in his pocket. In a scene set to the title song from the 1972 movie Ben, the rats, who have by now taken over the entire house, pursue and fatally overpower the cat. Desperately lonely, Willard starts bringing Socrates to work with him. Despite a contract written by Alfred stipulating that he remain employed by the family company, Willard finds a note at his desk from Martin declaring that he is being fired. While Willard desperately pleads with Martin to let him keep his job, Martin's secretary, Barbara Leach, discovers Socrates in the supply room. Her screams alert Martin, who fatally bludgeons Socrates to death while Willard watches helplessly. Willard finally snaps and hatches a plan to avenge Socrates' death with Ben. Loading the numerous rats into a company van, he confronts Martin and orders them to swarm upon Martin and kill him. At home, Willard kills the remaining colony before ratproofing his entire house. Exhausted after the night's events, he is finally awakened by the doorbell. Terrified by the shadows of two policemen, he remains standing in the hallway until the evening, seemingly feverish. Cathryn appears, informing Willard that Martin's body was found and that rumors had arisen that he was either murdered or eaten by animals. Coming face-to-face with Ben, Willard tries to leave the house before realizing that the rats have chewed out his car tires. Accosted by the two policemen, Willard retreats into the house and frantically attempts to prevent the rats from entering. Trapping himself in the kitchen, Willard is confronted by Ben, whom he tries to kill with a rat trap. Believing Willard is insane, and aghast at the rat infestation, the police leave to call Bellevue Hospital and the health department. When Cathryn tries to enter the house, they warn her against entering, asking whether she wants to be eaten alive. Horrified, she connects the rats to Martin's death and realizes Willard's complicity. Ben viciously attacks Willard as he tries to escape. The police officers and Cathryn look on as Willard, outlined in the upstairs window, kills Ben with his father's pocket knife. The final scene reveals Willard in a psychiatric hospital, seemingly semicatatonic and refusing to eat. A white rat appears in his cell, crawling into Willard's sleeve as Socrates used to. Believing that his friend has been reincarnated, Willard joyfully drops his semicatatonic state and begins telling the rat his plans