The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One: Fuel -26

Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.

--------------------------------------------------------

The Fire Triangle-A Zootopia Fanfiction

--------------------------------------------------------

Part One:

Fuel

--------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3 - Day of Carrots and Blueberries

(Continued...Pt. 18)

Judy Hopps should have been feeling honored.

Instead she felt unsettled.

It seemed like half the Hopps family had turned out for her run in the Rabbithon...or that was how it seemed anyway; there were at least as many bunnies here as there'd been for Erin's talent show performance the night before.

That was good; what wasn't so fantastic was that everyone seemed to think she had the race in the bag. The only exceptions were Nick, and to lesser degree Conor Lewis. The others were all behaving as if she only had to phone it in to collect the winner's trophy.

While Judy was grateful for any and all support from her family, overconfidence on their part was something she didn't need. For one thing, it reflected badly on her own attitude; for another, she knew that the Rabbitohn was anything but a done deal. Yes she was a bunny-cop, not only the first to join the ZPD but the first one anywhere, (as far as she knew.) And yes, she had the skills and conditioning to go with that job-but that still didn't mean the race was a lock. There were least three other rabbits in the competition that could be first over the finish line, (and those were the ones she knew about.)

First up, Neela N'kula. Neela was a riverine, or bush rabbit, an Afurican species long noted for its stamina and endurance. She was also dedicated runner in her own right; the Rabbithon would be her fourth competition this year. Neela was homegirl as well; a second generation Burrows bunny, she had moved away three years ago to take a job with a relief agency based in Sealttle. Like Judy she had never forgotten where she came from.

David MacLeap was a smiling Scottish Mountain Hare who worked as a ranger in Canada's Bunff National Park, a job that required him to make long treks over sometimes difficult terrain. His wife, Anne was a Bunnyburrows girl whom he'd met in college.

And then there was Tess Hazelton.

Tess was Judy's distant cousin and the girl's phys ed. instructor at Bunnyburrows High. She wholeheartedly practiced what she taught, working out religiously before and after classes. She also had the advantage of having been able to train over the local terrain in the run-up to the race.

Technically the Rabbithon was open to all comers larger than rodents and smaller than a red-fox, (which left Nick out.) But only rarely did species other than rabbits and/or hares sign up for the event.

The reason for this was simple; the Rabbithon was run over a course geared specifically to bunnies. This was no mere road race; it was combination steeplechase and trail run. There were walls and fences, there were hairpin turns and hill-climbs, and there were culverts and tunnels to negotiate. (At least there wouldn't be any sandstorms or ice walls Judy wryly reminded herself.)

One thing she did have in her favor was a piece of wisdom she'd picked up at the ZPD Academy, if you can't run faster, run smarter...and that her plan for today.

The first order of business however was to get dressed for the occasion, and so she ducked into one of the portable changing rooms to switch clothes. As fate would have it, Judy had purchased a new running outfit the week before, a two-piece ensemble that could have been a minimalist variation on her everyday police outfit. It started with a pair of knee length running shorts in sky blue with the letters 'ZPD' on the left hip and finished with a matching sports bra with the letters imprinted where her badge normally went. The last item on the agenda was to pin her ears back with a runner's barrette, the better to cut down on drag. (Judy refused to follow the latest trend among competitive runners, covering her head completely with a spandex hood in order to pre-empt all wind resistance; she couldn't hear a thing with one of those face-huggers wrapped around her ears.)

She gave herself as best an inspection as was possible in the room's tiny mirror, and then gathered her clothes and went back outside...and walked straight into a rousing cheer from the members of the Hopps clan.

"Guys, come on," she protested, pretending to be appalled, "Give me a break, the race hasn't even started yet."

Perhaps it was just as well; distracted as she was by her family, Judy was unaware of the way Nick Wilde was looking at her-or of the way her sister Erin was looking at Nick, (or of the way Conor Lewis was looking at Erin.)

Nick only wanted to slap himself; he would have done just that if it weren't for all these bunnies milling around.

"What the HECK?" he told himself, "Get a grip, Wilde; this isn't anything you haven't seen before; it's just a two piece version of her old workout clothes."

Yes, it was, so why couldn't he stop staring at her? Judy had never looked lovelier. With her strong, supple frame and glossy fur, she was the picture of perfect..."Get it together, fox!"

Whatever recriminations Nick might have been laying on himself, they couldn't begin to touch the thoughts of the young rabbit standing on his right.

"Foxes!" Erin could have spit out the word like bile, "You're all alike, first Conor and now YOU!"

Conor's thoughts, as he looked back and forth from Nick to Erin were shorter and to the point.

"I was NOT looking at you like that!"

The curse finally lifted when they heard Stu Hopps speak up.

"All right everybody, gather 'round, it's time to grab your bottles and take your stations." He said this while pointing to an oversized ice-chest parked at his feet.

