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Welton smacked noisily as he bit into his chili cheeseburger, waiting patiently inside Cindy's car while she was busy talking to another one of Gomez's contacts. The bear looked outside the window, slightly paranoid that someone or something was following them as they questioned various individuals all around town. He looked at the rearview mirror and spotted a white van parked not far behind them, but after staring long enough, a construction crew stepped outside carrying supplies and heavy-duty tools. Welton licked his lips and exhaled, forcing himself to calm down; the last thing he needed was to let his paranoia get the best of him. The bear shoved the rest of the burger into his gaping maw, absent-mindedly letting some of the chili roll down his chin and onto his shirt. He wiped his chin off just as Cindy exited a building, sighing and running a hand through her short blonde hair. She walked over to the driver's seat and opened up her door, stepping inside the vehicle and slamming the door with frustration.

"So, how'd it go?"

Cindy was about to answer when she noticed that chili was on parts of Welton's wife-beater and had left huge stains.

"Should I buy you a bib?"

Welton glanced down at his shirt and sighed before he started licking his fingers. "Funny."

"And it went as well as the other contacts," she said, turning her car keys and starting the ignition. "Everyone either too afraid or too stubborn to step up and tell us what they know."

After Cindy started up her car, she merged into traffic and began to drive down the road, occasionally glancing into her rearview mirror to make sure no one was following her. But all she saw were vans, a few pickup trucks, and a taxi cab--all of which weren't moving too closely to her car.

"We've been at this all day, Cind. You sure Gomez didn't screw us over, give us an excuse to blow town? It's rather convenient of him to relay all this information to us right when he thinks he's in trouble."

"Some of the people we've talked to know what EC-27 is; that much we know. And if so, then Gomez wasn't lying. But whenever either of us asks about what the formula does, suddenly they act like their tongue was ripped out."

"Can't we just threaten all these guys and girls? You'd be surprised what someone would do if you pointed a gun at their balls."

"Piss themselves. That's about it," said Cindy bluntly. "And we dodged a bullet after that whole Krazzer Labs affair; we don't need to get ourselves into even more trouble."

"Point taken."

The duo sat in silence for the moment, listening to the cars passing by and the air conditioning blowing within the vehicle. While Cindy continued to think about their next move, Welton was focusing more on his next meal. The bear's stomach churned loud enough for Cindy to hear, at which point she glared at Welton and frowned.

"Do not fart in my car."

"What? All you heard was my stomach--"

"You heard me. You know how long it takes for me to get the smell out."

"Tch! All right then, I'll keep my ass under control. ...Who's left on our list?"

Cindy stopped her car at an intersection when the stoplight turned red. She took her hands off the steering wheel for a moment so she could pick up the mouse's notepad and flip through the pages again. Several names had already been crossed out, but there were still a few on the second-to-last page whose name and number hadn't been checked off yet.

"Uh, Benny, Harley the warthog, E.T.--"

"You're shittin' me. There's a contact listed under there as 'E.T.'?"

"Gomez listed his full name as Ermentraun Tusk-hass...len," said Cindy, having difficulty saying the last name. "E.T. just sounds simpler. Huh...Stacey Wunndeton, Kenny Dobson..."

"Ol' Ken's up there?"

Cindy heard a noisy horn blaring at her from behind. She looked behind her shoulder and put the notepad down, unaware that the light was green. She started to drive forward before looking over at Welton.

"You know him?"

Welton nodded. "He's a bartender for Northern Fish."

"That bar filled with drunken Outlanders? I know Gomez told me that's his favorite bar, but what does some bartender have to do with anything?"

"Maybe we should find him and ask."

The duo went silent again just when Welton felt a sharp pain in his stomach. The bear grinned widely as he lifted his left leg.

"Put your leg down!"

Welton huffed. "Fine. I'll just fart in your car tomorrow," he grumbled under his breath.

Cindy pretended not to hear him and parked her car on the side of the road, right next to a tall skyscraper in the business district of the city. She shut off the car's engine and opened her door, taking her notepad with her and stepping outside. Welton got out the car as well, leaning beside the dark gray vehicle as Cindy started to look at the names again.

"So what's our plan now?"

Cindy looked over at Welton as she heard a bus move down the street very slowly. She looked up at the orange sky, the sun slowly disappearing behind the mountainous skyscrapers as evening began to approach. Cindy glanced at a few numbers and started to randomly choose between a few of them.

"Okay, so...we're almost halfway done. Some of these people have left the city, some are dead, and the rest won't talk to us."

