I was yanked from my sleep as violently as a wind gust blowing against a blade of grass. And as soon as my eyes opened, all of my senses seemed like one big blur – the sun blinding my vision and my hearing being slightly muffled.

I had been in a very deep sleep, my body clearly working very hard to try and heal my mental and physical wounds from yesterday. So... what was it that managed to wake me up?

It was just a heartbeat later when it all finally processed. Oh, no...

I could now very clearly hear the mix of yowling, barking and growling in the distance. That, combined with the fact that neither Sparrow nor Chrissy were here standing guard anymore, was enough to make my heart drop into my stomach. Did those nasty dogs actually return?

As I continued to break through my grogginess, I was quickly able to deduce that it was indeed the yowls of my parents that I heard, combined with the ferocious, angry growls of what I now knew to be dogs. No, no, no...

Suddenly, I felt the same helplessness and utter terror that I had felt last night, but this time, double. I finally tried to force myself to stand up, almost immediately cringing as a strong, dull pain pulsed through my back leg.

I shut my eyes in pain, hissing in frustration as I remembered that my leg was injured, and would surely hinder me from doing anything promptly.

However, luckily the pain was soreness more than anything, and my leg was just a little stiff – I was doing to run like I never had before if my leg gave me any sort of capacity. I still absolutely dreaded having to run on it, but was equally terrified and what I was hearing and had to know what was going on. I'm coming, mother and father!

I then attempted to break into a run, almost immediately stopping to cringe as another pain shot down to my back paw. Ugh, come on!

But just as I was about to try again, I was completely shocked to then see the fluffy gray pelt of my father suddenly break through the bramble bushes ahead, his dark gray eyes wide as he pelted towards me. Oh, thank goodness! I only watched, already overwhelmed with relief as Sparrow ran up to meet me, clearly looking very shaken and out of breath.

However, that relief slowly went away when I then noticed the completely fresh wounds along his flank, and also the fact that Chrissy was not with him. "Father?" I cried out, my leg giving out for a moment as I tried to take a step towards him. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

Sparrow quickly caught my weight, letting me fall against his flank. A chill nearly ran down my spine as I felt all of the blood that was spread all over his flank, and the blood that I unfortunately could be sure was his. "The dogs are back, Mist," he panted, his voice full of tension with pain. "This time, it looks like they've brought a third friend."

My mouth dropped open, simply walking with Sparrow as he then seemed to be leading me somewhere. "Three dogs?" I nearly shouted, my heart suddenly pounding at double the speed. "Is mother fighting them by herself right now?" That thought made me practically want to collapse and whimper into the grass, and I held my breath as I awaited my father's answer.

My heart sank again as Sparrow nodded. "Yes, which is why I have to get back as soon as I can." He then let out a sigh, his eyes still wide with worry as he looked over his shoulder – the yowls and growls ahead getting louder and louder. "I came back here to make sure that you were safe."

Then, without another word, I was completely surprised when Sparrow then whipped his head around, and then proceeded to grab me by the scruff and carry me like a kit as he then broke into a run. He only seemed to slow down to take a quick look at the surroundings before running like his life depended on it all over again.

I then nearly let out a yelp when I was suddenly dropped, landing on dirt and being surrounded by darkness. My nostrils then filled with the scents of new creatures – stale, luckily, and the light from the sun leaked through a hole above – where I assumed I had been dropped from.

I then flicked my ears in bewilderment as I then processed the fact that Sparrow had just dropped me into what appeared to be an old rabbit or fox hole. "Father, what are you doing?" I called up to him as he peered down into the hole.

"Keeping you away!" he immediately answered, looking over his shoulder every couple of heartbeats.

I could hardly believe it, and began to shake my head urgently as my mouth dropped open again. "What? But I want to help!"

"No, Mist!" Sparrow then nearly growled. "I'm not letting them lay a claw on you if I can help it!"

"That's ridiculous!" I called up, my voice nearly a growl as well. "There's no way you and mother can take on three of those by yourselves!"

I actually did then feel a bit comforted as Sparrow let out a snort, and he seemed to have given a lash of his tail. "With all of the creatures we've run into in the past, we sure as heck can try." Then, just as he was about to say something else, he cut himself off as the very clear yowl of my mother came from the distance. I could barely hear it from where I was, but it was enough for me to feel like I was being deafened.

After screwing my eyes shut for a moment, I opened my eyes to see Sparrow already backing away from the hole. "Stay here, Mist. Please!"

"Wait!" I then cried out once again, hating to delay my father, but also hating the fact that I was being left here all alone to simply worry and wonder. "How am I supposed to know that you and mother are okay?"

