Anthony's POV
He was walking along a game-trail listening to the snow crunch under his feet. He had his hunting rifle in his hands with his senses on high alert since there was still two hours before sun rise and he could barely see a thing. He had no problems navigating the game-trail since it was a path he used often it was the easiest way to get to the field where he hunted even though it added an hour to his travel time. He had been walking for three hours and was still tired so when a gust of wind hit him it caused him to shiver, he groaned and wrapped his ghillie blanket (which he had pinned to himself like a cloak) a little tighter around himself.
A few minutes later he noticed the darkness ahead of him softening signifying a thinning of the trees ahead so he reached into one of his cargo pockets and grabbed a flashlight. After a moment of searching he found what he was looking for a hollowed out oak tree next to a wall of thorns he shrugged off his duffel bag and stuffed it into the tree. He turned off his flashlight and put it back in his pocket and continued walking keeping the wall of thorns to his right.
It only took a few seconds before he entered the edge of the field. The field was roughly a hundred yards wide and a hundred fifty yards long and was one of a the few breaks in the sea of trees that covered the Rocky Mountain Range that didn't include a cliff. He was walking along one of the shorter sides of the field this side had a solid wall of thorns starting at the edge of the field and went ten to twelve feet into the forests and ran nearly the whole hundred yards that made up this side of the field. About half way along the wall was a six foot by six foot area that had been cleared of thorns Anthony affectionately referred to this area as the 'Knoll' he had cleared it out so he'd have a vantage point of the whole field and so that he'd be protected against predators on three side by walls of thorns. Thankfully the thorn bushes were hardy so that like the trees around them they lost their leaves each winter but didn't die. And thankfully that there was only one tree on the field (a large oak which had been split in half by a lightning strike a few months ago.) so he had a clear view of nearly the whole field.
He had to be careful when he entered the Knoll because he had laid a tree in front of the opening. (He had put it there so that he had a little extra cover and so that he had a place to rest his rifle.) And since the Knoll was sloped if he tripped over it he'd roll right into the thorns that made up the back wall. But the slope was nice since he could sit straight up in the very back and not be seen from the field. So as he walked along the wall of thorns he kept careful count of his foot steps so he would know when he reached the Knoll. When he thought he had gone about fifty yards he bent over and groped around like blind man to find the tree and then awkwardly climbed over it when he found it. He cleared out a small trench in the snow behind the log so he could lay down on dirt instead of snow, he placed his rifle on the log spreading his ghillie blanket out around him, and got comfortable getting ready for the long wait that came with hunting.
...
Thanks to the Knoll, his ghillie blanket, his full body hunters winter camouflage, and the chemicals he used to kill his scent he was completely invisible to most all animals just like he wanted to be. But what he didn't know was he was also completely invisible to the man who entered the field an hour later. The man set up a hundred yards in front of Anthony right by the fallen remains of the only tree in the field. Like Anthony the man wore a full body camouflage hunting suit; but unlike Anthony this man had military grade weapons and body armor and a pair of night vision goggles. He also didn't know that the man wasn't there to hunt the rabbits that lived in the field. And that he very well could be the only thing standing between this man and his prize.
Judy's POV
She sat glaring at her partner and best friend Nicholas Wilde from across the table of the café they were eating lunch at. It had been a month since Nick had graduated from the police academy. She had been so proud of him especially since he done it at the top of his class. But right now she would like nothing more than to slap that stupid smug little grin right off his muzzle.
"Come on Carrots calm down it's not that big of a deal. Today is like every other day it's going to be boring and nothing's going to happen. Beside I'm a nocturnal mammal what do you expect?" Nick said with his usual swagger.
"No Nick it is a big deal." She said sternly trying to get her point across. "You can't sleep in the cruiser let alone while on patrol. And I don't care that your a nocturnal mammal you need to stay awake while on duty. And if you can't then go to bed earlier or drink an energy drink or something. Cause what happens if something does happen and your asleep Huh?"
