Chapter 5: Home Sweet Home?

"The whole plane…" whispered Judy as she stared from the entangled tail right up to the nose of the ruined aircraft. She had recalled how Lynn told them she was the survivor of a plane crash. She did not, however, think the cat had meant the plane was on land. And of all places it was held within the dense canopy of the jungle. Yet here they were, staring at the right half of the wreckage.

"Well, not really the whole plane, see, we're on the good half, the other side is gone," Lynn pointed out, bounding along the wide branch they were standing on. "And this here wing's mostly gone, and then there's that chunk o' the tail missin' over there, the paint is all gone and- OH! Did I mention the landin' gear? They're gone too!" Lynn added cheerfully as she pointed at all the missing components, skipping along what was left of the wing. "N' I admit some of the wing I kinda tore up mahself cuz I needed the metal fer other stuff, but I don't think it really mattered much, I mean, y'all see this right? This here flyin' machine ain't gon' be flyin' 'gain no time soon!"

Nick shook his head while rubbing at his temples. This was all becoming too much to take in and some things just didn't make sense. "But besides that, this plane landed here like this…and you're the only survivor?" Nick questioned while following the energetic feline. Skepticism returned to him, it just didn't add up that the plane ended up on land mostly in-tact and only one animal had survived. He was weary of climbing along the wing for it creaked uneasily as his and Judy's weight was applied. "I mean, come on, the landing couldn't have been that rough," he added while looking the wreckage over carefully.

Lynn stopped bouncing along the wing and silence fell. Nick and Judy stared at her, Nick more so with concern after realizing what he just said. He spoke of something that must've been traumatizing so lightly and he regretted it immediately. The ocelot turned to the pair, her ever present smile replaced with a flat frown. "I didn't think it was right neither," she began while looking at the tail end of the plane. The cheerfulness she exuded before was gone from her tone and the pair was already starting to miss it upon seeing the alternative. "When y'all get inside…ye'll kinda understan'," she said while walking along another branch leading to a hatch door. Lynn slowly opened it, the hinges creaking loudly from the rust caked in.

The pair looked inside cautiously. Lynn's previous statement of the other half being missing was made apparent. The upper hull of the left side was stripped off and several of the chairs were gone, the metal frayed where bolts would've been to secure the seating. Another large chunk of the aircraft was missing where the left wing would've been, leaving a large ragged gap in the plane. Cool wind made its way through the hollow cavity, making the air whistle eerily. They stepped inside slowly, looking down the aisle and in each of the chairs that were still present.

Judy turned to Lynn as the cat entered herself. "Now see…when I woke up…I came in here to see if anyone was alive…didn't think I'd find it to be empty instead," Lynn pointed out, her voice filled with an unfamiliar sadness. "The compartment I was in? No one was alive, see…some folks were still puttin' on their seatbelts when…" her voice trailed off, biting her lip as the pain became evident in her eyes.

Judy took the cat's paw, patting it gently. "You don't have to say it…we…we can figure it out…" the rabbit told her, looking around the torn interior. Depressing was an understatement. Judy could only imagine how terrible it was for the cat to realize anyone who could've made her time on the island even remotely less painful and less lonely…were all gone. It made Lynn's normally cheerful demeanor all the more impressive in hindsight.

Nick gulped dryly, the regret squeezing at him for making the cat relive her tragedy in her head. The hurt in her voice made him wince. He turned to Lynn, scratching at his throat. "I'm…I'm sorry…" he choked out, "I didn't mean to-"

Nick was interrupted once again as Lynn placed a finger to the fox's muzzle. "Apology accepted sugah, I know ya meant no harm," Lynn assured him, smiling softly as she began walking towards the tail end of the plane. "I reckoned y'all would find it mighty suspicious and what not that lil' ol' me was the only one who made it," she stated, a small laugh followed while she opened the flap separating the plane's segments. "And y'all have every right to be," she finished as she unveiled the tail segment.

The tail segment was cleared of all but a few of the chairs, the ground where the seats used to be covered with blankets and small pillows. At the end of the long segment was the hole they saw from the outside covered by the tarp. A branch had grown in through the windows which gave some assurance that the plane was held firmly in place. The ceiling of the plane had small assorted vines with bottles and shiny rocks tied to them for decoration. The thing that was noted most of all was the wall to their left. The pair took careful observation of what looked to be an incomplete map of the island.

