Story Farmhouse

“And that was when King Arthur noticed something small and furry hopping around inside the cave. He shuffled closer to have a look and what he saw was a small bunny rabbit. However, this bunny was no ordinary bunny. He was watching King Arthur very closely; waiting. When the King turned his back, the bunny pounced and GRRRR!” The mother growled playfully, leaning over the bed to tickle the little girl’s stomach. Both laughed and the mother grabbed a stuffed rabbit from where it had fallen on the floor, placing it amongst the covers.

“Mommy! That’s not how a bunny sounds!” The little girl proclaimed with a scowl. The mother feigned shock and continued decluttering the small room. At the end, a fire was glowing softly, shedding the room in a warm, orange hue and scattering shadows across the walls.

“Really? What sound does a bunny make than, Bunny Master Emily?” She asked, giggling slightly. Emily did not skip a beat. She ripped the blankets off her and jumped down from her bed, instantly modeling a rabbit. Hopping around the room and making adorable squeaks, it was clear that this was well-rehearsed. Her mother watched on in amusement while moving over to begin making her daughter’s bed.

“All right bunny master. It’s time for all little bunnies to go to bed.” She said motherly. Emily hopped over and was picked up and placed onto the freshly-made covers. Her mother handed her the stuffed rabbit and leaned over to kiss her forehead. Emily snuggled into her blankets and yawned, blinking slowly. Emily’s mother moved towards the door. Suddenly, a cold wind shook the house and caused the fire to dance in the fireplace. The sound of rain could be heard pattering on the roof and Emily’s mother turned to see a confused Emily.

“Mommy, why is the killer bunny so mean?” She asked, pulling the blankets up closer around her.

“It’s late Emily….” The mother began, but a crash of thunder cut her off. Emily flinched and her mother sighed, realizing Emily’s reason for asking. “Ok. One more, but then it’s off to bed with you, ok?” Emily nodded and scooted over to make room for her mother, who sat down next to her. Outside, the wind continued to make the fire send shadows dancing about the room.

