Well, well, well… I bet you can't believe I'm back, and neither can I. Life really gets the better of your time sometimes, doesn't it?
Anyway, with the soonish release of Zootopia 2, I figured now's as good a time as ever to suddenly regain motivation to continue this story. I'm excited to finally show you guys where this story goes. After Chapter 20, we'll reach the end of Part 2. Then, only ten chapters left.
I hope you've all been doing well, and I'm sorry for my absence for such a long time. Interests change, you know, all that jazz. But what matters is that this story will not be left incomplete. Chapter 19 is finally here!
PS: after reading through the start to the story, I deeply apologize for my misuse of the word "infer" in the past. This will be corrected moving forward! :)
The world came into view for Ronnie in the form of a bright blur as he sat up, alert, his ears raised high. He found himself beneath a simple wool blanket, still on the sofa of the cabin. His eyes began to shrink a little when he realized he was safe, but was still lost in the middle of the woods, somewhere far away from his family and friends.
Ronnie wondered if Luke was looking for him. He wondered if his parents were worried sick, or whether this was some sort of sick prank. He wondered constantly if he had died and this was some sort of cruel purgatory, but received no sign of an answer. He knew he had forgotten something big, but he had no clue as to what. Perhaps the knowledge that something had gone down the drain was the hardest part of all…
"Don't worry," Mr. P's gruff voice spoke from across the room as he peered over an old book over at the wolf cub, noticing him waking from another slumber. "Remember, you're safe."
"Someone shot me," Ronnie kept repeating to himself. "What could I have done to deserve that? I mean, did I kill someone's pet fish?"
"They shot you twice," Mr. P said, continuing to read, sliding his reading glasses back up his snout. "Wanted you dead as a doornail."
There was a silence in the air for a few moments as Ronnie puffed air through his lips, dejected.
"Who even are you? And don't tell me Mr. P again," Ronnie spoke to the older coyote.
"Mr. P," he replied. "From dusk till dawn, ain't gonna change bud."
"Whatever man. I could be dead… this could be purgatory, and I can't even get your real name. Whatever," Ronnie pouted, rolling his eyes and staring up at the ceiling again.
Mr. P remained quiet and continued his reading, uncrossing his legs before crossing them once again the opposite way. He lifted the book up once more, partially blocking his face.
For a while, Mr. P finally got the peace and quiet he wanted. Ronnie had fallen back into a slumber without warning, which was perfectly fine in Mr. P's eyes. He could now fully focus on his book.
Mr. P had his reasons for not wanting to return to civilization again — they were not reasons he cared to repeat to any sentient being before him, but they were there in his mind. He could never go back. In fact, he was growing increasingly paranoid due to the fact the boy had washed up on the river in the first place. How could there be children in close proximity to his cabin? Last time he checked, he did a pretty darn good job hiding himself.
He glanced at the wolf as he slept, wondering time and time again who possibly could have attempted to send the child to a watery grave. It was not adding up at all to the coyote.
A few minutes later, Ronnie stirred and suddenly sat up staring blankly across the room.
"Sleep," Mr. P told the small wolf, flipping his book to the next page and adjusting his reading glasses again.
"What? Where am I?" Ronnie asked tiredly, looking around the room.
"Oh for the love of Pete, not this again," Mr. P remarked with a groan, closing his book and sitting up in his chair.
"Joking," Ronnie said with a half hearted smile. "I think I'm going crazy."
"Pssh," Mr. P exclaimed, shaking his head and leaning back into his more relaxed sitting position.
"This is driving me insane," Ronnie said pathetically as he ran his paw over his face, letting loose a small cough. "I gotta get better."
Mr. P finally gave up on reading his book and set it on the table beside him. For a moment, he considered slipping a sleep medication into the boy's IV, but found the idea a bit too intrusive, so he decided against it. He sighed and rose from his chair, moving in the wolf's direction.
"And you never will if you keep up with the yappin'" Mr. P retorted as he stopped beside the wolf. "You hungry yet?"
"Hungry?" Ronnie asked with tired eyes. "I thought that's what the IV was for."
"Exactly. Just gonna get some fluids in your system if you're feeling hungry," Mr. P clarified as he began to check the wounds on Ronnie's chest, eventually moving to his head to make sure it was healing as well from hitting the rocks.
"Why can't I eat real food?" Ronnie sighed, missing the feeling of anything physical in his stomach.
"You need to heal first from the gunshots," Mr. P said for what felt like the thousandth time. "As far as I know your digestive system is fine, but I can't be a hundred percent on it. Not taking that chance."
"Whatever," Ronnie said. After the young wolf was silent for a moment, Mr. P spoke again.
"I know you're frustrated," he said. "I would be too. Especially not knowing how it happened, who's okay and who ain't. I get it. But like I said before, we try to get you to civilization now, you ain't making it to the river without dying."
Ronnie groaned.
"I don't get it. Why don't you have a phone? Or anything? You're kinda weird, and I don't mean to sound… ungrateful, but you don't make a whole lotta sense," Ronnie slightly slurred his words, feeling a little lightheaded as he grabbed his head in his paws.
"Things happen in your life that make you change your perspective," Mr. P stated, his eyes veiled by a subtle sense of sorrow. "That's the most you'll get out of me."
Ronnie held a blank expression, rubbing his eyes with his fists as he winced.
"Just promise me you aren't that one terrible coyote who made his own grandmother into a canine meatloaf and ate it," Ronnie said in a pleading tone, sounding genuinely frightened at the idea.
"Sonny, what?" Mr. P asked, caught off-guard.
Surely that must be made up, the coyote thought to himself with a tinge of fear.
"You heard me. It happened," Ronnie insisted, clearly still a bit loopy.
