2. The New Plan

To say that several dreams had gone up in smoke was an understatement.

Pika buried her whiskers in Prince’s fur and cried without tears. Once the dangerous rain had stopped and the fires quelled, they went back, searching for a leaf or twig that had survived.

They found only ash and the bodies of two humans.

“Humans aren’t just weird, they’re also dumb,” said Pika.

“Don’t speak ill of the dead,” said Prince. He noticed some grass might grow under the bodies, but he didn’t want to push the humans aside.

“What animal species does its utmost to horribly murder itself?” Pika looked to Prince as if he should have the answer.

“They don’t. They’re trying to get away before this place grows even more dreadful.”

“Yeah, and they just leave us behind!”

Prince rested his chin atop her soft fur once more. As long as we have each other, he thought. As long as Pika still hopped beside him, he wanted to cuddle her every moment.

But you can’t live on love alone, dear reader, no matter how much other tales may convince you it is so. It is my hope that these stories show how life really is. I won’t hide my own mistakes. Because if I hadn’t made them, everything would have been different.

Their exhausted legs sought the next star. Prince was just glad no new rocket took off.

The wind swelled further. Usually, the air smelled musty and gassy, but sometimes he caught a fresh icy breeze and knew to head that way.

A new downside to the blackened sky revealed itself. At full speed, they crashed into a tree trunk they hadn’t seen. The tree shook and cracked. Its trunk was barely thicker than their bodies, before branching into five smaller limbs, each the proud owner of two nibbled leaves.

Or a koala.

“Who dares attack my tree?”

The darkness was so thick that they stared right at each other without knowing it.

“Two hungry hares,” Prince called up. “May we please have a few leaves?”

“You can have them all.”

“Really?”

“See,” Pika whispered, “a human would never do that.”

“They’re poisonous.”

“Oh.” Pika kept her whiskers to herself.

The ground rumbled. A gray creature with ears like cuddly wings and an oval black snout waddled toward them. Its paw prints in the dirt looked much like human hands.

“Nearly all the leaves are poisonous now,” she said sadly. “To survive, leaves must breathe in the air. But when the air’s this filthy …”

Her eyes fell shut. She went to the tree trunk and gave it a hug instead of climbing back up.

“What are you doing?” Prince tapped his paw against the leaves, which did look withered and sick. The hares had quickly decided they could wait a little longer.

The koala opened her eyes. “Cool. Hugging trees keeps me cool.”

The hares tried it too, but they couldn’t grip the trunk like she did. Rubbing against the bark only made them feel hotter.

When they glanced over, the koala slept again.

“Well, sorry to have bothered you,” Pika whispered.

No response. They turned their backs and dashed on.

“Oh, you’re no bother.” The koala climbed the tree and hung from a branch, bending it until she dangled right above their heads. “I’m just glad to talk with someone again.”

Prince often forgot how lucky he was as a hare. After the Babbling Brothers, no species still spoke another’s language, and the rabbits were the only exception.

He didn’t know how, but as descendants of Kurin they could still understand most animals.

“I’m Akoa. I want to come with you.”

“You don’t know where we’re headed.”

Akoa frowned. “Where all animals are going. The rocket base in Aprania.”

“And besides,” Pika said quickly, “we’ve no food or water for two, let alone three.”

Akoa bent down further until she could roll off the branch, asleep again. Eyes closed, she ended up beside the hares. “Oh, I hardly need any water. Koala is ancient dovish for doesn’t drink.”

“We won’t carry you,” said Prince, “so stay awake.”

“We’ll do no such thing!” Pika accidentally whistled. “I won’t go hopping into those murderous human arms!”

Akoa stuck her front paws into her pouch, which opened at the bottom, making her look as if trying to somersault. Which she did, for she fell back asleep.

Eventually, five fingers held a flat rectangular object. “Humans call this a pass. With it, you can get on a rocket without any human ever seeing you.”

“How’d you get it then?” Pika sniffed and licked the plastic.

“I’m a member of the rocket association.”

“Really?”

Akoa laughed and slapped her front paw against her thigh. “Of course not! I just found it near the base.”

Prince finally grasped what Akoa truly asked. “You want to come with us because we must carry you, right?”

“I’m too slow on my own. And there are no trees to bend around the rocket base.”

Akoa stepped forward and put a black hand on each of their shoulders.

“There’s nothing left here. Even if you find a tree, it’s inedible. All the other koalas have already left … or died.”

The three looked at each other in turn. Akoa smiled and edged even closer. “Humans are allowed to take their pets. There was a long discussion about it, so long I fell asleep halfway through!”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” said Prince.

Akoa coughed. “Anyway, there’s plenty of food on a rocket and they’ll think you belong to someone.”

Pika looked around. The world was endlessly dark. She yearned for the sun above, for light and clean air. It could never be worse on other planets, right?

She sighed and brushed against her partner.

“Humans really are dumb, but it might work out nicely for once. As long as we stay away from them, I’m happy to break into one of those steel tubes.”