Episode 2 – The threshold of fear

The foreman, a massive man with a weathered face, entered with heavy steps, his sheer size amplifying the sense of menace. His eyes, gleaming with a cruel glint, seemed to search for a weakness to exploit. He carried out his role with a disturbing zeal, as if relishing the mission he had been entrusted with. The orders were clear: keep Marie under pressure, no matter what.

When he spoke again, his raspy, piercing voice sounded like a growl. He emphasized his words with a sharp gesture, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

“You think you’re just going to stand there doing nothing? Go fetch the horses from the valley — now! If any of them gets injured, I swear you’ll regret it.”

He stepped closer, his towering shadow engulfing Marie. His fist clenched at his side, and a low, almost imperceptible chuckle escaped his lips, as if he savored the control he held over her. His words, laced with barely contained fury, hissed like a threat about to erupt.

Each word weighed on Marie like a burden. Her hands tightened around the lead rope. Her shoulders tensed, crushed by the looming danger. A wave of nausea rose in her throat, one she fought off with a deep breath. Her stomach twisted tighter with every passing second, but she clenched her jaw, refusing to give in.

Thunder rolled again, echoing her growing frustration and shortening her breath.

The threshold of the stable felt insurmountable. The wind whipped up a blinding dust that stung her eyes. The acrid smell of damp straw and the icy air against her skin heightened the intensity of the moment. Marie looked up at the threatening sky. A bolt of lightning split the black clouds, casting a ghostly light over the still-visible hills in the fading afternoon. She took a deep breath, hoping to draw from that fleeting pause the strength she feared she no longer had.

Memories of past failures haunted her mind, threatening to paralyze her. She shook her head, trying to chase away the haunting image of her fall during a failed rescue — and the crushing weight of guilt that came with it. The horses' whinnies pierced the air — at times long and plaintive, at others short and panicked — echoing their growing anxiety as the storm drew nearer. These anguished cries pounded through Marie’s mind, intensifying her unease.

The ground quaked under the force of thunder so close it seemed to shake the stable to its very foundations. The blinding flashes of lightning cast shifting shadows, amplifying the chaos and urgency around her.