5. Lost Identity

It had been quite some time now since Red had been captured. In fact, winter had passed entirely and spring had started in earnest. This though was of little consequence to Red who was still imprisoned in the test lab. He had begun to adjust to his new and extremely difficult lifestyle. Although Red had been spared some of the worst tests due to his chosen status, he had still experienced his fair share of them. It seemed as if every day another memory was ripped from his mind by the human's cruel work. Red refused to break though and he continued to commit all his remaining thought's to working on his escape plan.

The plan he had devised was going to be difficult and relied far too much on uncertain events to be classed as sound. It was all he had though and if it kept him from losing his mind he was more than happy to continue with it. Every night Red would spend his time chewing on the bars in the top corners of his cage. This puzzled Macaw as it seemed like a stupid and impossible plan to him. He often berated Red for his lack of ingenuity, thinking the fox was capable of much more. What Macaw didn't realize however was that Red was capable of more, a lot more. In fact, weakening the bars at the top of his cage was only step one in Reds escape plan. Step two would come very soon now.

Over the time Red and Macaw had spent together they had become very good friends. Often, they would spend hours talking at length about past experiences they each had had. Red usually found himself to be the one listening, this suited him just fine though as conversation was not his strong point. Besides Macaw was very knowledgeable on the topic of humans and Red was eager to learn as much as possible about them, every single fact could be useful once his plan got into full swing.

Red was finally ready to put phase two of his plan into action some five months after his initial capture. He chose a night when the humans left the lab early, which happened every now and again. Red was at a loss to explain why but as it suited his plan, he didn't care to put much thought into it. The night started as any other. Red had his nightly talk with Macaw, however this time he ended it earlier than usual by feigning tiredness. He sat in the dark for a while until he was sure that all the other animals in the room were asleep and that the humans had well and truly gone. Then he got underway.

Red began by getting up and moving to the very back of his cage. He then charged forwards and threw his weight into the front bars of the cage. This caused the cage to jump forwards slightly, away from the wall and closer to the edge of the shelf. For what Red had noticed and had based his plan on, was the fact that none of the cages in the room were fastened to the shelf or wall in any way. This allowed the cages to move around on the shelves. Red continued to throw himself into the front of his cage until it was teetering over the edge of the shelf. By now all the animals in the room had woken up and were staring in amazement at the scene before them.

"Just what exactly is that crazy fox trying to accomplish?" They all asked each other.

Macaw let out a chuckle, he could see it now. Red hadn't been trying to chew his way out of the cage he was merely weakening the bars. It was going to be gravity that opened Red's prison.

Red had started to slowly rock his cage, timing was now everything. If Red was going to escape the cage had to land correctly. He closed his eyes and trusted completely to his instincts. The moment came at last, everything felt right. Red moved his weight to the front of the cage causing the whole thing to topple over onto the floor. The cage rotated as it fell and struck the floor directly on one of the corners that Red had weakened. The bars crumpled and split open like they were made of straw causing a gaping hole to form in what was once the top of the cage. When Red's head had stopped spinning from the fall he stood up and took stock of his position. A triumphant smile crossed his face. It had worked, his cage was compromised, he was free. Red wasted no time and clambered out of his now defunct prison, Macaw started to laugh.

"Unbelievable, there I go thinking I had you pegged, and you go ahead and pull something like this," marvelled Macaw.

"What can I say, I'm full of surprises," joked Red, he began grinning uncontrollably. "I wasn't about to let a group of humans out smart me!"

"Now what?" asked Macaw.

"Well, I guess I wait until one of the humans opens that door, then I make a run for it," explained Red.

"Why wait, when you can go now?" said Macaw puzzled.

"But how? I can't open that," replied Red as he gestured towards the door of the room.

"Leave that to me," Macaw said with a wink.

With that Macaw took to the air and landed on the door handle. He let his weight push the handle down, and then by flapping his wings and continuing to grip the handle he pulled the door open,

Red started to laugh uncontrollably. Macaw flew down from the door handle and landed next to him.

"What's so funny?" asked Macaw.

"They never stood a chance, did they?" Red said still laughing "the humans I mean."

"Oh, I see, no they didn't did they, but then again it wasn't really fair was it?" joked Macaw "A human mind is no match for two cunning animals in the prime of their life."

A sombre mood suddenly came over the pair of animals. "Well I guess this is it then, my stay here is officially at an end," said Red with a surprising hint of sadness in his voice.

"Indeed, it looks to be that way," replied Macaw "you've certainly kept life here interesting during your stay."

"I aim to please," Red said as he bowed his head slightly. He was silent for a second as if contemplating something. "Why don't you come with me? I mean I could use the company."

"Sorry not my world out there, got everything I need right here, I'm sure you understand," explained Macaw.

"I do," Red said nodding his head "you wouldn't happen to have any advice for me once I get out of here?"

"Some perhaps...firstly follow the road that slopes uphill, it will lead you to the town I used to live in before I was brought here," said Macaw "I've heard there's rich pickings to be had for scavengers up there, and you're going to need all the food you can get." This was an obvious reference to Red's now quite emaciated appearance, if he had left his escape much longer it's doubtful that he would have even had the energy to make it past the doorway.

"Secondly, don't ever let me see you back here again!" shouted Macaw angrily "now get going, you're letting a terrible draft in!" Macaw ruffled his feathers to emphasize the fact, Red smiled.

"Thanks Macaw, without your help I'd never have got out of here alive" Red said seriously. Both animals nodded to each other, Red then turned and made his way to the door and without looking back he stepped through.

The corridor outside was dark and confining, a dull light was evident at its opposite end and a strange smell was in the air. Red moved down the corridor slowly and expectantly, he continually scanned for danger from all directions. He was still inside a human den after all, and anything was possible. A sudden loud bang erupted from behind Red, he dropped and hugged the floor. Looking back he could see no movement, it took Red a moment to realize where the sound had come from. It was the door to the room he had just left, Macaw must have closed it after him so as not to arouse suspicion. Red got up and continued along the corridor. He passed doors on both sides but all of them were closed tightly. Eventually he came to the end of the corridor and found the light to be moonlight coming from a small open window above a larger closed one. This was it, the final hurdle to freedom was there in front of him. Without wasting any time Red leapt onto the windowsill and then positioned himself directly under the open window. Pushing off with his back legs he sprung up and into the hole left by the window. He managed to get half of his body through before he ran out of momentum. Red was now hanging comically half in and half out of the window. He could feel the top of the window cutting into his back as he tried to wriggle forwards. It was a tight squeeze, if Red hadn't lost so much weight recently he would never have made it. With one last squirm he managed to haul himself from the window. Exhausted he dropped to the damp grass outside.

Red couldn't believe he was free, never before had the feeling of grass underfoot felt so good or the currents of the wind so refreshing. He waited another moment to take in his newfound freedom before deciding what to do next. Red began to delve into his mind as he tried to remember all the survival methods he had developed on his previous journey. It was all still there, except something else wasn't, his entire memory of his family was gone. That and more in fact. He could no longer remember the kind of fox he used to be, it was like his personality had been wiped. Red started to panic, it was worse than losing a limb. Concentrating harder he began to clear his now clouded mind of any unhelpful thoughts. It was no good, he was going to need time to make sense of what his mind was telling him, time he currently didn't have. Looking around he noticed that he was still deep in the countryside. There were only fields and woods as far as the eye could see. One landmark did stand out though, it was a road. Remembering Macaws last words Red started to follow it uphill. Moving quickly Red had soon left the test lab far behind. He found staying alert very difficult as his mind constantly wandered as he searched for the memories he had lost. Red hoped this town was close, he really needed some time to sort things out.