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Chapter 2: Aftermath

Lily huddled in the warehouse with her remaining officers. They were fortunate that the

nights were still warm, but they stayed close for comfort as much as warmth. Lily had been

completely unprepared for the vicious attack on the police station. They'd been overwhelmed by

the pack of dogs, and Lily had been forced to flee with as many as she could. It was all she

could do to get a handful away. Lily glanced toward the sleeping form of the ginger cat beside

her, her stripes gray in the silver moonlight that filtered through the high, small windows of the

warehouse: at least she'd gotten Katya away.

However, the raid on the station had only been the beginning of the attack. Lily had led

the others to her home only to find it broken into, the door kicked in. Nothing much inside had

been disturbed, but that hadn't been important. Their attackers knew where they lived! They'd

hurried to each of the off-duty officers' houses and were lucky to save several more, but other

houses they found broken into and empty with signs of struggle. In one house, the home of a

groundhog named Bert, they'd found his bedroom splattered with blood and strewn with his fur.

Proceeding to check the homes of on-duty officers with families, they'd been relieved to find

them shaken by the dogs' recent intrusion but unharmed. That had been until they'd visited

Meredith's home. Meredith was a marmot, and they'd found no trace of her husband. They'd

also found that the wife and children of one of the missing officers, a fox squirrel named Patrick,

had been taken. After that, they'd prioritized prey's homes and had been able to rescue a few. It

hadn't been easy for Lily to explain when their spouse or parent hadn't been present, and some

had wanted to stay in case they came back. However, Lily had managed to pressure the prey

into coming with her and the other officers.

So now they were hiding. They didn't know what the dogs wanted other than to kill them.

Lily knew she should try to sleep, but she was fraught with guilt. She should have been able to

prevent this! She should have been able to protect those under her! As she often had in the past

two years, Lily regretted ever having applied for the position of police chief. She'd been

inexperienced, only a few years out of the academy, but she'd also been ambitious.

And then there was Chief White. Chief White, a muscular tom cat with appropriately

stark white fur, had been the Maplesburg police chief before Lily. He'd been a tough boss, one

with no time for foolish mistakes or insolence, but he'd also believed in Lily. He'd seen the

potential she knew she had and supported her initiative even when other senior officers had

scoffed at her naiveté. Lily could still visualize the pride in his yellow-green eyes when he'd

promoted her to lieutenant.

Then he'd taken that bullet during the shootout with a gang of human traffickers, human

human traffickers; no other species was depraved enough to engage in the sale of other

vertebrates, let alone their own species. He'd died in the hospital the next day. Lily had been

heartbroken, but she hadn't let the loss hold her back. She'd make Chief White proud. Even if

nothing of the fierce cat existed anymore, she'd do what he would have wanted, so she applied

for the position.

In any sane world, she wouldn't have gotten it; she was far too inexperienced, but the

Duchess had taken an interest in her application. The vixen had seen Lily's potential too, or

that's what Lily had thought when the Duchess accepted her application. That was until she met

the fox, until the Duchess told her that justice was a lie, that she was a puppet, that nothing

mattered except her desires, which were to torture and murder prey. And Lily would help her,

would cover up her monstrous acts. Lily had wanted to object, but how could she? This was the

way things were, how they'd always been. She'd simply been too naive to see. And so Lily

agreed.

It broke her. All of her desire to protect the innocent and bring down the guilty was

stripped away because it was all a lie. Her purpose was to protect the Vulpinevan order, no

matter how sick and twisted it was. If only she hadn't applied for the position, she could have

remained naive a little bit longer.

Lily shook away the brooding regret. The fact was she was the chief of police. It was her

responsibility to figure out what to do. She needed to find out what the dogs were after and how

to stop them. But for now, she needed to rest. Lily turned onto her side on the flattened

cardboard boxes they'd found to cover the cement floor and wrapped her arm over the ginger

cat. She would keep Katya safe. She would keep them all safe, and she would find a way to

thwart these vicious hounds. Lily closed her eyes, and at last she was able to fall asleep.

* * *

The early dawn light was filtering through the grimy windows when Lily awoke. She was

still tired, but she didn't know how much longer they should stay here. Sitting up, she glanced

down at Katya beside her then around at the other dozen officers with her: Joel, Clover, David,

Meredith, Hunter, Matthias, Zeta, Theresa, Chris, Flint, Gloria, and Lance. Besides her and

Katya, they were two other cats (one tuxedo cat and one a silver tabby), a black squirrel, a

prairie dog, two river otters, a raccoon, a badger, a muskrat, two rabbits (one white with black

splotches and the other brown and white), and a marmot. These were the officers she'd saved.

Flint--the black squirrel--was curled up with his wife and two kids, who were all the typical gray.

Matthias--the muskrat--was holding his black rat girlfriend. Clover--the brown and white

rabbit--was next to her hare husband, and Zeta--the white and black splotched rabbit--was

next to another doe (this one lop-eared and light brown) who might have been her partner or

only her flatmate. Zeta hadn't said, and Lily hadn't asked. Many of the carnivore officers had

families too, but Lily had decided they were safer staying where they were since those they'd

reached after the dogs had described only a cursory search. Finally, their group included a

family of brown rats, the husband and children of Lynda, who hadn't escaped from the station

with Lily, and the teenage children of Mike, a fisher who also hadn't escaped the station. The

fishers might have been safer on their own, but Lily hadn't wanted to leave the young carnivores

alone.

Lily stood, and Gloria, one of the otters, quickly scrambled to her feet as well.

"Should I wake the others, Chief?" Gloria hissed under her breath.

Lily nodded. They needed to start working out what to do about these dangerous

hounds--the fact they'd mostly been wolves and coyotes didn't stop Lily from thinking of them

as hounds--and perhaps before that, find somewhere to eat and use the bathroom. They would

all be hungry after racing around most of the night, and while some of them had relieved

themselves in a corner of the warehouse, Lily didn't like to leave a mess. Perhaps they could

find a café or grocery that was open early.

Lily was trying to figure out what might be near their location on the East side of

downtown when she was startled by distant gunshots. She raced to the door and furtively

peeked out. At first, she wasn't certain what she was seeing: the orange and yellow dawn sky

was darkened with a low, dense cloud. It took a moment before Lily was able to make out the

flapping shapes that composed the cloud: birds. That must be nearly every bird in the city! More

gunshots sounded, and Lily saw a couple of the birds plummet from the sky. However, the cloud

rose higher and higher and, heading South, was soon out of range. What is going on?!

Lily returned to the group, who were standing and stretching with groans of discomfort

after the night on the hard floor. "Does anyone know what's going on?!" She demanded. "First,

we're attacked, then our homes, and now it looks like every bird just evacuated the city!"

"Don't you know?!" one of the teenage fishers inquired incredulously.

Lily glared at him dangerously, "If I knew, I wouldn't have asked," she growled.

"It was on the radio! The terrorists attacked the police and City Hall! They want prey

rights to be suspended!"

Lily frowned, "'They want prey rights to be suspended?' What does that mean?"

"It means they want to eat us!" the brown rat--Lynda's husband--squeaked shrilly. "M-

my grandfather always said we couldn't trust carnivores! He said they'd decide to start eating us

again!"

A few of the carnivores shifted uncomfortably.

"No one here is planning to eat you," Lily snapped. "If that's what they want, then they're

insane! They caught us off guard before, but we'll handle these lunatics!"

She looked around at her officers with an expression of confidence that belied her inner

doubt. How many of them are there? They want to eat prey? The memory of Jason desperately

trying to convince her carnivore cults were real back at the academy flashed through her mind.

She'd dismissed his 'evidence' as ridiculous conspiracy, but perhaps he'd been right. Were their

attackers members of such a cult?

"The first thing we need to do is figure out how many there are and where they're

hiding," Lily declared. "But before that, we need to take care of ourselves. We can't fight on

empty stomachs."

"W-what are you going to eat?" the brown rat whimpered.

Lily gave him a disdainful look, "Food. There must be a grocery or restaurant or

something around."

"There's a Buukomart on East Fifteenth Street," Flint answered.

Lily nodded; the supermarket would have anything they needed.

"I-is it safe to go out?" the lop-eared brown rabbit squeaked nervously.

Zeta took her hand. "Chief Schulz will keep us safe," she comforted.

Zeta's confidence in her bolstered Lily's own confidence. She had thirteen officers with

her, all armed. Protecting the civilians would make things more difficult, but it was nothing they

couldn't handle. They wouldn't be caught unprepared again. Next time, they'd have the element

of surprise! "We'll keep together and be careful," she decided.

Lily turned back toward the door and led them out onto the asphalt loading area in front

of the warehouse. She glanced back to make sure they were all following then glanced up and

down the street: no one was about. They were on a small side street off of East 17th Street, but

the Buukomart was several blocks away. Lily let Flint take the lead since he seemed to know

the area best and fell back beside Katya.

"Are you doing alright?" Lily murmured.

"Yes, Ma'am," Katya answered uncomfortably.

Lily held back a wince. Ever since the disaster with Jason and his obnoxious rabbit,

Katya had been standoffish around Lily. Katya didn't know what had happened, but Lily

assumed she blamed her to some extent for the cat and rabbit's disappearance. After all, they

might not have been involved if Lily had agreed to take the cases that had led them to the

Duchess. Katya couldn't know what had really happened or why Lily had wanted to let those

cases go cold. Lily couldn't tell her how she'd tried to stop the private inspectors from stumbling

to their doom, but Katya's coolness toward her hurt. Lily felt a special connection with the ginger

cat; she had all of Lily's former naiveté as well as an innate kindness that perhaps Lily had

never had. Lily didn't want her to be hurt. She wanted to protect her from the hideousness of the

world, but the world seemed determined to reveal its grotesque visage to Katya no matter Lily's

intentions.

"If you need to talk, I'm always available," Lily murmured.

Katya nodded once before stepping up her pace to walk by Theresa, the silver tabby.

Lily fell back beside Hunter and Gloria. Unlike the smaller cats, the otters were roughly Lily's

size.

"What's the plan, Chief?" Gloria inquired.

"Like I said, we need information," Lily replied. "We can't devise a counter strike until we

know what we're up against."

"What about the Mayor and City Council?" Hunter asked.

"What about them? I don't think they're going to be much help."

"I heard the rats say they're being held hostage," Hunter replied.

Lily flicked her short tail in annoyance. Why has no one told me this?! "I see. Well, if

what Lynda's husband said about the hounds eating prey is true, we don't have much of a

choice. A handful of politicians versus who knows how many prey?"

Hunter nodded. "I see what you mean."

Lily continued to walk beside the otters. Their short strides were more a waddle than a

walk, causing their thick tails to wave back and forth behind them. They were passing through a

residential area when they heard a scream of terror.

Lily snapped into action, "Gloria, Hunter, keep the civilians safe. The rest of you with

me!"

She turned and dashed toward the source of the scream, the rapid padding of the other

officers' feet close behind her. Lily heard growling voices ahead and slowed, motioning toward

the gray-sided house in front of them on the left side of the street. They hurried into the yard,

and Lily crept around the house with the others behind her, listening carefully for the threatening

voices. A voice issued from across the side street that intersected the road they'd been traveling

down.

"P-please don't! W-we can pay! We'll give you anything!" someone squeaked fearfully.

"There's nothing we want more than your sweet flesh," a second voice growled

tauntingly in reply. "Be a good rodent and call the rest out, or we'll burn it down with you inside."

"I-I won't!"

A third voice snarled, "It'll be a lot worse if you don't give up! Surrender yourselves, and

we'll make your deaths quick!"

"No!"

A wordless snarl was followed by a rodent's squeal of pain.

