Chapter 9 – Run To The Hills

We all met later on in the day. We had been wearing the same clothes as we had been earlier except now Judy Hopps was wearing an Iron Marten shirt.

"Fucking great shirt," I said as I saw her.

"This will be my first time seeing them," she replied.

"Me too," said Ashkii, "and I can't fucking wait!"

"This will be fucking amazing!" Nick said.

"And can help take our mind off of what is going on," Duke said.

We all eventually got onto the metro and took it to the Central Station. As we got off the train, the crowds were filling in and especially on the escalator. We eventually arrived outside the Zoo2 Arena and got in the long line. It was definitely one of the largest concerts I have been to and was sold out. When we had our tickets scanned, we went inside and found ourselves a spot on the floor, weaving in and out of the crowd to get close to the stage. This was the largest concert venue in the city, with a capacity of 40,000. There was a large floor area with large amphitheater-style seating wrapping around it.

Battle Beast was the opening band. Nick Wilde was a huge fan because they are Finnish, but we are also big fans as well. They opened with Unbroken, and a small mosh pit formed that we got into. The crowd continued to fill in during their set. They also played "Bastard Son of Odin" and "Straight to The Heart." They continued for 30 minutes before eventually closing with "Beyond the Burning Skies".

"Alrighty then," Hopps said, "They were pretty good."

"They never disappoint," I said, "I've seen them a few times."

"That one was my first time," said Ashkii.

Eventually, the crowd finished filling in as the room darkened once more. Iron Marten then came on and opened with "Aces High" as a replica of a plane was hung above the stage. I got into the mosh pit that formed in the floor section (it was a really big mosh pit). The setlist was full of their hits and classics for all of the casual fans in the room, and not many new songs were played. They continued to play songs such as "2 Minutes to Midnight", "Number of The Beast" and "Fear Of The Dark". Bruce Dickinson was very energetic onstage (especially for his age) and often changed outfits. The stage backdrops kept changing as well as different songs were played. There were multiple bouts of pyrotechnics and even Bruce Dickinson had a flamethrower at one point. They continued for two hours including an encore, made up by "Hallowed Be Thy Name", "Run To The Hills" and finally closing with "The Trooper".

When they started to play "The Trooper", a familiar figure walked onstage dressed just like Eddie The Head. I knew exactly that it was Manchas. He continued to fake battle Dickinson with a fake sword as the song continued and the crows screamed loud. Eventually at the end, as the band took their final bows, he came out once more. As we cheered them all on, it appeared that Manchas got hit by an object. The rest of the band walked offstage except for him, who was now stumbling around.

"Is he alright?" Nick asked.

"Who knows," Duke replied.

Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground and started panting hard, before looking at the crowd with a look of extreme aggression on his face. Soon, he was growling loud and coming after everyone.

"Run!" Ashkii shouted.

We ran out of the arena, as most of the crowd had already left. Suddenly he was coming after us.

"What the fuck is going on!" Nick Wilde shouted.

"No fucking clue!" Judy Hopps shouted.

We continued out of the building and down the street towards where the university was. We kept getting chased fast as we tried dodging the savage creature.

"Are those the fucking Night Howlers?" I asked.

"No clue," replied Duke.

Suddenly, we were back in the University. Manchas chased us up to the roof of the parking garage.

"Oh shit," I said, "what the fuck are we going to do now."

"Jump."

"What the fuck carrots," Nick said, "are you fucking crazy!"

"Now!"

We jumped off the top and fell right into a bush that cushioned the landing. Looking right at us was Chief Bogo.

"Oh fuck, you again," he said, "what is the matter with you. It's quiet hours, and you are making all of this noise. And you are not supposed to be jumping off of buildings here."

"We gotta tell you something," Hopps said, "we just got chased by a savage Jaguar."

"He may have been on Night Howlers," I said.

"Oh not again," Bogo said, "now even Hopps is into this whole prank scheme. Animals don't got savage, and Night Howlers are not used anymore in the city. Even so, they would not cause someone to go savage."

"We're actually serious," Hopps said, "We just came back from a concert and were chased out of the venue by him. Just look right here and I'll show you."

We walked back up to the parking garage, but Manchas was nowhere to be found.

"What the fuck?" Judy Hopps asked, "They were just here."

"Well maybe, any aggressive predator looks savage to you," Bogo said.

"They all saw it too," Hopps said, "and they are all predators".

"A fox and three mustelids," Bogo said, "think I should really trust them? Plus they are all autistic."

"Well," I replied, "we saw the whole thing. If you don't believe us, fine. If something similar happened one day, you will be sorry that you doubted us, so go right back to your station and be a prep."

"Yeah motherfucker," Nick chimed in.

We eventually all left and walked back towards Minkler Hall.

"Never let them get to you," Nick said.

"Has anything gotten to you," Judy said.

"Yes back when we were younger, we were pretty unstable."

"It was elementary school," I chimed in, "We were the only autistic students in the school, and both needed assistance. Along with being some of the few predators in the school as well."

"It was fifth grade," Nick said, "I was new, but Emmitt had been there for a few years."

"We had each had our different friend groups and didn't really know each other back then," I said.

"And then, the ones we used to be friends with turned on us," said Nick.

"And so did the teachers who did absolutely nothing to support us," I said.

"I was no longer known as 'funny' but instead 'retarted'."

"I could not control myself," I said, "and no one knew how to deal with it."

"I was restrained multiple times, and suspended for fighting back."

"It was all we could do," I said, "Even if it meant we got muzzled."

"That," Nick said, "Is why we bonded at first in fifth grade."

"And I came in in 6th grade," Duke said. "My parents were divorced already, and I was treated similarly as a child. My father couldn't deal with me, so he got me to move out of the house."

"And that is why I chose to go to a private middle school," Ashkii said, "So I would not be around any of those preps."

"Now we know," Nick said, "that the only ones we have are each other, and it is best not to trust anyone in this whole world if no one will trust you."

"Oh shit," Judy Hopps said, "Just remember, you are all more than that, and I won't see you the way they did."

"Thank you," I said.

"I guess you are actually pretty good now," Nick said, "keep it up."

We continued back to our rooms.