Sir Khan: Means a lot, thank you!

Wolfx1120: Thank you!

FoxyWithTheMoxy: I appreciate it, and I agree the idea had potential but I got really carried away with the whole concept. As for a revision, I'll have to see in the future. I'm leaning towards doing a Tales of Turmoil rewriting as my next project.

Guest: Thanks I appreciate the kind words!

Zootopian Fulf: Touching indeed, and now comes the fun part, or does it?

MapleHoneySyrup: Of course! There's plenty of laughs still to come! :) I really appreciate your kind words.

Guest: That means a lot to me so thank you! About to take off? That's a way to put it for sure ;D

So, we've already arrived at the end of part one of The Thrill of it All! That's pretty crazy for me! From here on out, the primary narrative of the story will take shape — of course Judy and Nick's evolving relationship is still major, but there's a lot more to this story than I've let on so far…

I will put a disclaimer here that the story takes a darker turn today. It's nothing crazy, but the story from here on out is not the same carefree vibe as before.

Now, the true mystery begins…

Nick paced slowly through the night, finally alone with nothing but his own thoughts once again. He and his friends had experienced a lot that day; most of it positive, of course, but there was also a fair amount he didn't know how to feel about. There was, of course, the chasm, which was quite foreign to the kids. Such a bizarre landform had to be known about; there was simply no way that its existence was a secret.

Then there were his emotions, which he couldn't seem to keep in check at all. He felt an overwhelming amount of happiness, but also so much more. He felt uncertainty about what exactly the friends had gotten themselves into with their pursuing of the coordinates, and he felt just a little bit scared of the possible repercussions. Not only this, but he felt afraid of more unfamiliar territory in his feelings for Judy: he felt that they were to be swept under the rug for the time being so that he could focus on not only the mystery of the coordinates, but the summer camp experiences as a whole.

As he walked through the comforting silence of the night, paired only with the chirping of crickets, Nick came to terms with the fact that he didn't have to worry about any of it. In time, all of it would sort itself out, and he had more than a month to let that happen. He was going to enjoy his summer, and he was not going to let anything get in the way.

The young fox entered the bathroom and made his way to the mirror, dropping his small bathroom bag on the counter. He pulled out his toothbrush and ran it under lukewarm water, humming to himself as he did so. He heard the bathhouse door open, but didn't think much of it, as it was a very usual thing.

The fox put a small chunk of toothpaste on the brush and began brushing his teeth, but quickly stopped when he realized that both Luke and Ronnie were standing behind them, seeming a tad bit more strange than usual.

Nick slowly lowered his toothbrush and turned around to face the two boys, who looked as if they had a lot to say.

"Nick," Luke began in a calm tone, not wanting to scare him. "I… we just had a few questions for you about… stuff…" he trailed off.

"We're not dating," Nick said plainly, fairly certain he knew what the tiger and wolf were inquiring about.

"What?" Luke asked, bewildered.

"Judy and I, we aren't dating," Nick repeated. "Whoever told you that is lying."

"That's not what we were gonna ask you about," Ronnie said flatly, glancing over to see Luke's reaction, which was essentially nothing. The tiger was completely focused on getting the answers he so desperately desired.

"Nick, we know you guys found the capsule," Luke said, dropping the news rather nonchalantly. "We know you didn't just go on a hike today, and I'll know if you're lying. What was in that capsule?"

As Luke told him this, Nick's eyes grew a bit wider out of shock, although if anyone had caught on to them, Nick would have fully expected it to be Luke. He laughed nervously as he placed his toothbrush on the counter, taking a small step back from them.

"Uhh… I don't know about the capsule," Nick tried his best to remain ignorant. "Capsule? What capsule?"

"You're going to tell me, Nick," Luke said with a hint of threatening energy, continuing to stare at the fox with intent eyes. "You're not leaving until you do. We found the empty capsule in your suitcase, we know you found it. Tell us now and it'll make this all so much easier."

Nick looked from left to right for a way out of the situation, but he was utterly trapped. Behind him was a dead end at the end of the sinks and stalls, and the two boys blocked his only hope of escape. He quickly lunged forward, trying to catch them off-guard by sprinting through the two of them, but Luke and Ronnie grabbed him, pushing him back into his trapped position.

"Nick, we don't need this to be a big thing," Luke said, still cool and collected. "It really doesn't need to be. This information is very important, do you understand that?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't know anything about the stupid time capsule! The thing in my suitcase was just a… a present from my grandma, okay! I don't know what you're talking about!"

Luke and Ronnie stood silently for a moment before Luke lunged forward, backhanding Nick in the gut, causing him to bend over in pain as Ronnie watched, too shocked to speak. Luke punched Nick multiple times until he fell to the ground, struggling to catch his breath. Luke's eyes now appeared wide and desperate as he took a step away from the fox, taking a moment to recollect himself.

"Now, Nick," Luke said. "You need to tell me. We can go down this path all night if you want to, even though it isn't what I prefer. We locked the bathhouse doors, so we won't get any interruptions. You're not leaving until you tell me, and I'd prefer not to dirty up my claws."

Nick gasped as he managed to lift himself back into a crouching position, holding his stomach as he winced. Luke's punches certainly had a fair amount of steam behind them, and he didn't know if he could stand to act as if he knew nothing anymore.

