PREY: Reversal - The Tale of Todd Warning - This story contains violence and murder against humans. This is a horror based story where humanity faces the other side of being hunted. PREY: Reversal By Skipai (c) 2018 Author's Note: This story contains violence, involving hunting also known as blood sports, revenge, death, murder, transformation. No actual animals were harmed in the making of this story. No promotion for said harm of animals or otherwise is supported in said story. This is a fantasy type horror story only, so please enjoy the tale as we find out about the very first anthropomorphic animal in this alternative reality world. *** The door opened with the sound of a particular sci-fi show escaped into the night air briefly before the door closed with a thud, leaving only the muffled whine from within. The man reached into his pocket as he pulled out a golden packet, the reddish fingers flipped open the top as a cigarette was pulled out to be slipped between the dry lips that slowly cracked under the cold night air. Wisps of white air escaped from the nostrils as the man reached back into his pocket, stuffing the larger container away as he rummaged about until a smaller metal lighter was pulled out. It clicked as it was opened and with a spark, the flame came to light as it lit the end of the cigarette as it shone bright orange. The hardened mud cracked under the rubber soles of the boots as the man walked across the area towards another man who had his hands pressed up under his arms with a frown. "It's about time you got out." Max said as he shifted about to try and bring life back into his feet again. "Sorry Max, I had to keep the family company after all. So we're all ready for the hunt then?" "Yeah, shouldn't be a problem, not since we got it legal again. Protection is arranged so it should be a good one. The hounds are ready so I don't see a problem at all coming up." Max looked at Pete who nodded back. "Well, then you should go get some well earned rest and be ready for first light tomorrow." Pete reached out a hand and he shook it with Max who nodded. "So, usual start place then?" Pete nodded his head, sucked on the cigarette before he flicked it away as it landed with a hiss into a muddy puddle. "Yeah, best get back to it, the missus will start moaning, especially if she knew I started smoking again." Max nodded and walked over to the jeep and opened it. "Married life, isn't it though? See you tomorrow." Pete frowned as he watched the jeep come to life and then drove off as he looked back towards the house and nodded to himself. "Yeah, but it has its privileges." Slowly the man walked back towards the house as he re-entered just as something flashed in the sky above. Max turned on the heater as the jeep moved along the country roads, the radio played out Christmas music as he looked out in front, the headlights shone out onto the road in front of him as the thick hedge quickly moved backwards. The speakers crackled as the station music warbled and broke up as Max reached down for the knob and twisted it about as he looked down at the radio. Out of the edge of his vision came a bright flash to the left as he quickly stamped down onto the brake, the jeep slid slightly in the ice and frantically he fought with the steering wheel until he felt the jeep come to a halt as it pushed itself against the hedge itself. "Fuck." Max said as he continued to grip the steering wheel, then looked about through the windows. "What the hell was that?" Slowly he turned the engine off and reached for a torch on the passenger seat and slowly he opened the jeep door as he stepped out into the cold darkness, only lit by one of the head lights that had not been obstructed by the foliage. *** Near the edge of a small wood, a small crater had formed, several birds had suddenly woken up and flew about the trees, some flying off all of a sudden before realising it was still night and a few gave up to slowly circle as best as they could before they landed back into the tree once more, lit up by a faint greenish glow that remained in the middle of the small crater. Slowly from under a tree, a fox pushed his nose out as it sniffed the cold night air, the whiskers shook before slowly the head pushed outwards as he slipped out into the night air, the hair stood out as he tried to keep the warm air trapped near to his body and slowly the fox stepped forwards and stopped again. Carefully the fox moved forwards towards the light that shone from within the hole in the ground as he came to a stop at the edge and looked downwards into the crater, the fox sniffed as his ears twisted about to catch the sounds around him. The birds that kept moving about as their small feet scraped against the bark, the sound of a field mouse that squeaked loudly way off in the distance within a hedge and finally the sound of something metallic creaking as