Zootopia Newspaper Novels & Stories

“We’re moving in the morning. Tell your journalist to sit tight and let us handle the fallout.” I glance at Sophia. Her knuckles are white against the laptop edge, but her chin is up. Her gaze steady and defiant. I don’t tell Gillespie what I’m thinking. Sophia isn’t going to sit tight for anyone, not even me. Sophia By sunrise, the city is a storm. The Tribune’s phones don’t stop ringing. Talk shows scream about the “dating service for the elite” being a mafia bank. Social media is chaos. Screenshots of my article is underlined, bolded, dissected.

The Penobscot Building pumps its steady red beat. My phone starts convulsing. Then his. Then Betty's phone behind the counter. News alerts. Comment threads. Within an hour, the napkin note floods everywhere. Maya Chen's paper runs it as their lead image. The headline reads: The Crofts Speak: A Quiet End to a Public War.

By evening, newspapers and digital outlets plastered the city with stories—some factual, others fantastical. One tabloid screamed in bold letters: “KROOS FALLS – CITY BREATHES AGAIN!” Another, more cautious, warned: “ARREST OPENS PANDORA’S BOX—WHAT SECRETS WILL SURFACE?” Talk shows brought on former associates, self-proclaimed experts, and opportunists eager to spin their own myths around the man now caged.

He gave them a life and now they wanted to betray him. Inside the packhouse Zande, JP, Xavier, and Nadia were following the news in Australia about the killings. The reporters believed the people were being killed by some wild animal, the scratches, the bites and their hearts being taken from their chest suggested a wild animal attack to the humans, but they knew better. The country was even in lockdown and there was a curfew for the citizens. “He has killed them without mercy.” Zande said seeing the bodies with their chests open and their guts spilling out.

suggested Rendy Pluto Milos moving up and down his pair of eyebrows. “Whoever writes like that will get free treats in our Zhaopardy’s chocolate café…” said Pierre Zhaopardy steadily. His other friends stared at him instantly. “Whoever writes like that will also get free shopping in our Milos Groceries. Show us your identity cards as journalists, show us your articles about us, you can then take anything you want in two hours. You don’t have to pay within those two hours. How is that?” continued Rendy Pluto smiling brightly and jovially. His other friends also stared at him spontaneously.

"Tell Zach, I want to know everyone who was in the area within the last two days. If they even walked by, I want to know about it. Understood?" He waited for a response I didn't hear. "Call me as soon as you know something," he concluded and cut the call without a goodbye. "What did you find out?" I asked immediately. "The news was first reported by a Newspaper company called Moon Times," he said. "Who?" I asked with a frown. "Exactly. They're just a small time newspaper company that nobody knows. Apparently, the picture were dropped off at their office and they only found it in the pile of mail last night," he said.

Minutes later, the veterinarian picked up the dog. Alex was left, thinking of the changes in Paradiso City. For the last days, it was bombed with crime of Jennifer. After the first investigation with the decease, Alex was then interviewed by Paradiso City's news publication. Although reluctant at first, he agreed to share some information to the writer which happens to also be the publisher. As someone would see, Paradiso City is a small town which means that the staffs under the field of journalist are few. There were only five of them, in this case only one staff remained because either the rest resigned or where out of town for vacation.

He hurried to the kitchen where Shannon gouged down a glass of water. “Shannon! Shannon, buddy. You got to see this,” he gave him the newspaper. It had a picture of Dion scattered all over the shattered glasses and Mpumi standing right over. “WOMAN SCORNED, DION DOWN AND SHAMED,” Shannon read the title. “This is absurd. Who wrote this thing?”

“Yeah, get going, you bad dog.” Following him up the stairs, I safety and holster my weapon, close the cellar doors as best I can. That’ll have to be fixed now, I think, striding towards the barn to feed Juliet’s chickens and the cows. I laugh, watching Ajax racing along the coop fence, stirring the stupid chickens into a flapping frenzy. “Come on, now. Leave them alone. I’m sure Juliet doesn’t let you get away with that.” It takes only a few minutes to feed, then I make my way down the drive to pick up the newspaper. The front page article makes my blood run cold.

Debra looked up, asking, "Didn't I tell you to contact them? Why are you still here?" Ben held up the newspaper, pointing at a gaudy square in the bottom left corner. A cartoon Batman glared out, surrounded by decorative borders. The line went like this: "Bringing justice to the world! Add me on WhatsApp via the QR code below and submit your articles. P.S.: I'm the owner of New Age." Debra blinked, momentarily speechless. In this day and age, this was either genius or madness. She pulled out her phone and scanned the code. Up popped a profile, Batman staring back at her. She shook her head, half-expecting to hear a dramatic "I am Batman."