Hey, guys. I'm back with another chapter. This one marks the start of the winter arc. With that, please enjoy.
(Winter)
Even though the sky was clear and sunny, a cold wind blew across the forest. A blanket of clear, white snow had covered the forest floor. The wind shook the pine trees, adding more white snow to the blanket on the ground. The wind picked up the snow on the ground, creating small twisters of snow.
A hawk had flown down, perched on a low branch, searching for food. Suddenly, an arrow pierced right through the hawk, as it fell to the ground. Clementine approached the hawk, taking out the arrow, and picked up the bird.
Clementine wore a dark green overcoat, with a red hoodie underneath, and light-dark jeans. Judy was with her, waiting by Callus and Wart. Judy wore a dark blue coat, with a fur lining on the hood, and dark sweatpants.
"This won't last very long." said Clem, tying the hawk to Callus's saddle.
"Clem, behind you." Judy whispered, pointing behind Clem.
Clem turned to see an emu, slowly tromping down a slope. Clem tied Callus's reins to a tree branch.
"They'll just startle it." said Clem, then followed the emu, readying her bow.
Judy tied Wart's reins next to Callus's, then followed after Clem.
Sliding down the slope, Clem and Judy crouched, and crawled slowly to where the emu was. The emu was nearby a small cliff, digging through the snow, looking for some bugs in the ground to eat. Clem readied her arrow, and fired. The arrow landed a perfect shot, right on the emu's back. The emu, startled, bolted further up another hill.
Clem and Judy took after it, following the trail of blood it left from it's wound. The duo stopped near a tree when they found it again, by a rock wall. Clem fired another arrow, landing just beneath the last arrow on the emu's back. The emu bolted down a pathway between two rock walls.
"How is it still alive?" said Clem.
Clem and Judy continued following the blood trail, down the pathway, over a broken fence, then towards a small cliff. Judy and Clem jumped down. There, a wrecked, wooden building stood in front of them.
"Oh, boy." Clem whispered, uneasy.
"It's okay, Clem. This place ain't creepy, at all." Judy reassured.
The duo crossed through the building, and found themselves near an abandoned mill. The emu was on the ground, succumbed to blood loss. As Judy and Clem approached their catch, Judy's ears twitched at the sound of a twig snapping behind them.
"Who's there?!" Judy shouted, pulling out her rifle. "Come out!"
From behind a tree, out stepped a male rabbit, and a male sheep. The rabbit had grey fur, with black stripes, and blue eyes. The rabbit wore a dark blue overcoat, with a light red collared shirt underneath, and dark jeans. A rifle was slung on his back.
The sheep had white fleece, and green eyes. The sheep wore a dark green sweater, a green vest, a grey hat, and blue jeans.
"Hello. W-we just want to talk." said the rabbit, raising his paw in peace.
"Any sudden moves, and we put one right between your eyes! Ditto for buddy boy, over there!" Clem warned, aiming her bow at the rabbit.
"What do you want?" said Judy.
"Um, my name's Jack Savage. This here's my friend, Wooly." said the rabbit. "We're the leaders of a large group. Women. Children. We're all very, very hungry."
"So are we." Judy lied. "Women and children. All very hungry, too."
"Well, uh, maybe we could... trade you, for some of that meat, there." said Jack. "What d'ya need? Weapons? Ammo? Clothes?"
"Medicine! We need medicine!" Clem blurted. "Do you have any antibiotics?"
"We do. Back at our camp." said Jack. "You're welcome to join us-"
"We're not following you anywhere!" Judy said, holding her rifle back up. "Buddy boy over there can go get it, and he comes back with what we need, then the emu's all yours. Anyone else shows up..."
"You or the girl put one right between my eyes." Jack finished Judy's sentence.
"That's right." said Judy.
"Two bottles of the penicillin, and a syringe. Make it fast." Jack ordered the hesitant Wooly. "Go on!"
Wooly left, leaving Jack with the duo.
"I'll take that rifle." said Clem.
"Sure." Jack said, handing the rifle to Clem.
Clem switched from her bow to the rifle, pointing it at Jack.
"He's probably gonna be awhile." said Jack, nervously. "You, uh, mind if we take some shelter from the cold, in the mill?"
