Watership Down 3

---

#Johnny#
Fiver followed. The agony crept through Hazel’s body as if a red hot poker has got him.
“See now?” Fiver asked. He was aware of his brother and sometimes even more aware of him when there’s a big emergency. Now he seemed to be more than ever. He tried to have Hazel hitch a ride on him. Woodspun saw a light in it.
“Fine, I agree.” Fiver narrowed his eyebrows. Hazel thought. Maybe he was right. They would have cost all their begs for Woodspun.
“Great!” They limped out of the burrow. Was Hazel alright?

---

#Amber#

Fiver leapt, in the worry that fazed him, into a wet stream. It was cool, but still freezing. A soaking rabbit pounced onto the soggy earth beside the pool of water.

“Burrrrrh! Maybe w-we should leave also b-b-b-because of the f-f-freezing water?”

Hazel chuckled.  “I have to agree with you on that. It might not be such a bad idea after all…”

“Are you two leaving the warren?” a flashy, black and white rabbit hopped up to Hazel and Fiver, Blackberry.

Hazel grimace.”I think we have to, it isn’t like we’ve got a choice, with this disastrous happening bearing down upon us.”

Blackberry shut his eye. So it was true the warren was no longer a haven from the elil. It was the centre of disaster.

________________________________________________________________________________

#Johnny#
Fiver followed. The agony crept through Hazel’s body as if a red hot poker has got him.
“See now?” Fiver asked. He was aware of his brother and sometimes even more aware of him when there’s a big emergency. Now he seemed to be more than ever. He tried to have Hazel hitch a ride on him. Woodspun saw a light in it.
“Fine, I agree.” Fiver narrowed his eyebrows. Hazel thought. Maybe he was right. They would have cost all their begs for Woodspun.
“Great!” They limped out of the burrow. Was Hazel alright?

——————————————————————————————————————————————

#Ernie#

Well at least they thought that it was a black and white rabbit but when it had started talking a sly, elil voice was heard. It was a lendri! It wanted them to stay because it wanted to eat all the rabbits in the warren! They had to run for it. They had to swim for it!

“SWIM!” shouted Hazel and Fiver together, “SWIM! SWIM! SWIM!”

However, at that very moment, a loud SQUARK was heard.

“Ya don” kill Meester ‘azel! I kill ‘ou! YA! YA! YA! YA! YA! YA!”

“Kehaar!! Kehaar!!Kehaar!!” yelled the two rabbits with joy, ” Thank you Kehaar!! Thank you!!”

The lendri looked up. But it was too late. Kehaar had killed the lendri.

” M’ ‘old ‘ou m”d com’ ‘ack!” the bird cried. They were united again.

 

 

==============================================================================

#Amber#

FIver awoke, startled. The nightmare swirled in his brain, the lendri hanging in his mood. Was he back in the burrow? No. Hazel was nudging him, surrounded by a group of four rabbits, of which Fiver recognised Dandelion, Bigwig and Blackberry, along with Pipkin.

CRASH!

A mass of white, snowy fur shot like a cannonball towards the huddled group. Instantaneously, Bigwig lept into a rear, slashing his claws at the intruder. His teeth found fur and scarred the rabbit’s hide. The attacker blanched, as another blow from Bigwig, tore his nose until it was raw in the open air. All was blood.

“So, you’ve decided to join these rather rebellious traitors, have you?” Inquired a dishevelled, torn rabbit, whose fur was matted by a flow of red.

Bigwig snorted.

“I never even wanted to be in the Owslaw, even when it meant a lettuce or two,” Bigwig growled, his tone seething with anger.

The injured rabbit didn’t say a word.

The night gleamed, suspicious of the extremes just yearning to appear in the paths of the pilgrims. They, who set their minds on such a feat, would soon find that the world was never as it seemed.

♠ ♣ ♠

---

#ERNIE#

The torn rabbit retreated into the shadows of the oak trees that surrounded the area. A rustle of leaves told the rabbits that the rabbit was gone and was going to cause an alarm of some sort that would chase them around until they were cornered in a river of pike, or more likely a cave of witch they would be eaten by ferocious and starving bears.

“There is only one way out of this treacherous place! It’s called away along the slopes of the hill of green grass that will climb upwards towards a final, devestating run along across the road, down the hill, crossing five more roads and opening into a path through the woods.”

##THE UNEXPECTED DASH##

——————————————————————————————————————————————

#Johnny#

All of them agreed. Everyone seemed to collaborate and discuss what all this was for. The trouble drowned them in.

“Dear me, how could we escape now?” Fiver inquired. All agreed in confusion, as they started to get nervous about the coming consequences. Maybe they should stick to the drawing board. They clustered together in agreement. Hazel trembled and tried putting up a plan B. Firstly, what would others say. Maybe they might say just to be “loosy-goosy” or just wait for a moment for things to get sorted out.

“It’s correct each one of you who suggested doing something alternative. We don’t have enough time but we should have an alternative.” Hazel proposed. “Any suggestions?”

---

#Amber#

Fiver spoke up.

“There is a hill up north, and I daresay that it may prove a secure bridge to whatever is beyond these plains.”

Hazel looked startled. It had almost always been him to say something clever, but he was never one for holding grudges, especially against his brother.

“Very well then, Fiver, we shall see if you are correct.”

And so began the endless days of The Crossing.

Days held the trek uphill, and when the rabbits got there, a very unpleasant sight provoked them.

A rotting body, not of a mouse, or a mole, but of a snowy rabbit.

It was gruesome, a beautiful sleek doe, splattered with blood. Claw marks razored across the doe’s chest. It seemed to have been a recent incident for the doe’s scent was fresh in the wind.

Fiver shivered. He knew worse was to come.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

#Ernie#

 

“It looks like a battle has taken …”, said Blackberry before she was drowned out by the stamp of paws coming from the sides. Out of the thick grass sprang some blueish and brownish rabbits while some white does crouched behind in captivity, they were surrounded by guards so there was no way of escape.

The group sprang forward then backwards as a collection of rabbits approched. They charged not at Bluebell who was at the front, but at the other rabbits the team were fighting against. Hazel caught a glimpse of a streak of silver, grey, white and brown fur as Silver, Holly, Clover and Bigwig raced at the attackers. They were saved! Into the battle Hazel.

---

#Amber#

Fiver raised his hanches. He prepared to spring into action, then caught himself just in time. I’m not a war rabbit! He shuddered.

“Come back, it’s not our business!”

Fiver leaped from his perch on an old, withering log. He raced over to the dead doe and nudged her. Of course, she did not move.

He sighed, took his weight into a lunge, and dragged Hazel by the neck away from the battling rabbits. Hazel already had a black eye.

Fiver grunted.

It had occurred to him that they may run away, but thoughts of cowardice bolted out of his mind just as quickly as they had appeared.

Hazel heaved in a sigh. He calmed himself down, righted himself, stared Fiver in the face, and declared, “That was the worst struggle that I ever was caught up in.”

Heart pounding, Fiver exclaimed, “Let’s get the others out of the struggle, then we may flee, or we may rest.”

Hazel chuckled.”All right Fiver, you’ve scored me out on this one!”

---

#ERNIE#

They rushed back up the hill and onto the top. Every single rabbit was gone, missing. It was like they had disappeared in thin air. Then they heard loud, harsh shouting, that’s why. That’s the only reason why. Hazel looked at Fiver, Fiver looked at Hazel, men, people. Oh no. Where had everyone gone? Hazel’s black eye was getting worse, they had to strugle on but the men were catching up, now they could the men, what they wee saying.

“That was a damn rubbish shot you fired there! Can you even aim four handfuls of bullets! You bastard Bill! Grrrrrr! You, idiot completly missed about … 200 rabbits as slow as turtles, crazy!”

“Well if it wasn’t for you shouting out how we’ll have a feast tonight, I would have got 9 dozen of those rabbits in one shot!”

They bang and clang of battle had broken out in the woods just as Bill stopped shouting. The men swivled their feet around and looked in. Bill lifted up his gun and KA-POOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Many bullets flew through the air as shrieks and cries were heard in the wood, one sounded like Blackberry’s. Fiver bowed his head first then a few minutes later he looked up. Hazel was gone and there was a rustle in the bushes near by.

“HAZELLLLLLL!”

---

#Amber#

The air was a musty, iron-tinted hue. All felt like running blood.

Fiver limped along the river bank.

He saw Blackberry, Dandelion and all of the others heading towards him, but Hazel could not be seen. The other rabbits stopped abruptly at the sight of Fiver, alone.

“Hazel?” Fiver’s whisper was as quiet as snow on concrete.

“He’s gone.” Fiver looked away.

Clover nudged Fiver’s shoulder.

“Be brave. Hazel-rah would have wanted you to be strong. You are Fiv-rah. Live up to that name. Live like a brave warrior. Remember.”

Fiver shrugged. His figure conveyed no emotion. The others meandered across the bool-soaked ground.

Fiver held his vigil.

The dusk that finally rolled into the valley was heavy with the mist of loss. Fiver hadn’t moved from his position on the raised hill-top.

“You know you can’t stay there forever.” Holly rasped. His disfigured belly clung to his skeletal figure, as if to emphasize the need of rest and food.

Fiver hopped on one foot. He nibbled a small bite of the wispy, scarce yet yellowed grass. The unpleasant taste of suffering filled his mout.

“I don’t feel hungry.” Fiver slumped back to the uo-rising of the sparse ground.

And so, Fiver returned to his post.

He stood there for seven days and seven hours.

---

#Pierce#

Fiver

Darkness, the swirling mist of grief was overwhelming. Curse those men, curse all men, for they have wrongly murdered the most supportive, most maternal, most caring buck in the whole universe. Everyone is relying on me, but I’m letting them down, I’m just “extra weight”, I’m slower than everyone. What would my brother think of me now? Could he still be alive?

“Fiver!” suddenly, I was shocked into reality, “Fiver!” everyone was looking at me. It was Bigwig. He seemed to be able to tackle the getting-over-Hazel scenario the best, no surprise for such a tough rabbit.

“What?” I replied quietly.

“I asked: do you know where we’re going?”

“Err…” I stammered “No… Why?”

He sighed then replied “we have been wondering aimlessly for many a day, we’re tired and hungry.”

Eighteen starving eyes stare at me, like mind-readers trying to pull out every bit of information in your head by staring hard into your skull.

“Erm,” I stuttered “err…” I looked at the nine rabbits; they were all relying on me. Suddenly, something caught my eye.

