Eventide

Part 2

THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO READS!!! ALL COMMENTS AND CRITICISM IS APPRECIATED!!!!

<3Taylor

Letting most of her thoughts drift off into another part of her mind, Evie chose to head back to her den where there was a raw mouse waiting to be eaten.

Surprisingly, it took a rather long time to get back home. That hunter really chased her far. Even in the darkness, the den looked welcoming. It was the one place where Evie felt truly safe. It was extremely well hidden, burrowed beneath a humongous tree. The thick brush provided for great camouflage. Plus, it’s in the dead center of the woodlands. It takes a lot of courage and strength from a hunter to make it there.

Evie quickly brought herself into the deepest part of her den. It was nice and cool down there. The mouse was still on the ground, right where she left it before going out in search for more food.

Summer was drawing to a close quickly, which means that the hunting season was going to begin soon. It’s also going to be the time of year when all of the woodland creatures stock up on food for the winter. That is, if they can find food.

Things to eat have been extremely scarce the past year or so. There has been a lot of construction in the city just outside of the forest. The tall buildings, loud machines, and disruptive humans were closing in, therefore causing more and more animals to die or move into a different forest. This mouse that Evie was eating was the first meal she had had all day. It wasn’t very tasty, but it filled up her stomach just enough and revived her from the hunter’s chase.

Once she finished it off, she slowly made her way back outside to see if she could find anything else to eat. Nighttime was usually the period when she would be out and about. Evie didn’t have high hopes of finding anything other than bugs and leaves for food, but she had to try; she had to survive.

She quietly maneuvered her way through the brush without making a sound. Evie looked all around to make sure that there weren’t any hunters around; luckily there wasn’t a soul to be seen. Well, unless you include the night life of the woods. There were fireflies, crickets, grasshoppers, owls, bats, possums, and the occasional coyote anywhere you went. It’s very arguable that the nighttime forest is more active than the daytime forest.

Evie wandered away from her den in a trot, keeping her eyes peeled for any scurrying rodents on the floor. She almost wanted to sneak into the city. Other foxes, she noticed, always came home with something to eat whenever they slipped away from the woods. Still, there have been many foxes that never return.

Before she could even make a final decision, Evie found herself looking through the crevices of the trees to the bright lights of the cars and buildings. If she really wanted to, she could easily dart across the street and into the alleyways where she would be hidden. It didn’t sound very hard. However, Evie had never been into the city before. She didn’t want to take the risk of getting caught…or killed.

Just as she was about to take a step towards the busy town, a delicious scent filled the air around her. There was something glowing off in the distance. It was quite attractive, and all Evie could do was investigate. The smell of the mouth-watering thing grew stronger and stronger as she drew closer and closer to the glowing flare. It smelled like meat; fresh, cooked, meat. Only once had she tasted the delectable flavor of real human food (not leftovers). Her mother had stolen from a campfire much like this one.

Evie desperately wanted to quickly run up and snatch away whatever was cooking. However, this fire was clearly human-made, which means that there must’ve been people around. But, where were they? Evie would’ve seen them for sure. Maybe they went into the tent? At this point, she could go get it now.

But then she heard twigs break not too far off. “Shhh! Junior, you’ll scare away all the game.” Evie immediately backed up a few steps. There was an old man walking out from the mouth of the tent and up to the fire, and right beside him was a boy who looked to be much younger. His face did not show any happiness. He looked pained and troubled.

“Grandpa, we’re not really going to go hunting this late, are we? I mean, it’s really dark, and we won’t be able to see a thing and‒” The older man held up his hand to shush the boy.

Evie listened intensely. She was sure that these humans were hunters. What were they doing? The older man looked like he was concentrating very hard.

Then, at the same time, Evie heard the leaves crunch and the old man’s face changed. His once focused expression turned to determination and cruel happiness. A smirk slowly grew on his face.

Obviously the sound that came from the bushes was made by an animal. A human would’ve been much louder and visible, too.

Evie couldn’t decide on what to do. One half of her mind was telling her to get out of there before she got caught. The other half, the more persuasive half, was telling her to get the food as quickly as possible and then run back to the den. Eventide was known as the fastest thing in the woods, after all. Besides, the mysterious animal from the bushes was probably after the meat as well. Soon there would be more creatures looking for a good meal to eat. It was now or never.

However, Evie had to wait until the humans left. She couldn’t go now. Not with this awkward old man on the premises. “You hear that, Junior?” he asked the younger boy. “I’ll bet that’s Eventide right there in those bushes. I’ll also bet that she’s here for our dinner.” The boy was looking very uncomfortable. As if he was ready to run away.

At the sound of her nickname, Evie put her entire defensive wall up. Clearly these humans were here in search of her; just like every other hunter. Would they ever leave her alone?

Just then the younger boy turned his head away from the other man who was beginning to ramble on about the so-called legends of Eventide. He seemed to be looked right at Evie; right into her eyes. But how could he have seen her? Her black fur coat along with the darkness should’ve been more than enough good camouflage to hide. Evie desperately wanted to run away back to her den now. Back to where she felt safe.

But she was starving. Just these past couple of days she had eaten practically nothing. The smell and look of the food cooking above the beautiful fire was too intriguing. She had to eat something. The thought of leaving this once-in-a-lifetime chance of getting a good meal was hard to bear.

The younger boy’s glare was still locked on Evie. It was quite creepy and made the little fox feel uncomfortable. Luckily he seemed to become distracted after the older man began for the tent. “Junior, would you please help me with these animal traps? We better get them set up.” the man said.

“Grandpa, do I really have‒”

“Junior, if you want to be a skilled hunter like me, then it’s best that you start now!” The older man interrupted the boy before he could complain any longer. The two of them went into the tent, leaving their food to continue cooking over the fire.

Now was Evie’s chance. She couldn’t waste many more seconds just squatting there. She’d be there all night waiting for another opportunity to go and get the food.

However, one disturbing thought kept crossing her mind. Something seemed rather odd to her. She’d seen many, many hunters in her short lifetime and never before had she seen any of them just leave their food unattended, in the darkness, and smelling so delightful. Something seemed fishy (no pun intended).

Could it all be trick? Could this be what the older man meant by ‘setting up the animal traps’? When you put everything together, it all made sense. Evie was beginning to have second thoughts on this idea of stealing their food. It seemed quite risky.

Although, what was life as a stealthy fox, when there was no risk?