part0015

Nikki opened the picnic basket up and started setting out the various jams, marmalades, breads, cheese and crackers while Richard opened up the bargain basement bottle of bubbly they had bought for the occasion. They had been together for three months, each having spent a considerable amount of time single, recovering from their own bad relationships. It had been Richard’s idea to get away for the day. He had never been the most romantic of men, and was trying to make sure that Nikki new how much he appreciated her, even though he wasn’t the best at showing it all the time. Neither of them had much money, so this had seemed like a nice option.

“Did you bring any chocolate spread?” Nikki asked Richard.

“Uh, no. I thought we would act posh and have crackers n cheese and stuff like that,” Richard said, grinning.

Nikki playfully punched him in the arm..”You’re an idiot. Why’d you get all this stuff? You could have just got some crisps and some drinks and I’d have been happy,” she told him, giving him her award winning smile. She was different from all the girls he had been with before. Nicer, less fake. He had never met anyone before, with whom he was so happy to spend so much time at home. They rarely left the house, anymore, other than to go to work .

“I thought you deserved a treat,” Richard responded.

“Oh yeh, and what did I do to deserve this treat, might I ask?”

As she looked up at Richard from her seat on the tartan blanket they had laid down when they arrived, she could see he was no longer looking at her, but staring past her instead, into the distance. A quick glance over her should showed her nothing.

“Hey! Am I boring you?” Nikki asked, half joking, half annoyed.

No answer came straight away, but Nikki could see the look on Richard’s face change.

“Get up! Get up now!” Richard urged, leaning forward and grabbing her around the wrist, and yanking her from her seat.

“Hey! What the fuck?” Nikki snapped, tugging her wrist back, but Richard didn’t let her go.

“We need to run, Nikki! Now!” and with that Richard turned and started to run, pulling her with him. As Nikki started running, having no real other option as Richard had no intention of letting her go, she managed to look back over her should without falling and what she saw almost made her stop in her tracks. Although her mind filled with utter disbelief, she picked up her pace, and overtook Richard. Seeing that she was no longer fighting it, Richard let her wrist go, as she passed him, and picked up his own pace. The herd bearing down on them, was enough incentive for both to move at their top speed. Neither of them looked behind them as they sprinted towards the car that seemed to be their only protection .

Both Richard and Nikki crashed into the side of the car, not having slowed down enough on approach. Richard had already dug the keys out of his pocket but fumbled to get them in the lock.

“Fucking open it!” Nikki screamed, her voice high and whiny. “Quick! They’re almost here!”

Richard grabbed her, and pushed her inside as he opened the door, diving in on top of her, and slamming it shut behind him. As the door slammed shut, there were three loud bangs, and the car shook with each. The animals smashing into the vehicle were roughly the same size and weight as wild boar, but looked completely different. They were covered in white fur, had pointy ears, and massive incisors. Other than the fact that they looked like they would tear most dogs apart, they looked pretty rabbit-like. Their legs were more like a dog’s, but much more muscular, and their entire snouts were covered in scraggly looking whiskers. There was the sound of mental-bending as more of them smashed against the car, and the rattling of their massive nails, tapping the glass as some of them started to stand on their back legs, and look in through the side windows.

The engine roared to life, with Richard scarcely in his seat. It had been a struggle untangling himself from Nikki, the way they had jumped into the car, but he knew that time was of the essence. Jamming the gear stick into first gear, he stomped his foot on the accelerator, as he let the clutch up. The car began to wheel-spin in the still-damp grass, before catching and jerking forward. Just as the car stared to move, one of the giant rabbit-looking creatures came crashing through the back window. The glass erupted inwards, and covered both driver and passenger. Nikki screamed and Richard struggled to keep control of the car, as he headed back to the dirt track that brought them into the field.