it continued to cool down near the hard river. The fox ignored the glowing centre of the crater as he turned his head towards the scent of metal and foulness that surrounded it as his ears twirled around as he heard the familiar sound of loud thuds against the ground. Man, the fox thought as he turned his head back to the crater itself and slowly jumped in as he quickly made his way down to where the centre was and looked at the small object that laid there. Slowly the fox lowered his head as he sniffed the small rock, the nose felt the warmth that came from it as he slowly licked it, then licked it a few more times as he continued to investigate the rock. When the sound of the man reached his ears again, the fox clamped his jaws down onto the rock and lifted it up from the ground before skilfully turning around as he ran up the small incline again and froze as he saw the torch light shone in his direction. Quickly he ran back into the thick thicket as he passed his den, the fox made his way deeper into the woodland as the human searched about for a short while until the bright light turned and slowly began to make its way back towards the dry river again. The fox sat deep within some nettles as he panted around the warm rock in his maw and slowly felt warmth flow through his body. It was then that the fox felt it was safe to start heading back to his den, but with each step that he made, he felt his body becoming warmer, heavier until the fox stopped and sat down. The warm mist of his breath clouded the air as his muzzle kept held of the dimly lit rock now, the glow dying out as he felt the weight slowly push him downwards and the fox laid down onto the cold wood ground, his body ignoring the cold as warmth radiated through him and slowly with the rock still remaining inside of his mouth, the fox fell into a deep sleep. Nearby, Max swore to himself all the way back to the jeep as he finished looking about the area, the small crater didn't have much of anything but he didn't want to hang about too much to scare away the fox. That thought made him smile, at least they knew where one was so as he opened the jeep door again and climbed in, he thought about the hunt and thankfully they would be able to find something to make that day an enjoyable one tomorrow. Slowly he fumbled about with the cold keys as his hands shook and after several attempts, managed to get the keys into the ignition and turned the engine back on as he reversed slightly before pulling away as he drove forwards again. *** The next morning, Pete stood about with the others as they huddled about in the muddy court yard, the males were all dressed up properly in their red jackets, white shirts and pants, with black boots, the females wearing their own appropriate attire, but the mood wasn't as great as Pete would've liked this day. The fact that most of the dog handlers were having problems trying to keep the dogs in order when they couldn't see much in front of them with the heavy fog that had decided to arrive at the same time as the morning. One of the guests was busy listening to a tinny sounding pocket radio as the weather forecast was being played out as he walked over to where Pete was and shook his head. "Thick fog for the entire day, this won't be good for the hounds to get a scent." Max pulled up in his jeep, still a bit worse for wear after the small crash into the hedge he did the night before, the broken glass on the left side of the headlight showed where the bulb had broke. Slowly he opened the door after he had turned the engine off and slammed the door shut as he walked over to the two men talking. "Hey, good morning Pete, nasty weather for it isn't it?" Pete grunted but nodded his head back at Max. "Yeah, we may have to call this off; the hounds won't be able to get any scent at all with all this going on." Pete waved his hand through the fog as if trying to blow it away as Max nodded with a smile that made Pete frown more. "It's not something to smile about, first year we got ban lifted and now we end up with the worst weather in years." "Oh I don't know; think I can help you out on that one." Max said as he looked at the other male that stood next to Pete and continued on as he returned his gaze back to the one he was talking to. "I know where a fox den is so there shouldn't be a problem getting there for the hounds to have their fun." Pete smiled back at Max. "Oh that's just grand, we can actually get our fun today then." Max nodded as Pete turned around and spoke loudly to the group. "Okay, we are still doing the hunt today, it would seem that our good friend Max here has found where a fox is currently living and as such we're going to flush it out once we surround it. So let's get onto our horses and prepare to move out shall we." The mood of the group suddenly lifted up as people began to talk with more confidence as they moved