Jamie and his friends sat around the sleeping Kenny in the burrow. It had been several hours since they had found the youngest Shelton on the edge of the woods and brought him back to the warren, to tend to his wounds. Jamie had unpacked the first aid pouch for his survival kit and, using his trusty SAS guide as a medical reference, had gotten to work, nursing his injured friend back to health.
Lying on the fresh straw bedding the rabbits had gathered for him, wrapped in the tinfoil survival blanket from the chopper to keep him warm, and using Jamie's jacket as a pillow, Kenny slept soundly, worn out from exhaustion. With Hannah's help, Jamie carefully cleaned and patched up his friend's wounds, using his meagre supply of antiseptic pads and band-aids.
Fortunately, as it turned out, Kenny hadn't suffered any serious injuries, other than several cuts and bruises, as well as a sprained wrist, and was soon comfortable. While tending to his friend's wounds, Jamie had gone through the injured boy's pockets, looking for anything that might tell them where had Kenny come from. All he could find were an old photograph of his mother, a crumpled-up leaflet of some description and, to his utmost amazement, a wallet, which couldn't possibly belong to Kenny, given that he never got anything from his father other than a plate of food and his hand-me-downs. Straightening out the leaflet, he saw it came from Tom Shelton's flight club:
SUTCH AND MARTIN'S
FLIGHT CLUB
RE-OPENING TODAY!
BALLOON FLIGHTS UP TO THE AURORA
LIMITED FLIGHTS; BOOK WHILE YOU STILL CAN!
DISCOUNTS FOR GROUPS AND CHILDREN
Opening up the wallet, Jamie gasped as he read the name on the owner's driving licence, "Stan Hallows… Wait a minute, I know this guy! He works for Kenny's dad at the flight club!" Stan Hallows, Tom Shelton's radioman and reserve pilot at the flight club had been an acquaintance of Major McEwen's, from whenever he would charter the glider for Jamie's flying lessons. But how could the man's wallet have ended up in Kenny's possession? And, most importantly, where was Hallows? Was he here too? Had something happened to him? His thoughts were cut short as Marigold entered, carrying a mouthful of fresh straw for Kenny's bedding, which she had been gathering with Celandine.
"Thanks, I appreciate it," Jamie nodded in gratitude but Marigold had already turned and left, almost as if to avoid conversation. Making a mental note to thank her later, he applied the straw to his friend's bed, making him as comfortable as possible. With nothing left to do but wait for Kenny to awake and tell them his story, the others drifted off to sleep as well, completely unaware of the dark fate which Cowslip had in store for them. Their only chance of realising the danger before it was too late lay in the paws of a certain doe…
The following morning, Jamie found himself up at early dawn, making his way down to a nearby stream for water, and to look for some food for Kenny, who was expected to awake soon, and Jamie was sure his friend would be terribly hungry and thirsty. Since the Enborne was a couple of miles walk, too far away for his liking, he made for the new unnamed tributary he had seen nearby from his glider.
After a short stroll through the woods, he found the stream, running approximately through where, Jamie remembered, one of the local highways from his time had once been, its winding body of water flowing towards the south, possibly towards the coast. Taking out the small hydration pouch he had salvaged from the chopper, he filled it up with water. Although hardly a pint, it would suffice to get his sick friend back on his feet. Suddenly, something caught his eye.
Lying washed up in the rushes and reeds at the water's edge was an inflatable yellow dingy, of the type often used in emergencies. Grabbing hold of the nylon cord attached to the paddle trailing away from the dingy, he dragged it ashore. The raft was swamped and covered in stray aquatic plants, which it had picked up while drifting downriver, showing every sign of being abandoned. Upon closer inspection, Jamie recognised it as the evacuation raft from Johnson's Cessna.
