The Garden of Poison (part 3)

	"The 'earth rabbits.'" Holding the coffee can by the top end, I swung it in a slow circle with my wrist, listening to the remaining liquid swish around. Lumi was sitting opposite me, on the messy bed that I had neglected to straighten the previous night. "I take it they're the 'separatists.'"
	Lumi closed her eyes and nodded. Her hands were together in her lap, and my bed was high enough that her short legs did not reach the floor. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that escaped her lips was a sigh.
	"Who was that woman we saw? The one on the screen?" At this, Lumi opened her eyes and gave me a surprised look, as if incredulous that I really didn't know. But then she seemed to remember where she was, who she was talking to, and closed her eyes again, giving a tired-looking smile.
	"That's Lady Andromeda, a member of Lunarian ro-royalty." Though stumbling over the word, she did not slow down. "She's not e-exactly our leader. A c-council member is a closer compari.. comparis.." When she struggled with a word, she would make a sort of chirping noise as filler-- it sounded very animal, but at the same time, mechanical, in that 'auto-tuned' way that only the rabbit people were able to speak; and when she said 'uh' or 'um' it felt forced, as if she were trying to sound more human.
	"So-- you were sent down here to make contact with the earth rabbits." I interrupted to spare her from the word. She nodded slowly, her ears drooping. "I know what they did to you, but did you find anything out from them?" Lumi opened her eyes, but she was staring at the floor. Calling back the memory seemed to be painful for her.
	"They knew I was coming," she began. "They knew where I would arrive on earth, and they knew I would come unarmed." She winced at the thought of her defenselessness.
	"Humans aren't pop.. popular, among rabbits." She shifted in her seat, leaning on an arm planted on the bed for support. "Or lunarians."
	"Lunarians?" I questioned, taking another drink of coffee. She couldn't really have meant people living on the moon, could she?
	"In re..corded his-tory, the first lunarians deci.. deci.. agreed that the earth and its people were filled with impur.. ities.." She was having a lot of trouble explaining in english. I rose my hands to tell her not to push herself, but she shook her head, determined.
	"So.. so! They decided to migrate to the moon! To live in Heaven, as pure as the gods we were born from!" She was shouting at this point, and I pressed my hands toward the floor, gesturing for her to lower her voice.
	"But Andromeda didn't have, er, ears.. like you have," I looked to her long, fuzzy ears. At the mention of them, they stood up straight, and she fluttered them back and forth, looking a little embarassed. "Oh, no, no.. you misunders-stand." She held her ears in place with her fingers as she went on.
	"Rabbits are the servants of Lunarians. They gave us pros.. perity, and we give them our de.. devotion, in return." She placed her hands back in her lap, but I hadn't taken my eyes off her ears. She blushed and fluttered them again, as if to show them off.
	"The first of us tra.. veled.. to our home in Heaven with the Lunarians, and we have lived in harmo.. ny.. ever since." She was smiling, but her face then dampened into seriousness. "Not all of us are so gra.. grateful. The separatists are rabbits who will.. ingly left Heaven to live on Earth in im-purity."
	"They propagandize through our communication channels, using stolen tech.. nology.. trying to recruit more moon rabbits." She looked over to the machine near the window. "They don't have anything like my SICP, so they're forced to use human computers and send messages over Lago-Net." She snickered in superiority that I thought unbecoming of the small rabbit girl. "It's very prim.. primitive, compared to the Lunar Network I showed you."
	I scratched the stubble on my face. In a way, I didn't know what I hoped to gain from piecing together the situation. For now she was stuck here, but how long could I shelter her if the separatist rabbits came for her again? The scope of the conflict between the lunarians and the separatists seemed beyond me. I felt like a hapless bystander who was simply getting in the way of politics that had nothing to do with me. A third wheel.
	"It's believed.. believed that the earth rabbits want to claim the earth for their own." She followed my eyes with her face, as to regain my attention. "That is why they want more of my people to come here, and it might be why they attacked me."
	'Claim the earth for their own?' I briefly imagined an army of little white rabbits holding pitchforks in their mouths, raiding a city. The police struggling to hold back the oncoming tide of teeth and fur. The military would be called in, and the entire place would be carpet bombed with impacitating carrot powder that would put them all to sleep. And then the wolves would be released upon the city to purge it of the vermin plague. My fantasy was interrupted by the sound of a loudly rumbling stomach. Lumi's face turned red, frowning.
	"I suppose I haven't eaten anything since I touched down," she stammered, and I at once felt ashamed of the way I had arranged my life. I was completely unprepared for this.
	"I, uh, I don't keep any food here," I scratched the back of my head in embarassment. "If I did I would never leave my apartment. I purposefully eat out for every meal just so I have a reason to go outside."
	She stood up and stretched, and I was slightly taken aback by how limber she was as she bent backwards and outstretched her arms. "Then, we can go out to eat-- together!" She seemed excited at the prospect of leaving the apartment for any reason.
	"But, uh, your ears... Won't someone notice them?" I pointed at her fuzzy protrusions and she placed her hands over the top of them. "Oh... I hadn't thought of that," she said, her voice conveying a quickly dampening mood.
	I didn't have a hat she could wear over them and it occured to me that that would be quite uncomfortable anyhow, but I did quickly think of something else she could use. Unzipping my red hoodie, I slipped out of it and positioned myself behind her.
	"What--" she started, confused, but I wordlessly slid the jacket over her shoulders and her arms into the sleeves, and covered her head with the hood. The article of clothing was much too big for her and covered her like a dress, the sleeves extending inches beyond her hands. Inside the hood's opening, her face, matted with white hair, was all that was visible. Although, there did appear to be two little bumps at the top of the hood, where certain growths were attempting to stand away from her head...
	"That should be alright. Come on." I offered her my hand, and she placed hers in it, albeit completely covered by the sleeve. We stepped toward the door, when I noticed that she was still barefoot.
	"Oh, that's right, you don't have any shoes." I gave her a playful look and said, slyly, "well, I could carry you."
	She giggled. "I am used to walk..ing on my feet. The surface of the moon is very, uhm.. soft. I will be fine." I would have protested, as the asphalt around here was definitely not soft, and knowing my luck we could stumble right over the broken shards of some addict's late night drug excursions, but I didn't really have anything for her to wear.

