the endless swarm of mosquitos ever present on this island. I have no doubt I probably look like a hot mess right now. In the distance, my truck sits undisturbed, and my muscles prod me to hurry and get inside. Not to sound like a pansy, or anything, but I sure as hell wouldn’t camp out here. The northern woods of Michigan can be a pretty scary place, if one factors in all the dangerous animals lurking about, but nothing like this. Louisiana woods just have a ghostly atmosphere about them, but this stretch in particular carries some kind of bad omen. A thought I won’t dwell on too much, for fear it’ll throw me down an unwelcome rabbit hole.
Once at the truck, I throw back the door and perform the obligatory sweep over the back seat. I’ve watched enough horror flicks, with something hiding behind the unwitting driver, that it’s worth a couple more seconds of hair-raising anticipation before climbing inside. Shutting out the creepy surroundings, I click off the flashlight and fire up the truck.
The headlights pop on.
An object flashes ahead of me, through the windshield, snapping my attention there.
In the beam of the truck’s lights, a cluster of fallen brush flickers with movement.
I wait, palms gripping the steering wheel so tight that my knuckles burn.
Heart kicked up, I think back to the story Brie told me, about the woman running through the woods at night.
I don’t know why that’s the first thing to pop in my head, because I surely don’t care much about ghost stories, but this one felt more personal to me.
A flicker of white leaps through the air and lands midway between the truck and the brush from where it was hidden. A white rabbit with eyes that glow in the unforgiving light. It stands upright on its haunches, with something clutched in its paws held to its mouth. Red drops slide down its snow white fur, and I squint to see it holding something bright red. Like a piece of meat.
What the hell?
I screw my eyes shut, certain that this is just some strange hallucination, the residual effects of mixing one of my sleeping pills with alcohol.
Opening my eyes shows the rabbit still nibbling on what I’m certain is a torn piece of flesh, given the thickness, color, and irregular shape of it. I flick off the headlights to shut out the scene, and when I flick them back on, the rabbit isn’t there.
To be sure, I turn them off and on a second time, and the rabbit doesn’t return. Exhaling a breath, I close my eyes and rest my forehead against the steering wheel. Jesus.
Seconds pass while I give my eyes a moment to relax and adjust. The hard knock at the window beside me startles my muscles.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I lift my head to find a dark-haired woman staring in on me. I let out a scream, and scramble away.
“You okay, hun?” At her question, I take in the heavy makeup on her face, the sequined top, and elaborate pile of curls atop her head.
Scanning over the surroundings shows the strip club, a packed parking lot, and a line of people waiting at the front entrance.
What the ever-loving hell?
“Saw ya passed out and thought I’d check to make sure you’re still breathin’ in there.”
“Yeah. I’m, uh … I’m fine. Have I …. Have I been here long?”
“Not sure.” A cigarette dangles between her fingers, which she holds up for a second before shoving between her lips. “I just came out for a smoke and seen ya from across the lot. Gotta get back inside, though. Almost my set.”
“What time is it?”
“Twenty after eight.”
Twenty after eight? That makes no sense. It was just after eight when Brie left the house. And then that … whatever that was with the rabbit. No way I could’ve made it to this side of town in such a short time. Point A definitely did not connect to Point B.
I dig for my lip gloss in the bag on the floor beside me and do a quick primp in the mirror, before exiting the vehicle. With Bergeron nowhere in sight, I have a feeling I’m going to have to sweet talk him into handing over my knife. The only shitty thing about that is, I’m not all that sweet.
Troll is standing outside the door when I stroll up, and the way he crosses his arms, staring down his nose at me, says the guy is going to be