Fanfic: Long Days, Short Stories, The Mind Eaters (Zootopia, Warning: Mental health Issues)
Judy was just turning the corner into the financial district when she heard Nick cry out, “ Aw, no.”
“What’s up?” she asked, starting to slow down.
“Giraffe with the sign, on my right.” Nick pointed to an elderly looking giraffe standing on the sidewalk, maybe in his sixties, dressed in ragged looking, faded green fatigue pants and jacket. In his hoof he held up a sign that was about six feet on a side, filled with a dense screed in block printed letters, detailing what appeared to be a conspiracy between banker lemmings, intelligent reptiles on the moon, and “mind eaters”, whatever those were supposed to be.
“Central, this is Zoo Adam-12. Investigating protester in front of the Lemming Brothers Building, Financial District,” Judy reported into their cruiser’s radio. She clicked off and asked Nick, “Somebody you know?”
“Yeah,” Nick replied grimly. He looked down at his blue blouse in concern. “I wish I wasn’t in uniform. That’s gonna make this a bit harder.”
Judy followed as Nick walked up to protester, climbing atop a minivan to be a bit closer to the giraffe’s face. She felt her own nose wiggle as she got a whiff of sweat and less pleasant smells wafting her way, though Nick didn’t seem to notice.
“Hey, Joe!” Nick called up to the giraffe. “Joe, buddy, what are you doing here?”
“I’m telling the Truth to people, Nick,” Joe replied. He squinted, focusing on the fox officer, his expression growing alarmed. “Oh, no. No, no! You’re with Them! You’re with the Mind Eaters now!”
“Joe, Joe , you know me better than that,” Nick said smoothly. “I’m infiltrating. I’m working with Officer Hopps here. You’ve seen her on the news right, stopping the Night Howler people?”
“The Night Howlers were a Mind Eater plot,” Joe said earnestly. “They’ve got hundreds of ways of getting into your brain, twisting up your so you won’t think about Them . Night Howlers were just one of ‘em! I got it all on my sign!” He waved vaguely at the screed. “It’s all here.”
“Joe, what are you doing here?” Nick asked again, his voice growing softer. “Why aren’t you at home with Mary? You have a good thing going with her. She keeps you on track.”
“Mary… Mary she passed away six months ago,” Joe said bleakly. He blinked rapidly several times, his eyes growing damp. “The Mind Eaters took her from me. The only good thing I ever had and they took her.”
“Oh. Oh, dammit, I’m so sorry, Joe,” Nick said, looking upset. “So you stopped taking your meds, didn’t you?”
“Mary was the only thing that made sense, even with my meds,” Joe told him. “Without her… they make everything so gray, Nick! I don’t want to be feeling gray, when I gotta watch out for the Mind Eaters.”
“Oh, Joe. I told you over and over. When you take your meds you don’t have to worry about the Mind Eaters.” Nick reached up and patted Joe’s arm. “I’m gonna your sister, okay? I’ll bet anything she’s worried about you.”
“She’s gonna be angry,” Joe started to protest.
“Only because you made her worry so much. Come on Joe, please?”
The giraffe nodded, looking shamefaced, and Nick pulled out his personal phone and hit a number on his speed dial. “Hey, Annie. It’s Nick, I got Joe here…. Five days, huh? Okay, well it’s okay now,I got him right in front of me. He’s okay, he’s just a bit confused. We’re in front of the Lemming Brothers Building. Can you pick him up? Thanks.”
Judy stood quietly with Nick and Joe for about twenty minutes, until a giraffe sized compact slewed over and parked into the closest spot. A female giraffe about Joe’s age came out, her expression distraught. “Joey! Where have you been!” she demanded.
“I‘m sorry, Annie,” Joe mumbled.
Annie seemed to swallow back on what looked to be the start of a worried rant over his going missing, but settled for, “It’s okay. Just pick your sign up and get in the car.” While he did so, she turned to Nick and Judy. “Thank you, Nick. Thank you, officer. He’s been missing for over a week. I think he ran out of his medication and didn’t get it refilled.”
“Are you going to be okay with him, Ma’am?” Judy asked.
“Yes, this isn’t.. this isn’t the first this has happened. He’ll be okay. He will,” Annie said, looking like she was trying to convince herself.
“I’ll give him a call in a couple of days once he’s settled again,” Nick reassured her.
“Thank you.”
Judy watched as Annie’s car pulled out into traffic. When she turned back towards Nick, she found her partner resting his forehead on the wall of the bank building, looking exhausted. “Hey, Nick,” she asked in worry. “Are you aright?”
He turned around to face her, rubbing his palm over his eyes briefly. “I’ll be okay,” he said.
“How did you meet Joe?” Judy asked, leading him back into their cruiser.
“We met at a homeless shelter about eight years ago,” Nick said. Not as a volunteer, Judy suspected, but put the thought aside for later. “Joe is a vet, and hadn’t been doing too well after he’d been discharged. The army gave him focus, a way to keep himself steady, and when he lost that… Well, you saw how he is without his medication. So anyway, the social services mammals at the shelter were trying to get him onto some new meds, and he wasn’t having any of that. Except in his more lucid moments he had kind of an eye on Mary, another giraffe that was staying there. And I told him that if he was going to have any chance at all with her, he needed to get cleaned up and start using his medication, and otherwise make himself presentable. Which he actually did, and damn if he wasn’t pretty charming to boot as well, once he was standing steady. So he and Mary started getting along nicely, and the first thing they did when they were both back on their feet was get married.” He smiled wryly. “I even got to attend his wedding at the civil services desk at City Hall.”
“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” she asked.
Nick rubbed his lips briefly, his eyes distant. “Maybe… with his sister watching him…” He shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”
“We can check on him together in couple of days, like you said,” Judy tried to reassure him.
He shook his head. “Can’t watch him all the time. Can’t save the whole city, Carrots.”
She reached over to rest her paw atop his. “I’m going at it one mammal at time, same as you.”
Nick nodded, turning up his paw to squeeze her palm. “Thanks, Carrots.”
“No problem, Partner.”
“What’s up?” she asked, starting to slow down.
“Giraffe with the sign, on my right.” Nick pointed to an elderly looking giraffe standing on the sidewalk, maybe in his sixties, dressed in ragged looking, faded green fatigue pants and jacket. In his hoof he held up a sign that was about six feet on a side, filled with a dense screed in block printed letters, detailing what appeared to be a conspiracy between banker lemmings, intelligent reptiles on the moon, and “mind eaters”, whatever those were supposed to be.
“Central, this is Zoo Adam-12. Investigating protester in front of the Lemming Brothers Building, Financial District,” Judy reported into their cruiser’s radio. She clicked off and asked Nick, “Somebody you know?”
“Yeah,” Nick replied grimly. He looked down at his blue blouse in concern. “I wish I wasn’t in uniform. That’s gonna make this a bit harder.”
Judy followed as Nick walked up to protester, climbing atop a minivan to be a bit closer to the giraffe’s face. She felt her own nose wiggle as she got a whiff of sweat and less pleasant smells wafting her way, though Nick didn’t seem to notice.
“Hey, Joe!” Nick called up to the giraffe. “Joe, buddy, what are you doing here?”
“I’m telling the Truth to people, Nick,” Joe replied. He squinted, focusing on the fox officer, his expression growing alarmed. “Oh, no. No, no! You’re with Them! You’re with the Mind Eaters now!”
“Joe, Joe , you know me better than that,” Nick said smoothly. “I’m infiltrating. I’m working with Officer Hopps here. You’ve seen her on the news right, stopping the Night Howler people?”
“The Night Howlers were a Mind Eater plot,” Joe said earnestly. “They’ve got hundreds of ways of getting into your brain, twisting up your so you won’t think about Them . Night Howlers were just one of ‘em! I got it all on my sign!” He waved vaguely at the screed. “It’s all here.”
