Avalon

 

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Introduction

Avalon has spent her entire life on her family’s Cattle Station in Northern Queensland. In her eyes there is nothing sweeter than working the land and spending as much time on horseback as possible.

Due to her parents’ divorce she is forced to move in with her Mother in a city beach suburb as part of the divorce agreement to save the Station she loves.

Having never set foot in any type of School environment her eyes are opened to this new way of life. Being a little unorthodox, it’s not long before she comes head to head with the schools one and only ‘King of the Waves’.

Avalon has never been one to back down no matter the situation and never refrains from speaking her mind, in fact she loves nothing more than to stir certain people up. Although she desperately misses her family and her home her eyes have been opened to this new way of life and she sure as hell didn’t expect to make great friends along the way. However there is one warning that everyone should pay heed to… DO NOT GET BETWEEN HER AND HER HORSE!

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER © 2015 Shantelle M

 

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Chapter 1

Sitting back with his girls and friends crowded around him like he was some type of messiah, Seth's gaze meets mine. My jaw clenches shut, an old but rather surprisingly welcome feeling of challenge bubbles into my stomach diving without mercy into my spine to snap it up straight and strong. Here is something I know about, something I know how to play, something familiar in this place where everything seems backward… a Sir Frank Colossal situation if you may.

You see Sir Frank Colossal was my arch nemesis back on our farm. Frank is my Dad’s pride and joy, a huge prizewinning Poll Hereford Stud Bull. From day one we didn’t meet eye to eye and like two warring kids we were always trying to get each other behind my fathers back; from stupid things to downright nasty, spiteful things and okay... sometimes kind of life threatening things. Mostly it was my life that was threatened but anyway we won’t go into keeping score.

Frank would stand in the paddock surrounded by his adoring cows with this stance that used to irritate the crap out of me. His big heavy head would be tilted slightly to the side with his chin up, his eyes were like half closed as if he were some mass adored ladies idol livin’ up the love dream.    Totally conceited I swear it.

 I used to curse at him under my breathe that I’d get his arrogant butt moving and believe me, when that bulk got moving it got moving at the speed of a freight train down hill. Amber, my beautiful chestnut stock horse mare loved it; she would take off snorting and cavorting until we were out of reach.

Frank would lumber to a defiant stop, bellowing his anger at being shown up in front of his women, then to save face he would demonstrate what he would do if he ever caught me. Pressing his knees into the ground where he imagined my inert body would be pinned beneath them, then dipping his humungous white head to mash the imaginary me into the ground, probably envisioning smearing my entrails over the grass like a Vegemite sandwich. I just used laugh at him and tease him some more… until the day Amber went down.

I’ve never been so scared in my life and I swear it did, my life I mean, flash before my eyes. We were racing away with Frank lumbering behind us with all his deadly intentions plain to see when Amber tripped, I think it was a rabbit hole, I was thrown unceremoniously to the ground, winded I lay there staring at the sky, willing the a breath to get into my lungs only to see this massive red and white head come to a dead stop over me. I couldn’t move even when the drool dripped from his nose and mouth onto my face.

This is it I thought, he’s caught me; I’m about to die. All I could do was hope Amber was okay, that her leg wasn’t broken that she'd make it home. Oddly, I wondered if Dad would be mad at Frank, I mean I knew he'd be upset but would he kill Frank.?

I hope not which was weird... because Frank was about to kill me. 

Frank tossed his head and roared his victory bellow to everyone in the world. Jerk of a bull, the ground underneath me shook at that triumphant roar. Smashing his knees into the ground inches from my body he lowered his head until his round eye was looking into mine. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a cow’s eye close up before, but they aren't pretty, they are actually quite gross and old Frankie was no jersey milk cow that’s for sure. It was all googly and around the outside was all yellowy white and bumpy bits mixed in with a few red blood vessels.

 It seemed like forever, I knew if I moved I was dead... a mashed Vegemite sandwich.

