Rufus, the enthusiastic leader, bounds ahead with his phone outstretched, capturing every flicker of light through emerald leaves. Close behind, Maple and Clover weave between towering trunks, their tails flicking with excitement, phones in paws, narrating their adventure for an unseen audience.
"Look at this old bark! You guys, this video is going to blow up—no one’s ever filmed here before,"
"If we find the ancient spring, I’m calling it—viral for sure,"
Clover kneels to film a spiderweb shimmering with dew, but as Rufus steps forward, his paw triggers a concealed net. Instantly, the forest explodes with movement; camouflaged traps snap up, ensnaring the foxes in rough, scratchy mesh, their phones tumbling but still recording.
"Wait, what’s—no, no, no! Maple, help!"
"Keep filming! Someone will find this—right?"
Leaves blur past the foxes’ lenses; glimpses of the squirrel village appear—platforms lashed to ancient limbs, hammocks of woven grass, and little pennants fluttering in the breeze. The foxes twist helplessly, their cries muffled as the squirrels drag the nets to a central platform lined with crude cooking pots and piles of root vegetables.
Chief Nutclaw, a burly squirrel with a scar across one eye, inspects the catch, poking at the nets with a stick.
"Fresh foxes for the feast! Don’t let them wriggle away this time,"
The phones, still rolling, lie forgotten on a side table, their screens flickering with the chaos. Rufus's phone captures glimpses of paws, flour-dusted fur, and the glint of metal as the squirrels prepare the meat pies with grim efficiency.
"If anyone ever watches this, tell my family I love them,"
A squirrel cub, Twiglet, sneaks a curious glance at one of the phones, tapping at the screen with sticky paws.
Twiglet[/@ch_5] sits in the shadows, mesmerized by the glowing phone, swiping and poking at random icons.]
"Ooo, what does this button do?"
With a triumphant squeak, Twiglet accidentally uploads the entire video sequence to the foxes’ social channel. The light from the phone screen flickers across the squirrel’s face as images and sounds of the evening’s grim events are sent out into the digital world.
Somewhere, far from the ancient woods, the foxes’ followers awaken to a shocking, surreal upload—a wild, unedited chronicle of their friends’ final adventure. It is the only sign that Rufus, Maple, and Clover ever existed, their fate sealed in a viral mystery that no one can explain.
