A/N: So this was supposed to be out last week, but I do admit, my ideas kinda slowed down a bit. There were some scenes that I wanted to expand further, but I suppose I'm ready to release this now. I also noticed that my previous chapter wasn't as polished when I posted it, but I have updated them the days after.

I've been pretty bummed the past few days actually. I don't want to go deep into the detail, but I went back to the doctor yesterday to review an X-ray that I had taken the past week and let's just say that the results weren't… good. I now have to go physical therapy for two weeks :(.

But enough of my troubles, on with the story :).

Chapter 3 The Telekinetic

Two days ago…

Clearwater Creek, West of the South town of Clearwater…

Two panthers were knee-deep in the river.

"I got something!"

The older panther dropped his fishing rod to approach the younger panther. He then clamped his paws to help support the rod. "Just reel'em in!"

The other nodded and begins spinning the handle counter-clockwise. Something was slowly emerging from the other end of the hook.

"It's a big one!"

The fish was not going to give up without a fight though. It continued swimming its hardest, fighting for its life. Finally, after a few more minutes of struggling, the fight was won. The fish was eventually lifted from the water. Two panthers smiled triumphant.

Moments later, the older panther was cooking their catch while the younger was on his phone.

"Sam, you know there's no signal here, right?" The older panther replied.

"You never know, Will." The younger panther, Sam, answered.

"Make yourself useful and get more wood near the car."

Sam nodded, putting his phone in the pocket, and going straight to their vehicle. In the meantime, Will continued to cook the fish. He was satisfied that the scales were turning brown, indicating that the meal was just about ready. However, the heat was getting weaker as the wood used to fuel the flames is almost completely burnt out.

"Sam! What's taking you so long? The fish is getting cold." He waited for a reply but none came. Puzzled and perhaps a bit annoyed by his brother's lack of a response, the older panther turned his attention away and toward the direction of the car, where his brother went. Instead of seeing his brother, something… or someone else was by the car, his eyes concentrating at him.

"Sam?"

…

Present day…

A police car just arrived at the same area and the same side of creek. Chief Rasmoosen took seriously a call regarding campers abandoning their campsite. The chief was well aware of the risks of a potential forest fires and the campsite is really close to the town. Half the town going up in smoke is the last thing he wanted to happen.

But this is where things get strange. The moment the chief stepped out of the vehicle, he knew something was out of place. Garbage is a common safety issue between campers and the local resident, but Chief Rasmoosen could undoubtedly confirm, with the car and the tents and the fish, now spoiled by the environment, this was something else.

He reaches for his radio. "This is Chief Rasmoosen. We have a 10-41, west of South town, Clearwater."

…

Redford just stared at the cold dead eyes of his attacker. With panic still in his system, he tries to slow his breathing. He wanted nothing more than to calm himself as much as possible, but it was difficult considering the circumstance. There are two dead predators and an unconscious bunny. He was more bruised now after taking a beating from the panthers. And yet, he somehow, he had not receive any broken bones. Thank goodness. Then, there was also the fact that he is alive. At that realization, he breathed a sigh of relief. Just moments ago, he could have sworn he was about this close to meeting his maker.

After collecting himself, he crawled his way toward the bunny, his sides aching in pain on the way there. Once he was close enough, he gripped her shoulder and begins shaking her in an attempt to wake her up. "Bunny." The red fox asked. "Wake up." He shakes her even harder.

The bunny finally stirs. Her nose twitches and her eyes were now half-open. All the bunny could see was a red blur, but her eyes were steadily adjusting. She could make out a muzzle, drooping ears, and those strangely familiar green eyes.

Carrots.

The fox rests his head over the palm of his paw and gives his signature lazy smirk. The rabbit just looked at him dazed, her eyes slightly unfocused.

Are you really just gonna stare at me like the love-struck bunny you are?

The bunny smiled at him. "Dumb fox."

"I'm sorry, what?" Redford asks.

The bunny finally seemed to come to as her eyesight slowly adjusts to her surroundings. The fox before her looked much older now, his smirk replaced with a concerned look.

"Are you okay, ma'am?"

Her eyes finally focus and everything became much clearer. Her mind has returned back to reality, noticing the two other motionless panthers. She then used her arm to brush the fur on her face, particularly under her muzzle. To her surprise, the fur on her arm was now painted in red. Her expression changed from calm to worry.

"N-No…"

Redford noticed how her expression changed so quickly from calm to horrified.

"No more!" She cried out, grabbing her ears to cover her face. "No more." Her voice was muffled.

Redford never knew the bunny, yet for some reason, he wanted to at least comfort her in some way. "Madame, don't cry." He raised his paw and began to stroke the fur above her head. In a sudden move that caught the fox off-guard, the bunny made a move to embrace the fox. Her arms wrap around his chest, her tears were now soaking his fur. A bunny was hugging a fox. The move surprised Redford. Even if they were living on more civilized times, the act was quite unnatural. Never in his life had he met such a stranger bunny.

We've been hearing reports of strange… occurrences happening around town.

The words of Chief Rasmoosen echoed through his head. It did not matter for now. The bunny needed emotional support and he has no problem to provide it. The questions can come later.

…

When the bunny had calmed down, Redford focus immediately shifted to the bodies. Something needed to be done about them. And so, Redford approached a wall-mounted landline phone.

"W-what are you doing?"

Redford looked at the bunny. Her ears fell against the back of her head, her large purple eyes met his green eyes.

Redford put it in mind that he needed the bunny to keep her calm. "I'm going to call the police. Hopefully, we'll find out what all this is about."

