Chapter 4: Investigation

Nick and Judy visited Harley Brackenfield's residence. Bunnies within Bunnyburrow rarely lived alone so that would give them other mammals to talk to that could hopefully provide them with critical information. Calling it her residence was a bit misleading since it was the family farm.

"Excuse me, can we talk?" Judy walked up to the first rabbit she saw. "We're here to investigate Harley's death."

"What is there to investigate? The fox killed her after she provoked him," the rabbit said.

"Was she acting alone? Did she have a reason?" Nick said.

"I don't know."

"May we have a look around?" Judy said.

"I'll show you to her room."

"Are you the head of the family?"

The rabbit shook his head.

"Is this okay?"

"Do you want to come inside or not?'

They walked into the burrow. It was rather surprising how similar everything felt even though it wasn't her home. Every rabbit had their own room while the rest were communal spaces. Not everyone wanted them here as she could hear whispers of discontent.

"Do you hear them?" Judy asked.

"Not to worry," the rabbit said. "It's inevitable that they would talk. How does your family feel about this?"

"I haven't visited them," she said. It was true but it still felt embarrassing to openly admit that.

"It's fine, Carrots." Nick placed a reassuring paw on her shoulder. "It's nothing I haven't dealt with before."

The setup was akin to her family where each rabbit had a room of their own. Every letter had its own wing of rooms. They walked into the H wing where Harley's room was. Upon walking inside, there were many photographs on the walls of a certain rabbit.

"That's Frank. He passed away early," the rabbit said.

Judy turned on the laptop hoping that it would give her some clues.

They found nothing after thirty minutes of searching. There wasn't a hint of anything relating to Aquazest or Harley's motives.

"Let's go," Judy said.

They didn't get far before a swarm of kits collapsed around them, blocking them from moving.

"You killed Harley," a kit said as he threw a weak punch.

"You're mistaken," Nick said. "I'm a fox just like Gideon."

Of course, trying to explain something to someone at the age of five wasn't going to go that smoothly. "Liar."

"Can't you do something about them?" Judy asked, thinking that family might be better.

"Come on kits, let the fox go," the rabbit said.

"You're such a coward, Aaron. Help us!"

"Nick, are you okay?" Judy said.

"For now. It's really like a massage, you know," Nick said.

"I'll go get help," Aaron said.

Judy couldn't believe that this was happening. They were in another family's burrow, being attacked by a swarm of kits. "You have the wrong fox. We're rather busy today, so if you would please stop?"

They were kits but it didn't change that there were so many of them.

"Nick, you can shake them off, if you need to, right?"

"Relax, Carrots," Nick said. "They become tired eventually." He even laid down to accentuate a point. "Keep it coming."

"Are you crazy? Nick!" Judy couldn't believe Nick was giving them easy access to his head. "Get up from there."

"You worry too much. Normally, you have to pay for this type of treatment."

None of the kits aimed for his eyes surprisingly enough. "We're trying to find out why Harley provoked Gideon," Judy said.

Of course, her attempts at reasoning fell on deaf ears. It certainly didn't help that more kits joined the commotion. How many kits did this family have? And how were they all this bad at combat? Which thankfully worked in their favor.

Nick let out a feral scream as he rose from the pile of kits burying him. When the others began to cry, the kits were smart enough to give way. There was a kitchen knife sticking out of his back. They just ran away from the burrow without anyone stopping them on the way out. As if all the older rabbits stepped aside without attempting to intervene in what was happening.

"Are you okay?" Judy asked.

"Why haven't you called an ambulance?" Nick snapped.

"Right." She rectified that mistake immediately. The ambulance was on the way after a brief message.

They didn't dare to dislodge the knife for fear of making the injury worse. She couldn't believe what just happened. What if this happened with her family? She didn't even see who brought the knife to the bunny pile.

"How does it feel?" Judy asked. She felt like she failed since this happened right under her watch.

"I have a knife sticking out of my back. What do you think?" Nick said.

It was a stupid question, but Nick didn't seem to be in extreme pain. If it was impeding him in some way, he was hiding it well.

The awkward silence persisted while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Sheep were on the scene within minutes. Recounting the incident made her feel awkward. A rabbit kit stabbed Nick, and she didn't even catch who it was as they sped out of there. They were on the way to the hospital within a few moments. A knife was still sticking out of his back.

The paramedics were careful to move him when the ambulance arrived at the hospital. Upon walking into the emergency room, doctors were already waiting for Nick. She had to remain outside as the doctors operated on his body. The fact that it was taking so long made her worry. What if there were complications? What if it actually hit something vital? Before she could spiral any further, they allowed her inside.

"He's going to be just fine," the sheep said.

"Nothing vital was hit?" Judy asked just to be sure.

"It's just a deep wound. He'll be fine in a few days."

"Then why is he hooked up to all this?" she asked.

"Just a precaution, nothing to worry about."

She couldn't help but feel uneasy as she observed Nick resting as he was hooked up to various machines. It was just a stab wound; they didn't need to do all this. The doctors left her alone with a sedated fox.