They must have been using it to make their way down the river, Jamie thought, but then realised something was wrong, But then again, if they made it here, then how come nobody at Cowslip's warren saw them passing through? According to Robbins' story, after his father's group had been ambushed by those hostile rabbits set upon them by Johnson, he alone had escaped and made it to Cowslip's warren. But if they had abandoned their boat and continued on foot from here, then shouldn't the 'ambush' have occurred in the vicinity of the warren? It seemed curious that Cowslip and his people hadn't noticed something… But the thought of Kenny's condition snapped him back to reality. Dismissing these peculiar circumstances as a mere coincidence, he turned back to his task.
After washing his face and hands and having a drink of water himself, he turned to pick some blackberries and blueberries for his sick friend, when he encountered an even greater surprise than the abandoned dingy. In front of him, in a spot where he had not yet stepped, was a man's footprint.
Jamie was stunned; it was, without a shadow of a doubt, the footprint of a human being, and the thinness of the crust accumulating around the edge of the print told him it was very recent, a few hours old at best. For an instant, he thought it might just be one of Kenny's from last night; but then he realised it was far too big to be his friend's, or any normal-sized human being's for that matter. This was barefoot and size around a hundred at least, like that of a giant.
Bloody hell, not even Rubeus Hagrid was this big! thought Jamie, staring at more, similarly large footprints scattered about. It seemed that this stranger had also been gathering food, judging by the stripped branches of several fruit trees and bushes around. Bending to examine a bed of wild potatoes growing in a patch of light at the foot of a tree – probably former crops that had adapted to the wilderness over the centuries – he noticed that while much of it had been picked, some still remained, apparently deliberately. The memory of a documentary on apes he had seen on the Discovery Channel long ago flashed into Jamie's mind, as he recalled a famous line: 'Apes have the intelligence of leaving some pigeon eggs behind in their mothers' nests, so that there will be more pigeons around to continue laying eggs for them…'
His mind turned to that food mysteriously appearing outside the warren the other day; could this be where it had all come from? Then again, if it wasn't the rabbits who were gathering it – as he had originally assumed -, how did this stranger fit in? Did this mean there were other humans still around? That might explain Cowslip's curious acceptance of him, in contrast to his Sandleford companions…
At that moment, his thoughts were interrupted by Celandine, who came running from the warren, calling his name, "You better come. Your friend is awake and on the verge of a hysteria!" Taking his mind off his peculiar discovery, he hurried back to the warren with Celandine, where they found Ash and Nightshade struggling to restrain the semi-hysteric Kenny, who was fighting tooth and nail to bolt for the exit.
"Frith of Inle, calm down young bucko!" bellowed Ash, struggling to restrain the frightened boy, "We aren't going to hurt you…!"
"No, I won't let you kill me like you did Hallows…!" shouted Kenny, grabbing a stone, about to wallop Ash over the head with it. He froze in mid-blow however as he laid eyes on Jamie, who stepped into the burrow, "Jamie…?"
"Yes mate, it's me," said Jamie excitedly, hurrying forward and slapping his friend over the shoulder in greeting, "I can't tell you how jolly good it is to see you!" Although somewhat relaxed at the sight of his presumed-dead friend, Kenny still remained on edge, his eyes darting between Jamie and the giant rabbits standing all around them, as if expecting them to suddenly spring at him.
"Jamie, what…what the hell's going on here? What is this place? W…where did you come from? I thought you were…" he stammered, unable to find his words straight, "Who the bloody hell are these guys?" he finished with a semi-shout, gesturing in the direction of Jamie's band, his eyes wide in amazement and horror.
"Chill out mate!" Jamie said, trying to calm his friend down, "They won't hurt you! They are friends of mine…" he said, launching into his story of how he had come out the other side of the Aurora, only to find himself stranded in this future world, and how he had met and befriended these giant talking rabbits that now inhabited, what had once been, the human world of the 21st century. For some strange reason however, Kenny still seemed more troubled at the sight of Jamie's companions.
