Fiction
5 min
My favorites
The Sewers are Safe
Toby Doan
In the dark mist of the forgotten sewers, a mischief of rats made their home. At the center flowed a river of sewage, leading to a pile of waste. On a ledge, Moe held a shirt button above his head, exclaiming, "Behold! I have found a frisbee!"
Excited, Pip sprinted along the edges of the sewer. "Pass it here!" he shouted. Moe flicked his wrist, and the button glided over the waste, landing perfectly in Pip's hands. When Pip tossed it to Ace, it bounced off the wall and plopped into the sewage.
"What a throw," Ace remarked.
"Just admit you can't catch!" Pip shot back.
They peered over the edge as the button disappeared into the trash. "Now look at what you did!" Pip yelled.
"Me? You wanted to pass it to the wall!" Ace replied while folding his arms.
"Someone has to get it back!" Pip insisted.
"No way! You can either disappoint Moe or dig it out. I'll go tell him what YOU caused," Ace said, turning away.
As Pip stared at the mixture of trash, he screamed, "This wouldn't even be a problem if we weren't in these filthy sewers!"
"None of us chose to be here," Ace's voice echoed.
Reluctantly, Pip approached the pile of waste. While sifting through the trash, something green with black goop oozing out caught his eye. "Ah, green cheese! What a luxury! This will make up for the button!" he declared, racing back to Moe and Ace, the moldy block held high. "Guys, look what I found!"
"Is it the button?" Ace asked, puzzled.
"No, even better!" Pip exclaimed, waving the moldy cheese. Moe stepped back in disgust. "That's not cheese! Where did you find that?"
"I found it! We finally have food!" Pip insisted.
"It's literally green! Just toss it back," Ace said dismissively.
"Stop being picky! This is fancy cheese, like blue cheese but better!" Pip argued.
"If you're so sure, take the first bite," Ace challenged.
"Gladly," Pip replied, taking a big bite. Instantly, he gagged. "I wish I had never eaten that! It's awful!"
Suddenly, a cloud puffed from the cheese, restoring the bitten chunk. "What just happened?" Ace asked.
"I don't know, but I don't feel anything. The taste is gone," Pip replied.
Ace said, "You said you wished you hadn't taken that bite, and now it's back?"
"Maybe it's in a giving mood," Pip suggested.
As they pondered, Ace reached for the cheese. "Let's test it," he said, taking a nibble. Regret washed over him immediately. "Ugh, I wish — um, I wish for our button back!"
To their astonishment, a cloud appeared in Ace's hand, revealing the button. "This thing is serious! Where did you find it?" Ace asked.
"I told you, I just found it!" Pip insisted.
"I think it's too dangerous. We should get rid of it," Ace said, moving toward the edge.
Pip blocked his path. "No way! We can wish for anything! Just think, we could wish our way out of this stinky sewer!"
Moe perked up. "He's right! With this cheese, we could escape! We wouldn't have to live in this filth anymore!"
Ace hesitated, he glanced at the sewage and tossed the cheese. "We should just act like we never found this." Ace muttered.
"You just threw away our only chance at freedom, that thing could've helped us escape this wasteland!" Moe exclaimed.
"Help us escape? You saw how unstable Pip was getting. We could've ended up wishing for something even worse!" Ace argued.
"Pip has nothing to do with this! I finally could've lived my dreams of opening a restaurant, and you just had to be selfish! Moe argued.
Just then, a splash interrupted their argument. They turn to see Pip struggling to stay afloat, gripping the cheese as a floatie. "Mayday! Mayday!" he cried, sinking into the sewage.
They hurried down the path, scanning the flowing sewage for any trace of Pip, but it seemed hopeless. Suddenly, they all poofed into a plastic container..
"What did you do?" Moe asked, panicking.
"I wanted to prove that this cheese really is our knight in shining armor, so I wished us out!" Pip exclaimed.
"INTO A LABORATORY?" Ace screamed.