about quickly to get ready, several quickly got onto their horses as each one shifted about to adjust themselves to the weight placed onto their backs, one of the males walked up and handed over a brass horn to one of the riders who nodded and hooked it onto the side of his belt as he took hold of the harness and steadied the horse. Pete walked alongside Max as they moved to their own horses and slowly got on as Max looked at Pete in his black uniform gear. "I'll tell you the way as we go." Max looked down at the ones controlling the hounds. "Make sure you don't get too far from us, wouldn't want to get lost now." Slowly as the group got into position, Pete looked about at what he could see, he was determined to get this hunt underway and to be successful regardless of what nature decided to throw at him and looked forwards again as he gave the signal and the sound of the horn filled the air as the group marched forwards. *** The fox dreamt all night long, the dreams that came to him were of the usual, hunting for prey, walking along his usual route as he checked his territory out, but slowly as he made his way along a familiar path, that went alongside a small ditch that had dirty muddy water, the stench of cattle waste and chemicals that man loved to use filled the air. But the fox stopped as he looked down into the ditch and sniffed, then looked about as he saw the green glowing pebble suddenly appear in front of him. The stone smelt of fresh chicken, bloodied after the kill and slowly the fox sniffed again and felt hunger as he opened his muzzle and started to eat it as he felt the stone slide down into his stomach. Suddenly the dream changed as the fox found himself right in the middle of the inside of a hen house, the fox smiled as he ran about amongst the flying feathers that broke away from the wings as they flapped about quickly in front of his eyes and the warmth of the blood filled his throat as he bit down, time and again as he went through the blood lust. Though something was different this time around as he felt his stomach had become much warmer than a moment ago. The heat that came from his stomach increased as the fox sat down and panted in the middle of the group of dead chickens and he lowered his head down to nuzzle at his belly that continued to heat up, before a pang of pain came over him. With a yelp, the fox fell over onto his side while he panted, the hen house slowly melted away around him as he felt himself in a safe place, the sound of something that he had forgotten a long time ago reached his ears, the rhythm thumping of a heart nearby as he felt the liquid that surrounded him, the warmth that it brought as he nestled up alongside the others that laid beside him, a few kicking now and again as he fought back to get space himself as he felt the chamber move about slightly from time to time. Slowly over time, the fox felt himself grow, the room getting tighter as he was pressed up against his siblings and then the dream shifted again as the fox found himself smack bang in the middle of the crater that he had found last night. He was laid on his back as the fox looked up into the sky and saw a hovering green rock that floated slowly down towards him, the heat that came from it began to make his tummy hurt again as he tried to move but found that he was unable to do so. With a cry, the fox yelped repeatedly as he felt the stone land onto his stomach before it slowly sank into him as it vanished underneath the fur and skin. With a cry, the fox rolled about as he heard the bones from within crack and break, the ridge of his muzzle scrunched up as he felt his body twist and contort about as pain wracked through his entire body, the brain pleading for it to end as the heat burned brightly within his stomach as his legs cracked and stretched, growing longer with each second. With brief looks, the fox could see the bare skin as it stretched more before the fur began to grow out again, first the under black hairs before the reddish hairs poked through. The sound of a horn in the distance rang in his ears, the sound of the dogs barking, howling as the fox panicked, tried to get up but his spine popped and with a painful gasp, he fell back onto the burned ground again with a loud yelp as his body continued to crackle and pop as it continued to change and grow. With wide eyes the fox could see the fox hounds that began to show up as they stopped at the rim of the crater, barking and howling with bloodied drool that fell from their chows, jumping up onto their hind legs as they kicked and slashed at the air in front of them with their claws. With petrified eyes, the fox rolled about on the ground as his hand paws began to shift, the bones cracking, popping as the toes began to slide outwards, growing longer as they formed into fingers, the thumb began to grow as more sounds of bone grew, ligaments