Chapter 1

Deadly Roads

Enjoy!

The sound of muffled pop music emitting from the large white house could be heard through Flynn Wylde's closed car windows. His grey 2008 Pontiac sat quietly in the paved driveway while he waited patiently in the driver's seat. His phone screen illuminated his face inside the dark interior of the vehicle, his forward spiked brown hair and blue eyes reflecting white light from the device as he stared down at his recent text messages.

[12:01]

Me: Luke, I'm outside.

Lucas: Ok.

Me: In the driveway.

[12:10]

Me: 'Mere

[12:15]

Me: Dude! Where the hell are you?

Lucas: Wait.

[12:22]

Me: FU.

Lucas: Coming.

Flynn groaned as he checked the time once more on his phones digital clock. He lifted a single, and rude, finger into the air from inside his car towards the large house as he realized he had been sitting in his car for nearly half an hour. His brow lifted as he noticed a familiar shape stumble out from the front door of the house, a red solo cup held loosely in the figure's hand.

"Finally!" Flynn blurted out to no one as he saw Lucas standing outside, but quickly frowned as he saw a flirtatious sophomore grab his friend's wrist and pull him into a kiss. He watched as Lucas happily returned the affectionate action with the younger girl for what seemed an infinite number of seconds before he slammed his palm onto his car horn.

Flynn chuckled as the loud horn caused both Lucas and his apparent-new-girlfriend to jump into the air and stumble back a few steps. Just by those few steps, he knew his friend was as drunk as a sailor and he shook his head at the thought of driving this lunatic back to the dorms.

He crossed his arms and waited impatiently as Lucas wiggled his hand in an intoxicated wave to the girl before doing his best to walk over to the car. Flynn turned the keys in the ignition and stuffed his phone into his front pocket as the car sparked to life, it's yellow headlights spreading light across the front of the house.

Lucas had dropped his cup a few feet into his journey to the driveway, but he was now lurching towards the passenger door. His uncoordinated fingers unable to find a grip on the handle, so Flynn reached over and pulled the door handle open from the inside.

Flynn shuffled back into his seat and stared his friend down as he basically fell into the car. "Luke! Damn dude, I've been here for half an hour!"

Luke raised a curious brow towards Flynn, raising a pointer finger in the air with a drooping smile. "What? It's only been... Like... Five minutes."

"Five minutes! I texted you I was here at midnight!" Flynn shifted the car into reverse as Luke closed the passenger door.

"What? Oh. My bad dude. Ha!" Luke wiggled around in his seat, his eyes drooping as he sunk into his drunken state even more. "Where's my cup?"

Flynn exhaled a large breath in annoyment as he pulled out into the empty street, ready to get back to his dorm room and sleep. "You dropped it outside."

"Awww, fuck man... Can we go back and get it?" Luke began to poke at the handle of the car door, but Flynn quickly locked all of the doors.

"No! Luke, we're going home and I'm gonna crash! I've got a midterm test tomorrow for Calculus and I want to get at least a few hours of sleep before I fail it."

"Pfft, sucks to suck."

"You can walk home."

"Man! Hell no."

"Then quit talking."

"That's what she said..."

Flynn had to laugh a little bit at his friend. Even when Luke was drunk, their conversations always held some kind of humor. "You would know. I bet you've got every STD in the alphabet."

Luke tilted his head and glared at Flynn, the smell of alcohol pouring from his mouth."That... Ugh, it doesn't make even any sense..."

"Whatever."

Flynn came to a stop at a stoplight, the bright red light above him bouncing off of the hood of his car and painting their faces a pale pink color. Luke's words had turned into angry mumbles as he dozed off in his seat, giving Flynn a few moments of silence.

The light turned green and he accelerated out of the intersection, enjoying the quiet rev of his car's engine as he got up to steady forty miles-per-hour. He drove in the left lane, watching as cars driving in the opposite direction zoomed past on the four-lane road. He could see the large headlights of a semi-truck up ahead, the blinding white lights making it difficult to see the yellow lines in front of him. Flynn had driven this road many times before, so this scenario usually never bothered him.