"You need to stop talking so much," Mr. P said. "Geez Louise. If you really want to get back to Bronson or whoever, you need to rest."
"Bronson's my street, not a relative, genius," Ronnie responded to him sneakily. Upon realizing how rude he came across, he backtracked a bit. "That sounded a bit like something that kid Romero would say, I take that back. I'm sorry if I came off as rude."
Mr. P puffed with a slight smirk.
"You're fine, boy. I know you just wanna get back out there to your life. Romeo? Romero? He a friend of yours?" Mr. P asked as he inserted an additional IV in Ronnie's opposite wrist. "Little pinch."
Ronnie grimaced for a second, before realizing the needle offered little to no pain.
"Uh… I don't know… Romero. Who is Romero?" Ronnie asked, genuinely confused. "I don't think I know a Romero… I don't know why I said that."
"It's all okay," Mr. P said, affectionately, but gently patting the boy on his shoulder. "You hit your head hard; might be a few screws loose. Just give everything some time to get back to normal."
Ronnie sighed again and leaned his head back.
"This sure doesn't beat eating fish n' chips," he joked, referring to the IV in his arm.
"Surely not," Mr. P chuckled, reminiscing on his time at the Zootopia docks. He recalled just how fond he became of fried fish in general before his rather gigantic lifestyle change.
And with that, Ronnie abruptly fell asleep once more, Mr. P adjusted his pillow so that his head remained somewhat upright.
The coyote knew two things for sure; he had to know what happened to the wolf before him, and he had to do anything possible to prevent the cub from discovering the truth about his life.
Some mornings were full of a certain feeling; a certain mood to act as a premonition. There was sometimes a word that one could use to define a day before it had even developed into one.
Nick's mind raced as Luke's voice infiltrated his head, making him wonder about aspects of life a child should never have to ponder…
Despite the fact that his anxiety and panic attacks had calmed down regarding Luke and Ronnie's apparent deaths, the guilt had gone nowhere. He hadn't spoken of it recently, but ever since his breakdown while whitewater rafting, the grip that Luke and Ronnie's terrible fates had on him were still present and active in his life. But there were just some things even a soul as brave as Nick dared not look in the eye.
The young fox decided he could lay in bed no longer even though it was only seven in the morning. He had an hour left to sleep if he wanted, but he knew that wasn't an option. When he started to hear Luke's voice in his head from back at the laser tag game, or when he heard Ronnie's voice from their first meeting clearly in his mind, he knew that he wouldn't find something as comforting as sleep.
Nick climbed down from his bed silently and got ready for the day just as stealthily, looking in the mirror in the corner of the cabin at himself in silence with a blank expression and dull eyes. It was odd that he would feel so mellow yet so down that morning, as just the night before, he had accepted the fact that he might just be in love with a certain bunny. He had also come to several revelations regarding love in general, and his mood was boosted a ton in the process. He had a renewed faith in himself, or at least he thought he did.
He stared at his reflection in the mirror with a sigh, only looking away once he caught sight of Luke and Ronnie's empty bunks behind him. He closed his eyes tight until he had turned around and tiptoed through and out of the cabin, closing the door behind him as quietly as possible.
Nick took another breath, this time of fresh air, and moved onwards away from the cabin steps and over to the picnic table he and his friends found themselves meeting at all too often. He sat down at the table and propped his head up on his elbows as he sat, staring forward at the camp's scenery; its lush grass, assortment of trees creating a veil of serenity of the central area of the campground, and the other cabins in a wide circle around the activity center in the distance. Camp Odayaka sure seemed to be a great place from the outside looking in, but Nick had boasted doubts for quite some time now.
Along with having to deal with the trauma of Luke and Ronnie's fates, thanks to a certain rabbit, Nick now had to wrestle with his uncertainty around him and Judy even more. Even if Judy wanted to be with him, he realized Judy would be losing a lot just by being with him. She would be put on blast just for being with a "predator", and that's just a start. He knew how most bunnies viewed foxes as a whole, and he'd be lying if he said it still didn't bother him even with how much Judy had shown him otherwise. Of course he didn't think Judy thought in such a terrible way, but it worried him that, considering how her family thought about foxes, the two of them being together would bring her nothing but trouble. He would bring her only bad; no good. No shine, only rain…
And that was the way it was. There wasn't anything he could change about himself in that regard, and there was nothing he could do to make himself more appealing to her family. As long as he was a fox, he was stuck in that position.
Nick sat at the picnic table for that hour deep in thought, juggling options, pondering solutions to problems, considering what would be best for him and Judy as a whole. He was absolutely enamored with her, but he didn't want to bring her down. He didn't want to be the one to put a damper on Judy Hopps' life in any way, shape or form.
The fox put his arms on the table in front of him after a little bit and lowered his head on top of them, closing his eyes and taking in the warmth of the morning sun as he tried to find a place of comfort. Despite how peaceful it felt, the warmth of the sun could do little to make up for Nick's overwhelming sense of dread regarding not only the whole mystery of Odayaka, but his own self-worth.
After the hour of sitting in meditation had passed, Nick heard the door to Cabin 19 open and close and heard a voice from behind him that he recognized instantaneously.
"You okay, dude?" Ven's voice asked softly.
Nick lifted his head off of his arms and turned back to face Ven, shrugging as he did so.
"I don't know," Nick answered honestly. "But it doesn't matter, it's nothing I should be stressing myself out about."
As he spoke, Nick rose from his seat at the table, now sitting on top of the picnic table with his head cracked in his hands.
"Well, you have to deal with a lot right now," Ven said to him in an effort to comfort him before looking a little ashamed. "Which you know of course, I don't know why I'm reminding you of it."
"It's okay, Ven," Nick said with a little smile. "You're a great friend to always be checking up on me."
Ven smiled and sat down beside his fox friend on the table, studying Nick's posture that worked to hide his glumness.
