Chapter 4: Red is the New Orange
Sahara Square
Southeast Zootopia Small Mammal Penitentiary
10: 14 AM
"So I just... stick this in here?" Lucy asked hesitantly.
"Yes," La Bruja confirmed.
"Doing this in front of the guards feels weird."
"Most mammals try to do it when no one is watching. I find the pressure helps one learn."
"Yeah. I guess lockpicking is something you gotta do under pressure most of the time."
"Indeed. It's also not an activity that one is normally so chatty about."
"Sorry."
"Don't be sorry, be efficient."
Lucy grunted, but returned to her work, the pins in her dexterous fingers manipulating the tumblers inside the locker. Even though there was no real danger, as this was being done inside the showers and the guards were simply the rats who had yanked her out of solitary earlier, there might as well have been a gun pointed at her head for how much pressure she felt. La Bruja's cold stare had that effect on her.
Finally, there was a soft click and the lock came undone, Lucy opening the door with pride to reveal...a pile of dirty laundry.
"I'm not sure what you were expecting," the rabbit said dryly. "Priceless jewels perhaps?"
"I dunno," Lucy admitted. "Some kinda reward, I guess." No appreciation for my accomplishments. Just like Dad.
One of the rats actually laughed. His comrade slapped him on the back of the head.
"A reward? And what kind of reward could I provide you in here?" As usual, it was impossible to tell if she was asking a serious question or not.
But Lucy answered anyway, figuring that the risk of looking dumb again was better than the risk of ignoring her. "Well, you could tell me what the 'Felidae Infernum' is."
It wasn't the first time she'd asked. In fact, she'd been asking in as many different ways as she could come up with ever since she'd first heard the name. It had been nearly a week now.
"Might need to work on your subtlety. Important skill for a thief." Naturally, her request was ignored. "As is knowing an opportunity when it presents itself. You could have asked for a nicer blanket, some drawing tools, a shiv, and here you are wasting my time instead."
"Wait, you could have gotten me those things?"
"Too late now," she cut her off. "But I'll give you something to keep your mind occupied. Soon, I will present you with your first real job. Pull it off, and then you will be rewarded."
That... wasn't good. Lucy may have been a delinquent, but even she was somewhat apprehensive of doing a "real job" for a terrifying criminal. "Uhhh... Are you sure I'm ready for that?"
"Nope," she replied nonchalantly. "But you have some time to prepare. I'm not expecting much from you. If you want me to, then prove me wrong."
Lucy wasn't sure she wanted La Bruja to expect more of her. But the look the rats gave her made her force a smile. "Uh... Yeah! Yeah, you can count on me."
"We'll see." She turned her back on her. "You may go."
She knew better than to hesitate now and promptly left, looking forward to several hours of anxiety.
Mess Hall
12: 06 PM
"So she wants you to do a job for her now?" Ci-Ci asked at lunch that day. La Bruja herself was no longer sitting with them. Lucy wasn't sure what to make of that.
"Yep. Guess I got promoted for passing her 'test'. Lucky me." Her anxiety was already being taken out on some innocent green peas.
"I dunno about this, Luce. I know she'll do bad shit if you say no, but I'm even more worried about what she'll do if you actually say yes to what she wants."
"I know," she admitted. "But as scary as this is, I'm not sure I really have a choice. And it isn't even just a matter of what option is going to threaten my life the least. A part of me feels that… maybe this can help. She has been teaching me useful stuff: lockpicking, pickpocketing, concealment, nothing too dangerous. But it's the first time since my arrest that I, you know, don't feel totally helpless..."
"I get that," Ci-Ci said with a sigh. "Just... be careful, please. You seem like someone who's genuinely nice. I'd hate to see her fuck you up mentally."
"You don't have to worry about that," she assured, managing a small smile as she lifted a canned beverage and cracked it open. "Besides, there is a bit of good news."
"Yeah?"
