What was it like to have nothing? To have no one love or care about you. To have absolutely no reason to live...?

First came sadness. Nicholas mourned the loss of Judy as if she had truly passed away. He felt cold, hard, desperate. He wondered if he should blame himself.

Then came anger. How could it be he's fault? He was going down the right path; his own path, like none other. Who cares if Judy didn't want to take his side? He didn't need anyone.

Lastly, the terrible weight of Time; always pressing down on him; he didn't have enough time in a day; his life could end at any second: everything had to be done Now. Where is Judy? Hurry hurry... There! After her. Now!

Nicholas Wilde stood up from the dirt and chased down Judy, his mind flashing vivid images of the rabbit torn into shreds.

Yes. Kill it. Kill the prey; you are the hunter. She means nothing to you. You mean nothing to her. Finish it.

...

Judy could hear the fox gaining on her, but did not turn around. She walked slowly, sniffling and wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh Nick..." She whimpered. "Why...? Why do you have to kill?"

The closer Nick got, the hungrier he became, eyes rolling back into his head, bloodied saliva foaming on his black lips.

Judy stopped walking. She knew that she didn't have much time left. "Well," she said quietly, and looked up at the blue sky. "At least I followed my dream..." A single tear rolled down the side of her face. "Goodbye, Nick..."

The fox collided into her, paws kicking up dust; his teeth latched onto throat with sudden and violent force; he shook her body back and forth, her inside wiggling, pouring like red pasta out onto the dirt.

Once this was done, the fox gobbled up the organs and cracked open her skull with his powerful claws and teeth, scraping and gnawing ravenously.

Next came silent, in which his own heartbeat was the only thing he could hear. I am alive, his body told him. I will survive.

The fox turned his nose up and snorted. "I don't need society. I never did. I was born to be a wild. And that's exactly what I'm going to be."

Nicholas turned and ran off on four legs into the country, ducking under corn fields and swimming across rivers.

Rumors of a "wild fox" became local news. Animals big and small shivered in horror at the thought of a fox choosing to eat another animal willingly. It was madness!

But to Nick, killing was an easy, and delicious, second-nature. And he had no reason to stop.

- the end