by Jacob Grey
“This place is special to the ferals,” said Mrs Strickham. “Back in the Dark Summer we used it as a night base sometimes, until the Spinning Man found out and laid a trap. Many good ferals died. Madeleine’s father – the squirrel talker. Sylvia, the bear talker.”
“My father too,” said Chen quietly.
So that’s why he hadn’t wanted to come here, thought Caw.
Mrs Strickham led them down a tiled passage beside an empty concrete pool with faded pictures of penguins on the side, catching fish. As they went, Caw noticed two foxes silently slip into their wake, summoned, it seemed, from thin air.
Selina, Caw noticed, was quiet and pale. The last twenty-four hours must have been so strange for her, he thought. He gave her an encouraging smile, and waited for her to catch up.
Mrs Strickham stopped at a door with a sign that said “Zoo Keepers Only”. She pushed it open and led them across an empty room, then through another set of double doors. They found themselves beside a pond of scum-covered rainwater surrounded by fake boulders. The odour of rotten fish lingered in the air. Caw realised they were actually inside the old penguin enclosure.
Crumb was waiting, huddled under a canopy, along with several other figures – ferals from the funeral, and a few others besides. Over two dozen easily. Caw felt a tingle of excitement. He’d never seen so many together before. But as he scanned the faces, the thrill quickly waned. Was this all of them? It was hardly the army he’d imagined from the Dark Summer. Birds flapped around and settled on the pool’s edge, and there were several dogs of different species. A scaly lizard slithered across the floor, flicking a black tongue. Two men, both in their sixties, embraced warmly. At their feet a rabbit sniffed a tortoise that had retreated into its shell.
Crumb rushed forward and embraced Pip. Over the boy’s head, he glared at Caw.
“I can’t stop you sneaking off, but you should leave Pip out of it.”
Caw felt his cheeks heating up as Pip pulled away. “Don’t blame Caw – I followed him.”
Crumb looked like he was about say something else, when Racklen called out. “So what’s this all about?”
“Yeah, what’s the deal?” said a woman. There was a lizard perched on her shoulder. “It’s dangerous, coming here. Draws attention.”
Several others joined the rumblings of discontent, but Mrs Strickham raised her hands and the crowd fell silent. Caw noticed two black shapes swoop from above. Chen opened his jacket and they landed inside, hanging upside down and squeaking. Bats! Chen grinned and let his jacket fall closed again.
“Our enemies are resurfacing,” said Mrs Strickham. “Last night, the moth talker and the rat feral attacked our friend Caw.”
The eyes of the assembly all focused on him, expectant.
Caw cleared his throat. He could feel his cheeks getting hot as they stared at him. Many of these people would have fought alongside his parents in the Dark Summer. Others would have lost parents in that conflict. He could feel the stone in his pocket, heavier than ever.
It is yours to bear alone...
“Caw?” said Crumb. “Just tell us what happened.”
And so he did, mostly with his eyes downcast. He told them he’d been scavenging with a friend, about the boat, and about the attack. He told them about the rats and the moths.
But he didn’t tell them about the stone.
He told himself he wasn’t lying – he was just choosing what to share. As he finished his tale, he dared to look up, and though he could feel that most believed him, there was puzzlement in several pairs of eyes.
“I think I’d be dead if it weren’t for Pip and his mice,” he added. “They saved my life.”
That seemed to sway any suspicion, and everyone’s attention turned to Pip, who stood blushing beside Crumb.
“We think they wanted the Crow’s Beak!” said the mouse feral boldly. “We need to find out what they’re planning and strike back!”
A few of the ferals nodded, or muttered to themselves, but the response was far from overwhelming.
Racklen pointed a finger at Selina. “So she’s the friend, I suppose. I don’t trust humans.”
Selina drew herself up. “My name’s Selina,” she said. “And I don’t know if I trust strange people who talk to animals!”
Her words were met with a chorus of angry shouts, but Selina stood defiant until they died down.
