Fireball: A Fox Tale

Part 9: Fox on the Loose

As soon as he thought no one could see him, Fireball tossed the box from on top of him, bucking like a wild stallion in a rodeo. Now that he could run without any obstructions, he could focus on finding Nora. But surely he could take a little breather first. With his sides heaving and his tongue panting, he stood in the middle of the white hallway as he tried to take in this new environment.

Those smells! What were they? He had never smelled anything so putrid in his life. And those sounds! They overwhelmed his sensitive ears. With the wailing and sobbing of children and the consistent beeping of machinery, how could anyone stay here without going insane?

But then another sound entered into the mix - a sound he had heard not so long ago.

Clickety-clickety-clack. Clickety-clickety-clack.

Fireball hesitated, his front paw lifted in the air, his ears pricked to attention. Yup, it was definitely her - the mean lady from before. Had she recognized him? But how? Was his disguise not brilliant enough? With a huff, he darted off, hoping his senses would work on overdrive as he continued on his quest. He searched through every room he passed, hoping to find some glimpse or scent of any of his favorite humans. Well, some humans preceded others in terms of likability at the moment, but that didn't matter now. He just had to find them before -

"Ha, ha! I see you now, ye little..." Nancy paused a moment as she attempted to find the right words to describe the fox. "Ye little sneakity sneak!"

She pursed her lips and let her gaze fall to the floor as she shook her head in embarrassment. Some of her curly, golden locks slid forward off of her shoulders and swept against her pink-tinted cheeks. She had a PHD. Couldn't she come up with something more creative to say? Not that it mattered, of course. It's not like the fox could understand her. Or could he? No! There was no time for philosophical thoughts now!

Fireball looked behind him, as he wondered why he couldn't hear her anymore.  Why wasn't she following him? What kind of dramatic chase was this? If foxes could shrug, he would have done so at this moment, but he just blinked at her and sauntered off.

"You know, it doesn't matter! You're not fast enough! Your kind will never be fast enough! I will catch you this time and you'll regret ever messing with me,  your worst nightmare!"

"Sheesh, Nancy. What's with all the drama?" Mandy asked as she emerged from the other end of the hall with an open can of Coca-Cola in her hand. "I could hear you from the other side of the hospital."

"Did you not see him just now?"

"Uh, who?"

"The fox, obviously."

"Um, no, Nancy. That's not so obvious."

"But..."

"You must be seeing things, my dear friend."

"But..."

"I asked Zach to tie Fireball outside. And one thing I know about my husband, among other things, is that he will always respect my wishes."

"How sweet! So happy you think you've got such a great husband. But he might not be so great..."

"Look, there's no need to be so rude! I know how you feel about marriage. You've never failed to remind me, but th-"

"He's in the hospital, Mandy! Don't you get it? There's an animal on the loose and you are in my way!"

With that, Nancy shoved her old friend aside and charged forth after the furry escapee, leaving the other girl drenched in fizzing syrupy liquid.

"Zach was right about you!" Mandy called out to the crazed nurse.

Nancy made no reply.

"I know rules are rules," Mandy mumbled. "And I would have helped her, too, but now ... Oh, screw the rules!" She shook her head in despair and stormed off to the nearest bathroom to clean herself off.

🐾🐾🐾

"And that's what's going on with me," Zach concluded.

Nora smiled up at her son-in-law. "Mandy's very lucky to have you, you know?"

"Oh, I know it all right," he responded with a chuckle.

At that moment, Zach heard and felt his phone in his pocket. When he looked at the device, a picture of his beautiful wife appeared on the screen.

"Uh, speaking of..."

"Go on then, answer it!" Nora encouraged him.

He nodded, but as he answered the phone, he was not prepared for what he was about to hear.

"Fox on the loose!"

"What? I tied him up. Honest!"

"I believe you, honey, but he's somewhere in the hospital apparently and..."

"And?"

"And I say rules schmools!"

"Uh, okay. L-"

Beeep.

Zach turned back to Nora. "Fireball's escaped!" he exclaimed with a huge grin on his face.

Without waiting for Nora's reaction, he stood from his seat and rushed out of the door, eager to witness the reunion to come.

A/N:
Hey guys! I'm actually alive. (Barely because homework and midterms, but I'm surviving.) Anyways, you know the drill. If you liked Part 9, please do like and/or comment.

I actually meant to end the story with this part, but because of my limited time, I decided to upload what I have right now so that you guys can read a bit more. I'll try to finish the very last part as soon as I can. Who knew University was so time consuming? Sheesh!

Thanks so much for bearing with me! Fireball and I really do appreciate everyone's support. ❤️🦊