Hey there, and welcome back to Animal Farm: The Novelization. After this chapter, I'll take a break from writing this story. The story won't be dropped, but you probably won't see more chapters popping up as much as they had the past week.
The chase scene from the previous chapter is based on Disney's The Fox and the Hound. Unlike Chief in that movie, Pinscher doesn't survive here (and he is said to have died before the tenth chapter of Animal Farm). And the funny thing is, Chief does die from being run over in The Fox and the Hound novel, and Tod did do it on purpose there while it was an accident in the Disney movie.
As for the period, this still takes place during the 40s and 50s. It started in 1945, the year that Animal Farm was published, so this chapter is bound to be set in the 1950s.
Uploading Date: October 29, 2021
Until next time, have a Happy Halloween. Enjoy!
Chapter 14: The Fugitive
Sam staggered on through the forest until he was sure that his legs would buckle. He had no idea how long he had run through the woods, and he didn't know when he had last slept or eaten, nor did he care. All he cared about right now was to put as much distance between him and Animal Farm as possible; he didn't want to leave the others behind to be abused and starving, but he had to look out for himself for now. Bird song rang through the treetops, and the early fall air felt cool and crisp, welcoming sounds compared to the barks of aggressive dogs and Squealer's outraged squeals.
He was now at what he had thought to be the edge of the forest. But there was a path of asphalt that had more trees on the other side. Sam followed this path more northwest, just to see where it would lead. When he reached the end of the road, his jaw nearly dropped in surprise.
There was a familiar house in the middle of the woods. It was a log cabin, the kind that American pioneers would have built. Outside of this log cabin was a flagpole, almost like the hoof-and-horn flag back at Animal Farm. Only this flag had three colors: seven red stripes, six white stripes, and a blue square with forty-eight white stars on it. Sam clearly remembered this house now, and seeing the American flag made his still-pounding heart ache with joy.
He limped over to the front porch, climbing up the steps until he reached the front door. With a whimper, he reached a front paw up and scratched at the door, praying and hoping that the humans inside would answer. At first, no one answered, and he spun around to look for somewhere to spend the night.
But then the door opened behind him. Someone turned on the porch light, bathing the area in light, and he heard a woman's voice exclaim, "Oh my gosh...SAM!"
As Sam looked around in time, he noticed two figures running over to him: a man and a woman called the Klecks. Mrs. Kleck gently scooped him up into her arms and held him close to her, and Mr. Kleck reached over and gave his ears a gentle scratching. Sam wagged his tail and let them do so with a tired whine, beyond happy to see his humans again.
"Sam! It's been years since we saw you," Mrs. Fleck crooned. "Oh, how we missed you! Are you okay?"
She briefly let him go to study him. His fur was muddy and unkempt, and he even looked bruised. He looked a lot skinnier than he had been when the man and the woman left him with Mr. Jones of the Manor Farm.
"Look at him," remarked Mr. Kleck, tutting. "It must've been a long time since someone gave Sam some food."
"Manor Farm must've been a terrible place," said Mrs. Kleck, scooping him into her arms again. "I thought they'd take care of Sam better! If I had known that they wouldn't treat him right there, I wouldn't have let them borrow him."
"It's not Manor Farm anymore," replied her husband. He walked over and gently rubbed Sam's ears again. "From what I've heard, the animals have chased Mr. Jones out. At least, that's what some of the locals told me whenever I head down to the village."
Mrs. Kleck shook her head. "I don't even want to know how that's possible, talking animals and all that," she remarked. "But right now, Sam needs our help. Get the tub filled with water, and we'll bathe him."
Mr. Kleck nodded. "All right, I'll get started. And while I do that, you get him something to eat."
His wife nodded and handed Sam to Mr. Kleck before going inside for the kitchen. Sam relaxed against Mr. Kleck's grip while he followed Mrs. Kleck inside. This wasn't America, but where his owners were at, he was happy to be with them again.
...
Back at Animal Farm, news spread fast like wildfire. If anybody on the farm hadn't heard of it already, they were sure to hear it whenever the pigeons came around.
It had been a week since Sam had betrayed Animal Farm and fled. He had shouted 'Death to Animal Farm!' before attempting to murder Squealer, declaring proudly that he was Snowball's agent to destroy Animal Farm. He had also gotten Comrade Pinscher killed before fleeing Animal Farm, ridding the farm of a good and valuable comrade. It was then that Comrade Napoleon had declared the death sentence upon Sam: half a helping of oats and Animal Hero Second Class to whoever killed him and a full helping of oats to whoever brought him back alive for justice. Nothing good about Sam was to be remembered; anyone caught saying something good about him or even Snowball was to be punished.