“Joe, what are you doing here?” Nick asked again, his voice growing softer. “Why aren’t you at home with Mary? You have a good thing going with her. She keeps you on track.”
“Mary… Mary she passed away six months ago,” Joe said bleakly. He blinked rapidly several times, his eyes growing damp. “The Mind Eaters took her from me. The only good thing I ever had and they took her.”
“Oh. Oh, dammit, I’m so sorry, Joe,” Nick said, looking upset. “So you stopped taking your meds, didn’t you?”
“Mary was the only thing that made sense, even with my meds,” Joe told him. “Without her… they make everything so gray, Nick! I don’t want to be feeling gray, when I gotta watch out for the Mind Eaters.”
“Oh, Joe. I told you over and over. When you take your meds you don’t have to worry about the Mind Eaters.” Nick reached up and patted Joe’s arm. “I’m gonna your sister, okay? I’ll bet anything she’s worried about you.”
“She’s gonna be angry,” Joe started to protest.
“Only because you made her worry so much. Come on Joe, please?”
The giraffe nodded, looking shamefaced, and Nick pulled out his personal phone and hit a number on his speed dial. “Hey, Annie. It’s Nick, I got Joe here…. Five days, huh? Okay, well it’s okay now,I got him right in front of me. He’s okay, he’s just a bit confused. We’re in front of the Lemming Brothers Building. Can you pick him up? Thanks.”
Judy stood quietly with Nick and Joe for about twenty minutes, until a giraffe sized compact slewed over and parked into the closest spot. A female giraffe about Joe’s age came out, her expression distraught. “Joey! Where have you been!” she demanded.
“I‘m sorry, Annie,” Joe mumbled.
Annie seemed to swallow back on what looked to be the start of a worried rant over his going missing, but settled for, “It’s okay. Just pick your sign up and get in the car.” While he did so, she turned to Nick and Judy. “Thank you, Nick. Thank you, officer. He’s been missing for over a week. I think he ran out of his medication and didn’t get it refilled.”
“Are you going to be okay with him, Ma’am?” Judy asked.
“Yes, this isn’t.. this isn’t the first this has happened. He’ll be okay. He will,” Annie said, looking like she was trying to convince herself.
“I’ll give him a call in a couple of days once he’s settled again,” Nick reassured her.
“Thank you.”
Judy watched as Annie’s car pulled out into traffic. When she turned back towards Nick, she found her partner resting his forehead on the wall of the bank building, looking exhausted. “Hey, Nick,” she asked in worry. “Are you aright?”
He turned around to face her, rubbing his palm over his eyes briefly. “I’ll be okay,” he said.
“How did you meet Joe?” Judy asked, leading him back into their cruiser.
“We met at a homeless shelter about eight years ago,” Nick said. Not as a volunteer, Judy suspected, but put the thought aside for later. “Joe is a vet, and hadn’t been doing too well after he’d been discharged. The army gave him focus, a way to keep himself steady, and when he lost that… Well, you saw how he is without his medication. So anyway, the social services mammals at the shelter were trying to get him onto some new meds, and he wasn’t having any of that. Except in his more lucid moments he had kind of an eye on Mary, another giraffe that was staying there. And I told him that if he was going to have any chance at all with her, he needed to get cleaned up and start using his medication, and otherwise make himself presentable. Which he actually did, and damn if he wasn’t pretty charming to boot as well, once he was standing steady. So he and Mary started getting along nicely, and the first thing they did when they were both back on their feet was get married.” He smiled wryly. “I even got to attend his wedding at the civil services desk at City Hall.”
“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” she asked.
Nick rubbed his lips briefly, his eyes distant. “Maybe… with his sister watching him…” He shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”
“We can check on him together in couple of days, like you said,” Judy tried to reassure him.
He shook his head. “Can’t watch him all the time. Can’t save the whole city, Carrots.”
She reached over to rest her paw atop his. “I’m going at it one mammal at time, same as you.”
Nick nodded, turning up his paw to squeeze her palm. “Thanks, Carrots.”
“No problem, Partner.”