Chapter Five - The Escape
"Josh, the rabbit's not going to do anything; it's been asleep for two hours. And I think you need some sleep too," said Greg as the television news went to advertisements. He wondered how the boy wasn't bored with the rabbit which was still lying motionless under the blanket.
Karen agreed, "Yes, dear, you need your sleep. Hopscotch will still be here in the morning."
"Aw, Mum," protested Josh.
"If you can get yourself in bed, I might be able to tell you a bedtime story," bribed his mother.
Josh loved his mother's bedtime stories, so he leapt upstairs and was in bed within several minutes. Karen followed to tell the promised story. Since it was so close to Christmas, that night's story was an abridged version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". And instead of ghosts visiting Scrooge, Karen had the Rabbits of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future help point out the errors of Scrooge's ways. This last twist thrilled Josh immensely, but Karen also was mindful of the nightmare that had had Josh screaming an hour after going to sleep the previous night. She felt that she didn't want to introduce any more ghosts to Josh's active imagination right now.
After the story was finished, Josh still insisted that the door be left open a bit and that the hall light be left on. Karen obliged, in hopes that this would get Josh to sleep more quickly.
"Good night, dear."
"Good night, Mum. That was a good story."
"Thank you. Get to sleep now." With that, Karen went back downstairs and told Greg that she, too, was going to sleep.
"I'll just finish watching the news," called Greg, "then I'm going to bed, too."
*** When Blackberry awoke, he was still lying under blanket inside his cage. He poked his head out, and saw that the man-burrow was dark, except for the odd colourful glow of the tree next to him. He stared up at it, and would have been unaware of what was underneath the flashy exterior had the tree's scent not given it away. Surely it was another mystery of men - why did they do that to the tree, anyway? He could also see numerous brightly- coloured boxes piled around the tree - why they were there and what they were escaped his comprehension completely.
Blackberry was feeling hungry again, but found that there was no more flay inside the wire with him. There was at least some water in a bowl, though, so that he was able to quench his parched throat.
By now, his headache had diminished almost completely, and he felt fully alert. Just then, some of the points of light ringing the tree flashed on and off and then stayed dark. After all he had seen, this didn't especially capture his attention. But what did capture his attention a while later as he was dozing again was a strange crackling sound.
The tree had sprouted new light - but not the kind of man-light that Blackberry had seen before. In fact, it was a very natural form of light - flames which were quickly growing and spreading up the tree's decorated branches, cracking and popping as they went.
Blackberry quickly became alarmed. He naturally wanted to flee the fire immediately. He buried himself under his blanket again, but realized that the danger was not going away, and probably was becoming more urgent. Biting at the wire again proved futile, and Blackberry forced himself to think of every solution possible. Terror had sharpened Blackberry's already keen mind, and he explored every escape imaginable. He tried to dig through the floor of his cage, he tried knocking the wire off the base with massive kick from his hind legs, he explored every part of the cage to see if any part could be opened or squeezed through. After all, the cage had to have a door; surely it was possible to open it again.
By now, the tree was a tower of fire. The crackling flames licked at the roof of the man-burrow, and were now spreading to other parts of the burrow as well. The boxes that had crowded around the tree were now in flames. Squealing in fear, Blackberry set to biting at the wire again. As he clipped the edge of the web's base with his teeth, he found that this softer material chipped off a little. That's it! he thought, and began to chew on the base as though it were lettuce. The material cracked and splintered, and the sharp edges soon gave innumerable cuts to Blackberry's face and the inside of his mouth. He could taste his own blood, which also flowed onto his front paws, but he ignored the pain and continued to attack his prison. Soon, he was able to squeeze his head through the jagged hole that he had created under the wire. The fire seemed to fill the whole burrow, and smoke was beginning to choke him. After a few more tactical bites freed another large chunk of the cage's base, he was almost able to squeeze completely through. Looking back at the fire, he saw the now skeletal tree still being consumed by the fire. It was also shifting and leaning, falling directly towards his cage.
Blackberry made a final forced attempt to squeeze through the hole, and gouged himself deeply in the process. As he kicked free with his back legs, the flaming tree fell fully onto the cage. Cinders singed his hide, and as he scrambled clear of the flames, he could see that the cage that had held him only moments earlier was now being consumed by flames, as well. Spitting blood and the sharp bits of material that were stuck in his mouth, Blackberry began to search for an escape from the man-burrow. Surely the fire would consume the entire burrow, as well. Blackberry knew that fire wouldn't stop until it had consumed everything that it could touch.