"Yea, I done decided that I needed to keep track of where I'd been a lil' while back," Lynn pointed out upon seeing her guests staring at the map. The ocelot turned to face the pair, smiling wide. "But anyhow, take a load off y'all, make yerselves at home!" Lynn shouted, her cheerfulness returning much to the pair's relief.

They smiled back at their host, nodding in agreement to the cat's suggestion. Nick sat on the floor of the plane atop a pile of blankets. Judy followed suit, reclining against her own pile. It brought them some comfort both physically and emotionally. Something so simple was a luxury in their situation. They watched as Lynn sat in front of them on a pile of pillows instead. The cat bounced in her seat, smiling at her guests. "Comfy ain't it?" she asked while smiling.

"Yeah, heh, it's only been, what, two days since we've been here? And I already forgot what blankets were like," Nick joked while pawing at a blanket under him. It was, in fact, comfortable, certainly a step up from lying on sand and leaves.

"It's cozier in here than I thought it would be," Judy pointed out, curiously looking at all the small décor. Her violet eyes began observing other things, paying attention to any labels that might've been present. She had many questions for Lynn but avoided asking them after Nick having just hurt her.

The next few words that came out of the cat's mouth startled her.

"I know y'all got a lot of questions n' such, so if y'all wanna ask me, now's the time," Lynn stated while reclining on the pillows.

It was as if she had been reading their minds and Judy merely stared wide eyed at the cat. "O-oh! Uh…ok um…" Judy found herself at a loss for words. She didn't know where to begin upon being given permission to ask, still taken aback by it. The rabbit thought carefully as to what she wanted to ask first. "…You…Wouldn't happen to know what flight this was…would you?" she asked, hoping that maybe she heard of this plane in the news.

Lynn sat up, tapping her chin. "Well, I think this flight was…Safaria Airs…uh…num'er 9090, bound fer Zootopia National Airport?" Lynn answered with uncertainty. "Ya see, I was on mah way back from vacation, visitin' kin out there, they're leopards, see, n' I was-"

Judy didn't wait to hear the rest of Lynn's story upon hearing the flight's call sign. She thought back carefully to the flight number, thinking about any news article she might've read regarding the missing plane. Nick who had been quiet the whole time stared in bewilderment at the ocelot.

"Seven years…" he uttered aloud.

Judy turned to Nick, perplexed at what he had just said. "What did you say?" she asked, seeking confirmation.

"Seven years…this plane went missing seven years ago…" he stated slowly. The pair's eyes were fixed to Lynn now, absolutely baffled. "You…were here for seven years?" Nick asked in disbelief.

"Well, I reckon that sounds about right actually!" Lynn replied cheerfully.

Nick and Judy stared in stunned silence. It was one surprise after another when it came to Lynn, but this was easily the most disconcerting of all. To survive on this island for even a few days seemed nothing short of a miracle. Yet the cat before them had managed to do so for seven years…and she did so alone. In solitude she lived within this maddening land. The pair were babbling at this point, trying desperately to catch fleeting words to form a question. Something, anything to ask to make sense of what they had just heard.

Judy pulled through, only repeating Nick's question with a single detail added in. "You lived on this island for seven years…alone?" she asked with bewilderment still in her voice.

"Well, for most of it anyways…" Lynn replied, her voice seeming to trail off.

Nick's expression changed from bewilderment and concern to suspicion once more. Judy blinked at the response, her brow furrowing in thought as she took what the cat just said. Nick sat up to lean forward to ask another question. Lynn had either not noticed their expressions or pretended not to so as she stood up. "So, that hike was somethin' else, I reckon y'all are hungry!" she exclaimed as she bounded off towards the rear galley of the plane, leaving her guests staring incredulously at her.

Nick leaned over to Judy, his voice lowered to a whisper. "Carrots…you heard that just now, right?" he asked while keeping his eyes on the galley entrance.

Judy nodded in silent agreement. What had felt off before returned with full force. 'For most of it…' she repeated in her mind. She didn't want to think ill of their host, but couldn't shake the idea that there was something wrong now. Something…terribly wrong. She too kept her gaze on the galley as she whispered to her partner. "We should avoid confronting her about it though; she might just get defensive and avoid answering any questions."

