Chapter 21: Jackalopes

Though the injury on Rick's chest took little time to heal, he decided to take a day off to deal with other issues so he could recover fully. Those issues weren't trivial, either. He had a paycheck coming in and apparently the CSLA didn't want to give him a check like usual, they wanted to make a bank transfer. That meant actually getting a proper bank account.

In the end, he went to the bank that had never called him back about the job offer. Though Rick felt like that would be awkward or uncomfortable, in fact the bank was a huge organization that didn't even remember him. He just had to fill out some forms, then he got the information he needed to give at work. Now he could safely store his 7000 extra lucrim.

Back outside Branton, he tried to follow up on some other leads, but wasn't able to track down any anomalies. Deciding that the Peakless Wildlife Refuge was his best option for now, he called and spoke to a young woman. She seemed to be in a hurry, but scheduled a time for him to come and meet with Delsin in a couple days.

Until then, he focused on training and went apartment hunting with Melissa. Honestly, it was more about spending time with her than getting useful information about apartments, since he still needed another 93,000 lucrim for a fighter deposit. An experience that could have been miserable was rendered amusing as Melissa urged them to visit apartments far outside of their price range and endlessly talked about the tasteless statues that she'd install in the rooms.

He did find himself thinking about the apartment problem often, though. Encountering an actual aura bear and coming away without serious injury had made him wonder if he even needed to move. If Melissa did well on her CLAT and moved out - he didn't like to think about it - what did it matter if his apartment was a bit unsafe? The methheads were little threat to him and if he kept training, he'd eventually become invulnerable to lucrim bullets as well.

For some reason it took them a couple days, but once they finally credited his new anomaly to him, he was glad to look at the scoreboard:

[1) Pan Zhou - 131 merits

2) Elliot Rutherford III - 127 merits

3) [redacted] - 126 merits

4) Kate Durham - 122 merits

5) Oswaln - 104 merits

5) Damian - 103 merits

5) Machk Bearan - 101 merits

8) Heidi Cunningham - 87 merits

8) Skinmaster0 - 81 merits

10) Jack Ganess - 77 merits

…

13) Javiera Banks - 71 merits

14) Rick Hunter - 68 merits

15) Andre Dyer - 64 merits]

The top ranks had shuffled around a bit and pulled away from the rest, but otherwise not much had changed and they didn't mean much to him. He was curious about the "redacted" contestant but had no idea what it meant. It looked like Damian and Jack had both increased their rank. So had he, not that winning was really his priority.

Once it was time for his appointment, Rick biked out to the Peakless Wildlife Refuge again, trying to endure one gear higher this time. He had hoped to meet members of Delsin's family, both out of curiosity and to see if they had anything useful to say about assisting animals in his job, but that was not to be.

The main Refuge office - not hard to find once he understood how the roads connected - was a nice building, a mix of older and modern styles that seemed bright and clean compared to Delsin's isolated shack. It looked like there were some large wooden signs that had plaques with local information on them, the kind of thing he would have expected at a less dangerous park.

None of that mattered, because Delsin stood in front of the building, waiting for him. He just gave a nod, then as soon as Rick got close he transported them deep into the Refuge. Rick still couldn't figure out how the technique was done, not even the basics, so he decided that was one he'd need to give up on for now.

They jumped around the park several times so he could take readings and Rick was amazed how much more efficient it was. Still, at some point once they had a hint of the lucrim anomaly, there was no choice but to begin walking and feeling it out. This time there were no animal attacks, so it went relatively smoothly.

But at the end of the day, they still hadn't found the anomaly. Rick actually suspected that there were two more in the Refuge, perhaps close enough together to screw up their readings. Delsin stepped in and out, apparently going about other work. Occasionally he provided sardonic conversation, but often he was absent or silent.

When he appeared the next time, Rick just shook his head slowly. "We've spent the entire day on this. I think we'll need to pick things up tomorrow."

