Jason saw the man was not moving, but he went over to check his friend. "Randall, are you alright?"

Randall moaned. "It… hurts!"

Jason looked down and under the moon's light, he saw something liquid on Randall's right side, just above his lower right arm. He knew he had been shot just then.

Jason knew he had to help him. He had to get him back to the car. "Can you stand?"

"Yes." Randall replied.

Jason helped the lizard to his feet. Randall held his wound with his hands. Then Jason went to cuff John. After he did that, he dragged him back to his car, going through the gate. There were no animals on the property luckily. Randall followed behind him.

John was still unconscious. Jason got his first aid kit out quickly. But he hurriedly put John in the back seat beside Quentin. Then he and Randall went inside the house. Jason called for help. He would need help bringing these men into the station when he had Randall to worry about.

Jason quickly wrapped Randall's wound. There was pinkish blood running down from it.

"Randall, you're okay!" Jo said.

"Not really, Kid." Randall said.

"Randall, you stay inside." There were sirens coming.

Randall hid in a bedroom, but he could only hold on so much longer. The pain was becoming too much. Jo wanted to stay with him, but Jason said that she needed to be confirmed found.

The back up police came and confirmed Jo was found and they took the two men off his hands. Jason would take care of Jo. After they left, other cops began to take footage of the house. Jason had Randall and Jo sneak out the back before they got inside though.

They got to the car and Randall needed the back seat for himself to lay on. Jo rode up front. "Keep applying pressure to the wound." Jason said.

"I am."

"Randall's hurt?" Jo asked.

"Yes. He was shot, Jo. I'm going to get him some help."

"No! Ah!" Randall cried out.

"I know a place that takes exotic animals. They are the better ones to take care of the injury, Randall. I'll make sure to make them promise not to tell anyone about you." Jason said.

Jason called the vet clinic on his phone where this was and a lady answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello. I'm Officer Monroe. I have a big lizard with me that has been shot. He's needs immediate medical attention!" Jason said into his cell phone.

"What kind of lizard?"

"I don't know. Just a big one. Can I bring him to you? If he doesn't get help, he could die!"

"Yes, yes. Bring it in."

"I'll be there in about in fifteen minutes." Jason said and hung up.

Randall was still wary about this, but the pain was driving him crazy.

Jason turned on his siren to make sure that other drivers got out of his way on his way to the animal hospital.

Jo was all new to this, but she knew that her lizard friend needed help.

Randall didn't feel very good. "Hurry! It's getting worse!" Randall moaned. His hand was still on it. His blood was soaking the bandage.

"Almost there." Jason said.

When he finally made it to the animal hospital, there were a couple technicians out there to greet them with a gurney.

Jason got out after he shut the car off. "He's in the back seat."

Jo watched as the back seat was opened up and Jason and the two other adults picked Randall up and placed him on the gurney. He was going to play a normal lizard for the time being.

The techs ran the gurney inside. Jason stayed with Jo. He knew someone had to. He would let the vets do their job. They were better qualified to take care of a reptile than he was. He and Jo went into the waiting room.

The two techs took Randall to the back. Randall didn't move, but he was hurting. He tried to steady his breathing. He was so scared. He looked up at them, breathing hard. He could feel the bullet in his side with each breath. He knew he would get surgery.

The vet who was on call came out. It was another woman. "How did this happen?" She asked. She had dark brown hair, stood about 5'4, wore blue scrubs, and had a white lab coat on.

"Lizard that was shot." One tech said. She was blonde and was about 5'3. She had on green scrubs.

"Man, I hate it when people get trigger happy with exotic creatures." The vet said.

"Same here." The other tech said. This one had black hair and was about 5'2. She had on purple scrubs.

All of them began doing something to try to save Randall's life.

The blonde one began to get Randall hooked up to an IV. It was more awkward that they couldn't put a breathing mask on his face because it was so wide.

The black haired one got on a stethoscope and listened to his heart and lungs. His pulse was fast and his breathing was labored.

The third one cut the bandages off and saw how bad it was. They were going to have to get the bullet out. She began to give the lizard a sedative. But she also noticed that there was something off about the lizard. Its blood was pink instead of red.

Randall had never struggled with them, that they found concerning. Healthy lizards struggled with humans handling them.

He finally went under and the women could work without worry.

Working carefully, they cut into the wound to find the bullet. Sure they noticed they had never seen a lizard like this before, but the wound was the thing to worry about first. Soon, they extracted the bullet.

Randall had started to become vulnerable to lead poisoning. It would have been worse if the bullet had stayed in longer.

The vet and techs were happy their patient had made it through the surgery. They made sure he was clear of internal bleeding and then patched up the wound, giving him some painkillers too. They wrapped the stitches up.

Together, following surgery, the women carried Randall to the reptile warm room to rest and sleep off his anesthesia. He was put on a blanket and another was put on him. Then, the vet went up to the front to talk to Jason.

Jason and Jo were anxious to hear news about Randall. Then the vet came out. It had been forty five minutes since he was brought in.

The dark brown haired vet stood before them. Jason stood up.

"He made it through the surgery." She said.

Jason sighed relief. "Is he alright?"

"Yes, he'll be fine. But what I don't know is what kind of lizard is this? The anatomy looks similar to a lizard's, but at the same time, I've never seen anything like it."

"I don't know really. He's from the swamp. I saw him get shot and knew I couldn't let him die. Something new." Jason made a lie. "Can I and the little girl spend time with him?"

"Sure, but I do recommend caution and the little girl shouldn't really go back there. Reptiles this large can be dangerous."

"Okay."

"But I want to see him!" Jo yelled.

"It's not safe, dear." The vet sat with her.

Jason was allowed back and he was let into the reptile room. Then he told the tech, "This is a special lizard. He's not normal. Please keep him a secret from the public. He just really needed your help."

"What is he?" The blonde tech asked.

"A swamp creature."

"Alright." The tech said. She would give him his time.

Jason waited for another half hour before Randall started to come around from his induced sleep. He felt so dizzy in the head and his vision was blurry. "Randall?" He heard his name.

He moaned. "Randall? Can you hear me?"

Randall looked over at the voice in front of him and he saw a black suit lining, meaning it was Jason.

"Where… am I?"

"At the animal hospital. You were shot and needed medical attention. You're just coming around. How do you feel?" Jason asked.

"Lousy."

"Any pain?"

"I can't… feel much… anything." Randall said.

"You need to rest. But just one thing, keep quiet, okay. Don't talk in front of the vets. Just let them help you."

"Okay."

Jason stayed long enough for Randall to become more coherent. He told him again to behave.

"I will."

"I also have something to tell Jo. I've decided to adopt her." Jason said with a smile. "What do you think?"

Randall smiled. "You've been good to her and to me. That's good. Provide her with a home. I know I never could have asked for anything better for Jo."

"Even when you're well, you're welcome to stay too." Jason said.

"Thanks." Randall said. Then he laid his head down to sleep. He was tired.

"Good night." Jason said and he left the room.

Jason came back out of the back. "He's doing just fine, Jo. A little sleepy, but he'll be fine. Let's go home. And take care of him." He told the vet. "And don't tell anyone he's here, or other people might want to do something worse."

"We will." The vet said.

The women were still curious about what species this giant lizard was. With limited activity through the night, they looked up species of lizards and found no other that they had ever seen before. And again, swamps were often an unexplored place, like the sea. This was something new that had popped up out of nowhere.

The women were going to let the poor creature rest, but would watch its movements carefully. Right now, he was calm and peaceful, but how long would it last?