_(Retelling of the Hunted Hare)_

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In the year 2019, in the backwoods of some North Carolina forest, there was an old woman. She was a kind old woman, now nearing seventy in her age, with long thin hair, nearly gray, threaded white. She favored wearing plaid shirts, often with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and faded blue jeans with brown boots. In her part of the woods, she lived in a small humble home with a farm that housed a few chickens, cows, and horses. Ever since the passing of her husband 10 years ago, she chose to live a more recluse life, only traveling to town to get the essentials and sell her produce at the farmer’s market on Saturdays.  

That Saturday, when her alarm rang clear on her bedside table, she slipped out of the comforting blankets and began readying herself. Unaware that the alarm had rang at midnight, she finished dressing herself and headed towards the front door, grabbing a large brown coat and the keys to her 1970 GMC truck.

The chill of the night air prompted her to slip on the coat as she made her way towards the old barn. Making quick work of collecting the chickens eggs, as well as the cows milk and an assortment of fruits and vegetables she’d grown, she loaded all the produce into the back of her truck. After checking to make sure everything was secure, she climbed inside and keyed the ignition, the engine huffed and groaned as if woken from a deep slumber. With everything in order, the old woman began her long drive down town. 

After driving through the desolate woods for what felt like an eternity, she spotted the concealed side road she takes that would lead and merge into the highway. Not many knew about this hidden route, but then again, not many came this far into the woods. Taking the route, she soon emerged from the depths of the trees, the dirt of the road transforming into the worn asphalt of the highway. Since it was still late in the night, there were no other cars on the road. The woman guessed it would only take her a little over an hour to get to the town, as there appeared to be no one else but her.

After having driven forty minutes on the highway, against the dark trees and road that were barely illuminated by the headlights of her truck, a glimmer of white on the side of the road caught her attention. Curiosity consumed her as she slowed her truck to a stop and watched the white thing quickly dart behind the nearest rock. She waited for a moment before exiting her truck, the large metal door screeching on rusty hinges till it shut, and making her way slowly towards the strange creature. Rounding the rock, what she found was not a strange creature, but a cowering young girl, no older than fifteen, covered in an odd looking white cloak.

The child's wide glassy eyes tentatively lifted to meet the old woman’s, conveying an unspoken message. _Help me_, the child’s dark hollow eyes seemed to plead, tears marred her puffy face. The old woman’s heart ached at the desperation and sadness bleeding from the child's gaze, so she quickly led the trembling thing back to her truck, helping her into it before continuing back down the highway towards town.

Despite the heat that blasted from the vents, the child continued to shiver, clutching her white cloak in an equally white knuckled grip all the more closer to her. The woman's eyes raked the child's body, noting that aside from her loose fitting clothes being dirty and torn, as well as minor scratches covering her arms and legs, the child seemed to be unharmed. The biggest concern of the older woman was how thin the child was. If the woman wanted to, she could have counted the child’s bones one by one. Reaching behind her seat to grab an apple from a basket of fruits, she held it out to the child.

“Eat girl. You could stand to gain some weight.” the woman said. After a few seconds ticked by, the child cautiously reached over and lifted the piece out of her hand, her movements slow and careful. The crunching of the apple filled the silence of the car as they continued down the road.

“Where are your parents, child?” the woman questioned the girl. “They ought to be worried about you being out here alone.” 

With that question, the child immediately stopped eating, her gaze shifting wordlessly to something outside, her soft brown hair lightly blowing in the air from the vent. 

“My parents are long dead.” the child stated, “And I have no family left.” 

Though the girl clearly needed help of some kind, the old woman knew she was in no position to care for a girl at her age. Perhaps she could drop the child off with the police when she got to town, they’d be able to help her reunite with her parents. The woman continued to ponder what she could do for the girl, paying no attention to the large deer on the road she was seconds away from hitting.

“Watch out!” the child shrieked, disrupting the silence as she jerked the wheel to avoid the collision. The truck swerved at the last second, narrowly avoiding hitting the harmless animal, however the rough jostling caused the old woman’s head to bang against the dash of the car. With a building headache and growing agitation, the old woman turned to scorn the child, but was interrupted by a strange roar. 

The strange sound came from behind the woman, and a sleek car emerged from the darkness. The engine continued to roar, screeching like some crazed beast as the car sped towards the two. While the car continued to speed closer and closer, the woman looked into her mirror to discover four other cars emerging from behind it. _How strange_, the woman thought. _Who would be on the road at this hour_? _The girl’s parents perhaps?_ Turning her head towards the girl to ask, the words quickly felt as if they were stuck in her throat when she noticed the child’s pale and sweaty face. The girl had begun shrinking down into her seat, as if she were trying to hide. _No. She WAS hiding from something._ Once again glancing briefly at the group of cars growing ever closer, she watched the child grow smaller and smaller the closer they came. _Could it be that she's afraid of them? Does she know who they are?_

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Suddenly, four of the strange cars rapidly sped to pass the woman. Without warning, they began stopping across the road, causing the woman to slam on her breaks, jostling everything in the truck. Now that they were stopped, the woman could clearly make out the cars ahead of her. Four fiery Dodge Broncos blocked the road ahead of her, their engines aggressively revving like wild beasts. A strange feeling of shock and fear began to overtake her, and when she glanced at the child, the girl’s face mirrored her own.

The fifth and sleekest car that the woman had seen earlier began to slow as it neared her. A light touch drew the woman’s attention back to the child, her hand gripping the woman’s oversized coat. “P-please, help me…”, the child quietly cried, tears beginning to spill once again from those sunken dark eyes, eyes that seemed rather old and ancient, a stark difference to her childlike appearance. The feeling of uneasiness and danger hung heavy in the air now, feeling more suffocating by the minute.

“Hide yourself with this, child.” the old woman whispered, tossing the coat onto the girl. Quickly, the child slipped to the floor of the truck and curled into herself, throwing the coat over her body as the sleek car finally came to a stop beside them.

The car, a black Hennessey Venom Gt the woman recognized, growled next to them for a few moments before finally going quiet. _I’ve got a bad feeling about this_, the woman fearfully thought. You didn’t see many of those cars around, so it was somewhat concerning that one had stopped her in the middle of the road. As the doors opened upwards, a tall older man in a black suit exited the car, making his way over towards her window. As he neared her, she caught sight of a gleaming necklace around his neck, resembling that of the strange marks upon the child’s cloak.  The stranger rapped on the glass, wearing a plastered smile on his face while motioning for her to lower her window. Cautiously, the woman rolled her window down to meet the man.

“Evening ma’am,” he began. “Sorry to bother you so late. My name is Harry Whishire. See my friends and I are looking for my little girl. She’s been missing for a couple of days, and we are worried sick. Have you seen her around? She has beautiful brown hair and dark eyes. Last I saw her, she was wearing a white cloak the day she left.” Though the man talked about a heartbreaking matter, his face read no emotions. His eyes searched the woman’s face, trying to glean any sort of information or truth from her.

Holding a hand to her chest, she dawned a look of concern and spoke to the man with a quiet and firm voice. 

“Young man, I am sorry to say that I have not seen your child.” the woman lied, hoping he didn’t notice the slight tremble in her voice. “ I do hope that you find her though. It’s not safe for children to be alone for such a long time. However, do you really find it necessary for all of you to stop me in the middle of the road to ask such a question?” A sharp pain cut through her head, but she held the look of innocence before the man, careful not to raise suspicion.

“You’re right ma’am.”, the man answered. “Sorry for the trouble, we’ll be on our way now.” Giving her one last look, he swiftly slipped back into his car, he signaled to the others to get moving. However, before they all departed, he rolled down his window and shouted to the woman, “If you have any more information for us, please be sure to stop by my store in the next town, the _Chrysanthemums_. With that said, they sped down the highway as one, their red tail lights glowing like monstrous eyes, fading back into the darkness from whence they came. The roaring engines slowly faded to the chirping crickets and the soft serenades of birds, returning the night to its former peace.

“Thank you for hiding me from Harry, miss.” the child spoke quietly, still on the floor of the truck. Rising to her seat, the child returned the coat to the woman, relaxing into the fabric of the seat. The color had begun returning to her face, even her eyes seemed to sparkle with a touch of life now. Turning to lock eyes with the woman, her voice a little stronger than before, she said, “You have done me a great service. I’m forever in your debt.”

“Explain, child. Who were those men? Who are you?” The question spilled out from the woman’s mouth like a bursting dam, the hand gripping her steering wheel relaxing a fraction with every passing second as she keyed the ignition.  Though the cars were long gone by now, what worried the woman now was the child. _What have I gotten myself into? _the woman worriedly thought. 

“It’s been sixty years-” the girl began, “since I last experienced freedom.”

“That makes no sense.” the woman replied. “How can you claim to be so old, yet look so young?”

“They are rare genetics I’ve inherited.” the girl answered plainly. “It’s the very thing that Harry and his colleague have been experimenting on me for the past decades. Their store, what do they call it nowadays? Ah yes, the _Chrysanthemums_. Did you know that the flower is said to mean a long life?

“Anyways, the store is a cover for them to perform experiments and sell their ‘Serum of Youth and Rejuvenation’, courtesy of my spilled blood.”

Attempting to keep some sliver of sanity as the child continued to speak, the woman interrupted with one final question, “You still haven’t answered one of my questions. WHO are you?”

Smirking at the old woman, the child’s eyes glinted with mischief and something darker as she spoke, “Well, that’s something you’ll have to figure out on your own if you ever wake up.”

“Wake up from what?” the woman muttered, but when she turned to face the child once again, her vision became blurry, colors and shapes mixing together like a warped painting. Before she could figure out what was happening, she found herself closing her eyes to a most welcoming darkness.

After what felt like seconds, the woman slowly opened her eyes and looked around her truck, sharp pain sliced through her head, prompting her to touch the hurting spot. Bringing her hand back to her eyes, crimson blood covered her hand. Realization struck her as her vision finally cleared. Looking from the smashed dashboard and glass, and the steam rising from the engine, the woman realized she had crashed her car into a tree.

Blood was flowing freely down her face now, which helped the woman remember that she would need to get the wound checked out. Trying the ignition, she found that the engine still worked, so she put the car into drive and sped down the highway as fast as she could, knowing that the hospital was not far from where she was. As she continued down the road, she began to feel a little hungry. Noticing an apple in the seat beside her, she plucked up quickly, preparing to devour it. However, there seemed to be something wrong with the apple, a chunk of it missing with small teeth marks imprinted on the surface of the fruit. _How peculiar…_