00:00The silence in the old farmhouse was the first thing that felt wrong.
00:07It was a heavy, woollen silence, broken not by the usual thump of Buster's tail
00:14against the floorboards or the soft chirp of the canary pit in his cage by the window.
00:22Eleanor's heart hammered against her ribs as she dropped her grocery bags.
00:28Buster, she called, her voice too loud in the stillness.
00:33No answering click of claws on wood, only the frantic beating of her own pulse in her ears.
00:43She moved through the kitchen, her eyes scanning for the lumbering, gentle Great Dane, who was her shadow.
00:52The back door, leading to the overgrown garden, was slightly ajar.
00:57A sliver of cold dread slid down her spine.
01:02She always locked it.
01:05Then she saw it.
01:07A single, long, grey feather lay on the hearthrug.
01:12Pip's feather.
01:14A strangled cry escaped her lips.
01:17She rushed to the cage.
01:19It was empty, the little door swinging open.
01:23Pip, her cheerful companion for ten years, was gone.
01:28And so was Buster.
01:30Panic, cold and sharp, seized her.
01:34She burst out into the twilight, the damp air clinging to her skin.
01:40Buster, Pip, her coals, were swallowed by the gathering dark.
01:45That's when she heard it.
01:47Not a bark, but a low, guttural growl, from the direction of the old barn.
01:55It was Buster's warning growl, a sound she'd only heard once before, when a coyote had strayed too close.
02:04It was a sound of pure, primal fear.
02:09She ran, her breath coming in ragged gasps, the tall grass whipping at her legs.
02:16The barn door was also open, a yawning, black mouth.
02:22The growl came again, louder, more desperate.
02:26Eleanor fumbled for the flashlight on the ledge, her hands trembling so violently, she almost dropped it.
02:36She clicked it on, the beam cutting a shaky path into the darkness.
02:42The smell of hay and dust filled her nostrils.
02:46The light swept across the floor, and then jerked upwards.
02:51There, in the hayloft, was Buster, the massive dog, was standing rigid, his body a tense barrier, in front of a pile of hay.
03:03His eyes were fixed on a corner of the loft, his lips pulled back in a terrifying snarl, and then she saw them.
03:12Two points of green light, low to the ground, reflecting her torch beam.
03:20A fox, a large one, its brush twitching, its own snarl, a silent challenge to the dog.
03:28It was cornered, or guarding something.
03:32Buster, Eleanor whispered, her voice trembling.
03:37Easy boy.
03:38The dog didn't move a muscle, his entire world narrowed to the threat.
03:45The fox took a half-step forward, and Buster's growl deepened into a thunderous rumble that vibrated through the wooden floorboards.
03:55But Eleanor's light wavered, and in that moment, it caught a flash of yellow.
04:01Behind Buster's front leg, nestled deep in the hay, was a tiny, trembling form.
04:09Pip, the canary was alive, huddled and terrified, but alive.
04:16And Buster, her gentle giant, was standing between the bird and a wild predator, a stalwart guardian in the gloom.
04:25The fox lunged, it wasn't a full attack, but a testing feint.
04:32Buster didn't give an inch, a bark exploding from his chest, that was more raw than sound.
04:41The fox recoiled, hesitating.
04:45Time seemed to stretch and warp.
04:48Eleanor stood frozen, a spectator in a life-and-death drama she didn't know how to stop.
04:56Her loyal dog, her missing bird, and the wild instinct of the fox were locked in a silent, suffocating standoff under the creaking timbers of the old barn.
05:08The outcome hung in the balance, a fragile thing in the cold, dark air.
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