Nick wondered what the heck Stu was talking about, until he popped the cooler's lid. It was stacked with a variety of runner's bottles, the clear ones showing a liquid in light, burnt yellow.

"What's that stuff," the fox asked, pointing at the ice chest, "Vitamin water? Gaitorade?"

"Nope, it's switchel." Erin said from beside him.

Nick felt his ears rise up. "Switchel? I never heard of that brand, who makes it?"

The young bunny laughed and shook her head mockingly.

"WE make it, city boy; it's a home brew, you can't buy it in the stores."

"Best thing in the world for a hot summer day in the fields," Said a familiar voice, and they all turned to see Judy coming their way. Nick braced himself but whatever had come over him when he'd seen her in that running outfit had already moved on.

"All right, so what IS switchel?" he asked.

"It's kind of like lemonade," Judy told him, "except you use honey instead of sugar and add ginger and cider vinegar."

"Sounds a little heavy for a sports drink," Conor Lewis observed from over on Nick's left.

"Not if you dilute it really well," Judy answered, pointing at the cooler. "That's the nice thing about switchel, you can make it as strong or as weak as you like."

"Hey c'mon you three; grab your bottles and take your places." Stu was beckoning to Nick, Conor, and Erin from beside the cooler.

Nick led them over but his outlook was somewhat less than enthusiastic.

"I kind of wanted to be there when Judy crosses the finish line." He said.

It was Judy herself who provided the solution

"We can put them at the Change Lake station Dad. There's an easy shortcut back to the finish line from there."

"Good idea." Stu said handing Nick and the others each one of the bottles.

"So why three of us?" the red fox asked a short while later as Erin led them along the trail that led to their hydration stop. "Judy can't take more than one of these at a time."

"Redundant systems, I'm guessing," Conor Lewis offered from two paces up ahead.

Nick felt his ears go up, "What now?"

"He means like a back-up system." Erin told him, "and he's right. If Judy misses grabbing the first bottle, she'll still have two more chances to get one."

She went on to explain how the rules worked. The racers could rehydrate either with water supplied by the race organizers or they could bring their own sports drink...but they could get it only at one of the designated hydration stations. The way it worked was as the runner approached the station, he or she would hold out their paw to indicate that they needed fluid.

"If we see Judy with her paw out, we run alongside the trail so she can grab some switchel on the fly." Erin explained

"Doesn't seem fair to me," Nick Wilde observed, "What about the racers who don't have a support team?"

Erin looked over her shoulder.

"No worries Nick, each runner will get the same chance as Judy, we always have tons of volunteers to help out at the Rabbithon." She grinned and then winked, "This is Bunnyburrows."

"Oh, I see." Nick answered with a nod. He actually didn't care one way or the other about Judy having an unfair advantage, but no one had said anything about HIM having to do any running. Heck this trail they were on was no picnic either, steep and twisting with lots of nice rocks to trip over.

"At least it'll be all downhill when we head back to the finish line," he reminded himself.

"Attention." A distant, amplified voice echoed up the hillside, "Attention please. All runners to your staring position, all runners, take your starting positions."

"Uh oh, better get a move on." Conor said, trying to pick up the pace. Erin just waved him back.

"No, no hurry. Where we're going is like more than halfway through the race, and we're almost there anyway."

She led them into a thicket of mixed pine and alder-wood trees, so dense that Nick couldn't see more than two feet on either side. He didn't' mind; finally the trail was starting to level out and he could hear the hubbub of voices up ahead.

When they exited the trees, Nick found himself on a gravel road set along the shoreline of a blue-water lake. Over on the right, he could see a turnout where a pair of tables had been set up, a large cluster of bunnies gathered around each of them. Both were crammed with hydration bottles from one end to the other.

"Welcome to Change Lake." Erin waved her paw like a tour-guide

"Change Lake," Conor Lewis wanted to know, "why's it called that?"

"It's actually an irrigation reservoir," the young bunny told him, pointing towards the opposite shoreline, "See? Right now the lake's full, but by Fall, it'll be down at least ten feet. So...Change Lake."

"Oh, so that's it." Nick answered with a poker face, "I thought for a minute there, maybe there was larger lake upstream called Dollar Lake."

Conor sniggered and Erin rolled her eyes.

"Har Har."

And then every bunny's ear went up at the sound of a sharp report.

"Annnd they're off!" someone crowed.

Down below at the starting line, Judy Hopps had just observed that you could always tell the rookies from veterans in a race like this. The neophytes were the ones who got down into runner's crouch when the starter called, "On your marks!"

The experienced racers knew that was what you did in a sprint, but not in a long distance competition.

And this would be a long distance run; 10 K for a rabbit was like 26.2 miles for a larger species. This was one of these races where anyone who made it to the finish line could call themselves a winner.