 

Hazel

Pain, death, cold, unmoving, my paws were constantly in pain, my head was spinning, the world was upside down. Then without warning, my breath burst back into my lungs, beautiful, fresh air. My eyes burst open, too much energy! Then they shut again. Softly I heard murmuring, then more clearly a beautiful elegant voice cut through all of them.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. You must stop struggling or you’ll lose too much blood.” The voice was a field of corn in the summer. Only an angel can have such a beautiful voice. I thought, so this is heaven then? I wonder why it hurts so much! A soft velvet tongue lapped against my paws and then against my side. Then I fell into darkness.

When I next awoke my internal clock said it was moonset. The angel had done its work. I could feel my paws now, the pain in my hide had subsided. I opened one beady eye. Oops, I thought, wrong eye. I was peering at the dirt, and then I panicked, had I lost my sense of up and down? No, don’t worry about that, get up first, what does heaven look like?

Heaven made a bad first impression; it was a normal hole, a large hole for that matter. Surely I’ve been a good rabbit, this can’t be hell! But then I remembered the angel’s tongue and the elegant voice. This must be heaven. Without warning, another rabbit pocked his head out of a tunnel.

“Oh! You’re awake!”

“This is heaven?”

“Erm no…”

Disappointing I thought oh wait, then I must be alive, so… not disappointing…

“Where am I?”

“You’re in my warren, me and my brother here,” the angel buck turns around, “are the chiefs of this warren, well my brother’s not here but… oh well.”

“I’m Ruby Orange, my not-present-brother is Oliver Orange, he’s actually a good brother.”

“I have a good brother too!”

“Okay okay, but do you happen to know a little buck named Fiver?”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ #ERNIE#

A sort of dizzy feeling came over him. The two bucks in front of him slowly started to get blury, they started to get disfigured, then went out. A mix of colours appeared in front of his eyes, he opened one eye, whiteness, the other, yellow, blue, gold and every colour apart from black and shades of grey. He murmered, “Is this heaven?”

“True, quite true.” answered a voice like of an angel’s voice. Hazel looked up, he was in heaven! However he felt happy and sad at the same time. Sad because it means he’s dead with no will but happy because, well, what’s around him and everything. The sound of magic was heard as Hazel twisted his head towards the sound of the voice. Angel, gone. When he had turned his head he saw ot of the corner of his eye wings, he had wings and a golden ring on his head, just hovering there! Wow, this must be heaven! He got up and flew away pinching himself, this is definately not a dream!

---

#Amber#

Fiver’s voice rose defiant and strong amongst the whistling of the wind through the eves of heavy-laden trees.

“Hazel is not dead. Look at this! A pellet, one of my brother’s, and seemingly in a well-fed manner.”

The others peered at the tiny, plump piece of rabbit pellet.

“Should we chew?” Bigwig suggested, “That is, our own pellets.”

Fiver nodded.

“Stay here.” His tiny, determined figure limped away from the others.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Pimpkin hopped up and down in the agitation of one who is truly innocent of the wrongdoings of the world.

Fiver turned his face defiantly towards the hopping Pimpkin. His voice was soft, yet everyone heard the words as if they had been uttered with the force of a hurricane.

“I am off to find my brother.”

~♠~

Months flew past. Days lengthened into seemingly unending torture parades. And still, the party of bedraggled, weak rabbits loitered along, not enjoying the brilliant sunshine, which, no matter its gayness, had managed to sear off fur from Dandelion’s back.

“We’re almost there!” Fiver’s tone was joyful, free of the discouragement of the other rabbits. He seemed to be the light in the dark, the ruby in the coal, the eagle among the crows. The radiance of his half-limp, half-hop, the way his muzzle was pulled back in the air of one who has waited and has been shown the way. He knew. He knew.

But the future held more responsibilities, too much for one rabbit brain could hold.

---

#Pierce#

Hazel

Fire: a process that is beyond the understanding of the young buck. It was warm, yet it burn horribly, yet it makes food delicious, yet it can make it disappear. It was just too much… to watch. It was easy to make, easy to “cook” but yet it confuses this buck. I stared into the flames once again; the flames danced into position, Fiver appeared in front of me.

I don’t get it.

I jumped back, no one else appeared to have heard Fiver.

He should be right here.

Everyone else blundered into view, bigwig spoke up

Fiver! You have led us aimlessly to this…this…this thing what is it?!

I…I…I don’t know…?

He said it like a question as if he wasn’t sure where he had led them.

“Hazel!” I was suddenly shocked into reality.

“Yes?”

“This is my brother,” it was Ruby, “may I present to you, Oliver Orange!”

A tall, handsome buck strode out of the crowd. His back straight, his whiskers whirled perfectly at the end…not that I cared.

I said something really smart, like “erm…hi?” I felt like Fiver trapped in a group of unsupportive friends: shunned at, unworthy, mistreated.

When he spoke, all the trees leaned in to listen, authority radiated from his lips, his voice… I could listen to that voice forever; it made his sister’s voice sound like the buzz of a bee in a thunderstorm.

“Hello there young Hazel, I see your staring into the flames, do you see anything.”

I was almost tempted to answer him. “N-nothing”

He gave me a look.

I dipped my head “I saw my friends and my brother searching for me.”

Every head in the room turned.

Whispers of “dissaparanger” crossed the room.

 

Fiver

 

“We’re nearly there, just across this field.”

“No Fiver, if we dare take another extra step, we’d all pass through the void, let us rest on this hill” bigwig, the usual buck that deters everyone.

