Woooo—nnng—
The sirens wailed across the entire park, drowning out the frantic screams of the tourists.
Vic Hoskins stood alone on the heliport. It was a landing pad that would never again welcome its original master. As he watched the pterosaurs begin to swarm toward the park like a dark tide, a glint appeared in his eyes.
He had been waiting for this. He had never cared for theme park attractions. When disaster struck, Jurassic World would inevitably close its doors, allowing InGen to rightfully seize control of research and operations. Then, he could finally transition the use of dinosaurs toward their true purpose: the military.
"Skreee—!"
Over at the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo, a Pteranodon's talons hooked into the saddle of a young Triceratops, slowly hoisting the calf into the air.
"Aunnng! — BOOM!"
An adult Triceratops had broken through the perimeter. Seeing the scavengers attempting to snatch their young, it charged through the inner fencing, using its massive brow horns to scatter the flock.
"Gawrr—!"
Terrified of the horns, the Pteranodon released the calf and beat its wings toward the safety of the sky.
A second later, it was snatched mid-air. An Apatosaurus had swung its massive neck, catching the flyer in its beak before slamming it violently into the pavement.
"Aunnng—"
Aggravated by the swarming flyers, the Apatosaurus had lost its gentle temperament. It had descended into a state of blind rage, lashing out indiscriminately at any winged creature that dared enter its reach.
"Hey! These herbivores are helping us drive off the flyers! We can try to—"
A patrol officer clutching a rifle noticed the pattern. He tried to radio his teammates, but a heavy weight slammed into his back, sending him face-first into the dirt. A Dimorphodon had tackled him. As one of the lowest-ranking species in the Aviary, it had been starving for a long time; now, it only wanted a feast.
"Mike!"
His partner saw the attack and quickly fired three rounds, a near-lethal dose of tranquilizers, into the Dimorphodon's back.
"No, no, no..."
He grabbed the small beast by its scruff, threw it aside, and checked on his friend. Mike wasn't breathing. Dark blood seeped from deep gashes on both sides of his neck.
"Goddammit, I hate dinosaurs."
He cursed under his breath and raised his rifle back toward the sky.
Bang!
As the pterosaurs joined the fray, the crowd lost all semblance of order. Collisions, trampling, fainting… tourists were being injured left and right. In their desperation, they began hurling themselves against the gates leading to the staff-only areas.
"Cough... cough…"
An elderly man with white hair leaned against the gate, gasping. He appeared to be suffering from an asthma attack and a heart condition simultaneously. Fortunately, he was accompanied by two young people. Noticing the heavy gates beginning to groan under the pressure of the mob, they immediately hoisted the old man up to continue their flight.
…
"Are you sure it's safe here?"
In the back of the Jeep, Gray looked at the shaking gates in the distance, his voice trembling as he questioned his aunt, Claire.
"Not anymore."
Owen sensed the shift. He slammed the vehicle into reverse and backed into a narrow alcove.
Bang! Bang! CRACK!
The crossbar on the gate snapped. The doors burst open, and a flood of panicked refugees poured through, shadowed by the pterosaurs trailing them from above.
Inside the car, the four passengers sat in stunned silence, their chests heaving.
"This doesn't look safe at all," Zach remarked dryly.
"Can we stay with you?" Gray asked. He and Zach had been running all day; his nerves were frayed to the breaking point.
"I am not leaving your side for a second," Claire said firmly. She had already lost them once, and the guilt of that danger was a mistake she wouldn't repeat.
"No, no… we meant him."
Zach and Gray spoke in unison, both leaning toward Owen. The two adults were momentarily stunned. The boys' logic was simple: if danger came, they and Claire were just a burger and fries. But having Owen around was like being wrapped in Carolina Reaper hot sauce—even a dinosaur would have to think twice before taking a bite.
Claire was about to ask Owen's opinion when her comms chirped.
"Claire, if you can hear me, do not come back to the Control Room. The Board has authorized a new emergency action for InGen Security. A man named Hoskins has taken over. He has a mad plan—he wants to use the Raptors to hunt the Indominus rex."
