Zootopia: Secrets And Deception

Chapter 8. Adventure

That morning, Judy had gotten up earlier than usual, but had a good reason too. She grabbed a thermos that she filled with coffee, and salad for her early morning breakfast. After she was done with her salad, she took a shower to help wake herself up, and to calm her nerves from Jeremiahs message.
"Bring me the box and key, or you will never see Nickolas alive again." His voice ringing in her ears like a bad headache, and couldn't get it out.

After an hour, Judy grabbed her coat, gear, and badge and proceeded out the door. Thankfully the ZPD gave her another patrol car, except this one could go off-road. Judy had the coordinates locked in her GPS, started the vehicle, and drove to the bridge.

When she arrived, part of it was still taped off due to the chaos that erupted three weeks ago, but the painful memories that still lingered on the other side of the tape was crawling back inside. Trying to make her cry, trying to bring back the fear, and she noticed the ground where their car was before it too erupted in nothing but flames and debris. Tears began forming at the sight of the black stained ground, but she sucked it up. "Nick is still alive, that is all that matters, and I have to get him back." She whispered to herself and went passed the tape.

It was a few minutes of combing the area of anything, but there was nothing on the bridge. "It could be underneath?" she thought to herself, and went to the edge. She looked around, but saw only what she found on the bridge. Nothing. Until Judy saw a boat tied to the side of a bank, and an idea sparked inside. "I can use that boat to go completely underneath this bridge." She thought to herself, went back to her car, grabbed some gear, and made her way towards it.

It was a small boat, not large enough to hold two people, but big enough for Judy. She stepped inside and it began rocking back and forth, almost causing her to lose balance and fall in, but she steadied herself and sat down. It creaked and groaned against the waves, the water was cold as she stuck her hand in the water. She was now under the bridge, and tied the boat to the side of the bank, and began climbing the middle support beam. Judy didn't find anything, but used her binoculars to look down all the other poles to her right. There was nothing to her right, not even a small clue. Looking to her left, she saw only the bridge wall. "Wait, what is that?" she thought to herself as she noticed something carved in one of the bricks. Judy climbed down and made her way to the wall, and dusted the brick it off. It had the same symbol that led her to this bridge, and started hitting it, and began to fall apart when she did so. It was a mixture of weak limestone and sand disguised as a brick.

After she had cleared all the limestone, Judy shined her flashlight inside the hole and noticed a something wrapped in a cloth, and retrieved it. Climbing down and rowed back to the place where this boat was and tied it up. It was half past two by the time she got back to her car, Judy was exhausted from all the climbing and exploring, but felt as if she had accomplished something. "Could I have found the final piece, or just another to this puzzle?" she thought as she drove home.

When she opened her door, almost instantly she unwrapped the cloth and found a small box. It was the type that held jewels or precious stones of different varieties. Except this one was see-through and held not jewels or stones, but a lens. "A lens?" she thought feeling frustrated for just a moment. It was a glass lens with a silver, metal ring protecting the glass inside. Carefully opening the box and taking out the lens, the glass was a little dirty, but tried to shine her flashlight through it. But nothing appeared on the walls, and then sat down at her desk where the key was sitting. Carefully examining the lens in front of her lamp, she noticed the key in front of her and remembered the notch in the side of it, and placed the lens inside. "Now let's see what happens." She said to herself and turned on her flashlight. Almost instantly, numbers and symbols disappeared or changed color. The one symbol that was where she found this lens changed color to red. But some of the others disappeared except for five others. Only three more symbols were on the key, and she decided to mark the different ones that aren't on it.

After a few more minutes, Judy looked at her watch and saw that it was half past nine. "I guess I took longer than I thought." She said to herself, and decided it was time to get ready for bed. She was a little tired from all the climbing and running around from the day, thankfully Jeremiah gave her an entire week so she had time to search for the box, and rest in-between each day. But still hated him, taking Nick, threatening her, and forcing her to accept his deal. Suddenly, her phone buzzed because she had gotten another message, but from who? Pulling it out of her pocket, and seeing it was from Clawhouser.
"We have identified Gazelles captor. His name is James FastTrack, and delivers some packages with 'ZedEx', doesn't own a car, but runs everywhere because he is part cheetah. The doctors diagnosed him with a rare disorder that caused his body to grow more muscles than most animals. 70% more in his legs, 30% more in his arms and body. It only happens once in every one-million animals, plus he heals faster than most too." She read.
"Thanks for the update, Clawhouser." She typed back, before heading for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and she needed her rest, but she couldn't sleep. Nick was on her mind, the thought of what Jeremiah could do to him was unbearable. "What if I fail? What if I run out of time, or can't find the box? Will he be merciful?" she thought, but didn't know that the answer was coming, sooner than she realized.

Nick was so tired, but couldn't fall asleep. Everything Jeremiah said to him made fear come creeping into every corner of his mind. Fear of Judys' safety, and watching the very thing he feared most, but that wasn't the only thing keeping him awake. The cut on his head finally stopped bleeding, the bullet wound was almost dry, but his wrists and arms hurt from being suspended in handcuffs. He was weak, hungry, and thirsty, but tried to stay strong.

Just then the door creaked open, and a light shone across the floor. "Great, what does he want now?" Nick thought to himself, but it wasn't Jeremiah coming into the room. As he raised his head, he saw that it was a young girl, a wolf, carrying a small platter filled with some food and a water bottle. "Hello?" Nick asked, but didn't get an answer. She set the platter on the table just a little to his right. "What is your name?" he asked, but still didn't get an answer. She brought over the water bottle to his mouth so he could drink.
"Jeremiah didn't want you to get dehydrated, or die before he hands you back over." Whoever or whatever spoke so suddenly, it made Nick choke on the water. The voice sounded metallic and deep, but it was the tone that could bring authority and respect in any room, but Nick couldn't find the person this voice went to. "That is, if Judy can bring everything he wants." He laughed.
"I'm guessing you're his bodyguard, or servant?" Nick said.
"I'm just here making sure you don't do anything stupid." He answered. Just then, the girl brought a spoon filled with blueberries to his mouth, and he ate. "Jeremiah said blueberries are your favorite fruit." It spoke again.
"How.....how does he know that?" Nick demanded, almost choking again.
"Jeremiah will explain everything to you in good time. Right now, you need to build your strength back up. He always loves to see a good fight in his prisoners. Always." It said, then silence. Nick continued to eat the food and drink the water provided by his enemies. Even though Jeremiah threatened the one he loved, and is holding himself hostage. "How does he know that?" Nick thought to himself. Just then, the girl held up a piece of paper. A word was written on it even though it was faded, "Myriam." He read. "Your name is Myriam?" he asked softly. Looking into her eyes with the most beautiful sky-blue eyes Nick has ever seen, she nodded. "That's a lovely name, Myriam. Mine is Nick." he said. Smiling, but then she turned away to remove the empty platter and water bottle, Nick then noticed that she was wearing a collar. Not just any collar, but the kind that can deliver a severe shock when being punished. Only this one was military grade, and was made with Kevlar with a solid steel electronic lock. It was near unbreakable, so none could remove it with force. Only by a remote with a DNA and a six digit code can unlock and disable it. "She must be a slave to Jeremiah, making sure she doesn't try to escape." He thought. Nick began to drowse off shortly after Myriam left, even though his wrists still hurt, he felt a little stronger. "Must be the blueberries." He laughed to himself before giving in to sleep.