Chapter Text
Here they were, back in the Sonoran Desert to look for more animals to put on their creature life list and to just revisit some old friends. Chris and Martin were so excited, although they had been all over the world multiple times, it never got old. Chris just hoped he wouldn’t get thrown into a cactus again. He smiled and shook his head fondly at the memory.
“Hey Chris look! It’s Speed Limit! Our roadrunner friend.”, Martin exclaimed as he pointed out into the open solitude to a small bird standing on a cactus.
“You’re right!”, Chris smiled. They both walked over to the friendly bird who had just jumped off the cactus and onto the floor. Chris had an idea. “Hey, Martin. You wanna go for a roadrunner race?”, Chris challenged with a smirk. Martin looked away from the roadrunner with a determined look on his face.
“You’re on, bro!”
The brothers quickly shuffled through their creature power discs when they came across two orange ones. They both slid it into their creature power suits and placed their hand on Speed Limit.
“Activate roadrunner powers!”, they shouted in unison. A flash of blue and green light emitted from their suits and before they knew it they had roadrunner powers.
“Okay, first one to the Tortuga and back wins!”, Martin said. Chris nodded.
“On your marks…get set…go!”.
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“Woohoo! I won! Sorry bro, but I’m just the better runner.”, Martin said with triumph, placing his hands on his hips. Chris deactivated and laughed,
“You just got lucky, I’m telling you! If that Western Spotted Skunk hadn’t been there I surely would have won!”
“Yeah right.”, Martin laughed as he ruffled Chris’ hair. Chris swatted his hand away playfully. It was definitely getting darker. The sky had turned into a mellow orange and it was getting slightly colder. “We should head back, Koki will want us back before sundown.”, Martin suggested.
Unfortunately, it got dark quickly. Not dark enough for them to not be able to see where they’re going, but dark enough for them to not see any small animals on the ground. As they walked back to the Tortuga the boys heard a hiss. Was that a bobcat? No, too short. A rattlesnake? No, not loud enough. Then what could-
Chris yelped in pain. “Chris!”
What just happened?
He had just got bitten and it burned like a thousand suns. Whatever creature it was that bit him, it was not letting go. Chris fell to the ground, his calf being gripped onto by sharp teeth. Chris gritted his teeth, letting out a muffled shout. His leg felt like it was on fire. The waves of pain increased with every second. It was the worst animal bite Chris had ever received. The throbbing didn’t dull for a second. Chris dug his nails into the dirt underneath him. He feared that it was only going to get worse, and it did. He couldn’t help but grunt in pain as the hurt spread up his leg. It felt like there was lava flowing through his veins. Chris panted, “Sh-shit.”, he gasped, Martin quickly took out his creature pod and shone his flashlight at him. Chris looked down at his left leg to find a Gila monster hanging off his calf.
“Chris! Oh god. Aviva!”, Martin called. A holograph shot out of his creature pod and Aviva replied.
“Oh hey, Martin. What’s taking you guys so long? It’s already so-”,
“Chris got bit by a Gila monster! We’re still far from the Tortuga so we need you guys to come get us with the Createrra.”, Martin yelled. His free hand gripping his hair.
“Oh crap. Koki, Jimmy we gotta go! Bring the Gila monster anti-venom…”, Aviva’s voice faded out.
“Chris! Are you okay?”, Martin asked, concern written all over his face. He kneeled down beside his younger brother.
“Doing just peachy.”, Chris strained. He was sweating, hard. The pain was unbearable. The venom made the bite even worse. Finally, after what felt like forever, the lizard let go. It slowly crawled away as Chris cursed. Blood dripped from the bite wound. Chris’ calf had already swollen from the venom.
“You’re gonna be okay, bro.”, Martin reassured. Not long after the Createrra rolled up. Koki jumped out along with Aviva and Jimmy.
“What did you get yourself into, Chris.”, Koki mumbled with furrowed brows, quickly unpacking the first aid kit. She quickly took out a vial and placed it into a syringe. Jimmy quickly turned away, feeling queasy and nervous. It was really dark now. Koki stabbed the needle into Chris’ leg and injected the anti-venom. Chris felt the relief almost immediately. The burning sensation slowly disappeared and the throbbing stopped. He sighed in relief and slumped onto the floor. Breathing heavily as Koki wrapped his leg with gauze.
“That was not a good experience. 0 out of 10. Would not recommend.”, Chris groaned.
“I bet it wasn’t.”, Martin frowned, “A Gila monster’s bite force is really strong and its venom makes the pain even worse. It can cause swelling, a burning sensation and it reduces your blood pressure.”
“Lucky we have an ant-venom, huh.”, Jimmy said. They put Chris’ arms around their shoulders as they hoisted him into the Createrra. They quickly drove back to the Tortuga.
Chris limped over to the bean bags on the floor of the Tortuga and fell into them. He sighed as he let the bean bag consume his aching body. Martin came over to sit with him. “What movie do you wanna watch?”, he asked. Chris thought for a second.
“The Jungle Book?”, he suggested.
“Nice pick.”, Jimmy said before handing both of the brothers a bowl of popcorn. Aviva and Koki followed in after him, turning off the lights in the process. Sitting next to the boys. They all got comfortable as the movie started.
While Chris had picked the movie, he couldn’t help thinking back to the events of today. Obviously getting bit by a Gila monster was not a part of the plan. He definitely didn’t blame the Gila monster as it was just defending itself. A small shake on his shoulder woke him from his little trance. “Hey, bro. You okay?”, Martin whispered to him. Chris smiled.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”