Nick too nodded to his partner's suggestion. "For now though, let's just play along…maybe we can get something out of her," he added as he stood up to approach the galley. He made sure to try and look like he didn't seem to suspect anything. Judy followed close behind, clearing her throat.

"So what do y'all wanna chow down on? I got crickets, strawberries, p'taters, I think this here's cabbage, some coconut, a pineapple-" Lynn listed off food item after food item, tossing some of the aforementioned food out of the galley. Nick watched as a dead cricket as large as Judy was thrown out, followed by several basketball sized strawberries. Things didn't get any less impressive as several potatoes were cast out, each of them could've easily been mistaken for large stones. A large leafy cabbage bounced off the wall of the plane, landing amongst the strawberries. Lynn poked her head out of the galley's entrance and looked at the pair with her signature wide smile. "I also got something I picked jus' the other day, I think they might be blueberries, but-"

"Blueberries?" Nick blurted out as his ears stood up. Judy stifled a laugh, a knowing smile on her face. Lynn had inadvertently said the magic word.

"Yeah, or, y'know, I think they're blueberries, I mean, they look like blueberries, smell like blueberries, but I don't rightly know if they are blueberries, I hadn't tried 'em yet," Lynn added as she heaved, seemingly picking up a basket in the galley.

"Oh come on, don't tease me like that, if they look like them, and smell like them, I'm pretty sure they're going to be-" Nick was silenced immediately from his train of thought as Lynn placed an orb in his paw. The fox's ears fell flat and his eyes grew wide. He knew that any food that was to be found was going to be large, yet it did little to prevent his shock. The suspected berry in his paw was the size of a softball.

"Yeah, see, I don't rightfully know what to say about these here berries, they might be poisonous wild berries, but I wouldn't know 'til someone tries 'em or-"

The cycle of interruptions continued as Nick hungrily wolfed down the gargantuan berry, not hesitating despite Lynn's warning. Within seconds the orb was gone, leaving the two girls startled. Nick slowed down on chewing the fruit as the girls watched in anticipation. Judy stared at the lump in the fox's throat as he swallowed.

Then they waited…

Nick gave a wide grin, showing bits of berry still stuck between his teeth as he gave his verdict. "They're. Freakin'. Blueberries!" he shouted out as he raided the galley himself. All that was heard was the continued ravaging of the berries and loud chewing.

Lynn was now the one to step back in shock at the spectacle. She leaned to Judy with a nervous smile now. "Yer, uh, guy friend here…he sure likes 'em there blueberries, huh?"

"They're his favorite," Judy pointed out to which Lynn nodded in understanding.

"Gotcha."

Nick shuffled out of the galley with his belly slightly bulging whilst holding a handmade basket, half empty of its contents. He held a partially eaten blueberry in his other paw. The fox chewed with a blank stare, seemingly entranced. "Carrots, I think, mmm, I think we're dead, this has to be heaven," Nick proclaimed with his mouth full. He scarfed down the remaining blueberry in his paw and sat himself at the frame of the doorway.

Judy shook her head smiling. "Don't even joke about that, Wilde," she said while moving up to the galley door. The small kitchen had been cleared of most of the airline food, presumably eaten. The hollowed out compartments instead overflowed with assorted giant foods. Makeshift pots and pans made from beaten sheet metal hung from the ceiling on more vines. Judy scanned the mountain of stockpiled food carefully and noted one odd thing. There was an unusual amount of vegetables. "Huh, for an animal that's primarily a carnivore, you sure have a lot of veggies…" she stated aloud.

"Oh, uh, force o' habit really, I worked on a farm for most mah life," Lynn stated while sitting beside the dead cricket and tearing off a leg.

Judy looked at Lynn incredulously, a single brow raised. "Really? And what sort of crops did you work with?" she asked while picking up what could only be a giant carrot, struggling to break off a small chunk.

The cat fiddled around with the leg, breaking off spines and tossing them aside. "Well, nothin' traditional really, we sorta grew a lot o' corn n' other grains n' such, but that was mostly so we can feed crickets, see, mah family are cricket ranchers," she stated before biting down on the de-spiked leg.

Nick and Judy both looked at the cat now. "Cricket ranchers?" they asked in unison.

