You'll Never Catch the Bunny Man!

Less than two minutes into Fairfax County the sedan parked abruptly in a thinning grocery store parking lot. The three just sat there in exhaustion, panting. They felt they had run the whole way.

“Was, was that really what we saw,” Henry finally spoke.

“I think so,” Louis replied. “It had to be. But I still don’t believe it.”

“I can’t get it out of my head,” Sue trembled.

The three looked at each other and then around at their surroundings. They knew they were safe. The parking lot was well-lit, but they still felt vulnerable. They knew what they all had to do.

“We need to tell the police,” Sue voted. “It’s the right thing to do.”

“I agree,” Henry agreed.

“What if they think it was us who did it?” Louis contested.

“Louis,” Sue replied. “That’s ridiculous. We’ll go to officer Braddely. He knows us. He knows our families.”

The three nodded in agreement.

“Sue’s right,” Louis confessed. “It’s a smart bet. He knows we’re not killers.”

Louis started the car and the three drove off towards the Fairfax County Police Station. Soon thereafter, they arrived and entered through the main entrance. Behind the desk sat just the man they needed to see.Braddely looked up from his paperwork at the sound of their entrance.

“How can I help you kids tonight,” he announced. “It’s kind of late for you to be out. Even on a Friday night.”

“Yea, we know.” Henry spoke first. “But we have something serious to report.”

Braddely put his pen down and looked up from his work. “Serious? What have you got for me?”

“We’d like to report a murder,” Louis added.

“A murder?” Braddely’s voice sounded concerned, yet skeptical.

“Just to say I asked,” he added. “You kids haven’t been drinking, right?”

All shook their heads and swore by honesty that they hadn’t touched a drop.

“Good.” Braddely ushered for the three to take a seat and then he grabbed at piece of paper and a pen. “Now tell me what happened.”

After all about the bet and the blood and the ring and foot in the severed foot in the shoe had been explained, Braddely put the pen and paper down on the desk and reached for his cup of coffee. A silence, like that out in the woods, filled the room where the three sat across from the officer.

“Have you checked Kelsey and Martin’s houses for them? Have you made any calls to confirm their whereabouts after you left the woods?”

“No,” All three replied. “We came straight here.”

Braddely nodded in understanding.

“You three did the right thing.” Braddely stepped towards the phone and picked it up.

“I’m going to make a few calls. Just sit tight for a minute.”

While Officer Braddely dialed, the three sat, chained to their chairs by a paranoia that took their imaginations on a hunt for a source of guilt that Braddely may find sooner than they could. They all knew they were innocent. But the nature of the situation in which they found that foot was strange. The very place that it had been discovered had been planted in a bed of superstitions and nurtured through rumor and controversy. Their imaginations were soon interrupted by the clap of the receiver upon its console. The three sat on edge as Braddely turned to face them.

“I just got off the phone with both Martin and Kelsey’s parents. They haven’t seen them.”

He sat down.

“They both told me that they were informed by them that they would be at hanging out late at a mutual friend’s house. I also called them and they said that they hadn’t seen them.”

“You believe that we haven’t seen them tonight, right?” Henry’s voice cracked. Braddely’s eyes met his.

“Yea. Yea, I do.”

“So, how can we help,” Louis added.

“You can help by going home and getting some sleep.”

“But, don’t you need us to show you where we found the foot,” Henry butted in.

“No, no I don’t.” Braddely picked up the phone. “I think I can manage. I know those woods pretty well, too. And I know the spot you’ve described like the back of my hand.”

He began to dial.

“You’ll be the best help to me knowing that you’re safe. I don’t want anything to happen to you three. We already have two out there that have yet to be accounted for.”

“Do you, do you think—?” Sue was interrupted by Braddely.

“No, we’re not going to conclude anything. They might have just gotten side tracked or blew off plans to hang out with their friend without letting anyone know.”

The faint sound of the phone ringing could be heard by the three from the other side of the desk.