Cindy shut her eyes as she pinched the bridge of her nose and huffed. "Let's do...three more names. And then we'll rest again for the night."

"Good. We've been at this since dawn; you know how grumpy I am when I don't get enough sleep."

Cindy took out her cell phone and smirked. "You're always grumpy."

Cindy was about to start dialing a number when her phone rang on its own. She looked down at the flat device, confused when she saw a number she didn't recognize appear on the screen. For a while, she thought about ignoring it, letting it ring and hoping that whoever was on the other end would leave a voice message. But curiosity got the best of her, and she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Don't hang up. I-I need to see you."

Whoever was on the other side was frantic, panting so hard into the phone Cindy thought she felt his breath on her chin. But despite how the creature sounded, Cindy shook her head.

"Who is this? How'd you even get this number?"

Welton was trying to overhear the conversation when his stomach grumbled again. He flared his nostrils and saw the same boar from yesterday selling hot dogs again. Welton gave his partner some space and bought a few frankfurters, whilst Cindy kept listening to the panicky beast.

"Gomez gave it to me."

Cindy wasn't buying it. "I'm hanging up."

Cindy lowered her phone and was about to press the "END" button when the creature screamed "NO!" so loudly that she heard him even when her phone was nowhere near her ear. She stared at the electronic device for a moment, blinked, and sighed as she put the phone back up to her ear.

"Th-they're gonna kill me! Please! Please...I need your help."

"Call the cops. They can help you."

"No, n-n-no, I can't do that. Gomez told me he trusted you, to only talk to you."

"Well, Gomez never told me about...I don't even know your name. How am I supposed to trust a guy whose name I don't even know?"

"Carson. Carson Petryl. I can help you! I know all about the people who stole the shipment from Krazzer Labs!"

Now Cindy had to listen. She scratched her nose and leaned against her car. "Go on."

"Meet me at Silpond Hills, near the camping trails. Come alone. I'll be wearing the yellow cap. I can't do this over the phone."

"No, wait a minute! You owe me an expla--"

"I'll talk to you later. Goodbye."

"Wait!"

Click. Cindy swore as she lowered her phone and slid it back into her pocket. She groaned with frustration as she folded her arms and shook her head. Shortly afterwards, Welton came by, shoveling an entire hot dog into his mouth with one paw and carrying two more in the other.

"Who was that?" the bear asked with his maw full.

Cindy paused and pondered. This could be it. This might just be the lead I'm looking for, she thought. All she had to do was meet this guy, get the evidence, then come back to the city and deliver the evidence to the proper authorities. And yet, something told her in her mind that logically, this was asinine. The creature acquiring her cell phone number was eerie enough, but now he wanted her to meet him in a secluded location far away from the city limits. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was all a trap.

"Carson Petryl. You know him?"

Welton shook his head. "Nope."

"Thought not. Allegedly, he knows all about the stolen shipment. Allegedly, he can help us get to the bottom of this case. And he wants to meet me at Silpond Hills."

Welton swallowed hard. He took another hot dog and started to chew on it. "It's a trap. He's just some mercenary or dirty cop or whatever trying to get you out into the open!"

"Yeah."

Welton bit into the hot dog again before stopping. He looked at Cindy's frown and noticed she was looking down at the ground, pretending like there was something significant down there beside her feet.

"But?"

Cindy looked back up. "He sounded worried, Welton. Terrified. For all I know, he's being watched right now by the people who did this. They could be torturing--"

"No," Welton snarled. "This asshole is playing you. It's never this easy."

"Of course it is! All I had to do was talk to Gomez for about ten minutes, and he told me what the formula was that got stolen, that mercenaries are involved, and that this chemical can change a human being's DNA! Ten minutes, Welton! That was all it took! This guy..."

Cindy stopped herself and covered her mouth with the back of her right hand. There was no need to raise her voice, so she settled down.

"This guy came to me, afraid of someone. He barely had time to tell me anything before he hung up. Maybe he doesn't know much, but he's probably in serious danger, and I have to help him."

"You mean 'we,'" Welton clarified.

Cindy shook her head. "No. He wants me to come alone. Anyone else will spook him."

Welton must've lost his appetite because he threw the hot dogs on the ground so hard that ketchup and relish splattered all over the sidewalk.

"Oh, for fuck's sake..."

The bear's partner shrugged. "It's almost in the evening. It'll be dark soon. If I don't meet him now, he's either gonna blow town or get killed. It's that simple."

"What about Kenny? I told you, I've met the guy a few times; I can just talk to him about Krazzer Labs."

"We've been looking for contacts who can help us all damn day, and so far everyone's dismissed us. Besides, Kenny works in a bar all the way across town."

