It was my night off- my first time ending before four since I started. It was still my first week and I wanted to make a good impression, but when I offered to take the night shift Chief Bogo's sour expression said it all. So I came home early, after doing some grocery shopping along the way. It was about nine o'clock now and plenty dark outside. My room was lacking any tv and I only had my laptop and tablet to keep me entertained. I know I shouldn't be complaining- it wasn't any different all throughout grad school- but… I don't know. You ever have those nights when you feel restless? There wasn't anything good on to watch and I was growing bored.
A sigh fell from my lips as I gazed absentmindedly out the window. It's already so dark out…. I really shouldn't go outside now. Daddy made me promise that I wouldn't leave my dorm after sunset back at the start of undergrad. But I did, on occasion. Nothing ever happened and I rarely was alone. Zootopia was still a new city to me, however, and I lived right in the middle of downtown. Maybe that worked for my benefit though; there are streetlights everywhere and if I stick to busy roads, I'll probably be fine. Honestly I did know better but my mind was trying to convince itself since I really was bored to death in here.
After another minute of debating with myself, I pulled myself up, put on my coat, grabbed my keys and headphones, and headed out the door. It wouldn't be a long walk; just a short stroll around the block. In when my earpods and I waltzed down the hall and out the front door with little reservation.
It was fairly quiet on the streets, which was typical; I wasn't expecting anything different. The odd person passed me here and there, but nothing out of the usual happened. As a result, I wandered passively, minding my own business and listening to my music. This was something I did all the time back in grad school; walking helped me to deal with the stress of university. Now it was just to elevate boredom.
I rounded a corner, not really paying attention to my surrounding anymore. I knew there was someone walking far behind me but I didn't think it was a problem. I guess I was too busy listening to my tunes and trying to find the next song to play to realize what was about to happen. The last thing I remember was scrolling through the M section of my playlist before something suddenly felt….. off. I would have noticed it sooner if my headphones weren't in. I paused the music and stopped walking, just standing there in the street for a moment. I don't know how I knew but something wasn't right. It felt like I was being watched…. stalked.
A quick peak over my shoulder confirmed my suspicions. I slowly removed my earbuds and didn't take my eyes off him. This jet-black jaguar was standing roughly ten feet behind me, just…. staring. For the first five seconds I thought he might want to pass me; maybe I was walking slower than him. But I knew something wasn't right since he had stopped too. He came to a halt and was eying me from where he was standing. His glowing yellow eyes were so fixed onto me that they actually shown through the darkness. His hands were buried in the pockets of his black hoodie. He wore only black, with this weird red armband around his upper left arm. It had a symbol on it but I couldn't make it out from here.
Now, I don't need to say that I was afraid. I was suddenly terrified. If you've ever been stalked before, you know the feeling. Your body tenses up and you feel like you're going to vomit, you're so scared. It was obvious that he was trailing me, and my stomach sank at the prospect that he might have been following me for a while now, getting closer inch by inch. I don't really remember all the details accuracy; my brain immediately went into flight or fight mode. And with us rabbits, it's always flight mode. I lost all feeling in my legs which were getting ready to run. Actually, the only thing I remember feeling was pressure in my temple lobs, like someone was pressing the sides of my forehead with their thumbs. Then- in the blink of an eye- it happened.
That man will be with me forever, or at least his eyes will. They turned from glossy yellow to searing black in half a second flat. Absolutely predatory. There are no words in the English language to describe how profoundly wrong and threatening they were. I'd never seen the face of a killer before but tonight….. I knew without having to think that this man was hunting me, and he intended to kill me. Or so I thought.
I don't remember exactly when I started to run; my memory gets fuzzy after that. But this cat bolted faster than I'd seen anyone sprint before. My consciousness kicked in again once he grabbed me by the arm. I threw myself away from him and he barely caught me, just nabbing me by the wrist. His grip was powerful and tight; you could tell by the way he held me that he wasn't going to let me go. I heard my voice raddle through the streets, though I don't remember screaming.
