Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer : New Heights

Chapter 5: Morning Oats

His legs were giving out! But he couldn't stop running! Looking over his shoulder, he saw his mother. Keeping pace behind him. He trudged ahead, the two of them running away from the the encroaching darkness. From those horrible incoming sounds. Those-

Jingle Jangle
Jingle Jangle

Dread filled him as he turned his head to look back to his mother, only to see she was gone.
He panicked! Where?! Where was she!? He stopped running. A horrible mistake.
He looked around frantically, as an ebony tar coated the entire area around him. Erasing his sight. He flailed around blindly, calling out for his mother. Why didn't she respond?! Where was she!?

Jingle Jangle
Jingle Jangle

They grew closer. And closer! It was swirling around him. Surrounding him on all sides in a wispy malevolence. He was trapped. Cornered. And at any moment they would pounce.

Jingle Jangle
Jingle Jangle

They would pounce. And just like his mother he'd be-

Jingle Jangle
Jingle Jangle

Jingle-

Suddenly, glowing green eyes leapt from the darkness, silencing the deer where he stood.

---

Panting and covered in a cold sweat, the young deer's eyes shot open and stared up to the sky. Well, not the sky. He seemed to be inside of some sort of enclosure. Not a cave, at least not one he's ever been in before. If anything, this was the warmest cave he'd ever been in. Certainly a strong contrast to where he'd been earlier.

Yes. It was coming back to him now. He had been traversing the snowy forest, barely hanging on to life. When he came across ...

Standing was a bit of a task as he carefully pulled himself up from the ground. What had he been lying in? Looking down, it seemed to be a dry bed of grass. It was actually quite comfortable. Looking around himself, it looked like a cave. But the shape was unnatural. Like being inside of a cube. The walls were made of wood and the air smelled sweet. Sweeter than any berry he'd ever smelled before. It was strange. Where was he?

There was an opening on the wall behind him, showing that it was morning. The sun reflecting off the snow was nearly blinding. Outside, he could hear all sorts of strange sounds. But the one that stuck out. That made his hair stand on ends ....

Jingle Jangle
Jingle Jangle

His blood ran cold. Oh no. Were those...creatures here too? This was bad. So very very bad. He'd have to get out of here. Who knew what they'd do to him if he stayed!
The opening behind him was a bit too tall to leap over. Besides, leaping might just draw attention anyway. No. He'd have to sneak away.

He brought his attention to what looked to be the opening of this strange cave. He swallowed, steeling himself as much as he could. And cautiously walked towards it. His head lowered, ears down, eyes on a constant scan of his surrounding area. The little cave lead out to an even bigger cave. Where there seemed to be multiple smaller ones lined up along each other in a row. He'd never seen anything like it.

The area was quiet and empty. The opening was down a long hall. He'd make a break for it. Just run with everything he had. But he'd have to keep an eye out behind him as well. They could have been hiding! And launch a surprise attack on him while his back was turned. After a breath, he ran to the opening. When he reached the halfway point, he swiveled his head around. Searching frantically for anything that might be approaching from behind. There was nothing. He was in the clear. He was almost-

THUD

He had collided with something! Sending him backwards landing right on his back with a audible grunt. Shaking off the shock and confusion he quickly looked up to what...or who, he'd run into. It was a long travel for his eyes to look up as well. From the hooves all the way to the antlers, the reindeer towered over him. He was larger than any other reindeer he'd ever seen. He was older as well. One eye covered entirely by a tuft of hair. His coat a greyed dark brown and a bit unkempt. His tired, yet hard gaze was locked firmly on the young deer, causing him to want to shrink even smaller into the ground. Was he angry?

After an agonizing moment of silence between the two, the older deer let out a short snort from his nose making the young deer jolt slightly.

"So. You're awake." He said in a deep gruff voice. "I had actually been comin' to check on you."