Aesop's Secret (14 page)

About midway down the passage, he opened a door, quickly stepped through, clicked the door shut behind him, and then ran down a short hallway towards a single flight of stairs. The passage was warm and bright, softly illuminated by tiny recessed lights at the base of the walls. Joe hurried down the stairs that ended in a circular room with a swimming pool shimmering in the centre. On the wall closest to him was a beautiful mural depicting an Italian landscape; in the curved wall directly across from it were three doors.

Joe rushed to the first door, pulled it open and stepped into a darkened hallway. He searched the wall for a light switch, clicked it on, then walked cautiously down the length of the passage, pulling open doors that led to changing rooms, a sauna, a steam room and a gymnasium. He hurried back to the pool area and tried the next door. This one opened to a very large games room, filled with such comforts as a pool table and big-screen TV. Back out to the pool, he walked quickly to the third door, took a deep breath, then pulled it open. His heart sank when he looked inside to see that it was only a service closet that housed all the pool maintenance equipment.

By this time Melinda, squirming uncomfortably, struggled out of his pocket and ran up to his shoulder. Joe hadn’t noticed at first, but when her tiny sharp teeth sunk into his right earlobe he did. Grabbing her by her tail, he dropped her to the ground, not terribly gently.

Melinda sat up on her haunches and sniffed wildly, then in a flash of grey fur she scurried across the deck, around the pool and began scratching at the base of the mural-painted wall.

Joe followed, watching as Melinda sniffed, squeaked and scratched in desperation. He ran his hand along the painted wall, finding the tiniest of deviations to indicate that there was an opening. Now that he knew it was there, he quickly found the outline of the door, cleverly concealed in the lines of the painting. Without too much trouble, he located a recessed door handle and opened the door.

Melinda darted into the dimly lit laboratory and ran over to a tall cabinet; Joe stayed close behind. He saw the outline of the cage immediately, bent down, grabbed Melinda and hoisted her up to the top of the counter. At exactly the same moment, they saw that the cage was empty; its door hung open and nothing remained inside the bars. Before either of them had time to react, they heard a tiny click behind them and, almost instantly, all the overhead lights flashed on.

When Melinda’s eyes recovered from the blinding brilliance of the lights, her panic reverted to confusion upon seeing the shadowy figure in the doorway. “What are you doing?” she squeaked loudly.

Felix stood motionless, staring not at his sister or at Joe but at the struggling mouse that was dangling by its tail between his left thumb and forefinger. He looked slowly and helplessly at his right hand, where blood was oozing out of his thumb. “I couldn’t do it,” he moaned. “It bit me and I couldn’t kill it.” Melinda squeaked wildly, but Felix didn’t seem to notice. “The professor told me to get rid of it,” he said apologetically, looking up at Joe. “I wanted to do what he asked; I was going to kill it, but I couldn’t.” He paused as if mustering up the courage to go on.

Joe motioned for Felix to come closer. “Felix, do you remember what Melinda told you about Aesop?”

Felix didn’t move. He just looked up and without surprise asked, “Are you Joe?”

Joe nodded. “Yes, and Melinda is here,” he stated calmly, pointing to her freckled face. “And that little fellow,” he said, pointing to the dangling mouse, “is your father.”

Felix looked again at the mouse, then walked slowly over to the counter and placed it next to Melinda. “I know it is…now. I had a weird feeling,” he said hollowly. “I didn’t know at first, not when I was going to…” He paused, looking uncomfortable, then continued in a controlled voice, “I know it sounds stupid, but after it bit me everything changed about the way I felt and the things I wanted to do. I know I’m not making sense,” he said, shaking his head. Felix watched as his sister and father embraced and chattered in the squeaky language of mice. “The professor wanted me to kill my own father,” he stated in a flat tone; his confession made him feel panicky. “Of course, I didn’t know it was Dad, but to be honest, I don’t think it would have mattered. I would have done anything he told me to do because whatever he said always made perfect sense…at the time.”

As soon as the words exited his mouth his pale complexion faded to an alabaster white, he slumped forward and collapsed onto the floor.

Felix opened his eyes to see Melinda’s face not more than six inches above his. She wasn’t a mouse; she was human and wearing a white lab coat. Her mouth was twisted into a kind of bemused smirk. He thought for a second that he was lying on his bed upstairs, perhaps still paralyzed from the Burungo. But he could feel a hard surface under his back, not a soft mattress; he could move his head and wiggle his fingers, and when he looked away from Melinda he saw his father, who was also wearing a lab coat, and next to him was Joe. For a fleeting instant he thought that perhaps he was dreaming.

“Felix, wait till you see yourself,” Melinda giggled.

“Never mind about that now,” Jake said. “First we have to get out of here.”

Felix struggled to sit up, pushing Melinda out of the way as he did. He remembered everything, except how he ended up lying on the floor and why his father was human. “Aren’t you supposed to be a mouse?”

Jake looked over to Joe then back to Felix. “I think I’m meant to be, but things have changed,” he said with the same smirk that Felix had noticed in Melinda’s expression. “Maybe you had better take a look at yourself before we go.”

He and Melinda helped Felix to his feet, and Melinda led him across the room to the same stainless-steel machine where she had seen her own reflection the night before. Felix looked cautiously at his reflection, gasping and lunging backwards when he saw his face. For the most part he was human, but his nose and mouth had the characteristics of a giant mouse.

“I have the virus!” He swung around and looked desperately at his father. “How do I change back? I don’t want to spend the rest of my life like this!”

Jake put his hand gently on Felix’s shoulder. “You did have a mutated form of the virus that was allowing Stumpworthy to control you, but I don’t think that you have the other form. I just think that you’re maturing.”

