The inside of Thorn Valley had indeed turned into a big storm. Problems had
brewed that could by no means have any possible solutions. The people inside
the cave walls had grown weary of the long hours in their rooms, and were now
becoming curious to whether or not they should leave their rooms.

Leanne and her friends still sat on the bed thinking and planning. So far,
they had come up with nothing. The three of them only found one solution: to
get out of their rooms and try to stop Jenner. Even that plan was dangerous,
for Jenner had men three times bigger than the three of them put together.

"We could distract his people, and then deal with Jenner himself. That
could work." Tony plotted.

Simon shook his head. "No, it won’t. He has guards posted at every
hallway, and they would see us get out. They alone could easily deal with
us."

"He’s right, you know," Leanne said impatiently, "He is very
right. We cannot leave this room without being spotted. And even if we did, we
are sure to be followed and cornered in Jenner’s headquarters."

The group sat at ease. They were all about to give up. There was no sure way
to get out of the room, and at least delay Jenner without being seen.

"Our only true hope is that someone will come and get us outta
here." Tony said.

The others nodded. It was getting old, just sitting there without doing
anything. The morning had grown into afternoon, and they were all hungry.

"I know," Leanne said as she sat up. "We can play a
game!"

Tony and Simon looked at each other.

"We can play charades or something. I don’t know, we just need to do
something. We’ve been sitting in this room for nearly three hours now. We need
to do something."

"Why do we always have to do stuff?" asked Tony. "Why don’t
we just sit here and talk or something. That’s better than playing some stupid
game!"

Leanne was disappointed. "Well," she said, "aren’t you just
the little party-pooper. I was beginning to have a little spirit and all you
want to do is sit here. You all are pathetic!"

"I tell you what’s pathetic," Simon said, "It’s pathetic that
all we can do is sit here and argue about what we should do. That’s funny. None
of us can agree. If we’re not careful, we’ll do something stupid. We need to
get our minds straight, and act civilized." With that, he picked up a
pillow from off of the bed and threw it. It hit Leanne smack in the head.

Leanne jumped up and grabbed a pillow of her own. She began to beat Simon
with it. Tony soon joined in the battle. Quickly all three of them were
fighting a busy battle with pillows. Feathers and pillow stuffing was flying!

"Take that!" Shouted Simon.

"And that!" Tony yelled in return, hitting Leanne as hard as he
could.

Leanne grasped her pillow, and covered her head. She charged at Tony and
yanked his pillow from his hands. They both fell to the ground laughing.

"Get up, you guys!" shouted Simon. "C’mon! You all need to
get with the program! Oh, yeah, that’s right, I forgot. You’re a bunch of
ninnies!"

"Excuse me?" Leanne got up in a hurry and jumped on Simon. She
slugged him a good time in his stomach. Simon let out a groan. "Ninny,
eh?" Leanne walked away and resumed her place on the floor.

Simon held his stomach in agony. "Shoot, girl! Mean!"

Leanne smiled. She knew she was tough. Heck, she could have literally killed
him if she wanted to- but, since it was Simon, she just punched him lightly.

The three of them had found a cure for the boring time. They all had stopped
bickering and actually started to enjoy one another’s company. It was fun.

Although Tony, Leanne and Simon were having a good time, it was quite the
opposite from what Mrs. Frisby was going through. She sat in a chair in the
corner of the room, watching Jenner’s every move, and listening to everything
he said intensively.

"Then, we will call a meeting." Jenner was now discussing his
plans to his group. "Then we will tell them all the rules. If they refuse
to do as you say, we will punish them. If they have kids, we will remove the
children from their possession. If not, they will either be put in jail,
whipped, beaten or killed, depending on how badly they misbehave."

Mrs. Frisby gasped at what was being said. She could not believe it! Jenner
was going to kill everyone. She knew he was going to do this, because she
doubted that anyone in the right mind would listen to him. But, as she was
thinking this, she took it back. If they had kids, parents would do anything to
protect them.

Mrs. Frisby looked back over toward the group that was standing around
Jenner. One of the rats was looking at her. He was not paying attention to what
Jenner was saying, but instead, his head was cocked upward, and he was looking
her dead in the eyes. It was the same rat that she had stared at so long in the
jail.

He looked so familiar, but she could not place her finger on it. He was much
larger than anyone she knew, even Arthur and Justin. She figured, somehow, that
he was not like any of the other rats, but more like a smaller breed of rat,
maybe a mouse. This was doubtful, though. He was too big. He continued to stare
at her.

Mrs. Frisby turned her head and looked at the wall. She had to get out of
there. She had to find a way to get out of that room and get to her children.
She had thought about running, but she did not know if the door was locked or
not. Anyway, she could not get away without being seen, and if she did manage
to escape, all of them knew where she would go- she would go directly to her
kids. That would not only put her life in danger, but her children's lives as
well.

The rat that was looking at her soon brought his head back down to the group
and listened. When the group broke, Jenner walked over to her.

"You must do me a favor," Jenner said.

Sara looked up at him almost meekly.

"Don’t be afraid, I only need you to call a meeting for me. The people
will not listen to me, for they do not trust me. So far, they only know that
they were ordered to stay in their rooms. Get them all into the largest Meeting
Room, and lock them in."

Sara did not want to do this, because it would promote Jenner’s plan, but
she had no choice. She had to do as she was told. Otherwise, her children would
die, and her as well. She nodded.

Jenner clasped his hands together. "Great. I want you to call the
meeting in an hour and a half. That way, I’ll have time to write my
speech." He turned and winked at his people.

