It was like any other day, maybe a little more boring than usual. The day was moving slower than Judy would have liked; of course days full of filling out paperwork usually tended to be a bore. However, the work needed to be done and there was unfortunately no way around it.
Judy sat in the cubicle that had been meant for a much larger animal than herself, but that only made it so she and Nick were able to share it (it made it a lot easier when they needed to compare notes over cases) the space being big enough to fit desks in for both of them. She glanced over at her partners desk and sighed a little; Nick was out sick today which left the bunny doing all the paperwork. She swears he was skipping today for that reason, but on the chance he actually was sick she hoped he would get better soon. This would be a lot more bearable if he was here with her. He's always able to lighten up the mood and make the most boring days into ones that will be unforgettable. Nick doesn't do well in boring situations, so he tends to make his own entertainment which is always fun to watch even if he sometimes takes things a little to far- like when he decided to play a 'little' prank on the chief. The two of them had parking duty for a month, but as Nick said "It was all worth it!"
Judy gazed down at the time on her computer and saw that her day was coming to an end. All she had to do was complete this final report and then she would be able to go home for the day. Well, she was actually planning on going over to Nicks to check up on him, then she'd head home and turn in for the night. She started typing slightly quicker to get done faster, wanting this day to just be over so she could leave. It took her around ten more minutes until she finished, sighing happily as she finished up the report and sent it in. She pushed on her desk, sending her and her chair rolling across her cubicle and jumped off when she got to the end.
Judy was already in her street cloths, not having to change into her uniform because she wasn't on assignment, so she was able to just leave the precinct without any hassle of changing or putting away of her equipment.
"Heading home for the day?" Judy turned to see the overweight cheetah, Ben, smiling down at her as she walked past the front desk.
"Actually I'm going to go and see Nick, check up on him to see just how sick he is," Judy replied.
"You seem a little skeptical of Nick," Ben laughed.
"When you work with the fox for two years, you learn to be skeptical of everything he does," Judy giggled, "Its either that or you'll find yourself in the receiving end of one of his practical jokes."
"Oh, we're all very familiar with that," Ben rolled his eyes, he himself getting pranked by his fox coworker. "Well you go have fun, just not too much," He winked. Judy gave a sideways glance at the cheetah, not amused with his joke. For some reason, him and a few others tend to think her and Nick are a couple, or at least would make a great one. She was inclined to disagree, though it would always get her wondering how a romantic relationship between her and Nick would be like. She had never dated outside her own species, always going out with other rabbits, and she doesn't really know all that much about Nick's personal life before she met him; so she's not entirely sure just how successful a relationship between them would go. Even if they aren't romantically together, the two of them are still best friends. Ever since Nick graduated the academy and became her partner on the force, the two had grown a solid friendship. They tend to see each other a lot more then just during work, hanging out a lot after work and during their days off. Judy saw Nick as her best friend, and she'd say Nick is pretty fond of her as well, so maybe dating each other isn't as farfetched as she might think.
"Yah, yah, yah," she waved Ben off, "See you tomorrow Benjamin."
"Bye Judy," he waved, followed by going back to his phone and watching whatever the latest is on Gazelle.
Judy exited the precinct, hopping down the stairs then turning towards Nicks apartment, walking with a bounce in her step. It seemed no matter how bad or boring the days got, Judy always seemed to be in a positive mood. There are very few situations that can break her spirit, most of them she hoped would never happen.
It was when Judy had gotten about halfway to Nicks apartment when everything started to go wrong. The bunny was walking next to a flower shop, stopping for only a moment to enjoy the fragrance of the flowers (It reminded her of home back on the farm) taking in a big whiff of the sweet smells. It put her in an even better mood, the bad memories of hours spent sitting at a desk were swept away as she found a moment of peace. The sound of explosions knocked her out of that feeling.
It was distant, but still very audible. Judy turned to the sound of the sudden explosion, a sense of panic swelling in her chest. Distant screams could be heard and smoke stared rising above be the buildings. "That can't be good," Judy mumble to herself, readying herself to run over there; unfortunately, that wasn't the end. In fact, it was only the beginning of a chain of explosions.
It was only ten seconds after the first initial blast when explosions started erupting everywhere around the city. Judy could hear the sounds of bombs going off all around her to the point where the sound became unbearable. She grasped her ears in pain and fell to her knees. It was like she had suddenly been placed in a war zone as buildings began to topple over. The sound of screaming almost matched that of the explosions.
As quickly as it started, everything seemed to be over. Judy looked up in fear and glanced around her surroundings. It was hard to see anything at the moment due to the dust from the collapsing buildings, but what she could tell is that there was a structure that had been blown to bits only about a hundred yards in front of her. Judy picked herself up from the ground and looked into the sky, seeing giant puffs of black smoke collecting in the once blue sky. Everything seemed so surreal at the moment, and it took her a minute to process all of what just happened. What is this, some kind of terrorist attack? It was the only thing she could think of that made sense at the moment.
