his shoulders. “I was just a bit taken aback.”
I nod with careful respect.
“No more rats in public, Mr. Smith.” He glances at me as if I have somehow been responsible for what has happened, then makes briskly for the door. “From now on we change our tactics.”
. . . grew quieter. Now and then the sound of a voice or the bark of a dog would make the heart quicken, but as night closed in, the danger from the enemy faded.
We crouched in silence beneath a pile of logs. Fang’s injured leg had swelled and his eyes were dull with pain. We ached with hunger and tiredness.
We were completely lost.
In the darkness, I sensed the eyes of Floke and Fang upon me. Without a word of revelation, I had become their leader. The thought made me feel stronger.
I nudged Fang.
— We’ve got to go.
Neither Floke nor Fang stirred.
— Find our way back to the kingdom.
Floke stretched his hind legs and stood.
Too weary now even to conceal ourselves, we made our way across the open ground. At the same moment, each of us was aware of a powerful scent in the air. It was Floke who revealed first.
— Food! There is food nearby.
Ahead we saw a human enclosure, surrounded by a wooden fence. It was from beyond that fence that the scent that made us dizzy with hunger was coming.
I explored the length of the fence for some way in.
The only opening was in one corner, a crack between the timbers more suitable for a field mouse than for a rat. Maddened by hunger, Floke hurled himself against it, cutting the skin above his eye in the process.
I approached. I gazed at the opening, thinking myself into smallness.
I pushed my nose forward in a gentle, snuffling movement. I felt my bones soften and bend, my aching muscles grow tighter, squeezed by the wood.
I was through.
There was a small yard behind the cottage, and against a wall only a few lengths from where I stood was a large bowl of cooked scraps. I climbed into the bowl. With some difficulty, I rolled out half a roast potato, then a scrap of bacon. My mouth drooled as I took them to the gap in the fence and allowed Floke to pull them through.
I turned back to fetch some food for myself, and at that moment I became aware of something else. At first, it felt like a pulse. Then I sensed it was something different, a sort of murmur within me. Not one pulse, but many.
Somewhere very near to where I stood there were other rats, and they were in trouble. With all my strength, I sent out the message.
— Who is there?
I waited. The only sound that I could hear was my own heartbeat. I tried again.
— I am a stranger. I need help.
A prickle of fear raised the fur on my back. There were rats nearby and we were on their territory. Even if they belonged to another kingdom, they would normally be quick to reply, if only with threats.
What explained the silence?
Then I saw, beyond the food bowl, a square of wood on the ground.
I moved toward it, sniffing. Definitely, there were rats nearby. But why were they silent?
I heard a sound from beneath the wood. I tore a couple of strips from it with my teeth. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, I squeezed my head into the tiny hole that I had gnawed.
I looked down, then quickly drew back, fearful.
I looked again. Below me were hundreds of rats, pressed together in a pit in the dark. They were strangely silent — asleep, I suppose — but as I watched, the light from the hole I had made caught two dark eyes.
I revealed with all my strength.
— Who are you?
Silence. I could see more clearly now. The walls of the prison were brick and impossible to climb. From the dark mass of bodies, one struggled clear.
It was a fragile, a doe, light in color and smaller than the rest. I tried again.
— Tell me who you are. What is this place?
The eyes looked up at me.
— Go!
Her revelation was weak.
— I am Efren. I come from the world below. I have seen my king . . .
I thought in that moment I could smell the doe’s impatience.
—
I nod with careful respect.
“No more rats in public, Mr. Smith.” He glances at me as if I have somehow been responsible for what has happened, then makes briskly for the door. “From now on we change our tactics.”
. . . grew quieter. Now and then the sound of a voice or the bark of a dog would make the heart quicken, but as night closed in, the danger from the enemy faded.
We crouched in silence beneath a pile of logs. Fang’s injured leg had swelled and his eyes were dull with pain. We ached with hunger and tiredness.
We were completely lost.
In the darkness, I sensed the eyes of Floke and Fang upon me. Without a word of revelation, I had become their leader. The thought made me feel stronger.
I nudged Fang.
— We’ve got to go.
Neither Floke nor Fang stirred.
— Find our way back to the kingdom.
Floke stretched his hind legs and stood.
Too weary now even to conceal ourselves, we made our way across the open ground. At the same moment, each of us was aware of a powerful scent in the air. It was Floke who revealed first.
— Food! There is food nearby.
Ahead we saw a human enclosure, surrounded by a wooden fence. It was from beyond that fence that the scent that made us dizzy with hunger was coming.
I explored the length of the fence for some way in.
The only opening was in one corner, a crack between the timbers more suitable for a field mouse than for a rat. Maddened by hunger, Floke hurled himself against it, cutting the skin above his eye in the process.
I approached. I gazed at the opening, thinking myself into smallness.
I pushed my nose forward in a gentle, snuffling movement. I felt my bones soften and bend, my aching muscles grow tighter, squeezed by the wood.
I was through.
There was a small yard behind the cottage, and against a wall only a few lengths from where I stood was a large bowl of cooked scraps. I climbed into the bowl. With some difficulty, I rolled out half a roast potato, then a scrap of bacon. My mouth drooled as I took them to the gap in the fence and allowed Floke to pull them through.
I turned back to fetch some food for myself, and at that moment I became aware of something else. At first, it felt like a pulse. Then I sensed it was something different, a sort of murmur within me. Not one pulse, but many.
Somewhere very near to where I stood there were other rats, and they were in trouble. With all my strength, I sent out the message.
— Who is there?
I waited. The only sound that I could hear was my own heartbeat. I tried again.
— I am a stranger. I need help.
A prickle of fear raised the fur on my back. There were rats nearby and we were on their territory. Even if they belonged to another kingdom, they would normally be quick to reply, if only with threats.
What explained the silence?
Then I saw, beyond the food bowl, a square of wood on the ground.
I moved toward it, sniffing. Definitely, there were rats nearby. But why were they silent?
I heard a sound from beneath the wood. I tore a couple of strips from it with my teeth. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, I squeezed my head into the tiny hole that I had gnawed.
I looked down, then quickly drew back, fearful.
I looked again. Below me were hundreds of rats, pressed together in a pit in the dark. They were strangely silent — asleep, I suppose — but as I watched, the light from the hole I had made caught two dark eyes.
I revealed with all my strength.
— Who are you?
Silence. I could see more clearly now. The walls of the prison were brick and impossible to climb. From the dark mass of bodies, one struggled clear.
It was a fragile, a doe, light in color and smaller than the rest. I tried again.
— Tell me who you are. What is this place?
The eyes looked up at me.
— Go!
Her revelation was weak.
— I am Efren. I come from the world below. I have seen my king . . .
I thought in that moment I could smell the doe’s impatience.
—
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