• Chapter 1: What could possibly go wrong?

    It's twelve years later. Katara is twelve now. She had just moved to Smyrna, Delaware last year and this year was enrolled in the Smyrna school district. Katara was in sixth grade, but is now going on to seventh. Even though she's the shortest, Katara still got wonderful grades. "Katara! Get ready for school!" yelled Emily up to her. "Kay mum!" she replied.
    Katara had already brushed her teeth, went to the bathroom and ate breakfast. She went to her room. It was nice and neat. There were stuffed animals in front of her pillow with the blanket pulled up to them like an ocean's wave coming up to the sand, except frozen in time. Katara's computer desk was in order and so was her dresser. She went to her dresser and pulled out a white T-shirt with a black horse on a cliff rearing as a storm brewed over head and lightning lit up the clouds. She also pulled out a pair of jean capris. She threw off her white night shirt and put it in the hamper.
    Then Katara put on her white horse shirt and jean capris. Katara went to the bathroom and brushed her long brown hair. She went back to her room and pulled out a pair of white socks from her dresser. She put them on and ran downstairs.
    "Come on lets go Katara!" said Emily, who was waiting at the door. Katara went into the kitchen, grabbed her lunch out of the fridge, slipped her shoes on, and ran out the door with her book bag half hanging off her arm.
    Katara opened the sliding van door and climbed in. She buckled her seat belt, shut the door, and waited for her mother. Soon she was riding along in her mother's van with the wind blowing her brown hair. "Aren't you glad that it's the last day of school, dear?" Emily asked.
    "Yeah. It's also a good thing I know where Linda lives." she replied.
    Katara climbed out of her mother's van and walked up to the building. She smiled as Katara saw Linda waiting for her. "Hey Katara! Guess what?!"
    "What Linda?"
    "Two kids in the seventh grade were looking for you!"
    "Really? What would they want with me?"
    "I don't know, but they gave up and went inside. Let's go in." Linda grabbed Katara's arm and went inside the school building. Linda looked up and down the hallway, but she didn't see them. "Oh well. Come on. We should go to Mr. Larkin's room before the bell rings."
    Suddenly two sixth graders came down the hallway. These were two guys, Siran and Mark. Katara felt her face turn red as they walked past.
    Linda saw Katara's red face and she said, "Not a word." Linda let out a laugh. Katara stuck her tongue out at Linda. “At least I don't have a thing for Mark.” Katara giggled as Linda turned bright red. “Sh-Shut up!”
    Linda and Katara were walking down the hall when two seventh graders came around the corner. Linda and Katara tried to hide, but the two had seen them. "Oh look Natalie. Shorty and Smarty have come to greet us. Too bad we can't talk to them. It'll make us look bad."
    Natalie smiled deviously and said, "Your right Ian. Ta-ta Shorty and Smarty." With that, Natalie and Ian walked away from Linda and Katara.
    "Those creeps. I should totally tell Mr. Larkin." Linda was steamed. "Come on Linda! Getting back at them it isn't gonna be pretty sweet if we are late to homeroom!" Katara grabbed Linda's arm and yanked her into the classroom. They took their seats and listened to Mr. Larkin.
    "As you all know, today is the last day of school. This morning, there will be an assembly for the fourth marking period. After the assembly we'll come back to homeroom for free time. We are even planning to go out in the forest with sixth graders in our groups. Two seventh graders will be assigned to one sixth grader. Ms. Mackey, bring in the seventh graders."
    Suddenly a whole class of seventh graders filed in the room. Linda leaned over to Katara and said "The two were girls in silver and black. There they are!" She pointed to a girl with a silver shirt on and silver hair and the girl in front of her with a black shirt and black hair. They stopped and lined up in front of the whiteboard.
    "Here is the list of groups. Katara Helios, you'll be in a group with Kharma Blackthorne and Kitty Rose." He pointed at Katara, Kharma, and Kitty to stand up and go to the first window. So these are the two that Linda said were looking for me. Well at least now they can talk to me about it, Katara thought quietly to herself. Mr. Larkin assigned Linda with a group of girls and then assigned everyone else their group. Then Mr. Larkin took the class to the assembly.
    Linda got a honor role and Katara got High honor role. They went back to the classroom and talked and joked around a bit. Soon the classes were out in the forest getting in groups. Katara's heart started to pound as Kharma and Kitty came over to her. She gulped and said "Hello. My friend told me that you two were looking for me this morning."
    They looked at each other and finally the one in the silver shirt with long silver hair spoke. "I am Kitty Rose. This is my friend Kharma Blackthorne." She paused and pointed to the girl with longer black hair in a black shirt. "Our teacher told us who were in our groups yesterday and we wanted to talk to you before the forest trip, but I guess we can talk now. Come on lets go."
