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Replacement (Part 0)

I have been laying here for almost an hour now. Thankfully it was a simple wire snare, so there was little blood. However, my left leg protruded out from under me like I was on top of someone else. It wasn't a good feeling, but I was getting used to it having had time to calm down. I wondered if the fur would ever grow back around my knee. Where was Catalina? Her Druidic powers gave her a responsibility to protect her flock. Why hadn't she heard my cries? I had stopped trying a while ago, but now that I thought about it, I decided to try again.

"Help!..." Only the silence of the dusty forest greeted me. The wind kicked up some sand and blew it into a nearby leafless bush, making a whispering noise. "Catalina!?" I thought perhaps Seba would have come looking for me by now. He and I cared enough for each other that he would notice I was gone... right? I would expect he did after my performance yesterday. "Seba!?" My voice sounded odd in the still air. I didn't like how pitiful it seemed. Was I going to die here? I surely would if I didn't get free and find Catalina to heal me. My leg wouldn't respond to me. It must be hurt bad... "Damn it! Anyone! Help!" Just then, I caught a noise from behind me with the dishes of my ears. They swiveled back and I strained to hear. There was a rustling and heavy foot falls. One usually didn't hear Catalina moving thought the forest. "Seba?" It suddenly occurred to me that the human that laid this snare would have to come back for it eventually. Perhaps it was them... With my arms, I tried to drag myself closer to a nearby shrub. Perhaps the extra cover would give me time to see who it was. My claws dug in the dry earth behind me as I turned on the spot, putting my back to the bush. My heart leapt as a voice sounded from beyond the spindly trees.

"I heard it over here. It sounded like a fox. It might be caught in one of those traps. Hurry up!" Oh no. I saw a flash of pale skin through the distant trees. They were humans. With my leg, I would never make it into the bush in time. They would probably see the drag marks anyway. There was nothing for it. I just had to wait, and make good show on it. If they had a gun, there was no use, but if not... I'd fight. My breath came faster, my heart pounded in my chest and throat. They saw me.

"It's over here!" the woman said into a device on her shoulder. She wore green cloths, big dark glasses, and a funny hat. She had a belt on which hung a handgun. A low growl started in my throat as she drew near. My ears laid flat against my head.

"Hang on there, little guy. I'll cut you lose." She knelt a couple feet from me, her hand at her hip. She drew a long knife. I showed her my teeth and let the growl rise into my mouth. My right leg scraped against the sandy ground, trying to sit up a little so I could fight her. Another human emerged from the trees a ways off.

"How is it?" A male voice called.

"He's hurt pretty bad. We can't let this one go." She spread her arms out, the knife held point-down. "Hey! It's alright. We're gonna take care of you. Are you one of those speaking Foxes? What's your name?" It felt silly to tell a human lady my name, but after a few seconds more I let the growl fade away. She didn't move, so I assumed she really wanted to know.

"My name is Friedel... What did you mean about not letting me go?" The lady's pale lips curled into a smile under the silver rims of her glasses. It was odd not seeing her eyes.

"Well Fridel... Your leg seems dislocated, and that wire has cut at least one tendon... You can't recover from that out here in the wild. Since you're an intelligent animal, covered under the Sentient Animal Protection Act, we are obligated to give you treatment. Do you know your rights?" I shook my head.

"No... what are rights? Never mind, I don't want any. Catalina can heal me, but she won't come if you are here. You have to leave." The male human, who was dressed exactly the same, came up behind his partner.

"Looks like he suffers from the same delusion the others do. He thinks there's a magic lady in the woods. Makes you wonder doesn't it?" The lady shuffled forward, and leaned in closer. She was in range of my claws, but I held off for the moment.

"Catalina will understand. We just want to help. You're not making it far with that leg, here." The knife came down to my knee where the wire had cut. The growl rose up again.

"I don't want to leave. Please, just go." I pleaded. I knew if I attacked her, the man might shoot me. No one would know out here in the woods.

"Shh... Just stay still. I wouldn't want to reopen the wound. You were lucky it didn't cut deeper." The knife pried at the wire and her fingers worked to free the catches of the snare. "Could you give me a hand with this?"

"Yep" The man replied, kneeling down and putting his fingers under the wire. I let out a pitiful whine of pain as the lady twisted the knife up. The wire snapped and I felt the pressure release. It was bittersweet, for the throbbing pain returned to my leg.

