{"sf1_id":1495382,"sf2_id":"k1V9rrGn","title":"The Leaves of Fall Act 2: Fear the Nobodies (Part 6)","author":"Oliver_Hart","words":1617,"posted_at":"2019-09-30T22:52:27.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Alternate Reality","Anon","Boy","Brother","Bunny","Classroom","Couple","Emo","Fight","Girl","Green text","Greentext","HMOFA","Halloween","Heterosexual","High School","Hmofa/","Human","Kissing","Plot Development","Rabbit","Siblings","Slow burn","Young Romance","anthro/human"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1495382-the-leaves-of-fall-act-2-fear-the-nobodies-part-6","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/k1V9rrGn","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/ce/7c/ce7c3e7f-2c28-4d9f-ba63-dbad11c6f1f9","description":"You've never really 'fit in' with the heavily divided Ranchview High School crowd. Jock, Goth, Prep, Cheerleader, Nerd... you were never any of these. But as Halloween approaches, strange things start happening, and a dark ritual begins with the finding of a curious red book. It's a race against time for you and your friends to stop a group of students from ushering in an age of darkness, and to also figure out just what the hell is wrong with that rabbit.  \n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  \n  \nAbout this version: originally, The Leaves of Fall was split into two pastebins to compensate for the length of the story. Given that pastebin has chosen to censor this story for ambiguous reasons, it will forever be stored here and on AO3. This new version contains spelling, grammar and content fixes. Please understand that the content is all the same as the earlier versions minus some sentences being changed and fixed up. I cannot stress this enough: no new content has been added. It's my hope that this is a cleaner, easier-to-read version of the story.  \n  \nCover: [https://imgur.com/a/vZS4Q](https://imgur.com/a/vZS4Q)  \nSam (drawn by Akella of /hmofa/) [https://imgur.com/a/nk3t1wT](https://imgur.com/a/nk3t1wT)  \nFan art collection: [https://imgur.com/a/SCCSIQv](https://imgur.com/a/SCCSIQv)  \nAccompanying playlist (WIP): [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9aXlzDRA49QKxgYsOV2JuDd410\\_nI-0J](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9aXlzDRA49QKxgYsOV2JuDd410_nI-0J)  \nAlternative link: [https://www.sofurry.com/view/1479078](https://www.sofurry.com/view/1479078)  \nTotal word count: 147,552 words","content":"\\\u003eSam let’s out a panicked squeak, both his hands on the handle of the bat  \n\\\u003eHe swipes it to the right…  \n\\\u003e… Catching his dad on the wrists with a louder-than-you-could-believe \\*thunk\\*  \n\\\u003eYour jaw unhinges as you see Sam, his eyes glued shut, his face twisted up in panic, waving the bat from side-to-side like an over-sized fan  \n\\\u003eAnd his dad — a look of shock plastered across his aged face — looks at his knuckles, which glow red with pain  \n\\\u003eYou shake the scene from your head and focus back on the situation  \n\\\u003eThere’ll be time to digest Sam’s actions later  \n\\\u003eNow is the time to run  \n“SAM!” You shout, grabbing him by the ears  \n\\\u003eYou tug hard and he falls backwards  \n\\\u003eWith a tremendous effort, you try to whip him back towards the window  \n\\\u003eIt doesn’t work, but he gets the message  \n\\\u003eIn half a second, Sam’s already crawled out the window, his poofy tail disappearing over the ledge  \n\\\u003eYou hear him crash into the dirt below  \n\\\u003eHe’s safe  \n\\\u003eAnd that’s all that matters-  \n\\\u003e-And then he does something you wish, for the rest of your life, he wouldn’t have done  \n“A-A-A-Anon!” He cries  \n  \n\\\u003eYour heart hurls itself against your ribcage  \n\\\u003eYou can see the look of realization on his dad’s face  \n\\\u003eIt goes from pure shock, to glowing rage  \n\\\u003e”SO YOU LIED ABOUT YOUR NAME?” Sam’s dad’s face twists into a horrible smile. “But you fucked up. Because now I know.”  \n“Sammmmm,” you call behind you. “Go find Comrade Alexi…” You try to remain calm and take a small step backwards, towards the window  \n\\\u003eHe starts laughing. Real, painful, rib sucking, hateful laughter  \n\\\u003e”I never wanted to kill a man like I want to kill you, man!” The words explode from his mouth in a spray of spittle and whiskey heat  \n\\\u003eHe lunges forward, his powerful legs exploding underneath him  \n\\\u003eHe covers the distance fast, even for his inebriation…  \n\\\u003e… Which you suspect is the only reason you’re able to jump back in time  \n\\\u003eYour hands grope behind you, finding the ledge  \n\\\u003eYour brush up against the hard surface  \n\\\u003eYou don’t look  \n\\\u003eYou throw your weight behind you, tumbling headfirst and backwards out the window  \n\\\u003eYour eyes shut as the ground rushes up to meet you-  \n\\\u003eBut you never feel the ground  \n\\\u003eInstead you feel a bone-crushing vise around your ankles  \n\\\u003eYou cry out in pain and look up to see a furry hand clutching your ankle, and Sam’s dad halfway out the window himself, straining to hold on to you  \n\\\u003e”Get back here, you coward!” He grunts  \n\\\u003eHis other hand shoots around your ankle, and you can feel his unkempt nails biting into your skin  \n\\\u003e”You fucking window jumping co-“  \n\\\u003eYour other foot seems to have something to say to that little statement  \n\\\u003eWithout your mind’s consent, your other leg smashes into the rabbit’s face  \n\\\u003eAnd you drop like a stone into the dirt and dry grass  \n\\\u003eYou land on your back with a loud ka-thump, staring up Sam’s dad as he peers out the window  \n\\\u003eHis shape disappears as he bolts for the front  \n\\\u003eSam is still there, gawking at the spectacle of you kicking his dad in the face  \n\\\u003eThe only thing you can think of is escape  \n\\\u003eYou’re on your feet in the space between heartbeats  \n\\\u003eBut Sam won’t move  \n\\\u003eHis whole body is locked up  \n\\\u003eUseless rabbit-loaf!  \n\\\u003eYou grab his tender wrists, squeeze hard, and break into what amounts your version of a sprint  \n\\\u003eSam tails behind you, legs stumbling and struggling to gain footing  \n\\\u003eHe wraps the bat in his hoodie and presses them against his chest  \n”ALEXI!” You scream, throat scalded and hoarse  \n”ALEXI GET TO THE CAR!”  \n\\\u003eYou look behind you to see Alex in a dead sprint, powerful legs pumping, arms wheeling as his lanky body brings itself closer to you with each stride  \n\\\u003eAnd behind him  \n\\\u003eA pair of crooked, chestnut brown rabbit ears, trailing in the wind, the sound of rabbit-feet pounding into the loose Earth  \n\\\u003eA train whistle blows somewhere  \n\\\u003eThe rustbucket is so close  \n\\\u003eSam finally finds his footing and keeps up with you easier than before, though he still lags, attached only by your solid grip on his soft, fuzzy wrists  \n\\\u003eThe contrast is something to marveled at, but now is not the time  \n\\\u003eBut you can't afford to carry his weight right now  \n\\\u003eYou let go of Sam and break for the door, keys in hand  \n\\\u003eIt feels like it takes forever for the lock to go, but when it does, you throw yourself into the seat, jam the keys into the ignition, and twist like your life depended on it  \n\\\u003eSam is next  \n\\\u003eYou grab him by his t-shirt and tug hard  \n\\\u003eHe slams painfully against the open door, but gets the hint  \n\\\u003eYour body clearly understands nothing but survival  \n\\\u003eYou pull the little rabbit on top of you and shift into reverse, the bunny’s weight against your legs, his feet blocking your view of Alex  \n\\\u003eAlex, GOD DAMNIT!  \n\\\u003eAlex is in a dead sprint, but Sam’s dad is hot on his heels  \n\\\u003e”ANON!” He screams  \n\\\u003e”DRIVE!”  \n\\\u003eSam is still trying to sit up  \n\\\u003eYour hands fly onto the wheel, but your foot hovers over the pedal  \n\\\u003eYou can’t just leave him, can you?  \n\\\u003eThe gap between Alex, Sam’s dad and the car becomes even smaller, and the voice in your head tells you to leave now to make sure you can get away  \n\\\u003eSam throws his bat and hoodie into the back, his legs now jutting out the door  \n\\\u003eYou need to move  \n\\\u003eYour feet press down on the accelerator  \n\\\u003eYOU NEED TO MOVE!  \n“ALEX!” You cry  \n\\\u003eBut you don’t need to say anything else  \n\\\u003eBecause he does exactly what you’d expect   \n\\\u003eAlex bounds forward, and with a tremendous leap, he throws himself on top of your car…  \n\\\u003e… Right as a pair of angry hands snaps at the empty space where he used to be  \n\\\u003eThat’s all the excuse you ne-  \n\\\u003eSam’s dad smashes into the hood of the car, his mighty stomp crumpling the metal where he lands  \n\\\u003eFUCKING RABBITS! GOD DAMNIT!  \n\\\u003eThat's a $1,000 repair job!  \n\\\u003eYou stomp down on the accelerator  \n\\\u003eYour car peels off, but the rabbit remains attached to your hood, holding on to the open door frame—  \n\\\u003eReaching for Sam  \n  \n\\\u003eSam screams and grabs onto your leg as his father tries to pull him from your moving car  \n\\\u003eJesus fucking Christ!  \n\\\u003eSam’s father is clearly not intimidated when you hit 25 miles-per-hour  \n\\\u003eIn fact, his face only grows more strained — excited even  \n\\\u003eHis eyes split wide even as his floppy ears begin to trail behind him like streamers  \n\\\u003eYou can feel Sam slipping from your lap  \n\\\u003eYou anchor him by grabbing his wrist, being sure to keep one hand on the wheel  \n\\\u003eAlex, who is still on the roof, flattens himself against the top hood, fingers dug in to the rails where your top rack storage would go  \n\\\u003eHe’s fairly secure… you hope  \n\\\u003eSam, however, is already halfway out the door, and no matter how fast you go, Sam’s dad only seems to get closer to raking his son off your lap and onto the street  \n\\\u003eUnless  \n\\\u003eYou recall driving across town  \n\\\u003eHow the rustbucket is so top heavy   \n\\\u003eYou grit your teeth  \n\\\u003eSummon a deep breath  \n\\\u003eBlock out Sam’s screams  \n\\\u003eAnd crank the wheel to the right as hard as it’ll go  \n\\\u003eThe car squeals in protest, its rubber wheels screeching as you throw the ol’ girl into a tight spin  \n\\\u003eSam’s dad goes tumbling off the car hood and onto the raw pavement  \n\\\u003eYou slam on the breaks, and Alex rolls forward onto the hood of the car as well with a loud metal \\*thunk\\*  \n\u0026nbsp;\\\u003eHe recovers quickly and dives in to the back seat, shouting something about your ass and how he’s going to kick it  \n\\\u003eBut you can’t take your eyes off Sam’s dad  \n\\\u003eHe’s motionless in the road, his body splayed out like a discarded doll  \n\\\u003eOh god  \n\\\u003eOh god  \n\\\u003eHe’s dead…  \n\\\u003eSam squirms in your lap, lifting his head from where he’d buried it in your leg  \n\\\u003e”I-I-I-Is he gone?” he stammers  \n\\\u003eYou don’ know what to say  \n\\\u003e’Yeah dude I just killed your fucking dad’ might sufice  \n  \n\\\u003eHow do you even broach this? Do you need to call the polic-  \n\\\u003eWait  \n\\\u003eNo  \n\\\u003eYou see his body start to move, slow and dazed from the impact  \n\\\u003eWith a great effort he sits up  \n\\\u003eSmeared with blood and gravel, his face is set in a hard line, all sharp angles carved out of his fine bones  \n\\\u003eThere’s no shock there, no pain  \n\\\u003eHe levels his gaze at the front of your car, squinting from the blood that trickles into his eyes  \n\\\u003eHis amber eyes lock with yours  \n\\\u003eAnd suddenly you’re a little kid again; weak; afraid; scared  \n\\\u003eBut not alone  \n\\\u003eCalmly you bend Sam’s legs,  \n\\\u003eYou turn the car around, breaking his dad’s steady gaze  \n\\\u003eThat invisible conversation you’ve had for what felt like hours  \n\\\u003eAll the language you can make out of looks  \n\\\u003eIn the rearview mirror you can see Sam’s dad stand up on two unsteady feet and glare down the dark street at you, his eyes flashing in your rear lights like angry candles  \n\\\u003eSam sits up and looks behind the headrest, fingers anxiously dug in to the old and shitty fabric…  \n\\\u003e… And begins to shake when he sees that his dad is up on his feet  \n\\\u003eYou calmly press down on the accelerator and point the car deeper into town   \n\\\u003eYou have a long road ahead out of the slums  \n\\\u003eNo turns  \n\\\u003eIn the distance a train rolls on","series":{"name":"The Leaves of Fall","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1493085-the-leaves-of-fall-act-2-fear-the-nobodies-part-5.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1497975-the-leaves-of-fall-act-2-fear-the-nobodies-part-7.json"}}