The Phantom Rabbit
A woman walks home. Very few people are out at this point of night. The only reason she was out was because of the reunion she had just left. She looked over her shoulder, afraid that something would come out of the shadows. She had a long while to walk before she got to her house, and most of it was near some of the more suspicious areas in town. However, this night, all seemed to be quite. She was still paranoid though, afraid that someone would attack her. Oh, why had she decided to go to that reunion? She hated all of the people their anyways. And now she had to walk through this neighborhood. It really wasn't that smart of her. Her mind flashed to all the news stories she had heard over the years. A couple had stuck out to her. The investigators were always baffled, because there were no human finger prints on the victims. There was only a single rabbit print. The investigators always figured that the murderer chose the victims based on whether or not they had been around rabbits lately, but she had always believed that was the killers sign, sort of a calling card. Either way, people had come up with a name for the killer, the Phantom Rabbit. The name always seemed silly to her then, but now, it was in the front of her mind, occupying her thoughts. She shook her head. She needed to start thinking better thoughts; nothing was going to happen to her. But still, the name haunted her.
Her walking speeds up quite a bit, hurrying to get home. She suddenly heard a noise. What was that? A robber? A serial killer? An axe murderer? The Phantom Rabbit? She spun 180 degrees around. Looking for anything she could use against the person she was sure was approaching. She saw nothing. Stepping back a couple of feet, she let out a sharp cry when one of her feet met air instead of the ground she was expecting. She spun around again, causing her to lose her balance, and she fell into the pit in front of her. Screaming, she tried to grab ahold of the ledge, but her hands failed to make contact with the earth. She fell into the pit, which was just deep enough for her to not be able to climb out, but still shallow. What was this doing here? She was walking in the middle of the sidewalk. This was kind of ridiculous. But what if it was a trap? She looked up, blinking in surprise at the bright light that fell over her from a street lamp. She trembled as a shadow fell over the pit, in the shape of a tall, strong man. She looked around, panicked, for anything to protect her from what she was sure to come. However, the shadow took a turn, and when she saw that it was no longer hovering over her, she let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to attack her. Now she just had to get out of this pit. Think, think. How could she? There were a few hand holds in the wall, so, shrugging, she grabbed onto a couple of them, ready to pull herself out of the pit. She froze however, when she saw another shadow. This one was of a gigantic bear. She froze. This was even worse than before. She remembered all of the documentaries she had watched on bears. They always seemed so strong, and so ready to tear people limb to limb. She watched the bear as it seemed to sniff around. But, soon, that to turned away, and left her alone in the pit.
She breathed once again, letting go of the air she had been holding inside of her. After waiting for a few seconds, attempting to make herself more courageous. In a swell of bravery she once again reached for the handholds, and started climbing again. She had reached about half way up the pit, when she saw another shadow. She let out a shriek of surprise, letting go of her handholds, falling back to the bottom of the pit. She stared at the shadow of the gigantic wolf. Her mind started racing. Wolves had razor sharp teeth, she had heard, and wouldn't hesitate to tear her to pieces if they were hungry. Her breaths grew panicked. Suddenly, the wolf's shadow turns away.
She stared up at the sky, waiting for the next shadow. She looks down just as the next, and final shadow appears. The shadow she somehow knew was coming. The shadow of a small rabbit. She smiled softly at the shadow, knowing now that death was inevitable. She looked up, and stared into the red eyes that appeared, seeming to hover over her. The cute face of a white bunny stares back at her, its nose twitching. Neither of them says anything. They both know her time is done.
The sun is rising, and people are leaving their houses, going about their business. A sudden scream fills the air. Soon the police are surrounding a hole in the ground. First three small bodies, the size of small animals are pulled up, the police soon identify these as stuffed puppets, in three forms, a man, a bear, and a wolf. The people around sigh in relief but then a larger body, fresh, barely beginning to rot, is pulled up from the hole, as onlookers shudder. One of the agents on the scene pulls something out of the lady's pocket.
"Alice Kirkland," he reads. He flips the card over, hoping for another clue to who she was, but all he found, was a single, black, rabbit's foot print.