Morning's golden light shone over a little field several miles away from the forest where Foxglove and wolf encountered the rat zombies. Foxglove hung herself upside down on the branch of an old maple tree. Wolf lied near her in the shade of the tree. As hard as she tried, Foxglove couldn't pull herself into slumber, even though it had been almost a full day since she had any sleep. Too many questions kept her awake.
Often dale's furry image would come to her mind. How she longed to return to his loving embrace that gave her a feeling of warmth and security. Whenever she tried to gather the courage to go back, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Doing so would put her friend's lives in danger in staying with them while she was being hunted by such a powerful force, and she felt as though something was beckoning her, like a twisted work of destiny manipulating her on puppet strings. That darkness, the terrifying unknown made the poor young bat quiver.
"What troubles you, Foxglove?" Wolf's low, soft voice asked.
"I-I don't know. I just can't sleep."
"Given your situation, I can't blame you. I know you want answers, but you must be patient. Just close your eyes and steady your nerve. Night will be back upon us before you know it. Whenever I can't fall asleep I think of a warm, comforting place. You should give it a try."
Foxglove closed her eyes, pulling up an image of a cozy evening on the couch with Dale snuggled beside her. She pretended she could hear Dale's heartbeat, feel the warmth of his fur and his arm around her. It wasn't long before she lapsed into a deep sleep.
That night, after Foxglove and Wolf had their individual breakfasts: a feat of insects and a rabbit respectively, the two continued their journey to meet with Wolf's scholarly friend.
"Ah, Foxglove I presume? I'm under orders to take you to my master...even if by force." A voice called from behind them. It was Mildred.
Foxglove couldn't tell how many more bats swarmed into the area, but she figured there were at least fifty of them. "Wolf..." She said.
"Yes?"
"Run!"
Foxglove and Wolf took off in the opposite direction. The bats wasted no time in chasing after them. Foxglove flew towards a tree and turned sideways through a narrow pair of branches, hoping this maneuver would throw her pursuers off course. However, there were so many of them that the move didn't accomplish much. Looking behind herself, Foxglove saw several beams of magic flying straight for her. She dove low to avoid them as they ricocheted harmlessly off of a tree.
Wolf was able to take out a few of the bats without slowing down. If one got too close, she'd ram into it headfirst or grab it in her jaws and toss it aside. "Foxglove, we are gravely outnumbered!"
"Don't worry, Wolf, it's not you they're after!"
"No, but it would be more than a pleasure to take out a meddlesome mutt!" Mildred said. He was leading the pack of bats. "Enough playing around. Get her!" Mildred pointed his wing at Foxglove.
Some of the bats in front glowed a whitish color, then streaked after Foxglove with blinding speed, too fast for her to see them coming. One of them hit her square in the foot, causing her to loose control and plummet to the ground. Foxglove beat her wings hard in desperation and regained her balance. Another bat was waiting to streak after her.
During the confusion of the chase, several more beams of magic flew into the area that took out a couple of the bats in front.
"You fools! Watch where you're aiming!" Mildred said.
More beams flew into the area. One of them bounced off of Mildred. He jarred from the pain and snapped around. "What is the meaning of this?"
"It seems we have a benefactor!" Wolf shouted. Three more bats dropped to the ground.
"GRRR! I warn you, if there is a traitor among us, lord Malgar will see to it that you suffer a slow, torturous demise!"
Another black bat streaked toward Foxglove, causing her to loose her balance again. Foxglove beat her wings to restore her balance, but her fatigue was too great and It seemed certain she would plummet into the lake beneath her. As she covered her face with her wings, bracing for the impact, another bat streaked past her and grabbed her with his feet.
"Let me go!" Foxglove shouted, struggling violently to free herself.
"Don't worry, I'm not one of them. I'll get you out of here."
"Stop them!" Mildred shouted. His pack of bats rushed after Foxglove and the other bat, although it was too late. With a blinding flash, they disappeared.
Mildred turned to face his party of bats. "You imbeciles! You let her escape!"
"We can still search for her, sir." One of them said.
Mildred paused. "Hmph. No need. She can't run forever." Like a hawk in search of prey, he flew around in circles to find Wolf. She, too, had escaped during the confusion. "Neither can that canine friend of hers. Let's return to base."