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Three days had passed, and Mother was already showing signs of improvements. We were consistent in rubbing the Aloe Vera gel on her wound, and it was healing faster than I thought. Bleeding stopped entirely; and scabs were beginning to form around the edges of it.
I had to go out to get us food before the cat woke, and I already was too late. The Sun was making its ascent into the sky, the chilly breeze from morning dew still floating around in the air. It was breakfast time, and since Mother's incident none of us had gone outside to acquire food, being so tired from nursing her and fearful of what would happen if we ourselves went outside, that the food ran out.
Stringing the cotton Knapsack that Mother usually carried for food over my shoulder, I tightened the knot, making sure it was well secured. Sharp had just gotten up out of his sleep, and Cheesy was being...a pest.
"Please please please please pleaaassseeeeeeeee!!! Brother Burrow please just consider it. I beg you please'' Cheesy whined nonstop, circulating around my ear like a mosquito.
Cheesy had been begging me to carry him along since I was going out in the Kitchen for some food. He wanted me to help gather what was needed.
"For the last god forsaken time, no! The answer is absolutely not Cheese! No more than one of us can be out there at a time, cause if that cat ever ever ever caught sight of the both of us, it's game over. I don't want him to know that there's anymore of us in the house. It'll only increase his insatiable hunger to eat us all" I reasoned.
Walking straight up to Cheesy's face I grabbed his shoulders, seeing if I could shake some sense into him, growing exhausted in having to reiterate that for the hundredth time. My voice was almost at the top of its strength now, my throat getting sore from speaking the same thing over and over again.
It was way too dangerous, and the assault on our mother's life was still so fresh. It had been only three days, and her condition was acting up again. Even though her wound had stopped bleeding and was showing progressive signs of healing, now she had developed a fever, and it was hotter than anything I had ever seen. I didn't know what to do about it. Cheesy had been wiping her down with water insistently to cool her, but it wasn't working. The fever was getting worse by the day.
I needed to get out there and see if I could get more Aloes, maybe applying that instead of the water would help. Plus, we needed food.
So it was acquiring food, making sure my brothers didn't get into trouble, taking care of Mother's health. I had enough problems to deal with. I couldn't afford anyone else being injured, or dead right now. We needed to stay out of the way as much as possible, and If we were to get food, only one of us could take that risk. And that would be me.
"Ohhhh brother please! I promise I'll go by everything you say. I will follow behind you every step of the way. If you say jump, I'll jump! I can help you- "
"No! I'm not saying it again Cheesy! Maybe some other time after mother wakes up, but that can't happen at all right now. It's too risky. Just forget about it" Cheesy gave up, flinging his arms up in the air.
I couldn't believe Cheesy wanted to go outside after he saw what had happened to Mother. I was expecting this kind of rebellious behavior from Sharp, but not from him...why the sudden interest?? Of all the times he chose now to be different?? At the worst possible time??
I walked away, heading straight to the door. He continued following behind me, pleading his case.
"Just think about it Burrow. That thing almost split Mother in half! It's a powerful creature with brute strength that's bigger than the four of us combined. Therefore, don't you think the reason why Mother ended up in this situation was because she went out on her own?" I stopped right at the door, just a step away from going outside.
"She was all by herself. Maybe...and just..maybe... if me or you had accompanied her, the cat would have had a harder time catching any of us because of confusion. And plus, we can cover ground faster and therefore get a lot more food in a quicker time! With me and you going fast it would be finished in no time!"
I sighed, slumping my shoulders and turning around slowly, wondering if he would ever shut up about this. Sharp was a few inches behind Cheesy, folding his arms and nibbling on a peanut, his eyebrows heightened.
"So, all of those months of training me was for nothing brother? Please don't tell me that. You guys trained me really hard, and I just want to show you that I can keep up. Remember, I'm much much faster now!" Sharp began nodding his head listening to Cheesy's case, hitching the last bit of peanut into his mouth.
"Cheesy for the last time you're staying here with Sharp and that's that. I don't want to hear anything else about it. I'll see the both of you in a few minutes" I held my hand up, gesturing for Cheesy to stop asking.
I made my decision, and that was it. Whether Cheesy liked it or not, he would have to stay with Sharp. Mother left me in charge of everyone, so I had to make sure we were making smart and safe decisions that would keep us alive. And though Cheesy made great points, I wasn't about to jeopardize anything.
I stepped towards the peephole, just about to swing outside when I felt a hand on my shoulder, stopping me yet again.