	The building was still sleeping, though it was beginning to grow late into the morning, so we managed to sneak out without being noticed. Watching the road we walked to make very sure that I did not subject Lumi to the impurities of earthly cuts and infections, we made our way back toward the center of impulse buying and capitalism that I had originally found her. She tensed as we drew nearer, and it dawned on me that if someone had been there looking for her, they would likely be in disguise, like she was right then. She did get a few odd glances as we entered, people noticing the hoodie gave the appearance it was the only article of clothing she was wearing, as it covered her entire body, save for her legs.
	I think she noticed that being there, among all the hapless shills and corporate thralls made me uneasy. I held her hand tight and avoided getting too close to anyone there. If someone was heading toward us, I turned and took her in the other direction. Eventually we made our way to the produce section, and I showed her to an array of vegetable platters.
	"So, you like carrots? Lettuce? Broccoli?" As I offered them to her, she puffed in annoyance.
	"Hmph, just because I'm a rabbit, you assume that I ster.. stereotyp.. that I'm like all the others, and eat carrots?" She withdrew her hand from mine and folded her arms. She wasn't fooling me, however, and I grinned and rolled my eyes as she stared longingly at the platter of vegetables. I picked it up and tugged her arm toward a zombie cashier, eager to leave as soon as I could.

	There was a park nearby, a shaded grove overlooking a creek with a covered bridge. It was a cool, gray day and rain was quietly drizzling onto our heads, so nobody was around. I took her inside a log canopy to shelter us from the rain, and she slid the hood off of her head, allowing her ears to stand up and breathe. I thought about telling her to cover them again, but since were alone, I didn't worry.
	She dipped a slice of carrot into the ranch dressing, looking at it curiously as if she didn't know what it was. She brought it to her mouth and gave it an exploratory lick-- and sparks practically flew in her eyes. She covered a slice of carrot in the dressing and took the whole thing into her mouth, chewing happily. I watched her and smiled, causing her to blush, cover her mouth, and eat more reservedly with her next slice. Wordlessly, we ate the entire platter before leaving.

