Feature Race | Auction | Breeding | General | Hall of Fame | Harness | Interviews | Mixed Breed | New Players | Racing | Site Updates | Steeplechasing | Steward's Cup | Triple Crown

Canis Major (Part Four)

Original article written by Andy Gol posted 11 years 3 weeks ago

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CANIS MAJOR

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clinton, Scott, and Brittney hear the Steward’s threats over the P.A system, but they barely pay attention to it.

“Oh...god” says Scott.

Clinton walks over to a prone body on the ground.

“Is he....?” asks Brittney.

“Yes” says Clinton “Looks like it was done by a large animal.”

“It couldn’t have been a horse?” asks Brittney

“I don’t know.” says Clinton. “But we can’t waste time now. At least we know what we’re up against...sort of.”

The three continue on to the dirt router stable where Brandon, Amy, and Brian were trapped. Scott walks over and whispers into Clinton’s ear.

“Any idea who it was?”

“No” says Clinton “I didn’t recognize him. Maybe someone newer?”

“Why would a horse do that?!” asks Brittney “And what was the Steward talking about?! None of this makes any sense!”

“Brittney, it’s going to be okay!” says Scott

“You don’t know that! Don’t lie to me. I’m not a child!” says Brittney

“I didn’t say you were a child, but freaking out isn’t going to help anyone right now!” Scott shoots back.

“HEY! Fighting is what isn’t going to help anyone right now.” says Clinton.

The three spot the building. Clinton puts his hand out, gesturing for Scott and Brittney to stop.

“We have to be careful” he whispers. “Hacklu or someone might be watching.”

“I’ll go to the front door, you two watch my back.” says Brittney.

Brittney immediately makes a run for the front door which doesn’t allow time for Clinton or Scott to volunteer. She makes it to the front door and sees it padlocked.

“Give it a second” says Scott.

The two men survey the scene. The moon is nearly full this evening, which cascades a romantic light down on the stables. There are a number of buildings in a row, housing hundreds of horses. It’s quiet now. The music from the party is gone. Every so often, the P.A system clicks, as though it has been left on, but nothing has come from it since the Steward’s haunting laugh.

“Okay...I think it’s alright.” says Clinton.

The two run towards Brittney. Clinton sees the lock and takes out two safety pins from his pocket. He puts one in his mouth and unclasps the other. He sticks the unclasped one into the locking mechanism until he is satisfied with its positioning. Clinton then takes the other safety pin out of his mouth, unclasps it, and pushes it into the padlock as well. After a few moments of trial and error, the lock clicks open.

“Remind me to not get on your bad side” Scott says to Clinton.

On the other side of Louisville Downs, Ara, Bill, and Abe move quickly.

They arrive at the track kitchen and flip on all of the lights. Ara checks the kitchen area. Pristine stainless steel counters reflect the overhead lights. Cooking utensils hang from hooks. Cook’s garments are folded neatly on a portable rack. Bill checks the cafe. Tables are bare aside from chairs turned upside down on them, but appear clean. A long counter runs along the back wall, which holds all of the table centerpieces, condiments, and a stack of placemats.

“Oh, so I get to go down in the creepy basement!?” says Abe

“Sorry, mate” says Bill.

Abe opens the basement door, flips on the light and peers inside. He takes a careful step onto the top stair, which creaks. He keeps going and reports back to Bill and Ara.

“Just storage!”

“Is there a walk in freezer down there?” asks Ara.

“Yeah...” says Abe. “I suppose you want me to check in there too...”

Neither Bill nor Ara answer Abe’s rhetorical question, but they hear him struggle to open the door. The suction finally releases, but nothing is inside other than perishables.

Abe returns upstairs, turns the light off, and closes the basement door. The three leave the kitchen and travel to the media room. It’s a large room, made completely of glass on three sides, but it’s pitch black inside. The glass door swings open. Bill steps inside and realizes the lightswitch is along the back wall.

“Anyone got a light?” he says.

“Here, use my phone” says Ara as she hands the device to Bill.

Bill depresses the button on top of the phone which causes a pale light to shine maybe a foot or so in front of him. It allows him to avoid the bare, long tables. He progresses to the back wall and finds the switch, which he pushes up. Three rows of tube lighting brightly illuminate the relatively large room. Bill examines the tables and chairs but sees nothing out of the ordinary. Abe stands outside and motions Bill to move on. Bill goes to flip the light off.

“Ummm, guys?” says Ara from outside the structure. “You might wanna see this.”

Bill and Abe follow the glass walls around to where Ara was standing. There, a mere two feet up, ‘CANIS MAJOR’ is written in shaky, red lettering.

“Is that...?” asks Bill

“Maybe it’s ketchup” says Abe.

“Do you guys know what Canis Major means?” asks Ara.

The two men shake their heads.

“Come on, we have to keep going.” says Ara.

Bill runs and turns the light off. The three continue on their way, but clearly move with more urgency now. They check three more buildings but find nothing.

“This is so pointless” says Bill. “We should just leave! You heard whatever that was on the loudspeaker earlier. This is too crazy!”

“I’m with Bill” says Abe.

“Our friends might be in trouble, we have to help them!” says Ara

The three argue. Their discussion becomes louder and louder.

“WAIT. SHUT UP!” says Abe. “LISTEN”

As the three fall into silence, they hear cries coming from a few buildings over. They run over at a sprint. They yell at the locked door.

“WHO’S THERE?!”

The sounds coming from inside the building are muffled. Bill runs around to the back and sees the broken window and barrel underneath it. He yells in.

