Chapter 7: Captured Part 1 (written from February 5th to February 24th, 2021)

Drowning in his heartbeat, the fox struggled to awaken. At first, he kept slipping in and out of consciousness. There were flashes of light with animals moving back and forth across the room. A loud sound permeated the air, but it wasn't enough to lift him from the darkness. Eventually, he slipped into a place where the black walls folded in on themselves, and he soon had a sensation of falling into a memory. He found himself at a picnic bench many months ago, at a park not far from headquarters. Judy was indulging in mac and cheese when Nick asked a question he knew she would think of as strange.

"Hey, Carrots, you ever think of how you would retire?" Judy responded with an unusually noisy chuckle.

"Retire? That's a dirty word."

"Heh, heh. I know, but ever since I've had a real job, for the first time in my life I have a need to be normal... Well, as normal as someone like me can be."

"Normal can mean many different things to different animals."

"I mean stuff like settling down, having your own home, and developing hobbies like—I don't know—knitting."

"Hmm... I haven't been into any real hobbies since I moved to the city. I do occasionally play this game on my phone called Candy Smash though. I always go for the candy corn since they look a lot like carrots. You should try it."

"No thanks," he replied.

"To answer your question, no. Retirement has never even been a thought of mine. Frankly, the only time I'll retire is if I'm in a years-long coma, for as long as the city of Zootopia never sleeps, neither will I. Where is this coming from, anyway? Is there a Mrs. Wilde on the way?" she teased.

"Umm... well... I did join a dating site..." The fox blushed.

"No way! Didn't know you were interested in that kind of thing."

"I'm not," Nick reassured. "It's just... to see what happens I guess."

"Oh. Any luck?"

"No. Not too many females like 'lockpicking' as a special skill." The two of them then had a short laugh.

"Well, no matter who you get," said Judy, "make sure she loves you for who are. That's what really matters." The bunny placed her hand on top of Nick's. "I know you've lived a rough life. You're my partner, so I want you to be happy. Don't get a female because you need one but because you want one. As I've seen with my parents, it can be incredibly fulfilling that way."

"Thanks for the advice, Fluff. May I have the fortune cookie that comes with it?"

"Oo, I hate you so much."

They both smiled before continuing to eat their lunch. After taking a single bite of his small mushroom pizza, his consciousness was transported back to the present.

Finally waking up, he groaned in pain. He was strapped to a stretcher inside of an ambulance, but strangely, he was alone, and the vehicle was at rest. Things were oddly quiet. He lifted his head to look through the backdoor windows. The ambulance was inside a building, and it looked nothing like a trauma center. It was a large open space. Nick could spot an overarching metal frame that held the ceiling.

"Maybe the hospital has a lack of room and I'm just in an extra building nearby," he said to himself. But if that was the case, where were the nurses who had to take him?

He then felt relieved to hear the door handle moving. Finally, someone had come.

"Oi, look who has joined the party." Nick's heart dropped like a stone.

"...You..."

"Aw, yes, it's me." Despite the crutches, the white rabbit hopped to get on the stretcher and walked across Nick's chest.

"Ahhh!" the fox screamed.

"Oh, what do you know. A broken rib, you have? Such a shame. I hope it was worth killing her dear parents."

"What are you talking about?! Who's parents?!" The rabbit removed himself from Nick's line of sight. Thirty feet from the ambulance was Judy, sitting on a wooden chair unconscious.

"WHAT?!"

"I counted on you trying to kill my lowlife associate, the former mayor of the city. You think you can do something like that just to challenge me? No, I know everything. I've been through everything. A fox murdered my family. I lost my way of life after so-called diversity reforms were made years ago to allow predators to steal our longtime jobs. It's time you face reality." The rabbit threw the tiny crutches away. It turned out he didn't need them. "Hopefully," he continued, "you won't be as troublesome as your friend." He pulled a pair of sunglasses from one of the trench coat's pockets and began to sport them. They weren't just any sunglasses...

"Finnick..."