(Previous: https://redd.it/12f4muy )
I didn’t know what to expect when I stepped into the circle. It felt like I just missed a step then dizziness overtook my vision and lasted for a few seconds. When I recovered, I saw I no longer stood in the city but in front of a farmhouse. Barren fields surrounded us making me think no one kept up this farm for a while. A barn stood in the distance behind the house, worn and falling apart. I held the borrowed sword closer to my body, feeling the painful heat to focus on that instead of my fear.
The other Agent was right. I didn’t belong here. I was risking my life for a chance to get some payback for people who didn’t even like me. I was here now, so none of that mattered. I braced myself next to Agent Jan wondering what we should do first. What we were looking for made it easy to find them.
Glowing circles appeared on the ground around us. They looked a lot like the one I stepped into to get transported here. A massive claw came out from the ground inside the circle in front of us, followed by the huge body of a monster I would barely be able to call a rabbit. The entire head was missing. The body was the size of a small car with almost human-like arms covered in fur. The back half just looked like an oversized rabbit. A smell of rot hit us making my eyes tear up.
I turned my head away for a second as other monsters came up from the ground. At least five of the larger ones, all missing parts, and yet still moved around. A small hoard of regular rabbits came bursting from the barn. They would reach us in a minute or so. I knew they carried the same disease that infected my family. If one took a bite out of us, it would be all over.
I reached down to pull out the blade from the scabbard, hand trembling. This was all too much for me. I don’t know what I was thinking about insisting on coming here. At least Jan didn’t appear worried in the slightest. He pulled out another package of chocolate-covered biscuit sticks. I expected him to start fighting. At least none of the monsters came at us just yet. The man I met at the market pulled himself up from the last glowing circle. A hatred as hot as the hilt in my hand came to my chest. I’d never wanted to kill someone as much I did at that moment.
I try to be understanding when it comes to people. Even if they show some sort of unjust hatred towards me, I want to understand their reasoning and why they felt like they did. I simply could not figure out why this person sold rabbits to punish people buying them at Easter.
“Is The Corporation so low on Agents that they resorted to recruiting humans? Ones that do arts and crafts at that?” He commented as he brushed some dirt off his ill-fitting suit.
“Yes. But Cora wanted to come here by her own choice. I assume it was to speak with you.” Jan said as he finished off his little snack.
At least he put the trash in his pocket and didn’t litter. The other man appeared confused for a moment. He didn’t order his monsters to attack because he was curious about what I had to say to him.
“You’re killing rabbits!” I snapped, making him take a slight step backward. He recovered and I went on. “What’s the point of doing all this if you’re just killing rabbits?! People I cared about died for such a stupid reason, and you’re hurting the ones you’re trying to save!”
I expected him to get angry. Instead, he smiled in a way that made my skin crawl.
“Sadly, yes. Some sacrifices must be made. However, I shall remember each name of my brothers and sisters that shall change the world.” He replied, his smile growing wider.
“Change the world?” I pressed confused.
He extended his arms to his side as if trying to clue me into a bigger picture.
“Did you think this was just because of one holiday? No, rabbits have been abused for so many other reasons. I’m tired of it. We are poorly cared for as pets, raised for meat, and prey for other creatures. No more of any of that. This infection is going to go through this entire world changing everything into the form of a rabbit. No longer are we going to be at the bottom of the food chain! This world is going to be ours and there is nothing a simple human can do about it!”
This guy really went off the deep end into the villain’s master plan monologue. He even finished with a long-crazed laughter that echoed through the night. I was about to respond to him, but I felt a hand on my shoulder. Jan looked down at me, an amused look on his face.
“There is no reasoning with insanity.” The Agent said.
He was right about that. I raised the sword in front of me, the blade heavy in my hands and the metal so hot I nearly dropped it. I needed to use it or else I would die there. Some of the smaller diseased rabbits reached us and jumped through the air wanting to tear into our flesh. I swung the sword too soon, but that didn’t matter. A burst of flame came from the blade and shot out so far it made the larger creatures move back. The sword pulled something from my chest. The feeling was very unpleasant. I gritted my teeth, ready to keep going.
I hated the fact we needed to kill so many rabbits. If we didn’t, they would go on to infect others. And then they would go on to kill or infect more people until they were killed. I had no idea what The Corporation was, or how many Agents they employed. I figured it would be an issue if all these creatures got out. We needed to put a stop to this here or else so many more innocent lives would be lost.
Jan took over fighting the larger creatures. The man in the blue suit disappeared once we started fighting. I hoped he was just hiding somewhere instead of running away. I didn’t have time to try and find him. I was getting swarmed with small rabbits and my sword could barely hold them back.
I looked over in time to see Jan get caught by the leg. The headless monster grabbed him by the ankle. His body was tossed into the air, making me think he was going to die when he hit the ground. The calm expression remained on his face. The moment he started falling back to Earth. He put his hands out in front of him as if he was looking through a wide imaginary box again. A burst of uncontrolled golden light blasted through the creature that tossed him. I didn’t have the chance to see his landing.
I got too busy swatting away rabid rabbits with the magic sword. My chest ached almost as much as my hands. I couldn’t keep this up for much longer and yet it didn’t seem like I put a dent into the hoard. I faltered for half a second. The pain almost overwhelmed me. I thought of my niece and the fiery rage matched the sword. The more rabbits I killed, the fewer children were at risk of their lives getting cut short.
Another golden blast landed too close to where I fought. The shock wave nearly blew me off my feet, but it also knocked aside some of my attackers to let me get a breather. I made the mistake of taking a short break in the middle of a fight.
By the time I turned my head to face the rabbit with a foaming mouth of teeth, it was too late to react. A black shape came between my face and the deadly teeth. They sank into flesh but not mine. Jan blocked the rabbit with his arm. With a graceful movement, he threw the small animal off, but the damage had already been done. The rabbit drew blood. My heart sank thinking that now the only person who stood a chance against saving the world from a were-rabbit infection now might become one.
I sat stunned but Jan didn’t waste a second. He took the sword from my hands and to my horror, sliced off his right arm at the shoulder. The flaming sword burned the wound shut. He made a slight expression of pain. He noticed how my mouth fell open at his actions. Jan used the sword to clear out more rabbits near us long enough to speak to me.
“Don’t worry, I have great benefits.” He said while flashing a smile.
For a second, I thought he meant his arm could be cured of the infection and then re-attached. He disproved that theory when he kicked his severed arm into the hoard of rabbits to distract them. They fell on it, and the sounds of flesh ripping and teeth on bones nearly made me sick. At least that gave me enough time to recover.
“You have made a great effort! But I am not the only one who is part of this plan. If I fail, then another shall take my place next Easter! As it stands, that forethought was not required!”
The man appeared arms out to his side with excitement clear on his face. I only had one chance. I snatched the sword from Jan to put everything I had into one swing in his direction. The flames left a deep groove in the ground as he burst towards him. The last of the large creatures stepped in front, shielding the ringleader. The blast of flames tore the monster in half but died down before they reached the right target. I felt so disappointed in myself that I fell short. The sword drained so much from me that I doubted I had another large-scale attack in me.
I heard that man laughing as the monster fell. At least one of us was having a good time. The smaller rabbits turned towards the noise. To my shock, they started to swarm him, ignoring us. He laughed harder, his eyes wild as the teeth started on his legs.
“You never stood a chance! A human and now a one-armed Agent cannot stop the flood! This world is now ours!”
I turned away not wanting to see him be eaten by the smaller creatures. Why did he just let them do that? Why give up his life? The answer shortly came. The rabbits that got a mouthful of the man’s flesh backed away. Their bodies cracked and twisted. My stomach tightened when I watched one break in half. The two halves quickly reformed onto two full rabbits. The new rabbits turned to take a bite out of the nearest living thing. The moment they got a mouthful of flesh, their bodies started to separate again. For some reason, whatever was in his blood activated the supernatural rabbits to multiply.
“I wondered when he was going to bring out his trump card. He didn’t want to show his hand until he felt positive, we weren’t strong enough to defeat his army in one swoop.” Jan spoke his tone even.
I looked up at him exhausted and feeling sick from our bleak future. What could we even do? He needed both arms for his box attack. I couldn’t even stand, let alone lift my arms to use the sword. The rabbits were too busy attacking each other but they would turn on us just yet. They found the bodies of the fallen monsters, the dead flesh fueling the swarm even more. Would these small monsters even need to infect others? Or would they become a flood that ate every living creature on the planet?
“You came here ready to risk your life. We are facing a certain death. What are you going to do now?” Jan asked, his voice bringing me back to the moment.
His words didn’t sound cruel. Rather, it was as if he wanted to test me. If I was going to die, I might as well do what I tagged along for. I pulled the last of the strength together to bring the sword down one last time. The burst of flames was nowhere near as impressive as the last attack. I still felt proud of myself for forcing it out. And scared. Mostly scared.
That last attack was the best I could do. I doubted my aunt or niece would feel proud of me for dying here. At least I did something. Jan suddenly grabbed me around the waist to lift my body off the ground. We jumped back a few feet. He carefully set me back down and tossed off his suit jacket. It landed over my face, blinding me for a second. I smelled a hint of cigarette smoke clinging to the fabric. Turns out he did smoke, but not often.
“Try to cover yourself as much as possible with that jacket. I needed to see if you were ready to accept your death. I work alone because most supernatural creatures cannot survive the backlash when I get serious. I am… uncertain if you’ll make it out alive.” Jan explained.
His gold eyes and kind smile made it hard to be mad at him for letting me come along on a suicide mission. He wanted to let me get my revenge regardless of if it cost my life. I bet he also made himself appear weak so the mastermind of this stupid end-of-the-world plan felt comfortable revealing the entire plot.
The sounds of the rabbits getting closer distracted me. I did as I was told and huddled under the jacket. I still peeked up toward Jan to see what he might do with one arm. What I saw made it clear he didn’t care in the slightest about his missing arm. He was one of the rare people who didn’t need two.
He didn’t say any odd words or use any hand signals. He just raised his left hand, each finger touching the tip of his thumb making a circle he looked through. That was it. A flash of gold came to his eyes. I looked over to the hoard, seeing a very small ball of golden light appear hovering in the air above them. For a moment, gravity stopped around them. Each small body started to drift up, with all sounds stopping. The nothing. I felt the blast hit my chest and my vision go white. I wasn’t aware I got knocked out until I woke up next. From what I heard; it was a miracle I wasn’t turned to dust like the entirety of the farm. From what I guessed; Jan’s power became stronger the more he focused it on one spot. Like a hose with water. A larger opening meant a less powerful stream. A focused one created more pressure. He kept both eyes open when he let loose on the farm. I feared just how much damage he could do if he fully focused on one spot.
My eyes opened, and I found myself in an unfamiliar clinic bed. My entire body hurt. My fingers and toes had a static tingle at the tips as if they lacked blood flow. I slowly sat up, flexing them trying to get rid of the feeling. It refused to completely go away. I heard some papers rustling, drawing my eyes to the noise. A person sat in a chair wearing scrubs working away. I guessed it was a guy from the flat chest, but their face did give a hint at a gender. They turned to give me a smile noticing I woke up.
“Can I hold your hand?” I asked on reflex. My brain not fully waking up just yet.
Their body was made of a clear pale pastel blue substance. They looked solid, and I wanted to know what their skin felt like.
“Yes, because you asked nicely.”
They rolled over an office chair to start going over my vitals. Their hands were firm, yet slightly squishy at the same time.
“My name is Robin. I work at the clinic here. So far, you’re looking good.” They commented after a few minutes of checking me over.
“Oh, like a robin’s egg.” I commented.
The body color looked like the same shade. A smile came to their face, and I assumed I was one of the few people who made the connection. The tingling still had gone away no matter how much I shook my hands.
“I think you’ll be stuck with that feeling for a few weeks. Agent Jan let out a lot of magic. If you were a supernatural creature, you would be dead. You just took in more magic than your body is used to, causing some damage.” Robin explained.
I gave them a confused expression not understanding why a human would have survived when a supernatural creature wouldn’t.
“It’s hard to explain. Simply put, creatures can absorb magic in the air. Humans won’t unless there is a lot around them. Even then, they won’t take in the same amount as something supernatural. Each creature has a limit of magic they can take in at once. If they get overloaded, their body breaks down. Humans as well, but that happens if the magic is forcefully pushed through with physical contact.”
I guess that made sense. I bet there was a lot more to all of this, but Robin kept it simple. A knock came at the door. I wasn’t expecting Jan to come into the room. I assumed he would be too busy to check in on me.
“How is Miss Cora doing?” He asked Robin.
“Just fine. I need to do some work around the clinic. I’ll let you two catch up. Cora can leave at any point she feels like.”
Robin got up to leave us alone. I wasn’t sure what to ask at first. The moment Robin left; Jan pulled out a long slim cigar from his suit pocket. With one hand he lit it, his right sleeve still empty. Guilt tore at my stomach from seeing his missing arm. That didn’t stop me from scolding him.
“You shouldn’t smoke in a clinic.” I told him.
“You sound like Robin. It’s fine, it’s only one.” Jan replied.
I let it go. From the looks of it, he only smoked when he finished a case. Maybe only when there weren’t too many casualties as a small reward.
“I’m sorry about your arm.” I spoke in a small voice.
I lived with minor damage and yet he wasn’t so lucky.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll have a replacement in a few days. It’s the second time I’ve lost it. I’ve also replaced my legs three times and some organs more than a dozen. My body does well with artificial replacements, unlike most supernatural creatures.”