There was no obvious way that the men entered and left their burrow, but he knew that there must be an escape somewhere. However, after a short while of vainly searching for an exit in the blinding, choking smoke that continued to thicken, he was almost ready to give up. The flames were beginning to spread out of the area where his cage had been, and his desperate fear began to drive him tharn. Just when it seemed that there was no escape, Blackberry stumbled into some stairs which led to what seemed to be another level of the man burrow. As he climbed, the smoke grew denser, and began to burn his eyes and lungs. He reached the top of the stairs and quickly explored every possible corner of this area of the burrow, but could find no people. He was almost ready to give up in misery when he noticed a narrow opening in the side of the burrow. He poked his head at the opening, and suddenly the opening grew so that he was able to squeeze completely through. I'm out of the burrow!
Quickly, though, he realized that he was still in the burrow, only in a different room. There was no fresh air, only more smoke. He scrambled desperately around the room, and finally hopped up onto a high and broad object that was covered in soft blankets much like the ones that had been in his cage, only much larger. Then something moved under the blanket.
The smoke had blinded his sense of smell, and he hadn't realized that there was a human in the room. He realized that it was the boy, and he was asleep in his nest. Seeing the boy was nothing new, but Blackberry had no idea how the boy would react to seeing his pet out of the cage. Instinctively, Blackberry squealed, and scrambled off of the boy's nest. The boy awoke just then.
As Blackberry was already disoriented, he wasn't able to find the door again. The boy cried out, and after jumping out of bed, began to crawl on the floor. The boy saw Blackberry huddled in fright, and grabbed at him. Blackberry responded by snarling and scratching at the boy, and scrambling under the boy's nest. The boy looked under the bed after Blackberry for a few moments, then disappeared, crawling out of the door.
After waiting under the bed for as long as he dared in the choking smoke, Blackberry also went through the door, hoping again to find a way out of the man burrow without bumping into the boy or any other human again. However, he became lost in the thick smoke which by now had turned the air virtually black. Blackberry soon felt dizzy and tired, and his lungs felt as if they themselves were on fire. It's no use, I'm not getting out. I'll never see Hazel-rah's warren again. He laid down on the burrow floor and prepared to meet the Black Rabbit.
***
Josh awoke to something squealing and then scrambling off of him, clawing as it went. Perhaps it was Rascal again. That puppy liked doing that sort of mischief.
No, Rascal was dead - so what was it? Josh opened his eyes and realized immediately that something was terribly wrong, forgetting about what had woken him. The hall light was now barely visible through a thick haze of smoke. Fire! was his first thought. He froze out of fear, then finally got out of bed and stood up, then starting choking on the smoke. He remembered what his fire fighting grandfather had said: When there is smoke / And you don't want to choke / Keep near to the ground / Where clear air is found. Josh got down and found it a little easier to breathe.
Just then, he saw Hopscotch huddled nearby, too frightened too move. Now he knew what had woken him up. But how did he get out of the cage? Obviously, that didn't matter much right now. "Come here, Hopscotch," whispered Josh, reaching out. The rabbit responded by snarling and scratching at his hand, then darting under the bed. Josh thought of grabbing his pet, but he knew that escape from the house was the main concern now.
Josh thought back to his grandfather's lessons. He had been told to climb out of his window and down the escape ladder (there had been one installed under each bedroom window on the second floor), and that everyone else would be doing the same. They were to all meet on the front lawn. However, Josh was afraid that his parents might not even be awake yet. He crawled out into the hallway and, as quickly as he could, made his way to his parents' bedroom.
The smoke was thickening, making the hallway pitch black, and the fire's roar could be heard downstairs. When Josh finally reached the end of the hall, he felt the door to his parents' bedroom. Open it not / if the door feels hot. Josh was relieved that it was cool to the touch, opened the door, and quickly crawled to the bed and shook his parents awake. Both parents quickly sat up and Karen sat in shock for a moment, before letting out a scream that was cut short by coughing.
"Get to the window," bellowed Greg, picking up Josh, and pushing his wife ahead of him.