Lowery was whispering at light-speed from a secluded corner, dumping the information all at once.
"Wait, what do you mean 'use the Raptors'?" Claire demanded, but the line went dead.
"Son of a—" Owen bit back the rest of the curse, realizing the implications instantly.
"You said a bad word," Gray noted helpfully from the back seat.
…
Several hours later, the light faded. A bruised yellow-red twilight hung in the sky, and the streets were deathly silent.
Or were they?
"Ahhhh—!"
"Ahhhh—!"
With a series of screams, three yellow kayaks slid through a water intake and into the Lagoon. Onboard were the kids from Camp Cretaceous. They had intended to take the river route to the main park, but a breach in the internal fencing had diverted them here.
"We're okay? We're okay!" Ben gasped, checking himself and Bumpy.
Bumpy was an Ankylosaurus hatchling who had been separated from her herd. Due to her deep bond with Ben, the group had made an exception and brought her along for the escape.
"What?!"
As they moved into the open water, Kenji scanned the area. Having visited Jurassic World more than anyone else in the group, he recognized their location instantly.
"Why are you hyperventilating? That's never a good sign," Brooklynn noted. Kenji's sharp intake of breath had set everyone on edge.
"This is the Jurassic World Lagoon," Kenji whispered. "This is where the Mosasaurus lives."
The mention of the name sent a chill through everyone who knew what it meant.
"There's a ladder by the observation stand on the right! We can get up there!" Darius shouted, pointing the way.
"Paddle! Paddle!"
"Kenji does not want to die like this!"
"This was not on my bucket list!"
"It's circling us! It's testing us! Move!"
Darius watched the dark shadow beneath the surface. Relying on his knowledge of dinosaur behavior, he tried to predict the predator's intent while keeping the group focused. A dorsal fin broke the surface. The Mosasaurus was watching these strange new objects with curiosity, wondering if they were small enough to swallow whole.
The first kayak reached the edge. Kenji and Brooklynn scrambled onto the safety of the dock.
The second kayak was close behind. Yasmina, the group's best athlete, and the perennially anxious Ben were in this one. If it weren't for Bumpy's extra weight, they would have been first.
Splash—
The Mosasaurus glided toward the slowest boat, the third one, carrying Darius and Sammy.
Yasmina looked back at them, her heart racing. She spotted the metal pylon in the middle of the Lagoon that held the feeder cables and formulated a plan.
"Yas? What are you doing?!" Ben cried as the boat veered off course.
"Just keep paddling! Don't look back!"
She found a foothold on the pylon and scrambled up with agile precision.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
She began striking the metal pillar with her paddle. The vibrations traveled directly into the water, drawing the Mosasaurus's attention. It worked. Darius and Sammy didn't hesitate; they paddled for their lives and reached the shore.
Whirrr—
The sound of machinery kicked in. On the dock, Kenji had found the controls for the shark-feeding crane. He lowered the cable toward the pylon.
"Grab the chain!" he yelled.
Yasmina looked down at the approaching Mosasaurus, cursed her own recklessness, and leaped for the cable. Her athletic training saved her; she gripped the chain tight as it began to retract. But the shadow in the water wasn't ready to give up its meal.
"Aunnng—"
The Mosasaurus breached, its gargantuan jaws snapping at her. Because it was its first time hitting a moving target, it missed by a fraction of an inch, its teeth clamping down on the heavy cable instead.
Snap!
The cable couldn't support the Mosasaurus's massive weight and snapped instantly. The momentum swung Yasmina onto the spectator stands, but the height was too much; she landed hard, a sickening pop echoing from her left ankle.
"Sss—"
She hit the ground, clutching her leg before the sheer agony forced her to let go.
"Yasmina!" Sammy cried, the group rushing to her side.
"I'm okay... I think..." Yasmina gritted her teeth, checking the swelling.
"Wait... why is there no one here?"
Ben, ever the cautious one, noticed the anomaly. They had been so focused on the Mosasaurus that they hadn't realized the stands were a ghost town.
Where was everyone?
"Aunnng—"
The cry of a herbivore sounded from nearby, making everyone jump.
———————
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