“A long time ago, there was a plain white rabbit….”

~~~​

This white rabbit was the youngest of 12 other brothers and sisters. He was adored by his mother and father, and all 15 of them lived happily together amongst some broken flower pots near an old farmer’s house. They never took much food from the farmer, for fear of being found out, and their parents always warned them to be fearful of humans. One night, while he and his siblings were playing hide and seek, the young bunny wandered off and became lost. After hopping around aimlessly for a couple of hours, weariness overcame him and he curled up before falling asleep on the bank of a river, the forest leering around him.

He awoke the next morning to the sound of splashing water. Jumping up, he looked around to see another rabbit swimming in the stream. He was a mottled brown and seemed to actually be enjoying himself. The stranger noticed he was being watched and swam to shore. Shaking himself off, he hopped over to the groggy bunny.

“I just love a good bath in the morning!” He exclaimed, stretching under the sun’s rays, “My owner used to have a bath ready for me every day. Say, you haven’t seen a farmhouse around here, have you?” The little white rabbit shook his head sadly.

“I’m from a farm, but I got lost yesterday. Don’t know where I am now….” The strangely-colored rabbit thought for a moment and finally stood up from his stretching.

“Well, I guess we’re looking for it together then.” He said matter-of-factly. He began moving out into the surrounding woods. The little white bunny followed closely behind.

“You got a name, little guy?” The stranger questioned. The white bunny shook his head.

“We don’t really go by names in my family. Do you have one?” He asked glumly, missing his family.

“Yea. My owner gave it to me. Name’s Toast.” He said cheerfully, “Well I hope we live in the same place. That’d make this a lot easier.”

“I live around a bunch of old flower pots next to a farmhouse, if that helps.” The nameless bunny began. Suddenly, Toast stopped dead in his tracks and spun around to face him.

“So you guys are the rabbits who keep eating my owner’s crops?” He gasped. The little bunny’s heart dropped. If the farmer noticed, it could be bad for all of them. Toast noticed his expression and slowly started to smile.

“Hey. It’s gonna be ok. My owner’s half-blind sometimes. He couldn’t find his hand in front of his face. Your family is safe there as long as they don’t give themselves away.” The white rabbit perked up a bit and Toast smiled more broadly. They continued hopping along, sticking to the main paths and keeping track of which direction they were headed based on the sun’s position. Eventually, colored eggs began to litter the path and Toast squealed with glee.

“My owner leaves out colored eggs like this whenever I get lost! We can follow these back home!” The little white bunny sighed thankfully and the duo quickened their pace. It was around noon when they crested a hill and saw smoke rising from the chimney of their farmhouse. Toast turned to his new friend to say goodbye, but stopped short when he noticed him staring. The little bunny, who had been happy about being home a moment before, now stood stock still. His ears were raised and pointed towards the house and his nose was twitching.

“I feel sick…” He said quietly, “Something isn’t right. It’s never this quiet.” Without another word, the youngster picked his way slowly across the field, almost as if in a trance. It was when they were about 100 feet from the flower pots that the young rabbit took off running. His breath was caught in his throat and he had a feeling of dread. The smell of blood still hung in the air and he didn’t need to enter the burrow to know what had happened; the red-stained dirt was enough proof. Toast was next to him in a moment and he reached for the orphaned bunny to try to console him, but decided against it. The grieving rabbit stared ahead, tears falling silently down his face. Then, a scowl formed where a smile had been earlier that day. That scowl soon turned into a ferocious snarl and the bunny raced around, kicking into his home and destroying what he had once held dear. Then he collapsed to the floor. Toast had taken cover and dared to go no further.

“He did this….” The now not-so-white bunny muttered. Toast wandered closer and turned an ear his direction. He heard his friend speaking under his breath and decided to try to calm him down.

“Hey man. It’s ok. We’ll get through-” He never finished his sentence, because the young bunny turned and lunged at him. Falling to the ground, they tussled together until Toast was pinned. His ear was bleeding and this nose was scratched. The little bunny was growling.

“This is human's’ fault! They did this! You were in on it too, weren’t you?” His eyes were wild and Toast breathlessly said,

“You’re a monster… Rabbits don’t act like this.” The dusty, angry rabbit leaned in close and, through clenched teeth, hissed,

“Get out. And never come back.” Toast’s eyes widened and he wiggled free. With one last look at the rabbit he had once called friend, he tore back out towards the forest. As the grief-stricken rabbit sat there, a cold fire had started in his stomach and he waited until nightfall. With the moon above him, he snuck up to a half-opened window and slunk inside. In the dead of night, he hunted. The farmer was never seen again. As for Toast, his owner’s family continued to leave colored eggs in the hope of finding him, but over the years of no luck, it became more of a once-a-year tradition than an actual hope. As for the killer rabbit, he disappeared without a trace.

~~~~​

Emily’s mother stared at her sleeping child and smiled gently. She tucked her in before silently making her way out of the room. When the door had been carefully shut, she let out a great sigh of relief.

“At least she fell asleep before the bad part.” She said to herself. As she made her way to the kitchen for a late night snack, however, she heard what sounded like light thumping. Emily’s mother’s heart dropped and all of the color drained from her face. The thumping quickened and she saw what appeared to be a cotton ball run between the counters. She had no time to scream before the killer rabbit had gotten her. Outside, the rain still fell, signaling the beginning of Spring. The pitter patter as the drops hit the old, abandoned flower pots reverberated through the night, drowning out all other sounds. Remember to lock your doors, for the killer rabbit is out there; and leave your colored eggs for Toast to follow back home! Happy Easter everyone!

 

Hahahaha thanks Tim. It's also a submition for a contest mineplex is having, so I hope it's good. We have to explain how the killer bunny got his name.

 

Hahahaha thanks dualley! ^-^