"Why… why would you do that? Why are you doing this?" Nick asked, still under the effects of shock. He had just gone to the bathhouse to brush his teeth, and now he felt like… dare he say it, his life was at stake.

"Nick, the well-being of all the campers here is more important than you and the others playing a stupid game. This capsule is not a joke, it's not a toy, it isn't a game. Tell me everything, now!" Luke demanded, raising his voice a considerable amount at the end of the sentence. As he said this, he made his claws visible, and Nick was terrified to see just how sharp they were.

"Okay, okay! We found it, we found it in the lake!" Nick struggled, still wincing from the pain. "The capsule, it was in the lake, and… and inside were these coordinates, they led us to this place on top of a mountain, it was a chasm, and… we didn't have a way of getting down there, so we left. That's all! I swear!"

"Coordinates? Do you have them with you?" Luke asked Nick, now sounding satisfied with the information he had been given so far. "Not the ones in the notebook Ronnie and I found, right?"

"No, they're different, it was just one set of coordinates… I have them!" Nick said, pulling the piece of paper from his pocket gingerly and holding it out in front of Luke and Ronnie.

Nick was an awfully clever fox, but his fear had gotten the better of him this time. He could have pulled a trick and lied, given Luke false information, or anything in between, but he felt like he was truly in danger. He just wanted to make it back to the cabin.

Luke took the strip of paper from Nick and looked it over for a moment. He then took his phone from his pocket and took several photos of it before handing it back to Nick, now looking even more content with the lead they now had. Maybe they'd be able to crack the case behind the scenes at Camp Odayaka after all…

"Thanks for all of this, Nick, we really do appreciate it. And I'm sorry for hitting you, it's just… we have to figure this out, you know? No hard feelings?" Luke asked, reaching his paw out in front of Nick as the fox looked back at him with nothing but distrust at this point.

"Whatever," Nick muttered, shaking paws with Luke before he slowly made his way to his feet once again, still in quite a bit of pain. His side was throbbing more than a little from one of the punches Luke had thrown, but he had his breath back now. "Just let me leave."

"Of course," Luke said, trying his best to sound friendly again as he stepped aside, giving Nick room to depart. "But don't you want to finish brushing your teeth? Bad dental hygiene is never a good thing."

"Oh, sure… I guess…" Nick replied, not knowing what else to say as he turned to look at his toothbrush, which still lay on the counter.

"And Nick?" Luke began, he and Ronnie beginning to turn away to depart the bathhouse. "It's better that no one knows this happened. We don't want anyone finding out that we're involved with the whole capsule thing, you know? It's a dangerous business."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever dude," Nick replied, still shaking out of fear. He hoped that neither of the two boys could tell he was, but it wasn't exactly discreet. "I won't tell anyone."

"Well then, see you later," Luke declared, patting Nick on the shoulder.

"Yeah, see you later," Ronnie said nicely, still somewhat baffled by what he had just seen. He had never witnessed Luke using brute force as a means to accomplish something, so he was certainly caught off guard.

Nick said nothing as the boys departed, but felt tears begin to rise into prominence once they had left. His breath was beginning to slip again as familiar emotions flooded him without mercy, his fists tightening as he struggled to come to terms with what had just occurred. It brought back memories very quickly of the last time he had been overpowered and shoved to the ground; it brought back ghosts that were all too powerful, all too sinister.

His heart felt empty as he collapsed to the floor on his backside, holding his face in his knees in front of the bathroom sink, not wanting to cry for the second time that day. Still, the trauma… it was impossible to ignore, and its talons insisted on picking their way deeper and deeper into Nick's being. He took his time to regain his breath, quickly wiping away the tears despite finding it hard to keep up with the pace in which they spawned. He cried out into his arms so that the sound would be muffled, but the sheer hurt and vulnerability could have been detected just as easily by any bystander.

After a few moments of regathering himself, Nick quickly brought himself to his feet again, determined to be strong enough to wipe the events of that night off his shoulders. He picked up his toothbrush again and gripped it forcefully, clenching his jaw as he pictured what had just happened yet again. As he looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes bloodshot and tired, he took one last deep breath and finished brushing his teeth.

June 11th

The next morning, the friends were in a weird place. While they had knowledge of a place that was something more than a secret, they had no means of actually finding out the implications. There was no telling what was contained in the bottom of that chasm, and the friends would never know until they had methods of lowering themselves to the bottom of it. First, though, they'd have to locate the courage to do so, or as Carmen might call it, "stupidity."

Nick found himself awake a bit earlier than usual; when he sat up in his bed, still aching from the beating the night before, his phone clock read: 7:39 AM. None of the other boys in the cabins would be out and about yet, so Nick could relax a bit longer before they had to be up. There wasn't a point in using any of his energy for the day yet, as the camp's team games were supposed to start that day. While the mission of the coordinates was put on the back burner, the fox figured he might as well work on getting camper points so that he'd be able to qualify for the reward at the end of camp.

Nick looked around the cabin as he readjusted himself and his pillow, but quickly noticed something different. There was usually a rather prominent presence in the corner of the room near the door to the cabin, but that morning, it was missing...

Ronnie and Luke's bunk was completely empty.

Had they even come back last night?

As Nick sat up straighter so he could get a better view of the bunks, he felt a piece of paper beside him, and quickly grabbed it. He opened the piece of paper as silently as possible, immediately recognizing what was inside as a letter.

