out. He knew it wasn’t worth arguing and lying about. What did he care anyways? She was just a girl. There were plenty of other that he could get whenever he wanted one. He shrugged. Katelynn thrusted something into his hand, then turned and walked away without a word.

Zack opened his hand and found the crystal necklace he had given her on their one year anniversary. He had simply found it in his pants pocket one day, unsure of how it got there. He couldn’t believe he stuck with a girl for over a year. But it didn’t matter any more. It was over with. He was a free man. He could do what he wanted without having to deal with her.

He returned inside the house and went up to his bedroom. He played with the necklace, the crystal shinning in the light, giving it streaks of rainbow colors here and there. Memories of being with Katelynn played through his mind.

“She’s just a girl,” he reminded himself.

Soon, more memories flooded his mind. Memories of his depressed mother, always crying, locked in her bedroom. Memories of the father he hardly knew. Memories of his drunken mother’s poor attempts to move on. Memories of the guys she took home. The abuse he got from her. He squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted them to stop. He wanted the memories to go away, but they kept coming, more and more, until he couldn’t take it anymore. He chucked the necklace across his room and punched a whole in his wall.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the necklace sparkle and cast colorful shapes on the walls. He bent down to pick it up, and before he knew it, his bedroom seemed to rush before him, colors blending together, then bringing him to total darkness, but just for a split second. Then, colors seemed to rush back at him, and soon, a picture was formed before him,

He found himself in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. In the distance, he could see tall, purple mountains, with white, fluffy clouds all around. The sun shown brightly. All around him was grassy plains with what looked to be grazing buffalo. He looked all around, confused.

Suddenly, he heard the faint sound of rolling thunder and distant cries. In front of him, he saw black figures approaching. He soon found out that the thunder he heard was the hooves of galloping horses. Within minutes, the galloping horses came to a stop in front of him, young cowboys mounted on their backs.

“Why howdy there,” the oldest looking cowboy greeted him.

“Uh, hi,” Zack said, keeping clear of the pawing hooves. “Where am i?” he asked. The cowboys laughed.

“Why, yer in Colorado, the wild west,” another cowboy replied.

“Colorado?” Zack repeated.

“Listen, boy, you shouldn’t be out ‘ere on yer own,” the oldest one said. “Them cattle drives come through ‘ere. Why don’tchu come with us? We’ll make a cowboy outta you yet.” The other cowboys cheered in agreement. Their horses pawed and whinnied and pranced. The oldest cowboy held out his hand, which Zack took, and pulled him on top of the horse.

“What’s ya name, boy?” he asked once Zack was settled.

“Zack,” he replied.

“Zack, huh? Well, Zack, I’m Rod. Now hold on tight, boy, it’s gonna be fast.”

And with that, Rod and his group of cowboys kicked and yelled at their horses who whinnied in reply, and they took off at a tremendous speed, hooves pounding the dusty earth. Zack grabbed Rod’s waist in fright, regretting the cowardly move the moment he did it, but Rod didn’t seem to mind, and only continued to call shouts at his horse and the men around him.

Mile after mile the rode with the sound of wind rushing in their ears, hooves pounding, men laughing and shouting. Soon, they arrived to a quaint little town. On the outskirts were ranches spread over open fields. They galloped through town and Zack soon found himself on one of the ranches, which he assumed belonged to Rod.

They all dismounted, Zack nearly falling off, legs sore and jelly like from the ride. The cowboys laughed at the sight. Clearly he had never ridden a horse before.

“How do you travel without a horse?” one asked.

“He must be on of them richies who ride around in them fancy carriages all day,” stated another.

“Nah, he’s not dressed like them richies,” another pointed out.

“No worries, boys,” Rod said. He approached Zack with a young, frisky, grey speckled horse. “We’ll make a rider outta him yet.” He handed the reins to Zack.

“I don’t know how to ride,” he said. Rod threw Zack on top of the horse.

“This here is Cloud. He’ll take good care of ya,” Rod said. “If there’s any horse that’ll teach you to ride, Cloud here is the horse to do it.” And with that, he slapped Cloud hard on the rear, and he bolted off, Zack clinging onto the horse’s neck. He heard the cowboys shout orders at him.

“Steer that thing!”

“Sit up, ya coward!”

“Show ‘im what you’re made of!”

Zack tried to remember the one time he did ride. It was with Katelynn. He searched his memory for anything that would be of some use. He remembered how to stop the horse. But would it work with this wild thing?”

Zack took a hold of the reins, the horse still galloping hard. Zack balanced himself on the horse’s neck, pushing himself up. He held onto the horn of the saddle with one hand, and with the other he held the reins. He yanked the reins to the left, causing the horse to turn abruptly, sending Zack soaring in the air and onto the dusty ground. The horse whinnied as if laughing at him and trotted up to the fallen boy. The cowboys laughed and cheered in the distance.

Zack got up slowly, trying not to show any pain. He mounted the horse again, refusing to let himself be mocked. He took a hold of the reins and kicked the horse forward. Cloud began to walk a slow, lazy walk. Zack pulled back on the reins which brought the horse to a stop. He kicked again, and the horse went forward. He played around with the turns, and with another kick, Cloud went into a trot. Trot, walk, stop. Walk, turn, trot, stop. This went on for at least an hour until Zack felt comfortable enough to ride with the cowboys.

He approached the cowboys who were now sitting and talking. They applauded him as he approached.

“That was good riddin’,” Rod said. “I think yer ready to ride with us.”