"Ma'am. The wall is complete. What are your order's?" Henrietta asked.
Judy thought long and hard. If they pulled out of 'Zone One', it would likely be lost for good. Or, at least until the cure was discovered. A plague mutation rampaged through the city. 5% of the population was alive. She didn't want to pull out of Zone One. Judy was brought up to respect all animals. But still. They had lost over 90% of the remaining officers from Zone 2. She was down to five dozen men. They were promised backup, but it never came. She knew it was a death wish to stay in there. Especially with the purifiers on the rise. A tear ran down Judy's eye. She and Nick had lost the twins and Jackson in a purifier attack. The bodies were never found, but no trace of them, either. That was two weeks ago. The purifiers ambushed the ZPD, where they had been under protection. The ZPD was deep in Zone 1. Every other Zone had fallen. The city was split into 12 different sections. Each section was a ring all the way around the city of Zootopia. The rings kept getting farther in. The rings came to the center of the city, which animals started calling the heart. The plan was to build a wall around the heart and expand it as far as they could. They hoped to use their strength in numbers to force the rioters farther outside. The ZPD had originally 20,000 uniformed officers throughout the city and surrounding subdistricts. Now they were down to 60 men. They also have 15 non uniformed officers running the new headquarters. Judy liked the fact that her new work was so close to home, but she thought it was too close. Like, the bottom two floors of her penthouse, too close. The entire building had become filled with survivors. It was the last beacon of hope in the city of Zootopia. It was a hospital, a refugee center, a power station, a school, and the ZPD headquarters. The ZPD headquarters were on the second to top floor, directly below the penthouse until the hospital wing needed more room. It already had 10 floors. Judy was glad, however, that the elevator was to only be used in medical emergencies and for officers. Violators were kicked out of the building.
"Ma'am? Are you alright?" Henrietta asked.
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine," Judy said. "Just thinking."
"What are your orders?" Henrietta asked.
"Follow me," Judy said. She opened the door to her new office to leave. It was originally Angel's room. She walked to the balcony overlooking the living room. "Listen up! The wall is finished!" Cheering erupted throughout the two floors. "But, we need all officers on the wall until the last have fallen back!" Judy walked away from the balcony and into her office. "Get me Commander Wilde," Judy told Henrietta. A few seconds later, Henrietta handed Judy a mic. Judy put it in her ear.
"Nick?" Judy asked.
"I'm here," Nick groaned.
"Quit your whining, Dad!" Judy could hear Angel yell.
"Is she acting up again?" Judy asked. She muted the com. "Patch Colonel Wilde through as well." She heard static and yelling from Angel.
"I swear! If you-" Angel yelled.
"Ahem," Judy said, clearing her throat.
"Sorry," Angel said.
"Any sign of them?" Judy asked.
"Nada," Nick said.
"The wall is finished. I need you guys back here. We are going to seal all the sub gates, but keep the main operational," Judy said.
"Okay. Are we giving up?" Angel asked.
"I don't like saying it, but for now, yes. They will be fine. If they made it this far, they can make it a few more days," Judy said. Another tear rolled down her face. She knew her children were out there.
"Oh my gosh," Nick exclaimed, scrubbing his fur in one of the showers on the base floor. It was mandatory for any officer that goes outside of the heart to disinfect themselves and their clothing of any biological contaminates when they got back.
"What?" Angel asked from the shower stall next to them.
"It's nice to have a reason to shower," Nick replied. In order to save water, only anyone who needed to remove any biological contaminates was allowed to shower.
"Yeah. I haven't showered in two weeks," Angel said.
"Lucky. I haven't in four," Nick replied. He scrubbed himself with the soap. The soap didn't make his fur look that way, but it made it feel and smell clean.
"You shouldn't have gotten sick," Angel said, laughing.
"It was a cold. They took fucking blood and tested it, for crying out loud," Nick said. It had indeed been a cold, but they had put Nick in isolation for a day. They also burned his clothes. "I am okay with isolation, but that was my favorite shirt."
