SD 09/03/05 - "Down the Rabbit Hole" - They say even paranoids have enemies, but I still can hardly believe it. There really are rabbits that were trying to eat Lera, or at least attacking her.
In the past few days, we've been able to keep the fire going and made a makeshift shelter from twigs and leaves. We've also been able to snag a few squirrels and other small mammals & lizards and snakes for meat. But the bigger animals I read would be here, no sign of them other than those bones from fairly recent kills. So we were a bit short on meat, much to the misery of those of us who depend more on it. Oddly, we found around some of the kids the same kind of rabbit tracks that led to that boulder and nowhere else on Day One.
We've also had to endure illness, well most of us. We've had bouts of diareah and stomach upset from the food and water, and Ben Dover seems to have caught some kind of jungle fever as well. But when Lynx stares his way, he seems to find renewed energy to scuttle away. Droolin has been a little ill as well at times, but when a girl is nearby, he always seems to temporarily recover. Tarra, however, hasn't gotten sick at all. Not a hint of running off into the bushes. Wonder what tonic she drank before we were sent here?
Tarra went off to get a small rabbit with Lynx following when I heard Lera screaming. I went to investigate, and I think I saw Lott following as well though lost track of her. In some damp ground I found Lera's footprints in a run, followed by those of the big rabbits we were tracking. I ran into Droolin, who told me he saw Lera rowing a rowboat, with "SS James Carter" painted on the side, across the lake being chased by a huge rabbit and having to beat it off with her paddle. A rowboat? How did that get here?
Then we heard Lynx shouting. Half, Droolin, Melvin, and I ran over. Lynx and Tarra had ran into a bunch of those rabbits, and she had speared one. And it was the biggest one I'd ever seen, and with canines! That must explain those bones of larger animals - they didn't get that big eating grass. There was a hole in the ground. Lynx pointed to a collar one wore, calling them "Borg bunnies," though there were no signs of cyberization. Tarra had apparently gone down the hole, so we went after her, aside from Droolin who I told to watch Ben Dover. And it was a rough ride going down. My suit, already torn by the few days of activity, was shreded even more.
We ended up in some dimly lit room illuminated by dim lights. A door lead to another room with an elevator door, where we saw Tarra and Lera. Lera must've found it while running away from that one rabbit. The room also had a railcar on a track that led into a tunnel. There was no sign of the rabbits.
I have no idea who is behind these carnivorous bunnies or this underground complex, this planet's supposed to be abandoned and those things aren't on the wildlife list.
With no other options, we got on the rail car, and after Tarra figured out the hard way yanking the stick back was not the way to go forward, we went on our way.