The Ludicrous Escapade Pt.3

Venomous Bite

"Eh?" Johnny decided he should get on his horse to make moving around a bit easier for himself. He held his gun tightly in one hand.

You took your gaze to the skies. "The balloons have all landed by now. They wouldn't really need to worry about disqualification if they were to attack us."

"All right! Stop right there!" Gyro's voice echoed out across the desert. "Don't come any closer!" The approaching horseman didn't respond. "Hey, I'm talking to you! I told you to stop right there!"

The man looked up. "D-Don't shoot! I mean no harm! I came here because I saw the fire!"

"Meaning harm or no harm, I'll judge that after you leave." Gyro would rather not take the chance when dealing with a stranger.

"I was bitten!" The stranger held up their left hand. Two of the fingers were swollen. "This is bad! Real bad! I was squatting down and taking a dump when my fingers were bit! Shiiiit!" He hastily unmounted his horse.

"Hey! What are you doing, asshole! Don't make me tell you to stay away again!" Gyro's right hand hovered over a steel ball, ready to throw if necessary. "Johnny, what did he say he was bitten by?"

"He hasn't said yet." Responded the Joestar.

"It was a yellow and black lizard!" Clarified the man. "When I was trying to wipe my ass, it was hiding behind the shit! Please give me some fire from your campfire! I want to burn and clean the wound!"

"The lizard's a spotted salamander." Or at least, Johnny assumed so.

"Are you sure? As far as I'm aware, salamanders aren't venomous. They do secrete poison from their skin, but it would be mildly irritating to a human at most." Though you supposed it was possible that salamanders were a little bit different in the universe you were currently in.

"Do you think it's a fake wound, then?" Gyro turned to you now, since you seemed to know a lot about salamanders and lizards for some reason.

"It's possible. But it may have just been a different animal." Following Iggy's death, you had done a fair amount of research here and there to find a pet for Santana. "Maybe it was a Gila Monster? Their bites aren't typically life threatening, but they can be painful and cause swelling like we're seeing now. Or perhaps it was a small snake that he mistook for a lizard?"

Gyro considered your words and turned to the man again. "Well, that's too bad. Wait for the rescue group."

"What're you talking about?! Would they even come at night? I'll be dead by morning! Just give me some fire, please!"

"Are you going to let him die?" Asked Johnny, not sure if this was really the right way to go about things.

"I dunno..." Gyro took another look at the begging man. "I don't trust him. He's a strange guy." He picked up a stick and then used the campfire to light the end. "I won't let you near us, but I'll give you a lit piece of wood. Go ahead and start your own campfire to clean it!"

The man got down on his knees, spewing out words of gratitude. Then he undid his belt, looped it around his neck, and tied the ends to a tree branch and his left foot.

"Hey, what're you doing?" The Zeppeli didn't approve of the man's methods.

"It's anesthesia." The man could barely choke out the words as the belt tightened around his neck. He brought a knife to his swelled up fingers. "Since I'm going to cut off the poisoned part of my skin, I'll need a painkiller. I invented this way myself... it's out of this world. Don't ever try this. I always let the girls strangle me." The blade began cutting through his skin. "Juuuust before I pass out!"