Quick note for some of you who are not familiar with firearms! I had someone ask some questions about the weapons so here is some info!
Nick's "pump action shotgun" holds 7 shells in it's tube magazine, and one in the chamber. It needs to be manually reset after firing by pulling the grip backwards, then forwards to load a new round. This is called "cocking". The ammunition is a solid lead ball, called a "slug". Both of the handguns have a removable box magazine, which holds 14 rounds each, and one in the chamber. These handguns are semi-automatic, meaning they fire one time when you pull the trigger. The gun uses the recoil to load a new round automatically. Once you let off the trigger, it resets, allowing you to fire again.
People with firearm knowledge: Shotgun is a Mossberg 500sp w/slugs. Handguns are Glock 41's w/ 45acp JHP
Judy and Nick sat in the car at the station for a moment while she tried to call her mother, which went to voicemail after a few rings.
"You know, Fluff," Nick said taking a bite out of the gas station muffin, "I really wish we had grabbed some stuff out of your apartment before we left. Maybe some of that vodka".
"If we hadn't passed out drunk, maybe we would have heard some of the commotion outside and been able to help", Judy said in a low tone.
"Well" Nick said taking another bite, "We might be dead if we didn't sleep through the chaos, then we couldn't help anyone". The muffin was slightly stale, had over processed blueberries, tasted like cardboard, and Nick loved it. He hadn't eaten anything for a good fourteen hours. He knew Judy hadn't eaten either. Judy sighed, and lowered her head onto the steering wheel.
"He was right, you know", Judy started. "We abandoned the city. There might still have been people that needed our help". Nick Shook his head.
"He wasn't there, he didn't know how bad it was. We didn't abandon the city, the city was gone, Hopps. Now we have a chance to help others". Nick put his paw on her shoulder.
Judy took a deep breath and started the car.
"Thanks, Nick." she said, giving him a quick smile before putting the car in drive.
The drive was uneventful other than a few stumblers here and there. A few cars had passed them going the opposite way, making them wonder where they were going, and why they were leaving.
"Cottonwood County Line" Nick said, reading a sign as they drove past.
"The school should be a few miles from here" Judy said, trying to recall the way. Nick glanced at the clock. '10:54'.
They pulled into town, cautiously. There were a few stumblers and a lot of bodies. Having such a dense population so close together only helped whatever this was spread like crazy. But rabbits were quick, and most of them farmhands with tools they could makeshift into weapons. It didn't look like they had enough luck, though. The cars in the road were wrecked into each other, clustering around intersections and points of interest, such as the market. They crept along, looking carefully for any signs of life or danger. The stumblers were fairly interested in the already killed victims, rather than the slowly moving car. They pulled up to the school, which was surrounded by vehicles of all sorts, making an accidental barricade. Judy parked the car closest to the door, and shut it off. Nick loaded two new shells into the shotgun, making sure it was full.
Judy looked at Nick with a questioning look. 'Does he doubt the school is safe?' Nick knew what the look ment and shrugged slightly. Judy picked up her phone again and dialed her mother. The phone rang and went to voicemail, just like before. She put the phone down and looked to the peaceful building. Her heart pounded, her gut said leave, her brain said run, but she reached for the door handle anyways. Nick opened his door and they both exited the vehicle, making sure to close their doors quietly. Judy had her handgun drawn as she walked in front of Nick, who was scanning the outside. They reached the double doors and she put her paw on it. She gave a gentle pull, and the door opened.
The halls were dark. There were a few windows and a few classrooms with their lights on, giving a slight glow down the long hallway. Everything was normal. No bodies, now blood, no carnage. Judy smiled and started down the narrow way. Nick gave a quick glance into each classroom as they walked past. Nick didn't like this. Even though he had excellent vision at night, he disliked the dark. He felt claustrophobic in it, but he pressed on, not daring to separate from his partner. They turned down hall after hall. The school was huge compared to Nick's inner city campus. Nick stepped in something wet, and slipped. His gun flew out of his hands and landed hard with a loud smack across the floor. The liquid was warm.
"Please don't be pee" Nick whispered before looking down. Before Judy could laugh at Nick falling, multiple grunts could be heard echoing the halls. Nick got to his feet and grabbed his shotgun, looking in all directions. A dark figure stumbled out of one of the classrooms they had passed. Nick raised his gun, but decided not to make anymore noise. He walked backwards and turned to go down the next hallway, following Judy. They walked around, slightly more quickly than before. Another stumbler appeared down the hall in front of them. Judy took another turn, almost panicking. The grunts and moans grew louder. They found the two large double doors to the gymnasium and pushed them open.
The doors opened with a loud 'clank'. The light from the large basketball court flooded around them.
Nick's arms went limp at the sight. Hundreds of stumblers crammed inside the gym, and even more bodies on the floor around froze in fear, her nose twitching. Her eyes darted across the gym looking for anyone she was related to. She saw a lot of neighbors and friends, and right in the middle of the court, she recognized some siblings. The stumblers walked towards the now open doors that had them trapped before. Nick looked in horror, but he couldn't distinguish who was apart of her family or not.
"Judy" Nick said looking over his shoulder, making sure they weren't trapped.
"We need to get out of here".
Judy only stared into the crimson eyes of death before her.
Nick slammed the doors closed in Judy's face, "Carrots, I'm really sorry but we need to go, right now!" he said grabbing her shoulder.
Judy didn't say anything. She didn't even raise her arms.
The stumblers banged on the other side of the gym doors, startling Nick. He grabbed Hopps and spun her around.
"JUDY" He yelled, barring his teeth. Her eyes went wide at that sight. Her instincts saw his teeth and screamed for her to run. Her animalistic instinct was terrified of Nick. She could easily suppress it most of the time, but now she couldn't. She fell backwards with a wince and a gasp. Nick took a step forward and reached out his paw. Judy flinched.
The grunts grew louder and the banging on the door grew more intense. Judy looked up at Nick, his mouth slightly ajar. Before she could speak, the door swung open. Nick raised his gun, shaking at the sight. Judy jumped to her feet and grabbed the back of Nick's hoodie, pulling him away. They both turned and ran back to the darkness. Around the first corner, a gray hare with overalls, bleeding from the neck reached out for them. Judy reacted quickly and fired one shot into his chest, causing him to fall. The shot rang out, alerting any inactive stumblers in the building for sure. Ears ringing, they pressed on. Another hare, female stumbled into their path. Judy took another shot but her breathing was heavy. She missed her target and the bullet ricocheted down the hall. She took aim once again and fired, this time hitting her mark. The body collapsed to the floor and another animal appeared. A smaller rabbit. Judy stopped and aimed her weapon, hesitating for only a moment before firing. She didn't have time to think about the age or who they were. She just needed to focus on getting out. She pressed on and turned down another hallway. A lion missing part of his leg, crawled before them. Nick aimed his shotgun and fired the slug right through his head. He cocked the shotgun and took aim at another rabbit that was following the lion. 'Blam'. The gun went off with a spark, sending the rabbit falling backwards. He cocked his gun again and the duo continued. They turned down another hallway, and stopped at the sight of 20 or so stumblers, hobbling towards them. They turned around and went back the way they came.
Judy was lost. The darkness and constant turning ruined her sense of direction. They followed down the hall, turning down the opposite direction as before. Three more mammals, all rabbits blocked the way. Judy and Nick both took aim. The shots rang out. Judy fired twice and Nick fired once, cocked his gun and fired again. They continued past the blood, Nick cocking his firearm along the way. They quickly jogged down the hall before running into another large group. They turned around and ran the way they came. Before they could make it to the pile of bunnies they had taken car of earlier, another smaller group appeared ahead. Nick took aim and fired blindly into the group. Judy fired off three shots, before stopping. They were trapped.
Nick still had his gun raised. He swung around to the other approaching crowd.
"Oh god, Nick.." Judy said, looking defeated.
Nick looked around in desperation.
"The window!" He cried out cocking the shotgun.
The window was six feet off the ground, and four feet square.
He took aim and fired. The window shattered. He dropped the shotgun and put his paws together, opting to give Judy a boost. Judy Jumped into Nick and he threw her up to the edge of the window. She soared cleanly through to the other side.
Nick tossed his firearm through next and took a running start to the window. He grabbed the ledge and pulled himself over. His foot got caught and he fell to the ground, face first. Stars flashed from behind his eyes. His head pulsed with pain. He was grabbed and helped up by Judy. Nick stumbled to his feet and scooped his shotgun up. They were on the side of the school and ran towards the front. The shots from inside must have alerted a few of the stumblers from outside, as they started to swarm. Nick cocked his shotgun and fired at the closest mammal, an antelope. He cocked his gun again and aimed at the next, a zebra.
'Click'
He was empty. Judy took aim and fired away. Three shots and the zebra was down. Nick grabbed the shotgun in his left paw, and unbuttoned his handgun.
The car was in sight now, just past the front entrance. Nick fired into a small group of various mammals with four shots, taking two out. Judy stopped and took aim and fired as well.