“Nikki, do something. I can’t let go of the wheel. There’s a Maglite in your door.” Nikki, having no idea what a Maglite was, and barely able to take her eyes of the monster that was halfway into the vehicle, nevertheless, quickly turned towards her door and looked in the tray. The only thing there was a massive metal torch. Nikki didn’t give a fuck if it was the Maglite or not. She hurriedly wrapped her hand around the bottom of it, and turned back quickly. The beast was dragging itself further through the glass. Its white fur matted now, with red blood leaking out from where the broken window had cut it. Nikki quickly swung the torch as hard as she could, and connected with the front of its snout. She could feel the teeth crunch through the metal of the torch. The creature let out a horrific screech, before snapping at her. Several of its front teeth were now broken at awkward angles, but it just made it look all the more frightening. Nikki screamed as loud as she could but this time it wasn’t high and shrill; it was filled with rage. She leaned further into the back of the car and started to repeatedly smash the torch down onto the thing’s skull. The glass and bulb on the torch had broken with the first strike, but the solid metal was showing no sign of giving in. Her hand hurt, as she repeatedly struck the top of the creature’s skull, but with each strike, it was receding back, out of the window. With one last mighty swing, she knocked the beast nearly unconscious, as it fell backwards through the glass; unable to keep its footing, it slid off the boot and into the grass, knocking over a few of the others who were following. As the animals howled and screeched, the car hit the dirt track and picked up speed, with the extra traction beneath the tires. Neither of them said anything as they sped back to the main road.

The two men stood, facing each other, in the middle of the military-style canteen. The compound was top of the range. Five of them had put up the cash to have it built, and moved in as soon as it was finished. The world was changing faster than ever and they were prepared for whatever came next. There were fifteen families, total, living there now. The compound had been built just a few miles from a little town, called Easter, with a population of just over two thousand. They rarely went into the town, but it was handy having it nearby, just in case. Most of what they needed was delivered in bulk, directly to the compound.

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘they can’t die’?” Tom, one of the initial five, asked Simon.

“We’ve been shooting them from the compound roof. They go down, but they get back up, in less than a minute. There were seven of us. Didn’t take us long to put them down, but before we knew it, they were back up and attacking the gates. One of them was completely missing the top of its skull, and it was still throwing itself at the gate,” Simon replied.

“I need to see this for myself. Let’s go.” And with that, they left the room.

Sam sat slumped in his chair, his back aching from years of bad posture. The local newspaper office was quiet, as always. Only the funding, from the town hall, kept them operational. There wasn’t all that much news in a town the size of Easter, but the Mayor felt that every town should have a local paper, so it continued printing reports of who was pregnant, and who had died, even though everyone already knew before the paper hit the stands. He sipped at his frozen cold, strong black coffee as he stared out the glass front to the small office. The street outside was quiet as always, when the phone began to ring. Wonder who’s pregnant or dead this time. Sam thought to himself. As the day progressed, the phone would continue to ring off the hook, long after Sam was dead.

“They got out boss. I’m sorry. It was my fault. It’s…. you know….. the Valium. My mind’s so cloudy. It’s my fault. I’m sorry,” Winston cowered in the corner, as he admitted his umpteenth fuck-up to his boss. He knew the punishment would be severe; more so this time, than ever. He knew it had taken Dr Arrivel years to perfect the Chaos Rabbits, and now they were gone, all of them.

“Do you know what you have done, Winston? Letting those things loose?” his boss said putting his head in his hands. Winston was surprised that his boss hadn’t struck him immediately, followed by a sound beating.

“I’ll get them back, boss. I promise. I just wanted to wait, and let you know what’s happened.

“Get them back! Do you know how many of them there will be already? Do you know how quickly they breed? This town will be gone by the morning, and then the next, and the next. We have to get out of the country, and now!” and with that, Dr Arrivel turned, and left the room quickly, leaving Winston standing alone, unsure of what to do. After a few seconds, he rushed out of the room, quickly following his boss.

