Chapter 18 #2
As she tiptoed through the wood she saw plenty of birds but no sign of the squirrel.
She stopped skulking about and strolled on, keeping an eye out for any cute woodland creatures she could befriend.
She’d not gone far when she felt the plop of raindrops on her skin.
Not a drizzle, it was proper big sploshes and she knew she needed to head for cover.
It was time to turn around and leg it back towards Elsie.
She could see the van and was almost at the stump when the squirrel appeared.
Even though it wasn’t great timing Dixie wasn’t going to miss a chance to get good quality footage.
She pulled out her phone as the rain got heavier.
The squirrel scampered across a large tree trunk then sat on the stump to study Dixie.
Dixie zoomed in and it looked great. Maybe she could get closer.
She crept towards it and the squirrel’s tail twitched.
Then it started making a horrid screeching noise in ear-splitting bursts.
This wasn’t the cosy content she was after.
Perhaps if she tried to coax it she might be able to give it a grape.
‘Psst, psst, psst,’ said Dixie, trying to sound friendly.
The squirrel seemed startled and leapt towards her.
‘Argh!’ screamed Dixie and she backed away and stopped filming.
She daren’t turn and run in case it attacked her from behind.
She reversed away until she backed herself up against a tree.
The squirrel hopped a little closer and screeched at her in between wagging its tail.
It was not the cuddly encounter she’d been hoping for and now she was feeling trapped.
‘Hey!’ shouted someone, making Dixie look up. It was like a scene from a film as a gorgeous man strode through the woodland, pushing branches out of his way and stepping over fallen logs. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked, when he was still a few feet away. ‘Was it you I heard screaming?’
‘It was just the one scream,’ said Dixie. ‘But yes. I was being attacked.’
Her rescuer looked concerned so she hastily clarified.
‘Not attacked exactly. But this squirrel is rather tetchy.’ She pointed to where the squirrel was staring her down. Its tail still twitching violently.
The man started to laugh. ‘Oh, right. Don’t worry, squirrels are harmless.’ He clapped his hands as he approached.
The squirrel jumped but instead of running off it turned to glare at the intruder.
Perhaps it felt threatened between the two humans, Dixie didn’t know, but even though it was only small, the squirrel wasn’t going to be intimidated.
It charged at the new person and ran up his trousers like they were a tree.
‘Argh!’ shouted the man. Dixie saw her chance and fled towards the van without looking back.
Fumbling with the key but eventually unlocking it she whipped the door open and dived inside. She was about to shut it behind her when the man dashed in after her and shut it for her.
‘Hey!’ she said. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’
He held up his palms. ‘Sorry!’ he said. ‘But that thing is aggressive.’
The van seemed to halve in size with him in it. What had once seemed like a homely space was now cramped and a little claustrophobic. They both peered out of the window but there was no sign of the squirrel. ‘Do you think it’s got some mental disorder, or rabies perhaps?’ asked Dixie.
‘Not rabies but it’s certainly pissed off.’ The man looked cautiously in all directions.
‘I think it’s gone,’ said Dixie.
The man was still staring wide-eyed out of the window. Not quite the hero material he had first appeared. Dixie cleared her throat, making him turn in her direction.
‘Right. Sorry. I’m Ned.’
He really was rather hot up close. Dark wavy hair, brown eyes and a strong jawline. He was watching her and she realized this was where she was meant to introduce herself. ‘I’m Dixie.’
‘Hello, Dixie,’ he said with a smile that made a dimple appear. ‘And what do you do, apart from antagonize wildlife?’
‘I’m a social media influencer.’ She very much liked how that sounded and Ned seemed impressed. ‘I’m recording my journey with Elsie.’
‘There’s more than one of you living in here?’
Dixie chuckled. ‘No, it’s just me.’ She patted the cushion next to her. ‘This is a seventies VW campervan and her name is Elsie.’
‘You’ve not got much in the way of facilities. Would you not be better on a campsite with mod cons like running water?’
It made her look around. Elsie’s interior was sad and unloved.
Dixie had been so caught up in her breaking down that she’d lost sight of all the other things she was going to do to improve Elsie.
‘I’ve not got round to renovating yet as I am enjoying communing with nature.
Going back to basics. Learning to live off the land and be environmentally friendly.
So what are you doing in the middle of nowhere?
’ she asked, trying to deflect the questions.
‘Woodland management,’ he said, then moved his head from side to side as if weighing things up. ‘Learning really. If I’m being honest, I’m totally out of my depth, but I guess that’s the challenge and I like something that’s going to test me. Mainly because I like proving people wrong.’
‘Oh, me too,’ said Dixie. ‘That’s really why I’m here. I’m showing my parents they’re wrong about me and that I can be successful without them. And I need to prove that to myself as much as to them.’ For a second she worried that she’d overshared but Ned was nodding.
‘I can totally relate to that,’ he said.
Maybe she was imagining it, but in that second something passed between them. A mutual understanding perhaps? But the moment was soon broken by a thud on the roof of the van.
‘Heavens, we’re under attack from above now,’ said Dixie. There was the sound of movement across the top of the van then a furry face appeared upside-down at the windscreen.
‘I think this is my cue to leave,’ said Ned, heading out the door.
He opened his mouth as if he was going to add something, but he shook his head and got out, pausing for a moment.
‘Look, perhaps we …’ While he was talking, Dixie noticed movement behind him.
Movement of the bounding-squirrel variety.
She didn’t want to see Ned savaged by a marauding squirrel.
A distraction was needed. She threw the two grapes she still had in her pocket.
Unfortunately, one of the grapes hit the squirrel square on the head and it immediately raced towards Ned, screeching loudly.
‘What did you do that for?’ yelled Ned as he took off into the woods.