Samuel was a mole, just like any other mole. Except, of course, that being a mole, he had no name, because moles can't make up names for themselves or do much more than dig. And he was good at it, or at least as good as any other mole.
That day, Samuel was digging, as he often did, when he came across a particularly firm patch of earth. No matter how hard he dug, it didn't seem to move. He tried digging around it and found only more firm soil.
Curious, he thought. Or, at least, he would have thought so if moles were capable of thinking. It wasn't normal for Samuel to come across such a large, firm patch of earth, and at least he knew it. But seeing that he had a burrow to dig, our dear Samuel set about digging again against the large, firm earth.
After a few hours of digging, Samuel felt no closer to breaking through this big, firm earth. Or at least, he would have felt it if moles were capable of sensing. He decided to take a break, leaning against this cold, hard material that he couldn't seem to break through.
A few hours of sleep later, Samuel felt a large THUD on the ground beneath him. The sound of the impact woke him up, causing poor Samuel to jerk. The ground beneath him suddenly gave way and everything began to fall, including our poor Samuel.
He shook his head as he scrambled out of the pile of dirt that had softened his fall. Samuel looked around, trying to identify where he had just landed. However, being a mole, his vision was not his strongest sense, so Samuel was only able to see the outlines of things much larger than him, which were heading in panic towards a door in the distance.
What were they running from?
Samuel turned around to see an even larger monster behind him. It was absolutely huge, so huge in fact, that it took up most of the space in the small hallway it seemed to be in. Samuel sniffed at the monster, as scent was his strongest sense.
It smelled terrible. It smelled distinctly of metal, as if it were covered in blood. Normally, such a creature would scare away most moles, including Samuel, as he was an ordinary mole. But he didn't run away. Not because he was brave, but because he had nowhere to go.
The monster didn't move for a moment. Samuel did not know it, but he was being investigated by the great monstrosity. After careful consideration, the monster concluded that Samuel was a mere mole. It leaned forward, its powerful claws pushed the dirt away from Samuel and exposed him to the beast.
Samuel let out a frightened squeal, typical of any mole upon being lifted from the dirt he so loved to be in. Before he knew it, he was in the monster's clutches. Samuel shook his little head in panic, not knowing if he was about to be eaten or worse. But the monster didn't eat him.
The monster examined Samuel, almost seeming to rejoice that he had let out such a scream. Samuel, for his part, continued to shriek, for he did not know what else to do in the face of such a monster toying with him. With each shriek the monster seemed to smile more and more, showing a frightening set of teeth. The beast pressed its claws into Samuel, not to hurt him, but simply to squeeze him. Samuel responded the only way he knew how, by squealing even louder.
"I like this creature."
Although Samuel didn't know what the beast was saying, since moles don't understand English, he knew he wasn't being devoured. And that was a good thing. No, he would not be devoured that day. Instead, the creature sat up, its back touching the ceiling of the hallway and sending another loud THUD through the area. It held Samuel in the hole he had fallen from earlier, allowing him to find support on the surrounding dirt and rise from its grasp.
Samuel was free.
And so he decided to walk away from the terrible place with the firm and long ground. Samuel learned something that day, or at least he would have if moles were capable of learning lessons. But even so, the Foundation was still no place for moles.
