Marjory casually made her way back home from the pumpkin patch after a wonderful afternoon meal. Pumpkins were really tasty but they were also massive, she ate until she was fit to burst..

As she hopped she felt her swollen stomach from the food bouncing around. It was good that her burrow wasn't far away and she could just hop along slowly and take in the beauty of the countryside. She heard some beautiful singing coming from a nearby tree. She knew that voice, it was Jeremy the Sparrow.

"Good Afternoon Jeremy," said Marjory.

"Oh," said Jeremy who was interrupted from his singing, "don't you mean good evening? It's getting late, you should be getting home."

"But it's such a beautiful sunset," said Marjory, looking over the landscape and how the sun made every hill glow a slightly different shade of green. "I thought I would just slow down and take it all in."

"It has been a splendid day," said Jeremy, "I suppose Farmer Douglas was nowhere to be seen."

"He was nowhere to be seen," said Marjory, "You should go down there and eat some, they are really big, there is plenty to go around."

"I may just do that" said Jeremy, "you have a safe night now."

"You too," said Marjory as she turned and hopped another few meters and into her burrow.

The Front door to her burrow was unlocked, not that she needed to lock it, the local community was close knit and she knew all the other rabbits and other critters in the area. She even knew of Keith the fox. He lived around here but he didn't hunt in the area, maybe this was his way of keeping the peace. Foxes after all couldn't be trusted.

She turned to close the door and caught a glimpse of a strange bunny staring back at her. He was a grey rabbit with what looks like a white head. She didn't think anything of it so she just closed the door and went to go and sit down in the living room.

She put on the TV it was time for Neigh-bours, a popular soap opera starring a cast of horses. The current plot line was about a camel that had been introduced into the farm and he wasn't getting on well with the other horses because of his more traditional cultural outlook. Sadly Marjory would miss most of this installment as she dozed off after the first few minutes. It's hard to stay awake after a big meal at the pumpkin patch. All she wanted to do was sleep.

Marjory was woken up by a loud banging at the door. She glanced at the TV, Neigh-bours was long over, Dove Island was on meaning it was getting close to bedtime. Dove Island was a show where pretty birds with little personality get together and do very little. It was a boring show and Marjory wasn't a fan.

She went to open the door and no one was there. She stepped out of the burrow and had a look around and there was noone to be seen. She headed back inside and sat back down to see what else was on. She was flicking through the TV channels when she felt something on her shoulder. She looked down to see what it was and she saw a grey furry paw. As soon as she saw it, it quickly closed up around her neck followed by another paw on the other side.

She managed to struggle free from the couch with the tight grip still on her neck. The grip was so strong, it felt like it was going to crush her throat. She tried to kick backward with her powerful legs, but it was no use. She was then yanked to one side and thrown across the room.

She could still breath and checked her neck for any damage as she picked herself off the floor. She got a look at the strangler, it was the grey rabbit she caught sight of earlier. It was a big male rabbit with all grey fur and a white mask over his head. "Who are you?" shouted Marjory "What do you want?"

But the other rabbit didn't say anything, he just began to slowly hop over to Marjory.

Marjory turned around and leapt into the bedroom where she immediately slammed the door behind her. She sat against the door hoping and praying that the other rabbit wasn't strong enough to move it.

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The door handle shook and she could feel the other rabbit trying to push it open. Then it stopped. Maybe it was over, maybe he would give up and go away. But he didn't. Only a few seconds had passed and she could hear a loud scratch at the walls of the burrow. And again, another big scratching noise. He was trying to dig through the walls!

He was digging with both front paws, she could hear it, it was only a matter of time until he made it into the room! But then it stopped.

"Marjory! Marjory!" came a call from outside the burrow. It was Jeremy.

"Don't come in!" shouted Marjory "Go and get help!"

"I heard the commotion," said Jeremy "and I thought I should come and check to see if everything was ok."

She could hear Jeremy's voice getting closer as he approached.

