Gary was never quite sure how it happened--he'd been working late, surveying a building site near a swampy creek, didn't finish up before dark. He'd been told stories about mysterious goings on at this creek, stories about the monstrous beasts that allegedly roamed the area late at night. But that just sounded like some claptrap from the locals and environmentalists who didn't want this area developed. He'd been contracted for a job and he was gonna do it.

But, it turned out the creek had other plans. He stepped wrong on a branch he though was more solid, and found himself knee deep in the creek mud. When he stepped out and scraped off the mud, he skin didn't feel like it used to, it felt...scaly. And his boots felt a few sizes too small. And his--*RIIIIIIP*. His work boots proved no match to his newly-formed claws and swelling--paws? Muscles strained and bulged, ripping through clothing and showing a new scaly hide. He felt a pressure at the back of his pants, as if some kind of mass was trying to escape his body, until *RIIIIIIP* again as a thick, powerful tail burst through the back of his jeans, wriggling around uncontrollably as Gary's mind was occupied elsewhere. The transformation climbed up to his head, where he felt a great pulling on his face, just pulling and pulling like his skull was trying to burst through his skin. In his stress he'd clenched his jaw shut, before jolting alert with how much force he put down into his jaw. He opened his eyes to see a massive snout right down his line of sight, one becoming filled with razor-sharp teeth.

Gary looked down at his hands in astonishment--big, meaty paws, tipped with dangerous claws and filled with strength. Out of his peripheral vision he caught a glimpse of his broad chest and tree-trunk legs.

"What...what happened to me?"

It's not a dream, but he'll learn to adapt.


Art by my excellent gator bro  mattmc95! I need to flesh this guy out more, scalies are fun.