Zootopia: Secrets And Deception

Chapter 20. Ghosts and Dreams

"Judy!" Nick shouted as he leaped up and attempted to attack this black creature, but it kicked him back down and released this cloud of dark smoke, and disappeared. Nick then got back up, while holding his stomach, and ran to Judy who was still laying on the table! He came up and touched her face making her gasp and lean forward so suddenly, that Nick fell back down. The lights then came back on, and as she leaned forward, she then heard a ripping sound from her shirt and looked down, noticing that the dagger had missed her only by a few short centimeters from her side. "Are.....are you okay, Judy?" Nick asked as he got back up, still holding his stomach and looked in her eyes, with the most worried and concerned look he has ever given her. Judy was holding her neck from the pain of it being held so tightly, but it was a relieving pain of it being released.
"I'm.....I'm fine, Nick. But.....but what was that thing?" she asked him as he helped her down, gently.
"I don't know, I had just gotten past the doorway when it struck me a couple of times before launching me into that wall." He replied as he hugged her, and noticed that the dagger was pinning a letter on the table. "What is this?" he asked with concern as he reached over and removed the dagger from their table, and handed the letter over to Judy.
"I don't know, but it said that 'Jeremiah sends his regard's!' So whatever it is, it can't be good." She replied as they both sat down, she didn't want to open it, but knew she didn't have a choice, and she opened the letter with her pocket knife and started reading it while Nick was examining the dagger.

"Dearest Judy, I warned you of what will happen. I gave you a choice, but now I see that you have denied my mercy and have activated the code on his wrist. My virus has now delivered me all of your information and hacked into every system in the ZPD. I now see that there can be no more mercy in a world of pain and suffering. You've had your chance, now it's time to pay the price for your denial of it all! Because of this, Nickolas will break! I promise. Sincerely, Jeremiah." Judy read the note left here by the unknown assailant.....by the messenger. Nick looked over at her and saw that she had tears in her eyes, and her hand over her mouth.
"What's wrong, carrots?" He asked and was handed the note as she walked over to the window, and looked out at the city, now draped in a darkened blanket of the night sky, but their sight was limited due to the climate control walls. Nick was also stunned by this, a threat and a promise both issued by Jeremiah himself. "What do we do now?" He asked as he got up and looked out the window and stood right behind her.

She was about to answer him, until the climate control walls erupted into flames and debris, and collapsed upon those traveling home from a long night from work! She shockwave began to shatter windows, move cars, and knock animals to the cold, hard ground that they were walking upon! It shattered their window and knocked them backwards onto the floor, and left their ears ringing! Judy had fallen on top of Nick, who broke her fall and was just shocked upon this happening. As they sat up, she was in tears as her hearing began to come back, and listened to the sound of cries and screams of all Zootopia. Nick was shocked and felt like this was a bad dream that he would wake up from, or if this even happened.
"W-we need to find Jeremiah, and stop whatever else he has planned!" she said with confidence, still shaken up from the shockwave and ran in the other room where they had left all their gear, and began to put them on before they got into their parked patrol car, and drove out towards the collapsed walls.
"The first responders are going to need all the help they can get." Nick said softly as he loaded his weapon, and checked his clips while she drove.
"What do you remember about the room you were held in?" Judy suddenly asked as she drove down towards the walls, lights and sirens blazing.
"Not much, other than the air being warm and smelled hot. Almost like something big was burning yet not burned up? The room itself was almost like how a warehouse is built for, it was reinforced with steel beams and had a lot of wooden boxes and crates. The lights were yellowed and was dark except for the one above me." He answered as he put on his gloves so he can lift or break anything to get anyone out that is trapped beneath the ruble. "But what's that got to do with anything?" he asked with a puzzling look on his face.
"Jeremiah has to have a base of operations or something, right? I'm thinking of a warehouse or a certain type of Plant. Something out in the open that no one expects or suspects." She replied as they made a left and had the collapsed walls in sight, but they weren't prepared for the horrors they saw. The walls were burning the debris, the cars, and those that were walking underneath before it erupted. Some of the first responders were over by a trash can, and throwing up. Some of the bodies they saw were almost whole, while others couldn't be identified as to what kind of animal they are.....or were. They had all the ambulances and even had some civilian's make it to where their cars can transport those that are still alive, still breathing, and survived the collapse. As they pulled up, Judy noticed that something was wrong with this. Some of the animals that were trying to help, were getting attacked by some of these that were either trapped or were trying to transport! The ones that are attacking were down on all fours, like they had gone savage! Just as they got out of their vehicle, a first responder opened fire and struck one of these savage animals that was now laying on the ground.
"Hold your fire!" she shouted as she ran towards the scene.
"We need to apprehend those gone savage, while forming a perimeter around the wreckage!" a voice responded on the other side of the walls. It sounded like it was chief Bogo!
"Chief?" Nick called out as he drew his weapon.
"Wilde, is that you?" he asked as he looked through the growing flames.
"Yes, both I and Judy are here to help. What are your orders?" he asked.
"Form a perimeter on that side and protect the firefighters so they can put this fire out!" he answered as he began to fire his weapon.
"Sir, yes sir!" Judy replied, and began calling for reinforcements as the firefighters drove up and started drenching the flames.
"Rubber bullets only! We need these alive!" Bogo added, and they switched clips from live rounds, to rubber ones. It will still hurt them, but it won't kill them.

There was so many of the attackers, and they were coming from every direction. What surprised both Judy and Nick was that they were different species of animals, some were in the predator category, and others were prey. Just then an attacker.....a Bengal tiger, leaped at Judy and pinned her to the ground, and tried to bite her in the throat! But Nick grabbed him and threw him off of her, while using his Taser to subdue him, and dropped him to the ground.
"Thank you Nick." she said as she got up and continued to protect these firefighters. Just then a window of a parked car was broken and set off the alarm, they turned to see a cheetah with a gazelle break into a parked car and began to hotwire it. "ZPD, stop!" Judy shouted as she ran towards the vehicle, before to came alive and drove off. Nick then raised his gun to try and shoot out the tires of it, but Judy stopped him. "Wait, Nick! I think that's Gazelle!" she shouted as she looked right into his eyes.
"Gazelle? Why didn't she stop, and who was that cheetah that was with her?" he asked as he lowered his weapon.
"I don't know, Nick. Clawhouser told me that her captor was a cheetah, he protected her from getting shot on stage, but he didn't call anyone for a ransom." She answered as the fire on the walls began to die, and the smoke began to clear. Bogo and his team had managed to capture several savage animals, while Nick and Judy had captured a few. Altogether they had captured almost forty, and that was the number of those that were missing in their case, hours before the blackout!

After they transported all those that were trapped and still alive, and those that attacked the responders to solitary confinement in the hospital for study, and to get an antidote for their savageness.
"What caused them to go savage in the first place?" Nick asked Judy as they stood behind the one-way glass in the hospitals solitary area, away from all those that weren't savage.
"I don't know, maybe the explosion was laced with those Night Howlers so it could cause this?" She guessed as they injected the serum into the tiger that attacked her, but it didn't work and they injected him again and again, but it still didn't work. He was still savage! Both stood there with puzzling yet fearing expressions on their faces, for the animals that are savage, none of which can be cured by the Night Howler antidote and knew that the answer.....or better yet, the cure for this, lies with Jeremiah!