Nick,

I'm really sorry about what Luke did. I just didn't know what to do and I didn't think he'd go all crazy like that, he's usually not that way. If it's possible, I'd still like to maybe be friends with you guys. Just let us get the whole mystery out of the way first, okay? Luke wanted me to tell you that his original reason for coming here was to expose Camp Odayaka for a murder back in 2018, but it seems like we may have found something deeper. We're gonna find out. Sorry again, hopefully your pain will be worth something.

-Ronnie

So they had come back by the cabin, even if it was just for a moment.

Nick stared at the paper with a blank face, trying to conjure up a reason he would have left such a letter instead of just telling him later that day, and his eyes suddenly were void of any peace or serenity. He took a deep breath before he started to panic at all, continuing to gaze at the empty bunk. Even aside from the casual mention of a murder at the camp a few years before, there were several new problems.

They went for the coordinates.

Now, there were several problems with that. First and foremost, there was the hidden nature of the chasm — Ronnie and Luke could fall through the vines while searching for it and almost certainly die. He hadn't mentioned the cover of the vines to the two of them, so they wouldn't know to expect anything like that.

Nick leaned over the side of the top bunk to look at Ray, but the ocelot was still fast asleep, even letting loose a soft snore. The young fox wasn't sure what to do, but he hated to sit back and do nothing for the next twenty minutes, although he may not have had much of a choice. It was a tough situation for sure, and he couldn't tell Gardner about the altercation in the bathroom the night before either, as it had negative implications for both parties.

Just then, Nick noticed something else rather curious…

Counselor Gardner's bed was empty as well.

Nick crept down from his bunk and got dressed as silently as possible before making his way over to the door, tiptoeing past the other sleeping campers with a cautious expression. His side was still aching rather severely, so he winced a bit with each step he took.

Finally exiting the cabin, Nick looked around with narrow eyes as his eyes adjusted to the morning light. He didn't see Gardner anywhere; not at the picnic tables around the cabin, not out for a walk… perhaps he had headed to the cafeteria for an extra early morning coffee before heading back to wake up the cabin.

Nick decided he didn't want to walk all the way over to the cafeteria, so he instead sat on the steps of the cabin, breathing softly to himself as he repeated rational thoughts to himself.

He just went to get coffee or something, he'll be back any minute now. It's already getting close to eight, there's no way he won't… he has to be back by then to wake the cabin, right?

Nick tried to think about something else for a few minutes, finding himself rather surprised that it had been five days since he arrived at Camp Odayaka already. The time had truly flown by, and despite the events of the night before, he was still very much anticipating the rest of the summer. He tried to keep his mind on his friends; on Judy, on Ray and Ven. Naiya, Carmen, all the rest…

After perhaps five minutes of sitting on the stairs to the cabin, he heard footsteps approaching from rather closeby and lifted his head, his ears perked up. The presence approaching him wasn't exactly who he expected to see…

"Director Mato?" Nick asked as he looked visibly surprised at the sight of the director, approaching him, as nicely dressed as always.

"Well, hello! You're Nick, right?" Mato asked carefully. "I remember you from laser tag, that was you, right?"

"Well, I didn't win or anything, but yeah that was me," Nick said shyly.

"I only said to represent us foxes well, and I'd say that you did just that."

Nick beamed a bit at the comment, grateful for any compliment coming from Director Mato. Although he had little idea of the director's actual personality, he still found a sense of comfort in the fact that he was also a fox. Many of their life experiences were memories that they had in common; especially the negative.

"Thanks, sir," Nick responded as Mato gave him a warm smile. "I appreciate it."

"Of course, don't mention it! Well, I'm going to keep on with my morning walk, I thought I'd stop by to say hello!" Mato clarified, waving goodbye as he turned to begin walking once again.

"Wait, Director Mato?"

"Just call me Mato!" the older fox said, turning back to face Nick.

"Gotcha, but I was wanting to ask… do you know where Counsellor Gardner is?" Nick inquired. "And Luke and Ronnie too. They aren't in the cabin for some reason."

Director Mato looked perplexed for a moment before placing a paw to his chin, his tail flicking as he considered Nick's question.

"I'm not sure, Nick. None of them are in the cabin right now?" Mato asked with a confused look.

"No, none of them. Their beds are empty, and…" Nick trailed off, deciding not to bring up the letter he had found beside him in his bed when he woke up. He realized that it meant, however, that the two did come back by the cabin before they left to search for the coordinates.

"And?" Mato asked in a genuinely concerned tone, looking at the cabin behind Nick and then back down at the young fox.

"And… I'm just confused, since, you know… Luke and Ronnie are my friends," he finished, knowing the statement was partially correct, at least before last night. He'd like to think that the night prior wasn't a proper representation of Luke's character, but he still held a fair amount of anger in his heart towards the tiger for the way he had treated him in the bathroom.

"And rightfully so," Mato responded with a nod. "I'll get right on that, because no campers are supposed to be wandering around outside of the cabin alone before the day begins or after curfew, even if they're with a counselor."

"Yeah, I thought that's the way it was," Nick said, Mato confirming that the occurrence was in fact not routine.

"Well, have a good rest of your morning. Let me go see what I can find out about that. I'll be back here around eight to make sure he's back, I'm just as confused as you are!" Mato stated with a light laugh, trying to keep the mood calm as he turned to walk back in the direction of his office.

