Guy sat up straight on his couch, gasping for breath. He calmed down when he realized he was only in his house. He wasn't melting away or being burned into nothing in a world ending bomb. What was that all about?
It felt like he had lived an entirely other life until now. Weird cities? Other Guys? He kinda missed them. Ugh, he was dehydrated.
Did he fall asleep on the couch last night? Was he watching something on his TV? Whatever it was, he probably shouldn't be watching it at night.
What in the world had he been up to before now? He got home from work and took a nap, and then there were rabbids in his house and the verminators emptied his wallet. He fixed his door, and then he was online scrolling through some cancer research discussions on a forum, as well as some cat videos because, well who could resist? Then he.. then he.
Then he didn't know what he did. Maybe he was thinking about work or something? Did he even make himself dinner? He was going to try a recipe from a cooking YouTuber he liked and had been meaning to use the ingredients.
He stood up and noticed his totally shredded shirt and tie, especially at the bottom. He was also in his underwear. It wasn't what he usually wore to bed but he wasn't against the idea. He could at least take off his tie. Why keep it? Perhaps he had been more tired than he realized.
He walked into the kitchen and was surprised to find a lot of supplies previously on the counter carelessly thrown on the floor. It was easy to assume rabbids were involved. They had barged into the house before, they could sure do it again.
It irked him to think of how his current wear might've gotten torn now that rabbids were likely to blame. Maybe they wanted to prank him by having him wear it, or they were playing with his clothes while they were still on him. To think those rodents could've touched him while he was asleep or even sleepwalking again. It was as if his house was already infested, even if he couldn't see it now. They were everywhere, on his mind, in his house.
At least he found one good thing to come from the mess. On the kitchen table left behind was a watch, and not just any watch, but one of those expensive watches everyone used as a status symbol more than they used it to tell time. Obviously a rabbid was to blame for misplacing it. Clearly a creature that didn't understand its value. Ah well, when opportunity struck, how could he say no? Finders keepers losers weepers and whatnot.
He slipped it on his wrist, right next to a mole on his skin. Nobody in the entire world had the exact same mole. It surprised him with a sadness. Did he consider himself a lonely guy? Maybe, but he didn't see the point in trying to change anything. Some pains were for the best.
Finally he checked the fridge. He forgot to eat dinner.
Driving into work, he still felt off, as if a part of him hadn't fully woken up. Everything was real and brisk but he was unbalanced, heavy in a part of his head making the world askew.
Perhaps it hinted at the way everything in his actual life was starting to appear.
Of course he didn't feel right. He was haunted, stalked, and even the verminators agreed this was unlikely to end anytime soon.
He stopped his car at a red light only to find three rabbids on the sidewalk hanging out. One rabbid saw him, poking his friends to get their attention. When they saw it was Guy, they all waved. Guy didn't wave back. He tried to control his breathing and look away. When he peeked back to see if they were still there, they were waving to something behind him. He snapped back to look. Behind him? Was someone there? He couldn't see well enough. The light turned green. He had to keep driving.
He was practically dying of paranoia by the time he reached Big Hope. The only reason he hadn't pulled over was that he wasn't convinced he had even seen what he thought he did.
Checking the back of the car eased his mind with an absence of stowaways. Those rabbids had to have been messing with him before, if his memory was even accurate. That was enough of that. He had to focus on getting through the day. He wasn't going to become some crazy person over this.
He took a deep breath and shut his car door. He headed in.
Besides graffiti being painted over and a couple of verminators guarding the building, the lab was back to its own normal. It seemed like Guy wasn't the only one putting his money into a black hole over rabbids.
"Morning Kowalczyk.." a verminator guard said as Guy passed.
Guy grunted. He wished he wasn't a repeat case with these useless exterminators. He didn't want people to start thinking he had a problem.
Up the stairs to the offices Walsh caught him before he could vanish into his shared office.
"Kowalczyk! You have a minute?" The manager asked, moving away from his current conversation. Guy sighed and turned to face him. The very same man that had given his job away to that Jeremy a day before. Surprisingly enough, half of his head was black and blue.
"Oh gee, sir, are you ok?" Guy asked, not expecting him to look so disheveled. He was mad but he didn't see a point in showing it.
"Peachy.." Walsh scowled, "I think you might have noticed the verminators here on patrol?"
"Yeah.. What about them?" Guy was starting to suspect they had to do with him.
"Well, with the whole, you know, rabbid problem here, I decided to make a new rule. Under no circumstances will anybody bring a rabbid in here, even by mistake! So none of your 'little friends' are allowed anywhere near here lest you want trouble for the both of you. You've got real nerve coming back in here today you know," Walsh said, getting quieter to keep it between the two of them.
"Ok?" Guy said.
"You think you're indestructible, taunting me by coming in to work all 'gee sir' and 'what happened to your face'? Let's get one thing straight kid, I'm not going to be made the joke here! You could've run when you had the chance but you didn't. Big mistake. Don't even think about trying anything against me. I have all the power here. Nothing you do will have any effect besides sealing your fate," Walsh said.
"Ok..?" Guy said, "Er, what exactly is this about?" He was sweating.
"Get out of my sight," Walsh said.
Guy turned and headed straight for his office. He got in as quickly as he could, closing the door behind him. Jeremy was already inside, listening to music by himself. He took out an ear bud when Guy got in.
"Good morning…" Jeremy said.
"..Morning," Guy said.
"In a hurry?" Jeremy asked. He checked the time.
"Not exactly," Guy sat across from Jeremy and clocked in, "Do you.. know if something's up with Roman?" Referring to Mr. Walsh.
Jeremy looked away and tapped his foot, thinking about whether he should say anything.
"Ehhhg.. Don't tell him I said this, but yeah, he's in a pretty bad place.. Did he say something to you?" Jeremy asked.
"Yes! He was all angry at me and I could hardly tell what any of it meant. I'm not going to ask him, but I'm pretty sure it has to do with rabbids. And he's blaming me, like, I'm going to bring a rabbid in here and mess up the place. As if I have any control over that," Guy grumbled.
"Well he definitely has it out for the little guys," Jeremy said.
"..What?" Deja vu.
"He was really paranoid about rabbids yesterday. I was at the casino with some buds, and he asked me to talk with him for a bit," Jeremy said.
"You two go to the casino together?" Guy asked.
"Oh no, we just so happened to be at the same place. Anyway, he was really on edge over the idea that rabbids were following him, and had some major self esteem issues. He was talking as if he had recently done something messed up, not that I know what he did, or if he actually did anything we should worry about. Do you know if this is typical for him?" Jeremy asked.
"No.. Not that I would know. Our relationship was always strictly professional," Guy shrugged.
"Ah, well, maybe he's just been dealing with something right now. I'd try not to take anything he says personally. Rabbids can really stress a person out," Jeremy said.
"If that isn't the truth," Guy sighed.
"Assuming you have rabbid problems of your own?" Jeremy asked.
"Well, It's probably not as bad as whatever he's going through but.. some rabbids broke into my house last night.." Guy mumbled.
"No.." Jeremy gasped.
"Yeah! And for whatever reason!" Guy said, frustrated.
"You don't know why?" Jeremy asked.
"The verminators said it might have to do with my sleepwalking. I only recently started doing it again, but not so much now.. I hope," Guy said.
"Man.. I wish you luck in figuring that out. I've had some recent run-ins with rabbids myself but not anything like them invading my apartment. How do you sleep knowing they could still be after you?" Jeremy asked.
"Honestly I don't know," Guy said. He really didn't.
"Dang.. Oh! Before I forget, there's an impromptu meeting tonight with an investor in town. Was the invite emailed to you?" Jeremy said.
"Lemme check," Guy went to his email on his desktop, "I don't see anything about a meeting…"
"Are you sure? Refresh maybe?"
"I literally just opened my email. It should be here if it was sent already," Guy refreshed anyway.
"Does that mean it's just me tonight?" Jeremy sighed.
"I suppose.. Even though I have a lot more to say about our position given my experience.." Guy grumbled, refreshing his email again.
"I know. Honestly I'm really overwhelmed. This is literally my second day. I feel like I'm studying for a test," Jeremy said.
"I doubt they'll expect so much from you. An impromptu meeting is pretty casual. If they wanted a proper update they would have scheduled more in advance," Guy said.
"True. I'm still trying to learn all I can either way," Jeremy said.
"Hey, maybe I can come anyway," Guy shrugged and smirked.
"You would do that?"
"It just makes sense, especially for the information they need," Guy said.
"But Roman's already on edge. If you piss him off asking to come to the meeting.. I dunno, it might not go well," Jeremy said.
"Then I won't ask. I'll just say I thought that the invite was for the both of us. Or hey, you're my boss you can invite me," Guy said.
"That just might work actually… The invite thing. I am technically your boss, and a newbie. If he gets mad at me it would be ok cause I'm new," Jeremy said.
"Exactly. Besides, just like you said, it's the rabbids he's peeved with. He's bound to be over it by…?"
"..Six thirty."
"Six thirty. Also, do you know what happened to his..?" Guy gestured to his face.
"Yeah he won't tell me," Jeremy said.
"Probably rabbids again," Guy rolled his eyes as he got to work.
While Guy was trying to focus, he began to be aware of a strange sound that he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. There were short periods where he swore he didn't hear anything, but the silence was too inconsistent to dismiss.
"Do you hear.. something?" He asked.
"Hmm?" Jeremy took out another ear bud.
