It Cannot Get Any Worse
The Hide-out
Darrin was a sweaty mess as he ran across the street that made up the entire commercial district of the town as far as he could remember from his research. He just kept running down the trail.He was exposed to the road, but he had no idea where else to go. As he passed a small park, he saw the police station directly in front of him and dove for cover behind a low brick wall at the edge of the park. If they were on the lookout for a giant fuzzy pink bunny, he was probably nailed. Darrin looked back the way he had come and saw no sign of the kids on their bicycles or their parents. Maybe they had thought better of chasing the crazed giant fuzzy bunny who threw a bike at them. He peered over the wall and saw nothing. The police station looked empty. There were no cars in the parking lot and no activity around the building at all.
Laying behind the wall Darrin stripped off the Bunny costume and considered also ditching the absurdly large suit pants he was still wearing. His boxers might pass for shorts, but he figured the over-sized pants would attract less attention. Besides, it was way too cold for shorts. He did not want to leave the bunny suit here, nothing like leaving a trail of clues to your whereabouts. He stuffed as much of the bunny costume into the head as he could and then wrapped the remaining fabric round the head to hide the ears. Carefully watching the police station, without obviously staring at it, he walked confidently along the trail and came to a long line of cars. When he reached the intersection, he could see he had made it to the bridge. Now he could finally escape Hell's Island.
A small group of people were standing near the bridge and watching. There were four police cars there. They were checking everyone in every car for identification and questioning them before they were allowed to cross the bridge. This was not going to work. He felt he looked absurd in the oversize pants, his shirt still had bloodstains that were visible on a close inspection, and he was carrying the fuzzy bunny suit and head, which could easily be noticed and recognized. Fortunately, everyone was busy watching what was happening at the bridge.
Darrin turned and headed away from the bridge. He figured he needed to get off the paved bicycle trail as well because, eventually, people from the party would be coming down the road. Not much likelihood anyone would recognize him with the bunny suit all wadded up into a bundle, but Darrin did not take chances. He found a dirt trail running into some dense woods behind the police station in the direction of the commercial street. No one was on the trail, it seemed the safest way to go, especially carrying a bundle of pink fuzz and wearing giant clown like suit pants.
Darrin could hear dogs barking not too far away. Were they searching for him? A helicopter passed overhead but he could not see it because the trees were too dense. He needed to find a secure place to hole up and make a plan. He also needed to rest and find some food. Plus he needed to think through the events of the day. This day was like a Disney movie or something. How do you plan when you seem to be living in someone’s wildest, most impossible nightmare?
The trail came out of the woods behind a large retail building. Darrin figured it was probably the Kroger grocery store. He always checked ahead of time what was available in a nearby town, in case they needed something in a pinch. Darrin could hear the helicopter again and the dogs sounded closer. He wondered if they could actually track him by his scent when he had been riding a bicycle and he had ditched his blood soaked jeans in the laundry chute.
Behind the Kroger grocery store, Darrin found six huge dumpsters. He realized the smell of the dumpsters would overpower any scent he left behind and climbed inside a middle dumpster. Gagging from the smell and shaking in fear of being caught, Darrin eventually fell asleep.
Laying behind the wall Darrin stripped off the Bunny costume and considered also ditching the absurdly large suit pants he was still wearing. His boxers might pass for shorts, but he figured the over-sized pants would attract less attention. Besides, it was way too cold for shorts. He did not want to leave the bunny suit here, nothing like leaving a trail of clues to your whereabouts. He stuffed as much of the bunny costume into the head as he could and then wrapped the remaining fabric round the head to hide the ears. Carefully watching the police station, without obviously staring at it, he walked confidently along the trail and came to a long line of cars. When he reached the intersection, he could see he had made it to the bridge. Now he could finally escape Hell's Island.
A small group of people were standing near the bridge and watching. There were four police cars there. They were checking everyone in every car for identification and questioning them before they were allowed to cross the bridge. This was not going to work. He felt he looked absurd in the oversize pants, his shirt still had bloodstains that were visible on a close inspection, and he was carrying the fuzzy bunny suit and head, which could easily be noticed and recognized. Fortunately, everyone was busy watching what was happening at the bridge.
Darrin turned and headed away from the bridge. He figured he needed to get off the paved bicycle trail as well because, eventually, people from the party would be coming down the road. Not much likelihood anyone would recognize him with the bunny suit all wadded up into a bundle, but Darrin did not take chances. He found a dirt trail running into some dense woods behind the police station in the direction of the commercial street. No one was on the trail, it seemed the safest way to go, especially carrying a bundle of pink fuzz and wearing giant clown like suit pants.
Darrin could hear dogs barking not too far away. Were they searching for him? A helicopter passed overhead but he could not see it because the trees were too dense. He needed to find a secure place to hole up and make a plan. He also needed to rest and find some food. Plus he needed to think through the events of the day. This day was like a Disney movie or something. How do you plan when you seem to be living in someone’s wildest, most impossible nightmare?
The trail came out of the woods behind a large retail building. Darrin figured it was probably the Kroger grocery store. He always checked ahead of time what was available in a nearby town, in case they needed something in a pinch. Darrin could hear the helicopter again and the dogs sounded closer. He wondered if they could actually track him by his scent when he had been riding a bicycle and he had ditched his blood soaked jeans in the laundry chute.
Behind the Kroger grocery store, Darrin found six huge dumpsters. He realized the smell of the dumpsters would overpower any scent he left behind and climbed inside a middle dumpster. Gagging from the smell and shaking in fear of being caught, Darrin eventually fell asleep.