Fireball: A Fox Tale

Part 2: Trapped

Nora felt prepared for the worst. Through the rest of the night, she listened to the chirping of the crickets and cicadas as they called out to one another under the pure light of the full moon. She could hear the rustling of the grasses and the dead leaves as the wind swept across her front yard. The old woman embraced this symphony of night activity, but at no point did she receive any indication of life from her remaining chickens.

However, when Nora inspected the coop the next morning, nine hungry birds greeted her. In a flurry of feathers, they all gravitated toward her, but were clearly disappointed to find she had come empty-handed. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, but the chickens didn't seem much impacted from the night before. Sure there were some broken bones here and there, but that didn't stop the fowls from demanding their daily breakfast of oats and greens. With a bit of a bounce in her step, Nora fetched the feed from the storage room and watched the feeding frenzy that ensued.

At least I'm not alone, she thought, but she might as well have been. Unlike Oreo, the only time the other chickens even noticed Nora was when she fed them. Since her daughter, Mandy, had moved away nine years ago, Oreo had been her one constant companion, but now... She hated thinking about it.

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Nora decided to clear her mind with a walk. After only thinking about her dead bird for the past few days, she hoped Mother Nature would provide enough of a distraction. Nothing else had been working for her.

Clad in her red-and-black checkered fleece jacket, grey sweatpants, and black boots, Nora headed for the woods. Equipped with her favorite book in hand, she searched for her favorite reading spot among the hundreds of other trees and bushes that made up these woods. The dense foliage mostly blocked out the sun's rays, but some light managed to peek through the cracks, illuminating the tiny droplets of morning dew on the delicate spider webs lining the path.

There it was! The Gigantitree, with its enormous trunk, seemed to call out to her, begging her to find peace under the cover of its sturdy boughs.

But on this particular day, it seemed someone else had also decided to visit her tree. Was that...? Yes! It was unmistakable! The fiery red coat stood out against the thousands of orange, yellow, and brown leaves scattered across the forest floor. As soon as the creature saw her, he lifted up his head and let out a small whimper.

For some reason, Nora felt herself inching closer toward the fox. She could have turned around at that moment. She could have walked to the other side of the tree or found another one. But she kept on walking forward, her eyes locked on the clearly troubled canine.

On closer inspection, Nora noticed that the steel jaws of a bear trap had clamped shut on the fox's paw. His amber eyes seemed to gaze into Nora's soul, pleading with her to release him from his terrible fate.

Why should I help a murderer? she thought. This insufferable creature ruined my life. Why should he deserve any sympathy from me?

Just then, the sound of gunshots exploded in her ears. A hound barked in response.

Damn it! Nora looked back at the fox, who suddenly appeared even more anxious to escape. How could she be so heartless? This fox, just like any other predator, hunted solely to eat, to survive. Only humans, the most feared creatures on earth, kill for sport. She knew she could never let this creature suffer.

Nora dropped her book and looked around her to make sure the hunter was nowhere in sight. The gun fired again, a little closer this time. She would have to work quickly.

With her bare hands, she managed to compress the springs, allowing just enough room for the fox to remove its paw from the trap.

"What do you think you're doing?" a gruff voice asked from behind her.

To be continued...

A/N: Hi guys! Thanks so much for reading! If you liked Part 2, please don't forget to vote. Also if you have any comments or questions, I would love to talk to you all! :)

If you were in Nora's situation, what would you do?