Beliefs
I'd been a hard day as Judy had to help her father in the fields as to plant the new harvest. It may have been her free day as it was Saturday but that didn't mean that she was excluded from helping the family business, that didn't happen on the Hopps family farm. She had dirt around her ankles and her paws as well as on her clothes, yet even if she felt drained, there was this flow of energy all around her which was keeping her up and moving. Maybe it was the fresh air, maybe it was the idea that the food on the table would taste sweet, or that she'd sleep like a log after such a day.
She was still a child, having started school just a few years ago, yet she was establishing herself faster than anyone else at her age, it was very odd even for her. Judy was walking down the corridor of her home, heading towards the showers and afterwards probably right to bed if she wasn't able to find a spot on the dinner table, but when she was passing through the spacious room where the big fireplace was, her mother, who was reading a book on one of the armchairs, called her out, "Judy, could you come please?"
The surprise got Judy to stop and stare directly at her mother's warm smile. Yea, she was exhausted but receiving some attention was never something she strayed from, thus she smirked lightly and, with some spring in her step, began closing in the distance. That was when she noticed her grandfather, close to the cozy fire, in his chair and facing them with his back as he read the daily Bunnyburrow newspaper. She didn't like him very much because he would always be grumpy, always so bossy and harsh with his words if he found out about a problem that he deemed meaningless and insignificant, while being the opposite for the mammal that it concerned.
Judy stopped just before the old but comfortable armchair, her feet touching the white wool rug that was covering the planked floor in that spot. She looked at her mother, whose belly was again enlarged from mid-pregnancy, in puzzlement but when she saw her paw to tap the side of her thigh, Judy's eyebrows squeezed together and she raised both her paws in fogginess, to which her mother scoffed lightly and chuckled, thus repeating the same motion. Her dirty state apparently wasn't an issue.
She wasn't going to wait to be told again and jumped at her mother, landing in between her legs and sitting quickly on her lap, which earned a light and jovial oooff. Her butt scooped closer and she felt a warm paw to embrace her side which managed to melt some of the tiredness around her body from the hard work.
"How was it, sweety? You know you didn't have to stay all day," Bonnie said as she ran her fingers around Judy's ears which got her to smile and snuggle closer to her mother while the sensation of touch got her belly to flutter.
She knew that there was no need to stay and that she could've pocketed the rest as time for herself which would've been used as rest but that was exactly why she chose not to. "I know… but I wanted to!"
Bonnie snorted with her ever-present smile, having visibly found out about Judy's intentions which she had always an issue of hiding. It just wasn't her nature to do so. "You wanted tomorrow for yourself, didn't you, honey?"
Having been so easily caught surprised the fur out her and her big heart throbbed hard as she huddled her paws closer to her chest, and she didn't look up until she couldn't see another way out but the truth. "Uuuuhmmm… maybe?"
There was this feeling of expectancy of scolding, even if she couldn't remember ever having received such from her loving parent, even with the sensations around her ears which were liquefying the stress away from her body. It was so odd and misplaced, nonetheless present… "What're you planning to do?"
There was no hostility that Judy could detect, just genuine concern and interest. She actually wanted to talk about her ideas for tomorrow because there rarely was someone that would really want to listen to her, yea they did listen but it wasn't because they wanted to. Now, now it felt different, it felt genuine. "Ughmmm… There's this book… about… well… it's about a bad guy stealing from some poor mammals… and a detective tries to catch him… and he almost catches him but he runs away and… I want to finish it! I don't know how he runs away… but I want to know and—"
That was when the interjection happened, which dropped her heart into her stomach. It was so startling that she couldn't even continue. "Judy… you still want to become a police officer?" Bonnie's smile was down and there was great concern in her lavender eyes, eyes which were a reflection Judy's own gifted thee by her.
If she were to describe her emotions, there were two words that fit perfectly: mild anger. Bonnie's interest wasn't in her but her choice of future, which she had vocalized loudly at that school play. Why were they trying to hold her back? Couldn't they let her be who she was and who she wanted to be… "Of course! Maybe… maybe a detective too!"
"But, honey, we bunnies aren't meant for such jobs. You'll be all alone there…"
She wasn't going to be alone, that was not true, it was false. The mild anger turned into irritation because she was stepping out her comfort zone while being just a child, thus it was hard to be sure about everything because it just wasn't possible at such an age, hell it wasn't possible for anyone at any age. Maybe only the Gods, in whom she didn't even believe as they wouldn't create such a world, if they existed, where prejudice would be dominant all around. It was unfair and that had pushed her to learn more and more. "I won't, mum! Sam! Sam will be my partner! He promised me… and we'll catch the bad guys together and—"
"You won't be taken serious, it'll be very hard! It'd be impossible-dangerous!"
Her mother's voice turned slightly panicky and her words pushed into Judy's head in the form of fear from failure. But that was exactly what drove her to push herself, she hated feeling fear and even if she was incredibly inexperienced, she managed to retort strongly, "I don't wanna to be a ordinary bunny!"
Her mother became wide-eyed, as if what had been said hit home hard, unforeseen and absolute. The touch around Judy's ears didn't have the same delight no more and her right foot was starting to get quirky from the frustration that had dawned upon her. But then, then everything turned around in the blink of an eye. "I know… I know, Judy… It's hard for me to accept and let you go but…" -a sad sigh squirmed through Bonnie's lips- "maybe I should…"
"Pffft…" A hard and mocking scoff originated from behind Judy which got her ears to spring up even tho her mother's words had really excited and disoriented her. She could see her grandfather with his long and white whiskers looking at her with scorn, his newspaper severed in half and his lips twitching in evident frustration. "She wannas be buck? Treats'er like buck! Lord willin', a good'ol belt'd fix the whinnin' if'ya weren' so damnin' soft! Back 'em then it works, it'll now."
Judy's eyes widened at the implication, even if she had never experienced it, she knew friends who had told her about them being punished like that. It was awful… vile… unnecessary… For a moment she feared that it could happen to her but her mother's paw went in front of her body and pulled her protectively to herself, which was in the form of great emotional assurance. "That'll never happen, go do something else and watch your trap!"
Her grandfather didn't wait to be told again and stood off the chair with a creak, grabbing his wooden cane which she remembered seeing with the initials of a flipped D and S in the middle of its head, a head made shaped into a perfect ball with varnished shades of brown and black, while the rest of the stick from below the ball was uneven and looked like a very old branch that definitely had some sentimental value to the old lizard. She had asked him once about the initials but had received nothing of value as information.
