Chapter 14-Encroaching Evil

Only days after the group's adventure at the farm, things were beginning to take a turn for the worse. The Watership owsla had been finding signs of Efrafans when they were out on patrol. The Efrafans still could not find the warren, but if they continued searching like they had been, it would only be a matter of time. The growing closeness of the Efrafans was beginning to cause some…paranoia in some of the rabbits.

Sam sat at the foot of the down, trying to make sense of the two rabbits talking frantically at him. "Alright, hold on," he said, shaking his head, "I don't understand what you're saying. Dandelion, you first. What's wrong?"

The lanky buck was shaking in fear. "We saw him, Sam. We saw him! When Pipkin and I were searching the warren, we saw the Black Rabbit of Inlé!"

"Right…" Sam said with a roll of his eyes. "And what were you searching for again?"

"Haven't you been paying attention to anything?" Bigwig yelled. "Hazel, Fiver, and Hawkbit are missing! No one has seen them all day! So I sent these blighters in to look for them in the warren, and they come out screaming about the embleer Black Rabbit!"

Sam's ears perked up when he heard that. "Wait, they're missing?"

"Yes," Bigwig replied, annoyed. "And since there has been absolutely no sign of them on the down, I think they must have been captured by Efrafa! You know that we've been finding signs of them getting closer. Well, now they've found us."

Sam shook his head in doubt. "I don't know Bigwig. That seems like a bit of a stretch. How would they have gotten that close without us noticing?" In truth, the Efrafans still hadn't extended their search beyond the field that Sam and Bigwig saw them in the first time. Their furthest search was still about a mile away, a fair distance for a rabbit.

"We don't have time to sit around Sam," Bigwig continued. "We need to get the owsla ready!"

"Alright fine, tell you what? You do that, and I'll see about Dandelion's 'Black Rabbit,' and we'll be with you soon."

"Hmph, fine," Bigwig said as he stomped away.

"Alright Dandelion," Sam said to the still trembling buck, "show me where you saw it."

Dandelion's eyes widened. "You want to go back in there? When the Black Rabbit is haunting our warren? What if he wants me Sam? What if he wants you?!"

"I'll take my chances," Sam answered in a flat voice. "Just show me."

Dandelion led Sam into the warren and into a run that was still being dug.

"Dandelion," Sam said as they continued down the deserted run, "isn't this that run that Blackberry told us to stay out of? I could have sworn she said something about this place not being very safe."

"It isn't safe," he said in a quivering voice. "Not with the Black Rabbit here. It was just around this corner."

Sam nodded and took the lead. As he rounded the corner, he saw a hole in the floor of the run with light streaming out of it. Huh, now that's interesting, he thought as he approached. He peered down the hole and saw light reflecting off of the wet floors and walls of an underground cavern.

"There he is!" Dandelion suddenly screamed, almost making Sam lose his balance. "Oh Frith help us!"

Sam turned and saw a shadowy form on the wall behind him. Sam moved his ears back and forth, and the form on the wall copied his movements. Sam sighed and turned back into his human form. "Hey Dandelion," he yelled to his companion, who was covering his eyes in fright, "take another look." The yellow buck slowly uncovered his eyes and saw the humans shadow on the wall.

"Wha-what is that?" he asked in confusion.

"It's a shadow buddy. You know, like the ones you have outside?"

Dandelion approached the pit as well and gave a sheepish smile as a second shadow appeared. "Ah-haha…whoops. Sorry Sam, looks like you were right, false alarm."

"It's a good thing you came back here though," Sam said, returning to rabbit form. "I just remembered where the others are."

"Do you mean Hawkbit and the others?" he asked excitedly. "Where?"

"Right here," Sam said, gesturing to the pit behind them. "They fell down there. Come on, you can smell that they were around here recently. And look here, the ground is recently broken. The floor probably collapsed when they stood on it."

"By Frith Sam, you're right! Come on, we must tell Bigwig!"

"You mean we have to dig?" Bigwig asked as he, Dandelion, Sam, and Blackberry sat at the edge of the hole.

"Yeah Bigwig," the teen replied, "we do. And don't start complaining. You're always going on about making sure the chief of a warren is safe. Well, this is the best way to do it."