Joe nodded. “While you were unconscious we compared notes. You had been bitten by your father while trying to carry out Stumpworthy’s instructions. Remember that at that time, he was infected with the virus, while you were still years away from maturing as an Athenite. After you passed out, you began to change into the animal form that was on your mind at the time: a mouse. In essence, you had begun to move into maturity. At that same time, your father recovered his ability to change back to human form; in essence, he recovered from the virus. When I was Aesop and I bit Melinda, the same thing happened to us: I recovered from the virus and Melinda began to transform.”

“Because Dad bit you,” Melinda joined in excitedly, “you’re just like me!”

Felix met her eyes and groaned.

Jake patted his son’s shoulder. “Melinda’s right. We think it might have to do with mixing of antibodies between an infected Athenite and an immature Athenite. My saliva and your blood mixed together, which is the same thing that happened to Aesop…I mean Joe, and Melinda. It’s the only explanation that I can offer for the time being; you and I can study it later, but right now let’s get out of here.”

Felix looked at his reflection again. “I’m not going anywhere looking like this.”

Melinda shook her head. “You can change back; just think about yourself. That shouldn’t be too hard,” she added under her breath.

Felix closed his eyes and did just that. Within a few minutes he’d changed back into his human appearance. “I must be cured from the virus now too.” He looked up excitedly. “I won’t be doing the professor’s bidding anymore.”

“None of us will,” Joe said confidently.

Melinda folded her arms and frowned. “What about Mum and Harmony? They’re both acting the same way that Felix was when he had that virus. Who’s going to bite them?”

Jake, Felix and Joe stopped in their tracks and spun around as if in choreography. “After we deal with Stumpworthy, we’ll handle that,” Jake offered weakly. “I’m sure we can figure out another antidote for the virus.”

Melinda shook her head and looked directly into her father’s eyes. “Until we do, I don’t think Mum will let us hurt new her master.”

Felix looked helplessly at his sister, then to his father and Joe. “She’s right. I wouldn’t have either.”

Elaine sat at the desk in the library with her manuscript open in front of her. Horace Stumpworthy and Professor Mulligan stood facing her. “You’re absolutely right, Horace,” she said, strangely cheerful. “My research is riddled with flaws. I called my publisher to cancel the publication of the book.”

Mulligan looked uneasy. “I really don’t understand, Elaine. You’ve never made these kinds of errors. Are you sure that your research is faulty?”

Elaine looked up, first at Horace, then turned to face Mulligan and nodded. “I’m afraid so. After Horace was kind enough to read through the manuscript and found some disturbing errors, I combed back through the work, and he’s right. There is absolutely no way that this can be published. I would be discredited.” She again turned to Stumpworthy and sighed happily. “I can’t thank you enough. Once again you’ve saved the day, not to mention my reputation.”

With a forlorn expression neatly planted on his face, Horace Stumpworthy sighed. “I’m sorry I found anything at all. No one wants to learn that there is real evidence to prove the existence of mythological creatures more than I do.”

Mulligan cleared his throat. “Can’t you salvage the research―do some editing and still go to print? When I read through your manuscript it seemed that all your research was in order…perhaps it’s just little things that can be corrected.”

Elaine shook her head. “I’m afraid not. There is so much wrong with the material that I can’t be bothered to try it again. My heart is simply not into it anymore.” She looked up at Stumpworthy with a hero-worshipping grin.

Mulligan was obviously taken aback. He gave a resigned sigh. “This is indeed a surprise. Your readers will be in for some disappointment, but there you have it―you have to do what makes you happy.”

Elaine smiled at him, then jerked around to face the doorway when Melinda and Felix walked into the room. Her blank expression suggested to Felix that she wasn’t interested in seeing them. Melinda had the feeling that she might not even recognize them.

Professor Stumpworthy met Felix’s eyes and smiled so wide that light glistened off his teeth. “Thank you, Felix, for taking care of that little problem downstairs.” Felix clenched his teeth but kept smiling as the professor turned to face Elaine. “I had a bit of a rodent problem in my laboratory, but Felix helped me to eradicate it, isn’t that right, Felix?”

Felix felt the rush of blood sting his cheeks but kept smiling and nodding obediently.

With a gleam in his eye, Horace Stumpworthy nodded back. “Good boy. I knew I could count on you.”

Felix breathed in deeply. “Melinda said the mouse looked like our father,” he said. He’d hoped to startle his mother, but her expression remained blank and she didn’t say a word.

“What an extraordinary thing to say,” Mulligan sputtered.

Horace Stumpworthy’s smug expression waned only slightly. “Yes, quite an extraordinary thing to say. I take it that it had not influenced your dealing with the little beast?”

Felix took another deep breath and shook his head. “The mouse is gone.”

Stumpworthy nodded, failing to suppress the smile that curled his lips until Jake Hutton walked into the room.

“Yes, Horace, the mouse is gone,” Jake said happily, looking at Elaine’s blank expression, then at Mulligan, who stuttered, “Jake! When did you get back?”

Jake didn’t answer, turning instead to Stumpworthy. “Horace, you don’t seem at all surprised to see me. I would have thought that you of all people would be a little startled by my reappearance.”

Stumpworthy chuckled softly. “Oh, but I am. You must let me in on your little secret—after all, you know many of mine.”

Mulligan patted his brow, which was now damp with perspiration. “You two seem to be talking in code. What are these secrets you’re talking about?” Mulligan began mopping his forehead, which was not just wet, but had also become chalky white. He staggered over to his favorite chair by the fireplace and collapsed onto it.

Stumpworthy looked on with a pitying expression. “Poor James,” he said, shaking his head, “you don’t look at all well. Perhaps you’ve come down with some kind of virus.”

Professor Mulligan didn’t seem to hear as his head fell back against the chair. His skin was very sallow, sweat cascaded down his face and his breathing quickened.