The days following Saturday's whole 'Justice for Jude' incident were quite uneventful. Blake spent the majority of the Sunday lounging around, working on projects for other classes that he's been missing out on. He made sure to stay away from his computer so that he wouldn't be tempted to to wander over to the news sites. Instead, he spent his time alone in the college's expansive library. He stopped using it once he bought and assembled his desktop, and he had forgotten just how nice the space really was. While he was reading through one of his textbooks, he was reminded about just how much time he'd spent there.

Blake felt a light tapping on his left shoulder, breaking his concentration on a particularly interesting paragraph. He looked up to see what he could only guess is one of the college's custodians.

"Library's closed now, kid. You're gonna have to leave," he said softly. Blake glanced down at his phone, where the clock read '11:00 P.M.' Blake hastily packed up his books into his bag and threw it over his shoulder.

"Sorry about that, I must've lost track of time. I forgot how nice and quiet this place was," Blake replied.

"Mhmm," said the custodian. Blake waved goodbye as he made his way to the door. He navigated a few more hallways before reaching one of the building's many exits. The cold Borealis air hit Blake's face; a stark contrast to the heated library. He looked around to see exactly where he was. He turned around to see which exit he had taken. A sign above the door told him that he had just exited 'Door Q.' Door Q was the exit that happened to be the furthest from Blake's dorm. Blake sighed, and started walking.

Not thirty seconds into his journey, Blake began to really feel the cold. Earlier in the day, the temperature was quite warm for a day in late March, and he left his dorm without a sweater. Now that it was near midnight, the temperature had dropped significantly. Blake picked up his pace. The walk was pretty straight forward; just follow the delivery road all the way to the main parking lot, and from there, walk down the pedestrian path to the correct building. The sound of the nearby freeway kept the walk from being too quiet. Blake was about to pass the Science Wing Delivery Bay when-

"Calm down, it's not like it's not finished, I just left it in the lab," a voice said. Blake stopped dead. He silently walked toward the wall and pressed his back to it. He tip-toed to the corner entering the Delivery Bay to get within earshot of whomever was there. "Do I have a key? Of course I have a key."

Blake peered around the corner, hoping to catch a glance of the source of the voice, but whomever it was had already entered the building. All Blake saw was the door closing behind them. Quietly, Blake made his way over to the Delivery Bay's door. Upon pulling on it, the door was locked.

They must've locked it behind them. Blake thought. He sighed. With the door locked, there was no way for him to follow them and figure out what exactly they were doing. Blake resumed his walk back to his dorm.

Blake deposited his bag onto the bed and made his way over to the kitchen. He fetched a glass from one of the cupboards and filled it with water from the faucet. As he drank, he felt a vibration coming from his pocket. He set the now empty glass back down on the counter and reached into his pocket for his phone. A banner notification in the middle of the screen told him that he had received a text from Chief Maxwell. Blake unlocked the device and navigated to his messaging app. He tapped it, and the message from the Chief loaded instantly.

Blake, the interview with Boreal Botany will have to be moved to next Monday. I tried to get an earlier date, but this was the earliest they were available.

Blake stared at his screen and said nothing. Although he was looking forward to the interview, a week's delay would give him more time to himself. More specifically to reflect on how he's been acting lately. Blake typed out his response.

Don't worry about it, I have some things from other classes to take care of anyway. Give me a shout if you need me.

A few minutes passed and he received a response from Chief Maxwell

Will do.

Blake walked across the room and sat on his bed. He reached behind his nightstand, grasping for his phone charger. Once he found it, he plugged it into his phone and placed it down on the nightstand. Blake glanced at the clock on the wall across from his bed. It was nearing midnight, so Blake decided that it was best just to go to sleep now. Ten minutes passed, and he was ready for bed. Blake turned out the lights to the dorm. The only source of light now was the bright LED lights coming from the parking lot beyond the window. Blake climbed into his bed and lied down facing the wall. He closed his eyes in hopes that sleep would follow.

Fifteen minutes passed. Then thirty. Then forty-five. After sixty minutes, Blake gave up. He sat up against his headboard and sighed as he stared at the wall opposite his bed.

Who would into the building at such a late hour? What were they going in there to get? Who were they talking to? These were a few of the many questions buzzing around in Blake's head. A few minutes passed and his train of thought began to slow. A few more, and he had fallen asleep.

The next morning Blake woke up feeling well rested, however he did have a mild headache. He pulled the covers off of himself and sat on the edge of his bed. A quick glance at the clock on his nightstand told him that it was eleven A.M. Blake stood upright and stretched his back. He trudged over to his dresser and grabbed random bits and pieces until he was able to make a full outfit. His next destination was the washroom. He placed his clothes on the counter and grabbed himself a towel from the shelf across from the sink.

