The long walk back.
"Nick?" Judy called out over the radio for the third time. There was a small amount of desperation in her voice and Nick decided he couldn't keep Judy on hold much longer, it wasn't exactly fair to keep her on the hook like this.
Nick had lost track of time as he just stood on the shore staring out at the lake. The sun was now low on the horizon as it began to set. He realized how this may get him in trouble. After all he was supposed to be in his tower watching for fires, not standing by a lake feeling bad for himself.
"Hey Judy," Nick muttered as he keyed the radio. He took one last look at the lake and then turned around. He was about to head down the path that had brought him here but stopped mid step. The thought of walking through the camp full of drunk female preds wasn't too appealing to him. Especially since he had requisitioned some of their alcohol.
"Was starting to get worried those girls returned and finished you off champ!" Judy teased, the happiness in her voice lifted Nick's spirits slightly.
"Champ?" Nick asked with a chuckle.
"Regretted using the word as soon as it slipped out of my mouth!" Judy admitted which caused Nick to laugh.
"Oh no problem slugger!" Nick shot back as he set his pack down and began to rummage inside.
"Oh gosh please don't make this a thing! I'm already too embarrassed!" Judy giggled over the radio as she pleaded for the fox to just let it go.
"Don't know what you're talking about sport!"
"Ahhhh! Hate it!" Judy complained but continued to laugh.
Nick finally found what he had been looking for and produced his map from his bag. He had put it in his bag just before making his approach on the drunk pyrotechs, the map was a little crumpled but still in good shape. The fox began to unfold the guide. "Well why you wallow in embarrassment I am gonna try finding a way back to the tower that doesn't involve invoking the wrath of the party animals."
"Sounds like a good idea, if I remember correctly there is a path just a little north of you that will lead back to your tower. It's actually really nice, got some trees, bushes, maybe a little babbling creek." Judy suggested.
"Trees you say? Those seem rare in these parts," Nick joked as he keyed the radio. His bright green eyes scanned the map and he spotted the trail Judy had suggested. It lead through a small canyon to his tower.
"Yeah, only got like 3 or 4 of them in my area," Judy teased.
"Think I see at least 5 over here," Nick said as he put the map in his pocket and proceeded down the path towards his tower.
"Oh gosh they are multiplying!"
"Like rabbits!" Nick added.
There was some nervous laughter on the other end of the line and Nick smirked. Glad that Judy got the joke. It didn't take long for Nick to arrive at the mouth of a wide canyon. The walls were about 3 stories in the air and the rock had been smoothed away from years of erosion. A small stream ran through the center but left plenty of room for the fox to stroll down the path without worrying about getting wet paws.
"So tell me are all days like this?" Nick asked as he made a mental inventory of the events he had been through in just a few hours.
"Normally no but I wanted to make it interesting for you!" Judy admitted jokingly.
"So this was all you?" Nick asked, going along with the joke.
"Yeah wait till you see tomorrow! You aren't allergic to anything are you? Also how long can you hold your breath?"
"Did someone hire you to take me out or something?"
"Yeah the park service! Got a memo right here!" Judy teased as she ruffled some papers on her end of the radio, "Memo from park service. Take out Nick Wilde! Right here in big print! Oh wait this says to dinner and a movie…guess I miss read it."
"Burgers and a sci fi?"
"No Sushi and a Romantic!"
Nick burst out laughing as the two joked about different date ideas. It was all perfectly innocent and playful which is exactly what the fox needed right now. After dealing with the preds at the lake he needed to let his mind wander to happier thoughts.
Those thoughts were interrupted however when a loud series of booms thundered in the distance. It wasn't fireworks. No this was far bigger. Living in Zootopia for so long Nick was no stranger to thunder and its distinct sound.
Nick stopped and turned in the direction of the sound. He needed to squint to try and distinguish the dark clouds from the darkening sky. Fortunately nature decided to assist him as a series of flashes illuminated the clouds. Moments later another series of booms echoed through the canyon as the thunder filled Nick's ears.
Nick reached for his radio and keyed the mic. "Hey Judy, got some thunder and lightning in the distance," The fox reported hesitantly. He had been though many different storms back in the city. It was actually rather common place in certain districts of the metropolis. Out here in the forest though it took on a completely different feel. Nick realized just then how alone he was. It was just him and the storm.
"Yeah, I see it off to the west! Looks like it's gonna be a good one, probably gonna get some ground lighting from this one!" Judy commented calmly.
Her tone helped with Nick's anxiety. She was calm so what did he have to worry?
"Just try not to get hit okay? That would be quite an ILLUMINATING experience!" Judy teased. Nick noticed the pun and shook his head as he continued down the small Creek towards his tower.
"Really?" He muttered.
"What? Thought you would get a kick out of my ELECTRIC personality!"
"Oh my gosh!" Nick laughed.
"Too much of a SHOCK that you have such an awesome boss?"
"Stoooooop!"
"What? Not a fan of the CURRENT conversation?"
Nick shook his head as he climbed over a series of small boulders in his path. An idea suddenly came to mind and he quickly keyed up the radio.
