The trip from the Rosebush to the
farmhouse was a bit risky but one Justin had made many times since the rats had
settled on the farm. As usual, the cat was nowhere to be found this time of the
day. In the heat of the late August afternoon, the cat preferred the coolness
of the front porch and rarely went wandering until evening. A few quick dashes
from shrub to shrub brought him to the lattice that kept larger creatures from
getting under the house, though there were more than enough breaks and gaps for
easy entry if that had been his goal. But not today, today would require
something a bit trickier. Taking a firm grip with his hands, Justin easily
climbed up the lattice and wedging himself between the wall and gutter drain.
He quickly worked up toward the roof and the Fitzgibbon's attic. There was
another way to get into the farm without taking so much effort, but that was
the hole under the kitchen floor, which wasn't big enough for a rat to get
through, so Justin needed to take the hard way. He didn't mind for he is an
excellent climber, like most rats, although it does take longer to get inside
and he always ended up coated with the powdered residue from the building's old
and peeling, flaking paint. ‘One of these days the farmer is going to have to
re-paint this place.' He said to himself. ‘Though hopefully not until after
we've left.'

Justin finally reached the attic
window, which, as usually, was slightly open. Even in the worst of weather it
was never closed or latched, something he didn't understand but was thankful
for. With a quick glance inside he slipped inside and jumped down to the wooden
floor. The attic was packed with old, discarded things, but the rats loved
them. For what was trash to some was treasure to others and the rats would come
up here, and sneak some of these valuable things away to use for their own
home. It still amazed him at all the things humans carelessly threw away, but
he was thankful for their bad habits as it allowed the rats to at least begin
their own colony. ‘Though now, we've got to teach ourselves to do without these
toys....' Then he laughed at himself. ‘And what am I doing? Exactly what
Nicodemus wants us to stop doing... and all for a silly teabag....' Then, with a
shake of his head, he trotted over the warped door that should have sealed the
attic from the rest of the house, yet was so twisted that even Brutus could
have worked his way passed it. But not Dragon, thank goodness.

Squeezing past the door he
carefully worked his way down the old and rickety steps of the rarely used
stairs to the house's second floor. Here there were more signs and scents of
life, though at the moment everyone seemed out of the house. Not hearing or
seeing anything he dashed as fast as he could down the short hall towards the
main stairway, which lead downstairs to the living room and, past that, the
kitchen. The rats rarely went this way as it was dangerous, but this was where
Mrs. Fitzgibbon kept her tea and such. The kitchen was just past the living
room, and was brightly lit by the huge windows. It was a long run, from the stairs
through the living room and the kitchen. Then there was the climb up to the
cupboard, where the teabags were in. ‘I should have thought this through a
little more than I did... I'm acting like an idiot again, that's what Wendy does
to me I guess... but why does it make me feel so good?'

He waited and carefully looked
around him. The farmer was out of the house, as were his wife and two children,
Billy and Paul, but Justin knew they weren't the biggest problem. Humans were
usually easily fooled, hidden from or to outrun. The real problem was furry, huge and had a nasty disposition... and
carried the name Dragon. It was the family cat, and seemed always around when
you least expected him. Normally Dragon wasn't a problem at all when the powder
drugged him, but now there was no powder...

For all his size, Dragon was a
great hunter and Justin needed to stay out of his claws. He carefully peered
around the room below and looked at the cat's sleeping place, but he wasn't
there. He then crept out and looked down into the living room, but there was no
sign of the cat, either. ‘Maybe I am lucky and he's outside' Justin thought and
he decided to take the chance, and dashed from the stairs and towards the
kitchen cupboard.

Pausing for only a moment to look
around the empty room, he climbed up the kitchen block as quickly as he could.
As he reached the top of the sink he quickly looked over his shoulder. No,
still no cat around. Then the silence of the house became obvious and he
suddenly realized how horribly quiet it really was. The only thing he could
hear was the ticking of the kitchen clock, which, for some reason, started to
irritate him. It made his neck fur rise and his heart beat faster. The
adrenaline was rushing through his body. ‘Not even the watch in hanging in Nicodemus'
office was so loud, or is it just my imagination?' He thought to himself.

To his pleasant surprise, he saw
that the teabags were still on the sink, so he wouldn't have to go through a
lot of trouble to get them. He took the bag in his hands and read: ‘Earl Grey,
original English blend', ‘Great!' He said, and tucked the teabag into his belt.

‘Now let's get out of here while
we're still in one piece', he spoke to himself, and he jumped to the floor from
the sink. Although the leap was huge, he had made greater ones, and he didn't
fear them. Suddenly he heard a noise; it was coming from behind him. He spun
about and stared in horror, almost frozen in place for a second. It was though
a nightmare had come through: Dragon!

