Hey, guys. I'm back with the next chapter, where we will finally be introduced to the third and final main character of our main trio in this crossover. Enjoy.
Nick, Dawn, Judy, and Honey had taken to the rooftops, to avoid the military and get to where the 'something' they needed to smuggle was, faster. From the distance, an explosive noise was heard, and a large puff of smoke emerged from behind the buildings.
"Oh, crap. Is that your group?" said Honey.
"What's left of them. Why do you think we're turning to you, guys?" said Dawn.
"So, fluff." Nick spoke to Judy. "That attack at the area five checkpoint. That wasn't you, was it?"
"Heck, no." said Judy. "I was looking for Duke, along with Dawn. We ran into some of his goons, same as you. Dawn pushed me out of the way when this one guy came up from behind, and... Well, that's how she got, y'know."
"Speaking of which, how's that treating ya?" asked Honey.
"I'll live." Dawn waved off Honey's insistence, as they hopped into the open window space of the building they were currently at, and worked their way down to the street, again.
"Well, I'll fill better, when we get something for that." said Judy.
"So, Dawn. Why make a move, now?" asked Nick.
"We've been laying low, trying to leave the city. The military's trying to rile us up, looking for a scapegoat." said Dawn.
"Looks like they got it." said Nick.
"We're trying to defend ourselves." said Judy.
"So, how come I haven't met you, before?" said Nick. "I mean, I've heard about you, before, but-"
"I was leading another group." said Judy. "Down in Pittsburgh. But, then the military abandoned the zone. So, that's how I ended up here, just a couple days ago. I met Dawn way back, during the start of the outbreak. I joined her cause, and helped her ever since."
"Sounds like you got more than you bargained for, Carrots." said Nick.
"You're gonna wanna refrain from calling me Carrots, Slick." Judy glared at Nick.
"My bad. I just assumed you came from some carrot-choked Podunk. No?" Nick smirked.
"Uh, no. Podunk is in Deerbrooke county, and I grew up in BunnyBurrow." retorted Judy.
"Alright, keep it down, you two. We're right near one of the military's patrol routes." said Dawn.
From where they were, the group was underneath a bridge. From across the river, on the opposite ledge, was a door. Hiding behind a large crate, Dawn peeked out to see an elephant soldier walking up the ledge's stairs to the bridge.
"Alright, that door's where we need to go. But, there'll be soldiers guarding up top." said Dawn.
"I ain't a big fan of these odds." said Nick.
"We can sneak by them. Even though I know that's not your style." said Dawn.
"We'll see how it goes." said Honey.
The group headed up their own flight of stairs, and ducked behind cover to see at least five soldiers guarding the perimeter. Nick and Dawn took the lead, and strangled the first two guards. Nick snuck up, and stabbed at the third guard, with a makeshift shiv, that he customized himself, from earlier supplies he found lying around. Judy and Honey took head shots at the final two guards, before they knew what hit them.
Nearby, Judy and Dawn spotted three bodies with Firefly uniforms on them.
"Oh, no. They got Warren." said Dawn, looking at the porcupine Firefly. Dawn took a deep breath, trying to fight tears. "Good-bye, friend."
"We should get going, Dawn. More soldiers are gonna come, and find this, soon." said Nick.
Dawn sighed, and nodded. "You're right. Let's go."
The group headed down the stairs, and through the door, leading to the inside of another warehouse. Nick blockaded the door with a heavy locker, in case the military came down that way.
"How much farther is it, Dawn?" asked Honey.
"We're close. Real close."
"So, you know what you're smuggling here, Carrots?" said Nick.
"No. Dawn wanted to keep that discreet, until she said it was time. Not sure what that means." said Judy.
"Attention. Curfew is in effect in fifteen minutes. Denizens caught outside will be prosecuted." a voice over the loudspeaker announced.
"Oh, boy. We gotta hurry. It's right through there." Dawn pointed to a door, leading to an old diner. "Nick, gimme a hand with the door."
When Dawn and Nick pushed the jammed door open, Dawn's wound caused her to stumble.
"Hey, easy now." Nick said, helping up the ewe.
"Get the fuck away from her!"
Nick turned to see Honey grabbing the arm of a young vixen, holding a switchblade in her paw.
"Let her go." said Dawn.
Honey let the vixen go, and Nick could see that she looked to be a teenager. The female fox had light orange fur, and light purple eyes, wearing a red shirt, with a beach tree pattern on it, a long-sleeved black shirt underneath, dark jeans, and carrying a camouflage backpack.
