by Justin D'Ath
‘We should ditch these outfits,’ Colt said.
‘And run round in our undies?’ asked Birdy.
‘Hey!’ Zac nudged Colt’s arm. ‘You could be Captain Underpants.’
‘Ha ha!’ he said. ‘I’m taking my wig off, anyway.’
‘Then everyone will see what colour your hair is,’ Birdy warned.
‘What colour is your hair?’ asked Zac.
It was blond – so blond it was almost white. People often commented on it. At his last school, before he joined the circus, Colt’s nickname was Ghostie. He left the wig on.
‘Um, orange,’ he said. ‘Same as my wig.’
They ducked their heads as the police car drove slowly back the other way. The powerful torch beam came flickering across the hedge top. A stray beam passed right through the foliage and lit up a section of Colt’s wig. He’d been wrong about the colour – it was red, not orange. But neither he nor his two companions noticed. The cops drove on past.
‘Don’t they have more important things to do?’ Zac grumbled.
‘Let’s hope they don’t start knocking on people’s doors,’ said Colt.
‘Why did you say you lived at that other house?’ Zac asked him.
‘Because I couldn’t tell them where she and I really live. It’d blow our cover. Plus,’ he added, ‘we have to go back to the school. I know where Puss is.’
‘Who’s Puss?’ Zac whispered.
‘The panther.’
‘Where is it?’ asked Birdy.
‘In the apple tree,’ Colt said.
‘OMG!’ she gasped. ‘You mean we were, like, right underneath it?’
‘It wasn’t going to come down,’ he said.
‘How did you know?’
‘It was scared. I could smell its fear.’
‘You could smell its fear?’ Zac said disbelievingly.
‘I’m pretty good at smelling stuff,’ Colt said. ‘It was afraid of something.’
‘Probably the rhino,’ said Zac.
‘Why didn’t you tell anyone it was there?’ Birdy asked.
‘They would have shot it,’ Colt said. ‘You saw how nervous everyone was. Those soldiers had their fingers on their triggers. So did the cops, before they saw Assam was tied up.’
Zac whispered, ‘I would have been more than nervous if I’d known there was a real live panther just above me!’
‘That’s why I didn’t tell you,’ said Colt.
He raised his head again and peered across at the school. The apple tree wasn’t visible because the wall was too high, but he could see the tops of the palm trees and the upper stories of the big, old administration building. The flashers from a dozen or more emergency vehicles flickered like disco lights across its ancient stonework.
‘So what’s the plan?’ asked Birdy.
‘I don’t actually have a plan,’ Colt admitted. ‘Puss will be harder to catch than Assam.’
‘Hang on a minute,’ said Zac. ‘You guys aren’t seriously thinking of catching the panther?’
‘We’ve got to,’ Colt said. ‘Otherwise it’ll get shot.’
‘What about that Noah dude? Was that him in the circus truck that turned up when we were leaving the school?’
‘It must have been. But even he won’t be able to catch Puss.’
‘And you can?’ Zac said.
Colt shrugged. He remembered how the panther had eyeballed him down the length of the school dining hall. Remembered its teeth, its rippling muscles, the speed with which it had moved.
‘I might need a net or something to throw over it.’
‘I know where there’s a net,’ Birdy said.
They came up with a plan. As soon as the coast was clear, they would cross the road and sneak back into the school grounds through a hole in the fence that Zac knew about. Keeping an eye out for soldiers and police, they would then make their way to the gym. With any luck, the outer door of the little sports equipment storeroom would still be unlocked. If it wasn’t, Colt would have to use a bit of Superclown muscle to break in.
What Birdy had seen in the wheelbarrow wasn’t tennis nets, Zac told them, it was nets from the hockey goals. They were a lot bigger than tennis nets – much better for catching panthers, he reckoned.
Once they found the net, they would split up. Colt and Zac would sneak back through the school with the net and hide in a little alcove at the back of the dining hall. Birdy would go the other way and create a diversion. Zac told her how to get up on top of the grandstands by the tennis courts, where everyone in the school grounds would hear her if she screamed loud enough.
