Hey guys! Sorry I wasn't able to post this Saturday, one of our cows broke the fence that morning so me and my sister had to go and repair it. XD

Here's the chapter though! It's a little short, but it's one of my favorite ones, hehe.

__________________________________________________________

"Wake me when we pass the Black Gap," Percy had said.

Weezie had no idea where they were now, but that desolate place was far behind them and she still could not wake him up. They had been traveling for nearly an hour now, along a wide, dusty road cut out of the surrounding woods. To the sides and up the hill, thick underbrush clambered around the trunks of trees that marched on solemnly as far as the eye could see- which wasn't too far due to the density of the forest. Weezie's head was laid against the wooden frame of the wagon that was holding the canvas up, the other hand absently fiddling with a tear in the sleeve of Percy's shirt. Somewhere in the cart someone was softly crying while the murmur of voices rose and fell with the rabbit's hushed conversations.

She had tried waking him several times, gently shaking him by the shoulders and speaking into his ear. She didn't want to get too loud or obvious and alert any guards, but she had a growing fear in the back of her mind as her efforts proved futile that he never would wake up. She glanced back down again as the cart wheel hit a rock, causing the wagon to **** and Percy to jostle against Weezie's side. His face looked troubled, even in his sleep; dried blood matted into the orange of his fur. Maybe he needs something first before he can wake up, Weezie thought with a frown. He still hadn't seen any kind of doctor yet, but she had done her best to look him over, pretty sure the bleeding had finally stopped. If only I knew what to do, Weezie whimpered softly, patting the top of his head. There was this one spot of fur on his forehead- she had noticed- that was a little lighter than the rusty orange surrounding it that always stood up on end, the fur growing in the opposite direction from the rest. No matter how many times she smoothed it down it always just sprang up again. She thought over again the interesting events of their escape, wondering who in the world he was beyond just a name, why his fellow officers had turned on him, who Whit was and why he had helped them. With a frown she silenced the questions in her mind. She needed to focus on the here and now, not on the what-ifs of the past. Percy needed help, from someone who knew what to do.

"Is anyone here a doctor?" Weezie called to the rest of the wagon. "Please, my friend is sick and I don't know what to do."

She looked hopefully around at the faces turned to her. Please, someone come help us,

One timid doe stood up from the crowd, grey-brown with white spots and one blue eye, the other dark brown. She tried to keep her balance in the swaying cart, raising her soft voice over the rumble.

"I- I'm not a doctor, but I do have basic medical training," she offered, tentatively raising her hand.

"Thank you," Weezie replied, reaching out towards her and grasping her hand as soon as she was close enough.

"Delia," the doe said, lightly shaking Weezie's hand. Weezie nodded.

"Weezie, and, this is Percy," she said as the doe knelt down in front of them. "He's pretty beat up everywhere, but I'm mostly worried about the back of his head."

She helped Delia turn him over to where she could see and examine the wound with her gentle white fingers. Parting the matted fur, the doe gave a sharp intake of breath. A sympathetic groan followed as she peered closer.

"And he's still breathing…" she muttered under her breath. "Do you know how long ago this happened?" She asked, looking up again to Weezie.

"I- no," Weezie shook her head. "Maybe two hours ago?"

Delia bit her bottom lip. She looked back down again to Percy, taking another gentle look at his head.

"I'm terribly sorry, Weezie, but- I don't think he's going to make it." Delia said. "I honestly don't know how he's made it this long," she admitted looking back down at him.

"He's had a lot of blood loss, and very likely taken massive brain damage from whatever caused this. I'm so sorry, but it's unlikely he'll ever wake up again."

Delia's last words hit like a blow to Weezie's heart- her worst fear proved true.

"Never?" She whispered, blinking back tears.

Delia nodded, taking Weezie's hand gently in her own. "I'm sorry," she said again. "But maybe it's best this way. Your friend is free now, isn't he? Wherever it is they're taking us to, his last moments will be here with you. Few rabbits have such a happy death these days."

Weezie hardly heard any of what the thin doe said to her as she struggled with the shock. It felt like the world was crashing around her, drawing her down into the whirlpool of its landslide. The plan. They were going to break free- join the resistance in the outer wood. That was what she had been using to fight the despair of all that she had lost and now it felt like it was swallowing her whole.

But Percy. She still had Percy. He wasn't dead yet, it wasn't too late. She hadn't lost everything quite yet.

"Thank you," she whispered to the concerned doe. Delia nodded and patted her hand.

"Don't worry dear. The world will keep on spinning and you'll find something to live for, don't give up yet."

Weezie blinked. She could feel her fire returning into the shocked cold of her heart and she clung to that little spark of hope.

"Wait," she said, grabbing the doe's hand as she turned to go. "Help me bandage him at least? I'm not ready to give up on him."

Delia turned, giving Weezie a sympathetic smile. She looked like she might say something more about 'letting go', but Weezie refused to give in- even if that meant denying the inevitable reality and hoping for something that could never be.

"Please," she said, squeezing Delia's hand in her own. Delia thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright then," she said, rubbing her arm and looking around the cart. "But we have nothing to bandage him with."

"Excuse me!" Weezie shouted out to the rest of the cart. "My friend is injured and needs bandages! If everyone could just tear off a strip from their dress or shirt, we'd have enough to save him. Please!"

The rabbits looked around the cart to each other, unsure of what to do. Have they lost the ability to think for themselves? Weezie wondered, waiting for an answer from the hollow-eyed slaves. Maybe they just need a leader.

"You there in the back- with the white splotch on your nose-" the startled rabbit pointed to herself uncertainly. Weezie nodded and continued, gesturing the directions with her free hand. "If you would kindly start the line, pass your strip to the rabbit next to you and so on to the next rabbit until they reach Delia here." They still cast uncertain glances around to each other, the white splotched rabbit looking down at her skirt in confusion.

"I know what you're probably thinking," Weezie said, fighting down the whisper of hopelessness. "Why should you help? If you stay out of it you won't possibly get in trouble. But I want you to think. What would you want the rabbits in this cart to do if you were the one needing bandaged?"

Most of the rabbits frowned, thinking over the answer to Weezie's challenge.

"We're all rabbits," Weezie whispered, just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the wagons. "And we're all in this together. No one's in this alone."

The brown buck who had helped her earlier stood, and tore a strip off the bottom of his shirt. Not saying a word and not taking his eyes off Weezie. He handed it to the rabbit sitting next to him, then sat down again. After a moment of tense hesitation, one by one all the rabbits followed suit, tearing strips from their clothing and passing it down the line. Delia turned to look at Weezie, her mouth open in disbelief. Weezie smiled, and tore a strip off the hem of her dress.