Chapter 4

Smoke filled the car. Judy was having a hard time seeing what she was doing, and breathing was getting difficult. She looked wildly around and found Nick in the seat next to her. He was slumped over on the dashboard. She shook him, but he didn't move. Her yells went unanswered. The smoke was getting worse, and so was the heat. She realized she was still buckled in and reached down to push the latch button. The metal button was already hot, and she burned herself getting out from behind the belt. She reached over and tugged on Nick, but he just flopped to one side, limp as a rag. A look of pain mixed with surprise on his face. Judy wanted to scream, but she couldn't draw the breath in.

"Nick!" she squeaked.

She spasmed, coughing, trying to draw in air. The smoke was debilitating. She couldn't stay in the car any longer. Slowly, her body racked with coughing and grief, she found the door latch and tugged. She pushed it open and without thinking tumbled on to the ground.

Judy sat up in the bed with a sudden, panicked movement. If the light had been on and someone looking into her eyes they would have seen panic and fear. Sweat would have glistened on her grey fur. She looked around widely before remembering where she was and that it had been a dream. Then she looked over at the almost child-like form of the still-sleeping red fox tod curled up on his side beside her. Her sudden movement had disturbed his arm, which had been draped over her but hadn't woken him up. He stirred and mumbled something incomprehensible, readjusted himself onto his stomach, his face facing her. The panic died away, and her heart rate slowed. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"You sly fox, I won't let anything happen to you. Not on my watch." She whispered to herself.

She laid back down and pulled the covers back up to her chin. She missed the reassuring weight of Nick's arm on her chest, but she didn't want to wake him up pulling it back over. She looked at her bedside clock. It said it was 3 A.M. The little light that indicated the alarm was set was not on, and she was just about to turn it on when she remembered they didn't have work tomorrow and let her arm fall back. She debated whether she should wake Nick and tell him about the dream she just had but decided against it. She would tell him in the morning while he was drinking his coffee.

She looked over at him. His face was so peaceful when he was asleep. The almost ever-present grin was replaced by a slack-jawed expression. One that, had he been awake, would have denoted slight surprise, maybe even consternation. Right now, however, it made him look peaceful. He let out a snore and smacked his lips, briefly showing glistening, long white teeth, red in the light cast by the digital clock. She let out a small laugh. He was so cute when he did that. She scooted over and gave him a kiss on his forehead, before closing her eyes and going back to sleep.

Judy woke at 6:30, unsurprisingly before Nick. Waking up early almost every morning for the last couple years had made it hard to sleep in, even on her off days. Nick, on the other hand, had somehow avoided this annoyance. Maybe it had something to do with his natural nocturnalness she thought. Being awake all day as a naturally nocturnal mammal was still not normal, and nigh unto impossible to get used to. No matter how long it had been and being up in the day always left him more tired than the average mammal.

She looked over at him. It was still dark in the room, but the sun's rays were just beginning to peek through the windows, illuminating him enough for her to see him. He was peacefully sleeping, still on his stomach. The fur on his right side was all matted from where he had fallen asleep with his arm draped over her.

Judy noticed that the room had gotten warm and stuffy. It was starting to get annoying. She tried to go back to sleep, but the combination of the warmth and the feeling that she was normally up at this time wouldn't let her.

So, she hopped out of bed, being careful not wake Nick. She grabbed her phone off her bedside table and turned its flashlight feature on. She shielded it with her hand, being careful not to shine it near Nick's face. It was at this time that she noticed she was only wearing her panties.

"Weird, but whatever." She thought.

Obviously at some point during the night she had taken her bra off. Probably because of the heat, or maybe something else. She couldn't remember, not that she really cared. Judy walked over to the wall and using the light found the switch for the overhead fan. The breeze created by the spinning blades was a blessing. She shuddered as the wind dried her sweat and headed for the bathroom. She quietly closed the door and turned on the light.

