Kevin was standing behind a tree, his breathing slow and labored, a chilly breeze flowing through his fur. He shut his eyes tight and thought, did he really want to look? He had to. He had to acknowledge it, or it wouldn't be real. He opened his eyes and glanced down, seeing the blood coming from his right back haunch, where the bullet had entered. He groaned, wincing, as he peeked around the side of the tree, hoping to see where the hunter had gone. He couldn't see anything. He just knew that if he didn't make a move soon, he would be dead, and he wasn't going to let that happen.
Not yet. He still had work to do. Kevin collected himself and thought about his escape route. He couldn't head towards The Hollow, that would lead the hunter directly to the rest of the Collective...so as an option, that was out. He could head towards the lab? THEY might tell the hunter to get off their property, and that distraction would protect Kevin enough to allow him to slip away, relatively unnoticed by either party. Kevin gathered up his strength, grit his teeth and bounded through the bushes, heading towards the lab. *** Gerry was standing outside The Hollow, looking up at the clouds, when he felt a presence nearby. He turned to see Stone sitting down beside him. She rarely left the Hollow, so this was a special treat. Gerry shook his head and continued looking up at the sky while Stone licked her paws. "Don't see you out here often," Gerry said. "Well," Stone replied, "I try and stay indoors. God forbid anything happened to me, what would you all do? What're you doing out here?" "Just thinking. Thinking about Number Four, and...Number Two," Gerry said, "God, we lost them both, back to back, and that's crushing. Number Two was...he was our strategist, our logic, and I feel lost without him around. His sound decisions and precision planning is why we survived as long as we did, in or out, and now that he's gone-" "You and Kevin seem to be able to make those decisions fairly well on your own," Stone said. "Not the way Number Two did," Gerry said, "He was so detached and it made him the perfect candidate for that sort of thinking. He was rational. The rest of us...we think with emotions. That's why nobody questioned Richardson, that's why nobody questioned Dodger, that's why all the bad things that have happened HAVE happened, because our emotions allowed them to." "I don't think that's very fair," Stone said. "Maybe not, but it's pretty true," Gerry said, "...I think we should move. I think we should keep going further and further from THEM, from the lab, from this forest. The further away we are the less likely they are to ever find us. We need to put as much distance between us and THEM as is physically possible." "I did have plans at one point to keep moving," Stone said, "But with how many rabbits we have now, and how many more could show up at any given moment, is it really worth it? Risking losing the ones we have, risking letting newcomers die alone? You call yourself a Collective, but to truly be a Collective you really need to account for any and all rabbits, not just the ones you know now, but the ones you may know in the future, however near or far that future may be." Gerry looked at her and then back up at the clouds, knowing full well she was right. They'd called themselves a Collective, but had they ever truly collectively worked towards a singular goal together and accomplished it? Even when they'd finally gotten half the group out of the lab, it'd been with the outside help of Salt. When he looked back at her to respond, he found she had gone back inside, and he was left alone, again, with his thoughts. *** The lab couldn't be that much further away at this point, Kevin figured. He stopped inside of a berry bush and caught his breath. He could hear the sound of sticks and fallen crisp leaves crunching underfoot. He knew the hunter was not far behind him. He knew he had to do something fast to gain some speed on him if he was ever going to make it to the lab safely. He looked back at his haunch, finally clotting a bit and no longer dribbling blood like it had been before, and he felt a bit more relieved, even if the pain was becoming too much to bear. He turned to continue running, but found he was face to face with a small nose and whiskers staring back at him from out the top of the bush, and, startled, he backed up a bit confused and frightened. When he finally regained composure, he realized it was Salt. "What're you doing out here?" they asked one another in unison. "Running for my life," Kevin replied, "What about you?" "Looking for something to eat," Salt said, "What's going on? Do you need help?" "There's a hunter out there," Kevin said, his voice lowering, "He's already shot me once, I'm trying to lead him back to the lab, cause if he tries to step foot on that property, especially with a weapon, he'll be turned away. Lab is closer than the Hollow, that's for sure." "I think you're only maybe 5 or 10 minutes away," Salt said, glancing over her shoulder, "I swear I just saw it a bit ago." "I am NOT getting killed by a hunter, after all this," Kevin said firmly, "No way no how. They take trophies, and my feet are NOT ending up like Steve's. That much I'm guaranteeing myself. My feet are dying WITH me, thank you very much." "Not all of them," Salt said, nodding to his robotic leg, and he lowered his brow. "Very funny," he replied, making her giggle. "If you keep going this way, then take a right in about 3 minutes, you should be heading directly to the lab," Salt said, "I'll head to the Hollow just in case, to tell Gerry what's going on, and that way if you DON'T come back, he can at least go get your body." "You know, you're a real burst of positivity," Kevin said. "I do what I can," Salt said, shrugging, before disappearing back into the bush, only to reappear at the bottom, scurrying out and heading off into the woods. Kevin sighed and heard the footsteps once again. He shut his