Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

“What’s inside that box was quite definitely evil,” Miss Montague said firmly. “I’ve read the history. Apparently it wrecked half of the good doctor’s laboratory before he was able to bring it under control with an extremely powerful soporific. He had to build that box specially to contain it securely. Now do please come along, we have a great deal to do.”

Tina folded her arms again, and Miss Montague shook her head slowly.

“Oh, very well . . . if you must. But I’ll have to ask Edward if he’ll authorize a little peek for you. The lock has a combination, and I don’t know the numbers.”

“I’ll bet I could crack it,” said Tina.

She took hold of the heavy padlock with one hand, and it jumped open in her grasp. She snatched her hand away, and the lock fell to the floor with a loud thud. There was a pause, and then the coffin lid rose an inch before slowly falling back again. Something stirred inside the coffin.

Miss Montague grabbed Daniel and Tina by the arms, and hauled them backward. They went along with her, never once taking their eyes off the long box. Something growled loudly, like the biggest dog in the world. The whole coffin shuddered, and the lid rattled loudly. Miss Montague quickly slipped behind Daniel and Tina, putting them between her and the danger, and they were so surprised they let her do it.

“I had no idea that padlock was so sensitive!” said Miss Montague, peering between them. “All these years I’ve left that box strictly alone, just as I was told. I never even dusted it. And all this time, the lock was ready to just fall off . . .  Someone should have said something! I should have been told!”

The lid flew open and fell away, and a giant rat burst out of the coffin to crouch on the floor before them. It was impossibly big, twice the size of a man, bulging with muscles and covered in thick dark fur. It had mad red eyes, clawed hands like a man, and a long tail that lashed angrily behind it. The Hyde of rats . . .  It opened its great jaws to reveal teeth like a shark, and made a sound like an angry foghorn. Tina glanced down at Miss Montague.

“What do we do?”

“You keep it occupied and I’ll run for help, dear.”

Daniel looked at Miss Montague. “Really?”

“Well, I don’t know! That box was never supposed to be opened!”

“But this is an armory!” said Daniel, not taking his eyes off the enormous rat for one single moment. “There must be some weapon in here we can use against it!”

“Oh, I don’t think Edward would want us to kill it,” said Miss Montague. “Not after he’s preserved it for all these years.”

“In the current circumstances, let’s assume he would,” said Tina. “Find something!”

“Let me think . . . ” said Miss Montague, and then she suddenly disappeared into a side passageway.

The rat stared unblinkingly at Daniel and Tina, hunching its powerful shoulders. Thick ropes of saliva fell from its mouth as the jaws worked thoughtfully. And then the rat charged right at them, squealing like a fire siren.

Tina didn’t hesitate. She ran straight at the rat and jumped right over it. The rat’s head came up, jaws opening wide, but Tina had already landed gracefully behind it. She spun around and grabbed hold of the rat’s tail with both hands. She grimaced at the feel of the naked pink flesh, but dug her heels in deep and hauled hard, dragging the rat backward. It squealed deafeningly in protest, while its claws dug deep furrows in the floorboards. It tried to turn its head around to see what was happening, but there wasn’t enough room. And while it was distracted, Daniel grabbed hold of the heavy wooden box with both hands, heaved it into the air, and then brought it slamming down on top of the giant rat. The huge creature collapsed and lay there stunned, pinned down by the weight of the coffin. Tina quickly let go of the tail, and rubbed her hands hard on her hips.

“Nice use of lateral thinking,” she said cheerfully. “Now help me get the bloody thing back inside the coffin.”

They pushed the box off the rat, and then manhandled the great weight of the thing back into its coffin. Daniel retrieved the lid and slammed it back into place, and then they both sat on it, using their weight to hold it down as the rat began to stir again. They clung on to the sides of the coffin, but the rat wasn’t strong enough to throw both of them off—or at least, not yet. Daniel glared around at the various passageways in search of Miss Montague.

“Whatever you’re looking for, it had better not be an exit!” he said loudly. “Get back here with something useful, even if it’s only a really big piece of cheese.”