Greg tried opening the window, but it was stuck fast. After a couple of desperate heaves, some ice audibly cracked and the window flew open. Karen put Josh on the ladder. Just as he was about to climb down, Josh remembered something. Where is Hopscotch? Before his parents could grab him, Josh clambered back inside and down the hallway. Luckily, he found Hopscotch just a short way down the hall from his parent's room. It seemed that his pet had tried to follow them, but had been overcome by the smoke. Josh picked up Hopscotch and turned around just as his father grabbed him.
"What are you doing?" Greg snapped, "Are you daft? You don't go back into a fire!" Greg couldn't decide if he were more angry or frightened. He dragged Josh as the boy clung onto the rabbit, then placed his boy on the ladder again. After he made sure that Josh and his wife were safe on the ground, Greg followed.
The fire that had now engulfed the living room and most of the first floor, and the heat had been building up on the second floor. As Greg was climbing down to safety, there was an audible whoosh as the second floor suddenly caught fire. The bedroom window popped, showering Greg with glass, and he could see flames where his family had just been. He leapt the last few feet to the ground, landing roughly in the snow.
The Whitting's gathered, shivering in their sleep wear, and watched their house be gutted by the flames. Their neighbours, the Richard's, had by now awoken to the sounds of the fire, and saw the Whitting's standing outside their burning home.
Harold Richard rushed over in his coat. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I don't know, but this isn't the best day of my life," mumbled Greg.
"Well, we all made it out safe," comforted Karen, "That's all that matters."
"Yes," agreed Harold, "You'd better get out of the cold." He motioned to his house.
Harold's wife had since called the fire department, and the first fire trucks were just arriving on the scene. As Harold guided the Whitting's into his home, Greg became curious as to how Josh had woken up.
"Hopscotch woke me up," replied Josh. He held up the limp rabbit.
Greg raised his eyebrows. "How is that possible? He was in the cage, wasn't he?"
"Yes," mumbled Josh, "I didn't let him out, honest."
As they were sitting at the Richards' living room table, Karen spoke up. "Look at him - he's bleeding. How did that happen?" she wondered. She took Hopscotch from Josh and looked at the singe marks and gouges, and noticed that the rabbit was also bleeding from its mouth. She gingerly opened its mouth and removed something sharp that had been visibly stuck in its gums. It was a sharp piece of brown plastic. "Well, look at this. I wonder how that got in there?"
"Josh, the rabbit's not going to do anything; it's been asleep for two hours. And I think you need some sleep too," said Greg as the television news went to advertisements. He wondered how the boy wasn't bored with the rabbit which was still lying motionless under the blanket.
Karen agreed, "Yes, dear, you need your sleep. Hopscotch will still be here in the morning."
"Aw, Mum," protested Josh.
"If you can get yourself in bed, I might be able to tell you a bedtime story," bribed his mother.
Josh loved his mother's bedtime stories, so he leapt upstairs and was in bed within several minutes. Karen followed to tell the promised story. Since it was so close to Christmas, that night's story was an abridged version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". And instead of ghosts visiting Scrooge, Karen had the Rabbits of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future help point out the errors of Scrooge's ways. This last twist thrilled Josh immensely, but Karen also was mindful of the nightmare that had had Josh screaming an hour after going to sleep the previous night. She felt that she didn't want to introduce any more ghosts to Josh's active imagination right now.
After the story was finished, Josh still insisted that the door be left open a bit and that the hall light be left on. Karen obliged, in hopes that this would get Josh to sleep more quickly.
"Good night, dear."
"Good night, Mum. That was a good story."
"Thank you. Get to sleep now." With that, Karen went back downstairs and told Greg that she, too, was going to sleep.
"I'll just finish watching the news," called Greg, "then I'm going to bed, too."
*** When Blackberry awoke, he was still lying under blanket inside his cage. He poked his head out, and saw that the man-burrow was dark, except for the odd colourful glow of the tree next to him. He stared up at it, and would have been unaware of what was underneath the flashy exterior had the tree's scent not given it away. Surely it was another mystery of men - why did they do that to the tree, anyway? He could also see numerous brightly- coloured boxes piled around the tree - why they were there and what they were escaped his comprehension completely.
Blackberry was feeling hungry again, but found that there was no more flay inside the wire with him. There was at least some water in a bowl, though, so that he was able to quench his parched throat.
By now, his headache had diminished almost completely, and he felt fully alert. Just then, some of the points of light ringing the tree flashed on and off and then stayed dark. After all he had seen, this didn't especially capture his attention. But what did capture his attention a while later as he was dozing again was a strange crackling sound.
