[It] is a relatively stress-free method of travel. [...] You only have to come to terms with hiding from people whose job it is to find you and arrest you, but would prefer to beat the [hraka] out of you and leave you stranded 100 km from anywhere.
-Ard Arvin, Freight Across Canada (buildering dot net slash freight)
Changing the temperature of the refrigerated compartment was rather easy for the rabbits. Vilthuril accidentally turned a dial on the wall while jumping on top of a crate full of apples, raising the temperature of the compartment to a more acceptable level in the process.
A few days later, while they were half-asleep, a bright light shone from the back of the room. The compartment was kept dark to save electricity, so whenever someone entered it, the light from the room beyond flooded inside.
This was the first time since the rabbits' arrival that the compartment had been opened. They were both awake in a fraction of a second and bolted towards a small hiding spot they had discovered between a few crates. The humans, meanwhile, slowly walked around the compartment. Each had a flashlight in one hand and a gun in the other. They were searching for stowaways.
-We must get these humans out of here, they will kill us if they find us, warned Vilthuril.
-You're right about that. Don't worry, I have a plan. Follow me, said Fiver.
They both sneaked out of their hiding spot and went to the other end of the room, where cardboard milk cartons were stored. As quietly as possible, they began to chew them. After a few cartons had been destroyed, the entire tower was extremely unbalanced and collapsed in a frightful noise.
All the humans pointed their flashlights towards the scene of the accident. They slowly approached it, their guns in their hands, ready to shoot any intruder they may find. One of them slowly brushed away a few cartons to see if anything was underneath, but only found more cartons.
Suddenly, they heard yet another noise, from the opposite end of the room. The rabbits had just knocked down a shelf full of raw meat. The entire crew ran there, until one of them decided that they split up. Each worker was to inspect one batch of crates and blink their flashlight if they found anything. This way, there would be no place where the stowaways could hide. Seeing this, the rabbits went tharn.
-Don't worry, Fiver, you did your best, it almost worked.
-We must not despair, Vilthuril.
Despite what he had said, Fiver still had little hope that they would be all right.
A few minutes later, one worker pointed his flashlight straight at both rabbits. He stared at them, slightly amused. He was a disgruntled employee, unhappy about his low-paying job searching for stowaways. Besides, he only got a bonus if he found a human, his contract said nothing about rabbits.
-Have a nice trip, he whispered.
He then proceeded to another batch of containers.
-What just happened? questioned Vilthuril. This human saw us, there's no doubt about that. But he left us alone! Why?
-Humans are one of those things nobody must try to understand, replied Fiver. Either way, they will leave and they won't come back. We should be safe until we reach the other side of the Big Water.
-You mean...there's something beyond it?
-I don't know. We'll find out when we get there.
A few minutes later, the employees had finished patrolling the compartment. While all these collapses were suspicious, there were clearly no stowaways in the compartment. They therefore left the compartment to inspect another one. As Fiver had predicted, they did not go back inside for the rest of the trip.