Everyone was already digging painfully slow.

An hour later, a little hole was produced out a hillside.

Sunset …

Silence…

One by one, the rabbits arose.

The moment bigwig, who was last to wake up, awoke he yelled out

“TIME TO SILFAY”

I was about to say “time to find Hazel”

Everyone marched out, avoiding my eye. I found them later outside munching thoughtfully on the vegetation. I chewed a blade of grass, and then I ran off. Naturally, everyone else followed. We approached a clearing with spectacular orange branches atop of its tiny branches arranged into a position so that all the branches reached at one point. Suddenly, I cackled and we all stepped back.

“It’s alive” someone said

“It’s Hazel!” I said.

The orange branches reached about randomly, flickering back and forth, crackling. After a little while, the little tree said nothing.

“I don’t get it.” I said “He should be right here.”

Bigwig spoke up “Fiver! You have led us aimlessly to this…this…this thing…what even is it?!”

“I…I…I don’t know…?” it scared me, yet I could feel Hazel right here, then suddenly, it disappeared.

 

Hazel –narrator

“A dissaparanger is someone who wants to go back to the Earth.” Ruby explained. We were trotting down one of the countless corridors, each corridor as wide as a burrow. This shouldn’t be possible Hazel thought when she came out the infirmary. “If you really wish to return,” Ruby continued, “there are two options, you could return in a new body or…”

Hazel pondered the two options, this warren had everything, and they even had something called a Jacuzzi and theme parks they were the best. Hazel still wondered how nobody had thought of a massage when earth. He knew that the next day he would have to make a decision…

 

Fiver –narrator

When Fiver returned to the burrow, no one looked him in the eye. Everyone inched away from him when he tried to approach. Eventually, someone spoke up.

“You brought us all the way here, what for?” it was Bigwig, naturally “we completely gave up on out chieftain what do you have to say for yourself!?”

“Sorry,” Fiver whimpered

“Sorry for what?” bigwig sneered angrily.

Fiver didn’t answer; he trotted slowly towards the gaping entrance. He felt 16 pairs of eyes on his back –one pair short. Suddenly, a flash of brown dashed between two trees. 2 beady eyes peered up at him.

“IT’S HAZEL! IT’S HAZEL!”

16 pairs of feet thundered down the hill side. The buck stood still.

“um… hi?” he said

“IT’S HAZEL!”

“Yes that’s me…” he said it like a question

“Brother! You must tell us how you escaped!” Fiver was overjoyed; nothing could ruin his day now.

“Escaped who? Who are you? Why do you think I’m your brother?” he shrunk back into the bracken with each word.

Fiver smile twitched, he sensed something wrong. He was speechless. Bigwig spoke up, covering up the awkward moment.

“Hazel, where did you come from?”

“I…I don’t know.” He said quietly.

“Do you know- no… remember anything except your name?”

“Um…er…” he said it as if he was trying to remember what happened in his last life. Then he said one word.

 

“No…”

ERNIE

________________________________________________________________________________________________

“No! Ha ha ha! Sad luck! The little stupid insect doesn’t even know his name! Nanananana! Idiot! Your an INFLAY! Oops…, might have just let it out.” Of course, inflay is the most rude word a rabbit would know. They’re born knowing it. Well that was bad luck for Bigwig, sorry, I mean Bigregs, the trator! Bigregs had been a spy for the badgers and was allways sending news by either lendri or weasle. The King badger was the king of the king of all the bad animals. Bad luck because Prince Rainbow had put a spell on the word infl… I daren’t even utter it… so that you can only say it to the dead in exchange for you dying and the other person coming back to life. Back when they heard the word “no” Hazel had hurried of and hid in some brambles. Now he walked out of them and was seen alive and all well. For Bigregs, he killed Oliver Orange and was killed by Oliver’s supporters. Sad end for Bigregs.

---

#Amber#

Fiver found himself stirred awake by horrible nightmares. It was the second time he had imagined that Hazel was alive. Well, Hazel had to be. Rising, the small buck rose to exit his tree-burrow.

*%*

“Sir, we will go as far away from this warren as we can, then you shan’t hear a word-”

“Phylinna! I shall tear your limbs to strips if you ever suggest that again! You may continue with silifay.”

“Sir, the does are getting restless-”

“Enough! Take her to her den and cancel her Mark’s evening silifay!” A looming bulk slashed at the young doe and tore her left ear to shreds. Phylinna was hustled away.

“Keep a close eye on that one.”

“Yes Sir!”

General Woundwort grinned. A carrot crunched between his two sets of teeth.

&^&

His hops were slow and heavy, slow and sad. Fiver’s ears twitched.

“Fiver… Fiver…”

A black shape leaped daintily amongst dense foliage.

“Follow…follow…”

The shadow of a rabbit danced like a ghost through the forest of grass.

Fiver flew like a hawk with the Rabit of Innele.

“Don’t leave me,
Stay by my side!
Follow in the dark,
There’s no fear for the sky anew,
Don’t leave me.

Believe you’re true,
Follow me.

Wait for me,
Wait for me,
At the end of the world,
Then you’ll see,
We’re family.

Wait with me,
By my side,
Wait for me,
Don’t go away!
Then you’ll see that we are family.”

 

The voice-silent, from nowhere, sang while Fiver danced through a bone-white forest with the Black Rabbit. The flowers on the ground were wisps of glowing spirits, and the  Human House was the same.

