BEASTARS - Night of the Lepus

Uninvited Guests

   Bill was resting his eyes while he laid on his bed. He was already dressed, shoes and all. Everyone else was downstairs doing whatever. He hadn't slept much the night before after Mizuchi had been rescued. It made the tiger both sad and very afraid. In Zen's demented universe, Bill was Public Enemy No. 1. Yet, he never killed an herbivore in his life. Sure, there was the black market, but at the very least those herbivores died peacefully. That was in the past regardless. 

   Bill stayed up until 2 in the morning, browsing his phone for new updates on the killings. Other than the mayor's suggestion of safety and numbers and sidearm carry for the licensed, no new reports of murder or kidnap. Maybe Zen had stopped. Bill prayed that his other carnivore friends like Tao would be safe, as well as his fellow herbivores Els. He messaged them that morning on Roaragram and they seemed to be alright. 

   He then thought about his other friends, Kibi the anteater and Arthur the Honduran white bat. Would they be considered enemies by Zen? Both of them were technically insectivores. Then again, they weren't PURE herbivores like Heinrich's ideology suggested. That could be a problem. Bats were often used as bombs in the Southern War of the late '60s and early '70s, which was a war crime.

   Bill's peace was interrupted by his phone ringing. He opened his eyes and sat up to answer. It was Legosi calling.

   "Sup, Legosi?" he answered. "Bill, it's Dolph! Listen to me Get everyone into the kitchen right now!" Dolph exclaimed. Bill's heart exploded. "What's going on!?" he asked with fear. "HURRY!! Those fucking robots are on their way! Zen knows!" Dolph exclaimed. Bill sprinted from his room. "He WHAT!?!" Bill exclaimed as he flew downstairs. 

   "Why the kitchen, Dolph!?" he asked as he made it down to the living room, where everyone else was. Juno, Pina, Haru, and Aoba were chilling and watching TV. Fudge was on his phone, sitting on one of the recliners. "Listen very carefully! The island in the kitchen slides! There's a lever underneath the side facing the microwave! Pull that lever and push the island opposite you! It's a bunker! NOW HURRY!!" Dolph ordered. 

   "Guys, they're coming! Come on!!" Bill exclaimed to the others. "Who's coming?" Haru asked. "THE ANDROIDS!!" Bill yelled at the dwarf rabbit, whose eyes went wide with shock. "What!?" Pina exclaimed, standing up swiftly. Juno, Aoba, Haru, and Fudge did the same. "They found us!?" Juno asked. Bill waved them to the kitchen. "COME ON!! To the bunker!" he ordered. "Bunker?" Aoba asked. Everyone followed him to the kitchen, where he knelt down beside the island. Bill slid his hand underneath the edge and felt a small metal rod. He pulled it and heard a latch disconnect. He pushed the island and it slid with ease on two tracks with rollers. Underneath was a trapdoor that opened inward. Bill turned the handle and it dropped open. There were a set of old wooden stairs that led into darkness. 

   "Wow." Fudge commented. "Come on!" Bill said as he began descending. The others followed him without question. He turned the flashlight on his phone on. The stairs descended nearly forty feet and ended on a hard concrete floor. Aoba was the last one to descend and he slid the island back over them. It could be unlatched from underneath. He then closed the trapdoor. Pina turned his flashlight on as well. Bill found a light switch on the wall as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He flicked it on and three large overhead lights revealed the bunker. When the other five reached the bottom, they were greeted to a sight right out of a war movie. 

   The bunker was 20 feet X 40 feet with the walls and ceiling made of cinder block. There were shelves of canned vegetables and fruit, gallons of distilled water, enamelware, and jars of rice, rice flour, salt, sugar, strawberry preserves, soy sauce and honey. Several bunks were connected to the walls with military-style bedrolls and pillows sitting on them. What caught their eyes the most was the rack of guns, ammunition, and cleaning kits. Twelve firearms in total. There were seven rifles, two pump-action shotguns, and three pistols. In the far corner was a small bathroom with only a curtain for privacy.