"Ow..." I yelped. I was free now, but I'd never escape the humans. I decided not to try to run. Perhaps if I was a good boy, they would be nice.

"Sorry." The lady said in a dry tone. She offered me her gloved hand after putting the knife back in its sheath. "Take my hand. I'll help you to our van and we can bring you to a place where we can fix you up. Sound good?" I had little choice. Catalina would not risk being seen by humans. I was a lost cause. I thought about Seba. That Fox would surely miss the treatment I gave him. It was a shame. He was the closest thing to love I had found yet. I thought to myself: Now I'll never know if it would have worked out. After this hesitation, I put my paw in her hand. "That's a good boy." She pulled me up to my feet, which sent waves of pain down from my waist to my toes. I gave a moan. "There, there." She cooed. "It's alright now. Suddenly the man was behind me. He took my paws back there with him and chained them together with what looked like wrist collars.

"You have the right to remain silent. Any aggression you show can be marked against the trust given to you under the SAP Act. You may refuse treatment only when your life is no longer threatened. Your release may be suspended due to health issues. Do you understand these rights?"

I sat on a cold table with wax paper over it. My bare rump was chilled through the fur, and my paws crinkled the paper on either side. My left leg was in a heavy splint so I couldn't bend it. A human in a white coat stood in front of me, holding a clipboard. He wasn't my normal doctor. He was a psychologist that came in every few days to ask me silly questions. I had learned a lot about humans in my short time here, and my leg had gotten much better. Catalina would have had it healed in a few seconds though...

"I'm not sure..." I finally answered. He had waited patiently for nearly twenty seconds. "Is this about the bite? ... I'm sorry, but I thought we had talked about that..." The psychologist waved my concern away.

"We've dropped that. No need to go over it again." After my flash of guilt had subsided, took a deep breath and continued.

"Anyway, I don't get in many fights out in the woods. Catalina says I'm sweet. I wouldn't say I'm aggressive at all..."

"Mhmm..." He always seemed disinterested, even though he said he was doing this for scientific interest. "Does Catalina say that about a lot of the animals?"

"Come to think of it, she does. She really loves us. She must be really sad I'm gone." A brief flicker of emotion crossed his aging face.

"That's awful... Listen..." He leaned in closer to me. I shifted backwards a bit, not wanting to get too close to him. "They told me I shouldn't ask you too many questions about Catalina, but I'm going to anyway. Is that alright?" I nod, looking up at him with nervous eyes. "The first thing I wanted to ask is... You have seen her, and heard her, yes?" I nodded again.

"Yes...Do humans really doubt her existence? She's not the only one you know."

"The only what?" He was quick to respond.

"Druid. She's a druid. It's her responsibility to protect that forest from harm and see all life within it grow."

"How does she do that?" Does he have note cards on that clipboard?

"With her powers. Her magic is strong."

"What sort of things can she do? You said she could have healed your leg. Could she use her powers to destroy if she had to?" My ears flicked in surprise.

"What kind of question is that? ...I mean, she could... The forest would have to be under some sort of attack by outside forces... She would never kill a human though. She doesn't like humans seeing her. That's why she couldn't save me from those... Rangers you called them? If she did, it would give herself away." For once, the next question did not come right away. My response had caused him pause, his tongue in his cheek.

"Is there any way for a human to meet her? If they were an especially peaceful one perhaps?" These questions where starting to scare me.

"Umm... It's been known to happen... But hardly ever by the human's intent. Most times, it's because she's in disguise. If you go into the forest calling her name, it's very unlikely you will find her..." Again, he paused.

"This disguise... Would you be able to see though it?"

"Y... yes... I'd know Catalina anywhere, even transformed into an animal. Although, if she wanted to, she could hide her power and scent form us." His pen was scribbling in furious strokes.

"All... Right. Thank you very much, fridel."

"Friedel."

"Right. Your regular doctor wants to see you I believe, so that will be all for now. Rest up. You'll be all better soon." He tuned on his heel and opened to thick wooden door. He hugged the clipboard to his breast as my regular doctor passed him.

"All set?"

"Just. He's yours."

"Thank you." The doctor was followed by a silent nurse. She was just there to help him out. It was a good thing for him she was there too, because the first day I was here, she had to hold me down to get an injection. I could see her half hiding another needle behind her palm.

"I see that thing." I said to her, my muscles tensing. They said it was to relax me while they worked, and to keep the pain down.