And the hole.

The Black Rabbit bobbed his head, his glowing red eyes arrowing the hole.

Fiver plunged into the black.

And Hazel awaited him.

---

#Pierce#

Hazel

I’m Hazel, I’m Hazel, I’m Hazel… but who am I? What am I? Why do these rabbits think they know me? Who is this fellow who calls me brother? Is it a greeting? He calls himself Fiver, but no known rabbit has five cubs, only four… where am I? Why am I here? He looks at me as if I’m meant to know him.

“Who…?”

“Aww, come on Hazel-”

“Hazel…”

“Yes,” he said slowly, “that’s your name…”

“Hazel,” I repeated, the more I said that word, the more I think I remember this strange, young buck.

“Oh,” his ears drooped and he started shrinking into the shadows. “You really don’t remember, I thought I was dreaming then.”

“No, no, no, did I upset you? Was it something I said?” I asked quickly.

“No, I shouldn’t have…” a single tear dropped onto his paws and slithered to the ground. He then looked up at me and –his voice full of hope– asked “how much do you remember?”

I paused,

“Hazel.”

 

Fiver (time rewind to beginning of conversation)

I can’t believe it, Hazel had finally returned of all the miracles! I’m the luckiest rabbit. There he is, in front of me, with those large beady eyes, peering into mine. I waited for him to start the conversation.

“Who…?”

Ha-ha! Classic hazel, acting dumb, he’s really getting good at it; it’s as if he doesn’t know me! Classic opening, joking around, my turn to end it.

“Aww, come on Hazel-”

“Hazel…” suddenly, something seemed wrong, the moment he said that, he jumped back as if it brought unhappy memories back to him. As if it sounds really familiar, but not quite. Or maybe he was just joking still.

“Yes,” I said slowly picking my words carefully, “that’s your name…”

“Hazel,” he repeated. I could tell he was thinking hard. Something was definitely wrong.

“Oh,” my ears drooped and I started shrinking into the shadows. “You really don’t remember, I thought I was dreaming then.” I thought it was just a bad dream, but it’s true, it’s real.

Hazel, even though was here in flesh and unwounded, has lost his memory…

 

Ruby Orange-narrator

The lifeless corpse of Oliver Orange stared back into his sister’s eyes. “Who was this who killed my brother?” Her voice was no longer an angel’s, but instead a snake’s venom. Her eyes were sunken into her skull. Her stare made the soldier shrink into her fur. The soldier summed up her courage; we thing it was a young buck, going by the name Fiver.”

“Go find him.”

When the troops received the message, they knew it actually meant:

“Go kill him –may he not see any more daylight than my brother.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________

ERNIE

He woke up again, he was silly of course. A rabbit can’t be called Oliver Orange. It makes no sense at all! Oliver Orange is nothing like a rabbits name. Thinking of it, it could – no it can’t even been a man’s name. He asked every friendly rabbit he found if they knew someone called Oliver Orange. Nobody. Then it struck him like a knife in his heart. The others, gone, shadows of moving rabbits in the trees he barely even notised. Of course, rubbish, trash, they’ve gone bonkers deserting me like that! Crazy, mental and nuts are the only words he could think of. Suddenly, like out of nowhere, a river appeared. He paddeled across it not even notising it was there. Then, odly, to even Fiver (if you didn’t know Fiver was lucky all the time) happened to se a carrot in the ground. He ate it graciously but imediatly wished he hadn’t, a cord tightened around his neck, he was going to die unless…

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

#Amber#

His eyes snapped open. Fiver cursed himself. Why could I think of my earlier abduction now, of all times?

“Hazel…” His voice trailed off into the darkness. The bloody, torn rabbit just stared at him, silent.

“Hazel!” Fiver’s voice quivered; it broke, snagged, and finally, the tortured howl of a tormented buck rose from that bloody tunnel. The rabbit’s scream awakened Hazel, yet he still sat still, unmoving. And Fiver’s screams became sobs, cries of pain and anguish so terrible that Frith himself would have put Fiver out of his misery except for what was to come next. The raggle-band of rabbits back on the high hills bounded to Fiver’s location.

And oh, how the joy spread in their faces when they saw Hazel, bloodied but hanging on with all his strength. And that was washed away with misery at the terrible truth: Hazel had lost his memory.

“Hazel! It’s Fiver, Blackberry, Bigwig and Pimpkin, and Dandelion and the others! Oh Frith, do you remember?”

Hazel’s blank eyes swam then, his eyelids drooped. He fell asleep without hearing anything of the world.

“Hazel…Hazel…” A black outline showed itself to Hazel-rah.

“Rabbit of Inehele, take me!”

“No, Hazel-rah, you’re time shall come, but that time is not now. Now you must remember. Remember and return to Fiver the Brave, who is your brother.”

The image flickered, dance on the lights in Hazel’s mind, then it was gone.

Hazel slept.

---

#Pierce#

 

Hazel (in a dream)

Death, its claw-like fingers wrapping against every creature or thing it meets. It reaches up and claws at you. Your Dead, just another of its collection. In its dark cave hidden underground it comes up without warning and drags you to The Underworld.

“YOU ARE FORBBIDEN TO RISE ABOVE THE GROUND,” it was the voice of a god regal yet frightening enough to cause the deserts to freeze. “MAY YOU ROT IN THE GHASTLY UNDERWORLD, MAY YOUR ONLY COMPANY BE THE DEAD!”

