The Rabbits.

The Rabbit tunnels, Part 2

Alice doesn't know how long they've been running, but she does know they won't be able to run forever.
Suddenly, she hears a familiar sound coming towards her. As it gets louder she notices that it's coming from the ground. Looking down to her feet, she sees a pair of feet that resemble paws. As she looks up at the rabbit's face, she discovers that his fur is a mixture between white and brown like her own, with only the exception of his white hair and bright blue eyes. "Hello, my dear Alice," says the Rabbit as he continues to run, "what brings you here? Is it because you lost your mother?" he glances down at the rabbit bandage that Alice wears, "Or perhaps you were searching for someone else?" Alice frowns as the rabbit keeps talking. "You see, the reason we have been hiding ourselves so desperately in the darkness of our underground is because of The White Rabbit's orders. But then again, perhaps it is better to let the truth show itself. For after all, if one lies enough, they eventually learn what they want to know. Isn't that right Alice?" Alice gives no answer as she keeps looking down. The Rabbit stops and stares ahead for a moment, noticing what is in front of him. "Alice...look at this." He bends down onto all fours and holds a small, white rabbit in his hand. "This little fellow reminds me of you a lot. You look exactly like him."
Alice steps forward and takes the tiny rabbit form the Rabbit's hands. Looking closer, she can tell that the rabbit's fur is a lighter shade of white than hers. "He's beautiful," she whispers.
"Yes, he is. He is also very hungry. I'm afraid that he will die if we don't feed him soon."
"Do you think we can find some food?"
"I'm afraid not. We'VE already found several rabbits in the tunnels below us but none have had any luck finding food yet."
"Then we won't go back down until we do have some meat. In fact, if you'll give us something to eat, then we will definitely make our way home."
The Rabbit nods, grabs Alice' hand and pulls her along with him into the dark tunnel. They walk in silence for awhile before stopping. They look around in confusion, trying to figure out where they are. "Are we near our village again?" she asks.
"Yes, we are. Now, we'VE FOUND YOUR FOOD!" shouts the Rabbit.
A large ball of flames shoots forth from the Rabbit's mouth. Alice quickly jumps out of the way, causing the Rabbit to turn in her direction. Alice looks around, wondering where to flee and who to trust. There seems to be no danger for the moment, so she decides to trust the Rabbit. She cautiously approaches the fire and sees a few pieces of meat sitting there. She picks a piece of meat and eats. As she does so she hears the Rabbit say, "That's more like it."
Looking up to see the Rabbit watching her carefully, Alice says, "Thank you."She continues to eat her meal while she waits for the Rabbit to say something. Once she finishes eating, she finds that the Rabbit still hasn't said anything. Finally, she figures out that she may as well try asking the Rabbit some questions. "So are you happy?" asks Alice.
"Happy? Yes, yes I am," replies the Rabbit. "You must have noticed by now that I have never been this relaxed or content in many moons."
"What did he mean by that?" thinks Alice. "Has something happened to him that I haven't heard about?"
"It's not important." The Rabbit looks around. "If we head down now, we will make it before dark."
Alice looks over at the Rabbit and smiles, thinking that he is kind of cute. "Alright, then let's go," she says cheerfully.
They leave the safety of their secret tunnel behind, and begin to follow the sound of the rabbit' feet on the stone. After traveling for about fifteen minutes, the Rabbit slows his pace. When they stop walking completely, they are at a fork in the road. One path leads toward another cave, while the other leads toward another tunnel. It's almost like they are trapped in an endless maze. "Which way should we go?" wonders Alice. "Perhaps we should go the way that we came first."
The Rabbit shakes his head. "That is the wrong way, Alice. We need to go to the place where I first met you."
Alice ponders this for a few moments. "Then why didn't we come through this tunnel?"
The Rabbit shakes his head again. "Because this is the fastest tunnel. You know how it works. All I needed was one rabbit to lead the way and that was YOU. So, we had to come through the shortest route possible."
"And how did I do?" asks Alice curiously.
The Rabbit giggles. "Very nicely indeed. I couldn't believe how you led the rabbits to safety. They weren't used to being saved."
"But I didn't save them."
"Of course you didn't," corrects the Rabbit. "That would imply that you had any sort of control over anything that happens to happen here in the tunnels. But you do. You were just doing what seemed best. Just like everyone else."
"But-"
"We've been here before, Alice. We always choose the shortest paths in fear that we may lose our way. And it's always worked out for us. So I suggest that you start acting the same way. It makes everything easier."
