full

“Catch Me If You Can” by Altivo Overo

Fred is the real fox in a radio foxhunt exercise when things get slippery. Drama with benefits follows.

Today's story is “Catch Me If You Can” by friend-of-the-fireplace Altivo Overo, a Renaissance horse of many talents whose stories and art can be found on Fur Affinity, Weasyl, and Furry Amino as "Altivo," and on Amazon under Altivo Overo.

Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.

Transcript
Speaker:

You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.

Speaker:

I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,

Speaker:

and today’s story is

Speaker:

“Catch Me If You Can”

Speaker:

by friend-of-the-fireplace Altivo Overo,

Speaker:

a Renaissance horse of many talents whose stories and art can be found on Fur Affinity,

Speaker:

Weasyl, and Furry Amino as "Altivo,"

Speaker:

and on Amazon under Altivo Overo. Please enjoy:

Please enjoy:

“Catch Me If You Can”

Please enjoy:

by Altivo Overo

Please enjoy:

Rusty rubbed his eyes and stretched,

Please enjoy:

then pushed his chair back and stood up.

Please enjoy:

He groaned after too much time bending over the tiny piece of equipment on which he'd been working.

Please enjoy:

He shook out his tail,

Please enjoy:

absent-mindedly smoothing and fluffing it where he'd been sitting on it.

Please enjoy:

He figured the little transmitter was as ready as it could be,

Please enjoy:

which was a good thing since the hunt was only a couple of days away.

Please enjoy:

The fox looked at his watch

Please enjoy:

and padded over to the window to peer out at the sky.

Please enjoy:

Pulling on a green sweatshirt with the university logo,

Please enjoy:

he stepped out of his room

Please enjoy:

in the graduate center

Please enjoy:

and let the door snap shut behind him.

Please enjoy:

As he turned toward the cafeteria building,

Please enjoy:

his cell phone bleated softly.

Please enjoy:

Unclipping it from his belt,

Please enjoy:

he pressed the button and answered without looking at the display.

Please enjoy:

"Fred Rust," he said into it,

Please enjoy:

knowing who the caller would be.

Please enjoy:

"Chow time, Bushtail," said the expected voice of his pal, Jack.

Please enjoy:

"Get your paws over here or I'll eat it all and leave you nothing.

Please enjoy:

nothing." Rusty snickered. "On my way already, Droopears,"

Please enjoy:

he told the hound.

Please enjoy:

"Just cool your jets for half a minute.

Please enjoy:

minute." Quickening his pace, he rounded the corner of the dorm and headed up the walk to the cafeteria.

Please enjoy:

Jack was waiting just outside the entrance,

Please enjoy:

and made a show of tapping his footpaw and looking at his watch

Please enjoy:

when he spotted his fox buddy.

Please enjoy:

Rusty knew from the wagging of Jack's wiry tail, though, that the irritation was all an act.

Please enjoy:

"It's about time," the hound told him,

Please enjoy:

with a grin that belied his exaggeratedly sad expression.

Please enjoy:

"Not much longer and I'd have fainted away from hunger.

Please enjoy:

C'mon, let's eat before the crowd gets here.

Please enjoy:

here." The hound was wearing his white letter sweater,

Please enjoy:

with the big green 'S' on the front.

Please enjoy:

He'd earned it playing baseball,

Please enjoy:

and was perhaps inordinately proud of it.

Please enjoy:

Rusty had given up teasing him about being a jock,

Please enjoy:

since it seemed to bounce right off his friend's hide.

Please enjoy:

Jack's droopy tan ears and sad eyes made him quite popular with the girls on campus,

Please enjoy:

which was a good thing.

Please enjoy:

It meant he didn't have to be embarrassed about his long time friendship with a fox boy.

Please enjoy:

The two had known each other since grade school.

Please enjoy:

They made their way into the cafeteria,

Please enjoy:

getting their tickets punched at the head of the line

Please enjoy:

and moving among the steam tables and the salad bar to fill their trays.

Please enjoy:

Rusty made his selections with the usual care,

Please enjoy:

his preference for healthy eating always obvious.

Please enjoy:

He was seated at a table by the windows with his grilled chicken,

Please enjoy:

salad, and iced tea by the time Jack emerged from the line

Please enjoy:

with a heavily laden tray.

Please enjoy:

Jack sat across from Rusty,

Please enjoy:

grinning and licking his lips.

Please enjoy:

"You don't eat enough,"

Please enjoy:

he chuckled. "No wonder you're still just a little fox toy.

Please enjoy:

toy." Rusty just shrugged as the hound dug into a mountain of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

Please enjoy:

They worked on the food in silence for a few minutes.

Please enjoy:

Rusty pushed his tray aside first,

Please enjoy:

and sat sipping tea as he watched his canine pal finish up.

Please enjoy:

Finally Jack was done as well,

Please enjoy:

and looked up at the fox.

Please enjoy:

"So what's keeping you all

Please enjoy:

locked inside on a spring day like this anyway?"

Please enjoy:

the hound asked. "The girls are all outside.

Please enjoy:

Boys too," he added, with a sly wink.

Please enjoy:

He liked to tease Rusty about his predilections.

Please enjoy:

"Radio club project," the fox answered with a smile.

Please enjoy:

"We have a transmitter hunt scheduled for Saturday morning, and I'm the fox.

Please enjoy:

fox." Jack peered at Rusty,

Please enjoy:

squinting one brown eye.

