Chapter 34
"We're doomed!" Dale shouted as he shook on the bars of the cage, the cage bouncing while the van drove them to NIMH.
"Stop panicking," Gadget said, trying to figure out how to undo the lock.
The cage had been built especially for intelligent rodents, and the lock had a key on it. She didn't have the proper tools on her to pick the lock, and her tail wouldn't quite reach, not to mention she risked serious injury by even trying.
"Abigail's still out there, right?" Russell asked, "She'll get us out of this."
"I know she will," said Edgar, trying to calm himself, "She never lets her friends down."
"We should've hid beneath the bed too," Dale lamented.
"I think the only reason Abigail escaped was because of the four of us being on top of the bed," Gadget reasoned, "If we were all down there the doctors would have caught us all."
"So that's us then, fall guys," Dale replied sarcastically, "It wasn't something I signed up for when I came with you guys."
"Don't worry, Abigail will get us before long," said Edgar.
"Hopefully before they have time to make us run through electrified mazes or see what our innards look like under a microscope."
"Dale, they don't need to hear this," Gadget cautioned, "Look on the bright side, maybe Chip and Monty are still alive. Maybe Russell and Edgar's families too."
"My mom better be there…" Edgar gave a sad look, remembering his beloved mother.
"I guess it would be nice, seeing them again," said Dale, at that point realizing how much he missed Chip and Monterey Jack. Gadget missed them too, though she'd distracted herself from it by taking charge as a leader.
The van stopped, and the back doors opened.
"Clark, find out at once if these were specimens from the lab, or new ones Penny must have picked up somewhere," said Dr. Wilson, "I'll go bring the key card and documents to Nimnul, and let him know what we found."
"Good plan," said Dr. Clark, grabbing the cage by its handle on the top and shutting the van doors shut.
"Well, been nice knowing you guys," said Dale.
The doctor's entered the building and went separate ways, Dr. Clark heading for the lab where the test subjects were situated. He entered the dank laboratory and was greeted with the frightened stares of the rodents behind their cages. Among these was Chip.
"Looks like new test subjects," he whispered to himself.
Dr. Clark sat the cage on the table in the middle of the room, and went to go sit at a computer in the corner.
"I didn't think we were missing any test subjects, but let's see…we have a mouse, a chipmunk, a hedgehog and a mole."
He clicked on the keyboard, as the four captives looked through the bars of the cage, at the imprisoned rodents. But their doors only had a narrow, barred slit. Through it though, Chip let out a gasp when he recognized his friends.
"Oh my gosh! Gadget! Dale!" he shouted.
"Chip?" Gadget searched the rows against the wall before seeing Chip's face, "Oh Chip! Thank goodness you're alive!"
"Is that me pallies?" Monty exclaimed from a different cage a distance away.
"Monty's alive too!" Dale exclaimed.
At the shouting, Cornelius slowly got up and walked to the cage door, peering through it. He was startled when he saw the cage on the table,
"Great Honk! Furlings!"
"Cornelius!" Edgar and Russell both gasped.
"This is terrible!" Chip exclaimed, "What happened?"
"We were caught trying to find Penny Stacy," Gadget said sadly, "We were at her apartment when these doctors busted in and found us."
"Why those lousy rotters!" Monty snarled, "Did Zippa escape?"
"He was on the roof with Michelle," said Dale.
"She's still alive, I'm so glad to hear that," Cornelius said, "Where's Abigail?"
"She got away too," said Russell, "She hid under the bed with Willy, and this rat we met at Thorn Valley. Long story."
A mouse two cages away from Chip awoke from a sedated slumber at the mention of Abigail. He made his way to the cage door, "Abigail?"
"It's Abigail's dad!" Edgar exclaimed.
"Edgar! Oh no, you've been caught too! Is Abigail alive? Is she in there?"
"Alive, but not in here," said Edgar, "Is…is my mother here?"
"I'm not sure," said Abigail's father, both grateful and saddened in different ways not to see his daughter among them.
"She's been taken with a few others for more testing," said Chip, "It…hasn't been pretty. We're not sure if some of us have just been shipped to other labs for testing, or…"
"Talkative today, aren't we?" said Dr. Clark, getting up from the computer and walking toward the cage, "They must be communicating verbally…if we could only get their language decoded somehow."