"God-damnin' whippersnappers…" he mumbled as he passed by them with a glare of detest at Judy but his eyes didn't even move towards Boonie who was outright glowering at him while holding Judy tightly and close, which Judy easily could feel but then noticed additionally when she moved her head up. Why did her mother hate her father so much? What had he done?
"Mum, why don't you get along with gramps?" The question agitated Bonnie as her ears drooped instantly and an awkward smile crept around her lips as she stroked her lumpy belly but the smile quickly vanished as she understood that she had been caught trying to mask the situation.
"I lived in a different era, honey. Choice didn't exist like now… I was just like you but I… bended… and here we are… not that I'm complaining, heh." Judy had never heard that, never in her life had she been told that. Her mother was just like she was right now, but she had quit. It was hard to understand at the very moment why that had happened but it probably had to do something with her grandfather and the so called 'era' she had mentioned. But then, then what had she wanted to be back then was what her curiosity was whispering at her to ask, after all, she was a very adventurous and curious bunny.
"Did you want to be something else?"
It took Bonnie some thinking while Judy played with a tuft of her fur in anticipation, until an answer began coming forth. It wasn't detailed but it was wanted. "I did… I did… But it's all in the past, what matters is the now…" -Judy's cheek was cupped and her chin was raised gently- "I don't agree with your choice but I won't stop you. I won't repeat the same mistakes."
The shock of the words plagued her reaction and she stared with an open mouth while her mind tried to find anything to fill that void with words, anything. And then it came, primal and truthful flow of feelings, "Thanks, mum!" -Judy jumped at her mother's neck and hugged her with all the leftover strength her body had managed to save throughout the tough day- "Love you!"
The embrace was accepted shortly after and she felt warm as well as appreciated. She had waited for so long for her parents to accept her choice and at last, at last at least one of them had did so, had decided to stop trying to keep her away from her dreams and future. "I love you too, honey. More than anything…"
Survival, such a basic and primal need which makes you feel powerful and able to do anything at any cost. Could it be considered a weapon or a tool, or both? Whatever it may considered be, what it matters are its implications, its weight and effect to the one who wields that instinct, because without it, the only thing they can rely on is experience which, when lacked, could lead to futility and clouded judgment. Instinct is a part of everyone, inseparable and important, yet sometimes its needs are diminished in a society where order and protection from the unknown are a thing of the past.
But then the time comes when it's called again as it cradles and embodies your every fiber and cell, it comes when all that is taken away and replaced with that same uncertainty as well as fear. Judy could feel it coursing through her veins, it had never stopped since she was taken in this place. She had experienced violations, attempts on her life, murder in front of her, apathy and bilious hate. And now, now that fear from uncertainty had sprung again, threatening to overtake her actions in the form of irrationality and ideas she'd normally never have.
The footsteps from behind the door sounded semi-heavy and almost like the wolf's which squeezed her heart and got her to panic as she searched for a weapon. Even if she had good fighting skills, her body was in no condition to try itself over a heavier and unknown opponent who viewed murder as justice. Thus she looked over at the rod that was laying in between the crack of Brad's head and quickly grabbed it with some strain as it had become stuck inside his malformed skull, but as she pulled, it managed to slip out with a nerve-pricking plock, and even if that disgusted her so much that her tummy rumbled, she managed to focus her nerves and hide herself behind the door where there was that slight crack from its handle meeting the surface of the old wall.
Time was not by her side as a click came into life and the door opened, with the same stout mammal entering shortly after as well as those rumbling sounds from before which spewed into the room like smoke. The spots of blood on his fur and on his clothes were almost not visible anymore but he stopped suddenly just as he came into view. She wanted to whip him on the head and be done with it but the way he froze and given the fact that he was facing her with his back discouraged her from doing so even if her restless fingers were taunting her to do so. But then, then the wolf chuckled and her mouth hung open in shock.
"Okay, Helen. This is what'll fucking happen next." His paw moved into the air and one of his fingers pointed at the ceiling. "You kill me." His second finger sprung in. "You fuckingly fail to do so… leading to me breaking every fucked and single-fucking joint on your fuckity small fucking body." The way he said that got her nose to react and her paws to betray some shakes. His last finger joined the other two and his head turned towards her, his cool amber eyes meeting her uncertain lilacs at last. "Or you drop it and we talk."
Hesitation, that was how she could best describe her state of mind. She didn't believe him, yet there didn't seem to be a choice because she didn't see herself able to kill a mammal twice her size who visibly had a lot of experience fighting but he wasn't armed anymore, as his holster wasn't on his belt anymore, and that was odd. She growled from the indecisiveness and threw the steel on the floor which got it to clang and bang loudly to which the wolf reacted by lowering his ears, while Judy crossed her arms and began tapping the rough floor with her foot.
"Take a seat," he ordered but his voice was actually gentle and even if she didn't want to be bossed around, she figured that it'd be in her best interest to not anger the mammal in front of her, thus she hopped onto the table and sat. Diablo took a wooden chair that was against the cracked wall and carried it close to the table where Judy had positioned herself on, with her feet swinging in the air from anxious frustration.
He put the chair at a respectable distance and sat with an arm around the back of it as he crossed his legs dominantly but his expression remained friendly. That was when he began, "First of fucking all, you lie to me again, you'll fuckingly end up like rapey Brady." Judy's eyes narrowed and her body became ready to act if the wolf were to jump at her but he remained relaxed while smirking deeply. But then he frowned and his lips twitched in scorn. "Do not make me ask."
The piercingly-deep voice chilled the air around the room and she grabbed one of her ears in reflex. She knew what he wanted and because she knew he knew, the position that she was in felt like a dead end. "It's Judy," she answered and the wolf smiled in return.
"Good. Now, Judy? You attacked a bunch of my mammals for no fucking reason... And that is not cool…" The words got to her and twisted her integrity to such an extent that the fear from the wolf just vanished and got her to jump off the table and stop just before his legs, her head being on the level of his upper chest and looking up at his which had etched confusion in ample amounts.
"I did not! They attacked me. They had killed an elk and were eating her! Is that what you all are? Savages?" she shouted with clenched fists and her paw gestured at Brad's corpse while her face had contorted wrinkles and her eyes were blazing fire.