She walked over to the sink and stared into it for a second. Then she looked up into the mirror set above it. The doe that looked back at her looked how she felt, tired and hot. Her sweat had plastered her fur flat against her body. She sighed. It had been a long couple of days, starting with a robbery at a gas station over on Tasman street, and culminating with the exciting events of yesterday.

However, underneath that fur, she could see her well-defined muscles, and her body felt in the best shape it had ever been. All that working out early in the morning had really paid off. Today though, she was going to relax. To begin this day, she decided she would take a long shower. For the first 20 minutes of it she just sat there, letting the hot water run over her, carrying away the sweat from the night. She was roused from her daydreaming when she absentmindedly grabbed the shampoo bottle and started pouring soap on her head. She decided this was a good time to finish up, so she washed herself and got out. She was now fully awake and beginning to feel like this was going to be a good day.

Judy finished getting ready for the day and noisily opened the bathroom door, singing to herself. She stopped dead when she realized the lights in the room were turned off. At first, she thought something was wrong, but then she remembered they had the day off and that Nick was still in bed asleep. Right then and there she decided that she was going to make him breakfast and bring it to him in bed, where she would join him. She'd have it ready by nine, which gave her about an hour and a half. Judy didn't want Nick sleeping the day away, after all, they did have people they had to visit. She quietly found herself another bra and panties, being careful not to wake Nick.

Judy was feeling great. She hummed a song to herself as she worked on their breakfasts. She enjoyed cooking, and the smell of frying eggs, cooking pancakes, brewing coffee and toasting toast seemed to add to her good feelings. She was almost done. Walking over to the cupboard, she took out two matching green plates, as well as her and Nick's mug. She distributed the food on to the plates. Judy like her eggs scrambled. The less runny the better. Nick though liked his sunny side up, something she found disgusting. They both liked blueberries on their pancakes.

With a flourish, she finished pouring the coffee. She picked up both plates and was about to go to their room when she saw Nick sitting at the table in his boxers. She gave a little start. She had not heard him come in.

"Well hello hot cakes!" he said, pointedly looking at her breasts.

"Sheesh, Nick! You scared me!" she exclaimed. Then in a little bit of a pouty voice added: "I was going to bring you breakfast in bed."

"Aww, I'm sorry Carrots." He said, his hand on his forehead. "It's just when I stopped feeling you beside me I woke up. Also, I think the AC here is broken. It was melting in there. You look absolutely delightful this morning."

Judy blushed, realizing she was still wearing only underwear but was still a little pouty when she answered. "Thanks. I woke up and was sweating because of the heat." She carefully put the plates down on the small table, then went and got their mugs.

"Looks good Jude!" Nick exclaimed. "Maybe I should have braved the heat and stayed in bed." He winked at her.

Judy smirked and sat down across from him. The table was so small that their plates touched each other in the middle. The first thing Judy did was tell him about the dream she had that night.

"Awww you should have woken me up! I would have made you feel much better."

"I don't know," Judy said. "I just didn't want to disturb you. You looked so peaceful laying there."
Nick laughed. "Oh, Carrots. You are too cute."

Judy laughed too. The use of the "C" word had become normal in their household. Though she still got a little annoyed with him if he used it in public.

"So," She said "What are we going to do first today? We haven't had a Saturday/Sunday off in a while."

Nick took a sip of his coffee before answering in a thoughtful voice; "Well, we both promised we would visit out parents. So we have to do that. Maybe we can go to yours today and mine tomorrow."

Judy nodded, then said "Sounds good to me slick. Who you want to go to first?"
"Hmm," Nick said. "How 'bout your place." He paused to scarf down some eggs. Judy gave him a look that said slow down.

"Sorry Carrots." Nick grinned, wiping away yolk. Then he took another sip of coffee. "I also want to tell the apartment management that our AC seems to be out. And I want to go get me some new glasses. I already miss those things." He said with a sigh.

"Ok slick sounds like a plan to me."

They finished their breakfast by 9:45. Nick was the first to finish getting dressed, donning his signature green shirt and red tie, along with brown slacks. Normally he would also wear his aviators too, but those had been destroyed. Much to his chagrin.