Judy shook off the shell-shock and quickly went into officer mode. She needed to get to the nearest bombing sights and start looking for survivors; Nick would have to wait… if he's even still alive. She pushed that thought aside, not wanting to think like that.
The rabbit began heading to the toppled building straight in front of her when suddenly a strange yet familiar scent found its way to Judy's nose. She knew that she knew It from somewhere, but she couldn't quite place her paw on it. That was then she started to notice something strange, where she would witness when this all began. She had been going against crowds of animals running from the explosions and the most peculiar thing started to happen; every predator she saw all simultaneously started falling to the ground convulsing, and foaming from the mouth. The sight brought back memories to when she visited the puma limo driver, Mr. Manchas, back during her first case… and it was then that the smell suddenly made sense. It was the same thing she smelled back in that train cart, where the Nighthowler lab was set up.
Judy's eyes became wide in realization, her heart rate increasing to alarming levels. This was a worst case scenario situation. Nighthowlers somehow being released on a large scale. Her first guess was that the bombs had something to do with it, but she couldn't be sure about it yet. Forget the bomb sights, Judy knew she needed to get to safety. If she stayed out in the open for too long she would, without a doubt, get torn to shreds. Her first though was to go back to her house, but she still needed to check up on Nick and he was closer anyway. Maybe the Nighthowler hadn't affected him, at least she could hope. The rabbit took off in a full sprint hoping to get to Nick before anything bad happened to him.
Judy blinked her eyes open, waking up from her dream, or more specifically a memory. This was the only thing she seemed to dream about anymore. She's just glad it didn't get to the end this time, because that's where her bad dream turns into a full blown nightmare. Her thoughts caused her to instinctively reach to her body and feel her chest, seething slightly at the touch. The memories of that day are always painful, so many bad things happened in such a short time. It has been the hardest thing she has ever done, to adapt to this new life. It was harder than school, harder than farming, harder than the academy, and harder than any case she had ever worked on. In the early days of this hellstorm, there were times where she thought she couldn't do it, having thoughts of giving up, but then she thought about everything she was giving up on. This city needs someone out here trying to find answers as well as a cure.
The first step of that started today. Judy jumped up and out of her bed, walking straight to the kitchen to prepare for her day. She had planned on going there yesterday, but made a last second decision and changed her plans due to the threat of a savage lurking around in that direction. Today, however, nothing was going to stop her. No matter what, she was going to get to the First Precinct. She hoped to find some answers there, as well as gather some supplies. The station was full of emergency supplies such as medicine and food; she'd also be able to stock up on tranquilizer darts. Among that, Judy also hoped that there would be some survivors gathered in there, possibly a couple other officers: that would definitely get her to smile if she saw some familiar faces.
Judy went through her usual morning routine, gathering up everything she felt like she needed for her trip to the precinct; although she would need to pack light so she could grab ad much as she could. She packed a few extra items just in case things went south, and for whatever reason she felt like she would need them. She got done and slung her backpack across her back, ready to head out. Before she left, however, Judy felt compelled to look over at Nicks door. She usually wouldn't bother him this early in the morning, he sleeps a lot these days so she doesn't want to disturb him, but the urge to say goodbye became somewhat overpowering. Before she changed her mind Judy went over to his room and slowly opened the door. She looked over at the fox who was fast asleep. Minus the handcuffs, the rabbit has to admit he looks cute when he sleeps. Judy was going to wake him up, but Nick looked so peaceful as he slept so she decided not to. She walked up to the side of his bed and placed her paws gently on his arm, grasping him softly.
"I'm finally heading back over to the precinct today, and I wanted to come and say goodbye," she whispered to the sleeping fox, "In case something goes wrong I just want you to know that I, I..." Judy paused and stopped talking for a moment. "I really care about you, and I will do anything and everything I can to cure you." She heard him mumble something in his sleep, but couldn't quite understand it. Judy sighed as she thought back to the good old days before the infection, before everything was plunged into hell; she misses hanging out with Nick the most. Now she has him chained to a bed, hoping everyday that she doesn't find the fox savage, and dreading the day when he doesn't turn back to normal.
"Goodbye, Nick," she murmured before leaning up to Nick and giving him a small kiss on the cheek. Nick stirred slightly in his sleep, but quickly returned to normal. She faced away from him and walked out from the room. Now she needed to focus on the task at paw: getting to the precinct. Judy grabbed her tranque gun and holstered it, then unlocked her door and began her journey to Precinct 1.
Her walk down to the first floor and out the front doors was uneventful as usual, which she didn't see as a bad thing. She didn't even wait to scan her surrounding before turning right and starting to run down the road. She knew if she heard anything down this way that she'd have an internal argument with herself if it was worth it risking her life to go this way. She doesn't have time for that; Judy wants to get there and get back as soon as possible. Judy guessed that if everything went as planned with no obstacles, then she could get back at least two hours before sundown. She figured, however, that something is bound to go wrong so she figured she'd be home about half an hour before sundown. You don't want to be out after that, because if you are you won't last very long. That's when most savages come out and do their hunting. Nothing gets your heart pumping more than looking our your window and seeing a swarm of feral predators in the street tearing into their latest victim.