"Friends?" he retorted incredulously, "Man, I saw a bunch of them rip Mr Hallows to pieces the other day…!" At the mention of Stan Hallows having been murdered by some other savage rabbits out there, perhaps the very same ones Mr Robbins had told them all about, Jamie felt a shudder go down his spine. He turned back to his friend.
"Ken, what happened? How did you get here? Can you tell us?" Although Kenny seemed hesitant at being asked to recite, what had undoubtedly been, a terrible ordeal, that had brought him all the way here, he finally gave in as Jamie passed him the water and fruit, something he had been craving for, after not having eaten anything for days. Draining the water pouch like a sieve, he started devouring the blackberries with such speed and gusto, he was barely chewing anything.
With the nourishment having restored some of his strength and confidence, Kenny finally launched into his story, beginning from where he and Jamie had lost radio contact on that fateful night…
1st January 2013
Kenny sat with his father in their kitchen, at dinner; the younger Shelton sat as if in a trance, still in shock from what had happened last night, his untouched supper on the table before him. His father, on the other hand, was eating with a feverish appetite, grinning like a kid in a candy store, the briefcase containing Jamie father's insurance money lying open on the rickety chair beside him.
Tom had woken up that morning with a furious hangover but his mind clear enough to remember Jamie's crazy visit the night before, and this time, was thinking straight enough to realise what he had done. Rushing over to the flight club, he had found the glider gone and his son curled up in a corner of the radio shack, in a state of shock, who told him what had happened to Jamie.
Seizing the opportunity, instead of alerting the police, Tom had hurryingly taken his son home, intent on keeping everyone from knowing he had been there that night. After covering up all evidence of his and his son's involvement and setting things up at the flight club to make it look like a break-in, he had then alerted Sheriff Fowler of the 'theft'. Josie had also been alerted and soon the word spread that Jamie McEwen had gone the same way as his father.
The authorities had been questioning Tom all day; however, with some careful, smooth talking - which was Shelton's one and only virtue – the sly flight controller had wormed his way out of trouble and the full blame went to Jamie alone. His carefully rehearsed explanation had also kept Kenny out of the loop, keeping his son, as well as the full truth, well hidden.
No sooner had he returned home than he had taken Kenny aside for a talk. The boy had half-expected his semi-abusive father to start yelling at him again, holding him responsible for all that trouble; however, for the first time in his life, Kenny had found himself being congratulated for 'making his father proud' and had ordered in a big dinner, to celebrate his son's 'success' in dragging them out of poverty. Kenny however, wasn't in the mood for celebration, much less keen on helping himself to the blood money that had belonged to his friend's father.
"I'd like to propose a toast!" Tom said excitedly, filling two glasses of apricot brandy and passing one to his son, who didn't even look at it, "To you Ken, my boy! And to our new beginning!" In addition to the money, Tom had found another profitable opportunity: the incident with all these curious disappearances had attracted a lot of media attention, with reporters and thrill-seekers alike desperate to retrace Johnson and McEwen's steps by air. Although the RAF had banned all flights in the area, pending an investigation, several bribes had been offered to local outfits for a flight over New Forest. And Tom Shelton had seized the opportunity.
Using his newfound money, rather than paying off his debts right away, instead he had purchased a hot-air balloon for his flight-club, replacing his lost glider and Cessna, with which he intended to offer illegal flights over New Forest, for people to see the mysterious Aurora up close, at the sum of 10,000 a ride. Since the Aurora was due to recede within the next few days, and not due to reappear for another millennium or so according to experts, bookings were pilling in, along with the money that came with them. He raised his glass and drained it in one gulp but Ken just continued looking at his with a blank stare. Tom frowned at his son's lack of enthusiasm.
"Well, what are you waiting for lad? It isn't every day that one makes his old man as proud as you have son…"At this Kenny lost it and sat up with a scream of rage and agony, sending his chair crashing to the floor behind him.