‘You’ll have to be really loud because of the music in the gym,’ Zac said, and Birdy said, ‘No problem – nobody can scream as loud as me.’ When they heard her screaming, the police and soldiers would think someone had found the panther (or it had found them) and they would all come running. That would leave the coast clear for Colt to drag the net around the side of the dining hall – while Zac acted as lookout – and throw it over the apple tree, trapping Puss inside.
‘I just hope the net’s big enough to go right over the tree,’ Colt whispered.
He didn’t find out. Before they had a chance to put their plan into action, something happened that changed everything.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
It was gunshots. They were coming from the school.
‘Shashlik!’ cried Colt.
He would have jumped up and raced across the road if Birdy hadn’t grabbed his sleeve.
‘Keep your head down!’ she hissed. ‘You don’t know what’s going on over there.’
Colt knew what was going on, all right. The soldiers had spotted Puss and opened fire. Now the shooting had stopped. It was all over.
‘They didn’t have to kill Puss,’ he muttered.
Zac placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘They had no choice, SC. Someone might have got hurt.’
Then Colt had another horrible thought. What if the soldiers were too late? What if Puss had already hurt someone before the soldiers shot it?
What if it had killed someone?
Colt would be to blame. He hadn’t warned them about the panther in the tree.
Some superhero! he thought. I might have just caused someone to die!
There was still a lot going on at the school. Colt could hear running feet, vehicle doors slamming, people shouting and giving orders. A bright spotlight wobbled along the side of the administration building, flicked across a classroom block further back, then plunged down out of sight.
‘I don’t think they got Puss,’ Birdy whispered.
‘How do you know?’ asked Zac.
‘If they killed it, why is everyone still running around and shining their lights everywhere?’
They ducked their heads as a big blue police van came roaring up the road with its lights flashing. Behind it came two more army trucks and a fire engine. The police van slowed at the intersection, whooped its siren because the traffic lights were red, then disappeared around the corner towards the school gates. As soon as the lights changed, the three trucks followed it.
At least there weren’t any ambulances, Colt thought.
Aloud, he said, ‘I’m going to see what’s happened.’
This time Birdy didn’t stop him when he rose to his feet. There was no sign of Officer Lauren’s car. Colt jumped the hedge and raced across the road at an angle. Birdy and Zac followed as fast they could. One of the cops down at the accident site spotted them and shouted. It was impossible to hear what he said because of all the other noises coming from over the wall.
Colt reached the far side of the road just short of the traffic lights and went sprinting round the corner. Already he was twenty or thirty metres ahead of Birdy and Zac. All the other vehicles had gone into the school, but the fire engine was stopped under a streetlight outside the gates. A policeman stood on its footboard talking to the driver. He turned as Colt came running along the footpath.
Uh oh! It was Bos
s Cop. ‘Didn’t I send you home, kid?’
‘I heard shooting,’ Colt said. ‘Is anyone hurt?’
‘Nobody’s hurt. Why did you come back here?’
‘Did they shoot the panther?’
‘They shot at it,’ Boss Cop said. ‘But it was too quick. You kids shouldn’t be here.’
Zac and Birdy came running up and stopped next to Colt. They were both out of breath, whereas Colt was barely puffing at all. As they stood there under the streetlight, Colt noticed something different about Zac, but he couldn’t quite work out what it was. ‘Puss is okay,’ he told the others.
‘Yay!’ said Birdy.
‘What were all those shots?’ Zac puffed.
‘They missed,’ said Colt.
‘Excuse me for interrupting,’ Boss Cop said, ‘but you three shouldn’t be here.’
Colt gave him a little salute. ‘We’re just leaving, boss.’
He turned and headed back towards the traffic lights, with Birdy and Zac hot on his heels.
‘Hey, wait a minute!’ Boss Cop called after them. ‘It isn’t safe! There’s a dangerous animal on the loose!’
They kept running. Colt left the other two behind again. But he stopped around the corner to wait for them.
