Stained Crimson

by SkulShurtugalTCG

Judy is offered a life-changing assignment, but there's a catch, and she must decide how far she's willing to go for her job, even if the job is not for the ZPD. Meanwhile, a mysterious fox named Skye appears in Zootopia, and she's running from a past that haunts her. But her past is catching up, and it's just a matter of time before Skye, Judy and Nick are caught in the crossfire.

21. Chapter 21

Skye's eyes darted back and forth as she crawled deeper into the interstitial space. It was a tight squeeze, but she was able to push herself forward inch by inch without much difficulty. She took note of various markers that she passed by, trying to correlate them with specific rooms and hallways she was familiar with in the mansion. A series of water pipes led to one of the bathrooms, some high voltage wires disappeared into the surveillance room, a tiny leak in the ceiling betrayed the location of a kitchen above—all of it helped her to navigate the tight space as she led her two friends toward the escape tunnel.

Behind her, she could hear Nick following close behind. Judy brought up the rear, firmly gripping Nick's tail in her paws while she walked, since her eyes were not as suited to the darkness as the two foxes'. The three of them made their way through the crawlspace as quickly as they could while also staying as quiet as possible. Already, they had paused once or twice when they had heard voices in one of the passing rooms, but they dared not stay in one spot for too long, so they had always pressed on as silently as they possibly could.

It took longer than she wished, but finally, Skye found what she was looking for. In one of the far corners of the mansion, there was a storage closet, and inside the ceiling of the closet was a large, metallic air filter. From Skye's perspective, it was flush against the floor, nearly butting up against the walls. It was square in shape, and even bigger than the hole for the light fixture she and Nick had climbed through a few minutes prior.

She came to a stop beside it and held up a paw, motioning for her two friends to stop. Then she pressed an ear to the metal and strained to listen for any signs of life in the room below. After a few seconds of silence, she was satisfied that it was completely empty, and she lifted her head back up so she could properly examine the air filter.

To her dismay, it was screwed into place from below, which meant it would be next to impossible to dismount. On top of that, the metal was industrial strength, so it was not likely to give way underneath their weight even if all three of them jumped on top of it all at once—which they couldn't even do because of how small the crawlspace was.

"Fiddlesticks." Skye turned to Nick and Judy. "Any ideas?" she whispered.

"Yeah." Nick raised a paw, curled it into a fist, and brought it down just beside the metal grate. A soft crash sounded as he broke through the drywall, but it was surprisingly quiet, and with another punch, Nick managed to quickly and efficiently create a hole large enough for them to fit through. He lifted his paw, brushed it against his coat, and looked back at the vixen, who was staring at him in disbelief. "What? We needed in, I got us in."

It was not exactly what Skye was expecting, but she couldn't argue with the result. Unlike her father's study, which they escaped as cleanly as possible, this storage closet was not likely to be visited by anyone for quite some time—long after they escaped the mansion—and so it did not matter how much of a mess they made, just as long as nobody heard them.

And after waiting in silence for a few more seconds to make sure, she was convinced that they were in the clear.

Nick gestured to the newly created hole in the drywall. "And we're in!" he whispered excitedly. He flashed a smug smile. "No need to thank me."

"Good to know," Judy shot back.

Skye held up a paw, quickly quieting both of them before they could continue bantering. "Me first," she whispered. She flattened her body against the ground and slid herself forward, squeezed her head through the hole—taking care not to agitate her injured cheek—and took a look around the storage room to get a better idea of what was inside.

The room was packed with cardboard boxes, wall to wall and nearly floor to ceiling. The door that led to the hallway outside was barely visible past a pile of boxes, but the light from outside bounced past the threshold and lit up the small corner of the room, in stark contrast to the pitch-black darkness that Skye had grown used to dealing with over the past few minutes. A shadow blocked out the light temporarily before moving on, which indicated that someone had just passed by outside. However, there were no sounds of alarm or screams of foxes barking orders, which meant that nobody had yet noticed they had escaped.

She preferred to keep it that way.

She slid further down, lowering herself to the top of one of the nearby boxes. Remembering her training from when she was in White Jaws, she maneuvered her legs to grip the side of the hole while she swung her arms toward the box. She grabbed the edge, took a second to make sure it would not topple over, and then quickly crunched her body into a ball. The moment her legs left the hole, she threw herself forward, rolled on top of the box, and sprang back up to her paws and knees before she could fall off.

She paused to make sure the box would not collapse under her weight, then looked back up to the hole in the ceiling and flashed a thumbs-up, signaling to Nick and Judy that it was safe for them to follow her. Nick nodded in acknowledgement, then turned to Judy and grabbed her firmly underneath her shoulders. Her eyes were too weak to safely guide her down, so Nick had to lower her through the hole down to Skye. The vixen grabbed her by her legs and gave a gentle tug to let Nick know when she had a firm grip on the bunny. As soon as Nick let go, Judy wrapped her arms around Skye's neck, who lowered her the rest of the way onto the cardboard box and gently set her down.

The box was not big enough to support all three of them, so Skye made her way to the ground below while Nick began lowering himself through the hole in the ceiling. Thankfully, the boxes were stacked properly, with smaller boxes towards the top and larger boxes at the bottom that formed a sort of cardboard pyramid. Skye had no trouble descending from one layer to the next, and after five short hops, she made it to the carpet on the floor. There was just enough wiggle room between the next two piles of boxes for her to reach the closet door, but she stayed where she was for now, contemplating the current situation.

Last she knew, White Jaws had a patrol set up for this particular corridor once every three minutes. She had seen a shadow cross the threshold to the door precisely ninety-four seconds ago, and she wanted to make sure that the patrol had not changed before moving toward the door. If it was the same, that gave them exactly enough time to move to the next location, with only seconds to spare—and even then, only if everything went perfectly. If it was different, she had to figure out the new pattern quickly, before anyone realized they were missing from her father's study.

Of course, the second someone walked into that room and discovered they weren't there, they would be in trouble no matter what, and it was only a matter of time before that happened. If they were still in the mansion at that point, there would be no way to sneak around unnoticed. The hallways would be filled up with a hundred foxes sniffing them out, and not even this closet or the interstitial space between floors would be a safe haven for them. The only hope was for them to reach the escape tunnel—and, ideally, even farther away—before anyone knew what happened.

The shadow crossed the threshold again. Skye allowed herself a small smile. Three minutes exactly.

She waited a few seconds to make sure the fox outside was gone, then looked back up to Nick and Judy. "Okay, come down," she whispered.

The tiny bit of light peaking out from underneath the door enhanced Judy's vision enough for her to safely climb down, though Nick stayed where he was and eyed her movements just in case she needed direction. Once she made it to the ground, he quickly followed her, and Skye led them past the final piles of cardboard boxes to the closet door.

She pressed herself against it, gripped the knob, and turned back to face her two friends. "Stick close to me," she ordered. "We've got one shot at this."

Nick gave a firm nod. "Ready."

"Just tell us when," Judy whispered.

If either of them were scared, they did not show it. Their expressions were determined, their demeanors were alert but calm, and their voices did not quiver in the least. They were prepared to follow Skye wherever she led them, and even though their lives were on the line, they were ready to put their faith in her to get them to safety.

She felt the flame of courage roar in her heart again. She would not let them down.

She set her jaw and slowly turned the knob of the door, mentally counting down to the most opportune time. "Okay," she whispered. "Three… Two…" She spun the knob and threw the door open. "One."

She jumped out of the closet and spun around in a quick circle. Just as she expected, the hallway was completely empty. She quickly motioned for the two others to follow her, and as soon as they were out of the way of the closet door, she closed it as quietly as she could, turned on her heel, and sprinted down the hallway.

The hallway came to an abrupt stop, and while she was sure Nick and Judy expected for them to open one of the many doors that lined it, she led them straight to the dead end. She came to a stop mere inches from the wall, faced the corner, and said in as loud of a voice as she dared, "Chance Faulkner." A beep sounded from somewhere behind the wall, and a second later, a section of it swung outwards. The seam between the wall and the hidden door was practically invisible, and it made absolutely no noise as it rotated into place, revealing a dark passageway beyond.

If she did not know it was there, she would never have seen it. And right now, it meant that this was their best chance of getting out of here.

Skye quickly ran inside, and if the fox and bunny behind her were caught off-guard by the door's sudden appearance, they didn't show it as they followed her less than a second later. As soon as they were all inside, she stepped forcefully onto one of the stones that made up the pathway, which gave way under her weight. Just as quietly as it had opened, the door closed, once again plunging the three of them into darkness.

As much as Skye wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, they were still far from safe, and she dared not waste a single second. She reached out her arm and felt around in the darkness for a moment before finding the wall. "Come on," she whispered. "It's a straight line to the warehouse."