Lily turned toward her officers and withdrew her handgun from her belt. They did

likewise. Lily jerked her head towards the voices and dashed to the next house on their side of

the street. She crept around the back until, peering around the side, she could see two coyotes,

both wearing black vests, in front of a two story house with pale green siding just across the

street. One of the coyotes was holding up a thirteen-striped ground squirrel. The coyote had one

hand around the squirrel's neck while the other toyed with the handle of a knife on his belt.

"Call them out, or I'll make you scream until they beg for us to kill you," the coyote

holding the squirrel growled.

The squirrel gurgled around the coyote's tight grip on his neck.

With another jerk of her head, Lily charged to the edge of the street, pointing her gun at

the back at the coyote holding the squirrel. Her officers flanked her on both sides, also aiming at

the coyotes.

"What's that?" the coyote taunted. "Are you rea-"

"Drop him and put your hands on your heads!" Lily yowled.

The coyotes jerked around toward them, and their eyes shot wide in surprise. The one

with the squirrel dropped him, and he landed on all fours before scampering inside.

"I thought we took care of the pigs," the other coyote growled under her breath to her

companion.

"On the ground. Keep your hands where I can see them!" Lily ordered.

The coyotes reluctantly complied, eyeing the police loathingly. Both were armed with

guns and knives on their belts, but trying to go for them would have been suicide with so many

guns trained on them.

Lily stalked over to them with the rest of her officers. She stopped a few paces from the

male, keeping her gun pointed at his head.

"Cuff and muzzle them! Take away their toys!" Lily commanded. "Flint, keep your eye on

the other!"

The black squirrel guarded the female coyote, who glared death his direction despite his

gun pointed at her head.

"You aren't going to win," the female coyote growled at him. "You've kept us as slaves

long enough. Soon others will see. There will be too many for you pigs."

"Shut up!" Lily snarled.

Once the coyotes were handcuffed, disarmed, and muzzled, Lily left Joel, the tuxedo cat,

in charge of the male coyote and went to knock on the door of the house. After a minute, the

door opened but with the safety chain still in place. A thirteen-striped ground squirrel--Lily

thought he was the same one--peeked out.

"I-I recognize you. Y-you're the ch-chief of police, right?" he stammered.

Lily nodded.

"I-I thought the terrorists attacked the police."

"They did. They didn't get all of us."

"A-are they dead?"

Lily frowned, "No, we didn't have to kill them, but we have them under control. It's safe

for you to come out. I want to ask you some questions."

The ground squirrel nodded hesitantly but then closed the door and, undoing the safety

chain, opened it enough to step outside. He stared fearfully at the bound coyotes. "W-what are

you going to do with them?"

It was something Lily hadn't had time to think about. They couldn't let them go, and they

didn't have anywhere to put them. They couldn't take them back to the station until they had it

resecured. "I don't know. Do you know somewhere we could put them?"

"You sh-should put them in a hole! They were going to eat us!"

"That's not how we do things," Lily growled warningly.

The squirrel flinched. "I-I, I just thought-"

"I understand, but we don't just shoot people."

"W-we, uh, we have a cellar out back."

"Would they fit?" It was a squirrel's cellar after all.

"I-I think so. It's big, but we might have to widen the door."

Lily nodded. "If you don't mind. Do you have any rope? I want to make sure they can't

get away."

The squirrel nodded rapidly, "Y-yes, I'll get it!" He dashed back inside.

A few minutes later he returned with two more ground squirrels and two coils of rope.

Lily motioned for them to give the rope to her officers, and her officers began to bind the coyotes

more securely. They wouldn't be running off any time soon.

"When you're done take off the cuffs and muzzles in case we need them again and drag

them around back," Lily instructed.

The first squirrel instructed the others to widen the door to the cellar, and they scurried

behind the pale green house.

"What do you know about what's going on?" Lily inquired.

The ground squirrel looked at her confusedly, "Don't you know? I've only heard what's

been on the radio."

"We spent the night in an old warehouse, no radio, and it's not like there's anyone to

communicate with us from the station," Lily explained.

"O-okay, um, last night they said the terrorists attacked the police and took the Mayor

and City Council hostage. They said they want to suspend prey rights."

Lily nodded in acknowledgement, "So much I've heard. Anything else?"

"Um, early this morning, they reported they'd also taken the Duchess hostage. I guess

they mean the Duchess of Gooseberry."

Shit. That actually was a problem. Lily could sacrifice the politicians; they didn't matter.

She couldn't sacrifice the vixen. Or maybe this is my chance to be rid of that monster! Lily didn't

know what the consequences would be for getting the Duchess killed. She would almost

certainly lose her job. She might go to jail. It would be worth it! The vixen had taken advantage

of Lily, made her do horrible things, forced her to leave her former lover, a cat she'd still cared

about, to be tortured. If anyone deserved to die, it was the Duchess. The only justice is in

injustice. Lily's eyes drifted over to watch the coyotes being dragged back to the cellar by her

officers. Maybe we should shoot them.

"Uh, Officer?" the squirrel interrupted Lily's brooding.

Lily looked back into the squirrel's fearful eyes. "Thank you. I want you to know we're

doing everything we can to stop these murderers," she tried to calm him.

"I-I think the prey should evacuate! I saw the birds go this morning," the squirrel

responded.

"I saw that too, but I assume they have the roads blocked, and that many people on foot

would be certain to catch their notice. I think it's best to lie low. We'll sort this out."

"Th-there are tunnels!"

Lily blinked, "Tunnels? What are you talking about?"

The ground squirrel looked at her nervously, "I, uh, I don't know if I should tell you."

Lily gave him a baffled look, "You know who I am! We just rescued you! If it's important,

you need to tell me!" she demanded.

"Y-you're a carnivore. Carnivores aren't supposed to know," the squirrel whined.

Lily turned around to address her officers, who had returned from the backyard, "Does

anyone else know what he's talking about? Tunnels somewhere?"

No one offered an answer for several seconds. They looked at each other and shrugged.

Lily was about to turn back to the ground squirrel when Flint stepped forward.

"I know about them, Chief."

Lily waited for him to elaborate, but the black squirrel said no more. "Go on," she

prompted.

"Only prey are allowed to know," he stated embarrassedly. "I'm sorry, Chief. You're a

bobcat."

Lily stared at him in disbelief. She felt anger bubbling to the surface, but she tried to

push it down. Flint was a loyal officer. She could reason with him. "I'm trying to help, Flint," she

urged. "You can't even tell your commanding officer? You know I want to help. If this could save

lives, I need to know about it."

Flint glanced nervously at the other prey in their group. Lily wondered how many knew

and didn't want to admit it.

"You can trust Chief Schulz, Flint," Zeta soothed.

"Do you know?" Lily asked her.

The white and black rabbit shook her head, "If I did, I'd tell you. I know you're a predator

I can trust. I trust you with my life."

Lily was warmed by her confidence. She glanced back to Flint, who shuffled his feet

embarrassedly.

"A-alright, but this is a secret. There's a network of tunnels under Maplesburg, not only

under Maplesburg, under every major city that existed before, uh, before we had lab meat."

Lily's eyes widened in surprise. Her short tail flicked excitedly. "And it's been a secret

that long?" It was hard to believe no one had discovered them in the past two hundred and fifty

years or before then for that matter.

"W-well, they weren't exactly a secret at the time. Carnivores didn't know where they

were exactly, but they knew they existed."

"What were they for?" Lily inquired curiously.

"For prey to get in and out of the city. They-"

"I didn't think prey lived in our cities before we had lab meat," Lily interrupted.

"They didn't, but we, uh, the prey at the time still wanted to trade with predators. It's, um,

hard to make certain things when you have to hide. Some brave prey would sell what we could

make to get the things we needed. They transported their wares through the tunnels and up into

shops."

"How do you run a shop when the first person to come by might eat you and take

everything you were selling?" Lily asked curiously. She hadn't learned about this in history

class, which made sense if it was all supposed to be secret, but she was trying to wrap her mind

around the idea of merchant prey selling goods in a city full of predators who'd like to eat them.

"They, uh, there were some friendly predators, well, not exactly friendly, predators who

wanted to make a profit. They ran the front of the shops and purchased what the prey needed

for a cut, probably a bigger cut than they let on, but that's how it worked. It was the best we

could do in those days."

"And the tunnels are still there? They haven't collapsed?"

Flint shook his head, "They're still there. We've kept them in good shape in case, um, in

case something like this happened."

"Is there enough space? There's, what, one point two million prey?"

"That's including the birds. They're one-third of the prey population, so it's about eight

hundred thousand. There are miles of tunnel, so we might all fit, but we don't need to just hide,

we can escape!"

"It must be a long way to wherever the other end is," Lily replied dubiously. "A long way

to walk anyway."

"There's a tram," Flint returned.

Lily gawked at him, "The prey were running a tram and no one knew where the tunnels

were?!"

"N-no, the tram was built for rapid evacuation shortly after the prey began to live in

Maplesburg."

Joel cut in, "It sounds like you prey went to an awful lot of trouble to make sure you could

get away from us," the cat drawled.

"Would you feel safe living with people who only just stopped eating you with no way

out?!" Flint shot back.

Lily held up her hands to stop any further argument, "What's important is that we do

have these tunnels available to evacuate the prey. I'm still worried about the numbers though.

How big is this tram?"

"Pretty big. It has three cars," Flint answered.

"How many prey your size could fit on it?"

"I don't know. It has to accommodate large prey too. Maybe a couple thousand squirrels

could fit if you packed them in, standing room only."

"So that's at least four hundred trips. How long does it take?"

"About twenty minutes each way."

"Plus the time for loading and unloading, so let's say an hour. Four hundred hours

that's," she quickly did the math in her head, "Over sixteen, closer to seventeen days, hardly a

rapid evacuation."

"There's room to walk as well, and if no one too big is on board, we can extend the extra

levels."

"Extra levels?"

"There are three extendible levels to make more space for small prey, but then larger

prey won't fit." Flint glanced at Meredith, who was a marmot, "Even Meredith might have to

stoop."

"The larger prey will have to walk," Lily decided. "There are fewer of them and the trip

will be easier for them. The evacuation needs to be as fast as possible, and in the meantime,

we need to get as many prey as we can into the tunnels. How many know where they are?"

Flint shrugged, "Not many."

"Is there a map? We need to be able to spread the word!"

"There is," Flint answered reluctantly. "But if, if I start spreading it around, everyone's

going to know where the tunnels are. It won't be a secret!"

"We'll be careful who we share it with," Lily assured. "But what's more important?

Keeping a secret or saving lives? If this is what you kept the secret for, then it's time to use it!"

Flint hesitated a moment and then nodded, "You're right. This is what we kept it for." He

took his cell phone out of a pocket in his blue uniform top. He looked around at all of the other

officers. "I can email it to all of you, but you have to promise you'll be careful who you share it

with and delete it when this is all over."

The rest of them nodded, except for Joel. Lily glared at the black and white cat

threateningly until he shrank under her furious amber gaze and nodded as well.

"Alright," Flint agreed. He tapped at his phone for a few minutes and then looked up. "I

sent it."

Lily retrieved her own cell phone from the right bottom pocket of her uniform top. The

notification tone pinged, showing a new email. Lily opened it and poked the attachment. Her

map app opened and, after a few seconds of processing, brought up the aerial of Maplesburg

overlayed with a series of blue lines and red circles. She glanced up at Flint, "I got it. I take it the

red circles are the entrances, yes?"

Flint nodded.

