Okefenokee Swamp, Florida…

It was a beautiful, hot summer day in the Okefenokee Swamp of northern Florida, particularly in the areas where the water cooled the air and the trees provided ample shade to the animals relaxing beneath. Exotic birds sang as they darted between branches, otters splashed in the water in a game of catch-the-fish, and alligators basked in the sunlight, occasionally eyeing one of the few black bears that passed by for a drink at the river. Everything was peaceful within the confines of the Okefenokee wildlife reserve… Save a group of thrill-seekers boating their way down the river in a large canoe. The group of three brothers were discussing with each other as to what they should do now that they had made it so far into the swampland.

"I can't wait to snatch up one of them gators!" The man on the rear of the canoe said, as he steered the canoe around a fallen tree with his oar. "How 'bout you, Hank? You can get a good couple o' bucks fer one of them hides."

"I can't wait either." The man on the front of the canoe, 'Hank', agreed, pushing the bow of the watercraft away from a protruding rock. "Ma said she wanted a new lawn mower. Wouldn't hurt to indulge the ol' bird."

"I just wanna go home, Frank…" The man in the middle whined to the rear-most brother, hunched over with a scowl on his face. "Mah arm still hurts where it got cut on the fence."

"Told ya to duck, Richard." Frank said, shrugging. "Them fences are sharp."

"Why'd we have to cut through it anyways?" Richard asked. "Couldn't we have found a gator where we're allowed to boat around?"

The other two brothers both shook their heads. "Them gators outside the fence are too tiny." Hank explained, turning around to face his younger sibling. "We gotta get one inside the… 'special area'."

"Hush your mouths!" Frank snapped, "There's one now!" He pointed forward to where the water was rippling from an alligator having just dipped beneath the surface. "Richard, gimme the hook 'n' meat."

Reluctantly, Richard reached down to the floor of the canoe and picked up a rope tied to a large hook on one end. Stabbed onto the hook was a large hunk of raw chicken, still damp with juices and smelling rather putrid in the hot sun. Richard handed the hook and meat to Frank, who rested his oar on his seat and gripped the two ends of the rope in either hand. Eyeing the spot where the potential boots and handbag had submerged, he tossed the hook forward onto the ripples and wrapped the rope around one hand.

All three bothers sat in silence as they waited for the alligator to take hold, and eventually, something did. The rope went taught, and Frank yanked hard, causing the hook to pull loose from whatever it had snagged. Dragging the rope and hook back into the canoe, the brothers eyed what was now hanging from the end of the hook: A small chunk of flesh with a sharp, curved tooth dangling by a bloody thread of skin.

"Dammit, Frank, you pulled too hard!" Hank snapped at his brother. "Richard, give 'im another piece o' chicken. We'll get this gator yet."

Richard reached towards a Ziploc bag containing several more chicken chunks, but something interrupted him by slamming into the bottom of the canoe. Jumping in their seats, the three siblings' eyes darted about the surface of the water to try and spot their new attacker.

"Oh $#*&! We've pissed him off now!" Hank laughed, brandishing his oar like a club to whack anything that might poke its head out of the water. Unfortunately, to the trio's utter surprise, a large, green, leathery fist punched through the floor of the canoe. Richard screamed, Frank swore, and Hank, who had perched himself on the bow of the canoe, fell backwards into the river.

"Hank!" Frank shouted, "We'll save you!" But Frank and Richard never got the chance to rescue their brother. The canoe was rapidly filling with water, and the watercraft-vandal had now found a grip on the side of the canoe. With a mighty tug, the entire canoe flipped upside down, throwing Frank and Richard into the cool waters alongside their brother, the latter of whom was scrambling for the bank of the river. Frank tried to follow suit, but he was suddenly yanked beneath the water, causing Richard to scream once again. Finally reaching the river bank, Hank and Richard clambered ashore and ran to the nearest tree large enough to hide behind. Peeking out from their new hiding place, the two scanned the area frantically for any sign of their eldest brother.

They didn't have long to wait. With a terrified yell, Frank was thrown from the water onto the bank, hacking and coughing as he quickly rose to his feet. "Run!" He shouted, "He don't want us here!" Hank and Richard exchanged fearful glances as Frank charged past them, before joining their brother in his retreat.

As they ran, Richard glanced back to see if he could spot what had ruined their gator-hunting trip. And as he did so, he vowed never to return to the Okefenokee Swamp, for fear of what laid within…

2 Months Later,

San Francisco Zoo,

San Francisco, California…

Rachael Razar was just finishing her shift in the Reptile House of the San Francisco Zoo, and she was on her way to clock out before heading home. She had lived in San Francisco all her life, and was now living on her own in her parents' house while they were on a mission trip to Uganda. Being twenty-six, Rachael had her life mostly in order, but while she enjoyed her job at the zoo and her current living conditions, she couldn't help but want something more. Something like what her parents were doing: A brand new experience to test her dedication and resilience, and to possibly show her a new way of living. For her, anything would be better than the routine she found herself stuck in currently. Little did she know that the opportunity she was looking for was waiting just around the corner… Literally.

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As Rachael stepped around the corner of the rear hallway of the reptile house, her boss's office door flew open and a young man no older than herself came stumbling out of it, almost tripping into the tortoise exhibit. "Oh yeah?! Well the same to you, you stuck up stick-in-the-mud!" The man shouted back as the door slammed behind him. The man wore a casual outfit consisting of blue jeans, an Hawaiian polo shirt, and colorful blue-and-green running shoes. His messy brown hair seemed to match his odd appearance and his irritated attitude. Dusting himself off, the man eyed Rachael, whom had stopped to watch the scene unfold in front of her. "…Quite the spectacle, huh?" He deadpanned. He looked like he was about to say something more, but then he caught sight of Rachael's employee name tag. "Oh, you'd just side with that old fart anyways. Nevermind…"

Racahel blinked in a mix of surprise and confusion. "Um, what? I don't even know what's happening… May I ask what is?"

