Chapter 19: Hot Summer Nights

A trio of short tales about nightlife along Zootopia's coast.

This chapter's song is Avicci's "The Nights" sung by Nicholas Furlong.

Don't Bug Me!

"You just had to sit in the very front seat of the roller coaster car, didn't you?" the small fennec fox snickered. He was lazily lounging on a bench overlooking the beach. It was a very sultry summer evening, so he had pulled off his light blue tee shirt, leaving the lean tan-furred fox dressed only in a pair of dark gray cargo shorts.

"That is the most exciting place to be," the pretty sand cat sitting next to him in a pink blouse replied after she spit out the water she had been swishing around in her mouth.

"Karen, the ride's bright lights always attracts bugs."

"I know that, Stoney!"

"Then maybe you should have kept your muzzle shut."

"Thanks for the late warning. I screamed with excitement when we went down the big drop, and that is when a bug flew into my mouth."

"Or your mouth flew into that poor bug," the fox snickered.

"You keep this up and your mouth is going to fly into the sand," she playfully growled before she gave him a slight nudge.

"I don't know why you're upset? It was just a moth and we eat bugs all the time."

"WE EAT THEM COOKED! Besides, that moth tasted really, really nasty. I can't get rid of the aftertaste!"

"Come on, it couldn't have been that…ummmphhh!" the fox didn't complete what he was saying because the cat was giving him a kiss. After they finished, he grimaced and spat a couple of times.

The cat just gave him a satisfied grin.

"Okay, that is really nasty. I think we need to go to Bennie's place and have a couple of fruity drinks to wash that taste away," the fox said.

An hour later, the couple walked paw in paw down the bustling Boardwalk, passing by various souvenir shops, bars, arcades and restaurants that were brightly lit. Suddenly, Stone halted and embraced Karen, giving her a quick kiss. "What was that for?" she asked, purring.

"Just tasting," he said with a grin.

"Well, did my kiss taste better?"

"I'm not sure? I think we should go find a place more secluded so I can taste it again."

"Stone Kole, you just want to make out!"

The fox didn't deny what she claimed but just grinned as he willingly led her by the paw off the wooden planks of the Boardwalk, onto the sandy beach, and away from everyone else.

Night Frights

Stone gave a soft chuckle when Karen made a small whimper and seemed to sink even lower into the theater's seat. Her left paw tightly gripped his right arm, almost causing him to spill the bucket of popcorn he held.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

On the movie screen, the doorbell sounded, seemingly ignored by a nerdy teenage raccoon who was busy playing a video game. "Leroy, get the door!" his mother called out from another room.

"But, Mom, I'm in the middle of a game!" he protested.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

"JUST GET THE DOOR!" his mother sternly yelled.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

"Yes, Mom!" he called back. "It's always, Leroy, do this! Leroy, do that!" the young raccoon complained softly as he reached for the doorknob. Pulling the door wide open, his eyes widen in surprise before he exclaimed, "YOU? What do you want?"

His question was answered by the silvery flick of a knife blade and the splattering of blood.

"Eeeek!" Karen screamed and grabbed the fennec fox's arm even tighter, causing some of the popcorn to fly into his lap and onto the theater's floor.

"You're the one who wanted to see this movie," Stone whispered in her ear.

The answer he got back was a playful feline hiss.

After the movie was over, they held paws while they strolled along the busy evening sidewalk toward her family's beachfront condominium building. "That movie didn't scare you?" Karen asked.

"Every slasher movie seems the same. They always start with a pretty girl getting murdered somehow. Heck, in this movie it was a seductive rabbit doe stabbed in the shower, pulling down the curtain as she falls so that it barely covers her naked body, while her blood goes down the drain. Then, the only predator in the group gets murdered, and at the end of the movie, it's always some innocent-looking..." The fox stopped walking and dramatically threw his paws in the air. "It was the librarian! Why would anyone kill someone because of overdue library books?" he growled.

"At first, you thought it was the sheriff," the cat giggled.

"I forgot that the number one rule of a slasher flick is that it is never the most obvious suspect."

"She wasn't the sole killer! Just when you thought it was over, another mysterious villain killed someone in the same manner at the very end."

"That's why they have sequels."

"So, you were not the least bit scared?"

"Ha! I would have taken a baseball bat to that slasher's tail," Stone bravely boasted.

"Really?"

"Yep and I would have given him or her a good beat down before I called the cops!"

"My brave fox."

"I would hate to be the idiot who dared cross paths with me or anyone I love."

"Now you're sounding like your dad."

"Hey, Finnick didn't hesitate to come charging into my mom's house when he thought it was being robbed," the fennec fox scoffed. "Like father, like son!"

"You were lucky that he didn't whack you with that bat before he realized it was just you looking for something," Karen giggled as they climbed up the stairs leading to her family's condo.

The two lovers hesitated before the front door. "Are you going to ask me in?" he tentatively asked while he held her in his embrace. "I can protect you all night long from any bad guys." The fox's tail was wagging in anticipation of her answer.

The sand cat quickly gave him a kiss on the lips, then slipped out of his arms and grinned before replying, "I'm pretty sure you have more planned than just protecting me all night, but since my sisters and younger brother are here, the answer is no." She opened the door, giggled at his disappointed look, and said, "Goodnight, Stoney!" The fox stood there with flat ears and a limp tail while she closed the door.

The dejected fennec fox had started walking back home when he suddenly got a sneaky idea. He grinned mischievously while he sneaked back into the building and went up the stairs to the condo. Once there, he rang the doorbell and then hid out of sight.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

Muffled voices could be heard inside the apartment, but nobody opened the door. Disappointed, he stepped back over to the door and pressed the doorbell again.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

There was a slight sound behind the door and before he could hide he heard Karen call out, "Not funny, fox."