    Kharma walked ahead of the group clearing the path. These girls are so nice I wonder why they took interest in me, Katara thought. Katara looked up as she bumped into Kharma. Kharma had stopped for some reason and Katara looked past her. There was an injured red fox-cub at the feet of a hunter. Katara ran out from behind Kharma as the hunter aimed his gun at the red fox-cub. "Stop!"
    Katara didn't know what she was doing, but she did know that red foxes were an endangered species. Katara grabbed the red fox-cub and tried to run back to Kharma and Kitty, but suddenly she heard the gun go off and pain rode up her leg. Katara cried out as she fell to the ground writhing in pain. The red fox-cub had his ears down afraid that the hunter would come for him. Kitty rushed to Katara's side while Kharma yelled at the hunter. Katara was in so much pain. She heard people calling her name as she blacked out.
    Katara woke up in the hospital. Her leg was wrapped in bandages and she had this red thing laying on her chest. Katara reached up to move it, but a hand stopped her. She looked up and saw her mother, her father, Kharma, Kitty, the hunter, and Linda. Kitty was holding her hand. Katara looked at the hunter and felt anger rush up in her chest. She tried to sit up, but another set of hands pushed her down.
    Katara's mother was holding her down this time. "Don't sit up yet, your still hurt." The fox-cub opened his emerald green eyes and gazed at Katara as if saying, Thank you for saving me from the hunter. Katara's father, Alan, looked at the hunter sternly and said "What were you thinking?! Hunting is one thing, but hunting on protected grounds is another thing entirely! Hunting an endangered animal is different too!
    "How dare you shoot an animal and hunt on protected grounds and shoot an endangered species! I may be a doctor and not a cop, but my wife is a cop. We could sue you and put you under arrest. Do you have anything to say in your defense?!" The hunter looked at Dr. Alan with so much scorn and said, "That fox-cub was on my property, stole my eggs, and attacked my chickens! I have every right to defend my property."
    "Do you want to go to court with this?!" Katara moaned. She felt dizzy. Her arm slid out of Kitty's grip. The voices were getting further away. The last thing Katara remembered seeing was those two green eyes staring at her as she slipped into an uneasy sleep.
    Katara's eyes fluttered open and she was still in the hospital. The red fox-cub jumped up on the bed when he saw her eyes open. Katara sat up and looked around. There were some flowers on the side of her bed. She started to pet the fox-cub and it licked her hand. There was a knock at the door. "Come in!"
    Her father came in with Kitty and Kharma. The fox-cub looked up and shrank down beside her. Katara picked him up and held him to calm him down. The fox-cub fell asleep. "K..Kitty? K..Kharma?" Katara was surprised at how shaky her voice was.
    "Katara, you have some visitors." Obviously Katara thought. Kitty came over to the side of her bed and said "I'm sorry that you got hurt. We never expected you to jump like that." Kharma only grunted and Katara thought to herself I guess she doesn't really care, but Kitty seems to care.
    "I only did what I had to, to protect an endangered animal."
    "I'm glad you protected the little guy. The hunter was arrested for three things. The first thing is illegal hunting, hunting an endangered species, and shooting a teenager which was you." The fox-cub opened his emerald green eyes and looked at Katara. Then he jumped down off the bed, jumped up onto the window sill, and laid down in the patch of sunlight there.
    Katara was mad. She wanted to smack the hunter. To think he would hurt a starving fox-cub! She swung her feet off the edge of her bed and stepped down. Katara practically fell flat on her face. Well, Katara would have if Kharma hadn't caught her. She sat Katara down on the bed and said, "You shouldn't be walking yet." Katara was glad that her father had left the room and she was in a one bedroom room because Katara felt like she was gonna die of embarrassment. "What happened after I blacked out?"
    "Well for one thing, the gun shot attracted everyone in the forest to our area. You should have seen them. Linda was in tears and the hunter tried to get close to you to take the fox-cub. Your teacher and my teacher were outraged at him for what he did and then continued to try and do it even though you were hurt. Your teacher called your parents while my teacher called the hospital. Your teacher carried you all the way back to school and Linda, Kharma, and I rode with you in the ambulance. The doctors and your father operated on you and removed the bullet. They said you'd be in the hospital for a week and that you'd need a lot of attention."
    Katara stared at Kitty as she explained what happened and then Katara looked at her leg. "Kharma, Kitty, I think it's best if you would leave now." Dr. Alan showed them the way out and Katara layed down. A week in the hospital?! Great. I don't like it when people fuss over me.