Chapter 5
Is There a Doctor In the House?
They were worried about him. He'd been gone since last morning and he still hasn't returned. Where could he possibly be?
Beth was sitting with Paul at the kitchen table as she had her hands folded near her mouth. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she was extremely tired. She was hoping that Chris wasn't hurt or worse… even thinking about it brought her more stress. Chris was more like a son rather than a nephew and even though he was her husband's sister's son he was still like a son to her.
They hadn't told Billy because they didn't want a child to get worried. He was outside playing and Beth hoped that he wouldn't find out about this. That boy was too curious at some points.
It was complete silence and Beth and Paul hadn't spoken a word to each other as they were seated at the kitchen table and there was no breakfast. There was no point in eating at a time like this. Their stomachs couldn't even try to grumble for even a little piece of bread as if knowing that this was a very bad situation.
Then breaking the silence, there was a knock at the screen door and Beth and Paul's heads lifted towards it and they could see a silhouette of a man. Beth instantly stood from her chair and she went to the door to open it. When she opened the door, a cop was standing there. The cop was bald but he was in good shape.
"Afternoon, ma'am, I'm Sheriff Reeds," the Sheriff introduced. "I'm here because you called the police saying that your nephew's been missing."
Beth nodded. "Yes, that's correct."
"May I come in?"
"Yes, of course."
Beth held the door open for Sheriff Reeds and he walked in. Usually, Beth would've asked people to take off their shoes before they went any further in the house but she was too stressed to even think about that. She closed the door and followed behind Officer Reeds as he made his way to the kitchen table.
"Afternoon, sir, I'm Sheriff Reeds," the Sheriff introduced again.
"I'm Paul Fitzgibbons and that's my wife, Beth Fitzgibbons," Paul said.
"Please have a seat, Sheriff," Beth said. "Would you like some coffee?"
"Thank you, Mrs. Fitzgibbons," the Sheriff replied. "But I'll have to pass."
Beth nodded and she sat at the table next to her husband. She folded her hands in her lap and she and Paul stared at the Sheriff. Sheriff Reeds got out a little notebook and a pen from his pocket and he flipped pages in his notebook until he got to a blank one and he then pushed down on the plunge and it clicked as the socket came out. He then looked at Beth and Paul.
"I'm going to ask you two some questions and I need you to answer them the best that you can. Is that understood?"
"Of course," Beth said.
The Sheriff nodded. "You said Chris was your nephew, right?"
"Yes."
"Could you describe to me what he looks like?"
"He has brown hair, green eyes, he's muscular but not very and I would say he's around 5'8 inches," Beth said as Sheriff Reeds jot down what she said in his notebook.
"And what was he wearing the last time you saw him?"
"He was wearing some jeans, a jean jacket, a plain white shirt, and some white sneakers."
Sheriff Reeds jot down what Beth said again and he then looked up back at her and her husband. "And how old is Chris?"
"He's 24 years old," Paul said, "so pretty much a young adult."
The Sheriff once again wrote in his notebook and then looked back up at the two again. "Does he work on this farm?"
"He actually doesn't," Beth said. "He works as a photographer in New York City."
"For how long?" The Sheriff said as he wrote in his notebook.
"3 to 4 years I would say. It was his dream to be a photographer in the big city and after he graduated from college with a good degree he managed to get his dream job in the big city."
"Why was your nephew here then if he lives in New York City?"
"He was here for a 1-week vacation," Paul said. "He wanted to get some photos here for his job."
The Sheriff hummed to himself as he was thinking. "Would you happen to know if Chris has any enemies of any sort?"
Beth and Paul looked at each other. Chris had his ups and downs when it came to people but he never once in his life had an enemy. That's what they thought at least.
They looked back at Sheriff Reeds. "Not that we know of," Beth replied. "He's a very nice guy and a lot love him for it. He has never mentioned anyone being his enemy."
Sheriff Reeds slowly nodded. "No one?"
"No one," Paul said.
"And when was the last time you saw Chris?"
"Last morning," Beth said. "He was going to the forest near the farm to get some photos in for his career."
"What did he do before he left?"
"I gave him a backpack before he left and all he had in it was a water bottle and his lunch."
"Was he carrying anything in his pockets or in his hands?"
"He was carrying a camera around his neck and as far as his pockets we're not so sure."
"Do you know what kind of camera he had?"
