Getting it Together -T+M-

It was Friday night.  A bright magenta kangaroo somewhere in her teenage years was fast asleep in her bed, fairly content with the way the day had played out.

As she slept, a sapphire blue hand suddenly poked out of her mouth, followed by another.  Then a blue kangaroo joey squeezed his way up his older sister Tanya's throat, landing with a THUD on the floor beside her bed.

Being a particularly sound sleeper, Tanya didn't even fidget.

Okay, I'm out, Max thought.  That wasn't so... wait a minute...

He felt his body.  It was a little damp from his trip up Tanya's throat, but that wasn't his primary concern.  The joey was all there... all except for his right leg.

It's gone?  But I got every part of me that was in her stomach... where's the rest?

Quickly he went over the events of the evening before in his head.  His sister had churned him into dough, baked him into a batch of cookies, and eaten most of them herself.  Then their mother had caught her and scolded her for overindulging on sweets, and she'd put the rest of the cookies in a plastic bag in the pantry.

That was it!  I remember overhearing the last part before I was digested.  Well, I can't hobble around forever with one leg.  Now that I know where the rest of me is, I've got to get myself back together!

His mind full of resolve, Max made a move for the exit door... and immediately fell flat on his face, for reasons that should be clear to anyone who has ever tried to get around with one leg.

Ouch.  Okay... maybe this will be a little harder than I thought.

Max managed to crawl his way up to the door, then reach the doorknob by sturdying himself against a nearby table.  After that, he proceeded to and down the stairs, very slowly.  It amazed him how difficult being short a leg made actions he took for granted before.

Finally he reached the kitchen, having at some point picked up an umbrella for use as a crutch.  He navigated his way to the kitchen, which thankfully was illuminated by a nightlight so he could see what he was doing.  Spying the pantry door, Max levered himself up to the door handle and tried it.

It wouldn't open.  The padlock on the handle assured that.

Of course.  Dad always locks the pantry at night to discourage my sister's midnight snacking.  I'm not trekking all the way back up to their room to search for the key... I'll have to do this another way.

The joey took out a welding torch from nowhere in particular, as well as a pair of dark goggles and a striker.  Snapping the goggles into place over his eyes, he lit the torch and began to cut away at the lock.

How someone Max's age had gotten his hands on a welding torch, or learned how to use one for that matter, nobody could say.

Finally the lock was no more, and Max set its remains gently down on the floor.  The pantry was dark, so he flicked on the light switch.

As soon as he did, an alarm blared and the light flashed red.  The joey had little choice but to stay put with his eyes shut and ears covered.

AAAAAARGH!  An alarm hooked to the light switch?  Is Sis's snacking problem really THIS bad?

After a moment, Max could hear footsteps, most likely his father coming down to investigate the alarm.  He knew he didn't want to be caught; that would be beyond embarrassing, and he'd probably be grounded for weeks.

Thinking quickly, he grabbed the nearest object from the pantry-- a box of dry Cocoa Balls cereal-- and dumped the box's contents all over the floor in the direction the footsteps were coming from.  Seconds later, the footsteps ended with a yell followed by a THUD, as his father slipped and hit the floor.

Phew... close one.

Mercifully, the alarm shut off shortly afterwards, allowing Max to search for his missing leg in peace.  After a few minutes of rummaging, he found it: a bag containing two or three blue cookies, definitely part of the batch he'd been baked into.

Bingo!  Now... how am I supposed to get these back onto me?

Max contemplated the matter for a moment, then settled on eating the cookies.  He had to admit, he didn't taste half bad.

Not even seconds later, he could feel the bits of himself that he'd consumed working their way back to their proper place.  He stared in amusement as his leg began to grow back; it almost looked like an inside-out shirt sleeve getting turned back the right way.  Finally he could stand again, and did it feel good.

Max quickly retraced his steps and returned to his own room, getting into bed to catch some much-needed Z's and enjoying the feel of his recovered right leg.

I wonder how I'll get back at my sister for that one.  Maybe I could grill her into a burger patty...

The following morning, Tanya was accused of nocturnal pantry-raiding, much to her confusion.