Prey Can Go Savage

He's Coming For You Cole

Nick rolled around, attempting to get out of the bathtub full of Night Howler pellets.  Why did Cole have his bathtub full of these?  Couldn't he had stored them elsewhere, like in a drawer or in a bowl or somewhere other than the place he needed to shower!?  Nick pushed the thought away, finally climbing out of the tub and sprawling out across the floor.  He grabbed his walkie talkie and spoke,

"Judy, I...He..I am infected..D..Don't open..d...daahg!!" Nick dropped the device, grabbing his head in pain.  The Night Howlers were stained all across his red fur, staining in a dark purple.  This was too much.  Could being infected with multiple night howlers kill an animal, or would it send them into a much much more severe rampage?  Nick hissed, the pain overwhelming.  The last thought he had before his pupils dilated, was that Judy wouldn't be the one opening that door.  But no..Something else was inside Nick..Something that kept him from thinking about anything but hurting and killing..one animal.

The fox fell onto all fours, snarling, foam dripping from his mouth.

"Nick! Nick!Please answer!  What's happening to you!?  Where are you! We're on our way up right now! Hang on!" Came Judy's voice over the device. But the savage predator didn't understand, he just began clawing at the wooden door, hissing and snarling.

"Kill..Kill animals, devour their flesh..kill..kill..kill..kill..kill..kill...Kill...KILL...KILL THE SNOW LEOPARD.." Nick's thoughts ran through his mind, his only instinct to murder any animal that stepped in his way.  But a certain animal kept flashing in his mind, and he decided, that that's the animal he needed to murder.  Suddenly, banging on the door in front of his, causing his ears to perk up in curiosity.

"Nick, you in there!?" shouted a feminine voice. Nick hissed in return.

"Sounds like the idiots gone savage." said a deeper voice.

"He may have, I told him not to come here on his own!  But he didn't want to listen!" said the feminine voice once more.

"Ready your weapons, aim when I open the door." said the deep voice.  A small cry could be heard.

"You're not going to shoot him!  It's Nick!"  The fox's tail swished back and forth, his eyes staring at the ground.

"J...J-Ju-dy..." he muttered under his breath, before he winced in pain once more, snarling.

"Please.." Came the small voice.

"We're going to tranquilize him, he's savage.  He won't be able to control himself." The deep voice replied.

"J..Judy!" shouted Nick, before he scratched at his ears.  The Night Howlers were strong, and he felt the urge to kill.  But somehow, Nick could still feel a small, tiny bit of consciousness inside himself. 

"Nick! Sir, he just said my name!"

"Yes, I can hear."

"But Chief Bogo, if Nick just said my name, then he can't be effected by Night Howlers!"

"You've no idea about that.  Night Howlers are new to the world of science, and have barely been studied.  The effects it has on animals has only been looked into mildly." he said.

"But.."

"Open the door when I say." he said.

"One.."

"Two.."

"THREE!"

A wolf and a rhino opened the door, and a flailing Nick came launching out.  Chief Bogo aimed a tranquilizer, but Nick hit the ground, missing the dart by a mere inch.  The water buffalo cursed, reloading the gun.  Nick flung his claws, then, to their surprise, he stopped growling and hissing.  He turned to see a small rabbit, staring at him with fear and sadness.

"Nick.." she said, her ears lowered.

Judy never wanted to see him like this.  She had always had nightmares about that day, when he and her had brought justice to Bellwether and faked turning savage. Nightmares where, he wasn't just playing, and he had come forth, biting her neck and breaking it into two pieces, killing her.  But this time he wasn't faking..At least they would have more to talk about, considering they both knew what it was like to be affected by the Night Howlers.

Then, Nick did something no one expected.  The fox struggled, then stood up back on two legs.

"Nick!?" Judy gasped.

Nick ran forth, pushing the door outside of the apartment open, running into the hallway, running half on two feet, then falling back onto four.

"Stop him!!" Shouted Bogo, who had just re loaded the tranquilizer. Judy ran after Nick, the little rabbit sprinting as fast as she could.  She wasn't going to let him hurt anyone.  She didn't want him to have the same guilt that she and many other predators faced from hurting animals during their savage rampage.

The fox sprinted, heading for the door outside.  The savage predator had one animal in mind, the effects of the drug quickening his pace, improving his sense of smell.  He felt as though he could hear everything happening around him better than he ever could before.  His teeth yearned to tear into flesh, to rip apart an animal that had done him wrong.

"Nick! Where are you going!?  We're here to help you!" Shouted Judy.  But the fox ignored her, running outside into the cold air.  Some screams could be heard from the surrounding area outside, but Nick didn't attack anyone suddenly.  Judy opened the door, staring at the fox, who was standing in the street, huffs of air coming out of his mouth, seeing his breath in the cold air.  His fur stood up, the fox was drooling.

"Nick..Please.."

"Move, Hopps, I need a clear shot." Bogo came around with his gun, pointing it at Nick.  But Judy hesitated, then put her paw up.

"Wait.." She pleaded.

"No, move."

"But Sir,.."

"Move, rabbit!" he shouted, aiming his gun.  Judy hopped up, pushing the gun away from Nick, sending the dart into the nearby wall.  The water buffalo howled in anger, glaring at the rabbit.

"What the HELL are you doing Officer Hopps!?"

"Look at Nick!  He's acting strange!  He's acting..different than a normal animal would on those drugs."

"It doesn't matter, he's going to hurt someone!"

"But wait, where's he going!?" Judy pointed.

Nick was sniffing the ground, then looked straight forward, then jumped, running into a full sprint.  Judy never seen the fox run so fast.

"Nick, come back!" She hollered, before following after him.

Chief Bogo let out a huff of air, before signaling to the wolf and rhino officer who were just coming down the stairs.

"Found a bathtub full of Night Howlers, Sir." said the wolf.  The rhino nodded in agreement, then handed over a small gray wallet.

"We also found this.  It has a drivers license of a snow leopard named Cole, age, 23, gender, male.  We believe this is the home of the predator who's family was murdered a few months ago by the four prey animals." said the rhino.

Bogo took the wallet in his hooves, scanning over the picture of the cat. He was smiling slightly, but still had a glare in his eyes.

"So..This is the mammal who targeted Officer Hopps yesterday?"

"We believe so Sir, didn't she say it was a snow leopard?"

"Yes.  And Wilde has found him...Hm...I think I have an idea on where that fox is heading...Pack up, we're following that fox."