Chris and Biff wave good bye to their guests. Biff shuts the door and sits down on the couch next to Chris.
Chris: I can’t believe it…
Biff: Hm?
Chris: Bunnies! Bunnies are Ivan!
Biff: Maybe it’s a sign…
Chris: Ugh! I need a drink but I can’t even drink!
Biff: Forget about it, pink with white bunnies are cute and I’m sure Shawanda will love it.
Chris: Shoot me if I ever name my child that…
Biff: I think I might…
Chris: Oh, the bunnies… the business… Ivan…
Biff: Do you just want to go see him?
Chris: What?
Biff: We’ll stop by the bar; I can talk to Saikoro while you talk to him… and we’ll have to leave at a certain time because I’ve got dinner reservations for the best restaurant in town.
Chris: Huh?
Biff: Got to spoil my peasant girl, come on – get your coat.
Ivan pokes his finger with the tip of the dart, Saikoro clears his throat.
Saikoro: Hurting yourself won’t clear any of your problems.
Ivan: Huh?
Saikoro: I’m going to make tea.
Ivan: Whiskey.
Saikoro: No, tea.
Ivan: Fine.
Saikoro goes down stairs and behind the bar. Chris and Biff walk in.
Biff: Hey Saikoro.
Saikoro: Biff? Chris? What are you doing here?
Chris: I need to talk to Ivan.
Saikoro: He’s in his office.
Chris: That’s where he’s been for the last three years…
Chris walks upstairs to the office, she opens the door.
Chris: Ivan?
Ivan sits up from the couch.
Ivan: Chris.
Chris: Hey, I wanted to apologize. I’ve just had these mood swings and the morning sickness and my gosh! Look at how big my breasts are!
Ivan: Heh-heh, yes, they are quite big.
Chris: So how you been? Max said the business wasn’t doing so good.
Ivan: Meh, don’t worry about it. It’s not like I’m going to loose the bar or anything, I just screwed up a report because –
Chris: You were thinking about me?
Ivan: Yeah… I just… I don’t know.
Chris: Well, me and Biff have dinner reservations so I guess I’ll be going.
Ivan: See ya Scarlet.
Chris: Hm? What did you call me?
Ivan: Scarlet, it’s what I called you when we did those skits in high school.
Chris: Scarlet because of my red hair… and you were Ian because I couldn’t think of anything else so I took the v out of your name.
Ivan: Yep, oh, and I sorry I couldn’t get you anything for the shower. I’m pretty clueless about babies and hormonal women…
Chris: Ivan, you just gave me the best present.
Ivan: Huh?
Chris: I know what I’m going to name my baby girl, Scarlet.
Ivan: Um, you’re welcome?
Chris hugs Ivan, Ivan’s ears perk up.
Chris: It really is the best present; everything else was pink with white bunnies… Well, Alice got me something for me which was really nice.
Ivan: Glad I could name your baby…
Chris: Yeah… I have to go. Bye.
Chris leaves the office; Ivan tosses the dart at the dartboard.
Ivan: Scarlet Ruby would have had a nice ring to it…
Biff waves good bye to Saikoro and leaves the bar with Chris. Saikoro goes up to the office with two cups of tea.
Saikoro: And how did that go?
Ivan: I just named the baby.
Chris pushes her thumbs together in the car, Biff looks over at her.
Biff: So what’s up?
Chris: He still remembers us in high school… Heh, and he also named my little girl.
Biff: Huh?
Chris: Scarlet, it was my name for skits we did. Scarlet and Ian…
Biff: I suppose it was a good chat then.
Chris: Yeah… how about you and Saikoro?
Biff: Yeah, I just wanted to know what he was up too.
Saikoro sips his tea, typing on the computer.
Saikoro: I think it’s time we had that talk Ivan…
Ivan: Talk about what? Damn it, why am I talking to you? Why does it feel like your some – father figure?
Saikoro: Because I’m older and wiser. Besides, I’m trying to help you.
Ivan: Fine… where do you want me to start?
Saikoro: Hm, well, how about when you arrived here in Camdene?
Ivan: This place? Hm… well, it was the first time I saw Max attack someone.
Ivan remembers the facility where he and Max were brought to after they were kidnapped. Max is coloring on a piece of paper; Ivan looks at his ears in a mirror.
Ivan: I look like a dork…
Max: At least we managed to live through our surgery… We’re the lucky ones Ivan.
Ivan: Lucky? I’m a rabbit!
Max: But you’re alive. Have you noticed no one else is here?
Ivan: I haven’t seen Jenny now that you mention it…
Max: All those kids in the neighborhood…
Ivan: Huh?
Max: Didn’t make it… I snuck out of the room last night because I was hungry and I heard the doctor lady talking…
Ivan: No one saw you, did they?
Max: No, because after what I saw and heard… I ran back to the room.
Ivan: What was it Max?
Max: I couldn’t get it out of my head… so I drew it…
Max slides the piece of paper to Ivan. Ivan looks at the paper then crumbles it, Max’s ears go down.
Max: She said they were worthless now so she was going to get rid of them by tossing the carts into the furnace… the smell was terrible Ivan…
Ivan: I’m sorry Max…
Max: Huh?
Ivan: I’m supposed to protect you… but instead we’ve just been in one tragedy that’s never ending.
Max: We’ll get out of here one day…
In the present, Ivan gulps down his cup of tea.
