This story is whispered in the wind.
It is the story of the Chopper. A story that has been passed down to every mouse that has been born within the past 50 years.
Deep in Mouseville, which was deep under a stump, which was deep in the Wilderness, there was a family of five mice among the many others. The youngest member of the family was a small fellow named Chip. Even though Chip was the smallest and youngest of the bunch, he was stout, strong, confident, and intelligent. He had two questionable characteristics, though.
First of all, the young mouse had eyes that always looked bloodshot. Crimson and no emotion was seen in them, even though he showed emotion through facial expressions. Second, whenever it was Scavenging time, Chip always wandered into the Wilderness, telling nobody where he went and what he was doing.
The Wilderness is a dangerous place for all creatures, as it is full of poisonous plants and deadly animals. Somehow, the mouse always came back safe and sound. One day, when Chip returned from the Wilderness, there was a long scratch along his back. Have you ever seen black goo? That was what was oozing from the wound.
Chip’s father, Reed, a doctor, examined the wound and found no ointment or medicine that could stop the black goo. Every day, Chip’s father, mother, sister, and brother all came to visit him.
You want to know what caused the goo? Very well. Deep in the Wilderness, deeper than most mice dared to go, there was a Cave of Light and Darkness. In the Cave, there were two pathways. On the left, the path led deep, deep underground, but then, it gently sloped upward into a pond where you could get your deepest wish granted. On the right, however, there was a pathway that sloped upward, tricking any entities who went that way into thinking that was the pathway to the Cave of Light. Instead, this misleading road led to a pool that beheld the most dangerous animal of all the woods: The Alien.
Yes. There was an alien here, and whoever it bit, it inflicted great pain upon the victim. This time, Chip was the victim. The wound caused by the Alien would never heal, and, exactly the opposite of the pond in the Cave of Light, it would grant you your deepest fear.
That’s what happened. After the dark goo came out, anyone who touched it, well, great pain was inflicted upon them as well. That was Chip’s greatest fear. Harming his friends and family until he had no one left. But that was what happened. Slowly but surely, everyone Chip loved died out: His parents, his siblings. His family slowly died out, and fewer and fewer people came to visit him.
His condition worsened no more. What worsened was his pain, his grief, his anger. Soon, no one, not even the medics and nurses, came to see him. As more and more mice heard of his family’s death, fear spread across Mouseville. The Hospital was abandoned, and no one was left to care for it.
Chip, his grief worsening by the minute, by the second, crept out of Mouseville on a lonely night. Seeking revenge for all the grief and anger he had caused, he went for the Cave of Light and Darkness. This time, he chose the right ever-changing path. In the Pond of Light, he made a wish, a wish to undo what he had done. Of course, he found it impossible to bring life back from the dead. Impossible for his family to come back.
He wished for something else instead. He wished that, as long as he lived, no harm would ever befall his family again. Right then and there, Chip’s wound healed. Not the wound in his heart, not that tone, that one would never be healed; His physical, tangible wound was healed, and the black goo ceased to flow. He could never harm his family again. Even though his family was already gone.
That enlightened a rage within Chip, and he stormed out of the cave the way only a mouse could and walked back up toward the Cave of Darkness. The Alien answered him once again, only it did not harm him. It asked him why he was back and if he wanted the Alien to injure him once more.
Chip screamed. But this time, it was in rage and anger rather than fear. He raged at the Alien, asking why it was doing this, why it was granting their worst fears. He said that he would tell all the animals in the Wilderness to beware of the tempting path and go through the threatening path instead.
Then he left the Cave. Back at home, mice fled at the sight of him. The Mouse Government said that he was no longer wanted. Chip explained that he was healed and that there was no need for fear toward him. Even though he pleaded, showed, and cried at the Government, the Five Spy Mice pulled him from Mouseville and tossed him outside. Unfairly, Chip thought.
When he retreated into the Wilderness, all that was on his mind was the hate, anger, and sadness he felt right then. Over the years, he lived alone and was forgotten by everyone in Mouseville, except for one young and kind soul. You see, there was this family in Mouseville, and it consisted of all the medics in Mouseville. There was this one young mouse, though, that sympathized with Chip. She was the one friend he had. And the one love he had left. Chip entrusted her with all of his heart, telling her that no matter what, she would live on and pass on Chip’s blood. She, in return, nuzzled him affectionately and promised him she would. Over the years, as Chip grew older and older, the legend of him killing his family was passed on. Everyone was afraid of the dark mouse’s story.