The coast is clear…Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash
The rat paused. Looking back and contemplating the decision to abandon his partner. The home had been safe for many generations after all, how were they supposed to know of the newly set trap? Soon a key would turn in the door alerting the naked-tailed thief of danger. A sign to leave. This time, member 3364 would be left behind, not that he would know it. He was dead. His back snapped in two like a hard taco shell which are occasionally stored in the great food supply. Their raid had proven successful up until the point 3364 brushed off the peanut butter warnings and, well, had his last taste. The sound of the key sliding into the lock shooed 1784. The two-leggeds had returned and as silently as the duo had entered, a lone rat slipped back into the hole under the sink.
Member 1784 did not dread a return to the colony alone, rat 3364, also known as Stub, was his fourth partner in pinching or, as commonly referred to, PIP. Loz had a display of feats swirling about his body, well earned too mind you. An ear cleft to commemorate the near escape from Regis the cat, a scar running the left side of his body where the missed hack of a machete nearly ended his career or the soft, circular, and quite disturbing protrusions of a BB that had passed through his belly leaving twin scars on either side. Loz was the head acquisition master, an underachieved title by most standards, but seeing as there was no higher status of acquisition, that is the title he held.
“Ayyy Smokes! There’s Loz, let’um in” Fuz squeaked from the fountain lookout. Smokes, the rat known to vanish, pawed open the mason jar entry way for Loz. “Loz, good to see ya back. Where’s Stub?” asked Smokes innocently. “Stub won’t be returning to the nest any longer” Loz said as he entered the gateway. Smokes looked back towards the house knowing that soon the two-leggeds would be hunting their rat mischief, that life as he had known it would soon be moving on.
“Loz, welcome back” rat 1139 said as she approached, knowing that the lack of doormen celebrating means nothing of good nature. “Thanks Cyta. The peanut butter got’em, after all the tales as a child, he still tempted the peanut butter…” Loz trailed off, clearly deep in thought, reflecting on the situation. “Were you two together at the time?” Cyta asked curiously, knowing that Loz would have prevented such a disaster. “No, I had gone to the Great Food Supply to gather a potato while Stub rummaged in the garbage. That’s when I heard the snap and gasping croak of...of..Stub..” Cyta embraced Loz, knowing that losing one of your grand-children carries a great pain, but is not uncommon in the life of a rat. Loz was of first generation at this nest, as was Cyta, hence the one in their numbering. Stub had been generation three as the first three in 3364 signifies.
“Cyta, we need to call a meeting. It won’t be long before the two-leggeds begin to hunt us tirelessly.” Cyta, knowing that Loz was right, hung her head “I know, we must.” She said with a sigh. “I’ll ring the bell in ten minutes. You sit tight for a bit and clear your mind.” Cyta crawled off towards the high chambers. Loz, leaning against the wall, took a deep breath and sighed. He knew that he would have to state his case to the council in the high chamber. The council was made up of generation Zeros, the founders of this nest, the ones who migrated from the nest prior. All the gen Zeros are calloused and scarred from their travels here. They had completed the longest migration in rat history, losing two-thirds of their mischief along the way...and here Loz was, about to state his case for the nest to move, for everyone to leave their home.
The high council sat around the bowl, sipping the remnants of the fizzy liquid they had found in a bottle when Loz entered. “Loz” called the high master “We understand that Stub is no longer with us and that he was abandoned in the nest of the two-leggeds”.
“Yes, that is the case, High Master.”
“And you have a proposition for us I presume?”
“Yes, I do, High Master.”
“Go on then, explain yourself”
“I had no time to extract Stub from the trap, the trap was too big for me to pry open alone... He had to be left behind”
“I know you are aware that abandoning a fellow acquisitionist in the nest of the two-leggeds is against the highest code of rats. How do you explain yourself?”
“We were caught off-guard. The two-leggeds had a clue that we had been there, or else there would’ve been no trap placed.” The Council members nodded in agreement. Loz continued “Now that the two-leggeds are aware of our presence they will be setting more traps, they will be actively pursuing our mischief. We are in danger.”
The room stayed quiet.
The council exchanged looks and whispers amongst themselves. Loz sat quietly hiding the nervous mind between his ears. He glanced at Cyta who was absorbed in listening and staring at the ground.
Once again the High Master spoke.
“We, the High Council, are the founders of this nest. We suffered many losses and sacrifices to establish ourselves here. Do you remember the journey here Loz?” Loz, caught off-guard with the question, stuttered “No, I don’t High Master. I couldn’t, I was born here.”. “Loz, we as the High Council must unveil our secret to you now. The time has come where the nest needs a new home. A new leader.” Loz, absolutely perplexed, stared at the high master blankly. “What do you mean High Master?” quipped Cyta from the edge of the room. She instantly sunk back into herself as she knew interjecting to the High Council was highly frowned upon. The High Master shot a glance her way and Cyta sank further into herself. The High Master continued “Loz, you came here on the back of your mother as a little hairless baby, while your eyes were still shut.” Loz’s expression had not changed, he remained helplessly flummoxed. “Your mother sacrificed herself for you. We were not far into our journey. We were new to the world. Naive. The journey lasted several days as you know, and on the third day we suffered many losses, including your mother.” Loz, now flabbergasted and in disbelief, soaked up the tale as if he were young again.
“We were crossing a small stream, which usually would pose no issue, but we had decided to cross at dawn. Small blazes of light punctured the horizon and our veil of shadows was drawn away. A shadow passed us over, our gaze turned to the sky as a hawk could be seen making a sharp turn towards our mischief. We were caught severely off-guard, half of us were in the water and the other half shouting to hurry as we darted to cover. Your mother was swimming, she had nearly made it to shore before she threw you to the bank and turned back…” The High Master’s gaze trailed off, as the memory replayed in his mind. “She swam to the middle of the stream and began to splash and shout, snatching the hawk's attention. The sound of the diving hawk’s feathers grew louder as it locked its gaze upon your mother. She turned to me, knowing that it would be her last breath, and said “Keep him safe.”. There was a splash...and she was gone. The hawk flew off, your mother in it’s clutch. Because of your mother’s sacrifice, the rest of us were able to safely cross and continue the journey here.” The High Master finished his story, Loz sat stunned as he tried to process all the emotion welling within him.
“I...I..I don’t understand” Loz stammered “Why would you hide the truth from me? Why didn’t you tell me about my mother?” His voice grew as an anger welled within him. “I thought she died at birth, I thought I killed her…” His voice trailed off, a medley of sadness, confusion and betrayal arose in his heart.