Blaze of Glory

Written on the song 'Blaze of Glory' by Bon Jovi. Lyrics have been used as interludes.

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In the distance, the village was beginning to wake up to a grey and overcast day. The weather was, however, the least of their troubles. On a tree, in the outskirts of the village, the big yellow cat was awake and alert as he sleeplessly, tirelessly and unblinkingly watched.

Cramped in his high hide among the dense branches, his mind was fogged with fatigue, but he dared not move. He dared not blink. Last night's hunt had convinced him that he needed more than the black spots on his fur to help him survive.
Dreaded, hated and hunted, the leopard had been chased all through the farms and fields and neighbouring villages. He didn't have any inkling anymore as to which direction he needed to go. All he knew that he had to go away from these herds of men who were out looking for him at night, bearing fire and clanging metal. He knew their metal was sharp. He knew their gunfire was deadly. He licked his wounds.

"I wake up in the morning
And I raise my weary head
I got an old coat for a pillow
And the earth was last night's bed
I don't know where I'm going
Only God knows where I've been
I'm a devil on the run
A six gun lover
A candle in the wind"



Three days ago, when he had first escaped from behind those bars, he knew where he was headed. He was headed for the woods. His instinct told him where they lay. The dense green envelope of familiarity was where he had been born, not very long ago. It was where he had learned the rules of the jungle, learned how to fend for himself and learned to discern danger, opportunity and risk by their scent.

His life in the zoo was enough to tame any creature and kill all vestiges of hope. In a four-by- four cage he would pace all day long, round and round and round till his head span. Till he could take the restlessness no more and in a fit of fury, he'd charge at the bars, he'd gnaw, snap and snarl. Though they did feed him well, they did give him the shelter, the safety, the assurance of a meal, he pined for his jungle life, where each day had been a struggle, an adventure, an uncertainty of survival. That's why he'd escaped.

"When you're brought into this world
They say you're born in sin
Well at least they gave me something
I didn't have to steal or have to win "



Three days in the world outside the zoo had been enough for the leopard to realize that home was nowhere near and there were settlements after settlements of these ugly two-legged, salty-blooded people. They were easy preys, especially their young- but he preferred their livestock. From this high perch of his, he could make out that the vengeful and madding humans of this village were still not at rest, even after the noisy and extensive search of last night. He could smell their fear, their agitation. They were upwind. And the wind brought down to him their intentions. He knew a new search would begin right now.

This time he wanted them to have a head start, he wanted to see them up close... smell them. Or maybe he was just tired of running. The moist soil under the dreary grey sky had his pugmarks which culminated under the tree. He knew the humans would be here anytime now. He looked around. Quite a way off, across a stream, he could see some promising looking thickets. Did a forest lie beyond it? Could he trust his instinct? Smoke, voices, gunfire. They were coming.

"Well they tell me that I'm wanted
Yeah I'm a wanted man
I'm colt in your stable
I'm what Cain was to Abel
Mister catch me if you can"



A flash of burning yellow was all they could see for an instant, when the crowd came round the turning. And then they saw it- the big wild cat, the killer of their children and their cattle- just twenty yards away. It had dropped from a tree and stood looking in their direction. As they positioned their rifles and took aim, the leopard snarled, turned and raced away. With loud cries and curses, they ran behind it.

The leopard looked over his shoulder as he sprinted ahead of the throng.
Sticks, daggers, guns. They were well equipped.
Men, women, children. No one wanted to be left behind, alone in the village.

The wind rushed past his face, his heart pumped faster, the sheer freedom and speed pulsated through his veins. Yes. He knew he was faster. He knew he was stronger. The crowd was becoming smaller behind him. He closed his eyes while running as the growing sense of fulfillment overtook him, when suddenly with a pop! something whizzed past him. Guns. The part the leopard had been dreading. He had a mortal fear of guns since his late cubhood. Just the sight of one filled him with manic panic.

He remembered at the entrance of the zoo, when he had slipped out of his cage and was furtively making his way towards freedom, a guard had seen him. The guard had raised alarm and in an effort to waylay the leopard, had launched himself exactly between the big cat and his path to outside world. The leopard might still have rushed past the guard without hurting him, had the guard not committed one mortal error- he took out his gun and took aim at the cat.

Petrified and frenzied by the sight of the gun, the leopard had hesitated. Then he'd pounced and made for the guard's throat. Deeper and deeper his fangs had sunk, till he had had his first taste of human blood. After a while, the man stopped struggling under the weight of the leopard's sinewy body. The leopard left the lifeless form to bleed. Such a big kill, he thought now as he continued running. And such little effort. Mother would have been proud.

"I'm going down in a blaze of glory
Take me now but know the truth
I'm going down in a blaze of glory
Lord I never drew first
But I drew first blood
I'm no one's son
Call me young gun"



The crowd of villagers was still at his heels. Though they were distant and seemed slightly less in number now, they were still in hot pursuit.
He made his way through some derelict, forsaken hutments towards the stream he'd seen earlier in the day. The stream beyond which that jungle-like greenery was sprawled. His only hope.
But the close houses confused him, the streets were labyrinthine. The sense of the proximity to his destination drove him on.


He had learned to hunt with the rest of his siblings. God knew where they were now. Though it wasn't that long ago, he had almost forgotten the familiar feel of brush of fur against fur, the sense of belonging and love. His mother, stern but affectionate, used to give her cubs the lessons of the wild. She guarded them and brought them prey. They had bungled many a hunt for her when they accompanied her to them, before finally developing the patience and practice to be able to help. With his all faculties sharpened and his instincts honed, he had learned faster than his brother and sister. He remembered the tactics and strategies they formed to corner and cut off their quarry. He had a natural impulse stronger than the patient deliberation his mother always tried to inculcate in him. Yet he was strong; he was efficient; and he knew one day he'd be the terror of his territory.

He remembered his mother's low impatient growl to reprimand when he and his siblings fought. He remembered the look in her eyes when he had brought down his first prey. And he also remembered her snarl when the humans had raised their guns in her direction. He remembered seeing her fall. Her powerful body, lifeless; her watchful yellow eyes, blank.

That's how he feared guns. The next thing he remembered after that was- bars. Bars, the four- by- four cage, and the restlessness. And the madding human crowd.

"You ask about my conscience
And I offer you my soul
You ask If I'll grow to be a wise man
Well I ask if I'll grow old
You ask me if I known love
And what it's like to sing songs in the rain
Well, I've seen love come
And I've seen it shot down
I've seen it die in vain"



Another Pop! and a searing pain in his haunch made him limp to a halt. The bullet had entered his left hind leg and he had begun to lose blood. He licked away the blood quickly. As he did so, he could see the villagers behind him, advancing swiftly. He tried getting up. Pain, like an electric current, shot up his leg.

He had never wanted to take human life. He had never wanted to run into humans in the first place. He was acclimated to the jungle. They had forced him among them. They had brought it on themselves.

It was the guard at the zoo who had raised the gun. He had just reacted. It was the villagers who had hunted him and laid traps for him. He had only killed in hunger.

The villagers were getting even closer now. Despite the pain, he got up and continued running.

"Shot down in a blaze of glory
Take me now but know the truth
'Cause I'm going down in a blaze of glory
Lord I never drew first
But I drew first blood
I'm the devil's son
Call me young gun"



He could hear the human voices growing. But they weren't just coming from behind him. Panicking at this realization, he slowed down. Yes. They must have split midway to cut him off. He could see another crowd of humans advancing from the opposite direction, blocking his progress.

He looked ahead and behind him. Making a quick decision, he turned into an alley to his right. It was narrow and dirty. Both the crowds had closed in behind him and entered the alley.

He ran half the length of the alley before he saw what was at the end of it- a blank wall, a dead end.

He turned around to face his opponents. He was cornered; he was tired; he was bleeding, but he was satisfied. If this was his end, he was fine with it. All his animal instincts were satiated. He had lived more in these three days of adventure than he would have lived in thirteen years of pent restlessness in that cage.

Apprehending the imminent climax of the chase, the villagers inched forward. The leopard lowered his head and poised himself for action. His eyes kept moving from one person to the other. They were too many, he slowly moved backwards. Near the front of the crowd, he saw someone raise their rifle to their shoulder. As though by a reflex action, he pounced.

The bullet hit him in the under- belly. He froze in the air in mid leap. A glazed look came to his eyes as his bleeding form fell to the ground with a thud.

"Each night I go to bed
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
No I ain't looking for forgiveness
But before I'm six foot deep
Lord, I got to ask a favor
And I'll hope you'll understand
'Cause I've lived life to the fullest
Let the boy die like a man
Staring down the bullet
Let me make my final stand
Shot down in a blaze of glory
Take me now but know the truth
I'm going out in a blaze of glory"



The air of tension was lifted instantly and the villagers all lowered their weapons and suspended their guard. The relief at having ended the monster was palpable. For them it was the perfect denouement to the drama of three days. As the shooter and a few people strode up to the body, the feline suddenly sprang up, jumped high onto the rooftop of the huts and jumping rooftop to rooftop, vanished from view.

"Lord I never drew first
But I drew first blood
and I'm no one's son
Call me young gun
I'm a young gun"



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This won a fortnight competition at IAW. Participants had to take any song and write a description/ story/ imagery around it. I chose Bon Jovi.