5. Found Refuge

"Stop fidgeting, if you don't be quiet they'll find us," whispered Macaw as he peered angrily across at his two companions. Once he was satisfied that the level of noise being generated by the two foxes was acceptable, he turned back to look towards the centre of the room and the three humans that now stood there.

Macaw had watched them intently since they had entered the room. After pulling up in a white van the three men had walked straight in through the door that led outside and proceeded to congregate at the centre of the room. Macaw could see they looked agitated, two of the men were arguing intensely whilst the third seemed transfixed on the shattered glass door that led to the test labs.

In order to avoid detection the three animals had taken refuge inside a wardrobe at the far side of the room. It had been a real scramble to get inside in time, Macaw had only just managed to pull the door closed with his beak as the men stormed into the room.

"What do you see now?" whispered autumn as she fumbled around in the darkness.

"Shhh, they are still out there," responded Macaw as he peered out through the crack he had left in the wardrobe door. "It doesn't look like they are going away anytime soon"

"But, but they have too," said autumn glumly "We-"

"Hold on a second," butted in Macaw before she could finish "one of them is leaving, he's headed outside, and he's left the door open!"

Macaw couldn't believe what he was seeing, this was it, the moment they'd been waiting for. "We're going now, stay low and keep quiet!"

Macaw quietly pushed opened the wardrobe door and directed the two foxes over to the rear of a settee that sat between them and the two men at the centre of the room. Using Red as a boost Macaw took a quick peek over the top, he could see the exit it was mere meters away. Shaking his newfound feeling of excitement away he turned his attention to the two men, amazingly they both currently had their back to the settee, Macaw couldn't believe their luck. He turned and quietly hopped down to the floor.

"This is it, the door is still open and the two men have their backs to us, we need to leave now," he whispered to his two companions "we need to stay as low as possible, for that reason Autumn you're going to have to direct Red to the door, I'll be too exposed riding on his back."

Autumn nodded. "Red you'll have to take hold of my tail or something."

"I'm not putting your tail in my mouth," hissed Red defiantly.

"Don't be silly boy," admonished Macaw "now is not the time for foolish pride"

Autumn began waving her tail in Red's face, brushing it up and down his snout, Red began to growl. Before Macaw could turn to tell him to be quiet Red snapped his jaws around Autumn's tail, she let out a stifled yelp. All three animals immediately froze, the room suddenly went dead silent. Macaw quickly hopped back up onto Red's back and looked out over the top of the settee. The two men were now looking in their direction, clearly puzzled by the noise they had just heard. Macaw wasted no time, he knew they were seconds away from being discovered.

"Go for the door, keep running and don't look back!" squawked Macaw as loudly as he could before flapping his wings and launching himself across the room towards the two men. Red felt Autumn's tail go taught in his mouth, there was no time to brace himself, his whole body jerked forwards as Autumn powered her way towards and then through the open door.