Sara sat and thought. She had to save her children, and the people of Thorn
Valley as well. She had to come up with a plan. She was sure that when she
called the meeting, the sentries were going to be watching her. If they
weren’t, she would run for it. She would lay low for a while, since the first
place that would be checked would be the jail. It was going to be tough.

What was she thinking? Jenner was crazy, but not stupid. He knew that she
had power in Thorn Valley. Jenner also knew that Mrs. Frisby was no dummy. She
could escape if she was given the chance. Oh, what was she going to do?

A rat came up to her then, and tied her hands to the back of the chair so
she could not leave. He, along with the rest of Jenner’s men, walked into the
room where John had been. They closed the door behind them, and all was silent.

Justin awoke to a loud noise. The door opened, and bright light poured into
the room. The others awoke to the light as well.

"It’s me, Alice."

"Come in." Justin motioned to her.

Alice came into the room, and laid a plate of grapes and water before them.
Then she looked back at the children. "I’m sorry for them."

Nicodemus looked at them, too. "Yes, I know."

They were now sitting up and rubbing their eyes.

"I can talk for a minute, Jenner is in there planning."

"Planning what?" Teresa asked.

"He wants to make this colony his own. I don’t know all the details,
but I know that it will not be good. Your mother is okay."

"I was thinking," Justin said to Alice, "Why can’t you get
the key to this cell, and get us out of here?"

"Jenner keeps the keys tied around his neck. I could not get them
without him catching me. Then the whole thing would be blown."

Justin nodded. "What about this?" He pointed to the inscription on
the floor.

Alice read it, and began to explain. "You see," she said,
"Jenner was planning on taking over in the first place. That is why he was
heading back to Thorn Valley. You just sped up his plan. They knew his band
would be put in jail, and he in the hospital. The numbers are telling which
hallways they would take over first, 9:50 is when Jenner was planning on
getting out of the hospital, and 10:00 was when the jailbreak was planned. I
don’t know about the rest."

"Is there anything else?" Justin asked as he handed some grapes to
the kids.

"Jenner is planning to call a meeting in an hour and a half. He told
Sara to call all the people. Listen, I have to go. Jenner will be missing
me." Alice got up and left the room.

Martin spoke with a mouthful of grapes. "We could get outta here and
lose ourselves in the crowd. If we go out with the crowd, Jenner and his men
would never see us, and maybe we could do something. The door to this room
isn’t locked, I don’t think."

Justin looked at him. "That is a good plan, Martin, but there is one
little problem. We can’t get out!"

Cynthia stood up. I’m the smallest, maybe I could fit through the
bars." Cynthia stuck her hand through the cold, black metal bars, and
began to push her body through. She got one side of a hip through, and stopped.
"My tummy’s too big." She said with a sigh. "I thought I could
do it, but I guess I was wrong." She sat back down again.

"It’s hopeless." Nicodemus said.

Three hours had passed, therefore it was now almost one o’clock. The
children had devoured the grapes. Nicodemus and Justin ate a few, and passed
them back to the kids. The kids needed the food more than they did.

The five of them then sat around talking about nothing in particular, and
got to know one another a little better. They all hoped that, soon, someone
would come and get them out of that cell.

"What do you think Jenner will do to Thorn Valley?" Cynthia asked.

"I don’t know," Nicodemus replied. "But I have a feeling that
it is nothing good."

Cynthia remained quiet.

Timothy was staring up at the ceiling. It was painted black, just like the
shadows. He leaned back on the cold bars. There had to be some way to get out
of here. "Hey!!" He shouted.

The others jumped, and looked at him. Timothy was now standing outside the
cell.

Leanne and the others still sat in the room trying to think. None of them
could think of anything or anyway to get out of that room.

"I don’t think anyone is coming for us." Tony said hopelessly.

"Same here." agreed Simon.

"Now, guys," Leanne protested, "Just because an hour has
passed and no one has come doesn’t mean we have no way of getting out safely.
Remember- we are soldiers! We were assigned to fight for Thorn Valley, and even
though we are off duty now doesn’t mean we aren’t supposed to do
anything!"

They all knew that she was right. She was more right than anyone had been
yet. They all were soldiers, and they all had to prove themselves loyal to
Thorn Valley. They had to do what was right. They all had to stand up for those
who could not stand up for themselves.

Leanne held out her hand. "Are y’all with me or not?"

Tony and Simon were both hesitant at first, but they soon shook hands and
agreed that they all would do what they could for their colony. Whether it
meant killing, stealing, lying, or dying, they would do what they could. That
was that.

Then, they all sat down on the bed. Leanne grabbed three pencils, and a
large sheet of paper for them all to plan on.

"Our room has no windows," said Leanne, "so the only way out
of this room is through the door."

"And we have an Einstein!" shouted Simon.

Leanne gave him a look and resumed talking. "We could do as it was
suggested earlier; to distract one of the guards, and once they are gone, we
take off. One of us can distract him, and the other two of us can run and
attack him."

Simon was doubtful. "How could two of us take down one of those
sentries? They could carry ten of us on their backs! That.. well, I just don’t
know."

"And I suppose you have a better idea?" Tony remarked.

Simon was abashed. "No," he said, "I just don’t know."

Leanne started to talk again. "The one who runs can take off and make a
circle around the school and back- just as long as they ditch the sentry. Then,
when all three of us meet again, we could go to the garden room on the South
Wing, and get a couple weapons. Then, we could have a chance at beating the
guard or guards."

"We’d have to do it quickly," said Tony, "Otherwise the guard
that saw us will go and tell others. Then we would have too many people to deal
with, and we would surely die."

