Rat (Adult Novel)

By TK Wade

An old, maniacal rat who wants to control others.

A white slave rat who never knew freedom.

A son coming to terms with his father's evil ways.

The lives of rats are cruel and deadly.

Enter into their world and discover the darkness within.

"Rat" by T.K. Wade follows the adventures of an evil rat named Cornelius Wolfington the Fourth. He will stop at nothing to control his destiny even at the expense of those around him.

[Warning: This book is not intended for children!]

• Language: English
• Publisher: TK Wade
• Release date: Aug 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370694662

TK Wade

T.K. Wade is a writer based in coastal North Carolina. His favorite author is L. Frank Baum who has inspired a great deal of his work. Although he specializes in children's literature, he enjoys writing in nearly every genre under the sun. He spends most of his time writing in a room filled with plush animals. Also, you can read his blog at http://tkwadeauthor.blogspot.com/Please enjoy!

Book preview

PART I

TWO COLONIES

~~~~~

Chapter 1

The Alpha

The large dump truck slowly backed its way into the foul smelling place. The driver peered out of the window to make sure he was steering it well enough. The truck stopped, and soon, copious amounts of garbage and old rotted food were pouring onto the ground adding to what was already there. The man nodded his head when the job was done taking the truck out to collect more.

It was not soon after the trash had been dumped that a little head popped out from the midst of the rubbish. It had little round ears and creepy red eyes. Its fur was black and large teeth could be plainly visible as it swiftly looked around. The head suddenly sunk underneath the garbage and slowly began moving around. A lump could be seen swiftly pushing around the trash before the head popped up in a different spot peering about once more.

As soon as the creature was sure that no one was looking, he shouted out at the top of his lungs, Coast is clear! Let’s party!

The mound of trash was suddenly covered in rats who jumped out from various hiding spots throughout the dump. They all began to dance and drink. All of their food supply had already been provided for them by the dump truck. One of the rats ran over to a small radio that was lying against the nearby fencing. He gave it a kick, and it stirred to life playing a rock and roll tune from one of the local FM transmissions.

Not all of them were dancing. There were two rats having sex on a slice of moldy bread. It was attracting some attention from the other rats, and some came over to watch. The annoyed lovers pulled another slice on top of them to conceal their business inside the putrid rat sandwich.

From the far end of the dump came an old and tall gray rat. He slowly proceeded towards the party with a very annoyed presence about him. He walked with a cane in hand–not that he needed it. His neck was draped with a scarf made out of torn clothing. Rats were normally completely naked; he wore it because he had status. This rat was known to all who lived in the dump as Cornelius Wolfington the Fourth.

A white, female rat followed him closely. Her eyes were dark. Her face and body were slightly bruised. She wore a string around her waist with a piece of glass tucked into it. This female walked at the rat’s side as if she belonged to him.

The more aristocratic rat sauntered out into the center and stopped. The party, at this point, was in full swing. He leaned lightly on his cane and looked around with a very unappreciative stare. A hysterically laughing rat that had been drinking quite a lot fell onto his back nearby and slid through the muck towards the old rat’s feet. He hiccupped, looked up at Cornelius, and said in a drunken voice, Oh, how ya doin’ there, Corny? He chuckled goofily.

The drunken rat was met with a hard whap to the face by a cane. The gray rat yelled at him with a very loud yet dignified voice, The name is Cornelius, you brainless miscreant! The bruised rat scurried to his feet and tried to run away only to trip and face plant into some old greasy banana. The music stopped, and everyone just looked at Cornelius as he stood before them.

The gray rat cleared his throat and raised his cane into the air as he began to speak, This party is hereby and forthwith over!

All the rats began to grumble. Cornelius stabbed his stick into the dirt and yelled, Silence! You all brought this on yourselves! No one plans a party without inviting me! You are all terrible, terrible friends, and I would be most happy to take this mound for myself as well as any females present! The crowd seemed pretty annoyed by the orders, but no one contested his command. The males began slowly walking away leaving the women to their fate.

He looked to his left at the white rat and grinned. Sweetlips, you and these other females will pleasure me.

The white rat looked up at Cornelius and replied, Yes, Master.

Cornelius heard some grunting from nearby. He looked and saw two heads poked out from between two moldy slices of bread. The male gasped, and they both retracted back inside and the grunting got faster and more desperate.

The gray rat walked over to the scene. "I do believe that I did just announce that all male rats were to leave this part of the dump! I am for some reason baring witness to what looks like a direct violation of such an order. And yet–even after seeing my face–you still persist in committing your vile act?! Cornelius yanked away the top slice of bread. The male rat pulled himself away from the girl and tried to bolt, but the nape of his neck was grabbed. He shivered in fear and pleaded, I’m sorry, Corny! I just was having some fun! You can’t punish me for havin’ fun… he paused, …I think."

Cornelius held out his left hand to which Sweetlips placed her small glass dagger. He held the blade to the shivering rat’s neck and spoke viciously into his ear. I kindly asked you to leave, and you completely ignored me. That was most impolite. I cannot punish you for having fun–as I like having fun myself; however, I can punish you for being in the way of mine! He drew the blade harshly across the frightened rat’s neck and released him. The bleeding rat fell to the ground gargling and twitching as blood spurted from the open wound. The female that he was with looked at him in horror as the twitching slowly turned into nothing at all.

Cornelius faced the female and ordered, Prepare me a throne on that mound. The female rat wasted no time. She fashioned a throne out of a sideways-turned cup and a matchbox. It would protect him from the rain as it was apparent that storm clouds were building overhead, and it would also have a comfortable place to rest his feet. The gray rat seemed pleased by her handiwork, and he sat at this throne with a grin on his muzzle.

