EPILOGUE

It was late November, and Thorn Valley had been visited by a day of marvelously warm Indian summer.

Ian stepped out of the colony's gate into the sunshine and spotted Arthur a short distance away, lying on the ground sunning himself. "Good morning, Arthur!"

Arthur lifted his head up. "Oh, hello, Ian. Coming out for a stroll?"

"Just a little one. It would be a sin to stay underground on a day like this."

Arthur closed his eyes and put his head back down. "Yes, it would … especially when Justin gave the entire colony the day off. I have a feeling we won't be seeing any more days like this in a long while."

"I think not. Uh, speaking of Justin, have you seen him about?"

"He passed by here a few minutes ago," said Arthur. "He was taking a walk himself, down along the edge of the stream."

"Thanks." Ian set off for the trail that ran alongside the stream.

He found Justin several hundred yards from the colony, sitting alone on a rock in a little nook that overlooked the stream. "Hello, Justin."

Justin looked alarmed. "Ian! You shouldn't have come so far from the colony by yourself. You could have been attacked by some of the wild animals!"

"Look who's talking." Ian sat down on the rock beside Justin. "I wanted to have a chat with you, and I felt like walking anyway, so there's no harm done."

"A chat about what?"

"Oh, just things in general." Ian gazed out over the flowing waters. "I deeply appreciate your making me an honorary member of the Council."

"Don't mention it," Justin brushed it off. "I figured you could give us the human angle on all of our problems … maybe come up with solutions we'd never be able to think of ourselves. Besides, I thought it might make you feel more at home here."

"It does, a little," Ian said, "but still … now that everyone in the colony knows the truth about me, they really don't treat me like one of them. Even Barnes looks at me differently nowadays. You and Arthur are the only ones who seem to see me as belonging here."

Justin lay a forepaw on Ian's leg. "It's just taking them awhile to accept you. That's only natural. They'll get over it."

"Maybe. Justin, I've been thinking a lot recently about what you told me once about every member of the colony being expected to take a mate and raise a family and … well, I decided you were right. Anyway, I asked Patricia to marry me, and she said yes."

Justin's face lit up. "That's wonderful! Have you set a date yet?"

"No, but we want to do it soon." Ian ran a forepaw along his gray coat. "I may not have much time left," he laughed. "No way of telling how effective those shots were."

"Well, this will be one marriage ceremony I shall certainly look forward to performing!" Justin took Ian's forepaw in his own. "I'm very happy for you, Ian."

"Thanks." Ian was quiet a moment, then said hesitantly, "It's my advice to you as a friend that I think you ought to look into taking another wife for yourself."

"No," Justin lowered his head, "the pain I still feel from Elizabeth's death is too strong. I cannot marry again."

"You can't live the rest of your life mourning her, Justin. It will eat you up inside. Besides, every king must have a queen."

Justin went to the edge of the nook and looked down at the stream below. "I'm no king."

"No, you're not," Ian admitted. "You're a great leader, which is something much better. When you held that election last month to see if the people of the colony still wanted you as their President, there wasn't one vote cast against you. Not a single one! Doesn't that tell you something? The rats of the colony are behind you one hundred percent! You deserve better than to live in loneliness."

"Perhaps you're right," Justin sighed.

"You know I'm right."

"Okay. I will consider taking another wife. But I still hurt on the inside."

Ian patted Justin on the shoulder. "A wife is just what you need to help you deal with that pain."

The nook was situated above a bend in the stream. From where they stood, the two rats could see the colony and the barren fields that lay beyond. All the crops had been harvested, and the fields would remain empty until the spring.

"Brutus surprised me, doing such a good job of taking charge in your absence," Ian said. "The way he made the females and children tends the fields while all the males were away with Jenner … he saved the harvest."

"Yes, I know," Justin nodded. "Jenner would have let the crops fail. Brutus saved us from a very hard winter. Ian, what do you suppose will happen to Jenner at NIMH?"

Ian shuddered. "I don't even want to think about it."

"Will they kill him?"

"Eventually," Ian replied. "But first they'll want to study him. And to do that, they'll subject him to experiments that would make the treatments you and I received look pleasurable by comparison. Then, when they're done with him, they'll probably stick him in a jar of formaldehyde and stash him away on some dusty old shelf. He has to be preserved for future study, you know."

"Maybe I should have killed him like he wanted me to."

"Justin! After all he did to you, don't tell me you actually feel pity for him?"

"Not at all," said Justin. "It's just that, as long as I know he may still be alive, I'll always harbor a fear in the back of my mind that he may return, and bring terror to our lives once again."

"You've got nothing to worry about," Ian assured him. "Jenner's gone, and he won't be coming back."

The sun vanished behind a bank of ominous dark clouds. Justin glanced up at the sky. "Those look like rainclouds. What a shame … it started out to be such a beautiful day. I guess we'd better get back to the colony. We sure don't want to be caught out in a storm."

"Might as well." Ian and Justin started down the trail to the colony. By the time they reached the gate, a light rain was falling.

Justin shook off the beads of water that were clinging to his fur and looked out from the shelter of the gate at the day that had suddenly turned so dreary. "Such a pity. Everybody must be disappointed."

"I should think so," Ian said, "but there's a lot that has to be done indoors. There will be plenty more beautiful days ahead. Come on down to my room and have a cup of wine with me. I've got a wedding coming up that I have to celebrate!"

Justin smiled. "That sounds good to me." The two of them went down into the colony and left the rain behind.