Three bomb detonations echoed right above us, each one not two seconds from the last.
"Sounds like those were twenty-pounders," Luke said. "I've never gotten over the sound of them, though."
"Might that explain why you have your paws over your ears?"
"Yes, Mom," he said, tucking his tail between his legs. "I hope you're not mad at me. I mean, I was only ten when all of this started- I try to be tough, for Dad, you know, but they scare me so badly. One fell right behind me yesterday- it nearly killed me."
"I understand completely, Luke, I really do," I said, putting my arm around his shoulder. " Can I tell you something- well, not until you untuck that tail. You have nothing to be afraid of, I promise."
"I don't get it, Mom. I have plenty to be afraid of, you don't have to pretend for me."
"Not if you have hope. I get through my days on hope. It's all I have left. If it wasn't for your dad, I don't think I could have kept on going. Nick, did you ever tell him how we met?"
"He knows, remember? He was there, Judy- the kid's thirteen," he whispered. "Yes, I know you won't remember, but he does."
"When I became a cop, my first case nearly destroyed the city. No, scratch that, it did. The official records show that I resigned during a meeting with Chief Bogo and Mayor Bellwether, but I was fired. Chief Bogo fired me before that meeting for insubordination, he just wanted to cover that up from Bellwether and from the press. Nick was the only reason I got through the whole thing.
"The darn fox disappeared for months, goodness, it was nearly a year until I found him under a bridge, and those months were the most miserable of my entire life. When I found him, I bared my soul to him, and I started bawling like a baby. I had never felt so awful, so it was enough of a shock to have him not angry at me, let alone outright forgive me."
"I remember, Mom."
"How…?"
"You guys got married just about three years ago. Mom, the Night Howler case was when I was ten, don't you remember that? You and Dad were college sweethearts and you got engaged. It wasn't for nearly a decade that you got married. By that time, both of you were cops. Dad and I spent years on the street together- after he got out of college, no one would hire him. You went back to the farm to save up until you had enough money for the ZPD Academy. We visited you every other day, don't you remember that?
I just stood there, dumbstruck.
"Mom? Are you alright over there? You were just staring off somewhere."
"Yes, Luke, I'm fine, but I must have the oddest case of amnesia, because no, I…,"
I trailed off, because something had started to tickle the back of my brain. Memories, to be precise. Memories of Nick and I at Zootopia Wyvern University. Go, Dragons! Memories of Nick and I in class together, and him whispering into my ear that he wanted to go on a date with me; our relationship went on and he proposed to me, apparently, I had said yes. Then came memories of a crazy night and a positive pregnancy test; me telling Nick and him fainting.
Three months later, I was in the hospital. "It's a boy," the nurse had said. "That, and a fox." Then she had fainted. I would've too, I suppose, if I was delivering for a rabbit and her child had been a fox kit. Lucky thing, I suppose, that she'd passed Luke off to the doctor standing next to her, a Doctor Honey Badger if I remember correctly. But these days, I wasn't quite sure. I knew that none of these things had ever happened, heck, I'd only met Nick four years ago, let alone gone to college with him thirteen years ago. That would have made me only sixteen. Well, my mom did always call me her hundred-watt bulb.
"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." That was a quote from some old Star Trunk episode, I don't know how that got in there. It certainly seemed impossible, but here I was, this teenage fox's mom.
"Nick, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That we met each other in college and hooked up? Yes, I am."
"Is it possible to break the space-time continuum?"
"You already did that, Nick."
"What are you guys talking about?" Luke asked. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, it is, honey, and we have to get out of here now."
"Why? What's going on?"
"I don't know. That's what we're going to have to find out."
The city was empty when I opened the hatch. Not just devoid of any living soul. Empty, as in nothing left standing.
"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers…," I muttered. That muttonhead Smellwether...remind me not to trust any more sheep, would you?"
"I don't think you need any reminders, Judy. So, Mrs. Wilde, what's the plan?"
"We have to get back to the lab, now!"
"Do you have any idea how far that is from here?"
"Yes, I have a perfect idea. I ran here from the prison three years ago, your execution day, in fact."
"And you've been holed up down here since?"
"Yes, and I'm not anymore, so we have to move, and move fast, or we're going to be spotted!"
"Halt! Who goes there?" a voice called out after us. "Friend or foe?"
"That depends on who you are," Luke called back. "Show yourself, or I'll start shooting!"
"Fierce kid," I whispered.
"No kidding, especially considering he doesn't have a gun," Nick whispered back.
A head popped out from behind a tree, and... "Jack? What in blazes are you doing here?"
"That's a long story, and I'm not telling you here. Come on, you three. Follow me!"
