Chapter 12
Judy internally scolded herself for forgetting that she had left her sister at Cliffside Asylum. She gripped the wheel of the car tightly as she maneuvered it through the city.
"How stupid can I be, forgetting my sister."
Nick smirked and looked over at her.
"Come on carrots, it's not that bad. So she got to spend a few extra hours with our odd guest. At worst she's probably bored out of her mind."
When Judy pulled the car up to Cliffside she immediately knew something was wrong.
"Nick where are the guard's Bogo said he was going to post?"
She exited the car and walked toward the guard booth and let out a loud gasp when she saw Delgato laying unconscious on the ground. She was about to go to Delgato's side when she heard a loud roar. She looked up and saw a large polar bear rushing Tim and Cindy. She opened her mouth to shout but before she could the polar bear slammed into the two throwing them over the side of the cliff.
"No!" Judy cried out and Nick came rushing up beside her. "Judy what's wrong?" He scanned the horizon as the polar bear turn to face them. Judy growled angrily and started to run toward the polar bear, completely ignoring the size difference between the two of them. She pulled her tranquilizer gun and fired. It missed the bear by mere inches. Not discouraged she ran to the side of the cliff where the water fall poured into the river below. Nick momentarily stunned by his partner's rash actions quickly recovered his senses and pulled his dart gun and ran after Judy.
"Judy, stop! Are you crazy there is no way you can take him alone!"
The polar bear's blind rage kept him chasing after the small rabbit, completely ignoring the precarious position he was putting himself. Nick raised his gun and fired. The dart hit the polar bear in his side. The bear stumbled slightly, the tranquilizer phasing him but not rendering him unconscious. Judy saw her chance and turned around quickly and started to run toward the bear. Leaping as high as she could she hit the bear in the muzzle, knocking his head back and causing him to spin around. Judy then propelled herself off the polar bears muzzle, and deftly landed on the ground before the bear. Stunned by the tranquilizer dart and Judy's kick the polar bear stumbled backwards, his feet slipping on the wet ground beneath him, and over the edge of the cliff he went, joining Tim and Cindy in the inky dark depths of the river below. Judy ran over to the side of the cliff and looked down, her eyes frantically scanning the river and it's shore.
"Cindy!" she shouted, tears streamed down her face. It was her job to keep her safe while visiting her in the big city, a deep sense of failure and grief began to build up inside of her. Nick ran to her side and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Judy, we need to call this in." His voice was flat as he stared down at the river, also desperately searching for any sign that Cindy had survived the fall.
Several police cruisers arrived within minutes of them calling it in. Chief Bogo stepped out of one of them and evaluated the scene. Judy was sitting on the curb of the road with Nick beside her, his arm wrapped around her tiny form. Judy stared off into nothingness, completely numb to all emotions. The sound of Helicopters roared overhead, their search lights aimed at the river, the water rippling as the blast of air from their blades hit the water.
Bogo let the pair be for now, instead focusing on getting control of the crime scene. Several officers entered the asylum and soon after they were escorting two handcuffed wolves to rear seats of the parked cruisers. Dr. Badger emerged soon afterwards, still groggy from the tranquilizer dosage she had recently received. Bogo walked up to her.
"Doctor, What happened here?" he spoke as calmly as he could, though deep beneath the surface he felt something akin to rage. One officer assaulted, a missing civilian and worst of all the creature was missing.
Dr. Badger looked up at the chief. "They were here for the creature, that's all I know."
Chief Bogo huffed and turned toward Judy and Nick deciding now was the right time to get their side of the story.
"Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde what can you tell me about what went on here this morning?" Judy wiped the tears from her face and looked up at the imposing form that was chief Bogo.
"We were coming to pick up my sister Cindy, when we noticed Delgato unconscious. The creature was holding my sister, she looked unconscious. Then a polar bear charged the creature and my sister, they… they fell over the side of the cliff into the river."
Bogo nodded solemnly,
"We are currently having rescue teams search up and down the river. But officer Hopps you must be aware that there is a good chance your sister didn't survive the fall."
Nick spoke up,
"We survived the same fall chief." Nick offered up a hopeful tone in his voice.
Bogo turned and with a raised voice spoke,
"And it was a one in a million chance that you did. We have to be prepared for the worst."
Judy spoke up.
"The polar bear. I knocked him into the river after he attacked me. You're rescue teams should search for him as well."
Bogo nodded. He turned to leave but stopped and eyed his two grief stricken officers.
"There is nothing more you can do here. Return to the station and start writing up a report."
Judy couldn't help but glance back toward the cliff her sister had fallen from. Why was the creature holding her sister? And if the creature and Cindy did survive the fall… Cindy might still be in the creatures clutches. Judy shivered and tried not to think about all the horrid things the creature might be doing to her sister right now.
...
Tim's first impression of the river water was that it was very cold. Still after being on ice for several millennia the cold seemed to bother him less than he would have expected. He had plunged deep into the river's depths. Quickly he began to swim upwards. His webbed hands assisting him ascent to the surface. When he finally broke the water's surface he let out a loud gasp and gulped in as much air as he could. His breathing was rapid and panicked. He looked around searching for the shore. The river current carried him rapidly down the river. It was at that moment Tim remembered he had not fallen off the cliff alone. He glanced around at the water around him searching for Cindy's small form. He saw her laying face down in the water. As fast as he could he began to swim toward her.
"Hang on Cindy! I'm coming!" he grabbed her small form and did his best to fight the river's currents as she swam for the shore line. He had already been swept far down the river to the point he could barely see the cliff side he had fallen from. As soon as he reached the shore he checked to see if Cindy was still breathing. She wasn't. Quickly he tried to remember his CPR training, but how exactly do you perform CPR on such a small animal? That was the first thought that crossed his mind. Gently he pushed down on her chest, sweat began to form on his brow, he was terrified that he might crush the rabbits tiny chest if he pressed to hard. He then placed his mouth over hers as best he could and blew air into her lungs. He continued this for a few more moments before Cindy began to cough up water. Tim sighed in relief.
"Cindy are you okay?" She didn't answer, he looked down at her and noticed that she was still unconscious. Shaking his head he sat down beside her.
"Well that was one heck of a fall… Can't believe we survived." He spoked aloud to himself. He turned toward the river and noticed a large white mass being carried by the current. He jolted upward realizing that the polar bear had joined them in their fall from the cliff. He was about the grab Cindy and run when he noticed the polar bear wasn't moving. It lay face up in the river. Tim couldn't tell if the bear was alive or dead but he wasn't going to wait around in plain sight to find out. He gently picked up the small rabbit and slung her over his shoulder. "Shelter and some warmth that's what we need right now." Again Tim spoke to himself. He slowly made his way through the thick brush growing along the river bed. He grimaced as he stepped on a sharp branch, cutting his foot. What he wouldn't give for a decent pair of shoes right now. Still he wasn't going to let the lack of proper footwear impede his efforts, and with that thought further and further into the unknown he traveled.