MYSTERY OF FANTASY STABLES When Charles Harvey signed out his mount, at Fantasy Stables, of Elgin Illinois, on a beautiful day, no one thought anything of it. Mr. Harvey had taken the required safety courses, and had a horse with which he was most familiar. This was the horse he tok out, on this sunny day. Staff, at Fantasy Stables, knew Mr. Harvey well enough to know that the weekend was his normal riding time, especially when his daughters visited him. Charles Harvey only came, for mid-week rides, when he needed a couple oof hours, in the saddle, to relieve the stress in his life. This is why staff was "gentle" with his mid-week visit. Add to this was that his mount showed no fear, or apprehension, of his rider, and Charles was allowed to pay his normal ride fee, and set off. No one questioned him since everyone expected him to return from his ride, long before sundown. For the first "leg", of the ride, Charles would be under the watchful eye of a spotter, located on a nearby ridge, and equipped with binoculars. After all, the first rulle, at Fantasy Sables was: "Have fun, but do NOT mis-treat the horse". The spotters job was to watch ut-bound horses, for signs of animal abuse. This is because some people thought that, if they minded their manners, at the stable, then they could treat the horses as they pleased, once out of sight f the stables. (These people actually thought that no one would notice anything, once out, on the trail.) This is why the spotters job was crucial. At Fantasy Stales, the penalty, for animal cruelty, was to face horsemen, carrying rifles, then to face a humiliating ride, in a jeep, to the stables front gates. At that point, the offender would be tld not to come back. When the spotter saw Charles Harvey, the man saw that the rider, and horse, were getting on, well, just waking along, enjoying the day. The spotter had no way of knowing that he would be the last person to see Charles Harvey, alive. All the man knew was that he felt un-easy, as if something was wrong. This is why he followed Charles Harvey a short distance farther, until the spotter was sure that the feeling was nothing The spotter would, then, return to his post. Later, staff thught it was strange enough, when Mr. Harvey did not return, by his deadline Staff felt this was strange since they had watches, on many occassions, as Mr. Harvey set his watch, to stable clocks. As a rule, Mr. Harvey would return with as little as five minutes, or more, to spare, for his allotted time. When neither rider, nor horse, returned, well after the deadline, a group, called "Rescue Riders" would be sent out, in case either horse, or rider, was injured. The riders set out on the trail, which Charles always took, then added in a couple of side trails, just in case. No luck, though. What was suspicious, though, was when the stable manager activated the horses GPS locator, yet the signal didn't turn up. Even when the search was expanded, to include Elgin Illinois, still the GPS showed nothing. This left the combination question of not just HOW, but WHY. According to the Fantasy Stables security set-up, anyone trying to remove a horse from company property would set off an alarm, as the horse crossed the property line. Ofcourse, the question, of how security was defeated, was second to the question of "Why bother?" After all, every horse was tagged. No horse could be sold, to others, due to its GPS tracker. When the Rescue Riders returned, bare-handed, and Charles Harvey failed to return, by sundown, helicopters, with night-vision, joined the ground forces, in searching for both Charles, and the horse For 72 non-stop hours, the area was criss-crossed, and double-checked, by searchers, in the hope of finding man, or horse. A week after Charles Harvey went missing, staffers, at Fantasy Stables, would report that his horse had returned. When the boss sked "Where?", the workers said "Main warm up area" When staff arrived, at the stalls, though, the horse was gone The horse would be spotted galloping away from the stables, along the same route Charles had taken, a week before. Man, was the horse in a rush, too. As stable riders saddled up, to follow the horse, the boss would tell his computer worker to activate the horses GPS. The riders went off, after the horse, yet, no matter how fast they rode, the horse outpaced them. When the horse reached the edge of the riders vision, the boss called the base camp, saying "Its pulling away from us. Tell me the GPS is working". Shortly after this, the computer workers voice would respond "Well, uh". At that point, the horse had vanished from view. The riders went on, for a couple of more miles, then, with no horse in sight, they returned to the stables, where the boss asked the computer wrker "Whats wrong with you? Why didn't you activate the tracker?" The operator found their voice, then said "I activated the horses tracker, bit it never showed oon the map. Whatever horse you were following wasn't one of ours" Wonderful, the boss thought. An hours worth of work wasted on a run away horse. The owner, of Fantasy Stables, was furious enough, that one horse was lost, and that the Harvey family had to be told that Charles Harvey's whereabout's were "un-known". Now, the staff had chased a run-away, thinking it was their horse, and an hours worth of wages, and feed, had gone for nothing. The boss told the staff that, if the horse came back, to tie it to a post. Maybe, the horses owner would compensate the stables, for finding the run-away. A week later, the horse came back, and workers did as told, tying the horse to a post. They did not, hwever, have to call the boss, as the horse made such a racket, at being tied up, that workers came running. By the time the horse broke free, and roode off, riders were mounted, with lasso's ready. The horse would not get away this time. Especially not