"That Cheesy has a way with words huh?" Sharp broke my concentration of thought, walking up behind me as he yawned and stretched from his sleep.
"Yeah. He certainly does" I said slowly, looking at Cheesy as he pounced happily through the door.
"Burrow...." Sharp started. I turned to face him, wondering what else he wanted to tell me. He was trying awkwardly to say something last night but failed.
" I had some time to think about what I said yesterday...." Sharp started, his eyes pinned to the ground. I was very suspicious of this type of behavior from him. Not once has he ever avoided eye contact, especially when it's something he wanted to get off his chest.
"Well...it's just.... um gosh how do I say this???" He sighed, rubbing the temples of his forehead.
"Go ahead Sharp, say what you want. I won't stop you" I reassured.
"Just say it"
Sharp folded his lips, finally looking up at me with squinted eyes. He began speaking.
"Even though this is hard to admit. Maybe I was a bit...you know. Afraid. Of everything?" Sharp glanced up at me, his cheeks reddened with embarrassment.
"I'm afraid of the blood thirsty cat that waits for us to trip up every day. I'm afraid of being in situations where I or even my brothers could die. I'm afraid of traps that the Giant set, hell I was afraid of Mother Mince dying and my fear made everything worse" He continued.
"I say that to say this. Burrs there's a lot of heinous creatures out there that wish us nothing but death. There are things out there that we've never seen before, and we've spent all our lives in this house" he continued.
.............................................................................
Just then Cheesy arrived in the bathroom, at the door with the cup in his mouth. The coast was clear, and the passageway was empty. Cheesy climbed over the ledge to the wet grounds of the Giant's shower to place the cap to catch water from the dripping shower but stopped, noticing something to the far end of the bathroom.
"Wooow..." he exclaimed as he looked on.
There was a giant grey basin that had a plank over it, with a white channel thing sticking out, right at the back of the bathroom in front of a cupboard that was on the ground.
" I don't even wanna know what that is" Cheesy dismissed the contraption, taking the cap back in his mouth, heading towards the shower, where the water dripped. He placed the cap close to the shower drain to catch it.
" And I think it would be worse to die with just this view of the world, before having the experience of getting to go outside, and meet some friends, meet a nice doe and settle down. Eat fruits, climb trees, see the world. Take risks. Having those experiences of a lifetime, would be better than dying in this dump" Sharp was talking fervently to Burrow who was folding his arms, listening intently.
"So, I had to question myself and be honest. And I realized, you were right Burrow. All the love that Mother brought us up in, in here, is gone. Because she's no longer here. So it really wouldn't make sense for us to hesitate" Sharp said, putting his paws mid-air and positioning his fingers to go up and down, as he made his point.
After a few drips the water cup was filled with enough water to last them for a few hours. Cheesy took it from underneath the shower and held it, climbing over the shower ledge with it firmly gripped in his mouth, careful not to spill anything, and reaching back on the ground.
He turned to walk off and go back out the bathroom door, but at the glance of an eye he saw something, on the white thing that was above the grey tub down to the far end of the room.
So he placed the cup down for a moment, and went a little bit closer, narrowing his vision to see what that tiny little thing was, curiosity spiking his interest. On narrowing his vision, he saw a yellow block shaped like a neatly trimmed square, sitting on the edge of the plank.
'" Cheese! Its Cheese" he exclaimed to himself, looking at it more and seeing that it was a good-sized piece.
"Hmmm...will a closer look kill me? " He asked, making his way to the back of the bathroom, towards the grey tub.
"We should just leave and never look back. For Drats sake, we didn't think it was possible to survive without Mother, but here we are! Surviving. So, we'll wing everything and figure it out, out there. We need each other, just like Cheesy said" Sharp puts his arm on Burrow's shoulder. Burrow stood there frozen, still shocked at Sharp's admission.
"I'm glad you feel that way Sharp. To be honest with you, I've always dreamt of living in the wild. But I thought about it, and I felt bad because I was pushing something onto you and Cheesy that you guys weren't able to deal with so soon. And I appreciate that you've had a change of heart, but I really think there's more knowledge to what you were saying initially. "Burrow agreed.
In the bathroom Cheesy streamed past the toilet, making his way to that strange bucket to the far end of the room. He climbed on to the top of the cupboard, examining the huge grey container that stood before him; there was a plank attached to it right where he stood, hovering above this tub filled to the brim with water. He pushed his left foot out onto the wooden plank, pushing down on it, firmly secured onto the cupboard, not feeling at least the slightest sensation of being flimsy. He looked up again, his eyes focused on the medium sized block of heaven that sat on the white channel. He stepped another foot further out, before he knew it Chessy quickly made his way across the plank until he was halfway there, seeing the Cheese sitting patiently, on the white channel.
