“Dinosaur Island”

“You know…” JD Bandera gave a very long, thoughtful pause.  He stood there gazing out the window.  The descendant of German and Scots-Irish immigrants who’d migrated to the United States during World War II, JD was quite strong with dark blonde hair and just a hint of red in his five o’clock shadow.  His smooth, tan skin was leathery, in contrast with his deep blue eyes.

Zanza was 100% Zulu.  Wearing the same Khaki shorts and short sleeved collared shirt as JD, Zanza had an intense look in his eyes, gazing out at the tropical canopy before them.  Lush and green, the grounds before them seemed an almost untouched paradise, surrounded by the clearest blue water one could imagine.  This small island of serenity, part of a Central American country more in need of cash to support its ailing fiat currency, was surrounded by the clearest, shallow blue ocean that one could imagine.  Strange outcroppings of stone jutted straight up forming miniature islands, cliff faces, and perfect coral reefs for exploring by SCUBA diving.  Zanza had gone skinny dipping with many of the recently divorced western women, now in search of something completely exotic and alien to their dull lives at home.

“After dealing with so many dumb animals all day…” JD continued, betraying a slight New Zealand accent, “you actually seem quite intelligent.”

Zanza looked over at him, not loosing his attention from the improbably threats that may exist down below.  Karen Woodsworth, 22 year old heiress to the Woodsworth family fortune, came up behind this large, hulking African man.  She wrapped her tan arms around his impossible physique, forcing him to relax, despite his best efforts to remain the vigilant soldier.

“By comparison,” JD added, trying as hard as he could not to feel jealous.

“Your girlfriend doesn’t seem to mind,” Zanza allowed.

Karen, her long, straight brunette hair covering her face as she leaned her head down, tried not to smile.

“Yours does,” JD lightly continued.

“Zanza doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Karen indicated hopefully. “She would have left him years ago.”

“I actually have a girlfriend,” the Zulu hulk stated flatly.

“Really?” JD was incredulous. “She doesn’t know?”

“She refuses to leave me.  I try to break up with her.  She just keeps calling.” Karen’s arms tightened around him even more. “She very round.  I not like.”

JD sips his coffee, still looking authoritatively down on the tropical forest.

“There,” Zanza perked up, his back ramrod straight.  In contrast to Bandera, who always played it cool, Zanza made no effort to feign safety.  Far in the distance, some of the trees shook.  Something was moving.

Karen, still holding the man, stared out, also, completely fixated on the slight motion.  Letting go of him, she tried hard to make out the movement.

It was half a mile away, at least.  Now there was nothing.  All three of them looked out, nervous.

Another tree moved… or did it?  A slight shaking of the tropical palms could have been the wind, but the ocean was completely calm, and no wind could be found this day.  Suddenly, a gust picked up, pushing all of the leaves on the trees around.  The wave of wind worked its way across the canopy below.

“The zip line,” JD thought aloud. “The zip line tours.  They run right over his territory.”

“Too high above him,” Karen hoped out loud. “He’d never reach.” After a long wait, Karen concluded. “You know… after building the lagoon for Predator X… I never thought we’d struggle with this one.”

Zanza had pulled his binoculars up to his eyes, staring just ahead of the last point of movement.  As another wave of wind blew over the canopy, agitating the palm trees and vegetation, he became fixated on a point. “There.”

JD stared.  Nothing.  The wind died down.  Still nothing.

“There,” Zanza added again.

Bandera looked again, staring even more intensely, as if squinting might improve his vision.  He held his hands around his eyes as if holding imaginary binoculars himself.

“That does not work,” Zanza informed him.

“I see it,” JD insisted.

“What is that… like, the placebo effect?” Zanza kept his binoculars fixed, but moved his eyes down toward her without moving his head. “Placebo effect.  Doctors give some patients with imaginary symptoms a sugar pill.  People think that it helps, so they assume that it’s cured them.”

“Karen, remind me to tell you to shut up.” JD still had his hands wrapped around like invisible binoculars. “These work,” he insisted with absolute certainty. “There!” Excited.

“Karen, do you see?”

“No… I mean, I don’t have… I can’t.”

“The tail.  The zebra stripe.  I saw through these.”

“I saw it.”

“Maybe you can take a picture of your girlfriend out there to send something home.”

“Maybe you can take some pictures of you with the divorced wives club…”  They all stopped.  Someone was coming down the zip line.  It was a young man, slightly overweight they could see. “That’s one half mile… exactly.”

