Hey, guys. Man, this chapter was a pain in my rear, no joke. Anyway, enjoy chapter 11!
Violet eyes flicked to the deceased rhino sprawled out on the marble floor, the bullet hole. Blood poured from the circle-shaped wound, a small puddle of scarlet liquid growing beneath his head.
Judy Hopps cringed at the bloody sight, her stomach churning.
This rhino's death… Bellwether was the only mammal to blame for it. She had caused fear, and hatred that spread in Zootopia like a wildfire. That bitch had assassinated Jamal, a kind, young wolf who hadn't done anything to deserve his tragic fate.
Judy frowned. The Jaguar she had killed… It wasn't her fault, but the demons, Bellwether's. Every death was the sheep's doing, a part of her sadistic plan—whatever that was.
Judy clenched her fist, her dull, gray claws biting into her palm. I'll make sure you answer to every sin you committed—no, Nick and I will. We'll crush your hopes and dreams…. That's a promise. A promise it was.
Judy felt the confidence that Bellwether had torn to shreds, now slowly piecing itself together. She had Nick again, and their scared friendship was slowly, but surely, healing. That was all she needed.
Judy turned her back to the lifeless rhino, and focused on her task at paw: get Nick and run. She gazed at the vent-lid on the wall. She didn't smell any smoke radiating from it, thank God, but still... the ominous sensation lingered in her mind.
She gave one last glance at the bloody mess behind her, then ran for the vent-lid, her hospital gown dancing behind her on a phantom wind.
If she wanted to escape this riot, she would have to work fast—very, very fast.
She gazed at the vent-lid that was high up on the ceiling, her palms lay flat on the hard cold surface of the wall. She bent her knees and tensed her calves, her cotton tail twitching. With one powerful hop, she jumped three feet in the air.
She grasped the thin, vertical bars of the vent-lid, hanging from them. She pulled on it, eyes clenched and muscles tense, her feet flat on the lid. The screws holding the vent-lid in place groaned, slowly giving away to the force of the bunny pulling. She pulled harder, and the thin, vertical metals bars sank into fingers, almost touching the bone beneath her fur and flesh.
With one final tug, the vent-lid came loose from the wall, flying off its hitches. Judy flew with the vent, but landed on her feet. She'd made sure she wouldn't humiliate herself by landing flat on her ass like the first few times she had opened the vent-lid.
Suddenly, the door to her room rattled violently. Judy ears shot straight up, her nose twitching. The door rattled again before it swung open, hitting the wall behind it.
A huge tiger came storming into the room, a pistol in his paw, loaded and ready to kill. The second his cold, blue eyes landed on Judy, who had her knees bent in preparation to jump and climb into the vent, he roared, "SHE'S IN HERE!"
A moment later, the sound of hundred of raging paw-steps raced toward her room like a roaring army.
Her violet pupils shrank. Oh dear God.
The tiger raised his gun, aiming at the bunny.
Unfortunately for the tiger, Judy had already acted.
With one large step, she grabbed the vent lid and launched it like a frisbee at the tiger, letting it slice through the air at high speed.
The vent-lid bashed directly on the tiger's skull. A crack echoed through the room as the black and orange predator fell to the ground, his body still. Blood oozed from his temple, a stream of scarlet fluid staining his fur. The pistol fell by his side.
Guilt put a knife through her heart. Judy prayed—prayed—that she hadn't accidentally killed the tiger. No, she couldn't handle being the cause of another predator's death. She'd be broken beyond repair, then.
Judy jumped, grasping the edges of the vent and boosted herself up. By the time she was on her hands and knees in the vent, her ears caught the heavy paw-steps of the mob of predators wailing from her room.
"Where the hell did she go!" She heard one of them yelling. She crawled faster, panicking.
She took a single second to glance over her shoulder as she crawled silently as she could. A green eye, wide with anger and shock, met her glance, the outer ends of it surrounded in black fur. Possibly a Jaguar. Every strand of fur on her body stood on end. The green eye gleamed with vice, and as quickly as it appeared, it vanished.
"She's in the vent!" She heard one of them yell, and her stomach tied into a knot. Oh, no. No, no, no, no!
She increased her crawling pace, tearing the ends of her hospital gown on loose screws and torn pieces of metal as she did.
"Shoot her!" A lighter voice said, a female. "Hurry up and kill her!"
The bunny heard ever petrifying word. Ice cold terror ran up her veins, freezing her blood and bones. Her paws trembled and her legs went numb, but she continued to crawl. She couldn't die, not here.
And she wouldn't, she knew she wouldn't, because fifteen paces ahead of her, there was a sharp turn in the vents that would provide her cover, and also led to Nick's room. She could make it out—
The bunny dared another glance over her shoulder.
Judy almost froze in sheer terror when she saw a paw with obsidian fur point a pistol into the vent. The clicking sound of the gun tore through her very soul.
She crawled faster and faster, until she was practically running on her two feet. She was almost at the turn, just a few more steps. Five in total. She could make it.
The gun was fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots.
A tear slid down her cheek. I'm going to die!
Her heart stopped as if the organ itself was prepared for its demise.
Tiny drops of her blood flew through the air.
...But she was still alive…
Two bullets tore through her cheek and forearm, both wounds deep and bloody, damaging enough to leave scars. She didn't know what the third bullet had hit, and she didn't want to know. But she was still alive, and that was all that mattered. She could still make it.
So, she ignored the lingering pain in her forearm and cheek, and the fear punching at her heart. She was so close to the turn, she could escape, make it to Nick. She counted down the inches as she neared the corner. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. She was so close.
"She's still alive, damn it." A predator bellowed.
Judy knew what would come next—gunfire, blood, death… Death… Crawl faster. Her instincts pushed. Faster. You have to survive.
