Andi's Daring Rescue

by,
Hannah 

Chapter One: New Friends

            Andi Carter, now eleven years old and had sprouted up quite a bit.  She was excited because she only had one week of school left before Christmas break.  It looked like that year was going to bring lots of snow.

             Sunday morning, after a delicious breakfast Andi asked her mother “May I go outside in the snow, it’s beautiful outside, and I would like to go build a snowman with some of my new friends from school?” 

“Yes, you may, but be back in time for dinner and invite your friends too,” answered Elizabeth warmly. 

“Oh! Thank you mother!” cried Andi while racing to give her a warm hug.   “I’m going to get Rosa she hasn’t met my new friends yet,” said Andi.

            So Andi went off to find Rosa and ask Nila if she could come along.  Once Nila had given her permission both girls set off to town on Taffy and Coco.

           Once they arrived at the field where Andi was meeting her friends she introduced Rosa to them.  Hannah was eleven years old just like Andi.  Next were the sisters Abby and Emma. 

           The first thing they did was build snow forts and had a snowball fights. They broke up into teams. Abby, Emma, and Rosa were on one a team, while Andi and Hannah were on the other team.

            The snowball fight ended up being a tie! They spent the rest of the time, building snowmen and making snow angels.  They were having such a great time that they didn’t realize what time it was.  Time had just flown by and it was now 11:30 am and dinner was at 12:30 pm and the ranch was about an hour away. 

Andi asked her friends, ”Would you like to come over to my house for dinner? My mother asked me to invite you.”

The three girls all answered at the same time, “Yes! We would love to come!”

              When they returned to the ranch they found the whole family waiting for them. Then Elizabeth said, “Andi, someone came to see you.”

Andi saw Katherine standing there smiling with little Hannah in her arms and Betsy and Levi each on one side of her.” Katherine!” Andi exclaimed as she raced into her sister’s outstretched arms.

Chapter Two: Family Reunion

            “Kate! You’re back!” Andi cried while she hugged her sister.” What time did you get here?” Andi asked as she stepped back from her sister’s embrace.

”Just ten minutes ago and we made it just in time for dinner, too” answered Kate smiling brightly.

”Oh! I almost forgot!” cried Elizabeth, who had forgotten about dinner the minute Kate got there. Nila popped her head out the door and said

“Dinner is ready Mrs. Carter.”

“Nila, can you please add seven more chairs to the table?” asked Elizabeth.

“ Yes Mrs. Carter, Rosa, venga, por favor” said Nila.

            They had a wonderful dinner! They had roast beef, which Nila had cooked to perfection. Rosa had buttered and salted the mashed potatoes well, and baked the biscuits wonderfully. Nila had baked four pies, one apple, one cherry, one pumpkin, and one pecan. They ate till they could eat no more.

            After dinner Elizabeth asked Andi’s friends ”Girls, if you would like to spend the night here go home and ask your parents and if they’re ok with it come right back.”

            “Yes ma’m we will!” they replied. And off they went to get permission from their parents.

            Once the girls had gone home Andi went to her mother and exclaimed “ Oh! Thank you mother! Thank you!” “You’re welcome sweetheart.” her mother replied as she hugged her tightly.

 

Chapter Three: SLEEPOVER!

             Once the girls had gotten their parent’s permission they made their way back to Andi’s house and all the girls raced up the stairs and into Andi’s room. First, they set up their sleeping area on the floor and then made their way down stairs for supper.

After supper, they headed back to Andi’s room to get the sleepover started.  Andi asked Emma, Abby, and Hannah if they could keep a secret. They said they could. 

“It’s not really a secret but it’s a secret plan”, Andi answered.  So, tomorrow on our way to school we will pick up a frog at a pond nearby.  I will then introduce you to my friend Cory and when I say, “I’m going to be right back” I will slowly make my way behind him and will pull out the frog and slip it into his shirt. That’ll make him jump!” said Andi imagining the whole thing. 

“We’ll help you,” the girls said unanimously.

            After Andi hatched her plan the girls wanted to play a game. So they played a game called truth.  One of the girls gets chosen to answer questions from everyone in the group, but they have to answer truthfully. Emma was on the hot seat first.

