Chapter 12: The Stone
As soon as they got there, Ages bandaged Hogarth's wound and Justin stood up to give a speech to the rats.
"Friends tonight we will journey to Thorn Valley, we must leave no evidence that the Rats of NIMH ever existed."
As Justin gave his speech it turned out that Jenner was still alive. Jenner was on the brink of death but he wasn't going to go down without vengeance. He walked to the top of a hill over Justin and was about to pull a sneak attack. Hogarth and Elizabeth were the first to notice Jenner, Elizabeth gasped at the sight.
"Justin look out, Jenner's still alive", Hogarth yelled.
Sullivan was lying on the ground also dying but he took the dagger out of his belt and threw it. The dagger hit Jenner in the back. Jenner let out his final breath and fell to the ground. Jenner was finally dead.
All the rats saw Jenner's dead body and crowded around it. Hogarth, Elizabeth, Dexter, and Tut didn't want to see this horrible sight and walked back to the Elizabeth's house.
As they made it there they heard voices yelling out. First they heard Martin, Elizabeth's oldest son. "Hello is there anybody up there." They heard the voices and ran up to the house, Elizabeth hearing her son, "Martin?" Hogarth along with the other's put their ears against the wall and spoke up. "Kids it's us are you all alright?" Teresa, Elizabeth's daughter spoke up, "we're fine, Mother, are we almost moved?" "We'll be moved soon."
Elizabeth felt despair and buried her hands in her face. Hogarth walked up to her and tried to comfort her. "Elizabeth, don't give up there's still hope, we can still move the house."
Elizabeth spoke sadly, "but how?"
Tut spoke up, "she's right Hogarth we don't have anything to help."
Dexter then spoke up having thought of something. "Wait a minute I have a device back at the ship, if I can go get it, I can lift the house out of the mud and onto the stone."
Elizabeth's face lit up and she smiled. "Oh thank you Dexter that will be great." Hogarth and Tut also smiled at Dexter's idea, "Nice thinking Dex."
"Okay I'll head back to the ship for a couple minutes and I'll be right back with the device." As Dexter was about to take off running there was a weird sound.
Blub… Glump.
"What was that", Hogarth asked. The sound's continued and they found out that the block was now sinking into the mud.
"It's sinking, Justin, it's sinking" Elizabeth yelled.
Justin was alerted to the situation and he and other rats came to their aid. Inside the house the children saw the mud leaking in to the house and were afraid, knowing that they would possibly die.
The rats including Elizabeth, Hogarth, Dexter, and Tut were trying their best to pull the house out of the mud and get it to a safe stop. Elizabeth and Hogarth were tying ropes onto the cinderblock while Dexter, Tut, Justin and the rats were trying to tie a rope from a hill to pull it out of the mud.
Unfortunately the rope snapped and the block plunged deeper into the mud. Hogarth and Elizabeth were unfortunate enough to be on it and fell in as well. They nearly drowned and the amulet came off of Elizabeth's neck and fell into the mud. Hogarth climbed out of the mud and tried to help Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth, grab my hand", Hogarth yelled with his hand outstretched. Elizabeth reached out and grabbed his hand and he pulled her out of the mud. Elizabeth looked on weeping knowing that her children were going to die.
Just then the amulet popped out of the mud where it sunk and floated over to Elizabeth now glowing bright red. Nicodemus's face was in the Stone and he muttered the phrase he said back at the Rosebush.
"Courage of the heart is very rare; the Stone has power when it's there."
Elizabeth looked on in amazement, "the Stone."
She tried to reach for it but it burned her and flew onto the ground where it caught on fire. Elizabeth went over to it and picked it up. She gritted her teeth as it burned her hands but then she gasped and she glowed in front of all the people.
Hogarth, Dexter, Tut, Justin and the rats looked on in amazement as Elizabeth now glowed. She used the power of the Stone to draw the ropes to her and she was able to magically lift the block out of the mud and onto the lee of the stone.
Hogarth and the other cheered as Elizabeth had saved her family. Then the light faded and Elizabeth, now overcome with exhaustion, lied down on the ground and fell asleep but now before uttering a simple phrase, "thank you Nicodemus and god bless you." As her friends looked on at her in amazement she then fell asleep.
For a while she slept until she woke up a couple minutes later. Hogarth was right before her when she woke up and she hugged him but faltered because she was very tired.
She looked at Hogarth's stomach and found that his wound was gone. When she used the Stone she healed him of his wound. They all went inside the house where the children embraced her happily and she felt relieved to know that her children were alive. For a while they had a conversation before the rats had to depart for Thorn Valley.
Elizabeth then gave Justin the stone. Justin tried to persuade her not to give it to him as her late husband intended it for her. Instead she said that the Rats of NIMH needed it more than she did and would make better use of it. Justin then agreed and the Rats departed for Thorn Valley fulfilling Nicodemus's plan.
Hogarth, Tut, Dexter, Elizabeth, and the children waved goodbye to the rats and went back inside to go to sleep waiting for what the next day would bring them.