Chapter 4: Babygirl
"Okay…where are they?"
The tracks definitely led somewhere. Abby just had to follow them.
The storm was getting worse, and she didn't have an ostrich to travel better through the difficult terrain. She had to find the patrol and fast. She thinks about what Owen might be thinking right now, not seeing her back at the lodge. Probably worrying more about Mel than her. Maybe they just left her there as payback. She knew she was a bad friend, so she really wouldn't be surprised if they did that.
Mel being pregnant was still on her mind. Despite her jealousy, she was also mad at Owen because of how stupid it is to raise a child in this world. You are birthing a person to set them up for failure, to make them suffer their entire life. She isn't hopeful about a future where mammalkind can thrive again. To Abby, there really was no more future. The future she imagined wasn't at all like this, so she had stopped imagining one at all. One who doesn't expect anything cannot be disappointed. The only thing that was certain on her mind was the painful death of the founder of her nightmares.
She might have as well become an arctic vixen at that moment, due to the fact that she was not feeling the cold one tiny bit, her determination too strong, her motivation too fierce, her cause too heavy. She wasn't going to fail at her task. Her vengeance would be delivered soon, and god forbid anyone who stands on her way. She would burn the entire town down, slaughter the children, whatever was necessary.
Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a silhouette in front of her. They were limping, going horizontally across the street. Abby identified it as a savage mammal.
"Just what I needed, more savages."
The savage she saw hopped over a fallen tree in her opposite direction, but she could hear whines and cries from other savages in the area. She was not planning to stay and find out how many there were, so she quickened her pace, noticing a fallen trailer by the side of the road, with another savage right in front. She did not plan to instigate it, so she kneeled, attempting to sneak her way through with the open trailer.
It did not work. She heard more cries and wails coming from behind her, and the worst sight climbed on her irises. It was a horde, going straight towards her.
"Oh shit!"
Now sprinting at maximum velocity, the vixen went through the trailer, skipping over one of the boxes and, as luck would have it, falling down another slope of terrain yet again. They really should've gotten skis or something for this trip. The horde did not get any quiet, instead increasing in sound and ferocity as they also sled down the slope with her, and Abby did not stop to look. She just kept running, away from them, tracks be damned. Her survival was more important at that moment.
More and more slopes came and Abby just took them like a pro, concentrating to the max. Any kind of injury in her current situation would solidify her fate. Thankfully, she now saw more than just snow. A broken down house appeared in front of her and she started fleeing through it. She could see more savages trying to reach her with their bloody paws through the putrid floorboards of the side of the house. She did her best to dodge all of them and kept going. The horde behind her did not subside.
More and more houses appeared in front of her, going through each and every one of them. No hiding spots were visible and she couldn't even stop to think of any kind of strategy to get out of that situation. She just had to pray for something soon. She was starting to get tired. Out of a house she took a big leap, falling in a small pond that only reached around her ankles. She couldn't believe the horde of savages were still behind her, furiously thirsting for her flesh. She climbed out of the small lake and resumed her marathon, skipping over every large rock or obstacle with ease, her instincts helping her to survive.
More ponds and more houses. Ponds and houses, houses and ponds. She was drenched at that point, the water beneath her moving violently, reacting to her movements. Still, the group persisted. Abby guessed they had not seen someone as rich with meat as her. Dark humor helped her cope through terrifying situations.
They came from all sides, strategically trying to take her down. She might be a predator, but at that moment, she was the prey. Despite her tired wheezes and her fits of pain from her frozen joints, she could not stop. She wouldn't stop. What would Owen think of her, dying from such a useless death? She could at least die trying to fulfill her goals, not through those damn infected.
Instead of going down through slopes, she was now going up, running through steep hills. Her prayers seemed to be answered as soon as she went up the slope, discovering a gated area with barbed wire that was at least a few meters tall. That would hold a few of them, but not for long. She climbed the truck that was responsible for taking down part of the barbed wire and got through the gate. Inside the place there were many more trucks and containers that could serve as obstacles for them. Sadly, she saw some of them right in front of her.
"Where the fuck are they coming from?!" She screamed in frustration.
She climbed through another gate, not barbed wire this time, and continued on through another small opening of another gate. Before going through it she had the pleasure of seeing another nightmarish sight. Even more savages pressed themselves against a gate to her right, and it was clear that it was going to give out. She quickly went through the small opening, knocking down some tires on the other side to try to block them from getting to her. The space was getting more and more closed up, and she felt increasingly surrounded by the massive number of enemies. Through every gate she saw, they were there.
She ran up some stairs and wandered on the back of the area, the barbed wire fence on her left. There was only one way to go and it was by pressing herself in between the building and the fence, where she was sure many more savages would rush to. There was no other way, so it was either that or wait to be killed right in that spot. She made her move, trying to stay as far away from the fence as she could, the massive tally of savages pushing the gate to all their might, threatening to bust it and crush her underneath it. Still pressed to the wall of the house, many of the deadly claws of the savages were trying to open her skin through small gaps in the gate. Abby was feeling true horror.
One of them managed to grab her jacket, but she dropped to the floor right at that moment, allowing herself to get away from the grip. The fence was too pushed down for her to be able to walk anymore. She was crawling, hoping that the exit of this hell was close to coming. One savage managed to claw at her head, thankfully only grabbing her beanie, clawing and biting it. She didn't want to imagine that as her head.
Finally out of the fence area, she crawled to her safety until another raging fox savage attacked her from behind, pinning her against the floor. She managed to grab him by the fur of his neck, but he was still too strong, tugging and ripping apart some of the fur on her scalp.
The struggle ceased when a massive sound of a pistol blast shot out from someone behind her, saving her from that mess.
"Gimme your paw!" said someone, with gloves that looked like it belonged to a fox's paw. When she got up quickly thanks to the aid of his paw, she saw him. A middle-aged fox with green eyes and a hearing aid on his right ear. Abby had to contain her smile at the sight. It was the exact description that her tip had told her.
Luck was on her side that day. It truly was the work of fate.
One Hour Earlier
"Over here!" Nick said, struggling through the massive blizzard. He thought it wouldn't come as soon, but his senses hadn't failed him. They could not reach the lookout in such a state, so they had to find a temporary shelter and fast.
"I hope Clem and Skye are okay," said Judy, riding on her own ostrich. They had managed to find it unscathed despite the number of savages that they knew were hidden on that resort. Despite that, her ostrich was close to falling due to exhaustion, the flying snow making it harder to move.
"Isn't Jesse also making this route to relieve me?" asked Gideon.
"Yes, he is. I hope he's okay as well," answered Judy.
"They'll be fine," Nick reassured. "Jesse knows this route like the back of his paw, and Skye won't let anything happen to Clem. She's a good kid."
"Oh…so you approve of them?" asked Judy.
"Carrots, I am not Gerald. Clementine can be happy with whoever she wants."
"Speaking of…I talked to her about cutting you some slack. She said you guys were fine. Is there any truth to that?"
"We're getting there. I'll tell you about it when we're out of this storm."
"That's a deal, Slick."
"Hold on, I'm out of the loop here. Skye and Clem are a thing?" asked Gideon incredulously.
"Is that so hard to believe?" said Judy. "They were tied at the hip ever since they were friends. It only makes sense it would develop into that."
"Yeah but she was with Jesse, wasn't she?"
"Keyword 'was'. Besides, they're not really a thing yet. I just told Clementine to wise up and tell her how she felt."
"You sure love being a matchmaker, fluff."
"You should've seen them, Nick. They weren't hiding anything but still didn't realize they liked each other. Clementine seemed really happy with her."
"Hehe…I bet," Nick said silently.
It had been a while since he had seen Clementine smile. He couldn't exactly pinpoint when, but it was at least a year ago. She had stopped coming to their weekly hangouts and seemed to be forming a life without him in it. He was still glad she was living a happy life with others, but sometimes he wondered what it would be like to see her warm grin again. Or her dumb jokes, her weird facial expressions, the way she swore, her skill with the guitar. He wished he could one day share those happy moments with her again.
He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was also extremely happy about Clementine's love choices. There was a moment where he had thought she had a crush on Jesse, and was about to go off on the poor young fox. Skye was definitely the better option, and not just because she was a girl. Skye had proven to be a capable and skilled fighter, as well as a smartass and hustler to the highest degree, which had earned Nick's respect. There wasn't a more perfect candidate for her. Not that he could choose, anyway.
"There, I see something!" said Gideon, looking at a gate with barbed wire. Beyond that were a set of buildings and haf-buried trucks.
"We could try and look for shelter here until the storm passes," said Nick.
"Do you see a way in?" asked Gideon. "We could try to dig below it but I don't wanna dirty my paws if there's a better way to enter."
"Let's surround the area and see if there's an opening," said Judy.
They did just that, surveying the perimeter around the wired area, finally finding an entrance wide enough for them to enter. The place was warm and cozy, which was their first priority. They didn't see any infected yet, which was a great sign. The place seemed to still be part of the ski resort due to the many signs of it still posted up on the walls. They seemed to have wandered into a wide-open area where he assumed people went to take pictures through the giant glass pane on one side of the roof.
"Okay, I think it's clear," said Gideon, dropping from his ostrich. "We can wait out the storm here."
Judy and Nick followed close behind, also getting off of their ostriches and closing the door behind them.
"Phew. I think it's time for a refreshment," Nick said, reaching into his bag for a bottle of apple cider he had bought from a rat smuggler a few days back. He had also managed to get some coffee from that same animal.
"Really, Nick? I think you should stay a bit sober. Patrol ain't done yet," said Gideon. Nick ignored him and drank a few mouthfuls as he sat by the glass pane.
"Want some, Fluff?" asked Nick, offering her the bottle. She wanted to say no, but she needed a rest just like any mammal. She looked at Gideon with a sorry expression and went to join him at the seat.
"Why the hell not? This storm is gonna be here for a while." She sat down and drank only one mouthful, being smaller and therefore easier for her to get drunk. After she was done, he gave him back the bottle. He took another quick drop of it and offered it to Gideon. He got close and accepted it.
"This is still wrong," he said, finishing up the rest of the bottle.
"Hey!" Nick protested. Judy laughed.
"There was nothing much anyway."
"Yeah well you're buying next time. It ain't exactly cheap." With this, Gideon went to sit at his own spot away from the glass pane. He wanted to give the duo a chance to talk, and he wasn't about to third wheel them.
"You know, Carrots? I had a conversation with a Zooxican buddy of mine, he told me how to say 'Carrots' and 'Fluff' in Spanish. Wanna hear it?"
"Since when are you interested in other languages?" she leaned on his shoulder, putting one of her paws on his chest.
"Zanahorias, I've always enjoyed how Spanish sounds."
"Wow, look at you, you Latin lover. I'm assuming that's 'Carrots'."
"Indeed it is. Personally, I enjoy Peluza more," he said, rolling the r on the last word.
"You silly fox."
"You beautiful bunny."
"You half-deaf red demon," she teased.
"I'm noticing a pattern here, how come you can't say something nice to me?" he said, feigning hurt in his eyes, and putting a paw on his forehead.
"I know that you secretly enjoy it," Judy said, smiling.
"Preposterous. To even think I'd like that kind of thing." They both laughed, enjoying each other's company. Gideon rolled his eyes as he looked at the two lovers. To him, they acted like teenagers. Very immature ones, at that.
…
Thirty minutes had passed. The fox-bunny pair was calmly sitting with their eyes closed. They weren't sleeping, but the warmth of each other left them in a trance, completely separated from the rest of the world. The breeze of the storm still resonated on the walls, showing it had not ceased. Nick opened his eyes and looked at the bunny by his side. His bunny. He thanked the heavens for giving her to him. For five years, the lone fox had thought his life had left with Cassie and Abby. It only took five years for him to find a new family who gave him purpose once again. Clementine and Judy were the most important beings in the universe for him.
"Judy…" he whispered to her. "You awake?"
She opened her wide purple eyes, looking into his green ones.
"Yeah?" she asked, smiling.
"I'm glad you're here with me."
"Um yeah I had to come relieve you," she said confused.
"I meant I'm glad you've been here with me. For all this time." Judy raised her eyes in surprise.
"Where did this come from? Feeling sappy much?" she joked. Nick chuckled in response.
"Maybe. But I mean it. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you with me right now." His sincerity inundated Judy's heart with warmth and looked at him lovingly. She obviously felt the same. She had been feeling just as hopeless for those first five years where she had lost all of her siblings and lost contact with her parents. She had to turn to the fireflies to get more hope. After she met him, she didn't need anything else. He and Clementine reminded him of the things that mattered most.
"You know I love you, Slick. Very much." She reaches for his paw, holding it tightly. Nick did the same, also brushing his snout on her forehead.
He quickly sprung up out of the seat, stretching himself.
"Aaagh, I think that's enough. I wanna explore this place or I'll go crazy. Wanna come, Carrots? You, Gideon?"
"Yeah, why not," replied Gideon. "I'm bored too. I'm also over your lovey dovey crap."
"Don't pretend like you don't do the same shit to me when you and Vicky go together," Nick said. Gideon widened his eyes awkwardly and blushed, proving him right.
"Let's just go," he said, going ahead to the other end of the room.
The first hallway they came upon was full of pictures and murals of many different tourists of the resort, immortalized in the pictures. They were all happy and smiling.
"You reckon this place was expensive?" asked Gideon. "I woulda loved to come here."
"We never would've been able to travel so far, either way."
"Me and Cassie always used to dream about visiting a snowy place together," said Gideon, reminiscing the good times with his sister. "Now ah can't stand it, hehe."
"You and me both, brother. You and me both."
"As a farm girl myself, I would never think of going to a place like this. Maybe just for the pretty sights and whatnot."
"Don't you like extreme sports, Fluff? I thought you'd be elated to try skiing."
"Extreme sports and snow don't combine well for me," Judy said. "I'm most used to simpler games like soccer."
"Figures a kicking game would be the favorite sport of bunnies."
"Hilarious."
After a few more steps they reached a slightly open area where the howling wind could be heard clearer. It was safe for them since it was mostly covered, but the change in temperature made them shiver once again. Nick saw something that immediately caught his eye.
"Hey, it's gondolas!" He ran to one of them, which was now detached from the wiring on the roof and had fallen on the floor. "Me and Cassie took a trip on one of these when we were first dating."
"Really? I didn't know there were gondolas in Zootopia."
"Rainforest district had 'em. Let me tell you, Carrots, those sights were breathtaking. You could see the entire Zootopia skyline from there. It made for a very romantic date. I would've loved to take you on one of these," he sighs, bummed that it no longer worked, but he was also happy that it had reminded him of a good moment with Cassie. He had stopped hiding those memories away.
"Man, I bet Clementine would be stoked just seeing this," said Judy.
"She'd be making weird noises and imagining it's a spaceship." Nick laughed. Clem's infatuation with space was a very endearing quality of her that he enjoyed. Judy herself was also into space and comic books, which was something they bonded with pretty fast.
"Oh, speaking of Clem," Judy began. "You never told me what you were gonna say about her. Did she tell you anything?"
"Oh, yeah. Right, sorry. She told me that-" he got interrupted by a loud scream. Wait…not just one loud scream, but about a thousand screams combined into one horrifying shriek, even towering the sound of the blizzard.
"Gideon, what the hell is that?" asked Nick, agitated.
"Sounds like a horde outside. They're about to come in! We have to get to the ostriches now!" Gideon started running towards the exit, Nick and Judy following right behind. As they were passing one of the hallways, Nick saw a strange gathering of infected pushing a barbed wire fence. How had they been spotted? The ostriches were hidden and there's no way their scent registered so far. But that's when he saw the culprit. The one person who probably led them here against their will.
It was a fox, perhaps a vixen, now currently struggling against a savage on the floor.
"Nick what are you doing? Let's go!" said Judy, taking his paw to continue running, but Nick stayed, instead going quickly towards the horde. At that moment, Judy also spotted the vixen.
The older fox quickly pulled out his revolver and aimed at the savage's head, shooting it once and rapidly offering her a paw.
"Gimme your hand!" he said. She grabbed his paw quickly and looked at him in awe. He had no idea why, but there was no time to ponder. "We're gonna have to run!" he told her. He started shooting at some of the infected piling on the fence, with Gideon and Judy also shooting from behind. The vixen also aided in their assault.
"There's too many of them," said Gideon.
"I'll cover you, get going!" Nick screamed. Judy wanted to protest, but there really was no time.
"Come on, this way!" Judy told the vixen, now running towards the hallway they were supposed to reach.
"Oh shit!" said Gideon, as a wall of savages broke through one of the doors, preventing passage to that area. Gideon quickly pulled out a molotov cocktail and threw it at the mammals, sizzling some of them and effectively slowing the entire group down. Nick had finally joined them again, to Judy and Gideon's relief, and found another way to go in. It was a double door covered by a cabinet.
"This way, come on!" screamed Nick. The vixen pushed first, showing off her incredible strength. Within a few seconds the door was opened and everyone got inside. As soon as Nick entered, he shut the door once again with the cabinet.
"You okay?" he asked the vixen while still moving forward.
"Yeah," she replied, in quick breaths.
"Where the hell'd they all come from?" asked Gideon.
"It doesn't matter now. What does matter is where we're going." said Nick.
"We could go out through the back and make a break for the building where our ostriches are," said Judy.
"Yeah, what Carrots said, I ain't got a better idea. Hey girl, you got a gun?"
"Yeah," the vixen said, pulling out a 1911 pistol.
"Well, I hope you're a good shot. Keep up with us, okay?"
Before opening another double door, he noticed the girl grabbing a loose pipe from one of the exposed walls of the room, ready to use it in combat. He was glad she was experienced.
"We gotta warn everyone," said Gideon. "Come back with a cleanup crew."
"We gotta live through this first," said Nick somberly. "Watch the windows."
"These sons of bitches are everywhere!" screamed Judy, as some of the savages were climbing through the broken windows. "We gotta move."
When he opened the double door, they found themselves back in the same place with the gondolas, this time with savages in the room. Nick quickly sealed the door with another cabinet and started getting ready for the battle. The vixen shot at two of them cleanly in the head as Nick cleaned two of them with his revolver. Judy used her rifle to get one of them and Gideon used his machete with one of the runners that got too close. More runners were coming from all sides. The vixen grabbed the pipe she had gotten and swung at one of them, breaking their skull open. She kicked another one of the runners, which led to a machete slice from Gideon that cut its head clean off. Judy was not short on skill herself, managing to bounce herself off a wall with great agility and landing a double kick on two infected, her legs being enough to incapacitate them. Nick mostly used his revolver, relying on his near-perfect accuracy to kill each of them in one shot to preserve ammunition.
