The Serpent Bites
"Hazel!" Hazel heard Campion shout his name, felt the force of his body against him as he made to barge him out of the line of danger, as the slither thing prepared to launch another attack. Hazel felt a sudden sharp pain in his front paw, a searing heat spreading up the line of his leg, and as he landed, Campion close beside, a protective paw shielding him, it took him a moment to finally realise what had just happened.
"Run!" He heard an oblivious Campion give the order, and, struggling to his feet – hot blood now seeping from the deep puncture wound in his paw and congealing in his think, brown fur – he ran as fast as his three good legs could carry him, trying to put some of the weight down on his front injured paw at intervals. He recoiled almost immediately with the agony this brought him.
"Campion…" He finally breathed when he didn't think he could carry on much longer, glancing behind them momentarily to check that the monster wasn't still on their trail. "I think we've lost him!"
Campion stopped abruptly, panting slightly as he turned to face Hazel.
"For now!" He sighed, before he noticed the trail of blood, pooling finally at Hazel's injured paw, in small but suggestive amounts.
"Hazel, you're bleeding!" He remarked with surprise and an evident degree of concern. "Did it bite you?"
"I think that slither thing must have quite an impressive array of sharp teeth." Hazel explained weakly, beginning to lick at the wound gently as Campion made his way over. Each new stroke of his tongue against the open wound made him flinch and recoil with a fresh and sudden rush of pain, and Hazel finally flopped to the ground, exhausted.
"We can't stay here Hazel!" Campion remarked with this, although not unsympathetically, taking one look at the wound and attempting to clean it carefully where Hazel had left off. "If it's anything like the other Elil, it will sense the blood, follow the trail. Can you walk?"
"Just about…" Hazel replied, as he struggled weakly to his feet, and felt the bulk of Campion's frame press up alongside him.
"Rest alongside me." Campion offered, and Hazel felt the other Rabbit begin to move, steering and guiding his wounded frame as he went.
"Thank you." Hazel sighed.
The pair moved slowly but made steady progress through the maze of strange trees and plants, Campion eyeing Hazel cautiously with every turn. Despite having regained much of his strength, he himself had still not completely recovered from the earlier hawk attack, and they both realised that one injured Rabbit was vulnerable enough to the Elil, two meant that they were both now a sitting target for attack.
"Rest here!" Campion finally instructed, taking a closer look at the wound as Hazel lay down gratefully. "The bleeding seems to have slowed for now, so we should be safe for a while. I'll keep a look out anyway… how are you doing?"
"I'm a little tired." Hazel remarked with this, "But you're not looking too good yourself Campion… I guess we could both say that we've seen better days."
"I guess you could say that." Campion sighed. "Some Elil bites can be nasty though Hazel," He explained, "You'll be off that paw for at least the next few days if you've got any sense… and you seem like a sensible Rabbit. I can see that Bigwig thinks very highly of you… they all do, and in my experience there can only be two reasons for a warren to respect their chief. Why didn't you tell me?"
"It seemed irrelevant at the time," Hazel responded. "We were about to become that things Silflay."
"Well, when you put it like that." Campion agreed.
"ARGH!" Hazel suddenly cried out, making Campion start as he watched the other Rabbit trying to struggle to his feet before slumping to the ground again, eyeing his injured paw tentatively. "Well, even if the slither thing does come back, I'll be as good as useless." He sighed in his frustration, resting his head against the cold, hard floor. "An easy meal!"
"Rest now!" Campion insisted. "Get your strength back… you'll need it if we have to run again… three legs won't carry you as swiftly as four Hazel."
"Thank you Campion." Hazel sighed, his eyes already beginning to close with evident exhaustion. "Maybe a little rest would do me some good."
With this Campion watched him drift into a somewhat troubled sleep, before taking a closer look at the wound. It was bad, possibly the worst he'd seen in a long time… maybe even broken, although he doubted that, but it was not life threatening… not unless the slither thing came back for a second round. He didn't fancy Hazel's chances if they were forced to run again, but maybe a head start could buy them enough time to get away.
This is mind, and although still tired himself, Campion battled against his own desire for sleep for the remainder of the evening, keeping a watchful eye over Hazel and another out for any danger which may present itself if the slither thing returned.
When Hazel finally awoke again a few hours later however he was sore, although the mornings sun was already making its way low in the sky outside… and with it daylight brought them renewed hope of escape.
"I've brought you Silflay." Campion explained, as he dropped the meal at Hazel's feet… as much Flayrah as one Rabbit could carry.
"Thank you Campion." Hazel tried to stand, as he responded gratefully, attempting to put his injured paw to the ground, placing his weight upon all four, and withdrawing it immediately as the contact sent a wave of pain worse than before, shooting up the length of his leg. It was clear that the few hours sleep which Campion's watchful stance had brought him had done little to aid the pain, nor the general condition of the wound, as Hazel swayed unsteadily upon his three remaining good limbs.
"Take it easy Hazel." Campion advised, as the other Rabbit finally steadied himself. "Eat first! You should rest for now, get your strength back!"
"I… can't!" He grimaced. "We've got to find a way out of here!"
"We can't keep running Hazel!" Campion breathed, "We're exhausted!"
"Well we can hardly fight the slither thing if it comes back either!" Hazel pointed out.
Campion observed Hazel's wounded paw with this, swollen and still oozing blood, it would take many moons for it to heal, time which Campion wasn't sure, if they remained here, they even had. He finally nodded.
"Fine." He agreed, as he helped Hazel to his feet. "But eat first, and take it easy!"
Suddenly however as Hazel settled to eat the pile of unfamiliar leaves and shoots Campion had brought him he heard a noise from above them and craned his neck to take a look. Perched a few feet above their heads were two birds, one green, one red… Hazel had spoken with them earlier that previous evening, and hadn't much cared for their unhelpful attitude. Even so he realised that they may very well hold the only key to their escape.
Thankfully Campion also realised Hazel's game plan, it was going to take all of their wit and cunning to outsmart the birds, a battle of wills between the two animals, but they were soon shown to an opening in the great structures wall, packed tight with cloth… a strange man-made material.
Hazel tried to pull it free… although with waning strength and still in pain it was without much success, it wouldn't budge. Campion joined in the struggle, before Fiver suddenly appeared before them on the opposite side of the glass wall, closely followed by the others; Bigwig, Hawkbit, and Dandelion.
"Help us! Hurry!" Hazel cried, as Bigwig and Hawkbit immediately began tugging at the cloth from their side of the structure, when Fiver's eyes were suddenly drawn just beyond the two Rabbit's present position.
"The monster!" He exclaimed, as Hazel and Campion turned to find themselves staring straight in the face of the slither thing.
"I'll lead him off and circle back!" Hazel explained.
"But you won't make it!" Campion exclaimed, shocked that Hazel had even suggested such a move in his condition. "With your paw, there's no way you can outrun that thing Hazel…"
"And you're still exhausted yourself Campion, you wouldn't stand anymore chance then me against that thing. You know that!"
"But Hazel…"
"Just be ready to run as soon as you manage to get that gap cleared!" Hazel instructed. "We won't have a second chance if that thing manages to catch up with me…", and with that he turned, and was gone… the slither thing immediately fast on his trail.
Campion watched him go, before turning back to their only escape route, as he, Bigwig and Hawkbit struggled to dislodge the rag of cloth from the hole in the wall. It was by no means an easy task, but finally, with one final tug, and several long minutes of tiring labour, Bigwig managed to dislodge it, landing heavily upon the soft grass.
"Come on Campion, don't dally around!" He called, noticing the other Rabbit hesitate.
"Not without Hazel!" Campion protested however. Although it was at that moment that Hazel suddenly re-appeared, exhausted, and limping badly. His injured paw had already started bleeding again, and the slither thing was still in pursuit.
"Go, go!" He shouted, and Campion hastily squeezed through the gap in the glass wall, closely followed by Hazel, who lay in an exhausted heap at their feet, panting as he struggled to catch his breath.
The slither thing sat, hissing at the fresh opening in the wall for a moment, before turning back, and heading back inside… the birds, although generally unhelpful, had explained to Hazel earlier in the evening that the creature didn't like the cold, and they had been right.
Fiver, noticing the injury, carefully examined Hazel's paw. "This is bad." He concluded after a moment. "You'll need to rest, and be off it for a fare few days I'm afraid!" The flesh around the area of the opening of the wound was already beginning to swell when Kehaar appeared to warn them of the approach of Vervain and the Efrafan patrol.
"We got out, the truce is over." Hazel spoke weakly, explaining to Campion. Pitying the fact that there had been little time for rest, and chance to take things easy now they had escaped. In the previous few hours he had spent with Campion he had really began to believe that there was something different about the other Rabbit.
"Oh I'm too tired to fight today!" Campion sighed.
"I'm not!" Bigwig warned, or was he actually eager for a fight? Campion couldn't be sure.
The loyal, grey Rabbit turned to Hazel. "Whatever happened in there," He said, "just remember Hazel, he's the enemy!"
"You're not like the others Campion! I know you're not!" Hazel sighed, "I've seen a different side to Efrafa today, a possible new Efrafa. You could be a part of that… in there, I asked you, who would save Efrafa from Woundwart… you didn't answer?"
"You ask too many questions Hazel… just you make sure to take good care of that paw now." Campion replied.
"You look after yourself too Campion." Hazel sighed, before, closely supported by Bigwig and Fiver, he limped away without another word, in pursuit of Dandelion and Hawkbit.
Campion prepared to face Vervain, whilst deep in the hearts of both Rabbit's they realised that the truce had given rise to a new found affinity between them.
Campion still deeply worried for Hazel, and deep down he knew that he was right, a storm was brewing, and soon he would have to choose whose side he was really on… and somehow Campion suspected that his life was never going to be quite the same again.