Hey, guys. I'm back with another chapter. Not much to jot down on this note, except I hope you enjoy.
"Talk about harsh punishment back there, huh?" said Clem, referring to the thief the hunters caught with the noose, earlier.
"It ain't no different to what the military does back in Boston." said Nick.
"Guess not." said Clem.
The trio continued their way towards another building with a garage. Clem pulled the chain, while Nick held the garage door up, and Judy wedged a cart into the space to hold it open, since there was no chain, this time.
Nick and Clem crawled through, and Nick held the door again, so Judy could pull the cart out, putting it back in it's rightful place, right near the ledge that was blocked by large crates, save for a small space above for them to climb over. Nick closed the door, and the trio climbed over the boxes.
When they entered another room, the sound of tires screeching could be heard outside the windows. Nick, Judy, and Clem ducked, as a lion and lioness survivor were gunned down by the Humvee truck, but the lioness was still alive.
"Nick, we gotta help her." whispered Clem.
"If they see us, they'll kill us with that thing." Nick referred to the truck.
A panther hunter stepped out of the back of the truck, and finished off the lioness.
"Busy couple of days, huh?" an antelope hunter asked the panther hunter.
"Whatever, dude." said the panther hunter, as he searched the lioness's body for supplies they could salvage. "Damn, no food. Old pair of shoes. These guys got nothing. Let's go."
The hunters piled back into the truck, and drove away. The trio got back up from hiding.
"Oh, man." Clem exhaled, heavily.
"I know, Clem. I really wanted to help, but giving the circumstance, there was nothing we could've done, without endangering us." said Judy.
"I know. Just... Oh, boy." Clem nodded.
"C'mon. We need to get to that bridge." said Nick, turning towards a door on the left.
The trio headed up another flight of stairs, when the sound of two more hunters, both armadillo's, came from the wall. Hiding behind the corner, Nick and Judy ambushed the hunters, and opened fire. As soon as the coast was clear again, the trio hurried back outside, out a large opening in the hall, down a truck, and back onto the street.
However, the trio took cover behind another truck, as there were more hunters. One group was on the street, and one group was up the second floor of a building, across the street, with a large hole in the wall for them to easily see and scan the area. What's more, there were a couple of nail bomb booby traps, connected between a car and mailbox, and one with a car and a lamp post.
There was only one way around this. Nick, Judy, and Clem would have to go up and around the building where the hunters were, then back down the street. The trio crawled past the street, and up the stairs. Nick snuck up behind one leopard hunter, and took him out with his shiv. Clem aimed her bow, and shot at a second, unsuspecting leopard hunter. One cheetah hunter heard the commotion from the staircase across the room, and checked the bodies, only for Judy to sneak up, and take him out with her shiv.
The trio headed down the opposite flight of stairs, emerging outside, on the other end of the booby traps. Taking cover behind more cars, Judy and Nick opened fire at the remaining three sloth hunters with their rifle and shotgun, before they even knew what hit them.
"Whoa, nelly. Once again, endure and survive." Clem whispered, as the coast was clear, again.
"What? Oh, right. The comic book thing." said Nick, as the trio got out of cover, and continued on their way.
"Holy smokes. I guess this is how it ended for this zone." Judy pointed to a line of three skeletal remains of wolf soldiers.
"Well, every battle's got a losing side." said Nick.
"What if they all had families?" asked Clem.
"Everyone has a family." said Nick. "Best not to dwell on it."
"How can you not?" asked Clem.
"C'mon, I'll give you a boost, and see if you can get that ladder down." Nick pointed to the nearby fire escape.
Nick boosted Clem up, and she brought down the ladder, which the trio proceeded up to the fire escape.
"Look, we're getting close." Nick pointed to the bridge, just a few more miles away.
The trio jumped down another truck from the fire escape, then back onto the street.
"Hey, I stayed at a place like this. Back in the Boston QZ." Clem pointed to a building with a sign on it's gate that read, 'Military Preparatory School'.
"Oh, Cheese and Crackers. Military Preparatory School. Great way to brainwash our next generation." Judy rolled her eyes.
"I saw it as another fancy way of saying, 'Orphanage'." said Clem. "You think maybe some of the teenagers that were placed here, they grew up to be those hunters we're fighting?"
"That, or they got away." said Nick.
"But, you don't believe that." said Clem.
"I believe in getting out of the city. Let's go." said Nick, leading the trio down an alley.
"Oh, hey. There's another one of those posters." Clem pointed to a large movie poster, showing the movie, 'Wrangled'. "These posters are everywhere."