Please enjoy:

"Of course you're a fox.

Please enjoy:

Don't be silly. Anyone with a nose can tell that.

Please enjoy:

that." The hound wrinkled his muzzle in mock disdain.

Please enjoy:

"Mind, I've gotten used to it so I try not to mention it.

Please enjoy:

it." Rusty stuck his tongue out at Jack,

Please enjoy:

flattening his black ears briefly.

Please enjoy:

"No, silly," he said.

Please enjoy:

"It's a ham radio game.

Please enjoy:

We call it a 'fox hunt' because teams work to locate someone

Please enjoy:

with a small transmitter who hides or transmits on the run.

Please enjoy:

It's a traditional competition, and a good challenge.

Please enjoy:

We all design and build our own equipment for it.

Please enjoy:

This time I'll be the moving target.

Please enjoy:

Two teams will be trying to find me,

Please enjoy:

one from the club here at State and another from over at Wolfson Tech.

Please enjoy:

Tech." The hound raised an eyebrow at that.

Please enjoy:

"And what will they do with you when they catch you?"

Please enjoy:

The fox laughed. "Why not come and see?

Please enjoy:

The weather is supposed to be

Please enjoy:

good. We'll start from the front of the Engineering Building at eight o'clock Saturday morning.

Please enjoy:

I get a 15 minute head start,

Please enjoy:

and then the hunt teams go after me with their directional antennas.

Please enjoy:

antennas." Jack groaned. "Eight o'clock on a Saturday?

Please enjoy:

You're a bunch of masochists. No decent fur wakes up before noon on weekends,"

Please enjoy:

he said, holding a paw up as if to shield his eyes from bright sun.

Please enjoy:

"Still, it sounds sort of kinky.

Please enjoy:

Maybe I'll make the sacrifice and come see it.

Please enjoy:

You say they're going to whip you with antennas?"

Please enjoy:

A business major,

Please enjoy:

the hound liked to pretend ignorance of technical subjects.

Please enjoy:

"No, doofus," Rusty snorted,

Please enjoy:

poking his friend with a footpaw.

Please enjoy:

"Not whip antennas. They'll be using directional beams of various sorts.

Please enjoy:

I'll be the one with the whip.

Please enjoy:

whip." He showed his teeth in what he hoped was a

Please enjoy:

suitably sinister grin.

Please enjoy:

"They get 90 minutes to locate me, using only radio equipment and sight,

Please enjoy:

no scenting allowed.

Please enjoy:

The winning team will get to host the next hunt in the fall,

Please enjoy:

and the losers buy the beer when we go for lunch afterwards."

Please enjoy:

"How far can you go to hide?" Jack asked,

Please enjoy:

interested in spite of himself.

Please enjoy:

"I have to stay on campus and outdoors. That was the agreement this time,"

Please enjoy:

the fox answered.

Please enjoy:

"But I'm not making it easy.

Please enjoy:

I have to transmit for at least ten seconds out of every minute.

Please enjoy:

Usually the fox just uses a handheld and

Please enjoy:

rattles off bad jokes or something like that into the microphone,

Please enjoy:

but I've built a special rig.

Please enjoy:

It will send a morse code identification string automatically for ten seconds,

Please enjoy:

then wait twenty seconds before repeating it.

Please enjoy:

That way I can focus on making the hunt a challenge.

Please enjoy:

I'll be on the move constantly, no hanging out in a tree and waiting to be found or anything like that.

Please enjoy:

that." Shaking his head mournfully,

Please enjoy:

Jack only said "You engineering geeks.

Please enjoy:

I can't believe you have no better ideas for what to do with your time.

Please enjoy:

It's spring out, Bushtail.

Please enjoy:

Girls are cruising the garden walks in their sundresses.

Please enjoy:

Cute guys, or at least I'm told they're cute, are playing frisbee and sunbathing out on the lawns.

Please enjoy:

lawns." He gave the fox a pointed look with this last.

Please enjoy:

"And you're huddled inside with a soldering iron?"

Please enjoy:

"It's fun. It's a challenge.

Please enjoy:

challenge." Rusty grinned and shook his head.

Please enjoy:

"I don't suppose a mere business guy would get it.

Please enjoy:

Still, come see on Saturday.

Please enjoy:

There'll be girls around.

Please enjoy:

In fact, I hear there are a couple of them on Wolfson's team.

Please enjoy:

team." Jack laughed. "Girl geeks? I can just imagine.

Please enjoy:

imagine." He blinked and looked at his watch.

Please enjoy:

"Whoops! I've got a macroeconomics seminar in ten minutes.

Please enjoy:

Later, fox," he added,

Please enjoy:

leaving his tray and heading for the door.

Please enjoy:

Chuckling, Rusty stacked the dishes onto the trays to make it easier for the bus staff.

Please enjoy:

He decided to take a walk through the campus botanical garden,

Please enjoy:

both to make up for the amount of time he'd been spending indoors

Please enjoy:

and to check out possible hiding places or hidden paths he might take on Saturday.

Please enjoy:

Maybe Jack was right.

Please enjoy:

He'd been hiding in his room too much lately.

Please enjoy:

The sun was slipping down the sky, but still bright.

Please enjoy:

He generally thought daylight saving time was a nuisance,

Please enjoy:

but it seemed nice at the moment to have a couple of hours of sunlight left after dinner.