stretched painfully and in protest as the mind teetered on the brink of insanity, pleading for the nerves to stop ambushing it with so much attention to the pain that was being endured right now. With the snapping of jaws, the sounds of howling and barking from the dogs, the fox realised in his semi-insanity that he was in fact being torn apart. *** Nearby around the tree at the edge of the woods, the hunting group surrounded a tree as the dogs continued to bark and howl as two humans continued to use spades to dig around the small hole they had found in the undergrowth. Most of the humans that sat on the horses smiled as they joked about watching the commutation that was playing out in front of them, knowing full well that whatever laid hidden underground was huddled up in fear as the sound of the spades continued to crash through the earth as several clumps of soil crashed down to sprinkle over the head of the vixen. Max stood there with Pete beside him with a cruel smile. "Told you there was a fox living there, the hounds can smell her even in this thick fog." Pete nodded as he continued to watch the work being done in front of him. "Best thing in the world, was about time those idiots in parliament got their act together to bring this back." Pete looked about as he saw the others watching and then lowered his voice. "We actually made more profit this year as well, looks like the countryside economy is back again." Max chuckled as he rested a hand onto his hip with a nod. "Got to love the lust for blood some of this lot wants." Max tilted his head back towards the group that had come today, some didn't look too relaxed, first timers Max thought as he looked ahead again and smiled. That usually either went or they never see those again but there was always more that came to these hunts out of curiosity. Suddenly the sound of a spade was thrown to the ground as one of the men bent down and picked up the stricken vixen that didn't move as he yelled out. "We've got her!" *** Confusion, chaos and mayhem was raging on inside the fox's head as the pain dulled down to a numb feeling, the sudden realisation of new thoughts began to form as the fox slowly began to hear the barks, the howls of the hounds that surrounded him fade away though they were all stood around, drooling as their muzzles snapped open and shut. Then the entire world crashed and tumbled as a familiar sound reached his ears, a piercing scream as the fox woke up with a start and sat up as he looked out at the thick fog that surrounded him, only the faint outlines of the nearby tree's could be seen. The fox reached up as his head throbbed painfully and stopped as he looked at the black furred hand in front of him. Slowly he gazed at it as his fingers moved about as he stretched and curled them inwards, the sharp claws at the end of each digit as his mind came accustomed to something so familiar and yet so different. He slowly lifted up his other hand as he felt the first hand that he saw, experimenting as the sensation of touch came to him, then the way his thumb made him able to grasp and the feel of his muzzle lifted up slightly into a smile formed. The smiled faded away quickly once the sound of screaming came to his ears and then stopped abruptly, it made him twist his head to the direction that he heard and a heavy weight of realisation pressed down against his chest as his mind came to the answer. "It is home." Quickly the fox pushed himself up from the ground and then made to run but unaccustomed to the new form of his body, the fox quickly stumbled and crashed heavily against the bark of the nearest tree with a grunt. As he breathed quickly, the fox reached and touched the bark, the fingers gripped around the roughness of it as he steadied himself and slowly he stood still as he looked down at the two legs in front of him. Slowly the fox moved again as he took a tentative step forwards and steadied himself, the sensation of heat that came from his stomach returned as he pressed a hand-paw against it and slowly took another step but this time it was more stable. With each passing step the fox began to walk faster without stumbling as he began to quickly move into a trot and then into a run as he brushed past trees, bushes as he hurried towards home. The stench of dog and man was the first to reach his nose as he came into view of his home, then the scent of blood as he skidded to a halt and suddenly collapsed onto his knees as they ached from the impact. The sight of the den, his home that had been uprooted, the splashes of blood that laid about on the ground and finally the sight of several pieces sent him into shock as he stared opened eyed, the mind closing the reality of the world around him as he saw the image of himself walking on four legs as he approached his mate, the soft nuzzle that she gave him to say hello as he felt his tail wag. Then slowly