Comet stared longingly at the faded blue farmhouse partly hidden by trees and the wire of his cage. He’d been waiting for what seemed like forever to be let out. The Old Man wouldn’t let him come and go as he pleased for some reason.
Finally, the farmhouse door opened with a creak and the Old Man began hobbling down the short flight of stairs with Felicity following close behind him.
As the Old Man fumbled with the latch, Felicity looked on with concern as usual. He always seemed to think he would drop dead at any moment. He was old, even for human standards according to Mossy. Comet tried putting the thought out of his mind, he had outlived her after all.
The Old Man opened the raised cage and stroked Comet. His hands were boney but warm and gentle. He picked Comet up and bent down until he suddenly tensed, and gasped, dropping him to the ground.
Comet sat wide eyed and frozen for a moment, not understanding what just happened. He cautiously hopped to test if his legs had been injured.
“Are you ok?” Called Felicity, racing over to him. Comet dashed out of her way.
“Yeah, just my back playing up.” He said.
“This is exactly why you’re too old to have pets anymore.” She said.
“Comet is mine and I can decide whether or not I want to keep him.”
Comet grunted, this was the same argument they’d had since Mossy and Stone had died a couple of months ago. He hopped away, letting them argue about retirement homes and grandchildren.
He always examined the perimeters of the yard in the morning like Stone and Mossy had taught him. Nothing within the yard ever changed, from the garden to the wire fence around it but Stone always said to check, just in case.
He hopped to the old stone bench, made his way under his cage then moved towards the wire fence. The morning sun bathed the vast fields beyond it while the treeline in the distance cast long shadows.
Staring at the distant treeline reminded him of all the stories that Mossy and Stone used to tell him about their former lives out there, living in Eden Valley.
They had been with him for longer than he could remember, then, one morning, the Old Man found them dead in their cage, both afflicted by the same disease.
Life had been a lot more interesting when they had them around but now all he had was the Old Man and Felicity. Though only the Old Man actually cared if he was alive or not.
Comet’s long black and tan ears flicked at some sudden noises and saw that the Old Man had sat down on the old wooden chair on the verandah. Felicity had finally gone inside, it was like being watched by a hawk when she was around.
He sniffed the cool morning air and continued his journey along the fence line until some foreign scent made him tense up.
He sat up and checked his surroundings. When he didn’t see anything racing out to kill him, he tentatively moved along the fence until he saw a hole, dug straight out under it directly from the fields.
A million possibilities raced through his mind. He had heard foxes dug holes, though this hole seemed a bit small for the beasts described by Mossy and Stone. Rabbits dug holes, but wild rabbits were scared of humans.
As he stared at it, he jumped at the sound of the backdoor clattering shut.
“Here you go Dad.” Felicity said, handing the Old Man a cup of coffee.
“Thank you.” He said.
“Hey, look what Comet’s done, he’s dug a big hole under the fence.” She said, after coming closer to get a better look. Comet dashed for cover under the stone bench.
“Comet’s never done that before…” Said the Old Man. He put down his coffee and slowly stood up to see what she was going on about.
“If he wants to escape so badly, I think we should let him.”
“Calm down, I can fill it back in. Comet wouldn’t survive out there.”
“Don’t be silly, I’ll do it. I just don’t understand why you keep a rodent around which just eats, sleeps and digs holes all day.”
Comet sniffed indignantly. He was not a rodent, he had no relation to mice who were always stealing his food in the night. As much as he was pleased to hear the Old Man defend him, he couldn’t focus on the conversation. Something under the bench caught his attention.
He had nosed around the area, until something softer than grass caught his nose. He sneezed and shook his head. It was a white tuft of fur. Foxes had red and white fur. He felt sick to his stomach.
He crouched as low down as he possibly could, every part of him ready for a fox to come and attack at any moment. When it became clear a fox wasn’t coming anytime soon, he grew restless, and realised he couldn’t stay there all day.
As he left the safety of cover, he wished he had the tracking skills of Mossy or Stone, they’d be able to know if the intruder was still here or not. Hopefully he could find whatever it was then the humans could deal with it before they went inside.
After haphazardly retracing his steps, he came back to the shed. If there was any place for a large predator to hide, this was it. The door still appeared to be locked but the old, mouldy wooden boards at the base of the shed had worn away over the years, leaving big enough spaces for a determined creature to get inside it. The Old Man had said he’d get around to fixing it, though as usual, it hadn’t happened.
Comet wasn’t eager to go inside. He hadn’t been in there since he’d attempted to find more grain and nearly got crushed by flower pots.
He came as close to the shed as he dared. “Hello?” He called. The shed was dead silent. He couldn’t see anything inside either when he tried to peek through one of the broken boards.
There was only one way to get a better idea of what was in there. He dared to stick his nose close to the gap in the boards. It was a dank, musty smell that overpowered everything else. Then he heard a slight noise, like movement across a dusty cement floor. A moment later, a flash of sharp pain raked his nose.
He jumped back in terror. Blood dripped down his nose and after checking it with his paw, he realised he’d got a good cut across it. A fox must be in there after all. He raced away, catching the attention of the Old Man and Felicity who were still sitting and talking on the verandah.
He hobbled out of his chair and called to Comet who obediently came to him. The Old Man picked him up and saw the blood on his nose.
“Something in there hurt him. It might be the same thing that dug up the yard.” He said. Comet didn’t mind being carried, it was sort of fun to see the yard from this perspective.
Before Felicity could argue, the Old Man suddenly put Comet in her arms.
“Hold him, I’m going to check out the shed.”
Felicity snorted with frustration and so did Comet. Felicity held him in a suffocating grip until she dumped him on the stone bench.
After fiddling with the stubborn, rusty latch, the Old Man finally managed to open the creaky shed door. Two flashes of fur raced towards him. Caught off guard, he fell on his back as the intruders bolted away.
Felicity screamed and frantically rushed towards the Old Man.
When Comet recovered from his fright, he could see Felicity was propping up the Old Man and trying to use her jacket to stop the bleeding from his arm.
Comet jumped down from the stone bench to the Old Man. At least he was breathing. He desperately wished he had hands instead of paws. There was nothing he could do to help.
“I’m alright” He muttered, rubbing his head.
“I’m still going to call an ambulance.”
“Can you help me get up?” He asked. Felicity hesitated for a moment before using all her strength to help him to his feet. He leant on her for support as they walked towards the house.
“It’s ok, Comet.” Said the Old Man, seeing Comet anxiously looking up at them.
“It’s that rabbit's fault this even happened!” She yelled and kicked in his direction.
Comet quickly got out of their way and looked on from a safe distance. It wasn’t his fault He wasn’t the one who startled him. He sat tensely, frustrated he couldn’t help.
Then there was a rustle in the rose bushes behind him. If he couldn’t heal the Old Man, maybe he could drive away the intruders.
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