Lily looked back to the map: there were dozens of criss-crossing lines all culminating in a

thicker line at the North end of the city. The thick line continued to the edge of the map. Lily

scrolled along it, but it stopped a short distance from the edge of the city. Apparently, where the

tunnel ended was too secret to be included even in the secret map.

"Alright, we need to start contacting prey as quickly as possible and telling them how to

find the tunnels," Lily decided. "There aren't enough of us to visit everyone, so we'll need to run

it like a chain letter. Tell all the prey you know and tell them to tell all the prey they know. Send

them the map if they need it, but be careful who you send it to. We don't know where these

hounds came from, so only send it to prey unless you don't have any other choice. Tell the

people you send it to the same."

"I think I'd know if someone I knew was a lunatic," Joel responded irritatedly. "We should

let the other predators help. Maybe we wouldn't be in this mess if prey had a little trust in us."

"How is this a result of a lack of trust?!" Flint asked incredulously.

Lily had to agree with the squirrel; she didn't see the connection.

Joel crossed his arms grumpily. "I don't know, but I don't like being blamed for what a

bunch of psychos are doing."

Lily rolled her eyes at his peevishness. "No one is blaming you," she growled

exasperatedly. "We're just trying to be safe. I assume you understand why we can't let these

lunatics know where the tunnels are."

"Yes," Joel meowed peevishly. "But I don't like that every prey I know might have been

hiding something from me because they think I'm not trustworthy."

"I'm sure it wasn't personal," Lily replied dryly.

Joel looked away grumpily, and Lily sighed annoyedly. She looked back to her phone

and switched to her contacts, scrolling through to see all of the prey she had details for: outside

of the police department, there weren't many. I guess I'm not going to be much help spreading

the word. It wasn't that Lily had a prejudice against prey, but she had trouble interacting with

them when there wasn't a structured set of expectations. Within the police hierarchy, she

understood how to navigate; she treated prey according to their ranks as her underlings or

commanding officers. Without that hierarchy, it was more difficult. Lily didn't know what to do

when prey seemed afraid of her, which, given her often abrasive personality, was most of the

time. When they were rude to her, it was even worse; Lily didn't tolerate being talked down to.

As she scrolled back up through her contacts, her eyes fell on the entry for Jason's cell

phone. A small hole opened up in her stomach, and she took a deep breath to quell it. She

quickly scrolled by and began forwarding the map to the few prey contacts she had with a short

message to get to the evacuation tunnels and head for the big one. She skipped the Mayor

since she'd been captured. That's another thing I haven't thought about. Lily hoped that, if the

email went to any prey who had been captured, their devices were secure. There were so many

entrances to the tunnels, that there was no way they'd keep the hounds out if they found out

where they were. This was all extremely risky, but it was better than leaving the prey to be

picked off at the murderers' leisure. They had been here to stop it in this instance, but how

many prey hadn't been so lucky even in the hours since the attack?

"I want to check on the prisoners, and then we need to go," Lily stated.

She turned to the ground squirrel, and he led her around the house to the cellar. In the

back, a large wooden door covered a hole in the ground. A few more pieces of plywood had

been hurriedly placed around the freshly widened edges, and a mound of dirt was piled to the

right side. The squirrel opened the door and led Lily down the freshly widened earthen tunnel to

a low room.

The cellar was more of a burrow; like the tunnel, it had earthen walls and floor but these

were hard packed and dusty unlike the freshly exposed soil. Lily had to bend almost double to

get inside. The bound coyotes were lying in the middle of the floor. The coyotes' arms and legs

were tightly tied behind their backs, and their jaws had been tied shut as well. However, inside

the small room, they looked even larger: both were at least twice Lily's size and many times that

of the diminutive ground squirrel. Together they nearly filled the cellar, which was fortunately

mostly empty except for some dusty shelves of canned vegetables along the back wall. Lily

squeezed by the shelves to look into the coyotes' eyes in the dim light from the door.

Lily sneered, "You're comfy, I hope. Sit tight, and we'll be around in a few days to pick

you up."

The coyotes growled in response, but Lily just sneered back at them. She turned to the

ground squirrel, who she noticed was trembling, his dark eyes bulging as he stared at the

canines.

"I won't ask you to untie their mouths to feed them, but try to give them water," Lily

instructed. "And don't kill them. If we get here and you have, we'll arrest you instead."

"W-what about the evacuation?" the squirrel whined.

Lily gave him a warning look, "Make sure they have water; put it in a bowl they can reach

to lap from if you need to."

The squirrel nodded nervously. One of the coyotes growled at him, and he flinched

away. Lily eyed the coyotes a moment. Maybe she should try to talk to them; they might not be

stupid enough to give her any useful information, but it was worth a shot.

She waved the squirrel toward the door, "I can handle them alone. Thank you for your

help."

"Y-yeah." The ground squirrel turned and hurried back up the tunnel.

Lily turned back to the coyotes. Their jaws were tied with slip knots that were tightened

and secured by lines that looped behind their heads and then around their necks. Lily crouched

next to the closest coyote and undid the makeshift muzzle. As soon as she pulled away the slip

knot, the coyote lunged her head forward, snapping for Lily's hand. Lily's lightning quick reflexes

saved her from the bite, and she slashed out, striking the dog's face with her razor-sharp black

claws.

The coyote yelped in pain, but then she snarled in defiance, "You're going to die, pig.

You and all the rest of your prey-worshiping ilk."

"I doubt that," Lily responded dryly. "You weren't as successful as you thought at the

station, and we aren't going to allow you to terrorize Maplesburg."

The coyote scoffed, "'Terrorize Maplesburg.' You saw the same rodent I did, didn't you?

That pathetic, cringing thing is probably 'terrorized' by its own shadow. It's a mercy to put it out

of its misery."

"Right," Lily replied sarcastically. "Trying to eat people and threatening to burn their

house down, the epitome of benevolent mercy."

"It's what prey are for," the coyote stated matter-of-factly. "I'd say giving them a purpose

in life is benevolent."

Lily shook her head slowly, "You're insane. Maybe when you're locked up, they'll be able

to get you some help, but I doubt it. I know a cat like you, another raving lunatic. She murdered

one of my officers once, but then I fed her a dog, another bitch like you." Lily grinned wickedly,

"Maybe they'll just lock you all up together and let you tear each other apart."

The coyote stared at her blankly a moment, and then her mouth spread into a malicious

grin, "You think we're insane!? The cat who's a slave to rodents! You let them feed you that slop

like the rest of their tame kitties, but on top of that, you risk your life to defend them, even from

those who want to liberate you!"

"Is that what happens when you shoot someone?" Lily growled softly. She withdrew her

gun from its holster and aimed it at the coyote's head. "I can liberate you right now if that's the

case."

The coyote glared at her defiantly, "Go ahead. Killing me won't save you, and it won't

save your precious prey."

"It'll be two fewer lunatics to deal with. I still have fourteen officers, all armed. We'll soon

pick off the rest of you," Lily stated confidently.

The coyote sneered, "We have three times that number! You won't be able to hide for

long. It's you pigs who are going to be finished off!"

"It must be crowded in your base," Lily replied mildly.

The coyote snorted contemptuously. "Hardly. I assume you've been inside. City Hall is

huge."

The other coyote growled, and the first seemed to realize her mistake.

"It's well guarded," the coyote growled. "You'll never surprise us like we did you!"

"Maybe not," Lily conceded. "But it's good to know what we're up against. Thanks for

that." She picked up the rope, and quickly looped the slipknot back around the coyote's jaws.

She pulled it tight and tied it back in place. "Like I said, we'll be back in a few days once we

secure the station. I suppose if your friends really do kill us, you might starve down here, but

maybe that'll be worth it to you."

The coyotes glared at her as she turned and made her way back out of the cellar. Lily

closed the door at the top, sealing them in the dark hole. If they die, someone can simply fill it in.

Lily didn't know if these two had been involved in the raid on the station, but it hardly mattered.

She'd be glad when they were rotting in prison, and she wouldn't shed any tears if they died in

the hole before she could return to collect them. Lily returned to the front where her officers

were waiting.

"Alright, has everyone finished contacting the prey they know?" she queried.

Everyone nodded.

"Then we'll continue to Buukomart. After we've eaten, we'll figure out how to help with

the evacuation."

They returned to the civilians, Gloria, and Hunter, who were waiting where they'd left

them. Lily explained about the tunnels and their plan to evacuate the prey.

"Y-you're going to help us escape?" Lynda's husband squeaked when she'd finished.

Lily regarded the brown rat boredly, "That's what I said, isn't it? Did you think we were

going to feed you to these lunatics?"

"I-I, uh," he looked at the ground. "I'm sorry about what I said before."

Lily nodded once curtly. Matthias' black rat girlfriend put a hand on the brown rat's

shoulder.

They made the rest of the trip to the supermarket without incident. Fortunately, it was

open, and they quickly marched through the store in a group, each grabbing what they wanted.

Lily noticed a few of the other patrons and workers watching them. She assumed they must

have also heard about the attack on the police station. However, she soon noticed that most of

the attention seemed to be on the prey in their group.

"I wish they wouldn't stare," Zeta's lop-eared friend murmured. "I know they don't mean

any harm, but it's scary enough without every predator watching you."

That was when Lily noticed that the other patrons and workers were indeed all

carnivores. The prey must be too afraid to leave home. She hoped the message about the

tunnels was spreading and that they'd soon be gathering underground.

The predator at the register was a white, spotted terrier. He eyed the prey in their group

inquisitively, "I guess that's the only safe way to travel now, with a police escort. I'm glad I'm not

prey."

Lily gave him an irritated look, "We're working on eliminating this lunatic threat. We won't

rest until the streets are safe."

"Still gotta eat though, eh?" he quipped as he scanned the first set of groceries.

Lily nodded perfunctorily.

"I've heard that's what this is all about," he went on conversationally. "The terrorists don't

like this stuff," he held up a packet of deli meat one of the carnivore officers had selected. "I

guess I can't judge whether they're right."

Lily glared at him, "Civilized people don't resort to murder because they're picky eaters,"

she growled.

He shrugged. "I guess not, but it does make you curious."

The brown rat quickly gathered and hugged his three children to him. He stared at the

dog fearfully. The terrier didn't seem to notice.

"You wouldn't be thinking of joining up, would you?" Lily growled dangerously. "We won't

stop until every last one of these dirtbags is dead or behind bars. If you're planning to join them,

let me know, and we can skip the hard part."

The dog blanched, the insides of his pointy ears turning white, "N-no, Ma'am, I wouldn't

join a group like that! I'm a good dog!"

"I hope not," Lily growled softly. She glared at the dog a few more seconds. "Hurry up.

We have things to do."

The terrier quickly returned to scanning their items. He said nothing more until he was

done, "H-have a good day, officers. Good luck!"

Lily bobbed her head in acknowledgement. "When you're done here, I hope a 'good dog'

like you could find some way to help your prey neighbors. They might need an escort

somewhere for example. I trust you'll do what you can."

He nodded vigorously, "Y-yes, Ma'am!"

The supermarket had a small food court area with a café. They sat at the tables in front

to eat their breakfast, and Lily let groups of two or more leave to use the store's bathroom

during the meal. Lily took a trip with Gloria and Hunter before she ate to pee and wash her

hands. When she returned, Katya was at a table for four with Theresa, Clover, and her hare

husband, so Lily sat across from Zeta at another table. Zeta's friend was seated at her left and

David, a badger who, like the otters, was roughly Lily's size, was seated on her right. David

nodded to Lily in greeting and continued eating the hunk of meat he had. It was a raw hunk of

something. Lily was a bit disturbed that he hadn't picked something cooked. Zeta and her lop-

eared friend were both eating salads.

