And there was the sound again.
Pitter
patter, pitter patter.
It paused for a
moment, and then it began again.
Pitter
patter, pitter patter.
Sidney lay in the dark trying to
discern what could be making that sound.
Pitter
patter, pitter patter.
Maybe it was a mouse. Sydney thought for a moment and decided it
was in fact a mouse.
Pitter
patter, pitter patter.
He contemplated whether he should be
afraid of the mouse. His mother had been
afraid of mice, but he had always viewed them as rather harmless.
Pitter
patter, pitter patter.
Sydney decided he was not afraid of
mice. He was more afraid of the
screaming people that were afraid of mice.
He then noticed that
the sound had seemed to stop. An
unexplained sadness entered him. Was he
longing so much for some sort of companionship that the absence of a simple mouse could bring
such a gloom upon him? He turned onto
his side and pulled his thin blanket up to his chin. He half opened his eyes for a moment to squint into the darkness.
“AHHHHHH!!!” he yelled leaping from his straw cot.
A naked light bulb blinked on above him and two men with
machine guns rushed to either side of him.
“What is it, Carter?” asked one of them.
Sydney wiped his forehead and smiled sheepishly.
“I’ve decided I am indeed afraid of mice,” he said.
The second man moaned and lowered his gun. The man that had spoken roughly shoved Sydney
onto his bed.
“Try and get some sleep, will ya,” he said. “Or at least keep it down so we can get
some.”
“Yeah,” agreed the other man.
“Sleep is scarce enough as it is without you trying to bring the entire
enemy army down upon us.”
A couple of armed men stepped into
the room with guns raised.
“False alarm,” said one of the two
men who was already in the room.
“Carter found a mouse.”
The two newer men grumbled to
themselves and exited the room.
“That Carter is more of a hindrance
than a help,” Sydney heard one of them say.
“If we run out of food and have to
eat someone, he’ll be the first to go,” joked the other one.
His friend laughed as they entered
their own room.
“Sorry,” mumbled Sydney as he
slipped back under his blanket.
to be continued...