Please enjoy:

The paths among the carefully labeled trees and shrubs were dry,

Please enjoy:

since it hadn't rained at all in the last week,

Please enjoy:

and the dusty wood chips felt pleasant under his toes.

Please enjoy:

He could hear laughter and shouts from the lawns

Please enjoy:

outside the garden, but there was no one strolling through the shady paths at the moment.

Please enjoy:

Just outside the gardens

Please enjoy:

he came up against a hastily erected barricade of sawhorses and battery-powered flashers.

Please enjoy:

It looked as if some digging had been necessary in order to link up drains or water lines for the addition

Please enjoy:

to the athletic building that was

Please enjoy:

in progress nearby.

Please enjoy:

Several pieces of heavy equipment stood there,

Please enjoy:

and if they were still around on Saturday he might be able to dodge among them to keep out of sight.

Please enjoy:

Rusty made a mental note of the possibility

Please enjoy:

as he detoured around the disturbed area and headed back to his room to study.

Please enjoy:

Before cracking the books,

Please enjoy:

he checked his laptop computer for any e-mail and found a message from Gloria.

Please enjoy:

At times he found it embarrassing that Gloria seemed to be even more on top of electronics technology than he was.

Please enjoy:

The vixen was cute, too.

Please enjoy:

Even he had to admit that,

Please enjoy:

and she had a pleasant, friendly personality as well.

Please enjoy:

He'd asked her for some advice about his foxhunt transmitter the week before,

Please enjoy:

and she offered several suggestions.

Please enjoy:

One of them had been perfect for what he needed in the automatic control,

Please enjoy:

and he had gone with it.

Please enjoy:

Now she wanted to know whether it worked out for him,

Please enjoy:

and also urged him to check out the latest weather forecast.

Please enjoy:

Putting his notes and textbooks aside for a moment,

Please enjoy:

Rusty composed a quick answer, thanking Gloria for her suggestions and letting her know

Please enjoy:

that one of them had been just right.

Please enjoy:

He promised to check the weather, too.

Please enjoy:

Turning to the weather service web site,

Please enjoy:

he noticed there were thunderstorms predicted for Friday night with heavy rainfall,

Please enjoy:

but it was expected to clear up by morning.

Please enjoy:

He made a note to dig out his rubber boots for the hunt

Please enjoy:

because he hated muddy paws.

Please enjoy:

When Friday afternoon arrived,

Please enjoy:

the skies were certainly threatening. Rusty winced

Please enjoy:

at a distant thunder rumble

Please enjoy:

as he walked up to join Jack for dinner at the cafeteria.

Please enjoy:

Jack gave him a toothy grin.

Please enjoy:

"Looks like the fox is going to get a bath tomorrow morning,"

Please enjoy:

Jack chuckled. "I hope your radio equipment is waterproof.

Please enjoy:

waterproof." Holding the door open for his friend, the fox nodded.

Please enjoy:

"It is, actually. Or at least, water resistant.

Please enjoy:

I allowed for a good rain, but didn't anticipate having to operate it under water,"

Please enjoy:

he said. "That's good,"

Please enjoy:

agreed Jack, as he handed a cafeteria tray to Rusty.

Please enjoy:

"But I should have known you'd think of that.

Please enjoy:

Eight o'clock you said?"

Please enjoy:

Rusty blinked. "You actually plan to be there?"

Please enjoy:

he asked, his ears perked quizically.

Please enjoy:

Nodding, the hound said "Yes, I do.

Please enjoy:

Mind, I wouldn't get up just for some geeky thing like that, but I mentioned it to Lisa and she wants to see it.

Please enjoy:

Me and my big mouth."

Please enjoy:

"I see," Rusty said.

Please enjoy:

"So Lisa is interested in technical stuff?"

Please enjoy:

Lisa was a rather elegant looking greyhound whom Jack had been seeing lately.

Please enjoy:

Rusty had met her briefly just once, and remembered only with some irritation that she had called him

Please enjoy:

"A cute little guy."

Please enjoy:

"Well, she's interested in outdoor activities and tracking," Jack

Please enjoy:

admitted. "And I'm willing to go along with it if it keeps her interested in me."

Please enjoy:

"OK. Well, we meet at eight in front of Engineering.

Please enjoy:

There'll be a brief explanation of the rules,

Please enjoy:

then I take off for my head start.

Please enjoy:

Professor Logan is the referee and organizer,

Please enjoy:

so he'll tell the two teams when they can start after me.

Please enjoy:

me." The hound winked, a rather incongruous gesture when performed by his perpetually sad looking face.

Please enjoy:

"We'll be there to cheer you on, then,"

Please enjoy:

he declared. Rusty had to laugh.

Please enjoy:

"Hold your applause until it's over," he said.

Please enjoy:

"You told me that the winning team hosts the next event, and the losers buy the beer,"

Please enjoy:

Jack said thoughtfully, "But what if neither team finds you?

Please enjoy:

There's a time limit, right?"

Please enjoy:

"Yes. If the time runs out and no one has found me,

Please enjoy:

then those obligations will be settled by a coin toss.

Please enjoy:

And if the judges decide I played by the rules,

Please enjoy:

I'm declared the official winner.

Please enjoy:

That almost never happens though,"

Please enjoy:

Rusty added. "I've only seen it once.

Please enjoy:

That time the fox was hidden in almost plain sight, inside a plastic playground tunnel.

Please enjoy:

Hunters kept walking right past him because they assumed he couldn't fit into the thing.

