Fox Attack (Utjirini's Series Book One)

Story I Wrote For School Version

The wind howled and twigs snapped as light paw steps treaded across the dense forest. Dej Khov, a cat with icy tendrils weaving around its body, carried a dead rabbit in its mouth. The small hunting party reached the camp, and set the rabbit down in a pile of other prey. Voles, mice, rabbits, and birds stalked the pile full, so everyone could eat that night.

Suddenly, a loud meow broke through the calm theme. "Leave me alone! I'm so tired of you getting in my way. I'm leaving. I don't care that I have a scratch on my muzzle, it will heal itself with absolutely no help."

Suddenly, Utjirini, who had just yelled, stormed out of the camp, followed by the medicine cat, Varjo, who stopped at the entrance. Most cats were out of their dens now, curious about what was happening.

Outside the camp, Utjirini stomped around the soft grass, trying to find somewhere she could calm herself down. She found a small den among some leaves, covered by ferns. It smelled of foxes, but it was stale. They must have been here a few days ago, but never came back. She knew it was safe, or so she thought.

The sound of crackling leaves pricked Utjirini's ears. Could someone be coming to bring her back to camp? She thought she showed everyone how angry she was with everyone bothering her. That would be the worst possibility. At best, it would be prey scurrying along the roots of trees. She peeked outside, and her eyes widened with fear.

Four foxes were entering the den, and she instantly knew that she had trekked right into a foxes' den! She tried to sneak out before they could notice her, but one glared at her with beady eyes and snarled, catching the others' attention. She tasted blood as the scratch on her muzzle was sliced by the foxes' claw, causing it to be worse than before. Then before she knew it, she was losing terribly to a healthy pack of foxes. As she was passing out, she let out a yowl of pain, trying to ensure someone could hear and help her. The sound of paw steps thudding across the ground, and a yowl from a cat, was the last thing she heard before the blacked out.

Back at camp, the medicine cat, Varjo, and her apprentice Arai were tending to Utjirini's wounds as they scolded her about entering a fox's den. Utjirini's many eyes were fuming with annoyance. Suddenly a voice rang across the clearing. "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for an announcement," yowled Kaktusas, the clan leader.

The next night, the full moon shone brightly over the cats of all clans. Tonight they were going to chase the mangy foxes out of their territory. Dej Khov, Saccharo, Conatus, Gloei, Frostbyte, and Maku were careful to not make any noise, as they trekked back towards the fox den, where Utjirini had been attacked. Utjirini was still inside the medicine den, being treated and cared for by Varjo and Arai. Suddenly, Dej Khov overheard Frostbyte whispering to Saccharo that he had smelled a slight whiff of fox. Dej Khov stopped in her pawsteps and glanced back at Frostbyte. "You smelled a fox?" she whispers airily to him, "From where?"

Closing her eyes and taking in a large breath of air, fox scent started to overwhelm Dej Khov. Signaling to the others, she crept towards the den, careful not to make any sort of noise. Peering between a bunch of leaves, Gloei whispered, "it's too dark, I'll sneak inside and light it up so we can fight better." Dej Khov noticed Maku and Conatus exchange worried glances as Gloei headed inside the fox den, his bioluminescence lighting up enthusiastically, grinning.

It felt like hours, as they slowly watched Gloei's dim light slowly disappear as he got farther into the den. The fall of rocks, and the sound of crushing leaves inside the den always made Dej Khov jump inside. Every moment she heard a noise, she almost kept expecting it to be a yowl of pain.

Five to ten minutes passed, Dej Khov didn't care to keep track of the time, as a weird sound from the den. It sounded half like a yowl, but it was mixed with a gurgling sound. As Dej Khov stood there, processing what the sound was, the others had tore from their hiding spots and bolted into the den. Moments later, Saccharo was dragging Gloei's body out of the den as the others tried to fight off the fox. Gloei had a long slash across his throat, one leg was torn off, and blood was bubbling out of his mouth. She rushed to help the others fight off the fox as Gloei's body was dragged back to camp for a burial. As the small patrol realized they couldn't fight off the foxes, they rushed back to camp, before they lost another clanmate. Sorrow filled Dej Khov, and she knew the others felt the same way. Tears flew out of her eyes as she ran back to camp, side by side with Frostbyte.