Blackberry, who had been examining the walls and floor, turned and spoke. "This will be a good spot to start. We'll have a tunnel down to that cave in no time."

Sam nodded. "Right. You three start on that, I'll go and get some help." Sam exited the warren in search of more diggers. He went first to the other does, knowing that even though he was only encouraging the rabbits' stereotype, they were better at digging. Only Glade and Clover were available, Primrose having to watch the kittens. As they walked back, Pipkin came begging to be allowed to help, and of course they could not say no.

They went down the run and found a sizable indent in the wall that Blackberry had indicated earlier. "Alright guys," Sam said as he approached, "I've got some help. Let's go."

The group set to digging, taking it in shifts whenever someone got too tired. Sam, Glade, and Pipkin were resting in the run while Bigwig, Blackberry, and Dandelion were digging. Sam noticed Glade shooting strange looks at him.

"Um, is something wrong?" he asked.

She gave her head a quick shake. "What? Oh, no, it's nothing. It's just…I still find it strange sometimes that you would do stuff like this as a rabbit, rather than in your human body. Wouldn't it be more comfortable in the body you're most used to?"

Sam shrugged. "Humans aren't really built for digging. Or hiding. Or running. And I can't eat with it either. My rabbit body is a lot more useful around here, so I tend to stick to that. The only thing my human body really has going for it is the thumbs, and I don't miss them as much as I would have imagined."

"Oh, I see."

"Sam?" Pipkin asked.

"Yeah buddy?"

"What's a thumb?" Sam spent the remainder of their break teaching Pipkin the different fingers that humans have. After spending the majority of the day digging, they finally broke through into the cave.

Sam and the rabbits looked at the place around them. Stalagmites were scattered around the outside of the chamber, and there was a passage leading deeper in.

Bigwig began sniffing around before declaring, "They went this way." He gestured to the other passage. "They must have decided to try and find their own way out. Come on, let's go let them know that we've rescued them."

The group was about to venture further into the cave, when a familiar voice suddenly echoed above them. "Oi Bigwig, what are you doing down there? That seems like an odd place to patrol." They turned and looked at the hole in the ceiling to see Hawkbit smirking with Hazel and Fiver sitting behind him.

"Hazel!" Sam called in excitement. "What are you doing up there? We thought you fell in."

"We did," Hazel said as he exited the newly made run. "We found another way out, and I think you'll be very interested in where it leads. Come along, I'll show you."

Hazel led them through the cave towards the exit they found. Along the way, he pointed out numerous dead ends that they had found when they were trying to get out. "We're almost there," Hazel said as he turned the corner into a wider tunnel with a large rock embedded in the wall. They followed their chief until the path opened into a chamber that was larger than the one they had entered in. Everyone except Hazel stopped and stared.

Half the chamber was taken up with a multilevel pool of water, each with a miniature waterfall leading to the lower level. The lowest one drained into a small stream that had worn a path through the stone and flowed around the corner. Surrounding the pools were stalactites colored with many hues of green, yellow, and some light red. The colors blended together and reflected off the water so well that Sam almost thought he was looking at a painting.

Incredible…" the teen said breathlessly. "Oh what I wouldn't give for a camera right now, this place is way too beautiful for others not to see." He turned and saw the rabbits staring at him strangely.

"Are you alright Sam?" Pipkin asked.

Sam shook his head to regain his focus. "Oh yeah, sorry guys. I just got…distracted. Let's go." They continued alongside the stream, and eventually through it, as it widened to cover the entire tunnel. Hazel motioned for them to slow as the tunnel they were approaching had running water. The current in this tunnel didn't look particularly strong, but it was deep enough that Sam couldn't see the bottom. He peered around the corner and saw light streaming through an exit to the cave.

Hazel turned to the group. "Alright, Sam and Bigwig come with me. The rest of you wait here. We won't be long."

With that he turned and jumped into the water, swimming as he let the current carry him towards the exit. Bigwig went next, then Sam. When Sam jumped in, he realized two things: the water was much colder than it looked, and he had not actually been swimming as a rabbit before. The result was him being swept along the current, struggling to keep his head above the water. Luckily, there was a sand bar at the mouth of the stream and he was able to regain his footing.