Please enjoy:

As it turned out, he needed help getting out."

Please enjoy:

"Will we be able to follow the action?"

Please enjoy:

the hound wanted to know. "Sure," Rusty grinned.

Please enjoy:

"Just keep quiet and no hints.

Please enjoy:

If you spot me, don't tell anyone, OK?"

Please enjoy:

Jack nodded. "We won't say a word.

Please enjoy:

word." Rusty sat back with his mug of tea,

Please enjoy:

watching Jack down a slice of layer cake.

Please enjoy:

"So," he asked, "how are you getting on with Lisa?"

Please enjoy:

Jack licked his own nose and smiled.

Please enjoy:

"Pretty well, actually.

Please enjoy:

Not only is she a fox, if you'll pardon the expression, but she appreciates athletics.

Please enjoy:

A girl after my own heart.

Please enjoy:

heart." Rusty laughed. He knew that Jack meant Lisa wouldn't ask him about the last book he read or

Please enjoy:

what he thought of some political situation.

Please enjoy:

The hound had no interest in such things, but could discuss sports scores endlessly,

Please enjoy:

even ifor women's teams.

Please enjoy:

"Sounds great," he agreed,

Please enjoy:

pushing back his chair.

Please enjoy:

"Well, back to the books for me.

Please enjoy:

I'll see you both tomorrow morning."

Please enjoy:

"Sure thing," Jack said. "We'll be there.

Please enjoy:

there." Rusty didn't get much studying done.

Please enjoy:

He was anticipating the next day's event too much,

Please enjoy:

and kept checking the weather radars again and again, even after heavy raindrops began to splatter his window.

Please enjoy:

He decided to put the little transmitter in a plastic zip bag just in case.

Please enjoy:

The antenna wire would come out one corner

Please enjoy:

and the bag would give some extra protection from the rain.

Please enjoy:

Laying his clothes out for the morning, he curled up in his bed

Please enjoy:

and listened to the rain.

Please enjoy:

He hoped it would end by morning.

Please enjoy:

Somehow he drifted off into dreams of wading through mud up to his knees

Please enjoy:

while trying to send messages in morse code by hand.

Please enjoy:

When the alarm went off, Rusty felt groggy but at least the rain had stopped.

Please enjoy:

He could see a few puddles from his window,

Please enjoy:

but there were patches of blue sky between the clouds.

Please enjoy:

He dressed quickly in his camouflage outfit,

Please enjoy:

pocketing the foxhunt transmitter

Please enjoy:

after a quick check to make sure it was working,

Please enjoy:

and hurried off to breakfast.

Please enjoy:

Jack and Lisa were in the cafeteria and waved him to their table once he had his eggs and toast.

Please enjoy:

Lisa gave him a perky smile as he sat down.

Please enjoy:

"There you are," she said.

Please enjoy:

"All set for the chase?"

Please enjoy:

Rusty nodded, reaching into his pocket to pull out the tiny transmitter and hold it up.

Please enjoy:

"There it is," he answered,

Please enjoy:

"all set to run." He ate hurriedly,

Please enjoy:

unusual for him, but he didn't want to be late.

Please enjoy:

The two canines watched him, and in spite of his rush,

Please enjoy:

he was almost certain they were holding paws under the table.

Please enjoy:

Well, good for them.

Please enjoy:

He thought a little stability might be something Jack could use in his life.

Please enjoy:

The fox finished his tea

Please enjoy:

at ten minutes to the hour.

Please enjoy:

"Ready to stroll over to Engineering?"

Please enjoy:

he asked. "Sure, let's go,"

Please enjoy:

Jack responded. It was only a five minute walk, but they had to detour around several puddles on the way.

Please enjoy:

The team from State were all known to Rusty, of course.

Please enjoy:

Gloria was there, wearing green sweats and carrying a hand-held beam antenna.

Please enjoy:

The other three team members were John and Andy, the beagle twins, and Joe, a lynx from Canada who was good at direction finding just by using his own body

Please enjoy:

to shield the receiver and then turning slowly around.

Please enjoy:

Gloria waved and winked at him.

Please enjoy:

"All set to give us a good challenge, Rusty?" she asked.

Please enjoy:

"I intend to try," he answered

Please enjoy:

as the others yipped greetings.

Please enjoy:

Then he turned to examine the team from Wolfson.

Please enjoy:

There appeared to be only three of them, two tall timber wolves and a smaller, almost dainty, coyote girl in a pink jacket.

Please enjoy:

All three held directional antenna arrays

Please enjoy:

and nodded to him when they noticed his gaze.

Please enjoy:

One of the wolves seemed to be attached to the girl, so perhaps they were a couple or close friends.

Please enjoy:

The remaining wolf,

Please enjoy:

tallest of the three,

Please enjoy:

walked toward Rusty and wagged his tail slowly.

Please enjoy:

"Hi," he said, holding out a paw.

Please enjoy:

"I'm Jeff Grayhouse, team captain for Wolfson.

Please enjoy:

Are you our quarry?"

Please enjoy:

He wore a jacket with a radio league patch sewn onto the shoulder,

Please enjoy:

and his first name embroidered over the pocket.

Please enjoy:

Rusty took Jeff's paw,

Please enjoy:

feeling unexpectedly distracted.

Please enjoy:

He looked into the wolf's smiling eyes and nodded.

Please enjoy:

"Yeah," he mumbled, "I'm Fred, but everyone calls me Rusty.