That's when I grasped that he wasn't going to kill me, or at least not yet. He held me in place but didn't do anything else. Granted, this was a five second interaction so there wasn't much time for him to do something. But I figured that if he wanted me dead- as in him eating me- he'd have butchered me the moment he nabbed me. Instead he yanked me closer to him- hard. It was so painful that I lost all sensation in my arm for a second. I winced and began contorting my body in unnatural ways, trying desperately to escape his mighty grasp. I wanted to yell "let go of me" but I couldn't make my mouth say anything out loud. All my effort went into trying to pull myself away from him.
I also expected him to shout at me, commanding me to stop wiggling, but he didn't. Again, what I'm describing is a ten second long interaction so far, thus limiting the span of which we could do anything. Somehow, and I have no idea how, my arm slipped a little and when he retightened his grip I felt something painful digging into my skin. This bastard's claws actually broke through my skin! Again I winced but this was the trigger I needed to regain control of my mind. The man stood there, wide-eyed and jaw hanging open; clearly making me bleed wasn't part of his plan. And I could tell the scent of my blood was driving him insane. As he was losing control, I was establishing it over my face anyway.
My mouth suddenly shot open. "Help! Somebody, help me!" I had time to shriek before his other hand reached over to cover me mouth. He was breathing heavily now with saliva spewing out between his teeth. It was like a pressure-cooker about to blow. Fear regripped every atom of my being and I truly contemplated for the first time in my life that I might die.
I can't explain it- maybe my brain knew the end was near and wanted to distract me- but in that instance, I found myself glancing at his red armband. It was your typical armband with two symbols on it; I mistakenly thought it was one before. One was the character for "day" and the other for the word "depravity". Day depravity? What kind of symbol was that? What did that mean? I didn't have time to contemplate it however.
My attacker was literally panting right now from the self-control he was asserting. His lips parted and he said something I'll never forget. "Just a bite…" That's when his toothy mouth began to open up wide and I winced my eyes shut on reflection. It's no surprise that neither of us were paying attention to what was going on around us, or he likely would have let me go.
Before either of us knew what was happening, I found myself begin yanked away from him by my other arm. My body swirled around, not stopping until I was finally out of his grasp. Then we both blinked and I saw Legosi there holding onto my arm. Legosi! My heart skipped a beat- several beats- in my chest. He had cemented himself between us, pulling me to the opposite side of him. He didn't look at me; his wide eyes were fixed on the jaguar.
Legosi's eyes were a colour I'd never seen before. They were red, and not just any red but a glowing red. His pupils were so small and distinct that they barely shown through. His glare was predatory as well but in a different sort of way. Not a "I want to eat you" way; more of a "I'm going to fock you up" sorta way. I actually thought he might kill my attacker for a hot minute.
The moment we were separated, the man's face contorted as he rapidly came back to reality; it was a drunk person immediately sobering up. Then his expression went from one of shock to pure, unadulterated fear. I think he was acting on instinct when he turned on his heels and made a run for it down the other side of the street. Heh, not so nice when you're the one being hunted now, is it? I honestly expected Legosi to let go of me and chase after him; he was on-duty, after all. But he surprised not only me, but himself I think.
Instead of running after him and arresting him, Legosi let go of my wrist. Then, without warning, he proceeded to literally wrap his body around me. I'm serious! He crouched down so I was positioned between his legs. His long arms wrapped around me, holding me close to him. His head was beside mine, though he was still on high alert. I could feel his heart pounding through his shirt. He didn't make a sound, aside from his beating heart. He just held me on the pavement like that, not letting me move or anything.
For my part, I was confused beyond all hell. Confused but not afraid. Legosi is a wolf; he's a carnivore too. My blood must be affecting him. Hey, that's right! My arm is bleeding. So my scent must be traveling… Oh, now I get it. It dawned on me just as other unfamiliar voices started to come around.