The tree had sprouted new light - but not the kind of man-light that Blackberry had seen before. In fact, it was a very natural form of light - flames which were quickly growing and spreading up the tree's decorated branches, cracking and popping as they went.
Blackberry quickly became alarmed. He naturally wanted to flee the fire immediately. He buried himself under his blanket again, but realized that the danger was not going away, and probably was becoming more urgent. Biting at the wire again proved futile, and Blackberry forced himself to think of every solution possible. Terror had sharpened Blackberry's already keen mind, and he explored every escape imaginable. He tried to dig through the floor of his cage, he tried knocking the wire off the base with massive kick from his hind legs, he explored every part of the cage to see if any part could be opened or squeezed through. After all, the cage had to have a door; surely it was possible to open it again.
By now, the tree was a tower of fire. The crackling flames licked at the roof of the man-burrow, and were now spreading to other parts of the burrow as well. The boxes that had crowded around the tree were now in flames. Squealing in fear, Blackberry set to biting at the wire again. As he clipped the edge of the web's base with his teeth, he found that this softer material chipped off a little. That's it! he thought, and began to chew on the base as though it were lettuce. The material cracked and splintered, and the sharp edges soon gave innumerable cuts to Blackberry's face and the inside of his mouth. He could taste his own blood, which also flowed onto his front paws, but he ignored the pain and continued to attack his prison. Soon, he was able to squeeze his head through the jagged hole that he had created under the wire. The fire seemed to fill the whole burrow, and smoke was beginning to choke him. After a few more tactical bites freed another large chunk of the cage's base, he was almost able to squeeze completely through. Looking back at the fire, he saw the now skeletal tree still being consumed by the fire. It was also shifting and leaning, falling directly towards his cage.
Blackberry made a final forced attempt to squeeze through the hole, and gouged himself deeply in the process. As he kicked free with his back legs, the flaming tree fell fully onto the cage. Cinders singed his hide, and as he scrambled clear of the flames, he could see that the cage that had held him only moments earlier was now being consumed by flames, as well. Spitting blood and the sharp bits of material that were stuck in his mouth, Blackberry began to search for an escape from the man-burrow. Surely the fire would consume the entire burrow, as well. Blackberry knew that fire wouldn't stop until it had consumed everything that it could touch.
There was no obvious way that the men entered and left their burrow, but he knew that there must be an escape somewhere. However, after a short while of vainly searching for an exit in the blinding, choking smoke that continued to thicken, he was almost ready to give up. The flames were beginning to spread out of the area where his cage had been, and his desperate fear began to drive him tharn. Just when it seemed that there was no escape, Blackberry stumbled into some stairs which led to what seemed to be another level of the man burrow. As he climbed, the smoke grew denser, and began to burn his eyes and lungs. He reached the top of the stairs and quickly explored every possible corner of this area of the burrow, but could find no people. He was almost ready to give up in misery when he noticed a narrow opening in the side of the burrow. He poked his head at the opening, and suddenly the opening grew so that he was able to squeeze completely through. I'm out of the burrow!
Quickly, though, he realized that he was still in the burrow, only in a different room. There was no fresh air, only more smoke. He scrambled desperately around the room, and finally hopped up onto a high and broad object that was covered in soft blankets much like the ones that had been in his cage, only much larger. Then something moved under the blanket.
The smoke had blinded his sense of smell, and he hadn't realized that there was a human in the room. He realized that it was the boy, and he was asleep in his nest. Seeing the boy was nothing new, but Blackberry had no idea how the boy would react to seeing his pet out of the cage. Instinctively, Blackberry squealed, and scrambled off of the boy's nest. The boy awoke just then.
As Blackberry was already disoriented, he wasn't able to find the door again. The boy cried out, and after jumping out of bed, began to crawl on the floor. The boy saw Blackberry huddled in fright, and grabbed at him. Blackberry responded by snarling and scratching at the boy, and scrambling under the boy's nest. The boy looked under the bed after Blackberry for a few moments, then disappeared, crawling out of the door.
After waiting under the bed for as long as he dared in the choking smoke, Blackberry also went through the door, hoping again to find a way out of the man burrow without bumping into the boy or any other human again. However, he became lost in the thick smoke which by now had turned the air virtually black. Blackberry soon felt dizzy and tired, and his lungs felt as if they themselves were on fire. It's no use, I'm not getting out. I'll never see Hazel-rah's warren again. He laid down on the burrow floor and prepared to meet the Black Rabbit.