"And Silpond Hills is all the way across town too."

Cindy shook her head. "Then we'll split up."

There was no way they could both get what they wanted if they worked together. The only option was to go to each contact by themselves, and hope that if one didn't find concrete evidence, then the other one would. Welton opened his mouth to say how stupid that idea was, but he stopped himself before he wound up spouting out anything he'd regret.

"If I see anything wrong, or if something in my gut tells me I need to leave, then I'll leave. You should do the same when you go to Northern Fish."

"Cindy, you know how I feel about this. Splitting up is what stupid white bitches do in horror movies when they wanna die. Last time I checked, you're not a stupid white bitch."

Cindy scowled at Welton in such a way that his round ears and stubby tail lowered slightly.

"That is the most fucked-up compliment you've ever given me."

"Well, it's true. We both need to be smart about this. If you see something wrong, smell something, hear a twig snapping, you get in your car and leave. Don't try no hero bullshit, okay?"

Cindy smiled. "I can take care of myself. 'Sides, it doesn't really matter if we're alone or together, does it? That skunk nearly killed both of us at the same time in that alleyway. We're both vulnerable no matter where we are. At least this way, if my guy doesn't pan out, maybe yours will, or vice versa."

Welton scratched his head and wiggled his nose. "Okay."

"What about you? You gonna be fine by yourself?"

Welton grinned. "It's a bar. I think I know a thing or two about how to deal with bar fights. Your Teddy bear can handle himself."

Cindy started to grin very slowly. At the same time, Welton closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his muzzle, sighing.

"I actually said that out loud, didn't I?"

The woman chuckled. "Yes, you did."

Welton huffed. "I'm gonna go now. The next thing I know, you're gonna start tempting me with honey and pokin' my belly and hugging me."

Cindy nodded. "Gotcha. Take care...Teddy bear," she murmured.

Welton smirked and gave Cindy a jab on the shoulder as she started to laugh at him. "You better pray I don't think up an embarrassing nickname for you when I get back."

Cindy didn't respond. She watched as Welton started to walk down the street, heading for the subway. While he was on his way to take the train, Cindy got back into her car and started the ignition, wondering if the creature on the other end of her phone call was telling the truth.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gomez was all set. He had all his money, all his passports, all the credit and debit cards he'd need, and his various cache of junk food stuffed inside his car. No one was following him; he checked over and over again, taking alternate paths and driving in circles just to see if anyone was taking the exact same paths as him. But whenever he looked in his rearview mirror, he saw nothing. Even the cops weren't following him, and the only suspecting vehicle Gomez saw constantly moving behind his was a minivan filled with young kids on their way to a soccer game. He was safe. He had to be. Even as the mouse sat inside the Northern Fish, snacking on nachos and drinking a light beer, he constantly checked around the bar to make sure no one suspicious was in the area. But the bar was mostly quiet, only consisting of a couple bartenders and various otters and badgers with accents. Gomez looked around the bar one more time as he finished his bottle of beer. Northern Fish was out of the city, so the bar didn't get much activity. The bar was relatively clean, but the damp smell of wet otters always hung in the air, and it mixed in with the scents of many other creatures--some of whom didn't know what "hygiene" meant.

The mouse looked outside. A few cars, few trucks, and a couple of motorcycles. The neon green and yellow sign flickered, advertising the store's location and depicting a large fish with a bottle of beer in its mouth. Gomez rubbed his muzzle and sighed. Northern Fish looked, sounded, and smelled the way it always did whenever he came here. He didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. Gomez put on the plaid red shirt he had resting on the back of his chair, stood up, and pulled up his baggy jeans. The rodent headed for the restroom, knowing full well he couldn't drive another five or six hours without draining his bladder. He stepped in front of a urinal, lowered his pants and underwear slightly, and released all the yellow fluids into the toilet device. As he urinated, someone from one of the stalls flushed the toilet and sighed with relief. Gomez finished peeing around the same time the anthro from the stall opened the door and stepped outside. Gomez flicked his eyes at him and blinked. He was a brown rat with a plump gut that stuck out against the waistband of his pants. Gomez saw nothing ominous about him, so he walked over to the sinks.

But then, as Gomez started to wash his paws, he saw the rat do something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He had never seen this happen before; it was completely out of the ordinary. Any normal person witnessing the act would look at the rat and immediately know something was off about him. The rat stood close to Gomez, right beside the other sink. And then, he turned on the faucet and started to wash his paws as well. Gomez stared at the rat and laughed.

