{"sf1_id":2015908,"sf2_id":"0mvqrWQe","title":"Chapter 2: Aftermath","author":"HeatherOBunn","words":19049,"posted_at":"2023-07-02T16:03:00.000Z","tags":["Bobcat","Buck","Chapter","Doe","Evacuation","Fox","Gun","Gun Fight","Novel","Police","Predator/Prey","Rabbit","Squirrel","Terrorists","Thriller","Vixen","carnivore","cult"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2015908-chapter-2-aftermath","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/0mvqrWQe","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/3f/49/3f49afce-e54c-45e8-ab43-06ddad877f28","description":"#2 of The Murderess of Maplesburg: Reign of Terror\n\nHaving escaped from the cruel duchess, Ellie and Jason travel to Ellie's hometown of Willowdale. But how will Ellie's friends and family react to learning she's in a relationship with a cat? Meanwhile, the carnivore cult attacks Maplesburg!","content":"Chapter 2: Aftermath  \nLily huddled in the warehouse with her remaining officers. They were fortunate that the  \nnights were still warm, but they stayed close for comfort as much as warmth. Lily had been  \ncompletely unprepared for the vicious attack on the police station. They'd been overwhelmed by  \nthe pack of dogs, and Lily had been forced to flee with as many as she could. It was all she  \ncould do to get a handful away. Lily glanced toward the sleeping form of the ginger cat beside  \nher, her stripes gray in the silver moonlight that filtered through the high, small windows of the  \nwarehouse: at least she'd gotten Katya away.  \nHowever, the raid on the station had only been the beginning of the attack. Lily had led  \nthe others to her home only to find it broken into, the door kicked in. Nothing much inside had  \nbeen disturbed, but that hadn't been important. Their attackers knew where they lived! They'd  \nhurried to each of the off-duty officers' houses and were lucky to save several more, but other  \nhouses they found broken into and empty with signs of struggle. In one house, the home of a  \ngroundhog named Bert, they'd found his bedroom splattered with blood and strewn with his fur.  \nProceeding to check the homes of on-duty officers with families, they'd been relieved to find  \nthem shaken by the dogs' recent intrusion but unharmed. That had been until they'd visited  \nMeredith's home. Meredith was a marmot, and they'd found no trace of her husband. They'd  \nalso found that the wife and children of one of the missing officers, a fox squirrel named Patrick,  \nhad been taken. After that, they'd prioritized prey's homes and had been able to rescue a few. It  \nhadn't been easy for Lily to explain when their spouse or parent hadn't been present, and some  \nhad wanted to stay in case they came back. However, Lily had managed to pressure the prey  \ninto coming with her and the other officers.  \nSo now they were hiding. They didn't know what the dogs wanted other than to kill them.  \nLily knew she should try to sleep, but she was fraught with guilt. She should have been able to  \nprevent this! She should have been able to protect those under her! As she often had in the past  \ntwo years, Lily regretted ever having applied for the position of police chief. She'd been  \ninexperienced, only a few years out of the academy, but she'd also been ambitious.  \nAnd then there was Chief White. Chief White, a muscular tom cat with appropriately  \nstark white fur, had been the Maplesburg police chief before Lily. He'd been a tough boss, one  \nwith no time for foolish mistakes or insolence, but he'd also believed in Lily. He'd seen the  \npotential she knew she had and supported her initiative even when other senior officers had  \nscoffed at her naiveté. Lily could still visualize the pride in his yellow-green eyes when he'd  \npromoted her to lieutenant.  \nThen he'd taken that bullet during the shootout with a gang of human traffickers, human  \nhuman traffickers; no other species was depraved enough to engage in the sale of other  \nvertebrates, let alone their own species. He'd died in the hospital the next day. Lily had been  \nheartbroken, but she hadn't let the loss hold her back. She'd make Chief White proud. Even if  \nnothing of the fierce cat existed anymore, she'd do what he would have wanted, so she applied  \nfor the position.  \nIn any sane world, she wouldn't have gotten it; she was far too inexperienced, but the  \nDuchess had taken an interest in her application. The vixen had seen Lily's potential too, or  \nthat's what Lily had thought when the Duchess accepted her application. That was until she met  \nthe fox, until the Duchess told her that justice was a lie, that she was a puppet, that nothing  \nmattered except her desires, which were to torture and murder prey. And Lily would help her,  \nwould cover up her monstrous acts. Lily had wanted to object, but how could she? This was the  \nway things were, how they'd always been. She'd simply been too naive to see. And so Lily  \nagreed.  \nIt broke her. All of her desire to protect the innocent and bring down the guilty was  \nstripped away because it was all a lie. Her purpose was to protect the Vulpinevan order, no  \nmatter how sick and twisted it was. If only she hadn't applied for the position, she could have  \nremained naive a little bit longer.  \nLily shook away the brooding regret. The fact was she was the chief of police. It was her  \nresponsibility to figure out what to do. She needed to find out what the dogs were after and how  \nto stop them. But for now, she needed to rest. Lily turned onto her side on the flattened  \ncardboard boxes they'd found to cover the cement floor and wrapped her arm over the ginger  \ncat. She would keep Katya safe. She would keep them all safe, and she would find a way to  \nthwart these vicious hounds. Lily closed her eyes, and at last she was able to fall asleep.  \n\\* \\* \\*  \nThe early dawn light was filtering through the grimy windows when Lily awoke. She was  \nstill tired, but she didn't know how much longer they should stay here. Sitting up, she glanced  \ndown at Katya beside her then around at the other dozen officers with her: Joel, Clover, David,  \nMeredith, Hunter, Matthias, Zeta, Theresa, Chris, Flint, Gloria, and Lance. Besides her and  \nKatya, they were two other cats (one tuxedo cat and one a silver tabby), a black squirrel, a  \nprairie dog, two river otters, a raccoon, a badger, a muskrat, two rabbits (one white with black  \nsplotches and the other brown and white), and a marmot. These were the officers she'd saved.  \nFlint--the black squirrel--was curled up with his wife and two kids, who were all the typical gray.  \nMatthias--the muskrat--was holding his black rat girlfriend. Clover--the brown and white  \nrabbit--was next to her hare husband, and Zeta--the white and black splotched rabbit--was  \nnext to another doe (this one lop-eared and light brown) who might have been her partner or  \nonly her flatmate. Zeta hadn't said, and Lily hadn't asked. Many of the carnivore officers had  \nfamilies too, but Lily had decided they were safer staying where they were since those they'd  \nreached after the dogs had described only a cursory search. Finally, their group included a  \nfamily of brown rats, the husband and children of Lynda, who hadn't escaped from the station  \nwith Lily, and the teenage children of Mike, a fisher who also hadn't escaped the station. The  \nfishers might have been safer on their own, but Lily hadn't wanted to leave the young carnivores  \nalone.  \nLily stood, and Gloria, one of the otters, quickly scrambled to her feet as well.  \n\"Should I wake the others, Chief?\" Gloria hissed under her breath.  \nLily nodded. They needed to start working out what to do about these dangerous  \nhounds--the fact they'd mostly been wolves and coyotes didn't stop Lily from thinking of them  \nas hounds--and perhaps before that, find somewhere to eat and use the bathroom. They would  \nall be hungry after racing around most of the night, and while some of them had relieved  \nthemselves in a corner of the warehouse, Lily didn't like to leave a mess. Perhaps they could  \nfind a café or grocery that was open early.  \nLily was trying to figure out what might be near their location on the East side of  \ndowntown when she was startled by distant gunshots. She raced to the door and furtively  \npeeked out. At first, she wasn't certain what she was seeing: the orange and yellow dawn sky  \nwas darkened with a low, dense cloud. It took a moment before Lily was able to make out the  \nflapping shapes that composed the cloud: birds. That must be nearly every bird in the city! More  \ngunshots sounded, and Lily saw a couple of the birds plummet from the sky. However, the cloud  \nrose higher and higher and, heading South, was soon out of range. What is going on?!  \nLily returned to the group, who were standing and stretching with groans of discomfort  \nafter the night on the hard floor. \"Does anyone know what's going on?!\" She demanded. \"First,  \nwe're attacked, then our homes, and now it looks like every bird just evacuated the city!\"  \n\"Don't you know?!\" one of the teenage fishers inquired incredulously.  \nLily glared at him dangerously, \"If I knew, I wouldn't have asked,\" she growled.  \n\"It was on the radio! The terrorists attacked the police and City Hall! They want prey  \nrights to be suspended!\"  \nLily frowned, \"'They want prey rights to be suspended?' What does that mean?\"  \n\"It means they want to eat us!\" the brown rat--Lynda's husband--squeaked shrilly. \"M-  \nmy grandfather always said we couldn't trust carnivores! He said they'd decide to start eating us  \nagain!\"  \nA few of the carnivores shifted uncomfortably.  \n\"No one here is planning to eat you,\" Lily snapped. \"If that's what they want, then they're  \ninsane! They caught us off guard before, but we'll handle these lunatics!\"  \nShe looked around at her officers with an expression of confidence that belied her inner  \ndoubt. How many of them are there? They want to eat prey? The memory of Jason desperately  \ntrying to convince her carnivore cults were real back at the academy flashed through her mind.  \nShe'd dismissed his 'evidence' as ridiculous conspiracy, but perhaps he'd been right. Were their  \nattackers members of such a cult?  \n\"The first thing we need to do is figure out how many there are and where they're  \nhiding,\" Lily declared. \"But before that, we need to take care of ourselves. We can't fight on  \nempty stomachs.\"  \n\"W-what are you going to eat?\" the brown rat whimpered.  \nLily gave him a disdainful look, \"Food. There must be a grocery or restaurant or  \nsomething around.\"  \n\"There's a Buukomart on East Fifteenth Street,\" Flint answered.  \nLily nodded; the supermarket would have anything they needed.  \n\"I-is it safe to go out?\" the lop-eared brown rabbit squeaked nervously.  \nZeta took her hand. \"Chief Schulz will keep us safe,\" she comforted.  \nZeta's confidence in her bolstered Lily's own confidence. She had thirteen officers with  \nher, all armed. Protecting the civilians would make things more difficult, but it was nothing they  \ncouldn't handle. They wouldn't be caught unprepared again. Next time, they'd have the element  \nof surprise! \"We'll keep together and be careful,\" she decided.  \nLily turned back toward the door and led them out onto the asphalt loading area in front  \nof the warehouse. She glanced back to make sure they were all following then glanced up and  \ndown the street: no one was about. They were on a small side street off of East 17th Street, but  \nthe Buukomart was several blocks away. Lily let Flint take the lead since he seemed to know  \nthe area best and fell back beside Katya.  \n\"Are you doing alright?\" Lily murmured.  \n\"Yes, Ma'am,\" Katya answered uncomfortably.  \nLily held back a wince. Ever since the disaster with Jason and his obnoxious rabbit,  \nKatya had been standoffish around Lily. Katya didn't know what had happened, but Lily  \nassumed she blamed her to some extent for the cat and rabbit's disappearance. After all, they  \nmight not have been involved if Lily had agreed to take the cases that had led them to the  \nDuchess. Katya couldn't know what had really happened or why Lily had wanted to let those  \ncases go cold. Lily couldn't tell her how she'd tried to stop the private inspectors from stumbling  \nto their doom, but Katya's coolness toward her hurt. Lily felt a special connection with the ginger  \ncat; she had all of Lily's former naiveté as well as an innate kindness that perhaps Lily had  \nnever had. Lily didn't want her to be hurt. She wanted to protect her from the hideousness of the  \nworld, but the world seemed determined to reveal its grotesque visage to Katya no matter Lily's  \nintentions.  \n\"If you need to talk, I'm always available,\" Lily murmured.  \nKatya nodded once before stepping up her pace to walk by Theresa, the silver tabby.  \nLily fell back beside Hunter and Gloria. Unlike the smaller cats, the otters were roughly Lily's  \nsize.  \n\"What's the plan, Chief?\" Gloria inquired.  \n\"Like I said, we need information,\" Lily replied. \"We can't devise a counter strike until we  \nknow what we're up against.\"  \n\"What about the Mayor and City Council?\" Hunter asked.  \n\"What about them? I don't think they're going to be much help.\"  \n\"I heard the rats say they're being held hostage,\" Hunter replied.  \nLily flicked her short tail in annoyance. Why has no one told me this?! \"I see. Well, if  \nwhat Lynda's husband said about the hounds eating prey is true, we don't have much of a  \nchoice. A handful of politicians versus who knows how many prey?\"  \nHunter nodded. \"I see what you mean.\"  \nLily continued to walk beside the otters. Their short strides were more a waddle than a  \nwalk, causing their thick tails to wave back and forth behind them. They were passing through a  \nresidential area when they heard a scream of terror.  \nLily snapped into action, \"Gloria, Hunter, keep the civilians safe. The rest of you with  \nme!\"  \nShe turned and dashed toward the source of the scream, the rapid padding of the other  \nofficers' feet close behind her. Lily heard growling voices ahead and slowed, motioning toward  \nthe gray-sided house in front of them on the left side of the street. They hurried into the yard,  \nand Lily crept around the house with the others behind her, listening carefully for the threatening  \nvoices. A voice issued from across the side street that intersected the road they'd been traveling  \ndown.  \n\"P-please don't! W-we can pay! We'll give you anything!\" someone squeaked fearfully.  \n\"There's nothing we want more than your sweet flesh,\" a second voice growled  \ntauntingly in reply. \"Be a good rodent and call the rest out, or we'll burn it down with you inside.\"  \n\"I-I won't!\"  \nA third voice snarled, \"It'll be a lot worse if you don't give up! Surrender yourselves, and  \nwe'll make your deaths quick!\"  \n\"No!\"  \nA wordless snarl was followed by a rodent's squeal of pain.  \nLily turned toward her officers and withdrew her handgun from her belt. They did  \nlikewise. Lily jerked her head towards the voices and dashed to the next house on their side of  \nthe street. She crept around the back until, peering around the side, she could see two coyotes,  \nboth wearing black vests, in front of a two story house with pale green siding just across the  \nstreet. One of the coyotes was holding up a thirteen-striped ground squirrel. The coyote had one  \nhand around the squirrel's neck while the other toyed with the handle of a knife on his belt.  \n\"Call them out, or I'll make you scream until they beg for us to kill you,\" the coyote  \nholding the squirrel growled.  \nThe squirrel gurgled around the coyote's tight grip on his neck.  \nWith another jerk of her head, Lily charged to the edge of the street, pointing her gun at  \nthe back at the coyote holding the squirrel. Her officers flanked her on both sides, also aiming at  \nthe coyotes.  \n\"What's that?\" the coyote taunted. \"Are you rea-\"  \n\"Drop him and put your hands on your heads!\" Lily yowled.  \nThe coyotes jerked around toward them, and their eyes shot wide in surprise. The one  \nwith the squirrel dropped him, and he landed on all fours before scampering inside.  \n\"I thought we took care of the pigs,\" the other coyote growled under her breath to her  \ncompanion.  \n\"On the ground. Keep your hands where I can see them!\" Lily ordered.  \nThe coyotes reluctantly complied, eyeing the police loathingly. Both were armed with  \nguns and knives on their belts, but trying to go for them would have been suicide with so many  \nguns trained on them.  \nLily stalked over to them with the rest of her officers. She stopped a few paces from the  \nmale, keeping her gun pointed at his head.  \n\"Cuff and muzzle them! Take away their toys!\" Lily commanded. \"Flint, keep your eye on  \nthe other!\"  \nThe black squirrel guarded the female coyote, who glared death his direction despite his  \ngun pointed at her head.  \n\"You aren't going to win,\" the female coyote growled at him. \"You've kept us as slaves  \nlong enough. Soon others will see. There will be too many for you pigs.\"  \n\"Shut up!\" Lily snarled.  \nOnce the coyotes were handcuffed, disarmed, and muzzled, Lily left Joel, the tuxedo cat,  \nin charge of the male coyote and went to knock on the door of the house. After a minute, the  \ndoor opened but with the safety chain still in place. A thirteen-striped ground squirrel--Lily  \nthought he was the same one--peeked out.  \n\"I-I recognize you. Y-you're the ch-chief of police, right?\" he stammered.  \nLily nodded.  \n\"I-I thought the terrorists attacked the police.\"  \n\"They did. They didn't get all of us.\"  \n\"A-are they dead?\"  \nLily frowned, \"No, we didn't have to kill them, but we have them under control. It's safe  \nfor you to come out. I want to ask you some questions.\"  \nThe ground squirrel nodded hesitantly but then closed the door and, undoing the safety  \nchain, opened it enough to step outside. He stared fearfully at the bound coyotes. \"W-what are  \nyou going to do with them?\"  \nIt was something Lily hadn't had time to think about. They couldn't let them go, and they  \ndidn't have anywhere to put them. They couldn't take them back to the station until they had it  \nresecured. \"I don't know. Do you know somewhere we could put them?\"  \n\"You sh-should put them in a hole! They were going to eat us!\"  \n\"That's not how we do things,\" Lily growled warningly.  \nThe squirrel flinched. \"I-I, I just thought-\"  \n\"I understand, but we don't just shoot people.\"  \n\"W-we, uh, we have a cellar out back.\"  \n\"Would they fit?\" It was a squirrel's cellar after all.  \n\"I-I think so. It's big, but we might have to widen the door.\"  \nLily nodded. \"If you don't mind. Do you have any rope? I want to make sure they can't  \nget away.\"  \nThe squirrel nodded rapidly, \"Y-yes, I'll get it!\" He dashed back inside.  \nA few minutes later he returned with two more ground squirrels and two coils of rope.  \nLily motioned for them to give the rope to her officers, and her officers began to bind the coyotes  \nmore securely. They wouldn't be running off any time soon.  \n\"When you're done take off the cuffs and muzzles in case we need them again and drag  \nthem around back,\" Lily instructed.  \nThe first squirrel instructed the others to widen the door to the cellar, and they scurried  \nbehind the pale green house.  \n\"What do you know about what's going on?\" Lily inquired.  \nThe ground squirrel looked at her confusedly, \"Don't you know? I've only heard what's  \nbeen on the radio.\"  \n\"We spent the night in an old warehouse, no radio, and it's not like there's anyone to  \ncommunicate with us from the station,\" Lily explained.  \n\"O-okay, um, last night they said the terrorists attacked the police and took the Mayor  \nand City Council hostage. They said they want to suspend prey rights.\"  \nLily nodded in acknowledgement, \"So much I've heard. Anything else?\"  \n\"Um, early this morning, they reported they'd also taken the Duchess hostage. I guess  \nthey mean the Duchess of Gooseberry.\"  \nShit. That actually was a problem. Lily could sacrifice the politicians; they didn't matter.  \nShe couldn't sacrifice the vixen. Or maybe this is my chance to be rid of that monster! Lily didn't  \nknow what the consequences would be for getting the Duchess killed. She would almost  \ncertainly lose her job. She might go to jail. It would be worth it! The vixen had taken advantage  \nof Lily, made her do horrible things, forced her to leave her former lover, a cat she'd still cared  \nabout, to be tortured. If anyone deserved to die, it was the Duchess. The only justice is in  \ninjustice. Lily's eyes drifted over to watch the coyotes being dragged back to the cellar by her  \nofficers. Maybe we should shoot them.  \n\"Uh, Officer?\" the squirrel interrupted Lily's brooding.  \nLily looked back into the squirrel's fearful eyes. \"Thank you. I want you to know we're  \ndoing everything we can to stop these murderers,\" she tried to calm him.  \n\"I-I think the prey should evacuate! I saw the birds go this morning,\" the squirrel  \nresponded.  \n\"I saw that too, but I assume they have the roads blocked, and that many people on foot  \nwould be certain to catch their notice. I think it's best to lie low. We'll sort this out.\"  \n\"Th-there are tunnels!\"  \nLily blinked, \"Tunnels? What are you talking about?\"  \nThe ground squirrel looked at her nervously, \"I, uh, I don't know if I should tell you.\"  \nLily gave him a baffled look, \"You know who I am! We just rescued you! If it's important,  \nyou need to tell me!\" she demanded.  \n\"Y-you're a carnivore. Carnivores aren't supposed to know,\" the squirrel whined.  \nLily turned around to address her officers, who had returned from the backyard, \"Does  \nanyone else know what he's talking about? Tunnels somewhere?\"  \nNo one offered an answer for several seconds. They looked at each other and shrugged.  \nLily was about to turn back to the ground squirrel when Flint stepped forward.  \n\"I know about them, Chief.\"  \nLily waited for him to elaborate, but the black squirrel said no more. \"Go on,\" she  \nprompted.  \n\"Only prey are allowed to know,\" he stated embarrassedly. \"I'm sorry, Chief. You're a  \nbobcat.\"  \nLily stared at him in disbelief. She felt anger bubbling to the surface, but she tried to  \npush it down. Flint was a loyal officer. She could reason with him. \"I'm trying to help, Flint,\" she  \nurged. \"You can't even tell your commanding officer? You know I want to help. If this could save  \nlives, I need to know about it.\"  \nFlint glanced nervously at the other prey in their group. Lily wondered how many knew  \nand didn't want to admit it.  \n\"You can trust Chief Schulz, Flint,\" Zeta soothed.  \n\"Do you know?\" Lily asked her.  \nThe white and black rabbit shook her head, \"If I did, I'd tell you. I know you're a predator  \nI can trust. I trust you with my life.\"  \nLily was warmed by her confidence. She glanced back to Flint, who shuffled his feet  \nembarrassedly.  \n\"A-alright, but this is a secret. There's a network of tunnels under Maplesburg, not only  \nunder Maplesburg, under every major city that existed before, uh, before we had lab meat.\"  \nLily's eyes widened in surprise. Her short tail flicked excitedly. \"And it's been a secret  \nthat long?\" It was hard to believe no one had discovered them in the past two hundred and fifty  \nyears or before then for that matter.  \n\"W-well, they weren't exactly a secret at the time. Carnivores didn't know where they  \nwere exactly, but they knew they existed.\"  \n\"What were they for?\" Lily inquired curiously.  \n\"For prey to get in and out of the city. They-\"  \n\"I didn't think prey lived in our cities before we had lab meat,\" Lily interrupted.  \n\"They didn't, but we, uh, the prey at the time still wanted to trade with predators. It's, um,  \nhard to make certain things when you have to hide. Some brave prey would sell what we could  \nmake to get the things we needed. They transported their wares through the tunnels and up into  \nshops.\"  \n\"How do you run a shop when the first person to come by might eat you and take  \neverything you were selling?\" Lily asked curiously. She hadn't learned about this in history  \nclass, which made sense if it was all supposed to be secret, but she was trying to wrap her mind  \naround the idea of merchant prey selling goods in a city full of predators who'd like to eat them.  \n\"They, uh, there were some friendly predators, well, not exactly friendly, predators who  \nwanted to make a profit. They ran the front of the shops and purchased what the prey needed  \nfor a cut, probably a bigger cut than they let on, but that's how it worked. It was the best we  \ncould do in those days.\"  \n\"And the tunnels are still there? They haven't collapsed?\"  \nFlint shook his head, \"They're still there. We've kept them in good shape in case, um, in  \ncase something like this happened.\"  \n\"Is there enough space? There's, what, one point two million prey?\"  \n\"That's including the birds. They're one-third of the prey population, so it's about eight  \nhundred thousand. There are miles of tunnel, so we might all fit, but we don't need to just hide,  \nwe can escape!\"  \n\"It must be a long way to wherever the other end is,\" Lily replied dubiously. \"A long way  \nto walk anyway.\"  \n\"There's a tram,\" Flint returned.  \nLily gawked at him, \"The prey were running a tram and no one knew where the tunnels  \nwere?!\"  \n\"N-no, the tram was built for rapid evacuation shortly after the prey began to live in  \nMaplesburg.\"  \nJoel cut in, \"It sounds like you prey went to an awful lot of trouble to make sure you could  \nget away from us,\" the cat drawled.  \n\"Would you feel safe living with people who only just stopped eating you with no way  \nout?!\" Flint shot back.  \nLily held up her hands to stop any further argument, \"What's important is that we do  \nhave these tunnels available to evacuate the prey. I'm still worried about the numbers though.  \nHow big is this tram?\"  \n\"Pretty big. It has three cars,\" Flint answered.  \n\"How many prey your size could fit on it?\"  \n\"I don't know. It has to accommodate large prey too. Maybe a couple thousand squirrels  \ncould fit if you packed them in, standing room only.\"  \n\"So that's at least four hundred trips. How long does it take?\"  \n\"About twenty minutes each way.\"  \n\"Plus the time for loading and unloading, so let's say an hour. Four hundred hours  \nthat's,\" she quickly did the math in her head, \"Over sixteen, closer to seventeen days, hardly a  \nrapid evacuation.\"  \n\"There's room to walk as well, and if no one too big is on board, we can extend the extra  \nlevels.\"  \n\"Extra levels?\"  \n\"There are three extendible levels to make more space for small prey, but then larger  \nprey won't fit.\" Flint glanced at Meredith, who was a marmot, \"Even Meredith might have to  \nstoop.\"  \n\"The larger prey will have to walk,\" Lily decided. \"There are fewer of them and the trip  \nwill be easier for them. The evacuation needs to be as fast as possible, and in the meantime,  \nwe need to get as many prey as we can into the tunnels. How many know where they are?\"  \nFlint shrugged, \"Not many.\"  \n\"Is there a map? We need to be able to spread the word!\"  \n\"There is,\" Flint answered reluctantly. \"But if, if I start spreading it around, everyone's  \ngoing to know where the tunnels are. It won't be a secret!\"  \n\"We'll be careful who we share it with,\" Lily assured. \"But what's more important?  \nKeeping a secret or saving lives? If this is what you kept the secret for, then it's time to use it!