Rat Tales

It was 9pm on a Monday. I had spent many hours doing important work and was ready to retire for the day but first I had to take my final trip to the CR (comfort room). The CR is near but the path is treacherous. First you must pass through the dreaded kitchen in which rats, lizards and cockroaches rule in the night. If you are courageous enough to bypass the kitchen you will come to a great wooden door that creaks of age and general creepiness. You must slowly open the door, never knowing what you might find waiting for you on the other side. If you are lucky enough to make it through physically unscathed, your mind still isn't safe. You can hear the rats scurrying all around you. Are they only in the walls? Or simply waiting in the shadows for their chance to feast on human flesh? I take these risks in honorable service to my country on a nightly basis, sometimes even twice nightly if I drink too much water. But this night was different.

I had reached the CR with great excitement but the bathroom door would not budge. Upon further examination I realized that the door was in fact locked! I shook the door in great frustration and was tempted to awake my hosts who had promised me 24 hr access. I listened…the only sounds I could recognize were inhuman. I was on my own. I took refuge back in my room, conflicted on what my next move should be. I weighed my options… I could wake my host mother and make her come downstairs to unlock the bathroom or I could make the trek to the most feared place to be at night in all of the Philippines the outdoor CR.

I will admit I have never experienced such great fear as I did in this moment but I knew what I had to do. I gathered my wits about me, shot some punches into the air to heighten my senses and I stepped out into the darkness. Leaving my door open would risk invasion, I turned and shut myself in. I took heavy steps through the kitchen my flip flops smacking on the tiled floors. I could see outlines of creatures running along the cabinets and catch glimpses of movement in every nook and cranny. I came to my first obstacle. Another heavy wooden door latched across at the top and a heavy lock at the bottom that fit into a hole on the floor. My fingers nervously fumbled with the locks… I could hear the creatures moving around me, scurrying all over. The first door was open and I was able to quickly unlock the screen door but stopped myself short of going outside. I pounded hard on the door, hoping to scare off anything within my immediate perimeter. I was vulnerable here from both directions. With a deep breath I flung the door open and made a run for it. First locking myself in the CR then scanning my surroundings to be sure that I was truly alone. This was the moment I had been waiting for, thanks be to god.

I left the CR with great speed and stealth. Ducking under clothes lines and hopping over a bucket. I could hear the rats rummaging around me. One misstep and it would all be over. I made it back inside and managed to seal off the exit once again locking myself into the confines of the kitchen. This was an extreme moment of defenselessness. The creatures were fast but I was faster. I made it  back into my room and sighed in relief when suddenly...

Although I did what I could to make this tale mildly entertaining I was legitimately scared at the time. The night following these debacles was equally creepy. Being that I am not living in a Bruce Willis movie what are the chances that all of the cupboards in the dining room are left open??? The worst part, I was in the room only minutes before and I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. Can this also be blamed on the rats? I feel like I am living in a horror movie.