"Seems fair." Delsin transported them to the edge of the highway in another blurring technique. At least by now Rick didn't feel like vomiting, though it wasn't exactly pleasant. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we can do that. But wait, don't go." Rick caught him just before he disappeared again. "Even if we're having trouble in the Refuge, being able to jump around to test different points is incredibly effective. Is there anything at all I could do to convince you to help me find other anomalies?"

"You mean taxi you around the wilderness?"

"Right. Just for a short time each day, so I can survey a larger area and then get to the harder work of tracking down the actual anomaly. I doubt that money motivates you, but I'd be happy to give you a fair amount of what I'd earn doing that. And maybe if I do well enough, I could convince the CSLA to adopt better policies for the Peakless Wildlife Refuge."

"I'd figure that you were trying to manipulate me, but you actually mean it. That's a fair offer." Delsin turned toward him with a somber expression, then put a hand on his shoulder. "You're a better man than I first thought, kid. Instead of going back and forth with this anomaly bullshit, what would you say to a longer term agreement?"

He'd thought it was a long shot, so this was a pleasant surprise. "What kind of agreement?"

"Don't get all soft on me, but something like a mentorship. I'd expect you to help with the anomalies in the Refuge, plus take on some new duties. But in return, I'd help you out with your little job and maybe train you in a few useful skills."

"I'd love..." Rick hesitated, searching the old man's eyes. He saw only sincerity there, yet... "That's not a serious offer, is it?"

"Hell no! I have like three nieces and nephews trying to get me to train them, so the last thing I want is another damn mentee." Delsin took a step closer and poked him in the chest, smirking. "I do think you're an alright kid, but that means nothing. You help me resolve problems I can't solve myself and I'll compensate you so that we're even. But that agreement is all this will ever be."

"Alright, you've made your point." Rick turned away and manifested his bike, then swung one leg over it. "I'll get out of your hair."

"Ah, hell, wait." Delsin turned after him with an odd expression. "I've been checking on other anomalies to pay you and it's not as easy as I thought. One of them is downright dangerous and the other one will be really fucking vague. Given the work you're doing for us, I'm not sure this deal is equitable."

"Meaning?"

"At the end of the deal, the scales won't be quite balanced. So I'll owe you a favor, and I don't like that, so you think about how to get it paid quick. You want me to teleport you around to find an anomaly? Fine, I'll do it once. Just think about it so that I can wrap this up instead of having you hold it over my head, alright?"

"Seems fair." Rick gave the man a nod and then biked away. He was quite a ways down the road before he looked back, and by that point Delsin was gone.

In the end, it took them an entire additional day to finally isolate the lucrim anomaly. Once he had it pinpointed, Rick was certain that there was a third somewhere in the Refuge, one that would hopefully be easier to find now that it was alone. But his head was aching from doing the surveying technique over and over, so he wasn't about to get started on that. Instead he just turned and looked at Delsin expectantly.

"Alright, I'll show you your payment before we turn in for the day. You want the dangerous one or the ambiguous one?"

"Dangerous," Rick answered immediately. "I have no idea how long it will take me to find the ambiguous one, and like you said, better to get this taken care of."

"Works for me." Delsin snapped his fingers and suddenly they were standing on an empty plain. Rick felt sicker than usual and wondered if they'd gone further, but that didn't matter compared to absorbing his surroundings.

The grass looked darker than usual, but otherwise it was a normal spot of wilderness. It seemed like they weren't too far from the highway. Nothing stuck out to him except a region of taller grass that led to a hilly area. When he tested the surveying technique, it confirmed what he suspected: the lucrim anomaly was somewhere in that direction.

"I'm sure as shit not going to help you with this place," Delsin said, beginning to walk forward, "but I'll at least show you the danger. Come this way and you'll see if you think you can take it."

Rick nodded and followed, approaching the tall grass. He didn't sense anything particularly dangerous, but supposed that it might be hidden within. When Delsin stopped, Rick slowed down too, instead trying to survey the area again.

Too late he saw something rush out of the grass, small and furry. Yet it launched himself directly at him with considerable speed, forcing him to break the technique and raise his arm in defense.

A line of pain seared across his arm - it tore not only his jacket, but his skin as well. Rick punched backward on instinct and felt his fist impact on something soft.

When it crashed to the ground he couldn't help but stare at it. The creature looked like a rabbit with horns on its head... very long, very sharp horns. He subconsciously touched his arm, surprised that it had been able to pierce his defenses even slightly.

"A jackalope..." Rick shook his head. "Honestly, I thought they were a hoax or something."

"They are. A living, breathing hoax..." Delsin abruptly looked up toward the grass. "But here's the dangerous part."

Rick looked up too and saw it: dozens of areas of grass rustling. Several jackalopes emerged from the grass, sprinting for them, and there were a lot more coming. He raised his fists, not sure how he was going to fight off that many small threats. Not only was it a completely different style of fighting than he'd ever done before, each one of them was actually a risk.

Before they could arrive, the world blurred. Rick staggered, getting his aura back in order, and saw that they had been transported to what looked like a different side of the dangerous region. They were further back this time, hopefully at a safe distance.

"That's what I meant," Delsin said. "Unless you have strong defenses or killer instincts, those things will tear you apart."

"Yeah, I can see that." Rick took a few moments to catch his breath. "But you said they were a hoax?"

Instead of answering directly, Delsin blurred away. He returned several seconds later with a jackalope in his hands. It made a hissing noise and continually tried to twist to stab him with its horns, but couldn't overcome his strength - up close, Rick saw that it also had nasty-looking teeth. The old man smiled gently and stroked its fur. "You see this wonderful creature? An innocent animal, an integral part of creation?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Wrong." Delsin dropped the jackalope and punted it over the horizon. "Those things aren't natural, they're weapons. A long time ago, somebody thought they could take advantage of the legends and twisted normal rabbits into those creatures. The details are sketchy, some kind of lucrim-enhanced manipulation of the shope papilloma virus. I never paid much attention to that part."

Rick wished he could examine the creature more carefully, but settled for watching from a distance. "Why would someone create them as weapons, though?"

"I don't know what they originally wanted. Probably something idiotic. But if you give nature the ability to manipulate lucrim, it's going to use it ruthlessly. The jackalopes became a nasty invasive species. A long time ago they actually had to get warriors to exterminate them. Now they're only a problem when they get some source of lucrim to expand their population - usually it's human garbage, but apparently these anomalies work too."

"So it's a safe bet that you're not going to ask me to spare their lives so they can live free in the forests?"

"Glad you're getting the picture. No, sometimes respecting nature means stomping a bunch of little furry bastards. The Refuge might even compensate you for the ones you eliminate, but I really don't recommend just wandering in there unprepared."

"Yeah, I can see that." Rick stared out at the grass for a while, rubbing the cut on his arm, then shook his head. "I don't know how I'll do it, but you've fulfilled your part of the deal. I'll get back to you once I've figured things out."

Delsin nodded and then blurred away, leaving Rick to find the path back to the highway. Along the way, he decided that this was a challenge that he couldn't take on himself - the chance of getting ambushed or struck from his blind spots was simply too high.

As he biked back, he considered his options. Melissa was out - given her limited defenses, she could take a serious injury. Lisa had a stronger lucrima portfolio, but he didn't think she'd like this kind of life-risking behavior. He seriously considered Tom for a while, since the other fighter had no doubt become even stronger, but decided that it would be crass to contact him out of nowhere to ask for something. If he had a good option, it was probably Emily, if he could get her interested.

Those thoughts slid away as Rick got back to the apartment complex. As he walked to the staircase, he had to step over a puddle of vomit. On the way up, he noticed that there was a new hole that might be from a gunshot. As if to hammer the point home, that night he struggled to get sleep over a screaming match in the apartment beside theirs.

There was no question he had to leave this apartment. The only question was when and how.