Raiyev Part 18
#18 of Raiyev
"Where are they keeping this place, anyway?" Dr. Harper asked as Raiyev carried her through the forest. They had been traveling for many hours, and Raiyev had silently blessed the clouds blocking out the moonlight, making his travel in hidden darkness all the more easy.
"It took me a couple days to get to the penitentiary after I escaped," Raiyev whispered, afraid of the projection power of his voice. He had been silently trying to follow what he thought was the path back to the hidden facility, all the while still mulling over everything in his head. What do they want with me?...What was Paxton doing, and how was she involved?...I hope this is the right path home...I really hope I don't fuck things up worse by bringing Harper into this...Where's Brad?...Where's my mate?
"And you're sure you know where you're going?" Harper asked cautiously. She was beginning to rethink things herself--namely, her position in this sordid affair, and how it could be very costly to get further involved. She stayed stanch, though, feeling full well the love and respect she held for her friend. Raiyev was always a wonderful friend to her, she mused, and he definitely needed her help now. How could she say no?
"I'm...pretty sure, yeah," Raiyev hesitated a moment before finding a patch of barren, broken bushes. "Aha!" he claimed, a bit louder than he should have, in retrospect. "I recognize this area," he said in his quieter voice.
"You do?" replied the small rabbit. "That's good...glad to know we're on the right track, then."
"Well, I had to eat, didn't I?" chuckled Raiyev softly. "Unfortunately," he said in a more serious tone, "it takes a lot to feed me now at this size...and unless we find a way to get me back to normal, I'm afraid it's going to get worse for me."
"You mean get the rest of the planet back to normal, right? You ARE normal--the only normal-sized thing here, it seems."
"Yeah...right..." Raiyev replied, remembering again his position on this shrinking planet. "And you're really sure--"
"Yes," Harper said heavily, knowing already what he was going to ask. "Raiyev, you should know that you mean more to me than just a coworker. I've always considered you a good friend, and I'm willing to fight for you. I want to help."
Raiyev turn his head to hide a single tear running down his cheek. "I just...I couldn't live with myself if you ended up hurt--or worse--because of this."
"Try to think more positively, love," Harper said consolingly, patting her paw on his large arm. "C'mon now, we need to get going."
"Right. Of course," Raiyev stuttered, wiping his face dry and plodding along again.
****
In a little less time than it took him to find Harper at the prison, Raiyev found himself on the border of the clearing near the hidden facility. He knew it too well, and there was already a mix of emotions tied to it. He finally set Harper down on the ground, still hidden by the trees a few hundred feet in from the clearing.
"Now, you're going to have to travel around to some side of that mountain there," Raiyev told Harper, pointing to the small mountain he remembered coming out of when he escaped. "I don't know how to get it--the moment I got out the exit seemed to disappear behind me. Oh, and I came out to face a clearing--not this one here, but another one right by the mountainside."
"Okay...I think I manage," Harper said, looking over to the mountain. She glanced over at Raiyev again, noting how much taller he looked now that she was on the ground. Still, that didn't stop her from rushing at his leg and hugging him dearly. "Please take care of yourself. Keep yourself well-hidden...I know that must be hard for you at your current size, but still..." Her voice trailed off, looking up at him. She realized she was probably worrying--and chatting--too much. "Just do your best," she added.
"You, too," Raiyev said, smiling half-heartedly, his tail swaying a bit. "I'll stay around this area, so meet me back here as soon as you can." Harper nodded and was off, wandering into the clearing, leaving Raiyev still hidden amongst the trees. He watched her for a while, until she was well out of sight. He then turned around and started searching the area for anything edible. There ought to be more berries or something around here, he thought, his tummy rumbling audibly. He had had slim pickings for the past several days--not counting the terrible atrocity of eating all those innocent folks from the city he terrorized.
How the hell had he become so huge so fast, anyway? And how did he revert back to normal? He wish he could find a current newspaper lying around somewhere to find out exactly where he had done that indescribable deed. At the very least, this area of the country seemed well intact.
