Wind chattered against the outside walls of the cave. It bellowed through
the holes of the entrances, and squeaked through the cracks in the windows.
Tornadoes of dead leaves moved through the field and whipped up cattails as if
they were strands of hair. The sky grew darker and darker, and clouds spread
out like sheets of heavy gray metal. The sun was taken out by those clouds,
leaving the world outside the caves of Thorn Valley nothing but the dingy
shadows of the earth itself.

The marble floor was cold, and the walls of the room seemed as though they
may blow in. Mrs. Frisby waited in the balcony for Justin to arrive. She could
not think of starting without him. Her children sat in their chairs patiently.

Timothy sat staring up at the ceiling, trying to estimate how high up it
was. Teresa had her nose in a thick book that one of her new friends had
introduced her to. Cynthia cuddled her doll in her arms, and Martin kept
jerking his head up trying not to fall asleep.

Nicodemus sat behind Sara as well, trying to reassure her. "He’ll be
here soon enough," he would say, "and if not, I’m sure you can manage
without."

"I don’t think so!" Mrs. Frisby refused. "He got me into this
mess therefore he will help me get out of it."

"Maybe he is late on purpose, momma." Timothy suggested. Maybe he
was right; Justin could have something up his sleeve.

Still, Nicodemus pushed her forward. Mrs. Frisby could not postpone the
meeting any longer, the decision had to be final.

Sara straightened her new cape out. She picked up the end of it and dropped
it, making the train of it flutter to the floor beneath her and fan out. She
looked down at the gold chain that held it around her neck. She made sure of its
security, and cleared her throat. "People!!" she exclaimed
confidently, "The decision is final!!"

Applause echoed off the walls as well as cheers.

"We have decided to make Jenner work! Jenner will spend three weeks in
jail, and then go to court. He will be fined and told what his punishment will
be. He will be on call twenty-four hours a day to clean. He will sleep when he
can, and will work permanent hours. That means that he will not be allowed to
sleep between the hours eight and five. On other hours, he will go back to his
cell and sleep. If he is called, a guard will be watching him to do his job. A
guard will be with him every minute of the day, anyway! We are one voice! We
are one community! We will know more! We will do more! We will be more! And that
is a promise!!!"

Commendation was all that could be heard from the people of Thorn Valley.
They clapped and stood. They whistled, and they cheered. People jumped up and
down, and swung their arms high in the air.

Mrs. Frisby took her seat once again, waiting for people to clear the room.
Slowly, the audience stepped down from their seats, and began to crowd the
door.

"Sara! Nicodemus!"

The two on the balcony looked down to see Justin struggling towards them.

"I saw Jenner." Justin, out of breath, made his way up the curving
winding stairs onto the balcony.

"Well?" Nicodemus asked.

Justin started to speak, but his breath was taken by the sight of Mrs.
Frisby. He had never seen her in that cape before, and because of this, he did
not recognize her at first glance. "Sara," he said, "you’re
lovely. Where did you-?"

"Judy gave it to me. Isn’t it nice?"

"Yes, it is." He was quiet for a moment, and then started back on
what he was saying. "Jenner is in the hospital. He seems to have changed,
though. I haven’t seen any of his men yet. I hope they are all in a jail cell.
I wanted to know if you guys wanted to come along with me and look. What do ya
say?"

"I suppose so," Nicodemus concluded, "I would like to know
where they are."

In agreement, Mrs. Frisby held out her hand. Justin took it, and off they
went. "Children," Mrs. Frisby said, "Go back to your room. I
don’t want you to be around the people we are about to meet."

Obediently, the four youngsters separated from their elders.

The group of three trotted down the bustling hallway towards the jail. The
wind still blew dynamically outside, and leaves and twigs flew so fast, they
cracked a few windows. It had started to rain by then, turning the soil outside
into a big mud puddle.

They said nothing as they walked. The first time someone spoke was when they
arrived at the jail.

The jail was always kept dim, which made it seem more unpleasant than it
really was. Circular cells made of thick wire lined the long halls behind the
front desk. Unlike the rest of the rooms in Thorn Valley, the jail was a hall
all itself.

Justin approached the guard sitting at the front desk. Because Nicodemus was
with him, the guard allowed them all to pass without saying a word.

Mrs. Frisby tightened her grip on Justin’s hand as they walked by the cells,
intimidated. Sara had never seen anything like it; there were rats in almost
every cell! There were male rats and female rats, some were so big they looked
like they could just pick up the cell they were in and throw it up against the
wall. Others were so skinny and bony they could hardly stand up. Some rats sat
in the shadows and looked up at them with big weak eyes, eyes weakened from
years in the dim light. That made Mrs. Frisby feel sorry for them.

At the end of the hall, there stood a tall, black door, made of heavy metal
and bolts. Nicodemus pulled out a key and slid it into the keyhole. The door
opened with a scrape of metal and a click.

Beyond the door was a large cage made of bars about three inches thick each.
Mrs. Frisby could barley see the black figures moving around in the cell
because of the light; the room was only being lit by a single candle, which
stood in the farthest corner of the room.

"Hello?" a harsh voice said.

"It’s us," Nicodemus said, "Nicodemus, Justin and Mrs.
Jonathan Frisby. We are not here to harm you."

The three of them stepped closer toward the cage, so to see the prisoners
better. There was quite a lot of them- all as muscular as they could get. Mrs.
Frisby looked some of them over.

One of the rats was taller than Justin, and the muscles he had seemed as
though they could pop out of his skin. Veins bulged out of his arms and wrists
and made him look almost like Frankenstein.

