Gators 'R' Safe!

Shaun stumbled his way through the brush, pushing branches and leaves out of his way. He wasn’t going to admit that the path he was on before had ended almost half a mile back. Thinking it was just a small overgrown area, he had ploughed on through into his current predicament. The Everglades never really had a reputation of being safe however, Shaun was not in the mood to argue with himself. He had made a promise to finally explore it. His friends had warned him not to do it countless times but he wasn’t listening.

As he pushed another branch out of the way, he didn’t notice the cottonmouth in front, tracing his every step. Shaun wasn’t very observant. Again, he knew this but it still wasn’t going to stop him. As the snake saw him draw closer, it slowly opened it’s mouth revealing it’s white maw. Surely a death sentence for any unsuspecting college student doing their best to get lost in this dangerous place. Luckily for Shaun, a nearby snapping branch distracted him. As the snake lunged towards him, it missed entirely, embedding it’s fangs on a tree branch. It struggled to free itself as Shaun carried on his pointless journey, oblivious. Even the snake couldn’t help feeling that this man was a bit of a fool.

Shaun felt his foot drop as he almost stepped right into one the area's famous waterways. He was just able to grab a nearby branch to stop himself, almost hanging over the water. Regaining his balance, he surveyed the area. A large body of water lay ahead of him, almost motionless with only small ripples emanating from the light breeze in the air. He heard it run through the leaves in the trees as he closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. Finally, the peace I was looking for he thought to himself.

“You look lost”
Shaun’s eyes opened as he looked around desperately for the source of the disturbance.
“Over here.” the voice called again. He looked down to see a man standing in the chest-high water. He wore a camo skin-tight diving suit accompanied by the shiniest reflective glasses Shaun had ever seen. Blankly, he stared up at the lost wanderer.
“I- I might not be!” Shaun replied, caught off guard.
“Relax bud, I’m not a cop.” The man jokingly reached his right hand towards his mouth, mimicking a hidden microphone. Shaun chuckled in an uncomfortable manner.
“What are you doing out here?” 
“I’m..” The Stranger paused, his expression not changing. “A biologist.”

Eyebrows raised, Shaun started to slowly back away back into the brush. The Stranger however, remained emotionless as he reached into his pocket. Pulling out a pack of cigarettes, he put one in his mouth while pulling out another to offer to Shaun. 
“No! A- Aren’t they wet-” Shaun stopped himself as the Stranger quickly struck a match off of the surface of the water. Where the match came from and how he did this was a complete mystery to the lost man.

“Look kid, I’ve been sneaking off to this place for years too.” The Stranger explained. “I know what it's like, you heard the call of nature and you found yourself the biggest toilet you could get. I know!” His tone was cool as he occasionally puffed from his cigarette.
“Toile-” Shaun was about to question the man’s words when he suddenly spied something in the water. “Oh god!” He pointed behind the Stranger. “There’s something in the water!”

The Stranger’s expression didn’t change. He turned his head towards a dark shape that appeared near him.
“Oh, that’s just Tibby.”
“Tibby?!” Shaun replied, flabbergasted. The shape drew closer to the Stranger until it was right next to him.
“Yeah, he’s a friend of mine.”

Slowly the dark shape increased in size until the largest, meanest alligator Shaun had ever seen, surfaced. Mouth agape, Shaun could only stare as the man began to tickle it’s chin. It seemed to almost purr at this show of affection. 
“You see, gators like Tibby here have been getting a bad rep for a long time.” The man pleaded. “They’re actually really sweet and loving folk.”
“I think that thing would rather eat me than befriend me.” Shaun replied.
“You got it all wrong, just like every other city-slicker” He looked directly at the beast. “You wouldn’t eat me now would you?”

To Shaun’s amazement, the creature distinctly shook it’s head. How the hell did that just happen… He thought to himself. For the first time since meeting him, the Stranger smirked.
“Why don’t you hop on in? It beats swimming with Dolphins”

Shaun thought to himself for a while about the offer. While it seemed dangerous at first, this guy had just proven that at least this animal wasn’t likely to harm him. He nodded, tearing off his shoes and trousers. The Stranger smiled and gave a sly nod towards the gator who slowly approached the shore. Taking a big run forward, Shaun leaped right into the gaping jaw of Tibby who immediately descended beneath the waterline. The Stranger winced a bit as he saw first, a finger then a leg, followed by a large quantity of blood floating up. 

Eventually the beast re-submerged. It approached the man who let out a genuine smile, patting the alligator on the head again.
“Good boy, Tibby!” He congratulated the animal as it purred. “That was the quickest one yet.” The diver repositioned himself, he was secretly down on his knees rather than standing. He stood up so the water was only just above his knees. Patting the scars on his belly, he couldn’t help chuckling.
“You know. This could only happen in Florida.” He glanced down at Tibby who looked up with a glint in his eye. “Let’s go, Tib. I need to rest a bit” They both started to wade out away from the shoreline, the man slowly fading away in a ghostly manner.