My Little Rabbit

by James DeSantis

  I twirl around, and with my body weight, smash into the door. It flings open and I fall to the ground. Quickly picking myself up I lock the door and take the house in. A staircase in front of me, to my left is a empty room, and to my right is a nasty smelling kitchen. I don't care enough to search either, so I head forward. As I reach the top step I look down the hall to see one room.

  My heart skips a beat and my eyes narrow. This place felt familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. I've been here, but I hadn't. It's like I'm retracing steps but I can't recall ever being here in the first place. Either way I hear the sound that makes me press forward.

  *Ding*

  I look down the stairs. It's him. It's the freak. My eyes dart from the door to the room. Wherever I'm going has to be better than the alternative. I rush onward and hope that whatever I encounter is less traumatizing than what's at the front door.

  I use my back to shut the door behind me. With my right hand I fumble till I feel a lock, turn, and finally breath. I'm inside the room at the end of the hall. First thing I take notice is the bed, with a person inside it. They're turned to face the window at the opposite end. He or she is covered in all black with long blond hair that reaches her bottom. I can't see any facial features but for some reason I get this chill down my spine.

  *Ding*

  On the first floor. He got in. I curse under my breath.

  I edge towards the bed, trying to figure out how to approach the person laying down. I check left to right, but there's nothing to grab. It's as empty as could be. I had hope to find a weapon to defend myself against the crazed lunatic with the clown makeup but to no avail.

  My hands shake as I get closer. I don't even know who or what it is. Could be another clown maniac. My stomach turns, and I feel like throwing up everywhere. Instead I force my legs to work and continue to my destination.

  I reach over to tap the shoulder of the unconscious person. As soon as my fingers are only inches away they turn. Eyeballs missing just like the doctor, face smudged like a burn victim, mouth wide open but no teeth to be found. A loud sound erupting from within: “Mmmmyyyyyyy!” it screeches and I fumble backwards.

  Landing hard on my rear, I look at the ghastly thing. I was never one to judge on appearances, but the thing in front of me looked like it had come straight out of a horror flick. My mind told me to get up and run, but I wasn't able to move a inch. This thing in front of me made me stiff as a doll. It shut its mouth and looked at me, its eyes eating away at my soul.

  It looked sad.

  “What are you...” I mutter.

  “Mmmmyyyyy!” It preaches again but the sound is so muffled it sounds more like noise. I shake my head to try to show I don't understand but instead it repeats the same phrase. I cover my ears and begin to crawl the opposite way.

  *Ding*

  My heart doesn't skip a beat, it stops completely. I crank my head slowly behind me to hear a soft knock at the door. The thing in the bed becomes mute, also intent on knowing what lays outside of its room.

  “Sweet Rabbit, why are you hiding from me?” his voice is as sinister as ever.

  “Leave me alone!” I shout.

  The thing in the bed shouts with me, but the words are impossible to understand. It just sounds like a bunch of letters stuck together but the tone is undeniably angry. I watch it point to the door, howling, then it turns back to me.

  It's a woman. Her face is still ruined but I can tell now. Her features are there, just covered in destruction. I use the wall behind me to bounce myself back up. I step closer to her, trying to get a better look. I know it's someone I have met but I can't, for the life of me, figure out who.

  “Hey...hey...” soft knocks accompany his persistent calling. I try my best to ignore him as I investigate closer to the woman. Her eyes are missing, but I felt like I might be able to remember. Hazel? No. Green? Maybe.

  “Hey, rabbuuuuut...I'm going to slither my way into your body, eat away your large intestine and than gnaw down on your uterus. How's that sound?” He breaks out in a laughing fit, my attention is focused on the women however.

  I'm now hovering over the women in black, her eyes empty but her brows giving her a look of sadness. She reaches up to me and at first I jump back. She pulls her hand back as if she touched at hot stove. I shiver and step closer, this time letting her hand come near me. It rest on my cheek and she rubs.