Another rat was a girl, and she wasn’t as tall as some of the others.
Although she was not the tallest, she could very well have been the most
vicious. She was suited in a tight black leather vest and glove. Her teeth were
yellow and curved almost two inches over her bottom lip. Her nails were just as
long, but they were kind of orange looking. Like the others, she had muscles
that bulged and quivered with each slight movement.

Mrs. Frisby turned to yet another rat, but he stood out from the rest of
them. He was much shorter than the rest, but was still unusually muscular for
his size. This rat’s face even seemed familiar. He had light fur, and big brown
eyes- eyes that were bright, unlike the cold eyes that belonged to the others,
and unlike the harsh expression he held on his face. He looked at Sara with
grievous eyes, and captured her breath. Sara stood still for quite a while and
stared at him. He stared back. Did she know him? No. She couldn’t. Although,
there was something very haunting about him.

"Sara?" Nicodemus asked.

Sara snapped out of her gaze. "Oh, I’m sorry, sir," she said,
"I was just thinking something."

"Well what was it?" Justin inquired.

"I," Sara began, "I was thinking that I knew one of them, but
I don’t think I do. At least, I couldn’t."

"You could know one of them, it is possible, but unlikely."
Nicodemus said. He stepped forward to examine the one that Mrs. Frisby had been
looking at. He looked over the rat, and something sparked his mind as well.
Neither he nor Mrs. Frisby could put their finger on it, but there was
something about him.

"What were you crying about, Timmy?" Asked Cynthia.

"Nothing that you could understand right now, Cinnie." He
answered.

All of them were lying on their backs staring up at the ceiling. Timothy had
his arms folded behind his head. The lights were dimmed, and all of the
children were deeply involved in a conversation.

"I’m still worried about what is going on with Jenner." Martin
said.

Timothy agreed. He hadn’t told them all about the people he had heard
talking in the hallway the other night. He knew that it was important to have
people know, but he wasn’t sure about whether or not what he thought was true.
He sat up. "Come on!"

"Where to?" Teresa asked.

"I’m going to the hospital. I want to find out a few things, and I
don’t want to go alone." Timothy opened the door and walked off.

For a moment, the others just sat and wondered if they should go or not.
Cynthia was the first one to follow, and with her first movement, the others
followed her as well. Soon, a band of four children were walking down the
hallway.

The group walked like they all were on a mission. They all walked as though
they were some bunch of kids with attitudes. Only Teresa had a slight
expression of worry on her face. Other than that, they all were confident.

After they had walked down many hallways and ramps, they reached the
hospital. It smelled like Band-Aids and flowers. No one really liked the smell,
but what did one expect?

The children slowly walked up to the front desk. It was white and cold, and
a fat lady sat at it with a smirk on her face. She stood up and looked down at
them with a mean expression. The only one willing to speak to her was Timothy.
Whatever it was that he was up to, he wasn’t going to quit.

"What room is Jenner in?" He asked. His voice did not even quiver.

"Why do you want to know?" The lady snapped.

Martin straightened himself out. He cleared his throat, and spoke up.
"We need to see him and tell him to get well."

The lady looked them all over. She especially looked at Martin. She could
tell he was lying. "I don’t think that’s a good idea for you kids to go in
there with Jenner."

"Please?" Timothy was almost begging. "We absolutely must see
him. I need to tell him a few things. I promise I will not arouse his anger in
the least. I just want to look at the person that everyone hates. I want to
know why everyone dislikes him, so I can see for myself. I am not the kind of
person who goes off disliking someone I have never met." Timothy let out a
sigh.

Once again, the lady looked him over. He sounded sincere, which sent her the
notion to let them all pass. "Go on," she said, "It’s room 197
at the end of the third corridor."

The children all felt a wave of relief sweep over them. They all walked
silently to the room. Once they all got there, they stopped and looked at each
other. Timothy did the honors of opening the door. The four walked in and shut
the door quietly behind them.

Jenner’s bed was the one on the far end of the room, by the window. He was
still rolled over into a lump on his side. He appeared to be sleeping. The
children approached him with caution. Cynthia stayed behind the curtain that
separated Jenner’s side of the room from the other rat’s side.

"Sshhh" Teresa held her finger up to her lip.

Jenner suddenly rolled over, frightening them all. "I’m up! I’m
up!" he shouted. Then he realized who was really there. "Oh. Who are
you?"

"I.. I’m Timothy, and this is Teresa, and Martin." Timothy stepped
back to show his brother and sister to Jenner.

Jenner looked at them all as if he were in deep thought. "Oh,
yeah," he said slowly, "You’re the Frisby kids, right? Yeah, I know
who you all are."

"How do you know?" Cynthia asked from behind the curtain. She
stepped out to show herself.

"Oh, it’s, uh, Cynthia, right?" Jenner guessed. "Your father
spoke often of you. Why are you all here?"

Timothy told him that he just wanted to look at the person who everyone
hated. "I never knew you, nor have I ever met you," Timothy went on,
"so I found no point in disliking anyone I have never even met."

"Well, Timothy," Jenner told him, "That is very good. I hope
I can show you what kind of person I am, so you can see the real me. You see,
everyone hates me for something I did in the past. No one will take the fact
that I may have changed into consideration. I hope you will. No one likes me
because I left a while ago. Please keep this in mind when your people start to
punish me soon. Please note that people can change, can’t they?"

The children nodded.