"It had a stain with my baby vomit. You keep your shirts too long," Angel said.
"I just keep them in good condition," Nick replied. Nick checked the timer on his watch. "31 seconds."
"Great," Angel replied. She was over being blasted with hot water. She couldn't wait for the automatic stop. That meant that it had been 10 minutes and she was good to go.
"Happy birthday, Angel," Nick said.
"Thanks. 22. Even if this hadn't of happened, nothing fancy would have happened," Angel said.
"Well, you're almost done with your medical training, so you can be a field medic," Nick replied.
"I can't believe I actually got recommended to go into a field of medicine when I just stitched your leg up," Angel said.
"You did one hell of a job at doing it. You should believe it," Nick replied. Their water shut off. He looked over at the laundry drop off. He didn't need to worry. Nobody else was out of the heart, so they would get their stuff back within the hour.
They rode the elevator all the way to the top floor. Most of their friends were taken by the illness. The remaining officers that Nick knew were his brother in law, Henrietta, and Delgato. Nick did, however, know a new officer. He knew him since the day he was born.
"Lieutenant!" Nick called when the elevator opened and he saw a fox running upstairs.
"Sir," Richard replied, stopping.
"Go to your room. We need to talk," Nick replied. They followed Richard all the way up.
"What's up, Dad?" Richard asked, pulling up two chairs and sitting in his office chair.
"We need you hack into the city security systems. Think you can do that?" Angel asked.
"Sure thing, Abigail," Richard said.
"From now on, while on the job, you will refer to me as 'Ma'am' or 'Colonel'. Understand?" Angel asked.
"That's so unfair, Angel. You can't just-" Nick started.
"The same will go for you if you argue with me on this one. Both of you understand?" Angel asked.
"Yes," they both replied.
"It sounds like someone is going mad with power," Judy said, walking into the room. The three stood and saluted her. "At ease."
"I wasn't going mad with power, I just-" Angel said.
"I'm saying that's what it sounds like. Not what I believe," Judy said. The other two held their tongues.
"Ah. I see. I…" Judy started. "I'm on my way. You three, with me. Grab your biogear," Judy said.
They walked all the way to the bottom floor. She grabbed three extra, small bio masks. They took the elevator down to the ground floor. There was a small wait for the laundry to finish, but it finally finished. Nick, Angel, Richard, and Judy all put on their boots and clothes. Judy carried an assault rifle, Richard had a shotgun, and Nick and Angel both had their rifles. Angel had a suppressed, glass scope .300 Zootopia Magnum. Nick had his rifle. When they got to the main gate, they all put on their masks. Judy had them open the gate. Nick thought that the majority of the officers that died to the disease had it easier than they did. The truck was last seen heading towards the Rioters' forward base. The rioters was the name the ZPD gave the group because they were made up of the violent rioters and haven't come out with a name yet.
"Ma'am. You may want to hear this," Henrietta said in the mic. A large amount of static came over the coms. Some cleared, but over the background static, they heard three voices.
"Maybe it doesn't work," one voice said.
"Mom said all the ZPD communications happen over these five channels," a second voice said.
"Even if they could hear us, they haven't responded. It's not likely it works," a third added.
"Kids?" Judy asked through the tears rolling down her face.
"Mom?!" All three asked. Nick clapped, Richard laughed and Angel cheered.
"Yeah. I'm here. Are you guys alright?" Judy asked.
"Yeah. We are all good. I got my nose broken, but it's okay," Jackson responded.
"Where are you guys?" Nick asked.
"We don't know. We were blindfolded and got dumped here. There was a guard, but Jackson, like the hero he is, takes the dude down. That's how he broke his nose," Scarlet replied.
"That's okay. What's the tallest landmark around you guys?" Nick asked.
