14. An Adventure (Re)Begins
Red blinked his eyes open, he took a moment to stare blankly at the wall of the den in front of him. Initially he was confused, the pattern and the colour of the den wall was all wrong, he was clearly not at the Overlook. He lifted his head and suddenly the memories of the previous night came flooding back to him. He had followed Whisper back to a den he had assumed was hers, it was dark and the rain was intense, he had no idea where in the park he had ended up.
"You really don't sleep well do you son?" asked a gruff and tired sounding voice.
Red rolled onto his back and turned his head to face the owner of the voice, it was a voice he recognised all too well, it belonged to the Farthing Wood fox. This was clearly not Whispers den.
"For a moment I thought you were going to dig a new entrance to our den, the way you attacked that wall in your sleep."
Red looked back at the den wall he had slept next to, there were fresh looking gouges near its base and loose dirt on the ground.
"I was fine where I was, I didn't ask to come here," answered Red with a shrug.
"I'm aware, but Whisper is our daughter in all but blood, her friends are welcome here even if they choose not to be."
Red watched the older animal as he spoke, looking for telltale signs that the Farthing Wood Fox was somehow being dishonest with the words he said. It was frustrating, there was nothing in Fox's voice or body language to indicate he meant anything other than what he said. Red hated that the legends told of the Farthing Wood fox might actually be more than just stories.
"Where is Scarlet...Whisper?" asked Red, correcting himself as the name left his mouth.
Fox paused for a second before answering, clearly taking note of the mistake. "Vixen took her hunting, I think she needed the air. She watched you all night, I've only ever seen her that concerned once before."
"There's nothing wrong with me, why would she worry?" said Red with a snort.
"You've seen my wall?" answered Fox as he motioned to the den wall at Red's side. "That's not something to be concerned about?"
Red looked back at the damage he had done before answering. "It's normal, I've always slept like that."
"Son, just because you've been doing something for a longtime doesn't make it normal."
Red felt exposed, like the older animal was shining a light on the dark parts of his life and examining them, he didn't like the feeling. "I don't need to be analysed," said Red before picking himself up from the floor and exiting the den into the daylight of the park beyond.
The sun was bright outside, Red had to squint until his eye's adjusted to the light. He was in the clearing where he had first met the animals from Farthing Wood. It looked very different in the light of day, somehow larger, but also less intimidating. The rain had stopped and in its wake it had left the ground wet and sodden. Red felt his paws sink slightly into the ground as he made his way over to the edge of the clearing, to the point where he had first encountered Whisper after becoming a resident of the Overlook. He stopped at the clearings edge, part of him wished he could go back and undo that meeting. She was clearly happy and living a new life, completely oblivious to his survival. Maybe that was the better outcome than the one he had created that night. But before Red could ruminate on the issue any further his thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice behind him beyond the clearing.
Red turned and watched as Plucky tore into the clearing from its opposite end, quickly making his way down into Fox and Vixen's den without even registering Red's presence. Red could hear raised voices for a moment before they grew louder still as Plucky returned to the surface once more with Fox in tow. Red was far enough away that he could register the tone of the voices but not the actual words. He could tell that the discussion was heated, anxious words were being exchanged and he could see from Plucky's body language that the young fox was agitated and afraid, something was clearly very wrong.
Red sat down at the edge of the clearing and watched the discussion, he felt torn, most of him wanted to turn away and leave but some small part gripped him in place. As time passed more animals arrived, birds, rabbits, weasels, hares and eventually, the remaining members of the Farthing Wood foxes. Red watched as Whisper entered the discussion, the pained expression on her face. He suddenly felt the feeling that had gripped him in place pull him forwards, until he was just outside the circle of animals and able to hear every word that was being spoken.
"It's okay Spike, we'll find them," reassured Plucky as he looked down at the small rat shaped companion at his paws.
"But, but, but," spluttered Spike.
"We told you, it's not your fault," said Fox forcefully "you did all you could, no one blames you."
"But, but, I need to get them back," sobbed Spike.
A silence descended on the gathering. Red looked slowly around the circle, there were sullen tear-filled faces everywhere he looked. Vixen's face was the worst, she stared at the floor in a silent stupor.
"We need to get them back," answered Plucky eventually, "and we will."
"How do we do that, when we don't even know where they've been taken?" asked Charmer between tearful snorts.
Before any of the other animals could offer a suggestion Owl butted into the discussion. "We know where they have been taken, just not where that where is."
Some of the smaller animals began scratching at their heads in confusion, Owl sighed. "We have an animal amongst us who has actually been to the place they have been taken!"
Red watched Owl's head rotate towards him and her large piercing eyes began glaring in his direction. One by one the animals present followed Owl's gaze and before long every animal present was looking directly at him. Red suddenly felt exposed again, like he was about to be dragged into something he was going to wish he had stayed well out of.
"Red," gasped Whisper and Plucky in unison.
"You've been there before, you can show us the way!" continued the younger fox.
Red felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "I have no idea what any of you are talking about, but I do know that whatever it is, you can count me out, I'm not interested."
"The men…in the van…the ones from the test lab…they've taken animals from the park. They…they took my brother and…and…Ranger," stammered Charmer as she struggled to get the words out.
"Then you should count yourself lucky," answered Red bluntly, without even taking the briefest of moments to consider his words, "believe me, it's better them than you!"
There were horrified gasps from around the circle of animals. Charmer burst into tears at the words and leaned on Whisper for support. Whisper's eyes locked with Red's and she shook her head from side to side in disapproval.
"They were here for you," said Plucky, there was a hint of accusation in his voice, "and they took them instead."
"Then you should have left me to my fate when they caught me."
"So, that's it? You won't help us?" asked Owl still staring down at him judgingly from the tree above the gathering.
"Let me be clear, nothing, nothing, is ever going to make me go back to that place," growled Red in response. The mere idea of going back there willingly forged a bitter concoction of fear and anger inside so strong he could taste the boiling stomach bile it produced in his mouth. "Not you, you, or you will ever be able to convince me otherwise," he continued, jabbing a paw in the direction of several of the animals present.
Silence descended on the group once more, punctuated now and again by sobs and sniffs of sadness. Red began to feel guilt build amongst the fear and anger in his stomach, he couldn't be here anymore.
"They're gone, I'm sorry for your loss," Red added as he turned to leave. However, before he could, Vixen, who had been silent during the whole gathering stepped forward and raised her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stood unsteadily at the centre of the ring of animals. Red felt the sadness in her eyes jump to him as he looked on, the other animals present melted away for a moment and all he could see was her, flashes of his own mothers face overlayed Vixen's as she spoke.
"Please…save my son's."
Red felt an uncontrollable sneer erupt across his face as he felt internal forces clash within himself. The distain for the idea the animals of Farthing Wood represented, his fear of revisiting the test lab, his bitterness and anger towards the world and what it had given him, the love of his mother, his feelings towards Whisper, and the hope that lingered inside, that somehow, there was a way to make up for all the horrible things he had done.
"I will take you to the lab, but you're on your own from there," the words left Red's mouth in a guttural growl, "be at the boundary sign at midnight, no grandparents, no small slow useless prey creatures, and absolutely no weasels."