Mousoleum Chapter 16

Read Table of Content | +Kyla Scurchio
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We spent four days in Digby before setting out again. The first day back we gave the scientists the ok to head back to the Lab. Without even a word to us they walked out of Digby and left us standing there at the gate.
"Well they're a jolly bunch aren’t they?" said Zugzwang glaring in the direction of the scientists.
We hit up the newly erected Trapsmith and cheese Shoppe first before finding my father. We were lucky, the scientists had relayed info to the trapsmith on what would be best in a trap for mice here and elsewhere down the road.
"The Digby Drillbot!" said the trapsmith as we stared it down.
"Looks powerful enough." I said grinning. "What do you think Z? Wanna get a pair?"
The trapsmith was overjoyed to be selling two Drillbots at one time. He went to the back of his Shoppe to pack up our traps, leaving Z and I to look around a bit. While Zugzwang stared down the
collection of bases I slid over to the shelf of traps. There were many of the same traps that I had seen in the Town of Gnawnia, but as I looked in the corner tucked away was a different set of traps all together.
"Z, come look at these."
He shuffled over and stared at the traps I pointed to. The Traps consisted of nothing but a circular metal piece that was attached to a base. There were markings around the edge of it but nothing more.
"Ah," said the trapsmith when he returned, "that is the Sinister Portal. Its sister is in the back, the Ambrosial Portal." There was a strange gleam in his eye.
"What do they do?" I asked him unable to take my eyes of the trap.
"We'll, to be honest I don’t know. The Scientists left them here last night and took off before claiming them. I can’t get them to turn on, you can have them both if you'd like."
We left the Shoppe feeling rich with all our new traps packed away. Cheese was an easy trip; we each just purchased a bunch of Brie before heading to the upper floors to talk with my father.
I had requested a runner to send my notes to the king and received gold from my father from the previous runner's return.
"I'm not sure when we will be back, so make sure he gets these notes. When I return I will relay more of what I know if possible."
The trip had been short even though it had been a good four days. We ate and rested and yet I still felt exhausted. We had just trekked past the front of the Lab where we clearly saw the radioactive sludge being dumped into the river.
"If whatever we find is affected because of this I will personally see to it that this place is shut down!" said Zugzwang glowering up at the high windows.
I slapped him on the back "I'll be right there with you Mate."
We paused for a few minutes as I read the map. "If we take this path south we will be able to reach the graveyard by nightfall."
"Where does that northern path take us?" asked Zugzwang looking over my shoulder.
"If it's still there, Furoma. I don't know if anyone in the kingdom inhabits it any longer."
"Guess we'll be finding out soon huh." Zugzwang said looking down the path that took us south.
The sun was setting before we reached the iron gates of the graveyard. Each headstone loomed in the shadows eerily.
"Don't tell me. We're going in there?"
"Unfortunately." I said looking over at him. I saw fear in his eyes.
"Sorry Mate, I've never liked these types of places, they give me the creeps." I watched him shiver involuntarily.
"I know, but we have to give it a once over. If Dr. Fromage was coming down here then there has to be something of importance here."
Shaking his head he led the way through the iron gate. It wasn’t locked and when he pushed it open it creaked announcing our presence to anything living in the area.
"I'm not even sure the light of day would make this place less dark and gloomy." Zugzwang said looking around.
Most the headstones were older than me, and many were broken or chipped. Farther in the stones of the fallen Gnawnia men and women were no longer present. Instead new little stones appeared. Marked on them were the breeds of mice that were long since dead. Who buried them was beyond me. But who ever had disturbed the earth and dug them up I had a guess.
"Look." I said to Zugzwang pointing to the grave to the left of us. The earth was piled to the side of it leaving an empty hole in its place.
"I don’t envy the fate of the man that dug these mice up." said Zugzwang with a petrified look in his eyes.
"Why?" I said confused. He merely pointed and what stood before us, a sight I would never forget. An enormous zombie mouse had crawled out from behind gravestone. But it wasn’t the normal breed of zombie mouse, this mouse was worse somehow, and angry, really angry. Zugzwang and I stayed very still as it snarled at us. Patches of flesh were missing and its ribs were sticking out, along with its skull. I resisted the urge to vomit.
"How is it even alive?" I said repulsed
"Magic, Plank. Dark magic."
Its eyes crazed and its hunger for flesh at a peak the Ravenous Zombie lunged for us, snarling violently. I dodged out of its path avoiding its sharp teeth by inches. Zugzwang didn’t sound as lucky. I heard him shout out in pain as the mouse latched onto his shoulder.
"Son of a…!" he gripped the mouse around the middle and ripped it off. One of the creature’s arms was dangling off its body and yet it still wasn’t finished with us. Giving up on Zugzwang the hungry mouse turned to me. I rolled out of the way as its claws grazed my cheek.
"ENOUGH!" shouted Zugzwang. The mouse paused, half a beat, turning towards the shout.
I watched as Zugzwang reached into his pocket and pulled out his sinister portal. Slapping the explosive base on the bottom, he placed it on the ground dropping some radioactive cheese onto it. Once he stepped back the mouse froze, staring at the tiny morsel. Then suddenly he lunged for it. Flesh dangling off its face he bent over to take a bite but before he had a chance the trap flashed on. The portal finally made an appearance, swirling and pulling the mouse into it. Just a tiny little circle where time and space meant nothing, quickly the mouse vanished within it.
"You would think I'd be use to weird by now." I said to Zugzwang as he helped me back on my feet.
"I don’t think anyone could get use to this." He grumbled picking up his trap to examine it. "Well, at least we know they work." he dropped his trap back into his pocket then led the way further into the Mousoleum.