The Piano
                                                           ~Part  14


      "An attacking band of wolves!" the newcomer shouted. "Hurry!"
      "Where is Jarow?" was Slerge's first question soon followed by the questions, "Where is everyone? Are they safe? Are the defenses up?" Slerge started toward the entrance of the tunnel. Tom nervously followed him.
      "I don't know where Jarow is but Lorsax sent a fox to look for him. Everyone is safe and the barriers are being put up as we speak."
      "Are the groups in position?"
      "Yes, ready and waiting for command." At the front of the tunnel, the group was met by the largest fox Tom had ever seen. The fox nodded to the messenger who nodded back and ran off. The huge fox turned to Slerge.
      "All defenses are in position and waiting for the signal."
      "Good. Use the standard procedure. And send someone to double check the barriers, Lorsax. We don't want the wolves getting through," Slerge instructed.
     "Yes, sir." Lorsax turned and disappeared through the entrance. Slerge turned back to Delo, Basax, and Tom.
     "Take Tom to your cave. I don't want him getting hurt," Slerge announced. Delo nodded and motioned with his head for Tom to follow. Tom hesitated but then turned and followed Basax. Their short journey ended in a small well-lit cave. At first, Tom was confused about the source of light for no torches or lanterns hung upon the walls. Then, he noticed several small holes emitting beams of sunlight. Tom was about to comment to Delo about the light when a huge, resounding crash shook the walls of the cave!

                                                The Piano
                                                     ~Part 13


      "What?!" Tom exclaimed incredulously. "Why? How?"
      "Apparently, his position of second-in-command isn't enough for Jarow. Nothing less than first will be good enough for him. He appears to have been raising a small force of foxes from within the valley. No one knows when or exactly how he'll do it but we think he'll make his move sometime while Aldero is gone," Delo replied nervously. "He was informing a minion when the fox heard them."
      "So... what are you going to do to stop him?" Tom asked them. Slerge and Delo hesitated. Tom looked from one to another. "You do have a plan, right?" The two foxes hesitated a few seconds more then Slerge quietly shook his head. "But he has to be stopped! He shouldn't be able to do this!" The foxes had no answer to that. Tom groaned. Up until then, Basax, the young fox, had just watched wide-eyed but now he jumped forward.
      "Why do you care? You're not a fox!" he challenged Tom.
      It was Tom's turn to hesitate and think. He scratched his head. Basax prodded him with his nose.
      "Why?"
     "Well... I guess, because he's doing wrong. And wrong is wrong no matter whether a fox or a human does it." Tom shrugged. Satisfied, Basax settled into a sitting position.
      "Good answer. Now, do you have a plan?" Basax answered, confident that he would get an answer. Tom shrugged.
      "Well-" Tom was cut off by another black fox charging into the room.
      "Trouble!!" the fox exclaimed fearfully.

                                                          The Piano
                                                                ~Part 12


     "The leader isn't here, a fact I had forgotten." Slerge explained." When he is gone, another fox is in charge."
      "What's so bad about that?" Tom questioned him, confusedly. "Can't we just tell the other fox?"
      Slerge and Delo exchanged a look. "Well, yes. But you'll most probably get a very different answer from what Aldero would say," Delo replied. Tom glanced from Delo to Slerge.
      "Why? Who is the other fox?" Tom asked.
      "He is a unusual fox. Unlike the black foxes,"Delo began. Slerge sighed.
     "He is a dark gray fox named Jarow. He showed up one day 8 years ago, with two cubs that had gone missing earlier. Aldero seemed to take a liking to him. Maybe he felt indebted to Jarow. No one rightly knows but plenty of rumors have circulated. Anyway, Jarow rose up in the ranks until he was second only to Aldero. Right about that time, our little incident with Zaro occured. Aldero seems to believe Zaro will prove a threat to the black foxes so he has gone to request assistance in our 'time of need'. That is where he is now, most likely," Slerge explained.
      "I still don't see why we can't ask Jarow. He doesn't seem like such a bad guy. He did save the cubs, of course," Tom objected. "Aldero even likes him, right? From what I've heard, Aldero doesn't sound bad."
      " Aldero isn't bad," Slerge affirmed. "But, Jarow isn't all Aldero thinks he is. A fox was passing by Jarow's den and overheard Jarow speaking with another fox. Jarow is going to overthrow the leader!"

