Gerry had asked Stone to gather the Collective, their own, and Richardsons group, so he could speak to them all at once about the upcoming plans, but he couldn't deny that he was extremely nervous about this. Standing in his little room, pacing and wondering what exactly he was going to say once Stone was ready for him, he heard someone enter, and, expecting Number Two, turned only to find instead the young girl rabbit who'd escaped her own burrows genocide standing in his doorway.
"Oh," Gerry said, "Hi. I wasn't expecting you." "...what's going on? Everyone is gathering outside," she said. "I'm going to speak to the whole Hollow, talk about what's going to happen in a few days, things we've discovered, that sort of stuff. How are you doing? Is your head feeling better?" he asked, and she nodded. "I think so," she said, "...can I...can I stay with you once we get out of here? I don't have any family anymore, and you seem to know how to care about others. If not it's okay, I just wanted to asked." "Uh, that's a big request, I don't know," Gerry said, "Mostly because I don't know that I'll survive what's about to go down. How about this, ask me again later. Maybe when I feel more confident I'll still be around to take care of someone, alright?" "That sounds fair," she said, turning and leaving as Stone and Number Two entered. "Gerry, they're ready," Stone said, before turning and leaving again. Gerry approached Number Two and took a long deep breath before looking him in the face. "You're gonna do fine," Number Two said, "Comparatively to other things you've had to do? Yeah, this'll be a breeze." "Thanks," Gerry said, chuckling, "...walk with me out there?" "Always." The two headed out the room and down the long now empty hall of the Hollow. Halfway down, Gerald stopped and sighed, looking around. Number Two stopped and looked at him, raising an eyebrow at this behavior. "It's so quiet..." Gerry said, "I can't help but think this is one of the last times I'll ever be here. That I won't come home in a few days. I don't think I ever realized just how much I loved this place, how much like a home it came to feel like, until now. Now, when I may not come back to it. I don't want to leave it. I don't want to die. Especially not in that lab. I fought so hard to not die in that lab, and ironically enough, it might be how I go." "You're not dying in that lab," Number Two said, "I can promise you that. I have one goal. Get you in and out of there, and god dammit I'm going to see that I accomplish both halves of that, no matter what. You're going to be fine, Gerald, you always are." "...thanks Paul," Gerry said, "Let's do this." The rabbits were gathered outside, in the early evening sunset, all murmuring, unsure of what was about to happen, when Gerald and Number Two finally exited the Hollow and headed up to the small speaking area made of rocks Stone and Nickel had pushed together for him. Number Two stayed right by Gerry's side as he climbed atop the rocks and looked out at the crowd. After a moment or two of silence and preparing himself, Gerry looked out at the crowd and spoke. "Hello," he said, "As you all likely know, my name is Gerald. A few years ago, I made a decision to get my friends out of a lab, a horrible lab, where the people who ran it were performing awful experiments on us in the name of 'science'. It took a good few tries, we had a few tough setbacks, but ultimately we all managed to escape, thanks to the help of rabbits like Number Two and Kevin. But...when I think about thanking the rabbits who're here, I also think about thanking the rabbits who aren't. The rabbits who gave their lives for us to get out of here. Rabbits a lot of you likely never got to meet. Like Doug. Doug was my first friend in the lab, and he was such a funny guy. Always willing to make me smile to cheer me up. Doug gave his life for us to escape the first time, and his efforts, his sacrifice, allowed Kevin and Number Two and a lot of other rabbits to finally feel freedom. Feel grass, not steel, beneath their paw pads," Gerry said, before pausing and taking a long deep breath. He looked around at the rabbits, looked at Number Two, who nodded at him to continue, which he did. He turned back to the crowd and kept speaking. "Then there was Steve. Steve never managed to help us, because THEY killed him long before we ever tried escaping, but...honestly, Steve's death was the catalyst to everything, I realize now. Had we not witnessed his end, an end so violent and unnecessary, then we likely would never have actually attempted escaping in the first place. Steve deserved better. Moreso than any other rabbit I've ever known, Steve deserved better. Then there was Fern. She wasn't a rabbit, she was the lab dog, but she...she was our friend, and THEY were using her just like THEY were using us. In the end, Fern saved our lives, and gave her own so we could continue. I tell you this because...because in a few days, a lot of us may not come back. In a few days, a lot of us are going to the lab, and we're going to set it on fire, and finish this war THEY started once and for all." Gerry took a long deep breath and exhaled, then looked back out at the crowd. Small children, Sister Rabbits, faces he barely recognized yet felt so obligated to protect. He continued. "THEY have been carrying out genocides on burrows nearby. Sticking black snakes that emit a gas into them that kill any and all rabbits. Some have been lucky to escape it, myself included, and our friend Richardsons group, but others not so much. THEY think we're a threat, and THEY'RE right. We are a threat. Now the time has come to show