The Rabbit's Den

Helluva Mess

When Petra didn't return with the babies Lenora grew concerned, she woke Kaleb. He grunted with pain as he came to, "What's wrong Lenora?" "Petra's been gone far too long. Do you think they came back?" His semi good eye blinked, trying to comprehend what she was asking him, unknown to either, he had a concussion. "What do you mean?" "She went back to the Den to get supplies for you remember?" Suddenly it came back to him, "How long has she been gone?" "Almost three hours."

Painfully he sat up, tenderly touching his swollen face. "I can't see her leaving the twins that long." Lenora's face whitened with nausea, "She took them with her." He turned his head toward her, "Would she have stopped to feed them?" She shook her head, "I don't know, Kaleb. They should have been back by now." Slowly he stood, bracing himself against the wall to steady his legs. "I'll go look for her." "I'm coming with!" He thought about telling the old woman no, but decided it would be better for his health not to tell her what to do.

Kaleb felt better than dead, but not by much. His head was pounding and he was pretty sure he had some broken ribs. The bruises on his back ached through to the bone and it intensified with every step. He and Lenora slowly made their way through the dark tunnel, stopping with every sound they heard. When they reached the entrance Kaleb went in first, it was dark, darker than he had ever seen the Den before. He stopped for a moment trying to remember what all he had told Petra to get, his mind was fuzzy. With a low whisper he said, "We'll check the armory first." Holding the old woman's hand he led her to the armory, several boxes were turned upside down. It looked like she had already been there.

They walked slow and silently to his room, his pill bottles were gone, she had defiantly made it this far. When they got to the infirmary they immediately saw the discarded duffle bag on the floor. "Heavens no!" Gasped Lenora. Kaleb leaned down and grabbed it, his eye throbbed with the motion. Inside was most of the items he had sent her for, he pulled a bottle out and quickly threw two tablets in his mouth. "I don't think they're still here. And we won't be able to see anything in the dark."

Lenora's hands dropped to her sides, "You mean you want to wait to go after them?!" Her frustration showed in her tone and on her face. "Do you know where they would have taken her? A direction? I can barely see as it is Lenora, we are going to have to wait until daylight." He opened another bottle taking a different tablet, "I don't like the idea of waiting either, but all we are going to do in the dark is waste time." She wrung her hands, knowing he was right, "I hope the babies are alright." He bobbed his head in agreement, "If it was WOLF, they will be. I'm more worried about Petra." He paused for a second and drew in a deep breath, "When you were here before, did you find Trixie?" "No Kaleb, she was gone. None of these bodies are hers." He sighed with relief, "Then maybe they have her too."

The first sign of daylight Lenora was dragging Kaleb outside. His face was still swollen but he could open his good eye all the way, and could see out of a small slit in the other. The rest of his body still ached terribly and his head was still pounding. He gobbled down more of the pills as they began to examine the ground. They followed several tire tracks in different directions for a short while, before finding the ones that led off a way Kaleb rarely traveled. "Do you think they went that way?" He stared off tracing the tracks with his eyes. "It looks like it, we're going to need more guns." "What's that way?" She asked him. He jutted his jaw towards the tracts, "That's the real Desolates, Ferals that way." Her eyes glistened with fear.

Ferals were the kind of people you really wanted to avoid at all cost. Most were just trying to survive, but they were lawless. Stealing and killing others didn't bother them, even if there was no payoff for it. They were responsible for the human trafficking that didn't involve WOLF, and sometimes they even sold girls to WOLF. Lenora wouldn't be in that kind of danger, but they could kill them for their supplies, or just because they felt like it.