Part Fourteen - Search and Destroy
"The enemy boasted, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them, I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.'" Exodus 15:9
The day before the storm, after his fruitless search for his rebel daughter and her family, Pratt had to spend nearly until sunset tracking down the know-all of the fox world. He was extremely sore about having come so close to finding Mara, and was determined not to give up now.
"Kate! I need a word with you!" he panted.
"There you are, Pratt. I'd wondered where you'd gotten to." Kate stood up, while her friends remained half-asleep around her.
"You were right; Mara's here with her family. I met with what must have been one of her daughters, yet I didn't even realize it at the time. She tricked me out of that big buck rabbit that I had almost caught. And I missed Mara herself by minutes. Obviously, they all left in a hurry. I tried to follow their scent, but they went through the river. I tracked the scent the other way back to their old den, but they didn't return there, either. They must have been running scared, those cowards!"
"So, what more did you want from us? We've told you everything we know."
"Where else have they been? Have you seen them around lately?"
"Pratt, if they're not in their den anymore, your guess is as good as mine as to where they are. Maybe you shouldn't have taken off after that rabbit when we were taking you to Mara's den."
Pratt's paused and pawed his ear thoughtfully. "Well, they couldn't have gotten that far away. It's just a matter of time. Especially if I can enlist you and your friends' help."
Some of the other vixens looked up. Kate prodded, "Whatever do you mean?"
"You vixens know this area very well, right? Better than anyone else, seeing as you are the known wanderers and news-gatherers?"
"Yes, of course," said Kate in an almost insulted tone. Several of her friends nodded in agreement.
"Both sides of the river?"
"Yes, silly. The whole area."
"And you know all of the foxes around, correct?"
"Again, of course. Except for those loners with the rabbits, we don't know them that well." Kate looked back at one of her friends, who merely gave her an "I'm in it if you are" look.
Pratt voice lowered. "This is what I'm proposing. Let's split up. We'll have search one section on the other side of the river - I'm certain that they fled over there. Then, if we somehow don't find them, we can come back to this side of the river and start the process again. I'm certain they've been seen by other foxes who will remember seeing them without knowing how they really live. We'll just ask around. If we start right now, we could find them by sunrise."
"Now just hold it right there," said Kate in a tone of authority, "It's almost dark. You can go search yourself tonight if you wish. We are getting some sleep. If you want our help, you will wait until morning." Kate nearly refused Pratt's request outright due to his presumption that they would just follow along, perhaps because he was a dog fox of some years, and they were mainly young vixens. But, she didn't refuse, thinking this search of Pratt's would be quite interesting, even exciting, and something to talk about for years to come. She continued, "Besides, not many foxes around here are unaware of Mara's bizarre ways now - I've made sure of that."
Pratt grunted, then nodded agreement to Kate's plan. "Fine, then," he said.
"Good. We'll start tomorrow morning."
Pratt lay down to get some rest, but not sleep - his mind was too busy with plans and anticipation to allow him sleep. That night, as the vixens slept soundly and he stayed awake, he fought the urge to just leave and start searching for Mara by himself. But, he resisted, knowing that his chances of success were far better if he were to be patient.
***
The next morning, as soon as it was light enough to see amongst the trees, Pratt got up and daringly woke Kate by poking her nose with his paw. The instant reaction was a swipe that left Pratt bleeding under one eye.
"Just what do you think you are doing?" she snapped.
"Sorry," he mumbled, pawing his new wound, "I just thought that we might get started."
"We go when I say we go. Got it?"
"Yes. Sorry," he repeated. He lay back down and waited for another hour, as Kate slept again. Finally, she woke up again and after glancing at Pratt, called out, "All right, vixens! Rise and shine!"
They all raised their heads and looked at Kate for further instruction. They didn't have to wait long. "All right," began Kate, "Let's get this search going. We go in pairs. Pratt and myself will go together; the rest of you can split up however you want. We'll go upstream to the narrow point; half of us will cross the river there. Then we split up, spread out, some coming back downstream, some away from the river, and some further upstream." She noted Pratt's skeptical expression, "What are you looking at me like that for? Do you have any experience in searching?" Pratt shook his head. "Exactly," finished Kate, "I've searched for many a lost cub in my time. And I've almost always found them. So, we do this search my way. Understand?"
