Watership Down - Blueberry's Tale, Chapter 19

By Skipai (c) 2009-Present

Chapter 19 - The Attack on Watership Down

Authors Note: This is a clean fanfiction story written in the Watership Down universe. There are some scenes of natural violence, ie. predators hunting prey. Watership Down is copyrighted to Richard Adams. All world, references etc is copyrighted to Richard Adams.

This story was written during Nanowrimo 2005 and comprises of twenty chapters, however for the time being I'm only uploading the first chapter to see whether or not there is any interest for a clean fanfiction story posted on here by readers and of course this will be quite different to my usual written works on here.

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Frith was still hidden from view as the rabbits under the command of Woundwort carried on their way across the field. There in the far distance was the tall hill that Blueberry could barely see in the darkness but the light of the moon gave it a eerie look.

The group came to a stop in a field near to a farm as Campion and Woundwort headed away to discuss some things as Arrowroot nibbled on some grass next to Blueberry who was looking a bit worried on where they were. Blinking, Arrowroot looked about. "What's the matter, you're more on edge than usual?"

Blueberry swallowed as he gave a shiver. "Nothing, it's nothing at all, don't worry about it." He stayed where he was and looked out all around him, expecting to see the cat, dog and especially man come from within the darkness to finish the job that they couldn't do before. After a while, nothing happened and Blueberry began to get more confident in that man wasn't all seeing and powerful at all.

Eventually the patrol were told to rest and dig out scrapes until the next morning. Blueberry slowly began to dig out a shallow hole in the ground and carefully laid his body into it so that he wasn't easily seen by any passing elil from the ground or in the sky. Each rabbit remained still as the cold night breeze whistled through the hedge and tree's.

Blueberry flicked an ear and twisted it to the farm house in the distance as familiar sounds came flooding back to a long forgotten memory. The sound of man snoring in his bed, which squeaked loudly as the springs gave way to the heavy masses lying on top of them. A loud dripping noise of water splashing onto the bottom of the sink to the loud clicking of the clock held somewhere in the house.

Arrowroot was only a few paces away from Blueberry as he listened also before whispering quietly. "Man really does like to live in such a noisy place, doesn't he?" Blueberry twisted his ears towards Arrowroot before moving them flat against the top of his head as he whispered back. "Maybe man doesn't have anything to be afraid of or he doesn't have any enemies to worry about. Maybe he's a god like Frith."

"Gods, I doubt that?" Arrowroot said as he looked ahead towards the area where Woundwort would be at, still talking to Campion and a few other rabbits. "Now there's a rabbit that could be counted as a god." He saw the look of disbelief on Blueberry's face and frowned. "Doubt me do you?"

Blueberry shook his head, then nodded it reluctantly. "Maybe but then I haven't seen what he is capable of doing to have that opinion of him. You have been at Efrafa all of your life, I haven't, remember?"

"I suppose so." Arrowroot whispered back as he closed his eyes. "You're in for a treat though, I was only a very young officer when we found a nearby warren that dared to start up near us, should've seen Woundwort rip into them. Those that weren't willing to join us were killed. Of course the chief of the warren gave himself up but the General killed him anyways purely I think that he couldn't or didn't want a threat to his own position. That's what it's all about really. The fitter and stronger rabbits are to live, any threat or the weak should die, you should know this from your own warren."

Blueberry didn't reply at first but thought about the way that his warren did things compared to Efrafa and he gave a slight shudder. Looking about he spoke out again quietly. "Well, there are some differences and all from the way this warren works but yeah, I suppose that the fittest of the rabbits get to be owsla members while the weak were left to fend for themselves mostly out in the outskirts of the warren." Blueberry stopped then as there wasn't anything about killing to get another promotion.

After that, the conversation ended and both rabbits did what the others were doing and got some rest, most stayed up but were deep in thought, some rabbits fidgeted about awaiting the battle that was to come along soon. Eventually the hours passed as the sound of man getting out of his bed, made Blueberry jerk his head up as did everyone else.

Woundwort nodded his head to Campion who in turn gave the signal for them to carry on. One after each other, the rabbits filled in their scrapes from the soil around them before heading off again across the field as in the distance, the farm house lower window light came on before the sound of strange music in the air.

As they moved ahead through the field before slipping through the hedge, Blueberry noticed Vervain sitting there as he watched him this time around but Blueberry slowed down again to check that it was okay before giving Vervain a frown and disappeared through the hedge. Catching up with Arrowroot on the other side of the road before they slipped through the hedge once more, he spoke. "He's doing it again, checking up on me."