"No! Give me a break! I got Jamie killed and…" A twinge of anger appeared on the edge of Tom's face, yet his good mood helped him control his own short temper, as he tried to reason with his distraught son.
"Snap out of it Ken! You are not to blame; after all, from what you've told me, it was Jamie who came up with this crazy idea of going looking for his father; it was he who bought my glider; and it was he who flew it into the forbidden zone at his own risk. If it is of any consolation, the money is his legacy to you; a chance for both of us to escape this crummy life…"
"That money belongs to Jamie's mother, not you!" Kenny spat, disgusted by his father's plan to keep Major McEwen's insurance money – which everyone believed had been lost along with Jamie - for himself. But Tom, now getting really irritated, remained persistent.
"That idiot boy was acting on his own free will, so and it was his own fault that got him killed…!" he snapped, not watching his words. This broke the camel's back, as Kenny sprang at his father and punched him on the nose, sending him staggering backwards. But only for a moment.
Clutching his bloodied nose, Tom sprang back at his son with a roar of rage, "Strike your own father, you ungrateful little bastard? I'll teach you a lesson in respect!" After beating his son within an inch of his life – Kenny's worst beating ever –, he dragged him up to his room.
Kenny's bedroom was a cramped room up in the attic, with pealing paint on its shabby walls, some rickety furniture, a wardrobe of ragged hand-me-downs, and a pile of second-hand schoolbooks on the table, which served as a desk. A crumpled, frameless picture of Ken's mother – the only one he had - was taped to the wall above his pull-me-down bed.
"Sit down!" he ordered, gesturing at the bed. Kenny, all bruised and battered, obeyed, as his father rounded on him again, "Now, you listen to me boy, and listen good! I don't need your approval or your blessing for anything, nor do I care an iota about your dumb friend getting himself killed. But I am warning you: if you try and make trouble for me, you will wish you were born dead! Mind you, I happen to have some powerful contacts who can make sure any attempt you make to expose me, will only backfire in your stupid face…"
"Those bozos you have been sneaking off to see up in Overton every day?" sneered Kenny, nursing his bruised cheek. Tom Shelton's eyes went wide, realising his cat was out of the bag. Kenny, on the other hand, who had only been trying to throw a taunt back at his father, was suddenly fuelled with suspicion.
"It was they who were behind all these disappearances, right? Johnson, Mr McEwen, Jamie… It was you all along, wasn't it? Did you kill Jamie too? Huh?" But Tom didn't reply as he turned to leave, muttering curses under his breath. Pausing at the door, he turned to his son again.
"The balloon will be arriving at the flight club tomorrow. I expect you there first thing in the morning, to give that dump a thorough clean-out and a fresh painting. Hallows will be there as well, getting the new equipment in order. You are not to speak to him unless absolutely necessary; and not a word about the money or what happened here tonight. If you know what's good for you that is…" He stared at Kenny's bruises from the beating, "Go clean yourself up and then get back in your room. If you behave yourself for the rest of the night, maybe you'll get some breakfast tomorrow."
Kenny couldn't even find the courage to retort as he lay on his bed, fighting the urge to be sick; not so much for being beaten to a pulp, shouted at, or threatened by his father, whom he now hated worse than ever, but from the fact that he had led his best friend to his death and now his scum of a father would benefit from it and there was nothing he could do about it.
That night, Kenny got up to sneak downstairs and steal some food from the fridge. Having skipped dinner after the row with his father, his stomach was rumbling with hunger, yet his grief made him wonder if he would be able to swallow anything at all.
Noiselessly making his way downstairs in the dark, he crept into the kitchen, making his way to the fridge. Filling his pockets with some leftovers, he was about to return to his room to have his pitiful supper in privacy, when he heard his father's voice in the room next door; Tom was on the phone with someone and his cautious whispering told Ken, it was those guys again. Creeping up to his father's closed office door, he chanced a look through the keyhole and saw his father sitting at his desk, speaking on his private line.