"You're recruiting kind of young, ain't ya?" Nick asked, helping Dawn to a table, so she gain regain her balance.
"She's not one of mine." said Dawn.
"Oh, shit. What happened?" said the vixen.
"Don't worry, this is fixable." said Dawn. "I got us help. But, I can't come with you."
"Well, then I'm staying." said the vixen.
"Clementine. We're not gonna get another shot at this." said Dawn.
"Wait, we're smuggling her?" Nick pointed to the vixen, Clementine.
"There's a crew of Fireflies that'll meet you at the capital building. You hand her off, come back, the weapons are yours. Double what Duke sold me."
"That's not exactly close." said Honey.
"You're capable." said Dawn.
"Speaking of the guns, where are they?" asked Honey.
"Back at our camp." said Dawn.
"We're not smuggling crap, until we've seen them." said Honey.
Dawn sighed. "You'll follow me. You can verify the weapons, while I get patched up." Dawn pointed to Clementine. "But, she's not crossing into that part of town. So, I want Nick and Judy to watch her."
"Whoa, wait, Dawn. That doesn't sound like a good idea." said Judy.
"Yeah, bull crap! I'm not going with either one of them." said Clementine.
"Judy! Clem! No arguing." Dawn ordered.
"How do you know them?" asked Clem.
"I've known Judy since the start of the outbreak." said Dawn. "I know Nick through his brother, Gideon. Said if I was ever in a jam, I could rely on him."
"Was that before or after he left your little militia group?" Nick asked, sarcastically.
"He left you, too." said Dawn. "Gideon was a good mammal."
"Yeah, that's why he left your hopeless cause, because he knew it, better than anyone." retorted Nick.
Judy was about to go off on Nick for talking like that to Dawn, but Honey, thankfully spoke up, first.
"Look, just take 'em both to the north tunnel, and I'll meet you there." she said.
"I not gonna this." muttered Nick.
"She's just cargo, Nick." said Honey.
"Dawn-"
"That's enough." Dawn interrupted Clem. "You'll be fine. Now, go with him. You too, Judy. That's an order."
"Yes, ma'am." Judy nodded, firmly.
"Don't take long." Nick said to Honey, before turning to Judy and Clem. "You two, stay close. Let's go."
Nick, Judy, and Clem were met with several corpses of Firefly mammals, when they got out into the street.
"Yikes. I heard all the fighting outside, but... What really happened, here?" asked Clem.
"Fireflies. Same thing's gonna happen to us, if we don't get off the street, now." said Nick.
Nick led the girls down a subway tunnel, then back out into an alley. The building where they were supposed to go was right into view. Nick pushed a large dumpster, so they could get a boost to the fire escape, which was the best way into the building. The trio climbed up, and began working their way down the long hallway of the old apartment complex.
"So, this tunnel. You use it to smuggle things? Like, illegal things?" asked Clem.
"Yep." said Nick.
"Ever smuggled mammals, before?" asked Clem.
"Yep." said Nick.
"Kids?" Clem asked, again.
"Nope, that's a first. But, I can cross that off the bucket list, now." Nick smirked. "So, what's your deal with Dawn, kiddo?"
"I dunno. She's my friend, I guess. Like, with her and Judy." said Clem.
"Friends, huh?" said Nick. "Friends with the leader of the Fireflies. What're you, like twelve?"
"She knew my mom. So, she's been looking out for me." said Clem. "Also, I'm sixteen. Not that has to do with, anything. How old are you, and Judy?"
"Oh, I'm twenty-four." said Judy.
"Thirty-two." said Nick. "So, what happened to your parents?"
"What happened to anyone's parents?" Clem retorted, sarcastically. "They've been gone a long, long time."
"So, instead of just staying in school, you run off to join the Fireflies. Is that right?" asked Nick.
"Look, I'm not supposed to tell you why you're smuggling me, if that's what you're getting at." said Clem.
"You wanna know the best thing about my job? I don't gotta know why." said Nick. "To be honest, I could give a hoot about what you and the Fireflies are up to."
"Well, so long as we're all on the same page." Clem shrugged.
"Agreed." Judy stated.
"Okay." Nick agreed. "Here we are."
Nick opened the door, that led into the apartment, that was used as another secret way to the outside world. Nick threw himself on the couch, the minute they stepped in.
"What're you doing?" asked Judy.
"Killing time." said Nick. "The only way we're gonna do this, is at night. Besides, we need to wait for Honey, too. Need all the energy we need."
"Well, what're we supposed to do?" asked Clem.
"I am sure you'll figure that out." said Nick.