Judy's ears perked up at the clicking sound of a reloading gun. She crawled faster, her breathing rapid. Almost there. Almost there.
The black paw pointed the gun into the vent—
Five gunshots were fired, each one echoing like a lone, agonized scream of a jeopardized mammal.
Judy reached the turn in the vents, and she jumped into it, falling flat on her belly, throwing her paws over her head. The bullets punctured the metal wall with ferocious roar. Bullet after bullet lacerated the screaming metal wall, and her stomach stomach lurched with each one.
The gunfire stopped. And Judy's violet eyes flicked back to the bullets whole in the wall, her paws still clutching her head. Nothing—not another gunshot, not a smaller predator coming after her. Nothing.
I could've been in that… She swallowed a lump in her throat at the thought. She was just glad she hadn't.
Judy hoisted herself on her hands and knees, her violet eyes constantly peering over her shoulder in a state of panic, her arms trembling as she crawled.
She ignored the curses and shouts of the predators', their voices dying down to a thick silence the deeper she traveled into the vents.
Judy's muscles unclenched themselves, and she let loose a breath. You're safe, she assured herself. You're safe, Judy. For now, though. It was the truth—bitter sweet, but true. If she wanted to rescue Nick, if she wanted to flee this hospital and carry out their too-simple plan, she was bound to run into danger full force, likely involving predators.
A loose nail poking out the bottom surface of the vent caught Judy's hospital gown, almost stripping the bunny of her thin clothing. Feeling the tug on her shoulders, Judy grasped the bottom half of her hospital gown, and yanked it from the nail. The fabric hissed as it torn free, a chunk of her hospital gown missing.
Judy cursed under her breath, and continued to crawl.
Eight minutes later, she was still on her paws and knees.
The vents were enveloped in a thick blanket of darkness, darkness that even a noturnal mammal would be blinded by. And the ungodly coldness of the vents only made her condition worsen. Every strand of fur on her body stood on end as the chilling air kissed her bare, pink skin and gnawed at her nippy fingers and bruised knees. Despite all that, Judy had kept her senses sharp, listening and smelling for anything unnatural or life-threatening. Mercifully, she had found nothing and that caused a sense of foreboding to stir within her.
Judy just prayed frost-bite wouldn't detach any of her limbs before she escaped these vents, if that was even possible.
Ten minutes later, and Judy began to wonder how the hell she and Nick would escape this riot with their lives. They couldn't race down the hallways. No, they would be clawed and filled with lead, then. And scaling down the building seemed possible, but still… A mob of predators could be waiting outside the building right now, pistols in their paws. Perhaps when she arrived to Nick's room, they would figure something out.
Twenty paces away, a dim light poured into the vents from the floor-up. A vent-lid, Nick's room. Her heart raced with excitement, and she sped up her crawling pace. Ever since the moment she'd been pinned against the wall by Hendricks, ever since the moment Bellwether had threatened her life and broke her confidence, Judy had wanted to see Nick, see him and make sure he was safe, make sure Bellwether hadn't come after him, to kill him. Her heart ached at the thought of Nick dying—she had already seen him die once in dream, a dream that would wake her up at the latest hours of the night, sobbing. Seeing Nick actually die…
She couldn't even imagine the pain she would feel, the loss that would consume her.
Suddenly, a loud, reverberated scream clawed at the bunnies sensitive eardrums. The scream tore through her very soul and made her limbs tremble, because that scream… It had belonged to Nick.
"No," Judy gasped, and crawled faster—so fast that small cuts opened on her already-bruised knees. Fear shot through her, her breathing becoming rapid and ragged once again.
"Nick," she gasped as she neared the vent-lid, wide eyed. "Nick, no." She didn't dare shout his name, although the temptation was overwhelming. What if he had already been killed, lying on floor in a puddle of his own blood. Tears nibbled at her eyes. Please be alive, Nick. Please.
Judy peered through the vent-lid, her violet eyes darting to every corner of the room as she desperately searched for him.
When she found him, she had to bite back a gasp.
There, on the far right side of the room, was Nick, pinned against the wall by a ghost leopard. Four other predators stood behind the leopard—a bear, a honey badger, and an otter.
Muscle, lean and developed, shown on the ghost leopard's arms, back, and legs—muscles that belonged to an athlete. The snow white t-shirt and shorts the predator wore were stained in dark scarlet fluid, the blood of prey. And Judy knew for a fact that the ghost leopard wore those white clothes for a reason—he wanted other prey to see the blood of the ones he'd killed in cold-blood—to fear him.
Wrath seeped through her veins.
And despite the fact of Nick being a predator, despite the fact that he had been regarded as a 'savage beast' like all other predators, the ghost leopard wanted to stain his shirt with Nick's blood.
The foxes eyes were bloodshot, his mouth gaped wide open and his chest pumping rapidly as his body tried to suck in oxygen. He was being strangled. And he was dying, slowly but surely.
She wasn't going to let that happen. Judy may have not known the reasoning for these predators to decide to come after Nick. But she was sure about one thing: she was going to save Nick, and show these predators just how dangerous a bunny could be.
Judy's sensitive ears caught the leopard's hiss, "why did you save her, you disgusting creature."
The fires of rage blazed within her. She wasn't waiting around any longer.
With a hard expression, Judy positioned her feet over the vent-lid. And with one powerful kick, the vent-lid clattered to the marble floor.
Judy jumped through the hole a seconds after, landing by the fallen vent-lid, her knees bent and a single paw on the floor.
The predators spun in her direction, their ears perked. Their eyes widened when they realized who had landed in the room.