  *BOOM*

  My head shoots to the door as it shakes.

  “No more games. I'm coming in there! No more hiding!”

  *BOOM*

  My head turns back towards the woman, who's looking at the door with such ferocity I wonder if she wants to challenge the clown. I place my hand on hers and smile. “It's fine. He can't get us.” I reassure her.

  Another bang, another warning, I ignore him once more.

  “Who are you?”

  The women looks at me and opens her mouth. “Mmmmyyyy...”

  “My?” I finish for her. She nods.

  “lllllllllllllllll...ttttt....” she shakes her head violently, frustrated the words won't come out.

  “I will pick your bones with my teeth if you don't let me in. You hear me?” he threatens.

  I hold her hand tightly. “Try again.”

  She lets out a breath and tries once more. “Mmmmyyy llllllllliiittttlllleeee”

  My heart races, not because of the banging, but the words that she begins to pronounce.

  “What did you say?” I ask, my eyes watering up.

  “You fucking bitch, I will tear you up, you hear me? I will work my way through your entire body and eat every last part of you till you're nothing but bone dust. I will--” He continues with his screams and warnings but my focus is only on the woman.

  “What were you trying to say?” I ask but I already have a feeling. I know what it is.

  A tear falls down her cheek as she opens her mouth once more. “Mmmyyy Liittllee Rabbiiiitttt” she finally gets out.

  My head is pounding from my heart racing so quickly. My hands are trembling and my feet are shaking. The words strike me like thrones on a flower, and I shut my eyes. I know what it is now. I know what she's trying to tell me.

  *BOOM*

  The door shatters open. The clown comes rushing in like a bull. It reaches out for me. I turn to face him. Readying myself for my doom. The woman screeches, inaudible but furious. I watch as the clown is only mere inches away from me. I look into his eyes, and for the first time I see him nervous. Nothing is under his control. He lost it. The one thing he had since he's been chasing me is gone.

  I smile.

  He latches on to my body, as does the woman behind me. I gasp.

  The Photo

  My body is shaking uncontrollably. I'm in a room of darkness. I can't see a thing around me. My insides hurt like hell, my head is spinning, and my mouth is dry. I'm feeling week, as if I hadn't slept in days. My nose crinkles up, and I brush it off. I can't stop shaking. It's like someone is pulling on me. I try to speak but nothing comes out. I try to hold myself tight to stop the tremors my body is experiencing but no dice.

  “Hey! Hey Jenna, JENNA!” That voice. I know that voice. Why can't I visualize who that is. Think...come on....think.

  “Jenna! Please wake up!” I hear it louder this time. The voice is someone I know. This damn room of darkness, if only I could get some light in here I could think clearer. The shakes are getting more violent, my body is being whipped back and forth without any control.

  “Jenna! I SAID WAKE UP!”

  The blackness fades away.

  Light invades my pupils, I shut them again, and quickly reopen them. No more darkness for today, I remind myself.

  As my eyes settle I can see my sister standing over me, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head, her mouth hanging open, tears strolling down the side of her face. She's dressed real nice, a blue dress she was probably waiting to use for a special occasion. She finally hugs me, tightly, a
s if I've been gone for years.

  “I was so worried...” she mumbles, not letting go.

  I pat her back. “I...I thought...” my mind jumps around. I remember it all so clear. A dream? A nightmare? It couldn't have been. It was to real. I felt the hands of the clown. I felt the woman in the bed. I could hear their cries and the vengeance on their tongue for what I've done. That couldn't have been all in my head, could it?

  My sister releases me. “What happened? You said you were coming upstairs to change. An hour later I come to check on you and you're fast asleep. Mumbling, mind you. And then...” She puts a hand over her mouth. “It just...reminded me of Mom.”

  A sharp pain slithers its way into my brain. I bend over and yell, my eyes tightly shut, my mouth still dry. Megan grabs me, trying to understand what just happened. She's shouting at me, asking me what she can do, but I can't answer her. I don't know what's happening, I feel sick to my stomach, and my eyes won't stay open.

