Those Darn Rats

by AliasCWN

A sequel to If It Was Easy.

Those Darn Rats!

By: AliasCWN

The guards stopped in front of the only occupied cell and opened the door. They motioned for the single occupant to step out.

The youth looked absolutely terrified.

I admit to being curious so I had followed the guards when they left the Captain's quarters to fetch the prisoner.

Rising from his cot, the prisoner hesitated for a moment before exiting the cell. The boy hesitated again in the hall until one of the guards gave him a shove to hurry him along.

I watched as he stumbled and caught his balance. It wasn't hard to smell his fear, even from a distance. Feeling just a bit sorry for the young man, I decided to follow behind and make sure that he was all right.

Now I have to explain. There is really nothing I can do to help him. After all, he is a soldier, subject to the whims and tempers of his superior officers. And his present commanding officer is known to have a temper. Don't get me wrong, the Captain is a fair man, he just has a really short fuse. He tends to blow his stack at the smallest of things; like when enemy soldiers blow up all of his ammunition.

I know that he claims that he needs it, but that stuff is noisy! They use it for what they call target practice, and it makes my head hurt! Every time they mention target practice I start making plans to be someplace else.

And those grenades! I can't begin to tell you how much I hate those things. The first time I ran into one, I mean I literally ran into it, and it nearly killed me. I should explain, I didn't run into the actual grenade, what I ran into was the blast zone of one. To be even more specific, I flew into the blast zone, and before I knew what hit me I was twenty feet further down the road. It sent me flying, and not in a good way! Now you may say twenty feet isn't so far, but it's a long way for a fly.

Did I forget to introduce myself? Sorry! That was rude of me. My name is Naji, and as I explained, I'm a fly. You've probably heard of my Great-uncle Fetti. Great-uncle Fetti is quite the storyteller. As you most likely know, Great-uncle Fetti lives with a captain named Dietrich. Me, I wanted to travel so I hitched a ride on a convoy headed anywhere. That's how I ended up here. Where is here, you ask? I'm not really sure. The convoy traveled across the desert for a long time. Long for me anyway, remember, flies have short life spans. The base where Great-uncle Fetti lives is mostly flat desert, but the convoy took me to the mountains. I live in a cave. Like my Great-uncle, I prefer the finer things in life, so I moved in with the base commander, Captain Kurtz.

Captain Kurtz lives in a nice, comfortable cave with a fire to keep out the cold and dampness. The only problem that I have with our little cave home is that every little sound echoes. I was asleep when the ammunition cache blew up. The entire mountain shook nonstop for several minutes. And the noise, it was terrible! Talk about loud, I couldn't hear myself think. It made my head hurt worse than either the ammunition or the grenades. It actually knocked me off the wall. Luckily I landed on the bed and didn't hurt myself. I was just getting my hearing back when Lieutenant Oplinger, the Captain's second- in –command, ran into the Captain's quarters. I nearly lost it again when the Captain exploded. He didn't really explode, but you know what I mean. Lieutenant Oplinger told him that the ammunition cache had been sabotaged.

Now I was right there, and I can't say that I actually saw it, but I overheard the Captain's aide telling someone that the Captain had steam coming out of his ears.

Anyway, when the Captain gets mad, he yells, loud. And he must have been really mad because he really outdid himself this time. I can't be sure, but I'd be willing to bet that Great-uncle Fetti heard him yelling clear back at Captain Dietrich's base. That's saying something because Great-uncle Fetti is getting old and hard of hearing. (Please don't tell him I said that. I love Great-uncle Fetti and I would never say anything to insult him.) But my captain did yell pretty loud.

At first everyone thought it was some kind of accident, until they found the guard. The poor fellow was sleeping behind a broken down truck parked outside the cave. Lucky for him too; I heard the lieutenant say that the truck saved his life when the ammunition blew up.

Here's where it gets strange. That poor kid was so scared he thought he saw a ghost! They said when they woke him up he was rambling about seeing a ghost in the cave. I thought at first he was scared because he got caught sleeping on duty and he was making excuses. Nope, not even close!

The lieutenant hadn't believed his story and had sent him to the cells.

The kid still looked scared but now I was wondering why he looked so terrified. The Captain can be intimidating, but like I said, he's a fair man.

The lieutenant said that someone blew up the ammunition deliberately. Now I may be wrong, but wasn't that what you were supposed to do with ammunition and grenades? They blow them up in target practice all the time and nobody complained. Maybe he meant that they shouldn't have blown them all up at once. It sure saved them a lot of time, rather than doing it a little at a time, especially when they had so much. I have to admit though; this way was a whole lot louder!

The noise probably woke Captain Kurtz too so maybe that's why he was so mad.

The guard, a young fellow named Private Alex Petry, was shaking in his boots. His face was white enough that I thought he was looking at another ghost, only I knew Captain Kurtz was not a ghost. I've never actually seen a ghost so I'm not sure I believe in them. I am open to learning more about them though. One should always keep an open mind about new things; I learned that from Great-uncle Fetti.