\"  \nFlint hesitated a moment and then nodded, \"You're right. This is what we kept it for.\" He  \ntook his cell phone out of a pocket in his blue uniform top. He looked around at all of the other  \nofficers. \"I can email it to all of you, but you have to promise you'll be careful who you share it  \nwith and delete it when this is all over.\"  \nThe rest of them nodded, except for Joel. Lily glared at the black and white cat  \nthreateningly until he shrank under her furious amber gaze and nodded as well.  \n\"Alright,\" Flint agreed. He tapped at his phone for a few minutes and then looked up. \"I  \nsent it.\"  \nLily retrieved her own cell phone from the right bottom pocket of her uniform top. The  \nnotification tone pinged, showing a new email. Lily opened it and poked the attachment. Her  \nmap app opened and, after a few seconds of processing, brought up the aerial of Maplesburg  \noverlayed with a series of blue lines and red circles. She glanced up at Flint, \"I got it. I take it the  \nred circles are the entrances, yes?\"  \nFlint nodded.  \nLily looked back to the map: there were dozens of criss-crossing lines all culminating in a  \nthicker line at the North end of the city. The thick line continued to the edge of the map. Lily  \nscrolled along it, but it stopped a short distance from the edge of the city. Apparently, where the  \ntunnel ended was too secret to be included even in the secret map.  \n\"Alright, we need to start contacting prey as quickly as possible and telling them how to  \nfind the tunnels,\" Lily decided. \"There aren't enough of us to visit everyone, so we'll need to run  \nit like a chain letter. Tell all the prey you know and tell them to tell all the prey they know. Send  \nthem the map if they need it, but be careful who you send it to. We don't know where these  \nhounds came from, so only send it to prey unless you don't have any other choice. Tell the  \npeople you send it to the same.\"  \n\"I think I'd know if someone I knew was a lunatic,\" Joel responded irritatedly. \"We should  \nlet the other predators help. Maybe we wouldn't be in this mess if prey had a little trust in us.\"  \n\"How is this a result of a lack of trust?!\" Flint asked incredulously.  \nLily had to agree with the squirrel; she didn't see the connection.  \nJoel crossed his arms grumpily. \"I don't know, but I don't like being blamed for what a  \nbunch of psychos are doing.\"  \nLily rolled her eyes at his peevishness. \"No one is blaming you,\" she growled  \nexasperatedly. \"We're just trying to be safe. I assume you understand why we can't let these  \nlunatics know where the tunnels are.\"  \n\"Yes,\" Joel meowed peevishly. \"But I don't like that every prey I know might have been  \nhiding something from me because they think I'm not trustworthy.\"  \n\"I'm sure it wasn't personal,\" Lily replied dryly.  \nJoel looked away grumpily, and Lily sighed annoyedly. She looked back to her phone  \nand switched to her contacts, scrolling through to see all of the prey she had details for: outside  \nof the police department, there weren't many. I guess I'm not going to be much help spreading  \nthe word. It wasn't that Lily had a prejudice against prey, but she had trouble interacting with  \nthem when there wasn't a structured set of expectations. Within the police hierarchy, she  \nunderstood how to navigate; she treated prey according to their ranks as her underlings or  \ncommanding officers. Without that hierarchy, it was more difficult. Lily didn't know what to do  \nwhen prey seemed afraid of her, which, given her often abrasive personality, was most of the  \ntime. When they were rude to her, it was even worse; Lily didn't tolerate being talked down to.  \nAs she scrolled back up through her contacts, her eyes fell on the entry for Jason's cell  \nphone. A small hole opened up in her stomach, and she took a deep breath to quell it. She  \nquickly scrolled by and began forwarding the map to the few prey contacts she had with a short  \nmessage to get to the evacuation tunnels and head for the big one. She skipped the Mayor  \nsince she'd been captured. That's another thing I haven't thought about. Lily hoped that, if the  \nemail went to any prey who had been captured, their devices were secure. There were so many  \nentrances to the tunnels, that there was no way they'd keep the hounds out if they found out  \nwhere they were. This was all extremely risky, but it was better than leaving the prey to be  \npicked off at the murderers' leisure. They had been here to stop it in this instance, but how  \nmany prey hadn't been so lucky even in the hours since the attack?  \n\"I want to check on the prisoners, and then we need to go,\" Lily stated.  \nShe turned to the ground squirrel, and he led her around the house to the cellar. In the  \nback, a large wooden door covered a hole in the ground. A few more pieces of plywood had  \nbeen hurriedly placed around the freshly widened edges, and a mound of dirt was piled to the  \nright side. The squirrel opened the door and led Lily down the freshly widened earthen tunnel to  \na low room.  \nThe cellar was more of a burrow; like the tunnel, it had earthen walls and floor but these  \nwere hard packed and dusty unlike the freshly exposed soil. Lily had to bend almost double to  \nget inside. The bound coyotes were lying in the middle of the floor. The coyotes' arms and legs  \nwere tightly tied behind their backs, and their jaws had been tied shut as well. However, inside  \nthe small room, they looked even larger: both were at least twice Lily's size and many times that  \nof the diminutive ground squirrel. Together they nearly filled the cellar, which was fortunately  \nmostly empty except for some dusty shelves of canned vegetables along the back wall. Lily  \nsqueezed by the shelves to look into the coyotes' eyes in the dim light from the door.  \nLily sneered, \"You're comfy, I hope. Sit tight, and we'll be around in a few days to pick  \nyou up.\"  \nThe coyotes growled in response, but Lily just sneered back at them. She turned to the  \nground squirrel, who she noticed was trembling, his dark eyes bulging as he stared at the  \ncanines.  \n\"I won't ask you to untie their mouths to feed them, but try to give them water,\" Lily  \ninstructed. \"And don't kill them. If we get here and you have, we'll arrest you instead.\"  \n\"W-what about the evacuation?\" the squirrel whined.  \nLily gave him a warning look, \"Make sure they have water; put it in a bowl they can reach  \nto lap from if you need to.\"  \nThe squirrel nodded nervously. One of the coyotes growled at him, and he flinched  \naway. Lily eyed the coyotes a moment. Maybe she should try to talk to them; they might not be  \nstupid enough to give her any useful information, but it was worth a shot.  \nShe waved the squirrel toward the door, \"I can handle them alone. Thank you for your  \nhelp.\"  \n\"Y-yeah.\" The ground squirrel turned and hurried back up the tunnel.  \nLily turned back to the coyotes. Their jaws were tied with slip knots that were tightened  \nand secured by lines that looped behind their heads and then around their necks. Lily crouched  \nnext to the closest coyote and undid the makeshift muzzle. As soon as she pulled away the slip  \nknot, the coyote lunged her head forward, snapping for Lily's hand. Lily's lightning quick reflexes  \nsaved her from the bite, and she slashed out, striking the dog's face with her razor-sharp black  \nclaws.  \nThe coyote yelped in pain, but then she snarled in defiance, \"You're going to die, pig.  \nYou and all the rest of your prey-worshiping ilk.\"  \n\"I doubt that,\" Lily responded dryly. \"You weren't as successful as you thought at the  \nstation, and we aren't going to allow you to terrorize Maplesburg.\"  \nThe coyote scoffed, \"'Terrorize Maplesburg.' You saw the same rodent I did, didn't you?  \nThat pathetic, cringing thing is probably 'terrorized' by its own shadow. It's a mercy to put it out  \nof its misery.\"  \n\"Right,\" Lily replied sarcastically. \"Trying to eat people and threatening to burn their  \nhouse down, the epitome of benevolent mercy.\"  \n\"It's what prey are for,\" the coyote stated matter-of-factly. \"I'd say giving them a purpose  \nin life is benevolent.\"  \nLily shook her head slowly, \"You're insane. Maybe when you're locked up, they'll be able  \nto get you some help, but I doubt it. I know a cat like you, another raving lunatic. She murdered  \none of my officers once, but then I fed her a dog, another bitch like you.\" Lily grinned wickedly,  \n\"Maybe they'll just lock you all up together and let you tear each other apart.\"  \nThe coyote stared at her blankly a moment, and then her mouth spread into a malicious  \ngrin, \"You think we're insane!? The cat who's a slave to rodents! You let them feed you that slop  \nlike the rest of their tame kitties, but on top of that, you risk your life to defend them, even from  \nthose who want to liberate you!\"  \n\"Is that what happens when you shoot someone?\" Lily growled softly. She withdrew her  \ngun from its holster and aimed it at the coyote's head. \"I can liberate you right now if that's the  \ncase.\"  \nThe coyote glared at her defiantly, \"Go ahead. Killing me won't save you, and it won't  \nsave your precious prey.\"  \n\"It'll be two fewer lunatics to deal with. I still have fourteen officers, all armed. We'll soon  \npick off the rest of you,\" Lily stated confidently.  \nThe coyote sneered, \"We have three times that number! You won't be able to hide for  \nlong. It's you pigs who are going to be finished off!\"  \n\"It must be crowded in your base,\" Lily replied mildly.  \nThe coyote snorted contemptuously. \"Hardly. I assume you've been inside. City Hall is  \nhuge.\"  \nThe other coyote growled, and the first seemed to realize her mistake.  \n\"It's well guarded,\" the coyote growled. \"You'll never surprise us like we did you!\"  \n\"Maybe not,\" Lily conceded. \"But it's good to know what we're up against. Thanks for  \nthat.\" She picked up the rope, and quickly looped the slipknot back around the coyote's jaws.  \nShe pulled it tight and tied it back in place. \"Like I said, we'll be back in a few days once we  \nsecure the station. I suppose if your friends really do kill us, you might starve down here, but  \nmaybe that'll be worth it to you.\"  \nThe coyotes glared at her as she turned and made her way back out of the cellar. Lily  \nclosed the door at the top, sealing them in the dark hole. If they die, someone can simply fill it in.  \nLily didn't know if these two had been involved in the raid on the station, but it hardly mattered.  \nShe'd be glad when they were rotting in prison, and she wouldn't shed any tears if they died in  \nthe hole before she could return to collect them. Lily returned to the front where her officers  \nwere waiting.  \n\"Alright, has everyone finished contacting the prey they know?\" she queried.  \nEveryone nodded.  \n\"Then we'll continue to Buukomart. After we've eaten, we'll figure out how to help with  \nthe evacuation.\"  \nThey returned to the civilians, Gloria, and Hunter, who were waiting where they'd left  \nthem. Lily explained about the tunnels and their plan to evacuate the prey.  \n\"Y-you're going to help us escape?\" Lynda's husband squeaked when she'd finished.  \nLily regarded the brown rat boredly, \"That's what I said, isn't it? Did you think we were  \ngoing to feed you to these lunatics?\"  \n\"I-I, uh,\" he looked at the ground. \"I'm sorry about what I said before.\"  \nLily nodded once curtly. Matthias' black rat girlfriend put a hand on the brown rat's  \nshoulder.  \nThey made the rest of the trip to the supermarket without incident. Fortunately, it was  \nopen, and they quickly marched through the store in a group, each grabbing what they wanted.  \nLily noticed a few of the other patrons and workers watching them. She assumed they must  \nhave also heard about the attack on the police station. However, she soon noticed that most of  \nthe attention seemed to be on the prey in their group.  \n\"I wish they wouldn't stare,\" Zeta's lop-eared friend murmured. \"I know they don't mean  \nany harm, but it's scary enough without every predator watching you.\"  \nThat was when Lily noticed that the other patrons and workers were indeed all  \ncarnivores. The prey must be too afraid to leave home. She hoped the message about the  \ntunnels was spreading and that they'd soon be gathering underground.  \nThe predator at the register was a white, spotted terrier. He eyed the prey in their group  \ninquisitively, \"I guess that's the only safe way to travel now, with a police escort. I'm glad I'm not  \nprey.\"  \nLily gave him an irritated look, \"We're working on eliminating this lunatic threat. We won't  \nrest until the streets are safe.\"  \n\"Still gotta eat though, eh?\" he quipped as he scanned the first set of groceries.  \nLily nodded perfunctorily.  \n\"I've heard that's what this is all about,\" he went on conversationally. \"The terrorists don't  \nlike this stuff,\" he held up a packet of deli meat one of the carnivore officers had selected. \"I  \nguess I can't judge whether they're right.\"  \nLily glared at him, \"Civilized people don't resort to murder because they're picky eaters,\"  \nshe growled.  \nHe shrugged. \"I guess not, but it does make you curious.\"  \nThe brown rat quickly gathered and hugged his three children to him. He stared at the  \ndog fearfully. The terrier didn't seem to notice.  \n\"You wouldn't be thinking of joining up, would you?\" Lily growled dangerously. \"We won't  \nstop until every last one of these dirtbags is dead or behind bars. If you're planning to join them,  \nlet me know, and we can skip the hard part.\"  \nThe dog blanched, the insides of his pointy ears turning white, \"N-no, Ma'am, I wouldn't  \njoin a group like that! I'm a good dog!\"  \n\"I hope not,\" Lily growled softly. She glared at the dog a few more seconds. \"Hurry up.  \nWe have things to do.