"Hey, Chief!" Zeta piped. "I haven't gotten to properly introduce you yet. This is Petunia!"

Lily nodded at the light brown rabbit in acknowledgment, "Lily."

"Another flower girl!" Petunia squeaked happily.

Zeta looked embarrassed, but Lily smirked. She wasn't sure that anyone had ever

referred to her that way.

"How do you two know each other?" she asked conversationally.

"We met at the gym," Zeta stated.

"I was trying to get in shape," Petunia put in embarrassedly. "At least I met someone

interesting."

Lily supposed Petunia was a little plump, but she didn't think it looked unpleasant. It

looked nice in a way, appealing. She smiled pleasantly, "Maybe I should try that. I usually don't

pay attention to who's around me, but maybe I should."

"I wouldn't think you'd have any trouble catching someone's eye," Petunia stated. "But if

you stopped in the salon, I'd see if we could do something to help accentuate your pretty fur and

eyes: a little careful brushing, maybe some color for your claws. You have a lot of natural beauty

to work with."

"That's very flattering," Lily replied embarrassedly. "But I kind of like my claws the way

they are." She extended her long, black, razor-sharp claws. "They may not be pretty, but they

have their uses."

Petunia held out a hand on the table, "May I see?"

Curiously, Lily put her hand in the rabbit's, or rather over as her hand completely

covered Petunia's much smaller hand. Unfazed, Petunia examined her claws.

"They're already very pretty. I can tell you take good care of them. But if you stop in, I'll

polish them for you; no paint, but I think we can shine them up so that they'll really sparkle."

"How much would that cost?" Lily asked warily.

"Oh! No charge, of course! It would be as a thank you for everything you're doing for us."

"Maybe you should hold your thanks until after this is all over," Lily muttered. "Or at least

until after you're safe. I haven't even gotten you out of Maplesburg yet."

"You've already done a lot!" Petunia responded. "You rescued me and the others, and I

saw you race into danger when you heard someone in trouble. And you stood up for us just a

moment ago with that dog."

Lily shrugged, "I guess so. That's my job."

"And I'm glad we have you to do it, so I'd like to thank you!"

"Okay, thanks. When this is all over, maybe I'll stop in. Where is it?"

"On East Ninth Street, Lotus Beauty Parlor."

Lily nodded. She opened the bag of sliced turkey she'd purchased and began to eat.

Petunia and Zeta went back to eating their salads, and they ate their breakfast in friendly

silence. David had already finished and was picking his teeth with a long, blunt claw, but the

taciturn badger didn't offer any conversation.

When they had finished, Lily addressed the group, "The civilians should head to the

tunnels. We'll escort you. I want Flint and Zeta to go with them. Flint, you know the most about

all of this, so you'll be in charge of getting the tram ready and loaded."

Flint nodded, "I'll have it ready, Chief."

"I'd prefer to help you, Chief, if that's alright," Zeta responded.

"I don't want to send Flint with the civilians alone," Lily replied hesitantly.

"I'll go, Ma'am," Matthias jumped in.

Lily nodded to the muskrat, "Okay."

"I want to stay with you and Chief Lily!" Petunia fretted to Zeta.

Zeta clasped her hand but shook her head, "Flint and Matthias will take care of you, and

I promise I'll be alright. I'll see you soon when all of the other prey are safe."

The closest entrance on the map was only a few blocks away in an antiques shop that

looked older than the items it was selling. The mortar was crumbling between the red bricks

outside, and inside, the wood floor boards were worn by countless paws. The dark green and

gold paisley wallpaper was peeling. The whole place smelled of mildew and dust, and little light

shone through the grimy windows. Still, the store was open, which saved them from having to

break in. A grizzled coyote was standing behind the register counter.

"Mornin', lads. Anythin' Ah can git fer yuh?" He squinted in the yellow light of the naked,

dusty bulb that hung from the water-stained ceiling above the counter. "Officers, mah mistake.

What can Ah do fer yuh?"

"We're looking for the entrance to your basement," Flint told him. They'd agreed not to

say too much if the owner was a predator.

"Haven't got one," the coyote replied simply.

"Do you mind if we look around?" Lily asked.

"Suit yerself."

They began to search the shop, tapping their feet on the floorboards and their knuckles

against the walls. It didn't take long with so many of them in the small shop.

"Over here, Chief," Gloria called.

Lily strode over to the side wall where the otter was standing. Gloria tapped the wall

again, making a hollow wooden sound, which was sharper than the dull thud of the drywall. Lily

ran her hands over the wall until she found a small indentation under the wallpaper, about waist

high. She poked her right index claw through and used it to cut a hole in the wallpaper.

"What'er yuh doin' over thur?" the coyote called worriedly.

"I think we found it," Lily replied perfunctorily.

Under the wallpaper was a small door handle. Lily turned it, and she heard the rusty

latch scrape open. She pulled, and the edges of the door pushed up a ridge in the wallpaper.

Lily quickly sliced around the door with her claw.

"Hey! Yer ruinin' mah wallpaper!" the coyote yelped.

Lily ignored him, slicing the rest of the way around. She yanked open the door releasing

the stench of musty soil, ancient excrement, and other unpleasant things Lily didn't want to think

about. The door revealed a hole in the floor with a wooden ladder descending into blackness.

The tunnel was lined with cobwebs. Lily glanced questioningly at Flint, who had come up behind

her to see.

"That's it. I know it doesn't look pleasant, but everything is serviceable."

The coyote had also hurried over when the door had opened, "Ah'll be! Ah didn't know

that were thur!"

"We'd appreciate it if you'd keep it to yourself," Lily instructed. "And there may be other

prey coming through today. Point them in the right direction, but it's critical that the terrorists

don't know about this."

The elderly coyote puffed out his chest and saluted with his right hand to his head, "Yes,

Ma'am!"

Lily looked around the shop until she spotted a dark walnut dresser large enough to

cover the door. She pointed to it, "Gloria, Hunter, David, help me move that."

Each taking a corner, they managed to drag the dresser across the room to obscure the

tunnel from the entrance of the shop. They left the dresser far enough from the wall for the door

to open and prey to slip by. There was no way to prevent someone who actually searched from

finding the tunnel, but at least it wouldn't be as obvious as a giant hole in the wall.

Lily looked to Flint, "Are you ready?"

The squirrel nodded. He turned to Matthias, "I'll go first; you bring up the rear."

Flint turned and carefully began to climb down the ladder into the musty abyss. Lily

watched as the civilians followed one by one. She was glad she didn't have to descend into the

rank hole. Petunia hugged Zeta before following the brown rats down, and Clover hugged her

husband before the hare followed the lop-eared rabbit. Soon, only Matthias, his black rat

girlfriend, and the young fishers were left.

The female fisher turned to Lily in distress, "I don't want to go down there!"

Her brother didn't look any more willing to descend into the hole, staring at it nervously.

Lily put her left arm across the fisher's shoulders. "I know it's scary, but I need you to be

brave. Help Flint and Matthias protect the prey. Do you think you can do that?"

The female fisher looked up at Lily, her dark eyes nervous. Lily looked back confidently,

trying to reassure the young carnivore.

The fisher nodded, "We'll help protect the prey," she murmured.

Lily gave her a light squeeze with her left arm, "I know you can do it. You'll make your

father proud."

The fisher nodded again and crept toward the hole, slowly descending down the ladder

after the hare. Her brother followed her reluctantly. Lily looked toward Matthias and his

girlfriend.

"We'll make sure they're okay," Matthias assured.

The black rat followed the fishers, and Matthias went last. Once the muskrat

disappeared into the darkness, Lily turned to her remaining officers. She motioned toward the

door of the shop, and they followed her out. The elderly coyote returned to the counter. He

saluted again when Lily glanced back at him.

Outside on the sidewalk, Lily addressed her officers, "We need to help spread the word

and escort any prey we can to the tunnels. I don't like it, but I think we should split up. No one

should go alone, but I think we'll have to manage with groups of two to have the biggest impact."

Lily glanced to each of her officers: they all looked resolute, ready to follow her orders and help

evacuate the prey even at the risk of their own lives. Lily felt a little surge of pride, but it was

tempered by trepidation. Splitting up is dangerous. What will happen if we're caught by these

vicious hounds? Two might not be enough. We might be overwhelmed.

"We're ready to help, Chief!" Zeta declared.

The others nodded in agreement.

"We can't stand by and hope things turn out okay," Theresa added. "We all know there's

a risk, but that's our job. That's what we signed up for."

Lily nodded. "Alright, here's how we're going to split up." Lily didn't want to send any

prey by themselves; she picked the largest predators as their partners. "Clover, you go with

Gloria. Hunter with Chris. Meredith with David, and," Lily paused. She wanted to go with Katya,

but Zeta still needed a partner. As the largest remaining predator, she was the obvious choice.

"I'll go with Zeta. Theresa and Joel can go together, and Katya with Lance."

Katya exchanged a glance with the raccoon and nodded. Lily wondered if she'd

expected to go with her. She wished the ginger cat would talk to her about her feelings

surrounding the private inspectors' disappearance, but Lily didn't know how to get her to open

up. She wasn't good at that kind of thing.

Zeta stepped up in front of Lily, looking up at her confidently, "Thanks for choosing me,

Chief! You won't be disappointed!"

Lily nodded once, but her attention was still on Katya. After a moment, she looked down

at the grinning rabbit, whose bright white incisors stood out sharply against the black splotch

that covered her nose and the lower left quadrant of her face, and returned a small smile. Zeta

was easy to get along with; she was outgoing and agreeable, and she took everything Lily said

to heart.

"I'm sure I can count on you, and I promise you'll keep your promise to Petunia. I'll bring

you through safe," Lily assured.

"And I'll have your back too!" Zeta returned.

Lily looked around at her other officers, "Is everyone ready? There's a lot of city to cover,

so we may not see each other again until this is all over."

They all nodded.

Lily bobbed her head in response, "Right, then let's go. Good luck, everyone!"

They split up, groups of two heading in different directions. Lily and Zeta headed

Northwest, toward the North side of downtown. They traveled a while in silence, the much

smaller rabbit loping along in pace with Lily's strides.

Zeta was first to break the silence, "Thanks for picking me, Chief. I know you would have

liked to go with Officer Letova."

Lily glanced down at her, "It made the most sense to send the smaller officers with larger

partners to create more balanced teams."

"Yeah, but you still could have sent me with Lance. I know you care about her."

"I care about all of you," Lily returned.

Zeta nodded, but didn't respond further. Lily knew she knew it was different with Katya,

but neither of them said so. Besides, Lily did care about all of her officers, and she liked Zeta.

She didn't regret choosing the rabbit. Lily stopped, and Zeta came to a halt in front of her,

turning her head back and tilting her white and black splotched ears questioningly.

"I couldn't have picked a better officer as my partner," Lily told her. "You may be a rabbit,

but, er, what I mean is I don't think you're less capable. It's just-"

"I get it, Chief. You're extra worried because these wackos want to eat us. I don't

begrudge that, and I know I'm small. But I'm by your side all the same, no matter how tough it

gets."

Lily nodded, and Zeta smiled, her brown eyes twinkling good-humoredly.

"And maybe I'll get a chance to show you that size isn't everything!" Zeta quipped. She

turned and started on their way again. "Let's go! We have a city to save!"

They soon arrived at an apartment complex. They could have knocked on every door,

but they had limited time. Lily stepped into the front vestibule and pulled the fire alarm. Within a

minute, people began to pour out of the building, predators and prey alike. Lily waved them over

to the side parking lot, and they obeyed, muttering low to each other. They probably wondered

what was going on.

"Sorry for the false alarm. Predators can go back inside," Lily instructed.

