Hack's long tongue flopped out of his mouth as he ran, trailing saliva. He loped like a gorilla down the corridor on his knuckles, galloping at a pace far faster than I thought goblins could manage. That was enough to lend speed to my steps.
I picked up the pace. I could hear the heavy footsteps of Hack gaining on us.
"We must split up," thought Switch, now running beside me.
"But he'll catch one of us!"
"Find Heave," said Switch.
He slowed to a stop at a four-way intersection. Hack started panting and giggling as he saw easy prey.
I hesitated. I couldn't just leave Switch at the mercy of that awful thing. "He'll eat you!"
Switch nodded. "I had no purpose." He hesitated. If I did nothing else, I seemed to have burdened Switch with a guilty conscience. "You do. Find Heave. Beat the Maze."
He slapped at me with his tail. I reflexively jumped backwards, out of Hack's line of sight.
Switch turned to face Hack. Then he ran off in the opposite direction, away from me.
The goblin didn't hesitate. He skidded around the corner, bouncing off the wall, and continued his pursuit.
I was sure I would never see Switch again.
* * *
Keeping track of Heave was harder than sniffing out Hack. Hack ran a lot, he sang to himself, and he made no effort to conceal his presence until he was at the end of his hunt.
Heave, on the other hand, didn't sweat nearly as much, probably because he only moved whenever he had to. Which wasn't very often. But I knew where Heave's lair was, so that was where I would start looking for him.
Sure, enough, Heave was in his corner of the Maze, snoring and drooling.
It took all my willpower not to pursue the delicious scent of cheese that reappeared somewhere in the maze. But I knew Heave was going to leave when the food arrived. It was the only time I could sneak into his lair.
Eventually, the rumbling goblin roused himself and, with a mutter of "CHEEEESSSEEE" he left.
I immediately ducked inside. It was much the same as before.
There was only one place to hide. And it was the absolutely most awful place to hide in.
Taking a deep breath, I burrowed my way into the pile of rat skulls. My pelt crawled at the reality of what I was doing. I tried to block it out.
If I was lucky, my scent would mingle with all the other dead rats. If I was lucky.
I dug a little tunnel through the skulls so that I could see out between them. My peephole faced the area where I guessed Heave sat when he slept, judging by the goblin-sized indentation in the pile of rat skulls there. Then I waited.
Despite my fear, enough time passed that I fell asleep. I awoke to the sounds of Heave returning.
He seemed quite satisfied with himself. He moved to rest on one of the piles of skulls.
Then he stopped and one heavy-lidded eye looked in my direction.
Uh oh.
He slowly lumbered towards me, frog-like legs taking shuddering steps. Heave's arms dragged along the floor; they were practically useless except when he was eating. Heave's obesity didn't make him any less dangerous. His paws were still tipped by wicked claws strong enough to separate a rat's head from his body.
Then Heave did something far worse to me. He sat down on my pile of skulls.
I somehow managed not to squeak as the enormous goblin’s weight ground the skulls into my hide. I wiggled a bit to adjust, curling my body so that he wasn't laying directly on me. I could still breathe, just barely. The rat body is marvelously resilient.
Presently, Heave's heavy breathing slowed. He started to snore thunderously. It rattled the bones around him.
I was going to be here for a while.
* * *
I had a lot of time to think, so my mind finally turned to how I had gotten to where I was.
The Modav spell had to be responsible for my newfound self-awareness. I had no recollection of my life before my encounter with the guivre in my cage. I wasn't, and then suddenly I WAS, and that was that.
One day I must have been a normal rat, doing normal rat things. The next day a giant snake was trying to eat me and I’d defended myself. But, as I’d learned from the wizards, even as a regular rat I was different. The other rats that were exposed to the Modav spell had perished. I alone survived it. But why?
There was also the fact that I could mindspeak with other living beings. This skill transcended species—I could talk to rats, dogs, and people.