The bunny shook her head in response, leaving the fox confused.

"You don't want me to call the police?"

The bunny simply nodded.

The fox drew a sigh. "Ma'am, someone just broke into my house. I need to call the authorities." He explained.

"No!"

The phone suddenly sparks, leaving Redford to let go of the phone, now just hanging through the coiled wire that holds it, black soot covering the listening end of the device.

There it was again, the look of fear.

Fear, he thought. And then it hit him, how she wound up on Saw Hill, why she was wearing a hospital gown, why two animals attacked them just moments ago, why she did not want him to call the police.

"You're hiding, aren't you?" Redford asked.

The bunny did not answer, but her look somehow confirmed it. She stared down, her expression changed from fear to sorrow.

The red fox did not press her further, worried that doing so may upset her further.

And so, the red fox did the next best thing. Instead of calling the authorities, the bodies were covered in a white cloth like a mummy and brought to the trunk of his sedan. He drove to an off-beaten path, following the path of the creek eastward to the forest covering near the dam. It was secluded and far enough from the town for anyone to notice.

This time, the bunny tagged along. She was silent though the entire time. Perhaps she still has not trusted him yet. Either way, Redford was just happy she trusted him enough to ride with him. On the way there, however, even with his eyes on the road, his peripheral vision caught the sight of the bunny occasionally staring at him.

With a shovel in hand, the red fox continued to dig a grave for the bodies. They were deep in the pocket of forest beside the river. It was around half-way into the dig that his arms grew tired. Ironic really, foxes were a natural in digging holes, and here he was with aching joints. He sat on a rock and looked back at the sedan. The bunny was at the front passenger seat, her eyes just focused on him. He wondered if she did it all the time. The way she acted on him, it was like she was expecting something from him.

After the short break, he continued to dig until the hole was deep enough. He put the bodies into the hole, and then covered the hole with the soil he unearthed. The entire thing took an hour, probably more.

The bunny relieved herself from looking at the fox. She had been lost in thought at her staring at him, that it would not be a surprise if he had noticed. Instead, she stared at her paws as she fiddled with her fingers. Eventually, she became absent-minded about it, her thoughts looking back at what happened just moments ago. She looked at the panthers. She had to do something. She thought it and it was done.

Again, she wanted to shift her attention away from all these negative thoughts. She then noticed a coin in the pocket between the two front seats.

Let's start with something easy…

…

"Let's start with something easy."

The bunny sat on a chair in-front of a table in an empty white room. On the table was a small silver coin. The bunny looked at the coin intently before the voice from the speaker came back once more.

"Subject 11, if you could kindly move the object away from you. Towards the edge of the table."

On top of her head, a bunch of wires and electrodes were attached on her head. The bunny complied and lifted her arm.

"Ah ah ah. No hands please." The speaker replied.

The bunny put her paw down from the table. She began to focus on the coin mentally.

The coin, at first, was motionless. It then began vibrating. And in an instant, the coin was moving… all by itself.

"Very good, Subject 11."

…

Very good…

A tear escaped from the bunny's eyes. All of a sudden, she heard a large thump coming from the back. Wiping her eye of the tear, she looked behind to the back of the car, noticing the fox was finally done and was now just storing his shovel to the trunk of his car. The bunny then shifted herself to a relaxed position just as the fox entered the driver side of the car. He looked at the bunny, who's gaze was angled downward, seemingly trying to show disinterest even if Redford knew otherwise.

"You don't talk too much."

The bunny remained unmoving, her eyes seemingly lost in focus, her lips tightly in place. It would seem she does not want to open up.

Redford wanted otherwise, however. He wanted the bunny to open up, and that meant warming up to her and gaining her trust. What was the name she called herself again?

"Carrots." There was a flick of her ear. That's the one, he thought. "I think I get you."

She did not change her position, but somehow he knew he had her attention. Redford continued on. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything. Just listen." He explained.

"The strange sightings happening around town, that was you, wasn't it?"

Again, the bunny did not answer, but Redford expected as much.

"You've been hiding around town 'til I found you yesterday. And I don't know why those 'thugs' were after you, but then I remembered about that hospital gown you were wearing." He looked at the bunny, who was now fiddling with her fingers.

"You weren't just hiding. You ran away." The fox concluded. "But who are you running away from? Why?"

The bunny stopped fiddling her fingers, she then looked at him as if she was about to say something. Redford waited for her reply. Her answer, however, gave more questions than answers.

"Bad people."

Back at the clearing near the south town, another squad car arrived at the scene of the crime, parking just adjacent to the other squad car already in the scene. Two wolves exit the police vehicle as they approach the moose, who was already in the scene.

"Chompson! Growlino! About time you guys showed up." Chief Rasmoosen called out to the two approaching wolf officers.

"We came here as fast as we could, Chief." Mike asked.

"Well, I'm afraid we're going to have to put the mystery searches at the back burner. A local called in to report this abandoned campsite due to potential environmental and fire hazards. Now the campsite is relatively in-tact, the fire's seems to be out for more than a day, but it's hard to tell with the rains and all. The fish on the pan is most likely spoiled. There are a few scattered supplies and the car is parked nearby. The campers' equipment are more than enough to put ours to shame, the only thing missing are the campers. Now, I need you guys to run the plate number." He said as he looked back at the abandoned camp site. "We've got missing mammals."

…

From afar, on the edge of the forest, a pair of eyes watch over the scene as the three officers inside the campsite begin to do their investigative work.