Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[Update 2024: This story was chosen for the Rango Project. You can read more about it on my profile.]

Hi, so I saw that I still didn't upload this story here. It's a story which I started 2017, but this year, I'm going to finish it now.

Sorry if the story is a little dark. -_- But I hope you like it. Also a little tribute to venomous animals in the world.

Soft slow swings woke him up from his painful unconsciousness. Everything around him was dark. From time to time, he felt a strong shake.

The Gila monster groaned because of the headache and wanted to gasp for air, but he couldn't open his mouth. Suddenly, another shaking shook the ground again and he rolled powerlessly to the side. He moved his head back and forth, but he couldn't move more. Why not? Slowly escaping from his unconsciousness, he tensed his muscles. But he couldn't move arms and legs. Something held them together. He felt ropes and cords.

"Mmmmmpf!" he muffled. He set up jerkily and tugged at the ropes like crazy. Suddenly, there was another shake again and he staggered back to the floor.

Damn it! Where was he?

He suppressed the panic and tried to get his bearings. He moved his hands and feet again to check. His hands were tied tightly behind his back. His legs were tightly tied as well. His eyes were blindfolded and his mouth gagged. Even his lizard tail was tied up with his legs. It was almost impossible for him to move. He could no more than roll back and forth.

After he ascertained that, he explored the environment. Since his mouth was gagged, he could not use his tongue, thus he couldn't use his olfactory organ in his mouth. Instead, he had no other choice but to use his nose as an aid. He breathed in and out several times with concentration. The air smelled slightly hazy and judging by the temperature, it was night apparently. Then he tried to fathom the constant shaking and rocking, which sounded familiar to him. He must be in a cart, which was pulled by a draft animal.

He listened intently. The slight squeaking of cart tires and a slight snorting from an animal, probably a peccary, pulled the cart, was all what he could hear acoustically. No city noises, no voices, no background noises like water or anything else. Absolutely nothing. The cart drove through unpopulated countryside. Anyway the ground was not flat. From time to time, the cart drove over a stone or a small hollow. But he didn't know where exactly they were, if anyone else sat on the cart. He had no idea where he was.

He lay himself on his back and touched the floor with his hands, which was made of stable wood. He rolled himself aside until his body hit a wall. Then he rolled back to the other side and he hit a second wall.

The wooden wagon, where he was in, was only twice as big as him and twice or three times as wide as him. Gently, he leaned against the wall and managed to stand up despite bound feet. He almost straightened up to his full size when his head hit the ceiling of the cart. Groaning, he stopped and tried to find a breath of wind. But this prison seemed not to have windows obviously. Furthermore, he only now noticed, after the headbutt, that he was no longer wearing a hat. He could only assume that he had lost it when he was attacked.

A new pothole made the cart shake and the Gila monster fell hard on the cart floor. Angrily, he sat up again.

Where the hell was he being taken and, first of all questions: Why?

Who had drugged him, tied him up and locked him up?

Bounty hunters? Black marketers? Or even lawmen, who wanted to send him to prison?

He was not a much-wanted criminal, but as Bad Bill, he didn't have a good reputation for most animals.

Where had he been the last time before he was knocked out?

It was somewhere near Dirt. He had been on his way to his hiding place when something hit him hard on the head. From then on, there was a deep memory lapse.

He tried to loosen the ropes again, but he realized immediately that it was useless. He had no other choice but to wait where the journey ended. But no matter where they wanted to take him, it would be not a good place for him most likely.

Over one hour passed. Bill had laid back down and passed the time with lots of theories about his situation. Then he felt that the cart was slowing down.

He lifted his head. Did something lie in their way or did they achieved the goal?

A jolt crossed the cart and came to a halt. But just a few seconds. Then the cart drove on. Bill noticed how the sound of the wheels on the ground changed. Then the cart stopped. Bill didn't dare to breathe. He listened to every sound. Someone climbed down from the cart. Shortly afterwards, more footsteps approached. He listened intently, but no one spoke a word, as if they communicated only with sign language. Someone opened a kind of big sliding door of the cart side. Bill raised his head, although he could not see anything. For a moment, he wondered, whether he should pretend that he would sleep. But now they had already seen that he was awake.

He heard heavy footsteps. Several footsteps of three persons or more. Then suddenly they stopped. He mumbled something through the gag, when no one said anything. But he felt eyes, which stared at him. He straightened up a bittle. But still no one spoke.

Suddenly several big hands grabbed him and dragged him ahead to the open cart door. Bill breathed in and out audibly. He kept asking himself what this was all about. But no one gave him an answer to his silent question. Bill started to panic and braced himself against the strangers who were trying to get him out of the cart.

Chains clinked and he felt how they pushed ropes through his arms. Something unpleasantly cold was wrapped around his neck. Was that a neck chain?

All of a sudden, the hands let him go and instead the ropes and chains were tightened, pulling him out of the cart with all strength.

Bill protested loudly and rolled himself several times back and forth to prevent them from getting him out of the cart. But now it seemed ike an entire army was pulling on the ropes. After a few vigorous attempts, Bill had to give up resistance. As tied as he was, he had no chance to hold on anything. In one go, he was dragged out of the cart door and landed with a tud on the floor next to the cart. The ground was hard and smooth like concrete or asphalt. But he had no time to analyze his new surroundings more closely. The strangers started pulling the ropes again and dragged the Gila monster across the ground in a certain direction.

Bill struggled, even though he knew it would be useless, but he didn't want to surrender without a fight. He couldn't stand being treated like dead meat. He bent his legs a little and tried to sit upright on the floor. He put his feet on the floor and for a moment, he managed to slow down the pulling on him. But just for a few seconds. The dragging stopped for a moment, but then the group pulled him forward with all their might and he landed roughly with his upper body on the floor. Someone went behind him and gave him a hard kick in the back. Bill groaned loudly and was unable to move for a moment. The kidnappers took advantage of this moment and dragged him across the floor again. This time at a faster pace, so that he became dizzy. It must be very big animals, which dragged him with chains and ropes over the floor.

Once again, he straightened up and threw his head back.

"Mmmo mpfng mh mmh?! Mmm mpf muh?!"

Of course, no one understood his muffled screams, which is probably what no one wanted. No one said a word. No one asked him a question or warned him to keep quiet. It was a scary silence.

Slowly, Bill was getting tired of all the fighting and struggling. No matter how hard he tried, he was being taken to a place like a despised, dead animal, which didn't know the destination and did not know whether it would be his last journey.

The latter gave him the impetus to fight bac against his captors. He paused when his captors stopped for a moment and stopped pulling at him. A strange mechanical humming sound could be heard.

The Gila monster whined unsurely.

What should all this be?

Then there was a clear, high-pitched beep that Bill had not heard often, but had heard somewhere before.

It was an elevator. But a rather modern elevator. Older ones didn't have high technology. Especially not in the desert. Were they still in the desert?

Once again, the tugging started at him and Bill was transported into the elevator. Almost without resistance, he let it happen. At least they left him alone for a little while. The elevator doors closed and the elevator moved down.

Bill didn't know how far down they drove, but it wasn't long.

Shortly afterwards, the doors opened again and the game started all over again.

As soon as the strangers had left the elevator with the Gila monster in tow, Bill immediately noticed that the floor was made of smooth material. He tried to orient himself, but there were no background noises. Fortunately, the forced tour didn't take a long time and they stopped. He heard the ringing sounds of keys and a door was unlocked.

Then he was dragged forward again. As soon as they had passed through the door, Bill heard the sounds more subdued. It had to be a room where they put him in.

Maybe the last stop.

Someone grabbed him by the iron collar and forced him to sit down. His back was pressed against some kind of pillar or something else and tied him to it.

Bill tried to stand up again, but then someone kicked him in the pelvis and his legs gave way involuntarily.

After he was sufficiently secured, the hands let go of him and they moved away. The door slammed shut and silence fell in the room.

For a moment, Bill didn't dare to move. He did not even dare to breathe. When he couldn't stand it any longer, he took a deep breath through his nose. He couldn't smell as well as he could with his well-developed olfactory organ in his mouth, but there were no suspicious smells in the air. At most metal and...something disinfecting. The room seemed to have been cleaned thoroughly recently. He leaned back and rubbed his head against the pillar, trying to strip off the blindfold somehow. Finally, he managed to push it up a little gap at least, but that didn't help him either, because the room was pitch-dark. Even without blindfold, he couldn't see anything here.