"Oh, yeah. I saw this when it came out. Right before the outbreak." said Nick.
"So, what happens? Same, sappy fairy tale ending?" asked Clem.
"It wasn't all like that. It was a pretty good movie, for a kid's movie, anyway." said Nick.
"Oh, yeah? Who dragged you to see it, then?" asked Clem.
Nick sighed. The last time he saw that movie, it was with...
Nick shook his head. There was no time to think about that right now. Judy noticed Nick's demeanor. She could tell it was sad, but didn't understand why.
"I don't know." Nick simply said. "C'mon, we need to keep moving, and stay focused."
"Okay." Clem nodded.
The trio worked their way down the alley, but stopped when they saw the hunters' Humvee through a gate.
"It's okay, they don't see us, yet. Move quick and quiet." whispered Nick.
The trio past through the gate, then past through another building. There was an armadillo hunter, guarding the left side of the building. Nick grabbed him from behind, and took him out with his shiv. Nick, Judy, and Clem had to cross into the open street to get forward, luckily there was a car they took cover behind from the Humvee. The trio snuck into another smaller building for cover.
The trio saw the cheetah hunter too late, as it called to the Humvee, before Nick shot him down with his gun. The trio ducked into another room via the open office window, as the Humvee's machine gun open fired.
"GO! RUN!" Nick cried, pointing to a back door, close to where they were hiding, and leading down another alleyway.
The trio ran out the back door, and down the alley, out of the truck's reach. Suddenly, the truck broke through the barred gate, and after the trio. Nick, Judy, and Clem took cover into another building. Heading up the stairway, they found themselves in another office building. Nick looked out the window, to see the Humvee right above them.
"Alright, follow my lead, quietly." Nick said, stepping out of the window, back against the wall, and sliding down the small ledge, inch by inch.
Judy and Clem followed closely behind, as they hopped into another window, leading into an apartment. The trio headed into the living room, and out the window, back onto the small ledge. They inched by again, as they saw the Humvee drive out of the alleyway, below them.
"It's okay. I think they lost us." said Nick.
The trio climbed back into another apartment, when Nick and Judy were both grabbed by something, or someone, behind them. The four struggled, Nick and Judy forcing them against the wall, despite being in a tight grip. Clem rushed at the mammal who had Nick with her switchblade, and cut their arm, before being knocked back on her feet. Nick's captor loosened his grip, distracted by Clem, and head-butted his captor, throwing him down on the ground. Nick kicked swiftly to Judy's captor in the face, setting her free, before pushing him down. Nick kept punching his captor, while Judy kicked her captor down, repeatedly.
"Nick! Judy! Guys, both of you stop!" Clem cried. "Look!"
Nick and Judy stopped and looked up to see a group of mammals, looking terrified. The group consisted of a family of four otters, and a teenage panther.
The otter family had one father, a mother, and their two sons. All the otters had smooth brown fur, but the mother had light green eyes, the father had amber eyes, the oldest boy had hazel eyes like his dad, and the youngest had green eyes like his mom.
The mother was dressed in a purple sweater jacket, purple shirt, and black pants, with a tannish backpack on her back. The father had a green sweater-vest, with white flannel shirt underneath, and green pants, with a brownish backpack on his back. The oldest son had a dark blue t-shirt, and dark blue pants, with an orange backpack on his back. The youngest son had an orange jersey shirt, and orange jersey shorts, with a camouflage backpack on his back.
The teenage panther had dark fur, and light blue eyes, wearing a yellow hoodie, a white shirt underneath, and jeans, with a green backpack on his back.
"Leave them alone." the jaguar warned, as he, the father otter and his older son had their guns trained on them, with the mother holding a hunter's knife in her right paw, and defending her youngest son with her left arm.
"Easy, guys. Just, take it easy." said Nick, as he and Judy backed away.
"We don't want any trouble. We just wanna get out of here, that's all." Judy assured the group.
"So do we." said the father otter.
"It's alright. They're not the bad guys." said Nick's captor, picking himself up. "Lower the guns."
The group putted away their weapons, as Nick's captor helped up Judy's captor.
Nick's captor was an adult jaguar with dark fur, and light green eyes, wearing a sleeveless, white shirt, and jeans, with a green backpack on his back.
Judy's captor was a male fox with orange fur, dark blue eyes, and a scar running down his face, wearing a grey hoodie, a black vest, and jeans, with a light brown backpack on his back. On his backpack was a holstered baseball bat, with light brown wood, and a saw blade screwed into the top middle of the bat.
