Red Raiders

by KH Gordon

  Chapter Six

  They watched a moment longer, but the Chief and his advisors appeared to have no plan of leaving soon.

  “I think we can leave now,” said Nevi quietly. “Let’s go get Chello and tell him what we heard. We can probably sneak back because everyone will be out foraging now.”

  Torus was suddenly nervous. “I don’t know, my dad might check back at the house first. I better get back quick I think.”

  They climbed back down to the floor of the furnace room and were halfway across when they heard voices coming from behind them as the Chief and his advisors left the meeting place. They sprinted the rest of the way across the room to the door and were surprised to see several small groups of rats gathered in scattered places around the basement standing around murmuring in low voices.

  “What’s going on?” Torus asked Nevi. “What about the forage?”

  “No forage tonight,” said a short, stout rat he didn’t recognize. “Chief gave us a night off, didn’t you hear?”

  Torus was panic-stricken.

  “Oh, no! Nevi, I’ve got to get home. My dad’ll kill me!”

  He turned and sprinted away toward the hole that led to the main tunnel through the walls to his nest. The tunnel was fairly straight, but it still twisted and turned enough to slow him down. Once he missed a turn and had to double back, and in his haste he almost missed the turn again going back the other way. He dodged past a few small groups of rats without stopping, and at one point he ran right under the nose of a Patrol Commander who shouted “Hey, pup! Where are you going?”

  Torus dashed at last into the tunnel that led to his nest. Everything seemed quiet, but he was panting too hard to breathe a sigh of relief. He slowed to a trot and then a walk as he came up to the entrance and was getting ready to go inside when he was nearly knocked over by a rat who came bursting out of the hole in a fury.

  It was his father. He seemed frantically distracted and confused for a moment, but as soon as he recognized Torus in the darkness his anxiety and anger became focused and sharp.

  “Torus!” he said, shaking. “Where were you? Where have you been?”

  “I…I…” Torus stammered. “I…we…went to – ”

  “‘We’ went? Unbelievable! I can’t believe you would leave the little ones sleeping and go off with your mousy friends! Why can’t I trust you to do this?”

  “No, Moki was awake! He said it was okay and he could watch the girls.”

  “Moki is not grown enough to say anything is okay! He’s just a pup! It is not okay for you to just go off and leave when I told you to stay here. When I got here they were all asleep and you’re nowhere around – what am I supposed to think?”

  “I…I’m sorry…Nevi – ”

  “No! No, I don’t want to hear about your friends! They can’t be more important than your brother and sisters. You had a responsibility to them and you let them down! You let me down! You let us all down!”

  “Dad, I’m sorry, I just – ”

  “Stop. Just stop.” His father closed his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t talk about it now. Go back inside and stay there. I’ve got to try to find some food before the night’s over.”

  Then, the sudden noise of a running rat rattled up the tunnel in the dark. They both turned toward the sound and within moments Chello had run into the den, his fur bristling and his eyes snapping.

  He stopped in front of Torus, without acknowledging his father and said, “Why didn’t you come and get me before?”

  “What?” said Torus and his father together.

  Before Chello could respond, Nevi ran up to them as well.

  “Chello, wait,” she said breathlessly. “You don’t understand.”

  “Oh, I understand pretty well,” he said sharply, glancing at her and then back at Torus.

  “What’s going on,” his father asked, irritably. “What have you pups been up to?”

  “Nothing,” said Torus, trying to calm things down.

  “We’re not pups,” said Chello edgily.

  “We were just…hanging out,” said Nevi, and Torus nodded in agreement.

  “Hanging out?” said Chello sharply. “Is that what you call it?”

  “Chello, please!” Nevi pleaded, wringing her paws.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Torus’s father.

  “Chello!” A voice came toward them from the darkness of the tunnel.

  “Oh, cheese,” Chello muttered to himself. “What is it?” he called out irritably.

  Chello’s father came shuffling toward them. He was a little older than Torus’s father. One eye was closed under a ragged scar and one front paw was crippled. It hung curled and limp as he hobbled forward on three feet. He seemed nervous, and he glanced only briefly at Torus’s father before looking away.

  “Hey, Nolki,” he said, awkwardly.

  “Hey, Neighbor,” Torus’s father replied. “Long time.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” said Chello’s father. He turned to Chello. “Come on home, okay son? Don’t make any trouble tonight. Just come on home.”

