“RORY!” PETER POINTED to some half-filled beakers on a shelf labeled ACID in dark bold lettering. Rory stared down at the splayed-open rat, now crouching and ready for another attack. It suddenly leapt at his face. Rory ducked, and the rat hit the wall hard behind him with a squishing thud, leaving a splattered, rat-sized stain. Rory rushed over and seized one of the beakers. He hurled it at the cage as the other rats were squeezing through the twisted bars to get at the men. The glass exploded on impact. One rat escaped; the others were not so lucky. The rats squealed in agony, dissolving on contact with the acid.
“Peter!” Rory tossed him a second sealed tube labeled: “Hydrochloric Acid.”
Peter juggled the tube as the lone escaped rat bounded after him, snapping at his ankles. As Peter