"Umm. There's a tall hill about a mile down the road. There's a forest about 10 miles down the road," Lucy responded.
"Um… Is there a yellow farmhouse behind you guys, about half a mile across a field?" Judy asked.
"Yes," all three responded. The other four began to laugh.
"Well, head towards the forest. About halfway, there will be a massive plot of land. That's Grandpa's land. The oak is in the middle of the land. Be careful, guys," Judy said. "Well. How do we get to them?"
"What about Dad's plane?" Richard asked.
"Slim chance. It likely would have been stolen by now," Angel said.
"Wrong. The plane is not going anywhere without some heavy machinery," Nick said. "Or some serious luck."
"Well, that's fine and dandy, but LX is in zone nine. That's a two hour walk," Judy said.
"No cars will have gas. They've been here too long. Their batteries would be dead as well," Nick said.
"So we spend a week walking or a few hours getting the plane," Angel said.
"There's no point in arguing. Let's go," Judy said.
The walk to their grandparents house was long, but it was easy. The two 18 year olds and 16 year old made quick work of the landscape. It had been 4 years since they had been to their grandparents house. Jackson knocked on the door. A bunny opened it slightly.
"Oh my god. Is that the Wilde kids?" the bunny asked.
"Uncle Chris?" Jackson asked.
"Yeah. Hey Jackson. What happened to your nose?" Chris asked.
"The same reason you have a chain on the door. May we come in?" Jackson asked. Chris opened up the door and handed the girls each cups of tea at the table. He slid Jackson a cup of coffee. Jackson put a sugar cube in and began to drink it.
"The raiders get you?" Chris asked.
"Yeah. Where's grandma and grandpa?" Scarlet asked.
"They're upstairs. They got it. Their symptoms started 12 hours ago," Chris said. "They're alive, but not for too much longer."
"Yeah, guys. I'm here," Jackson said, getting up and walking away. He returned 5 minutes later. "Do you guys still have running water?"
"Yeah," Chris replied. Jackson took off his shirt and began to rip it into long shreds. He was left in his undershirt. He ran them under hot water, just like Angel said.
"Take one and wrap it around your nose and mouth," Jackson said. Everyone wrapped one around their faces. They followed Jackson to his grandparents' room. "Grandma. It's me, Jackson. We need to move you. Scarlet, Lucy, get her ready to move. Uncle Chris, you need to help me make two cots."
"I see where you are going with this," Chris said.
Angel had a lot of pressure riding on her as her dad lowered the plane to the ground. The landing was bumpy, but they landed 15 yards from the house. They immediately saw Jackson and Chris with rags tied around their faces carrying a bunny out on a cot. She directed them to load her grandfather into the back. She put on a doctor's mask and handed Chris her other mask. Judy passed the other masks around.
"They can handle my mother. Help grandpa," Judy said. Angel did a quick glance over. She saw gangrene. The pneumonic plague was turning into Septicemic. Angel pulled a stethoscope out of her bag and put each earpiece into the corresponding ear. She placed the bell to his chest. His heartbeat was rapid and weak. Angel moved it to the other side. She listened to his breathing. He wheezed and puffed. He also had a lot of buildup in his lungs.
"Grandpa. I need you to take a very deep breath," Angel said. She listened. The left lung was the only one with buildup. "I'm going to need a bucket."
"I'm on it," Richard said.
"Grab two and a small flashlight," Angel called. Richard came running back with two buckets and a small flashlight. He was also helping carry his grandmother. They loaded her in. "Hand me a bucket and flashlight. Search grandma over for dark spots on her skin." Angel pointed the flashlight in her eye and turned it on. Perfect amount of power. She shone it in her grandfather's eyes. Non-responsive. She snapped her fingers in his ears. Non-responsive. She pulled a small rubber mallet out of the bag. His knees and elbows were highly responsive. She rolled him on his side. "Cough everything into this. If you feel the urge to throw up, do so in here and then tell me." She moved to her grandmother. She was in horrible shape. Angel put the stethoscope to her chest. Her heartbeat was so fast, it scared her. She had very shallow breathing. Suddenly, she clutched her chest. Hard. "Oh shit! Richard, grab the bag and place it over her mouth. Squeeze the bag for every two compressions I do. Starting compressions." Judy held her mother's hand while Chris held the other. Angel did a set. "Pulse?"
