Page 3 of Run, Rabbit, Run

Then darkness.

Chapter Two

Bunny was encased in a soft warmth she never wanted to part with. It felt like she was lying weightless in the clouds. But it also felt like she had a head full of cotton, her mouth dry enough for her tongue to stick to her top palette.

She slowly shifted in the gentle embrace of whatever she was wrapped up in. Her eyes fluttered slowly and she lifted her head an inch or so above the pillow. And then the horror came flooding back. With a racing heart, she froze.

That is, until Bunny realized that she was also completely naked, save for a thick collar that was fastened around her neck. It wasn’t uncomfortable physically, but mentally it threw her into a frenzy. She reached up in a panic to rip it off and found that it was secured with a lock.

Okay, just relax. Chill out. You’re going to get through this. It’s just a collar. It’s not going to kill you, Bunny thought to herself.

Her eyes began adjusting to the low light. What she saw gave her a change of heart: instead of freezing in place, the organ now plummeted like a weight into her lower stomach.

The walls around her were filled with sex toys of every sort. There were recessed walls with shelving and drawers lining them to the midpoint, hooks hanging with whips and other implements above them.

Around the room, an array of wicked machines and imposing restraint systems stood like wardens.

“Hello, sweet Bunny,” A voice, gentle as silk, sounded through the silence.

Bunny realized she had been holding her breath as soon as she gasped. Her head whipped around, and she immediately recognized the movement as a mistake as the soft pounding turned to a roar of pain. Her hands flew up to cradle her head.

“Careful now, my Bunny,” The man murmured, drawing closer, “You’re going to need a few hours to get back to normal. Haldol and Ativan are a hell of a combination. Extremely effective at sedation, but there are drawbacks.”

Bunny opened her mouth in response but found her voice faltering. It felt like her mind was stuck in place, a record scratching, desperately trying to gain traction.

How could this happen to her?

Just a few weeks ago, she had been celebrating her upcoming graduation from college. She had been accepted to her first choice university for graduate school. Her life was good.

This isn’t fair… She thought, tears welling up before she had time to stop them. Large, fat drops began to run down her face as her chest tightened like a fist.

A coldness settled over her that not even the plush blanket wrapped around her body could stave. She was as good as dead, wasn’t she?

No, she thought fiercely, You can’t think like that. Others have gotten out of similar situations. You can do this. Just concentrate, cooperate, and wait.

Her captor had been watching passively until she began to cry, then he clucked his tongue and shook his head. “Now, now, Bunny, enough of that, or I’ll give you something to cry about.” There was a vein of amusement in his voice.

He’s mocking me, she realized with bristling fury, How fucking dare he?

“I’m sorry, sir, I just can’t help but think my parents must be so worried,” She whispered, looking up at him through her eyelashes in a submissive gesture.

His face immediately darkened.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” He asked softly, but she could feel anger lurking under the surface of his words.

“I- I’m sorry?” she stammered, confusion in her shrill voice.

“You heard me. Answer the question.” He was now stalking toward her, gleaming leather loafers padding softly on the wooden floor.

“N-no! Of course, I don’t. I’m so sorry. I just… I wanted to explain why I was crying.” Bunny was now scrambling backward, trying to keep herself covered while replacing the distance his long legs were quickly eating.

Her captor stopped at the edge of the pad she was lying on. It was large, easily the size of an area rug, and thick enough to protect her from the wooden floor beneath.

“Then don’t try to play me. Your old life is gone, Bunny. This is your reality now,” Her captor said evenly, eyes boring holes into the top of her bowed head, “I promise it isn’t as bad as you think it is. There are far worse men out there who take women to torture them for gratification. I’m not like that.”

She sniffled, still softly crying in the hopeless way only a broken person can.

“Understand that if you follow the rules, you’ll be fine. I will punish you if you misbehave. Your pain doesn’t necessarily bring me pleasure, but I will cause you pain all the same.”