Bill was panicking again. With all his strength, he tugged at his shackles. But the more he moved, the tighter they seemed to become around his wrists. He breathed heavily from excitement and exhaustion. His heart was racing wildly. Why had they brought him here? Why had no one said a word? Why this secret? What did they want from him? Did they want to kill him here?

These and more questions ran through his head over and over again until he was so tired that he could no longer think and dozed off after a while. He startled from his dozing sleep when he heard a jingling at the door. His muscles tensed as the door was opened. The Gila monster held his breath.

Was that his end?

The door swung open. Through the millimeter-wide gap under the blindfold, Bill could see light, accompanied by large shadows.

Someone entered the room. There were footsteps of two persons or more.

"So, this is our new arrival?" he heard a voice for the first time. It was male and sounded anything but friendly. On the contrary. It even sounded very condescending.

"Not a bad choice," the stranger continued. "Looks strong enough. Where does he come from?"

"From the Mojave Desert," his companion next to the guy answered. Bill couldn't say whether he was one of those who had dragged him here.

"Well, well, well, well! Even in such a wasteland, there's still something useful to be found. Fine, fine, fine."

Bill hissed in protest at the disrespect, which he received. Angrily, he shouted through the gag, hoping someone would take off the cloth so he could give them a good scolding. But no one did that favor for him.

Instead, the stranger continued: "I see, you're still in the dark. But don't worry. Your task will be explained to you soon enough."

Task? Who did this bastard think he was?

Bill would only be too pleased to give his kidnapper an angry look. But his eyes were still blindfolded, so he couldn't even do that at least. Instead, he threw his head back snorting with rage, and tugged at his bonds with all his strength. He couldn't see it, but he meant to feel, that the stranger was smiling, enjoying his helplessness, what Bill made angrier.

Angry as he was, he kept trying to stand up.

Now he could hear the stranger's softly giggling.

"Leave him like that for a while. A few days diet, then you can carry him out."

He heard them turn around and leave the room. Bill hissed indignantly and screamed all kinds of insults through the cloth in his mouth, which someone could guess with a little fantasy. But the strangers were unimpressed. With calm, relaxed steps they walked away and locked the door.

The Gila monster fought for a while, then he gave up. There was no point in fighting, if no one watched him. He had to try to keep a clear head, although it was not easy for him. His motto was always to smash someone's skull or run away. He rarely had any other option in his mind with some exceptions. After he drubbed himself "Calm down!" into his head a thousand times, he did the only best thing he could do now. Resting. Who knew whether he might need his forces for something else. In worse case to fight for his life.

Chapter Text

Bill leaned against the pillar, moaning. He felt miserable. His his mouth was completely dry. At least, that's how it felt. Only his stomach protested loudly. And that wasn't an imagination.

He had no idea how much time had passed since his capture. He assumed about one day or two. No one had opened the door since that guy had given him such a rude welcome.

The whole time, Bill had been wondering what they wanted from him and why they had brought him here. In thoughts, he had gone through all of his previous encounters with others, whether they were friends or enemies. He could think of a few, but there was no one he could believe was capable of this misery. At least not in this way. Most of the guys who hated him would have just shot him or killed him in some other way. This kind of kidnapping was a mystery to him. Or was it even this new sheriff?

Bill snorted at himself. Sure, sometimes the chameleon had crazy ideas, but even he wouldn't believe him to be involved in such a rigged operation. Or had the sheriff come to the conclusion that criminals could only be abolished with illegal methods?

For a moment, Bill imagined the chameleon in detail. It had been a total wimp when he saw it in the saloon for the first time. It had stood at the bar, timid and silent, with his back to him. And yet it had the impudence to spit fire in his face. But in the duel on the street, Rango had been clumsy, like a little child, but then he had risked a big mouth again. Then, with good luck, he had killed a hawk and in the end, he had defeated this rattlesnake. Had the victory gone to his head? Or because of revenge? Obsession?

Bill shook his head and moved his arms, even though he had already tried this for the umpteenth time. There was no escape from this room. Everything around him was dark and deathly silence. Total silence.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. He raised his head and listened. Then he heard voices. He couldn't understand, but there was someone who talked and marched in the direction of his cell.

"He almost bit you, you said?" he heard the first clear audible sentence.

"It just missed me a few millimeters," the other person confirmed.

"Ha, ha. You're such an idiot," a third male voice came.

"No kidding," added a fourth.

"You should be more careful," the first voice rebuked. "We get a lot of money for our work here, but it's a damn dangerous job."

"If you've bad luck, your last one," another remarked darkly.

"So, what is here? This must be the cell."

"It's been a long time ago since we had a Gila monster in the department."

"They're not easy to catch and they can bite damn well. If you've bad luck, they don't let you go until you're dead."

"You better watch out for yourself."

"Blah, blah. You're annoying."

"Shut up and go in."

A key was put through the lock and turned around. Shortly afterwards, the door opened and the strangers entered. They stopped for a moment and looked down at the Gila animal in silence, who felt very humiliated.

"Pretty fat lump of a lizard," one of them finally broke the silence. "Are you sure he already had a starvation period?"

"Now don't ask stupid questions, just do what he told you. You're not paid for asking questions here."

Bill moved his head back and forth.

That damn blindfold.

He flinched when one of the strangers grabbed him by the feet and cut through his shackles with a jerk. Then someone stepped behind him and his wrists were put in chain rings.

"Listen," were the first personal words to him. "Don't make trouble and just do what we say. Then nothing will happen to you. Nod if you understood."

Bill hissed, then he nodded angrily.

"Fine. We'll take off your hand ropes now. Then you'll come with us. I would advise you to make no resistance. Did you understand that, too?"

Another nod made him satisfied.

Bill's muscles tensed as someone slowly cut through his handcuffs with a knife. Bill felt the ropes around his hands loosen and were only held by the iron hand chains.

"Be careful," someone warned. "These critters are very aggressive."

"How stupid do you think am I?" The guy behind him smirked, who was almost ready with his work. "I don't do it for the first..."

Suddenly, the Gila monster jumped up and struck wildly around with his fists. The chains on his hands were tightened quickly, but Bill grabbed one of the chains and pulled with all his might. The person, who held the other end of the chain, was thrown forward and punched with the fist in the face. Someone wanted to throw himself at him, but Bill heard him immediately and threw himself against him with all his weight. The stranger was almost as tall as him and Bill felt the fur of a mammal. He couldn't say exactly what kind of animal it was, because his eyes were still blindfolded. No sooner, he had put the next one out of action for a brief moment, he reached for the blindfold to have a clear view for a fight. But before he could do that, the chains were tightened again and his arms were stretched.

"Don't touch it!" one of them snapped.

The Gila monster screamed angrily and pulled up his arms.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Instinctively, Bill threw himself to the ground as the bullets were fired over him and narrowly missed him. He could feel the airflow of the projectiles on his skin, but luckily they didn't hit him.

For a moment, Bill was paralyzed with shock. He couldn't win a fight against guns without a weapon. He didn't even have a hiding place where he could protect himself.

Suddenly, several weights threw themselves over him. Two of the big, unknown guys had pounced on him and were using the chains to bind his limbs.

Bill gasped angrily under the weight and tried to fight his way free.

He froze as something metallic was pressed onto his head.

"One stupid movement more," the stranger gasped angrily. His controlled anger was clearly audible in his voice. "Just one more damn fuss of you, and you will wish you were never born! Either you acquiesce, or we have to get tough! Geddit?!"

He intensified his pressure so brutally that Bill got a headache from it.

"Say: Yes!" he demanded.

"Mmipf."

"You can say that better!" the weapon carrier shouted and gave Bill a hard slap in the face.

"MMMIPFMP!"

Bill had never felt so angry as he did now, which is why he screamed it out despite the cloth in his mouth.

His tormentor put the gun away and stood up again while the others heaved the lizard back up.

"Come on, get up!"

Under foot kicks, the Gila monster got up again. Shortly afterwards, his hands were tied behind his back again. Bill growled in protest.

"Those who disobey have less freedom," the spokesperson explained. "And those who doesn't cooperate will not be able to do anything at all."

"Mmmmpfpmf!" Bill took a sharp breath as the stranger pulled the ropes tighter again to emphasize his words more clearly.

