joeislove's 100-word story for August 25, 2025

joeislove wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on August 25, 2025. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

Jackelopes aren't mythical creatures, you know. The stories came from people spotting jackrabbits in the wild that are infected with the Shope papilloma virus. It causes these weird growths to appear on their faces and a lot of times they end up looking like stubby little antlers. So you can imagine how the story got started. Ranchers, already a little loopy from the mescaline they accidentally ingested from using that cactus to add a little variety to their nightly beans ration. Anyway, I'm just trying to raise awareness, you know? About sick rabbits, but also about eating the wrong cactus.

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