"Bring him with us." Clem said, pointing to the emu.
Jack dragged the emu into the mill, leaving a trail of smeared blood on the ground. The three then sat next to a small fire Jack built, for warmth.
"There we go." Jack said, warming his paws. "So, it's just the two of you, out here?"
"We're not that big on company, during hunts." said Clem.
"I see. You two got names?" asked Jack.
"Why you wanna know?" Judy asked, suspiciously.
"Look, I know it's not easy to trust a couple of strangers." said Jack. "But, whoever's hurt, you clearly care about them. I'm sure they're gonna be just fine."
"Hope so." Clem said, looking down with concern.
Suddenly, from outside, came the sound of familiar howling. The three stood back up alert, as a zebra Howler charged into the room. The Howler hissed, sniffing the air. Clem and Judy looked at the emu carcass. It must've followed the blood scent.
The Howler turned to the duo, and charged. Suddenly, the Howler was brought down by Jack, a revolver in his paw.
"You had another gun?" asked Judy.
"Sorry. Can't be too cautious." said Jack. "Okay, I'd really like my rifle back, now."
"No, you have your pistol." said Clem.
"Then, I sure hope you know how to use that thing." said Jack.
"I've had some practice." said Clem.
Jack slammed the door, locking it, then covered the emu carcass with a tarp.
"No matter what, we have to keep them out! Let's just hope they don't find our bird. Cover the windows!" said Jack.
"Help me block these windows, kiddo." Judy said to Clem.
Clem and Judy pushed a large, metal locker to block the windows on the left side. Suddenly, as they finished pushing the locker in place, a weasel Howler grabbed Clem by the shoulders, but Jack shot it in the face.
Soon enough, Savages, Runners and Howlers mostly, started to swarm the boarded windows on the front and right of the building. Clem and Judy covered the right, while Jack too the front.
"Looks like this is a big pack. They must've followed you two." said Jack.
"Maybe, they followed you and your friend." retorted Clem.
"Don't matter. We're stuck in this together." said Jack.
The Savages started clawing through the wood, trying to get in, yet it left them open for attack from the three mammals. The trio took down the Savages before they could get far. However, for every Savage they took down, two or more showed up. In so short amount of seconds, the boards were gone, and some Savages had crawled in.
However, the two rabbits and vixen were faster than the Savages, taking them down before they could lunge at the three. A hare Runner had grabbed Jack, but Judy punched the Savage in the face, while Jack shot it in the face.
The Savages stopped coming, but could still be heard, outside.
"Screw it. We're getting out of this building. Follow me." said Jack, as he kicked a door open.
The three ran down a hallway, and up a staircase. Several Savages' hans partially broke through the walls, trying to grab at the trio, to no success. At the top floor, Jack and Judy pushed another metal locker, while Clem shot at a few Howlers. The Savages' advance was blocked, as the rabbits succeeded in blocking the doorway.
"That should slow 'em down." said Jack, as he opened the double doors.
"You know where you're going?" Clem said, as she and Judy followed him into the interior of the mill.
"Never set foot in this place." Jack admitted.
"Great." Judy muttered.
The trio headed up a flight of metal stairs, onto a metal railing. Jack hopped over a metal pipe, which fell onto the railing. When Clem hopped over next, the combined weight sent part of the railing crashing down, taking Clem with it. Luckily, Clem wasn't badly harmed nor crushed, as standing on the pipe broke her fall. Clem rolled onto the ground floor.
"Kiddo, you okay?!" Judy called.
"Yeah, just a little sore from that landing." said Clem.
"Ah, shit. More Howlers." said Jack. "Get outta there!"
Jack ran further down the path, a ferret Howler following him. Judy turned back, hoping to find another way around. Below, Clem hid behind a wall, as two more ferrets Howlers were in view.
Crouching down, Clem crawled to an opening in the floor, and jumped down, avoiding the Savages. Clem quietly made her way out of the lower level, and up the ladder, back to the main ground floor. Heading down another narrow passageway, a wolf Howler charged around a corner, but it was brought down by Jack, with his gun.
"There you guys are." said Clem, catching up to Jack and Judy.
"Good to see your okay, sweetie." said Judy, putting her paws on Clem's shoulders.