“How high up is he… off the ground I mean?” Karen pondered. “Is he… uh, in danger?”

“Thirty feet,” Zanza responded curtly.

“No danger?”  There was no reply.  All three knew that this animal should never have been set loose into the open preserve.  Yet animal rights activists had threatened an international boycott of Dinosaur Island if they did not give this apex predator room to move.  Normally pent up in a five acre preserve where tourists could be relatively sure to get a picture, he had not gotten enough walking room in the old enclosure.  Indeed, to keep this massive animal returning each day, he would be fed some animal carcass and organs, which he seemed to love.  The last few days, however, he had not returned to the enclosure.  Not tagged with a tracking device, each afternoon, the two men were forced to grab a Jeep Cherokee to track down the creature and ensure that it was not ill.

At least, that was the official story.  No one mentioned the very real concern that the large open area did not effectively seal him in.  An eight ton animal like that could rip right through the steal gates and fencing that kept him separate from the two legged hors de’voures that ventured the park aimlessly.

With such a real possibility of interacting with strange human beings, this large, fast predator could easily feast on a whole Range Rover full of Japanese tourists.  The news would be terrible.  International media loved to sensationalize the danger.  One unexplained, violent death could mean the end of profitability for the world’s most expensive park.

Recreating the theropods had not been too difficult, as they were all close relations with living ratites.  Ostrich, rhea, emu, and other flightless “birds” had been reverse engineered, then carefully altered in skeletal development in order to produce realistic living dinosaurs.  It was the triceratops, brachiosaurus, hadrosaurs, and other herbivores that had proven nearly impossible.  In fact, they had come very late in the development of the park.  Forty foot long suchosaurus—essentially a very large crocodile—had been the first creature to be resurrected by programming supercomputers from NEC to analyze the DNA of crocodiles, alligators, caiman, gharial, and other mesothermic relatives.  Dinosaur Island researchers and scientists at UC Santa Cruz had found an extraordinarily slow rate of evolution of the crocs and their surprisingly close ostrich relatives.  Their digestive systems, skin, metabolism, and other features sharing similarities, they were able to make changes to HOC genes that control the segmentation of everything from the length of tails to the number of teeth and ribs each animal would have.

As important, more than 99.9% of the DNA in theropod dinosaurs like turkey sized velociraptor and the smaller ancestors of tyrannosaurus could be found either inert in ratites or birds or was being expressed in dominant or recessive genes in one of the crocodilians.  This made the two legged herbivores and carnivores easy.  Even more surprising was the fact—still a closely guarded trade secret—that many dinosaurs, including the fast, two legged gallimimus (meaning chicken mimic) struthiomimus (meaning ostrich mimic) were simply common ancestors of living ratites.

Amongst the larger, four legged herbivores, hadrosaurs had come first.  A major breakthrough had come from studying dinosaur “mummies,” which were first thought to be no more than very well preserved impressions of a dinosaur.  Leonardo had proved to be more informative than anyone could imagine.  Dinosaur fossils were once thought to be nothing more than stone fossils, the minerals inside replaced by silicon and minerals in the surrounding soil.

Recent research, however, had shown that the minerals in the soil merely filled in gaps, the microscopic spaces in between, leaving the original bone and osteocites intact.  Osteocites live inside the bones of all animals and add new layers of bone as an animal grows, leaving behind rings very similar in structure to tree rings.  As the young animal enters the cooler winters, bone growth slows for lack of food, leaving darker rings on the outside of bones.  During richer months of Spring and Summer, bone growth accelerates, leaving lighter areas or rings.  A hadrosaur with 16 rings could therefor be estimated to be 16 years old at the time of its death.

Completely by accident, paleontologists Mary Schweitzer and Jack Horner had discovered blood vessels, collagen, and other soft tissue inside a tyrannosaurus rex femur in a 2000 dig.  The “B Rex,” as she was known, even had medullary tissue inside the bone, which female birds use to store calcium and other minerals before laying eggs.  Bone, osteocites, red blood cells, white blood cells, and the components of collagen have been found almost intact.  It had turned out that these proteins stop breaking down beyond a certain point in the presence of enough iron, which acts as a preservative.  In the absence of air, moisture, and sunlight, much of the cellular material had remained intact over millions of years.

