title: Planet Pop-Up: Mouse in the Haunted House
author:  Jonathan Litton 
description: <div><b>Jonathan Litton</b> has written numerous children's books in prose and verse. He loves using his science background to write about sea creatures, outer space, and saving the planet, but is also fond of penning stories about pirates, princesses, and picnics. When not writing, he can usually be found on his bike. He lives in London.<br><br><b>Nicola Anderson</b> works from her home studio crafting imaginary worlds while her two dogs fight for her lap. She has been illustrating since she could hold a crayon in her hand, but has worked professionally since 2001, when she earned her degree in graphic design. Prior to setting up on her own, Nicola spent more than a decade working with digital agencies as an illustrator, designer, and animator. She lives in&#160;Manchester, U.K.<br></div>
zlib_text: Scanned and proofed by unsung heroes.
  Converted to html and reformatted and reproofed by
  Highroller.
  The General, Vol. I: The
  Forge by S.M. Stirling
  and David Drake (1991)
  Chapter One
  The rat screamed.
  Raj Whitehall spun on one heel, the beam of his carbide lamp
  stabbing out scarcely faster than the pistol in his right hand.
  "Shit," he muttered, as the light fell on the corner of the
  underground chamber. The rodent was dead now, dangling from
  the jaws of a cat-sized spersauroid, a slinky thing with a huge
  head and slender body carried high on four spidery legs. It
  blinked at them with eyelids that closed to a vertical slit, and
  then was gone with a rustle of scales against rubble. Raj
  grimaced. One of the few pleasant things about living in East
  Residence was that Terran life had mostly replaced the local. But
  not in the catacombs, it seemed.
  Thom Poplanich laughed. "Careful, Raj," he said. "Those
  bullets will bounce, you know."
  Raj grinned back a trifle sheepishly as he holstered the
  