Hey all, DLW here with a new chapter. A huge thank you to all the readers, follows,fav's and reviews (Honestly, it helps me think)! This arc and the next arc have me incredibly excited to write them (No spoilers though) Also I do have a question for all my readers about music (more at the bottom). Disclaimer: Zootopia and its characters are copyright Disney. (I own none of the characters in the story aside from the O/C's.).

The Dystopian Society

Chapter Three: Pitch Black

'Luminous Trail'

"As you held out your hand in the dark, I asked. 'Where are you taking me?"

[February 4, 'Nocturnal District' 6:27 PM]

The two continued down the street towards the supposed park that Nick had mentioned moments ago. It was empty and quiet for the both of them, not a fellow patron in sight, and the only sound heard was their clicking toes across the brick pavement.

While Nick took the lead, he walked only as fast as need be. He hadn't been able to have this much freedom in some time, but still wanted to ensure that he wouldn't mess up his only shot at having his freedom remain permanent.

Judy, however, was still mulling over the case and the whereabouts of Jacks colleague. She kept her pace even to keep the fox just in sight.

'What kind of mammal could they be?' She questioned.

Having seen Jack and known from media reports and news articles that his agency had more than just him, but surprisingly few, she began to try and piece together who and what would be assisting her.

She hadn't even realized that she had spaced out, mindlessly trailing Nick as she put recalled the few details she remembered over the years.

From every angle, she could see the faces of the members that had appeared every now and then. Mentally she thumbed through the index of the varied faces of Feral.

'Let's see, there was Jack, a moose, a rhino, a mouse,' She listed, putting up a digit from her paw for each one. 'A deer, an elephant, a lemming, and...'

Though she didn't know how or why some of them were considered hunters like Jack, from the way he spoke of them, they seemed equally competent to make their mark.

She eventually stopped thinking of what possible species the mystery assistant could be. There were countless mammals in the city, and so many kinds that she couldn't think of any that would fit perfectly into his vague description of 'colleague'.

She could barely remember the few she had seen at any time around Jack, let alone find one that may or may not be somewhere close or far away from her.

'They could be anybody' She sighed, letting her paws fall to her side.

While she knew inwardly that there had to be some way of figuring it out, it bothered her to no end to have such little information to go by. Step by step she worried more and more as they ventured further into the district.

So much was her focus on the trustworthiness and timeliness of the one said to help her, that she had jumped nearly several feet high when she heard a sharp screeching noise in the direction she was facing.

As she found even footing when she landed, she positioned herself ready to fend off anything that came her way. Poised and able to strike at a moments notice, she focused her eyes and ears towards the source of the noise.

It itself was too loud for her to endure too long and she covered her ears with her paws to prevent further damage.

To her immediate surprise, she saw Nick crouching and holding his paws to his ears as well. Much like her, the noise was detrimental to his ears.

Judy, unsure of what the sound was, carefully taking a step forward. She soon found that the sound itself seemed to emanate from him. This alone made her question whether or not he had managed to find some way to distract her or something to use against her.

Though Jack had told her not to use her weapon, she had quietly wished that she had at least a tranq gun with her. She could still deal with dragging him around if need be.

After a few seconds of enduring the grueling and ear piercing sound, it suddenly vanished without a trace. It left them alone, both still reeling from the sudden shock of what had just happened.

Judy, being the first to recover, lifted her paws up and took note of what she just experienced. She questioned how the fox was able to make such a horrific sound.

With caution and full of questions, she looked around her to see if anyone or anything was out of place. Upon noticing nobody but Nick and, see him shudder slightly, she shivered herself.

'Was that an alarm? Was he trying to alert someone?' She thought, frantically searching for any possible answer to the sudden change in Nick's behavior.

Immediately, she reached for her radio, believing herself to be in greater danger than she could imagine. If he somehow managed to call for help, then her taser would be useless in this situation.

Before she could pull it off her belt, she watched Nick remove his paws from his ears and turn to face her.

"Carrots?" He chattered, his voice panicked as he lifted himself slowly off the ground.

Angered that he could only call her in such a derogatory manner, she tore her paw away from her radio and pointed at him accusingly.

"That's Lieutenant, Hop-"

She couldn't finish her sentence as she saw watched Nick fidget with the collars fixed to his neck.