  Then, just like the pain came, it flees from my mind. I reopen my eyes and look to my sister who sitting, sobbing softly, gathering thoughts on what just was displayed. “This isn't right. We have to get you to the doctor.”

  I shake my head slowly. I go to stand but fall almost immediately. She helps hold me up and I thank her. “I need to use the bathroom,” I say, and we begin to walk towards it. She asks if I'm up to using it alone, to which I nod, but she looks unsure. Who could blame her? I'm not the picture of perfect health at the moment.

  We get to the door and I turn, a smile spread across my face. “I swear, it's nothing too bad. Just the case of some dizzy spells.”

  She frowns. “We're talking about this after you get out. We need to talk about it, no more hiding from it.”

  I take a moment, trying to decide if I should fight this one. Why bother? My sister obviously just cares, and she won't leave me alone. “Fine. Let me pee first.” I go to shut the door. She stops it with her left foot.

  “I'll be right outside; if you need me, holler,” she says. I nod and she lets the door shut before walking back over to my bed.

  I wobble over to the mirror and brace myself on the ledge. I look into the mirror and could see why my sister was scared shitless. All the color in my face is nearly gone; it looks like I'm more dead than alive. I turn on the water and splash some on my face, a little in my mouth, and try to relax some. The water helps but I can't shake the feeling that all is not well.

  When I stare in to the mirror I see him. The clown. His grin is long, his tongue even longer. He doesn't speak, he doesn't have to, his presence is enough to put the fear back in my mind. Had it not been ad ream after all then?

  “I know who...what you are,” I let him know. He just chuckles.

  “It doesn't matter now.”

  I shake my head and pull my draw open. Inside are two necklaces passed down to me, a ring, and a photo. I pull the photo out and place in on the counter. I take a moment to study it. A small girl stares back at me, her eyes narrow, almost disturbing, black shadows around the shot. I look back to the mirror to see the clown in disgust.

  I hold the photo up to him. “You can't steal this away from me.”

  He growls at me. “I can and will take whatever I want from you, you're nothing but a meat puppet for me to use.”

  I flip the photo over and look at it. My eyes fall to the very bottom of the photo. On it is written, in script, “my little rabbit” from my mother. I stare back at the clown and shake my head. “You think you can steal something special to me? After all you've taken you think you can have this too?” I question him, he doesn't respond, just stares. “Go fuck yourself!” I scream.

  “You think you've won?” he hisses.

  I slam my hand into the mirror. “Not yet,” I retort. “Soon.” I turn away from him. I could hear my sister outside the door, asking if I'm okay. I wait a moment, eyes shut, letting myself relax. Clearing my mind is easy. A blank slate.

  “You won't survive,” he guarantees.

  “My little rabbit...” I whisper, over and over again. Once I hit the eleventh time I turn around and face him. My bones are stiff, the hairs on my arms are sticking up, I hold my breath. I'm ready.

  He's gone.

  I can feel my legs wanting to give out, I grab the side of my shower. The man, creature, whatever it was, is gone. I finally breathe, my eyes tearing up instantly, my trembling coming to a halt. My sister is turning the knob, still questioning if I'm okay, her small knocks getting increasingly louder. “Be right out,” I let out, barely able to keep my voice together.

  Had I won? Maybe the battle, not the war. He'll be back. He'll want all of me, as he did my mother. They always want more, never resting.

  I nod to myself and grab the door. I push it open and like leaving a different world I enter my room. The aura around me completely alters and it feels as if I've stepped back in to the real world. That only leaves the question of where I've been. My sister is standing near me, placing her hand on my back, nervous as could be. I go to speak but my voice cracks and I cough instead. She looks even more worried now, bending down and looking up at me.

  “Should I call an ambulance?” she questions.

  I shake my head. “I'm fine,” I squeak.

  “You sure?”

  “Yes. Little tired.”

  “Here, sit down.” She says and we head over to the bed. As we sit on it she wipes my brow with a towel, it's filled with sweat. “I really think I should call. This looks bad.”

  I grab her hand and squeeze it tightly. “I swear Megan, I'm fine. It's just the shivers.”

  She looks at me, knowing I'm lying. Her eyes are darting around from me to the room and back. I can feel she wants to talk about it. She wants me to share the experience I just had. I don't even know where to begin. I try to figure a good starting point. A place where we can go and she'd understand what I was speaking about.

  “You sounded like Mom,” she said softly.

  It hit me like a hammer. My mind shifts to the house. To the bed. To the women. To the picture. To the basement. To the clown. To the field. To the man in the white coat. To it all in a matter of seconds. I scream and hold myself tightly. She reacts quickly, wrapping her hands around me. She tells me it'll be okay, rocking me back and forth, but I'm so stunned at the revelations I just stare at the floor.

  It unravels slowly.

  Everything begins to piece together.

  “Remember our hiding place?” I ask her.

  She looks at me like I'm an endangered species. “Huh?”

  “When we were kids. We would make a fort in the basement in our old house. We'd say it's our safe-haven.” I look at her for agreement but instead she just looks at me like I've gone crazy. “We would hide down there from the sounds...from the sceaming.”

  “Mom...” she mutters.

  I nod. “We would hide down there together because the yelling, the screaming, it would all be muffled out.”

  “Right.” She nods, this time her face lighting up. “What about it?”

  “When Mom was sick, she would scream bloody hell.”

  “The disease...”

  “I know, I know. I'm not saying she was crazy, I was saying it sounded like she was battling something.”

  “Yeah. Kind of how you sounded a while back.” She looks at me with those big concerned eyes.

  “I tried to ignore it up until now but I can't any further.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have to fight it. Otherwise I'll die too, just like mom.” I pick through my pocket and pull out the photo. My sister views it, trying to recall when it was taken. “Mom's writing is on the bottom. It spells out “my little rabbit.” It's what she called me. Remember?” She nods. “I've felt like I've been losing myself as of late. That in my mind something is eating away at me. The disease.” I point to the picture. “That brought me back from the brink. Mom did.”

  Her lip curls and she squints
some, the tears wanting to escape her eyes. “I can't remember her voice.”

  I hug my big sister. She embraces me and gives it back. “I do. I heard it.” I whisper in to her ear. “She called out to me.”

  I separate from my sister. I take the photo and hold it up. “I used Mom's will to help me get through it. I don't know if she'll be able to help next time I have...an attack.” I look at my sister. “I need you. If I plan on beating this disease I'm going to need someone I trust. You think you can stay with me the next few days while I start my treatments?”

  “Of course!” She spurts out, happy as could be. All she wanted was to see me get better, to help me, and I've been stubbornly pushing her away.

  “Thanks,” I say, smiling.

  “We're going to see Doctor Sal tomorrow then?” She questions, all to excited for my taste.

  “Yes. He told me the news when I got it. I'm sure he'll be more than willing to continue treating me.” I respond.

  “Great. We'll fight this together, we won't let it win. It took our mom, it won't take you. We caught it early this time.” She reassured me as she holds my hand. Just like my mother did. I bite my bottom lip and look down in my lap to see the photo. My eyes stare back at me and I know, this won't be easy but now I have hope. Now I have someone in my corner who will help me fight through it. I won't die so easily. We'll fight till I can't stand anymore. That's what my mother would want, and that's what I'll do. Survive for both her and me.

  END

  A Thanks and explanation.

  First I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this short story. A lot was going through my mind when creating this one. I put myself in the shoes of my character, and it wasn't an easy challenge. To face the worst of your fears is always the toughest thing in life. Every person who reads my stories, these things I create for others to enjoy, brings me one step closer to getting over my fear. The fear no one will have anything to remember me by. If I died tomorrow I now know I have plenty of people who will remember me, even if it's just through my work. So thank you all.