"In that case, come on, Clem. You like comic books? I got this one issue of 'Pig Hero 6' I didn't get a chance to read, yet." said Judy.
As Clem followed Judy to a nearby table, she noticed something curious about Nick, specifically, what he had on his left arm.
"Your watch is broken." she stated.
Nick muttered in acknowledgement, as he felt himself drifting into unconsciousness.
...
Nick snapped his eyes open. Another nightmare.
"You were mumbling in your sleep." said Clem. "I hate bad dreams."
"Yeah, me too." Nick mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
Nick got up, and turned on a lantern to let some light into the room. Judy was sitting at the table, playing solitaire. Clem was sitting at the window, staring out at the border of the wall.
"Y'know, I've never been this close. To the outside." Clem pointed to the window. "Look how dark it is. It can't be any worse out there, than it is in here. Can it?"
Nick and Judy looked at each other, with nervous glances.
"What on earth do the Fireflies want with a kid like you?" Nick asked, hoping to change the subject.
Luckily, Honey came in before the awkwardness could continue. "Hey, sorry I'm late. Soldiers are everywhere." she said.
"How's Dawn?" said Judy.
"She'll make it." said Honey, then turned to Nick. "I just saw the merchandise. It's a lot. Ready to do this?"
"Yep. Let's go." Nick said, pointing for Honey to lead the way, then turned to Judy. "So, Carrots. Think it's a little strange Dawn chose us to do their smuggling?"
"Dawn wanted to do it, herself. You guys weren't her first choice, or her second, for that matter." said Judy. "We lost a lot of mammals. Beggars can't be choosers, y'know."
"For your sake and ours, hopefully there's someone still alive to pay us." said Nick.
"Someone will be there, don't worry." said Honey.
The girls stood on a wooden floor, which served as the lift to the tunnel, while Nick started up the generator, which powered up the lift, then pressed the switch for down.
"So, who's waiting for us at the drop-off? You know, Carrots?" Nick asked Judy.
"All I know is that they're group of Fireflies that traveled all the way from another city." said Judy.
"Girl must be important." said Honey. "So what is the deal with you? You some bigwig's daughter or something?" she asked Clem.
"You could say that." said Clem.
The lift stopped, and the group switched on their flashlights, as they navigated through the tunnel.
"So, how long is this gonna take?" asked Clem.
"If everything goes as planned, we should get you and Judy to them at sunrise." said Honey. "Now, Clem. When we get out there, I need you to do everything we tell you to. Okay?"
"Gotcha." Clem nodded.
The group made it to the ladder, and climbed up. Nick was at the lead, opening the hatch leading outside. Turning off their lights, they worked their way out into the rain. They were just a good yards away from the wall.
"Holy crap. I'm actually outside." Clem said, in awe, and feeling the rain on her fur.
"Alright, we'll cut through here." Nick pointed to an abandoned truck trailer.
The group worked their way up inside the trailer, to climb up the slope they had to get through. At the other open end of the trailer, Nick looked around to see the coast was clear. Just when Nick thought it was clear...
WHACK!
An elephant soldier knocked Nick to the ground with the butt of her rifle. She shined her rifle's attached flashlight to the girls. "Don't do anything stupid." she warned.
A rhino soldier appeared behind the three, his rifle raised at them, as they walked right beside Nick.
"Down. Hands on your head." ordered the rhino.
"This is Francine and Mchorn, at sector twelve. Requesting pick up for four stragglers." Francine spoke into her radio. "Understood."
"What's the ETA?" Mchorn asked, as he scanned Honey for infection.
"A couple of minutes." said Francine.
"Look the other way. We can make this worth your while." Honey persuaded.
"Shut up." grunted Mchorn, as he moved to Nick next. "Tired of hearing this persuasive crap, all the time."
Mchorn moved to Judy next, and scanned her, when he saw her necklace chain, sticking out of her collar. Mchorn pulled it off her, before she could stop him.
"Well, well. What have we here?" grinned Mchorn. "Damn Firefly. I'll deal with you, after I know you're friend is clean. Give you a few, extra seconds."
Just when Mchorn scanned Clem, Clem stabbed at Mchorn in the leg.
"Sorry!" she cried, and tried to wrestle his gun out of his hands, but got knocked down. Nick rammed into the rhino, knocking him down, and shot him in the face, like lightning speed. Francine, stunned at what just happened, raised her rifle, but was quickly shot down by both Judy and Honey.
"Oh, crap." said Clem, as she inched away from the scene before her. "I thought we were just gonna hold 'em captive, or something."