"There now, you see? I have changed, but I only need a chance to prove
that I have. No one will give me that chance. Isn’t that a little unfair?"

The children shook their heads without saying a word.

"Well now, I think it would be best if you kids left now. I need to get
some sleep. But, you can come back and speak to me whenever you like. I don’t
get too many visitors anymore." Jenner rolled back over onto his side
again. "Thank you for coming, bye bye."

Teresa, Martin, Timothy and Cynthia all walked out of the room. "I
don’t know why everyone hates him," Timothy noted as he closed the door,
"He seems really nice."

Jenner smiled a big mischievous smile.

The children walked out of the hospital in confusion. They couldn’t
understand why no one liked Jenner. He seemed nice, and he acted nice,
therefore the children took him as being nice. Heck, maybe he had changed.

"Teresa!!" The calls echoed throughout the hallways. Once again,
Sara was looking for her children.

"Don’t worry, Sara," Justin said softly, "We’ll find them.
They can’t be too far- at least, not outside- it’s raining."

"Everyone always tells me that it’s going to be okay!" Mrs. Frisby
stopped and pounded her foot on the hard marble floor. "I’m just scared
that once I listen to them, my babies will be found dead all because I thought
it was going to be okay."

Justin sighed. He knew he had no right to tell her that everything would be
alright, when he didn’t have children of his own. Nevertheless, he kept trying
to reassure her.

"Cynthia! Martin, Timothy!" Mrs. Frisby glanced down a hallway to
find nothing. She picked up her pace. She jogged up an up ramp to collide face
first into Martin.

"Mom!" Teresa exclaimed. "Why such a hurry?"

"Don’t anyone give me that!" Sara scolded, "We have been
looking high and low for you again. That was the last straw! You never tell me
where you are going, and when you do go, you go off somewhere you shouldn’t!
Come on, let’s have it- where were you and why? It had better be someplace
special for this one, guys!"

The three of the children pushed Timothy forward. Since he was the one who
dragged them all to the hospital, he should be the one to tell them. "We
went to the," Timothy paused. He knew already that his mom wasn’t going to
take any excuses, and this one was a bad one in the first place. "We went
to the hospital."

Sara gasped. "Why? None of you were hurt, were you? Are all of you
okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Timothy went on, "But we went for a
reason."

Sara looked at them coldly.

"We went to see Jenner." Timothy swallowed hard.

Sara did not want to hear anymore. "I have told you never to go near
Jenner!" She screamed. People were now coming out of their rooms to see
what was going on.

"No you didn’t, mommy." Cynthia said.

That just got Mrs. Frisby’s anger going even more. She blew up. "Never,
ever, go to see Jenner! He is a dangerous man! He will kill us all if he had
the chance! That’s it! From now on, you all will be stuck in daycare whenever I
have to go off by myself. You have proven twice that you all are incapable of
being responsible!" Sara grabbed each of their ears- two in each hand- and
dragged them all off to their room.

Justin just followed behind silently, reminding himself to remember never to
make Mrs. Frisby angry. Ever.

Mrs. Frisby grumbled to herself as they all walked down the hallway. When
they had gotten to the room, Sara forced all of the children into the bed.
"Go to sleep!" she said harshly. "Go to sleep, and don’t you
dare get out of bed until I tell you it’s okay. I have to keep tabs on wherever
you are from now on." She covered her face in her hands and walked outside
and sat down beside the door.

Justin walked up to her. "What is it? What is wrong, Sara?" He
asked.

"I think it would be best if you leave now, Justin," Mrs. Frisby
said with a big sob in her voice. "I’ll tell you in the morning after I
drop the kids off at daycare."

Justin got the point. He then bent down and kissed her gently on the head
and walked off. They all had had a stressful night.

Sara sat outside the door thinking for almost an hour. It was a lot to take
on so quickly. She was worried about Jenner, and the danger he can cause the
community and to her children. She was worried about what was going to happen
to her. Right now, it seemed like she and Justin had a lot of power, but they
did not.

Sara had noticed that Nicodemus had not been using his best judgement, and
that troubled her even more. He was getting to be as old as Mr. Ages, but that
was no excuse. What if Jenner was not sentenced to the punishment the whole
colony had decided on?

She had lost her husband, and now she had to worry about her children. They
were all growing up now, getting up to their teens, and the hard part was
letting go of the fact that that they need to start taking responsibility for
their lives. Mrs. Frisby had to let them make their own decisions, and watch
out for them all at the same time! Stress, stress, stress.

As she sat there on the cold floor thinking, she watched the lights in the
hallway dim for the coming of night. It had been a long day. She had done a
meeting, had to search for the kids, and go to the jail and encounter a strange
feeling that she could by no means define.

She began to wonder if moving to Thorn Valley was a good idea. She had sent
all the kids to school, yet they had not made any friends to her knowledge.
That was it! Instead of sending them all to daycare, she should force them to
go to school! They had had time to adapt to the people, so they should be ready
to be around lots of them at one time. That is what she would do. Instead of
letting them sleep in, she would get them up early and send them off to school.
That would not only keep them out of trouble, it would allow her seven hours to
herself without worry!

Mrs. Frisby returned to her room in great relief. She took her cape off and
laid it down upon the bedside table. She looked over at her children, who were
already asleep, and closed her eyes. "Sleep well, children," she
whispered, "Tomorrow you all will be busy."

She had no clue to how true this statement would be.

Justin walked back to his office to do some paperwork. Sure it was late, but
he didn’t care. He had to get some work done. Besides, he wasn’t tired;
actually he was hungry.