Uggh. At this point I'd end up going out at noon, when the sun was high and the cat ready for another rat dinner.
"Burrs wait- ". I grunted, annoyed. Turning my head around slowly, I faced Sharp.
Closing my eyes, I cursed underneath my breath. Him too? What the hell is wrong with everyone this morning? Was he about to act up too?? I breathed in, reluctantly facing the both of them. Sharp began to speak.
"Burrs, I know this might not seem like the right time for it, but Cheesey does have a point." I narrowed my eyes at Sharp, curious as to what he was doing.
Encouraging Cheesey to go out and not rebelling to go out and fight the cat instead? Why was he pushing this?? Seemed peculiar for him knowing how he is...
"Do you remember the whip I had to slap him with as he ran around the kitchen?? Or how long it took him to even complete one lap?? It would be a shame if he didn't test his skills. And plus, he's moving a lot faster than before. You and him can grab more food. Quick fast and in a hurry" I blinked my eyes slowly between the both of them. Cheese's face lit up, his hands clasped together, flashing the most innocent look in his eyes. Sharp rose his two hands up, heisting his shoulders and pushing his lip out, gesturing to me the decision to be made.
Oddly enough, I began re considering my method and taking what they were saying into consideration.
Maybe there was some sensibility here. Mother did insist on going out there by herself to avoid us getting hurt but ended up almost dying. Perhaps if Sharp, Cheesy and I had been with her, the cat may have been confused and scattered all over the place, not knowing which one of us to go after.
And we did put a lot of energy into training Cheesy and trimming him down. We put a lot of effort into that...God knows when Mother would be well again. It would be a shame to put all that training to waste...
It wasn't like he couldn't keep up with me anymore. He was perfectly capable of doing that...
"Mmm..." I pressed my lips together, contemplating my next course of action. Both Cheesy and Sharp were right, and it seemed I was being double teamed. On one hand I was operating from a space where I just wanted to keep them safe, but on the other hand, we were a team after all. I didn't want them to think I was being selfish. We would accomplish more working together.
My eyes swerved from Cheesy to Sharp. I sighed deeply, turning my head and looking to the far right of the room at Mother's resting body. She laid there, with the napkin over her wound, sleeping.
Mother always endorsed us working and sticking together, no matter what. Maybe her going out on her own was from a place of fear, which drew more bad situations to her.
Dammit.....
"Mother, I hope this is what you'd want" I muttered lowly, looking back at Cheesy and Sharp, indecisively. I bit my lip, hoping what I was about to do would be a good decision.
"Fine. Cheesy you can come with me- "not even finishing my sentence, Cheesy began jumping up and down, hugging me tightly. A small, fake smile began to appear in the corners of my mouth. I hunched my shoulders up, backing away from him, daunting a serious expression.
"Don't get too excited now. There's one condition that you absolutely must follow" I stated firmly.
"Okay yes! Yes, yes Brother Burrow. Anything, you name it!!!!" Cheesy shouted back enthusiastically, his eyes alert and ready to listen to every word.
"You must follow me. And I mean every single move I make; you have to be behind me. At all times. Under no circumstance do you differ the path or go another way, you have to listen to instruction. Understand?" Cheesy shook his head vigorously, blinking rapidly and agreeing. I nodded back at him, rubbing my hands nervously.
Then one thing came to my mind. The most important thing.
"And first and foremost, no eating anything, and I mean nothing at all that seems strange! Cause I know how you can be" I warned sternly. Suddenly, a slight twinge of pain came from the back of my head as I remembered the incident with the cheese trap.
"I promise I won't! I will eat nothing that looks peculiar; therefore, I won't even eat anything that looks normal. I will follow you wherever you go, always, at every second on every minute! You have my word Brother Burrow!!" he said reassuringly.
"Good. Now, get a sack and let's go"
................................................
Burrow peeped his head around the corner, peering left and right from behind the marble island. They had snuck out of the peephole and were in the middle of the Kitchen now, both of them hiding behind a narrow corner between the island and the other Kitchen counter.
Burrow could see the orange and white feline, curled up into a ball, sleeping peacefully in the middle of the couch in the living room. He was on the seat that was close to the door, the prickly Aloes plant sitting at the foot of the couch.
"Okay, follow me" Burrow spoke in a low tone, both of them pattering in between the passageway that was in the middle of the two wooden counters that rose above their heads. They made their way to the black garbage bin that was nudged beside the stainless-steel stove, in the middle of the two lengthy wooden counters that adjoined from one end to the next.
