Chapter 23: Screams
After watching Jack storm out, Bunnymund turned on Tooth and let her have it. He'd had become extremely defensive of Jack and Gemma after what had happened with Pitch. "Tooth, how could you do something like that?" She looked a little surprised, "Bunny, I can't see her-" "We all know you can't see her, Tooth. But we also know why you can't see her." The look on her face flashed from apprehension to faked confidence.
"Oh really? Then why don't I believe in this 'Gemma Fogg'?" The saucy way she said the girl's name made him even angrier. He hardened his face to make his point clear. "You don't believe in her," he paused pointing at her, "because you want Jack for yourself." Her face said it all. He shook his head. "Honestly, Tooth, I'm disappointed. You knew what happened to Jamie, and then go right along and break Jack's heart a second time. What kind of a Guardian does that? We promised each other years ago to support one another, no matter what. You broke that promise."
After an awkward pause, North spoke, putting his big hand on her shoulder. "Tooth, Bunny is right. What you did was wrong." The poor woman, realizing what she had done, looked defeated and then almost depressed, ashamed of what she had done. Sandy floated next to her, but looked from her to Bunny. He wasn't sure of what he could do.
The Guardian of Hope felt bad for blaming Tooth, but then again he couldn't bear to watch anyone, even the annoying Jack Frost, being hurt. This especially went to the Guardians, considering the oath they had made to each other after they came together. After the kids, the Guardians were to protect each other at all costs, even if they didn't agree. Bunnymund opened him mouth to speak, but North gave him a death glare. Santa turned to Tooth again. "IF you love Jack," he said, "you would go apologize. He would be happy."
Tooth wrapped her arms around herself self-consciously, staring at the ground. "I know." Bunny noticed that her wings weren't fluttering as fast as normal. Boy, she was really beating herself up about this. Of course, he couldn't imagine what she was thinking, or for sure what she was going through emotionally. He would've said something comforting, or tried to, but the warning glare from North had shut him up.
Tooth turned to leave, but fell to the ground instead. Sandy had hit her with some dream sand, making her fall asleep at their feet. A little surprised, Bunny and North turned to the little yellow man. He made some kind of a storm form above his head, reminding them that Jack was probably nowhere near approachable. He was a teenager, but a dangerous one, and even the Guardians had to be careful around him. Bunny recalled that nobody could stand the below freezing temperatures, especially Tooth, who had nothing to really keep her warm. He nodded to Sandy.
"Good idea, mate." He picked Tooth up and handed her to North. "You should take her up to the Pole. It'll be easier for her to get to Jack from there." North gave him a stern look. "Bunny, what you said hurt her very badly." Although he wanted to argue that North's words hurt just as much as his, the rabbit didn't want to talk about it, either. "North, we don't have time for this! We've got two emotionally unstable teenagers out there that we're responsible for and one of 'em could turn into one of Pitch's minions. We can't wait and see what's going to happen."
Sandy flew by his side and gave a confirming nod; North noticed and reluctantly agreed with his own. Bunny decided to take charge. "Alright, you fellas take Tooth to the Pole and when Jack's done storming she can go talk to him." He received some curious looks. "And you?" North asked. "I'll go find Gemma and bring her over." North gave him an apprehensive frown, his eyebrows furrowing. "But Bunny, she could be anywhere in the world." The Australian gave the Russian a smug look.
"Ah, but did you see which tunnel she went through?" He pointed as North and Sandy turned to stare at the tunnel entrances, pointing out the one two over from the right. Australia. "If there's any place I know better than here, it's just through that tunnel. I'll find her, easy." North thought about what his friend had to say. He turned, saying, "Ok. Sa-"
"SHHHHHHHHHH!" Bunny suddenly hushed him. He'd heard something, but North had stepped on it. He listened for it again, taking some steps towards the tunnels on his hind paws. "Bunny, what-" The Pooka glared at him. "Shut it!" he whisper-yelled. There it is again. Screams? No, that couldn't be. Unless… He hopped over to the entrance of the tunnel, listening intently and sniffing the air.
A sea of scents wafted into his nose, varying from dingoes to kangaroos to flowers to rain. There were two other smells that struck him. One was very strong, and had a hint of rain in it. Gemma. And there was someone with her. The other odor was faint and seemed dusty, but was strong enough and so familiar to him that he knew instantly who it was. "Jed?" he asked himself, surprised.
Then something echoed through the burrow, more screams. This time they were doubled and full of sheer terror. Chills ran up Bunny's spine. What was going on up there? He sprung into the tunnel, racing to the end as fast as he could. He could hear North yelling after him. "Go on without me, mate!" he called without stopping. "Meet you at the Pole!"
Bunny kept his speed constant as he ran through the tunnel. He was worried, but he knew better than to try and sprint. If he did, his energy would be shot when he got to the end. He lunged off of the wall as he made a left turn, so familiar with the passage that he knew he'd exit in a few more hops.