They both looked around trying to listen as close as they could. A shuffle? Guy stood up, it was coming from the ceiling. A light shuffle across the ceiling! Jeremy froze.
"You don't think?" Jeremy gasped.
"I think!" Guy said. The sound got louder as a ceiling panel started to snap. A rabbid fell through. Surprised and embarrassed he quickly picked himself up and backed away.
It was the one with the tie! He was also wearing a backpack and a watch.
"Urg!? You again?!" Guy stomped.
Tie shrugged and nodded.
"You know this rabbid?" Jeremy asked.
"Yeah! He's the one that broke into my house with a bunch of his friends!" Guy gestured to him.
"Call me crazy.. but I think I know him too! He was playing Uno with my friends last night. Same tie!" Jeremy said. Tie glanced at his tie.
"You play Uno with rabbids?" Guy squinted at him.
"Er, I was just watching! It was at a casino, strange stuff was going on!" Jeremy stuttered.
"Ok well, we're both doomed if our manager figures out this rabbid followed one of us here!" Guy said. He held the doorknob shut.
Tie shook his head and pointed to Guy.
"Ok, that a rabbid followed ME here!" Guy corrected.
"I don't think we have to worry about this rabbid too much, he's not violent, and pretty good at Uno. Maybe we can trap him in the room and just make sure the boss doesn't see him?" Jeremy said.
"You think he's just gonna sit around in this room for hours? He's a rabbid, he's going to get bored!" Guy said, "And then he's gonna want to leave, and then he will leave because lord knows nobody can stop a rabbid from doing what they want! And then our boss will see, and then I'll get fired!"
"Uh.. Guy.." Jeremy tapped Guy.
Guy followed Jeremy's gaze to Tie, who took a laptop out of his backpack. He plugged the charger in an outlet and sat in front of it. He logged in, occupied with something. Whatever it was seemed to be consuming most of his attention. He glanced at the men to see if they were watching.
"Huh…" Guy said.
"A computer could keep him entertained, right?" Jeremy said. Tie nodded.
"See? He said so. I don't think he means any trouble."
Tie shook his head. He then put his arms in front of his face with his palms facing the floor, and waved them like he was fanning a nonexistent nose.
Jeremy made a quizzical expression at this.
"He doesn't 'mean any trouble' yet he's still following me like a creep.." Guy mumbled, sitting back at his desk. Tie looked away, "I'm going back to work."
Jeremy followed.
It was difficult to stay focused when there was a rabbid sitting in the room with them. Guy found himself juggling his attention with the door, his desktop, and Tie. Since Tie was on a computer, it was almost like they had a third coworker in the room, although Guy wasn't convinced this 'coworker' wouldn't go ape at some point.
When he glanced at the rabbid, he often found him focused on his laptop's screen. Sometimes though, Guy caught the rabbid staring at him instead. His eyes darted back to his laptop when he noticed Guy shifting his attention. Oddly enough Tie was never caught looking at Jeremy the same way.
There had been countless debates on the legitimacy of rabbids ability to convey meaning similar to language. Some scientists concluded there was proof that rabbids had their own language and understood foreign languages, while others argued against it, stating any behavior that appeared to be language was more of a parroting act they were taught by their environment. Guy wasn't so sure about the parroting thing. It wasn't proven science, but everyone knew that rabbids understood what people meant when they spoke, not that they necessarily had much to contribute, at least until now.
Tie had clarified he was following Guy earlier, as if it wasn't an accident. Could it be what the creature meant for Guy to understand? That he was following him and just admitted it?
What did the little freak want if that was true? Why come here despite the danger? He ran away when there were verminators before, but now something had to be different, or maybe he was simply bolder. And what in the world was he doing on that computer? He looked so focused it hurt. So pained it was like he was going to cry.
As Guy was watching, Tie's eyes flashed red and he punched the laptop's keyboard. He stood up, rubbed his face and headed to the far side of the office to look out the window. It was as if he needed to take a break.
Guy and Jeremy glanced at each other, not sure of what to think.
"You ok over there..?" Jeremy asked Tie, hoping it wouldn't offend.
Tie glanced at him, saddened. His focus now is on the outside world.
While the rabbid wasn't looking, Guy took a breath and quietly got out of his chair toward the laptop.
"Dude I would NOT do that," Jeremy whispered quickly. Guy picked up the laptop just as fast.
It wasn't at all what he expected. It was a programming window in C++ code, except all the words that would normally be written in English were all replaced by 'bwah' and other similar onamonapia. There were multiple tabs open with different code in them too, as well as a chat room open with 'bwahs' in text being exchanged back and forth. Was he.. texting someone?
Tie glanced back at the men, jumping when he saw Guy with his laptop. Guy noticed his surprise. Before Tie could do anything, Guy put the laptop down and hid behind his desk. The rabbid didn't follow him, only after the laptop.
