July 8th, 1:12am
Location Unknown
Gmork threw the door open, snarling in rage. The light coming from the hallway behind him illuminated the room before him, revealing an underwhelmingly average hotel room. Two beds with floral patterned blankets, bedside table, an old tv on a dresser, and a little round table with two chairs in the corner.
Another wolf sat in one of the chairs, though she was so different from the raging black furred canid at the door that you would wonder how they could be the same species. Where he was tall, over six foot, she was short, barely touching four feet. Her fur was a pleasant auburn, with white running down her front, wrapping her paws and tipping her tail. Even their attire clashed, him in black, blood-stained battle fatigues, while she wore comfortable tie-dye sweat pants and an old red t-shirt.
"I know. I saw everything," she said, not looking up from her laptop. Her rapid typing paused as Gmork approached the table. Her warm brown eyes lifted from the screen in front of her just long enough to give him a once over, then they snapped back, her typing picking up again. "I'm glad you're alright."
Gmork slammed his paws on the table, his lips pulled back in a snarl. The other wolf shifted slightly away from him, but kept working. "It's the fox, isn't it?!"
The she-wolf paused with a sigh, turning so she could look into his intense yellow eyes. "Yes, John. It chose him."
"SON OF A BITCH!" Gmork whirled away, paced back to the still open door and slammed it shut with all his might, making the red-furred female flinch. The room fell into darkness, the only source of light being the laptop's screen. The dark wolf disappeared into the black, except for his golden eyes. They loomed in the dark, pinning her to her seat "Where. Is. He?"
"I…" she trailed off, swallowing nervously. "I don't know."
"HOW?!" Gmork lunged from the darkness, pressing the she-wolf back into her seat. The computer screen lit half of his face, throwing it into stark contrasts of light and shadow, making his teeth gleam and eyes glow even more ominously. "How can you not know?!"
The female scrambled for an excuse, anything to shift the terrifying wolf's ire away from her. "You know Zootopians and their stupid 'Back to Nature' architecture! There are so many fake trees in the Rainforest District that the satellite coverage is less than five percent. There's just… nothing to see," she whimpered.
Gmork raised his paw, his fingertips brushing against the white fur on her throat. Her eyes widened, his touch making her heart feel like it was going to beat out of her chest. His claws threaded into her fur, fingers taking her pulse as he gently gripped her neck. Fierce yellow eyes bore into frightened browns as he felt her lifeblood rush through the delicate arteries just below his claw tips.
"Ruby…" He spoke her name, his voice a spine-chilling cross between a growl and a whisper.
"John, I'm trying as hard as I can." Unable to hold his gaze anymore, she shut her eyes. It made her feel very, very vulnerable. "Police bands, news lines, even the ambulance radios. If anything appears, anything at all…" She trailed off, letting the thought hang in the air. Ruby kept her eyes closed, unable to focus on anything but Gmork: his big, powerful paw wrapped around her throat; his warm, gentle breaths sweeping the fur of her snout; his raw, masculine scent, befitting a wolf of his stature, though tainted with just a hint of something… artificial. Seconds passed, each one seeming to take longer than the last. Finally, he withdrew.
Ruby opened her eyes to see Gmork was no longer in front of her, having disappeared into the dark. She raised one paw to rub at her neck, but stilled when the door into the room opened again. The black wolf was silhouetted by the light streaming in from the hallway. He turned to look at her, eyes golden beacons shining from indistinct shadow.
"Find me that fox."
"Found you!"
Nick started, his gaze snapping up. His eyes widened when he spotted an alarmingly familiar rabbit staring at him, a very self-satisfied smile on her face.
It hasn't even been thirty seconds… he thought absently. It was true, he had just left Honey's house and had been rushing up the stairs towards the street. He happened to be looking over his shoulder, making sure he wasn't being followed, when the jubilant cry had come from in front of him.
Now the fox and bunny stood staring at each other, one dressed in boxers and a stolen raincoat and the other in form-fitting police garb, separated only by three flights of stairs and the pouring rain.
Then the gravity of his situation occurred to Nick.
"Oh, come on! Is this really happening!?" he cried, his voice cracking with a combination of stress, desperation and disbelief. He slumped to one side, one paw grabbing the rail while he scrubbed his face with the other, the cuffs that still hung from his wrist jangling from the movement. He then slid the paw back, slicking back his wet fur and pressing his ears down.