"Yes, Kate. I'm glad to have your help," said Pratt, adding in his mind, you miserable little... Fortunately for Pratt, he kept the string of colourful words to his thoughts. Kate would have probably removed his liver otherwise.
***
When they arrived at the narrow part of the river described by Kate, she chose half of her friends to cross the river. Pratt wanted to cross too, certain that Mara was to be found on the opposite side. However, Kate wasn't about to follow any of Pratt's directions, so she insisted on searching on the near side. Of course, she also didn't want to get soaked. Pratt was forced to agree to Kate's decision, as he knew that he would be lost without her guidance. Still, he tried to persuade her.
"Well, couldn't we just concentrate around the rockslide first?" complained Pratt, "I know Mara's closer to there; I want to find her today!"
Kate was unmoved. "Tell me, Pratt, didn't you spend most of yesterday looking for her in that same area?"
"Yes..."
"Then shut up and stick to my plan, seeing as how yours has failed miserably."
After sulking and half-heartedly searching in silence for a few minutes, Pratt decided to change the subject.
"Kate, have you ever had a family of your own?"
The vixen returned an annoyed glare, somewhat taken aback at Pratt's nosiness. "If it's any of your business, I have better things to do than raise a bunch of whining cubs - like keeping the foxes around here informed of things."
Pratt almost reminded Kate of the first time that they met, when Kate had pried him for all manner of personal information, almost right away. However, he thought that pointing out her hypocrisy may be dangerous. "Well," he replied, "Haven't any of your friends?"
Kate sighed in an exasperated tone. Finally, she answered, "From time to time, one of them will settle down and raise a litter. After their cubs are old enough, they are eager to return and catch up on the news. We really prefer this life, you know. Independence, freedom, so many new experiences, so much to learn..." She looked back at Pratt and returned to her normal role of interrogator. "What about you, Pratt? How did you manage to get your Fera to let you come out here?"
"Well, naturally, she was reluctant for me to leave, but I told her it was urgent. Fera had a weakness for Mara, she liked to defend her bizarre ways. I couldn't tell her what my real objective is - she wouldn't have stood for it. So, I just said I was going to say hello to a long-lost and dying friend. Fortunately, Fera didn't press it further."
Pratt was relieved when Kate left it at that. He dreaded her interrogations.
After perhaps hours of searching fruitlessly, distant shots could be heard. "Oh, wonderful! I hope that's not one of my friends," moaned Kate, "Pratt, if this search of yours kills someone I know, you'll answer to me."
"Don't worry, Kate, I'm sure none of your friends could be caught by man," replied Pratt, then seizing on an opportunity to steer the search towards his preferred location, continued, "But perhaps we should just make our way back towards where the shots came from."
"Of course, Pratt, towards the rockslide where you lost Mara, right?"
"Hey, I'm just as worried about your friends as you are."
"I'm sure," grumbled Kate. She hated to concede to Pratt's wish, but she was somewhat concerned for her friends. They turned back, though Kate was not careful to hide her reluctance.
While they were slowly (thanks to Kate) and gingerly picking their way back towards where the shots had sounded, an especially loud boom of thunder interrupted their concentration. The still-distant storm was evidently heading their way, but wasn't going to hit for some time.
"We'd better hurry," continued Pratt, "I don't like the look of that one." Another good reason to go back, he thought..
When they neared the area, perhaps an hour after the shots, they decided to check the farm to see if they could find any evidence of what had happened. They searched around the farm, quickly catching the scent of Mara and her cubs. The went to a large building with an open door, and looked inside. The same grisly scene that had saddened Gina, Oaktrunk, and Arum brought first shock then joy to Pratt. There lay Mara, Mark, and Carol - all dead.
"Well, that takes care of that," smiled Pratt, "I guess our search is over." He paused. "But, wait. Where is that other cub of hers?"
"Yes, Pratt," said Kate matter-of-factly, "She had three cubs. There are only two of them here - Mark and Carol, it looks like."
"That leaves Gina! She's the one that robbed me of that fine meal yesterday," snarled Pratt, "Since she isn't one of the ones here. This isn't finished yet."
"What are you planning?"
"Let's wait here. I suspect Gina will be back."