Judy acted fast, grasping the vent-lid in her paws and let it fly through the air so fast that not even a highly trained soldier could detect it as it neared—
Judy had made damn sure that the vent-lid's target was the ghost leopard. The sadistic beast stained with the blood of the innocent, who had tried to strangle Nick to death and had killed many, many more before then.
The thin shard of metal engraved itself on the ghost leopard's forehead.
He couldn't even howl out in agony before he was knocked unconscious, falling to the floor. Nick fell with the predator, landing flat on his trembling knees his, eyes as red as the many bleeding cuts scattered around his body, holding his bruised throat as he gasped for air.
Judy's violet eyes lingered on Nick longer then they should've.
A fractured tail, she suddenly noticed. The white badges wrapped around the foxes tail told her that much. Why hadn't she noticed that before, after multiple times of visiting Nick in his room, alone? And the bandages hidden beneath his hospital gown, disguised as little bumps in the fabric, revealed even more cuts she hadn't taken heed to before; a bandage on his upper back and on his shoulder. From the fire he had saved her from.
Later. She would have to worry about that later, because now… Now she had to battle her way to safety, it was either die now or later. She'd find a way to treat Nick's injuries, even if it came to her stealing medicine from a drug store, she would heal him.
The bunnies eyes flicked to the hulking bear wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black shirt. The biggest predator in the room, her next target.
The bear met her gaze, and snarled.
"You're going to be nothing but a pile of meat and bones by the time I'm done with you, Judy Hopps." He spat her name like he had shit in his mouth, a wicked grin stretched across his muzzle. The bear then charged at the bunny with a ferocious roar, his claws unsheathed and his teeth bared.
Judy snorted. "As if." And lunged.
With a two powerful steps, Judy was mere inches from the bear in seconds, faster than she herself had expected.
Surprised, the bear actually stumbled just a bit, but he regained his composure as fast as he had lost it. He bent down and roared as he sent his sharp, deadly claws for Judy's belly.
The bear wasn't fast enough.
Judy dodged, jumping two feet back.
The bear stumbled.
And Judy lunged once again. Once she was mere inches from the massive predator, she jumped, and latched herself onto the bear's black shirt.
She crawled up the bear's torso like a cockroach trying to escape the light.
The bear's paws flew widely as he tried to catch the bunny in his grip. But he wasn't fast enough.
She grasped the edges of the bear's shirt-collar in her paw, and flung herself into the air.
Four years of gymnastics in high-school had Judy doing a backflip in mid-air, her knees pressed against her chest, and her violet eyes glaring into the bear's.
The predator didn't so much as flinch when his brown eyes met burning violet.
With a strong scowl and a powerful yell, she slammed her two feet in the center of the predator's throat.
Judy landed on the marble floor, and watched as the giant bear retched and retched, falling back on its heels.
With one last retch, the bear fell flat on his back, unconscious, still. Not dead, she had made not to tried kill him.
Judy stared at the unmoving bear, making sure he wouldn't suddenly spring up and attack. There was nothing.
Her violet orbs flicked to the honey badger and the otter, who stood frozen in terror or shock, maybe both.
She watched as the smaller predator's gazes lingered on the two, bigger mammals she'd taken down with ease.
Then, their matching blue eyes landed on her, and fear danced on their muzzles.
Judy smirked. You should be scared. They knew she was dangerous, a monster in bunny skin.
The honey badger clenched his teeth in anger, and slipped a pistol from his pocket. "Let's see how tough you are now, bitch." He hissed, loading the gun without looking.
The clicking sound was like a dagger to her heart. The pain, the death that would come with that silent click…
He aimed it at the bunny, who stood frozen in place, her legs spread apart, waiting for the right moment to move, to strike, to do something—she didn't know what she could do. Think, Judy. Think, think. Her instincts whispered.
Before she could strategize her a foolhardily plan, before she could scream, there was a flash of auburn, and the honey badger was sent flying to the marble floor, but the pistol remained in its paw.
Nick Wilde was on top of the badger in mere moments, clawing and punching the badger all the while trying to reach for the pistol locked in the smaller predator's paw. But no matter how vicious Nick's attacks were, the honey badger didn't scream in pain or even flinch. He just lay sprawled out on the floor, letting—letting—Nick attack. He wasn't taking any damage.
And Judy knew the dreadful facts as to why, and the dread gleaming in Nick's eyes, suggested that he knew, too: honey badger's had hardened skin. Impenetrable—to even a viper's bite. Shit. Shit.
The odds, at this moments, were stacked against them in great numbers. But Judy refused to give in, to look at the worst possible outcome. Glass half full—she and Nick could make it through this. They were so close to achieving their plan, they couldn't give up now.
Her violet eyes flicked to the otter—a female, taller, and, perhaps, older than her—stood in place, watching the fight.
The otter's gaze met hers, and glared it back. Unlike before, no fear shown in the otter's cold, blue eyes. And the way which the female otter stood—knees bent, fist raised, and eyes narrowed—made a clear sign that she knew how to fight; maybe kill.
The otter slipped a pocket-knife from her slim blue jeans, holding it how any professional would—index finger wrapped fully around the blade, and the three others loosely gripping the handle.
A faint smile played on Judy's lips. Kill—she definitely knows how to kill.
As if they had silently communicated, the bunny and the otter lunged in perfect timing, both light on their feet, both moving with smooth grace.
They were a tangle of metal and punches and claws, dancing in a circle with their paws flying through the air at high speeds.
The otter aimed the knife at Judy's lower rib—her lung, but the bunny blocked the deadly attack, locking their arms together in a tight knot.
A second after, Judy head butted the otter in the nose and then, unlocking their arms, slammed her fist into the female's jaw, hard enough to nearly fracture it.
The otter cried out and lost its balance, but it recovered, quick—almost too quick.
