The Hayllie | A White Rabbit Warren short

Chapter 2

"Mister Kolt?"

Jared opened his eyes to see a stranger smiling down at him. He wore a white coat and a name tag indicating that he is a doctor.

Although his memory flooded in with the tragedy of what had occurred, he felt safe knowing he was in a familiar hospital.

"Don't worry about anything. We have your wife resting in the next room and we have cleared out the level to avoid any unwanted visitors such as reporters," the doctor said.

"No," Jared managed a whisper. "You need to get Arida out of here. A lot of people will get hurt or worse."

"Nonsense! I..." the doctor paused and listened to the sudden gunfire and screams of men.

The doors flew open and Arida ran in, covered in blood from whoever she had just attacked. She stopped in front of the frightened doctor and snapped his neck. It happened so quickly.

"Ari!" Jared yelled and attempted to sit up, but his body ached all over.

Arida climbed onto the bed and leaned over him with a big grin on her face. She wrapped her hands around Jared's neck and he let her tighten her grip.

A part of him knew that he had already killed her, yet, he preferred to think that he had helped her pass on easily, believing that she was not trapped inside of the monster's body. But if he was going to die like this, from what he created, then so be it.

It was not long before tears formed in Arida's eyes and she let go of him, watching as he gasped for air. She climbed onto a table and made her escape through the ventilation above, leaving red evidence as she went.

Security and a few nurses ran in and moved Jared into a safer place to recover. There he was watched by five guards, although he did not feel safe. Instead, he spent days in recovery, often catching Arida watching him from the window or the ventilation above his bed.

On the day of his release, two of the guards helped him gather what he needed and escorted him downstairs to the lobby, a hoard of press outside the hospital, waiting for him.

Above, he could hear moving in the vents. Arida.

"Oh, sorry!" Jared purposely bumped into the guard on his left, stealing the man's gun from its holster. Did they not seem to notice.

"Did you hear another patient was killed by that thing?" Jared heard one of the staff speaking to a co-worker, who nodded a response.

"Jared!" a reporter walked towards him, holding out a recorder. "Your neighbours witness you being carried to an unknown vehicle and your daughter was recorded fleeing from an ambulance. What can you tell us happened before the crash?"

"That I was kidnapped," Jared simply said and the security guard pushed past the reporter, continuing the walk.

As Jared approached the exit he heard the ventilation above begin to creak, followed by it breaking apart as Arida crawled onto a weak spot.

Revealed to the public, she looked frantic and starved. She eyed everyone before she spotted Jared. She screamed in joy and advanced towards him.

Jared raised the officer's gun and started firing until the barrel was empty. Only three bullets hit her, two in the chest, and one in the jaw, but she kept going until the other officer also started shooting at her.

Arida hissed and jumped for the opening from where she fell, making an escape. She was not reacting well to the people's screams and Jared's turn against her.

"Sir, what do we do when we catch her?" the officer without the gun asked.

Jared passed the gun back to its rightful owner, willing to leave the past behind with this hospital. He had seen too much and did not sink well in his head. He felt as if he had betrayed everyone and was willing to pay for the consequences. "If she's still alive, release her into the wild where she belongs. Don't let me know when she's free. She'll come home anyway. I know she will."