Chapter 2

"Daddy, I'm scared!"

Below the ground, two tiny fox kits were crouched in the rear chamber of a burrow, their fluffy fur spiked up and their eyes wide with terror. Their father was crouched beside them, panting with distress. From the main burrow, a thick, white mist was spreading. The fox coughed, wrapping his tail protectively around his two kits. The air felt acrid and unnatural, and his lungs burned.

"Daddy, I can't breathe!" one of the kits squeaked. They were both coughing now.

"It's okay guys, don't worry…" quickly, their father pushed them into the rear tunnel of the burrow, which served as sort of an emergency exit. "Go! Don't go back!" he called. The fox coughed again, a bit of blood dripping from his mouth onto the floor of the burrow.

What is this stuff? He knew the men outside the burrow were doing this—he and his mate had awoken to snuffling and whines of dogs. Hunting was supposed to be illegal where they lived, but these men either didn't know or care. The foxes hadn't had much time to react. One of them threw an object into the cave, and this weird mist had exploded from it. The foxes had panicked and ran around in confusion, unable to see through the thick mist. The father had managed to find two of his kits, and had taken them to the back.

"VIXEY!" the fox screamed for his mate while coughing up more blood. Everyone had been screaming a minute ago…now there was just silence. He perked his ears forward, hoping to hear any sound from his mate or four other kits.

Damn it! I can't go find them…this fog will kill me…the fox had no choice but to turn around, and head into the rear tunnel. It was very narrow, for it had been hastily dug. The fox and his mate had thought they wouldn't have to use it. The kits, as small as they were, had already gone through, but the father had to claw through the earth to make his way through. The gas hadn't spread into the tunnel yet, but he was still coughing and hacking, barely able to breathe as he struggled his way to the surface. Finally, daylight struck his eyes, and he pulled himself upward and collapsed in the grass.

"Daddy! Daddy, are you okay?" His kits were at his side, pushing at him with their paws.

"Daddy's dead!" the female wailed.

"No he's not! Dad, get up!" the male cried. "Come on!"

The fox forced himself to get to his paws, swaying as he coughed more blood into the grass.

"Daddy, look out!"

The fox turned to see a small terrier running at them, yapping with excitement. It lunged at the kits, spit flying from its jaws. In one swift movement, the fox put himself between the dog and his children, and swiped his claws across its eyes. The terrier screeched in pain, blood flying up from its face, while the father grabbed the kits in his jowls and ran, not stopping. Tears flew out of his eyes as he raced through the forest, knowing there was no use going back…his mate was dead, and so were his other kits. He'd failed his family…

"Dad, wake up!"

The fox jerked awake, leaping to his paws, his red fur bristling.

"Huh, what? What's going on!?" he cried.

"You were having another nightmare, Dad."

The fox shook his head, and blinked, seeing his now fully grown son standing in front of him.

"Oh…sorry, Cedar. I didn't mean to flip out on you like that," he apologized.

"Are you okay?" his son asked.

"Yes, I'm fine…as fine as I can be." The fox flopped back down, and let out a pained sigh. For the past few nights, he'd been reliving the hell he'd gone through several months ago. Back then, everything had been perfect. He'd found the love of his life, and together they had six kits, exactly the number she'd wanted. But men had come, and gassed their burrow. The fox had been able to save two of his kits, but his mate and their four other children did not survive. A few weeks after their escape, he'd gone back to see if he could find them, but the burrow was empty and their scents were gone. The men had taken their bodies away.

Oh, my sweet Vixey…the fox held back tears. I'm so sorry. I wasn't able to save you. But I saved two of our kits…if only you could see them right now. They've grown so much.

He could just hear her voice, warm and teasing.

You're a wonderful father, Tod. I know our kits will always love you, and I will too.

"Dad?" His son's voice brought him back to the present. "It's almost morning. Is it too early to go hunting?"

The fox, Tod, looked past his son and to the entrance of the burrow, where he could just see milky streaks of light beginning to appear in the indigo sky.

"I'd wait a while," Tod advised. "It'll be a while before all the animals wake up. Where's your sister?"

"She went to go get a drink from the stream." His son lay down and curled up next to his father so that their pelts were touching. "You've been having nightmares a lot lately. They're about that day, aren't they?"

Tod gave a tiny nod. He stared ahead.

"It wasn't your fault, Dad. I mean, I only remember bits of it, but you did all you could. You saved Clover and I."

Tod looked at his son and gave him a sad smile.

"I know, Cedar. You two are the reason I keep going. But I wish you had more happy memories of your mother."