Saikoro: What happened after that?
Ivan: We got out…
Back in the past, Ivan puts on his pajamas as Max sits on the bed. A man comes in there with two cups of pills.
Man: Time for you boys to take your medicine.
Ivan: So we’ll die too?
Man: Live actually. These pills help build your immunities so you can fight infection. You’re both very fortune to survive so we have to take care of you.
Ivan: And it was okay to take the lives of Jenny and all the other kids!
Man: Just shut up and take your medicine.
Ivan snatches the cup, the man hands the cup to Max but Max doesn’t take it.
Man: Come on kid, you want to stay alive, right?
Ivan: Max, take the pills.
There’s no answer from Max, the man gets aggravated and pinches Max’s nose. Max opens his mouth.
Man: Here we go.
The man takes his free hand and takes the pills and put them into Max’s mouth, Max bites down on the man’s hand.
Ivan: MAX!
Max spits out the man’s hand and then kicks him in the face.
Max: We’re going now!
Ivan: What?
Max and Ivan run down the hall, the alarms go off.
Ivan: How are we going to get out?
Max looks around the hall and spots a window.
Max: We need to break those bars off the window and jump.
Ivan: Time to see if dad’s martial arts lessons worked or not.
Ivan runs towards the window and kicks the window. The glass breaks, the bars shake. Max runs up and head butts the bars, making them fall. Max spins around.
Max: Dizzy…
Ivan: Come on!
Ivan puts Max on his back and jumps from the window, he lands on his feet.
Ivan: Wow…
Max: See, bunnies are cool. They can hop…
Ivan: Yeah…
Men in black suits come running after Ivan and Max. Ivan jolts down the path with the men chasing behind him.
Ivan: We got to get out of here.
Max: Remember in that game when Bonbon gets chased by the men –
Ivan: We don’t have guns.
Max: After that part, where she steals the car.
Ivan: The van! Time to kick these feet in.
Ivan takes a major leap to where the van is. Max jumps off Ivan’s back and bites the man in the neck who is watching the van. Ivan jumps into the driver’s seat; Max gets in behind Ivan and buckles up.
Max: I hope you can drive good big brother.
Ivan: We didn’t spend our allowance at arcades for nothing.
Ivan hits the gas and rams the gate. They drive off down the road.
Max: Where are we going to go?
Ivan: Far away from here.
Saikoro sips his tea, Ivan shakes his head.
Ivan: The only thing we didn’t learn from video games was that you have to have enough gas to drive long distances.
Saikoro: I’m quite amazed you were even able to escape. So your father was a martial arts master?
Ivan: Yeah and he wanted me to learn his technique called the hurricane kick but I only got the first part of the move… the second part is supposed to deal the most damage.
Saikoro: And Max hitting his head on those bars… did they happen to make him anymore, denser?
Ivan: Max only really lacks knowledge in mathematics; it’s just hard for him. And he is naïve about quite a few things but I never sat down and talked to him about it because I didn’t really want too. He’s growing up though, still just taking a while.
Saikoro: Shall we get back to your great escape and how you came to Camdene?
Ivan: Yeah, as I was saying; we ran out of gas.
Ivan remembers the van stopping. Him and Max hope out of the van and start walking down the road.
Max: Ivan…
Ivan: What?
Max: What if those men come after us?
Ivan: We’ll just have to fight back.
Max: And if we’re captured?
Ivan: We never give up.
Max: What about it getting dark?
Ivan: We don’t stop till we find a town.
Max: And if I got to pee?
Ivan: Uses the bushes or road signs.
Max: Okay.
Ivan and Max continue walking down the road; the sun starts to go down. A pick-up truck drives up to next of them. A family in the cab points to the back of the truck, Ivan and Max hop in. The pick-up truck goes down the road. A girl by the name of Belle pokes her head out the back window.
Belle: Hi there, I’m Belle.
Ivan: My name is Ivan, this is my brother Max.
Max: Hi! Thanks for picking us up.
Belle: No problem, Mom and Dad always help someone in need.
Ivan: Where are you heading?
Belle: Home to the farm, we’ll be stopping by Camdene to get some supplies.
Max: What’s Camdene?
Belle: A small town, pretty run down in the business district.
Ivan: I suppose that’s we’ll be getting off.
Belle: Okay, hope its comfortable back there.
Max: It is; our feet needed a rest.
The sun goes down as the pick-up truck drives into town. Ivan and Max shake hands with Belle’s dad as Belle and her mom wave good bye. Ivan and Max walk down the street looking at all the boarded up businesses. Max points to one with a board cracked.
Max: Do you think we can stay there tonight?
Ivan: Yeah, I think we can slide through.
Inside the building; Ivan and Max look around.
Ivan: This must have been a bar…
Max: Cool! I wonder if we could live here!
Ivan: First off we need to live, what helps build up immunities?
Max: I don’t know… maybe there’s a library somewhere around here.
Ivan: Well let’s sleep tonight and explore tomorrow.
Out of the flashback; Ivan lights up a cigarette.
Ivan: The building we ended up in is what is now today. Flaming Snowball was our home for many years and we picked up we could to survive. The first day we went to the library. Max did research on how to fight infection and that’s why he’s good in the medical field. I did research on the town. Not much changed till we got in high school.
Saikoro: And you met Chris?
Ivan: Yeah and the girl Belle we met became mayor. She really turned this place around.
