Chapter Thirty – Eight

It’s Come Back

Swift’s eyelids were heavy and he struggled to keep his frame upright.

“Is it time to swap shifts with Ash and Mallow yet?” He turned his head to Pipkin at his right.

“We still have until Inle is at its highest in the sky yet.”

“Why couldn’t Bigwig and the rest of the owsla he had with him have taken over or at least do their own times when they had rested up?” Swift sighed dramatically.

“Because they have only been home for literally half a day, and are currently still resting!”

Swift rolled his eyes and started back into the red and gold sky, watching the leaves of the trees below the Down bend to the wind.

“They are back!” Pipkin cried.

“What?! Where?!”

“Coming up the south side of the Down,” Pipkin pointed.

“Finally!” Swift said joyfully.

Campion came limping up the muddy hillside first, looking extremely tired and worn.

“Parli!”

“Hey there Swift,” He smiled weakly.

“Where’s Marli? And uncle Fiver?”

Campion turned his head to Blackberry who was urging Ivy up the last few steps.

“Marli! Oh….. wait, what has happened to you all?” Swift cast his eyes around the miserable muddy band.

“Ivy, Campion and Blackberry went for a swim,” Yew laughed weakly.

Campion looked at his friend and gave him a questioning glance.

“Okay…. maybe not a funny situation?”

Blackberry interrupted, “Anyway, we could all do with a warm burrow and a good night’s rest before all the explanations.”

 Hazel hobbled out of the warren, “And you still haven’t told me what happened at Shadowsky, Campion! Looks like you have a lot of explaining to do!”

“Oh, Hazel! Yes, I will get around to it I promise.”

Hazel went over to Primrose and greeted her happily.

“Things always seem to get in the way,” Blackberry said distastefully.

“It seems that way,” Hazel agreed ruefully.

“Anyway,” He continued with a lighter tone, “quick get in out of this rain!”

“Are the rest of us already here?” Campion asked before following Blackberry and Ivy.

“Yes, still resting up.”

“Is Clover going to be okay?” Ivy looked back at Hazel.

“We’re trying to warm here up, we don’t know anything for definite yet.”

Ivy nodded and caved into Blackberry’s insistence to get inside.

Campion turned quickly to Hazel, “You know about Fiver don’t you?”

“Yes,” Hazel nodded, “He’ll be along home soon though, you’ll see.”

Campion was just silent as he looked into Hazel’s determined eyes.

“You haven’t seen Shadow have you?” Hazel quizzed.

“No,” Campion said slowly, thinking of something. “When did you notice him missing?”

“Not so long ago, a short while before you all arrived back.”

Campion mused quietly to himself and hopped after Blackberry.

Blackberry and Campion found the other four kittens curled up together in their burrow.

Swift crawled over them into the middle of the huddle and fell asleep almost immediately.

Blackberry just lay down still shivering as the rainwater continued to drip off her.

Campion didn’t look much better but he had to admit she was like an icicle compared to his semi cold fur.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked worriedly.

“I’ll… be…. fine,” She replied with her teeth chattering.

Campion was sceptical and pushed most of the dried grass bedding in her direction.

“Thanks,” Blackberry whispered.

“You might have what Clover has you know.”

“It’s just a cold, it was bound to happen after spending time in all that rain.”

Campion looked over at the sleeping kittens and felt the need to get something off his mind.

“Blackberry? That brown buck we ran into in the wood, he said something about Dogwood missing you?”

Blackberry froze and started to prolong answering by cleaning the mud off her paws.

Campion continued to question her with his gaze until finally she sighed and told him.

“It was our only way we could get out, okay?” She defended herself.

“You could have waited for us to get you out,” Campion said in slight annoyance.

“Really? There was at least double the number of owsla in that new warren than here.”

“I guess you are right, I just hated the thought of it, even if it was only a title ‘mate’ he had.”

“Don’t,” Blackberry started, and then cut off coughing.

“That’s it, I’m away to get more bedding for you.”

Blackberry thanked him gratefully and lay her head back down.

Campion was in one of the storage burrows, picking out the best of the bedding and carrying it back it regular trips. He felt too unsettled to sleep, despite his strenuous day.

He dropped the fifth bundle of bedding in front of Blackberry and turned automatically to get more.

“Amm Campion?” Blackberry said gently, “I have enough now.”

“Oh, yes sorry.”