Grumbling, the predators turned and headed back for the doors. Several prey hurried

with them, but Lily called them back.

"Prey stay here! I need to talk to you; it's urgent!"

Reluctantly, the prey that had tried to join the predators returned. Lily glanced around at

the group, estimating around two dozen.

"Alright, I've called you out here because Maplesburg is no longer safe. We're

evacuating all prey. Maybe some of you know about the tunnels."

None of the prey responded, but some glanced furtively at each other.

Lily went on, "If you don't, we can share the map with you. We need you to spread the

word to all of the prey you know; we need to move as fast as possible."

"How do you know?!" someone shouted. "Carnivores aren't supposed to know!"

"I'm your chief of police," Lily replied.

"That's not an answer!" a second voice shouted back.

Zeta stepped forward, "That's not important now! We just need to get to the tunnels.

Another officer is already on his way to the tram. He'll be waiting to take you to safety!"

"I bet you told her," the first voice accused. Lily was able to spot the speaker this time,

an elderly female red squirrel.

"It was the officer at the tram," Lily corrected. "Take it up with him, but hurry and grab

what you need. Grab any prey who didn't come down for the alarm too. Then we'll distribute the

map."

Some of the prey obeyed hastily while others were more reluctant, but soon all were

headed back inside, all but the angry red squirrel.

"Don't you want to take anything with you?" Lily asked mildly, trying not to be annoyed.

"How do we know we can trust you?" the squirrel demanded. "You're a predator, just like

those monsters!"

Lily narrowed her eyes and growled dangerously, "Those scum murdered my officers. I

won't stop until they're dead or rotting in prison, but first, we're doing what we can to rescue

prey. If you'd rather wait to be eaten, I'm sure they'll appreciate that."

The squirrel looked hesitant, but then she shot back, "How do we know this isn't a trap?!

Maybe they're waiting for us and not this 'other officer'!"

"You don't, and I don't have time to argue. If you won't come, you can wait here to die.

We can't save everyone."

The squirrel looked at her nervously then to Zeta who nodded reassuringly.

"You can trust us. Do you think I'd be working with those murderers? We're trying to

help."

"Okay," the squirrel muttered. She turned and hurried back inside.

Prey were beginning to filter back out when Lily heard the approaching blare of a siren. It

came closer and closer until a fire engine roared around the corner into view. The vehicle

veered into the parking lot headed straight toward Lily! She was crouching to dive out of the way

when it screeched to a halt. A medium sized hound, about twice Lily's size, in a yellow rubber

coat leapt out of the passenger's side door. Lily noticed he was holding a wooden baseball bat

in his right hand and quickly reached for her handgun.

She stopped with her hand on the gun and yowled authoritatively, "Drop the bat! This is

a false alarm! Return to your station!"

The hound eyed her warily, his dark beady eyes glaring from his grotesquely sagging

face. "What's going on here?" he growled. "Who are you? I thought the police were out of

commission."

"Don't you recognize me?!" Lily demanded. "The chief of police!? I'm sure you've seen

me somewhere!" Lily didn't recognize the hound herself, so she didn't take her hand off of her

gun. He could be one of the terrorists. She didn't know whether the fire department had been

raided.

The hound eyed her a moment longer then tossed away his bat, "Yeah, I recognize you,"

he grumbled.

Lily relaxed a little but kept her hand on her gun, "And who are you?"

"Name's Rover," he introduced himself. "Sorry about the hostility, but we've been

running around all morning. These sick fucks keep lighting houses on fire to drive prey out. We

got shot at earlier, but we managed to run the dirtbag down. You're lucky you were with the

rabbit, or we might've hit you."

Rover? Zeus, did his parents hate him? Lily relaxed her arm, keeping it close to her gun,

but no longer with her hand on it. "We're doing everything we can to fight back against these

lunatics," Lily stated. "I was worried you were one of them. It's hard to trust dogs when there's a

pack trying to kill you."

The hound tilted his head questioningly, his floppy ear dangling down, "It's not only dogs.

The one who shot at us was a panther. It's mostly larger carnivores from what we've seen, but

it's not only dogs or even cats and dogs."

Lily frowned. She wished she didn't have to keep being updated on what was going on.

"I see. We've only seen dogs so far. That's who attacked the station."

The hound shrugged. He looked at the prey gathering in the parking lot. Most of the prey

were carrying backpacks and bags. A few were even trying to lug large suitcases, which irked

Lily. How do they think they're going to manage with those?!

"What's going on here anyway?" the hound inquired. "Going somewhere?"

"That's right," Lily answered perfunctorily.

He frowned, "Care to say where?"

"That's on a need-to-know basis." He opened his mouth to protest, but Lily cut him off,

"Even I don't know where they are going to end up; somewhere safe from these lunatics

hopefully."

The hound contemplated them all a moment before addressing Lily again, "You going to

be pulling any more fire alarms?"

"Possibly."

"Could you let us know before? We have enough to deal with as it is."

Lily nodded.

"Okay then." He retrieved his bat and climbed back in the fire engine. Sticking his head

out the window, he waved, "Good luck! I hope you-all get where you're going okay!"

The fire engine backed out onto the street and pulled away with a roar.

Lily turned back to the gathered prey, "Is this everyone?" Their numbers appeared to

have increased at least by half.

They glanced at each other, looking nervous, but didn't answer.

Lily held back a growl or frustration, "Is anyone not here?"

After more glancing around, a few of them shook their heads.

"Alright, raise your hands if you need the map. Officer Menten and I will give it to those

who do. If you have it, get started forwarding it to all the prey you know, but only prey."

"Shouldn't we tell our predator friends too?" someone called. "It might not be safe for

them here either, or they might want to help."

Lily shook her head, "I know they're probably trustworthy, but it's a necessary

precaution. We don't know where these lunatics came from, and we can't risk them learning

where the tunnels are. From what we've seen, they aren't attacking predators, so they'll

probably be okay."

It took several minutes for them to distribute the map and for the prey to forward it to

their friends, but finally, they were ready to leave. The antique shop was still the closest

entrance to the tunnels, so Lily and Zeta led the group back the way they'd come. Lily helped

carry the oversized luggage of a fussy hedgehog, who kept reminding her not to drop it; it was

all Lily could do not to hurle the suitcase at its owner. In addition, Lily carried a pair of mice on

each shoulder, and Zeta helped carry a third pair on hers. Several others in the group took the

cue to help carry the smaller rodents who otherwise would have held them up. Luckily, they

reached the shop without incident.

The elderly coyote goggled at the large group as they filed inside, overflowing his shop,

and began to descend into the tunnels. "Mus' be an awful big basement!" he exclaimed in

disbelief.

"You could say that," Lily replied dryly.

"Can Ah see?"

"Only if you aren't coming back up."

"Uh, nah, Ah'll stay up here."

The last of the prey disappeared down the hole, and Lily turned to Zeta. Zeta smiled

back and nodded, and they proceeded out of the shop and back toward the North side of

downtown. It felt good to know a few dozen prey were safely on their way to the tram. They

were really making a difference! Lily glanced sidelong at the rabbit as they marched toward the

next group of prey. She was glad she'd picked Zeta as her partner: she'd already been helpful in

convincing prey to trust them, and it was good to be reminded that prey could be brave too.

Right now, prey needed their help, but that didn't make them helpless. After all, they had made

this evacuation possible; they were resourceful in spite of the fact--or perhaps because of the

fact--that they weren't natural killers.

Lily and Zeta led several more groups of prey to the entrance without seeing one of the

terrorists. They began to see small groups of prey creeping toward the safe haven of the tunnels

on their own, and they waved them over to join their escort. Lily was beginning to think the

whole thing wasn't going to be difficult at all until Zeta stopped dead in front of her, her ears

pricked forward and her black-furred nose twitching. Lily followed her gaze down the street: a

small group of rats and mice were creeping down the sidewalk through the residential area.

Their eyes darted nervously to each of the houses they passed, but the rodents weren't what

had caused Zeta to stop. Behind a yellow painted brick house, Lily glimpsed the black tufted

ears and fluffy cheeks of another bobcat. The bobcat's gleaming amber eyes followed the

rodents maliciously; he was clearly stalking them.

Zeta dashed down the street and ducked behind a black sedan on the same side as the

rats and mice. Lily doubled back and slipped down a driveway to crouch behind the front of a

red SUV, placing her line of sight parallel to the road and perpendicular to the path the bobcat

would have to take to attack the rodents. She couldn't see Zeta behind the sedan, but her keen

ears heard her hiss to the rodents.

"Quick! Over here! You're in danger!"

The rats and mice stopped, turning toward the sedan, and Zeta briefly poked her head

up to wave urgently. After a moment's hesitation, the rodents dashed toward the white and

black rabbit, disappearing behind the sedan.

Lily heard a growl, and jerked her attention back toward the yellow brick house. The

bobcat, a male fifty percent larger than Lily and wearing the black utility vest uniform of the

terrorists, raced out between the houses, charging for Zeta and the rodents. Lily grabbed her

gun and aimed at the sprinting bobcat, but she hesitated. He hadn't so much as reached for his

own weapons.

"Stop!" Lily yowled.

The bobcat didn't slow. Noticing the charging predator, Zeta yelped in surprise, and then

Lily heard her open fire. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG! Zeta's

handgun blasted in rapid succession. She may have hit him; Lily saw the bobcat jerk once in his

charge, but he didn't slow down.

"Chief, help!" Zeta screamed.

Her hesitation wrenched away, Lily aimed and fired. BANG! The bobcat leapt in a

powerful bound to clear the sedan, and Lily fired again. BANG BANG! The bobcat disappeared

over the top of the black car, and Zeta squealed. Leaping up, Lily tore across the yards and

leapt over the car herself. The bobcat had Zeta down on the asphalt. Sinking her claws into his

shoulders, Lily threw him off of Zeta with an adrenaline-fueled heave. His body landed with a

dull thud on the street, his head lolling lifelessly. The bobcat's clouded amber eyes stared at

nothing, and Lily could see blood trickling from his gaping mouth. Lily jerked her attention away

from the dead cat and back to Zeta's prone form. Crouching next to the rabbit, she ran her

hands over her, searching for injuries.

"Zeta! Zeta, are you okay?!"

"I-I'm fine, Chief," Zeta replied breathlessly. "Thank you."

Lily scooped Zeta up in her arms and cradled her to her chest. "I'm so sorry!"

Zeta squirmed in her arms, "I said I'm fine, Chief. You got him. He was dead before he

landed on me."

Lily shook her head, still cradling Zeta close, "I hesitated. You could have been killed!"

"I'm okay. If you hesitated, it only could have been for a second. It's not easy to shoot

someone, but you did what you had to," Zeta mollified.

"You're sure you're okay?"

Zeta nodded, "A few bumps and scrapes but nothing serious."

Lily set her on her feet. She noticed the rats and mice staring at her, and her left ear

flicked embarrassedly. Zeta brushed off her uniform top and looked around at the rodents.

"Everyone else okay? He didn't land on any of you, did he?"

They shook their heads. A few of them eyed the body nervously.

"Is he really dead?" one of the mice squeaked.

Lily looked at the dead bobcat again. Blood was pooling around his head and torso, and

she could see the dark, blood-soaked patch in his vest where her bullet had pierced his side

and likely found his heart. She grimaced. What a waste. It had been easier when she'd thought

the terrorists were a pack of hounds, but seeing another cat, another of her own species, cut

down for this idiocy was harder to swallow.

