Not a single sound was uttered by any of the girls in the spacious lobby of the theater. Clementine thought she wasn't hearing right. Her mother had just told her she was pregnant.
Her mother. Had just told her. That she was pregnant.
She couldn't believe it. None of it made any sense.
"What?" She finally spoke, eliminating the permeating silence. She looked at Skye, expecting the same shocked expression, but it was more embarrassing than anything else. She knew. She had known from the very beginning. "Is this some sort of joke? I don't see a 'Got You' coin anywhere."
"It's not a joke, Clem," she adjusted herself on the sofa, wiping some of her tears. "Don't worry, it's Nick's," she chuckled, but no one joined her. There was nothing funny about this. "I've only ever been with him." While it still made her fume, she was still glad Judy had been loyal to Nick.
Other than surprise or anger, Clementine was overcome with fear. They had had so many close encounters. They had almost died so many times. Judy herself had fallen off a roof, not to mention almost getting choked by a psychotic hare. This was the most reckless the bunny had been. "What are we su-" Clementine tried saying, but the news was still messing up her brain. She didn't know what to do. With a sigh, she calmed herself enough to finish her comment. "What are we supposed to do now?" She asked the doe.
With bags under her eyes that highlighted how tired she was, Judy shook her head in response. "Nothing," she said with determination. "I just need to rest for a second."
This answer did not satisfy the red vixen one bit. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She walked back for a second, not wanting to look at Judy.
"Clem," Skye tried to calm her down by grabbing her shoulder, making the red vixen slap her paw out of it.
"Don't touch me! How long have you two known, huh?"
"Sunny-"
"How long?!" Clementine interrupted her. Skye looked at her with wide eyes.
"Clementine, stop," said Judy calmly. "I've known since the day Nick died. I told Skye while we were on patrol."
"So…he never found out?" Clementine asked in tears. Judy shook her head with a frown. "Goddamnit. Why didn't you tell me, Skye?"
"I told her not to tell you," Judy explained. "Everything went to hell after that and…I wasn't going to leave you alone, Clementine. I didn't want you to feel like I was a burden-"
"Well you're a burden now, aren't you?!" The angry vixen interrupted, leaving Judy speechless. Skye couldn't take it and pushed her angrily, growling at her.
"Don't you ever say that again, Clementine!" Skye screamed, baring her fangs. She instantly felt what she was doing and hid them back, shocked at her sudden spurt of rage.
Clementine gave a breathless chuckle. "I see how it is." The doe and the arctic vixen could not make the situation any less tense, just waiting for what the red vixen would do next. "I'm just gonna…make sure this place is secure. You just rest, Judy."
With that, Clementine turned her back on the girls, just wanting to get away from them and not return for a while. She heard Skye sit on the sofa, asking Judy if she was feeling better. She did not stay close enough to hear Judy's response. She began exploring the rooms on the first floor.
"Pregnant…" she said to herself. "Fucking pregnant. How could you keep something like that?" She thought back to everything that had happened today. They fought countless military soldiers, ran from who knows how many infected, and fell through multiple places. All while Judy was pregnant. She would've asked her to turn back if she had known something like that. It didn't help that Skye kept that secret and encouraged her to tell Judy to come with her. She felt betrayed. She didn't want to look at them right now.
The door to the main theater hall was closed, leading her to move to the second floor. Thankfully, this place had many supplies for restocking.
A lone note on a small circular table caught dust, implying it had been a long time since it had been read. Clementine sought to change that as she picked it up:
September 4
Me, Pawrez, and Clawdams made it to the listening post two days ago, and so far, so good. WLF haven't come looking here yet. The city's lost to the WLF; we escaped headquarters out of sheer luck and good timing. Torres, Ward, and the others are probably dead. Camping here. Grateful to be alive for now.
September 6
Can't sleep. Burning up with a fever. No medicine. Looked everywhere. We don't have anything except the uniforms on our backs. No contact from anyone on the radio either. How many of us made it out?
September 7
Still feverish. Don't have any big cuts, so probably not an infection. The others are waiting until nightfall, then making a run to the hospital to get medicine for me and supplies for wherever we're going next. They're good guys.
September 10
Shouldn't be taking this long.
That was the end of the note. It was old, so Clementine prayed that the person who wrote this wasn't still a resident. She could see the empty tent the mammal might have used to sleep. It was unkempt and dusty, another good sign that he was gone.
She climbed another small set of stairs that led to a projection room facing a window. Entering the room, she noticed it had no power. She could see a cable on the floor that made a trail from the room to the window, possibly the source of electricity. Clementine set her mind to return the room to how it once was.
Using the flashlight to inspect the room first, she found another paper written by the person staying there. It read like a diary again.
September 13
They're not coming back. Either got ambushed, or they ditched me. It's not my fault I got sick. At least the fever's gone, but now I'm fucking starving, hopefully not for anything other than bird meat. I can probably raid the buildings nearby for food, then see if I can raise someone on the radio.
September 15
Constant rain means I at least won't die of thirst. Unfortunately it keeps making the electricity cook out all the time. Makes it kinda hard to use the radio. Not like anyone's answering anyway. The WLF can't have hit all the FEDRA listening posts. No way. Need to keep trying.
September 16
Dreamt they were laughing as I slowly bled out from a gut shot. Woke up an hour ago, still shaking. Need a cigarette. You think there'd be a pack or two stashed somewhere in a fucking theater, but apparently not this one.
September 19
Power went out again. Going to head to the roof and see if I can get it back on again.
That was the latest entry. Now she knew there was a working radio that would be of use if she turned the electricity back on. Following the cable, Clementine opened the window and climbed out, the rain still going strong. Just like the note had said, the wires went up to the roof. She put her hood on and climbed the ladder beside the generator cables.
On the roof, the cable headed to a shed. In the shed, Clementine could see the outcome of the writer of those letters. She knew it had been a camel, but neither the color of his fur nor his facial features were recognizable as his corpse lay blackened next to the fuse box.
"Damn. You got fried?" Said Clementine. "Guess you weren't much of an electrician."
With the cable already set by the kind stranger, Clementine revved up the engine of the giant generator attached to the wall. The power was on.
"Got it."
Returning to the theater, she went into the projection room to see the hard-earned spoils of her labor. The good news was that the radio was on. Bad news for Clementine, it was all static. No matter what channel she turned to, it would only give her more grumbly sounds. Frustrated, she hit the radio's top with force, moving something under it. Inspecting it further, she realized it was a set of keys. It wasn't an empty-handed effort after all, and she appreciated it.