His office door opened with a soft squeak, and he shut it behind him. He
walked to his desk and sat down. His desk was flooded with papers of all sizes.
Stacks sat there and stared at him. This was going to be great.

The first paper he picked up was one that someone had delivered to his room
while he was gone. It read:

Thorn Valley Hospital/Medical Records

Jenner : Registered- September 4, 2:21 P.M.

Signed Out : September 5, 9:48 P.M.

Jenner was signed out of Thorn Valley Hospital at
nine forty eight on September fifth. He will from there be transported to the
Thorn Valley Community Center for counseling. All permission granted by
officials and superior voices.

Signed By: Nicodemus~

"What??!" Justin jumped up from his desk. The clock on the wall
read ten fifteen. If what the paper said was true, they all had just missed
Jenner. Justin couldn’t believe it. He took off running as fast as he could to
the Community Center.

How could this be? Nicodemus would not let Jenner out of jail without
letting Justin know; and even if he did, he would have sent him directly to
jail. This was outrageous! Justin could not wait to get there.

As he ran, he bumped into a number of people on the way. He didn’t care. He
had to get there. He had to get Jenner out of the Center before he went wild.
Jenner- anyone with common sense knew this- was a very hostile yet manipulative
person. He could get his way however it took, and then stab a friend in the
back. That was the way Jenner was, and that was the way all Jenner’s friends
worked. It has always been that way, and that is the way it has always been
accepted.

The Community Center was a place for community meetings, counseling,
planning, and things like that. It could be found on the West Wing, and was a
beautiful building. It had been carved from an enormous stalactite hanging from
the ceiling of the cave. The only way you could get into it was by a small
elevator made from a motor, a pulley, a porch light and a big weight. Yellowish
lights could be seen from the outside, so the light sent shadows haunting that
entire area of hallway.

Justin did not hesitate as he stepped into the elevator. He tugged at a rope
hanging on the inside of the elevator, and up he went. The ride has always been
a bit jerky, but that did not matter to Justin. All he was worried about was
getting to Jenner.

The main room of the Community Center was a spacious room with a circular
desk in the middle of it. Justin approached the desk in a hurry.

"Where is Jenner?" he gasped at the woman behind the desk.

She hesitated before answering, because the sudden outburst from Justin
startled her. "Uh, he’s up Stairway twelve, sir."

The room was outlined with doors, and each door had a stairwell that led up
to another room. Justin took the door that had the number twelve labeled on the
front.

He raced up the stairs, and burst into the room at the top. There were a few
people sitting in the chairs that lined the walls. Justin noticed one of them
right away. It was a young girl, wearing a white vest, straw hat with a bow
around it and a navy blue skirt that fell just below her ankles- it was Alice.
With her were two gentlemen about her age. Both of them were wearing overalls
covered in dirt. You could tell that they had been working in the garden.

Justin didn’t bother to say hello. He looked around, and there was a desk in
the room that was not being occupied. He didn’t care. He burst through the next
door to see, sitting in a chair, Jenner.

Jenner was talking to a man in a suit. The man had a pen and notepad in his
hand, and was writing down everything Jenner said to him. Justin shot the man a
bad look, therefore the man excused himself from the conversation. Jenner
turned around and smiled at Justin. Justin and the man left the room.

"My name is John Lafferty." The man said. He held out his hand to
Justin and they both shook hands.

With that, Alice and the man next to her looked up and started to listen.

"Why are you talking to Jenner?" Justin demanded.

"Nicodemus sent him to me to talk to. Why?"

"Well," Justin began, "I was never notified of this and I
wanted to look into it. Why is he here, and how long will he be here?"

"I have been told to talk to him, and then make notes of any changes
that may have taken place in him. Do you want to hear my notes?"

Justin nodded.

"I have observed," John continued, "That he has a whole new
outlook on life. Did you know that Jenner was suffering of depression when he
left? Now he swears that he is a changed man. He states that he is totally
capable of starting a whole new life in Thorn Valley. He tells me that he was
neglected as a member of this colony, and that is why he left. He tells me that
he had some ideas that he wanted to share, and no one would provide him with
the freedom of speech!"

Justin laughed hard. "You believe him?!" He roared. "What,
did you miss the whole thing we went through in the rosebush? We had to
restrain Jenner from holding meetings! He left because he wanted everyone to
stay in the bush and be killed! He was crazy and you know it! I can’t believe
this!" Justin stepped back and laughed some more. This guy was nuts!

John looked at him in anger. Justin was actually mocking him and making fun
of what he was trying to do. "I am only doing my job here. If a client
tells me something, I must believe him. I’m not only a counselor, I’m kind of
like a lawyer."

"I’m sorry," Justin apologized, "I only found it funny that
you are taking him so seriously while you yourself know how he likes to play
with people’s minds. I did not mean to offend you."

Justin paused. He looked out of the corner of his eye to catch the three
people listening. Nonchalantly, he began to talk to John again. "I’ll tell
you what," he said, "I’m going to get Nicodemus up here and see what
he says. Don’t let anyone in this room leave, including Jenner. I’ll be
back."

Justin rushed out of the room, leaving John behind to take care of the
others. He had a plan. He had to find out why this was the way it was.

He passed the front desk lady, and then went down with the elevator.

The hallway was now empty. It was well past eleven and everyone was in bed.
The dim lights that lined the halls made everything have a slight yellow tint
to it. His footsteps made a slight noise as he walked, but other than that, it
was totally silent. It was a deadly silent.