"Damn, girl. You and your boyfriend hit hard." the fox rubbed the top of his muzzle.
"Yeah, well, we were trying to kill you, for trying to kill us." Nick retorted.
"Consider yourselves lucky I didn't use Ol' Betsy, here." the fox pointed to his bat.
"Yeah, we thought you were one of them, too. Then, we saw you." the jaguar pointed to Clem. "In case you haven't noticed, they don't keep kids around. Survival of the fittest."
"You're bleeding." the teenage jaguar said to the adult jaguar, noticing his scratch.
"It's fine. Lemme see your bag for a minute." said the adult jaguar, pulling a bandage to wrap around his wound from the teenager's backpack.
"I'm Renato Manchas. This is my son, Leo Manchas." the jaguar introduced himself and his son.
"I'm Daniel. My friends call me Danny." said the fox.
"I'm Emmitt Otterton. This is my wife, Olive Otterton. These are our boys, Oscar and Alan Otterton." said the father otter. "Your names are Nick and Judy, if I heard right?"
"Yes. Judy Hopps, and Nick Wilde." said Judy.
"I'm Clementine." said Clem, getting the introductions out of the ways.
"How many of there are in your group?" asked Nick.
"The hunters killed the rest of them." said Oscar, the oldest son.
"Son, we don't that for sure." said Emmitt.
"There were more of us. Someone had the fancy idea of entering the city to look for supplies. Then, those animals ambushed us, and scattered us." said Manchas.
"Now, it's all about getting out of this shit-hole." said Danny.
"Well, maybe we can help each other." said Clem.
"Clem... I don't know." Nick said, wearingly.
"C'mon, Nick. Safety in numbers, and all that. At least, until we get out of the city, then we can go our separate ways." said Judy.
"She does have a point. We could help each other, until we get out of the city, at least." said Manchas. "We have a hideout not far from here. Be safer if we chat there."
"I dunno, dude. If Nicky here doesn't trust us, how can we trust them?" asked Danny.
"There's more of you than us." said Judy.
"Fine. Take us there." said Nick.
"Follow us." said Emmitt.
The group headed out of the apartment, and down the stairwell.
"Hey, Clementine. Sorry about me, my dad, and Leo pulling guns on you." said Oscar.
"It's okay. I would've done the same thing." Clem smiled at the kid. "So, me, Judy, and Nick are from the Boston QZ. Where're you guys from?"
"All the way from the QZ in Hartford, Connecticut." said Olive.
"Really? I hear some gnarly stuff going on, down there." said Judy.
"Yeah, the military abandoned the zone. Probably looks like this, right about now." said Emmitt.
"So, it's just you and your parents, Clem?" asked Alan.
"Oh, we're not related. Nick and Judy are my guardians." said Clem.
"We promised some friends of ours we'd look after her." said Nick.
"We can appreciate that." said Emmitt.
"Two foxes, and a bunny. Something funny about that." smirked Danny.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Judy raised her eyebrow at the other fox.
"I'm just surprised you haven't pissed your pants with fear around them, yet." shrugged Danny.
"I'll have you know, I ain't your average bunny." said Judy. "I got enough wisecracks from Nick, the first day we met."
"Sorry, didn't mean to steal your thunder there, Nicky." Danny winked at Nick, who just glared at him.
"Alright, Danny. That's enough." said Manchas. "You'll have to excuse him. He's got his own sense of humor."
"Noted." said Nick.
The group made it to the bottom of the steps, and crossed into a toy shop.
"Wait, you guys hear that?" Danny whispered. "Get away from the windows."
The group ducked behind the counters, as the hunters' Humvee came cruising through, and then it was gone. The group got back up, slowly.
"That damn truck." mumbled Emmitt. "Been hounding us ever since we got into this-"
"Leo, what're you doing?" Manchas asked Leo.
"Nothing. I'm just looking." Leo said, holding a toy robot in his paw.
"Well, put it back." said Manchas.
"My backpack is practically empty. This thing weights like nothing." said Leo.
"Son, what's the rule about taking stuff?" asked Manchas.
"We only take what we have to." Leo sighed, putting the robot back where he found it.
"That's right. Now, let's go." Manchas said, leading the group to the back door.
Clem looked back to see Alan sneaking the toy into his backpack, when none of the adults were looking. Clem couldn't help but smile at that.
