“Jenner!” Justin watched Sullivan grab Jenner’s arm, in case
saying his name wasn’t enough. When the expedition’s leader turned to look,
Sullivan pointed to an overturned garbage can.

“That looks good. Okay everyone, follow me. We’re going to sneak in
along the fence in the grass they don’t bother to cut. Justin, you watch our
backs.” Justin nodded, and took his place at the end of the column. After
leaving NIMH, everyone had been ecstatic just to be outside. They had
immediately struck out, if only to get away from the scientists; they still
didn’t have a destination in mind even though they had to keep moving. It had
worked out into a kind of routine, now: Jenner led a group of the fastest rats
out to find food, while the main group continued on. They’d easily be able to
catch back up with Nicodemus and the rest, even laden down with edibles,
because their Leader and a few other elderly rats traveled very slowly.

The noonday sun had been beating down overhead, causing even
Brutus to pant a little. It was hot out there; even the last days of
summer had some punch. Everyone was grateful for some shade, probably even more
than they were for food at the moment. It was just what they were after; there
was plenty of food for the expedition to gather.

They were in the middle of gathering provisions when a loud,
high-pitched barking sound started coming from a miniature house from across
the lawn. A large, four-legged shaggy creature then sprung from the shadows and
tore across the lawn, obviously intent on the rats.

“Everyone, follow me!” It was to their advantage that the
group obeyed Jenner immediately, as his quick thinking got them all out of the
path of the creature. He motioned them all into a small hole before jumping in
himself as it arrived. The only problem was they couldn’t get out again. Their
refuge appeared to be a former crawl space, partially filled in with gravel and
then forgotten. There was just enough space for them to fit, with a tiny bit of
room left over; just enough so they could get back out without much trouble and
so that breathing wasn’t an issue. The dog had spent a good deal of time just
digging at the entrance. Thankfully, it didn’t have much success; Jenner was in
a great position to bite any offending paws.

The dog
eventually retreated to the other side of the lawn, watching them while it
rested its head on its paws. Jenner heaved a sigh of relief... literally
heaved. He released his tense muscles all at once and flopped down in a heap.
Justin decided to strike up some conversation, so the rats in back would know
what was going on. “What’s the plan, Jenner?”

“Well, we’re safe for now. The dog’s restricted a little by a
leash; it can’t make it all the way to the street, or exit the lawn in any
way.” Jenner laughed a little; he almost sounded rueful. “You should have seen
it running around after it gave up on the hole. It’s trapped in the lawn just
like we’re trapped in this hole.”

Sullivan spoke up from a ways back into the hole/tunnel. “Do you
see anything that could help us get out of here?”

“Let me do the thinking, OK?” Justin privately thought that Jenner
was too harsh on the rats, but he got the job done so Justin kept his mouth
shut. Jenner considered a while, and then continued talking. “It’s got a full
food dish, so it’s not trying to eat us. It wants us for sport.” Great... It
won’t stop for one of us, it’ll go for us all. “We could try to wait until
it falls asleep, but the stink of the garbage will wake it up if it smells us.”
Everyone knew the rest of the group would probably stop and come back for the
expedition, but Nicodemus and the others didn’t have much of a hope of finding
the same hole.

Time dragged horribly, somehow made all the worse by the time of
freedom they’d experienced. Jenner said he was judging the exact time by the
sun, but that it was hard to tell for sure. At least we’re rats, and being
in a tight space away from the sun doesn’t bother us too much... That they
couldn’t leave did, though. NIMH was still fresh on the minds of everyone in
the hole, and being caged again was hard. Jenner, of all people, was taking it
the worst; he had started muttering incoherently to himself a while ago. There
had been a fair amount of talk about an hour back, advocating making a run for
it. Justin and a few others had managed to argue Jenner and the rest down. All
we have to do is last long enough for the humans to come back out and feed the
dog. When they do, it will start eating and we can leave then, with a head
start. Every extra second means another life saved.

