Here are chapters 4 and 5.
Chapter 4: The Inspection.
[It] is a relatively stress-free method of travel. [...] You only have to come to terms with hiding from people whose job it is to find you and arrest you, but would prefer to beat the [hraka] out of you and leave you stranded 100 km from anywhere.
--Ard Arvin,
Freight Across CanadaChanging the temperature of the refrigerated compartment was rather easy for the rabbits. Vilthuril accidentally turned a dial on the wall while jumping on top of a crate full of apples, raising the temperature of the compartment to a more acceptable level in the process.
A few days later, while they were half-asleep, a bright light shone from the back of the room. The compartment was kept dark to save electricity, so whenever someone entered it, the light from the room beyond flooded inside.
This was the first time since the rabbits' arrival that the compartment had been opened. They were both awake in a fraction of a second and bolted towards a small hiding spot they had discovered between a few crates. The humans, meanwhile, slowly walked around the compartment. Each had a flashlight in one hand and a gun in the other. They were searching for stowaways.
-We must get these humans out of here, they will kill us if they find us, warned Vilthuril.
-You're right about that. Don't worry, I have a plan. Follow me, said Fiver.
They both sneaked out of their hiding spot and went to the other end of the room, where cardboard milk cartons were stored. As quietly as possible, they began to chew them. After a few cartons had been destroyed, the entire tower was extremely unbalanced and collapsed in a frightful noise.
All the humans pointed their flashlights towards the scene of the accident. They slowly approached it, their guns in their hands, ready to shoot any intruder they may find. One of them slowly brushed away a few cartons to see if anything was underneath, but only found more cartons.
Suddenly, they heard yet another noise, from the opposite end of the room. The rabbits had just knocked down a shelf full of raw meat. The entire crew ran there, until one of them decided that they split up. Each worker was to inspect one batch of crates and blink their flashlight if they found anything. This way, there would be no place where the stowaways could hide. Seeing this, the rabbits went tharn.
-Don't worry, Fiver, you did your best, it almost worked.
-We must not despair, Vilthuril.
Despite what he had said, Fiver still had little hope that they would be all right.
A few minutes later, one worker pointed his flashlight straight at both rabbits. He stared at them, slightly amused. He was a disgruntled employee, unhappy about his low-paying job searching for stowaways. Besides, he only got a bonus if he found a human, his contract said nothing about rabbits.
-Have a nice trip, he whispered.
He then proceeded to another batch of containers.
-What just happened? questioned Vilthuril. This human saw us, there's no doubt about that. But he left us alone! Why?
-Humans are one of those things nobody must try to understand, replied Fiver. Either way, they will leave and they won't come back. We should be safe until we reach the other side of the Big Water.
-You mean...there's something beyond it?
-I don't know. We'll find out when we get there.
A few minutes later, the employees had finished patrolling the compartment. While all these collapses were suspicious, there were clearly no stowaways in the compartment. They therefore left the compartment to inspect another one. As Fiver had predicted, they did not go back inside for the rest of the trip.
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Chapter 5: Raiding the Kitchen.
I happen to have discovered a direct relation between magnetism and light, also electricity and light, and the field it opens is so large and I think rich.
--Michael Faraday
The rabbits were staring at the inside of the room. It was the most colourful thing they had ever seen. The carpet, the walls, the bed, the furniture, everything was of a different colour. But the most colourful thing had to be the cover on the bed. Bigwig nearly collapsed again after seeing it, especially since he had not fully recovered from the bus trip. Blackberry was struggling to figure out how such an ugly thing could possibly exist. He voiced his concern to Hyzenthlay, who suggested that humans don't see very well. Hazel smelled it and decided that it was safe as long as nobody stared at it for too long. Pipkin clawed at it a few times, then tried to climb onto the bed, but due to his reduced size, was unable to reach the top and fell back on the floor.
-At least we're away from the humans, sighed Hazel.
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The next day, the rabbits were still hiding under the bed. Luckily for them, the passenger who was supposed to occupy their cabin didn't show up. Pipkin had finally made it onto the bed and was jumping crazily on it. Bigwig had entirely recovered from the previous day's incidents, but the rabbits were facing an even bigger problem: hunger. Since they had left Watership Down, they had eaten absolutely nothing except a few pieces of clover and dandelions in the farmyard. Hazel told the group:
-I think we should go raid a garden. We need some food, and there is clearly no grass anywhere around here. Besides, we're supposed to look for Fiver and Vilthuril, aren't we?
