When the last bell rang he went back for his stuff in the science room and went home on the bus, refusing to engage with anyone just as they had with him.
When he got home though there was a strange car outside his house. He walked inside anyway, finding Hellen and his mom sitting across from one another in the living room.
"Well.. I suppose that's the end of that!" Hellen said when she saw Jerry. She stood up. Jerry's mom watched her, emotionless, "I'll let you know when we'll start to take the first step," She walked past Jerry with a grin on her face. At least she didn't talk to him, heading straight for her car instead. Jerry closed the door behind him.
"..Oh that's good. I thought she was going to take me for a job.." Jerry said after she left.
His mom didn't say anything. She stood up and went to the kitchen. She had chicken in a pan on low heat. She turned the heat back up and stirred it, adding more peppers from her cutting board.
Jerry followed.
"Hey mom...?" Jerry patted her back to get her attention, but she didn't acknowledge him, "Mom..?... Bwaah?"
She finally faced him, but she looked upset.
"I'm sorry Jerry, I can't talk right now.." She went back to weakly chopping peppers, even though they were already small enough.
Something was bothering her, but it made sense. Her family had been under attack. Her son was shot, beaten and bombed, and her husband was in the hospital for bullet wounds. It was a lot for him to experience, it was a lot for her to fear. Maybe she knew about the danger beforehand, but it wasn't like she didn't care. Her pain, possibly feeling bad about it, was worse to Jerry than the possible betrayal. Jerry stood beside her leg and leaned on her. She stopped cutting peppers and stood still, while Jerry looked for her to do something. She stared ahead for a long time, the pan starting to bubble at the lack of stirring at high heat. Eventually a bubble burst and splattered over the stove. Jerry's mom broke her trance and stirred it to keep it from burning. She sighed and put the heat back down to low and placed a lid on the top.
"...Mom? Are you ok?" Jerry asked.
"...N-not really," She squeaked.
"You can talk to me about it if you want.." Jerry said, "Was it.. Something about Hellen?"
She nodded and frowned, closing her eyes tight.
"..What did she tell you..?" Jerry asked.
She didn't say anything, tears running down her face. Jerry's eyes widened, thinking.
"Is it about Dad!?"
She shook her head, and gasped for breath.
"..It's.. It's about you!" She shuttered, thoroughly weeping now, trying to cover her face.
About him?
"Mom, it's ok! I'm ok! Arm's gone. I'm safe now. You don't have to worry! Don't be sad.." Jerry said. But she kept crying over the oven anyway, her sobs getting louder. It was nearly as unnatural as seeing his father at gunpoint. It had been so long since she had been anything like this in front of him. He wished he was as good at consoling her as she was. The more he tried to help, the more saddened she became, so he settled with simply sticking by her.
Eventually, she started to calm down, her cries quieting.
She sniffled, petting Jerry's head with a hand, before going to a cabinet and taking out a hand towel. She then went to the next cabinet over and took out a small sharp knife. She went to the sink and started to clean it. Jerry followed, unsure why she needed another knife. She signed, knowing that he was watching her. She turned to face him, wiping tears from her eyes.
"You're too sweet for all of this.. You know?" She said, "It's going to be pretty confusing from now on, and you're going to want to know more, but I need you to stay calm and trust me...ok?"
"I don't understand.." Jerry said.
"I know," She sniffled, "I just need you to trust me.."
"Of course! If it's that important to you I'll help," Jerry said.
"Thank you.. Now go to the living room. There's a tracking chip in your ear. I'm going to cut it out," She said, gesturing to the living room with the knife.
"What..?" Jerry gasped. He went in anyway, his mom following, "When did it..?"
"A long time ago now, they did it so quickly you didn't notice. Sit," She had him sit on the couch. She stood behind him, "I'm going to try and do it quickly, but it might still hurt."
"Ok.. Okokok," Jerry covered his eyes. He squeaked when she touched his ear.
"Relax, I need to find it first," She said. She rubbed his right ear looking for something hard under his skin. When she found it she paused. Jerry held his breath. It felt a little stingier than a papercut but started to burn a little as she pushed the chip out.
"Ow.. owow.." He said, but it was already over. With the towel his mother dabbed at the blood from the small cut until it stopped.
"Oh Jerry you're a gem. That's a huge relief," She said. She showed him the tiny cylinder chip. It was only around the size of a grain of rice.
"Were you.. tracking me?" Jerry asked.
"Not me. Hellen.. But not anymore," She took the chip to the trash in the kitchen and threw it away, "Don't go to school tomorrow."
"..Why would Hellen track me..?" Jerry asked.
"I'll let you know as soon as I can, but I can't have you knowing anything just in case she comes back. I know it's stressful but I will tell you in time. I promise," She said. She went to the bathroom and came back with cotton balls, a bandage and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. She walked up to him and sat on her knees. She poured some of the peroxide onto a cotton ball and dabbed the wet cotton on the cut.
"I don't know why that was there but thanks for getting it out. If I'd known I would have wanted it out a long time ago," Jerry said.
"Well if you had known you probably would have hurt yourself trying to take it out," She said, putting the bandage on, "If you see Hellen you have to take this off, otherwise she'll know what we did."
"Got it," Jerry said.
"Or maybe we shouldn't even bother. I don't think you can get sick.." She said.
"How about I just take it off when I wake up tomorrow," Jerry said.
"Good idea. You probably won't need it by then anyway," She said. She patted his head and stood up, "I'm going to finish dinner now. Don't go out, find something to do inside. I'll let you know when dinner's ready."
"Ok.." Jerry said. She seemed to be feeling better, although deep in thought as she stirred. It wasn't peaceful but better.
When going to sleep Jerry made a mental note to take the bandage off when he woke up, and he followed through like clockwork the next morning. Whatever was going on was pointing to some sort of conspiracy involving Hellen and himself. He didn't ask about the whole Arm situation. Clearly the tracking chip was the key to the whole thing, and no matter how much his mother knew, she wasn't the type to put him in danger willingly. There had to be something going on. She had alluded to Hellen having some kind of power over the community, maybe even her. It probably wasn't up to his mom what happened.
When Jerry walked downstairs he discovered his dad was home. Jerry ran up to him and gave him a hug.
"Be careful Jerry! My arm's still tender.." He said, petting his head. Jerry stood back.
"What are you doing here!? It's still morning! I thought you'd be in the hospital!" Jerry asked, smiling.
"Well, we're facing a bit of an emergency amidst some change in plans.. So your mother convinced the hospital to let me out early," He said.
"Oh yeah.. There's an emergency. I think it has to do with Hellen," Jerry said.
"Always starts with her doesn't it? If only there was a way we could get away from her? I wonder.." His dad said.
Jerry looked in the living room where his mother was and noticed a variety of supplies had been strewn about the table and couches. Some suitcases were already full with clothes and supplies. A large one was left empty.
"We're leaving?" Jerry asked, confused. He had mixed feelings about it.
"For good," His mom said, "We can't bring everything, hardly anything and we have to go as soon as possible. So pack smart, and so light it might only fit your pockets. Something you can't carry isn't as important as you. Your future depends on it."
"Ok.." Jerry ran back up to his room. His video camera was a must, so he put it in the center of his room. His toys? With each one was countless memories, even in the ones he hadn't played with in a while. How could he leave any of them behind? They almost felt like friends. He was going to have to leave this whole room forever. How could he ever say goodbye so quickly? Even forgetting his room, he was going to have to say goodbye to the whole town, likely the whole territory. Never again see Anthony or Felix and all their friends. Never have another spine chilling chat with Devon (although she probably had good intentions). All the toys in Felix's shed and around his neighbor's yards would gather dust and eventually sink into the mud without him. The clothes hanger dragons would never wake up in spring to terrorize the toy town, and the town was destined to spread apart and fall into the lake somehow.
