Zootopia: Worlds Apart

18. Zootopia.. or not?

Luke's POV

I'm assuming I'd fallen asleep, because I don't remember much after that encounter. I remember coming to again after a while, this time my bandages were off because the light pierced my eyes as I opened them. By pierced, I mean gently weaving its way into my eyes because the majority of the light was covered by a large curtain that I'm assuming allowed for privacy.

I slowly managed to sit myself up and look at my surroundings. There wasn't really anything to take interest in apart from a couple of posters plastered on the walls around me. To my right there was a poster with the text 'Adler' emblazoned on it, coupled with a picture of a person wearing some kind of Phantom of the Opera-looking mask.

Next to this picture was a post-it note. The text on it read:

'To do:

- Pay for the tubes of paint I broke.
- Finish Science Homework.
- Buy a good lunch today.
- Don't be an idiot.'

I re-read it. It was a weird to do list. Maybe this guy was some sort of self conscious freak, I mean I had no idea who he was or anything so I couldn't exactly make that kind of assumption right off the bat.

I considered opening the curtain, but when I went to do it I felt nervous. I didn't know where I was, I didn't know who was out there, I didn't know anything about this place. It could be a trap for all I knew.

I pushed past the fear before pulling the curtain open. As my eyes adjusted, I was greeted with a dorm room. There were even more posters out there than there were in this bed compartment, and it was far more messy than it was in here. I flung my feet out from under the duvet and placed them down on the floor before standing, minding the top of the bed as I did so.

I glanced around the room. It was quite a cool room if I had to be honest; It looked like one of those dorm rooms that you'd find in a College film or a Uni film.

I wanted to go further. I wanted to go outside the room and explore this new world, but then the words of that strange voice echoed back through my mind.

 "Just... don't get into any shenanigans while I'm gone, okay?"  it echoed.

I didn't want to disobey them, but I figured why are they giving themselves authority over me? I knew they only wanted the best for me, but I'm confident that I was better.

I slowly made my way towards the door, before looking over at the bunk above mine. I couldn't see anything because the curtain was shut, but I knew for certain that Zack was in there safe and sound. I also happened to see a mirror as I turned to leave. I looked at myself. For one, I had both a bandage wrapped slipshodly around my head and dried blood near the lower side of my right eye. Secondly, I wasn't wearing a shirt. Had this guy really taken time out of his day to save me and Zack and clean our clothes? Or maybe they were just covered in blood? I didn't think about it as I looked around the room for something to wear. Eventually, I found a blue polo shirt laying in a neat pile on the floor near where I'd awoken. I took it, put it on and then made my way towards the door. I breathed deeply as I closed my eyes and opened it.

Nothing surprising greeted me, just a bleak corridor. I looked at the door to the dorm I had just left. It was marked with the number '701'. I decided to remember that for when I returned.

I began making my way down the corridor. I liked this shirt. It felt cosy, and it had a pungent aroma that spiked your nose when you breathed it. I liked it.

The corridor was oddly quiet, although I guess it made sense because if this was indeed a school, most of the people would probably be in some sort of lesson at this point.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a while. I'd been wandering the halls of this school for a while, not seeing a soul. Not until now at least.

"Hey!" A voice bellowed from behind me. "Why are you truanting?"

"Truanting?" I asked, turning around. I looked at who was stood in front of me. Well, more like what.

In front of me stood some sort of feline. I didn't want to start guessing which one, but I was sure of it. I jumped a little when I first saw him.

"I'm not truanting, I don't even-" I persisted.

"You have two minutes to get to lesson, or I'll report you to the principal," The feline interrupted. "You'll be suspended from this school for a week. No animal wants that."

I grumbled. "Fine."

I turned and walked off. Did the machine somehow teleport us to Zootopia? It wasn't possible, there's no way my own plan would foil on me like that. It was a randomly set location, right?

I made my way down the corridor until I saw a sign.

'Lecture Hall 12b this way' it read. An arrow pointed left into a different corridor. I turned the corner and made my way into the Hall.

By the door stood an Anteater. He was greeting people into the class as I approached him.

"Morning Wilson, morning Winnie, morning Yakumo," He said as I got closer to him. "Morning... oh, I don't think I've ever seen you before. What's your name kid?"

"Uhh," I stammered. "Luke."

"Luke?!" He asked, aghast. "You should have been in alphabetical order!"

"Sorry, I only just transferred here." I lied. The teacher growled for a moment.

"Very well then," He said. "You're sitting next to Legom."

"Who?" I asked as I made my way into the hall. It was huge in there. It really was like a university.

"Legom. She's the hen over there." The teacher replied, pointing to a hen near the front of the room but close enough to the outer edge that no-one could quite see me.

"Alright." I said, making my way over to them.

I quickly passed by tons of animals on my way down. Sheep, bears, tigers, pandas, lots of them. When I got to my seat, I quickly sat down and looked at the equipment laid out before me.

"I've never seen you before." The hen said from beside me.

"I know," I said. "I just transferred here."

"I'm Legom," She said. "I make some of the lunches here."

"Really?" I asked. "What kind of lunches?"

"Egg sandwiches." She replied, giving a grin.

"No shit." I muttered. Legom giggled.

"You're so funny!" She said with glee, flapping a wing in my direction. I looked over her shoulder for a moment. Next to her was this really weird grey wolf. He looked like he was completely zoned out of whatever he was doing.

"Uhh, who's that?" I asked, pointing to the wolf.

"Oh, I don't know," She replied. "He never talks to anyone so I hear. He's kinda weird too."

"How so?" I asked.

"He's silent twenty four seven, isn't that weird enough?" She replied.

"Usually one is only silent if they're dealing with a mental struggle." I said, staring at the wolf's gaze. It was constant, unmoving, fixated on nothing.

"Ehhh," Legom stammered. "I don't think so. I think he's just a little off in the head."

I shrugged. "Maybe, but you'll never know until you at least try to talk to him."

"Ew," Legom scoffed. "I'm not talking to him. I heard he fought someone once."

"Who?" I asked.

"The head of the Drama Club supposedly," She replied. "I think his name's Louis or something like that."

"Right." I muttered.