AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you both guests for the reviews :) I'm glad you both liked last week's chapter.

Chapter 74: Scream for Help!

"They ate and ate the dried out grass, but it gave them nothing in return. The poor rabbits were starving because there was no green nutrition in the dead plants. The warren was a mass of walking skeletons"

-MistressNyx, Legends of El-ahrairah: Evenings on the Down

-"My burrow was surprisingly large."

-"The rare positive thing about Efrafa."

Primrose was telling Hyzenthlay about her time in Efrafa, starting with her first winter there.

-"That's what I thought at first," she continued, "but around two moons after I arrived there, I felt differently. The burrow was badly dug, and was extremely cold. It was around that time that they sent another rabbit to live with me. The warren was overcrowded, so for most of my imprisonment, I had to share my burrow with other rabbits."

-"What were they like?"

-"I honestly don't remember most of them. They changed every few moons. Bucks and does, young and old...nearly all of them failed to make a strong impression on me. That first one was very old, and very ill. He was only with me for two or three days, and he simply stayed there in the corner, moaning, shivering, coughing, before he stopped running."

-"Didn't they try to help him or anything?"

-"They did absolutely nothing, they just let him die. I tried to help him, but there wasn't much I could do. I hardly knew anything about healing, and I didn't have access to any herbs or anything. I don't know what his disease was, but whatever it was, I got infected too. I survived, but it took me all winter to recover."

-"That must have been terrible."

-"It was. Pretty much the only reason why I survived was because of Campion."

-"Who's Campion?"

-"Didn't I tell you about him already?"

-"No, the only other rabbits you mentioned by name so far were General Woundwort and Creepy Vervain."

-"Oh...well Campion is another captain. Vervain's archenemy. They were always arguing about everything."

-"From what you told me about Vervain, it looks like he would argue with pretty much anyone."

-"And he did. It was much worse with Campion because, while they were both captains, the General seemed to hold Campion in higher regard, and Vervain was jealous. I think we're off-topic again..."

-"I appreciate your explanation, I was a bit confused. Anyway, you were talking about how Campion saved your life."

-"He did that several times, actually. Which one was I talking about?"

-"You were ill from the same disease your companion had."

-"Right...Campion secretly gave me some flayrah so I would stay strong enough until spring. By that time, I could silflay on a regular basis, but I still couldn't get much to eat. The warren was overcrowded, and the guards didn't let us stray too far from the warren during silflay, so the supply of grass was quickly used up."

Hannah had managed to escape her predicament by climbing back to the top of the vine, onto the tree. However, she would have to find another way to reach the island.

She chewed a small branch off the tree, and brought it to the ground. Then, she built two piles of pebbles; they were not of the exact same height, but it was close enough for what she was trying to do. She then placed the branch over the pebbles, before adding more pebbles on top of it, hopefully anchoring it in place. However, as she put her front paws on the branch, it broke apart, and one of the piles of pebbles collapsed. Hannah sighed; building this slingshot was not going to be as simple as she had hoped.

-"...but perhaps the worst part about it was that you couldn't eat it. You carried it in your mouth, but you weren't allowed to eat it. Not even a single bite. You just had to carry it to the underground chamber where it was kept."

Primrose was still talking with Hyzenthlay about her time in Efrafa. As a slave, she had been forced to accomplish various tasks, including carrying flayrah for the General.

-"That was really cruel." Hyzenthlay said. "They should have allowed you to eat at least some of it."

-"Vervain took great pleasure in shouting at those who did eat some of it, or just weren't fast enough. And since I wasn't getting enough at silflay, I grew underweight. And in his twisted mind, Vervain thought that made me look pretty."

-"You're beautiful as you are now, Primrose."

-"You're better-looking than I am."

-"Doesn't make you any less beautiful today. It's not your fault Vervain was mad."

Primrose nuzzled her sister.

-"When I wasn't carrying flayrah or performing other tasks," she continued, "I was in my overly large burrow, and that wasn't much better, because there wasn't anything to do. Those who lived with me had long ago broken down under the strain of the painful living conditions in Efrafa, so they weren't much fun talking to."

-"How did you spend your days then?"

