The Fox, Red

103 - Adventure Into The Wilds

I'm up before the sun. What little I brought with me is crammed into one bag to take with me. Anne has her belongings all ready to go as well. She and two others will be accompanying us. The joy of having this following behind me is that they've accrued a little bit of wealth. They were able to get a private flight chartered with the donations and offerings that had been given to them.

We've ensured that the pilot and crew will be quiet about this trip. They are not going to know who I am. I am just any other red fox just going to travel for a while. But this way, we won't be bothered. It's a long flight but a little bit of a nap shortens it. We land with no issues at the Aberdeen International Airport. It's going to be a long drive from there to our destination. We need to head north but first have to swing west.

We stop for a break now and again as we go. The large empty spaces are refreshing. The greenery is a nice change from the waves of brown and red I saw in the desert. It had its wonder about it but the color is just pleasing to my eyes.

Anne sticks to watching out the window until she dozes off now and again. I've been keeping an eye on where we're going. The driver is quiet but is following his GPS directions. The passenger is making sure that we're taken care of. Both of them are members of the church so I'm a little more at ease with them there. Or maybe I need to be more on my toes because it is them.

I don't know anymore. My mind has been fried for who knows how long. There's been too much going on all at once. When there isn't anything to do it feels weird. But the drive is excellent. It's quiet. I get to enjoy the change of scenery.

We swung around to head north once toward our destination. The driver and passenger swapped out when there was a chance to take another break to keep them fresh. Anne and I were able to get out and stretch before we were back on the road again. Hours just seemed to blur together as the rolling hills bobbed up and down.

I tried to keep myself as calm as possible. The excitement was starting to get to me. The hair on the back of my ears started to feel like they were tingling the more I thought about it. This could be it. This could be the place I've been looking for! I would shift and shuffle in my seat trying to contain this nervous energy. The further north we get, the chillier it gets. I'm starting to notice a change in the air as well.

The GPS has up going in the right direction. We follow the road yet something still feels off. The trees start to get dense rather quickly. The sun was already starting to set by the time we hit this line. They blocked out whatever light was left.

I don't remember this being on the map when I first looked at the route. The driver pulls over to the side of the road, "We've lost cell signal. What should we do?" I nod to him unlocking my door. I step out taking in a deep breath of what's around us. The air here is weird. It's crisp like country air but there's something in it.

I sit back in my seat. I buckle back in as I give directions to the driver, "Save your battery. Follow this road. We're still heading in the right direction." He nods reaching over to lock his phone. We pull back onto the road and away we go. It gets eerily dark the further we go. The headlights seemed crippled in this darkness. The driver takes it slow to follow the road.

One more turn and there is a small break in the darkness. The road heads toward it in a straight line. We still go slow but the trees start to lighten up. The sun should have set by now. The orange sky casts a light over these hills that seem unnaturally beautiful.

The road here has never been maintained. It's in a rough state. But it looks like it was never paved or even graveled. It's just two worn-in thin dirt tracks. They don't appear to be made by tires either. They are way too thin. Now that we are in the open, we can pick up speed and move along. It's not long before we come across civilization. There is a small hamlet with multiple houses scattered along this road and outwards from there. They look old but maintained.