"Carrots if something happened I'd wake up when you turned on the siren or you'd wake me up yourself so It's not a problem." Then Nicks smile grew. "Besides Carrots your a good enough cop for the both of us. I mean you can take down rhinos. If something happened you'd have it done and over with before I even got out of the car. I mean you are super bunny after all."
"Nicholas!" She snapped not bothering to keep her voice low causing the tod's ears to lie back against his head and gaining the attention of others in the café. "This is serious! What happens if I don't know your asleep and I have to jump out of the car then and there to give chase to a criminal or stop a crime in progress?! Cause if that happens I'm not going to waste time turning on the siren! What'll wake you up then huh?! Cause that is exactly what happened this morning with that purse snatcher! You were asleep and I had to chase him down by myself! And it was only luck that I caught him without anyone getting hurt! And yes I can take down a rhino but that doesn't mean one lone mammal can't kill me! Especially if they're armed! Or have some kind of training or they simply get lucky!" Now Nicks eyes were wide he was leaning away from her as she yelled at him looking horrified. He opened his mouth to speak but she rolled right over him. "And what if there's a group?! I may be good Nick but there is only so much I can handle on my own. A large enough group of mammals could rip me apart with just their paws! They wouldn't even need weapons and if all of them or even a few of them had weapons the chances of me winning by myself go from slim to none!" Nick just stared at her in open mouthed horror. The look on his face was enough to tell her that she had gotten her point across. She pushed back her chair pulled out her wallet put down enough money to cover her part of the meal and looked at Nick lowering the volume of her voice but not losing any of the venom in it and said. "Think about that next time you want to sleep while we're on patrol." Then she turned and stormed out of the café bristling with anger she could feel everyone's eyes on her as she did but she didn't care.
She stormed out and went straight to their police cruiser jumped in the drivers seat and waited for Nick to catch up while staring fixedly out the windshield. After about five minutes she looked back at the café to see what was taking him so long. When she looked through the café window she saw one of her oldest sisters Samantha (who owned and ran the café with her husband) lecturing Nick while brandishing a metal spoon threateningly at him with one paw on her hip. And by the look on Nick's face said she was making him feel thoroughly ashamed of himself. Judy couldn't help but give a dark smile at that, first she had scared Nick now her sister was making him feel ashamed of himself. That was a very potent combination so some how she didn't think Nick was going to sleep on patrols anymore.
A few minutes later Nick got in the cruiser with ears laid back and a look of shame still plastered on his face. She started the cruiser and continued along their assigned patrol route in Savannah Central. It took Nick a few minutes to speak but finally he did.
"Look Judy I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking you were right." Nick said guiltily.
"Good just remember everything me and Samantha said today got it?" She responded icily getting a nod in return. She had to admit that part of her felt guilty for making him feel bad, but she was tired of it. At first she had tried to be nice about him sleeping on patrol but he wouldn't listen. He had slept on every patrol that week and nearly got them into trouble half a dozen times. And her having to take down the purse snatcher by herself because he was asleep was the last straw. So if this is what it takes to make sure he shapes up it was worth it.
...
An hour into their patrol Clawhauser came over the radio saying. "Nick, Judy do you read me?"
Nick reach over and grabbed the radio from the dash and said with his usual confidence. "We hear you loud and clear spots. What do you need?"
"We received multiple reports of loud strange noises coming from an abandoned warehouse a few blocks away from you." Then Clawhauser laughed. "Get this one of the guys who called it in said it sounded like there was a thunder storm inside the building."
Both Judy and Nick exchanged confused looks before Nick responded. "Alright we're on the way there now." Nick put the radio back then he gave her his usual half-lidded smirk saying. "Ten Zollars says it's just some kids playing around."
She gave him a cold look not ready to let him off the hook just yet. As she returned her attention out the windshield she saw his face fall out of the corner of her eye.
"So Carrots how long are you going to give me the cold shoulder?" Nick asked cautiously.
"At the very least for the rest of the day." She said in a cold matter-a-fact tone.
...
Ten minutes later they pulled up in front of the warehouse in question. She put the cruiser in park, rolls down the window, and sticks her head out of the window twitching her ears in all directions trying to pick up every tiny sound. She heard nothing but distant traffic.
"You hear anything carrots?" Nick asked.
"No. Nothing." She responded shaking her head.
"Hey Spots we're at the warehouse but Carrots doesn't hear anything." Nick said over the radio as she pulled her head back into the cruiser looking at him. "Are you sure that this is the right place?"
"Hold on Nick I'll double check give me a sec... Yes Nick you are in the right place." Clawhauser said. "It was probably just a prank call. So weather or not you investigate further is up too you."
"Alright thanks big guy." Nick says then he looks up at her and asks. "So Carrots what do you want to do?"
She looked back at the warehouse thinking that Ben was right it probably was just a prank call. But it didn't hurt to double check. She reached for the radio pressed the button and asked. "Ben did you happen to listen to the 911 recording with the guy talking about a thunderstorm by any chance?"
"Yea I did. Why?" Clawhauser responded.
"If you had to guess on how old the mammal that called it in was what would you say?" She asked.
"Well if I had to guess I'd say... early to mid thirty's." He answered. "Why?"
"Think about it Ben. How likely is it that a mammal that age would make a prank call?" She shoots a pointed glare at Nick when he opened his mouth undoubtedly to make a snide remark. Her look made him think twice.
"Ooh I see you mean. The only exceptions would be if they were drunk or if they were Nick." He finished with his high pitch laugh and Nick looked smug, like Clawhauser had just said exactly what he had wanted to say.
Rolling her eyes at Nick she said. "Thanks Ben."
"No problem Judy. And don't forget you have a date with me and Fru Fru tomorrow" He said excitedly.
With a small smile she said. "Don't worry Ben I remember. Besides you and Fru Fru wouldn't let me forget it even if I wanted too."
"You know it bun-bun!...CLAWHAUSER! Stop gossiping over the radio I told you to have those reports in my office an hour ago! Are you going to do your job or am I going too have to make you run laps around the precinct?!... N-no Chief! I-I'm on it right now Chief I'll have those reports up to you shortly! Sorry Judy I've got to go!"
Judy let out a giggle while Nick smiled shook his head and said. "Wow Buffalo-butt must be pissed if he's threatening Spots with exercise." Then Nicks ears perked up like he just got a gift and asked. "Did Spots just call you 'bun-bun'?"
She groaned then saying. "Yea he heard my mom call me that and now-" She cut herself off and glared at Nick with such intensity he started to squirm. "If I ever hear you call me 'bun-bun' I'll-"
"No worry's I'll stick with 'Carrots' I value my life to much." Nick said holding up his paws in surrender with a nervous smirk.
"Good." She said hopping out of the cruiser. "Come on Wilde lets go check this place out." She purposely said 'Wilde' instead of 'Slick' or 'Nick' to subtly remind him that he was still in trouble. And by the way he quickly jumped out and scampered next to her he got the point.
They walked up to the warehouse and when they reached it she knocked on one of the large sliding metal doors and shouted. "This is the ZPD open up!" Getting no response she repeated herself. Still getting no answer she nodded to Nick signaling him to slide open the door. They both walked in paws on their tranquilizer pistols. As they began their search they both kept their senses on high alert trying to catch the slightest sound or scent that would warn them of danger. After a few minutes of searching her ears locked on to a strange buzzing sound.
"You hear something Carrots?" Nick asked in a tone barely more than a whisper.
"Yeah. It's a low buzzing sound like someone's using a large amount of electricity in one area." She said just as quietly.
Nick took a few of quick sniffs of the air then said looking confused. "Yeah and the air smells like it too. But that doesn't make sense." She gave him her own confused look so he continued. "Carrots look at how old this place is. I'd bet my next ten paychecks that this place hasn't been connected to the power grid in years."