"Come on. There should be another way back up, through here." said Jack, pointing to the left.
The trio head down towards the left, but were met with another dead end. There was another doorway above a ledge, in front of the trio, but no way to reach it.
"Wait, there's a ladder there. We can use that." Jack said.
On another ledge to the left, was indeed a ladder, but it was too high to reach.
"Wait, here's another ledge. Looks like it goes around. Boost me up." Judy said, pointing to another ledge, behind her.
Jack boosted Judy up to the ledge. Judy took out her rifle, and began to circle her way around the railing. Several of the shortcuts were already broken apart, and there was large machinery built around the railing, so Judy had to take the long way around, which was the railing against the wall. There were two or three Howlers on the railing, but Judy took them out, with a single shot each from her rifle.
Judy reached the ladder, and handed it down to Jack, while Clem caught Judy, when she jumped down. The trio hurried up the newly-placed ladder, and down a long hallway, leading to another main part of the mill. However, there was no other exit, other than the non-operating lift. Up on another smaller floor, there were several bodies of mammals, with their supplies scattered around.
"Geez. Looks like someone already fought those things, and lost." said Clem.
"Oh, dear lord. I've been looking for these boys." said Jack, recognizing the bodies.
"What'll we do? There's no other way out of the mill." said Judy.
"Can't help it. Grab their gear, and get ready to fight." said Jack.
"What's the other option?" asked Clem.
"We end up sharing the same fate as my friends, here." said Jack.
Judy, Clem, and Jack collected rifle ammo, handgun ammo, a few molotovs, and a few nail bombs. The sound of the Savages outside was getting louder. Shortly enough, the first Runner, a fox, charged down the hallway the trio just came through.
Judy was the first to shoot, bringing down the Savage. Two more Runners followed behind. Judy threw a nail bomb, blasting them to pieces. A lion Howler came up next, but Clem got it, with her nail bomb.
From up top, several Runners and Howlers were coming through the windows, via railing walkways, outside the top of the building. Jack and Clem took the right side of the second floor, while Judy took the left. The Savages started coming down both sets of stairs, on both opposite ends. Judy and Clem were able to stop them in their tracks with their rifles. However, they soon ran out of ammo, and resolved to using their handguns, and going for head shots.
Suddenly, from up top, came the sound of hard thumping on the roof.
"Maybe, that's just hail?" Judy said, nervously.
A rhino Bloomer came crashing onto the top of the lift.
"It's another one of those huge, freaking guys!" said Clem.
"There's more coming from the windows!" said Jack.
"You guys deal with them! I got the big guy!" said Clem.
Judy took care of the Howlers, while Jack handled the Runners. Clem had to use all of her molotovs to burn the Bloomer to a crisp. However, the Bloomer was badly burned, but it still kept moving, just slow, but still menacingly.
"I need one more!" called Clem.
Judy handed her molotov, and Clem threw it, bringing down the Bloomer, for good. Once the last of the Savages were dealt with, everything was quiet. From the outside, there was no howling, screeching, or moaning. Just the sound of the wind, blowing through the air.
"Hey, girls. I think we got' em all." said Jack.
"We killed ALL of the Savages?" said Clem.
"Don't sound so disappointed." said Jack.
"More like disbelieve." said Judy.
"Let's check the hall window." said Jack.
After collecting some supplies, like more ammo, from the remains of the Savages they fought, the trio moved back into the hall, and looked outside. Not a living Savage could be seen, nor heard anywhere near the mill, or near the woods.
"No Savages." said Judy.
"Yep, no more Savages." said Jack. "Alright, let's head back. Check on that bird of ours."
The trio had worked their way back to the entrance building. The emu was untouched, still under the tarp.
"Well, I gotta say, you two handled yourselves pretty nice, back there." said Jack. "I'd say we make a pretty good team."
"We just got lucky." said Clem.
"Lucky? Oh, no. No such thing as luck." said Jack. "No, you see, I have this belief. It's that everything happens for a reason."
"Really?" Clem said, doubtfully.
"Oh, I do. I can prove it, too." said Jack.
"Now, this winter has been especially cruel. A few weeks back, I, uh, sent a group of mammals out to a nearby town, to look for food. Only a few came back. They said that the others had been... slaughtered, by this crazy group. This crazy group consisted of four mammals. Three foxes, and one rabbit. But, get this. One of those foxes, was a teenage vixen..."
Clem and Judy's faces were lit up with horrifying realization.
"You see? Everything happens for a reason." said Jack.
"Clem, get behind me!" Judy said, as she sat up, and pointed her rifle at Jack.
"Now, don't get upset, love. It's not your fault. You're just looking after your kid, is all." said Jack. "Wooly, lower the gun."
The girls, with Clem raising her own gun, both turned to see Wooly behind them, at gunpoint.
"No way, Jack! I'm not gonna let 'em go!" said Wooly.
"I said, lower the gun." Jack said, dangerously calm.
Wooly obliged.
"Now, give them the medicine." said Jack.
Wooly obliged again, tossing them a small sack. Clem quickly picked it up from the floor.
"The others won't be happy about this." said Wooly.
"Well, that's not really your concern." said Jack.
"Move the fuck outta the way!" Judy ordered Wooly. "Come on, Clem. We're outta here."
"You won't survive for very long, out there." said Jack. "I can protect you."
"No thanks." said Judy, as she and Clem ran outside.
Clem and Judy ran up the hill. Clem took one look back at the mill, to make sure they weren't followed, then continued running. The duo ran through the woods, and made it back to their ostriches.
"Let's get outta here." said Clem, as they climbed onto their ostriches, and took off into the woods.
...
The duo rode as fast as the ostriches can. Eventually, as night began to fall, the duo made it back to the house they took shelter at. The house was part of a resort, called Whitefish Lake. The resort was near a frozen lake, the same lake, that the resort got it's name.
The duo rode their ostriches inside the garage, right next to Scab. Clem closed the garage door, behind them. The duo hurried down into the basement, where Danny was keeping watch of Nick. Danny was wearing a dark green coat, and dark jeans.
"Where were you two?!" said Danny.
"Sorry, things got complicated. I'll explain later. How's Nick?" said Judy.
"Been better." said Danny.
Nick was still unconscious. Nick was laid on a mattress, a blanket thrown over him for warmth.
"Hey, Nick. We're back." said Judy, pulling out the medicine. "We only managed to get a little bit of food. But, we did get medicine."
Judy pulled back the blanket, and slowly pulled up his coat and shirt. Judy bit her lip, when she saw the stitched-up wound on his right. Taking out the syringe, Judy filled it up with the penicillin. Judy then injected Nick with the medicine, near his wound. Nick winced, gasping at the pain.
"Sorry." Judy whispered, cringing at Nick's pain.
Judy pulled his shirt and coat back down, and laid the blanket over him, again.
"You're gonna be okay." Judy said, putting a paw on his forehead. "I'll keep watch over him. You guys get some rest."
"Fine by me." Danny said, pulling his hood up, and dozed off, immediately.
Judy laid down next to Nick, using her backpack for a pillow, and laid a paw over Nick's chest. A single tear escaped her eye. In all the time she'd known Nick, she learned to care for the fox. At first, it started off as just a mere good friendship, but then it grew into something more.
Love. Judy, a rabbit, in love with a fox. She'd never admitted it, out loud. She then pondered if she should tell him, the minute Nick woke up from his coma.
The only mammal, besides Judy, who had a good idea on how Judy felt for Nick, was Clementine. Clem watched from a corner, concern over her face. Reaching into her backpack, she looked around at some of the valuables she kept with her. Some things she could never replace, or the memories that went with them.
Clem pulled out a Firefly dog tag. It was Angel's.
"I miss you..." she whispered.
Clem tried to shake her head clear of the memory of her dear friend, her body hideously transformed into a Savage, just two days after they got bit. The memory of her having to shoot her friend, ending her short misery as one of them...
Clem put the tag back in her pack, and took out a toy robot. Leo's toy robot.
Looking at the toy made her think back to when they last talked. When they talked about if they believed there was an afterlife...
"I was so stupid. I should've said something different to you..." Clem whispered.
Putting the toy back in her bag, and took out her tape player. A lot of good memories, mostly about music, came from this.
"I should try to fix this." said Clem.