"Dude I told you.." Jeremy whispered.
Tie glanced at Jeremy and Guy, and then peacefully sat back down to continue programming.
"He's coding.. or at least he thinks he's coding," Guy whispered, "All the words are 'bwahs' so whatever it is wouldn't work anyway.. I think.." Guy quietly came out of hiding to sit back in his chair.
"Why is he coding?" Jeremy asked.
"I don't know.." Guy tapped his finger on his desk, stressed.
"..You ok friend?" Jeremy asked.
"Not exactly. I'm being followed by rabbids, what do you think?" Guy said.
"I think.. you have an opportunity to figure out what's going on?" Jeremy gestured to Tie. Tie widened his eyes when he realized.
"You want me to ask him?" Guy asked. It was as if the idea was silly, but it didn't show on Guy's face.
"If it's important to you, then why not?" Jeremy shrugged.
Guy sighed. Jeremy was right. If he was going to worry about rabbids all the time he could at least worry about something he knew to be true, instead of worrying about a thousand 'what-if' scenarios. He reluctantly made eye contact with Tie.
"Alright rabbid, it's just you, me, and Jeremy in here. You don't want to get caught outside with the verminators, and I don't want you to be seen by my boss. You're trapped in here.. and and, with me," He stuttered, "So, tell me. Why are you and your friends following me!?"
Tie thought about it, before smiling like he was about to laugh. He tried to keep his cool.
"Yeah, I don't see how this is a funny question.." Guy said, annoyed.
Tie chuckled a little and held a hand up while he tried to stop. He finally calmed himself somewhat, sighing. He walked up to Guy and patted his thigh as if he intended to calm the man. Guy leaned away.
"Bwah.. bwa bwah," Tie said, pointing to his watch. He pointed to Guy, gestured at him with an open hand, and then he touched above his temple and held it there for a moment.
"Maybe it's too broad of a question," Jeremy said, "My buddies were talking to a rabbid who was following me yesterday, and the only way they knew anything was by asking yes or no questions."
Guy thought about it.
"...Do you have a reason to be following me?" Guy asked.
Tie nodded.
"That's the way," Jeremy said, glad.
"...Do you want to hurt me?" Guy asked.
Tie shook his head.
"Bo. Bwah bwah," He smiled.
He pointed to his shoulder and then to the other. He then put his arms over his chest in an 'X' shape, his fists clenched. He pretended to have an extra set of bunny ears. He then, with both hands, poked two spots on his chest, and then did the same around his hips.
"Do…do I have something you want? Something that's in my house, or my wallet?" Guy asked.
Tie shook his head again.
"Bweh bwa bwa," Tie said.
He pointed to Guy. Then he pointed to his shoulder and then to the other. Then he put his palms out and pretended to grasp something to draw close to himself.
"So you really are just after me then?" Guy said.
Tie nodded.
"Why me?" Guy said.
"Bwah, bwa-bwahbwah," Tie said. He pointed to Guy. He then gestured to his own face in a circular motion of an open hand that ended in a presentation of his face. He put two hands up facing Guy and pushed lightly on the air twice, very delighted.
"Ok.. still don't know what you mean.." Guy said.
"Bwah bwa.." Tie tapped his own watch.
"Maybe you just have to wait?" Jeremy suggested. Tie nodded, even more delighted than before.
"I still don't like it," Guy said, "Rabbids like me because of my face?"
Tie chuckled to himself and shook his head.
"Is it because I sleepwalk?" Guy asked.
Tie shook his head again, tapping his watch.
"I still don't know why you're following me.." Guy grumbled.
"Maybe it's a surprise? What if you end up liking it?" Jeremy said.
"I don't want to have any 'opinion' about any 'surprises', ok? Take note rabbid," Guy faced Tie again, "The message to you and all the other bunnies, is to back off! If you want me to respect your ability to stay unfrozen, respect my ability to be far away from you at all times. Got it?"
Tie nodded. He lifted his hand up and raised a 'pointer finger'.
"Hmm.." Guy hummed, satisfied for now. He returned to his work. Jeremy did the same, as well as Tie on his laptop.
Of course he couldn't be completely satisfied with the rabbid's answers, but Guy was assuming the reason was a lot stupider than he had been worrying. He wasn't anything special, just some dude the rabbids knew they could harass because he was susceptible.
He lived alone, rarely went out, had a set schedule, and didn't really have any close friends or nearby relatives. Now come to think of it, Guy was also susceptible to dying alone in his house. Er, change the subject. Tie was only a single polite rabbid out of the thousands of otherwise. Even if the rabbid remembered and understood his message, he doubted the other barbarians would be able to use the information in the way he requested. One rabbid wouldn't solve this problem, and worrying about why it was happening wasn't getting him anywhere either. It was simple, and with a simple problem, there was an obvious method of solving it. He was going to have to get serious and call the verminators for more deterrents.
