Things in the lab were looking a bit more cheery, now that Kevin had been returned to his cage, his back leg having been replaced with a robotic one. The other rabbits, especially Six, were in awe. Kevin even seemed in a bit of a better mood than he had been previously, even before what they now simply referred to as The Attack. Fern hadn't come back into the lab since then, but probably out of shame more than any other reason, at least that was Six's theory. They'd all been inspected by the lab vet earlier in the day, so they found themselves in a small pen together for the first time in a long while. It felt nice, like a real community.
"I chewed my own paw off and they won't even replace it," Six said, gazing longingly at Kevin's robotic leg, "I'm jealous."
"It's what they call 3D printing with some implanted cybernetics to make it possible for me to walk and hop and run," Kevin said, stretching the leg for the onlookers, "It's pretty neat, I have to admit. In a way, it was almost worth it."
"Well mate," Doug said, "I 'ave to admit, it's pretty neat-o. You like one o' t'em robots now. A real piece o' science."
"I mean, don't get me wrong...going through that was horrific, but at least there was some sort of payoff," Kevin said, feeling rather chipper having everyone's attention. Another one of the Special 7, a grey girl rabbit numbered 4, came forward to inspect it. She sniffed it at first and then raised her ears and looked at Kevin's face.
"It even hides your scent a bit. If you were ever out in the wild again, you could easily throw something off your trail," she said, "You got lucky."
"Is that what they call it?" Kevin asked, and Four giggled. Gerry was enjoying watching everyone getting along and relaxing, having a swell time just talking and not talking about being scared for once. He was at the back of the pen, simply watching his friends. At one point, Six looked behind herself at him and wiggled her whiskers. He just smiled back and she went back to admiring Kevin's leg. The Special 7, being more scientifically inclined, were obviously the most interested in Kevin's new robotic limb. Gerry sighed and then heard a *pssst!* behind him, and turned to find Dodger sitting outside the pen, picking at his teeth with a nail.
"Hey Dodger," Gerry said, "What're you doing here?"
"We have to talk," Dodger said, "It's important."
"So talk. The others are busy, we have some privacy," Gerry said, and Dodger wiped down his whiskers for a moment, clearly thinking, and then cleared his throat and leaned in, lowering his voice a good bit.
"In one of my scavenges last week, I overheard some of the scientists talking in the bird room. They're setting all the birds free this coming month, so they're changing all their tracking tags and getting them ready for release into the wild."
"Well that's good for the birds," Gerry said.
"But the birds aren't the only one. THEY do this every few years. A good turnaround on test subjects. That includes your group and my group. We're outdated, except for maybe the Special 7, but I don't know, even they may be about to be replaced, THEY weren't very specific," Dodger said, and Gerry furrowed his brow.
"I...I'm not sure I understand, how is this a problem? This sounds like we're being retired, which is great news," Gerry said.
"Retiring in a sense, yes," Dodger said, leaning in even closer so as not to draw attention from the others, "But they aren't just retiring us and letting us go or giving us to another lab. It's a mass exodus of life. They're executing us. We've been used, we would be useless to anyone else, according to them. Once animals have been in one test lab for a long enough time, other test labs don't want them."
Gerry's heart sunk and his eyes widened in horror as he lowered his own voice now.
"What are we going to do?" he asked and Dodger chittered for a minute.
"Well, it's a good thing we've been working on an escape plan, isn't it?" he asked, "We just need to rush it now, really put it into motion. I can convince my group to work with your group for the betterment of us all. With the supplies I managed to take from the bedroom of the house, we should be good to go. We just need to really plan our escape routes and get our timing exact to ensure there's no slip ups. It'll have to be at night too, so there's no scientists around to ruin it for us."
"Ok," Gerry said, nodding, feeling slightly better knowing that Dodger had his back; then he glanced at the others still fawning over Kevin and his new leg, before turning back to Dodger, "So we have a few weeks then?"
"Maybe two at the most," Dodger said, "We shouldn't put it off for too long."
"Okay," Gerry said, "Alright then, you tell your group and I'll round them up in this pen and tell mine. It might be a hard sell, but I'll do my best to convince them. They may not take to it at first but if the alternative is execution then they may rethink that."
Dodger nodded and turned, beginning to leave when Gerry called after him, and he stopped and looked back at him.
"Dodger!...thank you. Thank you for watching out for us, and for helping us," Gerry said and Dodger waited a second, then got a smirk on his face and nodded.
"Back at ya, pal," he said, before hurrying up the counters and back up into the air vent. Gerry turned to his group and sighed, looking at them all. Could they really pull this off? Could Gerry really get them all out of here? Six was still missing a paw, but it didn't seem to stop her from moving, so she should be fine and with Kevin's new leg...