"Nothing," Richard replied. Angel did another set of compressions.
"Pulse?" Angel asked.
"Nothing," Richard replied. Angel did another set of compressions. Judy was full blown crying now.
"Pulse?" Angel asked.
"Nothing," Richard replied. Angel did another set of compressions. Chris was also in tears, comforting Judy.
"Pulse?" Angel asked. She knew they had lost her if she was non-responsive.
"Yes. Yes! She's got one," Richard blurted out. Angel pulled her stethoscope back out. Her heartbeat was normal speed, but her breathing was still shallow. She laughed though. Her grandmother was alive, for now. She did some reaction tests. She was non-responsive to all but the knees. She backed off. Next thing she knew, there were four bunny arms wrapped around her.
"Thank you for saving our mother," Chris said.
"I'm so proud of you," Judy said. Bonnie projectile vomited blood all over Angel. She reared again.
"Into the bucket! Into the bucket!" Angel said. She tilted Bonnie onto her side and held her head up. She vomited into the bucket. "With the amount of blood, I'm assuming either a stomach ulcer or internal bleeding." Judy sighed. Angel climbed into the copilot seat.
"You did one hell of a job, kid," Nick said. "I want you in my corner if things go bad."
"I could say the same about you," Angel replied. "How long until I will have the ability to get them into the elevator?"
"How long do we have?" Nick asked.
"Four hours with grandpa. He's not the one I'm worried about. Grandma is deteriorating at an exponential rate. In her current condition, I give her 30 minutes," Angel said. "I'll work on buying her some time." Angel walked back to her mother, uncle, and Grandmother. "Help me move her to the back of the plane. I'm going to set up a curtain for privacy. You guys will not want to see this." Ten minutes later, she had privacy. "I'm sorry in advance."
"Do what you need to," Bonnie replied. Angel found a scalpel, some tubing, and a blood clotter. Angel administered a blood clotter. She used the scalpel to make an incision in between two of Bonnie's ribs. She poked her head out of the curtain. "Richard?" Richard came in and nearly gagged. "You're the only one strong enough to get this to puncture her lung," Angel said, quietly.
"God. Alright. Count me down," Richard said.
"Three. Two. One. Ow!" Bonnie cried. The fluid in her lungs came spewing out of the pipe. A large amount hit Angel, as Richard got scared and nudged it. Angel let the pipe drain.
"Roll on your side, grandma," Angel said. Angel emerged from the other side covered in mucus, blood, and several other fluids. "Do any of you have water?" Angel asked. Judy turned around and went wide eyed. Judy handed her a disposable water bottle. Angel opened it and washed her hands off. She then handed it to her grandfather. "Even if you don't think you need any, drink. I can hear the mucus you are coughing up. It's too dry." Angel sat down. "You guys can see her. She will probably be thirsty, but she can't have any water until after the pipe is out. She moved to the copilot's seat.
"How much time did you buy me?" Nick asked.
"An hour at best. Is that enough?" Angel asked.
"Yeah. I'm beginning the decline," Nick said. "We're heading down. Buckle up, guys!" Angel climbed into the back. She made sure Richard would keep Stu from moving too much. Angel moved Bonnie ito a good enough landing position. The landing was rough, as Nick landed on a street, but they were close to the building. Nick taxied them as close as possible. Bonnie was the one that needed more attention, so the unloaded her first. Angel and Chris took Bonnie into the elevator. She told him to take Stu to floor 89. Chris ran out of the elevator. Angel pulled out her stethoscope and listened directly to Bonnie's heartbeat. It was fast. Bonnie was also burning up. The elevator doors opened and two wolves came in and took the bunny.
