"Owen, something's wrong. The Raptors have changed course again."
"This direction... the Great Lake? Why would they head there?"
Owen set down the tablet, a prickle of unease washing over him. "What's over there?"
"A massive herd of herbivores."
"That is about as bad as it gets."
"And... it seems that area is currently a Giganotosaurus territory."
Owen: "..."
Owen's expression soured. He keyed his radio. "Guys, get the tranquilizer rifles ready."
"For the Raptors?"
"For the Giganotosaurus. I'll handle the Raptors."
…
"Aook!"
Blue let out a sharp cry, her feet digging into the dirt as she skidded to a halt. The other three Raptors immediately mirrored her.
"Aook!" (Where is it?) — Charlie
"Aook!" (It's right here.) — Blue
"Aook!" (In the tree!) — Delta
As Delta's cry rang out, the four Raptors looked up in unison toward the fork of a tree. They had located the target of their training exercise.
"Aook!" (How do we get it?) — Echo
Before she could finish, Charlie lunged upward, hanging in the air for a fleeting second before gravity pulled him back down. Delta followed suit, but like Charlie, she caught nothing but air.
…
"How did that thing end up in a tree? Carried by a bird? No animal should actually like that scent," Barry said, leaning toward the windshield to squint at the cylinder in the branches.
"At least the Giganotosaurus isn't here. Owen, is there any way to make them stop?"
Barry turned to Owen, only to find him staring not at the Raptors, but into the distance.
"Impossible. Raptors won't give up on their target. We either have to wait for them to get it themselves, or we help them." Owen's voice was heavy. "Also... the Giganotosaurus is here."
Owen watched with grim focus as Carlo lay prone in the distance. Fortunately, the beast seemed to be sleeping. But why is he living with a herd of Parasaurolophus? Owen was an animal behaviorist, not a biologist. In his downtime, he preferred diving and playing pool to watching the Primeval Ecological Zone livestreams, so the anomaly was lost on him.
"What the... whose car is that? Are they insane?"
Suddenly, a Jeep appeared in his field of vision, heading straight toward the Giganotosaurus. Though they were moving slowly, there was no guarantee they wouldn't wake the predator.
"Who's in that car? Contact them, now!"
Owen looked at Barry, who was already on the radio. A response crackled through:
"Vehicle 4 copies. This is the Primeval Ecological Zone monitoring team. The Giganotosaurus's vitals look off; we're moving in to check on its status."
They weren't lying. Most dinosaurs have strict circadian rhythms; a predator like Carlo sleeping for such an extended period could be a sign of exhaustion from illness. While the park didn't provide medical treatment for "wild" animals in the zone, they still had to verify the status of the population.
"Of all the times to pick... fine." Owen figured that since they were professionals, they knew what they were doing. He refocused on the Raptors.
…
"Is this distance enough?"
"Plenty, plenty."
The Jeep stopped thirty meters from Carlo. A staff member in a green uniform poked his head through the sunroof, binoculars in hand.
"Okay, let's see. No fowlpox, doesn't look like a cold... maybe parasites? Did you bring the medical scanner?"
"Here."
Carlo lay on the ground, his eyes cracked open just a sliver. He watched the four Raptors hopping up and down in the distance.
So familiar. I feel like I've seen them somewhere.
Suddenly, he saw the Raptor with the blue stripes ram the tree trunk. She barked an order, and the other three began taking turns slamming into the wood.
Wow, they're smart. Is the blue one the leader?
Before long, the cylinder couldn't withstand the shaking and rolled out of the branches. A man in a Jeep behind the Raptors popped out of his sunroof, holding something to draw their attention. The Raptors snarled at the vehicle.
What's happening? Aren't they on the same side?
The Jeep sped off, and the Raptors chased after it. They didn't look particularly friendly.
How strange...
But why are YOU still here?
Carlo shifted his gaze back to the nearby Jeep. A man there was holding something… a phone, maybe? He was waving it around, scanning Carlo repeatedly.
Don't look at me. I didn't do it. That stinky thing was in the tree when I got here.
"That's weird, the scanner shows no issues. So why does this Giganotosaurus look so sluggish?" The technician tapped the device, suspecting a malfunction.
"Uh... is it possible the guy is just faking it?"
The voice from inside the car made the man on the roof freeze. He looked up and saw Carlo's eyes wide open, staring right back at him.
Gulp.
He swallowed hard. Seeing Carlo starting to stand up, he frantically signaled his partner. "Go! GO! DRIVE!"
In their panic, they completely forgot that the Great Lake was technically the safest place to stay. Their flight immediately triggered Carlo's predatory drive.
Eh... well, I was bored anyway.
Thump... thump... thump...
"AAAAAAHHH!"
Carlo managed the distance perfectly, keeping just close enough to keep their survival instincts, and heart rates, at a frantic 200 BPM.
…
Owen had just managed to use some clever positioning to lure the Raptors back into their transport cages.
"Don't ever do anything that dangerous again," Barry warned, still shaken by Owen using himself as live bait.
"Got it. Wait… what's that?"
Static hissed over the radio, followed by frantic shouting.
"Get the gate ready! Close the gate! NOW!"
"AAAAAAHHH!"
"ROAAAR—!"
Screams and a dinosaur's roar blurred together. Owen and Barry locked eyes and scrambled into their Jeep, locking the doors and hitting the gate controls.
"Close it! Close it!"
The alarm lights flashed, and the massive gate began to slide shut. There was still no sign of the monitoring Jeep. Just as the gap was about to vanish, the vehicle burst through! It clipped the edge of the gate, its side mirror flying off as it fishtailed and flipped onto its side outside the perimeter.
Through the narrowing gap, Owen could just make out the form of the Giganotosaurus.
Carlo's timing was perfect; he stopped just inches short of the gate. If he had actually slammed into it, it would have been a mess to clean up.
Carlo stood at the threshold, observing his surroundings. This wasn't the gate where Bob had accidentally entered the park. Just how many gates does this place have?
He looked at the forest to his side. A forest he knew well.
Wait, Mom and Dad's place is really close to here. Should I... go take a peek?
Carlo activated his Clumsy Stealth, creeping through the undergrowth. This was familiar territory. Every tree and bush felt right, filled with scents that made his dinosaur heart settle.
Before long, a clearing appeared.
He didn't see Mom, but he saw Dad sleeping next to a nest.
A nest?!!
Carlo felt a jolt of excitement. Am I going to have brothers and sisters?!
He suppressed his joy, staying deep in his "stealth" mode, and continued searching for Mom. But very quickly, his attention was snatched away by a treasure. His treasure. His very first trophy: the Triceratops skull!
…
Mom returned to the nesting site from the small lake. She adjusted some loose leaves on the nest and then looked toward a nearby tree, Carlo's favorite tree.
But Carlo wasn't there. And neither was the Triceratops skull.
———————
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