Chen screwed up his face. “None of this makes sense. Why now? Why Pinkerton and Mr Silk? They must have been following the crow...” He stopped, twitching his head. “Wait. I hear something!”
Screech and the crows took off, as well as several other birds.
The next moment Caw heard a squeal of brakes and slamming doors.
Cops! cried Glum from above. Other birds squawked and the ferals looked at each other in alarm. How had the police found them?
Shouts and hurried footsteps sounded from all around, then something sailed over the top of the penguin enclosure and slid, rattling, across the tiles, streaming smoke. Another followed.
“Smoke grenades!” said Mrs Strickham. “Run, everyone!”
Caw’s feet wouldn’t budge. Where was he supposed to run to?
“Freeze!”
“Don’t move!”
The voices came from shadows around the perimeter of the enclosure. Through the drifting smoke, Caw could make out several dozen cops in SWAT gear, all levelling weapons at the ferals.
Crumb grabbed Caw in one hand and dragged Pip with the other, back towards the doors through which they’d entered.
“Wait!” Caw shouted. “Selina!”
But Crumb wasn’t letting go. Caw heard the growls of several animals, and shrieking birds flapped upwards through the smoke. Two of Velma Strickham’s foxes leapt up towards the edge of the enclosure, baring their teeth. “Hey!” cried one of the cops. Then there was a sudden crack of a gunshot.
“Hold your fire! Stand down!” someone shouted, but in the panic it seemed too late. More shots exploded. Caw saw the animals – birds and rodents and small mammals – falling on the police as bullets sprayed everywhere, smacking into tiles and whistling overhead. Screech was turning mid-air, when his body twisted violently and he plummeted.
“No!” shouted Caw, but Crumb thrust him through the doors. Caw saw Mrs Strickham was already ahead, with Lydia in tow. But where was Selina? They burst into the corridor and ran towards the exit. At the far end, Caw finally managed to pull free of Crumb. “We can’t leave the others!” he said.
Mrs Strickham stood in his way. “Don’t you see?” she said. “It was a trap! They must have found out we were planning to meet here. Follow me now or we’re all dead.”
“No, Caw’s right!” said Pip, shrugging so that Crumb was left holding only his jacket. The mouse feral ran back towards the battle, ignoring Crumb’s panicked shouts. Crumb and Caw tried to go after him, but several foxes barred their path.
“I already told you. You’re coming with us,” said Mrs Strickham sternly.
“Come back!” Crumb cried after Pip, but the mouse feral had already disappeared back into the enclosure. Caw thought of jumping the foxes, but they pressed too close. Lydia took Caw’s arm gently. “Come on,” she said, as the whip-cracking of bullets and the wailing of ferals and animals rose to a cacophony.
The foxes forced Caw and Crumb further from the enclosure. Dazed, Caw turned and stumbled after Lydia. It had all happened so quickly. Maybe Selina had already managed to get out?
Mrs Strickham led them up a set of stairs, towards a deserted café full of dusty tables and scrawled menu boards. One side was all glass, opening up to a view over the penguin enclosure.
“Cease fire! Cease fire!” said a woman’s voice from below. “Contain them!”
As the gunfire ended, Caw crept to the edge to see. The smoke was clearing, but the sight in the tiled pit was terrible. All the ferals were clumped together in a circle, coughing and clutching tight to one another. Many were crying, and one woman was
being cradled by Racklen, blood dripping from her arm. Caw saw one of the old men clutching a limp ferret to his chest, his hands covered in blood. A few animals lay scattered on the ground – including several birds. Caw searched for Screech, but he couldn’t see him.
The ferals were surrounded by armed police wearing masks. More officers crouched on the balcony above. A short woman dressed in a fitted black suit and white blouse paced between them, her heels clicking on the ground. She looked calm and poised, her hair tied back with not a strand out of place. She wore scarlet lipstick and matching nail polish.
“Arrest them all,” she said.
“That’s Cynthia Davenport,” said Mrs Strickham. “She’s the new Police Commissioner of Blackstone.”
“The one who sacked Dad?” said Lydia.