"That door ain't gonna hold!" said Gideon, pointing towards the door they came from, which was effectively being opened by the piles of savages behind it.
"We need to hurry," said Nick, thinking of another approach to escaping this place.
"Up there, the window!" Gideon pointed towards a window on the wall of the building. It was elevated, so they needed something to be able to reach it.
"Nick, we can use the gondola to climb through it!" said Judy.
"Good idea. Hey girl, help me with this," he motioned to the vixen to come help him. She pushed the gondola into a cart conveniently placed below it as Nick began to push it towards the window. Despite still being on the cart, it was very heavy. "I'll push this to the window! You three focus on covering me. Don't let these infected near me."
With that, they began their second round of savage killing. Their new vixen companion began by swiping the legs of one of the savages, making them fall and then striking them hard on the head. When another runner went towards her, she gave him an electrifying punch to the jaw, finishing it off with another pipe hit. Judy was currently fighting off two savages, coming at her from both sides. She shot at one of them with a rifle but the other one got too close and took a hold of her weapon, snarling at her. She pushed the butt of her weapon, hitting the infected in the mouth, making him effectively drop it. Now free, Judy decided to use her knife to end its life instead of wasting another bullet.
"Help!" screamed Nick, currently fending off a panther Savage trying to gnaw at him. Judy approached rapidly to help her husband when a flash of red got to him faster and stabbed his brain through one of his eye sockets. The vixen then kicked it away, allowing Nick to keep on pushing.
"Thanks for the help." the vixen nodded and continued beating the other infected with her pipe.
"You want me to take over?" asked Gideon.
"I got it, just worry about the infected! God, this shit is heavy. Almost there!"
Gideon obeyed his brother, continuing his aggressive machete slices at the savages, cutting each one of them with extreme force. With minimal use of ammo, Judy kept on jumping and kicking the infected while the vixen supported her with her pipe, occasionally using her own revolver on savages that got too close.
One of the savages managed to throw Judy off balance, effectively pinning her to the floor. When he was about to bite her neck, the vixen kicked it a few meters away and gave it a massive beating with the pipe, turning his head into pulp. The vixen looked back to Judy worriedly. She nodded, indicating that she hadn't been bitten. The vixen nodded back in acknowledgement and offered her paw for her to get up. She accepted it quickly and jumped towards more savages that needed to be taught a lesson in bunny violence.
"Anytime, Nick!" screamed Gideon.
"Almost there! Just hold on!" As he said this, he increased his pace on moving the heavy gondola, hearing more and more frantic huffs and puffs from everyone protecting him. In a few more seconds, the gondola finally reached the wall. "I got it, c'mon!" he screamed, motioning the fighting animals to climb the gondola first.
Judy went up first, successfully climbing over the window as well. Next was Gideon and finally the vixen. The savages were getting closer and closer to the gondola and Nick was still not up. He began the climb when another infected latched himself onto his pants, scratching his left leg with his long paws.
"Aagh!" he screamed in pain, trying to kick him away. More savages began approaching, surrounding where he was. If he let go of the gondola now, he'd be food for these hungry savages. He was almost letting go. He could hear Judy scream for his name on the other side, but he wasn't able to get himself up. It looked like the end for the poor fox, and he could see it as well.
His saving grace came with a barrage of revolver shots from the vixen he had saved, successfully killing the one grabbing his leg and the others that were about to surround him, offering her paw for him to grab it. He took it gratefully and didn't have time to feel the soreness on his leg from the claw scratch, jumping through the window with the vixen.
The fall was higher than he expected, making him fall to his knees as he touched the floor. When the vixen came out through the window, she helped him up.
"I got you," the vixen said.
"You alright, Nick? Oh my god your leg!" said Judy, looking at his claw wound.
"I'm alright, just keep running! Girl, stay close to us!"
They sprinted rapidly throughout the graveyard of cars outside, the blizzard still strong enough to cover their fur with snow.
"Where are we going?" asked the vixen.
"This way to the building, come on!" answered Gideon. The vixen just kept following the group. The savages made their appearance once again, now on top of some of the buried trucks, climbing down from it to join in the hunt of the four mammals. When the vixen saw this, she hurried up, getting closer to the group.
"They're everywhere!" She screamed.
"Don't slow down!" said Nick, wasting another bullet on a Savage mammal running towards him. He was limping from the leg injury, but still kept a high speed. Judy kept checking him out as she ran, worried that the injury could be too deep.
"Head through those doors!" said Gideon. Nick recognized it as the same entrance they had gone through. He had not realized they had circled around the building while exploring. One by one they each entered the building, happy to see the ostriches were still there. Nick quickly closed the double door and the vixen picked up a nearby plank of wood, holding down the door temporarily. Gideon went over to the vixen still looking at the door with her gun at the ready. He touched her shoulder to call for her attention.
"Hey. I'm Gideon, and this is Nick and Judy," he said, pointing towards the pair. Judy took the time of calm they had to check on his wound. Forcibly, she made the fox sit down on one of the chairs to examine it.
"What's your name?" Gideon asked the vixen.
"I'm Abby." To this, both Gideon and Nick flinched. Gideon was not expecting the name of his deceased niece, who had also been Nick's daughter.
"Abby," he said her name, much more warmly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" she didn't expect that warmth, so it had taken her a bit of time to answer. Back at the chair, Judy was inspecting his wound.
"It's easily wrappable and it's not that deep," she said. "I don't have any gauze, though, so we're gonna have to get to Bunnyburrow."
"That door ain't gonna hold," Nick said, with shaky breathing.
"We can't get to Bunnyburrow either with this storm, we have to barricade that door somehow!" said Gideon.
"Gideon, we cannot stay here!" screamed Judy. "He needs medical attention!" They were about to argue when Abby interrupted them.
"My friends," she said. "My friends are in a mansion just north of here. We have supplies, they can heal him. It's also fenced and the whole perimeter is secure."
"I know that place. It could work," said Nick, getting up again with the help of Judy.
"Alright then. I'll get the door," said Gideon. Nick went towards Abby.
