Hot tongues scorched the sky, setting the stars ablaze. Smoke submerged the moon in a thunderous grey cloud. Flames lapped at the smouldering trees; fire twined up a mighty willow's trunk. Yet only a simple sentence could describe Bracken's situation: Where could he and his family live now? He felt his mate, Splash, settle beside him as the noisy yowls of their terrified kits filled the air. He gazed around their burning home, sadness engulfing him. There was a deafening crash; a tree had smacked into the ground. He instinctively crawled back into the hollow log, where his kits cried in terror. "We should go now," he whispered to Splash, voice croaky because of the smoke inhaltion. "We can't stay here longer." He snatched the nearest kit, a silver she-cat who was the image of her mother, and the kit squealed uncomfortably. Splash padded towards a ginger tom with intense amber eyes. She lifted him out of the moss nest and followed Bracken into the forest. A fork of lightning clawed the sky, temporarily illuminating the narrow path where the flames had not reached...yet. They padded bravely onwards, although they didn't know what lay ahead; apart from certain death. "Bracken!" cried Splash. A muscular badger charged from the undergrowth, teeth bared, towards her and her youngest kit. Its teeth sunk into her neck and it clawed viciously at her heaving flanks. Blood pooled into the dirt beside her. The badger, triumphantly, snatched the yowling ginger kit and scampered away. Bracken blinked, and it was gone. "I lost him," she yowled. "Rusty's gone..." She attempted to rise, but she sprawled back into the dirt. Her breathing came out in shallow rasps and soon her surroundings became distant, vision blurry. She beckoned Bracken over with a weak flick of her tail. The forest began to spin. "I love you," she whispered, gingerly licking the ash in his matted fur. Her eldest kit, River, squealed in realisation and she scampered over to her mother just as the light faded from Splash's eyes.