"Get set!"

Judy tensed and prepared herself; she was as ready as she was going to be. She was stretched and limbered up, her hydration team was in place, and she had secured a good starting position, a quarter of the way back from the front of the pack, "Thanks, mom."

"Annnd..."

The starter raised his pistol and fired and they were off, spurred on by a cacophony of whoops, cheers, and the thumping of a thousand rabbits' feet.

The first two kilometers were relatively easy, flat terrain with no curves. But everyone, even the first timers, were aware that this was only a warm-up; the twists and obstacles would come soon enough...and when they did, they'd get progressively harder with every passing kilometer. No one knew this better than Judy Hopps and so she paced herself accordingly, conserving her energy, not pushing herself. The idea was to keep within shouting distance of the lead but not to go for it until she hit the last two kilometers.

Of course, she wasn't the only bunny following this strategy. Neela N'kula was keeping right there with her and Tess Hazelton had even dropped back behind them little. (There was no sign of David MacLeap, but he had to be somewhere close by.)

At 1.5 K they came to the first hydration station. This was another thing that separated the newbies from the veterans. The rookie runners wouldn't grab for a drink until they thought they needed it, while the seasoned competitors made a point of hydrating themselves early and often; it would be a telling point in the final third of the Rabbithon.

And so as she approached the stand, Judy stretched out her paw. Instantly a trio of young rabbits moved out along the side of the road, bottles at ready. None of them offered any cheers or encouragement; that would come later.

She came closer; they began to sprint along the roadside keeping pace with her, each young bunny holding out a bottle like a relay-race baton. Okay, who should it be, Ethan? No. Jenna was closer. Judy slowed down a tiny bit to keep pace with her younger sister; Jenna stretched out with her paw and Judy plucked the bottle from her grasp.

And now the cheering erupted.

"Yay, Judy!"

"Whoo hoo!"

"Go sis, go!"

Judy did not respond, that was something else that would come later. Instead she popped the top on the water-bottle, taking in the switchel in short measured squirts. The action forced her to slow the pace a little and at least two other bunnies passed her by. That was okay, it would pay off in the long term.

She didn't finish the whole bottle, drinking only a comfortable amount before dropping it by the roadside. (Her crew would retrieve it.)

No sooner had Judy let the bottle go, than up ahead, she saw the first obstacle, a wall constructed of straw-bales. She accelerated and leaped, clearing the wall easily without even having to use her paw to boost herself over.

But this, she knew, was literally only the first hurdle, and the ones to follow wouldn't be any easier.

As if to confirm this, the course went around a bend and she found herself facing three more barriers of straw bales, lower than the first, but strategically placed so that the runners had to take them in succession; she'd have to hit the ground jumping between each one.

Only one way to do it, speed up but not too much, time it just right...jusssst riiight and...

Over the first, jump the second, clear the third and go...yes! Judy took the triple perfectly, gaining back every inch of ground she'd given up to re-hydrate herself.

But now the course began to tilt uphill, slowly at first but then gradually becoming steeper. At the top of the rise, the road assumed a meandering course, zig-zagging through a stand of trees.

This was where things truly began to get devilish; there were hurdles placed around some of the bends, set up so that the runners wouldn't see until they were practically right on top of them.

Luckily for Judy, she was a cop...and no one knew better than a police officer to that you had better be ready for something unexpected around the next corner. Here came a left- paw curve around a tree. Something was there, she could feel it. Yep two logs across the roadway, up and over she went. A minute later Judy came to a turn around a boulder; she took that one flat out, nothing on the other side. But now here came a double switchback. There'd be something in between THERE, all right. Yep, more hay bales; jump 'em, Judy!

When she exited the woods, she saw another hydration stand up ahead. This time a lot more runners were stretching out their paws, including her.

And now was when she saw the first bunnies beginning to drop out of the race-because looming up ahead was a sheer-faced ridge with the road snaking up the side in series of sharp hairpin turns It was enough to make HER have second thoughts about continuing on.

But thoughts were as far as she got; there was no question of her acting on them, not this rabbit!

Judy pushed her doubts aside and pushed on.

The ascent to the ridgetop turned out to be over a narrow, rocky track, rough, pitted, and only one lane wide. That made for a difficulty she hadn't anticipated, there was no room for passing and the cluster of rabbits up ahead of her had slowed to nearly a walking pace...while the pack at the head of the throng was drawing further and further away. Dangit, she could catch up with them if she could only get around this rabbit roadblock...but how?

The answer came on the approach to the first switchback. Up ahead she saw a bunny break from the pack, leap up, and go caroming off the road-bank and around the bunny bottleneck. Judy recognized her immediately; it was Tess Hazelton. She must have practicing for just this sort of possibility.

