Lost in the Wilderness

by MullerLowLife

Another one-off story I wrote. Little Michael Raccoon, the son of Ralph and Melissa in my stories, is taken on a camping trip by his parents during his summer vacation. Unfortunately, Michael wanders off from camp in the middle of the night and to make matters worse, a severe thunderstorm separates the little kit from his parents. Will Michael ever see his parents again?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm still in the process of writing Melissa's story, "Growing Up!"...I've had most of Chapter 4 written for a little while, but I've had trouble finishing the chapter as I'm feeling a bit stuck...I feel kind of bad since it's NOT supposed to be that challenging of a story to write, and yet I've had a lot of problems getting stuck on chapters. I'm not going to abandon that story, though! In the meantime, I thought I'd write yet another one of my growing number of one-offs...a cute little story featuring Ralph and Melissa and their young son from my stories, Michael. I admittedly haven't written much for Michael, and since I plan on writing one of my longer tales featuring an older Michael in his teenaged years interacting with his family and friends, I think this might make some good practice for writing little Michael interacting with his family and other characters. My friend David31 wrote a little story based on my stories featuring Michael going on a camping trip with his parents...and here I am writing a similar-ish story. Probably not very original of me, but I couldn't really think of a better setting for such a story...This WILL at least be different, as this story will be a little more dramatic than his story...it features Michael making the mistake of wandering away from his parents and getting separated from them when a severe thunderstorm strikes. Not INTENSELY dramatic, but, hey, I can't resist inserting drama into my stories :D Just one more little note...this story is taking place in 2004, so Michael here is six years old.

So with that said, I hope you'll enjoy this little family tale!

"Lost in the Wilderness"

It's nearly the end of June in the Evergreen Forest. Spring has come to its' end and summer is on the horizon for the Forest's residents. It's a time many of the Forest's inhabitants are eagerly anticipating, as summer brings the warmest weather the Forest will see all year around. It's a time for camping, canoeing, barbequing, and picnicking. Many of the furry denizens have plans for this year's summer.

But the Forest's younger inhabitants are especially excited for the advent of summer...

It was three in the afternoon at Evergreen Elementary when the school bell rang. That bell delighted all of the young schoolchildren, as it meant the end of the last class of the day...and the end of the last day of the current school year.

A horde of gleeful and excited children raced out of the small school's front doors as they eagerly dashed for home. They'd already received their end-of-the-year report cards that told them how they did over the course of the school year. Many of them were excited that they'd done well and could enjoy their summer vacation before the next school year began. Others, however, feel disappointed knowing that they did not do well enough, and dread coming home knowing that their parents will be displeased with them, especially with the fact that they'll have to repeat the grade they were in.

While most of the young children race towards their homes, a few are content to take their time making their way home. These include Michael Raccoon, the young son of the Evergreen Standard's editor and photographer, Ralph and Melissa Raccoon, and his friends Cecil and Sylvia Sneer, the twin children of the wealthy entrepreneurial couple, Cedric and Sophia Sneer.

Michael waved happily at his friends as he walked up to them. "Hey, Cecil! Hi, Sylvia!" he enthusiastically called to them.

"Hey there, Mikey!" Cecil beamed at his younger friend.

"Hi, Michael," Sylvia smiled at the young kit.

"How did you two do this year?" Michael asked his friends. They had just graduated from the second grade while Michael had just passed the first grade.

"I didn't do too well," Cecil embarrassingly admitted. "I got all Cs except for gym. But...I got an A in gym!" he smiled. Cecil had always excelled in athletics...but not so much in academics.

"That's too bad, Cecil," Michael replied. "What about you, Sylvia?" he curiously asked his pal's twin sister.

"Here, why don't you take a look?" Sylvia proudly smiled as she held out her report card. Michael glanced at his friend's report card and was certainly surprised by what he saw.

"Wow, Sylvia," Michael remarked, sounding quite impressed. "You got all As? I don't think anyone in my class got all As..."

"That's right," Sylvia cheerfully nodded. "I always study hard and try to do my best!"

"I see that," Michael agreed. "Hey, is the second grade a lot harder than first?" He was curious as he'd be moving onto their grade next year, and was a little worried on how well he'd do.

"Well, you do learn more in second grade," Sylvia informed her younger friend.

"Oh boy, it's a lot harder than first grade!" Cecil moaned. "I didn't think it would be that hard!" Michael knew Cecil had a habit of exaggerating things, so he wasn't that concerned by his friend's comment.

"What about you, Michael? How did you do?" Sylvia curiously asked as she took a moment to wipe her spectacles.

"Here, take a look," Michael smiled as he showed his report card to his aardvark friends. He was quite proud of how he'd done this year.

"Wow, Mikey. You got an A in almost everything!" Cecil exclaimed as he hi-fived his pal.

"I did!" Michael happily smiled. "Well, in everything except gym..."

"I thought you would get an A in gym no problem," Sylvia remarked. "Our gym teacher is your big cousin, isn't she?"

"That's right," Michael nodded. It was true; Lisa Raccoon, their school's gym teacher, was Michael's much older cousin. "I guess I'm just not that good at sports..."

"Ah, you'll get better, buddy!" Cecil encouraged his raccoon friend. "After all, you've got the coolest Mom! She can throw a baseball better than anyone I know!"

"I know that," Michael nodded in reply. "I just have such a hard time catching the ball..."

"Like I said, you'll get better!" Cecil continued to encourage him. "And hey, at least you passed everything! Scott Searle didn't pass any of his classes. He has to repeat the second grade!"

"Ooh, I don't like Scott Searle," Michael shivered. Cecil and Sylvia both knew that Scott was one of Evergreen Elementary's resident bullies; Michael had been bullied by him somewhat frequently during the previous school year, often getting his lunch stolen. He was a good kid, but due to the fact that he was rather timid and the fact that he was smaller than most of the other kids his age, he found himself a frequent target for bullies...Michael felt a little fearful knowing that next year, he'd be in the same grade as Scott.

"I don't blame you," Sylvia sympathetically replied as she decided to change the subject. "Your parents are going to be proud of you, Michael!"

"I know they will," Michael lightly smiled. "Yours will too, Sylvia."

"I just hope Papa isn't too mad at me..." Cecil worried, knowing that a little bit more than what he'd actually made was expected of him...

"I'm sure your Dad won't be upset," Michael tried to reassure his friend. He thought it would be a good time to change the subject again. "Hey, Cecil, Sylvia?"

"What is it, Mikey?" Cecil wondered.

"What are you two going to do for the summer?" Michael asked his aardvark friends.

"Well, Papa told me that if I did really good," Sylvia replied, "that he'd show me how to count money!"

"You're lucky that math is your best subject," Cecil chuckled at his sister. "Math is my worst subject! I don't like all those numbers..." His voice then took on a more cheerful tone. "Guess what Mama and Papa said we were going to do this summer?"

"What's that?" Michael curiously wondered aloud.

"Mama and Papa said they were going to take us camping next week," Sylvia informed their young friend. "They want us to get out and learn more about the Forest."

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Michael responded.

"Oh, you bet!" Cecil eagerly exclaimed. "I've been wanting to go camping for the longest time!"

"What about you, Michael?" Sylvia curiously asked.

"Well, Mom and Dad said if I did really well, they'd take me to a water park as a reward," Michael smiled. He remembered earlier this year-just last month, in fact-his parents had celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary by taking a trip to the Porkono Mountains. He had really wanted to go with them, but they had told him that it was a trip for adults only. Michael felt disappointed, but when they came back from their trip, they'd told him they would make it up to him by taking him to a water park about 200 miles away from the Forest; that is, if he behaved himself and did well in school. He hadn't forgotten that...

"Wow, the water park?" Cecil excitedly replied. "Sounds like you'll have a blast, Mikey! I heard lots of good things about the water park from some of my friends!"

"It looks like we're all going to have a lot of fun this summer," Sylvia added.

"I can't wait to show my parents how I did," Michael chimed in. He knew he'd done well enough in school to earn that trip to the water park. He too had heard many fun stories from his fellow classmates about that particular amusement park. He felt excited knowing soon enough he'd be riding those water slides he'd heard so much about and swimming in the large swimming pools with his mother and father...

Little did he know that he wouldn't get to go on that trip...

---

Back at the Raccoondominium, it's somewhat of a quiet afternoon. Ralph and Melissa Raccoon have recently returned home from a long day at the Standard. Ralph is sitting at the kitchen table while Melissa is busy cooking the family's dinner for that night. The two of them are both eagerly waiting for their little son to come home, especially since they know it's the last day of the school year...

"Hey, Melissa?" Ralph asked his wife as she stirred the contents of a crock pot on the stove with a cooking ladle.

"Yes, Ralph?"

"Michael should be here any minute, shouldn't he?" Ralph wondered.

"I think so, dear," Melissa nodded as she smiled at him. "It's about 3:30...you're right, he should be home really soon!"

"It's the last day of school, honey," Ralph added. "I just know Mikey's going to be happy knowing he won't have to go back to school until September!" he chuckled.

"Oh, I bet," Melissa agreed with her hubby. "Sometimes I miss my school days, myself...I always used to love getting out for summer vacation!"

"Me too," Ralph nodded in agreement. "There's one thing that's a bit of a bummer about being an adult. You don't get any summer breaks anymore...work lasts all year around."

"I know that, but we do enjoy our jobs, don't we, Ralph?" Melissa warmly smiled.

"Of course we do; I would never give up my job as the Standard's editor," Ralph firmly nodded. "I wonder how Mikey did this year..."

"He did well in kindergarten last year, didn't he?"

"He did, Melissa, but...sometimes I just have to worry about him..." Ralph sighed. He didn't like the fact that it was possible Michael hadn't done well in school and they'd be forced to be rather stern with him for not doing his best...

"He always has his snout in one of his school textbooks, Ralph," Melissa sweetly smiled. "You're worrying too much, dear! Michael is a very bright little kit. I'm sure he did just fine this year!"

"You're probably right," Ralph replied, trying to reassure himself. "I just don't like having to reprimand him for doing something wrong..."

"Well, kids will be kids," Melissa laughed. "We all got in trouble for something when we were little, didn't we?"

"Oh, you bet," Ralph said. "To be honest, Bert was the one who usually got me in trouble..."

"But you needn't worry, sweetie," Melissa remarked in a rather reassuring tone. "I don't think you'll have to scold Mikey today."

"Here's hoping," Ralph managed to crack a smile as he crossed his fingers. "I hope he doesn't take it too hard when we tell him...you know...about the trip to the water park we promised him if he did well..."

"Well," Melissa shrugged, "I don't know how he'll respond to that...I guess we'll just have to see. I know he'll be at least a little disappointed..."

At that moment, Ralph and Melissa heard the familiar sound of the Raccoondominium's front door opening and a few small footsteps coming towards the kitchen.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" a meek little voice called out.

"Mikey's home!" Melissa happily replied as she raced into the living room. Ralph got up and closely followed behind his wife.

When Michael saw his mother coming towards him, he happily extended his small arms as he dashed right into Melissa's loving arms for a big hug.

"Hi there, Mikey," Melissa warmly smiled as she gently rubbed her little son's furry head in an affectionate manner. "It's great to see you."