"I'm sorry that last night happened," Ven said quietly so that only Nick could hear him. "Like, I know it isn't my fault, but when I heard about what Romero said to you, I wanted to strangle him. I still do."
"Well, let's not strangle anyone," Nick chuckled lightly, patting Ven on the back. "Even though I really appreciate the sentiment."
"What do you think he's gonna do?" Ven asked him curiously, but also cautiously. "Romero and Nat too, I mean."
"Well," Nick started, scratching the back of his neck with a grimace. "They kind of threatened to get me arrested. Said they'd make it a game of their word against mine with the whole Ronnie and Luke thing, and that they have 'evidence'".
"Wow," Ven began, baffled at the fact that someone could ever be so twisted. "All because…"
"All because he's jealous of Judy and I being so close," Nick said incredulously. "Yep, makes no sense. Even if you're that obsessed with a girl who has a boyfriend… which Judy doesn't even have, going to these lengths is pretty insane. I guess it's not that shocking since I'm a fox, but I'm still a little surprised."
"I am too," Ven responded to Nick, hating the fact that he had come to expect such horrible things due to his species. "I thought they were cool before."
"Me too, but that's how first impressions are sometimes I guess," Nick said. "You give everyone a chance, and that's how it should be. That's what I wish I got more of in my life."
"Everyone deserves a chance," Ven repeated, rubbing his paws together to wake up his senses a little more. "It sucks that some people live in a world where they feel like they can pick and choose."
"Right? I just can't stand when I walk past other mammals and I can sense how much they… how scared they are of me, I don't know. They're always either scared or just… so full of hate," Nick muttered, recalling the many thousands of glances he had received in his life from other mammals, obviously skeptical of him. "And I remember thinking when I was younger: 'I don't look that weird… or scary, right'"?
"I mean, you are a pretty intimidating, vicious predator," a feminine voice rang out from beside the table, and Nick realized that Judy had stealthily made her way over to Cabin 19 during he and Ven's conversation. Nick looked up at Judy with tired eyes that were still happy to see her, offering his usual warm smile.
"Careful, you're speaking with the killer known as Nick Wilde," Nick joked with a snicker before covering his mouth. "Maybe I shouldn't say that too loud."
"You really shouldn't," Nick said, rubbing his neck. "You sleep okay?"
"About as well as I possibly could without thinking about what it would feel like to strangle a bunny to death," she casually spoke, jumping up on the picnic table beside her favorite fox. "His name starts with an 'R', ends with an 'O'…"
"I think I got who you meant," Nick replied with a chuckle. "What's with everyone and the strangling fantasies?"
"Well, imagine some mammal saying to me what was said to you," Judy retorted, offering a quick little side hug to the fox as they sat.
"I wouldn't strangle them," Nick responded, reciprocating the hug. "I'd just ring their necks."
Judy rolled her eyes, back in an upright seated position.
"Anyways, how about you guys? How'd you sleep?" Judy asked sincerely, leaning back a bit.
"Fine," Ven responded, tapping his foot lightly on the picnic table bench. "Not amazing, but could have been worse."
The other two then looked over at Nick, who clearly didn't have his best night of sleep.
"I don't wanna talk about it," Nick said, tilting his head back, displeased with even the mere memory of tossing and turning the night prior.
"Nick, genuine question. If I strangled that stupid bunny to death, would you stop me?" Judy then asked out of the blue.
Nick looked surprised but somewhat amused by the question.
"You know, for a group of kids who are trying to remain innocuous, you ask questions that require very condemning answers Carrots," Nick responded.
"Come on, answer," Judy responded, touching her shoulder to Nick's side. "I just have to know."
"You know what," Nick began. "Judy, I'd actually really hate it if you did that…" the fox trailed off, leaving Judy hanging for the moment. "…without me having some hot, buttered popcorn with me first."
The three chuckled, trying to make the most of the fox's rather terrible encounter with the bunny.
"Nick," Judy began after a second of the friends wordlessly sitting in the morning sun. "Can I talk to you for a second? You know, alone?" the rabbit asked, peering over at her very best friend.
Nick's mind raced as he scoured the universe for all the possibilities as to what Judy could be about to bring up, but decided to give his anxiety some relief.
"Uh, yeah… sure Carrots," Nick said as he hopped up from the table, knowing there was a decent possibility that she simply wanted to talk with him about the night before — what happened with William Rosenheim.
Ven watched the two as they began to walk away from the park bench.
"Well, I'll see you two after," Ven muttered as the two waved back at him.
"It'll just be a few minutes, Ven," Judy called to him, and Ven looked on as the two moved further away and out of hearing range.
"I'll just be here, I guess," Ven muttered as he looked on, his ear twitching. Truth be told, Ven was ecstatic that Nick had found something rather amazing with Judy. He loved his friend like a brother, and wanted the best for him in every regard. However, the past few days had made Ven feel like somewhat of a third wheel at times. He wasn't sure if the others felt the same way about the duo's clearly blossoming romance, but he couldn't help but suffer guilt at the realization of his feelings.
He was still having a fantastic summer — much better than he had anticipated. The raccoon had never been much of a fan of outdoor activities, camping and the like, but his time at Odayaka had changed his mind on that. Aside from the rather obvious controversy on June 11, he had found himself enjoying pretty much every activity (there were a couple he wasn't so big on, but his friends made it engaging enough).
"Well shiitake," Ray's voice suddenly projected from behind Ven after the creaking of the cabin door. "Just missed my appointment for: being able to speak to Nick. Gonna have to reschedule to next month."
"Tell me about it," Ven mumbled to Ray as the ocelot climbed on top of the table as well, watching along with the raccoon as the couple gained distance.
