3. Found Release
Red and Macaw stared blankly, they couldn't believe what Autumn had just suggested.
"Look, me and Macaw might be friends but that's different," argued Red.
"How so?" pursued Autumn.
"Well for a start I'm not his natural predator! Whereas for rabbits and mice I am!" explained Red forcefully. "Being of the same species as me I would have assumed you'd be able to grasp that fact!"
"I fail to see the problem," shrugged Autumn "the animals from Farthing Wood managed it!"
"Excuse me? The animals of Farthing what?" gasped Red.
Macaw now understood where Autumn's line of thinking had come from, he'd heard of these animals from Farthing Wood, but he had thought them only a myth. Many of the animals that had been through the lab in recent times had spoken of them, and how they put aside their natural instincts and urges for the greater good of all, maybe she was talking sense after all.
"The animals of Farthing Wood, they were a group of animals that put aside their differences and worked together to overcome a human imposed problem," explained Autumn "together they escaped the destruction of their homes and found new ones in a wildlife reserve, where they now live together in peace."
"Sounds like a made-up story to me," dismissed Red "but I'm not going to stop you trying it here if that's what you want to waste your time doing. I really don't see any of them buying it though, they all know better than to trust a fox."
"We'll see then won't we?" smirked Autumn as she strutted away towards the other caged animals, head held high mockingly.
"I hope she falls flat on her face, she's beginning to drive me crazy!" said Red as he curled up on the cold hard floor of the lab.
"Oh really? I think she's quite endearing," replied Macaw.
"Oh please!" said Red dismissively.
"She'll do this you know," added Macaw, he shot Red a serious stare.
"I highly doubt it, they'll laugh in her face, and rightly so," answered Red "there's no way she'll pull this one off on her own."
Macaw cocked his head to one side. "Who said she'll have to?"
With a sweep of his outstretched wings Macaw catapulted himself across the room and landed silently at Autumn's side. Red shook his head, this was never going to work. Deciding not to get involved and having nothing better to do, Red drifted into a light sleep.
Red's comfortable nap didn't last long, he soon found his sleep painfully interrupted as something hard bounced off his head. Red lifted his head sharply. "Who did that?" he snapped. There was a giggle off to his left followed by another to his right, Red started to growl.
"You two stop that! Get over here!" bellowed an unfamiliar voice "sit there with your sisters and be quiet!"
Red stood up, pulling himself up to his full height, there was a sudden chorus of gasps that seemed to come from more than one place in the room.
"Okay, what's going on now?" asked Red aloud.
"Don't you just love being right," came a squawking reply from above.
"Explanation Macaw, what's going on in here?" asked Red "what just hit me?"
Macaw swooped down from his vantage point above the door and landed next to Red. "Well, it would appear that you've been designated as makeshift climbing apparatus by some of the young rabbits that Autumn and I have convinced to join our escape plans," answered Macaw. Red growled loudly again, baring his teeth.
"Oh Please! We all know you're blind, we're not afraid of you!" jeered a male rabbit from the crowd of small animals arrayed in front of Red.
Red leapt forward, landing mere inches away from the jeering rabbit. "Well, you should be!" spat Red venomously "I can still smell all of you little walking meals, which means I can find you when I need to!" The rabbit let out a loud yelp and bolted to the back of the room.
"Now now you two," admonished Macaw as he hopped over to Red's side. "If we're going to have any hope of escaping this place we're all going to have to put our rivalries to one side."
"An oath of mutual protection!" exclaimed Autumn excitedly from across the room, in a voice a lot louder than she had wanted. "Like the one the animals from Farthing Wood made!"
"Not this again!" gasped Red shaking his head, sick of the proceedings already he turned and walked back to his original position near the door to the room. There he slumped down on his side and closed his eyes. Autumn and Macaw both scowled at Red as he did so, he was on the edge of ruining everything they'd worked so hard to put in motion.
Macaw turned back to face Autumn. "I happen to think it's a wonderful idea, thank you Autumn for the valuable input," he bowed his head in her direction and then turned to face the animals arrayed in front of him. "Ok now, gather around everyone, we're all going to take a moment to take an oath."
