by Justin D'Ath
They were trapped.
‘Okay,’ Colt said, trying not to sound nervous because the animal was listening, too. ‘Let’s just stay here and see what it does.’
The animal had only taken two or three paces into the hall. It had dropped to the floor when it saw them – when it saw Colt, that is, because that’s who it was eyeballing, as if he was the only other living thing in the building.
It was like that at the circus, too. It always watched him, no matter who else was around. Those yellow eyes would find Colt straight away, even in a crowd.
So creepy!
The world’s only black panther didn’t have a name. Mr Busby, who looked after the big cats, called it Puss. Colt remembered how careful Mr Busby was whenever he fed it. And he remembered how his mother dreaded giving the panther its six-weekly RatVax shots. Even Mwangi the lion was easier to deal with, she said.
He didn’t even know if Puss was male or female. Colt and his mother had only been with the circus a few months. He kept away from the big cats because – unlike most of the other animals – none of them seemed to like him. But the panther was the creepiest by far.
‘Nice Puss,’ he said softly.
The sleek black cat stared at him. Except for the all-too-obvious life force behind those cold yellow eyes, it might have been a museum exhibit. He wished it was.
But then there would be no panthers left.
Colt flexed his biceps. Nothing much was happening in the muscle department yet. But at least he no longer felt quite as tired or sleepy as he had ten minutes earlier. He was probably strong enough to hold a chair.
‘Mrs Burston?’ he whispered.
‘Yes?’
‘Could you pass me a chair, please?’
There was the sound of scraping plastic as she slowly lifted a chair from the pile next to her. She passed it to Mr Quinn, who passed it to Colt.
‘What are you going to do?’ Mr Quinn asked quietly.
‘Feed it,’ he said.
It was the smell of food that had drawn the panther to the dining hall, just as it had attracted Colt. So why not give it what it came for?
Holding the chair out, its legs pointing at those unblinking yellow eyes down the far end of the hall, Colt began edging slowly back towards the food counter. The cold yellow eyes followed him. When he reached the gap between the two rows tables, nothing but open floor separated him and the crouching panther. Its ears went back, it bared its huge, pointed teeth, and growled.
The sound echoed around the hall like thunder. It sent a chill through Colt’s body and made his scalp prickle. Don’t show it you’re afraid, he told himself, although those eyes seemed to see right inside him.
Setting the chair softly down on its legs between him and panther, Colt opened the nearest food warmer and lifted out the bowl of cocktail sausages. The animal watched every movement, the tip of its tail twitching slowly from side to side.
‘Here you go, Puss,’ Colt said, and tossed a sausage down the length of the hall.
Two things happened: the little red sausage fell short by about two metres, and the panther let out another – even louder, even more terrifying – growl. But it stayed where it was.
Colt’s hand was shaking as he lifted another cocktail sausage from the bowl. This time he aimed more carefully. And gave it a slightly harder throw. The sausage bounced once and skidded to a stop right below the cat’s jaws. But Puss ignored Colt’s offering. Its eyes narrowed, its nose wrinkled back (exposing those huge, sharp teeth again), and it let out a low, snake-like hiss. Colt saw a ripple of muscles pass like a current along the length of the animal’s sleek, black body.
The panther was preparing to charge.
Although it was several years since he’d watched Lost World animal shows, Colt could clearly remember a wild leopard he’d seen on a 2D televid at his old school. It had been chasing a now-extinct species of antelope. Antelopes were supposed to be fast, but the leopard had moved almost too quickly to be captured on camera. And too quickly for the unfortunate antelope. If Puss was even half that fast, it could cover the length of the hall in the blink of an eye. A plastic chair would be no defence. And Colt still hadn’t recovered from dealing with Assam and then the overturned car.
But he was strong enough to throw another cocktail sausage.
Chomp!
Puss snapped the third sausage out of mid-air. It swallowed without chewing, then ran a broad pink tongue around its whiskery muzzle, as if savouring the strange new taste. Puss had only eaten raw meat before – beef and mutton offcuts bought at huge expense from government-run farming facilities. Cocktail sausages must have seemed like a delicacy.
