“Particles in Motion” – Dr. Ugg

Rabbit runs. Rabbit digs in the soft soil, thinking about the fangs that sometimes hide in bushes. Rabbit sits upright, head twitching left—head twitching right.

But the attack comes from above. Hawk dives. Hawk’s eyes burn in the wind. He would smile, but his beak is rigid. (It’s not his fault.)

Rabbit doesn’t see Hawk. Rabbit doesn’t hear Hawk. Rabbit does feel Hawk; the hairs on his back stand up and dance. Rabbit’s eyes widen.

But Rabbit knows what to do.

Rabbit dives to the right. Hawk sees Rabbit move and adjusts his flight path. Rabbit rolls into the bushes and snares his pistol.

“You fell for it, you fucking monster,” Rabbit snarls. He aims carefully and squeezes the trigger. The gun kicks, pushing Rabbit’s paws backward, but his aim is true.

The bullet catches Hawk in the throat. He feels nothing, but knows…

Hawk hits the ground at nearly 180 miles per hour. Feathers and blood fly. Rabbit chuckles, knowing that his old enemy, the creature that has torn his family’s flesh, is gone.

Nearly a mile away, Hawk’s son sees the mess that was his father. True, they hadn’t spoken in months, not since his father ejected him from the house when he found a small bag of Mary Jane in Junior’s leather jacket.

They were not close, but Rabbit’s laughter grates on Junior’s nerves. He flicks his switch-knife open, then closed again.

Mother will be sad.

Rabbit will pay. Junior isn’t as old as his father was. Junior is quick and clever. And Junior knows, now, that Rabbit is packing heat.

Rabbit’s days are numbered.

---Dr. Ugg
[Originally published 7 Dec. 2012 at VERY VERY VERY SHORT STORIES]