CHASE

Chapter 6

"Have you been exploring recently?" Whorl whispered to Chase one day.

"Of course!" Chase exclaimed.

Whorl narrowed her eyes. "You know we're not supposed to wander, Chase."

"I don't stray too far. I know where the boundaries lie," Chase argued.

Chase noticed a sudden presence behind her and turned around to see Rush, her other sister. The smaller fox was staring at her with curiosity as she listened in on the two sisters' conversation.

"Where do you go?" Rush asked.

"Uh, nowhere," Whorl answered.

"Into the woods, a little bit away from the meadow," Chase explained. "There's a lot to do and see, and Copper is too busy napping to realize I'm gone."

Rush snickered. "Would you show me? I get tired playing in the meadow all day."

"Chase, we're not supposed to wander," Whorl warned.

"Then cover for us while I show her," Chase said to her sister before leading Rush away. She heard Whorl growl in response, but when Chase turned her head, she saw Whorl returning to the meadow.

Rush moved slower than Chase, probably frightened that trouble would come her way, but Chase had been wandering around enough that she knew her parents wouldn't catch her. It was hard to keep track of five foxes, after all.

They moved away from the tall grasses of the meadow, moving deeper into the forest. Chase grinned as Rush looked around in wonder at the world around her.

"It's so big!" Rush exclaimed.

"It's nice, isn't it? Soon we can go as far as we want!" Chase exclaimed, running forward and climbing up a nearby rock. She peered forward, knowing that the cat territory was in the distance. Her heart sunk to see there were no cats nearby, but she felt proud being able to determine where the boundaries in the forest laid. 

"What are you looking for?" Rush wondered.

"Nothing," Chase responded, leaping down from the rock. "This is as far as I usually go though."

"But it looks like there's so much more in the distance," Rush complained.

"I like breaking the rules, but not that much. You shouldn't wander either. I've come here enough to know where I am, but you might get lost if you keep walking around. Let's head back," Chase suggested.

Rush nodded, though she looked a bit disappointed to see that their journey had been cut short. Chase wished she could comfort her sister, but even she had her own limits about how far she decided to go.

"I really like the forest," Rush admitted as they came back to the meadow. Their siblings were rolling in the grass as Copper and Apple snoozed near the entrance of the den.

Chase nodded.

"I wish we didn't have to wait until we were older to go off exploring," Rush complained.

"It's for the best," Chase guessed. "If you need me to take you again sometime, let me know."

"Thanks," Rush responded, giving her a kind smile.

A shriek split the air in the middle of the night. Chase awoke with a jolt, watching as the others stirred beside her. The sky was still dark, and the scream had now vanished, being replaced chirping crickets.

"What was that?" Whorl murmured, her eyes widened in fear.

Her parents were already stepping outside, and it was with a shock that Chase realized Rush wasn't normally sleeping next to her. She let out a gasp and stepped outside.

"Chase, go back inside!" Copper growled. "It could be dangerous."

"Rush isn't in the den!" Chase exclaimed.

Her parents both exchanged views of concern, and even Chase could detect the fear in their eyes. Apple quietly escorted Chase back inside, telling her to remain quiet, while Copper went to investigate.

The others fell back asleep in no time, but Chase sat up, nervously awaiting Copper's return. She felt like she was somehow connected to Rush's disappearance, and she regretted ever leading her into the forest. What if something had happened? What if Rush was lost forever? What if...She let her thoughts wander off, trying to assure herself that everything would be okay. She shut her eyes, pretending she was asleep so as not to worry her mother who was keep a vigilant watch near the entrance of the den.

When she heard the sound of footsteps, she glanced up again, jumping as her mother let out a startled cry. The others were waking again, asking around about what had happened.

Chase crept near the entrance of the den slowly and slowly peeked through. Her stomach grew nauseous with what she saw. Rush lay limp on the ground, her beautiful pelt coated in dried blood. Thin, long clawmarks lay across her pelt which Chase realized could only from come a cat.

"She's dead," Copper muttered.

They buried Rush in the morning. Everyone was crying, though Chase felt empty inside. She had never been too close with Rush, even though she was her sister, but she felt responsible for her death. Rush had clearly gone out to explore, even though Chase explicitly told her to ask her first. She had neglected to mention this to her parents as the guilt ate her up inside.

Chase knew it was uncommon for all of the fox kits to live into adulthood. She'd heard stories from her parents about their siblings who were deceased early on into their life. But a part of her wanted to believe that her family would all remain alive and thrive as Chase grew.

Perhaps her mother's wounds had healed, but it appeared fresh ones had opened as Apple quietly wept near the fresh dirt of her daughter's grave.

"Don't go out again," Whorl begged Chase quietly.

Chase nodded, though she doubted she'd listen. She knew where the cats lurked, and Rush had clearly wandered too far into their territory.

"I'll kill every last clan cat on the planet," Copper muttered, digging his claws into the dirt.

"Stop it, dear," Apple muttered.

"It wasn't their fault," Chase spoke up.

Copper turned to his daughter, looking at her as if she had betrayed him with her words.

"They killed her, Chase," Hop whimpered.

"She wandered into their territory," Chase argued. "Maybe she didn't know it was their territory, but she was a threat to them."

"She was only a kit," Apple cried.

"It was unjustified," Copper growled.

"If a kitten had wandered into our territory, I bet you would have killed it immediately, wouldn't you?" she asked her father.

He growled at her. "This is no time for questions like this! Why are you acting as if you know these cats? Your sister is dead! Do you feel absolutely nothing?"

"I'm sad, but...I also understand."

"You're making no sense, Chase. They killed her," Whorl said quietly.

"You would've killed a kitten if it had wandered too close to our den. That's why they killed Rush. Because one day she was going to grow into a big fox that would hurt them. I saw how scared they look when they were fighting Apple. They're scared of us, but they hide it with violence. And we're scared of them, even if they're smaller than us," Chase explained.

"Chase, go inside," Copper growled. "I don't want to hear anymore about this."

She nodded and stepped inside the den. She didn't mean to disrespect Rush's death, but she wished her family would understand. This wasn't an act of hatred. It was a natural part of the food chain. The cats were longing to protect their kind just as Chase's parents were longing to protect them.

She wished the world could understand the balance of the forest.