If it got any worse, he'd have to resort to being watched by live people, along with all the expensive gear they brought with them. He didn't want to get to a point where his home was guarded like a fort at war with barbed wire and jeep tracks, but he knew the alternative could leave him alone with rabbids who wanted him for seemingly no reason.
Despite what Tie had communicated, Guy couldn't leave out the possibility that a rabbid could slit his throat and kill him while he was asleep. If the creatures had such a little reason to follow him, who knew what else they could do without any thought? He shivered a little at his seat and rubbed his neck. He glanced at Tie, who was still working hard on his own project, or at least it appeared that way. Guy knew enough about programming to know that any code that named all of its functions 'bwah' was sure to fail.
Still, the rabbid was sweating all the while, playing with his tie to calm his nerves. It was as if he was watching a surgery, waiting to see if the patient would come out ok. Guy hadn't ever seen a rabbid in such distress. Even mad wacky things like rabbids occasionally had something to worry about after all. Join the club.
When it was time to clock out, Jeremy was first to leave. When Guy had his things together, he tried to keep the opening of the door small, expecting the rabbid to run out as soon as he opened it to leave, but Tie had no intention of leaving whatsoever. He sat in place and waved for Guy to go without him.
His funeral. At least if he got caught it wouldn't be because Guy led him here, and it was even less likely that he would follow him home this time.. unless.
"Hey," Guy said. Tie looked up from his laptop, jaded rather than stressed at this point, "I better NOT see you at the meeting tonight. Off limits! No! Do you understand!?" He hissed to keep quiet.
Tie rolled his eyes and gave a thumbs up.
"G..Good," Guy said. He closed the door and sighed.
"Busy day today Guy?"
Guy jumped and held his chest. It was Roman Walsh, standing outside the door with his arms crossed.
"Oh! Oh! Yeah! Plenty to get done! Just, just like always," Guy said, calming himself.
"Sure Guy, sure.." Walsh said.
"Is, is there something you need to tell me sir? Not that there has to be, but you seem.. tense," Guy said.
"Yeah," Walsh said. He didn't change his tone.
"Yeah..?" Guy asked.
"Is there something you need to tell me, Guy? You seem scared," Walsh said.
Guy wasn't as scared until he said that.
"Um.. uh. See you tomorrow?" Guy looked for a way out.
"Sure Guy. Sure.." Walsh said.
Guy took the opportunity to walk away. He almost tripped on a desk checking to see if the man was following him, but he wasn't. Rabbids really were driving his manager mad weren't they?
At home Guy got to work checking his house's entrances and searching up cheap online hacks for deterring rabbids. The videos he saw had a vast array of views, from the hippie lady who clearly loved rabbids and had at most six in the background of her video at any time, and then the conspiracy theorist, who claimed rabbids were working within the government to destroy democracy and turn everyone gay.
Despite the sheer amount of tips from their view and every view in between, they still didn't have any fixes Guy thought would show results, especially for the work required to attempt them.
The rabbid lovers had suggested he build a playground or 'haven' for the rabbids so they would be satisfied staying outside his house with something to do nearby. It had a logic to it, sure, but this lady clearly had no interest in keeping rabbids out of her house. Who was to say anything she said wouldn't just attract more rabbids?
The conspiracy theorist suggested becoming your own verminator force, capturing and beating rabbids before releasing them to spread the word. He had several torture methods which Guy was glad weren't shown in the video. He didn't like the pests, but the idea of shooting their ears point blank and putting dirt in their eyes made him squirm. He was tearing up just thinking about the dirt. No no, there had to be a less invasive way to do this right? He kept looking, but his patience waned.
Walsh was probably running into similar issues based on his patience recently. What did he say to him today? Stuff like 'how dare you come in today' 'I'm not a joke' 'I have all the power here'? Why would somebody say something like that to him? Did Walsh really blame Guy for all the rabbid happenings lately? Guy never showed any desire to have rabbids follow him. If anything, the two men were in the same boat.
What was stopping Guy from saying the same things to Walsh?: First of all, Walsh was his boss. Secondly, it still didn't make any sense to exert so many warnings to someone who had no interest in breaking the rules in the first place. It was like threatening a sloth. Walsh had spent all that time treating him like a delinquent when Guy had done nothing wrong. So strange.
He could only hope the behavior was temporary. Maybe it was even caused by the bruise on his head and a lack of sleep. If Guy was going to emotionally survive crashing the meeting, he'd have to take Jeremy's advice about not taking Walsh's barks personally.
Guy sighed at his desk computer in his room. He hovered over the purchase button for security cameras. He clicked it.
