Chapter 2: Free at Last (Re-edited)

I closely followed behind the wolf, trying my best to stay aware of my surroundings. We occasionally came across a security camera, so we'd have to hide until we were out of it's field of view to keep progressing to the exit. Eventually we reached the exit and we're now out in the open.

I paused for a moment to catch my breath, This is it, I'm free now. I was like a caterpillar finally breaking from its cocoon and spreading its wings, ready to explore the world and it's wonders. I could see the sunrise off in the horizon, the sun's rosy rays brightening the morning sky.

Kelly led me to a pitch black SUV and had me lay down in the back. She tossed a blanket over me which I only assumed she did so as to keep me hidden from anyone that may pass us by while we're on the road. I heard the engine start and the car started shifting around. I guess now we're on the road, I might as well get some more sleep while I could before we got to wherever our destination was. So I shut my eyes and got comfortable.

I grumbled, still half asleep and let out a powerful yawn and shook my legs. My head rose out from underneath the blanket to get a good look out the window. Were we in some part of Zootopia? It was very rural for a place that I thought was loud and busy. We approached a sign, it was shaped like a bunny head and read,

"You are now entering BunnyBurrow"

Population: 81,789, 253

And the crazy part was that the numbers were still increasing. I'm just going to make an educated guess and assume that this place is primarily inhabited by bunnies. I mean, who doesn't love bunnies? It's not Zootopia, but anything at this point beats being trapped in a cold room with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company.

We passed Houses, Barns, and Farmer's Markets until the car slowed down in front of a fairly sized red house with a garage. Something about Bunnyburrow felt peaceful, and it made me feel free, free to finally live my life and hopefully learn about what happened to the rest of Humankind and maybe an answer as to why animals run the world now. It looked to be two stories tall, had a triangular roof, two windows on the top floor and one on the bottom that gave me a little sneak peek into Handerson's home.

"Here we are, it's not much but it's a step up from being locked in that lab all the time." Handerson stated with a sigh.

She stepped out of the car and carefully observed her surroundings. My only guess for her doing that was to make sure nobody would see me. The coast was clear and she opened up the car door and led me to her front door. Eventually Kelly found her keys and rushed me inside her house, slamming and locking the door almost instantly before anyone could get the chance to see me.

Her living room was there as soon as we got inside. It was a very basic setup, and clean from top to bottom. She had a flat screen tv on the right, a padded red foam couch, and bookshelves filled with all sorts of books. I immediately plopped down on the couch, getting lost in its softness and comfortable texture. This is definitely a step up from that stinking lab.

"I see you're making yourself at home already.", Handerson chuckled. She set aside a folder filled to the brim with documents onto the small table placed in front of me before sitting next to me. She grabbed a silver key out of one of her coat pockets and shoved it into the keyhole of the latch that held it in place around my neck. "Let's get that collar off of you."

Clink!

And just like that, the shock collar fell to the floor along with the satisfying feeling of tight pressure around my neck now gone. I turned to Handerson and as if my body gained a mind of its own I embraced her with utmost gratitude, and she returned the loving gesture. Out of everything that's happened to me so far in this strange world, meeting Handerson gave me a newfound sense of hope. I then pointed at myself then made a heart with my hands and pointed back at her.

"Aww, love you too, you big sweetheart." She smiled.

Just before I could really settle in, suddenly a few abrupt knocks came from the front door that caught us both off guard. Me and Handerson scanned the entire living room for a feasible hiding spot for me. The wolf pointed to a closet in the opposite direction of the door.

"In the closet, quickly!" She whispered. I lunged up off the couch and dashed towards the closet. Opening the door, I squeezed between all the coats and boxes and shut the door as quietly as possible, now surrounded by complete darkness. Except for the light creeping in between the cracks. I peered through the cracks and watched Kelly approach the front door but in a hesitant manner, almost like she was trying to avoid answering it in hopes that whoever was there would give up and walk away, but she took a deep breath and twisted the door knob.

Watching her open the door sent my heart into a frenzy. The many possibilities of who it could be racked my mind and did nothing but make me feel even worse. Did someone follow us here? Are they looking for me? Were they gonna take me back to that awful place?

"Oh Judy!" I heard the wolf let out a sigh of relief after saying that. "I didn't expect you to come see me so early in the morning."

"I wanted to come check up on you one final time before I went back into the city, I hope you don't mind?" another female's voice replied.

"Of course not, come in." Handerson said.

I closely observed the stranger that Handerson had welcomed into her home. Upon seeing her, my fears and concerns subsided since she didn't look like anyone from the lab, so it seems were in the clear for now. Judy was a young rabbit with a lithe build, a round face, and a pear-shaped figure. Her small body was covered in gray fur with a lighter shade that went from her underbelly up to her muzzle and paws. She also had large purple eyes, an adorable short pink nose if I do say so myself, long ears with black tips, and a teardrop-like tail with gray fur on the top and a lighter shade on the bottom, and she looked to be about three feet tall. Both Kelly and Judy seated themselves on the couch, I could see how uncomfortable and anxious Handerson was but she kept herself calm and reserved. A lot better than how I was holding up.

"I really appreciate you and your family checking up on me, but honestly Judy I'll be just fine." Handerson tried to reassure the bunny, even trying to give her a convincing smile.

"I'm glad to hear that you're holding up ok. I know I was supposed to be staying here for a little longer, but the Chief called all the officers in today, he claims it's an emergency. I just hope it's nothing too urgent." Judy added with a hint of worry in her voice while she explained the situation.

Judy is a police officer? I definitely can't let her see me now. If she catches me she'll turn me in, and probably arrest Kelly. I cannot allow that to happen under any circumstance. Then suddenly I felt something small crawling up my right arm. I looked down at my arm and found a black and red striped spider, with long pointed spindly legs, and sharp looking fangs. I fought the urge to scream and shake the disgusting thing off of me. So instead I brought my arm closer to my face and attempted to blow it off, but to no avail, it only seemed to agitate it.

Then the unexpected happened. The critter reared it's fangs up and jabbed them into my flesh, a sharp searing pain spread throughout my arm and I yelped, before slamming my arm in the wall, the spider being killed on impact and the sound being loud enough to draw attention to where I was.

"What was that?" Judy asked in surprise. I covered my mouth to silence my breathing but that didn't stop the bunny cop from leaping of the couch and heading towards to closet to investigate. The closer she got, the heavier I panted, my anxiety now gaining the advantage of my mind and body.

"Wait! Stop!" Kelly called out in a hurry, stopping the rabbit in her tracks. Handerson put a paw on Judy's shoulder and started guiding her away from the closet and towards the front door. "There's a family of mice living in my walls, they're drifters and I've been trying to get them out for the longest time."

"Do you need any help? I can-"

"I've got it taken care of Judy, don't worry about me. Thanks for stopping by." and with that being the last of it, I heard the door shut and peeked out the closet door. "It's safe to come out."

I pushed the door open and jumped out, brushing off the cobwebs and dust that got on my clothes. I grabbed the arm that was bitten with my other arm, holding it against my chest. The pain wasn't too much, but it still ached and throbbed to an extent that couldn't be ignored. The skin where the bite mark was swelled up, it was like a mosquito bite times ten. Kelly quickly noticed this and came to my aid.

"Oh you poor thing, I've got an ointment just for that, wait here." She muttered before rushing off to look for something to help with the pain. I hope it doesn't get infected or that spider in particular wasn't the poisonous kind. But my mind switched its focus onto the unexpected visitor we just had. Something in the back of my head told me to stay vigilant. She may prove to be a problem, one wrong move like that and I'm off to the lab again. That's the last thing I wanted after finally getting out, being cooped up in a small room for hours on end isn't good for the brain I tell ya.

Handerson entered the room once again, this time holding a small black cylindrical container filled with a clear substance. She sat down beside me, popping the lid off and squeezed a tiny bit into her paw.

"Now hold out your arm." She spoke and I complied. I watched her carefully as she spread the weird substance across the bite mark. I could feel the pain and swelling temporarily subside and was soon replaced with relief and numbness. A relieved grin formed on my face as I leaned back into the couch. "That should get rid of the pain for a while. At least until your arm heals up on its own."

I then noticed the small picture frame on the wall. The older one looked like Kelly, but a few years younger. Her muzzle adorned a proud and content smile while she held the younger one close. The smaller one had a lighter grayish tone to their fur, they wore a blue shirt and beige leather shorts. They too had a toothy satisfied grin as if life couldn't get any better for them. I curiously pointed at the photo on the wall.

"That's…my brother. His name was Barney. He umm…died two years ago." Kelly reluctantly answered, her eyes breaking contact from mine. I immediately felt bad for even bringing up the topic to begin with. "He had a brain tumor for most of his life, it affected his coordination really badly so he was bedridden. But he didn't mind, as long as he was with his big sis it didn't matter. We tried all the treatments that were available, but in the end it didn't matter, his condition only worsened and it became too much for him. One morning I went to his room to bring him breakfast. His favorites, pancakes and eggs but he wouldn't move. No matter how much I tried he didn't budge or make a sound. He was just…gone."

I wanted to comfort her so badly, tell her that it wasn't her fault. That no matter what happened, her brother still loved her no matter what. Even until the very end and that nobody controls when they lose their loved ones and that's our responsibility to love them while they're still in our lives. I could deeply relate to her pain in so many ways. I reached out and placed my hand on her knee in an attempt to let her know she wasn't alone in this. Her eyes locked with mine again, stricken with grief and sorrow. A smile appeared on her face again.

"I've made my peace with his passing, I'm just grateful he didn't have to suffer." Kelly said, wiping away tears that stained her muzzle. "You remind me of him sometimes. I have a feeling he would've really liked you."

My heart warmed at her comment. In that moment I felt the exact same way. Barney seemed like the kind of kid that would get along with anybody. Its a shame little rays of sunshine like him are taken too soon, it pained me to even hear the story. He deserved to live a long plentiful life just like his sister. I wanted to change the subject in hopes of bringing her mood back up. I grabbed the remote and handed it to the wolf before pointing at the TV.

"Oh? You wanna watch something?" She asked, my only response was to nod excitedly. She giggled at my eagerness. "Ok then Sev, I know just the perfect show for us to watch."