"You know, we gotta be happy for him. I mean, I really am," Ray proclaimed. "It's just, man. The honeymoon phase kind of sucks the life out of some things. You know what I mean?"
Ven's ears moved slightly down on top of his head.
"I feel bad for thinking that, but yes… I think the same things sometimes," Ven said glumly. "Just gotta get through the beginning, I guess."
"And we shall, my ring-tailed friend," Ray said, putting a friendly arm around his pal. "You know, you might figure rabbits and foxes don't go so well together, but you'd be surprised. Approximately 89% of foxes and rabbits who are married stay together after five years. Those are are pretty great for him if you ask me."
Ven stared over at his friend with a blank expression.
"You just made that up, didn't you?" Ven asked him in a monotone voice.
"I'm just trying to be optimistic!" Ray exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically. "So we know the brief suffering is worth it, ya know!"
"Making up statistics isn't really affecting their odds of making it, but go for it sport," Ven responded sarcastically.
"Who blew their nose in your cereal this morning?" Ray asked about Ven's visibly apparent lifelessness.
"First of all, who says that?" Ven responded with an eyebrow raised. "Second of all, that's just nasty. And third of all, uh…" Ven trailed off as his whole demeanor changed. "I had a nightmare last night."
"Oh no," Ray asked with a mix of genuine concern and friendly banter. "Don't tell me it was worse than the dream where you were a piece of broccoli on someone's plate and had to avoid being picked up and eaten!"
"No, nowhere near that bad," Ven responded earnestly, horrified by the mention of his very worst dream ever. "This one was stupid looking back."
"Well, do tell," Ray responded, ready to hear every detail.
"So, it started out with me feeling really hot, and I thought I was in an oven or something, but I realized… I was just in a food tray under a heat lamp."
"So you were a food item again in your dream?" Ray asked, perplexed. "You need to start eating a bite before bed."
Meanwhile, Nick and Judy were beginning to discuss a very different subject matter…
"Well…" Nick said as the other four walked away, turning to his best bunny friend. "I know the four of them aren't back in the loop with the whole mystery thing, so I was thinking they might could use some convincing…"
"What did you have in mind?" Judy asked curiously, not hearing anything about this idea until that moment.
"We need to go back to the place we talked with Rosenheim… Will, I mean. Sorry, he's got a catchy last name. Anyway, we go back there and investigate. Did you notice anything about the ground around us while we were talking?" Nick asked her quietly.
"It was… muddy?" Judy asked, finally catching Nick's drift. "It was muddy!"
"Yep," Nick stated proudly, happy to have figured out the usefulness in that fact himself. "So there's probably tracks."
"Right," Judy responded with zeal, holding onto Nick's arm to emphasize her next words. "You should be a detective, Wilde."
"Okay, it doesn't take a Furlock Holmes to notice that," Nick humored, smiling over at Judy with subtlety. "But if we're being watched by someone, we have to be getting close to something big. Only issue is… what if this mammal that's been watching us is one of the dangerous animals we've been hearing about?"
"I think we both know that's a good possibility," Judy said with a small sigh, taking a deep breath at the thought. "But I don't think we're in any danger as long as we stay on camp grounds during the daytime."
"We're still poking in places that some mammals clearly don't want us poking in," Nick responded, now looking more fondly at the bunny. "I just don't want anything to happen to you… or the others. I don't want anyone to get hurt."
An image of Luke flashed through Nick's mind, causing the fox's smile to quickly vanish. His demeanor slightly changed as he stopped walking, his best friend stopping at his side.
"Nick, none of us want any of the rest to get hurt," Judy told him, noticing his sudden change in mood. "Except maybe Ray could use a good hit to his noggin every once in a while; just to make sure everything is working in there."
Nick chuckled at Judy's remark, studying her sparkling amethyst eyes once again.
"Was that too mean?" Judy asked with a shy smile, and Nick shook his head.
"No, because you're one hundred percent right," Nick snickered. "You gotta love him, but he's definitely questionable from time to time."
So the two of them went together to the spot from the previous night, discussing hot topics like waffles vs. pancakes, movies, and the like as they went. Although they were re-entering rather morbid waters, the two had suspended their attention to the actual, real danger of it all. There's a reason that children did not become involved with affairs not even the police could solve, but Nick and Judy somehow felt that they were different in that way. Both were sharp for their age, but they were also able to push through their fears and reservations about the situation because they cared so much about the greater good.
"I swear, Andrew Longhorn is just not a good actor," Nick declared confidently, trying to assert his piece in the conversation.
"Respectfully disagree," Judy replied. "Except in that one Christmas movie where that lady is obsessed with getting that specific pie for a Christmas party or whatever. He was terrible in that."
Nick snapped in her direction.
"Is that the one where the pie ended up falling into the road and then got crushed by a truck?" Nick asked, the image starting to come back to him.
"Sure is," Judy responded, thinking back to the rather confusing, yet underwhelming film. "But you know, maybe I just don't like Christmas movies. Or Christmas itself, I dunno… just not my favorite time of year."
"What, you don't like Christmas?" Nick asked Judy with a small laugh, not understanding exactly what she meant.
"No, it isn't that, I just… my family is enormous, remember? That's not even including my extended family," Judy recalled with a tired look on her face. "Holidays are just exhausting with all of them, even with how much I love my family."
"I could see how that would be exhausting," Nick responded, picturing a Christmas gathering with Judy and all of her extended family.
"Judy, can I… tell you something that's been on my mind lately?" Nick asked the bunny with somewhat downcast eyes.
"Duh, of course you can," Judy said with a playful nudge before noticing the seriousness on his face and readjusting her demeanor. "I mean, sure Nick, you know you can tell me anything."
Nick took a small breath before he began while the two of them padded along.
