The rat was strong, much stronger than I'd given him credit for. As he burrowed through the small space to the lower level, I felt again as though I was in a dream. I had been confronted, forced to watch torture, trapped in an elevator, almost raped, and now here I was helping out a talking, bipedal, giant rat. My head was swimming as I allowed the rat to pull me to safety on the lowest level of the building.

Quickly, we made our way through the underground parking structure. I could tell that the rat was very weary, and I myself wasn't sure how much more I could endure. The entrance gates were locked, but luckily, they were very easy to go around. There was no magic to our escape, no adrenaline rushing, heart pounding, last-minute chase, but quite honestly, I don't think either of us could have endured another surprise.

As it was, the days that followed brought upon enough excitement to keep me constantly on my toes. For now, I just wanted to get as far away from that place as humanly possible.

We hurried through the darkened night, moving like ghosts in the shadows. The rat was a very mysterious creature indeed. He didn't speak much, but when he did, his voice had an air of authority mixed with humbleness that calmed my fears almost immediately.

"Splinter."

I looked at him curiously. "Excuse me?"

"My name is Splinter."

"Oh...umm...nice to meet you, Splinter." I shook his hand briefly. "I'm Holly Grant."

"Yes, I know."

Again, I shot him a curious look.

"They spoke of you often."

I nodded. "Scheming against me I imagine. Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe." Before I could voice my concern, he spoke again. "Did he hurt you, Holly?"

I glanced down at the torn clothes I had almost forgotten about. Cringing, I gathered my shirt closed again and stared down at my feet as we walked across the pavement. "A little." I sighed. "But I'll be okay. It's my pride mostly..."

"You are bleeding."

I raised a hand to my neck and came away with red, sticky fingers. "Yeah, he cut me pretty good. But I'll be okay."

Splinter laid a sympathetic hand on my shoulder, and I stared once again into that furry face. Those eyes that had seemed so piercing and determined were now filled with kindness.

I began to feel dizzy as I pictured the charts in my head--the ones I'd typed myself. Strength - 52%, Intelligence - 94%... He did indeed seem very smart and very wise. I could only guess at what exactly those figures meant though.

My stomach hurt and I began to feel nauseous. I tried to divert my attention by asking him how he was doing.

"I am severely weakened from the experiments, but I will survive. It is you I am concerned about."

So he did care about what happened to me. How nice. That's the last thing I remember thinking before my mind slipped into the peaceful slumber of unconsciousness.