Larger Than Life Chapter 1

 

I dashed and weaved through the underbrush of the forest floor as I continued my hunt. The only sounds being the clicking as my arrows bounced in their quiver and the soft patter of my feet. The mouse I was now stalking came to a sudden stop and I mirrored its movements. As soon as I came to halt, I began, simultaneously, centering myself and my arrow on the bow that had been around my torso. I took careful aim as the creature twitched, trying to take in all of its surroundings at once. I never liked to see the animal suffer, so I was careful to make its death quick.

I released my breath as I loosed the arrow. There was a whistling sound then a distinct thud as it reached its target. I gave a sigh in relief as the mouse fell to the ground without a single cry of pain. Walking over to my kill, I let routine take over. Plastic wrap had been borrowed and was now going to be used to store the meat I would get from the mouse. As a borrower, there isn't much prey to pick from so my mother and I aren't picky. After the meat was packed, and I was done with the carcass, I raised my pinky and forefinger to my mouth and let a loud whistle fill the air. A steady thumping could be heard coming from my right as I knew it would.

Emerging through the bushes was a 6-month old red fox. She scanned the area in front of her until her gaze landed on me. Trotting over to where I was standing, she bent down to my level, and pressed her nose to my shoulder.

"I'm all good, Roxxi. The mouse is all yours," I said. She turned to the carcass and ate her fill of what I had left behind. Once finished, she turned back to me and lay on her stomach, all in routine. I hopped from her foreleg, to her shoulder, and came to a rest in the crook between her shoulder blades. Knowing I was set, she rose from the ground and made her way back to the house.

A borrower and a fox. An odd pair, I know. And it isn't just one fox, I'm close to. It's a whole family. Roxxi and I are the closest. Ironically enough, Cassi, who is Roxxi's mother, and my mom have a similar connection. Theirs just isn't as much fun.

We met this past winter. It had been colder than usual. My mother and I had been grateful for the connection tube I had connected earlier that year, since it was allowing heat from the beans furnace into our home. One morning, I had woken early to go out and gather snow so we had water but, as I came out the back door, I saw a shifting shadow on the other side of the under-porch. I ran back inside to grab my bow and arrow, coming back out with it raised and ready to fire. As I walked over to the shadow, I started to make out details. What I found was a miracle. It was Cassi. She had an injured leg that couldn't support her weight along with the growing cubs inside her. Her protruding ribs and spine showed just how badly that leg was affecting her. She watched me with cautious eyes as I came to her front. I examined her leg without getting to close and saw that, luckily, it wasn't infected, yet.

I had no reason to, I had seemingly nothing to gain from it but, the next thing I knew, I was running out from under the porch and towards the woods. I spent the rest of the day hunting. I had never, and still haven't for that matter, done as well as I had that day. I ended up with two mice and a mole, which I had to drag back on my own. As I neared the edge of the forest, I had to wait until I had the cover of night so neither of us would get caught by the bean of the house. And so I sat, in the freezing cold, all for a pregnant fox. And I didn't have a single problem with it.

Lady night finally made her entrance and I took my opportunity, only after making sure all the lights in the house weren't on. Leaving the kills where they lay, I ran back to where I had found Cassi. She was still lying in that same position as that morning. I slowly walked in front of her and started coaxing her out to the food. In the middle of getting her up, I spotted my mother by our back door with a look of awe and complete worry on her face.

Cassi finally made it out from under the porch and as I lead her closer to the kills, her pace picked up, showing just how hungry she was. She made it to the carcasses and ate all that was to them. I left her to herself as I made my way back home. My mother caught me before I made it to the back door and wrapped me in a tight hug.

"You have the bravery of a warrior and the heart of a saint. I'm proud of you. I just don't understand. Why?" she asked as she released me.

"She is pregnant. Those pups deserve a chance to live. I believe Cassi was brought here so I could give her and them that chance," I replied.

"Cassi?" my mom asked with a slight giggle.

"Well I sure wasn't going to call her Foxxi that just makes me sound lesbian." I shrugged, "I'm straight as a rod so it would have felt just a wee bit weird," I added with my index finger and thumb in a pinching position for effect.

"I will never figure out where you get your sense of humor from," my mom laughed as she led me inside.