-"Dreaming, that one day, I would be free, and come back home to Redstone. It was pretty much the only enjoyable thing in life. But it could also be quite depressing, because no matter how convincing the dream would seem, I always woke up in the end."

-"Did you ever make it back to Redstone?"

-"I did. Last spring. By that point I had spent over a full cycle of seasons in Efrafa. Hazel brought me to Redstone..."

-"Hazel? You mean Hazel-rah from this warren?"

-"Yes! Anyway, he brought me home, but..."

Primrose fell silent.

-"What happened?" Hyzenthlay asked.

-"Oh Hyz...the great sickness...they were all dead. Except captain Broom. But everyone else...all dead!"

With that, Primrose collapsed to the ground and started to cry. Hyzenthlay approached her and hugged her.

-"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for everything..."

Hannah placed her hing legs on the pliable branch, with her front paws on the newly-rebuilt piles of pebbles. She felt the wind blow through the leaves and feathers she had tied to her back and her front paws. She waited a few moments, starting to question whether this plan was going to work or if she was just doing something incredibly silly. She dismissed these thoughts; she had nothing to lose, and removed her front paws from the pebbles.

The improvised slingshot propelled her high in the air. For a few moments, she thought her crazy plan might actually work, until she started losing altitude. She desperately flapped her "wings", but it was no use, and she soon landed in the middle of the lake.

Crackers slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, but she could make out the shape of another creature in front of her.

-"Dann?"

-"It's Tumbler."

-"Ooooh...sorry Tumbler..." Crackers slowly got up, rubbing her head. She looked at her surroundings, and failed to recognize them. "I have a horrible headache. Where are we? What time is it? Where's Rosie?"

-"Rosie went to gather berries for you. As for where we are, we're back at the rabbits' warren, and it's morning."

-"Morning? How long have I been out? I really messed up at the contest, didn't I?"

-"No, not at all. In fact, you won." Tumbler held out a multicoloured acorn, the first place prize for the dance contest.

Crackers picked up the acorn and spent several minutes staring at it in amazement.

-"If everything went so well...why do I not remember anything?" she eventually asked.

-"I'm back!" came Rosie's voice as she re-entered the den, holding various types of berries. "It's great to see you up, Crackers. I was really worried about you."

-"Don't worry about me, Rosie. But could either of you please explain what happened last night? My memory draws a complete blank."

-"The contest took a while," Tumbler said. "By the time everyone was done dancing, it was past sunset, and then came the lengthy judging process, during which several of the younger squirrels threw tantrums."

-"I think I know why I forgot," Crackers said. "I'm intentionally suppressing painful memories of the screamfest."

-"I don't think that's it," Rosie said. "You didn't seem to mind it too much when it happened, because you stuffed leaves in your ears so you wouldn't hear the noise."

-"Eventually," Tumbler continued, "your victory was announced, and most of the others left. But when you were presented with the award, the acorn here, however, there was a loud noise, the tree shook, and all of us fell off the branch."

-"I know what happened," Crackers said. "It's those annoying neighbours again. Nearly every day, they make loud noise, annoy everyone, and scream at us when we politely ask them to stop."

-"If they're such a nuisance, can't you report them and get them kicked out?" Tumbler suggested.

-"I tried, but their claim to the tree is entirely loophole-free. Fortunately, it expires next spring the day the first leaves start growing on it, but until them I still have to survive their presence. But what I don't understand is, why did I forget all this? I've fallen from trees more times than I can count, but my memory was never affected before."

-"I think that's my fault," Rosie said sadly. "When I fell, I landed on top of you and spiked you. I'm sorry."

-"Not your fault, Rosie," Crackers said. "It's the neighbours' fault for knocking us down in the first place. I assume you and Tumbler carried me back here afterwards?"

-"We had to, it was too dangerous over there," Tumbler explained. "Although, it isn't much safer around here, with the murderer rabbit on the loose."

-"Speaking of which," Rosie added, "they almost killed another one in our absence..."

-"We need to do something," Crackers said, "before they all die. But that Toadflax fellow won't let us."

-"We need to find a way to talk to the others without him finding out," Rosie suggested. "I have a plan."

-"Snazz," Tumbler replied. "What does this plan involve?"