"I hope, we get along well this time!"

With these words, he let go of him and the others took over command again.

"Come on now! Don't make such a fuss!"

With that, the Gila monster was dragged out of the room still tied with chains and blindfolded. He stemmed his legs on the floor, but then he felt something cold on his back and he knew immediately what it was.

"Either you go or there's lead in your back."

Reluctantly, the Gila monster complied.

They marched down a long corridor. Bill couldn't see anything, but he thought, he heard noises rumbling behind thick doors. Obviously, he was not the only one who had been locked up here and the corridor was equipped with much more closed rooms maybe. Then they stopped.

An automatic sliding door slid to the side and they went through more long corridors that Bill couldn't analyze unfortunately because of the blindfold. At least the aisles were straight, so he only had to take one step at a time without worrying about missing a corner.

After a while, he heard other footsteps coming towards them. Bill couldn't see who it was. Then the person passed them and disappeared without saying a word.

Bill had a bad feeling about this and this uncertainty, accompanied by the emptiness there, weighed heavily on his stomach.

"Now, in you go."

Again, an automatic sliding door opened and they turned into a room. Bill stopped for a moment when he noticed the strange smell in the air that he couldn't identify. It smelled like cleansers and any other chemicals or something.

"Come along!"

He was pushed forward impatiently and almost stumbled.

"Stop!"

Someone grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him over. Then he was forced to walk backwards. Bill flinched in alarm and he gave an uncertain sound when his back touched something cold.

"Go now!"

He was pushed against it. Shortly afterwards, he was tied with his hands behind his back on it. With trembling fingers, Bill checked what he had been tied to. He felt long metal. Probably a stable grid.

He panicked again.

Did they want to kill him here?

"So, that's it," his draggers sighed.

"No, another torture like that and I'll quit the job."

Their steps moved away. The door opened and closed again.

Bill listened. It was quiet in the room. There was no sound anywhere.

He leaned forward and pulled on the handcuffs. But there were bombproof fixed on the grid.

Suddenly, he heard a light shuffling of feet, accompanied by quiet cough.

Bill froze. He wasn't alone in this room.

He paused for a few seconds. When the person made himself no longer noticeable, he tried to draw attention to himself.

"Mpmpf?"

But no one answered.

"Mpmpf! Mpfmmpf!"

"The professor will be here soon," a monotonous, deep male voice said.

What was the guy babbling about?

But before he could think about it or complain loudly, the door opened. Another person entered the room, whose footsteps were much smaller. This person stopped briefly in the room and seemed to eye Bill.

"Mmm, still very defensive," the voice began. It was a male voice again, but sounded very snooty. "But what a pleasure to have a Gila animal again."

He cracked his fingers. "Well then. Let's get it over with."

Bill breathed hysterically.

It's over! It's over!

"First take off his blindfold so that he can see what he's here for."

The other person, who had been standing silently in the room, stepped behind him and began to untie the blindfold. Bill groaned as the cloth finally off. For the first time in days, he could see something again.

He blinked violently. The room was brightly lit, which was mostly due to the white tiled walls. He looked around with aching eyes. The first thing he saw was a metal table in front of him. On it there stood a big glass with a funnel on top.

His eyes moved to the side when he noticed a movement. At a cupboard with glass doors stood a silver lynx with long peaked ears. He was almost the same size like Rango and was very slim. On his nose, he wore frameless glasses and his costume was anything but reassuring. He was wearing a white coat which only doctors used to wear.

Bill swallowed hard. Was this an experimental room for animal testing?

His attention was diverted by the second person in the room, who had previously been so silent. As he had guessed, the second person was the exact opposite of the lynx. It was a stocky, broadly-built bear and wore also a white coat and stood next to the table with folded arms.

The silver lynx took a steel box out of the cupboard and placed it on the table. Then he took out a round, black object.

"It's very easy," the silver lynx began without additional explanations. "Your job will be to bite into this rubber ring until you chew your venom into it. You do that until your venom glands are empty. Got that?"

Slowly, it dawned on Bill. These guys wanted his venom for what ever. And as far as he could judge it, nothing would be in for him after doing that.

"We'll remove the gag now. I advise you not to resist. Otherwise, we're forced to get the venom in a more painful way."

The silver lynx didn't wait for an answer, but gave his big assistant a sign. The big guy stepped behind the lizard and began to untie the gag. As soon as the cloth had loosened, Bill threw his head wildly back and forth and spat out the piece of cloth in disgust.

"ARE YOU BATSHIT INSANE?!" he yelled.

The rage that had accrued inside him all day long brust out like a thunderstorm now. "How dare you to imprison me! You will not get anything from me!"

The silver lynx had endured the words calmly and didn't bat an eyelid.

"We're used to hear that kind of reactions. You're not the first one who reacts this way."

Bill fell silent. Not the first one?

"Indeed," the silver lynx continued. "We're here to extract the venom from all the prisoners as well as we can to use it for our purposes."

"Use? For what?" Bill asked grimly. "Do you do that to everyone that you just kidnap them?!"

"To satisfy your impatient question, the venom gives us a lot of dough. It can be used for antidotes. In your case, more for medication. And yes, we don't give invitations."

Bill gasped indignantly. "And what use has it for me?"

The little professor grinned. "That we let you alive. On the other hand, if you have no longer any use to us, we unfortunately have to eliminate you."

"I don't let me treat like an animal!" Bill shouted at him.

"If you don't like it you can lump it," the silver lynx said sternly. "Venomous animals are treated like animals here. That's the law here. And anyone who doesn't comply will be eliminated like an animal."

"You are abominable!" the Gila monster snapped in anger.

"We talked enough. Now do you work. I want to finish up today."

He held out the rubber ring to him. But Bill stubbornly clenched his teeth. Now the silver lynx tried to make him open his mouth by pressing the rubber ring against his lips. But Bill didn't think about opening his mouth even one millimeter.

The silver lynx's eyes narrowed and moved to the side. "Kay! Forced milking!"

The big guy nodded and left them for a brief moment while the silver lynx grimaced. "I wanted to avoid this, but you're leaving us no other choice."

The sturdily built bear disappeared briefly through a side door, murmured a short sentence into the next room and nodded. Then he came back. Shortly afterwards, a big shadow stepped through the door.

Bill got a queasy feeling in his stomach when he saw another burly guy enter, the brawny arms of this guy worried him the most. He wore dark, holey jeans, but no shirt. On the wrists, he wore leathery bracelets with spikes. He had fur everywhere, only his head was shaved bald, which actually looked pretty funny, but the funny part was overshadowed with a skull tattoo on the scalp.

The grim guy looked at Bill for a few seconds, then he pressed his paws together.

"Is someone being rebellious?" he grunted maliciously.

The silver lynx waved his paw dismissively. "He needs a lesson in obedience. Get the best out of him."

The beefy guy cracked his fingers. "With pleasure."

Now Bill noticed the many scars on his arms, partially hidden under his fur. What kind of job did he have here?

Without another word, the big guy came closer and stopped next to Bill. Bill looked at him a little uncertainly. If he had not been tied up, he might have scolded him. But in this position, he didn't risk making a big mouth this time.

"Well, well," the tattooed guy continued. "Then I'll show you how to work professionally here."

With lightning speed, he struck the Gila monster in the stomach with full force. Bill gasped for air. The assistant took advantage of this moment and pressed the jaw-shaped rubber thing into his mouth. Bill was about to spit it out again, but Kay's paws pressed against it. Shortly afterwards, Bill was pulled down with the collar chain and his head was held directly over the glass.

Again he received another blow to the stomach. Bill tried to fight back and get up, but against two brawny guys and his shackled state, this proved more than difficult.

"There's nothing coming yet," the silver lynx complained, as he looked scrutinizing into the glass. "Try harder."

The tattooed guy grunted angrily. This time his next fist hit Bill's shin, causing the Gila monster to groan in pain.

"Well then? Are you a coward? You don't defend yourself at all," the thug sneered, and now instead of fists, he distributed claps on his body.

With each stroke, Bill became angrier and angrier. And unintentionally, he pressed his venom into his mouth in anger. In this way, it was easy for his tormentors to get hold of his venom, like shaking trees to get the fruit down.

"At last," the silver lynx sighed with relief as the first drops of venom dripped into the glass. "I think, there's more to get out."