***
Josh awoke to something squealing and then scrambling off of him, clawing as it went. Perhaps it was Rascal again. That puppy liked doing that sort of mischief.
No, Rascal was dead - so what was it? Josh opened his eyes and realized immediately that something was terribly wrong, forgetting about what had woken him. The hall light was now barely visible through a thick haze of smoke. Fire! was his first thought. He froze out of fear, then finally got out of bed and stood up, then starting choking on the smoke. He remembered what his fire fighting grandfather had said: When there is smoke / And you don't want to choke / Keep near to the ground / Where clear air is found. Josh got down and found it a little easier to breathe.
Just then, he saw Hopscotch huddled nearby, too frightened too move. Now he knew what had woken him up. But how did he get out of the cage? Obviously, that didn't matter much right now. "Come here, Hopscotch," whispered Josh, reaching out. The rabbit responded by snarling and scratching at his hand, then darting under the bed. Josh thought of grabbing his pet, but he knew that escape from the house was the main concern now.
Josh thought back to his grandfather's lessons. He had been told to climb out of his window and down the escape ladder (there had been one installed under each bedroom window on the second floor), and that everyone else would be doing the same. They were to all meet on the front lawn. However, Josh was afraid that his parents might not even be awake yet. He crawled out into the hallway and, as quickly as he could, made his way to his parents' bedroom.
The smoke was thickening, making the hallway pitch black, and the fire's roar could be heard downstairs. When Josh finally reached the end of the hall, he felt the door to his parents' bedroom. Open it not / if the door feels hot. Josh was relieved that it was cool to the touch, opened the door, and quickly crawled to the bed and shook his parents awake. Both parents quickly sat up and Karen sat in shock for a moment, before letting out a scream that was cut short by coughing.
"Get to the window," bellowed Greg, picking up Josh, and pushing his wife ahead of him.
Greg tried opening the window, but it was stuck fast. After a couple of desperate heaves, some ice audibly cracked and the window flew open. Karen put Josh on the ladder. Just as he was about to climb down, Josh remembered something. Where is Hopscotch? Before his parents could grab him, Josh clambered back inside and down the hallway. Luckily, he found Hopscotch just a short way down the hall from his parent's room. It seemed that his pet had tried to follow them, but had been overcome by the smoke. Josh picked up Hopscotch and turned around just as his father grabbed him.
"What are you doing?" Greg snapped, "Are you daft? You don't go back into a fire!" Greg couldn't decide if he were more angry or frightened. He dragged Josh as the boy clung onto the rabbit, then placed his boy on the ladder again. After he made sure that Josh and his wife were safe on the ground, Greg followed.
The fire that had now engulfed the living room and most of the first floor, and the heat had been building up on the second floor. As Greg was climbing down to safety, there was an audible whoosh as the second floor suddenly caught fire. The bedroom window popped, showering Greg with glass, and he could see flames where his family had just been. He leapt the last few feet to the ground, landing roughly in the snow.
The Whitting's gathered, shivering in their sleep wear, and watched their house be gutted by the flames. Their neighbours, the Richard's, had by now awoken to the sounds of the fire, and saw the Whitting's standing outside their burning home.
Harold Richard rushed over in his coat. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I don't know, but this isn't the best day of my life," mumbled Greg.
"Well, we all made it out safe," comforted Karen, "That's all that matters."
"Yes," agreed Harold, "You'd better get out of the cold." He motioned to his house.
Harold's wife had since called the fire department, and the first fire trucks were just arriving on the scene. As Harold guided the Whitting's into his home, Greg became curious as to how Josh had woken up.
"Hopscotch woke me up," replied Josh. He held up the limp rabbit.
Greg raised his eyebrows. "How is that possible? He was in the cage, wasn't he?"
"Yes," mumbled Josh, "I didn't let him out, honest."
As they were sitting at the Richards' living room table, Karen spoke up. "Look at him - he's bleeding. How did that happen?" she wondered. She took Hopscotch from Josh and looked at the singe marks and gouges, and noticed that the rabbit was also bleeding from its mouth. She gingerly opened its mouth and removed something sharp that had been visibly stuck in its gums. It was a sharp piece of brown plastic. "Well, look at this. I wonder how that got in there?"
