It was still dark when I woke up in the morning. The storm had cleared out by then, and it didn't take a master farmer to figure out how much damage it must've caused.

Might as well get it out of the way before we get roped into clean-up duty…

It took some time to get out of bed with Carrots curled up on my chest, but I managed to slip out without waking her, hoping she wouldn't notice how crappy her new pillow was. I pulled on my old sweats and hoodie, then grabbed her notebook and flipped to an empty page. I swiped the carrot pen she always carried around—what was it with rabbits and carrots, anyway?—and scribbled a note before leaving it on the nightstand.

'Went for a run, didn't want to wake you. Nick'

I slipped out without looking back at her, knowing if I did I'd just crawl back into bed and cuddle her again. And it wasn't exactly easy to think clearly when I was close to her like that. I'd scratched lines in the wall the first time Carrots had dragged me to dinner, and thankfully they were still there, so it only took a few minutes to find my way outside. The sky was already starting to brighten a bit, making it even easier to see what the storm had left behind: broken branches, cracked windows, even some dents in the corrugated tin roof of the barn.

Not as bad as I'd thought it'd be, though…

I glanced back at the house, which looked like a giant kid had tried burying an Easter egg and gotten bored half-way through. The pink trim was kinda faded, the light wood the house had been built out of showing up through cracks and scrapes in the yellow paint. The tiny porch and front door were off-white, the door rounded like all the ones inside, barely tall enough for me to walk through without having to duck. The mailbox and welcome mat were shaped like carrots, the light covers on either side of it messily painted, by one of the hundreds of kits inside no doubt, to look like butterflies.

Ugh, if this place were any more sugar-coated, I'd freaking puke, I rolled my eyes and turned away. But it sure explains a lot…

I stuck close to the fence that outlined the farm; Carrots had told me it was four or five acres, and was actually one of the smaller ones. I'd never gotten how Bunnyburrow always felt so…close, especially since now there were about as many mammals here as there were in the city, but it still felt like a small town, like Podunk or Lakeside. Must be a farm community thing. I was almost done with my second loop when I slowed down, not because I was tired, but because the Hopps were starting to wake up, and with what Wyatt had already put us through, I didn't really feel like running into any of them without Carrots next to me. I jumped the fence next to some trees, walking until I couldn't see the house before climbing one and digging my claws into a low branch, doing as many pull-ups as I could with each paw before using both. I'd hoped the extra burn would at least start getting rid of the nervous energy that had been building in me, but it just seemed to make it worse, since it gave me even more time to think about how much could still go wrong.

We've only got a few hours left to solve this, I climbed onto the branch and hooked my knees around it, letting myself fall back. And if we don't crack it before then, I can kiss my PI shield good-bye.

I didn't even bother to keep track of the sit-ups I did, my mind was going too many other places.

That's not even the important thing here, I closed my eyes when the sun came through, my breath starting to rasp in my ears. Thirty families are counting on us to find the source of this drug, it's the only chance they have of getting their loved ones back.

Thirty. I couldn't believe it had already gotten that high, and there still wasn't any sign of it slowing down. The only difference now was it had moved beyond just my fans and a few accidents, whoever was behind this didn't seem to care anymore who they poisoned: preds, prey, adults and kids of all ages. All of them had gone savage, locked in glass cells and sedated as the new city-wide research team did everything they could to make an antidote, pretty much up against a wall unless Carrots and I tracked down the source. And at this point, it was starting to look like it was just never gonna happen. I sighed, let go of the branch and flipped back to my feet. My ears flicked back as I brushed myself off; I turned to see Savage leaning against a tree, drumming his fingers against the trunk. I narrowed my eyes and turned my back to him.

"If you're here to tell me to stay away from Carrots, save it," I just about spat it. "I'm not about to let her go."

It was silent for a second, then he shoved out a breath, dead leaves crunching when he walked toward me.

"That's not why I'm here," he stopped a few feet from me. "I know something that'll help you."

I turned my head just enough to look at him. He looked just like Carrots when she got nervous, rubbing his arm, head tilted with his ears flat against his back as he stared at the ground.

"And you couldn't tell me this earlier, before we wasted all that time with those farms?"

He flinched, then shook his head.

"I didn't figure it out until this morning, and all I can say is, if you didn't think my uncle sucked before, you will now."

I stared at him, my confusion winning out as I turned to fully face him.