Richard stared straight ahead, a look of determination on his face as he tried to keep the car on the track, driving a lot faster than anyone had in a long time on this narrow, half-road.

“I’m not sure they have a name, babe. They look pretty new. I think if they had been around for a while, Attenborough would have been all over that shit. Let’s get back to town, and go straight to the police station.”

“What, exactly, do you think old Bert is going to do about a hoard of killer rabbits, the size of dogs, Richard?” Nikki retorted, in a harsh tone.

“I don’t fucking know, Nikki,” Richard snapped back, then continued, “but I certainly don’t fucking know what to do about them.” It was the first time Richard had snapped at Nikki since they met and he regretted it, instantly, but the situation was far from normal and under the circumstances, he felt he shouldn't be too hard on himself. They were alive, and from the looks of things, they had escaped death. He would make it up to her as soon as they were out of this crazy situation.

“See, I told you.” Simon, said to Tom, as the two men looked out at the compound gates. “They just keep attacking the fence. It may be reinforced, but eventually it’s going to give. Doesn’t really matter, now. Everyone is inside, and the place is on lockdown. They will never make it through the walls, even if they do get through the fence. The electricity running through the fence hasn’t bothered them since we first shot them, but they seem to be learning. They have started to dig under the gate.”

Tom took of his mirrored glasses, something Simon couldn’t remember seeing before. The boss was one of those guys who wore his sunglasses in dark rooms. He looked towards Simon.

“I think this is the end of times, son.”

Simon wasn’t Tom’s son. Tom called everyone ‘son’, even though he was only forty-eight himself.

“The end of times, boss?”

“There are giant fucking bunny rabbits attacking our electrified fence, some of which have parts of their skulls missing, with brains dripping out, and yet they still move. It’s Easter fucking day and I’ve heard nothing of this on the news, which means this fucked-up situation started in a little town called Easter. Either somebody is about to make a fucking reappearance, or my name isn’t Tom fucking McCallum.”

Bazingo’s friends all thought he was a bit mental. What was the point in being a clown in a town so small, with anywhere else so far away, that he would never make the journey? Bazingo, thought they were all mental, though. Clowns got a bad rap. Everyone thought they were creepy fuckers, scary; there were even people who had a phobia of them, what the fuck? Bazingo would make sure that, at least the kids of Easter town knew that clowns were people, just like everyone else. He spent more time online with his clown buddies these days, than he did in the outside world. His clown buddies understood him; he had even been invited to a few interesting clown circles that he never knew existed.

Backstage in the church hall, the only place in town that held any type of show outside of the town hall, he applied the finishing touches to his makeup. He always went with the predominately white face with a big red smile and rosy cheeks, no sad face or tears. He was a happy clown; he brought joy.

The church doors were never closed; the priest didn’t believe in it. The church was for everyone, and he wanted people to know that. The rabbits’ arrival went unnoticed by anyone. The church was still empty, other than Bazingo and the priest, but the priest had gone to search the rafters for some of the Easter props for the kids. Bazingo never heard the three oversized bunnies appear. Two still alive, saliva dripping from their massive incisors, the other was missing it’s lower jaw, making it look even more terrifying than the others. It had no way to bite anymore but the massive bone-like claws, extending from its split paws were still deadly.

Bazingo, finishing applying the makeup, turned to see the three monsters standing in a semi-circle around him. The smile disappearing from his face barely showed through the makeup.

“What the fu……. ”

Bazingo’s words were cut off by one of the live rabbits diving at him and burying it’s teeth into his throat. The other two were on him before he hit the ground. The other live rabbit creature knowing at his innards as the dead rabbit moved through the church sniffing out the preacher. When the two live rabbits were finished with Bazingo, the sight he left was not one that would put a smile on children’s faces.