Bill's muffling groans echoed throughout the room as he got more and more punches. And the Gila monster couldn't help but chew his venom into his jaw, which only partially calmed him down.

After an uncertain long time, Bill felt the pressure on his jaw ease. With a jerk, he straightened up and the rubber part was pulled out of his mouth. He spat in disgust. He could still taste his venom in his mouth.

As soon as he had taken a few breaths, he got a violent slap in the face.

"In the future, I don't wanna see such an uncooperative behavior of you anymore! Got that?!" the professor threatened and eyed contemptuously the few milliliters of cloudy venom liquid in the glass. The silver lynx looked at him with piercing eyes, which were caught by Bill's angry eyes as well. But he was too exhausted to shout at him. Instead, he lowered his gaze and kept gasping for air.

The silver lynx operated a bell. A short time later, the door opened and the tugs reappeared. As Bill had suspected, they were also of beefy physique. Two big rabbits, one big rodent and a racoon.

"Get him out of here!" the silver lynx ordered, waving his paw dismissively.

It wasn't long and Bill was handcuffed, gagged and blindfolded and dragged back down the corridor, ending with a crash on the floor of his cell. When he had been sufficiently fixated on the pillar. He let out a sigh of relief as they finally left the room. Groaning, he moved his jaw, which still hurt.

But except anger, he felt fear.

"In the future," Bill remembered the words of the so-called professor.

How long would this "in the future" be?

Bill snorted. He was definitely determined to do anything.

He had to get out of here!

If you want to see how people extract the venom of Gila monsters (in a more human way) you can watch it here:

www . youtube . com watch ? v = ipxvAsxjxGg

or look at youtube with keywords "gila monster milking"

The venom of Gila monsters is used for medicines against diabetes like Byetta®, Bydureon® or Victoza®.

Chapter Text

Not so far, but far enough from Bill's prison cell, sat a gray wolf behind a desk. In front of him the table had covered with a lot of papers and documents. With a grumpy gesture, he tapped his fingers on the wood while he was reading a report. Only when he heard footsteps outside, he put the paper aside, lay his elbows on the table, folded his paws together and watched the door until it was opened by a person in a white coat.

"The production results from today."

With these words, the silver lynx handed out a map to him. The wolf took it and eyed it with a disdainful expression.

"And? How was his first time?" he asked.

The silver lynx adjusted his glasses, annoyed.

"He is restive," he answered the question. "But he'll soon do voluntarily what we want."

The gray wolf put his fingertips together. "Alright. I see, we'll have to carry out the compulsory program. Two days in the darkroom, without food or water. The weaker he is, the less dangerous he can be to us."

"And what should we do with him after that?"

His counterpart looked at him with emotionless face. "Why?"

"His predecessor was unable to produce after just a few weeks. What if the same happens to him? Gila monsters don't grow on trees and it's difficult to catch them. We'll probably have to look for a replacement as soon as possible."

The wolf shrugged his shoulders. "Well then, do it, or do I have to tell how you have to do your job? You're responsible for the venom production. Well then, take care of it."

The silver lynx nodded. "Yes, Sir."

With these words, he turned around. But before he reached the door, the one at the desk said something from behind.

"And Dr. Docan?"

"Yes, Mr. Walket?"

"Get the most out of him. I demand good results."

The silver lynx Dr. Docan narrowed his eyes, but he nodded. "Yes, Sir. He will do."

Chapter Text

2 days later...

Mr. Tender, a huge, sturdily built bobcat with an unsympathetic face and even more unsympathetic arms and paws, marched sullenly down the long corridor and wasn't very amused about the work which Mr. Walket had given him.

"Of course, of course, just let the lower workers do the dirty work. It's such a hobby of mine." He kneaded his fingers with a loud crack. "Well then. Let's go."

Bill was raising his head immediately when he heard footsteps. Someone opened the door and heavy feet entered the room. Without a word, someone stepped behind him and cut through the hand and feet shackles.

"Get up!"

Bill didn't dare to resist. He didn't want to risk an unequal fight like last time. As long as he didn't have a weapon, trying to escape was pointless.

Someone kicked him with a foot from the side. Bill growled menacingly, but he obeyed.

With a loud groan, he stood up. His knees trembled a little. Suddenly someone grabbed his wrists and pressed them behind his back. Shortly afterwards, Shortly afterwards his hands were tied together again with a rope. He winced when he felt a revolver in his back.

"Just do what I say and this thing won't go off either." The guard increased his pressure. "Do you understand?"

Bill nodded defiantly. Then the guard, still with the gun in his hand, reached for the blindfold and took it off. Bill blinked. He dared a quick look behind and caught a glimpse of the face of his tantalizer behind his back, but then the bobcat gave him a hard push.

"Forward!"

Bill wanted to ask where he was being taken, which he tried to utter through the gag, but he couldn't expect an answer.

"Nothing is asked! Get moving! Do you think, I take you for a walk for fun?"

Together they left the cell. Bill glanced alternately to the right and left. For the first time, he could analyze his environment with his eyes. The floor of the corridor was made of rubbery hard flooring. The walls were all painted cold white, decorated with several thick metal doors. They passed several of these metal doors in the corridor. The gun still in his back. No long time and they stopped in front of one of these metal doors. Bill got a queasy feeling in this stomach.

The guard unlocked the door and actuated a light switch in the hallway.

"In you go!"

Bill hesitated.

The bobcat was getting impatient and grabbed his arm.

"Go now! I don't have all day!"

Bill almost stumbled into the room. After he had regained his balance again, he looked around in the room with irritation. The room was small, the walls sterile and white. The cold neon light from a fluorescent tube light gave a eerie sight. At the end of the room was a toilet and next to it a sink. Right next to the door hung an iron chain with hand and ankle shackles.

The guard took the metal tangle from the wall and walked up to Bill with it.

"Turn around!"

Bill had no choice. He turned his back to the guard, and shortly afterwards, he felt the cold rings on his hands and feet. When the guard had finished, he untied the handcuffs. Bill groaned softly as the rope fell to the floor. He rubbed his wrists, where the iron chains hung now.

The guard picked up the rope and walked backwards to the door with the gun pointed at him. "You are allowed to wash yourself briefly or to go to the toilet. That's all. Got it?!"

Bill narrowed his eyes in disgust.

Before the guard closed the door, he gave another warning: "And don't touch the cloth in your mouth!"

Bill sighed inwardly. He would have liked to take the gag off for a moment at least.

"You have exactly 15 minutes," the guard blustered. "I'll pick you up, whether you're ready or not."

With a loud clanging, the door slammed shut.

Bill hissed menacingly, but what else could he do? At least they gave him enough privacy to relieve himself. At least he hoped that no camera was watching him.

While he was sitting in the bathroom, he kept looking around as inconspicuously as possible. But there were no objects or anything that could have given him the idea of using them to escape. Even the toilet brush was missing. And a roll of toilet paper was just lying on the floor, without holder. Except the toilet, there was only the sink. No soap, no towel. Not even a mirror.

Bill did everything with a bitter gesture. After washing his hands with water and shaking them out as best as he could over the sink, he slowly walked up and down the room.

The whole area was a mystery to him. He had no idea how the building looked like, and he had no idea where he was in what part of the country.

Was he in a city? Hardly likely. He hadn't heard any city noises along the way. It had to be in a lonely area. But where exactly? How far was he from his hometown? He didn't even know how long he had been unconscious.

Had someone watched how they kidnapped him? Were someone looking for him?

Bill was frightened when someone suddenly opened the door without knocking.

"15 minutes are over! Come along!"

The guard pointed his gun at him again, so that Bill allowed his hands to be tied behind his back with the rope without resistance and the hand and foot cuffs were removed.

Then they went the same way back into the cell. After the bobcaat had bound the Gila monster back to the pillar and had blindfolded him again, he left the room and left the lizard alone.

One more day passed. Bill's stomach ached terribly with hunger. From time to time, he made moaning sounds, but there was no one who could hear him.

When he was afraid, they would want to let him die of hunger, footsteps approached his cell. Bill froze when the door was opened. The sound of footsteps filled the room, then they stopped abruptly.

The blindfolded Gila monster didn't dare breathing for a moment.

"Well, are you going to be a good guy now?"

Bill bit into his gag with rage when he recognized the voice of the silver lynx. More footsteps circled around him. He could feel the cold eyes which stared at him. The mocking laughter that followed made his hands clench into fists.