Arrowroot panted as he replied back. "Who?" Blueberry saw him looking back as he saw Vervain move through the hedge before he turned his head back again and frowned. "Just ignore him, I told you, you've not done anything to be worried about." Arrowroot paused and looked at Blueberry. "That's unless you have done something to be worried about?"

Blueberry shook his head. "Of course I haven't done anything wrong. Just forget about it, okay?" He went quiet and ran a bit faster, edging ahead of Arrowroot who quickly caught him up again.

Eventually the group came to a stop near the metal pylon and looked about before moving off to a small wooded area to the left of it. Woundwort was looking at the hill from time to time with a frown in his only eye, turning his head to face Campion, he nodded. "We rest here for a bit, that hill will tire us out if we just run up there right now." Campion nodded his head as he gave the order for the rabbits to hang out around the wooded area and waited for Woundwort's next move.

Frith was slowly edging it's way up in the sky as Woundwort gave the order for a few rabbits to head off ahead to keep an eye out for anything. Campion and Vervain ran off while the rest of the group waited quietly, giving the hill a look from time to time. Blueberry was looking at the hill as he thought about his friends up there, wondering if they knew that they were down here.

As the hours passed, Blueberry began to feel himself nodding off before he was prodded awake by Arrowroot who was next to him. Opening his eyes, Blueberry could see that Campion and Vervain was coming back with another rabbit in the middle of them and he snapped fully alert again as he saw Woundwort looking at the newcomer.

"We found him heading this way." Campion said. "He said that he wanted to pass on a message." He looked at the rabbit in the middle as Woundwort scraped at the ground with his claws. "Does he now?" He paused and looked directly at the rabbit in front of him. "And you are exactly?"

Blueberry blinked as he heard the other rabbit reply back without any hint of being scared. "I am known as Hazel." Hazel replied back calmly. "I wanted to ask if we could come to peaceful terms than fight, surely both of our warrens can live in peace with each other?"

Woundwort snorted and looked around him to the other rabbits. "Peace? You want peace? You invaded my warren, took my rabbits and you want to have peace?" Blueberry blinked as he saw Hazel nod his head slowly. "Yes, I do. We have enough problems with elil than to go about fighting amongst ourselves, surely you can think about it? We only want a peaceful solution to this."

Campion spoke as he turned to face Hazel. "Shall I kill him sir?" Blueberry stopped breathing as he saw the fear now in Hazel's eyes and felt for a moment pity for him as he looked at him. Seeing Hazel look back he changed his look as he noticed Woundwort turning to face where Hazel was looking before replying back. "No, he's to be let free but with a message." Woundwort turned his head back to face Hazel again. "You can send this back to your chief. If I don't see my rabbits waiting for me when I get up there, I'll rip out every throat in that warren."

Hazel nodded before turning around and ran off back towards the hill. Woundwort got up and nodded his head. "We head up there right now. Campion, get your lot ready." He turned around to the others as he gave each of them a look. "You all know what to do, even if our lot are up and ready for us, I want all those rabbits killed, no exceptions."

Blueberry felt sick as the whole patrol moved on and out of the small wooden area, heading towards the tall hill in front of them. Reaching the bottom of the hill, Blueberry looked up and saw that it just went on and on forever. Feeling a rabbit behind him, push, he nodded and began to hop up slowly along the steep hill, pausing from time to time to gain his breath but he saw that Woundwort hadn't stopped at all and was a fair bit ahead of the others. Eventually all of the rabbits reached the top as they looked around and saw that there wasn't a single rabbit up on top.

Blueberry hopped about as he turned around to look from the top of the hill, then slowly let his mouth open. There in front of him was a sight he had never saw before, vast fields just rolling about in front of him as the whole world of Frith he could see. Arrowroot hopped up to him and coughed. "Come on, we didn't come here for the view."

Nodding his head slowly, Blueberry turned to go but paused as he took another look of the view before running after where Arrowroot was heading and frowned as he tried to think of a way to stop this. Coming up to one of the runs that had been collapsed, Blueberry and Arrowroot began to dig into it, as did others around the other openings of the warren.

Blueberry lifted his head from the hole that he was creating and sneezed, sending small specks of soil into the air, before he rubbed his nose on his paw. "This is ridiculous." He muttered before going back to it again. He blinked as he could hear loud noises ringing out from beneath the ground. Pressing his head to the side, Blueberry listened as he could hear two rabbits not far from him talking.

"Here, listen." One of them said as he pressed his head down against the soil. "It sounds like they got something un-natural down there." The other rabbit looked about as he replied back. "You remember back at the bridge when they had that bird that flew and attacked us?" The first rabbit nodded his head. "Aye and I remember that they sent for Frith's messenger to save them at one point as well and allowed the river to take them away." He looked about and swallowed. "Perhaps we should head home."