Lily crouched next to him and used ring finger and thumb to close his staring eyes. I'm

sorry. Lily frowned at the thought. He was part of the group who'd attacked them, who had killed

her officers, and he'd been trying to kill Zeta and the rodents. She should be relieved he was

dead. Lily picked up his closer arm and folded it on his chest. She gently ran her middle finger

over the end of one of his sharp, black claws. He was a bobcat like her, and she'd killed him for-

. For a rabbit and some rats and mice. Was that wrong? Lily felt a hand on her left shoulder, and

she turned her head to see Zeta looking at her sympathetically.

"You did what you had to," the rabbit murmured.

Lily shook her head, "Maybe if I'd shot sooner, I could have aimed for the leg. If I'd

moved sooner, maybe I could have intercepted him."

"You did what you had to," Zeta repeated. "I know it's hard. None of us want this. We

should be able to live in peace. No one should have to be killed. It's not your fault this

happened."

Lily sighed resignedly; it wasn't her fault. She wasn't responsible for convincing the

bobcat to kill prey. They needed to stop these lunatics not only to protect prey but to stop them

from spreading their toxic ideology. Predators shouldn't die for this idiocy either. Lily stood and

put her hand on Zeta's shoulder.

"Thanks," Lily murmured.

"Is that one of the terrorists?" a decidedly non-rodent voice chirped.

Lily jerked around to see a gray fox hurrying down the street toward them from the

direction they'd been headed. Lily spotted a butcher knife in her right hand and quickly reached

for her gun.

"Stop!" Lily commanded. "Drop the knife!"

The fox halted and glanced at the knife as if she'd forgotten she was carrying it. She

crouched to carefully place it on the asphalt then stood. She held out her open hands to show

she wasn't holding anything else.

"Am I alright now?" she queried.

Lily eyed her warily a moment longer. The vixen was about half a head shorter than her

and maybe two-thirds her weight. Unarmed, Lily didn't feel she was a threat to her, but

obviously, she could be to the others.

"Is there something you need?" Lily asked warily.

"Are you headed for the tunnels?" the vixen inquired.

Lily narrowed her eyes, "How do you know about them?" she growled.

The vixen shifted, looking nervous at Lily's hostility, "My, uh, husband told me about

them. He said prey are evacuating. I assumed that's why you're all out here."

"It's none of your concern. Go home," Lily warned.

"It is my concern!" the vixen shot back irritatedly. "My husband, uh, we want to help!"

Lily contemplated the vixen a moment; she was reluctant to trust her. She might be a

gray fox, but she was still a fox. What had trusting foxes gotten Lily in the past? Nothing good.

Lily glanced back at the dead bobcat.

"Do you think you could do something with him?" she asked the vixen. "We don't have

time to bury him ourselves."

The vixen blinked in surprise and glanced at the bobcat's body worriedly. "I, uh, suppose

we can dig a grave. Are you coming back this way?"

"Probably," Lily answered.

The vixen frowned concernedly. She turned and pointed down the street, "Do you see

the dark green house? That's ours."

Lily noted the forest green vinyl two-story house with a dark brown roof on the opposite

side of the street a few houses down. She nodded.

"If I handle, er, if I handle this, do you promise to stop by later?"

Lily glanced at Zeta, who nodded. "Okay."

The vixen gave her a small smile, "Thank you. We want to help, and we could use your

help too."

Lily nodded. They needed to keep evacuating prey, but if the vixen's problem didn't take

too long, they could repay her for handling the body. The vixen trotted over and, grimacing, lifted

the dead bobcat by the shoulders. She began to drag him back the way she'd come. Lily turned

back to Zeta and the rodents.

"The closest entrance is a few blocks away. We'd better carry as many mice as we can."

The mice glanced at each other nervously but then complied, allowing Zeta to place two

on her shoulders and Lily to collect the other six. She placed two on each shoulder and tucked

the other two in her breast pockets with their top halves poking out. She supposed she could

have carried a rat under each arm too, but they were large enough to keep up.

Lily and Zeta took a moment to reload; the box of bullets Lily had in her left lower pocket

was over half gone, and Zeta's were made for her smaller gun. Lily didn't ask Zeta how many

bullets she had left, but she saw that she was able to refill her magazine. She hoped they had

enough. She hoped they wouldn't even need to use them again.

Now ready, they quickly made their way toward the closest entrance. To their surprise,

they found it was in a large, relatively new apartment complex.

"Does the map say any more about where the entrance is?" Zeta asked. "I assume it's

on a lower level, but it could take a while to find it."

Lily opened up the map on her phone. She poked the corresponding red circle

experimentally. A dialogue box popped up that read 'Level B, laundry'. "It looks like it's in the

basement in the laundry room," Lily answered.

There was no fire alarm in the front vestibule, but there was a call box. Lily selected the

name at the top of the list, Archibald, and called up. After a couple rings, someone picked up the

other end of the line.

"Yes? Who is this?"

"Police. We're at the front door. We need to search the building," Lily answered.

"For what?"

"That's police business."

"How do I know you're the police?"

Lily sighed annoyedly, "You can come down and see, but hurry up."

After a pause they replied, "Okay, down in a minute." They hung up.

After a few minutes, the lobby elevator opened and a weasel wearing a pea green

pleated skirt stepped out. She waddled up to the glass door and peered out at them. Stepping

close to the door, Lily showed the weasel the badge on her blue top. The weasel squinted at it a

moment then opened the door.

"I guess you are the police," she remarked as they filed in. "What did you need again?"

"Which way is the laundry room?" Lily asked bluntly.

The weasel blinked, "Er, this way." She led them into the elevator and pushed the B

button. She led them down the dimly lit, tile floored hall to a room with several washers and

dryers.

"Thanks," Lily said.

She and Zeta began to search the room for the entrance.

"What are you looking for?" the weasel asked curiously.

Lily turned back to her, "Thank you for your help. You can go back to your apartment."

The weasel didn't budge. Lily ignored her and went back to searching.

"Are you looking for the tunnels?" the weasel asked.

Lily turned to look at her warily, "What do you know?"

The weasel shrugged. "I know there are tunnels. I saw the prey here going through the

building. I followed, and they came in here. They didn't come out, so I assume they went into

the tunnels."

"Do you know where they go?" Lily asked.

The weasel shrugged again. "All over the place. I explored them for a while. I figured if I

ever took up burglary, I'd be all set." She paused. "That was a joke."

"Where's the entrance?" Zeta asked.

The weasel pointed to a big ventilation grate on the far wall. "Behind there. There's a

sort of trap door in the shaft."

Lily hurried across the room and yanked the grate away. A short distance inside, there

was a square of metal in the bottom of the metal shaft. If Lily hadn't been looking for a "trap

door", she wouldn't have noticed. She lifted the near end of the square and was able to flop it

open to reveal a hole with a metal ladder. The cobwebs in the hole had been freshly disturbed,

so the prey in the building likely had already found their way inside as the weasel had said.

"This is it. Go ahead," Lily instructed the rodents.

The rats began to climb down the ladder. The mice were obliged to shimmy down the

side of the ladder as the rungs were too far apart for them.

Lily turned back to the weasel, "How did you know that was there?"

She shrugged, "I heard a rat messing around in there while I was doing my laundry

once."

"Have you told anyone else?"

"He asked me not to."

"We need you to keep this to yourself as well," Lily instructed.

"I don't know if I can do that," the weasel replied matter-of-factly.

Lily narrowed her eyes dangerously and growled, "Why not?"

The weasel grinned, "I didn't keep his secret for free. If you want me to keep yours, you'll

have to pay."

Lily bolted across the room and slammed into the weasel. The weasel barely had time to

squawk in surprise before Lily had her pinned to the wall, her right hand holding the weasel's

throat and her left pinning the weasel's right arm.

"How about I give you your life?" Lily snarled. "Sound like a fair bargain?"

"Yes! V-very fair!" the weasel cried.

Lily squeezed the weasel's neck, and she whimpered. Lily could see tears welling in the

corners of her eyes. Lily let her neck go, still holding her arm with her left hand. "What did you

make the rat give you?" she growled.

The weasel whined, "N-nothing much! I only made him tell me more about the tunnels

and where they go. He drew me a map to get around Maplesburg."

"Don't tell anyone else, and don't try to follow the prey, got it?" Lily warned.

"Y-yes, Officer!"

Lily let her go, and she scurried out of the room.

"Remind me not to make you angry," Zeta commented nervously.

Lily winced and turned to look at the rabbit, feeling a bit guilty. She probably could have

responded in a more measured manner, but the idea that the weasel had thought she could

extort her for even a second had enraged her. "She's alright. I only gave her a scare."

"I probably would have wet myself if you'd grabbed me like that," Zeta rejoined.

Lily glanced down at the floor: she didn't see any urine. "She's okay," Lily repeated

lamely.

Zeta nodded slowly, "It's just a bit of a reminder. You are a predator even if I know I can

trust you."

Lily flipped her short tail embarrassedly. "I, um, I didn't mean to scare you," she

muttered.

Zeta shook her head, "I'm fine. Like I said, I just wouldn't want to make you angry."

Lily didn't know what else to say. "Alright, uh, it sounds like the prey here already left.

Where did you want to go next?"

"That fox seemed concerned. I think we should follow up with her now," Zeta answered.

Lily nodded. She closed the trap door and reattached the grating, and then they headed

up the elevator and back toward the block of houses where they'd met the vixen. Lily tried not to

look at the pool of blood the bobcat she'd killed had left behind as they proceeded up the vixen's

street; however, it was harder to miss the smear of blood across the sidewalk just before the

dark green abode.

Stepping up onto the forest green house's tanish gray front porch, Lily knocked on the

gray front door. Zeta stood on her tiptoes and tried to peer in the window that looked out onto

the porch as they waited for someone to answer. After a few moments, Lily heard claws clicking

over a wood floor. Someone stopped at the door, and Lily tried to position herself in front of the

peephole. She smiled reassuringly. Hopefully, they could get this done and leave quickly; they

needed to focus on escorting prey. The door swung in to reveal the gray fox, who looked

relieved to see them.

"You came back! Thank you! We're in here." She turned and trotted back and to the left.

Lily and Zeta followed her. Turning the corner, Lily halted and blinked in surprise: along

with a pale green couch and matching loveseat, the bluish gray carpet of the living room was

covered with prey and their things. Packs, bags, sleeping rolls, and even a few dirty dishes and

utensils were strewn about the room. The couch was occupied by three rabbits, a gray squirrel,

and a groundhog. A pair of black and white rabbits occupied the loveseat, and rats, mice, voles,

shrews, moles, and more squirrels were all milling about on the floor. There was even an

enormous beaver, at least twice Lily's size, leaned against the light blue far wall.

To the right of the doorway, the vixen spoke, "We've been gathering anyone we can. We

were planning to make the run to the tunnels tonight, but I hoped that you could help us."

Lily pulled her eyes away from the zoo to respond, "Er, yeah, that's what we've been

doing. You've taken a risk hiding prey here, but we appreciate you doing what you can to help."

"We really appreciate it," Zeta emphasized. "It's good to know Maplesburg has predators

who'll risk their lives to protect their prey neighbors."

"Everyone has to do what they can in a crisis like this," the vixen replied. "I couldn't sit

around while my friends and neighbors were in danger, and besides, it's even more personal

than that for me. Those are my in-laws on the loveseat."

Lily quickly glanced back in the room at the pair of black and white rabbits. "I see. Your

husband's-"

"Pete's around here somewhere," the vixen stated. She turned her head away from them

and called, "Pete! The officers came back!"

Through a doorway into the back of the house, a pair of long black ears appeared.

Slowly, the rest of the rabbit's head followed: he was primarily black with a white spot that

covered his nose. The rabbit eyed Lily nervously.