The silver lynx narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The Gila monster was weak, but it had still enough energy to offer resistance.

He grinned mockingly. "You will learn to obey. In this house, everyone loses out to us sooner or later."

Bill wanted to protest, but because of the cloth in his mouth, he couldn't speak one clear word. And none of his captors seemed to want to hear that either. No one took the cloth from his mouth. No one let him speak.

In the same moment, Bill's stomach rumbled loudly.

The professor grinned quietly. He put his paws in the pockets of his white coat and walked slowly up and down in the room.

"If you are willing to cooperate with us," e began in an ominously cheerful tone, "then you will get some food and drink. If not..."

He didn't finish his sentence deliberately. Bill could imagine what he wanted to say. And it annoyed him immensely that the cheeky guy was right. It was useless to die this way. If he did what he was asked to do, he might have a chance to flee.

The silver lynx smirked when Bill nodded.

"Fine, that's a wise decision."

He waved the guards closer. Bill wasn't sure, but he guessed that it was the same guys who dragged him out of the cell before. But this time, no one said a word. They unleashed the lizard from the pillar. Then the whole procedure started like the last time, but this time it didn't hurt so much. After milking his venom, they ushered him back into the cell, without troubles.

After they had secured him back in his place again, they left the cell. But before they closed the door, Bill called out muffled noises after them.

The metal door slammed shut with a loud metallic crack.

"Tell Tender he should bring him something to eat," he heard them say. "But not much."

For the first time since he'd been here, he felt a little relief.

Several hours passed until someone unlocked the door again. Heavy footsteps entered the room. Someone put down a tray or something similar on the floor in front of him. Then the unknown person stepped behind him.

"Eating time."

Bill recognized the voice of the guard who had guided him to the washroom yesterday. He quickly loosened his shackles from the pillar and forced the Gila monster to kneel on the floor.

"On your knees. Quickly!"

Bill swayed a little because his feet were still bound, and the guard didn't seem to want to take them off. He rubbed his wrists while the guard was removing the blindfold around his eyes. Blinking, Bill eyed the plate that was on the tray on the floor in front of him, with a glass of water and two loaves of bread. Not much, but better than nothing.

A familiar clicking sound let him froze. With wide eyes, he watched how the bobcat aimed a gun at him.

"I will remove the gag now. One wrong movement and I have to tell Dr. Docan that he lost a patient. Got it?!"

After a brief nod from his counterpart, the guard stepped behind the lizard and untied the cloth. As soon as the gag was removed, Bill gasped for air. His mouth was so dry like sandpaper. He stuffed everything in his mouth what he could find on the plate. Then he washed it all down with the glass of water. With a deep sigh of relief, he looked over at the guard, who was still standing in front of him with his gun pointed at him.

"How much longer are you going to keep me here?"

The result of the question was a violent slap in his face.

"Prisoners aren't allowed to speak!" The guard growled at him. "They are not allowed to talk, they are not allowed to see anything, only breathing and working!"

"And eating."

Again, he received a resounding slap in the face.

"Don't talk!"

Bill rubbed his cheek with disgust. The plate was compelely empty now and his unfriendly conversation partner went behind him again.

"Open your mouth!"

With that, he grabbed Bill's jawbones brutally. Shortly afterwrds, the lizard tasted the familiar cloth in his mouth again and the blindfold was tied around his eyes again. Then he was forced to sit back against the pillar. The guard tied his hands together as usual and left the room.

Bill couldn't see him anymore though his blindfold, but he followed him with rage filled eyes until the door was closed.

For a while, Bill cursed all people in this place, but he had to cooperate. He had to avoid dying of hunger until he had a plan.

Chapter Text

Days passed and gradually Bill lost all sense of time. He could only follow his internal clock, which told him whether it was day or night. But he could hardly remember how long he had been in captivity and the constant milking of venom was bothering him.

When he was led back into the venom extraction room, as so often, he noticed that this time there was another person present next to the silver lynx. It was a badger, also in a white coat and thin gold glasses on his snout. Their eyes met briefly and Bill thought, the badger gave him a regretful look.

When the moment finally came when the cloth was removed from his mouth, Bill immediately took the opportunity to say something.

"Are you kidding me?" he said hastily, with a worried look at the broadly built Mr. Tender next to the silver lynx. "I needed time for my venom. If you take it from me too often, you won't get enough out."

But Dr. Docan just shrugged. "We're pressed for time, Mister," he dismissed his argument. "We can't accommodate any extra requests, got that?"

Bill let out a growl. "Then what's the point...?"

But the bystanders didn't allow him to ask any more questions and immediately they forced him to press his venom into the funnel, like last time. And, as Bill had expected, the result wasn't exactly fruitful.

"I told you," Bill gasped after the rubber ring had been pulled out of his mouth. "I can't...!"

The big, beefy bobcat Tender held his fist in front of his face. "Just shut up! That's the doctor's decision."

Dr. Docan gave the badger a sign and this one strode towards the Gila monster. Bill looked at him skeptically. Was he as psycho as his colleague?

Reluctantly, Bill opened his mouth as the badger pushed his lips open with nervous fingers.

The doctor didn't have to look in long to give his verdict. "You milk him far too often," he complained.

Dr. Docan ignored the accusation. "We just have so few Gila lizards. And the amount we can get out of each milking isn't a lot."

The badger let go of Bill and walked towards Dr. Docan with stern steps. "If you milk him that often, then it's no wonder."

Dr. Docan lifted the corners of his mouth slightly. "Then we should squeeze the last bit out of him as soon as possible." He cracked his thin finger paws audibly. "And anger is still the best way to do that."

Before the badger could object, some guards had untied Bill from the bars and forced him to his knees. Bill struggled against this rough treatment.

"What else do you want from me?!" he yelled at them. "What do you think I am? A vending machine?"

"Open your mouth!" Tender snapped at him.

Bill was still trying to talk while the rubber ring was stuffed into his mouth and he was bent forward. At first, he didn't know what to do until he suddenly felt a pain in his back. Stunned, Bill looked behind himself. Mr. Tender had pulled out a whip. And he didn't let long elapse before the next blow. Bill was close to tears, but he definitely didn't want to show them and suppressed them at the last second.

Dr. Docan had meanwhile approached Bill and eyed the glass under Bill's funnel with dissatisfaction. "Finally do it. We don't have all day."

Bill cried as the next crack of the whip slammed down on his already sore, battered back. He gritted his teeth in anger, which in turn activated his venom glands. But all he brought out were just a few meager drops of venom.

Dr. Docan glared at him. "Is this all?"

Instead of a reply from Bill or anyone else, another whip cracked the air. Bill kept gritting his teeth, but his vemom reserves were completely used up. Finally, Bill couldn't help himself. He fell forward and landed exhausted on the floor.

"He can't take it anymore," he heard Mr. Tender say.

"Keep going," Dr. Docan's merciless voice reached him.

But the Gila monster didn't react anymore. No matter how many times they hit him with a whip. Not even when the guards kicked and yelled at him. His body was numb. As if someone was sucking his life energy.

"Stop that!" he heard the badger shout. "He's at the limit! Don't you see that?"

He didn't hear the rest. Only that he was pulled up, the rubber ring was removed from his mouth and his body was dragged out of the room.

"Inform the collectors," he heard another voice from a distance. "They should look for more animals like that."

Without resistance, Bill allowed himself to be transported back to his cell. It took a while for the Gila monster to regain some of his senses. The first thing he felt was pain in his back where the cold material of the pillar touched him. He couldn't even tell if he was bleeding.

Groaning, he pressed the back of his head against the pillar.

He wanted to go home. Damned! He wanted to go home!

Chapter Text

Mr. Walket leaned back in his chair with disinterest. Sit facing on the other side of the desk, sat the vet, an old badger in a white coat, nervously tugging at his tie.

"You wanted to speak to me, Dr. Marten?" Mr. Walket asked.

"Yes... Yes, indeed," the badger stuttered. "The conditions in which you treat the prisoners is no longer tolerable."

Mr. Walket looked at him in surprise. "How come? We are very hygienic here."

Dr. Marten wiped his forehead nervously. "They don't get enough to eat. And the methods you use to extract the venom are unacceptable."

Mr. Walket shrugged. "The less they eat, the less dirt they make."