the image started to fade away as he felt a heavy weight all around him as reality came back into control. The shock slowly drained from him as he felt it fall downwards until the sensation of it left his body as the ground soaked it up, then a small tremor was felt underneath him as hot rage seeped from the ground as it slowly slid up along his legs, into his belly and chest before it reached his head as it throbbed. The fox curled his fingers as he made fists, the sharp claws dug and cut into the paw pads as he felt anger take him, then as he sniffed the air quickly and the scent of man reached him the anger quickly turned to hatred. Slowly the fox pushed himself to stand as his body shook and took a closure look about the area, the sight of a wooden handle poking out from some bush nearby. This was the first place that the fox walked towards as he slowly reached out with fingers splayed outwards as he paused, the finger tips hovered over the wooden handle before he pressed his paw down to feel the cold wet wood against his paw pads, slowly he wrapped his fingers about the smooth wood and pulled as the spade came into view, metal and sharp as dark brown soil spilled from the tip as it rained like snow against the blood splattered green foliage below. Higher the spade went as the fox swung it about, then sliced the air as he growled before he stabbed it into the ground and his snout nodded. It was then that his ears turned around to catch the faint sound of human sounds, their voices that rang out beyond the thick grey mist and quickly with spade in paw; the fox sprang forwards as loose dirt flew into the air. All senses was alive now as the vulpine raced forwards through the field, the fog moved around as it parted in front of him but to close behind as he heard the loud noises of the humans far ahead, laughter, happiness were the sounds that fuelled his anger, his hatred and his desire for revenge as the grip around the spade wooden shaft gripped ever tighter. Slowly though he slowed down as he heard the sounds of the hounds and kept to a distance, the fear that crept up from the very back of his mind reminded him that this was danger, something to fear and run as the old part of him tried to force him to turn around, seek shelter but as two parts of him fought internally the fox trotted forwards but more cautiously now. His mind began to realise that it was foolish to go in without a plan and as such he began to think very hard on what he had to do. As time went by, the humans unknown that they were being tracked, hunted entered where the main courtyard of the building and began to unload from their horses as various hounds were slowly made to enter back into their kennels. Hidden from one of the hedges as the fox placed the shovel to the ground quietly, he parted the branches as his yellow eyes looked through the gap as he watched man, in fox colours mingle about within the courtyard as he saw what was left of his mate, his love and anger welled up within him but he fought deep and hard to remain still and silent as his gaze never left as he watched were the man went into a smaller building and came out a few moments later empty handed. The day slowly moved by as the fox remained still as a statue; he watched the prey move about as one would watch the hen house without alerting the inhabitants or the owner. There was enough time to bring revenge as for the moment he continued to examine, learning all the time as he saw various people enter the larger building only to later on start to leave once again as the fox coloured clothes were gone to be replaced by more mundane green, grey and brown as slowly the mini-bus began to fill up from the guests. "Well, that was an excellent hunt." Mister Kale said as he shook Peter's hand with a smile. "The best and I hope more to come in the future?" Peter nodded his head. "Oh we be slowly ramping them up to one every week once we can start to breed more foxes to release into the wild again." Unknown to them both, the large vulpine ears listened to the strange words as he felt the warmth in his stomach again and clutched it with his left paw and closed his eyes to fight back crying out in pain. "Well, that sounds great, yes great news indeed. In fact you should expect to hear from us again as we love to come back sometime in the near future." Mister Kale said as he held out his hand. The fox still hidden crouched behind the hedge continued to listen as slowly his mind began to figure out the sounds and words began to make sense. Peter took the hand and shook it as he replied. "Anytime, I will make sure that we will contact you once we are ready to do more hunts in the area." The fox frowned as he heard the words, the first words that he understood and they were about more hunts, more killing of his kind and once again the fox fought back his anger as it boiled deep within