''Wooowiee!!! Gosh ..it looks sooo good..." Cheesy was at the end of the plank now, the Cheese only a few inches away from him. He looked down at his feet. The plank was finished, the white channel starting at the edge of it and going out, directly above the glimmering, deep water with the Cheese sitting comfortably at the end of it.
Cheesy placed his foot onto to it to feel how sturdy it was; but then he stopped.
"No. This is a trap set by the giant. I should get off this ledge" he said, turning his back and walking to the counter, off of the ledge. Then he paused yet again.
"Ugghhh!! Just one little peek Cheesey. Just one" he said convincingly to himself, turning back around and going forward.
" Listen, Mother may have had me as the most responsible or whatever, but this isn't a one Buck show Sharp. We've all saved each other's lives, and it's important that we stick together no matter what. So, your suggestion on us taking our time to get to know outside better before we go, is the safest and most sensible thing for everybody. And that's exactly what we're going to do. If we go and explore and know our territory this will keep everyone safe" Burrow reasoned. Sharp smiled and nodded his head, holding his chest in relief.
"Thanks Burrs. I'm glad you can see the logic. I'm still having nightmares about that danged, stupid bird. Don't think I'd ever talk to you about this had Cheesy not convinced me to.." Sharp laughed, Burrow joining along laughing with him.
Cheesy stepped on the white channel thing in the bathroom. He placed one paw carefully in front of the other, his paw pressing against it hesitantly.
"Oh, come on its just one tiny little block of Cheese. Buck up Cheesy!" he pumped himself up, convinced that it was nothing but a few steps to his prize. Stepping forward slowly, sniffing and inching closer and closer until he lingered on the edge of the plank leading off to the white channel.
"Ahhhhh that Cheesy. What would we do without him Sharp? He's reminding me so much of Mother. Kind, Loving, always making sure that we sort out our issues and work together" Sharp commented, Burrow agreeing with him fully.
To-mas the cat had woken up out of his sleep in the living room, stretching his back up as he sat on the couch. He jumped off of the couch and went walking into the bathroom, to see if he could lick some water from around the dripping shower. Suddenly, as he strolled by the entrance of the bathroom door, he saw a rat, going back and forth on the thing his owner built. The cat quickly sneaked off into a corner, watching the rat and seeing what he would do.
Cheesy stepped onto the plank fully, feeling that it was safe. He rushed up to the edge of the white channel to get the cheese and just as he did, he felt the footing of what was underneath him get lighter, and lighter, like paper. Inches away from the Cheese he fell into the tub below him, plunging deep into its waters.
"Yes that Cheesey. He wouldn't sleep unless he knew that our problems were solved, and we talked and got over our issues. And he's grown sooo much. Remember how slow and fat he was? Now he's saving you and me out of sooo many dangerous situations" Sharp stated.
"He keeps this family together and he's so encouraging, and gentle. He really is a loyal brother that Cheesmister. With his therefore this and therefore that. I got up feeling so down this morning, and then he came and talked to me and reminding me that we needed to stay together as brothers" Burrow said, remembering how warm he felt.
Cheesy came back up to the surface of the water, gasping for air, swinging his arms wildly and sinking back down again. His heart pounded through his chest as he felt no footing below him, just the depth of the water drawing him down and filling his lungs.
"Can't...swim!!!ggguhhh" he gurgled, a rush of water filling his lungs as his head dipped up and under. He tried pushing his body close to the edge of the tub, to grab it and pull himself out. He got there and as soon as he placed his paw on the edge his paws slipped off, and he was submerged straight back into the water. The edges were saturated in slippery oil, and no matter how much he grabbed, he slipped further and further into the water.
"No matter what cat, bird, it didn't matter what we went through with whom, Cheeesy doesn't care. As long as we could fight through it and come back and laugh about it. I always admired that about him. He loves his family " Burrow stated, Sharp nodding his head and agreeing.
To-mas the cat had seen the rodent in the tub, drowning. He climbed up onto the cupboard where the plank was secured, staying at the edge of it and sitting calmly. He stood there, watching the rat come up again and again and again, grasping for air.
Cheesy felt like his chest was about to implode. He could feel the water filling up his lungs, clouding his eyes. His breath was rapid and in shorter and shorter gasps.
"Help! He-"The rodent saw the face of the cat in the short moments that he managed to come up for air, begging him for help as he was dragged deeper and deeper into the water.
To-mas waved his orange tail curiously, peering down at the dying rodent.
"Help you? Little rat why would I help you??Hm. Very funny" the cat mocked, laughing hysterically at the rat's plead.
" Just what in the world has got into these rats?? Asking and begging their superiors for help instead of dying with some dignity..."the malicious cat could not believe the rat.
"Yup. That Cheesy is the glue to our family." Burrow said.
"Yeah, he's irreplaceable. I wonder what's taking him so long???" Sharp inquired.
Back in the bathroom, Cheesy floated in the bucket, deeply submerged in the body of water.
Images came rushing back to his head; flashes of his brothers.