Please enjoy:

I'll try to give you a good run.

Please enjoy:

run." The tall wolf continued to wag slowly,

Please enjoy:

then winked at him,

Please enjoy:

waving a paw at the nearest puddle.

Please enjoy:

"Just so you know,"

Please enjoy:

he grinned, "all members of our team have life saving certificates. If you fall into one of these lakes and need rescuing, just sing out.

Please enjoy:

out." Rusty felt embarrassed when he realized his eyes were still locked on Jeff's own,

Please enjoy:

and he looked aside.

Please enjoy:

Still, he couldn't quite keep his own tail from wagging in response.

Please enjoy:

"I'll keep that in mind,"

Please enjoy:

he mumbled, risking a smile before turning back to his own team.

Please enjoy:

Professor Logan, a grizzled cougar who taught electronic engineering and design and sponsored the ham radio club on campus

Please enjoy:

sprang up onto the steps of the building then

Please enjoy:

and held up a paw.

Please enjoy:

"If I could have everyone's attention, we can begin,"

Please enjoy:

he announced, bringing his paw down to indicate Rusty.

Please enjoy:

"Fred here is our target for this morning, and I'll

Please enjoy:

let him describe what you're looking for since he built the transmitter himself.

Please enjoy:

Fred?" "Thank you, sir,"

Please enjoy:

Rusty responded formally.

Please enjoy:

He pulled out the tiny transmitter, tethered by a thin cable to the antenna on his baseball cap.

Please enjoy:

"The transmitter power is a hundred milliwatts, and it sends audio modulated morse signals under automatic control.

Please enjoy:

It transmits for ten seconds,

Please enjoy:

then rests for twenty seconds before transmitting again.

Please enjoy:

again." He unclipped his own 70 centimeter handheld from his belt

Please enjoy:

and held it in his other paw.

Please enjoy:

"Here's a sample of what the signal sounds like...

Please enjoy:

like..." The fox clicked his handheld on,

Please enjoy:

holding it at arm's length to one side,

Please enjoy:

and then pressed a button on the transmitter.

Please enjoy:

A red LED began blinking,

Please enjoy:

and the thin sound of morse signals came from the handheld transceiver.

Please enjoy:

"Any non-code hams in the group?"

Please enjoy:

he asked. All the team members on both sides shook their heads.

Please enjoy:

Then Jack sang out from the fistful of observers standing to one side.

Please enjoy:

"How about telling us unwashed masses what it says?"

Please enjoy:

Jeff Grayhouse had his ears perked to the signals,

Please enjoy:

and the ten second message ended just then.

Please enjoy:

He chuckled. "Clever,"

Please enjoy:

he said to Rusty,

Please enjoy:

then turned to the small audience.

Please enjoy:

"It says 'CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

Please enjoy:

DE W9KSU AR'"

Please enjoy:

he announced, grinning widely.

Please enjoy:

"W9KSU is the club call sign here at State,"

Please enjoy:

Professor Logan added.

Please enjoy:

"The 'DE' is a morse abbreviation for 'from'

Please enjoy:

and the 'AR' means 'end of transmission.' By the way, the radio club meets here in this building on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month

Please enjoy:

at seven in the evening.

Please enjoy:

Any of you are welcome to come around if you're interested.

Please enjoy:

We're happy to help you get licensed and started out in amateur radio."

Please enjoy:

"OK then," Professor Logan said, looking at his watch.

Please enjoy:

"Here's how it works, for the benefit of our visitors.

Please enjoy:

When I start timing,

Please enjoy:

Fred gets a fifteen minute start.

Please enjoy:

He has to stay outdoors and on campus,

Please enjoy:

but can take any evasive route he chooses.

Please enjoy:

Once the fifteen minutes have elapsed,

Please enjoy:

I'll give the team captains sealed envelopes with the transmitter frequency inside.

Please enjoy:

They can work as teams or as individuals,

Please enjoy:

and have ninety minutes to catch up with the transmitter,

Please enjoy:

wherever Fred may have taken it.

Please enjoy:

Teams can communicate by radio, of course, and are allowed to use only sight

Please enjoy:

and the radio signal to locate Fred.

Please enjoy:

No scent tracking permitted.

Please enjoy:

The winner will be the first team to find Fred and the transmitter.

Please enjoy:

If the time runs out and

Please enjoy:

Fred is still not located,

Please enjoy:

he becomes the winner, though that would be a very unusual development.

Please enjoy:

development." The cougar turned to Rusty and smiled.

Please enjoy:

"Are you ready, fox?" he asked.

Please enjoy:

Rusty re-pocketed the transmitter and turned off his handheld,

Please enjoy:

clipping it again to his belt.

Please enjoy:

He nodded, taking the pose of a runner preparing to start a sprint.

Please enjoy:

"All right," the professor declared, looking at his watch.

Please enjoy:

"On the count of three...

Please enjoy:

One... Two... Three!" Rusty glanced at his own watch,

Please enjoy:

and took off at a brisk trot, rounding the corner of the building to get out of sight of the pursuers immediately.

Please enjoy:

He followed the wall to the back of the building,

Please enjoy:

then cut through a muddy flower bed to get into the botanical gardens.

Please enjoy:

Knowing he would have no pursuit for a few minutes, he slowed his pace and crossed the garden into the shrubbery at the other side.

Please enjoy:

The fox counted on his camouflage outfit

Please enjoy:

and the newly sprouting leaves to make him harder to spot.

