"Gone out. Will return soon. Do not leave the sewers
William," the small crocodilian said as he read the note his father left him.

William snorted at this. Dad always spent time away, though he didn't understand why. So now, he was stuck in the damp, grimy underground of the sewers.
Although it doesn't mean he should stay there forever. Even though Dad told him not to go anywhere, there was nothing stopping him from going away for a bit. He did it once before, and nothing bad happened last time. Just gotta make
sure he didn't stay outside for too long, before Dad comes home. He turned around and headed back to his room, which was a small room with a mattress and several clothing lying on the floor. He grabbed an oversized hoodie off the floor, just big enough to cover him up. Everytime he had to head outside, he made sure to wear something that hid the fact that he was a walking, talking crocodile, something Dad told him to do.

"People are going to always act scared of you," Dad told him once. "Never talk to them, and try to hide who you are."

Now that he disguised himself, he felt it was safe to head outside. He began to leave, but he stopped when he was at the canal of water near his home.

Footsteps.

Crap. It looked like Dad got home a little earlier than he would have liked. Maybe he could wait until the next time he left, and he could try again. He faced where the footsteps were coming from, only to freeze up at what he found. Instead of the familiar sight of his dad, there was a group of men, all of them holding guns.

"Nab him!" one of them shouted. Without thinking, William  dived into the canal, legs quickly kicking into overdrive as he swam away from the intruders.
Oh crap, oh crap, William thought as he escaped. What was he going to do!? Why were those men after him!? With all those weapons they were carrying, he doubted they came down here in peace. Believing he was far enough away from his pursuer, William  emerged from the water, catching his breath. What would Dad want him to do if he got caught in something like this? William racked his head, trying to remember what his dad taught him what to do, but all he could remember was that he must run away as fast as he could, but he didn't tell him what to do when the bad guys found him at home. Where should he run away to? How could he reach his dad? Don't panic now. Just calm down a bit, thought Will. Those guys were most likely still here, looking for him, so they'll spread out in order to catch him. If he waited long enough, they may end up far away from home to allow him to head back there, right where Dad would be waiting for him. That seemed like his best shot, but when would he return? For all he knew, he could have been gone for a minute and won't come back for an hour.

Just going to have to risk it, thought William. He dived back into the water and began looking for a spot he could hide out in. It wouldn't be too hard to do, after all. He knew all the secret spots in the sewers, so chances are he'll find a place that none of those guys know about. Eventually, he crawled out of the canal after reaching a secluded spot. It was a small hole in the wall that nobody could get into, except for him. He squeezed himself into the opening, hoping it was just enough to hide himself from the pursuers. Last time he was here, he was playing hide-and-seek with Dad, and he was able to hide from him for a long time. The only reason why he found him was because he tracked his scent. He shuddered a bit at that. Would that be the last time he'll ever get to play with him? What if those thugs capture and hurt him badly? What if Dad didn't come back in time to save him?

"Damn, it's not over here." William held his breath at that voice, trying to remain as still as he could.

"It must've got away or something. Maybe it ran outside, said the second man.

"Better not. If we lose it, we lose our chance at leverage on that freak." said the first man.

"Well, I've been thinking for a little bit. It's a crocodile, right?"

"That's what everyone's saying, but I think it's still a guy."

"It's definitely a crocodile. Don't think I heard of anybody looking like that. Well, if it's a crocodile, then it'll stay here, right where it's warm. We shouldn't try searching outside."

As the conversation went on, William started to feel a familiar itching in his nose. Crap, not now! Out of all chances, this was the worst time to sneeze!

"Boss man said that nobody spotted him again, so that prick can't still be here. No, it got away from us, and we're just wasting our-

ACH-000!

William covered his snout, realizing what he just did. The two men fell quiet; the only sound William heard now was his deafening heartbeat. He sat there in anxious silence, hoping that by some miracle, the men would just ignore it and move on. His hopes vanished when he heard one of the thugs walking up to where he was hidden. He kneeled over, lowering himself until he was face-to-face with William.
His hands shot out to grab William , trying to rip him out from his spot.

"No! Stop it! Don't touch me!" cried Will. He tried to push himself out of reach, but there was no more space for him to move around.

"Stop squirming, you little shit! Jack, help me with this!" The thug said.

Soon, William was grabbed hold of by Jack, who pulled him out roughly and threw him to the ground.
He started to get up, ready to run, only for one of the thugs to stomp on his tail. He howled in pain as one of the thugs came up behind him and restrained him. William trashed wildly, trying to kick, punch, claw, anything, just to get the thug to release him, but nothing seemed to work. The thug wasn't hurt by William.