He peaked outside the door. There were several humans walking around, it was clearly a dangerous place.
-Let's wait until tonight, shall we? he added. There are too many humans roaming around this place during the day.
Several hours later, after all the passengers had retreated to their cabins to sleep, the rabbits sneaked out of theirs. There was nobody in sight. They were however faced with the dilemma of choosing whether to go left or right. Bigwig was against the group separating, as this was a dangerous place and if anyone got lost, the others would have to spend time looking for them. That would be a major waste of time, and would cause the chances of getting caught to rise. They eventually decided to begin by going left and, if there was nothing useful there, go right.
The rabbits walked for a short distance and came across a swimming pool. It was currently being drained for cleaning, but the rabbits were nevertheless amazed by it. It contained more water than they had ever seen.
-Is this the Big Water Kehaar talks about all the time? asked Pipkin.
-No, Hlao-roo, came the distant voice of Blackberry, this is! Come take a look!
The four other rabbits stared at each other. For the second time since they had left the Down, Blackberry had vanished mysteriously and was nowhere to be seen.
-Why don't you come take a look?
-We would if we knew where you are, answered Hazel.
-I'm over here, in the boat.
It took a while for the other rabbits to realize that he was referring to a lifeboat that was lying on the deck while awaiting repairs. Hazel, Hyzenthlay and Pipkin jumped into it, while Bigwig stayed outside. He claimed that a sentry was needed, but the real reason was that he was afraid of getting sick like the previous time he looked at one Blackberry's discoveries.
The rabbits sat with their front paws on the side of the boat, staring. Beyond them was an endless mass of water, its surface moving, and making soft noises as the waves crashed onto the ship. It was just like Kehaar had described it, but none of the rabbits really knew what to expect. The idea of so much water was beyond their comprehension.
-Wow! It's so big! said an amazed Pipkin.
-It's...water, said Hazel.
From what Kehaar had told him, he had expected something far more exciting. He could absolutely not comprehend how birds could be interested in such a place.
-It's big and it's made of water. That's why it's called “Big Water”, explained Blackberry.
-I...think we've seen enough now, decided Hazel. This Big Water won't help us find Fiver and, from what Kehaar said, it's full of fish, and you know how that smells.
And the rabbits jumped out of the lifeboat and continued their journey across the deck. There were no other stops until they were faced with a wall. They had travelled from one end of the deck to the other.
-I feel our direction is wrong, complained Bigwig.
-Not necessarily, said Blackberry, who was inspecting a staircase. We can keep going this way.
Bigwig stared at the stairs for a few seconds, before telling the others what he thought about it:
-I'm certainly not going up those things again!
-We don't have to go up. There seem to be others that go down, Hyzenthlay pointed out.
All the rabbits looked at the stairs that went down. It was dark down there, and it looked as if the stairs went on forever. Hazel was the first to go down, eager to show his skill as a leader, and was soon followed by the others. These stairs, unlike those in the hrududu, seemed to be made of thick wire. As a consequence, walking on them was rather unpleasant for the rabbits.
After what felt like a very long time, the rabbits finally reached the bottom of the stairs. It was still dark, and full of smells, all of them new to the rabbits. Then came the faint but unmistakable scent of flayrah.
The rabbits followed the scent all the way to the end of the hallway in which they were, where they were faced with two tall metal things. They were the doors to one of the ship's elevators, this one being used to carry food from the kitchen to the dining rooms. To their left were two other doors, leading to the kitchen itself. Blackberry simply had to push one of them for it to open. While he held it open, the other four rabbits entered the kitchen, and hid under a table.
The kitchen was very large, and very dirty. The floor was littered with vegetable peals and pieces of plastic packaging. The countertops and cooking surfaces were covered with grease and dirty utensils. A party had been held earlier that day on the ship, and the chefs had been forced to prepare twice the usual amount of food in record time. As a consequence, the kitchen was twice as messy.
The janitors were the only people in the kitchen in the early hours of the morning. They were left with the ungrateful task of cleaning up the mess to make the kitchen usable again. It was a very depressing job, and they didn't hesitate to leave some parts of the kitchen dirty if they thought it would take too long to clean them.
