Blackout

• Finlay Mackenzie, Grade 5, Rozelle Public School
• Short Story
• 2009

Finalist in the 'World of Words 2009' competition

Blackout's eyes shone in the lightless city night. Everyone had their windows shut against the bitter wind and no-one cared for a little stray cat alone and starving in the snow. He turned a corner and saw a restaurant covered in a white blanket of snow. He crept around the back and leapt into the nearest rubbish bin. One night a feast, probably the next a night spent chasing rats.

After Blackout had eaten, he leapt lightly out of the metal bin and saw a gang of cats advancing on him. “Come on,” said the largest, a black cat like Blackout, but mangled, scruffy and mean-looking. The other cats were a mottley collection, but equally as scarred as their leader. Seeing a way of escape, Blackout dashed down a lane, his pursuers following. The mean-looking black cat caught Blackout between the hindlegs, tripping him up. He was scratched badly, then left alone.

In the morning Blackout shook the snow out of his coat and set off down the lane. It was very early – the sun had not yet risen. Each street was as deserted as a ghost town. Blackout, not watching where he was going, promptly bumped into a cat hurtling in the other direction. It didn't take long for Blackout to find out why. The black cat and his team of scraggy bullies were tearing after the small cat. Seeing an opportunity to hide, Blackout scrambled into a small, dusty niche in a nearby building.

Blackout stayed hidden until he was quite sure the only remains of the bully cats were their tracks in the snow, as messy as vehicle tracks. He then crept in the other direction. As he walked, Blackout thought, “These cats are bullies. I've got to do something.” One cat couldn't fight two opponents at once, let alone around fifteen. He could only think of one plan; one he didn't think much of, but he felt he had no choice.

At twilight that night, Blackout stationed twenty-one cats including himself around the bins at the restaurant where the bullies had originally found him. Mustering up all the courage he could, he yelled, “Come and fight bullies!” The reaction was immediate. As soon as the bullies poked their dirty heads out of the bins, Blackout's recruits jumped on them! For fifteen minutes, the small courtyard behind the restaurant exploded with claws, tails, fur and teeth. Twice Blackout swiped at the lead bully, but the press of fighting cats seperated them. It was a fierce fight, but in the end, the bullies had to retreat due to sheer lack of numbers.

The attack was a success and Blackout was celebrated as a hero. However, he thought he was more of a villan, as he had attacked the bullies back. Because of this, Blackout spent the rest of his life expecting the bullies to come tearing after him in revenge. In the end, he knew he hadn't solved the problem at all. He always hid in shadows and prefered the darkness, where his eyes shone in the lightless city night.