Crisis in Crittertown (3 page)

I briefly hoped my parents would object to our mission. But that wasn't likely. Dad thought it was high time I struck out on my own. And Mom was busy raising their latest litter.

Then Grayson squashed even that feeble hope. He whispered intently to Nilla and me, “Let's not say anything to anyone. No sad good-byes. No boring advice. Let's just be on our way.”

The rest of the colony was still discussing the post office closing. To my dismay, we easily reached the exit without anyone stopping us.

Grayson disappeared through the hole. Nilla followed eagerly. I took a final look around the basement, hoping somehow someone would delay our doom.

I saw Twitchy at the center of a circle of females, fanning his face and patting his paws. For one crazy moment I thought about faking a faint.

Then Grayson called, “Come on, Cheddar! I bet the store is full of cheese.”

Of course it would be! Mike bought his pizza there. Oh, the heavenly smell of melted cheese fused to the crusts Mike tossed in the trash can!

I scrambled through the hole and out into the cloudy morning. The fresh breeze tickled my nose, and my chest swelled with hope.

Maybe the store
would
make a great home. Maybe the colony living there would welcome new members. And maybe I would taste wonders even more delicious than leftover pizza!

Grayson pointed toward the market. “See the hole?”

I looked past Nilla's pale fur to a small opening in one of the boards. The store wasn't as old as the post office. But it was old enough to have its share of mouse doors. Whatever people build, we can enter.

As soon as we crawled inside, the smell of the store colony became quite strong. I grabbed the tip of Grayson's tail and whispered, “Don't rush into danger!”

Grayson pulled free and declared much too loudly, “I'm not afraid!”

I hissed, “You should be!”

Nilla surveyed shelves stacked with boxes, bags, and cans of food. “Our colony could live off this room for years!”

My nose twitched at a wonderful aroma: bread, cheese, spices. I'd never smelled pizza baking before. The smell was so densely delicious that I could almost swallow it! I was halfway across the basement before I realized I'd run at all.

Grayson chuckled. “I thought you were afraid.”

I blinked and looked around, confused.

Nilla laughed, too. “Maybe Cheddar's nose is right. Let's explore upstairs.” She sniffed the delicious air. “I don't smell cat, do you?”

Grayson scurried past me up the stairs. As we climbed, the smell grew even stronger. A bell rang, and a woman's voice said, “Your pizza is ready.”

We arrived just as the lid closed on the box. Beyond it, I saw shelves filled with cheese: sharp cheese, mild cheese, soft cheese, grated cheese, cream cheese, cheese-flavored chips and dips, and boxes of macaroni and cheese. It was a cheese lover's paradise!

Except that there were people everywhere. Huge, heavy feet in work boots, in sneakers, and in fancy pumps clumped, shuffled, and click-clacked across the floor. Everywhere I looked human feet, hands, and eyes threatened to crush, catch, or spot us. We scurried under a shelf.

Even Grayson found the nearness of so many humans unnerving. “It's too crowded up here,” he whispered. Grayson watched the movements of the clerk and customers. “After that man leaves, let's run for it!”

My paws froze. What if the clerk saw us? What if… Twitchy's voice echoed in my mind,
We're DOOMED!

“Thank you! Have a nice day!” the clerk said. The doorbell jingled as the customer walked out.

Grayson and Nilla bolted toward the basement. They looked back at me. Grayson squeaked, “Now!”

I wanted to run, but I felt too afraid! I'd have to move sooner or later. And if it were much later, the whole colony would find out Nilla is braver than I am. Okay, I admit she is braver. But I didn't want everyone knowing that!

So I took a deep breath and ran before I could think of all the reasons not to. I ran so fast that I bumped into Grayson. He chuckled. “You sure can move when you want to!”

Nilla patted my shoulder. “Good going!” Then she whispered. “It's okay. Everyone gets scared sometimes.”

I thought she'd despise me for being a coward. Instead, she understood! I'd always liked Nilla, but never more than at that moment.

In the basement we sighed with relief. We were used to basements. And this one was crammed with food!

Grayson grinned. “This is more like it. Too crowded upstairs, but down here…” He sniffed thoughtfully.

Nilla read his mind. “No cat or dog. Still…”

At the edge of the circle of light, many pairs of eyes glinted. Was it nine pairs, ten, or “only” seven? As if seven tormentors wasn't bad enough! I couldn't be sure, because the menacing eyes moved as the store mice dipped in and out of the light. I glimpsed scarred faces, a half tail, a stump tail! These mice led hard lives!

A mouse around our age stepped boldly into the light. He sneered and then spat on the ground. “I'm Sneaker. You don't belong on my turf!”

Grayson declared, “We didn't mean to intrude. Just doing a little exploring.”

Sneaker's sneering upper lip revealed sharp, yellow teeth. “Don't you want a souvenir of your visit?”

The other store mice stepped into the light. One tapped the metal bar from a trap on the floor. CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

I looked toward the hole with desperate longing. Beyond it was the parking lot and the dear old post office. But to reach it, we'd have to get past the meanest mice I'd ever seen.