Nicodemus was sleeping when Justin began pounding on his door. Nicodemus
awoke with a grumble and staggered to the door. "What do you want?"

"Nicodemus!" Justin pleaded. "I need your help!"

Nicodemus opened the door.

"Why did you send Jenner to the Community Center for counseling?"

Nicodemus looked puzzled. "I didn’t." He said.

Justin grabbed his hand and literally pulled him all the way to the
Community Center. Nicodemus was in his robe at the time, and was ashamed to be
seen in such a state.

When they both arrived to the Center about ten minutes later, they stepped
into the elevator and tugged the rope. No one said a word. Justin was anxious
to get to the top. Why hadn’t Nicodemus known about the Center?

The elevator doors opened with a scrape of metal. The two rats stepped out
onto the floor of the front room. Justin had expected to see the lady at the
desk he had seen on his way out, but she was not there. Maybe she was on break.

Justin ran to the door with the number twelve on the front. He
was still holding Nicodemus’ hand. When they got to the top, they bound through
the door. No one was there. Justin looked around. Even the girl and the men
were gone. He had told John not to let anyone leave.

"I know they were here." Justin assured Nicodemus. "He said
they would not go anywhere!"

"Who?" Nicodemus asked.

They opened the door. Jenner was sitting in a chair at the center of the
room, and beside of him was the front desk clerk, and John. John and the clerk
were tied up, and the girl with the men were standing next to Jenner.

"Oh, Nicodemus!" Jenner cried. "How wonderful to see you
again! Remember when we used to be such good friends when we were captured? Oh
well!"

It all had been a trap.

"What is going on, here?" Nicodemus asked.

"I’ll explain." Jenner insisted. "I had some people forge
your name to get me out of the hospital. It was quite easy, you see, the people
next to me, Alice, Mark and Luke are my spies. They kept a lookout for when the
lady, Claire, at the hospital front desk went on break, and got me out. From
there, I was here. You guys did exactly what I wanted you to. Oh, and Justin,
that note that was on your desk was a fake. It was planted."

"What else is there, Jenner?" Justin asked, ready to kill.

"A good planner does not reveal all his plans at one time!" Jenner
laughed.

Blackness.

Mrs. Frisby awoke early in the morning to take her kids off to school.
"Wake up, children!" She said as she shook them awake.

"Mom, mom!" Martin groaned. He rolled back over on his side.

"You must get up, sweeties," Sara urged, "Today you all go to
school!"

The four children sat up, wide-eyed. "What?" They all said.

"That’s right, you all are going to school. You all are now officially
part of the Thorn Valley community. That means that you all must do whatever
the others do. You have to comply by the rules and regulations. Hurry up, get
dressed."

They all continued to sit there.

"What’s wrong?" Sara asked.

"You haven’t told us to get out of bed yet." Cynthia noted.

"Get up and out of bed!" Mrs. Frisby said quickly.

All of them washed up, and put on their best clothes. None of the children
liked the fact that they all had to get up that early, but they were exited to
go to school.

"We will stop by the cafeteria and get a quick bite of food before we
go." Mrs. Frisby said.

The whole family headed out the door when they were ready. The five of them
walked down the hallway, all enveloped in silence.

"Where are all the people?" Teresa asked out of curiosity.

Mrs. Frisby shook her head. She didn’t know, but she had noticed it too.

Still they all walked. When they got to the cafeteria, no one was to be
seen. Not even the ladies that worked the bar. Something was strange.

Mrs. Frisby began to wonder if today was a Sunday, and she had forgotten
about it. She didn’t think so, and even if it had been a Sunday, that was no
reason for the cafeteria to be closed.

The Frisby family looked around. Something was wrong. The air was thick like
fog in the springtime, and you could sense the tension in every room they
walked in.

Mrs. Frisby took her children by their hand and walked them out of the room.
"Come on children," she said to them, "I must speak to
Justin!"

Once again, the family headed out of the room, and back down the hallway.
They turned a few sharp turns until they finally wound up at Justin’s doorstep.
Sara pounded on the door with a fist so tight, her fingertips were nearly
turning white.

"Justin!" she shouted. "I need to speak to you!"

There was still no answer. The children just looked up at their mother in
anxiousness. Where was everybody?

Mrs. Frisby turned around and faced her children. "You all are still
going to school, ya know." She said with a snicker.

The family turned themselves around, and walked to the school.

"Where is everyone?" Martin asked Sara.

Sara did nothing, she just kept on walking.

The weather outside that day turned into quite the opposite than that of the
previous day. The sun peeked out merrily from behind puffy white clouds, and
the breeze blew crunchy leaves across the muddy ground. Although it was
cheerful outside the caves of Thorn Valley, a dark storm was brewing on the
inside.

When the family arrived at the school, no one was there. You could see into
every room, and there was not a soul to be found. Where was everyone?

At the school, Mrs. Frisby broke out into a sweat. She started to panic.
Something was going on, and she did not like it. She had to get to the bottom
of things. Scared and stiff, she turned to her children. "Well," she
said to them, "we only have one more option. They all have to be somewhere
we haven’t looked yet. I think we are going to go down the West Wing again, and
check out Nicodemus’ office. I wonder if…" she stopped in the middle of
her sentence.

They all walked faster from then on. They all swiftly moved about the
hallway.

"Knock on some doors, every door!" Timothy instructed.

This idea came to Sara quickly. How clever her Timothy was. She began to
knock on a door. There was no answer.