For the rest of the winter, I continued to go out once a week to get food for Cassi. She gained weight and her energy level rose. So did her trust for my mother and me. She would let my put my hands on her stomach to feel for movement, just like I had seen beans do on T.V. A couple months later, it was mid-April, and my mom and I rushed out of our home when we heard some loud noise coming from Cassi's side of the under-porch. We were greeted with a great surprise. Three great surprises, to be exact. And that was the day we met Roxxi, Jack, and Dezz.

"Adriana, are you coming?" My mother's voice pulled me from my flashback. I turned to find her standing in the back doorway to our house.

"Oh, sorry mom. I'm coming," I quickly replied as I made my way inside, "I got us enough meat to last us about two weeks." My mother watched as I began to pull the wrapped meat out of the bag and place it on the table.

"We are fortunate to have it at all," she said as she got into her routine of preserving the meat. We had to do it the old fashion way, seeing as we didn't have a freezer and all.

 

I turned and made my way to my bedroom, leaving her to her work. Sitting on the bed, I looked at my reflection in the mirror shard I had placed on the other side of the room. The ponytail that my blonde hair was pulled into had fallen loose from the ride back. I watched as my hair fell to my shoulders as I pulled the cord free. I stood and started to turn to get a better look at my clothes. I wore a long sleeved, forest green top that was going to have to be mended, judging by the hole at my shoulder. It wouldn't have taken much to completely pull it off. The brown vest had come out unscathed though. I let out a sigh of relief as I realized my favorite piece was, well, in one piece. I mean, I may not be a girly-girl but, when something makes your legs look that good, you have to love it. Spinning in a complete circle, I made sure the small brown skirt was in good condition.

"Adriana, we need more salt. I won't have enough for your next hunt," my mother yelled from the kitchen. Making my way out, I was slightly glad I hadn't changed clothes. Seeing as I now had borrowing to do. Not that it bothered me. I lived for the thrill of it.

"Alright, just give me a few minutes to get ready, then I'll leave," I replied as I walked over to my bag.

"Shouldn't you wait until it is dark?" she asked, worry covering her tone and face.

"I'll be fine. That old drunk is always passed out by now."

"That doesn't mean you should go strolling up there in broad day-light"

"I want to get all of today's work done so I can come back and rest, maybe even play with Roxxi for a bit," I said slightly exasperated.

"Fine, fine. Just be careful," she said as she handed me the cork we had made into a container I could carry on my back.

"I always am. And besides, I'd like to see some bean try and catch me. Ain't gonna happen with my strength," I replied, rather smug.

"Don't put too much confidence in that, young lady. Just because you seem to be stronger than the average borrower, doesn't mean anything to a bean. It would take almost nothing from them to crush you," she said being unusually stern.

 

"Alright, I understand Mom," I said making my way out the door, "Way to burst my bubble."

I made it to the door that led to our maze of passage ways and pulled out my hand made flashlight, since light can't really get into the walls. Taking turns and climbing ladder after ladder, I finally made it the kitchen. I found the door that would deposit me right on the kitchen counter. Opening the door on its silent hinges, I come out right where I predicted I would. My view led straight to the family room where I saw the flat screen T.V. was showing Top Gear. I can name plenty of times where I have sat and watched Top Gear without the drunkard ever noticing, now being one of them.

After watching the show until the credits started to roll, I figured I should take care of the task I actually came up here to do. So, I walked along the counter until the spices came within reach. An old fashioned spice rack was placed along the wall and I saw the salt on the second shelf, about a foot in the air. I jumped with ease and landed in the "convenient" space next to the salt. Undoing the top, I began filling my canister. Once it was 3/4 full, I replaced the cap and started to position myself for the jump down.

Just as I was about to jump, the sound of the front door opening reached my ears. I looked up, losing my balance, and squeaked. But not from the loss of balance, no, that rare squeak came from the sight in from of me.

Standing just inside the front door, was another human bean. And boy, was he tall. Huge! What was even better? He was looking right at me.

Acting on instinct, I leapt from the shelf with as much power as I could muster, trying to get as across the counter as I could. The force of my landing caused the canister to fall from my back but, I kept running. I was about half way when a loud bang caught my attention. I looked over my shoulder to see that the bean had dropped the suitcase he was carrying and was running towards the kitchen counter. I turned back around, my run changing into a panic fueled sprint. The doorway raced to meet me and I didn't waste any time barreling through it and locking it from the inside. I heard a thud from the counter on the other side. That was all the encouraging I needed to bee-line for home.

And what was running through my mind the whole way back, you ask?

 

'Oh S**t, Oh S**t, Oh S**t!'