AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you Anonymous Guest for the review!
Also, thank you Bunyip; I'm glad you're enjoying the story. This site is indeed increasingly glitchy...I'll be looking forward to the updates to your story, when they come!
Chapter 157: The Extreme Feelings.
"Several emotions were running through his mind now: anger, concern, and mainly frustration."
-The Autistic Patriot, Doubting the Prophet
While Debbie and Lucy were talking, the kidnapping officer returned on-camera, and addressed the judge. His lips could clearly be seen moving, but with Bright Eyes blaring in the background, nobody could understand what he was saying.
-"Speak louder or turn off the music, I can't hear you!" the judge shouted. The officer sighed, and chose the first option.
-"Your honour," he shouted, "I plead to you today, on behalf of my friend, uh..." He hesitated, as he tried to remember Anya's name, soon realizing he had never known. "My friend here!" he finally said, pointing the camera towards Anya, who was shaking her head in disbelief.
-"I've never seen this woman in court before," the judge said.
-"Oh, she hasn't been in court yet. That's what I want you to sort out, to get the charges dropped."
-"She hasn't even been formally charged yet," Dusty whispered in the judge's ear.
-"She hasn't?" The judge seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated. "What is she even accused of?"
-"...I don't remember," the kidnapper said. "Dusty, I see you back there, what are the charges?"
-"I don't know," Dusty said, holding up the files. "The paperwork is all wet."
-"What am I supposed to do with someone who hasn't been in court, and nobody knows what crimes she's accused of?" Faced with such cluelessness from seemingly everyone around him, Judge Logan completely lost his temper, ripping the wig off his head and throwing it at the ground. "I'm getting out of here!"
-"Please wait just a few minutes," Beaumont said, as he pulled the judge aside, to hopefully get him to change his mind.
While the negotiator and the judge were talking, the farmer appeared on camera.
-"May I cut in, here? Where's my wife?" Debbie, who was watching the video feed from a distance, looked away.
-"I don't want to talk to you," she said.
-"Where were you last night?"
-"Did you not hear what I said?" Debbie turned her head to look. "I don't want to talk to you."
-"Refusing to talk is basically an admission of guilt."
-"What is going on?" Lucy asked.
-"It's adult business, sweetie," Debbie said, squeezing Lucy's hand, before turning back to the camera. "Why did you lie to me about the trespassers?" she shouted.
-"Stop changing the subject," her husband said. "You..."
-"All these times you left without telling me where you were going, you were in court!"
By this point, Bright Eyes had concluded. The officer cued another song: Losing Your Way in the Rain, also featuring Art Garfunkel's vocals.
-"Okay, fine, I was in court! Since you're too lazy to seek out the damages we rightfully deserve, I had to do it myself."
-"Then why the f..." Debbie held her tongue, not wanting to swear in front of her daughter. "Why did you ask for my opinion if you were going to disregard it anyway?"
-"I asked you for one simple reason: so you would stop complaining that I was ignoring your opinions..."
-"But that's literally what you just did! I gave you my opinion and you did the exact opposite!"
-"Well duh, that's what happens when your opinions are objectively stupid. Now enough about what I did, what about YOU? You definitely weren't at the farmers' market so late in the evening yesterday, where were you?"
-"That's none of your business."
-"You're seeing someone else, aren't you?"
Debbie grimaced. Her husband's theory was correct, and she would have to confess eventually, but not now. Not with Lucy still so emotional.
-"You're always assuming the worst of me!" she shouted instead.
-"After all the ridiculous things you did, you can't blame me."
-"Oh sure, it's my fault again. At least I never lied to you, like you did with the court cases!" Ironically, this statement was itself a lie on Debbie's part: she had lied to her husband several times.
-"Why do you care so much about a few idiot tourists?"
-"It's not about the tourists, it's a matter of principle, you lied to me!"
-"SO DID YOU, YOU DUMB..."
Before the farmer could finish the sentence, Anya whacked on the head with the barrel of the rifle, knocking him unconscious.
-"What did you do that for?" the other kidnapper asked off-camera. "I was enjoying watching them argue."
He shoved the bowl of shrimp on Anya's head, before turning back to the camera.
-"You've heard my demands. After you comply, I will release him. Not before that."
With that, he cut the feed.
Outside, everyone seemed horrified by this turn of events. Everyone was staring at Debbie, awaiting an explanation for her outburst.