She hadn't been back to the precinct in about a month, and hadn't actually been back this way for the same amount of time; not being here since the day all this startrd. She had been purposefully avoiding this for a reason. She knew that once she got back that she'd have to face everything that has happened. The bunny hoped for their to be some survivors taking refuge in the secure building, wishing to see some of her fellow officers again; it would definitely be a sight for soar eyes.
Judy ran down a few blocks before turning left. The place is around 15 miles away from where Nick lives, and she has ran about a half mile in 2 minutes, so theoretically she would reach her destination in about an hour. That would be the case if, of course, there wasn't a giant building lying in the street. Once Judy rounded the corner she came to a hard stop and looked in disbelief at the structure blocking her path. Seriously? Damn you Murphey, she inwardly sighed, followed by a few mumbled words that would not be appropriate for kids to hear. That had definitely not been there a month ago. Though she remembers passing a building that had been damaged in an explosion; this must be that place. There wasn't really any easier way to get to the precinct other than down this way, every other way would probably still take longer than if she just went straight through the rubble. So instead of finding a different rout, the bunny decided to just make her way through the wreckage.
The building itself was actually mostly in-tact. It's just that the upper half of it was spread out across the entire street. She hoped no one was in it, or in its vicinity when it went; they probably would not have survived. Judy walked right up to the structure and started assessing the situation. It was too big to just jump up on it and walk across, and there was no way to get around; the only way she would be getting to the other side would be to walk through it. Lucky for her, there were plenty of shattered windows for her to climb through. Judy looked and found the window that looked the safest to climb through then entered the building. She immediately regretted her choice of room at the smell the sudden smell that defiled her nose. The place looked like it used to be some sort of office building before it's destruction, and she was stood on a wall in an office. However, her first impressions of the place aren't all that great as the smell of death radiated through the room. Whether it was from being in the building during the explosion, or from a savage, she was unclear; but she isn't really interested in finding out. Exploring stopped being an option as soon as the building around her started creaking; she felt like everything was going to collapse in around her at any moment which put her more on edge than usual. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, not wanting to be a Judy sandwich.
Judy maneuvered her way over and around destroyed desks and toppled furniture, and having to step over the occasional body. She picked up her pace ever time the building swayed, seeming like it would give in on its own weight at any moment. The building was quite large, making it a long trip across that was extremely unnerving. Her nerves settled as soon as she stepped foot back onto the street and out of that death trap. Judy didn't stay standing for long, though, and again began running towards the precinct, quickening her fast paced run to more of a sprint. That place put her slightly behind schedule, so she needed to make up some lost time.
Everything went a little more smoothly after she passed through the building, all she needed to do was keep running and hope to not bump into anymore problems. She would hear a few sounds in alleys or buildings every now and then, but she chose to ignore them and continued forward hoping that whatever was causing the ruckus wouldn't pay any attention to her.
She had to say, running down this way was like running down memory lane, except everything was destroyed. It seemed the closer she got to the center of the city the more destroyed it appeared. Faces of buildings were destroyed, vehicles were toppled over and blown up, and the worst of it was the carcasses littered around the streets. Never in her month of scavenging through the city has she seen so many dead bodies. A lot of them were charred and unrecognizable, while others had been torn into from savages. It was a gruesome sight to behold, and everywhere she looked sent a chill down her spine; it put a kick in her step as she picked up her speed.
It wasn't until Judy made it to the final street when she started to swell up with excitement. As she stared down the long street, she could see the Precinct off in the distance. This has been the closest she's gotten to making any progress with getting answers. If she couldn't find anything there, then she had no idea where to look from there. It almost seemed to good to be true as she got closer and closer to the building. She began going into a full on sprint when she was only a couple hundred yards out. It was so close to her, and yet it seems life had other plans for her. As she was about to reach the steps of the building, a pack if wolves walked out from a parallel street and spotted her darting towards the building. Judy wanted to believe she could make it in through the front doors before they reached her, but she was wrong. They cut her off only a few feet from the steps. The lack of seven wolves growled and snarled at the little bunny, licking their lips for their afternoon snack.
Only one thought crossed her mind as she looked between the wolves and the building behind them. "Damnit."
i wasn't planning on getting that intonthia story due to a limited time frame I have to finish this, however I just have so many ideas I have for this, and since I basically have unlimited time on my hands until I leave I've decided to work on chapters and release them as fast as possible. The only problem I see with this is that the quality may not be the best, though I will still try my best, but I really want to finish this before it's too late.
Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and commented on the first chapter, y'all are the best.
Keep on Keeping On
Peace Out