Never too proud to borrow some else's tactic, Judy let herself fall back a little and then gave it the gun as she approached the turn. At head of the curve, she spotted a small boulder and jumped on top of it, leaping up again, and then springing out from the bank with everything her legs could give her

She hit the ground running less that afoot ahead of the traffic jam-but that one foot was all she needed and she put the hammer down, determined to make up the ground she had lost.

Judy made it but there was a price to pay, when she hit the top of the ridgeline, her throat felt like dried parchment, never mind her two pit stops earlier in the race; there was practically no moisture in the air today. Her only consolation was the knowledge that she couldn't be the only one feeling the effect.

And it was a long way to the next hydration station...but at least for now she could cruise; the path along the top of the ridge was a simple straightaway.

But only for a short while; up ahead perhaps twenty yards away was a familiar sight, the elevated embankment of the BunnyBurrows Railway.

The underpass beneath it had been blocked off so that the only way through was by way of five PVC pipes of varying sizes laid inside the cut. Up ahead she saw David MacLeap drop down and dive head-first into one of the larger ones.

Judy knew a better way, a trick that dated back to her second day on the job with the ZPD. Putting on a little extra speed, she leaped out into a 'baseball slide' the same thing she'd done when Duke Weaselton had tried to evade her by taking shortcut through Little Rodentia.

The tunnel here was longer than the gateway to Zootopia's Rodent District, but it was also much slicker; she sailed through it like a kit down a waterslide, shooting out the exit and coming up on her feet two full yards ahead of David.

There was no time to savor her coup however, because twenty yards in front of her another obstacle was waiting, a wooden 'ladder-wall', too high to clear in a single jump. She would have to take it in stages.

No problem, after the frigid ice wall at the Police Academy this thing should be cake walk. Judy jumped up hard, making it half way to the top on the first leap, and then all the way to the summit on the second. Now all she had to do was grab the top, pull herself over, and...

A thrill of pain shot into her paw as the yellowjacket plunged the stinger deep, emptying its poison sac into her pawlm. Instinctively, she cried out and yanked away.

...And lost her balance, pitching head-first down the reverse slope of the hurdle.

Thinking fast, Judy stretched out and grabbed with her paws, catching hold of one of the lower rungs. The pain in her paw rose instantly to a banshee scream; she bit down on her lip and pushed off with all she had, at the same kicking out with her legs, tumbling over in mid-air and into an upright position....she hoped; there had been no time to gauge her move. She didn't....

She came down on her feet, not a perfect landing but close enough for government work; she was still standing and still able to continue. A split-second later David MacLeap landed beside her.

"Wha'happen?" he asked breathlessly as they sprinted off again. (He must have seen her near epic fall.) His query was a waste of time and oxygen but David, like Judy, had a job that involved helping other animals...a tough habit to shake off, as she herself knew only too well.

"Wasp." She managed to gasp, allowing herself a few seconds of well-deserved pique. Of all the places for that blankety-blank little so-and-so to have settled down for a rest, it had HAD to pick right there.

David nodded briefly and they continued on, the throbbing in Judy's paw become stronger and more noticeable with every step she took.

And she still had more than half the race ahead of her, but now oh sweet crackers n' cheez, here came another hydration station. If she couldn't relieve the searing in her paw, she could at least wet down the convection oven in her throat.

She moved to the side of the road and stretched out with her paw. At once she saw Junior and two more Hopps family bunnies detach themselves from the group around the table, bottles at the ready.

They began to run, keeping pace with her. Joanie Hopps was the first to come abreast of her sister. Judy grabbed the water bottle...and felt that searing pain in her pawlm again and lost it. Her brother Ben tried next; this time Judy tried to grab for the bottle using only her fingers, but was unable to grip it tightly enough to hold on. Once again the bottle went tumbling to the ground.

"Dang yellowjacket!" she seethed, unaware that she had spoken the words out loud.

Now only Stu Hopps Junior remained. If HE missed ...

He was determined not to. Junior was big and strong and if he wasn't much good for a long distance run, a short sprint was easy-peasy. When he came alongside Judy, he pressed the bottle into her paw, not letting go until he was certain she had a firm hold on it.

Judy wanted to scream; the pain was excruciating, but she didn't let go of the bottle. As Stu Jr. drifted back in her wake, she pulled the cap and tilted it upwards, preparing to drink.

The bottle was gone, nothing was there...and there was no such thing as going back for it, (assuming she could even find it.)

Only now did Judy Hopps understand the bitter truth, her right paw was useless, the yellowjacket's venom had temporarily disabled it; she was desperately thirsty and the next hydration stop wasn't until Change Lake.

That was more than a K and a half ahead...and on the other side of who knew how many more obstacles? (And even if she could make it, what then?)

She gritted her teeth and pressed on, regardless