"How could you do this to me?!" Gerry screamed, his face right up against Number Twos, "How are we supposed to accomplish anything if we keep lying to one another?!"
"You have no idea what I have gone through to keep this a secret, Gerry," Two said sternly, not backing down, "If the other Special 7 knew about this...it'd destroy their spirit. Six isn't doing well enough as it is, and with Number Four in The Sick...no, there was just no way I was going to let this become public knowledge." "Then why show me?!" Gerry asked, his eyes burning with rage. "Because you need to hear what they have to say," Two said, "Trust me. It's going to make all the difference in the world." *** It started that morning, with Gerry and Kevin sitting together in his cage, as he told Gerry about The Sick. "I wanna bring Four back, but...she's just...she's sick now. Who knows if it could spread, I don't know, and I wouldn't care if it spread to me but I don't want it infecting any of you, and I know that's definitely not what she wants too," Kevin said. "I think you're right though. After Dodgers visit, it really got me thinking, and I think we need to try again," Gerry said, wriggling his whiskers in thought, "I think...I think this time, I know how to do it. That garden Salt takes us too, they have to bring stuff into it, soil, water, whatever. That means there's an exit to the outside. If we find that exit, know the schedule, we can make a clean quick break." "You really plan on getting everyone out through that one spot?" Kevin asked, uncertain. "I hope to, but I'm going to need your help. Look, I know what happened last time hurt you, and I am so sorry, and this Four thing is...way uncool, but we can fix everything if we just leave." "What if we leave and...and she gets worse?" Kevin asked, his voice breaking a bit, "What if she needs to stay here, to be monitored. What if...what if now THEY'RE the only ones who're keeping her alive?" "...that's a risk, I guess, but it's gotta be up to here, not to me or you," Gerry said. "Hey," Two said, coming into the cage, "What's goin' on in here?" "Good, I wanted to talk to you about this actually," Gerry said, turning to face him, "...I'm planning on leaving again. You want to help or not?" "What, The Incident wasn't enough for you?" Two asked, scoffing, "No, Gerry, you don't wanna go down this road again." Two walked to Kevins side and took a seat, while Kevin chewed on some hay. "I mean," Two continued, "...yeah, it's not ideal, but I think most of us have come to accept it here by this point, especially after The Incident." "Well, I'm going to round up as many rabbits as I can, get their viewpoints, and if I can, their support, and I'll be leaving soon enough with or without you, but I hope it's with you," Gerry said, as he turned and began hopping out of the cage. After he was on the lab table, he heard the cage door open and close again, and turned to see Two coming up behind him, stopping by his side. "Kevin says The Sick is very nice, but he doesn't want Four to be there," Gerry said. "Gerry, if you're going to do this, then I need to show you something," Two said, "...it's very important you see this." Gerry furrowed his brow. *** "You've seen it firsthand, Gerald, what happens when we try to leave!" Two shouted back, "Look at it! Look at what it did to them! Look at what THEY did to them! Is that not enough?! Do you need more pressure to not go?!" "I...I can't just....I can't let us all end up like this!" Gerry yelled back, "This...this isn't right, this isn't normal. You're saying this is what'll happen to us if THEY catch us, but this is what's going to happen to us whether THEY catch us or not, Two! THEY don't give a shit about us, man! THEY don't care! Escape attempt or no escape attempt, this is our goddamned future, and you're saying we should wait for it happily!" "Gerry," Two said, turning to look at it again, "...Gerry I just...I wanted you to know what you were up against." "...well, thank you for finally being honest with me," Gerry said angrily. *** Two was leading Gerry down a shaft by himself, not even telling Six or anyone else where they were going. After a bit of walking, Gerry sighed and lowered his ears. Two looked over his shoulder at him and shook his head. "I'm sorry, it's a bit away," Two said, "But it's going to make you rethink your plan, I guarantee it." "If it's so important, why isn't Six or Kevin coming with us? Hell, if it's so important, why am I the only one you're taking?" "Because...because you can handle it," Two said, "It'd just frighten everyone else." "Two...why don't you want to leave?" Gerry asked, "You weren't very into it the first time, and now you're literally taking me to some secret thing to show me why we shouldn't try again, I mean...just talk to me, tell me why you don't want to-" "Talking isn't enough. I have to show this to you. That's the only way it'll make sense," Two said, "I'm sorry, I know it's cryptic and vague, but once you see it....oh, god, will you understand. Only then will you really get it." "I just want to-" "Did I