LateNightHacking Louis My Writing

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The chase was on. Josh ran as fast as he could across the forest floor, while Nutsy glided from treetop to treetop. In truth, they were a close match. The flying squirrel could move quickly through the air, but had to land on a branch and launch himself again every so often. The raccoon could not move as fast on foot, he was not a runner. Besides that, he had the obstructions on the forest floor to deal with. Fallen logs, boulders, and clumps of vegetation such as sword ferns and blackberry brambles hindered his passage. Still, there were advantages to being on the ground. Josh could zig, zag, and double back on a dime. Nutsy had much less control while he was in the air. He could veer to the side, but turning around was out of the question unless he landed. Nutsy, however, had a better view. He didn’t have to stay exactly on the raccoon’s trail, and small variations in the ’coon’s path didn’t affect him. Josh, on the other hand, could hide or cut through the underbrush in hopes that Nutsy would lose track of him.

On and on they raced, having a grand old time. They generally moved in a northerly direction, but with all the trickery and backtracking it was hard to tell.

Josh was starting to breathe heavily, so he decided it was time to do something. Seeing a thicket ahead, he thought quickly. He grabbed a pine cone and stopped in the thicket to hide. Nutsy was right behind him and soon was gliding in for a landing on an overhanging branch. Josh smiled. This was his chance! He threw the pine cone up into the air.

Nutsy was so surprised to see the pine cone whiz by his head that he almost missed the branch he was trying to land on. He crashed into the side of the branch and had to scramble to keep from falling completely off. As he looked around for the ’coon, another pine cone sailed up out of the thicket and clattered off a branch above his head. He could hear stifled laughter coming from below. Nutsy chuckled to himself. "So, that’s the way you want to play it!" he shouted down. The thicket rustled, and another pine cone flew by, followed by more laughter.

Not to be outdone, Nutsy decided to return the favor. He noticed that out at the end of the pine bow he was on were some green cones. He bounded out to the end of the branch and began to gnaw away. Soon a cone came lose into his paws. When the underbrush rustled again, he threw the cone towards the disturbance.

<Thump> "OW!" exclaimed the thicket. "That hurt!"

Nutsy stopped gnawing at another pine cone long enough to reply, "You ninny! You threw ’em at me first." He laughed and went back to chewing on the cone.

Down in the thicket, Josh rubbed his rump and watched the activity in the tree far above him. "So?" he grumbled to himself, "You eat those things for lunch." Deciding to get out of there while the getting was good, the raccoon ran off full tilt into the forest.

Flying with a pine cone in his mouth was almost impossible, but the squirrel took off after Josh anyway. He had a hard time keeping up, but the next time the ’coon hesitated to change direction, Nutsy threw the cone.

Josh started when the projectile hit the ground inches from his left forepaw.

"Hee hee hee! Whoops, missed ya!" came the gleeful chitter from the treetops.

Josh decided it was time to turn the tables again.

The raccoon ran until he came to a hollow log. Sniffing the entrance quickly for danger, he climbed inside. It was quite dark inside, though he could see light coming from the far end of the log. The air inside smelled of forest decay, and the wood beneath his paws was somewhat spongy and soggy. Josh began to walk though the log, occasionally knocking over a mushroom. He was about in the middle of the decaying tree when he heard noise outside.

"Hey! That’s no fair!" chittered Nutsy. "How am I supposed to catch you when you’re hiding in an ol’ log?" he complained loudly.

Josh laughed. It echoed loudly in the hollow log, surprising squirrel and raccoon alike. "WHY DON’T YOU COME DOWN HERE AND GET ME?" Josh boomed, enjoying himself.

"What!?" squeaked the flying squirrel.

"WHAT’S WRONG? ARE YOU TOO SCARED?"

"Never!" yelled the hyperactive rodent. "You better run, ’cause here I come!"

Josh chuckled to himself and ambled out the far side of the log just as Nutsy glided to a landing in front of the entrance.

The little squirrel stared into the cavernous expanse of the old decaying tree with trepidation. Practically anything could be in there! Hideous things with glowing eyes and giant teeth just waiting for a careless furry to.... "No!" he told himself. "Josh just went through here, so can I!" He steeled his nerve. "CHARGE!" His yell echoed and filled the tunnel, and he bounded through as fast as he could go. He stumbled over an uprooted mushroom and continued on, half panicked. Claws were hanging down from the ceiling, reaching for him. Disgusting cold things brushed his sides as he ran by. Finally he reached freedom at the other end and skidded to a stop. "I made it!" he thought to himself as he trembled in relief. "I’m through!"

"BOO!"

Nutsy spun around in utter panic. A dark mass fell from the sky. It was all over him! On his head, in his face, on his back, around his feet! He waved and kicked and bit, trying to escape. It was a full moment before the poor squirrel realized he was in a pile of leaves.

"HA Ha ha ha! You should have seen the look on your face! Ha ha ha! Terrified! Ha ha! A bunch of leaves! HA!" Josh was laughing so hard he fell from where he had been sitting on top of the log. "Ow ha ha! Ha ha!" The raccoon was clutching his rides and rolling on the ground.