\"  \nThe terrier quickly returned to scanning their items. He said nothing more until he was  \ndone, \"H-have a good day, officers. Good luck!\"  \nLily bobbed her head in acknowledgement. \"When you're done here, I hope a 'good dog'  \nlike you could find some way to help your prey neighbors. They might need an escort  \nsomewhere for example. I trust you'll do what you can.\"  \nHe nodded vigorously, \"Y-yes, Ma'am!\"  \nThe supermarket had a small food court area with a café. They sat at the tables in front  \nto eat their breakfast, and Lily let groups of two or more leave to use the store's bathroom  \nduring the meal. Lily took a trip with Gloria and Hunter before she ate to pee and wash her  \nhands. When she returned, Katya was at a table for four with Theresa, Clover, and her hare  \nhusband, so Lily sat across from Zeta at another table. Zeta's friend was seated at her left and  \nDavid, a badger who, like the otters, was roughly Lily's size, was seated on her right. David  \nnodded to Lily in greeting and continued eating the hunk of meat he had. It was a raw hunk of  \nsomething. Lily was a bit disturbed that he hadn't picked something cooked. Zeta and her lop-  \neared friend were both eating salads.  \n\"Hey, Chief!\" Zeta piped. \"I haven't gotten to properly introduce you yet. This is Petunia!\"  \nLily nodded at the light brown rabbit in acknowledgment, \"Lily.\"  \n\"Another flower girl!\" Petunia squeaked happily.  \nZeta looked embarrassed, but Lily smirked. She wasn't sure that anyone had ever  \nreferred to her that way.  \n\"How do you two know each other?\" she asked conversationally.  \n\"We met at the gym,\" Zeta stated.  \n\"I was trying to get in shape,\" Petunia put in embarrassedly. \"At least I met someone  \ninteresting.\"  \nLily supposed Petunia was a little plump, but she didn't think it looked unpleasant. It  \nlooked nice in a way, appealing. She smiled pleasantly, \"Maybe I should try that. I usually don't  \npay attention to who's around me, but maybe I should.\"  \n\"I wouldn't think you'd have any trouble catching someone's eye,\" Petunia stated. \"But if  \nyou stopped in the salon, I'd see if we could do something to help accentuate your pretty fur and  \neyes: a little careful brushing, maybe some color for your claws. You have a lot of natural beauty  \nto work with.\"  \n\"That's very flattering,\" Lily replied embarrassedly. \"But I kind of like my claws the way  \nthey are.\" She extended her long, black, razor-sharp claws. \"They may not be pretty, but they  \nhave their uses.\"  \nPetunia held out a hand on the table, \"May I see?\"  \nCuriously, Lily put her hand in the rabbit's, or rather over as her hand completely  \ncovered Petunia's much smaller hand. Unfazed, Petunia examined her claws.  \n\"They're already very pretty. I can tell you take good care of them. But if you stop in, I'll  \npolish them for you; no paint, but I think we can shine them up so that they'll really sparkle.\"  \n\"How much would that cost?\" Lily asked warily.  \n\"Oh! No charge, of course! It would be as a thank you for everything you're doing for us.\"  \n\"Maybe you should hold your thanks until after this is all over,\" Lily muttered. \"Or at least  \nuntil after you're safe. I haven't even gotten you out of Maplesburg yet.\"  \n\"You've already done a lot!\" Petunia responded. \"You rescued me and the others, and I  \nsaw you race into danger when you heard someone in trouble. And you stood up for us just a  \nmoment ago with that dog.\"  \nLily shrugged, \"I guess so. That's my job.\"  \n\"And I'm glad we have you to do it, so I'd like to thank you!\"  \n\"Okay, thanks. When this is all over, maybe I'll stop in. Where is it?\"  \n\"On East Ninth Street, Lotus Beauty Parlor.\"  \nLily nodded. She opened the bag of sliced turkey she'd purchased and began to eat.  \nPetunia and Zeta went back to eating their salads, and they ate their breakfast in friendly  \nsilence. David had already finished and was picking his teeth with a long, blunt claw, but the  \ntaciturn badger didn't offer any conversation.  \nWhen they had finished, Lily addressed the group, \"The civilians should head to the  \ntunnels. We'll escort you. I want Flint and Zeta to go with them. Flint, you know the most about  \nall of this, so you'll be in charge of getting the tram ready and loaded.\"  \nFlint nodded, \"I'll have it ready, Chief.\"  \n\"I'd prefer to help you, Chief, if that's alright,\" Zeta responded.  \n\"I don't want to send Flint with the civilians alone,\" Lily replied hesitantly.  \n\"I'll go, Ma'am,\" Matthias jumped in.  \nLily nodded to the muskrat, \"Okay.\"  \n\"I want to stay with you and Chief Lily!\" Petunia fretted to Zeta.  \nZeta clasped her hand but shook her head, \"Flint and Matthias will take care of you, and  \nI promise I'll be alright. I'll see you soon when all of the other prey are safe.\"  \nThe closest entrance on the map was only a few blocks away in an antiques shop that  \nlooked older than the items it was selling. The mortar was crumbling between the red bricks  \noutside, and inside, the wood floor boards were worn by countless paws. The dark green and  \ngold paisley wallpaper was peeling. The whole place smelled of mildew and dust, and little light  \nshone through the grimy windows. Still, the store was open, which saved them from having to  \nbreak in. A grizzled coyote was standing behind the register counter.  \n\"Mornin', lads. Anythin' Ah can git fer yuh?\" He squinted in the yellow light of the naked,  \ndusty bulb that hung from the water-stained ceiling above the counter. \"Officers, mah mistake.  \nWhat can Ah do fer yuh?\"  \n\"We're looking for the entrance to your basement,\" Flint told him. They'd agreed not to  \nsay too much if the owner was a predator.  \n\"Haven't got one,\" the coyote replied simply.  \n\"Do you mind if we look around?\" Lily asked.  \n\"Suit yerself.\"  \nThey began to search the shop, tapping their feet on the floorboards and their knuckles  \nagainst the walls. It didn't take long with so many of them in the small shop.  \n\"Over here, Chief,\" Gloria called.  \nLily strode over to the side wall where the otter was standing. Gloria tapped the wall  \nagain, making a hollow wooden sound, which was sharper than the dull thud of the drywall. Lily  \nran her hands over the wall until she found a small indentation under the wallpaper, about waist  \nhigh. She poked her right index claw through and used it to cut a hole in the wallpaper.  \n\"What'er yuh doin' over thur?\" the coyote called worriedly.  \n\"I think we found it,\" Lily replied perfunctorily.  \nUnder the wallpaper was a small door handle. Lily turned it, and she heard the rusty  \nlatch scrape open. She pulled, and the edges of the door pushed up a ridge in the wallpaper.  \nLily quickly sliced around the door with her claw.  \n\"Hey! Yer ruinin' mah wallpaper!\" the coyote yelped.  \nLily ignored him, slicing the rest of the way around. She yanked open the door releasing  \nthe stench of musty soil, ancient excrement, and other unpleasant things Lily didn't want to think  \nabout. The door revealed a hole in the floor with a wooden ladder descending into blackness.  \nThe tunnel was lined with cobwebs. Lily glanced questioningly at Flint, who had come up behind  \nher to see.  \n\"That's it. I know it doesn't look pleasant, but everything is serviceable.\"  \nThe coyote had also hurried over when the door had opened, \"Ah'll be! Ah didn't know  \nthat were thur!\"  \n\"We'd appreciate it if you'd keep it to yourself,\" Lily instructed. \"And there may be other  \nprey coming through today. Point them in the right direction, but it's critical that the terrorists  \ndon't know about this.\"  \nThe elderly coyote puffed out his chest and saluted with his right hand to his head, \"Yes,  \nMa'am!\"  \nLily looked around the shop until she spotted a dark walnut dresser large enough to  \ncover the door. She pointed to it, \"Gloria, Hunter, David, help me move that.\"  \nEach taking a corner, they managed to drag the dresser across the room to obscure the  \ntunnel from the entrance of the shop. They left the dresser far enough from the wall for the door  \nto open and prey to slip by. There was no way to prevent someone who actually searched from  \nfinding the tunnel, but at least it wouldn't be as obvious as a giant hole in the wall.  \nLily looked to Flint, \"Are you ready?\"  \nThe squirrel nodded. He turned to Matthias, \"I'll go first; you bring up the rear.\"  \nFlint turned and carefully began to climb down the ladder into the musty abyss. Lily  \nwatched as the civilians followed one by one. She was glad she didn't have to descend into the  \nrank hole. Petunia hugged Zeta before following the brown rats down, and Clover hugged her  \nhusband before the hare followed the lop-eared rabbit. Soon, only Matthias, his black rat  \ngirlfriend, and the young fishers were left.  \nThe female fisher turned to Lily in distress, \"I don't want to go down there!\"  \nHer brother didn't look any more willing to descend into the hole, staring at it nervously.  \nLily put her left arm across the fisher's shoulders. \"I know it's scary, but I need you to be  \nbrave. Help Flint and Matthias protect the prey. Do you think you can do that?\"  \nThe female fisher looked up at Lily, her dark eyes nervous. Lily looked back confidently,  \ntrying to reassure the young carnivore.  \nThe fisher nodded, \"We'll help protect the prey,\" she murmured.  \nLily gave her a light squeeze with her left arm, \"I know you can do it. You'll make your  \nfather proud.\"  \nThe fisher nodded again and crept toward the hole, slowly descending down the ladder  \nafter the hare. Her brother followed her reluctantly. Lily looked toward Matthias and his  \ngirlfriend.  \n\"We'll make sure they're okay,\" Matthias assured.  \nThe black rat followed the fishers, and Matthias went last. Once the muskrat  \ndisappeared into the darkness, Lily turned to her remaining officers. She motioned toward the  \ndoor of the shop, and they followed her out. The elderly coyote returned to the counter. He  \nsaluted again when Lily glanced back at him.  \nOutside on the sidewalk, Lily addressed her officers, \"We need to help spread the word  \nand escort any prey we can to the tunnels. I don't like it, but I think we should split up. No one  \nshould go alone, but I think we'll have to manage with groups of two to have the biggest impact.\"  \nLily glanced to each of her officers: they all looked resolute, ready to follow her orders and help  \nevacuate the prey even at the risk of their own lives. Lily felt a little surge of pride, but it was  \ntempered by trepidation. Splitting up is dangerous. What will happen if we're caught by these  \nvicious hounds? Two might not be enough. We might be overwhelmed.  \n\"We're ready to help, Chief!\" Zeta declared.  \nThe others nodded in agreement.  \n\"We can't stand by and hope things turn out okay,\" Theresa added. \"We all know there's  \na risk, but that's our job. That's what we signed up for.\"  \nLily nodded. \"Alright, here's how we're going to split up.\" Lily didn't want to send any  \nprey by themselves; she picked the largest predators as their partners. \"Clover, you go with  \nGloria. Hunter with Chris. Meredith with David, and,\" Lily paused. She wanted to go with Katya,  \nbut Zeta still needed a partner. As the largest remaining predator, she was the obvious choice.  \n\"I'll go with Zeta. Theresa and Joel can go together, and Katya with Lance.\"  \nKatya exchanged a glance with the raccoon and nodded. Lily wondered if she'd  \nexpected to go with her. She wished the ginger cat would talk to her about her feelings  \nsurrounding the private inspectors' disappearance, but Lily didn't know how to get her to open  \nup. She wasn't good at that kind of thing.  \nZeta stepped up in front of Lily, looking up at her confidently, \"Thanks for choosing me,  \nChief! You won't be disappointed!\"  \nLily nodded once, but her attention was still on Katya. After a moment, she looked down  \nat the grinning rabbit, whose bright white incisors stood out sharply against the black splotch  \nthat covered her nose and the lower left quadrant of her face, and returned a small smile. Zeta  \nwas easy to get along with; she was outgoing and agreeable, and she took everything Lily said  \nto heart.  \n\"I'm sure I can count on you, and I promise you'll keep your promise to Petunia. I'll bring  \nyou through safe,\" Lily assured.  \n\"And I'll have your back too!\" Zeta returned.  \nLily looked around at her other officers, \"Is everyone ready? There's a lot of city to cover,  \nso we may not see each other again until this is all over.\"  \nThey all nodded.  \nLily bobbed her head in response, \"Right, then let's go. Good luck, everyone!\"  \nThey split up, groups of two heading in different directions. Lily and Zeta headed  \nNorthwest, toward the North side of downtown. They traveled a while in silence, the much  \nsmaller rabbit loping along in pace with Lily's strides.  \nZeta was first to break the silence, \"Thanks for picking me, Chief. I know you would have  \nliked to go with Officer Letova.\"  \nLily glanced down at her, \"It made the most sense to send the smaller officers with larger  \npartners to create more balanced teams.\"  \n\"Yeah, but you still could have sent me with Lance. I know you care about her.\"  \n\"I care about all of you,\" Lily returned.  \nZeta nodded, but didn't respond further. Lily knew she knew it was different with Katya,  \nbut neither of them said so. Besides, Lily did care about all of her officers, and she liked Zeta.  \nShe didn't regret choosing the rabbit. Lily stopped, and Zeta came to a halt in front of her,  \nturning her head back and tilting her white and black splotched ears questioningly.  \n\"I couldn't have picked a better officer as my partner,\" Lily told her. \"You may be a rabbit,  \nbut, er, what I mean is I don't think you're less capable. It's just-\"  \n\"I get it, Chief. You're extra worried because these wackos want to eat us. I don't  \nbegrudge that, and I know I'm small. But I'm by your side all the same, no matter how tough it  \ngets.\"  \nLily nodded, and Zeta smiled, her brown eyes twinkling good-humoredly.  \n\"And maybe I'll get a chance to show you that size isn't everything!\" Zeta quipped. She  \nturned and started on their way again. \"Let's go! We have a city to save!\"  \nThey soon arrived at an apartment complex. They could have knocked on every door,  \nbut they had limited time. Lily stepped into the front vestibule and pulled the fire alarm. Within a  \nminute, people began to pour out of the building, predators and prey alike. Lily waved them over  \nto the side parking lot, and they obeyed, muttering low to each other. They probably wondered  \nwhat was going on.  \n\"Sorry for the false alarm. Predators can go back inside,\" Lily instructed.  \nGrumbling, the predators turned and headed back for the doors. Several prey hurried  \nwith them, but Lily called them back.  \n\"Prey stay here! I need to talk to you; it's urgent!\"  \nReluctantly, the prey that had tried to join the predators returned. Lily glanced around at  \nthe group, estimating around two dozen.  \n\"Alright, I've called you out here because Maplesburg is no longer safe. We're  \nevacuating all prey. Maybe some of you know about the tunnels.\"  \nNone of the prey responded, but some glanced furtively at each other.  \nLily went on, \"If you don't, we can share the map with you. We need you to spread the  \nword to all of the prey you know; we need to move as fast as possible.\"  \n\"How do you know?!\" someone shouted. \"Carnivores aren't supposed to know!\"  \n\"I'm your chief of police,\" Lily replied.  \n\"That's not an answer!\" a second voice shouted back.  \nZeta stepped forward, \"That's not important now! We just need to get to the tunnels.  \nAnother officer is already on his way to the tram. He'll be waiting to take you to safety!\"  \n\"I bet you told her,\" the first voice accused. Lily was able to spot the speaker this time,  \nan elderly female red squirrel.  \n\"It was the officer at the tram,\" Lily corrected. \"Take it up with him, but hurry and grab  \nwhat you need. Grab any prey who didn't come down for the alarm too. Then we'll distribute the  \nmap.\"  \nSome of the prey obeyed hastily while others were more reluctant, but soon all were  \nheaded back inside, all but the angry red squirrel.  \n\"Don't you want to take anything with you?\" Lily asked mildly, trying not to be annoyed.  \n\"How do we know we can trust you?\" the squirrel demanded. \"You're a predator, just like  \nthose monsters!\"  \nLily narrowed her eyes and growled dangerously, \"Those scum murdered my officers. I  \nwon't stop until they're dead or rotting in prison, but first, we're doing what we can to rescue  \nprey. If you'd rather wait to be eaten, I'm sure they'll appreciate that.\"  \nThe squirrel looked hesitant, but then she shot back, \"How do we know this isn't a trap?!  \nMaybe they're waiting for us and not this 'other officer'!\"  \n\"You don't, and I don't have time to argue. If you won't come, you can wait here to die.  \nWe can't save everyone.\"  \nThe squirrel looked at her nervously then to Zeta who nodded reassuringly.  \n\"You can trust us. Do you think I'd be working with those murderers? We're trying to  \nhelp.\"  \n\"Okay,\" the squirrel muttered. She turned and hurried back inside.  \nPrey were beginning to filter back out when Lily heard the approaching blare of a siren. It  \ncame closer and closer until a fire engine roared around the corner into view. The vehicle  \nveered into the parking lot headed straight toward Lily! She was crouching to dive out of the way  \nwhen it screeched to a halt. A medium sized hound, about twice Lily's size, in a yellow rubber  \ncoat leapt out of the passenger's side door. Lily noticed he was holding a wooden baseball bat  \nin his right hand and quickly reached for her handgun.  \nShe stopped with her hand on the gun and yowled authoritatively, \"Drop the bat! This is  \na false alarm! Return to your station!\"  \nThe hound eyed her warily, his dark beady eyes glaring from his grotesquely sagging  \nface. \"What's going on here?\" he growled. \"Who are you? I thought the police were out of  \ncommission.\"  \n\"Don't you recognize me?!\" Lily demanded. \"The chief of police!? I'm sure you've seen  \nme somewhere!\" Lily didn't recognize the hound herself, so she didn't take her hand off of her  \ngun. He could be one of the terrorists. She didn't know whether the fire department had been  \nraided.  \nThe hound eyed her a moment longer then tossed away his bat, \"Yeah, I recognize you,\"  \nhe grumbled.  \nLily relaxed a little but kept her hand on her gun, \"And who are you?\"  \n\"Name's Rover,\" he introduced himself. \"Sorry about the hostility, but we've been  \nrunning around all morning. These sick fucks keep lighting houses on fire to drive prey out. We  \ngot shot at earlier, but we managed to run the dirtbag down. You're lucky you were with the  \nrabbit, or we might've hit you.\"  \nRover? Zeus, did his parents hate him? Lily relaxed her arm, keeping it close to her gun,  \nbut no longer with her hand on it. \"We're doing everything we can to fight back against these  \nlunatics,\" Lily stated. \"I was worried you were one of them. It's hard to trust dogs when there's a  \npack trying to kill you.\"  \nThe hound tilted his head questioningly, his floppy ear dangling down, \"It's not only dogs.  \nThe one who shot at us was a panther. It's mostly larger carnivores from what we've seen, but  \nit's not only dogs or even cats and dogs.\"  \nLily frowned. She wished she didn't have to keep being updated on what was going on.  \n\"I see. We've only seen dogs so far. That's who attacked the station.\"  \nThe hound shrugged. He looked at the prey gathering in the parking lot. Most of the prey  \nwere carrying backpacks and bags. A few were even trying to lug large suitcases, which irked  \nLily. How do they think they're going to manage with those?!  \n\"What's going on here anyway?\" the hound inquired. \"Going somewhere?\"  \n\"That's right,\" Lily answered perfunctorily.  \nHe frowned, \"Care to say where?\"  \n\"That's on a need-to-know basis.\" He opened his mouth to protest, but Lily cut him off,  \n\"Even I don't know where they are going to end up; somewhere safe from these lunatics  \nhopefully.\"  \nThe hound contemplated them all a moment before addressing Lily again, \"You going to  \nbe pulling any more fire alarms?\"  \n\"Possibly.\"  \n\"Could you let us know before? We have enough to deal with as it is.\"  \nLily nodded.  \n\"Okay then.\" He retrieved his bat and climbed back in the fire engine. Sticking his head  \nout the window, he waved, \"Good luck! I hope you-all get where you're going okay!\"  \nThe fire engine backed out onto the street and pulled away with a roar.  \nLily turned back to the gathered prey, \"Is this everyone?\" Their numbers appeared to  \nhave increased at least by half.  \nThey glanced at each other, looking nervous, but didn't answer.  \nLily held back a growl or frustration, \"Is anyone not here?\"  \nAfter more glancing around, a few of them shook their heads.  \n\"Alright, raise your hands if you need the map. Officer Menten and I will give it to those  \nwho do. If you have it, get started forwarding it to all the prey you know, but only prey.\"  \n\"Shouldn't we tell our predator friends too?\" someone called. \"It might not be safe for  \nthem here either, or they might want to help.\"  \nLily shook her head, \"I know they're probably trustworthy, but it's a necessary  \nprecaution. We don't know where these lunatics came from, and we can't risk them learning  \nwhere the tunnels are. From what we've seen, they aren't attacking predators, so they'll  \nprobably be okay.\"  \nIt took several minutes for them to distribute the map and for the prey to forward it to  \ntheir friends, but finally, they were ready to leave. The antique shop was still the closest  \nentrance to the tunnels, so Lily and Zeta led the group back the way they'd come. Lily helped  \ncarry the oversized luggage of a fussy hedgehog, who kept reminding her not to drop it; it was  \nall Lily could do not to hurle the suitcase at its owner. In addition, Lily carried a pair of mice on  \neach shoulder, and Zeta helped carry a third pair on hers. Several others in the group took the  \ncue to help carry the smaller rodents who otherwise would have held them up. Luckily, they  \nreached the shop without incident.  \nThe elderly coyote goggled at the large group as they filed inside, overflowing his shop,  \nand began to descend into the tunnels. \"Mus' be an awful big basement!\" he exclaimed in  \ndisbelief.  \n\"You could say that,\" Lily replied dryly.  \n\"Can Ah see?\"  \n\"Only if you aren't coming back up.\"  \n\"Uh, nah, Ah'll stay up here.\"  \nThe last of the prey disappeared down the hole, and Lily turned to Zeta. Zeta smiled  \nback and nodded, and they proceeded out of the shop and back toward the North side of  \ndowntown. It felt good to know a few dozen prey were safely on their way to the tram. They  \nwere really making a difference! Lily glanced sidelong at the rabbit as they marched toward the  \nnext group of prey. She was glad she'd picked Zeta as her partner: she'd already been helpful in  \nconvincing prey to trust them, and it was good to be reminded that prey could be brave too.  \nRight now, prey needed their help, but that didn't make them helpless. After all, they had made  \nthis evacuation possible; they were resourceful in spite of the fact--or perhaps because of the  \nfact--that they weren't natural killers.  \nLily and Zeta led several more groups of prey to the entrance without seeing one of the  \nterrorists. They began to see small groups of prey creeping toward the safe haven of the tunnels  \non their own, and they waved them over to join their escort. Lily was beginning to think the  \nwhole thing wasn't going to be difficult at all until Zeta stopped dead in front of her, her ears  \npricked forward and her black-furred nose twitching. Lily followed her gaze down the street: a  \nsmall group of rats and mice were creeping down the sidewalk through the residential area.  \nTheir eyes darted nervously to each of the houses they passed, but the rodents weren't what  \nhad caused Zeta to stop. Behind a yellow painted brick house, Lily glimpsed the black tufted  \nears and fluffy cheeks of another bobcat. The bobcat's gleaming amber eyes followed the  \nrodents maliciously; he was clearly stalking them.  \nZeta dashed down the street and ducked behind a black sedan on the same side as the  \nrats and mice. Lily doubled back and slipped down a driveway to crouch behind the front of a  \nred SUV, placing her line of sight parallel to the road and perpendicular to the path the bobcat  \nwould have to take to attack the rodents. She couldn't see Zeta behind the sedan, but her keen  \nears heard her hiss to the rodents.  \n\"Quick! Over here! You're in danger!\"  \nThe rats and mice stopped, turning toward the sedan, and Zeta briefly poked her head  \nup to wave urgently. After a moment's hesitation, the rodents dashed toward the white and  \nblack rabbit, disappearing behind the sedan.  \nLily heard a growl, and jerked her attention back toward the yellow brick house. The  \nbobcat, a male fifty percent larger than Lily and wearing the black utility vest uniform of the  \nterrorists, raced out between the houses, charging for Zeta and the rodents. Lily grabbed her  \ngun and aimed at the sprinting bobcat, but she hesitated. He hadn't so much as reached for his  \nown weapons.  \n\"Stop!\" Lily yowled.  \nThe bobcat didn't slow. Noticing the charging predator, Zeta yelped in surprise, and then  \nLily heard her open fire. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG! Zeta's  \nhandgun blasted in rapid succession. She may have hit him; Lily saw the bobcat jerk once in his  \ncharge, but he didn't slow down.  \n\"Chief, help!\" Zeta screamed.  \nHer hesitation wrenched away, Lily aimed and fired. BANG! The bobcat leapt in a  \npowerful bound to clear the sedan, and Lily fired again. BANG BANG! The bobcat disappeared  \nover the top of the black car, and Zeta squealed. Leaping up, Lily tore across the yards and  \nleapt over the car herself. The bobcat had Zeta down on the asphalt. Sinking her claws into his  \nshoulders, Lily threw him off of Zeta with an adrenaline-fueled heave. His body landed with a  \ndull thud on the street, his head lolling lifelessly. The bobcat's clouded amber eyes stared at  \nnothing, and Lily could see blood trickling from his gaping mouth. Lily jerked her attention away  \nfrom the dead cat and back to Zeta's prone form. Crouching next to the rabbit, she ran her  \nhands over her, searching for injuries.  \n\"Zeta! Zeta, are you okay?!\"  \n\"I-I'm fine, Chief,\" Zeta replied breathlessly. \"Thank you.\"  \nLily scooped Zeta up in her arms and cradled her to her chest. \"I'm so sorry!\"  \nZeta squirmed in her arms, \"I said I'm fine, Chief. You got him. He was dead before he  \nlanded on me.\"  \nLily shook her head, still cradling Zeta close, \"I hesitated. You could have been killed!\"  \n\"I'm okay. If you hesitated, it only could have been for a second. It's not easy to shoot  \nsomeone, but you did what you had to,\" Zeta mollified.  \n\"You're sure you're okay?\"  \nZeta nodded, \"A few bumps and scrapes but nothing serious.\"  \nLily set her on her feet. She noticed the rats and mice staring at her, and her left ear  \nflicked embarrassedly. Zeta brushed off her uniform top and looked around at the rodents.  \n\"Everyone else okay? He didn't land on any of you, did he?\"  \nThey shook their heads. A few of them eyed the body nervously.  \n\"Is he really dead?\" one of the mice squeaked.  \nLily looked at the dead bobcat again. Blood was pooling around his head and torso, and  \nshe could see the dark, blood-soaked patch in his vest where her bullet had pierced his side  \nand likely found his heart. She grimaced. What a waste. It had been easier when she'd thought  \nthe terrorists were a pack of hounds, but seeing another cat, another of her own species, cut  \ndown for this idiocy was harder to swallow.  \nLily crouched next to him and used ring finger and thumb to close his staring eyes. I'm  \nsorry. Lily frowned at the thought. He was part of the group who'd attacked them, who had killed  \nher officers, and he'd been trying to kill Zeta and the rodents. She should be relieved he was  \ndead. Lily picked up his closer arm and folded it on his chest. She gently ran her middle finger  \nover the end of one of his sharp, black claws. He was a bobcat like her, and she'd killed him for-  \n. For a rabbit and some rats and mice. Was that wrong? Lily felt a hand on her left shoulder, and  \nshe turned her head to see Zeta looking at her sympathetically.  \n\"You did what you had to,\" the rabbit murmured.  \nLily shook her head, \"Maybe if I'd shot sooner, I could have aimed for the leg. If I'd  \nmoved sooner, maybe I could have intercepted him.\"  \n\"You did what you had to,\" Zeta repeated. \"I know it's hard. None of us want this. We  \nshould be able to live in peace. No one should have to be killed. It's not your fault this  \nhappened.\"  \nLily sighed resignedly; it wasn't her fault. She wasn't responsible for convincing the  \nbobcat to kill prey. They needed to stop these lunatics not only to protect prey but to stop them  \nfrom spreading their toxic ideology. Predators shouldn't die for this idiocy either. Lily stood and  \nput her hand on Zeta's shoulder.  \n\"Thanks,\" Lily murmured.  \n\"Is that one of the terrorists?\" a decidedly non-rodent voice chirped.  \nLily jerked around to see a gray fox hurrying down the street toward them from the  \ndirection they'd been headed. Lily spotted a butcher knife in her right hand and quickly reached  \nfor her gun.  \n\"Stop!\" Lily commanded. \"Drop the knife!\"  \nThe fox halted and glanced at the knife as if she'd forgotten she was carrying it. She  \ncrouched to carefully place it on the asphalt then stood. She held out her open hands to show  \nshe wasn't holding anything else.  \n\"Am I alright now?\" she queried.  \nLily eyed her warily a moment longer. The vixen was about half a head shorter than her  \nand maybe two-thirds her weight. Unarmed, Lily didn't feel she was a threat to her, but  \nobviously, she could be to the others.  \n\"Is there something you need?\" Lily asked warily.  \n\"Are you headed for the tunnels?\" the vixen inquired.  \nLily narrowed her eyes, \"How do you know about them?\" she growled.  \nThe vixen shifted, looking nervous at Lily's hostility, \"My, uh, husband told me about  \nthem. He said prey are evacuating. I assumed that's why you're all out here.\"  \n\"It's none of your concern. Go home,\" Lily warned.  \n\"It is my concern!\" the vixen shot back irritatedly. \"My husband, uh, we want to help!\"  \nLily contemplated the vixen a moment; she was reluctant to trust her. She might be a  \ngray fox, but she was still a fox. What had trusting foxes gotten Lily in the past? Nothing good.  \nLily glanced back at the dead bobcat.  \n\"Do you think you could do something with him?\" she asked the vixen. \"We don't have  \ntime to bury him ourselves.\"  \nThe vixen blinked in surprise and glanced at the bobcat's body worriedly. \"I, uh, suppose  \nwe can dig a grave. Are you coming back this way?\"  \n\"Probably,\" Lily answered.  \nThe vixen frowned concernedly. She turned and pointed down the street, \"Do you see  \nthe dark green house? That's ours.\"  \nLily noted the forest green vinyl two-story house with a dark brown roof on the opposite  \nside of the street a few houses down. She nodded.  \n\"If I handle, er, if I handle this, do you promise to stop by later?\"  \nLily glanced at Zeta, who nodded. \"Okay.\"  \nThe vixen gave her a small smile, \"Thank you. We want to help, and we could use your  \nhelp too.\"  \nLily nodded. They needed to keep evacuating prey, but if the vixen's problem didn't take  \ntoo long, they could repay her for handling the body. The vixen trotted over and, grimacing, lifted  \nthe dead bobcat by the shoulders. She began to drag him back the way she'd come. Lily turned  \nback to Zeta and the rodents.  \n\"The closest entrance is a few blocks away. We'd better carry as many mice as we can.\"  \nThe mice glanced at each other nervously but then complied, allowing Zeta to place two  \non her shoulders and Lily to collect the other six. She placed two on each shoulder and tucked  \nthe other two in her breast pockets with their top halves poking out. She supposed she could  \nhave carried a rat under each arm too, but they were large enough to keep up.  \nLily and Zeta took a moment to reload; the box of bullets Lily had in her left lower pocket  \nwas over half gone, and Zeta's were made for her smaller gun. Lily didn't ask Zeta how many  \nbullets she had left, but she saw that she was able to refill her magazine. She hoped they had  \nenough. She hoped they wouldn't even need to use them again.  \nNow ready, they quickly made their way toward the closest entrance. To their surprise,  \nthey found it was in a large, relatively new apartment complex.  \n\"Does the map say any more about where the entrance is?\" Zeta asked. \"I assume it's  \non a lower level, but it could take a while to find it.\"  \nLily opened up the map on her phone. She poked the corresponding red circle  \nexperimentally. A dialogue box popped up that read 'Level B, laundry'. \"It looks like it's in the  \nbasement in the laundry room,\" Lily answered.  \nThere was no fire alarm in the front vestibule, but there was a call box. Lily selected the  \nname at the top of the list, Archibald, and called up. After a couple rings, someone picked up the  \nother end of the line.  \n\"Yes? Who is this?\"  \n\"Police. We're at the front door. We need to search the building,\" Lily answered.  \n\"For what?\"  \n\"That's police business.\"  \n\"How do I know you're the police?\"  \nLily sighed annoyedly, \"You can come down and see, but hurry up.\"  \nAfter a pause they replied, \"Okay, down in a minute.\" They hung up.  \nAfter a few minutes, the lobby elevator opened and a weasel wearing a pea green  \npleated skirt stepped out. She waddled up to the glass door and peered out at them. Stepping  \nclose to the door, Lily showed the weasel the badge on her blue top. The weasel squinted at it a  \nmoment then opened the door.  \n\"I guess you are the police,\" she remarked as they filed in. \"What did you need again?\"  \n\"Which way is the laundry room?\" Lily asked bluntly.  \nThe weasel blinked, \"Er, this way.\" She led them into the elevator and pushed the B  \nbutton. She led them down the dimly lit, tile floored hall to a room with several washers and  \ndryers.  \n\"Thanks,\" Lily said.  \nShe and Zeta began to search the room for the entrance.  \n\"What are you looking for?\" the weasel asked curiously.  \nLily turned back to her, \"Thank you for your help. You can go back to your apartment.\"  \nThe weasel didn't budge. Lily ignored her and went back to searching.  \n\"Are you looking for the tunnels?\" the weasel asked.  \nLily turned to look at her warily, \"What do you know?\"  \nThe weasel shrugged. \"I know there are tunnels. I saw the prey here going through the  \nbuilding. I followed, and they came in here. They didn't come out, so I assume they went into  \nthe tunnels.\"  \n\"Do you know where they go?\" Lily asked.  \nThe weasel shrugged again. \"All over the place. I explored them for a while. I figured if I  \never took up burglary, I'd be all set.\" She paused. \"That was a joke.\"  \n\"Where's the entrance?\" Zeta asked.  \nThe weasel pointed to a big ventilation grate on the far wall. \"Behind there. There's a  \nsort of trap door in the shaft.\"  \nLily hurried across the room and yanked the grate away. A short distance inside, there  \nwas a square of metal in the bottom of the metal shaft. If Lily hadn't been looking for a \"trap  \ndoor\", she wouldn't have noticed. She lifted the near end of the square and was able to flop it  \nopen to reveal a hole with a metal ladder. The cobwebs in the hole had been freshly disturbed,  \nso the prey in the building likely had already found their way inside as the weasel had said.  \n\"This is it. Go ahead,\" Lily instructed the rodents.  \nThe rats began to climb down the ladder. The mice were obliged to shimmy down the  \nside of the ladder as the rungs were too far apart for them.  \nLily turned back to the weasel, \"How did you know that was there?\"  \nShe shrugged, \"I heard a rat messing around in there while I was doing my laundry  \nonce.\"  \n\"Have you told anyone else?\"  \n\"He asked me not to.\"  \n\"We need you to keep this to yourself as well,\" Lily instructed.  \n\"I don't know if I can do that,\" the weasel replied matter-of-factly.  \nLily narrowed her eyes dangerously and growled, \"Why not?\"  \nThe weasel grinned, \"I didn't keep his secret for free. If you want me to keep yours, you'll  \nhave to pay.\"  \nLily bolted across the room and slammed into the weasel. The weasel barely had time to  \nsquawk in surprise before Lily had her pinned to the wall, her right hand holding the weasel's  \nthroat and her left pinning the weasel's right arm.  \n\"How about I give you your life?\" Lily snarled. \"Sound like a fair bargain?\"  \n\"Yes! V-very fair!\" the weasel cried.  \nLily squeezed the weasel's neck, and she whimpered. Lily could see tears welling in the  \ncorners of her eyes. Lily let her neck go, still holding her arm with her left hand. \"What did you  \nmake the rat give you?\" she growled.  \nThe weasel whined, \"N-nothing much! I only made him tell me more about the tunnels  \nand where they go. He drew me a map to get around Maplesburg.\"  \n\"Don't tell anyone else, and don't try to follow the prey, got it?\" Lily warned.  \n\"Y-yes, Officer!\"  \nLily let her go, and she scurried out of the room.  \n\"Remind me not to make you angry,\" Zeta commented nervously.  \nLily winced and turned to look at the rabbit, feeling a bit guilty. She probably could have  \nresponded in a more measured manner, but the idea that the weasel had thought she could  \nextort her for even a second had enraged her. \"She's alright. I only gave her a scare.\"  \n\"I probably would have wet myself if you'd grabbed me like that,\" Zeta rejoined.  \nLily glanced down at the floor: she didn't see any urine. \"She's okay,\" Lily repeated  \nlamely.  \nZeta nodded slowly, \"It's just a bit of a reminder. You are a predator even if I know I can  \ntrust you.\"  \nLily flipped her short tail embarrassedly. \"I, um, I didn't mean to scare you,\" she  \nmuttered.  \nZeta shook her head, \"I'm fine. Like I said, I just wouldn't want to make you angry.\"  \nLily didn't know what else to say. \"Alright, uh, it sounds like the prey here already left.  \nWhere did you want to go next?\"  \n\"That fox seemed concerned. I think we should follow up with her now,\" Zeta answered.  \nLily nodded. She closed the trap door and reattached the grating, and then they headed  \nup the elevator and back toward the block of houses where they'd met the vixen. Lily tried not to  \nlook at the pool of blood the bobcat she'd killed had left behind as they proceeded up the vixen's  \nstreet; however, it was harder to miss the smear of blood across the sidewalk just before the  \ndark green abode.  \nStepping up onto the forest green house's tanish gray front porch, Lily knocked on the  \ngray front door. Zeta stood on her tiptoes and tried to peer in the window that looked out onto  \nthe porch as they waited for someone to answer. After a few moments, Lily heard claws clicking  \nover a wood floor. Someone stopped at the door, and Lily tried to position herself in front of the  \npeephole. She smiled reassuringly. Hopefully, they could get this done and leave quickly; they  \nneeded to focus on escorting prey. The door swung in to reveal the gray fox, who looked  \nrelieved to see them.  \n\"You came back! Thank you! We're in here.\" She turned and trotted back and to the left.  \nLily and Zeta followed her. Turning the corner, Lily halted and blinked in surprise: along  \nwith a pale green couch and matching loveseat, the bluish gray carpet of the living room was  \ncovered with prey and their things. Packs, bags, sleeping rolls, and even a few dirty dishes and  \nutensils were strewn about the room. The couch was occupied by three rabbits, a gray squirrel,  \nand a groundhog. A pair of black and white rabbits occupied the loveseat, and rats, mice, voles,  \nshrews, moles, and more squirrels were all milling about on the floor. There was even an  \nenormous beaver, at least twice Lily's size, leaned against the light blue far wall.  \nTo the right of the doorway, the vixen spoke, \"We've been gathering anyone we can. We  \nwere planning to make the run to the tunnels tonight, but I hoped that you could help us.\"  \nLily pulled her eyes away from the zoo to respond, \"Er, yeah, that's what we've been  \ndoing. You've taken a risk hiding prey here, but we appreciate you doing what you can to help.\"  \n\"We really appreciate it,\" Zeta emphasized. \"It's good to know Maplesburg has predators  \nwho'll risk their lives to protect their prey neighbors.\"  \n\"Everyone has to do what they can in a crisis like this,\" the vixen replied. \"I couldn't sit  \naround while my friends and neighbors were in danger, and besides, it's even more personal  \nthan that for me. Those are my in-laws on the loveseat.\"  \nLily quickly glanced back in the room at the pair of black and white rabbits. \"I see. Your  \nhusband's-\"  \n\"Pete's around here somewhere,\" the vixen stated. She turned her head away from them  \nand called, \"Pete! The officers came back!