It was a summer afternoon in Ester Field, sunny with a whistling wind that made the trees and grass sway to its song. Mr. Edwards was at his fruit stand, he had a new delivery of apples. He took them out one by one, wiping them down until they shined. Tommy was out delivering the newspaper and mail on his bike. Mrs. Night was putting away her clothing display and Jenny was setting the tables outside her family’s restaurant for the evening rush. Eve was moving boxes into her new apartment. Mr. Richardson was helping her with a particularly heavy box; they set it down on the landing before the door. This was a day that was perfect; everyone thought that nothing could go wrong. But this day would change everything…

A man comes running down the street screaming. He’s white as a sheet, scared out of his mind. He stops and people start to gather around him. He’s out of breath and shaking violently. He manages to stutter out, “Hhhhhe’s… he’s…coming!” before passing out. The gathering people look at each other nervous, confused and scared. The town physic, Madame Lafray, joins the circle of spectators. She looks out towards the sky where the man had come from. There are large ominous clouds, a storm was coming. Madame Lafray looks down at the man. “He’s right, the boy is coming. The boy with the rabbit will be here the day after next.” Some people are nervous, some look a little relieved, and two or three ran away. Everyone starts to disperse and Eve approaches Madame Lafray.

“Who’s the boy with the rabbit?”

“Not now. There’s a storm coming. When it arrives, come to me and then the story shall be told.”


Eve sits down at a table with a large crystal ball in the center. Madame Lafray sits down and lays her hands on the table with her palms facing up. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. The storm outside is growing stronger, the lightning explodes light into the dark room, the rain is falling heavily and the wind is bashing the branches and leaves against the windows. Madame Lafray opens her eyes.

“Now, child, let me tell you the tale of the boy with the rabbit. It all started about five years ago. There was a tragic fire at the house of a small family. They had a three year old boy and they didn’t have much money, nevertheless they were very happy. All three of them died in the fire, but by some unnatural force the little boy was reawakened. By the time the boy was awake the majority of the house had burned down. He walked out of the house through a flaming doorway that fell not a moment after he passed through it.”

Eve was in shock, she had never before heard of anything like this and asks, “How is this possible? The dead can not reawake, it’s impossible.”

Madame Lafray falters, but quickly regains her composure. “Do not interrupt me child. I know not what magic caused this, but it has happened so you must accept it.

“Now, the boy was adopted by the government and soon they found out that he was very special. The boy had become immortal and had a photographic memory. He also had remarkable strength. The government trained him to become an assassin. Quite surprisingly he enjoyed training and killing. Within a year he was one of the most feared and respected people in the world, and keep in mind at this time he was only four years old.

“Over time he developed an odd attachment to an experimental rabbit that would not die from natural causes. He brings the rabbit with him everywhere. And the rabbit likes him too; the rabbit will hop along next to him and follow him.” Madame Lafray closes her eyes again and her brow furrows. She draws her hands up to the crystal ball. When she speaks again her voice is filled with remorse.

“Oh no, this is bad. I am getting signs that the boy has changed. The boy follows orders very well and he will only kill those whom he is told to. But now with the guilty he is also killing a few innocent people. He wants to see if anyone else is special like him, someone who will live forever. I’m sorry that is all I can say. I don’t know what will happen, but you must not tell anyone, it will only make it worse. He will only kill a few others.” Eve thanks Madame Lafray and quickly leaves her house and runs home.


It is the day that the boy is due to arrive. Most people are carrying on as usual; they know that they have not done anything wrong. The few guilty people are panicking and hiding, they are not sure what to do to escape. Eve is troubled with her knowledge that a few of the innocent will die. She is looking out her window and tapping on the sill nervously and impatiently. Tommy stops his bike, gets off and looks up. Eve, curious of what he is doing, goes outside and joins him. The rest of the town comes and looks up at a roof. On that roof is a young boy, about eight, holding and petting a black rabbit. When he sees the people gathering he smiles, puts the rabbit down, and spreads out his arms.

“Ready or not, here I come.”

TO BE CONTINUED