Nick decided to call management while Judy was still getting dressed. He learned that one of the units on the roof had gone out, leaving quite a few apartments without air. The man on the other end of the line apologized profusely and said that the new unit would be in late tomorrow afternoon.

Judy was just coming out of the bathroom when Nick hung up. Nick couldn't help but stare at her as she walked over. She had a way of dressing that almost always left Nick wondering how he was lucky enough to get such a beautiful wife. Even something as simple as a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt, like she wore now, seemed to highlight her good looks. She caught him staring and gave a little curtsy. He shook his head and cleared his through before saying;

"Well, we won't have any AC until late tomorrow. You wanna stay somewhere else tonight? I know of a nice little B&B on the outskirts of town near the train station. We can go there and reserve a room before we go to your folk's."

"Sure! Sounds like it'll be fun. I've never stayed at a bed and breakfast before."

"Wonderful. You'll like this place."

They finished cleaning up the remains of their breakfast, and Nick reminded Judy that their first stop was Greystone's Apparel so that he could get a new pair of aviators. The place didn't open for another 15 minutes so they decided to walk instead of taking a cab.

Greystone's was a semi-formal men's clothing store. The proprietor, a Mr. Barnaby Greystone, was a well-dressed grey fox. Mr. Greystone recognized Nick as soon as he walked through the door.

"Well hello there Mr. Wilde!" he called in his slight British accent. "What can I do for you today?"
"I'm here for another pair of glasses Barnaby. My other ones got broken yesterday."
Mr. Greystone looked at Nick with consternation.

"Another pair? Isn't that your 4th pair in two years?"

"I'm afraid it is Barnaby. Hazards of the job I guess."

"I would say so!" said Mr. Greystone as he walked over to a display case containing numerous high-end sunglasses and picked out a pair of silver framed aviators.

"Here is your pair sir. Do be more careful with these will you?"

"I'll try Barnaby, I'll try."

They walked over to the counter and Mr. Greystone rung Nick up. Judy gawked a little at the $350 price. How could anyone spend so much on sunglasses? Nick finished at the counter and immediately put on his new shades.

"Classic Nick." Judy thought.

"Adios Barnaby! I'll see you later." Nick said as he and Judy walked to the door.

"You too sir! Take care of those glasses!" Mr. Greystone called after them as they left.

As soon as they were outside Judy said;

"Is that really your 5th pair? And have you paid $350 for each one?!"

"Woah now Carrots. Yes, this is my 5th, and yes, same price for all of them."

Judy made a 'humph' sound but dropped the subject.

"So, to the train station?" Judy asked.

"Yeup! Wanna walk? It's only a mile or two and we got all day."

"I don't see why not. I could use the exercise. I didn't work out this morning."
Nick rolled his eyes.

The walk to the station took just over half an hour. The next train left at 11, which gave them 20 minutes to get to the B&B and get a room for the night. They got their tickets to Bunny Burrow and then walked the half block to the Bed and Breakfast. The building was an older brick building two stories tall and painted a tasteful green with black trim. A set of brick stairs lead up to the front door, which was flanked on both sides by gas lamp sconces. A black wooden sign with white letters hanging over the door proclaimed the name of the place; 'The Mile Stone Bed and Breakfast'.

"Looks like a cozy little place here." Said Judy. "How'd you hear about it?"

"Oh, back in my smuggling days. I spent a few nights here. Let's just say the owner is a little accommodating to folks like I was." Nick replied.

Judy wondered why he would have had to stay the night at a place like this. She didn't ask then though. She'd ask later when they were in bed. They quickly reserved a second story room. Nick checked his watch and saw that their train was about to leave. So, they quickly walked back to the station and mingled with the crowd waiting to board the train. Once on board, they quickly settled down in their compartment, of which they were the only occupants. Just as Judy got comfortable Nick decided to use her lap as a pillow, and within minutes was sound asleep. Judy sighed, and awkwardly pulled her phone out of her pocket. She put in some earbuds and quickly lost herself in thought staring out the window.