Honey noticed the scanner, and picked it up. Her eyes bulged out of their sockets. "Oh, crap. Nick, look at this."
Honey tossed the scanner to Nick, and Nick looked at the screen. It read positive.
"Sweet cheese and crackers." whispered Nick, then turned to Judy. "You and Dawn set us up?"
"What?!" Judy asked, disbelievingly.
"Why are we smuggling an infected girl?" Nick turned to look at Clem, who had a worried look on her face.
"I'm not infected." she insisted.
"No? So, this is lying?" Nick threw the scanner at her feet.
"You, next to her, now." Honey pointed her gun at Judy.
"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Judy held out her arms, but moved next to Clem, knowing better than not to comply when she saw how Honey had her gun pointed at her. "I had no knowing about this. The scan could be wrong. I've seen it happen, before."
"No, I got bit." said Clem. "But, I'm not infected. Just, let me explain."
"You better explain, fast." said Honey.
Clem pulled her sleeve up to show a blue colored vein bite mark on her right arm. "See this? It's three weeks old."
"No, everyone knows it takes one or two days to turn." said Honey. "So quit your bull crap."
"It's three weeks old! I SWEAR!" said Clem. "Dawn does know about this. This was her idea. Why would she set you up?"
"It does look pretty faded, and old." Judy said, looking at the bite. "I don't get why she told me, but, I'm sure Dawn had a good reason, if she didn't."
"Yeah, well, I don't care much. As a matter of fact, I don't buy it one bit." said Nick, looking away.
"Yeah, that's just the type of fox you are. Not to trust a rabbit's word." scowled Judy.
Nick turned, with a mean glare. "I DARE you to say that again, Rabb- Oh, crap."
Up ahead, Nick spotted the military backup, driving in a tank. "Guys, run. RUN!"
"Okay, go! GO, MOVE!" shouted Honey.
The group jumped down into a ravine. They followed a path down a small sewer tunnel. They emerged from the end of the sewer to see soldiers, pointing their rifles, and shining their flashlights at the ravine, scanning for the group. Sticking close to the wall, they snuck through the searchlights, crawling into another sewer tunnel.
Coming through, once more, they had to work through a completely destroyed building, where another squadron of soldiers were scanning the area. There wasn't many places to hide, save for some fences and furniture to hide behind. Working their way up, they crawled through a garage door, and out to another area where the soldiers were patrolling.
Up ahead, was another ravine, if they could just get to it, they'd be in the clear. Cutting through another destroyed building, they snuck past in the nick of time, just as soldiers were beginning to patrol that part of the area. They jumped down into the next ravine, and into another sewer tunnel. As they navigated through the sewers, up above the railings, they could see the military driving back to the QZ, meaning they've abandoned the search.
The group reached the end of the sewer, Nick opening the heavy gate to let the others through, and locking it, as the group stopped to catch their breath.
"Alright, they're gone." Nick panted.
"Alright, look. What was the plan?" Honey asked Clem. "Let's say, we bring you to the Fireflies, what then?"
"Dawn... She said that, they have their own little quarantine zone, with doctors there, still trying to find a cure." said Clem. "She said, that whatever happened to me, is the key to finding a vaccine."
"Yeah, we've heard that one before, huh, Honey?" said Nick, sarcastically.
"It's what she said." said Clem, matter-of-factly.
"Oh, I'm sure she did." said Nick.
"What is your problem?" said Judy. "Does putting other mammals spirits down somehow make you feel better about your own sad, miserable life?"
"So, what if it does?" said Nick. "Kind of like how you can't go without two minutes of pointing out how you don't trust us?"
"I never said I didn't trust you!" said Judy.
"Not out loud." said Nick. "I guess it's like you bunnies to forget about what you say about a certain fox, or foxes, in general, almost instantly. The sooner you forget about anything with foxes, the better. Am I right?"
"Hey, back off, man!" said Clem. "It's not like we asked for any of this!"
"Yeah, well, me neither." said Nick. "Honey, what the crap are we doing, here?"
"What if it's true?" said Honey.
Nick raised an eyebrow at Honey, with a face that said, 'Really?'
"Look, I'm saying 'What if', Nick?" said Honey. "Judy made some good points about Dawn, and Clem's bite. Look, we've come this far. So, let's just finish it. We can always check with the other Fireflies when we get there."
Nick took Honey by the arm, and pointed to the ruins of the city of Boston. "Do I need to remind you of what is out there?"
Honey turned to Judy and Clem, then back to Nick, with her own serious expression. "I get it."