Clem put the tape player back, then took out an envelope. In the envelope was a note. One note Clem would always hold close to her heart. The note that held her mother's last words to her daughter.
"My darling Clementine,"
"If you're reading this, then these are my last words to you. Back then, before I met your father, I wasn't good with kids. Also, I hated babies. But then, when you were born, when I held you, it was the most incredible thing in my life. For the past eleven years, you've been my whole world. Now, that life is about to be cut short. Just know, everything I did, it was all for you. I have a dear friend named Dawn. She will look after you. There's no mammal I'd trust than her, with you. Just try not to give her such a hard time. Try not to be as stubborn as I was. Now that I think about it, it's probably why your father left, when he did. But, most importantly, remember that when things seem hopeless, life is still worth living. Find a purpose for you, something you love and care about, and protect it. I know you're gonna grow up to be the vixen I always hoped you'd be. Make me proud, Clem. Know that I'm always with you, and love you."
"Love, Mom"
Clem flipped the note to see, held from a paper clip, a picture of her mother, pushing a six-year-old Clem on a swing. Anna was the spinning image of her daughter. Orange fur, but had blue eyes. Clem figured she got the purple eyes from her dad. Anna wore a green dress in the picture, while young Clem wore a small, pink dress.
"I'm trying to make you proud, Ma..." she whispered, wiping a tear from her eye.
She put the note and photo back in the envelope, then back in her pack. Clem pulled out one last item from her pack.
Clem managed to sneak it from when Vicky showed it to her, back in Bunnyburrow. She knew Nick didn't want it at first, but she taught she'd hold onto it, in case he changed his mind.
It was the photo of Nick, with Cassie and Abby, at the soccer game. Clem had never seen Nick smile so warmly, and happy, like he did in this picture. What happened to his family, it really scarred him for life.
It was still hard to imagine that someone as tough and stoic as Nick, was once a devoted, and caring husband and father. A fox who simply loved his family, more than anything.
There was no telling what limits he'd go through to protect them. Much like how he did with her and Judy, as if they were Cassie and Abby...
"I should've given this to you, when I had the chance..." Clem whispered, then put the photo back in her pack.
Clem laid her backpack down, as a pillow, and tried to drift off to sleep. Clem hoped Nick would wake up soon, so she could give him the photo...
...
Clem was awoken from a faint sound, outside. Standing on top of a washing machine, Clem peeked out of the shirt, which acted like a curtain to the window, and saw three mammals, scouting the place.
"Oh, fuck. They tracked us." whispered Clem.
Clem quietly put her backpack on, then turned to Nick, Judy, and Danny, still sleeping.
"I'm gonna draw them away from here. I'll come back for you." Clem whispered, them quietly hurried out of the basement.
Outside, Clem slowly closed the garage door, then got onto Callus. Clem slowly rode down the street, keeping an eye to the two conversing scavengers, onto her right, oblivious to her presence.
"Are we sure they're here?" said a panther scavenger.
"There's ostrich tracks up and down the street. They're here." said a snow leopard scavenger.
Clem was almost through, when suddenly, a boar scavenger grabbed her by the arm.
"Hey! I got the kid!" shouted the boar.
Clem struggled to get out of his grip, then she pulled out her switchblade, and stabbed the boar in the throat. Her escape was executed too late, as the scavengers spotted her.
"Now! Shoot her!" cried the snow leopard.
"But, Jack said-"
"Fuck Jack! Shoot her now!"
Clem whipped Callus's reins, and bolted as a rifle bullet flew right past her. The ostrich ran as fast as his long legs could let him, as several mammal scavengers emerged from the corners of the house, ambushing the vixen. One or two mammals grabbed onto the ostrich's sides, but Clem kicked them off. Some mammals shot at the ostrich, but Clem evaded them.
Clem sped Callus towards the gate, leading out of the reserve, hoping the scavengers would follow, leading them away from the group. Suddenly, Callus screamed in pain, as a bullet struck him the throat. Callus tumbled down a hill, Clem fell off, and rolled onto the snow, down the hill. Clem picked herself up, and looked to see Callus, a pool of blood forming from his body.
"Oh, no. Callus. Shit." whispered Clem.
