Zootopia: Secrets And Deception

Chapter 16. Confession

It was later that night, Judy went outside his room and down the hall to get a quick drink, before she said her good bye and goodnight to Nick. He rested his head back and began to close his eyes, before he heard something right next to him. Looking over at the nightstand at his right, and saw that it was a small box with a note on it, and beneath that was his phone.
"I forgot to give this back to along with your phone. I am truly sorry for this inconvenience. Signed, J." he read, and opened the box to find a ring. The ring. The one that he is going to give to Judy and ask her a question, before he was taken. As he gripped the box tightly, the door began to open and he shoved the box into his pocket so Judy wouldn't see. Nick wanted his question to be a surprise to her, and didn't want to spoil anything. Judy walked in and had brought water for the both of them, and sat down in the chair right next to Nicks' hospital bed. Even though she refused to leave, he persuaded Judy into going home to get a full nights rest because she had to go back to work tomorrow morning. He was still slightly in pain, the controlled doses he endured damaged his nerves, but not to the point of complete nerve loss or any loss. He didn't care, Judy was here and that is all he cared about before falling sound asleep.

That morning, Nick woke to find Judy asleep in the chair next to his bed, and looked at the clock to see that it was almost 7:30am.
"Carrots." He whispered softly, saying that word again made him realize just how much he missed saying that to her. "Carrots." He whispered again, this time a little louder, this time she opened her eyes. "Good morning, carrots." He said gently to her as she stretched. "It's almost half past seven, and I don't want you to be late for work." He added as he began to stretch as well.
"Well then, I guess I better go and get ready for work." She said as she stood, and kissed him suddenly on the cheek.
"You sly bunny." He said with a smirk.
"You dumb fox." She replied and began to walk towards the door.
"Have a great day, carrots. I love you." He added as she began to open the door and leave.
"I love you too. Goodbye, Nick." she said as she closed the door and headed for work. At least, that is what he wanted to say to her and to have happen, but he was asleep from the medication the doctors gave him. What they gave him had a drowsy effect, and made him sleep in until almost ten. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that Judy wasn't here, but gave a smile. Knowing that Judy was out there making the world a better place, and continuing the case they were both assigned on.
"Was Jeremiah the one who took them and if so, why?" he wondered to himself, before a nurse came in to check on him and see how he was doing. Unlike the other nurses, this one had a soft voice and a gentle touch that Nick saw as a gift for her to use, until the needles came that is. It was another one of the drugs that was needed, to repair any of the damage done by Jeremiahs venom. This one however, made him feel weird all over, as if his entire body went to sleep all at once. These effects only lasted a few minutes, but changed to almost like the effects from the venom lingered like ant bites, but not as painful.

Later that evening, Judy called the hospital to talk with Nick about her day, and was redirected to the room he was staying in. They talked for a few minutes, maybe an hour, they didn't know. It was like time had forgotten about them so they could talk to each other, and listened to what they said, until Judy had to go and drive home. Nick refused to let Judy talk, or text as she drove, he didn't want his favorite bunny to get into an accident and get hurt.
"I love you, Nick." Judy said as she began to walk out the ZPDs front doors.
"I love you too, Judy. Goodnight." Nick echoed.
"Goodnight." Came the response, and both hung up. Nick laid his bed back and began to close his eyes. He was almost asleep, when suddenly, the lights began to flicker in a violent way until they died, almost all at once. The room was dark and eerie, even the little window in the door was dark, like even the lights in the hallway had died. Nick was a little drowsy, but felt like a presence was in there, with him. It was a familiar presence, but he couldn't put a finger on it. Then out of the corner of his left eye, a shadow had appeared right next to him! He looked, but before he could speak.....
"Hello, Nickolas....." it was Jeremiah!
"W-what are you doing here? How did you get in here?" Nick asked with surprise in his voice, sprinkled with fear.
"I just came to check up on you to see how you were doing, but also to give you these." He answered as he placed two phones on the nightstand next to his bed.
"What are these for?" he Nick asked questionably.
"These phones, are a direct line to my personal phone and are completely untraceable, because they go off the dark network. Both you and Judy will be able to contact me and I you two." He explained as he took out his watch to check the time.
"Why would we want these?" Nick asked with a frown, staring at Jeremiah through his green eyes.
"Because you have questions. Questions that need answers, questions that go to a bigger puzzle than the both of you, and the entire ZPD could even comprehend." He said, dancing around his knowledge without giving anything away, and began to slither towards the door, but stopped. "Get better soon, Nickolas. You need every ounce of strength you have to survive a coming storm. Oh, and tell Judy I said hi, won't you?" Jeremiah said, before the lights suddenly came on high beam, blinding Nick for only a moment before the lights resumed their normal beams. Jeremiah had disappeared exactly how he appeared, this time he left a warning that was more believable, but was also unsettling towards Nick. It made him think deeper then he thought before, but it still didn't sit well and stuck in the back of his head like a headache. Then he glanced over at the phones, and saw a serpents head imprinted on both of them. It was a flip phone like the ones from a few years back, only these were designed to withstand an EMP.
"why would he need to proof it from an EMP?" Nick thought to himself, before nodding sound asleep.