It sniffed a couple times, looked down and found the sausage that had landed between its paws thirty seconds earlier. There was no hesitation this time. The panther hungrily gulped it down. Then it eyed the first sausage Colt had thrown – the one that had fallen a couple of metres short. A quick shuffle forward, another gulp, and it was gone, too. Now Puss returned its gaze to Colt.
He tossed another sausage and Puss snatched it out of the air. Chomp! He tossed three more in quick succession. Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! The panther caught and swallowed them as fast as Colt could throw. Then he threw one too far. It flew over Puss’s head, bounced off its glossy black flank and landed on the floor next to its tail. Quick as lightning, the panther spun around and pounced on it. Chomp!
Colt waited for the animal to turn and face him again. He had another sausage ready to throw. But Puss seemed distracted. It was facing the open door. Something out there had caught its attention.
Suddenly, in a blur of speed that would have matched the televid leopard, the panther shot out through the doorway and was gone.
Colt slowly lowered his arm. He was still trembling slightly. He glanced down at the sausage he’d been about to throw, shrugged and ate it. A tingle ran through his body, like a small electric current passing just beneath his skin. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling – in fact, it was a very welcome one. Scooping two more sausages from the bowl, Colt popped them into his mouth.
‘Excuse me?’ whispered Mrs Burston, still cowering next to Mr Quinn in the corner. ‘Supper isn’t supposed to start until nine o’clock.’
The principal spoke to Mr Girton. She acted as if Birdy and Zac weren’t there.
‘That was the owner of the circus. Some Lost World animals have got loose – including a black panther and a rhinoceros. He thinks they might have come in this direction.’
Mr Girton’s eyes bugged out. ‘Are they dangerous?’
‘Of course they’re dangerous!’ snapped Ms Winzer. ‘We’ve got to get everyone inside and lock all the doors.’
She pulled open the door next to her and disappeared out into the noisy gymnasium.
Mr Girton caught Birdy’s and Zac’s eyes and jerked his head in the direction the principal had gone. ‘Out!’ he ordered. ‘We’ll deal with you two later.’
He followed them out into the gymnasium, closed the door behind him and went clomping off after the principal in his big Darth Vader boots.
Birdy went the other way. She plunged into the crowd of fancy-dressed students and headed across the dance floor in what she hoped was the right direction. She was looking for the door where she, Zac and Mr Girton had first entered the gymnasium. She had to find Colt. He was out there somewhere and he didn’t know about Puss.
‘Are you from the circus?’ someone shouted above the sound of voices and music. It was Zac. He was right on her heels.
‘Keep your voice down!’ Birdy warned. People were looking at them. ‘What makes you think I’m from the circus?’
‘You knew about the escaped animals.’
‘I knew it was a harmless meerkat you nearly bashed to death,’ she snapped. It wasn’t an answer, but it shut him up. ‘I need to get out of here.’
‘What about the panther and the rhino?’ asked Zac.
‘My friend’s outside,’ she told him.
‘Is he fr
om the circus, too?’
‘I didn’t say I was from the circus!’
‘You didn’t say you weren’t,’ Zac said.
They reached the door, but the teacher in the Viking outfit stood next to it. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’
Birdy hoped he hadn’t heard about the escaped circus animals yet. ‘I need to get some fresh air,’ she said politely.
‘And you?’ the Viking said to Zac.
‘I need to get some fresh air, too.’
Suddenly the music stopped and the gym’s main lights blinked into life. There was a tap tap tap – the noise of someone testing a microphone. Everyone turned towards the temporary stage at the far end of the gym, where the sound equipment had been set up. Ms Winzer stood next to the DJ’s console with a microphone in her hand.
‘I’m sorry to interrupt the dance,’ she said, ‘but I need your full attention, please.’
