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Despite All My Rage - Part IV

Micheal burst out of the bathroom like a greyhound from its cage. Panic nipped at his heals like wolves snapping at a rabbit. He could not believe he had forgotten about Christy. She was hopefully still asleep in the van, but he was worried about what would happen to her when she began changing. The world looked different to his people. Colors were a little less vibrant but bright and dark were more defined. Sounds were louder and pitches not normally available to humans could be heard by the rats. Then there was the new world of smell to deal with... she would need him there and she would not be able to hide when she was screaming through her first change.

The hallway was empty and so were the stairs. The power was still out and so Micheal was able to run through the building until he smelled the unpleasant smell of an old woman who used far too much old perfume to be healthy. As he neared the room, he felt himself getting lightheaded. It was a vile thing, this chemical smell, and it turned his stomach.

He retreated a few steps and took a few deep breaths. The final breath, he held and then made his way closer to the room. When he peaked his head around the corner he saw the most disgustingly shriveled old woman ever. Her hair was white and poofed out in something akin to a bush. Her sharp nose curved down and the hunch in her back made her look like a vulture who was staring at her prey... waiting for it to die.

Her gaze was focused on a book that she squinted at through thick spectacles and dim candlelight. Poised like she was looking for something to descend upon, she was so still that Micheal was almost convinced that she was a taxidermist's greatest abomination. He could not see the keys but she looked old enough to hold the name Trudy so he needed to get in there.

His air was beginning to run out so he crept back up the hallway and began gasping for breath. 'What to do... what to do...' his mind began to race. There were many small shiny objects in the room and it was difficult to figure out which one he needed. He guessed he could lure her out and than sneak into the room but it was risky. Another possibility was that her eye-sight might be bad and so he might be able to just walk in and act like he belonged there.

He waffled back and forth between the two options for a moment and then decided he would asphyxiate and pass-out if he stood there and talked to her, so he would try the noise option. Once he has filled his lungs with significant oxygen, he made his way back to where the air was not so good. Finding a good piece of wall segment, he stuck his head around the corner, began to chitter, and made a lot of noise with his claws.

Within seconds he discovered three things, one the old woman did not scare easily, two the old woman had pretty good aim, three a scotch tape dispensers with sand in it for weight hurt A LOT when it flew across the room and struck him in the face. Back up the hallway, he nursed what felt like was going to become a fine purple spot on his cheek.

He was wishing he had magical healing powers, like a werewolf, or could run as fast, or was as universally feared, or could flip cars, or looked as cool. But no, he was just a rat. A no good, low down, disease carrying, dirty rat. All he could really do was talk to the local rat population.

He wished he could do more. Talking to rats did not do him much good. All the rats would do was run about and maybe steal shiny things... like keys... and all of the other little shiny things in the room. He began to giggle, it was such a silly idea that it just might work.

Micheal went farther away from the room with the horrible smell, closed his eyes, and focused. Extending his concentration out he smelled for his little cousins and listened for their calls and movements. They were faint and far. Following the signs he made his way back up to the second floor and listened some more. Still they were far so he found stairs leading to a third floor. Once he was up there he could hear several of them in a heating grate.

Looking in the grate, he called to them and they answered. He let out an ultrasonic hum, letting them know he had found something of interest. They signaled back that they were trapped. With the size and hands he had been granted, Micheal pulled the heating grate up and let the two males and one female out of the heating duct.

They were tired from their adventure but grateful. They thanked him in their way and he pet their fury little heads. Finally he asked where the others were and the three rats skittered off to their nest. Once Micheal was there he began calling them and promising a great treasure. He also needed help getting something. There was one guard but they could get past her.

The call went through the walls. The rats, who were so good at remaining undetected had filled the walls of the old building. Soon, they were coming out of every crack and opening. As the king rat trotted down the hallway like a posturing canine, there was a swarm... an army... a flood.

Two levels of stairs did not bother them even a little. The horde made its way through the building. Girls screamed as rats poured out of their walls and joined the swarm. The ones who came to investigate began to shriek and run into the others who were curious and wanted to see. Micheal knew his time was running out. A ton of rats moving together was going to create quite a stir among the rest of the humans.

Finally they reached the room of horrible stench. The sea of rats blanched as their noses were offended. He knew he needed to act now. Before they could begin to run away, the head rat ordered the rest to charge.

The swarm surged forward like the tide coming in. The rats divided into several groups, some entering other rooms, some entered the room Micheal wanted them too. As they began to make contact with various items, Mrs. Trudy began to bleat like a sheep in alarm.

"Beasts! Monsters! Vermin!" Her cries were punctuated by the sound of her throwing things. Micheal knew she was killing them. The sound of metal banging and clattering assaulted his ears. "Sunshine!!!" A dogs name? "Sunshine!!! Rats!!!" A bouncy Pomeranian cantered into the room and saw the swarm of little creatures. "Sick'em boy!" the vulture woman screamed.