"Alright," she said in celebration. She didn't know what it opened yet, but she had an idea of where to look first.
Her intuition was right, as one of the keys on the set was kind enough to let Clementine into the main theater hall. Rows of red seats stood watching an empty stage with a red veil.
"Wow," Clementine said, enjoying the sight of the enormous place. "Nick…you'd love watching a movie in this place."
Up on the stage, Clementine took a moment to look toward where the audience should be. The lights on top of the stage pointed at her. She mockingly bowed to the nonexistent attendees. "Thank you, everyone, thank you! Come back tomorrow for another special presentation!" In her head, the theater was packed, and everyone applauded her performance. It's clear the audience had great taste.
Going beyond the red veil, she explored the theater's backstage, admiring the practically-built sets and sculptures, as well as some naked mannequins. If she were to see them ten years ago, they would have the most exotic dresses pertaining to the campiest of plays. Now, they were just there for nightmare fuel. Their soulless (and sometimes headless) husks made for a not-so-inviting atmosphere.
Something caught her eye immediately. "No way," she said in disbelief. Before her eyes, on top of a table, stood a guitar bag. Inside of it was said instrument, in pristine quality. She didn't know how she kept finding so many usable guitars throughout her journey, but she didn't hate her luck.
Giddily coming back to the stage, she almost didn't realize someone was sitting in the front row, who had been waiting for her to come out. She looked at them and her smile faltered.
"I heard your bow," said the tired doe. "Had to come see what the fuss was about."
"You should be resting, Judy," Clementine said, walking down the stairs, and sitting beside her.
"I gotta keep watch on my vixen. She tends to be a bit of a troublemaker when I'm not around."
Clem sighed, grabbing the guitar in a playing position, not touching any of the strings yet. "I didn't mean to say what I said. You're not a burden. I just wish you'd told me about it sooner."
"I love you, Clem. Nothing you say will make me love you less, but would you have allowed me to come if I'd told you?"
"There was still a better way to handle it. You could've told me when we arrived here. I wasn't going to make you turn back or anything!" She lied, but at the same time, letting her go on the journey back to Bunnyburrow alone wouldn't have been a really good idea either.
"You're right, and for that, I'm sorry. But there's more I haven't told you."
The vixen's ears perked up at that. What more was there? "Please. Just tell me, Mom. No more secrets."
It was the bunny's turn to sigh. "Fine." She licked her lips and turned to Clementine. "When I found out that day, I was so happy. I couldn't wait to tell you and Nick. I was scared, but Slick always joked about the possibility of us having a child of our own.
Anyways, after he died, I couldn't find the strength or the drive to do anything during those two weeks when I was alone at home. I neglected them," she said, looking at and rubbing her belly. "I swallowed pills and drank myself to sleep every night."
This reveal made Clementine feel like even more of a horrible person. How could she be so inconsiderate of how her mother was feeling? She wanted to comment, but she wanted to let Judy finish her piece.
"After I saw you again, I regained some hope. I actually managed to sleep at night without having any bad dreams. But I kept trying to forget my condition, just focusing on helping you. I'm trying to say, Clem, that I didn't tell you because I wanted to think there was nothing to tell. That these kids won't grow up without their father. That they won't exist at all." Judy's voice trembled, but there were no tears from her cheeks. Instead, she chuckled, "But it turns out life just isn't fair like that. Biological or not, my children exist. You exist."
"Are you going to keep them?" Asked Clementine, who had been deeply moved by her speech.
"I'd be a lousy bunny and an even worse wife if I didn't."
Slumping in her seat, Clementine exhaled a huge breath. The doe's words had been heavy and truthful. Too truthful for Clem at the moment. But the fact of the matter was that she was hurting. Grief makes you feel many feelings, but above all, it turns you into a very irrational person. And she and Judy had been irrational in different ways.
"So…" Clementine began speaking with a severe expression. "That answers my question from before."
"What question?"
"You and Nick made it work," she said smugly. The doe blushed, hiding her face with her ears, exactly mimicking her reaction from that morning.
"I deserve this," the doe said, laughing with Clementine. The aura between them turned warm, replacing the previous coldness they each held. They knew they had to be together in this. Holding grudges was a useless action.
"Is…Skye okay?" asked Clementine.
"I left her sleeping on the sofa. She's just as tired."
"Ah. She cares about you, Judy. You're lucky to have her as a daughter-in-law."
"And it better stay that way," the doe threatened.
"Yeah…I'll let us rest. The first thing I will do tomorrow is apologize."
"That's my girl," Judy remarked proudly. Now staring at the guitar with interest, Judy held out her paw. "May I play something? I've gotten kinda rusty."
Clementine looked at the guitar and began handing it to her. "Sure. Here."
The guitar was built for medium-height mammals like Clementine, so it was a tad overgrown for the pregnant rabbit. She still managed to grab it, positioning her right paw on the body and her left one on the neck. The doe strummed the strings to hear how it sounded, adjusting the tuning pegs to her comfort. "You know…" Judy faced Clementine. "It might seem hopeless now, but I hope you understand this isn't the end for us. There is a future after this is over. It might not be the one we always imagined, but it'll be a good one. The kind of future that will make us forget it all."
Clementine nodded at her statement, but doubts were still stored in her heart. Instead of saving them, she decided to let them out. No more secrets. "Despite everything, the future I always imagined was one where he was in it."
The rabbit had a hard time staying strong after that comment, but she held her tears. Someone had to be strong for the red vixen. "I know, Clem. Me too."
With nothing else to say, Judy began to play the chord instrument. She started small at first, remembering the starting notes. After a few more notes, she gained confidence, remembering all the notes that came after. It was a familiar song to both of them. The first song they had ever learned on the guitar.
If I ever were to lose you… Judy sang, in almost a whisper.
Clementine joined her for the second part of the verse. I'd surely lose myself.
That was enough for the tragedy-stricken bunny. Playing any more of the song would just be too hurtful. "I miss him," she confessed, leaning on the guitar's body with her right arm. The vixen shared the sentiment, leaning on the bunny's shoulders for comfort. Rubbing her cheeks on her to show her love, the vixen closed her eyes. Clementine had a dreamless sleep for the first time in weeks, as she slept snugly with the doe's scent on her muzzle.