"You ride with me, come on," he said. Judy was about to tell him that he wasn't in any condition to ride, but he was already up on his ostrich, offering the vixen a hand. She sighed and got on her ostrich as well, waiting for Gideon to open the door. Just as he opened it, the savages broke through the defenses of the door they had barricaded and began running towards them.
"Hold on tight!" was the final thing Nick said before he rode full speed with the ostrich, making sure that Judy was also following close behind. Judy looked at the vixen strangely. She didn't give it much thought before, but what was she doing with a group so close to Bunnyburrow? It was useless and impossible to try to question her at that moment. For now, they needed a place to bandage Nick and fast. That was the important part. Nick's safety was all that mattered.
Clementine could not believe it. Not only had she managed to convince herself that she was in love with Skye, but she actually acted upon it. Quite spicily as well. They had the most wonderful time together and she was the happiest vixen now. It was clear that it wasn't just lust or a heat of the moment thing influenced by the weed they had inhaled. They were irredeemable in love with one another, and they had no qualms showing it anymore. The girls were now resting calmly on the sofa, half naked.
"How about we give each other nicknames?" said Skye, wearing only her gray tank top that exposed her midriff as well as her gray underwear.
"Like what?" asked Clementine, in the same conditions as her, but with an Angel Knives-themed tank top instead.
"None of that 'Babe' shit, for once. I want something original. Something that screams Skye and Clem, ya know?"
"Hmm." Clementine put a finger on her chin, thinking. Despite being so close, they had never called each other different names like Nick and Judy used to do, so it would be a bit hard to get used to some nicknames. She thought of one that she'd definitely like saying for the rest of her life. "How about Snowdrop? With you being arctic and all."
"Pfft hahahahaha. Is that the best you can come up with?" she mocked.
"I don't know, it sounds cute to me. It's definitely better than calling you after your favorite food or something."
"Despite what you may believe, I think Nick's nicknames for Judy are adorable."
"Damn, my sexy body wasn't enough to get over your crush on Nick?" she teased, evoking an aggravated expression on Skye.
"You are so annoying!" She squished her cheeks, making them both laugh. "But seriously now, Snowdrop is great. I love it." She gave him another passionate kiss, with Clementine accepting it. After they let go, Skye went back to her spot on the sofa. Clementine had to ask.
"So what's my nickname then? What can the mighty Skye call me by?"
"Clumsy, orange deceit, Sunny tornado, Red Scare, Tangy Mutt. Take your pick." Clementine just looked at her with an expression of awe.
"Woah. You've been thinking about this for a while haven't you?"
"Eeeyup," she said, satisfied with herself.
"Sunny Tornado is definitely the coolest out of that whole pile. But maybe just call me Sunny. Nicknames aren't meant to be that long, it seems like you're giving me superhero names. Not that I mind though, it's definitely cuteish that you thought of so many nicknames."
"You ramble a lot sometimes, Sunny," she moved her eyebrows up and down smugly. Clementine liked the way she had said it.
"Only when I'm nervous," Clem said. "Or when I see a pretty girl."
"God you're so corny. And don't say 'you know you love me', please." Skye knew her so well already.
"Okay okay I won't. Sunny's great, by the way." With this, the two vixens contemplated each other once again, admiring each other's natural bodies. Clementine decided to ask about a particular spot on her right side near her waist.
"How did you get this scar?" Clem asked, tracing it with her fingers. Skye sighed and began to tell the story of that scar.
"I found a skateboard…"
"Uh oh."
"And I tried to get on it, and it shot from underneath me."
"Hahahaha, wait how did you get the scar?"
"I fell on my knife," Skye said. Clementine winced at the thought of that, but still laughed. They went back to their usual staring, not being able to keep their eyes away from each other. After stealing glances for most of their friendship, it felt great to finally own them.
"Okay, um," Clementine began speaking, showing her the place where she had the tattoo and the savage bite. It was time to be truly honest with her mate. "A chemical burn. I did it to myself."
"Why?" Skye asked. Clementine filled herself with courage and spilled it.
"To cover a bite mark…right here. I got jumped by a savage mammal when I was sixteen, and…turns out I'm immune. So, it healed with a ring of fucked up teeth marks and cysts and-" she got interrupted by Skye giving her a playful punch in the shoulder.
"Ow!"
"Fuck you," Skye said, mounting herself on top of the red vixen. "I told you a real fucking story," she said, accusationally.
"I did tell you a real fucking story!" Clementine defended herself.
"Oh you want a real bite mark? Is that it?" she smiled seductively.
"I uhh-" She got interrupted once again by a sound coming from above.
"Did you hear that?" asked Skye.
"Anybody out there?" a voice was heard in the distance.
"Jesse?" Skye exclaimed.
"Skye?" Jesse said in response, his voice and steps getting closer. The two vixens hurriedly began getting dressed, hoping to not be caught in such an embarrassing state. By Skye's ex-boyfriend no less.
"Just stay there, okay?" she said to Jesse.
"Are you okay? What's going on?" Jesse became worried, now getting closer towards where they were.
"Just stay there, please!" Skye tried to warn him again, but it was too late. Passing a corner Jesse was now in clear view of the two girls. He stood there motionless.
"Just turn around, what are you doing?" Thankfully, both Skye and Clem had already put their pants on, with Jesse only managing to look at Skye's midriff. He turned around angrily.
"Are you kidding me?" he said, with a tone not used often by him. "You're supposed to be on patrol," he scoffed. Clementine felt sorry for the poor arctic fox. He said he didn't care, but seeing your ex-mate move on so fast probably wasn't easy.
"There's a blizzard outside," Skye reasoned. Jesse was so distracted by them that he had now noticed the strange objects in the room.
"Is that weed?" he asked. Skye just ignored him.
"Why are you here?"
"People are counting on you, you get that? What we do matters!"
"Well then why aren't you at the fucking lookout?"
"Because Judy, Gideon and Nick didn't show up." Clementine was adjusting her hoodie as she heard that and she froze. The bad feeling she had when Judy left came back to her, frothing her empty stomach. Skye looked at Jesse with surprise and worry as well, looking back at Clementine.
"What do you mean?" Clem asked, confronting him.
"I waited for them for an hour. I was looking for their ostriches when I saw lights."
"Maybe they just went back to town," Skye said, trying to calm herself and Clementine.
"Without being replaced? No way." Clementine walked towards her bag and gathered her things, ready to go out.
