Finding a quiet corner
at the end of a dark alley he quickly disrobes, abandoning his
bi-pedal form for a more natural state with four short legs and a
hairless tail. He returns to the throng, listening closely to their
squeaky chatter, blending in with a large group as they dart into the
hole. Once into the tunnel, the group moves with purpose, all headed
in one particular direction. Left here, right there, straight on
past other openings, then left, straight on, right. The group moves
as one, and he moves with it, following wherever they lead, trusting
he'll find answers wherever it is they're going.
Where they're going
turns out to be a large, underground cavern, centred around what
appears to be a natural spring. Here, there are rats everywhere:
hundreds certainly, thousands possibly. Rats of every size and
shape, young and old, bucks, roes, dams and pups, for as far as his
eyes can see in the dark.
And every single one of
them appears to be facing the same direction.
