The stables were in sight and approaching fast. His mother and baby brother needed him and his father was counting on him. He could not fail them all. He could not squander the incredible trust that they had placed in him. He would see his family to safety, no matter what. Even if he did not make it out of this alive, Boomer would make sure that his mother and his brother would.

He had to.

"There!" he thought to himself, as he spied a pillar ahead of him, directly in his path. "That's the one. I can't miss. This is our only chance. Mama. Malki. I'll protect you both."

That was the final thought that ran through his mind as he measured the remaining distance between them and the wooden beam. When he was close enough and was certain they would not go off course, the young tom pivoted and turned so that his family, safely in his arms, were at his front and his back was facing the pillar. He took a deep breath and steeled himself for imminent impact and with the full force of the wave, the brave young lad crashed into the wooden stilt.

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