The Fox, Red

044 - Beginning of a Personal Test

As what is her private helicopter touches down in the open driveway I'm left a little stunned. She's got money, that's never been a secret. From her house, I can tell that she is very wealthy not just because of the design or contents but of the staff that she keeps. But never in my life have I ever met someone who has enough wealth to own their own private aircraft.

The blades of the machine chop through the air creating a heavy pulsing. The force of the wind is powerful. My eyes are drying out as I stand here. My exposed fur is becoming a winded mess. Madam Odette though is standing tall, unaffected by any of it.

Once the helicopter touches down I feel her paw on the back of my head before she shouts in my ear, "Head down! Board! Then put on the headset!" I'm not even going to try to respond. It's too loud, I'm not sure what's going on but it looks like we're going for a ride.

With Madam Odette's guiding paw on the back of my head, I'm pushed down and in. She just points me to a seat across from her. With no words, she pulls down a bulky headset as she points to mine above my head. I fit the earpieces in and position the covers. Once they go over my ears everything goes quiet. Over the speakers, in my ear, I hear an unfamiliar voice call out, "Let me know when you're settled and we can take off."

I look behind me through the seat to see the pilot looking back. His face is covered but he's got a smile on and thumbs up waiting for the ok that we're both ready. He gives a nod before turning back in his seat. I hear the turbine whine as it speeds up and we leave the ground. I must have made a face showing this wasn't sitting well. The grainy radio kicked on with a familiar voice, "Red, are you feeling ok?"

Looking across from me I can see Madam Odette. She's leaned back relaxing in her seat but has her eyes fixed on me. I can only mutter back, "I uh, I apparently don't fly well." I hear the other voice come over the headset, "If you're going to be sick, there's a bag under your seat otherwise I'm sending you the cleaning bill." I hear him laughing at his own joke. It forces a smile from me and does help me feel better.

As we level out Madam Odette reaches into her coat grabbing what looks like a blindfold. "Red, this is for you. Cover your eyes and I will tell you when you can take it off." She leans forward passing it off to me. Looking down and then looking out the window at the world begins to move under us I can only question what we're going to be doing that I can't see where we're going. I give her a nod as I bring the cloth up to my face. With one deep breath, I cover my eyes bringing myself into darkness.

The motion of the helicopter is amplified. I can feel every little movement as we turn and shift, raise and lower, and it's beginning to upset my stomach. I am a fox. I was not meant to fly. I have also never flown before and this is sensory overload.

One problem I'm beginning to notice with being blindfolded is that I have no sense of distance or time. As everything shifts, I can barely keep myself steady. The headset kicks on now and again with the pilot pointing something out or Madam Odette asking questions to him or me. The questions to me are making sure that I'm ok.

She can see me. She can see that I'm having some issues. She's willing to check in and make sure that I'm keeping myself together as best I can. I don't give an audible answer from disorientation. Just a head nod seems to suffice.

I can't tell if it's been minutes or an hour. There's an odd shift as I can feel us dropping slowly. I hear the pilot come over the headset, "This a good spot?" The helicopter shifts again before I hear Madam Odette's reply. "This looks good. Bring us down in the small clearing if you can."

"You'll have to jump but I can bring us there."

"Red, you can remove the blindfold."

Having sight is wonderful. The blinding sun from my eyes being covered is not. It takes time for my eyes to adjust to the blinding light reflecting from the snow. We're still descending as I rub my eyes trying to adjust. "It's a bit bright isn't it Red? Don't worry, you'll adapt shortly and then we can get started." You can almost hear the smile in her voice.

"Ok, this is as low as I can go. Good luck to you both!" Good luck with what? Madam Odette signals to remove my headset as hers is already off. The deafening noises return along with a new one. The side door opens up letting in a blast of cold air. The red coat of Madam Odette disappears over the edge as she drops. I sidle over to the side looking down. It's not a far drop yet it's still a distance I'm not comfortable with.

I can't say no now though. I'm committed. One deep breath and away I go. The air rushes past me as I fall to the ground. The soft snow helps with the landing I botched. It's light, fluffy, and freezing. Standing in the snow was rough. It's really deep. I would guess it's a solid two-and-a-half feet. Madam Odette waves off the pilot letting him head his own way. I could only watch as he flew away leaving us on what looked like the side of a mountain.

"Madam Odette, what do we do now?" I look towards her for an answer. What I see does not fill me with confidence. She's looking around almost like she's lost. "Madam Odette?" This caught her attention. She whipped around throwing her coattails as she did. "Red..." Something about how she's looking at me is terrifying. Almost as though she's beyond lost.

"Madam Odette, is something wrong?" Her mouth seems to stutter for an answer without giving anything. With a deep breath, she seems to compose herself. "Yes, um, right. Survival training!" Now she seems to have her head back in the game. With a few high steps through the snow, she comes a bit closer to make sure I can hear, "You're in charge. Your goal is to get us home safely. How you do it is up to you. I imagine that if we make good time..."

She's doing that odd pause again where she seems to just be in her own headspace. "...we should be back in five days with a good time. I imagine it will take us about... seven... days..." She looks mortified. Something is bothering her and it's beginning to bother me. "Madam Odette!"

The shout scared her back. I've got my serious face on now. Something is going on and she's trying not to let it out. "Madam Odette, what is going on? You're spacing out which is incredibly uncharacteristic of you." Her teeth grit as she takes a deep inhale of the cold air. As she exhales her hot breath creates a small cloud around her muzzle. "My apologies. Just... a lot going through my mind as I try to sort out what I need you to do while we are out here."

She's never this indecisive. She always has a plan. She always has things like this thought out to extremes where she has contemplated variables that I haven't even thought of. "Then let me help. What is the end goal I need to focus on?" She perks up a lot. Giving her something simple to focus on will narrow her mind and begin a train of thought. She barks out quickly and sternly, "Right! First and foremost! You will lead us back to my home taking care of both of us along the way. That includes shelter, food, and rest."

As she gives me precise instructions it shows that her mind is back on track. I want to smile but the work that she is bringing up sounds like it's going to test my abilities out here. I'm not just responsible for myself but also for her well-being. The work will be hard. The reward though should be outstanding. This will be my moment to prove that I know something and that I am capable.

With a deep breath, I steady myself. It's going to be a long couple of days that I'm sure will test my steel. But, I have a little help this time around. "Red." Madam Odette grabs my attention with my name. Her face looks like she has something dire to share, "These next few days are going to be rough on both of us. I want you to remember them well." She's unfathomably serious about this ordeal. She means business and it's going to take me to make it work.

"Yes, Madam Odette. I will not let you down."