Chapter 27
Glade walked along the edge of the hill at Watership Down, happy for a break from the Efrafans. You'd think they had never had a thought for themselves, she thought, then sighed. That's because they probably haven't. I wish Sam was here… She stopped walking and sat, facing the direction of the old Efrafan warren. Grey clouds had begun to form.
"Are you alright, Glade?" She turned and saw Clover coming towards her. "Don't worry about Sam. He's very good at taking care of himself. He'll be back before you know it."
Glade sighed. "I know. I'm not worried, I just want him to be back." She grinned to herself. "It's like how you would feel if it were it was Strawberry out there."
Clover blushed and nudged Glade playfully. "Oh, stop it." She smiled at her friend. "But yes, I understand what you mean."
Glade was going to respond, but she was interrupted by an echoing boom. Startled, the two does looked back towards Efrafa, where the previously grey clouds had grown almost black. A streak of black lighting strike the ground. Glade's eyes widened.
"Sam!" she called urgently as she bolted down the hill. Clover called after her, but Glade did not hear her. She ran as fast as she could, but it was a much longer trip without being able to go through the caves. She sprinted over the railroad tracks and through the farm field until she got to the woods.
I have to keep going, she thought as she felt herself begin to tire. Sam could be hurt. I can't stop! Empowered by her own words, Glad continued her tireless run. As she crossed the bridge into Efrafan territory, she stopped suddenly as a new smell hit her nose: a human. But not Sam. Advancing more carefully, Glade made her way to where the warren had been, the human smell increasing as she went.
"Sam!" She called out, despite the increasingly overpowering human smell. Not that humans hear animals anyway, she thought ruefully. "Sam, can you hear me?" She continued towards the warren slowly, keeping in cover in case of trouble. As she approached the warren, Glade heard a voice. "Sam, is that you?" She listened for a response, but none came. She continued her advance and called out again. "Sam! Sam, where are you!" Glade poked her head out of the brush and saw a shape lying on the ground. "Oh Frith, Sam!"
She ran over to her friend and tried to rouse him. "Sam, are you alright?" She asked desperately as the she shook his shoulder. "Please wake up." She held her ear to Sam's chest and sighed in relief when she heard a heartbeat. Oh thank Frith. Only then did Glade notice the many wounds Sam had. Three parallel grooves ran down his back. The side of his face was beginning to bruise, and there was a large gash on his arm. On his leg was a long, thin cut that looked nonthreatening, save for the black discoloration at the edges. What happened? She thought as she looked around cautiously for the source of Sam's injuries. The smell of the strange human still hit her nose, but there was something off about it. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, she turned her attention back to Sam.
"We need to get you back to the down," she said out loud. "Don't worry Sam, I'll get you there." She managed to flip the human over onto his stomach. Then, she draped one of his arms over her back, and pulled. With a bit of adjustment, Sam was lying securely on the center of her back. Glade grimaced as she felt her legs shake. This is going to be a long trip.
Sam opened his eyes and saw only darkness. He lay there for a moment before remembering the fight with Alice. He jumped up and looked around, but saw only darkness. This must be…a meeting with Prince Rainbow? Weird, it's been a long time since we spoke. Just as the words finished forming in Sam's mind, a bright light shone behind him. The teen turned and saw Prince Rainbow appear, and fall to the ground, breathing heavily.
The deity turned his head. "Thank Frith you're still alright."
"Me?" Sam exclaimed in worry. "What about you? What happened?" Prince Rainbow's multicolored robe was in tatters, and the colors had completely faded to monochrome. It was then that Sam took a good look at his face and exclaimed in surprise, "You can bleed?" Prince Rainbow had a few small scratches on his face, and one particularly large one running across his forehead.
He chuckled weakly as he put a hand up to his head and it came back glistening red. "APPARENTLY I CAN. BUT THAT ISN'T IMPORTANT. WE ARE IN BIG TROUBLE, SAM."
"Is this about the Black Rabbit? And that girl?"
"YES. I BELIEVE HER NAME WAS ALICE." Prince Rainbow gave a sad sigh. "THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. THE BLACK RABBIT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO TAINT ANOTHER HUMAN LIKE THAT."