The god’s voice roared through the sky, tumbling clouds, levelling mountains, burning oceans. A dark silhouette of a figure fell through the sky and crashed into the ground causing tsunamis and crushing mountains under him. There he did not rise.

 

Many years past…

Darkness seeped out of the figure.

 

Decades past…

Souls were sucked into a crater that had formed.

 

Centuries past…

The first entrance to the underworld had formed.

 

Millennia had past

It has awoken at last.

Only a God can banish The God of the Dead to its dark jail.

A god that cannot fail,

For it’s searching for a physical form.

 

 

 

Bigwig-narrator

 

Bigwig didn’t know what to think, Fiver had went off to abduct a random rabbit who most certainly was NOT Hazel. Firstly, Hazel’s fur wasn’t as smooth; his ears weren’t clipped up perfectly. It was an angel thrown in mud! Only an angel from the heavens can achieve such perfectness. Yet only mud can make any rabbit look so tattered.

“FIVER! YOU GO OFF ACCUSING SOME INOCCENT SOUL TO BE YOUR LONG DEAD BROTHER! WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU?! I AM LOST FOR WORDS!” despite being lost for words, Bigwig continuously accusing some innocent soul for the next ten minutes. They finally retired to their holes when the day grew old.

 

Bigwig opened his eyes, he was alone, he looked out his hole entrance. It was midnight, no one would be here. And there, he summoned the spirit. Its claw-like fingers wrapping against every creature or thing it meets nothing would stop it. It consumed Bigwig. It whispered in his head. You will kill Fiver… You will kill Fiver for his spirit will fulfil my reincarnation. Bigwig’s eyes glowed red in the darkness. When he spoke, his voice was deep and raspy. “Kill Fiver I will…” Suddenly, Fiver bounced in, “I sensed some evil dark force nearb-” his ears drooped at the sight of Bigwig’s massive claws and his growling fangs.

As Fiver ran, he yelled “The God of Death has arisen!”

 

Fiver-narrator

Then a young buck leapt out of nowhere it clawed at Bigwig’s eyes, the buck bounced around, more agile than the fastest bird, stronger than the largest bear. Eventually, Bigwig snarled and ran off into the depths of the jungle. The young buck turned his head to look at Fiver, it was Hazel. He looked better than any buck can achieve. He smiled and said to Fiver.

“I remember Fiver, my brother.” His smiled wavered “you may not recognise me as I’ve went to heaven and back. I’ll explain later. We must run, and I’ve got to banish The God of the Dead back to its dark jail.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________

#ERNIE#

The what into the what…what the heck is he talking about?! Anyway, of I go.

“Hurry up you slow coach! Come on rabbitinio!”

Fiver hurried up and thought,”What is rabbitinio? It’s possibabily rabbit in a foreign language, ITALIAN maybe!”

Rush, rush, rushing up the hill,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Lalalalalalalalalaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I’m quite fond of that song thought Fiver. He didn’t know anything about Hazel’s life nowadays, of course, so he didn’t expect Hazel to read his mind. A while ago, if you remember, Hazel had departed to fight for his life to battle in the forest on the top of a hill. In that time a marvelouse thing happened. A complete change of life for Hazel, he became the Commander of the PRINCE RAINBOW ARMY!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

#Amber#The morning sun rose brilliant and lazy, climbing the sky like a tortoise.

But nothing could have outdone the reunion of the two rabbit brothers in an otherwise deadly world. It was the dawn of exploration that gave strength to both.

Hazel-rah had kept his word to the Rabbit of Inhele. He remembered.

What happened to the brothers at their reunion, I cannot say, for the human language pales petty in comparison to what really happened: an explosion of bliss, overjoyed bodies entangled in what most would say to be a bear-hug, or should I say, a rabbit hug. In whichever case, the taste of brotherhood as two rabbits bounced from one bush to the other, leaping, twirling, doing only what rabbits can do when the world is theirs and no more a bother.

The weeks that poured past seemed timeless to Fiver and Hazel. For, separated as they were from the others, they were happy. Happy, for the first time in four human years.

But return they did, and a band of blissful rabbits invited the return of  Hazel -rah, and Fiver the Brave.

And so the curtain closes on the scene that most of you will appreciate. If it ever rises again, that will be to welcom the story of Kehar, the white bird.

This is the start of Watership Down, Kehar, the White Bird.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

#Pierce#

The thunderstorm had not settled. It had started to rain lightly. Clouds of darkness swirled in a spiral and dipped its head slowly. Gradually, a single ray of light broke through the centre of the spiral of clouds. Light reflected off into the barren landscape like a single, brightly-coloured gem in the deepest, darkest pond: desolate, solitary, prominent. The spotlight expanded with great patience, it crept slowly outwards, following the spirals. Until a little figure, which had blue fur, massive ears, and a lightning-shaped tail, descended from the heavens. The lightning God has arisen. His feet touched-down as the last light faded- as softly as a cat, as firm as panther, as controlled as a cheetah, as heavy as an elephant.

Silence

Blue fur-covered feet gaited proudly across the sand, not leaving any clue anyone or thing had ever been there. Finally, the God reached the gates. His mighty strength pushed aside the giant doors. His pace didn’t waver. Obsidian black towers reached for the sky, as buildings stretched enviously into the sky. A creature prowled in the darkness, it watched the God’s every move. Suddenly, it pounced.

