Where was my friend, Jess? We had just stepped into the corn maze, when suddenly she was gone from my sight. I immediately lost contact with our motley crew of companions too; Boo the Ra-corn (the corn cob scarecrow with the face like a racoon), all the fuzzy orange apricats, and of course Billy the watermelon-buffalo. They were right beside me when we all stepped bravely through those tall, green stalks, rustling gently in the breeze, and then, with one single step, I was encased in darkness.

"Jess! Help me, Jess!" I called out. "Where are you?"

Where was I?

Somehow, I had found a hole, an old mine shaft hidden within the corn maze. By freak accident I was one minute walking the next minute slipping and sliding deeper beneath the ground, falling further from my friends with each passing second.

Then, just as suddenly as I had started falling, my unplanned trip ended, and I landed with a THUD hard upon my butt. In the darkness I felt sharp rocks beneath me. I was on some sort of path, but I had no idea of how wide or how long this path ran.

Also, I could sense that I was not alone.

"Who are you?" squeaked a voice in the darkness.

"Who are you?" I asked in return.

"We asked you first," squeaked another voice, just as close.

"I am Sam," I said. "And I am trying to get back to my friends."

"We could be your friends," a third voice said.

"Yeah, we're the four amigos," yet another voice said. "We always wanted to be a quintet."

There was a HISS and then light and I discovered I had stumbled into a tunnel, being used by four giant mice. One mouse was holding a flaming torch. Its tail was wrapped around the wooden shaft. They all had razor sharp claws, yet I felt very safe in their company.

"Do you know the way up?" I asked.

One of the mice yawned, one shook with fear, the other two seemed indifferent.

"Sam, you don't want to do up," said the yawning mouse. "Danger lurks above us in the form of a C-A-T…"

"A cat?" I asked.

"No… Not a cat…" stammered the frightened mouse. "A C… A… T…"

"A controlled attack tank…" one of the other mice explained.

"And who controls the C-A-T?" I asked.

"A cat named Felix," the yawning mouse admitted.

"So let me help you deal with Felix and his tank," I said. "And maybe then you can show me how to get back to the surface."

"Okay," agreed the four mice. "You deal with Felix, and we shall help reunite you with your friends."

"For, what are four friends for?" asked the yawning mouse. "But to help you find more friends than before."

"Thank you?" I replied, uncertain if that was the correct thing to say.

"Do not thank us until you meet this cat," suggested one of the other mice.

"Felix is the worst cat in his C-A-T," the four mice all agreed.

And that was that. In silence we travelled along the path, the mice scritching and scratching as they scampered and me jogging along beside them to keep pace. The mice were large enough that I could probably have ridden on the back of one like a pony, but I thought it too rude to ask for a lift. Eventually we arrived at a cave mouth, and I noticed we had been heading upwards as we ran. I wondered how far away from the corn maze had I come and whether my friends were searching for me or maybe they had become lost also.

"Look!" squeaked the mouse holding the flaming torch. "There is Felix and the C-A-T."

Peering in the direction where the mouse had pointed, I saw something that looked like a tiny truck, caterpillar wheels, and a long nozzle sticking out the front.

"Bang!" cried Felix the cat, and wherever the long nozzle was pointing, rock crumbled and was blasted away.

"What is Felix doing?" I asked, confused.

"He is using the power of word association," one of the mice explained.

"And that works?" I said, somewhat surprised.

"Bang!" Felix shouted again.

More rock vanished in a cloud of dust.

"Yes," said the torch bearing mouse.

"So how do we stop him and make sure we avoid getting turned into clouds of mouse?" asked the shaking mouse, I now understanding why it was so scared.

"What do you know about this cat?" I asked.

"He likes to eat mice," said the frightened mouse.

"He likes fish more though, salmon in particular," added the yawning mouse.

"Do you have any salmon?" I asked.

"Lots," said the mouse holding the torch. "In this backpack."

The frightened mouse reached behind a large boulder and produced a small school bag. It smelled very strongly of fish.

"I have a plan," I told the mice. "And I am going to need that school bag as part of my plan."

"Be careful," said the frightened mouse as he handed the bag to me.

"I will," I promised. "Now you four go and hide."

When I could no longer see my four new friends I stepped confidently toward where Felix was aiming the C-A-T's nozzle.

"Ba… Hey… Who are you?" asked Felix.

"Time for a lunch break," I said. "I've brought you your favorite."

"Ooooohhh… Salmon?" asked Felix. "Yummy!"

I placed the bag on the path in front of me. Felix ran over to it straight away and began clawing at the clip which would open it up.

When Felix left the C-A-T I climbed inside and stole the keys.

"Hey, no fair," mewed Felix, discovering that he could not open the bag. "Give me back my keys!"

"Are you an apricat too?" I asked. "I know where your sisters are."

"Oh, please take me to them," Felix begged. "We can take the C-A-T."

"Sure," I agreed. "But I'm driving."

"OK," said Felix. "If you must."

"And you have to promise to leave the four mice alone," I added.

"If you open the bag up and let me eat the salmon, I promise I will do whatever you ask," said Felix.

"OK, deal," I said.

I hoped out of the C-A-T and clicked open the school bag. Felix stuck his head in and began to eat the fish he found inside.

"Yum… This is one delish fish," the apricat purred.

"Come on," I shouted, urging the mice to come closer.

I soon discovered that they had run away.

"OK, now take me to my family," said Felix.

"You need to show me how to drive this thing," I said.

The C-A-T had two seats, but no controls.

"Tell it to go and it goes," explained the apricat.

So, I tried it, and to my surprise it worked.

"Brum," I said, steadily and slow.

The C-A-T began to crawl forward until we reached a place where the path was blocked by rock.

"Bang!" yelled Felix.

The wall of rock disappeared, and the C-A-T continued on its way.

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