"How much of their region have you covered?" she asked.
"Not much," he said quietly.
"Then we split up," she said, putting on her jacket. "Go at it from different sides, and we can cover the whole thing in a few hours.
"I don't like you riding solo, we don't know what's out there," said Jesse. Skye also gathered her bags and readied herself.
"Exactly, what if they need help?" He looked at her quietly and then nodded.
"Okay, I'll head west, Skye can take south and you come from the east but be smart about it, yeah?" They all nodded and began heading out, Clementine speed walking in the front, her expression hidden from the others, but one of pure dread. She wanted to keep an open mind and imagine that it was probably nothing, but one was never too sure. Please be okay, Nick, she thought, going out into the wild snowstorm once again.
Judy could still hear the savages behind them. Somehow, they had kept up their pace, running towards them at maximum velocity. Every second or so she took a glance at Nick, worrying about his still bleeding leg. His face spelled grimace and pain, but he kept going. The vixen at his side called Abby kept her gun at the ready. They went through many pine trees, but so far, no houses were spotted, the fog from the storm still strongly clinging to the air. The savages came in from all sides, one of them almost clawing at her ostrich. She swerved to the right, effectively evading it.
Finally, a gate was in front of them, indicating that they had reached Abby's shelter. She started taking out some of the infected that had come too close to Nick's ostrich. The gate was being held open just slightly so that the three ostriches could be able to go across. Gideon's was first, next was Nick's, and lastly it was Judy, taking a look at the two wolves, the arctic fox and the one black rabbit that were now closing the gate. Even after the gate was closed, the savages kept trying to reach them through the bars, being killed one by one by the four members of the group.
"Save your bullets!" screamed another fox, throwing a molotov cocktail at the savages. Another vixen joined the fox, throwing yet another bottle of fiery alcohol, successfully eliminating each one of the savages as their screams subsided until it was just the howling of the wind again, which was music to Judy's ears. She saw Abby getting down from Nick's ostrich as the fox who threw the molotov looked at them and then at her. With some difficulty, Nick also got out from the ostrich, guiding it towards the house. Judy did the same, following the group to the house. Despite the danger being over, she still felt uneasy.
With everyone inside, the garage door was closed. Judy appreciated the warmth of the house. She couldn't wait for the summer to come back. Winters were always harsh.
"You scared us," said the wolf to Abby, silently. She didn't mean to hear it, but rabbit ears were very intrusive.
"I know," Abby answered.
"How are you guys doing?" an arctic vixen asked them, also momentarily glancing at Abby with a neutral face. Something was wrong.
"We're good," Gideon answered politely. "Thanks."
"Yeah," Nick nodded.
"It would be better if we could please have some assistance for his leg," she said, pointing at her husband's scratched thigh.
"Mel can take care of that," the vixen said, no apparent care in her voice. "You wanna take those saddles off?"
"No, no that's alright. We'll just wait out the storm and get outta your fur," Nick said. Judy looked at Abby, now going towards the next room from the garage, probably the living room, talking silently and frantically with the other male fox of the group.
"Where the fuck have you been?" was the only thing she could make out from the male fox. She skipped the conversation that Nick and Gideon were having with the other residents and started walking in their direction, trying to get a feel for what their conversation might be about. When Nick walked to where they were, Judy offered him her shoulder to lean on, which he accepted.
"Who are these people?" she managed to hear.
"How do y'all get electricity here?" Gideon asked, impressed.
"There are solar panels on the roof," said the male arctic fox.
"How long y'all been here?" Gideon questioned again. Nick was still more worried about his right leg.
"Since yesterday," the arctic fox replied.
"Yesterday?" Judy asked suspiciously.
"Yup."
"What are y'all doing out this way?" Nick asked.
"Just passing through," said the black rabbit. "You two live nearby?"
"We do," said Gideon, smiling. "A few hours down the hill. Y'all should come back with us, restock before you head out."
Judy felt claustrophobic in that living room. The blue tint of the outside gave it a very cold aura, even through the warm environment that surrounded them. They were being looked at like they were statues from a museum, watching their every move. Gideon still talked to them happily while leaning on a wide high table, so he probably hadn't realized.
"Appreciate it," said a vixen, with her arms crossed. "I'm Mel, by the way." She went to shake his hand, and Gideon took it.
"Gideon," he told her his name. "This is my brother," he pointed to Nick.
"Wait, you're Mel?" she asked. Her guard went down at the prospect of bandaging Nick. "Someone said you could help him. Are you a doctor?" Mel was about to answer, before being interrupted.
"Mel, go get Nick some bandages," Abby said, in a cold voice. Mel looked at her, in a face one could only describe as one of fear. She looked back at where Nick and Judy were, standing in the center of the room, and shook her head before she went back to the garage. Judy's breath hitched and her heart was in her throat. She didn't know what the hell was going on. Nick gave Judy a side eye, which she felt. They looked at each other nervously. Gideon still didn't feel any type of suspicion, as seen by his joy-filled eyes. Everyone else was quietly looming over them, the two wolves sitting on a nearby sofa while everyone else was standing up. Still, their eyes only went towards the trio.
"Y'all look like you've heard of us or something," Nick said quietly, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear it. No one said anything. They just looked harder, and leaned closer towards the pair. Judy was erratically looking in every direction now, her senses of danger activated. Mel still hadn't come back with the bandages. Where the fuck were those bandages?
She could not foresee what came next.
"It's because they have," Abby said, now wielding a shotgun. Without any rhyme or reason, she fired.
"AAAAHHHH" Shrieked Nick, as the shotgun blast pierced his already damaged leg, creating a giant hole, throwing him off balance. For a second, everything stopped. Judy could only look horrified at the bloodied leg of her husband. In an instant, she ran towards Abby with an unpredictable flow of adrenaline and kicked her hard in the chest, taking the shotgun out of her paws and sending her to the floor. She didn't cease her attack, as she furiously slashed her right cheek while on top of the vixen.
"You fucking bitch!" she screamed, still punching and slashing. The male rabbit kicked her in the back of the head and was now pinning her on the ground, giving her a few free punches to her face, breaking her nose. Gideon was not faring well either.
"Noooo!" Gideon had said, going towards Nick.
