Space Between

2: The Unseen

The wolf's dreary eyes entered the soft glow of light announcing the newborn morning. He slowly turned his head to look at his upper body and realized he was not at all where he was before he awoke.

A small string woven white blanket cloaked the lower portion of his body save for his feet. He touched his forehead and was surprised to see it was no longer bleeding, but now indented scars. He tried to sit up, but an enormous scar on his chest influenced excruciating pain.

The wolf hadn't a clue where he was or how he got here, but he had already proven himself that he was in no shape to walk. He suddenly heard tiny footsteps creaking outside of the room. Not knowing what to do, he simply tugged against the soft blanket and sunk half of his face into the pillow, and his eyes facing towards the door.

The doorknob proceeded to creak to the side, and the door opened. Inside stepped in a face the wolf swore he could remember. It was a fox, he was sure of it; the golden-orange fur and the shimmering blue eyes were a dead giveaway. He held a steaming bowl of warm soup and directed his eyes at the wolf carefully.

"Are you awake? I was wondering if you would."

The wolf looked at him but refused to answer. He continued as he set the soup on a nightstand.

"What were you doing out in the woods at night?" he looked at his chest. "More importantly, how in the world did you injure yourself so badly? Were you walking around blind?"

"Hunting, I suppose? I saw some good deer heading this way."

A cloud of silence surrounded the two strangers. The wolf then rested his body back into the bed, his face atop the pillow. Viridian questioned the wolf.

"What's your name?"
"Ebony. Why did you save me?"

The fox chuckled and glimpsed down at his feet. "What was I supposed to do, trip over a rotting corpse on my doorstep for the rest of my days?"

An unwelcoming silence broke the conversation between the two for a moment. The fox looked back at the wolf. "Name's Viridian. I've been living in these woods for who knows how long. My people have just... disappeared. Gone. I was just walking around my village at night one day and the next thing I knew, I was at the bottom of a hill. When I climbed back up the hill the village -- everyone was just gone."

The fox stared out the window and saw the trees rustling in the wind. He grabbed his knapsack leaning on one leg of the bed and connected the top button of his shirt. "The sun's still rising in the sky. I'm gonna go ahead and look for food for a bit. Say in bed. I'll be back in half an hour."

Ebony plopped his head back into the pillow and glimpsed out the window for a bit. The warm sun beamed on his face.

About seven minutes passed and Ebony lay still on the bed lifelessly. He arose half of his body from the bed, the blanket slipping back into the cushions. His gray ear perked up to scan the room and the unseen area outside. No sound signaled back to him, and it was quite clear that the fox was long gone. He motivated himself. "C'mon. It's okay. Just pick yourself up. No pressure." The large scar prevented him from having a stable mind as the pain was so great, like someone shoving him back down again and again.

He slid his feet onto the bumpy ground and rose both his arms to stand up straight, but the intense pain struck once again. One last time he tried to lean his body upwards. His arms and legs shook and wobbled, but he successfully stood up. To walk, he had to limp slowly and move his body forwards each time.

He opened the door and entered the hallway. A couple pictures appeared within the dim hall; dusty, decripted pictures of trees and lakes. He reached the kitchen, where a bowl of crushed mushrooms, a quill and an inkpot lay on the dining table. Moving directly straight, he opened the patio door and he felt the bitter cold smother his fur. Outside a path led to a tool shack of deteriorated appearance. He stepped on the ground which felt lifeless and solidified as ice; each step he took he felt as if he was stepping on stone.