"I don't get any of this," Sam said. "Why is the Black Rabbit doing this? I know in that book that he was always supposed to be an ultimately good being. And where did Alice come from? How do I get to Darkhaven? How do I beat the Black Rabbit? What am I supposed to do?" By the time he was finished with his questions, Sam was shouting in a near panic.
Prince Rainbow seemed to think for a moment before coming to a decision. "SAM, THERE ISN'T MUCH TIME," he said urgently. "THE BLACK RABBIT IS-"
He was cut off by a sudden yell of pain from Sam. The teen fell to his knees as an intense pressure began to build in his head. It felt like something was trying to force its way in. Suddenly, the pressure stopped. And the room got noticeable hotter.
"Ah ah ah Rainbow, can't let you do that."
A voice filled with malice echoed.
"NO!" Prince Rainbow shouted. "NOT HERE. YOU CAN'T BE HERE!"
The voice chuckled darkly. "And why not? It was simple to follow you when you fled. It isn't MY fault you decided to hide in the Messenger's mind. Thank you for showing me the door, by the way. This will definitely come in useful later."
"What's going on?" Sam asked Prince Rainbow.
"I'M AFRAID," he responded, "THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE ON YOUR OWN FROM HERE, SAM."
Before the teen could respond, a cloud of darkness began to form around Prince Rainbow. Sam watched as his face contorted in pain. Then, Prince Rainbow was gone.
Sam stood in shock. "P-Prince Rainbow?" The teen looked around for the deity, but he was nowhere to be found. "What did you do with him?" Sam shouted to the sky. "Bring him back!"
The voice chuckled again. "Oh, I think you have more important things to worry about besides that useless old man." Before Sam could respond, a wave of darkness struck him from behind and engulfed him.
Sam awoke and bolted upright, only to wince as the quick action sent pain shooting through his injured arm. He looked around in a panic before realizing he was back in his burrow on Watership Down. How did I get back here? He wondered. And what- His thoughts were interrupted as his head throbbed. Those dreams… Sam remembered Prince Rainbow being stolen away, and then, he had been plagued with nightmares. He remembered with perfect clarity: dreams of being attacked, of being torn apart by elil. Watching his friends be slaughtered or enslaved by the Black Rabbit. Visions of himself destroying the down. Sam shook his head to dispel the dark memories.
"Sam? Sam! Lay mes hray? Bralrahl Frith!"
Sam turned, careful not to upset his arm again, and saw Glade standing at the entrance to the burrow. What's going on? Why can't I...oh. Sam reached for his blue power immediately when he could not understand Glade's words, but he found himself blocked off. That's right, Alice sent me into backlash. Sam felt that his powers were almost restored; it would only be a few more minutes.
"Sam, bleth lay nao?"
The teen shook his head. "Sorry Glade, I can't understand you yet. Just give it a few more minutes." Glade looked as if she were going to respond, but decided against it. Instead, she lay down next to Sam's side and they sat in companionable silence. While he waited, Sam looked himself over. His body was riddled with small marks from the needle projectiles Woundwort fired at him, and his arm had a few deep scratches in it. Then Sam looked at his leg. The area on his leg where Alice had cut him was black, almost like a bruise. The coloration had begun to spread the entire way around his shin, and he could see dark tendrils reaching up to his knee, and down towards his foot. Sam gently touched the area and hissed at the burning sensation. Glade glanced at him sadly. After twenty minutes, Sam felt his powers return in full.
He switched his blue power on and tried again. "Can you understand me now?" he asked.
He was answered by Glade tackling him and nuzzling his face. "Thank Frith you're alright! What happened to you, Sam? How did you get so hurt?"
"You aren't going to believe it," Sam began. He told her all that had happened since she and the others had left Efrafa. He told her of the battle against Woundwort, and of his possession by the Black Rabbit. Sam finished his tale with the fight against Alice, and the dreams he had.