"JERRY!" His mom shouted, flickering on and off the lights from downstairs, "Bring five pairs of clothes and get down here! We have to go now!"
Jerry sighed. He prepared his five outfits and grabbed his camera and a cute plastic cat he called 'Purry' as a toy he could keep for good. It was small enough to fit in his pocket. He gave his room one last detailed scan for him to remember before going back downstairs. He gave his mom his clothes and she immediately got to work trying to fit them in their suitcases. Jerry noticed a suitcase that was still empty.
"Why don't you put it in this one?" He asked.
"Hate to break it to you sweety but we aren't going to make it across the territory border if we're seen with you in the car. I need you to hide in there and be very quiet in order for this to work," His mom said.
"What!? But what if they look in and see that I'm there?" Jerry asked.
"We just have to hope that they won't," She said.
"Just hope?" Jerry asked.
"That's really all we have to work on.." She said.
Jerry sighed. He walked up to the suitcase and looked inside. It was definitely large enough for him, although a little uncomfortable with parts of the suitcase's structure sticking into the cavity. There was a small blanket placed beside it that was probably for negating this. He practiced lying in the suitcase with the blanket. The back still poked his spine, reminding him of the times his family camped outside during the warmer months. Even those woods were going to soon be left behind, never to be revisited. The top of the hill where he used to scream at the power plant was finally going to heal. The snow covered paths would never again have his unique circular tracks.
"Are you ready to go?" His dad asked, looking at Jerry in the suitcase.
"Not really.." Jerry said, "It feels wrong just leaving without saying goodbye to it all. I've always lived here, I thought if I left I'd at least be able to come back."
"It's been tough for us too. We've lived here just as long, but if we escape life should be better than it was here. We had fun, but we should have been having more fun somewhere else for a while now," His dad said.
"I guess I always did want to see the world. I don't know if it's better, but I hope it is since you say so," Jerry said.
"Jerry, my son it only can be, either that or we get caught. There is no future for us here any more, sad to say, so our only other choice is to leave," His dad said.
"So our home's been ruined by Hellen?" Jerry asked.
"It might as well be sitting on top of an active volcano about to blow. We simply can't stay, and there isn't a way for us to have enough time to say goodbye. I really wish we could. I'm leaving behind so many DVDs they don't make any more you know? And our VHS tapes too! But I need to protect you more than those silly things that still make me sad, because I'm a really bad dad for not doing it sooner," His dad said.
"I don't think you're a bad dad," Jerry said.
"Let's just say I'm a morally gray dad then in the middle of his redemption arc," His dad said.
His mom walked over to them.
"Jerry, are you comfortable? We need to get a move on. Wrap the blanket around you so it might be hard to see you if somebody opened the suitcase," She said.
Jerry tried it, but his shape could still be seen.
"Good enough.. Oh.. Good enough. We'll just have to be the ones to do the heavy lifting in making sure nobody has a reason to open the suitcase." She said.
"Bwah.." Jerry chirped.
He heard his mom close the suitcase lid and zip it shut, light shining through the zippers. Soon after, she picked up the suitcase, bringing it outside toward their car.
He hadn't thought about it before, but being trapped in a suitcase reminded him a little of being trapped underground. Once he made the connection he got far more uncomfortable, but with this mission having such high stakes, it didn't bother him nearly as much as it could have. He wouldn't freak out because his parents were risking a lot to try and help him. He could stand some trauma reminders in a cramped space if he didn't have to be threatened by whatever they were running from instead.
He was placed in the trunk of the car with other suitcases, hearing and imagining what was happening on the other side.
The trunk closed. The car's engine started and began to drive. Having always been told to wear his seatbelt in cars, this felt a little irresponsible or illegal, like they could get pulled over for putting a teenager in a suitcase instead of buckling him up, but nobody would see him from where he was. His parents were counting on it. Besides, if he could walk away from being shot with only scratches, a car accident had to be a scuffed knee no matter if he was wearing a seatbelt or not. In fact, being trapped in a suitcase surrounded by other suitcases crammed in the back of a car was probably safer somehow. He tried to let that idea of safety relax him but it didn't get great results.
They drove for a half hour before stopping for a significant amount of time. Maybe it was the verminator checkpoint? He couldn't hear any voices, it was too muffled where he was. Then they started to move again. Had they gotten through, or did someone need to go to the bathroom? What if he needed to use the bathroom? He didn't have to go now, but if he couldn't hear anybody they probably couldn't hear him either. What if he had to go and they had no idea? They were running away, but to where? And how far? And even if his mom could hear him, it wasn't wise for him to speak up for any reason. That would be tragically comical to give himself away asking to use the bathroom. So far he was nowhere near such an embarrassing fate, so he tried not to think about it.
An hour passed and Jerry had gone in and out of a light sleep, occasionally taking out his cute cat toy Purry. He pet her little forehead pretending she was a real cat. Anthony had a real cat, although he didn't often see her since Anthony preferred hanging out away from his family. He would never see that house again. Would Anthony worry about where Jerry had gone or rejoice in his escape? If they did escape. Anthony at least told Jerry a bit of the truth before he left. Jerry hoped Anthony knew that wasn't angry at him. He'd hate to leave Antony feeling that way, but leaving so abruptly was bound to stir some unresolved conflict in both of them. Jerry supposed Anthony wouldn't want to slow down his escape, so it worked out they didn't get to say goodbye, for the betterment of the other.
After a time, the car stopped again. Jerry felt the doors pop open and his parents leaving the car. Maybe they were about to get arrested. Jerry held his breath as the truck door opened.
"It's just us Jerry," His mom said, sensing his paranoia. Jerry relaxed. His mom picked up his suitcase and opened the zipper, letting Jerry out. Jerry took the blanket off his face. His eyes adjusted. They were in the parking lot of a large long building surrounded by even more pavement, no, runways! They were at an airport. Many people were driving around it and hauling their things, some excited families, some commuting businessmen, some young couples, and some security staff watching and patrolling. Having never been to an airport, or even a building so tall and long, his eyes were eating up the amazing majesty of the man made megastructure. The airplanes taking off so close to him seemed to rise by magic.
"Having fun?" His dad asked, noticing his wonder.
"Is this an airport? Are we going to fly?" Jerry asked, getting out of the suitcase. His mom took it out of the car and continued unloading the other two.
"You bet!" His dad said.
"Oh gosh! I'm so excited, but also really scared. What if I get dizzy? Or my ears pop?" Jerry smiled.
"I'll buy you some gum!" His dad said.
"No time for gum. We're trying to move as fast as we can, as far as we can, with as little documented traces of us as possible," His mom said.
"Yes ma'am," His dad rolled his eyes.
"Don't you give me attitude now. I'm planning on having only one fifteen year old on this flight today," His mom said. His dad laughed.
They walked into the airport to see people in lines and signing papers. They had hardly walked in when from behind them a security officer walked in front of Jerry to block him from his parents. In an instant his mom turned to the officer.
"Excuse me sir, he's with us!" She barked. The security officer backed off, allowing Jerry to get back to his parents.
"Sorry about that," The officer said.
Once they were far enough away Jerry tugged at his mom, aghast.
"What was that for!?" He asked.
"He thought you were stalking us," She scowled.
"What? Why would he think that?" Jerry asked.
"He doesn't expect us to be together.." She said, "Stay close to us."
"Ok.."
