Clara opened her eyes to see a crumpled, dirty piece of paper being pressed into her trembling hands. It was her missing cat poster. The bold header read MISSING: BUBBLES. “We found him,” the boy panted, his voice tight with anxiety. “But he’s in trouble. He’s stuck at the very top of the old nature reserve oak, and the branch is splitting. We tried to climb it, but we couldn’t reach him—it’s too high, and the wood is cracking under his own weight. He’s going to fall!”
In a fraction of a second, Clara’s terror for herself evaporated, replaced by a sudden, sharp spike of adrenaline for her cat. The boys hadn’t cornered her to hurt her; they had rushed her because they knew they were running out of time.
“Show me,” Clara demanded, her voice cracking. “Follow us, we have to run!” the boy replied, already sprinting back toward the dense tree line.