When
another large group of rats break off from the main pack he follows
them. Scurrying through a myriad of twists and turns, tunnels and
runways, he sticks with them, until the pack emerges into the night.
A quick glance at the stars tells him they're on the other side of
the town. The rats move as one, nearing a single hut at the edge of
the dwellings. Like a liquid, the rats flow to surround the building
in a great circle, a moat of rodents. Once they're all in place the
circle begins to contract, as the creatures approach and enter the
house from every direction. They crawl under the doors, find holes
in the walls, climb the outsides to amass on the window ledges and
thatch, gnawing and scratching to make their way in.
He
hears shouts and screams coming from within, cries of “Get back,”
and “Away dirty beasts,” mixed with the sounds of crockery
breaking and before long, fire spreading.
