Hope's Final Wish

Chapter Three

   I struggled through the mush. It was spring and snow was melting fast. Everytime I go outside I get drenched with snow melt. I paused in a small clearing to shake it out of my fur. I could scent Flicker nearby. I jumped from bank to bank to my den. It was warmer than outside I guess. I had saved a plump mouse for later so I ate it now. Flicker entered my den.

   "Hey, Hope." He scuffled his paws. "I- um saw Fang wondering around the human place today."

   "Why were you at the human place?" I asked him. Suspicion pricked my pelt. "You never go there." 

   Flicker pause for a heartbeat, then he blurted out, "I needed to find him for you so I could tell him you really didn't kill your mother."

   Love and anger mixed together in her. "Thanks, but that was stupid!" I stood up. "The humans could've killed you!" Flicker looked startled.

   "I think I could've excaped a few puny humans." he insisted.

   A loud thundering interrupted our argument. We both rushed out of the den. A huge human car with a crane in the front roared and rumbled forward. I stood there frozen. It was so big! Bigger than I ever seen...

   Suddenly a sharp tugging on my scruff brought me back. Flicker and I both raced out of the path and into the forest. We could still hear the monster car tearing our old dens.

   "What was that!" gasped Flicker. He looked at me for information. I shrugged and started to walk away. Flicker followed.

   "Where are you going?"

   I turned my head to face him. "To find a new den."

   "But-" he turned his head in the direction of the monster. "Our dens are back there..."

   "Flicker!" For some reason rage flooded me. "Our dens are gone! Forever! That means we have to get new ones." I raced ahead. Flicker followed slowly behind. 

   After the sun had finally gone down the we still hadn't found a den yet. We settled down under some bushes for minor protection. Flicker's warm pelt pressed aginst my back. I felt protected by him- far more than a rock cave could protect me. The leaves under me poked me all night but I must've fell asleep because I had a dream about the monster that tore our dens down.

                                                                         *                 *                   *

   Flicker woke up first. We shoved me gently and I woke from my nightmare. Flicker looked into my eyes with concern.

   "Are you okay?"

   I shook my fur. "I- yes I am. I just dreamt of out dens being torn down. We better go now."

   We headed out. Then it started raining but we kept on traveling. I could tell Flicker didn't like the rain, but he didn't say anything. I wasn't in heaven right now either. My tail trailed in the mud, causing my tail to weight tons.

   "Should we take a break?" asked Flicker. "You seem tired."

   I was, but I wanted to keep going. "Well I'm not! Come on, we might find one today."

   But hour after hour, we looked in bushes,ravines, trees, and even an abondoned human house! But we still found nothing to suit us.

   "I am going to get a drink." I told him. He nodded and layed down under a shrub. I went through some holly bushes to try and find water. Instead I rolled down a steep ravine. Pain stabbed me in my side. When I finally stopped, I was dizzy and had a stab in my side from something. Blood trickled down: nothing serious, I guess. I looked around. Steep ravine surrounded me from all sides. There was now way I was getting up without help. 

   "Flicker! Help! I am down here!" I screeched. After a minute of yelling my friend looked down at me from the top of the ravine. "I fell."

   "Try and climb up!" he yelled back. "Grab trees and rocks!" I got halfway up, but when I grabbed a large rock, it came loose and I tumbled back down. The rock landed a paw-length away from my back. My side wound reopened. "Again!" Flicker yelled. 

   This time I almost made it, but my hind paw slipped and I tumbled down once more. Flicker turned around and walked out of the holly bushes. Panic ingulfed me.

   "Flicker!"  I yelped. "Please get me out!" I became frantic and scrambled up the ravine. I rested against a small tree for a minute. Then I reached for another. I was only a few fox-lengths away when no more trees were there to help me. I waited for Flicker to come back. Eventually he did, and he brought ivy tenrils with him. He flung the end of one down to me while holding the other end in his jaws.

   "Grab it!" he said through the tendri. Obediantly I grasped it in my jaws and scrambled up. Flicker pulled back, helping with the wieght. One more agonising moment, and I finally reached the top panting.

   "Thank you so much." I gasped. "I thought I was stuck down there forever!"

   Flicker looked down at the end of the ravine. "I think we found our dens." I followed his gaze to three cave-like holes in the ravine. I didn't notice them when I was stuck.

   "But how will we get back up?" I asked him. "We would be stuck!"

   Flicker thought for a moment. "We could wrap the tendrils around a tree, covering it halfway up, then put another one for the other half. We could climb it and know where to put our feet. If an enemy attacks us and we beat them, they would be stuck and they would panic." Like me. It was a sensible idea, and it might just work.

   "I will go explore the dens, and you can lower me to a tree and I could wrap the tendril around it and you could pull me up." I reasoned. "I will do it now." Carefully I made my way down, and landed with a thud. Cautiously I went into the dens. No scent was there. All the animals must be too dumb to make dens down here. There was a fairly large hole, and a small in the center one, and another large on the other side. The middle could be used for storing food, or for a visitor.

   "They are all ready! No scent." I called up to Flicker. "Pass me a tendril." Flicker tossed down a large tendril and I made my way back up until the tendril ran out. I wrapped it around a thicker tree and tugged. It stayed. He slid the other one down and I caught it in my teeth. I went to where the trees end and wrapped it around another tree. This made a path down to the bottom. Flicker handed me another one and I climbed up that one. He tied the largest one around a thick oak at the top.

   "That's great!" Flicker yelped. "We are in style!"

   That night we each layed in our own new nests, tired after our trek. I went outside to look at the stars. I wonder if my mom is up there somewhere. I sighed and went back in my den. My nest was made up of bracken and moss, and some feathers Flicker found for me. It seemed we would be happy together forever.