King of Rats

Children of the Earth

"I see that I do have something you want. Say the word, Giles, and she's yours. Live among us in peace and plenty, and share the protection and bounty of Jimmy, King of all Rats! Or you could refuse, and we'd have to fight. I wouldn't kill you, though. Not until you watched me kill your mate and kittens. I can't have some punk coming after me to avenge his father in six months, can I?"

Giles laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me. You want to be King? Be my guest. I'll take the mouse, but you can kill Alice and the brats, anyway. Seriously. You'll thank me later."

At Jimmy's nod, one of the other red-eyed vampire-rats poofed into a cloud of swirling shadows and mist, and re-poofed beside Alice. "Should I start with the screamer, or the squealers?" he asked Jimmy.

Those were his last words. With all of the attention on Giles and Jimmy, no one noticed the King Cobra with a cat's fang earring creeping into the rat's lair. The snake struck from behind, sinking its fangs into the rat, and lifting him high into the air. Everyone screamed and scattered, but Giles went right for the mouse.

In the next instant, white rats spewed up from the open walls below, swarming over the lair. Jimmy stood before the cobra, staring into its eyes, and amazingly, it slowly lowered its head and spat out the mangled rat.

Terry leapt up behind the snake and pulled the cat fang from its head, but it still lay docilely at Jimmy's feet. Giles vanished down one of the walls with his mouse as the white rats, following Terry's lead, swarmed over the vampire rats.

#

The vampire rats, though massively outnumbered, fought with fury and utter disregard for their personal safety. Blood-lust made fearful enemies of them.

Brown and white rats crashed over them like a cave-in. They bit, clawed and tore the demonic rodents to bits, paying a terrible price in lives for each foe they destroyed.

Terry was already badly wounded when he and Jimmy met in battle. They attacked with such ferocity that the rats from both sides gave them a wide berth. Terry took Jimmy's blows and slashes, and dodged his bites, waiting for the chance to make his attack count. Slowed by his injured leg, the cat fang and Jimmy's fear of it were his only edge, and he used to good advantage.

Jimmy knew it, too. He focused every attack on disarming Terry until a lucky blow knocked the cat fang from Terry's hands. He seized the moment to bowl Terry over and pin him to the ground. Jimmy spared a couple of seconds to gloat over his triumph, before leaning in to bite Terry's throat out.

Terry saw a dark blur move behind Jimmy, and Alice stepped into view with the bloody fang in her hands.

"Terry," she cried. "Catch!"

Both rats watched the weapon soar toward them, and both dove for it. Terry had little hope of reaching it first with Jimmy sitting on top him. Jimmy had position and speed on his side, but Terry was a more experienced brawler. He pushed up as Jimmy reached to catch the fang and bit deep into his shoulder. Jimmy dropped his wounded arm and fumbled the fang with one hand, unintentionally dropping it into Terry's grasping claws.

It was in the perfect position for the attack. Terry plunged it straight down through Jimmy's neck, stabbing it into his withered, black heart. Instead of blood, shadows and dark hued ribbons of light sprayed from the wound, making him appear to glow and sparkle with scintillating colors. Jimmy smiled with a hopeful expression at its mesmerizing beauty, just before he disintegrated into a pile of greasy, grey ash.

The remaining vampire rats reverted to normal animals upon their creator's demise, and were promptly shredded by their attackers. The lair fell silent as Terry stood and brushed himself off. All of the rats, white and brown, watched to see what their savior would do.

The Cobra bowed its head to Terry, showing him the wound the cat fang left in its head. Terry couldn't be sure, but he thought it was thanking him for removing the painful cat tooth from its head, and probably for freeing it from the humiliating domination of the rat that had enslaved its mind. With that, the battle was over.

Cheers erupted for Terry, the Rat King, but Terry stopped them.

"Giles! Where's King Giles?" Terry asked. "Where's my brother?"

He was nowhere to be seen.

"Giles renounced his title to Jimmy," Alice said, "You killed Jimmy. That makes you the King. Terry! King of Rats!"

"King of Rats!" the rest shouted.

Terry looked around at his subjects and at the giant snake towering over them with a hungry, if controlled gleam in its eye.