Alan stretched and yawned as he sat up, the wonderful scent of the morning dew filling his nostrils. His fire had gone out during the night, but luckily, no elil had disturbed them. After getting himself a drink of water from the river and some blackberries for breakfast, he sat down to plan his next step.
Figuring it would be best to continue on to their original destination, rather than going round in circles through unfamiliar territory looking for their companions, he decided to press on with Pipkin and hopefully rendezvous with the others on Watership Down. He gently shook the dwarf rabbit awake.
"Rise and shine, laddie! We've got to get moving."
Leaving his empty oxygen bottle hanging from a tree to mark their starting point, they set off southwards, Alan using his watch and the position of the sun to point the way. As they walked along through the woods, he kept Pipkin entertained with stories about his world, while his little friend kept pestering him with questions about the 'magical human world'. Despite the young rabbit's endless and rather irritating curiosity, Alan was beginning to grow very fond of him, feeling a growing fatherly affection towards him. In a way, this little tyke reminded him of his daughter Lucy, who had been just as innocent and curious.
"So your kind tells stories…in the form of moving and talking shapes?" asked Pipkin as Alan told him about how he'd first seen the story of Watership Down on video as a child and loved it.
"Yes, and, I might add, they came pretty close to portraying your real-life appearances and personalities. Too bad they didn't include all of your friends though; the characters of Acorn, Speedwell, Bluebell, Buckthorn and some of the others only exist in written form, in the books."
"Books?" asked Pipkin, giving Alan a blank stare. This was a completely, totally unfamiliar word to him or any rabbit. "What in Frith's name are those?" Although getting slightly irritated by Pipkin's endless questions, Alan couldn't bring himself to snap at this innocent little bugger, so he patiently explained.
"In my world, our history isn't handed down to future generations just by mouth to mouth, the way Dandelion does with the tales of El-ahrairah. For centuries, I mean hrair cycles of seasons," he said, using the correct Lapine prefix, "we have preserved our history and knowledge, in the form of writing. That is done by drawing…well, symbols if you will, called letters, which form words," he explained, trying to give his dwarf friend the simplest definition of writing. To explain better, he bent down and started drawing in the dirt with a twig.
"For example, if I were to draw this…" he said, drawing a simple outline of a rabbit, "What do you see?"
"I see a rabbit," Pipkin said, looking slightly confused, yet excited all the same by this strange game. Alan smiled.
"Good. Now if I were to put it in this form…" he said as he continued drawing on the ground, this time spelling the word 'RABBIT' in capital letters.
"Now then, if you were to ask me what this means, I would read it out to you as 'rabbit'. Basically, reading and writing are just spoken words in the form of symbols, so to speak. If you know each of the symbols – or letters of the alphabet as we call them – you can record everything you know in written form. Letters form a word; a group of words, a sentence; a group of sentences, a paragraph; a number of paragraphs, a chapter; and finally a number of chapters form the entire text of a book. That's how your life's story originally came to be back in my world." Pipkin looked fascinated, yet slightly downcast at the same time, realising how far behind his own kind was compared to humans.
"How I wish Frith had blessed us with the skill of writing. It would be so wonderful to preserve all the tales of El-ahrairah in writing, for our descendants to read it," he said looking slightly hurt at his own kind's lack of skills, compared to his human friend's seemingly infinite abilities.
Inspired by Pipkin's words, Alan had a sudden realisation: his skills and knowledge completely surpassed those of the inhabitants of this world. Despite their human-level intelligence, the rabbits' only skills were digging, fighting and caring for their young, while their rudimentary knowledge consisted of only some hazy folklore mythology, some basic botany, and some crude timekeeping. He, on the other hand, had a fully educated mind, filled with academic knowledge of reading, writing, sciences, and lots more. While back in his world he was just the average college professor and could always find people better than him anywhere he went, here he was unique and he could use that to his advantage.
"Well, I think I can help make your wish come true, Pipkin," he said, realising the great potential he had here. If these giant rabbits had human-level intelligence, only lacking proper education, like people from the Middle Ages, then maybe they could be educated in human knowledge, transforming this entire world! The prospects were simply infinite!
"Writing isn't so much a godly blessing, lad, but rather an invention of man, which can be passed on to others," he said, "Perhaps when we get to Watership Down, we could…"
"Halt!"
Suddenly, the conversation was rudely interrupted by three growling rabbits that sprang from the bushes, surrounding them in an ambush. These rabbits, burly and extremely menacing-looking, were staring open-eyed at Alan, mostly ignoring Pipkin, this peculiar talking human apparently having caught their interest. The man noticed that each rabbit also had a distinct three-notch claw scar on different parts of their bodies, like some sort of crude military insignia – the Identification Mark of Efrafa! It seemed his assumption of the infamous warren's existence had been correct after all.
"Well, well, what have we got here?" drawled a skinny, blackish-furred rabbit with pointed ears and evil eyes, who seemed to be the leader, "A talking human and his pet?"
