Well here it is chapter 4. A massive thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. It's been really encouraging x

And here we go

Chapter 4

Kit knew he was dying, even though he was 12 years old he had always imagined his end at the hands of the sky pirates or falling through the air, after a stunt when wrong on his airfoil.

As he struggled, he sank deeper in the mud; the liquid was crushing his chest slowly. He was wet and cold, the rain still falling above him, Kit had no idea how long he was lying there, the sky was now pitch black above him.

Kit had finally decided to return to Higher for Higher, when he forced down the hill, as the ground gave way. Forcing him to slide down the hill, in a sea of mud and rocks, Kit had been there as long as he could remember, trapped.

He tried to struggle once more, which caused his body to sink further, eventually giving up completely. He had tried to call out, but the mud crushing his chest, made any sound inaudible, he had managed to free one arm, but the left was stuck in the mud, pinned to his side.

Lying there, he closed his eyes and thought of Baloo. Who would never know, what had happened to him. Kit imagined his body sinking further into the mud, over his mouth, over his nose, slowly drowning him. The bitter ground becoming his grave which terrified Kit, as he closed his eyes and let his body drift away. Never believing in God in his entire life, he threw a quick one up there, for anyone to help him.

Baloo had been searching forever, even with his yellow mac, the rain was somehow penetrating his skin, he was shivering with cold, and he still couldn't find his kid.

Holding his lantern up to the darkness and seeing the remains of the hill, he was already beginning the fear the worst. Kit could be...he immediately shook his head, to remove the image, Kit was a fighter; he would never go down like this.

As he ran Baloo yelled Kit's name, stumbling over boulders, ignoring the lashing rain. Then he stopped suddenly, his heart heaving in his chest as a familiar blue and red baseball cap suddenly appeared, the rain washing the mud away, revealing itself to the bear.

Baloo almost choked, Kit's hat…but where was…. Baloo snatched it up and began to look for the owner. Fearfully he began poking his foot in the mud, terrified he was going to hit something solid. Breathing a sigh of relief when he realized Kit must have lost it, earlier; Baloo quickened his search of Cummings Hill.

Kit felt himself sink further, the mud was now covering his mouth, and soon, it would be all over. He was too tired to be terrified, and he was too cold to be scared, as he sunk further into unconsciousness, Kit prayed it would be all over quickly.

Baloo scoured the hill, his light illuminating only mud, which was oozing between his toes. With every second, he could feel the panic rising, along with the water level.

The rain was obscuring his vision and his lamp was on the verge of going out, finally he saw something, deep in the mud, a lonely hand stretched out. Baloo's relief turned to panic in a split second, as he raced over to the form. Urgently he gripped the hand, it was cold, but he could still feel a pulse emanating in the wrist. With no thought of how his attempt could hurt the boy, Baloo, grabbed the arm and yanked it sharply, the mud moved slightly, as Baloo pulled again, the force caused Kit's small head to emerge.

With a vacuum, now created in the mud, Baloo used ever amount of his strength as he pulled again, finally yanking the boy clear. Quickly he turned Kit over, the mud had encrusted every inch of the boy's fur, his eyes were closed but he was breathing. Baloo opened the Kit's mouth, to remove any mud that could have been choking the boy. To his relief, he heard Kit coughing, a hard laboured sound, which was music to Baloo's ears. Baloo wrapped the boy up in his coat, attempting to give him extra warmth as he headed back to his shack. His lantern flickered out suddenly, but Baloo knew exactly where he was heading, and threw it unceremoniously away. He could feel Kit trembling as they reached the comforting light of his shack. Wildcat was long gone; he realized as he switched on the lights and unwrapped Kit from his coat.

Kit was curled up in a foetal position, as Baloo brought him out into the cold air, Kit began to tremble. Baloo dropped his raincoat to the floor and set about creating a fire, not an easy task one handed as he could hear Kit's painful gasps. Lighting the kindling, it caught instantly, creating a reassurance presence across the room.

Baloo wrapped his arms around the small boy, and carried him to the small bathroom, perching Kit on the sink, he grabbed a cloth and began to wipe the small boys face. Kit's eyes were still closed, and he was still shaking, Baloo noticed a deep gash, on the boy's head and prayed it wasn't too serious. The fact he felt like ice was another matter, Baloo was trying to be a responsible adult, but as he began to run a bath, he couldn't help feel a wave of panic. This small boy, with the gash to his head, with his eyes closed. This wasn't Kit; this wasn't the boy he had known for only a few weeks.

As if he was reading his mind, Kit let out a small moan and his eyes flickered. "Easy there Kit, you're safe, old papa bear is here". Kit moaned again in response, as Baloo quickly tested the water with his foot.

For all he knew they may have been more serious injuries and he had no idea his long Kit had been in the earth. Baloo turned his attention to Kit's beloved green sweater, now drenched in mud and glued to his skin. Baloo, lifted the sweater gently, careful not to brush any skin that could possibly be damaged, as Kit jerked with surprise. "No". Baloo ignored the boys barely audibly protest, and carried on, moving the sweater now under his ribs. "Baloo please", Kit soft whimper, was the only sound in the room as Baloo realised the trembling boy was shaking from something else than the cold. "Kit listen to me", Baloo said urgently, "Just trust me, it will all be all right". In the back recesses of his mind, Kit was returning to conciseness, he could feel what Baloo was doing, and he knew it was all over.

Kit willed his body to relax and waited as Baloo eased the sweater off his back, and dumped it on the floor. Picking the boy up, he turned round, and what he saw almost caused him to drop the boy in shock. Baloo thought he heard Kit whisper "Don't look, please". But Kit knew it was too late, Baloo had seen everything; Baloo would now realize everything, as Kit squeezed his eyes shut and wished he was dead.

The only sound in the bathroom was the sound of a dripping tap, which was producing an unnatural echo, as Baloo stared at the image reflected back at him. Even though Kit's trembling body was still caked in mud, there was no way of hiding this, a sight so unnatural on such a young boy. Kit Cloudkicker was only 12 years old, yet his small back was drenched in deep scars, crisscrossing over his fur, revealing his white skin beneath.

"Ohhhh Kit", Baloo whispered in shock, as he finally realized the true horror of Kit's past.

So what happened to Kit? What will Baloo do next? All to be revealed in the next chapter

Please read and review, it's really encouraging xxx