This is a sample story from Obfuscations. Click here to go to the main sight: www.geocities.com/fhunn88

Second Chance

by Sean Lewis

Then there was darkness, but the pain did not stop. Only the burning remained as it pulsed through his body and finally focused on his mouth. He could no longer smell the mustiness of the cloth around his face or feel the hardness of the wooden chair. The blue light flashed again in front of his eyes as the burning seared his tongue. He spit and worked his jaw to try to let the burning out. When the light faded, Fred saw a wire falling from his mouth. Tooth marks on the wire framed where the insulation had been ripped away.
Fred yanked his head away, and, to his surprise, Beatrice's face appeared smiling at him. Yet, her face seemed different. Her ears had become much bigger, and the tiny whiskers above her mouth looked a lot larger than he remembered them. Her long and slender nose had grown much longer and, like the rest of her face, was fuzzy. Fred realized he was actually staring at a mouse, but Fred said, "Beatrice?"
"Who are you talking to, Fred?" the mouse asked. "My name's June."
Fred looked down, confused, and noticed little mouse paws under his own long snout. Fred's past began to enter his mind more clearly: his life in the litter, his courtship with June, their endless quest for breads, and, of course, the humans that lived in the middle of Fred's village.
Yet a second past also stayed within Fred's mind. Only moments before, he had sat on a chair as electrodes came in contact with his body. A fifteen minute act of cruelty had haunted him until then. And still Fred remembered what he had done to Beatrice--and what he had done to other women--trying to forget. Even now, Fred could not escape that.
Fred suddenly asked, "June? How am I going to remember your name if you keep changing it?"
"It's always been June."
"Do you believe in re-incarnation?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Do you remember . . . who I am?"
"Well, you're Fred. What do you mean?"
"Don't you remember how I hurt you?"
"You must have had a terrible jolt, Fred. You'll have to be more careful about what you gnaw on."
Fred tried to explain their past to June, but she just thought he had burnt his mind out. He had bitten a cable in the Virtual Reality machine. Perhaps he had created a false past for himself.

Fred found Bob underneath the refrigerator--the only appliance the humans had that remotely resembled Fred's human past. Water leaked into a pan on the bottom, which had become a location where many mice met as they took a drink. Fred asked Bob, "What do you think of re-incarnation?"
"What?"
"Re-incarnation."
"Huh?"
"Being born again."
"Once is enough."
"But beings are re-born."
"Okay."
"Do you believe me?"
"Dunno."
"Believe me."
"Okay."

Fred stayed up late into the daytime, to ponder his past. He headed toward the refrigerator, where he took another drink. The pan remained deserted during the middle of the day, as the other mice slept. Fred peaked out at the kitchen and the smooth vinyl floor. A cleaning robot always removed bits of food that fell to the floor. A few stale crumbs occasionally hid in small cracks under the appliances, but recently Fred could only find thin trails of dust. Of course, plenty of food sat on the counter and in the cupboards, but the mouse catcher protected those places.

Fred felt too worried to sleep, so he walked over to a vent for the air conditioner. From there, he could watch Eurydice. She was only about half the size of the other two humans, but she grew more quickly. Fred knew he had to confront Eury. When he saw her, he felt the pain in his heart, and he knew that he owed her, too, for the pain he had given. In his attempt to escape Beatrice, he had only spread cruelty and suffering--and brought it back to himself. It would take him several lives to repay those he had hurt in his mindless rampage. Even though he didn't know why he felt as he did towards Eury, he did know that he had to give something.
One of Eury's best friends, Sybil, came over to visit that day. Sybil held a brown fluffy object under her arm. She asked, "Is your mouse-catcher on?"
"Oh, no. We only turn it on at night. Why?"
"I brought the mechanical dog I got for Consumption Day." Sybil shoved the fluffy object out towards Eury. It resembled a dog, but its face completely lacked expression, and its legs hung limply.
"Goody," Eury cried, "Lemme see it!"
"Watch this." Sybil placed the dog on the floor. She touched its belly, and the dog abruptly came to life. It looked around itself slowly. It quickly sniffed Sybil, then Eury. Suddenly, it became excited and ran around the room. It barked twice.
Eury yelled, "Here, doggy!" The dog looked at Eury and let its tongue hang out. It barked twice and jumped from side to side. Sybil jumped at it and chased it around. Eury caught it and petted it roughly. The dog rolled onto its back. Eury rubbed its belly while Sybil wiggled its feet. The dog flipped back over, watched Eury for a moment, and then ran around the room.
Sybil looked to Eury. "Isn't that chill?"
"Yeah, it's super cooled."
The dog barked twice.