"It's great to see you too, Mommy," Michael happily replied as his mother leaned down and gave him a gentle peck on the cheek. He saw his father standing by his mother, and knew he couldn't leave him out. Melissa let go of her little son as he ran into his father's arms for another hug.

"Hi, Dad," Michael smiled at his father as Ralph playfully rubbed his knuckle across his son's head, causing him to laugh.

"Haha," Ralph chuckled. "Welcome home, son!" Ralph let go of his son as he noticed a piece of paper clutched in his little paw. "What have you got there, Mikey? Is that your final grades for the year?"

Michael quickly nodded in reply. "Yes, it is, Daddy!" He was proud of how well he'd done in school, and was eager to show his parents his report card...

"Well, let's have a look at it, honey," Melissa smiled as she took the report card from her son; she and Ralph quickly glanced over it. The raccoon couple, needless to say, were pleased at what they saw.

"Hey, you did really well, Mikey!" Melissa proudly smiled at her son as she hugged him. "This is good enough to hang up on the refrigerator, you know that?"

"Oh, I know!" Michael beamed in pride. "I worked really hard, Mom!"

"Oh, I can see you did," Melissa continued to cheerfully smile. "I know one day you're really going to make us proud, Mikey."

"I sure hope I can," Michael said, wondering what the future would bring him.

"I think someone earned himself a trip to the ice cream store," Ralph smiled as he rubbed his son's furry head.

"Ooh, ice cream!" Michael excitedly jumped up. The little kit couldn't help but smile imagining himself eating his favorite: peanut butter flavored ice cream..."Wait a minute, Daddy! There's something else you promised me if I did really well in school this year."

Ralph and Melissa knew they were about to share the bad news their son almost certainly didn't want to hear. "Oh? What's that, Mikey?" Melissa managed to smile as she hung Michael's report card up on the refrigerator.

"When you went to the mountains for your anniversary, you promised me you'd take me to an amusement park if I did really well," Michael smiled. "I did really well this year. Can we go to the water park, Daddy? Please?"

Ralph sighed. He didn't like having to disappoint his son, but he knew he had to tell him the bad news. "Son...about that," Ralph scratched his head.

"Huh?" Michael was curious. What were his parents about to tell him?

"Mikey, you did do very well and we're both really proud of you," Melissa calmly replied, hoping she wouldn't upset her son. "But...I'm afraid we can't go to the water park."

Michael was surprised. He'd done exactly what his parents had asked of him and yet he still couldn't go to the water park? "But I did everything you asked! Why can't we go?"

"Well, son," Ralph tried to explain, "I'm afraid the water park...has closed down."

Michael was confused. "Closed down...?"

"Yes," Melissa nodded. "It's not open anymore. Your father and I were looking up information on the park at work the other day..."

"And...?" Michael asked.

"They closed down just this past week. The owners didn't have enough money to keep the park open, so they had to shut it down," Ralph finished.

Michael felt very disappointed. Just like that, his immediate summer plans had been dashed. "That's not fair, Daddy. Why didn't they have enough money?"

"I don't know why," Ralph shrugged. "I just hope you're not too disappointed that we can't go..."

Michael's facial expression sank. "It's just not fair...I wanted to go to the water park with you and Mom so bad! It's not fair!"

"We're sorry, Mikey," Melissa gave a sympathetic look to her son. "We really wanted to go too...but there's nothing we can really do about it. I'm afraid life isn't always fair, honey," she placed a paw on Michael's shoulder.

Michael slunk down and turned towards the stairs, looking quite sad. Ralph and Melissa could hear their son sadly muttering to himself: "It isn't fair...now what am I going to do this summer? All I wanted to do was spend some time with Mom and Dad..."

Ralph and Melissa both felt rather sad themselves. "Aw, Melissa..." Ralph sighed. "He really did take it pretty hard..."

"Oh, I know," Melissa sighed as well. "I was hoping he wouldn't be that upset...He is right, Ralph. We really do need to have some more family time together..."

"We've got to make it up to him somehow," Ralph scratched his head, trying to think of something. "The poor little guy feels like his summer plans have been dashed."

"I'm sure we'll think of something," Melissa managed to smile.

"Yeah, but what would that be, honey?" Ralph was stumped; he couldn't think of any good ideas off the top of his head.

Luckily for him, Melissa was able to come up with an idea on the fly. "Say, sweetie," Melissa glanced at her husband as she placed one of her paws on his shoulder. "When was the last time we went camping?"

"Camping...?" Ralph was confused as to why his wife had brought that up, but he tried his best to remember. "I'm not entirely sure. I think it might have been when Michael was one or two years old." He couldn't remember exactly.

"I think you're right," Melissa nodded. "Michael was far too little to come along with us, so we left him with Bentley and Annie. But he's not so little anymore, dear. He's a big boy now; I think he would be old enough to come along with us now."

"Ah, so you're saying that you think we should take Mikey camping with us?" Ralph asked.

"Sure!" Melissa enthusiastically beamed. "I think it would be a great idea, sweetie. A couple days out in the wilderness together will give us plenty of time to bond with one another...don't you think?"

"You're right about that," Ralph nodded. "Plus, Mikey doesn't know that much of the Forest real well. It would be a great way for him to learn more about our Forest and where everything is in it." Ralph was certainly glad Melissa had come up with a good plan. "There's only one little problem, honey..."

"And what's that?"

"What do we do about the Standard?" Ralph was hesitant to take too many days away from his job.

"Ralph, today's a Friday. We have Sundays off, remember?" Melissa tried to jog his memory.

"Yes, I know that," Ralph replied. "So...are you saying we could take tomorrow off as well to take Michael camping with us?"

"That sounds like a good plan," Melissa nodded. "We could take him camping tomorrow afternoon and come back the next evening. How does that sound?"

It seemed that the raccoon couple had come up with a perfect plan to spend some quality family time together. "I think that sounds like a great idea, Melissa. I knew there was a good reason I married you," he chuckled as he gave his wife a quick kiss on the cheek.

Melissa couldn't help but giggle. "Aw, thanks, sweetie," she laughed. "Why don't we go upstairs and tell Michael about our idea? I'm sure he'll like it."

"I think we should do exactly that," Ralph smiled as the couple headed upstairs, Melissa leading the way.

Meanwhile, in Michael's bedroom (which was Bert's old room when he lived with Ralph and Melissa), Michael was sitting on the bed, his head in his paws. He still felt very much disappointed, knowing that he'd done all that hard work in school only to find out he couldn't go to the water park after all. "It just isn't fair..." Michael sadly thought as he sighed.

But at that moment, Michael was a bit surprised as he saw his bedroom door swing open, as his parents entered his bedroom.

Melissa walked up to her son and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Mikey, honey?" she asked him.

"What is it, Mom..."

"We know you're disappointed about the water park, Mikey," Melissa began.

"I really wanted to go," Michael sighed. "Why did they have to close down...?"

"Well," Ralph added in, "your mother and I did some thinking, and even if we can't go to the water park together, we thought of a way the three of us could spend some time together."

"What's that?" Michael was curious. What could his parents possibly have planned?

"Mikey, how would you like to go camping tomorrow?" Melissa warmly smiled at her son.

Michael's ears instantly perked up. "Camping...?" he asked.

"Sure!" Ralph broadly grinned. "It's not the same as the water park, but it's a good way for us to spend some time together. We can spend a couple days together in the wilderness bonding as a family."

"Plus," Melissa added, "you can learn more about the Forest and where everything is. Does that interest you, honey?" she hopefully asked.

Michael now felt excited. Maybe his summer would get off to a good start after all. "You really want to take me camping...?" he asked.

"For sure!" Melissa enthusiastically patted her son on the back. "That's if you want to, honey."

"I'd love to go camping, Mom!" Michael happily smiled. "It sounds like a lot of fun! Hey, Mom...did I tell you Cecil and Sylvia's parents are taking them camping, too?"

"Oh, they are?" Melissa smiled. "Well, now that's a surprise! Maybe we might bump into them out in the woods."

"They're not going until next weekend, though..." Michael finished.

"Oh, well..." Melissa shrugged. "So, are you excited, Mikey?"

"Oh, you bet I am, Mommy!" Michael continued to beam. "I've wanted to see more of the Forest for quite a while!"

"Well, now you have that chance," Ralph beamed.

Michael certainly felt excited. He might not have gotten to go to the water park, but he figured going camping could be a lot of fun too. At least he knew he'd be spending some quality time with his parents. He wondered just what'd he find out there in the wilderness...

"I know Mom and Dad and me are going to have a great time," the little kit smiled to himself.

---

It was a warm summer evening in the Evergreen Forest. The sun had just set, as Ralph, Melissa, and their young son Michael gazed up at the stars as they sat around the campfire. They'd had quite a day together so far...

"So, Mikey," Melissa happily smiled as she gently wrapped her arm around her little kit. "Have you had a lot of fun today?"

"Oh, Mommy, today was a lot of fun," Michael smiled cheerfully. He'd really had a good time today. "Thanks for taking me camping."

"As much fun as you think the water park might have been?" Ralph curiously asked his child.

"Maybe not as much," Michael admitted, "but this was nice. I learned a lot more about the Evergreen Forest," he smiled. "I didn't know the Forest was this beautiful."

"It's the most beautiful place in the world," Melissa nodded, agreeing with her son.

"And there's plenty more things in this Forest for you to discover, Mikey," Ralph warmly smiled.

"Daddy, can we go camping again sometime soon? There's more I want to see..." Michael asked.

"Of course we can, Mikey!" Ralph beamed.

"Anytime you want, honey, tell us and we'll see about it," Melissa added.

It had been a very pleasant evening for the Raccoon family...but it wasn't about to be pleasant for long.

All of a sudden, clouds began to appear in the night sky. The stars vanished as the full moon was quickly obscured by the thickening clouds. At that moment, a few drops of rain started to fall from the sky.

"Huh? Rain?" Ralph was very confused. "But this wasn't in the forecast! I'm going to have a word with Bert for getting the forecast wrong AGAIN...He's been very inaccurate late-"

Ralph didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence as flashes of lightning rapidly streaked across the sky and the loud booming of thunder was heard as the clouds burst, signifying the arrival of a severe summer thunderstorm. The massive downpour quickly doused the raccoon family's campfire.

Michael jumped in fear as Melissa held him tight to try to comfort him. Ralph and Melissa both were well aware that Michael was a very sensitive little kit who scared rather easily...but what frightened him most was the sound of thunder.

"Ooh, Mommy!" Michael shivered in terror as his mother clung to him. "Thunder! I don't like the thunder!"

At that moment, the wind abruptly picked up. It blew so hard that, much to the family's shock, it pulled their tent up from its' pegs and blew it up into the skies.

"Our tent!" Ralph shouted. "The wind took our tent!"

"Mommy!" Michael cried in fear. "Where are we going to go for shelter?!"

"I don't know, honey," Melissa worriedly replied. "I don't know..."

At that moment, the family got an even bigger shock as a bolt of lightning shot out from the angry skies above and struck the ground no more than twenty feet away from the spot where they had set up camp. They all jumped up in horror, Melissa letting go of Michael as she jumped up.

"DADDY!" Michael cried out in absolute terror. "You didn't tell me about this!"

