Chapter 11: Sometimes, You Do Something Crazy.

We are gonna die tonight,

there's nothing to be done about!

There comes the black abyss

Singing on this trip right under,

everyone has to deal with it,

it won't take much longer...

-"Silverweed's Claws"

It took Bigwig a long time to finally open the hutch. Removing the adhesive tape from the hutch was very easy, but then it was stuck to his claws, and getting rid of it was a major challenge. After a while, he had removed most of the tape, and was able to push the hutch door open.

-"So, are any of you coming?" Hazel asked the three others for the last time.

The first rabbit started grooming his face. The second one remained silent, clearly considering the offer. The third one said:

-"I think I'll come, if you'll have me."

-"We'll be glad to have you," Hazel said. "And as for you two, if you decide to change your minds, you can always follows us. Just beware of the cats."

-"Speaking of cats, Hazel, we didn't meet any so far," Bigwig said.

-"That's good news. But that doesn't mean we won't later on. We still have to be careful."

-"I did, however, see a giant chicken. It was quite scary," Blackavar added, causing Bigwig to roll his eyes.

With that, the four rabbits ran out of the barn. Meanwhile in the hutch, one of the two remaining rabbits was staring at them.

-"I think I'll go."

-"What's wrong with you all?" the other rabbit said. "Why do you all want to run away? Life in the hutch is great. We don't have to worry about elil, we always have food..."

-"I miss Clover."

-"Look, I don't mind losing the other one who just left with them, she kept getting on my nerves. If anything, I'm glad she's gone now. But I don't want you to leave. I'll be the last one here, and I'll be lonely."

-"All right...I'm staying..."

Despite this, Clover's friend remained sad, and started weeping quietly.

The garden was just as Hazel and the others had left it, and the trap was still there.

-"All right, everyone. Be really careful," Hazel warned. "Inspect all vegetables before taking them out of the ground. We don't want any more accidents like earlier."

Bigwig, Blackavar and the hutch rabbit nodded, and all four rabbits started to examine the vegetables. They had picked up a few when suddenly, Blackavar gasped.

-"What's the matter Bla-" Hazel started to say, but was unable to finish. He heard the meow of a cat, and before he could react, he found himself pinned under Tabitha's paw. He tried to kick his hind legs, but hit nothing but air.

-"Bigwig...I think there's a cat over me."

-"No kidding! She's over me too!

Hazel turned to his head and saw, much to his horror, that Bigwig was pinned under Tabitha's other front paw, and he too was entirely helpless. Seeing the rabbits' distress, Tabitha meowed in satisfaction.

-"Meow meow long-ears meow make big mistake meow. Big meow meow mistake..."

Suddenly, she vanished from Hazel's field of vision.

-"All of you take your flayrah and run!" came the voice of Blackavar. "I'll take care of this beast!"

Hazel and Bigwig got up and stared at Blackavar in shock. As soon as Tabitha had recovered from the blow, she got back up and pounced on Blackavar, but he dodged just in time.

-"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just RUN!" he urged.

Hazel, Bigwig and the hutch rabbit had no choice. They picked up the flayrah in front of them and bolted. They ran as fast as they could, until they were safely out of the farmyard. They then stopped and dropped their flayrah to catch their breaths; all they had been able to gather was a medium-sized lettuce, a turnip and a few small carrots.

-"Where's Blackavar?" Bigwig suddenly asked.

Hazel looked around; Blackavar was nowhere to be seen.

-"We'll have to go back for him," he said.

Hazel and Bigwig ran back to the farmyard, leaving the hutch rabbit behind to guard the flayrah. Hiding in a bush, they cautiously looked around; Tabitha was limping towards the barn, bleeding from several deep scratches, clearly not in the mood for any more fighting. In the middle of the garden was a small brown shape with large red spots. Hazel and Bigwig rushed to it.

Blackavar was severely wounded, bleeding from the side and the throat. One of his hind legs was clearly broken. Both Hazel and Bigwig could plainly see there was no hope of recovery.

-"Don't...worry...about me...I fi...finally did...some...something that...helped...th...the...warren... Tell...Primrose...I...love...he..." he said between shallow breaths. His eyes drifted to Hazel, then to Bigwig, then to the rapidly darkening clouds in the sky. Finally, he closed them for the last time, and his breathing stopped. The two others remained silent.

-"My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today," Hazel said after a while.

-"Fiver's vision was right..." Bigwig said sadly.

-"Fiver is always right. Why didn't we trust him?"

-"This isn't the first time we refuse to listen. But this is the first time we lose a rabbit over it."