"What are you doing?" She asked, taking a step back.

She watched as he tugged lightly at it, trying desperately to paw at the mechanism to no avail.

While she understood that the collars were made to be tamper-proof, the yellow color on his tame collar meant that he would soon be shocked unless he stopped.

Very soon, Nick felt just that. The shock was minor enough to get him to abandon his futile attempt of getting rid of the thing.

He removed his paws from his neck, huffing slightly as he tried to regain composure. For a moment, he just tried to breathe away his problem.

Judy, on the other hand, wanted to know exactly what he was up to.

"What was that sound?" She asked, not believing for a moment that he wasn't trying to hatch an escape plan.

Still practically panting from his sudden experience, he turned away from her.

"Jack told me, it goes off every six hours, until you have six left," He wheezed, nearly on the edge of dry heaving at the realization of what may happen to him. "Then it beeps every hour until..."

He fell silent, feeling that the both of them knew full well what he meant. He didn't want to continue to go through with this now, he would have gladly chosen the cage over the possibility of his life ending at the hands of this rabbit again.

Subconsciously, he brought his paw to the back of his neck. Time wasn't on his side in this case.

The thought alone made him want to hurry forward, he couldn't afford to make mistakes or take longer roads. He wanted to see his friends again and get back to have the thing removed.

"We just, need to get through the park," He claimed, though his voice was far quieter than he had thought. "She has a house on the other side."

Judy watched this whole thing unfold. From Nick cowering from the noise to him walking into the park. While she was glad that the tame collar was keeping him under control, she had no idea that the kill collar was that powerful.

She had heard plenty of stories of preds attacking even with their tame collars fully active. But this was the first time that she had seen a predator fully comply with what was necessary for the greater good of the city.

Thinking of how the two worked together for her safety, she had quietly thanked their manufacturing company.

While doing so and walking forward to catch up to Nick, she had noticed that the scenery had changed before her eyes. Moments ago she was walking down a street towards some park, but only now she noticed a fence and railing.

On the fence was a plaque that that read 'Luminous Trail'.

She stepped forward, taking in the new area with as much appreciation as she did when she first entered the city.

The first thing she noticed was how the pathway was lit by lamps much like the street corners they had passed by earlier. Though these were painted differently, they offered a more calming light with the peaceful area.

Under many of the lights, she could easily see benches and other seats fit for mammals of different kinds. Some were purely made of large stones, while others were not much larger than her own chair at work.

She felt the ground below her and turned to see not a single brick, but finely ground gravel that was edged with cut stones on both sides. Beyond the edges, she could see a field of grass illuminated by lights either shining down on it or shimmering below.

Every now and then she could see a few trees, some of which were taller than the buildings they had passed by earlier. While she didn't know what kinds they were, some of them were luminous and glowed softly with a bluish green light.

Further in, she could see a fountain that spat water every few seconds. Though she didn't really think much of them, from the lighting and colors that changed on it at intervals, it was something that she made a note to come back and see again someday.

She wondered how she had even managed to get there so quickly without noticing it from afar. Had she been so absorbed in wondering who Jack's contact was that she failed to check her surroundings?

While thinking to do so even the more, she saw how far ahead Nick was in front of her. She sighed as she couldn't let him get out of sight too far.

Picking up her pace she looked around to see only a few other mammals in the park with them. Though to her, it was late, here, as she was told, it was still early.

She saw an antelope jogging by her with a determined look and a phone in his hooves. There was a hippo resting by the side of the fountain, gazing in awe and waving their arms around in the water.

As she neared Nick, she managed to catch sight of a hedgehog scurrying away from one of the many benches. Thought there were only a few mammals there, she did manage to see a small Koala standing by the side of a glowing tree that watched her as she closed in on the fox.

Though she typically saw koalas as something cute and cuddly, the odd and almost lifeless stare that this nocturnal creature had somehow creeped her out.

'That's a bit, unsettling.' She thought, shaking off the feeling and believing it to be just another non-morning mammal.

Within a few steps, she found herself at a safe distance from Nick again. Though just ahead, she could see him waving towards someone.

As they had passed by the fountain and she could see another figure heading steadily towards them. While she didn't know who this was, if it was a friend of Nick's then they could be dangerous.

Cautiously staying within range, she waited until she could see who it was that he had gestured to.

