"Roar?"
"Roar!"
Through the swirling haze, Katyusha and Karl called out to each other as they scrambled toward higher ground.
They had originally ventured out to scavenge a Pachyrhinosaurus carcass, only to be caught in the volcano's sudden fury. While they had luckily evaded the raining debris, the resulting brush fires had cut off their path home.
Why is it fire again?! Does the universe have a personal vendetta against Giganotosaurus?
Both Katyusha and Karl had survived forest fires before. They didn't succumb to panic or choke on the soot; instead, they maintained a sharp clarity, moving rapidly upwind to put distance between themselves and the inferno.
Had this been a simple forest fire, the two would have survived with ease. Unfortunately, this was a true cataclysm, the wrath of the earth itself.
In an instant, rivers of magma surged around them, flowing toward the lower basins and severing their retreat. As the wind shifted, the fire was swallowed by the molten rock, erupting into an even more intense, suffocating heat.
Katyusha was clever. she led Karl toward a rock formation, a cluster of jagged, multi-ton boulders situated on an incline. It was high enough to delay the encroaching lava.
"Roar... kugk, kugk..."
In the thick of the smoke, Giga Mom lost the scent of her young. She let out an anxious, deafening roar, even though it meant inhaling lungfuls of ash. To ensure her voice carried over the roar of the volcano, she had no choice.
Carlo stepped forward. He used his chin to gently press Giga Mom's head down, then began walking directly into the flames. As he moved, his tail flicked away the smoldering leaves clinging to her hide.
Just as he had in the past, he stepped into the raging fire without hesitation. He tilted his massive body slightly to shield the family from the radiant heat, carving a path through the hellscape.
Even as a monster that struck terror into the hearts of all who saw him, his devotion remained unchanged.
"ROAR—"
The distant shrieks of Katyusha and Karl drifted through the air again. Carlo heard them, but he didn't need the audio cues; his internal compass had never wavered. He marched straight toward their position.
Flame, smoke, shattering rock, collapsing ancient trees... nothing could stand in his way. Not a single thing.
[Health: 256,830.6 / 280,960]
Aside from the portion he hadn't yet regenerated, days of battling these disasters had barely scratched his "thick skin."
"ROAR—"
Giga Mom's throat was too raw to continue calling, so Giga Dad took over, bellowing a response to the two youngsters.
Piercing through a wall of fire several meters high, the Giganotosaurus family finally reunited. Carlo spotted the two Giga youngsters across a glowing river of magma.
"Roar!"
Big Brother!
"Hrr-ugh."
Carlo gave a short, sharp snort to tell them to stay calm, his eyes scanning the environment with mechanical precision.
The flow of lava had slowed, but the site the Pachyrhinosaurus herd had chosen for a home was a death trap, at least for current-day Isla Nublar. The basin-like geography made it a natural drain for magma. If not for that elevated rock formation, Katyusha and Karl would already be dead.
Giga Mom, knowing her throat couldn't handle more vocalization, paced silently along the edge of the lava river. Sparks of molten rock spat from the current, igniting the grass at her feet and forcing her back.
The sun began to dip toward the western horizon, casting long, blood-red streaks across the sky and reflecting off the sea. The light was dying; time was running out.
"ROAR—"
Carlo stepped up, huffing at Giga Mom to move back. He leaned down, peering into the glowing river to judge its depth.
A moment later, he lifted his right foot and stepped directly into the magma.
Sizzle... sizzle...
The molten rock instantly encased his foot, surging into the gaps between his scales.
"ROAR!—"
"Roar... kugk, kugk..."
Behind him, the parents let out cries of alarm, but Carlo didn't hesitate. He pushed forward at maximum speed toward the two youngsters.
The viscous magma only reached his ankles, but the heavy, liquid resistance slowed his progress. Still, it couldn't stop him.
[Health: 254,376.5 / 280,960] → [Health: 252,058.6 / 280,960]
That actually stings a bit.
Step.
His foot hit solid grass, splashing magma onto the turf as he climbed onto the "island" where the two were trapped. Molten rock dripped from his underbelly like a waterfall of fire.
"Roar!"
"ROAR—"
Excited, Katyusha and Karl tried to rush toward him, but he cut them off with a warning growl.
He still had fresh lava clinging to his legs.
Keeping a safe distance to ensure they weren't burned, Carlo walked toward a massive, upright boulder. He had been eyeing this rock since he first began calculating the rescue.
CRASH!
The multi-ton monolith, under the full force of Carlo's shove, stood no chance. In less than five seconds, it began to tilt over the lava river, finally slamming down to form a bridge.
Sizzle...
The splash of magma sent droplets flying toward the youngsters, but Carlo's enormous bulk blocked every one of them.
Understanding his intent, Katyusha navigated around the ground-level lava and hurried toward the fallen stone.
"Roar—"
No good. I can't get up.
Even on its side, the base of the boulder was significant. For a massive dinosaur like a Giganotosaurus, incapable of true jumping, a stone that high might as well have been a wall.
But it didn't matter. Carlo lowered his body until he was almost flush with the ground. He used his snout to nudge Katyusha, lifting her entire weight against the rock and pushing until she successfully scrambled on top.
The sensation made Carlo feel a pang of nostalgia, though it was the memory of being on the receiving end. When he was a hatchling, Giga Mom used to nudge him up like this during swims.
Katyusha managed to find her footing on the uneven, craggy surface of the boulder. Her massive weight caused the multi-ton stone to wobble slightly in the soft mud and liquid heat.
Thump! x2
Giga Mom and Dad each stepped onto the opposite end of the stone bridge, using their collective weight to anchor it firmly.
Carlo wanted to help, but the rock on his side was too high; stepping on it now would likely tip the balance the wrong way.
The flames in the magma river roared hungrily, but they were powerless against Katyusha as she crossed over. Carlo didn't make the mistake Darius had once made with the zipline; he waited until Katyusha was completely clear before calling Karl over.
Karl followed suit. Surprisingly, his balance was a tier above Katyusha's; he steadied himself almost immediately after climbing up.
With the two safe, only Carlo remained.
"Roar!"
The family called to him, but Carlo was in no rush.
"Hrr-ugh—"
He signaled the parents to step off the rock. Then, with a grunt of effort, he shoved the boulder from the side until it sank fully into the lava channel.
With two massive strides, he stepped onto the submerged stone and crossed the river with ease, leaving the rest of the family stunned. What would have been an impossible feat for a normal Giganotosaurus was a simple walk in the park for him.
Night began to settle over the island. The thick smoke made it impossible to navigate by the stars. Carlo could have used his biological radar, but...
Kafka, who was in her element in the darkness, happily took point. She led the family back toward the Great Lake.
Their hides were currently as hot as if they had been roasted in an oven; they needed a long soak.
Carlo slowed his pace to walk alongside Giga Mom. They were still two silhouettes, one large and one small, except now their roles were reversed.
"Hrru-ugh—"
He gave her a low, reproachful huff, chiding her for being so reckless. With her lungs still damaged, she shouldn't have been roaring like that in the smoke.
"Roar... kugk, kugk..."
Giga Mom didn't have a complex vocabulary to argue with, but her response carried all the meaning in the world:
Not one left behind.
…
"This is Blue. She has a powerful sense of empathy. She's a sweet little thing."
"Charlie's aggression seems to have spiked as she's grown, but I still prefer to call it playfulness."
"Echo and Delta seem to fight every day. Dinosaur relationships are way more complex than dolphins. At first, I thought they hated each other, but today I realized they're actually very close."
Owen sat on the sofa, watching old videos of his interactions with the raptors. He fell into a heavy silence.
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