Entering In: Day 11

Word Count: 66,002

Summary of Events:

Traeton watched as the old woman he'd robbed was disagreeable for the prosecution lawyer, but responded well to Mr. Erickson, mainly because he talked like they were out for coffee, as opposed to grilling her. Hadia and her mom talked a little after supper before Hadia somewhat unintentionally upset Sara and then fled to her room feeling bad. Levi was feeling stressed over his grandfather's intent to have a press conference and so went to his car to relieve stress, but accidentally hurt himself while doing so, yet proceeded to go and watch Twilight's race before seeking medical attention . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"The horses filed by, Levi noting that of the five notable horses in the field, Sweet Sister had the best draw in second, with Aspen Gold following in third, Nemesis Q in fifth, and Cadbury Jack in eighth.

Rod gave a wink to Levi, who nodded feebly. The pain in his side was already excruciating, he didn't know how he was going to make it through the race without letting it be known he was wounded and bleeding.

Probably the biggest misfortune about Sweet Sister drawing second was the fact that the majority of the horses had to wait outside the gate for her to load, and she made them wait; in fact, all of the pony riders started leading the horses around in circles to keep them limbered up.

Once Sweet Sister was loaded it took hardly any time at all for the rest of the horses to load. In fact, Levi was inclined to venture that the nine horses that loaded after Sweet Sister had loaded in less time than she had when all their loading times were combined.

The race started off, and Levi noted that Sweet Sister broke and got going a lot better, although she still seemed rather fussy and wasn't really running the straightest. Twilight had broken well and settled in toward the outside of the middle of the pack, Aspen Gold had shot out to the lead, while Nemesis Q and Cadbury Jack were actually between Twilight and Sweet Sister — who was bringing up the rear.

Levi clutched desperately at his side as he watched the screen that showed the horses as they went down the backstretch, with both Nemesis Q and Cadbury Jack getting to be a little more ahead of Twilight coming into the homestretch. Twilight edged up a bit, but not too much, and Sweet Sister's lag was getting worse.

Aspen Gold led through the whole first lap, with Cadbury Jack making a forward move toward the corner. The field rounded the corner into the backstretch again with Cadbury Jack really breaking away to chase Aspen Gold, while Nemesis Q roared up along the rail. Twilight had edged up a little bit more, but not enough, Levi feared.

Coming into the final turn the crowd gathered along the rail, some pressing Levi fairly into it, passionately screaming for the horse they'd betted on, some even waving their betting slips in their hands.

Aspen Gold was passed by Nemesis Q, who broke away, with Cadbury Jack hot on his heels. Twilight burst out from the pack on the corner and flew along the rail, whipping pas the determined Aspen Gold like he was almost standing still before sliding between Nemesis Q and Cadbury Jack to fly over the finish line with a length and a half lead.

Between the roaring of the crowd around him and his heart pounding in his ears, Levi couldn't hear anything. He was sure he had never seen Twilight run that fast, and he'd seen her run incredibly fast on the practise track at home and everything."