"Well now, a dirty rat like you washin' his paws? Now I've seen everything!"

The rat glanced at Gomez and chuckled. "Hey, not all of us rats enjoy wiping our ass without washing up afterwards."

The mouse ignored the watery noises the rat made when he spoke, or that he nearly spat on the sink when he talked to him. Gomez turned off the faucet and wiped his paws dry with some paper towels. He started to walk towards the bathroom door when the rat spoke to him again.

"It was nice knowin' you, Gomez," said Gengy.

Gomez's eyes grew wide. It was too late by then. No time to run, scream, or even fight back. Gengy already had the garrote around his neck before Gomez could turn around. The mouse shouted and grabbed for the thin wire applying way too much pressure on his throat. He couldn't get it. He flailed his arms around, tried to elbow Gengy in the face. The brown rat grinned widely as he tightened his grip, tugging on the wire so hard that his paws were becoming red. Gomez couldn't breathe. He let out several gasps, gurgles and strange choking sounds as he thrashed around. Gengy jerked the mouse backwards, causing him to gurgle violently as the mouse's air supply was cut off. He tried to grab the wire again, but it was no use. Gengy moved forward, slamming the mouse face down on the floor. Gomez's entire head was red. He could barely move as the rat planted a footpaw on his back and pinned him down. Gengy grunted with effort as he tugged on the garrote some more, the thin wire breaking through the skin and fur on the mouse's neck.

Gomez wasn't even letting out choking gasps or gurgles anymore. The only noises the mouse could produce were tiny, barely audible grunts and whines. He tried to reach the wire one last time, but his body had given up on him. Gengy kept pulling on the wire, listening as Gomez became quieter and quieter. And then his body went limp with one last whine. But Gengy wasn't taking any chances. He gripped the wire tightly, still choking Gomez in case the mouse was faking or merely passed out. But the heat from Gomez's body was going away. The mouse's eyes were half-closed, bloodshot after being garroted so violently. Gengy loosened his wrists and exhaled, taking a few breaths. He removed the wire from his paws and stuck it inside his pants pocket before crouching down to check Gomez's throat for a pulse. There wasn't one. The brown rat grinned as he pushed open one of the stall doors and picked up the mouse's body. He grunted as he hauled Gomez's corpse inside and carefully sat it down on the porcelain. Standing inside the same stall, Gengy locked the door so no one would bother the stall for a while.

The rat jumped onto one of the barriers separating the stalls from each other. He grunted as he hauled his heavy belly over the top of the barrier, eventually landing inside the adjacent stall. Then Gengy walked outside the stall and left the bathroom, with Gomez's limp corpse still resting inside the locked stall.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cindy knew something was wrong the moment she parked her car. She almost didn't want to open her door as her car rested near the edge of the steep hill. But she forced herself to keep calm, even though it was dark outside and there was no one around. Cindy bought herself a new handgun and had it in her back pocket, along with a new flashlight. Grabbing her flashlight, she opened up the car door and stepped outside, making sure she locked the door afterwards. She stood outside and examined her surroundings, taking note of the sign reading "Silpond Hills" that had been vandalized over the years. She shined her flashlight on the clear dirt trail that led right into the forest. But Cindy didn't move yet. She shined her flashlight at the massive trees and shrubs located within the woods. She could only see for so far before everything turned into darkness, the woods looking like an abyss ready to swallow its victims whole, with no chance of escaping. Cindy swallowed the fear brewing inside and took a few steps forward, removing her handgun and pointing it forward. She stepped along the ground meticulously, making very little noise and keeping her ears open.

Cindy heard a twig snap and immediately turned around. She saw nothing, heard nothing else. The wind blew violently, making her short hair flutter and the leaves in the trees rustle. A couple of trees creaked, and Cindy could hear crickets chirping in the area. It was a peaceful night, and the crescent moon was so bright that it gave off more light whenever Cindy was out in the open. And yet, she couldn't shake off a sense of dread, as if she knew something foreboding was minutes, if not seconds away from her.

"Over here!" someone whispered.

Cindy turned back around and looked at the trees. Standing beside one of them and peeking around the bark was a fox with dark red fur, bright blue eyes and the yellow cap he said he'd wear so Cindy could recognize him. He stepped out into the open, holding up his paws and wincing as Cindy shined the flashlight in his eyes.

"Don't worry. The coast is clear; we're fine now."

Cindy took a few steps forward. She looked to her left and right. Something didn't seem right. Maybe it was the atmosphere around her. Maybe the fox looked too shady. But all Cindy needed to do was take a few steps forward to realize that she made a mistake. The woman took a few deep breaths before she immediately turned around.

