An Unprecedented Tail.

Chapter 1

Robert Miller sat at his desk, staring at the pile of papers in front of him. As the head zoologist at the Cape Town Zoology laboratory, he had a lot on his plate. But he was determined to make a difference, to use his expertise to better understand the world around him.

Suddenly, his assistant, Jared Marait, burst into the room. "Robert, we did it!" he exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement.

Robert looked up at him, a hint of a smile on his face. "Did what?" he asked, his voice tired but curious.

"We finally figured out how to breed the endangered African wild dog in captivity!" Jared said, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. "This is huge, Robert. We can save the species!"

Robert sat back in his chair, letting out a long sigh. "That's amazing, Jared. Congratulations."

But as much as he wanted to be happy for his assistant, Robert couldn't shake the feeling of exhaustion that weighed on him. He had been working nonstop for weeks, barely taking a break to eat or sleep.

As soon as Jared left the room, Robert grabbed his coat and headed for the door. He needed some fresh air, and maybe a cigarette to clear his head.

Stepping outside, Robert made his way to the garbage dump behind the building. It was his usual spot to smoke, and he figured no one would bother him there.

As he lit up, Robert didn't notice the two shadowy figures emerging from the piles of trash. It wasn't until they were upon him, knocking him unconscious, that he realized something was terribly wrong.

Robert groggily opened his eyes, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He was lying on a cold, concrete floor, in a room that was almost completely dark.

His head was throbbing, and he had a hard time remembering what had happened. The last thing he could recall was smoking a cigarette behind the laboratory.

As he tried to sit up, Robert felt a sharp pain in his ribs. He groaned and fell back to the floor, his breath coming in short gasps.

Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, the door to the room suddenly swung open, and a harsh light flooded in.

Blinking rapidly, Robert squinted to see who was there. It was Jared, his assistant, looking worried and out of breath.

"Robert, are you okay?" Jared asked, crouching down beside him. "What happened? I've been looking for you everywhere."

Robert shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "I don't know," he said, his voice hoarse. "I was smoking behind the building, and then... I don't remember."

Jared helped Robert to his feet, supporting him as they walked out of the room. "We need to get you to a hospital," he said firmly. "You might have a concussion."

As they made their way back to the laboratory, Robert couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. He had the distinct impression that he was being watched, that someone was following their every move.

But he was too exhausted to do anything about it, and he let Jared lead him back to safety. For now, all he could do was rest and recover, and hope that whatever had happened to him wouldn't happen again.

As Robert and Jared entered the laboratory, they were greeted by an unexpected sight. Standing in the middle of the room were two anthropomorphic white rabbits, dressed in lab coats and holding clipboards.

"Who are you?" Jared asked, his voice sharp. "What are you doing here?"

The rabbits didn't respond, but simply stared at them with beady, unblinking eyes.