From their hiding spot under the table, the rabbits looked around, and finally spotted exactly what they were looking for: a large trash can, filled with vegetables. Most of them were perfectly edible, but had been rejected by the chefs as “imperfect”.
-We found the flayrah. Now how do we get it? asked Bigwig. It seems very high to jump, and there don't seem to be any steps leading to it.
-It's very simple, claimed Blackberry, as he walked to the trash can after a brief look around him for humans. You go like this.
He stood up on his hind legs and put his front paws on the side of the trash can. It vibrated a little, but other than that, nothing happened.
-Everyone, come closer.
The other rabbits were far more cautious as they left their hiding spot. The only human they could see was a hairy old man who was sloppily mopping the floor, so they walked towards Blackberry.
-I need you to help me push this thing. We must all do it at the same time if we want it to work.
-Are you crazy, Blackberry? shouted Bigwig. I refuse to take part in such a foolish trick!
-Bigwig, be quiet! whispered Hyzenthlay. Do you want all the humans to hear you?
Bigwig stood there in shock. He had never been told to be quiet since a training exercise he took part in to earn a spot in the Sandleford owsla. Deep inside him, he knew that he had spoken too loudly, but he could not get over the insult.
By the time he cane to his senses, however, he realized, much to his horror, that the other rabbits had agreed with Blackberry's plan and were pushing the trash can. It was vibrating dangerously, and then it was falling...
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The most dreadful noise of metallic clanging was heard. All the janitors turned and saw an overturned trash can with vegetables everywhere on the floor. And worst of all, five rabbits were sitting next to it.
-I told you it was not a good idea, said Bigwig.
Everyone remained motionless for a few seconds, then Hazel ordered:
-Everyone take a piece of flayrah and run!
The rabbits bolted in random directions. In the urgency of the escape, several had forgotten where the exit was.
Pipkin, in a desperate attempt to avoid the humans, jumped in a big container full of fish. The smell was overpowering and he could absolutely not understand how Kehaar's diet could be based on this disgusting stuff. He looked out, doing his best to avoid being seen, and it seemed that the humans could not tolerate the smell neither, and were now chasing the other rabbits.
Bigwig tried to hide behind a tower of pots and pans. However, there was not enough space between the wall and the pots for him to go through, causing the entire tower to fall down and several humans to trip over them.
Hyzenthlay had jumped on the counter. She zigzagged through the various objects as fast as she could and knocked down many utensils. The countertop was also covered with grease that ended up all over her fur. “I'm going to have a lot of cleaning to do when this is over” she thought.
Blackberry hid inside a cabinet. As he looked around him, he saw something that vaguely looked like a tree root, but that was impossible, as there were no trees anywhere near him. He clawed at it and bit it a few times, then it broke and the room was filled with darkness: it was an electrical wire.
There was a limit to how long the rabbits could have escaped the humans, but with the lights off, they had a major advantage. As they spend most of their time in dark underground burrows, they are able to see in the dark very well. Therefore, as soon as the wire had been chewed, Hazel, who was the only one who had found the way to the exit without trouble, rushed back inside the kitchen to save the others.
The first rabbit he found was Bigwig, trying to find his way through the mess of pots and pans on the floor. Soon afterwards, Hyzenthlay fell between the two after jumping off the counter. The group of three then went to search for the others.
As the lights turned off, Pipkin heard a dreadful noise. He could not stand the smell of fish any longer, so he jumped out of the tank and tried to find where the sound came from. He eventually identified it as coming from a cabinet, and he could smell Blackberry inside. He stamped to alert the other rabbits, who arrived almost immediately.
-There's something wrong with Blackberry! he said, panicking. I think I heard him scream.
The rabbits looked inside and saw the limp body of Blackberry against the dark bottom of the cabinet. He was not moving, but he was breathing. Hazel went inside to get a closer look at him.
-Blackberry? Are you able to walk?
He briefly lifted his head, but was unable to talk.
-We'll have to carry him, decided Hazel. Bigwig, you hold his back legs, Hyzenthlay, you take his middle, and I'll hold his head.
This was a very hard task. When the rabbits had carried Bigwig, they had to push him most of the way, which was much easier. Here, they had to hurry, and pushing Blackberry all the way out of the kitchen would have taken too long. If they were not out of the room by the time the humans brought back the light, they would have to leave him behind to save their own lives, and everyone wanted to avoid that if possible.
