The Tail of the Rat
A soft breeze blows in from the open window off to my left. I had retired early tonight so I can catch up on some reading before I fall asleep. I was just turning the page when a soft rustling sound drew my attention. I peered down to Isadora who was asleep at the foot of the bed. It was nice having a cat when you lived by yourself, especially when it came to odd noises. If she wasn’t around and an inconsistent noise occurred I could blame it on her and have no worries. When she was by my side (as she often was) and a sound was heard, she was good about acknowledging that she heard it too so I could assure myself still sane.
She merely turned her ear in the general direction but no other movement was attempted. I took solace that she felt no threat by it and continued reading. I had thought it was from my closet off to my right but it could have been as easily from outside. Just as I sat my eyes down to the page again the sound recurred. This time Isadora raised her head and looked towards the right. I placed my bookmark in the book and closed it.
Isadora got to her feet and stared at the closet. Putting the book down without looking, I followed her stare. A distant scratching sound was now coming from behind the wall and it was getting louder. I grew up in nice houses in nice neighborhoods, but this was my first place on my own. I must be delusional if I thought this place would be rodent free. In truth, this small apartment was the most I could afford. I have never been afraid of rats or mice but for some reason this was really freaking me out.
I slowly moved my feet to the ground. Isadora stayed in her fixed position. I focus my attention to the spot where the noise is coming from as I crouch down. I could distinguish the noise now that it grew louder. It was as if something was chewing on the very wall itself. Just as I came to this notion, the wall started to flex outward then return flat.
Fearing the worst, I reach over and grab the katana off its upright stand near the closet door. As I remove the sheath the lamp light reflects off the polished steel blade and my grip tightens on the dragon shaped black handle. My only hope was if this would be a true aid to my safety since it was not the most expensive model. I was in no way trained in the finer techniques of sword skill but I felt I knew enough. Either way it was an edged weapon for my advantage. I slowly lower the sheath to the floor. Holding the blade up in front of me I stood and waited as the sounds to continue.
My heart pounded as I tried to wrap my mind around the mere thought that something was trying to come through my closet wall. Isadora now had her ears as far back as she could put them. The wind out the window started to pick up. The wall protruded one last time and cracked. A pointed black nose poked its way through then started to chew at the edge of the crack. At this Isadora dashed off the bed and into the living room. I receive my first glance at the creature’s teeth. They were much too big to belong to even a normal sized rat. Each bite took a good portion of the wall out. When the hole was approximately three inches wide around its jagged border the thing stopped. I griped even tighter to the katana handle. The light illuminating from my lamp was not bright enough to see into the hole but it did reflect against the beast’s eyes giving them a red glow. It then shoved its head through the hole it had created and with its claws and brute strength pushed his way through by breaking the wall around it.
The monster now stood in front of me only three feet away, his eyes still glowing red. It is the size of a pit bull with a tail equally as long as its body. Its whiskers were not straight but bent in random places. His pointed ears stood upright with holes in them and parts missing. The body was slender with a clear view of his rips. The fiend opened his mouth and hissed an awful sound. Its teeth are long and have a distinct point to each. He took a step by slowly advancing his clawed front paw towards me. Without warning he leaps into the air towards me, claws extended and mouth open. His speed catches me off guard. I take an involuntary step backward and fall across the bed behind me just as he flies over. I hear him land against the opposite wall with a thud. Outside, rain starts to come down.
If there was any question of this thing being hostile or not it was settled right away. Not knowing if it was knocked out or not, I quickly got off the bed and stood on the other side. My heart pounded as I waited to see if the rat would reemerge. Just as I think my heart rate may return to normal I see a clawed foot rise from the edge of the bed followed shortly by the other foot. He digs in with his talons and pulls himself up onto the bed. A crack of thunder erupts from the storm making its presence known. The being whips its tail back and forth wildly as he stares at me with those red eyes. Before I knew it, he was leaping towards me again but this time I was able to side step him. He flew by me landing on the table across from the bed, sending the random things accumulated on there crashing to the floor. Attempting to strike fast I swing the sword down towards him, but he is too fast and jumps out of way as the sword notches itself into the table. The rat quickly regains an offensive posture and creeps towards me as I struggle with the sword lodged in the table.
With a final effort I remove the sword and swing it around at the approaching beast, pointing the tip of the sword towards him as a flash of lightning strikes and aluminates the room. He continues to skulk towards me and I instinctively match his advance with a move backwards. Feeling I should do something offensive, I take a quick swipe at his nose with the sharp point of the katana resulting in a red slash across his black nose. It seems he took insult to this because he immediately began to snarl exposing his pointed teeth. Ok, bad idea I think to myself. With a single charge those teeth are now logged in my leg drawing blood. I try to shake him loose but that only makes his grip deeper. Remembering that I still have the sword I swung downward hoping to inflict some damage. If the sword had been of higher quality it would have sliced him open, but it wasn't and only acted as an edged club. Either way the hit was sufficient enough to make him release the vice grip he held on my leg.
