Justin didn't waste any time by saying goodbye to the
other rats. He didn't even feel like it. He used to be the most popular male
rat of the colony, especially among the female rats, but things had changed. He
felt like a stranger in the colony. The new environment also had a lot to do
with it. He loved the new area, the woods, the mountains, the beauty, the
safety... but it wasn't his home yet. It wasn't his home because she
wasn't there yet. The thought of being close to her again made him happy. He
was able to smile again, something which he hadn't done these entire two weeks.
His mind wandered to the night which changed everything. The night the Brisby
home was moved. He remembered all too well that Wendy died in his arms. She
stopped breathing, her heartbeat was gone... she was really dead! What would he
have done if the Stone hadn't been there, what would have happened to him? He
would have probably died with her. He shook those thoughts away and smiled
again. The Stone saved Wendy's life, she was okay and he was going to see her
again. The stones where Justin passed out came in sight already. This was the
spot he hated, the spot which showed his weakness and made the rats wonder if
he was the right person to be the leader. He climbed down the rocks as if he
were a professional. He wished the other rats were able to see him now. He
still had a long trip to go, but he didn't mind. He was glad he was able to
breathe again, being himself again. But, even though he enjoyed this freedom,
he felt terribly alone. He wished he was a child again, a child who could cry
if he wanted to. He decided to move on, he wanted to get to Wendy as soon as
possible. He paused at the spot where he wanted to ask Wendy to marry him. The
waterfall was even more breathtaking than it was the other day. Justin always
loved water, and he knew Wendy loved water as well. Both him and Wendy were the
best swimmers the colony had. Justin decided to take a swim. He got undressed
and took off his sling. He jumped into the water and enjoyed the coolness of
it. He tried to get closer to the waterfall, he wanted to touch the water and
the water to touch him. He swam towards the rocks and tried to climb them. The
strong water pushed him back several times, but he didn't want to give up.
Finally he was able to climb the rocks. He reached over to feel the solid rocks
behind the waterfall, but there weren't any behind the waterfall. Justin
decided to climb to the other side of the rock where he stood on. What he saw
amazed him. Behind the waterfall there was a paradise. A scene so beautiful that
it belonged to a fairy-tale. There was an entire world behind it, filled with
trees, flowers and a beautiful lake. This was the perfect place to bring Wendy
to, to ask her to become his wife. Justin swam towards the shore. He decided to
explore the area a bit. The flowers were amazing, Justin never saw so many
colors before in his entire life. This spot was perfect. This was going to be
his and Wendy's secret.

Wendy was finally able to cut lose from the horrible
nightmare. She was bathing in sweat and heavily disorientated. ‘Wendy, Wendy,
are you alright?' Mrs. Brisby rushed into Wendy's corner of the bedroom and
found a terrified rat with huge eyes, her forehead covered with sweat and
panting for breath. She was running a fever.

Justin stayed at his newly discovered piece of
paradise before moving on. He felt a lot better since he left the colony.
Thinking about his past few weeks as the new leader of the rats of NIMH made
him want never to go back there again. He knew in his heart that the circumstances
of the past few weeks weren't at all ideal, but he started doubting the fact if
Nicodemus had made the right decision. The rats didn't want him to be the
leader, they wanted everything to stick to the old. Perhaps the moving to Thorn
Valley, the fight and the new leader were simply too many changes for the
colony to handle... He was tired, he just simply couldn't handle it anymore.

‘There, there Wendy, here's some water. Did you have a
nightmare, dear?'

Wendy Elisabeth winked her eyes and relaxed a bit. Her
breathing slowed down and she started feeling cold because of all the sweat. ‘I
guess I had a nightmare, but it all seemed so real. Even now
I'm still able to remember every horrible detail of it. I even felt the rain on
my fur, I ... Oh I'm being ridiculous...'

Mrs. Brisby smiled and touched Wendy's forehead. ‘Go
back to sleep, before you know it, it will be morning again.'

Wendy smiled back and was just about to turn around in
her bed when she felt a sharp pain through her right ankle. She pulled the rug back
and screamed; her right ankle was scratched and her bed was covered in mud and
branches!

Mrs. Brisby leaned over to the poor rat the hold her
down. She was still far too weak even though she looked a lot better today.
Mrs. Brisby didn't understand where the fever came from. ‘Wendy! Please! You
really should calm down! You are still very weak!'

‘Jenner... Jenner... he's not dead! Please, I have to get
out of bed! I must warn Justin!' She pushed the much smaller mouse away,
stumbled out of bed and made a dash to the door. But she never made it there,
she collapsed right before she was able to reach the latch.