Myron enters his room, and notices the ruler by the mouse cage. He does a quick count, none of the mice appear to be missing. Hm, fed the snakes? Damn, he was supposed to do that yesterday morning, with the holidays, he had completely forgotten. Well, better late than never.
He glared at the ball python in the nearest case, and asked, "So Brucey, did you try to help yourself, or just try to remind me. I bet you were hoping the mice would get out and I'd get in trouble?"
The ball python just sat there in its tank oblivious. Myron stuck his earbuds back in his ears and cranked a heavy metal tune. The mice skittered and scampered at the high pitched shrieks of Axl Rose welcoming people to the jungle.
"Well, Bruce, since you are back in your terrarium, I will give you the fattest mouse for your late night dinner," Myron continued, as he reached into the mouse cage. Mice scattered, and Nathan tried to hide behind the food bowl but Myron grabbed him. He nipped at Myron's thumb, but Myron was used to handling mice and kept Nathan's head still.
"No, please don't! I'm not a mouse! I'm really a human! I'm your neighbor Nathan! I used this device called a Chronivac to change myself into a mouse!" he shouted, but the average person only heard the squeaks of a mouse, and Myron couldn't hear anything over Axl's wailing in his ears. His body moved in rhythm with the music. Myron released Nathan into Bruce's terrarium. It was even warmer than the mouse cage. Nathan skittered along the sand, and darted into the plastic foliage and under a log trying to escape. He was panting, and screaming, "Please don't eat me! Help!"
"Oh, do be quiet!" snapped the snake, "I'm not going to really eat you. You're lucky that Myron's blaring that awful music, good thing I'm partially deaf. Must wreak havoc on rodent ears. Just don't say anything, if Myron takes his earbuds out."
Nathan froze, "You can understand me? You can speak? But the other mice couldn't?"
"Of course, all Chronivac subjects can speak to each other. The other mice and for that matter the other snakes are really mice and snakes, not transformed humans like you or me. If Myron heard you speaking, he'd've fed you to one of the real snakes."
"Who are you?"
"I was Myron's brother. He wanted to be an only child, so he used my own Chronivac on me. I think he chose a snake because it's so hard for me to use a keyboard now. I got out before, and got to the Chronivac, but he changed my password. You have a Chronivac account too, so you should be able to log in, and change yourself back, and then change me back before Myron can do something worse to either of us."
"You're human? He did that to his own brother? When? I don't remember him having a brother?"
"Ages ago, he keeps turning back his and our parents' ages, until he gets the perfect High School experience," sighed Bruce. "He's on his nerd experience, because when he hijacked my Chronivac, he transformed himself into the super jock, Captain of Football, Wrestling and Baseball teams, then he decided he wanted to be the Student Body President, and rolled back the years, and started again. Of course, no one else perceived the change. Don't know what happened to his wife and kids when he did that? Did they cease to exist? Or become something else or someone else's wife and kids?"
"Okay, well it better look like I'm hunting you. If he's in a sadistic mood, we'll have to fake your death for him, don't worry, I won't kill you, you're my only hope of escaping this nightmare. Nathan, right?"
Nathan shivered in his hiding place. He peeked between the plastic leaves as Myron peered in through the glass expectantly. He pulled out an earbud.
"Brucey, not hungry? I can feed that plump mouse to Rex or Kai?"
"No, Myron, I will eat him. I was sleeping. It took you long enough to take the hint," said Bruce in a strangely laconic tone.
"Yeah, that's my big bro, nothing fazes you. Well, you finish waking up, and eat your breakfast. I've got to get ready for dinner," laughed Myron. He appeared satisfied. He secured the opening in the top of the herpetarium, and went to grab another mouse for another snake.
The snake slithered toward Nathan. His heart raced rapidly. Millions of years of evolution induced panic. It didn't help when he Nathan heard the shrieks of the other mice being eaten by the other snakes.
"Relax," said the snake, "I already ate. That's why he didn't notice that there was an extra mouse. And probably, why you got into that mouse cage so easily. It's hard for a snake to work locks."
"Uh, Bruce, you promise that you're not going to really eat me?" Nathan asked trembling uncontrollably.
"I'm not going to eat you," sighed Bruce.
"Pinky swear?" asked Nathan offering a tiny paw.
"Pinky swear?" asked Bruce in surprise. He sighed again. Then he offered the tip of his tail into Nathan's tiny paw, and said, "Pinky swear, or as close as a snake can get!"
Nathan still didn't trust Bruce, but he didn't seem to have a choice.
Bruce carefully hid Nathan in the center of his coils. Nathan's panic was exhausting, and the poor rodent boy fell asleep. He didn't hear Myron return or see Myron inspect the cage to see that the mouse was gone.
"Good, Brucey, you ate your dinner all up - oh, right, breakfast!" laughed Myron.
"Good night, little brother," hissed Bruce not moving to make sure that Myron didn't see his furry accomplice hidden beneath him.
Myron was snoring, when Bruce woke Nathan, as gently as he could.
Nathan let out a shriek.
"Quiet, you might wake, Myron," Bruce cautioned in a hissed whisper.
"Myron? Oh, yeah. You're, Bruce."
"Just what I need for great escape, a groggy mouse," sighed Bruce, "Best hope I've had in decades."
"Decades?"
"Yes, I stopped to think about it, and Myron's been a drama star, a cheerleader-yes, the female kind, kid genius- he made himself 8 and in high school- totally prepubescent. He's also been the stud. The geek. The jock. I think he may be on his last high school experience, I mean, he was a nerd when he changed himself into a jock, but this time he's embracing the whole nerd experience. I'm a bit worried what will happen to me, when he's done with high school," Bruce said matter of factly.
"Oh, where's the Chronivac."
"That's the good news, it's in the next room, my old bedroom. I'll show you."
Nathan looked up at the secured top of the case.
"Oh, that's how Myron thinks, I get out too. I'll mess with the lock on top, after we're out. Now hope on my back, you won't be able to reach at your size otherwise."
Bruce slithered toward the heat lamp glowing in the corner. Then Nathan noticed the black panel on the back wall behind it. Easy access for changing the bulb. He giggled, as he realized Bruce's plan.