All the women that remained at the party gathered at his feet. He smiled at them knowing what he was about to do with them. With a devious voice, he spoke, Sweetlips will get the first turn, but before the night is over, you all will have pleased me.

Sweetlips nodded at the frightened females. She then peered back at her master and answered him with a calm, emotionless tone, As you wish, Master.

*****

Just as humans have their own societal norms, rats have theirs as well. Two things are important to rats: food and sex. These two things are constantly sought after, and they will do anything to get them at the risk of their own extinction.

Rats also have a sense of luxury or high living–as humans call it. Unlike humans, they have what we as common people might refer to as lower standards. This, however, is all a matter of point of view. Where humans prefer an air-conditioned clean home and a bath readily at their disposal, rats are only worrying about their two main desires. If these two main desires are fulfilled, then the rats can be considered living it up to a degree that is an equal ratio to a human’s preferred state of living.

How could a dump be considered a utopia for rats? It has an endless supply of food and makes for a perfect breeding ground. The dump is one of the most suitable places for a rat to live and henceforth thrive.

Now, it is preferable for all rats included on these grounds to be given as much freedom as possible. Sometimes, a rat of greater intelligence or cleverness can gain extra control of the group. This rat–which is called the alpha rat–will get the best food and also the finest pick of the females when he has the desire to mate. This is fine and acceptable but only to an extent. If this power becomes abused on a great scale, the other males will feel cheated, and action will have to be taken.

*****

As was foreseen earlier, rain began pouring over the smelly dump. Cornelius laid back into the cup that prevented his upper body from getting wet. The lower region of his body was exposed to the rain. The females that had given him so much pleasure that evening were sprawled before him–too tired to move. Only Sweetlips sat up next to him in order to keep watch.

Cornelius was drunk and singing gibberish to himself. In his own mind, he was still mating. The alcohol which he had his females gather for him was potent, and the old rat was not in his right mind. He shouted out suddenly as he twitched, "One at a time, my lovelies! Give Sweeptips more room!" He licked his lips as if he was enjoying the devilish dream.

Sweetlips stood to her feet. The males from the party were all gathering nearby. She watched them with a worried gaze as they approached. They did not look very happy at all.

The largest rat among them was a black-furred rat named Kord. He was known as a bruiser among the rats. He was given this position because of his unusual strength. He had occasionally served as a bouncer at Cornelius’ parties in order to keep out the rats that had not shown the proper respect. Tonight, he seemed to have other plans.

Kord led the group of rats to Cornelius’ makeshift throne and kicked some mud onto him which woke the gray rat up groggily. As Cornelius opened his eyes, Kord said in his noticeably strong voice, Get up, fool.

The drunken rat very slowly stood to his feet. He was barely able to keep his footing, but he managed. Cornelius dusted himself off and spoke with annoyance, I don’t recall needing your services… whatever your name is.

Sweetlips stood next to him silently and watched the scene unfold. Kord made a slight grin and said, The name is Kord. The male rats of the dump have made a decision. We want you to leave.

The other females started to wake up at the mere utterance of these words. Cornelius faked a shocked pose and spun around on his heel somehow keeping his balance. He looked as if he was having a fake heart attack. Oh! My ears must be deceiving me! Did I just hear one of my own men give me an order?! It cannot be true! Why would he do such a thing?!

Kord sighed and replied calmly with a hint of sarcasm, Well, you eat all our food, and you mate with all our females. I guess it’s just not as fun as it used to be.

Cornelius wobbled right up to Kord and leaned forward onto his cane looking him square in the eyes. When he spoke, his breath caused Kord to wince. "Listen, Dork or whatever your name is. I have brought this place something it would have never had without me: class! And besides, without me…" He seemed to forget what he was talking about.

Kord started to get angry, but he still kept his calmness. Look, I am giving you a chance to leave. If you don’t, we can show you an alternative. Cornelius saw the other rats all beating their fists into their respective palms. They obviously had blood on their minds. Sweetlips remained quiet.

The gray rat snorted and spit whatever saliva and mucus had formed in his mouth onto Kord’s face. He shouted, "No one tells Cornesius Waffleton the Fork what to do!"

Cornelius was met with a hard punch to his jaw. The old rat fell back into the cup; Sweetlips followed him with her eyes the whole way. The alpha groaned and did not move much. Kord shook his hand a little and looked back at his men. Have fun, boys.

The gang of rats all gathered around Cornelius’ feet. Some picked up clubs, and others had pieces of glass. The one rat who Cornelius had struck earlier that evening took that same cane from Cornelius’s hands and raised it up ready to strike. He grinned wanting his revenge, but before he could strike, he gasped. Blood pored from his maw, and he looked to his right and saw Sweetlips next to him. Her dagger was shoved firmly into his stomach. She pushed him away to let him die a slow death.

The rats all gathered around her seeing the emotionless female as a threat. She dodged a shank thrust from her right and turned the situation back at him by slashing her dagger across the unlucky rat’s neck. With a jump to the left, another attack was avoided. She used her movement to slice into another rat’s face. The struck rat grabbed his wound and ran away. Kord put up his hands and yelled, Everyone stop! This bitch is dangerous.

Sweetlips stood there with her dagger out as the rats backed away. She leaned down and picked up her mumbling master laying him onto her shoulder. He promptly began to suck his thumb chattering to himself about revenge and hatred. The female slowly walked to the edge of the dump. They all watched her leave and did not intervene. After all, they were getting what they wanted.