"Son...there's only one thing we can do," Ralph said, all the fur on his head standing straight up, as he tried to think of some way to get out of this terrible situation.

"What's that?" Michael shivered.

"RUN, MICHAEL! RUN!" Melissa shouted as the trio of frightened raccoons dashed through the woods, hoping to find some sort of shelter nearby. Melissa led the way, Ralph followed her, and Michael trailed behind his parents.

But no matter how fast they seemed to run, the lightning strikes seemed to follow right on their heels. It seemed as if Michael was in danger of being struck by a stray bolt at any second. Seeing how little he was, a lightning strike would almost certainly kill him...

Ralph and Melissa quickly reached the nearby Endless Echo Caverns...a place which would make a good safe haven from such a terrible storm. They sighed in relief...but then...

"Ralph!" Melissa shouted, sounding quite fearful. "Ralph, where is Michael?!"

"I don't know!" Ralph panicked. "He was supposed to be right behind us!"

The couple glanced off to the right...and saw, much to their horror, their little son lying beneath a large pine tree. He had gotten his foot trapped beneath a large tree root, and had tripped and fallen. He couldn't get up as it was clear his foot was broken.

"MOMMY! DADDY!" Michael cried for his parents. "HELP! I...I CAN'T MOVE!"

Melissa absolutely panicked. Her baby's life was in danger. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him...

"Hang on, Mikey!" Ralph called out to his son. "Daddy's coming! I'll get you out of ther-"

But as Ralph and Melissa raced out of the cave towards their son, a stray bolt of lightning streamed down from the sky and struck the top of the pine tree, which burst into flames. Ralph and Melissa froze in terror, realizing their son might very well be in the final moments of his life.

"MOMMY!" Michael's frantic cries grew even louder. "DADDY! HELP ME!"

Ralph and Melissa could do nothing but listen to their son's frantic cries in sheer terror as one of the most horrible sights they could ever see occurred right before their very eyes: the burning tree's trunk snapped. They could only look on in horror as they heard their son's terrified scream quickly being muffled as the tree trunk fell on him and crushed him with a sickening crunch.

"MICHAEL!" Melissa cried in sheer terror. This was the absolute worst moment of her life...even worse than the day her father had passed away. She'd just witnessed her only child, the only little bit of flesh and blood she had left in this world, die a very gruesome death far too young...

Ralph and Melissa walked up to the burning tree. All they could see of their son were his legs and his tail sticking out from under the trunk...it was obvious Michael had been flattened by the tree.

The raccoon couple weeped at the loss of their only son.

"Michael, no..." Ralph bawled. "No...no...no...Why?" he continued to sob. "Michael...no...my only son..."

"Ralph, wake up!" Melissa shouted at him, out of the blue.

"What...?" Ralph was utterly perplexed.

"Wake up!" she shouted again. "Please, wake up!"

Ralph suddenly found himself comfortably in his bed, Melissa shaking him back and forth. Ralph was relieved knowing that had only been a dream. As Ralph began to awake, he also noticed his wife was wearing the pilot's jacket he'd given her for their wedding anniversary earlier that year. Ralph was wearing his flight jacket too, as before they'd gone to bed, they'd decided to have a little fun by roleplaying as pilots...it was their favorite role play...

"Huh...oh, Melissa! Oh, thank goodness," Ralph let out a big sigh as he sat up, Melissa's baby blues locking with his, full of concern.

"Ralph, are you alright?" Melissa worriedly asked.

"I think so..." Ralph asked.

"Ralph, you were having a nightmare," Melissa said in a rather calming voice. "It sounds like it must have been quite a terrible one as you kept saying 'Michael, no, no, why?' over and over again..."

Ralph remembered everything that happened in his dream. "Oh, Melissa...it was such a terrible dream..."

Melissa gently grabbed her hubby's paw to comfort him a little. "Ralph," she said in a warm voice, "can you tell me what happened in your dream?"

"Melissa, it was terrible," Ralph sighed as he placed his other paw on his chin. "I dreamed about our camping trip tomorrow...everything went wrong, honey..."

"What happened?" Melissa curiously asked. "You don't have to tell me if it's too much for you."

"Melissa, I dreamed that a severe thunderstorm broke out while we were gathered around the campfire," he said in a very low tone of voice. "We had to flee as lightning struck our campsite and we ran for the Endless Echo Caverns."

"Then what happened?"

"Michael tripped on a tree root and fell," Ralph continued, visibly shaking a little. "Lightning struck the tree...and the tree...the tree...fell on him..." Ralph managed to utter.

Melissa quickly gave her husband a warm, comforting embrace. "Awww, Ralph," she sympathetically whispered in her scared hubby's ear. "It's okay, sweetie...it's okay..." She was always willing to comfort Ralph whenever he had a bad dream...

"Thanks, Melissa..." Ralph whispered. "I just have to wonder. We're taking Michael camping together tomorrow evening...and Michael isn't all that familiar with many parts of the Forest..."

"That's true," Melissa nodded. "But it's a great way to get him a little more familiar with those places. If he's going to live here in the Forest, Ralph, he does need to know where everything is and how to get there if he needs to..."

"Yes, but Michael can be a little too curious at times," Ralph admitted. "He is a terrific son, but sometimes he sticks his nose into situations he shouldn't get into. I just can't help but worry..."

"Oh, Ralph," Melissa gave him an encouraging smile. "I'm sure everything will turn out alright. As long as Michael sticks close to us, I'm sure nothing bad will happen."

"But suppose he does wander off?" Ralph worriedly asked. "What then...?"

"Ralph...you're worrying too much," Melissa calmly replied. "I know that the woods can provide a lot of unfriendly situations to a child," she admitted. "But you don't want to worry yourself too much about them. I'm sure nothing bad will happen out there."

"I'm just curious, Melissa...what's the weather going to be like tomorrow night? I honestly don't remember..." Ralph was only half-awake and couldn't remember off the top of his head what the weather forecast for the next few days looked like.

"Well, tomorrow it's scheduled to be a nice sunny day. There'll be some clouds in the evening and at night, but there shouldn't be any storms," Melissa smiled. "You're worried about us getting caught in a thunderstorm, aren't you?"

"Kind of..." Ralph sheepishly remarked.

"Don't worry, Ralph. Everything's going to turn out fine tomorrow. You will have a splendid time with our boy," she smiled as she warmly rubbed her husband's paw in a way that said to him "trust me".

"Alright, honey," Ralph smiled. "You know, that's why I love you, Melissa. Whenever I feel scared or worried about something, you always help put my mind at ease..."

"And I'm glad I can do that," Melissa warmly smiled as the couple embraced and laid back down, resting their heads on the pillows.

The raccoon couple rubbed their snouts together as they shared a tender kiss. "I love you, honey," Ralph whispered.

"I love you too, sweetie," Melissa sweetly whispered back to him. "You need to get your sleep, Ralph...we've got a big day tomorrow with Michael..."

"I know it," Ralph warmly smiled as the couple drifted off to sleep together. They knew they'd have a great time camping with their son together...

But little did Melissa know that Ralph's fears about what could possibly go wrong would come true...

---

It was eight in the morning and Ralph and Melissa were still fast asleep, still warmly snuggled up together. However, their peaceful slumber wouldn't last for long...

Melissa's eyes opened as she felt something leap onto the bed and kiss her right on the cheek.

"Huh...?" Melissa rubbed her eyes and looked up to see her son, still wearing his pajamas, smiling at her as he stared right down into her eyes.

"Good morning, Mommy!" Michael happily exclaimed as he wrapped his little arms around his mother's neck.

"Oh! Good morning, Mikey," Melissa warmly smiled at her son. At that moment, Ralph began to stir as he opened and rubbed his eyes and turned his gaze towards his son.

"Morning, Daddy," Michael happily smiled at his father.

"Good morning, son," Ralph smiled as he let out a huge yawn. Ralph and Melissa were rather used to being woken up in the morning by their little kit. One thing they'd come to quickly realize about their son was that he was an early riser...he'd often wake them up in the morning when he had to get ready for school.

"What are you doing up so early, Mikey?" Melissa asked. She was used to her son getting her up early, but she thought Michael would sleep in a little while longer, seeing that he'd just gotten out of school.

"I couldn't sleep, Mommy!" Michael cutely smiled. "I was excited because I knew we were going camping today!"

"Well, that's true, Mikey," Ralph nodded. "But we're not going until later today! You have plenty of time to get some sleep, son. You're a growing boy, after all."

"I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep..." Michael replied.

"Well...alright," Melissa smiled as she and Ralph sat up in bed.

Michael was surprised by what he noticed...his mother and father were wearing a pair of brown pilot's jackets. He was confused as to why they were wearing jackets in bed. He didn't know his parents liked to role play in bed, nor did he even know what that was as he was too young to know about sexual matters.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Michael innocently asked.

"What is it, Mikey?" Melissa smiled as she rubbed her son's head.

"Mommy, why are you and Daddy wearing those jackets...?" Michael innocently asked his mother.

"Oh..." Melissa blushed, realizing what Michael was asking about. Seeing that she and Ralph enjoyed roleplaying quite often, she knew it would be only a matter of time before Michael would start to get curious...She was quite glad her jacket was zipped up at that moment and her naughty areas were covered up, otherwise, she and Ralph would have had even more questions to answer...

"Uh...well..." Ralph tried to answer, but he was having a hard time coming up with words.

"Well...?" Michael was certainly being very curious.

"Uh, well...you see Mikey...you know your mother and I love each other...well...a lot, don't you?" Ralph began.

"I know, Daddy," Michael nodded.

"Well, Mikey...uh...how shall I say this...when Mommies and Daddies love each other very much...they..." Ralph couldn't think of how to finish his sentence. "They...uh..."

Luckily for him, Melissa was quick to chime in. "Mikey, they sometimes like to play dress-up and then play a really fun game together...a game that adults really like."

"Yeah, what your mother said," Ralph nodded. "You understand, Mikey?"

"I think so," Michael nodded in confirmation. He was still a little curious now that his parents had mentioned they liked to play a game at night together...he'd heard the sounds of his parents having fun from their bedroom late at night sometimes when he couldn't sleep..."What kind of game?"

"Mikey, you're not old enough to know about that," Melissa answered him. "When you get a little older, we'll tell you more about it, alright?"

"Well...alright..." Michael smiled.

"We'll be up in a second, Mikey," Ralph smiled at his son as Michael jumped off their bed.

"If you wait downstairs, we'll be down in a minute to make you breakfast, alright?" Melissa asked her son.

"Okay, Mommy," Michael smiled as he innocently walked out of their bedroom and headed downstairs.

"Great thinking there, Melissa," Ralph smiled at his wife as he got out of bed. "I was about to freeze up trying to explain to Michael why we're wearing these jackets..."

"Oh, no problem, honey," Melissa smiled back at him as she got out of bed as well. "But you do know we will have to teach him one day about...you know...those kinds of feelings..."

"Oh boy, I am not looking forward to that!" Ralph cringed a little imagining the day he'd have to teach his son about girls.

"Don't worry, Ralph," Melissa smiled as she placed her warm paw on her husband's shoulder. "You didn't have that much trouble telling Michael where he came from, did you?"