“You've made your point,” Grayson squeaked. “We won't intrude on your turf again.”

Sneaker laughed cruelly. “You've got that right!”

The metal bar CLANKED, and its owner squeaked, “Dead mice never ‘intrude.' They just rot.”

Would we die here? Would our colony ever know what happened? Grayson and Nilla stepped closer until our backs pressed against each other's. I felt the warmth rising off their fur.

Sneaker nodded, and the store mice stepped closer.

Grayson whispered, “I'll take Sneaker.”

Nilla hissed, “Metal bar's mine!”

I decided to help Nilla and Grayson with their chosen opponents. If we defeated the leaders, we might escape!

The store mice inched nearer. Questions crowded my terrified mind. Could they be as tough as they looked? Should we strike first, or suffer this agony of waiting? My paws flexed, then…

Footsteps thumped down the stairs! The store mice scurried out of the light. They scattered so fast that when the clerk reached the bottom step, Grayson, Nilla, and I were the only mice visible.

The clerk raised a broom over her head. Her face flushed with rage as she shrieked, “Why you dirty, little…”

Grayson squeaked. “Run!”

Nilla and I were already halfway to the hole. We scrambled through as the broom hit the floor.

Out in the open, we panted, breathless and terrified. Had Grayson been squashed? We peeked inside the hole, just as Grayson ran out. All three of us tumbled together on the scraggly grass.

Grayson laughed. I laughed, too, though I wasn't sure why.

“Because…we're…still alive,” Grayson explained between hysterical bursts.

Nilla recovered first. “We're alive,” she squeaked. “But where will we go now?”

Chapter 4  
Checking Out the Library

“We could go home,” I suggested.

Grayson shook his head. “And tell them what?”

Nilla agreed.

Even
I
didn't want to tell the colony about being surrounded by bullies and being chased by a broom. So I said, “Let's look around first.”

Grayson started pacing like his grandfather. “What do we know about this town? What other places could support a colony?”

Nilla fell into step beside him. “The bakery smells delicious, but we know it's full of traps.”

I caught up with them as Grayson turned. We nearly tripped over each other. Grayson sighed. “What is it, Cheddar?”

I squeaked, “What about the library?”

Nilla asked, “What's the library?”

I gushed, “It's a building full of books. There's a nice lady who mails books from the Crittertown Library to other libraries and vice versa. She walks, so it can't be far.”

“People have very long legs,” Grayson said. Then he smiled. “I can't picture the librarian swinging a broom at us.”

Neither could I. But that didn't mean she wouldn't. “The store clerk seemed nice, until she got angry.” I'd been puzzling over why people hated mice. Did they all hate us, like all mice fearing cats? Would the librarian be any different?

I suddenly felt weary and hungry. I muttered, “If there's a food source and living space, the library probably already has a colony.”

Nilla suggested, “We could find that out
before
we go inside.”

Grayson nodded. “That sounds like what Pops would do.”

When he saw my surprise, Grayson winked. “I'm not turning into Pops, just trying to keep us alive long enough to become heroes.”

Nilla asked, “Where is the library?”

Grayson said, “I have no idea!”

“Yes, you do,” I squeaked. “It's at 1147 Main Street. The address is on the packages.”

Nilla said, “Okay, where's that?”

“The post office is 1138,” I began. “The bakery is 1136. So the library must be on the other side of the street, in the opposite direction from the bakery.”

Nilla scratched her head. “How'd you know all that?”

Grayson said, “The bakery has a lower number than the post office. The library's higher. So we'll need to walk away from the bakery.” Then he frowned. “What makes you say it's on the other side of Main?”

“Odd and even numbers,” I explained. “The post office, bakery, and market have even numbers. The library's odd.”

Nilla scoffed. “Now you're just making things up! If you ask me, all numbers are odd.”

I could've spent the morning teaching Nilla about odd and even numbers. Instead, Grayson squeaked, “Cheddar's right. It's a postal thing. So we'll cross the street and walk that way.”

Nilla asked, “What're we waiting for?”

I wanted to say, “For a plan that won't involve getting crushed by tons of speeding metal.” But I didn't want to reveal myself as a coward again so soon. Besides, the library had been my idea.

Luckily, the busiest part of the morning had passed. There wouldn't be much traffic until after school.

Grayson squeaked, “When I say ‘run,' RUN!”

Nilla looked scared. “The street's so wide!”

Just then, an awful RUMBLE filled our ears. The ground shook as a truck sped toward us and then WHOOSHED past.

“Don't think about it,” Grayson squeaked. He looked both ways and added, “Just…RUN!”

I ran as fast as I could. I saw nothing but blurring pavement. Grayson squeaked, “Hooray!” I looked up just before I would've slammed into the curb!

We followed the numbers up Main Street until we reached the corner. “We'll have to cross again,” Grayson said. “Ready…set…RUN!”

At the far curb, I thought, “That wasn't so bad.” Then a car ROARED and RUMBLED by. The wind from its wheels almost pulled us off the sidewalk! I flung myself down and dug my claws into the concrete.

Nilla panted. “That…was…too close!”