Judy's smile slid off her face as she watched him, shocked by how different he looked. Gone was the confidence and smarm, not to mention the loud shirt, replaced instead with fear and stress and a brown raincoat. His fur was ruffled and filthy, his face was swollen and bleeding from multiple slashes. There were even cuffs hanging from one of his wrists.
Not sure what else to do, she let her police training take over. Starting forward, she slowly began to walk down the stairs, one paw lifted in a calming gesture, the other hovering over her duty belt.
"Sir, please remain calm." When Nick looked back to her, she watched his eyes take her in. When his gaze landed on her belt, she belatedly remembered the can of Fox Away holstered there, marked with a distinct pink label. She tried to cover it with a paw, but knew immediately it was the wrong move. The fox's eyes widened, fear flashing across his face. She opened her mouth to talk him down, but he turned and bolted down the stairs before she could utter a syllable. Faster than she could believe possible, the fox had disappeared into a space between the buildings lining the stairway.
"Wait! Stop!" Jerking into motion, Judy hopped down the stairs towards where he disappeared. However, she underestimated just how slick the wet stairs were. When she tried to turn after him, her paws went flying out from under her. Grabbing the rail saved her from a nasty fall, but she still admonished herself for the seconds wasted getting her feet under her again.
I hope the fox didn't see that...
Nick panted as he fled down the alley, silently screaming at himself.
What are you DOING? All of your escape routes depend on the cop being too big to follow! She's a rabbit. She can follow you wherever you go!
However, even though he knew he should, he couldn't bring himself to stop. He had been through too much to just give in now. Glancing over his shoulder, he just managed to catch the bunny officer's stumble.
...rabbits have no traction. Maybe I have a chance. Just have to find some place slick…
Turning forward again, he poured on all the speed his abused body could produce. The alley came to an end, the fox entering another stairwell. Turning left, he started upwards. After a quick mental review of his map of the area, a plan began to form.
Judy grumbled to herself when the fox turned left up the stairs, disappearing from view.
I guess he did see that.
She would be forced to go slower up the stairs for fear of slipping on the slick steps. Reaching the stairwell, she turned to go after the fox. It was three steps up before she realised she still couldn't see him. Panic seized her for a moment, but her police training quickly took hold.
Don't panic, he can't have gone far…
Pausing on the next landing, she perked up her ears, listening for footsteps. Her ears twitched once, twice, then swung to the right.
There!
She took off into the alley on her right, nearly jumping for joy when she managed to spot the fox running ahead of her. Pouring on the speed, she ate up the distance between them.
Nick's ears twitched as he heard the rapid patter of steps behind him.
Damn, she's fast! There's not enough time!
He came out into another stairwell. This time he went right, down the stairs. He only made it one flight before Judy came barreling out of the alley behind him. He ducked left into another alley, hoping that the fast rabbit would have another accident on the slippery stairs.
Judy came out into the third stairwell just in time to see the fox disappear into another alley. Making a snap decision, she gauged the distance and the angle. Using the edge of the next stair down for purchase, she bunched her legs. Then, in one powerful push, launched herself into space.
Nick wasn't prepared for the rabbit to land right next to him. He jerked away from her, but the distraction cost him. His feet got tangled up and he went down, hard.
"OOF!" Landing on his injured chest sent a wave of agony through his body, blanking his mind from the sheer magnitude of it. For a moment, he was completely lost in the haze, teetering on the edge of blacking out. A tug on his arm and a loud click brought him out of it.
He didn't realize his eyes were closed until he opened them again. But any worry about that was wiped away when he realized just what he was seeing. He stared at the cuffs that Honey had gifted him, the one end still around his wrist. Now, the other was firmly shut around a thick electrical conduit. Trailing his eyes upward, he saw that the pipe terminated in a sturdy utility box, bolted to the wall. Downward revealed the pipe disappeared into the pavement. He wasn't going anywhere.
Judy watched from several feet away, a smile on her face. She had done it. She had captured a mammal of interest in a multiple homicide. Real police work. She wasn't a token meter maid bunny anymore.
"Nicholas Wilde, you are under arrest!" she declared, victorious. Her smile dimmed somewhat when the fox ignored her, continuing to stare at his cuffs like they couldn't possibly exist. Now that she thought about it, why did the fox have cuffs on him? Not in his possession, but actually hanging from one of his wrists. She took a step forward to get a closer look, but froze when the movement drew the fox's eyes.