Comrade Napoleon had been furious with the dogs of his Animal Guard for their failure. Despite them bringing back Pinscher's body for burial, he insisted that what mattered more was that they had failed by letting Sam flee. He had had them beaten with whips he had ordered through Mr. Whymper. Even other animals were not safe from those whips, which had been a foreign item ever since the expulsion of Jones.
Now the dogs were sitting in the empty butcher room, wounded from the whips. Octavian lay alone by the wall, listening to the whimpers and whispers of his four siblings and four half-siblings. He rested his head on his paws and looked outside the window, where the sun was starting to set.
What a mess, Octavian thought sadly, licking at his wounds. Pinscher is dead, and all of us are punished for it. This is all my fault. He bared his fangs until a growl worked his way up to his throat. I shouldn't have let Sam go; I should've killed him the first chance I got.
The door opened up, and the dogs looked around. Squealer was standing in the doorway, getting back down onto four legs after opening the door and turning on the light.
"Animal Guard," said Squealer, and the dogs rose slowly to their haunches. "Our leader, Comrade Napoleon, has come to a decision. He has found where the traitor Sam lived before the Rebellion and wishes to bring him back for justice. Three of you are to go with him."
There had been no way for the dogs to smell his scent after the traitor had killed Pinscher. They had been so distraught over their father's death that they had decided to leave him and grieve before coming back for him. Fortunately, Napoleon had found some papers that Jones had kept: a deed. Jones had received it when Sam was brought over from America to England as a mouser, and the humans who had given Sam over had left their address on the deed while they lived in England.
From Squealer's earlier command, the dogs began to complain.
"But we're tired," whimpered a black-and-tan male.
"And hungry," added another male, a gray-and-white dog.
"Yeah. We tried chasing that traitor, and look what happened," a third piped up, this time a tan female.
Squealer glared at the dogs. "We do not tolerate whining," he hissed, and the coldness from his voice stopped their complaints. "Comrades, let me ask you something. Do you think we can afford for you to become lazy? For punishment for choosing to be lazy, would you rather have Jones come back, or would you like to get the whip?"
The dogs winced. Recently, the pigs had acquired whips, saying that they needed to protect themselves from any animals that would rebel. When they were feeling especially spiteful, like what had happened hours ago, they would even use the whips on the dogs to make them obey. They hated the whips, but they feared the pigs more, and they didn't want Jones to come back either.
"Neither, Squealer," whined the dogs. "Neither."
"Good," said Squealer with a nod. "You just do as you're told, and Jones will not come back. Now decide among yourself who will go with our beloved leader, and when you get back, you'll have food and water. You have ten minutes."
He shut the door, leaving the nine dogs to talk among themselves. As they decided over who was going to go find the runaway, Octavian decided to be the first one to step forward.
"I'll go," he declared, and they turned their attention to him. "I'll go with Comrade Napoleon and bring that traitor Sam back here."
"But brother, you're tired as well," whimpered one of his sisters, a black-and-tan Rottweiler-looking female. "You need to rest."
"No. I won't rest." Octavian winced from his wounds as he staggered to his paws. "Sam killed our father. It was my fault for letting him slip away. I let you all down, and I let Animal Farm down. So I'm going to be the one to kill him, for Pinscher, for Comrade Napoleon, for Animal Farm. Now, who's coming with me?"
A blue-merle daughter of Bluebell stood up to join her half-brother, as did his gray-and-white brother. Octavian smiled a bit when these two dogs stood by him. No matter what challenges came the way of Napoleon's Animal Guard, they would meet those challenges together.
But in the meantime, Jessie had slunk away when the other animals were finished with the windmill for the night. She had heard that Pinscher was dead. With Pinscher and Bluebell no longer among them and Sam having fled the farm, she was the only dog left from when the Rebellion had happened. Her puppies and Bluebell's puppies had been born after Jones was expelled, but all they learned in their life was to be loyal to Napoleon, as well as kill and hate. She blamed Pinscher for having a part in this since the puppies would have been kinder dogs if not for him, but a part of her still missed him.
So Jessie decided to leave Animal Farm for good. She headed for the northwestern part of the farm, where the woods were wilder. The fence had started to rot from a lack of reinforcements, leaving an opening that was easy for her to slip through. Just on the other side, the wide world seemed to be freer...and even scary; not many animals since Mollie (and now Sam) had left the farm.
"Are you going somewhere, Jessie?"
Jessie turned to see who had interrupted her escape. Clover, Benjamin, and Muriel were catching up to her, Clover having been the one to speak.
"I'm leaving the farm," Jessie declared boldly. "The puppies have been corrupted, Bluebell and Boxer and Pinscher are dead, and Sam has fled. There's no more reason for me to stay here while the pigs rule. I have to leave."