Judy was the first to attack this time, charging and grabbing the otter's paw, which held the knife, and twisted it.
The otter bent over instinctively, grimacing and grunting as it desperately tried to wriggle free.
Judy slammed her elbow into the otter's neck, directly on the spine—over and over and over—
Claws ran across her belly, across the scar tissue beneath her fur, and Judy screamed out in agony—the pain feeling so familiar; filled with terror and heartbreak of a friendship she'd once lost—a clawed friendship.
Judy released her lock on the otter with gridded teeth, jumping back a healthy distance. She put a trembling paw to her cut belly, her hospital gown torn, and the bad memories already flooding into her mind, and her heart. But she made those memories—those nightmares and emotions—dwindle, let them gently wash away from her mind like waves of the peaceful, calm ocean, lit up by the smooth, silky rays of the moon.
Calm—she calmed her mind, and let those painful memories fade into nothing.
And when her mind settled, when her muscles become loss and free… She'd never felt so strong.
"What's wrong, Judy?" The otter purred, nursing the back of its neck with a single paw. "Did you think you could kill me as easily as you did that Jaguar—a predator."
The mention of the Jaguar made her heart throb, but Judy said, without a hint of guilt in her voice,"that's if, your species is even considered to be predators—as small and weak you otters are." The bunny said, smiling sweetly.
The otter growled, baring her teeth and letting her fur fluff out. The wrath roared within the otter's eyes sent just a little whisper of fear through her heart...
The otter's back was arched as she hissed, "you bitch. You specist, self-centered bitch!"
Enraged, the otter hurled the knife at the bunny, the blade sang as it sliced through mid-air.
Judy's heart skipped a beat, and she side-stepped, the blade slicing a few strands of fur from her neck. She shivered. Her violet eyes followed the airborne knife as it flew and flew through the air until it impaled the wall eight feet behind her—impaled the wall as if it were a bullet shot from a gun.
Suddenly, Judy's ears perked at a savage wail. She whipped her head in the direction of the otter, eyes wide, heart racing, and nose twitching.
Claws came soaring toward her cheek, unsheathed and ready to tear flesh. But Judy dodged with graceful ease, staying light on her feet, her muscles relaxed.
The raging otter lunged again, its fighting posture sloppy and unbalanced—consumed in her own hatred.
Judy dodged with ease.
The otter stumbled, arms outstretched.
My opening.
Judy took that opening, and kicked the otter in the stomach with all her might, her hospital gown rising with her attack, exposing the wholeness of her naked body. But, thankfully, Judy hadn't noticed, not had the otter.
The otter gagged, her paws flying to her stomach, clutching it, and her head bowed as she gasped for air.
Judy acted before the otter could recover, running on the edges of her feet. It was about time she ended this fight, for the sake of the current events and for Nick, hopping his condition wouldn't take a turn for the worse.
For a mere moment, Judy expected the worse to come when her violet eyes—so unexpectedly, so instinctively as if her heart could sense the little particles of danger dancing through the atmosphere—flicked to where the angry cries and pained grunts of Nick fighting off the honey badger. She only saw Nick in those short, dreadful moments, still on top of badger, punching and clawing at the its hardened skin, until a fist covered in black fur slammed into his cheek, and he yelped. Nick fell on his back with a groan, before the badger climbed on him, its claws unsheathed and—
Judy looked away. Her eyes suddenly fell on the pistol laying on the floor not even two feet away from the brawling predators.
If the honey badger somehow grabbed that pistol and used it against Nick…
Judy charged faster and faster, her eyes narrowed on the otter who was too deeply dazed to even realize what was coming.
With one, swift roundhouse kick to the head, the otter was sent back-first onto the marble floor, still. The slight rising and falling of her chest was the only sign that the female predator was still alive.
Judy, staring down at the unconscious otter, let out a relieved breath. This otter would wake up to see another day… And hopefully create a different perspective of life, Judy thought. Hopefully they all would.
"Get off me, you low-life. Get off!" A voice wailed.
Judy spun in the direction of the scream, her nose twitching. She already knew what to expect before she spotted Nick and the badger.
The honey badger was on top of Nick, who had his arms over his face as he was clawed, over and over and over again.
Speckles of blood stained marble with every swipe of the badger's claws, and with each and every swipe, Nick screamed out in pain.
Fear, anger, hatred, and dread—those were the emotions that drove her to charge at the badger with an angry cry.
"Get off him!" Judy wailed as she stormed toward the badger, faster and faster, until she was nothing but a gray blur moving at the speed of a bullet. She jumped, her knees curled into her chest.
The honey badger could only look in Judy's direction, before feet struck its snout.
The speed at which she flew, the force she applied to her powerfully built calves, had the honey badger flying off Nick, hitting the wall behind it with a sickening thud. Its hardened skin not being able to block Judy's attack.
The honey badger lay unconscious against the wall, its tongue hanging loose from its mouth.
Judy scowled at the badger, at the blood staining its obsidian claws—Nick's blood.
Judy ears perked up at a pained grunt, and she turned to Nick, every trace of anger in her expression vanishing. Oh, Nick. Tears burned her eyes as she jogged lightly to his injured form.
Pain.
The word clang through him like a giant, reverberative bell—through his fractured tail. Not severe pain, though, but just enough to make him curse under his breath. Nick clenched his sharp, pearl teeth as he slowly sat up from the marble flooring, his assaulted abs, which had suffered endless punches, courtesy of the ghost leopard, screamed out in agony.
If he could just stand on his own two paws, he would… "Nick," a voice, beautiful like the sunset dipping into the golden-hued horizon and as comforting as a mother's warming hug, said lightly.
