October 24th, Wednesday Late Afternoon – Nocturnal District
"Nick, stop it. Right now. Just stop."
Nick held his ground a moment longer, with his muzzle squarely between Judy's upright ears and paws on her hips, effectively using her as a shield. "Just…protecting you, Fluff."
Judy tilted her head back so she could look up at him. "It was thunder, you dummy. You're protecting me from thunder by trying to hide behind me?"
"Bogo said I should cover your tail as your partner, so we didn't lose you again. I'm doing my job. Your tail is covered."
"It's supposed to be figurative," she told him, then reached down and shoved his hips away from her tail. "Not literal. I can't even decide if you're a coward, or using this as an excuse to cuddle."
"Little of both," he admitted, clearing his throat and standing up and away from her. They both straightened their uniforms, and Nick was thankful that Judy went right back to searching the area with her flashlight and did not see him shiver nervously—and jump again when lightning flashed overhead. "Fox doesn't need an excuse to cuddle or cower."
"Don't I know it," Judy teased, grinning as she swept the light over the driveway ahead of them. "I swear, I have to peel you off me when there's a storm during the night at home, and we've got about the most sound and weather-proofed house in town."
"We'll pretend that's only because of the storm, Fluff. Can we get on with the police business side of things, or are we gonna kick the poor fox while he's down?"
Judy nodded her head toward the driveway. "You're the one slowing us down. We going to go on, or do you need me to hold your paw the whole way?"
Nick looked around at the damp and dark trees lining the road, where it led into the driveway, then checked back toward their cruiser, parked a short distance away. Another flash of lightning made his fur stand on end, and he took a deep breath, slid both paws in his pockets, and said, "Yes. Please. That'd be nice. Can you also pet my tail and call me a good boy?"
"Not in public, I won't," she countered, then began up the driveway slowly. "Stop stalling. We need to check this out, or we aren't doing our jobs."
Following a few steps behind her, Nick pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times, until it registered his finger pad in the cold damp weather and lit up, showing the call they were responding to.
Anonymous call from driver states they saw mammal pulling unconscious second mammal heading toward house at 16366 Noctus Lane. No callback number available. No officers in area. No listed residents at address. No information on file. Approach with caution. Victim was seen wearing dark brown or black canvas garments. No information on assailant or assailants.
Nick stopped at the end of the driveway, trying to ignore the slush on the road that soaked through his hind paw fur, as he looked over the mailbox. Leaning slightly, the rusted old box had three numbers nailed to the side: 666, with a slight space between the first and second.
"Might be the wrong address," Nick offered, somewhat hoping. "You sure you got the right place?"
Judy went to the mailbox, then bent down and picked something off the ground. She held up her paw, which held the missing numbers. "Right there. One and three."
"So we've got thirteen and six-six-six? Oh yeah, that's a great sign."
"Don't tell me you're superstitious."
"Not superstitious," he explained, shrugging. "Just cautious when it comes to truly weird stuff. The Nocturnal District always made me jumpy. I blame my father's bedtime stories as a kit."
"And what were those like?" Judy asked, ducking under a rusted old chain across the driveway, which was the reason they were not driving farther. Once past it, she beckoned him down the path. They walked together a short distance, both watching the dense woods on either side.
"Don't remember much," he admitted. "I used to be afraid of a monster in the closet. Ironically, I thought a bear was going to eat me. Tell me that's not prophetic from last year. Anyway, he jumped out at me one night to be funny and prove there wasn't a bear in there. Can't remember if I wet myself or not, but that's beside the point."
"That's terrible," Judy said over her shoulder, then hopped back as she stepped in a puddle that went past her ankles. Shaking off her hind paws, she hung her head sadly. "I'm never going to be dry again."
"Then let's get this done with, so we can get back to the precinct and I can dry you off."
Judy looked at him. "You mean so I can dry off? Pretty sure they won't let you in the other locker room at the precinct, and toweling me down in the lobby is right out, no matter how much Clawhauser would giggle."
"Locker room, janitor closet, Bogo's office…wherever. Offer still stands."
"Maybe when we get home," she said, laughing. "Now move it, officer. I want to get home before the sun comes up."
"It doesn't really come up in this district," Nick explained, following as she set off again. "That's kind of the point. It's only late afternoon right now."
This time, Judy ignored him and kept going, effectively ruining his only stall-tactic. They plodded along on the long tree-lined dirt road for some time, until at last they approached a dilapidated old house. Nick stared at the broken windows, uneven walls, and the rotted front door, then stopped and shook his head.
"We are not going in that place, call or not," he told Judy, and she came to a stop a short distance ahead of him with a sigh. "That is straight-up the textbook definition of a haunted house. I swear I've seen it in a horror movie. We've all seen it. For all I know, that is literally the model used for those movies."
A boom of thunder seemed to agree with him, and the house was cast in deep shadows by the accompanying flash of lightning.
"I haven't," Judy said firmly, tapping one hind paw more rapidly than he could follow, especially in the low lighting. "I don't watch horror movies. Never have. Are you coming or not?"
"Never seen a horror movie? How did you manage to get a medal as the bravest officer in the city without watching a single horror movie?"
"You're stalling. We both know you're stalling. And how I've managed to go this long without them, is because my family really doesn't believe in those blood and guts movies. Most of the Hoppses think a police car chase is too scary. If you think my choice in movies is weird, let me add it to the list of things I'm still talking to the department therapist about. For now, can we please get this over with? I really don't care if it is haunted, we're going inside to make sure no one's hurt. If it makes you feel better, I'll arrest any ghosts we find."
Knowing better than to argue with Judy once she had her mind set on anything, Nick followed obediently down the dirt road, doing his utmost to avoid stepping in any puddles as they approached the house. Even holding her flashlight, Judy splashed through several more—requiring them to stop while she muttered and shook her paws dry. Apparently having better night vision had value beyond sneaking up on her when the lights were off at home, as he walked along without any more light than the one she held without hitting any of the puddles—though she did make them fairly obvious by stepping in all of them.
They soon walked up onto uneven paving stones, and neared the rotted and warped wooden porch out front of the building's only visible door. Judy swept her light across the door, then to the broken windows, many of which were boarded up. When nothing presented itself, Nick watched her raise and tilt her ears, slowly moving her attention across the property, searching for anything at all.
"Anyone?" Nick asked. "I sure don't see or smell anything, but there's so much mildew in this district, I can barely smell myself."
"I can't hear much over the creaking of the house. If there's anyone in there, they're unconscious or trying not to make a sound."
"So we should…go?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, we should go inside," she corrected, leading the way up onto the porch. Even as light as she was, every pawstep created loud creaks. "C'mon!"
Reluctantly, Nick walked up the steps after her, feeling each give a little under his pads. Things I do for that bunny.
If Judy heard him, she kept it to herself. She drew her pistol in her free paw as she reached the door, giving him a momentary glance to ensure he was ready. She tilted her head toward the door, then waited until he moved to the other side.
"On three," she whispered.
Early in their time together, Nick had believed his role in the partnership would involve picking up heavy objects, reaching things on high shelves, and kicking in doors, given that he weighed almost three times what Judy did. That foolish belief had been beaten out of him quickly, as bunnies never needed someone else to reach something high up, and certainly could kick in doors.
"Three!" Judy hissed, and stepped out in front of the door. With a straight kick, she not only opened the door, but nearly took it off its hinges, banging it against the wall inside as it swung freely. "ZPD! Is anyone inside? We're coming in!"
Aside from a few creaks of the house, there was no answer.
"I've got a few rooms on this floor, plus stairs up and down," Judy said over her shoulder, advancing slowly into the front room. "You take the upstairs and I'll clear this floor. Keep your radio handy."
Nick came to a sharp stop just inside the doorway. "Are you kidding me? No. We aren't splitting up in a haunted house. That's cliché. I refuse. Every movie does that and the fox dies first."
"That's ridiculous, Nick."
"I'm aware! The fox always dies first, usually crying like a kit. You send me up there, and some axe-murderer...or, you know, giant insane bear with oversized fangs...is going to eat my face. I'm fond of my face and want to keep it."
"Nick, just do it," she ordered, pointing her flashlight up the stairs. "The sooner you sweep the upstairs, the sooner we can get out of here. If the axe-wielding bear upstairs eats your face, I'll kiss it and make it better...after we're done. Okay?"
Nick looked between the stairs and Judy a few times, then sighed and pulled out his own flashlight. "You know how to talk me into anything, don't you?"
"Do I? Yes...yes I do," she said happily, setting off toward the first room, while Nick padded up the steps.
Nick continued until he reached the top of the staircase, then looked back down toward where Judy had been standing. Her light faded quickly away as she moved around the large front room, until soon he could not see any hint of her passing.
Gonna be okay, he assured himself, facing back toward the sharp turn at the top of the stairs. No giant fanged bear with an axe, waiting to brutally murder me in the dark. Gonna be fine. Five minutes, tops, and we're walking...no, running...back out to the car.