The wolf remained for a bit with widely-opened eyes and tck-tcked. "You're giving me goosebumps. Fucking fuck…" he snickered and then normally ordered, "Sit." To which she moved her jaw around her mouth and returned to her spot after some intensive staring. Her arms crossed in front of her and she huffed at the wolf who snorted.
"That fucking elk was a nasty bitch. Don't fucking feel sorry for her, she used to exploit mammals here for fuck's sake. Then killed one of my guys. That's a no-no!" The new information was unexpected to say the least, but somehow she didn't believe him as the images of the gore and severed limbs flushed her memories and boiled her temper.
"Murder is distasteful!" was her hiss that, in turn, got Diablo to chuckle and rub the top of his muzzle.
"Ha! Said like a true fucking zootopian." But then he stood up and got her to flinch, yet she kept sitting on the edge of that same table. He slowly crept closer to her until his muzzle was just in front of hers and his scent closed in on her nose. It was musky but not heavy nor light. When he exhaled at her, his breath didn't smell foul, it didn't actually have a scent and carried only warmth around the fur of her cheeks.
That came as a surprise to her because she had expected the opposite from such a dominant figure and then she noticed the well-groomed fur on his face that didn't have even a single tuft with lines trailing in symmetry around his head. His eyes were moving around hers as if he was examining her without a single blink and she tilted her head a bit while her heart pulsated inside her chest, yet the fear was tuning down and she didn't know why.
"You said they were… eating her?" he asked nonchalantly without blinking while his eyes moved around her face as he visibly wanted to see her expressions, which were ones of huddled eyebrows and slightly twitching nose which she forced to stop even if it was straining. Her composure was on the verge of collapsing but she scowled, nevertheless.
"They-were," Judy asserted with heavy eyebrows of aggression, while the hot air from the wolf's nostrils tickled her in an uncomfortable way. His demeanor remained cold and calculating until she noticed that twitching tug on his lips as he forced himself into a smirk and moved away from her, his heat and presence in her personal space getting her stinging anxiety to reduce at last.
"Fucking cunts…" Diablo mumbled to himself with a betraying smile that he was straining upon his being, while he moved back to his previous seat. She couldn't place what was on his mind but she managed to catch the words and they were odd, as if he didn't know about that.
"What were you doing there?" he asked out of nowhere and her ears drooped instantly because she had to be extremely careful what to say as her previous life could bring her well-being in jeopardy. Such a simple question with such hard consequences.
But then, then came a truthful curtain of the real answer which she could use, better said, a sly way to answer truthfully by hiding the details and pushing the interest of the mammal away. "I was searching to rent a place."
"Alone?" She almost gave away the answer, tho maybe he knew and was testing her if she'd hide information from him. But the risk had to be taken, he mustn't know about her connection with Nick, thus she nodded with a lot of self-awareness that she was lying, lies that felt like knives entering her body but if that was the price for life, than she was going to compromise.
He shook his head and his small smirk died into neutrality. "What were you to do after that?"
She could feel discomfort from the friendly, yet aggressive interrogation but succeeded in hiding it. "What everyone does..."
"And the fuck's that?" His voice was getting irritated as she was already provoking him, unsurprisingly. He was trying very hard and her mind was attempting to conjure something, anything to fill the gaps and to stray the wolf away from her past choice of profession that would lead to her definite death if found out. Then she remembered Nick and his words that if she was in doubt and didn't know what to say, just improvise and let it flow.
"Opportunities," was her short and serious answer which got the wolf to stare intensely at her and after a moment to lean closer to as he squinted his eyes and now glared at her determined lilacs which defied the tingling fear in her neck that was trying to force her to move away from the predatory mammal in black.
Just as she thought that he would catch onto her, he smiled so widely that it was actually disturbing. "You are adorable!" he clasped his paws together while he stood up from the chair and went behind it as he leaned onto its backframe with his elbows, while Judy frowned from his words and huffed in grouchiness, while the want to warn him about calling her that fumed inside of her, yet this wasn't just another mammal but a murderer as well as an influential individual who was visibly capable of anything, and she understood that the wolf was enjoying of seeing her strong spirit because every time she showed her hard will, he actually had that fire in his eyes as if it was amusing him but she wasn't going to test her theory when having other possibilities
"So! Now that we've fucking cleared things out of the shitty way, you're to foll—"
She interrupted him and he was actually shocked so much that his mouth remained open, "I want you to answer me some questions first," Judy asserted authoritatively and scrunched her face further in mixed anger and hidden wariness. She knew that the luck that was looming over her was being pushed too hard but she needed to know if her observations were true, if he would respect her because of her unyielding spirit and actually deliver her what she wanted. But the wolf's bemusement disappeared and his lips curled up, exposing his teeth and sending primal shivers around her tingling skin but she didn't betray her emotions even if her nose wanted to twitch so badly.
He again repeated the same move as he got in her face, yet this time his curled lips managed to spike that ancient anguish and release the quirkiness around her body in small amounts. Her heart was beginning to vibrate harder, while she was trying to hold her breath but she couldn't as there was this need for more and more. His eyes narrowed on hers and his nose would've touched hers if she just inched a centimeter. He was in her personal space, hell it was in her intimate space and it was greatly making her uncomfortable, even alarmed after all the violations she had to go through. The dread was infectious, it was peeling off of her composure and she feared that the previous atrocities could be repeated.
"You're an odd rabbit…" he whispered and she swore that his tail wagged behind him but he leaned away and plopped himself into the chair which scrunched in discontent. "It's fair for me to give you a reacharound," he quipped and pulled out his long tongue, that dripped a string of stickiness onto the floor, for a moment with a suggestive smirk but Judy didn't understand what he had meant by that even if there was this distant idea. But she sure wasn't going to use her questions to ask.
She wasn't going to wait for him changing his mind and slightly squeakily, because of the present surge of energy, declared, "Four."
"Three."
"Four," she repeated with more assertion this time but the desired effect was the opposite as Diablo grinned madly and put his paws behind his head, while his legs spread and exposed his groin. He was acting cocky and she could feel irritation mixed with the crippling consternation, as well as the sense of losing the ability to be able to argue.
"Two." Her nose wiggled and her fingers tapped her thighs from frustration as the wolf didn't seem to be budging and actually looked as if he was playing with her like if she was some kind of circus attraction, which maybe she was. Him admiring her for her spirit was probably something that he rarely saw in wherever they were. Well they were in the Noc but what was that? Brad had scoffed at her when she had asked, that disgusting sorry-excuse of a rabbit.
