things didnt creep him out often 

                                but that rabbit loping down the hill did  zigzagging through the tall browned grass and weeds seemingly towards him as he walked below it on a graveled road  a road somehow given a name

not a quartermile long a hiccup  a dash on local maps  

hearing a queer sound first he stoppedturning left to see if he could see what he heard

                                                                                         and startled by its appearance he backpedaledscattering stones with his heels and crossed to the far side of the road large quarried stones laid there forming an irregular broken curb beyond them the hillside fell away steeper to a motley chainlinked fence that was probably erected by the community only after several people tumbled and flipped off the chalk cliff below

the rabbit continued its deliberate descent

sticks stuck out of its fur asif a rude bush grew from inside it out on the ends of the crooked tines grew small darkred husked fruit  they reminded him of anglerfishs lures

this rabbit perhaps wasnt a herbivore 

                                      perhaps it wasnt loping downhill just to get to the graded road for the least strenuous descent

it still had a good third of the hillside to negotiate before making the gravel where he stoodnot that he stood there any longer 

he walked down the road warily listening glancing back as the rabbit ceased its switchbacks to descend now on a long angle to an emergent point where the hill was cut away and the foundation of a retaining wall began in steps constructed taller and taller

                            it was there that the gravel road ceased and a groomed concrete easement began which provided access to business buildings loading docks and parking on either side of the road which ended abruptly emptying onto an artery that provided access west to the highway that bisected the town and east to the railroad

he could hear the blarethe commotion of traffic cars and trucks resonate off its slick surface  he could almost hear the rapid tick tick tick of the rabbits toenails on the pavement behind him the shake of its sticks the occasional drop and dizzyroll of husked fruit 

                        but he was nearly across the throughroad at the sidewalk on its other side when to his left he heard a car gun its engine and accelerate from inside it young men were hollering  he looked  they had seen the rabbit on the street behind him 

he turned in time to watch as the rabbit tried to retreatas the car veered  it struck the rabbitwent over top of it but in following the rabbits tack and retreat the driver didnt brake in time and rammed into the rear of a parked commercial van

the old sedan collapsed its body-on-frame and it accepted the bulk of the damage  like a large plastic carbonfibre aluminum airbag

as the kid backed the sedan off the ruin of the van he could see over its broken nose that the rabbit had dragged itself onto the apron of the ascending road it followed him down bleeding out 

                                                                        a suddengeyser steamed out from under the sedans hood its radiator rupturing and over its howl he heard cries from inside the car GO GO  GET OUT OF HERE  

the sedan lurchedlurched  and lurched in a hobbled reverse it bleeding out  GO! GO!

then he saw why they screamed off the hill came a swarm of sticktined rabbits the sedans last lurch was simultaneous to the mangled rabbits last gasp and spasmand as the kids emptied outthree doors flung widethey were taken down by rabbits rendered by rabbits their pieces dragged up the hill

what he thought was droplets from the mist of the ruptured radiator  were not

the maelstrom ensued 

                     a car trying to avoid ramming into the sedans rear kids rabbits crossed into oncoming traffic a head on collision then a daisychain of rearends in either direction speeding distracted drivers T-bones in the near intersection because the traffic light went green  

                                 and all of it provided grim cover for the rabbits escaping with their morsels  the smooth easement scribbled with blood like chalk on a blackboard which lead to many many paths in the gravel whose turned stones threw up the smoke of dust that cloaked and covered evidence hiding the rabbits retreat

he could have stayedhe could have been an eyewitness he didnt

the authorities could figure it out they made up shit all the time

hed let the drivers tell them what they saw he figured their stories to exonerate themselves would pale what he had seen

besides  

         as he walked awaylighting up another joint he figured his story would have been considered impaired

early hours,  Saturday,  26  1. 19

1356,  Twosday,  29  1. 19