At some point, Nathan felt the pack lifted. Eventually, a period of steady motion and the hum of a motor vehicle's engine gave him the unwelcome news that he was being transported away from his home. In his frenzied little mouse brain, he tried to speculate on how much time had passed. He knew the device should simply restore him in a couple of hours, but he was being carried far away from that possibility.
Arriving home, Nicolás asked for and received permission to go to his room while his mother prepared dinner. Once behind the closed door of his room, he unzipped the compartment of his pack containing the tiny white mouse. The rodent huddled in the pocket, staring up at him with beady eyes.
"Ningún daño vendrá a ti," whispered Nicolás. "Déjame verte."
Nathan wished the kid would ditch the Spanish. He couldn't understand a single word.
Apparently, the kid lacked patience, because he shoved his hand into the pocket and bodily retrieved the mouse, curling his fingers around Nathan's frail, tiny form.
Cradling the shivering mouse in his hands, Nicolás carried the creature to a waiting construct of plastic and metal. With a free hand, he lifted a grille at the top and lowered hand and mouse into the habitat. When a few inches above a carpet of dry wood shavings, he opened his fist and dropped the little mouse. His arm retracted and he placed the lid back onto the plastic enclosure.
Nathan surged forward but bumped his little mouse nose against a panel of transparent plastic. "What the hell?" Nathan squeaked.
When he looked through the murky plastic, he saw his Chronivac held in the boy's hands.
"Hey!" Nathan squeaked. "That's mine! Put that down!"
If the kid messed up the controls, he could find himself stuck as a mouse.
"Oh yea," Nicolás said. "Recognize this?"
Nathan squeaked, and the boy giggled.
"I know who you are," he said.
Nathan's squeak evaporated halfway uttered.
"But it can be our secret," Nicolás said.
Nathan felt a little better. In probably a half hour to an hour, the program would automatically launch the restoration beam and...
"I did cancel your timer, though," Nicolás revealed. "I like you better like this."
Nathan squeaked in fear.
"Oh, there he is," Nicolás said and gazed past Nathan. "Óscar, meet your new roomie."
Nathan turned and saw another mouse that, for what he could see, looked exactly like him.
Óscar's whiskers twitched and he advanced toward Nathan. A few seconds later, Nathan realized there might be a few differences.