Even though it was so dark that Skye couldn't even see her paw in front of her face, the stone path gave away the sounds of her two companions walking just behind her, and she felt confident running through the tunnel at a moderate pace while her paw grazed the wall beside them. The tunnel slowly dropped in elevation as they ran, an indication that they were traveling further underground. If Skye remembered correctly, the tunnel came to its end about thirty feet beneath street level, and she used that to roughly track their progress as they ran forward.

Before long, a faint light appeared up ahead, which grew brighter the closer they got. After another minute of running, the end of the tunnel came into view. A series of wooden planks were nailed into the wall, forming a makeshift ladder that led up into a hole in the ceiling. Light was pouring into the tunnel from the hole, but it was still muted even when they came to a stop directly underneath it. The hole was covered at the top, with only a tiny amount of light trickling in through a number of slats.

Skye silently motioned for Nick and Judy to follow her, then quickly made her way up the ladder. The wooden planks had been installed decades ago by now, but they held her weight without issue, and she reached the top after only a few seconds. She could see now that the covering on the hole was a group of wooden boards, and there was a hinge on the side opposite the ladder.

It was a trap door, with the warehouse just on the other side.

She pressed the top of her head against the wood and pushed upwards, moving it just enough to give her a peek at the room beyond. She was greeted by the sight of a large water tank, sitting on the floor mere inches away from her eyes and blocking most of her vision. After pushing the trap door further up, she was able to take a better look around. A gigantic shelf full of metal pipes and beams sat on the floor to the right, while the floor to the left was completely empty, which made it the perfect spot for them to exit the tunnel.

The trap door opening faced away from the center of the warehouse, so Skye could not see anything else until she fully emerged, which might expose herself to anyone who might be inside. She held her breath for a moment and tried to listen for any sounds that might indicate that somebody was inside, but the industrial boiler and hum of the countless fluorescent lights lining the ceiling drowned out everything else.

Right now, she wished she had Judy's ears. But time was of the essence, and that meant she had to take a chance and pray she was right.

She mentally crossed her fingers, gritted her teeth, and pushed against the trap door with both paws, flipping it over. The instant it was out of the way, she whirled her head around to finally take a proper look at the warehouse. To her immense relief, it was completely empty, and even better, a fine layer of dust coated the floor throughout the big room.

The place was abandoned. They would be safe here—at least, long enough to plan their next move.

Her heart, which she hadn't even noticed was pounding in her chest, started to slow down. An involuntary smile spread across her lips, and when she looked back down and spoke to Judy and Nick, she could hear the relief in her own voice. "All clear."

She quickly jumped off the ladder and crawled onto the bare floor beside the trap door. A moment later, Judy emerged from the hole and knelt down beside her, with Nick following a second after. Once they were safely out of the way, Skye flipped the trap door back into place, where it blended in perfectly with the surrounding wood and practically disappeared from sight.

Nick let out a long sigh and brushed his paws together. "All right! Step one, complete!"

"Yeah, but that was the easy part." Skye leaned against the water tank and closed her eyes, allowing herself a quick respite while she thought of their available options.

The last time she escaped from Marble Jade, she had run straight into the wilderness outside of town. It had been summertime then, but even so, the conditions were so cold and unforgiving that she only barely made it to a nearby town—a treacherous journey that took her weeks. She had only made it by the skin of her teeth, combined with a lot of luck and the fact that White Jaws were not looking for her. It was winter now, which meant that such a journey would be nearly impossible—and even if they could somehow make it to the next town, it was inhabited by more arctic foxes, who were not likely to treat Nick and Judy kindly, no matter how dire their situation.

That meant they had to find some other way of getting out of town. Her first impulse was to break into a truck and drive it away, but she knew that was useless. White Jaws had every single vehicle equipped with tracking devices, and the second a truck left town without authorization, they would be chased down and caught within minutes. The tracking devices were installed inside the frame of each truck, which meant she had no way of removing or disabling them. She also knew it was not safe to hide inside a truck as it left town, either; the second her father discovered she and Judy and Nick were missing, he would lock down Marble Jade and prevent anyone from leaving.

The only other way she knew of getting in and out of Marble Jade was by train, but trains rarely came into town. She couldn't even remember the last time she saw…

Her eyes snapped open.

When they were dragged from the truck into her father's mansion, she had heard a train whistle. There was a train in Marble Jade right now—or at least, there was one, less than an hour ago. It was possible it had left already, but if it hadn't, that was their way out of here.

Their only way out of here.

Skye leapt to her feet and motioned for Nick and Judy to follow her. "Come on. We've got a train to catch."

The bunny's ears shot up in excitement, and she quickly stood up. Nick, however, flashed a sly grin and raised an eyebrow. "Do you mean a literal train, or…?"

Judy rolled her eyes, grabbed the collar of Nick's coat, and gave it a firm tug. "Just consider yourself lucky you're not leaving town in a coffin."

"Is it a train full of coffins?" Nick winced as Judy gave his collar another tug, this time practically lifting him off the floor and onto his feet. "Hey, it was an honest question!"

She gave him a playful sneer. "Well, if you want, we can hang around here for a few hours and get caught. Maybe if you ask really nicely, they'll give you a nice padded coffin with a TV and soda dispenser."

Nick's eyes widened in faux awe. "They make those?"

Judy softly punched his arm, finally shutting him up. She turned back to Skye and gave her a serious look, focusing once again at the task before them. "Okay, let's go."

Skye nodded, then quickly began to lead the two of them outside. The closest exit was the main entrance, but that would dump them out onto Marble Jade's main road, where they would no doubt be spotted immediately. Instead, she sprinted through the warehouse, navigating between shelf after shelf of metal building materials, before finally arriving at the much more secluded side entrance.

This time, Skye threw caution to the wind, electing to push the door open right away and simply hope that no foxes were around to see it. A freezing-cold breeze hit her in the face almost immediately, along with a volley of snowflakes. The sun was beginning to set by now, plunging Marble Jade into darkness, and the snowfall was so heavy that she wouldn't have been surprised if they were about to walk straight into a blizzard.

That was fine by her. The less chance they had of being spotted, the better.

She stepped outside and took a quick look up and down the alley, making sure that nobody else was around. Once she was sure they were in the clear, she once again waved at them to follow her, and started running.

The train station was on the very edge of town, far away from most other buildings. The warehouse was only a block or so away from her father's house, which itself was precisely in the middle of Marble Jade. Thankfully, however, Marble Jade was a small town, and Skye knew it like the back of her paw. If they ran straight for the train station, it would only take a few minutes, and thanks to the whiteout conditions, she was feeling confident that they would be able to make it there without being spotted.

They quickly made it to the end of the alley, and she was just thinking about how this was almost too good to be true, when something appeared in her peripheral vision. Before she could react, she collided with the shadowy figure, knocking both of them to the ground.

Skye landed face-first in the snow and felt the air leave her lungs, dazed by the impact. The world around her started to turn black, and she fought to stay conscious. She was vaguely aware of Judy and Nick stopping dead in their tracks, probably trying to choose between helping her up or turning around and running the other way. The arctic fox that she ran into landed beside her, holding a paw to his head and cringing in pain.

After a second, she managed to find her breath again, taking several gulps of oxygen and forcing air back into her lungs. The other arctic fox heard her labored breathing and opened one eye to glance at her. As soon as he saw her, his eyes opened wide and he gasped loudly. "Oh my God!" He hurriedly scrambled to his feet, stood in front of her, and leaned down with a paw outstretched. "Chance, is that you? I thought you were dead!" He stared at her face with worry. "What happened to your cheek?"

Skye masked her relief by thrusting her paw into his and pulling herself up much more forcefully than she needed to. She made up a quick lie, trying to sound as nonchalant as she could. "Undercover assignment from the Boss. Just got back this afternoon. I can't wait to tell you all about it, but it'll have to wait." She motioned to the red fox and bunny who were still standing worriedly behind her. "These are the newest guests of White Jaws. I don't know anything about them, but they must be very special, because I've been personally assigned to take care of them."

The fox stood at attention in front of her, only reacting to her words with the slightest look of excitement. "Wow, the Boss must have something really big planned for them."

Skye flashed a smile, trying to make it sinister. "Oh, indeed he does." She cocked her head in the direction of the train station. "You know that train that's in Marble Jade today? It's going to be hauling away more than just cargo, if you know what I'm saying."

The fox remained at attention, but his brow furrowed at her words. "But isn't the train leaving in just a few minutes?"

Skye dropped her smile. "That's why we were running, genius." She leaned forward and glared at him. "Now, do you have any other stupid questions for me, or will I have to tell Alex that his daughter was unable to complete her task because you got in her way?"