A little over two hours into the three-hour trip, Nick woke up. He sat up yawning and asked Judy how long it had been. Judy had nearly fallen asleep herself and had to check her watch. She wasn't too happy about being it, but she let it slide.

"So, Nick," she said. "Why did you have to spend the night in the B&B sometimes? Running from the law or something?"

"Ah durn it Carrots. I was hoping you'd have forgotten about that."

"Well, I didn't."

"Obviously." Nick rolled his eyes. "Hey, you did tell your parents we are coming today right?"

"Yes, Nick. You're trying to change the subject. Why did you stay at the B&B sometimes?"
Nick sighed. "You have to promise not to tell anyone else ok? Not anyone anywhere."

"Ok Nick, I won't."

"Good. Well, the owner of the place, Mrs. Vallens had a daughter, still does." He chuckled. "Anyway, sometimes when me and Finnick were on the police's radar to strongly, we would go over there and tell Mrs. Vallens, who is a red fox like me, that we needed a place to stay for a day or two. She would give us a room down in the basement. Nothing fancy, just a couple twin beds and bare-bones bathroom. However, her daughter would always catch wind that we were there and would bring one of her friends, a fennec, with her to keep us company for the night. Well, I'm sure you can imagine how that went." He smiled at Judy, and Judy let out a small gasp. She could feel herself blush. She had never really thought about Nick's love life while he was a conmammal. It had just simply never occurred to her that he might have had one.

"That's part of the reason we always used that place." Nick continued. "The other parts were Mrs. Vallens was extremely trustworthy, and that the police never thought to look in a place that was so obvious, being practically right next to the train station. There, you happy Carrots?"

Judy was still a little shocked by the part about Mrs. Vallens daughter. So she asked "You don't still have feelings for her, do you? Mrs. Vallens daughter I mean. You don't think she'll come over tonight do you?" Judy felt slightly panicked. She wondered if it was still a good idea to stay there tonight.

Nick laughed. "Oh Judy, even if she did come over I wouldn't forsake my wife for her. I chose that place because I haven't seen Mrs. Vallens in a few years. I thought it would good to catch up on relations. Judy, I love you way too much to do something like that." He gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "You're the only one I've ever truly loved. I would never do anything to break that."

Judy felt a wave of relief wash over her. She hadn't quite realized how tense she had gotten until she un-tensed. She wrapped her arms around Nick and snuggled up to him. Nick returned the gesture, and they sat like that for a few minutes before Judy said;

"I thought you wouldn't. But sometimes whenever we are out I see how you look at vixens. It makes me jealous. Especially since we can't have kids. I sometimes get scared you might leave me for someone you can have kids with." She tensed a little again.

Nick was a little taken aback by this. The subject of kids had never come up in the little over a year that they had been married. Odd, now that he thought about it. He had noticed sometimes that Judy would look at him strangely, almost sorrowfully, but he had always just dismissed it as a trick of the light or something like that. Now he understood. He was glad no one else was in the cabin.

"Oh Judy," he cooed "Why didn't you ever tell me? I could have allayed any fears you had a long time ago. I am not ever going to leave you, especially not for something like that. If you want kids, we can adopt. Schrute, to be honest, I had never even thought about kids."

He kissed the top of her head again and then began stroking her ears. Something that he had learned was a very intimate gesture to a rabbit. He felt the tension go out of her body a second time. He sighed. He loved this bunny more than life itself. He wondered what he would do if anything ever happened to her.

The voice of the conductor came over the speakers, ruining the moment, and announcing that they would be at the station in about 5 minutes. Nick sighed, and they let go of each other and got ready to depart the train. They didn't have any baggage, as they had left the overnight bag containing a change of clothes for the both of them in the room at the B&B. They left their cabin and went to the waiting room style area beside the exit.

Nick could feel people looking at them. They were still well known from the Night Howler case, as well as for being the first of their kind in the police force and for being one of, if not the first, rabbit/fox couple. So far, the majority of folks they had met had expressed support or had been happy for them, but there were still the occasional few who did not like the idea of a fox and rabbit, predator and prey, being together.

The train arrived at the station. Nick and Judy stepped off to be immediately hugged by Judy's parents, Bonnie and Stu. Stu shook Nick's hand instead of hugging him. Judy barely got out a "Hey Guys!" before Bonnie smothered them with questions.

"We were so worried about you when we saw the news!" Bonnie said "We were afraid you had been killed or injured in the crash. Did the grey box get caught? Did anyone else get hurt? Any ideas what it could be?"

Nick always thought it funny how Judy's parents acted whenever something even remotely big happened in her life. This was no exception. He smiled as Judy gave him a 'Please help me' look.

"Hold on mom! Too many questions. How 'bout we save them for when we get home?" Judy said.

"Yes dear, how 'bout we wait till later. They just had a three-hour train ride, they must be a bit tired." Said Stu. Nick was a bit surprised that Stu wasn't as excited as his wife was. He usually was, but then again, he had gotten more controlled since him and Judy had gotten married.

"Right right." Said Bonnie. "Oh! I just noticed. Where is y'all's luggage? You're not planning on wearing the same clothes tomorrow, are you?"

"We aren't staying the night here mom. We are just going to stay till after supper."

Bonnie looked crestfallen, but Stu seemed to be expecting it.

"It's alright hon. We are just glad you came over."
"Thanks, dad. We are going to visit Nick's mom tomorrow."

"Oh great! I'm sure she was just as worried as we were." Bonnie said, having quickly gotten over her disappointment. "Now let's hurry and get home. I know your siblings are itching to see you. I'm sure they will have lots of questions too!"
Nick and Judy both groaned at the thought of Judy's siblings asking questions. The drive back to Judy's burrow was a bit uncomfortable with four mammals in a truck cab only designed for three, but thankfully it was only about 10 minutes or so. As soon as they got out they were surrounded by a hoard of little bunnies, all eagerly asking questions and just generally excited to see them.

"What was the grey box Uncle Nick?"
"What was the thing sticking out of it? The thing that seemed to be in control?" asked another.

"Golly!" one simply exclaimed.

Nick couldn't help but laugh. Judy's siblings were all younger than her. She was the oldest of Bonnie and Stu's first litter. Nick couldn't imagine what it would be like to have this many siblings, or any for that matter. Judy was taking it all in stride. Only answering a few questions, and mostly just saying hey.

Nick patted one young bunny who came up to him on the head, then followed his wife and her parents into the burrow. On the outside, the burrow looked like a large hill, covered in grass, and with a tree growing off to one side. Set into the hill was a short wooden door with a round window in it.

The inside was very cozy, with hard packed earth floors, wooden paneling on the walls and ceilings, and a warm earthy smell that made one think of a greenhouse. Nick always liked coming here. The only thing he didn't like was the lack of windows. Most of the burrow spread out like in a honeycomb of tunnels and rooms beneath his feet, which meant there couldn't be any windows. The upper portion, the part built into the hill, contained the kitchen, a large living room, a large pantry, and Bonnie and Stu's room.

Stu had once told Nick that he had built most of this place himself, enlisting the help of his kids in making the warren of tunnels and rooms. The only things he needed outside help on he said was getting the wiring and plumbing set up. Nick had been dutifully impressed when he heard this. He could see where Judy got her amazing work ethic from. He wondered how much all that plumbing would have cost but had never asked.

The rest of the day went quite well. Nick and Judy were famished when they arrived, so Bonnie had started supper early, deciding they would eat a meal more akin to brunch in its timing. Bonnie had gotten Nick two large pieces of salmon that Stu had grilled, along with asparagus and some wonderful homemade bread. For everyone else, she had made some sort of carrot casserole instead of the fish. For dessert, they had blueberry cobbler and ice cream. At the end of it all Nick felt like a balloon.

It was a miracle, he thought, that they had enough food for all the rabbits. There were so many of them they had to break them up into different groups in different rooms, with Nick, Judy, her parents, and eight of her older siblings sitting on their own.

Afterwards, the group of them sat around and discussed the events of yesterday.

"So, do you have any idea where this thing came from? Or even what it is?" Stu asked Nick.

"No, not really. No one at the station does either. It appears though that the things running it aren't bad guys per se, or we probably would be dead now. If I had to guess I'd say they are just as confused about where they are as we are about what they are."
Judy agreed saying "If they had been malevolent, then I have no doubt in my mind there would have been many casualties. As it stands, all that happened was two vehicles being lost and Nick getting a slight concussion."

One of Judy's siblings, Kathrine if Nick remembered right, asked what they were going to do to find the grey box. Neither Nick nor Judy knew, but they surmised that a large mammalhunt would be initiated. What they would do when they found them was yet to be figured out.

The rest of the evening went mostly well. Nick almost broke his glasses again when one of the little rabbits gave him a surprise tackle-hug as they were leaving. Bonnie and Stu both insisted on riding back with them to the train station. By the time they had boarded the train, it was nearly dark.

"Gee Carrots, it'll be almost 11:30 when we get back," Nick said as they got settled down in their cabin. There were even fewer people on the train on the trip back then when they came up, so they had no problem finding a cabin with no one in it.

The trip back was uneventful. No new revelations being brought forth by either of them. Instead, they simply cuddled together and watched a movie on Nicks iPear 6+'s massive screen. They were both pleasantly surprised when they were able to watch the whole thing and not fall asleep. The movie ended 20 minutes before they got back, so they contented themselves by making out. Trying to keep awake so they'd sleep better in bed.

When the train arrived, Nick decided that he would carry Judy off, new bride style, much to her surprise and delight. Nick carried her like that down the deserted sidewalk all the way to the B&B.

"Will we be able to get in?" Judy asked. "We are getting here kinda late."
"Yes, my love. Mrs. Vallens gave me a key to the front door." Nick replied.

"Oh okay." Judy answered sleepily.

Nick set her down and unlocked the old wooden door, which squeaked as he pushed it in. Their room was the first room on the left after they climbed the stairs. It was painted a warm shade of beige with white trim and had a small living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom.

Judy immediately went to the bathroom to shower, not bothering to close the door. Nick found some snacks and munched on them while he waited for Judy to finish so he could shower. When they were done they climbed into the large, old-fashioned king-sized bed. Judy was asleep in minutes, but Nick stayed awake for a little while, fondly thinking about the events of the day and gazing at the sleeping form of his beautiful wife.

"Maybe we should adopt." He thought before he fell asleep. "I don't want her to be lonely if ever something should happen to me."

Earlier that day

Felix Chevre gazed at the rusted chain link fence from his bike. Just beyond a crazy tangle of bushes, vines, and trees, he could see the two-story bunker-like concrete structure. The road leading to it was covered in grass and tree saplings growing out from the innumerable cracks.

Felix hopped off his bike and quickly hid it in some brush, before nimbly climbing over the gate and dropping down on the road. It had been one of the biggest things on his bucket list to explore the old Zootopia Maximum Security Prison, and now here he was. The prison had been abandoned back in the 60s due to confirmed allegations of prisoner mistreatment much like the old psychiatric hospitals had been and had been calling for him to come explore it ever since he could remember.

The young goat set off at a brisk pace, not wanting to get caught by the police or a good neighbor. He quickly arrived at the inner gate. This one was a little harder to climb due to the barbed wire on top, but he was able to get over it without a problem. He passed a large concrete guard tower on his left, its sides covered in vines and briars. He would check that out later. Right now, he wanted to get in the main building.

Felix had heard from his friends, who had heard from some people that they knew, that there was a hole through both sets of main doors that had been made by some urban explore 20 years ago. This place wasn't explored too much. It creeped folks out to much. However, there were still numerous signs of urban explorers. Graffiti covered any exposed concrete, and the doors were partly caved in, barely any of the original battleship grey paint was left showing.

