Genesis

Chapter 7

I had a lot of time on my hands today, so I decided to update early. So, there won't be an update tomorrow and there will be another update on Tuesday. 

Hope you enjoy!

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A while later, I begin to gain consciousness again. My head seems to have completely healed itself while I slept and I feel quite refreshed. I stay in my position with my eyes closed and decide to relax until Chim comes to get me for dinner. I wonder what we'll be having, since I never got to see the cellar that he probably keeps his food in. 

I'm puzzling over possible food sources in the forest when I hear a scuffling noise in the corner. Curious, I slit my eyes open a tiny bit so I can just peer through my lashes. I slowly roll my head to the side to get a better view of the room. In the corner, the rabbits are getting feisty. They run in circles in their pen while grunting and crying. A few rabbits are trying to eat the grass from the floor of the pen. 

At first I think that they have all gone mad, but then I realize that they're probably just hungry. Poor things. Chim must be planning to feed them when he gets me for dinner. Just then, I see Chim walk over to the pen and kneel down beside it. 

"I know, I know," he murmurs softly, reaching out as if to stroke one of the rabbits' fur. "You'll all get to eat. I'm just preparing a dressing for him." 

My lips twitch up into a smile. Chim is such a nice man. He even spoils his rabbits and makes them dressing for their rabbit food. 

Just then, I see Chim walking toward me. I close my eyes and breathe a contented sigh. Getting locked outside the dome wasn't so bad after all. Maybe I'll even stay out of the dome again so I can visit Chim. After all, he did mention being lonely since he doesn't get many visitors. 

I'm about to open my eyes and see what he has made for dinner when I feel something cool and wet drip onto my shoulder. My nose involuntarily wrinkles at it's abnormal temperature. Is Chim sloshing water on me to wake me up? 

I open my eyes, expecting to find Chim standing nearby with a bucket of water, but instead I am greeted with the sight of him standing over me with a knife in his hand and a feral grin on his face. I freeze in terror and scream at the top of my lungs. Chim's eyebrows narrow and his horrifying expression intensifies. He slashes downward with his knife. I jerk away from the sharp blade but he manages to tear a cut in the side of my thigh. I howl and clap my hand over the wound. 

I have to get out of here as fast as possible. I roll off the bed, still clutching my dripping leg. I scramble towards the door, but Chim is faster and blocks me from doing so. My bad leg falters and I tumble to the ground, landing directly at Chim's feet. Looking down at me, he lets out a menacing laugh that chills me to the core. I elbow him in the shin as hard as I can through the pain and he gasps. 

I lunge for the door and fall on my bandaged face in the dirt outside. The throb in my head returns, adding to the pain in my leg. I have to stand up. I haul myself to my feet. I almost black out from the effort but, by some miracle, I manage to stay upright. Chim sees me standing from the door and his face twists into a glare. 

"I would have given you a swift death!" he says, his soft voice now sharp and hardened. "Now, you've worn out your welcome! You will be torn apart by my rabbits!" 

I almost laugh, remembering how cute the things are, but then one emerges from the doorway. A fresh dose of fear shoots through me. 

The rabbit is at least 6 feet tall with vicious red eyes and razor sharp teeth. Its massive paws easily make huge indents in the ground. Its ears are bent at an angle that make the it look even more terrifying and unhinged. Even worse, five more of its friends clamber out of the doorframe behind it. 

To my absolute horror, their gazes zero in on me and they roar in unison. I let out a strangled cry and rush through the charred trees as fast as my bum leg will let me. Epinephrine courses through my veins and allows me to move faster and faster. But, even with my body's systems working overtime to keep me alive, I can tell my efforts are futile. The thumping of rabbit's feet are growing ever closer. My death approaches. 

In a last-ditch attempt to shake the rabbits off my tail, I take a sharp right turn. A turn that is too sharp for my bum leg. It catches on a root and, yet again, I wind up on the ground. Completely helpless, I lay on the forest floor, moaning in pain. 

This is the end of the road. I'm going to be eaten by giant rabbits. 

There is a triumphant rabbit roar that is horrifyingly nearby. I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing for the fangs of the rabbits to sink themselves into my stomach, my leg, my head. But, it doesn't come. Instead, I hear the pounding of feet. Human feet. 

I open my eyes just in time to see a woman throw herself in front of me and utter a battle cry.