"What exactly is the Noc?" The question she wanted an answer for, it had to be answered and the right word had been exactly.
His grin died as if someone had just stabbed him in the guts. "Are you fuckingy-fuckingly of fuckery in fucks-serious?" Judy glared at Diablo who was extremely annoyed but he huffed his frustration out and answered, "Nocturnal District. Created by fucked B.D-M excavations while Zootopia was being built… A whole fucking system of caverns and tunnels that stretch under the city for kilometers. Its existence's known by the government but is fucking ignored, officially." –the wink that was received from him got her insides to shiver- "It's a place where life wasn't supposed to fucking be, yet it fuckingly happened because the fuck if I know."
He stopped and tugged the side of his lips as to show her that he was finished. She understood that she was in uncharted territory and didn't have a single clue what this place was, well now she did but it was so plain and just not enough. She wanted to ask about details but she had just one more question and the idea of firing it for something she maybe could find on her own greatly demotivated her of doing so.
She needed to find Nick but if she asked for him directly, Diablo could take advantage of the situation and use that against her in some way. No, the mammals had talked about some kind of pits and she could faintly recall, when she was to be used for immoral deeds, that they needed participants. Yes, she had to find out if they were indeed going to send him there and it wasn't going to be hard, she just needed a reaction. "Where're you going to send the mammals you've captured?" The question just plummeted the satisfaction around the wolf's muzzle and his mouth flinched in betrayal.
"How the fuck in fuck's name do yo—" He snapped his jaw shut and tapped his long claw against his chin. That was what she needed, now if he was truthful to his word, he'd tell her what she had asked for.
After some visible thinking, he sighed and answered with a slight frown, "It's the yearly opening of the pit. When mammals lack enthusiasm, we've got to entertain the lazy sorry shits somehow. We're going to have specially fucked assholes as well! It'll be so fuckingly grandiose!" The wolf overenthusiastically motioned and sprung from his chair which would've made her flinch if it wasn't for his friendly and overenthusiastic demeanor.
"You've fucking had your fucked fun, now you're coming with me," he more like ordered and walked outside into the noise, while Judy scratched the underside of her neck in confusion and curiosity of her fate that was to come.
She heard the screeching of something that began closing in on the room, and after some moments she saw what looked like a one-wheeled metal cart with a grinning Diablo behind it. He stopped it just before Brad's corpse and motioned at her with his paw to come which she didn't want to do but when she saw his aggressive hackles that raised, it made her nerves to prickle her muscles and she did so but hesitantly. Her feet stopped just in front of the cart and one paw went across her chest and grabbed her arm as she felt uncomfortable to be close to Brad's corpse again as it was bringing the foul memories which she didn't want to think about at that moment.
Her eyes leveled with Diablo's and he actually smiled. What was he trying to do? She thought that she had read him but now it seemed otherwise. "Well take your fucking time! Not like you didn't have fucked of plenty? Come on or I'll fucking lock you in here until you starve and resort to him," he snorted but his grin died when his eyes caught the sight behind her that consisted of shelves of food.
"Fuck… Come on, rabbit," he inquired and began grinding his claws into one another in impatience while she sighed deeply but as she knew that he probably indeed would lock her in somewhere if she didn't listen, she growled silently and toppled the cart to the ground, to which it clanked very loudly around the room and outside into the corridor from where the huffs and puffs of machinery were groaning in rhythm without end.
Judy had never handled a corpse in her life and she never wanted to but her instinct for survival seemed to have overtaken her and was pushing her through the uncharted fields of blood. She was in a bad place with mammals who weren't in their most sane state of mind even if the wolf appeared to be civil. Civil mammals didn't bash heads open and when her eyes moved at Brad's, which were hanging from his sockets, her stomach almost emptied itself if she hadn't turned around and taken her breath to relax her convulsing insides.
With a very deep inhale that had the odor of stale air, piss, dust and uncleanliness, she turned around and grabbed Brad's shirt as she tried to pull him to the cart but his body wasn't budging and the cloth ripped from the force, which got her to fall on her rump and off him, thus now she sat on coldness with the bloodied tatters of the Brad's ruined shirt.
Her eyes wanted to quiver but she hissed and stood up again while trying to figure out how to get him in there in a way that she touched him as little as possible. The wolf seemed amused from following her unwanted job and then an idea sprung in her head as she got to the other side, careful not to step and soil her fur further in blood as she lowered herself closer to his body. When she put both paws on his side, he was incredibly cold and that managed to go through her and get her to shiver which froze her, as a mental blockade just appeared.
"Don't fucking tell me you're getting cold feet! Ha! Rapey Brady almost fucked you bloody and you're damn hesitating? This is some fuckingly-fucked piece of ass-shit!" he snapped and she saw him reaching for the stained steel rod that she had thrown previously, which instilled motivating dismay from what more could happen, what more could be seen and heard. Even if she could close her eyes, her ears would hear it all, she couldn't go through that again, not now.
"DON'T!" Judy shouted and managed to stop his emotional advance as he turned around with relaxing lips and just watched. Even after what Brad had done and had tried to do, even after her rage was justified by his death, it seemed so wrong and inmammale. This was not what civilized mammals did, yet civilized mammals didn't try and… Her jaw snapped shut and she used all her strength to roll the lifeless body towards the toppled cart. He felt heavy and the blood below him was now fully exposed to her eyes but she forced them elsewhere and kept rolling him until he was at the edge of the mode of illicit transportation, and with a last final push, he was now half in it but if she removed her paws, he would roll out and that would mean more time around her torture which she didn't want to prolong.
That was why she hissed strongly, "Help me." Diablo kept grinning at her and that made her tone even more violent, "Help me!" His grin kept widening for some moments until he chuckled and got to the cart's handles which he pulled, and with his help, the cart was now upright with the soulless pack of meat and bones inside, which got Judy to move away and turn her back at the breathing mammal in the room as she hugged herself because of that feeling of doing something wrong was strong and poisonous.
"Don't mind me fucking waiting, it's not like I don't have the whole fucking Noc to look after!" Diablo snapped from behind her and she could feel his changing behavior as his voice had filled with anger and when she turned around, his stance was following that as well which wasn't good for her situation, thus she sighed sadly and tried to exit the room but heard him to tck-tck to which she stopped.
"You're fucking driving. Let's damn go," he ordered and her at-attention ears fell instantly because she didn't want to have anything to do with this murder but it seemed that her freedom of choice was just non-existent at that very moment. If she declined, the wolf could lock her in or murder her. If she accepted, at least there was a way out somehow, he wouldn't have been wasting his time with her if there wasn't something in his strange and senile head.
She got to the back where the handles were and pulled the cart up so she could angle it at the door. It wasn't extremely hard but the equipment was for someone bigger than her and it wasn't that easy either, while the idea that she was to ferry a dead body, a body that belonged to someone who put her through a lot, was pushing even more strain on her muscles and mind, yet she thrust it out with incredible repulsion and followed the diabolic wolf from behind.
His gait was one of extreme confidence and power with his posture being high and unrelenting. His groomed tail stood tall and swayed with each of step, while his claws on his feet tapped the cold concrete floor with a rhythm that was harder to follow because the machinery was getting louder and louder.
The corridors were like an endless maze and the place felt so gloomy and uninhabitable until they began nearing that source of noise and the surroundings began taking a more industrial shape as now pipes, which emanated warmth, were stretching on the corners of the ceiling with thick cables swaying-along as well. The old brown paint was peeling off the concrete walls but there were still images being visible, images that had withstood the test of time. One had the words 'Wear Suit At All Times', others had images of mammals in gas masks and suits or Geiger counters with the words 'Safety Is Our Concern'.
That was when she saw something odd, something that caught her eye, it was a half-peeled paintjob of a green-like crystal with words underneath 'We Carve The Future. We Are The Future.' Her eyes had to move away as she hit a hole in floor and almost toppled the cart if it were not for her tough arms which were exhausted but loyal. She didn't need to be told who used to be here, the company for which she knew so little about in the past was now ever present in her day-to-day experiences.
She had read about it in the history of Zootopia as they had built it, she had heard about it in the news, from Nick and his past occupants of his den, from Diablo, who told her that the Nocturnal District was created by them and now she could see remnants of that past. It was unnerving because she had never heard about the Noc in her life and from what she could recollect, they had used an elevator to go down, a very loud and spacious one. How big was this place and how powerful was this company? She remembered the story that Nick had told her and it made her shiver in trepidation. If the company had so much resources, if it could do whatever it wanted, what was it actually doing under everyone's noses?
"You fucking thinking about how much you don't fucking know?" Diablo asked and glanced at her with a very amused smirk of which, when she caught sight, got her to frown away. "Hah, there's a fuckton of fuck out there that even I don't fucking know about, rabbit." He stopped abruptly and she accidently hit him with the cart, yet he didn't even stumble or acknowledge it. "But it's best not to fucking do. Ignorance is bliss," he shot darkly at her through his shoulder and continued his walk as he put both his paws behind his back and grabbed one over his wrist.
The cart was becoming heavier to her and her frustrations were starting to take over because her eyes would accidently trail down and see the disfigured face of the buck which would make her heart to squeeze but not enough to make her stop. What had he implied about her not searching for more or digging further, that had a side-effect and wasn't any better as her curiosity had just spiked tremendously and her mind tried to find more from what she had in her disposal.
Her tall ears managed to catch sounds of mammal chatter down the light corridor and she even noticed two mammals to go through a doorway and head opposite of their direction. These mammals were big but she couldn't place their species, they were covered in some kind of padded armor which was everywhere around their bodies but she couldn't scrutinize well from such a distance.
"Keep your mouth fucking shut or I'll shut it for you, missy," Diablo ordered and gave her a glare. His attitude was starting to annoy her but she nodded with disdain, nevertheless. They began passing through a doorway in which there was this room that had several mammals with white singlets playing cards on a round table with cigarette smoke clouding the air, while the light was very dim and the surroundings were of beds, hanging black coats and even boots. There was a weapon rack with different-sized assault rifles which weren't ones that she had seen in her life, as they were, even from a distance, noticeably modified.
"Move-fucking now!" Diablo hissed and she looked at him with puzzlement. That was when she noticed that she had stopped and that the intimidating mammals around the table were all staring at her with cold eyes which made her to return to her pace with sagged shoulders as she was feeling greatly out of place in a place like this. These looked like soldiers, they behaved like such and even had boots. Boots were used for very rough terrain and were greatly unnecessary for normal life. Even police officers didn't need them!
They passed several more look-alike rooms from where Judy either received negative attention or disinterest, while she tried to spot markings on their uniforms or standard clothing but failed to do so. Who were these mammals and why were they here? Why didn't they care that she was ferrying a corpse and why was Diablo so startled all of a sudden as his calmness was being betrayed by one of his fingers on his paws which was moving without rest.
They neared what looked like a double doorway with two mammals standing guard in front of it with even stranger assault rifles in their hooves. But they didn't resemble mammals very well because their bodies were hidden by that same black padding that was everywhere, covering every limb and every spot of meat and vulnerability. The padding looked soft, it looked comfortable but that feeling was betrayed by the scale-like ordered steel plates on the mammals' stomachs where padding was non-existent, or the small moving gears that were exposed from the soft side of their limbs' joints.
There were these holes on both sides of their shoulders, holes like the insides of jets engines, which were glowing reddish and the air that was being pushed indicated heat as it itself wobbled visibly before her eyes. Their waistlines held pouches with obscured ammunition and grenades, yet these grenades were like cylinders and had yellow radioactive warning signs which were barely visible to be read.
Both mammals were with helmets which had respirators with big filters on both sides that were half-being obscured by their nose-reaching collars around their heads, while one of the mammal's eyes glowed blue, the other mammal had red, thus hiding their real ones and robbing them of identity. Yet, she knew they were hogs because of the shape of their heads and the fact that their tusks were in front of their faces, tusks which one of the hogs had one broken at the base where the helm's hole was plugged by some kind of rubber which seemed to be hugging the other one so that air wouldn't be able to get in. The other hog had these cuts onto the surface of one of its tusks, cuts which looked as if they resembled a count. But a count of what? And why were they so many?
She had to be fair with herself, these mammals were heavily armored and their weaponry was deadly as well as unseen before till now, they were intimidating and they weren't that big either! Yet there they were, standing in the way and breathing heavily through the filters which's use was unknown to her. She tried to find an emblem, a dog tag, anything. And that she did in the form of a flipped down D and an S behind that same letter. It was on one of the soldier's legs and she swore that she had seen that emblem somewhere before, somewhere elsewhere… But her mind couldn't find that memory and the sight thus didn't speak anything to her but muddling of the mind with guesses.
And there were those same boots. From a closer look they seemed so restricting to her, so unnecessary and heavy. If she were to put them on, it would kill all her agility and get her to feel like an overgrown rabbit that had laid too much on the couch. They looked cold as the leather underneath was barely visible because they had been reinforced with steel around the corners and the height below and above the ankle, where that same padding was protruding and hiding the ending of those boots. They were like walking tanks!
Diablo stopped before the mammals who were almost his height but way wider and way more equipped. He stood there and just waited. What in the world was he doing that for? For some reason, she doubted that these mammals were affiliated with him because they had neither greeted him, and neither had he. Something was wrong and the air didn't feel right at all, the sounds of machinery adding up to it, sounds that came just behind that double-doors of steel where she was sure they were definitely originating from.
He continued remaining still, the only movement being that of his chest as he breathed calmly, while Judy stood waiting behind him, her eyes darting around the two mammals for any indication of acknowledgment, yet there wasn't any, just that same heavy breathing. "Move aside! Glorified fucking pets!" Diablo snapped at last and took a step forward, a step which was so aggressive and would've definitely gotten her by surprise if she were in their places, yet not even one of them twitched.
Alas, the mammal with the glowing red eyes moved its head at Diablo and returned in a discordant and semi-muffled voice from the helmet, "Unauthorized personnel. Check for illegal entities." The soldier than tried to move past Diablo but the wolf instantly got in his path.
"You're forgetting yourself, fucking child. On my authority, this bunny will pass."
The other soldier pressed something on its circular ear, that had a small antenna, and began talking, "Command, position is not secured. Present unidentified civilian."
"Wait the fuck up—"
"Requesting confirmation for full search." Judy didn't know what to do, the situation seemed to be brewing out of control and Diablo appeared to be losing it by every passing second. Who were these mammals? Were they going to search her? Were the words something else in meaning?
"That's fuckingly not going to happen, fuckers!"
"Affirmative, proceed." The hog with the green eyes nodded at the one with the red, who pushed through Diablo as it began closing in on Judy. Her blood was chilled and her legs were starting of thinking of running, maybe there was another way out? She could try and take a weapon from the racks but could she even use it? They weren't normal ones, not ones she had seen in the academy or anywhere else… Her dad's double-barreled shotgun looked so primitive to her now…
But her thoughts plummeted when Diablo pulled out his pistol from inside his jacket. So it had been on him after all… His paw grabbed the advancing armored soldier by the stiffly-padded collar, thus putting the gun right between its glowing eyes which were staring coldly without waver. That earned an instant reaction as the other hog, who aimed the heavy assault rifle at the wolf, began charging it and she saw the weapon to begin glowing an orange-red color around the feeding magazine. There was this whirling sound which had began slowly and was now in a constant rhythm as something grinded inside the rifle.
"Asshole, you answer to me. See this sexy whore?" The pawgun was forced into the helmet and a hard clank resonated around them.
"Command, possible engagement. Requesting backup at sector M!" The other hog had just alerted somebody and there was nothing she could do…
"All your armor, all your plates… around your cock and heart… won't save you from her flaring mouth." The hog was staying still while the other was trying to aim the charged rifle exactly at Diablo's head but he had angled the soldier in the way as a shield. This was an opportunity for Judy to run but she feared that if she even twitched a muscle, the hog would open fire and she didn't believe that he'd miss, it was very unlikely, judging just from the professional and disciplined behavior.
The pawgun pushed into the hostage hog's helmet even harder and Diablo growled, "You put me in with Command, right fucking now. Or this gets personal."
"Get to the engine! Move, move!" came the distant shouts from where she and Diablo had came. The situation was heating up slowly but surely and just a single wrong move could end it all. In the middle of that was she with a cart in paws which was ferrying a dead body and it didn't seem that anyone even gave a carrot about that.
Nothing happened for several moments but the hog at gunpoint put his hoof and pressed something around his ear, thus the feminine voice of Command could now be heard by everyone around the corridor. "Attention ground units, perimetry destabilization in sector M. Assemble—"
"Hey assholes. Are you so eager to see my canine dick? Because I sure as hell'll be up to knot it in someone's fucking mouth!"
"Identify yourself."
"Your fucking father, you daughter of fucking mut. If you don't still know, then I'd come to personally fuck your ass bloody."
There was some silence. "Individual, involvement will result in immediate prosecution."
"Save the fucking crap you fucking shitheads. Do you want me to fucking get him on the line, that it? Want me to prosecute your fucking smegma mouth for overruling my authority!?" The footsteps were getting closer, the backup was going to come any moment now and there was no way out. Her heart was throbbing and her teeth were exposed as daunt and desperation about the situation was starting to envelop her fibers. Diablo had lost control over the situation, what was going to happen with them? What was going to happen with her? She was pushing a dead body for carrot's sake!
"Attention, all units at sector M, autonomous judgment now in effect. Sentencing is discretionary,"
"The shi— what the SHIT?!" Diablo bellowed and quickly moved aside, shielding himself further behind the armored mammal, but without changing the gun's position, while the other soldier began pressing slowly forwards. Judy remained perfectly still and that was when the heavy footsteps from behind came into solid presence which got her to turn around and see a dozen mammals of different sizes, some with those same white singlets and others in full black uniforms. They were gathered around the corners with less sophisticated rifles aimed at both her and the wolf.
Was she going to be caught in a crossfire and why was this happening? Who were these mammals and why were they here… She thought that it was Diablo who ran things around the place but he was being threatened at this very moment, she just couldn't see a way out of this and that was tightening her insides. "This calls for fucking your mothers. Fucking fuckers of fucks."
"Drop it, now!" Came the yell from behind her, a yell that sent muscle spasms around her back and neck which was as if it were cramped.
"I'll drop your mouths on my cock, scumfuckbags!" He pulled out his phone with his free paw and quickly dialed, while the stray chatter from Command could be caught by her ears as the soldier hadn't stopped the open broadcast.
"Attention residents, inaction will result in permanent regional relocation."
He then put it on his ear and trapped it with his shoulder while his paw went to grab the soldier yet again. "General!" Diablo shouted angrily and she was baffled why the soldier had not struck him or even had tried a quick disarm.
"Move away from him, Diablo!" yelled one of the mammals behind Judy and she finally removed her paws from the cart's handles which got it to collide with a barely audible clank on the floor. This was too much for her to be able to stay still amidst all these steel sights and nostrils which breathed death, death and death.
"Ground teams, proceed to residence 1056."
"I don't give a flying fuck! Call them down, NOW!" Judy began slowly moving away from the cart but her attempt was easily registered by Diablo whose eyes spoke rage, while his curled lips desperation. "STAY!" the deep hiss got her to root in place at the sight of madness and heartwrenching fear.
"Illicit entities have been detected in your area. Status: amputate, disassemble, liquefy."
The whirling sound from the assault rifle that was in the hog's hooves was twisting insanely around the enclosed space and she could see bright red at the base of its barrel now. Was it going to fire? "These retarded mongrels of whores will start a fucking war!" Diablo yelled into the phone and she could see his claws digging into the padding around the steel collar. How could they be so sharp?
But then came this voice, masculine and hoarse which replaced the one of Command, "All units at sector M, Command has been overruled. You're to resume your duties and let Diablo pass through and do as he wishes. Insubordination will be punished by regional relocation to Apenine or execution. Court martial will be denied."
Diablo growled through his teeth and holstered his phone but not before yanking the steel collar of the soldier before him who was relentlessly staring into him with his glowing red eyes. "Maybe I should…" His finger began pressing on the deadly trigger while all the rest of the mammals lowered their arms instantly. Was she going to witness murder yet again? Her moral compass was being twisted and turned without end…
But the pressured trigger was released and Diablo shoved the mammal away from him but without removing eye contact for even a second, until he passed by the hog and bashed the doors open with his leg with such ferocity that it made Judy to jump in place, unnoticeably to anyone, while those rhythmic sounds of grinding spewed all around the corridor and got her ears to ring painfully. Diablo's head turned towards her as he caught one of the massive doors and kept it open. She could see a part of the room where there were these familiar glowing green, crystal-like objects…
She grabbed the cart's handles and began moving carefully forward. Her eyes dared to dart at the red-eyed soldier and surprisingly, it was with its back at her and she was able to have a glimpse of a very strange device, one with that same green-crystal that was protected by transparent tube-like glass, but very small, that was linked with these cables which went into a spinal-like attachment to his body with several more empty ones around it which weren't obscured by any padding and looked thrillingly-scary and unnatural. Its head turned towards her and for a moment she caught its dead glance which made her increase the pace.
But she was Judy after all, and before she was to enter the loud and mechanized room, she peeked at the other hog who had that same crystal on the small of its back, yet the thick cables were more and were connected to a few more extensions. But then the door closed with a bang but the sound was muffled by the loud grinding. She saw Diablo's sullen expression and raised hackles. Raised hackles were never a good thing, not with aggressive mammals and her being amidst them. But curiosity always managed to stray her thoughts away even if it was her life at stake.
Her want to scrutinize the giant machine got her to notice something even more grandiose and interesting. It was a giant mammal, an elephant in the same outfit as the hogs, yet its helm had a single and very big hole which glowed dark red. There were no tusks and the weapon in its paws was massive and different than the rest as it had four muzzles and a large enclosed magazine. Now this, this wasn't a mammal she would want to have a problem with because it just didn't appear to have any weak spots or vulnerabilities… If a mammal like that were to roam the streets and commit crime, could the ZPD even bring it down? They had tranquilizers and even if there were firearms, the armor was probably as thick as one of an actual tank! It definitely looked as such and it got her to gulp nervously.
The mammal didn't even looked at them, just stood like a lifeless statue, however Judy couldn't detect any breathing as the room was filled with that cacophony of machinery which at last made her look forward and stop suddenly as she was to collide with the machine itself with the cart. The surface she had been walking on had changed, it felt more cold and way more slick, which got her to look down and see something like a trapdoor, which made her to pull the cart back to its edge and finally look around the big room which was filled with many wires, pallets, barrels, control consoles, pipes of different sizes and even ancient generators that were bolted to the floor.
Still, the one which was incredible was that after the trapdoors. It had these cylindrical springs which were behind this thick glass and you could see them move throb by throb with oil trickling all around, while its cogs rumbled inside the capsuled vessel of its body, body which had many vents and just glowed heat everywhere around the spacious place. Most of the cables were attached to this machine but rather than it being pristine, it was rusty and seemed old, its metal had started deteriorating and she could faintly see some kind of logo on a part of its surface but it couldn't be recognized anymore.
The most interesting part tho were those green crystals which were behind a similar glass just like the springs. They looked like thick spiky grass that was attached to the machine with thick probes underneath without insulation, thus the bare copper could be seen, while they glowed with every puff that came from inside the marvelous construct. Her marveling of the place was noticed and she felt a presence near her which got her to swoosh her head and take a step away because she didn't want anyone close to her at that moment. It seemed that Diablo understood, nevertheless, he yelled, "They call this Maker's Breath. It's an old piece of shit but does the job well. Provides juice for the whole Noc. That's why that oaf there is here most the time. Paranoid fucks…"
Diablo moved closer to the machine, without stepping on the trapdoors. "It runs on these crystals which are the most expensive shit in the world. As you saw, these fuckwits run on the same power but all comes at a cost," he yelled and pulled a lever that was on the machine which made this loud hissing noise and the trapdoors began moving in the opposite directions, revealing darkness, cables, gears and even more loudness below. Judy had been on the edge and the newly forming hole made her take a step back as she felt this tingling in her body if she were falling. Her body was just above those doors moments ago!
"Know what this is?" he asked loudly as he pointed to the dark pit, and she delivered by just shaking her head in decline. "That's where the beast that pumps juice for the Noc lives. It was here before me and before the guys before me. I don't have a fucking clue how it keeps on going without repairs… and how it hasn't broken down yet… But! What I do fucking know is that is has a purpose. Like everything in this fucking fucked world." He smiled and glanced for a moment at her while she stood a bit starry-eyed. "A clock without even its smallest cog is a clock without use. That clock is for the fucking trash without that fucking cog… You see where I'm heading?"
Judy understood what he meant but what she didn't understand was what he wanted from her because even if he wasn't saying it, it was being heavily implied. "What do you want from me?" she asked but as the wolf's ears didn't even twitch, she repeated herself but this time louder.
