1-2-3-4 = Secure
Nick began to wonder if the comfort station had somehow moved as he darted down the path bracket to the Two Forks watch tower. Maybe it was the adrenaline in his veins or the desperation in Judy's voice but he didn't remember it taking this long to get to the comfort station. There was another odd crack in the distance which caused Nick's ears to twitch as his eyes went skyward. He had a hard time figuring out what the noise was but from the way Judy had reacted on the radio it was obviously something bad.
"Damn another one?! How many of these things they got?!" came Judy's angry voice over the radio as the Two forks tower came into Nick's view.
"Another what?! Is that a gunshot? Are we under attack or something?" Nick shouted into the walkie as he reached the bottom of the steps to his tower, his breathing labored and heavy.
"No it's worse! Well kind of!" Judy explained as Nick climbed the steps two at a time to reach the top of his tower. As Nick reached the last step he saw a sudden flash in the distance followed by another crack. The fox tilted his head in slight confusion as he watched another set of fireworks fly through the sky and explode in the distance.
"Serious?" Nick muttered to himself as he grabbed the railing to his tower and caught his breath. "Hey Judy, it's ok, it's just some fireworks..." Nick said between sharp breathes as he rubbed the stitch in his side, "thanks for the work out though…I can't remember the last time I ran that fast..." He said sarcastically as he hinted that this wasn't a big deal.
"So should I assume that you aren't getting enough oxygen to that brain of yours or are you seriously that dumb?" Judy came over the radio sternly which caused Nick to look down at the walkie in his paw as if it was the one that had just insulted his intelligence. "Nick what can fireworks cause?" Judy asked, though she was trying to be firm her tone had softened as she tried to explain what the problem was.
Nicks eyes went wide as he placed a paw to his forehead. Maybe there hadn't been enough oxygen getting to his head, "Fires…they can cause forest fires. Sorry Judy!" Nick muttered into the walkie as he opened the door to his tower and tossed his toiletries on a chair.
"There ya go, just gonna notch this one up to being your first summer. It's no worries." Judy said kindly as another crack echoed in the distance. "Now do me a favor, you got a compass?"
Nick rummaged through his hiking backpack that had been provided to him by the parks service. He pulled out a weather compass and shook it to make sure the needle was moving. "Yeah, got one," He informed Judy as he held it level and watched the needle move slowly. "Looks like the fireworks are coming from the west of my tower, isn't there a lake in that area? Maybe they are launching them over the water," Nick suggested as another firework went off in the distance.
"Doesn't matter! The fire danger is through the roof right now and we can't risk anything! Plus do you really think these are being launched by professionals? My money is on some teenagers or something!" Judy began to sound angrier. Another explosion cracked through the air, "Son of a bitch! Get down to the lake and see what is going on!"
"What you want me to do when I get there? Write them a ticket?" Nick asked as he grabbed his hiking backpack and headed out of his tower.
"No just scare them a little and confiscate those damn fireworks!" Judy instructed.
"Woah! Really? I can confiscate things?" he asked in an excited tone.
"Don't get any ideas! As an employee of the parks service you are allowed to confiscate anything deemed hazardous to the forest. Beer and alcohol is not hazardous!"
"First off I wasn't thinking of that. Second off now I am thinking of that!" Nick teased into his radio as he came to the bottom of his tower. The fox took a minute to pull out a map that had been provided by him from the parks service. He looked over the large paper as he did his best to get acclimated.
The fox noted that there were a series of different paths he could take but the fastest would be heading directly to the east.
"So I am guessing I should just head east of the tower? Looks like there is a path that will get me there pretty quick?" Nick asked as he examined his route but then noticed an odd green symbol on the route. "Hey what does a tree stump with a snake around it mean?"
"First off," Judy began, mimicking the fox's earlier remarks, "yes that is the fastest route. Second you will need some rope since that is actually a steep path, gonna have to repel down part of it!"
"Rope? I don't think I have any rope! What about fishing line?" Nick joked knowing full well this was not an option.
"They didn't give you some spare rope?! Not again! I swear I keep telling them we need this kind of stuff!" Judy said as she began to grumble a few rather rude words about the head office. "Okay give me a minute, just gonna check something on the maps..."
There was another crack in the distance as more fireworks went off. "Take your time, just thinking of some fun names to call this fire that's about to start!" Nick teased.
"Har har! Okay I got something. Keep heading down that main path but take the right fork. There should be a supply cache nearby and from what I remember they sometimes have spare ropes and supplies!" Judy said as Nick looked at his map once more and noticed a small line of text on his path that read: Supply Cache 113.
"Got it! Do I need a key or something to get in?"
"No just a passcode. It's 1234, all of them are!" Judy said sweetly over the radio.
"Secure..." Nick said sarcastically.
"Shut up!" Judy shot back a little less sweet than before.
Nick chuckled at how quickly Judy had shot back a response on the last joke.
It didn't take long for the fox to come to a fork in the path and as he had been instructed he went to the right. A minutes later the path hugged the edge of a small drop off. The path continued back into the woods but Nick took a moment to take in the beautiful Vista. He took in a deep breath and smiled as he played tourist for a second as his bright green eyes panned across the magnificent view.
"Gotta admit, the sights seem to grow on ya!" Nick radioed before continuing in the path.
"Yes they do; what a looking at?" Judy asked kindly.
"I got a great Vista view right now, mountains, trees, you know, forest stuff!"
"Haven't been in that region in a while. From what I remember though you have several photo spots out there! They had a film crew a few years come out and do a few shoots in your area. You are really lucky to be assigned to that region!" Judy explained which caused Nick a slight moment of excitement. Maybe he could take in a few of the views while he was hear, the last one sure helped clear his mind.
"If there are more sites like this then I may never leave!" Nick suggested which seemed out of place for him but after a second he agreed with himself. He did come here to escape after all and there were far worse places to spend ones days.
"Oh great so I am gonna be stuck with you then?" Judy teased. Her voice over the radio was filled with a playfulness that Nick still had to get used to.
As Nick followed the path farther into the woods he noticed a bright orange box on the side of the path.
As he approached he noticed a large black logo painted on the top. It was a single line tree in the center of a shield. This was the official emblem of the park protection services.
Nick examined the box for a moment and an evil thought popped in his head.
"Say Judy what was that core again? I found the box but it is so secure that there is no way I could possibly figure out the password!"
"Hate you!" Came Judy's voice which was engulfed with laughter.
Nick popped open the box with ease after entering the pointless passcode.
Inside the cache was a series of odd items. Nick immediately spied the rope and nabbed it while examining the other contents. There were some postcards, park updates, and old letters.
"Hey there is a granola bar in here!" Nick cheered into the radio.
"Yeah I wouldn't recommend eating that! Probably been in there for a few years!" Judy warned.
As Nick took another bite of the free food he took a moment to key up the radio, "doesn't taste bad though!"
Judy's beautiful laughter filled the radio which made Nick smile. He enjoyed her laughter and it was nice being goofy for someone again.
"So should I just put food poisoning in the cause of death form when the rangers find you?" Judy teased.
"I want my body donated to science!" Nick added as he closed the cache and proceeded down the path once more.
"I don't think even science would want it!" Judy came back with a zinger worthy of Nick's admiration.
"Oh you wound me madam!" Nick teased as he closed the cache and rescued the lock. Not seeing much of a point since the code was so simple that he didn't think there was a purpose to even locking the darn thing.
The fox continued down the path, with a newly acquired rope slung over his shoulder. The path continued on for a few more minutes until it reached a sudden stop.
Apparently there had been a shale slide a while back and now there was a steady drop between him and the lake. When he looked down the steep slope he felt his head spin a little. When Judy had mentioned the need of a rope he had assumed the drop was just a couple feet. This was easily a 75ft slope that he would need to carefully repel down.
Nick had been rock climbing before at a few amusement parks in Zootopia but this was the real deal! The fox slowly raised the radio up and keyed the microphone.
"So I am at what looks like something that is not in my job description! This drop is massive!" the fox muttered in a slightly annoyed manner.
There was a few seconds of silence. "Hmm, that's weird, I don't remember it being that far of a drop. If you don't think your tough enough I guess you can just go the long way!"
Nick felt his eye twitch. Was she really trying that tactic out on him? Better yet was it actually working?
"Oh don't you try that!" Nick called his supervisor out as he looked back down the steady slope and began to judge his chances.
"I have no idea what you are implying!" Judy came back innocently but the fox saw right through her tone.
"What do they call this thing anyways?" Nick asked as he tied his rope off to a tree stump nearby. He threw the rope down and let out a sigh of relief as he noticed he had tons of slack which would help with the decent.
"Doesn't appear to have a name, at least not on any of maps!"
"Well then I am naming it: My crazy boss is trying to get me killed mountain!" Nick suggested as he grabbed the rope and took in a deep breath.
"Is that some old fox saying? Because I love it, I am updating my map now!" Judy teased over the radio.
Nick said took one last breath before keying up, "Okay, here we go! Wish me luck!"
"Do a flip!" Judy shouted over the radio and filled the waves with her cute laughter. "But seriously Nick be careful and if it is too dangerous we will find you an alternative path!"
Nick shook his head at Judy's comments and chuckled. He was really starting to like this mammal. The fox slowly slid over the edge of the steep slope and grasped the ropes in his string paws.
Nick slowly began to take steps backwards as he carefully descended down: My crazy boss is trying to get me killed mountain.
The fox had made it halfway down when he started to hear a noise which made him froze.
"No!" he begged the universe as the rope made a few snapping noises. Nick looked down and then back up, his bright green eyes filled with panic. "No no no!"
There was one final loud snap as the rope gave way. Apparently this particular slope was properly named!
Hey Everyone!
So I had time in between the craziness of my main story.
Hope you are all enjoying this little side story!
I know I am!
Reviews are appreciated!
-Blue