Blake jolted awake when he heard the droning sound of his alarm. He shot off his pillow and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was nine A.M. He narrowed his eyes, confused. His alarm wasn't supposed to be going off today, considering it was Saturday. He remembered that during yesterday's whole party debacle, he had forgotten to turn off the alarm. Blake shrugged his shoulders and reached over to shut it off. He hopped out of bed, knowing there was no chance of him going back to sleep at this point. He drew back the curtains of his room and was promptly showered in sunlight. He sighed, and headed toward the washroom to go through his morning routine once again.
After getting everything ready, Blake stepped into the shower. Overnight, he had been able to sleep on the events of the previous day, most importantly, the info that Ryder was able to provide him. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't expecting Ryder to tell him as much as he did, but he chalked up Ryder's talkativeness to luck. Regardless, the whole bit about Boreal Botany was definitely important and he needed to talk to someone about it. He decided that once he was done, he would give Maxwell a call to pass on the info that Ryder provided him.
Blake exited the washroom freshly showered and went to grab his phone from his nightstand. To his surprise, it wasn't there like it usually was. After a quick search, he found the phone, as well as his keys and wallet in the pocket of his pants from yesterday. He walked over to his computer chair and sat down. As he searched for Maxwell's contact, he turned the chair so that it was facing into the room. He didn't want to tempt himself to turn on his monitor, begin browsing, and find another article bashing predators for something beyond their control.
"Hello?" Maxwell asked as he answered the phone.
"Hey, Chief. I have something about the Night Howlers that I'm pretty sure you're gonna wanna hear," Blake replied.
"Save it for when you get here, because if I want to hear it, Nick and Judy probably want to hear it as well," Maxwell said.
"I'll be there ASAP," Blake replied before hanging up. He shoved the device into his pocket and headed toward the door. He grabbed a random sweater from his coat rack before exiting the room and locking the door behind him. When he stepped outside, he was greeted with medium sized snow drifts covering the walkway leading into the parking lot. Blake sighed. Whoever was supposed to clear the walkway clearly didn't do their job.
After navigating through the maze of snow drifts, Blake reached the parking lot. As he approached his car however, he realized that it was nearly buried by snow drifts as well. Blake was forced to pop open the trunk and grab his trusty car brush. The snow that covered the vehicle was of the light variety, and was easily pushed away, making Blake's job just a bit easier. With the snow finally cleared, Blake was able to get into his car. As soon as he pulled out of his spot, he encountered another problem; the parking lot hadn't been ploughed.
Blake's winter tires were decent, but he's never had to drive through six inches of fresh powder. Blake stepped on the gas pedal, and as expected, the car didn't move. Blake tried again, and the car slowly began moving forward. As the wheels spun, the light powder was easily removed, allowing the wheels to reach the solid surface underneath. This went on for another five minutes until Blake reached the clear street at the end of the lot. Blake sighed in relief as he left the campus.
The freeways were a lot clearer than Blake thought they would be. In the opposing lane, Plough and salt trucks were busy making sure that the pavement was clear of snow and ice. Upon entering the city, the streets were also clear, most likely from the amount of vehicles that use them. Blake pulled his car into what was becoming his usual parking spot and exited the vehicle. Blake walked through the door of the police HQ, the secretary waving at him as he passed. He walked down the familiar hall toward Maxwell's door and knocked on it three times.
"Enter," he said from within.
Blake opened the door to see Maxwell facing his computer. Blake seated himself in the chair across from Maxwell's desk. Maxwell turned to face Blake.
"Good morning, Blake," Maxwell began. Blake nodded once.
"Good morning, Chief," Blake returned. Maxwell leaned back in his chair.
"Before you start telling your story, Hopps and Wilde need to get in here." Maxwell turned back to his computer and reached behind it, revealing a corded phone. He lifted the receiver and hit a few numbers. A few seconds passed. "Can you two come to my office, please?" Maxwell returned the receiver to its cradle and turned back to face Blake. A few more seconds passed, and the familiar faces of the fox and the rabbit entered the office.
"What's going on, Chief?" Nick asked. Maxwell gestured to Blake.
"Apparently, Blake here has something important to tell us," he stated. All three glanced to Blake, who sat unmoved in his chair. After a moment of silence, Blake realized that the silence itself was his cue to begin.