Outside, the group took cover as a group of hunters were conversing near a couple of vans. Two hunters, both weasels, were up on a roof. Nick grabbed some supplies out of his backpack, and customized a nail bomb, which he threw at the the three zebra hunters, blowing them to smithereens. Judy made quick work of the two weasel hunters with her rifle.
"Whew. Not bad there, long ears. You too, old timer." said Danny.
"Old timer? I'm only thirty-two. How old are you?" asked Nick.
"Twenty-six." said Danny.
"Alright, our hideout is up that way. Let's go." Manchas pointed to the rooftops.
The group made their way up one of the vans, and up the rooftops. They crossed a metal bridge, and into another office building.
"You sure this place is secure?" asked Nick.
"Well, we locked it. They don't have the key." said Manchas, pulling out the key, and unlocking the double doors.
"How'd you get that?" asked Judy.
"I took one out for it. They won't miss it, now." said Manchas, as he led the group down to the end of the room, which was an artist's room.
There was a conference room to the right, and a kitchen lounge to the left. At the end of the room was the main director's office, which served as Manchas' group's hideout.
"Welcome to our office, Mr. Wilde, and Ms. Hopps." said Emmitt, jokingly.
"So, how long have you guys been holding up in here?" Clem asked Leo.
"Few days." said Leo. "We found a bit of food, though. Here, we'll show you."
"So, how old are you, guys?" Clem asked the Otterton boys, as she sat down on the couch with them and Leo.
"I'm eight. Alan's six." said Oscar.
"That young, huh?" said Clem, in amazement.
"How old are you?" asked Alan.
"Um, sixteen." said Clem. "How old are you, Leo?"
"Me? The same." said Leo.
"Oh, you're sixteen. Huh?" Manchas smirked, knowing his son was just trying to impress the girl.
"Well, I'm close." admitted Leo.
"Okay." Manchas smiled, playfully.
"Don't worry. I am." Leo whispered to Clem.
"We have blueberries. Found a whole stash of them." said Olive, holding a handful of blueberries to Nick. "Want some?"
"No thanks." Nick politely declined, but then reconsidered. "On second thought, I'll have one or two."
Nick ended up taking half. "Mm. Haven't had one of these in years." Nick said, savoring the taste of blueberries.
"You can relax, Nick. We're safe here." Emmitt grinned.
"So, why haven't you guys left?" Nick asked, pocketing the rest of the blueberries.
"Been waiting for the right opportunity." said Manchas.
"And?" asked Judy.
"Here, we'll show ya." Danny said, leading the adults to a window. Down below, a group of hunters were guarding the checkpoint gate, leading to the bridge.
"Just look at those smug sons of bitches." sneered Danny. "Everyday, they congregate down there. Guarding that damn bridge."
"Come nighttime, it's down to a skeleton crew." said Manchas. "With most of them gone, we sneak right past them. That's our window."
"That could work." said Nick.
"Oh, it'll work, alright." said Emmitt. "It'll definitely work."
"Emmitt, look." Olive grinned, pointing to the kids.
"Wow." Emmitt chuckled.
The adults saw Clem trying to balance a blueberry on her muzzle. She flicked the blueberry into the air, but it landed on her head, instead of her mouth. The boys giggled, along with Clem.
"Blueberry hurt ya?" Leo chuckled.
"I wanna try again." Clem laughed, rubbing her forehead.
"It's been a while since those boys cracked a smile." said Emmitt.
"Maybe they'll hit it off." grinned Judy. "They could all use someone their own ages, kid or teenager, to hang with. Someone new to the mix is a good touch, too."
"She doesn't seem bothered by all of this." Danny referred to Clem.
Nick grinned, seeing Clem smiling and laughing like that with the boys, it reminded him when a few kids from the elementary school in his town came to visit his own little... Nick shook his head clear, inner scolding his mind to not be bringing stuff like that up, again.
"So, where were you guys headed?" asked Nick, sitting down in front of the desk.
"We heard the Fireflies were based out west, somewhere." Manchas said, sitting behind the desk. "We were thinking of joining up with them."
"Yeah, sure." Nick chuckled.
"Something funny?" asked Manchas.
"Oh, nothing. It's just a lot of mammals are putting all their stock on the Fireflies, these days." said Nick.
"That's what I keep telling this sorry bunch." Danny rolled his eyes. "Their cause is a lost one, but I think them, and anyone who looks up to them, is just in denial."
"Well, maybe there's a reason for mammals pinning their hopes on them." Judy retorted. "You should also never judge a book by it's cover, either. Sometimes, you just might surprised, if you have a little more faith in something."
