He had appeared out of seemingly nowhere.
He was a small, dark pitch black mouse with a bright pink nose. He was maybe the size of Geralds paw. He scrambled up to the front of the cage and looked up at Gerald, who was the only one left awake now that Six had gone to sleep.
"The rabbit wing?" the mouse asked, squeaking here and there.
"Yeah, you're in the rabbit wing," Gerry said, "How did you get here? How did you get out of your cage?"
"Mice can get out of anything," the mouse said, before scratching behind his ear and sniffing the air, "I'm Dodger," he finished, "At least that's what they call me. I think I'm named after a sports team."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Gerald," Gerry said, wiggling his ears, "The one asleep is Six. She's one of the special rabbits."
"Special?"
"The ones they don't hurt," Gerry said, his voice lowering as he admitted it to himself, "The smart ones that they write articles about and win them awards. Myself and most of the others in here...we're not those kinds of rabbits."
"Mmm..." Dodger murmured, then sniffed the air again, "I smell something."
"That would probably be Steve."
"It smells like food," Dodger said, scurrying a few inches from the cage, "Probably rabbit food. Do you know where they keep your food, Gerald?" Dodger asked.
"The scientists and us aren't really on speaking terms," Gerry replied sarcastically.
"I should take some back," Dodger said, and Gerrys ears perked up instantly.
"Back? Wait...you're going back?" he asked, surprised.
"Well yeah," Dodger said, scurrying back up to the cage, "Of course I am. I'm not going to just leave my friends to their fate, say 'thank goodness I got out' and run off into the wilderness with a clean conscious. Could you do that?"
"I...don't know."
"We need to stick together. We need to present a united front. That means bringing back whatever supplies I can find when I get out."
"Who's talking?" a voice asked from the darkness. Dodger and Gerry both looked across the room directly to a shelf with other rabbits, where one was sitting up and looking out his cage. He was brown, and had a large black spot on one ear.
"It's just me, Kevin," Gerry said, "There's a mouse in here."
"A mouse?"
"Kevin, where do they keep the rabbit food?" Dodger asked, and Kevin bristled.
"Why? Are you going to steal some?"
"Kevin..." Gerry sighed, shaking his head.
"He steals some, THEY come in and think we got out and ate it and then it's...you know."
A moment of silence, as the two rabbits exchanged glances. Dodger quickly looked back and forth between them.
"What?" he asked.
"If you're misbehaving, THEY put you in The Sick," Gerry said, "It's where they test diseases on rabbits. Give them illnesses and then try various vaccines in order to see what works and what doesn't. Generally older, weaker rabbits are used there, but sometimes...sometimes someone gets in trouble and gets sent to The Sick. You never see them again."
"I'm not going to The Sick just because you're hungry," Kevin snapped.
"Kevin, first of all, how would we get out of our cage, and if we did how would we manage to open the container, and if we did how would we manage to hope all the way back up here and close the door back up?" Gerry asked, "Think about it. Doesn't make any sense. At least if mice get into something, they chew their way through. They see that, they know a mouse did it, no questions asked."
"....I suppose you're right," Kevin said, "But if we get blamed, and I get sent to The Sick, I'm going to come back and haunt you. The food tub is over there in that closet. The doors are metel, so I don't know-"
"I can fit through a slot," Dodger said, before quickly scurrying off to the front of the closet door.
"Hey Dodger," Gerry asked, "Are things in other parts of the lab as bad as they are here? Are the mice as scared and in pain as we are?"
Dodger started sniffing around the door, checking for any small spot he might be able to squeeze through.
"Well," he began, "We had a mouse once named Phil. Pretty nice guy. Phil was taken away one day and never came back. One night when I got out, I accidentally ran across where they'd taken him. They'd mutilated him. He was alive, but they'd grown an ear on his back. Sure, it made him a better listener, but jokes aside, he was mortified at what he had become, or rather, what THEY had turned him into. It actually wasn't even that they wouldn't bring him back, it's that he didn't want to come back. Didn't want all his old friends to see him like that. Imagine the shame and the embarassment he felt. Poor ol' Phil. Hang on a second fellas."
And with a good tight squeeze, Dodger slipped right under the closet door. They could hear him rustling around inside the closets, and just waited for him to return. Gerry looked back across at Kevin, who was now cleaning his front paws.
"Kevin, do you ever think we could get out like Dodger did?"
"I don't think so, he's small enough, and I wouldn't try anyway. If THEY caught us, it wouldn't even be a straight shot trip to The Sick, it'd probably be instant death. Even if we got out of here, I wouldn't have the first clue about finding our way out of the building and back outside."
"Yeah...I guess you're right."
A moment of silence, as they didn't hear Dodger rustling anymore.
"He must've taken what he needed," Gerry said.
Another pause.
"Gerald," Kevin said.
"Yeah?"
"Don't let them grow an ear on me please."
