"Fillmore, don't stand too close to the edge of that pond," Sarge warned.
His hippie neighbor, Fillmore, was kneeling near the edge of a pond far off from Radiator Springs. The long-haired, pale-green-haired man smiled at the war veteran. "Don't worry, man, I'll be careful. You need to chill."
"I'm not worried, it's just that-." Sarge started explaining.
"Mater told you about the pond monster that lives here, didn't he? That myth's as fake as the ghost light and the Screaming Banshee combined, man," Fillmore chuckled, moving his hand through the water.
"No, I mean you could fall in and drown, and who knows where that water has been," Sarge explained, thinking up some reasons.
"It's been right here," Fillmore said jokingly.
"No I meant it probably isn't clean," Sarge said, just when he heard a coyote howl. He glanced to the direction of the sound to see if the animal was nearby.
"Just admit it, you care too much about me," Fillmore said, smiling at the distracted man.
"What makes you think that?" Sarge asked, just when he heard a loud splash. He looked back at where Fillmore was kneeling to discover that he was no longer there.
"Fillmore!" the veteran shouted, running to the edge of the pond where Fillmore once was.
"Fillmore!" he shouted again. If anything happened to the hippie, he'd never forgive himself. He looked into the water to see if he could locate his neighbor but saw nothing until he suddenly got splashed in the face with water. As he wiped it off his face, he heard a familiar chuckling and he looked to see Fillmore in the water, only two feet away.
"Fillmore! Don't do that! I thought you fell in!" Sarge half barked.
"Aw, come on, man, it was just a joke," Fillmore said, then he glanced down into the water; he felt something nudge his foot, but he shrugged it off thinking it was a small fish, until he remembered there weren't any fish in the pond.
"You know, if you fall into the pond and drown for real, I won't help you because I'd think you were just playing another joke," Sarge snarled.
Before Fillmore had a chance to respond, something grabbed his foot and pulled him under. "Sarge!" he screamed before the water engulfed him.
"What joke is this?" Sarge rolled his eyes. The veteran peered into the water, waiting for more water to get in his eyes, but for 3 minutes, it never happened. This concerned him, so he took a deep breath and stuck his head in the pond, to see what was going on. What he saw he had to admit nearly made him scream; there was this four-armed, fishlike creature under the water, and it had Fillmore!
The veteran took immediate action: he dove into the water and swam as fast as he could toward the monster. He grabbed the biggest rock he could find and carry and threw it at the monster, but he missed by two inches! Then, he took to drastic measures; he swam closer to the beast and punched it several times anywhere he was able to, causing it to release Fillmore and retreat.
Sarge dragged Fillmore's unconscious body back up to the surface and laid him on the shore. He was about to climb onto the dry ground when he felt something grab him and pull him back under the water. The pond monster did a bluff retreat! And judging by its facial expression, it was back for blood. Or so Sarge thought; its facial expressions didn't look that much different.
The creature grabbed his throat in an attempt to choke him, but the veteran had fighting experience and fought back.
Up on shore, Fillmore had just regained consciousness and was coughing up water, until he realized what happened: the pond monster grabbed him and pulled him under, trying to drown him, and the last thing he saw was Sarge diving into the water and swimming toward him. Then he realized that Sarge was not on land with him. He peered into the pond to see what was going on.
Meanwhile, Sarge had finally managed to break free from the monster and proceeded to punch it in the jaw, but the beast struck him first; first in the stomach, then the face, causing Sarge to accidently bite his cheek and draw blood, then it scratched his arm, causing him to bleed more. Sarge then kicked it back in a place where a man should never be kicked, including a pond monster. The attacker seemed to screech in pain and swam away.
Sarge went back up to the surface and climbed out of the pond. Fillmore gasped when he saw his neighbor bleeding out of his upper right arm and mouth. Sarge collapsed onto the dirt, breathing heavily. Fillmore ran to his side and took off his burlap vest and wrapped it around Sarge's wounded arm, using it as a bandage.
"Why did you do that?" the hippie asked.
Sarge thought of many reasons, but instead he reflected on his memories. The town always said his and Fillmore's relationship was the most unlikely friendship they had ever seen. But even so, Sarge always felt something a little stronger than just that. He usually didn't like to think about it, but now since he was alone with Fillmore concerned for him, it only seemed fitting.
"Because of this," Sarge said, as he put his hand behind Fillmore's neck and pulled the hippie down near him until their lips touched. Fillmore's eyes widened at this sudden move of affection, but closed just as fast, accepting the kiss. This went on for quite a while until they finally parted and headed back to Radiator Springs.
"Go me!" Fillmore thought to himself.
"Damn hippie," Sarge thought, but he thought it with a smile.