Ben Ridley hasn’t set the alarm on his phone for one month, two weeks, and four days. There doesn’t seem any point. It’s not like he has anything to get up for; he works nights, he has no friends, and his girlfriend of over three years, his soul-mate, has just ended it with him for reasons he can’t quite understand. So Ben is alone, more alone then he ever dreamed was possible. It’s not even like he can speak to his parents as, since he still lives with them even at the ripe old age of 28, the only thing they want to impart is how important it is that he grow up, move out, and move on.
And so Ben sits, in his parents' back garden, a thousand things running through his head. He hates his job. He hates her for leaving him. He hates his friends for leaving him too. He hates the way he’s perpetually hung over and it feels as though there’s a little ninja in his brain trying to kick its way out. And the thing he hates the most? Not having anyone to talk to.
And so when a large black rat emerges from the conifers at the bottom of the garden and fearlessly approaches Ben, sitting at his feet, whiskers twitching in the afternoon sun, Ben takes the opportunity to talk about his problems to a real, living, breathing creature.
The only thing is, the rat is talking back…...