"Right."

Simon looked up. He realized that his friends were really right. They had a
good plan, and, to make up for his foolish behavior, he volunteered to be the
distraction. He slowly raised his hand.

"What?" Leanne asked.

"I want to be the runner." Simon said with a gulp.

Tony was shocked. He looked over at Leanne. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, as you wish." Tony said hesitantly.

Simon stood up. "When do we do it?" He walked over to the door and
cracked it open. The sentry was still standing at the end of the hall with his
arms folded. It looked like he was getting tired. "Good." Simon said
to himself. "He’s getting tired. That means that he’ll be slower than he
would be regularly."

Leanne reviewed the plan. "Simon takes off toward the school. The
sentry will follow him, and we’ll head off to get some weapons. Simon, you make
sure you know where the guard is at all times, so you know if he tells anyone
or not. Try to keep him away from anyone who could help him out. When we get
the weapons, we’ll hit him on the head and tie him up. Okay?"

They all nodded. The plan sounded reliable. The three of them stood up and
headed for the door. They all looked at the guard. His head was beginning to
nod, but his eyes were still open.

Simon took a long, deep breath. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready." Tony and Leanne answered.

Simon slowly took a step out of the door. He began to run in place and
waving his arms in the air. The watchman looked up.

"Hey, you!" He yelled. "Come back here!" His large body
began to run slowly, but he soon picked up his pace. In no time, there was an
exciting chase trailing down the hallway.

Simon turned a corner with the guard hot on his tail. He could see, from the
corner of his eye, Leanne and Tony running in the opposite direction. He hoped
they would hurry.

The guard’s breath began to get heavier and heavier as he chased Simon down
the hall. Simon could see the school come into view. He might just have to make
two rounds. The guard was gaining on him. Simon knew to avoid other hallways,
for fear of other guards that could help out in the chase. The guard following
Simon was reaching out his hand. He was trying to grab Simon’s tail!

Simon sped up, leaving the watchman behind, but not out of sight. Then, just
as Simon was coming up on it, he saw lying in the floor, a mop. The problem
with the mop was that it was lying straight across the floor, in the middle of
Simon’s trail! He went down hard. Simon looked behind him. The watchman was
practically on top of him!

Simon struggled to his feet and started on his way again. He wasn’t going to
make it. The guard only had to reach, and he would have Simon in his grasp.
Simon tried to hurry, but it was no use. He felt a tugging at his tail, and he
could no longer move. The sentry had him.

"There you are, you little dupe!" Said the watchman.

Simon looked at him. His eyes were blue and cold, and his muscles were
dangerously large. They bulged and twitched with every slight movement, and he
could probably bench someone twice his size with that tail of his.

Simon saw a huge fist heading straight for his face.

BONG!

Mrs. Frisby still sat in the chair, waiting for Jenner to tell her what to
do. She did not want to spread the word about the meeting, but she had no
choice. What was she going to do? She had to save these people, yet if she did,
she would lose her children. There was no way she could do both.

Jenner walked into the room. "Well, my beautiful," he said with an
evil grin, "It is finally time!" He untied her hands and guided her
to the door. "One of my men will watch you in the hallway, so do not
attempt to act smart. I will see to it that you, along with your children, and
the people of this colony, die a brutal death. Don’t doubt me, either."

One of the rats, the one that had been staring at her, in fact, pushed her
to the door. Sara slowly opened it and walked down the stairway. She saw Alice
walking up as she left.

No one spoke. The rat that followed her kept a straight face and completely
ignored her. Sara decided that she would try to make the best of it. If she
could make friends with him, maybe she and her children could have a hope.
"My name is Sara." She said.

The rat grunted.

"Can you not talk?"

"Yes, I can. Shut up."

Sara wasn’t going to give up. "What is your name?"

"John. Why do you ask?"

"No particular reason." Mrs. Frisby answered. "I just wanted
to strike up a conversation to keep me active. How did you join Jenner?"

"I don’t know. All I know is that I woke up in his headquarters."

Sara found this odd. Why would one of Jenner’s people not know how they got
there? She decided to keep talking. "Do you have any family?"

"I suppose I used to. Jenner says that I could no longer see them,
though."

"How is that?"

"I don’t know. All I know is that Jenner is ruler, and I must do as he
says. He is really easy on me, like he owes me something. I do not know why.
I’m not like the others, I’m different."

"Why do you say that?" Mrs. Frisby was now beginning to get
interested in the rat’s story. They were now on the elevator.

"First off," the rat crossed his arms, "I am not as big as
they are. I do not know why I am with them, and I am not even the same species;
I’m a mouse."

Mrs. Frisby was stunned. A mouse? You could hardly tell it. Something was
fishy. "I don’t mean to snoop, but what is your full name?"

"John. Jonathan… something or other."

It suddenly clicked in Sara’s head. "What? That’s your name? Your last
name is not Frisby, is it?"

The mouse nodded. "That’s it! Jonathan Frisby!"

"Timothy!" Teresa stood up with all the others. "How did
you…?"

Timothy brushed himself off. "I guess I’m just skinnier than Cynthia! I
was just leaning back, and I fell through the bars! What should I do?"

Nicodemus held out his hands, and Timothy held them. "Listen to me
boy," he said seriously, "this is our chance. You have to get out of
here and get help. Can you pick the lock?"

Timothy looked at the lock and stuck his finger in it. He clicked his nail
around inside, but found that he could not. "Is there anything I could
pick it with?"

