Abbi the Labrador loves her people—but she loves her bunny friend Zac even more. So when he pleads with her to let him out of his cage one night, she does.
Even though it’s the wrong thing to do.
Even though the consequences will be worse than she ever imagined.
A tragic short tale about the true meaning of friendship—and guilt.
A Final Request for Mercy
The full moon shone, bathing the yard in muted silver and turning Abbi into a dark, doggy shadow as she lay underneath the lemon tree. She stretched, tail thumping the ground; the night was warm, the Zac rabbit was home, and all was well with the world.
A movement caught her ear and she raised her muzzle to sniff. Algernon the guinea pig, appearing for a midnight snack in the cage across the yard. His head bobbed as he ate, ears flapping and lettuce crunch-crunching in his teeth.
“Please hurry.”
Abbi tugged and the lid opened. She swallowed, half expecting one of the girls to burst out of the house and yell at her. But the house slept. She stuck her nose into the cage.
In the moonlight, the rabbit was nothing more than a silvery bump in a corner. Abbi twitched her nose; he smelled wrong. “Are you okay, Zac?”
The silvery mound shivered—Zac inched his head around to face her.
Abbi winced, sensing the effort that the simple movement took.
“No,” he said in response to her question. “I’m not.”
“What… what’s wrong?”
Zac shuddered. “Die… dying.”
Abbi jerked away. No. Zac had been sick, but that was before. He was better now. He couldn’t be dying.
“Abbi?”
Her nose trembled. “I’m here.”
“I… I want you to do me a favour.”
“Zac, you’re not dying, don’t be silly. The girls will make you better, they fixed you last time—”
“No.” His whisper was faint, so faint—but firm. Abbi shivered. “I didn’t get better last time.”
Abbi pawed at the ground. “What do you mean? You were running around like anything last week. They fixed you, the girls fixed you, they did.”
Zac shook his head. “They didn’t,” he said. “Not forever. It’s… it’s come back, and this time… The vet couldn’t help me. I can’t beat it.”
His head lolled against the straw and adrenalin flushed Abbi’s system. “No, Zac!” His sides filled out again, and she breathed.
“I’m sorry,” he said.