~Six days prior~

The sensation of pain had always been a familiar motivating force in Randall Boggs life. Starting in his childhood all the way to his years spent in the factory. But it had never quite been so sharp before. Atleast not since losing in the Scare Games in college or more recently, when his most important invention to date had been ripped away and dismantled right before his very eyes. He had thought his days of living in the gutters of society and fighting tooth and claw were behind him. That he had finally risen above his peers in a world he had staked claim on. He'd be damned if he'd let some pathetic monster take away everything he worked towards. Everything he fought for. But there he had been, fumbling around in a new dangerous world that would sooner see him dead.

And here he was even now, eyes straining through the dark and body trembling in agony as he fought for each shallow breath. His body felt weak, his heart was fluttering, and his mind was struggling to make sense of the world around him. To say his head felt swimming would be an understatement. It felt more like his entire brain had been sucked into a blender, churned until his senses were mush and the contents splattered into the world like an abstract art piece put on display in the God's forsaken swamp of who knows where.

The smell of iron filled his nose and assaulted his tongue with it's sickening taste. And yet, somehow, he could still smell the scent of fresh earth, wind and ozone, the promise of a coming rain. His head turned weakly from side to side, feeling the thick mud caking in his mottled purple scales. He couldn't move. No, more so he shouldn't move. Everything ached and stung and screamed at him to do the exact opposite. So instead he remained limp and listened as best as he could to the world around him, eyes unfocused as they stared into the nothing. But no, he actually couldn't move. His hands and legs were bound. He tried to open his mouth to scream out and only managed a pathetic hiss before gagging against a small bit of torn duct tape wrapped around his maw. His throat stung in pain at the attempt.

'Where the hell am I?!' Randall screamed internally. The last thing he had remembered was the chaos and turmoil of the factory and being banished into the human world with the other monsters. The fall to the ground, the landing, the ensuing chaos as he was beaten by that awful old wretch and her son. And now he lay here. Covered in his own blood and bound on some cold piece of canvas that made an irritating flapping noise against the small rush of wind coming in.

The restraints were scratchy and rough, probably rope judging by the texture. And this damnable darkness wasn't just a lack of light. Even his eyes were blinded by a cloth. The only thankful thing he could make out was his injured arm wasn't wrapped nearly as tight and that there seemed to be some type of dressing against the side of his head where his injuries were. 'Humans must have done this..' As much as it angered him, he remained limp, allowing his senses to drift and rove about the world. Listening and feeling and tasting and smelling the area as much as possible to gather a vague idea of where he might be and what was going on. Soon enough he painted an image in his mind.

It was hard to tell through the dark and pain, but he seemed to be in some sort of vehicle that was bouncing along a very uneven road. Probably a van given how long he was and how spacious his prisoners quarters seemed to be. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he must've been captured. Though the human or humans in question weren't the ones he was previously dealing with. Otherwise he wouldn't be ruminating here about it. The last one had tried to end him. No, this was a different set of humans. Probably not aware of just what it was they were carrying in their cargo hold. There was an open window, cool air and a drizzle of rain. Not to mention he could smell the sickening scent of oil and gasoline and even hear the tell tale clacking of windshield wipers going at it.

'That's it. I'm done.' Randall thought to himself as he suddenly jumped to action. It was stupid and a sure fire way to end up worse. But he couldn't just lie here and do nothing. No. Not if it meant he had a chance. He rubbed his head against the tarp until he caught enough of the bunched fabric around his eyes and shook his head until it slid down his snout. And finally he had the chance to open his eyes, adjusting to the darkness around him and looking towards a small sliver of light cracking through the underside of a door. There wasn't much else he could do in terms of his other bindings, but this was at least something. The world still swayed around him, but at least now he could make out vague shapes in the darkness.