\"  \nThrough a doorway into the back of the house, a pair of long black ears appeared.  \nSlowly, the rest of the rabbit's head followed: he was primarily black with a white spot that  \ncovered his nose. The rabbit eyed Lily nervously.  \nThe vixen turned around to address him, \"Come on, Pete. This is Officer, er.\" She  \nglanced back at Lily and Zeta, \"Sorry, I didn't get your names!\"  \n\"Schulz and Menten, but Lily and Zeta are fine,\" Lily replied, indicating herself and Zeta  \naccordingly.  \nThe vixen nodded, \"Nice to meet you. I'm Flora.\" She turned back to the black rabbit.  \n\"Come on, Pete. Lily and Zeta are going to help us escort everyone to the tunnels.\"  \nThe rabbit slowly crept around the wooden door frame, but he stayed at the other end of  \nthe short hall. The vixen trotted down the hall toward him, and he tensed. For a moment, Lily  \nthought he was going to run away from his own wife, but he seemed to force himself to remain  \nin place, allowing the vixen to catch him by the arm. The rabbit's head barely came to his wife's  \nshoulder, and she must have outweighed him at least three times. Lily watched in amusement  \nas the vixen forcibly--though with a gentle patience Lily wouldn't have been able to summon--  \nmarched the rabbit over with them by the living room doorway. She let him go, and he darted  \nbehind her.  \nThe black and white rabbit poked his head out from behind the gray fox, \"H-hi.\"  \nLily tried to exchange a glance with Zeta to communicate her amusement at the rabbit's  \ncomically skittish behavior, but Zeta was staring at him uncomfortably. The vixen's bushy gray  \nand black tail swished, and Lily thought she detected the tiniest hint of frustration flicker in her  \ngreen eyes. She took the rabbit's arm and gently pulled him around in front of her, wrapping her  \nother forearm across his black and white chest to hold him firmly against her fluffy light brown  \nand white belly.  \nOnce she had him securely situated, she turned her attention back to Lily and Zeta,  \nlooking a bit embarrassed, \"I'm sorry. He's shy around strange predators at the best of times,  \nand these horrible events have him on edge.\"  \n\"I understand,\" Lily replied politely though she couldn't hold back a smirk. Prey like this  \nmust mortify those like Zeta; they embodied the very stereotypes their bolder relatives worked  \nso hard to combat. How such a nervous rabbit had ever ended up with a fox was hard to  \nimagine.  \nZeta stiffly held out her hand to the other rabbit, \"Hi Pete, I'm Zeta.\"  \nHe took her hand, but his eyes kept nervously darting back to Lily as he shook Zeta's  \nhand. Zeta frowned as she let him go. Lily considered offering her own hand to see his reaction,  \nbut she held back, glancing at Zeta. Maybe it was best not to torment this timid rabbit in front of  \nher colleague.  \n\"Nice to meet you, Pete,\" Lily said politely. \"We're grateful for how you've helped prepare  \nyour neighbors for the evacuation.\"  \n\"I-it's mostly been Flora,\" he squeaked.  \nThe vixen petted his head, \"That's not true, Pete. You've been very helpful keeping  \neveryone comfortable.\"  \n\"Is everyone ready to go then?\" Lily asked.  \n\"I think so,\" the vixen answered. \"Are they all ready, Pete?\"  \nThe rabbit nodded.  \n\"Why don't you go tell everyone to grab their things, and we'll meet you outside,\" the  \nvixen suggested.  \nShe let him go, and he quickly stepped into the living room with a final nervous glance at  \nLily. Lily started for the front door.  \n\"Just a moment!\" the vixen stopped her. She hurried down the hall to the front closet and  \ndonned a light blue denim jacket, leaving the silvery buttons undone. She dashed back up the  \nhall and into the back. She returned several seconds later with a black belt holding a handgun  \nand dirk looped around her hips.  \nLily eyed the weapons, \"Where did those come from?\"  \n\"I took them off the body,\" the vixen explained. \"I thought I might need them, especially if  \nyou didn't come back.\"  \n\"Do you know how to shoot a gun?\" Lily inquired dryly.  \n\"I have an idea!\" the vixen responded testily.  \nLily shook her head and held out her hand, \"If you haven't been trained, you're more of a  \ndanger to us and yourself than you would be to an attacker.\"  \nThe vixen frowned but began to undo the belt.  \n\"Just the gun, you can keep the knife,\" Lily corrected.  \nThe vixen unclipped the gun's holster from the belt and handed it to Lily. Lily checked  \nthe ammunition: the gun's magazine was fully loaded. She snapped the holster to her own belt.  \nLily nodded toward the door and led them out to the sidewalk. She eyed the blood smear  \nuncomfortably, stopping a few steps away in front of the house.  \n\"Did you manage to bury the body alright?\" Lily asked awkwardly.  \n\"I had some help,\" the vixen answered stiffly.  \n\"I'm, uh, sorry I made you do that,\" Lily replied. \"If I'd known why you needed our help-\"  \n\"It's fine,\" she cut Lily off. \"Someone had to do it. I just hope after this is all over  \nsomeone will move it. I don't relish the idea of having a grave in my backyard.\"  \nLily nodded once, \"Of course.\"  \n\"I guess you have a lot of experience with this kind of thing,\" Zeta commented  \nawkwardly.  \nThe vixen gave her a curious look, \"I don't typically bury bodies. I'm a pharmacist.\"  \n\"Er, I meant dealing with prey,\" Zeta quickly clarified. \"Since your husband's a rabbit.\"  \n\"You mean because he's timid,\" the vixen responded tersely.  \nZeta frowned, she seemed to be about to respond, but the vixen went on, \"He may not  \nbe bold like you, Officer, but Pete's brave in his own way. And I adore him regardless.\"  \nZeta still seemed uncomfortable. Lily would have liked to hear her go on, but she didn't.  \nPerhaps it was for the best. They didn't need to argue with the vixen; her relationship was her  \nbusiness.  \nThe prey began to file out the front door and down the porch, gathering on the lawn in  \nfront of them.  \nThe vixen watched until her husband exited, shutting the door behind him. \"Is that  \neveryone, Pete?\" she called.  \nHe nodded.  \n\"It's a few blocks,\" Lily addressed the group. \"Everyone who can will need to help the  \nsmaller prey. Any questions?\"  \nNo one spoke. Lily and Zeta began to collect the mice, voles, moles, and shrews they  \ncould manage. Zeta took two, and Lily took six, placing two with their things on each shoulder,  \ntwo in her breast pockets, and the latter pair's bags in her lower pockets. The vixen followed  \nLily's example, placing four on her shoulders and tucking two with their things in her lower  \npockets. The other small rodents and shrews were collected by the beaver and other rabbits.  \nLily didn't notice whether the vixen's husband took any as he stayed at the back of the pack.  \n\"Right, let's get going,\" Lily decided.  \nThe motley group began their journey. Lily glanced at the sun dipping close to the tops  \nof the houses. We've been lucky so far. Hopefully, these lunatics don't come out in force when it  \ngets dark. Leaving the block of houses, they turned toward the high-rises that included the  \napartment complex. They chased their shadows as they hurried down the street. The whole city  \nwas disturbingly quiet. Except for their own padding feet and the occasional rumble of a distant  \ncar's engine, the normal sounds of people going about their lives were absent. Instead tension  \nand the fear scent of the surrounding prey filled the air. The entire city is on edge; we have to  \nstop these lunatics!  \nThey were only a block from their destination when a gunshot exploded behind them.  \nSomething hot ripped across Lily's cheek and cracked into the concrete wall of the building in  \nfront of them.  \nLily yowled, \"RUN! Get behind the building!\"  \nPanicked, the prey charged around the high-rise. Lily was jostled in their mad dash, but  \nwhen she darted behind the wall and quickly glanced back, she didn't see anyone they'd left  \nbehind. Two blocks back, a gray wolf poked their head over a green dumpster to the right of a  \ntwo-story brick condominium. The wolf lifted a long-barreled gun, and Lily ducked back behind  \nthe wall. Another bullet cracked into the corner she'd been peering around.  \n\"How many, Chief?\" Zeta asked.  \n\"I only saw one, a wolf with a rifle, but there could be more,\" Lily growled.  \n\"A-are you alright? You're bleeding!\" the vixen yelped.  \nLily turned toward her and nodded, \"It's just a scratch. But an inch to the left, and I  \nwouldn't have a head anymore.\"  \n\"What are we going to do?!\" someone wailed.  \nOthers began to whimper.  \n\"We should have stayed home!\"  \n\"We'll never outrun a wolf!\"  \n\"We can't lead them to the tunnels!\"  \nLily held up her hands for silence. After a few moments, the whimpering stopped, and  \nthe prey stared at her, some with hope and others with trepidation. \"Zeta and I will handle this  \nlunatic,\" Lily declared as confidently as she could manage. She unclipped the other bobcat's  \ngun from her belt and held it out to the vixen, \"Looks like you're going to need this.\"  \nThe vixen stepped forward to accept the weapon. Lily withdrew the gun from its holster,  \nchecking that the safety was off. She held it with her trigger finger on the side to demonstrate,  \n\"Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. Aim, and then move your finger to  \nthe trigger and pull.\"  \nThe vixen nodded to indicate she'd understood. Lily put the gun back in its holster and  \nhanded it to the vixen to put back on her belt.  \nLily stepped over to a ground floor window on the building they were behind.  \nWithdrawing her own gun, she smashed in the window and peered inside: the room, which  \nappeared to be an office, was dark and empty of occupants. She motioned toward the window  \nwith a wave of her arm, \"Quick, all of you get inside and barricade yourselves in somewhere  \nuntil Zeta or I come back.\"  \nThe prey hurried over to the widow, one of the black and white rabbits--the vixen's  \nfather-in-law--going first. After boosting him in, Lily handed him the smaller rodents then helped  \nthe squirrels and other rabbits. The beaver climbed in himself though Lily gave his rear a shove  \nto help him fit through the window. Finally, the vixen lifted her husband in and scrambled inside  \nherself.  \nThe gray fox turned back to Lily and Zeta, \"Good luck!\"  \nLily nodded, \"Hurry and hide. We'll be back soon.\"  \nLily turned to Zeta, who nodded grimly. They both knew they might not be coming back.  \nLily only hoped the vixen would be able to use the gun if she had to. Who knew what these  \nlunatics might do to someone who'd helped prey the way she had?  \nLily withdrew her gun, hurried back to the corner of the building, and peered around: this  \ntime she saw two wolves poking their heads over the dumpster. She took a shot at them,  \nknowing she had little chance of hitting them at this distance. She ducked back around the  \ncorner before two more shots cracked the wall.  \nLily turned back to Zeta, \"There are two now. You stay here and do what you can to  \nkeep them pinned down. I'm going to try getting behind them.\"  \n\"What if there are too many for you?!\" Zeta protested.  \n\"Then protect the civilians. Get them to the tunnels if you can or barricade yourself in  \nwith them.\"  \n\"But-\"  \n\"Are you going to have trouble following that order, Officer?!\" Lily snarled fiercely.  \nZeta shot to attention, \"N-no, Chief!\"  \nLily nodded, \"Good luck, Zeta. I'll see you in a few minutes.\"  \nLily didn't wait for the white and black mottled rabbit to reply but dashed away down the  \nside of the building. She ran hard, putting one block then another between her and the wolves'  \nline of sight from beside the brick building. Turning right, she hared back the direction they'd  \ncome from until she was at the far end of the block in line with the wolves'. As she ran, she  \nheard a gunshot behind her followed by another in front: Zeta was trying to keep the wolves  \npinned down, but she couldn't last forever. Lily turned right again and didn't slow until she  \nreached the corner diagonal across the block from the corner the wolves were closest to.  \nCatching her breath, she crept the rest of the way down the block. She hoped the wolves  \nwouldn't have made a dash for Zeta. Fortunately, the wolves didn't know how many of them had  \nguns anymore than Lily knew how many of them there were.  \nLily crept to the corner of the brick building and carefully poked her head around: the  \nwolves were still there, all three of them. Shit. She ducked back behind the wall. If Lily shot well,  \nshe could take them all out. But larger species were harder to kill, and they had guns too. Lily  \nwould only have a matter of seconds before they could respond in kind. I have to do this. There  \nwas no backup coming. They couldn't wait the wolves out because eventually they would try to  \nattack. They couldn't escape and allow the wolves to kill someone else. Lily had to shoot first  \nand hope if they shot her it'd be quick.  \nTaking a final deep breath to fortify herself, Lily withdrew her gun and slipped around the  \nred brick corner. Aiming for the back of the leftmost wolf, she fired. BANG BANG! The wolf  \nlurched and slumped forward against the dumpster. The others jerked around, eyes wide and  \nsnarling with rage. Lily fired at the middle wolf. BANG BANG! The wolf jerked but then they  \nboth charged. Lily aimed at the other hoping to at least wound both. BANG BANG! The wolf  \ngripped her chest and snarled in defiance but then toppled to the ground. Lily turned her gun  \nand fired her last shot into the second wolf. BANG! Lily saw blood fly as the bullet went through  \nthe wolf's shoulder, but she didn't stop.  \nOnly feet away, the wolf snatched a long, curved knife from her belt with her other hand  \nand snarled, \"You're going to die, kitty!\"  \nLily threw her gun into the wolf's face and leapt at her with claws extended. Lily collided  \nwith the wolf's muzzle, slashing wildly with her claws. The wolf howled in pain and surprise,  \ndropping her knife as she grabbed Lily. Lily gripped her claws into the wolf's ears, but she tore  \nLily away and hurled her at the brick wall. Pain exploded through Lily's body as she slammed  \nagainst the wall. Her left side impacted with the wall first, but her head also bounced against the  \nunforgiving bricks. Dazed and aching, Lily fell to the asphalt in a heap.  \nSnarling, the wolf stalked toward her, \"You're going to die slowly for that, pig. I hear cat  \ndoesn't taste bad, so maybe after you stop screaming-\"  \nBANG BANG BANG BANG! The wolf collapsed in front of Lily, blood pouring out of  \nmultiple holes in the side of her black vest. Groggily, Lily turned her head to see Zeta standing  \nto the left of the dumpster. Zeta hastily checked the state of the wolf slumped against the  \ndumpster, dashed to quickly check the other two, and then raced up to Lily.  \n\"Chief! Are you alright?! Say something!\" She placed a trembling hand to Lily's neck.  \n\"I'm alive,\" Lily grunted. \"Just a minute, need to catch my breath.\"  \n\"Stay right where you are! I'm getting you help!\" Zeta turned and bolted back toward the  \nway she'd come.  \nLily groaned and slumped back against the wall. Her whole body hurt, and she couldn't  \ntell if anything was broken. Gradually, she began to feel as though she could stand, and she  \nused the wall to help steady her as she forced herself to her feet.  \n\"I said stay there!\" Zeta yelled.  \nLily looked up to see her haring around the dumpster with the vixen and her husband  \nclose behind.  \nZeta rushed up to her and eased her back down. She clutched Lily's hand, \"Hold still so  \nthey can look at you.\"  \n\"I'm fine,\" Lily growled. She glanced dubiously at the couple, \"Besides, I thought you  \nwere a pharmacist,\" she said to the vixen.  \n\"Pete's a doctor,\" she replied.  \n\"S-still in residency,\" the black and white rabbit responded.  \n\"You'll do fine. Go, she needs your help,\" the vixen guided him forward with a gentle but  \nurgent hand.  \nThe buck hopped over to Lily and crouched next to her. First he peered into her eyes.  \n\"D-do you feel dizzy?\"  \n\"No,\" Lily grumbled. She didn't like being fussed over, even if he was a doctor.  \n\"I don't think you have a concussion, but you're going to have a nasty lump.\"  \nLily growled low.  \nHe flinched but then began to run his hands over her body. Lily tried to stay patient until  \nhe was done.  \n\"I-I don't think anything is broken. Does anything hurt?\"  \n\"Everything, but I'll be fine,\" Lily growled.  \nShe sat up and forced herself to her feet with a growl of defiance against the pain. The  \nrabbit jumped backwards.  \n\"M-maybe you should rest! I-\"  \n\"We don't have time to rest!\" Lily snapped. \"Thanks for the checkup, but I'll be fine. I'm  \njust a little bruised!\"  \nZeta dashed over and hugged Lily tight.  \nLily hissed in pain, \"Watch the ribs!\"  \nZeta hastily released her, \"Sorry!\"  \nLily put a hand on Zeta's head and gently pulled her in against her lower chest, \"Thank  \nyou, Zeta. You saved my life, even if you disobeyed my orders.\"  \n\"I couldn't let you face them alone!\" Zeta protested.  \nLily lightly ran her thumb over the base of one of the rabbit's ears, \"I'll overlook it this  \ntime.\"  \nZeta took Lily's hand from her head and squeezed it tightly in both of hers, \"I'm glad  \nyou're alright, Chief.\"  \n\"Well enough. I'm not looking forward to the next few days,\" Lily replied. She glanced  \nback at the vixen and buck, \"Thanks. We need to head to the tunnels now before any more of  \nthese clowns show up.\"  \nThey returned to the high-rise the civilians had hidden in. The vixen went back inside to  \ncollect the rest of the group, and then they completed the trip to the apartment complex.  \nLily punched the call button on Archibald again.  \nThe weasel answered fearfully, \"Y-yes?\"  \n\"Police again. You know what we need,\" Lily stated bluntly.  \n\"G-go away! Call someone else!\" the weasel cried.  \n\"If we have to break in, you're going to regret it,\" Lily growled dangerously. \"Just open  \nthe door!\"  \nThe lock clicked, and Zeta pulled the glass door open.  \n\"Thanks.\" Lily hung up.  \nLily noticed the vixen eyeing her concernedly, but she ignored her. Zeta led the way to  \nthe elevator. After a couple trips, they proceeded to the laundry room where Lily removed the  \ngrate and guided the civilians to the trap door. They began to climb down, the larger prey  \ncarrying the smaller ones. The vixen stopped in front of Lily, her husband peeking out from  \nbehind her.  \n\"Thank you, Officer. We couldn't have made it without you.\"  \n\"Maybe you could; maybe you couldn't. It was bad luck we ran into those three,\" Lily  \nresponded.  \nThe vixen shook her head, \"You saved us. I wish I could come with you to help. There  \nare so many more prey! I want to do what I can!\"  \nLily shook her head, \"You need to get to safety. This is our job; we'll handle it.\"  \n\"You've already done a lot!\" Zeta put in, stepping up beside Lily. \"Both of you.\"  \n\"I didn't do much,\" Pete replied embarrassedly.  \n\"You helped when the Chief needed you. That's a lot,\" Zeta rejoined.  \nHe glanced nervously at Lily, and she gave him a nod. He'd at least been ready to help,  \neven if she hadn't needed it. He stepped around his wife and held out his hand to Lily. Lily took  \nit gently and shook it. He smiled nervously, and Lily smiled back politely. Shaking hands  \nshouldn't be a major achievement. Lily was glad she didn't have to deal with this rabbit on a  \ndaily basis. Lily let him go, and his wife hugged him to her belly.  \n\"I think you should head down with the others and let me stay and help the officers,\" the  \ngray fox murmured to her husband. \"I can help more. There's less of a risk for me.\"  \nThe rabbit looked up at her, \"If you're staying, I'm staying!\" he stated determinedly.  \nThe vixen shook her head, \"It's too dangerous, Pete. I want to know you're safe.\"  \n\"And I won't hide while my wife puts herself in danger!\" he shot back.  \n\"Neither of you are coming with us,\" Lily stated firmly. \"You both need to get to safety.\"  \n\"You need help!\" the vixen protested. \"There are too many prey for you to handle!\"  \n\"The biggest bottleneck is the tram,\" Lily replied. \"I want you to get to the tram and help  \nFlint with the evacuation there. He's a black squirrel. A muskrat named Matthias will be there  \ntoo. Tell them I sent you.\"  \n\"You're just trying to get rid of us!\" the vixen protested.  \n\"I am,\" Lily stated bluntly. \"But that doesn't mean you can't help there. Besides, we don't  \nneed two more civilians to protect.\"  \nThe vixen huffed frustratedly, \"Fine.\"  \nLily held out her hand to the fox, and she took it after a moment of grumpy hesitation.  \n\"Good luck,\" Lily said.  \nThe vixen nodded, \"You too. I hope we'll meet again when this is all over. I think I could  \nget to like you, Officer, even if you're irritatingly stubborn.\"  \nLily smirked, \"See you around then. I assume you know where the station is if you ever  \nneed anything.\"  \nThe couple stepped over to the hole, and the rabbit went first. The vixen gave them a  \nfinal wave as she descended into the tunnel. Lily let out a sigh of relief once they'd disappeared.  \n\"Odd couple,\" Zeta murmured.  \nLily glanced at her, \"Rabbit and fox, not so different from rabbit and bobcat.\"  \nZeta turned to look at her in horror, \"You don't think I'm like that poor soul, do you,  \nChief?!\"  \nLily smirked, \"No, of course not, but he seemed happy enough.\"  \n\"Maybe,\" Zeta replied dubiously. \"I guess he has it alright, but,\" she didn't finish.  \n\"But what?\"  \nZeta hesitated, \"I just feel like, maybe she's doing him a disservice. I mean, he's not  \nlearning to confront his fear with her coddling him.\"  \n\"So you don't think I should find my own timid bunny to play with?\" Lily jested.  \nZeta gave her a disturbed look, \"'Play with?'\"  \nLily changed the subject, \"Do you think the lunatics will come out more at night?\"  \nZeta shrugged, \"I don't know.\"  \n\"We'd better get back out there. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of prey might have been  \nwaiting to use the cover of night.\"  \n\"I think we should take a break,\" Zeta stated. \"You were hurt. You need time to recover.\"  \nLily shook her head, \"That just gives me time to get stiff and sore.\"  \nZeta frowned, \"Okay, Chief, but I think we should take a break at some point. It will be  \nhard to do much if we come across these dirtbags while we're exhausted.\"  \nThey made their way back outside. The sun had dipped below the rooftops, and the  \nhigh-rises across the street were silhouetted against the reddening sky. Lily led Zeta North, and  \nsoon they found another group of prey making the dangerous trip. They escorted this group  \nwithout incident then another. By the time they finished with the second, the street lamps were  \nthe primary source of light; however, the moon would soon be rising, and the night was clear.  \nStill, the relative darkness would provide some security to those sneaking through the city,  \npredator and prey alike.  \nThey soon found that Lily had been correct about prey waiting for nightfall to make the  \nrun. Within half an hour, there were more groups of prey than Lily and Zeta could handle. They  \ngathered those they could, their escort growing as they approached the apartment complex and  \nseemingly getting larger with each trip. Lily decided to have mercy on the weasel and propped  \nthe door open after the fourth call up.  \nAs they led the last of the seventh group of prey down the elevator, Lily leaned against  \nthe wall. The hum of the elevator's fan was soothing. Lily blinked her heavy eyelids against the  \nyellow light. The next thing Lily knew, Zeta was shaking her shoulder gently. She was sitting in  \nthe corner of the elevator, and Zeta was leaning over her. Lily sat up, meeting Zeta's brown  \neyes with her own. She glanced around the elevator: it was empty.  \n\"Where'd they go?\" Lily asked.  \n\"I took them to the tunnel. The squirrel and groundhog next to you caught you when you  \nfainted. You seemed okay, so I left you here.\"  \nLily grunted in acknowledgement. She forced herself to her feet, swaying dizzily as she  \nstood. \"We should get back out there,\" she stated.  \nZeta grasped her right hand in both of hers and shook her head, \"I found someone with  \nan extra bed who said we could stay awhile. You need to get at least a few hours' rest before  \nwe go back out.\"  \n\"I'll be fine,\" Lily growled.  \n\"I'm tired too, Chief. I don't know if I can handle another trip.\"  \nLily regarded Zeta suspiciously. She was probably just trying to get her to agree when  \nshe was actually still fine. Lily couldn't appear incapable in front of her subordinates. She hadn't  \ngotten much sleep last night, and it was late. But that was no excuse; she had a duty to perform!  \n\"Please, Chief. I feel like I might collapse at any minute!\"  \nLily sighed resignedly. Even if Zeta was trying to make an excuse for her, Lily couldn't  \ndemand the rabbit keep going when she said she was about to collapse. They didn't need to be  \na burden on the prey they were trying to help. \"Alright,\" Lily grumbled. \"But only a few hours.\"  \nZeta nodded, \"Only a few hours.\"  \nLily let Zeta lead her by the hand to the apartment where they could stay. Zeta knocked,  \nand a middle-aged fisher opened the door.  \nHe smiled at the two of them, \"Welcome, ladies. We have a guest bedroom right this  \nway.\"  \nHe led them to a room in the back of the flat, passing a bathroom and another pair of  \nbedrooms on the way. Lily saw another adult fisher sitting up in bed in one bedroom, their dark  \neyes reflecting the hall light, and three or four sleeping fisher kits in the other. The bed in the  \nroom at the end of the hall had a maroon comforter and white pillows. Fortunately, it looked big  \nenough to sleep both of them comfortably. The fisher stopped outside the door as they went in.  \n\"Let me know if you need anything,\" he told them. He turned and disappeared back  \ndown the hall.  \nZeta pulled back the maroon comforter and white sheet and motioned for Lily to get in.  \n\"I need to use the bathroom first,\" Lily stated. \"You go ahead.\"  \nLily left Zeta and used the bathroom. Zeta was waiting outside when she exited and  \nwent in after her. Lily trudged back to the bedroom and dropped heavily into the bed. She was  \nout like a light, but she opened her eyes again when she felt Zeta pulling the blankets up over  \nher.  \n\"Sorry,\" Zeta whispered. She lay down next to Lily on her back and turned her head to  \nlook at her in the dim light from the window beside the bed. \"Good night, Chief.\" Zeta closed her  \neyes and was soon breathing gently.  \nLily watched the rabbit a few minutes before closing her own eyes. She was glad she'd  \npicked Zeta as her partner for this mission. Maybe she'd been too dismissive of prey officers in  \nthe past. She'd felt compelled to protect Zeta, and she had. But Zeta had saved her life too.  \nWe're a good team. Exhausted, Lily soon fell back to sleep. Tomorrow, or later today rather,  \nthey'd go back to helping evacuate prey, and Lily knew she had a partner she could count on.  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"The Murderess of Maplesburg: Reign of Terror","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2014981-chapter-1-bennett-s.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2015915-chapter-3-cultists-and-pragmatism.json"}}