-"I know you said not to show any emotions, but we bring out the worst in each other," she said between deep breaths. "I'll be in the barn with my daughter. Do what you have to do to get him out of there. Or not, I don't really care either way."
She walked towards the barn, still holding Lucy's hand (practically dragging her daughter the whole way), and slammed the door behind her.
-"From experience," Walker said, "when someone's spouse gets kidnapped, they tend to put their differences aside at least until the crisis is over. Unless one of them hired the kidnappers."
-"It's a theory worth considering, but I would have a hard time believing it this time," Yates said. "Regardless of how she feels about her husband, she wouldn't willingly put her daughter in danger."
-"She probably never meant for her daughter to get involved. The husband was supposed to be the only victim, but something went wrong and now they're improvising, which would explain the apparent lack of a clear plan."
A large group of rabbits was gathered at the river Test. Some were practicing fighting on shore, while others were doing so in the water instead.
-"I really appreciate what you said back there, at the warren," Bluebell said, swimming over to Blackberry. "You called me 'your Bluebell'. You really care about me."
Blackberry looked at his friend. There really was no point in denying it.
-"Yes. Yes I do."
-"Would you vote for me if I wanted to become Chief?"
This question took Blackberry by surprise.
-"You're not seriously thinking of running, are you? It's just another inappropriate joke?"
-"Heh, you got me there," Bluebell confessed. "I do have to wonder, though, just what's happening about the election."
-"Enough chit-chat!" came Bigwig's stern voice. "I brought you all here to learn combat techniques, not for pointless conversations."
-"How is it pointless?" Hawkbit asked. "Are you finally admitting that the whole election thing was a bad idea and nothing will come of it?"
-"It's not really fair to call everything off just because a few rabbits don't like the most popular candidate," Flyairth said, referring to herself.
-"Look, the whole thing was Hazel's idea," Bigwig explained. "I haven't spoken to him about it since last night. If you want to know what the situation is, ask him when we get back. For now, let's train."
For a few minutes, it appeared that everyone had listened to Bigwig. However, Holly eventually broke the silence.
-"I'm thinking of withdrawing from the election."
-"What? No!" Vilthuril seemed horrified by Holly's suggestion. "You would do a great job! Certainly better than you-know-who."
-"Didn't you vote for me?" Flyairth asked.
-"Nyreem changed her mind. Me too."
-"The last time we voted, Flyairth was ahead, with the rest of us split between me and Hyzenthlay," Holly explained. "Division makes us weaker."
-"So we must all unite against our common enemy, and back a single candidate," Moss said.
-"I'm not the enemy here," Flyairth said. "Woundwort is."
-"Which is why we're here!" Bigwig shouted. "To be prepared to fight HIM. We won't defeat him with words, but with our bodies. So if you will PLEASE resume practicing your moves?"
-"Fine." Flyairth, perhaps still angry over Moss's comments, selected him as a target to practice her moves, pushing him below the water's surface.
Spartina, meanwhile selected Holly as a fighting partner, hoping to be able to talk to him without Bigwig noticing.
-"You're hoping that by withdrawing, everyone who voted for you will switch to Hyzenthlay, allowing her to beat Flyairth's majority. Clever." If there had been election in Darkhaven, she thought, it would have solved a lot of issues, and maybe the warren wouldn't have turned out the way it had.
-"That is what I aim to accomplish, yes," Holly replied.
-"But why you? Why are you withdrawing, rather than Hyzenthlay? From what I've heard, you both used to be owsla captains at your old warrens, and did a great job."
-"I thought so, at the time, but in hindsight, I would change many things. I shouldn't have tried to stop Hazel and the others from leaving."
-"You're being too hard on yourself," Thethuthinnang said. "You have learned from your mistakes and you won't be repeating them. But I think there's another reason why you're considering withdrawing, isn't there?"
Holly took a deep breath.
-"I think I lo..."
-"OY, THAT'S ENOUGH, ALL OF YOU!" Bigwig shouted. "I don't want to hear another word about the election, or the second Chief, until we're back at the warren. Anyone who keeps talking about it will be spending the night here. Clear?"
Bigwig remained silent for a few moments, to see if anyone would object; nobody did.
-"Good. Now resume training procedures."
Bigwig hopped away for a quick silflay, remaining close to the river. He was starting to agree with Hawkbit, that this was all a bad idea. Hopefully no further trouble would come of it, at least for now. Suddenly...
-"Plump rabbit."
-"WHO SAID THAT!?"