My mouth dropped open slightly over his words. Aside from the fact these creatures found a way to artificially make arms and legs, he’d gone through so much to need new parts so often. I hated to think of what other monsters he faced in his past.
“That’s… horrible.” I said shaking my head.
“It’s the job I signed up for. I understand the risks. Not unlike you charging in to avenge your family. Do you feel any better now that you know the man who harmed them is gone?” He asked as he blew the smoke away from me.
I thought about the question for a few seconds before giving my honest answer.
“I don’t know how I feel. I’m glad that he’s not around to hurt anyone else. But it doesn’t feel fair. My aunt and my niece… I need to arrange a funeral for my aunt. And I do appreciate the Agent waiting until I left to take care of my niece.” I said, my chest aching.
“The Corporation has already taken care of your aunt’s body and arranged a funeral. Fully paid for. The cover-up story is a gas leak that caused an explosion. About your niece, we didn’t kill her.” Jan said and waited for my reaction.
I stood up feeling dizzy. Was there some way to change her back? Could I ever see her little smiling face again?
“I don’t think we’ll ever be able to turn her back into a human. She only becomes violent when others are inside the room. And she still carries the virus that changes others by her bite. There is hope that can be removed, and maybe she’ll be able to become tamer as time goes on. At the very least, she has all her needs met and a decent life even if it’s one where she’s locked away.”
I again didn’t know how to feel. I knew they were treating her in a kind way. And maybe if they studied what virus she carried they may be able to create a cure so others wouldn’t share the same fate as her or my uncle. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, the slight tingling in my fingertips an annoying feeling.
“Would I be able to see her?” I asked.
Jan nodded. At some point I could, but behind some glass. The Corporation would work with me to do their best to bring my little niece back to who she was before if it was possible. My eyes landed on a calendar on the wall and my heart dropped. It was four days after we fought on the farm. Did I really sleep for that long?
“I had a shift at work! I’ll get fired for a no call no show!” I gasped when I realized the date.
Jan was amused by my minor freak-out. He carefully stubbed out his cigar and hid the remains away in a small silver case.
“We spoke with your boss. You have a month off to recover, don’t worry about it. Also, you were paid for this job. It was made official after the job, but you worked as a temporary contract worker. I sent along the payment I would have earned from this case to your bank account. I don’t need the money right now.”
Oh, I didn’t think about the fact Agents got paid. This was a job after all. We didn’t even work for an hour. How long was that fight? I bet they got paid over minimum wage due to how dangerous their work was. I expected under a hundred dollars for the job.
“I believe the total comes out to a little over two hundred thousand. No taxes at the end of the year, don’t worry about that.”
I needed to sit down. I blankly stared at Jan expecting this to be a joke. His neutral expression never dropped. Agents got paid well for saving the world, but how the hell did one company have so much to just give away like this? He ignored my reaction and kept speaking.
“People who encounter supernatural creatures are at a higher risk of being killed by one. There is a good chance you’ll come across something dangerous in the future. Keep my number. Call me if something happens.”
His golden eyes landed on me, and I felt my face flush. He noticed that reaction and needed to turn away to hide a smile.
“I’m too old for you. Call me if you’re in danger.” Jan said, a slight laugh in his voice.
I wanted to get up and punch his arm. Yes, I did like him, but I knew from the start he wouldn’t feel the same way. The jerk. And now he was trying not to let me see him laugh over the fact I had a crush on him.
“I’m glad you lost an arm. You’re mean.”
Not my proudest moment. At least he took it well. We both laughed a little. Robin poked their head inside the room to see if everything was still alright. Robin smelled the hint of the cigar in the room and let Jan have it over smoking inside the clinic. It was an odd sight watching a powerful person like himself take verbal abuse from a person much shorter and cuter.
Robin finally stopped, letting us both leave. I promised I would call Jan if anything odd happened. I also threatened to abuse the fact I knew his work number. He took me back to my apartment. I watched him leave aware he was off to help save the world once again.
The year crawled on without too much happening. I saw my niece twice. She looked like a monster, but they gave her a large living area with lots of toys. She was happy despite what she turned into. They still couldn’t have any living creature go into the same room as her without a violent outburst. But there was hope that in a few years, she would get better at being in contact with others.
I hadn’t seen any signs of supernatural creatures since. I figured they didn’t want to mess with me because I had an Agent’s number on speed dial. As the next Easter crept closer, I started to dread the idea that more of the diseased rabbits were going to be sold to unsuspecting victims. Jan hadn’t confirmed if there are more people out there with access to the virus, or planning on taking over the world with rabbits. There was a chance it could happen again.
So do me a favor and stick to chocolate rabbits this year.