“WHO’S THERE?”

“Susie, Eric, Art, Cleo, and Larry!” says Art.

“And Andy...” says Eric.

“Are you guys okay?” asks Bill.

“We’ve been better, but we’re alive.” says Susie.

“Andy may not be” says Eric.

Bill jumps on the barrel and sees broken jagged glass around the frame of the window. He takes off his shirt and wraps it around his arm. He uses it to clear away the shards. He then throws the shirt down on the ground and carefully hops into the maintenance room. He goes to and pulls down on the long metal pull chain switch. A harsh light fills the room. The captive trainers immediately wince at the sudden brightness. All five are cuffed to pipes bolted on the walls. Bill walks to the door and unlocks it, allowing Abe and Ara to come in.

Bill finds a pair of bolt cutters resting against the wall and dutifully cuts free each trainer. Susie and Cleo hug Ara. Larry finds his backpack and Art checks on Andy.

“I think he’ll be okay. He just needs sleep” he says.

“He needs something...” says Larry.

Back where the party was being held, Hoss, Doolittle, Hacklu, and Mary Weather order the revelers to sit down. Everyone obeys except for Justin.

“When is the race call?!” he exclaims. “I love race calls!”

“Sit down, you moron” says Hoss.

Once Justin sits, the Steward appears, wearing a long, flowing red dress. She moves smoothly and eloquently.

“Oh look at all the lovely people!” she says. “With your dresses and ties and fancy shoes. It’s just so perfect!”

“Steward” says Bri, with desperation in her voice. “WHY?!”

“Why?! HAHAHAHAHAHHAAH. That’s the less interesting question! But I’ll answer it!” says the Steward.

“You see, I spent years trying to make you people happy! You wanted this and that! And I’d hop along trying to give you this and that! But then....you know what? You didn’t like THIS AND THAT. You all wanted 1000 games individually tailored to your specific demands!”

“I guess you could say I snapped. I realized that none of you really know WHAT you want! It was so.....FREEING! I thought for so long that there was something wrong with ME! HAHAHAHAHAH. ME?! But the problem isn’t me. It’s you! It’s all of you!”

As the Steward talks, little red glowing lights flicker and surround the party tent. There are at least two dozen pairs.

“But...the more interesting question is HOW!”

An awkward silence fills the air as the red lights dance and intensify.

“So...aren’t you going to ask me...?” says the Steward.

“...how?” says Bri as her voice trembles.

“OH I’M SO GLAD YOU ASKED ME THAT!” the Steward says in an explosive voice. “You see, that’s the fun part. Because I didn’t do it at all. YOU DID IT. HAHAHAHHAHA. You all wanted better gauges, more information, more control. So I gave it to you. I let you genetically modify and enhance your horses!”

“Except all the metrics you thought were there to make your horses FASTER?! A happy side effect, perhaps. But what you were mostly doing was breeding the perfect machine! The perfect...KILLING MACHINE!”

“I would love to chat some more, but I really don’t want to stick around for what comes next. It’s...messy. Just ask Dave, Julie and Leo! At least Julie and Leo got to share a little kiss before...well, you’ll see! Tata, my lovelies!”

And with that, the Steward vanishes as do her helpers. All that remains are two dozen seemingly possessed horses. Their eyes look like fire. They close in on the large group.

“What do we do?!” someone screams.

“Pray”

The horses continue to close in on the group. The mass of people huddle together.

Erik stands on his hind legs and lets out an awful noise. The equines prime for an attack when a voice comes screaming from behind them.

Brandon, Amy, Brian, Scott, Clinton, and Brittney come charging with pitchforks in hand. Suddenly, the horses are fighting on two fronts. A standoff ensues. Bazinga runs at Brittney, who fends him off carefully.

At this point, Eric, Cleo, Larry, Art, Susie, Ara, Bill, and Abe reach the tent.

“We have to kill them!” says Brandon.

“Erik...hey buddy” says Larry as he walks towards the horse.

Larry takes off his backpack and reaches in. He pulls out a carrot and extends it forward to the enormous creature. Erik shakes his head briefly and then ambles over to his owner. His eyes extinguish. He takes the carrot in his mouth and Larry pets his nose.

Larry throws his backpack to the other owners.

“You....have carrots?” says Janena O.

“If you must know, I feed all of my horses carrots and mints religiously. I love them and I want the best for them all of the time.” says Larry. “True love is what always wins in the end.”

Larry’s backpack contains dozens of carrots and mints. Everyone takes some and feeds the animals. They calm down, one by one, losing their fiery eyes.

Suddenly, the P.A system crackles again and a slow clap echoes across Louisville.

“Well done children!” says the Steward. “You didn’t think I’d give you no chance, right?! Just remember! It’s the emotions that are real! Fast horses are great, but horses you love are greater! Good luck in the Steward’s Cup!”

“Yay! A happy ending!” says Justin “Except for Dave, Julie, and Leo...”

Many leave Louisville Downs to get back to the hotel. A handful of trainers take the two dozen horses back to the router stable. They put each horse in their appropriate stall.

“It’s late” says Art. “We need to get to sleep. We have a couple long days coming up!”

The ragged assemblage walks out and closes the stable door, restoring darkness in the large room. The horses settle in for a good night of sleep. All of them, that is, except for one. Just above the “VOLDEMORT” plaque, two red embers flash to life...


Back to Steward's Cup articles

Copyright © 2024 SIMHorseRacing.com | Legal