It was almost sunrise.

Justin stood on top of a rock, watching the sky. The sun rose, slowly but
surely, as the sky changed colors. Golden light spilled everywhere, and the
wind whipped all around. Justin took a deep breath and let it out in a happy
sigh. Another day had dawned in Thorn Valley.

In the end, the move to Thorn Valley had been nowhere near as difficult as
anyone had imagined. Now the rat's colony was thriving. Most were happy with
their new lives. But there were a few rats whose lives had changed drastically,
as a result of last year's events. They had been living on the farm then.
Nicodemus, the former leader, had conceived a Plan, which stated that the rats
would set up their own civilization and not steal from the farmer. But two
rats, Jenner and Sullivan, had opposed the Plan. At the same time, Mrs. Brisby,
the widow of an old friend, came to the rats asking for help moving her house.
While Justin and Mrs. Brisby were off drugging the cat, Jenner cut the lines
holding up the cement block house and Nicodemus died in the wreckage. But
Jenner and Sullivan both died in the aftermath, by each other's hands. Now
Justin was the rat's leader. But still, he never thought he was doing
enough.... Justin's thoughts drifted back to Mrs. Brisby. She was very pretty
for a mouse, small and dainty, with big blue eyes. There had definitely been
something between them. But whatever it was, it was over now.

Justin was still deep in thought when someone tapped him on the
shoulder."Whoa!" he cried, and lost his balance. He started to fall
off the rock, but a hand grabbed the sleeve of his blue and white tunic and
hauled him back up.Quickly, he checked to make sure the Stone that Mrs. Brisby
had given him was still there. Slowly, he turned to face his rescuer.
"Isabella....?"

Standing before him was a tall, pretty girl-rat with tan fur and brown eyes.
It was Isabella, the rat's doctor-in-training. She wore a pink half-shirt and
skirt. "Didn't mean to scare ya," she said with a grin.
"Sorry." Justin was annoyed now."You didn't scare me, you
just...uhhh.....," he trailed off. "Just made you jump out of your
fur, that's all." Isabella finished. "Well......"Justin knew his
face was flaming. Now he was ticked and embarrassed."You shouldn't sneak
up on people like that.....Izzy." He knew she hated that nickname.
Isabella took offense."For the ten millionth time, my name is
Isabella." Justin grinned."Sure, whatever you say.....Izzy."
Before she could say anything back, he walked off to find his friends Xander
and Brutus.

Isabella watched Justin go. What a jerk, she thought. I save his life and
does he thank me? No. She honestly could not stand him. She hated the way girls
fell all over him when he so much as looked their way. That easy, slightly
mischievous, smile of his. All of it annoyed her. Still, she had to
admit.......he was pretty good-looking. He could be really nice when he wanted
to be, and he was a good leader. But there was just something about him that
did something to her.......something she just couldn't explain.

Justin found his friends at their posts at the entrance to the rats' living
place. It had been built into a side of one of the tall cliffs that surrounded
Thorn Valley. Each rat had his or her own room, and , with the help of another
rat named Terrence, had rigged up a way to produce electricity. "Hey
guys," Justin greeted them."What's up?" Xander grinned."The
sky, the ceiling..." Justin rolled his eyes at Xander's dumb
joke."You and your corny jokes," Justin laughed. Xander merely
shrugged. "Hey, you laughed, didn't you?"Justin turned to
Brutus."How about you, buddy?" The captain of the guard
smiled."Not much. Xander and I are off duty in a few minutes, and then I
plan to hit the sack!" He laughed. "Hard night?" Justin
inquired."Nahhhh..just long," was Brutus' reply. "Well, I was
just on my way to check on Terrence in the engine room. Come with me?"
Justin offered. Both guards readily agreed.

The engines in the engine room were powered by solar energy. The head
engineer, Terrence, a middle-aged rat and council member, had even rigged up a
way to conserve the energy for nighttime. Now Terrence was checking a clipboard
and speaking to another rat. He looked up and noticed Justin."Hi, Justin.
One sec." He finished speaking to the other rat and turned back to
Justin."Yes?" Justin paused."Just checking in. Everything okay
here?" Terrence nodded. "We had a breakdown at midnight, though. It
wasn't serious," he added, seeing the look on Justin's face."But it
took us awhile to fix it. Anyway, it's fine now." Justin nodded."I
see. Anything else" Terrence shook his head. "Remember," Justin
told Terrence "The harvest begins today. Do me a favor and tell everyone
to be outside this afternoon." Terrence nodded, and Justin left with his
two friends in tow. On the way he ran into Lita, the new Captain of the Guard.
She was not exactly pretty, but she had a lean, intelligent face and was a
skilled warrior. Justin remembered Lita had been his second in command in the
rosebush. Some of the guards hadn't been too happy about the new Captain of the
Guard being a girl, but it hadn't taken Lita very long to earn their
respect."Hey, Lita." Justin greeted her. She grinned at
them."Well, well, well, it's the Three Musketeers. What's up?" Justin
grinned back."Not much. Just Terrence being his usual stodgy self."
Lita smiled now."I've got to check on Arthur and Cal down by the south
entrance. See you around." She left in a hurry.

Justin stepped back out into the light of the sun. Other rats were coming
out to help harvest the crops. It was their first crop of the year, and it had
been successful. He was walking beside an older rat named Serena. Serena was
Jenner's widow, and had always treated Justin with respect and kindness. He
looked up to her as kind of a mother figure, even though Serena had two
children of her own, Paul and Jeneveive. She was very tall, and had dark grey
fur and blue eyes. Serena looked at him."Is something troubling you, my
Justin?" she asked. She always referred to him as 'my Justin'. Justin
shook his head no. "It has been a morning of strange events, has it
not?" Justin grimaced."I'd say so. When are Ages and Mrs. Brisby
arriving?" Serena thought for a moment."Tomorrow, as planned."
Justin nodded."Good." Serena straightened the hem of her
black-and-blue robes.

"It looks like the harvest'll do well." Justin commented.

Serena nodded."And the weather is so beautiful." She
sighed."I had the strangest dream last night."

Justin looked at her."What about?"

"Jenner,"Serena said."He and I were standing in a desert, and
he was trying to warn me about something. He kept saying,"Things aren't
what they seem," over and over. Then I woke up."

Justin nodded. He really didn't believe in all of that paranormal stuff, but
he wasn't going to say that to Serena. "You miss him, don't you?" was
what came out of his mouth instead.

Serena's eyes took on a faraway look."Yes, my Justin, I do miss him. It
is always painful when someone you love dies. And I loved Jenner...I still
do." Then she seemed to come back to earth. "Come, my Justin. It is
time for the harvest to begin!"