I have no real introduction for this chapter, other than that I finished it on my vacation. Rejoice.

Chapter 15: Misplaced Mistrust

After some amount of time, Coppertop slowly came to, instantly being welcomed back to consciousness by a sharp twang of pain in the back of her head. She moaned as a few similar twangs took their toll on her senses, and attempted to reach up to rub her aching head. After a few tries, she realized she couldn’t move her arms from their position, and her eyes snapped open, now very alert.
“Ah, you’re awake,” a familiar voice spoke. “Good, good.”
Coppertop was nearly speechless as she painstakingly made the mental connection between the voice and its owner. “What the…? Not you!”
“No need to be alarmed. I’m taking you to Carrotus City, to get you to a hospital. You have not been faring well, and your friends found it in your best interest that you get medical attention for whatever it is that is ailing you.”
“What…? How… No! You’re lying! Let me go!” Coppertop snarled, jerking backward in an attempt to break Vaper’s grip on her arms. She was rewarded with a burning stab of pain as both of her shoulders snapped out of place with a loud crack.
“I would advise against struggling. Even if I weren’t telling you the truth, you would not be able to escape; then, even if you did, you would not get far, judging by your lacklustre state of performance within the mountain. You have one option, and that is to trust me.”
A feeling of nausea shot through the mercenary, partially from the realization that Vaper was right, and partially from the sensation of speed that her taking an express ride on the back of the Turbulent caused.
“And… if I don’t?” Coppertop asked quietly.
“I don’t recall making any indication that you had a choice,” Vaper replied. “In any case, I have been entrusted to this task, and—”
“Wait, what?” Coppertop blurted out, surprised. “You were told to take me to a hospital?”
“Indirectly, yes.”
“By wh—”
“Your friends, back in the mountain.”
Coppertop’s mind raced. Why would her own comrades enlist someone else to escort her, especially this rabbit in particular? Had he not just been trying to kill them less than an hour before? She knew there was a piece of the puzzle still yet to be found, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
She glanced at the back of Vaper’s head. What was it that encouraged him to change sides, anyway, especially right when the group was most vulnerable to attack? He could easily have simply swept by and killed her, as well as one or two of the others, and then escape again. Heck, he could just drop her right here, twenty miles from the middle of nowhere, and leave her to die. But instead, he chose to help her.
There was a lot more to Coppertop’s impromptu escort than she had previously believed. It would take her a long time to even begin to figure him out.

“Lori!”
The gold-furred Jackrabbit sister shot a glance behind her. Jazz was gaining on her, but not rapidly.
“Come on, Lori, slow down!”
Lori just turned her attention back to the horizon in front of her, and strained her eyes to find any signs of Vaper. Despite her best efforts, she could not see any indication of the steel-grey rabbit anywhere, nor that she was even going the right way. She hoped, for her friend’s sake, that she was.
The spires of Carrotus Castle were just beginning to appear in the distance when Lori tripped, and fell heavily to the ground. Landing expertly on one shoulder, she rolled once, then planted her foot strongly against the ground, stopping her roll. Bringing herself back to a standing position, she looked up to see Jazz gradually slowing to a stop not far in front of her.
“That looked painful,” Jazz commented blithely. “You alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Lori replied, brushing off some dirt that had attached itself to the fur on her side. Without another word, she took up where she had left off, on a beeline toward the towering image of the Castle’s twin spires. Jazz made sure, this time, that he was not far behind.