After brushing his teeth, he ran himself a shower. Once out of yesterday's clothes, he stepped inside, allowing the warm water to pour over his fur. After allowing himself to soak for a bit, he began to plan out his day in his head.

What am I gonna do today? I kind of lied to the Chief when I said I had a bunch of extra work to do. On top of that, I was really banking on going in for that interview.

Blake reached for one of the soap bottles and poured a small dollop into his paw and he began scrubbing himself down.

I just can't get what happened at the Delivery Bay out of my head. The most like reason someone was there was that he forgot something in one of the labs and he was just going to get it. but my gut feeling is telling me otherwise. I don't usually go off of instincts, but of the times I have, I haven't been wrong. I think I'll pay the Science Majors a visit and see if I can get anything out of them. It's a long-shot, but a shot nonetheless.

Blake rinsed the soap from his fur and turned off the tap. He reached for the towel just outside the tub and wiped his face on it, so he was able to see where he was stepping. He spent a few minutes drying himself off enough so that it wouldn't show on the clothes he was wearing. Freshly showered, he stepped back out into his dorm and toward the large window across from his bed. He was greeted with the warm midday sun shining through his windows, which was the best type of sun. Blake's ears peaked suddenly as he picked up a faint sound. He looked behind him to see that his phone's screen was illuminated; he had received a text message.

He walked toward the nightstand and unplugged the phone from it's cord. The text message was from Stephen, it read:

Good morning! How are you?

Blake smiled at the message. Stephen was always one to use proper punctuation in his texts. Blake tapped out his response.

It technically isn't morning anymore, bud. But I'm doing fine.

A few seconds passed, and Blake watched the bouncing dots as Stephen typed.

Haha. I'm doing just fine, by the way. I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me and a few of my buddies. What say you?

Blake's smile began to dissipate. As much as he would like a day to just hang out with friends, he knew his active mind would come back to haunt him in the form of endless questions.

Sorry, Steph. I have some things to do today. Maybe later this week?

Blake waited for an answer, but none came right away. For a moment, he was worried that he may have hurt Stephen's feelings, but just as he was about to text him to apologize, the bouncing dots made their return.

Oh, well that's okay. We can hang out some other time.

With that, Blake closed the messenger app and stared at the lock screen. Blake squinted at the date, as something seemed a bit off. It read 'Monday, April 2nd.'

"As if it's already April," Blake said aloud. He didn't even bother grabbing a sweater from the rack as he made his way to the door. All he grabbed was his phone and his wallet. He reached for the door knob and turned it. Just as he was about to step out into the hallway, he noticed his reflection in the mirror above the key rack. On his left cheek, going over his eye and up onto his forehead, he saw that his previously snow-white fur was beginning to turn a into a slate grey. "Spring has indeed sprung," Blake said before leaving the dorm.

Blake was careful not to step in any puddles on his way to the main building. With the temperatures above their seasonal average that day, the snow was melting rather quickly. After an impromptu game of hopscotch on the walkway, he arrived at the main entrance. The first place to check was the cafeteria, since it was the closest. The cafeteria wasn't too far from the entrance. The main building was designed this way so students and staff wouldn't have to navigate a maze of hallways in order to reach it. Within seconds of entering the main building, Blake had arrived at the entrance to the cafeteria. He scanned over the room, hoping to find the Science Majors. As expected, the group was at their usual table.

As he approached them, he noticed that every seat was taken except for one. Approaching closer, he noticed that Ryder was missing again, and assumed the seat was his. With a sudden jolt of confidence, Blake strolled right up to the empty chair and took a seat. Everyone else at the table glared at the fox, who remained unmoved by their stares.

"Oh look, an uninvited guest," said Dez coldly. Blake glanced over at the buck, who had just finished closing his notebook.

"Oh look, unnecessary comments," Blake returned. Everyone shifted their gaze to Dez, who simply rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I need something from you guys again, would you care to assist?" he asked.

"What do you want then?" Dez asked. Blake smirked.

"Well, I just wanted to know where you all were last night, at around quarter to midnight," Blake asked. A few other group members gave him confused expressions. Dez sneered toward Blake.

"And just what makes that your business?" Dez asked. Blake stood up and began pacing around the table.

"It's my business because at that time last night, I watched someone enter the Science Wing through the Delivery Bay. If that isn't odd enough for you, they seemed to be talking to someone, most likely over the phone. The mammal going into the building reassured whoever was on at the other end of the line that 'It's not like it's not finished,' and that they 'left it in the lab.' I want to know what they went in to get, and why," Blake explained. Everyone at the table gave him an odd stare. Blake stopped his pacing.

