The Other Mammal

I suspect there is a mammal living in my apartment other than me. I suspect this because while writing at my computer, out of the corner of my eye I saw a fist-sized streak cross the kitchen and disappear beneath the radiator. I do not think that it was a fist-sized roach, although that would be equally horrible. It seemed to come from the hallway, and I sleep in that direction.

I have seen mice in other apartments, but they tend to grow no bigger than a golf-ball, and being nearly blind, they tend to follow the walls. This streak crossed the center of the room. It could have been a small rat, but rats are bold, and why would it run so fast when not presented with any kind of threat? No reason. Unless it was super-intelligent.

I fear that while I am sitting here typing I will feel something furry against my bare foot. Just a little brush at first, like a dust-bunny, and then when I look down...aaah, not a bunny at all! Aaah, those diseased teeth! That hairless tail!

So I have been telling myself that I hallucinated, although hallucinating rodents may be worse than having them. You can't kill a hallucination with a heavy book. I've tried.

I rationalize: if there is something in my apartment, it should be more afraid of me than I of it. After all, I intend to kill it. But what if it intends to kill me? If I were a rat and saw a hairless biped a hundred times my size, I would certainly sprint across the room just as the hateful human lifted the pasta pot from the stove.
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