A Feud Between Neighbors

It was just like any other day for Woodrow: a day filled with taking care of the yard and preparing for winter. This old barn he lived in had supported his family for years, and he was grateful for the sturdy structure. His father had lived here before him, just below the tree that used to stand here before it was torn down by a previous owner, and his father before him. Now, the barn stood in the tree's place, protecting the dead roots underground, as well as the tunnels Woodrow had created. He began his day with a delicious foraged breakfast, then went running across the yard as usual to collect food for later. The sound of voices as he ran away made him stop in his tracks and hunker down in the grass to listen in without being detected.

“Yeah, just tear the old thing down and build the new one in its place. Thanks, Dan.” This voice was one that Woodrow had not heard before, but it sounded as if the voice was talking about his barn. What does he mean tear it down, he thought to himself, still hiding in the grass. That’s my home. Woodrow watched as the man took a box away from his ear, turn around, and walk into the home next door. He sat and listened for awhile longer to make sure that no one else was around, then he ran back to his barn to have a look around. Nothing seemed to be disturbed as all of Woodrow’s things were still scattered on the ground floor as he liked them, to which he gave a sigh of relief. He knew he still needed to stay aware though, as who knows what that man was talking about, and when the tear down would occur. I’ll just scatter things more around here. That’ll show that this place is occupied, and then nothing will happen to my home. Woodrow smiled to himself as he deemed this solution the best one, and began to throw the contents of the old, abandoned barn around. He didn’t want to fight, it wasn’t in his nature, but he also didn’t want to lose his home like his father did. Woodrow went out to continue his daily chores before returning to barn and burrowing below the old roots for his afternoon nap.

BOOM! CRASH! RRRIIIIIPPPPPP!

Woodrow was awakened by loud sounds just above him. Oh no, he thought to himself as he followed the tunnel up as far as he could without being spotted. From the edge of the hole, he could see the walls of his beloved barn being torn out of their place. He cried out, even though he didn’t mean to, but no one could hear him over the noises of the barn being knocked down. Woodrow retreated down into his burrow, allowing all of his childhood memories, including memories with his father, to flash through his mind. My family home, he cried, then all the noises stopped. It was quiet for awhile then, eerily quiet, and he began taking small, calculated steps up the hole to peek at what had happened. He watched as the man he saw from across the yard walked back to the house next door. Woodrow felt a burning in his heart he had never felt before. He was pissed! You bastard! You tore down my family home! Woodrow cried to himself once more, then stood tall, hoping the man would see him. You will not get away with this. He vowed to avenge the home he lost, and to avenge his family name. He vowed to do the same to the man by any means necessary.

Later that night, just before the sun went down, Woodrow darted across the yard to the house next door and hid under the deck. You wanna tear down my house? Let's see what you do when I do the same to you. Woodrow began clawing and chewing at the flooring just above his head, chuckling to himself as the wood slowly started to whittle down. He could feel the vibration in the wood, and anticipated that his neighbor would eventually feel it, too. After fifteen minutes of pure, blissful destruction, the man Woodrow had seen earlier stepped out on the deck directly above him. Woodrow stopped and sat as still as possible.

"What is going on?" the man muttered out loud. Woodrow stifled a gleeful giggle and stealthily crawled towards the stairs at the edge of the deck. As the man turned to go back inside, Woodrow immediately began chewing on the stairs, continuing to vibrate the deck. The man jumped and shined a flashlight on the steps and directly in Woodrow's beady eyes, stopping his chewing immediately. The two stood staring at each other for what felt like an eternity. The man let out a sharp noise, presumably to scare Woodrow away, but Woodrow called the man's bluff. I'm not afraid of you, Woodrow thought to himself as he chewed more furiously than before. The man made the noise once more, but Woodrow ignored him, calling his bluff again. The man disappeared for a moment, and Woodrow felt like he had succeeded. When the man returned, he held something shiny in his hand, catching Woodrow's attention.

"Let's see you stay after this!" The man pointed the shiny thing at Woodrow and then made a loud, scary noise. Woodrow ran into the yard as quickly and as far away as he could as the man stood laughing at Woodrow. Once hidden in the tall grass of the field across the yard, Woodrow noticed he was bleeding, and whimpered to himself in pain. Something must have bit me, he thought to himself, and ran back to his tunnel to hide and try to clean his wound. The wound had oozed blood, matting his hair on his leg, and there seemed to be a chunk of muscle missing. After licking the wound for a time, Woodrow began to feel the pain associated with the wound subside, although it still hurt quite a bit. I just need to rest, and I'll feel better tomorrow, and with that, he bedded down for the rest of the night.

Woodrow woke the next day still in a lot of pain, but he refused to give up. He had barely made it out of there alive, but he knew his message had been sent. Get out, or else. He couldn't break his vow. His sleepiness wore off quickly as he heard new noises above his tunnel. He tried to climb up the tunnel, but he couldn’t see out of it. Lucky for Woodrow, he was a planner, and had another tunnel he could climb. Upon reaching ground level, he saw his precious ground floor being covered with some sort of liquid that seemed to solidify quickly and dry flat. He cried in horror as he realized his home had been completely covered, aside from the side tunnel he had crawled out. You monster! How could you? Woodrow ran towards the man's home next door and hid under the deck. We will see how you like this, he sneered.

Woodrow immediately began digging under the man’s deck and creating a new home for himself. You did this to yourself, he practiced saying to the man. You could have left my home the way you found it, but no! You chose to destroy it. This is what you get. After digging beneath the home and creating his new tunnel, Woodrow began chewing the man’s deck once more, focusing on the bigger pieces of wood. All the pain that Woodrow felt was motivation for revenge against the man that was destroying his home right before his eyes. He chewed and clawed like his life depended on it, because he felt as if it did. This continued for hours before Woodrow heard steps above him again.

“That damn woodchuck!” the man screeched, holding out the shiny thing again, pointing it directly at Woodrow. Woodrow locked eyes with the man, knowing what would come next for both of them. Woodrow continued chewing as the loud noises came again and again, biting his skin multiple times. As his mouth slowed chewing and his sight began to fade, Woodrow knew he had done the best he could and his family would have been proud of him. He bled out underneath his neighbors deck as the deck collapsed on top of him, toppling the man down as well, bringing one last smile to Woodrow's face. Worth it.