Clem had little time to mourn for her ostrich, as she took cover behind a boulder. Looking behind her, she saw two weasel scavengers searched for her, from on top of the bluff.
"She fell down the hill, somewhere! I don't see her, though!" said one weasel.
Clem took out her rifle, and ambushed the weasels, taking them down. Clem then ran down the hill, and towards a house. Clem climbed through a window, and took cover inside. She was in the bedroom, and made her way to the living room. Clem quickly took cover underneath a window, as she saw several more scavengers, scouting outside the area for her.
"Are we really supposed to kill her? Jack said he wants her back, alive." said a skunk scavenger.
"Jack doesn't get to make that call. Wooly said that she's part of the same group from both the university, and mall. How many of our guys were killed, there?" said a lion scavenger.
"Oh, shit. I didn't know that was her." said the skunk. "Screw Jack, then. We find this fox, and kill her."
"Let's make it quick. My tail is freezing out here." said the lion. "I'll go check this house."
The lion entered the house Clem was hiding in. Clem hid behind the couch, then ambushed the lion, stabbing him with her switchblade. Clem then crouched below the window again, and shot the skunk with an arrow. There was one more ferret scavenger, searching to the right, but Clem got him with her bow, before he could know what hit him.
Clem then crept outside. Clem was near a set of houses, by a small beach, where tourists could swim in the lake. A lifeguard tower was right by the frozen lake. There was also a snack bar in the center of the area. Far to the right, there was a stairway, leading away from the beach, and towards a lodge.
Clem hurried to the stairway, but ducked behind a restroom building, as three more scavengers came coming down the stairway, searching for her. Clem snuck around to the back, where one wolf scavenger checked the back, only for Clem to ambush him with her knife, taking him out, quietly. Clem snuck around the side, and took out both rabbit scavengers, with her bow.
Clem hurried up the stairs, then slowly crossed the broken bridge way. Clem slid across a support beam, to get to the other end of the bridge. Clem continued down the path, but it was blocked by a gate. Clem looked around to see she could cross through an open sewage pipe, in the wall. There was a crate wedged between the pipe, yet it wasn't heavy enough for Clem to move out of the way. With the way clear, Clem crawled through, and she made it out, right in front view of the lodge.
"Alright, almost there. Hang in there, guys." Clem whispered.
Clem made her way towards the lodge, another gate to the right, blocking her way. Clem had to go around the lodge, but took cover, as three more scavengers appeared. Picking up a nearby bottle, Clem threw it toward the pier, distracting the scavengers.
Clem took out her bow, and brought down another lion scavenger. She moved down to the pier, and took out another skunk scavenger, with her bow. Unfortunately, the cougar scavenger spotted her, and open fired. Taking cover behind a large crate, Clem took out the cougar, with her rifle.
With the coast clear again, Clem hurried towards the back of the ledge, only to find another gate, blocking her. Clem looked to her right to see two open windows in the lodge. One leading to a basement, and one to the ground floor. Clem pushed a dumpster, with some difficulty, towards the upper window. Climbing up the dumpster, she crawled through the window, and landed in the restaurant area of the lodge.
"Okay, don't wanna get trapped in here." said Clem.
Clem made her way out towards a room with a bay window, where two badger scavengers spotted her through the boarded window. Clem ducked behind a couch, as they open fired at the fox. Clem returned fire, bringing down both badgers. Clem turned to see one skunk scavengers hide in the main hall, down the hall.
Clem turned to her left to see a deer scavenger, charging towards her, from a dining hall. Clem jumped over to the other end of the couch, and shot at the deer, bringing him down, the minute he stepped into the room. Clem crept down the dining hall, and spotted the skunk scavenger, peeking out of his hiding spot. Clem ambushed him, bringing him down with her rifle.
The coast clear again, she rushed to the double doors, but they were blocked by a full trash bin. Clem pushed several times against the doors, but finally got them open.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind, putting her in a headlock. Clem had her switchblade, but her captor was strong enough to hold her arm back.
"Relax. I'm trying to keep you alive, here." said the all-too familiar voice of Jack. "There you go."
Clem started falling unconscious, suffocating under the rabbit's strong grip, and she dropped her switchblade...
...
