The Rat King
Princess Christine Carlobos
©
Copyright 2020 by Princess Christine Carlobos
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The
fat boy ran from the Rat King, gulping for air as he prayed to the
gods for his life. He had soiled himself earlier when he saw the Rat
King crawl from the dingy blackened hole underground where he and his
friends were playing. His friends were... somehow, somewhere...
inside the Rat King now. Deader
than
dead.
He
tried not to think about them. Live!
Livelivelive!
He must live! His
chubby feet were heavy on the ground, his heartbeat so loud on his
ears. The pitter-patter of the Rat King's thousand feet behind him
were louder still. Come
play, come
play with us! His
friends inside of
the Rat King called out to him. Come
play.....
"M'boy,"
the Rat King drooled behind him. "Yer friends would like to
plaaaayyy. Don'chu wanna play wid 'em?"
The
fat boy cried, for the first time in a long time. The Rat King's
stench now filled the air, echoes of his friends' Come
play, come play with us! Come plaaaayyyyyy!
were deafening now, louder than the sounds of his chubby feet on the
ground, louder than the beat of his heart as he ran for his life.
The
fat boy begged the gods once more, for his life, for his home.
"D'ya
theenk the gods are that kind? D'ya theenk the gods are that cruel?"
the Rat King mocked. "M'boyyyy, come play wid yer friends."
The
fat boy ran faster now. Faster than he has ever ran before. Suddenly,
an answer to his prayers! He could see it! He could see his house! He
ran, nearer, nearer, nearer still.... and when his feet touched the
pavement, he thanked the gods.
Could
he come out of this alive?
He
could no longer hear the Rat King's feet pattering behind him, and
the echoes of his friends' cries were getting fainter and fainter...
"Could
it be?" the fat boy cried. "Could it be?"
After
this, he will hug his mother, he will kiss his father, he will finish
his food on his plate, he will eat his vegetables, he will do well in
school, he will do his homework. He will, he will. After this. He
just has to reach the front door.
The
fat boy stepped on his house's porch and grabbed the front door. And
he fell down, down, down the dingy blackened hole underground where
the Rat King lived.
Come
play, come play with us!
"M'boy,"
the Rat King smiled in front of him.
Princess
Christine Carlobos is a lawyer from the Philippines. She has been
writing stories since she was fourteen years old, and has won awards
for her writing.
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type
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