I look back and see that the door that swings into the living room is still open. Quickly turning I hobble for the door. The sound of the thing’s claws ripping into the carpet urge me on faster as I start pushing the door closed in attempt to trap him in the bedroom. I underestimate his speed and get caught unprepared for him ramming into the door, sending me backwards onto the floor. I only have time to bring the sword in front of my chest as a shield before he lands on top of me. His front claws wrap around the sword as he tries to snap at my face with his jagged teeth. He is shockingly heavy and it takes almost all of my strength to keep him back. Another flash of lighting shines off the katana blade and is immediately followed by a crash of thunder.
The Animal’s breath reeks of death as his gaping mouth inches closer. It’s right about now that I start to think how only ten minutes ago I thought I had my calm little world figured out and now I’m fighting for my life against a giant rat. Before this I hadn’t ever fought for anything, metaphorically or literally. Being this close to death, in my perception anyway, made me feel more alive than I had ever been before. I wanted to live! I wanted this monster out of my life and I wanted to live!
This new revelation gave me the burst of strength I needed to roll the thing off of me. It rolled a couple of times but still got to his feet rather quickly and started to slink towards me again. I had no choice but to remain on my back because there was no way I could get to my feet quick enough without giving him an opportunity to pounce me again. It was right about then that I heard a hiss come from the couch against the far wall of the living room. Both the rat and I looked over to the sound at the same time. Isadora! I had assumed she had found a place to hide. Through the last few years she had been my only constant. I couldn’t let this creature get to her. By the time that I snapped my head back to the rat, he had already jumped onto the coffee table. Dropping the katana I made a desperate lunge and managed to grab the last part of his tail. The hairs on the tail were so course they actually cut into my hand. I used the momentum from the lunge to sling him off the table and into the entertainment center. Grabbing the katana I swiftly worked my way back to my feet. Out of the corner of my eye I see Isadora run into the kitchen and I hear sound of a cupboard door close.
I advance towards the rat with a new sense of aggression. The rain continues to pelt against the windows. He is slow to get up from my blow and I take this opportunity to reverse my grip on the sword so that the blade is pointing down. I gather my strength into a downwards stab at him but he rolls away and back to his feet leaving my sword to merely cut through the carpet. There goes my deposit I laugh to myself. He makes another run at me but I am able to step to my right and as he passes I bring the katana down in a sweeping arc across his back. Once again the force of the blow does more damage than the cut but it still slows him down. He snarls a deep low growl as he turns to face me. In that moment this animal became more than just something attempting to kill me. It came to represent all of the torment I had in life, all the failed self expectations I had. Everything that had metaphorically attacked me that I didn’t stand up to was now manifested in this mangy thing in front of me. Using this and the raging storm outside, I thrust the sword tip at the rat landing a stab into his chest. Withdrawing the blade, he staggered back and fell to his side. Stepping up to him I finished him off with an impaling blow that went through his ribs. I tried to catch my breath as I stared at the katana standing straight up.
With the beast now slain something told me to go look at the hole from which it came. I walked over to the closet dragging my injured leg as I went. Lightning and thunder continued as I crouch down and peered into the opening in the wall. Inside was an impossible darkness. It was as if the hole expelled blackness. Suddenly I sensed movement inside it somehow. Squinting I start to see red specks almost like pinholes of light. Two of the small points moved slowly. This motion seemed to awaken other points in the shadows. More and more started appearing, some bigger than the others. It was then that I realized that these were the same sinister red of the rat I just barely survived.
I fell backwards from the shock of this realization. I had just barely grasped the notion of one giant rat but now there were more? I begin to crawl backwards as quickly as I can out of the closet. Once out I get to my feet and go as fast as my leg will allow across the room. Carefully stepping over the still dead rat I make my way into the kitchen. Franticly opening cabinet doors I look for Isadora and find here behind the last door. Understandably she is still terrified, possibly reacting to my own fear, and doesn’t want to come out. I grab her and put her under one arm as I grab my car keys and cell phone.
I throw the door open and go out to the parking lot. The rain is still pouring down but for some reason Isadora doesn’t seem to care. She must be as eager as me to get out of that place. As we make our way to the car I dial up the apartment office. It’s after hours of course so I just leave a message.
“Yeah this is the person from apartment 18120. I just want to leave a message saying that I will no longer be able to stay in that apartment. It has a um… a pest problem. I’ll send some people later to get my stuff, whatever’s left of it.”
I hung up and pulled Isadora to my chest with both hands as we walked the last bit to my car and out of this place.
The end
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