Nicodemus looked around. "Yes, there is!" He grabbed Cynthia’s
doll, and pulled a bobby pin out of its hair. He handed it to Timothy.

Timothy took the pin eagerly, and fiddled with the lock. There was a
clicking noise, but that was all. The door did not open. "What now?"
he asked.

Nicodemus shook his head. "Nope. Listen, you have to get out and get
help for us. Go out into the hallway and find your mother. She should now be
calling people for the meeting. Get her. She can help."

"There would be a guard with her. What should I do about him?"

Justin thought. "I don’t know. Tell him that you must see ‘Mrs.
Frisby.’ Here, take my shirt and vest. Use them as a disguise."

Timothy removed his shirt and put Justin’s on. "They could still tell
who I am."

Nicodemus thought. "Here." He handed Timothy his eye patch and his
satchel. "Try these on."

Timothy put them all on, and it became more difficult for people to
recognize him. "That will do." He said. "I’ll get you all out of
here as soon as I can." He opened the door and left.

The five of them sat tensely on the floor of the cell. They could only pray.

Timothy left the room with caution. Luckily, there was no one guarding the
jail. The cells lining the walls still contained the same people. He looked at
them with sad eyes- he was on his own now. One false move could kill eight
people.

He slowly left the jail completely. It was a good thing that no guards were
guarding the entrances. Jenner may not be as smart as people give him credit
for.

Timothy took a left, ready to be chased. He turned another corner and still
spotted no guard. What was he to do if he happened to run across one? A number
of excuses started to fill his mind.

He could tell them that he was lost. He could get away with it- he was still
really young. But then again, he would have to be lucky enough to be seen by a
guard that has not laid eyes on him before.

He could also claim that he had to use the bathroom, and the one in his dorm
was broken. That could work... but again, he would have to be lucky enough to
be seen by a guard that has not laid eyes on him before.

Timothy wandered the hallways aimlessly. He was only keeping an eye open for
his mother, and he had to also come up with a decent excuse, should he be
discovered.

He turned down and right, toward the heart of the Thorn Valley hallways. He
still continued to think to himself.

There was a cough. Timothy looked up. Where had it come from? Since he was
now in the middle of Thorn Valley, the cough could have easily come from any of
the connecting hallways. There was someone nearby, he could feel it. If they
saw him, he was as good as dead!

Timothy looked for cover. There was nothing. Where could he hide? He saw a
shadow shift, coming from the North Wing. It was getting closer.

Simon sighed a sigh of relief and the guard rolled over on his back in
agony. "Thank the Lord for you guys!" Simon exclaimed. "Boy, I
thought I was going to die just now!"

Leanne smiled. "Na, we’re just really good. Anyway, did you not think
that we would save your butt?" She tossed the shovel to the floor.

Simon winced. "Oh, I had faith alright, but I started to get a bit
worried there near the end."

Tony laughed and touched Simon’s good ear. "Had faith," he said,
"I’ve never seen your ears that red in my life! Had faith, ha!"

Simon shook it off and looked at the guard lying on the floor. "What
are we to do with him? We can’t just leave him to lie there. We have to move
him."

"Let’s take him to the jail and lock him up. He can’t do anything
there." Leanne suggested. "The back cell. No one is in it now that
Jenner’s men are out."

"Sure, Leanne," said Tony, "But what about keys?"

"What are those on his pants?"

Tony looked at the guard. There, attached to his pants, was a large ring of
keys. "Oh. Well, let’s go before he wakes up again!"

The three of them all worked together to drag the guard down the hallway.
The guard was abnormally heavy.

As they walked toward the annex of Thorn Valley, Simon gasped, and let out a
loud cough.

"What’s wrong?" Leanne asked.

"I.." Simon said between coughs, "Have a tickle in my throat.
COUGH! It’ll go away soon." They worked their way down the hall.

"Shhhhhhh." Tony said in a whisper. "There’s someone down
there, I just saw them."

The three of them perked up, expecting to see a huge man approach them.

"Hold still," Leanne ordered, "and get a good grip on that
shovel. We might have to conk this one on the head, too!"

Timothy gulped. He had to approach the person coming toward him. He secured
his eyepatch and practiced his deep voice.

"Who’s there?" asked the person in the hall.

Timothy walked forward into greater light. "Here goes nothing." He
said to himself.

Before he could answer, the figure came out from around the corner with a
shovel in his hand. To Timothy’s surprise, it was a girl!

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" She said, realizing that
it was not a man, but a boy that she was looking at.

"My toilet is broken." Timothy said meekly. "I was looking
for another one."

The girl knew better. "Come out here, guys!" she called behind
her. Then, from out of the shadows, came Simon and Tony, both dragging the
guard behind them. "He claims to be lost." Leanne told them.

"If you really live here," Simon said, also knowing better than
this excuse, "You would know where one would be."

"Take off that patch." Tony demanded. "We see you are not any
older than ten."

Timothy reluctantly removed the patch. He was relieved that the people he
had met were not guards. As he took off the patch, he realized exactly who was
in his presence.

"Hey," Timothy said pointing, "You are Tony!"

The three looked at each other. Tony recognized Timothy, too. "No
threat, guys," Tony announced to the group, "this is Mrs. Jonathan
Frisby’s son."

Simon and Leanne looked at the boy in amazement. They had no idea that this
was Timothy Frisby!

Timothy then explained all that had happened with his escape. The rats sat
and listened the whole way through, silently.

"And so," Timothy concluded, "that is how I came to find you
guys."

"You mean that’s where Nicodemus and Justin are?" Tony asked.

Timothy nodded.