All of them knocked, but no one got an answer. Either all the people were
somewhere else, or they were just not answering the door. No matter what, it
did not make Sara like the situation any better.

When Nicodemus and Justin opened their eyes, they were surrounded by
shadows.

"Where are we?" Justin said, barely able to make out the dim
features on Nicodemus’ face.

Nicodemus answered with a slight grunt, and shrugged his shoulders.

Justin looked around. He knew where he was; he was in jail. He was in the
familiar cell that Jenner’s band had been locked up in. So much for the people
who had been in it before.

"I can’t believe this." Nicodemus said after a moment of silence.
"I just don’t believe it. Jenner and I used to be friends. We used to go
down to the Market Place together. He was with me the night we got caught,
remember?"

Justin nodded.

"Now what? Now we are archenemies, and he is ready to kill me. Now I am
in jail, and a whole bunch of criminals are running around Thorn Valley,
capable of killing anyone. How are we going to get out of this one?"

Justin tried to move his hands. "I don’t know," he answered,
"but we’re tied up. Can you untie me, and I’ll untie you?"

Nicodemus gave it an effort, but it was no use. The thick rope which bound
his hands were so tight, he could not so much as wiggle his fingers. His head
hurt, too.

The two partners sat in the dim light thinking. They had to get out of
there. They had to stop Jenner, but both of them knew that even if they were
able to get themselves free, it would be to late to catch Jenner.

Justin looked over near the candle that lit the room. If he could get that
candle, it would be possible for him to burn the rope off. He studied the
candle. It was way too far off for him to reach. That was his only hope.

"Hey, Nicodemus." He whispered. "How can we get that
candle?"

"It’s no use, Justin." Nicodemus replied. "I already thought
of that. There is no way to get it. Even if we use our tails. It’s in the
farthest corner away. I should know- I put it there when I set up this room. I
placed it there so no prisoners could get to it. It’s my fault."

Justin sighed. There had to be a way to get out of that cell. "What do
you think he’s doing now?"

Nicodemus shrugged. "I think he’s probably planning on a way to take
over or something. He might just be sitting in a room reading a book for all I
know."

"Our only hope," Justin said thoughtfully, "is that someone
will- and I know someone will- hear about our capture, and come to save us. I’m
sure that we are not Thorn Valley’s only hope, Mrs. Frisby is fully capable of
taking care of things, but the question is, would she?"

From then, the two friends sat reserved in the darkness. Both of their heads
hurt, although neither of them would admit to it. Jenner had given them both a
vicious blow to the head and knocked them out.

Pat… pat… pat…. A noise was coming from the hall. Both of the
cellmates looked up. Someone walked through the door, sending rays of light
flying past their figure.

"Ah now." The person said. The voice seemed young and friendly.
"I have been looking for you guys."

"Sara?" Justin asked with a gasp. The sudden bright light didn’t
help his head any.

"No, not even close, Mr. Suave," The voice said with a laugh. The
figure (it was a girl) walked closer toward the cell and shut the door behind
her with a slam. "It’s me, Alice. I sneaked to give you something to eat.
I’m sorry for what happened back there."

"What do you mean- sorry?" Nicodemus snapped, "You almost
killed us! And why are you sneaking things to your prisoners? Not like I have
any objections or anything?"

Alice began to explain as she handed them each a piece of bread from between
the bars. "You see," she said, "I am, was, a spy for Jenner when
he left. I was to stay here, or in the rosebush and get him information if
anything came up. Well, I didn’t really know why he wanted me to do this, but I
did it anyway, for he threatened my life. Well, he started to come back to
Thorn Valley with a plan of his own. I don’t know what that plan is- only the
people who came back with him know. Anyway, I am actually on your side. Jenner
and I got married when he separated from the rest, and things got out of
control. He threatened to kill everyone in my family if I did not do what he
said. He was only using me so he could get me to do what he wanted."

A shadow shifted from the corner of the window of the room door. Alice
looked up and gasped.

"Look," she continued, "I will get you out of here, so Jenner
can be destroyed. I promise. Hurry up and eat that bread, someone’s coming, and
if I get caught, that will not only be the end of me, but the end of you."
She stood up to greet the person coming in.

Justin and Nicodemus nearly choked themselves with the bread.

The door opened, and Jenner walked in. "Well, Alice," he said,
"what are you doing in here?"

Alice looked at the floor. "I was just laughing at these
prisoners."

Jenner looked the hostages with a scoff. "Yes, my pet, there are only
two now, but I bet this cell you see before you will be filled with fifty
people or more by the end of the week." He put his arm around the girl,
and walked out, laughing wildly. Alice looked back as she was lead through the
door.

"We’re dead." Justin announced. "We will be dead, along with
many other people soon. Crap, Nicodemus!" Justin shouted out in anger.
"We have to get out of here. We have to!"

"Alice said she would get us out."

"Yeah, but you heard what she said. We don’t know when that would be
possible for her. Besides, Jenner has his eye on her. She’ll be lucky to see
the end of this month. How can we be sure she isn’t just playing with us? Why
did she tell us all that stuff?"

"I don’t know," Nicodemus replied. "All I know is that we
have to trust her. She could be giving us a hint or something. Maybe she’ll
sneak us something in the food."

Nicodemus stopped talking, and so did Justin. Their heads hurt even more
then, and so they both let their heads rest on the others’ shoulder and tried
to think.

