8 | The bridge

Chapter 8

“We are interrupting this broadcast to bring you this breaking news. This is Wally Foxkite for FOX News. …”

“General! You should see this.”

“… It has officially been 48 hours since the last group of refugees crossed the bridge. Officials on site told our news reporter they are not expecting new refugees to cross. Multiple camps have been set up on Plain territory. Thousands of Forest Foxes can be seen walking the northern road, passing the Mine Fields. We are not allowed to talk to the refugees, but as you can expect from FOX News, we got you some new information. …”

“Damnit! Those damned reporters. All they say and show will cause mass panic. Are we in their system yet? We need to cut the stream.”

“No sir, the magnetic waves have not been stable ever since our field agent called in the “thing”.

“For God’s sake, just say the word. Kit didn’t risk her life for us to name it a fucking “thing”. Did we get a hold of her yet? I need to speak to her.”

“… fog has now reached the bridge at the Forest end. We have heard at least a hundred reports of missing foxes. But that’s not our biggest concern. Dear listeners, and dear watchers, this is a moment where we warn you. What we are about to reveal should not, and I repeat, should not, be seen or heard by the little ones. Get them away from your sound or viewing mirror now. We will continue our story in 60 seconds. …”

“Sir we have Kit on line 2”

“Kit, this is Magmahorn speaking. Update now!"

“Thank God, sir. The situation is bad. I got confirmation of my suspicion. The … the missing ones, they -”

“Spit it out Kit, we don’t have much time!”

“- they are added to their army, sir. All the missing foxes are being turned into one of them. And I have heard more –“

“More? How can anything be worse than that?”

“- Sir … I’ve heard rumors about their leaders. And I think I’ve seen them too … back then. –“

“Who are we dealing with Kit? We need to know!”

“- Snakador … Rainbow … Squideamon … and their master – Moonbreaker.”

“Im-impossible. Those three have been dead for a very long time. Not even to think they have a Demi-God as their leader. How on VFoxia is this even possible.”

“-Sir, how close are the SAF Soldiers you have sent this way to destroy the bridge?-“

“They should arrive today. Why are you asking?

“-The fog … it started moving. They are crossing the bridge.”

“Kit, remember our strategy! Don’t get yourself in trouble. Kit? … KIT!!!???”

“Sir, we lost the connection.”

“… Before we continue, we want everyone to take a seat. We have talked with multiple refugees who are claiming to have seen the Dead. But they were walking, they were … Undead. The officials on site have not confirmed this unnerving news with us, but why else are they assembling a small army around the bridge? …”

“They did it. Those fucking reporters. They fucking did it.”

“…Please don’t panic and stay where you are. We are sure the officials have everything under control. This is Wally Foxkite, for FOX N .. Are you sure? Now …? Dear foxes, we have just heard more breaking news from our reporter on site. The fog has started moving closer. Stay tuned as we try to get more information. This is Wally Foxkite, for FOX news.”

The fog was crawling towards the mainland. The bridge was several miles long, and the only connection between the mainland and the Forest lands. The surface width was exactly 10 strong foxes wide. The SAF strategy was smart. Their idea was to blow up the bridge as soon as the fog started to move closer. But the special explosives needed to blow up the bridge were not on site yet. They were coming together with the reinforcements.

“SAF Soldiers!” Kit was shouting. “Our friends are close but the Undead are coming for us. Now.” She looked around, seeing a few hundred brave foxes. Then she looked down. Thousands crossed the bridge. Thousands did not … which means they are added to their army. We are massively outnumbered. It’s all my fault.

“We are here with you Kit!” Kit looked up again.

“You saved us!” Cheered another.

“Without you, we would have been part of their army now!” Yelled someone at the back.

“KIT KIT KIT KIT!!” They were all calling her name out loud.

Kit's confidence came back. They are right. If I didn’t manage to sneak past the army to warn the living … nobody would have known about them still.

“FOXIANS!” Said Kit with enormous strength in her voice. “Today is the day. Our family, our friends, and every fox in VFoxia are counting on us. We need to hold the bridge.”

The fog was getting close now.

“Over there” And she pointed toward the bridge “Marches an enemy we know nothing about. We don’t know how to stop them. We don’t know how many they are. We don’t know if we can kill them or wound them. But I don’t care about what we don’t know.”

The crowd was all ears.

“I care about what I DO know! I know every single one of you is brave. I know together, we are all longing for the same future. For freedom. I know this is why we are all part of the SAF. I see Plains, I see Miners, Winters, I see foxes from the Desert. We are all here, from all tribes. We share the same goal. We are the Alliance that our country needs. I know we are the only foxes that are standing between an Undead army, and our freedom. Let’s hold that boneless army up until the explosives arrive. For the Alliance!”

“FOR THE ALLIANCE!” they all cheered.

Back at the SAF Headquarters, Magmahorn was walking in circles in the control room. The viewing mirror was now showing live footage from the bridge. Kit’s speech was just broadcasted live to everyone in the country.

“Sir, you have visitors.”

“Fuck off! Can’t you see we are in the middle of a crisis? Send them away, now!”

“My apologies sir, but I think you would want to meet them. It’s a rather strange company.”

Magmahorn was massaging his temple. “I don’t care. Send them away. NOW!”

“I’m afraid I can’t sir. Lord Alphice is here to see you. He is accompanied by Soulstice, a squire, a teen Swamp, and a talking Ice fox."