...wait a second, he realized, why would they give Kevin a new leg if they planned to end their lives? Maybe Kevin wouldn't be killed...Dodger had said some might be spared, like the Special 7. He just had to trust Dodger, and besides, Dodger hadn't wronged them yet. Dodger wanted himself and his group out of here just as badly as Gerry wanted freedom for himself and his own, so he knew Dodger and he could come up with some plans. They'd worked well together so far.
Finally, he hopped on over and stopped next to Kevin, looking at everyone.
"Guys," he said, "I have some news."
Everyone grew quiet, and Gerry felt bad for having to end their fun so quickly. He sighed and scratched behind an ear and then started explaining things.
"Dodger just came to talk to me. For those of you who haven't been privy to this yet, Dodger is a mouse test subject from another section of the building who's been coming and meeting with me for a while. He's become a good friend, and a trusted, reliable source of information and help. Dodger just told me that in a few weeks, THEY are releasing all the birds back into the wild, and then retiring both the mouse group and our group."
The rabbits all perked up, looking gleeful, and Gerry felt like such a bad rabbit, having to bring them down when they looked so hopeful for once.
"Um..." he continued, "...but not in the way that you would think. It's a mass execution. They're going to wipe our group and the mouse group out. Apparently, from what Dodger has heard from the scientists, after animals have been in a test lab for a few years, they aren't wanted by other test labs. They want fresh animals, not someones leftovers. Now, I know that this is scary, but don't get too worried, because Dodger and I have a plan to get both his group and our group out of here before that happens. Now I know we've all talked about escape before, especially me, but this is really happening now. We have allies. Friends. We have a chance."
"Escape?" Four asked, and looked at another one of the Special 7, Number 2, and shook nervously.
"What?" Gerry asked.
"Escape isn't possible," Two said, as he hopped forward a bit, "We know from experience. A few years ago, there was a different Number 7. He spoke about escape and freedom too. He tried it himself. He made it outside, only to find himself fenced in and surrounded by guard dogs. Original Seven was ripped up pretty bad when he came back and told us of this, and a few days later died in his cage from loss of blood."
"Well, unfortunate as that may be, and his loss as sad as it is, we have help," Gerry said, "We aren't just one rabbit. We're a group, and we have another group who wants the same goal, and Dodger wants this for us just as badly as I do. We have to try, guys. This isn't just talk anymore. They're going to kill us. If you don't want to come, I guess that is your decision to make, but I really hope that you do. Dodger and I will be meeting again soon to discuss the exact plans and details, so I'll let you all know when I know, but just be prepared to run for your lives, or you might not have a life anymore to run for."
Gerry turned and began to hop away when Kevin called after him.
"You really think this'll work?" Kevin asked, and Gerry turned back to him.
"Of course I do."
"Why?" Kevin asked, "I mean, not to sound like a Negative Nancy, but where do we even go once we're outside?"
"You lived outside, you could lead us," Gerry said and Kevin's eyes widened a bit in surprise.
"I...I'm no leader," Kevin said.
"You're the one with the most knowledge of life on the outside," Gerry said, and Kevin stuttered.
"I...I don't...I mean, what could I possibly do? I lived with a tracker on my leg, and THEY still could find me, THEY could find us all! The woods around here aren't that deep!"
"Then you'll have to take us to different woods. You'll have to lead us somewhere else," Gerry said, hopping back to Kevin's face, "You can do this Kevin. You can be the hero. You can save us, you just have to trust in me to get us out of here, and trust in yourself that you can lead us once we're out. You can do it, I believe in you."
"What if I don't want to go?"
"You want to die?"
"They already took my leg," Kevin said, "I mean...at what point do you just give up and accept your fate?"
"If you want to die in here Kevin, that's your decision, but don't try and influence others to kill themselves by making the same decision. Allow them to think for themselves. I know things have been hard for you, and I know you're strong because of what you've been through, and that's why I believe you can do this, and only you can do it. If you change your mind, come talk to me."
Gerry turned and hopped away to the edge of the pen and looked out at the lab. He stayed there the rest of the evening, until the other rabbits fell fast asleep, Six once again snuggled up to his side, when Kevin approached him, his voice lowered so as not to wake anyone else.
"I was hoping you'd still be up," Kevin whispered.
"Of course I am," Gerry said.
"...I'll come with you, but I can't lead them alone. I'll need your help and Six's help. I just...I can't do it myself."
"That's understandable," Gerry said, "You're gonna be a hero, Kevin, trust me. You'll be remembered forever by everyone in the group for this, and when they tell their own litters about this someday, you'll be the one they remember who lead them to a new, better, more prosperous life. I'm just the one getting us outside. You're the one saving us."
