The Next Day, 2:07pm...

The sun shined over Zootopia, the bipedal animal citizens walking around the streets. Cars drove down the road, a good portion being police on patrol. Inside and outside, the citizens chatted, but not about normal stuff, like recent events or the newest fashion trend. No, the conversation that buzzed through the city recently was something that had spiked in the last few days. Humans.

Ever since possible fragments of human remains popped up, news reports and talk shows on the TVs in some shops have been saying the same things.

"What IS a human?"

"How dangerous are humans?"

"They could be great if given a chance!"

"Good riddance to them! They're horrible!"

Everyone could only speculate and rumor, and it's even said that saying the wrong thing around the wrong crowd can lead to consequences.

As one young ferret was finding out, this was true. He was running down the streets, a group of other younglings in hot pursuit. One of them called out to him. "You can run, but you can't hide, Carlson!"

Carlson didn't bother looking back or retorting. He just kept running, desperately trying to find somewhere to lose them. He jumped benches, fences and a few cars to get away, but they group didn't slow down, and kept him in range.

Another of the group called out. "Surrender now, human lover!"

Carlson kept his attention focused on running away, and soon saw a tightly packed crowd in the distance. Knowing this could be his only chance, he dived into the crowd, wading through the many legs of the bigger citizens. The group followed him, but now they were having a harder time chasing.

The young ferret looked around for an exit and soon saw an alleyway. His mother had warned him about the dangers in alleyways, but right now, he had no choice. He waded through and ducked into the alley, and looked around at the different directions. With no time to think, he chose one at random and turned off. He could hear the group behind him yelling. "He's going into the alley!"

He saw the end of the alley was a long way off, and considered a moment turning around to find a shorter one. Just then, he found himself grabbed to behind a nearby dumpster, a paw on his belly and one over his mouth. He gave a muffled scream and looked to his capter. He found himself looking into the face of a human/cat hybrid, who looked at him with what he guessed was an attempt to be reassuring.

"He's down here!" The sounds of the group suddenly came from the alley Carlson came from, and the stranger looked over for a moment then back to him. Taking a paw off his belly, he unzipped his coat a bit and suddenly stuffed Carlson into it, zipping it back up then going to a neutral position.

Carlson panicked, wondering a moment what would happen to him, then the group suddenly came up and stood in the centre of the alleys. He held his breath, trying not to give away his position.

The group came up to the stranger, and a young tiger stepped forwards. "Hey you! Where's that ferret gone?!"

The stranger shrugged. "Where does anyone go? Probably to a bathroom somewhere to reflect their life choices."

A young dalmatian behind the young tiger sniffed the air, coming up to the stranger, suspicion in his face and voice. "Oh yeah? Is that so?"

He got closer, and Carlson almost shook in fear. He felt the stranger feel around, looking for something in his inner pockets, and juuuuuuust as the dalmatian got close, the stranger suddenly pulled out a strong and sweet smelling spray and used it on the group.

They coughed and hacked from the unexpected attack, rubbing their noses and eyes. "Ugh! (Cough), that's rank!"

The stranger rolled his eyes. "It's rose scented, you uncultured dolts."

A young panda growled at him and stepped forward, looking to hit him, but the stranger suddenly pulled out a tranquilizer revolver and pointed it at him. "Not another step."

The panda froze and backed off, and stranger put it away. The group saw what the stranger looked like, and muttered amongst each other as the young tiger crossed his arms. "Alright, listen you creepy jerk, just tell us where the ferret went and we'll be out of here."

The stranger crossed his arms. "Eh, who knows. I hear fortune tellers know the answers." The eyes looked to the tiger. "As well as strangers who want compensation for services and wasting their stuff."

The young tiger glared at the stranger, then turned to the others. "Hey, how much you guys got?!"

Emptying their pockets, the group managed to rangle together about $50, and gave it to the stranger. He looked it over as Carlson prepared to get outed, then the stranger pointed down one of the alleys. "Down that way, headed to the right."

"Finally! Come on!" The group finally ran off out of the alley system.

Once they were gone, the stranger unzipped his coat a bit, letting Carlson poke his head out, taking in deep breaths of air. He soon turned to the stranger's face with a look of gratitude. "Phew! Thanks so much mister! Those guys almost beat all the fur off my skin."

The stranger nodded and looked forward. "Yeah, no problem. Plus, got some money from it, so I can't complain."

Carlson smiled and tried to get out. However his smile faded as he found the hole to be too small, and suddenly, the stranger zipped the coat up a bit, trapping his neck. He panicked a bit, almost wanting to scratch at the stranger to let him go. But he knew that would be a bad idea considering his revolver. "M-mister?!"

The stranger looked down at him. "Sorry buddy, but you're not going anywhere for the moment. I'm gonna need you for a bit for some extra cash, as well as have some company for a while. I mean, do you know how lonely it gets back here?"

The ferret shock his head nervously. "N-no?"

"Exactly. So don't be so rude." The stranger got on his feet, unzipping his cost a bit. "Now crawl back inside, and no funny ideas, or it's the tranquilizer for you. Or worse."

Carlson gulped and crawled back inside the coat, hanging on the inside. The stranger zipped back up and walked off, his hoodie concealing his identity.

The stranger soon wandered into a coffee shop, using some of his money to buy a spinach and cheese roll, and a hot chocolate. The patrons inside gave him weird looks, but didn't get a good look at his face. Carlson stayed quiet, his eyes looking around at the shadows of the others outside the coat. Despite tempting thoughts, he didn't call out, and simply looked around nervously.

As the stranger ate his small meal, he went over to another shop, this one selling multiple writing utensils. When no one was around, he carefully tore a page from one of the bigger books off, then grabbed a pen sample. He quickly wrote on the poster.

Young Ferret Found

Willing To Give Back For A Price

Find In Alley Near Napan Street

With the poster done, he stuffed it into his coat and put the pen back. Once he had exited the shop, he started heading to the town centre. As he walked, Carlson started talking, becoming more and more scared, yet interested in this individual. "Who... Who are you, mister?"

The stranger looked straight ahead, looking out for anyone nearby. "Nobody you would know, I can say that much."

"Please tell me mister. I won't tell anyone, I promise!"

The stranger sighed. "Someone who's horrible world is only getting worse. Someone who's... Honestly scared about what's happening right now."

Carlson felt a slight pang of pity, and hugged the stranger under his coat. "I'm sorry to hear that, mister. But... Won't doing this only make this even worse?"

"Maybe. It's all I can think right now though. Trust me, if you were in my position, you would be wanting to do some crazy things right now in a desperate attempt to make things a little more tolerable."

"Is it because... You're a kind of human?"

"...yeah, that's part of it."

The stranger soon got to the town centre, and put the poster up on the fountain. He soon after returned to his alley, and went back to his spot. Sitting on the ground, he leaned against the dumpster, looking at the entrance to the alley. He unzipped his jacket a bit, letting Carlson breathe.

"Can you at least tell me your name, mister?"

"... Tobias. You?"

"I'm Carlson."

Tobias nodded. "Carlson, you don't know the scale of what's going on right now. Nobody does. Once the time comes, you'll know. For now, know this."

He pulled back his hoodie a moment, letting Carlson see his full head. As well as the features mentioned before, there were spots of fur littered about his head and neck, even some under his black hair.

"This here, this is not what I looked like before."

"It. ..it isn't?" Carlson gasped, carefully using a paw to feel the fur spots. He also felt the twisted hybrid's own paws. "What... did you look like?"

"Smoother. Different shaped face. Five digit hands. You know... Human." Tobias soon moved Carlson's paws away and pulled his hoodie back over. "I'm a freak now, on both sides. There's no denying it."

Carlson looked up, feeling rather sorry for him. "I mean, I guess. But at least you're... Kind of nice. You helped me escape those bullies."

Tobias sighed. "That won't be enough merit, I promise you. Trust won't come easily."

"...I trust you."

"That's a risk, you know."

Carlson hugged him. "It's one I'm willing to take."

Tobias simply sat there, sighing. Carlson sat there in the awkward silence a while, unsure what to say. He soon had a thought.

"Hey Tobias, why do you have rose-scented spray?"

"It's a small reminder to the life I once had. I loved roses, and my mother used to grow them. Father... Well, he didn't really understand, but he was still supportive."

"Ooh, really? Where are they?"

"...they're somewhere I can't reach them."

Before Carlson could ask what he meant, a voice came from the entrance of the alley. "Honey?"

The two turned to the voice, a mother ferret, as she stepped into the alley and approached the two. She looked nervously at Tobias, who looked back, straight faced but secretly happy for the distraction. "You the mother?"

The mother nodded. "What do you want?"

Tobias put out a paw. "Cash. Give me enough and I'll give back your son. He's been a good boy, so I'm willing to be nice."

The mother looked nervously to Carlson, who smiled at her. "Don't worry mother! He IS a nice guy, honest!"

The mother got out her purse from her handbag and took out $200, showing it to Tobias. "This is all I have right now."

Tobias took the cash and nodded. "Fair enough." He unzipped his jacket enough for Carlson to jump out and run back over to his mother.

She bent down and took her son in her arms. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

Carlson shook his head. "No, he's nice! He actually helped me escape some bullies!"

Tobias stood up, stretching a bit. "You may want to keep a close eye on him. This city is getting dangerous with the conversation recently. Watch your step." With that, he simply walked away.

The mother watched him go, then lead her son away, heading back to their house. As she walked, she got out her cell phone, and called 911. "...Hello? Can I speak to the LPD?"

A Few Minutes Later, Zootopia LPD...

A water buffalo sat at his desk, looking over the papers on it. As he read, a call came on his nearby phone. Sighing, having a hunch he knew what it was about, he picked it up and started speaking.

"Chief Bongo here. Where's the argument being held?"

"...Really? What is it then?"

"...I see. Suspect details?"

"...He had WHAT?"

"Hmm... At which address?"

"...Understood. Thank you."

He put the phone down and thought a moment, rubbing his eyes. Finally, he turned to a nearby microphone. Pressing the button, he gave the order, speaking loud and with authority.

"This is Chief Bongo. Officer Hops and Officer Wilde, report to my office immediately. I repeat, Officer Hops and Officer Wilde, report to my office immediately."

Not much to say on this... life is life, right? Bleh, I'll try to post on Saturdays. Till next chapter, have a wonderful rest of your day.