"What do you ugly goons want?" asked Alan with a frown, clutching the hilt of his knife tucked in its holster with one hand, keeping the other protectively around Pipkin's shoulder, expecting things to turn ugly at any minute. He didn't like this mean-looking rabbit's sadistic tone one bit. His companions, although bold and menacing, were instantly taken aback by Alan's talking abilities.
"What in Frith's name is this human? How can he speak? What kind of sorcery is this, Captain Vervain?" asked one of the thugs, staring at Alan with an expression suggesting all he needed was one word to attack and kill. In contrast to his sadistic Captain's sickly physique, this one was a bull, almost the size of Bigwig, with a savage-looking demeanour, no doubt an experienced and deadly fighter.
"I don't know, Mallow, but we're going to find out," replied the rabbit called Vervain, not taking his eyes off his prize, "Maybe the General will grant us some leniency for our failure in tracking down our escaped does if we present him with such an interesting asset. You…" he sneered at Alan and Pipkin with an air of sickening arrogance, "By the authority invested in me by the mighty General Woundwort of Efrafa, you are henceforth my prisoners and property of my master. You can either come along quietly, or be killed on sight…"
"And what makes you think that we'll go quietly?" retorted Alan venomously, "My friend and I are nobody's 'property'!" Vervain narrowed his eyes dangerously, offended by being spoken back to in such an insolent manner, and by as lowly human nonetheless.
"Don't cross me, you pitiful creature," he growled in warning, "We outnumber you and we're all trained warriors. You jest if you think you stand a chance against us! Do you even know who we are?" To his utmost surprise – and outrage – the human merely rolled his eyes, not in the least intimidated by his threats.
"Why, of course I do," said Alan coolly, "You're the lowly sidekicks of a certain pathetic coward by the name of Woundwort, who thinks he owns the world because he can't bring himself to admit what a loser he is. Did I miss something...Captain Vervain, is it? Or was it something more like Captain Vermin?" he asked, mockingly, wondering how long it would take before the mean rabbit's short temperedness reached breaking point.
Vervain's eyes narrowed to slits. How dare this scum insult the respectable General! He was about to strike Alan in anger, but then his eyes turned to Pipkin, who was huddling close to Alan, trembling with fear. His sadist face curled into a chilling smile. There were many ways to crush an enemy's spirit and one of them was hurting those he cared about.
"Tut, tut. That shows a sad lack of respect to your betters, ithe," he said, "I believe a lesson in manners will do you some good. Let's see if we can get the message across while we torture your little friend. Avens, Mallow, bring that runt here!" he ordered, gesturing at Pipkin, who flinched in terror. In an instant, Alan had stepped in front of his small friend, blocking the way for the two advancing rabbits, his knife drawn.
"Just touch him and I'll split you open from throat to sternum!" he growled softly, pointing the gleaming blade at each of the three threatening rabbits in turn, "Now, shove off!" That was the last straw for Vervain, realising his failure in scaring this strange human into submission. So this low-life freak of nature dared challenge an officer of Efrafa? He would show him!
"Very well then. Kill the human and the midget too, and be done with them!" he bellowed at his two henchmen, who attacked in earnest. But they had no idea whom they were dealing with.
As Mallow sprang at him, Alan slashed the evil rabbit across the face, opening a deep gash across his left eye, and sending him sprawling on the ground, howling in pain. The other rabbit, Avens pounced onto Alan's shoulders from behind, trying to pin him down with his weight, only to receive a painful elbowing in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to crumple to the ground too. But the two battle-hardened rabbits were far from beaten yet, as they regrouped and attacked again.
"I've dealt with plenty of scum like you," Alan growled, grabbing Mallow's sweeping forepaw as he tried clawing at him and twisting it tight, almost breaking the bones. With a powerful kick, he knocked Avens flat on his back with a bloodied mouth full of broken teeth, "Be gone or you'll be killed!"
Soon, the two Efrafan soldiers, bruised and battered, turned round to flee. Vervain furiously called after them, "Come back you miserable cowards! You're Owsla…!" But they paid him no heed.
Finding himself all alone, he was about to bolt as well, but Alan grabbed hold of Vervain by the ears, lifting him off the ground like a magician pulls a rabbit out of his hat on stage, "Not so fast, my friend. I'm not done with you yet." Vervain, screaming in fear and pain, tried cuffing Alan across the face, but the man held him at arm's length so the evil rabbit couldn't reach, all the while keeping a tight grip on him. This little sadist needed to be taught a lesson.
"I can rip them out by their roots, you know. Now shut up and hold still!" said Alan icily, as Vervain continued to struggle in Alan's pincer-like grip, his eyes wide and fearful, as he begged for mercy between howls of pain, thinking this human was about to finish him off. He obviously wasn't a trained warrior at all, only a cowardly little racist who liked to bully others with his high-ranking status.
"Now, you listen here, mate, and listen good," the man said, his voice calm yet icy, "I have absolutely no sympathy for pathetic little scumbags like you. So I'm giving you a warning that I suggest to take very seriously: you stay away from me and my friends! If we ever meet again, you'll wish you had never been born! Is that clear?" Vervain uttered a painful groan, which Alan more-or-less interpreted as a 'yes'.
"Smashing. Now, when I let go of you, you are to turn around and get the hell out of here, without another word. You can feel as vengeful as you like towards me; to retaliate in any way at all would be a terrible mistake," he said, holding his knife, which was still dripping with Mallow's blood, in Vervain's face, causing him to shudder at the thought of what this wild human beast might do to him, "Oh, and one more thing: Don't try and follow us, if you know what's good for you that is. Now, scarper!"
Without another word, he released Vervain non-too-gently, letting him drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The skinny rabbit scampered to his feet to flee, muttering his prayers to Frith for still being alive and in one piece, but not before turning to give Alan a look of pure hatred.
"This isn't over, stranger. Mark my words; you shall feel the wrath of General Woundwort for this insolence! Just you wait, I will have revenge! I swear it!" he spat, before disappearing into the trees. Alan put his knife back into its holster and turned to tend to Pipkin.
"Are you all right, lad?"
"Yes, I think so," the dwarf rabbit muttered, still shaken from Vervain thugs' attempted assault on him, as well as Alan's own vicious resistance against the enemy, yet impressed at the same time, "You were so brave... But, who were they? Were they from that place you've been telling us all about, Efrafa?" Alan nodded.
"Yes, an Efrafan Wide Patrol. It looks like we've got a bunch of baddies lurking in the neighbourhood," he said gruffly, "That ugly goon Vervain is the Head of Owslafa – Woundwort dirty little Gestapo. He's got a charming reputation of administering the harshest of punishments imaginable on prisoners, on his Chief's orders, aside from all the executions and tortures he authorizes for his own sadistic pleasure. Definitely not the kind of rabbit you want to be chums with…" Pipkin looked appalled.
"But why would they want to attack us? We've done them no harm."
"In a corrupt, fascist state, ruled by a ruthless, murderous dictator like Woundwort, common decency doesn't mean a thing. As far as Woundwort is concerned, power is everything, and anything that questions his authority is a threat that has to be eliminated. The likes of Vervain are the perfect instruments for the job, with their intimidation and brutality, not to mention their fanatical, blind loyalty. We'd better watch our backs."
They continued their trek for another hour, luckily not meeting any more Efrafan Wide Patrols. Vervain's Patrol apparently had strayed far from the warren for some reason. Pipkin eventually pleaded that they stop and rest, being unaccustomed to walking such long distances. But Alan, unwilling to let him hold them up, finally resorted to carrying the worn-out Pipkin in his arms. Now that he knew there was a dangerous enemy around, they had to keep moving. Despite being much larger than any ordinary rabbit, not to mention rather chubby, the dwarf rabbit felt strangely light in his arms as he walked along.
At last, they came to the edge of the forest. There, out on the meadow, a shocking surprise awaited them; and it wasn't another Efrafan Patrol. Alan froze in his tracks as he laid eyes on the first man-made structure he had seen since arriving in this strange world.
It was the ruins of a small country church. The roof had decayed and caved in long ago from centuries of erosion, its ruined walls partially collapsed. Moss, brambles, weeds and other vegetation grew from holes in the crumbling mortar, engulfing the entire, semi-collapsed ruin in years worth of unchecked growth. Around the ruins was an overgrown graveyard; scattered tombstones were visible through the thick undergrowth, looking weatherworn and chipped from old age.
"What is this place, Alan? I've never seen anything like it before…" asked Pipkin in amazement, as Alan, his heart in his mouth, put him down, staring open-mouthed at the sight. They approached the ruins for a closer look.
"It's called a graveyard; a place where we bury our dead. But…haven't I seen this place somewhere before…?" Alan asked himself, staring at the ancient ruins. There was something oddly familiar about this place, yet he couldn't quite place it.
Approaching the ruined church, his eyes fell upon a corroded brass sign fixed to the decaying wall beside the partially collapsed entrance. Scrapping away the obscuring moss and grime with his palm, he read the faded inscription:
NEWTOWN COMMON CHURCHYARD, BERKSHIRE
SERVICES HELD EVERY SUNDAY
His heart nearly jumped into his lungs as he read those words. But if this ancient, forgotten ruin was Newtown Common churchyard – a famous local landmark in Adams' book – then this place was... Oh, God! Suddenly, a major piece of the puzzle had finally clicked into place. The truth was beyond belief, but was as real as this crazy world he was stranded in.
The reason for all these mysterious changes that had befallen the world wasn't due to something that had happened to the planet, but rather something that had happened to him. This wasn't some other, faraway land at all; he was right where he had started all along, if not when he had started. All the evidence now pointed to the only logical explanation, which went beyond the realm of all scientific reality: time travel!
This crazy new world was the future!
Author's note: Chapter 10 is up! As most of you guessed, Newtown Common churchyard is a real place and is also featured in the WD movie and book. Enjoy and please review so I can continue updating. Thank you!