Slice

Slice

Slice

Four parts of a monster lay behind the God. Again, his pace didn’t waver. His golden spear cleansed itself in blue blood before retracting back into a sword.

 

Hazel

I feel reborn, I have went to heaven and back again but still I felt as strong as I was when I was back in the sky. I turned to Fiver, we had just finished talking about my experience in Heaven, and suddenly I remembered something important.

“In heaven, there are Gods you know.”

“Yeah, obviously.” He replied casually.

“Well the second-in-command is actually the strongest warrior you know,” I continued “you should see how he can beat any enemy, how he can be in two places at once.”

That interested him “cool, what was he the god of?”

“it’s a bit complicated, you see, he’s so important that the God of Gods can’t find a way to pay him besides God powers, but the main ones are,” I took a deep breath “Speed, Matter, basket-weaving, Light, waves, Time & Space, Technology, inventions, language, Communications, drinking, drawing, medicine, Health, happiness, television, books, writing, Fighting, arguments, oh yeah and the most important as they were his first, ha ha! how could I forget? Its most of us know him as!”

“What?”

“The God of Lightning and Sky.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________

#ERNIE#

Nearby thej god of lightning and sky stepped a rabbit, in red with black and grey gashes everywhere. A gashed foot of the god of death slamed into to the ground with so much force the sound of it just couldn’t be heard. A black and red eye stared at the god from the shaddows and drew a bloody scroll. The god of lightning and sky swivled around and opened his mouth to speak, however, at that moment the god of death slashed at the other god and cut a deep wound in him. He rolled around in pain and agony, hearing in his ear a cackling laugh, the god of death hissed to the other god,

“Die, rotten faced dung-head.” A sneer crossed the violently bad gods face as the other god died on the spot.

---

#Amber#

Phylina licked her torn ear.

She felt a sense of rebellion brewing inside her spirit. She wasn’t a ‘Yes Sir, Okay Sir’ kind of rabbit. She was restless and hungering for action.

In contrast, Hyzenthlay was a quiet doe. She had the air of the determined, but followed orders promptly, hiding her grievance for freedom behind the mask of agility and silence.

Both does had one shared goal. In fact, this goal was shared by half the colony’s does: (thank you very much Grammarly, I am Grammatically correct.)freedom from General Woundwort. Does, on his society, were looked down upon and expected to do as any male ordered—even if that meant not silifaying.

But the does kept silent, knowing that if they rose up too soon, they would be torn to shreds of fur and bone. Many of them had died in previous attempts. No one was trying any sooner.

℘ℜ℘

Fiver shivered.

Two does and one colony of fearful rabbits—what did that mean?

“Let’s get moving,” he suggested.

The others nodded. All felt as he did: apprehensive.

The journey back took many days, but we shall skip the tedious details for the reader’s sake.

When the gangly group had returned to their gathered dens connected by tunnels of dirt, all went in and blocked the entrances, for they didn’t feel like losing another member.

This was a wise move, as shall be determined later on in this tale.

---

#ERNIE#

Of course, wise but foolish, for as you will come to see that it is no longer Winter or any other season but summer, 5 years later. And to the sake of the rabbit’s, Kehaar has finally come back. The white as snowbird had come back a few days ago and was nestled cosily in the driest of places in the burrow. As so, Kehaar was a welcome guest and was asked many questions about his journeys. He told them of the formidable drought in the continent of Africa, the journey towards Asia and how he had nearly been separated from his flock.

“I ‘ave squa’cked ou’ loud an’ ‘ave dive 100 fee’ to re’urn ‘o my flock and fly a’ay. So sc’red.”

As Kehaar acted out falling 100 feet from the sky to his flock, an inferno of laughs and a rare giggle and a smile from Hyzenthlay burst out from the rabbits. Kehaar smiled and flew away to find food.

“So funny of how he flapped his wings and somersaulted down.” chuckled Phylina. “But what’s wrong with you Fiver?”

“I wish I could fly.”

---

###Pierce###

“Great gods! What’s happening?”

“The lightning God is being reborn.”

Trees were uprooted as violent whirlwinds swept helpless clouds into a hurricane. The rabbits clung to the rock for dear life; suddenly, lightning forked its tongue down from the sky and zapped the centre of the storm.

“At least it can’t get worse!” Fiver yelled at his partner. He couldn’t hear the reply over the roaring of the winds.

Naturally, it got worse. Large metal sheets sliced out the ground and were thrown into orbit of the storm. They bent into the form of rings –this is not natural. The massive rings started rotating around a point, like the rings of an atom swirling around the protons. Electricity sparked off the side as more and more static electricity was generated.

It was time to leave (for obvious reasons), the duple leapt across the rock they were clinging onto and hung onto a stray tree branch. In the massive winds crashing against them, they pulled themselves off the cliffside and into the forest. Then they pelted off, as fast as their legs could carry them.

When at last they couldn’t run any more, they collapsed in a clearing –panting like dogs. In the distance, clouds continued to gather in the distance, like a pack of reuniting wolves. No sounds. The welcoming forest protected them from the outside. Without a word, the two slowly dug a hole enough for the two of them to spend a night. It was at sunset when Fiver asked “how did you know what that was?”

The reply was an unsatisfactory one “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean ‘I don’t know’?”

