Chapter 8

CW, contains suicide

It was now two weeks after the conference on TV. I was still holding onto hope that this whole thing would soon be cured. I was waiting for a breakthrough on how this whole "savage predator" thing was staged. The rest of the family was holding on to hope as well, but it was getting hard.

The city was beginning to dissolve into chaos. Many actually believed that this whole "savage evolution" theory was real. I constantly heard various prey species telling predator species to "go back to the woods," and shit like that. Even many predators believed this as well. I was starting to hear stories about predators committing suicide because they thought they would eventually go savage. I didn't get as much hate as others did, due to me being smaller (as with other mustelids as well). There were starting to be more savage attacks happening. However, Emmitt was still the only mustelid to have gone savage. The rest were all either big cats, large canids (like wolves), and bears.

Mayor Lionheart had been arrested for the way he treated the savage mammals (they were in an abandoned hospital) and Assistant Mayor Bellwether had now taken his place. Ashkii had met her in the police station and said that she didn't seem so bad.

"Judy Hopps says today would work for us to go to the hospital," Ashkii said, "she also says she has something to tell us."

"What does she have to tell us?" I asked.

"She first of all says she's sorry for what she has stirred up," Ashkii said.

"That's good at least," I said.

"And she has more to tell us when we see her."

"And I have a lot to tell her as well," I said.

"Thank you so much Alister," Ashkii said, "For keeping me company through this ordeal.

We all got in the car and took it to the hospital. We noticed Judy Hopps was already there. Her ears were down, which meant she was sad (growing up in Michigan, I spent a lot of time around rabbits, so I know all of their cues).

"Officer Hopps," Ashkii said as she went in to hug her.

"Mrs. Otterton," Judy replied, "I'm so sorry."

"I know," Ashkii replied.

"I did not mean to cause all of this shitshow," Judy Hopps said, "As I have come to realize, what I had said makes zero sense. There is no way that a predator can just evolve like that. I don't actually believe that it is their biology. My parents are big into that though. Also, I'm never carrying that fox repellent around anymore. Who the fuck knows what I eventually did to my friend. I worry about him daily."

"I got something," I said.

Her ears slightly perked up as she looked at me.

"I think that there is an outside component to this whole thing," I told her.

"IT'S A WIZARD!" Piper squeaked.

"Just like Volsemort," said Corey.

"Well, not actually that," I said, "but I think this whole 'savage' thing must be staged. There must be someone behind this. With the exception of Emmitt, the only predators going savage are the larger ones."

"Oh really," Judy Hopps said, "I've never thought of that."

"Alright," Ashkii said, "Where is my Emmitt?"

"Come right with me," Judy Hopps said. After hearing our reassurance, she wasn't as sad.

We followed her into the building and went up the elevator.

"All the savage mammals are up in here," Judy Hopps said, "It does not look good."

My heart started to sink a bit more.

We got off the elevator and into a hallway. In each room, there was a savage mammal. Indeed I saw that they were all big cats, larger canids, and bears.

"Emmitt is further down this way," Judy said, "warning, this might be a bit hard. He doesn't respond to anything."

We were finally led to another room at the end of the hall. In the room was a hospital bed with IV tubes. I then looked over to the left and that is where I saw a pole. Attached to that pole was a leash. There, wearing a collar attached to the leash, was Emmitt. He wasn't saying anything. All he did was walk around the pole and make weird noises. He was on all-fours as well. Ashkii was the first to go up to get a full look at it.

As she stood there, a look of disbelief came across her face. As I watched her, my heart sank even further. I didn't know just how bad the 'savage' state was. Judy Hopps went up to comfort her.

"That's not my Emmitt," Ashkii said sadly, as her head hung even lower. My cousins and I came up for comfort as well.

"Hopefully," I said, "there will be an end to this, but who the hell knows."

After about 10 minutes, we were walked back to our car. Ashkii could barely hold it together, yet she was still okay with driving home.

As we got home, Ashkii immediately went onto the couch to cry. I follower her.

"I just couldn't stand it," she said, "to see him like that. Who the fuck knows if he is ever going to be better."

"I know," I said as I started to cry along with her, "but I am still holding out hope. Someday, we might find out. Fuck, maybe even Judy Hopps could be the one to find out."

"Maybe," she said as she hugged me, "It's just too hard."