"And here we are," Hazel said, ignoring Sam's sputtering. "Notice anything?"

Sam looked at where they had exited. They were in a little cove just off the main body of a river. He saw typical trees and bushes, but nothing out of the ordinary. Then his eyes caught something strange through the tree line. He hopped along the river until he could get a better view, and saw an almost broken bridge.

Bigwig came up behind him and saw the bridge as well. "Is that…is that the bridge from Efrafa?" Hazel nodded. "So we're in Efrafa? Right now?" Hazel nodded again. "Haha! That's bloody brilliant Hazel! We have a direct line right into the heart of enemy territory."

"I thought you'd be happy," Hazel said. "But we should go. I'd rather not hang around here any longer than necessary. Don't want to draw attention."

They turned back towards the cave. As Sam passed inside, he saw a wall of shrubbery hanging over the entrance, concealing it all but the most intense of searching.

Huh, he thought to himself, I must have missed that when I was…drowning. They swam back to where the others were waiting, Sam in his human form this time. Everyone else was excited to hear about the news too, and they returned to the down to tell the others. Holly in particular was very interested in the information, and he and Bigwig went off to start making plans about how they could use the tunnel to their advantage.

It had been a few days since the discovery of the tunnel leading to Efrafa, and it seemed like things were finally starting to calm down, however short a time of peace it was. Sam, Hazel, and Bigwig were sitting apart from the others, discussing the latest troubling news.

"How far did you say they got Bigwig?" Hazel asked, concerned.

"I told you Hazel-rah," the owsla captain responded, "as we were out on patrol, we caught the scent of the Efrafans at the edge of the field. The near edge of the field. They're getting closer every day. We need to do something!"

Hazel shook his head in worry. "You're right, but what?" He turned away from the other two and started mumbling to himself. "Hm, maybe…traps? No, that would only enforce the idea that we're in this direction. Take out their patrols perhaps? No! Same problem! I...wait, what about…" He turned back towards Sam and Bigwig with an excited look on his face. "We'll trick them! All we have to do is leave false scent trails in the woods between here and there. Between all of us, we can leave so many that they won't have any idea which way to go."

Bigwig considered the plan for a moment. "That…could actually work. If we were to make a bunch of trails leading some other direction, we might get them to avoid this place."

Sam smiled as he listened to the planning, and then started laughing. When Hazel and Bigwig shot him odd looks, he explained the thought he had. They smiled as they listened, knowing it would be the perfect topper to their plan.

They decided to split into teams of two and have them each take a section of the woods. Only Primrose and Pipkin stayed behind to take care of the kittens. The teams consisted of Hazel and Fiver, Bigwig and Holly, Sam and Glade, Dandelion and Hawkbit, and the last team of Strawberry and Clover. Kehaar and Hannah would fly overhead to coordinate the project.

Glade followed Sam on the path Hazel directed them to take. "Sam, do you know why Hazel has us going out here?" she asked. "Wouldn't it make more sense for us to be working in the woods like the rest?"

"You must not have been filled in before we left," Sam said as he turned into human form. Glade shook her head. "Well, we were hoping that I would actually be able to stop the Efrafans from continuing in this direction at all."

Glade responded skeptically, "And how to you plan on doing that, oh mighty Messenger?"

"Did I tell you the specifics of my powers yet? It's kind of hard to keep track of who knows what."

Glade blinked in surprise. "There are specifics? I thought it was just simple shape changing."

Sam explained the effects of the three powers he had.

"We were hoping that by turning off the blue one," he concluded, "that I could spread human scent all around here and hopefully stop them from coming this way."

"That's incredible. And smart. Leave it to you, Hazel, and Bigwig to think up something like this. Let's get started then."

Sam nodded. "Right. But just so you know, while turning my blue power off makes me smell like a human again, I won't be able to understand you. It's the same one that controls my lapine speaking abilities."

Glade looked a bit disappointed when she heard that. "Oh. Well, let's get this done as quickly as we can then." When nothing visible happened, she asked, "Sam, can you hear me?"