Following her ears and Nicks nose they ended up in front of a large metal door. Drawing their tranq guns She nodded at Nick to open the door. They both entered the room with their tranq guns held level in front of them. But the room was completely empty there was nothing in the room. The only thing that stood out in the room was on the wall opposite of them. It was a large jagged crack in the wall but what caught her attention was that unlike a the rest of the wall which was a dull red the crack was pure white but more than that it was glowing and it was obviously the source of the buzzing sound. They crossed half of the room then she stopped and just stared at the crack. It made her feel really uneasy.
But Nick kept slowly walking towards it saying. "What the heck is that?"
"Nick don't get too close we don't know what it is." Then she pulls out and speaks into her radio. "Ben we found something."
"Wait. What?" Clawhauser said sounding surprised. "What do you mean you found something? What did you find?"
"Well...Uuh...There's a crack in a wall." Then she quickly said. "Which would mean nothing except it's a large, it's glowing, and I'm hearing a very loud electrical buzzing sound from coming from it. The sound's not coming from anywhere else in the room -or anywhere else in the building for that matter- it's only coming from the crack." After a moment of hesitation she added nervously. "And there's something about it that just doesn't feel right." When She said this Nick froze. He tried to act otherwise but she could tell he was listening.
"What do you mean 'It doesn't feel right'?" Clawhauser asked.
She stared at the crack and shuddered. "I don't know... it's like it's looking at me. And my instincts are telling me to run." Nick shot her a glance then continued towards the crack. She looked down as Clawhausers response came over the radio.
"Umm...Ok just hold on Judy I'll ask the Chief what you should do." Clawhauser said.
She looked back up to see Nick standing right next to the crack. "Nick get away from it we don't know what it is or if it's safe."
"Don't worry Carrots I'm not going to touch it. But we need to figure out as much about it as we can." She watched as he touched the wall around the crack, scratched it, sniffed it, even pressed his ear up against it. She watched nervously as he tested both sides of the wall. But he was very careful not to touch the crack and to give it a wide birth when he walked in front of it.
After a minute or two Nick stepped back saying, "Hmm..." looking confused.
"What is it?" She asked.
Nick glanced at her then looked back at the crack crossing his arms saying. "Well there's nothing in the wall it's solid brick. Even though we both can hear and smell the large amount of electricity running through that crack. That much power should be heating up the wall around it like crazy but the wall is stone cold. With that much noise the wall should be vibrating with the sound waves but there's barely any movement. And with how strong the electric sent is coming from that thing the wall should be saturated with the smell especially since the smell is coming from a crack in the wall. But only the very surface has the smell."
"So what does that all mean?" She asked now very confused. "What are you trying to say Nick?"
Throwing his arms up in exasperation Nick looked back at her saying. "What I'm trying to say Carrots is that we can see, hear, and smell that thing. But that thing isn't even apart of the wall. And it's leaving basically no physical evidence of any kind." He looked back at the crack tossed his arms in exasperation again and said in a quieter voice. "It's...It's like it doesn't even exist. As if it's not even real."
If she thought she was unnerved before it was nothing compared to how she felt now as she looked back at the crack. It felt like it was smiling at her taunting her. She jumped slightly when she heard her radio.
"Hopps report." Came Chiefs Bogo voice.
After repeating what she told Clawhauser she added. "And Chief Nick just got done checking out the sections of wall around the crack. He says that the crack isn't even apart of the wall that. And even though we can see, hear, and smell it. It's not leaving any physical evidence like it's not even there."
She waited for a moment in silence before the Chief answered. "Hopps, Wilde secure the scene I'll bring a forensic team to your position. Don't touch it and keep your distance. If what your saying is true it might not be safe and I don't have time to fill out the paperwork that comes with either of you having to stay at the hospital understood." This made her smile the Chief cared deeply about his officers but hid it to keep his reputation as the ZPD's number one force to be reckoned with.(One he had earned with good reason)
"Understood Chief." She said. She looked up at Nick who was staring at the crack like it was the most interesting puzzle he'd ever found. He bent over and scooped up a hand full of rocks. "Nick what are you doing?"
"We need to know how it reacts when something touches it." He said and continued holding out his paw full of rocks. "And since I don't want to touch it I figured rocks would be a good test." He started throwing the rocks. After the fourth rock Nick hesitated and she knew why, all four rocks hadn't made a single sound not one and there was no reaction from the crack as they hit it. She watched as he threw two more one slightly too the right of the crack and one slightly too the left. Both hit the wall with a solid 'CRACK' before clattering to the floor. And more than that when he looked he was only able to find the last two rocks the other four had disappeared.
They both stared at the crack (Judy still only halfway across the room and Nick right in front of it) then she saw Nicks paw twitch and she knew what he was going to do. But before she could do or say anything to stop him, Nick reached out and touched the crack. Nick jerked his arm back like it had been burned. And the crack started to ripple like it was made of water. But she ignored this as she ran too Nick to make sure he was okay. He was holding his arm cursing she grabbed his arm and inspected it. There was some singed fur and a few burns on his paw and lower arm but otherwise the crack didn't seem to do any real damage. Now that she was sure he'd be okay she punched him as hard as she could right in his injured arm.
"Ow! Carrots what was that for?!" Nick asked angrily.
"That." She said furiously. "Is for doing something stupid. Again!" She then pulled out her radio again. "Chief can you also send an ambulance please."
"Why?" He asked cautiously with an edge to his voice.
"Because Officer Wilde decided it was a good idea to touch the crack." She said in a measured tone.
"*Sigh* How badly is he injured." By the Chiefs tone she could just see him pinching the ridge between his eyes.
"He has some minor burns on his paw and lower arm but otherwise he's fine." She shot him another dirty look then added. "For now."
"Alright I'll call for an ambulance. Me and the forensic team will be there shortly. And Hopps don't kill Wilde it would be a shame to lose two officers in one day. Besides I want to deal with him."
Judy put her radio back in her belt and turned to lay into Nick for the second time that day. When a hissing\crackling sound reached her ears she turned and looked at the crack. The crack was slightly wider and looked like the surface of a pond in a rain storm and it was sending off sparks. Before either of them could react it sent out a bolt of lightning striking the wall to her right causing them both to jump. They turned and ran but neither of them made it past the door. The crack started sending lightning in every direction, the crack grew wider till it was as wide as she was tall, and the sound it gave off became got so loud her sensitive ears were screaming out in pain. But that's not what stopped them the crack began sucking in large amounts of air like a massive vacuum cleaner. The suction was so powerful that both her and Nick were parallel to the floor the only reason they weren't sucked in was because Nick was holding onto the door for dear life while she was holding onto the door frame opposite of him.
Nick hooked his good arm around the door knob and reached for his radio. "This is Officer Wilde, me and Officer Hopps need help at our location immediately!" He yelled sounding just a step away from completely panicking.
"Wilde what's going on?!" Came the Chiefs voice from the other end sounding more intense than usual.
"Bogo the cracks gotten bigger, it's sending off bolts of lightning, and is trying to suck us in! Me and Judy are barley hanging on!" Nick yelled.
"You and Hopps hang in there Wilde. I'm almost there!" The Chief commanded.
All she or Nick could do was hang on for dear life. She lost track of time as she listened to the constant ear splitting hum and cracking coming from the crack. But then she saw a large hoof wrap around the door frame near Nick and watched Chief Bogo pull himself into view. And it was immediately clear that even the massive cape buffalo was struggling against the force of the crack. Seeing that she was in more danger of losing her grip than Nick was, Bogo moved to get her first. But as he shifted his weight one of the door hinges next to him gave way. She watched in horror as the Chief just barely managed to grab Nick's arm as the second hinge broke and the door got sucked into the crack and disappeared. She watched as the Chief strained to pull Nick to safety once he was Bogo turned his attention to her. But the force of the crack kept getting more and more intense and she stared to slip.
"Reach out to me Hopps!" Bogo yelled above the noise reaching as far out too her as he could while he kept his back pressed flat against the wall trying not to be suck into the room. She made a quick grab for his hoof and missed. As she did she felt her other paw holding onto the door frame slip.
She quickly grabbed the door frame again and yelled. "I can't!"
"You've got to try Judy!" Nick yelled.
"Trust me Hopps!" Bogo said with sincerity. "Reach out and grab my hoof!"
She trusted the cape buffalo with her life so she did as he asked. She reached out and her paw closed around the very end of his hoof but before either of them could get a good hold her other paw slipped off the door frame. Bogo made a mad grab for her but missed. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she fell straight towards the crack. the last thing she saw was the Chief's and Nick's horrified faces as they shouted her name. Then all she could see was white, pure white. She couldn't move or even make a sound. All she could do was feel the large amounts of electricity passing through her body. This went on and on but for how long she couldn't tell she just silently prayed that it would end.
Then all at once it did. She was still seeing white but this was different this white was glittering. And while she was groggy she could feel the cold. It was the cold that helped her clear her head, She slowly got to her feet her whole body aced but the pain was starting to fade. Once she was standing she looked around and realized she was in standing alone in a large snow covered field surrounded on all sides by trees and mountains. in front of her was an oak tree that looked like it had been split in half behind her was the edge of the field and a wall of thorns. She was still trying to figure out where she was and how she got there when there was sudden movement behind her. She turned to see a strange large white creature appear out of the snow and run at her. Her ZPD training kicked in she didn't even bother with her tranq gun but instead reached for her firearm ready to shoot and kill this creature that was running straight at her.
Anthony's POV
The sun was well into the sky. And he was still laying in the snow trench he had made in the Knoll covered by his ghillie blanket with his rifle resting on the log in front of him. The morning had been uneventful he hadn't seen even the slightest movement. Which was odd since the field should be teeming with rabbits which is what he came here to hunt. He should be able to see rabbits moving all over the place even this early in the morning since rabbits like most animals went to sleep at dusk and woke up at dawn. The only thing he could think of on why he hadn't seen any rabbits was that something nearby had spooked them. He knew it wasn't him since he had effectively killed his sent first thing before he left his camp this morning and even if he hadn't he was down wind of the field. And he knew for a fact the there was no way anything not even another human could see him from the field. So the question was what had spooked them?
Then he could feel every hair on his body stand on end. He took a beep breath and realized the air tasted like Ozone. He started hearing a crackling sound like a downed power line but he couldn't see where the sound was coming from. The sound quickly grew in volume till his ears stared to hurt he covered his ears and ducked his head when a bolt of lightning struck the ground a few feet from him. He kept his head as low as he could while still being able to see over the log. The lightning and the noise only grew in intensity he stated to consider making a run for it but be for he could move a bolt of lightning struck him in the forehead.
He stiffened and he felt like his body was going to explode. Even though it couldn't have lasted more than a second it felt like hours. His body aced and his vision was blurry at first but he was fine after a few seconds. He continued watching the lightning and after a few minutes he saw a small blue and grey object appear about five feet in the air and eight feet in front of him. Then all at once the lightning and the sound stopped. He laid there starring at the blue and grey thing in the snow debating whether or not to go take a look at it when it started moving. He watch wide eyed as it started to stand.
"No way." He whispered then rubbed his eyes and looked back seeing but not believing. "There's no way. No way! This is real."
Standing not ten feet in front of him was a rabbit. But not just any rabbit it was officer Judy Hopps of the ZPD. The main character of one of his favorite movies, a movie he's seen a hundred different times. There was no way she was real but there she was the hero of Zootopia looking just as confused as he felt. He was still trying to process that this was real when he saw it. A flash from one of the sections of oak tree a hundred yards away. It was a flash he'd seen a million times it was the flash made when sunlight glances off the lens of a scope. It all fell together he wasn't the only human in the field that's why he hadn't seen any rabbit their sent gave them away and spooked all the rabbits in the field. And he didn't think they were here to hunt if they were they would have hidden their sent. His stomach fell into the ground as he realized whoever this was obviously could see Judy and more then likely tell who she was and they were going to kill her. He reacted on instinct he jumped up from his hiding spot and bolted towards her moving as fast as he could. It was only eight feet but it would still take a few seconds to get to her and that's all the time the other guy would need to kill her.