The red fox glared at the squeaky metal gates of the zoo. They appeared to be mocking her, as they rasped when the wind blew. She had tried everything to get over the gates or past them or even in between the bars. She had almost broken her left back leg twice in the past week trying to climb over it at night. It prevented her from leaving this horrible zoo.
Julie hated this place, Central Park Zoo, more than anything in the world.
The noisy lemurs next to her habitat, who were always, always, always playing the loudest music possible. They were annoying, they were loud, and they had no clue what personal space was. Julian had a tendency to grab her by the face and no matter how many times she nearly bit his arm off, he kept doing it. The penguins across from her habitat, who claimed to just be your average cute and cuddly penguins, but everyone was sure they were just weirdo stalkers. Okay, just Julie was sure they were weirdo stalkers. They understood personal space just fine, but they didn't seem to realize what was okay to know about someone else and what was not okay to know. They kept track of everything and it felt like an invasion of privacy.
She had actually been glad when Alice put in higher bars on her habitat as a temporary thing, it prevented her from seeing them when she left. Didn't stop them from trying to visit, unfortunately. Thankfully, she usually pretended to be asleep or hid under the false bottom of her plastic rock until whomever it was left.
Still, yesterday was the last day of that. Her 'punishment' for being caught out and about was over. Now, her limits were only the entrance to the zoo, where she couldn't cross over. At least not yet. She stared at the concrete walls of her habitat, sitting down in the fake cave that smelled like plastic and wax, always making her scrunch up her nose. Her tail swished back and forth as she thought. Once she was out of this habitat, there'd be no telling who'd bother her. Was it really worth it?
Her stomach growled, answering her question. The worthless excuse of food Alice gave her was basically garbage to her. She would bet her hind legs that the mice weren't even caught in New York, and definitely weren't fresh, given the freezer burn. She sighed and stood, crossing the cave floor and hopping up on to the plastic rock she had pushed to the wall a long time ago. Getting up on her hind legs, being careful not to put too much weight on her right one, she put her front paws between the bars and carefully lifted herself up. She then easily hopped over the bars and landed on the ground, a bit of pain in her right leg but other than that, unharmed.
Bracing herself, she allowed herself one sigh of relief. No one had noticed her, which really was a rarity in a place like this. The sun was setting, so hopefully, darkness would aid her journey. As softly as possible, her paws padded against the ground while she walked towards the popcorn machine. She didn't even like it all that much, it was always stale, but it was better than the practical mystery meat of mice Alice threw in her food bowl. Her brown eyes darted this way and that as she walked. Very slowly, she calmed her inner nerves and smiled.
Suddenly, she heard a cough behind her and Julie internally groaned, her worst fear coming true.
"Where ya headin' to, foxy?" A voice she instantly recognized as Skipper's asked. His voice only made her mood worse, the fur on her back and neck standing on end in an instinct of defense.
Foxy. She always loathed that nickname. Probably what she hated most in this whole zoo, and that was saying a lot.
She stopped and forced herself to turn around, sitting down. She glared right back at the four 'cute and cuddly' penguins, eyes narrowing. She managed a plastered-on smile, tipping her head. As usual, when talking to the other animals in this zoo, her body was lower to the ground in a more protective position.
"Why, whatever do you mean?" She asked in a feigned kind and innocent tone, forcing down the growl that threatened to arise in her throat.
"You were under isolation for several weeks," Kowalski said, pointing back towards her habitat. "For an escape attempt, no less."
She gritted her teeth, keeping the smile on no matter how much it hurt. "My dear Kowalski, I've been in that little habitat for quite a while. Is it so wrong for me to take a stroll around the zoo, especially if I'm hungry?" Her ear twitched in aggravation, tail swishing back and forth, as in time as the ticking of a clock.
By this point, she had managed to block out their voices by sheer willpower. She saw their beaks move but refused to hear anything besides mumbles. Without even waiting for the conversation to be over, she turned in the direction she was originally going and kept walking, the smile falling from her muzzle. She didn't even bother to look behind her, and hardly cared. All she was doing was getting some popcorn, how important information could that be to them?