Take the rats that Great-uncle Fetti says are the main enemy. He never really liked them, and I admit, I'm not overly fond of rats either; but after that raid that Captain Dietrich took part in on the fourth of July, Great-uncle Fetti has softened toward them. He says they have their moments. They are still the main source of trouble for his captain but we haven't had much trouble with them here. Living in caves made of solid rock doesn't leave a lot of places for rats to hide.

Thai is also the first problem we've had with ghosts, so I'm looking forward to expanding my knowledge. Captain Kurtz is staring at Private Petry in silence. I can hear the guards mumbling about ghosts, I guess they believe. The suspense is thick in the air in here.

"What happened Private?"

The boy jumped when Captain Kurtz barked at him. His shoulders are shaking now and I think he may be crying. I can see the Captain's eyes soften as he watches the boy.

"Tell me what happened." He says in a softer tone.

"It was the ghost Sir."

"The ghost? What ghost?"

I can tell from his tone that the Captain is not a believer.

"The ghost that came out of the cavern Captain."

"You saw this ghost?"

"Yes sir." Private Petry nodded shakily. "It appeared out of nowhere and came straight at me. It tried to grab me Sir!"

"You saw someone?"

"Not someone, it was a ghost Captain. The ghost of one of our dead."

"You knew him?"

"No sir, I never saw him before. But the dead were kept in that cave; it had to be one of them."

"Maybe one of them was only wounded and managed to get to his feet and wander away." The Captain urged gently.

"No sir, the coffins had already been loaded onto the trucks by the time I came on duty. And I checked both caves when I arrived, they were empty. There was nobody there Sir, and I didn't let anyone in."

"No one?"

"No one." Private Petry declared vehemently.

"Did you get enough sleep before you went on duty?"

"Yes sir."

"Then why were you sleeping when you were found?"

"It was the ghost Sir; he must have put me there."

"Why would an enemy soldier save your life?" Lieutenant Oplinger asked.

"There was no enemy soldier sir." Private Petry answered in a shaky voice. "It was the ghost of one of our men."

"How do you know he was a ghost?"

"He moved without any noise. His face was all black, like he was burned. Only his eyes glowed in the light. His uniform was soaked in blood, too much for a living man. He had to be dead Sir! He just stood there and looked at me. I could feel the cold that surrounded him."

"The sun was setting, the desert was cooling; surely it was just a natural draft."

I know the Captain was trying to be the voice of reason, but the boy's words gave me a chill.

"No!"

Now the boy was shaking all over. I must admit, he was making a believer out of me.

"Private, it could have been an enemy soldier." Again that voice of reason.

"Then where did he go?" The boy asked in exasperation.

"There was a guard killed up on one of the mountain trails."

"I heard." The boy replied. "He fell and broke his neck. Don't you see Sir, it was an accident? He tripped in the dark and fell. If what I saw was an enemy soldier, why didn't anyone else see him? Where did he go? How did he get into the cave? I know no one passed me."

"All good questions Private. I don't have the answers yet, but I will."

"It was a ghost Sir, I saw it!"

"The convoy reported that they were attacked by the Rat Patrol. Isn't it possible that what you saw was one of them?"

Now I'm confused. How could a rat break a man's neck? I suppose it's possible that they surprised him in the dark and he fell and broke his neck. But then there's the explosion. How could a rat sabotage all of that ammunition? I guess I'll find out if I keep listening.

"It was a ghost!" The private repeated stubbornly despite his fear.

"I don't believe in ghosts." The Captain informed him. (See, I knew the Captain wasn't a believer. I could hear it in his voice.)

"Then how do you explain what I saw?"

"I don't now, but I'm going to find out."

I'm not sure I believe in ghosts either. I've certainly never seen one, at least as far as I know. One thing I am sure about, that boy believes in what he is saying. He truly thinks he saw a real ghost. If the Captain's attitude is anything to go on, he shares my conviction in the matter. That bodes well for young Petry.

"Lieutenant, talk to the troops. See if anyone saw anything unusual. Find out if any wounded soldiers wandered away from the medical tent. Did any of the guards assigned to the mountain trails hear of see anything out of the ordinary? Bring me the man, or men, who found the dead sentry."

The lieutenant was nodding and writing rapidly as the Captain rattled off his commands.

Turning back to the frightened boy before him, the Captain nodded at the guards. "Take Private Petry to medical and asked the doctors to examine him. I want to know if he's suffering from any ill effects of the blast."

The guards nodded and took the boy by the arms. They guided him from the room as the Captain stood lost in thought.