"I'll try."
He was a small, dark pitch black mouse with a bright pink nose. He was maybe the size of Geralds paw. He scrambled up to the front of the cage and looked up at Gerald, who was the only one left awake now that Six had gone to sleep.
"The rabbit wing?" the mouse asked, squeaking here and there.
"Yeah, you're in the rabbit wing," Gerry said, "How did you get here? How did you get out of your cage?"
"Mice can get out of anything," the mouse said, before scratching behind his ear and sniffing the air, "I'm Dodger," he finished, "At least that's what they call me. I think I'm named after a sports team."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Gerald," Gerry said, wiggling his ears, "The one asleep is Six. She's one of the special rabbits."
"Special?"
"The ones they don't hurt," Gerry said, his voice lowering as he admitted it to himself, "The smart ones that they write articles about and win them awards. Myself and most of the others in here...we're not those kinds of rabbits."
"Mmm..." Dodger murmured, then sniffed the air again, "I smell something."
"That would probably be Steve."
"It smells like food," Dodger said, scurrying a few inches from the cage, "Probably rabbit food. Do you know where they keep your food, Gerald?" Dodger asked.
"The scientists and us aren't really on speaking terms," Gerry replied sarcastically.
"I should take some back," Dodger said, and Gerrys ears perked up instantly.
"Back? Wait...you're going back?" he asked, surprised.
"Well yeah," Dodger said, scurrying back up to the cage, "Of course I am. I'm not going to just leave my friends to their fate, say 'thank goodness I got out' and run off into the wilderness with a clean conscious. Could you do that?"
"I...don't know."
"We need to stick together. We need to present a united front. That means bringing back whatever supplies I can find when I get out."
"Who's talking?" a voice asked from the darkness. Dodger and Gerry both looked across the room directly to a shelf with other rabbits, where one was sitting up and looking out his cage. He was brown, and had a large black spot on one ear.
"It's just me, Kevin," Gerry said, "There's a mouse in here."
"A mouse?"
"Kevin, where do they keep the rabbit food?" Dodger asked, and Kevin bristled.
"Why? Are you going to steal some?"
"Kevin..." Gerry sighed, shaking his head.
"He steals some, THEY come in and think we got out and ate it and then it's...you know."
A moment of silence, as the two rabbits exchanged glances. Dodger quickly looked back and forth between them.
"What?" he asked.
"If you're misbehaving, THEY put you in The Sick," Gerry said, "It's where they test diseases on rabbits. Give them illnesses and then try various vaccines in order to see what works and what doesn't. Generally older, weaker rabbits are used there, but sometimes...sometimes someone gets in trouble and gets sent to The Sick. You never see them again."
"I'm not going to The Sick just because you're hungry," Kevin snapped.
"Kevin, first of all, how would we get out of our cage, and if we did how would we manage to open the container, and if we did how would we manage to hope all the way back up here and close the door back up?" Gerry asked, "Think about it. Doesn't make any sense. At least if mice get into something, they chew their way through. They see that, they know a mouse did it, no questions asked."
"....I suppose you're right," Kevin said, "But if we get blamed, and I get sent to The Sick, I'm going to come back and haunt you. The food tub is over there in that closet. The doors are metel, so I don't know-"
"I can fit through a slot," Dodger said, before quickly scurrying off to the front of the closet door.
"Hey Dodger," Gerry asked, "Are things in other parts of the lab as bad as they are here? Are the mice as scared and in pain as we are?"
Dodger started sniffing around the door, checking for any small spot he might be able to squeeze through.
"Well," he began, "We had a mouse once named Phil. Pretty nice guy. Phil was taken away one day and never came back. One night when I got out, I accidentally ran across where they'd taken him. They'd mutilated him. He was alive, but they'd grown an ear on his back. Sure, it made him a better listener, but jokes aside, he was mortified at what he had become, or rather, what THEY had turned him into. It actually wasn't even that they wouldn't bring him back, it's that he didn't want to come back. Didn't want all his old friends to see him like that. Imagine the shame and the embarassment he felt. Poor ol' Phil. Hang on a second fellas."
And with a good tight squeeze, Dodger slipped right under the closet door. They could hear him rustling around inside the closets, and just waited for him to return. Gerry looked back across at Kevin, who was now cleaning his front paws.
"Kevin, do you ever think we could get out like Dodger did?"
"I don't think so, he's small enough, and I wouldn't try anyway. If THEY caught us, it wouldn't even be a straight shot trip to The Sick, it'd probably be instant death. Even if we got out of here, I wouldn't have the first clue about finding our way out of the building and back outside."
"Yeah...I guess you're right."
A moment of silence, as they didn't hear Dodger rustling anymore.
"He must've taken what he needed," Gerry said.
Another pause.
"Gerald," Kevin said.
"Yeah?"
"Don't let them grow an ear on me please."
"I'll try."