Lucy leaned forward, as if trying to hide a conspiracy not unlike the one she may have unwittingly joined. "I got with some of the prison staff and sent out an appeal yesterday. If all goes well, I may not have to deal with La Bruja much longer anyway." She took a swig of victory.
"That is good news!" Ci-Ci agreed. "I mean it too, even though I'd lose my new cellmate already. You don't deserve to be here, not like me."
Lucy was about to argue that last part when she suddenly coughed, putting down the can she was drinking from. "Damn. What is with this stuff?"
Ci-Ci peeked at the label. "'Zoo Blood'? Isn't that a synthetic blood substitute they make for you guys?"
"It is, and I've had it before too. That's the annoying part," she growled. "I used to think it tasted awesome, but it's just seemed so fake ever since…"
A massive shadow loomed over Lucy. Her expression of fear as her world suddenly darkened must have been comical to whatever deity was assigned to torturing her today. She turned around with a gulp.
Beth stood over her. The expression on her face put fear into Lucy's heart. It was the ugliest, most unpleasant one she had ever seen. Lucy felt extremely sorry for whatever parent had to see that creepy, eager smile as the tazzy grew up.
No, don't be afraid. You can't let her take advantage of you again. Don't try to start a fight, but don't back down either. "May I... help you?" she asked, trying to sound neutral.
"Yes, you can," Beth replied, her voice low and her smile strained. "There's something I need to tell you."
Here it comes. Get ready. Really could have used that shiv right about now.
"I'm sorry."
Those two words knocked the wind out of Lucy's sails harder than any punch could have. "Wait... WHAT?!"
Beth rubbed the thumb Lucy had bitten nervously. "I'm sorry. Y'know, for what I did to you. Beating you up and stuff."
"No, no, I get that part," she clarified, still reeling. "But why though?"
"Because..." Beth visibly struggled for an answer, and that struggle was making her increasingly anxious, rubbing her thumb hard enough that it looked like it might draw blood again.
"Because you've learned the true value of friendship?" Ci-Ci offered.
"Yes! That!" Beth nodded, a bit too quickly. "Friends are a valuable thing to have in here. Very valuable. You should... treasure yours."
There was a moment of complete silence before she just turned and walked off, taking a seat as far away from her as possible.
But as the large obstruction left her view, Lucy glimpsed La Bruja, watching them with a smile. While not as ugly as Beth's, it was far creepier.
Ci-Ci somehow looked even more nervous than before. "Let's, uh, let's hope that appeal goes through, eh?"
Lucy could only nod.
LuCi-Ci's Cell
9: 19 PM
Mercifully, Lucy saw and heard nothing more from the old rabbit for the rest of the day. But as it turned out, she wasn't a necessary ingredient for fucking her up mentally.
It started as an unexpected treat, which already should have been an omen to her by now.
"Okay, slowly, slooooowly. A little to the left. No, your other left! Perfect!"
Ci-Ci smiled as the belligerent guards finished setting up an old box TV and left without so much as a wave goodbye. This could have also had something to do with the perennial odor that hung around Ci-Ci, which Lucy was finally starting to get used to. "What do you think, Luce?" the mongoose asked her cellmate sitting on her bed. "Nice to get some entertainment in here, don't ya think? Yeah, it's kind of a piece of crap, but you take what you can get, right?"
"I can't believe they actually let you bring this thing in!" Lucy said with a laugh. "What, did you earn enough gold stars?"
"Hey, I worked hard to get this perk!" she teased. "Just kidding, I barely worked at all. All you really need to do is keep your head down and not cause trouble. So you're lucky to have me as a cellmate, since you've been pretty bad at that."
"Yeah, you're not wrong," she admitted, being able to at least joke about it now. Nevertheless, she sought a change of subject. "I wonder what stations we can get. I'm not the biggest fan of Neighs of Our Lives, but I'm not picky."
"Let's find out!" Ci-Ci said excitedly. "They even gave me a remote! Now we can relive the true couch potato experience!" She wiggled the device in her paw almost smugly as she flopped onto her back next to Lucy and turned it on.