I still can't shake the chill that overcame me as the boy spoke of ghosts. If the cave was empty when he checked it, and no one entered after he took his post, how could someone get in? I've been in those caves, and there's only one way in, even for a fly. And if I couldn't get through any other way, how could a human? It was beginning to look more and more like the work of those blasted rats, unless ghosts were real. A rat may have managed to sneak past the guard; they are small and fast. But how did they do it, and why? Why would the rats want to make all of that noise? With their big ears the noise would have been harder on them than it was on me. Great-uncle Fetti did tell me that Captain Dietrich always said that the rats were unpredictable and dangerous. It sounds like the Captain knows them well. I've never been able to understand rats myself. The more I think about it the more I think that Captain Kurtz may be on to something. I wish I could talk to Great-uncle Fetti about now; I bet he'd have an idea what happened.

All of this thinking was making my head hurt again so I decided to call it a night. I know Captain Kurtz and Lieutenant Oplinger will keep working on the problem and they don't need my help.

I went to sleep thinking about rats and ghosts. Only a short time later I awoke with a start with visions of rats floating through the air. Rats don't fly, so what was I thinking? I thought they were ghosts, and ghosts float, at least that's what I've always heard. It got me to wondering, did the boy really see a ghost? Was it the ghost of a rat or the ghost of a man? There have been times when I have wished that I were human; never again! Flies don't have to worry about ghosts. I've never met a fly who has claimed to see one.

As far as rats go, maybe they see ghosts; I really don't know. Maybe there are ghosts of rats; I won't even speculate on that. But I am willing to admit that I am leaning toward believing that the rats are the culprits here.

I fell back asleep with more questions than answers and my head was really hurting again. When the Captain returned he didn't make any attempt to be quiet. These ae his quarters too so I guess I can't complain. Since I was already awake, I decided to fly closer and see what had developed while I took my nap.

"Well Lieutenant, what did you find out?"

"One of the guards on the mountain trail thinks he heard motors just before the explosion. He didn't see anyone or anything but he said the motors didn't sound like ours."

"It was those rats!"

"It looks that way Sir."

"How did they get in?"

"We don't know Sir." Lieutenant Oplinger admitted. "The medics are convinced that Private Petry is telling the truth, at least as he saw it."

"They think he saw a ghost?"

"No sir, they think he believes he saw a ghost."

The Captain shook his head wearily. "I don't understand; how could this happen?"

It is my opinion that Lieutenant Oplinger showed great wisdom in remaining silent at this point. How can anyone explain the actions of a rat?

"How am I going to explain this to headquarters?" Captain Kurtz asked aloud.

I find myself feeling sorry for Captain Kurtz. Like I said earlier, he's a fair man; I'd hate to see anything happen to him. From what I've heard, the German high command is staffed with officers with no patience for failures. This unexplained attack by the rats will undoubtedly be considered a failure on the part of Captain Kurtz. Really, who would have expected such a thing from rats?

"Captain?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"An ambulance crew just arrived at the gate sir. They claim their ambulance was stolen by two Allied soldiers."

"An ambulance? Where is it now?"

"They don't know Sir. They said they were on their way to pick up casualties from the attack on the convoy when they were attacked."

"Perhaps one of the commandos was wounded during the attack." Lieutenant Oplinger suggested.

He sounded rather hopeful to me.

"No one reported hitting any of the attackers."

The Captain sounded thoughtful. I waited for him to figure it out; I knew he would.

"Then why take an ambulance?"

I was wondering that myself and I was glad that the lieutenant had asked the question.

"Lieutenant, did you take the names of the dead as they were unloaded?"

"Yes sir."

The Captain went to his desk and pulled out a folder and removed some pictures. Handing them to the lieutenant, he asked. "Do any of these men look familiar?"

The lieutenant studied the pictures carefully. After a while he nodded and placed three pictures on the desk. "These two were the crew of one of the ambulances sir. They brought in two of the bodies from the convoy. This one," he tapped the third picture, "I'm pretty sure he was one of the casualties they brought in."

"Did they put him in a coffin and take him to the cave?"

"Yes sir, I suppose so. That's where we stored the bodies."

"I see." Captain Kurtz sighed. "Release Private Petry."

"Sir?"

"I think we've found our ghost."

"Sir?"

"These two men," the Captain held up the first two pictures, "posed as the ambulance crew. They slipped this one," he held up the third picture, "into a coffin and put him in the cave. Then they somehow left the base without attracting attention. After everyone left he slipped from the coffin and planted the explosives. Then he tried to leave the cave where Private Petry spotted him. I believe Private Petry passed out from shock and this soldier placed him behind the truck. Then he made his way up one of the mountain trails where either he, or one of his companions, killed the guard to make their escape. They had vehicles hidden up there and they left before the charges detonated. Would you say that that about covers it Lieutenant?"

If the expression on the Lieutenant's face was anything to go on, he was as dumbfounded as I felt. Of course, now that the Captain had explained it, I could see how it had happened. What a relief, there wasn't any ghost!

And, the rats weren't responsible, it was enemy soldiers; that came as a surprise to me.

"Now all I have to do is explain this to headquarters." The Captain lamented.

And now I've got a story to tell Great-uncle Fetti.