"Okay, sounds good!" Nick said, glad that Mato was going to deal with the situation. He feared that Luke and Ronnie may be in dire trouble, but there was no proof of such yet. After all, Luke and Ronnie were very smart boys; the chances they'd just carelessly walk into the chasm were very low, so there wasn't really any reason to be so worried, right?

Nick continued waiting on the steps of the cabin until just before eight. He looked up again as he heard nearby voices approaching and saw a halfway comforting sight: Director Mato walking back in the direction of the cabin alongside Counsellor Gardner, the two deep in a seemingly solemn conversation.

The two stopped in front of Nick, who looked up at them eagerly, ready to hear where Gardner had been, as well as his knowledge on Ronnie and Luke.

"Nick," Gardner began, sounding as if he were trying harder than usual to appear stoic. "Sorry, I was getting my morning coffee! I definitely needed it this time!"

Nick noticed that the meerkat had bags until his eyes, which also happened to be slightly bloodshot. Gardner appeared tired and exhausted, which was slightly troubling to the young fox.

"Where are Ronnie and Luke?" Nick asked, wanting to get straight to his biggest concern, his eyes wide with inquisitiveness.

"That's a very good question," Gardner replied, glancing over to Director Mato. "We're trying to figure that out right now, haven't had a situation like this in the five years I've been here. Still, I need to get everyone up first. Just leave it to us. They probably snuck out early to get up to some mischief, you know how those two are."

Nick's face remained the same; he looked as though he still wanted answers, but he decided that the two adults had the situation covered, and that he would just have to wait to see what happened next.

"Yeah, probably," Nick responded, although there was still a deep rooted anxiety in his chest that told him something was wrong.

After some time, Counsellor Gardner had everyone awake and getting ready for the day. Director Mato had returned to his office to look more into the whereabouts of Luke and Ronnie. After the kids had all gotten ready, Counsellor Gardner gathered them all around so that he could tell them the rather important news.

"So, boys, we have a bit of a situation," Gardner told the campers of Cabin 19. "Luke and Ronnie, you know, the tiger and wolf on the end… they wandered off somewhere either last night or in the morning, which, as you all know, is off-limits. If any of you see them today, please tell me so that I can let Director Mato know."

"Yes sir!" most of the boys replied in unison, not nearly as worried about the entire situation as Nick was. Ray and Ven found themselves looking over at Nick as Gardner talked more about the day's itinerary, noticing his plainly vacant expression.

Nick was fearful for when they'd begin asking questions, as he was the last kid to see either of them before they left into the unknown. Then, there was the letter too… he feared that if he was questioned, his knowledge of the coordinates may be forced out, and as Mato said…

There are animals out there willing to kill over them.

After most of the campers in Cabin 19 had headed to breakfast, Nick stayed behind with Ray and Ven for a moment. The two of them sat on one of the picnic tables outside of the cabin and waited for everyone else to be out of hearing range before the conversation commenced.

"Okay, dude, you're acting like this whole "missing" thing has 'you' written all over it," Ray stated, not wanting to assume the worst in his friend.

"It's not me, I swear! I mean, I went to the bathroom last night to brush my teeth, and I… I saw them there! I don't know if they ever came back to the cabin after that except for a second maybe…" the fox finished, remembering the letter.

"So you were the last one to see them last night?" Ray asked him curiously. "They never came back to the cabin after that?"

"They might have come back, but not for long!" Nick answered. "I didn't pay attention to whether they were there when I got back!"

As Nick raised his arms to emphasize his words, he winced, tending to his side quickly. The pain had still hardly subsided, so he expected to be in some discomfort for the next few days.

"You good, dude?" Ray asked him with a skeptical gaze. "You look like you're in some pain."

"Yeah, I just… I slipped when I tried to get up on my bed last night and hit my ribs on the bed frame," Nick claimed, adding an unconvincing laugh. "Ouch."

"I've known you a long time, Nick," Ray said with his eyebrow raised. "And I can tell when you're lying. You can't be slick with me," the ocelot added with a chuckle, before his eyes grew wider, his jaw dropping.

"What? What's that face for?" Nick questioned frantically.

"You got in a fight, didn't you? You got in a fight!" Ray said excitedly, not remembering any time in the past in which the fox had been involved in such an event. He said this not out of certainty, but just to gauge Nick's reaction to the accusation. It was always easier to see how he reacted to something of that sort and then move from there.

"What! No! Ray, where'd you even get that?" Nick asked quickly as Ray and Ven stared at him in awe.

"You did, didn't you?" Ven asked quietly, not wanting any bystanders to hear any of this.

Nick sighed, scratching the back of his head as he winced again. He looked down at the ground, trying to decide what to say next.

"It was nothing, guys," Nick muttered. The more he thought about it, the worse it looked for him. He had been the last kid to see Luke and Ronnie, and he was still injured from a physical altercation. Now, the two were missing…

"So, you got in a fight… with who?" Ray asked cautiously, dying to know the answer.

"It wasn't a fight! Luke, he…"

"Luke!? Luke hit you?!" Ray asked, outraged at what Nick was telling him. "Are you serious?! I'm going to kill that kid, Nick! I'm gonna ki-"

"Ray, wait," Nick stopped him with a somber expression. "You don't understand."

Ray took a breath, putting his wrath on hold for the time being. He looked over at Ven, and then back at Nick.