Her excitement diminished quickly. "Oh, it's just the news. Not that it isn't interesting sometimes, but it's a little hard to care about 'Free Mammal Problems', ya know?"
Lucy watched and listened to the clouded leopardess on the screen. Something was off. It wasn't anything she was reporting either. Her own case seemed to have already come and gone, if it even got real coverage at all with her father's hand in the media, but even that didn't bother her. Yet she knew in her gut that something was very wrong with this picture.
When she noticed it, the blood drained from her face in shock, her jaw dropping.
"Uh, Luce, you there? Helloooooo." Ci-Ci waved a paw in front of her face, then snapped her fingers a few times. "Seriously, you're freaking me out here. I know that TV rots your brain and all, but you're taking it a little too literally."
"My..." She actually had to gather her nerve to say it outloud. What it was she had seen on the news report.
The date.
"My birthday was two days ago," she said softly. "I'm nineteen now. I had no idea."
Ci-Ci's face slowly fell. She turned off the TV, setting the remote down and placing that paw on Lucy's shoulder in comfort. "Aw, Luce, I'm so sorry. I didn't know either. In here… a birthday is kinda just any other day..."
Lucy put her face in her talons. "I-I can't believe… I didn't even notice..."
"Is there anything I can do? Maybe find some cheesy romcom on TV?"
"I... I don't know. I don't think I've ever been hit by something as hard as this. The... realness... just hit me all at once."
"Everyone here has a moment like that," she said sympathetically. "Makes you feel like you don't matter, right? Like no one cares about you anymore now that you're in here?" She didn't let her answer. "Well, that's not true. 'Cause I care about you, Luce. And I'm willing to do whatever I can to celebrate your birthday, even if it's a little late."
It didn't change much about her situation, but it was enough for now. Lucy wiped her tears away. "Thank you, Ci. That means a lot... I don't even know what I want to do. Not like we have cake or steamers or anything."
"Maybe just another hug for now?" she offered, already opening her arms for one.
Lucy took the offer quickly, hugging her even tighter than on that first day.
It still made her nose wrinkle though, and she needed to lighten the mood somehow. "I'm guessing you didn't get those gold stars for dodging showering duty," she joked.
"Don't dodge it. Just not good at it."
She immediately got the mental image of Ci-Ci sleeping upright in the shower, her face pressed against the wall. That did the job, getting a genuine laugh out of her again. "Well, you do kinda stink, but you know what doesn't stink?"
"You gonna say friendship?"
"N-No…"
"You totally were! I'm batting two-for-two today!" she giggled. "It's okay. You're my friend too, Luce."
Without letting her respond, she released her from the hug and turned the TV back on. "Forget the romcom. This calls for drastic measures."
They spent the next few hours laughing together as they watched stupid mammals hurt themselves in stupid ways. For just that brief span of time, Lucy almost felt like she had something resembling a normal life again. Just being able to sit down with a friend, watch TV together, poke fun at others. It was nice.
Lucy didn't realize just how nice until she woke up again that night, still laying next to Ci-Ci, still with the TV playing quietly in the background. She barely registered that sound when she also heard the urgent rattling of her cell bars, knowing that must have been what awoke her. She blinked a few times and looked back, seeing an impatient guard standing there. Maybe it was about the TV? She hadn't quite regained enough higher brain function to think anything less naive yet.
Being careful not to wake the lightly snoring Ci-Ci, Lucy gently got off the cot and headed over to the bars. "What is it?" she whispered.
He reached through the bars, and Lucy thought for sure she was about to get shanked. But instead, something soft was shoved into her chest. She looked down to see a manilla file folder.
"This is your mission from our friend," the rat whispered back.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"She says you have to figure it out," the rat replied.
"Of course she did." Lucy yawned and rubbed her eyes. It was too early for this. Or late? She was really starting to hate not knowing what time it was. "Thanks anyway, I guess."
He just grunted and left her be. She opened the folder, only reading enough to gleam that it was a file on some bat guy named 'Sam Wingham' before exhaustion overtook her curiosity and she went back to sleep on her own bed, slipping the file under her pillow for the time being. Whatever La Bruja wanted her to do with it, she could figure that out tomorrow.
Or today? Whenever.
Library
8: 12 AM
The next morning, Lucy found herself attempting research in the prison library, the file she'd been given hidden in a binder of other legal documents she'd been gathering. What was she supposed to do? Find this guy? His file didn't have any crimes in it, so he probably wasn't even in prison.
She didn't even bother trying to ask La Bruja for help, as she'd made her intentions pretty clear that she wouldn't be giving it. And Ci-Ci? Well, there was no need to worry her any further, especially when she didn't even know what to be worried about. So she just went over the file for the fifth time in a row, hoping that maybe this time, she might actually find something worthwhile in it.
A sudden knocking on the shelf behind her jolted the bat and she quickly slammed the binder shut by reflex. It was one of the prison rats, though from her limited exposure to them, not one of the ones on La Bruja's payroll. "Lucy Sang?" he asked gruffly. "I'm here to take you to the warden's office. It's about your appeal."
She got over her shock quickly, actually breathing a sigh of relief. The bunny could shove this file up her wrinkly grey ass for all she cared now. She had bigger things to focus on, like getting out of this hellhole. "Coming!" She lifted the binder and carried it under her wing. "I can bring all this stuff, right?" She didn't exactly want to leave it laying around.
He nodded. "Of course. Warden Smiles will be happy to discuss anything you wish."
Lucy gulped as he turned around and led her away. Warden Smiles? That is not a reassuring name.
Warden's Office
8: 34 AM
The office was small, and fairly utilitarian. There were books on philosophy, psychology, and law on a bookshelf behind his desk. A large, heavy footlocker sat next to it. He must be some sort of big tough military dude. Shiiiiiit I am in trouble. Alright. Calm down, Lucy. You're just here to get an update on if your appeal was accepted.
Warden Smiles came in and sat down at his desk. He was exactly as his name implied, and thus nothing like Lucy expected.
He was a quokka, wearing a red sweater, beige khakis, and what seemed to be a perpetual smile. But not the kind of smile that said he was going to do horrible things to her and enjoy every second of it; more like the kind that wanted to welcome her to his neighborhood.
"It's good of you to come by, Lucy," he spoke softly, without a hint of irony. "I was hoping we'd get to meet soon. Would you like some water?"
After nearly a dozen blinks of surprise, Lucy managed a reply. "Uh... sure. Thank you."
Smiles hummed to himself as he got up to get Lucy some water from a nearby cooler. As she was left alone for a moment, the only thought she could muster was, "...Huh."
She took a moment to go through her documents. She had a fairly good case. At least, she thought she did. Surely someone on her route to Leo's apartment had seen her, and could prove the timeline was wrong. If only the cops weren't so sure of their mountain of other evidence against her.
Smiles returned and passed a glass of water to her. Lucy drank it gratefully, not realizing just how dry her throat had gotten.
"Now, I would like to talk about your appeal," Smiles said, his voice never rising above a gentle murmur. "First, I must say, I appreciate you going through the proper channels. That was very responsible of you."
Lucy's grip tightened around the glass as she tried to hold her own smile. No matter how warmly it was phrased, that sure didn't sound like, "We've made a terrible mistake and we're letting you go".
Smiles sighed, but didn't lose his smile. "While I appreciate your following procedure, and I'm sure you're really a very nice young lady... well, I think what happened is best described in a different manner."
He went to open his trunk, and inside was something that made the record player in Lucy's head scratch to a stop once again.
Puppets. Dozens of them. Some were in guard uniforms, and others looked suspiciously like actual inmates in the prison.