The fox's face turned even whiter than usual underneath his fur, and he quickly stammered out, "N-n-no, ma'am!" He took a swift step to the side and gestured wildly at her. "As you were!"

"As you were," Skye growled back. She turned to Nick and Judy and snapped her fingers. "Come on, prisoners. We don't want for you to miss your train." Nick and Judy obediently fell into line behind her, reacting to her orders with a flawless act of submission. She glanced back at the arctic fox. "From many, I rise."

The fox once again stood straight. "And we will follow!"

Satisfied that she had properly taken care of this fox, Skye grabbed her tail with one paw and held it out for Nick to take hold of. She continued to talk like she was barking orders. "It's whiteout conditions, so grab this and follow where I take you." She shot him a look. "And don't you dare think of biting me, because if you do—"

"I know, I know, I'll die." Nick took her tail in his paw and held it so gently she hardly felt it at all. He swished his own tail in front of Judy, who took it readily, and turned back to Skye. The faintest of smiles was visible on his face—likely one that the other arctic fox could not see, but she could, and it warmed her heart against the dropping temperature that surrounded them. "I have no interest in dying today."

His words had extra weight to them that was not lost on Skye. He had said the exact opposite not long ago, after finding out the truth about his father. But the look on his face now told her that he was not ready to give up. He had placed his trust in Skye to save him, and to save his bunny, and he was ready to run and fight and do whatever else it took to survive.

If the other arctic fox was not still standing there watching their conversation, she would have smiled back at Nick. Instead, she replied with a sharp, "Neither do I, now let's go." She turned back around, faced the direction of the train station, and once again started running. The gentle tug on her tail indicated that Nick was right behind her, and she trusted that Judy was not far behind.

Within seconds, the blizzard completely obfuscated her vision. It was as if a solid white wall was hovering only a foot in front of her, which never seemed to get any closer no matter how long she ran. The wind blew the falling snowflakes sideways, coating her eyelashes and stinging her eyes. She could only vaguely make out the shapes of the buildings nearby as they passed; it felt more like walking past a series of shadows with no solid form. The snow under her feet grew deeper and deeper the farther they went, transitioning from a soft blanket-like cushion, to an ice-cold slushy sponge several inches thick that she had to fight through with every single step. By now, the sun was close to setting, and the sky around them grew darker and darker the closer they got to the train station.

After a minute or two, just as Skye was beginning to worry that she had become lost, a sound filled the air: a train whistle, directly in front of them. A wide smile spread across her face involuntarily, and she sprinted ahead with a newfound burst of energy. The grip on her tail loosened, and a second later, Nick and Judy appeared on either side of her, matching her pace as they rushed the rest of the way to the train station together.

Moments later, a silhouette appeared in front of them, and shortly after, the train finally came into focus. A giant black locomotive greeted them nearly head-on, with a series of cars trailing off into the distance behind it. A pillar of smoke billowed from its chimney, which meant it was preparing to pull away. The station itself was not very big, just a simple platform that ran only half the length of the train. A polar bear, dressed in traditional train engineer garb, was just stepping off the platform and into the engine. Otherwise, the platform was completely deserted, except for a single arctic fox dressed in all black like most of the others in Marble Jade, holding a clipboard that he had likely used to take inventory of the train.

The fox saw them immediately. He lowered his clipboard in surprise and stared at the three of them with raised eyebrows as they ran up the steps and onto the platform. He recognized Skye immediately, but unlike the arctic fox in the alleyway a minute before, he did not seem surprised that she was alive.

Skye came to a stop in front of the fox and pointed to the train. "Where is this train going?" she demanded.

The fox, however, ignored her question. Instead, he gave Nick and Judy a curious look. "Where are you taking these two?" he asked.

Skye glared at him. "That is not your concern. Now answer my question: where is this train going?"

The fox looked back at her and crossed his arms in defiance. "Does your father know about this, Chance?"

"It was his idea," she quickly lied.

"We'll see about that." The fox reached down to the radio on his belt.

Skye took a sudden step towards him and bared her teeth. "Are you questioning my authority, lieutenant?" Her threat made him pause, and she took the opportunity to double down, growling at him and narrowing her eyes. "Everyone has a place in White Jaws. You'd do well to remember yours. Understand?"

She hated having to use such tactics, but her intimidation worked. The slightest look of worry crossed the fox's face, and his paw slowly moved away from his radio. He lowered his head in submission, staring down at his feet. "Yes, ma'am," he quietly replied.

"Good. Now, where is this train—"

A burst of static on the radio cut her off. A second later, an alarm sounded through the speaker, almost like an air raid siren. Immediately after, the same sound filled the air, coming from the direction of town. It was a horrible, deafening sound in its own right, but its meaning filled Skye's heart with an extreme sense of dread.

It was the alarm that alerted the entirety of Marble Jade that someone was trying to escape.

The arctic fox's attention darted down to the radio on his hip, his eyes wide with realization. He reached down again to grab it, but Skye was faster. In a single movement, she snatched it off his belt and tossed it aside quicker than thought.

He raised his head back up and stared at her in disbelief. "Chance…?"

The train blew its whistle again, and this time, another sound accompanied it: the grinding of metal against metal as it began to pull away from the station. The sirens in town grew louder and louder, and a hundred voices began to speak off in the distance as members of White Jaws began to coordinate their efforts to track down the escaped prisoners.

Skye's heart pounded in her chest, but she had come this far, and she refused to lose her courage now. They were so close—so close—to getting out of Marble Jade. Nobody knew where they were. Nobody knew they were at the train station. Nobody knew they were about to hop on the train that was already moving out of town.

Nobody except this poor fox that she now had to deal with.

"I really am sorry about this."

Before the fox could react, Skye jumped straight up in the air and thrust one of her feet forwards, kicking him square in his chest. He yelped in pain and flew off the platform, disappearing into the deep snow off in the distance.

Nick and Judy had quietly witnessed the scene unfold, neither of them daring to say or do anything that might jeopardize their position. She expected for them to rush to the train while she took care of the fox, but when she landed on her feet again, she was surprised to see them standing still, staring at her in shock. Watching Skye so quickly and efficiently take out another mammal like she did—something neither of them had any idea she was capable of doing—left them frozen in place, neither of them not quite sure how to react.

She felt the tips of her ears begin to burn with embarrassment, despite the blizzard conditions they were standing in. "I… um…" She cleared her throat. "I had a lot of training with White Jaws."

Any worry that they would judge her harshly was quickly put to rest. Nick raised his eyebrows and gave an approving nod, and Judy slowly clapped her paws together in celebration, launching tiny wisps of soot into the air. "Wow." She let out a low whistle. "Bravo, Skye, bravo."

"You're really good at that." Nick smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. "You have any aspirations in becoming a cop?"

Their words flattered her, but as much as Skye wanted to continue the banter, the train was starting to pick up speed, and they were still not on it. With no time to waste, she fixed her attention on the closest car and quickly scanned it for anything she might be able to grab onto. A second later, she spotted the perfect thing: a series of metal rungs near the end of the car—an etched ladder that went all the way to the top.

And it was coming up fast.

"Come on!"

There was no time to explain the plan to Judy and Nick; she just had to trust that they would follow her on their own. She locked her gaze on the rung closest to her, sprinted across the platform, and lunged at the train just as the ladder passed by in front of her. She reached out her paws and grabbed the rung tightly, but even though her timing was perfect, the train's speed was now so fast that she struggled to maintain her grip. To make matters worse, the metal was incredibly cold, and tiny spikes of pain shot through her paw pads before they went completely numb a second later.

Thankfully, however, she managed to stay put, and after settling her feet on a lower rung, Skye managed to readjust her grasp on the ladder enough to feel secure. When she was positive she would not fall off, she turned her head to the left, looking down the length of the train to see if the other two had made it aboard as well.

Judy was just landing on the ladder on the next car over. She easily grabbed the metal rung, and thanks to having a small, athletic body, she did not seem to struggle in the least with keeping hold. She even gave Skye a grin and a thumbs-up to let the vixen know she was okay.

Nick, however, was still on the platform. His arms had been raised in the air, which told Skye that he had helped Judy jump onto her ladder. The train was still picking up speed, and the red fox now had to start running alongside it to give himself a better chance at grabbing the ladder on the following car before it flew past—and there was not much platform left for him to run on. Despite the dark sky and thick snowfall, she could still make out a look of worry on Nick's face, as he realized just how little room he had for error as he approached the end of the platform.

"You can do it, Nick!" Skye yelled.

"Come on, Nick!" Judy encouraged. "You've got this!"

Their words changed his expression from worry to determination, and with a loud grunt, he launched himself off the platform. A pained whimper sounded as he landed hard against the side of the train, and to her horror, he failed to grab the rung. Before he could catch himself, he fell off the ladder.