THEM just how much of a threat we actually are. You are family, whether you lose some of us or not. You will always be family. There's nothing better in the world than having those around you that you care for, that care about you, and this is why we're doing this. Because if we don't, nobody else will, and someone has to protect you all. A few years ago, I made it my mission to get out of that lab to protect my friends. In a few days, I'll be going back to that lab to protect my friends. To protect all of you. You are all part of this Collective, and I...I wanted to thank you for giving me a purpose lo these many years. I wouldn't have made it without any of you. Thank you." Gerry stepped down as Stone took his spot and began her own speech. As Gerry passed by the young rabbit, he stopped and looked at her. "You can stay with me," he said, and she smiled before he continued back towards the Hollow, Number Two right by his side. Off a bit, aways from the Hollow, Kevin found himself alone with Number Fours grave. He wasn't speaking. He was merely sitting beside her, thinking. Thinking about what Gerry had said, thinking about how much faith Gerry had put into him all those years ago, thinking about how he'd managed to even make it this far. He'd survived because he had someone to survive for, but now she was gone, and all that mattered to him was taking THEM with him when he went. Kevin sighed and knew he'd made a potential promise to Richardson, but he wasn't even sure he'd survive long enough to keep it. He laid his head on Number Four's grave and shut his eyes. All he wanted was for THEM to feel the pain THEY had made her feel. And he was going to make sure that happened. *** Number Two arrived back home late that night, where he found Dice already asleep and Minerva waiting up for him, chewing on a large bone she'd found in the woods. He stopped and looked at her, and she stopped chewing, looking at him. She cocked her head and he sighed, heading back outside. She quickly stood up and followed. "How did it go?" she asked. "It went fine," Number Two said, "...I need to ask you for a favor." "Anything." "...I need you to watch over Gerald if anything happens to me," Number Two said, "None of us know what's going to happen when we bring the fire in a few days, but...but I need to know that if he survives and I do not, that he'll be protected. Please. Can you do that for me?" "Paul," Minerva said, "You risked your life to save me, you swore vengeance on the mouse that took my kits, and you know that I'd do anything for you. You're my friend," Minerva said, "I know that we...we only became friends because of extremely negative dire circumstances, and that we started as enemies ultimately, but that doesn't change the fact that you're here, and I'm here, and we're friends now. Who cares what we started as. So of course I'll do that for you." "...I think it'll be fine, but I just needed a contingency plan, you understand," Number Two said. "Of course I do." Number Two sat there for a moment, until Minerva nuzzled his good ear and then went back into the tree. Number Two looked up at the sky and thought about what life might be like after THEY were gone. In just a few days time, it'd all be over, and they may finally be free of THEIR tyranny. The idea excited him, but, truth be told, also terrified him with his overwhelming possible outcomes, a lot of them negative. He didn't want to have come so far only to have this fail. He sighed and laid down under the stairs, shutting his eyes, and thinking of Gerald, and what they'd do when this was finally all over. *** Stone found Gerry the following morning, early, helping Six and Mipsy and Paw Paw gather good sticks to use for the fire. The girls were bringing him sticks and he would inspect each and every one, deciding whether or not it was worth it. A bit wet? Wouldn't work. Too short? Potentially hazardous to the user. The sticks had to be just the right thickness, the right length, the right amount of dry to be worthwhile. Gerry was standing on a small hill just outside the Hollow, watching the girls gather sticks, this is where Stone found him. She walked up to him and sat beside him, yawning. "It's early," she said quietly, "You must be having trouble sleeping." "I've been having these dreams," Gerry said, "Ever since I can remember, ever since I was in the lab, I've been having these dreams. I'm in a field, I've got blood on me, and there's a large bird overhead. It feels...safe, yet also final. I don't know what it means, and maybe it means nothing, but it's begun to unnerve me so much that I'd prefer not to sleep." "Well, considering what's about to go down, considering what you'll need your strength and energy for, you could probably use the sleep, so I'd suggest getting some. I could do this for you," Stone said, "...your speech was good, by the way. I don't think I told you that yesterday. Every single one of your friends who hasn't made it didn't die for no reason. Their death had a purpose, and that's nice. I mean, it's not nice they're gone, but it's nice it wasn't pointless." "I'm worried about Kevin," Gerry said, "I don't know what he's going to do when we get there, he's become somewhat unhinged, and I'm scared he might screw everything up. I knew he's got rage inside of him for what they did to him, for what they did to Number Four...but...at the same time, I'm concerned that rage is going to overtake his logic and force my hand in doing something I don't want to do, but will do, if it means protecting everyone else." Stone nodded, knowing what Gerry meant. She sighed and twitched her nose, her whiskers wiggling. "When