	I decided to take a shortcut on the way back, leading her through an alleyway that led back to the apartment complex. It was a darkened corner between civilization and perdition-- I knew I was in a bad part of town, but I felt that having Lumi out in the open for too long would have its consequences. As we made our way, we came across some ragged figures and I knew immediately I'd made a mistake.
	"The tides of fate have washed in gifts, brothers. Our good faith has been rewarded. Look now; a wolf has brought us a lost lamb in offering." An overweight, balding man wore a filthy, ragged robe that looked like it'd been dragged out of a dumpster. Near him were several squatting men digging through garbage, each wearing old, filthy clothes, some adorned with torn paper bags used as shawls.
	"Stay back!" I threatened, and positioned Lumi behind me. They slowly stood up and began to approach me. I took Lumi's hand and steadily backed up, step by step, to lead her away.
	"Who--" Lumi was confused, and I must have been gripping her too tightly, as she began to sound distressed. "Who are these people?"
	"Through the cracks in the rotten sky a pale light has shown-- the Heavens see fit for our delegation to once more feast upon the fruits of enlightenment. I would bear no ill will to any brother who seeks to take them for his own, for such sweets are ours by right." The man slurred his words together and wobbled slightly in place. Looking closer at them, I noticed they all had something in common-- smeared over their faces, their necks, and some of them, on their collars and chest, was a sickly dark green substance. The leader in the robe was covered in it, nearly his entire face was painted. I recognized it right away-- an illegal hallucinogen, skoab.
	"Fear not, child-- we will paint the righteousness into your skin and you too shall be at peace with the heavenly powers. Give in, let us sink into you the glory of God." Incited by the fat drug addict, the drifters in the ally began to quickly advance on us, and the closest one lunged at Lumi. Not hesitating, I slammed my fist into his chin, a sickly cracking noise echoing through the alley sending him stumbling backward and falling on his face.
	"Just run, Lumi. Get back to the apartment." I kept my eyes glued to the array of lunacy in front of me, barking loudly at her.
	"But--" she timidly protested, her hands gripping my shoulders.
	"Just go!" I didn't turn to look, but I felt her loosen her grip, and heard her feet rapidly slap the ground as she ran.
	There were several of them and one of me. I steeled myself, and sunk my knuckles into the stomach of another junkie as he approached, knocking the wind out of him, but felt my head collide with the sloppy, sweat-slicken hand of another addict, twisting my balance, and was set upon by two more, grabbing me and slamming my head against the outside wall of the nearby building.
	Their faces were twisted, there was no intelligence in their eyes. Just crazed animals ready to tear me apart like a piece of meat. A fist made contact with my stomach and I nearly threw up what I'd just eaten. A loose fist like a wild animal meaning to lacerate me with its claws ran across my face. They struck me again and again, pulverizing my body to the point that I could no longer stand on my own, but they held me to the wall by my arms. I felt blood pool in my mouth. The 'priest,' smelling of old sweat and rotten clothing, stood before me.
	"Confess your sins, my child. Therein by with my blessing, you may be absolved, and still able to enter the kingdom of Heaven." He grinned at me, the green slime painted on his gums. I spat blood on his face.
	"Truly, we have met a lost child this day. And forever will he be lost, refusing God's blessing. A tragedy, but not all of God's children will bask in His light at the end of days. Some refuse His love, even when directly offered. Brothers, let us leave him to the devils he so loves." As they released me, the sharp, bony elbow of one of my restrainers collided with my ribcage, and I grunted in agony as I slid to the ground. They moved away, one by one, slinking into the darkness farther in the alley. The rain continued to fall, the drizzle of water painting the ground around me a thin, washed red color.

	I sat there for a while, trying to regain enough strength to move again, closing my eyes to rest, when I felt something small hop onto my leg and crawl up my body to sniff at my face. Opening my eyes, I saw a white, fuzzy rabbit, albeit now very wet in the rain, its face close to mine.