Run Rabbit Run

Run Rabbit Run 3

Clutching her phone in her lap, Lara followed the directions to Ivy's. The lights were bright on the road, stars flashed, then flashed again as headlights sped past her.

Maybe she should have worn her glasses, instead of trying to be cool in her contacts? She frowned. They can cure so many diseases. Why haven't they done something about astigmatism? The problem was that even when she wore her glasses, the world had a tendency to blur at the edges, but without them. forget it. She couldn't tell a guy from a girl two feet in front of her.

Lara blinked, trying to freshen up her sight. But all that happened was she went momentarily blind. When she opened her eyes, two bright pinpricks of light were shining at her from the center of the road. Even in the darkness, she could sense the eyes behind those lights, the dazed, stunned fear. But it was too late, though she tried to swerve, Lara hit the animal hard.

The car bounced like it had hit a rock.

Oh no! she cried out. Oh, no. I'm so sorry. She pulled over to the side of the road. She hoped whatever it was was still alive and she could take it to the vet.

Flashlight flicked on her phone, Lara backtracked until she found what she had hit. A raccoon lay off to the side of the road. The light reflected light off his eyes, not into them. He didn't blink, didn't move. His paws were curled under his body as though tucked safely in to sleep. She stepped closer, though it was the last thing she wanted to do. It was as if only by seeing that the animal was actually gone, that she could leave. She couldn't bear to think of it suffering alone in the night. She moved a little closer, so absorbed was she in making sure that the raccoon was dead that she never heard the footsteps coming up behind her.

"You ok, pretty girl? Pretty, little girlie-girl."

Lara jumped. Holding the flashlight like a club, she aimed it towards the voice. His appearance did nothing to reassure her. Tee-shirt dark with stains, and ripped at the neck. Jeans loose at the hips and the oddest smile on his face, as if he was enjoying some private joke at her expense. His teeth spit-glistened in the darkness.

Her voice was weak when she finally did manage to speak.

"I, um hit something. I wanted to make sure it was-"

He snorted out a laugh. "You wanted to make sure it was dead, girly-girl? I can help you out there." Picking up a stick, he poked the raccoon hard in the chest, making it slide across the road. Lara couldn't stop staring at the gummy trail it left behind.

"Yup, dead. You killed it. Shame too, coons ain't bad, just cause they look like crooks, don't mean they is." He turned towards her. Lara began to back away but the man held the stick, now misshapen at the tip, closer and closer to her face. "This one never saw it coming. You aimed real hard, didn't you? Coons is usually quick."

Indignation momentarily took away her fear. "I didn't. I'd never. I just didn't see it till it was too late."

"Sure betting, it didn't see you."

"Yes, well I have to be going now. My friend's expecting me."

"You think that's right. Kill it and then leave it alone? Dead can't be fixed. You got to take care of things, little girlie-girl. You got to clean up your own messes. I cleaned up enough of 'em already."

He dropped the stick.

Lara ran. Her feet flew towards her car. Her finger snapping down on the unlock button as she headed to the door. Praying that those weren't footsteps behind her. Two seconds to yank open the door. Three to climb inside and slam the door shut. Two more, got the car locked again. Fumbling, sweating, Lara slid the car key inside the ignition, then turned it hard. Her headlights flashed on. Something slammed into her car.

Tappity Scratch. Tappity Scratch. The sound came from the driver's window.

Lara stared straight ahead, refusing to look right or left. Certain she'd see a grinning face, or hear the crack of her window as it was smashed open, and she was pulled like a sardine screaming from a can. Flooring the gas, she pulled onto the road. So scared was she that she never heard the man yelling after her, or feel a second thud against the car.

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Once back on the road, Lara took a few minutes to suck back her breath. Should she call the police? Would they even be able to find the psycho nature lover? Surely he had moved on by now, still chuckling at how scared he'd made the "girlie-girl", no doubt.

Nuts to this, Lara told herself, swinging the wheel onto the corner of Parkdale. I didn't come out here to get all freaked out. I came to have fun. Grabbing her coat, she went up to Ivy's door and knocked.

Ivy answered. She looked even paler at night.

"Hey, you came," she said. "I wasn't sure after what happened today."

Lara shrugged. "Forget about it."

"Bang, bang! You're dead!"

Lara jumped back as something wet hit her cheek. Only after she realized it was water on her fingers, did she take a step forwards again. A small kid was laughing at her.

His face half-covered by a black mask. He looked for one horrifying second like the raccoon she'd left laying by the side of the road, only his eyes were bright and alive. Lara suddenly felt the strangest pull. She reached out her fingers to touch him, feel him warm and alive, but Ivy yanked him away.

Keeping a firm grip on his shoulder, Ivy sighed. "This is my brother, Ivan. Just like Ivan the Terrible."

"Better than being poison," he retorted, "besides I'm not-" But Ivy interrupted him. "Scat, brat!" she said, shooing him away. He shot her in the chest, laughing as the water dripped down, and then ran out of the room. Ivy brushed at her shirt.

"Nice kid," Lara laughed, now only seeing an obnoxious little brother, instead of a dead animal. "Good aim."

"Yeah, he's just great." Ivy took Lara's coat, dropping it on a chair. "Come on in. Before I forget," Ivy reached down and handed Lara her Trig book. Marking a page was a folded up piece of paper. Ivy grinned. "I already did the homework, thought you might want a chance to get ahead."

Glancing sideways, almost as if she was afraid there'd be witnesses, Lara took the page from Ivy.

"Of course, you'll have to copy it over."

Lara admired Ivy's perfect penmanship. Her figures lined up in coordinated precision like little tin soldiers. Lara's work tended to look like she'd stuffed it under her pillow and drooled on it the night before.

"The answers are right," Ivy said. "I checked them online, before you got here."

"Uhh," Lara wasn't sure what to say. Wasn't that cheating? She settled on a weak, "thanks."

"That's what friends are for, to help each other, don't you think? Hungry?" Lara shook her head.

"Good, I ate hours ago. Hey," Her eyes seemed to size up Lara for a second. They had a peculiar glint in them. If Lara hadn't thought it was crazy, she would have sworn they were giving off heat.

"Wanna do something fun? Wanna feed the birds?"