Sam heard it as, "Sam, veth es uthow ma?" Sam shook his head and said, "I don't understand what you're saying Glade, sorry." She nodded her head and the two began walking around, trying to make the woods smell like human. The main plan was to walk around and brush up against everything that he could.

He and Glade spent a silent three hours walking back and forth along the tree line and a bit in the field itself for good measure. Sam turned back into a rabbit just as Kahaar flew down to them.

"Hey Sam and Glade," Hannah called from his back, "Hazel wants you to join him and the others. They say they've found something odd. Come on, we'll lead you there."

"I wonder what that's all about," Glade said with curiosity.

"Not sure," Sam replied, "let's go see."

The two followed on the ground as Kehaar led them away from the warren to the west. They traveled for about twenty minutes before spying Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, Hawkbit, and Dandelion sitting in the bushes looking at something in a clearing. "Hey there Hazel," Sam said as they approached, "did you need us for something?"

The rabbits jumped a bit at the sudden arrival of their friends, but Hazel responded, "Yes Sam, thanks for coming out here. What is that thing?" He gestured towards the clearing as he voiced his question. Sam looked out and saw the sun reflecting off the glass panes of a house-like structure.

"Oh, that's a greenhouse," Sam replied. Seeing the blank looks on the rabbits' faces, Sam kept explaining. "Oh how do they work again?" he mumbled. Then louder, "Ah right. They trap Frith's rays inside, allowing plants to grow."

"Oh, I…see," Hazel said, not entirely comprehending what Sam said.

Sam shook his head. "Here, I'll show you. The door is open and it doesn't look like there's anyone in there. Come on."

With that he left the cover of the bushes and made his way towards the open greenhouse with the rabbits nervously following behind him. Inside was a maze of concrete walls, rising about a foot off of the ground. There were flowers and leaves rising up from all of them. "See," he said as they walked inside, "it's a lot warmer in here. That allows all these plants to grow, most of which I'm guessing you haven't seen before."

"No I haven't, but that doesn't stop it from being delicious." Sam turned and saw Hawkbit and Dandelion munching on a large leaf that dangled below the edge of the wall.

"Um, guys?" Sam said, beginning to get nervous, "do you think that's a good idea? I mean, usually the plants in these things are kind of special, and whoever owns this might get mad. The last thing we need is one of the humans on the warpath."

"Oh come on Sam, give these a try." This came from Fiver who was eating one row over. "They really are good." Glade nodded her agreement.

Hazel and Sam looked at each other and shrugged. Oh hell, Sam thought to himself, the guy really was asking for it, leaving the door open like that. Sam hopped to a promising looking plant and took a bite. His eyes widened at the amazing flavor. As he ate, Sam was almost sad to think that he would have to go back to eating plain grass after this. It was like comparing gourmet cuisine to school food.

Sam and the others were so busy enjoying the amazing food that they didn't notice Bigwig had spotted something. "Lads, come over here," he said softly, "and keep quiet." Hearing the concern in their friend's voice, the others crept over to where Bigwig was crouched by the door.

"What's going on?" Sam asked quietly as he got closer.

Bigwig gestured towards the far tree line. "Efrafans." Sam looked in the same direction as Bigwig, and sure enough, a patrol led by Vervain and Campion emerged from the bushes. Sam strained his ears to make out what they were saying.

"Come on you louts!" Vervain yelled at the patrol, all of whom looked exhausted besides Campion and himself. "We aren't going to find the outsiders' warren with you lazing about. Now move or I'll report you to the general!"

"That's enough Vervain." Sam was pleased to see Campion speak against the other rabbit's cruelties. "They're far too tired to continue like this. We should rest here and then go back to Efrafa. We've come as far as we can today."

Vervain rounded on the larger rabbit. "In case you have forgotten Campion, General Woundwort put me in charge of this patrol, and if I say we keep going, then we keep going! I'm not going to risk my tail just because these layabouts can't handle a little patrolling."

Campion looked as if he wanted to tackle Vervain on the spot. "Fine then, a compromise. You can surely see that if we were to find the outsiders' warren, we would be in no position to do anything. And if they saw us, there's little chance any of us would escape, even the two of us. We can rest over in that man thing. I can see flayrah from here and it will provide good cover."