Hazel and Bigwig remained motionless, until the insects started to tackle the corpse. They dragged him to the tunnel that they had started digging earlier, and filled it up again. As Blackavar was not named after any plant or anything that could be deposited on his grave, Hazel simply marked it with a small cross. The two bucks sadly left the farm with the hutch rabbit, carrying what little flayrah they had gathered with them. The warren had paid a high price for it.

At Watership Down, Pipkin had just obtained the soul of Fiver's character, who had suffocated to death in a collapsed burrow (really just a few leaves gathered from around the Down).

-"Is the story over yet, Dandelion?" Hawkbit asked impatiently. He had made a certain amount of process in cleaning his fur, but a few brown spots remained.

-"Just one more scene and it's finished," Dandelion replied. "What's the matter, Hawkbit? Don't you want to know what happens next?"

-"Not really, but if we made it this far, we might as well make it to the end. What do I have to do now?"

-"Well, you're the Black Rabbit again and Pipkin has completed his time in your owsla, so now you set him free."

-"I hope you won't have to put more mud on my fur..."

-"No, don't worry about that, it won't be necessary. Your fur is still black enough."

Hawkbit approached Pipkin.

-"Well, mate, you've done a good job in my owsla, but now your time has expired. You're out."

-"Exactly what does that mean, Black Rabbit?" Pipkin asked.

-"Eh, you'll just be an ordinary dead rabbit."

-"No more harvesting of souls?"

-"That's right."

-"I'm glad. It was getting depressing."

-"And such ends the story of the rabbit who served in the Black Rabbit of Inlé's owsla," said Dandelion.

-"Wait a moment," Hawkbit interjected. "It ends just like that?"

-"Can you think of anything else to add?"

-"...not really."

-"So, Pipkin, did you enjoy this story?" Dandelion asked.

-"It was very fun, and it has a very positive message behind it," he answered.

-"I don't see what kind of positive message there can be behind a story all about death," Hawkbit said.

-"Well, you see, we all have to die at some point. As I dealt with the souls of all these poor rabbits, I couldn't help but think about what they left behind. I'm sure many of them, had they known they were going to die at that point, would have lived their lives very differently. They might have spent less time goofing around and more time doing rewarding and meaningful things, such as spending more time with those they care about."

Meanwhile, Fiver was sitting at the opposite end of the Down. The dark clouds filled the sky, and there had already several flashes of lightning. Hopefully Hazel, Bigwig and Blackavar would make it back to the Down before the rain started.

After a while, he finally saw some rabbits approach the bottom of the Down. He was filled with joy, but it vanished when they reached the top and Blackavar was not among them. Hazel nodded sadly.

-"Sometimes, I wish my visions were wrong," Fiver said. "Why do they always have to be correct?"

-"It's not your fault, Fiver," Hazel said. "You tried to warn us, but I didn't listen."

-"Don't be too hard on yourself, Hazel," Bigwig interjected, "I'm as much to blame as you are. I didn't listen to him either."

-"Arguing like this won't bring Blackavar back," Fiver said. "Who's your new friend?"

-"Oh, this is..." Hazel started to say, only to suddenly pause. "What's your name?"

-"Cornflower," the hutch rabbit replied.

-"Welcome to Watership Down, Cornflower," Fiver said. "I just wish the circumstances of your arrival were more pleasant..."

The news of Blackavar's death spread throughout the warren rather fast. Cornflower's arrival went largely unnoticed; Clover, Hazel and Fiver were the only who talked to her. Everyone's thoughts on the day's events could best be summarized by something Hawkbit had said: "I wasn't particularly close to Blackavar, but he was still a nice chap. I think I'll miss him."

A while later, Hazel went to the burrow Fiver shared with Pipkin. While Pipkin was asleep in a corner, Fiver was still awake.

-"Have you seen Primrose?" Hazel asked. "I've been searching for her and I can't find her anywhere."

-"Pipkin said something about her going to Redstone with Blackberry. They left earlier today."

-"They went to Redstone? Alone?"

-"Nobody else went with them. What's the matter, Hazel? You look angry."

-"I am. I know that everyone is free to leave the warren to go wherever they wish, but seriously, that's really careless. Aren't you afraid something might happen to them?"

-"I don't know. I don't feel anything about them, one way or the other. Visions don't always come. But if I do have one, I will let you know."

This proved to be only mildly reassuring for Hazel. He remained worried that something bad might happen to his darling mate, and there was nothing he could do about it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: the character of Cornflower comes from the 2016 BBC radio drama and belongs to Brian Sibley.