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Chapter 95: Vervain's Verifications.
"[...] put her head down and closed her eyes, realizing anything [...], was better than living [here]. And as sleep claimed her, she found herself wishing she were back in that tree."
-alibi2014, Running
Vervain woke up. The last thing he heard before going unconscious was Chibiscuit telling him to "meet her at Nepenthes". What was that supposed to mean? Was it a riddle he would have to solve? He would have to further reflect on the situation later on.
Also, a mysterious shockwave had blown him away. He didn't understand what had happened, but he didn't really care. He took a quick look at his surroundings; he seemed to be inside a tunnel of some sort. To the left, there was the entrance to a single burrow. To the right, the run led straight upwards to the exit. He decided to check out the burrow first.
There were several branches and nuts on the floor of the burrow, with weeds growing on the walls. In a far corner, he saw a lone rabbit, who raised his head as he looked at the captain.
-"Vervain! You have come back!"
Vervain was taken aback by the rabbit's words. Apparently he had met this rabbit before. But where? He could not remember him at all.
-"Come on, go ahead. Make it quick." the stranger continued.
Vervain became even more confused. This rabbit was expecting him to do something, but he had no idea what. He continued to stare at the stranger, remaining completely silent.
-"Well? What are you waiting for?" the stranger said.
-"What exactly do you wish for me to do?"
-"Oh, Vervain. You disappoint me."
-"Who are you anyway?"
-"Don't you remember me? I'm Larch."
As he heard the name, Vervain remembered: Larch was a former owsla recruit. He had fallen sick on patrol, and Vervain had ordered him left behind.
-"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" he asked, annoyed.
-"I'm not, but I want to be."
-"You have a dark and twisted mind, Larch."
-"I want you to kill me."
Vervain made a few steps backwards. He had executed several rabbits in his time in Efrafa, but all of them had spent their last moments in a state of absolute terror. This was the first time someone was looking forward to death.
-"Hang on. You want me to kill you?"
-"Exactly."
-"Hmm. Always happy to oblige."
Vervain hopped to Larch and slit his throat with his claws. It was only then that he realized that this was not really Larch, but a weasel; the rabbit had vanished without a trace. Thoroughly confused, Vervain hopped out of the burrow and above ground.
He seemed to be in a forest clearing; in the distance, he could see a tall hill with a large mansion on top. Near one of the trees, there was a catapult, although Vervain had no idea what it was. Next to the catapult, there was a weird creature, unlike any he had ever seen before. It was holding a gun, pointed at Vervain, but the rabbit was too busy trying to figure out what type of creature it was to notice the weapon. At that moment, however, he saw another rabbit sitting next to the creature.
-"Vervain," Orchis said in an overly dramatic voice, "I am your father."
-"No you're not!" Vervain shouted back. "We're almost the same age!"
-"I was magically de-aged."
Suddenly, the catapult was triggered, firing three ice cubes at Vervain's face. Moments later, the creature shot the ice.
Vervain woke up. The last thing he heard before going unconscious was a gunshot. However, he did not feel any pain anywhere. He didn't understand what had happened, but he didn't really care. He took a quick look at his surroundings; he seemed to be back inside the tunnel. He went left towards the burrow.
The branches and nuts on the floor, and the weeds on the walls, were still there. In a far corner, however, he saw Larch, perfectly alive and unharmed, raising his head and looking at the captain.
-"Vervain! You have come back!"
-"Didn't I just try to kill you?"
-"I want you to kill me. And please, do it in a very complicated and dramatic way."
-"How am I supposed to do that?"
-"Improvise."
Vervain looked around the burrow; the weeds and branches could perhaps be useful. He pushed the branches into the ceiling, leaving the tips hanging. Then, he ripped the weeds off the wall, tying them to all four of Larch's paws. Then, he tied the weeds to the branches, so that Larch was hanging upside down.
-"Very dramatic," Larch said, "but I don't think that's going to kill me."
Vervain then picked up one of the nuts and shoved it inside Larch's mouth. Only then did he realize once again that this was not really Larch, but a weasel; Vervain stepped away in horror. The nut was too large for the weasel to chew or swallow, and the creature was unable to spit it out either, causing it to slowly suffocate to death. After a few minutes, once Vervain was sure it was dead, he chewed off the weeds, and the corpse loudly crashed on the burrow floor. Still confused over the way Larch had vanished, Vervain hopped out of the burrow and went above ground.
He was still in the same clearing, and the same mansion was still on the same hill in the distance. However, both the catapult and the weird creature were gone. Instead, he could see another weird creature, patrolling the edge of the woods, walking back and forth. It was completely different from the other one, but Vervain was still not able to identify it. Further away near a tree, however...
-"Vervain," Orchis said, in the same overdramatic voice, "I am your sister."
-"No you're not!" Vervain shouted back. "You're a buck!"
-"You're right. I had forgotten."
Suddenly, the creature spotted Vervain, and pointed its gun toward him. It did not fire a bullet, however, but a laser beam, right between Vervain's ears.
Vervain woke up. The last thing he heard before going unconscious was a loud crack. He didn't understand what had happened, but he was starting to get worried. He took a quick look at his surroundings; he was in the tunnel again. He went left towards the burrow, to see if Larch was still there.
The branches and nuts were back on the floor, and the weeds back on the walls. In a far corner, Larch was still alive, raising his head and looking at the captain.
