Chapter 1

Bang! A shot rung out in the crisp winter air and as it whizzed by Kate,barely nicking her ear,the young fox could hear the men behind her angrily swear. She tore through the forest,breaking the low-hanging branches and trampling over the bushes in her way. Kate purposefully choosed the hardest pathes to navigate through in order to lose the hunters. "Are you sure we should take this path?"her brother,Ferno,asked doubtfully. "Yeah. Why don't we take the route through Steep Hill instead?"her sister,Lily,chimed in trying to keep footing in the loose,rocky pathway through Wave Canyon.

 

Wave Canyon isn't actually a canyon. It was only a thin passage way with short walls on the sides that grew taller as you progressed. It was called Wave Canyon because as you traveled through the trail the walls on the top curled over to connect,making a sort of tunnel as well as making it look like a crashing wave from the front. "We have to lose those hunters or else we're going to be all...."she trailed off at the last part as they entered the darker part of Wave Canyon. Right now wasn't the time to be all death and sadness and stuff. They ran in silence with only the small nearly silent pitter-patter of feet. Then the silence was broken. The hunter's footsteps echoed loudly in the tunnel and the sound of them panting almost drowned out all other noise. "Through here!"Lily commanded,turning sharply and ducking into a hole in the wall.

 

 Kate glanced over at Ferno and saw him shrug. They dived into the hole after their sister and emerged on the side of Wave Canyon. "What? You really thought I was wasting my time exploring Wave Canyon?"Lily asked,smugly. "Maybe you had a point there. Let's get going now."Ferno replied and took off running again with the other two following him.

 

Bang! Everything seemed to be in slow motion. The sound of the shot, Lily turning around to make sure Kate was alright. The bullet flying over Kate's head and inserting itself in Lily's chest. Blood pouring out, staining the light orange fox's white chest, red. Lily falling to the ground with a yelp. Then everything became real time again. "Lily!"Kate cried out and raced to her sister's side. The light orange fox's amber-green eyes were open wide with something Kate couldn't quite tell. Pain? Death? Sadness? Kate heard her brother call out to her that they had to go. "No! I won't leave her here!"Kate refused, a wave of stubbornness suddenly washing over her. "We have to or else we'll all be dead!"Ferno insisted. "I would rather die than leave her here to be taken by those...things!"Kate shouted back, not being able to find a proper way to define the humans. "Kate! If you don't leave we'll all be dead! Would you rather have mom and dad lose one cub or all three?"Ferno replied and rushed over to Kate. "There they are! After them!" one of the hunters shouted, pointing at Kate and Ferno. "I knew it worked!" another man shouted. "Alright! At least we get one." the third stated. "Grab Lily and run!"Ferno said, making a break for it as Kate picked up Lily's body. She turned around one last time to snarl at the humans through Lily's fur and ran after her brother.

 

They streaked past Flat Plains and through Pine Woods. As they entered Blooming Meadows, Kate suddenly stopped. "What's the matter?"Ferno asked, turning around. "We loss em righ?"she asked, though Lily's fur. "I think. Come on, we're almost home."her brother barked and contiued, not at a run but more of a hurried walk. A image entered Kate's mind. Her and Lily together. Playing, laughing, teasi- No! Kate shook her head to clear the thoughts out. She had to forget about Lily. But it was pretty hard when she was holding her dead body right in her mouth. "Kate? Lily? Ferno?" The familar voice came from close by. "Mom?"Ferno called out and a figure appeared. "I found them, Carndinal!"their mom shouted to their dad.

 

A few seconds later another fox appeared. "Oh thank god you're back. We heard gun shots and we were afraid that the hunters got you guys and that you guys were dead so we were searching everywhere for you guys. We even sent Jet out to look for you guys and when he came back he said that you guys were near Wave Canyons we were so scared because that's where Carrier said the hunters were saw and..and..an.."their mom trailed off, staring at the dead body of Lily dangling from Kate's mouth. There was silence between the four of them. "We're sorry, mom."Ferno finally barked, breaking the silence. Kate placed the body onto the grass covered ground. "Give me her."their mom finally replied and picked up the body herself. Without another word, she sprinted away with the light orange fox in her mouth. Kate started after her but her father blocked her way. "Leave her be."he said, "let's go into the den." Ferno nodded, happy to get away from all the death, and raced down the tunnel to their home. Carnidal gave Kate a little push and followed her down the large dirt tunnel.