Dr. Marten leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at the wolf. "You forget that they are reptiles and not mammals like you and me. These species need warmth. At least lamps. Preferably sun's energy. Otherwise, their production capacity will be impaired. Their quality is declining."

"According to our laboratory, the quality values are still within the normal range," Mr. Walket said indifferently.

"Close to the limit," Dr. Marten corrected him. "I looked at some animals. Most of them are practically dried out from too much venom milking. It won't be long before I can declare another animal unsuitable for venom production again."

"Then we'll just replace it with another one," was Mr. Walket's only answer. "There are venomous animals in the world like sand on the sea."

For a moment, there was silence.

Dr. Marten glanced at the ceiling before continuing. "Why all this?"

"Why all this for what?"

"Why do you treat the prisoners in such a degrading way? I'm sure if you housed them properly and hired them like a company, then the yield of the venom would definitely be much better and of higher quality."

Mr. Walket grinned and raised his index finger in an instructive manner. "Prisoners are cheaper than workers." He folded his paws on his stomach. "Besides, venomous animals have no right to stay in the world. It is only because of them that we have to produce the venom for antivenom."

Now it was Dr. Marten who raised his index finger. "You forget that we can produce effective medicines with some venom."

"Nevertheless. Venomous animals are venomous animals, created solely to kill. Such creatures deserve no respect."

His opponent gritted his teeth. "Their venom was purely for defense and for digesting food."

"But there are still some of them who use it like a revolver."

"The fewest. And most of the time, they're just criminals. They always conserve their venom."

"I don't want an argument! The treatment of prisoners will not change." Mr. Walket pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. "The next animal that is ineffective for venom production goes into the slaughter room. The skin of reptiles can still be sold well on the black market." He put the cigarette in his mouth, but before he lit it, he pulled it out again. "By the way, while we're on the subject of it, you will probably get a new one in your practice today. If he's no good anymore, then do it. You know what I mean." He put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

In the next moment, someone knocked on the door.

Mr. Walket said an annoyed "Yes, come in" and the door opened. A raccon stuck his head in.

"The Gila animal can't make it anymore," he reported. "I'll take him to the... Oh, doctor, good, you're here. I'll send him over to you this afternoon."

Without saying goodbye, the door closed again.

Dr. Marten's gaze wandered back to the wolf, who was grinning at him. "Well, looks like you're going to make a decision today. Either it'll be operational again tomorrow, or we'll look for a new one."

Chapter Text

Bill didn't know what was happening to him that day when he was rudely awakened.

"Get out!" the guard, Mr. Tender, demanded. "Visit to the doctor's office."

Bill snorted exhaustedly. If they gave a damn about him, the doctor's visit was definitely not for his own good. He felt how Tender loosed his bonds from behind, with which he had been tied to the pillar. Then he kicked him. "Get up now! We don't have all day!"

Bill stood up unsteadily. Because of the long sitting, he was barely able to walk properly. To make matters worse, his mouth still hurt. Tender didn't need long to maneuver him out of the cell, especially because Bill offered no resistance anymore like the first few times. For this reason, the captors stopped using chains and the Gila lizard's hands were only tied behind his back with ropes. Bill walked down the corridor with unsteady steps. The blindfold remained over his eyes, also the gag. Bill could only assume that they wanted to make sure he didn't bite anyone, although he had no venom left anyway.

Despite his limited vision, Bill tried to concentrate on his surroundings again, hoping to find a way out of this building, which he still didn't know what it looked like from the outside. But because of the elevator that had taken him so deep down when he arrived, he could assume that it was some kind of underground bunker.

To Bill's disappointment, everything was almost as silent as his first walk into the venom extraction room. Only this time, they walked a few corridors further and around a few corners until he heard an automatic sliding door open. The room behind smelled a bit strange. So chemical. In any case, it was just as quiet there as in the venom extraction room. There seemed to be no one, or at least not many people, in this room. The path led Bill a few meters further in until he was suddenly pushed in the back from behind. Bill stumbled forward uncontrollably and landed hard on the floor.

"Get well soon!" he heard Tender call out sarcastically before the door was slammed shut, but it wasn't soundproof, so Bill could still hear the retreating footsteps in the anteroom. But as soon as Tender had left the room, the sliding door opened again and another person entered.

"Hey, Doc! Here's your exemplar," the strange male person called. Then Bill heard something being placed on a table with a clatter. Probably a cage or something like that.

"Someone wanted to put it in the Micrusus section. These idiots can't even tell the species apart. Idiots."

"What am I supposed to do with it?" another voice asked, belonging to the so-called "Doc". Bill recognized the voice of the badger that had accompanied Dr. Docan in the venom extraction room a few days ago.

"Of course, get rid of it," the first voice demanded. "No one is ever allowed to leave the place alive again. Otherwise someone will start to sing out."

With these words, the person turned around and left the room again. It became quiet. Bill remained there for a while, then he tried to sit up a little to find his bearings. The floor around him was clear, but the room was not particularly big. He slipped a little to the side and, as he suspected, immediately he hit a wall. He rolled to the other side and not far away he felt the other wall. Probably some kind of cell that he had been thrown into.

Tired, he sank down on the floor. After so long of being forced to sit, lying down felt good. He couldn't stop thinking about what had been said in the anteroom. He didn't know what to make of the foreign word "Micrusus", but he suspected that it was another group of venomous animals. Groaning, he tried to loosen the tight bonds around his wrists. If only he could move a little more freely. Finally, he dozed off, exhausted.

Dr. Marten, who was next to the small room where Bill was, scratched his head nervously as he read the paper that the guard had pressed into his paws. The venom extraction times were catastrophic. It was impossible for a Gila monster to produce poison again so quickly in such a short period of time. No wonder the lizard had ended up here. He went over to the small room, opened the door and looked thoughtfully at the Gila monster lying on the floor. It was lying exhausted on its side. The bruises were barely visible on the dark skin, but the nervous twitching of the lizard's muscles betrayed the pain it was still in. After a brief hesitation, the doctor entered the room and put his paw on the Gila monster's shoulder. Bill didn't move. He even allowed the doctor to turn him onto his back. Then he removed the gag.

"Open your mouth," Dr. Marten demanded, pushing a spatula between Bill's lips.

Bill didn't care at all. So it was no problem for Dr. Marten to take a look into the mouth of the large Gila monster. And what he saw shocked him. The mouth was completely inflamed. The gums were sore and red.

The doctor stood up, kneading his fingers nervously. The protocol stipulated that an animal should be fit for use again in less than 24 hours. Otherwise, it was disposed of. The doctor knew what that meant. For the Gila monster, a venom extraction would not be an option even in a week. Thoughtfully, he left the room again, sat down on a swivel chair, and rolled over to a desk where several papers were stacked on it. He alone decided where the lizard would go now. Back to the cell or to the very back of the building, where no one would return.

"Damn it!" Dr. Marten cursed quietly and rubbed his hair nervously. It went against his morals as a doctor to do something like that. But on the other hand, he had agreed to the job. "Damn it, I can't do this anymore."

His gaze wandered to a photo at the end of the desk. He took it in his paw. It showed a female badger and several badger children. One of them was carried by the mother badger in her arms.

Dr. Marten sighed heavily. "I've always done it just for you, but would you tolerate it if you knew what I'm doing to the patients here?"

With shaking paws, he put the photo aside and stood up. He went to a glass cabinet and took out a bottle and soaked a cotton swab with the liquid. Then he went back to the small room with it.

Bill raised his head weakly when he heard him come back in. The doctor knelt down next to him.

"Now, open your mouth and you'll feel better."

Bill tensed up when the doctor tried to push the cotton swab soaked in liquid into his mouth. He pressed his lips together and threw his head to the side.

"Keep your mouth open," the doctor asked, tying to open Bill's mouth again, but instead the Gila monster threw himself onto the other side.

"Leave me alone!" Bill growled in a hoarse voice. "Leave me alone!"

The doctor stood up and moved to the other side next to him. "If you don't pull yourself together, you won't survive the next few hours."

Bill kicked him with his leg. "Come closer and I'll kill you!"

The doctor sighed guiltily. "Come on. Maybe I can help you."

"By giving me the lethal injection?!" Bill hissed contemptuously.

"Come on. The tincture will help you. It burns a little at first, but that goes away after a while."

