Read Online The Christmas Rat by Avi - Free Book Online

could without making a sound. When I reached a place I thought was halfway to the steps, I stopped. Hoping to get my breath back, I pressed my forehead against the cool wall. It helped calm me down.
    At last I looked up. I suppose there were still some flames because there was reddish light casting shadows on the walls.
    All of sudden there was this banging sound, as if an ash can had been struck. Then I heard Anje’s voice shouting, “There you are!”
    Next moment, from around the corner, I saw the rat coming. He was racing right toward me. In nothing flat he passed to my left.
    More scared of Anje than the rat, I ran too. In fact I followed the rat, only to smash right into a wall. Stunned, hurting, I turned and ran again, stumbling and crashing into what I think was a can. Anyway, I fell. But I forced myself up and crawled behind the can, then hunkered down as tightly as I could.
    Moments later I saw a beam of light moving about. It came from Anje’s long black flashlight. With my heart pounding, I held my breath.
    He walked right by me. Couldn’t have been more than four feet away. Then he was gone. I wasn’t sure where he was going until I heard the elevator clanking down, the doors opening and shutting, and finally the sounds of the thing going up.
    Letting out a sigh of relief, I stood up and made my way to the elevator. It had stopped moving. I was just about to push the button when I held back. Maybe Anje was on it. Maybe this was a trap.
    Afraid to take the chance, I went to the stairwell door. The white flashlight was where I’d left it, still glowing. If he had seen it, he’d have known I was down there.
    For the first time I had this thought: the flashlight, the one he’d given me with his name on the side, maybe he gave it to me for some reason. I mean, a reason other than the one he said, which was so I could see. Maybe—and it made me cold to think it—maybe, he gave it to me so he could always see me .
    All the same, I picked it up and climbed the six floors to our apartment.
    Soon as I got into my bed, I drew the blankets over my head and just hugged myself. I was feeling exhausted. Not that I could sleep.
    I was thinking too much.
    As far as I could tell the rat was safe. Okay. That was good. I was really glad about that. But there was still one more day before the cold eased off. See, my hope was still that when it got warmer, the rat would leave the building. So the final test would come tomorrow.
    No! Later today.
-2-
    It was almost eleven o’clock before I woke up again. It was still Thursday, the day before Christmas. Later, Christmas Eve. My first thought was, What’s happened in the basement?
    I stumbled into the kitchen where I found a note.
    Christmas Eve is almost here!
    We should be home no later than seven.
    Special dinner. Stay warm!
    Love you,
    Mom
    I dressed, and was just about to head out for the elevator when the phone rang.
    Thinking it might be one of my parents checking in, I rushed back inside and snatched up the phone.
    â€œHello?”
    â€œGood try, kid,” came Anje’s hard voice. “You surprised me. You really did. Too bad those soldiers weren’t real. But hey, one night left for the mission. I’m hyped. Hope you are. Now, I’m willing to make a deal with you. Whoever is alive in the morning gets to stay alive. How’s that for a Christmas present? We got a deal?”
    â€œI . . . guess,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
    â€œMay the best rat win. And don’t forget, I think you’re a rat, too.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œHey, you didn’t forget did you?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œCome on, dude. You swore you’d attack all rats in your vicinity, or pay the penalty.”
    â€œI did?”
    â€œYeah. Merry Christmas,” he added. Then there was nothing but a dial tone.
    Shook up, I put the phone down slowly and went back to my room. What