The Woods

1932

When I was a boy, my family would always visit the same cabin in a secluded area of the woods. My father enjoyed the fresh air and decent fishing spots. My mother, who drank heavily until her death when I was nine, stayed indoors for the most part. But my brother Lucas, who couldn't have been more then three years old at the time loved the creek. I remember not seeing him for hours at a time except to use the bathroom or eat, and I bet my last dollar I would always find him staring motionless into the creek. One day I joined him, just to see what was down there. Nothing exciting happened just as I suspected. A few fish hopped out once in a while, but that was about it. I grew bored of it quickly, nudging my little brother to come fishing with me. No response. He kept staring.It was as if he was stuck in a trance. I couldn't leave him there. Mom had stepped out for a few hours and dad was already halfway to the river by now.

"Hey Luc, you okay?" Still nothing. I shook his shoulder trying to snap him out of this. "Lucas, look at me!" And he did. Slowly his face turned to meet mine. A blank expression still plastered on his face. I was disturbed by this. I've never seen a toddler express such seriousness before. There was no light in his eyes. Suddenly his face changed. It contorted into a painfully wide grin. Too wide for his small face. His breathing became rapid, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. I felt ill at the sight of this. To this day I regret ever telling him to turn around.

That night I ate in a different part of the house. I couldn't face Lucas after what happened at the creek. Now he looked like himself, stuffing his cheeks with fried chicken, playing with his slingshot. It's as if nothing ever happened. When it came time to sleep, I made sure Lucas fell asleep before I did. The thought of waking up to that face staring at me, shook me to my core. Little did I know something far more evil was waiting for us.

I must've awoke around 4a.m. The room was unusually cold for it just being September. To my relief Lucas was still asleep. The window was already closed. I shrugged it off before turning over to sleep. Not five minutes later, I heard Lucas climb down the ladder of our bunks. He was laughing hysterically. I opened one eye slightly to take a peek. He was just standing there in the middle of the room. "He's probably sleepwalking" I thought. Lucas had been sleepwalking since he could walk. Just as I was about to close my eyes, I saw it. I panned up from my little brother to see a tall figure towering over him. It's large hand stretched over Lucas's head, picking up strands of his brown hair. I screamed louder then I ever had before. The figure didn't flinch. It turned slowly to face me.  I gasped "It's...its...a rabbit?" I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There stood an eight foot tall figure wearing a rabbits face, or what could've been a mask. The eyes were missing. There were two slits for a nose and a giant hole for the mouth. The fur was covered in dried blood. It's ears looked like they had been chewed off or mutilated. We stared at each other for what seemed like hours until he suddenly gripped Lucas by the shirt and ran faster then any human or animal I've ever seen , out the door and into the woods. I screamed even louder this time, my dad burst into the room with a rifle. "John, what the hells the matter!" I pointed to the window. He looked at the foot prints trailing into the woods, then noticed Lucas was gone. "No! Goddamnit No!" He threw down his gun, gripping me by the collar. "Why didn't you save him!" Tears rolled down his stubbled cheek. Throwing me back on the bed, he headed outside to find my brother.

That was two years ago. I'm now ten years old. I'd like to say we've moved on from what happened. But that's hard to do when there's no body to bury, no real closure. I'll never know what happened to my brother that day at the creek. Why he acted the way he did. Did that thing posses him? For now all I have is the memory of the thing, or "Easter bunny" as I've come to call him.