The vixen turned around to address him, "Come on, Pete. This is Officer, er." She

glanced back at Lily and Zeta, "Sorry, I didn't get your names!"

"Schulz and Menten, but Lily and Zeta are fine," Lily replied, indicating herself and Zeta

accordingly.

The vixen nodded, "Nice to meet you. I'm Flora." She turned back to the black rabbit.

"Come on, Pete. Lily and Zeta are going to help us escort everyone to the tunnels."

The rabbit slowly crept around the wooden door frame, but he stayed at the other end of

the short hall. The vixen trotted down the hall toward him, and he tensed. For a moment, Lily

thought he was going to run away from his own wife, but he seemed to force himself to remain

in place, allowing the vixen to catch him by the arm. The rabbit's head barely came to his wife's

shoulder, and she must have outweighed him at least three times. Lily watched in amusement

as the vixen forcibly--though with a gentle patience Lily wouldn't have been able to summon--

marched the rabbit over with them by the living room doorway. She let him go, and he darted

behind her.

The black and white rabbit poked his head out from behind the gray fox, "H-hi."

Lily tried to exchange a glance with Zeta to communicate her amusement at the rabbit's

comically skittish behavior, but Zeta was staring at him uncomfortably. The vixen's bushy gray

and black tail swished, and Lily thought she detected the tiniest hint of frustration flicker in her

green eyes. She took the rabbit's arm and gently pulled him around in front of her, wrapping her

other forearm across his black and white chest to hold him firmly against her fluffy light brown

and white belly.

Once she had him securely situated, she turned her attention back to Lily and Zeta,

looking a bit embarrassed, "I'm sorry. He's shy around strange predators at the best of times,

and these horrible events have him on edge."

"I understand," Lily replied politely though she couldn't hold back a smirk. Prey like this

must mortify those like Zeta; they embodied the very stereotypes their bolder relatives worked

so hard to combat. How such a nervous rabbit had ever ended up with a fox was hard to

imagine.

Zeta stiffly held out her hand to the other rabbit, "Hi Pete, I'm Zeta."

He took her hand, but his eyes kept nervously darting back to Lily as he shook Zeta's

hand. Zeta frowned as she let him go. Lily considered offering her own hand to see his reaction,

but she held back, glancing at Zeta. Maybe it was best not to torment this timid rabbit in front of

her colleague.

"Nice to meet you, Pete," Lily said politely. "We're grateful for how you've helped prepare

your neighbors for the evacuation."

"I-it's mostly been Flora," he squeaked.

The vixen petted his head, "That's not true, Pete. You've been very helpful keeping

everyone comfortable."

"Is everyone ready to go then?" Lily asked.

"I think so," the vixen answered. "Are they all ready, Pete?"

The rabbit nodded.

"Why don't you go tell everyone to grab their things, and we'll meet you outside," the

vixen suggested.

She let him go, and he quickly stepped into the living room with a final nervous glance at

Lily. Lily started for the front door.

"Just a moment!" the vixen stopped her. She hurried down the hall to the front closet and

donned a light blue denim jacket, leaving the silvery buttons undone. She dashed back up the

hall and into the back. She returned several seconds later with a black belt holding a handgun

and dirk looped around her hips.

Lily eyed the weapons, "Where did those come from?"

"I took them off the body," the vixen explained. "I thought I might need them, especially if

you didn't come back."

"Do you know how to shoot a gun?" Lily inquired dryly.

"I have an idea!" the vixen responded testily.

Lily shook her head and held out her hand, "If you haven't been trained, you're more of a

danger to us and yourself than you would be to an attacker."

The vixen frowned but began to undo the belt.

"Just the gun, you can keep the knife," Lily corrected.

The vixen unclipped the gun's holster from the belt and handed it to Lily. Lily checked

the ammunition: the gun's magazine was fully loaded. She snapped the holster to her own belt.

Lily nodded toward the door and led them out to the sidewalk. She eyed the blood smear

uncomfortably, stopping a few steps away in front of the house.

"Did you manage to bury the body alright?" Lily asked awkwardly.

"I had some help," the vixen answered stiffly.

"I'm, uh, sorry I made you do that," Lily replied. "If I'd known why you needed our help-"

"It's fine," she cut Lily off. "Someone had to do it. I just hope after this is all over

someone will move it. I don't relish the idea of having a grave in my backyard."

Lily nodded once, "Of course."

"I guess you have a lot of experience with this kind of thing," Zeta commented

awkwardly.

The vixen gave her a curious look, "I don't typically bury bodies. I'm a pharmacist."

"Er, I meant dealing with prey," Zeta quickly clarified. "Since your husband's a rabbit."

"You mean because he's timid," the vixen responded tersely.

Zeta frowned, she seemed to be about to respond, but the vixen went on, "He may not

be bold like you, Officer, but Pete's brave in his own way. And I adore him regardless."

Zeta still seemed uncomfortable. Lily would have liked to hear her go on, but she didn't.

Perhaps it was for the best. They didn't need to argue with the vixen; her relationship was her

business.

The prey began to file out the front door and down the porch, gathering on the lawn in

front of them.

The vixen watched until her husband exited, shutting the door behind him. "Is that

everyone, Pete?" she called.

He nodded.

"It's a few blocks," Lily addressed the group. "Everyone who can will need to help the

smaller prey. Any questions?"

No one spoke. Lily and Zeta began to collect the mice, voles, moles, and shrews they

could manage. Zeta took two, and Lily took six, placing two with their things on each shoulder,

two in her breast pockets, and the latter pair's bags in her lower pockets. The vixen followed

Lily's example, placing four on her shoulders and tucking two with their things in her lower

pockets. The other small rodents and shrews were collected by the beaver and other rabbits.

Lily didn't notice whether the vixen's husband took any as he stayed at the back of the pack.

"Right, let's get going," Lily decided.

The motley group began their journey. Lily glanced at the sun dipping close to the tops

of the houses. We've been lucky so far. Hopefully, these lunatics don't come out in force when it

gets dark. Leaving the block of houses, they turned toward the high-rises that included the

apartment complex. They chased their shadows as they hurried down the street. The whole city

was disturbingly quiet. Except for their own padding feet and the occasional rumble of a distant

car's engine, the normal sounds of people going about their lives were absent. Instead tension

and the fear scent of the surrounding prey filled the air. The entire city is on edge; we have to

stop these lunatics!

They were only a block from their destination when a gunshot exploded behind them.

Something hot ripped across Lily's cheek and cracked into the concrete wall of the building in

front of them.

Lily yowled, "RUN! Get behind the building!"

Panicked, the prey charged around the high-rise. Lily was jostled in their mad dash, but

when she darted behind the wall and quickly glanced back, she didn't see anyone they'd left

behind. Two blocks back, a gray wolf poked their head over a green dumpster to the right of a

two-story brick condominium. The wolf lifted a long-barreled gun, and Lily ducked back behind

the wall. Another bullet cracked into the corner she'd been peering around.

"How many, Chief?" Zeta asked.

"I only saw one, a wolf with a rifle, but there could be more," Lily growled.

"A-are you alright? You're bleeding!" the vixen yelped.

Lily turned toward her and nodded, "It's just a scratch. But an inch to the left, and I

wouldn't have a head anymore."

"What are we going to do?!" someone wailed.

Others began to whimper.

"We should have stayed home!"

"We'll never outrun a wolf!"

"We can't lead them to the tunnels!"

Lily held up her hands for silence. After a few moments, the whimpering stopped, and

the prey stared at her, some with hope and others with trepidation. "Zeta and I will handle this

lunatic," Lily declared as confidently as she could manage. She unclipped the other bobcat's

gun from her belt and held it out to the vixen, "Looks like you're going to need this."

The vixen stepped forward to accept the weapon. Lily withdrew the gun from its holster,

checking that the safety was off. She held it with her trigger finger on the side to demonstrate,

"Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. Aim, and then move your finger to

the trigger and pull."

The vixen nodded to indicate she'd understood. Lily put the gun back in its holster and

handed it to the vixen to put back on her belt.

Lily stepped over to a ground floor window on the building they were behind.

Withdrawing her own gun, she smashed in the window and peered inside: the room, which

appeared to be an office, was dark and empty of occupants. She motioned toward the window

with a wave of her arm, "Quick, all of you get inside and barricade yourselves in somewhere

until Zeta or I come back."

The prey hurried over to the widow, one of the black and white rabbits--the vixen's

father-in-law--going first. After boosting him in, Lily handed him the smaller rodents then helped

the squirrels and other rabbits. The beaver climbed in himself though Lily gave his rear a shove

to help him fit through the window. Finally, the vixen lifted her husband in and scrambled inside

herself.

The gray fox turned back to Lily and Zeta, "Good luck!"

Lily nodded, "Hurry and hide. We'll be back soon."

Lily turned to Zeta, who nodded grimly. They both knew they might not be coming back.

Lily only hoped the vixen would be able to use the gun if she had to. Who knew what these

lunatics might do to someone who'd helped prey the way she had?

Lily withdrew her gun, hurried back to the corner of the building, and peered around: this

time she saw two wolves poking their heads over the dumpster. She took a shot at them,

knowing she had little chance of hitting them at this distance. She ducked back around the

corner before two more shots cracked the wall.

Lily turned back to Zeta, "There are two now. You stay here and do what you can to

keep them pinned down. I'm going to try getting behind them."

"What if there are too many for you?!" Zeta protested.

"Then protect the civilians. Get them to the tunnels if you can or barricade yourself in

with them."

"But-"

"Are you going to have trouble following that order, Officer?!" Lily snarled fiercely.

Zeta shot to attention, "N-no, Chief!"

Lily nodded, "Good luck, Zeta. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Lily didn't wait for the white and black mottled rabbit to reply but dashed away down the

side of the building. She ran hard, putting one block then another between her and the wolves'

line of sight from beside the brick building. Turning right, she hared back the direction they'd

come from until she was at the far end of the block in line with the wolves'. As she ran, she

heard a gunshot behind her followed by another in front: Zeta was trying to keep the wolves

pinned down, but she couldn't last forever. Lily turned right again and didn't slow until she

reached the corner diagonal across the block from the corner the wolves were closest to.

Catching her breath, she crept the rest of the way down the block. She hoped the wolves

wouldn't have made a dash for Zeta. Fortunately, the wolves didn't know how many of them had

guns anymore than Lily knew how many of them there were.

Lily crept to the corner of the brick building and carefully poked her head around: the

wolves were still there, all three of them. Shit. She ducked back behind the wall. If Lily shot well,

she could take them all out. But larger species were harder to kill, and they had guns too. Lily

would only have a matter of seconds before they could respond in kind. I have to do this. There

was no backup coming. They couldn't wait the wolves out because eventually they would try to

attack. They couldn't escape and allow the wolves to kill someone else. Lily had to shoot first

and hope if they shot her it'd be quick.

Taking a final deep breath to fortify herself, Lily withdrew her gun and slipped around the

red brick corner. Aiming for the back of the leftmost wolf, she fired. BANG BANG! The wolf

lurched and slumped forward against the dumpster. The others jerked around, eyes wide and

snarling with rage. Lily fired at the middle wolf. BANG BANG! The wolf jerked but then they

both charged. Lily aimed at the other hoping to at least wound both. BANG BANG! The wolf

gripped her chest and snarled in defiance but then toppled to the ground. Lily turned her gun

and fired her last shot into the second wolf. BANG! Lily saw blood fly as the bullet went through

the wolf's shoulder, but she didn't stop.

Only feet away, the wolf snatched a long, curved knife from her belt with her other hand

and snarled, "You're going to die, kitty!"

