The Great Adventure

Peewee and Tabitha slowly walked off into the darkness beyond the campfire. They made their way through the trashed trailer park and into the countryside beyond. The animals had stayed up so late partying that it wasn’t long before dawn arrived. The first blush of daybreak revealed a desolated landscape. They were well beyond any town or suburb by now, and houses and other buildings were now few and far between. The ones that they did pass by were pretty much all in ruins.

Peewee and Tabitha trudged along but soon realized that their late night had left them very tired and sluggish so as soon as they found an overturned tree with a nice dry hollow in the roots they curled up to sleep. They woke up sometime after the noon hour and the merciless sun was straight up in the sky. Because most of the trees were either toppled over or splintered into pieces, or if they were left standing they were stripped of their leaves, there was very little shade in the devastated land they traveled through. The hot sun soon became too uncomfortable, so they stopped again and they waited until the afternoon before they continued onward.

Tabitha now began to feel a vague pang of longing she couldn’t really explain. It was a longing that called her from a certain direction. She therefore changed course and headed in that direction. Peewee, who had no idea where they were, and who seemed not to care that much where they were going, was happy to follow along.

They passed through a land of grass and marshes with woods, assuming the trees were still standing, of oaks and pines. They passed farmland of soybeans, of cotton and of sugarcane, but much of the crop had been flattened by the wind. Everything looked so forlorn and deserted and devastated. Luckily the ground was high enough that it wasn’t flooded, but it was frequently muddy and there were marshes and big ponds everywhere that they had to avoid. Often the easiest way past these obstacles was to walk down roads, which they reluctantly did. The roads, however, were deserted so the animals saw no traffic, no cars, no trucks, nothing.

They proceeded along for the rest of the afternoon, avoiding this and circling around that. As they went along Tabitha would run here and there, sniffing and investigating, inspecting the world she passed through, but always heading in that certain direction that called out to her. Peewee, in his unperturbed cat way, just trotted along and kept his thoughts to himself. Mile after mile they went. The landscape changed little. Even in the afternoon it remained hot and humid and still, with no breezes to refresh them. By evening they were both exhausted and hungry. Because the land they passed through was so ravaged they had found nothing to scavenge that day. After sunset they again curled up in a cozy hollow by an overturned tree’s roots and fell fast asleep.

The following morning Peewee tried his luck at hunting. He was very hungry, so he had the motivation (as if cats really need a motivation to hunt), but unfortunately prey was hard to find in the desolate land they found themselves in. Tabitha watched as Peewee stalked around, looking here and there, in holes and bushes, hoping to find something. As he reached the edge of a tuft of tall grass Peewee froze. His ears pointed straight forward and ever so slowly and quietly he crouched into a feline about to leap pose.

Peewee held his about to leap pose for a minute or two. He was so still that he might have been a statue. But suddenly and without any warning he launched himself into the tall grass. He landed flat on his belly, front legs straight out to the front, back legs straight out to the back. The image was far from flattering and certainly not that of a serious cat making a serious kill. It was more like a silly cat version of Superman, that is, if Superman fell straight down from the sky and belly flopped on the ground.

Tabitha, who was keenly following the proceedings, cocked her head in puzzlement. Even she thought that the whole thing just didn’t look very graceful. And a cat is supposed to be graceful. She wagged her tail once or twice and wondered if Peewee could have possibly caught anything. Tabitha knew that, unfortunately, Peewee wasn’t the most experienced hunter in the feline world. He had done whatever mousing was required at the Old Man’s house, but hunting in the wild wasn’t quite the same as mousing at home.

Peewee slowly stood up, and there, hanging from his mouth, was a freshly killed mouse. Tabitha, very impressed, ran up to congratulate him. Peewee, purring proudly, proceeded to devour his prey while Tabitha hungrily watched.

Peewee finished his breakfast and they moved on. They hadn’t gone far when Tabitha stopped dead in her tracks, sniffing. She placed her nose on the ground and sniffed some more. Then, nose still on the ground she began to follow the scent. It lead her to some tall grass. Here she stopped and began to stare very intently at the grass, her ears perked straight up, just like Peewee had done. Abruptly she leapt into the grass, also just like Peewee had done, and she landed, with a big belly flop, exactly as Peewee had landed. But because she was four times bigger and heavier than Peewee it all looked four times sillier.

As Peewee watched, a bit mystified and dumbfounded, Tabitha stood up. Alas, her mouth was empty. No mouse (or anything else) for Tabitha. She may have been impressed enough by Peewee’s kill to follow his example but what works for cats doesn’t necessarily work for dogs. Or maybe Peewee had just been incredibly lucky. Either way, Tabitha was still hungry as once again they trotted off and continued on their way.

Peewee had actually been very lucky. All that day, and the next, there was no food to be had. No scavenging opportunities, no successful hunts, nothing. It was as if the land had been scourged by war and pestilence. They marched on and on through seemingly endless days, only stopping to rest at midday, when it was too hot to travel. Nothing seemed to change, not the weather, not the land, not their hunger.

By the third day the two animals were visibly weak. Tabitha no longer ran here and there, sniffing and looking. The two now just plodded on, slowly and deliberately. Their legs were so tired they felt like they were slogging through thick porridge or mud.

It was close to sunset when it happened. Both animals must have been too tired and hungry to notice. Peewee was sniffing around some bushes next to a copse of oaks and Tabitha was exploring some holes a little distance away. Neither one expected to find anything, given how bad their luck had been, but it was still worth a half hearted attempt.

As they were occupied with their search they didn’t notice anything until it was too late. Suddenly, unexpectedly, and without warning, a large animal with sharp teeth vaulted out of the bushes and made straight for Peewee.

Maybe it was because the predator was a wild animal, a professional killer, or maybe it was because Peewee was weak and slow from hunger, but either way his lightning cat reflexes failed him this time. He was a split second too late. The coyote was upon him. Peewee turned, arched his back and hissed, but it was no good. The coyote, who must have been too hungry to care, was upon him. Luckily for Peewee, the coyote too must have been weak from the lack of food, and his killing bite just missed. Instead he rolled Peewee and tried to position him for another attempt at dispatching him. Peewee desperately fought back, spitting, scratching and biting.

Tabitha immediately understood the situation. She knew Peewee had only seconds to live if she didn’t do something. A few huge leaps, using every last bit of energy she had left in her, and she was in the midst of the action. Her full fighting terrier instinct was now in complete control of her actions. The coyote had managed to maneuver Peewee into position and was about to administer a killing bite. He noticed Tabitha just an instant too late. Tabitha sprang and grabbed the coyote’s neck in her jaws. The coyote struggled, but it was no good. Tabitha held tight, bit hard, shook her head violently, and the blood started to flow. Thankfully, the fight didn’t last long. Tabitha severed an artery and the coyote’s life ebbed away.