"Jude, I think I found a way out for you!" Ferris can barely contain his excitement.
"Really?" I gasp. "What is it?"
"Well, one of the head researchers at this lab has a daughter that's about ten years old, and she loves animals. Yesterday, her father told her that she could choose one of the animals in the facility to keep, and she said she wanted you!"
"WHAT?" I yell. "She did?"
"She's going to collect you in a few minutes!"
"Yes!" I hiss, pumping the air. "I'm getting out!"
"Yes, yes you are," smiles Ferris, looking very happy for me.
"Can we persuade her to take you too?" I ask hopefully.
His smile disappears. "That's not going to be possible, I'm afraid."
"Why?" I whine. "Surely we can-."
"NO we can't!" Ferris suddenly yells.
I recoil. Ferris sighs. "I'm sorry. It's just that…no, nothing."
"What?" I demand. "Tell me!"
Ferris seems to hear something down the corridor. I hear it too: it's footsteps. It sounds like one of the adult humans, not a child. Someone's coming for one of the animals.
"Okay, I wasn't entirely telling you the truth," Ferris admitted. "She wanted to choose between you or me to take out of here. I bit her on the finger so that she would choose you."
"Oh, Ferris…!" I clap my hands over my mouth, tears rolling down my face.
"You've survived so much, you deserve to get out," Ferris says, not looking me in the eye. "You can either become her pet or you can escape when you get outside. You deserve an amazing life, Judy. Me, I'm older. I've already lived a lot of my life. You're only five. You deserve to live."
"So do you!" I gasp out. "Please, Ferris, don't do this!"
"It's already done," Ferris says quietly. "They're coming for me now."
"No!" I yell. "Please, don't!"
The human stops in front of Ferris's cage and lifts him out. He makes eye contact with me and says, "Goodbye, Judy," before he's carried away.
"FERRIS!" I yell, tears flowing down my face uncontrollably. "NO!"
I hear a young voice ask, "Is the rabbit okay?"
I've never heard any of the humans speak before. It's an odd feeling.
"Don't worry, he's just a dumb animal. He doesn't understand what we're doing."
"YES HE DOES!" I scream. "He does! I-I love you, Ferris! Thank you so much for helping me!"
I don't know if he hears me. All of a sudden, a young human girl bends down in front of my cage.
"It's a platypus!"
I almost hiss but I force myself to calm down. This girl is my ticket out of here.
Sure enough, she picks me up and carries me out of the facility. I do feel a bit bad about it, but I wriggle and leap out of her arms and race for the trees. I disappear into the forest.
I run until I can't run anymore, and then I collapse in the soil. Fresh air, birds singing, trees, grass. All things I thought I would never experience again.
I feel my heart beating very fast. It's returned. My anxiety. I had forgotten about it while I was with Ferris, but now that he's gone…
He sacrificed his only chance at freedom to allow me to have it. I can't stop sobbing at his sacrifice. Oh, Ferris…I will never forget you. You gave me a way out, and I will never forget that.
Never.
