Chapter Three

I woke up, shivering. I blinked rapidly and looked around the den, realizing Mama wasn't there. Her side of the nest was cold, as if she hadn't been there for hours.
     I scrambled out of the nest and scanned the room again, just to be sure - she definitely wasn't here. Worry fluttered in my chest. Maybe she had gone outside to make dirt? We never "did our business" in the nest because we needed to keep it clean, so we usually went outside to do that.
      I fluffed up my feathers and hopped over to the entrance, poking my head outside. Early sunlight glinted off the snow on the ground, making me blink. The bare oaks and dark green conifers towered around me.
     Taking a deep breath, I stepped out onto the snow. My little claws splayed across the surface, balancing my weight evenly so I didn't sink.
    "Mama!?" I called. No reply. I stepped carefully over to the tangle of briars next to the den where we usually made dirt.
     My heart lurched.
     A trail of dark feathers, dusted on top by snow, led out of the briar patch and towards the deepest part of the forest. "Mama!" I screamed.
     I ran, following the haunting trail of brown feathers. Drops of crimson blood stained the white snow. My heart battered my chest and dread filled every inch of me, from the tips of my feathers down to my claws, which raced across the snow, fueled by adrenaline and desperation.
      From the number of feathers, it was obvious that Mama had put up a fight against the predator, which had probably grabbed her while she was making dirt last night.
     The trees blurred around me, and all I could see was the trail made of Mama's feathers and blood. My feet were growing numb with cold, but I didn't care.
     My heart seemed to stop altogether when I spotted something up ahead. A brown and red lump, surrounded by  bloodstained white snow. My eyes widened with horror and I slowed down.
     Mama was dead. The sight of her mangled body would forever haunt me, there in the darkness behind my eyelids.
     Anguish filled my. My legs buckled beneath me and I fell to the snow. My throat seemed to constrict so I couldn't breath. If I had been able to cry, I would have been too terrified and shocked to do so.
     Mama was gone. And she wasn't coming back.