"You're not going anywhere," said Benjamin with a stern voice, stopping her in her tracks. Then he smirked and added dryly, "At least, not without us to help you."
"We talked it over, and we decided to take a chance outside the farm," added Muriel. "Our bones may be getting old, but we've survived worse."
Jessie gave the three a grateful look. "So it'll be us four who will leave the farm."
"No. Only you three." Clover cast her gaze down to her hooves with a look of sorrow. "I can't leave the farm. Benjamin and Muriel will be going with you. Besides, I need to be there for my comrades."
"Thanks anyway, Clover, for understanding," said Jessie, and the Suffolk Punch nodded. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye," Clover echoed as she nudged them one at a time. "And good luck out there."
Benjamin gave her a nudge as well. "We should get going before the pigs notice that we're gone."
They gave Clover one final look, and she to them before they parted ways. Clover trodded back towards Animal Farm while looking over her shoulder, while the three animals headed into the forest without looking back.
...
It felt good to be with his humans again, Sam thought one night. It had been a week since he had fled from Animal Farm, and he was looking more or less all right again. No longer did he have to labor all day in the fields and on the windmill for little food.
Right now, he was relaxing with his owners by the fireplace. Mr. Kleck was turning on the radio for some music while Mrs. Kleck was reading a book. Sam sat by the woman, letting her rub his head and neck in between reading, enjoying human contact for the first time in years. His fur had gotten cleaner from the previous bath, and he was eating well again.
Suddenly, a sharp knocking rattled the house. Mr. Kleck turned down the radio, and Mrs. Kleck put her book down. "Now who could that be at this hour?" pondered Mr. Kleck.
Sam perked up and was prepared to bark when he caught a familiar scent. The fur along his spine rose in horror when he recognized the scent of pig and dog together. It can't be, he thought with his heart filled with dread. What are they doing here?
When Sam noticed an ear in the shape of a pig's ear at the window, he gave a small yelp and crept away. Mrs. Kleck saw this and made sure that he was safely hidden in the laundry room before her husband opened the door. Sam's blood ran cold when he recognized the harsh and gruff voice of Napoleon at the door.
"I've heard of you, talking pigs running a farm. Sounds like quite an achievement," Mr. Kleck was saying, though his tone and face were grim. "What do you want?"
"The dog that you gave away to Jones," said Napoleon right away. "We wish for him to be brought back to Animal Farm. Hand him over."
"Why should we?" demanded Mrs. Kleck. "What has he done?"
"He nearly killed one of my comrades and did kill another," was the answer. "Now stand aside so I can search for him. Animal Farm will have justice."
But Mr. Kleck refused to budge. "Got a search warrant?" he asked a little cheekily. "In the United States of America, the country where we come from, our Constitution says that police can't search the premises without a search warrant."
"I don't care what you do in your United States!" snapped Napoleon in a terrible voice. A dog brought forward a piece of paper, and the leader of Animal Farm accepted it and shoved it into Mr. Kleck's face. "This is the deed that you and Jones signed when your Sam came to live among us. And now, the traitor Sam must be returned to Animal Farm where he should be! I, Comrade Napoleon, demand it!"
That was when Mrs. Kleck stepped forward, snatching the deed from Napoleon's trotters and ripping it up. "Even if we found him, 'Comrade' Napoleon, we would never give him up to you," she retorted. "If this is how you treat animals at your farm, I'm glad he ran away from you."
But she and her husband jumped back when one of Napoleon's dogs stalked forward, snarling. Sam could recognize Octavian and felt a shiver of shame and fright. He knew that the tricolored son of Jessie never forgave him for getting Pinscher killed if his snarl for revenge was any clue.
"Heel, Octavian," Napoleon scolded with a grunt. "You'll have your fun."
Octavian still growled, but he sat down with a glower.
"Very well. We'll return to Animal Farm," said Napoleon, dropping his voice to an ominous hiss. "But I know you have him, and you cannot hide him forever. So I'll give you three days to think it over. If you have Sam within those days and hand him over, then no harm will be done. But if you have Sam and refuse to send him to us at Animal Farm, we have ways to make both him and you pay the price. For example..." He glanced around at a growling Octavian and then gave a sinister smirk. "I could let Octavian finish what he started just a few moments ago."
"What if we don't have him?" asked Mrs. Kleck.
"Then he's as good as dead out there in the world," said Napoleon. "It would mean one less traitor to track down and deal with. But remember: If you do have him, you have three days to turn him over for justice."
"Are we done here?" demanded Mr. Kleck, his voice hard with anger.
To their relief, Napoleon nodded. "Yes. Just wanted to give you some choices and warnings. Good-night."