  “Dad, you know what’s going on, right?” said Chello sharply.

  “What’s going on?” said Torus’ father.

  “Nothing’s going on!” said Torus.

  Chello’s father tried to move away from the group, pulling Chello by the arm.

  “Just leave it alone, son,” he said. “Whatever happens is what happens. Just leave them alone and come on home.”

  Chello shook his arm free and faced his father angrily.

  “So you’re just going to let it happen? Just like that?”

  “What are we talking about?” said Torus’ father again, his voice edged with frustration.

  “Nothing!” said Torus. “We were just – ”

  “I should be getting home, too,” Nevi interrupted. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow?” She put extra emphasis on the word as she turned to leave.

  “Okay, tomorrow,” said Torus.

  Chello was still staring at his father, who held himself tense against his son’s gaze, as if it pained him.

  “I can’t believe you,” said Chello finally. “I thought you would have…”

  Without finishing his thought he turned and rushed away, leaving his father to hobble painfully along behind him, trying to keep up.

  “Dad,” Torus started, but his father waved him to silence.

  “Don’t,” he said firmly. “I don’t know what that was all about, but you’re not going anywhere tomorrow.”

  “What?!” Torus exclaimed. He was about to protest, but his father silenced him with a look.

  “You go inside and stay there,” he said again. “You pay attention to what needs to be done, or you won’t be doing anything at all, ever! Understand?”

  Torus nodded silently and blinked his eyes hard. His father turned and walked a few steps away, then stopped and turned over his shoulder.

  “I’m serious,” he said. “You’ll stay in this hole until I say you can come out. This family needs to stick together, and if you can’t do your part willingly, I swear you will do it under duress.” They stared at each other for a tense moment and then his father turned quickly and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.

  Back inside the nest, Torus paced back and forth furiously, tears of rage and frustration itching at the corners of his eyes. It was so unfair! Why wouldn’t his father listen to him? Why was he expected to just hang around the den with the little pups when everyone else his age was out exploring and training? He picked up a chip of wood and threw it at the wall. It made a dull, unsatisfying sound and fell uselessly to the floor.

  “Torus?” It was Moki, peeking out from the bed with big, bright eyes.

  “Hello,” said Torus sullenly.

  “I heard Dad shouting. I’m sorry I got you in trouble.”

  Torus shook his head.

  �
��No, it wasn’t you, Killer. Just dumb old me again. I can’t get anything right.” With these words, two big tears rolled down his cheeks and he dashed them away with his paws.

  “Did Dad bring any food? I’m hungry.”

  “No, not yet. He’ll bring some later. Go back to sleep now, I want some quiet.”

  “Okay…” said Moki, and he rolled over and was quiet.

  Torus sat in the darkness for what seemed like a long time. He couldn’t explain why he felt so restless all the time. When he was a pup, he was happy to just hang around the den and play. Even when the little ones were really little, he was fine just staying home and playing with them for hours on end. It seemed adventurous then to simply creep up the entrance and peek out into the main tunnel. Then they would squeal with excitement and scamper back down to the safety and comfort of the den. But a couple of moons ago that started to change. He started wandering around the nearby tunnels and exploring his neighborhood in the building.

  He also started going to the Young Gatherings lead by Dinnick where he and the other young rats learned about the adult life of the clan. He met Chello and Nevi there, and some other friends, and started exploring with them and spending less time with his family. He began to feel a little trapped whenever he was in the den for too long. His feet would feel itchy and he would look for any excuse to go out and find something to do, or find one of his friends and just wander around. The idea of being trapped back in the den, even for only a few days, was unbearable.

  Finally, after he didn’t know how long, he stood up and shook off his tension. His fur crackled with electricity as he stretched and yawned. Suddenly, the events of the day all crashed down around him and he felt nothing but a crushing tiredness, tinged with a slight empty feeling in his stomach. If I don’t think about food, he thought, I’ll be asleep before I close my eyes. He climbed up on the bed and nudged Moki gently aside to make room for himself.

  “Is Dad back yet?”

  “Nope. Go to sleep.”

  Moki yawned and Torus joined him.

  There was a pause, and then Moki murmured, “I wouldn’t have gotten caught.”

  In spite of his frustration and his weariness, Torus smiled in the darkness.

  “Yes, you would too get caught,” he said. “Dad catches everything.”

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