If looks could kill, Josh would have been dead many times over. Nutsy glared at the raccoon as he brushed the leaves away. "You bastard, you’ll pay for that," he gritted out.

Josh headed off into woods again, unable to walk in a straight line he was laughing so hard. Soon he picked up speed and was rapidly dodging through the trees.

Nutsy turned to the nearest trunk and began to climb. He needed altitude to resume the chase. The furrowed bark of the old oak made for an easy ascent, an in moments Nutsy was back in the treetops and ready to leap into the air. Suddenly he froze.

Over in the next tree was the mottled figure of a Great Horned Owl. It was a large bird, a powerful predator. It had huge eyes and great hearing, perfect for locating the small furries it liked to eat. It had a huge wingspan and incredibly strong, sharp talons. It could fly absolutely silently, the perfect night hunter.

Terrified, the squirrel barely even breathed. His heart was beating so loudly, he felt sure the great owl could hear it. "If it sees me..." Nutsy couldn’t even complete the thought. He wished he could just melt into the branch he was sitting on and disappear.

The Great Horned Owl stretched its wings and clacked its beak twice. It rotated its great head, searching the area. It had heard something, but the source of the sound was gone now. "Ah well. Time for some lunch," it thought to itself. It flapped its powerful wings and disappeared into the western sky.

Nutsy remained still. His heart had practically stopped when the great owl had looked right at him. Now it was gone. He searched the skyline, but could see no trace of the bird. "That was too close," he shuddered. "Much too close."

When he was finally satisfied that the coast was clear, Nutsy launched himself into the air. Josh had gotten a huge head start, and the flying squirrel would have to work hard to find him again.

˜ ™

Josh glanced up. He hadn’t seen Nutsy for an unusually long time. "What’s that silly squirrel up to now?" he wondered to himself. He stopped running and hid behind a tree trunk. Actually, it didn’t give him much protection since his pursuer could come from any direction, but it was better than nothing.

He scanned the treetops but didn’t see any movement. Aha! He was safe for a moment. Now he needed a plan. Josh looked around. He could always lay an ambush. His friend tended to be single minded, and Josh loved surprising him. Josh wandered around, searching for something to throw. Acorns? Ouch, no. He remembered getting hit with the pine cone. This was a friendly battle, he wasn’t out for blood. The raccoon kept looking.

Eventually he wandered under a walnut tree. "Nope. Still too dangerous," he muttered as he picked up a recently fallen walnut. "Wait a minute... that’s it!" He pulled the half rotten peel off the nut. It was soft and kind of gushy, definitely not something he wanted to get in his fur. He spun and threw it against the trunk of the walnut tree. It bounced off with a soft <splat>, leaving a dark wet spot on the bark. Josh chuckled to himself. "Nutsy will love these," he said to himself. "I better hurry, he’s got to be almost here." The ’coon quickly set to work gathering peels.

"What’s he doing?" thought Nutsy as he looked down from high in the walnut tree. He had stopped to get his bearings, and by pure luck had found the raccoon. He continued to watch Josh with stealthy curiosity. "He’s not thinking of throwing--" <splat> "--Ewww! Disgusting!" Nutsy wrinkled his nose and shook his head in revulsion. "I’ve got to surprise him before he gets ready to do whatever it is he’s planning to do with those."

Josh finished collecting walnut peels and began to head back to a place he had spotted earlier that had looked like the perfect spot for an ambush.. Two logs had fallen at right angles to each other on the forest floor. The crotch where the two logs met was an excellent place to wait: it had a good view, yet was protected on two sides. The raccoon gathered up his pile of about five walnut peels and headed for his ambush site. "When that silly squirrel gets here, won’t he have a surprise!" he chuckled to himself.

Nutsy watched Josh carefully from his perch in the walnut. When Josh was about half way to his destination, he leapt. "Canon ball!" he yelled, as he dive-bombed the raccoon.

At the sound of Nutsy’s cry, Josh spun around. His eyes grew huge at the sight of the kamikaze flying squirrel coming straight at his head. He threw himself flat on the ground and Nutsy zoomed by right where the ’coon’s ears had been only a fraction of a second before.

The squirrel allowed his momentum to carry him back up into the air and he landed high in another tree. "Whatcha doing down there, playing in the dirt?" Nutsy called down innocently.

Josh uncovered his eyes and looked up. When he saw the squirrel grinning at him from the tree, he knew he had been had. The ambusher had been ambushed. He had to smile. Standing up, Josh brushed the leaves and pine needles out of his belly fur. "Ha! You got me once. I bet you can’t do it again!" he yelled back.

"I always wanted a set of raccoon ears," returned Nutsy. "Canon ball!" he yelled and again dived at the raccoon.