"Yeah, you're right..." Ralph smiled. He remembered when Michael was about four years old; he asked the legendary "big question": where children came from. Ralph had explained to Michael that he'd given Melissa a very special present that had to grow inside of her, and nine months later, Michael had come into their life. Michael seemed to understand that, and Ralph had felt proud he'd been able to explain that to his son without having to go into too much detail.

"I'm sure you won't have much trouble teaching him that when the time comes," Melissa smiled. "Now c'mon, Ralph. We should go get dressed."

The day went by in a hurry and soon it was mid-afternoon at the Raccoondominium. Ralph and Melissa were packing some things in their backpacks, while little Michael was upstairs in his bedroom, getting himself packed as well.

"I think that's about it, Ralph," Melissa smiled as she closed up her backpack.

"Looks that way here, too," Ralph smiled back as he closed his backpack as well. "I just hope this trip goes well..."

"Ralph," Melissa raised an eyebrow at her husband, "are you still worried that something bad might happen because of that dream you had last night...?"

"A little," Ralph sheepishly admitted. "I mean, the Forest is pretty huge...it could definitely be intimidating to a child his age..."

"Ralph, Michael seems quite eager to go on this trip," Melissa firmly replied. "I'm sure some things might seem a little scary to him out there, but as long as we keep a close eye out for him, everything should turn out OK."

"I sure hope so..." Ralph nervously replied. "Sorry, Melissa. I know I'm worrying too much...I just don't want anything happening to our little boy, you know. I mean...if something happens to him, we could never replace him."

"I understand that, sweetie," Melissa warmly smiled. "But you don't need to worry yourself so much."

"Haha, I know...I'm being silly, I know," Ralph managed to laugh. "Well, Melissa, where do you think we should set up camp for the night? We're going to be out in the woods for the next couple of days...we'll need a place to camp out for the night."

"Well," Melissa thought for a moment. "I was thinking maybe we could camp out by the Endless Echo Caverns. Michael hasn't seen them yet; we could take him in there and show him Henri de la Possum's old cave paintings. What do you think?"

Ralph didn't think that sounded like a bad idea at all. "I guess that could work, Melissa. And if anything bad happens...like a thunderstorm, or something, we could always take shelter in there."

"That's a good point, Ralph, but I promise there won't be any thunderstorms!" Melissa laughed. She then walked up to the stairs. "Michael!" she called out. "We're about ready to go! Have you gotten your things ready?"

"Almost, Mom! I'll be down in a second!" the voice of her young son called back to her.

A few minutes passed, and finally Michael came downstairs carrying a small backpack on his back.

"Did you get everything you wanted to take, Mikey?" Ralph asked his son.

"Everything except my peanut butter..." Michael sighed. Michael loved peanut butter; it was his favorite food in the whole world. Ralph had once figured he wouldn't have to buy any more peanut butter once Bert left the Raccoondominium, but when Michael came along, he found out he was quite wrong. It probably had something to do with the fact that Melissa had constant cravings for peanut butter when she'd been pregnant with him...

"You couldn't find it, huh?" Melissa asked.

"No, Mom. I couldn't..."

"Don't worry," Melissa warmly smiled as she rubbed her son's furry head. "I thought ahead, honey. I packed a couple of jars of your peanut butter in my pack. You can have one after we fix up supper, okay?"

"Okay...Thanks, Mommy," Michael happily replied.

"Well, are we all ready to go?" Ralph asked his family.

"I think so, Ralph," Melissa smiled back at her hubby.

"Okay then, here we go!" With that, the Raccoon family opened the front door and headed outside into the woods, setting off on their woodland adventure together.

---

Their trek through the woods that evening was an eventful one. Ralph and Melissa kept a close eye on Michael the whole way as they knew their kit had a habit of getting a little too curious at times and wandering off. They'd stopped at several points along the way to show their son some of the Forest's most unique locations. When they reached the Endless Echo Caverns, they made sure to take Michael inside to show him the cave paintings that adorned the cave's walls.

It had been an eventful afternoon, but luckily nothing had gone wrong like Ralph feared it might. They'd already set up camp for the night. The family had eaten their dinner and now Ralph and Michael were sitting in front of their dwindling campfire, while Melissa was in their tent, reading one of her romance novels she'd brought along with her. She thought leaving Michael alone with Ralph for a little while would be a good bonding moment for the two of them...

"Well, Mikey," Ralph warmly smiled as he gently placed an arm around his little son, "have you had a good time today?"

Michael happily smiled up at his father, his little snout covered in peanut butter as he had just been eating from the jar his mother had brought with them. "Oh, Dad, I've had a great time today! Camping is so much fun! I didn't know the Forest was this big!"

"Heheh," Ralph continued to grin at his son. "Well, there's a lot more of the Forest you haven't seen yet, son. You'll get to see more of our Forest home the older you get...I promise." Ralph decided to change the subject a bit. "What about the cave paintings, Mikey? What do you think of those?"

"Oh, the cave paintings were pretty cool, Dad," Michael continued to smile as he wiped his snout. "Henri de la Possum must have been quite a painter!"

"He certainly was," Ralph nodded. "Like I said when we showed them to you, your mother and I remember when he actually painted those on the cave's wall. That was quite a while before you came along..."

"You and Mom have been together forever, haven't you?" Michael asked his father.

"Sometimes it feels like that..." Ralph warmly smiled. "Do you think you would have had more fun at the water park, or out here camping in the woods?" he curiously asked.

"I don't know how much fun the water park would be," Michael admitted, "but...I think this camping trip has been a lot of fun, Daddy."

"I'm glad you've had fun, son," Ralph warmly smiled.

"I'm glad too," Michael smiled as he moved closer to his father, propping his small head on his father's side. "Dad?"

"Yes, Mikey?"

"I'm glad you're my Dad," Michael continued to smile at his father.

"And I'm glad you're my son," Ralph beamed right back as he gave his young son a gentle hug. "You're a terrific kid, Mikey. Your mother and I couldn't be any more proud of you than we are. We both love you very much."

"I love you too, Daddy..." Michael nodded as he let out a tired yawn.

"Sleepy there, Mikey?" Ralph asked.

"Yes, I am, Dad..." Michael yawned again.

"Well...go ahead and get some rest, son. We've got another a long day ahead of us, you know."

"Alright..." Michael whispered as he laid his head down just as the fire burned out in front of them. "Good night, Dad..."

"Good night, my little Mikey," Ralph warmly smiled as he gently gave his little son a kiss on the forehead. "Sweet dreams." Ralph couldn't help but smile seeing how well today had gone. "Why was I afraid that something terrible might happen to Michael out here in the woods?" Ralph thought to himself. "Today's been absolutely perfect."

At that moment, Melissa poked her head out of the family's tent as she couldn't help but smile as she watched her husband gently stroke their young son's forehead while he slept. Melissa was well aware of the fact that Ralph felt Michael wasn't anywhere near as close to him as he was to her, so she always made sure to set up opportunities for Michael to spend some time with his father. It always warmed her heart seeing her husband and their son bonding with one another.

She put her romance novel down as she stepped out of the tent and walked towards Ralph and the sleeping Michael. "Ralph, you know what I wish?"

Ralph was a bit confused by his wife's sudden question. "What do you wish for, honey? You have just about everything a gal could want in her life..."

"Ralph, I wish I'd brought my camera with me," Melissa warmly grinned. "Because this would be a perfect photo to go in one of our scrapbooks..." Melissa had wanted to keep some memories and mementos of Michael growing up, so she'd purchased a good number of scrapbooks to place photos and other mementos of his childhood in.

Ralph had to agree with his wife. "You're right, Melissa. This would make a good photo...but it's probably for the best you didn't bring your camera with you this time. The flash would probably wake the little guy up."

Ralph and Melissa shared a quiet chuckle together. "Ah, you're right, Ralph. But...I do see you and Mikey are starting to grow a lot closer together than you were a couple of years ago."

"You're right about that, honey," Ralph smiled. "I think the little guy is really starting to look up to me. I think he still likes you a little better, though..."

"Well, I guess that's only natural," Melissa admitted. "I'm just glad to see the two of you getting along so well."

"Me too, honey," Ralph nodded in agreement. "I think it's time we put him to bed, though...he's out like a light."

Melissa gently reached down and scooped up her little kit in her arms, making sure not to wake him up. "Alright, Ralph. I'm going to go put him in his sleeping bag back in the tent. Then I think it'll be time for us to get some shut-eye as well. What do you think?"

Ralph thought that sounded like a great idea. "A capital idea, Melissa. I'm feeling pretty tired myself," he admitted.

Melissa carried their son back to the tent to put him in his sleeping bag. Ralph followed her...but as he did, he couldn't help but notice the wind had grown stronger than it had been when they'd first set out on their trip.

"Boy, it's getting awfully windy, isn't it, honey?" Ralph asked his wife.

"I noticed that, Ralph," Melissa nodded. "But don't worry. A little wind won't hurt us, will it?"

"I guess not," Ralph quietly replied as the couple entered the tent and Melissa placed their sleeping son in his sleeping bag.

"Look at the little guy," Ralph warmly remarked. "He looks so peaceful in his sleep...I wonder what he's dreaming about?"

"Maybe he's dreaming about all the good times he'll have with us while he grows up," Melissa mused. "Ralph...I know you've often told me you're not entirely sure that you're great a father..."

"I know that...Sometimes when Mikey and I don't get along, I can't help but wonder if I am a good parent..." Ralph embarrassingly admitted.

"But you needn't sell yourself short, dear. You are a terrific father. You see why I married you? You're the most caring guy I've ever met," Melissa happily chirped.

"You know, honey, it's times like these I can't help but wonder why I ever thought it would be a bad idea for the two of us to have kids," Ralph silently chuckled. "Imagine if I'd stuck with my initial choice. You and I would have never gotten to experience all those special moments we've shared raising the little guy together. Who knows what our lives would be like?"

"And I'm certainly glad you changed your mind when it came to kids," Melissa fondly smiled. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten to experience the joys of being a mother. It's been the most rewarding experience of my life...and it's all thanks to you."

Soon, the raccoon couple had crawled into their sleeping bags as well. Michael's small sleeping bag was nestled in between theirs, so they could keep him close by during the night. Ralph and Melissa gazed into each other's eyes as they happily grinned at one another.

"This camping trip idea of yours was a great one, honey," Ralph whispered. "I don't even know why I felt so worried last night and earlier today...everything's gone perfectly."

"I know," Melissa whispered back. "I told you there was nothing to worry about, dear..."

"You were right," Ralph sighed. "I love you, Melissa..."

"I love you too, Ralph..." Melissa whispered as the couple leaned in and shared a gentle kiss. They then placed their paws on little Michael's shoulders as the couple drifted off into sleep.

It seemed like the fitting conclusion for a perfect day for the happy Raccoon family...But things weren't about to stay happy for long.

---

A few hours passed and it was now just after midnight. The raccoon family were still asleep in their tent...but the youngest member of the family wasn't going to stay asleep for much longer.

Michael was suddenly awoken from his slumber by a strange sound coming from outside their tent. It sounded like something he'd never heard before in his young life.

"Hello...?" Michael quietly whispered out as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. "Who's there?" He heard the unfamiliar sound again. Michael was, needless to say, very intrigued.