The first rabbit, the one they had been testing on from the beginning sat hunkered in the cave. They had never been able to move it. It had given birth many times, each time to more deformed kits and most had been killed by the two humans that kept them. The last two litters had been much larger, both in number and size of the kits. All had survived and been caged by the humans. When they had seen their chance to escape, watched only by the buffoon assistant they had taken it. She was much larger than the others. She had survived for centuries in a cave on the coast of Scotland, happy in her life alone, often only visited by the gulls and sea creatures. She needed to eat rarely but when she did she would often be brought food by the passing wildlife. She was the mother of all known species in the Leporidae family, the first of her kind, the mother of them all. She needed no mate to breed, but when they started experimenting on her, that’s when things had changed. They had inseminated her with all manner of animals and the results had been monstrous but it mattered not to her. She didn’t understand modern values or religions or morals. She knew only that the kits were her children, her family and she needed as many of them to survive as possible. They had somehow sped up her cycle so she was almost constantly pregnant and with each new litter, the kits seemed to grow smarter. They grew to full size so fast and then they left her but she would have more, many more. As she went into labour, she could tell instantly that the newest batch of kits would be the largest yet.

“Sam!” Richard shouted, causing Sam to sit up quick and spill his coffee all over his desk.

“For fuck sake, Richard! You’ll give a man a heart attack. What in hells blazes has got you acting so crazy? You on drugs, boy?” asked the old cop, trying to look stern, while gathering his thoughts at the same time.

Just as Sam started to mop up the mess on his desk, the phone started ringing. He picked it up and Nikki and Richard watched as his face showed the confusion of what he was hearing .

“Giant rabbits, Mavis? Have you been drinking again?” he paused for a second and they could hear Mavis giving Sam the ‘what-for’ over the phone. “Okay Mavis, I’ll be right over. Just you stay inside.” And with that, he put the phone down. “Now, as you can see I’m pretty busy, so if you could just tell me why you came barging into my office like bats-out-of-hell, you can be on your way.”

“We saw them, the rabbits. That’s what we came here to tell you. There are loads of them and they are massive,” said Nikki, rushing to get her words out. “They rammed our car.”

“Rabbits rammed your car?” Sam asked, in a disbelieving voice. He pushed passed the young couple shaking his head, as he made his way to the door. “Maybe I’ll catch myself some dinner on my rounds. Been a while since I had a nice rabbit stew.” And he turned and pushed the door to the small office opened and was out on the street.

He had gone no more than two steps, when one of the creatures hit him, head height and took him to the ground. The beast landed on his chest and started ripping at his face, drowning out his screams as it tore the flesh from his face. Another joined it, quickly burying its maw in Sam’s stomach and tearing his insides out. Soon, what little of Sam was left, couldn’t be seen by Nikki and Richard, as there were at least fifteen of the monsters fighting for the scraps. It was quite a sight to behold. Some of the creatures had clearly been killed or badly wounded, but they moved amongst the others, their pace scarcely slowed. There was more variety among the herd, too. Were they a herd or a pack? Nikki wondered to herself. Some of the rabbit creatures were twice the size of the other German Shepherd-sized ones that they had seen earlier and while others were similar in size, they had less fur and it was darker. These were a lot more muscular than the rest, their tongues much longer too. Some of their tongues must have been a foot in length.

Just as Richard was wondering whether their best option was to lock themselves in a cell and wait for help, the creatures’ heads all turned away from the window at once, obviously distracted by something outside. Like some mutated plague of monsters, hopping over cars and crushing the metal beneath their feet as they went, in a second they were gone.

Nikki looked at Richard with tears in her eyes. “We’re going to die, Richard, aren’t we?”

“Not if I have anything to do with it,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the door. He peeked outside and could see the street seemed empty.

“Okay, when we get outside, just run for the car and don’t stop for anything.

Easter town centre wasn’t all that large. A few shops, a hairdressers, a small bank and a bar. In the middle of the day, though, it was where most of the townsfolk were, for one reason or another. When the creatures descended, it was all-out carnage. Men, women and children were run down in the street and torn apart in seconds. The rabbit monsters were everywhere; the larger ones had taken to jumping through store windows to attack those inside and allow their smaller kin entrance.

Some of the townsfolk fought back, using whatever came to hand as weapons, but there were too many of the creatures—there had to be hundreds. Those who fought, at best killed a few of the monsters, but they were quickly replaced by others and the rabbits that fell, got back to their feet only moments later. Some of the creatures were missing both eyes and yet they still went on, causing a path of destruction. Some of the creatures had most of the skin from around their mouths missing, causing the bone of their jaws to extend out; they looked absolutely horrifying. A few people made it to their cars and sped away, on route out of town or to pick up loved ones before leaving, but the rabbits gave chase, determined to leave no one alive.

Tom and Simon stood on the roof of the compound, surrounded by almost everyone else who lived there. Almost everyone there had their rifle amongst several other fire arms. When the rabbits had made it through the gates, they had started picking them off, but it was more for fun than anything else. The men knew the creatures couldn’t get inside the walls, and they were only down for a few moments, before getting back up; obviously, the bullets didn’t stop them. They had killed a few of them using grenades, but as more and more of the things kept turning up, they decided to hold onto their ammo for the time being.

At first they had all agreed against calling outside for help. They didn’t want any government officials snooping around the compound but, after a while everyone agreed that they needed the outside held. They were entirely surrounded now by the things and the number seemed to keep growing. It seemed impossible, but the things seemed to give birth every few hours and the kits grew to full-size in an hour. It was unbelievable to watch. The call had been a hard one to make and the story was not pleasantly received, but they had done it. No one had come for them, though and there was no response from the other end, now. Could this be happening everywhere Tom wondered, as he looked out into the distance to watch more of the creatures lopping over the hill toward them.

“Oh my god! Richard, we can’t stop here for fuck sake! We’re in the middle of nowhere,” Nikki said, with more than a little hint of fear in her voice.

“We’ve run out of petrol. I totally forgot. We were a bit distracted just trying to get out of there alive. I didn’t have any more money for petrol. I spent the last of my cash on the picnic stuff. Although Nikki wanted to scold him, she also felt a little flutter in her heart. It lasted barely a second before the fear crept back.

“So what now?” Nikki asked.

“Well, I think we’d better start running. I don’t know how much distance we put between them and us now, but it won't take them long to catch up. We need to find an old farm house or something because this car certainly wont keep them out.”

“Fuck!” Nikki knew he was right. She just didn’t want to believe it. Richard leaned over and pulled her in for a hug. With his arms round her he whispered in her ear. “Baby, I love you, but we need to go.” And with that, they let each other go, got out of the useless vehicle and ran into the night.

As it got darker outside, everyone from the compound had vacated the roof and gone inside to either try and sleep, or get something to eat. Only Tom and Simon remained, looking out at what must have been thousands of the creatures lopping around and attacking each other. The number of variations was hard to count, but Tom could swear there were at least thirty different species or types of the creatures, and that wasn’t including the ones that he was sure had altered looks due to their injuries or deformities.

“You know. I think we will be okay in here, at least for a while.” Tom said .

“What do you mean?” Simon asked

“Well. It’s the end. No one survives the end but I think we have a while left.”

“The end. Like of times? Like you said earlier?”

“You believe in all that Bible crap?”

“Na, I don’t believe any of the religions have it right. I do think someone started all this mad shit that we call life, but I think He is probably a bit bigger than the stupid shit we attach to Him. He’s back and He’s pissed. Whether man made these rabbits or not it, was in His plan. He’s not ‘a’ god, He’s the only God. The One who started it all and the One who’s decided to end it now. It always had to end with us, I thought He would let us fuck it all up for ourselves, if I’m honest. We didn’t have long left anyway, considering the way the world is going but He’s obviously bored with our shit. Or maybe it was something else. Who knows? I can barely stand any-fucking-one. God only knows how He tolerated billions of us.