AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you TheRanger101 for the review. Glad you liked the various subplots :)
Chapter 53: The Messengers.
"Is this it?
Not to say "Is this ALL"
For it is everything that was
And all that will be"
-Talisman, Downs Hereafter (here on this site)
The railroad tracks stood silently in the middle of the grass. No sound could be heard, apart from a soft rustling in the undergrowth, gradually becoming louder. Suddenly, several rabbits hopped out. The largest of them stared at the tracks.
-"Is this the place?" he asked.
-"Absolutely, General," Orchis replied. He made a few steps forward, and threw Silverweed onto the tracks. Orchis then jumped on top of him, keeping him pinned to the tracks. "All that's left to do now, is wait."
Woundwort scoffed.
-"Allow me to point out the obvious flaw in your plan. Silverweed won't be the only one to get crushed: you will too."
-"I was planning to jump at the last moment."
-"And what would prevent Silverweed from doing the exact same thing?"
-"...you're right, I hadn't thought of that."
-"You fool! I don't know how you ever managed to get into the owsla. Now go get some weeds to tie him up."
At Watership Down, Hazel was lying in his burrow, when he suddenly heard another rabbit approach.
-"Come in, Fiver."
Fiver hopped over to his brother and lied down right next to him.
-"It's great to have you back," he said, "I missed you."
-"Missed you too, dear brother," Hazel replied, nuzzling Fiver. "How have things been in my absence?"
-"It's been busy. We had several new rabbits join us."
-"Always nice to have new rabbits. I'll have to meet them all, tomorrow."
-"How did it go with you?"
-"Well, as you already know, we didn't find Primrose and Blackberry. But there's something I really don't understand. I don't know, Fiver...I got a feeling that I can't let go."
-"What sort of feeling?"
Fiver had an idea what this was about: the knowledge Silverweed had implanted in his brother's mind. He didn't really want to reveal Silverweed's involvement though, out of fear it might make Hazel worry even more.
-"Somehow," Hazel explained, "I know that Meadow...she's the captain..."
-"Yes, I know, I met her earlier."
-"Right, so Meadow will return to the warren tomorrow night with both Primrose and Blackberry."
-"That's great news."
-"What I don't understand is, how do I know this? You're the one who is supposed to have visions of the future, not me. So how can I know about something that hasn't happened yet?"
-"Frith works in mysterious ways."
-"I suppose so, but, I don't know...how do you feel about this? Do you think Meadow really will return with them?"
Fiver hesitated for a few moments. Silverweed had said that the does' safe return was a possibility, but not a certainty. He didn't want to worry his brother more than necessary, but the mission's failure remained a disturbing possibility.
-"Meadow is a good rabbit," he eventually said. "If anyone can make it happen, it's her."
-"Thanks Fiver. But I'm also worried about Bigwig. My attitude earlier might have had a negative impact on his mood..."
But Fiver was no longer paying attention. He felt his mind abruptly cease functioning, and simply focusing on one thing; this was not Silverweed trying to invade him again, but it wasn't the usual vision either. It seemed as if someone was sending him a specific message.
It took a while for the feelings to clarify into a coherent message. Apparently, Woundwort was going to kill Silverweed; that was one outcome he had not expected. He knew exactly what was going to happen, when and where, but he had no idea what he could do about it. However, this was plainly something he could not handle alone.
But who would be able to help? Hazel seemed to be feeling better now, but he could still not be expected to lead any mission of importance, and neither could Bigwig. Pipkin and the junior owsla, while they would probably be glad to volunteer for the mission, would not be of much help, due to their reduced size and lack of experience. Some of the new arrivals might be willing to help (although Flyairth might be hard to convince), but in his vision Fiver had seen a large crowd of rabbits guarding Silverweed, more than there were at Watership Down; some of the new rabbits might get seriously hurt or killed. To make things worse, even Kehaar was of little help, as he had left immediately after his return.
Suddenly, he remembered Bark. The female badger had saved his life the previous summer, and the two had remained friends afterwards. She would probably be strong enough to defeat almost any rabbit in a fight.
-"Fiver?"
Fiver snapped out of his thoughts; he hadn't realized his brother was still talking.
-"I'm sure everything will be all right," he said, as he hopped out of the burrow.
-"Where are you going?"
-"I, uh...I promised Pipkin I would play bob-stones with him tonight."
Fiver hated lying, especially to his dear brother, but under the circumstances he couldn't see any other options; he didn't want to worry him more than necessary.
-"I see. Have fun, you two," Hazel replied, apparently not noticing the lie.
Fiver made his way above ground; the fog was as thick as ever. He rushed down the hill to make it to the orchard, where Bark lived.
-"Hey Fiver, where are you going?" came the voice of Pipkin from further away.
-"Don't worry, I'll be right back!"
Pipkin remained silent. Fiver was not the type of rabbit who would run away without any explanation, so he probably had a reason to do this. However, he seemed to be in quite a hurry so, Pipkin reasoned, it probably wasn't a good idea to ask, at least not yet. Leo was also at silflay nearby, and was also rather worried by Fiver's sudden departure; he therefore decided to follow him.
Fiver soon reached the bottom of the Down, and made his way into the orchard. He had some trouble finding the entrance to the burrow where Bark lived, since the fog made navigating between the trees very difficult. Soon after his arrival, however, he noticed the dark shadow of another rabbit.
-"Flora?"
-"Fiver?" Flora seemed as surprised as Fiver. "What are you doing here?"
-"I'm visiting a friend. What are you doing here?"
-"I was gathering flowers for a friend."
-"Clover?" Fiver asked; this made the doe blush.
-"Please don't tell her, I want this to be a surprise."
-"I won't."
-"Anyway, who is your friend?"
-"She's a badger, but quite harmless towards rabbits. I need her help for a mission I'm going on."
-"Would it be all right if I went with you on this mission? It sounds exciting."
-"Yes, of course, but I must warn you, it's likely to be dangerous."
-"Eh, I'm used to it."
Fiver and Flora resumed the search for Bark's den, until they finally came across a hole between the roots of a nearby tree. Fiver peaked inside the underground chamber. He could faintly hear growling coming from inside, gradually becoming louder, until he could see the badger's eyes shining in the darkness. As soon as she saw him, she grabbed him and hugged him tightly.
-"Oh, Fiver, you come back like you promise."
-"Uh, it's good to see you again, Bark, but would you mind putting me down?"
-"Oh. Bark sorry, forget rabbits not like picked up." She put him back on the ground. "Who is with you?"
-"This is Flora, she's another friend."
-"Any friend of Fiver is friend of Bark." The badger also picked Flora up and held her for a few moments before putting her back down.
-"I'm afraid I need your help, Bark," Fiver said. "To rescue yet another friend. Do you think you could help?"
-"Bark do anything for friends."
As Fiver, Flora and Bark made their way out of the orchard, however, they stumbled upon a third rabbit.
-"Leo? Were you following me?" Fiver said.
-"Hey Fiver," Leo replied. "Yes, I followed you. I was a bit worried, with the way you just ran off. Is there anything...look out, there's a badger behind you!"
-"I know, she's harmless. Leo, meet my old friend Bark."
-"Nice to meet you, Bark. But Fiver, why did you run away?"
-"I need to go rescue another friend. It will be a dangerous mission."
-"Can I come with you? I'll do my best to protect you and your friends."