eyes, regained his composure and turned, darting off in the direction Salt had told him to head. He ran and ran, knowing the hunter was hot on his trail, and he just prayed to death that Salt had been right. *** "We never found his last foot," Kevin had said, months ago, when he and Number Two had been out for a walk, scouting for food. Number Two turned to him, his eyes dimmed, somewhat confused, as Kevin added, "Steve" and Number Two nodded, understanding now. "Yeah," Number Two said, "...yeah that stings. I know he was your friend, I'm sorry. We found three of them, and that's pretty good, and they're buried there, in the garden now, so he's somewhat at rest." "They should be buried out here. If I ever get the chance to go back in there, I'm taking those feet out and bringing them back here, burying them somewhere in the woods that he never got to see. He deserves that much." "Well, if that time ever comes, I'll be happy to either help you or see it happen," Number Two said, "Nobody deserves to be ripped apart and carried around like a tchotchke, that's just sick. If anything ever happens to me, Kevin, and you know where my body is, please do the same. Bury me somewhere, anywhere, don't just let me lay where I fall." "You got it, pal," Kevin said, the two of them smiling at one another before going back to their scavenging. Kevin would not now, nor ever, allow himself to become a trophy. *** Another shot whizzed past, and Kevin skidded behind a fallen tree trunk and waited a second or two before hearing another shot being fired off. This one broke through the dead tree and hit his robotic leg, bouncing off. Kevin realized how lucky he might actually be to have this thing attached to him, before he turned and shot off again into the woods, the hunter hot on his trail. His eyes glanced upwards, just over the treetops and he spotted the smoke coming from the lab chimney. He was there! He was almost there! Kevin continued and broke through the last of the brush only to come face to face with an enormous fallen tree in front of him. He panicked, because to go around would take too long, but to think about what to do would take even longer, and Kevin didn't have the luxury of time on his side right now. He backed up and prepared to leap onto it, before realizing how much his back leg still hurt from the shot. He'd have to go around. He darted to the right and skidded in and out between other, skinnier trees in order to obfuscate the hunters view. He finally reached the end and turned sharply, feeling a branch catch him on his neck and scratch him deep, making him wince, but he didn't stop. He saw a car parked in front of the lab, and someone was getting out, holding a bag. Kevin tried hard as he could to run faster, finally getting right between the persons legs. Catching a quick glimpse, he realized they were wearing a white lab coat, as he darted underneath the car, confusing the scientist. Just as he skidded beneath the car, he heard a single gunshot, and then saw the scientist fall to the ground. He stared at them, their breathing shallow, as he heard the hunter scream and quickly run off. Kevin climbed out from under the car and approached the scientist. He didn't have much time. The hunter might be coming back for help, or the gunshot would likely bring out other scientists. He'd have to leave now if he wanted a clean break. As Kevin stepped over them, he noticed something shiny in their hands. He looked closer and realized it was a set of keys, likely their car keys, and then his eyes widened, because attached to this set of keys was a keychain. A keychain with a rabbits foot. Kevin looked back at the scientist, who's eyes were now shut, and they were no longer breathing. The hunter must've mistaken the white coat for his fur, and shot on sight, killing this poor scientist. Kevin stood there, frozen in time, realizing that he'd inadvertently killed one of THEM, and in return, gotten his friends foot back. He heard shouting coming from the lab, and he nosed down, bit the metal ring on the keys and, gripping them in his teeth, took off back into the forest. *** Kevin was almost back at the Hollow, but he'd stopped in a nearby field of flowers and dug a small hole, where he then pawed the keys into the hole and looked down at the foot on the ring. He sighed and knew it was Steve's. He just knew. He thought about the garden, about where his other feet still were, and he thought about that conversation with Number Two, about how he swore that one day he'd go back and get the rest of Steve's feet so they could all be buried together. Kevin sighed. He knew that was unlikely. He knew that was probably impossible, and an overall ridiculous thing to risk returning there for. He had to take his small victories where he could, and this was indeed a small victory. His feet may have been split up, but they were all at rest now. Kevin sighed and filled the hole back up with dirt, afterwards setting one paw on the mound and smiling down at it. "Looks like we get you out of the lab after all," Kevin said softly, "I'm sorry, Steve. I'm sorry what happened to you happened, but...I hope this sort of makes up for it. You were a good friend, and a good rabbit, and you didn't deserve what happened to you. I hope you can rest somewhat easier now at least." Kevin backed away and looked at the mound, realizing the good that he had done, and almost all on his own. He felt a renewed sense of power and strength, and he vowed at that moment that, no matter what it took, he would find a way to burn that place to the ground. He turned and started to head back to the Hollow, only stopping once to glance back at the mound, before smiling, and continuing on home. He needed a nap, and he could finally rest somewhat easier, because Steve... ...Steve was finally at peace.
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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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