"Did you… hit him first?" Ray asked, trying his hardest to understand what Nick was telling him.

"No, I didn't hit him… but he had a reason for attacking me," Nick said, turning his voice to whisper towards the end of his sentence. "They… Luke and Ronnie? They knew I had the capsule, and they… wanted the coordinates."

Ray and Ven stared back in silence for several seconds as they took in the staggering information Nick had just given to them.

"And… I had to! I gave them the coordinates! I didn't know what he was gonna do to me, and… I panicked!" Nick said, becoming visibly upset at the memory.

"How did they know?" Ray asked, trying to figure it all out. "Do you think that's where they went?"

Nick shrugged, still struggling to understand what was happening himself.

"Maybe! And if they did, what if they ran into these 'bad animals' Luke told us about? What if they got hurt, or fell into the… the chasm?" Nick thought aloud in a scared tone, considering the worst.

"Relax, dude! Chances are they just got lost in the woods looking for the coordinates. They're probably on their way back now, but I'm still not over the fact that he hit you. I don't care what his reason was, he's getting messed up the next time I see him!" Ray announced, still trembling a bit from his fury. He hated to see his friends, especially his best friends being picked on by anyone, and he was going to make whoever dared to do so pay dearly.

"Ray, we don't need any trouble," Nick wanted him. "If anyone else were to hear this and they don't come back, I'd probably be a suspect in their disappearance."

"Nick, listen to yourself dude! You're acting like they're dead or something! Like I said, they're on their way back now, you hear me?" Ray made sure Nick knew, not wanting the fox to feel any unnecessary anxiety.

"Yeah," Nick answered softly. "You're probably right, Ray. But there's one more thing…"

"What's that?" Ray asked him.

"The reason I think they had to have come back at least for a second was… well, because I found a letter… Ronnie apologized in the letter for Luke kinda, you know, beating me up, and he mentioned something that happened back in 2018…"

"And what was that?"

"Someone… well, he said someone was murdered," Nick said anxiously.

"That sounds messy. Let's just look into that later," Ray suggested, despite the fact that what Nick had told him was very disturbing. "It may just be a rumor, you know?"

"Yeah, let's just focus on today. We could maybe research that later," Ven declared with an inquisitive look. "We have the team games this morning, remember? Then we're doing archery later. It's gonna be a great day, we can't let Luke and Ronnie being missing and… you know, murder bring us down."

—-

So the boys left the cabin area and went to breakfast somewhat hurriedly, not wanting Gardner or any of the counsellors to think they had gone missing as well. They met up with the girls at breakfast in their usual spot, and the boys chose to withhold the information about Ronnie and Luke until after breakfast.

Judy noticed that Nick was behaving somewhat oddly during breakfast, but she didn't question it too much. She was still a bit frazzled herself from the previous night, as Naiya had talked with her more about her feelings toward Nick, which was always a journey in itself. She had gotten so attached to Nick even after a few days of knowing him, which she had told Naiya was pretty frightening for her, and she meant it. Though, looking into Nick's eyes and feeling his paw under hers at the movie the night before… well, it was a thrill.

As soon as breakfast was over, Nick and the others walked outside to head to the team games for the day. Before they had ventured too far, however, Nick indicated to his friends that they should venture from the path. The group made their way over behind a large oak tree and gathered around, some confused about what the secret "meeting" was all about.

"Okay, so I'm gonna say this all in one take so that no one's in the dark about this, okay?" Nick clarified, looking at his friends one by one.

"Okay," Naiya replied.

"Affirmative," Judy said, still a bit worried about where everything was going.

Nick took a quick breath through his snout and searched for the best way of telling them everything that had gone down the night before, as well as the situation currently facing them.

"So, last night… Luke kinda… he kinda confronted me with Ronnie when we were all alone in the bathroom. He knew that we found the capsule, and he wanted to know what was in it, and I wasn't going to tell him but then he kind of attacked me, so I had to. They… well, I don't think they ever came back to the cabin last night, and I'm thinking they went after the coordinates, even though I'm not sure how they'd get down there," the fox rambled, struggling to keep it together. "But they never came back, and now they're missing. Mato doesn't know where they are, our counsellor doesn't know where they are… they went missing, and I think they may be in trouble!"

Nick's recollection was met with silence by the girls for a moment before Judy spoke first, an indignant expression on her face.

"So that's why you've been wincing so much today!" Judy exclaimed, furious at the idea of Luke putting a paw on Nick.

"I know you're all probably mad at Luke for that, but this is all a lot more than just me getting beat up a little. They may be in serious trouble since the chasm is hidden so well under the vines, who knows? And for me, it's bad too. If they don't come back, I was the last kid to see them before they disappeared! And I'm a little bruised from the punches, so they might think I'm behind it, or that I got in a fight with them, or…"

"Nick," Judy began, looking at Nick with a contemplative face. "It's okay, I don't think you're in any trouble here. But if they went after the coordinates, you might be right about them being in danger. But also… you need to make sure no one finds out that we know about the coordinates. I believe what Mato said to Luke about there being dangerous mammals out here that would kill for whatever's down there."

"Yeah, of course," Nick responded, feeling a little more stable than before. "That would complicate things, wouldn't it? And what if we were blamed for whatever happened to them?"

"If they got hurt up there, it can't be blamed on us," Naiya chimed in. "They hurt you, Nick. They hurt you and took the information from you by force."

"I know, but we never should have had that information in the first place, right?" Nick asked. "They'll say we should have brought the capsule to Mato when we found it. We should've just taken the thousand!" Nick asserted with a regretful expression, putting his paws on top of his head.

"Nick, it's gonna be okay dude!" Ray repeated. "It's gonna be fine! None of this is your fault, and we don't even know if they're in danger at all! They may have taken whatever's down in the chasm and left!"

"Let's just focus on the games," Ven said softly, trying to keep Nick calm.

"Yeah, this is all a lot, but we can talk more later," Carmen added. "We need to remember that we're at camp. We're supposed to be having fun!"

Nick took a deep breath as Judy rubbed his back gently for a second to cool the tension in the air. He looked back up at his friends and nodded.

"Yeah, let's focus on the games."

The team games went well for Nick and Judy particularly; they were both on the winning team (the green team) of the assortment of zany mini-games, and the whole activity helped Nick to get his mind off of the missing Ven and Ray. Once the game had concluded, Mato stood before all of the teams to congratulate the victor, as well as to make a more sullen announcement.

"Everyone!" Director Mato spoke loudly and clearly through his bullhorn, and immediately most of the kids quieted down from their chatter. "First of all, congratulations to the green team for winning today's set of team games! You all did fantastic and should be proud!"

The green team roared with a plethora of cheers and hoots, feeling the pride that one should expect when winning. Mato waited for the voices to calm down before he spoke once more, this time with a bit more weight behind his words.

"On a serious note, we do have a rather concerning situation involving two campers that we need you all to be aware of, so I figured I'll let you know now. Two campers have been missing since late last night; their names are Luke Myers and Ronnie Moon. Luke is a tiger cub, and Ronnie is a wolf; I'm sure you've seen them around camp, especially those from cabins 17-21. Tonight, if they still haven't returned, we're going to form a search party composed of many of the camp counsellors. While this is going on, we will need all of you to remain in your cabins so that you're all out of the way. Am I understood?"

The kids replied with a mixture of "yes" and "yes sir" in unison before Mato continued.

"If anyone has any information on where Luke or Ronnie may be, please do not hesitate to come to me. We don't know the nature of where they've gone, so they may be in danger. We want to be absolutely sure they show back up at camp as safely as possible. Anyways, thank you all; have a good lunch and rest of the day!"

Needless to say, Nick and his friends were more than a little flustered as they walked to lunch. The idea of having to sit and wait in the cabins while the adults did the actual meaningful work did not sit right with Nick or Judy; they were both individuals of action. Why wouldn't the camp utilize the entirety of the camp in the event of a search? Wouldn't it be productive to include everyone that they could? Surely the two boys would be found sooner, right?

For the rest of the day, whether it be at lunch, the cabin activities afterwards, archery and dinner, flustered was the perfect word to use to describe how they felt at nearly every moment. Aside from the usual silly banter between the friends, their moods were more defined by anxiety than anything else. It now felt like a crime to have knowledge of the coordinates — they felt like everyone was looking at them, even when they weren't.

Just after dinner, the search party was set to begin, and the kids were all told to head to their cabins. Mato updated on what he had declared earlier and told the kids they are allowed to stay within the circular perimeter of the cabins and bathhouses so that they aren't confined to just the inside of the cabins, which Nick, Judy and the others found comfort in.

Nick, Ray, Ven, Judy, Naiya and Carmen walked slowly back in the directions of their cabins, trying their best to joke to each other as they did. It had been a fun day, but it had simultaneously taken quite a toll on them mentally, so perhaps a break from all the action was just what they needed. As they walked past the other cabins, the activity center and the numerous trees that outlined the circular structure of the innermost section of the camp, the six friends found comfort among themselves, even in the midst of the uncertainty.

They decided to sit at the picnic table outside of Cabin 19 as the sun began to hide behind the horizon, where they would have to remain until the search party was complete; in that general area at least. Once they had sat down, they immediately began talking quietly amongst one another. Nick and Judy found themselves conversing with one another, as they hadn't been able to talk as much as they wanted to that day; at least not about stuff that they genuinely enjoyed talking about. They talked for perhaps an hour before Judy arrived at a certain question.

"Nick?" Judy asked Nick as the two of them talked over the sound of crickets, as well as other faint voices of other kids who had decided to sit outside while the search was ongoing.

"Yeah?" Nick asked her, turning his attention completely to her as the others talked about Ray's bizarre middle school experiences.

"You know why this is so annoying for me, right?" Judy asked him with a helpless laugh.

"Because you wanna be a cop, am I right?" he answered, fairly confident in his answer. "You can't stand to sit on the sidelines."

"That's pretty much it exactly," Judy chuckled, adding a sigh as she propped her head up on her elbow. "I hate it more than you hate peanut butter."

"That's a bold claim," Nick began. "But I'm the same way. I wish I could be out there helping them search, even though I've never really wanted to be a cop."

"Maybe you'd be a good cop," Judy said to him with a grin that indicated she was imagining him in that very position. "Who knows, maybe you'd be almost as good as me."

"Or maybe better," he hypothesized with a playful look, nodding to himself confidently. "Oh yeah, I can see it now. You know, we foxes have pretty good night vision, so that would be really useful!"

"Don't get too big of a head there, buddy," Judy warned him with a giggle, sliding a tiny bit closer to him unconsciously.

"I'm trying my best, but I think you've convinced me now," Nick laughed, imagining himself driving around in a police cruiser. "But in all seriousness, I really hope it works out for you… I know it will. You've got fire."

"Thanks, Nick," she said, taking his encouraging words to heart. When he told her that, it made her all the more convinced that she would one day be exactly where she wanted to be, and she didn't know why completely. Sure, he was a great friend, and she did have a pretty massive crush on him. "That kind of stuff means a lot to me."

"I mean, I really respect that part of you, Carrots. The odds are stacked against you for sure… like, people probably make fun of you for even wanting to be a police officer, right?"

"Pssh! All the time!" Judy answered nonchalantly. Other kids and adults alike telling her that her dreams were futile was a normal part of life for her, and that even applied to her own family.

"But you don't stop dreaming, you don't stop moving forward. Today, during the team games, we were losing by a decent amount, and I'm kinda useless because I'm, you know, injured or whatever. But you didn't just not give up on the team, you didn't give up on me either. You're the kind of spirit that doesn't ever give in, even when it all looks bad… I'm rambling at this point, but I really admire that part of you."

Nick knew what he had said was very straightforward and intimate, but he didn't care. He felt like it was something Judy needed to hear, so he was going to say what he needed to say.

"That's really sweet of you to say," Judy said, unable to stop smiling at him. "That's so… wow…"

"Oh, sorry, was that too much?" he asked, a little self-conscious despite the fact that he wouldn't have changed a word of it.

"No, no, definitely not!" Judy responded, wanting Nick to know he was welcome to say something like that anytime he wanted. "That's something I needed to hear, seriously. I don't hear it enough!"

"You should," Nick replied with his usual hearty grin, "Judy Hopps, you're an inspiration."

"I'm really glad you think so!" Judy couldn't help but giggle at how supportive the young fox was being.

"I know I sound really cheesy, but I don't care, I need you to know that. I mean, what's cooler than a bunny who wants to be a cop? That's such a cool story, I mean… they could make a movie about it once you get there!" Nick suggested.

"Maybe, maybe," Judy responded, still laughing a bit. "Hopefully I can make it so that one day, the idea of a bunny becoming a cop no longer warrants a movie, though."

"And you will, Carrots," Nick insisted passionately. "One hundred percent."

Judy was extremely optimistic as a whole, but even then, she sometimes had spurts of time where she'd find herself dealing with waves of doubts that she had tried her best to push away. Hearing Nick say these things to her was more helpful to her than he'd ever know, and it caused her to feel even more strongly for the fox before her.

For the first time ever, Judy considered the possibility of, one day soon, telling Nick how she really felt. At first, it was something she could have brushed off; a little crush with little significance. But now, well… her feelings were continuing to evolve before her eyes, and she couldn't keep it in forever.

"I'm so glad I met you, Nick," she said before she could take a moment to think, but much like Nick, she didn't care. He needed to know how much she appreciated him; his support, his jokes and humor, his ambition, his smile, his love for his friends, the sound of his voice, the way that they two connected effortlessly… she wanted him to know that she would never take him for granted.

Meanwhile, Nick's heart rate seemed to pick up ten-fold as he took in Judy's words that floated to him like a dove, coupled with her smile that told him her words were in no way a lie. He felt overjoyed, but felt embarrassed to show just how happy he was to hear such a simple sentence.

"Oh, well…" the fox said, caught a little off-guard by her statement. "You know, I'm just… I'm just me," he said, laughing softly.

"Yeah?" Judy asked him. "And that's a really good thing! A great thing! Everyone who meets you, and I mean actually meets you and gives you a chance… everyone loves you!"

"You think so?" Nick asked her, pondering her words.

"I know so," she replied.

"So, you love me?" Nick asked her with a cocky smile.

"Wait, what… do I…" she stuttered, having no idea what to say.

"Relax, Judes, I'm just messing around, I know what you mean. It means a lot to me," he said sincerely

Judy looked absentminded for a few moments as she looked around like she was listening for something, as Nick began speaking once more, which made him want to stop what he was saying to see what exactly was on her mind, but he continued anyways.

"Judy, can I ask you something that might sound kind of stupid?"

As soon as the question left Nick's mouth, his ears caught the sound of something sharp and frail in the distance; it was the beginnings of a sound that would grow louder and louder, bolder and bolder. It was a sound that signified something was very, very wrong, and one that tended to more desperate things. It was a sign that help was on the way; a sound that Nick often heard around the city of Zootopia, especially at night when the air was less filled with various noises. It was the sound of an ambulance siren… no, wait, multiple emergency vehicles.

Judy stopped as she started to answer Nick's question, noticing that all of the kids now had their attention on the approaching sirens.

The sound was becoming louder and louder as Nick and his friends dared not speak. They hoped that the siren would eventually fade, but it didn't at all. It was approaching the camp with a serious pace, giving the kids no time to take in what was happening.

"What…" Nick started to ask all of his friends. "What do you think that's about?"

"I don't know," Judy responded, looking equally as pensive.

Nick rose from his seat on the picnic table as the faint flash of emergency lights became visible through the trees, lighting up the nighttime like a forest fire. The sound was now loud enough to where the vehicles had to be one the camp grounds, and they soon became visible to the kids.