Please enjoy:

He trotted between specimen shrubs,

Please enjoy:

most of which were dense and taller than he was.

Please enjoy:

The fox walked nonchalantly down the pavement outside the athletic building,

Please enjoy:

until he reached the jumble of equipment and barricades where the addition was being built.

Please enjoy:

He looked around,

Please enjoy:

but no one was watching this early in the morning

Please enjoy:

as he slipped between the machinery

Please enjoy:

and hopped over a barricade.

Please enjoy:

He hoped pursuers wouldn't expect to find him in that mess.

Please enjoy:

Just then his transceiver crackled softly

Please enjoy:

and he heard Gloria's voice.

Please enjoy:

"This is KW9JT," she announced.

Please enjoy:

"I've got a clear indication that Rusty's gone off toward the athletic building."

Please enjoy:

"Roger that," he heard Joe answering.

Please enjoy:

"We'll meet you there, Gloria.

Please enjoy:

W9NZI out." Crouching behind a backhoe,

Please enjoy:

Rusty wondered where the Wolfson team were and his radio immediately supplied the answer as Jeff Grayhouse called to his team members.

Please enjoy:

"K8HFM here. Head for the athletic field. You can see the bleachers if you look to the west.

Please enjoy:

west." Continuing to pick his way through the mud and piles of debris,

Please enjoy:

the fox reached the wall of the new addition.

Please enjoy:

He followed the wall, moving farther west,

Please enjoy:

away from the pursuing hunt teams.

Please enjoy:

When he got to a corner, he slipped around it and headed south,

Please enjoy:

emerging from the construction zone opposite the entrance to the football stadium.

Please enjoy:

Rusty looked around

Please enjoy:

and decided it was too open here.

Please enjoy:

They'd spot him easily,

Please enjoy:

so he slipped back into the construction area.

Please enjoy:

He wished he had explored his intended route farther back on Wednesday.

Please enjoy:

Gloria's voice came from his handheld again.

Please enjoy:

"KW9JT here.

Please enjoy:

I think he went across the construction zone toward the stadium,"

Please enjoy:

she announced. "W9NZI,"

Please enjoy:

Joe answered immediately. "Wait there,

Please enjoy:

we're right behind you. That's too messy to cross alone.

Please enjoy:

I'll bet he went around it and is on the other side."

Please enjoy:

"I can see footprints in the mud, Joe,"

Please enjoy:

was Gloria's response.

Please enjoy:

"KW9JT standing by for you.

Please enjoy:

you." Rusty wanted to pawsmack himself.

Please enjoy:

He hadn't counted on mud, of course.

Please enjoy:

Dry spring weather would have been so much better.

Please enjoy:

He retreated among the machinery again,

Please enjoy:

considering his options not a moment too soon.

Please enjoy:

He heard a shrill yip of excitement

Please enjoy:

and peeked out cautiously around the hood of a heavy tractor to see the Wolfson team

Please enjoy:

running toward his location from the other direction.

Please enjoy:

They had apparently come around the athletic building from the other side.

Please enjoy:

There would be no escape to the football field now.

Please enjoy:

The fox took a step backward,

Please enjoy:

hiding behind the tractor,

Please enjoy:

and then another,

Please enjoy:

and another. His footpaw slipped unexpectedly on the mud

Please enjoy:

and he sprawled on his belly but to his surprise

Please enjoy:

didn't stop moving.

Please enjoy:

He was sliding downhill in slippery mud with nothing to halt his progress.

Please enjoy:

He felt one boot and then the other fill with cold water,

Please enjoy:

and scrabbled frantically for a pawhold but to no avail.

Please enjoy:

With a muddy splash, he found himself in water up to his waist

Please enjoy:

as darkness closed around him.

Please enjoy:

Rusty tried not to panic.

Please enjoy:

He was lying on his belly, half in and half out of the water.

Please enjoy:

Feeling with his paws,

Please enjoy:

he determined that the surface under him was curved concrete,

Please enjoy:

smooth and mud slicked.

Please enjoy:

When he looked up, he could see a circle of sky with clouds,

Please enjoy:

but his paws could find nothing to grip

Please enjoy:

to let him climb out.

Please enjoy:

It must be a storm drain or something, left uncovered during the construction, he thought.

Please enjoy:

Then he realized that he was still slipping down into the muddy water.

Please enjoy:

The surface was tilted at about a 45 degree angle.

Please enjoy:

"I'm in trouble now,"

Please enjoy:

he told himself. "Stupid fox.

Please enjoy:

fox." He felt for any kind of toehold and found none.

Please enjoy:

His knees failed to get any grip on the slippery concrete,

Please enjoy:

and the water was creeping in around his neck

Please enjoy:

when his paws found a seam of some sort that gave him a tenuous hold

Please enjoy:

that stopped his slide.

Please enjoy:

He was in cold water up to his chin,

Please enjoy:

with only his ears,

Please enjoy:

eyes, and nose clear of it.

Please enjoy:

He had to keep his arms bent,

Please enjoy:

muscles tensed, in order to keep from sliding under the water completely.

Please enjoy:

Cautiously, he felt with one footpaw and then the other,

Please enjoy:

looking for anything that could help him at least keep his position.

Please enjoy:

One toe caught on something,

Please enjoy:

giving him a little more security

Please enjoy:

but only at full extension so it wouldn't help him to get up and out.

