Judy provides Nick some much-needed company throughout the following days, made even better by the fact that she's suppressing the urge to break in and kill him. She might be blocked by the door, but she's close enough to keep Nick's sanity in check.
He doesn't know what he would do without her.
Nick finds himself actually thankful for the infection that brought her back. If she had gotten killed by a normal tiger during a police operation, she would have just died and stayed dead.
But because of the whole zombie thing, she gets to stay with him. And even if HE dies somehow, they'll still be together. Maybe the end of the world isn't so bad after all.
Sure, she's not acting entirely like her usual self, but that's just because of the infection's endless desire to spread itself. If he joined her, she would probably behave like plain old Judy again. His favorite bun.
He's quickly running out of reasons to say 'no' to her.
"-And let's see...oh, yeah, Clawhauser got his arms and legs chewed off," the zombie bunny recalls to her friend on the other side of the door.
"Wait, really? How does he get around?" Nick inquires. He sits up for a moment to change the position of his legs before sinking back to the ground. Under the crack of the door, he can see the shadow that Judy casts from where she is sitting.
The faint odor of dead animal wafts in as she talks, though Nick is growing more used to its presence.
"He rolls, of course!" she chirps.
Nick gives the door an unamused expression.
"...Rolls."
"Uh-huh."
Nick lets out another tired sigh and bumps his head into the back of the couch.
"What's wrong?" Judy asks curiously.
"Nothing, just...the universe is a bit of a jerk," Nick mumbles.
"Seems that way," Judy agrees. Suddenly her shadow lifts up, like she just jumped to her paws. "Oh yeah!"
"Hm?"
"Almost forgot what night it is! It's my turn to choose! I'll be back in a bit!" the zombunny cheers excitedly. Nick tries to ask her what she means, but she's already gone, the sound of her steps echoing through the hallway.
Nick sits up and looks down at his paws, counting the days since the apocalypse began. He hasn't really been keeping track of the actual day of the week; he is much more focused on his dwindling food supply.
Judging by how many empty cans of tuna rest on his kitchen counter, he figures that it must be about...Friday.
Oh.
It's their movie night.
His favorite night of the week.
Well, it had been, before mass hysteria overtook the city.
He realizes now what she meant when she said it was 'her turn.'
Last week, he had chosen one of his favorite semi-classic horror movies. She had scoffed at the found footage nature of it, but had the sarcastic tone kicked out of her as multiple teen bunnies were stalked mercilessly during a research trip through the woods. Throughout the movie, she had gotten closer and closer to him, her eyes wide as saucers as she watched the screen with bated breath. By the time one of the two final rabbits was seen standing in the corner of the basement, Judy had just about cut the circulation off in his arm.
He can still feel how soft and warm she was that night. When the last bunny was struck from behind and the screen cut to black, Judy shrieked and buried her face in his ribs.
Nick smiles softly and rubs the area where her face had been longingly.
Oh, what a time that was. When the monsters in the movies were just mammals in costumes and when Judy digging into his ribs meant something much more wholesome.
He misses the contact. He misses his best friend.
He misses his bunny.
True to her word, the rabbit in question is back in no time at all, lugging with her a bag of stuff. He can only guess based on the sounds, but she must have brought over multiple movies and a bunch of snacks.
"Okay, so I narrowed it down to these!" she says in a bubbly voice. No less than seven different DVD cases are slid under the door for Nick to examine.
One thing becomes painfully clear to Nick.
Every single one of her choices is animated.
He lets out a silent breath and gives them all thorough examinations to see which one would be the most tolerable for him.
One of them looks foreign. Maybe it would be interesting enough.
He slides the rest back under the door for Judy to return to her bag of goodies.
"A Way With Spirits, huh? Good choice!" Judy says as she fumbles noisily with her bag.
Nick starts to get up, but Judy's voice interrupts him.
"I brought snacks! Boaritos, Cheetah Puffs and Cricket Poppers! Your favorites!" she sings hopefully.
Well that's thoughtful of her. He's starting to run out of food and...wait.
"What are you going to eat?" he asks her suspiciously.
"..."
"..."
"...Maybe just a-," she starts.
"No," Nick cuts her off before she can even say what's obviously running through her decaying brain.
"Oh, come on Nick! It's been almost a week! I'm hungry!" she whines.
"I still don't know what I want to do, Carrots! It's a really big change! And it'll hurt!"
"Well, you can't expect me to just sit next to you and NOT try some!" she retorts. Nick's head tilts, causing his ears to flop over sideways.
"What do you mean 'sit next to' me? You're not coming in here," Nick declares, causing the rabbit to stomp her foot.
"WHAT? How do you expect us to have our movie night if I can't come in? That makes no sense!"
"Fluff, you can just come up the fire escape. You can watch through the window," Nick tells her in an attempt to calm her down.
"You have a fire escape?! Why haven't I been sitting outside your window the whole time?" Judy's voice rings out. Another sound reaches Nick's ears and his breath catches in his throat.
"Hello? Is everything all right, officer?" comes the scratchy voice of a stranger. An even stronger scent of death leaks through the bottom of the door and assaults Nick's nose.
Who the heck is that?
"Oh, yes, sir! Sorry if I disturbed you. Just having a bit of a spat with my friend here," Judy explains to the stranger.
"Oh, Nicholas? How has he been?" the voice asks pleasantly. Nick stops and listens to the voice, starting to recognize it more and more.
Hold on...Mrs. Thistle?
"Oh, you know…" Judy tries to sound casual, like she ISN'T standing in front of the door of what would be fresh meat for them. "He's good, he's good."
Oh no. Mrs. Thistle, his elderly bobcat neighbor, is the only one Nick ever confides in about his daily life. His struggles, his hopes, his feelings...some of them towards a certain bunny.
"That's a relief. I haven't seen him since this all began, I thought he would have wanted to chat about it by now. Oh, he's such a sweetheart. He always stops to chat about this and that."
No no no.
"Oh?" Judy inquires, her curiosity obviously peaked. Nick can feel her crooked smile stretching wide, even through the door.
"Yes, yes! Why, just a couple weeks back, he helped me carry my groceries up to my room. It's difficult for me to make multiple trips, so he's quite a help. For the longest time, he never wanted to talk about himself. Always kept the conversation focused around me and my kin. But this last year, he's really opened up!"
Please please please stop!
Judy must be loving this!
"About what?" Judy is practically taunting him at this point.
"Let's see...he told me about his mother, for one. Such a poor vixen, going through all that. It's a wonder that Nicholas turned out as well-adjusted as he is. He has such a big heart...well, had, at least."
Please Judy, do NOT correct her!
Thankfully, the bunny doesn't interrupt.
"Oh, he also talks about his partner at work a lot!"
NONONONO!
"Really? What does he say about her?" Judy's voice is so fake and sweet that Nick can feel his blood sugar rising.
"Well the last time we talked, he couldn't keep quiet about how she-"
"OH HEY MRS. THISTLE!" Nick shouts through the door, catching both of the others off guard. "Wonderful night we're having, isn't it?"
Feeling defeat at the paws of her daring fox, Judy groans and stomps her foot. Mrs. Thistle takes a moment to process the identity of the voice.
"Oh! Hello Nicholas!" she says, the new raspy nature of her undead voice unable to mask the warmth of her spirit. "We were just talking about you!"
Nick can feel Judy's death glare burning a hole through the wall. She was so close to getting some juicy details.
"All good things, I hope!" Nick calls back, trying to sound casual. Mrs. Thistle lets out a slightly disturbing chuckle.
"That's just between me and Miss...oh, I'm sorry dear, I didn't get your name!" the cat apologizes bashfully.
"Judy," the bunny grunts.
Mrs. Thistle lets out a small gasp.
"Oh, you're Nick's partner! I knew you seemed like someone I should know!"
"Y-yeah, that's me!" Judy responds, sounding a bit hopeful that she still might get the information out of the elderly cat.
Luckily for Nick, this is not to be.
"Dear me, I almost said too much! Me and my big mouth. I should leave you two to it, then. It was nice meeting you, Ms Hopps! And I'll talk to you soon, Nicholas!" Mrs. Thistle bodes farewell and closes the door behind her.
"You too, ma'am…" Judy sighs dejectedly.
"Whew…" Nick exhales in relief. He should have known a lady as old and sweet as Thistle wouldn't know how easy it would be for Judy to weaponize such personal information.
"This isn't over, Slick!" Judy barks. Nick recoils at the tone of her voice.
Uh-oh.
Judy didn't get her way.
Send for an ambulance!
"Take the snacks! I'm not carrying them all the way back outside and up the fire escape!" she demands with urgency.
"Woah, Carrots, calm down! How am I supposed to get your bag? It won't fit under the door!"
She stomps and groans out loud.
"Oh, crack the door, you big baby!"
Nick gulps. He still doesn't trust her, for obvious reasons. But Finnick didn't attack him! Maybe he could give Judy the same kind of chance.
After a few minutes, he unlocks every bolt in the door except for the sliding chain lock. Judy would be unable to fit through the small gap. He hopes.
As soon as the door creaks open enough, the edge of the bag is roughly shoved into it. But it's not quite wide enough and the bag gets wedged.
"Nick, it's stuck. Just pull it in the rest of the way!" the irate bunny commands. Nick's heart skips a beat as he examines the bag. He's going to have to reach into the gap and grab it.
