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it?” asked Magnus.
         Ralph looked at him, then Frank, and nodded.
         Joel was silent.
         “I can’t do that,” Magnus said, rubbing a hand over his face.
         “You won’t have to,” said Ralph. He crouched, stroked the mare’s neck. “I’ll do it.”
         The mare whined. Splintered bone protruded from one of the wounds.
         “He’s right,” said Frank. “You sure you can do it, Ralph?”
         “I hate seeing animals suffer.”
         “It’ll have to be quick. What can we use?”
         “Is that crowbar still in the boot?”
         Frank nodded. He fetched the crowbar and handed it over.
         Ralph stood over the stricken animal. The others watched him. The mare was silent now. He looked into her eyes, raised the crowbar.
         “You’ll have to hit her hard,” said Frank. “Horses have thick skulls.”
         “Make it quick,” said Magnus.
         Ralph hesitated. His eyes were moist. His mouth was a grey bloodless line. His arms shook.
         “Get it over and done with,” said Joel. “Quickly.”
         The horse made a pained sound.
         The crowbar sagged in Ralph’s hands. “I can’t do it. I can’t kill her.”
         “Come on, mate,” said Frank. “It’s better this way.”
         Ralph glanced at him, raised the crowbar, but he faltered again, and stepped away, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. Can’t do it.”
         Frank took the crowbar. He couldn’t look into the mare’s eyes so he closed his own.
         He raised the crowbar with both hands and held his breath.
         The horse’s breathing was very slow.
         Opened his eyes.
         “Sorry. I haven’t got it in me.”
         Frank offered the crowbar to Magnus and Joel. They shook their heads, looked away. Ralph turned away. His shoulders sagged. He stared at his feet.
         “There’s nothing we can do,” Frank said, to himself more than the others. He, Magnus and Joel returned to the car to check the damage.
         Ralph stayed with the horse and watched over her until her eyes glazed over and the rise and fall of her chest faltered.
         He stroked her mane, whispering softly, until she died. 
         
    * * *
     
    They tried to move the mare to the roadside, but she was too heavy, so they were forced to leave her on the road. Ralph got blood on his hands. He wiped them on the grass.
         “You okay, Ralph?” asked Frank.
         “Yeah, fucking dandy.”
         “First the abandoned car,” said Magnus. “Then the farmhouse. Now this.”
         “And what do we do about the Corsa?” said Joel. He sat down by the car. “Does anyone know how to fix it?”
         “You must be joking,” said Frank. “The radiator’s shot to pieces. The bonnet’s fucked. The grille is broken. We need a mechanic.”
         “We need several mechanics,” said Ralph.
         Frank patted the Corsa’s roof. “We’ll have to walk to Wishford. Get some help there. We still need to report the abandoned car as well.”
         “You want to leave your car here?” asked Joel.
         “I don’t see much option. Our phones aren’t working. I’ve tried calling the RAC. Got any other ideas?”
         “We could stay here until someone drives past.”
         “No chance. I don’t really fancy spending the next few hours in the middle of nowhere waiting for another car to come along.”
         Joel shrugged. “We might get lucky.”
         “We might get arse-raped,” said Ralph, unhelpfully.
         “How many cars have you seen along this stretch of road since we left the farm?” said Frank. “Do you want to wait all day and night?”
         Joel fumbled with his mobile. “But it’s a long walk to Wishford.”
         Frank began to unload their bags. “If you’re so keen to stay with the car,