Nick gazed into Judy gentle violet orbs, admiring the beauty of them as if he were staring at a diamond. Nick gave Judy that smug grin that she always smiled or rolled her alluring eyes at. Though his grin was weak, wavering.
And Nick could've sworn he saw hurt flash in her features—hurt as if she'd seen that weak, broken smile somewhere before.
"Hey, Carrots," Nick rasped, his voice hoarse from screaming in agony from the many brutal attacks he had received. He continued to push himself up, his arms trembling.
Judy stuck her fluffy paw out as a response. Let me help you, her guilt-stricken expression seemed to say.
Nick's face was full of concerns as he took her small paw in his, grunting as Judy helped him to his feet.
Nick stumbled back when Judy enveloped him in a tight hug, her head buried into his broad chest. His arms were raised as he stared down at the bunny with wide eyes, surprised by the hug. Nevertheless, he eventually relaxed his arms and hugged her back, stroking her droopy ears.
Judy purred as she nuzzled Nick's chest, her eyes closed and her cotton-tail twitching.
Nick grinned widely down at the blissful bunny. "You enjoying yourself there, Carrots?" He asked in that sly tone.
Judy lifted her head from the fox's chest, meeting Nick's cocky gaze. "Shut up, you dumb fox," she said in a stern, yet playful tone—a chuckle mixed in with her words. "Don't ruin the moment."
Nick chuckled back in response. "As you wish, my dumb bunny."
Judy rolled her eyes, a grin playing on her lips, and relaxed her head on his chest again. "I'm just glad you're okay." She said softly.
"Or in this case, alive." Nick added, gingerly running his claws down her flat ears. His sea-green eyes flicked down to the cuts and bruises scattered across his arm.
After a couple moments of purring and nuzzling, Judy finally unlatched herself from Nick. Then, her violet eyes fell on Nick's injured arm, at the bruises and splits in his flesh, her gaze lingering.
Nick followed her gaze, and he cursed inwardly.
Judy looked up at him, her eyes full of worry. "Nick… Your arms—"
Nick raised his paw. "Don't worry about it, Carrots—it's nothing severe. For now, let's focus on escaping this riot with are lives, okay?."
The bunny stared down at the marble floor, hesitation dancing across her muzzle. A few moments later, Judy's violet eyes flicked to Nick's, and she said, "fine, Nick, but after we escaped this riot, I want our next priority to be healing your injuries." A demand, not a request.
Nick nodded as a response.
"Okay, then." Judy said, heaving a breath. "Let's find ourselves an escape route."
Nick held up his index finger. "Before we do that, Carrots, let me grab something."
Judy raised a brow. "What is it you have to get."
Nick did a short, quick jog to the badger's pistol lying on the floor. He grabbed the pistol—the size of the weapon fitting his grip perfectly—and checked its ammo. Seven bullets, he counted inwardly. He reloaded the pistol with a click.
"Just in case we run into any more trouble, this," he said, pointing the gun upright toward the roof, "may come in handy."
"You're right about that, Nick—nice thinking. But let's just hope we don't run into any more predators, for our sake and theirs." She said. Her gaze fell on the five predators sprawled out on the floor, and Nick could've sworn he saw a shadow of guilt pass through her expression.
Nick's expression turned grim. Are you still blaming, accusing yourself as a murderer because of that Jaguar, Carrots? He wanted to ask her that question, so, so badly. Now that there friendship was renewed, now that she didn't fear him or hate him anymore, he wanted to be there for her, help her through whatever obstacle that was put in her way. He loved her, and the temptation to ask her to open herself up to him was… Painful, to his heart, anyway. But Nick held his tongue, pushing his grim feelings and expression deep, deep within himself.
They were trapped in the hospital. Nick and Judy had searched and searched for a way out, but there hadn't been a route that wouldn't lead them to being torn limb from limb and filled with holes and lead.
Nick had suggested climbing out the window and scaling the hospital building on the rain gutters, but then, he had suggested otherwise. Because when Nick had peered out that window, with Judy joining him, when they had saw the catastrophic event happening not only at the base of the hospital but on the streets of Zootopia, the blood had drained from their faces.
Predators, armed with guns or gas-pit bottles or knives or whatever weapon small enough to be gripped in a paw, ran up and down the streets. Cars exploded, prey screamed, predators wailed, homes and stores were broken into—prey being dragged out of them with a trail of blood snaking behind them.
Dazzling lights of red and blue flashed as a not-big-enough-group of police officer—prey police officers; ram, rhinos, elephants, hippos—desperately fought off the enraged predators' with the little weapons they had left from the fire; pistols and stun-guns. Bullets sang through the air, and predators and police officer met hard, bloody concrete, dead or injured.
Blood. Death. Fear. Hate. Those were the only words both Nick and Judy could use to describe the sight—the devil-painted painting—before them.
Judy had actually fell back from the window and vomited all over the white marble floor, flat on her knees and her paws clutching her injured belly.
Nick had to push back a cringe.
Judy was still kneeled over her puddle of vomit as she retched and gasped, Nick standing behind her, a dark, auburn paw placed on her back; the pistol in the other, pointed safely away from flesh.
As Nick comforted Judy, he couldn't stop himself from looking out that window, not even bothering to blink. Why is this happening? What has this city come to that predators need to riot in order to get what they want? And if he and Judy did mange to restore peace among predators and prey, what would be the after effect of… All of this? The questions lingered. He wanted an answer.
Another time, Wilde. Another time.
When Nick was sure Judy was done emptying her stomach, he said, "you know, we have no other choice, right?" He said. It was true.
The barely visible nod of her head told him she knew. They were going to have to climb down the building, avoiding the riot going on below all the while. The vents were too small for him to crawl through, and the hallways were too deadly to step foot in.