"Can't believe you're in CHARGE!" He said proudly. He had to take a moment to appreciate his own whit. He didn't have to wait long for Judy's response.
"Yes! Omg Nick! Awesome!" Judy was practically cheering as she began to laugh over the radio.
"I try," Nick said casually as he continued down the small canyon. The sky starting to darken.
"This is gonna be the best summer ever!" Judy said happily. She obviously sounded glad to have Nick on the radio with her and the fox beamed. It was nice to feel wanted. "Either that or it will be the summer where we both end up in a mental institution!"
"Heard they got arts and crafts! Could be fun!" Nick suggested.
"Personal experience there bucko?"
"Bucko?"
"Oh my gosh why do I keep doing this?!" Judy shouted over the radio, obviously embarrassed.
"It's ok champ!" Nick reassured her.
"Seriously?! I thought we decided to let that go?"
"Nooooooope!" Nick said into the mic before lowering his arm. He took a moment to enjoy his surroundings. The walls of the small canyon rising above him made everything seemed so more close and intimate. The sun was nearly gone at this point and a wave of dark blue began to invade the sky. As Nick turned a corner he spotted another bright orange supply cache with the fire watch logo.
His ears perked up slightly as he strolled over to the box, curious to see what treasures may be locked away.
"Hey found another one of those supply cache things, just how many of these are there?" Nick asked as he came to a stop just in front of the wooden crate.
"Not sure how many are in your region but they are all over the place. They are useful for leaving notes or found items in. Or the occasional granola bar which some mammals just chew right into!" Judy said playfully, reminding the fox of his earlier finds and how he had eaten a stale energy bar.
"I hope this one has a peanut butter one!" Nick said playfully, "Hey what was that super-secret elaborate code again?"
"Hate you!"
"No you don't!"
There was a slight pause as Nick messed with the lock on the cache, he didn't want to admit it but he had begun to count down the seconds for Judy to respond. "Your right, I don't!"
Nick grinned at Judy's comment as he flipped open the box. The box was sadly food free but still had a series of other items. Nick found a worn book, a pine cone, and the piece of a park map. This map however had a few notes written on it. Nick noticed the notes were locations of things not on the map. The fox took a moment to retrieve his own map and copy the notes down. Interested to see these little secret points of interest the parks department weren't aware of. He made a mental note to check out a place called "The Stash!" during his next walk about.
The final item was a worn mag lite. Nick was actually both surprised and pleased to have found the light. Realizing a little too late that he had neglected to pack one in his bag earlier. Even though he had amazing night vision and would have no trouble seeing in the dark environment it was always nice to have a flashlight handy. Nick pressed a small button near the top of the light and let out a low whistle as a bright beam shot from the lights bulb.
"Hey so good news bad news!" Nick announced after closing the supply cache.
"Whaaaaaat?" Judy asked nervously.
"Bad news is they didn't leave me any snacks," Nick began. He released the button on his walkie so Judy could speak. The radio remained silent so Nick continued.
"The good news is I found one of those old giant mag lights and can now live out all my favorite scenes from Fur Wars"
The radio remained silent as Nick continued down his path. The fox started to grow worried. Seconds later though Judy finally replied.
"So good news bad news!" She repeated Nick's earlier comment.
"Whaaaaaat?" Nick said mimicking his supervisor.
"Bad news is I was drinking something before you answered and now my desk is covered in…well...something sticky.."
Nick burst out laughing at this point. He almost had to stop in his tracks as he felt a sudden stitch in his side.
"Good news is I already have one of those lights and can totally play out every fight scene from memory!"
"Dork!" Nick responded as he came to the end of the path which led into a small cave. The entrance had a sign just in front of it that read: "Cave 14 to Two Forks Lookout"
"Ok smuckers," Judy responded.
Nick was about to report the cave but did a double take as he processed what he had just been called.
"Smuckers?"
"Because you're Jelly," Judy said simply.
Nick let out a long and exaggerated groan into the radio and the super cheesy joke.
"You done?" Judy asked when Nick finished.
This just caused Nick to repeat the groan once more.
Judy came back over the radio with a series of giggles, "okay okay, I get it, but you gotta admit that was a good one."
Nick responded with another long winded groan.
"Oh shut up!"
Nick stood there for a moment as he assessed the cave entrance a little better. He wasn't scared or anything just a little hesitant to walk into a strange cave in the middle of the wilderness, especially if help would be so far away.
"Hey Judy, I found cave 14, sign up front says it leads to my look out, that right?" Nick asked as he took a few steps closer to the cave.
"That looks about right according to my map. Should just be a quick walk. We used to have cave tours in some of those but due to budget cuts we had to stop. Should be perfectly safe but still be careful."
Hearing Judy's words put the fox at ease and he strolled into the cave. His eyes adjusting quickly to the darkness. The cave was actually rather wide and uninteresting. It almost seemed like a tunnel back in Zootopia.
The last few words from Judy's transmission echoed on the walls and Nick got a rather evil idea in his head.
"Don't worry, seems perfectly sa- Oh MY GODS! Oh NO! AHHHHH!" Nick yelled frantically into the radio, playing a little prank on Judy.
"NICK!?" Judy screamed in a terrified manner.
"Seriously though its fine!" Nick said calmly as if nothing had happened.
"That's it! I am coming over there! I'm gonna throw you in the lake! When I am through with you-!" The radio began to fill with shouts of anger and a few rather inappropriate words.
When Judy finished her tirade Nick gave his supervisor a minute before keying up, "Nick 1 Judy 0" The fox announced playfully.
This led to another tirade from Judy. Half way through Judy's rant Nick found the exit of the cave and was soon strolling down a path that would lead him to his tower.
"And then I am gonna dig you back up so I can clone you, then I am gonna kill all your clones!" Judy finally finished.
"You done?" Nick asked smugly
"Oh I can keep going!" Judy said, still fuming. Obviously she hadn't enjoyed Nick's little joke. He however still found it very amusing.
Nick decided to just let that one go, not sure if they were at the point where he could make THOSE kinds of jokes.
"Got nothing?" Judy asked playfully.
"What?"
"I said I can keep going! And then got nothing….I mean come on Nick!" Judy teased
"Oh I thought you were still mad because I am winning!"
"The summer has only started! I'll get you back!"
By now Nick had exited the cave and found himself on a small winding path up the side of the cliff. He was enjoying the little hike but his knees were starting to ache in protest. Nick looked up to see how much farther he had to walk when he noticed a figure standing on a small over look.
It was somewhat spooky seeing another mammal. Nick's eyes began to adjust and compensate for the distance when suddenly the figure turned and shined at light directly at him. Nick winced and raised a paw in front of his eyes in order to stop the blinding line from shining right in his face.
The light suddenly vanished and as Nick lowered his paw he could make out the strange figure strolling away as if nothing had happened. By the time Nick's vision had cleared the figure was gone.
"Well that was weird," Nick keyed into the radio, "Just spotted someone out here. In the middle of nowhere…kinda spooky"
"What do you mean? Like another mammal? Wait! What did they look like?" Judy asked nervously.
"I don't know, looked like another canine maybe, medium build, and couldn't see because their flashlight was shining right in my eyes!" Nick explained as he looked back to where the figure had been standing. Judy's tone made him feel slightly on edge.
"Oh gosh, Nick I am sorry, but I guess no one told you about this when you took the job..." Judy began, her voice lowering into an almost whisper.
"What? What did they not tell me about the job?" Nick asked frantically. Different scenarios played out in his mind. Like how his tower was built on an old burial ground or how a cult of crazed mammals roamed the woods. Each scenario seemed worse than the last.
"Well this job-" Judy began, Nick could feel his grip on the walkie grow tighter, "- its, well its outside!"
Nick stopped in his tracks as he realized he had just been hustled.
"I mean mammals just come and go as they please! Its madness Nick! Utter madness!"
Nick stopped on the trail and looked down at the walkie in his paws with mild annoyance.
He didn't key up the mic at first. Judy however wanted to make sure Nick knew what had just happened.
"Judy 1 Nick 1!" The sweet sounding voice proceeded to fill the radio with a lovely laughter.
Nick shook his head, he couldn't believe he had been fooled like that. Normally he would have been able to pick up on someone's tone and would be able to tell if they were trying to hustle him. The fox continued up the path, a smile spreading across his face as he went over the previous conversation in his mind.
"So how many new guys you gotten with that one?" Nick finally asked, figuring it was best to know who else fell for that kind of trick.
"Oh you're the first!" Judy replied happily. Nick winced, he really was losing his touch. "That's only because I like you though!" That sentence made his whole night. Nick was suddenly beaming. He no longer cared he had just suffered a mild heart attack from Judy. She liked him.
He couldn't figure out why but that just meant a lot, especially today, after dealing with the ladies by the lake.
"I am sure you say that to all the fox's!" Nick muttered, unable to resist a joking behavior.
"Just the cute ones!"
"Oh you! You sure know how to make a guy blush!"
A short while later Nick found himself at the base of his tower. It was nice seeing the old place again. Even though he had only spent one night there it was starting to feel like home. Not that he had a choice, he was stuck here for the next few weeks.
Something was out of place though as Nick approached. The fox slowed his pace as he spotted something at the base of the stairs. When Nick got closer he recognized the large box shaped object. It was his computer, or at least the computer that had been in the tower during his arrival. It had obviously fallen as Nick noticed glass from the screen scattered about.
Nick felt the fur on the back of his neck stand on end as he keyed up his walkie. "Judy…my computer is outside..."
"Technically everything is outside here," Judy replied.
"No Judy you don't understand, that computer that was in the tower, it looks like someone threw it down here! I mean the wind couldn't have done this!" Nick said frantically as he looked up at the tower. Suddenly the place didn't seem so homely.
"Wait what?!" Judy asked nervously.
That's when Nick spotted it. One of the windows to his tower was smashed open. Someone had been in his tower. "Someone has been here!"
"Nick, get inside now!"
Hey Everyone.
Sorry for the silence. You know how things go!
Hope you enjoy! :)