"Oh, she's probably dead, Pratt," sighed Kate.
"Then I want to see her dead! Look around some more!"
"No searching. We'll wait," retorted Kate, who wanted to call off the search and get back to her normal routine, but also wanted to see this matter ended decisively, "But not here. Let's wait outside where it's safe and we can watch this building."
Thanks to their concentration on the barn, and the ample grass and bushes which they used as their cover, they failed to notice a number of rabbits and a fox leave a nearby warren a little while after they started their vigilant wait.
Not long after, they watched nervously as men and vehicles made their way towards the edge of the forest nearby. "What are they up to?" asked Kate, watching the sudden activity.
"I don't care. They can't see us here. Keep waiting."
***
The refugees were suffering a much slower pace than Oaktrunk had first feared. Many of the kittens grew weary quickly; the entire group would then slow to their pace, as the group had to remain together. No one forced the kittens ahead, however, as that would likely have only caused them to be in even worse shape. A reasonably long while had passed since leaving Grotto, but they hadn't even covered half the distance that Oaktrunk had planned on, even using conservative estimates. In fact, they could still hear occasional noises from the direction of Grotto, presumably the activities of the warren's destroyers.
Some of the adult rabbits tried carrying the most tired kittens, but they were large enough to provide a difficult load to bear. Arum remembered carrying Meadow quite some distance, but she had been much tinier than these refugee kittens. In fact, Meadow should never have been outside of her burrow at that age - but they had been forced out, and of course it was only Mara that had prevented Meadow's death.
They kept watch on the approaching clouds. More intense shafts of windblown rain were now visible, sweeping the land in the distance, and illuminated by ever-increasing lighting strikes. The nearest edge of the darkest cloud was now nearly overhead, increasing their urgency and nervousness. They had been wary about another major threat - elil - but it seemed that the approaching storm had kept their enemies in their nests and dens. It seemed that perhaps the storm itself would be their greatest threat and their greatest protection, both at the same time.
This, however, was too good to be true. Gina, keeping an alert vigilance, soon spotted what she had most feared: two foxes in the distance behind them, obviously on the trail of something - no doubt the Grottons.
************
"The enemy boasted, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them, I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.'" Exodus 15:9
The day before the storm, after his fruitless search for his rebel daughter and her family, Pratt had to spend nearly until sunset tracking down the know-all of the fox world. He was extremely sore about having come so close to finding Mara, and was determined not to give up now.
"Kate! I need a word with you!" he panted.
"There you are, Pratt. I'd wondered where you'd gotten to." Kate stood up, while her friends remained half-asleep around her.
"You were right; Mara's here with her family. I met with what must have been one of her daughters, yet I didn't even realize it at the time. She tricked me out of that big buck rabbit that I had almost caught. And I missed Mara herself by minutes. Obviously, they all left in a hurry. I tried to follow their scent, but they went through the river. I tracked the scent the other way back to their old den, but they didn't return there, either. They must have been running scared, those cowards!"
"So, what more did you want from us? We've told you everything we know."
"Where else have they been? Have you seen them around lately?"
"Pratt, if they're not in their den anymore, your guess is as good as mine as to where they are. Maybe you shouldn't have taken off after that rabbit when we were taking you to Mara's den."
Pratt's paused and pawed his ear thoughtfully. "Well, they couldn't have gotten that far away. It's just a matter of time. Especially if I can enlist you and your friends' help."
Some of the other vixens looked up. Kate prodded, "Whatever do you mean?"
"You vixens know this area very well, right? Better than anyone else, seeing as you are the known wanderers and news-gatherers?"
"Yes, of course," said Kate in an almost insulted tone. Several of her friends nodded in agreement.
"Both sides of the river?"
"Yes, silly. The whole area."
"And you know all of the foxes around, correct?"
"Again, of course. Except for those loners with the rabbits, we don't know them that well." Kate looked back at one of her friends, who merely gave her an "I'm in it if you are" look.
Pratt voice lowered. "This is what I'm proposing. Let's split up. We'll have search one section on the other side of the river - I'm certain that they fled over there. Then, if we somehow don't find them, we can come back to this side of the river and start the process again. I'm certain they've been seen by other foxes who will remember seeing them without knowing how they really live. We'll just ask around. If we start right now, we could find them by sunrise."
