The black fox

3

I slowly blinked my eyes open. My head was pounding and it felt like the world was spinning around me.

I shakily got to my feet using a near by tree. I perched myself onto the rock and looked around at the surrounding foliage.

The woods that had surrounded me seemed eerier.

The moon had been dimmed by the thick tree canopy and the main source of light was now the small red things floating around me. They would be shining a bright red before flickering out then lighting up again.

"Crack"

I quickly flipped my head around to where the noise was coming from to see a shadowy figure bouncing from tree to tree.

Just when I finally was able to keep an eye on it another one seemed to pop up from a different spot. each time it disappeared behind a tree it would reappear closer and closer.

"Come on Rekia! You're just seeing things! The village has to be around here . . . or, we'll it's somewhere around here, right?" I said to myself in between breaths of air as I tried to calm down my nervous.

I could feel my eyes starting to get waterier and my cheeks were a little wet.

"Is the little one's mind playing tricks on them~" a voice echoed softly.

"If you can't trust your eyes or your brain, then what can you trust?" It said with a low tone.

I recognized that voice it was the thing from earlier.

"Where are you!" I asked yelling out into the forest. "I kept up my part of the deal"

" You did. And I kept mine. You simply aren't looking hard enough." It said with a chuckle.

"W-what?"

"It you want to find me Reika" It paused. "Then look harder-" It said dropping it's tone down which sent a shiver up my spine.

I helped myself up off the stone and started to hobble around the surrounding trees. I don't even know what I'm looking for, but I'd rather not upset whatever's casting those shadows-

"Your getting warmer~" It said softly as I approached the western side of the circle.

I started to scan the forest top to bottom maybe whatever this Thing likes to hid in the trees.

"Warmer~"

Bottom to top, bottom to top, bottom to-

"Found me." It said probably flaring it's teeth in a small grin.

There was a pair of yellow eyes glaring at me from one of low hanging branches. They were glowing and stood out from the dark trees.

How had I not seen them before.

"What . . . Are you?" I said stumbling backward. The eyes tilted to the side before locking onto me.

"Oh- nothing to special" The eyes said descending from the tree before plopping onto the ground.

The eyes were floating a good few feet above the ground whatever this thing was. It was big.

"I'll be honest I'm a little surprised you don't recognize me. I was always one of your favourites~" It said slowly coming out into what little moon light there was.

"Y-your a black fox!?" I said nearly tripping as I stumbled back onto my rock.

In front of my stood a huge fox which was covered in dark black fur which made it nearly impossible to see. There wasn't a speck of colour on them other then their yellow eyes.

I watched as the foxes pupils narrowed down into slits.

"The very same" It said with raspy voice.

The fox continued to walk further into to the light and closer to me.

"Trickster, evil, cunning, sly." It said taking a step each time. " These are names I'm quite familiar with-." It paused. "But I've been thinking. You ever realize you can use the very same words . . . to describe people." It said with a slight grin.

"W-what 'cough cough' what do you mean?" I ask, it ignored me and started to slowly circle around me.

I started finding it harder to breath and let out a few coughs as I gasped for air.

The sky was nearly completely dark which casted the fox back in to the darkness. Parts of its fur were illuminated by the red lights floating around, but other then that it was completely gone.

"You know foxes use to be one of the few animals at the top of the food chain. . . . Then humans came along. Most animals adapted, stood clear of all humans. Some even became herbivores. But others- they fought. Have you ever heard of the 'wolftoks'?" The fox said circling me slowly.

"No-?"

"Of course you haven't, there not around anymore. Unlike most animals they couldn't move on they couldn't accept that the world was changing. So they fought-" It's eyes narrowed until they were unseeable. "And they lost. Now the only thing that remains of them are the bones in the ground."

Suddenly the fox pounces onto me pinging me down to the ground.

"Now, you have a few options. You can go about your life pretending nothings wrong. Waiting for the world to change again and for your to get burnt up in the chaos. Or, you could fight it and watch as everything burns away." The fox started to turn away but then looked over its shoulder back at me. "Then again; you could be like me
. hide in the trees watching as the world burns to its roots. Then take your chance. After all fire is the great equalizer-." The fox said the bright embers flickering in there eyes as they glanced over to the horizon which was covered in dark smoke.

My heart dropped when I finally realized what was happening I pushed past the fox and started running into the forest. It was easier to find the village when all I had to do was follow the smoke.