Without realizing it, he had gotten so wrapped up in his silent thoughts that he had wandered inadvertently into the clearing he was trying to avoid. He looked around, spotted the line of trees bordering the clearing, and darted for them once again. Just before he reached the edge, though, he felt a stinging prick in his neck and fell to the ground, completely blacked out.
****
Raiyev awoke to find himself back in that same cell he was imprisoned in before, now slightly smaller than he remembered it. "NO!!!" he cried out, flinging himself against the clear wall, hoping to shatter it, pounding on it with all his might, fists flailing...but to no avail. It was too thick. "YOU BASTARDS!! YOU SICK FUCKS!! LET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!! LET ME OUT!! GODDAMN YOU!! GODDAMN YOU ALL!!!"
He kept up like this for a long while, yelling and pounding until he tired himself out, feeling weak and broken...and, worst of all, defeated. Tears started to stream from his eyes again, his ears folded back. He slumped to the ground, trying to figure a way out, hoping beyond hope that Harper would be able to rescue him or something.
"Please don't cry, Raiyev," came a familiar and soothing voice. Raiyev's ears turned up, his head darting around to look for the source of the voice. And there--obviously having been there all this time--was Dr. Frost in the cell next to his, looking a little worse for wear.
"Oh, gods, Dr. Frost..." Raiyev began, seeing how hopeless she looked, trapped just as he was. He lowered his head, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. "I'm so stupid."
"No..." Frost said consolingly. "What makes you say that?"
"I should have brought you with me. We should have escaped together. You shouldn't be in this place."
"I shouldn't even be alive, actually," Frost said seriously.
"What do you mean?" Raiyev said, staring at her curiously.
"I was captured almost immediately after we last parted, Raiyev," she began. "You're a viable match for them, but I'm too small and weak compared to them. They snatched me up as if I were a child. They were about to kill me, but..." She hesitated, as if still trying to believe herself what had actually happened.
"...But what?" Raiyev asked, fully intrigued.
"...But Thomas Ferai pleaded them not to," she concluded.
"Thomas?!" Raiyev said incredulously. "OUR Thomas?" he questioned in total shock.
"I know," the hybrid replied. "I was just as surprised as you. It seems like he's been a spy for them or something. I don't understand it myself." She and Raiyev sat in silence a moment, thinking it over. "Regardless," she said, breaking the silence, "he was very adamant for my life to be spared...so they agreed, for whatever reason beyond me. If this is the life I'm supposed to continue living out, I'd rather they have killed me then and there, to be bluntly honest."
"Thomas wasn't the only one from EarthTech involved, it seems," Raiyev said.
"Oh? How did you find this out?" Frost said, perhaps a little colder than she should have, as if she was accusing Raiyev of withholding information.
"I only just found out from Dr. Harper," Raiyev explained, and after making sure the coast was clear, he went into a full recount of what had happened after he escaped, how he found and kidnapped Harper from the prison, and about everything she had told him about Dr. Paxton. When he mentioned Harper's current mission of retrieving information from this place, he had a sudden revelation.
"Oh, gods!" he exclaimed, slapping his forehead. "She's bound to be caught! Oh, I just knew I shouldn't have let her do this! They'll murder her!"
"Please!" Frost whispered. "Lower your voice! You don't want everyone to know she's here and to start looking for her, do you?" Raiyev looked scared, but kept silent and started to calm down. "If she was able to find out as much as she has already, then she seems to have some sleuthing skills beyond what I could ever do. Just because I was caught doesn't mean she will be, too, Raiyev. So please don't worry too much--have a little faith."
Raiyev nodded, then sat back against the wall of his cell, thinking. He stayed silent like this for so long that he nodded off. When he awoke, he found himself strapped again to that table he remembered once before, the bright white light buzzing overhead. "Oh, gods!" he thought out loud. "Not this again! Not this! I won't do it!" He did his best to struggle against the straps, feeling a heavy drowsiness start to overcome him again. He fought the urge to give in and sleep, but to no avail. He knew what was coming, and he feared for the lives of millions what he might do next. That fear was the last thing he felt before falling unconscious.