The police walked forward cautiously, but none of the ferals offered any resistance, nor summoned their animals.
“My boy …” muttered Crumb. “I can’t let them take him.”
“This gang has been on the loose for years,” Cynthia Davenport was saying to the man beside her. “They’re responsible for half the crimes across Blackstone.” She clicked her fingers at the officers below. “No, not her! She’s the one who led us to them.”
Caw strained his eyes and saw Selina walking out of the midst of the ferals, going to stand at the policewoman’s side. She looked unsure of herself, scared even.
“Hello, darling,” said the woman, trying to put her arm around Selina.
Caw almost choked.
“She knows her!” said Lydia.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt them,” said Selina, shaking off the embrace.
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” said Cynthia Davenport. “But we have the situation under control now. Those with injuries will be treated properly.”
“Traitor!” said Mrs Strickham, her face aghast – a mixture of bewilderment and anger. Caw could hardly believe it.
“We need to find the ringleader too,” Commissioner Davenport continued, looking away from Selina back to the surrounded ferals. “He’s about thirteen, dark hair, dressed in black.”
Caw wondered who she was talking about. For some reason, the others were all looking at him. Wait – hold on – surely they didn’t think …
“His name is Jack Carmichael, but his gang name is Caw.”
Caw froze, his heart knocking against his ribcage. None of this made sense. A ringleader of what? It had to be some sort of mistake.
“Mum, I don’t think this is right,” said Selina. She’s the commissioner’s daughter! thought Caw. “He’s not –”
“And take her somewhere safe,” interrupted her mother.
Caw kept very still. Selina turned and walked away as a female police officer approached her. He watched them hurry under an exit sign, out of sight.
“We need to get out of here,” said Mrs Strickham, as the police began to spread out below.
“What about the others?” said Crumb, his voice strained with anger. Caw shuffled backwards and knocked into a chair. The scraping on the floor was tiny, but at the same instant, Cynthia Davenport’s eyes flicked up towards their hiding place.
She pointed a finger at the window. “There,” she said.
Two armed SWAT members began to run towards the café. Others levelled their weapons.
“Come out with your hands up!” one shouted.
Caw ducked out of sight. He looked at Lydia and Crumb, crouching beside him. Mrs Strickham shook her head grimly.
“Clear the glass!” shouted a man’s voice. Bullets hit the window with loud cracks, shattering the glass into thousands of fragments that rained down on top of them.
“Take cover!” cried Mrs Strickham as they heard the boots of the men pounding towards the stairs to the café.
But Caw didn’t listen. He knew exactly what to do. Lifting a hand, he felt his power surge, and just as the gun-carrying cops reached the steps, a black mass descended from the open sky over the penguin enclosure. The crows swooped in front, above and around the cops like a shroud, holding them back, knocking them to the ground. The men thrashed madly beneath the thumping wings and raking talons.
“Come on! There must be a way out the back,” said Mrs Strickham.
They all jumped over the café counter and into a kitchen on the other side. Sure enough, a fire door led to another set of steps descending to the zoo car park. Mrs Strickham led the way, with Lydia and Caw following right behind, until Caw noticed Crumb wasn’t with them. He ran back into the café and saw Crumb standing by the broken window, moving his hands in a way Caw recognised from their training. Controlling his pigeons. Bullets zinged into the café, smashing glasses and cups on shelves. Caw dashed forward in a crouch and grabbed Crumb’s belt.
“Come on!” he said. “There’s no time!”
Crumb resisted, pulling back with all his weight. “I can’t leave him!” He clenched his fists and flung his hands out.
Caw dared to look over the broken window and saw several pigeons trying to pluck Pip out from the melee, but the police were holding him down. “It’s hopeless!” said Caw. “We have to go. We’ll get him back – I promise!” At last Crumb allowed himself to be pulled away.
Outside, Lydia and her mother were waiting by Chen’s taxi. Mrs Strickham jumped into the front seat and pulled down the visor. A set of keys dropped into her lap. “Get in!” she said.
Glum and Shimmer landed on the bonnet.
