RMCA Fiction:
The Mouse Knight II: Squibble's Story

The house is under siege. The enemy came back the moment our human sentinel left us. We barricaded everything and prepared to hold out as long as we could. If more caravans came, there was nothing for them now. The scouts I had sent out were the last able to get through before we were shut off completely. This time they hit us with everything they had, and my wish for action was more than granted. By noon I was begging to take back my wish. They had flying things, and dead insects as well. We had no ants, but the bees came to our aid within the first hour, and the sky was alive with dogfights. We fought them at the windows and doors. We rained arrows down on them and pushed stones off the roof to crush them. Shiva and Thor used up all their ammunition, pulled their spears and went to work. Ghost, Squibette, Stompy, Scratchy and I led the porch assault.

"Fall back!" Shiva cried. "Fall back inside the house!"

We did so, the enemy nipping at our very tails as we slammed the mousedoor shut and bolted it.

"Everyone on the carpet!" Thor commanded. Mice ran from anything solid and bunched up on the carpet as the enemy swarmed through the kitchen window and onto the foil-covered counter.

"Fry, you sons of bitches!" Shiva hit the big red button.

There was a loud hum, and all our hair stood on end. Outside, the zombies did the radical jig. They danced like the film was sped up. They bounced, bounded and hopped. Some of them flew three feet. They lit on fire. We smelled burning flesh.

Shiva let up on the button after several moments. The bodies fell, smoking. The most awful stench ever hit our sensitive mousey nostrils.

I had given thought to whether or not electricity would work on zombies, and the human must have given that though too. If it was not the surge of power that ended them, perhaps the sudden energy shook loose the black mouse's hold on the corpses. Either way, they fell. It worked.

"Oh, that reeks!" Stompy exclaimed.

"Now let's see how stupid they really are," Thor said, and tightened the grip on his steel spear.

Sure enough, the enemy surged forward with more troops. Uncaring of the trap, they assaulted the house again. Shiva fried them. Again and again they came. For hours, they fell on the house. The porch outside, the windowsill, the back door, were all covered in piled bodies. Shiva and Thor exchanged glances with me. How long could they go on like that?! How many zombies did that black bastard have?!

The tactic came visible too late, at dusk. Enough bodies, piled high enough, negated the electric current, and our trap was useless.

"To arms!" I cried as they swarmed the door and window again. We heard Heide's car outside rumble up the driveway. No door opened. She must be trapped inside by the enemy hordes. It was that bad. The safe house was totally surrounded.

The fighting went well into the night with no sign of any relief.

We have had some respite, although we do not know why. Perhaps even the enemy must regroup. We have moved camp to surround the human, who is still breathing, albeit terribly lightly. We have discussed tactics. Snake venom did not always kill; the human might yet recover if we could ward him against further harm. But this was a daring venture, and terribly chancy. He was a huge target, and on the enemy's turf. Still, we owed him our lives several times over, and my father would not abandon him. So we guarded our sleeping Gulliver as the enemy regrouped beyond our range of sight. We have fifteen thousand troops left to us, not including four hundred heavy cavalry. My father and I have new mounts, deeply mourning the old ones who were so faithful and such good friends. We use every minute given us to build new fortifications and dig new trenches. Everyone is as tired as they could be and still standing. There is no food, no water. The air is as freezing as if we were surrounded by snow. The ground is slick with sheets of frozen blood.

This war is hell.