"Oh, right. So yesterday I went to a party with a friend of mine. Normally, I hate parties, but I went because my friend relayed to me that the person hosting it was actually Brett's lab partner. His name is Ryder Robichaud, and long story short, I was able to get him to tell me where he gets his Night Howler plants," Blake explained.
The three became interested in Blake's story as soon as he mentioned the Night Howlers. Maxwell nodded. Nick smiled.
"That's good, Blake," Judy said, also smiling. Blake smiled in return.
"Good work, Blake. Next time, please tell us if you're gonna be doing any detective work without supervision. Only reason I say this is because if things go south, someone needs to be able to help you," Maxwell said. Blake nodded.
"Will do, Chief," Blake replied. Nick placed his paw on Blake's shoulder, causing him to jump.
"I agree, but right now, why not tell us where those plants come from?" Nick asked. Blake got out of his chair and stood in front of the door, where all three could see him.
"They come from what I assume is a botanical garden called Boreal Botany," Blake replied
"So what we could do is, we could go over there, get a list of who buys these plants, and we'll have a sense of direction on who we're looking for, more or less," Judy said. Blake nodded
"Exactly,"
"Did you find out what they were doing with them?" Maxwell asked.
"Ryder was pretty adamant on not telling me, I didn't want to push the matter any further lest he stopped talking. Their professor is in on the whole project so how illegal could it really be?" Blake said.
"That makes sense, I suppose. Anyhow, this botanical garden thing will have to wait until Monday, when a meeting will have been arranged for you three. For now, I need all of you to go to the ice rink where the most recent attack took place. There has been a report of a large crowd forming, and I want to make sure that things don't become hostile," Maxwell said. Nick, Judy, and Blake all started toward the door.
"No problem, Chief," Nick said as he opened the door.
"Good. A few more officers will be headed over shortly after you arrive," Maxwell added. The three walked down the hall and out the door. Once again, Blake was forced to sit in the back of a cruiser, and they were off toward their destination.
The crowd was visible from the moment they turned onto the right street. Nick pulled the cruiser into an open spot on the side of the road, and the three exited the vehicle. The atmosphere around the small crowd was heavy, and conversation between the members was either hushed or non-existent. Nobody had taken notice of the officers until they approached the group. The first one to speak up was Blake.
"Hey, er, what's going on here?" Blake asked, confused. He scanned the group. The group consisted of mainly prey mammals, a majority of them were of the cervidae family.
Many of those in the group ignored him. A few turned their heads to see who was speaking, but returned their focus to the front immediately afterwards. Blake tugged on the hem of a jacket belonging to the buck in front of him. The buck glanced down toward Blake with contempt.
"What," the buck asked bitterly. Blake narrowed his eyes at the buck's disrespectful tone, but pushed forward with his question.
"Wasn't too sure if you heard me all the way up there, but I just asked what's going on here. Care to tell me?" Blake asked, staring back up at the buck. The buck, still holding his contemptuous glare, reluctantly answered Blake's question.
"We're holding a moment of silence for the victims of last night's attack. One minute for each victim. It was pretty rude of you to just wander over here and blurt stuff out, especially taking into consideration one of the victims died in hospital this morning. If you want to participate, that's fine. All you have to do is shut your maw and at least pretend to look like you care," the buck said sternly before returning his gaze to the front of the group.
Blake was hit with feelings of regret almost immediately. Had he known that one of the victims had passed away, he would have been more respectful. Blake blinked once, sighed, and walked away from the group. He walked around the edge of the group in search of Nick and Judy. He found them standing a considerable distance away from the main pack, keeping watch on a few mammals hovering around the outside. He approached them, the things the buck had told him haunting his conscience.
"So, what's the scoop, Snowflake?" Nick asked. Blake sighed again.
"I got one of them to talk to me. He said it was a moment of silence for the victims. Did you know that one of them died this morning? The buck I talked to seemed particularly peeved about me asking about it. I left after he told me to 'at least look like I care.'" Blake replied. Nick winced.
"Ouch. And no, I didn't hear anything about the death. If I had to guess, it must've been the one in critical condition," Nick said.
"I wanna see if I can get more information about this. I'm gonna go ask around a bit. Hopefully I have more luck than Blake did." Judy added before she disappeared into the crowd. Nick and Blake were left alone across the street from the pack.
Blake absentmindedly kicked at the melting snow at the ground. April was just around the corner, meaning that his pearly white fur would soon begin to shed and turn into what he could only describe as 'rock grey.' Meanwhile, Nick was watching over the group, making sure that all was peaceful. A sound coming from his right made Nick's ears peak. He glanced over toward the source of the noise.