"Well, we have the keys, let’s get a move on!" ordered Leanne.

With that, the four of them dragged the guard off toward the jail. Timothy
overflowed with joy at knowing that he had done better than he had planned. The
others would be proud of him as well.

Mrs. Frisby wrapped her arms around the mouse. "I thought that I would
never see you again!"

"Hold it, lady," Jonathan said, "You are supposed to be
calling the people, not putting moves on me!" He took his fist and pushed
her off.

"Do you not remember me?" Sara asked, tears welling up in her
eyes.

"All I know about you is that Jenner had ordered you to call the people.
That is all."

"Do you not at all find me familiar?"

"Well, now that you mention it, yes. But that means nothing. I also,
well, let’s just leave it at that."

Mrs. Frisby put her arms back down to her sides. They were almost past the
West Wing which meant that soon, she would be coming across dorms. She dreaded
it, but right now she had something more important on her mind. This mouse that
stood beside her now was her husband, the father of her children. How could she
make him remember?

They kept walking. Sara looked up at Jonathan. He had a dazed look in his
eyes now, as if he were thinking about something. She looked ahead again.

"What is it like, working for Jenner?" She asked.

Jonathan hesitated. "Well," he said, "at first, he was really
mean, and kept me locked up in a hole somewhere out near a farmhouse. Then,
after I realized that there was no way to escape, he put me through this
‘training’ thing. I was taught how to fight and stuff like that. Then, Jenner
decided that we needed to go to Thorn Valley. At the time, I didn’t know what
Thorn Valley was, but I learned when we came here, or, at least was met by
Thorn Valley recruits."

It all made sense to her now. Somehow, Jenner had taken Jonathan and taught
him to be his personal slave. But when? Did he do it when Jonathan was
poisoning Dragon’s food bowl? Was it after that? And why did Jenner want him?
Why did Jenner want a mouse, a mouse that was a hero, a leader, and had morals?
There were other rats, she knew, that were dumb enough to follow Jenner. Why
her husband?

The first dorm came up. Sara took a deep breath, and looked up at Jonathan.
He gave her a suspicious look. Sara gulped, and knocked on the door.

A woman answered the door, almost panic-stricken. "Yes?"

Sara cleared her throat. Now she wished that she had thought of some type of
wording for what she needed to say. Better yet, she wished she had come up with
some secret way to signal to people not to take her seriously. Maybe it wasn’t
too late for that…

"Uh, hello ma’am. I am Mrs. Frisby, and I was ordered to go around to
all the rooms in Thorn Valley and tell them that Jenner has called a meeting in
about an hour and a half. Everyone is ordered to come. Anyone who doesn’t, will
probably suffer the consequences."

The woman looked at the guard behind Sara, and then looked at Sara dead in
the eyes. "Who do you think you are kidding? Is this some kind of joke?
Now listed here, missy. This is not something to joke about…" She shut the
door in their faces before she even stopped talking.

Jonathan yanked Sara around and shook her viciously. Soon, he was shaking so
hard, he was actually lifting her off the ground. Mrs. Frisby gasped out in
pain.

"What did you do?" Jonathan screamed. "Tell me- what in God’s
name did you do?"

Mrs. Frisby looked at him and didn’t know what to say. If she told him-
would he kill her? Would Jenner kill her? Probably.

He just shook harder.

Leanne held the shovel tight in her grip, and walked ahead of the others, to
check the corners, and keep an eye out for sentries.

However, just as it had been for Timothy, they had no problems. There
probably wasn’t a single guard around until the next dorm. What a stroke of
luck.

The four of them slowly made their way toward the Jail. They walked down to
the end of the hall, trying not to notice the other prisoners watching them.

They opened the back door with a loud scrape of metal, and saw Justin,
Nicodemus and the children stand up. In that room, they were nothing but
shadows. It made them seem like ghosts.

The sentry’s body hit the ground with a thud.

"Timothy! Who do you have with you?" Cynthia asked.

Timothy gave them all a brief rundown of how Tony, Simon and Leanne came to
rescue them while Simon tried the sentry’s keys to see if any of them fit the
lock.

As if by cue, by the time Timothy finished, the door of the cell swung open,
and the five images of prisoners came out. There were handshakes exchanged, as
well as hugs and thanks.

Simon and Tony quickly put the guard in the cell, and locked the door. Simon
thought about putting the key just out of the guard’s reach for when he woke
up, but then he thought about if anyone came in to find him, (Such as Alice)
they would not let him out. The idea was dismissed from mind.

Teresa looked out the tiny window in the door of the cell room. She saw all
those other prisoners, sitting there, hostages in cells, just as the other
citizens of Thorn Valley were in their rooms. "Hey." She said. The
others turned to her.

"What if," she said, "we take the guard’s keys and free those
prisoners?"

The others looked at her as if she were crazy.

"No, really," she went on, "they could help us. They are
prisoners, and so are the other citizens of Thorn Valley who should be free. We
could join together. It couldn’t hurt. They don’t like Jenner otherwise they
would have joined him a long time ago. It would only help us be stronger, and
with about twenty of us, we could probably handle guards as long as there
aren’t any more than two guards at a time."

Nicodemus and Justin looked at each other. They knew where she was coming
from; they knew she was right. It was so simple it was scary. It was sheer
brilliance!

"Justin," Nicodemus said, "go get the keys."

The guard was locked up, Justin had the keys; everything was set for their
perfect plan. But, before they released the prisoners, Justin wanted to make
everything clear to them about what they were supposed to do, and what was in
it for them."