"We're not sure," Paul said. "We're not really familiar with some of the cameras."
The Sheriff kept scribbling in what Beth and Paul said, getting in as much information as he could. As they were watching Sheriff Reeds jot down in his notebook, Paul placed his hand on Beth's hand to try and comfort her without looking at her. Without looking at Paul, Beth held Paul's hand and they waited for Sheriff Reeds to say anything else.
Yesterday, it was around night time and Beth noticed that Chris hadn't returned yet and this concerned her but Paul suggested that maybe Chris was trying to get some more photos in that he'll back later on. But when morning came, Beth checked Chris's room but when she did she saw that Chris wasn't in his room. She checked around the inside of the farm and outside around the farm but she couldn't find Chris. She thought that maybe he went somewhere like to a nearby town but she saw that his car was still parked in the same spot as yesterday. She immediately went to Paul and woke him up and told him that Chris still hadn't returned and she was worried that something bad might've happened to him. Paul was in no good mood when Beth woke him up but when Beth mentioned Chris still hasn't returned yet he told her to call the cops. Paul immediately got dressed and when he did he was about to set off to find Chris but Beth said he should stay here because help was already on the way.
After some writing, the Sheriff finally looked his brown eyes up at them. "Did he say anything about going somewhere else after he got some photos in?"
"No, he didn't," Paul said. "All he said was that he would be back soon after he got some photos in. His car is even still out there so we know for sure he didn't go anywhere else."
"Do you have any other relatives that know of Chris's absence?"
"Sadly no, Beth, our son, Billy, Chris, and I are the only Fitzgibbons members left. Chris's parents used to be around but they have passed on."
Sheriff Reeds stopped writing in his journal and looked up at Paul. "I'm sorry to hear about that, Mr. Fitzgibbons. May I ask what happened to them?"
Beth knew it was hard for Paul to talk about this sort of thing, especially when it comes to his sister. Paul sighed with his eyes closed but he then looked back at the Sheriff. "When Chris was 16 his father passed away from a heart attack and as for his mother… she died of cancer when he was 21 years old… It was hard times for Chris at the time."
Beth rubbed her thumb on Paul's knuckles feeling an ache in her heart. Chris went through a depression after his dad died but he had his mother to comfort him, but when his mother died from cancer Chris's depression grew worse but he somehow managed to get through it. Sometimes Beth would call Chris to see if he was doing alright and Chris would say that he was and said she didn't have to check on him at some points but Beth kept doing so anyway.
"I think I have enough information I need," the Sheriff said, "and don't worry. We will do everything we can to find your nephew."
They traveled to Mr. Ages home and sometimes they picked up their pace at certain points. Mrs. Brisby really needed to get to Mr. Ages so Chris didn't complain to her at how fast or how slow the travel process was. They were trying to be quiet and not make any noises as they were now near the farm but they were trying to stick to the fields. Mrs. Brisby explained to Chris that there was a lot of danger out here and being caught by one of these dangerous animals was very bad especially Dragon.
They then ran into a log that had nothing in it and when they did, Mrs. Brisby looked out through the opening and started to sniff the air and hear for any sort of animal that might be approaching and as she did, Chris looked out as well and looked around him but then his eyes laid on the farm.
Chris started to think about what his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin were thinking at this moment. Were they worried about him? Were they searching for him? He hoped that he would return to his normal size soon, otherwise he didn't know what would happen next.
He then looked at Mrs. Brisby and she was staring at something with her eyes narrowed. She then nodded and she looked at Chris and pointed at something. "There." Chris looked to where Mrs. Brisby was pointing at and at a far distance he could make out a worn down harvesting plow that hasn't been used in years. It was rusty and it was covered in weeds. He doesn't even remember the last time that thing was used. "That's where Mr. Ages lives. I just hope he'll be able to help."
Chris looked at Mrs. Brisby confused. "Why wouldn't he? He's a doctor isn't he?"
"You could say he is, but he really doesn't like any visitors. Just… try to be friendly with him."
Chris looked back at the harvest tractor. A mouse living in a harvest tractor… that was something. However, Chris could tell from what Mrs. Brisby said that Mr. Ages sounded like he preferred to be alone. He just hoped that there wouldn't be any problems with him.
He then looked back at Mrs. Brisby. "Should we get going then?"
Mrs. Brisby nodded. "I believe we should."
"After you then."
Mrs. Brisby loped out of the log on all fours and Chris ran behind her. After some running they then came to a brief stop a little away from the old, rusty harvest plow. Chris looked up at it and he could tell that this thing was in no condition to even try to work. Maybe if it got repaired maybe then it would work.
But as he was taking in the old plow he then jumped at the sudden boom he heard and the ground shook from that sound. He then started to see smoke come out of it. What was going on inside there?
Chris looked at Mrs. Brisby and she was making her way towards the plow and as she did, Chris followed behind. Mrs. Brisby started to climb up one of the weeds that was growing on the plow and Chris followed behind. He just hoped he wouldn't die doing this. He didn't even try to look down as he continued to climb up behind Mrs. Brisby.
Mrs. Brisby then made it to the top and when she did she helped Chris up. Chris was then on top of the plow with Mrs. Brisby and he followed her on the top of it to where they needed to go. Mrs. Brisby then dropped down to a level on the beam of the plow's and Chris did the same thing. Mrs. Brisby looked to an opening on the inside of the beam-which still had the smoke coming out of it-and she started to walk towards it and Chris followed behind again. As Chris was following her he started to hear some clanking like someone was trying to fix something.
"Mr. Ages?" Mrs. Brisby called out. "Mr. Ages? Is anybody home?"
"Go away!" Came a voice that made the inside of the beam echo. To Chris, it sounded like they came at a bad time.
Mrs. Brisby started to walk in the beam and Chris trailed behind her carefully for he could see that there were some pointy spikes in some places and he saw there was a very deep hole going a long way down and it was pitch dark. Chris gulped but thankfully Mrs. Brisby didn't hear him.
"Mr. Ages?" Mrs. Brisby called out again.
"What is it?" Came the irritated voice again as they came to an edge.
"I think he's too busy to talk," Chris said.
"Mr. Ages, may I please speak to you?" Mrs. Brisby ignored Chris and got on all fours.
"What?" Shouted the voice which Chris could only guess was Mr. Ages.
"I said may I please speak-" they then heard coughing and they gasped as they turned around to see an old, grey-white mouse near standing near the edge. "With you…?" Mrs. Brisby looked relieved. "Oh, thank goodness!" Mrs. Brisby breathed relieved. "I'm so glad you're home!"
The old mouse continued to cough-which Chris could now see was Mr. Ages. He had on a pair of specs and he was wearing a mended long-sleeved shirt that had patches on it and he was wearing a brown apron with some tools that were sticking out of it. "C-Confounded machine!" Mr. Ages then took off his specs, getting worked up. "You never know when it's going to up and blow!"
Chris looked at Mrs. Brisby not sure what to say at this moment but Mrs. Brisby kept staring at Mr. Ages. Chris didn't even think Mr. Ages saw him yet.
"Yes… I don't suppose you would remember me?" Mrs. Brisby asked.
"Yes, you're Mrs. Brisby," Mr. Ages said as he wiped his specs with his apron. "And I'm sorry about your husband's death." He looked at his specs after wiping them for a few seconds and he looked back at Mrs. Brisby as he placed them back on his nose. "Now if you'll excuse me…" He started to descend.
"Mr. Ages!"
"Great Jupiter woman, what do you want!?" Mr. Ages shouted, appearing out of nowhere at another edge.
"Jesus, can't you see she's desperate," Chris shouted at Mr. Ages.
Mr. Ages looked like he was about to shout at Chris but when he looked at him his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. Mr. Ages blinked a few times but then he shook his head. "A tiny human?" Mr. Ages took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I must be losing my mind after that explosion."
"Mr. Ages, this is Christopher Fitzgibbons," Mrs. Brisby said as Mr. Ages placed his specs back on his nose, "but he goes for Chris for short and he came with me here and I know you don't like visitors but this is an emergency. Please…"
Before Mrs. Brisby could speak any further a loud boom sounded making the ground shake again causing Chris and Mrs. Brisby to crash to the ground and Mr. Ages to fall down and hit some things and then he fell deep into a hole. Chris could hear his ears ringing and he was lucky his eardrums didn't break. He was shocked though and it gave him a heart attack.
Mrs. Brisby quickly got up and scrambled down some more inside the plow and then she slid on a plank of metal and then descended off of it very easily and looked down to where Mr. Ages fell into. Chris got up and ran down to Mrs. Brisby, careful not to hurt himself he then made it to the plank of metal and he dropped down from it and when he did he almost fell off from where he stood but Mrs. Brisby grabbed the collar of his jean jacket in time before he could even drop into the hole Mr. Ages fell into.