A large interim of time passed, ended by Jenner’s voice. “There.
The sun just set. How much longer, Justin?” The bitterness in his friend’s
voice surprised Justin. Jenner turned to look at him; the two were the last
ones in, so they were right next to each other. “How much longer do we sit in
here?” He’s the one who was leading us... It’s not fair to ask me that
question. He was about to say as much when Jenner continued. “No, don’t
answer that. You’re right, a run for it would be suicide.” While it was obvious
Jenner wasn’t dealing too well with being trapped, Justin couldn’t really pity
him; he was out in the air. A few of the rats in back had dug little holes in
the pebbles to defecate in and such, but it had to be awful back there. Justin
had offered to switch places with someone, but Jenner refused him because he
thought it would be too much risk to go outside and swap.

He probably just wants to keep his spot... of course, moving
around would attract the dog, and it couldn’t have been fun for Jenner to
attack the dog’s paws constantly. The group continued to wait, while Jenner progressed rapidly for
the worse. He was fidgeting around almost constantly now, and he had gone back
to trying to convince them to run. Eventually, he calmed down, and turned his
head to look Justin in the eyes. “I’m not going to live in a cage any more.
We’re all going to die if we stay here; at least some of us will make it if we
run. If you’re not coming with me, then I’m going alone!” Before Justin could
say anything, Jenner scrambled up and out of the hole, running back the way
they came.

Justin was stunned for an instant, trying to decide what to do. In
front of where Jenner was, a large area of dirt was soaked in blood; now that
his body was gone, Justin could smell it clearly. Looking up, Justin saw that
Jenner’s left arm had a large gash down the side; he had apparently covered it
in dirt hours ago to help with the bleeding. The dog sprang from its home,
obviously not yet asleep, and ran to meet Jenner. Justin clawed his way up out
of the hole, but he was only a foot or so outside when the dog caught Jenner.
Without thinking, he ran towards his friend, intent on doing anything he could;
that turned out to be biting the dog on the back right leg. It yelped, and
Justin made a break for the road, correctly guessing that it would follow him.

While he was running for his life, Justin’s mind inexplicably
started to wander. So that’s why it was so intent on us... it smelled blood.
That wound of his has to be infected by now... I’m not gonna make it. I hope
the others are running... A backward glanced showed him that most of the
rats were heading the direction Jenner had gone, and that they had stopped to
pick him up; only Brutus and a few others were missing. Justin was almost to
the road now; without a body to carry, he was going much faster than the rest
of them. Oh, damn! If it goes after them now, they’re dead! Justin made
it to the pavement, and turned to face the dog. It was straining its leash with
all its might, actually causing the stretchy material to quiver, but sooner or
later it would remember the other rats. What do I do? Justin almost
panicked, but then he remembered how quickly it attacked him when he bit it.
As soon as he thought of that, there wasn’t any question; he would jump
back into the fray and distract it until the others got away.

The entire area became very clear and distinct, highlighted by a
ghostly bright light.

Screeching as loudly as he could, Justin charged the dog. Trying
to meet Justin head on, the dog jumped back and started another run for the
sidewalk as Justin approached. It was just starting to stretch the leash when
the resistance of the cord stopped and the dog went cartwheeling over Justin
and into the road, its barking stopped forever by the grill of a truck. As the
vehicle passed, the area darkened again; it took a moment for Justin’s eyes to
adjust to the absence of headlights. He saw Brutus standing by the severed end
of the leash, wiping out his mouth.

Though the runs for food continued much as they had
before, Justin took over while Jenner was recovering; he continued leading them
even when Jenner was healed and fit to rejoin the group. Those rats eventually
became the Guard, and rather than continue following under Justin, Jenner quit
and turned his attention to the Council. From his point of view, there on the
ground, all Justin had done was make a break for it in the other direction; the
others had proved loyal when they came to his aid. Furthermore, in the hole,
Justin had gainsaid everything Jenner suggested, and he constantly wanted to
move even at the expense of their safety. To Jenner, Justin proved himself a
traitor that day, and Jenner refused to put his life in such untrustworthy
hands.