Chapter 18: The Speech of Disastrous Consequences/Broken Into Thousands of Pieces
When Alex came to, he was lying on a cot in the ZPD's storage room. He jumped up and got into a fighting stance. Clawhauser giggled as Alex woke up. "Oh good, you're awake!" The chubby cheetah cheerfully said. Alex lowered his fists, but was still cautious. "Clawhauser, how did I get here?" Alex inquired.
"Well, you were so zonkered out that not even Judy or Chief Bogo could wake you! So I put you in the shotgun seat and drove you back to the department building, brought you down here so you could rest. You definitely deserved it, you were running on practically no sleep for forty-eight whole hours!" Clawhauser explained. "What about Judy?! Is she all right?" Alex suddenly asked.
The feline nodded his head happily. "Mhm! Your bunny is doing just fine, she's getting ready for her interview regarding the case. You and her would make a cute couple!" Clawhauser answered. Alex blushed as he shook his head. "Benji, it's not like that. We're just coworkers." Alex denied, though the rosy tint in his cheeks was a dead giveaway.
"Oh please! I've had enough experience with lovestruck animals to know when someone has a crush. In fact, I have proof!" Clawhauser chuckled, and showed the white wolf a picture of his head resting on Judy's shoulders. Alex was extremely embarrassed. "T-that's not much coming from the guy who has a crush on Gazelle and spent five dollars on a stupid dancing photoshop app!" Alex countered.
"Pfft, please. A fair few of the officers on the force have that app on their phone, even the chief!" Clawhauser snorted. "Y-you're telling me Chief BOGO has a crush on Gazelle?!" Alex gasped. Chuckling, the cheetah nodded his head. "Yup! He sure does! Found that out last night!" Clawhauser exclaimed. Alex shook his head. "Enough about that. There's an interview? When and where?" Alex asked. "Upstairs, they'll be asking Judy questions." Clawhauser told him.
The white wolf sprang to his feet and sprinted out the door, quickly ascending the stairs to the main hall of the ZPD. Bogo was currently giving a speech while Judy and Nick were quietly discussing something with each other. Alex saw Judy give Nick a clipboard with a paper and her carrot recorder pen.
As the wolf walked over to Judy, the bunny was pulled away for the speech by Dawn. Taking a closer look at the clipboard, Alex realized that the paper was a ZPD application. "She asked you to join the force?" Alex whispered to Nick. The fox shot him a sly grin. "She did, and she asked me to be her partner. I gotta say, I'm flattered. But I'm not sure that being a cop is the right thing for me." Nick mused.
Alex elbowed Nick in response. "Nick, you've been running cons and selling crap to barely scrape by. You have a chance to change your life for the better! This is what you need, being a cop with me and Judy would be awesome. You'd make your mom and dad proud." Alex assured. "Quiet, they're starting to ask her questions. Hopefully she follows the advice I gave her." Nick shushed the wolf.
"What can you tell us about the animals going savage?" A beaver asked. "Well, the... the animals in question... Are they all different species? Yes, yes they are." Judy hesitantly answered. Ah, evading questions by asking other questions. A classic Wilde strategy. All she had to do was follow it and she should be good as-
"Okay, so what is the connection?" A female reporter then questioned. "Oh, all we know is that they are all members of the predator family." Judy answered. Shit, that wasn't good. Had she already forgotten the strategy. "So predators are the only ones going savage?" A ram inquired. "That is accu- yes, that is accurate, yes." Judy stammered, before regaining composure.
"Why, why is this happening?" A pig reporter probed. Judy thought about it before responding. "We still don't know, but it may have something to do with their biology." Judy acknowledged. Alex and Nick shared a worried look. They then wondered what she meant by that. A sick feeling was beginning to develop in Alex's stomach, and he knew that things were about to go to shit. "A biological component, something in their DNA." Judy explained.
"In their DNA, can you elaborate on that please?" An oryx challenged. "Yes. What I mean is, thousands of years ago, uh, predators survived through their... aggressive hunting instincts. For whatever reason, they seem to be reverting back to their primitive, savage ways." Judy responded. The blood in Alex's veins started to boil, and that was before the images. Photos of Manchas, a savage bear, and a savage wolf popped up on the screen behind her.
The stone cold fear and hesitancy in Judy's voice as she answered those questions chilled Alex to the bone. The canine felt as if someone had driven a knife into him and twisted it into his heart. He had firstpaw experience with that, so he knew the gut-wrenching feeling. The white wolf couldn't believe how foolish he had been. He was a predator, she was a prey. And a small one at that. Of course she would always be afraid of him.
Nick started to hyperventilate at the image of the wolf, who was terrified and was wearing a muzzle. Just like the night that they had met, the incident with the ranger scouts. Nick had once confessed to his friend that he had never really gotten over that incident, and had a bit of trauma regarding it. Alex wanted to comfort his friend but he wasn't doing any better himself. His heart was racing, the blood roaring in his head. He was so hurt and betrayed. The wolf had spent every ounce of his strength and will to help Judy, risking his position on the force for her. He had fallen in love with the bunny, for crying out loud! And this was how she felt about him?
Alex staggered backwards, whirling around until he could see the exit. Panting and heaving as if he were about to vomit, he ran out the door with tears in his eyes. Blossom was present at the speech and saw him running out the door. In a fit of fury, she snatched a microphone from a reporter and spoke up.
"Why don't you keep your baseless accusations and theories to yourself!?" Blossom snapped. However, her words went unheeded as everyone took the words of Judy's theory at face value and automatically assumed that she knew what she was talking about. Horror dawned in her eyes as she realized the potential consequences of what she had said.