3 Years Earlier
Some mammals said the jungle was a perfect place to learn a craft, but to Clementine, nothing much changed between practicing now, in the lively forest of Wyoming, or Bunnyburrow.
It was the same guitar, with the same notes. The same annoying strings that were tricky to get a good-sounding sound out of them. She had been practicing for the better part of a year now, and as much as she enjoyed making decent music with it, the learning that came with it was much less ideal. Yes, she had time. Yes, she was adamant about learning it, but sometimes she wanted to chuck the guitar and do something else with her life.
It did not help that her gray-colored foster bunny mother had picked it up much easier. Whether it was because she was older or a bunny(who had a much more keen understanding of sound than others), she wouldn't know. What mattered was, she was good. Really good. She didn't want to feel envious, but she was. She couldn't wait to begin playing full-on songs like she had seen Nick do. Maybe even write her own songs. For that to even be a possibility, though, more practice was the way to go. The vixen groaned in her mind.
"That's starting to sound like something, Clem," said the smug fox, walking up to the two practicing girls. "Great as always, Fluff," he told his bunny.
"Thanks, Slick," Judy replied.
"Ugh, I suck," Clementine complained out loud.
"Nah…just need to build up your calluses, that's all," encouraged Nick.
"I don't see Judy getting calloused," Clementine said.
"That's because bunnies don't have paw pads," Judy explained.
"Darn it, that's right. Man, that sucks."
"It sucks that I can't get calloused?" asked Judy.
"I mean, yeah. You gotta even the playing field. You're already so good at this."
Nick chuckled. "This is not a competition. In time you'll get around to it, I promise. I wasn't always the master guitarist that I am today."
"Yeah…" Clem said, not fully convinced.
"Alright, c'mon, you two," he said, motioning them to get up.
"This it?" Clem asked him.
"Yup."
"Oh shit!" She said, excitedly putting the guitar back in its bag and getting up to follow him. Judy followed as well, walking side by side with him.
"I'm gonna start guessing," she said determinedly.
"You wanna spoil your surprise now?" Nick asked her.
"I dunno…does Judy know what it is?" She asked first, knowing she might be able to coerce the answer out of the doe.
"I do not, Clementine. Slick has kept this a secret from me as well, so don't try to interrogate me for an answer."
"Ugh, no fair. Is it…a dinosaur?"
Nick scoffed at the ridiculousness of her statement. "Stop trying to guess. My foxy lips are sealed."
"Alright. Is it…a huge hawk?"
"Ugh…" Nick said, sighing. They still had some ground to cover before they reached their destination, so he would have to endure her stubbornness until they arrived. Judy just chuckled at the vixen's hijinks.
"Is it…a convertible?"
"You're not gonna guess."
"Is it a baby?" Judy choked on her spit at that question, this time making Nick laugh. "Is it a lotta babies?" she insisted.
Nick, still grinning, continued the thread. "You mean a litter?"
"Yeah. A litter. Is that it?"
"Yes."
"Really?!"
"No. More walking, less talking."
As they were walking beside a river, the ground started getting narrower, making the group walk in a single file line, with Nick in the front. Getting some branches of a tree out of the way, he let his bunny go in first.
"Thanks," she told him as she passed through it. Clementine went next.
"Mind your step," he told her.
"I got it," she said surely, going in front of the fox. Before she could pass through the tree, she felt something touch her.
"Oops," said the fox, pushing the vixen to the river.
"Aah!" She exclaimed before hitting the water and submerging herself in its green-colored abyss. Thankfully, it was deep enough that she didn't hit the bottom, carefully beginning her ascent to the surface. She and Judy had been taught to swim by the red fox.
Before emerging fully, she saw another body hitting the water. It was Judy. She had become another victim of Nick's river push. When she finally came out, helping Judy to reach the surface as well, she saw the trickster tod, completely dry, laughing at the both of them.
"What is wrong with you?" Clementine asked him.
"You guys should see your faces right now!" He said, still laughing.
"I'm gonna get you for this, Nick," said Judy.
"What if I drowned?" Asked Clementine.
"You're not gonna drown. You gotta work on that confidence, kiddo."
Clementine blew raspberries, looking at the fox angrily. "Yeah, keep laughing, old man! See what happens."
The fox signaled to a place in front of them where they could safely get back to land. "It's this way."
"You're the worst," complained Clementine.
"I concur with her!" said Judy a bit louder since Nick was long gone by now, waiting for them at the rendezvous point where she could walk on the ground again. The water was surprisingly comfortable, but she didn't want to keep staining her fur with dirty river water.
"Your swimming's getting better, Clem," Nick commented. "Remember now, don't just flail, you gotta-"
"-push the water with your whole arm," she said with an air of sass. He had said that phrase too many times. "Blah blah blah," she mocked.
Nick just smiled. "Glad to know I'm getting through."
Both of them out of the water, Judy rewarded the fox for his prank, slogging him in the arm as she usually did whenever he went too far on one of his jokes or pranks.
"Ouch! I just wanted you two to have fun!" Nick said in defense, massaging his hurt shoulder where the bunny had hit him.
"Only one that was having fun was you, Nick," she told him. Nick didn't say anything else, walking up to the edge of another river fall.
"Hey, girls, come 'ere, take a look at this. You see that wild ostrich over there?" he pointed with his index finger at an ostrich to the other side of the river, passively eating some of the plants in the ground.
"Where?" Clementine walked up to Nick, trying to see in the direction of his finger. Nick always had a strange fascination with wild birds.
"See it? Just through there, look," Nick said with enthusiasm.
"Yeah, I see it," she smiled as well, leaning on the caring fox. "Looks like…" Her sentence didn't finish. She gave him a hard push into the water, making a bigger splash than the two of them combined. He came out of the water faster than them too. Judy laughed at Clem's act of retribution.
"How's that feel?" she told him, laying her arms out on both sides of her body.
Still reeling from the surprise, Nick took a bit longer to answer. "Very refreshing, actually."
"Not nice getting pushed in, is it now, Slick?" said Judy this time. She needed to have her fun at the expense of her husband as well.
"Well…" Nick began saying, letting the current push him forward. "Actually, we need to swim through this part anyway," he said, his smug smile making Clementine's fur shake with anger. Was there no way of ever making this fox upset?
"We got you back; you're angry and upset!"
"I am very angry and upset," he said sarcastically. "Now come on, party poopers."
"Ugh."