~~~~~

Chapter 2

An Order Given Long Ago

The new party was in full swing. Rats covered the mound of trash indulging themselves in whatever struck their fancy. Kord–the new alpha–was at the forefront of this party. He danced as dirty as possible with the female in front of him. It was the same female who had been having fun earlier underneath a slice of bread. He had caught her on the rebound.

Swiftly, he pressed his large muscular body into hers grinding into her as they danced. The exhibition caused them both a significant amount of excitement. It was obvious to both of them that this night would end in a heaping load of drinking and sex.

Kord spoke to the female with excitement in his voice, I told him to leave… and then he was gone. People listen to me. I have a knack for getting attention.

The female moaned softly and replied, Oh, Kord. You are so much greater than he was. It is a wonder you waited this long to kick him out! Look what I have been missing!

A great many things, bitch. Do you smell that stink in the air?

Oh, yes! I do!

It’s wonderful, isn’t it? And it’s all ours! This place belongs to us now. We’re gonna party to our heart’s content, and there isn’t anything in the world to stop us–especially a certain old, worn-out rat.

He gave her a hard grind into her lower regions, and she squeaked with enjoyment. They both dropped to the ground and wasted no more time. The rats started to cheer from all around, and they began to run around trying to find their own females–even if they had to pair up or take turns.