They went in line to check in, Jerry made sure to stick close to his parents. Supposedly crime was rampant compared to the verminator state, although Felix had suggested otherwise. If somebody could easily come between him and his parents somebody could also kidnap him too. His parents didn't pick him up as much anymore but most people could easily scoop him up. Arm got away with it and he was less than half everyone's size.
A lot of people in line were looking at him. Being far out of town it only made sense they had strange reactions seeing someone like him. He tried to ignore it as they got to customer service. The lady at the desk gave them a strange look.
"Are you planning on taking the rabbid with you?" She asked.
"Yes," Jerry's mom said.
"Is he a service animal? Do you have documentation?" The lady asked.
"No documents, but he's extremely well behaved and does a number of tasks for my deaf husband here. You've seen him so far. He's only focused on us. He's really a great help, especially since my husband broke his arm. He's practically his nurse," His mom said.
Jerry smiled. This was a really strange way to talk about him, but he knew his mom was only trying to let him on the flight. He was going to have to look like a tame polite animal nurse if this was going to work.
"Dad, I'm your service animal. Is there anything you can do that would convince the desk lady that I'm friendly enough to fly?" Jerry asked. His dad thought about it for a moment before giving Jerry three dollar bills.
"Can you get me a root beer from the vending machine?" He asked. It was against the wall in the aisle.
"Got it.." Jerry said. He walked through the other lines causing some people to jump or flinch before getting to the vending machine. His confidence waned when he realized the buttons were far too high. Thinking quickly, he found a tall stool from a seating area and dragged it to the machine. Now with a proper boost, he put the dollars in, pressed the two digit code and brought back the root beer and change for his dad.
The customer service lady nodded, impressed.
"I don't think I've ever seen that before. Fine, he can fly, but as emotional support," She gave Jerry's parents their boarding passes, with information about their 'emotional support rabbid' on them. Next was quickly through security. His mom was pulling Jerry's suitcase since it was larger than him. When everyone was emptying their pockets putting their things into trays, Jerry reluctantly placed Purry on a tray by herself. He walked through security and got her back faster than he thought.
Next they started to navigate to their flight's gate, not that they were in any rush. There was still half an hour before boarding.
"I think we might've passed it.." His mom said. She stopped to compare the number of the gate on their pass to the one they were currently at.
"Does it keep going that way? Can you see the next few from here?" His dad asked, looking down the airport.
Jerry let them figure it out while his eyes wandered. He stopped and stared. Across the aisle near small stores were familiar ears, white fur, and pink skin. A lot of pink skin actually. Only one of the three individuals were fully clothed. Jerry couldn't believe it, but there were three people with his disorder romping around the airport practically nude. The only one fully clothed was wearing a helmet that had a styrofoam carving of what looked like a hammerhead shark. He wore a blue cotton button jacket and a puffy white shirt like a pirate, a belt holding two hammers, underwear, and a shark tail made out of pool noodles. One who was completely naked had on tiger inspired body paint, while another wore a child's life jacket and a blue bucket hat. The hammerhead one was wrestling the tiger one, smiles on their faces.
Jerry looked back and noticed his parents watching him watch them.
"...They're naked.." Jerry said, embarrassed. He tried not to get their attention.
"I know. Lucky them," His dad said.
"Jean!" His mom said.
"What!? I don't mean it in a weird way. Sometimes I just wonder what everyone really looks like. They aren't ashamed of their bodies at all. Sometimes I wish we were open minded like that too," His dad said.
"What are they doing here? I thought my condition was rare! Now it's like I'm seeing it everywhere!" Jerry said.
The strangely dressed people stopped for a moment. The hammerhead shark picked up a metal trach can and tossed it at the tiger one, knocking him over. The life jacket one laughing as it made a mess. A security guard ran up to them and they all scattered. The hammerhead passed Jerry, making a funny face at him before he kept running. Jerry stood back. The guard launched himself at Hammerhead, catching him.
"Aw! You can't be serious!" Hammerhead said as he was carried out over the guard's shoulder. He happily waved to Jerry, who was too stunned to wave back. It was still awkward, but a very different scene from Arm's arrest. Hammerhead took the arrest as if it was an inconvenience. His two friends watched and followed from a distance, leftover snacks from the trash in their hands, bites already taken out of them and hairs and dust stuck to them. The bucket hat one took a piece of gum stuck to an empty french fry container and put it in his mouth. Bucket Hat didn't react, but Jerry cringed.
"Not to be rude, but are they.. homeless?" Jerry asked.
"Maybe not in the way we think of it," His dad said, "You'd probably have to ask them, but they might be doing this for fun, not because they're starving."
"That feels like a very strange assumption to make. Who eats trash for fun?" Jerry asked.
"Maybe they do," His dad said.
Jerry gave his dad a look like it didn't make any sense.
"Love the discussion boys, but we still need to find our gate. Let's keep moving," Jerry's mom said. Her husband and Jerry agreed.
As they walked more people with rabbid condition could be spotted, although only five in total. There was a group of three and a group of two. The group of three consisted of one dressed as a wizard, the wizard's apprentice over encumbered with a heavy backpack the same size as him, and a steampunk one playing cards against the wizard.
"Can.. Can I put this down now..?" The apprentice asked.
"No," The wizard said quickly, more focused on his hand.
Whenever a person without rabbid condition got too close the wizard would scream at them and they'd run away. Jerry could hardly look.
"Still thinking old man?" The smug steampunk one said.
"Do not doubt my ability to strategize!" The wizard said, "It's these humans messing me up!"
The group of two were much more passive, sleeping outside of a gift shop, their matching hats left beside them while they slept on top of one another. It gave a very 'two tuckered out puppies' vibe which felt weird applying to people that looked exactly like him. For what reason did they think it was ok to sleep naked out in a public space? It was only people that looked like him dressed this way, yet instead of kicking them out the security staff waited around them, making sure other people wouldn't get too close. Some people took pictures. They were bound to be embarrassed if they knew.
As Jerry followed his parents he understood in better context what people might've been thinking when they chose to stare, or chose to avoid him altogether.
Did they think he ate trash, screamed at people and slept in public spaces? At least he was fully clothed and wasn't dressed like he was late for a halloween party, but they didn't care. People who were surprised to see him when they looked down weren't just nosy. They were visibly far more afraid or disgusted than he was used to.
"Sheesh!" A man jumped away after almost running into him, trying to compose himself.
"Ah! Sorry!" A woman did the same, although she wasn't directing her apology at him.
An older man barked "BWAH!" with his arms raised at him, but his wife quickly dragged him away while he laughed. Jerry's mom scowled at him, but kept walking.
It was like one of those messed up alternate realities in sci-fi shows, but he couldn't just decide to turn it off when it got too stressful to consider. What was really happening here? Why were people with his disorder acting so weird? Where were the neurotypicals in their family? Did they just leave them here to fend for themselves with all the others of the same disorder? Were they abandoned early in life, making them so unsocialized? It was sad if it were true.
Knowing from experience, Jerry looked the same all his life, so he didn't know if these people were old men or two year olds. Who knew how long ago they were left here. It seemed like a common practice if there were already eight of them in the airport of all places. How many more of them were there in the world? Clearly he was far from the only one. He could even see more outside. They were pulling a sled in the parking lot. Maybe Jerry had passed even more during the car ride, but he didn't see them. Maybe there were hundreds, a thousand times over a thousand. Legions upon legions. He became very afraid, recalling the hall of mirrors in his prehistoric dreams. There had been hundreds of the same bunny bodies there. They were real after all.
They got to their gate with plenty of time to spare, but Jerry only wanted to leave. While they sat and waited he tried not to make any eye contact with people to keep himself from getting more upset. His dad sensed this and held him close, but it didn't help much.
"Dad, I don't like this.. What's happening? Everybody's being really weird and there's people with my disorder doing really strange things. It's making me scared," Jerry said.
"You're scared because you don't know," His mom said before his father could.
"Then when are you going to tell me?" Jerry asked.
His mom put her hands up to sign but saw everyone starting to board the plane. She got up and followed, the rest of her family doing the same.
Jerry felt his stomach sink. She was going to tell him something really important soon, he knew. Would he like what she had to say? Would it set him free or damn his spirit knowing something so horrible? Would it scare him to know what it was they were running from? To know the cause and the fate of his strange cousins?
Once on the plane they found their seats and Jerry's mom stowed their suitcases overhead since Jerry was too short and her husband only had one arm for the time being. Jerry watched her, waiting for her to finish so they could talk. Once she did he almost hoped she had more to do, but she sat down in her seat and invited him to sit next to her. He was happy to have been given a seat at all, afraid that his animal status would rob him of one.
His mom sighed.
"This is not easy for me to tell you, because throughout our lives together I haven't been allowed to, and it's not going to be easy for you to accept, because of how good I've been at perpetuating that lie. This isn't my favorite place to do it, but I suppose it might be our only opportunity to relax enough to fully explain without the pressure of escaping..." She sighed again, looking around for a moment before focusing on him, "Roughly sixteen years ago, rabbids came to Earth from some sort of gateway, and overnight they were all over the planet and people didn't know what they were how they got here or what they wanted... I know Hellen had you convinced the term 'rabbid' refers to a gang affiliation or terrorist organization, but in reality the word refers to what you are, and all those half naked people in the airport. It's a species' common name."
"...You.. mean to tell me that.. there aren't gangs of 'rabbids' or a rabbid condition at all?" Jerry asked.
"There might be gangs of rabbids, but nobody's ever been born with rabbid condition. It was just a lie to make you think you were human," She said.
Jerry chuckled nervously.
"That's ridiculous.. I'm clearly human. An animal doesn't act the way I do.. I can think, I can draw, I can sign.. I-I-I have aspirations. There's no way I'm not human," Jerry said.
"I didn't say you're an animal Jerry, but you're not human.." She said, just as serious as the last time she said it.
"Sure.. sure.." He was trying not to look too emotional, but internally he was at odds with himself over what to believe, whether or not to be offended, devastated or to deny it.
"Hey.. That's not everything I need to tell you," his mom said, getting his attention. Jerry reluctantly looked to see more, "Governments around the world were scared of rabbids because of how sudden they arrived, so a lot of them, including ours, made programs to try and figure out more about them. Hellen was in charge of our government's program, but she was having trouble getting information about rabbids from rabbids.
Rabbids are indestructible, so there wasn't much she could do to get them to do what she wanted, especially since she didn't have the technology she has now to imprison them. Even without threats, the rabbids she hoped to train into writing and speaking, and even signing always failed, because although this might not be true for you, rabbids hate doing what other people tell them to," She continued, "However, when she acquired you, you were the youngest rabbid they had ever captured up until that point. Hellen kept you away from the other rabbids in hopes you would, for a lack of other words, imprint on humans.
She thought if a rabbid thought of himself as a human it would be easier to get you to do what she wanted. Humans are far less bold in the face of cruelty, and they wanted you to pick up that trait. Luckily for them, maybe unfortunately for you, you love making people happy and are really eager to socialize. You're really kind and trusting, whereas other rabbids only a little older than you were scared or aggravated by the same tests. When you started signing better and better Hellen knew you were priceless, so she wanted to find a way for you to work for her for a long time, as well as nurture your signing better than the soldiers could. So, knowing you would eventually grow bored of the lab, and that being bored often led rabbids to escaping, she planned to trick you instead.
At the time the 'verminator state' was more of a heavily militarized zone in an attempt to keep that area free of rabbids. Because it was so cold rabbids weren't common up there, so it was one of the most successful 'rabbidless zone's. There was a deaf community of signers there, so Hellen interviewed people from the territory towns to possibly act as your parents in order to perpetuate the lie and nurture your signing. Your dad and myself were picked for that role."
"So what?" Jerry said, shaking his head, "You didn't really adopt me then? It was just for a job?" He was shivering, trying to look calm. He felt so small.
"At first, but we very quickly fell in love with you, and grew into a parental role. It was very painful to love you so deeply and lie to you constantly," She said. Seeing him upset was making her eyes wet too.
"So why did you!?" Jerry said quickly, angry.
"...The main one was Hellen, and what she would do to you if she couldn't trick you anymore, but initially.. we thought the lie might give you a better life than a rabbid without any support. We used to think a life outside the territory could be hell for a species so despised by humanity. Early on the rabbid crisis turned the whole world upside down. There was a lot of violence on both sides," She said.
"Rabbids are.. despised?" Jerry asked. He felt a shiver of fear.
"Moreso when they first arrived, but as time went on people got used to rabbids more or less.
We knew you belonged in the real world, and to know the truth, but Hellen continued to make it dangerous to let you be your own person. You were her property, and if we acted against her, the law was on her side in arresting us and taking you.
However, now since you've seen Arm, in Hellen's eyes you've seen too much. She has been training a number of young rabbids who have similar results to you, but with less of the lies and civilian involvement. She decided she wanted to close your operation. She was going to take you back to the lab and force you to work with her for good, and she promised she would torture you if you did not comply to her preferred methods," His mom said, "She will do this if she catches you."
"Do you think we have a good chance of escaping?" He asked, still shivering.
"We only have this chance. It's my fault. I shouldn't have waited," She wiped her face.
"..It's still better than giving up.. so thank you," Jerry said.
"I know that's a lot to accept, but I promise it's the truth, although a simple version of it," His mom said.
"So.. Hellen just wanted me to translate for her and somehow thinking I was human would help her control me?" Jerry asked.
"Humans are proven much easier to control than rabbids, so it was a sound theory," His mom said.
"Does that mean I have rabbid parents somewhere?.." Jerry asked.
"Probably not. Rabbids have never reproduced, at least what sixteen years of observation tells us. Based on the collected documents you translated over the years, the verminators concluded rabbids clone themselves instead," She said.
"No way! That can't be true. Cloning like that's fiction. And I'm clearly very different from those other guys. How could I be a clone of them?" Jerry said.
"The clones are imperfect Jerry, only seemingly the same. It's not like TV where they have all the same temperaments, preferences, and so on. It's more like a family of people than a group of the exact same individual," She said.
Jerry pouted.
".. I don't know if I like this other family.. I.. They're not like me. They embarrass me.. I didn't think they'd act so weird," Jerry said.
"Well like it or not you're a part of it, and given the way you were raised you're more than likely the weirder one. When we escape you should try to make positive connections with them. It might help you better understand yourself in ways I'll never be able to help you with," His mom said. Jerry hesitated.
"... I can't even talk to them," Jerry said.
"You were only taught that you can't. I think you can," She said, holding his shoulder.
Jerry thought about it, considering she might be right. He had always wanted a space where he could talk to people like himself, but were they even alike besides appearance? If he was, what did that mean about him? Were people justified in being afraid of him after all? They were already right in assuming he wasn't human. His mom said that didn't make him an animal, but didn't it? How was he to know the difference between his inherited genes, the role he was trained for, and the person he really was? Was there even a person underneath it all, or was that a part of the lie too? How could he know where the manipulation ended and he began?
The plane started to drive onto the runway. Jerry watched from a nearby window. The aircraft paused for a moment and waited, but when it started driving again it was much faster, more than any car Jerry had been in. He felt it float for a moment before touching the ground again, and then it broke away from the ground for good, the forward momentum turning into smooth upward thrust like magic. For a short time, he was enchanted as the aircraft climbed, transforming the landscape as they got further away from the ground. When they were above the clouds and it was over, he was left with his thoughts again. He was this.. rabbid on an airplane. He found it just as strange as everyone else.
Five hours went by without any real sleep, just dazed attempts at rest. The plane landed during sunset, the details of where were was hard to see, but there was a striking lack of snow. Getting off the plane he was met with an airport several times busier and larger than the last one, with people of even more types going up and down escalators, watching their phones, looking for their gates and getting snacks or taking naps in their gate seats. It was a little overwhelming after the plane was so quiet, like getting up from bed to be greeted by a ninth grade cafeteria.
The Speakers followed the line from their plane to check in again. While in line, his dad explained that they needed to wait for their next flight three hours from then. If only there was someplace private to rest. All the eyes on Jerry were stressing him out, and there were even more rabbids here than the last airport. On their heels besides the airport security, was a familiar group patrolling the area with rubber suits, gas masks and animal control poles.
"Do not sign in their line of sight.." His mom whispered. Once he was sure they were away, Jerry replied.
"Do verminators deal with rabbids?" He had been thinking about it on the plane.
"Their job is to keep rabbids out or at least under control. You cannot trust them being a rabbid, especially since they follow Hellen's orders. I don't think word would have gotten out yet to look for us, but you can never be too careful," His mom said.
No wonder Arm thought of him as a traitor. Jerry had helped an anti-rabbid organization discover things only he could understand. There were never any humans on the other side of that wall. He had listened to the voices of rabbids this entire time and never suspected it. The things they said were often pretty violent. He could only hope they weren't all that way.. that he wasn't...
Once they got to the front of the line the customer service agent raised a brow upon seeing him.
"Do you have documentation for your rabbid?" The man said.
"He's a service animal," Jerry's mom said.
"Service animals need certification," The man said.
"Ok, he's not technically certified, but he's a great aid to my husband here. He's deaf and recently broke his arm. Our rabbid's excellent help to him, he's practically his nurse," His mom said.
"I understand, but without documentation we can't allow a rabbid to fly unless proper security is in order, but without any knowledge of this in advance, there really isn't anything we can do. I don't even understand how you got this far with him. Procedure involving flights with rabbids is very strict," He said.
"Is there anyone else we can talk to about this?" Jerry's mom said.
"I'll call," He said, picking up his work phone.
In two minutes a customer service manager arrived, but said roughly the same thing as the first.
"I understand your rabbid is very well behaved but we can't just take everyone's word on flying wild animals. He might be fine in the situations he's used to, but we don't have any official documentation proving he would act the same on an airplane," The manager said.
"Have you ever considered the lack of places for a rabbid to get certified?" Jerry's mom asked.
"Yes, but it's because rabbids are wild animals. We aren't allowed to bring wild animals on a flight without proper procedure and advanced notice. You'd have to take another flight that had this understanding at least three days in advance."
"And what would a procedure like that look like?" Jerry's mom asked.
"Most of the time it involves some freezing and security, or verminator security.."
"That's far from necessary! It's traumatic for a rabbid to be frozen for long periods of time! And you think flying would stress him out! He already flew without a single complaint! I don't understand why that isn't evident enough!" Jerry's mom shouted.
"I'm sorry miss, but without due notice and our safety procedures we can't bring a rabbid on. We can give you a refund for your flight if you can't travel without him," He said.
Jerry's mom sighed.
"It's not going well, is it?" Jerry's dad asked.
"Not in the slightest. I think we're stranded," Jerry said.
"We are," His mom said while she was processing her refund.
"What do we do?" Jerry asked.
"We're just going to have to drive the whole way or take a train, but we need a rental car anyway so might as well take the car now," His mom said.
As soon as they were done processing the refund, the Speakers headed downstairs to rent a car, which was another process on its own. The entire time Jerry could tell his mother was at her last nerve. As if anything she looked at could burst into flames if she stared too long. Not if she looked at Jerry or her husband though. Whenever she looked at them there was still kindness, but more fear than either of them could enjoy. In turn, it scared Jerry too. If she was scared, as stoic as she tended to be, things had to be going south maybe even more than he'd like to know.
In the airport outside the rental car outlet, a verminator was patrolling the floor. Bored in their particular position, they often glanced over at the Speakers, probably wondering if they should engage given their job description. Hopefully enough context clues would keep them from getting any closer. Hellen was their general, and if not now, would only take a single threatening email to turn all vermantors from a possible threat to an active one. As difficult as it was for a person like him, Jerry tried to keep attention off himself, watching his mom talk to the rental staff patiently.
How he acted from now on could be the difference between freedom or torture. He could hardly stand listening to Hellen electrocute other people. He never thought one day he might feel it for himself. Hellen liked to punish when she felt she was being insulted, and something she found insulting was defiance. She had shocked people until they threw up or passed out. When she got tired of it she'd order her verminators to freeze them.
Jerry had never been sure what it meant to freeze someone, but he knew it was a type of imprisonment. It was bound to at least be cold. He hated the cold. His mom said it was traumatic. More than being buried alive? Arm killed people to escape being frozen. Hellen took pleasure in promising to freeze rabbids for good. Since Jerry had tried to run away, was that enough for Hellen to freeze him forever? Would he be conscious during the whole thing? Or would it be like going to sleep for a long time? Having dreams and nightmares playing back over and over unable to wake up to anything more?
How many rabbids were stuck like that now? All his life he had met with thousands of 'punks' and 'terrorists', many of them declared frozen forever because of the results of his translations. Most of them were clearly crazy, but some weren't so obvious. If he and other rabbids were only animals to everyone else, if they were so despised.. did people even care what Hellen did to them? Jerry had probably helped Hellen put away hundreds of innocent people who couldn't even speak for themselves. What would they do to him if they ever thawed and known it was him?
Would their fur be falling off? Their flesh gamy and torn with freezer burn? Or would they be perfectly intact? Hauntingly immaculate as they day they were frozen? Would they want his head, or just to hold someone's hand? To be warmed up? To be held after being promised only pain. If it were him that's what he would want. What he wished he could give them.
He could only hope his parents would succeed now before he had to experience something like that. His parents had the power to set him free in the present. To go together in a place without Hellen or verminators, or people who despised what they thought he was. Maybe someplace warm enough to take his shirt off and walk down the beach and talk. Someplace he could explore without fear. Someplace he could come home to and play games with his parents and watch their physical media. It seemed simple, but it turned out he knew very little about the world. What seemed simple might be difficult to see happen in reality.
As the Speakers walked out of the airport into the night, the air was warm. A striking contrast to the air at home, especially at night. The asphalt was radiating excess heat leftover from the day.
Inside their rental car they even needed a little cool air blowing to keep them from getting too hot. Although it was dark, Jerry could tell they were in an altogether different world. They passed by tall buildings with colorful lights, and more people than in his entire school crowding the sidewalks. There were rabbids there too, they drove by so fast that it was hard to tell what they were doing.
It wasn't long until they were out of the city and into back roads surrounded by woods. Some of the shadows almost looked like the ones from back home, but new things would pop out and remind him just how far they were. They passed shopping districts and gas stations, car dealerships and pizza shops. Movie theaters, bookstores, burger joints and trampoline parks. Going so fast past some of the more open roads, police lights appeared behind them out of the dark.
"Shit.." Jerry's mom said. She drove faster, outpacing the cop until she hadn't seen them for roughly ten minutes. Waiting at a light, two more cop cars coming from the opposite way turned on their lights seemingly without being provoked. When the light turned green Jerry's mom passed them. The cop cars turned around, following them. Traffic was increasing, making it impossible to escape via speeding without risking an accident. She got as far as she could before pulling into the parking lot of a small shopping plaza.
"Did they follow us?" Jerry's mom craned her neck over to see. The rest of the family did too. The traffic was slowing down police, but they were clearly still on their way over. Before Jerry could focus on the police, his parents were getting out of the car toward the surrounding stores. He followed, trying not to look like they were running away. Police were only then driving into the parking lot when the Speakers walked into an arcade. Jerry's mom went all the way in the back, hiding from the staff among the machines and late night patrons. Both parents were antsy like they weren't sure where to go. Jerry waited for what they were going to do next, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was coming.
His mom was scared pale, watching the front door, holding her head. Her husband rubbed her shoulder, looking the same place. He was just as scared.
"We might... We might have to consider our priorities.." His dad said. He couldn't look at anyone in the eye.
"Of course.." His mom nodded, "Of course!" She cried. She looked at Jerry, "Jerry..." She hesitated, "We're gonna need you to hide, ok?"
"What? In here?" Jerry looked around for a spot.
His mom glanced toward the front door. It was like she was about to take a step toward it. Jerry noticed.
"Hey wait, where are you going?" He asked, stopping her, holding onto her, "Are you hiding too?"
"No son.." His dad sighed.
"We might have to go," His mom said.
"Without me?" Jerry asked, "Wait where are you going to go?!"
"We don't know.." His dad said, "But you can't come with us."
"What? So? You want me to stay here!?" Jerry gasped, holding his mother tighter.
"Only if it keeps you from getting caught," His dad said, "You're smart. I'm sure you can figure out what to do."
"But I don't want to!" Jerry said.
A police officer entered the building, talking to the cashier. His parents turned and started to run toward the entrance. Jerry followed at first but his mom turned and shouted at him.
"STAY HERE!"
Jerry stopped and watched them run out of the building. The cop saw and chased after them. Jerry snapped back to the present after they were gone. He couldn't cry now. They said to hide, so he had to hide somewhere.
He noticed even earlier that the full sized basketball games against the wall looked like they had a lot of empty space behind them. He ran over to them and pushed one over a little so he could sneak in behind it. Once he was inside he pushed the machine back in place. It was dark and littered with dust, a few candy wrappers and some tokens. It was obvious nobody had moved it in a long time. At least that made it a better hiding spot. There was even a crack between the machine and the wall where he could look out of without being seen himself, at least he assumed as much.
Two police officers walked through the arcade, making Jerry hold his breath when they got close. Luckily they never paid his machine enough attention to suspect anything. They left after searching for less than ten minutes, although it felt like forever. Jerry waited, and then some more. After a few hours he heard the staff announce on the PA system that they were closing. After all the customers had left he watched the staff vacuum and banter before they eventually turned the lights out and left. Jerry was familiar with a closed arcade as his dad used to work in a much smaller one, but at his dad's arcade he was an regular guest, not like now. He hadn't changed to make this arcade hostile, but the world around him had. Hoping he wouldn't have to face it alone forever, he fell asleep waiting. Eventually his parents had to come back, so it was best he stayed here.
That next morning Jerry woke to find the arcade still quiet. Businesses like these tended to be more of an afternoon thing. Even as he theorized he would start to get hungry, he didn't dare leave. He'd hate to get caught and be tortured over a fruit by the foot, so he continued to wait.
The arcade opened again and the number of people increased and the sun went down. For hours and hours, people passed him or played the game he was hiding behind making it hard to pass the time resting. Sometimes he would look through the crack trying to see if he could spot his parents in the crowd, but every time he thought he saw them he was only disappointed. His mom told him to stay there, his dad told him only if it kept him safe, but if he left it would be really hard to find them, so he had to wait there.
An hour went by and while people watching, he spotted something new. There was a dog in the arcade, which would have been fine on its own, but on the other end of the short leash was a verminator in full gear, an animal control pole in his other hand. He wasn't the only one either.
Jerry spotted at least three verminators searching the area, two of them with dogs. Since hunting rabbids was their main job, the dogs were bound to sniff him out any second. Their noses were already on overdrive, pulling their masters toward every suspicious scent they picked up. They would to see him if he ran out now, but any closer and they'd be right on top of him. He couldn't wait another second.
Trying to stay calm while exposing his hideout, he pushed the game just enough to squeeze through. Before he saw them he could hear the dogs begin to bark. The verminators footsteps quickening. He popped out of his hideout and ran around patrons, looking for a back exit. People dashed out of his way when they saw him. Glancing back, the verminators were stumbling toward him trying to get through the crowd. Their dogs barking, teeth flashing. He only had a blink to see them, getting closer at terrifying speeds. When Jerry saw a door with a window to the outside he didn't even have to think. He ran up to it, slamming his body into it and pushing the door open to the back parking lot. Out beyond was the woods. They were too dark to see. Maybe that was good. He ran towards it, but he wasn't even halfway through the parking lot when the door opened so much force it slammed on the outer wall. Jerry didn't look back. The click of the dogs claws on the pavement alone made it clear they'd been released.
He hesitated at the end of the parking lot. The woods started with a steep incline. He continued down anyway, a dog jumping onto him briefly biting his arm, making them both fall. He had to remember that he would survive this as he tumbled faster. When he slowed to a stop there was no relief. He spotted the reflective flash of the dog's eyes upon him. He put his arms up. The dog jumped up and grabbed one of his arms, pulling it down, tearing into his thick skin. Jerry yelped and tried to pull his arm back to him, punching the dog's snout with the other. He went for the dog's eyes, desperate, punching again, and harder. The dog released and whimpered, Jerry immediately turning to face the rest of the incline. It was hard to run down so fast. He briefly fell again, catching a small tree to stop himself from slipping all the way. Both dogs above him were finding it hard to follow nearly as fast. They had heads that could crack open if they slipped, but not Jerry. Knowing this was his advantage, he let go of his last intuition and threw himself down the hill. He hit rocks and trees that really stung, and slowed him down, but he slammed into a creek at the bottom far faster than he could have running. Wincing from his bitten arm and scratches, he got up and kept running.
Without any light from the stores or the road it was becoming increasingly difficult to understand where he was going as the elements were rushing into him. Near invisible branches would scratch his face. He'd fall into dense bushes and tear everything up around him looking for a way to get out of what he didn't even know he was running into.
After a while it was starting to become all too familiar. It couldn't be real. It was like reliving a nightmare. A black endless night made of strange shapes with different textures. The sounds of dogs and mysterious creatures echoing on the wind. It was as if nothing he had ever experienced had ever really saved him from this. He had returned to the beginning of the universe. Thrown into the chaos and supernatural fear. No matter how far he went trying to escape it all remained the same. Even as he kept on going he couldn't see a way out. He didn't even know which way he had come from. He couldn't go back anyway. The only place his parents knew him to be, he couldn't go back. The verminators had found him there. They ruined it. Took it from him. They were going to expect him to come back. How would his parents find him again? Was there even a safe way for them to be together if he was always going to be hunted? He had to face it. His parents didn't leave him expecting to come back.
He didn't think he could ever lose so much. There wasn't anything for him here. This wasn't his world. He could hardly take it as reality.
This was a place where people who looked like him acted in ways he couldn't understand. A place where the humans he thought he knew despised him as a pest. His parents were the only ones who really understood him. Who made him feel known. Now he didn't even know who he was.
If not human, then what was he? Maybe he couldn't be trusted like he thought. Humans treated him like he was scum but what if they were right?
He often liked to forget, but when he was young he could destroy a whole room upset he couldn't write, couldn't talk. That people were keeping things from him. That they acted weird, assumed things about him. What did they know about rabbids that they saw in him? What did he do to have them act so cruel?
Some rabbids he translated talked about killing humans like it was very satisfying to them. For some of them they talked about it like it was a part of their responsibility. It hurt to relay such gruesome beliefs back to Hellen, as if he was holding the gore in his hands as he signed the message.
Was Jerry really that different from them being their clone? Was he really that far from becoming Arm? If they were both so despised, how long before Jerry would pick up a weapon to protect himself too? Would he have to kill to keep verminators from finding him? What would that do to his mind to know he had taken a life? How many would he have to take protecting himself? What if it became worse than that? What if he got used to it? Maybe even liked it? Like how he wanted to bite Arm when the rabbid had a gun to his father. When it mattered most he lost control. Who knew when else he would? How bad it would get. If that was his future, maybe it'd be better that they froze him. He didn't want to face what crazed thing he could become now that he wasn't under verminator control.
The longer he walked through the woods the more that all too familiar feeling started to come back. There was no hope in going back to the arcade, hell, he didn't even know where it was. His parents had left him on his own to keep him safe, but without them who could know him enough to reach the person he was? If that 'person' was even really worth the risk. Who could see him through the storm of losing everything he understood? Nobody worth understanding if he could explode over nothing. Kill out of fear. Who could excuse that if he did? He deserved it if he did.
He hardly made sounds since nobody ever understood, but he already knew nobody would understand. When his reddened eyes started to tear up he mumbled, and it felt good so it developed into a whimper, and then a bawl, into a screaming howl.
As he wandered even to daybreak he continued to cry out. He took his rage out on branches and stones as an attempt to satisfy the terror he felt, but it only got worse. Clearly he was losing his mind, and probably for good this time given how unrelenting it all was. This feeling used to last for less than ten minutes max, but now it was reaching highs he didn't think he could feel. Smashing stones and tearing at bushes was just attempts at scratching the itch that would lead to normalcy, but it wasn't working. He pulled at his ears bellowing and hit his head trying to calm down but how could he calm down when he was acting exactly how he feared he was really like. He couldn't run from what he was doing nor could he stop it either.
It wasn't long until his rampage stumbled into other rabbids.
Everyone heard him before they saw him.
Some biking rabbids were using a narrow trail he got in the way of.
"Hey dude could you move? Don't wanna hit ya," The cyclist asked, sitting on top of his bike.
Jerry collapsed in fear seeing him talk. He squealed and wheezed, getting back on his feet, walking backwards and quickly picking up a rock and throwing it at the rabbid. It missed.
"Dude what the hell!" The rabbid said.
Jerry ran away, yelling.
Later, a small soccer field meant for four versus four was interrupted when Jerry ran into one of the nets and got tangled in it.
The team of three fishermen rabbids stopped to look.
"Now what might this be?" The eldest rabbid with a mop for a beard and a yellow rain jacket said, trying to get closer to help. Jerry screamed and hissed at him, swatting his hand. He tried to get up, but with the net still attached he dragged over the whole goal before resorting to tearing a hole in it with his teeth and arms. Once he was out he ran as fast as he could. He looked back but the players were unfazed. He shook his head, trying and failing to calm himself.
Later still he was pacing around, he accidentally was yelling and screaming nearby a hangout cave having a Magic: The Gathering tournament.
"We're kind of trying to focus you crybaby!" A geeky rabbid dressed in a leather jacket with pins said.
Jerry gasped and looked at him, hitting his own head to try and focus. He backed away, scared.
"Well! Get lost, jerk!" The geek walked up to Jerry, but before he could do anything else Jerry ran up to him and pushed him to the ground, "What's your problem?!"
Jerry ran away before the geek could get up.
What was he even doing? He didn't know what or why. The fear and sadness was just too great.
Over time the nightmare developed even greater. As the sun set he still bellowed, yelled and screamed, bothering rabbids in the woods trying to sleep. The next day he was even bolder, throwing fists at rabbids his breaking mind was sure were after him.
Worse, it was getting harder for him to see things clearly. Maybe it was his constant tears or something psychological, but the blurrier things got the more frightening they seemed, and the more he was inclined to attack and run.
That night was even worse for his eyes. He bumped into things constantly. The next day just the same, and by the night after that nearly everyone had heard him or heard of him. The annoying screamer on the outskirts seemingly out of his mind.
Jerry was hitting his head against a tree when a rabbid with a map stopped to look at him. He was ink stained with a cowboy hat, had a cow patterned vest and a bolo tie. Foster, the cowboy mapping rabbid.
"Good heavens sir! You must've caught yourself one heck of a headache there!" He commented.
Jerry stopped and looked at him, sobbing.
"Oh gee.. That bad huh?" Foster started getting nervous. He noticed the healing scratches on Jerry's arms through his torn up sweater. Were they bite marks? Bullet wounds? Before he could look any more Jerry ran up to him and swung a fist. Foster ducked, making sure his hat stayed on his head.
"Holy smokes!" He rolled out of the way before Jerry could stomp on him. Foster got up, "I think we might've gotten off on the wrong foot there sir!"
Jerry shook his head and screeched, running away from Foster down the path.
A few hours had passed and Jerry had moved away from where Foster had first seen him, not that Jerry cared or even recognized him when the cowboy found him again. This time the rabbid was riding some type of giant pig, with one other rabbid riding beside him.
Jerry could hardly keep his balance, frightened at the size and alien nature of the animal. When the two rabbids got off its back Jerry found a willingness to get back up, not sure what they were going to do. They were approaching him, the stranger Foster brought more than Foster himself. Jerry bumped into a stone, so he took the opportunity to pick it up and chuck it at the stranger. The stranger didn't flinch, catching the stone and dropping it to his side.
Jerry screeched in a gasp at how easily the stranger declined the attack. He looked for a place to run, but how could he? This rabbid wasn't bothered by him, they were actively approaching him.
Jerry ran up to punch the stranger instead, but the stranger caught his wrist and held it. Jerry screamed and tried to get out of the stranger's grip. He tried pulling his arm. He tried using his other hand to pry the stranger's grip open. He bit at the stranger's arm and tried to push them over. Looking into their saddened face Jerry barked and hollered even louder than before realizing he was really trapped, reminding him of someone.
Jerry went limp as a last resort, losing steam, trying to use his body weight to get the rabbid off of him, but the stranger stood firm. After pulling all of the grass out around him there was nothing left to be done.
He gave one last long strong yell before covering his face, weeping. The stranger noticed, letting his wrist go and sitting beside him. Jerry stopped when he noticed. The rabbid looked concerned but not afraid. They only had one eye, with their body decorated with an assortment of stickers. Jerry didn't know what to do. What was this rabbid even thinking? What did they want? They'd let him go, but even when they had him trapped they didn't hurt him. Wiped out, Jerry forgot running away and continued to weep. The stranger patted his back, every gentle touch calming what he thought couldn't be quelled. When Jerry was all out of tears, his eyes back to blue, the stranger invited him to come with him and Foster back to a place called The Junkard. Calm but exhausted now, and without anywhere to go, Jerry agreed.
The entire ride nobody spoke, even as they arrived and the stickers rabbid led Jerry into a vast fortress made of scrap that went deep into the earth. Underground the rabbid stopped at a vault door and opened it, letting Jerry inside. It was a little unnerving being so far underground, but this didn't look like a bunker, it was very obviously a home. The front half was dedicated to some sort of handy or construction work with tables of plans and collections of tools and parts, while the other was clearly built to relax with couches, carpet, a bed built into the wall and tons of pillows.
"You can rest here. Feel free to ask if you need anything," They said.
"..Is this your home?" Jerry asked, weakly.
The rabbid looked at him, puzzled, their ear twitching.
"..They call me Tuller," Tuller said.
"My name is J," Jerry said.
Tuller tilted his head.
"I don't understand.." Tuller said, confused, watching Jerry's hands. Of course he didn't. It seemed most rabbids were hearing just like how most humans were, but even as there were probably deaf rabbids somewhere, they were bound to use a very different version of sign language. For the first time in a while Jerry couldn't communicate at all.
"You can't speak?" They asked.
Jerry shugged, unsure.
"Well, not from a lack of a voice," They joked.
Jerry smiled, but it faded quickly. Tuller's face faded to match.
"Don't be ashamed because you had an episode," Tuller said, walking up to him, "It's never your fault to feel so afraid. I've been in the same state.. It was somebody else who hurt you, wasn't it?"
Jerry didn't respond, even as Tuller waited.
"..Well, whatever explosion you went through, it isn't here now. I don't leave rabbids who've seen hell to suffer alone, or face it again. Is somebody after you?" Tuller asked.
Jerry softly nodded.
"Who? Rabbids? Verminators?"
"Verminators," Jerry said.
Tuller understood by association.
"They must have chased you a long way.. Foster told me about you. Nobody around here says they know who you are," They said, "Do you know where you are?"
Jerry shook his head. Tuller went to a bookshelf and pulled out a book of maps. He pulled up a page and showed it to Jerry.
"Any of this look familiar?" He asked.
Jerry held the book and tried to compare it to maps of the country from school, but it didn't look like any territories he recognized. He pointed to the 'North' symbol on the map's compass and showed Tuller.
"North then.." They flipped to another section, but again Jerry didn't recognize it. Tuller flipped to another section. The same, but it didn't really matter where he was from. He couldn't go back there. Tuller showed him the book again, but this time Jerry didn't even bother looking. He gently took the book and shut it, giving it back to Tuller closed.
"I.. can't understand this," He said, hoping at least his tone would come through.
"That's alright.." Tuller said. He went to put the book back, "Do you want anything? A snack? Something to do?"
Jerry thought about it. He looked longingly at the couches and pillows. Tuller took a moment to understand.
"You can go over there if you want.." Tuller said.
Jerry sighed, taking his shoes off before going over the carpet, trying not to overstep any boundaries. He sat on a couch and laid down. Tuller met him with a blanket and threw it onto him. Was it really safe to sleep here? Or was this some type of common rabbid grift he'd come to regret once he was made a slave? There was no way of knowing if even things outside the lie were lies, but the hope that Tuller was a person who wanted to help him was greater than the fear. Nobody else had shown a fraction of care, except Foster who knew to bring them. If Jerry really was in good hands, he couldn't just dismiss it.
"Thank you.." Jerry said. Tuller listened intently from the other side of the room, surprised.
"You're welcome," They said.
The candle flickered in the beach bunker. Tie looked away, wiping tears off his burnt face, tapping his foot anxiously. Guy waited patiently.
"..After that, it took me some time but, eventually I told Tuller what I told you," Tie said, putting what would have been his pointer finger to his chin before pushing the finger away from him toward Guy, in a gesture Guy now understood as one of many signs Tie used often when he spoke, "Tuller doesn't want me to have anything to do with humans, even my parents. I don't blame them for thinking that. Sometimes I'm not sure why I want to reconnect with humans either. How could I trust people who were so determined to lie to me, for so long, even as they loved me.." He gasped a cry, tears in his eyes, "..Still, once I was comfortable enough.. I went out into the human city trying to make connections. Most of them didn't like me, but the ones that did, I never felt comfortable enough to keep seeing them. It's like I could never tell what they really wanted... Back in the territory, I thought I knew my friends, my parents. They were the people I was closest to and they used me. The people I wholeheartedly believed in, enslaved me! How could I trust humans when I was wrong about nearly everyone I grew up with? When the second they know I'm not stupid, that I'm tame, kind, and want to be wanted. That's when humans know they can take advantage," He inhaled, "They're the only ones who could ever lead me to my parents but they're probably even more likely to lead me back to Hellen."
"...You don't feel that way about me? Do you?" Guy asked.
"No, don't worry. You're stuck with me and the other rabbids in our world. It's kinda crazy. Ever since leaving home I've really missed talking to humans. Now most of them make me feel really paranoid, but not you. I mean, you're a rabbid too. You know what it's like. You know I'm not stupid.. and you aren't scared of me.." Jerry mumbled.
"Of course! You're my friend Jerry. I don't think of you as scary," Guy said.
"Thanks.. I don't know.. I think I'm pretty scary.. We're pretty scary," Jerry said. He put his head on the table.
"What do you mean?.." Guy asked.
"Do.. Do you ever think.. What if we're just bad news.. too impulsive sometimes, too violent to.. be worth the risk. We aren't wanted anywhere, but we're not going away, so people are going to try to force us.. And then what's going to happen? We'll go mad, and people will die.." Tie said, "Do you ever worry maybe we're just monsters all along?"
Guy looked at him concerned.
"Who gave you that idea..?" Guy asked.
"I don't know... It's stupid, I just never know what's me and what's not. I thought if I was human at least I'd know myself better. Go back to being the person I understood growing up. That humans would look at me and get to know me without trying to trick me. That I wouldn't have to prove to them that I'm real! That I'm a person! That I could find my parents again before they die. To feel like I had myself under control.." Jerry wept, "I just want to see them again.. I just want to know I'm in control.."
"Jerry... you're plenty in control. Being enraged sometimes doesn't make you a lesser person. I don't think rage is so simple. You're protecting yourself the way a rabbid does, expressing what's really important to you. It's not like how humans express themselves but that doesn't make you a monster for being different. You're not a killer waiting to happen, you're my brother, no matter what Hellen or other stupid people made you think growing up," Guy sighed, "I.. I don't think you have to be a human to make relationships with humans again. You have to be careful of course since you're essentially a wanted fugitive, but if you really want to talk with humans again I think you should. It's important to you.
Your parents loved you enough to leave everything behind for you, even as they were living in a territory full of verminators and people who would pay through their noses to live away from rabbids besides you. They had every reason to think you were a pest, but they got to know you and loved you anyway. There's bound to be more people out there like that. They'd be lucky to have you as a friend. And if it doesn't work out you always have the rabbids to help get you out of trouble. It's kind of our thing. You're not alone in the territory anymore. We can help you. I think I owe you anyway... Tuller saved your life when you needed him most, but I think you saved mine. Even when everybody else was suspicious of me you never abandoned me even when you knew what I was, so thank you.. Thank you for showing me the rabbid world. It's more than I knew I needed. I guess you know a little about becoming a rabbid for the first time too.." Guy said.
"I guess.. I guess I do.." He whimpered, covering his face, "Oh geeze.. I hate crying in front of people.."
"I don't mind. I'm just glad you're ok. You mean a lot to me you know. This rabbid world wouldn't be the same without you.." Guy said.
"Thank you.." Tie said, "What you said really means a lot coming from you. Most rabbids don't fully understand me when I tell my tale. They don't know humans like I did.. I still feel like I'm one of them sometimes. Do you ever feel that way?"
"It used to paralyze me.." Guy said.
Jerry chucked, crying at the same time. Guy wasn't sure how he was feeling.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm amazing Guy.. You understand me.." He said, giving a kooky smile.
6/21/2024
Title "Why You're Still Hanging Around" from 'A Mannequin Adrift' by The Scary Jokes.