I first started the Hollow," she began, "we had a rabbit here name Jeremy. Jeremy was smart, he was strong, he was kind. Jeremy was like my right hand man. He made a lot of the decisions, hard decisions, with me at the beginning...decisions I was somewhat afraid of making on my own. I relied on him. And then, one day, Jeremy just...snapped. Something inside of him broke, and he became vicious and cruel, stating his entire personality was a hoax, stating that he was angry because of what he'd been through." "What had happened to him?" "He'd been part of his own group, met a rabbit, had some children. Then winter arrived and nobody could find any food. In an act of desperation, the group turned on one another, began eating children to survive the harsh winter. His children were no exception. He left one night, didn't even say goodbye to his lady, he just...vanished. He was, justifiably so, outraged. But he tried to move on, he tried to form a new life with his own group, with me, but once that rage returned...once it boiled to the surface...there was no stopping it. So I took him for a walk and we talked about his anger, he told me what had happened to him, and I gave him as much pity as I could muster. I'm not heartless, I really did feel genuinely bad for him, but...but he was a liability now to my group. So I pushed him off a hill, watched him roll down, break his neck on a rock." "...jesus," Gerry mumbled. "...it wasn't something I liked doing, and I've lived with that guilt ever since, but...I wasn't about to let him jeopardize my life, my friends lives, because of his unresolved anger. Anger he'd rather express than work on. I did what had to be done," Stone said, before glancing from the girls to Gerry and adding, "...when the time comes, I know you will too. Because we're not different, you and I. We both do what needs to be done to protect those that we love, even if it means losing one we thought we once cared about." Gerry and Stone locked eyes briefly, before she turned and headed back inside, leaving Gerry alone to think about this. He looked back out at the girls and sighed. Stone was right, and he knew it, and he knew that Number Two would have his back if anything went down, and he found himself at the end of Kevins brutality. When had it all come to this...when had things broken down so much that friends he'd once trusted, friends he'd once built up into leaders themselves, were now willing to turn on him just so they could relieve their sorrows? Everything was splitting apart, and Gerry knew this splintering wouldn't end. It would only worsen, until one of them were eventually gone. He just hoped that, however it went down, it wasn't too painful for either of them. *** Back in the lab, back in the very beginning, none of these rabbits really knew one another. Oh sure, they were friendly, but they weren't friends. They took to one another because they were scared, they needed companionship, and they were all in the same situation, even the Special Seven. And over time, Gerry and Kevin, Number Two and Six, Number Four and Doug, Melvin, Crisp, Mipsy and Richardson even, they'd all slowly come to trust one another. Trust that the other would put their life on the line for the others, if necessary. And now, after all that time, after all they'd been through, it felt like it had become "every rabbit for himself", despite Gerry's upstanding belief in doing this all for the sake of other rabbits. That lab, with its shiny metal counters and their well kept cages, with its high end security systems and it's guard dogs, that lab that they'd once called home because they didn't know what home truly was, became a house of horrors, not comforts. And in a day or twos time, it'd be a pile of ash, and who knew who would be left standing. They had survived because they'd had one another, they got out because they worked together. This was not going to be any different. They'd all come together to survive once...Gerry just hoped they could manage to do the same one more time. Because they were going to need all the help they could get. *** The lab was quiet, but Jasmine could hear Salts breathing as she approached the cage. She turned and looked in her direction, smiling, smelling her. Salt put her hand through the cage and sighed as Jasmine touched her paw. "They're coming," Salt said, "They're coming any day now, and I'll make sure you don't get left behind." "It's not going to go well," Jasmine said, "I may be blind, but even I can see this is a terrible idea." "They won't budge," Salt replied, "And we're all gonna get out of here, once and for all, and this place will finally be gone. I won't be around to guide you though, you'll have to rely on them, okay?" "Where will you be?" "I have to take Kevin to find something," Salt said softly, "He asked me personally, and it's the last thing he needs to do for closure." The two sat silently together, listening to the deafening stillness that surrounded them. Neither said a word, but each knew what the other was feeling. This may be the last time they get a moments peace, and they each wanted to savor it. Salt had promised herself she wouldn't see Jasmine left behind, and she'd make sure that promise was kept, but she had made another promise, to Kevin, and she was going to make sure that was kept too. "What does Kevin need?" Jasmine finally asked, neither one looking at the other. "...he's going to get Steve's feet," Salt said, "Whether it kills him or not."
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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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