On the north edge of the dump, the owner of the establishment stored numerous canisters of fuel for his truck. They were locked tightly in a tool cabinet just outside of the office. These canisters were not known to the rat populous that thrived in the area. There was also fencing just below the cabinet–which had been erected before the addition had been built. Instead is simply removing the fence, it had been stabled to the wall just underneath the cabinet door. For a rat, this fence was sharp and very hard to climb.

Despite this fact, Sweetlips found herself standing at the edge of the dump looking through the wire fence up to this cabinet. Unlike the other rats at the dump, she knew what they did not. She would not have much time to accomplish her plan.

Dropping to all fours, the albino rat ran over to the manager’s office and into a small hole that led inside. She sniffed and looked around checking to see if anyone was home. The coast was clear. She studied the room looking for a way up. One of the filing cabinets was ajar and would make a good step for a rat. Sweetlips ran for it and hopped up to the slightly open cabinet and then up to the top. From there, she made her way to the surface of the desk.

Once there, Sweetlips saw a window. The white rat looked out and could see a narrow ledge that led from the office window to the storage cabinet just outside. She stood up and pushed at the window as hard as she could till it gave way only half an inch. It was all she needed to slip through and land on the ledge.

Very slowly and carefully, Sweetlips inched herself along the ledge. She had her back to the wall and shivered whenever she looked down. The top of the fencing was stapled across the wall of the office building and the tops of it were very sharp and scary; however, she did not stop. Sweetlips felt that she has no choice in this matter.

The white rat could hear the party happening on the far end of the dump. She could even see a few of them jumping around. She hoped that they would not see her sliding across the wall. Stealth, in this case, would be very important.

Sweetlips came to a corner and started following the next wall–the very same wall that the storage cabinet was located on. She started to proceed faster wanting to get it over with, but her haste ended up backfiring as she slipped on some fresh rainwater. The frightened female nearly fell to her death onto the sharp pointy tops of the fencing. Fortunately, she caught the edge before anything had happened. Sweetlips gazed below her seeing the fencing. She kicked and clawed at the wall to pull herself back up and succeeded.

Sweetlips quickly squeezed herself into a warped opening in the cabinet doorway. She laid onto her back in the darkness and panted heavily. It was nearly the scariest thing that she ever had to do; however, it was not over. The female hopped back to her feet and looked at the large fuel canisters. She sniffed the air smelling the strong, suffocating odor. It was pretty potent, but she had been prepared for it.

She walked to the corner of the dark room and picked up a very long piece of string several feet in length. The rat looked at it and mumbled to herself, Just where he said it would be. As quickly as she could, she jumped on top of the farthest canister nearly falling into it. She was surprised to see that the lids had been removed. No wonder the smell was so strong. She tied the string around the opening and jumped back down walking over to the cabinet door. It was time to leave.

Sweetlips jumped out from the small opening of the cabinet down towards the dump. The string she was holding suddenly went taut and she found herself landing against the wall. A stream of gasoline began pouring out in large amounts from underneath the cabinet door. She continued to rappel down to the ground with the long string until she had made it to the mud below.

What the rats at the party did not know was that there had been a special tunnel burrowed underneath the dump by the just recently ejected Cornelius. This gasoline was very quickly flowing through it in large amounts traveling underneath the entire dump in various directions. The dump was expediently turning into a very large bomb.

Sweetlips ran as fast as she could to the edge of the dump. She heard someone yelling from behind, Isn’t that the white bitch that was with Corny?! She did not stop for anything.

On the outside of the dump, one of the tunnels that Cornelius had dug tapered off to a point. Some of the gasoline had made its way to that very place. Sweetlips pulled out a box of matches which had been hidden nearby. She began to strike one of them as hard as she could, but it was difficult because of their size. A few of the rats at the party started to take notice of her and began to slowly approach her position.

She grit her teeth and growled giving the match one hard strike causing the top to spark and pop. The frightened rat quickly tossed it into the tunnel and ran for her life.

The ground began to quake. The rats at the party looked around unsure of what was happening. Kord stopped what he was doing to the female and looked up sensing something was wrong.