"Why don't you just get out of here, this doesn't concern you!" one voice yelled.
"How so? Can I not participate like the rest of you?" yelled another.
Nick tapped Blake on the shoulder, snapping him out of his daze.
"I think something's happening over there. Keep watch while I go find Judy. If things go south, just shout and I'll be over as quick as I can, got it?" Nick said. Blake nodded.
"Got it," Blake replied. Nick jogged across the street and slipped into the crowd out of Blake's view. Blake then turned his head on the two mammals arguing twenty metres from where he was standing. The instigator of the argument seemed to be the larger of the two, a doe holding a sign that read 'Justice for Jude.' The smaller one, a grey wolf, attempted to defuse the situation, however that was proving to be an exercise in futility. The doe continued her onslaught of insults toward the wolf, while the wolf simply held up his paws in a defensive manner.
Blake continued to observe the conflict, wincing as the put downs continued to worsen in intensity. Blake finally drew the line when he watched the doe physically assault the wolf with the sign she was holding. Blake ran across the street toward the wolf and the doe, the doe still beating the wolf with her sign. Blake ran in between them and attempted to separate them.
"Hey, hey! What's going on here?" Blake yelled. Neither of them responded, and the doe continued swinging her sign, this time at Blake. Blake quickly took action as she brought it down toward his head. As soon as the sign made contact with his paws, a quick yank was all it took to swipe it from her hooves. With the doe now disarmed, conversation was now possible.
"Now, I'm gonna ask again. What in the fresh hell is going on here?" Blake demanded. The wolf was the first to speak.
"I was on my way to take part in the moment of silence, when this crazy bitch showed up and started yelling shit at me. Stuff like 'This is a prey-only event,' and 'You preds should all be locked up.' And those are the least hurtful ones," the wolf said.
"You lie! You came here to prey on us at our moment of weakness! Are you aware that someone died last night? You have some nerve showing yourself here," the doe spat back.
"I'm plenty aware. Prey mammals aren't the only victims here, you know," said the wolf.
" Yes they are! Those predators went savage and attacked the prey. For that, they are murderers! They are criminals who deserve live in prison, or better yet, a death sentence!" the doe yelled.
"You do realize that the predators who attacked were drugged, right? The same thing happened back in Zootopia."
"I don't care! Preds like you deserve to be locked up,"
"Hey, shut your mouth, fuckin' flat-tooth!" the wolf yelled.
"Enough!" Blake yelled, interrupting the two. "I am sick of all the fighting this is causing. I say you two apologize for the misery you've caused, and then you two can fuck off back to your homes and allow those who are actually participating in this moment of silence to do their thing," Blake said. This only served to make the doe even more angry.
"Oh, of course you side with the savage," the doe shouted. Blake rolled his eyes.
"Who are you calling savage? And I'm not on anyone's 'side.' I told you both to leave the area," Blake replied. The doe furrowed her brows.
"And who gives you the power to tell me that?"
"That would be us," a voice said from behind the three. Nick, along with Judy, approached them and stopped next to Blake. "If you won't listen to him, maybe you'll listen to us. If the both of you don't leave the premises now, we'll have to escort you off," Judy said. The wolf nodded and took his leave. The doe scoffed at Blake and headed in the opposite direction.
"I sure am glad that didn't get physical, otherwise I would have had to detain her," Nick said. Blake shifted awkwardly in his spot.
"Well, actually, it did get physical. The only reason I intervened was because the doe was hitting the wolf with a sign," Blake said, pointing at the now discarded sign on the sidewalk. Judy walked over to the sign and flipped it over to read what it said. She nodded.
"Yeah. This whole get-together is a sort of vigil for those who were injured. Jude here succumbed to his injuries this morning. They're planning to have a memorial in his name here later today, and I suppose that doe was here early," Judy said. As Judy finished, another patrol vehicle rolled up and two officers exited.
"Maxwell sent us to take over," one of them said.
"Thanks. We were able to defuse one incident already, so keep watch for any others," Nick replied. Both officers nodded.
"Will do." Blake, Nick, and Judy returned to their vehicle and got in. They pulled away from the curb and were on their way back to the station. As Nick navigated the streets of Borealis' Financial District, Blake stared out the window.
"Is there anything else we needed to do today?" Blake asked, still staring out the window.