Any happy feelings Judy may have had died. The fox's green eyes were filled with somber acceptance. He looked at her like a mammal resigned to death, and she was the executioner. A few, long seconds went by, Judy pinned by the fox's look. Then, Nick looked away with a sigh, freeing the rabbit from the spell.
With a pained grunt, Nick pushed himself up onto his knees, prompting Judy to back up a few steps. The fox slumped sideways, leaning one shoulder against the wall, head down and eyes closed. Putting his free paw to his chest, he tried to get his breath back, taking a few shallow gasps, then a few deeper inhales. It felt like his ribs were made of shattered glass.
Judy, with her superb hearing, easily discerned how strained his breathing was. She was surprised he ran as far as he did, with his lungs sounding so ragged. She took a few steps toward the fox, watching him carefully for any twitches or looks, any sign he might be planning something.
Nick didn't look at her or even open his eyes, but when he smiled bitterly, Judy knew it was for her.
"Hey, Carrots. Long time no see. What brings you to my…" he paused, taking a deep breath, "...neck of the woods?" His voice had an ironic lilt, making the otherwise friendly greeting a parody of itself, a commentary on the absurdity of his situation.
Judy watched the fox silently, not finding it in her to get mad at his use of the hated nickname. I should be happy, she thought to herself. Vindicated. She was right and he was wrong and she should rub it in his face. But she couldn't. He was just too… pathetic. All beat up and sad, fur soaked and limp from the constant, pouring rain.
When no answer came, Nick finally let himself look at his captor. When he saw the pity in her big violet eyes, he turned away with a disgusted scoff. Leaning back against the wall, he sat down, tail lying limp on the wet pavement, legs splayed before him. The jacket spread open, putting his boxers on display, but he was too spent to care.
As the fox shifted to a more comfortable position, Judy's attention was drawn to his legs. She was at first confused, then shocked, when she recognized the shredded remains of duct tape covering his shins and bunched up in his fur.
Red flags appeared in her mind, police training taking over. She looked at the cuffs, the claw marks on his face, the state of his fur, his clothes. It all lead to one conclusion.
"You were held against your will," she said, quietly horrified. Nick looked back at her, something resembling his usual smug smirk on his snout.
"Yeah. You would think I'd be used to it by now," he jabbed sarcastically, shaking his cuffed arm to jangle the chain. Judy, however, was too distracted to notice.
I was on my way to...and he was running from… Something clicked in her mind, and she looked at Nick, carefully watching for his reaction.
"Honey Badger," she said. Nick flinched and looked away, confirming what Judy suspected. "You were held against your will in Honey Badger's home."
"..." Nick's pained silence spoke volumes. Judy hadn't been sure before, whether to treat the fox as a suspect or a victim. She knew now.
Nick was surprised when Judy stepped into his personal space. He flinched away, conditioned by recent experiences to fear contact. He was even more surprised when she knelt down by his captive arm and reached out for his paw.
"Hey! What are you..," he trailed off as, with a few clicks, the cuff opened, freeing his wrist. Judy backed away, slipping the key she just used into one of her pouches as she went. Nick slowly brought his newly freed wrist to his chest, rubbing at it with his other paw. He stared at the rabbit standing in front of him like she was an alien that just beamed down from the sky. The goofy expression on his face actually made the little officer smile.
"You're not free to go or anything. I just suspect you're not dumb enough to run again. You're not, right?" she teased, trying for a little levity. It didn't seem to work. Nick just continued to stare.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, completely serious. Judy's smile slipped away. "You're a cop. A rabbit cop. I'm a fox. I tried to run. Shouldn't you be…" He gestured with his paw at nothing in particular, like he would pull the answer from the air around him. "I don't know, beating me with a phone book or something?"
"Okay, first thing," Judy started, rolling her eyes, "the phone book thing is a myth. Second thing, this is the twenty-first century. Who has a phone book anymore? Third thing," Judy closed her eyes with a sigh, then opened them so she could lock gazes with the fox. "You've been through enough. I'm not going to put you through more if I don't have to. Just… behave, alright?"
Nick leaned forward, searching the rabbit's face for any sign of deception. To his continuing surprise, he found none. She seemed completely genuine. He relaxed, gingerly resting his head against the wall behind him. "Alright."