"Thanks, mom." Danny rolled his eyes, again.
"So, you guys have no clue where they are, and you're just drag your boys cross-country to find them?" asked Nick.
"I'll tell you this." Manchas leaned in, closer. "How about we worry about our kids, and you worry about yours?"
"Easy, buddy." said Nick. "It just so happens we're on the same boat. We're looking for the Fireflies, too. Actually, I know one. My brother, Gideon. He used to be a Firefly, but not anymore. Last I heard, he was in Bunnyburrow, down in Wyoming. So, we find him, we find the Fireflies. What do ya say? You guys want in?"
Manchas, Danny, and the Ottertons looked at each other.
"Well, let's wait until we ask the boys. Don't want to make a big decision like that, without consulting them, first." said Olive. "Last time we all made a decision without consulting anybody... Well, that's how we got here, now."
"In the meantime..." Emmitt pulled out a map of Zootopia, laying it on the table. "Here's where we are. Over here is an abandoned military radio station, just outside the city. Any survivors from our group, there's supposed to meet us there, tomorrow."
"You two and Clem want to join us, it goes down tonight." said Manchas.
"Well, I'd guess we better rest up, then." said Nick, nodding his head.
"Way ahead of ya, boss." Danny said, slumping on the other couch, and pulling up his hood, drifting off to dreamland.
...
Night had fallen, when Clem woke up Nick, who was asleep in the same chair he sat in, earlier.
"Emmitt says it's time to get moving." said Clem.
Nick nodded, and pulled himself up.
"Alright, boys. We're gonna be moving fast. So, no matter what, you two stick to me and your mom like glue. Got it?" Emmitt instructed his sons.
"Got it. Like glue." the boys repeated back.
"Good, boys." Olive patted them on the back. "Alright, gang. Everyone ready?"
"Guess we're gonna find out." said Nick.
"Good, follow me." said Manchas, as he led the group out of the office. "Y'all stay close. It's just down this flight of stairs, up ahead."
"You guys ever tried this, before?" said Judy.
"Uh, yeah. Once." said Danny.
"That's reassuring." Nick rolled his eyes.
"Relax, old man." said Danny.
"Just hope you guys know the way." said Nick.
"It's this way." Manchas pointed to the flight of stairs, leading down to the main lobby.
The group made their way down, but stopped short as two lion hunters were conversing inside, trying to get warm by a barrel fire.
"We need to take them out, quietly." Manchas whispered to Nick. "I'll follow your lead."
"Okay." Nick said, crouching and crawling slowly to the hunters, Manchas behind him.
The duo took out the lion hunters with their shivs, then motioned for the group forward, the coast clear. From outside, the group could see the gate, but the hunters had a searchlight, shining it around the streets, looking for Savages.
"There's a Howler! Get it!" One coyote hunter called, and fired at the rabbit Howler with his rifle. "Hoo-yeah! Bulls-eye!"
"Okay, there's a generator over there, and a guard. You guys hang back, while I take care of the guard, and Danny gets the generator, which'll turn off the searchlight. As soon as it's off, move up. We'll use the cover of the dark to get the jump on the hunters." Nick laid out his plan. "Me and Danny can use the cars laid around as coverage, and to advance our way up, while the light is moving back and forth."
"So long as I get to use Ol' Betsy here, I'm all for that plan." said Danny, pulling out his bat.
Nick and Danny began moving along the side of the cars, standing in the shadows, while the searchlight kept finding more Howlers to target. Nick and Danny moved up as the searchlight was more to the right, making to another row of cars, just mere feet away from the gate. The light moved across to the left, this time. Once the light past them, Nick and Danny hopped over the cars, with Nick taking out the hyena hunter, and Danny turning off the generator, thus turning off the searchlight.
"Hey, we lost power to the light! Let's check it out!" called the coyote hunter.
"Okay, they did it. Let's move up." said Judy. "Stay close, kids."
The group moved up to where Nick and Danny ducked back behind cover. Several hunters were already on the ground, searching. Nick, Judy, Danny, and Olive snuck up, and took out four of the seven hunters with their knives and bat, while Manchas and Emmitt finished off the remaining three with their guns.
"Alright, that's all of them. To the gate." Manchas pointed to the large, metal door.
Nick and Manchas lifted up the large, metal bar holding the gate closed, and the group rushed inside as the Humvee came into sight. Nick and Manchas slammed another metal bar between the gates, locking the hunters and their Humvee out. On the top of a truck was another coyote hunter, but Judy was quick to take him out with her gun, before he got a chance to shoot. The outer gate was rusted shut, so the group had to climb up and across the truck.