"Let's see where they go," Nick said in a shaky voice, rising to his feet and beginning to walk quickly in the direction the ambulance and firetruck had headed.

"Nick, wait up!" Judy said as the rest of them shot up, following the fox as his walk began to turn into a jog. "We aren't supposed to leave this area!"

"I gotta know!" Nick yelled back to her as he moved with haste, feeling something beyond just fear at the sight of the emergency lights flashing off of the trees, off of the cabins… as he ran across the campsite, after the ambulance, he didn't worry for one moment about catching his breath. He looked back at Judy and his friends as they tried their best to keep up with him; he saw the emergency lights flashing off of their worried faces. All he could do as he ran was repeat one sentence to himself over and over again; a sentence that perhaps Ronnie and Luke did not deserve after the tiger attacked him, but he didn't care.

Just be okay. Just be okay. Just be okay.

As the friends raced after the emergency vehicles, Nick's mind couldn't stop racing through the possibilities, and he wasn't entirely sure if he was ready to see the truth. As they neared the edge of the campsite, the vehicles came into view once more, stopped by the edge of the woods just ahead, Nick's desire to know overpowered him once again.

The vehicles were parked on the left side of the road just outside of the main campsite as several emergency workers spilled from them, headed straight into the woods. Counsellors and other staff, including Director Mato, stood out at the road as they spoke with the emergency personnel, visibly distressed. The kids had to cross the road without being seen, which was risky, to say the least, but they managed to. As his friends caught up behind him, they watched from the adjacent edge of the woods across the road so that they wouldn't be seen; the side of the road across the street from the campsite, but it was the best view they could get.

Nick fought to catch his breath, leaning against a tree as he did so, but his eyes didn't leave the ambulance. He knew that the woods they were headed into led straight to the chasm if they were to continue west, so his state of mind plummeted.

"It's okay," Ray told his best friend, starting to realize what was playing out. "It's okay, buddy."

Ronnie and Luke must have fallen to their deaths at the chasm; there was no other possibility that came to mind. They had taken the coordinates from Nick and either tried their best to navigate the chasm or failed to notice it beneath them, dying all the same. It was the worst case scenario.

After a little bit of waiting patiently, essentially in complete silence, the kids finally received their answer. The six of them watched as the flashlights in the woods got closer and closer to making it back from the road. At that moment, a gunshot could have gone off from behind the six of them and would have failed to break their attention away from the scene in front of them.

They could hear the voices approaching along with the static of radio, fuzzy vocalizations from the radios filling the air as well. Nick, Judy and the rest essentially held their breath as the counsellors, medics and rest of the staff walked back out onto the road once more, this time carrying something along with them. None of the kids observing the situation playing out could lie to themselves or create something artificial to take away the reality of the situation; none of the six of them could see through the fresh but thick shock that acted as fog before their eyes.

Nick gasped before covering his mouth, unable to look anymore. He took a step back as tears started to form, covering his face with his arm.

The kids remained silent as they watched the medics take the stretcher and lay it out on the ground behind the ambulance, police officers surrounding it. There wasn't a word that could do anything to change what had happened. The young tiger lay completely lifeless on the stretcher; his body without a single mark to indicate a fall. The only difference between then and the last time Nick saw him was the fact that he appeared ever-so-slightly bloated. His eyes were empty; his mouth wordless.

A car suddenly came in from the right, and two adult tigers spilled out of the car, along with two wolves. They were Luke and Ronnie's parents, whom Director Mato had on standby in case they were to find any sign of the boys in the woods.

The cries of Luke's parents could never be removed from the kids' memories. The way they fell to his side with reckless abandon, eyes spilling, begging for him to come back, just for a moment…

And Ronnie was nowhere to be seen. Ronnie's parents hugged each other as they witnessed the horror of their predicament, knowing that Ronnie's fate was likely the same. They shook in each other's arms and Luke's parents continued to wail, unable to accept the fact that their son was no longer with them.

The only ones still able to bear the sight were Judy and Ray, who continued to watch with faces void of life. But beneath the surface of the horror, a spark was beginning to form. Judy, through the absolutely numbing shock and disbelief, refused to acknowledge the possibility that the incident was accidental.

The young bunny grabbed on to Nick and held his head against her chest as he suppressed his anguish, holding her as he shook. She rubbed his back as she fought back her own terror, and Ven joined in on the hug. After a few seconds, the six friends had formed a group hug, not looking back in the direction of the ambulance again until Luke's body had been loaded into the back.

From this moment on, none of the six friends would ever be the same, and neither would Camp Odayaka.

Luke Myers' body was found at 8:58 PM on June 11th, 2021. He had drowned in the river near the campsite with no indications of foul play.

End of Part 1

Well, isn't that a way to end part one! Definitely bleak, but there's still so much more to the story, and it's not even nearly over…

I'm not sure whether I'll need to change the rating of the story to T due to the darker subject matter, but I'll think it over. Either way, I'm excited for what part two has in store for you guys; it's only up from here (Part II will not be a separate story of course; it's just an easy way of distinguishing the different arcs of the story).

I hope you all enjoyed today's rather monumental chapter; the story is really going to take off from this point on. I'll be back Saturday with more mystery, adventure, romance and excitement as Part II begins!

Leave your thoughts in the reviews, and thanks so much for reading! Until next time…