Local authorities have reported that customers at the Four-Eared Rabbit had to be treated for mild hypothermia after they overpowered kitchen staff and barricaded themselves in a freezer at the establishment’s famous five-star restaurant.
According to witnesses, the party of ten begin to act strangely shortly after they were seated at their table around 6pm, and fellow patrons soon summoned management when members of the group began to fashion "spears", made out of knives and other items from their and nearby tables.
An anonymous source tells HN that she'd actually seen members of the group "hovering about" in a restricted area of the club just a short time before she saw them again downstairs in the restaurant.
She said as she watched them begin to react to something no one else could see, it was obvious that the customers were beginning to hallucinate, after “accidentally” ingesting an unknown substance. A substance said to be something that was part of an exhibit currently held in one of the art installations on the third floor's gallery. How this mysterious substance, which was reportedly behind a glass case, made it’s way from the installation to the patrons is still unknown.
When asked why the area was restricted, the anonymous tipster replied, "No comment."
HN learned that after ingesting the substance, four members of the party became convinced they were being pursued by “the velociraptors from Jurassic Park” and ran screaming from the dining area to the kitchen where they fought their way into the industrial-size freezer, blocking the door with racks and shelving. The other members of their party took flight as well, scattering themselves throughout the venue.
When asked to speculate on what could have caused such a wild, immediate effect, an anonymous source in the paramedics told us he didn't liked to make statements on such things but it was "one of the most powerful reactions" he'd ever seen, and that they spent a full hour on the scene simply running around the sizeable venue trying to catch the affected, who'd become "crazy fast and absolutely sick at hide and seek".
Medics located two more of the afflicted in the venue's theater on the second floor, where staff had searched but unknowingly walked right by them. The patrons had donned costumes taken from the wardrobe dept. and slumped lifeless into a very convincing pile with some mannequins in a corner backstage, and they were mistaken for props. It was a phone call— the effervescent "oh my my my, oh my my my" ringtone from one of their phones— that shattered the silence of the empty theater and gave the couple away.
Still missing, the remaining four customers were giving their seekers a run for their money, but around 8pm authorities received a phone call from Infinite Petals, the flower shop several blocks away from the club, with the owner reporting "strange people crashing around" in their greenhouses.
GCP responded and within just a few minutes handed four wet, naked patrons over to paramedics to be treated for allergic reactions, cactus needles, and scratches from thorns.
When asked what she thought they'd been doing, the shop owner replied "Well, they took their clothes off and tried squatting on all the flowers. It's obvious, they thought they were bees."
"When that one fellow started towards my flowering catcus, butt-naked with his beans dangling everywhere, I took pity on him. That's when I turned the hose on them."
Golden City authorities are investigating, but HN can confirm that no one was seriously physically injured in the incident, no other patrons were effected, and after several hours in the hospital all ten of the affected were back to their normal selves.
The management of The Four-Eared Rabbit said they're cooperating with authorities and investigating how the patrons accessed a restricted area.
When asked if the club's owner was aware of the incident, the spokesperson stated "Of course. He's in constant contact with authorities and the management team. Vice-President Jeon apologizes that he couldn't meet in person with them at this time, as he's currently out of the country giving a speech at the United Nations."
This HN blogger met up with the anonymous medic after his shift for a drink at the famous bar, where he gave an animated play by play of the events of his day for the amused bartenders.
"I've never seen anything like it. Seriously, have you ever heard of anything like it??" he laughed.
The bartender just pointed to the iconic rabbit logo on his staff tee and smiled. "All the time."
