Late as a Rabbit (Sons of Wonderland Book 2)

by Kendra Moreno

  But that picture was before any of that, back in the time we were happy and best friends, back when drugs didn’t come before me. That’s how I choose to remember her. Not the frail woman that I had left in that apartment in Massachusetts.

  “Sis,” I say, speaking to the frame. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t live with the cruelty in the lab. I can’t work like that. I came out here for adventure, just like you said. But I think I messed up. I don’t think the adventure I want is here. This isn’t where I’m meant to be.”

  Even as I say it, I feel the lie. For some reason, I feel like I should be at that lab, at least temporarily. Maybe I have a purpose here. It would be nice if a wise old wizard popped from thin air to give me a cryptic message. That would at least be a starting point.

  I almost wait for a response, from whom I don’t know. Maybe I’m hoping my sister will give me a sign from where she is. Whether she’s an angel, demon, or ghost, she’s still my sister. She wouldn’t steer me wrong.

  “And now I’m talking to phantoms,” I sigh, closing my eyes for a moment. I don’t receive an answer. Of course, I don’t. I’m losing my mind.

  The TV flashes, shining through my eyelids, and I jerk my head up at the interruption in psychic nonsense. The channel skips around, like the antenna is being moved. It stops on a channel with a man, standing up and giving a speech. I have no idea who he is, his face as unfamiliar to me as any stranger, but it’s his words that register and bring me sitting straight up.

  “We must never lose our humanity because, as humans, that’s who we are,” he speaks, his voice booming into the microphone. He has a good speaking voice. “The moment we lose sight of that is when great tragedies begin. Think of the Holocaust, Hiroshima, the massacres that happen every day. All of it is because someone lost their humanity and didn’t step up when they could have. Don’t ignore those feelings. When everyone else is wrong, you stand up and do what is right. You may be standing alone, it may be difficult, but if you feel it, there’s no other way.”

  The channel fizzles out again, and I stare at the static in confusion. I’m not sure I believe in coincidences, but that was too big of one to pass off. I look at my sister again in the photo and smile. I raise my mug of hot chocolate in a toast.

  “Thanks, sis. I needed that.” My eyes mist the tiniest amount, and I blink away the emotion. No time for that.

  I figure I will need at least a week or two to gather more information, to find a way to free the rabbit.

  It’s time for me to stand, even if I’m standing alone.

  Chapter Five

  The next day, I walk into work with my head held high and my comfortable shoes on. With my decision made, I feel lifted, like I can take on the world. I wonder if this is what heroes feel like. Although, I don’t think rescuing a single rabbit is saving the world, but a girl can dream. It certainly feels that way. I’d love to wear a spandex suit and save lives. That’s why I went into the science field, after all. For the saving lives bit, not the spandex suits.

  I’m looking at Star Corp in a different light now. As I walk through the lobby and throw my coffee away from the mom and pop shop–I’m learning how to chug it on my way to work–I meet the eyes of the security guards and smile. In fact, I seem to be smiling more since I made the decision. It only solidifies it for me, that I’m doing the right thing. I can probably go to jail, but what vigilante doesn’t have the threat of prison hanging over them? Saving lives always comes with a risk.

  I step from the elevator and immediately take a seat at my desk, ignoring Dylan who’s ogling me like a creep as usual. Seriously, I really want to add ‘Punch Dylan in the face’ to my list before I slip into the night like a ninja. If anyone deserves it, it’s that guy.

  I shove my backpack into the largest drawer and pick up the paperwork sitting on my desk. Before I can open the new folder, however, Josh appears out of nowhere. The man moves as silently as a mouse, I swear. I even jump when he speaks, that’s how much I never hear him approach me.

  “Hey, Jupiter.” He rubs the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at me. His face turns red when I look up, kind of like the color of . . . my mind jumps to every possible geek thing that’s the color red and I mentally chastise myself. Comparing the poor man to Sauron’s eye probably isn’t that nice. The color doesn’t flatter him at all.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  He shifts on his feet, his shoes making this weird squeaking noise that makes me want to stab something. Yes, it’s that bad. No, I don’t have a knife on me. But a scalpel. . . .