Then he gave a sharp squeal, and the dogs gathered around him before he led them away from the porch. To the two humans, it was still amazing to see dogs act just as devoted to a pig as they would a human. Once Napoleon and the dogs were gone, Sam peered out the window and spotted them climbing into the back of a truck. He recognized the truck as belonging to Mr. Whymper, who was talking with Napoleon before pulling out of the driveway
Mr. Kleck slammed the front door and then locked it, cursing under his breath. Mrs. Kleck rested a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, and Sam looked out the window to see if they were gone. None of them slept well at night because of this.
...
For two days, tension was high at Sam's new home. The Klecks would keep looking down the driveway that would lead out to the main road. Sam saw that Mr. Kleck always carried a pistol with him, to protect himself and his loved ones from Napoleon if needed. Mrs. Kleck would keep Sam by her side always, making sure that nothing or nobody would come and snatch him away from her.
Finally, on the third day, Sam's owners took him outside. They usually took him outside to mark his territory and explore the woods during his stay with them. Mrs. Kleck didn't set him down until they were on the long driveway that led to the outside world. With a deep sigh, she reached down and unbuckled the collar from around his neck; it was a brown leather collar that they had bought for him on the first day that he had come back.
Sam was surprised, and he wasn't sure what she was doing. He did see the tears starting to form in her eyes, and he whimpered to try and cheer her up.
"We can't keep you here with us," Mrs. Kleck said sadly. "You have to leave, for your sake. If Napoleon catches you with us, he'd kill you."
"Maybe when this is all over, we can find you," added Mr. Kleck. "And we can head back to America together."
Sam gave a sad whine, looking up at his owner with large eyes. But there was nothing any of them could do.
A yelp brought the humans' gaze upward. Coming out of the edge of the forest were three animals: a tricolored Border collie, a white goat, and a gray donkey. Sam sat up more in surprise, able to recognize them. It can't be, he thought with amazement. Jessie? And Benjamin and Muriel...what're they doing out here?
He gave a yap, and the Border collie gave a bark too, but she didn't move from her spot beside Benjamin and Muriel. The latter two acknowledged him with a bray and a bleat, and like Jessie, they didn't move forward.
"Is that one of your friends?" asked Mrs. Kleck, her eyes full of sympathy as she studied the ribs protruding from Jessie's sides. "What a beautiful old girl she is."
She clicked her tongue to get Jessie to come over. But the Border collie refused to leave her companions and backed away when the humans drew nearer. It had been a long time since she knew the loving hand of good humans, growing up with bad ones for most of her life.
"Poor animals," remarked Mr. Kleck with a shake of his head. "They must not be used to humans that much. But if Sam recognizes them and wants to go with them..."
Mrs. Kleck knelt to Sam, her eyes welling with tears again, and she gave the little dog a deep hug. Sam embraced her as well, letting Mr. Kleck gently scratch his ears as he had liked it.
With a whimper, Sam jumped out of Mrs. Kleck's arms and ran toward his friends. Jessie was the first to reach him, and he reared up on his hind legs to greet her and groom her. Benjamin and Muriel plodded forward to greet Sam as well, though they made sure to keep their distance from the humans.
"Never thought I'd see you guys again," said Sam once he finished grooming his old friend. "What're you doing out here?"
"We fled from Animal Farm just three days ago. Things had been getting worse," said Jessie.
Muriel nodded in agreement. "Benjamin and Jessie helped me remember what the Seven Commandments were and how Squealer changed them. Thanks to them, I'm not so blind anymore. But what are you doing out here?" she asked.
"My owners are letting me go," said Sam. "As long as I stay with them, Napoleon might do something terrible to them. I understand that now."
The other three animals looked past Sam to the humans who were watching them. They were starting to head back to their house, only looking back to see if he was still there. A lump formed in Sam's throat while he stood side-by-side with his companions.
"It's for the best," remarked Benjamin, in a rare sympathetic tone. "It'll be us four for now. Your humans may be waiting by the time this is all over."
Sam felt affection for the old donkey because of that, and he knew that this was the time to apologize for the week before. "Before we go, Benjamin...I'm sorry for what I said about Boxer. You didn't deserve that."
Benjamin shrugged and turned to walk away. "There's nothing to forgive," he answered. "I hadn't even spoken up about how this would all fail, even when Boxer died. I guess our leaving while we still could was my way of speaking up."
"We better get going," said Jessie as she joined Benjamin. "Find some food, and settle somewhere for the night. Let's go."
The three farm animals treaded into the forest, with Sam lagging. He looked over his shoulder to where his humans were staying at. They watched from a distance, Mrs. Kleck wiping tears from her eyes and Mr. Kleck resting a hand on her shoulder. Sam whimpered, but there was nothing he could do about it now. One day, though, he promised to himself...one day, he would return to them.
And with one final whimper, Sam followed his friends into the dark forest.
To be continued...
