Rats

“Watch where you’re going, you big dummy!” Carter said. Bushy muttonchops framed his red, blotchy cheeks.

Edwin was sprawled on the breakroom floor, face hot with embarrassment. His mother’s cookies were scattered out in all directions.

Everyone was quiet for fear of being Carter’s next target.

“Leave him alone,” said Hank, the oldest worker in the factory. “Ain’t you got nothing better to do?”

“Stay out of it, old-timer, if you know what’s good for you,” Carter said through gritted teeth.

“We’re just having a little fun,” said Tommy through his buck-toothed grin.

“Your idea of fun is appalling,” Audry said as she walked over to Edwin and knelt. “And shame on the rest of you,” she added, calling out the others who quietly sat by. “How can you bear to watch someone be tormented?”

“Quit being so dramatic, Audry,” Carter said. “We all know Edwin got the clumsy genes from his daddy.”

Nervous murmuring spread around the room.

“A man’s death ain’t something to joke about. Even someone as rotten as you should know better,” said Hank.

Edwin put his hands to his head. It had been a long time since anyone had spoken about his father, and for Edwin, two years was still too soon.

“He knows we’re just joking. Don’t you, Eddie?” Tommy asked, bending down and palming Edwin’s glasses.

“You are monsters!” Audry declared.

“Audry, I can show you my monster anytime,” Carter offered, grabbing his crotch.

“Leave her alone,” Edwin whimpered. Memories flooded back, ones he wished could be forgotten and left to rot with the monster that had put them there. Clumsy oaf, he heard his father’s voice say in his head. It was as if the lifetime of bruises had suddenly returned.

Carter stood. “What’s that? You son of a…”

Edwin wanted to curl up his large frame to protect himself from what he was sure would come next.

“Breaktime is over! Everyone, back to work!” Mr. Roberts announced. As the plant manager, he didn’t put up with nonsense, especially on company time.

Everyone scattered, returning to work. As Tommy left the breakroom, he hid Edwin’s glasses on top of the vending machine by the door.

  “Watch your step, Ed. We wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you,” Carter said, letting the door slam behind him.

Edwin stood, with help from Audry, and brushed himself off.

“I see they are at it again,” Mr. Roberts said.

“It’s harassment. Something’s gotta be done,” Audry insisted.

Carter’s final words were stuck in Edwin’s head. We wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you.

Suddenly, the fear was back. After his father’s death, Edwin had hoped to be free of it for good, but there it was again.

“I would be glad to step in, though a formal complaint must be filed. Are you finally ready to report them, Edwin?” Mr. Roberts asked.

“Those two are pests, and they’re dangerous!” Audry added.

Rats…They’re rats… Rats are dangerous… They must be stopped…

‍ ‍Edwin remembered standing over his father’s lifeless body at the bottom of the cellar stairs.

“So, what do you say, Edwin?”

Edwin shook away the thoughts at the sound of his own name. He stared blankly at Mr. Roberts.

“Would you be willing to file a formal complaint this time?” Mr. Roberts seemed annoyed by the conversation.

“I don’t know,” Edwin said.

There’s only one way to stop rats, he thought.

“You gotta stand up to them sometime, Edwin, or who knows what they’ll do next,” Audry said.

‍ ‍What would they do next? Edwin wondered, glancing around to see if they were still nearby.

“Let me know if you change your mind,” Mr. Roberts added. “Audry, I need you back in the office, please.”

“Yes, Mr. Roberts,” she said, leaving the room.

“Take a few minutes, Edwin. I will send someone in to tidy this up.”

“I’ll take care of it, Mr. Roberts,” Edwin said, removing a spare pair of glasses from the pocket of his overalls.

“That isn’t necessary, but if that’s what you want.”

“It is,” Edwin said, resolved to handle the situation himself.

The lights above hummed. Bits of cookie crunched under Edwin’s feet as he crossed the room to get the broom. His mother would be upset if she knew all the cookies had been wasted. As he swept the floor, he thought about Audry’s words. She was right; they were pests, and they were dangerous. Thankfully, Edwin knew how to deal with rats. His mother had taught him, down in their cellar.

After sweeping, Edwin returned to the boiler room, carrying half of a cookie he’d managed to save in his large hand. He enjoyed working alone in the basement with the furnace because he had the place all to himself. Well, almost.

