Zootopia: Grind To Halt (WildeHopps)

Chapter 20 - The Frayed Ends Of Sanity

Judy sat on the side of Nick's bed, both silent. He was still muzzled, tied, and went from frightened to angry. He refused to talk to her, he was not going to talk to the girl who brought him here only to have him treated like he was a monster.

Which, like it or not, was true.

Nonetheless, it wasn't Judy he could be mad it, nor was he in any place to be mad at anyone for anything they ever did to him. Not after what he had done earlier tonight.

"Can you take this muzzle off Judy?" The fox asked, a sigh coming out of his tired voice. The bunny turned to him, and gently nodded.

Gently using her paws, she unclasped the metal clips round the back of his head, and the metal muzzle went slack on his jaws. Nick quickly ripped it off, tossing it to the side.

"You know they're coming to take us away, right?" Judy solemnly looked into his eyes, but Nick laughed like she had said a funny joke.

"Take me away? They're coming to kill us Judy, I know. The Death Force doesn't take anything lightly."

The rabbit sighed, and choked up a couple of tears. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

The fox shook his head. "It's not your fault Judy, this is all on me."

"Besides, I'm not going to die Judy."

The rabbit looked up confused, and her breath froze in her throat.

"Not if I can do anything about it."

Nick's muzzle began to crack, and the teeth had started elongate. It had begun.

¤¤¤

"Stu, do you really think we did the right thing?"

The bunny huffed, waiting by the door for the force to show up. "Course we did. Having a murderer in our house."

Bonnie gently breathed in, and let it out.

The house seemed to quiet.

Everything was quiet. The kids were off asleep, and nobody made a noise.

Then an explosion at the front door blew Stu away, and smacked against the fireplace. The front of the house crumbled in a flurry of woodchips and drywall, fire spreading everywhere.

They were trapped in the now bright orange living room, and more explosions rattled the house. From outside, the death force had no hesitation to immediately open fire on the house. Everything was painted with bright orange fire, and Stu found himself with a brilliant red leaking through a slit in his forehead.

"What the hell are they doing!" He screamed, before his blood froze to ice in his veins. The kids! They were probably trapped in the room!

¤¤¤

Judy was held hostage to her own fear, not only had Nick almost completed the terrifying pendulum that was his transformation, but the ZDF had opened fire on the household. Nick roared loudly above the flames, tube roof above them beginning to crumble the three story farm home.

The ropes on his arms snapped, and his legs ripped the ropes straight off the bed. Judy couldn't move, despite the horrible heat from the lashing flames, she was frozen solid in pure horror.

She was prepares to die when he lunged for her with a bloodcurdling roar.

But... It didn't come. Instead, he picked her up like a bride and slammed his heavy body through the wooden door frame, where the large creature grunted, and padded down the collapsing hallway roaring in pain with the flames lashing and searing its fur and flesh.

"Nick! Let me go!" Judy yelped, from the shelter his large body provided for her. What was weird, Nick seemed to have almost complete control over his form. He could think well, but couldn't speak. All that came out was gurgled roars and growls.

Nick broke through the hallway drywall, not caring for the razing pain that came from the flames and splinters, before crashing outside into the cool grass around the field. The Death Force was on the other side, luckily, and Nick placed Judy down.

He gave her a look of anxiety, even in his monstrous form, he seemed to be just as frightened as she was. He pointed his sharp clawed finger to the ground, motioning to stay put, before pushing back through the wall into the house.

"Nick!" Judy had screamed for him, but he had already ventured back into the orange and red blossoming house.
He knew what he had to do.

¤¤¤

"Hurry up kids!" Stu coughed, his lungs filled with ash, and face stinging with burning sparks. The children behind him were sobbing, frantic, and just about as responsive as a rock. They were petrified with the densest fear to be placed ever into their hearts, and the creaking, bulging roof above their heads didn't make them feel better.

"Bonnie! I got the kids!" Stu coughed, his dry eyes poking through the thick walls of smoke circling in the blackening house. He took ahold of his wife's hand, and led the family through the flames, into the living room, where the back door was only a few meters away.

Then the giant heavy wooden beam above them gave a final groan, and snapped with a sick splintering shriek.
Stu looked above his ears, and froze like his fluids turned to ice.

He and his family were going to die. Because a stupid decision he had made. Why was he always wrong? He told his daughter she'd never be a cop, and look where she was. He always regarded Foxes as cold blooded and evil, then he met the new leafed Gideon Grey. Then he made the final mistake of calling the fucking Zootopian Death Force.

He clutched Bonnie's hand, and within those short milliseconds, readied himself for death. It hit with a loud thump, the impact of the beam against strong, muscled flesh.

Wait.

Nothing had hit him, and the kids were still standing, all braced and ready for death. To Stu's ultimate surprise and horror, a giant six foot fox monster was holding the beam, arms and legs quaking, staring him deep in the eyes.

With a deformed voice, it sputtered, "RUN!"

That's exactly what Stu Hopps and his family did.

Run.