The Fox and the Forest is found in The Illustrated Man, as well as in The Stories of Ray Bradbury. It is a tale that begins during a celebration in Mexico in the year 1938. William and Susan are there on vacation. Susan asks, "It will go on, won't it?" "All night," is the reply. "No, I mean our trip." Here we discover that William and Susan are hiding from someone. William answers, "I have enough traveler's checks for a lifetime. Enjoy yourself. Forget it. They'll never find us." 
Later, in a cafe, Susan notices a man watching them. Thinking back, Susan remembers. Her name is Ann Kristen, married to Roger Kristen. They live in the year A.D. 2155. But when they had the chance to leave behind the awful war that surrounded them, they took it. They booked a trip through Travel in Time, Incorporated to escape, release fatigue. And now, this man; this Mr. Simms, as he identifies himself; has found them. Insisting they are from the Future, that they do not belong here. William is needed on the hydrogen-plus bomb project. He is too valuable to be allowed to disappear. Others will get the idea and try running off. But William and Susan do not want to cooperate. In their hotel room, they make plans to stay in crowds and disappear again.
The results of this plan, and the ending of the story each have a twist. Bradbury is great at adding the surprise at the end, never letting the audience guess ahead of time what is going to happen.
Enjoy the audio version of this story titled, The Fox in the Forest, at twilightzoneradio.com.
1 comment:
But this is a great cat and mouse story, but I did not like the ending ;).
xo -E
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