Before Bill could protest, the doctor had already pushed the cotton swab into his mouth. The result was a glaring pain between his teeth. And this activated extreme anger in the Gila monster.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Bill pushed him away, half-upright, tied up, leaning against the wall and looking at him angrily, despite his eyes being blindfolded.

The doctor swallowed hard. "Listen. I don't agree with the methods here any more than you do, but if you don't follow my instructions as a doctor, things will only get worse—"

The doctor was frightened. The Gila monster had unexpectedly stood up and was pushing himself up against the wall with aggression. The doctor became scared and anxious. The Gila monster pulled and tugged at the ropes on his wrists and… The doctor couldn't believe it, the Gila monster managed to get both hands free. Suddenly, the doctor realized that the lizard's anger had grown immense.

With his now free hand, Bill ripped off his blindfold. He was so angry now, despite the lack of food, that he could have broken through the walls. Growling, he reared up in front of the badger, who hastily retreated. But Bill managed to grab hold of his coat. The old badger was brutally dragged back into the room, where Bill pulled him up.

"So, Dr. Frankenstein," Bill growled threateningly. "Now let's turn the tables!"

He hurled the doctor against the wall. The force of the impact was so strong that the doctor remained lying on the floor, groaning. Bill would have loved to tear him apart in the air, but then his flight instinct overcame him again and he just wanted to get out of this prison as quickly as possible. He stormed out of the small room and looked hastily for the door.

"You can't get out!" the doctor's gasping voice stopped him, standing up on shaking feed. "Everything is monitored here! You'll never get out of here!"

The doctor recoiled. The Gila monster was now standing on all fours, staring at him like a wild animal, his face contorted with rage.

Dr. Marten raised his paws in panic. "Stay calm—"

Bill stormed towards him, knocking over a table. Shortly afterwards, something fell to the floor with a clatter and landed right in front of Bill's nose. Bill stood up in shock. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was one these creatures!

In the cage in front of him was a little snake. It was red-yellow-black banded. Its mouth was taped shut and its body was tied up like a ball of wool. The little reptile looked at him with frightened, wide-open eyes. Bill couldn't say exactly how long it was, maybe half his length, but it had to be a venomous snake. Hastily, he tried to see whether the cage had burst open. A venomous snake was too dangerous for him without a gun for protection.

Bill was distracted for that one second. The doctor immediately took advantage of that one moment and grabbed a tranquilizer pistol. "I'm sorry, you're leaving me no other choice." He pulled the trigger. The dart hit the Gila monster right in the arm.

Bill winced and quickly he pulled out the tranquilizer dart. "You damn...!"

Bill's vision became blurry suddenly. He staggered and finally, he fell to the ground unconscious.

Still trembling, the doctor approached the Gila monster. After making sure that he was anesthetized, he put the tranquilizer pistol aside. Then he picked up the cage with the little snake and put it on his desk. The little snake inside was still very frightened and breathing heavily.

"This job is getting more and more dangerous." The doctor shook his head slightly and looked desperately at the little snake in the cage. "This can't go on like this." She looked at him. He couldn't say whether she had understood him or not.

Dr. Marten walked nervously through the corridors of the underground walls. He had been trying the whole time to think of a solution, but there was simply no way to put an end to all this senseless activity. With heavy steps, he marched into the part of the sector where the rooms were much, much bigger and partially lined with bulletproof glass so that everyone could see what was going on inside. At that moment, he passed a room with the label "Crotalus". Inside he could hear a loud banging noise. Apparently, there were new arrivals. These were particularly difficult to tame at first, but this group of snakes were needed the most. Rattlesnakes had it the hardest here, as they caused the most bite accidents and their venom was needed more often.

Dr. Marten wanted to take his time and peeked through one of the bulletproof glass windows into the room. As expected, there were three new arrivals. Pretty big rattlesnakes this time. Two of them were lying on the floor tied up with ropes, but one was not so easy to discipline. It had probably managed to break the bonds. Some employees were busy keeping it at a distance, and it didn't take long before a tranquilizer dart was used. The rattlesnake sank to the floor.

Dr. Marten shook his head regretfully and was about to turn away when something caught his eye. Something about one of the already tied up rattlesnakes looked familiar. He looked more closely, then briefly cleaning his glasses. Finally, he shook his head. No, it wasn't wearing a black hat or a revolver belt, and the rattle looked normal too; it wasn't a Gatling gun. And yet for a moment, he thought he had seen him as he had seen him before in a western town. Just as Dr. Marten was about to turn around again, he pressed his face against the glass again. Was the rattlesnake rattle even real?

Mr. Walket drummed his fingers impatiently on the tabletop of his desk and looked challengingly at the old badger who was sitting opposite him. "So? What now? Can he go back to work or not?"

Dr. Marten tugged nervously at his tie. "That's absolutely impossible."

At first, there was silence, then the corners of the wolf's mouth lifted in an amused grin. "What a pity," he said with mock regret. "Then we'll have to say goodbye to him now, for better or for worse."

Dr. Marten stood up unexpectedly. "Only if you let me take him away. If so, then he has the right to a painless death."

Mr. Walket looked at him bored at first, then he shrugged his shoulders. "Tsk. Fine with me, Mr. Doctor."

Chapter Text

Groaning, Bill woke up. At first, he only felt a heaviness that took over his body and gradually came back to life as if he were thawing. Even his head was still foggy-brained, which was slowly clearing. It took him a while to get his bearings again. Blinking, he looked around. He was in the same place where he had last been incapacitated with the tranquilizer dart. Now he was sitting with his back against the wall, but at least he was no longer tied up. Only one handcuff was chained to a pipe in the wall on his left wrist. He pulled on it angrily. But the pipe was built deep into the wall, and there was no way he could rip it out.

He looked around in the room again. There was no one else here except him. He was taken aback when he noticed a movement not far away on the desk, or more precisely, in the small cage that had fallen on the floor before. Inside, the little, tied-up snake was writhing and rubbing repeatedly its head against the thin bars.

Bill's eyes narrowed and he let out a growl. But before he could say anything, the little snake had managed to pull the tape off its mouth. It shook its head in disgust and its attention was immediately directed at Bill.

"Don't scare me like that again!" she hissed in a childish, girlish voice that revealed that she was still very young.

Bill narrowed his eyes angrily. "You damn worm! If it hadn't been for you, I would have long since run away!"

"Don't talk nonsense, you wouldn't have escaped them anyway."

"You're the only one who thinks that, you cheeky, venomous brat."

"Mmpf, I may be a snake, but I'm not venomous."

"I can fool myself."

"No, really. You don't know much about snakes, do you? I have colors like the coral snake, but I'm a king snake. And compared to that, my color order is different. I must have been confused with a coral snake and ended up here."

Bill looked at her skeptically, but his mind started to rattle. He thought, he'd heard of something like that before, but he had never dealt with this subject. Basically, he didn't care. A snake was a snake.

"You don't need to babble about it to me," he grumbled. "I'm much more interested in whether there's a way out of here."

The little snake snorted. "If I knew that, I would have left long ago. These guys aren't nice at all."

"I noticed that, too."

Both startled when the sliding door opened without warning and the doctor came in. Dr. Marten's attention was first directed at Bill. "So, you're awake, good. However, I hope you won't make such a fuss again."

Bill jumped up indignantly, but immediately fell over again. His circulation was still a little affected by the anesthetic.

Dr. Marten shook his head disapprovingly. "No matter how strong your will to live is, you won't get out of here this way."

The little snake raised her front body higher. "Then at least let me go! You can't get any venom out of me anyway."

Dr. Marten lowered his gaze and walked over to the desk. "Unfortunately, it's not that easy. They don't want any eyewitnesses here."

"Am I supposed to stay here for the rest of my life?"

"Unfortunately, the protocol here stipulates something different." Dr. Marten sat down on the swivel chair. "Anyone who has nothing more to contribute here will, as they say here, be 'disposed of'." He looked from one to the other. "And you two would actually be next."

The little snake jumped up. "What?! No, I want out of here!"

Bill was also shocked by this knowledge, but he didn't want to beg like a little child. "Who do you think you are?! I won't let myself be treated like a piece of dirt! And this is what you call a doctor?!"