"Good. Is there anything I need to know before I bring you in? Do you need medical attention?" Just the mention of medical attention was enough to make Nick wince, his entire body reminding him of his pathetic state.
"Ah, yeah. Since I'm caught and everything, I definitely wouldn't mind going to a hospital. Today has just been the worst," he said, understating it sarcastically.
"Worse than yesterday?" Judy asked facetiously, willing to play along now that the fox was cooperating. Nick gave her a funny look, confusing her. "What?"
"Yesterday? What happened yesterday?" he asked, genuinely confused. Judy was starting to get concerned. Did he have amnesia?
"You know… murders at the pier? Happened yesterday night? Are you okay?" The questions only seemed to confuse Nick more.
"That was yesterday? Today isn't the…" he squinted, trying to recall the date, "...the eighth?"
Judy shook her head. "No, Mr. Wilde. Today is the ninth of July."
Nick sat back, looking befuddled. "Honey must have hit me harder than I thought."
Judy looked alarmed. "She hit you? Do you have a head injury?"
"Uh," Nick automatically lifted a paw to the back of his head to check. He winced as he found a tender spot behind his right ear. "She definitely knocked me out with something…"
Judy didn't hesitate to step right into Nick's personal space, making him shift uncomfortably. She whipped a pen light out of one of the pouches on her belt, then shined it into his eyes. The fox winced and tried to look away, but the bunny grabbed his nose with her other paw and forced his head still.
"Don't move. I need to check you for a concussion." Nick was still taller than Judy, even seated, so he was forced to look down slightly while she leaned in close, carefully checking the fox's pupils with her little flashlight. Nick squirmed, fiercely uncomfortable with how close the rabbit was. Satisfied with her inspection, the bunny cop backed away. Nick gave a quiet sigh of relief.
"Okay. Nothing is obviously wrong, but if you lost a whole day, you definitely need to go to a hospital. Is there… anything else?" It was less of a question and more of a suggestion, a chance for Nick to volunteer something. Nick stared at her, confused. Her violet eyes dipped to his chest, still covered by the jacket, then back to his face. Getting the hint, Nick's eyes widened, his ears fell back and he threw his paws out to act as a shield.
"You don't want to see this! I keep telling people they don't want to see this, but they make me, then they freak and I'm the one that gets hurt. Please. Please. Don't make me do it again," he begged. Actually begged.
Judy huffed, feeling bad for forcing the issue, but she knew, deep down in her gut, that whatever the fox was hiding was key to this investigation. Four mammals were confirmed dead. It was too important to ignore.
"I'm sorry, but I have to see it. Mammals have died." She knelt by his side and gently pushed his paws down, looking at him with pleading eyes. "I won't hurt you. I promise."
She sounded so sincere. Nick rolled his eyes, feeling his resistance crumbling but not really able to do anything about it. "Fine," he spat, trying to hide his unease with annoyance. He reached for the buttons holding his coat together, grumbling to himself. "Hey, when she beats you, you'll get to sue for police brutality. Won't that be nice."
The last button came undone, and he pulled the jacket open, revealing the awful wound to Judy. That, and the unknown sphere within, pulsing in time with Nick's breathing.
Nick looked up to gauge Judy's reaction. Ears limp, eyes wide and mouth covered with her paws, the rabbit was a perfect representation of horror. The bunny was stuck in place, unable to process what she was seeing. Then Nick took a breath. Seeing the edges of his lungs visibly inflate inside his chest was enough for Judy's mind to get traction.
Seeing the rabbit's paw shoot to her duty belt, Nick closed his eyes and shrunk away, expecting a face full of Fox Away.
"Dispatch! This is Officer Hopps!" Nick's eyes sprung open. Judy had both of her paws wrapped around a small radio. Though she spoke into it urgently, she still hadn't taken her eyes off of his chest. "I need an ambulance to my location, immediately! I have an adult red fox, male, early thirties, massive trauma to the chest!"
"Copy that, Officer Hopps. Ambulance inbound, ETA five minutes," Clawhauser's voice snapped back, sounding completely serious for the first time since Judy had met the jolly feline.
