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1; Pandora’s Box

RAT

It was raining.

The plumes of grey dominated the sky like shadowy vultures, and the distant horizon was shrouded with fog. The heavens cried on my shoulder – as well as my hair, my cloak, my old winter boots and pretty much everything else.

The big city never truly slept. The sky became light or dark, but the city wasn't ruled by the endless white above. It had its own limits, its own ideas about what should happen. It was like a different world, monotonous in the extreme with a hint of quiet alienation.

I looked around. Someone had just cleared their throat.

“My dear, aren't you cold? You must take better care of yourself,” the figure shrouded in shadow told me. He walked forward a little, his face still half-covered by the dismal dark.

“I don’t feel the cold, Mr. Bryres,” I replied through my teeth. I hoped he heard the hint of malice in my voice and backed off. Mr. Bryres was currently too close for my liking.

He was tall and strong, though definitely not handsome. He radiated smugness, broadcasting his pitiful boasts to the world on a daily basis. He knew no-one liked him, and was very proud. I couldn't stand him. Yet he seemed to thoroughly enjoy my company.

Ugh.

“I have been waiting ever so long to meet the charming Rat,” he gushed, sneering a little as he shook my hand. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like how his hand felt – scaly to the touch. And I certainly didn’t like the way he gripped onto me when we should have broke apart. I wrenched my fingers out of his and stepped back, my cloak swishing from side to side in the wind.

“I have to go very soon, Mr. Bryres,” I whispered. “So leave us alone. All of us. We never wanted to get entangled with your affairs. We never harmed anybody. If the police knew that, we’d be allowed out more often. In fact, the police don’t know I’m out right now. And if you tell them,” I continued, my hands inching towards my bag, “you will be very sorry. Remember. They don’t know I’m out. And I want it to stay that way.”

“Well I know you’re here,” laughed Mr. Bryres, “but I don’t know how you managed to get out, Rat, and it must have been quite an amazing feat! Come on, Rat, my darling, it must have been fascinating. You must be dying to tell me.” I heard the double meaning in his words, and stared him out. My hands felt the rough, leathery handle of my bag.

“Please, Mr. Bryres,” I hissed, “Don’t make me use this.”

He froze, his mouth still smiling as his eyes bulged with shock. “You’ve got no intention of using that, have you, Rat?” he joked, though I heard the panic in his voice. He’d understood. He was no longer the dangerous one – I was.

“Go back down to the sewers, then, Rat,” he muttered. “Converse with your filthy little friends. Either way I’ve won. One day the city will finally take action. Trapping you just isn’t enough anymore. You breathe our air. You eat our food. You look up at our sky. You seek your fortune at our expense. And you breed. One day we’ll be overrun with your band of merry freaks.” He spat bitterly at the ground.

I shook my head, filled with disgust and hatred.

“Fine then,” I snapped, “maybe I will go back to the sewers. I have no business here and I don’t wish to be seen with you. Perhaps you should make yourself scarce, as well. Goodbye, Mr. Bryres. You have been warned.”

“Oh, Rat, you do surprise me,” laughed Mr. Bryres. “I thought we were on first name terms! Granted you don’t have a second name, but–” He held out his hand. “Beeech, Beeech Bryres, at your service,” he told me.

“Don’t expect me to shake your hand again,” I snarled. “You won’t ever see me again, I hope.” I turned away from him, my hands clamped firmly around the bag.

“I heard the police are quite evil,” Mr. Bryres said to my retreating back.

“Some people say I’m quite evil,” I spat, not even bothering to turn around so he could see the distaste on my face. There was a hole in the ground by Anglinton Avenue. I could slip through it, and then –

– A sharp pain at the back of my head…

And… silence.