Chapter 13: Rumble In The Jungle/Fight For Your Life
Alex and Judy were both shocked at the revelation that Otterton was not attacked, but rather, the otter was the attacker. They needed more information, and the only animal who could give them that info was Manchas, the driver who had been attacked by Otterton. So the three of them went into the Rainforest District, which was one of Alex's least favorite districts, second only to Sahara Square due to the insufferable heat.
No umbrella or body suit would prevent an animal from getting wet in the Rainforest District, and Alex despised being wet. The area made it too dangerous to use his taser, the sheer amount of water covering animal fur conducted electricity like crazy and could make it lethal. Stepping onto the doorstep, Judy moved some vines covering the doorbell and pressed the button.
"Mr. Manchas? Judy Hopps, ZPD. We just wanna know what happened to Emmitt Otterton." The bunny called out. The door opened slowly to reveal a large black jaguar. "You should be asking what happened to ME!" The jaguar darkly said as he pulled the door open enough to show his face, revealing his left eye to be scarred with a claw mark and bruised.
"Whoa. A teensy otter did that?" Nick asked. "What happened?" Judy inquired. "He was an ANIMAL! Down on all fours… he was a SAVAGE!" Manchas described, his voice trembling with fear. Alex knew he was telling the truth. There were undertones of trauma in the feline's voice, and his voice quivered a little, showing genuine fear from the memory.
"There was no warning. He just kept yelling about the Night Howlers. Over and over about the Night Howlers!" Manchas continued. Alex wondered what the Night Howlers were. Could they be the source of the savagery? A virus, a biological weapon? They needed more information. At that point Nick stepped in to do a bit of his smooth talking.
"Oh, so, you know about the Night howlers, too. Good, good, good. Because the Night howlers are exactly what we are here to talk about, right?" Nick cut in. Judy caught on quickly and followed the fox's footsteps. "Yep. So, uh, you just open the door and tell us what you know, and we will tell you what we know. Okay?" Judy coaxed. Manchas considered that for a moment before nodding his head. "Okay." Manchas said, unlocking the door.
Alex was the first one inside the house, as Judy chuckled "Clever fox" to Nick. Manchas was carrying a platter of cookies when Alex heard a whizzing sound similar to that of a bullet flying through the air. Manchas roared as he reached for the back of his neck. The wolf looked at the window and saw the silhouette of a receding figure. He then ran to Manchas, seeing a small spatter of a blue substance on the jaguar's neck.
The jaguar collapsed to the ground on all fours, and began to squirm and growl. "Renato. Renato! Speak to me!" Alex cried out, while grabbing a cotton swab and collecting a sample of the substance before sealing it in a plastic bag. This could be important. He'd have to have Blossom analyze this later.
"Alex, is he okay?!" Judy worriedly said. Manchas looked at the wolf and Alex was shocked at the emotion in his eyes. It was a look of pure sorrow and apology, as if Manchas was about to do something terrible and couldn't do anything to stop it. Then his eyes turned green, and all traces of emotion vanished. The feline let out a monstrous snarl before gazing at Judy with malicious intent.
"Judy, Nick! RUN! Get Clawhauser, the ZPD, SOMEONE! I'll hold him off!" Alex commanded before slamming the door to Manchas's house shut. Nick nodded and grabbed Judy by the paw before dragging her away. "We can't leave Alex! That savage jaguar will-" Judy protested. Nick looked at her with a steely expression. "Carrots, Alex is going to be fine. He can handle himself against someone twice his size." Nick assured his rabbit friend.
"But he's trapped in there with-" Judy started, before Nick interrupted. "Alex isn't trapped in there with the jaguar. The jaguar is trapped in there with Alex." Nick growled. It was clear the fox didn't want to waste any more time. Reluctantly, Judy pulled out her walkie talkie and radioed Clawhauser.
Alex groaned as he got chased around by the jaguar. Surveying his surroundings, he saw the cookie tray that was still hot. Grabbing an oven mitt, the wolf quickly put it on and slammed the sheet down on his adversary's head, a loud CLANG echoing through the house as the hot metal collided with the jaguar's snout. The wolf held the cookie sheet out as if it were a shield. Not much of a weapon, but it would serve him fine.
Snarling, Manchas suddenly leapt at Alex. This maneuver was unanticipated, and so it caught the wolf by surprise. The cookie tray clattered to the floor as Alex was pinned beneath the savage feline's weight, staring directly into the hollow, mindless eyes of Manchas. Baring his fangs, Manchas attempted to bite his neck, with the wolf reacting quickly and slamming his paws down on the head and jaws, groaning and straining as he tried to keep them shut. It took a large amount of strength to prevent the jaws from unhinging.
Hissing at his inability to devour his prey, the jaguar then began to rake his claws across Alex's chest, causing the wolf to howl in agony. The claws were sharp enough to shred his uniform and draw blood, red lines of blood appearing on his chest. He then heard something rolling across the floor, but couldn't look at it. All of a sudden, there was a flash of light and an extremely loud bang. When his vision came back, Alex saw several darts sticking out of the jaguar, and that it was lying on the ground next to him.
At that moment, he started getting dizzy and felt weak as the adrenaline faded. Screaming internally to stay up, the canine's body rebelled and fell unconscious as he saw several figures approaching.