Is Screech with you? asked Glum. We lost him …
Caw didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t tell them yet. “Follow us,” he said. “And keep a lookout.”
They piled into the cab together, slamming the doors. Then, with a roar of the engine and squeal of rubber, they left the zoo – and Pip – behind.
ears rolled freely down Crumb’s cheeks and his shoulders shook. “I left him,” he said.
Caw had never seen the older feral so broken. He placed an arm awkwardly over Crumb’s rangy shoulders.
“If you had been captured too, he wouldn’t stand a chance,” Caw said as the car skidded around a corner. “At least this way we can –”
“It should have been me!” snapped Crumb, angrily throwing off the arm.
Outside the window, the two crows were doing as Caw had asked and watching from the air. Mrs Strickham drove fast, leaning forward with both hands gripping the wheel and checking the mirrors every couple of seconds. She took a route two blocks back from the river before crossing over. From time to time, they heard sirens, but never close by.
Caw felt sick. This was all his fault. Selina had completely duped him. He tried to think back over their previous encounters, searching for clues. His nausea redoubled – it all added up. Her being at his parents’ house, her questions about where he lived now … she’d been working for her mother all along, acting as a police spy.
How hadn’t he seen it – how had he let himself be taken in? He knew exactly how – he’d been too busy thinking about the stone and wondering what it meant. The depth of his own stupidity gnawed at his stomach.
The city outside the car windows was going about its business as always – people in suits heading to work, or carrying cups of coffee through the streets – and the normality of it made Caw feel even more like he was living in some sort of nightmare. Mrs Strickham pulled in beside the run-down church and they all got out, Glum and Shimmer landing beside them.
We weren’t followed, said Shimmer.
“Thank you,” said Caw numbly.
Glum’s eyes looked empty. Despite their constant bickering, Caw knew that Glum loved Screech like a son.
Caw’s neck prickled and he looked up to find the others all staring at him. Crumb, leaning forward, hands on the roof on the car, glared angrily, while Mrs Strickham was staring over Lydia’s head as they embraced.
“I’m so sorry,” said Caw, then wished he hadn’t. The words fell leaden from his lips, totally inadequate.
Crumb slapped a hand on the car. “I tol
d you, Caw. I told you. Don’t trust humans. They’re not like us.”
“Hey!” said Lydia, breaking from her mother. “He couldn’t have known, OK?”
Caw’s heart lifted a fraction to hear his friend back him up, but he knew Crumb was right.
“That’s the point!” said Crumb, turning on her. “That’s why we keep to ourselves. Because it’s better to be secretive and safe.”
“Calm down,” said Mrs Strickham. She seemed to have recovered some of her composure. “The police have our friends, but what can they actually charge them with? None of them will show their powers now. All isn’t lost. Why don’t we go inside?” Caw noticed several foxes already gathering by the door.
“Don’t blame yourself,” said Lydia, as they shuffled into the church. “You weren’t stupid. Selina tricked us all.”
Caw felt numb. “You don’t have to say that,” he said.
“If I could get my hands on her …” said Lydia.
“Well, we can’t,” said Mrs Strickham.
Crumb hurried to the stairs.
“Where are you going?” said Mrs Strickham. “We need to come up with—”
“I need a minute,” said Crumb. “Just leave me be.”
Mrs Strickham shook her head in frustration.
“I don’t understand,” said Lydia. “Why did she want to arrest Caw? He’s not a criminal.”
“People always distrust what they don’t understand,” said Lydia’s mother. “Perhaps it’s something to do with our fight against the Spinning Man’s disciples, Mamba and Roach. Caw was arrested along with them, remember, at the sewing factory. He would have been taken to prison if he hadn’t escaped from custody.”
Caw shook his head, puzzled. Could that really be the reason for the carnage at the zoo?
It only made him feel worse. On that occasion he’d escaped the police handcuffs with Pip’s help, and yet now Pip was in trouble because of him.
What about Screech? said Shimmer on the back of a pew. Maybe he was injured. They’ll probably leave him there. Won’t they? Should we go back?