Jefferey woke up with a start; the panther still slept. From outside, he could hear loud voices. Peeking through a gap in the floor, he could just make out that a group of guards were trying to break into the Old Mr G’s. Jefferey nudged the panther awake. He lay in the dark corner and stared up at him with his warm, lime eyes. He put his finger to his lips to indicate that they need to be silent. Sharp voices barked commands; the panther let out a nasty pur; Jefferey  was shocked.

Slithering across the mucky floor, Jefferey beckoned to the panther. Trying not to make a noise, he padded towards him. Crouching down, they hid behind a pile of metal chairs. Cautiously, Jefferey tugged a huge tarpaulin across the chairs so that the guards could not find them.

At that point, the guards had entered their room. There was a break, a feeling that they were very near. Beams of lanterns cut through the darkness; footsteps vibrated; the guards began to hunt. Risking a peak, Jefferey saw raven shadows moving and felt a violent wintry wind seep through the opened windows. Shaking, Jefferey was nervous. They could wait this out but we would need to move to a different checkpoint after the guards had gone.

It seemed like days, but probably had only been forty minutes by the time the guards left. It was night-time now and, in the darkness, the panther spoke to jefferey… without speaking. Their minds seemed almost as six one as he explained that he had to reach a gateway. A gateway back to his own world where he would not be hunted.

Jefferey had an idea that perhaps the gateway was part of the town walls where there was a huge sewer that once had been fitted with a metal gate. Anxiously, he checked his wound. It still bled; he seemed weaker. The town walls would be a long walk… and dangerous. He wondered whether they would make it.

Jefferey knew that his family would be worried but there was nothing he could do about that. He had to find the gateway before he could think about getting home. So it was that only the moon and the stars saw to slim shadows, a boy and a panther, slip through the alleyways heading across town. They made their way, street by street, avoiding checkpoints, locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse.