Chapter Thirty – Seven

There for a Reason

Ivy, Campion and Blackberry had started the long trek home as soon as Ivy was up to it.

It seemed like an eternity of time, it was all a haze of rain and fog as they stumbled in and out of tiredness again and again.

Ivy had been very quiet; her mind was on Fiver, constantly worrying.

“Bigwig and the others are near,” Campion said hopefully. “We might be able to rest up for a while there, with safety in numbers.”

Ivy and Blackberry just nodded tiredly and struggled to start forward again in the swampy ground.

They broke through a patch of brambles to see their friends.

“Yew!” Campion said in relief.” “Where are the rest?”

“Trying to sleep,” Yew answered, trying to hide his surprise at seeing them.

“The water swept the muddy bank away,” Blackberry explained, blinking up through the rain at Yew.

“I should have known,” Yew said jokingly.

He turned and made his way with difficulty through the damp bushes behind him.

The group weren’t asleep, the thunder of the rain had insured that.

“Hey there,” Bigwig smiled up at them.

“We were real worried there for a while,” Hawkbit stood up excitedly.

“Just because they are alive does not mean everything is forgiven and forgotten,” Bigwig snapped as the three returning rabbits made themselves as comfortable as possible.

“Look Bigwig let’s leave this until we have the energy,” Campion said reasonably.

“Wait, where’s Fiver?” Primrose interrupted.

“He didn’t?” Dandelion started.

“No!” Campion cut in.

“He, well he…… wanted to be on his own for a while,” Ivy said hesitantly.

“You mean he cracked?” Hawkbit asked incredulously.

Dandelion stepped on his foot, hard.

“Ouch!” Hawkbit exclaimed.

“He is coming home though?” Primrose asked gently.

“Yes of course,” Campion said quickly.

Blackavar came up quickly from the back of the huddle of soaked rabbits.

“It’s Clover, I think she is sick,” He said worriedly.

“What?” Hawkbit rushed.

“She is shivering real badly and she doesn’t understand anything I say, she just keeps moaning.”

“That’s it, we are going home!” Hawkbit looked around for the direction of the warren.

Bigwig actually agreed with Hawkbit, “Whoever is fit to go, come.”

“What about the rest?” Campion said half angrily.

“What about them?”

“We need a reasonably amount of rabbits to stay for safety and anyway you know half of us aren’t up to it!”

“What do you suggest, let Clover die?” Hawkbit exclaimed.

“No one said anything about dying,” Blackberry butted in.

“At least let half the warren remain here,” Blackavar said calmly to Bigwig.

Bigwig scanned their faces in annoyance, “Okay, fine!”

“We aren’t going?” Hawkbit cried out.

“If you were listening Hawkbit, we agreed that we would split up, “Bigwig rolled his eyes.

“Let’s go then!”

“Try and make it home as soon as,” Bigwig whispered to Campion. “Before someone else gets sick.”

Campion agreed quietly and lay down. It would have been worthwhile to have a sentry but Campion didn’t have it in him to do it or to rouse any others for it.

Each rabbit thought the other was asleep, in truth their weary eyes were wide open and watching cautiously for any signal of danger.

 “They should have been home by now, with or without the does,” Hazel fretted.

Shadow calmly watched him pacing, “Hazel they are on their way home now.”

“You don’t know that,” Hazel stopped pacing, and looked at him doubtfully.

“They are probably just tired and coming home slowly.” Shadow replied patiently. “Now stop walking around on that leg, you’ll make it worse.

Hazel resignedly went over to his bed of soft grass and collapsed finally relieving the sharp pain in his leg.

“What if someone is injured? I’ll feel responsible since I wasn’t able to lead them, instead I’m lying here crippled!”

Shadow continued in his constant monotone designed to keep Hazel sane. “Bigwig is a good leader, Campion is a good tracker and Fiver can see the future, really stop worrying. You have an Owsla worthy of El – Ahrairah’s!” 

Hazel attempted to change the subject to distract himself from worry, “Is it still raining out there?”

“Yeah and will be for a while too.”

“First a heat wave, now a flood, next the end of the world judging by the way the weather is treating us!”

“It’s man, he is doing this to the climate, messing all of Mother Nature’s routines up,” Shadow said simply.

“I’m not doing a very good job of not being anxious am I?” Hazel sighed to himself.

“If you are so concerned just send Keharr on an aerial scout.”

“He and Hannah wouldn’t thank me for that,” Hazel murmured to himself. “I don’t know of any beast that would willingly stay out on that, even the water creatures, have you realised how cold it is out there?”

“As you say,” Shadow replied, complying.

He got up to leave the burrow, before Hazel quickly halted him.

“Sorry, Shadow? Can you please tell the junior owsla that their patrols are not needed tonight?”

“Yes Hazel.”

Shadow slid gracefully and silently up the long tunnels as if his paws were only skimming over the earth as they would if in great speed.

He pulled himself into an upright stature and felt the harsh wind bring the rain more directly to his fur.

Shadow didn’t flinch or close his eyes against the stinging downpour as he started off into the darkness blindly as there were no stars or moon to light up his way.

Campion had never felt so downright miserable as the rain rushed down his back onto the sodden ground, and he couldn’t even probably open his eye for fear of the sting of a thousand bees.

The smell of the wet greenery was so strong in his nose it was almost unbearable and added to his discomfort.

Blackberry and Ivy were both huddled up in an attempt to warm themselves and most of the group had done the same.

“Blackberry,” Campion whispered.

“Hmm?” She turned her head with tiredness.

“I have to get whoever I can home, there are some than can go and some that can’t and we could all get sick.”

“We could all do it,” Blackberry said determinedly.

“Are you sure?” Campion look doubtfully at the other does and most of the bucks. “I wouldn’t leave anyone, but I would send you all on yourselves.”

“We have all been through worse together.”

“Okay then, help me gather them up will you?”

“Leaving? How far from home are we anyway?” Primrose asked when Blackberry roused her.

“We are still in the wood, at least we know what direction to go,” Campion encouraged.

“Do we?” Hawkbit asked in genuine surprise.

“Yes,” Campion replied, pivoting to look behind him.“We will continue in this direction.”

It wasn’t long until everyone was up and waiting to be off, grateful that they didn’t have to wait anymore.

“Campion, problem,” Yew called out to the front of the line.

“What is it?” Campion answered hesitantly, not sure he really wanted to know.

“Vervain,” Yew said, sighing.

Campion went over to Vervain and growled, “Vervain? Move.”

“No!” Vervain said bravely. “I do not want to go on; I’m tired, cold and scared.”

Vervain was quivering quite violently, whether from fear or cold Campion could not tell.

“Scared of what?” Campion asked disbelievingly.

Vervain’s gaze momentarily switched to over Campion’s shoulder into the bushes beyond.

“Am… what?”

“I said we are going and so are you,” Campion said impatiently.

“Just stay, all of you for another while, or else just leave me here alone.”

“As much as that wouldn’t displease me, it’s my duty to get every one of you home safe,” Campion said, grinding his teeth.

When Vervain didn’t reply, Campion snarled and he jumped.

“Finally a suitable reaction!”

“I wasn’t jumping at you…… it was behind you.”

Campion narrowed his eyes at Vervain and peered slightly over his shoulder trying to not act worried.

After being satisfied that an army wasn’t following them, Campion urged the band on without any further qualms.

The two sad eyes peeked from under the shrub.

Dogwood watched them leave in pain, how he wished to lead a life that they did, to be free to do one’s own pleasing and to have everyone together as equals, well maybe except Vervain judging by the way he was being treated.

He decided to go back before he was missed, with a heavy heart he turned and headed for home.

Shadow knew where they where and where it was, at the glade, exactly 2.2 km from the bottom of the down and 800m to the right of the centre line of the forest.

He knew what was going to happen, he closed his eyes lids and saw in his mind’s eye what he must do, what he was here to do.

 “Campion!” Ivy hissed.

“What now?” Campion asked annoyed.

“We definitely heard something behind us.”

“They wouldn’t follow us in this weather surely?” Campion called back.

Deciding he had better make sure he went down to the rear of the band, and listened carefully to the thunder of the rain.

His eyes shot to the surrounding bushes and gave him an uneasy feeling of dread.

“Everyone, give it everything you’ve got to get home quick.”

They widened their eyes in fear at Campion’s worried tone and a few started to go tharn.

“Strawberry! Vervain, keep moving!” Campion shouted as he rushed to the head of the rabbits.

Campion stopped in his tracks as a great number of enemy rabbits prowled around them in a circle.

Campion knew they couldn’t fight, since Bigwig had taken half of them earlier. They just remained a small, unthreatening band.

“You know what we are here for,” The brown buck they had spoken to earlier laughed.

“So do you,” Campion looked him in the eye.

“Good we have agreed on something.”

There was silence as they two bucks eyed each other up, until he spoke calmly to Blackberry and Ivy.

“Dogwood and Sapling are angry that you two had left.”

Campion glanced quickly at them in surprise then focused his gaze back at the enemy.

“We will be taking them back then, and of course we don’t need to bring the rest of you for obvious reasons.”

“I don’t think…” Campion began.

A furious growl erupted as a jet black fox flew over the Watership Down rabbits and landed in front of the Shadowsky rabbits.

His red eyes seemed to glow hungrily in the dark.

In seconds every rabbit in the clearing had scattered, though the fox did not attack, he seemed to be in it for the chase with the Shadowsky rabbits.

Blackberry and Ivy gasped for air as they rejoined their friends at the edge of the wood,” That….. was… the longest run ever.”

“We should be far enough away now to be safe,” Campion replied, his legs trembling with exhaustion.

“Can we rest here?” Primrose asked hopefully.

“No,” Campion said firmly. “We are at the bottom of the down see? We can make it home.”

The orange glow of dawn struggled to pierce through the overcast sky as the rabbits forced themselves to the top, to home.