Vervain considered before making an annoyed huff. "Fine," he said, and the patrol headed towards the greenhouse. Sam and the Watership rabbits started to panic when they heard that. They began looking frantically about for a place to hide. Suddenly, there came a pained grunt from outside. Sam and Bigwig watched as one of the Efrafan rabbits fell to the ground just outside of the tree line.

"What are you doing?!" Vervain howled in a rage. "Come out of that bush you fool!"

Sam heard a voice he didn't recognize. It was heavy and slow with fatigue. "I'm sorry Captain Vervain, my foot got stuck. If I could just get some help-"

"Help? Oh no, any rabbit who makes such a stupid mistake deserves to be left for the elil."

Campion stepped in front of Vervain, obviously disagreeing with his assessment. "What are you doing Vervain?" he said in a harsh voice. "How can you just leave him there? He's a member of our owsla and part of your patrol!"

In a cold tone that gave Sam chills, Vervain responded, "The useless and weak deserve to die Campion. Only the strong are allowed to live."

Campion was about to respond when a piercing shriek cut though the clearing. Looking up through the glass ceiling, Sam and the others saw a hawk dive towards the group of Efrafans. They saw it at the same time as a loud "Scatter!" sounded from outside and the entire patrol broke in different directions for the bushes.

All except Campion.

Sam watched as he ran to the fallen rabbit and tried to help him up. With a bit of nudging, he was on his feet and quickly turned and ran into the brush. Campion tried to follow but he was too slow. Sam heard a pained cry as the hawk latched onto Campion and lifted him from the ground.

"No!" Barely thinking, Sam quickly switched into his human form, took aim, and launched an energy ball at the hawk. The ball hit the hawk's left wing, causing it to drop Campion into the trees. Sam and the other rabbits ran towards the trees to search for the Efrafan captain.

Sam heard a sharp intake of breath from Glade. "Oh Frith…" Campion lay on the ground. Sam edged closer and saw large gashes on both of Campion's flanks where the hawk had grabbed him, and numerous smaller scratches and scrapes along the rest of his body, presumably from the fall. Moving closer still to Campion, Sam was able to notice small movements in his body. He was breathing. He was alive!

"Frith above," Hazel said in astonishment, "this is one tough rabbit. I wouldn't believe it possible to survive a fall like that."

Bigwig solemnly approached. "What should we do with him Hazel? If you ask me, we should take advantage of the situation and eliminate one of Efrafa's best warriors." He raised his paw above Campion's head, preparing to end the soldier's life.

"No!" Sam and Hazel yelled simultaneously. Bigwig stopped and looked at the two in confusion.

"You can't do that Bigwig," Sam continued, "he's a good rabbit. You saw what he did out here; he was only captured because he risked himself trying to save another rabbit. He isn't like the other Efrafans."

A memory flashed in Bigwig's head.

Campion looked towards the rabbits on silflay. "Some rabbits just don't know what's really best for themselves," he said to Bigwig. "We maintain order here with the thinking that some unpleasantness must be endured for true safety."

"And if anyone disagrees with you?" he replied.

Campion gave Bigwig a hard look. "Then we deal with them."

Bigwig closed his eyes, willing the memory away. "I think he's a bit more like the others than you want to believe, Sam."

"It doesn't matter Bigwig," Hazel said firmly, "he's injured and defenseless. We don't kill rabbits that have no means of defending themselves. That's Efrafan thinking. We must try and help him."

"Help him?! Forgive me Hazel-rah, but that's a foolish idea! If we don't kill him now, we'll only regret it later. I've seen the Efrafans in action, and Campion is almost as good a fighter as Woundwort. We'll deal a terrible blow to their owsla by killing him!"

"I said no, Bigwig," Hazel responded with an edge in his voice.

Bigwig glanced between the steady looks Hazel and Sam held on their faces. "Embleer Frith, fine! Have it your way! Help the blighter if you want, but I'm going home." Bigwig started back towards Watership Down. Hawkbit and Dandelion looked back and forth between Hazel and Bigwig, but Hazel gestured for them to go and they followed their captain. Sam, Hazel, Glade, and Fiver were left with the unconscious Campion.

