Chapter 2: le début de la fin
"UN ENSEMBLE D'ENFANTS
LA GALAXIE S'ÉTEND
JARDIN DE L'IMAGINATION" - Dream sweet in sea major
"How does this feel?" Strawberry asked as she shifted Thistle's leg. A sharp pain ran through it causing him to grimace.
"I'm guessing not that good," she said, answering herself.
"Strawberry? When will I be able to walk on my own again?" Thistle asked. He was growing antsy regardless of his injuries
"Sorry Thistle but your injuries are quote sever. You're lucky to even have your heart beating"
"I guess you're right," he mumbled. His mind drifted off to him back in the fog. What exactly happened? Did he question. Was it all just a dream? His heart sunk, am I still alive?
Another sharp pain snapped him back to reality. No, I'm still definitely alive he winced.
Strawberry started to wrap his broken leg in grass to hold it in place.
"There!" she proclaimed, "Now don't do anything rash, just keep it slow and in a few months you should be back on your own feet,"
Thistle thanked Strawberry and limped out of the nursery. Just outside was birch; He was wearing a perplexed expression on his face.
"What is it?" asked thistle, feeling slightly offset by his staring.
"You're still alive thistle. That's incredible," Birch said.
"Well I'm here aren't I?"
"No, you don't understand Thistle; That fall you took was massive. You should not have survived that."
Thistle was taken aback. "So you wanted me to die?"
Birch realized his mistake, "No I don't mean that. In fact, I'm happy you're alive. It's just-just when I was looking at on the ground you-" he stopped for a second as if the topic disturbed him. "When I looked at you- you-you looked completely dead Thistle. When I checked for a heartbeat there was none, there was even blood coming out of your mouth! But then, suddenly you were alive. Just out of the blue, there you were; One second you were unnaturally still, then you were suddenly lively again. It's just that- it didn't feel right to me Thistle."
Thistle could sense Birch's bewilderment.
"Birch I can assure you that nothing is wrong; all I've got is a broken leg and a sore neck. Everything will be just fine."
"Well, if you say so, Thistle. You know me and a few other of my friends are going to play bob stones. Care to join us?" Birch asked he seemed to have calmed down.
"Yeah yeah. I'll be out in a moment."
With that Birch hopped back outside the burrow.
Thistle started to stress. What if I did do something wrong? What if I shouldn't be alive. Well, I guess nothing has happened yet so I must be fine!
"Thistle are you okay?" Strawberry asked.
"Yes, yes I am strawberry," he said quickly.; then he too hopped out of the burrow.
Speedwell stretched and lied down on the soft grass. The sun was as vibrant as ever and made the entire world seem to glow with a comforting atmosphere and, after Thistle's accident, there didn't seem to be any more birds.
"Good morning Speedwell!" Fiver said as he sat down next to him.
"Good morning Fiver," Speedwell responded.
"What's wrong? You look down," Fiver said, noticing that Speedwell's ears were drooping.
"I was thinking about what you said yesterday, about how it could be a curse Fiver," Speedwell shifted uncomfortably.
Fiver and Speedwell exchanged conversation for several minutes until Fiver had decided he had enough chat and left to seek something more entertaining.
Speedwell sat lay alone and let the warm fresh air lull him into a light sleep.
Speedwell woke up with a start. How long have I been asleep? He wondered.
The sky was now a dark black canvas dotted with small specs of light; stars. A cool breeze carrying a hint of the daytime stirred his fur.
Speedwell slowly hopped back towards the warren, reasoning that he wouldn't want to end up dead halfway through a nap.
There was blood. Blood at the entrance of the warren. Speedwell felt his heart sink. Who's blood is it? He wondered to himself. Where does this lead?.
He slowly followed the blood trail through the warren. It stretched out for quite a while, beckoning the rabbit to follow it with its glistening trail, a scarlet that contained an evil unknonw to him, and to all of them.
The trail stopped quickly and suddenly, and at the end was a body, a corpse that was twisted and plagued with rot. A ghastly sight. Yet speedwell could not take his eyes off it.
There was something so strange about death in speedwell mind. It could happen suddenly or over a long period of time. And once death had gone it left a corpse, a soulless cluster of meat, bones, and blood; a simple puppet that has no controller, left to rot and return to the earth.
The corpse lay there, its face complete mangled by an unknown source; blood pooled where it lay but it was obvious that it had long since stopped running.
A rabbit of immense proportions, whose fur was the color of death, a sickly black that seemed to consume any light that came into contact with it, was standing over the body. He simply gaze'd down upon it with intent as if stu'dying it to see if it would spring to life and dance. Speedwell called out to the rabbit but it did not answer, instead, it kept its focus.
Speedwell tried again. The black rabbit slowly rais'd his head and stare'd at Speedwell. The rabbit's crimson eyes sent shivers down his spine.
"Who are? What is happening?" Speedwell choked in confusion, "why-what-how?"
Finally, the Black rabbit spoke.
"I know it may seem hard; stuff like this is never black and white. I'm sure you'll understand that it's your turn to præy."
"What does that mean?" Speedwell whispered. But the rabbit did not reply, and instead resumed to look at the body.
"Speedwell! Wake up!"