Nobody said a word.
There was an eerie sense of both togetherness and hostility in Stone's room, as she, Nickle, Mipsy, Number Two, Number Six, Kevin and Gerald stood around in a circle, all watching one another. After a moment, Minerva and Dice entered the room as well, closing off the passage behind them with the piece of bark Stone used as a makeshift door. They took their seats within the circle, and yet, still, nobody said a word. After a moment, Stone cleared her throat and sighed. "I guess we should say that we're happy you are alive and well," Stone said, looking at Number Two, sitting beside her, "Because everyone feared you dead, and they mourned you, but to have you just stroll on back in, perhaps a bit worse for wear, is wonderful. Welcome back Number Two." Number Two wouldn't speak though, he was staring at the ground, his eyes squinting, clearly holding back tears. Stone continued. "We are here because of news that Gerry has brought us," Stone said, "The news of the new rabbits at the lab is distressing, absolutely, and I think he's right in that we have to do something about this as soon as possible. I wanted to have this conversation more in private because of Number Two's return, but-" "You fucking idiot," Number Two mumbled, still looking at the ground, everyone else now looking at him. "What?" Stone asked, as he Number Two snapped his vision to her, snarling. "Not you, HIM," he said, tears rolling down his face, glancing at Kevin, "You fucking idiot. Do you even realize what damage you caused? Your little medicine stunt destroyed entire families. Your decision to go back there and get that medicine caused so much pain, and you don't even know it." "I...I-" Kevin stuttered. "And for what?" Number Two asked, stepping forward, "Because you wanted to save Number Four, right? Well where is she, Kevin? Where's Number Four? Off recuperating somewhere? No? Let me guess, she's fucking dead, isn't she? So what did you really gain out of that outside of the remaining Collectives freedom? Nothing? Yeah, that's what I thought." "Hey, there's no reason to be mean," Gerry said, as Kevin cowered a bit, backing up behind him, hiding from Number Two. "No, he needs to hear this, Gerald, he needs to be aware, if he's going to be in some sort of leadership position, that the choices he makes have outcomes, good AND bad, and sometimes only good or only bad, and that sometimes they aren't worth making at all. Do you even really think it would've saved her? Honestly? She was so sick, all you would've done is prolonged things, and sure, you would've had more time with her, and that would've been nice, but you couldn't save her, you couldn't save anyone!" Number Two stopped and sniffled, looking at Minerva, who was also crying. "None of us could," he added, "Because of what you did, these foxes lost their children, because of what you did I nearly died, because of what you did everything was worse. You did it out of love, I get that, I...I understand caring about someone, but you really fucking screwed up." "I'm sorry..." Kevin mumbled, now crying himself, still hiding behind Gerry, "I just...I loved her so much, and I-" "I know. She was my friend, Kevin. We were part of the same team. She and I spent a lot of time together in that lab. She was crazy about you," Number Two said, "I want to admire you for trying, but I can't help but hate you for failing. What you did killed innocent fox cubs, and Number Four, and nearly killed me. And it isn't your fault entirely. All this blood is on Dodger's hands, which is what I'm here to talk about. I have had it with him. He's orchestrated two major murder attempts on us now, and I guarantee you he won't stop there, no, I guarantee you he's aiming for a third. He needs to be stopped, and he needs to be stopped, preferably, before he gets the chance to try again." "I...I mean, has anyone even seen Dodger lately?" Six asked, "Because I sure as hell haven't, so." Everyone shook their heads, including Gerry, who felt awful for lying. "This isn't just about survival anymore," Number Two said, "This is no longer about us vs him trying to get out of a horrible place. He's systematically trying to kill us now, and he's going to kill everything else in his way until he achieves that goal unless we put our paws down and stop him once and for all." "Number Two?" Mipsy asked, making Number Two look at her. "Yes?" "Um...I miss you," she said, "I...I glad...you is back." Number Two smiled a little, nodding, "I missed you too, Mipsy. I'm glad to see you've been okay while I've been gone." "Everything you said is true...", Kevin said, now finally stepping somewhat out from behind Gerry, "I messed up, and I'm so sorry," now glancing up at the foxes, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know he'd do anything to your family, I didn't...I didn't even know he...I'm so sorry. I lost my family too, and I would never wish that on anyone else. I'm so sorry." "It isn't your fault," Minerva said calmly, surprising even even herself, "And if you are blaming yourself, at least take solace in the fact that I forgive you, so you should as well. As Paul said, your heart was in the right place, and we all do ridiculous things for the ones that we love and care for." Everyone didn't speak for a few moments, the tension in the air now dissipating somewhat, everyone