''Blam' 'Click'
She was out as well. She pushed the mag release on her firearm and pulled the empty magazine out, and stuffed it into her belt. She fumbled with a new magazine as she tried to put it in her gun. She was scared, heart beating fast and running. She finally pushed the fresh mag in and pulled her slide back, chambering a new round. Nick fired two more times and reached the car first, swinging the passenger's side door open. Judy flung the driver side door open and they both entered out of breath. The stumblers were closing in fast as Judy scrambled with her keys to fit in the ignition. The key slid in with a click and she started the car. With haste, she put it in gear and floored it. The car jolted forward, throwing the two deep into their seats. The car swerved around multiple vehicles, but clipped a zebra, splattering blood across the windshield. Judy gripped the steering wheel as tight as she could to keep the quickly accelerating car under control. Her heart was beating faster and faster, palms sweating, and stomach turning. Anxiety took over her body, causing her head to spin. The car pressed on faster, narrowly avoiding parked cars and debris.
"Judy! Slow down!", Nick pleaded. Judy's mind raced thinking about her family.
I saw my brothers. Dead. Is the rest of my family dead? What do I do now? What happe-'
"JUDY!", Nick cried out.
The rabbit slammed on the brakes, violently halting the speeding vehicle. The car rocked to a stop in the middle of the street. Nick's breath was shallow and short. His heart nearly beating out of his chest. Judy just stared ahead, not saying a word. She felt dizzy, nauseous, and defeated.
Nick calmed his breathing, making sure to look around for any danger.
"Judy, wh-"
"I'm sorry", she interrupted.
Nick didn't know what to say. They both sat there in the silence, listening to the light hum of the engine.
Judy slowly turned her head to face Nick, opening her mouth but couldn't speak. Nick looked at her with sorrow filled eyes. The world was coming to an end, and there was nothing they could do about it. Adrenaline started to wither, slowing the duos hearts back to normal. A few stumblers came into view ahead, and a few more from behind. Nick pretended not to notice, his eyes still locked with Judy's.
An echo of gunfire rang out from somewhere in the city, causing Judy to tremble a bit.
"I can't do this", she whispered.
Nick wasn't the best at consoling others. He usually hid his own emotion with quips and just tried to be snarky when people were sad. He reached out to Judy, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing tight. She buried her face in his chest and began to cry.
"I.. I saw some of my siblings…" she choked out between sobs. "Nick, where are my parents?" she pleaded knowing he had no idea. Deep down, she knew they were probably dead, mixed in the horde in the gym. She knew she wouldn't see them again.
Nick scratched Judy's head, softly petting her in hopes to help. He had no words to offer for her situation. He was just doing what he liked when he was sad. They sat there for what felt like an eternity, before being forced back into the hell they were now apart of when an antelope slapped the Nick's window. The stumbler wanted so desperately to get into the vehicle for unknown reasons. He pawed at the window, but he was too weak to do any type of damage, except for emotional. The two partners embraced for another moment, lightly squeezing each other before moving back into their seats. Judy wiped her eyes and looked back at Nick, with a gasp.
"Nick, you're bleeding!" She said, pointing at his bloodied shorts. Nick looked down in horror, and quickly laughed.
"No, when I fell in the hallway.."
Judy laughed in relief. Nick's leg did hurt though, from when it got caught on the window. Not as much as his muzzle. He Looked over at the antelope, still trying to get in.
"Can we maybe.." Nick started, pointing at the stumbler.
"Yeah.. yeah" Judy said, nodding slowly. She pushed the accelerator and slowly started off. The stumbler followed suit. Judy turned the wheel to avoid the few stumblers that made their way towards the vehicle with ease. She was driving slowly, but quickly enough to avoid being caught.
"What.." She said, looking ahead, "What do we do now?"
Nick flipped on the radio, but only got the same warnings broadcasted as before. He switched channels over and over, only getting the same low tone. He sighed and turned the radio back off.
"We need to get more ammo", Nick said sternly. Judy always took the lead. She was smart, strong, and knew what to do. But right now she was hurting. He needed to take charge.
He opened his phone and opened the map search for a gun store or camping supply place.
'Zero results' the phone read. Nick sighed. 'Of course. Okay, where would guns be? Farm house? No..' He looked around for inspiration, or more desperation. His eye caught Judy's badge, clipped to her belt. 'Police station!' he thought with a smile. He quickly typed it into his phone. 'Sheriff's office. 2.1 miles'
He smirked, looking over at Judy. He pointed ahead toward the small city street.
Judy followed the directions given by Nick, driving slowly and cautiously like before. After a short drive, they arrived to an old brick building, with faded paint that made out 'SHERIFF'. Judy parked the car, scanning the area before exiting. Nick loaded seven new shells into the empty shotgun, and pumped the action, chambering a new round. The two exited and walked to the door. Nick pulled and the doorbell chimed with a 'bing'. They froze and listened. A muffled noise. Someone or something was inside.
The waited another moment and entered the well lit building. The front had a small desk, some chairs and filing cabinets, and another door leading down a hall. They walked to the next door, a security door, and pulled. It clanked and clattered open.
"Hello? Anyone here? Officers from ZPD here!", Nick called out.
They both raised their weapons and waited for anything.
No one came around the corner, so they pressed on. Soft clanking could be heard from the next room over, the jail cells. Nick peaked through the window in the door to see 5 cells, all full of prisoners turned stumblers. Nick opened the door, alerting the cell mates. He lowered his weapon as they posed no threat. Judy looked around for anything helpful, but there was nothing but paperwork. She turned around and saw a small trail of blood. Her heart jumped and she raised her weapon. Nick turned around in a flash with his weapon raised.
"What? What is it?" Nick asked in a hushed tone.
His eye caught the blood trail that lead right to his feet. He laughed and shook his head.
"Carrots, you can't scare me like that" he said pointing at his blood covered shorts and legs.. The blood had dried a dark, almost black red, but was still wet on his legs.. Judy walked over to Nick and touched the wet fur.
"It's still sore from landing" he said wincing. She lifted her paw to reveal fresh blood.
"Nick, you are bleeding!" she said, nervously.
Nick looked down at his leg. His fur was thick and soaking up some of the blood. His wound was deep, but not enough so for stitches.
"Oh", Nick said, slight with shock.
The stumblers were reaching through their cells, trying to grab ahold of the orange fox who was just out of their grasps.
"Let's finish making sure this place is safe first. It doesn't hurt too much", Nick said, still trying to stay in control. Judy looked back at the prisoners and sighed.
The two walked out of the door and into the next. Three door remained. A locker room, a storage room, and an office. They walked into the locker room to find it empty. Just a shower stall, and a wall of empty cubbyholes. They turned back to the storage room. The room was divided in half longways, with a double sided shelf. The two side walls had cabinets and cork boards, while the middle shelf was for evidence. The clear bags with bright red tape across the top made them feel like they were going to get in trouble for being in there.
"See any weapons?" Judy asked Nick, hoping his slight height advantage could help. Nick pulled something off of the top shelf. A large evidence bag.
"Hey Fluff, wanna party?" He said, holding up the large bag of marijuana.
"Judy rolled her eyes and gave Nick an estranged look. He tossed the bag back to the shelf with a chuckle. He glanced around. "A pocket knife, switchblade, a hockey stick..
Nothing here." Nick said picking up another bag, "Just a bunch of drugs". He tossed the bag aside and exited. The office was the last hope they had. The door opened with a squeak. There was a desk in the center, surrounded by files and a dresser. Judy opened the desk, revealing a revolver. Her excitement faded when she found it was unloaded, with no extra ammo around. Nick opened the dresser to find four loose shotgun shells. He pocketed them, and continued his search.
"Nothing", Judy said with a sigh. Nick was disappointed. He let her down again. His leg tickled when the blood dripped off his leg fur. He put down his gun and walked out. He walked into the locker room and undressed. He switched shower faucet and the freezing cold water came rushing out, giving him a jolt. The water swirling into the center drain turned red as the mixed dry and wet blood was being washed off. His legs turned back to their natural orange color, and he shut the water off. He grabbed the white towel off of the rack, and stained it red with blood as he tried to dry off his leg. He put his boxers on and walked out to the main entrance, where Judy now was.
"I found some gauze and a bandage wrap", she said, looking at Nick. Her eyes ran along the lines of his chest and torso. His boxers hugged his waist, showing off his pelvic "v". She loved what she saw.
"So… You gonna help me or.." Nick paused, waiting for Judy to focus.
"W-yeah, yes!" she stammered, embarrassed. Nick was blushing under his fur.
Judy wrapped the bandage around Nick's leg, trying not to notice she was eye level and a foot from his crotch. Her eyes stayed locked to the wound, trying hard not to look. Nick held a snicker back from Judy's embarrassment.
"There we go!", she said, giving the fresh bandage a pat.
"Ow, dammit!" Nick snarled.
"Oh don't be a baby" She said raising her hand again, making Nick flinch.
"So.." Nick started, rubbing his wound, "You looked really scared at the gym when I, umm.."
Judy's heart unhinged from its place and fell hard. "Nick.. I.. I didn't mean to.
"No, yeah, no I understand that" He said reassuring her. "It's just, well.." He sighed. "Judy, what if I turn and try to attack you. What if I get infected? Can you.. Will you.." He stopped. Judy was frozen. Her head torn between making a joke, telling him how she feels, or just saying yes, or no.
"Umm.." She tapped her fingers together.
"Judy, I need to know that you can move on if something happens to me". Her eyes started to water.
"Nick, you're all I have left".