He pulled out one that was undoubtedly supposed to be her, complete with green button eyes and little fangs poking out of its stitched-on mouth. If that weren't disturbing enough, the puppet then spoke, in a generic falsetto voice that was probably meant to sound like her. "Hello, my name is Lucy!"
She'd assume he was making fun of her if he didn't seem so genuine about it all. Even that puppet must have taken some decent effort to make.
He took out another puppet, of a rat in judge's robes. The Lucy puppet "walked" over to the judge, waving its hand in greeting. "I want to make an appeal!"
The judge slowly shook its head, then bapped her puppet on the nose with a tiny gavel.
"It went sort of like that," Smiles finished, the two puppets giving a bow.
"Oh." The puppets were strangely effective. On the one hand, she was absolutely crushed. On the other, it was sort of hard to be saddened by information conveyed through puppets.
The warden opened a file cabinet beneath his desk, filled with rows of identical manilla files all rodent-sized, and pulled out Lucy's using her own puppet's mouth to pick it up. "I'm afraid that any future appeals are unlikely to work. The amount of physical and circumstantial evidence against you is simply too darn big to push through."
She just nodded, not really sure how to respond as she followed his movements.
Then her eyes widened as she saw her file come out. Even in her numb state of mind, she made the connection quickly. Did this 'Sam Wingham' have a file in that cabinet? Was she holding it now and meant to return it? Or maybe...
"I see your mind is troubled," Smiles said, placing Lucy's file on his desk. "You probably don't want to talk about this anymore, and I understand. But it's not all bad."
"Really?" she asked, unconvinced.
"Really. I hear you've already made some new friends."
If anything was going to cheer her up, it was seeing him pull out puppets of Ci-Ci and La Bruja, then having them both hug her own. She had trouble not outright laughing at the sight.
No! It's a trap! If you can't get out of here on your own, then you need to get at that file cabinet! Friend or not, La Bruja might be the only hope you still have! So don't get glad, get sad! Sad!
It honestly wasn't hard to break down crying. She was already pretty sad, and she'd gone to some of Martina's acting classes with her.
Smiles patted her shoulder gently. "There's nothing wrong with expressing your feelings. How about I go get you a root beer from the guard break room? You can drink it before you go back to your cell."
Lucy sniffled and nodded, making herself look as pathetic as possible. She didn't have much dignity left to lose anyway.
"I'll be right back." Smiles left her on the chair as he exited the office. Lucy glanced behind her and noticed a guard outside his door giving her a warning glare before it was cut off by the door shutting. She almost scoffed. Did they really think she was stupid enough to try pulling an escape attempt right now?
No, at this moment, she was exactly where she wanted to be.
She waited a few seconds after the warden left just to make sure he didn't pop back in suddenly, but then she made her move. Pulling the file she had received out of her binder, she carried it in one foot and flew it over to the filing cabinet behind the desk, opening the same drawer Smiles had used with the other. Assuming it was organized with the same amount of care that had gone into those puppets, 'Sang' wouldn't have been far from 'Wingham'.
Indeed, alphabetical order proved convenient for both wardens and inmates, and she soon eyed the prison file of one Sam Wingham. As she suspected, her mission wasn't to return his file; it was to steal it, and replace it with what must have been a convincing fake. Knowing she didn't have the time to play 'Spot the Difference' right now, she simply swapped out the files, closed the drawer, and returned to her seat, hiding the real file back in her binder seconds before the warden returned.
Smiles put the can on the chair in front of her. "Here you go. Feel free to take your time finishing it. I know how much getting rejected like that can hurt."
Root beer had always been a favorite drink of Lucy's, but disappointment made this one better. On the bright side, I may have another way out. Less legal, but still, progress. "Thanks."
Mess Hall
12: 05 PM
As much as Lucy wanted to literally slap the file in La Bruja's face to prove she'd done the job, a little more discretion was needed here. It would just be embarrassing to get caught at this stage. So she smuggled the file in her prison jumpsuit until they sat down for lunch, then passed it to the rabbit under the table. Now it was her problem.
