Chapter 1 - The Rise of the Darkness

Mousy was baking a nut-and-berry pie, humming softly to distract himself from his painful past, when Oliver shouted, “Mousy, Batzy is here!”

Mousy sprinted to the door, basket of strawberries and raspberries in hand.

“Hiya, Mouse,” said Batzy. “Is, uhm… the owl - Oliver, that’s his name - here?” she asked.

Mousy turned his head and checked the time. “What do you think?” he replied, handing the basket of berries to Batzy.

Batzy’s pupils suddenly widened until they were as big as basketballs. “BERRIES!” she gasped, before inhaling them all at once.

Mousy glanced at her sideways, concern flickering across his face. “You should really save some for later,” he said, watching as Batzy popped the last one into her mouth.

“Do you guys wanna go for a walk?” Oliver asked.

“Sure!” Mousy and Batzy replied together.

Halfway through their walk, the once-bright blue sky turned dark and grey, and rain began to fall. Then -

BANG! CRASH! BOOM!

Lightning ripped across the sky.

“M-m-Mousy, w-what’s h-h-happening?” stammered Batzy.

A low hiss echoed through the forest. From behind the dense foliage, they caught glimpses of scales slithering across the ground. Then came the sound of a slice, followed by a scream… then another slice, another scream.

“I think we should go home,” Oliver said firmly.

But when they returned, everything was gone - the table, the chairs, even the pie Mousy had made.

They climbed to the fourth floor of their treehouse to get a better view of the forest below. From up there, they saw someone racing towards their door, pounding on it frantically.

“LET ME IN, PLEASE!” the stranger cried.

Batzy frowned in thought, then her face lit up. “That’s my friend, QueQue!” she exclaimed, rushing to open the door.

QueQue looked a little embarrassed. “Look… it was just the closest house,” she muttered.

Batzy smiled warmly. “That’s fine, KitKat!”

Mousy took the chance to ask a question. “Did you happen to see a snake?” he asked carefully.

QueQue paused, eyes narrowing as she tried to recall. “Yes. It had dark grey scales with black outlines beneath each one. Its tongue was long and slimy, and its eyes… completely white. Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Mousy answered quickly, though his mind swirled with the memory of the snake that had taken his parents.

Back upstairs, the silence weighed heavily on them. The only sounds were the patter of rain and the pounding of their own hearts. The room echoed so much that a single sniffle multiplied into ten.

They were tense, wondering what was coming. Then, in the distance, a glowing orange-and-yellow light appeared, creeping closer and closer.

“FIRE! FIRE!” Oliver suddenly shouted.

Panic spread instantly as they scrambled to higher ground.

The crackling grew louder. Smoke drifted up from the stairs. Batzy hurried to check, but flames and smoke were all that remained.

Suddenly the whole treehouse tilted. Everyone clung to one another as the great tree toppled, splitting in two with a deafening CRACK!

They ran through the flames, their fur singed, until they stumbled upon a small cave. Ducking inside, they caught their breath. Oliver gathered twigs and stones, managing to spark a little fire.

“Well, this will have to do for tonight,” he said. He piled leaves into makeshift beds and wrapped ferns around smaller bundles to make pillows.

They lay down, shivering in the cold, their noses stung with frost.

Then - pop… pop…

The sound of fireworks echoed across the night. They seemed to be drawing nearer. Mousy cracked open his eyes, just enough to see brilliant sparks of light showering across the sky, falling onto the charred grass outside the cave.

A faint slither echoed through the darkness. Out of the corner of his eye, Mousy caught the shadow of a colossal snake. Its eyes gleamed like clock faces, ticking away.