Glade shook her head as she listened to Sam' incredible tale. "So that other human I smelled…was her?" Sam nodded. "But what about the Black Rabbit, why would he be doing this? I've never heard any stories about him doing such things as this." The two stood in silence for a moment. "So, what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know, Glade," Sam said despondently, "I just don't know what am I supposed to do. Defeat him? I don't even know where he is, or what he's planning. Woundwort was easy: he was a tyrant, plain and simple. He was reasonably predictable, but now? I'm lost."
Glade nuzzled him again in sympathy. "We can ask Hazel and Bigwig what they think about the situation later."
"Alright," the teen agreed. "I have a few questions for you though. How long have I been asleep? And come to think of it, how did I get back here? The last thing I remember is getting knocked out at Efrafa. And that reminds me: what happened to the Efrafans? Where did they end up going?"
"You've only been asleep for the night," Glade replied. "Those fights you had happened only yesterday. As to how you got back here, I was worried when I saw that black lighting you spoke of fall from the sky, so I went back to check on you. Alice must have just left, because her scent was still in the clearing when I found you on the ground. So I carried you back. Well, most of the way back. Bigwig, Strawberry, and Hazel met me part of the way back and took you from there." She chuckled. "By the way? You might want to lay off the flayrah."
Sam was dumbstruck. He knew he outweighed her by a fair margin. "I…" he began. "Thank you, Glade. You probably saved my life."
"After all the times you've been there for me, how could I not be there when you needed me most?" She leaned against him. "I'm just happy you're alright."
Sam spoke quickly so she would not spot his quickly growing blush. "But what happened to Moss and the other Efrafans? And what about Campion?"
"Well," she began, "they're actually-" But she was interrupted by someone coming down the tunnel.
"Glade," Pipkin's voice echoed as he approached, "Hazel wanted me to tell you they'll be leaving soon, and he wanted to know if you-" His speech broke off as he rounded the corner into the burrow and saw that Sam was awake. "Sam!" he cried, running and tackling him just as Glade had. The youngster tried to keep the waver out of his voice. "I-I was so worried when Bigwig and Strawberry brought you back and you didn't wake up. Are you alright?"
Sam chuckled and hugged Pipkin close. "I am now buddy. It's good to see you. Now, where are Hazel and the others going?"
"Oh, they're going to help the Efrafans start a new warren. We and they have had rabbits out all day looking for one, and Heather said she found a good place."
"Who's Heather?" Sam asked distractedly.
Pipkin giggled. "Heather is a doe from Efrafa. She was the one, besides Moss, that was in charge of the group that was going to escape. She's been brilliant ever since she got here. There was a lot of panic among the Efrafans, but she did really well at calming them down."
Sam nodded, not fully listening. "But you said they were going to help build the new warren?" Pipkin nodded. "Alright." Sam pushed himself to his feet and grimaced as his injured leg felt like it was on fire.
"What are you doing?" Glade asked in alarm as she moved to support him. Sam laid his arm across her back gratefully. "You aren't well enough yet to me moving around. Especially with that leg of yours. You should lie back down."
"Sorry, can't do that," Sam responded with a pain-tinged chuckle. "I can't let them go out alone. What if they run into Alice?"
"Then they run, Sam. What do you think you can do? You can barely stand for Frith's sake! "
Sam shook his head. "I still have to try. I'm the only one that has any chance of fighting her. I can't let them go alone."
"But Sam…" He stared at her uncompromisingly. Glade sighed in frustration. "Fine. Since you obviously won't listen to me, let's go. I'm sure Hazel and Bigwig can talk some sense into to you. Lean on me. That leg has to hurt." Sam nodded and they started out of the burrow and towards the surface.
Pipkin followed behind them. "Sam, who's Alice?" No answer. "Sam?"
Strawberry was standing near the entrance of the warren, and was the first to see them as they approached the surface. "Sam? What are you doing up?" He moved to support the teen's other side. "I don't think you're well enough to be walking around just yet."
"I know," Sam consented, his leg hurting worse just from the short walk, "But I can't let you guys go out there alone. What if…" Sam hesitated. "I'll explain later, Strawberry. But for now, just take my word that it's far too dangerous for you to be out there without me."