Before she can respond, the rabbit walks down the tunnel to the left. "Where are you going?" asks Alice as she hurries after him. "Can you lead me to my family?"
The Rabbit shakes his head. "No, it's not safe for you to be roaming around in these caves. It's much too dangerous for people to know that we live here. Besides," he pauses, glancing around as if trying to remember something important, "the people in those houses wouldn't understand what we're saying."
Alice suddenly stops dead in her tracks. Her body trembles slightly at this terrible thought. "What do you mean? Can' t people understand what you're saying?"
The Rabbit raises his head high. "No...nobody understands us. Not the humans or the monsters, not even the ones who have taken refuge inside of the city."
"So we're alone?!" whispers Alice as her tears begin to flow freely from her eyes.
"Not quite. Some of the Underground's residents live inside of the walls," explains the Rabbit.
"Others...have lived here since the beginning? Why?"
The Rabbit nods. "Some of them have been living here longer than others have. Their names are different now and most of them seem to have forgotten what they were like before. It's difficult to explain."
After a few seconds of silence, the Rabbit looks back at Alice. He gently rests one paw on her shoulder. "Listen to me. You're going to be alright now. I promise. I'm sure of that." Alice starts crying quietly again as he continues. "I'm going to take care of you. That's what friends are for, right?"
She nods and tries her best to wipe away her tears, but they continue flowing. She begins to wonder where they could possibly go next. If the Rabbit can lead them out, then maybe there's hope for them. If they can reach a part of the Underground where there's a large town nearby, then maybe they can get some food and get help for themselves before night falls. At least, it would be a change to what they've done the past few days.
As Alice listens to the Rabbit speak, she notices that she has stopped crying. He is smiling as he looks down at her. His smile doesn't last long however, as soon as Alice realizes that he isn't holding something. Instead, it appears that he's reaching down towards her. Confused, she watches as his fingers slowly inch towards her face. He stops himself, however, when he sees the fear in her eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt you," he says.
"I'm okay..." says Alice.
The Rabbit sighs. "Alice, please," he pleads. "Look...we're both hungry now, aren't we?" Alice simply nods. "Then just hold your ground and wait. This is how friends do things. You know what they say about friends sticking together."
"I'm sorry I was scared," says Alice.
The Rabbit lets out a chuckle. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I should know better than to sneak up on anyone."
"How did you sneak up on me anyway? I wasn't paying attention."
"Oh, well, I thought you'd be too busy looking at the rabbits to notice that someone was here," answers the Rabbit with a giggle.
"Didn't you want to talk?"
The Rabbit shrugs. "Maybe later," he says softly. "Right now we need to concentrate on getting food. What do you want to eat? I saw some berries growing over there." He points in the direction of a small patch of berries.
Alice walks over to them and takes a bite, immediately spitting it out. "Gross! These are poison!" she exclaims. "Who would eat them? Especially those ones?" She wipes her hands off on the ground and stares at the berries with disgust on her face. "Why don't we get some mushrooms instead?"
The Rabbit rolls his eyes and laughs. "I guess you won't find those either. Oh well," he mumbles quietly.
Alice notices the strange expression on the Rabbit's face and is curious about it. "Are you okay?" she asks concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But what do you want to eat?" he asks.
"Well, I guess there's nothing edible anywhere near here, unless you want to look for mushrooms," she remarks. "Is there a forest near here?"
The Rabbit shakes his head. "Sorry, Alice. There isn't anywhere nearby that's edible. I'll have to show you the area I usually sleep in when I stay up all day in this tunnel." He turns and continues walking, leaving Alice puzzled.
Suddenly the rabbit turns around and yells,"Come on!" Alice follows behind him, unsure of what else to do, and she soon realizes what he was talking about. A rabbit has appeared out of nowhere in front of her. She screams and runs back into the tunnel. "What was that?" she shouts as loud as she can. The rabbit doesn't answer. She stops and looks around the tunnel, terrified that whatever made the noise might return, but she hears no more movement.
When the rabbit returns to Alice's side several minutes later, he's carrying a large basket. He gives her one of the baskets in the basket. "Take this and put it over your shoulders," he tells her. "I found you two some nice berries, so just pick whichever you want. There's also some bread wrapped in cloth inside."
Alice nods and thanks the Rabbit politely, who just blushes with a blush covering his entire face. After giving Alice some water to drink and putting one piece of bread in her backpack, the two rabbits continue their journey along the narrow and winding pathway. The rabbit is leading the way while Alice follows close behind. As they walk, the bunny occasionally glances at Alice to make sure that she's still following. Alice is confused by the rabbit's behavior.
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This part is end, i hope you like this part