"Get the other fox!" screamed the rabbit, as the two male foxes came to subdue him. He managed to punch one of them before the two foxes took both his arms strongly and placed them on the side. It was the female arctic vixen who would end up finishing him, beating him multiple times with the butt of a weapon, making him bleed profusely in the head and fall unconscious to the ground. Judy could only look in horror at what was happening. Nick was still on the ground, his knee completely busted open thanks to Abby's shot. She recognized his hearing aid, now lying on the floor and covered with his blood. Nick was grunting and wheezing, still reeling from the immense pain he must be having. She began to cry. Her breathing and heart became rapid.
"Nora, all clear?" said the male fox.
"He's out," the arctic vixen answered, still pointing a gun at Gideon.
"Put him against the wall," she heard Abby say, now back up from the floor, even with her slash wound on her face. She took the shotgun again, pointing it at Nick. She also stared at the bloodied hearing aid, taking it with her paws and crushing it.
"Don't shoot him!" she cried out, only being able to plead. She had no strength to get herself out of the rabbit's paws. Abby paid no mind to her.
"Agh, Judy…" Nick said, still suffering. The wolf and the arctic fox did as Abby told them, dragging him to the wall.
"Get off me, you assholes, ugh. Aaagh." he said, trying to get himself off of them to no avail, his busted leg still hurting. Judy could only cry. They reached the wall, with Nick's back against it. Abby leaned, now on Nick's eye level. From her perspective, Judy couldn't see her face.
"Nick…Wilde," Abby said with a shaky voice, as if she was holding in her excitement.
"Who are you?" Nick asked angrily, but also pained.
"Guess," Abby said, getting closer to him. "Come on. Guess." Nick looked at Judy and then back at Abby, and then at Gideon. He looked at Judy again, a sorrowful face in his eyes. Judy could only cry. Nick could only sigh. He was tired.
"Why don't you save whatever speech you got rehearsed…" Nick began saying, his eyes full of tears now, but his voice remained fierce, not giving them any hint of suffering besides his painful grunts. "...and get this shit over with."
Abby looked shaken at his response and quickly got up. Mel came back, now pointing a gun at Nick as well.
"I should've known you were a bunch of pests! Aren't you a nurse, Mel?" Judy screamed.
"Shut the fuck up!" the male rabbit said, punching her on one of her ribs this time.
"You heard the rabbit. Tourniquet his leg," said Abby. Her voice was now weaker, as if ready to cry as well. "Do it," she insisted. Her breathing became irregular and growly as she gave the shotgun to the male fox and began looking for something in the room. Meanwhile, Mel began putting a tourniquet on Nick's leg to stop the blood flow. Was it real? Had she changed her mind about this?
Abby grabbed a golf club from the left side of the wall. She menacingly approached the wounded fox again, waiting for Mel to finish stopping the flow of blood on his leg.
"Ugh, goddamnit!" he yelled, the tourniquet also hurting him. A few more prolonged grunts and gasps escaped him. Mel was done, and she quietly retreated back.
"Clear out," Abby said. The two mammals pinning him to the wall had stopped, but the male fox was still pointing the shotgun at him. Abby glanced at the golf club on her hands, feeling its weight and handle.
"Stupid fox," Abby told him. "You don't get to rush any of this!" With this, she began to swing the golf club.
"STOOP!" Judy pleaded, more tears escaping her eyes, piling up a small puddle on the ground. Her pleas were in vain.
"Judy, close your e-" he tried to say, but it was too late.
With the might of the golf club, looking hatefully at the fox, she swung.
and swung.
and swung.
and swung.
The blizzard had calmed down. Shimmer went as fast as she could, with Clementine frantically looking around for any sign of the lost group.
"Nick! Judy! Gideon!" She called out to them, hoping to see them somewhere in the area. Nothing could've happened to them, right? They were the most skilled patrollers. They wouldn't get killed so easily, right? Clementine shook her head, trying to release those intrusive thoughts. She would find them safe and sound. She knew it.
She wandered upon a cliff and saw a fenced mansion. It was too steep to roll down the hill.
"Oh shit. How do I get down there?" She led Shimmer to a hidden spot on some trees and jumped out of her mount, continuing her journey on foot. There was a way down through the trees, and she took it.
"Come on. Please be okay," she told herself, continuing to move down towards the house.
"Nick! Judy?" She kept calling them. She didn't get any response. It was so eerily quiet. Even the wind felt quieter than usual.
"You're okay, you're okay," she tried to convince herself as she came in sight of the wooden fence that led to the house. She found a broken floorboard and managed to slightly pass through it, the house now right in front of her. She jumped down a wall that led to the patio of the house.
"Nick? Gideon? Judy?" she called again. Not one response. A sliding door of the house was opened, but the interior was covered up by white blinds. She got out her pistol and entered inside. She was in one of the rooms of the house, but there was no sign of anybody yet. She could still hear nothing.
"Ahhhh!" She heard someone scream below her. Her breath quickened, increasing her fear. She could swear it was the voice of…
"Where is that coming from?" she whispered to herself in fear. Her heart was pulsating harder, pressing on her chest cavity. She made her way out of the room and towards that horrendous sound. She was now in a living room on the second floor of the house. Whatever it was, it had to be below.
"Gaaah!" She hears again. It was undeniable now. That was Nick. He was screaming in pain.
"Nick…" she went down the stairs to the first floor, skipping a few steps to get there faster. She could hear his sickening screams more now, making her eyes well up. Just what was causing him so much pain?
"Stop it, please!" She heard a voice say. That was Judy! She was there too. Why wasn't she helping Nick? Who was she saying those things to? Judy's voice was also agitated. Where was Gideon in all of this? She needed to get to where they were and quickly.
The house was massive. The first floor spanned over a thousand rooms, and Clem couldn't pick up where the sound came from.
"Aaagh!" She heard him again. This was too much. Where were they? She had to find them. He was okay. He was okay. It was a sick joke. They were all playing a prank on her. Nick's tired breaths could be heard.
"Fuck."
Through another door, she found one set of stairs, leading to an ominous-looking door. That's where the noises originated.
"Ugh!" Nick reacted again. She was now hearing thuds each time he screamed.
"That's enough, ple-hease!" Judy begged, her voice broken. She couldn't handle it anymore. Now finally at the door, she opened it slowly.