Finally, after he knew I knew he could have killed me if he so desired, he heaved himself to his feet and turned did a bloody poo right next to me. On second thoughts trample me! The juicy bits splattered up and on to my face. One huge drop even landed on my lip.

With a buck, his back legs narrowly missing my face he trotted back to his cows.

King.

I finally dragged myself up to find Amber grazing happily a safe distance away, happy as Larry, I thanked God because not a week later we became even with Sir Frank Colossal sparing my life.

My three older brothers, some hands and I were moving Franks herd back across the river before the wet season kicked in. Sometimes it decides to grace us a bit early and you never want to be off guard because the water’s pretty tricky when it's shallow, let alone if it gets a bit of depth to it. The crocs find it a lot easier to get around when it’s deeper, so as it was a nice, sunny day we decided to get them across up to the top paddocks, where we could tractor in the round bales of silage and hay.

Jordan stood down by the river with a long stick and a couple of rocks poking the edges and throwing rocks at anything that seemed odd or had teeth. When nothing stirred we decided to push them across quick.

Frank always waits until almost last, probably to make sure his cows get across safely. He’s done this every year since whenever but he still has to be a hard arse about it, you have to watch him because he’ll charge you off your horse if you’re not careful. One poor bloke got a broken leg and his horse put down a couple of years ago, he wasn’t watching Frank and well Frank being Frank he just took him out… very nasty and incidentally he’s never came back to work for us. If we see him at the shows, he pales and rubs his leg before limping away as fast as he can.

Anyway, chance had it that I was a few behind old Frankie when he took his first few steps into the water, I followed him through the murky muddied water until he was about three metres away from getting up the other side.

Suddenly, it was chaos, a huge grey-green shape was hanging off his back leg above his hock and Frank was trying to heave out but the riverside was too muddy from all the cows churning it up for him to get a good enough foot hold. He was bellowing like crazy and blood was pouring out through the gaps in the crocs teeth. Only my sister-in-law Dell was on my side of the cows crossing and she would have no idea what to do, so I urged a nervous Amber into the water right next Frank, on the other side of the croc. Sliding out the small handgun that we all carried when we did this type of crossings. I jumped from Amber's saddle onto Franks back, talking to him all the while so he wouldn’t go nuts thinking I was another croc.

The struggle going on was worthy of a National Geographic shoot, the croc was trying to pull Frank into deeper water so he could roll that mouthful of prime A grade beef off he had hold of, but Frank was using every ounce of his heavy weight title to battle him.

Unfortunately, Frank was losing his strength, big salties like this one also weigh a ton, he was trembling with exhaustion as I inched toward his tail. If another croc came, which was inevitably bound to happen any second he wouldn’t be able to hold on. Then we’d both be minced meat.

Looking down on the croc, its huge jaw locked onto Frank’s leg, a calmness settled over me like I’ve never felt before. I can’t even remember grasping onto Frank’s skin and shimmying down toward the croc until I had the gun set against that weak spot behind it’s head.

Dell was screaming her head off. I don’t remember my brothers or the hands yelling, I don’t even remember pulling the trigger countless times, all I remember is the sound of the water gurgling and rushing over the croc as it sunk below the water.

I turned the right way around on Frank’s back and tried to urge him out of the water like a horse. But he wouldn’t move.

 Or couldn’t.

 It was like he was in shock, he just kept grunting and snorting, slipping off into the water I gripped his ear and  nose ring and pulled with all my weight, screaming at him to take a step. With all the blood in the water we literally only had seconds until more crocs found their way to the source.

Finally with a great moan, he heaved himself up the bank.

Murmuring soothing sounds to him I took at glance at his mangled leg, swaying at the sight of it. I could see the white of his bone beneath the thick wad of muscle just hanging there.

Amber came at my whistle and I  grabbed the first aid pack out of the saddle bags, also shoving another clip of ammo just in the gun just in case. Opening the pack I fumbled for what felt like ages before I could actually hold the items I needed. Needle, line and the main thing; the antiseptic.

