Chapter X:
Bianca had never ran so fast in her life. She thought she might be setting a new personal best. Peering over her shoulder every so often to make sure she was still being followed, she ignored the searing burn in her lungs. She could hear footsteps coming from all directions. She was surrounded. She saw shadows looming ever closer in front of her. Soon their owners would be in view and she would be trapped. Bianca pressed up against the wall, gasping for breath. She looked up, and saw a vent. It was an old-school plan, but she was the only one small enough to squeeze inside. The other predators couldn't follow. She reached up, shifted the vent cover aside, then climbed in, closing the cover behind her. She crouched down inside, keeping as still as she could while the footsteps drew closer, were right in front of her, their owners in view, and passed her. Bianca took a deep breath, then turned around to crawl through the vent shaft. She moved slowly so as not to make to much noise. She hoped that, by this time, Nick had made it to the boat and was now on his way back to the ZPD. Right now, she had to focus on her own survival. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this mess, or what was going to happen to her. More than likely, she would not make it out of this alive.
As this thought crossed her mind, Bianca decided that she was not about to go down without a fight. She took a left turn down the shaft, leading her back towards the sleeping quarters. She knew she wouldn't last long without a weapon, so, at the next opportunity, she climbed back out of the shaft, right outside of the bedrooms, then ran down the hall to her own room. Once inside, she clicked the door shut behind her. There wasn't much to the room. A wooden foot locker stood at the foot of the small cot that served as Bianca's bed. Bianca bent down next to the locker and pulled it open. She threw several objects out of the locker until she found a set of spare butterfly knives that she kept for just such an occasion. They weren't her best by any means, but, considering that she lost her best set during her first fight with Nick, she knew they would have to suffice. Picking them up, Bianca spun them both in her hands before strapping them to her belt. Under the knives was a single picture, now visible amongst the debris of the locker. It was the last picture taken of her, Robby, and their father, taken the summer before Bianca lost her family, during her eighth grade graduation. Bianca took a moment to stare at the happy faces, not knowing that their time together was limited. Bianca's eyes filled tears. "I'll make you both proud." She spoke to the picture. "I'll make it right." She snapped the locker shut, and got up to leave the room.
The hall was deserted. Bianca was unsure if this was a good sign, or bad. She rushed back down once again, making her way towards the elevator. "Gotcha!" As Bianca turned a corner, she was created by Jimmy Weasely. The shock of the predator sneaking up on her caused Bianca to immediately punch him directly in the face. Clutching his nose, Bianca squeezed past Jimmy and continued to run to the elevator, now picking up her pace.
But Bianca's luck was running short She felt a sharp blow to her abdomin as another Apex member lurked behind the next corner and struck. Bianca fell to her knees and choked, clutching her stomach. The tiger laughed, pulling Bianca up. "That'll teach you, traitor!" He jeered. But Bianca had pulled one of her knives off her belt and had opened it. She then plunged it down into the tiger's shoulder, causing him to roar in pain, dropping Bianca. She fell back to the ground, landing badly. There was a popping noise as Bianca's ankle hit the hard ground. She shrieked, clutching her broken foot. She didn't have time to linger, however. The tiger had yanked the knife out of his shoulder, and brandished it at Bianca, snarling at her. Bianca rolled away from her assailant, then tried getting back to her feet. She took a step with her good foot, but slipped as she took another step with her injured foot and fell back to the ground. As she tried once again to get up, she felt someone grab her by the tail, and drag her backwards. Tiger had grabbed her with his good arm, and was pulling her back towards him. Bianca tried futiley to fight him off. "Stop it, you fool!" Clawsworth had appeared. "Manefree said he wants her alive!" The tiger growled at Clawsworth. "But look what she did to my arm!" He argued. "So what?" Said Clawsworth. "You've got a second, don't you? Take her to the mess hall so we can deal with her!" The Tiger mumbled childishly, grabbing Bianca by her shirt and dragging her down the hall.