‘Man, you’re fast!’ Zac panted when he and Birdy caught up.
Colt motioned them close to the wall, then pointed down the road at the two cops directing traffic around the truck with the wrecked car on its tray. Weren’t they ever going to leave? ‘Zac, please don’t tell me the hole in the fence is down there.’
‘Actually, it is.’
‘Rat poo!’ muttered Birdy.
‘But it’s closer than they are,’ Zac whispered. ‘Let’s just walk calmly towards them like we’re coming to say hello.’
‘But they know those guys in the car were after us,’ Colt said.
Zac grinned. ‘So they’ll think we’re coming to give ourselves up.’
It was a cheeky plan, but it just might work. They strolled casually down the footpath towards the accident site, making no effort to stay in the shadows. The cops had seen them now, but they didn’t leave their positions on the road.
‘How much further?’ Colt whispered.
‘Not far,’ Zac replied.
They had reached the end of the wall and were walking along beside the tall chain-link fence that led down past the sports fields and the circus. Every step was bringing them nearer to the cops.
At last Zac stopped. Bending down next to the fence, he hooked his hands under it and lifted. A metre-wide section of cyclone wire rolled upwards, opening a gap about thirty centimetres high.
‘Quick! Wiggle under, you guys, while I hold it up.’
The cops could see something was going on. One of them flashed his torch in their direction. It lit up Birdy as she squeezed under the fence.
‘OY! GET OUT OF THERE!’ the cop yelled.
Colt wormed through after Birdy, then held the gap open for Zac as two torches came bobbing along the footpath on the other side. He dropped the wire back into place and hauled Zac to his feet.
Seconds later, the two out-of-breath policemen stood outside the fence, shining their torches back and forth along the row of tall, dark school buildings on the other side. But the three kid-sized clowns had disappeared.
Colt had no idea where they were. Zac had led them through a maze of covered breezeways, shadowy courtyards and narrow, pitch-black alleys. Now they crouched under some iron stairs outside what looked like a science block. They were having a short rest while Zac and Birdy got their breath back. Dance music pulsed softly in the night air.
‘So what’s the plan now?’ asked Birdy.
Colt shrugged. The original plan had been to catch Puss while it was still in the apple tree. That was no longer an option. ‘I guess we go looking for it,’ he said.
‘Can I make a suggestion?’ whispered Zac.
‘Suggest away.’
‘Let’s get one of those hockey nets first.’
‘Good idea,’ said Colt.
Zac took the lead again. He knew the way. But all they really had to do was follow their ears. It seemed strange to hear dance music when so much was going on. Twice they had to stop and hide as squads of heavily armed men with big torches worked their way from building to building, like commandos in a war zone.
‘That last lot had different uniforms,’ Birdy whispered, peering around the end of the library where they had temporarily taken cover.
‘They were Special Forces soldiers,’ whispered Zac. ‘Your panther’s in big trouble, guys.’
‘Let’s hope they don’t find it,’ Colt murmured.
Birdy was pressed against the wall next to him. ‘How will we find it?’
Colt wondered if he really wanted to. Puss was going to be quite a handful, even with a hockey net. But the alternative was the extinction of yet another animal species. ‘When we do find it,’ he said, ‘you guys keep well clear, okay?’
‘Can I have your phone?’ Zac whispered.
‘I left it at Birdy’s. Why do you want it?’
‘Who’s Birdy?’
‘Nobody. Anyway, you’ve got your own phone.’
‘Mine’s only an old 20G,’ the other boy said. ‘It doesn’t even do thought transfer. I was hoping yours might be a later model.’
‘And what if it is?’ Colt asked.
‘Well, you won’t need it if you’re dead.’
‘Dead?’
‘Yeah. If the panther wins.’
‘Ha ha. You’re a real comedian, Zac.’
‘I’m a clown – what did you expect?’
‘We’re all clowns,’ hissed Birdy. She sounded cross. ‘But don’t make jokes about Colt dying, okay?’
‘Colt?’ said Zac. ‘Is that his name?’