"I never specified," Pip said timidly.
"Well, it is an upgrade from where we were. It's so clean in here!" Moe said excitedly.
As they helped themselves up, Ace grabbed the cheese. "No more cheese for you, Pip."
Before they could think, a scientist opened the container and scooped up Moe.
"Moe!" Ace and Pip yelled in unison.
They watched Moe helplessly squirm in the scientist's grip as he pinned him down on a petri dish. The scientist reached into a bin filled with syringe needles, slowly preparing one.
"I have an idea!" Pip insisted. "Hand over the cheese!"
"No, I can't trust you. Moe can take the shot," Ace replied.
"Please, Ace! They're going to inject Moe with some concoction!" Pip urged.
They both glance at Moe, watching the helplessness in his eyes. With hesitation, Ace tossed the cheese to Pip, who quickly swallowed it. "I wish we could talk to humans!" he shouted.
"WHAT?" Ace screamed.
Suddenly, the container filled with smoke, catching the scientist off guard. "STOP! Who said that—" the scientist stammered, just as Pip shouted, "Please let him go!"
Freaked out, the scientist slapped the container to the floor, and the lid popped off, allowing Moe, Pip, and Ace to regroup.
"Give me this!" Ace says as he snatches the cheese from Moe's hands. "Why would you even wish that?"
"I thought I could talk him out of it!" Pip argued.
"Well, obviously we scared him. Let's just leave," Moe suggested.
They darted through a maze of equipment, heartbeats racing, until they stumbled into a large room labeled "Examination Room." Scientists in lab coats were huddled around fancy devices, focused on their work. They crept along the edges, trying to stay as quiet as a mouse.
"Guys, I need to say something!" Pip blurted out.
Suddenly, a scientist turned, spotting them. "Rats!"
"I forgot they can understand us," Pip said as Moe grabbed his hand. "We need to go!"
Just then, a hand came crashing down while Ace slipped away. "Why couldn't you stay quiet?"
"We were quiet for too long!" Pip argued as they scurried down a corridor.
Chaos erupted as scientists scrambled to catch the trio. "There's talking rats! Stop them!" one shouted.
Moe felt panic rise. "Ace! We need the cheese to get out of here!" he yelled over the commotion.
"It looks like we're on our last bite. What do we even say?" Ace said frantically.
"We might not even get to say anything since we're going to be squished to death," Moe replied.
The three ran down the hall, swerving to avoid being trampled by the scientists.
"Hold on, I have just ONE more idea," Pip said.
"NO! You're going to wish something dumb again!" Ace shot back, darting forward to avoid a boot that nearly stomped him.
Moe's heart raced. "We can't escape without it! Please, Ace!" Just then, Moe got caught on one of the scientist's strides and was thrown into a stack of crates.
"Man down! Man down!" Pip exclaimed.
Suddenly, Ace's tail got caught under a boot, and he yelped in surprise, "Ow! My tail!"
"Ace! Just give it to me! We're already doomed!" Pip screamed.
Ace struggled, feeling the pressure squishing his tail. "I—fine! Just don't mess this up!" he relented, tossing the cheese to Pip.
Pip watched the block of cheese fly over his head, slamming into the wall. Fortunately, it bounced back into his hands midair. As Pip opened his mouth to take a bite, a scientist dove from the horde. In desperation, Pip swallowed the last chunk of cheese whole and screamed, "I wish we were safe! I wish we were safe!" Just then, they all vanished, and the scientist slammed into a cloud of smoke.
Suddenly, they landed back in the sewers. As they caught their breath, Ace grumbled, "You couldn't wish us somewhere better?"
"Well, we are safe now," Moe pointed out.
"Too bad we're still the same poor rats," Pip said disappointedly.
Moe smiled, pulling out the frisbee. "At least we still have this!"
"Pass it here!" Ace called.
The three ran down the pathways of the sewer together, resuming the lives they once tried to escape. But this time, they were grateful.
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