ever tell you how I came to be in The Special Seven, Gerry?" Two asked, turning yet another corner in the vent. "No, but please, regale me with the tale. Nothing else to do in here." "I wasn't always one of them. I used to be a regular rabbit. Then, during a test, I was electrocuted. Not even part of the test, it just accidentally happened. But, they soon discovered that being electrocuted wasn't all that bad to me, and I lived. It should've killed me, I remember passing out, supposedly dying. Yet, I woke up a few minutes later, no thanks to them. They were in awe, and suddenly I was irreplaceable. I was unique. I was one of The Special Seven." "Good lord," Gerry said, "You...died?" "It's the only explanation," Two said, "Maybe that's why I cling so hard to life, because I've tasted death, Gerry, and it doesn't taste very good. We're here." Two pushed open a vent, allowing himself and Gerry into a very small, cramped room. It stank of something Gerry couldn't quite place, but before he could comment on it, Two continued past him, nodding, indicated to Gerry to follow him still. "Where are we, Two?" Gerry asked. "The thing about The Special Seven, Gerry, is that it's all bullshit. Four being taken to The Sick admits that. Nobody is special. We're all replaceable." "I've been hearing that a lot lately, actually, especially in regards to you guys in particular," Gerry said. "Remember how I told you that we have a replacement Seven?" Two said, and Gerry nodded as Two sighed, "Gerry, this is the original number Seven," he said, grabbing a small pullchain on a lamp with his teeth and turning it on. Gerrys eyes widened in horror. Sitting before them, tied to a small wooden plank on the table, was a rabbit. A rabbit who was torn up badly, missing limbs, some replaced with mechanic limbs like Kevin, others not. It was breathing, shallowly, but breathing nonetheless. Its eyes rolled over to Gerry, catching with his own, and he quickly shut his eyes tight. "When he was hurt by the dogs, he was so badly mangled...none of us expected him to live. As far as we knew for a while, he didn't. It was only after Number 3 one day came back from this room because of an incident with a test that he told us about this. I had to see it for myself. To see what THEY had done to our original Seven..." Two said, looking at Seven and shaking his head, his voice cracking, "He doesn't talk much, he can't move without THEM...this is your future, Gerry, if you continue to try and escape. This...this is where that road leads." "How could you do this to me?!" Gerry screamed, his face right up against Number Twos, "How are we supposed to accomplish anything if we keep lying to one another?!" "You have no idea what I have gone through to keep this a secret, Gerry," Two said sternly, not backing down, "If the other Special 7 knew about this...it'd destroy their spirit. Six isn't doing well enough as it is, and with Number Four in The Sick...no, there was just no way I was going to let this become public knowledge." "Then why show me?!" Gerry asked, his eyes burning with rage. "Because you need to hear what they have to say," Two said, "Trust me. It's going to make all the difference in the world," Two continued, turning to Seven, "Seven? This is my friend Gerry, he wants to leave, like you wanted to leave. Tell him why that isn't a good idea." Seven opened their mouth to speak, but their tongue was damaged, their teeth dirty and broken. Gerry shut his eyes and turned away. "Why're you showing me this?" Gerry asked. "You've seen it firsthand, Gerald, what happens when we try to leave!" Two shouted back, "Look at it! Look at what it did to them! Look at what THEY did to them! Is that not enough?! Do you need more pressure to not go?!" "I...I can't just....I can't let us all end up like this!" Gerry yelled back, "This...this isn't right, this isn't normal. You're saying this is what'll happen to us if THEY catch us, but this is what's going to happen to us whether THEY catch us or not, Two! THEY don't give a shit about us, man! THEY don't care! Escape attempt or no escape attempt, this is our goddamned future, and you're saying we should wait for it happily!" "Gerry," Two said, turning to look at it again, "...Gerry I just...I wanted you to know what you were up against." "...well, thank you for finally being honest with me," Gerry said angrily. The rabbits were at a standstill, neither one wanting to budge on the issue. Two shook his head, his eyes narrowed, angry. "You're never going to learn until you're strapped to this goddamned thing yourself," he said, turning to leave. "Number...Two," Seven croaked, forcing both Two and Gerry to look at them in shock, "Number...Two...help..." "Help...you?" "Help...them," Seven said, "Don't let them....don't let you....become me." "What?" Two asked, in tears now, "How could you...what do I do?" "...escape," Seven said, and Two swore that they were grinning.
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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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