"Hey, who's that? What's happened?" "What are you doing?" A few people asked. Everything clicked however, when a nearby loin licked his thick lips with his moist tongue. "What's that delicious smell?" Now I see; he's protecting me. Legosi himself must be fighting his own urges, and the best way to do that is to protect me from others…. Other carnivores in the neighbourhood who might detect my scent. It's almost as if Legosi is acting on instinct, protecting his prey. Well, I could lie to myself and say that's not the case, but I knew deep down it probably was. Still, it's the only thing keeping me alive right now. How's that for irony?
Someone must have figured out what was going on and called the cops. This became apparent when sirens were heard in the distance. Two police cars rounded the corner and stopped beside us on the road. By now a considerable gathering of people had coagulated. The first ones out of their cars were Legosi's two partners: an eagle named Aoba and a tiger named Bill. Aoba instantly went to address the observing crowd while Bill rushed over to us.
"What happened?!" He demanded. "That lady almost got abducted," a bystander yelled. "Detective Haru?" Bill's eyebrow went up. I didn't say anything, preferring to stay in the safety of Legosi's strong arms. Man! I didn't know it could feel so secure to be held by a carnivore. Sure, I was still shaken up by the whole event but I didn't feel so vulnerable anymore. Too bad Bill wasn't satisfied with this. He looked at Legosi.
"Where is he? Did he get away?" While Legosi didn't answer Bill's questions, he sighed. He shook his stripped head then looked at me. "Are you alright, doctor?" I didn't respond, not too keen on talking to cats at the moment. "Are you ok? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Bill pressed. Again, I didn't say anything. He let out another frustrated sigh. Then he made the mistake of stretching out his hand my way. "Come on. You're safe now."
Legosi's eyes couldn't have glared at him harsher. "Don't touch her!" He said in a tone neither of us had heard from him before. Bill could only blink in astonishment as his hand fell back a little. Then he got mad. "Dude, I'm only checking if she's alright! You don't have to get so upset over it! What if she's injured and needs medical attention?" Legosi failed to reply, simply holding onto me longer. Bill rubbed the back of his neck in frustration and it was around this time that Aoba joined us.
"Detective Haru! Are you alright?!" He sounded a lot more worried than Bill. Once he got a good look at the scene, his softened his gaze onto Legosi. "Legosi," was all he had to say. Those were like the magic words and Legosi practically snapped out of his predatory spell. He instantly retracted his arms, letting me go. This left me sitting on the pavement by myself as he scrambled to get to his feet. He got to his feet but stood very close to me the whole time. Aobo grinned approvingly up at him before looking back at me. He kneeled down so we were at eye level, almost.
"Are you ok, Detective? Did he hurt you anywhere?" "Only….." I motioned down to my arm with my head. Aoba glanced down at it then up to my eyes again. "Don't worry; we'll get that cleaned up for you. Did you see where he ran off to?" I pointed down the direction my attacker vanished. Aoba checked at it, nodded at his partners, then straightened back up. "We'll send some cruisers out. In the meantime, Detective Haru needs to be brought to the medical centre back at the station." "You know the chief said no one leaves until he gets here," Bill countered, crossing his arms. That's when another set of sirens filled the evening air. We all glanced to the upcoming cars. "Ah, speak of the devil….." Aoba remarked.
The car parked, badly I might add, and both passenger and driver doors opened. While the chief was still climbing out his side, Louis had already sprang out of his door. "Haru!" He screeched, scrambling over to me. I had enough time to open my arms up for him, where he collided into me. He embraced me on the ground for some time; just long enough for Chief Bogo to approach the crime sign. He glanced at everyone, then at me. "Alright, boys. Someone care to tell me what happened here?" No one answered right away. Louis picked me up off the cement and held me in his arms princess-style. All the while I noticed Legosi watching him intently. Or he was until Bill notioned to him with the side of his head. "Ask him."