Whoever they were seemed panicked, racing towards them and stumbling as they neared.

Judy, seeing this behavior as strange, took a step back in fear that this may be some crazed citizen, and very likely a predator.

Soon enough, the mammal came into view. A possum, slightly taller than Nick, but somehow thinner than what she had seen their species to be.

He approached Nick, huffing and out of breath, but somehow very silent in doing so. He lowered his head and grabbed at his knees in order to breathe deeply if only for a moment.

Judy didn't know what to say or think but cautiously determined that if she was in trouble, she would act without hesitation.

"Hey, Salt." Nick greeted, walking over towards the predator without reservations or fear.

Judy felt as though she was right as Nick both named this possum and walked towards him. Her suspicions were on the rise.

As Nick approached, the possum lifted himself up to meet eye to eye. He took a step forward, huffing as he did so until he was less than a foot away.

As Judy got to take a closer look at the possum, she took notice of his appearance.

He wore a pair of baggy grey pants and a greenish yellow shirt. He had on a blue jean jacket that covered his tame collar slightly but still managed to hang loosely from him. His clothes were dingy, tattered and carried patches of stains every now and then.

While she didn't truly care about what anyone wore in public, she felt herself take a step backward when she glanced over his facial features.

Much of the possum's face was covered in scars and terrible dark singed patches. Aside from his left eye, she could see that much of his skin was inflamed and somewhat peeling. To her, they looked much like burns that hadn't been properly treated.

"Woah bud, you need those looked at." Nick announced, bringing his paw up to the possum's face.

Before he could even assess the damages, the possum waved his hands away and breathed heavily. Nick stood there motionless, silently and patiently waiting for what he would do next.

The possum, staring Nick eye to eyes, frantically motioned his hands in several directions.

He started by clutching one of his paws and then pointed at Nick directly. He then pointed towards his eye and finally rolled thumb across his other digits. Having done this, he spread both his paws as if to desperately await an answer.

Nick stared at him for a moment, taking in all that he had just witnessed. After a second or two of thinking, he knew what was going on.

"No Salt, I haven't seen her," He said calmly, scratching the nape of his neck. "What's wrong?"

At his answer, the possum huffed. He closed his eye and breathed heavier and heavier. Soon the three heard a small beep and immediate grunt from where he stood, but he barely even flinched from the jolt.

Nick, surprised at his friend's change of mood and subsequent shock, reached out his paw in worry only to see the possum shake his head and run past them without so much as a wave goodbye.

After a moment of silence and watching the possum run away, Nick let his paw finally fall. He wanted to follow him but knew he couldn't for now.

"Who was that?" Judy asked, slightly horrified from the appearance and sudden leave of the predator.

Watching the possum trail off in the distance and finally leave the park, Nick turned and faced Judy.

"His name's Salt," He sighed, silently wishing he could run and get away. "He's one of the few veterans left here."

Hearing him say this, Judy took a step forward. Surely he couldn't possibly be saying what she thought he may be saying.

"You mean he's been in this district for a long time?" She asked curiously.

Nearly hanging his mouth on a hinge, Nick eyed her with irritation.

"No, he served in the war like a lot of other older mammals in the city." He pointed out, hoping that Judy could understand the problem

Hearing no sort of reply or protest, Nick tilted his head in the direction he saw Salt run off to.

"He's lucky to be alive, but he needs treatment still." He said with a heavy and sorrowful sigh.

Judy, upon hearing that his friend needed treatment, felt as though there was something obviously missing. There were hospitals and clinics all around Zootopia with medical staff to aid anyone.

This alone separated Nick from what he could have done, what he could legally do in this circumstance.

"You know you're not certified to treat patients anymore, right?" Judy replied, hoping to remind him of his stance with the law.

Having said what was needed, she waited to see if the fox would finally understand the damage he caused and how irreversible it was to what he had done to himself and others.

She watched Nick as his paw began to tremble and his collar beeped as it turned yellow.

"I know what I'm not licensed to do anymore under the Mammal Inclusion Initiative," Nick yelled, swiping his paw across the empty air and watching the rabbit step back in fear. "But that doesn't mean I won't help someone that needs it!"

The second he finished his rebuttal, he felt a very sharp and hot sting at his neck. It was a pain that he was familiar with but never used to. He fell to his knees, clutching at his neck as the pain intensified for his outburst.

