The Fox, Red

082 - The Game Ends

The saying that you are not truly aware of what you are capable of until you are pressed to take action in a situation where you must take drastic measures is true. I pushed through the fear to make a hard decision. With blood on my paws, my path is set. I will fight back and I will win.

None of their equipment will be of use to me. I don't want to take the fight to the others. They will be looking for me. I will be ready for when we meet. Whoever I may meet. I also can't walk around aimlessly. I know that I will have to find my way back to the lodge. I may as well make my way back. I'll see if I can retrace my steps.

Some things look familiar. Others look completely foreign. I find the den that I found before so I know I'm on the right track. I just have to keep trekking. One step at a time. Whenever I hear anything I drop to the ground and wait. The dirt in my fur begins to feel natural the more I move around. I'm a mess. I know I'm a mess. And I just do not care. There is a drive that keeps me going forward. The will to survive is a strong force.

I hear a murmuring off to the side. They're not on the same path I am but close enough that we may cross. I take a position in the brush that would be difficult to traverse through for any normal person. I know that I'm not dealing with normal folks but anything that makes it harder for them, makes it better for me. They are much better armed than the last group. It's still only two of them but they have proper hunting rifles. Short-range scopes, probably four rounds in the box.

Neither is drawn. Neither seems to be in any ready stance. They're walking as though it's a stroll. Easy pickings. Or should I let them pass? Those rifles would be helpful though. I might have the advantage in a firefight but do I want to start one? Maybe they have something smaller that would prove more useful. A sidearm perhaps? I'm going to take the chance. Once like before. From behind as quietly as I can.

I stop to wait as they pass. And It paid off. They shouted back to another one asking if they were going to catch up or just waddle behind them. If I had jumped then, the third would have had the drop on me. I lucked out. But with three I'm going to have to let them pass. I sit and wait until they are out of sight. I can use them as a guide to finding my way back.

I'm alone with my thoughts for a moment while I try to figure something out. With no magic, for whatever blocker they have coursing through my body, how am I going to take on the hunting lodge that will undoubtedly be filled with those who are more than willing to kill me for sport? I didn't get a long time to train in combat tactics and what I did get was a very cut-down version to try and get me up to some speed for a mission that was botched before we even got to where we needed to. Something is better than nothing though.

If I can get the drop on them... I have more of a fighting chance. I can't even tell myself that I will have the advantage. I pick myself up from the ground to follow the path they took this far. There's a bit of a beaten path that's still mostly overgrown. One that's been used quite a bit but not often enough to beat the life out of the ground.

I find a trail that looks more like a road. It's well beaten. Against my better instinct, I follow it up a stretch until I see a familiar sight. I got a glimpse of it as I looked back the first time. It's the roof of the lodge. I can't stay on this road any longer. I'm way too open.

Logic dictates that I should stay out of sight and move around until I can find a spot that is a bit more covered before I try and find a way inside. There are large windows on the back of the lodge and a few at the front. The sides must be where they keep the rooms so any windows are smaller. Made for privacy.

I can only hope that they don't have cameras in the place. A quick look doesn't show anything on the outside. This brings up a conundrum. Do you put up cameras on a lodge where people spend six figures to come to or do you now have video evidence of the activities that happen at a sketchy lodge where people spend six figures to come to? There's a lot to risk in having video evidence of shady activities. If I have my way, there won't be anything left.