The three of them had all met in one room, Leanne’s. Simon sat on the bed,
staring up at the ceiling, Tony was sitting on the floor picking at the carpet,
and Leanne sat in a chair at her desk.

"I don’t know" Simon said. "Quake’s still in the hospital
dying. We’re stuck here trying to think of a way out, and Jenner is taking
over. What else could go wrong?"

Tony shook his head. "Jenner is bad. He came storming into my room at
about three this morning ordering me not to set foot out of my room. Oh well, I
came here, so he must not be serious."

"Did you see that sentry at the end of the hall?" Leanne asked.

The others had not seen him.

"He was posted," Leanne continued, "about an hour ago. For
heaven’s sake, it’s eight in the morning! We are all hungry and thirsty. I want
to know what that Jenner is up to so I can knock the guts out of him!"
Leanne clenched her fists and pounded them on the desk.

"Now, now, Leanne," Simon said, "We have to go about this
very calmly. Obviously they have Nicodemus and Justin. Otherwise, there would
be some action going on here."

"I don’t know who Jenner thinks he is," Tony snarled, "nobody
in Thorn Valley will comply with his ways. Whatever it is he’s trying to do
isn’t going to work."

Simon remembered his mother. He saw her be killed again right in front of
him. He saw her be smacked to the ground, and beaten with a stick. He heard her
screaming. "Run, Simon! Run!" she shouted. Simon recalled him running
out of his room, and heard his mother’s cry stop in the middle of a thump…
another lash with that stick.

"Jenner has his ways of dealing with people who don’t agree with what
he does," Simon choked out. "Whether he has to steal, lie, beat or
kill, he will see to it that people will listen." Once again, a tear slid
down the tip of his nose."

Leanne saw the tear first, and went to sit beside of him. She put her arm
around him and hugged him. "It’ll be okay, Simon," she assured,
"We’ll get out of this."

"You don’t understand!" Simon protested. "It’s not
that!"

"Well what is it then?"

Simon looked around. Should he tell them? He decided to tell all. "You
see," he began, "My mother was on Jenner’s side for a while, as you
know."

Leanne and Tony nodded.

"Well, people think she went with Jenner. She didn’t. She was going to
follow, but once she found out that he wanted to start a colony of his own, she
refused. The night that Jenner and his band left, he came to our room. He
brought a big stick with him, and beat my mother to.." Simon swallowed
hard. "To death. Amber is dead. I watched her be killed right before me.
Jenner swore that if I ever laid a hand on him, in the present time or future,
he would do to me what he did to my mom."

Leanne and Tony were in shock. They sat silenced still listening.

"So, he must have been planning this taking-over thing for a long time.
Either that or it is all a big coincidence." Simon wiped his nose, and
tried to hold back the hurt.

Leanne and Tony both got up then and hugged Simon. "If I had only
known," Leanne sighed.

"Never mind that," Simon perked up his voice. "We have
business to take care of. Well, at least, when we get a plan."

Mrs. Frisby and her family still walked down the hallway. It was still empty
and cold. They all were heading down the West Wing, hoping to find some type of
life. No one spoke. They all just looked ahead of them and kept their heads
facing forward. There just had to be some type of logical explanation!

Mrs. Frisby looked up above her head. Above her she saw a huge stalactite
hanging from the ceiling. She had not noticed it before because, on account of
her short height, it was so far over her head, she had to look directly up to
even see it.

"We haven’t checked up there yet," Sara remarked to her children.
"Maybe someone is in there and can help us."

"Yeah, real likely, mom." Martin said with a smirk.

The family of five slowly entered the elevator. At first, the children were
scared of the machine that they were riding in. Having never been in an
elevator before in their lives, the sudden movement from the floor beneath them
came as a surprise.

The elevator came to a slow stop. They all walked out of it and onto the
soft carpeted floor of the main hall of the building.

To their dismay, there was not a soul to be seen. But, as Teresa lifted her
head, she caught the shadow of a figure running up the stairway.
"Hey!" she shouted, and bound off toward the figure.

Sara followed, as well as the other children, and rushed up the stairs. Once
at the top, they all paused for a moment to catch their breaths.

It took a minute or so for the new surroundings to set into mind. Now around
them, was a large band of rats, each with a very angry face, and arms on their
hips. Cynthia gasped and hid behind Martin.

"What do you want here?" Asked one of them. They all still glared
at the family.

"Well," Mrs. Frisby tried to act casual, "We were looking for
someone to tell us what is going on here. My children are supposed to be in
school, and, well, we could not find anyone in the hallways. We all found it a
bit strange."

The rats continued to stare. They were the rats that had been in the jail
cell last night. "Go get Jenner." The girl rat whispered to another.
A rat stepped out of the crowd and headed for the door behind them.

Next, three rats came barging through the door. One rat on either side of
one rat in the middle. The rat in the middle was Jenner. The rats beside of him
must be his bodyguards. They all looked mean.

"What is it?" Jenner demanded.

The crowd parted to reveal the Frisby family. Jenner looked stunned.

"Ah, Mrs. Frisby," Jenner said slowly, "I did not know you
were here. How may I be of assistance?"

Sara gave him an evil look. "I believe you have some explaining to
do."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Jenner." Mrs. Frisby was now beginning to
get angry.

"You mean the absence of the people?" Jenner laughed. "I
ordered them to stay in their rooms until I told them otherwise. Is there a
problem?"

Sara said nothing.

"Well, aren’t we just a bit cranky today? Well, Mrs. Frisby, I am
trying to have people listen to me. I am trying to show people that I am no
longer going to be pushed out of society like I was last time. No, I am going
to show that I am ten times smarter than that Nicodemus. I am going to prove
that I am more powerful than I am given credit for."

