The Lost Month

4

Judy was exhausted when she came into the station. Sleeping with an elevated leg wasn't the most comfortable thing ever. Due to the leg and the dream she had, Judy had a hard time going back to sleep. She slumped into her seat, waiting for roll call. Nick came in a little later, happy to see her.

"Mornin', Carrots!" he greeted. She grunted. He frowned. "Everything all right there?"

"I may or may not have had a nightmare last night," she sighed. "And the nightmare may or may not have been my missing memories." There was a pause.

"Do you remember any of it?" he asked.

"I remember being terrified," she said, "and seeing unidentifiable shapes. I remember screaming and being choked." She shook her head and put it in her paws. "I had a hard time falling back to sleep after that," she mumbled. Nick put his paw on her back. She looked up at him and smiled a little. He smiled back as Chief Bogo came in to the room.

Once again, Judy was stuck having to do desk work. Fortunately, she had an appointment with the doctor at the hospital within a week. As she sifted through the papers, something in the back of her head was trying to surface. She frowned and tried to help it. Maybe it's a missing memory. Suddenly, an explosion of images occurred in her head. Judy gasped as they flashed behind her eyes.

A shadow.

The dart.

Falling.

Darkness.

Judy panted. She just remembered how she got kidnapped. Judy fumbled for her crutches and went as fast as she could to her chief's office. She knocked and waited for him to open the door. When he did open it, he looked surprised.

"Officer Hopps, is everything all-"

"Sir!" she interrupted. "I just got a memory back!" He quickly closed the door.

"Should I call Wilde in here?" he asked.

"Yes," Judy answered, "he would want to hear this."

"A tranquilliser?" Nick repeated. Judy nodded. "And that's all you remember?"

"Yes."

"Did you see his face?" Nick asked.

"I did not," Judy answered, shaking her head.

"My question is how did he get in to your apartment?" Bogo added. "There was no forced entry. The window wasn't opened."

"Also, how did you not notice anything?" Nick asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I was tired when I got home, and I didn't notice anything out of place until I saw the shadow."

Nick's ears perked up. "The shadow," he said. "Describe the shadow." Judy thought for a bit before answering.

"Well," she started, slowly, "it was big and looked muscular." Pause. "Rounded ears." She knitted her eyebrows together. She sighed. "That's all I can remember."

"That's not a lot of information," Nick stated. "It could be any animal! A bear, a lion, a leopard. It's gonna be hard to find whoever did this."

"Yes, it will be," Bogo agreed, "but for now, resume what you both were doing." They nodded and left his office. Once outside of the office, Nick turned to Judy.

"I'm glad that you're starting to remember what happened," he said.

"Me, too." She smiled at him. "Once I regain all of my memories, we'll catch whoever was behind this and put them away forever." Nick chuckled.