"You two can probably go as well," Hazel told Fiver and Glade. "Sam and I will stay to watch over Campion."

"Are you sure, Hazel?" Fiver said anxiously. "Wouldn't it be better to have more rabbits here in case anything happens?"

Glade nodded her agreement. "He's right. What if the Efrafans come back? Or the hawk?"

"No, it would be best for just Hazel and me to stay," Sam said. "When Campion wakes up, it would probably be for the best if he didn't think he was being held captive or something. If the hawk comes back, I can just blast it again. And if the Efrafans come, well, they looked so tired that the only one who could put up a decent fight might be Vervain. And honestly, I'm still looking for any excuse I can to smack him around. We'll be fine, I promise."

"Go on," Hazel said, "come back later if you wish, but for now it would be best for you to go.

Though they clearly weren't happy with the idea, Fiver and Glade nodded and turned to follow Bigwig and the others from the owsla.

Hazel watched them go before turning to Sam. "We should get Campion somewhere safe. Staying out here is only asking for elil to come." Just then, they heard the screech of the hawk from before.

"Alright, Hazel," Sam said, turning to his human form again, "you drag him into the greenhouse and I'll cover you."

Hazel nodded and grabbed Campion by the scruff of the neck, gently pulling him towards the greenhouse. Sam walked by him, keeping his eyes towards the sky. He heard a cry behind him and whipped around to see the hawk coming in for another dive. Sam charged and launched another energy ball at it. Learning from its previous mistake, the hawk pulled out of its dive and banked to the side to avoid the blast, screeching its anger as it did. Sam threw one more ball, chasing the hawk away again. He looked back and saw that Hazel had made it into the greenhouse with Campion. Sam turned to his rabbit form and followed.

"Good job Sam," Hazel said. "Now all we have to do is wait for Campion to wake up."

"Alright," the teen replied.

The two waited into the evening, but Campion showed no sign of regaining consciousness. Getting bored, Sam decided to take a look around the rest of the greenhouse, leaving Hazel alone with Campion. He followed the wall of the greenhouse to the back, where he found something odd. Sitting in the corner was a dish full of water sitting by a wooden box with a small opening near the ground. Sam looked inside the hole, but it was too dark to see anything, though a dry, musty scent wafted out. The box gave Sam a bad feeling. He thought to himself fiercely, what is this? Why do I think I'm forgetting something? Something important…and bad. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a squawk above him. He looked up to see two colorful birds sitting on the sprinkler system hanging above the plants.

"What you doin' in here longears?" the red one asked.

"Ya," the green one continued, "you and the other longears-es should get gone soon."

"Um…" Sam hesitated, thrown off by their odd speech. "Is there something wrong with being in here?"

The red one ruffled his feathers. "Ya, the slither thing gonna get you!"

"Oh ya, slither thing bad," the green one said.

"Very bad."

"Bad for you that is."

"Not bad for us, we're up here."

"But you can't get up here, so…"

"…bad for you!"

Sam was lost by their rapid trade in speech. "Okay wait, what's a slither…thing…" Oh no, He thought as he rounded back on the box, that's what I forgot! We need to get out of here before-

*Click*

Sam's blood went cold as he looked at the door, only to find it closed with the farmer walking away. This is bad, he thought, I need to get back to Hazel and Campion quick! As he saw a scaly nose poke out of the box, Sam turned and sprinted back towards the others.

"Hazel!" he yelled before he could see them, "is Campion awake yet? We need to get out of here!" He rounded the corner and saw Campion and Hazel talking to one another, the injured rabbit on his feet.

"Sa-Sunflower, what's wrong?" Hazel asked in concern.

Campion stared intently at Sam as he came into view. "You…" he said in a strained voice. "I didn't think you were going to be here…"

Sam's ears lowered, an unconscious reflex upon hearing the distant tone in Campion's voice. He quickly snapped out of it though. "Listen, whatever problems you have with me will have to wait. We aren't alone in here."

Hazel perked up in alarm. "What do you-" He was cut off by a rustling in the bushes on their right.

"Ohhh, that not good." The rabbits looked up towards the direction of the taunting voice to find the birds Sam had met earlier.