                                                                The Piano
                                                                   ~Part 11



      "Wow. Its so... so like a human town," Tom gasped. Slerge laughed.
      "Yeah, yeah, I guess so," he agreed. The two headed down into the valley and headed toward the south side of the valley.
      "Where are we going?" Tom asked.
      "To see the leader," Slerge announced. Tom nodded a little nervously. They entered one of the smallest holes in the hillside. They traveled down the  dark tunnel for a little ways. Other tunnels branched off to the sides. Soon the tunnel began to brighten. It opened into a large hollow. Small caves bordered the larger one. At the back, was a cave larger than the rest. Hanging mosses hid the interior. Slerge motioned for Tom to wait.
      "Hey, Delo!" he called. A small black fox scurried from one of the caves.
      "Hello, Slerge!Ah..." the fox noticed Tom watching. "Uh, who is this?" he softly questioned Slerge. "Friend or foe?"
      Slerge laughed. "Friend." Then he added, winking at Tom," ...I think." Delo nodded then gave a quick howl. Another smaller fox bounded out, tripping on his over-sized paws.  Delo sighed.
      "Basax, how many times have I told you to SLOW DOWN!" Delo reprimanded him. Basax mumbled an apology, staring at Tom."Now, watch the human while I converse with Slerge." Basax vigorously nodded his head. The other two foxes went a little ways away. Tom looked down at Basax, who's back only came up to his knee. He wondered how old he was or how foxes counted age. The other two foxes returned.
      "Bad news," Slerge announced.

                                                              The Piano
                                                                 ~Part 10


        "So, Zaro, went crazy all of a sudden?" Tom asked. Slerge nodded. " I still have a question. When you came through the portal, why were you so menacing?" Tom asked.
Slerge smiled.
        "Well,um... I sort of did as a joke...sort of,"Slerge tried to explain, finally he ended. "You wouldn't understand." They walked in silence for a little while. Tom then asked,
        "So, can I go home?" Slerge sighed.
        "That might be a problem. We can't let you go home until Zaro is taken care of. He's dangerous. You can stay at the camp."
Tom sighed.
        "What about my mom?"
        "Don't worry. She'll be fine," Slerge assured him. Tom nodded. They soon came to a break in the trees. They emerged and saw a small valley dotted with small mounds. The walls were speckled with caves and small holes. A small lake was in the middle of the valley. Dark foxes could be seen traveling busily from mound to mound, cave to cave, and entering and exiting holes.
        "We're home," Slerge announced.

                                                               The Piano
                                                                   ~Part 9


     The foxes crouched, preparing to strike. Tom cringed, covering his head and turning away, expecting the fatal blow to land any minute.
      "Wait!" a voice called. Tom looked up, fearfully, then gasped. Another fox appeared, slightly limping.
      "Slerge? But, I thought..." Tom trailed off. Finally, he finished."I thought you were the bad guy. But, somehow, I'm not sure a bad guy would save me."
      "Correct, and incorrect. Yes, I am Slerge, but no, I am not the bad guy,"Slerge affirmed. The other foxes bounded off. Slerge motioned for Tom to follow him which Tom did, cautiously.
      "Let me guess. Zaro told you that he's the good guy and I'm the bad guy, right?"
      Tom nodded. Slerge smiled.
      "That Zaro! Always mixing things up. Though he really must have meant it this time. Poor guy." Slerge shook his head sympathetically.
      "What do you mean 'poor guy'?" Tom asked.
      "Well, a while ago, Zaro was a really nice guy, always helping people. But, then, one day, he went out into the woods alone on an errand. He didn't come back for a while so a search party was sent out and found him lying, unconscious. When he woke up, he was different, distracted. He got confused a lot. He went out into the woods by himself a lot, but he never said what he did. He was more mean, snapping at foxes when they asked him to do something. Then, one day, he stole something. I caught him and then when asked, Zaro blamed me. Well, they banished him and no one heard from him for a while. After a while, I went out to see how he was and he kept running away until he vanished in the bushes by the lake where I followed him and found you."

                                                             The Piano
                                                                   ~Part 8


      "Hey!Where'd he go?" Tom exclaimed. He moved closer, noticing that there was no sign of the fox or the rope.
      "I wouldn't go near that if I were you," Zaro warned., advancing a little.
      "Why?" Tom asked, curious, as he knelt down in front of the piano leg.
      "Don't touch that!" Zaro exclaimed, as Tom reached a hand out towards the piano leg. As soon as he touched it, Tom felt a strong tugging. He fell forward but never hit the floor. He shot forward, bright light streaming by. A few minutes later, he fell onto tall grass. He stood up slowly, rubbing his eyes. Tom opened his eyes and looked around. His back was to a immense lake, but tall grass was all he could see for miles in all other directions. On the other side of the lake was a forest. Tom looked around and then, seeing that there was nowhere else to go, started around the lake toward the forest. After ten minutes of  walking in tall, scratchy grass under a blazing sun, Tom was grateful for the cool shade of the forest. He rested for a few minutes under a tree near the beginning of the forest, debating whether to go on or not. Suddenly, Tom stiffened. Then it came again: a rustling in the thick bushes. Tom realized the danger of the situation. He didn't know where he was, in a strange forest, not knowing what kind of animals lived there.He slowly started inching toward the lake. Three black foxes leaped out of the bushes, snarling warningly as they advanced on Tom. Tom kept backing up until he put his left foot back and heard a splash. He swung his head around, panicking. The foxes circled around one in each direction. Tom gulped, frantically searching for an escape. He was trapped at the edge of the the lake by the three growling foxes with no escape.