I was bitten by a bunny, or, how I managed to overthrow the human race.
Chapter One
“I’m never picking up a bunny again!!!” I shrieked, dropping Walnut from my arm and clutching my arm close to my chest. I saw Walnut run around in the enclosure in circles, frantic to get out of the open. I took my hand away from my arm, carefully studying the red patterns that had been stained on my fingers. I winced as a shot of pain ran up my arm, refocusing me onto what I should be doing: going to the infirmary. I carefully cradled my arm and started speed-walking away from the animal enclosure. I walked down the gravel path to the nurse, which was halfway across the camp!
I tried to keep my pace up as I went down the path, but I started to feel dizzy– that bunny had bit almost half the length of my arm! I was approaching the younger girls’ cabins, so I quickly stole into the bathroom to see if I could take care of the blood myself. I stumbled across the white tile floor and over to the paper towel dispenser. I quickly grabbed a few and wrapped them around my arm, hoping that that would stop some of the bleeding. I grimaced a little as the towels touched my already-inflamed bunny wound.
I walked out of the girl’s bathroom and continued on my way to the infirmary. I slowly dragged myself across the campus and finally, I made my way up the steps. I banged my fist down on the door and let myself slump a little as drowsiness crept over my body. I knocked again, no answer. I peered up at a sign hanging off the door. It said: “Closed for the day! If you need anything, ask your counselor! :)”
I let a moan escape my mouth as I tried to straighten myself up. What was I going to do now? I looked down at my bloodstained paper towels and decided it would just be best to head back to my cabin.
It took me a while, but I finally crossed the whole campus, and the baseball field, to get to my cabin. Tonight was the big soccer tournament, so I was sure no one would be around to notice the grave state of my arm. I was kind of surprised that no one had noticed me in my disheveled state, but I was too tired to care. I walked into my room and looked around, it was only 4:30. My roommates, Elly and Mary, would be back in a half-hour.
I went over to where I kept my clothes and rummaged through them. I pulled out two white kneesocks. I kept rummaging around in my clothes pile until I pulled out a pair of scissors. (The counselors would freak if they knew I had scissors in the cabin!) “Oh well… It’s, uh, too… bad these had to go to waste… uhhhhh…” I mumbled. I think the blood loss was getting to me.
I took the pair of scissors and shakily cut off the tops of my socks. Then I gently took the paper towels off from around my arm and slid the two socks over my wound. Hopefully that would stop most of the bleeding. I threw off my shoes and flung on my soft pajamas. I thought all I needed was a good night’s sleep. I tottered over to my bed and flopped down onto my mattress. I thought my roommates would understand if I skipped dinner that night. I pulled the covers over my head, and almost immediately fell asleep.
Chapter Two
I blinked my eyes open to the sound of Elly shifting out of her bed.
“Good morning…” she mumbled, before immediately pulling the covers back over her.
“Mmoorning Elly…” Mary muttered back.
“Hey guys… how was last… night?” I managed to mumble.
“We didn’t really… do anything, we just…ate food and, uh, messed around on the field…” Mary responded.
“You were… out cold! We didn’t want to disturb you.” Elly chimed in.
I slowly lifted myself out of bed and checked my arm.
“Whoa! That is one nasty cut!” Elly said.
“I know, Walnut bit me… hard,” I said, while sliding my makeshift cast off of my arm.
I inspected my cut. The bleeding had stopped, but it didn’t look attractive.
“I’ll go to the nurse later,” I said, sliding one of the socks back over my arm. I got dressed and went out to eat breakfast with Elly and Mary.
“You still seem tired. Are you sure you don’t need anything?” Mary said.
“I’m okay,” I said flatly.
I sat myself down in the dining hall and stared into the milk in my Cheerios. “Lucy, you’d better eat or your cereal’ll get soggy!” Elly said. I slowly began to eat my cereal.
After breakfast we all headed back to the cabin to have a little more downtime. I decided to put on my hoodie. That day, I didn’t feel like showing off my sock to everyone.
“Do you want to head back to the farm today?” Elly said.
“I’d really like to go and see the goats…” Mary added.
They looked at me. “Fine. I’ll go with you, but I’m not getting anywhere close to those bunnies.”
“Yay!” Elly said.
Later that morning, the three of us went up the hill near the baseball field to the place where the van would show up. Every day, at 10:30, a big van would stop to transport anyone who wanted to go to the farm, well, to the farm. You could walk there, of course, but it was kind of a long walk. The van slowly pulled up a few feet away from us, and we all hustled to get a good seat in the back. As I sat down and buckled my seatbelt, the last few people piled on to the front seats. Elly was practically bouncing off of her chair during the car ride. Mary seemed a little uncomfortable around the older people sitting in the front. They sure did have a lot of energy for ten in the morning.