"No, not good at all."

"Slither thing coming."

"It going to find you."

"It sees your heat."

"You not gonna escape!" The two birds cackled mischievously from their perch. Upon hearing more rustling, they turned back towards the bushed to see a flat, scaled head slide out from the foliage. The snake sat in front of them with its head raised off the ground, eyeing the rabbits with a bloodthirsty glare.

"Oh," Hazel said weakly as he dropped into a position to run, "so that's a 'slither thing' then?"

Sam dropped down as well. "It's better known as a snake, but yeah, that's it."

Campion shook his head. "I've never seen a thing like this before. How do we fight it?"

"We don't," Sam replied. "This thing is too big for us to have a chance of beating it in a fight. Our only hope is to find some way out of here. It can bite really fast, so keep your distance. And if it gets a hold of you…you're done."

Hazel looked at the boy in shock. "Not even you could fight it, Sunflower?" he asked, referring to Sam's human weapons.

Sam shook his head. "No, I would be way too slow. It would get me before I even lifted my arm." Sam tried to ignore the piercing look that Campion was giving him.

"Fine then," Hazel said decisively. "Campion and I will try to distract this thing, while you try and find us a way out of here." He turned to the injured Efrafan. "Are you well enough to run?"

"Faster than you, I'd say," Campion replied with a bit of humor, surprising the other two.

The snake lunged and the three split off in different directions, all avoiding the snake. Sam leapt though the plants and ran until he reached the glass wall. He turned and looked around, but could not detect the snake near him. The only thing he heard was loud rustling in the distant plants, which he took to be Hazel and Campion. He turned back towards the glass wall, changing to his human form again.

"Alright, this shouldn't be too hard," he said as he pulled out his staff. He detached the knives from the ends and prepared to smash a hole in the wall. He struck the wall, but nothing happened, not even a scratch! What the… he thought. He tried again, hitting the wall harder and harder, but nothing happened. He made small marks, but the glass showed no signs of actually breaking. Fine then, plan B. He reattached one of the knives onto the staff and prepared to strike again. These things have cut thorough everything else, he thought, trying to give himself confidence. He closed his eyes, please don't wreck my knife… He opened his eyes quickly and charged at the wall. The knife connected with the glass and sunk in a bit, but the slipped out, creating a gouge in the glass and causing Sam to stumble forward and hit the wall with a thump.

"Hazel, look out!" Sam's head rose in alarm as he heard Campion and Hazel shouting back and forth.

"Come this way, quickly!"

"Watch out behind you!"

"Quick, over here!"

Sam grew frantic, knowing that they could only hold out for so long. Let's try this then. He stepped back from the wall and charged one of his energy balls. This one has to work, he thought desperately. He hurled the ball at the mark he had made before, hoping it would break through the glass. He was not prepared for the ball to bounce back at him when it made contact with the wall. He managed to dive out of the way before the ball whizzed by where his head had been moments before, and turned to see it dissipate on the concrete. "Damn it!" he screamed in frustration.

He shook his head, trying to calm down. Alright, think. How else can we get out of here? Can't get through the wall. The door? No way, how would I work it being a foot tall? He heard more yelling from Campion and Hazel, it sounded like they were tiring. On the other hand, he thought, running to the front of the greenhouse, it can't hurt to look. He approached the front wall, expecting to see a door handle or some other equally impossible thing for him to use holding the door shut. What he saw instead, was a simple two way latch holding the door shut on both sides. A latch he could undo. If I can hit it that is. He pulled his staff out again and tried to throw it javelin-style at the latch, missing terribly. A few failures later, he realized that throwing wasn't going to work.

Sam looked around frantically. Come on, there has to be something I can…oh, there we go. He spied a pile of small ceramic plant pots sitting in the corner. Working quickly, he managed to stack three of them in a pyramid shape. He climbed to the top of the pile and looked up. He was still about two feet shy from reaching the latch.

"Sam!" he heard Hazel yell, apparently so preoccupied that he forgot to use Sam's rabbit name. "Did you find a way out yet?"