Chris breathed in relief but he then noticed some rope hanging near the hole and he could see the rope moving up and he could hear something coming up, "Huh?"
Chris and Mrs. Brisby looked down into the hole to where Mr. Ages fell and they saw him in a basket ascending up. The rope was tied to the handle of the basket and Chris blinked in surprise to see that Mr. Ages managed to survive that fall.
"Ma-" Mr. Ages coughed as the basket went up. "Madame, that is an emergency!" He said as he pointed down towards his situation.
"Why do you even live here if it's bothering you that much?" Chris asked the old mouse.
Mr. Ages looked at Chris with his brow furrowed. "Look here, young man. Not everyone has to have a perfect home. I choose to live here because it's the only place I can go. If you were me you would've done the same thing, there aren't a lot of places to go out here and most of the animals already have occupied homes."
The more Chris thought about what Mr. Ages said the more he could see that the old mouse made a point. There were animals bigger than him since he was now a tiny human and the chances of fighting for a home and winning was unpredictable.
"Now what was the name again? Christopher Fitzgibbons?"
"Yes, sir," Chris replied to the old mouse as the basket got near him and Mrs. Brisby.
Mr. Ages brought his glasses closer to his eyes and he squinted at Chris. Chris furrowed his brow confused as did Mrs. Brisby as Mr. Ages inspected Chris. Then Mr. Age's eyes slowly widened and his jaw dropped again.
"I don't believe it," Mr. Ages said.
"Mr. Ages, are you alright?" Mrs. Brisby asked concerned.
Mr. Ages shook his head and then he looked at Mrs. Brisby. "Yes, I just… wasn't expecting to see someone like him in front of my eyes." He then cleared his throat. "Now then, what do you want?"
"Oh, Mr. Ages… my son Timothy is so sick."
"Timmy? The one with the spider bite? Uh… oh just give him some pipsissewa-"
"No!" Mrs. Brisby grabbed Mr. Age's shirt and shook him as she looked worried about her son. "No, he's sick with a fever!"
Mr. Ages was surprised as he tried to find his words. "Uh… well… I suppose I could fix up something."
Mrs. Brisby smiled in relief. "Oh, thank you!"
"Uh, you and your friend here follow me but don't touch anything, understand?"
Mrs. Brisby nodded and got in the basket and as she did Mr. Ages started mumbling to himself. Chris then got in carefully after Mrs. Brisby got in the basket and he tried not to look down. Mr. Ages then reached out for the rope and started to descend the basket down and Chris held on to the basket just in case something bad happens.
"I do appreciate it," Mrs. Brisby said.
"Just how high is his fever?" Mr. Ages asked.
Mrs. Brisby started to answer Mr. Age's question and she started to describe how Timmy was and what his condition was and as she did, Chris just kept silent. However, whatever Timothy had really sounded serious the way Mrs. Brisby described it and how she was looking.
"A raspy sound you say?" Mr. Ages said as they came to a stop near a plank of wood and they then got out of the basket and Chris and Mrs. Brisby started to follow Mr. Ages. "Uh… does he have a chill?"
"Yes, he does." Mrs. Brisby said.
"Have you wrapped him in a blanket?"
"Yes."
Chris started to notice some bottles of vodka and other alcoholic bottles that humans drank out of and he also started to notice signs that said like not welcome Go away! Or Danger! He could tell that this guy really didn't like visitors and Mrs. Brisby was right. There were other human objects lying around and who knew that animals like mice used these human objects for building homes and other stuff like that?
Mr. Ages then entered through what looked like a room and he then looked at Chris and Mrs. Brisby. "Now step inside but keep your hands to yourself. I'm in the middle of something important."
"I understand," Mrs. Brisby said.
"Oh, do you?" Mr. Ages asked mockingly.
Chris and Mrs. Brisby entered into the room and when they did, Chris's eyes widened. In the middle of the room stood a candle lamp but it looked like it had some work done to it. At the bottom of it had some sort of liquid and it was making some sort of noise. He didn't know how some of these animals could do something like decorating their house with human objects. The inside of the room was very nice with very nicely detailed carpets, decorations, and tools.