Birdy gave a little gasp. ‘Oops! Me and my big mouth.’
‘Birdy and Colt,’ Zac said softly.
‘Don’t you dare tell anyone!’ Birdy warned.
Colt shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter if he knows. We’ll probably all be dead soon, anyway.’
She punched his arm. ‘Don’t you joke about it, either.’
But joking helped. Colt didn’t want Zac and Birdy to know how scared he was. He was supposed to be a superhero, but right now he didn’t feel like one. ‘Let’s get moving,’ he whispered.
They made it to the gym without seeing any more soldiers. Lights shone from a row of windows set high in the walls. The building throbbed with music and the buzz of excited voices. They all sound a bit hyper in there, Colt thought. As if the lockdown and the sense of danger had infected everyone at the dance.
It had infected those outside, too. Colt felt his skin tingling as Zac led him and Birdy around the side of the building. The storeroom door stood partway open. Zac mustn’t have closed it properly when he’d followed Birdy out earlier. He fumbled inside the doorway for the light switch, but Colt grabbed his arm.
‘Don’t turn it on till the door’s closed,’ he whispered. Suddenly he was so nervous his mouth had gone dry. ‘We don’t want the soldiers to see the light.’
But it wasn’t the thought of soldiers that was making Colt’s mouth dry and causing his hair to prickle against the inside of his wig. It was something else – something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
He followed Zac and Birdy into the storeroom and pulled the door closed, plunging them into absolute darkness.
‘Okay, Zac,’ Colt whispered. ‘Turn the light on.’
Click!
And that was when he and Zac found out exactly how loudly Birdy could scream.
‘Both of you get behind me,’ Colt said, his ears ringing. ‘Move really slowly.’
He locked eyes with the panther as Birdy and Zac shuffled around behind him. Puss must have crept into the storeroom to hide from all the men with guns. It crouched on a pile of tumbling mats in the far corner – not that anywhere in the little room was exactly far from anywhere else. The big black cat was so c
lose that even Colt’s two companions, who didn’t have superhero noses, must have smelled its warm, meaty breath.
‘Will I open the door?’ Birdy whispered.
Colt nodded. But he didn’t break eye contact with Puss. ‘Do it really slowly. Just wide enough for you and Zac to squeeze outside. Make sure you close it properly behind you.’
‘Aren’t you coming, too?’
‘I came here to catch Puss,’ he said. ‘Where’s the net?’
‘In the wheelbarrow beside you.’
Colt swivelled his eyes towards the wheelbarrow. He hadn’t noticed it until now. All he’d noticed was Puss. ‘Okay. You guys go outside.’
‘I’m not leaving you,’ whispered Birdy.
‘Yes you are,’ Colt said. He locked eyes with Puss again. The panther drew back its lips, silently baring its huge pointed teeth. ‘It’s too dangerous in here.’
‘But I’m supposed to be your helper.’
‘Then go and get me some pizza,’ Colt said.
‘Please,’ Birdy reminded him.
‘Please go and get me some pizza!’
‘Pizza?’ said Zac.
‘There’s some in the dining hall,’ Colt told him.
‘Does the panther like pizza?’
‘It’s for Superclown,’ Birdy whispered. ‘He needs food to stay strong.’
‘Leave it to me,’ said Zac, pleased to have an excuse to leave. ‘How much do you want, SC?’
‘As much as you can carry, ZW,’ said Birdy.
The door clicked open. Colt felt a slight breeze on the back of his neck. Another click and Zac was gone.
‘You should have gone with him,’ Colt whispered.
‘Batman wouldn’t say that to Robin,’ Birdy whispered back.
‘Well, I’m not Batman.’
‘And I’m not Robin.’
Colt sighed. ‘Make sure you stay behind me, okay?’
‘You can count on that.’
The hockey net was much bigger than Colt had expected. He lifted it as high as he could, letting the rest of it pool around his feet in a big loose tangle. He could see Puss through the mesh that hung down in front of his face. The big black cat lay flat on the tumbling mats, ears back, teeth bared, waiting for him to make the next move.
