Hi guys, I'm back with another chapter!
IN RESPONSE TO: LupinTheWolf. Thank you very much for the critique. Hopefully now I can get poor Weaselton's species right, haha! Thanks again!
Also, a big thanks to everyone else's support. Luckily, my writer's block has subsided, so I will try and go full force on this chapter. Enjoy!
Nick stirred from his slumber, twisting around in the ripped bedsheets to get his body in a more comfortable position. He tried to ignore the scratches left in them, the chaos the fabric had endured a grim reminder of the nightmare he'd had last night. Nick could barely fathom how thankful he felt towards Judy for helping him, for comforting him, for protecting him from the nightmares.
Nick's hand fell from his side, landing awkwardly behind his back. Judy was no longer next to him. She must have moved back over to her bed after making sure Nick was asleep. Again, the fox was thankful, though he was also a bit embarrassed that Carrots needed to help him out so much.
She had been so interested in his past, in just him in general as of late. After everything they'd been through, how much did he know about her past? Sure, he'd read her like she was a bestselling novel when they'd first met, and he knew he'd assumed everything correctly by her reaction to it. But everyone had a story. Nick firmly believed that. So what was Judy's? What had given her the determination to be a cop? That didn't just come from her. No, someone had to have given her a push. Or maybe something? Nick shook his head. He was too groggy to really start thinking about these things now.
It took some self motivation, but Nick finally forced his body to turn over enough to see the clock on the bedside table, having to blink a few times to get his eyes to properly focus. A few blinks later, he finally managed to read the device.
"Ten in the morning," Nick read aloud to himself, turning onto his back, facing up at the bland, beige-colored ceiling. "I was kinda hoping to get a little more sleep. What about you, Carrots?" Nick awaited her tired response, but none came. "Carrots, come on, you gotta–"
When Nick looked over at Judy's bed, he saw that it was empty. Nick sat up and looked around the room, the sun trying to peek through the blinds, the light creeping around to get in. Granted, it provided decent enough light, but then again that was probably just Nick's excellent night vision.
"Carrots?" Nick shouted, expecting to hear her voice from the bathroom. But there was still no response. "I swear, if you went back to the precinct, little bunny…" Nick took out his phone—nearly dead at this point—and clicked on Judy's name in his contacts. He held the phone up to his ear, swinging his feet over the bed, tapping them impatiently on the carpeted floor, waiting for her to answer.
Nick groaned in annoyance, hanging the phone up, remembering that her phone had died the previous night. He finally stood from the bed, stretching with an audible yawn, and decided to give someone else a call.
Nick dialed the number and waited for the mammal to answer.
"Hey, Nicky!" Clawhauser's excited voice came across the line. "Whatcha doing?"
"Hey, Clawhauser. I was wondering if Judy was there at the precinct."
"No, I haven't heard from the little bunny."
"Ok, thanks," Nick said, hanging up quickly before the cheetah could question him. Nick thought for a moment, watching the percentage on his phone drop to one percent before finally dying on him. With a sigh of annoyance, Nick dropped the phone back into his pocket and decided to ask one last mammal if they'd seen Judy around.
Nick left the room, feeling grateful for the small gust of wind that ruffled the fur on his face just a bit. It was comforting to feel amidst his worry for Judy. Yes, he was very worried for his partner, but he knew it was best to stay calm for now. There was no reason to get upset about something that probably didn't even happen. Nick found the door he was looking for and knocked quietly. With his fox ears, Nick could hear the sound of grumbling getting steadily closer to the door. Finnick opened up, looking at Nick with tired, but angry eyes.
"What?" said the fennec fox, his voice filled with malice. He really hated being woken up.
"Hey, Finny. Have you seen Carrots around?" Nick asked, trying to sound casual about it.
"No, why?" Finnick could tell when Nick was worried about something more than the red fox knew. Nick's ears were flat against his head, and he was messing with the claws on his paws subconsciously.
"Nothing. Did you see anything at all last night, anything suspicious?"
Now Finnick just felt like he was being interrogated by a police officer. Oh, wait.
Nick was steadily losing his composure, now rubbing his paws together nervously. It was very rare for Finnick to see his friend in such a state. Finnick knew the fox wasn't the untouchable mammal he let everyone see him as. He'd definitely seen Nick in a worried state, and Nick had even opened up to Finnick about some personal things, while only few.
"Um, I did hear some noises coming from your room actually. Some banging noises and stuff. I didn't really think anything of it. I just thought you and the bunny were...um—nevermind."
Nick suddenly became very thankful that the fur on his cheeks was mostly red, but quickly shook off the embarrased feeling.
"Fin, what if she's been..." Nick trailed off, turning around and leaning against the railing, suddenly feeling disoriented, the cold beam doing nothing to keep him grounded. Judy had been kidnapped. She had to have been. No. Stop it, Nick, you're just worrying about nothing.
"Look, man, you know I'm not the type to sugar coat things. If you think your bunny friend got snatched, then you'd better go find her."
"Where would I even start, Fin?" Nick asked, looking down at the parking lot, the few mammals down there having pleasant discussions with their friends.
"Man, I don't know. And maybe she isn't even kidnapped. I'm just saying, I would be sure if I were you."
Nick paused for a moment before saying, "I need to use your landline." Finnick said nothing as Nick stormed into his room, heading straight for the phone on the bedside table.
Nick dialed the number on the phone before waiting impatiently for Clawhauser to pick up.
"Clawhauser," Nick said as the cheetah's voice came on the phone.
"Nick? Did you—"
"No time, Clawhauser. Judy's been kidnapped. I want you to tell Bogo to send officers to the warehouses Weaselton mentioned. He'll know what you're talking about."
"You got it," Clawhauser said, his voice going down an octave with determination.
"I also want you to send a squad car hear. I need a ride to the warehouses."
"Got it," said Clawhauser before hanging up on the fox. Nick felt like none of this was real. Honestly, he was hoping Judy would just appear so she could tell him that she was just out on a walk or something. This...none of this felt real. How could they have gotten Judy with him in the next bed? And why hadn't they gotten him either? Were they just trying to toy with him? Nick didn't know yet, but what he did know was that he was going to find Judy and bring her back safely, but not before arresting the punk who'd taken her in the first place.
Police sirens blared, a flurry of red and blue lights shining on the rusty looking warehouses. The trees behind Nick were currently being sprayed by the sprinklers that were meant to keep the Rainforest District so wet. In front of them, behind the warehouses, was the wall that separated the Rainforest district from Tundra Town.
The police had absolutely no trouble distinguishing which warehouse they were supposed to enter. Spray painted on the door were three words: Come on in. Those words had chilled Nick when he first saw them, but he was still pretty sure it was the cold trying to seep in from Tundra Town.
Nick had volunteered to go into the warehouse to get Judy. She was his partner, after all. Bogo had reluctantly agreed, and was now standing next to his police car, watching everything. The many officers behind Nick all took cover behind the doors of their own police cars, stun guns pointed and ready to fire at any threat.
Nick didn't know why—maybe it was just his instincts—but he felt that there was no danger behind the rusty warehouse door. But there was only one way to find out. Looking back at his fellow officers one last time, and taking a deep breath, Nick grabbed the bottom of the warehouse door, and gave it a great tug. The door creaked and groaned as Nick pulled it all the way up. The tension was so great it was tangible, and Nick took a careful step into the warehouse, his night vision giving him a view of the entire area.
Nick took a few steps in, and the door suddenly closed shut behind him. Not a surprise. The door had barely wanted to go up in the first place. What Nick wasn't expecting was a smooth, calm voice to start speaking through the darkness.
"Congratulations, Mr. Wilde. You finally found the missing mammals. I have to ask, though, what are you going to do now? What are you going to do now that you are the hero who saved the day?"
Nick couldn't spot the source of the voice in the darkness. He saw Judy, Mr. Big, Fru Fru and her baby. They were looking around in fear, the blindfolds preventing them from seeing anything...and the gags preventing them from speaking.
"Show yourself," Nick said. "You're under arres—" Nick suddenly felt a horrible burning sensation in his head. It felt like someone had lit his skull on fire.
"Show myself?" A terrible laugh, followed by a blinding flash of pain shooting through Nick's skull. The laugh was so smooth, so confident, so steady. It was almost otherworldly. "I'll show you something, Mr. Wilde."
The pain getting worse and worse by the minute, Nick looked around for any sign of the kidnapper. But everything suddenly went dark. Nick could no longer see anything. Had he just lost his vision? A bunch of light turned on in his face, and Nick recoiled at the sudden light. Adjusting to the light, Nick looked to see that it was a mirror, the lights around it illuminating the fear on his face.
"You see, Mr. Wilde," said the calm voice. Nick saw his own mouth move in time with the calm voice of the kidnapper.
"No," said Nick.
"Yes," said the kidnapper, Nick's mouth moving with the voice again. Nick's breathing became heavier and heavier, his tie providing no comfort this time. This was too much, this couldn't be true, it had to be some trick.
"You'll remember everything once you wake up," Nick—or maybe the kidnapper—said. Nick had no opportunity to argue with himself before everything went dark again.
Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the others. This chaper is sort of meant to be more of a transition to the next major part of the story. Regardless, I hope you guys enjoyed, and don't forget to throw some constructive criticism my way. See you guys in the next chapter!