Lizard Part 4: Discoveries Susan and her son Andy were taking a picnic near a small stream outside of town. Woods surrounded the area. Andy loved playing in the stream, his fur soaking in the water. Susan sat on the bank watching her son play. It was a wonderful day. "Mommy," called Andy from the other side of the stream. "I bet you can't catch me." He took off running into the woods. Susan loved playing with Andy. She got up and took off after him. She could hear him giggling as he ran from her. She lost sight of him as he ran down a small hill. Suddenly she heard him scream. "Mommy!" "Andy?" she called back. "What's wrong?" She reached the top of the hill he ran down. Andy saw her and ran up to her. "Look, Mommy," he said. She saw a large white sheet caught in the trees. Ropes were connected to the sheet. The ropes reached down and connected to something. It was a person. She ran down to see if the person was badly injured. When she reached him, she screamed. It was a Homo Sapien. ------------------------------- The day was another beautiful day. Tim loved to walk through the neighborhood on sunny days. The sun warmed his scaly skin. He couldn't remember his past, but he loved his present. And his future looked good also. He had just come from a job interview at the local fast food restaurant. It went very well. And the best part was they provided on the job training. He hoped eventually he would remember some skills so he could get a better job. But, this one would give him money. That is if he gets the job. He passed a house with a moving van out front. Several people were moving furniture and things into the house. "Hey," Tim thought to himself. "Someone is moving in. I'll have to meet them when they gets settled." Tim looked for the new owners but could only see the movers. Tim walked up his driveway past the car. Someday he wanted to learn how to drive, but walking was more enjoyable. He entered his house and went straight to the kitchen. He was craving a tall glass of water. He grabbed a cup from the cupboard. He noticed a small piece of paper in the bottom of it. It was a note. It read, "If you are who I hope you are, follow the map on the left side of your left ankle." "Map?" Tim asked out loud. He looked at his ankle. Sure enough, lightly scratched onto his scales, was a map. And he knew where it was talking about. ------------------------------- Lt. Ned Boiger awoke. He looked around and realized he was in a hospital. The last thing he remembered was his plane's engine catching on fire. He ejected and landed in a forest. Somebody must have found him and brought him to the hospital. He sat up in bed and examined himself. He didn't seem to be injured badly. Although his head was throbbing. "I must have hit my head on a tree when I landed," he thought to himself. The door opened and a nurse walked in. Well, what he thought was nurse walked in. What he saw was a deer. A deer that was wearing clothes and walking on its hind legs. "When did I get to Disney Land?" he asked. "I see you are wide awake," the nurse said. That startled Ned. But it did make since. Any deer that wears clothes and walks on its hind legs should talk, too. He must have hit his head harder than he thought. "If I may," the deer nurse asked him. She was definitely female. "might I ask you your name? I need it for the records." The name John DOE popped into his head, but he decided it wouldn't be the time to make a joke. "Lt. Ned Boiger," he said. "Lt. Boiger," she said writing his name on her clip board, "where did you come from? We haven't seen a Homo Sapien before. They were extinct thousands of years ago." "What?" Ned shouted. "What do you mean?" "If you would just tell me where you are from," she continued. "A doctor who is an expert on Homo Sapiens will be here shortly. He will answer your questions." Ned stared at her. She met his gaze. "Georgia," he said eventually. "Atlanta, Georgia." "Do you remember how you got here?" the nurse asked. "My plane was crashing, so I ejected. I landed in a forest. The next thing I know I'm here." The nurse wrote all that down. "Thank you Lt. Boiger. You seem to be in good health, but I can't be sure. I've never dealt with a Homo Sapien before." With that she left the room. Ned leaned back in bed and tried to think of an explanation for what was happening. The only thing that he could come up with was a "Planet of the Apes" scenario. The door opened again and two creatures walked in. One was a humanoid boar. The other was a humanoid camel. "Lt. Boiger," the boar said, "I'm Dr. Casada. I am here because I have studied Homo Sapiens extensively." "What's going on here, Doc?" asked Ned. "Just relax, Lt. Boiger," the doctor said. "I am going to give you this shot." "What is it?" Ned asked. "It's a new rejuvenation formula," Dr. Casada replied. "It will cause you to go to sleep. But, when you wake up, you will be a new man." Ned noticed the camel trying to hold back a grin. "There. That wasn't bad. Now was it?" asked the doctor. Ned looked at the syringe. The doctor had given him the shot, and he didn't realize it. "Just relax, Lt. Boiger," the boar said. "We are going to take care of you." Ned felt light headed and very comfortable. Soon he was in a deep sleep. --------------------------------- "Nurse, we are taking the Homo Sapien to my facilities," Dr. Casada told the deer nurse. "We can treat him better there." Frank was pushing Lt. Boiger down the hall in a wheelchair. "Yes, Dr. Casada," the nurse replied. Dr. Casada caught up with Frank, and they both wheeled the human out to their car. After managing to get him into the back seat, Dr. Casada started driving to the outskirts of town. "So, Doc, I guess you never thought you would ever do on-location work," Frank said jokingly. "Shut up, camel man," Casada replied. "How's he doing back there?" Frank turned around to look at their passenger in the back seat. "He's coming along pretty fast. It looks like the transformation is almost complete." "Good," Casada said. "We are almost to the other car now." "Do you think this new stuff works?" Frank asked. "I mean the mind changing part." "It did in the lab," Casada replied. "His old memories should be overwritten with the new by now. We'll just have to wait until he wakes up." Casada hated doing this. He never wanted to change someone against their will. Like he was himself. But, he had to keep the project going in case Dr. Yonts returns. Casada pulled off onto the side of the road where they left the second car. They transferred Lt. Boiger into the driver seat of the other car. "Ow!" Frank yelled. "Did you have to change him into a porcupine?" "We needed one," Dr. Casada said. "You should be more careful." "Well, I got the prickly end," Frank said examining his wounded hand. "You'll live," Casada said. "Now, we need to leave before he wakes up. His new past says that he was driving to Yontsville and fell asleep at the wheel." "You got that detailed?" asked Frank. "We had to." They hopped into their car and drove off to the facility leaving the new porcupine behind. -------------------------------- Tim followed the map on his ankle to one of the path stones in his back yard. His curiosity drove him to find what the map was pointing to. Why was there a map scratched on his ankle? Who put it there? Hopefully the destination will tell him. He lifted the stone and saw loose dirt underneath. Something was buried there. He started digging with his hands. His claws were good at digging. When he dug about a foot down, he found something. It was a book. Tim went inside dusting the dirt off the book. He sat down in the chair in the living room and started reading. "I assume you followed the map," the book read. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Philip Yonts. If you are reading this, then I no longer exist. I think your name is Tim. Tim, in a way I am no more. But, in another way, I am you. Or you used to be me. Which ever you prefer. My body is no more. My Homo Sapien body was transformed into the lizard body you have now. My memories will eventually be erased. Thus, leaving a clean slate. So, you are actually your own person. "I know this might sound hard to believe. But, I know you don't remember your past. That is because your past was my life. It has been erased. I'll fill you in on the important details. One very important thing. Don't tell anyone about this journal. Your life may depend on it." Tim couldn't believe what he was reading. It was who he used to be. He had to read on. "I created this town you live in. It was all part of an experiment. It is called Localized Interaction of Zoological Anthropomorphics, Research and Development. LIZARD for short." Tim continued reading. To be continued.