"Don't worry, Clem, we'll get him next time," Judy reassured, jumping back into the water by forming herself into a ball. "Cowabunga!" she exclaimed before hitting the river. Clementine did the same maneuver, just not with the cheesy line.
The group made it to a tumbled tree blocking their passage. Nick stopped and addressed the two. "We're gonna need to dive under here. Take a deep breath."
"Yeah, we got this," said Clementine. They did as he said, breathing in a significant amount of air and submerging in the water. She opened her eyes for a moment to see where she was going, and easily enough made it to the other side, Judy right beside her. They got back to land, but still by the riverside.
Clementine didn't give up trying to guess. "Is it…my 6th grade history teacher wanting to apologize for being a massive dick?"
"I beg your pardon?" Nick asked her, clueless to what she was referring to. Judy looked at her, puzzled as well.
"My friend and I would argue whenever he called the Fireflies terrorists," she explained. "Needless to say, we got a lot of detention."
"Ya know, Clem, you really need to stop letting people rile you up," Nick advised her.
"It's hard when they're dicks," she said, giving Nick a chuckle.
"Point still stands. You know what I always say. Never le-"
"-let them see that they get to you, I know, I know," she interrupted him.
"Whoa. You hear that, Carrots? Clem actually listens to me sometimes," he teased.
"It helps that you're like a broken record," Clem told him. "I remember when you couldn't stop telling otter puns. Worst week of my life."
"That is otter nonsense, those jokes were priceless."
"Nick, please," Judy begged him, her eyes widening in terror. "Don't start that again. I still get nightmares."
The fox was put off by the overreaction of his wife, so he decided to keep walking. "Alright, got another dive over here," he said, pointing to another part of the river with a boulder in-between the two sides of it.
Clementine let out a nervous laugh. "Where are you taking us?" The fox didn't respond, already diving in the water and waiting for them to do the same. It was just as easy as the last time, with the group making a minimal effort to pass below the giant rock. On the other side, they had to swim a bit more to reach land.
"Is it…a new Pig Hero 6 figurine?"
"How many of those do you even have?"
"Pfft, not enough."
Reaching the end of the river, there was a small climb they needed to do in order to reach land. With his arm extended, Nick grabbed the edge of the solid ground and climbed up to it, now turning to offer a paw for Clem and Judy, which they accepted.
"Okay, screw it," said Clementine, back on land. "I'm done guessing."
"Oh, good," Nick said with relief.
"But, like…is it a massive comic book collection…no, wait…a new DVD collection?"
The fox sighed, and the doe began holding her laughter at the vixen's adorable nature.
"Yes, Clem," the fox said again. "Just…yes."
"Oh oh, how about laserdiscs? I heard that's a thing."
"It's just around the corner, let's keep walking."
Clementine kept smiling at her successful attempts of annoyance towards her father figure, feeling proud of herself. Going through the forest, she kept looking at the ground to avoid stepping on something she shouldn't, but a sudden light posted itself on her eye.
Looking up at where the light was coming from, the vixen finally saw her gift. Her eyes and mouth went wide as she looked at the new structure. Judy gasped, looking at Nick with a smile.
"Holy shit, Nick," Clementine whispered, still not believing such a thing existed. Walking slowly towards it, her excitement kept increasing by the second.
"We're here," Nick said smugly.
"Oh my god, it is a dinosaur!" Exclaimed the vixen, putting her paws on her head to accentuate her surprise. In front of her stood a towering statue of a dinosaur. A Tyrannosaurus Rex, to be exact.
"That it is," Nick said softly. Judy looked at Nick lovingly.
"Nick!" Clementine screamed, still not believing it.
"Surprise," the fox said.
"Holy shit…" she laughed. "It's a motherflippin' dinosaur."
Walking closer to it, she could spot a building to her left named Wyoming Museum. The dinosaur was filled with leaves and vegetation, but that only made it seem more ancient, which was a nice detail added by nature.
A small showcase table stood at the dinosaur's foot. In it was its name as well as a brief description of its many features.
"'King of the Giant Lizards,'" she read. "That's a big boy," she exclaimed with a grouchy voice. Judy and Nick just followed her, with Judy also admiring the statue.
"Hey, Clem, what are you doing?" Asked Nick suddenly. Clementine was climbing the dinosaur through its tail up towards its head. "Hey, be careful!"
"I'm climbing a dinosaur!" Said Clementine. Judy could not hold it in, laughing wholeheartedly at her daughter's enthusiasm, and Nick's overprotectiveness.
"Yeah, I can see that," said Nick. "Just don't die falling off of one."
Finally reaching the summit, Clementine held out her arms towards the sky, admiring the view. She was amazed that this is what the T. Rex actually saw all those millions of years ago. "Look at me! I'm on a motherfucking dinosaur!"
"Whoa whoa whoa what are you doing? Don't jump! Judy, say something!"
"Clementine, don't jump, okay?" Judy said, in a very sarcastic tone. Those two were the death of him.
"AAAAAGH!" Screamed the vixen, jumping from the top of the dinosaur's head, to Nick's horrified face.
"Hey, hey-" he said, with the vixen entering the water smoothly but with a big splash. She emerged with a dumb smile on her face.
"Did you see that?!" She asked the two with excitement.
"Yeah, I saw that," Nick said, relieved nothing had happened to her. Judy smiled proudly at her daughter.
"Wasn't it awesome?"
"It was awesome that you didn't break anything," mentioned the fox. Judy nudged his arm, telling him it was alright.
Clementine gave a satisfied sigh. "It was awesome," she restated. Walking over to the ancient-looking building, she read the full name of it. "Wyoming Museum of Science and History. How'd you even find this place?" She asked him. Judy looked at him as well, expecting an answer.
"Vicky," the fox said. "She told me about it. Figured it'd be right up your alley. Yours too, Fluff."
"Well, she figured right," said the vixen.
Entering the double doors of the museum, Clementine went over to a pamphlet with a dinosaur at its cover. "What's this?" She asked the fox.
"Uhh, it's a book?"
"It's a dinosaur book!" She said, showing him the cover. Judy started inspecting some of the sculptures, with Clementine analyzing the surroundings first.
She found a lonely hat in an empty rack. It was a brownish leather hat, one that reminded her of the iconic character of Iguana Jones. Nick, Judy, and her had binged all four movies one Sunday afternoon. Nick couldn't stop geeking out at the sight of the actor, Harrison Boar. Despite Nick's giddiness, the movies were actually pretty good.
"Hey, Nick, wanna try it on?"