"Working on it!" the teen yelled back. He reached with his staff towards the latch, still short by a couple of inches. With a grunt of effort, he jumped and hit the latch, causing it to become undone. "I got the door open," he yelled. "Hurry over here!"

"By the Black Rabbit of Inlé…" Sam turned around when he heard the startled voice and saw Campion standing by one of the rows of plants.

Sam jumped down, worrying more about their escape. "Impeccable timing, Campion," he muttered to himself. Sam pushed on the door, causing it to slowly open. "So yeah, I'm a human. I know this is probably a bit surprise, but can you worry about it later? We still need to get out of here alive, and I could use some help with this door. Campion?" The teen looked back to see Campion in a fighting stance. "Oh for...look, we don't have time for this! We need to leave. Now where's Hazel?"

"Right here!" Sam looked to his side to see Hazel come around the corner, out of breath. "You got the door open. Good work, Sam."

Sam nodded. "Right, now let's get out of- Campion look out!"

The large rabbit turned to see the snake lunging at him. Suddenly, a green ball rushed by his head, hitting the snake in the open mouth. Campion turned and saw Sam with his hand still outstretched from the throw, with another ball waiting in his other hand. "You…saved me?" Campion said in amazement.

Sam flashed the rabbit a smile. "Yes, I did. Now can we please get out of here?!" The two rabbits nodded and followed the teen out the open door. As soon as they were outside, Sam pushed the door shut again before falling to the ground in relief. "Oh man, that was close! Great teamwork you two," he said, looking at the two rabbits standing by him.

Campion continued to glare at Sam, not being distracted by the small talk. "How…you…why?" he managed to say.

Sam chuckled at seeing the usually composed captain at a loss for words. "Long story short, I was sent by Prince Rainbow to assist Hazel's warren. Or if you were asking why I saved you, well, I think you're worth saving."

Campion shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. "No…no this doesn't make sense. You're not supposed to be like this, you're supposed to hate us and try to kill us."

"Says who?"

"Woundwort."

Sam chuckled. "He lies about a lot of things. Not all humans are bad, I promise."

Campion's confused look was replaced with an angry one. "Don't speak that way about my chief! You have no idea what he's done for us."

"Like what," Sam retorted, "tortured the rabbits under his rule? Made them into slaves? You can't deny that there are plenty of unhappy rabbits there, Campion. When I was there, I could see it myself. Everyone is lifeless and hopeless, and you know about it. That's why you do your best to make it easier on everyone. Even though it's against what your chief has specifically demanded. You know he's in the wrong!"

"Be quiet!" Campion snapped. "You don't understand anything. Before General Woundwort came, Efrafa was nothing. We were merely food for the elil. But he changed all that. He made us great, he saved us!"

"But who's going to save you from him?" Hazel said quietly.

Before Campion could answer, they heard voices coming from both sides of them.

"Sounds like Vervain," Campion said.

"Hazel, can you hear them?" Sam said to the chief. "It's Glade and Fiver!"

"Well then," Campion said, making them turn back towards him. "It looks like this is where we part ways."

Hazel nodded. "Take care, Campion," then he hopped towards his brother's voice.

Campion was about to turn and go when Sam's voice stopped him. "Campion, I…"

"You saved my life in there," he interrupted, "I'll keep your secret. For now."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you." He turned back into a rabbit and made to follow Hazel. "And Campion, think on what we said, won't you?" Campion kept his face emotionless as he turned and made his way to the patrol.

Sam followed Hazel and found Fiver, Glade, Bigwig, and surprisingly, Pipkin there waiting.

"Sam!" Pipkin and Glade cried. They ran forth to meet him, nuzzling their friend.

"Woah, what's wrong guys?" he said, shaking them off gently. "We weren't even gone for a day."

Pipkin was the one to answer. "Fiver had a vision! He said that you and Hazel were in terrible danger, so we rushed here as fast as we could. We were so worried about you!"

"So, what happened in there?" Glade asked, trying to sound like she hadn't been worried at all.

Sam and Hazel looked at each other. "We'll tell you on the way back," Hazel said. "I don't know about you Sam, but I'm exhausted."

Sam yawned. "Yeah, I would say that about describes me." With that, the group made their way back home.