"Judy," Nick said, his voice calm despite the situation around them.
There was a scream, and a gunshot, then silence—gut wrenching silence; silence that belonged to a corpse, a bloody, butchered corpse—
Nick felt as if he himself would vomit, too. They had to escape, and quick.
"Carrots, come on, we have to hurry." Nick pushed, glancing back at the door Judy had locked after she'd defeated the five predators.
Another scream, another gunshot, which was too close to their room—way too close.
Judy slowly rose to her feet, her knees wobbling.
Nick gazed at her—at the three-mark claw mark running down her hospital gown, and the blood beneath—and sympathy, tear burning sympathy, gleamed in his pine-green eyes. He wanted to say something, anything, but… He just couldn't.
Because back then, he hadn't been the one to stand on that podium, and mark predators as savages unintentionally. Judy had made that mistake—and… She was suffering for it.
Even though she had regained her happiness and casted away the agony and despair, she was still paying the price. God forbid if she falls into a depressed state again like she had weeks ago. If only he could be there for her, as something closer.
Nick watched Judy as she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, over and over again, calming herself. Her shoulders became relaxed, and the quivering in her muscles ceased.
She looked at Nick, her expression calm—but still… There was a tint of sadness, deep, heavy sadness. "Let's go," she said, and headed for the window, Nick followed.
And as he ran, Nick stared and stared at her, something throbbing in his chest. If only I had the courage to tell her—how I really feel about her. Not as friend, but… he let the thought fade on a silent wind.
They stood in front of the rectangular window, the sunset, blood-red mixed with deep orange, poured in through the transparent material—a perfect setting for the massacre happening in the streets. Judy glanced back at Nick, gesturing her head toward the window.
Nick nodded in understanding, aiming the pistol at the window, and fired with a flinch. The glass screamed as it shattered, falling out of the pane. Hopefully, no one below would get caught in the raining glass.
Shards of glass remained stuck in the pane, the sunset snaking through them and beamed onto the white, cracked marble floor.
Quickly, Nick rushed to his hospital bed—or rather, his torture prison—and pulled the thick, white blanket off the mattress with a grunt. He tossed the blanket over the pane and the glass shards. He glanced back at Judy, gesturing with his dark, auburn paw for her to go.
The bunny nodded, boosting herself over the pane and outside the building. Hanging from the windowsill, she carefully dropped herself down onto the stone ledge poking out around the building, keeping her abs tight, balanced.
Nick followed seconds after, landing behind Judy on the ledge, focusing his gaze away from the blood-stained concrete below. He'd always had a fear of heights, ever since being thrown out of the drain pipe like a rag doll during the Emit Otterton case, that is.
If he were to take one misstep and slip off the ledge…
"Let's hurry this up, Carrots," Nick said, his back pressed firmly against the white wall of the building, his slender fingers clutching the pistol in his paw.
Judy side-stepped on the ledge once, and then froze mid-step, her gaze turning to Nick. "What's your plan for when we reach the ground, Nick—you know, so we don't get butchered on the spot."
Nick's sea-green eyes flicked to down at the street far, far below, and back up. His stomach dropped like a stone and his body went numb. His breathing was rapid as he said, "I don't know, I don't know. Look, could we just reach solid ground first, please?" An actual plea, no sarcasm.
The slight downward tilt on the edges of her mouth was the only sign of her hesitation. But she nodded in agreement anyways, and side-stepped along the ledge as quickly as she could, her pink nose twitching violently—probably because of the thought of being spotted… Up here… With no way to defend themselves. It scared him as well.
Side-step after side-step, Nick was wondering, planning what he and Judy would do once they reached the ground. But his efforts of planning were in vain—each plan had too many flaws to count. Fate would have to decide whether they lived or died.
Nick gazed at the sharp outer corner of the building, which lead into a dark alley. Perfect—an alley was perfect place for them to touch solid concrete and plan their next course of action. That's if, there was a way for them to get to the ground.
He dared a glance down at riot below—explosions, guns, and dazzling lights. This riot isn't going to die down anytime soon, he realized.
His heart twisted into a knot.
The longer this riot went on, the more blood would bathe the streets of Zootopia. At least they hadn't been spotted. At least they had a plan to stop this, to put Bellwether behind bars.
They turned the sharp corner, and entered the alley. And even from the height at which they were at, eleven stories off the ground, thick, black darkness clouded their vision—or Judy's, anyway.
"Nick," she called. "I can't see anything, where's the gutter."
With his born-given-gift of night vision, Nick was able to see the gutters clearly—a black, unsteady pipe, snaking down the building to the lone alley below. Strange that they would have the gutter in this particular area. Normally gutters were placed on the corner of the building or the front; but Nick couldn't care less. It was a way for them to reach the ground, and that was all that mattered.
"Just five more paces away, Fluff. You'll know when you're near it, trust me." He said, his focus locked on her feet, on every attentive step she took. Ever since saving her from the fire, he had felt… protective over her. Strangely, he had invited that feeling rather than shun it. Besides, she was his friend; wasn't that what friends did?
Judy had stumbled when she had ran, unknowingly, into the gutter. But Nick had been at her side in seconds, his paw placed firmly on her hard belly. "You okay," he asked softly, his pine-green eyes locked on her beautiful face.
With his paw on her belly, he felt the stiffness of her body and heaviness of her breathing. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She assured. "Thank you." The rise and fall of her belly calmed to a normal beat.
Nick stood upright, removing his paw from her belly. "Anytime, Carrots," he said loudly and proudly. A sly grin stretched across his muzzle. "Just try not to trip again, my clumsy bunny." Through the thick layer of darkness his specialized vision so easily pierced, Nick saw a fragment of a smile appear on her thin, alluring lips.