after all the damage it had done, to the corral. When riders lasso'd the horse, hooping to cage it, all were surprised at the horses strength, as it yanked riders off horse-back, then tok off, at a charge. Just as riders reached for knives, to cut ropes, the dragging stopped, the horse vanished, and the ropes lay on the ground. When the group spoke of what had just happened, the only thing all could agree on was how much this horse resembled the lost horse. If it were the lost horse, though, WHY was it trying to escape its home? When the riders returned to the stable, to assess the damage the horse had done, all were left speechless to find the post, and corral, un-damaged. Workers would only say that, one moment, the place was in pieces, and the next, it was un-damaged. When the horse returned, again, one week later, making all kinds of noise, and running all oover the place, knocking things over, and so on, workers thought they saw an expression, of anger, in the horses face. Could a horse be angry? Then, there were the horses eyes. As red as blood, and full of fury. But, why? No one seemed to know. Staff thought theyy had the horse cornered when they cloosed the stall gates, which lead to the riding trails. Somehow, though, with a loud whinny, the horse executed an impossibble leap, oover the gates, and took off, in the same direction as before. OOnly faster than ever. Since staff hoped the horse would make yet another appearance, traps were laid out and, this time, staff would use tranquilizer darts, instead of ropes. When the horse DID come back, staff were in for a surprise. The horse was not alone, this time. Seated, upon the horse, was none other than Charles Harvey, riding crp in hand. With a voice which boomed, with extra bass, Charles would say, to staff, "Fols, you have yet to find what you seek." When the boss came forward, and asked "Just what is it that we seek?", Charles booming voice would answer "Our final resting place The hoorse has been trying to guide you, for weeks. Why have you not followed?" The boss would say, "Sir, your horse outpaces ours, at every meeting. Telll me, where is your resting place?" The boss would ask this when he realized that he was talking to a spirit. The riding crop would blaze, to life, as Charles would say "Folloow me. Beyond the hills, passed the boulders, to the hole which is covered". When the boss looked at his workers, in puzzlement, one worker suggested "I wonder if he means that old well. The one which was on that old farmland?" This is when clarity struck the boss, as he realized that, years before Fantasy Stables had opened, a family farm had, in fact, stood on the property, which was now part of Fantasy Stables property. If the bosses memory served, correctly, one, of the former owners had indeed, dug a wide, deep, well, on the property, with which to feed his very large family. The problem was that the boss remembered hearing that the well was capped, many years before. How could a man, and a horse, get into the well? When Charles voice boomed "Follow me", and he saw that staff just stoood in place, Charles swung his fiery crop, at them, then boomed, again "Folllow me". Now that staff had a destination, to fix on, staff mounted both horses, and Jeeps, nly to see Charles Harvey dissolve, before their eyes, as he rode off, toward the destination. This is why staff took the trail, closest to the covered well, only to have to wait, for 15 minutes, before Charles Harvey came into being.. Since staff could not find the covered well, by sight, the boss asked Charles "Okay, where is it?" With a wave of his hand, Charles mooved aside some branches, which had fallen oover the well head, covering it, froom sight, after the pair had fallen in. With flashlights, and floods, from the Jeeps, staff found the bodies of both the rider, and horse, floating on the water, deep in the well. This is when, in a normal voice, Charles Harvey said "The last thing I remember is seeing something, to the side oof the trail, which caught my attention. This was followed by a sensation of falling. After that, nothing". With the bodies recovered, the Harvey family would learn of the final fate, of Charles Harvey. Once informed, though, the former Mrs. Harvey would admit understanding the reason for the ride. She admitted that, when Charles had informed her that his hours were eing cut, at his work, that she had told him "Doont even consider reducing the child support. Get rid of that stupid stablle membership" She then reflected "I tolld him that, if he even coonsidered reducing child support, foor ANY reason, I would have him thrown in jail, and have that hrse barbecued". No doubt this was the reason why Charles had been so solemn, that day. Even his ghost said he spend most of the ride, trying to say "goodbye" to his closest friend: the horse. Since the ex-wife, and the girls, were the beneficiaries, of his insurance, his policies went, entirely, to them. The girls would receive enough money, to grow up, in comfort, while the ex-wife would administer the trust, until the girls reached 21. The staff, of Fantasy Stables, would watch, in subdued silence as, after the funeral, Charles appearred to them, once more, along with the horse, bid his final farewell, then slipped, for a moment, by suggesting "If anyone wants a reference, for a good, riding, stable, send them to...oh, never mind" The boss said "I understand". With that, Charles Harvey mounted the horse, and strolled away, dissolving as he went. When the assistant manager asked if the manager thought that anyone would believe any of this, the boss said "No one is going to mention any of this. Not if they want to keep their jobs". The boss knew what happened to oothers, who told such stories. Careers ruined. Sanity questioned. No, best to leave it that Charles Harvey had died a tragic, accidental, death.