Nathan was unprepared when a giant stranger entered his house through the front door.
The home invader celebrated his luck. "I can't believe people just leave their doors unlocked!" The robber chuckled as he closed the door behind him. So far, he hadn't noticed a tiny white mouse among the branches of a holiday greenery arrangement.
The young man, probably only five or ten years older than Nathan, proceeded across the room. Dressed in black pants and wearing a dark, hooded jacket, he stopped to examine the packages beneath the tree. He started ripping open the gifts. He discarded sweaters, but he began to stuff gift cards, jewelry and other valuables into a sack he had brought with him.
"Those aren't yours!" Nathan squeaked indignantly, dropping from the branches of the greenery to the thick carpet below. By the time he scurried across the room, however, the burglar had already ransacked the family gifts and began to scan the house for other valuables.
"Get out!" Nathan squeaked, but his tiny protests went unheard.
He followed the huge stranger through the house. To Nathan's mounting dismay, the stranger's path took him directly to the teenager's room.
"Stay out of there," Nathan squeaked again. "That's my room."
Stepping inside the bedroom, the man grabbed Nathan's laptop. He looked for other valuables, his eyes landing on a strange looking device of gleaming metal, ceramic and plastic. "Wonder what the hell this thing is?" The guy spoke in a loud, gruff voice. "What the hell? Looks valuable."
To Nathan's horror, the man stuffed the Chronivac into the sack with the other stolen items.
"No! I need that!" Nathan squeaked. He realized that, without the device, he was stuck as a tiny, helpless mouse. That knowledge made him desperate as he contemplated how to confront a burglar who towered over him.