Everyone went silent, ever fearful of the scientist as he jotted down notes on a clip board, "It doesn't seem that we're missing any subjects. We only had one chipmunk and he's still in his cage. These must be new ones. We'd better have you guys tested for traces of the serum first."
"Wh-what?" Russell feared the worst.
"He must mean the serum those rats were injected with,' said Gadget, "I'd wager they're going to test our blood. It'll hurt, but we'll survive."
"Oh no! I hate needles!" Dale yelled.
"If you act really intelligent they'll more likely keep you alive longer for testing," Chip advised them.
"Hopefully we won't be here long enough for the really bad testing," Gadget said to herself, as Dr. Clark readied a syringe.
Penny, Bernard and Bianca watched as Abigail pulled her boyfriend Willy out from under the dresser, and a much larger rat squeezed his way out as well. When he got out, he brandished his spear and glared daggers at the enormous human.
"Where did you all come from?" asked Penny, surprised to see the unlikely trio in her home.
"I'm from Dapplewood," Abigail answered, before frowning a little, "I…believe you've been there before."
Penny put her hand over her mouth, a pang of guilt in her chest, "Dapplewood? I…thought we took everyone from there."
"My three friends and I hid in our teacher Cornelius' basement," Abigail answered, "Shoulda been a bit more thorough, hm?"
"Cornelius the badger? You must be one of his…oh what did he call them?"
"Furlings." said Willy.
"Yes that's it. You poor creature…" Penny got down on her knees, "I don't know how to even begin to apologize."
"You know Cornelius?" Abigail asked, "Is he…alive?"
"Yes I do, he was the first one to reawaken my gift, the gift of understanding animals. And as far as I know, he's alive. I only saw him about two days ago."
Abigail felt happy at hearing this, but she was still cautious about Penny.
"Is it true you aren't working with NIMH anymore?" Abigail asked.
"Not anymore. I realized working for them was a big mistake. I'm absolutely sorry about what happened at Dapplewood. I never would have thought a survivor would make it all the way here."
"Vait a minute," Bianca said, climbing down Penny's arm, "Bernard, do you remember vhat the squirrel said at the Rescue Aid Society meeting? About the survivor children that those Rescue Rangers vhere helping?"
"They were from a place called Dapplewood, weren't they?" Bernard asked, following her down.
"What? What squirrel?" Abigail asked.
"Her name vas Tammy, she vas a nurse," said Bianca.
"Oh!" Penny exclaimed, "Yes, I know which squirrel you're talking about, one of the six that weren't gassed at the UN building. And the Rescue Rangers; they're the ones we found at Central Park in New York aren't they?"
"Yes, and it's a lucky thing my friends and I weren't there when it happened," Abigail said with a hint of resentment.
"Not to sound like I'm shifting the blame, but that little sting operation was Dr. Nimnul's idea, he's another NIMH employee now. After that Dr. Strauss concluded he wasn't completely insane. Though I think the small part of his brain that isn't insane is pure evil instead. I'm not even sure what his real motives are besides just malice."
"We're taking him out, right?" Brutus asked.
Penny stopped for a moment and stared at the gargantuan rat with the spear, who seemed to loathe her to the core without even knowing who she was.
"I'm hoping he won't be there when we break in," Penny answered, "If he gets in our way, well, then we'll do whatever needs to be done. Though I'd rather not be in jail for murder."
"If you're all to squeamish just tie him down and I'll finish him," said Brutus.
Penny considered it a moment, and to her surprise wasn't as against the idea as she thought she should have been, "We'll see what happens first."
"Hm, could the squirrel have been the nurse from New York who helped Michelle?" Abigail asked, still wondering who the squirrel was. She remembered Tammy being the first nice squirrel she'd ever met.
"Yes, she was a nurse," said Bernard.
"Vhen I heard about you children from her I wished we could do something to help, but now we can," said Bianca.
"How exactly are you planning on helping us?" Brutus asked, "The human could still be leading us into a trap."
"I assure you I'm not," promised Penny, "Who are you anyway? Why are you with Abigail?"
"What business is it of yours?" he snapped.
"He's one of the first rats to escape NIMH," Abigail blurted.
Penny blinked, "Really? One of the ones injected with the hormones?"
"Tell her any more and we'll have a problem," Brutus threatened Abigail.
"Don't worry," said Penny, "I know you're probably in hiding now, I won't ask where. The scientist in me would be fascinated to know how you've all advanced over the years, but I understand why you'd be apprehensive about telling me anything."