him, yelling to be let loose. "Well, we have to get going, they said that the fog wasn't going to lift and we rather get home before it gets dark." Mister Kale said as he released the hand and began to walk towards the mini bus as a female rushed past and climbed into the vehicle. "Sorry, was just grabbing some hot tea for the way home." As she waved a flask in front of him and vanished inside. Slowly Mister Kale entered and closed the door as the fox watched as the loud engine came to life, red lights lit up from behind and slowly the vehicle moved around. They were going to get away, the fox thought frantically and remembered the hard river as he slowly picked up the spade and edged away from the hedge and quietly moved back through the field again, only picking up speed once he knew he was far away from any ears to hear as he ran as fast as he could. As his lungs yelled for rest, the fox panted heavily as he pounded against the cold hard ground as he raced as fast as he could through the field, memories of his old patrol came back to him as he heard the loud engine in the distance moving around as it travelled along the hard river. Quickly the fox turned to the left as he knew the hard river would eventually make its way to where he was going and quickly he saw the incline of the hill begin and the faint outline of the hedgerow in front of him as he pushed himself through and leapt onto the hard river and then stood there waiting. The atmosphere within the mini-bus was joyful as the people began to sing a song as the heater began to work its magic of heating the inside of the vehicle, Mister Kale gripped the steering wheel as he looked out ahead as Missus Kale leant forwards with a smile. "Fancy a sandwich?" The small clear plastic container was held out just in front of him as Mister Kale smiled. "Oh thanks love, glad you remembered to make these. Shame we couldn't stay for a meal there, but the weather." Missus Kale nodded as she watched her husband pick out a sandwich and stayed where she was, leant forward. "Well, got to be prepared for anythi- Watch out!" Mister Kale who had been looking at his wife at the time, jerked his head back to the front and blinked as he saw a shadowy form standing in the way, quickly he yanked the steering wheel to the left as the bus lurched and felt his foot slam down onto the brake as the sounds of the brakes squealed in protest, the passengers crying out in panic and the terrified scream of his wife as he fought to regain control of the vehicle as it skidded up the hill and then slammed into a large tree as Missus Kale shot forwards and a loud crash as the wind screen shattered before her body crumpled against the hard tree trunk. Crumpled against the steering wheel, Mister Kale slowly groaned as he pushed himself back against the chair as his chest ached from where the seat belt had forcefully pressed against him. He cried out as he fumbled for the release as he saw his wife halfway in and out of the bus as he opened the door and stumbled onto the hard tarmac of the road as he coughed, spluttered and sucked in air before he threw up the bit of sandwich he had eaten and swallowed. The stench of petrol was in the air as the sound of it splattering onto the tarmac as groans and moans came from within the bus but then there was the loud clack of something hard that tapped along the hard surface, footsteps. In the short distance down the hill, Mister Kale could see the dark shadow form of someone standing there as he called out. "Are you fucking mad, you could've killed us all you complete fucking idiot!" The fox listened to the words as he held the spade in his hand paw and sniffed the air, the scent of fear from the man, the scent of fear barely detectable from within the vehicle itself and the foul burning stench of the petrol as his yellow eyes looked down to the thin wet flow of the liquid as it travelled slowly down the hill. It was when Mister Kale slowly pushed himself up and yelled back. "Hey I'm talking to you so stop ignoring me you bastard. My wife is injured and you're the one responsible for this. I'm going to kill you!" The threat brought the fox into action as Mister Kale suddenly stopped as he placed a hand onto the side of the mini-bus and saw the dark figure move. "Wait, what you think you are doing?!" The fox lifted the spade high into the air and then slammed it down as the metal scraped across the tarmac as bright yellow sparks lit up and then quickly a bright flash as the petrol ignited as it rushed towards Mister Kale as his face lost all blood. "Fuuu..." Mister Kale didn't have time to finish the word as the flames shot up as it hit the large portion of the fuel tank and the entire mini-bus exploded with a loud bang that flung Mister Kale into the air as he landed in the field motionless. The fox turned around as he left the burning vehicle, spade in paw as he