"What the heck are you talking about?" I stuffed my paws in my pocket, my tail starting to flick behind me. "I know Wyatt's an ass, but do you really think he'd…"

I trailed off when more footsteps sounded behind him, Savage freezing when Wyatt slapped a paw on his shoulder.

"Find a way to make predators go savage so they'd lock you pieces of shit up like they should have from the start?" he chuckled, sneering at me. "Why yes, yes I did."

He patted Savage's shoulder, then shoved him back, two other bucks grabbing his arms and holding him. Wyatt walked toward me, keeping one paw behind him, waving the other around as he talked.

"I didn't get Ph.D.s in biochemistry and toxicology for nothing, but it took longer than I thought to find what makes you guys tick," he smiled, the look sending ice down my spine. "And I bet you think I'm arrogant enough to just come right out and tell you, since I did just admit to making it."

His smile widened, and he chuckled.

"Well, you're right, I am, but that doesn't mean I'm going to, it'll be a lot more fun to see you try and figure it out for yourself," he came closer, tracing a claw over my chest. I shuddered. "And when you fail, my niece will finally see just how pathetic you predators are, and she'll throw you in the trash where you belong."

He looked me up and down, his smile dropping back into a sneer.

"But before all that, I think I'll have some fun with you."

I didn't have time to react before he stabbed me in the side, my whole body locking as shocks coursed through me. I caught sight of the bright pink taser when I fell, curling up when he hit me with it again, laughing the whole time.

"No!" Savage was screaming, but it echoed, sounding far away. I could barely breathe when Wyatt finally stopped with it, tears soaking my fur as I stared up at him, my vision starting to blur a bit. What little breath I could get was forced out when he kicked me, making sure his claws dug in. All I could see now were stars, spots of black crowding in as he kept going at it; blood spattered across his foot when I coughed, which just seemed to piss him off more. He growled, stomping hard on my paw when I tried to crawl away.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere, foxy," he turned to Savage. "You're sure you told me the truth about him, Jack, that he'll lose it if he's provoked enough?"

I froze, forgetting Wyatt completely as I stared at Savage. He looked more guilty than I'd ever seen him, wouldn't turn his head toward me. It was a long time before he talked, my vision clearing as I slowly got my breath back.

"I only told you because I thought you could help him," his teeth were clenched. "I didn't know you'd do all…this to him!"

He finally looked at me, tears in his eyes.

"Nick, I swear, I had no idea he felt like this about preds," he fought against the bucks holding him. "I'm so sorry I got you into this!"

I groaned as I pushed myself up, just enough to shake my head, as nauseas as it made me.

"I-It's not your fault, Savage," I coughed, tasting blood again. I turned to Wyatt, managing to smirk. "And we all know you won't get away with this, all I have to do is tell Judy, and she'll haul your ass in."

He looked at me, then laughed, holding up a bright orange carrot-shaped pen.

"Normally, you'd be right, kid, but it'd be my word against yours, and without this," he shook his head. "She has no way of getting the truth."

I stared at him, then scoffed.

"T-That's just a pen," it was getting hard to breathe again, my chest tightening up. "W-What difference would it make?"

Something clicked.

"T-That's just a pen. W-What difference would it make?"

I gasped, choking on it when he kicked me again.

"I gave her this little toy when she graduated from the academy, I'm surprised she never told you what it could do," he dropped it on the ground, stomped on it until it was smashed to bits. "But it doesn't matter now, because she won't be hearing any of this from you, either."

He reached behind his back again, and pulled out a gun, the same one I'd stuck in my pack before Carrots and I had left the city. I growled at him, the edges of my vision starting to shift again. He smirked.

"Oh, don't worry, I didn't hurt her, unless you count me hitting her with one of her own tranq darts as hurting her."

I did, tried to tackle him, barely getting up before he tased me again."

"She's fine," he chuckled. "She'll just sleep right through this, and your silly little deadline."

I heard Savage gasp, all three of them grunting as he tried to get away.

"No, you can't do this!" he was crying. "Please, Uncle Wyatt, just let him go!"

Wyatt didn't even look at him, waving the paw that still held the taser.

"Andrew, Eric, shut him up."

Savage grunted, then moaned, and a second later I saw him drop. I growled again, louder, hoping someone on our side was close enough to hear me. But Wyatt just shook his head, smiling as he pulled back the slide and aimed at me.

"It's your fault for going so far from the farm," he mocked me one last time, then his smile dropped. "Bye-bye, foxy."

BANG!