Gremlins Mutation

Prologue

Splice of Life Lab, summer 1990

"Day fifteen of experiment number seven is another day that has yet to prove results," Doctor James Friedrich spoke into his tape recorder. "Attempt at splicing the DNA of O. Hoazin with Chalmydosaurus has been unsuccessful. The DNA of both species has refused to bond." He turned off the recorder and rubbed the top of his gray hair covered head. He had been trying to create hybrids of different species for a while and all he had been able to create were creatures such as Ligers and Zonkeys creatures that could be made by normal breeding.

Everyone else at the lab was creating something special. The Stanton twins were creating electric rodents, Walter Watson was working on both a genetic sunblock and various formulas for vegetables and his only complaints were not creating pimentos and corn in his vegetable medley solution.

Doctor Catheter himself had created a formula that improves brain function and can make acreatures and humans smarter and his working with various diseases and what has he, doctor James Friedrich contributed to the lab? Nothing spectacular unless one would count the hermit crab clones.

Maybe if he had a larger area to work in it would be easier. A place with various labs and offices would suffice and one that wasn't so cramped, nor did it reek of various animals, not to mention the noises they made.

"Should we tell Doctor Catheter about the new kind of rodent?" One of the Stanton twins asked from their section of the lab. They were usually happy men, both with ginger curls and moustaches. This one was more giddy than usual and he and his brother had recently returned from one of their specimen collecting run.

"Not while he is sleeping," the other twin said. "Can we try working on the electric rat project again?"

Friedrich slid his hand down from the side of his head as he watched the twins move onto a different part of the lab, abandoning the cage that was covered in a cloth.

"New kind of rodent?" Friedrich's curiosity was piqued. What kind of creature did they find in the city? Nothing rare of course since most of the animals consisted of insects and rats, birds and well some squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and possums that were found in Central Park. "Let's see what we have here?"

He quietly snuck over to the cage and lifted the cloth…and felt his eyes widened and the mysterious creature. It was a small mammal with brown and white fur and large ears and it was asleep, but it didn't look like a rodent. It was more of a type of tailless primate similar to a Bush Baby but with a mouth like a squirrel monkey. Those fools couldn't even classify the specimen correctly.

"Keep on sleeping, little one." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe. "I don't know why they are waiting to take your blood, but I will do it for them." He slipped his fingers into the bar and pulled the creature's arm towards him and with one deft movement he injected the needle and filled it with blood.

The creature's eyes opened and he sat up.

Friedrich dropped the cloth before he made his way back to his section of the lab and kneeled down to a special shelf that he kept a small safe inside. Only he knew the combination. He placed the blood sample within. He will study it later.

Three Days Later

Most of the building was trashed from the green and brown mystery creatures that had shown up on the day after the twins had discovered the new mammal and after it had escaped somehow. The lab was also destroyed and Doctor Catheter was dead, killed by the electrocution caused by an electrified version of one of those things, Friedrich had heard Daniel Clamp refer to them as gremlins, well that was a simple enough explanation.

"Such a shame," Friedrich said as he waded around the former lab. Cages were wide open and empty and only a few vials and flasks were left. Some of the cleaning team had already swept up the broken glass and Friedrich and his fellow scientists were allowed to retrieve any personal belongings that may have been intact.

One of those things was his recorder, surprisingly. He pressed the play button and only could hear the various sounds made by the creatures. He shook his head as he dropped it. That wasn't the important item he had hoped to retrieve. The safe was untouched. He opened it and took out the vial of blood he had collected. This was going to be useful to him. Now he just had to find a new place of employment, perhaps that medical research building out in the country? They did have cancer research department there and once he had enough funds he could start his own genetics lab with a new team.

Carey's Glade, NY, June 22, 1998

Billy Peltzer yawned as he stretched out in his bed. Dateline NBC was almost over and then it will be time for the eleven o clock news and he could barely keep his eyes open for that. He didn't have his blanket on him and only the top sheet covered his knees. Monday nights were always so tiring.