The only animal I hadn’t communicated with was Big Bertha. I got the distinct impression that serpents didn't have much going on in their noggins, and if they did, I didn't want to hear it. I hadn't tried with the goblins. I was afraid to.
What else could I transmit? The thoughts were only what I actively sent out as if it were speech. Switch's voice was high-pitched and soft-spoken in my mind. Jacko's was gravelly and gruff. Was that the true sound of their thoughts, or was I just hearing them as I wanted to hear them?
I couldn't talk to beings I couldn't see. So I could address the crowd in the basement when I was looking at them, but I couldn't actually shout at them.
It was all very odd. But I knew it was a talent I could use to my advantage.
Every once in awhile, one of Heave's ears would twitch. Like a cat, he was listening for sounds in the maze, despite the appearance of deep sleep. Heave's talent for finding food was certainly tied to his keen sense of hearing.
I had other senses I was only beginning to learn how to use. In addition to my sense of smell, there was sight, sound, and even touch. Compared to a human's, my vision wasn't great—I couldn't see any red colors at all—but my other senses compensated to give a fuller picture of my surroundings.
With my whiskers, I could fill in the blanks. When I touched anything with them, I received all kinds of sensory information through the surface's texture. This was why Switch kept running closely along the walls. He kept his whiskers in constant contact with the nearest wall.
It was a good thing too, because the Maze was lit in a sort of twilight. Splashes of light occasionally illuminated the place, presumably from Black's lantern.
I listened. Sure enough, I heard a man's heavy footsteps. They reverberated throughout the mesh over the Maze, amplifying it even more. There was the distant sound of metal on metal, like a door or gate being opened. Some shuffling. Then more footsteps.
Heave heard it too. With a snort, he struggled to his feet and began plodding forward.
My plan was finally working.
Once Heave had lumbered out of the room, I wriggled out from under the pile of skulls and gave pursuit, staying a safe distance behind.
* * *
Heave never hesitated. He never looked in any direction except straight ahead. He always plodded along with absolute precision towards his goal. Left, right, right, left, left, right, left, forward a ways, and then right.
He came to one of those square rooms. The cheese key was there. Switch wasn't there. Nor was Hack.
Heave took hold of the cheese key, scooping it out of its container. He slurped it down in one gulp. Then he kept moving.
The twists and turns continued, and soon we were at Cheese Key Number Two. The same scene repeated.
A few more twists and turns later and I followed Heave to Cheese Key Number Three.
But at the fourth room, he slowed down, panting from his exertion.
I was beginning to distinguish a pattern amongst Heave's movements. It seemed like the insertion points were in the shape of a square or a diamond. My suspicion was that the Maze had been built to only accommodate certain insertion points. It was a simple matter of pattern recognition. Which was a lot easier to distinguish from a top-down view rather than from inside the maze.
My stomach was really rumbling. But I had to be patient.
I watched Heave's back from the corridor. He thumped over to the cheese key. Then he just sat there.
I watched in disbelief. The fat slob was just going t
o sit there? That was it?
He closed his eyes. It looked like he had fallen asleep. But his ears were always twitching, swiveling this way and that.
It was starting to make sense. Heave was an ambush predator. He waited for rats to come to him. When they began starving, they started taking risks. Seeing a sleeping Heave, they inevitably darted for the cheese.
Well, I wasn't that dumb. This was one rat that wasn't going to fall for the lure.
No sir, I wasn't that stupid. But I knew someone who was.
Switch sniffed his way into the room.
I was about to say something to Switch, but I wasn't sure if I anyone else could eavesdrop on my mindspeech. I hadn't had enough time to experiment with more than one being in the room. With Heave in such close proximity, I feared alerting him.
Switch sniffed the air. He was in bad shape. His fur was matted on one side, undoubtedly from a mauling by Hack. And yet Switch survived it, as he always did.
Heave didn't move.
Switch started forward, step by hesitant step. That delicious cheese was there, calling to him.
Heave seemed like an inert statue, a part of the maze, just dungeon dressing. He couldn't be a threat, so lazy and fat and slow. Right?