Mr. Ages then walked over to the table that had some herbal remedies and other tools and as he got close a dragonfly flew off the stool in which Mr. Ages needed to stand on. Mr. Ages then mumbled about the mess he had at the table and then he saw a ladybug and shooed it away and then he picked it up and threw it away from the table.
Mr. Ages then cleared his throat and looked at Mrs. Brisby. "Your son has pneumonia."
Chris's eyes widened. Well… shit…
"Pneumonia?" Mrs. Brisby said.
"It's not uncommon but you can die from it."
Mrs. Brisby looked shocked. Chris has heard that this disease was pretty bad but he didn't expect Mr. Ages to know something like this. How did he know about this disease?
"Oh, please dear god no," Mrs. Brisby said as Mr. Ages got a bowl and started to add ingredients in it and then he started to mix them together with a smasher which Chris assumed was Timmy's medicine that Mr. Ages was making.
Chris furrowed his brow at Mr. Ages when he mentioned some bad information to Mrs. Brisby. "That's really reassuring," Chris said sarcastically. He noticed Mrs. Brisby furrow her brow at him.
"Your son must stay in bed, bundle him up," Mr. Ages said as he looked at Mrs. Brisby and continued to smash and mix the ingredients together.
"Yes…" Mrs. Brisby whispered.
Mr. Ages then pulled down a string that was near him and when he did, Chris saw some fire shoot up from a thin candle lamp towards a glass ball with some strange liquid inside it and when it did the liquid started to boil and make its way through a glass tunnel. It was like chemistry class all over again to Chris.
"Not to go outside," Mr. Ages said as he brought the bowl near where the liquid was coming out of and he continued to make the medicine with some other ingredients.
"But how long?" Mrs. Brisby said.
"Uh, three weeks." Mr. Ages then stopped in the middle of something and thought. "He cannot be moved for at least three weeks." He then went back to making the medicine.
"But Moving Day is nearly here," Mrs. Brisby saw an insect crawling near her and her jaw hung open.
Chris blinked in confusion. What did Mrs. Brisby mean by Moving Day? What even was Moving Day? Was it like a holiday or something?
"You asked my advice and I gave it to you," Mr. Ages said irritated.
Chris furrowed his brow at Mr. Ages again. "Geez, you don't need to be rude to her."
Mr. Ages looked at Chris. "I am saying the truth here, young man. Now don't take it out on me because my advice to her is the truth!"
Chris held his hands out. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."
Mr. Ages sighed and then he looked at Mrs. Brisby. "Now, like I said he must stay in bed. Now mix this uh… this… this powder in uh in a broth and make him drink it." Mr. Ages dumped the medicine into an envelope. "It'll bring down the fever."
"Oh, bless you sir," Mrs. Brisby said.
"And bless yourself you'll need it. The both of you do," Mr. Ages said as he looked at Mrs. Brisby and Chris. Mr. Ages then jumped down from his stool and walked back towards the entrance the three of them entered through and Chris and Mrs. Brisby followed behind. Mr. Ages then gave Mrs. Brisby the envelope with the medicine inside it. "Now you must excuse me. Uh… you two know the way out?"
"Oh of course. Thank you once again."
"Shoo, shoo, shoo, go on now, go on," Mr. Ages used his hands to shoo Mrs. Brisby and Chris away but then Mr. Ages grabbed Chris by the arm and looked at him straight in the eyes. "You won't tell anyone about what you saw will you?"
Chris's eyes widened and he looked at Mrs. Brisby who was outside the room now and she just shrugged her shoulders. Chris looked back at Mr. Ages and he looked serious. Even if Chris wanted to tell anyone about this he highly doubted that anyone would believe him and they would think he was crazy.
Chris tried to smile at Mr. Ages. "No sir."
Mr. Ages hummed and then he let go of Chris's arm. "Alright then, off with you then." He then pushed Chris lightly out the door.
"Thank you so-" before Mrs. Brisby could speak any further, Mr. Ages shut the door in front of her and Chris's faces. "…much. Goodbye…"
Chris slid his hand in his hair and didn't understand what that guy's deal was. He thought Mr. Ages was strange because the way Mr. Ages looked at him was very odd to say the least. This whole thing was getting very surprising and weird at every chance it got.
A/N- Yeah, I know it's been a while since I last posted on this story but here you go! I will have the next chapter out as soon as I can and until then have a nice day.