Michael noticed his parents were fast asleep beside him and had their paws resting on his shoulders. He thought it'd be best to wake them to investigate the strange noise. "Mom, Dad..." Michael whispered as he tapped both parents on their noses. "Mommy, Daddy...please...wake up...there's something making noises outside the tent..."

But alas, Michael's attempts to wake his parents were in vain; Ralph and Melissa didn't move a muscle as they were lost in dreamland.

Michael wanted to investigate the noise...his curiosity was getting the better of him. He figured it wouldn't hurt to take a quick look outside. But he'd have to be careful not to wake up his parents...

Michael gently wriggled out of his sleeping bag and stepped around his parents as he headed out the tent. As he did, he heard the sound of his father stirring in his sleep. Michael stopped in his tracks, but fortunately, his father was only adjusting his position in his sleep.

Relieved, Michael stepped out of the tent into the night. The first thing he noticed surprised him greatly...it was starting to drizzle outside.

"Rain...?" Michael wondered to himself, as he was rather perplexed to feel it coming down from the sky. "I thought Mommy and Daddy said it wouldn't rain..."

Michael shrugged it off, as he quickly noticed just what had made the strange sounds he'd heard from within the family's tent.

There, standing in the nearby bushes, was a wild deer. It had been eating some leaves and that had been the sound that Michael had heard. Michael was enthralled by the sight of the deer...he had never seen a wild deer before, especially not one so close.

Michael couldn't help but instinctively call out to the deer, not knowing that wild animals didn't respond well to anthropomorphic ones. "Hey there, Mr. Deer!" Michael cheerfully called out.

Needless to say, the deer was instantly spooked by the kit's voice. It raised its' head up, glanced fearfully at him for a moment, and then proceeded to bound off into the depths of the woods.

Michael knew his parents had told him to stay close to them since he wasn't all that familiar with the woods...but at that moment, he completely forgot what his parents had told him. His curiosity had gotten the better of him, for sure. He felt the urge to chase after the deer and get a better look at it...he felt he'd be able to catch it quickly and it wouldn't be too hard to get back to his family's campsite.

"Hey, Mr. Deer! Come back!" Michael called out as he dashed into the bushes, following after the deer.

It wasn't much of a chase, as the deer already had quite a head start on him, and since Michael was still very young, he couldn't move anywhere near as fast as it could. It wasn't long before the deer vanished from sight altogether.

"I've got to find out where it went..." Michael said as he went further and further into the woods.

Michael walked through the woods for about fifteen minutes or so...but no such luck. He didn't see the deer again after it had vanished from his sight.

"I guess I'll never find it now..." Michael sighed. "He was just too fast..."

Michael then turned around as he knew he'd have to head back to camp. He'd figured it wouldn't be hard for him to get back...

...but he hadn't realized how deep into the woods he'd gone. He had gone a fair ways away from camp and was in a part of the Forest he'd never been in before in his young life. Had he been in his parents' shoes, he would have known the Forest well and known just how to get back to the campsite. But at his young age, Michael realized he'd made a terrible mistake in chasing after that deer...

"Uh oh..." Michael said aloud, as he started to grow frightened. "Which way is the tent...?" Michael couldn't remember for sure...

And to make matters worse, it was at that second that the wind picked up and the clouds burst...

Back at the Raccoon family tent, Ralph and Melissa were awoken by the sound of a sudden torrential downpour outside their tent. Ralph jumped up with a start.

"What the-?" Ralph shouted in surprise. "I thought Bert predicted that it'd be cloudy out tonight...What is all this?"

"I guess Bert got the forecast wrong again..." Melissa calmly replied. It did worry her a little hearing how hard the rain was coming down, but she wasn't that concerned.

"How many times has that been in the past month? Three or four?" Ralph grumbled. "He's really proving himself to be quite the bad weather forecaster...thanks to him, we're stuck out here in the middle of a storm!"

"Don't be that mad, Ralph," Melissa replied in a soothing voice. "I know Bert didn't get the forecast wrong on purpose..."

"I know that," Ralph sternly replied. "It just bugs me how often he gets it wrong..." Ralph noticed that their son, oddly enough, hadn't woken up yet. "Huh, Melissa...Michael's being awfully qu-" But he was interrupted by the sound of a panicked Melissa.

"Ralph!" Melissa urgently shouted out. "Something's wrong! Michael's not in his sleeping bag!"

Ralph glanced over to his left and noticed, much to his horror, that his wife was right. Michael's sleeping bag was empty. "Oh no, you're right, Melissa!" Ralph began to panic as well. He quickly noticed that Michael's backpack was still in the tent with them...wherever he was, he hadn't taken it with him.

"Ralph, do you think he might just be outside? Quick, take a look and see!" Melissa frantically asked. Her mind was an absolute frenzy at the moment...she had this bad feeling her child was in serious trouble, and she wouldn't be able to help him.

Ralph poked his head out of the front of their tent and quickly glanced around, hoping to catch a glimpse of his son out in the pouring rain.

Unfortunately, no such luck. Michael was nowhere in sight. "He's not out there, Melissa..." Ralph said as he came back into the tent, his head slumping down. This was one of the worst situations the two raccoons could have ever been in...their son was missing out in the middle of the wilderness, and they had no idea where he might be.

"Ralph, my baby's missing!" Melissa shouted out.

"I know..." Ralph sadly replied. He was already beginning to fear the worst. He knew there were at least a couple of convicted child predators in the Evergreen Forest...he couldn't bear the thought to imagine some sick, twisted pervert doing unspeakable acts to their poor young son..."Melissa...do you think Michael was...was...kid-ki-kidnapped?" he croaked out as he could barely finish his sentence. "I know just the other day we reported on the release of a child predator from the Evergreen Penitentiary..."

"Ron Broadfoot was his name, right?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah, that was his name," Ralph solemnly nodded. "You don't suppose he might have struck again by wandering out this far in the woods after dark and took Michael while we were sleeping, do you...?"

The thought certainly did horrify Melissa...but it didn't seem that was the case. "I don't think Michael was abducted, Ralph. There's no sign that he was...plus, if someone did try to take him out of our tent, we surely would have heard something and woke up..."

"You've got a good point, Melissa," Ralph sighed, feeling a bit relieved. But not fully relieved, as Michael was still missing. "But...what could have happened to him...?"

"I think he might have stepped outside for some reason and gotten lost," Melissa quickly deduced. "He's got to be out here somewhere, sweetie. He can't have gone far; we have to find him!" Melissa hurriedly reached into her backpack and pulled out her flashlight, quickly switching it on. Ralph was momentarily blinded by his wife suddenly shining the flashlight directly into his eyes.

"Aaaagggghh! Hey!" Ralph shouted out. "Not in my face, honey!"

"Sorry, Ralph!" Melissa said as she crawled out of the tent into the pouring rain. Although her mind was in a frenzy knowing her child was missing, she was trying her hardest to regain her composure. She felt that if she and Ralph were able to keep their heads about them and look hard enough, they'd find their missing son. "Ralph, c'mon! We have to find Michael!"

Ralph was quick to follow his wife into the torrential downpour. The raccoon couple was quickly getting soaked, but they didn't care. All they cared about was finding their lost son.

"Michael!" Melissa called out as she and Ralph stepped through the bushes. "Michael! Can you hear me? Michael!"

"Michael, are you alright?!" Ralph called in a more panicked voice. "Please, Michael, if you're alright, call for us!"

Meanwhile, Michael was utterly panicking. He had never been in such a frightening predicament in all of his life. He'd spent time away from his parents before, but he'd never been lost before. Michael dearly wanted to get back to the campsite...

...but he didn't recognize where he was at all. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to get back to the campsite again. The rapidly falling rain was only causing him to panic even more.

"Mommy!" he frantically called out. "Daddy! Are you out there?" Michael was hopeful that perhaps this storm had woken them up and they might be out looking for him.

No response but the howling of the wind and the continued sound of the torrential downpour. Michael couldn't help but shiver in the cold rain.

"Why did I chase after that deer..." Michael lamented as he gazed up at the sky. "If I had just stayed put...I wouldn't be lost...Will Mom and Dad ever find me...?" Michael truly doubted he'd ever see his parents again.

And to make matters worse, it was at that moment that the strong storm grew even stronger. Forks of lightning flashed across the agitated sky and the loud roar of thunder rung in Michael's ears.

"YIKES! THUNDER!" Michael absolutely panicked. He was scared of more than a few things, but he was frightened of thunderstorms most of all. It seemed like a bit of a silly fear, he had to admit, but he had always been afraid that the loud booming thunder and the crackling lightning would get him one day. Now, it seemed like that fear of his might come true.

"I have to get out of here!" Michael fearfully shouted out as he dashed off running. He had to find a place to hide from the storm as he didn't want to get hurt. He just hoped the direction he'd chosen would taken him back to the campsite...

But unfortunately, Michael had gone in the wrong direction. He was going farther away from the camp...and farther away from the safety of his parents...

Meanwhile, Ralph and Melissa were still in the bushes near the campsite, desperately searching for their lost kit. They hadn't had any luck in finding him, but Melissa wasn't about to give up hope.

But the couple were certainly worried, especially knowing how that there was a severe thunderstorm going on around them..."Melissa, Michael's afraid of thunderstorms! Can you imagine what he must be going through out there...?"

"Oh, I don't want to imagine it..." Melissa sadly replied as she imagined her baby shivering out in the cold, terrified out of his mind that the lightning was going to get him and crying for her and Ralph. "Oh, we have just got to find him, Ralph..."

"I don't think he's here, Melissa..." Ralph replied in a rather defeated sounding voice. "Maybe we should try again in the morning...This storm is getting too wild. I think we need to take shelter!"

"Ralph!" Melissa shouted at her husband. "Our only child is lost somewhere around here! We can't just give up looking for him...we have to find him! C'mon!" she tried to encourage him. But at that moment, the gleam of light from Melissa's flashlight dimmed as the battery died.

"Our flashlight burned out!" Ralph shouted out. "This isn't good, honey..."

"Ralph, do we have any spare batteries?" Melissa hopefully asked.

Ralph took his backpack off his back and hurriedly checked it; he had also been carrying Michael's backpack to give to him in case they found him. "No...I don't think we do, dear," Ralph sighed.

"It's a bit of a setback..." Melissa admitted. "But I'm not giving u-"

Melissa didn't even have time to finish her sentence before the raccoon couple received a huge shock...almost literally.

A stray bolt of lightning forked out from behind them and struck the clearing where they'd been camping. The lightning bolt struck the family tent and instantly vaporized it to nothing more than a few smoldering cinders. Ralph and Melissa's fur stood up on end as they were shocked at how close they'd come to getting zapped. Luckily for them, they'd taken their backpacks out of the tent before they'd gone off to search for Michael, and had saved Michael's backpack as well. Unfortunately, their tent was gone and their sleeping bags were nothing more than a pile of ashes as well...

"The lightning hit our tent, Melissa!" Ralph shrieked fearfully. "If that had been us in there..."

"I don't even want to think about it, Ralph!" Melissa shouted. As much as she hated to admit defeat, she knew it was now no longer safe to search for Michael in this sort of weather. If they continued to try to search for their son in this weather, there was a good chance they might be fried extra crispy..."You're right, Ralph. We need to seek shelter!"