"Good that you understand that, because you won't be hearing anything else about us," said Brutus, "I can hardly stomach being in the same room as a human from NIMH. Going to you for help surely wasn't my idea. But for reasons I will not tell you, I'm this girl's body guard. She seemed to think you'd help us. For some reason."
"Easy now," said Bernard, gathering up enough courage to lecture Brutus, "Penny's been through quite a lot, and she genuinely wants to help us now. You don't have to like her, or tell her anything about your group's hideout, but if you're going to be a part of this we'll need your cooperation."
"Hmph, mice. I'm beginning to think you're all idiots." Brutus folded his arms and scowled.
Abigail rolled her eyes, "He complains a lot, but he's along for the ride regardless of what he says about us. He's protecting me."
"It's okay,' said Penny, looking Brutus over out of fascination with the effects of the serum, "So Abigail, I take it you want me to free your family and friends from Dapplewood?"
Abigail nodded, "Yes."
"I was going to do it anyway, but now I know I owe it to you. I was part of the operation in Dapplewood after all."
"And just a little bit ago, I lost more of my friends…" Abigail added.
"Vhat happened?" Bianca asked.
"People from NIMH were just here a little bit ago. They took two of my best friends, and two members of the Rescue Rangers who were trying to help us."
"I knew it," Penny said in frustration, "They took more than that too, didn't they?"
"They were looking for other things too," Abigail answered.
"I'm not sure how to even get into the building without my key card. I can't access the laboratory without it."
"Ve'll find some vay in," said Bianca, "Ve are mice, ve can fit into small places."
"You've also got someone with you who's escaped before," Brutus added, "Those vents are dangerous for small creatures like you."
"Maybe ve can let Penny into the building from ze inside," Bianca suggested.
"It's worth a shot," said Bernard, "So it's just you three?"
Abigail's eyes lit up, "Oh gosh, I almost forgot, Michelle and Zipper are waiting on the roof."
"Michelle…Cornelius' niece?" Penny asked.
Abigail nodded, "And Zipper is a fly, the last member of the Rescue Rangers who wasn't captured."
"He may prove useful," said Bernard, "He's probably even smaller than any of us, plus he can fly."
"We better go tell them what happened, but we'd need to travel through the vents again," Abigail said, her ears going down thinking of Russell and Edgar, two of her best friends in the world, and how Michelle was going to react to the bad news.
"We'll get them and bring them down here," said Bernard, "We have an albatross working for us, he's hiding in a tree out front. In the meantime, Penny's going to hide out here until night."
"Oh, is that the plan?" Abigail asked.
Penny nodded, "Well originally, we planned on breaking in at around 3 in the morning with my key card. Maybe we'll figure something else out with you guys. Once you get me in, I'll free everyone."
"I doubt it's going to be as easy as that," said Brutus, "Even if you do succeed, NIMH will be more desperate than ever to cover up their tracks. They'll be looking for their lost specimens, and finding new ones in the process. You sure all we're going to do is get everyone out, and then leave the place be? We're not going to, I don't know, prevent NIMH from ever doing these things again?"
"We'll do what we can while staying safe," said Penny, "You do make a good point…you must know NIMH well."
"Too well," Brutus answered, "Safe or no, I plan on doing whatever it takes to protect the rats of NIMH. No matter how dangerous, or violent."
"Just don't endanger the rest of us," said Bernard, not liking this rat's attitude at all, "Bianca and I rescue for a living, you ought to just follow our lead."
"The only one I'm sworn to protect is Abigail, I'm not going to babysit the rest of you."
"How rude!" Bianca retorted, "Abigail, vhy's a nice girl like you doing vith that…that scoundrel?"
"It's a long story," said Abigail, "One that I'm probably not allowed to give you all the details about…"
"You catch on quick," said Brutus.
"Well here, since we have a lot of time to kill, why don't Bernard and Bianca get Wilbur to help your other two friends off the roof, and when everyone's here you can tell us what happened to you," Penny suggested, "Minus the top secret stuff."
"I feel like I can rehearse the story in my sleep after telling it so many times, but okay," said Abigail.
Penny got to her feet and gathered Bernard and Bianca in her hands, taking them to the front door and opening it only a crack before placing them on the ground again.
"Abby, I sure hope we can trust this human…" said Willy.
"She'd have squashed us by now or given us to NIMH by now if she was going to," said Abigail, "I know humans are scary, but I have a good feeling about this one."