Run

Rabbit

Rabbit

I wandered into the kitchen, where Brooklyn was stood, stirring a pot on the stove. I couldn’t quite believe how warm the house was, being underground and all.

“Mum left you some clothes on the table,” he said, reaching up to grab a bunch of herbs from the ceiling.

“Thanks. Thank you for believing in me,” I said, lightly squeezing him on the shoulder.

“I knew who you were,” he said, turning around and leaning on the kitchen side.

“What?” I asked, obvious alarm spreading over my face.

“I used to watch you in the summer, when you used to come up to the field. I know about the rabbit,” said Brooklyn, sipping from his mug of tea.

I had told no-one about what happened that day. I was nine years old and was running through the grass, when I found a baby rabbit. One of the main rules according to the LUI is to never remove an upgrade from an animal. This bunny was one of the Errors. Errors are animals that had been experimented on and the upgrade had gone wrong. Anyway, the bunny was badly hurt; the device strapped to its back was sending sharp electric currents through its body. I carefully took off the device and took the bunny to a tunnel in the wall surrounding the field. Everyday of the summer I would feed it and nurse it back to health. It soon became a big rabbit and left. Brooklyn must’ve seen all of it.

“I know I could trust you. I knew you were on our side,” he said.

Brooklyn poured me a mug of tea and handed it to me.

“You saw me once,” he said, as I sipped my tea.

“I remember,” I said.

It was the day before my rabbit left. Brooklyn was coming out of the hatch, but I saw him. I saw him briefly, and then he disappeared. I was astonished how someone could disappear in an instant.

I picked up the clothes on the table. There was a neat, light blue blouse, some cream cropped trousers and underwear.

“I warmed up some water for you, so you can wash,” said Caroline as she came into the kitchen.

She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a tight hug. I couldn’t help it, I started to cry.

“It’s okay honey. It’s okay. You’re safe, this is your home now,” she said, stroking my hair.

I righted myself and rubbed my eyes. Caroline studied me for a minute and I managed a grateful smile. Then, I headed to the bathroom. There was a toilet, a big; china bath that had a small hole that went down into the ground. It was like any other ordinary bathroom, except you couldn’t fill the bath with tap water, it had to be from the river.

I locked the door and started to undress. I warily tapped my toe in the water. It was surprisingly warm and clear. A small, foam sponge sat on the bath edge and a bar of soap. A blue towel hung on the back of my door. I washed my hair and limbs because they were covered in mud in from the field. I then got dressed and rubbed my hair with the towel. My hair fell in loose waves as it always did.

I drained the water and rinsed the towel in a bucket of water. I stepped out into the hallway and smiled. This was my home.

“Don’t look so comfortable,” said Annabelle as she brushed past to head into the dining room.

“Breakfasts ready!” I heard Caroline call.

I followed Annabelle into the dining room and opened up the hatch to help pass food through.

Soon, Penny bounced into the room with Martha and Henry. They all drew up stools to the table. Clive came in soon after with Caroline and baby Sophia. Brooklyn handed me cutlery, bowls and the big pot from the stove.

“I’m sorry, I was supposed to help you,” I whispered to Brooklyn.

“No worries, I know how long women take in the bathroom. I’ve been living in a house with 5 of them,” he whispered back, smiling.

I jumped about three feet when Brooklyn skilfully jumped through the hatch.

“Brooklyn really, I’ve told you not to do that,” said Caroline, spooning out the, what looked like soup in the pot.

“He’s just trying to impress her,” said Annabelle, spooning hot liquid into her mouth.

Brooklyn only winked as he walked past and took a seat, next to me.

“Its pea soup!” chirped Penny, shovelling it into her mouth.

“Steady on there pet,” said Clive, smiling and ruffling Penny’s hair.

Penny put on a grumpy face and backed away from Clive, causing everyone to laugh, even me. The pea soup was fabulous, it had amazing flavour. Not the flavours I would expect from a normal pea soup.