Kneeling at the box in the corner, Edwin carefully placed the half cookie next to the sleeping mouse and got to work. Shoveling coal was tiring, but Edwin’s broad shoulders and sturdy back made him well-suited for the job. Usually, physically demanding tasks kept him busy and helped distract him from his problems, but today, it didn’t seem to work. He couldn’t stop the thoughts as they popped into his head.

‍ ‍“Kindness counts,” his mother had always told him.

That was why none of this made any sense. Why were Carter and Tommy always so mean to him?

Edwin was well-liked in the community. Every Sunday, he sang in the church choir, every winter, he shoveled the elderly’s driveways, and every week, he brought his mother’s freshly baked cookies to share with everyone. None of it added up, and recently the bullying had only gotten worse. The last couple of months had been miserable. Carter and Tommy had filled his locker with coal, had hidden his lunch in the freezer multiple times, and convinced Edwin that Audry wanted him to ask her out. At least she had been kind when she turned him down. After five years of loving his job, Edwin no longer enjoyed coming to work.

‍ ‍Why won’t they just leave me alone?

Edwin knew he wasn’t the only one being bullied. There was also the new kid who had just started, about three weeks ago, right out of high school. Edwin had heard that Carter and Tommy had broken into the kid’s locker and filled his gloves with petroleum jelly. And last week, they disconnected the battery on the kid’s car so it wouldn’t start.

Then, of course, there was Audry. Poor Audry. Carter was constantly harassing her with suggestive comments, crude jokes, and catcalling her. Every Friday, Carter tried to convince her to leave with him. She always refused, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“You can’t say no forever,” Carter would say with a sinister smile. Then he started waiting for her in the parking lot every Friday night.

Audry had called the police, but they said there was nothing they could do since Carter was sitting in his own car in the employee parking lot. She told them Carter was stalking her during and after work, and there was the menacing and harassment, but without documentation or credible witnesses, there was nothing the police could do. Edwin knew it was only a matter of time before something bad happened.

#

Later that night, Edwin snuck out through the coal delivery doors behind the building. A harsh cold had settled in as darkness had fallen. Edwin didn’t mind the winter months. Usually, he found his walk home to be a refreshing break from the heat of the boiler room.

But tonight, Edwin found himself sweating. His breath hung heavy in the air as he waded into the darkness. His grip on the mallet tightened with every step. It was Friday night. The parking lot was mostly empty. Only three cars remained. One belonged to Mr. Robert’s, parked right by the entrance in his designated parking spot. The other two cars were further back, parked side by side at the far end of the lot.

Edwin recognized the old, rusted Mustang; its thick exhaust trailed up through the hazy light of the lamppost. Carter’s cigarette glowed orange in the darkness. He was undoubtedly waiting for Audry, whose car was parked in the next spot over.

“No more rats. No more rats,” Edwin chanted to himself as he made his way across the parking lot.

“Hey, Dummy! Are you talking to yourself? You’d better not come over here or I’ll kick your ass!” Carter said, flicking his cigarette at Edwin. The butt hit Edwin in the chest, hot embers erupting, but Edwin was unfazed.

“Mr. Roberts can’t save you this time,” Carter said, reaching for the door handle, as Edwin arrived at the car.

He remembered his mother’s words from that night down in the cellar. No one deserves to suffer, Edwin.

“You can’t hurt us anymore,” Edwin said, as he reached through the open window and jerked Carter halfway out. The heavy mallet slammed into the back of Carter’s head. His body hung limply from the window.

Edwin looked around. 

He was alone. 

If he was going to stay out of trouble, he would have to act fast. He pushed Carter back inside and opened the car door, rolled up the window, shut off the ignition, and pocketed the keys. He hefted Carter’s body onto his shoulder and closed the car door.

Edwin’s breath came quickly as he rushed back to the coal delivery doors. He was moving so fast that he dropped the mallet and had to stop to pick it up. Inside, he walked over to the furnace and opened it wide. The heat rushed to his face. Edwin tossed Carter’s lifeless body into the furnace.

“Never again,” he promised himself, as he shoveled more coal.

When Edwin could no longer see the body, a wave of relief rushed over him. Finally, it would be over. Then, just before he left for home, he remembered the keys in his pocket. He rushed back over to the furnace and tossed them in.

Afterward, he crept out through the delivery doors, locking them tightly behind him. He walked home through the dark, trying to clear his head. He found himself whistling, something he hadn’t done in quite some time.

#

On Monday morning, Edwin was busy as usual. A coal delivery had just arrived. There were mountains of it everywhere. The delivery door was propped open for fresh air.

He whistled as he worked.

“What are you so happy about, you big freak?” Tommy said, standing in the doorway, with a satisfied smirk on his face.

Edwin tried to ignore him and kept shoveling. The shovel’s handle was smooth under his grip, from years of daily use.

“I’m talking to you, dummy!”

“You’re not supposed to be down here,” Edwin said, his back still to Tommy.

“I do whatever I want around here. Haven’t you learned that yet? Besides, no one will know unless you plan on telling on me. Is that what you’re gonna do?”

Edwin was quiet.

“Have you seen Carter?”

“Not since Friday,” Edwin said.

“I don’t trust you,” Tommy said. “There is something wrong about you, I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“I don’t want any trouble, just leave me alone.”

Tommy noticed the box in the corner, where the mouse was sleeping, and walked over. “Well, well, what do we have here? This is a health violation; it could get you fired.”

Edwin looked at him with worry in his eyes.

“I should probably tell Mr. Roberts; he would want to know about something like this. Or I could just take care of it now,” Tommy said, smile widening. He turned his back, raising his boot over the box, but before he could bring it down, the shovel slammed into the side of his head, and Tommy collapsed in a heap.

Edwin stood over the body, breathing heavily.

Suddenly, the metal door at the top of the long stairwell whined. Edwin panicked. He picked up Tommy and looked around frantically. He could hear the footfalls on the steel steps, their hollow clanking growing louder. There wasn’t time to make it to the furnace, so Edwin dropped the lifeless body on the ground next to the newly delivered mounds of coal spread out along the floor. He shoveled as fast as he could, his muscles screaming as he slung the coal by the shovel full.

The footfalls stopped. 

“Edwin?”

He turned to face Mr. Roberts, who stood on the last step. Usually, no one came down here. Mr. Roberts had only been down here a couple of times, never stepping off the stairs. He would never get coal dust on his leather shoes. 

“Yes, Mr. Roberts?”

“Edwin, it seems there is some question as to Carter’s whereabouts. Have you seen him recently?”

“I haven’t seen him since Friday,” Edwin offered truthfully.

“Yes, that is precisely the problem; no one has seen him since Friday. His car is still in the parking lot.”

“I think I saw it out there this morning,” Edwin said, glancing behind him at Tommy’s leg that was sticking out from under the heap of coal.

“Yes, yes,” Mr. Roberts said impatiently. “His brother filed a missing person report with the police. A detective will be coming by tomorrow to speak to everyone. Just some routine questions, I am told. Nothing to worry about. I already told the police there was nothing nefarious going on here, but they must follow the procedure in these matters.”

“I understand,” Edwin said.

“Just tell the truth, and it will all be over soon. Before you know it, things will be back to normal.”

“Yes, Mr. Roberts,” he said.

‍ ‍Better than normal, he thought. 

“You’re a hard worker, Edwin. I wish the others were as dependable as you.”

“Thank you, sir.” He nervously shifted his weight. His grip on the shovel was white-knuckled. What if Mr. Roberts comes over? What if he sees what I’ve done? Edwin felt beads of sweat running down his back.

An awkward silence hung in the air for a few seconds.

“Well, I will leave you to it. Keep up the good work.” 

Mr. Roberts turned and trudged back up the stairs, his footfalls echoing. A moment later, the hinges on the door whined, and then a thud, as the door came to a close. Edwin slumped over. He could barely breathe. Dropping the shovel, he placed his hands on his knees. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he opened the furnace. The heat rushed out as the flames danced within. He uncovered Tommy’s body and picked it up. Before he could think about it, he tossed him in. Then he shoveled coal until he was sure he would never see Tommy again. 

#

The next day came oh-so-slowly. Edwin had been nauseous all morning, barely able to force down his breakfast. It was all he could do to convince his mother that he wasn’t sick. He even forgot his lunch at home.

Once he got to work, he saw Detective Emerson in the breakroom. Edwin recognized him from church, but they hadn’t spoken much since his father’s death. Which had also been investigated; procedure had required it, Edwin had been told. But a known drunk with a broken neck at the bottom of the stairs was pretty cut and dry, Emerson had told him and his mother.

“That much alcohol and accidents are bound to happen. I’ve seen it all before,” Emerson had said.

Now, Emerson was talking to Hank, who was sipping coffee, just nodding his head. Edwin clocked in and went downstairs, hoping that maybe he wouldn’t get a turn at all. Maybe they would forget about him.

Sometime later, sick with worry, Edwin went upstairs to use the restroom. In the hallway, on his way back, he ran into Audry.

“Edwin, there you are. I was just looking for you.”

“Really?” He perked up a little.

“Yeah, Detective Emerson is ready to speak to you. He is in the breakroom.”

“Oh,” Edwin slumped.

“Don’t be nervous, it will only be a few questions. He has spoken to most everyone else already,” she placed a gentle hand on his arm.

“I’ll go see him now,” Edwin said.

“Between you and me,” Audry said conspiratorially, “I hope Carter doesn’t come back.”

Edwin grinned a little.

  “Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “I don’t necessarily want anything bad to have happened to him, but if it did, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. If you know what I mean?”

Edwin nodded.

“Well, enjoy the rest of your day,” she said with a smile.

Edwin knew then that he had done the right thing. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Audry smile. He continued down the narrow hallway to the breakroom and looked through the glass of the door to see the detective there with a notepad. Emerson looked up at him.

Edwin almost flinched.

The detective motioned for him to come in.

“Good morning, Edwin,” Emerson said, standing and extending his hand. “I can skip the introduction since we already know each other pretty well.”

Edwin wrapped the detective’s hand in a meaty grip.

“Please, have a seat. Sorry to interrupt everyone’s workday,” the detective said with a smile.

“Mr. Roberts doesn’t like distractions.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t. In fact, he told me as much himself, but you see, there is protocol that has to be followed. As I told the others, it’s just a few routine questions. I will have you out of here in no time.”

He flipped the page on the small notebook and picked up his pen. Edwin couldn’t help but stare at it. The clip was broken off.

“As I understand, you didn’t get along well with Carter?”

“I tried to be nice, I really did, but…” Edwin trailed off.

“I heard from the others that he was mean to you.”

Edwin’s heart sped up, and he dropped his head. Did Emerson know?

“Hey, listen, Edwin. It’s okay. Alright? You haven’t had the fairest shake. Everyone knew how your daddy was.”

Edwin didn’t want to think about him, especially not now.

“Besides, all of us have been bullied at one time or another. I know what it’s like.”

“Really?”

“Life can be hard, Edwin. Some have it worse than others, but after all you’ve been through, I’m sure your luck is going to turn around. Just try not to let it get you down, okay?”

“Okay,” Edwin said.

“So, I guess you and Carter didn’t talk much?”

“No.”

“Did he ever mention taking a trip or anything to you?”

“No.”

“It looks like Carter’s friend Tommy hasn’t shown up for work today. Seems he disappeared yesterday, around the time Mr. Roberts announced I would be coming to interview everyone.”

Edwin looked at him blankly.

“Doesn’t that seem bizarre?”

“I don’t know,” Edwin said.

“Apparently, he didn’t clock out either, just left without saying anything to anyone.”

Edwin’s expression was worried.

“What’s wrong, Edwin? You look troubled. Is there something you need to tell me?”

“I don’t want to get into trouble.”

“Trouble? What for?”

“I tossed a couple of rats in the furnace.”

“Rats?”

Edwin nodded.

Detective Emerson laughed. “Edwin, I’m sure a place like this gets plenty of pests from time to time.”

Edwin nodded again.

“You have to act quickly, or there will be an infestation.”

Edwin smiled.

“You did good, Edwin. I’m sure no one would fault you for that.”

“I was worried that Mr. Roberts would find out and I would get into trouble.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Emerson said, laying down his pen. “This can be our little secret. Okay? Just between us.”

“Really and truly?”

“Really and truly,” Emerson confirmed, holding his hand out.

Edwin beamed. “Thank you, thank you,” he said, gripping the hand tightly and shaking it vigorously.

“Well, I’m glad to see you in better spirits, now that all that business is out of the way. If you should think of anything else, or if you hear from Tommy or Carter, please let Mr. Roberts know.”

“Okay.”

“Well, I think that’s it. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“You too.”

Edwin left the breakroom with a little spring in his step, suddenly very hungry; then he realized he had left his lunch at home.

THE END