Tourist Trap

Chapter 28

"It's time to wake up, honey," Dr. Octavius said cheerfully. 

Sarah opened her eyes blearily and looked around. She was laying in a cot with a thin blanket covering her. Unfortunately she still appeared to be a rat. 

Max lay in another cot a few feet away snoring loudly. The other cots were empty as all of the scientists already appeared to be up and moving around. 

Sarah had tried to follow their discussion the previous night, but most of it had eluded her and she had felt herself quickly becoming drowsy. Dr. Octavius had led her off to a small side room where the cots were set up and she had fallen asleep within minutes of lying down. 

"Breakfast is being served in the conference room, if you want to wake your friend up. As soon as we're finished eating we need to hit the road." 

"Okay," Sarah said sleepily. She rolled over and nudged Max. "Hey! It's morning!" 

Max smacked his lips but didn't open his eyes. He let out another loud snore. 

She shook him again. "Hey wake up!" 

"What's that?" Max murmured. "Make love? Not now, sweetness. Sleep." He rolled over and continued to snore. 

Finally Sarah smacked him on the head. He woke up with a jolt and looked around blearily. "Where the hell am I?" He turned and noticed Sarah. "Aaaah! This place is infested with rats! Get away you filthy vermin! Where's my shoe?" 

"Relax!" Sarah shouted. "It's me, Sarah! I swear, you're the most out of it person I've ever seen when you wake up." 

"Listen, sweetheart, I'll have you know I'm never 'out of it,' whatever the hell 'it' is. My mind is constantly working, staying on top of things, figuring out angles you've never even come close to imagining!  Now, where the hell are we again?" 

"We're in the basement under the cloud factory. We found my uncle last night, remember?" 

"Oh yeah, the dubious old man," Max rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Well, don't worry. If he tries anything unscrupulous I'll pull out my patented ninjitsu on him." 

"If you a lay a finger on my uncle I'll kick your ass, toad. By the way, breakfast's served." 

"Now that's music to my ears," Max patted his belly hungrily. He stood up and squinted at her. "No offense, but you look like you could use a shave." 

Sarah growled at him and stormed out of the room.

* * *

Breakfast consisted of some sort of green muffins and a glass of sweet tasting nectar. Sarah and Max both ate until they were full and then a three-toed sloth carried their dishes away. 

Dr. Octavius appeared and smiled cheerfully. "Are you ready to head back into town? The others already left, but I thought I'd let you sleep in a bit." 

"Do we have to go through those traps again?" Sarah asked. 

"No, we have a switch to turn them on and off. We can make our way out in perfect safety." 

True to his word, they walked straight through the trapped rooms and up the stairs without any trouble. Once outside he reached into a bush and pulled out three wheels with seats attached to them. "Shall we be on our way?" 

"What are those things?" Sarah asked. 

"Unicycles, of course," Dr. Octavius smiled. "One for each of us. Much better than walking, don't you think?" 

"I don't know how to ride a unicycle," Sarah said. 

"Nothing to it," Dr. Octavius said as he hopped on one, placed his fists on his hips and wheeled back and forth several times, spun around and hopped off. "Just stay on the seat, lean forwards and don't look down. Keep your eyes ahead of you and you'll be fine."