"Judy, you deserve the world, and I want to be friends as much as you do. I just… I feel so bad that I bring bad things wherever I go," the fox said softly.
"Nick, if I hear anything like that ever again I'm gonna slap you," Judy said to him passionately. "Just don't."
"I know, I know, and I'm sorry for being so… you know. I really like that you believe in me," Nick replied with an earnest look. "I just want you to know what you're getting into, you know? Being with me… as a friend or anything else…" Nick continued with a bit of blush. "It won't ever be easy, even if we do get along so well. My mom once told me a story about a bear who had a thundercloud above his head that was always there, raining on him and weighing him down. Of course, the cloud stands for something else… duh, basic metaphor. But he meets this mountain lion who really likes being around him, but to be around him the lion has to get rained on all the time. And you know, it starts to weigh them down too… at least I think that's how the story goes, it's been a long time."
"I know that story," Judy laughed with a sympathetic smile. "The mountain lion sticks around anyways even when the bear constantly tells them: 'the rain will always come, and both of us will always… get cold? Wet? I forget exactly what is said, but the point is: I've told you a thousand times and I'll tell you a thousand and one times, I'm there even if it becomes a hurricane, Nick. Got it?"
"The rain will always come, and both of us will always get cold " Nick said as he reminisced on the quote. "Now that's Shakespearean."
"Nick," Judy said with her arms now crossed.
"Yeah, I know Carrots," Nick said with a smile, wrapping his arm around her. "Hurricane, blah, blah, blah… can you imagine us in a hurricane?"
Judy giggled at the thought of the two of them being in such a chaotic scenario.
"I'm so glad I have you," Nick then said after a second of hearing Judy laugh, and Judy looked over at her friend with eyes full of adoration and a heart full of joy; joy that she had the pleasure of being able to experience the essence of Nick Wilde on a daily basis. "To talk about stuff like this with, I mean… you know?"
"I'm glad I have you too, Nick," Judy made sure he knew. "It's weird to think that a few weeks ago I didn't."
"Right?" Nick marveled at the fact as well, finding it incredible how far the two of them, along with the rest of their friends had come.
Finally, the two of them arrived at the area from the night before; the area of trees, leaves and soft dirt behind the stage area where the various musicians, including Carmen, had performed. Once the two of them arrived at the exact spot where the two of them had talked with William in secret, they expanded outwards, checking for any hints of the stalker that had been keeping tabs on them. After a minute, the two of them noticed something peculiar in the mud…
"Boot tracks," Nick stated in shock as the two of them studied the prints in the dirt with wide eyes.
"So we were being watched," Judy said with her eyes squinted. "All along, while we talked with William. Someone wearing boots was behind this tree watching us."
"Weird." Nick stated, perplexed. "I don't know many mammals who even brought or own a pair of shoes."
"Whoever this is wore boots so their footprints wouldn't give away their species, which is obvious, I know," Judy began. "I think it's worth noting that the boot prints aren't very big, though."
"True, and they aren't very deep either, which rules out heavier mammals," Nick responded. "You'd think they would cover their tracks before they left, even if bootprints don't give away as much."
"Maybe they had to leave in a hurry," Judy said with her paw under her chin, studying the section of softer dirt in front of her. One could make out where the stalker had walked to the left from the spot behind the tree, but the dirt became too rigid to display the mammal's escape path.
"Looks like it," Nick responded with an enticed expression as he continued to study the tracks.
Judy remained quiet for a second, not hearing what her best friend was saying to her at the time. Her mind simply tuned out and disassociated, fully taking in the fact that there was definitely someone stalking her and her friends. Although she had known this prior, it didn't exactly register with its full weight until that moment.
"Judy? Carrots? You okay there?" Nick asked as the bunny remained quiet, staring down at the tracks in the mud with a troubled expression.
She shook her head briefly as if to recalibrate her brain, her ears moving downward as she spoke again.
"It's just… I know what we said before, but if something happens to one of you guys, I think I'll give up on being a cop."
Nick looked slightly baffled by her statement.
"What? Why? This is what I want to do, you know. It's the opposite of involuntary — it's voluntary," Nick said with a pinch of passion, Judy looking skeptically looking over at the fox due to his repetitive choice of words. "You know what, I've got a perfect way of putting this. You know Unearth? That survival game where you kinda just mine stuff, build stuff, craft stuff-"
"Who doesn't know Unearth?" Judy asked rhetorically. "I played that game a lot too."
"Wait, you did?" Nick asked her with awe. "That's amazing and… is a topic for later discussion. But one time, Ray, Ven and I got really bored of all the shenanigans we'd do on the surface, so we ended up exploring caves, and…"
"I know where that rabbit hole goes," Judy said with a giggle. "You get blown up?"
"Maybe," Nick said with a laugh, thinking back to their legendary gaming sessions. "But you know, the caves were the most fun I ever had playing that game; getting blown up or not. Maybe we have more to lose in real life… well, we definitely do. I was thinking about that the other night."
"Me too," Judy said with a long breath afterward. "You know, I was thinking about this in a very different way. I was thinking about… you know, my dream to be a police officer. Obviously, it'll be more than an uphill battle; more like a 90 degree climb, and because of that, I kinda need a launching point. Something to give me some sort of momentum, you know? And imagine… just imagine if we were to somehow crack this case. Not to be selfish with my motivations and all, but it might just be enough to get some really helpful attention."
Nick completely understood Judy's reasons for wanting to see the entire mystery through, but he really worried for her — worried himself sick on a daily basis. He recalled the word Judy used only seconds before: "selfish", and knew that word struck a chord within him as well. He simply felt selfish for how protective he was becoming, and wondered if it was because he really adored Judy that much, or if it was because if something did happen to her, his own outlook on life would plummet and die.
"I get that," Nick responded, looking back down at the tracks. "Hey Carrots? Can you promise me something?"
