Rats World

• Declan Taylor, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2010

“It is the year 7010, rats rule the planet. The human race is all but extinct. Well it all started in the year 3070, president Ling Chi was experimenting with rats to see if his forever drug worked but something went wrong. The rats grew and grew, and then they ripped Ling Chi in half, then rampaged through the lab and killed anything in their path. So that is how rats came to rule the planet.”
These were the last words that my father spoke to me before he went away and I never saw him again.
Most of the time we humans stay indoors, but some of us...well you will see. We live in clans. We each have names to favour our weapons. Clan Longbow, Clan Club, Clan Spear and Clan Bone Knife.
My name is Declor Taylan of the Longbow clan. As the name suggests, I am ace at shooting with a longbow. It is the custom of the four clans to meet at a city, this year it is at old New York. The custom is to send one representative from each clan to try to kill Uber Rat, the King of the Rats.
So it was decided by the Council of Elders that one member form each Clan would go and seek the King Rat and try to kill it.
“If you die in the process, your sacrifice will not be in vain. I name Declor Taylan of the Longbow Clan, Ci Long of the Knife Clan, Kuor Poori of the Club Clan and Fime of the Spear Clan. We praise you and hope you are successful,” said the Arch Elder of the Council.
“Go then and do not return unless you have killed the Uber Rat and many others, or you are the sole survivor of your group” boomed the Arch Elder.
We went to Old Paris by land, as all the continents have reconnected. We went down into the ancient catacombs beneath Old Paris and we lit torches and walked into the darkness. We knew we were getting near Uber Rat’s nest because we smelt the ugly stench of rats. Then suddenly a sentry rat jumped out and attacked us. I disposed of it by shooting it in the eye with an arrow.

Before we had a chance to silence the rat properly, it shrieked a warning and then there was a great rumbling and a huge crimson rat came barrelling down towards us. We found an opening and as Uber Rat was passing us Ci Long threw his poison knife into one of its legs, Kuor Poori smashed its hind legs from beneath it, Fime threw his spear into its flank and I shot it with a fire arrow into one eye and it stuck there like a needle in a pincushion. Uber Rat was defeated. There was a great rush of rats but we hid back in the crevice and under the cover of darkness, we were safe.

By Declan Taylor
Wooragee Primary School
2010