He reaches forward, unable to stop his shaking.
"Nick! Hurry up!"
He swallows and sticks the tip of the glove he stuffed with tissues out into the top of the bag.
Almost instantly, the glove is yanked away from him and sucked into the hallway with the zombified rabbit. The bag falls and lands on the ground, allowing him to reach down and pull it in the rest of the way.
The sounds of savage tearing meets his ears and he's quick to slam the door shut again.
By the time she seems to notice that she's devouring a glove, every lock on the door is already clicked shut.
Nick holds the bag to his chest, his heavy breathing crumpling some of the chip bags hidden inside. His eyes are wide and his gaze is focused on nothing at all.
She just tried to attack him.
He could have died just then.
That glove could have been him.
A deep feeling of hurt washes over him. Judy didn't even care about his decision, did she? The first chance she got, she went for it. He really can't trust her. Is Finnick the only one in this deranged world that can control himself in the face of an easy meal?
The sound of spitting comes from the bunny in the hallway.
Seems she's regaining her sense of self.
"Wha-...what the...huh? Nick? Nick, are you there?!" her voice belts out, gaining volume as she starts to process what she almost did. She paces in front of the door, not sure what to do about her actions.
Nick just sits there against his couch, his eyes starting to tear over.
He doesn't want to see her anymore.
His mind is made up now.
There's no way he's letting himself turn into what she is.
To do so would be to give up who he is. Judy would never have tried to hurt him, but now that she's one of the undead, she can't help herself. How terrifying must that be? To just...lose control over your body at any time.
Nick doesn't want that.
He might be with Judy if he lets her turn him, but would he even be himself?
His mind wouldn't be his anymore. His body would be something else.
"Nick?! Please say something! Oh, cheese and crackers...NICK, PLEASE!" Judy cries. She starts banging on the door, much like the way she had done the first time she had showed up to try getting at him.
With tears staining his face, Nick gets up and calmly walks over to the TV. Judy stops pacing as the noise of Nick's movement catches her attention.
"Nick, just say something! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Nick!" she pleads from her side of the door. She's powerless to make up for her mistakes if she can't be there for him, and she knows it. Even if the door wasn't separating them, she would just lose her mind again and go feral.
The fox turns his television on for the first time since the apocalypse started, no longer caring if any husks might hear him. He already had a chat with one, why would they suspect anything amiss? They just live their deaths like they lived their lives, anyway. His apartment building is probably full of the same mammals as it usually is. Even dead, they're probably still just paying their rents and going out with friends like normal.
The world went on without him.
It took his friends and family with it.
He doesn't belong here anymore.
Nick hears Judy taking off down the hallway, going somewhere else. It's probably for the best.
He wordlessly takes the movie he had chosen out of its case and slides it into his XFox. The brightly-colored animation starts without any need for his input. The only sound he lets himself make is the occasional sniffle. He lets himself fall into the lively world on the screen, trying to imagine that he's part of it.
Anywhere would be better than here.
His ear perks up lazily at the sound of something stomping up the fire escape ladder. Within moments, Judy finds her way up to his window and hops onto the ledge. She's right there but he doesn't bother looking at her.
He doesn't want to see what she looks like. He hadn't had the heart to tell her, but the reason he didn't tell her to hang out at the window this whole time was because he was afraid of what he would see. When he saw her in her apartment eating the armadillo, he hadn't actually seen her front side. In his head, he still had the image of what she used to look like, with her buck-toothed grin and her glowing violet gaze.
If he looked up into the window, he might lose that mental image of her forever.
But it hardly matters now.
The bag of snacks remains slumped over on the floor, forgotten to him. Despite the ache in his gut, he doesn't feel hungry. Nothing sounds appetizing to him. He doesn't even want to move.
It's like his very soul left his body the moment Judy's teeth sunk into the glove, right above his actual paw.
Judy bangs on the window, but Nick just stays seated in his favorite spot on the couch, his only blanket curled around him haphazardly.
"Nick! Nick, are you okay?! I can see you! You're...not bleeding, I think. Okay, okay, we're okay...please, just...can we talk about that? Nick, can you hear me?"
Nick says nothing, his eyes glued to the screen. The beautifully animated intro ends and the movie begins for real.
"Nick…?" she whispers, her voice barely audible through the thick glass.
She doesn't try to get his attention after that. For the rest of the night, they watch movies together, with Nick frozen on his couch and Judy watching over him from the window.
Funny, how the one with a pulse seems so much more lifeless.
It rains for the first time in weeks.
Despite the downpour, Judy doesn't leave the ledge of her favorite fox's window.
At least from there, she can see him.
Even after his eyes close and he loses himself to the sweet nothingness of slumber, she watches.
Inside her mind, for the first time since her death…
She feels displeasure towards her turning.