"So, would any of you be able to provide me with the details that I'm missing?" he asked. Everyone exchanged looks, but nobody spoke. Blake sighed. "Fine, I suppose we'll start with you," Blake said. pointing at the otter at the farthest end of the table. The otter's eyes snapped to Blake, caught off guard by being addressed directly. The otter fumbled with his thick-rimmed glasses as he tried to string together a sentence.

"I was at home...working on-" he began, before being interrupted.

"Come on, fox. Why do you have to intimidate the freshman?" Dez asked angrily. It was Blake's turn to roll his eyes.

"I think he was doing just fine before you so rudely interrupted him," he began. He gestured toward the otter. "Go on," he said.

"I was in my dorm working on my essay," the otter stated. "Dana can vouch for me, right Dana?" he asked, gesturing toward the coyote across from him.

"Yup, I was helping him with his terrible grammar and sentence structure," replied Dana. Blake nodded.

"Okay, so that's two of you, how about you?" Blake said, pointing at the moose sitting next to Dez.

"I was asleep at home. I had a presentation this morning and I didn't want to look half dead in front of my peers," he said. Blake chuckled lightly.

"I can relate to that. Three down...that leaves only you, Dez," Blake said. "What were you up to?" Dez was visibly frustrated.

"I was in my dorm watching TV by myself. Happy?" Dez said. Blake nodded.

"I currently don't have any reason to doubt you, so in short, yes. Although what you've told me doesn't assist me in the slightest, I appreciate the help." As Blake started toward the exit, he remembered one last thing he wanted to ask. "Oh, before I go, where's Ryder?" he asked.

"He's in his lab, where he usually is, good luck coaxing him out," Dana said. Blake smiled.

"Thanks," he said before taking off toward the exit. Blake left the cafeteria and made for the main entrance. The Science Wing was the furthest from the main building, so Blake was forced back outside, as the Science Wing was it's own complex, separate from the rest of the college. The afternoon sun was really doing a number on the snow outside. The previously pearly-white banks were beginning to turn brown due to the amount of sand packed inside them. Blake was cautious to avoid any puddles on the way there.

Blake entered the Science Wing through it's main entrance. This building didn't have much of a foyer, as it was around the size of a small waiting room. There were a few couches and chairs, and boards lined the walls with various papers posted on them. Beyond the room was a long hallway containing the actual labs that the students worked in. The structure was four storeys, each with around twenty rooms. After having this revelation, Blake sighed.

He started down the hallway toward the first door. As he was about to knock, he heard the sound of a door closing a ways down the hall. He glanced toward the source of the noise. Ryder had just exited what could only be his lab.

"Hey, Ryder!" Blake called. He began jogging down the hallway to catch up to Ryder, as his call hadn't attracted his attention. "Ryder!" He tried again, but this time a little louder. It worked. Ryder stopped and turned his head to see the fox running toward him.

"Er, hello," Ryder replied quietly. "You shouldn't yell, as other mammals are working here, and you probably shouldn't run in the halls either," Blake slowed his pace and matched Ryder's walking speed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can I ask you a couple things?" Blake asked. The beaver didn't look up to meet Blake's eyes, he adjusted his glasses and looked at the wall.

"Fine, but make it quick. I have a few things to take care of at home," Ryder replied.

"Oh, that's no problem. All I wanted to ask you is where you were at around quarter to midnight last night," said Blake. Ryder furrowed his brow.

"That's a bit intrusive, don't you think?" Ryder asked. Blake shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I want to know because I watched someone enter this building last night at around that time when I was walking back from the library," Blake explained. Ryder's expression didn't change.

"What makes that your business?" Ryder asked.

"Because whoever it was said something about something not being finished, and that they left it in the lab. The door was locked when I tried to follow them in, so they must've had a key." Blake replied. Ryder put a paw up to his face.

"Well if they had a key, then they must have clearance to enter the building. Again, what makes this your business?" Ryder asked again, frustrated. Blake's eyes narrowed.

"Because I was curious? And you never answered my initial question. Where were you last night?" Blake demanded. Ryder jumped slightly at the loudness of Blake's voice. He looked up to meet Blake's eyes for the first time since they began their exchange.

"I was at home in my room reviewing notes from last week. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going now," Ryder spat. He threw open the door leading outside and stormed down the walkway, leaving Blake alone in the foyer. Blake shook his head and looked toward the ground.

Unbelievable. It should not be that difficult to get something so simple from someone. Well, you're zero for five, Blake. Time to think of something else.

