Timothy

Short Story by Nathaniel Price - Author's Notes

This is a rather strange short (and I mean short) story concerning two main characters from the book series: Timothy and Racso. The assignment was to create a "moment" story in which a good part of the action takes place in a split-second (read it and you'll see what I mean). The assignment stemmed from another "moment" story titled "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge," by Ambrose Bierce. This is the result when I put my English and NIMH mentality together. Freaky, no?

Racso, a dark grey rat, peered through the bars of his cage, impatiently watching for his captor. He was not used to his cage, having been the unwilling guests of NIMH, the National Institute of Mental Health, for only five days. Five days, Racso thought hopelessly. It feels like it's been forever. Except for the times when his captor, Dr. Schultz, let him out occasionally to conduct some experiment on him, he had not been outside since that day, five days ago. He was frightened; never before had he been completely at the mercy of someone else. Someone, Racso knew, that did not have his own best interests in mind.

The door opened and admitted a man in a white lab coat with horn-rimmed glasses: Dr. Schultz. He walked deliberately across the room, passing the cages that lined the walls, until he came to his desk, directly across the narrow room from Racso's cage. He sat in a chair beside the desk, and pulled out a cassette tape from one of the drawers. He slid the tape into a cassette recorder, and pressed the "record" button. Then he began to dictate in a dry, lecturing voice.

"The experiments are conclusive: the recaptured specimens from both A and G groups" --Racso stood stalk-still and listened: he was in group A -- "have performed at an average of one-thousand percent better than the control group in all tests." Racso had expected this. After all, he thought, we can read and write. Some of us can do a lot more. The scientist continued. "It is certain that these are in fact the specimens that were given the intelligence formula in my experiments seven years ago. Now I will conduct the second half of my experiment: the intelligence reversal process."

Intelligence reversal process? Racso did not like the sound of that at all. He watched the scientist warily as he returned the tape to the drawer, having finished his dictation. He stood up and walked over to a large refrigerator, opened it, and took a tray out of it. The tray contained a number of syringes, each filled with a colorless liquid. After setting the tray on a table in the middle of the lab, the doctor approached Racso's cage. Racso shrank back as far as he could go, thinking that he would be the doctor's first victim, but the doctor unlocked the cage next to him, instead. Timothy! Racso thought in horror. It was not Racso, but Racso's only true friend, that the doctor would give the first injections to. The small, light-grey mouse struggled futilely inside the doctor's gloved hand as he was taken out of his cage. With a firm hold on the mouse, Dr. Schultz walked over to the table. Timothy, apparently sensing the futility of the gesture, stopped struggling. As Racso watched his poor friend intently, he noticed a small, wet tear-streak in his fur. Racso couldn't help himself. He began to cry. The tears blurred his vision.

Suddenly, he heard a scream. Racso quickly wiped away his tears, and was greeted with a sight that astonished him. Dr. Schultz stood unnaturally still, holding his arm in front of him in horror. Protruding from it was a spent syringe. Racso could not see Timothy anywhere; apparently he had been dropped to the floor. The scientist jerked suddenly as the formula took effect. He bent double in pain and agony as the chemicals began to rewrite his DNA. He screamed horribly, but no one came to rescue him. Racso turned away, covering his ears and shutting his eyelids, as the screams increased in pitch and volume. The doctor made one final scream and then the room was silent. Racso opened his eyes and ventured a look. The doctor was sprawled on the floor, breathing heavily. His eyes were wide open and uncomprehending. He seemed not to recognize his surroundings.

Finally, Racso saw Timothy. He lay at the feet of the scientist, motionless. For a while Racso thought he was dead. Eventually, Timothy got up and looked around. Racso yelled to him.

"Timothy! Up here!"

Timothy looked up at the source of the sound, and Racso thought that he could barely make out a small smile on his friend. He went up to the cages and climbed up the bars to Racso's cage.

"Timothy!" Racso said with relief. "I thought something happened to you."

Timothy did not reply.

"Why don't you see if you can get our cages open, Timothy?"

Timothy still did not reply. He stood motionless at the bars to Racso's cage.

"Timothy? What's wrong?"

Timothy did not reply.

"Timothy? Timothy!"

Timothy screamed. The screams rose in pitch and volume. He made one final scream and then the room was silent. Dr. Schultz removed the needle of the spent syringe from Timothy, and without a moment's hesitation, walked over to Timothy's cage, deposited him into it and closed and locked the cage door. Timothy crawled to the side of his cage, the one next to Racso's, and peered through the bars of the cage. He looked up at Racso.

His breathing was heavy, and he stared at Racso through wide and uncomprehending eyes . . .