The principal waited until everyone stopped talking, then continued. ‘As you’re no doubt aware, a circus arrived on our campus today. And this is not just any circus. It has Lost World animals. I have just learned that a couple of those animals have escaped from their cages and might be loose somewhere in the school grounds. For that reason, no one is to leave this building until we have been advised that it is safe to do so.’
‘What sort of animals?’ someone asked.
‘A black panther and a rhinoceros,’ said Ms Winzer. She paused while a buzz of excitement passed through the gymnasium. ‘For those of you who don’t know,’ she went on, ‘these are extremely dangerous animals. So it’s very important that we all stay inside until they have been located and dealt with.’
‘What about supper?’ a boy yelled.
‘You’ll be supper if you go outside!’ joked another.
‘THAT’S ENOUGH!’ growled the principal. ‘I realise it’s an inconvenience, but we might have to cancel supper. I do stress, however, that there is absolutely nothing to worry about – we will all be perfectly safe as long as we remain in this building and all the doors stay closed. Teachers, I want one of you at every door to make sure nobody tries to leave.’
‘Will we have to sleep here?’ asked a girl.
Someone else said something that caused a ripple of laughter on the far side of the gym.
The principal held up her hand for silence. ‘I have no idea how long it will take before we get the all clear, but I’m sure we won’t be here all night. Rest assured that everything possible is being done to find and capture the missing animals as quickly and as safely as possible. In the meantime, we all have to remain indoors. This building is now in lockdown.’
‘Is the dance over, then?’ a boy asked.
Ms Winzer smiled. ‘In a few moments we’ll start the music again.’
‘What about the lights?’
‘We’ll dim the lights again, too,’ Ms Winzer promised, to a chorus of cheers. ‘But first I would like all of you with phones to contact your parents and let them know what’s happening. Please assure them that you’re in no danger, but ask them not to come to collect you until the all clear has been given.’
Most of the students did have their phones. They were too busy calling their parents or voxing their cyberfriends to notice Mr Girton join the principal on the sound stage. He and Ms Winzer had a brief conversation, then she lifted the microphone again.
‘Would Zac Watson and the young lady Mr Girton and I were speaking to a few moments ago kindly make their way over here?’
At the other end of the gym, a boy clown shook his head in annoyance. ‘Shoot! I was hoping they’d forget about us.’
He turned to the little girl clown who had been standing next to him the last time he’d looked, but she was nowhere to be seen.
In a different part of the school, another boy clown was slowly backing away from two adults dressed in police uniforms. Now that the panther had gone, Mr Quinn and Mrs Burston were acting like real police officers again. (Or like teachers.)
They hadn’t even thanked him for trying to save them.
‘If you aren’t from this school, who are you then?’ demanded Mrs Burston.
‘It doesn’t matter who I am,’ Colt said. ‘There’s a panther and rhino out there somewhere.’
‘Who said anything about a rhino?’ asked Mr Quinn.
Colt reached the door first. He peered cautiously out, then stepped to one side. ‘Take a look,’ he said.
Just outside, a massive grey shape was munching on some rose bushes.
‘Holy smoke!’ Mrs Burston slammed the door.
Mr Quinn took several steps backwards. He was trembling again. Both teachers stared wide-eyed at Colt.
He shrugged. ‘Like I said, you’ve got to evacuate the school.’
Mr Quinn and Mrs Burston nodded. There were no arguments this time. They both raised their phones.
Someone had just phoned the principal. She took the call on the stage. While she was talking, Mr Girton came down onto the crowded gymnasium floor. Birdy knew he was looking for her and Zac Watson. She didn’t know where Zac was – she had left his side and melted into the crowd as soon as she realised the Viking wasn’t going to let them out. Neither Zac nor the Viking had noticed her sneak off. Nobody else seemed to notice her, either. Sometimes being small had its advantages. Not that the other students were interested in clowns anymore. They were all much too busy making calls or putting messages on ChatterVox.
Birdy had to get out of the gym. Ms Winzer had asked the teachers to guard all the exits, but there was one exit they might have missed. It wasn’t as obvious as the others. Had Mr Girton remembered to lock the storeroom door when they’d all left in such a hurry? Birdy’s fingers were crossed.
