This story is from my book, "Chillers."

 

The fox was hurrying back to her den. It was almost dawn now, and she knew that her hungry kits were waiting to suckle her breasts.

*****

The minivan, bearing its three passengers on a weekend fishing trip, sped along county road 358. Gary Miller sat in the passenger seat next to Tom Kinney, the driver. Roy Barnes rode in the back seat.Gary glanced back at Roy, who was curled up on the back seat, sound asleep. He wondered how Roy managed to sleep with the country music blaring from the radio.In the gray light of dawn, Gary saw an animal ahead--a fox--crossing the road from left to right. It had almost made it to the shoulder of the road and was out of danger. Gary, expecting Tom to keep going straight, was shocked when Tom swerved onto the shoulder, aiming to hit the animal.“Road kill for the convicts,” said Tom.Gary felt a thump as the minivan ran over the fox. At the same moment, he saw the railing of a concrete bridge looming straight ahead. Tom, unable to steer the vehicle back onto the pavement, cursed as he swerved farther to the right to avoid the railing. Gary braced himself, then blacked out as the van crashed through trees and brush, plunging down to the muddy waters of the creek down below.

*****

When Gary regained consciousness, he was astonished to see that the minivan was not in the creek. It was sitting in a clearing surrounded by dense, gloomy woods. The creek and bridge had vanished; the surrounding area bore no resemblance to the spot where they had crashed. There was a strange and unnatural air about the place--something that filled him with an inexplicable feeling of dread.He looked at Tom and Roy. At first he thought his companions were dead, but he knew they were not dead when he saw their terror-filled eyes. The men seemed to be in some kind of stasis, frozen in place. Their eyes pleaded for him to help them.

“I...I don’t know what the hell’s going on,” he told them, “but I’ll try to find out. I’ll try to get help.”

But he knew, and guessed that they knew, too, that he could do nothing. They were doomed. But he was the only one free to move; he had to at least try.The eyes of the other two followed him as he stepped out of the minivan. He inspected the vehicle. There was not a scratch on it. What the hell had happened? Why were they here in this forsaken place? The minivan should be wrecked and resting in the creek. Given a choice, he would rather be in the damned creek.As he was walking around the van, he stopped when he heard a voice.“Gary Miller.”

The voice seemed to be in his head. “Here, Gary, in the grass. I’m directly in front of you.”

He looked down to see a fox looking up at him.“Don’t you recognize me, Gary? I was living only moments ago. But now my body lies crushed, run over by your cruel, thoughtless friend. I have three kits who even now await my return. They will die slowly from starvation.”One part of his mind accepted a talking spirit-fox as normal. Another part of his mind wondered why he accepted it.“But I didn’t...”

“Yes, I know you didn’t, Gary. It was your friend, Tom Kinney. But you were there, and you were present when Tom committed other acts of cruelty to helpless creatures. I will now introduce you to another of Tom’s many victims. Hold out your hand.”

Bewildered, Gary held out his hand. Abruptly, a cricket materialized in his palm. A higher pitched voice entered his head. “Do you remember me, Gary? You were a young boy at the time. You were with Tom when he caught me. You watched as he tore my limbs from my body. The pain was unbearable. You did nothing to stop him, nothing at all.”

The fox spoke up. “Tom has committed many heartless deeds against his fellow creatures, many of which you witnessed. Now the time has come for Tom to pay."

Suddenly, the minivan door flew open. Tom, his eyes wild with fear, jumped from the van. Gary watched as Tom charged across the clearing, heading for the safety of the tree line. He didn’t make it. A giant hand, without arm or body, reached down and scooped him up. Gary watched in horror as another hand descended and seized one of Tom’s arms. He squeezed his eyes shut, but could not shut out the ear-splitting screams. When the screams stopped, he opened his eyes to see the hands holding Tom’s armless body.The hands lay Tom’s body on the ground in front of Gary. Gary felt as though his body had been drained. He began to shake. He wanted to scream, but a lump in his dry throat held the scream back. He leaned against the van and retched.

“Perhaps you think we are sadistic fiends,” said the fox, “but what we do is no worse than the brutal acts of some men toward their fellow creatures. Now and then, Fate sees fit to grant some of us a chance to mete out a small measure of justice. On this occasion, Fate has delivered the three of you into our hands. Tom has paid his dues, and now it is Roy’s time. Roy’s victims, like Tom’s, are many. Here are two of them.”

A mixed breed dog and a kitten appeared before him. Gary recognized the dog as one that had previously belonged to Roy, but did not remember the kitten. A new, lower pitched voice sounded in his head.“I see that you recognize me, Gary. Do you remember how I died? Your good friend and neighbor, Roy Barnes, left me out in freezing, rainy weather, chained to a dog house that gave no protection against such weather. You knew of my plight, because I saw you peek out your back door when you heard my mournful barking that night.“When my master was a young boy, he held this kitten in a water-filled bucket until the poor creature drowned. You also witnessed that foul deed, without so much as a word of protest. And now, Gary, please watch.”

Roy stepped from the minivan, took several steps, and suddenly broke for the tree line. He screamed in terror as the giant hand plucked him up. The other giant hand descended. It was holding a huge water-filled bucket.Gary could see Roy vainly struggling in the grasp of the giant hand. Roy’s screams turned to gurgling as the hand plunged him into the water. The hand held Roy there for what seemed an eternity before withdrawing him from the water. The hand dropped Roy’s body beside the mangled body of Tom.

“There,” said the dog, “now he knows how the kitten felt.”

“I don’t understand,” said Gary. He was still shaken, but was beginning to regain some control of himself. “Why do you choose us? There must be tens of thousands who have committed acts of cruelty against animals. And what of animals that kill other animals? Lions kill. So do crocodiles. And wolves.”

“The choosing is not ours,” said the fox. “We must accept the opportunities for vengeance that Fate sees fit to grant us. As you say, there are many who have committed cruel acts; who knows what judgment awaits them? As for animals killing other animals, the law of the jungle applies. Nature decrees that some creatures must kill to survive. The law applies to mankind as well, when they kill only for survival.”

“Enough of this prattle,” said the cricket. “It is time now to judge Gary Miller. He must be punished for condoning those horrible deeds.”

“You are right,” said the dog, “he should have spoken up for us.”The kitten spoke up. “He let his friends torture and kill us. He should pay for that.”

“Yes,” agreed the fox. “Through his silence he has shown callous indifference to our suffering. Let us choose a fitting end for him. He will now...”

“Wait!” Gary shouted. “If you are truly interested in justice, then you will allow me to speak in my own defense.”

“Very well,” said the fox, “what have you to say for yourself?” “I grew up with Tom and Roy,” he said, “and I suppose it was our close friendship that blinded me to their cruelty. But deep inside, I honestly don’t believe that I was indifferent to the suffering that they caused.”He looked at the fox. “In your case, I had no time to react when Tom ran you down. I was powerless to stop him.”He turned to the dog. “Don’t you remember the times I passed food and water over the fence to you when Roy left you none? “As to the other cruel acts I have witnessed, I can only say that I wish I’d protested. I am truly sorry.”

“Is that all you have to say?” Asked the fox.“Yes. Except to say that I have never maliciously harmed any creature. I would hope that you consider that.”

The creature-spirits huddled for what seemed a long time. There was apparently strong disagreement among them. After a time, the fox left the group and came up to him.“Gary Miller, we have reached a verdict.”Gary looked up and saw the giant hand descending toward him. Before he could run, he felt the fingers closing around his body. He blacked out.

*****

He awoke to see a nurse standing beside his bed. She looked down at him.“Well, well. I do believe that Mr. Miller is back with us. How are we feeling?”

“I...okay, I guess. Where am I?”

“Middleton General Hospital. Someone saw your accident and called 911. You’ve been here about thirty minutes. Your wife is on her way here from Riverdale.”

“How...how are the others?”

“I’m afraid they didn’t make it. One of them was in a part of the van that was partially under water. He drowned, but rescuers thought it very strange. They said that he was in a position where he could have easily kept his head above water.  The other one died enroute to the hospital. In some freakish way, he had lost both arms. Rescue people also couldn’t figure out how that happened. They agreed that it was the weirdest accident they had ever witnessed. One of those unexplained mysteries, I suppose.“Except for a slight concussion, you came through without a scratch. You were lucky, Gary Miller.”

*****

Somewhere, on another plane of existence, a fox waits patiently for her three kits to join her.

 

THE END

 

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