Noa the Navigator

"Where are we going? You said food?"

"It's a bit far, but it's close to where we need to be."

Mira and I pass by the park on our way to the more urban part of the city.

Our supply of food is low at the moment and trying to prepare something would take too long. It's in times like these that I wish I kept an emergency stash of instant ramen, even though it's terrible for your health. Just the temptation of having a two minute meal around will eventually lead to a deterioration of our diet. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I always fed Mira instant cups of sodium.

"The trees are disappearing…"

The road up to this point was flanked by forest on one side and houses on the other. This balance between man and nature comes to an abrupt end as both houses and trees disappear. In their place is a large road network with all kinds of businesses providing our population with wants. There are restaurants ranging from a long and quiet experience to the expeditious grab and go trip. There isn't just one grocery store along one major road, there are several within a five minute walk of each other.

Mira looks out towards the concrete landscape and begins trembling behind me.

"W-We aren't going in there, are we!?"

"What do you mean? Of course we are. Literally everything is over here."

I continue walking towards the stoplight where the first major intersection occurs. Mira's footsteps are usually fairly quiet, but I soon realise that I can't hear anything behind me.

"NO! Anything but there!"

The rabbit is crouched on a patch of grass at the end of the treeline. She holds tightly onto a tree as if some chaotic wind is threatening to blow her away. Her panic causes me to also panic and run back to her.

"Mira!? What's wrong!?"

"Noa is trying to get us killed!"

An accusatory small finger is thrust towards me.

"Rabbits who enter the Blocks almost never return!"

"The Blocks? What are you talking about?"

"Losing your way in the vicious Blocks is a death sentence! If you don't starve from the lack of food, you'll be eaten by a spinny-legged monster!"

Mira wraps her arms tighter around the trunk and tears form in her eyes. Passerbys both on the sidewalk and on the road give us strange looks as they pass. Believe me, I'm just as confused as you all are.

All I can do is try and gather any kind of information that I can.

"Um, Mira…"

I crouch down so that our eyes are at the same level. Her watery blue eyes look into mine as her cheek rubs against the rough bark.

"What are you talking about?"

"How could you not know, Noa!? It's a wonder that you've survived this long!"

Mira drags me behind the tree with her. I can only imagine the thoughts of everybody else when they see two people camping behind a tree on the side of the road.

She points past the intersection.

"All of those big blocks are nothing but trouble! You can't cross over them and they just pop up and bring in more spinny-legged monsters! Trying to navigate through is impossible!"

Her fear is directed towards the buildings that I've seen for years. Sure, the number of buildings has increased, but the general road layout hasn't changed. Even children can follow the crosswalks and make their way from a burger joint to the hair salon.

Squeak Squeak

Within the slight rustling of bushes behind us, I can hear the whimpers of small creatures. Several rabbits have joined us at the edge of the forest and stare into the concrete mountains with uncertainty.

That's right, Mira isn't exactly human.

To a normal citizen of the town, these buildings are as normal as our own backyard. For a creature the size of my foot, these concrete structures must look like an impassable mountain range. The crisscrossing roads are filled with vehicles that even a human wouldn't survive the impact from. For a small animal, venturing into this world is suicide. Even if they could avoid the threats of humans and cars, there isn't anything there for them. Grass is few and far between, nothing more than a decoration for the shops lining the long strips of brick.

Of course Mira would refuse to enter a place that she's been raised to fear for her own safety. It still hasn't sunk in that she isn't just a rabbit anymore. If she can't handle the simple suburbs, she will never integrate into the society the world has forced her into.

"Hey, Mira?"

I get to my feet and bring myself in front of the party of rabbits. I place my hands on my hips and let the buildings fall into the background behind me.

"How about I teach you how to move through the Blocks with ease?"

If their ears weren't lopped, I'm certain that they would have stuck straight up at my declaration. Mira bounces to her feet and a couple dozen small creatures gather around her.

"Is that even possible!?"

"Of course. It's actually pretty easy when you get used to it."

After a moment of digging through the bushes, I find a long branch and begin drawing a basic image of an intersection in the dirt.

"The Blocks are formed as a series of roads and buildings. Buildings can be entered to purchase things like food and other supplies. Roads connect the buildings so that cars—er, spinny-legged monsters can move between them. Think of roads like rivers."

I look up after the brief explanation. To my surprise, Mira and the rabbits are carefully examining the image and are squeaking excitedly.

"So the spinny legs are like fish?"

"Uhhh, sure. Fish that will eat you if you get in the way."

"So they are scary!"

The class is about to erupt into panic before I raise my hand to get their attention.

"They are scary, but there is an easy way to avoid them. Even a rabbit can do it if they know the secret."

"Woah! Tell us, Noa! Tell us!"

"For that, we need a demonstration."

I lead the party over towards the crosswalk of the intersection. The small creatures seem more terrified with each step towards the road. Between the loud sounds of cars and the rough concrete of the sidewalk, it's a wonder that these little guys are even willing to follow me. I just started being a teacher, but I already feel proud of my students' courage.

I bring them right up to the pole for the stoplight and lightly tap against the metal with my fist.

"This here is how you stop the monsters."

"It's so tall…"

The rabbits look a couple of metres above our heads towards the outstretched metal by which the stoplights are hanging. They all jump in unison when the lights across the intersection transition from green to yellow. The small creatures crowd behind me when the cars to our right all abruptly stop.

We came at just the right time. I motion to the crossing button on the pole.

"This button right here will stop all of the monsters right in their tracks. Mira, give it a try."

"A-Are you sure? The monsters won't get angry."

"Don't worry, they don't mind. They'll barely notice that you pressed it."

I mean, some people in the cars could be angry for having to stop, but no need to tell them that now. Road rage is something that even humans haven't figured out how to deal with.

Mira presses her small palm into the button. A red light immediately lights up and a robotic voice calls out from the speaker.

"Wait!"

"Eeek! Noa, it talks! What do I do!?"

"Don't worry, just listen to it."

It doesn't take more than a second for the light to disappear and for the speaker to speak again.

"You may now cross."

On the opposite side of the street, a red signal of a hand transforms into a white signal of a walking person.

"When that light appears, you can cross safely and the monsters won't bother you. See, look."

The party is predictably hesitant as they watch my crossing. I stop in the centre of the road and wave back. My face is smiling, but under my shirt is a cold sweat as I watch the timer for the crossing slowly ticking down. There is only a small window left for the entire group of rabbits to cross safely.

"You all might want to hurry! The light will only hold off the monsters for a little bit."

"O-Okay!"

Mira smacks her palms against her cheeks and steels her resolve.

"Come on soldiers, we must trust Noa! He will lead us to the lands beyond our territory!"

The small creatures seem to deliberate for a moment before saluting with their front legs. The party forms an organised square and marches behind Mira across the street. Barely a second remains on the crossing timer by the time the rabbits reach the other end of the street. The small girl once again beside me jumps for joy as the cars continue on their way.

"Look guys! We've overcome the monsters patrolling the Blocks! Now nothing stands between us and conquering the whole of this city!"

Mira shoots a fist into the air. The couple dozen rabbits squeak loudly in cheer and swing their arms wildly in celebration.

"I hope I didn't open a box I shouldn't have…"

It's hard for me to celebrate too hard when words of conquest start coming into the mix. Is humanity doomed now that rabbits have learned to cross the road? Even if we are, seeing the adorable sight in front of me makes me less upset with the upcoming apocalypse.