Guy got to the Big Hope building five minutes before six thirty. He tapped his fingers on his steering wheel hoping Walsh wouldn't see him in the car. It was so easy to tell him to leave when the investors weren't here yet. If he stayed in the car right up until the meeting was about to start, he could sneak in before anyone could make a fuss.
Six thirty one, go time.
He got out of his car with his micro-report in hand.
The conference room was on the first floor just behind the lobby. He could hear the voices of different positions of power chatting. The conference room had been catered with pastries and finger foods, as well as store bought punch and lemonade. Jeremy was reviewing his notes in a corner alone. Guy walked over to him. Guy was his 'invite' after all.
"Oh hey you made it!" Jeremy said. He looked relieved.
"I said I would!" Guy said. Glad to be wanted.
"Do you know how it's gonna go? I also didn't realize how many people would be here," Jeremy whispered.
"It's a quick update. Just tell them our spending and where the money goes, what projects we've been investigating the most and why… and um," Guy found an opportunity, "Well, actually you know what? If they ask something I can just answer it."
"Oh thank goodness!" Jeremy gasped. He leaned back in his chair.
Ha! Did this kid even want to work?
Guy was beaming, up until he caught a glimpse of Walsh from across the room. The madman had a death stare on him. Guy looked away, hoping not to initiate any conversation with him while he was still like this.
"Hey Guy…? Who are we having the meeting with?" Jeremy asked.
"Oh, just somebody from Bable Malls. I think they invest in us for public image and tax right offs, but they still check up on us," Guy said.
"Ah, got it..Thank you for being here by the way," Jeremy said.
"It's no biggie," Guy shrugged.
"I know, but I'm new and a lot of this stuff can be stressful for me. You didn't have to come tonight but you did anyway, so thank you," Jeremy said.
"Again, no biggie. I'd gladly do it again," Guy said. They waited around a little bit, not saying anything,"I'm gonna get a snack plate," Guy said, getting up.
"ight," Jeremy said.
Guy went around the table.
"...Is.. is she here yet?" Jeremy said when Guy came back around. He looked over the faces hoping to see someone new.
"Not yet…" Guy said. He sat back down.
"Ah," Jeremy said, "...Guy.. Guy?" He whispered.
"What?"
"Are you ok? You're sweating kind of a lot.." Jeremy tried to be as quiet as he could. Guy wiped his brow. He was right.
Not just that, but Guy was starting to shiver. It was so low of a shake that he couldn't even see it, just feel it, "You don't have any food allergies do you?" Jeremy asked.
"Not that I'm aware," Guy said. He watched his hand trying to keep it still.
"Are you going to be ok?" Jeremy asked.
"Oh, it's just nerves. It'll go away," Guy said. He probably needed to rest some more.
The guest of honor, an older lady, walked in accompanied by two coworkers of her own. Madman got up to greet her and shake hands.
"Evening," Madman said.
"To you too," she faced the rest of the room "Hello everyone! Sorry I'm late! Just a quick pop in, and I'll be out of your hair," The older lady said.
"No worries here, take all the time you need ma'am! We're very happy to have you," Madman said.
"Very glad to be visiting! Now, first thing's first, I'd love to hear if there are any new developments that could boost our image. I understand the process for research like this can be very slow, but if you have something the public might like to hear, or maybe something you're working towards, I would love to see it," The investor said.
"If I may speak," it was the scientist that had talked to Guy about his shoes being in the laser room, "We are just now recovering from a setback, but we believe our laser is going to change gene therapy forever-"
Ah so it was going to be one of those meetings. Of course. The scientists made up most of the room. Guy knew there was hardly anything new to report besides a break in with rabbids, but of course they weren't going to mention that. Their trials with rats had a lot of teeny achievements that were balanced by an equal amount of disgusting failures.
Changing one gene often had unforeseen consequences for the rest of the body. With the laser there was a lot more possibility for change, but with the whole genome still not completely understood, it would take a lot of time to figure out how to pull out the right jenga blocks and not have the tower fall apart.
Guy's watch started to beep.
The scientist currently talking ignored it, but the rest of the room gave him an awkward glance. Guy panicked and started to push every button. It wasn't even like anyone really cared, but this little surprise had skyrocketed Guy's nerves.
He turned it off and sighed, but for whatever reason he couldn't calm down.
He could hear his heart getting faster in his chest. He shook his head, rubbed his face. He was still sweating.
"Guy.. are you sure you're ok?" Jeremy whispered.
"I'm good, I'm good," Guy said, although it wasn't as convincing this time. His shaking was visible now.
Madman saw it across the room. When he realized, he stood up in his chair. Madman gestured for Guy to follow him outside. Guy's stomach sank. He was hoping he wasn't going to be confronted about crashing the meeting, but now it was even worse because of his state of being. There was something familiar about it.
