Tunnel Rat - Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Someone is Sad

Buttercup was sad, and she wanted to play a game. She and Rosie had been in their carts for days and days and days. They had only had fun the time the big rock thing had come to play, and they were told to kill it. And that other time when lots and lots of humans came to play. That should have been a longer playtime. They weren’t nearly done, and the humans were still standing with all their parts. But the big, loud, bangiteybangbangboom noises started. She and Rosie ran back, hid in their carts, and didn’t come out until Grackle offered them food and hit them with the prod. It was a long time since the humans, and she was very itchy. Playing with Rosie and her doll would make her not-itchy. Or some cheese for dinner. Or killing something and listening while it made funny noises. She clawed at her cage until Grackle yelled at her to stop.

Rosie was sad and wanted her doll. Mama had given the doll to her, and she missed mama. Mama went away a long time ago, and she only remembered mama because of her doll. Grackle was upset that she tried to get out of her cage to play with Rosie and punished her by taking it away this morning. She’d been quiet since then, laying still like she was ambushing prey. But he hadn’t given her doll back! And she was hungry for cheese. She could smell lots of cheese; it was all around, but none for her. She only got cheese when Grackle gave it to her. Asking for more would get blows from the prod. She didn’t like the prod.

Larry sniffed the air, trying to find the sad person, but it didn’t help. Many people were sad in the Hollow, making it hard to sniff for them. But he could find sad people other ways now; he just had to think hard. That was easier. More INT was better. Tallsqueak had been right! Tallsqueak was very smart, and now Larry was smarter. He thought for a moment, and he knew. Two little girls were sad and crying. Larry pointed to the way out of the Hollow. “This way.” His fairy friends followed him out of the Hollow and into the big cave. Old Larry had been told not to leave the Hollow, but that didn’t matter now. New Larry had new rules. Helping sad people was more important than following old rules.

There were people in the cave, just past the entrance. Samuel was there. He was one of the new guards and friends with Justin, which made him Larry’s friend too. “Hi, Samuel. Larry and his friends are doing Hero stuff.” Samuel nodded. He was a good guard, staring straight ahead and keeping watch. Tallsqueaks friends were here too. They were having fun drinking beer and laughing. Larry waved to them, and they all waved back. Except for the friend on the spider. She wasn’t moving anymore, and the funny spider was making sleepy noises too. Tallsqueak had told him about the funny spider and made him promise not to squoosh her or tear off her legs.

Across the cavern was the caravan full of badsneakyguys. Rifkin had brought them. Larry didn’t like them or their spider cheese. Since they were bad guys, Larry would use Stealth. Stealth was a Hero skill that let him sneak up on badguys or sneakybadguys.

Larry looked at the tinkly-twinkly fairies making noise with their wings and little lights. “Larry will use Stealth to get close to sad little girls. Can fairy friends be quieter?”

Redfawn giggled. “Fairies don’t get seen if they don’t want to be seen, Larry. Watch.” All of the fairies disappeared as shadows and colors swirled around them. Larry’s green eye still saw them, but just barely. His blue eye didn’t see them.

Hidden things are special things. Thoughts that take wing and change into new life Shadows slink around the edge of our imagination, gone missing from their owners. Magic that rides the winds of the mortal lands. Magical eyes can see these things. Would Larry like to have Magic Eyes?

“Yes, Larry wants Magic Eyes.”

Stealth is a good thing. But there are other ways to avoid being found by enemies. Even the bravest hero or Villian can walk small and quiet, pretending to be something else and pretending to be someone that should be there. People expect to see things, be what they expect, and be Unnoticed.

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Would Larry like to be unnoticed?

“Larry thinks being unnoticed will be fun. Everyone notices Larry now.”

Larry has learned the Fae Magic Skills of Unnoticed and Magical Eyes.

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The fairies were delighted to show Larry how to use his new skills.

Rosie heard a sound. It was her cage opening! Was it time to play? A face appeared. It was a funny big face with different colored eyes and a big ribbon dangling down from a bow on its head. She laughed at the funny face.