Good. At least she wasn't withdrawing herself from the world—from him. Or focusing on the riot that she had truthfully caused. As long as she smiled and laughed, as long as he could glimpse at the old Judy he'd once knew, he would always feel complete. And Honestly, Nick loved knowing that he made her smile, feel that happiness that she so desperately needed with his sly attitude and his immature jokes.
"Whatever, dumb fox," Judy chucked, grasping the gutter in her paws, carefully. "Let's hurry up and get to the ground. I think I know where to go, so just follow my lead, okay." She said, placing her feet on the gutter.
Nick saluted as best as he could on the ledge. "Yes, ma'am." He said in a playful tone.
Judy rolled her eyes and slid down the metal pipe. Nick followed her soon after.
He had almost slumped in relief when his feet touched solid ground—or concrete, whichever. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to jump off or climb anything more than five feet off the ground for a long, long while.
"Nick, hurry up," Judy said in a whispered loud enough to be heard over the furor, gesturing him with a wave of her fuzzy paw. He chased her down the alley, staying close to the wall. The bunny stood at the alley, her back turned to him as her eyes wandered the streets. It had grew louder, more horrifying—the screams, wails, and gunfire. Fear seeped through his veins, and his paws trembled.
He glanced down at Judy, who was still peering out. Her whole body was quivering as if she were out in blizzard, naked. She was just as scared as he was—tenfold, perhaps.
Nick tapped her shoulder, but she didn't turn to face him. "Carrots." He called, to get her attention.
She still didn't give him any attention.
"Carrots, have you found—"
"GET BACK," Judy shouted with a whisper. Nick followed Judy's actions, pressing his back against the wall and suppressing his breath.
His heart skipped a beat when a lion, armed with a shotgun, raced passed them with bared teeth, mere inches from where they hid. The lion hadn't given the alley a second glance. This time, he sagged in relief with his back slouched, his paws clutching wobbling knees.
Judy then tapped his shoulder frantically. Still slouched over, Nick's sea-green eyes flicked to her violet. "What is it?" He said, panting as if he ran a marathon; seeing that ginger run pass them unknowingly, at such a close distance…
Judy jagged her finger outside to the street outside. "Look over there," she said.
Nick obeyed, his gaze following the direction the bunnies finger pointed in. His ears shot straight up and his eyes went wide when he saw the jet-black car, abandoned in the middle of the road, all four doors open. Because of his many years of hustling for money, food, tools, and cars, Nick knew the exact model of the vehicle. 2017 Volvo xc60… Whoever had abandoned that mini-van, must've had a family, if all four doors were left open. He prayed that family had made it out alive.
Nick looked down at Judy, meeting her gaze. Are you ready for this? Her determined gaze said.
Nick returned that gaze, and nodded. "Let's do this."
They burst out from the darkness of the alley, and into the streets.
Prey police officers and prey civilians were still being murdered on the spot, beaten with solid objects, or butchered by knives and bullets. It was still a blood fest, the screams of anger and agony and fear were just as loud as before.
Ignore it, Nick. Keep running! Keep running for the sake of your life! He obeyed that unknown voice. Sprinting and sprinting and sprinting, all the way to the jet-black Volvo, Judy ahead of him.
But at the corner of his vision, his swimming vision, Nick saw several predatory pair of eyes locked on them both. Then, fingers were thrown in their direction. The raging shouts came next.
"IT'S JUDY HOPPS!"
"DON'T LET HER ESCAPE!"
"GET THE BITCH! KILL HER!"
"BLOW HER HEAD OFF!"
The shouts rattled his skull, and made his heart skip multiple beats. Bullets. The bullets would come next, and if they didn't make it in time…
Judy practically dove into the minivan and into the driver's seat, sitting straight up and frantically searched for the keys.
Nick came in next, slamming the door shut, the two back ones still open. "Keys, Carrots. Where are the keys!?" He shouted, his pine-green eyes darting outside the window and back.
"I got them," she said, lifting them from the floor. They clattered as they hung from her paw, gleaming in the deep sunset.
Judy slammed the keys into the ignition, activating it with a hard turn. The engine started up with a roar—
Bullets showered the mini-van with dents and cracks, each one louder and sticking deeper into the car than the last.
Nick was a trembling mess in his black leather seat, his head ducked below the dash-board and his teeth clenched.
His window shattered, and every strand of fur on his body shot up like knives, as if it would tear through his hospital gown. And Nick, for that single, horrifying moment, raised his head and pinned Judy down with a desperate glare. "GET US OUT OF HERE, JUDY!"
The car sped off with a violent screech, and Nick was thrown back in his seat as the minivan raced down Main Street at tremendous speeds, bullets still exploding in the body with sparks and dents, and the back doors being closed from the force.
Nick slouched back in his seat, breathing a relieved sigh, his eyes closed. He then sat up, glancing at the rear-view-mirror with worried eyes.
The predators who had chased them a second were far behind them, but still, even as they drove, they still passed by screaming mammals and flying bullets and dried blood.
Nick actually felt guilty that he had let off such a relieved sigh. These mammals—these prey were in hell. And it was all because of that sheep—that God damn sheep: Bellwether. The name alone made his jaw tense.
It wasn't until then that Nick realized he was clutching the pistol in his paw, hard. The metal material groaned, as well as Nick's fingers. The fox grimaced, releasing the weapon and setting it down in his seat.
When he set the pistol down, his emerald eyes slowly looked up to Judy, still driving with her foot pressed firmly on the peddle, eyes wide with horror. Her breathing was ragged and heavy, with the sides of her mouth trembling, almost as if she would break down into sobs. And her muscles, including her tiny chest, were spazzing.
