When Kevin was woken up by screams that morning, he was still rather out of it. As he twirled around, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the bright lights, he wasn't sure what was happening, all he knew was that he could hear...Four? Four was screaming for help! Kevin shook his head, trying desperately for things to come into focus, and when they finally did, he ran to the front of his cage. THEY were in the lab, three of them, one of which was holding Four, who appeared to be covered in something, as she shouted at Kevin for help. Kevin couldn't get out of his cage now, though he wanted to, without causing confusion and trouble for the others.
"Four!" he yelled back, as THEY headed through a door with her in their arms. "Kevin! Kevin! I love you!" "Four! What's going on?! Four!" he screamed, but the doors shut and she was gone. Kevin spun around in circles, unsure of what to think, what to do, where to turn. That's when he heard a voice from the end of his cage and swiftly spun to see Salt standing there. "Kevin-" she started. "Where are they taking her?!" he yelled, "What's going on?! What happened to her?!" "Kevin, calm down and I will explain everything and take you to see her," Salt said, "I was watching when it happened. It'll all be okay. I'll take you to where they're keeping her." "Where?" Kevin asked. "The Sick." *** "What do you mean you're going to The Sick?" Two asked, and Kevin looked at Salt before looking back at the other rabbits. "I mean exactly what it sounds like," he said, "I'm going to The Sick. Salt's taking me. THEY took Four, I need to know that she's okay, I need to make sure THEY aren't hurting her! She's...she's one of us, guys, she's part of this collective. She deserves for us to care about her, right?" "Kevin's right, but even still, no rabbit's been to The Sick and come back, especially willingly," Six said. "I'm going with you," Two said, "You're not going alone." "You're not going with us, and he's not going alone," Salt said, "More than the two of us would cause THEM to notice something was up, and frankly, what we need these days is for THEM not to notice anything. No. I'm taking Kevin, and we're going to see Four, and then we'll come right back. That's how it's going to be." "Who decided you get to call the shots?" Two asked. "Because I'm the only one small enough to know where the damn place even is," Salt said, "I will bring him back in one piece, I promise." "And just because you promise, it means we should believe you? We barely know you! You're just another..." Two started, and then stopped himself, almost looking ashamed as Salt stood there, staring at him. "Another what, Two? Another mouse? I get it. I do. You guys got hurt, and you got hurt badly," Salt said, "But what one mouse did is no reason to condemn us all, okay? Dodger was a piece of shit, I'll be the first to admit it. But, don't compare him to me, please, because that is not fair. I understand why you're wary, I really do, and I get the fear, but fear gets you nowhere. Fear gets you in the ground. I'm your friend." "Yeah," Six said softly, "...that's what he said too." "I don't care what your guys hangups regarding mice are, okay?" Kevin said sternly, "I'm going. I'll be back. In case anyone thinks I can't take care of myself, remember that I survived in that pen with Fern, I had my leg torn off of me and I'm still here. I jumped on top of another dogs head to save Gerry, and I'm still here. I can do this. Come on, Salt." Kevin turned and headed towards the grate in the wall, Salt at his side. After they disappeared through it, the collective sat and stared at the wall. Gerry shook his head. "This is only going to end terribly," he said. *** "So...you seem to know a lot about this place," Kevin said as he and Salt marched down the ducts as she lead him, sniffing the air to know where they were, "...what's the deal with The Sick? It's only ever really been mentioned in passing, it's never really been elaborated on." "The Sick is where they take any animal that they can't cure," Salt said, "That can't be fixed. I know that sounds bad, but, you'll be happy to know that because they can't be used anymore in tests, they also cannot be killed. So, in a cruel twist of irony, the ones who aren't used are given the nicest accommodations." "Four is one of The Special Seven, I don't know why THEY would be even be using her for something, that's so rare," Kevin said. "Special Seven," Salt said, chuckling, shaking her head, "Let me tell you about The Special Seven, Kevin. They're frauds. Sure, they might get the awards and the glamour and the accolades, but they are no goddamn different from any other rabbit. They have the same physiology, the same mental capacities, and they are just like you." "What? They aren't just like me, they-" "It's a lie, Kevin. God, is that still so shocking at this point? Being lied to about this place? Sure, okay, maybe they can figure out some puzzles faster than other rabbits, some mice are better at navigating mazes than others, but there is literally no real, biological difference between The Special Seven and you." "Then...then why do they have them?" Kevin asked. "Because doing tests on rabbits and not giving them recognition just looks cruel," Salt said, "You are the exact same. Four, Six, Two, whatever number you want