“It means that I don’t know!” Hazel’s temper rose “it was like an instinct!”

Fiver sighed “why did we even go o that weird circular beach?”

Then suddenly, the heavens yelled “HAZEL! WAKE UP!”

 

Hazel rose instantly from his sleep, then angrily said “what?”

Fiver replied “we need to get to that weird, circular beach you said yesterday.”

---

#Amber#

“No!” Hazel yelled. Fiver stared.

Then, he nodded. “Dream?”

“Yup.”

-&-

Natalie slinked along with the dirt.

Her ear was still bleeding.

“Get out rascal!” the buck inside the hollow tore at Natalie’s already sore leg.

She screamed and rolled out of the den.

Her nose twitched. Ears drooping, Natalie bounded along the beachy end, her back extended in a hiss.

She was a sleek cat who hated being torn by rabbits. The golden rabbit had been her friend, the one who had also gotten her ear torn. But she had been arraigned.

The House didn’t stir.

Humans.

Did they sleep in?

Well, all of the tasty mice had gone by morning. Lazy creatures.

“Natalie,”

The cat meowed and slashed out her claws. No one called her by her real name.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________#ERNIE#

SLASH! The rabbit fell down, but she had not striked. SLASH! 5 deep, breath-taking gashes killed the buck. She turned around, there, standing strong and proud was the goddess cat of lightning. Of course, any cat god could strike from any distance and still hit anything they wanted to hit. Natalie gasped and then, clumsily, bowed down low. She looked up again but, as soon as it had appeared, it was gone.

Natalie started to slink along, following the familiar sound of the outside and slid out. The sky was thunder forks, slashing againt the torrential rain. CRACK! A tree fell down, rightover a hole, a rabbit hole.

Fiver screamed, a cat was peering at him from just outside a house.

“Shut up you brute!”

“A a a a caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!”

“A cat, a stupid, little… wait, a cat!”

“Yessssssssssssssssssss, fleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

“Wait up, argh it’s following!”

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!”

---

###Pierce###
Fiver POV
Winds howled in my ears like drums banging from a distance. The cat screeched and yowled at them. Our feet still pounded on the ground in a repetitive rhythm. I risked a glance at Hazel: he ran swiftly like an eagle –he seemed more agile since he came back, more godlike, more perfect. About as perfect as anyone from heaven could be! For all I knew, he could have visited heaven and back. Where did he go? His feet pulsated softly against the ground; his face displayed pure terror.
We ran and ran.
Together we ran for half a league, where our feet couldn’t run anymore. Night had fallen; the cat was gone for now. What should we do now? We were both exhausted from running; we couldn’t remove an inch of dirt together.

Hazel POV
I looked at my brother -a tiny heap of fur flattened against the ground. He seemed to be out of fuel. I, however, felt like I could run around the world still. I don’t think Fiver realised. Still, I hauled him up to the top of a young hill. There I got a good look at our surroundings: to the North was a massive patch of grass that seemed to stretch on forever; to the East was a great forest where our family and burrows originated; to the South was an immense mountain range where hares dare not to go; to the West -just out of view- was the exquisite beach where we came. Even still, clouds continued to travel towards the whirlwind in the distance. It was then when Fiver woke up. He mumbled softly, “Hazel, why are we here?”
“We’re here on a quest!” I answered surprised
“But why us?”
“Because I was appointed the task; you are the chosen one!” The words rolled off my tongue before I could do anything.
He suddenly sat upright, “the ‘chosen one’?”
Admitting defeat, I took a deep breath and said, “After my trip to heaven and back, I have lost most of my memory of an ‘ordinary’ buck. I had to do something! My only memory of earth was of you, my only brother. My only memory of heaven chose you. I remember that you were to be led by me to find a God to fight in the Armageddon of the Gods. I remember I had to bring you to the god by following a path, but I don’t remember what!”
Fiver now stood astounded with his mouth hanging open.
“I’m meant to…”, he spluttered, “I’m expected… to I’m supposed to…”
In the end, he settled with
“WHHHAAAA??”

I turned to the mountains to the South, “I think I know where we need to go.”

Narrator
50 days later…
Hazel received a vision whilst in the dark peaks. So far, no misfortune had befallen them. Which was either lucky, or something was scaring away the monster bears and massive sea serpents. The vision involved the great storm on the beach, where a young lightning god had his memory wiped and blasted to the Earth. Like Hazel, the god was reborn but had no memory. He was currently stationed behind the mountains. There was only a matter of time before he recovered and soars off. Hazel and Fiver need to get there before he leaves. 15 days… can they make it?

---

#Amber#

Fiver took in a deep breath of fresh air. The country wind streamed past his whiskers, sending his ears flapping. Life should always be windy, calm and good, Fiver thought.

But his paws ached and pain is not always good. The rivulets of shuddering displeasure frightened Fiver, though he knew it was just another vision. The blood was now poring over the hilltops, gleaming deep red.

It was just a repetition of the colony they had left.

Fiver ran.

~$~

Hazel whirled around.

His brother was scampering along the hill, away from the treeline. Hazel felt a twinge of frustration. Fiver had suggested going into the forest, so why wasn’t he running towards the trees?

All he could do was follow.

All his life, Hazel had followed Fiver’s whims and visions, and he always been correct. But Fiver had said the others were over the forest, and not across the hills.

Hazel had to wonder if his brother was coming down with lunacy…

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….