Blech. It sure wasn't sweet tea, that was for sure.
“Amazing,” he whispered under his breath.
Warmth filled my chest. He was the one who was amazing.
As soon as he was finished taking pictures of me, he punched something onto the phone screen with trembling fingers. "Ah, yes! A bar!”
He slapped the phone to his ear, never taking his eyes off me.
After a moment, someone must have picked up on the other end because Frederick quietly said, “Lance, you aren’t going to believe this. I’m out in the desert and a jackalope just approached me!”
There was a moment of silence.
“Yes, a realjackalope.”
Another pause.
“I'm not drunk and I'm not making it up! I’ve got pictures to prove it.”
My long ear twitched as I listened. I couldn't make out the words but I heard Lance's disdainful, irritated tone all the way from here. It annoyed me that he was speaking tomymate that way. If he was in front of me, I'd kick his teeth in.
“No, I’m... at the camp site," Frederick said.
Why was Frederick lying about where he was? Maybe he didn’t want Lance to know.
I'd been sitting, but now I stood on all fours, wanting to approach him. Frederick took it the wrong way—he assumed I was about to run off.
“I have to go,” he whispered abruptly. “I’m gonna scare it away.”
Before Lance could answer, he hung up the phone and shoved it back into his pocket.
“Hey, buddy.” Frederick stepped forward with one foot to test the waters, to see what I would do. I wriggled my nose.
“Easy there. I’m not gonna hurt you," he murmured.
My heart warmed. Those were the same words I'd said to him upon our first meeting.
Frederick breathed softly. "You’re beautiful... I can’t believe I’m seeing this."
He kneeled low to the ground and slowly reached out a timid hand. Curiosity and hope lit up his eyes.
I was overjoyed.
Not only was Frederick not afraid, but he wanted to make a connection, to touch me. Frederick was genuinely elated to see a jackalope standing before him.
My spirit soared through the clouds.
That was all the confirmation I needed to tell him the truth about who I really was.
7
Frederick
I couldn't believewhat I was seeing.
A jackalope. A cryptid, a legend, a made-up animal.
That was what I thought at first, but the longer I looked at it, I realized I was looking at a real-life fuckingjackalope.