Woundwort was on them like a flash. "Who said that? Who said that we should go home?" He looked at the two rabbits who cowered before he bellowed out. "Keep digging!" Blueberry hurried up with his digging expecting Woundwort to come near his direction but he didn't see or hear him. Pausing in his digging he lifted up his head and looked out, spotting a group of rabbits run off down the hill, then he heard Woundwort shout and went straight back to the task of digging once again.

One group of rabbits shouted that they were nearly through and Blueberry pausing for a moment could see that Woundwort ran up to them and began to dig himself furiously into the ground. Within a few minutes, Blueberry saw Woundwort disappear from view as he went back to digging again.

Arrowroot left him as he heard the call for more reinforcements come from the area and Blueberry slowed down in his digging until he stopped and looked up, seeing a few others were digging also at other holes, some only had their rears out from them and he sighed, shaking his head before going back to it again.

Pausing in mid swipe of his paw, Blueberry thought for a moment and then began to dig with more effort, he muttered under his breath. "I won't fight them but if I can get them to escape through this hole then maybe they can get away. Must find Hawk and Carbi..."

Blueberry stopped suddenly as he heard a ear piercing scream of a rabbit being killed from within the warren and felt his entire body run cold with fear. Renewing his effort, Blueberry carried on to digging into the hole with new effort, forgetting about the soil that was hitting his face as it fell from the ceiling he slowly ended up sinking into the ground.

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Meanwhile deep within the warren, Woundwort dropped the dead limp form of Blackavar to the ground, his chin dripping from the rabbits blood as he looked about and saw no one else in the great burrow. Frowning he looked about and gave orders. "Search for them, they have to be here somewhere!"

Campion and the others began to search around the large burrow while Woundwort pushed aside Blackavar and moved towards one of the far ends of the burrow where one rabbit was listening to it. "Sir, I think this wall is a fake?" He turned to face Woundwort who gave a soft smile before frowning. "Then get out of me way." He crouched down before jumping into the wall, breaking through it completely.

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Far from the warren, Hazel was running down the road with Dandelion, seeing the farm up ahead as he frowned with worry with what was happening back at the warren. Slwoly both rabbits came to slowing down as they reached the entrance of the farm yard as Dandelion sniffed the air. "Hazel, I hope you're plan works here."

Hazel nodded his head as he looked about before hopping into the farmyard itself. "So do I, you remember what you're supposed to do right?" He saw Dandelion nod but looked worried as he answered. "I don't think I be able to run all that way back to where Blackberry is without being run down by that dog."

Hazel replied back as he moved through the long grass and stopped just in front of where the dog was sleeping. He turned around to face Dandelion and looked at him. "Just keep moving in and out of the hedge along the road, that will keep you safe. But we have to get that dog to the warren."

Dandelion nodded. "You know, if this works we get rid of a real threat to us. It make a great story this will, Hazel." He sat down in the grass as Hazel began to move away. "It may make a good story but only if you tell it Dandelion." Without saying another word, Hazel had moved on, making his way carefully around towards where the farm dog was sleeping.

Carefully, Hazel began to climb up on top of the small mould of grass and earth behind the box the dog was sleeping in and carefully placed his paw on the wood. Hearing the dog yawn, made him stop dead as Dandelion watched unblinking as Hazel carefully moved towards where the rope was. Sniffing it for a moment, he began to nibble on it, stopping from time to time when he heard the dog move from down below.

Dandelion saw Hazel sit up as he looked at him before nodding back and hopping out into position and watched in the general direction of where the dog was sleeping. Without a moment's hesitation, Hazel thumped hard on top of the box with his hind leg, bringing the dog to lunge out towards Dandelion.

The dog gave another hard tug on the rope which rocked the box slightly. With a few more tugs, Hazel saw the rope snap apart before he was toppled over onto the ground. Seeing both the dog and Dandelion run off into the distance he began to pull himself up before was thrusted back onto the ground again. "Can you run? I think not..."

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Woundwort moved through the narrow run, while a rabbit was moving backwards slowly. Suddenly from nowhere, in a cloud of earth flying all over the place, Bigwig was on top of Woundwort as both bucks went tooth and claw into each other, slashing away as they felt each others claws or teeth cutting through the fur and skin. The fight was over quickly as Bigwig turned away and kicked at Woundwort sending a few pieces of soil into his cuts.

Snarling, Woundwort followed as he moved along the run where Bigwig had turned around waiting for him panting. "Well, sir." Bigwig said in between his gulps of air. "I told you I hope that I would impress you." Woundwort frowned as he reared up replying back. "And I told you that I would rip every throat in this place. There's no bird to save you now." Both rabbits went at it again while a bunch of rabbits behind Bigwig cowered slightly watching the gruesome battle.