Maybe some old sickness he got as a kid coming back in full force. But what could possibly cause so much terror in him? Maybe he really was having an allergic reaction, or maybe crashing the meeting was more stressful than he realized.
Once he was outside the conference room Madman continued to lead him to the labs. Guy followed, but his nerves continued to rise. He breathed heavily. He couldn't focus outside of his own head, as if he was peeking out past the leaves of a mental shrub. The endless night sky. Piles of scrap metal. Hundreds of hands grabbing him. What did it mean? Where was it coming from?
He was starting to get hot. His insides twitching. Was this real?
"Sir.. where are we going?" Guy squeaked.
"You'll see," Madman said.
Had Guy seen Madman earlier today? Of course, he saw him at work. No no, he saw him even before then. It was dark, with neon lights and fish tanks and bowling pins. But that didn't make any sense, he couldn't have seen Walsh last night. He hadn't even gone out. He would have remembered something like that right?
"You still following Kowalczyk..?" Madman asked, checking behind him.
The way he said it.
Guy's stomach sank before his nerves electrified him. He held his chest. He didn't know how, but he knew he was in life threatening danger. There were secret places he had never been, appearing in his mind. Maybe he was only recalling a nightmare, a delusion caused by his state of panic. Yet, his boss had been there. Everything in Guy was screaming at him that Madman was out to get him, to kill him.
He had to act, but he couldn't will himself to run. He was far too weak, and Madman would catch him for sure. He looked at a cup with pencils and other tools, swiping something from it without making a sound. He held it close to himself, keeping it unseen.
Madman led Guy into a small lab that appeared to be more of a makeshift office. When they were both inside, the manager closed the door and locked it. He stood in front, guarding it.
"W-What are we doing in here..?" Guy gasped as he looked around, realizing he was trapped.
"What do you think!? You know, you're really asking for it coming here tonight to expose me in front of EVERYONE!" Madman boomed. At the surprising volume Guy revealed a pair of scissors in his hands that he held in front of him to protect himself, "..What are you doing?.." Madman froze and narrowed his eyes.
"I-I-I don't know! Sorry! I'm sorry!" Guy tried to put the scissors down but he couldn't do it. He had a feeling this wasn't just in his head. He wasn't locked in here for no reason, "Sir, please! What is this about!? Why did you lock me in here?! Let me leave!" Guy said. He could hardly hold himself up.
"Oh quit playing dumb! How is this STILL a joke to you!?" Madman said.
"It's NOT! It's not! I swear!" Guy started to tear up.
Madman's expression changed from anger to disgust. Guy followed his gaze. There were things. Things on his arms. Strange white fuzzy patches. Guy looked back at Madman, terror on his face. He took a second look, dropping his scissors. He tried to peel them off but they were stuck on him, a part of him. This had happened before. It was going to get worse.
"Guy..?" Madman said, not sure what to do.
"What is this!?" Guy gasped, "What's going on!?" He kept trying to take the patches off but it was no use. They just kept covering more of his arms in white hair and thick skin.
"Guy calm down!" Madman said. It was so hard to watch him like this.
"Wha- what, what do I do!? This stuff's eating me!" He cried.
"I don't know!" Madman said.
Guy widened his eyes.
"But.. but y-y-you do know! You knew! ..You knew! Y-You knew! You brought me here bwacause you k-know!" Guy shouted, "..S-something.. You know something about me.." Guy looked away, trying to remember.
"...And you don't?"
Guy shook his head, frowning.
"No, but please! If you know what's wrong!…Can't you bwah something!?" Guy took a weak step towards him. Madman did not reciprocate, backing up into the door.
There was a knock.
"Guy?! Guy, are you in there!?" Someone on the other side. Guy took a moment to comprehend it.
"...I-I'm in here!" He shouted. He leaned on a table. He was getting weaker. Madman was becoming more concerned by the moment, especially over what Guy had said.
Guy shook his head. These visions coming back to him now were far too vivid to dismiss. He could feel them become reality in real time. He had gone out last night, and the night before.. The labs dark and tall, downtown with its terrifying giants, a tractor trailer on its side ablaze, an elaborate fort made of twisted scrap, wood and graffiti, the desert with its clear open sky, a town built in the crevices of a canyon, the casino with its neon glow and curious population.
And the whole time he had been following around two friends, although they were not any ordinary people.
They had white fur, pink skin, and two prominent ears sticking out of their heads. Rabbids, of course. He had rabbid friends? He did! In fact..
Guy reached up to the top of his head and pulled his own ears down in front of his face so he could see them.
Everything made a lot more sense now.. Under any other circumstances he would have hated this, but it wasn't what he would've thought. This was strange, disgusting even, but he had come back from the dead. He was going to go out into the night again and leave behind his job and the painstaking dedication to it that he subjected himself to. It didn't matter anymore. He could go have fun. He was free.
