PART THREE
It was a quiet ride back to Puka Ranch. Some of the guards wept softly, while others joined hands in a silent prayer for the repose of Little Daisy Dahl’s soul.
When we filed into the red barn, I stood next to Dahl who was bracing against Peters and another guard for support. I thought about saying a word to comfort him, but I wasn’t sure what to say for a dead cow.
”Um, I’m sure Little Daisy didn’t see the grenade coming… She was looking at the ocean. It was probably a pretty quick death.” Dahl choked back a sob so violently that he began to dry heave.
A man wearing a trapping team outfit approached us.
”Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I came to report that we found a blue rabbit in the jungle soon after you left.” I perked up.
”Really? You found Milky?”
Another trapper handed him a plastic carrying cage, which he then passed to me. Milky cowered in the back.
”Thank you! Oh my God, thank you.” Quickly realizing that I was the only happy one, I lowered my voice. “Alright, well… I’m going to head out now. Thank you Mr. Dahl.”
”Hold it— wait right there.” Dahl was standing on his own now, pointing at the plastic cage. “I need to talk to you, Florin. We need to have a talk.” He whistled, and the two trappers grabbed my arms. “Follow me.”
I tried to protest, but they marched me behind Dahl as he crossed the dirt track to the white barn. We stopped outside of the door.
”Florin, Pasteur talked to you a lot. So I need to show you something first.” One trapper pulled the cage free from my hand and handed it to Dahl. Dahl pulled Milky out and cradled him in his arm. I was pushed into the barn, with Dahl following behind me. The trappers stayed outside.
The white barn had a giant industrial machine in the center, surrounded by cages. There were hundreds of rabbits— New Zealand red rabbits. They were hopping around in the small cages. The industrial machine was off now, but it looked extremely dangerous.
“Pasteur was not a complete liar. The rabbits released came from Puka Ranch, but we’ve done our due diligence in recapturing them.” Dahl pet Milky.
”I went with you to the hotel. Give me Milky and let me leave, please.”
Dahl shook his head.
“By extracting and diluting the rabbits, we could temporarily transfer the genes. Give it to the cows. It worked for some, for a time, but they would die so soon after.” He placed his hand on the machine. “The local population doesn’t have the variance necessary. And the new rabbits that come to the island are little neutered pets.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You feed the cows rabbits?”
“Listen close now. We emulsify them, to give to cows.”
“You want to feed Milky to a cow? Are you insane?”
“No son, I just lost my last cow. We got one last barrel of her milk left. I’m desperate. I need Milky, to try introducing variance to the rabbits. Genetic diversity, Florin. To make a new Little Daisy Dahl.”
“Fuck off, Drummond. Give me Milky.”
“I need him. You’re a man in uniform. You should know about sacrifice and duty. This is the time for that. Kalima needs it. The ranch is its only hope.”
“I… need to think for a second.” Dahl gave an approving nod. I sat down against the edge machine and crossed my foot onto my leg. Dahl paced around, looking at Milky.
“Florin, you said his name was Milk? I think I might call him Little Drumm-“
Before he could finish I pulled my shoe off of my foot and threw it as hard as I could against the back of his head. It hit the nape of his neck and he fell to the ground, dropping Milky. Milky hopped away behind a plastic barrel labeled “DAISY.” I followed after him, trying to jump over, but my foot caught and I fell on the other side. Milky hadn’t moved.
”GODDAMN YOU, FLORIN! YOU FUCK! YOU DUMB FUCK!” Dahl howled. I peeked over the barrel to see him aiming his revolver. I ducked back down, but after a shot rang out, I felt liquid spread out over my hand.
Dahl’s shot had pierced the side of the barrel, and milk began leaking out.
”YOU FUCK! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!”
I was safe behind the barrel until Dahl rounded it, but I knew that the guards would come to the barn at any minute. Milky was drinking from a puddle of the spilled milk. Scooping him up, I kicked the barrel to the ground and it rolled towards Dahl. He screamed in fear.
”NO! THE MILK!”
He shot wildly at me again and and threw the revolver to the floor, attempting to patch the holes in the barrel with his thumb. I reached the back door to the barn but when I threw it open, Peters stood on the other side. We both stood still for a moment while Dahl screamed for help behind me. After a moment, he stepped aside. I moved past him slowly, and after he watched me leave, he entered the barn.
Guards started swarming to the perimeter of the forest, but I managed to reach it before them. I crawled through the shrubbery as they shot blindly into the woods. One of the bullets flew through my arm, and Milky and I both screamed in pain. I was too busy moving through the jungle to take the time to look at Milky, but I could feel his breathing slow as I held him against me. After what seemed like hours of crawling, I saw the roof of the quarantine facility. Cradling my arm, I exited the jungle. Milky had stilled in my arm.
…
”He shot Milky? Are you fucking kidding me? How am I supposed to tell my daughter that some hick shot her fucking rabbit?”
When I told Mr. Hutchins about the incident, I had left out the details about the hotel, naturally. When I had been brought in for questioning about the incident, Usagi had testified against my involvement in the ranch’s actions. For whatever reason, he had told the police that I was held at gunpoint, same as him. When I was released without charges, I tried to visit the hotel to thank him, but I was told that he had moved back to the main island.
I told Mr. Hutchins that it had been Drummond Dahl who kidnapped Milky directly from the quarantine center, and that I had been kept as a hostage until my attempted escape with Milky. He called me an idiot a few more times and stormed off, threatening a lawsuit.
Returning to my car that night, the entirety of the driver's side was keyed. After examining it, I just sighed and drove home. Mr. Hutchinson was probably more justified to key my car than he even realized.
When I got to my apartment, I flipped on the light and grabbed a carrot from the fridge. Milky looked up at me from the cage.
“You better appreciate this one. It’s the only one you’re getting tonight.”
Milky’s head bobbed as he crunched into the carrot.
…
After I had left the jungle that night I got in my car and finally set Milky down. The bullet had gone through my arm and Milky’s torso. He had bled out. I drove myself to the hospital, parking my car directly in front of the entrance. I collapsed in lobby, refreshed at how cold the air conditioning felt.
When I awoke, Milky was in a cage next to the bed.
”We found him in your car when we moved it. He’s been waiting for you to wake up.” A nurse told me.
Milky was watching me with his little watery black eyes.
…
I fed Milky the rest of the carrot and changed the bandage on my arm. At the table. Milky was watching me still.
”I already gave you a carrot. The organic ones are three times the price.”
Milky’s nose twitched.
”You’re a little monster.”
It’s not as if I liked the idea of taking a bunny from a little kid. I would’ve preferred to just hand it back over to her, but I didn’t think it was a great idea to leave a bunny that drank Little Daisy’s milk with a kid. Besides, she didn’t know the first thing about rabbits. She told me before that bunnies are white— she was wrong.
Rabbits are red.