He listened hard for anything to indicate if the driver was paying attention their captive. It seemed he had a fair amount of freedom in that regard. So long as he wasn't loud, it looked like he could manage something. The loose rope around his injured wrist was an opportunity in disguise. With enough fidgeting, he managed to untangle the rope from his arm, working the restraints back and forth. And then with a significant amount of effort, he sucked in some breath and yanked his limbs free. Pain lanced up his arm at the action, making his breath catch and body tense.

But it worked! One set of his arms was free. He had a chance of making it out. All he had to do was get this stupid duct tape off his mouth.

Unfortunately, his thoughts were quickly cut short when the sharp sound of a dog barking resounded, causing his fronds to raise and his eyes to widen. It was followed by another. Then another, this time followed by a persistent wet nose pressed to the small gap of the door. The sounds of nails scraping against the underside followed. And Randall knew he was probably screwed.

"Blondie boy!" A female voice shouted in an awkwardly high pitched tone. There was a pause, and Randall hoped the human would stay in his seat, but she spoke again. "Come here." Another pause. "I said come here, Blondie! Right now. Leave it."
Blondie apparently got the hint as he heard the nails leave and the vehicle start to slow, much to Randall's displeasure.

"One quick pit stop then it's off to Forever Wild. That okay with you, Blondie?" Came the voice again as the vehicle came to a complete stop. Blondie apparently yipped and jumped excitedly as the woman giggled, "That's a yes, alright! I know, you want out. One second buddy. Want to make sure out gecko is okay back there."

Randall bristled. 'Not a gecko!' His eyes snapped back to the underside of the door as he listened carefully, the sounds of a woman humming a tune before the door opened a crack and the interior of the room became significantly brighter. He had a split second to decide if he wanted to try anything or play the stupid animal and stay as still as he could. Unfortunately, the split second was all it took. He had been caught and the jig was up.

The door opened, the woman entered, and their eyes locked in a mutual moment of surprise. Both humans and monster had an expression of wide eyes and gaping mouths as they looked at one another in the brief moment it took to fully process the situation. Then it clicked for the human, the woman screamed out a loud "OH FU-!", and Randall pounced. Not like a skilled predator of the dark, but a flopping eel with too many limbs and no coordination.

In that instant, Randall didn't care about the pain lancing up his limbs and shooting through his head. He didn't care about how weak his body was, or the fact he was injured and barely alive. All he knew was he had to take out that human or he wouldn't get out of here. He would never be free to continue his life as he once knew it. All that mattered was surviving the situation and finding a way to make it home. So he acted.

He slammed into her, forcing her off balance, sending them both toppling onto the ground. And in a desperate frenzy, he lashed out and wrapped his maw around her arm. The taste of blood flooded his taste buds as his teeth pierced into flesh, earning him a loud shriek from the human as he felt her fist slam against the side of his head. Stars bloomed in his vision as his head pounded painfully and the room began to sway but he didn't relent.

"Oh you shit-!" the woman gasped and struggled, prying his jaw off her arm, causing his teeth to scrape down the skin and leaving deep punctures that began to gush crimson blood. With his hold broken, Randall moved away, feeling his head beginning to throb and pound from the force of her blow.

Randall hissed out, "I won't let you kill me!" He tried to scramble away as fast as his body would take him, crashing into the wall and panting hard. But as he glanced back towards the human, he knew the situation had just taken a turn for the worse.
She was staring at him, her face red as she struggled to breathe, her chest heaving from adrenaline and her eyes wide and horrified. Blondie had pushed his head into the opening and was barking at the scene, trying to squeeze inside but was blocked by the human crumbled on the ground.

"You talk." The woman spoke. "You just-."

"Shut up!" Randall shouted back.

"You just spoke. Holy sh-. No! I am not doing this!" the woman shook her head. She quickly jumped back up onto her feet and reached into her back pocket to grab a small vial. It wasn't a weapon, atleast not at first glance, but Randall wasn't going to take chances. Not with what happened earlier. The room began to spin, the pounding of his head becoming increasingly more noticeable, his breath coming in sharp and short gasps. The last thing he remembered was seeing her approach him with a syringe and then everything went black.