[HIATUS] Survive the System

CHAPTER 2 | The Jackalope

"You're the predator right up until you're the prey."

- James S. A. Corey

8:54 PM, the next Friday; a back office worker who stayed behind to get some extra work done arrived home quite obviously later than usual. He parked his car in the condo's underground garage and took the elevator to the third floor. He casually slid the key into the lock and open the door without a second thought, for he had outgrown the fear of being hunted down; he knew death would find its way to him eventually. The man stepped foot into his empty apartment, painted in faint shades of white and blue reflected off of the moon outside, and turned on the lights. As he made his way into the living room, he threw his briefcase and jacket on the couch and let himself fall next to them, melting comfortably into the mess of pillows. He inhaled, exhaled, and turned on the TV. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone; after checking the time, he decided to get back up and make himself some light dinner.

"Alright, let's go up", Stevie marched quickly towards the elevator, followed by Alice. Once inside, Stevie punched the button that took them to the third floor.

As the man was returning to the living room to eat, the sound of knocking on the door caught his attention before he could bite down on the first of two sandwiches he had made. Upon opening the door, the man was greeted by a hunting knife pointed straight at him.

"Back inside, little bunny", Stevie commanded, a firm grip on the knife below, "Slowly."

The man raised his hands halfway up and walked backwards carefully until he hit a wall, watching as Alice calmly closed the apartment door.

"The moment I finally get to meet a fox is the moment I die..." The man laughed awkwardly. "Just make it quick, yeah?"

"I'll do my best", Stevie replied. Holding the blade flat with the sharp edge facing herself, she shoved it into the side of the man's neck, the knife's tip towards his spine; swiftly, Stevie rotated the blade towards her and yanked it out all in one single movement. From the man's now severed neck, blood sprayed no more than an arm's length of the wall behind him as he fell to the floor; the intermittent spray continued for a few more seconds as death rapidly took over Stevie's rabbit.

"I still don't understand: why did you ask me to come with you?" Alice questioned her girlfriend as she watched her clean her hunting knife, paying no mind to the rabbit lying on the cold floor. "You clearly didn't need my assistance."

"Well..." Stevie put the knife away and pulled Alice closer to her. "We never get any decent privacy back at the safe house", she held Alice's face with both her hands, "so I just thought I'd take the chance to be with you – just you – for a little bit", and pulled Alice into a passionate, alas short-lived kiss. Alice wasn't exactly comfortable with the presence of a dead rabbit just a couple of feet away, but it was actually something on the TV the man had left on that caught Alice's attention, and she slowly moved away from Stevie and closer to the TV. It was on a news channel and they seemed to be transmitting a warning of some kind.

"A new apex predator has arisen from amidst the crowds, an authentic foxhunter. They call her "the Jackalope" and she's the definition of deadly", the anchor began.

"Jackalope..." Alice repeated the name in a murmur.

"This woman is dangerous to both her rabbits and her foxes, which seem to fall into her preference", the anchor continued. "While almost everything about her is unbeknownst to the general public, her victims' cause of death can help shine a light on this foxhunter. Tonight, we have a special guest to explain how the Jackalope most likely operates", the anchor turned to her right as the cameras showed a brown-haired man in a grey suit. "Welcome, General Carson."