End of Spring
It was the end of spring, just on the edge of summer, on that fateful day.
The sunrays in the afternoon were warm and inviting. Birds sang everywhere and it smelled of fresh green. The blossoms of the trees and bushes had started to fall the other day and covered the secret trails through the moss. This forest was a peaceful place in the middle of nowhere.
And it was a peaceful place where the little hut with its garden was hidden between big oaks. A thin line of smoke curled from the chimney and faded in the gentle afternoon breeze. Pieces of clothes hung on a string between some young birches.
Nothing was out of place.
Nothing, but the little white mob of hair that was shoved through the half open door. Soft long ears twitched a bit, tried to catch any strange sound, and wake red eyes scanned the surrounding. As he was sure no one would notice him, the little creature shot forward, ran through the grass, over the low fence and into the forest.
Soon the hut came out of sight and the farther he ran, the more the joy broke free from his little chest. Happy laughter echoed from the branches and leaves high up and birds flew up with protesting twitters as he jumped over rocks and tree trunks, dashed around low bushes.
He was so excited!
There had been new voices between the trees since some days. It smelled like things he had never smelled before. Humans, foreign animals, sweet and smoky and all at once! He was so curious to see it all. He had never been allowed to leave the forest with his father. He had never seen other people beside the lumberjacks from the village outside, which had come too deep into the forest every now and then.
Even now he should have been at home, waiting for his parents to come back from their work. His mother had just told him during lunch to stay away from the place by the riverside. A wandering circus, she had called it. But the little boy didn’t want to listen. He wanted to see it with his own eyes, wanted to see the wonders his mother had read aloud about from one of her countless colourful books. And he was so excited, because he would see it soon!
The first thing he noticed was the smell. It smelled like fire and smoke, biting in his sensible nose. He couldn’t hear the mumbling of the river or any other noises yet, but he smelled the smoke. Immediately he slowed down and jumped behind a raspberry bush. For a long moment he remained their, listening, smelling for any danger, before he slipped from his cover and behind another further down the trail. Like this he sneaked closer and it didn’t take long until he heard the river, unknown voices, music and… singing?
His ears twitched excited as he stuck his head out from behind the bush. There was it… this wandering circus. The tents were old but colourful, standing along the riverside. Little fireplaces had been lit between them, some to cook, just to dry some clothes hanging on sticks beside them. People walked between them. The boy had never seen people like this. Men and women, but also some children, all dressed in colourful, wide clothes, with strange hair colours and hairdos. They seemed so exotic, but what really caught the boy’s attention were the wagons behind the tents.
They were as colourful as the people and tents, but they had iron bars instead of windows and doors and on their sides someone had drawn big pictures. These pictures showed strange animals the boy called deer for himself, because he had never seen horses in his life before. Some of these foreign deer even stood beside the wagon and ate from big baskets. On another wagon was the picture of a gigantic bird with black feathers and big claws. A shiver ran down the boy’s spine and he gazed up to the sky. Birds like that he had seen already and they were dangerous, but it seemed the bird, if it was really there, wasn’t here at the moment and he knew he was hidden from any view behind his bush.
Curious he glanced once more over the branches. There were more wagons and more pictures, but he couldn’t see them well from his place. Disappointed the little boy stretched a bit more to see better… and more… and more… until his legs lost their footage and he fell forward into the bush.
“Ouch!”
The branches scratched his light skin and tangled up in his hair and clothes. The little boy whimpered. Carefully he tried to get back on his feet, but the more he moved the more the bush stung him and pulled on his clothes. Gulping some tears down he broke some branches to untangle his shirt, as he heard it.
Footsteps! Footsteps and voices were coming closer!
Startled the boy looked up, back to the riverside, where some men came up the path, axes over their shoulders. His heart beat painful in his chest and the next moment he struggled and got on his feet, not caring if he got scratched more and his clothes ripped.
He had to flee! He wasn’t allowed to be seen!
In panic he ran back, over rocks and tree trunks, following the trail he had come, but the voices came closer, shouted something. Desperate the boy ran through some low bushes, pushing branches and leaves away. He heard their tramping behind him.
They got faster!
His breath came out in short gasps as he jumped over another fallen tree trunk, their steps so close behind him. They would get him! They would grab him any second now!
“Argh!”
With a scream the boy fell flat on his face. Someone had grabbed his leg and it hurt! It hurt so much! He tried to struggle, to free himself, but it was pointless. The iron grip didn’t let him go. Instead it seemed to wrap tighter around his ankle, bit into his flesh with burning pain.
He didn’t know what to do anymore. He would die here. He would never see his parents again.
“… Mami…”
Whimpering the boy curled up where he lay and waited for the final blow to come.
But it didn’t come…
He waited. The pain in his foot didn’t fade but no one grabbed him and no one said a word. Trembling with tears in his eyes he finally dared to look up and to his foot. An iron jaw had bitten into his skin. He could see blood sipping out from under its teeth and he suddenly felt so sick. Carefully he sat up and grabbed the trap with his trembling fingers. Every movement hurt so much. He couldn’t help but cry for the pain and the fear and he wanted nothing but to get away from there, but the iron trap held him in place. It was tied to a nearby tree with a thick chain, making it impossible to flee. Also he wasn’t strong enough to open the jaws. Whenever he managed to move them just a little bit they slipped from his grip and dug even deeper into his ankle.
“… Mami… Papi…”, he whispered crying, curling up again on the hard ground and closed his eyes. If he had just listened to them…
“Well, well, well… What have we here?”
A large hand grabbed the boy’s ears and yanked him up, making him scream. He must have been unconscious until now, because he hadn’t heard the two men coming closer, which now stood above him. Desperately he clung to the man’s arm. He would rip his ears off if he held him like this! And his foot was still trapped between the iron jaws. Tears ran down his cheeks once more.
“What is this thing?”
“Looks like a bunny boy to me.”
“Hmpf…” He man who didn’t hold him, leaned closer to the poor boy’s face, looking at him as if he was an ugly insect. “What should we do with him? I would have preferred a real bunny. At least these you can eat… Is this even edible?”
“N-No! Please!”
The men blinked surprised and the boy was held even higher.
“Look at that. He can speak! What the hell are you, boy?”
“P-Please… please… please…”
“He seems not to be very clever. Answer me, boy!” He was grabbed by the arm and shook violently. It didn’t help at all. It just made him struggle and cry more, even if weaker than before.
“Should we take him to the boss?”
“Idiot. What would the boss want with a bunny boy? We need dangerous animals. The people don’t want to see pets.”
“So what do you want with him? Set him free?”
“Nah… We caught him, so he’s ours and we can have a little fun with him. Can’t we? I have an idea already…” That smile let the little boy freeze like a startled bunny. He stared up to the men, eyes wide in fear. Whatever it was, that this man had in mind, the calloused hand caressing almost tenderly his tearstained cheek couldn’t mean anything good.
“Mmh… so soft. He will like him and I’m in mood for a little blood today.”
What did they talk about? Blood?! The boy felt his heart sink. He didn’t want to know the world anymore! He had enough from strangers! So why couldn’t he just go home…?
The hand holding his ears let him go all of a sudden and he fell hard on the ground. Once more the iron teeth dug deeper into his foot, but the next moment the painful pressure was gone. He blinked. His instinct noticed faster than his mind that he was free again and his legs worked on their own as they pushed his body up.
“Hey!” The yell rang in his ears, but he didn’t stop. He ran as fast as he could, but the wound on his ankle made his leg tremble even if the pain was gone for the moment. Stumbling he ran forward. Bushes and trees flashed by in a blur. He had no time to look where he was running nor did he care. The boy with the rabbit ears wanted to get away. Just away from these terrible men!
Angry shouts could be hard behind him and branches crumbled under heavy boots. They got closer with every step. Closer and closer… His lungs were burning for the incredible effort he was making to get faster.
“… no… no… NO!” Rough hands grabbed him and wrapped tight around his small chest, taking his breath away.
“Let me go! Let me go! Mama!”
With all his might the boy kicked and struggled in the firm grip, but it didn’t help. The more he fought back the more the arms tightened around him, threaten to crush his fragile bones.
“You little devil. Running away, ey? That’s not very nice.”, the hoarse voice whispered beside his ear. “We wanted to have fun, didn’t w- ARGH!” A howl echoed through the forest.
The boy could taste the dirt on his captors’ sleeve however he was too desperate to spit it out. Instead he bit even harder down on the man’s arm. Teeth dug deep into the muscle below and the grip loosened for a second, giving him back some hope, until something hard hit the side of his head. The little boy groaned in pain. White stars danced in front of his eyes.
“You little bastard! You’ll regret that!” Another slap met his face and his struggling stopped. Limp he hung in the tall man’s arms, dazed, unable to fight back and whimpering for the pain.
He heard the men talking and hissing, but he couldn’t understand it anymore. A feeling like thick fog had spread in his head and muffled everything. Even that something rough wrapped firm around his wrists and ankles, got barely through to his mind, but he felt that he was lifted once more and carried away.
Was it minutes or hours? The little boy couldn’t tell. Sometimes he thought he heard a voice or the tune of music, but the world remained grey and blurred in front of his eyes. It was just when the movement stopped, that he lifted his head a little and blinked the fog away. He still felt dizzy and weak, but suddenly there was a faint scent in the air. With all force it ripped him out of his half-consciousness. The little boy’s instinct screamed in his head to run away and he would have, if he had been able to move his limps.
“Are we awake again, yes? Good timing, boy.”
The boy’s heart beat harder. He couldn’t really see where the scent came from or where he was, but he smelled it in the air and that it got closer.
“… lemme go…” It was barely a whisper, like his renewed struggle was barely noticeable, but panic pulsed in his voice now and tightened his little chest. He knew he had to stay away from the place they were bringing him to, even if he wasn’t sure why.
“What? After you bit me, little bastard? No way.” The man laughed beside his ear and turned to his companion. “You’ll open the door and if he’s inside, shut it fast. I’m not in the mood to get my guts ripped out.”
“Yes… Are you sure we should do this…?” The smaller man gave the twitching boy an unsure glance.
“What? Do you want to question me?!”, the other one snarled. “Want me to lock you up with that beast?!”
“Ah, no! No! I’m sorry…”
“Then shut up and open the cage already!”
Iron scratched against wood as a heavy door was pulled open and the little boy couldn’t scream as fast as he was thrown on the hard ground inside. It was dark and cold in this place. It smelled of old straw and that strange scent, which made his heart beat in panic.
He flinched as the door was shut behind him with a bang and despite his tied up legs and hands he managed to press himself against the cold iron bars. Scared red eyes stared into the dim light on the other side of what the man had called a cage. Narrow openings in the wooden walls, close to the ceiling and secured with more iron bars, were the only sources of light together with the bars in his back. But behind the door stood the man, who had thrown the little boy in, and shut out the late rays of sunlight with his broad shoulders.
“Mischka! Dinner!”, he yelled and the grin could be clearly heard in his voice. “Come and get it!”
At first nothing happened, but then something moved in the darkness which the boy hadn’t noticed until now. Heavy trembling caught his slender body as he pressed himself harder against the iron bars and with wide eyes he watched the dark shadow rising.
It was unbelievable big and took all the space the other side of the cage could give. Gigantic claws and sharp teeth and glowing eyes appeared in front of the terrified boy’s eyes.
“Mischka, come!”
He flinched as his captor banged against the iron bars and got a quiet growl from the darkness in return. Shivering ears pressed tight against his head, the boy curled up to a trembling ball. Maybe he could make himself invisible? He had been told that some predators couldn’t see their prey if it didn’t move…
“MISCHKA!”
A sudden roar shook the walls and the next moment the shadow jumped forward. The man outside fell almost over with a cry as a heavy body slammed against the door and claws shot out between the bars. He stumbled back, even too startled to throw a curse at the cage, before he turned around and ran away, leaving the boy alone with the beast.
All the time the little creature hadn’t given a single sound. He even stopped trembling as he felt the big body standing over him and leaning closer. Claws scratched over the wooden floor at his side. Heavy breathing filled his twitching ear. And that scent… The scent that had made his instinct go crazy… It became stronger with every passing heartbeat and made him feel so sick.
Then something touched his shoulder.
“NO!”
