Runaway

With my knees buckled, I gave a loud cry, finally seeing my new sworn enemy jump out from behind a bundle of leafs. It was official at that moment. I was like a child, screaming at someone because they had big hair or a creepy smile. My enemy, the first real fear I’d had in this mess of trees, was a squirrel that was barely taller than my ankle.

“Oh,” I breathed out with a hand on my chest. My shaky knees started to rest. “Hey there, little guy. You’re cute!”

It gave a sniff of the nose. Those tiny little eyes had a sparkle in them, making me squeal with joy. Maybe I was wrong. I could be a City girl and a County girl too, especially if everything in this forest was as cute as the creature before me.

“Can I pet you?” I asked, more to myself. “Are squirrels tame?”

Pathetic, I know. What can I say? The most of nature I’d seen back in the City was on Animal Planet. I didn’t like to watch the shows that showed Lions ripping apart Zebras or anything, so most of what I saw dealt with tame wildlife. I should have gotten a lesson from Jane.

“You don’t seem so bad,” I mumbled, moving closer to the squirrel. “I can’t believe I was afraid that you were like, an axe murderer, or something.”

Mistake number one: Never try to pet something you meet in the forest.
I reached out my hand to ruffle its fur, but the moment my hand got too close, I saw something in the squirrel snap. I took in a sharp breath, pulling back my hand like I’d just stuck it in fire.

“You little devil!” I shrieked. My lips instantly turned to a pout. “Here I am, just trying to be nice to you, and you go all Kujo on my ass!”

I jumped back as the squirrel moved closer. Never, ever in my life did I think I’d be scared of something that ran up the trees in my backyard collecting nuts, or whatever it is that they eat. They always seemed so cute from a distance, with their fluffy tails and quick movements. Actually, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that most squirrels wouldn’t come within five feet of a human, and this little guy was closing in on me like I was a giant acorn.

The closer it moved to me, the more those teeth showed. Nasty little teeth, they were. I knew I looked like a bug with my eyes as big as they were. My mother had warned me that many forest creatures were infected with rabies, and by the look in his eyes, I could only guess that he wanted to spread that disease to me.

“Oh no you don’t,” I almost tripped over a large stone. I didn’t want to hurt the poor little guy, but I also didn’t want rabies. So I went with my instinct. I crouched down, placing my hand tightly on the rock to lift it above my head. My palms were sweaty. I was almost sure I would drop it on myself. “Back off!”

When the squirrel didn’t listen like my dog did, I bit my lip. It was a life-or-death situation. It twitched its little head, giving me an evil grin as I stared deep into its eyes. I watched as his tail went stick straight. I was in a panic. I watched those tiny feet start to move closer, and I gave out my loudest Indian cry I could manage, tossing the rock like it was a soccer ball. When the poor thing fell to the ground, I felt terrible, but I was happy I didn’t have bite marks.

I exhaled a deep breath, but sucked it right back in when I heard a voice behind me. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Jane standing a few feet away, with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk. I couldn’t stop myself from throwing my arms around her figure. It was nice to feel her body heat and know that I was safe from the enemy at last. I cringed, looking back at the dead body.

“What am I doing here?” I turned away, crossing my arms over my chest and I glared into her eyes. “I was trying to come over and tell you about the awful sex talk I had to have with my mother, but right when I got to the door, you went flying out of it like a crazy lady!”

I gave a loud huff, letting my arms fall to my side. I started walking back in the direction I had come, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Jane was following. I wanted to keep going, to walk right out of those woods and back into the comfort of my home, but my legs were already so sore. I found a large enough rock, checking it for spiders before I sat on it.

“So, being the amazing friend that I am,” I shot her a large grin. “I followed you. I was afraid that maybe you would have tripped over yourself and fallen right into the hands of death. Who would have thought that I’d be the one getting attacked by a squirrel?”

I gave a soft laugh. My body weight slowly slipped down the rocks and my body completely relaxed. The only thing that would have made the moment better was a large bottle of water. That was, until I felt something crawling on my arm. I glanced down with confusion, my face turning to horror as I saw the tiny bug racing towards my chest.

“Oh my Gosh!” I stood up quickly, glancing to Jane for help. “There’s a freakin’ tick on my freakin’ arm! Jane-y, get it off!”