Switch made it as far as the cheese, and then he was out of sight behind Heave's bulk. I could see the back muscles of the goblin tense.
"Look out!" I mentally shouted at Switch. Except I couldn't see Switch, so my thought hit the only living being I could see.
Which was Heave.
Heave whirled on me, eyes wide and alert, claws spread outward and blocking all hope of escape, maw gaping wide. "CHEEEESSSSEEE!"
I stumbled backwards in terror. As I struggled to regain my footing, Heave slammed one claw down on my tail. I twisted, but he had a vice-like grip.
Heave started to pull.
I scrabbled to get a grip on the stone floor, but my rat strength was no match for a goblin's, especially one the size of Heave. He dragged me closer. I could smell his horrible breath.
Heave's eyes went wide and he grunted, turning to claw at his back. Switch had bit him!
The goblin's grip loosened.
Heave turned around, swiping a claw that sent the other rat flying. Switch hit the wall and fell to the ground, unconscious.
With a low grunt, Heave started towards me, drooling as he went.
I had to do something. I wasn't a match for a goblin! Think, think...
That's it! I wasn't a PHYSICAL match for a goblin. But I could outthink one!
I concentrated.
There were a few pieces of cheese key left; Switch had gotten to it before Heave attacked. And why shouldn't Heave take his time? By eating the rat after it ate the cheese, Heave got the benefits of both. He could afford to wait.
What was that sound I heard when cheese was inserted into the maze? It was the sound of metal on metal, like a door opening. Heave knew it well.
I had one chance, and I didn’t even know if my idea would work. I focused and mimicked the opening door sound in my mind. I sent it towards the back of Heave's head. Then I darted forward and bit him as hard as I could.
Heave took a half-hearted swipe at me. Rats that were willing to put up a fight were too much trouble. He grunted, "CHEEEEEEEEESSSEE?" and slowly walked away, looking for the source of the sound.
I scurried over to Switch. He was still alive, but badly hurt.
"Heave runs slow but catches cheese. Hack thinks that's not very nice. Run and pant and run and wheeze. Hack runs faster to eat mice!"
Hack was late as usual. Switch was dead meat unless I could think of something.
An icy determination overcame me. It was time to even the score.
* * *
I spun to face the opening as Hack's shadowed loomed ahead of him and into my view.
The starving Hack rounded the corner. He looked as awful as ever, all bones, bulging eyes, and teeth.
"Rat sits still and waits to die. Hack laughs as he eats the rat. Heave works hard but lets them lie. So now Hack gets also fat!"
I focused to gather my mental strength. Then, as Hack took another step towards Switch's unconscious body, I mentally blasted: "STOP!"
Hack jerked backwards as if he'd been slapped. He started forward again.
"I SAID STOP!"
Hack's great big bug eyes flipped open and closed in confusion.
"Rat makes noise? Rat makes sound? Which rat speaking on the ground?"
"I'm speaking," I said with as much confidence as I could muster. I rose up on my hind legs.
"I am Scrap. And I work for Heave now. That is why we were not eaten."
Hack's perpetual grin turned into a frown.
"Why Hack believe you when he can just eat you?"
"Because we are well-fed." I patted my stomach with one paw, even though I was anything but well-fed. Still, compared to Switch and Hack, I was rather chubby. "But Heave stole our food today, so we are willing to work for you instead."
"What means this work for me? Hack speaks to his food for free."
I tried not to think about Hack's statement. "What if I told you I knew where the cheese would show up before it arrived?"
"Scrap knows cheese before it leaves?"
"Yes!" It was a momentous breakthrough.
I couldn't help but notice that Hack never took his eyes off Switch. I had to get Hack out of here.
"There's a pattern to when the cheese appears. If you don't eat us, I will show you how the pattern works." The goblin's huge head swung from me to Switch and back again. "As a show of good faith, you can have the cheese that's left."
I pointed to what little cheese was still left on the little platform.