Justin held his hands up before the prisoners, and began to speak. He had
full attention. "Listen up, you guys! We need your help!"

Justin went on to tell them what they were needed to do. He explained to
them that they were fighting for freedom, and the lives of those who inhabited
Thorn Valley. The people agreed, and they were unlocked.

Twenty-one rats and mice stood together there, in the hallway of the Jail.
They talked, and were happy to be working together. Every one of them felt
noble and brave for what they were about to do. Even Cynthia felt as if she
could kill Jenner herself.

The deal was that if the people helped them, when all this was over, they
would no longer be prisoners, but would be frees and treated as equals in Thorn
Valley. All their crime histories would be erased.

From there, all of them started on their way. The idea was to find Mrs.
Frisby first. Then, they would storm Jenner’s headquarters and take him by
surprise. The plan was perfect.

They walked and walked. No one said a single word as they were looking for
Sara. They knew what they were supposed to do. Leanne still clutched the
shovel, and walked second in line, after Nicodemus. She did this because if she
were first, and a guard saw her, she would be the first to be captured,
therefore losing all the capability of using the shovel. If Nicodemus went
first, they wanted him most, and she would have enough time to take aim and
bonk whoever needed bonking.

It seemed almost too easy with the careless way Jenner had posted his
guards. They were only posted where the dorms were, not where the high people,
such as Justin and Nicodemus were. With Jenner’s careless planning, they had
access to almost anywhere in Thorn Valley without even being noticed.

But, even though it seemed like they had everything planned out perfectly,
Martin was not easy with it. Neither was Timothy. There had to be something to
help them out. With all these advantages, they were only taking advantage of
the free space they had and not all the places they could enter. Timothy was
the first one to break the silence.

"Justin." He whispered.

Justin gave him a signal to keep quiet, but Timothy persisted. He walked
over to Timothy. "What?" Justin snapped.

"Justin," Timothy continued, "if we go into Jenner’s
headquarters, he will have weapons. So will the guards in the halls, and so
will all the other rats that are with Jenner. I strongly don’t think we can
beat them all with our body strength and a shovel. If there is a fight, you
know someone will wind up getting injured, and a shovel isn’t exactly a first
class weapon."

Martin joined into the conversation. He had been thinking the exact same
thing. "Isn’t there anywhere that we could get a knife, or sward, or
something?"

Justin paused to think. Boy, kids were getting smarter every day! "I
know you are right," he said, "but what can we do? Go back?"

Justin did have a point. If they went somewhere- anywhere, they risked
running into a guard, and they didn’t know what Jenner’s plans were therefore,
while they were out looking for weapons, Jenner could do serious damage.

"Okay then," Timothy said, "I’ll do it myself. Let’s see.
We’re heading toward the West Wing, and…." His voice trailed off.

"Yes?" Martin urged.

"The cafeteria is just down that way," he pointed, "I bet
they have knives and junk there. I’ll go myself. I’m young and quicker than
those old crummy guards, and I think I could do it."

Martin liked the idea. It was sneaky, dangerous, and he wanted to do it.
"I’ll go with you." He said.

Justin waved his hands. "No you wont," He whispered. "It’s
too dangerous, and besides, I think we are just fine by ourselves."
Thinking his words were final, Justin joined back in with the group.

Timothy and Martin exchanged glances. They knew what they were going to do,
no matter what Justin said.

The group kept on walking, and soon, they heard yelling, and a woman’s
cries.

"It’s up ahead," Nicodemus said. "Come on, but be
careful."

The group headed toward the noise.

He kept shaking her. "What did you do?" He was almost screaming at
her now.

"Put me down and I’ll tell you!" Sara yelled back.

Jonathan put her down, but did not let go of her shoulders.

"I did this," Mrs. Frisby said, and made a face. The face was
terrible! She had her eyes crossed, her tongue hanging out, and stream of drool
coming out of her mouth that was almost as tall as she was.

At the sight of this, Jonathan could not help not laughing. No wonder the
woman did take her seriously. He put a hand over his smile and tried to
straighten up before Sara saw him, but it was too late.

"I see that smile you’re trying to hide," Mrs. Frisby said with a
grin.

Jonathan said nothing in return. Instead, he pushed her to the next door.
"Knock!" he snarled at her. "And no funny stuff or I’ll kill you
myself."

Mrs. Frisby took him seriously, and knocked on the door. There was no
answer. She tried knocking again. Still, there was no answer. She turned to
Jonathan and looked at him square in the eyes.

Sara thought about how she had kissed Justin. She enjoyed it, too. And now,
here she was, staring up at her husband. She felt dirty and felt as if she had
been unfaithful. Then again, she thought, when she and Justin kissed, she
thought her husband was dead. What was she going to do?

"What is it?" Jonathan asked.

"Look at me. Look at me right in the eyes, and tell me you don’t know
me. Hold my hand and tell me that you have never held it before. Touch my ears
and tell me you have never whispered secrets into them. Just…"

Jonathan cut her off. "Don’t start this now, ma’am. I’ve had it up to
here with your loneliness. I do find it strange that you knew my last name and
all, but nothing thrilling. I brought you down here to do your job, and I am to
see to it that your job gets done. Enough of this." He shot her a look
that could have killed the devil himself.

Now, Mrs. Frisby felt even worse. There was no way she could get him to
remember her. The only way she had a chance was if he was willing to comply
with her, but by the looks of things, that was not going to happen.

She stood there, silent for a moment, staring over Jonathan’s shoulder. She
was looking at the wall behind him, but then, when she looked at him, she saw
yet another wall. And then a shadow behind him moved.

