The Abduction

A surreal reality had become the norm for me since the first day of spring. Spring had finally arrived. The sun shone bright, the snow was almost cleared out and I couldn't wait to go outdoors.

I remember hopping out of the safety of my home and taking a bite of this peculiar food I had found under a papaya tree, nearby. It seemed very suspiciously unusual. However, its ravishing aroma had me under a spell, I was under a trance-like state, my body desperately craving a bite of the unknown. Hungry and somewhat hypnotized, I quickly moved forward until my feast was in front of me, inches from my face. I stared greedily and took a bite, it was like nothing I had ever had before. I kept eating it, savoring each bite, salivating and craving for more. every mouthful felt like a new flavor. It was addictive.

I felt myself beginning to lose consciousness as I ate away at an uncontrolled rate, my vision blurred and my body felt too heavy for me to move. I felt my weight drop my body to the ground with a loud thud. My eyelids closed of their own accord and my mind went blank.

Ever since that day, I've been waking up to a place I could have never imagined existing, its complexity felt suffocating. Everything looked surreal and like a nightmare. I was bounded in a small area with walls I couldn't recognize. I could see clearly through one of them. I tried to escape. I screamed, thrashed and scratched around the walls but all to no avail. Tired and scared, I waited and waited and after what felt like an eternity two giants approached towards me. They came in through a much bigger wall which had a strange part to it. It became an opening when they pushed it. None of this made sense to me, but I knew very well about these giants. I'd heard tales about them from everyone back at home. I used to think they were just a myth told to children to make them behave and keep them from wandering too far. Not that those stories were necessary, we hardly ever wandered off. Home was always more important. Home was about family, friends, food and comfort.

These giants were different from us, their ways were different from ours. They lived different, smelled different, made odd noises and stood a little too high. They weren't always nice; some were very kind, but others villainous, or so I was told. Growing up, I was always strictly advised to stay at a safe distance from them no matter what, no matter how kind they seemed. They've been known to maintain the practice of manipulative gestures and twisted methods to capture us; and I, had become a victim.

Day after day I lived at their mercy silently pleading for freedom until I no longer craved for freedom. I wanted death. Living had become too painful.

They would pick me up and do things I couldn't make sense of. They'd hurt me with sharp and shiny metallic twigs by piercing skin with them repeatedly. They force fed me small, funny colored pebbles. After that they'd seal me back into that weird sealed cave, they always kept me in. They fed me proper food, but I would throw up almost every day. My skin would sometimes itch or sting a lot, my sense of smell and sight felt weaker and my fur kept shedding at an alarmingly accelerated rate.

I wasn't the only one under their mercy. I don't know how many of us were there but we were all locked in the same space, trapped in individual compartments. Through the days I've seen them bring in more hostages. Many of us didn't live long enough. There was no hope of escape, and no sign of freedom.

Today they've given me a bunch of fresh green leaves to eat, it doesn't feel like they'll torture me today. The leaf tasted like the ones I used to eat back at home with my family and friends. I miss home. All I needed was just one opportunity and I'd run away from here, but the hope of that kept shrinking. I don't think I can go on like this anymore and I don't know what to do.

Later that day a few more giants walked in the room and placed a massive object opposite to me, at a large distance and left. It wasn't water nor did it look liquid from any aspect, but just like water, reflections showed up on the surface and I saw myself.

I didn't have much fur anymore and whatever I had remaining looked weak and no longer as white as it used to be. My long ears looked thinner, I didn't think that would be possible. My red eyes looked dried out, I could barely see my whiskers and my face looked like it was dying. I was dying.

I couldn't recognize me, I didn't want to recognize what I just saw, I don't want to accept that that's me. Even if I were able to escape, would anyone back at home recognize me? I'd become a rotting monster; I don't even know if I have my scent.

Another giant approached leaving the cave entrance behind him open. It walked towards my cave compartment. Scared I took a few steps back until I was cornered against the end of my compartment. It unlocked the seal and slightly pushed the opening but stopped mid-way leaving a small opened gap. Why did it stop?

Just then I heard a loud ringing noise. I jumped at the sound, noticing the giant take out a mysterious rock from the folds its skin. Almost all of those giants had these rocks, the rocks would make weird noises and flash funny lights. Sometimes when they made such sounds, the giants would raise them up to their heads, hold it to their ears and start speaking in their mystic language. This was one of those moments.

It walked away from me as it continued talking to that rock on its ear. My opening to my compartment was slightly ajar. It was open. Now was my chance, probably the only chance I would ever get.

Anxious and worried, I managed to jump out and without a second to waste, I ran. Every other inhabitant saw me fled and started to scream. The birds, mice, more rabbits like me and so many more innocent lives. I heard another rabbit scream saying "Kill the human!". What's a "human"? Is that what these giants are called? I tried not to think too much about it and focused on my escape. The giant suddenly noticed me escaping and got alarmed. He put away his rock and started to chase me. I kept running, I didn't know where to but I let my instincts drive me.

I ran past a few more alarmed giants. Every giant had different skins. I never understood their skins. The ones who were usually present in our hostage chamber would have long white skin from below their necks and covered their hands with removable stretchy things when they tortured us. Their skins were so colorful and complex; it was neither furry nor scaly, they only kept excess fur on their heads.

As I ran, I realized I was only at a small part of a large cave packed with these giants. Skipping in between their long legs, I saw an opening in the wall, behind that, the vast sky and sturdy trees. Shelter. I could feel the fresh breeze of the outdoors caress my fur, or what was left of it. I quickened my pace until finally a moment I had given up on was right in front of me. I was finally out, I was free but I wasn't far enough. I could hear their feet stomping behind me so I didn't stop.

I increased my speed but something was wrong. I was panting and simultaneously getting dizzy. My legs felt numb, they kept moving but they felt numb. This had never happened before. Back in home I ran and hopped for miles nonstop but never have I ever felt this restless. What have they done to me?

My legs suddenly gave up and I slipped, causing me to roll till my head hit hard against a solid object. Pain spread through my entire body from the top of my head, my legs went completely numb. The pain kept getting worse, I tried to scream but no sound came out of my mouth. I could feel a warm, hot liquid sliding from the top of my head and down to my face.

The giants got closer and looked down at me from their height while communicating to each other in their language. Their voices sounded very far away for some reason.

Everything in sight kept getting more and more blurry. A heavy sleep followed, I felt my eyelids dropped slowly as my body stiffened.