After a moment, Hack coiled up and sprung.
He leaped over Switch and landed on the platform. He hungrily gobbled down the bits of cheese. It was disturbing to watch this goblin eat.
"So we have a deal?"
The goblin's eyes swung back to me.
"Talking rat is new to Hack. Keep his promise or he'll be back."
"Good," I said with courage I didn't feel. "Meet us in the first room with the cheese. Run as quickly as you can, and I will take you to the next three cheese chambers."
Hack nodded and slowly walked away, eyes glazed from the pleasure of having eaten anything at all. He seemed momentarily satiated.
As the skeletal goblin left, the energy drained out of me. We'd made it; we’d survived another day.
With Heave back in his lair and Hack promising to leave us alone for now, we could finally get some rest. It was all I could offer poor Switch. Hopefully the peace and quiet and the food in his stomach would help him make it through until the next set of cheese arrived.
And hopefully, my theory about the order of the cheese's appearance was correct. Our lives depended on it.
* * *
I awoke to the sound of metal on metal.
Then I smelled delicious, glorious cheese. I hadn't eaten for over a day. My stomach growled and there was a dull pounding in my head.
I nudged Switch. "Switch?"
One of the rat's eyes opened.
He had been breathing deeply all through the "night"—that's how I thought of the intervals between the arrivals of cheese. It was terrible; I was becoming as narrow-minded about cheese as Switch.
"Huh?"
"You're alive!" I patted Switch on his back. "Can you move?"
Switch stretched his limbs, experimenting. "Think so."
"Good. We've got to hurry, the cheese will be here any minute."
"Cheese?" He blinked in disbelief at me. "Here?"
"Well, not here. But I know where it is." I rolled him onto his feet. "Let's go!" And I was off.
"Little rats, what you said: Feeding Hack is not so hard. If you cannot find the cheese Hack will eat YOU instead!"
I couldn't exactly shout back to Hack, so I made a few squeaking noises.
Switch was horrified. "What are you doing? He'll find us!"
"I made a deal. It's too much to explain right now, you'll have to just trust me."
Surprisingly, Switch nodded.
Hack came around the corner.
"Come on Hack, we've got to move before Heave gets there!"
I ran, and to my relief, Hack didn't make a grab for me.
Switch was moving slower—he ducked down one corridor to let Hack pass, and then trotted warily behind. It was just as well. If Hack got hungry or changed his mind...I had made the deal, so I was the one who deserved to be eaten.
Left, right, right, left, right...I tried to keep a mental image of where the cheese was supposed to be. I could smell it, so it was simply a matter of tracking the path through the maze.
I looked over my shoulder. Switch had stopped. "This way is faster!"
I turned to retrace my steps. Hack, so excited at the prospect of eating cheese, practically slammed into me as he spun around.
"Food so good!" he said with uncharacteristic abruptness.
When we entered into the glorious cheese chamber, I almost cried.
Hack propelled himself through the air and landed on the cheese key, clawing great furrows out of the key indentation in the process. Pieces of cheese fell around him.
I grabbed a piece and gulped it down, then handed another piece to Switch who arrived a few moments later.
"CHEEEEESSSEEE?" came Heave's voice.
Hack froze, cheese crumbs tumbling out of his mouth. His eyes narrowed to slits. It was clear that Hack feared Heave. But I detected a hint of anger in him too.
"Next?" he whispered, slinking like a cat away from the direction Heave’s voice came from.
A bizarre transformation had come over Hack. He wasn't rhyming and babbling nonsense anymore.
"Follow me!" I ran off, with Switch running at my side. He was almost keeping pace.
There was a roar of frustration behind us. Heave had just discovered his beloved cheese was missing. And he knew why.
I could feel the ground rumbling. It was Heave, speeding up his pace. The fat goblin was on to us.
Left, right, right, forward, left, left, right, forward, left, right. There!
This time I got there before Hack but I didn't have a chance to eat the cheese before the goblin tore into it.
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