"Settle down, freak show," said the second man, who William realized as Jack. "You don't give my friend a break here, might have to smack some manners in you. You follow?"

"Just call the boss already! This thing is stronger than it looks!" said the first man. Nothing was working on him! No matter what he tried, he couldn't break out of his tight grip. There was one move left, though it was one he wasn't going to be proud of.

"Ok, ok, just relax. They'll be there in a flash." Jack pulled out what Willy recognized as a cell phone.

"Yeah, this is Jack. I just caught our little friend here. We're over at-'

William opened his snout as wide as he could, and in one swift motion, bit off one of the thug's fingers.

"Ah, fuck!" he screamed. He released William . He charged forward to the canal.

"He's getting away! He's heading in deeper!" William heard Jack say as he plunged back in. He spat the finger that was in his snout, grimacing at how horrible it tasted. He made a wrong turn. He should have tried heading outside, far away from the bad guys. But if he went out there, how could Dad find him?

And going to where the bad men are is better? Smart move, William berated himself. His escape was interrupted when he felt a sharp pain in his arm, making him unable to continue swimming. He looked at what was causing it, until he felt a pair of hands ripping him out from underwater.
He was facing several thugs now, none of them he
recognized.

"Nice shooting. We got 'em."

Shooting? He looked at his right arm, where he felt pain shooting up. He eyed a small hole in his arm, which was bleeding. He turned back to the man standing in front of the group, guessing that he was the leader.

"Please, let me go. I promise, I won't say anything." Will said.

The leader shook his head. "Can't do that, kid. You're too valuable now. It's not everyday you get to find a way to control a monster." He scratched his chin at that.

"Wonder why he kept you. He had to know you were a liability." He said.

"Please, I'm begging you!"

"Oh, we're not going to hurt you much. We're just going to take you to your new home. Hopefully, that will be enough to keep your daddy in line," he growled at that last part. No, no, this can't keep happening! They were going to hurt him!

"DAD! DAD, HELP ME!" he screamed as loud as he
could.

"Don't even try, little fish. Your daddy ain't around here, now. Just us now." The leader said.

"Is that so?"

Will's heart lifted at the sound of that voice. He never thought he could be this happy to hear it.

"Dad!"

Through the crowd, he spotted a crocodilian man wearing a torn black jacket and faded pants. His snout his pulled into a snarl at what he was seeing.

"Looks like we have a few unexpected guests today." Croc said. The leader gulped at this.

"Killer Croc. Wasn't expecting you to come back so early." He said.

Dad shrugged his shoulders at that. "And I wasn't expecting my boy here to be spending time with the city folks, but life is full of little surprises like that."

Despite the fact that he looked as though he was prepared to lunge at the group, he kept a jovial tone, as if he was just talking about the weather.

"We were getting along real fine here with your kid here. We were thinking of taking him back with us." the leader said in an even tone, though William noticed his face was breaking out in sweat.

Dad looked at the leader, staring him down before he said, "I think you know what the answer to that is."
The standoff went on in uncomfortable silence, neither group moving a muscle. They opened fire on Dad, who pounced on one of them. Taking advantage of the chaos, William ran to where his dad
came from, waiting for the fight to subside. He looked back to see if Dad was doing fine, only to regret doing so. He was tearing through the entire gang at blinding speed, taking them down one by one. He tore one's neck out, impaled another, and even smashed one of their head against the wall. William couldn't bear to watch it. He knew they hurt him, but did they really deserve... that? When the gang was reduced to just one man, he slowly
trudged up to him. The man tried to shoot him, but it failed. The bullets failed to pierce his thick hide. Dad gripped him by the neck tightly, growling in his face.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't have you as a snack today." Croc said.

"Ju- just make it quick," he gasped out.

Dad gave a tight smile at that. "Well, it just so happens that today's your lucky day. There is a reason for me to spare you after all, so you get to breathe just a little longer. Though on one condition...

He threw him to the ground, then ripped out one of the sewer pipes.

"Wait!" The thug held his hand in pleading, but it was too late. He swung the pipe at his head, producing a dull clunk! The thug fell to the ground unconscious, blood now seeping out of his head.
Dad threw the pipe to the ground, making it clatter.

"Pitiful," he muttered. "William?" he spoke in a gentler tone.

"You there? It's safe now." He said to his son.

He stepped away from where he was standing and he began to approach Dad. When he reached him, he hugged him, taking in as much comfort as he could from him.

"It was so horrible, Dad!" he said in a shaky voice. "

"They chased me, and hit me, and shot me, and-"

Dad shushed him. "It's ok. You don't need to say anything. William began crying, hugging him tighter, hoping for all of today to just disappear.