feeling like they could breath again without causing an emotional breakdown of someone nearby. After a few moments, Number Two looked at Gerry, sitting across from him. "What should we do?" he asked, "What do we do about Dodger?" "I think we need to worry about the other rabbits first," Gerry said, staring at anything other than Number Two, "Because that's...that's important. We will deal with Dodger later, and-" "It's ALWAYS been later with you!" Number Two shouted, on the verge of tears again, continuing, "As I was falling off a goddamned waterfall, all I could think about was the fact that I'd never see you again, and still, even after what he tried to do to me, you're fine with trying to deal with him later?!" "It's not like that, Number T-" "MY NAME IS PAUL!" Number Two screamed, approaching Gerry quickly, sobbing, "Why don't you...why don't you ever say my name? My name is Paul. You've known me for years now, Gerald, why don't you say my name?" The two rabbits stared at one another for a few moments, until Gerry shook it off and tried to react. "I...I don't know, I guess...I just...I've known you as Number Two for so much longer that-" "Of everyone, every single rabbit here, you're the only one I'd care about calling me by my name and you DON'T. FUCKING. DO IT. I trusted you, I trusted you in the beginning, I trusted you after his betrayal, I trusted you during the escape. Everything I've ever done has been for your benefit, for the sake of helping you, and I..." he glanced back at Minerva and Dice sitting beside one another, their bushy fox tails entwined, before looking back at Gerry, "...You're my best friend, and I care about you so much, and I thought I was going to die without ever getting to tell you that. I know that I've been....cold and emotionless in the past, but that's what the past is for, for pushing yourself towards a better future, and I just..." Number Two shut his eyes and sobbed, his forehead to the floor, his half ear drooping by his face. "i just want you to call me paul," he cried. Gerry put his paw on Number Two's, but Number Two wouldn't look up. "please gerald..." he continued in between tears, "please just help me kill him. help me stop it." "I'll help you," Gerry said, "I'll help you Paul, okay? I will. And you have no idea how glad I am to see you. I was devastated when I thought you'd died. Seeing you walk back in here, just fuckin' roll on in, with two foxes at your side, nonetheless, only proves how much of a badass you really are. You're a survivor, and if we wanna keep surviving, you're right, we're going to have to kill Dodger." "Thank you," Paul whispered, finally looking up at Gerry, smiling, "Thank you Gerald." Gerry helped Number Two back up and then hugged him tightly. Number Two squeezed him back, still crying, unable to believe that he was even alive to be able to hug Gerry. After the hug broke, Six looked around at everyone and cleared her throat to gain their attention. Once everyone was looking at her, she grimaced and, in a lowered voice, spoke. "So...how are we going to do this?" she asked, "How do we kill Dodger?" Nobody said a word. *** He pushed the leaves out of his face and walked into the open clearing, waiting. After about five minutes, Gerry began to wonder if he should've even bothered coming, but after another minute or so, Dodger stumbled out from the darkness and into the moonlight splashed across the wooded ground. They looked at one another, and Gerry lowered his ears, speaking sullenly. "They're going to kill you," he said softly. "Let them try," Dodger replied, almost laughing, "If they haven't succeeded yet, what makes you think they will now? Besides, by the time they put any sort of plan together, much less in action, you and I will be long gone from here, so who cares." "Yeah, I just thought you should know," Gerry said, "They want me to help." "Good. You can throw them completely off the trail," Dodger said, "You're doing the right thing telling me this, Gerald. It's time we left. We can go somewhere else, find some other cause to live for, other animals to help." "I know. I know you're right, it just...it hurts leaving them and lying to them." "They left you. They left you in that shit hole of a lab for so much longer than they should've and I'm convinced the only reason you're out now is because they had to go back for Kevins girl," Dodger said, "They don't care about you, Gerald. I care about you. We'll leave and we'll never have to worry about any of this again, okay?" "Okay," Gerry said, smiling a little, "I just didn't want them to make a move without me and take you by surprise." "Well thank you for that then," Dodger said, patting his paw with his own tiny mouse paw, "You're the best friend I could have. Get your affairs in order, Gerald, we're leaving in a week, I'm hoping, if you're ready by then." "I'll be ready, yeah," Gerry said. "I need to go, it's not safe out here at night for me, birds and shit," Dodger said, turning and heading back into the bushes before stopping, glancing back over his shoulder, and adding, "Sleep good Gerry." "You too." And with that, both parties turned and headed back to their respective homes.
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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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