Judy looked on as this happened, still fearful that Nick may do something out of line. She couldn't help but still be thankful that the collars were the only thing between her and the fox attacking her again.

The shock Nick had endured lasted only a few seconds, but the memories that he had associated it with had lasted far longer. It took him a minute or so to recover his strength enough to stand.

As he stood, he could see the belittling visage of the rabbit staring him back. Since he couldn't stand to face her eye to eye, for now, he turned to face the park's exit.

He clutched his paw and spoke. "You can't tell now, but he wasn't always mute."

Judy twitched her ears upon hearing this. She figured that he was mute from the speechless gesturing, but didn't know if her guess was correct or nor.

"He had to go war with his collar on like every other good little predator," Nick went on, shrugging his shoulders and lowering the tone of his voice. "Politics and all."

Had he not been shocked moments ago, he would have almost mockingly laughed. Though he himself didn't find anything laughable about it even in a joking manner, it may have helped calm his nerve a little more.

"He was sent to the jungle and suffered burns, shocks, and everything else to keep our 'fair' city safe." He went on, turning to face Judy with his paw held up and counting each of the possums endured feats.

With his concerns finally set on the table, he managed to find the strength to face her without breaking away his stare.

Judy, taking all of this into consideration, had a lot on her mind. Though one thing stood out above all.

She didn't even hesitate to ask. "I can understand the burns, but who's to say that the story isn't something you made up?"

It all seemed too easy of a coverup story to her. She had heard them all before, some convoluted tale to get out of ones punishments or to convince her that they were innocent.

Though Nick was proving even slightly useful, the fact of the matter was that he had lied to her before to cover up his entire operation. She still couldn't take his word for it unless there was another to back it up.

In disbelief that the question was even asked, Nick shook his head and turned away. He walked towards the park exit, huffing as he went along.

"When the clinic was still open, he and his niece would come by," He replied, feeling his voice raise itself. "She told me the story."

When Judy heard of Salts 'niece' she had wondered if that was who he was searching for frantically when Nick said he hadn't seen someone. She took it into account upon further encounters with the predator incase she needed someone to question that Nick knew.

"I wouldn't turn down anyone that needed medical attention," Nick added, feeling annoyed and utterly like the rabbit would never understand why he did what he did. "The least I could try to do is help."

As they neared the parks exit, Nick looked around. He was familiar with the area, but didn't usually come this way. Though it took him a moment to understand exactly where he was, he finally pointed down a nearby street.

"It's just a bit farther ahead." He called out.

As Judy prepared herself to follow Nick out of the park, she once again found herself questioning who Jack had set in place to watch them.

Though this time when she thought back to who it may be, she could feel a cold shiver run down her spine. It felt like someone was watching her, but she had no clue as to who.

For a moment she took a chance to turn away from Nick and look around. Not a mammal was there near them, nor were any in clear view in the park any longer.

Soon enough, she shook off the feeling. To her thought ,she believed it to be nothing other than her hunger and caution of the fox.

"Holding back my own tears I answered. 'To a world that abandoned compassion.'"

Hello there, and welcome to the end notes! Chapter 3 is here and I'm chipping away at it bit by bit slowly...

As a bit of a note, some possums are considered predators by nature (some are omnivores and do prefer meat, at least a certian species.)

And a question for all the readers out there. What would you all think of a music suggestion for future (and maybe current and previous) chapters of this story? I know I won't be able to post the full link (except maybe on Archive of our Own in notes) but it would allow for a good atmosphere. Please let me know what you think.

Also, a new Nick and Finnick will be out sometime this weekend!

And I hope you get a chance to read this and the other at your leisure. Also, these stories can be found here as well:

fanfiction:
~dancinglunarwolves

deviantart:
dancinglunarwolves

archiveofourown:
users/DancingLunarWolves/works

If you liked this story and have time please post a review, and if you would like to keep up with the story please fav or follow. Questions, comments, concerns, feel free to message me about anything... More to come soon.

If you'd like updates, please check the profile page and or message me.

Also, I'm placing my other stories (non zootopia) on hold (just on hold) until I'm done with a good chunk of these. More info on my profile page.

I hope you all enjoy.

Till Next Time
-DLW