A Tall and Small Collection | S2

Saving Our Hero pt. 2

This was bad!

This was really bad!

There were so many questions, and yet none of them mattered more than the overwhelming declaration that Hero Rafter had just been seen and captured by a human!

Raze Pinch, a Borrower in the community, had seen the whole interaction.

He had been watching this apartment for the past few days, borrowing as furniture and boxes were moved out. He loved when humans moved. They could misplace practically anything and blame it on the move instead of the Borrowing community. He managed to grab an entire box worth of straight pins from the mason jar as well as a couple of popsicle sticks. From the pantry, he snagged five Borrower sized bags each of chips, dried fruit, and some of the dried goods like rice and sugar packages.

He had returned to watch from above because he heard the humans fighting with who he assumed was the daughter. Something about not wanting to move and leaving behind friends and a guy she was interested in.

How dull.

The struggles of humans. They get to bring everything with them in luxury and she's worried about leaving behind friends.

Just make new ones! Borrowers did it all of the time.

He watched in horror from the top trim piece as Hero Rafter, son of Casper and Prim Rafter, boldly walked out onto the desk and made eye-contact with the human. Raze didn't know who this "Austin" boy was, but what he saw next was more bone chilling than the thought that someone had mentioned the existence of Borrowers to another human.

He watched as Rey, the boy rumored to be one of the "human pets" to a human known as Ashlynn, managed to get Hero free from his trap in the mason jar.

Alas, it did not last. Raze watched the boys vanish under the desk and then saw the human girl drag out Hero once again. Her finger was bleeding profusely as she held Hero aloft.

"That little rat!" she said as she cursed under her breath and began sucking on her wound like some kind of monster. "And you! You'd better not try that little stunt again."

Raze heard Hero shout in pain as, with horror, Raze heard him speak.

"N-n-no. Please. I don't know why you're doing this, but you don't have to. Please! W-w-we can be friends!"

"Oh, we're going to be friends alright. You get to be my live-in friend – and you're coming with me," said the girl as she opened the top drawer of her bedside table, dumped the contents onto her bed, and shoved Hero inside.

"N-no! Please!" pleaded Hero as the girl snapped the drawer shut.

Raze immediately ran for the Rafter's home.

He needed to tell them what he just saw.

They needed to know!

This wasn't good!

This really wasn't good!

~~~^*^*^~~~

Soren quickly darted through the walls and across beams until he reached the massive elevator shaft. He didn't have time to wait. After listening to Rey recount what happened to Hero, there wasn't much time left.

Soren practically leapt down each set of stairs as he delved down further into the community. He swore he could feel their eyes on him as he passed. There was little doubt the Borrowers who attacked him had spread the rumor that he, as well as his family, were human pets.

Pathetic.

He understood their fear, but couldn't they put together that if something were going to happen to them by Ashlynn's hands that it would have already happened? Wouldn't he have already told Ashlynn where to find them? Wouldn't they already be captured if that was his deal with her?