Suddenly, a large section of the dump exploded sending trash in every direction. Fire started to break out on all sides. The rats could not figure out where to go. Another explosion occurred. Now, rats were flying all over the place; some were even on fire!

Kord pulled away from his female and ran for the edge of the dump on all fours trying to escape the mayhem, but he was thrown back as another pile of garbage burst into flames. Kicking himself back onto his feet, he ran back to where he had come from. He was shocked at the large number of rats who were burning to death in the blaze. The fire was everywhere, and more and more of it was forming. The sounds of his rat brethren screaming as they were burned were terrifying to him. He had to escape, but it was very hot and there was hardly any path for him to take.

The strong rat was not about to give up so fast. He saw a group of boxes piled next to each other near the fencing. They were burning, but he had to take the chance. As quickly as he could, he jumped from one box to the next suffering terrible burns along the way. At the very last moment, he jumped over the fencing and fell all the way to the ground with a loud thump. He rolled around in panic to get the fire off of his fur and skin.

The dump released another explosion. He looked at it seeing how bad it really had been. The place was gone. Even the manager’s office was burning. He slowly rose to his knees and looked up. Sweetlips was standing there coldly staring at him. He looked at her angrily just before she slashed his throat with the glass dagger.

Slowly, she walked away from the scene. The sounds of fire trucks and ambulances were close behind–something she would not have to deal with.

Sweetlips walked over to Cornelius who was passed out behind a nearby tree. She sat down on her haunches next to him. Quietly, she said, Mission complete, Master.

~~~~~

Chapter 3

Word Gets Around Fast

Cornelius strolled–cane in hand–away from the burned remains of the dump. This place, which through his own devising had been utterly destroyed, was on the edge of the city. The forests behind it lead into the vastness of undeveloped country. Humans were not seen there often unless they were there to hunt game.

The gray rat walked with a very casual stride. A smirk was on his face as if he was in good spirits. Sweetlips followed emotionless behind him. She had no intentions of making conversation unless conversation was given to her.

Loudly and with some forced drama he spoke to either himself, Sweetlips, or whoever was in the area that might hear, "The very idea of those fools… thinking they could get away with such an act! I am Cornelius Wolfington the Fourth–the one and only! No rat can compare to my greatness! All who oppose me will burn!" The performance was somewhat lacking in dialog which Cornelius was able to make up with the force of his own presence. Nearby animals drew back into the shrubbery when they saw him passing by. Cornelius noticed this, and it pleased him.

There was one local animal that was not afraid to approach the rat. It was a blue jay who circled around the two rats before carefully landing near them. Cornelius noticed the bird, but continued to walk forward into the forest as if such a creature was not of a high enough class to warrant his attention. The bird fluttered and hopped over to the rat. It said to him, I heard word that a rat named Cornelius single handedly burned the dump to the ground. Were you that rat?!

Cornelius smiled and made only a slight polite glance at the blue jay as it followed him. He answered, Only I could have done it. I dare anyone to try such a thing.

The blue jay seemed both fearful and intrigued all at once. He hopped in front of the rat moving backwards as Cornelius continued to walk forward. Are you serious? It’s hard to believe that you, a small rat, would have the power to destroy a place so large. Why did you do it?

Cornelius nodded politely to the bird and answered calmly, It is my choice and my choice alone whether I do such a thing. The rats of the dump were cruel and vicious–even more than I. I took it upon myself to rid this world of their existence. I was a mere victim of their tyranny, but I stood up to them. And it had great consequence to them as you can see. No one betrays me and gets away with it.

The bird stopped letting the rat pass. He was very shocked from what he had learned of this terrible rat. Once more, he called out to Cornelius, Are you really that treacherous? Is there anyone who could defeat a rat like you?

Cornelius shouted behind him–not bothering to turn his head, They will try and fail!

The bird took off into the air but stayed close to the rat in order to monitor him from above. For some reason, the gray rat intrigued him.

Cornelius grinned and looked over at Sweetlips who was still quiet. Are you feeling guilty about what you did, my dear?

She shook her head without pause. No, Master.

I did not expect you to. You are a good bitch. You followed my orders to the letter. He reached over with his free hand and slowly rubbed her back matting