Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.
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The Fire Triangle
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Part Two:
Oxidizer
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Chapter 6-The Children's Crusade
(Continued...Part 2)
There is a thing about violence; once unleashed, it usually tends to escalate.
Joseph Wambaugh - Lines and Shadows.
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Monday-01:07 Hours, ZPD Youth Detention Center, Zootopia.
The first one to notice was a fifteen-something kid from the Marshlands District, a capybara named Chato Ratagrande. Chato hadn't participated in the 'ZAPA Riot', as it was coming to be called; he only wished he had. He would have been there for sure if he hadn't been stuck in jail; busted for shoplifting, his third strike-which meant sorry kid, no probation or community service for you; say hello to Juvie.
With hardly anything left to lose, he'd been one of the first kids out of his cell when the doors opened, and had happily joined in the rain of trash that followed.
Now, he was downstairs, prowling around the floor of the common area. Most of the other detainees were staying away from this part of the jail, a rubbish-strewn swamp, courtesy of the fire sprinklers. Chato didn't care. Capybaras were a semi-aquatic species; water didn't bother him. As for all the garbage, even now this place made his neighborhood in the Marshlands look like Ritz City. For him at least, it was no big deal.
In fact, he found it the whole thing downright boring. He was just preparing to make for the stairs, when the music stopped and the lights came on. For a moment, everyone froze, afraid the ZPD had once more regained control of the situation. But then a new tune began to play over the PA, one with which the young detainees were a bit more familiar than its predecessor.
♪ "Oh, you wired me awake
And hit me with a paw of broken claws
Yeah, you tied my lead and pulled my chain
To watch my blood begin to boil
But I'm gonna break, I'm gonna break my
I'm gonna break my rusty cage and run." ♫
Chato would later say it had been his late, beloved, big-brother Paco guiding him at that moment. Whatever the case, just then he happened to turn and look towards the rear of the commons-and he thought he noticed something.
It was difficult to be certain-capybaras aren't noted for having the keenest eyesight-but it appeared as if the indicator light above the service door, which normally glowed red, was instead bright green.
Hurrying over as best he could-he had to pick his way past the heaps of debris, Chato saw, as he came closer, that the light was indeed green.
Fine...but did that mean...?
YOU ARE READING
The Fire Triangle -- Part II, Oxidizer
Mystery / ThrillerNick and Judy have gone their separate ways, and the arson attacks plaguing Zootopia have abated. But soon, a new peril will arise, threatening to turn the city into a war-zone, a menace that will quickly become fursonal for Judy Hopps. Nick Wilde...