-"Vervain! You have..."
-"How are you still alive? This makes no sense at all!"
-"Oh no!"
-"What is it now?"
-"Please don't kill me!"
-"You asked me to kill you."
-"It was all a misunderstanding."
-"So..." Vervain stared directly at Larch. "Do you want me to kill you, or not?"
-"This is not really happening."
-"Hmm. If this is not really happening..."
Vervain cuffed Larch across the face. He then realized that Larch had once again been replaced by a weasel, but he didn't care. He placed one front paw on one of the weasel's ears, and pierced it with his claws. He slowly moved his paw back and forth, shredding the ear apart, paying no attention to his victim's squeals of pain. He then moved on to the second ear. One by one, he ripped the whiskers off the weasel's face. He knocked the creature on its side, grabbed one of the hind legs with his front paws, and slowly twisted it until he heard the bones snap. The weasel's squeals were becoming unbearable, so he once again shoved one of the nuts inside the mouth to keep it quiet, before twisting the other three paws just like he had done with the first one. He then bit the weasel's abdomen, and pulled, ripping off a certain amount of fur. He did this several more times, until he finally ripped off the skin. With his claws, he enlarged the hole, revealing the internal organs.
-"May I have some last words?" came a weak voice.
-"Make it quick." Only then did Vervain realize that it was not the weasel who had spoken. He turned around, and saw Larch standing at the entrance of the burrow.
-"You'll always be nothing more than a mean, cruel, sadistic, cowardly bully, Vervain," Larch said. "You..."
Ignoring Larch, Vervain bit the weasel's heart, causing blood to squirt all over his face and the rest of the burrow. This would be one less elil killing innocent rabbits.
-"I'll be leaving, then," Larch said, hopping out of the burrow.
But Vervain wasn't paying attention. He backed away, looking at the weasel's body in front of him; it was completely unrecognizable. Horrified at his own violence, he slowly hopped out of the burrow and went above ground.
He was still in the clearing, and the mansion on the hill was still there. However, this time, there were no other weird creatures or objects nearby, only one other rabbit.
-"Vervain," Orchis said, in the same overdramatic voice, "I am your son."
-"No you're not!" Vervain shouted back. "I don't even have a mate!"
-"You will soon."
Suddenly, two more weird creatures, which Vervain was still not able to identify, flew by on a wire, one of them accidentally kicking him in the face along the way.
Vervain woke up. The last thing he heard before going unconscious was one of the creatures squealing in excitement. He didn't understand what had happened, but he had a rough idea, and it terrified him. He took a quick look at his surroundings; he was predictably back in the tunnel. He went left towards the burrow, to verify his theory.
As he had expected, the branches, nuts and weeds were undisturbed. In a far corner, Larch was still alive, raising his head and looking at the captain.
-"Vervain! Please don't kill me!"
-"My worst fears have been realized," Vervain said.
-"No, please don't do this to me! Please no!"
Unable to bring himself to try to kill Larch again, Vervain slowly hopped out of the burrow and went above ground. Larch remained underground, confused but pleased that Vervain had listened to his plea.
The clearing and the hill were still there, but the mansion was gone. Instead, there was a large hole at the top of the hill, with an airplane next to it, although Vervain had no idea what it was. There were no weird creatures in the clearing, but there were railroad tracks. As he looked in front of him, he was unsurprised by what he saw.
-"Vervain," Orchis said, in the same overdramatic voice, "I am your nephew."
-"Orchis, help me!" Vervain shouted back. "I'm stuck in a time loop!"
-"I have no idea what you are talking about."
Suddenly, a train arrived, along with yet another weird creature next to it. Vervain was run over by the train, while Orchis was crushed by the creature.
Vervain woke up. The last thing he heard before going unconscious was a train's whistle. He didn't understand what had happened, but he had fallen into a state of quiet acceptance. He took a quick look at his surroundings; still the same tunnel. He decided to check out the burrow, just in case things were different this time.
As he had expected, the branches, nuts and weeds were undisturbed. In a far corner, Larch was lying down, with another rabbit beside him; Vervain could not recognize her.
-"Vervain, you killed me," Larch said.
-"I did my best, but instead I killed three weasels."
-"What are you talking about? There were no weasels, it was crows. When you left me for dead, they circled for hours until..."
-"Oh." Vervain realized that Larch was talking about his death out on wide patrol, rather than any of the recent failed attempts. "I'm sorry."
-"Don't be sorry. Sometimes, death is better than life. My mate starved to death in Efrafa; now I'm with her again, forever," he explained, as he lovingly nuzzled his mate.
With tears in his eyes, Vervain hopped out of the burrow and went above ground.
This time, the clearing appeared more peaceful than ever before. It was night, there was nothing on the hill, and (apart from Orchis) no creatures in the clearing. There was a small object by the hole; it was a computer, rapidly running out of memory and overheating, but Vervain did not understand it, and didn't really care. He simply looked at Orchis.
-"Vervain," Orchis said, in a calmer tone, "I am your evil twin."
-"I want to be the real villain," Vervain replied. Orchis hopped over to him and nuzzled him.
-"We can both be evil together."
Then, the computer burst into flames. This was the last loop: Vervain and Orchis were sent back to their original reality. Larch and his mate, meanwhile, returned to the meadow, with no memories of what had just happened.