Skye gasped. "Nick!"

The fox flailed his arms as he fell, and by some miracle, he managed to grab the bottom rung with one paw just before he would have collided with the ground. For a few seconds, he dangled mere inches above the snow—so close, his tail dragged along the top of it, leaving chaotic patterns along the surface as he scrambled to pull himself further up the ladder. After what felt like an eternity, he managed to climb to the next rung up, and after reaching one more after that, he turned to the two girls and gave a firm nod, indicating he was all right.

Skye allowed herself a sigh of relief. They had all safely made it onto the train. She had no idea where the train was going, but it was going away from Marble Jade, and it was not under White Jaws' control. All they had to do was get to another town, where Judy and Nick could find a phone and make a call and get them extracted to Zootopia. There was still lots that could go wrong, but they had already come so far despite the overwhelming odds against them, and for the first time all day, Skye actually felt like there was a chance she was going to be okay.

The moment passed, though. The harsh wind and sideways snow hit her with ever-increasing velocity, and she had to constantly fight against her numb paws to keep a firm grip on the metal ladder as she clung to it. With nowhere else to go, she started climbing the ladder, making her way up to the top of the car. She had to climb slowly to combat the wind and the slippery metal, but her training with White Jaws kicked in, and she was able to methodically move from rung to rung without issue.

After making a bit of progress, she glanced to her left to check on the other two. Judy was already more than halfway to the top of her own ladder, scaling it so effortlessly it looked second-nature to her. Nick was quickly catching up, though he seemed to be content with taking more deliberate, calculated steps from rung to rung, just like Skye. Beyond them, the platform they had just jumped from faded away, and a few seconds later, so did the last few buildings on the edge of town. Shortly afterwards, she felt her heart leap in her chest as the noise of the sirens and loud voices slowly disappeared, and the last parts of Marble Jade faded into the snowy night.

This was the second time she had managed to run away from Marble Jade, and she hoped it would be the last.

She let herself stare at the spot where Marble Jade disappeared for a few more seconds, before turning her attention back to moving up the ladder. The train was going faster and faster, and even her thick fox fur was not enough to shield her from the frigid cold wind much longer. As swiftly as she could, she finished climbing up the ladder, though by the time she reached the top, she had to focus most of her mental energy on closing her fingers fully around the final rung.

With one final heave, she landed on the top of the car. Immediately, she pulled her paws through the arms of her coat and buried them in the fur lining her sides, trying to warm them back up. She faced the back of the train and hunkered down into a ball, shielding herself from the fierce oncoming wind as much as she could. In front of her, she saw Nick leap from the roof of his own car to Judy's and rush up to her; the bunny was lying flat on the top of her car near the ladder she had just climbed up, gripping it desperately to not be blown away by the blizzard.

Skye instantly made the decision to join them. She rubbed her paws through her fur one more time, which finally brought some feeling back to them, and shoved them back through the arms of her coat. After taking a moment to calculate her jump, she vaulted over the gap between her car and Judy's, landing harmlessly on the other side.

By now, Nick was standing in front of Judy, using his body as a shield to protect her while she took a moment to recover. Judy was rubbing her paws together and blowing them with her mouth, trying to warm them back up. Her ears were flopping around wildly, even with Nick's body blocking most of the wind, and even though she gave Skye a triumphant smile as the vixen approached, it was obvious that her small bunny body was not going to last long in these harsh conditions.

"Great job, Skye! We made it!" Even Judy's voice shivered from the cold, though she tried to mask it.

Nick leaned closer to Judy and hugged her tightly. "Easy, Carrots," he said, his voice barely audible above the roar of the wind. "I don't want to see my dumb bunny turn into a Pawpsicle."

Judy gladly pressed herself deep into Nick's coat and sank her head into the fur underneath his cheek. "Why not? Then I can turn to you so you can melt me!"

She let out a chuckle, and already, she sounded like she was warming up. However, the night was growing darker, further dropping the temperature around them, and the wind and snow blowing ravenously against them grew more intense by the minute. Skye's cheek throbbed with pain even when she faced it away from the wind, Judy's body was not built to withstand these extreme conditions, and though he was putting up a valiant effort, it was obvious that Nick was growing weak and weary from the physical and emotional beating he had received nonstop all day long. They had to find a way to get inside one of the cars, and soon, if they were going to make it to the next town.

Skye crouched down next to the two of them. "I'm going to go on ahead," she told them. "These trains usually leave Marble Jade with an empty boxcar or two. I'll go find one and then come back for you two."

Judy tried pulling away from Nick, who kept her firmly wrapped in his arms. "We should go together! Safety in numbers and all of that!"

"That's really sweet of you, Judy, but it's just too dangerous," Skye replied. "I don't want for either of you to move from this spot until we know where you're going."

"But what if you fall over?" Judy shot back. "How will we know to rescue you?"

"Trust me, I'll be fine. I've trained my whole life to handle dangerous situations like this."

"So have I! And so has Nick! We've taken down stampeding elephants and speeding giraffes." She puffed her chest in pride, and gave Skye a confident smirk. "Come on, we can handle a little wind."

Skye wanted to keep arguing, but she had to admit, Judy had a point. As much as she wanted to keep the two of them safe, they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, even in such uncharted territory as this. Besides, if they came with her, it would mean all three of them would get out of the snow and wind that much faster.

It occurred to her that Nick had remained patiently quiet the whole conversation, and she wanted his opinion. She turned to him expectantly. "What do you say?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but something caught his attention and stopped him before he could. He looked straight ahead, and his eyes opened wide. "Uh…" A nervous smile spread across his face. "It looks like we've got company."

Skye followed his gaze, and her breath caught in her throat. A series of lights penetrated the thick snow cloud behind the train, and were growing bigger and brighter every second. At the same time, she heard the distant but distinct sound of car engines, revving at high speed, growing louder as the lights drew closer. After a few moments, the vans themselves came into view, and she felt her heart drop at what she saw.

There were four vans total, all of them stuffed full of foxes from White Jaws. The side doors were open, and countless white heads were hanging out in the open air, preparing to jump onto the train. Unlike the three of them—weary from their rush to the train, and struggling to stay comfortable now that they were on it—these foxes were freshly rested, trained to handle conditions much harsher than this, and ready for a fight. The one and only thing that gave Skye any sense of relief, was the fact that none of the foxes had guns, which meant her father had given the order to retrieve them alive.

But that did not matter. If they were taken back to Marble Jade, they would die anyway. It was only a matter of time.

For most of her life, such a sight would have driven Skye to despair. Mere days ago, she would have given up immediately without any fight, and accepted her punishment no matter how inhumane it might be. She would have begged for her life, knowing it would have done little good, and she would have resigned herself to an eternity of imprisonment. She would have pledged herself to her father, followed in his footsteps in leading White Jaws, and never even think about running away again for fear of what might happen next.

But not this time. This time, she refused to give up. This time, when she looked at the foxes that had come to take her back to Marble Jade, she did not feel afraid or helpless. This time, the fire of courage continued to roar in her heart. This time, she would keep fighting, for herself and for her friends. Until her dying breath, she would fight to protect all three of them and get them home. She had brought them safely this far, and she refused to stop now.

She was done being a coward. Her friends needed her, and she would never stop fighting for them.

She turned back to Nick and Judy and gave them a reassuring look. "Okay, I have a plan."

"Run?" Nick inquired.

"Run."

Skye jumped to her feet, and at the same time, Nick lifted Judy off the ground and began carrying her. They started running toward the front of the train—the opposite direction of the vans, which were beginning to pull up alongside the train behind them. Running straight into the oncoming blizzard while the train was going full-speed was not an easy task, and more than a little painful, but they made it to the next car by the time the first foxes grabbed onto the metal ladders.

White Jaws foxes were well-trained, and it only took a second or two for them to scale the ladders and hop on top. Skye glanced behind her just in time to see two foxes running at them at full speed, so fast it was almost like there was no wind slowing them down at all.

"Incoming!" she warned.

Nick reacted immediately. Almost faster than she could watch, he whirled around and faced the oncoming foxes. Judy spun around in his arms, facing away from him, and tucked her powerful hind legs close to her chest. As the two foxes closed the gap between them, Nick lunged forward, and Judy propelled herself out of his chest at twice the speed, her legs springing open and connecting squarely with each of the foxes' bellies.

The foxes stopped in their tracks instantly. Their eyes went wide, and an unnatural noise sounded from their mouths as the air escaped their lungs. For a second, all they could do was stand there, too stunned to move, staring dumbly at the three of them.

Skye decided to take advantage of the situation. In a single motion, she raised her leg and delivered a roundhouse kick to the two foxes, flinging them off the train and sending them into the snow below. A giddy chuckle emerged from the back of her throat; taking out those first two foxes was a lot easier than she expected.

