Nathan the mouse had managed to make it to New Year's Eve. He had crept from cover after dark to watch fireworks exploding in the starry sky. The booming explosions alarmed his high-strung mouse sensitivities, but he didn't flee back into his new home in the town's sewers.
He had fled into a storm drain not long after he abandoned the vacant lot, where his own brother had left him on Christmas Eve. He had taken rational stock of his situation and realized that the vast lot represented very little security for the tiny rodent he had become. If he had stayed in the lot, he would probably have been eaten by some sort of urban wildlife, perhaps an owl hunting at twilight or a feral cat scrambling to find its next meal.
Of course, his decision had been forced upon him when something big and furry had charged from the weeds while he had still been debating his next move. It had been all fangs and glowing eyes, but he managed to flee into a nearby storm drain just ahead of the thwarted predator. He had spent his Christmas exploring enormous tunnels. Damp and smelly, they offered a refuge from an assortment of giant perils. He also found enough food to keep his little belly barely full and a sip of water was never a problem.
But, because of his precipitous flight, he had missed out on the impromptu search party (his siblings and the agent from the makers of the Chronivac) that could have led to his restoration. They had combed the lot for hours, until the agent callously concluded that Drew and Cicily should resign themselves to the fact that their transformed sibling had found, unfortunately, his new place in the food chain.
Another bottle rocket soared over a row of dark trees that lined one of the suburban streets. Nathan knew everyone else must be celebrating a new year, but he was sure the changing of the calendar wouldn't improve his situation. He had wanted to be a mouse, and thanks to the Chronivac, it now looked like that would be his permanent fate.
Unless...