Sara was unsatisfied. "Well, you are not doing a very good job, Jenner.
Right now you are only proving that you cannot act like a leader, but that you
have to steal what rightfully belongs to others. Such as, I don’t know,
Nicodemus’ power?" She spat at his feet.

"Take the children!" Jenner ordered. "Take them to cell ten,
where the others are. Now!"

With that, five of the largest rats in the group pushed Sara out of the way,
and picked up the children. Mrs. Frisby tried to stop them, but they were
twenty times bigger than she. The children were dragged away yelling.

Mrs. Frisby fell to her knees and wept. "What was that for?" She
gasped. "Why did you do that?"

A smile spread across Jenner’s face. "I did that to teach you a lesson.
From now on, I hope you will remember to do as I say, and to never talk to me
like that again."

"What will you do to them?" Sara was crying harder now.

"Oh, nothing, really. As long as you do everything I tell you to. As
long as you stay with me, and do as I tell you, your children will not be
harmed in the slightest way. But, however, If you fail to comply with any of my
commands, they will surely die. In my chambers!"

Again, five of the largest rats stepped out from the group and carried Sara
away. She did not dare to fight back, because she feared for her children’s
lives. She could only pray that Jenner would not go against his word.

The door opened loudly, and the children were thrust into the cell with Justin
and Nicodemus. After the rats left, they all began to talk.

The first one to speak was Justin. "What are you guys doing in
here?" he asked.

"Mommy talked back to Jenner and spat at him." Teresa answered.

"Yeah," agreed Cynthia, "They took us away, but I don’t know
what they did with mommy."

"Untie us, please." Nicodemus said.

The children did as they were asked. Once the men were untied, they could
all speak a little softer and closer.

"Jenner did this?" Timothy questioned. "I thought so."

"How is that?" Justin said.

"Because," continued Timothy. "The other night I heard a
group of three talking about Jenner. It was well before Jenner came, though.
They were talking about a new plan or something. One was a girl, and the other
two were boys."

Nicodemus and Justin looked at each other. They both knew who it was, but
they didn’t say anything.

"So, how are we going to get out of here?" Martin sat down on the
cold floor. He fiddled with a piece of the rope that had tied Justin and
Nicodemus up.

"There’s no way out." Justin said with a sigh. We have tried
everything, and we have thought of everything. This cell was designed so that
no one could get out. Our only hope is Alice."

"Who is Alice?" Timothy asked.

"She is the girl you were telling us about. She said that she was a spy
for Jenner for a while, but then decided that she didn’t like him. She promised
that she would help us get out of here. She is currently sneaking us food, and
hopefully, she will get us out of here with time."

"You mean they do not allow any food in here?" Teresa sniffled.
She was about to cry.

"Nope." Justin answered.

"Mommy doesn’t like us to eat in our room, either." Cynthia noted.
Her voice was soft, but there was a springy hint of cheerfulness in it, too.

Justin smiled. "Maybe, for you, they’ll make an exception."

The children huddled together. It was cold in this room. The coming of fall,
and the cold air lingering outside were now having an effect on Thorn Valley.
The children kept cramped together to keep warm, but even that was not very
effective.

"We have to do something." Nicodemus concluded as he looked over
at the shivering sleeping children.

"I know." Justin said. "We have to get them out of here. They
all cannot live on the amount of food we are given. They need meals, and
nourishing food. They are growing kids. We have to do something."

"I hoped that we could get out of this cell once we were untied."
Said Nicodemus. "But now that I look at it, there is no way to get out. I
haven’t the key to open the door, and there is nothing to pick the lock with.
It is all hopeless. When all this is over, remind me to destroy this room. See
to it that no one will ever suffer in this room again." He looked over at
Justin for his approval, but received nothing. Instead, he saw Justin staring
at the floor with wide eyes.

"Hey!" Justin said. "There is something on the floor!"

Nicodemus looked at the floor to see what Justin was talking about.

"There is some writing here. It must have come from the people who
occupied this cell last. Heck, it had to. Jenner’s band was the only ones who
have ever been in here besides us."

Nicodemus shifted to his side to allow the light from the candle to spread
to the floor. Sure enough, there were words and a picture carved into the
floor. It read:

West Wing- #1 East Wing- #2

South Wing- #3 North Wing- #4

Hospital: 9:50 Cell: 10:00

With a smile and a laugh,
He will rein down with his staff.
Rule the young and rule the old.
Have them do what they’re told.
Those who have faith start to pray
It is by lives you’ll have to pay.

The message churned over and over in Justin’s head. They both knew what this
meant. It meant that Jenner was planning on taking over. From what the message
spelled out, it sounded as if he was going to kill his way to power.

Down below the poem, there was an etching of another line. This one was
harder to read, but with a little effort you could manage the words.

You can unlock any door if you
only have the key.

After reading this last line, Nicodemus and Justin both looked at each
other.

"That sounds familiar." Said Nicodemus.

Justin nodded. "Yes, it does, but from where have we heard it?"

Nicodemus shrugged, and rested his head on one of the bars of the cell wall.
His head still hurt, and it was not getting any better.

It was still quite early in the morning, only nine o’clock in fact, but on
account of the fact that the room had no windows, it was hard to keep track of
time.

Justin soon fell asleep as well. He fell asleep thinking about the words
written on the floor. It was all a big strange puzzle.