made his way back towards the direction where the large man building was and where his life-long mate was. *** By the time the fox had crossed back over the fields, time had passed enough that most of the noise from the dogs had quietened down, the horses had been placed back into their stalls as Max walked across the courtyard as he entered a barn whistling. The fox slowly crept about as he stalked around various places until he pressed his back against the side of the barn wall and listened as his free paw pressed against the wall and slowly as he edged along he got to the point that he risked and peeked into the building itself as he saw the lone human place a metal bucket onto the ground as he turned the tap on, the water splashed noisily as it began to fill up. Max sighed as he took out a white cigarette and quickly lit it before he inhaled on the foul smoke, his foot tapped as he waited. Slowly, the fox slinked around the open doorway and entered the barn as his foot pads on his paws silenced the steps, the fox being slow and careful to not allow his claws to hit the floor as he crept slowly towards the back of the man and as he did so, the fox gripped the handle of the spade with both paws and swung. The loud crack came as the metal slammed into the back of the man's skull as he crumpled onto the ground with a heavy thud. Quickly the fox placed the spade down against a wooden bench and knelt down as he looked Max over and frowned as he saw the human still breathing. The sound of the water made the fox turn his head towards the bucket and quickly he grabbed the back of the clothes, lifted Max upper torso from the floor and dunked the head into the water as he watched the body thrust and jerked for several minutes until Max remained limp. "Hey Max, can you clean this for me once you've finished giving the horses and dogs water?" Pete said loudly from outside as he came into view in the doorway and the cigarette that was in his mouth hung there from his open mouth until it fell to the ground as he saw the large anthropomorphic fox kneeling over him as the bucket toppled over as the head of Max hit the floor all soaked and wet. Pete turned around and began to run as the fox quickly pushed off and dashed towards the exit of the barn and into the courtyard as he saw Pete fumble about within his jacket as he pulled out something red and gold, a cylinder as he tried frantically to load the rifle that he held. The fox leapt and shoulder charged into the human as Pete gasped loudly as the cartridge flew into the air to bounce about the muddy courtyard as he landed with a sickening thud, the fox was right on top of him as the human kicked out as Pete managed to push the large vulpine off from him. Winded the fox gasped as both pushed themselves off from the ground as Pete snarled. "What the fuck are you freak?!" The man punched out as his fist hit the fox in the stomach that quickly made the fox buckle over as he coughed, the sensation of the rock came up as the vulpine vomited green goo from his muzzle as the rock bounce about before it fell down into a grate and vanished from sight as it the sound of a splash was heard in the sewer underneath the ground. Pete used the advantage as he kicked out, his foot landed at the side of the head as the fox splayed backwards onto the courtyard floor, the mud squelched as it stained his orange red fur and the human smiled as he picked up the dropped rifle and looked about for the cartridge that laid a fair bit away as he walked over and bent down to pick it up. "You know, you're a freak of nature and something that needs to be dealt with. We're the ones at the top of the food chain." Pete said as he wiped the mud off the cartridge with the fabric of his coat. "You're nothing to us; you're just something to be used for our entertainment. I don't know how you got like this but one thing is for sure, man will always trample over you. We're gods to you." During the time that Pete used to find his rifle and cartridge, the time it took for him to clean it while he spoke highly of himself and so low of the fox. The fox had recovered enough as he waited, lying still for that moment. The moment when he knew you managed to get into the hen house, the way that the hens didn't know that you were there and for that brief moment as you allowed them that time to gloat about being safe, you were quick in your attack. Pete didn't see it as soon as he was in range in plans to heroically save himself and prove that man was in fact the god of all creatures his leg came close enough for the fox to kick out, his sharp claws cut through the fabric of the trousers and into the leg as Pete screamed in pain as the fox rolled away barely as the rifle fired and a small hole formed in the tarmac. Terrified Pete quickly fumbled for another cartridge in his coat pocket as his hand came out but he saw the cartridge