"Now just hold it right there," said Kate in a tone of authority, "It's almost dark. You can go search yourself tonight if you wish. We are getting some sleep. If you want our help, you will wait until morning." Kate nearly refused Pratt's request outright due to his presumption that they would just follow along, perhaps because he was a dog fox of some years, and they were mainly young vixens. But, she didn't refuse, thinking this search of Pratt's would be quite interesting, even exciting, and something to talk about for years to come. She continued, "Besides, not many foxes around here are unaware of Mara's bizarre ways now - I've made sure of that."
Pratt grunted, then nodded agreement to Kate's plan. "Fine, then," he said.
"Good. We'll start tomorrow morning."
Pratt lay down to get some rest, but not sleep - his mind was too busy with plans and anticipation to allow him sleep. That night, as the vixens slept soundly and he stayed awake, he fought the urge to just leave and start searching for Mara by himself. But, he resisted, knowing that his chances of success were far better if he were to be patient.
***
The next morning, as soon as it was light enough to see amongst the trees, Pratt got up and daringly woke Kate by poking her nose with his paw. The instant reaction was a swipe that left Pratt bleeding under one eye.
"Just what do you think you are doing?" she snapped.
"Sorry," he mumbled, pawing his new wound, "I just thought that we might get started."
"We go when I say we go. Got it?"
"Yes. Sorry," he repeated. He lay back down and waited for another hour, as Kate slept again. Finally, she woke up again and after glancing at Pratt, called out, "All right, vixens! Rise and shine!"
They all raised their heads and looked at Kate for further instruction. They didn't have to wait long. "All right," began Kate, "Let's get this search going. We go in pairs. Pratt and myself will go together; the rest of you can split up however you want. We'll go upstream to the narrow point; half of us will cross the river there. Then we split up, spread out, some coming back downstream, some away from the river, and some further upstream." She noted Pratt's skeptical expression, "What are you looking at me like that for? Do you have any experience in searching?" Pratt shook his head. "Exactly," finished Kate, "I've searched for many a lost cub in my time. And I've almost always found them. So, we do this search my way. Understand?"
"Yes, Kate. I'm glad to have your help," said Pratt, adding in his mind, you miserable little... Fortunately for Pratt, he kept the string of colourful words to his thoughts. Kate would have probably removed his liver otherwise.
***
When they arrived at the narrow part of the river described by Kate, she chose half of her friends to cross the river. Pratt wanted to cross too, certain that Mara was to be found on the opposite side. However, Kate wasn't about to follow any of Pratt's directions, so she insisted on searching on the near side. Of course, she also didn't want to get soaked. Pratt was forced to agree to Kate's decision, as he knew that he would be lost without her guidance. Still, he tried to persuade her.
"Well, couldn't we just concentrate around the rockslide first?" complained Pratt, "I know Mara's closer to there; I want to find her today!"
Kate was unmoved. "Tell me, Pratt, didn't you spend most of yesterday looking for her in that same area?"
"Yes..."
"Then shut up and stick to my plan, seeing as how yours has failed miserably."
After sulking and half-heartedly searching in silence for a few minutes, Pratt decided to change the subject.
"Kate, have you ever had a family of your own?"
The vixen returned an annoyed glare, somewhat taken aback at Pratt's nosiness. "If it's any of your business, I have better things to do than raise a bunch of whining cubs - like keeping the foxes around here informed of things."
Pratt almost reminded Kate of the first time that they met, when Kate had pried him for all manner of personal information, almost right away. However, he thought that pointing out her hypocrisy may be dangerous. "Well," he replied, "Haven't any of your friends?"
Kate sighed in an exasperated tone. Finally, she answered, "From time to time, one of them will settle down and raise a litter. After their cubs are old enough, they are eager to return and catch up on the news. We really prefer this life, you know. Independence, freedom, so many new experiences, so much to learn..." She looked back at Pratt and returned to her normal role of interrogator. "What about you, Pratt? How did you manage to get your Fera to let you come out here?"
"Well, naturally, she was reluctant for me to leave, but I told her it was urgent. Fera had a weakness for Mara, she liked to defend her bizarre ways. I couldn't tell her what my real objective is - she wouldn't have stood for it. So, I just said I was going to say hello to a long-lost and dying friend. Fortunately, Fera didn't press it further."