"No! Go Away!" She shouted through the door.

Jeremy either ignored her or didn't hear her clearly through the door, because the next thing he said sounded very close indeed "Good evening sir, are you new to the area?" he asked the strange rabbit.

The rabbit didn't reply but there was a bang, and a crash, and a cry for help from the sparrow, and then there was silence.

There was just enough time for Marjory to gather her senses and come to terms with what just happened outside. Jeremy, her friend, had just been murdered! When the unmistakable sound of the other Rabbit trying again to dig through her walls started again.

Marjory had to do something, she couldn't just stay there, she couldn't just wait for the rabbit in the white mask to break through and kill her too. She could open the door and run for the exit, the other rabbit was big and surely wouldn't be fast enough to catch her.

She put her paw on the door handle and braced herself, remembering the layout of the room and the fastest way past everything so she wouldn't stumble. And she went for it! She burst open the door and ran right past the grey rabbit. She nearly threw up when she slipped on the bloody and feathery remains of Jeremy the Sparrow, but she kept her footing and bolted through the door. 'Brilliant' she thought, 'now to find somewhere safe.'

She ran outside and spotted a fox walking across the grass. As she got closer, she could see that it was Keith. They say that you can never trust a fox, but maybe if she told him there was a much bigger rabbit, maybe he would help.

She ran towards the fox and he couldn't believe his eyes, he wasn't used to being chased down by a rabbit.

"Is that you Keith?" asked Marjory, just to be sure she had got the right fox.

"Who wants to know?" asked the fox.

"It's me, Marjory, we met at the book club," she said.

"Oh yeah," said Keith, "We were covering Harry Trotter and the Chamber of Cutlets."

It was a part of a book series about a pig who found out he was a wizard and had to deal with an evil butcher. It was an engaging read.

"Yes that's right," said Marjory trying to skip the pleasantries as quickly as she could, "but I need your help right now. There is a rabbit in my burrow and he's trying to kill me," she explained, "he killed Jeremy, he's pure evil!"

"Another rabbit is trying to kill you?" asked Keith eyebrows raised in disbelief.

Marjory caught sight of the white mask looking out from her burrow, "there he is, if you kill him, you can eat him." she said, trying to convince the fox to help her out.

"Well I've already had my fill at a chicken coop today, but sure, I'll take care of him for you." said Keith who walked towards the burrow, He headed inside then there was nothing, no sound at all. Things were either going very well or very badly.

Then after a few minutes of an agonising wait, someone emerged from the burrow. It was the grey rabbit. He had killed Keith and was pulling his dismembered head behind him. Marjory didn't need to think twice, she just ran as fast as she could.

There was only one who could help now. She ran to the pumpkin patch that she had visited earlier in the day. This pumpkin patch just happened to be on the edge of a much larger farm, and she was in luck! Farmer Douglas was out and in his tractor.

She looked back and could see the other rabbit gaining on her, even though he wasn't running at all. She made her way around the pumpkins to a place in the path of the tractor, and she hid behind one of the pumpkins so she couldn't be seen by the human.

The other Rabbit kept on hopping towards her with murderous intent, but seemingly oblivious to the human activity nearby. Then it happened, The rabbit got caught in the headlights of the tractor. The tractor soon stopped and she could hear the farmer saying something along the lines of "bloody rabbits" and soon enough the farmer had his gun in and let off a massive bang and the grey rabbit was hit.

From what she could see he had stopped moving, he looked dead, but she did not dare move to check in case she was also spotted by the farmer.

She waited until the farmer was gone and she went to check the body, it was cold, like a corpse. So she hopped home. Dreading the thought of having to clean up the mess that was left in her burrow. She would never be able to forget this night.

That night a furry foot twitched and a long ear perked up under the moonlight. An injured Rabbit struggled to his feet and left the pumpkin patch. He will return!

...

This Story was Written by Mr. Grey

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This story was taken from the Podcast: "Some Dude's Shed: Halloween Special 2021"