The Hare's Scare

I still remember the first time I saw them. There was only one of them, but I remember it as if it was yesterday. Before I go into further detail about...the creatures, I feel that I must explain myself. You see, I had received a letter in the post about a year ago with details of a distant relative I had no idea about leaving me some farmland in the country. It seemed perfect at the time considering I was starting to become bored with the monotonous realm of simply working and returning to an empty home. Within a few days of receiving the letter, I put in a letter of resignation and packed the few belongings I had.

The farmland was nothing extravagant and was honestly worse for wear. A single acre made up the landscape around the farmhouse that stood tall and pristine. When I stepped inside, I found the house quite comfortable and secure with the latest commodities; something my relative decided to keep up on for reasons I would eventually come to understand. Not only were there outstanding commodities but there was a dog as well. I’m not sure where he slept nor where he was staying prior to me arriving there. I could only assume that the movers let him out as he surprised me in the bedroom, jumping onto my chest and delivering nonstop licks as if he had been waiting for me. Thor was the name of this Jack Russell Terrier and ironically enough, wore a collar with a carving of Mjolnir hanging on it.

As the days moved on with just Thor and I, I looked over the nooks and crannies that the house held for me. As I said before, most of the commodities were pristine: cameras set up behind and around the house with a safe room hidden in the basement. I was lucky enough to guess the code was my birthday, which makes me truly believe the house was meant for me to have. The safe room had a small station to watch the cameras as well, but I thought nothing of it. Perhaps this relative was someone whom I met once long ago. I never got any answers however as when I arrived in town for the first time to register myself, no one seemed to know who the house belonged to. Some didn’t even know there was even a house there. Regardless, the townsfolk were kind and very helpful with getting me a few supplies for the house and the land itself.

Now, as the summer dimmed down into the autumn season, Thor and I began a nightly ritual where after only a couple hours of sleep he would demand to head out to relieve himself. Almost on cue, I found myself jolted awake by his tongue lashing at me followed by his whines for “outside time.” Slumping out of bed and grabbing a cardigan from the closet, the two of us made our way to the end of our yard, so to speak. As I stood there keeping watch, I realised I left my phone back inside.

“Come Thor,” I sighed as I pulled on his leash,” Let’s head back inside.” The tension grew taunt as I pulled the leash once more. It was during the second pull that the air around us grew with the sounds of Thor’s barking. I turned, prepared to scoop the little guy into my arms when I saw it.

Standing just there at the edge of the dirt road was a creature roughly the size of a toddler. Its ears standing high at attention, twitching methodically as if it was sending a signal of sorts. The shine of its red eyes seized my heart in my throat as time seemed to freeze around us. It was those few select moments that I truly….felt as if I was the prey in the scenario. It wasn’t until Thor’s barking grew louder that I managed to look away and when I turned my gaze again, the creature was gone. I returned back inside feeling shaken and stayed awake for a couple of hours, petting Thor until I eventually fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up the following morning, I went to check the cameras just to ensure it wasn’t all a crazy dream. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as I stared in curiosity at the visible creature that the camera managed to pick up.

When I headed into town later that day, I showed the printed image to anyone that was willing to take a look. No one was able to recognise it until I finally approached the local trapper. I first came across him, he had caught two does and a large buck that he was preparing to take to the local butcher. He seemed standoffish to most everyone else in town but was kind enough to give me some tips in taking care of Thor. With a few other conversations between then and there, I could essentially call him a friend.

“That’s a hare,” He told me with a gruff voice,” It’s a damn big one, but it’s a hare. They normally stay close to their forms and peek out at night. Perhaps they made one near the house.” I gave a sigh of relief and thanked him, knowing that it wasn’t going to be a large bother. Especially since I know Thor would be there by my side.

Over the next few days, the ritual was greeted with the new addition that I came to feel unbothered by. The stinging red eyes became something I noticed less and less with each passing night until I heard a thump against my door. Thump. Thump. Thump. I thought it was nothing until I heard it again, louder this time. Almost as if it was outside my door. Stirring out of bed, I got up and found Thor standing at the bedroom door, growling. I could see shadows shifted about underneath; claws scratching as if they were attempting to bore a hole into the bedroom door. My heart froze in my chest as I took my phone and barely slipped it under the crack of the door. To my horror, I saw it again. The large toddler beast staring directly at the screen.

Pulling my phone back into my room, I could only stare at the door as the thumping and scratching grew louder each second. Thump. Thump. THUMP. Thor jumped towards the bed, snarling and barking like the God he was named after. In mere moments, the scratching stopped and the thumps faded away. I stayed there on the opposite side of the room as Thor continued to bark, my heart slowly calming until the sun grew high in the sky. When I checked the cameras that day, I was horrified with the recording as it played. I watched as the knob on the door was turned and several of these large hares stormed into the home. One of them climbed the stairs one by one as if it knew exactly where to go. It sat there, sniffing at the door before its ears twitched as if it was making a signal. I could see as each hare moved its ears in synchronicity with the one in front of the bedroom door, copying it as if they were all a well-oiled machine.

Since then, I have rarely left home. I would only go out during the day when the sun would sit high and be back in before the sunset. It was my new “normal” and I was fine with that. And with every night, I would find Thor barking at the bedroom door as the scratches and thumping would start from the moment the sun went down to the last hour before sunrise. It was fine and well...until one day, I slipped. The multiple nights of no sleep had finally gotten to me and I left the door left open as I came in for the night. I still remember waking up to the sounds of the thumps coming from downstairs. Thump. THUMP. THUMP. I remember hearing the door creak open and Thor’s high-pitched whines as they surrounded him while I lay there frozen in fear. The sounds of the crunch of bones echoed in my ears as I imagined the horrors that sat at the bedroom door. The tear of muscle and flesh kept me in place as I heard the wet thumps approach the bed. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. I felt my body curl into itself as the bed shifted all around me and their eyes boring holes deep into my back. I shut my eyes tightly, prepared to embrace the cold chill that approached me.

Instead, I awoke the next morning feeling more tired than I ever had in my life. I stared at the open bedroom door to find that nothing had been left of my beloved friend except his collar. The bloodstain in the carpet is still there, I’m sure. Since that night, I’ve never gone back into that room. I go into town perhaps once a week, avoiding the main roads if I can when I pick up supplies. But now...I stay inside the safe room, watching the cameras from there. Every night, I watch and wait as they approach from the grassland across the farmland. Hopping their way into the house, checking every room as if they are innocent creatures. But they all know where to stop and stare at the cameras. Their eyes shining against the glare...shining red. Then they all converge together in the living room and begin to pound their feet against the floor. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.