The Begining

It was a warm afternoon for Bryce Canyon(maybe too warm depending on who you spoke to) and Logan knew it. Logan Bamaisin was a twentys-something recent college graduate that needed something to do, and the state of Utah was looking for some Rangers to hire. It didn't take Logan long to become acquainted with where they stuck him - some fifty miles into the canyon in the middle of nowhere in a crew of five. The ranger station was a quonset hut with a watch tower in the middle of it, like an upside down T. It wasn't uncommon for everyone in the crew to be out and about for days with only a radio to communicate with.

This particular hike Logan was on his own but one of the crew members, John, remained at camp for an unknown reason so he was Logan's communicae. John was in his thirties, overweight, and not getting any younger. He'd been assigned to that station the longest but was never promoted to stationmaster, which was fine since it let him do whatever he wanted and since the station was so far out from the visitors center, it wasn't like he could report anywhere to be demoted. Not yet anyhow.

Logan stepped up onto a rock overlooking one of many 'valleys' the canyon had to offer and took out his radio, "I don't see any of them out here this season, you sure their even above ground yet?"

"That's what the printout infront of me says... be on the lookout for Fennecs as they're in-season and may pose a danger" came the response from the radio. "So I'm basically looking for tan oversized rodents then?" Logan asked into the radio.

"Oh my young Padawan, you have so much to learn still," John said over the radio. He always enjoyed talking this way since he was the oldest out there, both age and service, "Do you remember how I explained you know when they're around?"

Logan thought for a moment before speaking, "Tracks but if no tracks then listen for the whimpers." "That's right," John said over the radio, "Always listen to the environment around you and you'll pick up on it."

Logan pocketed the radio and proceeded to climb down the hill, making note of his surroundings. The first week he arrived, he'd gotten lost on a hike and no one was in range of the radio. Logan was missing for two days before he was found in some cave with almost zero water and food. After that, the crew made it a point to make sure Logan was more prepared, as the desert can take you quickly.

Logan stopped and kneeled down on the ground, noticing a paw print no bigger than that of a feline. He followed the prints several feet, making sure his boots didn't mess up the prints, before they stopped suddenly with nothing around around. 'hmm..' Logan though to himself as he pulled out the radio,

"Go for Jon."

"Yeah what's up? Find something?"

"I think I found some cat-like prints but they come to a spot and then end, like whatever made them evaporated."

There was a short pause before a reply, "Never know in this weather. What does your GPS say?"

Logan took off his pack and found the soap-shaped device and turned it on. It was one of several tools that he bought to make sure he didn't get lost. Survival was one thing, being able to walk about is something else. The screen glowed for a moment while it was searching for his location. This particular GPS used a series of small orbital satellites that surround the Earth like a blanket to accurately pinpoint your location.

"GPS says thirty-seven degrees north, one-hundred ten degrees west. Base of Mount Pennell, over."

"Wow you're really out there today aren't'cha..." came the response, "No one's been out that way in a while, over."

"Yeah, copy. There's like literally nothing here but these prints, over."

Logan pocketed the radio in time to hear a low whimper from behind him, so he spun around to see nothing there. The whimper didn't move so whatever it was, was staying still for some reason. Logan kneeled down to the ground and cupped his ears in hopes of hearing it again to pinpoint its direction. The sound that came next was so low and grumbly when it reached Logan, it almost knocked him over, "Hello?" the grumbled sound turned growl-like, followed by a medium pitched whine, giving the effect of two distinct animals.

Panic started to set in as Logan had never heard something growl like that before, and almost reached for his radio when the whimpering rose to almost a high-pitch squeal. 'Now what?' he thought - here he was in the literal middle of nowhere facing two, possibly three different animals and not one sounding like a Fennec as he'd heard back at the station. Summoning up the strength, Logan stood up to find he was standing next to a fairly large vent. Slowly turning towards the vent, one hand on the radio, Logan peered into the vent. From the back of the vent, Logan saw two eyes staring back at him, piercing the darkness of the vent, "Hello?" Logan asked again hoping to not get a response.

In a lightning-quick motion, the eyes darted towards Logan, catching him off guard. He put up his arm to block the incoming attack but it was too late. The Fennec had pierced Logan's arm and knocked him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Realizing what had just happened, the Fennec laid down on top of Logan with its paws over its eyes whimpering again, as if attempting to make amends for a mistake that wasn't entirely it's fault. Thinking about what had just transpired, Logan grabbed his radio to call for Jon or anyone else that could hear,

"Go for John."

"What's up?" John replied

"Don't ask, I need a medivac to my coordinates. I'd rather not have rabies, thank you."

To be Continued...