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Blueberry paused in his digging as he listened again, the sound of rabbits down below was thick in his ear as he carried on to push soil out from the hole. Arrowroot came up from the hole and called down. "Blueberry, stop there, we got in via another way, Woundwort's fighting with the chief himself, it will only be a matter of time."

Coming to a stop, Blueberry came out from the hole and shook himself free from any dirt resting on his body. "Where exactly?" He looked about and saw where Arrowroot was pointing and nodded his head. "How many are in there at the moment?"

Arrowroot replied back. "Quite a few of them, but I thought you would want to go and be in the front of the attack?" He looked as Blueberry shook his head. "No, I don't want to, I be best served up here in case anyone came up and tried to escape their punishment." He saw Arrowroot frown but then relax again. "Okay, you keep watch while I continue to dig in that hole of yours." Without saying anything he was down the hole as Blueberry looked on with a frown before moving his head back again to where Arrowroot was looking just a moment ago.

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Dandelion was running for his life, feeling the hot breath of the large dog just behind him as he felt his back legs ache with pain. Feeling the sharp teeth nearly raking through his back, the buck changed direction as he slammed his body through the hedge and stopped panting hard. From behind him he could hear the dog scratching at the thick branches with a growl, barking loudly in frustration.

Swallowing some air down, Dandelion got up and moved a bit down the field slowly before he edge back through the hedge again onto the road and sat there, watching the dog still scratching at the undergrowth. Shaking his head, Dandelion thumped on the road with his hind leg catching the dog's attention and was off again running down the road.

With the rope swaying alongside the dog, it carried on chasing Dandelion along the road as it began to near the field with the tall metal pylon. Not stopping for anything now, Dandelion felt his whole body ache as he enhaled every single dry breath, he jumped nimbly through the fence and ran up to where Blackberry was panting. "Dog behind, too tired to move..." Dandelion moved over to one end of the pylon and collapsed out of sight.

Blackberry looked to where the dog was and ran off towards the hill before slowing down. Blackberry turned around and saw the dog sniffing about around the pylon as he saw that it was heading slowly towards where the exhausted Dandelion was lying low in the ground. Frowning slightly, he muttered. "Stupid dog, why can't you be a bit more intelligent..." Without thinking, Blackberry ran forward, disturbing two nesting birds on the ground which brought the attention of the dog to look in Blackberry's direction. With a loud growl, followed by a bark, it took off after Blackberry who had turned around and was heading towards the hill.

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Bigwig spat out as he pulled away again from another brutal attack by Woundwort and frowned at him. Woundwort moved closer as he frowned. "Why don't you give yourself up?" He spat onto the ground as he took another swipe at Bigwig who backed away, feeling the rabbits behind him piling up. However, Bigwig carried on pushing his way backwards.

Spitting back onto the ground, Bigwig replied back with venom. "Sir, I was ordered to protect this run by my chief." Woundwort's anger vanished completely to move to a complete look of confusion as he pulled back his left paw and blinked. "Your chief?" Woundwort had stopped advancing as he looked at Bigwig for an explanation.

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Up on top, came confusion to the rabbits of the attacking force of Efrafa. Campion who had heard the noise from the dog approaching, went off to check what was going on and had returned in full speed, shouting at the top of his voice. "Run! Run for your lives!" Blueberry was up near the hole on watch, looked and jerked his head back down the hole where Arrowroot was. "Stay there!" He turned to see a rabbit being flung into the air with it's throat ripped out as he turned and ran for it. Arrowroot came up and looked about. "What?" He saw the dog chasing another rabbit before killing it and vanished back down the hole again, pressing his body against the soil wall shaking in fear.

Woundwort came out as he looked about as several rabbits were running away with a frown. He punched the ground hard with a paw, shouting. "Come back! Come back and fight! Dogs aren't dangerous!" Woundwort turned his head around as he saw the farm dog drop a dead rabbit to the ground before slowly advancing towards him...

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Blueberry was running around the other side of the tree as he came smack into Blackberry who jumped to the side and kicked Blueberry hard on the side of the head, sending him over backwards before running down a run. Gasping for breath, Blueberry pulled himself up and crawled over to where the opening of the hole was before meeting a stern look from Blackberry who lashed out at him. "You can stay out there and meet your end, you hraka Efrafan!" Blueberry frowned back at Blackberry. "Like Frith I will." Blueberry pulled himself up. "Just let Hawk, Carbi or Bigwig know that Blueberry's here." Blueberry collapsed again onto the ground and lost consciousness.