“Look, just get some rest, okay? I’ll let you know if I need you. But for right now I don’t. You’re dismissed. Have a good night and drive safe, guys.”

With that, the three left the police station, feeling helpless but satisfied that they had at least done the right thing. Twenty minutes later, Braddely was joined by Officer Porter and the two, sharing one police car, took off towards the location of the old covered bridge. About half hour more of travel time passed when the two arrived at their destination.

“Look,” Braddely pointed to the right. The patrol car’s headlights focused on the vehicle that had brought Martin and Kelsey to that spot not four hours before. The patrol car crawled to a stop next to the other car. The two got out and looked around. They pulled out their flashlights and turned them on, cutting through the night. The two quickly found the path and disappeared into the forest. A few minutes or so in, they saw that a fog was descending upon them, adding to what obstructed their visions.

“Better step on it,” Porter spoke. “This fog is no good. We won’t be able to hardly see the path in front of us pretty soon.”

The two picked up the pace and soon found themselves at the bridge. They entered the side that Martin and Kelsey had taken and, seeing the hole Kelsey had punched through the floorboards, knew to step carefully and stick to where the wood remained silent. As the two reached the end Porter put his hand on Braddely’s shoulder.

“Look.” He pointed with his flashlight.

There, before their feet, was blood splattered like the three had spoken of at the police station. The two followed the trail to the edge of the bridge where Martin and Kelsey initially waited. As before, it dropped off to an inconceivable darkness. Braddely shined his flashlight down, but saw nothing of importance. They proceeded down the trail and off to the slope on the side where the three had stated Sue slipped and, at the bottom, found the foot. From the top, the hill dropped off sharply and briefly regained its angle, only to lose it again to the darkness beyond. Braddely started down and then stopped to look up at Porter.

“It doesn’t look too bad. You wanna come down, too?”

“No, no,” Porter replied. “You know it better than I. Plus, I may get lost. This fog is getting pretty thick.”

Braddely nodded in understanding and disappeared down the slope. Porter leaned slightly forward to see how far Braddely would make it before he disappeared. It turned out that he didn’t need to go that far at all. Porter backed up onto the trail and took a long look around. His nerves started jumping under his skin. And it wasn’t all because of the chill. This neck of the woods gave him the creeps, especially from what he’d heard of it from people in town.

A minute or two passed and, with each increasing second, Porter grew more and more anxious. Every so often he could hear shuffling below, but no word from Braddely on whether or not he found what they were looking for.

“Hey Braddely, how you doing down there?”

Porter waited. Silence pulsed in his head and tickled his senses like the culminating fog. He grabbed his flashlight and waved it down on the spot where Braddely had disappeared. Porter called out again, but there was no answer. He swallowed hard and took a courageous step forward. As he planted his foot, loose soil broke underneath him and sent him awkwardly to the ground.

“Shit!” Porter scrambled back up the hill from the torn lip of the trail. He stood up on shaking legs and brushed the dirt from their sides. In the fall, his flashlight had fallen out of his hand and rolled some distance to the side of the trail. Its beam broke the darkness in some irrelevant direction. Porter picked it up and shined it down toward the spot where Braddely had descended.

“Braddely, you down there,” he repeated between irregular breaths. “Braddely?”

Assuming that he was out of earshot, Porter turned to his radio. Pressing the button, he called for Braddely.

“Officer Braddely, this is Officer Porter, do you read me?”

No answer came. Porter repeated the call to his partner.

“Officer Braddely, this is Officer Porter, do you read me?”

Again, no answer came.

At this point, Porter was getting frightened. As far as he was concerned, he was alone. He could attempt to call others on the radio, but they may not get there in time, should something happen. But he had to try. He put it to his lips and pressed the button. As he opened his mouth to speak, there was a strange sound coming from the bushes below. It sounded like an animal, but bigger. Porter backed away towards the bridge and unbuttoned the leather strap that secured his pistol. The sound increased and Porter swallowed hard.

