Chapter 196: The Trouble With Inlé.
"You're really this willing to do anything in your power to let your sister have a chance at survival? Even if it doesn't ensure yours?"
-destinycopley13, Fire on Fire
Orchis led the other rabbits to a small platform that overlooked a barrel filled with water, near the top of the structure. The recent storm had damaged the electrical wires leading to the junkyard's main building; one such wire had broken in two, and was now leading to the barrel instead. Its tip was just below the surface of the wire; anyone attempting to swim in there would be electrocuted.
Most rabbits had followed Orchis out of curiosity; the Speaker, who was going to be executed, had to be dragged there, the captain held her ear in his mouth.
-"So, what does this torture method involve?" Woundwort asked.
-"We dunk her in the barrel until she's dead," Orchis explained.
Woundwort sighed in frustration.
-"That's called drowning, you idiot! You made it sound like it would be new and revolutionary, what a waste of time!"
-"No. There is something about this water that will cause an intense burning sensation to anyone touching it. They will be dead in just a few moments, no need to hold them down for a long time until they drown. Shall we try it out?"
Woundwort thought back on Orchis' previous attempts at showing off. He had tried to get Silverweed crushed by a hrududu, and while the mystic rabbit did die (probably, hopefully), it took so long that a badger managed to hurt most of the owsla. On another occasion, Orchis got Vervain to chew another hrududu; while this resulted in the machine's death, it wasn't really much of a punishment for Vervain. Would Orchis try to fit a hrududu into this latest plan? Would this method of torture actually be useful later on? Woundwort didn't really care. There weren't any elil nearby who could interfere, so a catastrophe seemed unlikely. If the Speaker suffered for her crime, he would be satisfied. Otherwise, he would use an old-fashioned and very efficient method of torture: getting Vervain to beat her up. Where was Vervain anyway?
-"You may proceed."
Leaving Orchis to accomplish his task, the General made his way through the rest of the crowd to seek out Campion.
-"Have you seen Vervain lately?" he asked upon finding him.
-"He hasn't come back from that patrol yet!" Orchis shouted. He made a mental note to come up with other excuses for the bearded rabbit's absence: if Vervain stayed on patrol for hrair days in a row, Woundwort would get suspicious.
-"I wasn't asking you!" Woundwort shouted back. "I was asking Campion!"
-"I haven't seen him today," Campion said. "I suspect Orchis is telling the truth."
-"Considering how long he's been gone, he'd BETTER have found something by the time he returns..."
-"I'm going to need some help here," came the sudden voice of Orchis. "I will need a second rabbit to carry her the rest of the way."
-"I'll help," Campion replied, as he ran off, leaving the General alone.
What Campion didn't say, however, was that he intended to help the Speaker, rather than Orchis. She had helped him the previous night by finding him a new burrow; saving her life was the least he could do.
As he made his way over to Orchis, Campion caught a glimpse of Kurai in the crowd. He appeared to be smiling, a fact that left Campion disturbed. Did he actually enjoy watching someone about to be executed? That was twisted. Back in Efrafa, being forced to watch executions was used as a punishment; it was supposed to be unpleasant. The unfortunate ones at the front of the crowd might even get accidentally sprayed with the victim's blood. Doing his best not to think of these unfortunate images, he turned to his fellow captain.
-"What do you want from me?"
-"Hold one of her front paws, I will hold the other," Orchis said.
Campion did as he was ordered; along with Orchis, he dragged the Speaker as close to the edge as possible. She maintained her usual deadpan expression, further obscured by the skull covering her face.
-"Speaker, I am a friend," he whispered in her ear. "I don't think you deserve to die, and I will do my best to prevent it. Can you move your hind legs?"
-"The law says that..."
-"I'm trying to save your life here! Can you forget about the law for just a moment?"
-"The law says that I cannot die. The law does not say anything about you dying. I will not die, but you will."
-"Again? How can I prevent it?"
-"You cannot. That would break the law. I would help you, but I cannot because you are holding me. Whatever you do, you will die anyway."
-"What are you whispering about?" Orchis asked.
-"I was trying to convince her to just jump into the water on her own, without us having to push her in," Campion lied. "She refused."
-"I didn't expect her to willingly walk into her death. Seems we'll have to do this the hard way."
As the Speaker stood near the edge of the platform overlooking the barrel, Orchis placed his front paws on her side and started to push. Campion pretended to do the same thing, but rather than push, he was actually holding onto her, effectively counteracting Orchis' pushing.