"Big maybe," Judy replied, turning to face directly toward the fox.
"Well, I… I only ask that if you're going to do something… risky, to solve this case, you'll at least tell me first. So I can take the plunge with you, ya know? I just know how stubborn you are," Nick said, poking her teasingly.
"That doesn't even need to be said," Judy replied, holding her gaze. "I promise. You don't need to worry there."
Nick let out a puff of air through his lips and then smiled at Judy, trusting her word fully and completely.
"Okay, okay," he said, wrapping his arm around Judy and hugging her close to him, which made Judy smile and giggle. "You're just… too awesome for anything bad to happen to you."
"Likewise, Wilde," Judy said in a muffled voice into his shirt, wrapping her arms around him as well. "Well, doesn't look like there's much else here to see," Judy added as she averted her gaze to the tracks on the ground.
"I think we need to find a pair of boots, don't you?" Nick asked his companion, and she nodded with certainty.
Nick looked at her as she nodded and pondered the consequences of just leaning in for a kiss then and there, but knew it wouldn't really make sense at that moment. Despite knowing that Romero was a rather pathetic person and his words meant very little, he had lost a bit of the urgency he boasted the night prior when it came to confessing his feelings. A new idea had consumed him: the idea that perhaps Judy did reciprocate his feelings, but that her life would take a huge hit for including him in it.
Not only could the timing have not been worse for hearing Romero's lies, but Nick realized deep down that Romero was correct about that one thing. He hit the nail right on the head, objectively-speaking. There's no way that Judy could possibly live a happier life with him at her side.
Still, he knew he had to make it known at some point. His words were like water behind a dam, and the foundation had been deeply cracked.
"Nat and Romero? Those are your names?" Officer Mays asked with a face that seemed to take the two children less than seriously.
"Yes sir!" Romero replied as the two stood in front of Mays, the three of them gathered beside his car next to the administration building. The two had stopped the officer as he exited his car.
"And you're giving me this box… why?" Mays asked with a wrinkled brow, holding up the object.
"Well sir," Romero started in a confident tone. "What you're holding there is condemning evidence. Nat and I have a friend named Nick Wilde… maybe you know him?"
Mays looked on, now very interested in what the bunny had to say.
"I do," Mays replied, eager to hear more.
"Well, Nat and I had our suspicions about Nick. You know, after all, he was the last one to be around Luke and Ronnie. We found that box in his suitcase. Know what that is?"
"No clue," Officer Mays responded plainly.
"This is the time capsule that the camp was encouraging the kids here to look for at the start of camp. Except here's the thing; it was never a time capsule. It was a box with information about the whole treasure thing," Romero explained without offering his sources.
Officer Mays took a minute to think to himself and proceeded to cross his arms.
"And y'all know this… how?" Officer Mays asked Romero and Nat as he tilted his head, not having much reason to believe them yet.
"Well… I know this is something we should have come to you sooner about," Nat started to say. "But Romero saw Luke, Ronnie and Nick leave the cabin around the same time as each other. And-"
"Allow me to explain," Romero interrupted, thinking back to the events of that night.
June 10th
Romero was a bunny that had very little to complain about. So far, Camp Odayaka has been another incredible experience to add to his ever-expanding list of incredible experiences. He had made friends left and right, found success in many of the activities and contests at the camp, and had a new objective for himself.
See, Romero, from the outside looking in, had it all — yet, he remained somewhat of a perfectionist in every regard of his life. He was obsessed with setting new objectives for himself, no matter how realistic in nature. He kept a well maintained list of his objectives in his notes app on his phone, all detailed with intricate instructions on how to accomplish each and every one. And he had not failed yet…
He didn't like to think of himself as arrogant enough to think he can have or do whatever he wants. But at the same time, there were some things where the means of accomplishment were far from what would typically be expected from a thirteen year old.
One of those things on the list was one bunny he had been watching since the start of camp: one Judy Hopps.
He had written out a thousand different ways to start a conversation with her that would ensure her infatuation with him would match his own in terms of magnitude, but had not acted out any of his plans. Nat had told him repeatedly to just introduce himself to her and take it slow, but Romero knew that there was one gargantuan obstacle in the way.
Romero juggled the options day and night on how to get the fox known as Nick Wilde out of his way. It really wasn't anything personal — he just knew that, barring his own intervention, he stood no chance of catching the attention of Judy. She seemed to be quite interested in Nick, to say the least. It was a rather tedious task at hand, but the rabbit knew that there was nothing a little masterminding could not solve.
On the night of June 10th, Romero listened to the sound of crickets in the darkness as he crouched behind a thick bush. No one knew what he was up to; not even himself, really. All he knew was that he had to find some kind of dirt on that cursed fox, Nick. Whether it be manipulation through a conversation or plain intimidation, he was going to find a way to get Nick to back off.
It was getting somewhat late, and still the fox had not walked the path to head over to the bathhouse before bed. The bunny was somewhat close to giving up, as there were no signs that anyone in the fox's cabin was even still awake. For a moment as he laid low, Romero questioned himself internally.
What are you doing, Mero? he asked himself, using his mother's nickname for him. Maybe this isn't the way.
This has to be the way. What other way is there? There's only a few weeks of camp, then I'll never see her again.
Isn't her happiness what matters?
Being with that fox? If that's where her happiness lies… well that's just a horrible thought. They don't belong together, and that's not even an opinion. It is just an objective observation. Fox and bunny, I mean come on!
Finally, as he wrestled with his own thoughts, the bunny heard the door to Cabin 19 across the path open and close, and his eyes lit up when he realized who had exited the structure.
Finally.