He ran as fast as he could, trying
not to slip and tumble, for that would mean a painful and swift death. As he
ran he could feel the cat's hot breath in his fur, and he felt the floor
shaking under the heavy weight of the cat. ‘How can anything that big move so fast?' He asked himself
as he ran for his life. He made a dash to the stairway and jumped up the stairs
as fast as he could, still hearing the cat close behind him.

Suddenly there was a sound of
scabbing claws and a satisfying ‘THUD' from the wall near the foot of the
stairs. As he leapt up the stairs he heard a terrible scream of anger and
frustration, one that made Justin's fur rise but that gave him hope and an
instant to breath. Without looking back, half-afraid of what he might see, he
continued up the stairs and dashed down the hall before turning up the narrow
stairway to the attic. From behind he could hear the pounding of paws trying to
catch up with him but... for once, far enough away that he knew he had a good
chance of escape. Finally he made it at the attic and, slipping through the
narrow crack between the door and it's frame, ran towards the window. He
quickly turned around to see where the cat was. ‘Where is he, where is he?' Justin looked around him,
but there was no cat in sight.

He decided not to wait for Dragon
to appear again, but put one foot outside the window. With a sigh of relief he
re-checked if the bag was still tucked away between his belt and his coat and
disappeared through the open window, back to a much safer place. He was
sweating like an idiot. The climb down the rainspout was uneventful and with
the cat still stuck inside Justin felt almost too confident. Of course he
remained alert all the way back to the Rosebush, looking over his shoulder time
and time again and not slowing down until he got in.

With a smile, he closed the small
hidden entrance door behind him, quietly celebrating victory. That moment of
victory didn't last though, as just inside the entrance stood Wendy Elisabeth,
and the look on her face said that she could even be more dangerous than Dragon
could ever hope to be.

His smile disappeared immediately
when he saw her angry face. He couldn't help but see how she stood, her hands
at her sides, and her foot tapping, no stamping
on the ground. In sheer surprise and self-defense the young male took a step
back, and stared at her, his whiskers hanging down.

‘What were you doing out there?!' She snapped, still stamping her
foot on the ground, forgetting entirely that he was the second most important
rat in the colony as Justin is recognized, though unspoken, second in command.

‘I... I eh, I went to the... the
farm.' Justin stumbled, not realizing what kind of crime he had been
committing.

‘What?! You knew the cat wasn't drugg....' Then suddenly, she saw the
teabag. ‘What's that!'

Justin couldn't think of anything
to say, other than the truth, and he knew as he opened his mouth that it was a
mistake. ‘It's a teabag, Earl...'

‘I can see that!' She didn't even allow him to finish his sentence. ‘What
did you need to get that for?'

Justin took a breath, and tried to
smile at her, hoping to settle her anger a bit. ‘I brought it for you, I kind
of overheard your conversation with Nanny and I thought...'

‘You what!?' Wendy tried to go
over that conversation again, and suddenly hoped he hadn't heard all of it. She
turned around, closing her eyes as she rubbed her forehead, as though she were
developing a major headache.

‘What exactly did you hear of it?
You idiot! You could have gotten yourself killed!' She desperately took Justin
by his arms and squeezed them, as if she wanted to squeeze some sense into the
boy. ‘Don't you know what that would mean to us... To....' Then she pushed him
away, too angry to continue.

‘All that for... a teabag!' In her
anger and frustration her voice broke, and her eyes filled with tears. She
wrapped her arms around herself, as though unsure what to do with them. Justin
began to give his arms a massage, where her hands had held him so tightly.

After a moment she turned around
and glared at him. ‘You could have at least waited until the cat was drugged.'
She settled down a bit, because it was hard to remain angry with Justin. She
looked at him over her shoulder, and forced herself to show a small smile.
Then, without explanation, she turned around again, tears still burning in her
eyes.

‘You're right. I guess it does
seem pretty silly.' Justin said and he started walking towards her, slowly.
‘But I thought you'd appreciate the gesture.'

‘I do, I really do, but I... (She
continued in a soft whisper) I don't want to lose you, Jus... Justin....' But
Justin heard enough to know what it meant and he came closer, until he was
right behind her. He gently raised his hand, and didn't know if what he was
about to do was right, and knew that he might risk getting a bloody scratched
hand, but he did it anyway. His hand touched her neck fur, and he felt a thrill
of pleasure at the softness of it.

Then suddenly something happened,
something that only a moment ago he wouldn't have even dared to dream. Without
warning she turned around, and fell around his neck, her arms around him as she
leaned against him. He felt she was trembling for a moment, but only a moment.
He enjoyed her warmth and softness. He soon put his arms around her as well,
and returned her unexpected but very welcomed hug. He held her gently and
comforted her, as he realized she was crying. ‘Justin... something terrible has
happened. Jonathan Brisby died today. Nicodemus says he was killed by Dragon.'