A Prey Among Predators

Holding onto his hockey bag slung over his shoulder, Nolan gazes around the empty room: the freshly resurfaced ice glistens under the room’s lights to his left; the scorekeepers are occupied in their booth; behind them, the benches are empty.

An ominous presence them overtakes his senses, causing him to flick his eyes ahead of him, which is where the presence raditates.

Bounding up toward his direction from the other end of the walkway is Jesperi. His large ears flop up and down to his movements; his tail flails up high; his hockey bag hops and clanks from behind him on its wheels.

Nolan freezes and directs his ears in front of him. His attentive eyes scan the predator from his head down to his left wrist, which displays a familiar pair of rubber bracelets.

“Hey…!” Nolan forces out.

Jesperi halts a foot away from him. His wide eyes gaze out at him.

Nolan points to the bracelets with his free hand. “Aren’t those Carter’s bracelets?”

He squeaks, peering down at the bracelets.

Nolan does as well, scrutinizing the two bracelets: one is black and the other is a marbled combination of green, yellow, and white.

He gasps, straightening up. “Those are Carter’s bracelet!”

With indignation snapping through him, Nolan juts his hand out toward them. Instantly, Jesperi hisses and swipes his free, clawed hand out at the unwelcomed hand.

Nolan stumbles back, holding his hand against his chest. He stares at his opponent, frightened.

Behind Jesperi, Nico approaches him and halts to the right, next to him. He shoots at the two bewildered looks. “Hey, hey, hey, what’s going on here?”

Nolan aims his eyes at the two bracelets adorning the wrong wrist. “Those are...Carter’s...bracelets…”

Nico tilts his head to glance at the bracelets his teammate is wearing. “What? You think that he is capable of stealing something?” He places a hand on Jesperi’s shoulder. “Look at that face.” He holds his other hand out to his face. “Just look at it.”

Jesperi peers at Nolan with a large, closed smile and twinkling eyes, conjuring an aura of adorableness.

“You think that’s a face that reads ‘thief’?” He moves his outstretched hand back and forth under his face. “This guy wouldn’t even hurt a fly.”

Jesperi nods as his eyes shimmer and his mouth drops into a frown; he whimpers.

Nico pats his head between his droopy ears. “There, there. I’m sorry someone mistaken you as a thief.”

Nolan stares at the two, still holding onto his wrist. His mind screams to speak up; his muscles stay frozen.

“Let’s go.” Nico guides his teammate around Nolan with his hand on his shoulder. “Some people’s kids.”

Nolan turns to watch them amble away from him. He spots Jesperi peering behind his shoulder and smirking at him. He then sticks his tongue out at him.

All Nolan can do is intensify his scared expression; his ears flatten back in agitation.

“Whoa-oh, Patty, why do your ears look weird?” he hears Brett comment from behind him.

Nolan whirls back to his previous position, dropping his arm. He faces Brett, who is gazing at him with confused concern.

“That fox has Carter’s bracelets...!” he forces out.

Brett’s eyes widen. “Wait, Hartsy? But he’s missing; how did they get him?”

Nolan shrugs. “I-I don’t know! I just saw the fox...wearing them…”

He gapes at him. “Patty. We have to get them.” He places his hands on each of his shoulders. “If they have something from Hartsy...they should know where Hartsy is.”

Nolan’s eyes grow wide in shock. “I-I can’t do that.”

Brett drops his arms, shooting him a flat look. “Why? This is a clue that’ll lead to Hartsy! We gotta go get ‘em!” He takes a step toward the middle of the walkway.

“But he was with a wolverine!”

Brett halts and shakes his head. “Hey, Patty, no worries—” He places his hand to his own chest. “You got me.”

“And a fennec fox has it,” Nolan squeaks out.

He shrugs. “So? We’ll stomp them in a heartbeat. Let’s go grab it.” He takes another step before--

“But what would Coach think of us ditching—?”

“Ah, it’ll be quick.”

Brett then takes his shoulder and leads him down the walkway. “Okay, so I’m gonna go in there and ask for the bracelets. If that fox is resistant, then I can distract him and you can grab him.”

Nolan gawks at him. “What?!”

Brett halts in front of the opening to the locker rooms’ hallway. He holds his palms out at him. “You got speed! You can nab him like that!” He snaps. “I’ll count down with my fingers from three to one, okay?”

Nolan stares at him with a concerned look, gripping onto his hockey bag.

Brett places both of his hands on his shoulders and gazes into his eyes. “You can do it. I’ll be with you.”

He then turns into the hallway. With a huff, Nolan drops his bag by the corner and follows him in. The lighting is dimmer with an orange tint; the white walls are much closer to them.

The two approach a door with the number “1” bolted on it.

Brett gazes at it. “It’s here—”

He then pushes the door open and storms into the room. “Okay, we have a report on two stolen bracelets by a fennec fox.” He halts in front of the doorway with hands on his hips. “Can that big-eared squirrel step up?”

The half-dressed opponents gaze up at him with lost eyes from all around the room. In the back among them, Nico rises to his feet, still in his street clothes.

He throws his hands out from his sides. “You think that HE stole something?” He redirects his arms to Jesperi, who sits next to him.

Jesperi gives Brett a precious smile with sparkling eyes.

Brett returns to him a frown and lowered eyebrows. Behind him, Nolan steps into the room and halts behind him. His eyes lock with the bracelets on Jesperi’s wrist.

Nico drops his hands and groans. “Oh, come on, you guys are unbelievable.”
Nolan keeps his eyes on the bracelets and whispers, “Those are the bracelets.” He lifts a finger by Brett’s shoulder toward them.

Brett huffs at the opponent captain. “Looks can deceive.” He then marches deeper into the room. His sharp eyes are on Jesperi, who is now cowering against the wall with large eyes up at him.

Suddenly, a body sweeps into Brett’s vision, blocking him from Jesperi. Brett lifts his eyes up at the person. Miro stares back at him with strong, intense eyes.

Brett drives his focus into Miro’s churning grey eyes. He then slinks his hand down his side, slightly sticking it out behind him, and brings down three fingers.

Pulls up one, leaving two.

One finger up leaves one left.

The lone pointer finger then flicks ahead at Jesperi.

With a sharp inhale to muster courage, Nolan bounds across the room, swoops Jesperi in both of his arms, and dashes out of the room.

His heart is slamming against his chest. His feet are on autopilot, running like the wind. The ice rink is all blurred, yet he knows where he is going with the zooming doors and walls, which finally reveal the double doors that lead to the dusky outside. He drives his eyes to his approaching target and bursts through the doors.

With the force of the doors slamming against the two, Jesperi springs out of his arms and skitters down the front area of the building before turning right down the sidewalk.

Nolan bolts after him and makes the right turn, keeping his focus on the large ears sticking out from behind his target’s head. His target nears him as the scenery streaks around him along with bursts of wind. He then leaps out at him, wraps his arms around his upper body, and pins him down on the sidewalk.

Nolan holds him down with one hand on his shoulder and the other hand on his wrist. With his rush of adrenaline, he shouts, “Okay, buster! Spit it out! Where’s Carter?!”

“Carter is gone!” Jesperi shrieks, craning his head away with massive eyes on him.

“You KILLED HIM?!”
“No, no—” He vigorously shakes his head. “—he’s not himself!”

“He’s not himself—”

Suddenly, Nolan is scooped into the air by a pair of large hands around his waist; his feet dangle inches from the rotating ground.

He writhes and screams in a panic: “AH! AH! AHHH—!!!”

Miro clutches Nolan against his body to free up his hand and uses it to cover up his mouth. Nolan’s screams subside to horrified muffles; he still wiggles between his arm and body with his large eyes lost ahead.

Jesperi pops up to his feet and dusts himself off. “Whew! Thanks, Heisky!” He gazes at him. “What do we do with him?”

Behind Miro, Nico rushes up to them and halts next to him; his hair is disheveled and his voice is thick with his heavy breathing. “Take him to our place, NOW!”

Brett appears around the corner, yards away from them and hollers at them, “OH NO, YOU DON’T!!!”

With that, Miro swings Nolan over his shoulder and blasts down the sidewalk before disappearing around the building’s next corner.

All Nolan can do is let the whipping scenery bounce off his blank eyes as his mind drowns in pure terror.

Notes