Later that day, Fred continued to endure his drowsiness. His hunger burned in his empty stomach, which helped his mind in preventing him from finding sleep. Fred imagined leaving with June to another apartment, full of food and without a mouse-catcher. Instead, he knew he must face Eury, so he squeezed out of the vent and into her room. His little heart beat quickly. He had no idea what would happen when Eury found him, but he had to approach her. Fred also worried that "Mom" might capture him. She was the one who turned the mouse-catcher on at night. Mom was certain to kill Fred if she found him. Of course, Eury was cruel to animals, too. She gladly stomped on spiders that entered her room.
Fred ran across the floor as part of him wished that Eury would find him at that moment. Another part wished to never approach her. He climbed up the cord of Eury's computer and reached the top of her desk. Through the vents of the computer, he noticed a roach--patiently waiting. Fred carefully crawled away and into some of Eury's papers, where he could find some comfort. Fred waited with the roach.

Eury flung open her door. Old feelings returned to Fred's heart as he pondered how he could hurt her. As she stepped closer, Fred realized how large she was compared to his little mouse body. If he ran now, he might escape. Otherwise, he would become a victim of Eury's whim, as she had once been his victim. He twitched, but he did not run, because he saw that he had to face justice. Fred's heart pounded harder--each beat seemed like it would burst his chest open; but Fred knew he would not die yet--not without offering himself a sacrifice to Eury.
Eury noticed Fred and let out a little cry of happiness. She shut the door and walked over to Fred, slowly. Fred shuffled the papers as he crawled towards her. Eury whispered, "Hi, little mousey!" She offered her hand to Fred. He crawled on. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed the touch of flesh. It filled him again with a desire to control her. She cupped her other hand around him and held him--very tightly. Fred could feel her thumb pressing his heart, trying to press it through his back. The pain squeezed out his darker thoughts, and Fred understood how helpless she must have once felt. Eury said, "What a heartbeat you have!" She loosened her grip and stroked Fred's head. With a gentle smile on her face, she sat down to hold him for a while. Fred wondered if she knew who he really was.
Eury sat for a long time to hold and pet Fred. She then opened her palm and let him walk on her. He crawled up to her shoulder and said, "I'm so sorry," but he wondered, what was the use? The squeak that came out meant nothing to Eury. She laughed and held Fred for a while longer. Fred started to fall asleep in her soft, warm hands. He thought of the dog Eury had petted and how it, too, had yielded to her will.
Footsteps in the hall upset Eury. She said, "I gotta go now. Thank you for visiting me." She shook Fred's paw with her finger and placed Fred down. "Bye-bye." She curtsied as Fred ran back to the vent.

That evening, Fred woke up late. He ran over to June. He crouched on the floor. June looked at him. Fred tried to bark twice, but the squeaks didn't sound much like a bark. Fred ran around and then stopped again. He rolled onto his back, letting his legs dangle in the air. Fred flipped over, with his tongue lolling.
June asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to be a dog. Dogs understand how to submit their will to another, and they know the value of sacrifice."
"Why not do that as a mouse?"
"I have to become a human before I can reach eternal rest."
"Then why don't you try to be human?"
"I'm not worthy of being a human yet."
"Oh, come on. Humans aren't all that great. They're just as bad as mice."
Fred looked deep into June's eyes. "Do you feel like a mouse?"
"Well, actually, no. I don't feel like a human either. I just feel . . . separated from every day life. Ever since you bit that cord, I've felt like something greater waits for us."
"I should bite it again. I need to deal with my past. I need to find out what I did and how to undo it."
"You can't. The machine hasn't worked since then."
"I'm sure the repair man will come to fix it soon."
"Besides, you probably can't survive another jolt."
"I'll have to risk it. We need to understand why we're different."
"Then I'm going to hold onto you. I'm going with you."
"You don't have to."
"If something else is going to happen, I'll need to be there for you."

