“This will perfect,” Julio assured himself, picking the old wooden racecar track up from its resting place against the dumpster.
Julio walked home, carrying the track playset above his head. Although his arms quickly grew tired and his shoulders began to ache, he whistled happily to himself. It was going to be a good night, and there was little that could dampen Julio’s spirit.
Julio arrived at home, announce himself to his mother as he entered, and hurried the track into his bedroom. He came as close as he was capable to loving his mother, and if she wanted to pretend to be oblivious of her son’s true nature, he would not stand in the way of her fantasy.
Placing the track gently on the carpeted floor of his bedroom, Julio marveled at how well-kept the track was, considering its dated design. He couldn’t imagine a toymaker taking the time to manufacture such a basic playset in the past thirty years, so unless it was simply an amazingly well-crafted garage project affair, it had been preserved pristinely over its many years. The paint was smooth and glossy; no chips or cracks were apparent even on the roadway, where the only signs of use were two evenly spaced faded lines where the toy cars and train had travelled back and forth between the playset's many stations. The boy (or girl?) who’d had this before had loved it. Or maybe love was the wrong word, if that child had anything similar to Julio’s…condition. Maybe the child had simply respected the beautifully crafted toy.
It felt almost a shame to create the inevitable mess on such a lovely piece of work, but Julio had to do it. A boy had needs, after all.
Julio remembered being mildly surprised at how cheap feeder mice were. Even though he wanted more, he only bought one so as not to arouse suspicion. Snakes didn’t eat that often, so he couldn’t very well purchase a dozen mice at once without raising an eyebrow or two.
String, of course, was easy to come by.
What Julio had found truly difficult the first time was tying the mouse down. The little creature squirmed and struggled for its freedom while Julio tried to wrap the string around it and the track. Eventually, Julio found the best way was to tie a slip knot and loop it around the mouse. Then, the mouse could be held down with a single finger while Julio circled the track again and again until it was secured firmly to the wooden road.
“Voila! A furry damsel in distress,” Julio chuckled. “There’ll be no Dudley Do-right for you today, my furry friend.”
Julio picked up his toy train and placed it on the track. He inched it, slowly, toward the captive rodent.
“Your father should have paid the ransom, Ms. Fuzzybottom. Now he’ll learn what happens when you mess with Julio. Muah ha ha ha ha!"
The mouse squeaked and jerked about in its restraints as the train approached. When the train reached it, the animals squeaks of terror grew to shrieks of pain. Julio ran the train back and forth over the convulsing creature, spreading its intestines evenly along the track, and the squeaks quickly faded to silence.
Julio loved playing trains.