Sparrow stopped in his tracks, looking back and flashing me a sympathetic glance. "I will come and get you as soon as Chrissy and I have fought the dogs off, I promise," he meowed softly. And honestly, I could not imagine how much strength it was taking him to say those words as calmly as he was. He then actually bent down into the hole, quickly touching his muzzle to my head. "For now, just be patient, Mist. We'll be back soon."

Then, before I could say anything else at all, Sparrow vanished like a firefly's light at dawn, and I truly had never, ever, felt so scared or alone.

And I had been told to stay here, scared and alone, simply having to live with the fact that my parents were off fighting very dangerous creatures, and there was nothing that I could do to affect the situation or even know what was going on. I truly don't think that there is a more horrible feeling...

With everything in my power I was trying to cling onto the fact that my parents were the toughest and bravest cats in the entire world, and after seeing their dauntless behavior last night, I could be sure that they would fight these three brutes with everything that they had.

I then let out a long, shaky sigh as I lied down, the pain in my leg making it very difficult to stand for even a moment. But is that enough?

A chill then ran down my spine as my father's words from earlier rang into my head once again. With all of the creatures we've run into in the past, we sure as heck can try.

I then found myself screwing my eyes shut again. Try... I repeated. Try, not do. I think Sparrow was trying to be comforting with those words, but trying implies a chance of no success.

I then forced myself to take a deep breath and open my eyes. Wondering at this point is... well, pointless, I tried to tell myself. All I can do is wait.

My father's words then echoed in my head once again. For now, just be patient, Mist. We'll be back soon.

I then gave the slightest nod, trying to stay calm despite still being able to hear the mangles of yowls and growls in the distance. Just be patient, Mist. You've been practicing for it all of your life.

However, trying to be patient didn't make those yowls and growls any less unbearable as they seemed to stretch on for infinity. I continued to hear them as the sun moved above me in the sky.

But what became more unbearable, was the silence that came after. All that I could now hear were leaves being brushed by the wind, and wren birds chirping up in the trees.

As soon as I had processed this, my curiosity brought me to stand up. Did... did Sparrow and Chrissy fight the dogs off?

For a moment, my heart lifted a little as I was filled with hope. Are they on their way to get me? They hadn't come back as soon as the forest had gone silent, so I assumed, I had hoped, that they were maybe taking some time to nip their wounds in the bud, and if the both of them were injured, they would probably take a while to help each other back to the hole I was waiting in.

This is what I tried to keep circulating in my head, continuing to be patient as day turned into night.

But neither of them had come by the time I could see the moon high in the sky, and by the time the fireflies returned and the crickets began to chirp.

It had now felt like eons and eons of silence with no signs of life at all.

Although hope still throbbed in my chest, my heart felt immensely heavy as I finally forced myself to stand up, my leg only hurting slightly less as I then climbed out of the hole.

It was almost completely pitch black outside except for the small specks of light from the fireflies. I tried to focus on the calmness of the night and the sounds of cricket chirping as I then began to limp through the forest. I would have taken any other distraction or feeling to shift my head away from the overwhelming amount of dread that I currently felt.

I had to force myself to calm down, as I had to have a clear mind in order to assess whatever scene I would confront.

Quickly, I had to hold back a whimper as the horrible scent of blood then flooded through my nostrils – both cat and dog blood.

Unfortunately for me, that is the tamest thing I would discover. As I continued to limp ahead, I then began to notice the clumps of fur scattered about. Dark gray and dark ginger fur... I thought, screwing my eyes shut for a moment. There's dog fur everywhere too, but...

I then came to some very tall shrubs, and I couldn't see anything beyond them. However, I had a very horrible hunch that I knew what was on the other side.

Nevertheless, I forced myself to limp on and crawl through the shrubs, my head down the entire time.

And my head was still down once the last of the shrubs brushed against my tail. My eyes then screwed shut as my paws then stepped into what felt like mud. Mud that certainly wasn't wettened by water... And then the stenches of blood and death became more unbearable than I ever could have thought possible.

My head was still facing the ground, and I found that I liked it that way. I began to shake my head as I held back a whimper, lying down and covering my eyes with my paws. For goodness sake, I can't look, I can't look, I can't do it!

But eventually, I did look up. I wasn't too sure what finally brought me to do it, but I suppose knowing already what I was likely to find made it a little less scary, as horrible as it sounded.

And as I finally lifted my head and looked ahead at the sight in front of me, finding that worst possible sight that I had been prepared to find – I felt completely numb. Suddenly, the large wound on my leg felt like just a pesky thorn in my paw.

And as I stared ahead at the bodies of my parents that were ripped to shreds, I was overwhelmed with grief, but with guilt as well as this sight processed.

I had tried to be patient, but it just might have been the cost of my parents' lives.