It hadn't been that difficult to sneak out.
All she had had to do was wait for the opportunity.
Jodie decided that, since Nathan was unwell and deemed unfit for work, and Cole was an easy target, it would be a good time to put her plan into action. Finally, she would get to go outside again - and this time, she had taken precautions. It was around 9 am in the morning, she had a mental note of the neighbourhood layout, and she would be careful. The last escapade outside had been a terrifying experience for her, and she swore to herself she would never let something like that happen again.
She'd probably get caught. That much was obvious. Jodie, however, was a teen, and teens can be reckless. Especially if they've been cooped up in one place for too long and have gone a little stir-crazy, which was partly the reason she chose to attempt this particular stunt, and who could blame her?
''Here goes nothing,'' the girl whispered to herself as the door was unlocked. It would appear to an outsider that the scientist Cole had unlocked the door, but this was not the case. Jodie's partner-in-crime was controlling the unsuspecting man.
''Knock him out, and get the cameras, too.''
She walked out of her confines and stared as the scientist repeatedly slammed his head into the wall, before falling unconscious. A few seconds later, the security cameras on the wall fizzled with static, and cut to black.
Jodie watched her, or rather Aiden's handiwork, with a smidgen of pride. ''We did it. We actually did it! Gotta hurry and choose where to go before he wakes up... maybe-'' She was cut off as something sprung up from the table. ''What's this?''
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be tickets to an amusement park. Three of them.
''Why would those two have these...?''
Her companion continued to be impatient, thrusting the tickets at her. Jodie examined them again with a hint of disbelief in her voice. ''What, don't tell me you want to go? We don't have any money, and it's not like you can go on any of the rides.'' The table tipped over in response, squashing her toes. ''FUCK, AIDEN! THAT HURTS!''
There was a silence, the silence of an unspoken battle of wills.
''You know what, fine. I'm not in the mood to deal with you throwing a tantrum today, cause we don't have time to argue. Amusement park it is. I'm only taking the one ticket.'' Jodie sighed, but wasn't altogether displeased. She might never get the chance to go again, and with this in mind she slipped Cole's wallet into her pocket. There was a tinge of uncertainty knowing that she had pretty much stolen the ticket and the money, but she ignored it, deeming it some kind of mild revenge for never being allowed out.
''Hold on a second. Just where is this park?''
Ten minutes of internet-surfing and map-printing later, they were all set to go. It was about a half-hour walk, but Cole had been hit pretty hard. Jodie figured that he would probably have mild concussion and this would delay him in regaining consciousness. At least she hoped so.
Walking at a needlessly brisk pace, Jodie made her exit, making sure none of the people at reception could see her before dashing out the door into the street. Once she was out of view of everyone inside the building, she relaxed and let her eyes wander to the scenery. She recognised some of the houses vaguely, and committed the image of them to memory. She checked the map, and after turning what seemed like a maze of corners Jodie heard a distant chorus of screams presumably coming from a rollercoaster. Turning around, she locked onto her destination and proceeded towards it.
After giving her ticket to the lady at the entrance, Jodie was allowed entry. Suddenly feeling very aware of the amount of people around her, she spoke to her companion. ''Well. You're the one that wanted to come here. Where do you want to go?''
The signpost on the side of the arcade swung in answer.
Jodie decided she might as well have a little fun while she was here, and slipped a coin into one of the game's slots. It was the infamous crane game, one of the games that was rigged more often than not. She did her best to manoeuvre, but she on her last try she realised the toys were weighed down. Even so, the crane easily picked one up and dropped it out before her. Jodie's momentary confusion turned into a smirk as she looked at the rabbit toy. It was the same as the one she had back at the lab, except it was blue.
''That's called cheating, Aiden.''
The machine spat out her money as if to challenge her.
Having tried out a few more games, Jodie had treated herself to an ice cream float, and was frequently scolding the entity for continuously blowing the foam into the air. She found herself wondering if Cole had woken up yet, although she assured herself it was too early to be worrying about that. There was surely a few hours yet. ''I... want to go on a rollercoaster. How about it?'' she quickly finished her 'meal', if one can call it that, and headed out of the arcade with all its neon lights and cartoon sound effects.