Romero held his breath as Nick walked by him and down the pathway towards the bathhouse, the fox all alone just as Romero had hoped. He shook off his feelings of uncertainty and slowly rose from his hiding place, still breathing as quietly as possible to avoid detection. He knew he had to make the conversation with Nick quick and effective. He had to also decide to take a more passive-aggressive approach or a more direct approach that involved threats.
Romero had rehearsed for this moment many times; he simply knew that he had to keep things according to plan and not let anything get too out of control. He waited about twenty seconds or so before he began to move from his hiding place, but before he could, he heard the door to Cabin 19 open and close once again; this time much more quietly.
Romero froze once more, his eyes widening as he spotted Luke and Ronnie leaving the cabin stealthily. The two of them tiptoed down the short set of stairs and onto the sidewalk, where they continued to move as softly as possible.
Could it possibly be that the two of them also had business to settle with Nick? Could it be as simple as the fact that he was a fox, and they wanted a punching bag? He himself detested unfair treatment of mammals based on prejudice; he believed that there should be a real reason for such tactics. Romero narrowed his eyes as the two moved further and further along, the bunny slowly moving from his hiding spot at last, careful not to kick any leaves or sticks.
At this point, Romero's plan had quickly changed into something completely new. Questions and possibilities raced through his mind with a quickness as he licked his lips. He finally decided that his best course of action was to eavesdrop. From there, he considered multiple options, but did not decide on one just yet.
Once the door to the bathhouse had closed behind Luke and Ronnie, Romero crept out of the darkness of the brush and onto the pathway, beginning to walk quickly in the direction of the bathhouse. His mind raced as he got closer and closer, the rabbit clenching his fists together as a way of coping with the anxiety. Although he was a very confident bunny, Luke and Ronnie were two of the only mammals at Camp Odayaka that actually scared him a little. Perhaps it was their unpredictable nature…
Suddenly, Romero was right outside the door to the bathhouse and came to a halt. He could hear the sound of voices but couldn't quite make out what was being said until Nick began to raise his voice. Clearly, Ronnie and Luke were a threat to him in some way.
Romero placed his ear somewhat close to the door, and was now able to make out every word that was said. There were many times having the hearing of a rabbit was useful, but never so much as now.
"I don't know anything about the stupid time capsule!" Romero heard Nick say with a hint of desperation, and the bunny raised an eyebrow.
"The thing in my suitcase was just a… a present from my grandma, okay! I don't know what you're talking about!"
Romero was beginning to connect the dots on what exactly was transpiring in the bathroom.
Abruptly, Romero stumbled backwards at the sound of Nick being physically assaulted. He clearly heard the sound of Nick being brutally hit in the chest-area multiple times, as well as the fox yelping in pain and falling to the ground. He heard Nick trying to gasp for air — one of the blows had knocked the wind out of him.
The bunny continued to listen in as Luke threatened the fox more directly, even going as far as to imply he would get his claws dirty with Nick's blood.
After a few more exchanges, Romero finally found the information he was looking for, and something clicked in his brain.
"We found it! We found it in the lake!" Nick cried. "The capsule, it was in the lake, and… and inside were these coordinates, they led us to this place on top of a mountain, it was a chasm, and… we didn't have a way of getting down there, so we left. That's all! I swear!"
Romero continued to listen intently.
He heard Luke asking Nick about the coordinates and if they were in his possession. He heard Nick, in a state of shock, offer the coordinates to Luke and Ronnie. He also heard Luke and Ronnie tell Nick that no one should know that he is involved with the time capsule. After a few more remarks, he heard Luke and Ronnie heading towards the door to the bathhouse and quickly sidestepped to the left and off of the pathway, now hiding behind the corner of the building to the left of the door.
Luke and Ronnie exited the building and closed the door behind them, taking a deep breath after they had done so.
"Could've gone worse," Luke said somewhat quietly as he turned away from the door, now facing back in the direction of the cabin.
"Could've gone without the use of violence too," Ronnie retorted. "That's not really like you."
"Eh. I was in a hurry and I had to make him more scared of me somehow. I know it was cheap, but I… we have to get this done. We have to get it done now. Getting some of it will be nice, but what will be even better is seeing this place get what it deserves."
Okay, so these two are definitely insane, Romero thought to himself.
"Very true," Ronnie said with a sigh. "Let's hope this is all worth the trouble".
"Have a little more faith, Ronster," Luke responded, patting his friend on the shoulder as they began to walk. "Now, we just need to-" Luke started, suddenly stopping his sentence and standing still.
"What's up?" Ronnie questioned in a hushed tone after the two of them stopped walking.
"Someone else is here," Luke said in a bored voice, shaking his head in a fashion that resembled disappointment. "Think you can hide from a tiger, huh?"
Romero decided that there was no point in hiding and stepped out from behind the corner, walking up to Ronnie and Luke, who had turned to face him.
"I don't care about what the two of you have going on," Romero started. "I'm only looking for some dirt to use against that fox. That's the only reason I'm here."
Romero still wasn't exactly frightened. Despite being a bunny, he was a rather formidable fighter.
"Ah, Romero," Luke said ruefully. "Of course you'd be the type to eavesdrop. Why don't you walk with us? Don't want Nick to overhear anything like that, do you?"
Romero rolled his eyes at the somewhat patronizing tone of Luke.
"Whatever."
The three began to walk slowly back in the direction of the cabin, leaving Nick behind in the bathhouse.
"So, do I have to ask the question or do you already know what I'm thinking?" Luke asked the rabbit in a quieter voice.
"I heard everything," Romero answered plainly. "But like I said, I don't care. You two mess around with whatever conspiracies you have, it's a free country."