  “I just wanted to apologize,” he mumbles. “For yesterday, I mean. I realize that we should have warned you how the tests go.”

  “Yes, it doesn’t seem to be written in the files,” I remark, raising a brow.

  “We were instructed not to go into detail.” His face flames even worse. I wonder if he’ll faint from awkwardness.

  “I understand. Really, don’t worry about it.”

  I’m about to open the file again when Dylan saunters up. I drop the manila envelope with an internal groan.

  “I like your shirt today,” Josh says, almost in an effort to pretend Dylan isn’t there. I glance down at the image across my chest today and smile. Yeah, I like this shirt, too. It has a picture of the solar system and says “Back in my day, we had nine planets”. I’ll never forget the betrayal when Pluto was deemed a dwarf planet. It cut deep.

  “Thanks,” I tell Josh before turning my eyes on Dylan. “What’s up?” His eyes aren’t focused on mine at all. In fact, his gaze is riveted to my chest. I grimace internally, barely keeping it from spreading across my face. I clear my throat, and he finally looks up, completely unapologetic.

  “You. Me. Drinks. This weekend.”

  Gross. No, thanks. Where did this guy get off on asking a woman out that way? Seriously, that was the best he could do?

  “I can’t. I’m busy.”

  “Then get unbusy. I want to treat our newest biochemist to a drink and a lap dance.”

  The way he says ‘lap dance’ and then licks his lips really does it for me. Inject sarcasm here. He obviously expects me to be doing the dancing. How has this perv never been brought up on sexual harassment charges? Certainly HR has gotten a lot of complaints on him.

  What can I say that would get him to leave me alone? My eyes drift over to Josh, and an idea crosses my mind. Josh seems sweet, albeit a bit awkward, but anything is better than this douchebag. If Josh holds me to this, it won’t be nearly as bad.

  “I can’t because I already have plans with Josh.”

  Josh’s eyes light up, and he stands a little taller at the declaration.

  “What?” Dylan sputters, glaring over at Josh. “You’d go out with this dweeb rather than me?”

  “Sorry, Dylan. Looks like you’re a little late to the game. Thanks for thinking of me, though.”

  His face turns red, his hands clenching hard at his waist. I watch him, waiting to see if he will explode. After a moment, he seems to calm himself down. He claps Josh on the shoulder, making him stumble into my desk.

  “Good man. I’ll have to keep my eye on you. Can’t have you getting all the ladies.”

  He’s being a smartass. Poor Josh frowns at his retreating back.

  “Thanks,” I whisper to him when I’m sure Dylan is far enough away. “I owe you one. If you really want to go out for drinks, let me know.”

  I’m not attracted to Josh, but I won’t be an asshole. My mom raised me better than that.

  Josh nods his head enthusiastically.

  “Anytime,” he says, before turning towards his own desk.

  I stand from my seat, intending to go check on the rabbit. I don’t trust anyone in the building to really feed the poor thing, let alone make sure he’s okay.

  “Oh,” Dylan calls from behind me, and I stiffen before looking over my shoulder. He’s leaning against his desk, in a way I’m sure he practices in an attempt to look cool. It doesn’t work. He st
ill looks like an asshole. “The board gave the go-ahead to dissect the rabbit. It’s scheduled for Friday. It seems after that last test, they want to see what makes the rodent tick. One of the members will also be sitting in on it, which means bank for us. We get bonuses when they do that.”

  “Why so soon?” I glance at the file on my desk, which no doubt contains the dissection orders.

  “Who cares? It just means we get paid quicker.”

  I clench my jaw tight when he grins at me. He’s figured out that it bothers me, that I’m not onboard with the dissection, not that I’ve been hiding my displeasure. I don’t respond to his comment, instead continuing towards the containment room. This time, I close the door behind me, the sign that an experiment is in progress. I’m not planning on running any tests, but I need some time away from the bozo outside. Star Corp is slowly turning into more and more of a monster in my mind. It’s clear I didn’t do enough research on the company itself, the cursory search not digging up all the problems within this building.

  Immediately, my eyes focus on the cage where the rabbit is already watching me, those silver eyes practically shining and begging me to come closer. I let out the breath I’d been holding, moving towards the container. I open the door and pull him out, setting him on the table in the center of the room before I take my own seat. At the very least, I can check his vitals to make sure he’s okay after the toxin test from yesterday. Who knows how many other tests they want to run on him before the dissection. I want to make sure he’s as healthy as possible.

  I glance towards the closed door and lean back in the chair, bringing the rabbit with me. I cuddle him close, absentmindedly running my fingers through his fur. He closes his eyes and nestles deeper against me. I don’t blame him. Being trapped in this lab probably has him starving for affection.

  “This isn’t the job I was expecting,” I tell him, caressing his ears. His silver eyes open and meet mine. I smile gently; he’s a really great rabbit. “I thought I would come out here and find an adventure. Instead, it turns out I’m working for people who have no sense of decency. They plan on dissecting you in a few days.” The rabbit grunts at me, and I nod. “I know, right? Terrible people.” I bite my lip. “I can’t do it. I can’t be that person. This isn’t my adventure.” I glance at the door again, making sure I’m still alone, before I lean closer and lower my voice. “I’m gonna get you out of here, W. I won’t let them kill you.”

  The rabbit stands against my chest, rising tall enough to look into my eyes, before touching his nose to mine. His whiskers tickle my face, and I chuckle under my breath. Those damn silver eyes are so intelligent, and I have no doubt he understands what I’m saying. I swear I hear a ticking clock for a moment, and I glance around, confused. There are no clocks in this room; they aren’t allowed. When I look back at the rabbit, he winks at me. I frown.

  No, certainly not. Rabbit’s can’t wink. And they certainly can’t understand me. I must be losing my mind. I shake my head and stand to put him back in his cage. I can’t have the others coming in to see me cuddling the specimen.

  I have to act tomorrow. There is no other choice. I have to get him out, and I have to leave this place behind.

  I really wish I had a spandex super suit to get the job done. What’s a girl gotta do to find one?

  Chapter Six

  Dr. Devereux stops in the lab a total of three times that day, and she continues the next day, too. It’s like she’s keeping tabs on me, like she doesn’t quite trust me not to go off on a tangent. Which, if I’m being honest, is probably smart. She certainly doesn’t expect me to steal the rabbit right out from under their noses, or else she would have added extra security to the containment room. I’m expecting it any moment, but I’m happy to see she just thinks I’ll have a mental breakdown or something. Which I very nearly do.

  Apparently, the board thinks it’s okay to run back to back tests the day before the dissection. They don’t care anymore if the rabbit dies because they’re planning on killing it anyways. In their eyes, he’s already dead. Might as well use the time wisely and run every test imaginable, which includes high doses of numerous deadly toxins.

  Each time, I have to watch the rabbit die before miraculously coming back to life. Sometimes, he just lays down in the cage and stops breathing for a few minutes. Those aren’t as bad, though they make my heart hurt. No, it’s the toxins that make his body go haywire, where he throws himself at the walls in an attempt to stop the pain. When the first toxin with that side effect was tested, I very nearly broke down under the watchful gaze of Dr. Devereux. Dylan was all smiles, laughing at the poor thing’s cries. Josh just kept his head down. I’m not sure if he agreed with the tests or not, but he never once spoke up, so he was useless.

  I watch W die eight times by the end of the work day, and each time is worse. I want nothing more than to escape the lab and go home, curl up on my couch, and pretend none of this is happening, but I made a decision. I’m going to stand by it.

  I look over W, checking for any abnormalities in his blood or if he’s suffering any lasting effects from the toxins. There’s none, not from a cursory check. He seems fine, even after so many deaths. Unless, he doesn’t actually die. Maybe his body only looks like he dies. It’s not like we can check before he wakes up again, not with the toxins swirling around him. After putting him back in the cage, I turn to leave only to come face to face with the douchebag from hell. I scowl at Dylan, unable to hide the action before he sees.

