That sound repeated several more times. A few sounded closer to them. Then in the distance, she heard the faint barking of dogs.

It was not long after that she heard breaking sounds in the bushes along with the sound of rapid hoofs. A young male race by them; he was running past them into the deeper forest. He looked in a panic. Other followed shortly behind them. She managed to stop an older doe.

“What is happening,” she called out.

The doe turned, saw her, and recognized her. “It was like you said,” she gasped. “Man is using his dogs to run down the deer and kill them. As soon as I heard the barking, I fled like you told us too. Is this far enough?”

“Yes, as long as the barking does not get louder, we are fine,” she said. “Rest for a while.”

The doe stayed nearby still panting, trying to get breath back in her. She was just the first. Others came soon afterward: there were doe with this year’s fawns, there were yearlings, both male and doe, and some older doe. She did not see Relnor or any of the senior males. None of the herd males came. All the deer that were there were fleeing from the dogs and Man. Soon they had many deer waiting next to her. She listened, and noted the despite the continued sounds of the killing sticks, the sound of the dogs did not get closer. She stayed still until it was well after dark. She then got up and talked to the other deer there.

“We need to stay here until we are sure Man has left,” she said.

“Is it safe here?” one of the yearling males asked.

“Yes, but we must listen carefully,” she told all of them. “If the sounds of Man or his dogs get louder, we will need to flee deeper into the woods. We should all spread out. Having too many deer close together will only help draw the dogs closer.”

They all spread out doing as she asked. She then looked back at Kelo who just stared at her.

“You know, sometimes you talk like a male,” he said.

She smiled broadly. “That is because my Father raised me to know what to do.”

“I only hope he was right,” he said and walked away back to their resting place.

That night they ate and drank nearby with the rest of those who had fled. A few more young deer joined them, but only two of the herd males. The deer said little and all were resting before the great light rose again. In the deep woods, the light did not fill the forest like near the openness of the meadow and open field, but it was light enough to see. There were no problems in hearing when Man used his killing sticks although the number of times they heard it was much less than the previous day.

For two more days, they stayed there until there was silence during the day. Two days went by without them hearing or smelling any sign of Man or dogs. Then Kelo and she cautiously went back first to the small meadow to look around. There were some deer there. They found nothing of danger except the smell of death. Looking at the circling birds, she found a herd male that had been hit my Man and managed to get away before he died. His flank ripped open by a killing stick.

That night they went to the open field and saw no one. Man was gone for now. They ate fully and looked around. They found only a few herd males. Some had teeth and claw marks of dogs on their bodies. Others had managed to get away. All had stories. They all collected by the smaller meadow and were stunned. They found a few fawns that had lost their mothers to the hunts. What they never found was Relnor and his two senior males. They were gone.

Over the next several days, many deer asked her what they should too. She told them to watch carefully and eat as much as they could. She knew the winter would soon be here. It was only after several days of confusion the herd got together in the field.

One of the few herd males called to her. “You told us to flee or Man might kill us. You were right,” he said.

“You saved us,” a doe with fawn said.

“One of the herd males asked Kelo. “Are you herd leader now?”

She looked around. Yes, Kelo was the largest male that was still alive. “Do you want to be herd leader?” she asked him.

“I am not a herd leader,” he said looking a bit frightened. “You father and brother would be better than me.”

“They are not here,” she said bluntly. “You and I are here and they trained me. I can help you if you want.”

She knew the other deer would never accept a doe as herd leader, but her mate was now the biggest deer in the herd. She could tell the others what to do, or have Kelo tell them. It would take time to build the herd up again. It would mean letting him have the pick of the doe for The Season, but that is the way male deer were. She would also have his fawns who she could train to take their place.

“If you help me then yes, I will be herd leader,” he said but not convincingly.

“Well ask the others,” she told him. “My Father and Grandfather said a herd leader is chosen by the herd. See if any of the herd males say no. You can easily beat anyone here who will challenge you.”

Kelo did not look convinced but asked all the deer in the open field if they accept him as herd leader.

No one said no.

 

 

CHAPTER TEN: BLOOD

 

By the time he got back to Faline, Geno, Lina, and Eta, they had all gathered closely around the thicket. Faline looked up at him with obvious worry on her face.

“Geno told me what he saw,” Faline said, voice shaking.

“We need to stay still and listen carefully,” he said trying to sound reassuring. He remembered well the time dogs nearly killed Faline and him. She had been afraid of them ever since. Dogs frightened him too; he still had claw marks on his hindquarters when they attacked him. He would not admit that fear to his family and the herd.

The sky is beginning to lighten,” Geno said looking off into the distance. “If Man is coming, he will be here soon.”

“Lie down and rest,” he told the others. “We may need it soon.”

He laid down next to Faline with the twin lying next to him and Geno lying across from him. All they could do now was wait.

It was not long after the sky became light that he heard it, the distant yelping of many dogs. The noise got louder. That was all he needed to hear. He knew what Man was going to do.

“They are not going to chase the deer into the meadow,” he told them getting up quickly. The others just as quickly followed. “Man is going to use the dogs to run us down and then either have the dogs tear us to pieces, or to follow them with their killing sticks. This is much worse than before. We need to run now.

“Back to the old cave?” Geno asked.

“No,” he told them. “Man may come from there and trap us between them. We must go there,” he said and pointed to his left with his nose. “The ground is less hilly there and there is enough grass and small streams for food and water.”

He leaped away and moved quickly through the trees and bushes. The other followed him closely. They did not run. Running makes too much noise. Instead, they hurried quickly, but quietly. At first, the yelping got louder. Then he heard “WHAMMMM,” that repeated as Man used his killing stick. The dogs sounded excited as if chasing something. Man was after his herd and there was nothing he could do about it.

As they moved, he thought he heard some deer scream, but it was too far away for him to be sure. They went on until he could hear nothing behind them. That was good because soon the trees thinned out leaving only short bushes and tree saplings. Around them, the remains of dead trees that were burnt up in the fire. They were bare. They had entered that part of the forest Man had burnt down before. They found cover in some half burnt pine trees and got low to the ground. All of them stayed there and huddled.

The great light was still climbing to overhead when they heard more dogs. The sounds got louder and more frequent. They were after someone else. This time the scream was louder, much closer, and followed quickly by the sound from a killing stick. The barking then stopped.

“Father, I am scared,” Eta said looking at him. Her black eyes were shaking, as was her body.

“We are safe here,” he told her. “We will be fine here.” He hoped that was true.

The great light rose to overhead. He heard more sounds of the killing sticks: louder dog barking, even some Men shouting. They were hunting all over the forest. He had never seen this kind of hunting before. He started to wonder if anywhere was safe. The hunting went on until it was almost dark and then it stopped. Only after it was completely dark, did he allow himself or any of the others to get up. He looked around him. They were at the edge of the old forest. If they had to run from here, they would be mostly in the open. This place was unsafe. He got up and all of them fed on the new plant growth. Hardly anyone said anything. He decided to go back the way they came to inside the thicker part of the forest. It might be easier to hide in there if the dogs chased them.

They walked toward a small stream he knew about it when they all picked up the smell. It smelled as if someone had emptied himself, and there was an earthy rotten smell. He knew from the past that earthy smell was blood. The smell got worse the closer they got to the stream. Finally, he saw it. Lying still on the ground was a fox.

“Let me look,” he told the others. He walked up and looked at the body. It was dead. It was also mutilated. The dogs bit deeply into its side

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