Blake pushed open the door and began walking down the walkway, still staring at the ground. He reached the end of the walkway and turned left when-

"Oh, Blake. How've you been?" said a voice from behind. Blake stopped and turned around to see who had called his name. Standing at the end of the walkway was a familiar looking ferret. Blake smiled.

"Josh! I've been good. What are you doing here? This isn't even your campus," Blake said. The ferret chuckled.

"I know, I just came to bring Ryder his keychain. I was gonna go out and run some errands when I noticed he forgot his keys, which obviously have the housekey on it," Josh explained. Blake nodded.

"Did you already go in?" Blake asked. Josh shook his head.

"No, I was just about to go in, then I saw you walking," Josh replied.

"Oh, well, he's not there. He just left. I was talking with him as he was leaving. He seemed a bit irritable, and was being quite difficult," Blake explained. Josh raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Usually he's really chill. What were you two talking about? He can get really heated about certain video games, so if it was-"

"No, it wasn't that." Blake said, cutting Josh off. "All I did was ask him where he was last night at quarter to midnight. It took a while, but he eventually answered saying he was in his room. Something I don't doubt," Blake said. Josh grew confused.

"He said that?" he asked. Blake nodded. "That's strange. At that time, I was heading upstairs to bed and I knocked on his door to tell him that I was turning in for the night. There was no answer, so I knocked. No answer again, so I turned the door handle. The door opened, revealing that it was empty. I was surprised, because when Ryder goes anywhere, he locks the door. He must've been in quite a hurry to leave if he forgot to lock the door," Josh said. Blake was shocked, but kept a neutral expression.

"That is strange, isn't it?" Blake said.

"I agree with you there, bud. I don't know if what I said helped or not, but whatever." Josh shoved his paws into the pockets of his sweater. "Anyway, I should probably get back to the house. Without his keys, he's gonna be stuck out there for a while," Josh said. As he was turning to head back home, he quickly turned back around and squinted at Blake's face. Blake stood, confused. "Oh, you got a little dirt on your face there, bud," he said, pointing at Blake. Blake rolled his eyes.

"No, that's just what my fur looks like when spring rolls around. By the time the semester ends, I'll pretty much be all grey," Blake explained. Josh chuckled lightly.

"Well there you go, then. I'm off now, see ya," he said, walking away from Blake.

"See ya," Blake replied. Blake began walking down the path toward the residence section, avoiding puddles for a third time that day.

Ryder lied to me, but for what purpose? I can't be one hundred percent certain that was him yesterday, but he's definitely a suspect now. I'll confront him about it next time I see him.

The walk back to his dorm was uneventful, and all the while he managed not to get his paws covered with mud. Regardless, he still wiped them off on the doormat before entering his building. He fetched his keys from his pocket before arriving at his door. He unlocked it, and stepped inside. He placed his keys on the key rack and took a seat in his computer chair. He took his phone out of his pocket and tossed it lightly on the computer desk. He glanced down at the device, noticing there was a text notification, as well as a missed call notification, both from Chief Maxwell.

Good news, Blake. I was able to move the interview from next Monday to tomorrow. It's a lunch meeting, so come to the Headquarters at around ten-thirty.

Blake sighed. From receiving the text about the interview the previous night, to the one just then, his desire to go in for an interview had diminished significantly. He initially wanted to go in for the interview to get a list of mammals that they sell Night Howlers to, but since he spent the majority of the day trying to figure out who went into the Science Wing after hours, his interest had shifted to that, especially since he now had a proper suspect. Begrudgingly, Blake typed out a response to the Chief's message.

Excellent! I'll be there for sure.

Blake sighed and tossed his phone onto his bed. He turned to face his computer and turned the monitor on. When the screen appeared, he immediately opened his internet browser and went into his settings. He scrolled down until he found the 'On Startup' tab and turned off the option for custom pages. He tested his change by opening a new tab. A tab containing a search engine appeared instead of the news site, confirming the change had worked.

Maybe that'll make me less scared to use my computer. Blake thought.

Blake glanced at the clock in the bottom-right corner of the screen. It read '1:30.' It had only been two and a half hours since he got up. Blake rolled himself in his chair over to his bed and he picked up his phone. He opened up his conversation with Stephen and began typing.

You said you and your buds were gonna do something today. Did you already go?

Blake expected there to be no response, but Stephen came online in an instant and began typing a response.

Yeah, we decided that we would just stay in though. The offer's still open if you wanted to come chill with us. We're at my dorm, so we're not too far.

Blake typed his answer.

Yeah, I was just about to ask if I could join you. I'll be up in a minute.

Blake put his phone in his pocket and headed toward the door.

We have surpassed one thousand views, which is pretty sweet. Your reward is this here chapter. I did this instead of my homework. -Prince.