“Shhhh! We have to be quiet, or sneakybadguys will be here. Larry is here to make you not sad. Larry would be sad to be in a cage. Let’s go play somewhere else.” Rosie was shy at first and didn’t know what to do. Only Grackle ever talked to them. But the new face had a ribbon. Buttercup liked ribbons, and so did her doll. Rosie climbed out of her cage and stood next to the new face. He was like her. He was big and had big teeth. Nice teeth. And he had her doll! “I found her. She was looking for you.” He took her hand, and they went to get Buttercup.

Buttercup was shyer than Rosie and scared. But the new face took a ribbon that was tied to his arm. She pointed at it, and he took it off and put it on her. She loved her new ribbon. Rosie held up her doll, and the new face put a little ribbon on her doll. Buttercup saw Larry’s feet. The weasel slippers blinked their eyes and wiggled their whiskers, making her laugh. Someone noticed.

Grackle heard a sound. One of his girls was laughing. One thing his father always told him was, “Don’t let the fiends get any personality. They should fear and obey and nothing else.” It had been easy to make the girls fear him. A few beatings before he gave them the special cheese and more later had made them incapable of striking back. He’d only had to use the fiend prod three times. But tonight would be the fourth. They had no reason to be laughing. He didn’t want happy little fiends; he wanted fiends that obeyed his orders.

As Grackle came around the end of the wagon, he saw that Rosie and Buttercup were out of their cages. This wasn’t good. Very bad! Gangrene would skin him and have his hide stretched on a wagon if he found out. He hissed at them softly. “Back into your cages, or you’ll get no cheese for a week.” He brandished the prod at Rosie, but a giant hand grabbed it and stepped from the shadows.

Grackle’s face paled, and his eyes went wide. Fear and envy fought inside of him. It was a fiend! And such a fiend! Is this what they bred in Limburger Hollow?! He must talk with their fiend master. He needed their secrets! He was perfect, with well-defined muscles and sharp claws.

“Larry doesn’t think you should hit Larry’s new friends with this. Not hit them ever.”

And he talked! That was a bad sign. Did they let him keep his personality? “Unhand my prod, or I’ll sting you. You know what a prod is! The prod will hurt you. Back to your cage! Who let you out?!” The hand didn’t let go, and he was forced to use the storm magic spell stored in the prod. He needed this fiend to back off and recognize his dominance. Buttercup was laughing and whispered something to Rosie. Rosie laughed and whispered the secret to her doll. Part of Grackle’s mind focused on the doll. How had she got it back? Where did Buttercup get the new bow on her head?

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Larry’s fur stood on end as the storm magic jolted his arm. He didn’t let go. Instead, he pulled it away from Grackle and grabbed the fiend master by the arm. He poked Grackle with the prod, breaking a rib and shocking him with the prod. Rosie and Buttercup laughed as Grackle glowed and his eyes rolled up into his head.

Larry turned to look at Rosie and Buttercup, and something inside him was very sad. “Who gave you the cheese?” They pointed to Grackle. Larry glared at him. “Larry says you are a SneakyBadGuy. You make people sad.” Grackle glowed twice more until the fiend prod ran out of charges. Larry stuffed what was left of Grackle into a cage and shut it.

“New friends need to go with Larry before more people come. Watch where Larry puts his feet.” He took each girl by the hand. “It’s just a jump to the left. And then a step to the right. Then three hops forward.”

Surrounded by the fairies of Flowertown and unnoticed by anyone, Rosie and Buttercup left the caravan. Buttercup waved at Grackle. Rosie giggled and showed her doll how to hop. Nearby, in the shadows at the side of the cavern, Brinka was making a Larry-sized door.

Bernie Badger was putting on a fresh pot of tea when he heard a knock at his door. He smiled. Unexpected guests were the best guests. He got an extra box of cookies from the pantry and welcomed his new friends into his house, thankful that he had made an extra-large door to his burrow after the first time he met Larry. Redfawn brought large tea cups to the party that the new friends could hold easily in their large hands. They were shy at first, but Bernie told them jokes, and the fairies painted their claws bright pink and tied many ribbons in their hair. Soon they relaxed and ate their cookies and weren’t sad any longer.