| |
Macy fell backwards off her seat on the log and crouched behind it, where she caught a brief glimpse of the commotion. Papa shot out of the cave like lightning, his back arching and falling as he galloped towards the sound of the gunshot. Two more shots went off before he made it, but he never slowed down. From the foliage, someone screamed. Macy could only see rustling leaves from her vantage point, before any evidence of Papa or the shooter disappeared entirely.
Macy peeked above the log just in time to see Mama take off up the hill behind the cave, the pups struggling to keep up. The over-sized otter turned, took the larger of the two pups into her mouth and continued onward. The smaller of the two siblings stayed behind, pecking its way up the hill as fast as it could, but losing ground as much as gaining it.
If they trusted Papa, so did Macy. She left her hiding place and ran, keeping herself in as much of a crouch as she could while still moving quickly. She scooped the stray pup up in full stride, and used her free hand to balance as she scrambled up the hill.
At the top, Macy came face to face with Mama, who snarled. Macy startled and held out the pup.
“Sorry, Mama. I didn’t know you were coming back.”
The mother otter sniffed at the pup, looked back the way she’d come, then huffed. She turned without taking the pup from Macy’s arms. She took that as much of an invitation as she’d get and hurried forward, pausing briefly while Mama scooped up the first pup from some underbrush where she’d stashed it. Mama turned again, as if to ensure Macy still had her baby, then continued forward.
Macy followed.
It quickly became clear that, despite the adrenaline, Macy couldn’t keep up with a four- legged mega-monster. She lagged behind, eventually stopping entirely to catch her breath. The baby in her arms squirmed to get away, but Macy held firm, worried that if she put it down it would scamper off into a place she couldn’t follow.
Behind her, the sounds of the scuffle had entirely vanished, leaving Macy with so many questions.
Why had she run instead of helping Papa?
The shame washed over her. Had she learned nothing from Hogg Run? Retreating wasn’t always the answer, and hiding never lasted forever. The pup flipped over on its back in her arms, looking up at her and chirping, almost cooing, though Macy wasn’t sure if that was projection or truth. She had to run, right? She had to save this pup. Mama couldn’t carry them both at once, and relaying them would have taken too much time.
Given the circumstances, Macy had done the right thing. Perhaps the lesson of previous encounters was that both running and fighting were valid choices, and she had to learn to make the right choice at the right time.
Miriam would have fought, though.
Macy took off towards the path Mama had been on, able to follow for a little while before quickly getting lost among the trees. Her heart pounded, and jittery energy surged through her veins. Adrenaline. A panic attack. Some mix of both. Her lack of control started to set in. Her plan had been dashed. Without the devil, Miriam would never find Macy in all these trees. It seemed impossible, and with Abby out there, yelling would just as likely end badly, too. Though maybe Papa took care of that problem.
Hopefully.