"Since that rapey piece of trash is now a caved-in fucking head. I've lost one of my cogs and my shit's now fucked." He moved closer to her and one of his paws reached for her shoulder on the other side which made her jump lightly but because both were on the edge of the chasm, she stood still even if the touch was greatly unwelcomed due to recent experiences.
"And what can I do about it," she grumbled and felt his grip on her shoulder to release the tension a bit.
"I want you to work for me! You may not have the stomach but you have the guts." His muzzle lowered close to her ears and he whispered, "And I like that." The words got her to feel that numbness around her feet and as she processed the information, her brain tried to find reasoning of what she was to do. The words were warm, they showed her appreciation for who she was, unlike when she was a police officer. This could be an opportunity for her to start anew, to show at last her skills and be who she wanted to be with some alterations. Nick had told her that there were other ways but she didn't believe it… maybe she should accept, maybe.
"What am I to do?"
Diablo smiled and his grip became just one of touch as if to remind her that he was in control of her life. "Gather information and do some grunt work here and then. That piece of shit could only do one of those things because he was a spineless animal. But he did his job until I did him," He laughed and swayed forward which got Judy to panic that he would push them both into the black void but he regained his balance and tapped his clawy fingers on her shoulder.
"And if I refuse?" she asked and instantly felt his claws to dig into her but not enough for pain to activate, just enough to throw his unspoken point across and to further show his control over her. His joviality died and a very calculating gaze replaced everything all around him. It was so cold and harsh, while she didn't know what he was even thinking even if he had said that he liked her spirit. This was a mammal she knew almost nothing about and that was scaring the fur out of her because they were on the edge of somewhere with a dead body that she had kind of an idea where it would probably go to and there was that chance that she could be next which was very not likable to her.
"I won't be happy… You don't want to fucking make me unhappy, do you, Judy?" he asked sharply and lightly tugged her forward which made her to feel instant prickling in the nerves around her legs, thus she grabbed the sleeve of his black and leathery jacket because her loss of balance was almost going to leave her in free fall. All she had to do was accept and say yes but even if her throat tried to do so, her mind and heart were pushing that drive further and further away with the strength of hundreds. Integrity…
She could betray herself and work for a mammal that killed or let alone had other mammals under him who slaughtered and dismembered corpses as well as consumed them. Sure, it was just a job about gathering information but then that information would be used and things would happen because of what she had done as work. That would mean sleepless nights, but what was worst was that she'd betray her own self by agreeing to such terms, it would mean mammalhood suicide. Trust…
"Special privileges, money, respect, a home. I can see potential in you even if you look like a usual dumb hick. It'd be a waste if you…" He pushed her again and this time the only thing that kept her from falling into death were her two paws that were desperately holding onto his disheveling sleeve and his paw that was still on her shoulder, which worked like a small crane. Her feet stung as there was nothing underneath them while her bruised body could keep hold onto him for not much longer, which got her to groan in pain from her bruises and whimper in attempts to pull herself up. "Slipped," was his ugly joke but then he turned serious and moved her back so that her feet touched the edge and got onto her tickling soles. Bravery…
He had lifted her like she was nothing… It was so unfair… His threat loomed over her like an unwanted reality while his paw had trapped her into an irreversible position. "This is against my beliefs…" she answered sternly and saw the instant disappointment in the wolf's eyes but it seemed that hope still lingered in him as he tried again.
"Are your beliefs more precious than your own life?" He asked and lightly released his grip on her. There was this sorrow in his eyes that was barely visible, it was so odd seeing it on him but it vanished quickly. She wanted to see more of his expressions but then something happened and the inside of her head pulsed pain, thus she winced and felt light-headed. There was this pressure around the place, it was in the air, it was so… mysteriously-strange and suffocating…
She thought about it one more time in the midst of all of it. Were her beliefs really more important than her life? But what was her life without her beliefs? Wouldn't life be meaningless without them and if they constantly changed, wouldn't that mean that she was lying to herself as well as being inconsistent which would again lead to that same meaningless existence? If she betrayed herself, what would that make her? Wouldn't she be even worse than the mammals she despised? Another throb appeared out of nowhere and this feeling of sickness was starting to form inside her guts, which was crawling up her nerves and into her brain.
"Yes. Yes, they are," was her confident finality that was delivered with strain, which got the wolf to sigh and to push her weight around as he seemed hesitant about his choice until what she added made him to stop and stare. "Do what you gotta do…" she finished with a glare that burned intensely against his squinted eyes until his paw moved on the small of her back and she braced herself for the final push that she would try to do something against by at least gripping his fur or clothes. There was going to be a fight and her eyes had already spotted a staircase close to the giant elephant who was idly standing. She just needed to get away from his grasp and the only way to not get caught by those sharp claws was by getting him by surprise.
But then came another hard throb inside her skull and the previously-silent bruises that had been done to her began burning all of a sudden, while her vision blurred for a short moment, thus horror from the unknown replaced her worries of imminent death.
What the hell was going on with her?
Author's notes:
- First, if you haven't seen my latest update that was deleted some time ago or my Tumblr, I had been reworking the older chapters as to get the style of writing in line as it had changed after C7. C7 has been updated a lot and has the addition of 14k+ words of content which I advise you to go through as it is awesome! If you've missed, C5 has had an addition of 4k words in the form of some of Nick's childhood backstory as well as what had happened to his father.
- Yea, this chapter doesn't answer the questions about the Noc, only raises more, and it isn't that cool but the next one will give you more to feast upon, promise. Second, I'm starting to feel terrified as I'm realizing the scope of this story… You can't open the plot document and see that you're not even at the end of the 1st paragraph, while there are 4 more to go, and not feel crippling muddling around the brain. I mean, they won't be as long as the first paragraph but who knows if they won't be? I ain't a psychic and I'm not even trying to milk this! It's like a fucking stream of crazy ideas… ARGH!
- A fellow writer, LuluLopez, uploaded her first chapter on AO3 of her Zootopia fanfiction 'You're the Boss', which you should check out as her abilities of a writer are sharper than mine considerably, while her criticism has aided in the betterment of this story. Go give her love, she deserves it!
- Music while writing: Vladimir Visotsky-Ohota na volkov
- Latest edit:
- Tumblr: markovas
- Deviantart: markovas