Kevin smiled a little, and turned around, starting to hop away, when he stopped and glanced back at Gerry, and spoke under his breath.
"I just hope to god you know what you're doing," he said.
"Me too, Kevin," said Gerry, "Me too."
"I chewed my own paw off and they won't even replace it," Six said, gazing longingly at Kevin's robotic leg, "I'm jealous."
"It's what they call 3D printing with some implanted cybernetics to make it possible for me to walk and hop and run," Kevin said, stretching the leg for the onlookers, "It's pretty neat, I have to admit. In a way, it was almost worth it."
"Well mate," Doug said, "I 'ave to admit, it's pretty neat-o. You like one o' t'em robots now. A real piece o' science."
"I mean, don't get me wrong...going through that was horrific, but at least there was some sort of payoff," Kevin said, feeling rather chipper having everyone's attention. Another one of the Special 7, a grey girl rabbit numbered 4, came forward to inspect it. She sniffed it at first and then raised her ears and looked at Kevin's face.
"It even hides your scent a bit. If you were ever out in the wild again, you could easily throw something off your trail," she said, "You got lucky."
"Is that what they call it?" Kevin asked, and Four giggled. Gerry was enjoying watching everyone getting along and relaxing, having a swell time just talking and not talking about being scared for once. He was at the back of the pen, simply watching his friends. At one point, Six looked behind herself at him and wiggled her whiskers. He just smiled back and she went back to admiring Kevin's leg. The Special 7, being more scientifically inclined, were obviously the most interested in Kevin's new robotic limb. Gerry sighed and then heard a *pssst!* behind him, and turned to find Dodger sitting outside the pen, picking at his teeth with a nail.
"Hey Dodger," Gerry said, "What're you doing here?"
"We have to talk," Dodger said, "It's important."
"So talk. The others are busy, we have some privacy," Gerry said, and Dodger wiped down his whiskers for a moment, clearly thinking, and then cleared his throat and leaned in, lowering his voice a good bit.
"In one of my scavenges last week, I overheard some of the scientists talking in the bird room. They're setting all the birds free this coming month, so they're changing all their tracking tags and getting them ready for release into the wild."
"Well that's good for the birds," Gerry said.
"But the birds aren't the only one. THEY do this every few years. A good turnaround on test subjects. That includes your group and my group. We're outdated, except for maybe the Special 7, but I don't know, even they may be about to be replaced, THEY weren't very specific," Dodger said, and Gerry furrowed his brow.
"I...I'm not sure I understand, how is this a problem? This sounds like we're being retired, which is great news," Gerry said.
"Retiring in a sense, yes," Dodger said, leaning in even closer so as not to draw attention from the others, "But they aren't just retiring us and letting us go or giving us to another lab. It's a mass exodus of life. They're executing us. We've been used, we would be useless to anyone else, according to them. Once animals have been in one test lab for a long enough time, other test labs don't want them."
Gerry's heart sunk and his eyes widened in horror as he lowered his own voice now.
"What are we going to do?" he asked and Dodger chittered for a minute.
"Well, it's a good thing we've been working on an escape plan, isn't it?" he asked, "We just need to rush it now, really put it into motion. I can convince my group to work with your group for the betterment of us all. With the supplies I managed to take from the bedroom of the house, we should be good to go. We just need to really plan our escape routes and get our timing exact to ensure there's no slip ups. It'll have to be at night too, so there's no scientists around to ruin it for us."
"Ok," Gerry said, nodding, feeling slightly better knowing that Dodger had his back; then he glanced at the others still fawning over Kevin and his new leg, before turning back to Dodger, "So we have a few weeks then?"
"Maybe two at the most," Dodger said, "We shouldn't put it off for too long."
"Okay," Gerry said, "Alright then, you tell your group and I'll round them up in this pen and tell mine. It might be a hard sell, but I'll do my best to convince them. They may not take to it at first but if the alternative is execution then they may rethink that."
Dodger nodded and turned, beginning to leave when Gerry called after him, and he stopped and looked back at him.
"Dodger!...thank you. Thank you for watching out for us, and for helping us," Gerry said and Dodger waited a second, then got a smirk on his face and nodded.
"Back at ya, pal," he said, before hurrying up the counters and back up into the air vent. Gerry turned to his group and sighed, looking at them all. Could they really pull this off? Could Gerry really get them all out of here? Six was still missing a paw, but it didn't seem to stop her from moving, so she should be fine and with Kevin's new leg...
...wait a second, he realized, why would they give Kevin a new leg if they planned to end their lives? Maybe Kevin wouldn't be killed...Dodger had said some might be spared, like the Special 7. He just had to trust Dodger, and besides, Dodger hadn't wronged them yet. Dodger wanted himself and his group out of here just as badly as Gerry wanted freedom for himself and his own, so he knew Dodger and he could come up with some plans. They'd worked well together so far.