"Quick, Melissa!" Ralph shouted as he pointed to the entrance of the Endless Echo Caverns. "Into the caverns!" The raccoon couple raced past the smoldering remnants of their campsite as they dashed inside the cave's opening. They would be safe from the storm here.

But even though the couple were safe, they still couldn't help but worry. Their son was lost out in the middle of the woods in the middle of a severe thunderstorm, and his young life might very well be in danger.

"Ralph...I hate to admit it..." Melissa sadly sighed, "but...you were right...Ralph...something terrible did happen on this camping trip..."

"I was hoping I wouldn't be proven right..." Ralph sighed as well. "This...this is my worst nightmare come true..."

"I hope Michael's alright out there..." Melissa worriedly glanced out at the chaos occurring outside the cave's entrance.

"I don't know, honey..." Ralph began to tear up. "That lightning destroyed our tent..." he remarked matter-of-factly. "Honey, you don't suppose Mikey could...could...die out th-" But Melissa interrupted her husband before he could even finish that sentence.

"Ralph, don't say that!" she quickly scolded him. "Please don't say that. I don't want to even think about that," she hurriedly finished. But deep down, she knew that Ralph was right...there was certainly a possibility their son could have been struck by lightning...

"I'm sorry, honey..." Ralph apologized. "I'm just worried about our son..."

"I know, Ralph," Melissa nodded. "I know..."

"When do you think it will be safe for us to go out and search for him again...?" Ralph hesitantly asked.

"Whenever it stops storming..." Melissa briefly replied. "I guess we'll just have to wait until the morning to look for him..."

"I guess so..." Ralph sighed. "Where could he be...?"

"I don't know, Ralph..." Melissa teared up a bit as well. "I don't know..."

The couple sat in silence as they continued to watch the rain pour down outside the cave. They knew they'd be in for a sleepless night...they were just so filled with worry; wondering if they would ever find their son again.

"Hang in there, Mikey," Ralph thought to himself. "Wherever you are..."

A couple hours passed and the storm was still at full power. Michael continued to dash through the words, going farther and farther away from the campsite as he raced through the woodlands. By now, he knew he was utterly lost, and his feet absolutely stung as he'd been running for a couple of hours straight. But he didn't dare stop, as he could still hear the thunder loudly booming and could see the forks of lightning streaming across the sky. He felt that if he stopped, the lightning would surely get him...

"There has to be somewhere to hide," Michael repeated to himself. "There just has to!"

But no matter where it seemed he ran, there wasn't anywhere for him to take shelter. It looked like he'd be running all night...

As lightning flashed across the sky, Michael could see a stormy surface of water being illuminated by the bright flashes of light. He knew he was near Evergreen River...but that still didn't tell him much. He had no clue just where exactly he was.

"Oh...where am I...?!" Michael cried out in fear.

As more lightning lit up the sky, Michael could see a large house sitting on an island out in the middle of the water. It looked like it might make a good shelter, but Michael knew it was too far away for him to reach, plus he didn't know if the inhabitants would be friendly...

"Oh, I'll never find any shelter!" Michael wailed. But just then, before him, he saw something that caught his eye.

There standing before him was a small wooden structure, illuminated by the flashing skies. It looked almost like a castle or a small fort. It wasn't much at all...but Michael knew it would at least keep him out of the rain for a while...

"This might work!" Michael shouted out as he crawled into the fort to hide from the rain. The rain came flowing in from the ceiling, but it was at least drier than outside.

Michael was at least happy he'd found shelter...but he still felt absolutely petrified out of his mind. He had no idea where on Earth he was. He knew his parents surely had to be looking for him somewhere...but he knew he was nowhere near them at all. He didn't know if they would ever find him or if he'd ever see them again.

"Oh...I can't believe I chased that deer..." Michael sighed as tears came to his tired eyes. "Now I'll never see Mommy and Daddy again..." he began to cry. "I'm...I'm a lost kid. I'll have to live here until I'm Mom and Dad's age...This is my home now..." Michael began to weep, feeling so sorrowful for letting his own curiosity get the better of him.

Michael cried and cried until he couldn't cry anymore and finally drifted off to sleep...

---

The next morning arrived in the Evergreen Forest. The serious thunderstorm that rocked the Forest the night before has passed on through, and a sunny morning greets the Forest's residents. The effects of the thunderstorm are present everywhere: several trees have been struck by lightning and have fallen down, and there is a lot of debris strewn throughout the Forest, particularly tree branches.

Still, it's a beautiful morning, and some of the Forest's residents have decided to venture out for the day. Some to inspect the damage, and others just wanting to spend a little quality time together...

Bert and Maxie Raccoon were walking up the Forest trail not terribly far from their house. The couple had figured since they both had a day off from their jobs and they had nothing better to do, it'd be nice to take a little woodland walk together. They held paws as they walked, while Maxie was carrying her hiking stick she usually took with her when the couple went for a walk in her other paw.

"Boy, Max," Bert smiled at his wife, "that was some storm we got last night, wasn't it?"

"Was it ever," Maxie nodded in agreement. "It's been a long time since we've had a storm that bad, hasn't it?"

"I can't remember the last storm we had that knocked out the power," Bert replied. The couple had been lying back on their couch together the night before watching a late-night movie when the storm had struck a little after midnight, knocking out the power. The power was still out at the moment, and they figured they might as well take a nice walk through the woodlands...plus Bert had something he wanted to show Maxie.

"Me neither," Maxie agreed with her husband. "I hope nobody got hurt by the storm..."

"Ralphie boy and Melissa are out there," Bert responded. "I gotta worry about them..."

"Oh, that's right," Maxie remarked. "Ralph called you Friday afternoon to tell you not to come into work yesterday because he and Mel were taking Michael camping for the weekend. I remember that now."

"Yeah, he did," Bert nodded. "No doubt those three went through some real hell last night! Especially poor little Mikey...you know he's scared of thunder!"

"Oh, I know," Maxie agreed, "I remember one time when Ralph and Mel asked us to look after him while they were out for the night, it stormed outside and he ran into our bed because he didn't want the lightning to get him! Poor little guy..." Maxie chuckled a bit remembering that particular night. "I hope the three of them are alright...I'd hate to hear something bad happened to them..."

"Ah, I'm sure they're fine!" Bert reassured himself. "I'm sure they made it through A-OK. Hey, who knows, we might bump into them out there!"

"Oh, I doubt that, Bert," Maxie replied. "Who knows where they decided to set up camp? We probably won't see them out here..."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Bert's voice trailed off as he decided to change his subject. "You remember what I said I was gonna show you out here, right, babe?"

"Of course, I remember, hon," Maxie smiled. "You told me you and Ralph built a fort by Evergreen River when you were little."

"That's right!" Bert beamed. "I wanted to show it to ya, but I just haven't had the time. But now's as good a time as ever! Why...I haven't been up there in years!"

"Well, you and I have been pretty busy these past few years, after all," Maxie smiled at her husband's enthusiasm. "I suppose it'll be nice for you to relive some of your childhood memories, huh?"

"Sure will!" Bert proudly grinned.

"I'd show you some of my nostalgic places from my childhood, hon," Maxie sighed, "but those are all in the city..." Maxie didn't like thinking back to her past as a member of the wealthy Ringtail family...

"I understand...Say, have I told ya that Ralphie boy and me had our own secret club when we were kids?"

"You did, huh?" Maxie raised her eyebrow.

"We sure did! Though I do gotta admit...it was kinda a boys' only club..." he sheepishly remarked.

Maxie rolled her eyes at her hubby's comment. "Let me guess...you two both thought girls had cooties, didn't you...?"

"Heheh, well, we did," Bert admitted. "We were both kids then, y'know...I thought girls were icky while Ralphie boy thought they had some kind of disease. Then we both grew up...and I did some things as a teenager I'm not proud of..."

"I know how that feels," Maxie cringed remembering some of the mistakes she'd made as a teenager, most of all getting pregnant and being disowned by her family. "But, at least we've grown up a lot since then and we've learned from our mistakes. And we've got each other," she warmly smiled. Maxie was at least pleased that her life had gotten a lot better over the past few years...

"You better believe it, baby!" Bert quipped as the couple shared a good laugh. "Our club's open to girls now, though..."

"Really now," Maxie raised an eyebrow. "So does that mean I could join your secret club?"

"Hey, you've got the honor of being Mrs. Bert Raccoon!" Bert heartily laughed. "Melissa's a member of our club now too...of course you can join! You're my gal, after all," he smiled as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Aw, thanks, hon," Maxie smiled at her husband.

"First I'll have to show you our secret handshake. It's a bit difficult to do, but if you watch me, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it! It took me three years to learn it properly..."

Maxie couldn't help but giggle at her goofy husband. "Oh, Bert, you silly raccoon!" She had always loved the fact that he could really make her laugh...

Meanwhile, in another part of the Forest, Ralph and Melissa were searching desperately for their lost son Michael. When the storm had finally stopped at about six in the morning, they'd cautiously left the cave and decided to seek out their missing child once more.

But unfortunately, they weren't having any luck. By now it was a little after eleven o'clock and they'd reached the shore of Evergreen Lake, and yet they still hadn't seen any sign of Michael.

"Michael!" Melissa hopefully called out, hoping he might be hiding somewhere nearby. "Michael, are you out there? Mikey! Michael, where are you?"

But once again...no response.

"Melissa...it's hopeless..." Ralph sighed. It'd been a long time since he'd gotten this much exercise and he was certainly feeling rather tuckered out. "We've been looking for him for hours. And still we haven't found him. I'm..." Ralph began to choke up once more. "I'm beginning to think we're never going to find him..."

"Ralph, don't say that!" Melissa tried to encourage her hubby. "If you say we'll never find him, then that means we won't ever find him! You have to have a little faith, dear. If we keep looking...we'll find him. I know we will..."

"I want to believe you..." Ralph sighed. "But the Forest is so large and Michael could be anywhere..."

"He's not the most athletic kid," Melissa replied. "He surely couldn't have gone that far..."

"True, but Michael could have found shelter for a while and rested, and now he could be on the move again...If that's the case we'd probably never find him..."

Melissa had to admit Ralph had a point...if Michael was still on the move it would be very hard for them to find their son. "Maybe we need a little more help, Ralph..."

"What are you suggesting?" Ralph wondered.

"Ralph...maybe we should stop by the Evergreen Police Station and tell them that Mikey is missing. You know it's part of their duty to help search for any missing or exploited children..." Melissa informed Ralph.

"So you're saying that we should get the Forest Police to organize a search and rescue for Michael...?" Ralph asked.

"That's what I'm saying, yes," she nodded. "Having more people out looking for Michael will help increase the chances of him being found."

"I guess that could work..." Ralph agreed with her. "Maybe we should head home and call the police..."

"I think that sounds like a good idea," Melissa optimistically replied. She had high hopes that Michael would be found and they would get to see him again...

They didn't know they wouldn't even get that far...

---

Meanwhile, Bert and Maxie were approaching Evergreen River.

"It's quite a view from here, isn't it?" Bert smiled as he nudged his wife.

"It sure is," Maxie nodded. "Hey, Bert," she curiously asked as she pointed out to an old house she spied on an island out in the river. She'd been past this spot before as she'd recognized it when they reached it, but she didn't know exactly why there was an old mansion out on an island. "What's that old house out there in the river?"

