Laci was awoken from her rest by the sound of heeled rabbit boots approaching. The black draft was back, this time with a lop-eared rabbit in tow. He entered her stall with a halter, and Laci immediately jumped back. The draft overpowered her, crushing her against the wall, and her squirming did nothing to free her. He tightened a halter over her face, with a stud chain over top to be popped and tugged at random. When the officer stepped back, she crouched in the corner, reluctant to move. He slapped her croup, hard, and she jumped forward with a squeal, wheeling into the hall. The little grey rabbit sat in the hall, watching all of this.

  “She’s a little choppy, but nothing I can’t handle. Ah, stunning, just stunning,” she remarked. Her paw ran through Laci’s mane like it was her own, making her twitch. “So excellently muscled and well-made. Shame she ended up like this. I’d bet she’d be a looker in the show jumping ring.”

  She took the chain from the stallion, and as soon as she tried to lead her toward the wash racks, Laci backed up. She dragged the little rabbit all the way down the hall, ignoring pops on the chain and shouting and beating, until the draft grabbed her ear, twisting and holding it until she cried out. He snatched the chain as he released her ear, and she flew up in the air, dancing on her hind legs like a wild beast.

  “Someone’s got an attitude.” The rabbit bound her to the wash rack quickly while the draft held her in place.

  They fit a saddle to her roughly, out of the few they had available, and padded it up to cushion the gaps. Laci wrestled against the Shire as he bridled her, shoving her head up defiantly. She tried everything she knew to delay them.

  The ring they took her to was small and dilapidated. There was a metal round pen sitting in the corner, all of its panels adorned with random dents and bends from horses kicking out at it. She led Laci inside and forced the rusted lever shut. Undoing the lash from her lunge whip, she directed Laci out onto the circle.

  “Look at those gaits. She is a stunner. Just spoiled rotten,” said the rabbit.

  The black draft watched cautiously from outside of the round pen as Laci raced around. She pricked her ears and sharpened her focus on the rabbit’s whip. Her obedience was flawless, turning, stopping, and transitioning exactly as she was asked.

  “I suppose there’s nothing left to do but break this horse.”

  Laci felt broken indeed when the rabbit was finished. She was on the ground, face in the dirt, vision swaying. She had been backed nine times, none lasting more than a minute. They were both covered in cuts and bruises, and Laci’s nose was bleeding again. She panted heavily, and she felt as though she were drowning.

  “Git up! If you’re actin’ that rank you have to have sumn’ left in ya!” The rabbit’s coarse Southern accent was stronger now that she was spent.

  “She’s done, ma’am. I think we should soak her,” the black draft said distantly.

  Laci could not respond; her lungs felt dry as bone. She was foaming with sweat and could hardly feel the whip anymore. All at once, the world blackened around her.

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  She was shocked awake by the feeling of cold water on her skin. The air was putrid with the scent of rubbing alcohol, and her head was sitting in a puddle of blood and sweat. She coughed hard to clear her lungs, and more blood sprayed across the room onto the wall. Nearby, she heard Dr. Greg’s voice muttering obscenities.

  “They’ve lost their goddamn minds. They have no business running a filly into the ground like this. I swear-” He came from around the corner, carrying a tote of medications in one arm and a pan of water in the other. As soon as he saw her lift her face, he rushed over to her.

  “Steady, Laci. Just rest. You need to,” he said. He held the pan up to her. “You should take a drink. You’re sweating to death.”

  Laci reluctantly sipped from the dish, which instantly tainted the water red. She heard boots coming into the room, and lifted her head again in a panic, ears flickering. When she saw the lop-eared rabbit, she yelped and leapt off the table. Her knees were weak and numb, and she staggered slightly.

  “Whoa, Laci. You’re alright.” Dr. Greg stood and ran a hoof down her neck steadily to reassure her. His demeanor changed instantly when he noticed the rabbit. His tail swished in apprehension.

  “What did I tell you, Greg? She survived, and she looks great,” she boasted.

  Greg paused and took a long breath before speaking. “It’s a miracle she can stand. I’d prefer if you’d go,” he said carefully.

  The rabbit snorted. “She’s merely worked hard for the first time. Believe me, Greg, horses like her need jobs. Or they’ll ruin their own lives.”

  “She should be in light work only. Her shoulder was almost split in half on a staircase yesterday,” he said grimly. He looked over the remaining staples in Laci’s shoulder, and tipped his ears back. “Now the wound is open again. It’s no wonder she won’t behave for you. She’s seriously injured.”

  Laci was stiff with fear, but the rabbit came closer. She couldn’t stand to be near her ever again. She backed up into the corner of the room, raising her head and warning her with a small rear.

  “Don’t touch her, she’s going to kick you,” Dr. Greg said quietly.

  The rabbit reached for Laci’s neck.

  Laci hissed and struck out with her foreleg, and her eyes were lit up with a kind of fear Dr. Greg had seen only a few times in his life. The rabbit’s paw did not retreat.

  “Get the hell out.” Dr. Greg pointed to the door.

  The rabbit turned to him, shocked. “You don’t tell me what to do, pony. Talk to me like that one more time, and see where that gets you.” Her paw darted down to her crop, still stuck in her belt.

  Dr. Greg seemed unmoved. “If you don’t leave right now, I’m reporting you.”

  “Remind me who reads those reports, pony.”

  “The executives,” he sighed.

  “Who are?” She crossed her arms.

  “Rabbits.”

  “Exactly.”

  Laci lunged and reached for the rabbit with wide open, bloody jaws. Dr. Greg grabbed the rabbit and yanked her away at the last second.

  “What is wrong with you? Don’t touch me!”

  “I’m trying to stop you from getting killed!”

  Laci threatened to attack again, and Greg pushed the rabbit out the door and closed it on her without a word.

  “I’m sorry, Laci.” He was weary, and spoke even lower than before.

  She withdrew slightly once the rabbit left, but was still stuck on high alert. Her long ears swiveled around warily. Greg moved with the steadiness of a bomb squad, gingerly opening a suture kit to mend Laci’s wound. He asked her to sit, but she refused to let her guard down.

  “That’s alright. I can stitch you standing up, but you’ll have to be very still.” He started to clean the area on her shoulder.

  She dropped her head and sighed, a wave of fatigue hitting her like a ton of bricks. Her muscles stung from overload. How much more would she have to endure?