Now, many of the mice were hungry. The major supply of human food, the kitchen counter, remained carefully guarded by the "eye," which the humans called "the mouse catcher." The eye served humanity by killing all the mice it saw in the house. Fred did not care too much about eating. A slow death by starvation would have been fine, or any death, if it was permanent. Yet, June needed to eat, too. He could not let pain touch June again. Instead, he would fulfill her desires, since he had once forced her to serve his desires.
Fred ran out from under the refrigerator. He hugged close to the walls and moved fast--that was the way to trick the "eye"--to stop it from focusing. Fred had to keep it confused about his true identity--an identity as a double traitor to humanity--a rapist turned mouse.
Fred ran--ran desperately. He did not pause to contemplate the splendid smells of the kitchen. He did not look to the vast emptiness to his left, where friends had disappeared under the cold stare of the unfeeling eye. Fred kept his eyes on the counter in front of him and listened to the quiet whir of the eye. It shifted--suspecting, following that uncertain movement which, at the moment, defined Fred's complete existence. Fred heard the whir and thought of the eye's aperture, opening, and the rod that supported it, turning. The whir slowed as it aimed at Fred, the target. He hurried on his four little legs, trying to keep the eye whirring and trying not to hear the click of his nails falling on the vinyl. Yet the click began to drown out the eye as the eye moved slower, became static, saw Fred before it, and aimed its beam, in preparation to continue the cycle of death. Fred turned his direction towards the corner with the hope of hiding in the darkness. Then Fred remembered that this eye could penetrate darkness. It single-mindedly looked for life, although it could give only death.
The whir became deeper, slower; the eye focused. Fred saw that the cupboard door was open. He aimed his eye on the door, then on the thin opening. He stared at the refuge from the eye, as if his will power had already placed him inside its protective cover. Without thinking, he reached the dark hiding place and jumped up into it. The whir stopped.
Fred scampered among the napkins and various types of wrappings. The plastics crinkled loudly under his feet. He paused at a paper cup and tried to catch his breath. Fred did not see an access to the top of the counter from inside. He knew he would have to step outside again and risk the glare of the eye.
As Fred gasped through his dry mouth, he noticed a dark brown spec hovering in the corner. Eight spindly legs emerged from this spec, and they apparently grasped onto the air. Fred recognized the spider. He knew how spiders would grab flies and suck all life from them. He remembered how a reckless spider might sink its jaws into the mammalian flesh of one sleeping. The spider took blood and life from all those who were helpless, by using its deceptive display of tiny innocence. Fred abhorred these spiders for surviving by taking life from others. They reminded him of the eye, but he hated spiders the most because they reminded Fred of himself.
After a moment, he had gathered his courage or, perhaps, just a blind self-hatred. He poked his head out the crack and formed a plan.
Fred dashed out from the opening; his eyes focused on a nearby towel that hung from the dishwasher door handle. The whir began again, as the eye detected heat and movement. Fred reached the towel and jumped up. He crawled between the towel and the dishwasher door. His claws clung tightly. Suddenly, the whir stopped. Fred heard a deep hum as he felt a dull thud in his chest, which slammed his back into the door. Fred's paws slid across the towel, but Fred clung tighter and regained his hold. The eye had shot, but it did not penetrate the towel, since the eye only destroyed organic matter. Yet it still saw Fred's heat and movement. Fred struggled up, knowing that if he fell, the eye would focus before he had a chance to climb up again. Fred received another harsh blow to his stomach and back, as well as his head. Fred slipped as he found he couldn't breathe--the air had been forced out. He waited, wondering if he would ever breathe again. Again, Fred felt the force of the eye--now hitting him squarely in the jaw and bouncing his head off the dishwasher. A salty liquid oozed in his mouth. He looked at the brown wall of the towel that loomed endlessly above him, as the top rose farther away. Fred simply let himself slide. Having given pain for so long, he accepted the moment when he had to receive it. The next shot burned off the end of Fred's tail. Suddenly, the shooting stopped. The kitchen light came on. Fred fell off the towel and onto his back in a daze. His breath slowly came back. Through a red film, Fred watched Mom enter the kitchen and walk to the eye.
While rubbing her own sleepy eyes, Mom said, "What's wrong with this?" She turned to see what the eye saw and found Fred writhing on the floor. Mom screamed. Dad stumbled into the room while tying up his bathrobe. He noticed Fred.
Dad said, "Don't worry, Persephone. I'll put it out of its misery." Dad walked over to the knife drawer. "You go to bed."
Eury ran into the room, asking, "What's going on, Dad?"
Dad replied, "Nothing. The mouse-catcher is broken." Eury made eye contact with Fred, as if she somehow recognized him. She even looked at him sympathetically. Mom left the room. Eury stared at the floor as she turned her back to Fred and followed her mom.
Fred struggled to his feet while Dad turned around with a large laser knife in his hand. As Fred stumbled away, he finally managed to reach the refrigerator. Fred kept running, but he heard the cleaning robot whiz out and wipe his blood off the floor.

The repair man came the next day to fix the Virtual Reality machine. Fred had stayed up late, again, in expectation of the repair man's visit. Fred let the dull soreness of his body hold him away from sleep. Eventually, he heard the panel clank as it came off. The strong hand of the engineer reached inside. Fred woke June up and ran to the plastic board that the hand felt. A blue eye looked in. Fred hugged the dark corner. The hand connected some wires to the board and left. The voice of the engineer came in. "Let me see what happens." A few lights on the board lit up, which signaled to Fred that the power was on. He rushed over to the wire, with June following. She placed her mouth firmly around his tail. Fred bit into the cord. The blue light flooded back into Fred's eyes as the burning and tingling pain gushed from his mouth to the back of his tail. Fred heard a voice in the distance. "That's strange. The machine's behaving as if someone's controlling it."
The blue light became pale and then faded to a more yellow color. Fred realized he was staring up at the sun. He looked away and blinked the sun out of his eyes. As the spot faded from his eyes, he could see June next to him. Again, she looked different--with smaller ears and a furry tail--because she had become a dog. Fred felt the change in his skin and bones that represented his own, similar, transformation. They climbed up a dusty hill or, perhaps, a mountain. Now a tired pain tortured his muscles. He let his tongue hang out heavily as he panted for air. The heat burned through his fur. June seemed fairly well off, though. Fred stopped for a moment, saying "I can't go on."
June continued walking. "Don’t you understand, now? No matter where you go, you can't rest. You can’t stop."

This was a sample story from Obfuscations. Click here to go to the main sight: www.geocities.com/fhunn88