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Road Runner had a routine. It wasn’t anything exciting, but it was his. Wake up, stretch, go on a morning run, maybe stop for a quick lunch, afternoon run, sometimes even a nighttime run, then go to bed in his nest. There was also the daily attempt to trap him by Wile E. Coyote. He loved whenever Wile E. tried to capture him, it was the highlight of his day. Explosives, anvils, parachutes and, most recently, rocket boots! His Coyote was so smart and creative! Every day a new and unique attempt at catching him, Wiley had gotten close, sure, but Road Runner always won the game in the end.
One would think the cycle would grow boring, but not for them. This was everything to the Road Runner, a game, a chase, sometimes a snack. All of it was fun and exciting. Then when Wiley inevitably lost and was down in the dirt, Road Runner would run over, check his coyote for non toon-related injuries, and then give him an affirmative ‘Beep Beep’ before sprinting away, sometimes he’d even wiggle his tongue at his coyote for encouragement.
But Road Runner hadn’t seen his Coyote in a while. In fact, it had been days since he last saw Wiley, when his Coyote had come out to the desert with some humans. One of them had poured some seeds on a piece of paper and then tossed the box next to the pile. No class, if you were to ask Road Runner his opinion. But Road Runner was curious, and wanted to show off to his Coyote’s new friends, which he was so proud of Wiley for making, so he ate the half-heartedly poured snack and signed the paper by pecking his signature ‘Beep Beep’ before zooming off.
His Coyote had left shortly after with the humans, and only came back a few more times to take photos of all the places where they had played. But had yet to be back with a new chasing game. Road Runner hated to admit it, but he found himself growing bored, and missed his genius companion. Racing around the New Mexico desert alone felt like nothing without the chase, but he kept his spirits up. Afterall, sometimes Wile E. Coyote has to take a few days to plan a new trap!
A couple of weeks go by and just as Road Runner starts to grow concerned, several large trucks full of humans enter the desert, and Road Runner watches from a distance as they set up a trap of their own. A large puddle of glue, and a mountain of seeds to hide it. Boring, no creativity on its own. But Road Runner couldn’t help but let himself run into the glue. As he stood there, looking around and spotting a human with a camera, he came to a conclusion.
Now, Road Runner was sure of a few things. He knew he was an unstoppable force of nature. He knew he cared very much for his genius coyote, and as such he knew how Wile E. Coyote’s traps worked.
Road Runner also knew this trap was not orchestrated by his Coyote, and he did not appreciate being chased by anyone else by any means. The human who was with Wiley was fine because Road Runner assumed Wiley had simply allowed his new friends to try their hand at catching him. But these ‘ACME’ guys? No. They were not his Coyote.
With a waggle of his tongue as a final warning, Road Runner sprints at the cameraman at full speed. The consequenting sonic boom causes the trucks, people, and even a helicopter to grow unsteady before the Road Runner circles the mountain of seeds and glue. Everyone and everything is soon covered in glue and seeds, but that’s not enough for Road Runner. By the time the dust settles, about five seconds thanks to his incredible speed, the once mountainous trap is now nothing but a burning mess for the humans to clean up.
Without another glance at the mass destruction, Road Runner zooms off towards the Eastern cliffs where he knew Wile E Coyote’s cave was. He wanted answers about where Wiley was, and he wanted them now.