Her smile disappeared when she looked back up and saw another five foxes running towards them at full speed.

She turned back to Nick and Judy. "You got any other moves like that?"

By now, Nick had wrapped his arms back around Judy, once again shielding her against the wind and snow as much as he could. Both of them saw the oncoming foxes, exchanged glances with each other, looked back at Skye, and gave her knowing grins. With a playful tone of voice, Judy replied, "We've got a few."

This time, one fox led the pack, rushing forward at full speed and reaching them long before the others. He lunged over the gap between the cars, launching himself straight for Nick and stretching out his arms to grab him. Nick waited until the very last second, then took a calculated step sideways, letting the fox fly right past. Before the fox even landed, Nick raised his leg and connected his foot with the fox's side, which was just enough to change the fox's trajectory. The fox bounced off the top of the car, slid to the edge, and managed to let out a yelp of fright just before he fell over the side.

Just as he disappeared, the other four foxes arrived, all of them taking a more cautious approach than those who had come before. They crouched as they walked up to them, slowly spreading apart in an attempt to surround the three fugitives. Two of them bared their teeth and growled, one of them wielded a baseball bat with both paws, and the last was the vixen who had been in charge of the group that had abducted them the night before.

She stared at Skye in disbelief, even as she took another step closer to them. "I don't understand you, Chance. You know what happens to those who run away from White Jaws—even Alex Faulkner's own daughter. Why? Why would you risk everything…" She glanced at Nick and Judy. "For them?"

Before Skye could answer, the fox with the baseball bat rushed them. Acting on instinct rather than thought, Skye jumped to intercept him, ducking underneath the first swing and grabbing the bat with both paws before a second could come. While she wrestled for control of the bat, one of the other foxes pounced at her. She saw him out of the corner of her eye, and abruptly let go of the bat. The other fox, caught off-guard by the sudden inertia, swung his back in full force, landing a blow straight on his companion's face. The fox landed harmlessly on the top of the car, knocked unconscious by the bat.

The one holding the bat stared at his fallen comrade, trying to comprehend what just happened. Skye left him alone for the moment, turning her attention to the two foxes who still posed an immediate threat. One of them had circled around to the other side, and was currently exchanging snarls with Nick while Judy hid herself behind him. The other one, the vixen, had adopted a non-threatening pose and stood in front of Skye with outstretched arms in an attempt to show her peaceful intentions, though Skye kept a watchful eye on her in case she made any sudden movements.

"Chance…" The vixen stretched out a paw invitation. "It doesn't have to end this way. Come back to us. We've really missed our big sister. I know White Jaws isn't perfect, but it's still family, and our family is incomplete without you." She offered Skye a small smile. "I promise, if you give up now and come back willingly, no harm will come to you."

The fox with the baseball bat finally returned to his senses and brought it down on Judy, who just barely managed to dodge out of the way in time. The sound of the bat hitting the metal of the train car reverberated through the air for several seconds.

The vixen glared at the fox for a moment, then turned back to Skye and gave her a serious look. "Think very carefully about this, Chance. I would hate to see your friends get hurt because of you."

On cue, the fox facing off against Nick made his move. He dove at Nick, and though the red fox tried to move out of the way, the arctic fox managed to grab both of his legs. He opened his mouth to belt out a triumphant shout, but before any noise could leave his lips, Judy dropped her head down to Nick's feet and, before he could react, dug her buck teeth deep in the fox's paw. The fox screamed in pain and reflexively let go of Nick's feet, while at the same time, the fox with the bat swung at Judy once again, trying to knock her off. Judy, however, was faster, and managed to once again jump out of the way just in time. The bat connected with the head of the howling fox who, after a short whimper, slumped unconscious beside his fallen partner.

The fox with the bat froze in place, once again stunned. This time, Judy took advantage of his hesitation. Staying close to the ground, she rushed over to the fox, secured her front paws against the metal as best she could, and spun her body in a circle. Her feet connected with the back of the fox's legs, swiping them out from under him and knocking him hard onto his back. The back of his head hit the metal, and though he did not lose consciousness like the other two foxes, he did slump over in a daze, holding his head with one paw.

Nick quickly pressed himself against the pile of incapacitated foxes and began to push them to the side of the car. The two unconscious foxes started to come to, letting out moans of pain, while the fox with the bat uttered a much louder groan that sounded more like a kit being dragged out of bed. A few seconds later, Nick pushed them over the edge, sending them harmlessly to the snow beside the train tracks below. He brushed his paws together, turned back to Skye, and gave her a satisfied sly smile.

Skye saw the whole thing. So did the vixen; when she turned back to look at her, her jaw was dropped and her shoulders slumped in disbelief. And for good reason: White Jaws foxes spent their whole lives training to capture animals and turn them into slaves, and yet Nick and Judy had just taken out a whole group of them with hardly any effort.

"Like I told you." Skye flashed a proud smile at the vixen. "You underestimate that fox and bunny."

The vixen's face slowly morphed from shock to annoyance. "Yes, it appears I have." She stood up straight—or at least, as straight as she could in the blistering wind—and locked eyes with Skye. "But I know better than to underestimate you."

Skye reacted before she fully knew what was happening. Just as the vixen launched herself at her, she fell backwards, landing hard on the train car. The vixen flew above her, grabbing at the air where she was just a split second ago. When she was right above Skye, she lifted her legs, connected her feet with the vixen's thighs, and pushed her as hard as she possibly could. The vixen let out a surprised yelp as she continued flying through the air. She twisted her body and flailed her arms, desperately trying to grab something, but to no avail, and second later, she disappeared over the side.

The three of them were alone once again, but the sound of a van revving its engine somewhere behind them told Skye that it would not last long. She scrambled back to her feet and faced Nick, who by now was once again embracing Judy to keep her warm. "You two need to go. Find an empty car, hide inside, and get warmed up while I take care of the rest of them," she ordered.

Judy rapidly shook her head. "We are not leaving you alone!" She gave Skye a determined grin. "We're doing just fine! I can do this all…" However, her chattering teeth quickly overpowered her words, and she was unable to finish her sentence.

Nick pulled her closer to himself, protecting her against the cold and the wind as much as he could, but it was obvious to all three of them that it was not going to be enough. The air was growing colder, and the snow was hitting them harder and faster, and Judy had already exerted a lot of energy taking down the foxes.

As much as Judy tried her best to put in a brave face, she was beginning to shiver uncontrollably, and after a few seconds of Skye and Nick staring at her, she finally hung her head in defeat. "Okay," she relented.

Nick scooped her up in his arms and stood up straight. He looked back at Skye and gave her an encouraging smile. "Good luck, Skye." His eyes drifted to something behind her. "You're going to need it."

A fresh trio of foxes were just climbing onto the top of the train two cars back. One of them was the fox she had managed to injure twice earlier that day, and the second his eyes landed on her, he began to snarl so loudly she could hear it even over the sound of the wind.

Seeing him caused her to smirk. "Oh, don't worry." She crouched down and mentally prepared herself for the upcoming brawl. "This will be a piece of cake."

The other two arctic foxes rushed her at the same time, quickly closing the gap while Nick hauled Judy further up the train in the opposite direction. Skye trusted that they would find their way without issue, and forced herself to focus on the foxes. The two in front of her seemed to have witnessed how quickly she and her friends had taken down those who had come before, because they did not hesitate to run straight at her, keeping close together and low to the ground.

It was not going to be possible to dodge out of the way this time. Skye instead braced herself for impact, and when they made their move to tackle her, she tried to turn her body to the side. They collided with her shoulder, pushing her backwards, but she managed to dig her feet into the metal underneath her and stay upright. Once she regained her balance, she pushed back against the foxes and slugged her other paw at them at hard as she could. To her satisfaction, she connected with one of them, who flinched away from her a second later.

Unfortunately, the other fox grabbed her arm before she could reel it back for a second blow. He gave it an abrupt, peculiar twist, and Skye felt her feet fly out from underneath her. She flipped onto her back, and the fox pushed her hard into the metal, knocking the wind out of her. For a second, all she could do was lie there and try to catch her breath, leaving her completely incapacitated. The other fox quickly recovered and grabbed her other arm. The two of them lifted her off the car, held her in the air, and maintained a firm grip on her to keep her from wriggling free.

She struggled against them for a few seconds, but neither of them budged an inch. She decided to stop fighting them to save her strength, and focused her attention on the injured fox, who by now had finished closing the gap and was standing in front of her. A triumphant look was on his face, as well as a hint of something else that made Skye's skin crawl.

He crossed his arms and bared down on her, a hungry smile crossing his face. "Well, well, well. To think I had Chance Faulkner in my custody this whole time." He licked his lips, and even though the wind blew in his face at hurricane speeds, a hint of drool began to form at the corner of his mouth. "I'll make sure to take full advantage of you this time."

