The Outlaw Varjak Paw

by S. F. Said

  ‘Don’t even think about it, Paw!’ hissed Elyza Scratch. ‘That scum’s not worth it.’

  ‘Razor’s not so bad,’ said Ozzie, speaking up. ‘He’s a show-off, but I always kind of liked him.’

  Omar nodded. ‘Stay back, Varjak,’ he commanded. ‘We’ll handle this. Come on, little brother! Yee-haa!’ Ozzie grinned. The Orrible Twins shoved Varjak out of the way, and sprang towards the patrol.

  Stay back, Varjak? What did Omar mean, stay back? There were five in the patrol – did Omar think they could beat five cats, all on their own? Or did he suspect that Varjak had lost the power?

  Normally, Varjak wouldn’t have thought twice. He’d feel confident if he could drop into Slow-Time, if he could make a Moving Circle, if he could feel the energy rising up inside him. But without it . . .

  He watched Omar and Ozzie go first. He heard their ferocious growls as the brothers barrelled into the fight. Omar lashed out at the leader, and drew blood. Beside him, Ozzie’s mighty swing erupted all over the patrol.

  But the Bones cats were tough. They weren’t scared of the Twins. They hit right back. One of them cracked Omar across the face.

  Varjak couldn’t watch. He couldn’t stand by and see his friends, out-numbered, take a beating. Maybe he didn’t have the power any more, but he was going to help.

  He strode into the dark red dimness. ‘Takes five of you to beat Razor, does it?’ he growled. ‘Let’s see what you can do in a fair fight.’

  The Bones cats drew back. ‘It’s him!’ they hissed. ‘The outlaw Varjak Paw!’

  Razor’s scar-torn face lit up. ‘Varjak?’ he whispered.

  ‘Stay back!’ panted Omar. ‘I told you, we’ll handle this.’

  But Varjak’s pride was stung. He breathed deep, reached for the power –

  in–two–three–four; out–two–three–four

  – and it all started again in his mind, like a nightmare coming back, a nightmare from which there was no escape:

  Sally Bones’s ice-blue eye, burning into his brain –

  – the darkness –

  – the despair –

  – can’t breathe –

  ‘Look out!’ cried Omar.

  The patrol leader swung at Varjak. Omar tried to get in the way, but the leader got there first.

  CRACK!

  His big, hard paw smashed into Varjak’s face. Varjak’s legs went weak. His head was on fire. He had no power. He couldn’t fight back. The leader was so much bigger, so much stronger. Without the power, he felt naked and empty as the sky.

  CRACK!

  CRACK!

  CRACK!

  Ultra-violet pain exploded in his head. The side of his face felt wet. Varjak looked up, dazed. In the dim red light, he saw the Scratch Sisters, coming out to fight. Behind them, Tam was biting her paws, frowning – and then, suddenly, Tam turned. She turned tail. She sprinted back down the underpass, back the way they’d come.

  ‘Tam!’ he called. She didn’t even look round, she was running so fast. The last thing he saw was her bushy tail, disappearing.

  She was gone. Tam had run away.

  CRACK!

  The patrol leader hit him once more. He slammed Varjak’s body, flinging him at the bins. Varjak crashed into them, head on. The metal groaned with the impact

  and everything

  everything

  every

  thing

  stopped

  Chapter Twenty-five

  VARJAK DREAMED. HE dreamed of the salty sea air.

  Salty? Sea air?

  Before him, sparkling blue and brilliant, was the sea. He was standing on sand, soft beneath his paws. An ocean breeze played upon his face. Waves rolled in with a gentle hushing sound, like the wind through a million leaves, and then they rolled out again. In and out, in and out; the waves came and went, endless; and Varjak thought he’d never felt so peaceful, so serene. Seagulls wheeled and turned on their wingtips through the sky. High above, behind the sea, he could see the mountains, with their perfect white peaks.

  The water looked so lovely. It wasn’t like the waters of the real world. It was warm gentle water that would carry him for ever and ever. He was filled with the desire to dip into the tide, and wade out to sea.

  ‘No further!’ said a voice behind him. ‘It is not your time, Varjak Paw.’

  Varjak turned. It was his ancestor. ‘Where are we, Jalal?’ he said.

  The old cat smiled, not without sadness. ‘This? This is the sea, my son. Where all rivers end.’

  ‘It’s beautiful.’