"Oh, nothing too important." The man sighed, seating himself on a viewing bench adjacent to the crocodile pen. "I'm just trying to find a place for someone to stay, and that old wackjob wouldn't listen to my proposition. And I was going to pay for everything. What an experience it could have been too…"

This caught Rachael's attention. "An… An experience?" She repeated, taking a step forward. "How so?"

Watching Rachael from the corner of his eye, the man continued. "You see, I'm trying to find a temporary home for a friend of mine. He can't live where he came from right now, so I need to find a residence capable of housing him for a short while. Nothing too big, either. Just a place for him to stay while I sort out what needs to be sorted."

Rachael mulled this over in her mind. She had plenty of room back home. Not to mention the man's mention of paying for everything as well… But wait! This was a complete and total stranger in front of her, looking for a place to house another total stranger. "…Who is this person that you're trying to help?" Rachael asked warily, unsure why she was continuing this conversation.

"This is where most people turn away…" The man muttered. "He's a demi-human." As the words left his mouth, Rachael tensed up automatically. The demi-humans were a major issue in California. Half of the population wanted to turn the state into a Safe-State for the demi-humans, while the rest of it wanted to shun the demies from society altogether. One had to be careful when bringing up demi-humans in a conversation, because it often sparked massive arguments between people who had different views of the situation. Rachael tried her best to avoid these sorts of things, but it was ultimately impossible to ignore. The zoo itself had announced that it refused to hire any and all demi-humans, so it was no wonder that the man had been kicked out of the manager's office. Noticing the tensed expression on Rachael's face, the man shook his head. "I knew it. You're just like the rest. Too afraid to help someone in need just because they're different than you. You people are all the-"

"Excuse me," Rachael said sternly, "I haven't said anything yet. It just took me by surprise. It's not often that you hear of someone going to any sort of length to help a demi-human. And of course, before I consider anything, I'd need some more information. For starters, I don't even know who I'm talking to."

Hearing that Rachael might possibly cooperate, he noticeably perked up. "Well then, the name's Lanardo." The man said as he rose to his feet and extending a hand in greeting, which Rachael shook. "Lanardo John Di'Andreas. And the demi-human in question is named Kragar, a… Lizardman, as it were. The conflicts between humans and demi-humans back in his homeland of Florida got a little, how to say it… Out of hand. That said, I was assigned to relocate him out of harm's way temporarily, until things blow over in Florida. So far, I've been through four states and still can't find him a home." Lanardo slumped down onto the bench again and massaged his temples, his sudden, peppy mood disappearing as quickly as it had come on. "I'm running out of time to get this done, and if I fail…" He shuddered suddenly, as though he didn't want to think about it. This raised a bit of concern with Rachael, for even though she aimed to remain neutral on the demi-human situation, she felt that no one should be mistreated for no reason other than the generic conflict.

Against her better judgement, Rachael asked the question that took the conversation in the direction most would try to avoid. "What would it take for someone to house him?"

"Nothing too grand." Lanardo answered with a slight shrug. "Just a few very minor modifications to the home in order to accommodate his demi-half. All paid for by moi, of course."

"You can do that? Just pay for everything like it's nothing?" Rachael questioned, finding that a little bit suspicious.

Lanardo steepled his fingers and looked Rachael in the eye. "Well, you see, I run a small business that specializes in helping demi-humans in times of need. All profit is from donations, and most people want us dead for devoting our time to aiding demi-humans. But, if you were to decide to help a poor, helpless demi, it would be entirely off the public record to keep you from being a target by those bent on abolishing peace."

"So, what exactly will happen if this demi-human, - Kragar was it? – doesn't find a home?" Rachael asked.

"The death penalty." Lanardo replied bluntly.

"What?!" Rachael yelped. "Why that serious? What did he do?"

"Nothing, really. It's simply because there are more people in Florida that would rather have demies gone than let them stay."

"But that's insane!"

"You're telling me, sister." Lanardo sighed once more. "So that's my situation. Would you be willing to help?"

Rachael was torn, now. She knew that having a demi-human living with her would undoubtedly bring negative attention, but what if Lanardo couldn't find Kragar a home at all? What if she was the decider as to whether this demi-human lived? If she said no, and then later found out that Lanardo had failed in his quest…

"I'll do it."

Lanardo looked utterly shocked. "W-What? Really?" He clasped his hands together, and a happy grin spread across his face. "That's great! Oh my gosh, thank you!" He grabbed Rachael's right hand and shook it, at the same time slipping her a business card. All that was on the card was Lanardo's full name (which she already knew) and his phone number below that.

Rachael saw the number, a realized that Lanardo would need hers too. "Oh, here's mine…" She said as she pulled out her phone to give Lanardo her own number. As she did so, she couldn't help but wonder what in the world she had just gotten herself into. She didn't nearly know enough about the situation to logically accept the proposition, but something deep down inside her told her that this could be the change she was looking for. Besides, she didn't have to worry about the cost of having a guest, and Lanardo has said it was just a lizardman, right? She had seen plenty of those around town, and was even occasionally fascinated by their use of their tails as a third "hand". What could possibly go wrong?

Once she and Lanardo had traded information, the man suddenly turned to leave. "Wait, is that it?" Rachael called after him, to which he nodded in answer.

"Yep. I'll contact you with details in a day or two. And again, thank you so much for saving the life of another person!" Before Rachael could say anything more, Lanardo slipped out the door of the reptile house, leaving Rachael to continue to question her recent decision. What on Earth had she just gotten herself into? What, indeed…