"Yes," I said, "Maybe I might actually try that heavier stuff. I am still a beginner and haven't gotten into the whole shebang yet."

Suddenly, we heard a loud knocking at the door. I immediately got up to see who was there.

"Oh shit," I said as I looked through the peephole.

Right outside was Nick Wilde. He was wearing a black Battle Beast shirt that said "Unholy Savior" on it. I immediately opened the door.

"Hei," he said in Finnish, "Alister, Askii, it is great to see you."

"You too," I said

"I have something to say, may I please come in?"

"Of course," I said as he closed the door and walked inside.

"So," he said as he sat down on a chair, "I'd been working with the rabbit cop that had been tasked with finding Emmitt."

"She told us," Ashkii said.

"And then she betrayed me," Nick said, "I knew that she seemed suspicious when she carried a canister of fox repellent around."

"Oh, Mr. Wilde," Ashkii said, "We saw the whole thing on TV. However, we also met with her today."

"Oh really," he said as he leaned in close.

"She told us that she did not mean to cause all this chaos," she said, "She seemed very sincere. She told us that now she doesn't believe that it is a biological component. She isn't sure what is going on."

"If she says so."

"No really," replied my aunt, "she told me that she doesn't carry around the fox repellent anymore. She is even completely worried about you. You could see it on her face."

"Okay, look," Nick Wilde said, "I believe you. I might forgive her if I ever see her again. It is just hard to trust anyone in this city. I mean, Alister knows not to trust as well."

"Indeed," I said (I lost my trust a long time ago).

"But still," he said, "I'm also worried about Emmitt and what has happened to him. I also worry about what might happen to the rest of you as well."

"Oh thank you so much, little fox," Ashkii said as she ran up to hug Nick.

"And I got something to tell you," I said.

"Alrighty-there, slidey," Nick Wilde said to me (that's another nickname he used for me).

"I think that there is an outside factor." I said, "I think that there might be someone or even multiple someone's behind this. If that is the case, they are going to pay so bad."

"IT'S A WIZARD!" squeaked Piper.

"Just like Volsemort," Corey said.

"It's pronounced Voldemort," Nick said.

"He's been reading My Immortal a lot as of late," I said, "and he is missing a tooth."

"Alright now that makes sense," Nick said.

"The only predators going savage, with the exception of Emmitt, are larger ones. There are big cats, bears, and the only canids going savage so far are wolves."

"Oh," Nick said, "I haven't fully realized that yet."

"Also," I said, "Given that someone might be behind all of this, maybe there is a way out of it."

"Oh," Nick said, "you might possibly be right. All of you."

"Thank you," I said, "You're so great."

"Thank you too," he said, "It is always a pleasure with A-man around."

We followed him out and opened the door for him.

"I will hopefully see you soon again," he said.

"Us too," I said.

"Oh yeah, and one more thing," he said, "In hard times like this, I suggest you look up the band 'Carnifox'. They are pretty good. My hustling partner is a huge fan, and I listen to them when I am really mad. They have a new album coming out soon called Slow Death."

"Thank you so much," I said as he walked away.

With us being more angry, I decided to look up the band. I had never heard of them before but expected something heavy.

I went on Zootube and looked up the band. I noticed a song that they had that was called "Lie To My Face" and decided to play it. I was soon hit by a barrage of blast beats and barely audible vocals. Not what I was expecting at first, as I wasn't into deathcore yet.

However, as I kept listening to the song, I decided I actually liked it. It literally made me want to destroy some shit.

"Oh, this actually sounds pretty good," Ashkii said. The two pups agreed as well, as they were starting to move to the music.

Soon, a massive breakdown hit. I started to feel myself headbang intensely. This wasn't a normal headbang, it was a full body movement. Ashkii and the pups were getting into it as well.

"Oh shit," I said as the song soon finished, "that was actually pretty tight. I'm gonna listen to more of their stuff."

I looked up more of their songs. They were all also very good. Each one, I felt as if the singer was going through the same shit that I was going through. I fucking loved it.

"This band fucking rocks!" said Piper (that was the first time she ever used a swear word).

"Ah, it is great to have him as a friend," I said, referring to Nick.

"Maybe," Ashkii said, "his music can get me through this."

"Maybe," I said, as I hugged her.

I still hoped we would eventually get through this.