Cedar was almost a year old now. He'd grown into a handsome fox, appearing almost identical to Tod, except his coat was slightly darker. His personality was more like his mother's—optimistic and comforting.

Cedar touched his nose to his fathers'. "Don't worry, Dad. I know Mom is watching over us."

"Dad, Cedar! Look what I caught!" Tod and Cedar were interrupted by a third voice. They turned to the entrance of the cave, where Tod's daughter, Clover was standing. In her jaws was a large silver trout.

"Whoa! Great catch!" Cedar exclaimed.

"That will feed all three of us," said Tod, smiling proudly. Clover had her mother's light build and perky face. Sometimes Tod felt as if he was staring right at Vixey when he looked at her.

"Someday, I'm going to catch the biggest fish we've ever seen!" Cedar vowed.

Clover flicked her brother with her tail. "Says the fox who yelped when a minnow nibbled him," she teased.

"Hey, I was just startled, that's all!" Cedar protested.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Clover turned her attention to Tod. "You don't look so good."

"He had another nightmare," said Cedar.

"Again?" Clover touched her nose to Tod's ear. "Dad, what's been troubling you?"

"It's alright, Clover." Tod brushed his muzzle against his daughter's. "It's just a few bad memories of mine coming back, but I'll be alright."

Tod had never forgiven himself for not being able to save Vixey and his other kits, but he had always taken pride in the fact that he'd been able to raise Cedar and Clover on his own. Though these days, it seemed like his kits had been taking care of him. They both had their mother's protectiveness in them.

Heh. Where would I be without them? Tod thought sheepishly. Unlike his children, he hadn't grown up in the wilderness. His mother had been shot by a hunter when he was a tiny kit, and an old widow had found him raised him. When he was a year old, she'd had to give him up due to certain circumstances, and had taken him to the game preserve where he lived now. He'd had no idea how to survive on his own, but thankfully he had run into Vixey, who took a liking to him and taught him how to hunt for food and dig burrows. Tod still wasn't the greatest at doing these things, but his children had inherited their mother's talents.

The foxes ate the trout Clover had caught, and then slept until the sun was all the way up. Cedar then said he wanted to try fishing, so all three of them went down to the stream near their den.

"Alright, be still as you can," Clover instructed her brother, who positioned himself on a rock, holding a paw ready above the water. "Try not to cast a shadow, so the fish won't know you're there. Then, as quickly as you can, scoop it out."

Cedar stood perfectly still, staring intently at the water's surface. After a few silent moments, a small fish glided by, its silvery scales glinting in the sunlight.

SPLASH! Tod and Clover jumped back to avoid the spray of water that flew up as Cedar plunged his paw into the stream. He did it rather forcefully, knocking his balance off, sending him sliding down the rock into the water.

Clover threw back her head laughing, while Tod grinned and shook his head. Cedar scowled at them, water dripping from his soaked fur.

"I haven't had much practice, okay?" he defended himself.

Suddenly, Clover stopped laughing and flicked her ears. Something had caught her attention. Cedar and Tod followed her gaze towards a tall oak tree.

"What is it, Clover?" Cedar asked, climbing out of the stream and shaking the water out of his fur.

"There's something up there, looking at us," whispered Clover.

Tod squinted in the sunlight, and was able to make out a brown figure perched up in the branches. At first, he wasn't sure what it was, until he noticed its huge round eyes.

"Tod?" the thing spoke. "Tod, is that you?"

Tod froze. He'd know that voice anywhere. Warm, gentle, with a slight southern accent…

"Big…Big Mama?" Tod cried.

"Dad, who is that?" Cedar asked.

The thing jumped from the branches, spreading giant wings and gliding towards the ground. It was a great owl, with brown speckled feathers and bright yellow eyes.

"Oh, Tod! Thank goodness I've found you!" The owl wrapped her wings around Tod's neck in a hug.

"Big Mama…I haven't seen you in so long…" A lump formed in Tod's throat. "Where have you been?"

Big Mama pulled away and stared up at Tod. "I'm so sorry, honey," she said."There's been crazy things happening all over the forest…so many animals have needed my help…I've been searching for you for a long time. Your old burrow was abandoned, and I was afraid something bad had happened to you…"

"Something bad did happen, Big Mama," said Tod quietly. He looked down at the ground. "Men came to the burrow. They filled it with some sort of deadly mist…I escaped with two of my kits, but Vixey and the others...they didn't make it."