  ‘It is. But it is not for you. Not yet.’

  Varjak looked up at the sky. The sun was setting. Its final rays sank beneath the horizon.

  ‘Oh!’ said Varjak. ‘I think I understand.’

  Jalal smiled. ‘You are learning how to see, at last. Now you must go back where you belong, and do what you must do.’

  ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that,’ sighed Varjak. ‘I can’t fight her, Jalal. I can’t even look her in the eye.’

  ‘I know,’ said Jalal quietly. ‘The same happened to me with Saliya of the North.’

  ‘What? But – but you’re the great Jalal!’

  ‘Well, the great Jalal lost his greatest battle. No matter how good you are, there is always someone better.’

  ‘But you can’t lose a fight! You know everything!’

  Jalal’s amber eyes sparkled. ‘No one knows everything. Not even Jalal the Paw! No one is unbeatable. Everyone has a weakness. I did not find my enemy’s – yet she had one, too. And I knew that some day, a cat would come who could find it, and put an end to her reign of darkness. Perhaps a cat like you, my son. Perhaps a cat like you.’

  Jalal looked away, into the horizon. The sun had set. It was dark now over the sunless sea. ‘Never give up,’ he said. ‘Remember: one ray of light can change everything. And Varjak Paw?’

  ‘Yes, Jalal?’

  ‘Keep the Way alive.’

  Chapter Twenty-six

  VARJAK OPENED HIS eyes. The sea was gone. Above his head, a red strip light buzzed. He was back in the underpass, sprawled by the bins, in an acrid-smelling puddle. His face felt like raw meat. His friends were around him, looking worried.

  ‘Varjak?’ said Omar. ‘Can you hear me? Are you OK?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ he said, though his head ached, and his body was sore.

  ‘You must have nine lives!’ breathed Jess. ‘We thought you was finished there.’

  Varjak coughed. There was blood on his fur. Did they know he’d lost the power? Surely they’d seen it, in the fight with the patrol. But no one said a thing about it. ‘What happened to the Bones cats?’ he asked.

  ‘They ran away,’ said Elyza Scratch. ‘Like your fat friend Tam.’

  So it was true: Tam had really gone. Varjak shook his head. He couldn’t believe it. What was she thinking?

  ‘I miss her,’ said Omar.

  ‘She’s a coward,’ grunted Ozzie.

  ‘We’re better off without her,’ said Elyza. ‘We only need fighters here.’

  Razor was crouched shivering behind the others. He looked naked without his ears and tail, and so much smaller than before.

  ‘I heard what happened to Holly, Varjak,’ he croaked. ‘I’m sorry. I wish I could’ve helped her.’ His voice, once so brash, was little more than a whisper. ‘But Sally Bones saw straight through me. She knew I wanted to leave her gang, and join you instead.’

  ‘Leave the Bones?’ said Jess. ‘Why would you ever do that?’

  Razor touched his newest, rawest wounds. ‘Varjak beat me in a fight, fair and square. He could’ve slashed me to pieces; he could’ve killed me. But he didn’t.’ A smile broke out on his scar-torn face. ‘He’s not like her. He’s the kind of Boss I always wanted.’

  Varjak looked round at his friends, embarrassed. But they were staring at Razor with open hatred.

  Razor nodded at Jess. ‘I’m sorry about your ear, Jessie,’ he whispered. ‘I d
idn’t want them to do it.’ He held out a paw to her. Jess flinched away.

  ‘Don’t touch me!’ she shouted. ‘It was Varjak what saved you – not me. Far as I’m concerned, you’re just a big bully, and you got what you deserved!’

  ‘But I can help you,’ said Razor. ‘I’d do anything to get back at Sally Bones – anything!’

  ‘That don’t make you our friend,’ said Jess. ‘How can we trust you, after everything you done?’

  ‘You can’t,’ snapped Elyza. ‘It was stupid to save him. He can’t fight any more. We should leave him behind.’

  Ozzie scowled. ‘That’s not fair.’ He stood shoulder to shoulder with Razor, bristling at Elyza Scratch.

  ‘There’s no time to argue,’ said Omar. ‘That patrol will be back any minute, with reinforcements. Varjak: make a decision. Does Razor come with us, or not?’