"Okay! Okay! We have to- uh-" Her voice was frantic, nose twitching. Judy fumbled with clipping the radio back onto her belt with one paw, while she dug into a pouch with the other. "We have to apply first aid!" The radio fell to the ground, though she didn't seem to notice. She pulled out a little blue pouch, a bold red cross emblazoned on it.
Nick was surprised when she stood from her previous crouch to walk right onto his lap, placing one paw on his shoulder to steady herself while she leaned in to inspect the wound, looking harried and worried and terrified. Nick lifted his paws up, as though to support her, but he didn't actually touch her. His paws hovered over her arms, unsure of what to do.
"Uh, no- no obvious bleeding so- so, just apply the dressing…" Judy mumbled to herself, desperately trying to remember her first aid training. She took the steadying paw off his shoulder to dig into the pouch. She quickly came up with some folded gauze. Dropping the pouch, she wasted no time in preparing the pad. When she went to apply it, she froze as she came to a sickening realization: her paws were too small to cover the hole.
Seeing her problem, Nick quickly intervened, "Here. Let me." Gently grabbing the gauze from her, he pressed it over the wound with one paw. Judy grabbed his much larger paw with both of her own, increasing the pressure on the wound. It hurt, a lot. Nick winced, but didn't try to dissuade the bunny. She was doing the best she could to help, which was better than anyone else he'd met since this ordeal had begun.
She finally lifted her gaze from his wound. Her bright amethyst eyes were wide and glassy, and Nick was surprised to smell salt through the rain.
"You're going to be okay. I'm- I'm going to make sure you get to a hospital and they- they-" The bunny was crying. For him. The very idea was so strange that Nick didn't know how to deal with it. So, he did what he could. He gently gripped her shoulder with his free paw, comforting her the only way he knew how.
"Hopps! Hopps, respond!" the radio barked from where it fell. The rabbit and the fox jumped at the unexpected noise. Judy glanced over her shoulder at it, then back to Nick, torn between retrieving the device and keeping pressure on his wound.
"Go on. Get it. Sounds important," Nick said, jutting his chin at the radio. Judy nodded, reluctantly pulling away. After a quick breath, she spun and snatched the radio off the ground.
"Hopps here," she reported, her voice only a little shaky.
"Hopps! What are you doing?!" Bogo's deep voice tore from the speaker.
"Chief Bogo, I'm here with Nicholas Wilde-" she began, only to be interrupted.
"Who?!" the buffalo asked, loudly.
"He's the survivor from the pier-" she tried to explain, only to be interrupted again.
"You went into the field without authorization?!" Bogo's accusation worsened Judy's already frazzled nerves.
"I had a lead. Grizzoli told me to follow it up on my own!" she snapped, louder than intended. There was a moment of tense silence.
"Did he?" Bogo growled, quieter than before, but all the more menacing. "I'm going to ask him about that. Someone will meet you at the hospital to bring you back to the precinct. In the meantime, keep an eye on the fox. I have questions for him. Your career depends on him answering. Am I clear, Hopps?"
"Crystal, Chief," she replied, voice tight.
"Good. Out." The radio went dead, so Judy clipped it to her belt, her foot tapping all the while.
"Your boss sounds like a fun loving guy. Real easy going." Nick commented sarcastically. Judy spun back around, stepping forward and lifting her paws to apply pressure on his wound. Nick held his paw out flat in front of her face, stopping her short.
"My chest is fine, please don't push on it anymore," he said flatly. He dropped his paw to his lap, he gave her his usual smug smirk. Judy smiled back, embarrassed.
"I guess I kind of freaked out, huh?" she asked, ears low.
"Oh yeah. One hundred percent. But…" His smile shifted. Less smug, more genuine. But only slightly. "Thank you. No one's tried to help me. Not once they saw… it. Except you."
Judy smiled, her ears perked up and violet eyes sparkling. Even with her fur soaked in the rain, Nick thought her beaming face was the loveliest thing he'd seen in a long time. "You're welcome."
Author's Note:
Many thanks to my beta readers: DrummerMax64; Gamer4COD; RandomNobody37; and Hebbocake.
Another round of applause to my advisers: DragoLord19D and Chesterization
P.S. Thank you, airistal, for defining 'eidolon' for me.
P.P.S Some of you have asked about my other ongoing work 'Evolved'. Here is what I have planned: Finish EEE, then back to Evolved. So, its going to take a while. If I had to guess, April 2017. Maybe earlier, probably later.
