Escape 2

Jake was nervous and preoccupied enough to take no notice of the thump of Fuzzy's landing on the soft leather upholstery.

"Why we pass exit?"

The car swerved a little jerkily when Jake looked to see the bunny sitting next to him.

"You startled me."
"Why you go past airport exit?"
"Shortcut."
"Don't want shorcut. Want go airport."
"This way is faster, less traffic."
"How come you sweating then?"
"Just go back in the back. We'll be there soon."

Fuzzy looked towards the rear compartment and then back at the symp. Jake had his finger resting beside the control for the privacy barrier.

"I stay here."
"You'll be more comfortable in the back with your friend."
"Is OK."

Jake watched the rabbit out of the corner of his eye. It was turned away from him, paws resting on the window ledge. The bunny stared out into the darkness.

"Why you not take us to airport?"
"What?"
"I look map before we go. Take long time to get from here to airport. Where you taking?"
"The airport, like you asked."

Fuzzy turned back around and picked up Jake's cell phone off the seat.

"I call Scapaldi, you up to something."

Jake panicked and tried to knock the phone out of the bunny's paws before it finished dialing. Fuzzy dropped the phone like Jake wanted him to but then kicked out with his back claws, opening a set of deep gashes in Jake's forearm. He screamed and nearly lost control of the car.

"That was stupid. Get off at the next exit and stop. We need to talk."
"My arm!"
"You tried to hit me and you're not taking us to the airport, are you?"

Jake shook his head and turned the limo onto the exit ramp. If he kept his head, he could still get his passengers to Fort Roger Williams. This was the exit he wanted anyway.

"You don't understand, Antony ..."

Fuzzy cut him off with a paw gesture.

"Your relationship with Mr. Scapaldi doesn't concern me right now."
"But he'll ..."
"Be here now Jake. Antony isn't here, I am. I'm going to start asking questions. If I don't like the answers I get, I will hurt you. Understand?"

Jake swallowed hard and nodded his head. He watched the bunny carefully.

"Good. Remember, if everything goes well you'll be alive at the end of our conversation. First question, where are you taking us?"
"The airport, like I told you."

Fuzzy frowned slightly and rammed a claw into the joint of Jake's elbow. He gave the claw a sharp twist and pulled it out while Jake screamed.

"Let's try that again. Where are you taking us?"
"The Hunters, I was going to give you to them."
"There you go. The truth sets you free. Now, I think you've seen the folly in that plan, yes."

Jake nodded through eyes of pain.

"Now get the car back on the road and take us to the airport. If you try anything I don't like, You will be dead before you can get out of the car."

Jake drove the car off the shoulder and down the road. He was still heading towards Fort Roger Williams and hoped the bunny didn't know enough about the roads to take offense. Jake knew several things; Antony would kill him if the bunny didn't. The bunnies loved him and would never hurt him. This bunny would kill him if twitched slightly. He knew all these things and many others. He knew that his plan was doomed to failure and so was he. Ahead in the headlights, a curve in the road and a large tree at the top of the curve. Straight ahead. Jake embraced the adrenaline, and mashed his foot down. He knew where he was going.

It isn't a good feeling to know that a car is about to hit a tree. The strength of this feeling is modified by how you feel about the people in the car or maybe how you feel about trees.

Important factors to Fuzzy are that he happens to be in the car and he isn't strapped in. He felt the full effects of time dilation when he left the car through the windshield. Constellations of safety glass twinkled in the moonlight and spun slowly, coalescing around him. He had just begun to pay attention to the delicate patterns they were forming when he hit the ground and time's arrow reasserted itself. Fuzzy tumbled painfully through the underbrush and finally stopped with a sharp crack against a large rock. He struggled slowly to his feet and realized that his back wasn't broken. Then he realized that his back wasn't broken because his pawtop had absorbed most of the force of the impact. His head cleared enough to realize what this meant.

Fuzzy struggled out of his pack just a second or so before the anti-tamper charges in the pawtop ignited, setting his backpack on fire. The acrid smoke from the burning plastic mixed with the smell of blood in his nostrils and he looked up into the clear starry sky. He took small comfort from the unlikeliness that it would soon rain and limped off the find Woodsorrel and kill the symp if he was still alive.

Fuzzy made his way back to the car. Woodsorrel hopped up to him when he limped out of the underbrush. She didn't seem to be hurt other than ruffled fur and a missing earbow. As for Jake, he had managed to open the door and move a couple paces before he passed out.