Burrow heisted himself on top of the plastic garbage bin, turning and hooking his claws into the wooden wall of the cupboard beside it, ascending quickly up the cupboard door until he reached the top of the counter. He turned around and looked over, down at Cheesy, signaling his hand for him to do the same.
"Come up Cheesy! Hurry" Cheesy nodded and followed the lead, heisting himself up on to the garbage bin, sinking his claws into the cupboard wall and gradually making his way to the top of the counter.
Burrow stood promptly at the top of the counter, watching Cheesy make his climb. He was almost up. If this had been the Cheesy of long ago, he wouldn't have been able to even push himself up onto the garbage bin. Knowing this, Burrow felt a sense of pride coursing through him.
That's right, I did that. I came up with the idea, he thought profoundly.
That feeling of inner knowing convinced him that Cheesy coming out with him wasn't such a bad idea at all. He had gotten plenty of practice around this Kitchen. Cheesy surely wasn't the same foolish rodent that almost got himself killed over food; he had grown so much since then. Now, he trusted that his brother would make better decisions. Especially since he listened to him now, more than ever. Burrow continued basking in his joy, glad to see that he was finally reaping the benefits of his labors of love.
"Mmmmhmmm. I reinvented him. Yes I did.." he chimed to himself. Standing there in his heightened beliefs for 2 minutes, blissfully unaware of what was happening below him. Then he realized.
Cheesey should have been up here by now...
Without hesitation Burrow stepped forward to the edge and looked down to find Cheesy.
Cheesey was there of course, but he stopped, mid climb.
Still hooked into the wall, the tips of his pink nose snuffled through the air. He rose his head in the air, swinging his snout left and right, his eyes pondering around him.
Burrow knew that look. He knew that expression.
Food. Cheesey smelt something that was tantalizing. Of course, he smelt it to. It was probably a piece of chicken in the garbage bin. Usually, it would have been a great option to go digging in there for food, the Giant always threw out chunky, sizeable pieces of food in there, so it was an easy catch. That was before the Cat came into the picture where we had the time to step on the bin, have it fly open and squeeze our way in, and take the food out.
There was no time for that. It involved too much activity, plus the Feline was bound to hear something rummaging about in the bin. They couldn't afford to do anything like that right now. Any food that we got had to come from the counter, off the plates, in the sink, in corners. Places where we could get a quick and clean sweep.
Cheesey didn't understand that.
"Cheesy...'' Burrow said suspiciously, bending over and tapping the board. Cheesy continued sniffing away, his nose twitching in the air desperately trying to cling on to a scent.
"Cheesy!!" Burrow whisper shouted, Cheesy swung his head around, hearing the sternness in his brother's voice. Still, he stayed there, leaning halfway off the wall, his hands hooked in. His eyes deviated from Burrow, back to the garbage bin, that was only inches below him.
No. He couldn't do this right now. They spoke about this before they left. He promised he wouldn't.
Cheesy turned his nose to the direction of the black bin. He sniffed in the direction of it for a while and turned his head towards it, ripping his eyes off of Burrow and turning his focus to the opposite course.
''Cheesy you darned stubborn- come back here!" the pitch of Burrow's voice rose even more, warning Cheesy as he climbed further and further down.
The rodent continued going, his desire leading him to land on top of the garbage bin lid. Ears pitched, his tail up in the air, nose sniffing around the edges of the bin eagerly. He stopped mid tracks, remembering his promise to Burrow. Cheesy peered up at Burrow, whose face was perplexed in worry as he paced back and forth on the counter.
"Cheesy!!I can't be up here and your down there. We talked about this. Get up here, now!" Burrow warned him again, nearly shouting this time.
Instantly, he began regretting his decision. He knew deep down that bringing Cheesy was a horrible idea. He should have left him behind to watch Mother, at the holdings. He knew Cheesy would do something stupid like this, he wasn't disciplined enough to stay focused yet, and now he was about to do something that would mess everything up.
"Brother. I know I made a promise but. Don't you smell that? It smells like Chicken, its delectable!! Something that smells that good is bound to have a huge piece of it. If we go in the garbage first and then secure it, we will have enough food for everyone!" Cheesy looked up at him, eyes as wide as saucers, hands clasped together in a pleading stance.
"Cheesy don't sprout nonsense, this is not what we agreed on. You need to follow my lead so we can be in and out. You don't know what's in that garbage bin to make such an assumption. Now let's go! Before the-" as Burrow said that he heard a strange noise coming from the living room.