Clem awoke, to find herself behind a metal cage-like cell. Wooly was in the same room as her, chopping up something on a table. When Clem looked closer, she saw Wooly had chopped a deer arm, with a butcher's cleaver. Wooly moved the arm right onto a pile of other arms, belonging to a variety of other mammals.
Clem gasped at the gruesome sight in front of her. Wooly turned to see Clem awake, her face shrouded with wide-eyed fear. Wooly then put the cleaver down, and left the room.
Clem thought these mammals were crazy before. Now, she knew they were crazy AND sick. Cannibals. Predator and Prey, alike. All the more reason to get out of here.
Clem tugged on the gate, but it was sealed tight, via a chain lock. That's when Jack came into the room, with a tray. A plate of meat and spaghetti, and a cup of water laid on the tray.
"How you feeling?" asked Jack.
"Super." Clem said, glaring at the twisted rabbit.
"Here." Jack said, placing the tray on the floor, and sliding it between the gap in the gate. "I know you're hungry. You've been out for quite some time."
"What is it?" Clem asked, eyeing the tray, suspiciously.
"It's emu." said Jack.
"With some other mammal helping, on the side?" asked Clem.
"No. No, I promise. It's just the emu meat." said Jack.
"You're a fucking animal." Clem spat, but bent down, and ate the meat, anyway.
"Last time I checked, we're all animals." said Jack, kneeling down.
"You know what I meant." said Clem, not bothering to look at him.
"Well, that's awfully quick to judgement." said Jack. "Considering you and your friends killed, how many mammals?"
Clem looked up to Jack, this time.
"They didn't give us a choice." she said.
"And you think we have a choice? Is that it?" said Jack. "You kill, to survive. Well, so do we. We gotta take care of our own. By any means necessary."
"So, now what?" Clem asked. "You gonna chop me up into little, tiny, bite-sized pieces?"
"I rather not." Jack chuckled, darkly. "Please, tell me your name."
Clem threw the tray back, in disgust.
"You're so full of shit." she hissed.
"On the contrary." said Jack, putting the tray aside. "I've been, ah, quite honest with you. Now, I think it's your turn. It's the only way I'm gonna convince the others."
"Convince them of what?" asked Clem.
"That you can come around." said Jack, placing his paw through the railing. "You have heart. You're loyal. Also, you're special."
Clem looked touched, as she placed her paw over Jack's. Seeing him fall for it, Clem snapped one of his fingers. Jack yelled in pain, as Clem grabbed his keys. Jack caught her, and pulled Clem's arm, slamming her repeatedly on the gate, until she let go of the keys. Clem pulled her arm free, and fell on the ground, blood dripping from her nose.
"You stupid, little girl!" Jack hissed, picking the keys back up. "You are making it VERY difficult to keep you alive. What am I supposed to tell the others, now?!"
"Clementine." Clem said, wiping her nose.
"What?" said Jack.
"Tell them that Clementine is the name of the little vixen, who broke your FUCKING FINGER!" Clem barked.
"How'd you put it? Hm?" Jack said, a dark look on his face. "Little, tiny, bite-sized pieces?"
"See you in the morning, Clementine..." Jack said, as he left the room.
Clem laid in the middle of the floor, scared. Yet, despite her fears, she knew, deep down, Judy and Danny would know she was missing, by now. She knew, deep down, they were out there, looking for her. She knew, deep down, they would rescue her. She'd just wished Nick would wake up from his coma, and come rescue her, too.
Hoping, and wishing was all she could do, right now...
Well, that's it for this chapter. Next up, we'll see Clem face off against Jack. Another best scene in the entire game.
I know from the bat that none of the prey mammals in Zootopia eat meat, but this is a post-pandemic time. Some mammals, like prey mammals, would've developed a taste for meat, or cannibalism. That's what adds to the dark atmosphere of the story.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and who I picked for David. I know he was supposed to be the main character, in one of the early plots of the movie, but his name just screams antagonist. Also, since I'm a Wildehopps fan, It's just easier and fun to see him as one. When I say this, I mean no offense to those who like Jack. Also, Wooly, he's another scrapped character from the movie, so I simply replaced him with James.
I own nothing, expect a few OC's, minus Daniel. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Thanks. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic.