Chapter 2: Infestation
Kerry limped down the hall and stopped and looked around. The lights were suddenly dim, and she looked for the reason but then figured it must be a fuse. She'd get someone to look at it. Though the lighting wasn't very bright, she could still see the faint outline of a tall, dark-haired man.
"Dr. Kovac," she tried to make her way over to him, but as she was about to, a little furry thing hit her crutch away and she tripped. Luka came right over as Kerry stared at the little brown and white thing.
"RANDI!" she shouted as the little thing giggled. Randi came running.
"It wasn't my fault, Dr. Weaver, honest! Wait... What did I do?"
"Did you bring that thing back in here?" Kerry pointed at the Maguay.
"Uh... No... Last I saw, Abby took him outside," Randi shrugged.
"What is it?" Luka asked, helping Kerry to her feet.
"A Mag-something-or-other," Randi answered.
"Maguay," Kerry told them.
"Yeah," Randi nodded. Luka picked up the squirming thing.
"Looks like a rat with big ears," he said.
"My point exactly. Randi, get that thing out of here and tell Dave I want to see him!"
"Ooh, are you gonna yell at him?" Randi asked.
"Randi!"
"OK, OK, just asking!" Randi took the thing from Luka. The Maguay seemed much more destructive than before. It struggled in Randi's grip and stuck its tongue out at her.
"Hey!" she exclaimed.
"Randi, outside," Kerry told her.
"Right, right, right!" Randi nodded and walked towards the doors.
"Only a small fracture, sir, nothing to be worried about," Carter assured the man as Abby finished up some of the paperwork.
"Thank you, Doctor," the man smiled kindly, "Now if you would, I'm late for a meeting, so..." but interrupting him was Luka's loud scream.
"Honestly, I think that girl can be really- what the hell?!" Kerry stopped mid-sentence. But before Luka could say 'What's wrong?' something jumped on him. Luka shouted with surprise.
"WHAT IS IT?" he demanded as Kerry pulled the thing off his back. Giggling hysterically like a drunken chipmunk was another Maguay.
"I thought Randi just took that thing away?!" Kerry half screamed. Suddenly, Abby and Carter came bursting out of an exam room. Abby noticed her boyfriend glaring maliciously at the small thing Kerry was trying to restrain.
"It's Gizmo!" Carter cried.
"How'd it get back in?" Abby asked.
"I don't think that this is Gizmo," Kerry said, wrapping the thing angrily in duct tape. These things were getting on her nerves and she was pretty sure that Dave was behind the whole thing. Now, because of one lousy giant rat, they could have an infestation!
"Then what is it?" Abby studied it and realized Kerry was probably right.
"A giant mutated lab rat!" Kerry answered, "I told you it-" but Kerry was cut off when Abby screamed and jumped. Something furry had just brushed against her leg and now hat it's furry paws around her ankle. As Abby tore the thing off her ankle, whistling could be heard and all heads turned to see Dave walking down the hall. But he stopped suddenly when he noticed the eyes on him.
"What? I didn't do it, I swear!"
"I bet I could prove you wrong!" Kerry replied, icily.
"Huh?" Dave looked confused then saw the thing tugging hard at Abby's hair and groaned. Abby wrenched the thing off and threw it to the ground hard where it scampered away from her.
"Your little joke has-"
"It wasn't me!" Dave was aghast and his mouth dropped. He then threw his hands in the air, "Why is it that every time something goes wrong, it's always blamed on me?"
"Because you're usually to blame!" Kerry retorted.
"I swear, I had nothing to do with the Maguay! And I can assure you that whoever did bring it in, it wasn't for a joke!"
"Malucci, listen to me," Kerry tried to be calm, "When you play a joke on the personnel, that's one thing. But when you bring a giant rat in to the ER, that's another! We now have some sort of infestation!" the color in Dave's face quickly faded as his mouth dropped.
"Dr. Weaver, I didn't bring in the Maguay. I swear. This isn't a joke. If it were a joke, I'd be laughing. I'd love to debate this matter with you, but if you excuse me..." plucking the duct-taped Maguay Kerry had restrained, Dave ran outside and felt the heavy drops of rain. In his very hands, he felt small balls of fur jump off the he held and land on the pavement. Quickly, Dave covered the Maguay in his arms, keeping it dry and stepped on the rapidly growing balls before they could get any wetter or bigger. He looked up at the gray clouds.
"They had to put Gizmo outside!" he rolled his eyes.
"Rain!" squeaked something from behind Dave. Dave spun around and saw the big-eyed creature staring up at him.
"Gizmo!" he declared as the little thing tried hard to keep dry, "Stay there! Bright light, bright light, where can I find bright light..." he muttered to himself. Out of ideas, he ran into the ER again only to be reminded that the lights were low. Running behind the hospital and not quite sure what he was looking for, he stumbled upon the fuse box. Opening the black door, he noticed that some wires had been chewed through.
"Damn!" he swore, "Damn those giant rats!" he ran into the ER again, the Maguay struggling to get away.
"Dave Malucci, what the Hell are you doing?!" Kerry demanded when she saw him again.
"Dr. Weaver. Listen to me. Round up as many of these as possible and get them to an area with-"
"Let me guess: Bright light?" Kerry interrupted. Dave nodded.
"How'd you know?"
"Please, Dave, taking a strange rodent and turning it into a character from an eighties movie is just-"
"THIS IS NOT A JOKE!" Dave screamed, frustrated. Though this only made Abby giggle even more. Carter, however, kept a straight face.
"Dave, give me the giant rod- I mean, Maguay," he held out his hands calmly. Dave couldn't believe this.
"My God," he sighed, "Why are you treating me like I'm crazy?! I am so damn serious! These things can rip your throat out!" at that, Abby laughed out loud.
"Dave. You don't honestly think that mutant furry rodents could take over the world, do you?" she asked him. Dave faltered.
"They... They could!" he said defiantly. Even Kerry had to smile.
"Dave, they are not going to take over the world!" Kerry assured him, "Now stop this crazy charade and get rid of that thing!"
"What do you think I'm... Oh, never mind!" Dave had given up, "There's no way in hell that I can make them believe me!" he muttered. In fact, the only way he could think of was to show them how they multiply and he wasn't ready to do that. He walked over to the admit desk and saw Randi on the phone, casually chewing bubble gum while speaking to someone up in the psych. ward. Not wasting a second, Dave grabbed the phone from Randi, hung up, and lifted it to his ear again.
"Hey!" Randi exclaimed, obviously annoyed, "What did you do that for?" but Dave's fingers were already flying across the number pad.
"Hello? Yeah, Cook County General. Something chewed through the lighting cords... yes, the phone lines are intact... no, it wasn't the storm, something chewed through the wires... yes- I mean, no, I don't know what did it, just get over here, please, soon!" and he handed the phone to Randi again, "There you go, Randi!" He smiled, picked up the Maguay, who was now trying to chew his way through the tape, and headed outside again where he took out a pocketknife.
"It has to be stopped before it gets out of hand," he muttered to himself, not quite sure of what he was doing, and plunged the knife through the small animal.
Kerry limped down the hall and stopped and looked around. The lights were suddenly dim, and she looked for the reason but then figured it must be a fuse. She'd get someone to look at it. Though the lighting wasn't very bright, she could still see the faint outline of a tall, dark-haired man.
"Dr. Kovac," she tried to make her way over to him, but as she was about to, a little furry thing hit her crutch away and she tripped. Luka came right over as Kerry stared at the little brown and white thing.
"RANDI!" she shouted as the little thing giggled. Randi came running.
"It wasn't my fault, Dr. Weaver, honest! Wait... What did I do?"
"Did you bring that thing back in here?" Kerry pointed at the Maguay.
"Uh... No... Last I saw, Abby took him outside," Randi shrugged.
"What is it?" Luka asked, helping Kerry to her feet.
"A Mag-something-or-other," Randi answered.
"Maguay," Kerry told them.
"Yeah," Randi nodded. Luka picked up the squirming thing.
"Looks like a rat with big ears," he said.
"My point exactly. Randi, get that thing out of here and tell Dave I want to see him!"
"Ooh, are you gonna yell at him?" Randi asked.
"Randi!"
"OK, OK, just asking!" Randi took the thing from Luka. The Maguay seemed much more destructive than before. It struggled in Randi's grip and stuck its tongue out at her.
"Hey!" she exclaimed.
"Randi, outside," Kerry told her.
"Right, right, right!" Randi nodded and walked towards the doors.
"Only a small fracture, sir, nothing to be worried about," Carter assured the man as Abby finished up some of the paperwork.
"Thank you, Doctor," the man smiled kindly, "Now if you would, I'm late for a meeting, so..." but interrupting him was Luka's loud scream.
"Honestly, I think that girl can be really- what the hell?!" Kerry stopped mid-sentence. But before Luka could say 'What's wrong?' something jumped on him. Luka shouted with surprise.
"WHAT IS IT?" he demanded as Kerry pulled the thing off his back. Giggling hysterically like a drunken chipmunk was another Maguay.
"I thought Randi just took that thing away?!" Kerry half screamed. Suddenly, Abby and Carter came bursting out of an exam room. Abby noticed her boyfriend glaring maliciously at the small thing Kerry was trying to restrain.
"It's Gizmo!" Carter cried.
"How'd it get back in?" Abby asked.
"I don't think that this is Gizmo," Kerry said, wrapping the thing angrily in duct tape. These things were getting on her nerves and she was pretty sure that Dave was behind the whole thing. Now, because of one lousy giant rat, they could have an infestation!
"Then what is it?" Abby studied it and realized Kerry was probably right.
"A giant mutated lab rat!" Kerry answered, "I told you it-" but Kerry was cut off when Abby screamed and jumped. Something furry had just brushed against her leg and now hat it's furry paws around her ankle. As Abby tore the thing off her ankle, whistling could be heard and all heads turned to see Dave walking down the hall. But he stopped suddenly when he noticed the eyes on him.
"What? I didn't do it, I swear!"
"I bet I could prove you wrong!" Kerry replied, icily.
"Huh?" Dave looked confused then saw the thing tugging hard at Abby's hair and groaned. Abby wrenched the thing off and threw it to the ground hard where it scampered away from her.
"Your little joke has-"
"It wasn't me!" Dave was aghast and his mouth dropped. He then threw his hands in the air, "Why is it that every time something goes wrong, it's always blamed on me?"
"Because you're usually to blame!" Kerry retorted.
"I swear, I had nothing to do with the Maguay! And I can assure you that whoever did bring it in, it wasn't for a joke!"
"Malucci, listen to me," Kerry tried to be calm, "When you play a joke on the personnel, that's one thing. But when you bring a giant rat in to the ER, that's another! We now have some sort of infestation!" the color in Dave's face quickly faded as his mouth dropped.
"Dr. Weaver, I didn't bring in the Maguay. I swear. This isn't a joke. If it were a joke, I'd be laughing. I'd love to debate this matter with you, but if you excuse me..." plucking the duct-taped Maguay Kerry had restrained, Dave ran outside and felt the heavy drops of rain. In his very hands, he felt small balls of fur jump off the he held and land on the pavement. Quickly, Dave covered the Maguay in his arms, keeping it dry and stepped on the rapidly growing balls before they could get any wetter or bigger. He looked up at the gray clouds.
"They had to put Gizmo outside!" he rolled his eyes.
"Rain!" squeaked something from behind Dave. Dave spun around and saw the big-eyed creature staring up at him.
"Gizmo!" he declared as the little thing tried hard to keep dry, "Stay there! Bright light, bright light, where can I find bright light..." he muttered to himself. Out of ideas, he ran into the ER again only to be reminded that the lights were low. Running behind the hospital and not quite sure what he was looking for, he stumbled upon the fuse box. Opening the black door, he noticed that some wires had been chewed through.
"Damn!" he swore, "Damn those giant rats!" he ran into the ER again, the Maguay struggling to get away.
"Dave Malucci, what the Hell are you doing?!" Kerry demanded when she saw him again.
"Dr. Weaver. Listen to me. Round up as many of these as possible and get them to an area with-"
"Let me guess: Bright light?" Kerry interrupted. Dave nodded.
"How'd you know?"
"Please, Dave, taking a strange rodent and turning it into a character from an eighties movie is just-"
"THIS IS NOT A JOKE!" Dave screamed, frustrated. Though this only made Abby giggle even more. Carter, however, kept a straight face.
"Dave, give me the giant rod- I mean, Maguay," he held out his hands calmly. Dave couldn't believe this.
"My God," he sighed, "Why are you treating me like I'm crazy?! I am so damn serious! These things can rip your throat out!" at that, Abby laughed out loud.
"Dave. You don't honestly think that mutant furry rodents could take over the world, do you?" she asked him. Dave faltered.
"They... They could!" he said defiantly. Even Kerry had to smile.
"Dave, they are not going to take over the world!" Kerry assured him, "Now stop this crazy charade and get rid of that thing!"
"What do you think I'm... Oh, never mind!" Dave had given up, "There's no way in hell that I can make them believe me!" he muttered. In fact, the only way he could think of was to show them how they multiply and he wasn't ready to do that. He walked over to the admit desk and saw Randi on the phone, casually chewing bubble gum while speaking to someone up in the psych. ward. Not wasting a second, Dave grabbed the phone from Randi, hung up, and lifted it to his ear again.
"Hey!" Randi exclaimed, obviously annoyed, "What did you do that for?" but Dave's fingers were already flying across the number pad.
"Hello? Yeah, Cook County General. Something chewed through the lighting cords... yes, the phone lines are intact... no, it wasn't the storm, something chewed through the wires... yes- I mean, no, I don't know what did it, just get over here, please, soon!" and he handed the phone to Randi again, "There you go, Randi!" He smiled, picked up the Maguay, who was now trying to chew his way through the tape, and headed outside again where he took out a pocketknife.
"It has to be stopped before it gets out of hand," he muttered to himself, not quite sure of what he was doing, and plunged the knife through the small animal.