Dr. Marten took off his glasses and folded them together slowly. "I'm a doctor, but my resources are limited. My wife and I have children, one of them, our little daughter, has a rare disease. The medicine can only be obtained in the human world. And it's difficult to obtain them, but there are animals that will get it for you for a lot of money. That's why I immediately agreed to this job, because they pay more than enough here."

Bill was not satisfied with this "pious" explanation. "Then I'll be excited when your brat finds out how her old man earns his alms for her."

"I've often thought about quitting," Dr. Marten admitted sadly, "but you can't just quit here.—We're all in the horns of dilemma."

Bill snorted. "Yes, but I'm the only one with the worst cards."

Dr. Marten scratched his forehead nervously. "Maybe not so bad."

Bill raised his eyebrows skeptically. But before he could ask, the doctor continued: "If you both want to survive, you have to do what I say. Because I suspect something is going to happen here soon."

"And what?" asked Bill disdainfully.

"I'm not quite sure yet."

"What kind of answer is that?"

Dr. Marten cleared his throat. "Well, as I said, it's just a guess. But you wouldn't have any alternative anyway. So I can only offer you one possibility. In return, you do me a favor and don't make a stand."

Bill narrowed his eyes. "And how do I know that you're not just kidding me so that you can slit my throat in peace?"

Dr. Marten shrugged. "I don't force anyone to live. It's your decision."

"But I'm small enough," the little snake chimed in. "Can't I just crawl outside somehow?"

Dr. Marten shook his head. "Not even a bed bug can get out of here unnoticed. Not even as a whole corpse." He kneaded his paws nervously. "The candidates who are no longer needed are usually taken to the very back of the vault. There they are killed and preserved or skinned as needed.—But I could arrange to hide you in a hidden corner there for the time being. I don't see any other option."

"Hiding?" Bill narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He simply didn't trust this doctor. "And for how long?"

"That's the catch, I don't know, unfortunately."

"What does that mean?!"

Dr. Marten stood up with a start. "You have the choice, either you both die an immediate death, or you wait for an indefinite period of time."

"And how do you want to explain that our corpses are missing?" Bill asked.

"I'll say I put you in the cooler for that long," Dr. Marten replied. "At least until someone doesn't make a thorough investigation. But the probability is low. Mr. Walket only cares about making sure no one can escape."

"Mr. Walket? That sick crook who owns this place?"

"I don't want to tell too much," Dr. Marten fobbed off his question. "You have to go there today in any case. So, what is your decision?"

"Damn it!" Bill cursed quietly and rubbed his face with his free hand. He had been trapped in this bunker for so long that he was about to go mad. He just wanted to get out. Now waiting for a miracle for an indefinite period of time was driving him crazy. But what else could he do?

"And where exactly do you want to hide us?"

"So you agree?"

"I asked where that should be, not that I like it."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Dr. Marten looked at the little snake. "And what about you?"

"The snake beast can't keep up with me!" Bill protested firmly.

The little snake hissed at him, insulted. "Are you afraid of me? A little, non-venomous snake?"

Bill snorted back. "No, but I get the impression that snakes are not a good predictor of luck."

The little snake narrowed her eyes. "If we do make it out, will you change your mind?"

"I wouldn't bet on it."

"So you are scared of me, aren't you?."

Bill let out an annoyed growl. If there was one thing he didn't like besides snakes, it was annoying children.

Dr. Marten looked from one to the other. "I take your answer to her suggestion as a 'no' and your answer to my question as a 'yes'."

Chapter Text

Bill didn't feel well when Dr. Marten tied his hands behind his back again and gagged him. At least the badger refrained from stuffing a rag in his mouth and only wrapped a cloth around it. He wasn't blindfolded either. Dr. Marten said that was fine since Bill was destined for "disposal" anyway. It wouldn't make any difference if he saw too much.

Once that was done, Dr. Marten took the cage with the little snake in his paw and pushed Bill toward the door. "Just go right and straight down the corridor. I'll tell you where to go from there."

Bill let out an angry snort, but he probably had no other choice. Nevertheless, as they entered the corridor through the door, he was annoyed with himself for not having at least tried to break the neck of that so-called doctor. But then his prudence prevailed over his blind rage. For if what the doctor said was true, he would have no chance of getting out. Bill had at least recovered enough to walk alone without help.

The three marched on, or rather two, since the little snake was being transported in a cage, first through several wide corridors until they reached a large hall with several floors and staircases. Large doors were built into the walls. Bill suspected that other animals were imprisoned behind them, and most likely they were almost all snakes. For Gila monsters, perhaps along with Komodo dragons, were the only truly venomous lizards in existence. Here and there he heard strange, echoing voices, the source of which Bill couldn't determine. It was certainly an eerie place. There were no windows, only a few small lamps that didn't even give off any heat. The environment wasn't cold, but it wasn't exactly pleasantly warm either. Bill suspected this was intentional, since reptiles couldn't move around as much in lower temperatures.

While Bill cursed everything around him, they entered another wide corridor. Bill slowed his pace briefly when he heard a low hum, probably a motor, maybe even some kind of ventilation system. It wasn't long before they reached two large metal doors. Dr. Marten grabbed Bill's hands from behind, and Bill stopped. Then the badger stepped forward and unlocked the door with a key.

"Don't worry," Dr. Marten said, "the last slaughter was a few days ago, so everything's clean again now."

Bill swallowed. He reluctantly followed the doctor inside. The room was large and tiled with white wall and floor tiles. Not far away, Bill spotted a drain hole in the tiled floor. Obviously, it was there to allow the blood to drain away quickly. Some of the tiles on the wall were cracked. Had the victims fought back before being executed? Bill didn't want to imagine the scenario and hurried past. There was a strange smell of disinfectant or something similar.

Bill glanced at the doctor. The doctor didn't flinch, but his eyes seemed to be trying to reassure him. For a moment, Bill worried that the doctor had only brought him here so he could kill him in peace. Finally, Dr. Marten grabbed his arm and pulled him through two large swinging doors. As soon as they were through, Bill felt like he was going to faint. The room was dimly lit, but the dead snakes hanging from hooks in the ceiling were clearly visible. Bill squeezed his eyes shut. Corpses didn't bother him, but the thought of ending up on one of those hooks was pure horror. He backed away, about to go back out through the swinging doors, but the doctor grabbed his arm just in time. Bill pushed him away violently.

The doctor raised his paw. "Calm down. Just get through here. I'm afraid I can't offer you any other option if you don't want to end up here as a corpse."

Bill glanced over at the little snake in the cage. She noticed his gaze and looked at him with frightened eyes. He could see how heavily she was breathing with stress and panic.

"Now come here," Dr. Marten instructed him. "This way."

Reluctantly, Bill complied and followed him further into the room. It was uncomfortably cold. Dr. Marten led him into a small hallway with a few smaller doors.

"It's a bit warmer in here," Dr. Marten said, pushing open one of the doors. "You could stay here for a while." He switched on the light.

Bill looked around. The room consisted of bare concrete walls, several metal shelves, and a few cabinets. Not exactly inviting.

"This is where all the spare parts and tools for maintaining this section are kept. Especially for the air conditioning." The doctor pointed to a cabinet. "You can hide in there. It's big enough." He opened the cabinet, and a few brooms and tools tumbled out. "Well, all you have to do is empty it. I need to go back now." He approached Bill and untied the handcuffs. As soon as Bill had his hands free, he ripped the cloth from his mouth.

"Isn't there another way?" Bill asked hopefully.

But Dr. Marten shook his head. "I already told you I can't take you through the main exit. Even the side passages are under strict surveillance, every inch. From here on out, you are on your own."

"Am I supposed to rot here?"

"Just be patient. As long as they don't notice your bodies are missing, they won't look for you. You can only wait here."

"And for how long?"

"I hope not long. Here, take it." With these words, Dr. Marten pressed the cage with the little snake into Bill's hands.

Disgusted, Bill held the steel cage in front of him and hastily placed it back on the floor.

"And what if someone does find us here?"

"Well, just in case," the doctor reached into his jacket pocket and, to Bill's surprise, he pulled out a revolver. "This would be the last resort for short-term self-defense. Only six shots. I'm afraid I can't offer you any more than that."

Bill took the revolver and opened the magazine. It was loaded.

Dr. Marten backed out toward the door. "I might come back again later today and get you something to eat. Let's hope no one needs any tools here." He reached for the doorknob and slowly pulled the door shut. "Good luck."

Then the door closed completely.