"I don't know Sven, but that brat of mine knows something that could mean trouble for us if he starts talking. No, no, no, I didn't confide anything in him! The little rat has just been nosing around… That kid's got to go! Hand him over to that human labour trafficking cartel centred in Afghanistan? No, that's too risky; a kidnapping could bring me to the attention of the authorities. No, just make it look like an accident. Tomorrow, on the road back from the flight club, at noon; that rickety bicycle of his should do the trick…"
Outside, Kenny felt his stomach bottom out; his father had just committed the ultimate betrayal towards him. Fearful that he may expose his dark secret, he was going to have his goons silence him, either by killing him or selling him into slavery overseas! Hurrying back to his room, he collapsed on the bed, fighting the urge to be sick. What was he going to do now?
His first thought was to wait until his father had gone back to bed and then run away. Perhaps he could go to Jamie's mother or Sheriff Fowler, and confess everything… But then he remembered his father's threat; by the sound of it, Tom Shelton meant big business and he had no idea what these 'connections' of his were capable of, other that they meant serious trouble. He was in hot water as it was; what if they harmed anyone he tried talking to? Jamie and his father had been enough…
Then suddenly, an idea hit him; a crazy but valiant idea. Remembering what his father had said about the club's new balloon arriving tomorrow meant a chance for him to go searching for his friend, the same way Jamie had done for his father. All he had to do was hitch a ride on the first flight up to the Aurora. Although he couldn't help but feel it was plain suicide, he had nothing left to lose anymore.
The very next day, Tom took his son up to the flight club as promised, to keep a close eye on him until (as Kenny secretly knew) his secret associates could finish him off when no one was looking. Kenny spent all morning painting the radio shack and hanger, and shovelling snow off the runway, restoring the premises to their former glory, while his father sat comfortably in his office, putting down bookings in his schedule and calculating the money they would fetch. In spite of his long, hard work, Kenny never complained once, his eyes and ears open, waiting for the right moment.
A delivery truck had arrived, bringing the components for the club's new balloon; Stan Hallows, who had been called off his Christmas leave early, had gotten to work, assembling the contraption. With Julio gone, Hallows, who was a keen balloonist, had been promoted to pilot. By noon, the balloon stood inflated, hovering just above the ground on the end of its moorings. With his father having left for a while, to pick up lunch from town, Kenny saw his chance.
Abandoning his painting, he approached Hallows, who was having hot tea in the hanger. In direst contrast to Tom, Stan Hallows was always on good terms with Kenny and would help him out with whatever chores his father gave him whenever he brought him over, as well as teach him how to use the club's radio and radar equipment.
"Hey Ken, what's up lad?" asked Hallows cheerfully, pouring himself some more tea, "Bloody cold day, huh? I say…!" he suddenly gasped, spotting the semi-healed bruises on Kenny's cheek, "What happened to you? Have you and your father been at it again…?"
No, I…I just fell off my bicycle the other day," Kenny lied in the most casual voice he could muster, not keen on discussing it, "Stan, I was wondering, when are you going to give this thing a test flight?"
"Just as soon as I've finished my tea," said Hallows, draining his mug, "Got to make sure the burners and GPS are in good working order for tonight. We are expecting that rich fellow Mason and his girlfriend here this evening for a night flight. It's going to be a week's worth of bloody long working hours, until that Aurora goes and all those thrill-seekers lose interest. And then, I can get my transfer through to Greenham and move on…"
"You'll be leaving then?" asked Kenny, feeling rather sad at the news of Hallows' resignation. Shelton's deputy shook his head sadly.
"Moving on lad, to a better career with a better pay than this crummy job," he said, "Besides, aren't you selling the business and moving away soon yourself?" Although Kenny was certain this was just a cover-up orchestrated by his father, so that nobody would question his disappearance – everyone would think he had simply moved away with his father – he was anxious to get to the bottom of this before his father came back and decided to cut the chitchat short.
