Chapter 21: The Nightmare

Simon — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:33:29 -0600

Thorn Valley is a paradise. It's a
national reserve, which means that it belongs to nature and it's animals and
not by men. There are trees everywhere you look, and lots of waterfalls,
crystal clear rivers and mountains embracing the Valley, to keep everyone and
everything inside, safe. The world was on the edge of Spring and the sun was
getting stronger and stronger each day. Even though Thorn Valley was filled
with breathtaking scenes, there was someone who didn't enjoy it. Justin was
sitting on a rock far from where the new colony was settled. He was wearing a
brown uniform and a white sling around his left arm. His arm was nearly fully
recovered although it had taken one-and-a-half whole weeks to get the way it
looked now. Justin was extremely lucky for not falling down the rock when he
fainted. He was even more lucky to have a strong rat like Brutus amongst them,
so he could carry Justin to Thorn
Valley. But he didn't
feel lucky at all. He felt humiliated because of his fainting and because of
the fact that another male had to carry him to his new home. What kind of
leader was he? He wasn't even able to lead his people to Thorn Valley,
he needed another, much younger male to finish his job. Men don't faint,
especially not when this particular man was recently chosen to be the most
powerful rat-male of the colony. He knew he couldn't help it. Gabriel, Mr.
Ages' assistant, told Justin that his situation had become critical. He was
suffering from a severe form of blood-poisoning. He knew all that, but he
noticed the fact that the rats of NIMH didn't show the same type of admiration
to him than they did to Nicodemus. He hadn't proven himself enough. He didn't
kill Jenner, Sullivan did, he didn't prevent the Brisby home from sinking, the
Stone did, he couldn't even safe Nicodemus from the attack, Wendy did... and he
was even physically too weak to lead the rats to safety... Brutus did. He sighed
and felt bad, real bad. What was he going to tell Wendy? Wendy... just another
week and he'll be able to hold her again. Perhaps the rats would respect him
more once he was married...if she'd say ‘yes' of course.

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Chapter 21: The Nightmare