to apply to them...they're you. They're all of you. They're just the ones who got lucky enough to be picked for said recognition. But they still get tested on, they still get hurt and they. still. die." Kevin was without words. No. He couldn't lose Four on top of everything else. Salt turned a corner and headed down another shaft, Kevin hot on her heels. "So, where's Number 7?" Kevin asked. "What?" "Two told us one time that Number 7 tried to escape too, and that he died," Kevin said, "But...but then why didn't they ever assign another Number 7? Now it's just The Special Six and that one dead rabbit. That doesn't seem right to me." "I don't know, Kevin," Salt said, "But we're here." *** The Sick was built primarily up of premium cages for animals who could no longer be tested on, or were recovering if they could. Since it'd be immoral to outright kill them, and just plain stupid to let them back out into the wild, god forbid they spread whatever they'd caught here, THEY came up with the ultimate solution; The Sick. Filled to the brim with birds, mice, rats, rabbits, you name it. Whatever animal they could test on, they did, and this is where the poor ones ended up. As Salt and Kevin made their way down the rows of cages, peering into each one out of mere curiosity, Kevin couldn't help but feel bad. Not necessarily for the animals because they were here, but because the Collective had tried so hard to break free of this place, and yet...they would've left all of these poor animals behind. That didn't seem fair. He decided that one day, he'd find a way to free them too, even if it hurt him. "I've never felt a more disturbing mixture of disgust and jealousy," Kevin said, making Salt laugh. "I told you. They live like queens," Salt said, "No work, nice homes. They're the elite of the bunch, not that they didn't earn it through their suffering." "I'm sorry for what Number Two said," Kevin said quietly, "He didn't mean it. We're all just so angry at Dodger. He almost killed us, after using us for his own purposes, lying to us the entire time. I think it's understandable that some of us might be a little prejudiced now, that that in any way excuses the prejudice, but it at least makes some sense of it." "I understand," Salt said, "And I didn't take it to heart. What Dodger did was despicable, but like I said, we're not all the same. Kevin..." Kevin looked up, and saw Salt pointing at a placard on a cage that simply read "Number Four." His eyes lit up, as he ran past her and up to the cage, peering inside. "Four?" he asked, "Four? Are you....please be in here!" "Kevin?" Four asked, unburying herself from the hay and hopping up to the front of the cage, "Kevin! You came to find me! How did you-" "Salt brought me here," he said, "What did THEY do to you? What caused this?" "THEY took me out for early morning testing and then they overdosed me accidentally, and now I'm here. I was so scared. I can't believe you came to find me, I feel so special." "Of course I came to find you, I...I love you," Kevin said, causing himself and Four to blush, "Four, if they never let you out of here...I will come back and see you as much as I can, I promise, okay? You will never be alone as long as I'm around." "...thank you Kevin, thank you for caring about me," Four said. "Of course." "Kevin," Salt said from behind, "I'm going to give you guys a bit alone, I'm going to go talk to some other mice. I'll let you know when I smell THEM coming, okay?" As Salt headed off to some other cages, Kevin made his way into Fours cage using the same gate trick that Dodger had taught them. He had been good for something at least. He nuzzled up to her, allowing her to bury her face in his neck fur. He'd never let her go. He'd already lost loved ones. He wouldn't let it happen twice. Kevin and Four sat there for what must've been at least an hour. Seeing as The Sick isn't really a bustling part of the lab THEY used often, mostly only coming in at feeding times, they had quite a while to be together. They might be called The Special Seven, but to Kevin, there was only one special rabbit. *** Heading back towards the lab in silence, Kevin had a bit of time to think about things. Salt was chewing on some sunflower seeds she'd been given by another mouse while they walked. After she finished and wiped her mouth, she looked up at Kevin at her side. "So...you okay?" she asked. "Everything's a lie," Kevin said, "There is no Special Seven, nobody is safe, The Sick isn't all that bad...we've lived under a guise of fear and lies for so long that we never think to question any of it. It's normal to us to just believe whatever we're told or we hear." "That's life for you," Salt said. "Thank you for taking me, Salt," Kevin said. "Of course. I know what she means to you," Salt said, smiling, "So, what're you going to do now?" "Now? I guess I'm going to go back to my cage, think about everything and then go to sleep," Kevin said, "And then tomorrow, I'm going to get up and tell Gerry that we need to do what we were supposed to do from the get go." "What's that?" "We need to escape."
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The Rabbit Collective follows a group of lab rabbits struggling with their purpose, and hopeful eventual escape. Archives
October 2020
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