The heat of the fire hits me the second I turn the corner. The boars’ shed is alight, the right side and the roof engulfed by flames, and Bill and Ben are squealing and running back and forth in their pen, smashing against the fence and nudging the bolt with their snouts. The dogs reach them before I do, jumping up at the pen, barking and scratching, whining to be allowed in. If I let the boars free, Jack and Tyson will attack them, but it’s not the boars’ well-being I’m worried about. They’ll gore the dogs in a heartbeat. Most of the dogs come with me as I run up to the top field and throw the gate wide. They bound away into the long grass, delighted with their unexpected freedom.

By the time I get back to Bill and Ben, only Willow, Vinny and Stella are still with me. There’s a creaking noise as I fiddle with the bolt to the pen, then a crashing sound as part of the shed roof collapses. Then there’s another scream, a scream that goes right through me, as a small dark figure, cloaked in smoke, appears inside the door to the shed and throws themselves at it. The door holds firm. The latch at the bottom has been flipped over.

“Leanne!” I pull at the bolt to the pen, but it’s stiff and rusty and I’m shaking so much I can’t get a good grip on it. “Leanne!”

Willow and Vinny jump at my legs, and Bill and Ben squeal with fear inside the pen.

“Leanne!”

There’s another crash and the side of the shed crumples as flames leap into the air. The trapped figure screams again, and the sound goes through me. It’s a scream of anger, of terror, of despair. I wiggle the bolt back and forth, back and forth, never taking my eyes off the dark shape reaching for me from the shed.

Come on, come on, come on.

The boars bowl into me as I finally yank open the gate, and I have to cling to the fence to stay upright.

The world goes very quiet as I raise an arm to my eyes, shielding my face from the intense heat, and take a step towards the shed. The dogs stop barking, the pigs stop snorting, Leanne stops screaming, and I stop walking.