"Sorry." She said in her faint voice. "We've got to give it to you. It's been helping hasn't it?"

"...Perhaps." I didn't want to admit it, but I didn't know what I'd do if they didn't give it to me. This splint got very uncomfortable, and my leg still hurt a lot, especially at night. It didn't help that they made me sleep in a cold, concrete room. The doctor chuckled at my shy confession.

"Don't worry boy. You won't have to take it much longer. I think you're just a few days from getting out of here." My ears perked up.

"Really?" A regretful expression passed over him.

"Yes... But there is a slight complication... you see, your leg has healed about as much as it can. When your leg twisted around, the joints where stretched beyond repair... I don't think releasing you back into the wild would be kind to you." I could scarcely believe what I heard.

"What...?" I said in a defeated tone. The tensions released form my body. I sat there on the table with my muzzle pointed to the floor. I had no fight left after weeks of painful treatment. I was at their mercy. I hated it, and that hate burned inside my chest, but there was nothing to be done. I looked back up with sad eyes. "I can't..." A tear came to my eye. "I can't go back?" The doctor shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. It would be cruel of us to put your out there in your condition." I heaved a sigh. My mouth hung open afterwards, not having enough energy to close it again. I wondered if they were right...

"But Catalina...!"

"No!" The doctor hushed me. I had been told repeatedly not to refer to Catalina as a real person. "She will not save you. You will die if you are sent back now. That's why I've arranged for you to be put up for adoption."

"A...dop...tion?" He nodded slowly.

"I will see to it you are given a good home with a loving family. Since you are a special case given your protection under SAP, it's the least I can do." I wondered with more than a little contempt what the best he could do was. He must have noticed something, for he looked down at me through his glasses like he was scolding me.

"Don't give me that look now. This is for the best. Tomorrow, we will see about getting your splint off, then you can start therapy. You should be ready for adoption just a few days after that. You will be sent to an animal shelter a few miles north. We already have a couple families' looking right now and I told them about you. They are very excited to meet you." I remained silent. My eyes went back down to the floor. My ears did their best to follow. Out of my peripherals, I saw the nurse approach. It was needle time. The latex of her gloved hands pulled at my fur as she took my left arm forward.

"Hold still now."

So ends the last day of therapy. I lay in my kennel, letting my body sink into the padded cloth at the bottom. My tongue lolled out to one side as I panted, trying to regain my breath. My leg hurt, but it was only the hurt of working it so hard. The real damage had been healed. I was just glad the splint was off.

"Hey... Hey, how you doin?" I sucked my tongue back in my mouth and looked up to see who said it. All these animals sounded the same with their barks and whines and growls. The face of Bren, the German Shepard poked into my kennel.

"Hi there..." I replied with a dry moan in the back of my throat. I was glad Catalina had taught me the human language. It made things a lot easier. Plus, having opposable thumbs was nice too, but I didn't have her to thank for that.

"You smell all sweaty. They worked you hard?" He said in his big, dumb voice as he put a forepaw in my kennel. I sat up fully, giving him a harsh stare.

"What are you doing?" I demanded. His nose pushed into my thigh, taking a deep sniff. "Get off!" I pushed his face away with my foot and he backed up a few paces. "Why are you animals so stupid?" Bren gave a low growl.

"You chosen are always so mean! You're more human than animal!" His eyes softened and passed down my body. "You're really cute though. Foxes smell so nice." He approached again, his tail whipping back and forth. I was about to go for another kick when the door opened with an echoing clatter of bolts. Normally, I would never have been so happy to see the bath lady. She got soap in my eyes last time, and she was too rough, but I had a feeling this German Shepard would be rougher.

"Hey Friedel. It's bath time. Joe, get out of there." She ordered. Bren gave a whimper and padded back down the concrete room to his own kennel. I got up to my feet and stood awkwardly, folding my arms. The bath lady smiled. "I'm sorry for the soap last time. I'll try not to do it again. Comon." She took out my collar and put it over my head. I flicked my ears as the fabric scraped against the sensitive tissue.

"Mmmm..." I moaned, plaintively. She tightened the collar and took me by one paw.

"Let's go. You need a bath before you go to the shelter tomorrow. You need to look fresh and clean for your family, okay?" I nodded. I wanted to look nice for them if I really had to be adopted. Catalina had said I was the cutest thing on several occasions. I hoped that the family would think so too.