"Yea, Zootopia had to get their crickets from somewhere y'know," Lynn pointed out with her mouth full. She swallowed loudly and giggled. "Mah family ships out hundreds o' pounds o' them lil' critters every few luna cycles!" she exclaimed proudly, a beaming smile on her face. Her smile seemed to fade suddenly, slowly turning to a frown. "Or, y'know…I think they're still shippin' 'em out like that…"

Despite their suspicion, the pair couldn't help but feel sorry for the cat. Being away from loved ones for so long would be heartbreaking to anyone. Judy felt an overbearing pain in her chest, being from a large and loving family of her own. She severely missed her parents and all 275 of her siblings.

Nick set the basket down and slid across to sit by Lynn. He set a paw on her back and patted her gently. "I'm sure their business is booming, hell, cricket sales were going up this past year," Nick pointed out reassuringly. True enough, after the Night Howler incident a large influx of predator specific merchandise went up. Food being sold had increased in revenue most of all and Nick knew it.

Lynn rubbed at her eyes and smiled to Nick. "Thanks foxy, I just wish I knew what they're all up to back at the ranch…" She said with a sigh, taking another bite from the cricket leg.

Judy sat herself down on the other side of Lynn after finally getting a chunk of her carrot. "Well, we'll all find out later, we'll make it off this island together!" Judy stated joyously to match the ocelot's usual cheerfulness.

The air felt tense once more as the pair saw Lynn's face fall. She stared out blankly; an inexplicable hurt seemed to linger in her eyes. It was a constant tug of war on whether or not to be suspicious of or to be concerned for the ocelot as the pair watched her. Nick took notice at her fighting back a shake with his paw still on her back. Judy leaned to look at Lynn's face carefully, her own expression being that of concern. "L-Lynn?"

Lynn snapped out of her trance, locking eyes with the rabbit. "H-Huh? Oh, r-right, yeah, we'll get out o' here, definitely!" she replied hastily with a nervous laugh. "L-listen, it's gettin' dark n' all, I'm gonna go n' put some fresh repellant on the plane, be right back!" she exclaimed, getting up quickly and hurrying out of the compartment.

Judy watched their host bolt out of the plane, not even having a chance to try and stop her. Concern and suspicion were at odds with her once more. All she could manage was to scratch at her head, she hadn't even eaten her carrot yet and she was losing her appetite. "This just keeps getting stranger and stranger…" she said aloud, turning to Nick. "Right?"

Instead she found Nick had moved to the end of the tail to the large covered hole. His head was peering over the edge and under the wreckage.

"Nick? What are you doing there?" Judy asked as she approached the fox.

Nick got up and looked to her, gesturing with his head for her to come closer. "Judy, I think you should look at this…" he says in a whisper just in case Lynn was near the hole.

Judy let her ears flick around, listening for their host. She was able to sense that the cat was more towards the end of the wing. She approached the massive tear, going prone to better see the underside of the plane. Nick joined her, resuming his previous position, gesturing with his head to point out the object of interest. It was a small metal device, painted bright orange with patches of missing paint. Judy eyed the object curiously, tilting her head to try and get a better angle of it. "What is that?"

"That," Nick began, "is the plane's black box," he stated, looking at the ironically named object. "They're used to track down planes after they've crashed…"

"Seriously?! Then we might still have a chance!" Judy blurted out in a hushed but excited tone.

Nick merely shook his head getting back up, Judy sitting back up with him. "I doubt it, black boxes were made to be survivable, but they hardly last long after going active. At most, it would've died out in a few months after the plane crashed…and this one crashed seven years ago," he pointed out while rubbing at his chin. "Nothing is adding up," he remarked.

Judy nodded in agreement, it wasn't just Lynn that was confusing them now, but it was everything about this whole affair. The list of questions was growing and they were actually growing fearful of what the answers would be.

Why had no one found the island?

Why had Lynn chosen to stay put for seven years?

…What was she trying so desperately to hide…?

A/N: fun little fact- Ocelot's can be found in Texas out in the wild, although they're considered endangered locally. This is actually the biggest reason I gave Ocelynn a thick southern accent. That and I thought it would pair well with the cheerfulness I was aiming to give her.

Work is picking up for me so I'm even more delayed now in getting anything done. Chapter 6 is in the works, but it is far from complete, I apologize to all of you who read this story.