"Can I join you please? I'd like to see what it's like flying one of these things. Jamie and Mr McEwen always said it just dandy…" Although Hallows had reservations of letting Kenny tag along, mostly due to the extra fuel consumption, his sympathy at the mention of Jamie's name won out and he agreed.
"All right, get your jacket. We're going now."
A few minutes later, the two of them were airborne, hovering a mile above the earth. Kenny stared at the flight club below; he could see a figure running around the premises, apparently confused to find it deserted. His father had returned from lunch only to find him and his precious balloon gone.
"Curious," said Hallows, taking a weather reading, "There is a steady wind, taking us straight towards New Forest. This wind has been persisting for several days now, almost as if there is something creating a suction over the area. Still, it should make it easier for those tours your father has in mind I suppose…"
An hour later, they were floating over the edge of New Forest, getting closer and closer to the place where the Aurora had been appearing every night, the place where Dr Johnson, Major McEwen and Jamie had 'died'. To Kenny's utmost dismay however, there was nothing to be found; no signs of a crash site, no wreckage, no signal fires, nothing. Just an endless landscape of trees and footpaths. A few ponies that had survived the fallout of the bombs during the war, were still roaming about in the snowed-up clearings, but otherwise no signs of life whatever. Kenny started feeling desperate; perhaps there was nothing after all?
"We are past the restriction zone; I better get this thing down before we are noticed," said Hallows, preparing to dim the burners. "If we are caught, I'd lose my licence. Let's hope old Toot can get his pickup truck here before a patrolmen finds the balloon…" Before he could start the descent however, the unexpected happened.
The calm and sunny weather suddenly started going wild; turbulence shook the balloon, forcing Kenny and Hallows to cling to the rigging for dear life, expecting the balloon to be ripped to pieces at any second. The last thought that went through Kenny's mind, before he found himself being hurdled forward through time along with Hallows, was that even if he was going to die like Jamie, at least he would be giving his father his comeuppance, who would never get to profit from Jamie's money after all…
"Once that strange storm had passed, we found ourselves floating in total darkness – it had turned from day to night during the storm, believe it or not – completely lost. Stan had dropped his cell phone overboard in the storm so we had no communication and there were no lights visible anywhere on the ground. It was like the entire world had gone into blackout…"
"That was because you had jumped forward through time mate, just like I did," said Jamie, recognising the same phenomenon he had encountered when flying his glider through the Aurora, "So what happened next?"
"Without visual, Hallows struggled to keep up aloft until daybreak, until we run out of fuel – we had left the reserve tanks back at the flight club – and we came down somewhere close to the foot of Beacon Hill and Watership Down. Only we found those guys waiting to greet us on the ground…"
"They?" asked Ash sharply, "Who's 'they'?"
"You!" bellowed Kenny, "Other giant rabbits like you! Only they were brutal, savage and murderous…"
"I'll thank you not to speak of us like that!" snapped Willow incredulously, insulted by Kenny's remarks, "We aren't brutal, savage and murderous…!"
"Silence Willow!" snapped Ash, silencing up Willow. They turned back to Jamie who continued with the remainder of his story.
"No sooner had we untangled ourselves from the wreckage than those goons were upon us for the kill. We tried to make a run for it through the woods with those things hot on our tail and got separated; I heard Hallows screaming amidst the sounds of a death struggle…" Jamie lowered his head sadly, realising Stan Hallows was a dead man.
"I had a couple of emergency glowsticks from the balloon," Kenny went on, "I was able to make my way back to where I heard the screams. Hallows and those savage rabbits were gone; there was just a lot of disturbed undergrowth splattered with blood, with the man's wallet lying in the middle of it. I think it must have dropped from his pocket in the struggle…" He lay back down, trembling violently at the memory.