 “What is your favorite thing about winter?” asked Abby.

“The snow,” answered Emma after she had pondered over it for a while.

            “What is your favorite subject in school?” asked Andi.

“Arithmetic,” replied Emma.

“What is your middle name?” asked Hannah.

“Danielle,” replied Emma. Next came Andi’s turn on the hot seat.

“How old were you when you and Cory became friends?” asked Abby.

“Six years old,” replied Andi.

“Who are your best friends?” asked Hannah.

“Abby, Emma, Cory, Rosa, and you,” Andi answered.

“What is your favorite season?” asked Emma.

“autumn” she replied. Next was Hannah’s turn.

“Do you like to read?” asked Emma.

“Yes,” answered Hannah.

“Do you stay up late?” asked Abby.

“Sometimes” she replied.

“What’s your favorite food?” asked Andi.

“ I like okra and also mashed potatoes,” replied Hannah answering her final question. Now it was Abby’s turn to go.

“Do you have a horse?” asked Andi.

“Yes, I do,” answered Abby.

“What’s its name?” asked Hannah.

“Diamond Dreamer,” replied Abby.

“What is your favorite dessert?”

“Ice cream,” Abby answered.

              Once they finished playing Andi and Hannah went downstairs to check if Rosa was done with her chores so they can take her upstairs to play. They played more games and told scary stories. Soon they remembered they had school the next day and so they ended the night by snuggling up together on the large area they had set up on the floor. 

Chapter Four: The Last Week

            When they woke up the next morning they got dressed, washed their faces, and braided each other’s hair.  They made their way downstairs to eat breakfast.  They thanked God for their day and a good and hearty breakfast.  It was a glorious breakfast!

            After everyone had cleaned up they all made their way to the wagon and left for school.  As they were approaching the school they made sure to stop by the pond for the frog.  As they pull into the school they could see Cory making his way to them. 

            The plan was now in motion. She introduced her friends to Cory. “These are my friends Hannah, Abby, and Emma. They have been here about a month now.” Said Andi

 “Hi” said Cory.

”Hold on I’ll be right back,” said Andi, as she ran off and then made her way back slowly behind Cory.  Then the moment came. Andi slowly slipped the frog into his shirt as it slid way down and oh, did he jump! After a minute or two the frog hopped out on its own.

            “That was an extra gooey frog too!” exclaimed Andi after she recovered from laughing.

“That was a dirty trick!” exclaimed Cory. He didn’t say much about it since the week before he had played a similar prank on Andi.  “We need two extra players for our baseball team, Do you and one of your friends want to play?” asked Cory

“Sure” replied Andi, who turned to her friends to see who wanted to play. She asked Emma but she said she would just like to watch. She asked Abby but she said her mother said she had to take care of Emma. Then she asked Hannah who immediately said yes.

            So Cory, Andi, and Hannah ran off to play. Cory’s team won the game because Andi and Hannah each scored a homerun.  The game had just ended when Mr. Foster rang the school bell.  They all piled inside the schoolhouse. The day went by in a flash, and school was out before the girls knew it. The week went by just as quickly. They were excited about Christmas break because then they would have a lot of time to spend together.

Chapter Five: Taffy’s Gone!

            When the girls arrived at the field where they always played together, Cory came racing up to them breathless and exclaimed “Andi, Taffy is gone!”

“WHAT!” Andi yelped. 

“My pa said that the famous outlaw named Ace Iron broke out of prison last night and thinks he might have stolen your horse”, said Cory. 

The girls shrieked and asked “why?”

He said his pa told him that he thinks he stole Taffy because she is the fastest horse in town.

“Do you know if he has left town or is hiding out somewhere?” Hannah asked. 

“Well, I don’t know, but maybe we should try to investigate”, replied Cory. 

“I say we go find that Ace Iron and get my horse back”, yelled Andi as she smacked her fist on her hand.

So they decided to head south and search every abandoned shack they could find.

Chapter Six: Captured!

            They were only able to find a few shacks still standing

”Are you sure he would have came this way?” asked Abby.

”Maybe he is in one of those shacks,” said Emma.

“There are twelve shacks for us to search,” explained Rosa after she had counted all the shacks.

“There are six of us so we’ll split up in to two groups. Andi, you’re the leader of one group and I’m the leader of the other,” said Abby who was good at organizing things like this. First Abby chose Emma. Andi chose Hannah. Abby chose Rosa and Andi chose Cory.

            Andi’s group chose the six houses west, while Abby’s group took the ones east. Abby’s group had stumbled upon the last shack on their side when Rosa saw someone starring at them from the inside. When she saw the person quickly disappear from the window she heard the door opening and saw Ace Iron running toward them. The girls tried to run but it was too late. Ace Iron had caught up to them and grabbed all three of them.

            Hannah turned around just as they were being taken away. She screamed to Andi “Ace Iron has Abby, Emma, and Rosa!”

Andi shrieked, and Cory gasped.

” We have to go after them!” exclaimed Hannah.

“We can’t, we’ll just get caught too,” said Cory.

“You’re right,” said Andi.

“We need some help.  How about Melinda and Mitch?” asked Cory.

“Sure, but we better get a move on” said Andi as they raced as fast as they could for help. 

Chapter Seven: Melinda & Mitch

            When they got to the ranch neither Melinda or Mitch was there.  Chad told them that they had gone with Kate and the kids to the train depot to see them off, and they wouldn’t be back for another thirty minutes. So they all decided to ride off to the train depot and see if they could find them.

            When they finally arrived at the depot they weren’t there.” Where could they be?” asked Hannah.

“Maybe on their way to the ranch, but if we hurry we can catch up to them.”  said Andi.

“Let’s go!” exclaimed Cory and they were off.

            They were finally able to catch up to them and told them the whole story.” You mean the guy who broke out of jail?” asked Melinda.

“He has Rosa and your friends?” asked Mitch.

”Yes” they all exclaimed

“Can you help us get them back?” asked Hannah.

 “Of course we will,” replied Melinda.

“What are we waiting for?” Andi asked.

“Let’s go!” exclaimed Mitch. And off they went off to rescue their friends!

Chapter Eight: Rescue Team

When they finally made it back to the shack it was pitch dark and they couldn’t see a thing. Melinda had spotted a light coming from one the shacks. ”It’s coming from the one at the very end!” she cried while pointing to it.

            They quickly tied their horses to some nearby trees and quietly ventured toward the shacks.

            Andi got there first. She quietly looked inside through a broken window. When she finally spotted her friends she gasped. She saw them tied up with rope and each had a gag in their mouth.

She felt someone tap her shoulder, and as she jumped she saw Melinda, who covered her mouth before she could say a word. “You have to be quiet,” she whispered.

“I was quiet till you snuck up on me” she whispered back annoyed at her older sister.

“How are we going to get them out?” asked Hannah.

“The boys have come up with a plan,” replied Melinda.

            The plan was to wait till he fell asleep. Then Andi and Cory would carefully open the door, sneak in and untie them and get them out.

            Everything was going according to plan until Cory accidently knocked down a lantern, and that’s when Ace Iron’s eyes opened in a flash. Before they knew it he was in up and had his gun pulled out.

“Split up!” yelled Mitch.

            They all raced off in different directions.   Ace Iron didn’t know who to go after with all the commotion.  They all headed to find the sheriff. Once they found him they told him the entire story.

“You don’t say! He was hiding there the whole time?” replied Sheriff Tate. 

“Yes, he is probably on his way out of town on foot now since we took back Andi’s horse,” said Mitch.

“Well, we’ll head out right now, I’m sure he hasn’t gotten very far” said the sheriff. 

            Once the sheriff and a few town folk set out to capture Ace Iron they headed back to the ranch to get some much needed rest and sleep.

 

Chapter Nine: Home Sweet Home!

            When the girls woke up they realized that what had happened the night before wasn’t a dream. “We’re back,” said Andi.

“And I’m hungry,” said Emma after her stomach growled.

“Me too,” said Abby.

“Let’s go down stairs. I smell food,” said Hannah. And off they went to enjoy a delicious breakfast.

            After dropping off her friends and making her way back to the ranch Andi told Taffy while running her fingers through her mare’s soft mane “It feels so good to have you back.” Taffy nickered her response. “It really feels good!”

THE END