I couldn't breathe! Suddenly, I became painfully aware of the tight space we were in and the fact that a pack of angry wolves was closing in behind us. My hands shook and it took everything I had not to allow myself to just burst into uncontrollable sobs. I was surprised by the way I was reacting - this had never happened to me before! Then again, I'd never been in this sort of situation before, either. My life had never really been in any immediate danger up until this moment. Life had been pretty easy for me - and I'd always complained about how boring the real world was...Now, I would have given anything to be back there. In my warm bed with my gold fish and my mom...
"You should have brought a map!" I heard Mrs. Beaver yell from ahead of me. I forced myself to look up and saw a dead end.
"ARE WE TRAPPED?" I shrieked. "Oh, God..." I whimpered. I shut my eyes tightly, taking slow, deep breaths. Calm down, Z...happy thoughts...wide open spaces...
"Are you alright?" I heard Peter ask.
I held up one finger, signalling that I needed a moment, "Yeah - I'll get over it. Just gimme a sec..."
"We need to go back that way!" Beaver called out to us, pointing back the way we came.
My eyes popped open again, "Back that way as in toward the evil wolves?!"
"I thought I saw another tunnel back here!" Lucy called, already turned around and heading back through the tunnel.
"Just hold on a moment, Lu. We aren't all as small as you!" Peter called as the beavers scooted by us to take the lead once again. I guessed that he probably didn't want his youngest sibling to get too far ahead of him. I had to laugh when he struggled to turn himself around in the tunnel - it helped calm my nerves a bit. He glared over at me when he heard my snickering.
"Sorry." I grinned, flipping myself around as well. My grin faded when I, too, had some trouble getting myself turned around.
"Ha!" He beamed over at me triumphantly, "Not so easy, is it?"
I narrowed my eyes at him, "Shut up..."
He laughed, turning away from me and crawling after Lucy and the Beavers. I checked to make sure that Susan had managed alright (she had) before I followed him. I was still shaking, but I felt much calmer now that I'd had a moment of relaxation and humor in the tunnel. It had helped me to forget about our situation for the time being and think straight long enough to actually function like a normal human being. Although, as the sounds of the wolves moving through the tunnels became louder as we backtracked, I quickly regained my previous anxiety. Peter turned a corner ahead of me and I quickly crawled into the new tunnel after him, not wanting to risk being seen by the wolves. I could see light not far ahead and noticed that Lucy and the Beavers had already climbed out of the tunnel. Peter pulled himself up before reaching back inside to help pull Susan and I out. I sat back in the cold snow, breathing in the chill winter air. I was so happy to be out of that tunnel.
I heard Lucy shriek behind me and I turned quickly to see what was wrong.
She had tripped over a stone statue of a badger. I looked around me and noticed that there were many others surrounding us. It was a strange place for statues...and they were all in such strange positions...
Beaver approached the largest of the badger statues, "He was my best mate..." He muttered sadly.
I frowned, not really understanding for a moment...
I glanced around at the figures once more, taking in the looks of pain and fear on their faces and I gasped. These weren't statues at all - or, at least, they hadn't always been. At some point, these animals had all been living, breathing creatures. Narnians. "What happened to them?" I asked quietly, turning to Mr. Beaver.
A fox emerged from the trees surrounding us: "This is what happens to those who cross the White Witch."
"Stay back, traitor!" Beaver shouted, moving to attack the newcomer, but Mrs. Beaver held him back.
"Relax," The fox sighed, speaking in the calmest of tones, like he'd been through this all before with many others. I had to admit: strange as it may sound, this creature had one of the most calming, smooth voices I'd ever heard. Exactly the voice one would expect to hear from a creature of his species. "I'm one of the good guys."
"Well, you sure look a lot like one of the bad ones!"
"An unfortunate family resemblance..." The fox muttered, "But we can argue over breeding later. Right now, we need to move!"
"What do you suggest?" Peter asked.
