The rabbits! The rabbits need me!
It’s very early, it’s 5:08. Everyone’s sleeping, everything’s dark. I want to get back into bed but if I get back into bed something bad might happen to the rabbits.
The stairs creak a little but nobody wakes up. If Mom and Dad wake up they’ll make me go back to bed. If Tana and Polly wake up they’ll ask me what I’m doing. I don’t like going downstairs without Tana and Polly but I have to. I have to make sure the rabbits are okay.
My shoes are so cold inside and my stomach doesn’t want me to go outside. It isn’t the same without Tana and Polly. The sky is all brown, the crows are all staring at me.
The murderer is long gone by now, the murderer is long gone by now, the murderer is long gone by now, the murderer is long gone by now.
No babies under the cages.
The tree bump is slippery, my shoe almost slips off. I have to hurry before the murderer grabs my legs! My heart is so loud, it’s thumping my whole body, it’s thumping my ears and my neck and my stomach. I hold on to the high branch with one hand and scoot myself out. The farther I scoot the bendier the high branch gets. I’m glad I don’t have to climb up there yet! It’s only September 14 so I still have eight more days, and I already know what I’m going to do. I’m going to climb up to that branch and crawl out to the end, until I’m on Mr. Gullick’s side of the fence, then I’ll jump down—or maybe I’ll climb down onto one of the cages and jump down from there. Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with all those rabbits. I can’t just let them out. What if they get hit by a car? What if Gordy’s dog eats them!
No babies in the grass.
Something just tapped me on the head! I almost screamed but then I realized it was only an apple. I’ve been so busy with the rabbits that I didn’t even notice how big the apples are getting. They still aren’t ripe—I had to turn and turn it about a hundred times to get it to snap off—and Mom says sour apples can give you a stomachache but I like them that way, I think they taste good. Plus they don’t have wormholes yet.
I can see some of Gordy’s sleeping bag. It isn’t moving so I guess he’s still asleep. I don’t know why Gordy sleeps outside. Maybe it’s because his parents don’t take care of him the way parents are supposed to. I don’t like Gordy but I feel bad that he has to sleep outside.
I was only thinking he might be hungry when he woke up, that’s all. I was thinking he might want some breakfast, that’s the only reason I threw the apple, I was thinking he would find it when he woke up. I didn’t mean to wake him up.
Gordy just threw his book on the ground and now he’s getting up! Now he’s picking up the apple! Now he’s throwing the apple at me! It almost hit me! I almost fell out of the tree! I want to climb down before he throws anything else but my legs and arms are too shaky, so I just keep holding on. Even after Gordy goes inside his house and slams the door, it’s still forever before I can let go.