Best-Laid Plans

Best Laid Plans, written by acclaimed author Becky Johnson, spins a fascinating tale of science and suspense that draws readers from all generations:


Prologue
It all started because of the mice. The vaccine scientists hailed as the cure of the Leptospira bacteria, quickly mutated, setting off a pandemic of epic proportions. The bacteria became stronger with every man, woman, and child that rolled up their sleeves and took the injection. Horror swept the world as inoculated veins bubbled and rolled under translucent skin.

The world governments watched as humanity began to crumble and fall. With each death, communities became more panicked and frantic. As mortality rates grew, a cure for the cure for Lepto was franticly sought. At the eleventh hour, when all hope seemed lost, an unknown nobody rescued mankind. Neil Ryker, assistant to a renowned and long-since forgotten scientist accidentally dropped his inhaler into the batch of formaldehyde, human proteins, and yeast that made up the current experimental vaccine for the vaccine, and developed the ultimate cure.

Unfortunately, while this new cure stopped the old vaccine from spreading death, doom, and despair to the unvaccinated, those who had taken the original Lepto vaccine were still affected. Those that didn’t perish started to change. From their very DNA to their physical appearance, they took on various traits of rodents; a set of whiskers on a beautiful young lady, a long tail on a mischievous child, fuzzy ears on the next door neighbor’s husband.

Disgusted, the unvaccinated survivors called for a separation of man and mousekind. At risk of a world-wide civil war, the governments reluctantly came together to build a solid, impenetrable wall called Ryker, named after the hero of the century. The wall encompassed the great state of Oregon, enclosing all the infected inside. Guard towers were erected and sharp shooters took shifts to ensure, upon pain of death, that the mouse-people stayed in their cage. Over the months, years, and decades that followed, the world willfully forgot about the traumatic, historical incident until all that was left was myths and rumors.



Throughout the next six chapters of this novel, the real adventure begins:

Leonard Llams had been warned away from Ryker ever since he was born. The wall, root of many bedtime stories told by exhausted mothers who resorted to fear to keep their little ones in obedience, was off limits to the West River residents. Yet, Leo’s curiosity persisted. Living so close to the wall didn’t help. Perhaps if he had lived in Big City he wouldn’t have been so tempted by the wall. But being a simple farm boy (and often a bored one, at that) he felt a strange compulsion to inspect the barrier.

One night, strange, sickly green lights reflected in the sky from behind Ryker had Leo itching to figure out the enigma of what lie beyond. When, coincidentally, Leo happens to find a small hole in the wall (just large enough for him to wiggle through) he decides to take action. He convinces his best friend, Jorge Notlim, to leave their safe haven. As they tunnel through Ryker’s weak spot, Leo promises they’ll only be gone a few hours…

On the other side of Ryker, Leo and Jorge are perplexed to find a crumbled stone tower, half overgrown with ivy. The world is green, taken over by trees, and devoid of humans. Or so the boys think. As they stumble out of the woods, they bump into a strange man named ‘Forest Ranger’. Too surprised to run, Leo and Jorge find themselves captured. They’re brought to the local authorities, who are amazed at the boys' existence, and immediately taken into custody by the Powers That Be. Leo is appalled to find that while the humans beyond Ryker are weak and small in appearance; their powerful technology made them dangerous. Leo and Jorge's attempt to fight and flee is thwarted when soldiers throw electricity at them from odd, mechanical devices. The shock drops Leo and Jorge to their knees.

The boys are separated and poked and prodded by scientists, who seem to covet their blood above all else. By playing dumb and paying attention, Leo discovers that nobody believed he and his people survived the Lepto plague after being tossed behind Ryker, much less that they would thrive to grow as strong and healthy as they had. While mousekind had grown strong, mankind’s genetics had deteriorated.

Leo feels guilty when he realizes that mankind views him and his people — their blood — as the answer to their health woes. Leo knows he has to escape and warn those in West River before mankind kills them all, but first he has to rescue Jorge. However, when he finds his friend, it’s too late. His best friend has perished from blood loss. Furious, Leo determines to not only save his people from annihilation, but to stop mankind from ever hurting mousekind again. Permanently.




Gang aft a-gley ▼

Written for:

FORUM

Merit Badge Magic  (E) A magical way to inspire your Muse! New themes to write about every month. Not a contest. #2293943 by 🐕GeminiGem🎁

January prompt: Of Mice and Men

818 words

Just so ya know:
Leptospirosis is a disease caused by the urine of infected animals, usually rodents.
Gang aft a-gley means: Often go wrong