The fox smiled at him, seeming happy that someone was trusting him. "How are you at climbing?" He asked, looking up at a large tree behind him.
Finally, something I was good at! I'd always been a great climber - I went rock climbing regularly at the fitness center back home and I would climb almost every tree possible when I was a kid. I smiled happily, looking over at Peter, who simply nodded his head in understanding. "C'mon, Lu." He took Lucy's hand in his, walking over to the tree quickly and helping her climb up. The Beavers were next - it wasn't too difficult to get them up there. They were small and we relatively decent climbers. Susan went up after them - she was able to get up on her own. I was surprised. She didn't really strike me as the outdoorsy type. I stepped up to the tree and Peter raised an eyebrow at me expectantly - I took that to mean that he wanted me to go next.
"Keep quiet, now." The fox called once we were all up in the tree.
I nodded my head in understanding, watching the ground below. My heart was pounding in my chest as I waited.
The wolves appeared through the trees just as the fox finished dusting away our footprints in the snow. "Evening, Gents." The fox greeted, "Lost something, have we?"
"Don't patronize me -" The wolf snarled in a rough voice that made my skin crawl, "I know where your allegiance lies. Where are the humans?"
"Humans? In Narnia?" The fox laughed as the wolves surrounded him. I shifted nervously in my seat. The last thing I wanted was to have to watch our new friend get torn to shreds by a pack of angry wolves.
The leader of the Secret Police didn't seem to appreciate being mocked, "WHERE ARE THEY?" One of the other wolves shot forward, it's powerful jaws closing around the fox's slender torso. I flinched, looking away when the fox yelped. I felt a tiny hand slide into mine - I knew it was Lucy's. I gripped it tightly. I didn't want to see this...
"They went North." I heard the fox sigh after a moment, sounding defeated. I looked back down at him, admiring his courage.
"Smell them out!"
The wolves tossed him aside - earning another cry of pain from him - and we waited until we could no longer hear their howls before we climbed down once again. We all immediately ran to make sure the fox was okay.
"Come on, let me fix you up." Mrs. Beaver ordered, sitting down and patting the ground in front of her.
"Are you alright?" Lucy asked as Mrs. Beaver began stitching up the fox's wound.
"Well," He chuckled, "I wish I could say that their bark is worse than their bite - " He yelped in pain, glaring at Mrs. Beaver.
"Stop squirming! Honestly - you're worse than Beaver on bath day!"
Mr. Beaver turned to where I sat with the Pevensies, "Worst day of the year."
We all watched in silence while Mrs. Beaver finished up. The fox stood immediately once she was done, "Well, I'm afraid that's all the healing I have time for."
"You're leaving?" Susan asked, sounding surprised.
"It has been a pleasure, My Queen, and a privilege - But Aslan himself has asked me to gather more troops."
"You've seen Aslan?!" Beaver exclaimed.
"What's he like?!" Mrs. Beaver asked excitedly.
The fox laughed, his voice full of awe, "Like everything we've ever heard."
It's hard to explain the feeling that washed over me at those words. I had never met or even seen this Aslan character, but somehow his words filled me with an overwhelming sense of comfort, hope, warmth...Then, as the feeling faded, I was filled with shame. My destiny was to help ruin Aslan. To stop them from winning. "Can I ask you something?" I blurted as the fox turned to leave.
He looked directly at me for what seemed like the first time and nodded his head once.
"Well," I looked at the Beavers, not wanting to offend them. I proceeded with caution, choosing my words carefully, "You're the first Narnian I've met who didn't...hate me on sight. Why? I mean - at the risk of sounding conceited - you must know who I am...?"
"I do." He admitted, yet he gave me a reassuring smile, "My lady, I know better than most that you can't judge someone without knowing their full story. You're already well on your way to changing yours - " He looked pointedly at the Pevensies - my companions on this wild ride. "and I wish you only the best of luck." With that, he bowed his head in Peter's direction before trotting off into the trees.
I kind of like how this chapter came out haha
let me know what you think, please :)