Finally, the van pulled to a stop and I stumbled out the door. With my feet on solid ground, I felt a little better about facing the bunnies. “Come on, you slowpoke! You’re gonna miss feeding time!” Elly said as she rushed ahead of me. All three of us walked over to the bunny enclosure, even if I was a little nervous.
“Hey, you there!” A farm counselor said to us. “Have you seen Walnut anywhere? I haven’t seen him since yesterday afternoon. I think someone might have left him in the enclosure alone.” My heart stopped for a second. I had totally forgotten about Walnut! “Have you seen him, miss?” The counselor said to me, getting a little too close for comfort.
“N-no, I haven’t seen him at all.” I said quickly. Well, it was true, I hadn’t seen him after he bit me either, but I don’t know what made me lie like that.
Mary gave me a glance and then added in, “We’ll keep an eye out for him!” The three of us walked over to Walnut’s hutch. It seemed strangely neat for a rabbit’s cage.
“Oh well, how about those goats?” Elly said. It seems like she had forgotten all about the Walnut incident. We walked slowly over to the goat pen. Mary picked up a bucket of feed near the gate and let herself in. “Fernando! Where are you? It’s time for breakfast!” A gray goat trotted out from a small barn and bleated loudly at the sound of food.
“Yeah, go Fernando!” Elly screamed over the fence.
Mary carefully poured the feed into Fernando’s food bowl, and then she stepped away to let Fernando enjoy his meal. Mary gave Fernando a pat on the back, and then she left the goat pen.
“What do you guys say we head back?” I said. I didn’t want to risk another injury today.
“Sure! How about we look for Walnut on the way?” Elly said. She sounded very excited over the prospect of adventure.
Something was seemingly drawing me back to the nurse.
“I… I have to go to the nurse… uh, look without me.” I said.
“Oh, that’s too bad. We’ll see you around then!” Mary said.
The two of them walked down over to the hiking trail, while I left to go back to the nurse. I hoped that she was there today because I was worried about my bite becoming infected. I mechanically strolled through camp, stopping occasionally to listen to other campers having a good time.
I finally reached the wooden steps of the infirmary. I trudged up and looked up at the door. The same sign was on the door from yesterday, telling campers to go to their counselors. I unnaturally moved my hand to the doorknob and touched it. The door creaked slowly open. I stared into the dark infirmary. I stepped into the room and called out, “Hello?” I walked over to the nurse’s desk, where I saw the faint glow of a computer screen. But, behind the computer was not the nurse.
It was Walnut.
Chapter Three
“Wh-what?” I stuttered. Walnut tilted his head and grinned.
“Yes, I know. What is little Walnut doing? Why is he here in the infirmary? Where’s the nurse?” Walnut’s words boomed through my mind as he telepathically projected them to me. “Well, then, I’ll tell you everything. Sit.” He spoke.
I felt myself being forcefully pushed into the office chair, unable to resist the strange invisible pressure. I sat down in the office chair, and Walnut looked back at the nurse’s computer before he began his story. “I’ll tell you a secret. I’m not your average run-of-the mill bunny rabbit. I am a member of the new dominant master race of aliens that will conquer humans and become the rulers of this world. I have been very busy in that hutch, you know. After years of sending and receiving transmissions, I am finally ready to begin my plan against humanity!” Walnut shifted a little atop the computer before staring back at the screen, absorbing all of its contents. “I have already subdued the nurse and her assistants, and they are powerless under my control. Next, I must pursue the camp director. This camp will no longer be a sports camp– it shall be a labor camp! And I have just the person to help me….”
I felt myself paling after this speech. “There’s no way you could do this! I’ll-”
“Stop, you- yes, yes, how scary. Well, the thing is, you can’t. After I bit you, I implanted a nanite that is now multiplying and running through your bloodstream. With my powers, I can control you. There is NO WAY that you can resist my brain washing. In fact, I could erase your memory of everything I just told you, but I won’t. There is simply no way that you could resist. My nanites tell me all of your thoughts, and I think that Mary person would make a good next victim. Now then, go along and stand up, we have work to do, SLAVE.”
I briskly stood up, feeling very dizzy. I would have sat down if I could. To me, the prospect of thousands of little things entering in my bloodstream was not appealing.
Walnut motioned to me to go into the back room. On one of the cots, there lay the nurse and her assistants, tied up. Their eyes were closed in sweet silence. I tried to scream but my mouth was sealed shut. “Do not worry, pet. These tools are not needed just yet. I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of them very soon. Anyway, that is not the reason why you are in here. Check the upper left cabinet.” I felt my arms and legs become loose as I realized I could control them. “Don’t do anything funny, or I’ll make sure you won’t have this freedom again.” I winced a little and walked over to the cabinet.
I gently opened the door and peered inside. Sitting on a little holder, there was a small scalpel, some bandages and cleaning rag. “Take them.” I quickly stuffed the scalpel into the rag and then into my pocket. I then used a few bandages to seal up my cut, which had healed nicely since the day before. “Now, then, it is time to begin our work.”
TO BE CONTINUED…