"I do not."
"I thought you'd want to rock your favorite actor's hat," said Judy.
"I'd be doing a disservice to him."
"Welp, it's your loss," the vixen said, putting on the hat comfortably on her head. The ear holes were an added bonus that fit her perfectly.
Clementine approached the first dinosaur of the facility, a smaller statue than the one in front of the museum.
"Wow, look at those talons!" Clementine commented, drawing a doodle of it on her notebook.
"That is a velociraptor," mentioned Nick.
Clementine looked at the pamphlet, going to the page that had this specific dinosaur. "Actually, it's a dee…Dee-oh-nin-y-chus."
Nick did not buy that. "Mmm, pretty sure those are velociraptors. Yeah. I mean, at least that's what they called them in this movie I saw."
"Hmm," said Clementine curiously. Judy also seemed to not have seen the movie he was referencing. "Hey Judy, wanna try this hat on?" The vixen pointed at the hat resting on her head.
"I'll pass."
"You two are no fun at all."
"Au contraire," Nick stated. "I'm the most fun fox ever."
Clementine scoffed. "Yeah, well, the other two foxes I know are too busy ruling over a town, so they don't have time to be childish, except for a certain green-eyed red fox."
"Hey, I go on many patrols with Gideon. I am necessary to that town." The three giggled.
Going over the counter of a check-in station, the vixen entered an office where a phone and a computer waited for them to be used again. She sat on one of the rolling chairs, grabbing the landline phone. She adjusted her throat to speak. "Oh hello, sorry, the dinosaurs are busy right now," she said, in a meek secretary voice.
"What are you doing?" The fox said, leaning on the doorframe of the office. Judy entered the room as well, sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the room, also fitted with a computer and a telephone.
"Oh, wait, one of the dinosaurs is here! Nick, it's for you." She joked, making Judy cackle.
"Very funny," he said, smiling at her.
"It's pretty funny, hehe," she said, getting out of the chair and going with him outside, with Judy behind them. "Get it? It's 'cause you're old."
"Oh, I get it. But lemme remind you I'm still thirty-four."
"You're older than me, so it counts."
"So it does," Nick agreed.
Clementine inspected another exhibition, this time with smaller dinosaur fossils. They almost looked like small lizards. "Compsognathus. Big name for these little guys."
"They'd swarm you," said Nick.
"Is this from that movie you mentioned?" Asked the doe.
"Actually, no. It's from a different one. See, there was a sequel. Wasn't as good."
Moving along a bit further, they found themselves in a spacious hall filled with dinosaur fossils. Whether they were real or fake was a different question, but the immersion was still there. The top window also gave it a nice illumination from the sun.
"Tiny head, hehe," Clementine said, looking at another dinosaur fossil. "Nick, Judy! Look!"
Clementine had taken off her hat and put it on the dinosaur's head. "That is…a hat on a dinosaur," he said. Judy, as always, was just focused on Clem's smile, admiring how happy she was.
"It's called a hatosaur, sweetheart!" Clementine took the hat back from the dinosaur and put it back again, now inspecting his name and characteristics. She could read it was a Stegosaurus. "Whoa. This one's brain was the size of a walnut."
"Oh, no way," Nick said, feigning surprise. "Looks like you two have something in common."
"Oh ha, ha, ha, good one," she said, fake-laughing.
"Nick, don't talk. That's how you would look if your head wasn't so in the clouds," Judy said.
"I appreciate the effort in roasting me, Carrots, but I'm afraid you'll have to try better."
"We'll see, you dumb fox."
Clementine moved on to the Triceratops. The bones in its head looked like a flower's, specifically how it looked on a howler mammal, which made her a bit uneasy. It still didn't stop her from playing dress-up with it, repeating her hat-putting action from the last dinosaur.
"Is this gonna be a thing?" Asked the grunting fox. "Please don't let it be a thing," he pleaded her. Clementine laughed at his suffering, reading the ancient animal's description.
"Triceratops means 'Three-horned-face'."
"You would not wanna be on the business end of that horn," said Nick. Clementine went back to retrieve her hat. Walking back to the fox, she quickly put the hat on his head before Nick even noticed it was there.
"Hey! Ugh," he protested, growling softly at the vixen.
"Don't you dare take it off! My birthday, my rules!"
"She's right, Slick. You look good anyways," Judy told him, giving him a comforting kiss on the cheek, making the tod's spirits go up as he smiled warmly at her mate. Clementine did not stick around for what they did next, just wanting to inspect more of the facility.
After making funny faces at a mirror while Nick and Judy watched for about five minutes, the vixen decided to keep looking at the fossils. In the center of the room stood the largest structure yet, even larger than the T. Rex in the entrance. The animal in question was a long-necked one, sharing that similarity with giraffes. "Brachiosaurus ate six hundred pounds of plants each day. Whoo, imagine the poops!"
"They had this one scene where one of the guys said 'That's a big mound of shit'," Nick said, mimicking the supposed accent of the actor he had quoted.
Clementine and Judy laughed at that. "What is this movie and when can we see it?" Clem asked
"Tell ya what. When we get back to Bunnyburrow…movie night."
Clementine moved on to the second to last animal being exhibited in the room. The skeleton resembled a crocodile with a huge spine that went a couple of meters above him. "The dimetrodon was an apex predator," she read on her pamphlet.
"Huh. So he was the most badass predator," Nick said. "Pretty short for that."
"You don't need to be big in order to be dangerous," said Judy. "I thought you learned that from me, Nick."
"Right, I forgot. You're the scariest predator of all," he said, no sarcasm in his voice.
"Don't you ever forget it," she said smugly.
The vixen moved on to the final dinosaur, a smaller one than all the others in that hall. "Gallimimus' name means 'chicken mimic'," the vixen scoffed. "Who even names these?"
"Scientists," Nick responded. "The same ones that named us Vulpes Vulpes."
"Nothing beats my scientific name," said Judy.
"Oh yeah, how did that one go again? Orycto…coninus…I give up," said Nick.
"Oryctolagus cuniculus," corrected Judy.
"Well, all those scientists are dumb," said Clementine.
Going to a separate room from the main one, she saw a display of two dinosaurs fighting each other, as well as another hat to add to her collection. All she needed was another one for Judy. She walked left of the fighting dinosaurs, seeing a curious painting. "Why does it look like this dinosaur has feathers?"
"Well, actually, paleontologists believed that birds were descended from dinosaurs," said Nick.
