[Cleveland, University Circle, CWRU]
[The corner of Ford and Bellflower, 3:00 AM]

A pair of frat houses sit dark and silent, tonight's party being on another 
part of the campus. A construction site, almost finished, sits similarly
deserted.

So where is the jackhammer sound coming from?

A muted rumble, and a section of the street crumbles and collapses, leaving 
a rectangular hole. Small furry shapes rush madly about, chittering commands
and the occasional epithet, leaping away from the sudden flashes of welders
and the clang of steel girders slamming into place. Finally, a large dark
mass slowly slides into place, obscuring the hole. Within seconds, it's gone.

Look closely at the asphalt -- unbroken? So it appears. The squirrels are
good at that sort of thing -- they've been adding exits (or, in this case,
entrances) for twenty years, and not one of them has ever been found. Of
course, no one's ever looked... but it's a good job, regardless.

Look! A bus is coming. A campus shuttle bus, a 'greenie' (although they've
been painted white for four years, the name still sticks). Let's see if he
notices.

Nope! Drove right over -- wait a minute, where'd that bus go? [click!]

Heh heh. Let's go inside.

"AAAAAAAARRRRGGHHH! WHAT THE FU--" [*SMASH!*] [SCREECH!] [crunch!]

The bus lays on its side in the underground warehouse, wheels still spinning. 
The window pops off and the driver (a rather large black fellow) gets out and 
looks around. "What the hell? Come on. Come on!" He reaches down and pulls 
out a passenger, then two more. The four of them, baffled driver and equally
confused college students (complete with backpacks) look around.

Eyes glitter from the shadows near the walls. Or maybe lenses? A squirrel 
bounces out into the light. It's wearing some sort of device strapped to its
back, some kind of keyboard strapped to its chest, and clutches a weapon of
some sort in its front paw. Oh, and its fur is bright silver...

"Come with me!" it orders, in a high squeaky voice, "Follow orders and you
 won't come to any harm."

"Who-- what are you?" one of the students asks. The squirrel glares at her.

"I'll let Teral tell you himself. Follow us, and don't make any suspicious
moves." He turns and bounces towards the door, then turns back. "Come ON!"

Thirty of forty more squirrels, most with normal reddish fur, but wearing the
same equipment, move closer, aiming their weapons threateningly. The humans
are herded towards the door and into a narrow, low hall. All but the shortest
have to hunch over to fit.

"What are you going to do with us?"

"How in gaia's name should I know?" the silver squirrel says, "That's up to
Teral. You'll probably let go, we mostly want the vehicle." They don't go
far, just down the hall, to a small empty chamber, this one with
recently welded bars blocking the entrance. "In there. Sorry about the
cramped quarters, we were only planning on holding one human." They scrunch
inside, sitting on the low benches near the wall. 

The driver starts to go in, then whirls and grabs the squirrel, who fails 
to dodge the clumsy grasp.

"Let me go, or I'll break your-- OW!" The squirrel squirms and bites the 
man's hand, and gets slammed against the wall with a sickening crunch. The
rest of the squirrels open fire, and the driver, blistering arms held up to
protect his face, stumbles back into the cell. A quick thinking squirrel
hits a button on the wall and the door shut, and the lock falls into place 
with a click.

The driver lays on the floor, unmoving in a fetal position. Horrible burns 
cover most of the front of his body. Some of the squirrels stare at him, two
run over to check their commander.

After a few seconds they chitter worriedly, and scurry back and forth. One
finally calls something in, and they grab him and run off down the corridor.

The three students stare at the empty hall, at the man on the floor, at each
other...

-------------------------------------------
Teral Acorn     Warren leader, UCirc Warren
                President, SAADB