"You don't have to stay up," Kate Peltzer, his lovely wife, said to him from her side of the bed. She was wore her cute pajama set that looks like a t-shirt and shorts and was flipping through a magazine. "You look exhausted."

"I'm not that tired," Billy answered as he rubbed his eyes. "It was a non-eventful day at work." He was looking over proposals for the new apartments that would be built next to the community college. Ever since the gremlin attack eight years ago he had been busy as head of city development for Clamp's town. It started simple with a few subdivisions and schools and a grocery store along with a post office, a bank, churches, police station, fire department and hospital. Then came more subdivisions and a few areas for apartments, office buildings, a park, a community college and a large mall and their small town just keeps on growing. It was originally going to be called Clamp Corners, but Marla had informed Clamp that a lot of people hear Cramp instead of Clamp and nobody wants to live in a Cramped Corners and they let the people vote on the town name and thus it became Carey's Glade named after former governor Hugh Carey.

"Maybe we should make a big plan for the weekend?" Kate asked as she brushed her fingers into his hair. "Take the kids to the park for a picnic and get one of the neighbors to watch them on Saturday night and we can go see a movie together. We can go see Six Days and Seven Nights."

"Just the two of us," Billy said. They did go to the movies last Saturday, granted it was to take the kids to see Mulan but it would be nice for Kate and him to go and have a date night.

"Three," a small voice said from in between then. Gizmo was seated in between the two and was looking at a comic book. Ever since he came home with them the mogwai was a big part of the family and the Peltzer's took great care of him. They kept him in dim areas, kept him dry. When they moved out of the city found a house with two coat closets and one was a walk in and they turned the walk in one into a room for Gizmo with a little bed, a nightstand for a TV, a toy box, some shelves and another table.

The brown and white mogwai wasn't the only border between the couple. Their ragdoll cat Snowy and gray tabby Knight were curled up next to Giz. There was a time when they shared a bed with their dog, Harris, but when their son, Benny, had developed an allergy at age 3 they had to sadly give him up and he went to live with Billy's parents. Snowy's breed was recommended by a friend who said the ragdoll breed had the brain of a puppy and Knight showed up a year later on their doorstep. She was originally going to be taken care of until they found her a new home and then a yellow jacket had found its way into their house and Knight killed it in front of Kate.

"Sorry buddy," Billy said as he stroked Gizmo in between the ears. "Just of the two of us this time."

"We promise the next time we go see a movie I'll sneak you in my purse," Kate told him while she stroked one of his ears.

"Okay," Gizmo said and went back to his comic book.

"Coming this weekend to Clamp Corner's mall," the announcer said on the TV said. "A brand new experience for the whole family. The New Build A Bear is going to open this Saturday. Come and bring the kids. They can choose one of several different colorful animals. They can stuff them, give them a special heart, brush them and dress them in our wide variety of clothes and accessories then they create a name and birth certificate."

"A customize your own teddy bear store?" Kate asked. "Maybe not this weekend, but next we can take the kids there."

"I might look at it when I go this Friday, I have a half day and I need to get new loafers, and you said we ran out of cough drops." He looked down at Gizmo. "And after I finish those errands we can borrow Benny's hotwheels, right, Giz?"

"Hotwheels," Gizmo answered.

While the town took on a new name the mall kept the original moniker. It was a good large sized mall with two stories and six anchor stores, along with a cinema, a hotel and a medical research building that had the bottom two floors connected to the mall. The first floor contained the pharmacy the Peltzer's used.

"Still have the rest of the week ahead of us," Kate said as she set her alarm. She went back to banking and was the head teller of The First Bank of Carey's Glade.

"I'm going to take Gizmo to his room and then go to bed," Billy said as he took the mogwai into his arms. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were going to go by slowly and he can't wait until Friday.