fling into the air from his shaking hand as it clattered onto the ground again. The fox was quick as he grabbed the back of the man's hair and yanked the head back as he snarled, the sharp teeth glistened as drool dropped onto the man's terrified face as he slowly spoke. "Then god must die." Pete blinked as he cried out. "No...!" But the fox ignored the pleas, where were pleas when his mate was killed, where was the goodness when their home was dug out so that they could watch their dogs tear into someone he loved. For the first ever the fox felt the warm blood of the human as his sharp teeth bit down into the neck of the human as he would with a chicken and quickly he tore the throat out before he let go and saw the man fall onto the floor with a loud thud. Slowly the fox twisted his ears around and looked to the house itself as he walked towards it and slowly he gripped hold of the handle and opened the door as he stepped inside, there he saw the female human that sat there in the sofa and as the body of Pete twitched outside, from inside the house came a scream and then silence as the fox promptly and quickly killed her as he looked about the room and saw hanging on the wall two samurai swords. Slowly the fox walked over and reached out with his hand paws as he took each one of them down and as he checked them out, pulling out the blades, the fox nodded his head as he slowly saw the belt for it, placed it around his waist as he tightened it and placed the two swords into place. As he went to go outside again, the fox paused and stopped as he saw a box and gently he picked it up and walked back out again. It was with a heavy heart as the fox made his way across the court yard to the small building that he saw earlier that day with the dead body of his mate was placed and slowly he opened the door and stepped inside, the heaviness of his heart tugged downwards as he felt the wetness around his eyes swell up as he gently placed the box down and he reached out to brush his long dark fingers to stroke over the top of her head. Memories came flooding back, the sight of seeing her for the first time, the hard work he had to do to make her accept him, hunting together, snuggling up close during those cold nights in their den, their kits. The words began to form in his head again as he continued to stroke her. "I love you..." The fox said as he cried and carefully with gentle movements he slowly lifted up his mate's body and placed it into the box as he closed the lid and slowly walked out while holding it. The fox made his way towards one of the stables as he placed the box down and walked in as a large black stallion whinnied loudly, the fox slowly stepped forward with a paw out and slowly with care he managed to get his hand paw to press against the nose as the horse took a breath and slowly relaxed again. The fox patted the side of the head of the horse and spoke quietly. "It's okay, you can start helping do better things than what they had you do." Slowly the fox worked out how to put on a saddle as he looked at him. "We'll remove it once we get to know each other better." The gentle touch of the fox against the side of the horse head before he led the horse out into the court yard as he lifted up the box, tied it onto the back of the saddle and carefully he lifted himself up onto the horse itself as the fox took hold of the reigns. The loud clop echoed about as the fox gently ordered the horse to go forwards as they moved across the courtyard, they both passed the dead body of Pete as a large red pool of blood had formed and slowly they vanished into the thick white fog as the sound of hoofs echoed as they hit the hard tarmac. *** As the sun began to go down, the fog had turned into a mixture of red, orange and pink the fox knelt onto the soft ground, the horse stood nearby, tied to a tree as he gently lifted the lid of the box up and with care, the fox gently placed the body of his mate back down into their home, their den that they had spent many seasons. Slowly he gave one last gentler stroke of her head as he spoke. "Good bye my love, but before I go you should know I came up with a name. I chose Todd as my name, I do hope you approve. We shall meet again one day, but I have to do something first." Slowly Todd began to cover the dead body with soil with his hand paws as he filled in the hole and placed a hand paw on top as he left his paw print. With a push, Todd got back onto his feet again and walked over to where the horse was and smiled as he patted it. "We have to figure out a new name for you as well. But I wouldn't worry I'm sure I'll think of something given time, we foxes are quite sly and cunning." Todd un-fastened the lead as he pushed himself back to the horse and with a final look at his mate's resting place he pulled the horse around and slowly they headed back into the thick fog and out of sight.