Please enjoy:

Rusty didn't dare let go of the seam in the wall with either paw to try to reach his cell phone

Please enjoy:

or handheld radio.

Please enjoy:

In any case, he thought, they're probably already full of water and useless.

Please enjoy:

The foxhunt transmitter was sealed inside two plastic bags

Please enjoy:

and probably still transmitting.

Please enjoy:

He hoped it was, anyway.

Please enjoy:

They might still find him.

Please enjoy:

He opened his mouth to call out,

Please enjoy:

and muddy water rushed in.

Please enjoy:

He choked and coughed it out.

Please enjoy:

Whatever his footpaw was resting on, either it must be slipping or the water was rising from below.

Please enjoy:

Closing his eyes,

Please enjoy:

he tensed and held on as well as he could.

Please enjoy:

He wasn't sure how long the ordeal continued,

Please enjoy:

but Rusty was starting to think about just

Please enjoy:

giving up and sinking into the water.

Please enjoy:

He was shivering badly from the cold,

Please enjoy:

and his paws were cramping when he heard an echoing bark from above.

Please enjoy:

"Oh, Canis," a voice called.

Please enjoy:

"I think he's down this pipe.

Please enjoy:

pipe." There were answering voices but Rusty couldn't make them out.

Please enjoy:

He held on, a spark of hope reawakening,

Please enjoy:

as a shadow moved across the light above him.

Please enjoy:

A pocket flashlight beam

Please enjoy:

flared in his eyes,

Please enjoy:

and a newly familiar voice growled from above.

Please enjoy:

"He's in here all right, and he's in trouble.

Please enjoy:

A couple of you hold my belt so I don't slip down after him, while I try to reach and help him out.

Please enjoy:

out." The light went away completely,

Please enjoy:

then he heard wet scraping sounds.

Please enjoy:

A paw closed firmly around his wrist.

Please enjoy:

"It's Jeff," the voice told him in the darkness.

Please enjoy:

"I've got you, Rusty.

Please enjoy:

Hold on, and we'll get you out as fast as we can.

Please enjoy:

can." The paw was warm,

Please enjoy:

and strong. Rusty wrapped his own around it,

Please enjoy:

and then slowly moved his other paw to join it.

Please enjoy:

His grip felt weak,

Please enjoy:

numb with the cold,

Please enjoy:

but the big wolf had him firmly anchored.

Please enjoy:

Jeff called back over his shoulder.

Please enjoy:

"OK, pull me up very slowly. Now!"

Please enjoy:

With little muddy slurping sounds,

Please enjoy:

they began to move upward,

Please enjoy:

sliding over the wet concrete.

Please enjoy:

The light reappeared,

Please enjoy:

and Rusty could see Jeff's eyes.

Please enjoy:

They seemed to glow with amber light.

Please enjoy:

He thought he must be hallucinating.

Please enjoy:

Then other paws grabbed his wet sweatshirt

Please enjoy:

and helped to drag him out onto the surface.

Please enjoy:

He lay there panting,

Please enjoy:

a shivering, muddy heap.

Please enjoy:

"Is he hurt?" Gloria's voice drifted in and out of Rusty's consciousness.

Please enjoy:

"I've already called emergency services, they're on their way," she said.

Please enjoy:

The sound of a siren pierced the fox's chilled ears,

Please enjoy:

and he opened his eyes

Please enjoy:

to find that he was looking right into Jeff Grayhouse's worried face.

Please enjoy:

The wolf was holding his paw still,

Please enjoy:

and smiled down at him,

Please enjoy:

ears and face spattered with mud.

Please enjoy:

"You're all right, fox,"

Please enjoy:

Jeff told him quietly.

Please enjoy:

"I've got you. I'll make sure they take care of you.

Please enjoy:

you." When Rusty woke up he was in a bed in the campus infirmary.

Please enjoy:

Jack and Lisa were standing by the bed, and so was Gloria.

Please enjoy:

There was a bear in a campus security uniform, too.

Please enjoy:

Then he realized that someone was still holding his paw.

Please enjoy:

He turned his head,

Please enjoy:

and there was Jeff,

Please enjoy:

watching with a concerned expression.

Please enjoy:

"Welcome back," the wolf said softly.

Please enjoy:

"Oh, Rusty," Gloria told him, "you really gave us a fright.

Please enjoy:

You went into shock after we pulled you out of there I think.

Please enjoy:

Thank Canis that little transmitter of yours just kept right on sending.

Please enjoy:

I might not have found you without it.

Please enjoy:

it." Jack nodded, grinning down at him.

Please enjoy:

"They say you have to stay overnight," he said, "but you'll be all right.

Please enjoy:

I figured you would, though.

Please enjoy:

You're made of tough material for sure.

Please enjoy:

sure." Lisa winked. "And you're even cute when you're covered with mud," she added.

Please enjoy:

Rusty made a face,

Please enjoy:

and realized that he did feel all right in spite of the IV hooked to his free paw

Please enjoy:

and the horrid institutional setting.

Please enjoy:

The bear looked at him and said gruffly,

Please enjoy:

"Officer Ted Johnson.

Please enjoy:

I have to fill out a report on what happened.

Please enjoy:

I already know about the game you were participating in.

Please enjoy:

Just tell me how you ended up down that storm sewer.

Please enjoy:

It was supposed to be covered, and we'll be trying to find out why it was open.