Honey walked ahead, Judy and Clem following quickly behind, leaving Nick to ponder, 'Why me?' Then, Nick ran to catch up.
"Look, Capitol building's in this direction. We should be able to make it by sunrise." Honey said, pointing to a highway sign, that led to the capitol building.
"We hope." Nick muttered.
"Man, what do you think happened to all these buildings?" asked Clem.
"As soon as they started piling mammals into the quarantine zones, they bombed the cities and towns, hoping to clear out as much of the infected as possible." said Honey. "It worked, for a while."
From a far distance, a loud howling noise echoed, through the sound of the storm.
"Uh, what the heck was that?" said Clem.
"Honey, you heard that, too. Right?" said Nick.
"Yeah, but it sounded pretty far away." said Honey.
"Is that a good thing?" asked Judy.
"I'm not sure, but let's keep moving." said Honey.
The group stopped, as their path was met with a large gap, the result of a large bomb, in the effort to clear out savages, years ago.
"Was this the business district?" asked Clem.
"It is. Well, what's left of it." said Honey.
"Look, I see the capitol building from here." Nick pointed to the capitol building's golden roof, poking out in the distance.
"We're gonna have to cross that tall building to get to the capitol building." Honey pointed to a tall office building, but it was slanted right in front of them, another building, half it's size, holding it from falling any further.
"I don't trust that." said Judy.
"We'll be working our way down, not up." Honey reassured.
The group headed to the building, and entered through the open space where the windows would be, ending up in an office. The group began working their way down to the bottom of the building, having to cut across several offices, hallways, and staircases. On the way down, they discovered the shredded body of a boar soldier.
"Oh, boy. Look's like these guys decided to hold up in here. Body doesn't look that old." said Nick.
"Is that bad?" asked Clem.
"Let's not stick around to find out." said Judy.
"Yikes. Look at that." Clem pointed to the limb body of a savage snow leopard, with the top half of it's face covered in a giant Night Howler flower head, covering it's eyes.
"What's wrong with it's face?" asked Clem.
"That's what years of infection will do to you. We call them Howlers." said Judy. "They howl, like the name of the mutant flower that grows on them. They can see you if they hear you, so crawl or walk slowly."
"Sound, as in they see like bats?" asked Clem.
"Yep, just like that." said Judy.
Nick carefully pulled the body of the limb savage off the door. Nick pushed against the door, trying to unjam it from the vines that grew on it, left over from the body Nick moved, until finally, he got it free. The building began to rock a bit, as the group tried to regain their footing.
"Watch where you step. This whole building feels like it's about to come down." said Nick.
"Totally cool. Everything is totally cool." Clem tried to collect herself.
After traversing through another office, Nick and Honey pushed against another jammed door. Nick and Honey finally got the door open, as the large container blocking it from behind, fell down the chasm of the building.
"Nick!" Honey cried.
A fox Howler, drawn to the noise, piled onto Nick, trying to bite and claw at his face. Nick struggled to hold it off him, but was able to push it away. Honey shot the Howler twice, then helped up Nick.
"Are you okay?" Judy asked, showing concern for the fox, for the first time.
"I'm fine." Nick said, bluntly.
"Here, I'll put something together that should help." Judy pulled out some alcohol and a cloth, to make a makeshift cleaning bandage. Nick quickly patched himself up, and nodded in thanks to Judy.
"Oh, crap. That was intense." Clem exhaled, sharply.
"You said it." Honey agreed.
The group continued their way down, until they were met with the sounds of savages on the next floor, down. From a gape in the wall, they could see two beaver Runners, two zebra Stalkers, and one wolf Howler.
"Alright, Carrots. You and me will handle them, together. Honey, stay with the girl." said Nick.
"Sure you can trust me with this?" Judy asked, sarcastically.
"I'm serious, Carrots." said Nick, as he began his way down to the next floor.
Judy didn't argue, and followed.
Nick snuck up, and strangled the first Runner he found. Judy jumped, and stabbed the first stalker with her own makeshift shiv. The other Stalker heard that, and charged, but Nick gunned it down. The Howler howled, and charged at Nick, but Judy returned the favor, by shooting at the Howler. Picking up a large pipe, Nick whacked at the last Runner, until he squished it's face.
"Not bad, for a bunny." Nick panted, smirking.
"You too, for a fox." Judy panted, grinning back.
Honey whistled, as she and Clem joined them. "I gotta say, it's good to have you both around."
The group continued, but found their way down was blocked by a steep drop, with no other way around it. The group headed into the room to the left, where they found the body of another boar soldier, hanging from a ledge. It looked like they would have to climb up to find another way down.