Everything they had been through today had been heart-wrenching, especially the riot. He had been on the edge since the moment those five predators had busted into his hospital room and attacked him. He may have been scared then, but with Judy, being a rabbit, had a disadvantage in the face of danger, since rabbits were scared so, so easily. At times, it was hard to believe that fact—that Judy was a rabbit.. at times she was so confident, so good at suppressing that natural fear, that he forgot she was even a bunny at all.
But now that they have ran through hell… Again, nearly dying; after months of her facing riots and fighting off predators trying desperately to kill her, she could no longer cast away that fear. Instead, it simmered through her very being.
So, with his sea-green eyes lingering on her, and Nick reached out slowly and gingerly cupped her fluffy cheek in his dark auburn paw.
The car swerved slightly with a scream, and Judy went stiff, her breathing becoming deranged. But her head didn't budge, as if she would be killed on the spot if so much as a muscle twitched.
"Judy," Nick said with a soothing voice, one that he rarely used. He stroked her fuzzy cheek, up and down. "It's me. Calm down, please. I'm here for you." Slowly, her breathing decreased.
"I'm here," he repeated. If he could just pull her against him, embrace her…
"I'm here."
Her breathing turned steady, and her shoulders relaxed. "I know," she cooed, reaching up and grasping Nick's paw in hers. She moaned as his paw stroked her cheek with tenderness meant for a queen—a lover. "I know. Thank you, Nick."
Nick smiled warmly—a smile he hadn't given since she offered him the chance to become her partner in crime fighting. He opened his mouth to say something—he froze mid-speech.
There was a rumbling sound, multiple rumbling sounds, coming from behind them. Nick eyes snapped to the mirror, and his stomach sank. Today is not are lucky day for either of us, isn't it? Five trucks were behind them, each one containing two predators of all sorts. Shit. Shit.
Nick whipped his paw from Judy's cheek and went for the pistol next to him, grasping it. "Carrots, drive faster." He demanded without looking at her.
"Way ahead of you." The car lurched with a growl from the engine, faster and faster. She took one second to glance at him, at the pistol in his paw.
"What are you going to do?" She asked a questions she already knew the answer to.
"Doing my part," Nick replied, loading the pistol. A sly grin played on his lip. "I'm just going to make their tires a little… Saggy."
Judy didn't smile back. "Be careful, Nick, please." He saw it in her eyes, in her deep violet eyes, the whispers that slithered through her mind; whispers that were meant for him. I can't lose you again. You're all I have left.
There was a moment of silence, and then, "I will, Carrots." And flicked shards of glass off his broken window. He would be careful, for her sake, he would.
You're all I have left. He let those words sink into his heart and mind.
Suddenly, a mass army of bullets rained over the car. The car swerved, and Nick glanced back at Judy, who's fur was on end, and her eyes wide.
She glanced at him. "I'm fine—just take care of them."
Nick nodded.
He sucked in a breath—no guts, no glory—and pocked his head out the window.
For one second, he aimed. And for the next, he fired, three bullets.
A tire exploded into the sparks, and the car swirled and shifted, hitting a parked car on the side of the road. The mammals already running down the sidewalk screamed louder. And Nick hoped no one had been hurt.
The moment the first truck had crashed, the predators paused their firing.
Take that chance, Nick. Take it. His instincts roared. The fox obeyed those ancient whispers, and once again poked his head out the window.
One bullet was fired from his pistol, one single bullet, and a truck at the front of the caravan did a front flip, landing on its roof. And exploded into flames and gas and smoke.
The explosion caused another car to loose its control, and it sped into an ice cream shop, luckily, having no civilians inside. Flames danced from the crashed truck.
Nick's head shot back into the car, reloading his gun, his gaze lingering on it.
"Holy crap, Nick!" Judy exclaimed from the drivers seat, the engine rumbling in the background.
Nick looked up at her, confused. "What?"
"Where in the heck did you learn to handle a gun that good?" Her eyes were still on the road, the screaming, bloody road, but she would glance at him occasionally.
Nick grinned. "Finnick can make an excellent teacher at times—I got to owe it to the little guy."
Despite their situation, despite them driving through a street filled with death and fire and fear, Judy chuckled. "I'm pretty sure he would kill you if he ever heard you calling him 'little guy', based on his tempter and the little 'good bye' kisses you give him."
The fox laughed. "He probably would, and wear my fur as a coat, too." He smiled.
A bullet shattered their back window, and both of their bodies went stiff.
"We should probably focus on losing these predators." Judy suggested, her eyes locked on the road.
"Agreed."
Gunshot after gunshot rang from the cars tailing them.
Nick dared a glance back. Two cars left, he counted. He checked the ammo of the pistol. He hissed a curse. There were only three bullets left. He would have to make this count.
Bullets were still flying through the air as Nick stuck his head and paw out the window, aiming—
"HOLY SHIT!"
Seconds. He only had seconds for his sea-green eyes to snap to Judy… And the massive truck ramming into their side.
Judy screamed; every window in the car shattered; the trucks engine roared as it bashed and bashed the mini-van.
The car toppled over, over and over again. Judy flung from the driver's seat and face-first into Nick's chest.
Nick's world plunged into darkness.
Hey, guys! I hope you enjoyed this action packed chapter. So tell me: what did you think of it? Good? Bad? Leave some reviews while you're at it.
Also, I would like to give shout-out to my favorite author, Major Wolf. If you'd notice the decrease of typos in this chapter, you can thank him for that. He's been a really big help to me, and without him, this chapter wouldn't be possible, or as good as it is. So take a moment to check out his profile and his story, "Till Death do us Apart". A beautiful Zootopia fanfic-I highly suggest you check it out.
Well, that's all I have to say for today. See you in chapter 12.
Peace!