"All signs of late pneumatic plague," she said.
"Thank you, Angel," one wolf replied. The elevator doors closed. They opened up to see the Wilde family and a Bunny carrying another bunny.
"The splint broke," Nick said. "We caught him before he hit the ground."
"Good job," Angel said, removing the stethoscope from around her neck and putting it in her ears. She checked Stu's vitals. They had stabilised. "How long had you been with them?" Angel asked Chris, putting the stethoscope bell to his back.
"Since this started," Chris responded.
"So the entire time? Deep breath." Angel asked.
"Yeah," Chris replied.
"Out," Angel said.
"I figured they would need somebody," Chris stated
"In," Angel said.
"God. I tried to call to see if they wanted to stay at my place," Judy said.
"Out," Angel said.
"The cell services are down. Well, doc. What's the diagnosis?" Chris asked as Angel felt his forehead.
"I think you got it, but I suggest having another doctor test you.
The entire Wilde family was cleared. Everyone was healthy. They went down to the bottom floor and showered. Nobody said anything. They had disabled Angel's timer because she was covered in dried blood and mucus and other stuff. The sight wasn't pretty, but she got the job done. Angel scrubbed her fur. She was covered in blood and mucus. Angel finished scrubbing just as everyone else finished. She turned off her water and grabbed her towel. She looked the the shelf outside her shower, but she didn't see her clothes.
"Mom? Where'd you put my clothes?" Angel asked. She wasn't allowed to exit floor 89, being covered in contaminated fluid.
"Here," Judy said, walking over to the shelf outside the stall. She put the clothes there and walked off.
2 days later
Judy held her father's hand. She knew he was not going to want the shot, but he needed the shot. Stu was completely cleared. He just needed an immune booster. Angel walked in, in a doctor's coat, carrying a bag, and a stopwatch around her wrist.
"Did they-" Judy started.
"Yep," Angel replied, cutting her mother off. "I work 12 hours a day. The eight for you and four in here. My shift actually is over, but I've got to get grandpa."
"Angel? Can you just get it over with? I'm almost 80 and I don't want to die in here," Stu said.
"Done," Angel said, pulling the needle out of his arm. She bandaged it up real quick.
"That wasn't that bad, right Dad?" Judy asked.
"I didn't even feel it," Stu replied.
"Well, I have to run down to experimentals. Care to join me," Angel asked, clicking her comms piece.
"Sure," Stu replied. The three mammals walked to the elevator wearing doctor's masks. Angel got Stu a sealed room, but the rest of the floor wasn't as lucky. They rode the elevator down to floor 77. They were just below the lowest wing of the hospital. They walked into a ring around a massive center ring. Inside, they saw Richard unloading shots into a ballistics shield that Nick was behind. Angel walked into one of the rooms on the outside of the ring. Nick called it and Richard stopped. To Judy and Stu's amazement, Nick pushed a button on his prosthetic and the shield collapsed into it. Then, Nick and Richard sprinted from something that landed between them. The grenade let out a blue gas.
"What does it do?" Richard asked.
"It won't kill us, will it?" Nick asked.
"No, but that doesn't mean breathe it," Angel said. Angel pulled out a silver pistol and examined it. It glowed blue, due to the special ammo. It also had ventilation on the side of the barrel.
"Same thing as the gas," Nick asked.
"Yeah. Want to see it in action?" Angel asked.
"Sure," Stu replied. Angel raised the gun and fired it at her brother. It hit him in the chest.
"The hell? It's like a paintball splatter," Richard said. "I don't-" He stopped mid sentence. He fell over paralyzed. Angel had shot him in the forehead.
"It doesn't puncture body armor," Angel said.
"How does it work?" Judy asked, inspecting the splatter.
"To put it as simply as I can, the round is a dendrotoxin encased in a biodegradable shell, similar to the ones used in your guy's first case," Angel said, while checking Richard's pulse. She then began to take his blood pressure. "Once the case makes impact, the toxin is released into the subcutaneous tissue. There, it makes it's way into the bloodstream, and eventually, it paralyzes everything besides your lungs, diaphragm, brain, and heart."
"So you developed a weapon to incapacitate, but not kill. Like a taser, or a tranquilizer gun? Just no pain and it won't knock them out," Judy said. "I see no use in them."
"Mom. You can make 100 of these rounds for the price it costs to make a tranquilizer," Angel said. Judy went wide eyed. "I also made a rifle. Accurate up to 1000 yards. I'll be back." Angel came back to see her brother standing up.
"That works too well," Richard said.
"Here," Angel said, chucking a bunch of binoculars at the group. They were going to need them. She opened the window and fired several shots at several targets. She was hitting the center every time. "These knock out for two to three hours."
"How long for the grenade?" Richard asked.
"I have two types. One uses experimental gasses and that will put you in a coma until the antidote is administered. That isn't ready. The grenade I tossed at you guys was 45 minutes. I-" Angel stopped. She grabbed her bag and sprinted to the elevator. She slipped on a mask and went to the first floor. She came sprinting out of the doors and into the main lobby. Several officers were hurt. There were scorch marks over all of them. "Are they clean?" Angel asked.
"No. They got ambushed on the outside," Delgato said. "They followed us in."
"Calling all units. Calling all units. We have company in the lobby. Take the stairs. We have wounded. Wear a mask," Angel said over her comm. "Jesus." Angel got on another frequency. "This is doctor Wilde. We need all nonessential doctors in the lobby. Wear your masks. We have 16 injured officers."
Angel set to work. She organized the wounds from life threatening to not. There were a few life threatening injuries, but most would live. A sniper shot whizzed past her head. It hit the control panel of the elevator. She heard electricity crackle and she heard a pop. The elevator was destroyed. "SNIPER!" Angel yelled. Everyone got down. Angel reached for her rifle and slid into the open bathroom door.
"I found the sniper. He's taken out!" she heard over her comm.
"Congrats, officer," Judy said over her comm. A wolf stood up until Angel grabbed him.
"You got an accent, Mr... Not a Zootopian one," Angel said.
"Ah. So close. Oh well, Miss Wilde. May I call you Angel?" the voice asked.
"No you may not," Angel replied sternly.
"Ah. Alright, Abigail. I shall call you that. I have a sick member of my team. I'm willing to make a trade. Her life, for your entire building's." the voice said. Angel looked to the officers. They were all shaking their heads.
"I have to do this," Angel said. She moved out of cover with her hands up.
"What's in the bag?" the voice asked. Nick moved back upstairs. He headed for the roof.
Angel watched as a wolf carried another out into the road. "I'd rather do this inside," Angel said.
"We don't have that luxury," the voice said. "We can read her bio metrics from here. There is a chip implanted in her head. We will know if you kill her."
"Can you at least tell me your name?" Angel asked. The voice laughed.
"You wouldn't believe me."
"Bet," Angel said.
"Grigori Ratsputin," the voice responded. Judy gasped. "I know that gasp. Judy, darling! How are you?"
"I've been better," Judy replied.
"I was hoping that the sickness didn't get you," Grigori responded.
"Sorry to interrupt, but how long ago did she start experiencing symptoms?" Angel asked.
"72 hours," Grigori responded.
"Dear god. The plague has turned into all forms. It will take a miracle," Angel said. Judy say a lens glare flash next to her. "So Grigori. Where would you happen to be?"
"Two miles away, on the ZPD building. Not like that matters. None of your snipers can hit me. I don't suggest running, Abigail," Ratsputin said. "I know your father is on the roof, looking for me. He is lazy with his hiding places. Now. Fernandez, take out Mr. Wilde."