"Alright, up and over this truck! Let's go!" Nick said, giving Manchas a boost up.
Manchas climbed up a small, remaining part of a ladder, which the rest was mainly sawed off on purpose, or broke on it's own. After Manchas was on top of the truck, Leo went next, then Olive, Emmitt, Oscar, and Alan. When Clem was boosted up, the small ladder broke off, but she caught the edge of the roof, just in time. Leo and Oscar pulled Clem the rest of the way up.
From behind the group, the Humvee was trying to break through the inner gate.
"Okay, now we gotta get them up!" said Oscar, referring to Nick, Judy, and Danny.
Manchas looked to them, then to the gate, and then back to the three, remaining mammals, wondering what to do. "I'm sorry, there's no time. We need to go, now!"
"What?!" exclaimed Leo.
"Renato we can't just leave them!" said Olive.
"Now!" ordered Manchas, pulling Leo away.
"Renato! Oh, Damn." Emmitt grunted, leading his family away.
"Guys, wait!" called Clem.
"What the fuck, guys?!" Danny called, in disbelief.
Nick and Judy just looked on, in disbelief. Clem jumped back down to Nick, Judy, and Danny.
"Kid?! What're you doing?! You just blew your only chance!" said Danny.
"We stick together!" said Clem.
"Wait, there's a garage door, here! Maybe we can get through here!" Judy pointed to the garage door.
All four mammals lifted the garage, while Nick held it open for Judy, Clem, and Danny to crawl through. Danny held the door open for Nick for him to crawl through, and slammed it closed, just as the Humvee broke through, and open fired on the door, the sound of the bullets bouncing off the strong metal of the door.
The team of four made their way through the garage, leading into a tavern, where three wolf hunters were guarding the area. Danny took out one hunter with his bat, while Nick and Judy took the remaining two out with their guns. The coast clear again, the four rushed to the double doors, but found it chained up, so they ducked under and squeezed through the small gap in the doors.
As soon as they were out, they rushed to the bridge, but then, the Humvee broke through the rusted gate. The four ran faster, as the truck had it's lights fixed on them, and opening fire with the machine gun. The four took cover behind old train cars to dodge the bullets, all while running for the end of the bridge, but to their horror, the rest of the bridge was blown away, in half.
"Oh, shit!" cried Danny.
"What'll we do know?!" Clem cried, in a panic.
"C'mon, up and over this train car!" said Nick. "We'll run right past them!"
"Nick, they're gonna kill us!" said Judy.
"What other choice do we have?!" said Nick.
"We jump." said Clem.
"No, Clem! It's too high, and you can't swim!" said Judy.
"You guys can keep me afloat!" said Clem.
"Clem!" Nick exclaimed, just when the Humvee tried crashing through one of the train cars, blocking them from the four mammals.
"No time to argue! Go!" Clem shouted, then ran, and jumped into the water.
"Clementine! No!" shouted Judy.
"Aw, dammit!" Nick shouted, then rushed to the edge of the bridge. "GO! GO!"
Nick, Judy, and Danny jumped into the water, after Clem. They resurfaced, being pulled down by the rapids.
"NICK!" Clem cried, flinging her arms into the air, trying to stay afloat.
Nick swam with the current, but fighting against it at the same time, so he wouldn't miss Clem. "I got ya! I got ya!" he said, grabbing Clem in his arms.
"Nick, look out!" Judy cried.
Nick looked up to see a large rock, pointing out of the surface of the water. "NO! NO! NO! NO!"
The last thing Nick felt, before falling unconscious, was the hard force of the rock, smacking against his back...
Well, guys. Gonna stop this chapter at what makes out to be the best cliffhanger, if it were considered that in the level of the game. Next one, will probably the last chapter in the summer arc.
So, Manchas and his son, Leo, an OC of mine, replace Henry and Sam from the game, replacing a father-son relationship instead of brotherly relationship. The Otterton family is based on a group, led by a man called Ish, found and mentioned in the sewer level of the game, with only Ish, one woman, and a couple kids are the only known survivors. How that ties into this fanfic, that'll be explained in the next chapter. Daniel, or Danny for short, if that's okay for me to call him that, is the OC created by a guest reviewer. So, thank you for introducing him. I'll be sure to work a good backstory for him, later on in the fanfic.
I own nothing, except a few OC's, minus Daniel. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Thanks. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic.