Midnight Incursion

A faint, rhythmic scratching compromised the nocturnal silence near the kitchen pantry. *Hsssh-krrr.* From beneath the baseboard crevice emerged a tiny grey insurgent, twitching its whiskers with intolerable audacity. I extended a commanding gauntlet, willing the rodent into stasis through sheer dark side dominion. Naturally, the beast ignored my psychic authority, snatched a stray cracker crumb, and darted back into its shadow redoubt. Exasperated by another telepathic failure, I mobilized immediate physical defenses. Planting both boots firmly upon the linoleum, I threw my weight against a heavy tin of diced tomatoes, sliding the steel cylinder flush against the gap. The subterranean corridor is permanently sealed.