The hole in the outer door was rendered obsolete by the way the door was hanging on its hinges. Felix squeezed through the gap under the door and found himself in the ante-chamber of the entrance. Just inside the door was a puddle of water, made by water blown in under the door by those massive storms they had during the summer. By now his hoofs were orange from rust, so he used the puddle to rinse them off as best he could. The next set of doors was in better condition, which meant Felix had to use the hole in the middle of the door. He squeezed through that hole no problem.

It was pitch black. Felix couldn't see his hoof in front of his face. Thankfully he had brought a flashlight. Two actually. In case something happened to the other. He clicked one on, casting a wide beam of bright white light around the room. The room was large and had a concrete wall and ceiling that tapered into a dome 20 feet overhead. Directly in front of him was a hallway that was guarded by yet another steel door. This door still had its grey paint, it also had another large hole in it. On either side of him was another hallway with a door, though neither of those doors had a hole in them.

The guard's station was set in the bend of the wall between the right hall and the hall in front of him. It consisted of a waist-high concrete wall with five sides jutting out into the room. On top of that was a thick steel frame that rose another five or six feet before forming a flat concrete roof that connected back the wall. The frame was filled in by very thick glass that had wire mesh built in. The door to the station was open, so Felix decided to check it out.

It was surprisingly full. Inside he found a desk built into the wall with three old CRT computer monitors and the computers themselves. Snugged up against the desk were three office chairs. Two filing cabinets lined the far wall, their drawers pulled out and laying on the ground. Papers and other nick-knacks covered the desk and floor. Everything was covered in a thin film of sticky dust, and damp musty smell pervaded the whole area.

The room outside the guard station was otherwise empty, so Felix decided to check out the hall with the door that the hole in it. The hall on the other side ended at least 300 feet away, terminating in another door that with a sign above it that said "STATION" in big yellow letters. This door had a hole in it as well. He would check it out when he was done with this room.

Lining the hall for all the way down were jail cells, all with their doors open. ten feet above him he saw a wide catwalk that let access to yet more cells, its single set of stairs ascending from the other end of the room.

The cells on the ground floor proved to be rather boring. They all had a single bed bolted to the wall, with a thin rotting mattress on top, and a stainless-steel toilet in one corner. The only interesting thing he found was that in some of the cells the inmates had scratched their names and other words in the paint on the wall. Half of them were illegible due to water damage, but some he could still make out. Felix figured the ones on the second floor would be the same, but he decided to check them out anyway.

The metal stairs were definitely showing their age, but Felix figured they were still strong enough to hold him. Three-quarters of the way up though he heard a popping sound followed by the tinkling of something hitting the ground. He took another step. Two more popping sounds followed in quick succession, along with the stairs vibrating. Felix knew he didn't have much time. However, instead of going back down Felix rushed for the top. One step away the last bolt gave out.

Felix felt the drop. His stomach was suddenly in his mouth. He let out a screech and jumped, reaching out and barely grabbed a hold of the catwalk. He dangled there for a few seconds in a daze before being brought back to reality by more popping noises. Suddenly he was falling again. The last thing he saw was the edge of the catwalk just before it crashed down on him, killing him instantly.

Ok folks! Here is the next chapter. There are a few things I am changing from the movie, most notably the length of the train ride, and what type of cars the train consists of. I am placing Bunny Burrow much further away from the main city then it was in the movie.

This chapter was a little harder to write, as I am not good at writing about people's personal lives I hope this was enjoyable. I would like to know what you thought about the first two parts. Did the dream part get you? Haha, probably not.

The next chapter will be in a couple of parts. One part covering Nick and Judy's last day off, and the other part about Fuchs.

The last part of this chapter does have a point, but you'll have to read the next chapter to see what it is.

As always, I would love it if you left a review and a favorite or follow. Thank you for reading!

Signing off,

Erwin.

P.S I am terrible at writing romance if you get what I mean, so, for the most part, I will be leaving it up to your imaginations.