"Oh God, Tod…" Big Mama gasped, her eyes wide with horror. She rested her wing on Tod's shoulder. "I'm so, so sorry. I should have been there for you…"

"It wasn't your fault," Tod murmured. "You couldn't have done anything to stop them."

"Dad, who is this?" Clover asked.

"Oh…I should introduce you," said Tod, noticing the very confused looks on Cedar and Clover's faces. "Cedar, Clover, this is Big Mama. You met her once, when you were very young, so I'm not surprised you don't remember her. She's an old friend of mine."

"So these are your kits," said Big Mama, looking up at Cedar and Clover and smiling warmly. "My, my, you two have grown so much since I last saw you."

Tod had known Big Mama since he was very small. She was a guardian to the animals of these woods and surrounding farms. She'd witnessed Tod's mother being shot, and had led the old widow to him. She'd always stayed near the farm where he lived, watching him as he grew up and giving him motherly advice. When Tod had been taken to the nature preserve, Big Mama found him and introduced him to Vixey. The last time Tod had seen her was when his kits had been born, and she'd come to see the new family. Since hunters seemed to be becoming active in this area, he was worried something bad had happened to Big Mama. But he'd been too occupied to look for her, while moving deeper into the preserve to hide from hunters while raising his kits on his own.

"Tod, I came to warn you about something," Big Mama's voice suddenly grew ominous. "There have been men all over the area these past months. I thought this place didn't allow hunting, but the rules seem to have changed. I've seen them cutting down the trees, too. It almost seems like they're trying to clear this place out."

Tod's fur rose along his spine.

"They've been setting traps for animals, too. Yesterday I saw something horrible." Big Mama shut her eyes, and sighed. "I saw a fox caught in a trap. I was about to go over to help him, but then a bunch of men came with guns and dogs, and…I couldn't do anything. They shot him." She was silent for a moment, then said, "Do you know what a fox trap looks like?"

Tod nodded, a dark memory suddenly coming back to him, of glinting metal teeth sticking up through the leaves of the forest floor, jumping to avoid them as they snapped shut, the firing of a hunter's rifle, and the angry baying of a hound…

"Tod?" The fox shook his head and looked at Big Mama. "Yes, I've seen them. I'll look out for them. Thank you."

"Dad?" Clover's eyes were wide with fear. "What are we going to do?"

"Big Mama, do you know of anywhere we can go?" Tod asked her.

Big Mama sighed. "I don't know," she admitted. "Honestly I haven't ever been beyond these woods, but I've heard of another woods east of here, near the mountains. From what I've been told, humans tend to avoid them, because there are a lot of bears living there."

"Bears?" Cedar cocked his head. "Dad, didn't you fight one of those once?"

Tod shuddered. Another frightening memory came to his mind, of a massive black animal, with a horrible stench, long claws, and a deafening roar.

"Cedar…let's not talk about that right now," said Tod. He turned back to Big Mama. "Thank you for warning us. For now, we'll keep a low profile, and if the hunters come into our territory, we will head for the east."

"Honey, if I were you, I'd leave as soon as you can," said Big Mama solemnly, her wide yellow eyes filled with anxiety for her friend. "From the way things are going, it won't be long before you run into men."

Tod sighed. Those damn hunters…he thought. They've already driven us out of our home, and now they're going to do it again? Why are humans so bent on killing us and the other forest animals?

He looked to Cedar and Clover. "What do you two think?" he asked, feeling they were old enough to help him make this decision.

"I think Big Mama's right," said Cedar, sitting down and tucking his tail around his paws nervously. "We need to get out of here."

Clover nodded, her eyes wide with fear. "I don't remember much about the hunters that killed Mom and the others, except the dog that tried to attack me and Cedar. I don't want to go through that again." She shuddered.

"We'll leave early tomorrow morning," Tod decided. "That way we can travel a good distance before it gets dark. Our den is well hidden among some brambles, so we can probably risk one more night here."

"Alright," said Big Mama. "Meet me at this tree at dawn. I don't know exactly where the other forest is, but I can lead you in the general direction."

"Thank you so much, Big Mama." Tod affectionately nudged his old friend.

"Be careful, Tod," said Big Mama softly. She turned to Cedar and Clover. "You two as well." Then, she flapped her wings and soared away.

Tod watched her as she disappeared into the tops of the trees and then looked up to the sky. It was a bright, beautiful day, with fluffy white clouds hanging overhead. Nothing seemed ominous at all, but Tod's gut was twisting with anxiety. He sank his claws into the ground.

Vixey, please…watch over us…he prayed silently.