"Fuck this," she muttered.

Cindy started to stomp away. This was a mistake, she told herself. I never should've come up here in the first place. The vulpine could see that Cindy was about to bolt and sprinted after her; he was in as much danger as she was.

"Hey! Hey, wait a minute!"

The fox grabbed Cindy's shoulder. She wrenched it away and pointed her gun and flashlight at him.

"Back off!"

The fox held his paws up again. "It's-it's Carson, remember? We talked over the phone."

"I don't care. This whole thing is a setup, ain't it? You got a sniper in them trees? Huh? Someone about to break into my car and hide in the back seat, slash my throat before I start the engine?"

"No, I--"

"You don't know anything about Krazzer Labs, do you?"

"I know what the mercenaries' plans are!"

"I doubt that."

Carson started to pant. "EC-27. It-it transforms humans into anthros like me. But they're...they're savage. Untamable, ravenous--it's like their last bits of humanity are gone! The mercenaries--they stole this formula because they plan on using it against you humans!"

"How?"

Carson huffed. "Didn't you hear on the news? The camping massacre? Almost two dozen people were killed, their bodies ripped apart by some wild animal!"

Cindy blinked. "When did this happen?"

"A couple days ago. ...Haven't you been watching the news?"

"I didn't see it on the news. Were all the victims women from Krazzer Labs?"

Carson shook his head. "I'm talking about families. Children, Cindy. There were children there."

"...What are you saying, these mercenaries turned a human being into one of these monsters and then set him loose onto the public?"

"That's what it looks like."

"And they have an entire shipment of this chemical?!"

"Do you see the problem now? This city is not safe! They have enough of this formula to transform hundreds of humans--thousands even!"

"But why? What do they have to gain from this? What's the point?!"

"Humanity goes extinct? The strong rule over the weak, turn you humans into slaves? Maybe these guys just like watching people suffer. Take your pick. I really don't care anymore. ...To be honest, I was working with them. But then I saw how far they were willing to take this."

Carson shook his head. "I can't be a part of this. If this keeps up, we anthros and you humans will go to war with each other. We'll end up killing ourselves in the process. Is that what you humans want?"

"Is that what you anthros want?"

The fox sighed as he dug into his pants pocket. "I can't explain anymore. Not now anyways. Take this flash drive. It's got recordings, documents, photos--everything you need to incriminate these guys, hopefully put a stop to this madness."

Cindy accepted the flash drive from the fox. She looked down at the device and shook her head. "No, no, stop. It's-it's too easy. This is all too simple; something's wrong."

"No, it's not. Look, if something happens to you, I have copies. If something happens to me, you have a copy of the data. We're covered either way."

"What about the cops? Someone told me they're in on it too. Who do I show this information too--that is, if this really is credible information."

"Someone you trust? The mayor? A senator? I don't give a flying fuck. Go to the city's news station and show the anchors the information on this flash drive right there in the building. Call some journalist and leak this information to them. It won't matter if people think it's true or not. If the press gets even rumors of what's going on, these mercenaries and anyone else involved won't be able to cover it up. There won't be anyplace left to hide. It won't matter what happens to us; at least we'll know that in the long run, we stopped this disaster from happening."

Cindy started to trust Carson. She lowered her handgun and slipped the flash drive into her pocket, exhaling as she began to calm down.

"Okay, thank you...so what do you plan on doing now?"

"I gotta head back to my hideout, pack some things, make more backups of all the information I have. Don't worry about me. Just get that flash drive in the right hands as soon as possible."

Cindy realized once again that she was exposed and out in the open. She nodded quickly before walking back to her car and getting inside. As the fox disappeared into the woods again, Cindy started up her car and quickly turned it around so she could head down and get back onto the streets.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It didn't occur to Welton until after he got off the train that he was going to a bar. He had just quit drinking for good and now it seemed like fate was tempting him again, baiting him to take several shots of strong liquor, which would inevitably lead to him puking and passing out on the floor. Luckily, Welton wasn't thirsty--or hungry for that matter. If anything, he was more concerned about his stomach, which had been grumbling and churning all day from his excessive food consumption. The bear was in the same state as Cindy, feeling like an anvil was hanging over his head. Welton knew that nothing was ever easy, that he couldn't achieve anything without paying some kind of price. Even getting past his alcoholism was a challenge, and the bear knew that solving this case wouldn't be any easier. But the bear told himself that all he (and Cindy) could do was move forward until they reached the finish line. So Welton walked around the small, country-like town that Northern Fish was located in and sniffed.

The small town seemed like it was built decades ago. All the buildings were cracked, falling apart, or only fit to be demolished so a newer, fancier building could take its place. Welton saw a few gas stations, some country stores with a few pickup trucks sitting outside of them, and a few clothing stores and restaurants. The ground he walked on was covered with sand-colored earth and gravel, along with trash. Welton nearly winced when he almost stepped on a broken bottle, and he scrunched up his face when he walked past a dumpster that was leaking foul-smelling fluids. But despite how barren and old-fashioned the town was, everything seemed serene, even at night. Welton was starting to rethink his opinion of the tiny town when he saw blue and red lights flashing against the side of a nearby building. Welton blinked and jogged forward, looking around the corner of a building to his left. He saw a neon sign of a fish drinking from a bottle of liquor, and the bear's heart began to race when he saw an ambulance and a few vehicles from the sheriff's department around the bar.

"Oh shit," Welton muttered.

Welton ran over to the Northern Fish, gathering around the large crowd of onlookers who were observing the scene unfold. The bear didn't bother trying to weave through the crowd. Anyone in his way was shoved aside or pushed out the way so he could reach the crime scene. That's when Welton saw the black body bag and the coroners zipping up the bag tightly.

"Damn shame," said one onlooker.

"Heard he was in the bathroom fer hours," said another.

Welton looked around the area and saw a melanistic otter shaking his head. "Shit. I jus' got here too. This is not the way I wanna start me night."

"Kenny?"

The otter turned and saw Welton, but he couldn't smile. "Oh...hey, Welton. Long time no see, eh? I'd offer ye somethin' to drink, but I think the bar's gonna be closed for a while."

He's still alive, thought Welton. But then who's...Welton's thoughts trailed off. He lifted the yellow police tape and started to walk towards the body. On instinct, one of the police officers stood in front of Welton and grabbed him, blocking his path towards the victim.

"Sir, you need to back away," said the old badger.

"Who is it?"

"I can't reveal that information. Not unless you're a family relative."

"But I'm a private investigator. See?"

Welton took out his badge and showed it to the badger. The officer just blinked and gave it back to him. "Doesn't change anything. You're not allowed to see the body."

Welton huffed. "Can you at least tell me what species the victim was?"

The badger shrugged. "Some rodent, a male mouse I think."

Welton swore. He looked around the parking lot and felt the anvil above his head getting lower and lower, ready to fall. Gomez's car was still in the parking lot. The grizzly bear took out his cell phone and dialed Gomez's number, muttering to himself and swearing quietly. Someone's phone began to ring. The tone was muffled, buried within someone's pants pocket. The two coroners looked puzzled and glanced at each other, unsure of where the sound was coming from. One of the coroners looked down at the body bag and heard a faint vibrating noise before the phone rang again.

"The hell?"

Welton almost dropped his cell phone in shock. The ringing was coming from the body bag.

"Oh my God..."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cindy was driving faster than the speed limit, but she kept her car under control. Even now as she drove down the deserted streets with nothing surrounding her but the woods, Cindy made sure she stayed calm. She had the evidence. She had someone who was willing to help her and back up her information. The news station was at least an hour away, but she didn't care. She needed to get there now before it was too late. Cindy was cruising down the dark road when her cell phone rang. She ignored it. She couldn't let herself get distracted by anything. But then her cell phone rang again, and something told Cindy she needed to look down at the caller ID. It was Welton. She quickly snatched up the phone with her right hand and steered with her left.

"Yeah?"

"Get the fuck back here now," he barked.

Cindy could hear Welton panting on the other end, like he just finished running on a treadmill.

"I'm already heading back to the city."

"Good. Get down here as fast as you can!"

"Why? What's..." Cindy didn't need to be told. She could tell by Welton's voice that his attempts at finding another lead ended horribly. "Kenny's dead, isn't he?"

"No, Kenny's fine. Gomez is the one who's dead!"

Cindy's jaw nearly fell in her lap. "WHAT!"

Welton panted a few times. "I-I dunno. I got to the bar and I saw some coroners hauling a body into an ambulance. So I called Gomez's cell phone after I saw his car in the parking lot, and I heard his phone ringing inside the body bag!"

"Ma-maybe he--"

"He's dead, Cindy! They got to him before he could skip town; he's probably been dead for hours now!"

"It...Jesus...we-where are you? Where are you now?"

"Heading back to the subway. We have to rethink our plan, Cind."

"I met Carson. He gave me evidence that'll blow this entire thing wide open!"

"That guy actually helped you?"

"I'll explain later! Right now I have to get to the news station--"

"No," snarled Welton. "We're not splitting up again. Kerchen Park is right by the subway. Come here first, we'll meet up at the fountain again. Then we'll go to the news station or police station or wherever the fuck."

"Welton, I--"

"Gomez is dead because he tried to run away, because he was alone and had no one watching his back. I'm not taking that chance with you. So get your ass down here as soon as possible. We'll figure it out from there."

There was no arguing with Welton. Besides, he was right. If Gomez had somebody watching out for him, he might still be alive.

"Okay. I'll be there shortly."

"Hurry up," said Welton, before hanging up.

Cindy hung up her phone and tossed it on the passenger's seat. She knew she was already driving faster than the speed limit, but she didn't care at this point. She pressed her foot down on the gas pedal and started to accelerate, driving so fast she thought she'd swerve off the road on some of the turns. She was hoping that a police officer would slow her down; at least he or she could take her to the station, and she'd spill her guts about everything she knew. Cindy sniffled and rubbed her nose, forcing herself to stay calm. Every minute she wasted on the road was a minute that put Welton in more danger. She tried not to think about Gomez, but everytime she blinked, she couldn't help but see the mouse's smile or hear the way he squeaked and giggled whenever she rubbed his ears. Cindy swore to herself, thinking she could've done more for the rodent before he tried to leave. She would've been better off buying him a bus ticket and watching first hand as he left, just to ensure nothing happened. She felt like she didn't protect him well enough, and now he was being transported to the morgue.

Cindy started tearing up. All she could think about was finding Welton at the park, sitting on the same bench, a bullet hole in his forehead. She imagined someone drowning him in the fountain, or kidnapping him and torturing him to death just to taunt her. She pounded on the steering wheel with a fist and sniffled again. Not this time, she thought. No matter what happens, I'm not leaving Welton's side until this is all over. So Cindy continued to speed down the road, determined to reach the park. That's when Cindy saw a truck's headlights appear in the distance. As she got closer to the vehicle, she noticed that it was weaving back and forth into her lane.

"Shit," Cindy muttered.

This was definitely not the time to be dealing with a drunk driver. The truck started to drive on the wrong side of the road entirely, coming straight for her. Cindy swerved to the left. The truck driver swerved to the right.

"Goddamnit!"

Cindy swerved to the right. The driver swerved to the left, clipping the side of Cindy's car.

"SHIT!!"

Cindy lost control of the car. She tried to stop, tried to steer herself back onto the road, but the car wouldn't stop screeching and sliding along the road. She screamed as the car drove right against the metal road barriers, breaking through them and tumbling down one of the hills. The car bounced on the ground, kicking up a substantial amount of dirt and gravel, before it ran straight for a large boulder. The right tires and right headlight smashed against the boulder, sending the car flipping over onto its left side and rolling over so it was completely on its hood. Cindy screamed again as the car started to slide downhill upside-down, glass exploding around her and metal screeching as the car's engine started to die. The car bounced a couple more times, slamming against the side of a tree with an ear-splitting crash and causing the car to spin once as bits of the rear bumper hung off the back of the car. The car would've continued to slide down the hill had it not been for the thick pine tree that suddenly appeared in front of the car. Everything suddenly stopped as the car smashed into the heavy wood, the front end of the vehicle shriveling up and crunching like a beer can, the hood crumpling up and popping open. Cindy slammed her head against the dashboard, and the resulting crash left her in peril.

The truck driver, miraculously, noticed what he had done and immediately left his truck. He rushed over to the scene of the crash, panting as he followed the skid marks and debris from the wreckage down the hill. The driver was glad he didn't see any blood or body parts, but glass and pieces of metal were scattered about the hill. When he finally reached the totaled car, he could see that it was upside-down, releasing a trail of acrid smoke, and pinned against a tree. But the driver couldn't smell or see flames, so he didn't have to worry about the car exploding.

"Hello?! Can anyone hear me?!"

Cindy slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurred as she felt fluids running down her face. She felt like vomiting from the disorientation and from how much her head was throbbing. Cindy groaned quietly as she gradually moved a hand along her car seat, reaching for the seat belt. She took it off with a soft click and shouted weakly as her body plopped down head first onto the roof of the car.

"Help..."

The driver heard Cindy and started panting. "Okay, okay, just stay still! I'm calling an ambulance right now!"

Cindy couldn't wait. She was still in danger. In fact, she was a sitting duck now; if that fox turned out to have double crossed her, then he could easily walk down the hill and kill the truck driver, along with her. Panting and grunting with effort, Cindy reached up and unlocked her door. She stopped herself, her head pounding so hard that her vision went black and she almost passed out from shock right then and there. But Cindy panted a few times and opened her eyes again, reaching forward as she started to drag herself out of the vehicle. She shouted and whimpered; her left leg was completely twisted with a bone protruding against the skin. She didn't realize it was broken, or that she was bleeding internally along her abdomen. She looked around the area and could see the driver standing beside the car with his back turned. Cindy groaned again as she tried to drag the rest of her body outside, but she was too weak. Glass and metal was spread all throughout her body. Her hair was a mess and her face was coated with blood and had a few bits of glass stuck against the skin. The crash only antagonized the previous scars she received from the skunk, and her back started to become wet as the scars reopened.

"Please..."

The truck driver stopped dialing on his cell phone. He huffed and stomped a foot into the ground.

"Aww, damn! There's no signal out here! Gonna be a while before the ambulance arrives!"

That was a lie. Cindy was talking to Welton only a few minutes ago. She took a few deep breaths as she lied on the ground and coughed up some blood. The truck driver turned around and revealed himself to Cindy, at which point her eyes grew wide and the woman nearly had a heart attack.

"Told you we'd see each other again soon," said Reilcuf.

Cindy started to panic. She whimpered and panted as she tried to reach over to grab her gun. But she couldn't find it. The shark crouched down and grinned widely, watching as the woman moved her left hand along the ground, desperate to find anything to defend herself with.

"Oh, what's wrong? No pencils to stab me with this time?"

Reilcuf picked up a sharp stick beside Cindy's head and waved it in front of her face. "Go on then! Snatch this from my hand! I'm sure you could use it as a stake and impale me through the heart."

She didn't care that the shark was taunting her. Cindy actually took the bait, reaching up so she could try to grab the stick. But just as she groped it with two fingers, the shark tossed it several feet away. Reilcuf looked down at Cindy as she lowered her arm and exhaled.

"I was so looking forward to fucking you. Had this magnificent plan where I kidnap you, rape you, let my partners film it all before I chop your head off and send the videotape to your 'boyfriend' or whoever that bear you hang out with is. Alas, that's all too...melodramatic for me. I'm paid to be smart, not a narcissist. So I said, 'Hey, fuck it. Let's just kill the bitch now, make it look like an accident.'"

Reilcuf got so close to Cindy that she could see and smell his breath whenever he exhaled. She briefly saw the gills on his neck move shortly before he spread out his arms and wiggled his fingers.

"And here we are! You, lying here, near death, bleeding out because a 'drunk driver' ran you off the road. It really is a shame that the paramedics couldn't get here before you suffocated on your own blood."

Reilcuf reached down and planted a firm hand against Cindy's mouth. She mumbled a few times and felt blood forming inside her mouth seconds before Reilcuf placed his other hand against her nose and pressed down hard. Cindy couldn't breathe. She could barely move. She mumbled several times and coughed, but no air would come into her nose. She jerked her right leg around and tried to move her arms, but all she could do was wiggle her fingers and hands. She looked up at the shark, desperate to stay alive. But her vision was already becoming blurry. Cindy whined a few times as two tears rolled down her face. More blood formed in her mouth and nose, but it had nowhere to go besides back into her body.

"You humans, always flailing about like some toddler on the way to the dentist. Just stay still...let it happen. Stop fighting."

Cindy didn't quit. She kept moving her arms and leg. But after several more seconds, her body gave up. She couldn't move anything besides her eyes. She wasn't even moaning or whimpering anymore. Cindy tried to stay awake, knowing if she fell asleep now, she'd never wake up. She could hear crickets chirping around her and the wind blowing softly against her face. Everything slowly went dark. She knew what was happening, yet she found a strange sense of peace in the silence. Reilcuf watched as Cindy's eyes gradually became dull, lifeless. Her eyelids closed halfway, and she went very still. The shark kept his hands pressed against her face just in case she was merely faking. But after thirty seconds, he removed his hands and checked for a pulse. But she was gone. The shark smirked as he wiped some of Cindy's blood off his hands, using her shirt as a piece of cloth. Reilcuf stood up, walked towards the car, and shined a flashlight at the underside of the wrecked vehicle. He reached forward and removed the tracker one of his men planted on Cindy's car and stuffed it inside his pocket. Then he inspected Cindy's body and carefully removed the flash drive Carson gave to her from her pants pocket. Reilcuf looked at Cindy's body and the car's wreckage before he started to return to the street. Even as the shark walked back up the hill, he knew that this wasn't over yet.

Welton Travyn was still out there.