"They took his body?" gasped Nightshade, "But what kind of rabbit takes the body of its victim away with him? Surely not for food… That sounds more like something the elil would do…"
"Anyway, I took to my heels and fled the scene, and tried to make my way back to town," Kenny went on, "Only I couldn't find the town; I couldn't find the road; I couldn't even find so much as a lamppost anywhere. Everything had…well it had changed completely. I just kept going round in circles for two days. I didn't have any food and could only drink from puddles. Then, just last night, with my last glowstick having been used up, I thought I was a goner from hunger and exhaustion, when I spotted your fire through the trees. That's the last I remember…"
"You were a sight for sore eyes mate," Jamie said, explaining how they had found him, "I thought you'd never wake up. It's so good to see you here. Welcome back."
"Did you say that we are in the future?" Kenny asked, finally calming down enough to realise what Jamie had been telling him. His friend nodded, explaining how he too had made his way back home, only to find their hometown long gone, with the ruins of Newtown Churchyard as the only familiar landmark left to prove it had ever existed.
"Bloody hell, then that means my dear old dad is dead and good riddance to him," Kenny smirked, undoubtedly delighted to have finally escaped his father for good, "Say, is your dad here too Jamie? And Dr Johnson? Did you know that my dad and his goons had framed for murder after he disappeared…?" Jamie's face, initially delighted at having his best friend join him in this new world, fell, as he told Kenny about his encounter with Mr Robbins and everything he had told him had happened. Surprisingly enough, his friend only looked puzzled.
"You say it was Johnson who betrayed your dad's party to some rogue rabbits? Could it have been the same ones Hallows and I encountered? Now that I recall, I think I did see a man leading them…"
"You saw Johnson out there?" asked Jamie in surprise, remembering what Robbins had said and feeling a flame of hate light up inside him. If they had done the same to his father as they had done to Hallows… Only Kenny's next words nearly took his breath away in shock.
"…I didn't see his face but I heard one of those rabbits calling him by his name in the dark. But it wasn't Johnson; it was…hang on! I think it was… yes, it was the name of this guy you met, Robbins!" The group of five all gasped in shock. Robbins, who was supposedly risking his life out there to find and bring back the other survivors from his party? What was going on here?
"It appears we shall have to scratch our original plan," said Ash finally, breaking the silence, "Although we can't be sure if our friend Robbins betrayed us or was caught, we can no longer rely on him to return with our friends."
"So what is the plan, Lieutenant?" asked Kenny, slightly stressing the title, almost as if he felt stupid to address this giant rabbit as a figure of authority.
"I will take Sergeant Willow with me and will go and scout the area where you saw the Efrafans. My assumption is that you accidentally stumbled across their warren and that's why they attacked you. The plan is to follow your trail backwards to that place and conduct a full search. We can travel during the day and sleep in scrapes at night, taking turns standing watch for Wide Patrols. With a bit of luck, we might locate their warren and find out more about their strength and strategies. Also, we might be able to find out if any of our friends are still alive or not…"
"All right, this time I'll go with you…" Jamie said, only to have his request instantly rebuffed for a second time.
"I am sorry bucko, but this is strictly work for trained Owsla veterans only; without experience, you could give us away to the enemy. Besides, the fewer we are, the less likely it is to attract attention…"
"Excuse me, I am capable of handling the dangers out there…" Jamie said indignantly, not appreciating the fact of being denied the right of going after his father again. He half-expected the stern Ash to tell him off for speaking back to him like that; instead, the Owsla veteran calmly took him aside for a talk.
"I understand you still need to find your father but I really need you here now; I don't want Celandine and the others left on their own without someone trustworthy looking out for them. You are the only one I truly trust for that task." Jamie's anger instantly evaporated, feeling touched by Ash's final acceptance of him as a friend.
"Also, while I am away, I want you to make sure certain safety precautious are followed; no more signal fires, make sure everyone stays below ground at night, and always stay within sight of each other. I want nothing that may draw the Efrafans' attention should they come this way." Jamie nodded in understanding.
