Chapter 16

Selina froze still, her body rigid. Through the leaves she could see armed men in every direction, mulling about. She prayed they wouldn't look up. How bad a camouflage was blond fur? Slowly, she looked to Tygrus. He was still as well, watching the men intently. Without looking up, he raised his hand, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Then with a single motion, he motioned in the direction of a nearby branch, and silently darted toward it, Selina close behind. They repeated the process, bit by bit, slowly reaching the outer rim of the circle. Fortunately, guards hardly ever look up. She knew that fact well.

Suddenly she heard one of the mercenaries talking. It sounded vaguely familiar. Both looked down to see one of the patrolling group.

"Those two you iced are small potatoes. We're looking for the group with the original troublemaker. We believe they're close to the river, about a night's march from here. I'm ordering you to follow us. We can complete this foraging operation later."

"I haven't received orders from our administrator…"

"These orders are from higher up. Somebody needs those cats put to sleep. Don't tell me you'd rather collect trash all day."

The man laughed, "I suppose I can't turn you down Ross. But if I get any crap from-"

"You won't. We'll move out in ten minutes. Make sure your men know, this isn't a capture mission like the others. The gloves are off."

A chill went down Catwoman's spine to the tip of her tail. The fur on her back stood on end. She glanced to Tygrus, whose expression was one of stone.

"Alright, give us a few minutes to gather our things; we should be ready to move out in about thirty minutes."

They continued to speak, but a nod from Tygrus told Selina that now was the time to leave. Gathering her courage, she put the conversation out of her mind and deftly leapt to the next tree. They both continued to traverse the jungle canopy until they were sure they were safe.

Perched lightly on her branch, Selina turned to Tygrus, who seemed to be staring into space. "Tygrus, we have to get back, we have to warn the others."

"Not I," Tygrus said, still staring ahead, "You must go, I must go further north."

"But Tygrus…"

Suddenly he turned to her, and her whole being seemed to stop. Tygrus' eyes, always fearsome, now held a look of determination that told her he would simply not be stopped, and was nothing she could say to change his mind. It was a look she had only seen in one other person before…

"It is not enough for us to run now, Selina," Tygrus spoke slowly and clearly, his unblinking gaze never wavering. "They will not leave or allow us to hide forever. They wish to kill us. All of us. And they will not stop until they do so. Our only chance…is to kill them first."

Selina was stunned by his words. She opened her mouth to object, but nothing came out. Because she knew he was right. To these men she was an animal, a failed experiment that needed to be erased. She and the others were facing genocide, their only hope, it seemed, was to turn it from a massacre of innocents into a war. Selina slowly nodded. "But how?" she asked. "There's too many of them, and they have all the guns and training.

Tygrus spoke coldly, "I know this island better than they. And do not underestimate your own powers, or the others. They have shown remarkable skill. We still need more help however. That is why I must go north. There are other of…'our kind' in the forests there. They can perhaps help us. Once they hear what the guards have planned, they must know that they must join us or be killed."

"But," Selina said, "How can you be sure they will come?" They knew nothing of these stray cats. And cats by nature were independent to a fault. She would know.

Tygrus' gaze did not move, "As I said, the choice is joining us, or death."

Selina stared, unable to speak, Tygrus took her head gently in his paws. "Selina," his voice was softer, but no less determined, "You must, reach the camp before they do. I know that will not be a problem. But then you must take them north along the river. There is a cave you may rest at, but no more than perhaps an hour or two. Keep going for about a day until you reach a fork in the river. I will meet you there. If you have problems, the trees in that area grow as thick as grass; you should be able to hide. Do you understand?"

Selina nodded, her eyes fixed to his. "Selina…" he continued, "Catwoman, I will meet you at the fork in the river before two nights have passed. You have my word."

With that, he touched his muzzle to her forehead slightly, and then said sternly, "Go, time is short."

She nodded and somehow finding a way to compose herself, she turned and raced through the forest on all fours. Up to this point it had seemed like they might have time, time to search for Batman and Batgirl, to find answers, to perhaps find a way to observe what was going on at Dorian's old castle. But all that had to be put aside now. Her worries of where Bruce was, whether he was ok, whether she would be human again…the reason she had come here…didn't matter. Survival was what mattered.

Did it? She did not slow down, weaving around the trees like a blond blur as the thought came to her, if she could never be human again, would she still want to live? Would it be better to die than live life forever as an abomination?

Her eyes narrowed, and her speed increased. Stuck like this or not, Catwoman wasn't going to be done in by a bunch of thugs with guns. Not so easily. Neither Tygrus, nor the others, deserved to die like this. And she'd be damned if she let it happen.

She had to move faster. Outrunning the mercenaries was no problem, but she needed to find everyone, explain the situation, and put as much distance between them and the mercenaries as possible. It was going to be a long night…