"Well, excuse me, Professor Wilde."
"I happen to know many things. Many of which are useless, yes, but many nonetheless," he said jokily, making the two girls grin. From there, they approached a group of skull statues from different dinosaurs.
"Whoa, this one's skull is so thick," mentioned Clem.
"Kinda looks like Gideon," said Nick.
Judy laughed. "I'm gonna tell him you said that."
"Please don't," Nick said. "But man, if you catch it in the right light. Boom, Gideon."
To the very far left, the vixen looked at the smallest skull she had seen so far, almost fitting completely around her palm. "Velociraptor. Nick, this is the one you were talking about!"
"It's so small," the fox said, surprised. "Don't trust movies, I guess."
Having explored the first floor fully, Clementine was ready to move on to the next floor, climbing the stairs that lead to it.
"Did you go to museums a lot, Nick?" Asked the vixen.
"Oh, yeah," Nick said, sighing at the memories that were about to hit him. "Yeah, Cassie and Abby loved them. I swear those girls dragged me to every damn museum in Zootopia." The two girls frowned at the mention of them, but smiled at the fox for being strong enough to share his past.
Now on the second floor, Clementine leaned on the railing of the balcony, looking at the Brachiosaurus that was seemingly staring back at her. Nick grabbed his hat, and with quick precision, launched it, landing perfectly on the long animal's head.
"You know what? I see the appeal?"
Clementine smiled warmly. "Hehe, told ya."
"Oh. My. God," Judy said, rushing towards a new area that had opened for them in the second floor. Clementine didn't know what Judy had seen, but she quickly went behind her to inspect what was going on. Passing through the small turnstiles, the walls became painted blue, with white spots that represented…stars? Clementine quickened her pace.
The two girls gasped at the same time as they took a look at their new environment. From first glance, one could see the entire solar system suspended in the air, as well as small models of rockets to the right of the location.
"Did you know this was here?" Asked Judy, with the biggest smile of the entire face.
"Oh, you don't like it?" He said, disappointed. "That's okay, we can just head back."
"Oh, shut up, you!" Judy said, climbing on him and delivering him a quick kiss on his lips, rapidly rushing to look at the many space-related things. Clementine was still aghast, looking at it like it wasn't right in front of her. Nothing could get better than this.
Clementine got close to the planetary showcase, seeing that she was able to turn the entire solar system around with a small lever. She was enamored with the showcase, seeing the planets spinning above her. "Hey, Nick, can you name all the planets?"
"I sure can…not. But I know a certain long-eared menace who does."
Judy, hearing Nick mentioning her, adjusted her throat to talk to Clem. "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nice Pizzas."
"Uhhh…what?" asked Clementine, confused.
Judy laughed, deciding to explain what she meant. "My: Mercury, Very: Venus, Mother: Mars-"
"Ohhh, I get it now! Nice one! Pretty cool you know that, Judy."
"I'm not one to brag, but space is kinda my thing."
"Oh no one can deny that, Fluff. Kinda weird you didn't choose to become an astronaut instead of a cop."
"Space was always just a hobby. I never intended to be in the field; I was just so amazed by everything that astronauts discovered. Kinda hard not to enjoy space, to be honest."
"Oh, I get ya, Judy. Space is pretty cool," Nick agreed.
Clementine approached Judy at the rocket showcase, first seeing the smallest one. "Hey Nick," she called his attention. "Guess who was the first animal to go to space?"
"Easy. A bear. Yuri Clawgarin," Nick said with certainty.
"Nope, it was fruitflies. In 1947. It was to see radiation exposure at high altitudes. They lived through it."
Nick looked to Judy for confirmation, and the doe nodded. Nick smiled, looking back at Clem. "Damn, girl, you are smart."
"Thanks," she said cutely.
"Did they become super flies?"
"What? No."
As Clementine and Judy inspected more of the flying ships that would take astronauts to the moon, the fox decided to keep having a conversation with both of them, wanting to learn more about their interests. "Tell me another fun fact," he said.
"Mmmm," Clementine put a paw on her muzzle, thinking. Judy beat her to it.
"Astronauts say the moon smells like gunpowder," said the doe.
"That is a fun fact," he said, impressed about his new teaching. But something didn't add up. "Oh wait, but how would they smell it if they can't take off their suits?"
Clementine laughed. "They'd take moon samples back with them to their ship, dummy, haha."
"Okay, what's next?" asked Judy.
"You tell me," said the fox.
"Okay then. Quiz us!" exclaimed Judy, to Nick's muffled laughter.
"I don't know, uh…were there any other animals that went to the moon before the bear guy?"
"Ohh, I know, I know!" said Clementine, raising her paw to answer as if she were in a school. Nick followed the act and pointed at her.
"You, the very smelly girl with an ear notch!"
"I am not smelly! Anyways, the other animals to be in space before Yuri was a spider, a beetle, and a shrew, mostly also radioactive testing. Am I right, Judy?"
"Full marks on all fronts!" she said to her.
"How many books have you two read about this?"
"Oh, I've lost count," said Judy, with a knowing nod from Clementine, who also had read an entire encyclopedia about them.
"Come on, Nick, don't you think it's incredible?" asked the red vixen.
"Why don't you tell me what you like about it, Clem?" asked Nick back, with an air of curiosity and wonder, eager to know what the vixen would say.
"Mmmm…I dunno," she said. "Before everything was crazy, people had it easy."
"I guess, relatively speaking, sure," Nick agreed.
"I mean, they didn't need to go to space, but they did it anyway. It's…ballsy."
"Hmm…ballsy," he murmured quietly. "Alright, kiddo. Now I get it." He smiled at her, and she returned it just as strongly.
Judy was now looking at a Moon Rover model that was built in scale to the real one. She couldn't resist and got on one of the seats, enjoying the fact that there was no security guard who could command her to get off. Clementine saw this happening and immediately decided to copy her mother, sitting on the other seat to the left.
"Fuck yeah," she said, imagining how fun it could feel actually riding one of them on the moon.
"Where's the steering wheel?" Nick asked.
"Rovers don't use steering wheels, Slick," Judy corrected him. "They use joysticks."
"Huh. Hang on, is this the real one?"
It was Clementine's turn to answer his question. "Heh, considering they left the real ones on the moon, I would say no."
Getting off the Rover, Clementine sought to look at the next showcase, a rotating model of the moon. Grabbing it with both her paws, she gave it a twirl with all her strength, seeing it move satisfyingly. "You know how many times we've been on the moon, Nick?"