"Well, we have a bunch of stuff to do at the HQ, you could probably just go back to your campus," Nick replied. Blake nodded as he stared at the passing structures.
Blake got out of the cruiser and waved goodbye to Nick and Judy, who entered the HQ through the side entrance. Blake exited the parking lot and headed toward his car, which was parked on the street. He fished his keys from his pockets and unlocked it as he approached it. He got into the driver's seat and started the car. He pulled away from the curb and started toward the campus.
He parked his car in his usual spot and got out, locking the doors behind him. The weather had made a turn for the better, as the sun had come out, and the snow that fell the night before was already melting. His dorm was exactly as he left it that morning. He placed his jacket on the rack on the wall, and he placed the items from his pocket on the kitchen table. He glanced over at his computer, wanting to check the news. He knew he wasn't supposed to, to keep himself neutral on current events, but he really wanted to find out more about the death of this buck.
He hopped into his computer chair and hit the PC's power button. A few seconds passed before his lock screen appeared, and he quickly typed in his password. His desktop appeared instantly, and he moved the mouse cursor over the internet browser icon. His homepage put forth a plethora of different headlines from varying news outlets. Most of them, as he expected, were pretty mundane, but the ones at the top of the page piqued his interest. One read 'Victim of First Death Caused by Savage Predator Attack Identified.' Blake clicked the link.
In wake of the terrible attacks at a Borealis skating rink last night, one of the victims of said attack has passed away in hospital early this morning due to injuries. The buck's name, Jude MacArthur. He was a Borealis native, and enjoyed figure skating in his free time. The savage predator that put him in hospital, Jakob Ceravollo, is currently being held at the same hospital, and is still in his savage state. As of right now, nobody knows what is causing these mammals to go savage.
The last sentence in the article caught Blake off guard.
"Why would they say that? Why wouldn't they mention the fact that Night Howlers are being used again? An antidote is in development at this very moment, for fucks sake," Blake said aloud
Blake returned to his homepage and clicked on the second headline, 'Borealis Mayor Speaks about Savage Predator Attacks.'
In a private interview with Borealis Mayor, Alistair Macbeth, he opens up about the recent attacks happening in the city. Our interviewer asked him a series of questions, to which he answered. The first question: Did you ever think that something of this severity would ever happen in your city? His response: 'No, of course not. Not in a million years. The second question: What precautions are you going to take to eliminate these attacks, or at least lessen the severity? His response: 'At the moment, our police force is doing a remarkable job. However, if these attacks persist, we may have to take action in the form of increased police patrol and martial law for predators.
Blake stopped reading, mouth agape with silent shock.
"Martial law? For predators only. Is that the best you have? It's easy to say stuff like that when you're sitting in your ivory tower, protected by these massive guards. It especially doesn't help that you're a moose, a prey mammal, who doesn't even have to abide by the laws you say you'll put forth. Maybe you should look out your window for once and see that predators aren't the problem, you fucking flat-tooth. Fuck," Blake got up out of his chair and trudged into the kitchen.
He searched around until he found his wine bottle, the same one from Thursday. He removed the cork and took a long drink from the bottle. He set the bottle back on the counter and wiped his face with his sleeve. He knew that in looking at the news, he would get angry, but he never envisioned that it would be enough to drive him to drink. Blake wasn't a drinker. He stared, disappointed, at the bottle on the counter.
"It's fucking bullshit, all of it," he said to himself. Out of anger, he balled his paw into a fist and swung at the drywall. His fist went straight through, leaving a small hole in the wall. This only served to make him angrier.
"God dammit," he said. Blake sat down on one of the wooden kitchen chairs. He lifted the arm he used to punch the wall and stared at the back of his paw. His pristine white fur was beginning to turn red from the blood leaking from his knuckles. Blake shook his head.
"I should probably stay away from the case for a couple days to cool off," Blake admitted. Blake got up from the chair and walked into the bathroom to wash the blood off from his paws.
'Long awaited' probably isn't the correct term, but it sure has been a while since I've updated anything. It all started when I got a particularly bad cold and missed an entire week of school. When I returned, I was met with a mountain of work. The fact is, I'm not even finished all of it when I post this. Only reason I was able to finish was because I had divided my workload across the next few days, and I finished today's tasks earlier than I expected. Regardless, I'm unsure as to if I will return to any sort of upload schedule until late June, but if that does happen, consider it a gift from me to you. A big thanks to those who actually waited for any sort of update from me. -Prince