After several tense minutes, they were out of the kitchen, but in no better situation. A guard had just arrived through the elevator, having been alerted by the loud noises. The rabbits quickly carried Blackberry inside the elevator. Its doors closed immediately after they got inside, and Bigwig nearly got his tail stuck between them.
Outside, the guard turned on his flashlight and pointed it towards the kitchen.
-What's going on in here? he shouted.
-There were five bloody bunnies running around, angrily replied the hairy old janitor.
-Rabbits? Are you drunk or something?
-WHAT??? Of course not!
-He's telling the truth, you know? added another employee. I saw one, running everywhere and knocking down knives and stuff...
-And I suppose there was one in the fish, too? asked the guard sarcastically.
-Come to think of it, there was...
The guard sighed loudly, then screamed:
-I hope you all know I wanted to be a sailor? And now, here I am, dealing with a bunch of idiots! What did I ever do to deserve all this? GET BACK TO WORK!
He stormed off, so angry that he took the stairs instead of the elevator.
Meanwhile, inside the elevator, the rabbits were tending to Blackberry. He had been badly burned when he had bitten the electrical wire and was in rather bad shape. Luckily for him, the wire was well insulated, otherwise he would have been killed. There was not much the others could besides licking his wounds and staying close to him.
It took a few hours for him to regain consciousness.
-What happened to you? asked Hazel while nuzzling him.
-That thing, it looked like a tree root. But it wasn't. When I chewed it, it felt like I was on fire.
-What dreadful things humans keep in their burrows. I'm sorry you had to go through this, Blackberry. And we're no closer to what we actually set out to: still no trace of Fiver and Vilthuril, and no flayrah.
-Actually, we do have something, corrected Pipkin.
Everyone looked at him. In the far corner of the elevator, there was a large kale, at least twice as big as Pipkin. While not exactly flayrah, it was large enough to sustain the rabbits for a few days.
-How did that get there? questioned Bigwig.
-While you were busy carrying Blackberry, I carried this, answered Pipkin.
-Well, at least this raid wasn't a complete failure, determined Hazel. Can you walk, Blackberry?
He stood up on his four legs and took a few cautious steps.
-I can probably manage it, Hazel. But I probably won't be able to run for a while. How do we get out of here? Where are we, anyway?
None of the rabbits had noticed that the elevator's doors had closed, as they had been too preoccupied with Blackberry. Now, they realized that they were trapped inside. The only way out was to use the buttons, but they were out of reach to the rabbits, and none of them knew their purpose. Bigwig looked around the entire perimeter of the elevator, but could not find a single gap through which they could escape, and the walls were too hard to chew or dig through. As the notion that they were trapped sank into their minds, the rabbits were filled with a sense of panic.
-Everybody stay calm, urged Hazel. If we got in here, there must be a way out. If worse comes to worse and a human finds us here, we just bolt out the way they come from.
Hours passed. The rabbits became nearly tharn. Suddenly, there was a jolt and the ground began to move beneath them. This reminded them of a weak earthquake that had shaken the area around Sandleford Warren a few years before, but this was much stronger. Blackberry was the only rabbit who remained calm as it happened. A few seconds later, he said:
-That's right! We're going up!
The other rabbits looked at him, baffled. Seeing their reaction, he continued his explanation:
-This thing we're in is going up, and we went down for the raid, so we will soon be at the same level we were before.
They were still unable to understand what he had just said.
-Never mind. Just be ready to get out as quietly as possible when the exit appears.
A few seconds later, the elevator stopped and its doors opened. The rabbits were startled by this, but they followed Blackberry's instructions and left the scene quietly, with Bigwig carrying the kale on his back. They did not get noticed by any humans on the way back from their cabin, except one...
-Hey, look mum, a few bunnies! That one looks just like...
-Now, Daisy, you mustn't say things like this in public...
-Oh no, not again! screamed the same guard who had dealt with the janitors earlier that day and overheard Daisy's remark. First the janitors see some rabbits, and now the passengers! Why can't you just shut up? I've heard enough about rodents for the rest of my life!
-How dare you speak to my child like this? said the outraged mother. I'll speak to the captain personally about this and make sure you will be fired! And believe me, you will be!
She stormed off with her child, then turned and added:
-Besides, rabbits aren't rodents, they're lagomorphs.