"Sam!"
The teen turned at the sound of Hazel's voice.
"What in Frith's name are you-"
"I know, I know," Sam interrupted. "What am I doing up? I'm far too hurt to be walking around." He chuckled. "I'm sorry Hazel, but I can't let you go out there without me. It's too dangerous."
Hazel gasped. "Does this have something to do with whatever attacked you? You have to tell us what happened, Sam. Everyone has been worried about you since you came back. And besides, Blackberry said-"
"Sam! What is Frith's name are you doing?"
Sam chuckled to himself. Aren't I a popular guy today? He saw Blackberry come around from the other side of the tree looking angrier than he had ever seen her. "Hey Blackberry. How are-"
She interrupted him with a loud stomp of her foot. "Why are you outside? Why are you even standing? Do you even realize how bad that leg is that you're standing on?" She started muttering to herself as she inspected his leg closer. "And now it looks even worse than before, but at least it slowed. You idiot." She glared up at him again. "I didn't spend all night watching over you just so you could kill yourself with pointless heroics."
Ignoring Glade's quiet chuckling, Sam attempted to respond. "I-I'm sorry Blackberry, I didn't mean to make you worry. I'm grateful for your help, you know I am, but I have to go. I promise I'll explain in more detail later, but if the person that attacked me decided to target you while you were helping the Efrafans, it wouldn't be good. I'm the only one that can fight her." He then remembered how quickly Alice moved the day before, incapacitating Sam before he had a chance to react. "Well, I'm the only one that has a chance at fighting her."
"Sam," Hazel interrupted before Blackberry could blow up at him again, "Who is the 'she' that you're talking about? What happened to you yesterday?"
"I promise I will tell you, Hazel. Later. For now, shouldn't we be focusing on getting the Efrafans to their new home?" Sam looked around. "By the way, where is everyone?"
"They're all waiting at the foot of the hill for you lot," Campion said, coming around the tree the way the others had. He was followed closely by Moss. "You had us worried for a while there, Sunflower. It's good to see you up." This statement earned him a glare from Blackberry. The large rabbit cleared his throat nervously. "Of course, I only mean that it's good you're well. You should be lying down." Blackberry nodded in approval and looked back towards Sam, missing the warm smile Campion flashed her.
Sam sighed in annoyance. "I know! I'll lay down and rest later, but for now, I'm coming with to help the Efrafans set up the new warren. And yes, I will explain later." Sam was panting after his outburst. He saw Moss and Campion exchange a nervous look. "Something wrong?"
Campion bent close to Moss's ear and whispered something. He nodded and turned back the way he came. Campion faced his friends. "I don't know it would be a good idea for you to come along, Sunflower. It might be…disagreeable to some of the rabbits."
"I don't understand," Sam said, confused. "What do you mean?"
Campion's ears lowered as he spoke. "After hrair seasons of Woundwort telling us that humans were evil, it's gotten a bit ground into some of them. There are open minds in the group, like Moss and Heather, along with a few others, but most of the owsla want nothing to do with you. Moss, Heather, and I have spent the better part of the last day keeping any of the soldiers from trying to get to you while you were still asleep."
"I'd like to see them try it," Glade muttered.
Campion chuckled. "That is the reason Glade was staying in the warren with you. After she almost started a fight with some of the soldiers that were talking badly about you, Hazel thought it would be better if she stayed away from them. It was only the fact that you were such a help in freeing them that most of the non-owsla rabbits kept to themselves."
Sam was stunned. "I…didn't know I was causing so much trouble." The teen hung his head. "I'm sorry guys."
Campion sighed in disappointment. "It's not your fault. I was hoping that once they were free from Efrafa and Woundwort, that all this negativity would just disappear." He scoffed. "It was a foolish thought."
"Not foolish, sir," Moss said as he rounded the tree again, this time being followed by a lanky, yellowish tan colored doe. "Just premature. It will take a lot of work, but I'm confident that without Woundwort's influence, the rabbits of Efrafa will be better. I really wish you would stay, Campion. Heather and I could use your help keeping order."
"I'm sorry, Moss, but my place is here. I gave up Efrafa a long time ago; it wouldn't be right for me to lead them now. I will be here for you if you ever need me, but I know you'll be fine."
Sam nudged Glade in the side. "What are they talking about?" he whispered.
She whispered back, "When they found a spot for the new Efrafan warren, Moss asked Campion to come with them and be their new chief."
"But what about Blackberry?"
Glade snuck a look over to the doe in question, who was listening to Moss and Campion with a small smile on her face. "Moss said she was more than welcome to come with. Blackberry told Campion that she would stay with him, no matter what he chose, but it was obvious she wasn't very happy with the idea. Campion decided to stay here with us, instead of making Blackberry leave. Personally, I think he made the right choice."
Sam nodded. "Me too. He was Woundwort's second command, I don't know how well it would have gone if he had tried to be chief there. Besides, I think he already has more friends here than he did at Efrafa."
They finished talking at the same time as Campion and Moss. Moss turned towards Sam. "Sunflower. This is the first time we've been able to really speak. I want to thank you on behalf of all of us for what you did. Who knows where we would be if you hadn't come here. I don't care what the others say, I consider you our ally."
"You can consider me a friend, Moss," Sam said with a smile. "I was happy to do it, all of it. There…were a lot of problems in that warren. Helping you was the least I could do."
Moss sighed. "I just wish the others thought the same. I just went and had a talk with them. Most of them don't want you to come. They would be perfectly happy if they never saw you again. I'm so sorry that this has to be how we repay you for your help."
Sam stared at the ground for a moment before he responded. "Alright, I'll stay behind." His friends looked at him in surprise, having expected him to argue. "I figure that there's a better chance that I'll cause trouble if I go than there would be of the person who attacked be showing up. But you have to listen to me, Moss: if you see another human my size, you need to run. Don't try and talk to her, don't try and fight her, just run. Preferably back here. Do you understand?"
He nodded numbly. "There's another human? How many of you are there?"
"Dear Frith, I hope it's just the two of us," Sam replied. "Just promise me you'll run if you meet her."
"I…Alright Sunflower, if you say so. But I have to admit, even I'm curious about what happened to you now. You say this other human attacked you?"
Sam sighed. "I'll tell you the full story later, after you've had a few days to settle into your new warren. For now, just keep what I said in mind. The two of you can keep a lookout for her. And speaking of," Sam said, turning to face the doe, "I don't think we're met."
She tensed up and took a couple steps back until Moss gave her an encouraging smile and a nod. She faced the teen. "My name is Heather. I was the one Moss approached about escaping Efrafa like Captain Campion. We were going to run last night. Until you came and saved us instead. Thank you for that." She bowed her head.
"It's nice to meet you," Sam replied. "I'm glad you were able to get away from there. And thank you for helping keep the peace around here."
Heather nodded. "It was the least I could do. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to think about you either. The thought that a human would do something to help us was a foreign concept. But Moss and Campion spoke very highly of you, so I figured I could at least meet with you before making a decision. Don't worry. I'm sure we can get the others to come around. Eventually."
"Thank you for giving me a chance, Heather," Sam replied. "It really means a lot." There was a moment of silence before Sam continued. "Anyway, I think I've taken enough time. You should all get going and get that new warren set up. Just be careful, alright?"
Hazel nodded. "He's right. The sooner we get this done, the better it will be. Shall we go, Moss? Moss, Heather, what's wrong?"
The two rabbits in question sat with ashamed looks on their faces,ears flat against their heads. After a few moments, Moss spoke. "They don't want you to come."
The Watership Down rabbits exchanged confused looks. "What do you mean?" Hazel asked.
Moss snorted angrily. "The bloody fools don't want your help building the new warren. They would prefer for us to just do it by ourselves."
"Why did they change their minds?" Sam asked, hoping this was not his fault as well.
"There are a few reasons floating about," Heather continued. "Some of them want nothing to with Sunflower, and that includes interacting with his friends. Others say that we do it ourselves to prove our independence now that Woundwort is gone. There are a small number that are genuinely grateful for everything you've done for us, and don't want to impose any on you any further. And some just don't trust anyone that isn't from Efrafa. I'm sorry."
Hazel looked to Sam, who just shrugged in reply. "It's alright, Moss," the chief said. "If they would like us to stay behind, then we shall. Like Sam said: it would be best not to force things and cause more trouble. Especially when you've had so much in your lives already. We'll be here if you need help with anything, Moss. Don't' forget that."
"I won't," Moss replied. "I could never forget all you've done for us. Thank you." He and Heather turned. "We'll go tell the rest of your decision, and then we'll be off."
Hazel nodded. "Good luck."
They both smiled and walked around the tree, disappearing from sight. After the pair had gone, the Watership Down rabbits turned their attention back to Sam.
"And now," Blackberry said forcefully, "it's time for you to get back into the warren and lie down. You shouldn't have tried to stand up let, let alone walking. You need to rest, and hope your leg starts to heal." She looked anxious as she spoke.
"Can't I at least rest out here?" Sam asked.
"Sam," Blackberry said, starting to get annoyed at the teen, "I really think you should-"
She was cut off by a frustrated yell coming from behind the tree.
"We'll continue this later," she said to Sam. "For now, at least sit down. Don't push the leg if you don't have to."
Sam nodded and, with Glade and Strawberry's assistance, walked over and sat leaning against the tree. It was then that Bigwig came from the same way that Moss and Heather had just left. And he looked angry. He was followed by Fiver, Holly, and Primrose, all looking rather dejected.
"Bloody…embleer…ungrateful…" Bigwig muttered to himself as they approached the group.
"What's the matter, Bigwig?" Sam asked with a smile on his face. "You didn't get to go play with the Efrafans like you wanted to?"
The large rabbit immediately stopped his internal tirade when he heard Sam's voice. He replied with a chuckle, "Be glad you're injured lad, or I'd cuff you for that one." He hopped over to the teen and looked him over. "It's good to see you're feeling better." The smile on his face disappeared when he looked as Sam's leg. "Well…mostly."
"I'll be fine, Bigwig," Sam replied. "So what were you four doing?"
"We were trying to get those fools to accept our help."
Sam opened his mouth in alarm, but Fiver quickly interjected, "What Bigwig means is Primrose, Holly, and I tried to convince them to let us help, while he got into a staring match with some of their owsla." Sam sighed in relief as Fiver approached him too. "Really though Sam, what are you doing out here? You should be inside resting your leg."
"Jeez you guys," Sam said, exasperated, "my leg isn't going to fall off. I was in the two biggest fights of my life yesterday; I'm not going to be in top condition. I know it looks kind of bad right now, but I'll be fine. It's probably just some sort of bruise or something. Nothing life-threatening." None of the rabbits answered him, and all averted their eyes. "Guys, what's wrong?" Sam asked, beginning to feel nervous.
They all turned to look at Glade. She gave a sad sigh. "Sam, when I found you yesterday, your leg didn't look like that. It looked like just a cut, nothing more." The teen stared at her in shock as she continued. "By the time we got you back to the down, the cut had turned black. By nightfall it was the length of the wound and almost all the way around your leg. And when we woke up this morning, it had spread further."
Sam looked down at his leg like it did not belong to his body. He traced the top of the discoloration in wonder. That was where it had been this morning, right? Or did it look like it was…further along. As he ran his hand along his leg, Sam noticed his hands begin to warm. The closer he got to the cut itself, the hotter his hands got. When he held them directly over the wound, they began to glow, a brighter and brighter shade of yellow. What the he- That was as far as his thought process got before he yelled out in agony. It felt like a wave of fire was slowly spreading through his leg. Sam could faintly hear his friends shouting in concern. After what felt like hours, the pain subsided and Sam slumped back against the tree, panting from exertion. When he finally opened his eyes, his friends were staring at him with shocked faces. He looked down and saw his leg was back to its normal color, and the cut had almost healed.
Hesitantly, Blackberry approached Sam. She bent down to examine the leg, looking at it from all sides and lightly sniffed the wound. "It's…fine." She said in disbelief. "It even looks like you could walk on it with no problem now. Sam, what did you do?"