Woundwort stared at the three rabbits, and was left very disappointed with what he saw. Campion and Orchis were supposedly the two strongest rabbits in his owsla, and somehow they were unable to push a single doe over a short distance. He was truly surrounded by incompetent fools.
-"Aspen, go and help them," he ordered.
Campion was distracted, thinking about the Speaker's warning about his upcoming death. He did not register Aspen's presence until the pale rabbit had already started pushing, by which point it was too late. Pulling back against one rabbit was already difficult, but with two working against him, he couldn't hold on anymore. He didn't have the time to let go either; both he and the Speaker went over the ledge. The Speaker somehow managed to jump completely over the barrel, landing unharmed on the ground below. Campion was not so lucky, landing in the water instead.
When he had been struck by lightning several days before, the pain was intense but short. However, as he was in the water, it did not stop. He tried to scream, but this only made things worse, as he swallowed some water. He used what little energy he still had to try to escape, but as his head made it above the surface, Orchis gave a kick of his hind leg, sending him back down.
The pain finally stopped when the overheating wire broke apart, stopping the electrical current. By the time that happened, Campion was lying motionless at the bottom of the barrel, but that did not last long: once he opened his eyes again, it appeared that he was falling down a well, although there were multicoloured lights all the way down. Eventually, he reached a larger chamber at the bottom, and gently floated down onto the ground. He was dead, there was no other explanation for what was happening to him. He was rather disappointed: things were going so well, and now this happened. The Speaker had warned him, but that only made him feel worse: he had known what was going to happen, and yet was powerless to stop it. Just like the Speaker had said...
Took in his surroundings. He appeared alone, he could not see anyone else nearby. The ground was covered by a thin layer of a black liquid, and cube-like shapes were floating all around. It was amazing how he ended up in a different place every time he died; the realm of the dead must be huge.
-"Black Rabbit?" he called out. "Are you here?"
At first, there was silence, until a cube floated out of the liquid in front of Campion. Curious, he went to sniff it, until he saw the Black Rabbit's face on one of the sides.
-"CAMPION. SNOOPING AS USUAL, I SEE."
-"Black Rabbit, I'm dead again," Campion announced.
-"THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. IT IS MOST BOTHERSOME."
-"It is. Oh, and while I have your attention, before you send me back, there's something I would like to ask you. When I was in the stars, there was this ominous talk about the Glanbrin Dominion. Are they the next enemy? Sometimes, after one enemy is defeated, you find yourself dealing with another, more dangerous one. I've been a bit worried about having to deal with them once I'm done with Woundwort."
-"DID YOU DIE AGAIN JUST SO YOU COULD ASK ME THAT POINTLESS QUESTION?"
-"I..."
-"DON'T ANSWER THAT, I ALREADY KNOW THAT'S NOT THE CASE. I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING IMPORTANT. SO I WILL JUST SAY: NO. WOUNDWORT IS THE FINAL BOSS, SO TO SPEAK. THAT SAID, THE GLANBRIN WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER ON. YOU MAY WISH TO ASK THE SPEAKER ABOUT IT."
-"She's the Speaker of the Past, not the future. And also the reason I'm dead right now..."
-"NO, SHE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DEATH. IT WAS ASPEN WHO PUSHED YOU IN THE BARREL OF DEATH."
-"He didn't mean it, it was an accident."
-"HE IS STILL RESPONSIBLE. AND TO THINK I SENT HIM WITH YOU SO HE COULD PROTECT YOU..."
Campion frowned as he heard the Black Rabbit unfairly blame Aspen. This was what his friend had feared; it would be time for Campion to make good on his word, and protect him, regardless of the risks. And hopefully do a better job at that, than he had done at protecting the Speaker.
-"I won't let you take him back."
-"WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT TAKING HIM BACK?"
-"You did. You are unfairly blaming him for something that is truly not his fault. Also, he will be a useful ally against Woundwort, otherwise it will be more difficult. If you choose to take him back anyway, you will have to take me too."
Campion took on a battle stance; the Black Rabbit simply blinked.
-"I DON'T HAVE TIME TO ARGUE. ASPEN WILL BE STAYING WITH YOU...FOR NOW. JUST GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, I HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DEAL WITH."
A door opened behind Campion, and the Black Rabbit pushed him through. He was now floating upwards, back out of the "well".