She didn't see where it went after that, but it seemed to please La Bruja. As pleased as she got anyway. "Hmm. Well done. Perhaps you do have some potential."
"Good to know," she snarked, though a part of her did feel some pride in pulling this off. "So who's the lucky fellow?"
"Someone else who needed my particular brand of help," La Bruja replied cryptically.
Lucy sighed. "Seriously? Not even a little tidbit of info?"
She shook her head. "Not yet."
"Guess I should have expected that." Lucy grunted and took a swig of her Zoo Blood. "Jeez, this stuff is bland."
"You still don't like it?" Ci-Ci asked. "I thought you said you were used to it."
Though she didn't show it, Lucy got the impression that the mongoose was relieved she had only been tasked with stealing a file. She was pretty relieved about that too honestly.
"Yeah, I was," Lucy answered. "But I dunno, it just isn't the same anymore. Probably because of Beth. Even with my family, I only ever had synthetic or donated blood. Never fresh."
Now she got the impression that Ci-Ci was starting to retract that relief, though she still forced a smile. "That's... neat."
"It's normal," La Bruja reassured them, much to their mutual surprise. "Used to know a bat who would always brag about how much better the fresh stuff was than the old stuff or the fake stuff. You want more fresh blood?"
Vampire bat or no, this felt like a conversation she shouldn't be having. But she was in too deep now to even bother denying it. "Are you implying you could get me some?"
"I am. Don't forget, I did promise you a reward." Lucy was more surprised that she hadn't forgotten. "Just don't expect it to be pretty. You are in a den of monsters, after all."
That was ominous as hell, but it wasn't like she could change her mind now. "...Duly noted."
"Luce, are you sure this is a good idea?" Ci-Ci asked worriedly.
"Relax," Lucy soothed. "I'm not gonna drink anyone dry. I just wanna try it again." She fixed La Bruja with a stare. "Alright?"
La Bruja shrugged. "Harder, but doable. I'll pull some strings."
What on Earth have I just agreed to?
It wouldn't be long before she found out.
1: 16 AM
That night started much like the previous one. Watch TV with Ci-Ci, fall asleep, get woken up by a rattling on her bars. But the guard waiting for her wasn't making a delivery this time. He opened the cell and pulled Lucy out with barely a word of protest from the tired and confused bat. She assumed at first that she would be taken to the showers again, but he went a different direction, towards what she knew from experience to be the solitary wing.
It was eerily quiet now. None of the guards said a word as she was marched in and La Bruja, who was leaning against one of the cell doors, only greeted her with a silent nod, putting a finger to her lips to remind her to be quiet.
The door La Bruja was leaning against was unlocked and opened. Inside, Beth snoozed peacefully, snoring like a diesel engine.
La Bruja made a go ahead gesture.
Lucy looked between her and Beth in confusion. "Do I... wake her up?" she whispered.
La Bruja gave an annoyed frown at being forced to respond. "It'll be easier if you don't. Is this not how your ancestors fed? Preying off of larger mammals while they sleep blissfully unaware?"
"I'm familiar with my own ancestors, thanks. I just thought I'd be doing this with someone, you know, willing."
"She owes me a debt. There will be no repercussions," the rabbit said impatiently. "Now hurry up. We don't have all night."
Lucy frowned uncertainly as she looked at Beth. I can't do this. Surely I can't do this. Right?
She spotted a strange pulsing on Beth's throat. A sound like a drumbeat matched its rhythm steadily.
Lucy's pupils shrank as she realized what it was: Beth's heartbeat. Her breathing started to speed up as she almost subconsciously sat down next to Beth. I can do this. I don't have to kill her. I don't even have to hurt her. Just a little nip, and I'll drink my fill. There's no harm in that, right?
"Hurry up!" La Bruja hissed.
Lucy procrastinated just a little bit more, taking the time to find a good spot. She took a deep breath. Please don't be mad at me, Ci-Ci.
Then she bit down.
It was delicious.