"Oh, that?" Bert couldn't help but grin. "Well, babe, that happens to be...the haunted house..."

"Haunted house...?" That caught Maxie's attention.

"Yeah, Ralphie boy and I spent the night out there once when we were both kits," Bert smiled. "It was a hell of an experience, let me tell you!"

"Bert, what's the story behind that house, anyways?" Maxie herself didn't believe in spirits or in the supernatural, but she usually played along with Bert to humor him. She knew Bert had a book full of Forest ghost legends (there were evidently enough to fill up a small book), so surely he'd know the story behind this one.

"Well, I do know the old house is actually called Rowan Place," Bert remembered off the top of his head. "After the wealthy family who used to live here, the Rowans. They were a very secretive family of pigs who didn't like being bothered by intruders or other people, so they built their house out on this out of the way island so no one could bother them."

"But then what happened?" Maxie curiously wondered.

"Well, if I'm remembering right, one night a raving lunatic who escaped from the insane asylum rowed out to the island, broke into their house, and killed them in their sleep and ate their flesh," Bert informed his wife.

"Ate their flesh?" Maxie was certainly surprised; that sounded like a rather gruesome crime.

"If I remember what I read right," Bert clarified for her. "That happened over seventy-five years ago, if I remember right. Ever since then, the spirits of the Rowans have been haunting their old home, waiting for someone related to their killer to show up so they can have their vengeance by grinding their bones and feasting upon their flesh!" Bert let out a very unnerving laugh.

"Well...they don't sound like very friendly specters at all," Maxie had to admit. "Now, you said you and Ralph spent a night at Rowan Place when you were kids. Were the ghosts actually there...?"

"Oh, they were there, babe!" Bert enthusiastically remarked. "We didn't see them when we were kits, but when we were adults, we got Cedric to join our club and we got him to spend a night in the ol' mansion with us. That's when we saw them! There were three of 'em," Bert exclaimed. He had no idea that those had actually been the pork trio trying to scare them away so they wouldn't stress Cyril Sneer out on his doctor-ordered vacation; for all these years he'd been convinced that he, Ralph, and Cedric had seen the spirits of the Rowan family in person. Even though Ralph and Cedric had long since come to the conclusion that it had been someone pretending to be ghosts trying to scare them away, it hadn't fazed his belief at all...

"They didn't try to eat your flesh, did they...?" Maxie wondered.

"No, but they did try to kill us," Bert admitted. "They scared the daylights out of us and tricked us into falling into their old trapdoor I bet they used to try to catch any intruders when they were alive. If it hadn't been for the fact that Sophia and Melissa were looking for us so they could give me my moosehorn which I'd lost, I think the three of us woulda died down there!"

"What a hostile bunch of spirits," Maxie shook her head. "You said you took Cedric there as part of his initiation...is that one of the requirements for joining your club...?" Maxie didn't believe in ghosts, but she still didn't want to spend a night in Rowan Place anyways. The place gave her the jitters just looking at it...it didn't look like it'd be a fun place to stay at all.

"Well, it used to be part of the initiation," Bert admitted, "but...well...not anymore. You don't have to spend the night there, babe. I wouldn't make ya do that."

"Well, I'm glad for that, hon," Maxie lightly smiled at her husband.

"And here it is!" Bert gleefully chimed out as the couple stood before the old wooden fort. "This is our ol' childhood fort! Tell me, what d'ya think? It's the greatest, isn't it?" he smugly grinned.

Maxie wasn't all that impressed. "I've been past this fort before, Bert...I just didn't know you built it. It looks a little uncomfortable, don't you think...?"

"Ralphie boy and I have been meanin' to fix it up for years," Bert replied. "Unfortunately we've never found the right time...We've been, ya know, too busy..."

Just then, Bert heard a strange noise coming from within the fort. It sounded like something was snoring inside of there. "Huh...Max, babe?" Bert asked his wife.

"Yes, hon...?"

"You hear that? I think there might be something in there..." Bert began to grow a little worried. "Whatever it is, it's asleep..."

"Oh, some wild animal probably just snuck into the fort to hide from the storm," Maxie couldn't help but laugh. "You don't think there's really something dangerous in there, do you?"

"Never know," Bert shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to take a look and find out..."

Bert leaned down and glanced through the small front door of the fort. He was expecting to find some kind of small ugly beast inhabiting his fort, something not too much unlike Cyril Sneer's old dog Snag (who had by this time, just like his master, long since bitten the dust when he had gotten into some garbage and eaten some grapes). But what he saw was something much more familiar to him...and much more of a surprise.

There was a little raccoon kit sleeping inside of Bert's old fort, wearing a soaking wet green collared shirt and a small white scarf. Bert knew who this was right away; he recognized it as his oldest buddy's kid...

"Michael...?" Bert called out in surprise. He certainly hadn't been expecting to find little Michael Raccoon hiding in his fort...especially with his parents nowhere to be found.

Upon hearing Bert's voice, Michael slowly stirred and woke up. He let out a pretty loud yawn as his eyes focused. He saw his father's friend's face staring at him, looking rather surprised.

Michael was quite surprised himself. "Uncle Bert...?"

"Hey, Max," Bert called to his wife. "Mikey's hiding in here!"

"Michael is hiding in your fort...?" Maxie was surprised. "What on Earth is he doing in there...?"

"I don't know, babe," Bert shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, c'mon out, little buddy!" Bert encouragingly called out to Michael.

Michael was a little hesitant, but he obeyed and slowly but surely stepped out of the fort.

"Michael, what are you doing out here...?" Maxie asked the little kit. She immediately noticed that Michael looked like he'd been through quite a lot...it was obvious that something pretty serious had happened to him.

"Did something happen to your parents, lil' guy?" Bert wondered as he couldn't help but worry a little. He was well aware that Ralph and Melissa had taken the little kit camping with them...Seeing Michael out here all by himself couldn't help but make him wonder if something terrible had happened to Ralph and Melissa during the storm last night and Michael had fled looking for help. The thought of his friends being possibly injured or worse was rather unsettling to the goofy raccoon...

"I don't know..." Michael hesitantly answered. "I don't know where they are..."

"You don't know where they are...?" Bert was surprised.

"No..." Michael sighed. "I...I...I'm lost..." the young raccoon began to cry.

"Lost...?" Maxie asked him. "How did you get lost?"

"Tell us, little buddy," Bert encouraged the kit. He wanted to know just what had happened to Michael.

"I was with Mom and Dad last night, and we were sleeping in our tent. Then I woke up because I heard a noise outside our tent," Michael slowly began. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it, but he knew he had to...

"So then what happened?" Maxie asked Michael.

"Well...I snuck out the tent and I saw a deer," Michael lowly replied. "I wanted to see it better...so I called out to it. It ran off...and I chased after it until I knew I couldn't catch it. By then, I was lost..."

"Aw, that wasn't a very wise thing to do, little buddy," Bert scolded him, but not very sternly. "I'm sure your parents told ya to stick close to them, didn't they?"

"They did..." Michael nodded. "I should have went back in the tent..."

"Mikey, you should take your parent's advice," Maxie added. "Your mother and father are only trying to look out for you, and now they're probably worried sick about you..."

"I know that..." Michael sighed. "Then I tried to go back...but it started storming...and I got scared and I ran. Then I saw this castle...and I hid in it...and now here I am," Michael continued to cry.

"Sounds like you had a really rough night, there, little buddy..." Bert said in a calming voice as he gently patted the little kit on the shoulder.

"And now..." Michael began to sob. "I know...I know I'll never see Mommy and Daddy again...all because...I didn't listen to them...I'm a lost kid...and now...I have to learn...how to grow up by...myself...!" Michael bawled. It was clear that the previous night had been perhaps the most frightening experience of his young life.

Maxie couldn't help but feel sorry for little Michael. She stooped down and gave the little kit a warm, gentle embrace. "Aww, there, there, Michael..." she softly whispered to Michael as he cried onto her shoulder. Michael may not have been her child, but she still couldn't help but feel sorry for him and thought he needed someone to comfort him at the moment. "It'll be okay, Mikey...it'll be okay..." Maxie then turned her gaze towards her husband while she gently continued to pat Michael on the back. "Bert, you know we can't leave Michael here. Look at him, he's so scared and sad..."

Bert nodded in agreement. "I know that, babe..." he whispered back. "I think the lil' guy's already been through enough..."

"We have to find Ralph and Mel for him," she replied. "No doubt they're worried sick and are looking for him everywhere, and he misses them so terribly..."

"That's what I was thinkin', Max," Bert nodded again. "We need to find Ralphie boy and Melissa and let them know we found their boy..."

Michael was still crying into Maxie's shoulder as she continued to embrace the frightened kit. "There, there, Michael..." she continued to gently whisper into his ear. "Everything's alright now..."

"No, it's not, Aunt Maxie..." Michael said through his tears. "I'm never going to see Mom and Dad again and I'm going to have to live here for the rest of my life...I'm a lost kid!" he began to cry some more.

"Michael..." Maxie tried to cheer him up. "You were a lost kid. But you're not lost anymore," she smiled warmly at him.

"I'm not?" Michael curiously gazed into her emerald green eyes.

"No, you're not, little buddy," Bert cheerfully smiled at the kit. "We found you! You can't be lost anymore if someone finds ya, can ya?"

"I guess not..." Michael admitted. "But am I ever going to see Mom and Dad again...?"

"Of course you will, Michael," Maxie smiled as she let go of him and got to her feet once again. "Your Uncle Bert and I are going to help find your parents for you."

"Really?!" Michael was so excited hearing that his Uncle Bert and Aunt Maxie were planning to reunite him with his parents. "You would do that, Aunt Maxie...?"

"Of course we would," she nodded. "Right, hon?"

"We sure would, babe," Bert beamed at her. He turned his attention towards Michael. "Your parents are some of our oldest and dearest friends. They need ya as much as you need them, little buddy!"

"Uncle Bert, Aunt Maxie, thank you!" Michael smiled as he raced into Bert's arms for a quick hug. "But...how are you going to find Mom and Dad? You don't know where they are..."

"No, we don't," Maxie admitted.

"But we can always head over to the Raccoondominium and wait for them there," Bert smiled. "If your parents drop by there, they'll be sure to bump into us!"

Michael was interested. "You know how to get to my home from here...?" he asked.

"Of course we do," Bert nodded. "When I was a little kid like you, I didn't know where everything in the Forest was, either," he admitted. "But your aunt and I are big now, and we know where most everything in the whole Forest is. Don't we, babe?" Bert winked at his wife.

"That's right, hon," Maxie winked back at him. "When you're a grown-up like us, Mikey, you'll know where everything in the Forest is as well," she smiled. "But until then, it's best if you follow us."

"Follow you...?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, c'mon little buddy!" Bert called out. "C'mon, we're takin' you back to the Raccoondominium!"

Michael smiled as he raced after Bert and Maxie as they headed for the Raccoondominium. He couldn't help but feel happy knowing he was about to see his home again and there was a good chance he might to get to see his mother and father once more...although he wondered if they would be mad at him for wandering off during the night...