“What for?” Blackberry laughed. “If you don’t get some rest soon, you are going to be the one that gets sick.”

Campion went back over and sat down, his ears still pricked forward and his eyes weary.

“Right, go,” Blackberry rolled her eyes in amusement.

“Go where?” Campion asked in genuine confusion.

“I know you are worrying about Fiver, go and talk to Hazel about it!”

“Yeah…. I think I will,” Campion pulled himself onto his feet. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Blackberry laughed.

Hazel and Campion sat at the entrance to the warren watching the rain collide with the swampy ground.

“I wonder where he is taking shelter from this,” Hazel said more to himself.

Campion shifted his weight onto his left fore and blinked hard to keep himself awake; he had been keeping Hazel company in watching for Fiver.

“He will be back soon Hazel, seriously stop worrying,” Campion said tiredly.

“Do you think we should have woken Ivy to watch with us?”

“No, there is no point in putting her through this,” Campion muttered, finding it harder and harder to make the words form in his head.

“There he is!” Hazel shouted limping from the warren.

“Tell him I said hi,” Campion yawned for the final time and closed his eyelids.

Fiver hopped up to Hazel slowly, at least he wasn’t injured in any way.

“Fiver, do you know how worried you made all of us?”

“Yes and I’m sorry, my mind was just…..oh it’s everything Hazel, the close deaths, the constant panics, and I think my vision is leaving me!”

Hazel flattened his ears against his back, “Here now, we can talk about it later, and I know someone that will be very happy to see you.”

Fiver smiled feebly, “I’ll talk to you all in the morning.”

Blackberry hadn’t improved much overnight, her hacking cough was worse and her coat was still soaking since her body hadn’t enough heat to dry it out.

Campion had been staying with her for the majority of the day; there wasn’t much to do anywhere else. Silflay had been a subdued matter with no one staying out long and there still wasn’t news on how Clover was faring.

 That afternoon Shadow had been found sleeping safe and sound in his burrow with not even a wet hair on him suggesting he had ever been out in the rain last night, dashing Campion’s explanation of the fox attack.

When it was the regular time for evening silflay Campion left to go and help with the digging in the back burrows. Ever since Fiver had told the warren that he thought his seer vision was weakening there had been preparations made in case they had to make a quick escape from the destruction that man was supposed to be planning.

Campion passed through the Honeycomb, there was the usual wet weather activities going on with the kittens. Play fights, Bobstones and junior owsla theory tests lead by Swift. Campion couldn’t be prouder of his son, he made an excellent captain.

He entered one of the slack runs and came through to a chamber with adjoining burrows where there were rabbits at work.

“Hello Fiver,” Campion said politely, and started to dig beside him.

Fiver jumped, “Hey Campion…. how is Blackberry? I heard about her illness.”

Campion scratched at rock in the wall in thought, “She is weak and her cough is pretty terrible, yesterday had a really bad effect on her.”

“Is she up for visitors?” Fiver questioned quietly.              

“Maybe,” Campion looked at Fiver out of the corner of his eye. “I wouldn’t really advise anyone to go in there though, in case it’s something other than a cold and is contagious.”

“You go in there,” Fiver pointed out.

“That’s different,” Campion disagreed.

“I don’t see how.”

“I’m not going to catch anything off her.”

“Neither am I.”

Campion sighed, “Fine Fiver, you win.”

“I’ll go see her as soon as we are done,” He replied. “Where are you keeping the kittens then?”

“They are sleeping in the empty burrow beside ours,” Campion explained.

“Hmm.”

They continued their rhythmic digging in silence for a while, until they reached as far as they could without bringing the roof down.

Fiver strained his head up and looked up at the water dripping down through the soil,” That’s not good, now we have no way off escaping.”

“We have the caverns,” Campion pointed out.

“We can’t dig through that much solid rock to reach the end of the river,” Fiver said anxiously.

“That’s Hazel calling us,” Campion listened thoughtfully.

They found him outside in the rain, peering down into the wood direction.

“Hazel, you shouldn’t be out here with your injury,” Campion said in surprise. “ What are you doing, watching the rain fall?”

As they approached, Campion recognised Shadow with Hazel and suddenly over the thunder he heard something else.

The groan of the engine and they shout of the men became apparent the closer they got.

“Hazel!” Fiver gasped. “What are they doing?”

“They’ve come, your vision, it was true.”