"I think," Sam answered thoughtfully, "that my Frith Beam just healed my leg. And if that's the case, I'm willing to bet that getting cut by Alice's sword caused that to happen."
"Alright Sam," Hazel said in his chief tone, "I think it's time you told us what happened to you yesterday. Who is Alice? What happened to Woundwort?"
Sam sighed, knowing he could not put it off any longer. "Alright," he relented. "Gather everyone together. And I mean everyone. Kehaar, Hannah, your kids, everyone. What I'm about to tell you is important, and everyone should be aware of what we're dealing with."
It took a while to find all the rabbits of the down. Kehaar and Hannah had to be sent off to find Hawkbit and Dandelion, who had been scouting again for the Efrafans, and thus had not heard the change of plans. Primrose went to retrieve her kittens and found them inside, napping. Once everyone was together, Sam told his story again, leaving out no detail. He explained how Woundwort was under the control of the Black Rabbit the whole time, and how he was defeated using the Frith Beam. He then told them about Alice, and the dreams he had had on the way back to the down. By the time he was done, all of the rabbits were speechless. Snowdrop, Blackavar, and Gillia had snuggled close to Hazel and Primrose and were shaking with fright. Meanwhile, Blackberry and Clover had moved closer to Campion and Strawberry respectively. Bigwig and Holly had stony looks on their faces as they processed the information. Hawkbit was shaking his head in disbelieve, while Dandelion, Silverweed, and Fiver all looked thoughtful.
"Is this all true, Sam?" Hazel asked finally.
Sam nodded. "Every word. I can't explain it, but it seems that the Black Rabbit has turned against us."
"Of course he has!" Hawkbit exclaimed. "His purpose is killing rabbits, it only makes sense that he would want to step it up. The evil git."
Dandelion shook his head. "You're wrong, Hawkbit. The Black Rabbit is not evil. Or at least, he shouldn't be."
"Who made you the authority on the Black Rabbit?" Hawkbit yelled in a near panic.
"I'm a storyteller, Hawkbit, it's my job to know these things. In any of the stories I've ever told or heard, there has never been any mention of the Black Rabbit being malevolent. This doesn't make sense."
"That must be what happened to Cowslip," Silverweed murmured. "The Black Rabbit tried to take control of him too."
Just then, Fiver began to moan and hold his head. He spoke in a hollow voice:
"You stand together, hoping to gain
Not knowing it brings only fear and pain
One by one, the price shall be paid
By his companions, who chose to remain."
The silence was deafening as the ominous words rung through everyone's heads. Sam mulled the prophecy over in his mind before he had an idea.
"In light of that," Sam said hesitantly, "it might be better…if I were to find somewhere else to stay. I'm pretty sure they would only be targeting me, so if I were to leave-"
"No!"
Sam froze as the word echoed from everyone's throats.
"Absolutely not, Sam," Hazel said vehemently. "You're a part of this warren, and we will stand together."
"You've never left any of us behind in a fight," Bigwig continued, "what makes you think we would miss the chance to help you?"
"Please don't go, Sam," Pipkin said while giving Sam his best pouting face. "You shouldn't be alone out there. I don't care how dangerous it is; we'll be with you."
"Sam," Fiver managed to choke out while tears formed in his eyes. "Please don't make me responsible for causing one of my best friends to leave the warren. We're a family here Sam, and that includes you. We'll be there for you, no matter what the risk."
As the others spoke, more and more rabbits looked to Glade, waiting for her to speak. Sam looked at her as well. She chuckled when she noticed all eyes were on her. "What? Like you could get rid of me anyway. If you tried to leave, I'd just follow. I'll stay by your side Sam, no matter what."
"But," Sam said desperately, "it's going to be dangerous."
"So?" Dandelion shot back.
"You could get hurt!" The teen exclaimed.
"You've gotten hurt for us," Strawberry said.
"But I…" Sam trailed off as he saw the resolute looks in all the rabbits' eyes. "You're sure?" They all nodded. Sam felt tears come to his eyes. "You guys are the best family a guy could ask for."
