14 #StoryADayMay Rats

shortstorymonthx240This one is for Andrea Gilbey of Great Britain, fellow knitter, and Monkees fan. She has the cutest li’l pet rat!

Hi, Andrea! Hi, Dizzy! ~waves~

God save the Queen!

Davy was the cute one!

Meanwhile, progress is … er … progressing on the paper editions of the SAGE trilogy. They, and at least the electronic version of SIDESHOW IN THE CENTER RING, will be out by the end of the month. Yay!

And now, today’s story:

Rats

by Marian Allen

“It seems odd to me,” said my shop assistant, Andrea. “I do understand the need, but how can you do it?”

“Who better?”

Rats are my life. Never married; never will; no woman alive would eat, breathe, and dream rats, as I do.

Not nasty rats, though. With every man’s hand turned against them, feral rats are canny and fierce. They’re a danger to life and property, and no mistake. Let’s not forget The Black Plague, although technically that was fleas, not the rats proper.

At any rate, part of my dedication to rattery was my dedication to eliminating as much of the feral population as possible.

The best part was the clean-up, when I investigated any place my clients had marked as a place they’d seen rats hanging about or going into or coming from. I often found nests of ratkins, many of them old enough to survive without their mums. I kept the nicest ones, and bred them into my private stock. Couldn’t sell them in the shop, of course, but a lot of people preferred hand-raised common rats; they considered them more English, for some reason.

I shrugged myself into my uniform jacket and put on my hat.

“Everything well in hand here, then?”

Andrea made a face. “Don’t forget your Fiendish Device.”

“Got it right here.” I lifted the long, slim case and waggled it.

“Off with you, then.”

“Right.” I hated to leave the shop but, once I was out and had climbed into the van, I was almost a different person. By the time I had pulled out of the village and onto the motorway, I was no longer the proprietor of Best Fancy Rats. I was the man whose name was stenciled on the side of the van:

P. Piper, Exterminator.

~ * ~

It’s Tuesday, so I’m posting at Fatal Foodies on the subject of a happy childhood memory.

MY WRITING PROMPT TODAY: Rats

MA

About

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but now live in the woods in southern Indiana. Though I only write fiction, I love to read non-fiction. The more I learn about this world, the more fantastic I see it is.

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One thought on “14 #StoryADayMay Rats

  1. Chris Verstraete

    May 14, 2013 at 7:49am

    Loved the Monkees. Was so happy I got to see them before they ended the tour and then Davy died….

    Rats, well…. Guess I’ll stick to writing about zombies? haa! 3 flashes today… and that cool astronaut video, a short one inspired by him.

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      May 14, 2013 at 8:46am

      Yeah, Chris, I loved the Monkees, too! I’m so old, I got to see them when they were first popular. lol!

      Pet rats are prrrrreshussss! I never had any, but we had pet mice once, and they’re adorable! When our cat passes, I’m going to try to talk Charlie into letting me get a rat or two.

      I’m coming on over to read your icky zombie stories (ZOMBIES are icky; your stories are SO NOT icky). That astronaut video is gonna make astronauts cool to everybody again, not just geeks like me. lol!

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  2. Holly

    May 14, 2013 at 8:16am

    I’m enthralled. More, more, more! I’m also quite impressed with you writing not only a story a day, but such entertaining ones each day!

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      May 14, 2013 at 8:52am

      You’re too kind, Holly! Tomorrow is halfish day. Can’t be half, because there are 31 days in May. Tomorrow is almosthalf and Thursday will be morethanhalf.

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  3. Jane

    May 14, 2013 at 10:30am

    Good thing I’ve already finished my coffee. I’d have been snorting it and then having to clean it off the cat in my lap!

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      May 14, 2013 at 10:49am

      Oh, lordy, I would hate to have a cat covered with snorted coffee in my lap! Congratulations on dodging that bullet!

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  4. Kiril Kundurazieff

    May 14, 2013 at 12:47pm

    Love it!

    Very funny and I should have seen that name coming at the end. πŸ˜€

    Nikita’s Day 14 is up!

    It’s called “Decisions, Decisions…”

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  5. Helen Ginger

    May 14, 2013 at 6:15pm

    I wondered how that guy got his start!

    I so remember the Monkees. Can still sing the theme song.

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      May 14, 2013 at 9:37pm

      How could one not love the Monkees? They’re too busy singin’ to put anybody down! πŸ˜€

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  6. Tony Acree

    May 14, 2013 at 10:24pm

    I’m a Believer. A Daydream Believer. I told Valeri I’m Not Your Steppin Stone, but she caught the Last Train to Clarksville and tried to tell me the problem was A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You. I told her all I wanted was a Pleasant Valley Sunday but she told me I was Goin’ Down with Shades of Gray, so I just moved on and she’s now the Girl I Knew Somewhere.

    Oh. And rats. Loved the rats.

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  7. Joy

    May 19, 2013 at 8:48am

    Hi,Marian! I love your works! Thanks for yet another beautiful creation of yours! πŸ™‚

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  8. Krisitne

    May 19, 2013 at 2:24pm

    Nice story, Marian! Whenever I feel reading something good for the emotions, I can turn to your stories and it gives me the feeling that I admire. Thanks for the opportunities, wonderful opportunities! πŸ™‚

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply

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