“Br-Br-Braddely?” His voice came out as little more than a murmur.

The bushes below rustled more loudly now. Whatever was in there seemed to be getting closer. Porter backed away and carefully removed his gun. Just then, the sound stopped. Porter continued to back up. As he did the silhouette of a skulking figure appeared in the thick fog. Porter spoke up, coaxed by the confidence instilled in his freed firearm.

“I’m warning you. Announce yourself.”

The figure let out an indiscernible groan. It sounded muffled, alien. Porter was scared. He wanted to fire at it. He wanted to justify it as self-defense. However, he just couldn’t do it. Police training kicked in. Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes. Don’t shoot until your life is in danger. Don’t shoot until… Just then the figure emerged, breaking Porter’s string of thoughts.

“You gonna shoot a fellow officer, Porter?” Braddely held his hands up in a mock surrender. Porter smiled, relieved that nothing had happened to him, and put away his gun.

“You scared me shitless.” Porter walked towards Braddely. “I called for you and I didn’t get a reply. I even radioed you. Nothing.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you. And about my radio…”

Braddely held up what remained of his radio. The bottom half had sufficiently damaged, rendering it inoperable.

“I slipped and fell forward on a rock while trying to radio you and I guess I just used my radio to brace my fall without realizing it.” Braddely looked down at it and cursed. “This is going to come out of my paycheck, I’m sure.”

“Well,” Porter sympathized. “As long as you’re okay.”

Braddely nodded.

“Did you end up finding the foot down there?”

“No.” Braddely shook his head. “I found nothing down there.” The two looked around at the fog that had weaved itself gratuitously with darkness.

“It’s so hard to see anything that’s not right in front of you.” Braddeley started heading towards the bridge.

“Besides, it’s too dangerous to look any further until the morning comes. That radio could have been my head. Let’s call into headquarters and see if we might make a stakeout of this. I don’t want anything to compromise the possibility of finding that foot.”

Porter agreed. “What about the possibility of an animal running off with it?”

“It’s possible. But we’re just going to have to risk that while waiting it out. It’ll only be a few or so hours before sunup. I don’t see a problem in waiting back at the car.”

Porter nodded. When the two reached the patrol car, they called in their suggestion and it was verified as permissible. When the sufficient amount of time elapsed and the sky began to crest with rejuvenating hues, the two officers stepped out into the dissipating fog.

“The light should be on our side, now. But let’s make this quick.”

The two stepped into the trees once more. Instead of taking the trail to the bridge and then braving the steep slope of the hill, Braddely directed Porter along the side to where the bottom of the slope could be approached with little risk to its visitors. As they traveled, the mist hung low and, at places, concealed the path before them as well. However, the light cut through its illusion and left in the way of surprise. Moisture collected on the foliage that painted their legs with dew. When the two emerged from the thick underbrush, Braddely stopped momentarily, looking at Porter.

“Your face.” Braddely pointed. “What is that on there?”

“Huh?” Porter took his left hand and wiped his face. He looked down at it and his eyes grew wide with surprise. A crimson hue stained his fingertips. He looked at his right hand next and there was the same color painted on the inside.

“What the hell is this? Blood?”

The two looked back at the tall leaves. Porter stepped closer to an odd-looking leaf on one of the bordering plants. There, on the edge there was spotted blood, haphazardly nestled along the leaf’s oval ridges. Porter pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the blood from his face and hands. Braddely pointed.

“Look! There’s more going that way.”

The two followed the trail, leading them from one leaf to another and then to another. The splatters zigzagged along, leading them along the thickening trees and eventually back towards more familiar terrain. Both officers had followed the blood so closely through the fog that they didn’t realize just where they ended up. There, cutting through the fog in front of them, was the covered bridge that had originally tipped them off that the red substance they had been tracking was in fact blood. As the two broke the perimeter of the foliage, the trail of blood became more sparse and unpredictable, but it wasn’t impossible to follow. They stayed on its path. The bridge gained form as they got closer and appeared almost black. The blood trail resumed half-way across the path, disappearing around the bend where the bridge stood.

