The Chase

The Chase





It was shortly after dawn when the enemy found me. I had just begun my day with a morning drink from the cold, clear, spring that bubbles up from the ground close by a stand of acorn trees when I heard their excited cries. Surprise, followed by fear and a deep instinctual drive to flee flooded my brain and I bounded off into the deep forest away from the awful sounds of their pursuit.

From the sounds coming behind me as I ran, I could tell there were three, maybe four pursuers and I knew that if they ever cornered me the fight would be a savage one, and one I might not survive, so I doubled my speed, intent upon keeping them at a distance.

I knew I could outrun this enemy for they could never match my speed, but they had endurance on their side; they could keep up their present pace for hours....I could not. Sooner or later I would have to slow down and even stop to rest. The trick was to put as much distance as I could between us before I was forced to halt.

The ground flashed under my flying feet at a tremendous rate as I glided through the thickets and over fallen logs in a smooth, flowing, gait. Flashing under giant oaks and around huge pines, I gradually increased my speed until my feet barely seemed to touch the forest floor at all.

Still the sounds of the enemy were behind me...growing closer, their cries had become more frenzied for they knew they had been discovered and the chase was on in deadly earnest.

After about twenty minutes of running at top speed, I noticed that the sounds of pursuit had fallen some distance behind me so I finally stopped for a rest, to catch my breath. This thing had only begun and I knew it was going to be a long day and if I were not careful, it could be my last day. So I stopped on the banks of a small creek and took a quick drink and waited for my breathing to return to normal. Precious minutes passed and all the while I could hear them drawing closer. Finally I could stand still no longer, I had to run again.

As I ran head-long through the tangles of vines and small brush, my muscles bunching and releasing in bursts of energy that drove my body with blinding speed, I toyed with the idea of picking a spot to stand and fight. I was fairly certain that I could kill one or two of the pursuers and drive the others off but in doing so, they might be able to injure me and this would mean a slow and painful death. I may be the king of this forest, but even I could not survive long with a damaged leg or the loss of an eye. No, it is always better to evade trouble rather than confront it. I had not lived to reach adulthood by fighting. Besides, I knew this land far better than my enemies. I was born here and had lived within its boundaries my whole life.

Breaking out into a clearing, I came upon an old trail that led down to the river. This was one of my favorite trails and I knew it well so I veered onto its worn path and increased my speed even more. The distance widened between us and I had begun to think maybe they would give up the chase soon. As I neared the river, I thought of my mate, back in the deep forest. She would be taking care of my son who had only been born a few days before. She would have heard the noise of the enemy as they charged after me and she would have quietly moved the baby out of harm's way. At least that is what I hoped would happen. The baby was a fine male and I was sure that he would someday grow up to a master of his own piece of the great forest.

I had almost made it to the river. My plan was to swim to the other side and to safety for I knew that those who chased me were not strong swimmers. In all likelihood they would give up the chase at the river's edge.

With a bound I left the bank of the river and landed in the cold, clear, water. It took only a few minutes for me to swim to the other side and I struggled out of the water and up the bank to safety....I thought.

No sooner than I had reached the far side, than I knew I had made a mistake. I was not alone. I saw him standing next to a tree no more than fifty yards from the river. It was the Master of those who chased me. This was the real danger. This was a killer who knew no mercy and who killed without even getting close to his prey. Man.

Those dogs who had chased me to the river were nothing compared to this monster. I had a grudging respect for the dogs, those poor and distant kin to the noble wolf. At least they were doing what nature required of them. The man, on the other hand, would kill just for the sake of killing. He did not require my body to feed his young, he wanted my head to adorn his wall. I would rather be brought down by the wolf or the cougar if I had to die, at least then my death would serve some purpose.

Everything happened very quickly after I spotted the man. I wheeled around, intent on diving back into the river to escape this new threat. Before I could make more than one jump toward the water, I heard the loud explosion from the strange killing weapon carried by the man and I felt a terrible pain behind my shoulder as the bullet tore into my flesh.

I dropped to the ground, unable to move and I could feel the life leaking from the terrible wound in my side. As my sight faded and the darkness moved in upon me I could hear the man's approaching footsteps and he was joined by another of his kind. I could hear their words as my own world ended.

"Damn, have you ever seen such a buck in these parts?"

"Nope, Joe, I think you got yourself a real trophy here. You gonna take that head?"

"Well hell yes I'm gonna take it. That ole boy is gonna look damn good on the wall in my den."

"Yep, he is gonna look mighty good. I bet he is a record buck. We won't be seeing any like him in these parts no time soon, that's for sure."

These were the last words I heard and I thought about my son who was just a baby. I hope they never find him.