The small bit of light that was in the sky faded, the stars showing themselves in the night. A very small grin made its way onto Julie's face as she looked up, stopping in front of the popcorn machine. Stargazing had always been a favorite pastime of hers. She used to do it often with her younger sister, and her mother. Shaking her head, she looked back to the popcorn machine. Everyone in the zoo used it so much all she had to do was kick it with her hind legs and popcorn spilled on to the ground. She ate until she was full, smiling in satisfaction
She could just barely make out the thumps of music from Julian's habitat. She made her way over to the cold metal bench by the penguin habitat, just wanting to get as far away from the music as possible for now. There were a few clustered around the edges of the entrances and exits. She laid down underneath it, curling around herself, staring at the entrance to the zoo. Her ears flattened against her head as the lemurs decided to turn their music all the way up, thumping in time with the now pounding headache she had.
Her brief good mood vanished. She hung her head and groaned, covering her ears with her paws. "I would give anything to get out of this place.." She mumbled.
"Is that so?"
She yelped, jumping up and turning in the direction of the voice. She banged her head against the bottom of the bench and let out a shout, quickly ducking back down. She hissed at the pain, covering her head with a paw as she looked at the voice. It had come from a pigeon.
"The hell-?!" She shrieked, heart pounding in her chest, an aftermath of the fright. Her head pounded with pain as well, now from her headache and from the bruise on her head. "Who are you?!"
"My name's not important, but my associates call me Mr. E. Julie, isn't it?" He had a sort of... Jersey-ish accent? Either way, he was way too close for her liking and was speaking much too comfortable for her to be relaxed around.
"Gold star, you know my name. Now go away." She growled and began to back away, getting out from under the bench. She was in a defensive stance, ready to bare her teeth.
"Miss Julie, I mean you no harm, I promise. However, my client is very interested in you." He spoke too quickly for Julie to get a word in. "Who my client is is of no importance, but I can tell you that he likes your attitude and, might I say your impressive rebellious background. Fifteen attempts to escape in the last month."
"How-?" She stuttered out but could manage no more. How the heck did this guy and his 'client' know all this? None of this rubbed her the right way. It was one thing for those nosy penguins to know everything about her, but two strangers? That was an invasion of privacy and definitely the last straw. Her business was hers and hers alone, and no way in hell was she letting someone else bother her about it. The fur on her back stood on end and she growled again. It didn't look to affect him.
"Hold on, before you start ripping my head off- It appears that that is preventing you from leaving." He pointed towards the entrance with a talon. "I can fix that though. We might want to get back to your habitat though, in case you need anything."
The growing anger in her wavered at that statement. Weird or not, getting the annoying animals out of her life was a good deal. She kept her teeth bared, but calmed down just a little, taking a step away from the pigeon.
"You say you can get me out of here? And all I have to do is meet your client?" She raised her eyebrows.
Mr. E nodded, a smile appearing on his beak that seemed genuine enough. "I don't lie, Miss Julie. I do a lot of things, but I never lie, especially 'bout my clients."
Julie thought it over. She had been in Central Park Zoo most of her life. There was a time when she was allowed to be wild and free, but that had long passed. The only reason she had refused to go back into the wild after rehabilitation when she was young was out of fear... But after a year at this zoo, she would have to be insane to stay for much longer. She was a fully grown vixen now, she knew how to handle herself, those old fears were long gone or suppressed at this point. And if this went south, at least she wouldn't have to worry about stupid old Central Park Zoo anymore. What was life without some bad decisions?
"Well... Okay, I suppose." She said hesitantly.
He extended a wing. "Deal?"
Julie stared at him for a second, but nodded and took his wing in her paw, giving a single shake. Somewhere, deep inside her gut, she knew this decision was a risky one. She knew a red fox just wandering around New York City was a bad idea.
But for tonight?
Tonight, Julie had made her choice.