30-Mile Hell, Chapter 2 – Dawn of July 18th

As the sun started to rise into the morning sky, Daniel woke up and started preparing for his solo trip to Whiskers Lake one last time. Knowing that going to the lake will last a few days, he will be carrying a utility belt kit, a nylon carrier sack and an outdoor backpack that he once used in the armed forces. With provisions and other essential gear packed in the bags, Daniel checked his smartphone for the time and date but as he tried to check it, his phone seems to be unresponsive.

'What the. Come on.'

He tapped his smartphone with the palm of his hand but it still doesn't work.

'Come on, Made in China junk.'

He tapped his phone again. This time, the screen lit up. Daniel sigh in relief as he saw the time and date: Monday, July 18th. 0900 hours.

'Alright then. Time to head to the lake now, buddy.'

Daniel took his bags, left the apartment and drove away in his off-road jeep on route to Whiskers Lake. Two hours into his solo journey, he made a pit stop in a filling station not far to the main highway of Bunnyburrow. As Daniel stopped his jeep at the petrol pumps, a male tiger gas attendant approached him.

'Good morning, Sir. What can I do for you and your vehicle?'

'Ah, I would like to fill my jeep with a few gallons, please.'

'Sure thing.'

Daniel disembarked as the tiger started to fill the jeep with fuel. The young human went inside the filling station's convenience store to buy something extra for the trip up ahead. He bought three energy bars, two bottles of soda, a bottle of squirrel juice, a box of stormproof matches and a newspaper. After buying, Daniel returned back to his jeep. The tiger looked at him.

'Just a few more moments, Sir. The tank is almost full.'

'Alright then.'

The Splenish human boarded back into his jeep and as he waited for the refueling to finish, Daniel took the time to read the newspaper.

'Coronavirus Update: Efforts to create vaccine continues as cases soared and declined randomly.'

He turned to the next page.

'Imperial Splena offers aid to Taiwan, the Philippines and southern Japan following multiple passage of typhoons.'

He turned to the next page once more.

'Gazelle's new concert to Downtown Zootopia. Tickets available soon.'

After reading the few headlines, Daniel was about to stash the newspaper away in the jeep's passenger cargo compartment when he noticed a familiar mugshot picture on the back page of the newspaper. To his surprise, the picture was actually the same one that was on the missing person poster that he saw back at Aleixos' café the other night.

'Krystal Alexia. 19 year old female ferret from Downtown Zootopia. Last seen on July 15th along the main highway of Bunnyburrow.'

He sighed as he folded the newspaper and stashed it away on the cargo compartment.

'I hope that ferret girl was found by now.'

Just as he said that, the tiger had finally finished filling the jeep.

'Okay, Sir. I'm done now. That will be about a hundred dollars.'

'Here ya go, pal.'

Daniel handed the payment to the gas attendant.

'Thank you. Have a good day, Sir.'

'You too, man.'

The tiger walked back to the booth. The human fastened his seatbelt, started the engine and continued his drive along the highway on the way to the lake.

…

Meanwhile at the ZPD Headquarters in Downtown Zootopia, Chief Bogo was debriefing the other officers about the missing ferret case. Among those who were present in the group was Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. Also present was Spleriia Splero, Chimpan and Michelle.

'Alright, everyone. Listen up.'

The group went quiet. Bogo cleared his throat and he pointed a picture of Krystal Alexia, pinned on a large map, with a swagger stick.

'We have here a female ferret named Krystal Alexia. As you all know, she was missing for three days now. She was last seen pedaling on her bicycle along the highway near Bunnyburrow. Officer Hopps here was actually from Bunnyburrow so she already asked anyone in the area for any other leads about her whereabouts but until now, there was none.'

Judy sighed as Nick patted her shoulder reassuringly. Spleriia listened on while he wrote the details on his notepad.

'So far, I would like to pick some volunteers to conduct a household check on every residence within Bunnyburrow and its surrounding areas.'

Bogo then looked at Judy.

'Judy?'

The female rabbit looked at him.

'Yes, Chief?'

'You'll be excused from this assignment. I know you tried everything to find this girl within your area for a few days now.'

'I would still like to help but I understand, Chief.'

'No, You should take a break from the search effort for now, Hopps. We don't like to push on you with it too much.'

Nick looked at her.

'Carrots, don't worry. We'll still find her soon.'

Judy sighed.

'Thanks, everyone. Even if I tried everything previously, at least I did something for the police force.'

Spleriia nodded.

'I agree with you, Judy. In fact, you even persuaded the Bunnyburrow residents to do locality search twice now. Although the people haven't found her yet, your residents were still supportive to help you and the ZPD.'

'Yeah, I know. I'm actually grateful that there were people cooperating on my behalf and on the behalf of the ZPD.'

The Emperor's phone then vibrated. Spleriia realized that he had a phone call in the middle of a debriefing so he looked at Bogo.

'Uh, will you please excuse me for a moment, Chief? I think I have a phone call.'

'Alright. You're excused.'

'Okay. Be right back.'

Spleriia left the debriefing room for a moment so that he could receive the call without interrupting the others.

'Hello?'

'Hello there, Spleriia. It's Acheron.'

'What's up?'

'Are you in a meeting? If so, I'm sorry for interrupting.'

'It's alright, Acheron. Why did you called?'

'Well, I just wanted to tell you that I'm heading to Zootopia to see you and your consort.'

'Oh, really?'

'Yes. I would like to know if you would allow me to head over there and visit you for a few days.'

'Sure thing, Acheron. You're welcomed here. Just remind me if you're going to continue your trip here.'

'Alright. By the way, can I ask you something?'

'Go ahead.'

'Can I bring my boyfriend Kaliber too?'

'Of course you can bring him here. Like what I said, your visits will be welcomed.'

'Excellent! Thank you so much. I'll just remind you soon on when will we be leaving for Zootopia.'

'Okay then.'

'Goodbye, Spleriia.'

'Goodbye, Acheron. Take care and say hi to your boyfriend for me.'

'I will. Thanks.'

After that, the phone call ended. Spleriia sighed and he kept his smartphone away in his pocket before heading back to the debriefing room.