"What's an oath?" squeaked a voice from back of the pack of mice huddled together on Macaws right side.
"It's a promise, a pledge, a vow," replied Macaw "that everyone will bind together and protect one another from any perils our group should happen to befall."
"Not a chance!" squeaked a concerned voice from the back row "we're not trusting that black furred monster over there with our lives! Now we're out of those infernal cages I say it's every animal for themselves!" There was a chorus of approving calls from most of the animals present. Macaw hopped forward and looked down at the dissenting animal, it was an elderly looking vole.
"If we don't band together we may never even leave this room never mind anything else!" argued Macaw. "You can all trust Red, can't they?" Macaw looked over to Red's now half sleeping form.
"I think you're all insane," Responded Red flippantly without stirring from his relaxed position near the door. Macaw rolled his eyes, this was going nowhere fast and he knew it.
Macaw and Autumn continued to argue their case well into the early hours of the morning, but in the end it was to no avail. The stubborn vole who'd now been elected leader of the smaller animals in the room just wouldn't listen to reason. "Fine then! Have it your own way you infuriating ball of idiotic fur!" scalded Macaw throwing is wings up in the air in frustration. "Find your own way out of here, you old fool!"
Macaw turned away from the mice, voles and rabbits that made up the smaller escapees and hopped back over to Reds side, Autumn sighed and followed.
"Weren't you a lot of help," squawked Macaw upon his arrival.
Red sat up. "Trust me, you needed me in that argument like you need a hole in the head, all that argument needed was me getting angry and eating one of them!"
"I see your point," reflected Macaw "although, being ripped to shreds by a frenzied Fox is nothing less than that thick headed vole deserves!"
"So, what do we do now?" asked Autumn as she looked between her two companions.
"We wait," replied Macaw turning his head to face her "and hope."
"Some plan you two have got here," said Red "I can already taste the freedom!"
Macaw swivelled his head back to face Red. "Someday boy that sass talk is going to land you in a lot of trouble!"
"Trouble? I'm blind, decrepit and locked in the heart of an animal test lab," remarked Red "I'm pretty sure I'm already in the most trouble I'll ever be in!"
"Ah yes the blindness!" said Macaw changing the subject "we need to talk about that."
"Why? You thinking of joining the club? Trust me it's not as fun as everyone makes out," answered Red.
"Very amusing," said Macaw "what I want to talk about is how we deal with it, without help your escape may be quite challenging."
"The thought had crossed my mind," answered Red.
"Well, Autumn had an idea, but I'm quite sure you're not going to like it," explained Macaw gesturing towards Autumn "if I was to sit on your back, I could be your eyes."
Red almost choked on his tongue as he tried to get a response out. "What!" he spluttered "you've got to be joking!"
"If you have a better idea boy then I'd like to hear it," said Macaw seriously "if not stand up and let's try this."
"Not a chance!" said Red scornfully "You're far too heavy, those claws you have are probably extremely painful, and above all else we would look ridiculous!"
"You owe me boy," said Macaw seriously, motioning to himself with his right wing "I helped get you out of here the first time, I'm calling in that debt, so stand up!"
Red scowled at Macaw but stood up nonetheless. "This is not going to work," he grumbled.
The next few hours were particularly unpleasant for Red, Macaw and Autumn. For Red the unpleasantness was physical, the weight and claws of Macaw turned out to be just as painful as he had imagined. Yet for Macaw and Autumn the pain was of an emotional form, caused by the curses and insults handed out to them by Red during the whole ordeal. He'd been particularly scathing towards Autumn, blaming her for putting the idea in Macaw's head in the first place.
"There see, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" queried Macaw as he perched on Red's back.
"Well, let me think for a moment," responded Red "yes! As a matter of fact, it was!"
Macaw leant forwards towards Red's head. "You'll thank us once you're outside breathing the free air again."
"I wouldn't bet on it," said Red bitterly. Macaw leant back shaking his head, recent events had really done a number on Red and Macaw was no longer sure he had the answers to help him sort things out.