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Atop a rock while I was going for a hike. That, was where I first saw it. A rabbit. Now, it wasn't big- nor was it large, but its eyes. They were, bright blue- and its fur. Black, with a white patch on the chest, and tail. I could tell right away that it was no wild rabbit. Most likely an escaped or abandoned pet, doomed to die out in the wilderness. My first instinct was to leave it. I didn't know if it was sick, or if it was aggressive. However, that changed when the creature fearlessly hopped over to me. At first I was, hesitant to pick it up, but, when it began to nudge against my leg I couldn't help myself. The bunny was, surprisingly soft for having been out in the wilderness. Fur like velvet.

If it had escaped, or been abandoned, it hadn't been there long. There weren't even any weeds or burrs caught in its fur. From the looks of it, the animal couldn't have even been there more than a day, if that. I'd say only a few hours. Odds were it hadn't even left its spot out of fear. Thinking it better to take the poor creature in rather than leaving it to die, I put it in the pocket of my jacket and continued down the trail. I'd spotted it while heading back to my car. Truth be told, it was surprised I hadn't seen the adorable creature when I first arrived. The poor thing must have been hiding behind the rock when I passed it. The sound of people must have coaxed it out.

When I made it back to my car I climbed inside, and put the rabbit in my lap. I took a moment to warm my chilled hands with my breath. Winter probably wasn't the best time to be going for hikes, but it wasn't the worst time either. Not like there was snow or anything, or rain. Just cold. Harsh, bitter cold. When the numb feeling that had set into my fingers was mostly gone, I reached for my keys and immediately got the car started. As soon as I did, the warmth of the heater hit my chilled face, and I smiled contently. In my lap, the bunny nestled into my clothing to get comfortable. I assumed it had fallen asleep when it didn't move again after a couple minutes.

One the interior of the car was nice and toasty, I backed onto the road and started for home. There wasn't anything majorly eventful, though, something odd did happen. When I stopped at a red light, one of the homeless men I saw in the area regularly walked up to my car and slammed his hand against my window. I saw his lips move, but I couldn't hear him. Rather, he seemed to be muttering something. There was a deranged, panicked look in his eyes. Eyes which focused intently on the rabbit lying in my lap. I tried to read his lips to see what he was saying, but the most I could come up with was "Family". That didn't make any sense, so I did my best to ignore him until the light turned.

Then I sped away from him without bothering to wait for him to step back. He should have known better than to walk up to my car like that. For all I knew, he showed up to ask for food or money, and decided the rabbit looked like good eating. Aside from that, nothing happened on the trip home. Once I arrived, I pulled into my driveway and picked up the rabbit, which climbed further into my hand for safety until I put it back in my pocket. After that, I quickly made my way inside, and I set the creature on the floor so that I could get a space set up for it. I didn't have a proper rabbit pen, but I did have an empty ten gallon fish tank with a screen lid.

I'd initially used it for raising snakes, but after a few escaped and got into the neighbors yard, I was forced to stop. I could go to town and buy a real rabbit pen later, but for the time being I was sure the bunny wouldn't mind being in the tank. With that I found some newspaper, and laid it in the bottom of the fish tank. I didn't bother to shred it, seeing as I was sure the little creature would gladly do so itself. From there, I put the tank on a small table next to my couch, and I found the bunny, which hadn't moved from where I'd left it. I put the rabbit in its temporary pen, then went straight for the fridge to get it some food. I had plenty of greens available, seeing as I took pride in a healthy diet.

After losing my obese father to a heart attack when I was eleven, I vowed to never end up like him. I knew his weight had been his downfall, and I swore it would never be mine. I opted to give the creature a small bowl of fresh carrots, greens and all. I chopped them up nice and small so it could eat easily, then I set the bowl in the tank. I was pleased to see it immediately dig in to the offered food, and then I set out to find a means to water it. Typically, so long as you gave a rabbit foods high in moisture, they didn't need much water- but I felt it best to get it something. So I put a small bowl with just a bit of water in the corner of the tank.

After that, I made myself a quick salad with roast chicken, and I took a seat on the couch to watch television as I ate. My first intention was to watch one of my favorite shows, but when I realized it was a re-run I quickly switched it to the news. Just in time to see an interesting story about a, disaster that had struck New York City. There was an outbreak of the plague- the bubonic plague to be specific. However, this was unlike any form ever seen. There were around fourteen hundred people infected, and none of them were getting better. At least two thirds of them were expected to die within the next day. What made the situation so odd, was that nowadays the plague was much easier to treat.

There should not have been so many patients on death row- it was as if the disease was completely immune to the treatment methods. Sickened by the news, I quickly changed the channel to watch something a little more suited to meal time. No harm in eating while watching a cooking show, right? At least seeing all the food being prepared wouldn't make me hungry. When I was finished, I cleaned up my mess and went upstairs to take a quick shower. After that, I just watched T.V and texted all of my friends until bedtime. Three of them would arrive the next day to meet my new pet, and I wanted to be well rested, because I'd need to go out and pick up a proper pen.

Excited about the following day, I made my way to bed. In the end it took a while for me to settle down, but I eventually drifted off. I slept soundly that night- but, I had no idea that the nights to follow would be so restless. When I woke the next morning, I quickly got ready for my company and made myself an easy breakfast of eggs and bacon. My friends arrived just as I finished cleaning my dishes, and excited I rushed to the door to usher them inside.

"Where's the rabbit~?" My closest friend, Mary, inquired with an excited voice as she stepped inside. Our other friends, John and Pete, followed right after. With a smile, I led them over to the tank I had the rabbit in. I wasn't surprised to hear them coo happily at the sight of it.
"He's so pretty~ Looks a lot like a silver marten~" She stated with a smile, before she put a hand on the edge of the tank.
"Can I pet him~?" She asked hopefully, her brown eyes gleaming with excitement. Honestly, it made me laugh. She was even more of an animal lover than I was.

"Go ahead, but be careful. I just got him yesterday, and we don't want to scare him." I said with a smile of my own, before I watched as my friend reached into the tank to pet the bunny. At first, everything seemed fine. The animal remained still and appeared to happily accept the affectionate caresses of my friend's fingers. However, when she touched its ears, things changed. As soon as her fingers brushed its ears, the rabbit released a strange shriek and jolted. My eyes widened in shock as I watched Mary yank her hand out of the tank, a pained "Ah!" coming from her lips as she did so. To my horror, my best friend had just been bitten by my new pet.
"Are you alright?!" I asked with a gasp as I reached to take her hand so I could look at the bite. Her middle finger was bleeding, and I was sure the wound was painful. In response, Mary gave a nod of her head and sighed.

"I'm fine... But, I think there's something wrong with your rabbit. He might have an ear infection or something.. You should take him to a vet, get him checked out." Mary said with a frown, before she politely excused herself to go and wash her hand. I really hoped she wouldn't need stitches, but if she did I'd pay for the medical bill in a heartbeat. After all, it was my fault she got bit. I'm the one who let her pet the rabbit. Having seen the rabbit, and somewhat bothered by its vicious act, John and Pete left with Mary not long after she'd cleaned her hand. They intended on taking her to the doctor to make sure everything was alright with her finger. I made them promise to let me pay the bill.

Naturally, I thought it best to take my friends advice on a visit to the vet. There was actually an emergency vet in town. I didn't need to call in or make an appointment, so I decided to just get it over with. On the way home, I could get a good rabbit pen and a water bottle, and with luck know why the bunny had suddenly attacked Mary. Truth be told though, I was too nervous to try and pick it up after seeing her get bit. So, I wound up taking the whole tank out to my car so that I could get the animal to a vet. The trip was fairly short, only around twenty minutes. When I arrived, I carried the tank inside and immediately asked to have his rabbit looked at.

Within ten minutes I was in an examination room with the vet, who began to carefully look over the creature. To my dismay, he was also bitten when he touched its ears. Blood seeped through the whole in his latex glove, and I faintly heart him curse under his breath before he rushed out of the room to treat his wound. When he returned, he handed me a bottle of ear drops and glared at me a bit. He told me to apply two drops to both ears, twice daily, until the rabbit became less aggressive when its ears were touched. After that, I took the medicine, and my pet, and I went back to my car. After getting the tank secure on the back seat, I pulled out of the parking lot and started towards the pet store.

Finding a good pen for the rabbit was simple enough, but I was more worried about putting the creature in its new home. I didn't want to be bitten. When I made it back home, I got the pen all set up, and I tried to figure out how I'd get the rabbit into its cage without getting bitten. In the end, I decided to pick it up by the scruff of its neck. Thinking it best to get things over with sooner than later, I grabbed the medicine and tried my best to squirt a couple drops into its ear. When I did that though, I noticed something strange. The rabbit squirmed and thrashed in my hold, but I kept my grip firm and peered into its ear. There was a tattoo inside of it.

"Famine?.." I read the word out loud, confused and surprised to find the word printed inside the rabbits ear. Had that been why it didn't want its ear messed with? Had getting the tattoo traumatized it? If so, then there'd be no fixing the issue now. The might have actually been why it was abandoned out in the wilderness. I put the medicine down, and tried to set the rabbit inside the cage- but I messed up. The animal squirmed out of my grip, and it fell onto my leg. Immediately I felt the sting of its teeth as it bit into my flesh, and before I could grab it the bunny bolted. I thought I saw it run behind the couch, but having just been bitten I decided to let the animal calm down while I went to dress my wound.

I made it to the bathroom and pulled my pants off after retrieving the first aid kit, then I began to clean off the blood. I was surprised at how much the tiny bite manage to bleed, but I figured the teeth had gone in deep. Honestly, it hurt. The rubbing alcohol I applied to the injury only made it worse, but just for a moment. When I was done, I put a bandaid on the bite and put my pants back on, then I went back downstairs to try and find the rabbit. I spent hours looking. I checked under and behind all the furniture. In every corner. Every nook and cranny. Every bedroom- but I couldn't find it. Eventually, I had to give up and hope the little animal came out of hiding so I could put it in its cage.

My leg hurt from the bite. There was a throbbing, burning pain that seemed to be spreading. I seriously hoped the rabbit didn't have any diseases, and that it was just my paranoia. In an attempt to ease the pain, I took a hot bath. That did the trick, and so I dressed once done and went downstairs to make myself some dinner. Chicken and steamed vegetables, then a milkshake for dessert. Delicious, but, for some reason I was still a little hungry. I knew how much I'd eaten though, so I let it slide and just decided to head to bed. I'd try to find the rabbit again in the morning, and hopefully it wouldn't bite me again when I picked it up. The hunger remained as I slowly drifted off into sleep.

I had no idea what would happen the following day. When I woke the following morning, it wasn't because I was well rested- it was because of hunger. A strong, unbearable hunger. I felt as if I hadn't eaten in days, it was so painful. I immediately made my way downstairs to make myself a meal. Scrambled eggs with sausage and toast, but even after eating it the hunger was there. At that point, I was starting to panic. I knew I'd eaten enough to fill me up, but I was still hungry. Ravenous even. What was wrong with me? I struggled to keep myself from eating more. If I gave into this, hunger, I'd wind up like my father. Fat, sweaty, and eventually dead from a heart attack.

A knock at the door alerted me to the presence of other people, and I prayed to god that whatever was happening with me would be over soon. When I answered the door, I was surprised to find Pete and John standing outside with worried expressions. Mary wasn't with them. I didn't even need to ask to know something was wrong.

"What happened?..." I asked quietly, only to watch as Pete burst into tears. Oh god, what had happened to Mary?!

"Mary... She.. She's really sick. Dropping weight fast, and screaming.. Yesterday, after we left the doctor, she started complaining about being hungry. We stopped and got her some fast food, but she just.. She said it wasn't filling her up. We took her home, and left her there so we could get something else. We were going to have a movie night, keep an eye on her... But, when we got back.." John tried to explain to me what was wrong with Mary, but his voice cracked, and I had to swallow the lump that formed in my throat at his words. Hunger. She was suffering from the same, insatiable hunger that seemed to be plaguing me. What in gods name was going on?!
"When we got back, we found her in the fetal position in her kitchen.. She'd ea-eaten everything. Cheese, milk.. Even the fucking condiments.. She was sobbing. Complaining about the hunger.. We dropped everything and got her to the hospital.. They don't know what's wrong with her. Nothing they do gets the hunger to stop, and no matter how much she eats she keeps losing weight. And god, she's losing it so fast. She's dropped six pounds in the last four hours. She was a hundred and sixty five pound when they put her in, and she's lost twenty four pounds since.." He continued to try and explain everything to me, and as he did I started trembling. Whatever was wrong with Mary, it happened because of the rabbit bite, I know it.

I was bitten, then the hunger got me and right now it was practically unbearable. I didn't want to wind up like her. From the corner of my eye, I spotted the very being I had to blame for all of this. The rabbit was in my front yard, nibbling at some grass. The creature had probably walked right out the open door while I stood there listening to everything my friend had to say. Anger rose in me. I knew that whatever the problem was, only the source held the key. I pointed towards the vile creature.

"The rabbit... Catch it. That, that thing bit Mary, and it bit me too! Whatever's wrong with her is happening to me!" I said sternly. I was shocked at how bitter my voice sounded, seeing as I really was fearing for my life. No sooner had the words passed my lips, had Pete rushed towards the vile animal to grab it. He was fast, and surprisingly the rabbit didn't run. He picked it up by its ears and I watched as it thrashed violently in its hold. I ushered him inside, and he practically threw the vile thing into the pen. We quickly locked it, then took it out to John's car. The three of us buckled in, then we sped to the hospital as fast as we could without breaking any speed limits.

We didn't need cops showing up to slow us down, they'd cost us valuable time. I was dead silent for the whole trip, but I couldn't help but swat at the cage whenever I saw the rabbit come close to me. I didn't want it trying to get out, or worse, biting me again. When we arrived at the hospital, I rushed inside to get myself checked in, and Pete and John set out to tell the people in charge that the rabbit was the reason Mary and I were suddenly so hungry, and losing weight. When I told the doctors what was wrong with me, I was immediately checked in and taken to the same room as Mary. My god, she looked terrible. Her eyes were swollen from tears, and her cheeks had sunk in slightly.

She was unconscious, so I assumed she'd either passed out from pain, or they'd knocked her out to make what was happening more bearable. I was put in a bed adjacent to hers, and I wasn't surprised when they said they were going to sedate me. I didn't struggle. Being out cold would keep the pain of hunger from driving me mad the way it had done my closest friend. Oh, why did I bring the rabbit home? I should have known better. Never bring home strange animals. You never know what's wrong with them. There was a prick of the needle in my skin, and then I was out like a light. I was forced awake some time later, and I can't deny how awful I felt.

I'd been out cold for three days, and according to the doctors, I'd lost one hundred and eight pounds. That meant I was down to around seventy five. I believed them, it would have been hard not too. I could see my arms, they were so bony. I didn't have it in me to look at Mary, she must have been a skeleton. When I woke up, police came to ask me questions. Questions about that damned rabbit. I did my best to answer for them. I told them where I found it, and everything I did afterwards. I found out the vet had been administered to the hospital as well, and that he was unconscious in the next room over. I cried. Not from sadness, but from the unbearable hunger.

As soon as the police were don't asking me question, I was put back under. They told me they'd find a cure and fix what was wrong, and I hoped they could. I fell into darkness praying that I, and everyone else, would pull through. My prayers, went unanswered...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Breaking news!

A black and white, blue eyed rabbit, believed to be responsible for the deaths of three civilians has escaped containment at the West Virginia Science Lab. If you see this animal, stay away from it at all cost. Call the police, and let them do their jobs to protect and serve the public. I repeat, do NOT try to pick up this rabbit! The three reported deaths occurred only a week after being bitten, and those infected suffered from unbearable hunger followed by extreme and rapid weight loss! If for any reason you are bitten, call the police and get to the hospital immediately for emergency treatment!"

A young woman watched the news report with frightened eyes. She and her family were only six miles from the lab, and now she feared for the safety of her six year old daughter.

"Mommy! Mommy!" The girl screeched as she rushed inside, holding her hand as if in pain as she stumbled over to her worried mother. Immediately, the woman inspected her child's hand to find her index finger bleeding. Fear showed on her face and she tightly grasped the girls hand.

"Lilly, Lilly sweetie.. Tell mommy what happened." She said in a pleading tone as she held onto her daughter, who pointed outside with her uninjured hand with a frown.

"There's a black and white bunny outside, with pretty blue eyes.. I pet him, and he bit me." The girl said in a bitter tone. As if on cue, the woman clenched her eyes shut as she broke into a sob, and an agonized scream wracked her terrified frame.

Description
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Atop a rock while I was going for a hike. That, was where I first saw it. A rabbit. Now, it wasn't big- nor was it large, but its eyes. They were, bright blue- and its fur. Black, with a white patch on the chest, and tail. I could tell right away that it was no wild rabbit. Most likely an escaped or abandoned pet, doomed to die out in the wilderness. My first instinct was to leave it. I didn't know if it was sick, or if it was aggressive. However, that changed when the creature fearlessly hopped over to me. At first I was, hesitant to pick it up, but, when it began to nudge against my leg I couldn't help myself. The bunny was, surprisingly soft for having been out in the wilderness. Fur like velvet.

If it had escaped, or been abandoned, it hadn't been there long. There weren't even any weeds or burrs caught in its fur. From the looks of it, the animal couldn't have even been there more than a day, if that. I'd say only a few hours. Odds were it hadn't even left its spot out of fear. Thinking it better to take the poor creature in rather than leaving it to die, I put it in the pocket of my jacket and continued down the trail. I'd spotted it while heading back to my car. Truth be told, it was surprised I hadn't seen the adorable creature when I first arrived. The poor thing must have been hiding behind the rock when I passed it. The sound of people must have coaxed it out.

When I made it back to my car I climbed inside, and put the rabbit in my lap. I took a moment to warm my chilled hands with my breath. Winter probably wasn't the best time to be going for hikes, but it wasn't the worst time either. Not like there was snow or anything, or rain. Just cold. Harsh, bitter cold. When the numb feeling that had set into my fingers was mostly gone, I reached for my keys and immediately got the car started. As soon as I did, the warmth of the heater hit my chilled face, and I smiled contently. In my lap, the bunny nestled into my clothing to get comfortable. I assumed it had fallen asleep when it didn't move again after a couple minutes.

One the interior of the car was nice and toasty, I backed onto the road and started for home. There wasn't anything majorly eventful, though, something odd did happen. When I stopped at a red light, one of the homeless men I saw in the area regularly walked up to my car and slammed his hand against my window. I saw his lips move, but I couldn't hear him. Rather, he seemed to be muttering something. There was a deranged, panicked look in his eyes. Eyes which focused intently on the rabbit lying in my lap. I tried to read his lips to see what he was saying, but the most I could come up with was "Family". That didn't make any sense, so I did my best to ignore him until the light turned.

Then I sped away from him without bothering to wait for him to step back. He should have known better than to walk up to my car like that. For all I knew, he showed up to ask for food or money, and decided the rabbit looked like good eating. Aside from that, nothing happened on the trip home. Once I arrived, I pulled into my driveway and picked up the rabbit, which climbed further into my hand for safety until I put it back in my pocket. After that, I quickly made my way inside, and I set the creature on the floor so that I could get a space set up for it. I didn't have a proper rabbit pen, but I did have an empty ten gallon fish tank with a screen lid.

I'd initially used it for raising snakes, but after a few escaped and got into the neighbors yard, I was forced to stop. I could go to town and buy a real rabbit pen later, but for the time being I was sure the bunny wouldn't mind being in the tank. With that I found some newspaper, and laid it in the bottom of the fish tank. I didn't bother to shred it, seeing as I was sure the little creature would gladly do so itself. From there, I put the tank on a small table next to my couch, and I found the bunny, which hadn't moved from where I'd left it. I put the rabbit in its temporary pen, then went straight for the fridge to get it some food. I had plenty of greens available, seeing as I took pride in a healthy diet.

After losing my obese father to a heart attack when I was eleven, I vowed to never end up like him. I knew his weight had been his downfall, and I swore it would never be mine. I opted to give the creature a small bowl of fresh carrots, greens and all. I chopped them up nice and small so it could eat easily, then I set the bowl in the tank. I was pleased to see it immediately dig in to the offered food, and then I set out to find a means to water it. Typically, so long as you gave a rabbit foods high in moisture, they didn't need much water- but I felt it best to get it something. So I put a small bowl with just a bit of water in the corner of the tank.

After that, I made myself a quick salad with roast chicken, and I took a seat on the couch to watch television as I ate. My first intention was to watch one of my favorite shows, but when I realized it was a re-run I quickly switched it to the news. Just in time to see an interesting story about a, disaster that had struck New York City. There was an outbreak of the plague- the bubonic plague to be specific. However, this was unlike any form ever seen. There were around fourteen hundred people infected, and none of them were getting better. At least two thirds of them were expected to die within the next day. What made the situation so odd, was that nowadays the plague was much easier to treat.

There should not have been so many patients on death row- it was as if the disease was completely immune to the treatment methods. Sickened by the news, I quickly changed the channel to watch something a little more suited to meal time. No harm in eating while watching a cooking show, right? At least seeing all the food being prepared wouldn't make me hungry. When I was finished, I cleaned up my mess and went upstairs to take a quick shower. After that, I just watched T.V and texted all of my friends until bedtime. Three of them would arrive the next day to meet my new pet, and I wanted to be well rested, because I'd need to go out and pick up a proper pen.

Excited about the following day, I made my way to bed. In the end it took a while for me to settle down, but I eventually drifted off. I slept soundly that night- but, I had no idea that the nights to follow would be so restless. When I woke the next morning, I quickly got ready for my company and made myself an easy breakfast of eggs and bacon. My friends arrived just as I finished cleaning my dishes, and excited I rushed to the door to usher them inside.

"Where's the rabbit~?" My closest friend, Mary, inquired with an excited voice as she stepped inside. Our other friends, John and Pete, followed right after. With a smile, I led them over to the tank I had the rabbit in. I wasn't surprised to hear them coo happily at the sight of it.
"He's so pretty~ Looks a lot like a silver marten~" She stated with a smile, before she put a hand on the edge of the tank.
"Can I pet him~?" She asked hopefully, her brown eyes gleaming with excitement. Honestly, it made me laugh. She was even more of an animal lover than I was.

"Go ahead, but be careful. I just got him yesterday, and we don't want to scare him." I said with a smile of my own, before I watched as my friend reached into the tank to pet the bunny. At first, everything seemed fine. The animal remained still and appeared to happily accept the affectionate caresses of my friend's fingers. However, when she touched its ears, things changed. As soon as her fingers brushed its ears, the rabbit released a strange shriek and jolted. My eyes widened in shock as I watched Mary yank her hand out of the tank, a pained "Ah!" coming from her lips as she did so. To my horror, my best friend had just been bitten by my new pet.
"Are you alright?!" I asked with a gasp as I reached to take her hand so I could look at the bite. Her middle finger was bleeding, and I was sure the wound was painful. In response, Mary gave a nod of her head and sighed.

"I'm fine... But, I think there's something wrong with your rabbit. He might have an ear infection or something.. You should take him to a vet, get him checked out." Mary said with a frown, before she politely excused herself to go and wash her hand. I really hoped she wouldn't need stitches, but if she did I'd pay for the medical bill in a heartbeat. After all, it was my fault she got bit. I'm the one who let her pet the rabbit. Having seen the rabbit, and somewhat bothered by its vicious act, John and Pete left with Mary not long after she'd cleaned her hand. They intended on taking her to the doctor to make sure everything was alright with her finger. I made them promise to let me pay the bill.

Naturally, I thought it best to take my friends advice on a visit to the vet. There was actually an emergency vet in town. I didn't need to call in or make an appointment, so I decided to just get it over with. On the way home, I could get a good rabbit pen and a water bottle, and with luck know why the bunny had suddenly attacked Mary. Truth be told though, I was too nervous to try and pick it up after seeing her get bit. So, I wound up taking the whole tank out to my car so that I could get the animal to a vet. The trip was fairly short, only around twenty minutes. When I arrived, I carried the tank inside and immediately asked to have his rabbit looked at.

Within ten minutes I was in an examination room with the vet, who began to carefully look over the creature. To my dismay, he was also bitten when he touched its ears. Blood seeped through the whole in his latex glove, and I faintly heart him curse under his breath before he rushed out of the room to treat his wound. When he returned, he handed me a bottle of ear drops and glared at me a bit. He told me to apply two drops to both ears, twice daily, until the rabbit became less aggressive when its ears were touched. After that, I took the medicine, and my pet, and I went back to my car. After getting the tank secure on the back seat, I pulled out of the parking lot and started towards the pet store.

Finding a good pen for the rabbit was simple enough, but I was more worried about putting the creature in its new home. I didn't want to be bitten. When I made it back home, I got the pen all set up, and I tried to figure out how I'd get the rabbit into its cage without getting bitten. In the end, I decided to pick it up by the scruff of its neck. Thinking it best to get things over with sooner than later, I grabbed the medicine and tried my best to squirt a couple drops into its ear. When I did that though, I noticed something strange. The rabbit squirmed and thrashed in my hold, but I kept my grip firm and peered into its ear. There was a tattoo inside of it.

"Famine?.." I read the word out loud, confused and surprised to find the word printed inside the rabbits ear. Had that been why it didn't want its ear messed with? Had getting the tattoo traumatized it? If so, then there'd be no fixing the issue now. The might have actually been why it was abandoned out in the wilderness. I put the medicine down, and tried to set the rabbit inside the cage- but I messed up. The animal squirmed out of my grip, and it fell onto my leg. Immediately I felt the sting of its teeth as it bit into my flesh, and before I could grab it the bunny bolted. I thought I saw it run behind the couch, but having just been bitten I decided to let the animal calm down while I went to dress my wound.

I made it to the bathroom and pulled my pants off after retrieving the first aid kit, then I began to clean off the blood. I was surprised at how much the tiny bite manage to bleed, but I figured the teeth had gone in deep. Honestly, it hurt. The rubbing alcohol I applied to the injury only made it worse, but just for a moment. When I was done, I put a bandaid on the bite and put my pants back on, then I went back downstairs to try and find the rabbit. I spent hours looking. I checked under and behind all the furniture. In every corner. Every nook and cranny. Every bedroom- but I couldn't find it. Eventually, I had to give up and hope the little animal came out of hiding so I could put it in its cage.

My leg hurt from the bite. There was a throbbing, burning pain that seemed to be spreading. I seriously hoped the rabbit didn't have any diseases, and that it was just my paranoia. In an attempt to ease the pain, I took a hot bath. That did the trick, and so I dressed once done and went downstairs to make myself some dinner. Chicken and steamed vegetables, then a milkshake for dessert. Delicious, but, for some reason I was still a little hungry. I knew how much I'd eaten though, so I let it slide and just decided to head to bed. I'd try to find the rabbit again in the morning, and hopefully it wouldn't bite me again when I picked it up. The hunger remained as I slowly drifted off into sleep.

I had no idea what would happen the following day. When I woke the following morning, it wasn't because I was well rested- it was because of hunger. A strong, unbearable hunger. I felt as if I hadn't eaten in days, it was so painful. I immediately made my way downstairs to make myself a meal. Scrambled eggs with sausage and toast, but even after eating it the hunger was there. At that point, I was starting to panic. I knew I'd eaten enough to fill me up, but I was still hungry. Ravenous even. What was wrong with me? I struggled to keep myself from eating more. If I gave into this, hunger, I'd wind up like my father. Fat, sweaty, and eventually dead from a heart attack.

A knock at the door alerted me to the presence of other people, and I prayed to god that whatever was happening with me would be over soon. When I answered the door, I was surprised to find Pete and John standing outside with worried expressions. Mary wasn't with them. I didn't even need to ask to know something was wrong.

"What happened?..." I asked quietly, only to watch as Pete burst into tears. Oh god, what had happened to Mary?!

"Mary... She.. She's really sick. Dropping weight fast, and screaming.. Yesterday, after we left the doctor, she started complaining about being hungry. We stopped and got her some fast food, but she just.. She said it wasn't filling her up. We took her home, and left her there so we could get something else. We were going to have a movie night, keep an eye on her... But, when we got back.." John tried to explain to me what was wrong with Mary, but his voice cracked, and I had to swallow the lump that formed in my throat at his words. Hunger. She was suffering from the same, insatiable hunger that seemed to be plaguing me. What in gods name was going on?!
"When we got back, we found her in the fetal position in her kitchen.. She'd ea-eaten everything. Cheese, milk.. Even the fucking condiments.. She was sobbing. Complaining about the hunger.. We dropped everything and got her to the hospital.. They don't know what's wrong with her. Nothing they do gets the hunger to stop, and no matter how much she eats she keeps losing weight. And god, she's losing it so fast. She's dropped six pounds in the last four hours. She was a hundred and sixty five pound when they put her in, and she's lost twenty four pounds since.." He continued to try and explain everything to me, and as he did I started trembling. Whatever was wrong with Mary, it happened because of the rabbit bite, I know it.

I was bitten, then the hunger got me and right now it was practically unbearable. I didn't want to wind up like her. From the corner of my eye, I spotted the very being I had to blame for all of this. The rabbit was in my front yard, nibbling at some grass. The creature had probably walked right out the open door while I stood there listening to everything my friend had to say. Anger rose in me. I knew that whatever the problem was, only the source held the key. I pointed towards the vile creature.

"The rabbit... Catch it. That, that thing bit Mary, and it bit me too! Whatever's wrong with her is happening to me!" I said sternly. I was shocked at how bitter my voice sounded, seeing as I really was fearing for my life. No sooner had the words passed my lips, had Pete rushed towards the vile animal to grab it. He was fast, and surprisingly the rabbit didn't run. He picked it up by its ears and I watched as it thrashed violently in its hold. I ushered him inside, and he practically threw the vile thing into the pen. We quickly locked it, then took it out to John's car. The three of us buckled in, then we sped to the hospital as fast as we could without breaking any speed limits.

We didn't need cops showing up to slow us down, they'd cost us valuable time. I was dead silent for the whole trip, but I couldn't help but swat at the cage whenever I saw the rabbit come close to me. I didn't want it trying to get out, or worse, biting me again. When we arrived at the hospital, I rushed inside to get myself checked in, and Pete and John set out to tell the people in charge that the rabbit was the reason Mary and I were suddenly so hungry, and losing weight. When I told the doctors what was wrong with me, I was immediately checked in and taken to the same room as Mary. My god, she looked terrible. Her eyes were swollen from tears, and her cheeks had sunk in slightly.

She was unconscious, so I assumed she'd either passed out from pain, or they'd knocked her out to make what was happening more bearable. I was put in a bed adjacent to hers, and I wasn't surprised when they said they were going to sedate me. I didn't struggle. Being out cold would keep the pain of hunger from driving me mad the way it had done my closest friend. Oh, why did I bring the rabbit home? I should have known better. Never bring home strange animals. You never know what's wrong with them. There was a prick of the needle in my skin, and then I was out like a light. I was forced awake some time later, and I can't deny how awful I felt.

I'd been out cold for three days, and according to the doctors, I'd lost one hundred and eight pounds. That meant I was down to around seventy five. I believed them, it would have been hard not too. I could see my arms, they were so bony. I didn't have it in me to look at Mary, she must have been a skeleton. When I woke up, police came to ask me questions. Questions about that damned rabbit. I did my best to answer for them. I told them where I found it, and everything I did afterwards. I found out the vet had been administered to the hospital as well, and that he was unconscious in the next room over. I cried. Not from sadness, but from the unbearable hunger.

As soon as the police were don't asking me question, I was put back under. They told me they'd find a cure and fix what was wrong, and I hoped they could. I fell into darkness praying that I, and everyone else, would pull through. My prayers, went unanswered...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Breaking news!

A black and white, blue eyed rabbit, believed to be responsible for the deaths of three civilians has escaped containment at the West Virginia Science Lab. If you see this animal, stay away from it at all cost. Call the police, and let them do their jobs to protect and serve the public. I repeat, do NOT try to pick up this rabbit! The three reported deaths occurred only a week after being bitten, and those infected suffered from unbearable hunger followed by extreme and rapid weight loss! If for any reason you are bitten, call the police and get to the hospital immediately for emergency treatment!"

A young woman watched the news report with frightened eyes. She and her family were only six miles from the lab, and now she feared for the safety of her six year old daughter.

"Mommy! Mommy!" The girl screeched as she rushed inside, holding her hand as if in pain as she stumbled over to her worried mother. Immediately, the woman inspected her child's hand to find her index finger bleeding. Fear showed on her face and she tightly grasped the girls hand.

"Lilly, Lilly sweetie.. Tell mommy what happened." She said in a pleading tone as she held onto her daughter, who pointed outside with her uninjured hand with a frown.

"There's a black and white bunny outside, with pretty blue eyes.. I pet him, and he bit me." The girl said in a bitter tone. As if on cue, the woman clenched her eyes shut as she broke into a sob, and an agonized scream wracked her terrified frame.