"Hey, how did you know that it was me and not the slasher?" he called back in disappointment.

"I looked in the peephole, silly."

"Oh?"

"Go home!"

"Goodnight, babe, and don't let a knife-wielding maniac get you!" he laughed before he left.

Hours later, dressed in a pair of black nylon shorts, Stone plopped into the wicker basket he used as a bed. The fox was inside of the green canvas tent at the city campground that he and his best friend used as a summer home during surfing season.

"So, mate, I warned you about that bloody movie!" Cooper chuckled. The wallaby was dress in a pair of pajamas as he lounged on his cot.

"Come on, it was just a movie."

"That movie, The Doorbell Slasher, scared me witless when I saw it with Billy."

"Whatever, you wimp!" the fennec fox scoffed.

Cooper turned off the lantern, and the tent became dark. The chirping of crickets outside, along with the distant rhythmic roaring sound of the ocean's surf, soon lulled Stone to sleep. Despite those tranquil sounds, the little fox's sleep was uneasy because he was having a nightmare about being chased by a knife-wielding maniac.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

The sound awoke him with a start and Stone frantically looked around in the pitch dark. "Cooper!" he whispered. His friend didn't answer. "COOPER!" he yelled louder.

"Stop making such a bloody racket!" the wallaby snapped as he sat up in his bed and flicked on the lantern.

"Cooper, someone rang the doorbell!" the fennec fox whimpered.

"Stoney, we don't have a doorbell! You're just having a nightmare."

"Yeah, I must have been dreaming," the embarrassed fox replied.

"I told you that movie would give you the frights."

"Yeah…yeah…yeah! Whatever! Just go back to sleep."

The wallaby turned off the lantern before he laid back on the cot and pulled his blanket over his body. He could hear the fennec fox moving slightly as he curled himself back into his basket.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

Stone gave one of those unique yippy yowls that only a fennec fox can do before he scrambled out of his basket and ran over to cower next to his best friend who was now sitting up.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

Once again the doorbell noise sounded, causing the fox to whimper in fear. He clung to the wallaby, who was trying to push him away.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

"Wait a minute!" growled the fox as he glanced at his phone, which was illuminated, showing that there was an incoming call. Cautiously, he approached and, after seeing the caller ID, answered, "Karen?"

"Did I get you, Stoney?" a familiar feminine voice asked.

"Karen!"

"Don't tell me my brave fox was scared?"

"I was not!"

"He was too!" Cooper called out. "You should have seen his tail, the fur was sticking up all over the place, and he practically climbed into my lap!"

Stone glared over at the wallaby who was now laughing. "When did you change my phone's ringtone to sound like a doorbell?" he growled.

"When you were in the bathroom, mate. Karen called me and told me that you were teasing her and boasting, so we hatched up this plan."

"How did you know my password?"

"I didn't, Karen did."

"Goodnight, BABE, and don't let a knife-wielding maniac get you!" Karen giggled before she hung up.

Games we Play

"Stoney, what are you doing out here all alone?" Cooper asked, the beam from the wallaby's flashlight illuminated the disheveled looking fennec fox with the bloody nose. The little fox was propped up against the trunk of a palm tree with a bag of ice in one paw. A very large can of sparkling malt beverage with lime juice sat in the sand next to him. He was softly singing to himself as he stared up at the stars.

"Did you miss me, duuuude?" Stone unsteadily laughed, his words were rather slurred.

"You look like you've been in a bloomin' fight!"

"No...No...No, I was playing a night time game of kick the can with some tourist and few of our surfer friends."

"Still, did someone rough you up?"

"Nooopppe! I went to kick the can and...well, it was a big can... a very big can and I'm a very small fox..." Stone seemed hesitant to explain and looked embarrassed.

"Spit it out, mate, what happened?"

"I went to kick the can and it fell over me!"

"It fell on you?"

"It fell over me! It was a really, really big can," the fox had his arms stretched out as wide as he could while he explained. "A really big can!"

"Crikey! Do you mean that you were inside of it?"

"I was stuck inside, but nobody knew about it! I had just about worked myself free when suddenly Red came running up and kicked the can really hard. The can, with me still inside, flew down the beach for at least a thousand feet...maybe, it was only twenty feet...or possibly just a few feet? Anyway, after it stopped, I managed to finally wiggle out of the can. I was so dizzy that after I got out, I stumbled and fell down, busting my nose."

"Bloody hell, you might have a concussion. You're acting a bit funny."

"I'm fine! I'm just sitting here chillin' in the dark," the fox scoffed and then let out a loud belch.

Cooper took the nearby can in both of his paws, gave it a shake, and realized it was empty. "Did you drink all of this yourself?"

"Every drop of it, it tasted really good. It was fizz...fizz...fizzy!"

"Yeah, you're fine, mate. You're just mashed."

Stone gave him a stupid grin before he asked, "Do you think...[hiccup]...it's too late to visit Karen?"

"Stoney, it's two in the morning."

"I love Karen," the fox said as he pulled himself up and wobbled.

"I know you do."

"I love you too, brah. You're my b...b...[hiccup]...bestest friend."

"Come on, let's get you back to the bloody tent."

"I love everyone!" the drunken fox loudly yelled with his arms raised skyward. His antics almost caused him to fall over onto his back, but he was saved by the wallaby's steadying grip on his shirt.

"You're not going to love your hangover in the morning, mate," Cooper chuckled as he threw his arm over the drunken fox's shoulder to prop him up before he guided Stone down the beach.

Cooper was right!