Homeward Bound

Fuzzy stood beside the unconcious symp. He could finish it off right now, a few quick slashes and all the blood would drain out. The ape had caused problems, complicated things. It deserved more than a quick death. It deserved all the artistry he could give it. Without help it would die,of course. Fuzzy's only regret at this was that he wouldn't get to prolong the agony. If they both survived, a reckoning would be in order. Every moment of the symp's suffering recorded for posterity, but not now. Right now he had more important things to deal with. He turned towards Woodsorrel.

"Anything broken?"
"What? No, I think I'm just bruised."
"We need to get to the airport as quickly as possible, do you know the way?"
"North, past the Hunter base, but ... Hey, you sound different."

Woodsorrel looked carefully at the bunny she thought of as Mudpaw. He was standing straighter despite obvious injuries and all traces of regbun dialect had disappeared. His tone was measured and calm, but she could hear the telltale rattling of blood in his lungs.

"I didn't want to reveal myself until we were safely on our way. My name is not Mudpaw. I am Major Fuzzy Bunny, KingdomWarren Information Retrieval."
"You were the one who wrote me."
"Yes, we need to get to the airport. My pawtop self-destructed. In about 6 hours, the mission will be reported as compromised."
"So? You're hurt."
"When that happens, things will become harder since I will technically be dead."

Woodsorrel thought about this while she looked around the scene.

"What about him?"
"Leave him, He'll either die or not. Revenge can come later."
"Well, we should go on the beach, there's no other way past the base. Even going that way we'll be right at the edge."
"Show the way. There isn't much time to spare and I doubt another ride will be along."

The two bunnies hopped down a narrow footpath past a few discarded bottles and onto the narrow beach. The full moon worried Fuzzy and the wind would be at their backs. No worries though, Monkeys can't smell very well. Cuton sensors, though...

"Try not to fluff, it'll alert the Hunters if they have sensors out this far."
"Won't they go off anyway?"
"They might, but if we hold it down they might not respond very quickly."

Fuzzy coughed, a spray of blood escaping from his lips.

"If I don't make it..."
"You'll make it."
"In case I don't, get to the airport and make your way to KingdomWarren. When you get there, find Oakburr. He'll know what to do."

Woodsorrel looked at him, concern in her face and nodded.

"You'll make it though. I'm sure."
"Any idea how far from the airport we are?"
"No, I really don't. I wasn't paying attention in the car on the way down. I think we might be a long way, Mud--er, Fuzzy."

Fuzzy coughed again, sounding wetter.

"We must be on the base by now, I think. Can you move faster? This place makes me nervous."

Woodsorrel moved ahead of him gradually. Hopping along was getting more and more difficult. Fuzzy wanted to call out and ask her to slow down a little. A single pure flash of light inside his head, wave of pain and revulsion. His limbs wouldn't obey him and his organs felt wrong. Through squinted eyes, Fuzzy saw the silhoutte of something like a bunny but not. Too angular, like the difference between a spaniel and a whippet. He recovered enough to counter the wyrmbun's charge, sparing himself and Woodsorrel for at least a few more moments. His side hurt from the impact, ribs shifting uncomfortably under the skin and against his lung. He managed a sideways hop to get out of range of the talons of his dream and nightmare. The black rabbit had finally sent an emissary. He'd be with beloved Inle soon. Fuzzy cleared his head and shook away the reverie. He had a mission to complete. He was the hero and he had a doe to save.

"Run! Get to Oakburr. I'll hold this thing off as long as I can."

If Woodsorrel obeyed him and her luck was nowhere near as bad as his, maybe the mission wouldn't fail. He watched the wyrmbun, circling to keep himself between the horror and the hopefully fleeing doe.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting long."

Woodsorrel heard the command and began to run up the beach. Then she caught herself and stopped. She wanted to go back and help him. He was here because of her. Woodsorrel looked back down the beach. The wyrmbun was nearly twice as large as Fuzzy. She should go back. She took a short hop. But she wasn't a milbun, and with his injuries... Woodsorrel felt torn for another few moments and then did the sensible thing.

"Good luck, and thank you."

Woodsorrel ran up the beach towards the airport.

Meanwhile Fuzzy fought against inevitability. His mouth tasted like blood and the talons had gotten him a few more times. He'd scored a few times himself but not definitively. He'd managed to keep the fangs out of his flesh so far but he was weakening. The longer he lasted though, the further Woodsorrel could run.