Nick gave Honey a boost, and from there, she helped up Clem, then Judy, and then Nick. Down the hall to their right came the sound of another Howler. The group took cover behind a counter in the next room. The tiger Howler sniffed around the room, looking for the prey it heard. Honey quietly picked up an empty glass bottle, and threw it across the room. The sound of shattering glass lured the Howler towards it's direction. The group snuck towards another ledge, and climbed up, sneaking through the open gap in the wall, landing safely in a stairwell, and out of the Howler's senses.
"Okay, we're clear. Everyone okay?" Honey asked the group. Nick and Judy nodded.
"Clem, you okay?" asked Honey.
"Other than crapping my pants, yeah, I'm fine." said Clem.
Hopping over the railing to the next flight of stairs down, Nick pulled a large, metal drawer, blocking the path.
"Ladies, first." Nick grinned.
"What a gentle-fox." Judy grinned back, as the girls hopped down to the next floor, Nick following close behind.
Seeing their path blocked again, the group had to traverse out the window, and cross using the lifts used for cleaning the building windows. Next, their backs against the walls, inching on the tiny space of ledge, they jumped to the next lift. After struggling to regain their balance on the wobbly lift, they hopped back into the building, via another open window.
From there, it was smooth climbing down to the bottom of the building. The group switched on their lights, to see in the darkness that surrounded the last floor of the building to see they made it to the subway. There, that's where they found the body of a moose Firefly. On his person was a map, and a makeshift molotov. Nick took the molotov, while Judy read the map, which led to the capitol building, and a note was at the top.
"These guys are from the quarantine zone." said Judy, reading the note. "It says, Be on the lookout for Dawn's second-in-command, and the girl, accompanying her. Second-in-command, Judy Hopps, Rabbit, Grey fur and purple eyes. The girl, a vixen, sixteen, orange fur and blue eyes. Make sure they're well fed, rested, and in good health. Top priority."
"Let's just hope there's someone still there at the drop-off." said Nick.
The group continued down the hall to the right, when the sound of Howlers echoed down the hall. One weasel Howler came into view, and the group ducked behind small, concrete walls. Luckily, savages weren't attracted to flashlights.
"We're almost out." said Honey. "Okay, Nick, Judy. You guys take the front. I'll take watch in the back. Clem, no matter what, you stay right on their heels."
"Okay." Clem nodded.
The group crouched down, and snuck slowly past the Howlers. The only way out was at an opening at the top of a ledge. A ladder was lying on the floor near the ledge, but a cat Howler was standing there, twitching.
Nick slowly approached the Howler, and stabbed it with his shiv. Quickly grabbing the ladder, and placing against the wall, the group climbed up, and through the opening in the wall, landing on the opposite side, near an old set of train tracks. The group proceeded up the slope of rubble, through the opening in the ceiling, and made it back outside on the street.
"Hoo-whee. I can't believe we made it through that." said Clem. "You guys are really good at this."
"It's called luck, and it is gonna run out." said Nick, bluntly. "Alright, so where to now, Honey?"
"Um, capitol building's in this direction." Honey pointed to the right, only to see a truck was blocking their way.
"Maybe there's something in there we can use for a lift up." Judy pointed to a large hole in the wall of a bricked building.
"Wait, I thought I heard something in there." said Nick.
Turning on his flashlight, Nick could make out the silhouettes of three savages. Nick brought out the molotov he picked up, and threw it, setting the savages ablaze, and they fell to the ground, consumed by the flaming liquid. The fire quickly burned out, leaving the bodies as smoking messes.
"Those soldiers looked like they just turned." said Honey.
"Then, let's not stick around, 'cause there'll sure be more around." said Nick.
Nick went inside the building, and came back out, pushing a large wooden crate on wheels, and placed it by the truck. The group climbed up and over, landing near a garage door, leading into an old museum they could use to cut across, to reach the capitol building.
Nick pulled on the chain, raising the garage door.
"Wait, I thought I heard something." Honey turned to hear the sound of a group of savages, headed right for them. "Okay, Nick. Double time."
Nick pulled the chain faster, and held it to hold the door open, just as the savages came into view. Judy, Honey, and Clem ducked underneath the door, and held it open for Nick to crawl through. A savage rabbit tried to get at Nick when he crawled through, but the door slammed down as soon as Nick was inside.
The group backed away as the savages were pounding at clawing at the door, luckily to no avail.