"I'm gonna guess two."
"Six times!" said Clementine, giving the moon another roll. "When I become an astronaut, I'm gonna make it seven!"
"That is no small feat, Clementine, but I know you can make it," said Judy.
Now on the final section of the showcase room (bummer for both Judy and Clementine), it showed the perfect copy of a space shuttle, complete with a selection of many spacesuits and helmets. Clementine decided to try one of them on, amazed at the comfort they brought even with it pushing down her ears.
"How does it smell in there?" asked Nick, concerned that his daughter had just put her head on an unsanitized twelve-year-old helmet.
"Like space," she said matter-of-factly. "And dust," she admitted, giving a cute little sneeze as she took in some of it on her nose.
Judy decided to try one on as well, deciding for one that was equal to her fur color. She had to put down her ears in order for it to fit. "It's clear these helmets weren't made for rabbits," she said, as the helmet funnily moved around from one side to the other, her head being too tiny to hold it straight.
"You astronauts wanna go in the shuttle?" asked Nick, opening the hatch to the astronaut cabin. Excitedly, the two girls went for it, climbing a few of the steps needed to get inside. "After you. Make sure you scoot in there, it's not really made for three mammals."
Obeying what Nick said, Clementine and Judy managed to fit in one of the seats. The position made it so that it seemed like they were lying in a bed. The cushioning of the seats made it heavenly and had already made Clementine a bit drowsy. Managing to find a comfortable enough spot lying next to each other, the girls decided to actually look at what was in front of them. The menagerie of buttons was almost too much to take in, and already knew that only highly trained astronauts would be able to decipher how to safely pilot it. Judy mocked a bit of it, grabbing the handle in front of her and moving it to different sides, making spaceship sounds. Nick was mesmerized by the scene of his two girls having fun and had almost forgotten he needed to be inside as well. Without any difficulty, he took the seat to their right.
"Wow," Clementine said, impressed.
"Would you look at all these buttons," said Nick.
"It's so badass," whispered Clementine, letting a laugh out of both Judy and Nick. "Man, could you imagine just…Brrrrrrvvvvoaaaaahh," she made more noises as she and Judy touched and prodded more buttons and whatever else they could get their hands on. With a sleight of hand from the sly fox, he put a cassette tape in front of them.
"Happy birthday, Clem," he said, handing her the cassette.
"What is this?"
"That, my dear vixen, is a thing that took a mighty effort to find. Play it. Give Judy an earbud too, she'll love it."
"What even is it, Slick?"
"Not telling, Carr. Just listen to it."
Smoothly putting the cassette on her Pawny Walkmammal, she handed the right earbud to Judy, and she put in her left one. Since they still had their helmets on, both of them had to lift them up to place them properly. When all was done, their helmets were back on, and Clementine pressed the play button.
Or at least she was about to. Nick touched her arm, which made her look at him. With a serious face, he told her: "Close your eyes. It'll be worth it, I promise."
Doing as he said, both the doe and the vixen shut their eyes, looking at nothing but darkness. Clementine pressed play. It was static at first, but they would soon find out what adventure they were about to partake in.
"Thirty seconds and counting."
Both girls opened their eyes at the same time, turning their heads to look at the expectant fox. They both looked at him with surprise and laughed, also giddy for their journey. They went back to their positions, closing their eyes. They had a mission to do, and there wasn't time for any charades.
"Astronauts report it feels good, T-minus twenty-five seconds."
The pressure was high. The girls were nervous but excited. This would be their first trip to the moon. They had both passed their astronaut tests in exorbitant colors, and they were ready to take the next step of their journey.
"Twenty seconds and counting."
Clementine could see it all, despite her apparent darkness. She was pressing the buttons, knowing what each one did and when she could press them. She looked at her doe copilot, also doing those exact movements. They were both focused to the max. Nothing could distract them.
"T-minus fifteen seconds, guidance is internal. 12, 11, 10, 9…"
The cabin was getting rowdier as the motors of the spaceship began turning on one by one. The sound increased by the second, and the heat was even felt by the girls inside. She became emotional that they were there, right now, at this very moment. Such hard work went into this mission. Millions of mammals joining together for one single purpose: to fly this vixen and rabbit To The Moon.
"Ignition sequence starts. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. All engine running."
Clementine swore she could see the orange light of the burst of fire and power from the rocket as it ascended her into the air, thousands of miles being covered in nearly seconds. The radio was no longer heard, being drowned out by the booming of the rocket. Her copilot was just as exhilarated, smiling widely from ear to ear as the panel showed them being on the air.
"Liftoff! We have liftoff! Thirty-two minutes past the hour, liftoff on Apollo 11."
She imagined the rocket scientists back on Earth, celebrating the successful launch. The worst had gone by, but they were not out of danger yet. They still needed to cross the many layers before setting a direct course to their moon. More vibrations, more tumbling, more engine sounds whining about. In just a few more seconds, all of it quieted down.
And the girls looked down through their window, still not really believing it with their eyes. Out of the window stood a small view of their planet. Their Earth. They never imagined such a more beautiful thing could ever exist. A planet that held the kindest mammals, all making paths toward a hopeful future. As their shuttle turned in the seeming emptiness of space, they looked at their target planet, a white surface filled with craters but also holding a beauty of its own. It looked so real. So real.
So real. It almost seemed like they could actually get there someday.
Someday.
Opening their eyes back up, they did not imagine that they could be taken so far away and then be back in a single moment. In mere seconds, it really seemed like they had gone off-planet. Judy looked at the fox with enormous adoration, whilst Clementine just looked at him with the most grateful smile she could muster.
"I do okay?" asked the fox meekly, looking at them both with the biggest love a fox could have.
Judy and Clementine looked at him dumbfoundedly, but Clementine put it into words pretty easily. "Are you fucking kidding me?" she said softly while still smiling at the fox. This gave him a heartwarming laugh. Seeing the two so happy had made the entire day, and the effort in finding the tape completely annulled. He'd do it again in a heartbeat.
"You're welcome," the fox said, not truly needing the 'thank you' stated. "Whaddya say we keep looking around, huh?"
"Sure, I guess," said Clementine, taking off her helmet and saving her Walkmammal in her bag.
When they were all out of the shuttle, Judy grabbed the fox by his shirt, pulling him down for a kiss. Clementine rolled her eyes and let the two lovebirds finish their event.
After about a minute of intense embrace, Judy let go of his lips. "Romantic fox."
"Grateful bunny," he smiled at her, copying their usual banter. "We should keep going before we lose the kit. She's trying to open that door by herself," he said, making Judy look towards Clementine, who was trying to forcibly open another double door.
"Yeah, let's," she said, moving towards the struggling vixen. With the help from Nick and her, the door was opened.
"There's more museum stuff over there," said Clementine, looking at another part of the building that had decorations of mammals from their ancient eras.
"I never checked out that building," Nick pointed out.
"Let's go!" said the vixen, pumped to keep going.
"And just how do you plan on getting yourself over there?" Nick asked condescendingly. Separating the group and the other building was a long fall into the water. Clementine didn't think twice.
"Aaahhh!" she screamed, jumping off a broken part of the ledge into the deep water.
"Clementine, god!" she could hear the fox complain as she hit the water. He kept protesting when she emerged back up. "You ever give anyone else this much grief?"
"Get down here, you guys!"
"No!"
"Hey, whose birthday is it?"
"You can't keep doing that!"
"I want a good splash!" Clem demanded. "We've got more exploring to do."
"Agh, what the heck. Geronimo!" Nick screamed, making a nice splash in the water.
"Yahoo!" screamed Judy as she dropped next into the river.
The three soaked mammals were finally at the foot of the other building, heading towards the double door of the section that would probably be inspired by the mammals before evolution. Their first hurdle of the day appeared as the door was locked from the inside. Looking around, Clementine saw a window without any glass to speak of.
"Hey! Boost me in there!"
"Uuhh, yeah, I don't know," Nick said hesitantly.
"I'll open the door for you," Clem reasoned.
"Clem, maybe I could go and open the door for both of you," said Judy. "I could reach it if I jump."
"I wanna look at it first, maybe it's not worth it."
"You won't change your mind, will you?" Nick asked, prompting a shake from the vixen's head. "Alright then, come here."
"Yes!" said the vixen excitedly, getting inside the dark and gloomy building with the help of the fox.
"Okay, bad news. There's shit blocking the door!"
"Well, see if you can find us another way in," said Nick on the other side. "We'll walk around the outside."
"Okay, be safe, you two!"
"You be safe," said both the fox and the doe in unison. She laughed, knowing how great of a pair the two were.
Heading further into the dark section, she turned on the flashlight, looking at a curious showcase of wolves crowding themselves around a moose, a perfect view of what it was like in the past. And pretty much how it was like now. To the left of the showcase, she eyed a message painted on the wall with black paint.
I KILLED FOR THEM
"This mammal needed a hug," she pointed out, moving on to the next room, which contained statues of many birds, like eagles, turkeys, owls, and even ostriches. In the wall farthest from her, another message was written. In the same black tar paint.
THE FOUR SOLDIERS AT THE GATE
THE LAST ONE CRIED
Heading into a wider room, she heard something tumble, indicating that there was someone else in there with her.
"Shit," she said, pulling out a weapon and staying alert. The next showcase in front of her was a small rabbit eating grass. To the left, a statue of a fox could be seen, preying on that rabbit. Another message was written on a wall to the right.
THE WOMAN WE TORTURED
CHOKED ON HER OWN BLOOD
To the left was a statue of an eagle preying over two small naked mole rats, and then another message.
THE STRAGGLERS WHO SNUCK INTO CAMP
THEY JUST WANTED FOOD
An elegant picture of a peacock was shown, portraying all of its lustrous colors that would attract potential mates.
THE KIT WHO RAN INTO THE BLAST
I COULDN'T STOP HIM
She scrambled, looking for an exit, but she managed to hear another sound. Whoever was in the building with her, it was causing a mess. "Come on out, you fucker," she whispered. In reality, she could do with not seeing its ugly mug anytime soon. There was a door with some debris blocking it, but nothing she couldn't cross. To the right was yet another message, as bizarre and violent as the last.
THE PEOPLE IN THE VAN
WE LOCKED THEM IN AND DOUSED THEM WITH GAS
Kneeling in order to cross the door to the next passage, she was immediately greeted with a corpse. It was that of a sheep, some of its wool still present. Another message was written above him.
THERE IS NO LIGHT
She heard more tumbling down. The thing kept knocking things down, and the sound was getting louder. She cursed internally. She came closer to the body, and saw that it had left a note behind.
We wanted to end suffering. We wanted to restore humanity. Each time we sacrificed part of ourselves, our leaders kept saying, "it'll be worth it."
Now we've disbanded. With nothing to show for our sins.
I thought coming here might reignite something. Some purpose. My parents loved bringing me here. It's one of my earliest memories from before the outbreak. Before all this cruelty and savagery.
Those memories just made me angrier.
I don't want to be in this world anymore. I can't look at the person I've become.
Going through a narrow path across a broken piece of wall, Clementine emerged on the other side, getting startled by the sight of three wolf statues staring down at her.
"Ah!" she gave a small scream before getting angry at how real they looked. "Stupid fake animals."
Jumping over another piece of debris, the cause of the noise made itself clear. It wasn't just one, but multiple. A dark heap of flying monsters barreled through her, knocking her to the ground. It was a flock of crows, better known as a murder. She had no clue what they were doing inside the museum, but they left as quickly as they arrived, so it wasn't her problem anymore. Dusting herself off, she went back up and grabbed her flashlight that had been knocked out as well, seeing yet another message. Her eyes turned downward as she looked at the painting, partly distracted by the voices of her family.
"Clem!" screamed Judy.
"I'm in here!" she screamed back, still looking at the painting with interest. A door was knocked down by the rushing fox, going in with his revolver at the ready. Judy was ready for action as well, handling her usual rifle.
"The hell was that?"
"A murder of crows," she said plainly. Nick approached her to see if she was alright and then looked at the painting as well. Judy joined in, looking at it with melancholic eyes.
Nick sought to de-escalate the situation, getting the group away from that cursed image. "Well, let's get a move on; I wanna get a fire going before it gets too dark," he said. Judy and Clementine did not respond, still intensely eyeing the wall. "Come on," he insisted, nudging the two girls to finally follow him. Nobody said it, but it was known. What had started as a beautiful birthday had been turned sour by the painting.
It was the typical symbol of the Fireflies. It wouldn't be too much of a big deal if that was all there was. This symbol, and all its members, which once meant freedom and hope for Judy, had been summarized in just a simple word.
Liars.