Please enjoy:

open." Rusty sighed. "It was just a stupid accident, Officer,"

Please enjoy:

he said. "I was caught up in the hunt and stepped into it backward.

Please enjoy:

Not paying attention to what I was doing.

Please enjoy:

My fault, I'm afraid.

Please enjoy:

afraid." The bear nodded. "That's what we figured probably happened.

Please enjoy:

You should be released from here tomorrow unless they find something unexpected going on.

Please enjoy:

You had quite a chill.

Please enjoy:

I'll just ask you to come by the security office on Monday to give us a formal statement, if you would."

Please enjoy:

"I'll do that," Rusty promised.

Please enjoy:

"And I'm really sorry for the trouble.

Please enjoy:

Thanks." Officer Johnson cracked a smile at last.

Please enjoy:

"It's all right, son,"

Please enjoy:

he said. "But next time, watch where you're going, OK?

Please enjoy:

And stay out of those work zones.

Please enjoy:

They put up the barricades for a good reason.

Please enjoy:

reason." Rusty nodded. "I promise,"

Please enjoy:

he said. "I don't want to repeat that experience.

Please enjoy:

experience." Everyone laughed then.

Please enjoy:

A skunk in a white cap poked her head in the door.

Please enjoy:

"All right," she told them. "Too noisy, and too many of you at once.

Please enjoy:

Two visitors at a time, please, and visiting hours end in fifteen minutes."

Please enjoy:

"It's all right, nurse," the bear said. "We were just leaving anyway.

Please enjoy:

anyway." He gestured Gloria toward the door.

Please enjoy:

"I need a statement from you, miss."

Please enjoy:

"We'll catch you later, Rusty,"

Please enjoy:

Jack told him, and Lisa wiggled her pawfingers at him as Jack dragged her out of the room by the other paw.

Please enjoy:

The tall wolf stayed in the chair by the bed

Please enjoy:

and squeezed Rusty's paw.

Please enjoy:

"It's about time," he declared.

Please enjoy:

"Let me fill you in on what you missed.

Please enjoy:

missed." Jeff leaned back in the chair, without letting go of the fox's paw.

Please enjoy:

His index claw toyed with the fur on Rusty's wrist

Please enjoy:

as he continued. "Both teams arrived in that muddy construction area at the same time.

Please enjoy:

Your friend Gloria is good.

Please enjoy:

She went right to the hole you'd slipped into,

Please enjoy:

but she insisted that Wolfson won because I was the first to actually spot you visually.

Please enjoy:

We decided to declare the whole thing a draw.

Please enjoy:

Everyone was more concerned about you,

Please enjoy:

and they're all much relieved to know that you'll be OK.

Please enjoy:

They drank a toast to you at lunch, by the way,

Please enjoy:

for giving them an exciting hunt.

Please enjoy:

I wasn't there, but Gloria told me about it.

Please enjoy:

it." Rusty blinked. "Why weren't you there?"

Please enjoy:

he had to ask. The wolf tilted his head and grinned.

Please enjoy:

"Because I've been here with you.

Please enjoy:

I haven't left you except when they took you to the MRI to check for injuries.

Please enjoy:

I promised to make sure you were taken care of, remember.

Please enjoy:

remember." He squeezed Rusty's paw again,

Please enjoy:

and continued, "Besides,

Please enjoy:

I'm staking a claim.

Please enjoy:

I saw the way you looked at me when we met.

Please enjoy:

I assure you, the interest was mutual.

Please enjoy:

I'll be here tomorrow to pick you up as soon as they release you, OK?

Please enjoy:

We're going to have lunch to make up for the one you missed today.

Please enjoy:

My treat, because I want to get to know you better.

Please enjoy:

better." Rusty nodded at Jeff.

Please enjoy:

"I'd like that, I think.

Please enjoy:

think." Grinning, Jeff stood up, releasing the fox's paw at last.

Please enjoy:

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear,"

Please enjoy:

he said, tail wagging.

Please enjoy:

Then he bent and nuzzled Rusty on the ear,

Please enjoy:

passing his tongue lightly over the fur.

Please enjoy:

"You know," he chuckled,

Please enjoy:

"for a radio geek you're darned cute.

Please enjoy:

cute." Somehow, Rusty didn't have the same reaction to being called cute that he had felt when Lisa did it.

Please enjoy:

He just smiled back and said "And for a big, bad wolf

Please enjoy:

you have the most reassuring touch I've ever felt.

Please enjoy:

felt." He laid back on the pillow

Please enjoy:

but didn't close his eyes as Jeff padded softly out the door,

Please enjoy:

tail still wagging.

Please enjoy:

The wolf poked his muzzle back around the doorframe at the last second

Please enjoy:

and whispered loudly,

Please enjoy:

"I'll see you tomorrow, fox."

Please enjoy:

This was “Catch Me If You Can”

Please enjoy:

by Altivo Overo,

Please enjoy:

read for you by Khaki,

Please enjoy:

your faithful fireside companion.

Please enjoy:

Thank you for listening

Please enjoy:

to The Voice of Dog

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

About the Podcast

Show artwork for The Voice of Dog
The Voice of Dog
Furry stories to warm the ol' cockles, read by Rob MacWolf and guests. If you have a story that would suit the show, you can get in touch with @VoiceOfDog@meow.social on Mastodon, @voiceofdog.bsky.social on Blue Sky, or @Theodwulf on Telegram.

Listen for free

About your host

Profile picture for Khaki

Khaki