Crocs teeth are putrid, like a goanna’s and that would be the thing that killed Frank, the rank bacteria ready to spread like wildfire through his veins.

 I proceeded to pour the whole bottle on the wound, the smell of it burning my eyes, it should have stung Frank back into the here and now but he just stood trembling and breathing shallowly.

Midnight slid to a halt as Angus catapulted off him, screaming at Jordan to call for the truck when he saw the wound… and the vet belatedly. He grabbed me roughly checking me over for injuries.

He kept swearing and rubbing his face.

Dell was still screaming hysterically, “go worry about Dell, Gus. There’s nothing you can do here yet. Frank’s ears will be bleeding if you don’t settle her down.”       

The blood kept pumping out of one of the smaller bites: so I made the decision to sew the side up like the vet had told us if by the off chance something like this happened, I can’t remember why but that’s what he said. If Frank had been bitten and the croc had ripped him open from top to bottom, he would be up shit creek.

 I jabbed him full of antibiotics and squirted bute into his mouth, I wasn’t sure what else I could do after roughly sewing him. My hands were shaking like the last leave in a cyclone.

Poor Frank crumpled to the ground and laid his huge head on the sodden ground. The blood had slowed down so I took note of the time and crawled toward his head to lay over his neck and whispered to him that he’d be fine and to hold on. Angus had his rifle aimed at the bank. I heard him shoot at least three times.

When Nathan and the truck finally rumbled up, it took all of us to get him in and that was with the winch… but anyway... to cut the whole long story short, after all that he survived and maybe it was because I spent most of my time hanging with him in the stable until his wound got better and he could freely walk again, that nothing was the same between us. At the shows he would only allow me to exhibit him and would only allow me to drench him. I would go to the paddock and lie on his broad back and read aloud to him. Harry Potter I soon discovered was his favourite.

But anyway, one of the things I remember before I became BFF with a bull was how it used to annoy the crap out of him when I used to throw an egg or orange dead between his eyes, it was the only thing that would make him pause, Nathan said that it may have been because Frank Colossal thought he had somehow hurt himself and that the juice or egg running down his face was actually his blood.

So I guess that’s why I decided to throw the orange that my lovely mother had packed in my lunch box straight between the eyes of Seth - Mr I-rule-the-world extraordinaire.

I hear Ruth’s gasp of disbelief as she looks on at the total uproar over at the Cool’s and their minions table. Seth himself raises one hand, slowly sweeping away the juice and orange flesh streaming down his face, while the girls squeal and jump away from him like it’s blood.

See another just another bull and his girls…

            “Oh My God, what did you just do?” Ruth whispers, grabbing my arm hard enough to hurt. Girls have really long nails here I’ve discovered and are obsessed with sticking little pictures on them.

I merely shrug then proceed to dig into my lunch box for something else to eat, but her nails dig deeper so I look up at her. Her face is definitely paler than normal and her top teeth are sinking into her lower lip.

            “As my Gran would say, ‘some oranges are so tart they’d wipe the smile of the Mona Lisa.’”I smirk. My Gran always said bizarre stuff, it’s been the first time I've been actually able to use one of her sayings and believe it may actually fit the circumstance.

            “Believe me, Avalon, it would be better if you had desecrated the Mona Lisa. At least you’d only be in jail … not dead. I know you’re new here... b-b-b-ut...” she chokes up not able to finish her sentence. “He’s gonna get you Av. Run!”

I laugh, the same feeling of adrenalin and exhilaration of the squabbles with Frank Colossal filters like a drug into my blood.

            “Don’t laugh… look sorry or scared or… something. They might leave you alone.” Ruth grabs me urgently, her expression desperate.

            “Ruth, he lives next door. If I get scared, which I’m not, he will be able to haunt me twenty four seven. I’m not worried… hey did you want to meet Amber this arvo?”

           “Amber?” she looks confused at the change of subject.

 

I knock into her gently with my shoulder, “my horse, I’ll see if I can borrow another one and we’ll go for a ride.” 


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Marmalade Shark

I like how she now compares people to cattle 🤣

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