---

Meanwhile, Ralph and Melissa were nearly home again, minus their young son. They had been unsuccessful in their search for Michael, and had decided to return home to call the police in the hopes that they'd organize a search-and-rescue effort to find their lost child. Melissa remained optimistic that Michael would be found, but she and Ralph both also felt fearful that the worst could have happened and that they would never see their son alive again...

"I sure hope the police will be able to find him..." Ralph quietly said.

"I'm sure they'll be able to find him," Melissa tried to encourage Ralph...and herself at the same time. "As I said, having more people out looking for him in different areas increases the likelihood he'll be found."

"I hope so..." Ralph replied, not sounding confident at all. "I only wonder what little Michael's been through..."

"I know," Melissa worriedly nodded. "He has to be feeling absolutely terrified out there all alone and cold and wet...I can't imagine what must be going through his little head..."

The couple did hope their son would be found, but they certainly knew there was also a chance that Michael was lost forever, and that not even the police would be able to find him. They had heard stories of couples whose children had went missing and had never been seen again, and they didn't want to know what that would be like...it would be terrible for them knowing they'd lost their only child. For the rest of their lives they'd always feel empty...

When Ralph and Melissa arrived at the Raccoondominium, they got quite a surprise...Bert and Maxie were standing outside of their house, waiting to greet them.

"Hey, Ralphie boy! Melissa!" Bert waved to the couple.

"Bert? Maxie...?" Melissa was surprised. "What are you two doing out here...?"

"Well, Bert said it would be a nice idea if we dropped by your place," Maxie replied. "We don't really have much else to do today..." Michael was hiding behind the Raccoondominium, as Bert and Maxie thought it would be best to give Ralph and Melissa a real surprise...

Bert noticed the glum expressions on Ralph and Melissa's face. "Why the long faces, you two?" he asked.

"Bert..." Ralph sighed heavily, a part of him wanting to cry right then and there. "We lost Michael out there in the woods..."

"Lost Michael?" Maxie feigned surprise. "How?"

"He wandered off in the middle of the night while we were asleep. We tried to look for him last night, but the storm struck our tent and we had to hide in the Endless Echo Caverns," Melissa sadly informed the couple.

"We've looked for him all morning, but we haven't found a trace of him..." Ralph finished. "We're really worried about him...we came home to call the police so they could help us look for him..."

"That'll do ya no good," Bert explained. "The storm knocked out the power for the whole Forest last night! It still isn't back on...they really oughta get to work on that!"

"Ah, damn!" Ralph grumbled. "Now we're going to have to drop by the police station ourselves to report Michael missing..." He let out another heavy sigh. "I just wonder if we'll ever see the little guy again..."

"You don't have to go to the police," Maxie smiled at her friends. "Michael's not lost anymore!"

Ralph and Melissa were rather confused by their friend's statement. "Huh...?"

Bert cheerfully grinned. "That's right! C'mon out, Michael!"

Michael peeked his little head out from behind the Raccoondominium. Almost instinctively, he dashed out from behind his home towards his parents in absolute joy. "MOMMY! DADDY!" he joyfully cried out.

Ralph and Melissa's hearts filled up with joy upon seeing their missing son once again. Melissa happily extended her arms as her young son dashed straight into then. "Oh, Michael, my baby!" she joyfully cried out, a few tears sliding down her face as she gave Michael the biggest hug she'd ever given him in his life. Normally, Michael felt a little embarrassed when his mother called him her baby since he felt he was a little too big to be called that, but he didn't care at that moment. He was just so happy to see his mother again.

"Mommy, I'm so glad to see you again!" Michael cried out.

"Oh, Mikey...I'm so glad to see you too," Melissa joyfully smiled. Michael then turned his attention towards Ralph.

"Daddy! It's great to see you again, Daddy!" he smiled.

Ralph wrapped his arm around Melissa as he gently tussled with his son's furry head. He couldn't help but feel emotional too being reunited with his lost child. "Son! We're so glad to see you again...we thought we'd never find you!"

Bert and Maxie smiled at the happy reunion occurring before them. The couple couldn't help but feel proud knowing they'd done some good by helping reunite little Michael with his joyous parents once again.

"Bert, you and Maxie found Michael...?" Ralph asked.

"We sure did!" Bert excitedly exclaimed.

"Where did you find him?" Melissa eagerly asked her friends.

"Bert was showing me his old fort from when he was a kid," Maxie explained. "It just so happened that Michael was hiding inside it."

"He was hiding in our old fort...?" Ralph was surprised. "No wonder we didn't find him...we didn't think he'd have gone that far away from our campsite..."

"Bert...Maxie...we can't thank you enough for helping us find our little Michael," Melissa warmly smiled at her friends as she and Ralph let go of Michael.

"It was no problem, Mel. If it had been us in that situation, I'm sure you would have done the same for us," Maxie beamed.

"Bert...thanks for finding my boy," Ralph smiled as he extended his arms and gave his oldest pal a small friendly hug. "I was really scared that Michael might be...you know..." Ralph shuddered a bit.

"Hey, no problem, Ralphie boy! I'm just glad to see the three of ya happy again!" Bert proudly grinned. "We really oughta get goin'..."

"Yeah, Bert and I had some things we wanted to do by the river today," Maxie nodded. "I guess we'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Bert," Ralph waved to his old pal.

"See you later, Maxie," Melissa waved as well.

"Bye Uncle Bert! Bye Aunt Maxie! Thanks for helping me find my parents!" Michael happily exclaimed.

"No problem, little buddy! We'll see you around," Bert waved at the little kit as he and Maxie left to head back to the old fort.

"Now, Michael...how did you end up in your father and your Uncle Bert's old fort?" Melissa curiously asked her son. She wanted to know exactly what happened.

Michael explained to his parents as best as he could what had happened to him. How he had heard a strange sound in the middle of the night and snuck out of the tent to see what it was. How he'd seen the deer and chased after it. How the thunder and lightning had frightened him and how he'd ran and ran until he found the old fort.

Melissa had to scold her son for what he'd done. "Michael," she said in a stern voice, but not too stern so as not to scare her child. "You should know better than to go wandering off on us in the middle of the night. When you heard the deer outside of our tent, you should have woken us up if you wanted to know what was making that sound..."

"I tried to," Michael explained. "But you and Dad wouldn't wake up!"

"You still shouldn't have wandered out after that deer," Ralph continued in a stern voice as well. "Michael, you were very lucky your Uncle Bert and Aunt Maxie found you. You do know what could have happened to you if they didn't happen to be heading out to the fort, do you...?"

"I know," Michael sadly replied. He was afraid his parents were about to severely punish him for having wandered off the previous night. "I know..."

"You need to stick close to us when you're in a place you don't know real well," Melissa finished. "You understand that, right...?"

"I understand," Michael said as he hung his head down. "Mom, Dad, you aren't going to punish me, are you...?"

Ralph and Melissa looked at each other. They knew their son had been through a lot and they were just glad to have him back, but they knew Michael had done something bad he wasn't supposed to do, and it wouldn't be entirely fair of them to let him off the hook completely for what he had done. Michael did have to be punished, but they didn't want to give him too harsh a punishment...

"Well, we are, son," Ralph firmly replied. "You did a bad thing, after all. No television or video games for you for the next two weeks. You understand that, Michael?"

Michael didn't like the sound of that punishment, but he knew he'd certainly earned it. "O...okay, Daddy, I understand..."

Ralph and Melissa did feel a little better knowing that Michael didn't seem too upset by that particular punishment. Michael was still a very young kit, and he was still making typical mistakes most kids would make. But the couple were still sure that one day, Michael would grow up and learn from all his mistakes and make them proud...

Michael glanced up at his parents again. "Mom...? Dad...?"

"Yes, Michael?" Ralph replied.

"Daddy, can we go camping again...?" Michael curiously asked.

Ralph and Melissa were surprised. After all their son had been through, they certainly didn't expect him to ever want to go camping again...

"You sure, honey?" Melissa asked back. "After all you've went through...?"

"I'm sure, Mommy..." Michael smiled. "I was having fun until all...that...happened...I promise I'll be good next time, I promise!"

Ralph and Melissa glanced at each other and smiled. "Of course, son," Ralph gave a warm smile.

"If we can find the right time, we'll be sure to take you camping again," Melissa smiled. "We do need to buy a new tent and some new sleeping bags, though..."

Michael felt excited knowing he'd have another chance to go camping soon, and hopefully, things would go much better this time. He had been through a lot; he'd just survived what had no doubt been the most frightening experience of his young life to date.

But he couldn't help but feel happy knowing that everything had turned out alright and he was with his family again...

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well! That was almost certainly the most family-friendly thing I've ever written! Then again, I don't consider myself a family-friendly writer...in all honesty, I actually DON'T want kids reading my stories (well, the Raccoons is an old show, so what are the odds of young kids coming across my stories...? I guess it could happen...) Still, this is probably the cutest story I've written. The more I look at this story...the more it looks like it could be how an episode of the Raccoons in the far off future could be like (Bert and Maxie finding Michael hiding in Bert's old fort definitely feels like something the show would do). Anyways, just a few notes...

The whole bit with Ralph and Melissa in the pilot jackets (and the mentioning of Ralph and Melissa's twentieth wedding anniversary) is a nod to another one-off story I wrote, a Ralph and Melissa-centric story that is...much more naughty than anything I've ever written and posted here (Yes, I said at one time I wouldn't ever write smut and I did anyways...I'm a hypocrite, I know!). I had a lot of fun writing that particular story as it was a great opportunity to show off the passion and desire Ralph and Melissa feel for one another in their marriage. I actually wrote THREE such stories like that one...They're not particularly graphic, but they are definitely explicit and X-rated, so I can't post those stories here. I know there are some people who wouldn't mind reading them (I've shared them with some of my closer friends in the Raccoons community), but there are others who would definitely be upset to read stories like that...and besides, I don't want to risk having someone reporting my stories. So I won't post those stories...

When Ralph and Melissa are speculating that Michael may have been kidnapped, I made a dig at a certain member of the Raccoons fandom who is just one of many who have gotten on my nerves (sometimes, I wonder why I joined the fandom seeing as I feel I've definitely been underappreciated by the fandom overall). He took WAY too much of an interest in my "Beat the Clock" story and in the child characters of the show in general. He even tried to swipe the character of Michael Raccoon out from under my nose and use him in his own stories without my permission (when he then tried to ask my permission, I declined as I knew he wouldn't use the character in a way that would do him justice). Basically...This guy is someone I really do NOT want reading my stories!

You'll notice I referenced the episode "A Night to Remember" in this story...Well, I figured if Michael was hiding in Bert's old fort, I'd have to mention the old mansion since it's not terribly far from the fort...I made up a completely BS backstory for the mansion, since I don't believe Bert ever gave any explanation as to why the old house was supposedly haunted. I figured it would be fun to come up with a crazy backstory...Let's face it, you KNOW Bert would buy into that story! I have little doubt he would go to his grave thinking that those "ghost" he, Ralph, and Cedric saw in there were the real deal!

Anyways, that was "Lost In The Wilderness". I hope you enjoyed getting your first glimpse into what my future Raccoons stories will be like; and your first glimpse of the character of little Michael Raccoon. With that said...I guess it's time to get back to "Growing Up!"