Pratt was relieved when Kate left it at that. He dreaded her interrogations.
After perhaps hours of searching fruitlessly, distant shots could be heard. "Oh, wonderful! I hope that's not one of my friends," moaned Kate, "Pratt, if this search of yours kills someone I know, you'll answer to me."
"Don't worry, Kate, I'm sure none of your friends could be caught by man," replied Pratt, then seizing on an opportunity to steer the search towards his preferred location, continued, "But perhaps we should just make our way back towards where the shots came from."
"Of course, Pratt, towards the rockslide where you lost Mara, right?"
"Hey, I'm just as worried about your friends as you are."
"I'm sure," grumbled Kate. She hated to concede to Pratt's wish, but she was somewhat concerned for her friends. They turned back, though Kate was not careful to hide her reluctance.
While they were slowly (thanks to Kate) and gingerly picking their way back towards where the shots had sounded, an especially loud boom of thunder interrupted their concentration. The still-distant storm was evidently heading their way, but wasn't going to hit for some time.
"We'd better hurry," continued Pratt, "I don't like the look of that one." Another good reason to go back, he thought..
When they neared the area, perhaps an hour after the shots, they decided to check the farm to see if they could find any evidence of what had happened. They searched around the farm, quickly catching the scent of Mara and her cubs. The went to a large building with an open door, and looked inside. The same grisly scene that had saddened Gina, Oaktrunk, and Arum brought first shock then joy to Pratt. There lay Mara, Mark, and Carol - all dead.
"Well, that takes care of that," smiled Pratt, "I guess our search is over." He paused. "But, wait. Where is that other cub of hers?"
"Yes, Pratt," said Kate matter-of-factly, "She had three cubs. There are only two of them here - Mark and Carol, it looks like."
"That leaves Gina! She's the one that robbed me of that fine meal yesterday," snarled Pratt, "Since she isn't one of the ones here. This isn't finished yet."
"What are you planning?"
"Let's wait here. I suspect Gina will be back."
"Oh, she's probably dead, Pratt," sighed Kate.
"Then I want to see her dead! Look around some more!"
"No searching. We'll wait," retorted Kate, who wanted to call off the search and get back to her normal routine, but also wanted to see this matter ended decisively, "But not here. Let's wait outside where it's safe and we can watch this building."
Thanks to their concentration on the barn, and the ample grass and bushes which they used as their cover, they failed to notice a number of rabbits and a fox leave a nearby warren a little while after they started their vigilant wait.
Not long after, they watched nervously as men and vehicles made their way towards the edge of the forest nearby. "What are they up to?" asked Kate, watching the sudden activity.
"I don't care. They can't see us here. Keep waiting."
***
The refugees were suffering a much slower pace than Oaktrunk had first feared. Many of the kittens grew weary quickly; the entire group would then slow to their pace, as the group had to remain together. No one forced the kittens ahead, however, as that would likely have only caused them to be in even worse shape. A reasonably long while had passed since leaving Grotto, but they hadn't even covered half the distance that Oaktrunk had planned on, even using conservative estimates. In fact, they could still hear occasional noises from the direction of Grotto, presumably the activities of the warren's destroyers.
Some of the adult rabbits tried carrying the most tired kittens, but they were large enough to provide a difficult load to bear. Arum remembered carrying Meadow quite some distance, but she had been much tinier than these refugee kittens. In fact, Meadow should never have been outside of her burrow at that age - but they had been forced out, and of course it was only Mara that had prevented Meadow's death.
They kept watch on the approaching clouds. More intense shafts of windblown rain were now visible, sweeping the land in the distance, and illuminated by ever-increasing lighting strikes. The nearest edge of the darkest cloud was now nearly overhead, increasing their urgency and nervousness. They had been wary about another major threat - elil - but it seemed that the approaching storm had kept their enemies in their nests and dens. It seemed that perhaps the storm itself would be their greatest threat and their greatest protection, both at the same time.
This, however, was too good to be true. Gina, keeping an alert vigilance, soon spotted what she had most feared: two foxes in the distance behind them, obviously on the trail of something - no doubt the Grottons.
************