She had not time to warn him that someone was behind him for, at that
moment, something raised into the air, and came down on top of his head with a
BONG!

Jonathan fell to the floor with a thud, and Sara stood facing the person who
just hit her husband.

Timothy and Martin cautiously made their way down the hall toward the
cafeteria. They were going to get some butcher knives and maybe some frying
pans and stuff.

Both of them knew that the group they just left would not be able to protect
themselves with just physical strength and a shovel. The two brothers were just
going to get some knives and then hurry back to the group. The probably
wouldn’t even be missed.

The cafeteria was dark now since the lights were not on. There wasn’t a
light switch to be found, either. It made the place seem scary almost. It was
cold, too. Ever since Jenner had been in Thorn Valley, it had been closed. The
bar was all clean, with the exception of a few stray green beans on the
counter.

"You go back into the kitchen," said Martin, "and look for
knives. I’ll stay out here and look in the cupboards. There’s bound to be
something in them."

Timothy did what he was told, and went back to the kitchen. There he did
find knives and such, but he only found enough weapons to give to fifteen
people. He sure hoped that Martin found some in the cupboards.

Martin found nothing. He really didn’t think you could harm many guards with
mugs and cups. He sighed. He hoped that Timothy found something.

Timothy came out of the kitchen holding the knives.

Martin looked up and smiled. "Great," he whispered, "I didn’t
find anything."

"I only have fifteen."

"There’s nothing but cups and plates out here."

The two brothers sat for a moment and looked at each other. This would have
to do. They began to stand up, but Timothy pulled Martin down again.

"Grab some plates, the strongest you can find," he ordered Martin.
"And some heavy mugs if you can. We could at least hit someone in the head
with them." Timothy made a Frisbee motion with one of the plates.

Martin got the idea and closed the cupboard. He was carrying the plates and
some of the mugs. Timothy carried the knives and the rest of the mugs. They
both stood up.

Movement.

Martin ducked and yanked Timothy down with him. "We’re not alone!"
he said as quietly as he could.

He was right. At that moment, a big shadowy figure made it’s way across the
cafeteria. You could hear his footsteps on the tile, and he was coming closer.

Timothy and Martin slowly slid the knives, plates and mugs under the bar,
and got in one of the cupboards.

The figure- it was a guard- was breathing hard, and was coming closer and
closer to the bar. He went around and stopped… right in front of the cupboard
that Martin and Timothy were hiding in!

The two boys were breathing hard, but they were also straining to keep their
breaths under control. If they made the slightest noise, they were dead meat.

The guard moved and went into the kitchen, and Martin heard the refrigerator
door open. "Let’s move!" Martin said, and they both picked up their
things and ran.

They ran out of the cafeteria and out into the hall. There they stopped and
looked to see if anyone was following them. There was no one.

"Remember what to do." Timothy said to Martin. He was referring to
watching for more sentries.

They started walking back to the group.

Jenner paced his office. Alice stood beside him, helping him with his
speech.

"I want it to sound professional, Alice," he said as he stopped
pacing. "I want the people of Thorn Valley to get the impression that I am
now in control, and if they don’t do as I say, they will pay for it."

Alice nodded her head.

"And I don’t want them to be afraid of me, either. I want to be as good
as a ruler as Nicodemus, if not better. I just want to change the rules a
bit."

Alice flipped through the pages of speech they had already written. She
waited for him to continue.

Jenner cleared his throat and began speaking again. "Get this down,
Alice, and then read back to me what we already have. There will no longer be
choice eating times. From now on, each of you will go to breakfast, lunch and
dinner at a given time. Later in the week I will hand you your eating
schedules. Ya got that, Alice? Now read it back."

Alice flipped back to the first page and began reading:

"’Ladies and Gentlemen, give me your full attention. As you have
already figured out, I, Jenner, will from this point on, be taking over. Now,
now, don’t get all upset. Really, I plan on being a good leader; as good as
Nicodemus himself if not better. I do, however, want to make some changes in
rules. To begin with, everyone must be in their rooms by ten o’clock every
night unless I announce otherwise. From now on, there will be no more school,
but everyone will go to work. Children of two years and up will work. There
will no longer be choice eating times, From now on, each of you will go to
breakfast, lunch and dinner at a given time. Later in the week I will hand you
your eating schedules.’" Alice then sat in silence waiting for Jenner’s
approval.

Jenner looked at her in thought. "I like it," he said, "but
there is still more to work on. I want the child laws put in there, the new
every day laws, and the consequences. Okay Alice, ready to write again?"

"Who in God’s name do you think you are?" Sara screamed.

"Whoa, Mrs. Frisby, calm down!" Leanne was trying her hardest to
keep Sara quiet for all their sakes.

"Well Leanne," Mrs. Frisby said, quieter, "why did you do
that? Huh? Just to have you know, you just beat Mr. Jonathan Frisby
unconscious!"

The group looked around. They were standing behind Sara, and she did not yet
know they were there. What did she mean, Jonathan?

"Sara, calm down now. That was not your husband. Jonathan is
dead."

"Do I look insane to you?" Sara asked.

"No, but you do look awfully unstable."

"Well you’d be unstable if your husband, who you haven’t seen in a year
and thought was dead, was all of the sudden beaten over the head with a
shovel!" Sara was getting angry again.

Leanne stared at her for a minute. "Sara," she said, "that is
not Jonathan. Jonathan was killed by Dragon a year ago. This is not him. This
is a rat. He is too big to be Jonathan. I can see some resemblance, but this is
not your husband."