"Nick, you got something on your foot." Clem pointed to a severe savage rabbit arm, grasping at Nick's foot, which Nick kicked off, casually, luckily not landing a scratch.
The group worked their way out of the garage, and into the museum.
"Whoa, check out this place, and all this old stuff." Clem whistled in awe, looking at all the old sea-themed antiques and exhibits that survived the catastrophe, and left forgotten in the aftermath.
"So, Clem. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get bit?" asked Judy.
"Oh, I was in the mall when it happened." said Clem.
"That place is off-limits. How did you get in there?" asked Honey.
"Oh, I have my ways of sneaking in. I'd go in there to explore it, a bit. But then, there was a savage, a Runner, it bit me. Then, that was that. A couple days later, nothing." said Clem.
"Then, you just went to Dawn for help? Knowing her, I'm surprised she didn't shoot you." said Honey.
"She almost did." admitted Clem. "I hope she's okay."
"I told you, she's gonna make it." assured Honey.
The group worked their way up to the second floor, but found the way forward blocked by rubble. Nick used a nearby board, and pushed down to lift the rubble, to clear a path. Judy came up, and helped Nick hold it down. Only Honey and Clem made it through when the board broke, and more rubble came crumbling down. Nick and Judy backed away before any of it fell on them.
"Guys! You okay?!" Honey called.
"We're alright. We'll make our way to you." called Nick.
"Oh, no. They're here! Clem, run!" shouted Honey, as she and Clem ran from savages.
"Clem? Honey?!" called Nick. "Oh, crap."
"C'mon, we gotta catch up to them. I think that rubble cleared another way around through here." Judy pointed to a door that was blocked before, but not anymore.
Nick and Judy quietly trekked down the hallway, so not to draw the Howlers in the open room, next to them. They climbed the stairs, and at the top floor, they saw a raccoon Runner banging at a door to the right. Nick ran up, and smashed it's head on the wall, before it could realize what happened.
Nick kicked the door open, and saw a weasel Runner closing in on Honey. With a yell, Honey pushed the Runner off her, and smashed it's head with a two-by-four.
"You okay?" Nick asked, and Honey nodded.
"Guys, get in here!" Clem called from the other room.
Nick, Judy, and Honey ran up, and whacked the ferret Runner that tried to grab Clem. Several other Runners came into view, but Nick, Judy, and Honey stopped them in their tracks, by punching or shooting them down. When the coast was clear, the group caught their breath.
"You okay, Honey?" asked Nick.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little winded." said Honey.
"What about you and Carrots, kiddo? You two okay?" Nick asked Judy and Clem.
"Define okay." said Judy.
"You're still breathing, right?" said Nick.
"Do small, panicked breaths count?" asked Clem.
"Yeah, they count." said Nick.
"Alright, then we're okay." said Judy.
The group continued out the window, and up the fire escape, leading to the roof, where they could see the capitol building, in view. Grabbing a nearby long plank, Nick laid it between the gap of the two buildings to make a bridge.
"Alright, just be careful going across." said Nick.
Clem scoffed. Now, he was acting cautious towards her.
The group crossed, and stopped to look at the building ahead of them, the sunrise just peeking from behind it.
"So, that everything you and Clem were hoping for, Carrots?" Nick asked Judy.
"Jury's still out, but, man. You can't deny the view, though." Judy said in awe.
Nick nodded in agreement, for he hadn't seen a sunrise this awe-inspiring since...
"Hey, Nick. Let's pick it up. It's right down this ladder." Honey snapped him out of his thoughts. "We're almost done. Let's stay focused."
"Yes, ma'am." said Nick.
The group climbed down, and proceeded down another alley.
"Look, another Firefly." Clem to the body of an antelope Firefly. "What if something happened, and they're not there?"
"Don't worry. They will be." said Honey.
"How do you know?" asked Clem.
"I just do." insisted Honey. "It's gonna be alright. It has to be." Honey whispered that last part to herself.
The group climbed up another dumpster Nick found and pulled, for a boost up a scaffolding, and landed near a road, the capitol building just in view to their left, surrounded by water.
"Home stretch, ladies." said Nick.
"Hey, just so it's out there, I don't know how to swim." said Clem.
"Don't worry. It looks like it's shallow on this end. Just follow us, Clem." said Judy, as she and the group trekked through the waist-high water, and arriving at the steps.
"So, Honey, Nick. I know you guys are getting paid for this, but... I'm glad Dawn hired you." she said.
"What do you mean?" asked Nick.
"I'm just trying to say thanks, for getting us here." said Judy.
"Sure, thing." said Honey.
Climbing up the steps, the group entered through the doors. Hoping to be greeted by the Fireflies, the groups' hopes were diminished, when they were met with the bodies of fallen Fireflies, instead.
"No!" gasped Judy, covering her mouth with her paws.
"No, no, no!" Honey ran over to check for any survivors.
"Now, what do we do?" Clem asked Nick.
"Honey, what're you doing?" Nick asked his partner.
"Maybe, they, ah, had a map, or something. Something to tell us where they were going." said Honey.
"How far are we going to take this?" asked Nick.
"As far as it needs to go!" said Honey. "Where was this lab of theirs?" she asked Judy.
"Oh, I've never really been there, before, honestly." said Judy. "Most of my time was in other cities like Pittsburgh, or Dallas."
"Dawn never said where it was to me, either." said Clem. "She only mentioned it was someplace out west."
"What're we doing here? This is not us." said Nick.
"What do you about us? About me?" retorted Honey.
"I know that you are smarter than this." said Nick.
"Really?" said Honey. "Well, guess what. We're shitty mammals, Nick. It's been that way for a long time."
"No, we are survivors." said Nick.
"This is our chance to-"
"IT IS OVER, HONEY!" yelled Nick. Clem, Judy, and Honey flinched at the fox's outburst.
"Now, we tried. Let's just go home." Nick said, calmer.
"I'm not... I'm not going anywhere. This is my last stop." Honey gulped.
"What?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Our luck had to run out, sooner or later." Honey said, turning away from Nick.
Nick reached for Honey's shoulder. "What are you going on about-"
"No, don't! Don't touch me." Honey warned, stopping Nick from grabbing her.
Judy's face lit up with a horrible realization.
"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers." she gasped. "Nick, she's infected."
Nick turned to Honey, with a look of shock and disbelief.
"Nick..." Honey looked at the fox, feeling heartbreak over the news washing over her partner.
"Show it to me." said Nick.
"Nick, I didn't mean for this-"
"Let. Me. See. It." Nick said.
Honey pulled back the collar of her shirt to reveal the bite mark on her shoulder, the one she got from the Runner at the museum, before Nick and Judy found her and Clem, again.
"Oh, crap." Nick gasped.
"Oops, right?" said Honey, then she walked over to Clem. "Let me see your arm."
Honey pulled up Clem's sleeve to show her bite mark. "This was three weeks." she pointed. "I was bitten an hour ago, and it's already worse. This is freaking real, Nick!"
"Nick, you and Judy have got to get Clem to Gideon's." Honey said, standing to face Nick, again. "Gideon used to run with this crew. He'll know where to go."
"No. No, no, no." Nick insisted, otherwise. "This is your's and Carrot's suicidal crusade. I am not doing that!"
"Yes, you are." said Honey. "Look, there is enough here, that you have to feel some sort of obligation to me. So, you get them to Gideon's."
Judy's ears perked up, hearing something from outside. Judy ran to the window to see the military driving in trucks, and stopping short at the steps.
"Guys, the military's here." said Judy, running back to the group.
"Dammit." Nick muttered.
Honey withdrew her pistol. "Go. I can buy you guys some time, but you need to leave, now." she said, determination on her face.
"What? You want us to just leave you here?" said Clem, in disbelief of what she was hearing.
"Yes." Honey insisted, again.
Nick protested. "There is no way that-"
"I will NOT turn into one of those things!" Honey stopped Nick's sentence short. "C'mon, make this easy for me."
Nick shook his head. "I can fight."
"No! Just go!" Honey pushed Nick. "Just freaking go, already."
Nick shook his head one last time. Nick didn't like this, but he knew Honey was right, deep down. Nick turned to Clem and Judy. "Girls. Get ready to get a move on."
Clem couldn't stand seeing what was happening in front of her, and it made her feel guilty. "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean for this." she pleaded.
"Clem, we need to go, now." said Judy.
Nick, Clem, and Judy ran to the other end of the hall, when Honey called to Judy, making her stop at the back door.
"Judy. Look after Slick for me, too. Okay?" she called.
Judy silently nodded, biting back her lip. "Thank you." she whispered, before disappearing behind the door.
Taking a deep breath, Honey turned to the front door.
"We know you're in there! Drop your weapons, and come out with your hands up!" a soldier ordered.
Honey raised her gun, as the soldiers kicked the doors open, piling into the hall, towards Honey Badger...
Whew, boy. I think this is the longest chapter I've written in a fanfic, EVER. I hope you guys enjoyed it.
I own nothing, except a few OC's. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended.
Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. Thanks.