Walking out of the office canteen, a large edifice that had recently been renovated to be more accessible for giraffes, Daniel puffed out his chest. He was on his way to clock out of what had been a tiring, but productive, day at work. He wanted, just like all the days prior, to get back to his apartment as quickly as possible to reunite with his little brother, Asher.

Daniel Fullmoon, 25, had taken on the responsibility of taking care of Asher almost a year ago, when their parents had tragically passed in a sudden accident. Asher seemed to have never recovered from the loss, and seeing Asher in a constant state of despair greatly pained the older canine. Ever since, Daniel vowed to work as hard as he could to ensure his brother would never go through a similar experience ever again. It was his duty.

Daniel was excited. Today was Asher's 17th birthday, and Daniel had been itching the back of his ear all day waiting to give Asher his special gift. Daniel had spent hours trying to find the most perfect gift for his beloved brother. After all, Asher was in a dark place and Daniel felt it would be fitting to give him something special. He had been saving up for a few months, and he settled on giving Asher a custom silver bracelet common in canine culture as a token of familial love and connectedness.

As he was walking to the front gate of the office, Daniel noticed something peculiar: He thought that mammals were... no... he saw that mammals were staring at him. His co-workers. Each one. Gazing orbs in his direction. At his turn towards them, they retreated back to what they had been doing as if nothing had happened. He knew that he himself was peculiar, a wolf working in the arid region of Canyonlands, just north of Sahara Square, but they all already knew that. So why were they staring? A zebra who had been Daniel's coworker for a while then approached him hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, about the news and all." He looked at the wolf with a solemn demeanor.

"Why Nate, did someone die?" Daniel replied, amused by the Zebra's sudden concern.

The zebra just stared at him, and then went on his way. Strange. Daniel didn't think much of it.

Daniel swiped the key to clock out and hummed along with the beep it made. He then headed for the metro going north to the wintry landscape just southwest of Tundratown. On the rail, he whipped out his earphones and began listening to the ZNN podcast on his old yet trusty phone, at less than half volume because of his sensitive wolf ears. This had become a daily occurrence of his to get with the times.

"Breaking News! thirteen mammals, all predators, have been reported as missing throughout the day. The ZPD is working tirelessly to get to the bottom of this, and the whole city is showing signs of remorse and hopes they will be found soon."

The female on the ZNN podcast began reading the names of the missing mammals slowly.

She began: "Barry DiCaprio, Emmet Otterton," and so on, until she read the final name: "Stephanie Stalkinew."

Zootopia is a crazy city, Daniel thought.

The metro intercom signaled the arrival of the metro at the Taigasnow stop, and Daniel made his departure into the frigid landscape. The cold was in stark contrast to the warm weather in Canyonlands, but Daniel was used to it, everyone in Zootopia was, really. Daniel put away his earphones and texted Asher that he would be home soon with a special surprise, but, as usual, there was no response. Daniel could not wait any longer. He skipped across the snow and reached his apartment complex in no time.

Daniel entered the rather petite complex building into the lobby. The bell jingled above him as he waltzed in. His smug grin reversed as he saw his downstairs neighbor approach him. The elderly badger had a sour expression on her face.

"You damn fox!" She hollered loudly in front of the whole lobby.

"Hello, Ms. Honey, um, I'm a wolf, a very gray one, actually." He spoke slowly, "Now, I'm sorry, but I have to go. See you around!" He tried to pass her, but she was inconveniently blocking the thin corridor to the stairs.

"You ain't goin' anywhere, you stinkin' moonhowler! You's keep makin' noise all day, and I can't take a nap in this damn place! The whole complex heard ya!"

The bystanders around them gave a slight nod.

"Weird, I don't hear anything now. And, I'm so sorry, Ms. Honey, but it couldn't have been me. See, I have been in the office working all day." He gave a gentle tug to his work tie. "The only mammal who could have been there was Asher after he came home from school. Should be in there now. I'll go check on him, if you don't mind." He began to stride toward the corridor, but Ms. Honey would not falter from her surprisingly intense and unwavering blockade.

"Now hold on a minute! You Fangliar!" Daniel did not mind her remarks, she was old, and as they were both predators, there was no hard feelings. Ms. Honey continued, "I don't care in the slightest who's be makin' all that ruckus! So long as it stops, boy! I tell ya, I filed a complaint earlier, 'round 4, when it happened. Now, I'd be surprised if they let ya stay another day, boy! You hear me!? Sounded like someone was dyin' in there. Boy, I tell ya, Control the noise!"

Daniel muttered, "Four PM? ... dying?" He pieced the two together. "Thats when Asher gets home from school!" Time was still. He darted for his life. He rushed passed Ms. Honey, pushing her aside. Focused, even his massive ears could not pick up the sound of her screaming fury. He ran desperately up the stairs, to the third, and top floor, never slowing. His steps were thunderous and could be heard from all around the complex. As he made it to the third floor, he rushed down the hall. Doors opened behind him, but he ignored them. He arrived at a pristine white door marked with the numbers 316 on the side of the frame. He turned the knob with lighting pace, and it seemed like it almost fell off. He swung the door open.

He could not believe his eyes. This was not happening. The gift box that had been in his left paw the whole time was almost crumpled by the tightening of his fist.

The room was ravaged.

It was ravaged by a mammal that could have only been the fiercest predator in the animal kingdom. God! What had he done to deserve this. The furniture had deep gashes of scratch-marks littered all over. The pillows looked like they had been torn apart by laser-sharp teeth. Daniels heart sank so fast that he almost fell to the floor. Tears. Loud Tears. His Brother. His Asher. The last of his family. Was attacked. Was gone...? He noticed, there was no blood anywhere, no bullet marks, and definitely no Asher. How? Did he? Then, he turned his attention to the glass-broken window. No, this couldn't be possible. They were on the third floor for crying out loud! He quickly sat on the assaulted sofa and called Zootopia's emergency number, 303.

"Come quick! My Brother. HE'S GONE!" He got up and began pacing around, but not before he took notice of the sticky, blue paste he had sat on. Could his day become any worse? Could his life become any worse? He was absolutely furious!

Shortly after, for what had seemed like an eternity, the cops arrived at his door.

Three days had passed in a second. Apparently, the same type of conditions, destroyed property and all, had been displayed when some of the other thirteen mammals were reported, and Asher had became the fourteenth case. During the past three days, while procrastinating on signing a mountain of paper work, Daniel was practically living, eating (though, not really eating), and definitely not sleeping, at the police station, with only a few necessary trips home. For the past three nights, he had been reliving the event in disbelief and was beating himself up for not being there to protect Asher from whatever had happened. There were still so many unanswered questions, and the ZPD assured Daniel that they were working tirelessly on the case. They said the only thing Daniel had to worry about was recovering his mental and physical state.

But Daniel simply could not just wait around. It was his beloved brother. His brother he vowed he would protect. He felt as if he had said a grave lie to Asher and did not just want to stand there and be passive. He had reason to suspect that Asher was still alive, somewhere, and Daniel did not want to let the last member of his family to slip away that easy.

After the three days, the ZPD still had not provided any meaningful updates, and Daniel could not take it anymore. He became impatient with the ZPD. If they couldn't solve the case, he would. And if he couldn't, he would die trying. Because, this was Asher he was talking about. Once he found him, then he would give him his gift. Yes, It's only a matter of time. I'll find him.