Creepy Short Stories

In the Land of Black and White

"Who are you?" Asked Maddie, feeling a bit less frightened.

"My name is Lazarus, and I'm a bad man for all the right reasons." He said back to her. Smoke was rising softly from the fires. He seemed to be in pain, but doing his best to ignore it, somewhat stoically.

"Lazarus," Maddie said out loud, pronouncing each syllable carefully. "That's a weird name."

"It's an old name. A very old name, from a very old story." His eyes searched Maddie's face, looking for any sign of expression, but she gave nothing away. His eyes eventually fell upon the book in Maddie's lap, Alice in Wonderland. "I see you like stories," Maddie nodded her head. Everyone knew that she liked stories, even strangers. "I happen to know a few. Would you like for me to tell you one? We have some time to spare."

Maddie didn't know what to say. She thought the burning man was being friendly enough, even if he was scary. But Maddie was alone, she was always alone she realized. She never got to meet anyone new, so she decided it best to let Lazarus stay. Besides, she loved stories, even bad ones.

"Okay," She said, "You can tell me a story. But you'll have to leave before mom and dad come home. I don't think they'd like you." Lazarus inhaled deeply, a wheeze through his mouth and an exhale of smoke through his nostrils. He nodded in agreement.

"There was once a family of rabbits, a mommy rabbit and three baby rabbits. They lived in a rabbit hole in the forest. They were happy. The baby rabbits would jump and play all day under the shade of the trees or in the tall grass of the sunny meadow while their mother looked for food in the forest. At night, they would return to their hole, and they would snuggle together in the warmth and safety. They never worried about anything, as there was always plenty of food and fun things to do, and they always had each other for comfort when they got sad or frightened. It was good. But one day in while playing in the meadow, a fox hiding in the grass approached the three little rabbits, who were unaware of the impending danger. Their mother came out of the thickness of the forest just in time to see the fox, but was too far away to call to her babies. She knew that she could not reach them in time to get everyone safely into the rabbit hole, and even then, the fox would always know where to wait.

"What did she do?" Asked Maddie. Lazarus raised his charred hand, motioning for Maddie to wait and listen. "Well, the mother rabbit had a difficult decision to make. If she wanted her children to get away from the fox, then she would have to take action. But all actions have consequences. She knew this, but she also loved her children more than she feared the fox. So, she ran out of the forest as fast as she could go. She ran towards the fox hiding in the grass, and when she was close enough, she called out to her children. 'Go, ran back to the hole!' she yelled. The three little rabbits heard their mother just as they saw the fox. But the fox was no longer interested in the little ones. The mommy rabbit had caught his attention, as she led the fox further into the meadow, away from their hole and away from them. They little rabbits got away. Their mother was not so lucky. The fox had caught her, ripped her to bloody ribbons, but her children were safe, and that was all that mattered."

Maddie was silent for a moment. So was Lazarus. "That was a sad story," Said Maddie. Lazarus nodded his head, because he knew it was a sad story, but then again, the truth doesn't pick favorites. "I didn't like how the mommy had to die."

Lazarus gritted his teeth together. "She could have lived, if she had wanted to. But then what would have happened to her children? She died to save them, for the greater good and out of love."

"I guess so, but it's still sad that they had to grow up without their mom." Maddie looked at her windowsill, there were two more crows perched there. One of them stretched its wings and settled next to the others. She thought it was odd, but said nothing. "Would you like to hear another? We still have some... time." It was hard for Maddie to tell if Lazarus was happy or sad or angry; his voice was always the same. His face never changed either.