It happened so fast he didn't even realize he was small again. Shrinking was about the final part if he recalled how it went last time. He wasn't shivering anymore, but his boss was. Madman was up against the door, white with fright.
At first Guy wasn't sure what to do.
"..Ta daa!" He did little jazz hands like he had just finished a magic trick.
Madman tried not to yelp, holding his mouth shut.
A loud bang was heard on the other side of the door. Parts of the wall and hinges flew away in a cloud. The door dropped and was quickly thrown out of the threshold by a stack of soldier rabbids balancing on top of each other. Madman backed away, shocked by what he was seeing. Besides the stack, there were even more rabbids waiting outside. A mix between what looked to be military, ninja, cowboys and surfers, and a few miscellaneous others.
"That's him alright!" Stickers roared. Tie was holding him back after the explosion set them off.
"Don't have to hear them twice! Troops! Kick his ass!" Captain said. The rabbids rushed in and chased Madman around the lab room like a flood. By the time Madman was around the doorway again he was covered in the little beasts getting beaten and bitten all over. He ran past Guy, out of the lab and down the halls, making a beeline for the exit as best he could. Rabbids were falling off him and chasing him all the way.
Guy watched it happen, relieved.
"Guy you ok?" Tie walked up to him, making an 'O' and a 'K' shape with a hand.
"He's still warm," Stickers said, putting their hand on Guy's head. He leaned into it a bit.
"I'm fantastic! Turns out Madman might be more afraid of us than we are of him," Guy smiled.
"It's only natural," Stickers said.
"Alright alright! Enough about him.. Unless… You aren't going to kill him right?" Guy asked.
"No Guy!" Stickers said, rolling an eye.
"Right right..Ah! I'm just so happy to be back! Are we doing anything fun? We don't have a lot of time!" Guy was practically bouncing, waiting for what they were going to say.
"You're in luck actually," Stickers said. They smirked.
"Oh thank goodness!" Guy said.
"Yeah! The Raging Radical just dropped anchor a couple of hours ago! You have to see it! It only comes around once a year!" Tie said. He cupped his hands like he was holding water and rocked it a little.
"You have to bring something to trade if you want anything though," Stickers said.
"Trade..?" Guy thought out loud, "Are we going shopping?"
"Yes," Tie said, "But this isn't just any old store. This is The Raging Radical Market! The items traded on board are so diverse, that some say they even trade things brought over from other worlds," Tie said. He moved his hands in a circular motion going closer and further from his chest like he was making something go round.
Guy noticed that Tie still had on his backpack. Stickers had on one as well, although it was stuffed with far more than Tie's.
"..Jerry, what were you doing talking with me today?" Guy asked, "I was so peeved with you! And what were you doing coding all that time? Were you making a game? Can I see it?"
"Yeah.. What were you doing?" Stickers faced Tie. In an instant Guy felt the tone shift.
"Er, what do you mean?" Tie stuttered, "I uh.. Followed Guy to work to protect him! Wasn't that what we said we were doing?" Tie said. He crossed his arms in an 'X' shape in front of him.
"At night, when he transformed and became vulnerable, yes. You were following him during the day too? And he saw you? Did you bring anybody? He's going to start to catch on," Stickers said.
"Wasn't my best ninja skills.." Tie mumbled.
"Jerry!" Stickers said.
"What!? Guy's interesting ok? I didn't tell you because I know you wouldn't want me to," Tie sighed.
"And why would I say that?" Stickers said.
"Because it's not safe.." Tie said.
"Yeah, especially since you didn't tell anybody! If you want to stalk Guy that's fine, but all on your own around verminators? Without any backup? You could've been captured and nobody would've ever known!" Stickers said.
"I know, I know.. I'm sorry.." Tie said.
"Hey, maybe we can stalk Guy together tomorrow, eh?" Stickers tried to lighten the mood, holding Tie's shoulder.
"Yeah.." Tie smirked, but it didn't last. Stickers didn't notice.
"...Could I still ask about the coding.. Or?" Guy raised a 'pointer finger'.
"Uh, S-some things are still private. Even between rabbids, Guy," Tie said, clearly embarrassed.
"Understood.." Guy's 'finger' dropped back down.
"Come on now, it's a long way to the beach," Stickers said. He started to head toward the exit.
They passed by the now empty conference room. People were trying to get out without running into rabbids. A lot of them were gathered on top of the front desk, or standing high on other lobby furniture. The only one on the ground who wasn't darting to the exit was Jeremy, who kept looking in the direction of the labs, waiting. Tie saw Jeremy, but didn't attempt to explain that Guy was ok, better actually. He shook off the thought and caught up with his friends.
10/12/2023
Title "Modern Man" from Arcade Fire.