He didn't.
Instead, he collided with a dark figure.
Bunny summersaulted to the ground as he knocked the figure over. "Oof!" He sat up, facing the end of the tunnel. It was about 50 yards away, but instead of continuing on he turned around. As he spun, he pulled out his boomerangs in defense, not knowing who to expect. He was surprised to see, or, not see anything. Nothing. There was nothing there.
What the…? He thought. He had just crashed into someone, he was sure of it. I'm going starkers. He sniffed the air again. He could smell the same things as earlier, but there was one that was very strong. Heavy condensation, and it wasn't because of the dying storm outside. There were clouds inside the tunnel.
Had he ran into a cloud? No, that was impossible. Clouds could only be in the sky. Unless, of course, Gemma had something to do with this, which he doubted. More chills ran up his spine when he thought of another option. It scared him so much that he didn't want to think about it. He shivered, suddenly noticing his grey fur was soaked. Oh no, it better not-
His thoughts were cut off by a familiar sound. A rough female voice rang in his ears. "You're too late." Eerily, the voice echoed throughout the underground passageway. Bunny's head spun around in fear, his eyes wide. He knew that voice, it was one who had haunted him from time to time since the late 1550s. He forced himself to keep calm, thinking about what she had said as he tried to put on a brave face. "What do ya mean I'm too late?"
Mechanical laughter was his answer. At first, it was quiet, and slowly got louder and louder until Bunny thought his eardrums would explode. It surrounded him on all sides, making him feel like he was in the bell tower of the Notre Dame on Easter Sunday. He dropped his boomerangs to cover his ears, trying to block the sound and keep away insanity. He screamed.
The cackling. The words. It was all too familiar. The memory of that day was slowly eating him alive. The fight with Pitch in England, and the voice in his head telling him he was too late. The torture of Pitch's laughter as Bunny made a tunnel to the Warren. Seeing his father lying in the river of red water, his blood mixing with the dye. Not hearing a heartbeat, not feeling a pulse. Hearing the maleficent words over and over again in his head.
Then anger. He cursed Pitch for killing his father. He started attacking anything that moved, even the eggs he'd been painstakingly working on for the past month. He attacked the other Guardians, terrifying them into submission. He wouldn't let anyone come near him, and wouldn't listen to the Moon, either. He stayed in the Warren, letting his outrage take control, planning on revenge.
Slowly, blame came to himself. He never should have left his father alone. Dad should've gone with him to fight Pitch, and maybe he'd still be alive. His dad had been the best fighter he'd known, but all alone was no match for the powerful Boogeyman. Bunny knew he'd fought bravely, by the looks of the Warren afterwards, but he still blamed himself for everything. A mix of depression and anger started kicking in.
After a few weeks, reality hit him with a punch in the face. North had paid him a visit, surprising the rabbit from behind. Bunny lunged at him, screaming out in his anger. The big man simply socked him, knocking him into oblivion, and then took him to the Pole. Once there, he woke up inside the infirmary. Sandy was by his side, and pointed to the glowing orb in the night sky. The Man in the Moon spoke to him with words of comfort, and had made him feel a little better. He went back to the Warren and thrust himself into work for Easter.
Afterwards, though, depression still gnawed at him, and it came in droves. On and off, the woman's voice returned. It haunted him. It gave him nightmares. But he wouldn't let her get to him. He fought it off by throwing himself into work. He kept his mind busy, and kept the woman at bay.
It was the same with his fellow Guardians. He never let the others see his sadness, and as far as he knew, they didn't suspect a thing. He'd put on a brave face and push it away. And after Jack had joined them, the voice never came back. Until now. Despite trying to silence it with a scream, he could still hear the laughter. Mocking him. Threatening to tear him apart. It was pushing him to the brink.
He ran. Shaking in terror, he sprinted towards the light. 40 yards. It was getting louder. 30 yards. Louder still. 20 yards. It changed. The cackle turned into a laughter that sounded like a low rumble. Dad. It was his father. His dad was coming after him. And howls. Dingoes. 10 yards. He felt something brush across his neck, and the pants of wild dogs. "NO!"
Ugh. I hated writing this because it isn't what I had planned for this chapter. At all.
Ugh why do I do this to myself?
And the scene in the tunnel was extremely hard to describe, I'm not satisfied with it at all.
I mean, Bunny was in sheer terror,
he was going insane,
this cackle was surrounding him on all sides.
He couldn't get away from it,
he couldn't get away from his past,
he couldn't stop it.
I couldn't put into words how terrifying it was for him,
that's the way it's supposed to be.
(Sorry, had to rant.)
Also, I've already started the next chapter
(from what I outlined it was all going to be one, but I had to split it)
so I'll post that as soon as I can (possibly tonight).
I'll take my break after that.
Anyways, please review! It helps and I enjoy it!
:)