  Varjak tried to gather his thoughts. His face still felt raw. Up above, the red strip light buzzed on and off. He didn’t know what to say. He trusted Razor; there was something in the tomcat’s voice, something in his words, that rang true. But looking at Jess, with her torn ear, he knew he needed a better answer than that.

  ‘What you said about Razor is right, Jessie,’ he started. ‘He was a bully, and he did terrible things, and I hated him too, back then.’ Razor’s fur flattened; he looked ashamed. ‘But what Razor said is also right,’ Varjak carried on. ‘He knows Sally Bones and her territory better than any of us. He can help us make this city free again – like your grandma wanted; like Holly wanted. I can’t make you agree with me, and if you don’t want him with us, then he won’t come. But shouldn’t we give him a chance?’

  There was silence for a moment. Then, very slowly, Jess nodded. Ozzie grinned, and helped Razor up.

  Elyza spat on the ground. ‘You’re too softhearted. There’s no way he can help us. He’s finished.’ She strode towards the exit of the underpass. Malisha and Pernisha followed. Razor turned to Varjak.

  ‘Thanks, Boss!’ he croaked, his eyes wet. ‘I won’t let you down.’

  ‘Good,’ said Varjak. ‘Because we need your help. How do we cross the river?’

  ‘The road bridge is the best way – but it’s heavily guarded.’

  ‘That’s what we thought,’ said Varjak. ‘So we’re crossing the railway bridge.’

  Razor frowned. ‘No one goes on the railway bridge!’

  ‘That’s why we’re doing it.’

  They picked up the Scratch Sisters and left the underpass. The sun had set now. Night was drawing in. A narrow flight of steps led up to the railway bridge. Behind them, traffic screamed by in a never-ending flow.

  ‘I haven’t been here for years,’ said Razor. ‘We never use this bridge any more.’

  ‘We?’ said Jess suspiciously.

  ‘I mean, they,’ coughed Razor. ‘You know who I mean. Trains go past all the time. If you’re stuck on the bridge when one comes through – splat! It’s over.’

  ‘It won’t be guarded, will it?’ said Varjak.

  ‘Shouldn’t be, Boss. Shouldn’t be. Best wait for a train to go by, and then cross right after it. We’ll have to run fast. Even the biggest gaps aren’t long.’

  They climbed the steps. An empty, narrow platform ran alongside the railway track. They took up positions, and waited for a train. Night had fallen, and a baleful-looking moon glowered down at them. A cold wind was rising; they could hear it moaning under the bridge, chopping up the river.

  Soon there was a rattling roar and an ear-splitting whistle. The platform began to shake. A train was approaching. Varjak had seen trains going over the bridge before, but from a safe distance. Now he was up close, he could feel the pressure on his face, squashing down his fur, pushing him back away from the track.

  It was like a hurricane, howling through the night. The train roared towards them, its headlight blinding. The air seemed to thud and crack as it rushed by –

  thud and crack

  And Thud And Crack

  AND THUD

  AND CRACK

  – and then it was gone, and he was looking at its red tail lights, trailing away. Varjak breathed; and only now did he realize he’d been holding his breath.

  ‘See?’ said Razor.

  ‘It’s a risk we have to take,’ said Varjak.

  ‘I don’t like it,’ said Elyza Scratch. ‘There must another way.’

  ‘Don’t be stupid,’ said Omar. ‘You can see for yourself: there’s the road bridge, the railway bridge, and the river.’

  ‘Who are you calling stupid?’ snarled Elyza. ‘You and your brother are the stupidest cats I ever met.’

  Ozzie stuck his big chest out. ‘I am not stupid!’

  ‘The way you fight!’ laughed Malisha. ‘No style at all! Just brute force!’

  ‘And the way you fight,’ snarled Omar, ‘hiding behind your claws – it’s for weaklings.’ He looked at Pernisha, with her one ear. ‘You can’t even defend yourselves.’

  Pernisha’s pupils narrowed to slits. ‘Weaklings?’ she seethed, sharpening her claws. ‘Let’s see who’s a weakling. Let’s finish this, once and for all, so everyone knows who the greatest fighters in this city are!’

  ‘Let’s!’ said Ozzie, mane rippling in the wind.

  Varjak’s head hurt. This was impossible. If he still had the power, he could have shut them up. But he didn’t. They were all bigger than him, stronger than him, tougher than him. Yet somehow, he had to get them to work together. He needed them, for without them, he’d never get near Sally Bones, and everything would be lost.

  But they were cats who had never accepted any leader. They were used to living free and wild. They didn’t think they needed anything or anyone but themselves. Holly or Tam might’ve known how to talk to cats like this – but they were gone now, and Varjak couldn’t do it on his own.

  ‘You know what?’ he said. ‘If you’re all such great fighters, then what’s the point of me being here? You don’t need me. Tam had the right idea. I’m going back.’ He turned round, biting his tongue. The winter wind whipped into his ears. Below, traffic roared by, monstrous and indifferent.

  ‘No – Varjak, wait,’ called Omar.

  ‘Come back, Paw!’ said Pernisha Scratch.

  He turned. They were eyeing him warily.

  Razor laughed. ‘Know why they’re so angry, Boss? I’ll tell you. It’s because they know they’re not the greatest fighters. None of them can touch Sally Bones. But you, Boss – you can, and that makes them mad. A funny-looking little cat like you – how could you be greater than the Scratch Sisters, or the Orrible Twins? How could—’

  ‘That’s enough, Razor!’ snapped Pernisha, silencing him. She turned to Varjak, fire in her eyes. ‘I’ll say this much, Paw. You’re the reason we’re all here. You’re the only one who’s got a chance against the Bones. You cannot turn back from this.’

  ‘Then do what he says,’ croaked Razor, ‘and stop arguing.’

  ‘All right,’ muttered the Sisters and the Twins. ‘All right.’

  Varjak looked at the railway track, stretching into the night ahead of him. He shivered. Razor’s words weren’t much comfort. He knew he wasn’t the greatest fighter: not without his power, and not even with it. But Pernisha Scratch was right. There was too much at stake to turn back now.

  ‘OK,’ he said. ‘Let’s cross this river.’

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  RAZOR LED THE way onto the track, starting across the bridge at a brisk pace. It was rusty; paint was peeling off the metal. Looking down through the gaps, Varjak could see the river, moving far below.

  ‘Quick, now,’ said Razor. ‘Quick.’

  They raced forwards. Varjak’s paw-pads stung on the cold, rusty metal; his fur ruffled in the wind. The river was so wide. Fast as they ran, crossing the bridge seemed to take for ever. Behind him, he could hear the Scratch Sisters muttering, and the Twins muttering back. The tension was still there. As long as they got over this bridge before the next train came thro
ugh, Varjak didn’t care. Not far now; not far . . .

  ‘Halt!’ came a voice from ahead. They were almost over the river, just a few paces from the other side. But before them now were the glinting eyes of cats. Sally Bones’s cats, guarding the bridge that shouldn’t have been guarded. Leading them was Uzi, one of Luger’s lieutenants.

  ‘Out of our way!’ croaked Razor.

  ‘Razor?’ said Uzi. ‘I don’t believe it! What are you doing with those stinking outlaws?’

  ‘Better believe it,’ said Razor. ‘Now stand aside!’

  The Bones cats dropped into a tight defensive formation. They didn’t look like they were going to back off.

  Varjak frowned. He could feel the railway track vibrating, like the metal was being violently shaken. It could only be one thing: the next train coming. How were they going to get past before it came through?

  ‘We’re here to get Varjak Paw,’ said Uzi. ‘Sally Bones wants him, dead or alive. The rest of you can go – we’ll forget we ever saw you – but Varjak Paw is ours.’

  Varjak glanced around, suddenly uncertain. What if the Scratch Sisters or Razor turned him in? But they spat at the Bones cats.

  ‘Big words, Uzi,’ said Elyza Scratch. ‘Get out of our way, before you get hurt.’

  ‘Hurt,’ said Uzi, baring his teeth, ‘is what we do best.’

  ‘Please don’t fight!’ cried Jess. ‘It’s mad – can’t we all just get off this bridge? I think there’s a train coming—’

  The vibrations were building beneath Varjak’s paws, growing stronger every second. ‘She’s right,’ he said. ‘If you don’t let us through, we’ll all be killed.’

  The Bones cats held their ground. The whole bridge was shaking now. He could hear the rattling roar, coming closer.

  The train. Coming. Closer.

  A headlight lit up the track in blazing colours.

  Pernisha Scratch licked her lips, touched the raw end of her ear, and flicked out her claws. ‘Now watch this!’ she growled. ‘See what a great fighter can do!’