At that moment, Luke decided to jerk awake, his eyes wide open as he leaned forward violently in his seat. His seatbelt kept him from hitting the dashboard while he stared out at the headlights of the semi-truck. "Flynn!"

Flynn's brows raised as he glanced over to Luke quizzically. "Yeah?" Lucas was now pushing his hands against the glovebox.

"You're... You're gonna hit that car! Turn away!" Lucas screamed out his slurred sentence while at the same time leaning over to the driver's side of the car. "Turn away!"

Flynn's eyes widened in surprise as he used one hand to push his friend away while doing his best to keep his eyes on the road. "Luke! We're fine! Quit it!"

Luke suddenly reached for the steering wheel, gripping the closest side and pulling it towards him. "Turn away!"

Flynn quickly slapped his friend's hand's away from the steering wheel, but watched in horror as his car turned violently into the occupied right lane.

"Fuck!" He couldn't do anything but turn the wheel to the right and away from the white truck beside him, but his efforts failed as the hood of his car slammed into the bed of the truck, smashing the right light and sending both him and Lucas back left and into the opposing lane of traffic.

"Flynn!" Luke screamed out as the front of the car veered out in front of the oncoming semi-truck, it's lights blinding Flynn as he desperately tried to steer his vehicle away.

He managed to turn Luke's side of the car out of the way of the larger vehicle but was unable to pull his car away from the lane completely as the Semi, the driver obviously distracted, cruised at high speed at the driver side of the Pontiac.

"Oh God, no!" Flynn was barely able to finish his sentence and close his eyes before the Semi-truck collided violently with Flynn's side of the car, crushing the metal frame with ease. The sound of metal being crunched, tires skidding across pavement, a drunken yell from Lucas, and a volley of car horns filled his ears as the car flipped onto its side and slid into what was supposed to be the car's correct lane.

A searing pain filled Flynn's entire body as his head slammed into the window and the car bent around him. He yelled out in agony as he felt his arm scrape against the pavement as his window shattered over his body and blood poured from the many cuts he received. The car eventually came to a stop as it bumped into a stopped mini-van.

Flynn tried to open his eyes, but they felt welded shut and his body felt as if it were on fire. He knew his leg wasn't supposed to bend in the way it was now and he could feel blood clogging up his clothes and throat. He coughed, blood dripping from his mouth. He could hear Luke screaming his name, but he seemed so far away. Everything was getting quieter, duller. The pain was easing away too, maybe it was a dream?

Flynn tried to speak back, but he couldn't breathe and his voice was replaced by an ugly gurgle. The realization suddenly dawned on him that he must be dying and he began to desperately try to fight against it. He couldn't cry out, but he tried to. His eyes were still sealed shut and his body seemed locked into it's broken and uncomfortable place. He began to whimper and cough as Luke's cries for help and echoed in his ears.

His lungs felt as if they were collapsing in on themselves and it didn't help that he could feel shards of glass peeling his skin. He couldn't tell if blood or tears were dripping down his face as his friend's voice continued to fade, now faster than before.

I can't die. I don't wanna die. No! Fuck! Help!

He could barely hear the distant sound of sirens in the back of his head as Lucas's voice finally faded away, leaving him alone with his pain and blood. His thoughts were soon clouded and only the thought of wanting the pain to end filled his brain. Soon, his wish came true and the pain dissipated and he was left in a dull abyss of emptiness. No light, no sound, and no pain. The feeling was disgusting.

God, please...

Flynn thought silently as his thoughts began to slip away as well, the voice in his head getting softer and weaker.

It felt like an eternity to Flynn, somehow he could comprehend time, but miraculously, he began to hear the sounds of a bustling city, the sound of sirens returning to his ears. The sounds were faint at first, but they began to rise at an exponential rate until the noise was unbearable. He wanted to scream out and push away the ear-splitting noises, but all he could do was listen.

Without warning, all of his senses, except the pain, returned to him. He felt loose gravel under his back and a fresh breeze brushing against his face.

Flynn quickly sat up, gasping for breath as the functionality of his lungs returned to him. His eyes shot open to reveal a cluttered alleyway filled with large trash bins and foul-smelling trash bags. The blurry outline of a city filled the space ahead along with a busy road close by. His hand clung to his chest, rubbing against his body in disbelief and shock.

Am I alive?

Flynn glanced down at himself, his eyes widening in confusion. "I am alive!"

But there was something different. He didn't remember wearing a fur jacket. Why the hell would he have one on now?

He tried to stand up, but something held him to the ground, jerking him back into a sitting position against the back wall of the alley. "Wait, what?"

He glanced down beside him to see an orange and white tail underneath his foot. Or. . . Paw?

"What the hell!" Flynn jumped up to a standing position, plucking at his clothing as he stared down at his unrecognizable body. He saw that he was wearing a plain white T-shirt and khaki jeans, but he didn't have shoes on. Somehow, his feet had been replaced with paws, along with his hands. He stared in utter disbelief at his arms now covered in a soft orange layer of fur.

"What am I? This can't be real. Is this heaven? Why do I feel short?" Flynn spoke his questions out loud, relief spiking through his heart as he realized his voice was still the same. He lifted his paws to his face, his jaw dropping open in astonishment as he felt the same fur on his face. His face felt different; as if nose and jaw had expended out from his head. He crossed his eyes and was surprised to see what looked to be a grey-orange muzzle where his nose used to be. His new nose was now out a few inches from his face and was entirely black.

"I need a mirror!" Flynn began to shuffle around the alley, scavenging for anything he could use to see his reflection. He came to a stop as he felt something bounce around his pocket and he raised a brow down at his pants in confusion. He stuffed his hand... Paw, into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Ahah!" He couldn't help but smile and jump up in success at his discovery. Without looking into the black reflection of the dead screen, he quickly opened the device and opened up the quick camera option with a swipe to the left.

He nearly dropped his phone at what he saw. His phone screen didn't show his usual face, but instead, his face had been replaced with that of a fox. Orange fur covered his entire face and his mouth had turned into a muzzle. His ears now perked high above his head and his blue eyes were held wide in both shock and denial.

"This can't be real?" He watched as his muzzle formed his words and his brows pinned together. "How?"

He flicked his ears experimentally, his jaw dropping open once again in disbelief. He felt something soft brush against his heels and he glanced behind his back to see a tail hanging out from his pants. "A tail? You've gotta be kidding me?"

He wagged it cautiously, unconsciously pinning his ears to his head as he did so.

Where the heck am I?

Flynn turned to stare out at the alley's exit as curiosity consumed him like a disease. He began to shuffle forward, a hint of caution nagging in his mind. He stepped out from the alley onto a crisply paved sidewalk, staring out at the world in front of him.

"Un-fuckin'-believable..." He muttered quietly as his eyes stared in awe at the city ahead. The skyscrapers seemed unreal as they towered thousands of feet into the air, their architecture a work of art as they spiraled and expanded into the sky. Some were covered in huge screens as advertisements for concerts, food, and business flashed brightly along the pixilated walls.

Something else caught Flynn's eye as well. All of the people were no longer... People. They were animals! Standing on two paws, talking on cell phones, wearing clothes, and driving cars. it was unbelievable. The sound of the city filled his sensitive ears. Car horns, mixed voices, music, trains, and laughter all bombarded his new body like a barrage bullets.

"I must be stoned out of my mind right now... Is this what it's like to be stoned?" Flynn questioned himself as his attention was quickly brought back up to the biggest TV screen on one of the largest, and most colorful, skyscrapers in the area. A slim Gazelle with a red top and skirt had become the main subject of the screen and Flynn only caught the last few words that came out of the animal's mouth.

"And welcome to Zootopia!"

Flynn stared at the Gazelle in total confusion. "Zootopia? The hell is that.." He lowered his gaze to stare at all of the mammals surrounding him, the name of the city suddenly clicking in his head. (Not that he recognized the name, but he realized something else.)

"It's a Goddamn pun! Fuck my life..."

That's it! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I just wanted something else to write to get myself off of my writer's block for my other story. But now that I've written this first chapter, I'm probably gonna try to further this story as much as I can. If you'd like, go check out my other fanfiction, Recollection. I'm not going to abandon that story, but I will be furthering both of these plots simultaneously. This just gives me more options to write about.

Thanks again and have a good one!