Lily threw her gun into the wolf's face and leapt at her with claws extended. Lily collided

with the wolf's muzzle, slashing wildly with her claws. The wolf howled in pain and surprise,

dropping her knife as she grabbed Lily. Lily gripped her claws into the wolf's ears, but she tore

Lily away and hurled her at the brick wall. Pain exploded through Lily's body as she slammed

against the wall. Her left side impacted with the wall first, but her head also bounced against the

unforgiving bricks. Dazed and aching, Lily fell to the asphalt in a heap.

Snarling, the wolf stalked toward her, "You're going to die slowly for that, pig. I hear cat

doesn't taste bad, so maybe after you stop screaming-"

BANG BANG BANG BANG! The wolf collapsed in front of Lily, blood pouring out of

multiple holes in the side of her black vest. Groggily, Lily turned her head to see Zeta standing

to the left of the dumpster. Zeta hastily checked the state of the wolf slumped against the

dumpster, dashed to quickly check the other two, and then raced up to Lily.

"Chief! Are you alright?! Say something!" She placed a trembling hand to Lily's neck.

"I'm alive," Lily grunted. "Just a minute, need to catch my breath."

"Stay right where you are! I'm getting you help!" Zeta turned and bolted back toward the

way she'd come.

Lily groaned and slumped back against the wall. Her whole body hurt, and she couldn't

tell if anything was broken. Gradually, she began to feel as though she could stand, and she

used the wall to help steady her as she forced herself to her feet.

"I said stay there!" Zeta yelled.

Lily looked up to see her haring around the dumpster with the vixen and her husband

close behind.

Zeta rushed up to her and eased her back down. She clutched Lily's hand, "Hold still so

they can look at you."

"I'm fine," Lily growled. She glanced dubiously at the couple, "Besides, I thought you

were a pharmacist," she said to the vixen.

"Pete's a doctor," she replied.

"S-still in residency," the black and white rabbit responded.

"You'll do fine. Go, she needs your help," the vixen guided him forward with a gentle but

urgent hand.

The buck hopped over to Lily and crouched next to her. First he peered into her eyes.

"D-do you feel dizzy?"

"No," Lily grumbled. She didn't like being fussed over, even if he was a doctor.

"I don't think you have a concussion, but you're going to have a nasty lump."

Lily growled low.

He flinched but then began to run his hands over her body. Lily tried to stay patient until

he was done.

"I-I don't think anything is broken. Does anything hurt?"

"Everything, but I'll be fine," Lily growled.

She sat up and forced herself to her feet with a growl of defiance against the pain. The

rabbit jumped backwards.

"M-maybe you should rest! I-"

"We don't have time to rest!" Lily snapped. "Thanks for the checkup, but I'll be fine. I'm

just a little bruised!"

Zeta dashed over and hugged Lily tight.

Lily hissed in pain, "Watch the ribs!"

Zeta hastily released her, "Sorry!"

Lily put a hand on Zeta's head and gently pulled her in against her lower chest, "Thank

you, Zeta. You saved my life, even if you disobeyed my orders."

"I couldn't let you face them alone!" Zeta protested.

Lily lightly ran her thumb over the base of one of the rabbit's ears, "I'll overlook it this

time."

Zeta took Lily's hand from her head and squeezed it tightly in both of hers, "I'm glad

you're alright, Chief."

"Well enough. I'm not looking forward to the next few days," Lily replied. She glanced

back at the vixen and buck, "Thanks. We need to head to the tunnels now before any more of

these clowns show up."

They returned to the high-rise the civilians had hidden in. The vixen went back inside to

collect the rest of the group, and then they completed the trip to the apartment complex.

Lily punched the call button on Archibald again.

The weasel answered fearfully, "Y-yes?"

"Police again. You know what we need," Lily stated bluntly.

"G-go away! Call someone else!" the weasel cried.

"If we have to break in, you're going to regret it," Lily growled dangerously. "Just open

the door!"

The lock clicked, and Zeta pulled the glass door open.

"Thanks." Lily hung up.

Lily noticed the vixen eyeing her concernedly, but she ignored her. Zeta led the way to

the elevator. After a couple trips, they proceeded to the laundry room where Lily removed the

grate and guided the civilians to the trap door. They began to climb down, the larger prey

carrying the smaller ones. The vixen stopped in front of Lily, her husband peeking out from

behind her.

"Thank you, Officer. We couldn't have made it without you."

"Maybe you could; maybe you couldn't. It was bad luck we ran into those three," Lily

responded.

The vixen shook her head, "You saved us. I wish I could come with you to help. There

are so many more prey! I want to do what I can!"

Lily shook her head, "You need to get to safety. This is our job; we'll handle it."

"You've already done a lot!" Zeta put in, stepping up beside Lily. "Both of you."

"I didn't do much," Pete replied embarrassedly.

"You helped when the Chief needed you. That's a lot," Zeta rejoined.

He glanced nervously at Lily, and she gave him a nod. He'd at least been ready to help,

even if she hadn't needed it. He stepped around his wife and held out his hand to Lily. Lily took

it gently and shook it. He smiled nervously, and Lily smiled back politely. Shaking hands

shouldn't be a major achievement. Lily was glad she didn't have to deal with this rabbit on a

daily basis. Lily let him go, and his wife hugged him to her belly.

"I think you should head down with the others and let me stay and help the officers," the

gray fox murmured to her husband. "I can help more. There's less of a risk for me."

The rabbit looked up at her, "If you're staying, I'm staying!" he stated determinedly.

The vixen shook her head, "It's too dangerous, Pete. I want to know you're safe."

"And I won't hide while my wife puts herself in danger!" he shot back.

"Neither of you are coming with us," Lily stated firmly. "You both need to get to safety."

"You need help!" the vixen protested. "There are too many prey for you to handle!"

"The biggest bottleneck is the tram," Lily replied. "I want you to get to the tram and help

Flint with the evacuation there. He's a black squirrel. A muskrat named Matthias will be there

too. Tell them I sent you."

"You're just trying to get rid of us!" the vixen protested.

"I am," Lily stated bluntly. "But that doesn't mean you can't help there. Besides, we don't

need two more civilians to protect."

The vixen huffed frustratedly, "Fine."

Lily held out her hand to the fox, and she took it after a moment of grumpy hesitation.

"Good luck," Lily said.

The vixen nodded, "You too. I hope we'll meet again when this is all over. I think I could

get to like you, Officer, even if you're irritatingly stubborn."

Lily smirked, "See you around then. I assume you know where the station is if you ever

need anything."

The couple stepped over to the hole, and the rabbit went first. The vixen gave them a

final wave as she descended into the tunnel. Lily let out a sigh of relief once they'd disappeared.

"Odd couple," Zeta murmured.

Lily glanced at her, "Rabbit and fox, not so different from rabbit and bobcat."

Zeta turned to look at her in horror, "You don't think I'm like that poor soul, do you,

Chief?!"

Lily smirked, "No, of course not, but he seemed happy enough."

"Maybe," Zeta replied dubiously. "I guess he has it alright, but," she didn't finish.

"But what?"

Zeta hesitated, "I just feel like, maybe she's doing him a disservice. I mean, he's not

learning to confront his fear with her coddling him."

"So you don't think I should find my own timid bunny to play with?" Lily jested.

Zeta gave her a disturbed look, "'Play with?'"

Lily changed the subject, "Do you think the lunatics will come out more at night?"

Zeta shrugged, "I don't know."

"We'd better get back out there. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of prey might have been

waiting to use the cover of night."

"I think we should take a break," Zeta stated. "You were hurt. You need time to recover."

Lily shook her head, "That just gives me time to get stiff and sore."

Zeta frowned, "Okay, Chief, but I think we should take a break at some point. It will be

hard to do much if we come across these dirtbags while we're exhausted."

They made their way back outside. The sun had dipped below the rooftops, and the

high-rises across the street were silhouetted against the reddening sky. Lily led Zeta North, and

soon they found another group of prey making the dangerous trip. They escorted this group

without incident then another. By the time they finished with the second, the street lamps were

the primary source of light; however, the moon would soon be rising, and the night was clear.

Still, the relative darkness would provide some security to those sneaking through the city,

predator and prey alike.

They soon found that Lily had been correct about prey waiting for nightfall to make the

run. Within half an hour, there were more groups of prey than Lily and Zeta could handle. They

gathered those they could, their escort growing as they approached the apartment complex and

seemingly getting larger with each trip. Lily decided to have mercy on the weasel and propped

the door open after the fourth call up.

As they led the last of the seventh group of prey down the elevator, Lily leaned against

the wall. The hum of the elevator's fan was soothing. Lily blinked her heavy eyelids against the

yellow light. The next thing Lily knew, Zeta was shaking her shoulder gently. She was sitting in

the corner of the elevator, and Zeta was leaning over her. Lily sat up, meeting Zeta's brown

eyes with her own. She glanced around the elevator: it was empty.

"Where'd they go?" Lily asked.

"I took them to the tunnel. The squirrel and groundhog next to you caught you when you

fainted. You seemed okay, so I left you here."

Lily grunted in acknowledgement. She forced herself to her feet, swaying dizzily as she

stood. "We should get back out there," she stated.

Zeta grasped her right hand in both of hers and shook her head, "I found someone with

an extra bed who said we could stay awhile. You need to get at least a few hours' rest before

we go back out."

"I'll be fine," Lily growled.

"I'm tired too, Chief. I don't know if I can handle another trip."

Lily regarded Zeta suspiciously. She was probably just trying to get her to agree when

she was actually still fine. Lily couldn't appear incapable in front of her subordinates. She hadn't

gotten much sleep last night, and it was late. But that was no excuse; she had a duty to perform!

"Please, Chief. I feel like I might collapse at any minute!"

Lily sighed resignedly. Even if Zeta was trying to make an excuse for her, Lily couldn't

demand the rabbit keep going when she said she was about to collapse. They didn't need to be

a burden on the prey they were trying to help. "Alright," Lily grumbled. "But only a few hours."

Zeta nodded, "Only a few hours."

Lily let Zeta lead her by the hand to the apartment where they could stay. Zeta knocked,

and a middle-aged fisher opened the door.

He smiled at the two of them, "Welcome, ladies. We have a guest bedroom right this

way."

He led them to a room in the back of the flat, passing a bathroom and another pair of

bedrooms on the way. Lily saw another adult fisher sitting up in bed in one bedroom, their dark

eyes reflecting the hall light, and three or four sleeping fisher kits in the other. The bed in the

room at the end of the hall had a maroon comforter and white pillows. Fortunately, it looked big

enough to sleep both of them comfortably. The fisher stopped outside the door as they went in.

"Let me know if you need anything," he told them. He turned and disappeared back

down the hall.

Zeta pulled back the maroon comforter and white sheet and motioned for Lily to get in.

"I need to use the bathroom first," Lily stated. "You go ahead."

Lily left Zeta and used the bathroom. Zeta was waiting outside when she exited and

went in after her. Lily trudged back to the bedroom and dropped heavily into the bed. She was

out like a light, but she opened her eyes again when she felt Zeta pulling the blankets up over

her.

"Sorry," Zeta whispered. She lay down next to Lily on her back and turned her head to

look at her in the dim light from the window beside the bed. "Good night, Chief." Zeta closed her

eyes and was soon breathing gently.

Lily watched the rabbit a few minutes before closing her own eyes. She was glad she'd

picked Zeta as her partner for this mission. Maybe she'd been too dismissive of prey officers in

the past. She'd felt compelled to protect Zeta, and she had. But Zeta had saved her life too.

We're a good team. Exhausted, Lily soon fell back to sleep. Tomorrow, or later today rather,

they'd go back to helping evacuate prey, and Lily knew she had a partner she could count on.