Finally, he hopped on over and stopped next to Kevin, looking at everyone.
"Guys," he said, "I have some news."
Everyone grew quiet, and Gerry felt bad for having to end their fun so quickly. He sighed and scratched behind an ear and then started explaining things.
"Dodger just came to talk to me. For those of you who haven't been privy to this yet, Dodger is a mouse test subject from another section of the building who's been coming and meeting with me for a while. He's become a good friend, and a trusted, reliable source of information and help. Dodger just told me that in a few weeks, THEY are releasing all the birds back into the wild, and then retiring both the mouse group and our group."
The rabbits all perked up, looking gleeful, and Gerry felt like such a bad rabbit, having to bring them down when they looked so hopeful for once.
"Um..." he continued, "...but not in the way that you would think. It's a mass execution. They're going to wipe our group and the mouse group out. Apparently, from what Dodger has heard from the scientists, after animals have been in a test lab for a few years, they aren't wanted by other test labs. They want fresh animals, not someones leftovers. Now, I know that this is scary, but don't get too worried, because Dodger and I have a plan to get both his group and our group out of here before that happens. Now I know we've all talked about escape before, especially me, but this is really happening now. We have allies. Friends. We have a chance."
"Escape?" Four asked, and looked at another one of the Special 7, Number 2, and shook nervously.
"What?" Gerry asked.
"Escape isn't possible," Two said, as he hopped forward a bit, "We know from experience. A few years ago, there was a different Number 7. He spoke about escape and freedom too. He tried it himself. He made it outside, only to find himself fenced in and surrounded by guard dogs. Original Seven was ripped up pretty bad when he came back and told us of this, and a few days later died in his cage from loss of blood."
"Well, unfortunate as that may be, and his loss as sad as it is, we have help," Gerry said, "We aren't just one rabbit. We're a group, and we have another group who wants the same goal, and Dodger wants this for us just as badly as I do. We have to try, guys. This isn't just talk anymore. They're going to kill us. If you don't want to come, I guess that is your decision to make, but I really hope that you do. Dodger and I will be meeting again soon to discuss the exact plans and details, so I'll let you all know when I know, but just be prepared to run for your lives, or you might not have a life anymore to run for."
Gerry turned and began to hop away when Kevin called after him.
"You really think this'll work?" Kevin asked, and Gerry turned back to him.
"Of course I do."
"Why?" Kevin asked, "I mean, not to sound like a Negative Nancy, but where do we even go once we're outside?"
"You lived outside, you could lead us," Gerry said and Kevin's eyes widened a bit in surprise.
"I...I'm no leader," Kevin said.
"You're the one with the most knowledge of life on the outside," Gerry said, and Kevin stuttered.
"I...I don't...I mean, what could I possibly do? I lived with a tracker on my leg, and THEY still could find me, THEY could find us all! The woods around here aren't that deep!"
"Then you'll have to take us to different woods. You'll have to lead us somewhere else," Gerry said, hopping back to Kevin's face, "You can do this Kevin. You can be the hero. You can save us, you just have to trust in me to get us out of here, and trust in yourself that you can lead us once we're out. You can do it, I believe in you."
"What if I don't want to go?"
"You want to die?"
"They already took my leg," Kevin said, "I mean...at what point do you just give up and accept your fate?"
"If you want to die in here Kevin, that's your decision, but don't try and influence others to kill themselves by making the same decision. Allow them to think for themselves. I know things have been hard for you, and I know you're strong because of what you've been through, and that's why I believe you can do this, and only you can do it. If you change your mind, come talk to me."
Gerry turned and hopped away to the edge of the pen and looked out at the lab. He stayed there the rest of the evening, until the other rabbits fell fast asleep, Six once again snuggled up to his side, when Kevin approached him, his voice lowered so as not to wake anyone else.
"I was hoping you'd still be up," Kevin whispered.
"Of course I am," Gerry said.
"...I'll come with you, but I can't lead them alone. I'll need your help and Six's help. I just...I can't do it myself."
"That's understandable," Gerry said, "You're gonna be a hero, Kevin, trust me. You'll be remembered forever by everyone in the group for this, and when they tell their own litters about this someday, you'll be the one they remember who lead them to a new, better, more prosperous life. I'm just the one getting us outside. You're the one saving us."
Kevin smiled a little, and turned around, starting to hop away, when he stopped and glanced back at Gerry, and spoke under his breath.
"I just hope to god you know what you're doing," he said.
"Me too, Kevin," said Gerry, "Me too."