The Dark Knight

  “Cheese, I want you to join the rabbit’s side. You have a heart, you care for the well beings of others. I want you to fight for our side. You and Arkansas can live with us, we’re planning to erect a village for creatures to live in. Once everyone hears your story they will care too. Cheese, we will take care of you, we will tend to you.” Lola helped Cheese up and patted him on the back, hoping he would accept his offer.

  “I’m in. I will fight, with you.” Cheese produced a wooden club-like object as he spoke.

  “Well then, let us fight and let us live while doing so. I will take the right you take the left. We shall fight together, back to back.” Lola got in her stance.

 

 

  Fighters

  They fought they fought hard and long. The two of them were able to knock down rat forces in a single pulsation of a second. Lola found herself so close to Cheese his ribs and bones pressed up hard against her matted fur.

  After hours of fighting she dragged Cheese back to her team’s base and explained that Cheese was now on their side. Pebbles ran over to Lola.

  “Why let me help you guys. You got blood caked into your fur and you look as though you are going to fall over right here! And you sir look as though you need protein and carbs. I will help you two.” Pebbles acted courageous and winked at Lola as he spoke. He handed them both a moist towel to wash with and a small plate of dandelion leaves and berries.

  “Thanks Pebbles. How is the medical doing? How many have we lost?” Lola was in no mood for jokes, this was a war and she was serious.

  “Oh. The medic? We’re in short supply of provisions and almost out of blood donors. We’ve lost about a fifth of our men who came to us. The doctors are in short supply, and we could use more nurses. The children help as much as possible but they get queasy easily. One kid passed out for two hours after helping with an amputation, though he was tough, he had to help stitch the arm back up. We do have some male orderlies but most of them don’t know a thing of medicine. Also since we can’t afford a lost battle we had to send out some kids. It’s a rough battle but I think our side might actually be winning. The rats have no medic or a very poor one at that. Most of their wounded and dead are thrown into a wooden cart and brought to who knows where. My guess is that they are left to die unless the injuries are minimal.” Pebbles seemed serious now that they were discussing battle and the lives that rested upon him, the soldiers would die if he failed.

  “Thank-you for the update.” Lola gratified with the knowledge of the war.

  A pika came up to Pebbles, she was one of the nurses. “Doctor, we need you to help operate, I think it is a young child, a boy. He has a serious leg wound and it is badly infected.” The nurse obviously was a higher rank, for she knew some remedial modus operandi.

  “I need to go now. Goodbye.” Pebbles hugged Lola while he spoke and Lola wiped away tears.

  I may never see him again. This may be the last time I hear his voice. Maybe next time I see him I won’t be able to recognize him, or maybe, he won’t recognize me. And what about the young boy with an infected leg? Do his parents know? He shouldn’t be fighting, none the less hurt. Children are fighting this war and they are getting hurt and possibly killed. They are going on their own death march, we all are. And to think a fifth of our good men that have been sent have died. There’ll now be children without mothers or fathers, or babies without a family at all. What are we doing? I thought we were supposed to be creating a better world, not this.

  “Lola, are you okay?” Cheese brought Lola back to reality.

  “Oh, yeah. C’mon Cheese. Let’s go. We are fighters, we are warriors. It’s our duty. So let’s win!” Lola didn’t want Cheese to see through her, she had the feeling as though he was a brother to her and he couldn’t see her disconcert.

  Once again the two raged through battle. They goaded themselves through the enemy, leaving a wake of destruction behind them. Lola felt as though she was a pendulum, her claws scratched, her teeth bit. There seemed to be a beautiful yet horrifying rhythm to it. The song seemed to be comforting to her yet when she looked at the unconscious bodies she felt weakened and found herself trembling at the ever powerful beat of death throbbing throughout her and all the land around her. The melodies of cries and the clink of swords rattled and shook everything in its path. Small craters of destruction made the underlying beat swerve and curve and gave the song interesting rests and pitch.

  Lola was suddenly broken from the pendulum like song when a familiar voice grabbed her attention and shook her with rage and fear.

  Medic!

  Lola rushed to the sound of the yowl and was immediately inconsolable. It was Marshmallow. She rushed to his side and saw his sword lying a foot away from him. She clutched it and kneeled by his side. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. Cheese was standing next to her and smacking away the enemy to keeping them from advancing in and impairing his partner and her friend.

  She rolled Marshmallow on his side. There she saw a hideous red, bloody gorge in his black and brown fur, showing down to a rib. Blood trickled out of the wound, staining the earth and fur. It was due to a speared malice going into his side, piercing through his flesh, tissue, and muscle. Lola gently traced the edge of the wound, following the intricate pattern. At this Marshmallow made a low growl and tightened in pain. “Lola.” His voice was dry and whispery. “Lola, you have to fight this battle. It is the only thing you can do to stay alive, the only thing if you don’t want to look like this.” Marshmallow motioned to the large wound.

  “No, no!” Lola became filled with despondency, “You told me everyone deserves a second try, and I trusted you, I believed in you. It gave me the will to try again, to live! You can’t die, not now, not here, not with your friends fighting in your battle, not while they need their hero!” Lola suddenly fell quiet and she added in a whisper, “Not while I need you, not while I love you.”

  Marshmallow gave a weak smile. “I have used my second try. You are brave enough ma puce, you must go and fight on your own.”

  “I won’t let you go, I can’t,” Lola managed to get out these sharp words between her tears which stung her paws which were cracked and cut since there were no leathery pads between her skin and the elements.

  “Lola, hurry, they’ve noticed us!” Cheese yelled, his chest shaking with each breath.

  Lola looked up. A rat with a reed to his mouth was shoving a stick, similar to the one that had been in Jimmy’s leg, up the stiff, woody, shoot. Lola drew in a large breath then, as loud as possible, yelled, “Medic!” Her yell pierced through the air, above the sound of battle.

  A hot pain smeared across her thigh. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cheese fall beside her, Marshmallow was yelling something to her, but she couldn’t make it out. Everything became far away, until it was pure darkness.

  Lola was unconscious.

  Wounded

  When Lola awoke her leg was throbbing with a smart pain. She wanted to get up and fight, but she couldn’t get up or even sit. “Lola, I wouldn’t do that. You’re hurt pretty bad.” Pebbles appeared above her, it reminded her of when she first met him. “Your leg is bandaged because of the poison dart and your head is bandaged due to the concussion you got when you fell.” Pebbles seemed nervous yet excited about the position they were in.

  “Thanks Pebbles.” Lola gave him a wry smile. “Are the others – Cheese and Marshmallow – are they okay?” Lola was concerned for the others’ heath.

  “Cheese broke an arm and also got shot by a poison dart, a concussion too. He’s on a nutrition schedule too, he is probably the lightest rat I have ever seen. Marshmallow is also in pretty ruinous too, though he is healing fast. Thanks to you his wound didn’t get infected. He is on plasma, but that isn’t so bad. We had to change his wrappings an hour ago, and it is already starting
to form a scab.”

  “Pebbles, how long have I been here, I mean hurt?’’ Lola needed to know how long she had been out of battle.

  “Seventeen hours, about. It’s night time now so we retreated to the field for the night.

  “What about Jimmy, is he okay? Have you seen him?” Lola asked.

  “Jimmy is not so great. He uh, well, he lost his leg. We had to amputate it. He is in grand distraught and has been in and out of comas. When he is conscious he does not talk very much. He is the one who had the infection. I think it is due to a small explosion, though I do not know since he will barely talk.” Pebbles was saddened by this tragic news he had to bring.

  “Where is he, I want to talk to and see all three of them, I have to, they are also my friends. You should join us, we must discuss our locality. Plus we are all friends and it may do Jimmy some good.’’ Lola declared.

  “I can bring you over to where they are, they are all in the intensive care ward.” Pebbles began to push the long flat log over to another group of creatures. Lola was set in what seemed to form a rectangle, the beds of Cheese, Marshmallow, and Jimmy formed three walls and her bed made the fourth. Pebbles sat down on the edge of Lola’s bed, not wanting to be left out. It seemed as though everyone was waiting for another to talk.

  “At least we’re all alive and we’re all together.” It was Lola who said this, trying to break the silence. “Jimmy I would like to introduce you to Cheese, you are the only one here who has not met him yet.’’ Lola wanted the two to know each other, they could easily become friends.

  “I’m Cheese, you there, pika, must be Jimmy.” Cheese sounded happy but his breathing was labored.

  “Hi.” This was all Jimmy said, and while he said this he managed to remain looking straight above him, as though he was studying the stars. Lola became livid at Jimmy for this.

  He was always the happy one, the one who never knew when to shut-up, the one I relied on to stay optimistic, the one who was always there for family, but now when I need him the most to be a shining light in all of the despair, the light had faded.

  “What’s wrong with you! I try to make you feel better and all you do is be a jerk! Where did the happiness go?!” Lola yelled at Jimmy, but immediately regretted it when she heard the quiet snuffling sound of him crying. She could feel Marshmallow and Pebbles staring at her surprised and Cheese glance between her and Jimmy. “I’m sorry, Jimmy. I just don’t know what came over me!” Lola felt her gut give away to guilt.

  “No, Lola, I’m sorry. You are right, I was a jerk. I’m sorry to you too Cheese. It’s very nice to meet you. Maybe we can still be friends, if you don’t hate me.”Jimmy was finally helping to break the ice between friends.

  “Oh Jimmy, it’s fine, it really is. In fact this is better than fine, this is one of the best things ever to happen to me! My first friend, a first real friend that is.” Cheese was cheerfully accepting his first true friend.

  This set off the conversation and soon everything felt normal, except for one thing. Lola looked over at Marshmallow and realized something.

  Look at Marshmallow, look at them all, bloodied, torn, maybe this is why Williams kept the adventure away, maybe it would’ve been better that way. But I never would’ve met these guys, my life would be nothing but a stewpot now. I’m too far to turn around now. I’ve met my family, my friends, my team, my love. I have everything I used to have, but I have more and seemingly less.

  “Pebbles,” Lola talked softly and tapped him on the back, “Please bring Marshmallow and me to a tranquil spot and leave us.” Lola was as polite as she could manage.

  After Lola and Marshmallow were pushed over to a spot where they wouldn’t be bothered Lola began to cry. “I’m sorry, I really am. If I hadn’t wanted you to help Pebbles and me build a village then we never would’ve ended up all hurt, and you never would have gotten speared and wounded,” Lola sobbed.

  Marshmallow slipped his paw around Lola’s and told her, “Hey I’m not dead, and neither are you, we’ll manage.” The two sat there together until Pebbles came and brought them back to the group, where Jimmy and Cheese were still getting to know each other.

  “So, Cheese, do you have any siblings?” Jimmy was finished talking of his family, he wanted to know of his new friend’s.

  “Yeah. I kinda adopted this little rabbit that escaped from a pet store.” Cheese referred to his “sister”.

  “That’s funny, I escaped from a pet store with my sister, but one day I lost her. Her name was Arkansas.” The ghostly look on Pebble’s face told it all.

  Healed

  Lola healed first, then Cheese, and finally Marshmallow, all in two days work of healing they were back out fighting. Jimmy was declared unfit for fighting, yet in only three days he was helping as a male orderly in the medical unit. Lola, Cheese, and Marshmallow would meet Jimmy and Pebbles each night, talking, laughing, as if the war faded during the night, yet the thought of Arkansas was not mentioned.

  Lola was fighting next to Cheese when a strange sssssssssttts sound reached her long flopping ears. Next came a popping noise, blasting her eardrums. Lola remembered watching William shoot his air rifle at targets and knew what would come next. “Cheese get down, now!” Lola’s scream sound more like a hoarse whisper against the now loud, low, rumbling sound as she pulled Cheese to the ground. Hot dirt sprayed up into their faces burning and searing their fur, pelting and injuring the ones who were still standing. Just simple yards in front of her a rabbit and rat fell, never to rise again, never to fight another day. Bomb.

  That’s their secret weapon, a bomb. That is how Jimmy lost his leg and how we will all die if we are as careful as the poor soul in front of me. That is how they plan to win, by playing dirty.

  That night Lola announced, “They have bombs now, casualties will be pretty heavy,” she turned to Pebbles, “We’re gonna run out of soldiers soon. I don’t want to send out more kids, I mean, we’re all pretty young as it is. It doesn’t matter if we get a wounded rat. Fix him and make sure he understands he is on our side. We’ll free ’em later when the war is done, if they want to go.

  Pebbles nodded in reply and continued to eat the grass that lay on a bark plate on his lap.

  The rabbits grew used to the bombings, yet still the killings were plentiful. Soon they had twenty rats on their side (not including Cheese), that worked under the strict rules of a trader and prisoner to be set free after the war was over.

  Victory

  It wasn’t expected.

  Lola and Cheese were running over to help Marshmallow with the duty of bringing wounded to the medical center (it was Marshmallow’s turn since the rabbits and picas rotated the job amongst those who were fighting) when a sharp whistling came from behind them. Marshmallow ran to them and they ran for the medical center, dashing behind the flat logs patients lay on. The whistling grew louder until it began to roar and pop, until it smashed into the medical center. “Is everyone ok?” Lola searched for wounded as she asked.

  “Over here, we got wounded!” Cheese yelled this. “Lola you better come quick. I think it’s Pebbles, my God it is! Help!” Cheese looked around franticly for a doctor.

  “I got it, I can help. I know what to do,” an all too familiar nurse appeared and carried Pebbles away.

  “Pebbles, Pebbles are you okay? Pebbles wake up, wake up Pebbles.’’ Pebbles roused himself awake to Lola’s voice and instantly was met by a sharp wave of pain in his nose and ear.

  “Accccccccccccccccck!” Pebbles yelled in pain. “Nurse, Nurse Ashley please tell me, what has happened to me?”

  “You’ll be fine. The bomb has only burned your nose and ear. Though I do have to say, we are all very lucky.” The nurse named Nurse Ashley (who amputated Jimmy’s leg) said.

  “Lucky is right. Th
e other side fired like a firework display of artillery and then stops altogether. The only things they killed were rats.” Jimmy had hobbled over to the small group of friends and was sitting on the log that Pebbles was laying on.

  “He’s right. That’s the only way we were able to all visit you at five in the evening. I do have to say I am both jovial and petrified about the pause in fighting.” Lola stood besides the bed with Cheese and Marshmallow.

  “I hope you don’t mind me listening in on your conversation, but I think that artillery display and the silence may mean they surrender.” Nurse Ashley announced while checking Pebble’s blood pressure and heartbeat.

  “Oh, none of us mind you joining our conversation, in fact I want you to meet these guys. I think you already know Jimmy and these guys are Lola, Cheese, and Marshmallow. This is Nurse Ashley.” Pebbles introduced them.