Monday, September 28, 2009

Dead Rat: A Short Graphic Novel

That's "short graphic novel," not "short, graphic novel." Though it might be graphic, too. We'll see how this goes.


DEAD RAT:
One Woman's Quest to Destroy a Life




1. It is 2:15 and I am still awake, discovering that coffee+being alone at night+missing Isaac+a rat shoving tupperware off the kitchen shelf=not a good night's sleep. I flip on my lamp, yank the curtain back, and chase the rat away. I have set a trap, but am almost relieved that the rat seems to be ignoring it, because without Jeanie around, I'm not excited to deal with blood and guts on my own.


2. It comes back.



3. I barricade the doorway, afraid it will slip under the curtain.



4. Around 4 a.m., I finally slip into a brief slumber, only to be waken less than an hour later by the definite sound of a trap springing closed, followed by the whimper and thrashing of a suffering rat.



5. Now I am tired, upset, scared, and a little sad.


6. I add to the barricade. After all, rats have been known to spend their dying minutes smearing blood all over our rugs, books, clothes on the floor, etc. This one is NOT getting in.

7. An hour and a half later, the rat is still alive, and I am still awake. Eventually, as the rising sun brings the garbage trucks and the shop owners, I drift into sleep...and wake another couple hours later to creep into the kitchen, peer around the fridge, and find...



8. ...Dead Rat.


9. I get our neighbor, Glen, to carry it away for me, to where I don't know or care. And finally, I can maybe sleep in peace, in another fourteen hours or so.

THE END

3 comments:

Rantipole15 said...

Yuck! You poor thing! Makes our mouse wars seem very tame by comparison...though Chad did have to use his pellet gun to finish off a mouse that got only its paw stuck in a trap the other night. We've gotten an even dozen as of this morning. Wretched creatures!

Wu-zy Whatsit said...

i'm so sorry you lost all that sleep, but that is an ingenious and hilarious graphic novel! it makes me miss you, my darling, creative friend, more than ever! love you--and i'm glad you're not sick anymore!

Jeanie said...

oh kristina...im sorry you had to endure this all by yourself. i loved the barricades you put up..it made me laugh out loud. i miss you. hurry up and come home.