Cheesie James The Rodent Annoyance

[kyonides]

Chapter Three

The Shop

Cheesie could not trust a cat ever. No matter how useful his claws might be, their traitorous nature would always surface. There were no other mice around so he had to find any allies in the surrounding area as soon as he had confirmed the existence of birch beer cans or bottles at the store. Could some squirrels lend him a paw? They better do or he will be kidnapped by some lawless, bloodthirsty bird otherwise.

Wait guys! Wasn’t he supposed to explore the storage or the hallways first? Even if he could smell those rotten tomatoes the guards dissed, he might get lost there. James had finally understood he might need to draw some sketches resembling a map. This is where Slippery Silk’s obsession with role playing games full of world maps or dungeon floors would have come handy for sure.

“I gotta find some pencil or charcoal to draw the lines and symbols” CJ wisely realized.

Then the mouse noticed there was something black lying on the floor and ran as fast as a slightly fat rodent could for a few moments. When he finally managed to reach it, he got frustrated. It was some sort of plastic leftover that he could not use as a crayon. Interestingly, it was kind of sharp and he might keep it for later use.

Once he noticed how impossible it was to find some clean and useful sheet of paper, he tossed away his plans to become the first mouse cartographer in Maryland. He had to focus on methods that would let him succeed at locating his valuable prize. You might ignore this but that was not one of his strengths. His mentor knew about that and once told him “A true hero overcomes his small size and his roaring belly!”

Suddenly he yelled out loud. Some guard had moved his chair to the left making one of its wheels practically crush his poor tail. Cheesie had no choice but leaving the place before he could get exterminated by their unconventional weapons. He ran away till he reached some hall and a glass door that was half open then. To be honest with you, they could have caught him at any time for he was a slow runner indeed.

It no longer mattered, what the mouse had found out was disturbing. He realized that was not part of any real store but just a section of a medium sized shopping center. Before the rodent could aw at those modern day marvels, a parakeet had been arrested by some security guards who would later press several serious charges against him.

“You morons! Our feathered republic will be founded some day! Just wait for it!” the bird proclaimed ferociously.

So far Cheesie James only knew about the existence of the human stores and the very same Rodent Council itself. At most he expected to eventually find a feline feud or two but no single nation for birds. Perhaps it would be filled with nests and hollow trees everywhere.

Luckily, the reasoning behind the bird’s claims was about to unfold thanks to an unexpected visitor. It was a male creature who had four paws and a short tail but was no cat for sure. What could it be?

“Ha! What an idiot!” the doggo laughed. “He got inspired by some old spaghetti Western show, never realizing the characters were talking about reestablishing an ancient Indian nation after the rise of their late chief’s son to power.”

After explaining the situation to our small friend, the canine pet left the center followed by his human owner. She complained about her dog being so loud that her nerves were about to explode at any time. That was the very first time James had met such a spongy dog. He would never imagine humans had classified him as a wheaten terrier.

His journey had not finished, CJ’s call to find birch beer was only beginning. It could be because of his fat belly or his cautious nature that he only walked a few inches before turning around to check if anybody was following him. Or is there any another explanation for his recurrent need to take a few deep breaths here and there?

Just another discovery had been made by the furry mouse, the dog had paid a visit to the pet hairdresser less than twenty minutes ago. That was one of the closest stores he could find to the center’s main entrance. Sadly, Cheesie had to made some new acquaintances that would drive him mad, and that was no joke at all.

To his rodent dismay, he had unknowingly crossed the despicable Mice Sewers Gang’s territory without properly paying his respects to the gang leader Mario Cheester. Fine, that meant he had to bring in some piece of cheese or the like to appease him if possible. There was just a slight chance they would not demand an extra payment later on anyway.

“So amigo, did ya bring us some juicy cheese or what?” a gangster questioned him.

In this tricky situation, could CJ trust a bunch of rats that might only pretend to extort him? Or could his positive thinking cost him his very own life? Nonetheless, we got to realize James was not the fastest speedster around and they were many, too many of them in fact. His nervous hesitation costed him his freedom for they kidnapped him in no time, right after it was self evident he could not offer any resistance.

What he would have preferred to keep a secret is that he did not get seriously bruised because of his helpful fur. Or should I call it thick coat of fat instead? Judge for yourselves!

“My, my!” a stylish cat expressed from afar. “What do we got here? Some stinky rats bringing along a mouse as their hostage.”

The cat girl had interrupted their illegal parade unexpectedly. As you might have guessed by now, that gang got terribly pissed for no feline super model that had never worked hard in her whole life should ever pretend to scare them away. So they chose the W formation hoping to surround her in no time. It would soon prove to be a deadly mistake.

“Hey, Beefo!” the model called out. “It seems I’m gonna have you take care of these pathetic critters on meow behalf.”

Now you got to be asking yourself who the hell is Beefo supposed to be, and I would not blame you for ignoring that. He simply was her henchdog or even her slave dog if you prefer. No, he is not the brightest one out there but he is always willing to lend her a paw or even his muzzle. Think about a religious zealot from a far away land with a whipping tail and a killer bite. Do you still dare to believe this is an exaggeration? Then what will you do if I tell you that he got rid of five or six rats with ease? Frightened survivors quickly left the scene, automatically releasing Cheesie James.

“Roof!” the bite happy fiend cried out loud. “Ya got lucky, punk mouse, that they made a terrible mistake like passing by these very same pet shop while I was escorting mah sweet lady to her biweekly beauty session.”

“But don’t get the wrong idea, mouse, I just thought you got to be quite tasty” the cat taskmaster claimed out of the blue.

Understandingly, CJ got shocked to hear that his fate had not changed at all even if his captors were no longer present at the shopping center. Was he sweating like crazy?

“Nah, don’t take her darn seriously, mah friend!” the dog explained. “She’s just kidding you, ain’t I right, mah dear Pearly?”

“Huh? Am I, Beefo? Am I?” the feline model replied as if she were not aware of such fact.

“Err, fine!” her guardian stated. “Anyway, pal, what were you doing here in the first place? It’s not safe enough for a tiny rodent like ya.”

Cheesie was afraid of answering for his own purpose was not commendable at all. You know, he was supposed to snatch as many birch beer cans as he could. Then he came out with the perfect excuse to hide his immoral activities.

“Well, my friends and I…” he nervously answered “have been looking for some place that is selling root beer, because, err, it tastes darn good! Yeah, there’s nothing better in the entire world!”

“Say what?” the canine inquirer uttered. “Are ya searching for some mini market or the like?”

“Oh yeah, that might help us a lot indeed” the mouse speedily added.

Pearly the alleged actress did not buy the fatty rodent’s story as if it had been one of those lame screenplays she had rejected once she had become a famous star.

“Meow, of course it would certainly help you, tiny scoundrel” the classy cat suggested.

“She’s just joking, I guess” the talkative dog supposed. “OK, the tiny market is over there, right after those dog statues I’ve felt in love with since day one. I gotta tell ya that you better get some help from your pals if you plan to ever return home with anything excluding bites and punches.”

“Does that mean that gang is always lurking around here?” James wanted to figure out.

“What are you saying, you fool?” the diva complained. “If it weren’t for these professional hairdressers that treat me like the princess I truly am, I would have never come back to this nasty place. Ever. The MS gang will be the ruin for this lonesome shopping center.”

Her account of the facts greatly differ from young Cheesie’s viewpoint. He was a newcomer but the center gave him the impression it was thriving with activity after he took a close look around. Honestly they could easily listen to several people talking about pretty much anything and carrying along all sorts of bags filled with company logos and slogans he could not even attempt to read.

“In my humble opinion she isn’t that famous nor is this place that bad, actually I do love it” Beefo admitted. “I love the way it smells, I guarantee!”

“Fine, you’ve convinced me, my friend!” CJ cried. “I’ll give that tiny market a shot and see if it’s worth our time to ro… to pay it a visit and buy some stuff we badly need, of course.”

“Oh really? That sounds OK to me. Good luck, mouse pal!” the simple dog told him.

There was a huge problem for our young hero in the making. If he got caught by Pearly during a robbery, how was he expecting to run away without giving away his identity? His weight would betray him for sure. Was there any fellow rodent agent around that he could trust? Nonetheless, he had to enter the Terrier market without being detected by their guardians, and he had to do it right away before the nosy cat could make her next move.

Once again the travel was a true ordeal for the small mouse. As a poor excuse he soon acted as if he were imitating human behaviors on purpose as his own way to learn how to become a wise shopper. What nobody could ever understand was why he inspected some clothing store in the process.

After a few minutes he stood right in front of the market’s doors. They did not open. Probably he was small enough as to be ignored by the sensor that was still looking for tall living beings to arrive at the store. Thus Cheesie James had to wait for a kid to let him open the door for him. He truly felt ashamed of his small size.

To be continued...