She tried the handle . . . and it turned. Yay!
Birdy ducked into the storeroom and quickly closed the door behind her. Crossing to the other door, she moved the wheelbarrow stacked with nets aside and slid the locking bolts free. Five seconds later, she was outside.
Gulp! It was pitch dark. Birdy wasn’t that worried about Assam, but knowing the panther was out here somewhere gave her a creepy feeling. Its fur was black; she wouldn’t see it in the dark. But it would see her. Cats had night-vision eyes. It could be watching me right now, Birdy thought.
She paused outside the door. It wasn’t too late to change her mind. The principal and Mr Girton were pretty scary, but not as scary as Puss. Colt would be okay – he was Superclown. But he’d sent her to get Captain Noah and some ropes. She hadn’t found Captain Noah, but she’d brought a rope and the carrots.
But where is Colt now? she wondered.
Keeping close to the wall, Birdy crept to the end of the gymnasium and peered cautiously around the corner. Her heart sank. The school was huge! There were rows and rows of buildings, intersected with tree-lined walkways, shadowy lawns and unlit courtyards. It was like a town! How on earth was she ever going to find Colt? It made more sense to go back and check the trees along the edge of the hockey field. If Colt was still keeping tabs on Assam, that’s probably where they’d be.
Birdy turned and crept back along the side of the gym.
And stopped dead in her tracks.
A few metres ahead of her, the storeroom door squealed open, spilling a shaft of light out onto the ground. Next moment, a clown’s head poked out.
‘Hey, Clowngirl!’
‘What are you doing out here?’ she hissed.
‘Looking for you,’ whispered Zac.
‘Go back inside!’
But Zac came all the way out and clicked off the light behind him. ‘Did you find your friend?’
‘Not yet,’ Birdy whispered.
‘I’ll help you look,’ he said.
Birdy hitched the broken backpack higher on her shoulder. Zac Watson was annoying – and he’d tried to kill a meerkat – but it felt safer to have company. ‘Is there anywhere around the school where a rhinoceros could hide?’ she asked.
‘They lived in jungles, didn’t they?’
‘We could try the rose garden,’ said Zac.
Colt tried to work out who the two teachers were calling on their phones. Mr Quinn was easy. He only punched in three numbers, then asked for the police and gave an exaggerated description of what had just happened in the dining hall and of the rhino just outside. He made the school sound like a war zone with animals.
Mrs Burston was calmer. She spoke to someone called Ms Winzer, who must have been her boss because Mrs Burston kept nodding and saying things like, Yes I will, Ms Winzer, and I understand, Ms Winzer, and No, we won’t go outside, Ms Winzer.
When Mrs Burston mentioned the boy clown who’d helped them, it started a long, confusing conversation that made it sound as if the school wasn’t just under siege by Lost World animals, but by kids dressed as clowns as well.
When the call ended, Mrs Burston fixed Colt with a puzzled gaze. ‘Did you come here on your own?’
Before he could answer, the door burst open and two more kids in clown suits burst into the hall. Both were damp-skinned and gasping for breath, as if they’d been running, and the little one’s green wig was crooked.
‘OMG!’ she cried, staring goggle-eyed at Colt.
The other one shut the door behind them. ‘Is that your friend?’
Birdy raced over and gave Colt a hug. ‘Assam’s just outside! We nearly bumped into him in the dark!’
Colt frowned at the other clown. ‘Who are you?’
‘He came to help,’ Birdy puffed, pulling a big coil of rope from the backpack. ‘I brought this.’
‘Is that all?’ Colt asked.
‘And some carrots.’ She showed him one.
‘Excuse me for butting in,’ said Mr Quinn. ‘But would any of you clowns please explain what’s going on?’
Colt began tying a big sliding-loop knot on one end of the rope. ‘We’re going to catch the rhino.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Mrs Burston snorted. ‘It’s a wild animal!’
‘These kids are from the circus, Mrs B,’ Zac said. ‘They know how to catch them.’