"Listen to me!!" Sara yelled it at the top of her lungs. It was a
wonder that no guards came.

It was at this point that Sara turned around and noticed the group of people
standing behind her. Justin looked at her and stepped forward.

Justin came forward and wrapped his arms around Sara’s waist. "Shh.
Now, Sara, it’ll all be all right. I promise." He looked at her and kissed
her on the cheek but Sara pulled away.

"What’s wrong?" Justin asked.

"If you all just be quiet," Sara said, "I’ll tell you."

Leanne shuffled feet, and stayed quiet. She was now going to let Mrs. Frisby
speak.

"This is Jonathan. I assure you. I was brought out here to tell the
residents of Thorn Valley that Jenner is going to call a meeting. I was talking
to my escort and asked him how he came to work for Jenner. He said that all he
remembered was that when he woke up he was there with Jenner. He said that
Jenner put him through training and everything."

Leanne coughed and looked at Sara with disinterest.

Sara continued. "I asked him his name, and he said that it was John.
Then he corrected himself and said that his name was Jonathan. It all fit
together. I asked his last name, and he said that he didn’t remember. I
suggested the name Frisby, and he said that that was it! He told me about how
he felt. He said that he was a mouse, and that people treated him with better
care than most of Jenner’s men."

By now, Leanne had latched on to Mrs. Frisby’s words, and was even beginning
to believe them. "And?" she asked.

"Don’t you see?" said Mrs. Frisby. "This is Jonathan. Jenner
took him, and trained him to be one of his men. He’s so big now because he was
trained to kill and be strong. He is here now. All we have to do is make him
remember!" She was out of breath now and was looking at Justin.

Justin was just looking back at her in disbelief. He didn’t believe the
story she just told. He didn’t know what to do. He loved Sara- he had ever
since he had laid eyes on her- but now she was acting like she was married
again. Was this her way of saying she didn’t want him? Had she lost it? Was she
going crazy? He didn’t know. All he knew was that they had to do something
about this.

Now Cynthia stepped out of the group. "Mommy?" she asked.

Mrs. Frisby swooped the child up in her arms and hugged her. "Where are
the others? Teresa? Martin? Timothy? How did you ever get out?"

Teresa stepped forward and looked behind her. "Come on out, guys."
She said.

No one came.

Sara called for the boys, but still, no one appeared.

"They’re gone!" shouted someone from the back.

The panic came in a rush and devoured her. Sara began to frantically circle
the group, spreading the people out, looking for her beloved children. They
were right- Martin and Timothy were gone.

"I think I know where they are," Justin said. "They both were
talking about going to get some weapons to fight Jenner with. They were going
to go to the cafeteria for knives and things. I told them no, but I guess they
didn’t listen."

Mrs. Frisby walked up to him. "You just told them no? You should have
kept them in your sight at all times! You should have been watching all the
children from the beginning so they wouldn’t get hurt or go wandering
off!"

Justin looked at her in awe. He didn’t believe how she was acting. First,
she was imagining that one of Jenner’s guards was her husband. Now she was
yelling at him for not knowing how to babysit. He wasn’t going to take this.
"Now you listen here, Sara," he said, "don’t you yell at me! I
thought that your children were mature! I thought that they could take no for
an answer and do as they are told, but I was way off!!!"

Mrs. Frisby got closer to him. "I don’t expect you to be perfect,
Justin," she hissed, "but I do expect you to have some type of common
sense! You know how kids are! You rule over them, you have met mine before, and
you have been with them all the time we have been here! Who do you think you
are for telling me all this? It’s not my fault! I was captured by Jenner and
held in his chambers! I was given orders to be here! If I didn’t do as he told
me to, you would be dead right now, and so would my children! But now I guess
that effort was made in vain because two of my children are probably already
dead thanks to you!!!"

Sara’s ears were crimson with fury. What a day she was having! She was
introduced to her husband whom she thought was dead, and now she was getting
yelled at for something that should have been taken better care of. She
couldn’t believe this.

Sara lunged at Justin, and wrapped her hands around his wrist. She opened
her mouth and clamped down as hard as she could. Justin screamed and jumped up.

"Why the…" he stopped himself from saying something bad in front
of Cynthia. "Why the heck did you do that? What did I do, huh? What did I
do to deserve that?" He looked down at his wrist and watched a steady
stream of blood flow from his wrist to the floor. A puddle formed on the smooth
floor, and when each drop of blood fell, it splattered and speckled Justin’s
feet.

Mrs. Frisby wiped the blood from her mouth. She didn’t know why she did it,
either. No- she did know. She did it because she knew he loved her. She knew
Justin loved her yet he didn’t believe her. No one believed her about Jonathan.
Her kids were lost- probably dead- and all anyone could do was yell at each
other.

"I… I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me." Sara tried
explaining. "I.. just don’t know. I don’t know where my kids are, and this
is my husband, and all we are doing is yelling at each other… it’s all just
overwhelming!" She broke down.

Justin put his arms around her cautiously and hugged her. "Shh now. I
now you’re under a lot of stress. I’m okay, really. Don’t worry about it. Just
think about finding your children. That’s all we all need to worry about. It’ll
all be all right, I promise."

She wrapped her arms around to hug his shoulders. She let out a sigh and
looked at him. She loved him. She really loved him. But then, she could not.
Her husband lay on the floor beside her and she was hugging Justin. It didn’t
feel right, and she knew what the right thing was.

There was silence. No one spoke, they only watched the two of them cradle
each other.

"You know, the kids were right. You should have more weapons than just
a shovel!" Jonathan said as he sat up.