Beep—
The lights on the four iron crates suddenly turned green. The doors, confining the Atrociraptors, swung open instantly!
Low growls.
Tap, tap...
Crisp, rhythmic footsteps echoed. The Atrociraptors stepped out slowly. They were slightly different from the ones that had chased Darius and Ben; feathers now covered their bodies, and fan-like structures, resembling avian wings, adorned their forearms.
"Shit!"
Barry cursed under his breath. Coordinating with his teammates, he quickly adjusted their positions, forming a back-to-back circle to face the Atrociraptors head-on.
The four-man team raised their weapons, aiming at the Atrociraptors. These individuals clearly didn't follow the "standard" rules of the Jurassic World universe, but...
The Atrociraptors seemed to sense something. Almost subconsciously, they leapt sideways. Their nimble bodies traced a curve through the air before landing gracefully back atop the crates.
Without a doubt, this was the result of human training.
They didn't need to outrun the speed of a bullet; they only needed to outmaneuver human reaction times.
The four Atrociraptors moved slowly, aligning themselves in a row. They were unnervingly quiet. No dinosaur should be this silent. There were no sounds of communication between pack mates, no growls toward the threats, and no shrieks of agitation.
Infrared hum.
Standing in the distance, Santos pulled out an infrared flashlight that looked like a remote control, casting crimson dots onto each of the team members in turn.
Sound of running.
"Whoa, whoa..."
Owen rushed in at top speed, but the scene before him made his jaw drop.
His movement drew the attention of everyone present, and Santos didn't hesitate to mark him with the infrared beam as well.
Beep!
The button was pressed. A faint alarm sounded, and the four Atrociraptors surged forward from a zero-frame start, lunging at the nearest humans!
"Damn it!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Owen and his teammates cooperated, quickly drawing their sidearms to fire. However, the Atrociraptors seemed to have anticipated the move; they halted their feint-lunges and sprang away instantly!
The bullets whistled through the air, grazing their feathers. In an instant, they hadn't managed to hit a single one.
"Is... is this right?"
One teammate wanted to reload, but his movement seemed to trigger the Atrociraptors; if not for Owen's quick-draw shot, that man would likely have lost his life right there.
The five humans slowly converged, moving back-to-back toward the overturned truck, hoping to deny these creatures a chance to strike at their exposed backs.
Low growls.
The Atrociraptors finally made a sound, working with their pack to form a circle around them.
"They succeeded... dinosaur militarization."
Barry retreated to the end, feeling a chill run down his spine as he felt the cold metal of the truck.
He was familiar with these developments. Hoskins' ideas from years ago had finally been realized. These dinosaurs... perhaps the only thing they lacked was the bulletproof skin of an Indominus rex.
Currently, it was five against four. The Atrociraptors' primary goal, aside from slaughter, was self-preservation, so they were hesitant to act recklessly.
But the problem was that they reacted to the motion of reloading just as quickly. A single lapse in judgment could lead to being pounced upon and killed.
The situation reached a stalemate. Santos turned confidently and withdrew, leaving the Atrociraptors to duel it out with Owen and the others.
"What do we do, Owen?"
They couldn't kill the Atrociraptors; they could only defend passively. If this continued, they would eventually lose men, unless reinforcements arrived.
"Aunnng-roar!"
"Huh? Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"A roar."
"Are you talking about the Atrociraptors'?"
"No, not the Atrociraptors... it's..."
"Aunnng-roar!"
No sooner said than done! Blue jumped onto the roof of the overturned truck, unleashing a loud, resonant roar at the five humans and four Atrociraptors present!
"The reinforcements you called?"
The noise startled everyone. Aside from Owen and Barry, the other team members probably felt their hearts stop.
Low growls.
Blue emitted a low, threatening growl. The Atrociraptors could understand the intent to a degree, but they didn't retreat or respond; they didn't even shift their gaze.
"Roar!"
"Aok!"
Two more equally loud voices erupted from behind Blue! Immediately after, Echo and Delta leapt left and right onto the truck roof, standing beside Blue!
Delta was quite polite, managing not to stumble upon landing. Three Velociraptors were enough to threaten four Atrociraptors, forcing these biological weapons to split their focus.
"Ahem... gentlemen, reinforcements have arrived. Remember, don't shoot the Velociraptors."
Owen recovered from his initial shock, his face gradually breaking into that familiar, confident, slightly roguish grin.
"What... I don't know who these are!"
One teammate hadn't recovered yet, but he realized this wasn't the time to ask questions, so he shifted gears and asked the most crucial question.
After all, these weren't dinosaur experts, or even dinosaur enthusiasts; they were just here to catch criminals.
Owen paused for a fraction of a second, then immediately began differentiating between the Atrociraptors and the Velociraptors. He didn't dare look up to study the Velociraptors, however, for fear of being ambushed by the Atrociraptors.
"Then shoot the ones with feathers. Wait for my command before you act."
"Understood!"
The Velociraptors that had been resurrected originally didn't have feathers, so telling them apart from the Atrociraptors in an instant was no easy feat.
But for some reason, these Atrociraptors had been given feathers, perhaps because of the "pure blood supremacy" that Santos craved?
Low growls.
After Owen finished his conversation with his teammates, the entire scene returned to a standstill, with only the soft growls of the Velociraptors audible.
Owen knew very well that this was the unique "coiled-spring" state of Velociraptors during a standoff. They appeared to be sounding a warning, but in reality, they were lowering their bodies, ready to attack at any moment.
The three Velociraptors might not have known what these things were, or why they were in conflict with Owen, but the latter alone was reason enough for them to fight.
The battle against the Indoraptor had significantly deepened their rapport with Owen. Owen gave them ample time to prepare, and Blue was respectful enough not to seize command from him.
Whistle.
"Aunnng-roar!"
"ROOOAR—!"
The long, piercing cry cut through the mountains and forests, shaking the very heavens and the earth.
"Damn it, avalanche!"
Carlo hated how the humans fought without honor, bombing the mountain directly while he was climbing it, causing him to tumble right down the cliffside.
Half an hour! I climbed for a full half hour!
So, he stopped pretending. He let out a roar that pierced the clouds, triggering an avalanche that swept across the land!
"Run for your lives!"
A white tsunami ravaged the forest, the cries of humans echoing through the valleys.
———————
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