Micheal emitted a warning tone and he pounced the back of the small dog and batted it around like a toy ball. The vulture rose from her chair and knocked the candle onto her desk. Very quickly it set the papers on the desk on fire and then she found herself catching as well. A side effect of this comedy was the perfume seemed to burn up in the air and Micheal could actually breath better.

A tirade of yelling and flailing drove Micheal and the rats out of the room. They could do no more here. There would be more humans soon. The swarm rushed to their second favorite spot, the kitchen, and hid among the pots, pans, and cupboards. As the shuffling of feet and the sound of a fire extinguisher filled the main hall, Micheal could not help but laugh. Triumph resonated through his little allies as they began to chatter about the spoils of war.

Micheal asked to see their shiny things and they brought them forward. The little thieves had managed paper clips, thumbtacks, pens, a letter opener, a pair of reading glasses, about a dozen coins of different size, three loose screws, twenty hair clips, a ring, a necklace, a bracelet, a buckle, a bell, and a set of car keys. Micheal took the car keys and then thanked his little friends by opening up the pantry and dumping several boxes of cereal onto the floor. They all cheered and attacked the food.

Outside, the rain was still coming down hard. The wind had died down a little and things were not as loud. This meant their cover might soon be blown. They needed to escape before the storm no longer kept the humans huddled inside.

Making sure to remain vigilant, Micheal made his way through the storm. No one was outside and he was able to return to the garage without incident. By the time he made it there he was very soaked. He lifted the door and, leaving it open, shook like a wet dog. He laughed a bit as he unlocked the driver's side door and let himself in.

He was so excited. He could not wait to tell Christy about what had happened. Then he looked into the back seat and the smile fell away from his face.

*****

Christy had been laying in the dark a long time. She was so tired but she kept waking up. The wind and rain beat against the outside like a great beast trying to get in. She was uncomfortable. The van was set up to transport a lot of people. There were may seats and it was not the cleanest thing in the world.

She felt a little sick. She was cold but sweating. Her body was trembling and she could not seem to get warm. After some fitful tossing and turning, a wave of nausea filled her. She swallowed hard and her body seemed to calm down a bit. She was suddenly tired and she slept again.

Thunder rumbled and she woke with a pain in her legs and torso. Cramps began to stab at her so she tried to straiten. The van was large but not large enough for her to be fully comfortable. The noise of the outside seemed to run over her like a stampede. She covered her ears and noticed they were a little bigger. Startled, she ran her fingers over them and started to giggle. They were larger, thiner, and a little more mouse shaped.

A surge of adrenalin went through her body as she thought about what was happening too her. She wanted to know what it was like to be a rat. She wanted to be able to see in the dark and have a tail. She thought these things would be very exciting indeed. Now it was starting to happen. Her fingers looked a tiny bit longer but not terribly much. Her nails looked different too... but not like they should.

Christy felt an itch on her arm and she scratched. It felt odd, when she looked she noticed her arm hair was brown and much longer than she ever remembered it being. She giggled as she thought about how this would freak most girls out. Body hair always needed to be shaved down and controlled. Now she was going to have fur, beautiful... groomable... warm fur.

Dizziness began to tilt her world sideways and she noticed the glimpses of light that flickered in the garage were bright and blurry. She had never needed glasses before but now she was not able to see strait. The noise and the light did not make sense.

She looked around for Micheal. He was not there. Had he left her? She shook her head, trying to remember. The world and her mind were murky. What was happening? What was wrong? Why was she here? Did it have something to do with Ryan? She hissed at the thought of him. She hatted him... wait... did she hiss?

Christy's tongue flicked out much farther than it ever had before and traveled across her teeth, they too were... different. Her two front teeth were big and sharp and the back teeth seemed to have shifted a little. Her gums seemed to be a little tender too. She was hungry and weak. She felt like she had not eaten all day. She felt like a little food would make all of the difference.

She could smell the leftovers of a thousand trips around town. The girls were always eating something and some of it always seemed to fall... there was a cheese puff in the seat. Christy plucked it out and sniffed it. Part of her was revolted but part of her saw it as food. Without thinking too heavily she tossed it into her mouth. It tasted far better than she would have thought and she chewed it happily.

The need to find more sparked and caused her to search around. She found a bag of Doritos and there were a few left inside, she ate them. A bag on the floor had a pair of gummy worms, which went into her mouth. Scrounging through the carpet turned up some fallen raisins. Without even wiping off the lint, the ate them all. She did not know why... she just did. Unfortunately, she was still hungry.

A cramp in her arms joined the one in her legs. Muscles seemed to be bulging and shifting in odd patterns. It was like her body after a very hard workout when the muscle began to spasm as they grew back stronger. This seemed to be happening more quickly, though. It was like having an achy flu the day after a track meet.

Suddenly the garage door opened and the storm poured in. Christy dropped low in the van and flinched when the dome light turned on. The vehicle rocked as someone sat in the front seat and he was laughing about something. He closed the door and the light shut off. He smelled wonderful. She wondered if he had any food.