Chapter 14: Ordering Rats to Open the Gate!
When Lisa said what she wanted to say, ideas clicked inside the members of the group as Melissa raised her eyebrows.
"He can use the rats!" She exclaimed in realization with her hand on her mouth, as if she had an epiphany, uncaring about the gloomy atmosphere that was following the group wherever they went.
Looking at the overly excited Melissa, who seemed the least affected by everything that was happening around them, not everybody had happy expressions.
Melissa, however, didn't care much. She approached Dali, who was close to Zen and tapped his shoulder.
"See, you can be useful too." She smiled.
"Let's not get too excited." Zen said, not looking in their direction.
"What's wrong?" Sabrina approached Lisa, sticking close to her as she asked.
"Nothing really; I just spotted where Dali could communicate with the rats." Zen replied as he pointed at a small, rectangular hole where rats could enter and leave the room on the other side.
"I- I will try." Dali, seeing the hole, took the initiative to approach it, the gazes of his teammates as well as their hope weighing heavily on his back.
'How am I even going to do it.' He thought as he squatted down, once he was close enough to the hole.
"Eat, eat. Hungry!" The voices of the rats could be heard more clearly from the other room by Dali.
"Ah, Uhm, Hello..." Not knowing what to say, Dali just said whatever came to his mind and stopped, his face burning.
'Calm down. Just think.' Dali tried to calm himself down and sighed before he thought of something.
"Zen, Can I get a jerky? I need to use it." Dali looked at Zen and asked, his eyes resolute.
Zen looked at this, took out a jerky, and brought it over to Dali.
"Here."
"Thank you." Dali took it and looked back at the entrance. Zen took a few step backs and looked where Dali's eyes gazed.
"Little rats, I have food." He called and waited, a few seconds later, small heads appeared out of the hole, which made Dali take a few steps back.
"What the fuck? Are these rats or cat hunters?" Alexander, who was in the far back, shouted what was on everyone's mind.
The small heads that popped out were in no way small compared to what everybody here was used to. The necks, arms, and legs of the rats were very chunky, making them look like rats who hit the gym with discipline.
"Food, food." Instead of being confused where the food was, the rats immediately attacked Dali's hands when they smelled the jerky.
Dali, seeing this, was startled, not knowing what to do.
"Throw it!" Zen, who was next to him, shouted, prompting the young man to just do what he was ordered to.
"Yum, yum, yum."
"Food, delicious." the 5 rats quickly devoured the piece of jerky and were looking at Dali as if asking for more.
"Sure, sure. just help us with a little something and I will give you more food." Dali laughed awkwardly and promised.
"Food? Food! We help!" was the answer he wanted and managed to get.
"Alright. Is there anything inside that room that could open the door?" Dali asked.
"Door? Inside?" The rats looked confused, not knowing what Dali was talking about at all.
"Well sh*t, sherlock. Of course they wouldn't understand.' Dali almost smacked himself before he regained his calm.
"What's inside the room." Dali asked as simply as he could.
"Inside?" The rats stopped for a few seconds, and just as Dali thought that he had to ask someway simpler...
"Rope, rope!" One rat jumped and the other followed suit.
"Awesome!" Dali exclaimed, making Zen look at him.
"What is it?" Zen asked.
"They said there are ropes inside; I think they only need to eat those and the gate would open." Dali replied, full of enthusiasm.
"Oh, ok." Zen replied, not knowing how to respond.
"Squeak, Squeak." Was, after all, all Zen could.
"All right, I want you guys to cut down the rope." Dali looked back at the rats and asked.
"Cut? Down?" Once again, not understanding the rats, I just looked at Dali;
"Hungry, food." One rat who ate the least complained.
"Ah, right. You guys can eat the rope." Dali, getting an idea, asked once again.
"Rope? Eat? Food!" and the rats ran inside the room once again.
It didn't take long for the group outside to hear a loud *THUMP* and for the doors to rapidly open all the way, welcoming them inside a well lit room.
"Let's go!" Max came closer to Dali, alongside Alex; both of them had happy expressions on their faces, genuinely proud of the achievement of their teammate.
"See? I told you your trait would one day be useful; that day came so fast. Haha." Alex tapped Dali's shoulders as he spoke.
Dali just blushed, feeling a flame of confidence light up within him.
"Rope, eat, food!" Dali heard the rats calling for him and walked towards the gate, Alex and Max following him closely.
Sabrina also walked towards the door with her hands crossed and Lisa clinging to her.
Zen was once again deep in thought as he entered the room.
Melissa walked closer to Speed and the two flirted with each other while Alexander got annoyed and moved on. The last to enter the room was Changus, who was finally feeling calmer.
"Food, food." The rats sang and waited in anticipation for Dali to fulfill his promise and give them actual tasty food instead of that dusty rope.
Alex and Max looked at the room they were in. Torches with orange flames were lighting the atmosphere, two ropes that were eaten were on the ground, and two huge squared rocks that looked heavy were on the floor, probably the source of the impact and what was holding the gates closed.
"We're once again locked inside a room, and this time we may have no way out." Zen announced, gaining the attention of his teammates, who sucked in a cold breath.
-----End-----