This time Josh was ready. In an amazing feat of paw-eye coordination, Josh stepped to the side at the last minute, grabbed Nutsy’s furry tail as he flew by, and began to swing the squirrel in a vertical loop. As soon as Nutsy began to feel the pull on his tail, he began to yell. "AAAAa..." – up – "...aaaaaa..." – down – "...aAAAAAa..." – up – "...aaaaaa..." – down – "...aAAAAAA..." – up! – "...AAAAAAAaaaaaa...." Josh launched the squirrel into the sky with incredible velocity. Nutsy crashed upward through the treetops, sending down a shower of leaves, and still he kept rising high into the sky. The flying squirrel continued to yell until he was so high Josh could barely hear it. "Wow. I didn’t know squirrels had that much lung capacity," thought Josh in amazement. He ran through the forest, trying to keep up with the speck in the sky.

Nutsy sailed through the sky utterly out of control. He couldn’t glide; his left forelimb had been wrenched during an impact with a tree branch and was unusable. The tree branches had also scratched his face and chest. His entire tail felt like it was on fire. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he still had a tail. He did his best to aim for a clear landing site, but he felt more like a flying rock than a flying squirrel. The last thing the squirrel remembered was seeing the ground approaching far too fast.

The Great Horned Owl was winging silently home. Hunting had been poor, and it had decided to try a different part of the forest. It soared slowly over a clearing, its eyes scrutinizing the ground below for the minute signs of its prey. Suddenly a small furry body flew out of the sky and landed in the field below. This was too good of an opportunity for the owl to pass up.

Josh bounded up to the edge of Quiet Meadow just moments after Nutsy crashed to the ground. He scanned the clearing and quickly spotted the squirrel lying on the ground. "Uh oh. He’s not moving," he thought to himself. Then he saw the owl. It was descending quickly, its outstretched talons reaching for the motionless flying squirrel. Realizing his best friend’s life was in extreme danger, Josh had no leisure to think. He acted instantly. Snarling, he made a running leap at the owl. The two beasts collided in mid air and the Great Horned Owl’s talons snapped closed a hair’s breadth away from the unconscious squirrel. Raccoon and owl landed in a tangled pile beside the flying squirrel. The two combatants hissed, snarled, bit, and scratched as they tried to extricate themselves. In moments, they separated. The owl and the raccoon stared at each other, each daring the other to make the first move in their life and death struggle. Blood was slowly seeping out of a scratch on Josh’s shoulder as he crouched ready to spring. As the owl made another try for the squirrel, the raccoon lunged forward and knocked the huge bird aside. They rolled over one another in a ferocious struggle. The owl tried to scratch out the raccoon’s eye with its beak, but only succeeded in scratching the side of his face. The raccoon scrambled onto the Great bird’s back and bit at its wing. He managed to draw blood before being knocked off by a powerful blow to the ribs by the owl’s other wing. The raccoon batted the bird’s head with his paws, and the owl raked the raccoon’s hindquarters with its sharp talons . Two more crimson streaks blossomed on Josh’s pelt. Again the two broke away. Again they stared at each other with hatred in their eyes. Deciding to find an easier meal, the Great Horned Owl beat its tremendous wings and launched disdainfully into the sky. It soon disappeared silently over the horizon.

Josh collapsed, exhausted and wounded, beside the unconscious squirrel. The raccoon had been lucky. If the battle had continued, the owl probably would have won. Josh was no longer thinking about that, though. His mind was on his friend who still lay silent on the grass. Painfully, Josh tried to curl his body around the squirrel as best as possible to protect him from any more outside threats.

Josh licked the flying squirrel on the muzzle, but still Nutsy didn’t respond. "Oh my god! I’m sorry, Nutsy! I think I’ve killed him!" Josh whispered in anguish. The raccoon continued his tender ministrations. "Come on, Nutsy. Wake up. Don’t give up on me now. Come on."

Finally, the squirrel opened his eyes. "You have no idea.... how much.... that hurt," he whispered.

Josh began to chuckle until a stab of pain from his bruised ribs made him grimace.

Nutsy began to get to his feet, but soon fell against the sturdy raccoon, clutching his furry head in his paws. "Oh! The world is still spinning! I think my head is going to explode."

"Then ride on my back. Let’s get out of this place."

"Yeah. I think I’ve had enough fun for one day," laughed Nutsy weakly. "You know, I think I saw Crystal Falls."

"Hah. That’s half a day’s journey form here," replied Josh skeptically.

Nutsy turned and began to climb onto the raccoon’s back. "Still, I’m pretty sure I..." Suddenly he hissed. "Wow. What happened to you?" the squirrel exclaimed as he noticed the bloody scratches on Josh’s shoulder.

"Nothing. I got hooked on some blackberries," replied the raccoon, avoiding Nutsy’s questioning. "Get on. Let’s go," he said impatiently.

The flying squirrel climbed on to Josh’s back and settled himself securely. "Geeze. That was a pretty silly thing to do. Next time, try watching where you’re going!" The squirrel never noticed the blood on his mount’s haunches.

Josh just chuckled and trotted back into the forest. "Next stop, Shady Woods!"