And so, ten minutes later, after Ash and Willow had had a quick morning silflay to build up their strength for a long trek, the new search party was ready for departure.
"We'll be fine," Ash said, nuzzling a worried Celandine goodbye, "You just watch yourselves until we get back. All right, come along Willow!" But Willow just stood his ground, staring back at his commanding officer.
"I am not going sir."
"What did you say?" asked Ash with a frown, turning to look at his orderly, "Sergeant, maybe you've misunderstood me? I have given you a direct order to come with me! Now look here old chap, Robbins is probably not coming back anymore; we can't leave our friends at the mercy of those Efrafans!"
"Our old friends are dead sir," sneered Willow, "And I am not throwing away my life away trying to find their bodies!" But Ash, clearly upset at being disobeyed by his own aid, wasn't about to let it slide so easily.
"Sergeant Willow, you are Owsla! Cowardice and disobedience are not tolerated among rabbits of our status! Now, would you rather I resort to some of Captain Holly's methods of discipline, to knock some sense into your thick skull…?" Before they could come to blows however, Nightshade stepped in.
"Never mind him Ash, I will go with you."
"Thanks old chap, but that won't be necessary," replied Ash, calmly dismissing his friend's offer, "I can still handle this, even if my impudent, cowardly deputy has gotten cold paws…"
"I happen to know some useful information about those Efrafans from the Threarah," insisted Nightshade, "How much do you know Ash?"
"Well, not very much," admitted the stern Owsla veteran, looking slightly uncomfortable, as he reconsidered taking Nightshade along. Although it would mean a bit of a risk on his part, given that his Council friend had no Owsla experience, the information the Threarah – who had supposedly located and then escaped from Efrafa as a young buck- had passed on to him, could indeed be useful.
Finally nodding in agreement, he said a last goodbye to his friends and, casting the withdrawn Willow a glare of absolute disgust, implying that his orderly would be in hot water when he returned, he turned and marched away, followed by Nightshade. Jamie and the others stood watching, until Ash and Nightshade had disappeared into the trees, heading towards Watership Down, before turning to return to the warren. Unbeknownst to any of them, a certain fluffy, white-furred rabbit was watching them from behind some nearby bushes.
"Fools…" muttered Cowslip under his breath, a sickly smile on his face, his eyes gleaming with insanity, "Nobody turns away from the shadow of my warren…Tonight's the final night for my guests… How sad…and sweet…" Little did he realise that his death trap was about to be exposed from right under his nose.
Meanwhile, the others had returned to the burrow, where Kenny was still resting. Willow had wandered off, wanting to be left alone, and the others had seen it best to just let him be. As the trio sat exchanging stories, Hannah suddenly appeared at the burrow entrance, riding on Snitter's shoulders, looking quite shaken.
Ever since meeting Jamie's canine companion, the mouse had surprisingly quickly learned how to train Snitter as a 'horse' and had made a habit of riding him all over the place whenever she wasn't with Jamie. This morning, with Jamie too preoccupied with Kenny, she had gone out on her longest ride yet, having the time of her life, aside from flying in her friend's glider, only to make a most shocking discovery and had come running to inform her friend.
"It's those two rabbits Hickory and Marigold," she told Jamie, "They want to speak with you…alone. They are waiting down by the river. I'll explain to you on the way…" Jamie frowned in suspicion; although he had grown to like the local couple, he found it odd that they would want to drag him out of the warren for a private conversation. Was something wrong?
Asking Celandine to keep Kenny company until he returned, he followed Hannah and Snitter outside, as she led him to a secluded spot, away from the prying eyes and ears of the unsuspecting Cowslip…
Author's note: If you recall from my first story, Stan Hallows was mentioned in the first chapters but was missing after Alan returned from the future. Also, Kenny's balloon is the very same one Alan and co founded at the foot of Watership Down and used to fly to Efrafa.Enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW!