Chapter 13

The she-cat hurriedly scattered up to me, panting heavily as her paws splashed in the mud. She stopped, her hairless feet covered in mud. Staring at me, she had a wild look in her eyes. I could sense her urgency and fear... something was wrong, I could smell it. The she-cat shakily opened her mouth to speak, failing and letting out a few squeaks before finally saying something. "Oreo, m-my den got struck by lightning!" She yawped in a panic. So that was the lightning strike I heard earlier... It was coming in the direction of her den!

"It's in flames!" She exclaimed, looking down and grieving. I widened my eyes, shocked to hear what happened to her den. "I'm so sorry, Sphynxia," I said softly. "I wish I could help... but-" "What in the world happened to your den?" She meowed, with even more concern in her eyes as she looked at the lump of mud, then looked at Sally and saw the state she was in. "The den... collapsed on her. It was the rain... since it's made out of mud and all." Her eyes were concern-ridden, looking around at the cats in front of her.

"H-how did you get her out?" She asked, glancing at the huge lump of mud. "I swam in there and pulled her out... but she wouldn't be breathing right now if it wasn't for Zach... he did that chest-pushing thing." "Oh... My mother taught me that old trick," Zach said, weakly smiling as he looked back at Sally. "I've seen worse cases before," he meowed sarcastically, glancing at Windy. Windy rolled her eyes, annoyed, and I wondered what they were talking about.

A𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘡𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? Perhaps something that happened before they moved in with us? "Is she okay?" Sphynxia asked, inquiring about my sister. Sally nodded, relieved. "I'm glad you were there," she said, looking up at Zach. "Thank you." Zach smiled, looking at the she-cat lovingly.

"So... Where are we going to live now?" Windy asked, concern and worry in her voice as she looked around hopelessly, her tail lashing. The rest of the cats looked around, just as confused and concerned as she was. "...I have no idea," I finally said, a shiver going up my spine as the cold of the rain finally got to me. Sphynxia being here cheered me up, but... Until now, I hadn't fully grasped what was happening.

𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰.

And now Sphynxia had nowhere to go, because her den got struck by lightning and was now bursting out of control in flames.

𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵. We were homeless, without a roof over our furry heads. Me and my denmates all looked at each other, scared and helpless. We had to find a way out of this situation, but none of us knew how. We were lost. "I... could try and find a home for you guys... If I do, I hope you guys wouldn't mind me living with you too. "Of course not, Sphynxia! We could all live together!" She smiled, sprinting away into the trees, leaving her earthy scent behind. "So... who is that, Oreo?"

Zach asked me. "That's our only hope," I said, looking up into the sky. 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦, 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. "Her name is Sphynxia."

We all waited nervously, hoping that Sphynxia would find a den for us. Moments passed, until she finally came back, with a happy look on her face. "I found a place! We can live there together!" That was quick, I thought. We all ran towards her, eager to see it.

I turned back, wanting to help my sister get up to catch up with everyone else. She couldn't get up by herself - She was just unconscious only about twenty moments ago. Zach ran to her side before I could, helping her up and gently guiding her to the group of cats that were waiting for them.

I plunged into the abyss of thought. Zach was a natural leader, always taking charge of the situation when needed and offering guidance. Having a kind heart and a gentle nature, are traits that would be perfect for Sally. I could tell that he had genuine feelings for her, and I knew she felt the same way. I saw that they would make a great pair and smiled, wishing them happiness together.

We followed her through the bushes, and it felt like running through the jungle. Eventually, she led us to a pathway on a hill. There was a hole under the road that I noticed. Almost like a den. We all stopped and looked at it in amazement. The entrance was big enough for us to fit in. We all looked at each other and then started to make our way inside. It would definitely be noisy because of the horse-pulls constantly driving across the pathway all the time, but it looked like a good place to live.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.