“Well, back to where we started.” Braddely moved across the path and braced to confront another descent.

“It looks so different from when we were here last,” Porter added.

He followed Braddely down the slope. They kept track of where the blood rested and how it resumed when the ground leveled off at the bottom. The bridge from where they stood seemed to rest around 10 feet above. They looked around underneath where the morning’s light had yet to touch. The blood before them seemed to settle, collecting in deep, dark pools and then resuming on off across the wide creek bed that was unusually dry for the season. Shortly thereafter it disappeared completely.

“I don’t get it,” Braddely said. “This long trail of blood and then it just disappears.”

“I know what you mean,” Porter noted. “We haven’t even found the foot those kids were talking about.”

“I’m going to say we—“ Porter was cut off by Braddely’s shushing. He pointed to an odd-shaped shadow moving slowly back and forth like a pendulum. A long, black line stemmed from the black bulk like a spider lowering itself by a string of web. The two walked forwards, led by the long black line. As the two entered the forest, they found something red and brown hanging from the one the limbs high up on one of the cedar trees. Braddely took out his flashlight and pointed it at the figure, putting his hand to his mouth. There, above them, was a hare. Its abdomen had been split open and its innards were presumed to be missing. Blood dotted the leaves of the foliage below in a macabre rhythm. Both officers proceeded a bit further, hearing more of the same odd sound patterns. When they looked up at least a dozen more hares, in much of the same state as the first, hung lifelessly above them. Braddely couldn’t stop staring at them. He was disgusted and perplexed at the same time. Who could do this? He had heard the legends but didn’t want to believe them.

Porter screamed.

Braddely came running. And when he came upon what had frightened his partner, his blood froze in his veins. The morning sun came above some distant, unseen horizon, cutting light through the darkness that had nested there all that night. The two just stared with their mouths agape. On the limb approximately twelve feet above hung Martin, his neck secured tightly to the bowing branch by his handkerchief. His eyes stared vacantly back at the two officers and his mouth hung open as if he were about to scream. Only, no sound came out. Martin’s legs swung gently back and forth as if pushed by a wind. But the two could feel no breeze coming through the trees. The branch he was attached to groaned earnestly. Both officers shuddered. It sounded as if it had come from Martin. The front of his jeans were caked in dirt and a dark substance that seemed to originate heavily from his abdomen. When Braddely and Porter focused their sights on Martin’s feet, they saw that one his pant legs was partially rolled up, revealing a serrated line of torn and twisted flesh that snaked along the ankle in a horizontal line. A length of barbed wire stuck tightly into its discolored flesh and wrapped tightly in four or five laps, holding it secure. They had found the owner of the severed foot. On the other one, Martin’s shoe was missing. There, pinned to the flesh of that foot, was a note. Shaking, Braddely reached up to grab it. As he did there was brief, but aggressive jerking in the thick foliage at the base of an adjacent tree. Braddely failed to notice it, but Porter swung around and pulled his pistol free. He inched towards the source of the sound. Looking down, he saw a long discarded branch and picked it up. He held it in front of him with one hand as he advanced, holding his gun in the other. He reached forward with the stick as he closed in. Pulling back the hammer, he swung the stick sternly, preserving a view. He uncocked his firearm, reholstered it, and threw the stick aside. There, Kelsey lay in a fetal position, fully intact, but shaken beyond belief. It was clear she was in shock and, presumably, out of her mind. Her lips moved, but what came out didn’t make sense.

“You’ll never… You’ll never… You’ll never…”

Braddely pulled the note off from Martin’s foot. His body swung like a marionette and the limb suspending him groaned and threatened to break. He unfolded the piece of paper and read.

“You’ll never…”

Kelsey repeated, “You’ll never... You’ll never…”

“You’ll never catch the Bunny Man!”

END