Skye glared at him. "Hey," she snapped, "remember Alex's orders: no damaged goods."

His smile disappeared, replaced by a harsh frown. "Do you see Alex around here?" He looked to the two foxes who were holding her in place. "Do either of you see Alex?" They shook their heads. "And you certainly wouldn't tell him that you had any part to play in harming his daughter, would you?" They shook their heads again, this time more hastily. He turned back to Skye and leered at her. "No, Chance, I'm afraid your daddy can't save you this time." He leaned forward and smirked. "So why don't you save yourself some trouble and just go along with it? I promise, I'll treat you right."

"And I promise I won't."

With her target now properly exposed, she threw her leg up as hard as she could, slamming her knee right between the fox's legs. The force of impact was so great, the fox was lifted a good several inches off the ground. A pained squeal filled the air, nearly deafening her. The fox hung in the air for a few seconds, held in place by Skye's leg, before she mercifully let him back down. He collapsed to his knees, held his paws at the point of impact, crunched into a ball, and began to whimper uncontrollably.

It was so bad, even the two foxes holding her arms recoiled, as if merely watching had given them secondary pain. She had to admit, she felt a little bad about the pain she had just inflicted on him.

Not bad enough, though.

With the two foxes distracted, she moved forward with the next step in her plan. She hung by her arms from their paws, lifted her feet high in the air, and then brought them down onto their toes. They both let out startled yelps and let go of her instantly, and she quickly rolled away to get out of reach before they could recover.

With all three foxes out of commission for the moment, Skye took the opportunity to glance behind her, in the direction where she last saw Nick and Judy. Neither of them were anywhere to be seen, which she hoped meant that they had safely found a way into one of the boxcars and not that they had fallen off the train. The engine at the front was plowing straight into the snow storm at full speed without any signs of slowing down anytime soon. By now the sun had completely set, making it difficult to make out any details in the terrain ahead of them, but the locomotive's headlights pierced through the snow far enough ahead that she was able to make out one thing that made her heart soar in her chest.

A tunnel was coming up. The road beside the tracks came to an abrupt stop beside it, which meant that the vans would have to stop, and White Jaws would have to call off the pursuit.

It meant they were mere seconds away from freedom.

Mere seconds…

Skye's eyes widened as she realized just how little time she had to act. She dropped to all fours and scrambled to the side of the train, hoping that there was a ladder waiting for her there.

The injured fox raised his head just in time to see her run past him. He snarled at her. "Come back here! I'm not done with you yet, Chance!" He took a swipe at her, just barely missing her tail. "Don't make me do something I'll regret!"

Skye glanced over the edge of the car, spotted the topmost metal rung, and grabbed it with one paw. Without any time to waste, she jumped off the side, swung by her arm onto the ladder, and flattened herself as much as she could.

"Just don't lose your head!" she called.

The front of the train entered the tunnel, and with nothing left to do, she closed her eyes tight and hoped for the best. A second later, the light completely disappeared and the wind blowing in her face changed tune. At the same time, three loud smacks sounded above her head, accompanied by three identical wails that faded away almost instantly. Somewhere much farther away, the sound of the engines on the vans wound down and disappeared as the vehicles came to a stop.

And then, a minute later, the train exited the tunnel. Skye dared not open her eyes, afraid that if she did she would see another dozen foxes standing above her, ready to take her back to Marble Jade. But the seconds passed, and all she heard was the train on the tracks and the wind blowing past her ears. No more arctic foxes, no more car engines…

No more White Jaws.

A great weight fell away from Skye's chest, and tears started to form in her eyes—tears of joy. She never thought she would ever feel this way as long as she lived. Even after she ran away from Marble Jade last time, she had still felt trapped in an invisible prison, always anticipating the day when she would be dragged back and forced to pay for her insolence.

But not this time.

This time, she knew it would be okay. Her friends would protect her, just as she had protected them. They would get her safely back to Zootopia long before they could be caught, and they would use their police powers to send the proper authorities to Marble Jade and shut it down. By this time tomorrow, White Jaws would be no more. She had nothing left to fear. She had nothing left to run from.

She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her coat, rubbing away the tears before they froze her eyes shut. She opened her eyes again and looked ahead, quickly locating the open door of a boxcar two cars down where Nick and Judy were likely waiting for her. She then pulled herself back onto the top of the car, took a glance in each direction to make sure there were no more foxes to be seen, and began walking forwards.

It suddenly occurred to her just how exhausted she was. The area of her cheek where her father had hit her was numb from the cold, and she was not looking forward to how sore it was going to be when she could feel it again. The tips of her ears stung, along with the pads of her feet, and she would not have been surprised if they were frostnipped. She trudged across the metal of the car much slower than usual, and not just because she was walking straight into such a strong headwind. Her arms hung limply at her sides, her tail dragged behind her, and she could hear her weary lungs rasp as she took long, shallow breaths. She barely managed to jump to the next car, and by the time she made it to the second one, she settled on stepping gingerly over the gap one foot at a time.

But finally, she had made it to the boxcar. She walked to the center of the car, grabbed the edge, and slowly lowered herself down. When she was about halfway down, a pair of strong arms gripped her feet and gave her an encouraging tug. The strength in her fingers gave out a second later, and she allowed herself to fall the rest of the way.

Nick guided her inside and gently set her safely down on the floor. Immediately, the wind and snow stopped blowing in her face, finally offering her the first feeling of calm since she had jumped on the train. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reveling in the quietness and warmth of the boxcar. It was not particularly comfortable, but after what Skye had just gone through, it felt like a palace.

She opened her eyes and took a look around. Judy was sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the walls with Nick's coat draped over her to help warm her up. Nick was standing right in front of her, currently looking her up and down to make sure was okay. A single light bulb in the ceiling bathed the car in warm light, but otherwise, it was completely empty.

As soon as her eyes landed on Skye, Judy pushed aside Nick's coat, jumped to her feet, and ran over to her. "Skye! Are you all right?" Without waiting for an answer, she threw her arms around Skye's waist and gave her a big, affectionate hug.

Skye readily returned the hug, pulling the bunny in and squeezing her back. "Yes, I'm fine."

She turned to Nick and reached out an arm, inviting him to join them. A relieved smile flashed across his face. He spread his arms wide, stepped forward, and heartily embraced the two girls.

For the next several seconds, none of them moved. They simply held each other. The car swayed back and forth, gently rocking the three of them as they silently stayed in their group hug. They did not need to say anything. They knew what they had just accomplished.

They had done it. They had escaped from Marble Jade.

Nick was the first to break the hug. He loosened his grip on Skye, raised his head, and looked at her with a weary, but optimistic, expression. "So." He cocked an eyebrow. "You got any idea where this train is going?"

Skye looked down at the ground and shook her head. "No. I don't know anything about train routes." Her ears perked up. "But I do know that these trains are commissioned, which means they're not operated by White Jaws, so whatever town we end up in next will be out of their control."

A smile spread across Judy's face, and gave Skye another squeeze. "The second we pull in, I'll find a phone and call Chief Bogo. He'll send in the cavalry to rescue us!"

"Erm…" Nick cleared his throat. "Do you remember what he said last time, Carrots?"

Judy's smile disappeared. "Oh, yeah…" The smile quickly returned. "He'll send a wagon train to rescue us!"

Nick shrugged. "If we're lucky."

"Who cares what he'll send us, he'll send us something." Judy looked back at Skye and beamed. "All thanks to you, Skye. You did it. Thanks to you, we're going to be oka—"

A massive thud interrupted her. All three of them turned their heads to see what had caused it.

Skye's breath caught in her throat, and her heart froze in her chest.

It was her father.

Alex Faulkner stood in the threshold of the side door, the coattails his suit blowing in the wind outside. His stood over them, arms spread out threateningly, baring down on them with an intensity in his expression that made his face look like he had completely lost his sanity. His hair stood on-end all along his body, making him appear even larger than usual, and when his eyes fell on Skye, a low growl sounded in the back of his throat—not a loud noise, but one that completely petrified her.

The fire of courage extinguished in her heart instantly. She stared up at her father, too scared to do anything at all. Her heart sped up in her chest, beating rapidly and filling her ears with a deafening thump the likes of which she had never experienced before. Her vision started to blur, and it felt like her grip on reality was beginning to slip through her fingers.

He was here. He was going to drag her back to Marble Jade, and she would never be able to escape again. All of her running, all of her fighting, all she had done until now…

It was all for nothing.

