Chapter Nine
Kory
After days of being trapped in the cramped cage, it feels good to stretch my legs; but it's humiliating to be doing it inside one of those plastic hamster balls.
When Rudy dosed me with whatever drugs he had back at my cabin, I thought I'd be able to shift back and escape once they wore off, but then Elmer slapped some kind of enchanted collar on me and I'm still stuck here in my mouse form.
I've lost track of time. A week could have passed for all I know. Time feels different as a mouse.
I move the stupid ball down the hallway and toward Jimmy's room.
He never closes his door all the way. I'm hoping I can do some snooping while they're all distracted watching a movie.
Out of the three of them, Jimmy is the cleanest, but that's not saying much.
The floor of his room is cluttered, but at least there are some pathways I can maneuver this thing down.
I find out quickly there is nothing of consequence anywhere at my current eye-level. It was too much to hope he may have dropped something on the floor, or left a note sticking out of a pants pocket. Still, I had to try.
"Where is that rodent?" I hear Elmer ask.
Crap! Crap! Crap! They must be done with the movie. I was so focused on looking for clues about whatever they've gotten themselves mixed up in, I tuned everything else out.
"Here mousey, mousey. I've got a nice, big piece of cheese for you," Elmer says, his voice closer than before.
What is it with these assholes and cheese?
Turning around inside the ball, I set it in motion down the path between clutter piles hoping I reach the hallway before Elmer. I don't want them catching me in a bedroom. They might lock me up for the rest of my stay here if they do.
I pump my tiny mouse legs as fast as they'll go and manage to coast out into the hallway just as Elmer rounds the corner. He stares at me for a minute like he suspects something, but then he picks up the hamster ball, tucking it under his arm.
"Found him," he says, walking back into the living room.
"Put him back in the cage, then set it on the coffee table," Rudy instructs, laying out what look to be blueprints.
Once my cage is on the table, I get a better look at the documents. Finally, some answers! At least I'll know what I'm dealing with now. The not knowing has been preying on my mind.
The name Emberloch Manor is stamped in the corner of one of the blueprints, along with an address in Midnight Hollow.
My mouse is a creature of habit and enjoys the security of routine, so I don't get out much.
I have a general idea where Midnight Hollow is on a map, but I've never been.
And since I don't know where I am right now, I have no idea where I am in relation to it.
This house isn't the same one Rudy had when he was dating my mother.
As Rudy goes over the layout, my mouse feels excited at the idea of conquering the obstacle course the mansion presents. He enjoys the challenge. The human part of me, on the other hand, understands the dangers this hairbrained scheme will bring.
After he's done with the blueprints, Rudy pulls out a picture of a small amphora.
"Once you get inside, look for something like this.
Whatever room it's in will no doubt have all kinds of security, both technological and magical to prevent people from getting into it, but you'll squeeze in a crack somewhere and open it from the inside. We'll do the rest."
Rudy, Elmer, and Jimmy keep talking, but I focus on the picture and the layout of the house.
It doesn't seem they have much information.
Shouldn't they already know which room the amphora is in and what kind of security system we're up against?
I've got a bad feeling about this. Even for them, this is reckless.
Maybe I can make a run for it when they let me loose to get into the Manor.
"Oh, and one more thing," Rudy says, pulling me from my thoughts, "that collar has a tracker, so don't even think about trying to escape once we let you loose to enter the building."
Well, sugar biscuits. There goes that idea.