The Rabbit's Den

Hop and a Skip

Trixie had been acting up especially this week, it was her week. After she had thrown her lunch tray at a nurse trying to take Petra to her insemination, Day had hit her with another load of behave juice. As she laid on her cot she felt it, impending doom, lack of control over her own body. She had never had that before.

Day had come into her room, with the intent of taking her to her daily injection and temperature reading. Trixie laid still in her bed, on her back eyes closed. Day pushed at her, "Trixie, get up it's time to go." She didn't respond, she didn't even flinch. "Trixie?" She could hear the panic prickle in Day's voice, "Trixie, I said wake up!" Day was now shaking her slightly, her face right in Trixie's. "Oh my God no!" Day whispered as she leaned over Trixie trying to feel her breath. Trixie opened her eyes and planted a brutal head butt straight into Nurse Day's face. Day fell back with a scream. Blood poured from her nose.

Trixie jumped up and ran for the open door, covered in blood Day reached out and grabbed her leg making her trip hard to the ground. "Get off me you old bitch!" Day was scrambling in her pocket. Getty had hear the commotion down the hall and rushed in to assist Day. "Give her another sedative!" Day ordered. Getty apologized under her breath as she jabbed Trixie in the butt cheek with the needle.

"We can keep going this way." Day was strapping Trixie into the wheelchair as she shook her head. "No, we can't. Not long you won't be able to hit me with that shit. I know it, and you know it." Day smiled, "No, but I can keep you tied down for 9 months." Trixie gapped, she hadn't thought of that. Day wheeled her down to the room to get her injection. Getty scanned her forehead with the temp gun and her eyebrows raised, "She's ready!" Trixie didn't have it in her to fight, she pulled at the wrist straps in futile. Dr. Mullens walked across the room with his toothy smug look, "Wonderful!"

No one was prepared for the blasts, the center didn't even know they had been infiltrated. There was a total of four, they went off one after another. The last one rocked the room they were in. Trixie laid knocked over in her wheelchair, still strapped in. Day and Getty were motionless in a huge puddle of their blood. Dr. Mullens laid sprawled out awkwardly in front of Trixie. She struggled but at no avail. Then men came pouring into the room and several continued to adjacent rooms. One stopped beside her and began pulling at the straps. Gun shots rang out from everywhere.

"Trixie are you okay?" It was Kaleb, his thick Australian accent was undeniable . She whispered out to him, "Kaleb!" "I'm here" he reassured her as he lifted her up. "I'm getting you out of here, where is Ryan and Jacque?" She was slipping in and out of consciousness. He gently shook her. "Dead, Kaleb, they're both dead." He began to carry her out. "Kaleb wait, there are more." He looked down at her, "More? Where?" She could feel herself leaving again, "I, I don't know." She weakly pointed at Dr. Mullens who was now sitting dazed on the floor. "He knows." Kaleb looked over at one of their men, "Grab him!" Then Trixie went out, her whole world went dark.

Milly was crushing up what looked like dirt in a bowl. "What's that stuff?" little Trixie asked swaying side to side on the table. Ryan was in her lap whimpering. "It's a bit of willow bark, it will make his mouth feel better." Trixie's eyes widened, "Milly, how do you know all this stuff?" Milly dumped the bark into a pot of boiling water. She smiled at Trixie, "Before all of this I was a natural remediest. I helped people with what I could without regular medicine." Trixie nodded, "But why?" "Well like now, I can't just go buy medicine for you and Ryan when you're sick, or hurt." "Oh so we don't need doctors like my real daddy?" Milly shook her head, "No, we do. There are things I cannot fix, but Ryan's teeth are one I can." "Will it make him quit crying?" Milly nodded, "For a little while."

After getting the children ready for bed Milly left the room. Ryan sat up on his bed and whimpered. "Ryan, shhh. I'm trying to sleep." Trixie whispered harshly at him. He whimpered again. "Okay, but just for tonight! Last time!" she lifted her blanket up and Ryan shoved himself off his bed backwards till his little feet hit the floor. He wobbled over to Trixie, stuffed bear under his arm. Trixie grabbed him by the back of his pajamas and pulled him close to her. He let out a little huff as she covered them both with her blanket. "Just for tonight Ryan, my bed is too small." He grabbed the hand under him and pulled it to his face. "Oh Kay Tixi."

Trixie woke up violently, sitting straight up. "Whoa! Lay back down!" Kaleb rushed to her side, "Are you okay?" "Did you get Petra?" He furrowed his brows, "Who?" She frantically looked around the infirmary, curtains where drawn on the occupied beds. "Petra!", she cried out, "Petra are you here?" "Trixie calm down, who's Petra?" She grabbed his arm, "She's tiny, ah, ah, a little redhead." "I'm here.", Petra called from a bed down aways, "I'm okay Trixie, just tired." Trixie let out a sigh, her panicked eyes met Kaleb's worried ones. "No more of that okay?", He said as he pulled her head to his chest, "You're out, you're safe." She stifled a sob, "It was awful Kaleb, the things they were doing. What they were going to do. I think Petra may be pregnant." He rolled his hand down her back, "It's okay, they can't do it anymore. And if she is she's not the only one, several of the girls are."

Pushing away from him she asked, "How many did you get out?" He took a deep breath, "Twelve, ten left to go back to their homes and families. Petra and another girl stayed with us." Dazed Trixie nodded, "That's good." "Trix? Are you okay? What did they do to you?" She looked at him then shook her head, "Mostly just drugged me so I'd behave." Kaleb let out a laugh, "Did it work?" She shook her head again, "Not really." His face went stern, "They didn't?" He waved his hand around her belly. "No, they were getting ready to when you blew the place." Kaleb smiled, "Good, get some rest." He began to walk away from her bed.

She got up from the bed, he turned and looked at her, "I said rest." His accent flared with his temper. "I've been resting enough, I need to help Milly with these people." He closed his eyes and shook his head, "I told her you wouldn't rest once you came too." She stopped, "How's Max?" His eyes fell, "She didn't wake up one morning. It's not your fault though. We all knew it would happen, she even knew it would happen."

Milly was in the office that she shared with Trixie, a mixture of medical text books, herbal remedy books, and pharmaceutical books covered every surface. Trixie had followed as much as she could in the footsteps of Dr. Gregory Peterson. Milly's eyes were wet, she blinked when Trixie entered the room with Kaleb on her heels. "I tried to stop her Milly," Kaleb blurted out. Milly smiled sadly and nodded, "Wild horses, Kaleb. It's okay." Kaleb smacked the door frame in agreeance and left the two women alone. Trixie made her way to the opposite side of the desk where Milly sat. She crumpled on the floor at Milly's feet, putting her head in her lap, "I'm so sorry mama, there wasn't anything I could do." She began to cry, then Milly began to cry. "I know baby, I know." She lifted Trixie's face, "I thought my whole world was gone, but we still have you."