His eyes shifted, settling on Nick. The growl in his throat grew louder, and he slowly began to crouch, ready to pounce on Nick like a savage predator of old. Nick somehow managed to fight past his shock at seeing Alex, and to Skye's amazement, he started to sneer right back at the arctic fox. He bared his teeth, widened his eyes, and spread his arms from side to side. Skye was vaguely aware of him pushing Judy behind him in an effort to protect her, before he let out a primal snarl and clicked his teeth threateningly.

For the briefest of moments, Alex seemed surprised that Nick would challenge him, but the moment passed, and he doubled down his menacing pose. He opened his mouth and growled at Nick so fiercely it sounded more like a roar. His claws extended out so far they almost looked like knives. He took a step forward, silently warning the red fox to back down before he attacked him.

Nick did not back down. In fact, he took a step forward himself, bringing himself within arm's reach of Alex. He was weak, he was weary, and he was half the size of his opponent, but he was going to do everything he could to protect his bunny—even if that meant jeopardizing his own life.

What happened next was impossible for Skye to properly follow. All she knew was that one moment, the two foxes were staring each other down, and the next, they were lost in a blur of white, red and brown. They slashed at each other with their claws, bit down on each other with their teeth, tore at each other's fur, and made all kinds of horrible animalistic noises that she had never heard before and hoped to never hear again.

It was clear from the beginning, however, that Alex had the advantage. In only a matter of seconds, he gained the upper paw and bit down hard on Nick's shoulder. The red fox yelped in pain, and Alex responded by slashing his claws against Nick's face. Nick managed to kick Alex's side hard enough to force the arctic fox to recoil in pain, but he recovered quickly and punched Nick in the stomach three times in rapid succession.

She wanted to jump in and help Nick, but her feet felt like they were frozen in place, and when she tried to open her mouth to beg her father to stop, no sound came out. She raised her paw, trying to catch Alex's attention, but he was too absorbed in his fight to see her, or if he did, he did not care.

A gray blur shot past her, and before she realized what was happening, Judy was on top of Alex. She wrapped her arms around the arctic fox's neck and pulled hard, trying to strangle him. Her small rabbit arms were too weak to completely cut off his air flow, but it was enough to get him off of Nick. He reared back onto his feet, let out an annoyed yell, and flailed his paws behind his head, trying desperately to knock Judy off. Judy managed to keep her grip, holding on as tightly as she could, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration. In an act of desperation, Alex flung himself into the wall of the boxcar, crushing Judy's small body between himself and the metal.

An unnatural crunch filled the air, and Judy screamed in pain. She finally let go of his neck. Alex took a second or two to catch is breath, then stepped away from the wall. Judy fell to the ground, her left paw clutching her right shoulder, and her right paw lying limp on the floor. Her expression was filled with anguish, and a soft whimper sounded with every breath she took, indicating she was in a lot of pain.

Skye had not realized it, but her paws were covering her mouth as she watched the scene unfold. More than anything, she wanted to help protect her friends against her father, but there was nothing she could do. Her feet refused to move, her voice refused to speak, and her eyes refused to look away from the horror in front of her. She was utterly useless, and she was about to stand here and watch her father kill her only two friends in the world, and there was nothing she could do about it…

Her paws curled into fists. No…

Summoning all of her willpower and strength, she took a step forward.

No.

She took another step, and then another.

No!

As long as there was breath in her lungs, as long as her heart still beat in her chest, she would fight to protect her friends. Marble Jade did not stop her. White Jaws did not stop her. And now, even her own father would not stop her.

NO!

The flame of courage was no longer in her heart. It now blazed throughout her body—a wildfire that could never be extinguished. It commanded her legs to walk forward. It cast away any remaining fear left in her mind. It reminded her that the ones she loved were in danger, and she had to protect them.

Her legs came to a stop. She was now standing in front of her father, with Nick and Judy collapsed on the floor behind her. She stood still and stared up at him in defiance.

He looked at her in disbelief. For a second, he even seemed amused at her display of courage, and waved a paw dismissively. "Out of the way, Chance."

She continued to glare at him, refusing to budge even an inch.

The amusement left Alex's face. His eyes narrowed, and he stood over her. "I said, move out of my way," he repeated, this time in a much more pointed tone of voice.

Skye took a deep breath, mentally prepared herself for what would happen next, and shook her head. "I will not!"

The next thing she knew, the air was forced out of her lungs, and she felt a sudden pain in her stomach. Her father had punched her even harder than when he had struck her in the face; his fist was still embedded in her belly, driving out the last bit of breath she had. In the same motion, he spun on his heel, dragged her off the ground, and flung her in the air behind him, sending her flying away.

The world spun for a second, and even when she landed in the far corner of the boxcar, she still felt like she was on the verge of losing consciousness. She felt pain in several areas of her body, which was dulled only by the darkness that closed in around her. She shook her head, struggling desperately to keep her grip on reality, and tried focusing her attention on what was going on in front of her.

Alex was still facing her, breathing hard, as if it took more of his strength to toss her than anything else he had done in his life. Once he saw that she was okay, however, he quickly recomposed himself. He took a deep breath, stood up tall, closed his eyes, and brushed his paws along the front of his coat. "Chance, you and I are going to have a very long talk when this is all over."

The corners of her vision turned blurry, and she had to blink hard a few times to restore her sight. She tried her best to glare at him, but her muscles were not properly working, and the most she could do was moan.

"Now then…" Alex turned around and looked down at Nick. The fox had managed to crawl a few feet towards Judy, leaving a faint trail of red blood in the floorboards behind him. When Alex turned around, he stopped, looking up helplessly at the arctic fox. "What am I going to do about you?"

Alex reached into his coat pocket and retrieved something that made Skye's heart skip several beats: a pistol.

Nick froze when Alex leaned down and pointed it at his head, resting it mere inches away from his snout. Judy's whimpering stopped as her breath caught in her throat. There was no doubt now that Alex was in complete control of the situation.

"Let me lay this out for you, Nicky." Alex lifted the gun and started pacing around the boxcar as he spoke. "Your father died owing me a lot of money. A lot of money. Owed. To me. And now he's dead. Which is bad for me, because he owed me money, and bad for you, because he owed me money. That means you owe me money, a lot of money. A lot of money! So I bring you to Marble Jade so you can pay me back what you owe me, and what do you do? You go and run away." He stopped walking and looked back at Nick, the gun dangling loosely in his paw. "So let me ask you, Nicky: what do you think I should do to someone who tries to get out of paying me back the money they owe me?"

Without waiting even a second for a response, he belted out a sound like a buzzer. "Eep, time's up! I'll tell you what I do, Nicky! I unleash my wrath upon them!" He raised his gun and pointed it at Nick's head once again. "Oh, but I don't kill them, no no no." He lowered his gun, and an ominous smile crossed his face. "I don't want to kill you, Nicky. I want for you to live. I want for you to know."

Skye watched in terror as her father stood tall, looked to Judy, and pointed the gun in her direction instead. The bunny's nose twitched once in fear, before she somehow managed to scrunch her face and glare defiantly at the arctic fox. Nick raised a paw and reached out to her weakly. "Judy…" It was the first time Skye had ever heard him call her by her real name. His voice was hoarse, and with the last bit of his strength gone, his arm dropped to the ground.

Alex sneered at him. "A fox, vowing up with a bunny." He frowned. "Honestly, I'm doing the world a favor with this. Unnatural…" He turned his attention to Judy, and his foreboding grin returned. "You will always remember this, Nicky. Every time you think about her, you will think about me. For the rest of your life, until your dying breath, the very thought of the love of your life will always bring you pain." His eyes narrowed. "Just like your father."

Judy bravely maintained eye contact with him, and tried her best to speak with an air of authority. "Alex Faulkner, put down your gun and surrender right now, or you will be charged with—"

Alex cocked the pistol. "Bye-bye, bunny."

A red blur appeared between Alex and Judy just as he shot the gun. Nick let out a shriek of pain as the bullet found its mark, then landed hard on the ground.

Skye let out an involuntary scream, and Judy gasped in horror, while Alex simply stared at Nick's bloody body in surprise. Nick rolled on the floor, writhing in pain and clutching his left arm where the bullet had hit.

After a few seconds, it was clear to everyone that the shot had not been lethal. Judy rushed over to Nick, placing a paw on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. He tried to push her away, begging for her to jump off the train and get to safety. Alex blinked a few times, still trying to process what had just happened. Eventually, however, he recovered, and once again raised his pistol and closed one eye, aiming it at the two animals beneath him. Nick continued to plead with Judy to run, but Judy wrapped her good arm around her fox and shielded him as best she could from their impending doom.

Skye watched the scene unfold, and though she dreaded what was happening, she knew it was inevitable. She should have known better. All her life, she had seen this happen over and over again. Her father killed people. Her hopes of freedom were crushed. She had no reason to expect this time to be different, and yet she had. And now they were all going to die.