A little while later, Jodie dragged herself out of the ride. ''That... that was fucking awesome, but I think I'm going to be sick...'' she concluded, retching. A paper bag flew into her hands, but she shook her head. ''Nah. I'm going to be alright. Let's do something calmer, though. Uh... Ferris wheel?''
oOo
Meanwhile, a certain scientist was beginning to stir. I feel pretty beat... what happened? He felt a lump on his head and considered the possibility he had amnesia, but ignored the theory as, although he could not remember what he had been doing for the last couple of hours, he knew who he was. His eyes flitted to the security cameras, which he realized had been disabled. Getting to his feet, he opened the door to the mini-apartment Jodie was being kept in. ''Jodie? Are you there? Don't play tricks on me, princess... you're not here, are you?'' Concern creeping into his voice, he took out his phone. ''Nathan. Jodie's gone. Who knows what they're going to do. I'm sorry to ask you when you're sick, but-''
''I'll be right there.''
oOo
''This isn't all it's cut out to be. It's freezing.'' Jodie murmured. They were nearing the top of the ferris wheel, and it was extremely chilly. What's more, Jodie was becoming more and more aware of time going past. She gave the rabbit a quick squeeze and looked out of the glass. The glass was steamed up by her breath, and words began to form on it.
thank you
''You didn't give me much of a choice, but it wasn't a half bad day. I think we need to go after this, or we'll be in trouble.''
As the ride began its slow descent, the carriage rocked precariously.
''Holy shit, calm down. I was only saying.''
Once they had departed the ferris wheel, Jodie broke into a run out of the park and down the road. Now that all the fun of the day had worn out, she only anxiety over whether she was going to get away with it. And perhaps she would have- had Nathan not made such an accurate guess about her whereabouts.
''Jodie!'' Nathan called, grabbing her firmly by the arm. ''What are you doing?!''
''I-'' Jodie didn't know how to answer. ''I just... I wanted some fresh air, okay? It's not fair of you to keep me locked up in there!''
''And I suppose it was necessary to take my wallet and tickets too, according to Cole?''
''I'm sorry, alright?! Aiden was messing with me, so I went to the park! I didn't hurt anyone or destroy anything!''
''Jodie, even so... You scared the life out of me.'' Nathan exhaled deeply. ''And I don't suppose Aiden's completely innocent either. Just... don't sneak out again.''
Something had been confusing Jodie for a while now. ''Why did you have those tickets in the first place?''
''Well,'' the scientist began quietly. ''It was for my family originally... but...'' he shook his head. ''I've been thinking, and I know we can't keep you locked up forever. Of course you were going to want to leave. Cole and I decided that if you showed you could handle it, we could gradually reintroduce you to the outside world...''
''I've ruined my chances now, haven't I?'' she scowled to herself.
''Not exactly. If anything, you've proved that you do need freedom, or you're going to concuss my assistant.''
''That was a joke.'' he elaborated.
Jodie forced a laugh.
''Anyway, although you did concuss my assistant, I still think we should all go out one day. You, me and Cole - and obviously Aiden. Technically you'd be being supervised by us, but it would be a good opportunity. Do you think you're up for it?''
''Yes... yes! Oh, Nathan, you're the best.'' Jodie grinned.
''Now, now, you're not out of the woods yet. You did break the rules, and we can't let that slide, but I promise you we'll have that trip.'' Nathan said, a smile playing on his lips. Jodie nodded, but felt that no matter how much trouble she was in, she'd still feel pretty happy.
Several hours later, Jodie got into bed, rubbing her eyes. ''They were pissed after all.'' She looked at the two rabbits fondly as she reminisced about the day. ''I'm exhausted, so don't wake me up. G'night.'' she rolled over lazily. The next day, she would wake up to see 'let's go again' scrawled over all the mirrors in the house. Knowing none of this, the girl peacefully slept on.