He could see how Sharp's nose scrunched up every time he missed a shot in Dratsmate, and how ridiculous he thought it looked whenever he did that. He saw how Burrow with his arms folded at the top of the counter, one of them hauling the Cheese over his head.
He could see the both of them running ahead of him, both rooting and cheering him on when they trained him in the Kitchen. He heard the excitement in Burrow's voice when he talked fervently about how he would climb up into a tree to look down at everything else that was small, to make himself feel better. Burrow always had an odd way of looking at the world.
Finally, he saw the one face that would make him give up everything in this life.
He saw Mother Mince's face. He could see how warmly she smiled at him as she watched him eat his cheese. He could feel how soft her hands were on top of his head when she comforted him against Sharp's teasing....
The rodent longed for that loving touch from her. He longed to feel the love that always radiated off of her and seeped into him.
I don't want to die. Its s too early. My family...they need me.. Cheesy was stuck in his conflicting thoughts as he floated in the water, his eyes looking at the clear surface of it above him.
I can' die now. I can't. I don't want to...he thought to himself, his vision slowly fading into blackness.
Suddenly, he couldn't feel anything anymore. Not his legs, not his arms, not his face. Nothing. He closed his eyes and all he saw was his dear Mother's face.
He held onto that image, as his soul was ushered into the darkness...
To-mas looked into the water at the floating body of the rat. He had stopped moving, and all life seemed to be drained out of him now. The cat came around to the side of the plank to see if he could snag the rat's body from the water but seeing as how his paws slipped when he tried to grab around the edges of the tub, he concluded that it was not the best idea to do that.
''Besides, I hate wet cold meat. I'll just let the Human take you out. Tchh!! to think he would ask me?? the cat, for help? Pitiful.." To-mas laughed, jumping off the cupboard and strolling across the bathroom floor, going straight to the living room.
...............................................................................
Back at the holdings Sharp and Burrow sat down talking. Suddenly, Burrow stopped the conversation.
"Hmmm....I wonder what happened to Cheesey. Don't you think he's taking a little bit too long with that water?" Burrow asked, getting up on his feet.
"I'm gonna go see what he's up to. Knowing him, he probably wanted to leave us alone for as long as possible, so that we could work things out." Burrow turned off to the peephole to find him, but Sharp stopped him. Some strange sense of intuition told Burrow not to allow Sharp to go, so he would go instead.
"Sharp stop its alrite, I'll go find him" Sharp shrugged and said okay, Burrow going through the peephole to the outside.
Burrow was in the bathroom entrance now and he walked in slowly, his head swirling around for Cheesy.
"Cheesy???Cheesy where are you?" Burrow called, looking around at the spacious bathroom. The tiled space spread out before him, everything in the same place things always were. The machine that did the flushing was with the water had its seat down. Burrow looked to the left, heading toward the shower curtain. Droplets of water rained down and splashed on the floor, the place clear of any form of his brother.
Burrow didn't know why something was shifting in his stomach. His gut was basically tied into knots now, refusing to unravel themselves from fearful thoughts.
"Come on Cheesy...this is not time for games.." he murmured, getting off the ledge of the shower and landing back on the floor.
"Maybe he's in the cupboard" he thought to himself, running to the cupboard and opening the door, rummaging and going around in there to see if he could find him.
"Cheesy???Cheesy!! This is not funny" he shouted, his voice echoing in the space. He looked behind the cleaning stuff, he wasn't there.
He looked if he was hiding behind the tools, he was not there. Burrow's paws began to sweat.
"Cheesy you can pop out and scare me at any time now! Seriously, before the cat gets here!!"
he added, coming out of the cupboard and going back outside.
Then, he stopped. There was one place he hadn't checked. One place he had not seen before.
He looked on out into the distance at the end of the room. There was a huge grey tub filled with water and a plank with what seemed like a channel of white paper, going out over it. He had never seen anything like it before, but the more he stared at the it, the greater the pressure was tightened on his chest.
"What the hell has the Giant done this time?.." he found himself heading downtown, walking around it and inspecting it from the back. The tub was a lengthy, medium sized thing that towered over him.
"Hmmm.." lips folded, he climbed onto the cupboard and saw the plank of wood, slowly going over it to see what was there. Looking down at his reflection in the water he could see that it was extremely deep. Reaching halfway on the wood, he stood there, observing the mechanisms of this foolish trap.
"They took paper and rolled that channel to make it look like it was a part of the plank. If I had gone any further, I would have dropped in the water and drowned. .." then, at the corner of his eye, he saw something floating around in the water. But it wasn't just anything. It had a white tummy, ears, and a tail. And he could see its face.
Concerned he came out more and more onto the plank, going the furthest he could go until he stopped where the end of the plank and the beginning of the channel began . Everything in his soul went cold, and he could feel the hairs on his back spike up. A twisting feeling settled in the pits of his gut, his mouth going dry as he stared at what floated in the water.
"Cheesy" he gasped.
.