Chapter 284: Bunnies!

Chapter 284: Bunnies!

"Bunnies?!"

The shout from Min was followed by a rush of feet as all of the children and teens rushed out the front door, followed by Brad and Butch walking slower as they tried not to gape at the houses and trees. Seeing pictures of trees was one thing, but this was like another world. Butch's gang had been on a field trip in the last year outside of the habitat, experiencing the smoggy sky above the city and visiting a small park with brown grass flattened by many feet and trees struggling for light between the tall buildings. This small pocket of nature, deep underground was more enchanting than that dried-up slice of urban vegetation.

Mama sighed and said to Milo, "Hon, trying to warn hab kids about the possible dangers of live rabbits is a lost cause. They only get to see a live animal once a year when someone brings in a couple of goats and calls it a 'petting zoo'. You'd have had better luck asking them to give up video games for a month. I'm not even going to ask you what this place is, or how you know about it. I'm too rattled from that fight. But I'm sure we'll catch up about all of this in a little while."

Based on the results of his warnings, Milo had to agree. The group invaded the park, searching and finding its fuzzy and surprisingly tame inhabitants. The younger rabbits were a bit skittish, but the older adults hopped into laps to be petted and fawned over, although a little disappointed by the lack of treats. The Roomba circled the park and took up stations, and Milo tried to relax. The other adults were far more amazed than the children, understanding the difficulties of building such a place, and the cost. But if Milo said they were living here, even briefly, they weren't going to question the situation much.

The trip down the elevator had been filled with questions that Milo tried to answer, but in doing so, only confused everyone more. They started to understand as he led them through the security area and into the upper story of Independence Hall. Curiosity turned to surprise as they saw hallways with wooden paneling, colorful wallpaper, and polished oak floors. Surprised turned to awe as they descended the stairs further and finally came to the large meeting rooms on the bottom floor and got a glimpse of the trees through the windows. The children had abandoned their burdens as they ran to the park, and now the adults did the same as they stared at the realistic sky overhead, the park, and curving streets dotted with 'outside houses'.Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

James started to slowly walk around the park, chuckling at the names of the houses, possibly the only person there that knew the history of each one. He'd lived outside, but at some point he'd moved into the habitat to be closer to his job, and never left. He saw a rabbit scamper out from behind a house, stopping to chew something green before running to the park. He slowly walked that way to take a look, snorting when he saw a half-eaten carrot. He picked it up and smelled it. "Someone isn't keeping their 'ponics running so good, Milo. Too much fertilizer in the mix."

Milo had looked at the overgrown hydroponics area he'd found, but not given it much thought at the time. "I don't think anyone's looked at it in years, James."

The old man nodded and kept walking slowly around the park. "Maybe its time someone did then. Not good to leave the rabbits in charge."

Big Butch turned to Milo, "Real wood houses? Hydroponics? And the trees! Amazing. But who lives here? This can't be as empty as it seems."

The medical lab drew more shocked gasps. It was a small hospital, in and of itself, and far larger than the clinics in the hab that served thousands of people daily. Belinda's pod was undisturbed and she was fast asleep. Milo had to remind himself it had only been a couple of hours since he left her here. He explained some of her condition, and watched the adults grow angry and concerned.

"One of us will always be here. We'll take turns watching over her. I suspect you have more mysterious work to get done."

Milo sagged against the wall. "More than ever. There are more of those mercenaries running around upstairs, and Belinda is upset about it. She's worried about her friend Eric. I have to talk to him and see what I can do. And then there's the problems with her Dad. He's going to explode when he hears about what happened today. And her Uncle Victor is still pulling strings. But she should be safe down here. No one can find us, trust me on that. I'll be back in a few hours. Keep everyone busy and don't go past the big double doors; the air is bad there, very bad, and there is no oxygen in the mix at all. I saw some food in the houses, and I can bring more here from freezers I found in the bad-air sections."

He would have said more, but Rusty's voice yelled out, suddenly, "MILO! Quick, I found it."

"Found what?"

"One of the injured security drones activated while you were gone and I've been looking for it. I have all the others accounted for, but not Black13! It just activated and is moving towards the hydroponics area."

Milo started running and then heard the unmistakable sound of James firing his gun. The antique was powerful, but it wasn't as fast as a laser wielded by a robot. With dread in the pit of his stomach he burst into the room to see a white-faced Kenji staring at James. The old man twirled his gun and put it back into its holster. Nearby was the security Roomba, unmoving with a smoking hole where it's laser should be.

Milo was relieved but puzzled. "How did you shoot first?"

The old man shook his head in disgust. "Fool thing got the drop on me, but started yelling something about 'intruders' and 'kill the humanoid'. That was my clue to shoot it. If you don't mind, I'm going to get to work sorting out these hydroponic farms. Loads of work to do and Kenji here has his eye on some of my games and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, so I've got a helper. It's all been growing wild for years with the automatic systems dumping seeds and fertilizer willy-nilly. The place is jam-packed with half eaten carrots. No wonder those rabbits are so fat."