The Lost Colony

Originally Written 2/16/2019

Audrey heard the roars and rumbles that shook the tiny colony she lived in and she scurried along the dusty floor with four padded paws and a sleek brown coat of fur. 

“Oh I do hope the little ones don’t wake with all this commotion.” she fretted quietly to herself as she moved around the nesting area.

It smelled vaguely of old, wet wood and mold. The youngest of their brood were kept at the far end of the enclosure where they lived. It was warm and filled with debris and fluff found around their settlement.

She fluffed the toasty, white stuffing that encased the tiny baby mice, and leaning down she sniffed each one carefully. They all slept soundlessly, regardless of the noises and thumping that echoed at the entrance to the Cholla Colony. She pinned her ears back and looked out the small hole that led to the greater communal area and she suddenly jumped, clutching her long, naked tail to her chest and perking up onto her hind legs defensively. 

“It’s just me Audrey.” came the harsh, guttural tones of Maurice. He too stood on his back paws in the entranceway. He was shorter than Audrey by a head and his brown fur was splotched with white patches. 

Audrey relaxed “Maurice, you frightened me.” She looked him up and down and continued to fidget with her tail between two paws. “Are you still wearing that silly thing?” she asked with a hint of amusement, but with a tension that suggested she was trying to think of anything but the thump, thump of something heavy falling close to their colony. 

Maurice gave a gruff chirp back at her, laughing. His little paws picked at the shred of fabric wrapped around his shoulders. “I think I look good in floral patterns.” he fired back casually. It was as though he was in no hurry even with the thudding noises that had started to shake the cholla on the ceiling they’d constructed from the cactus and old vinyl tile.

Audrey, on the other hand, had other ideas on her mind. She stepped closer to him and dropped her voice low, and winced with each tiny earthquake that was caused so near to their home. She was silent for a long moment, listening to the noise and twitching her head back at the younglings compulsively. 

“We need to gather the colony and evacuate,” she said seriously to the other mouse before her. Her hands wringing her tail. “We must get as many of the young out of here and make for the safe point. We need to sound the alarm.” Her voice was level, but there was an urgency to her words. When she mentioned the children she shot back worried glances at them sleeping among the nest.

Maurice shook his head and reached out a paw to lay on her shoulder “It will all be okay my dear.” he promised “This isn’t the first time humans have stepped so close to our home. We’ve lived here for years without interference. There’s no reason they’ll come for us now.” He tried to assure the worried den mother.

Audrey moved her shoulder away from him and shook her head “They are heathens!” she whispered fiercely. “We can’t trust them, no more than the cats under the main house, nor the vicious squirrels to the west. If they are not us-” she stopped and winced as another very loud crashing noise echoed around the dommed room and throughout the other pods attached with jumping cactus. He went to interject but she quickly hissed to him “They are coming for us!” as low as she could. She was always so careful around the babies she cared for, even in these troubling times.

Maurice was taken aback for a moment, blinking several times. “Audrey.” He said to her in that gruff but gentle voice “You know I’ve seen my share of horrors from the outside world.” he reached up to tug on his ear where a chunk was missing before replacing the paw to the opening of the floral pattern cape he wore. “Out in the desert, during our great crossing from the Tonto, we lost many of our own. But we made it and even when we constructed this colony-” He spread his paws out and looked up “-the cholla was hard to pull across the tough terrain. It bled our paws so we carried the thorned things with our teeth,” he continued with the tone of the elderly male he was, full of experience. “But we did it and the cholla pays us back by covering us and protecting us from the outside.” 

Audrey watched him throw his arms out and speak of the old times and her eyes narrowed and ears pinned. She huffed slightly and the normally down-to-earth femme snapped at him. Her gentle voice turned to a sour note. 

“I pulled and piled cholla just the same as you.” She practically spat at him “As all did when we first came here. I was barely older than them.” She nods toward the little mice still curled up in their nest, her long features softened at the sight of them. “I still remember the wounds from the sharp needles.” She reached out to grab his arm “Maurice, you must open your eyes and see that nothing good will come if we stay here. You must issue the order to leave.” She pleaded with him. “The thorns can’t protect us from the giants that live in this world.” Her black eyes filled with tears of anger and fear.

Maurice looked at her with pity. He let out a sigh and placed his paw over the one she’d placed on his arm “I understand what you fear but...” He trailed off as a crashing came from a pod further down the line from them. His eyes grew wide and shot to meet Audrey’s with terror coursing through them both. 

He dashed from her side and yelled out into the communal pod in the center of their settlement “Sound the alarms! Evac point Gamma!” His harsh voice rang out. Dozens of mice perked their ears and peeked out of their domains and then suddenly they started to make formations. Some taking provisions and others rushing to the nursery where Audrey and he had been standing. “Get them all out of here!” he barked at them, pointing to the baby mice.

Audrey had already started to pick them up one at a time and hurried to pass them to the others. Their roof shook and Maurice yelled “Hurry!” as he hustled the mice out. Audrey went to pass him and he looked at her with shame and fear “I should have listened… Go!” he pushed her out the door and she ran. Faint words calling out his name trailing behind her as she bolted for the exit. 

Maurice went to follow but just then the roof was torn off their makeshift domain with a crunching noise that made him wince. He stared up in awe at the massive giant that looked down at him. Maurice was cornered as gloved hands reached down for him, he prepared to die but the booming voice sounded gentle as the large human male spoke to him and leveled his eyes with the tiny mouse in his hand “There, there, little guy. Didn’t know this was your home.” he chuckled. No sooner did Maurice think death was coming before he found himself placed outside. Astonished, he made for the new settlement they had planned for in an emergency. He was certain that Audrey would change her tune once she heard how he had been rescued.