She had failed.

She closed her eyes, refusing to watch her friends' execution. She did not want for their painful memory to be any worse than it was already. Much like her father had told Nick, every time she thought of them, she would remember everything for the rest of her life. How abruptly her happiness had come to an end. How her father was responsible. And how she had failed to save them. Her friends. The ones she loved. The ones who had first loved her…

I… Am… Loved.

Her eyes snapped back open. A burst of new energy rushed through her. Faster than thought, she somehow managed to bring herself to her feet. With a sense of determination that she had never felt before, she launched off the floor and ran straight forward. She was not sure if the flame of courage was still in her heart or not, but she could not just sit off to the side and watch her father murder Nick and Judy.

They were her family, and she would never stop fighting for them.

She lunged at the gun, pushing it away before it could be fired. Alex angrily tried pulling it away from her, but she kept her grip and refused to let go. He snarled in her face, and she growled right back, matching his intensity with one she did not know she had in her. He dug his claws into her fingers, and she kicked her feet in his shins.

Their wrestling over the gun took them a few steps away from Nick and Judy, at which point Skye felt comfortable taking a more aggressive approach. She let go of the gun with one paw and slashed at her father's face with the other, taking off a chunk of fur on his cheek. Alex roared with fury and pressed his paw against the bruise on her face. The entire left side of her head throbbed with pain, but she fought past it, trying to channel it into her attacks. She stomped her foot into his toes, causing him to flinch, then quickly followed it up with a slash to his neck.

Alex let out a sharp yell and moved his paw from her cheek to her throat, pushing upwards on her chin and crushing her airway. She struggled to see what she was doing, and her lack of breath started to cause bright spots to cloud her vision. She focused her attention back on the gun, grabbing it firmly with both paws. Her father pulled on the gun with one paw and pushed against her throat with the other, forcing her to either let go or risk passing out. She felt the tiniest bit of reserves rise up in her chest, and with the last of her strength, she let out a cry and pushed back with all her might.

Another shot rang out.

The world went still around her. Skye paused for a moment, wondering if she had been shot, but she felt no new pain anywhere in her body. She looked over to Judy and Nick, both of them staring at her with wide eyes and bated breath, but neither of them seemed harmed. Finally, she looked at her father, who had not moved an inch. She locked eyes with him, and for the first time since she knew him, she saw shock in his face.

And then, a moment later, nothing.

The pressure against her throat slowly disappeared, and Alex's paw dropped away from the gun. He fell backwards, his body landing in a heap on the floor of the boxcar. A fresh hole was in his shirt. Blood was pouring out.

It took Skye several seconds to comprehend what she had just done. She inhaled sharply and took a step back, her body filled with terror. She was still gripping the gun with both paws, which began to shake so uncontrollably she lost her grip. The pistol clattered harmlessly on the floor, landing just beside her father's body. A pool of blood was starting to form around him, and it quickly coated the gun in red.

She killed him. She killed her own father.

A gasp escaped her mouth as the magnitude of what she had just done hit her. She took a step back and instinctively threw her paws out in front of her, trying to put some distance between herself and the great unpardonable sin she had just committed. Something on her paws caught her attention, and her breath caught in her throat.

The creamy-white fur had turned red, soaking wet with blood. His blood.

Her strength finally left her at the sight. She collapsed to her knees and stared down at her paws, mortified beyond comprehensive thought. All she could focus on was the blood. It was starting to trickle down her arms. It was still warm. The scent invaded her nostrils. The rest of the world faded away around her, growing darker and darker in her peripheral vision as the blood grew redder and redder. She couldn't look away. She couldn't think of anything else. Nothing else mattered. She had killed him with her own two paws…

She became vaguely aware of something pulling her shoulder. Judy was trying to drag her away, struggling to do so with only one working arm. She groaned in pain, and she was exhausted from the ordeal, but she was tugging on her with such urgency that it drew Skye's attention. "Skye, come on! Nick needs you!"

Her desperate tone of voice brought Skye out of her trance, though she was still too stunned to move on her own volition. Judy led her to the other side of the boxcar, where Nick was leaning against the wall with a paw on his arm. Judy stopped Skye in front of Nick, let go of her, and quickly removed the scarf from her own neck. She shoved it into Skye's paws and locked eyes with her. "Listen to me. You need to put pressure on that wound of his. Wrap this around his arm as tightly as you can. Okay?"

Without thinking through her actions, Skye automatically did as she was told. She turned to Nick and began to wrap the scarf around his arm, centering it right over the bullet hole. Nick waited until the first loop was finished before removing his paw, and she pulled the scarf taught against his skin. He winced in pain, but stayed put, allowing her to do her job.

"Good. Stay focused on that." Judy gave her a reassuring pat on the back, then turned around and ran away. Skye's attention stayed on Nick's arm, but she could not help but listen to the sounds behind her. The pitter-patter of Judy's feet running on the floorboards came to an abrupt stop, and there was a shuffling sound as she searched Alex's clothes. A few seconds later, the shuffling ceased, and immediately after, Judy let out a strained grunt.

Skye's face drifted away from Nick's arm as she glanced behind her shoulder. Judy was pushing her father's dead body toward the open door. A trail of blood coated the ground behind him.

Her vision went black. For a moment she wondered if she had lost consciousness, but it was just Nick's paw blocking her eyes and coaxing her to look back at him. Without the strength to fight, she turned back around and went back to work on tightening the scarf around his arm.

Behind her, Judy gave one final heave, and then the sounds stopped. A few moments later, a new sound filled the boxcar that Skye did not recognize at first. The longer it lasted, the quieter the noises from the outside became. The train tracks, the engine up ahead, and the wind just outside the door faded away, until they became completely muted with one final clunk.

Judy's feet stepped away from the door she had just closed, and the very faint sound of her tapping something in her paw echoed off the suddenly quiet walls. There was silence for another second, before she spoke up, talking to somebody else. "Chief, it's Hopps. Code Red, Level Five. We need an extraction."

Skye finished dressing Nick's wound, and the last of her strength left her. She was barely able to aim herself at the wall beside Nick as she collapsed, and thankfully, Nick managed to catch her enough to cushion the impact. She slouched against the wall, turned around, and looked wearily around the room. Her father's body was gone. His blood was all over the floor, leading from the center of the car to the closed door. Judy was holding a cell phone—no doubt Alex's—and was busy examining the sliding door, trying to find an identification code of some kind. Otherwise, it was completely silent. For the first time since they had left the mansion in Marble Jade, it was calm and still.

She should have been relieved. Or proud. Or happy. Or at the very least, glad that it was all over. But she wasn't. As much as she wished she could rejoice in the fact that she had managed to escape again, that triumph had come at a price.

Her eyes fell to her paws again. They were still covered in her father's blood.

Judy's voice felt like it was a thousand miles away when she spoke again. "We're on a train outbound from a town called Marble Jade. I just saw a sign a minute ago that said Moosonville, thirty miles." She paused and glanced back at the two others. Her voice turned somber. "Yes. Three. All serious."

Skye felt darkness close in around her. She closed her eyes, not bothering to fight the exhaustion that overwhelmed her. However, even with her eyes shut, the image of her blood-stained paws remained. It felt even more clear now than when her eyes were open and she was looking right at them. She was a murderer. Her father's face haunted her, and she could almost hear his accusing voice echo throughout her mind. She really was just as bad as he was. She could never escape it. She could never escape him. She was always going to be his slave, and this only proved it. His blood was on her paws, and it always would be, and there was nothing she could ever do to—

A warm blanket covered her, interrupting her thoughts. Her eyes slowly opened back up as she wondered where it had come from. It was not a blanket, it was Nick's coat, and he had just laid it over her shoulders.

He managed to catch her eye. She expected him to give her an encouraging smile and let her know it was okay. But she saw no joy there, nor relief, nor a hint of happiness of any kind. To her surprise, his expression was just as sober as hers. Beyond the exhaustion and pain, there was something else, something Skye realized was not that different from what she was going through.

Grief.

And immediately, Skye understood. He had to contend with his father's blood, too.

While Judy continued relaying as much information to her boss as she could, Nick leaned against the wall beside Skye and wrapped his good arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. She curled up in a ball beside him and leaned her head against his chest. Her mind and body were fatigued, and her spirit was completely broken. The escape from Marble Jade and her fight against the foxes of White Jaws were a distant memory now.

They had made it. Somehow, they had made it. But not unscathed. And Skye was sure that her particular wound would never heal.

Tears began to form in her eyes. She did not hold them back. She closed her eyes and dug her face deep into Nick's chest, letting all of her emotions come bubbling up to the surface.

The only comfort was Nick's arm giving her a big hug, drawing her all the closer, and silently assuring her that she was not alone.