Bianca did not go quietly. The whole way, she attempted to jerk herself free, kicking her legs in the air. As they entered the mess hall, Bianca was greeted by the remaining Apex members. This time, there was no warm welcome. All around her, she heard shouts of disdain. A couple of them threw kicks at her, one nailing her right in the face. This was met with laughter and cheers. As Bianca was drugged to the center of the hall, Mr Manefree came into view. The tiger then threw Bianca at his feet, making the crowd laughed harder for another moment as she attempted to stand up. But then all went quiet. Manefree's tail was swishing back and forth in agitation. "Oh, Bianca Bianca Bianca." Said Manefree in a low growl. "There's always that one, isn't there?" With a terrifying roar, her swung the back of his hand into Bianca's face. She cried out as she fell back to the ground. Several of the other predators recoiled. Bianca coughed and choked, wiping blood from her face. Manefree bent down and pulled Bianca's head up to look at him. "What did you do with those files?" He hissed in her face. Bianca was breathing heavily. "I'm not afraid of you, Manefree." She said in a strained voice. Manefree dropped her head and stood up, turning away from Bianca. "I believe you." He said. "That's something I've always admired about you, Slyman. You show very little fear. However." He turned around to face Bianca again. "Everyone is afraid of something, and I have a very particular gift for figuring it out." He extended the claws on his right paw. There was an excitable murmur amongst the crowd. Some showed their obvious approval, while a couple of the more squeamish averted their eyes. "Last chance." Manefree continued to address Bianca. "Where are my files?" Bianca said nothing, but determinantly stared at the ground where she sat on her knees. "Fine!" Manefree roar as he swiped down. Out of nowhere, unseen by any of the predators, Nick had run forward, shoved Bianca out the way with hand, that still held the tablet that Bianca had given him, and fired his gun at Manefree with the other. Manefree roared louder that ever as the bullet grazed his arm. "Nick?!" Bianca was surprised, relieved and angry all at the same time. "I told you to get out of here!"
"YOU!" Manefree advanced Nick, who fired at Manefree again. This time, Manefree knocked Nick's hand away then threw him to the ground. The bullet flew away, and hit the glass separating the mammals, from the ocean. Water began spray the room. This was unseen by the Apex members, as there focus was on the oversized lion, and the two foxes, now fighting to stay alive. Manefree picked Nick up by his neck, who gagged and coughed, trying to break free. "Give me files!" Manefree roared in his face. "You want this?" Nick gasped, holding the tablet in front of Manefree. "Here!" Nick there the tablet across the room. "NO!" Bianca screamed. A couple of the Apex members tried unsuccessfully to catch the flying tablet. It shattered on impact with the ground, pieces flying in all directions. Zootopia's last chance had been destroyed. "Nick, what have you done?!" Bianca stared at the remnants of the tablet that she risked her life to get to the ZPD. Manefree threw Nick back to the ground, whose head connected with the hard floor, losing consciousness. "I'll kill you both for this!" Manefree stomped towards Bianca, who actually tried crawling backwards in a futile attempt to escape.
With impeccable timing, an alarm sounded through the crowded room. They all at once seemed to notice the water making it's way through the crack in the glass, which had grown larger in the last few minutes. "We have a breach!" Said one of the predators unnecessarily. Manefree swore. "The base has been compromised!" He spoke to his followers. We need to evacuate immediately. No one hesitated. Pushing and shoving, the Apex members ran towards the doors to escaped the flooding base. "What of the traitor?" Clawsworth asked Manefree. "Her fate is sealed." Said Manefree. With Clawsworth help, the two grabbed Bianca, who continued to fight them off, and Nick, who was still unconscious. Clawsworth grabbed a piece of rope, and tighed the two together. "Good bye, Slyman." Said Manefree, as he and Clawsworth followed the others to safety. "See you in hell."