Chapter 3
There are reasons butterflies and rabbits move erratically. Each of them spends much of its life trying to avoid something that wants to eat it.
Nevin the rabbit raced under low hanging branches and vaulted over stumps, juking right and left, double-juking, triple-juking, his eyes bulging with fear. His respiration would have rivaled a hummingbird on caffeine.
Behind him a huge wolf-like shape bounded in pursuit, bushy tail compensating on the turns.
Nevin hadn’t been chased like this since the janitor at the community pool caught him peeking in the girl’s locker room. He still suspected most of the janitor’s anger was because Nevin was butting in on the janitor’s own favorite pastime.
If there hadn’t been a big dog ravening on his butt, Nevin probably would be trying to figure out why he was a rabbit, and what he was doing in these woods. But with a hot savage wolf panting on his cotton tail, all Nevin could think of was to run as fast as his four legs could take him.
His eyesight and hearing were remarkable and though he was racing at an amazing pace, Nevin felt in command of his wild gyrating through the woods. Even as he bounced left and right, he searched for a safe little hidey-hole to duck into.
There was a rocky hill ahead with loose shale, and Nevin scampered over the rocks with the alacrity of … well … a rabbit.
If he hadn’t been running for his life, he would have enjoyed some mirth at the panicked scrabbling sound of the wolf losing its footing in the shale. But he was too busy looking for an escape route.
He zipped over the top of the hill and beheld something that normally would cause him dismay.
High school.
Now though, it was the perfect refuge. He knew its nooks and crannies as well as any student …
… student … huh … but he’s a rabbit.
He shook his head in confusion and got back to the business of avoiding becoming Kibbles and Bits.
The sound of a wolf chuffing up the shale behind him was a timely reminder of his plight.
Without further thought, he scampered down the hill.
Unfortunately, while his light frame made him a better climber than the wolf, the wolf’s bulk and longer legs aided it on downhill sprints.
A looming shadow was the only warning Nevin received. Fortunately, it was the only one he needed. With finely honed rabbit reflexes, he darted to the right without loss of speed, and was rewarded by the buffet of the wolf blowing right past. The wolf snarled in frustration as it tried to halt its forward momentum.
Nevin angled downhill, trying to reduce the wolf’s advantage of gravity and momentum. He risked a glance and saw his pursuer was back in full chase. Perversely, Nevin slowed, letting the wolf close.
A wide dog smile grew across the wolf’s face when he saw his prey slowing. A wolf can outrun deer if given enough terrain, and the rabbit was obviously tiring.
Nevin was in fact getting winded. His path was diagonal to the building he had selected for his escape route. It was the gymnasium door, left open on this sunny day to let the smell of sweat socks blow out of the doors. Nevin knew his way around the gym.
The wolf pounded closer and Nevin slowed even more.
Suddenly, Nevin stopped and turned, raising onto his haunches. His furry chest heaved as tiny lungs pumped air furiously. He twitched his nose at the onrushing wolf and his whiskers whirred. The gym door yawned only about twenty yards away, but Nevin could see there was no way he could get there before the wolf.
With a look of triumph, the wolf raced towards him, intent on snatching him in his long jaws.
There are very few animals with the zero to full speed acceleration of a rabbit, and Nevin used every bit of this gift.
Like a little furry heat-seeking missile, he zipped directly at the wolf.
At the sight of its prey running at it, the wolf skidded to a stop in stunned amazement. Helpless jaws snapped as the rabbit dipped left and cut behind the wolf like an All-Pro halfback. The wolf spun around in confusion as Nevin sprinted … well … hopped … towards the gymnasium door. Before the wolf could recover, Nevin was inside.
Nevin tore through the gym, tiny claws clicking on the parquet floor. He cocked a long ear and could hear the wolf thunder into the building.
When he saw Nevin, the wolf veered sharply, golden eyes gleaming hotly in the empty room.
Nevin saw the room he wanted and bolted towards it. He could read the sign and if the wolf hadn’t been chasing him, he might have pondered the fact that a rabbit could read English. Or anything for that matter.
But this was an opportunity he couldn’t ignore.
The girl’s locker room.
Naked girls.
Boo-yah!
With his little brain clouded with visions of female nudity, he didn’t notice the wolf had taken a more direct route, and would intercept him before he made it to the room.
Fortunately, he was saved by the janitor.
Just before the wolf would have taken his head off, Nevin’s finely honed prey instincts kicked into gear and he zigged to the wolf’s zag. The wolf overshot and tried to brake on a floor that had just been cleaned, polished and shined by a janitor who took his job seriously.
If it hadn’t been for fur, the wolf would have had rug burns down his entire flank. As it was, he skidded for twenty feet, claws scratching frantically.
Nevin somehow kept his balance, bounded into the locker room, and looked around- eyes on both sides of his head – another weird thing. He was on the lookout for a wonderfully curvy, naked female human form. Again, he managed to ignore the fact that he was of an entirely different species.
No one. The locker room was deserted.
He blew out a rabbit sigh of disappointment just as the wolf lurched into the locker room.
Nevin whipped around and headed through the showers towards the other door. As he came around the corner of the lockers he sucked in the heady aroma of perfume and other girly scents… but wait … no time, no time! Must run!
He looked at the door going to the hallways.
Locked!
Well, maybe not locked. But it was closed, and he was way too short to reach the doorknob. That and the lack of opposable thumbs would defeat any attempts to unlock a door.
He was trapped.
The wolf’s feet clicked on the tile floor and Nevin hoped that the wolf was dumb enough to be fooled again.
Nevin bounded around the locker and encountered the wolf just as he was going through the shower. Water puddled on the floor from the end of the last class or athletic event. As Nevin rushed towards the hunter, the wolf stopped, braced both feet, and readied himself to gobble up a rabbit tidbit if he tried to trick it again.
Uh, oh. This wolf wasn’t dumb.
Crap.
At the last moment, Nevin tried to change his direction, but the tiles were too slick. He slipped onto his side and went into an uncontrolled slide. So instead of running into ready jaws, he slid sideways under a very surprised wolf who just managed to nip off a bit of rabbit tail.
Nevin scrambled to his feet and ran back towards the exit.
This time, he ran for the boy’s locker room, the wolf snapping at his heels.
Nevin had an escape route planned, but he hadn’t counted on closed doors. Strangely, until this moment, the question whether a door was open or closed hadn’t seemed like much of an obstacle.
The Coach’s office was closed. Nevin spared a moment for a rabbit curse. Then he dipped around a cart of basketballs and hopped towards the showers. The wolf was done being subtle and simply crashed through the cart, scattering Spaulding stuff all over the room.
The balls were bigger than Nevin, so he couldn’t risk getting hit. Zipping through and around the bounding balls, he headed towards the locker room conference officials used when officiating basketball and volleyball games. He sprinted into the room, only to find there was no exit.
There was
only one hiding place. A pile of dirty, smelly, sweat stained clothes.
The choice? Hide in the laundry and hope the stinky boy smell was so foul it would defeat the olfactory senses of a wolf?
Or?
He looked back at the laundry. A yellowish jock strap beckoned him with demon glee. From the open doorway, he could hear the sounds of an irritated wolf tripping over basketballs. He looked back at the laundry, and made his decision.
The wolf rounded the corner, panting with frustration. Its long wicked fangs gleamed yellow in the dim light.
Nevin the rabbit attacked.
Available in both ebook and traditional book
Norm’s books
https://www.normcowie.com
Bonk & Hedz ... a caveman ... and woman ... story
Bonk and his mate Hedz are just an ordinary caveman and cavewoman struggling with the everyday existence that comes when one's place in the food chain isn't all that clear. Then a little caveman shows up and convinces them a neighboring tribe is amassing weapons of mass destruction in preparation for an assault on their village, and everything changes...with hilarious results.
The Adventures of Guy
Somebody stole Seth's brain, not that he was using it anyway. To recover it, his brother Guy and college roommates Knob and Thurman must take on sinister forces using only their wits, knowledge of beer and an Amazon Warrior, whose breasts, like the Big Gulp, are too big for the cup holder. "Humorous fantasy at its best..." Armchair Interviews. Named a "Top Ten Novel of the Year" Pop Syndicate
The Next Adventures of Guy
Every "Quest" has to have a sorcerer, an elf, a warrior, special effects...and most of all, a sequel. So in the hilarious sequel to The Adventures of Guy, Guy and his college buddies, Knob and Thurman, take on a new quest...to save Earth from alien invasion. Winner of Preditors and Editors Readers Choice award for Best Sci-fi fantasy.
Fang Face
Erin has been bitten twice by a vampire, and is turning into an Undead with a taste for blood smoothies. Her friends and family decide they like her more as normal teen, so they gear up to protect her from the third bite that will turn her into a coffin sleeper forever. "I loved this book, fangs and all," New York Times best-selling author James Rollins "Fantastically funny," BookLoons "Don't miss this gem," Shane Gericke, national best-selling author. “...genuinely funny..." Taliesin - The Vampire's Lair. Five-starred by Amazon top reviewer Harriet Klausner.
WereWoof
Two teens-turned-weredogs use their newfound powers of Kibbles and Bits to battle turncoat werewolves and bloodsucking vampires and save their friend from the pointy toothed villains. A stand-alone sequel to Fang Face. "...clever one-liners..." Constance Hullander, author of Snowstorm. "Like a fun vacation..." Ophelia Julien, author of Saving Jake
The Guy'd Book ... why we leave the seat ... and other stuff
A tongue in cheek training manual for women so they can understand what makes guys guys. Why we leave the toilet seat up, why we will do anything on a dare ... essentially, what makes us tick. Fun stuff previously published in the Chicago Tribune, Cynic Magazine and other places. Brought to you in beautiful black and white by award-winning author Norm Cowie. "A hilarious piece of work..." Scott Doornbosch, author of Basic Black
And short Adventures of Guy stories in the anthologies:
The Heat of the Moment
Missing
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends