Ariel dragged her paws down the hall, thoughts buzzing around in her head like bees in a hive. She'd just gotten a brilliant idea for a new club at school, and she'd heard a rumor that she and Matt had kissed (totally untrue, they had publicly denied the truth of this). Not to mention a lower-than-expected grade on a science test. She'd have to get her mom to help her out.
Once she found her apartment, she fished around in her pocket for the key, even though she knew her dad would be home. She absentmindedly glanced down the hall to Kiki's old apartment. Apparently, Kiki's old friends in Primate City had been more than happy to see her back, but the two still missed each other. Kiki hadn't seemed jealous when Ariel had told her about Georgie, Cheyenne, and Matt.
It was dark and silent inside the Hobbes's apartment. Calvin was still in the hospital, a savage shell of his former self. The light in Ariel's dad's office was on, though. Ariel first went to her room and dumped her backpack on the floor, sneaking a peek at her poster before returning to the front room. She wanted to relax with a little solitaire.
No sooner had Ariel gotten the deck of cards out of the cabinet then she heard a crash, followed swiftly by a sharp cry, from her father's office. Abandoning the cards, she raced down to the glass double-doors with the fabric curtains, jiggled the handle until one door swung open, and slipped inside. Her father had collapsed from his swivel chair, one paw clutching his head. His favorite lamp had fallen to the floor, explaining both the crash Ariel had heard and the sudden darkness. His breaths were slow and heavy, almost laborious.
"Dad? You okay?" Ariel crept to her father's side and knelt down.
Mr. Hobbes gasped, "Ariel? Don't - get out..." He closed his eyes in agony.
"Dad, no... I'm not going to leave you," Ariel whispered, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
Ariel's father reopened his eyes, but they weren't his eyes anymore. They were dark voids, devoid of emotion and rationale. A growl escaped his throat, through bared teeth.
It was only then that Ariel realized what had happened: her father had turned savage.
Mr. Hobbes unsheathed his claws and swiped at Ariel's arm. Ariel turned her head away, but she could hear the sound of skin tearing, feel the pain streak down her arm. Clutching the wounded spot, she stood up and raced down the hall, making sure to shut the office door behind her. As she ran, she heard the sound of more glass breaking, then of paws pounding against the carpet and fierce, ferocious snarls. Her dad was chasing her. Ariel broke into a sprint, her arm paining her more with every stride. At last, she reached the security of her bedroom.
Working quickly, Ariel locked the door, shoved her white plastic swivel chair up against the painted wood, and dashed to her backpack. As her paw came away from the wounded arm, Ariel discovered that it was drenched in warm, sticky, red liquid. Her own blood. She felt a little sick, but shook the feeling off and dug through the pack until she found what she was looking for - her cell phone.
A roar sounded beyond the door, and the chair shook. Ariel leaned against the door and one-handedly punched in three numbers, 911.
Dial tone. The door cracked open, and Ariel could see her father's wild eye outside. Dial tone. Another roar pierced Ariel's eardrums. Dial tone. What is taking them so long?! Dial-
"What seems to be the problem?" asked a calm female voice.
"My dad's gone savage!" Ariel shouted into the phone, adding her beanbag chair to the weight against the door. "He got my arm, it's bleeding like crazy..."
"Can I get a name and address, miss?"
"Ariel Hobbes. I'm at Shangri-Paw High Rise, 587 East Clawedway, 9th floor, apartment 12. Hurry!"
"We'll have mammalell on their way instantly, Miss Hobbes." The phone went dead.
Ariel gulped and leaned harder against the door. The seconds passed like hours. Her arm continued to bleed; Ariel felt like passing out at any moment, but knew she had to keep awake. Suddenly, the door splintered into a million pieces, and Mr. Hobbes leaped though it. Ariel was knocked backwards against the opposite wall. Her father, padding on all fours, approached, teeth bared and snarling. Ariel's heart was going a million miles per hour, as if it was getting in every last beat it could before stopping forever. The scratches on Ariel's arm burned, blood continuing to flow.
Before Ariel could blink, emergency mammalell rushed into the room. A bighorn sheep rushed to Ariel's side, while his polar bear partner worked on restraining Mr. Hobbes.
"Those cuts look pretty deep," said the sheep. "Have you had the chance to treat them yet?"
Ariel shook her head. "I ran straight here and called 911. I didn't have time. I feel like I'm gonna pass out..."
"Try to stay awake. We'll get you downstairs in no time," the sheep assured her before pulling out a walkie-talkie. "Purrson, the girl has deep claw marks on her arm, looks like she's lost a lot of blood, can you get the medical truck ready?"
"Rodger that," scratched a voice from the walkie-talkie. The sheep nodded, put the gadget away, and inquired, "You can still walk, right?"
Ariel nodded. She followed the bear and the sheep, along with her wildly resisting father, out of the room.
Kiki tried to focus on the music on the radio from behind her copy of Sablehaven. She needed something to take her mind off of her troubles, and either rec activity would do nicely. Ever since moving back to Primate City, it seemed that tensions in the Georgeson family had only been rising. Duke had been more annoying than ever, and her dad more irritable. Kiki's mom had been, as always, trying to keep the peace with her mother magic (cookies really seemed to work) but it always seemed to be one thing after another.
The radio started playing the familiar intro that heralded an incoming news report, and Kiki gave the volume dial a little spin. She was desperate to know what was going on in Zootopia, now that she was no longer a resident.
"Foxed News, I'm Karen McHoof. As one of many predators who suddenly went 'savage' in recent days, Allen Hobbes, editor of the Zootopia Times, attempted to attack his daughter, Ariel, earlier this afternoon. The young tigress told reporters at Zootopia General Hospital that after inflicting some deep claw wounds on her arm, her father chased her to her bedroom, where she was able to contact emergency technicians."
The reporter's voice was replaced by Ariel's. "It all happened so fast, I was really bleeding, but I somehow managed to get to my phone and dial... Then he got in and cornered me, and that's about when the mammalell showed up."
The reporter's voice returned. "Miss Hobbes had to receive several stitches and should be released this evening, while Mr. Hobbes joins his younger son Calvin among the "savage" predators at the hospital. Gas prices - "
Kiki shut off the radio. She didn't want to hear about gas prices. She couldn't believe that she'd thought thing were going wrong for her, when things were clearly so much worse for her freind.
How could she have been so selfish?
Georgie, face nearly buried under a bouquet of blooms, slowly stepped into the hospital room. "Brought you these," she snickered.
"Aw, thanks, Georgie!" Ariel sat up in her bed and patted the bandage that covered her stitched arm. "The anesthetics are still wearing off, so I'm a little woozy right now."
"I still can't believe you had to get stitches," Cheyenne added as she joined Georgie, box of chocolates in her arms.
Ariel nodded, "Yeah, his claws are sharper than I thought. He must have gotten a manicure recently. Did you guys see him?"
"He's in a different wing of the hospital," Matt answered, holding what looked like a card. "They put him next to your brother, Calvin. They can see each other. They don't recognize each other, though. The doctors said that any sign of recognition could be a sign of recovery."
"That's awesome," Ariel said with a smile. "You guys can just put the stuff on the table."
The flowers, chocolate, and card went right on the table. Georgie and Cheyenne waved as they headed out the door, but Matt lingered a moment. He quickly leaned in and pecked Ariel on the cheek before racing out the door himself.
Ariel gently touched the kissed spot.
A favorite film quote of hers came to mind: The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.
Could that apply to a relationship?
Ariel sure hoped so.