…
"Gah!" Abby screamed, beating Nick's face senselessly. Blood had started seeping through his fur, blocking the view from one of his eyes. Or was it swollen? He couldn't tell. The pain was too much. He was lying flat on his left side, not being able to really move anymore.
"Gah!" She sent another hit, tearing part of his muzzle. He could barely hear anything anymore. His hearing aid from his right ear was gone, and now his left ear was getting destroyed by a golf club.
"Gah!" Another hit. His tongue tasted iron, his blood now oozing from his mouth as well, combined with whatever food he had last night. The golf club had connected well with his ear this time, the ringing now being his only sound. He could still read Judy's lips, screaming to please stop what they were doing. It was a lost cause. Soon enough, they'd all be dead.
He knew he was making painful noises, but even he couldn't hear himself making them. He couldn't even look at the vixen's face. Abby…that name was his weakness. He became too trusting of the group. Just for that fucking name. Now he would pay the price. For years, he thought he was ready to die whenever it was time. Now…looking at his wife's tearful face, he wasn't so sure.
The door at the end opened slightly. He thought he was hallucinating, because it was Clementine. She was on a completely different patrol, there's no way she would've come here. It was real. She was here, and her eyes grew wide when she saw him, lying on the floor while a vixen beat him violently with a club, him lying in his own pool of blood and vomit.
She tried to advance through the door before being intercepted by the black rabbit, who had stopped holding onto Judy to take care of the door. The one holding Judy at that moment was the female arctic vixen.
The rabbit tried to take her gun away unsuccessfully before she got out her dagger and sliced him cleanly through the cheek. It wouldn't take long for the male arctic fox to tackle her to the floor the same way they did Judy. Now, both girls were looking helplessly at the show of violence against the fastly-dying fox. He feared they were next after him.
So…this is how it ends, he thought. He imagined himself protecting his girls until the day he died, but he had failed. Someone from his past came back for revenge, and he wasn't strong enough to stop them. He reminisced about the great times he had with them, and the way they had made him smile after all those years. Even through the beating, he allowed himself to smile at them one last time, trying with all his might to say his last few words, his left paw trying to reach his two dearest treasures.
He heard one last swing.
And then silence.
Shock. That was what was painted on Clementine's face when she saw the body of her father figure, Nick Wilde, being beaten violently by another vixen. She aimed her pistol directly at her, only to be stopped by a strong black rabbit trying to take her gun away. She slipped from his grasp and swinged at him with her knife, before being tackled by a male arctic vixen.
"Get the fuck off me!"
"Clementine?!" said Judy, her breath shakier than usual, still being held up by a female wolf. "Don't you hurt her please! She's got nothing to do with this."
From the corner of her eye, she noticed the unconscious body of Gideon, his head bleeding. Noticing this sight made her more angry, trying with all her might to release herself from his grasp before being kicked hard in the chest multiple times by the male rabbit, before being stopped by a wolf.
"You got her, you got her!" he said, getting him away from her.
"Let go, I'm gonna kill this bitch!" He said, struggling to release himself from the wolf's hold. The red vixen looked back at Clementine, the bloody golf club still at her paws.
"Ghaaagh! You're gonna fucking die!" Clementine said. Abby said nothing.
"What's going on?" said a male fox, entering her field of vision. He was accompanied by another vixen.
"Let him go!" She demanded, still trying to release herself from the two arctic foxes.
"Who is that?" asked the female vixen.
"She snuck in," said her male captor.
"Why weren't you posted up outside?" asked the fox.
"We didn't think anyone was gonna show up!"
"What the hell did you expect? We gotta get out of here before the whole town is on top of us." The fox went towards the vixen with the club. "You're done."
"You want what I want, right?" she asked him.
"End it. Now." The fox said, going back out of her view.
"Clem…just close your eyes. Don't look at this anymore. You're all a bunch of fucking monsters" Judy said in between breaths, crying at the poor sight of the fox she loved. Clementine couldn't look away. She knew Nick was still there. He was gonna get up and show those assholes what they deserved.
"Nick…get up." She told him. She saw him look at her, with a seemingly content expression. His paws slightly moved towards her, even though he'd be too far away to reach her.
"NICK, FUCKING GET UP!"
It was such a terrible sight. The fox's head was caved in, flattened by the vixen's aggressive strikes. His ear and muzzle were cut open. It was clear he was probably completely deaf now. His left eye was swollen red, blocking most of the view. She looked at the vixen, who was ready to strike one last time.
"Carr…ots," Nick said with difficulty, his one eye looking at Judy. He moved his mouth to say another word, now looking at Clementine. "Baby…girl."
It was enough to make her fully tear up now.
"Please stop," She pleaded to the vixen, her prideful self fully disappearing. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted Nick safe. "Please don't do this. Nick please get up!" She said, in between sobs.
With a shake of her head, the vixen put the club above her head, bringing it down swiftly one last time. A sickening ping and a crunch were heard.
"NOOOOOO!" Clementine let out a blood curdling scream, seeing the head of her father completely broken, his eye and paws unmoving. A fountain of blood was freely flowing out of the hole of his skull. Bits of his brain matter now lay scattered across the basement floor. She was now openly crying, seeing the lifeless body of the person that had taken care of her for five years. Judy was catatonic, looking intently at the body, neither crying nor reacting to her screams. She had turned to paste, melting on the floor, no longer resisting the arctic vixen's hold. Her eyes were fixated on Nick.
"Burn in hell, pendejo," said the male wolf as he spat on Nick's corpse.
"I'll fucking kill youu," Clementine said, still sobbing. "I'll fucking kill you all!"
She saw the wolf going towards her with a gun before being stopped by a fox. She didn't care about the conversation they were having. She was still looking at Nick. She was crying and denying that any of this was real. She was sleeping soundly with Skye back at Yax's place. She tried to make herself wake up, but to her despair, this was real. Nick was dead. The fox who meant everything to her now lied on the floor, killed in the most unjust way possible. None of this was fair.
"Dad…" she said, making the vixen with the club react to her. She said something Clementine didn't hear and dropped the club. Clem looked intently at her, memorizing every facial feature of hers. It wasn't gonna be today. It probably wasn't going to be tomorrow. But she would die. She would die the most painful death, just like she had done with Nick. No one will dare get in her way. No one.
The pain of a kick to her face came abruptly, and then Clementine slept.