  “Hey, Red. You change your mind about that drink yet?” He leers at me. Now would be a good time to grab the scalpel and stab him. It would be totally unexpected, and I almost smile at the thought of him looking down at a scalpel handle protruding from his stomach. He’d live, of course. I would want him to always remember getting taken down by a woman.

  “No, sorry. I told you, I have plans already.” I move to step around him, but he follows, blocking the way.

  “What’s a guy gotta do to get a date? Come on. Don’t be a bitch.”

  I narrow my eyes, wishing even harder for that scalpel.

  “If being a bitch means I don’t want to go on a date with you, then so be it. Now, move.”

  He reaches out and grabs my arm, squeezing hard. A squeak escapes my mouth at the sudden movement, catching me by surprise. I never expected him to lay his hands on me.

  Behind me, something crashes against the steel bars of the cages. We both turn to look. W stands on his hind legs, his eyes focused on Dylan. Those eyes are squinted in rage, and it confuses me enough that I almost forget about the man in front of me. How the hell could a rabbit look so angry?

  I yank my arm from Dylan’s grimy fingers and step back.

  “Don’t you ever touch me again,” I snarl.

  “Or what?” Dylan asks, his head tilting to the side. “You’ll sick your attack rabbit on me?” He laughs. “Fucking cunt. I knew it the moment you walked into the lab. Useless.” He shakes his head before eying W again. “I can’t wait to see them cut you open, rodent. I’m glad today’s the last day I have to see your ugly face.”

  Dylan turns to leave, and I stare hard at his back, my fingers twitching to pick up the closest thing and throw it at him. Right now, it’s a book. He’s big, wide, but my classes taught me to use my height to my advantage. I’m most likely faster than the brute, and I can throw him off balance if I get the right angle. He won’t lay his hands on me again. I’ll make sure of it.

  I glance at W in his cage. “Thanks for the backup, buddy.” I nod my head. I don’t know when I started talking to the rabbit as if he’s human. I’m seriously losing my mind.

  I leave the containment room and return to my desk, taking a seat and making myself comfortable. Then I proceed to work on a research paper about the benefits of biochemicals in the environment. It’s a ruse, useful so no one questions why I’m here so late, but I really do plan to submit the paper once I’m done. No use writing it only for it to be thrown away.

  “
You’re not going home?” Josh asks, packing up his bag.

  “No. I have research. I’m working on a paper for Science Weekly.”

  “Oh, the big leagues, huh? Cool. Uh, don’t stay up too late.”

  I nod my head at him and look back down at my notes. I don’t want to arouse suspicion, so I work on the paper long after the work day ends. No doubt, there could be other scientists in the building even though it’s late, but the goal is as few people as possible. I glance at my phone, half past ten. The night guards would be at the desk downstairs, but they should be bored out of their minds now, barely sparing me a glance. The less people witnessing me leave, the better.

  The lights are low in the lab, their only source from the emergency lights and a large lamp I have at my desk. It throws everything into extreme shadows. Goosebumps rise on my arms, the atmosphere eerie. The whirring of the machines and computers help, but for the most part, it’s silent. The sounds of traffic and the city don’t even penetrate the concrete walls.

  I stand from my desk and begin packing up my things, stashing away everything I don’t want to leave behind. I brought an extra bag for this reason, the saddle bag at my hip for the books and notes I can’t leave behind. I take off my lab coat and leave it in the empty desk drawer, clear all my data from the computer, and tidy up what’s left. My backpack remains empty for one reason alone.

  I make my way into the containment room, purposely leaving the lights off. A faint glow comes from the equipment, and it’s enough that I can see the rabbit’s eyes shining in the darkness. It’s necessary to keep the room dark from the camera. While it doesn’t point towards the cages, it’ll still see me walk into the room and out of it. It’ll be easy for them to know who took the rabbit once they search, but I don’t plan on being found. I unzip my backpack and move towards the cages, before opening the metal grate.