"You know what, Romero, I'm gonna be frank with you. You're a little scumbag. You're a schemer and you're deceptive. You're a manipulator. To most kids here, they'll never know that," Luke started, causing Romero to look rather offended. "But I do. You tell me that you don't care about what you just heard, but I'm not as dumb as most kids you talk to. So I'm gonna be as straight up as possible. Nick had the time capsule in his possession when he wasn't supposed to. Inside the capsule were coordinates to what Ronnie and I believe is some sort of treasure. He was planning on going there, but we're going instead. There's more to the story, but I think this might be all your head can handle for now."
For a moment, nothing but the sound of crickets filled the air again. After a few seconds, Romero responded.
"I'll kick your ass, Luke," Romero replied in a voice that was far from intimidated. "Say any of that about me one more time, I swear."
Luke continued gazing at Romero with a blank expression, blinking once before he spoke again.
"You're pitiful, and so transparent. You're not scary. I'd tear your throat out if you tried to fight me," Luke said, surprising Ronnie with the extreme measures he was taking. "Oh, and stop trying to sabotage Nick's friendship with the bunny. It makes you seem even more sad and pathetic. She'll never like you that way, and regardless, we all know that you'd fail at sabotaging it all anyway. You aren't that smart, Romero."
Luke took a step closer to Romero.
"I don't care how many karate moves you've learned. I really don't. If you tell anyone about any of this, I will break your spine along with that nice throat of yours being opened up. You'll never walk again. You understand?" Luke asked the rabbit in the utmost serious tone, and Romero actually felt somewhat frightened for the first time.
Romero clenched his jaw, trembling in rage as the tiger taunted him, but he hesitated to act. He knew that he could land a few good blows, but what after that? Luke was not only considerably bigger, but he had to face it; Luke was ruthless. Romero then recomposed himself, taking a deep breath through his nose.
"We'll see," Romero spoke as he began to walk off. Luke and Ronnie watched, the former with a small smirk on his face as he watched Romero slowly pace farther and farther away from them and down the path.
Present Day
"So, let me get this straight," Officer Mays spoke bluntly. "You went to the bathroom late at night to talk with Nick about some middle school drama and you heard him get into an argument with Luke and Ronnie, who left the bathhouse and then explained to you why the argument occurred?"
Clearly, Romero had left some of the details out.
"Yes Officer. See, Luke Ronnie and I weren't exactly friends, but we had a mutual respect for each other, I guess you could say. Both of us have… had a significant standing on the social hierarchy."
"Big words for a kid. What are you implying?" the officer asked Romero with curiosity. "I genuinely want to know what you kids think happened that night."
"I don't want to jump to conclusions, but maybe… maybe Nick felt like the treasure was his, and…" Nat said, trying to act as innocent as possible.
"We think Nick may have something to do with their deaths. To stop them from getting to whatever is at the coordinates," Romero clearly said.
Mays paused for a moment before taking a sip of his bottle of water.
"There was nothing at those coordinates," Mays said. "Already searched the area."
"Well, what I mean sir is… well, what if Nick waited for the two of them to get to whatever was there, then once they got it…" Romero trailed off, faking a look of fear.
Officer Mays nodded with a "hmm", considering the possibility.
"It would be pretty drastic for a kid like him to attempt to murder two other, bigger mammals, much less actually succeed. Besides, Luke Myers drowned. There were no indicators of trauma on his body anywhere, except a couple of spots we think hit the rocks in the river," Mays spoke. "You two don't have any bad blood, do you? You and the fox, I mean."
"No," Romero responded. "I'm just concerned, you know?"
"I know, Romero," Mays said, rising from his seat. "But I'll tell ya, to me, this all sounds like a very, very bold conclusion to draw based on pure conjecture."
Romero and Nat looked on as the officer spoke, realizing they may have failed on following through with their threat to Nick.
"There's just one more thing," Romero said to Mays, drawing the officer's attention once more.
"What's that?" Officer Mays asked the rabbit.
"He attacked a bunny last night," Romero told him. "For no real reason, just attacked him. Violently!" Romero added for emphasis. "It was at the bonfire! You can ask anyone."
"There's something you two kids might not know about," Mays said as he leaned back against the side of his car. "Well, it's just a theory right now. My theory. We found the fur of two different foxes down by the riverside the other day. I thought that was weird, you know… why would there be the fur of two different foxes in essentially the same area, close to a crime scene?"
Romero and Nat stared at Mays as he continued.
"Did two foxes from the camp team up to kill a couple of other predators out in the woods?" Mays questioned with an amused sniffle, knowing the fur found was that of Nick Wilde and Director Mato, two very unlikely partners in crime. "No, no. I don't think that's what's happenin' here. What I think is going on is that someone has it out for the foxes here at Camp Odayaka. I think those kids drowned in the river while lollygagging and some sick individual saw an opportunity."
"An opportunity to frame multiple foxes for murder?" Romero asked Mato, trying to play along with the conversation.
Officer Mays shrugged again, the lion not wanting the two to take his word as fact quite yet.
"Just a theory right now. Let me know if you know anyone who might feel such a thing is a bright idea," the officer said to the two without sounding too accusatory.
Just then, Officer Mays heard some chatter through the radio in his car and opened his door again, listening in.
"Officer Mays? Mays?"
Officer Mays quickly picked up his radio and held down the button on the side to respond.
"Mays responding," Mays said into the radio, curious about what he was being contacted about, slowly sitting down inside his car as Romero and Nat stood motionless.
"You won't believe what we just found in the river," the officer on the radio spoke in response.
Huh, I wonder what they could have found in the river by Odayaka? Could it be a lost treasure? A shark? A bowl of cookies n' cream ice cream? We all know that'd make Nick happy.
Make sure to tune in for the next chapter, which will wrap up Part 2 with a bit of a bang. In the meantime, please leave any comments or thoughts in the reviews. Thank y'all for sticking with me through this hiatus. I hope the rest of the story will make it worth it :)