Animal Dilemmas – Bat Fox
Short Story
The Fox experienced feelings it never knew existed. The combination of reaching where nobody had reached before with the fresh blood of young birds had opened new horizons in its imagination. It stood on the high cliff for several hours motionless with eyes fixed on the ocean like visionary. Its imagination was building a castle and around the castle an empire.
Shortly after its heart slowed down and its mind came back to earth the fox turned around and headed land-bond to build its empire. It knew the land in the area well but it best knew its home. A string of rocky hills with patches of three groves and lots of caves.
The caves were full of bats of several kinds. But the majority were large blood suckers. The Fox grew up on eating baby bats daily when it could catch better prey. One old bat about the same age as the Fox had gone crazy. Madness had filled its mind after a recent invasion by foxes. Many more foxes had moved to the hills because of the killdeer colony near by.
But in bad weather, and when the foxes felt lazy, they just settled for bats. They would stand in the opening of the cave and all bark at the same time. The echo that created was deafening. Young bats would panic and fly off the high ceilings. Blinded by the light they would often bump into the walls and fall on the ground where foxes would just pick them up.
With that trickery the foxes had manger to eat the two generation of children and one generation of grandchildren of the mad Bat. The Bat could not comprehend the loss. It had never done anything wrong in its life. It had never taken more than it needed to survive and always helped the colony with whatever it could. Like the one time when a group of young bats got lost after trying to feed of a landed whale. It found the youngsters and brought them back.
So now the Bat had left its family and the entire bat community and had decided to kill a fox. It knew the foxes and their habits in the area well. It had chosen a narrow path away from its own cave where it knew the foxes went in singles not in packs. It laid on the ground still, its wings twisted like broken kite and its legs sticking up like winter three branches.
If you want to kill a fox you have to play its game, it thought. Hours passed and the bat managed to stay still with only one thought on loop in its mind. The visual thought of the exact actions it was going to take when a fox came that road. It kept one of his eye half open and fixed on the path. When the Fox came along it would most likely halt for a moment seeing the bat. When it asses it safe it would get closer and closer and how down to bit it for the neck and squeeze the last drops of life out of it just be sure the bat is dead. Just before its teeth reach the neck the bat would leap up off the ground and stick its teeth with all its strength in the Fox’s neck. It would not let go even if it faces demise. It would suck blood until it can breath no more.
The Fox was out of breath and getting hungry after the long walk from the shore. It entered the narrow path and walked slow and cautious as its legs and mind were no longer dreaming. Half way in the saw the Bat in the middle of the path and stood still along the wall of rocks for a moment. Saliva accumulated in its mouth. Blood thirsty and hungry for the same emotions of the night before it decided to feast. It approached closer and closer and could smell the Bat and hear its heart still beating.
It decided to snap its neck first to avoid and scratches. As it sniffed along it bowed down to the bat’s neck. Suddenly the Bat sprang up mouth gaping and landed its teeth on the the Fox’s throat. The Fox was caught off guard and panicked. Adrenalin kicked in and it jumped back trying the shake the beast off. It jumped around and rolled in the dirt, it scratched at the Bat with its back leg. But the Bat would not let go.
The blood sucker had punctured an artery. And even though its legs were broken by the Fox’s attempts to shake it off, it did not let go. It bit even harder and deeper keeping the fresh blood gushing out and with the Fox’s life. The Fox felt weak and its legs gave out. It rested in the ground and slowly closed its eyes.
Only then the Bat let go and rested in the dirt awaiting death with a smile on its face.
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