DNA is expressed inside each cell of a living animal in ways that were not well understood until recently.  Large specialized molecules run along the 1.8 billion gene pairs in birds and transcribe or copy sections of DNA, producing RNA fragments only a few thousand gene pairs long.  As these RNA are released from the nucleus and into the cell, ribosomes attach and sporadically read these fragments to generate proteins.  Of all of the DNA inside our bodies, only the tiniest percentage of it is every used to produce proteins.  By analyzing these proteins inside the largest dinosaur fossils—usually the femur—RNA could be reconstructed in the lab.

Using newly developed proprietary software, Dino Island researchers and computer scientists had been able to use restriction enzymes purchased from several American companies to replace fragments of struthiomimus DNA with the target RNA sections.  Although the struthiomimus DNA remained present, it was simply made recessive so that it would not express itself.  For much larger animals, it was trivial to monitor and control hormonal levels by feeding each animal a carefully measured mixture of hormones and steroids, nutrients, and foods designed to achieve improbable sizes.

Very much to himself, Stephen Dunn, now 67 and pushing off retirement, was beyond celebrating these achievements.  The former British Shakespearian actor had turned to paleontology at the age of 45, pursuing a new career that had been his calling from childhood.  It had always been possible, he realized.  Adjusting the homeobox genes to increase the number of tail segments, ribs, and teeth to match what they’d found beneath the Earth was easy.  Examining feather fossils and skin using electron microscopes to studying the melonsomes, tiny cells that regulate color, had proven more difficult.  Merging the digestive systems of predatory crocodiles with herbivorous emus was a serious challenge that most amateur paleontologists and park goers would miss, yet diet is key to the behavior of living animals, he knew.

Dunn stared up at the computer screen attentively, worrying about the zip lines that ran above the two square kilometer pen that barely held their massive predator.  Eight tons, he wondered.  How many park attendees could he eat in a day?  At least three or four to meet his demands for meat.  The two deer left out in the open air were beginning to decompose and attract flies, Dunn knew.  Leaning back in his chair, looking up at the many large, flat screen security monitors, there were too many dangers to contemplate… too many to think about.

He finally tilted his head over to look at Stan Murphy, a large, overweight half african man from Los Angeles who served as head of security.  He’d let the position go to his head, Dunn thought.  The British Royal Navy had a culture that gave little thought to rank, but rather to experience and knowledge.  Like American Special Forces, the brass rank insignia earned one a salute and a bit of respect, but no more.  Sailors had been measured by ability, merit.  Murphy seemed only concerned with his rank.

The park cost upwards on $100 million annually to operate.  Some of the dinosaurs in the park had cost several hundred million to reverse engineer.  Now the weak link in the chain could be a head of security who could not convince the Chief Operations Officer to pay more than $23 an hour for someone upon whom the lives of thousands of people depended.

Other cost cutting measures had seemed even more worrisome.  The digestive systems of some of the larger sauropods—four legged, long necked dinosaurs weighing as much as 60 tons—had been tweaked to handle everything from seaweed to palms, from tree bark to GMO corn in order to save money and reduce their need to travel over great distances.  With little interest in these gentle giants, it had not been cost effective to limit them to a diet of one ton of ferns each day, the COO had reasoned.  This was just an amusement park, after all.  Keeping costs down at the expense of a bit of realism was just part of the business of, well, being in business.

And other issues had bothered Dunn.  For one, a completely bogus cousin of triceratops had been allowed to range free with a made up but convincing name.  The product of a complete accident, it had additional small curved horns on its frill.  Rather than kill the animals, Dinosaur Island management had decided to name their “discovery,” as though such a creature had ever really existed.

Information kiosks were not being updated with the latest information.  Receptionists and park guides were given only a short, two day course in dinosaur names and behavior, unable to give attendees accurate information about these dinosaurs.  Enclosures had been too small, so migratory patterns had to be guessed at.  Separate herds of herbivores were forced together, even species that did not get along.  The bulk of Dinosaur Island was one very large preserve for most of the herbivores, all forced to fend for themselves with limited natural food supplies.

Yet the worst of the problems came from inadequate security.  There were never enough of these untrained, ill-equipped guards to protect the public if an angry animal escaped.  All zoos suffer the occasional escape, but zoos have animals weighing only a few hundred pounds.  How do you tranquilize and then transport an upset mother weighing several thousand pounds.

The answer, Dunn realized, was that you didn’t.  In one instance, the entire system of fencing had to be temporarily rerouted while a ten ton juvenile sauropod was kept tranquilized for days, which proved nearly fatal for both the animal and a member of Park Services.  The island was simply dangerous.  The forty foot long crocodile was the worst, Dunn knew.  It could devour anyone with a single gulp.  There would be no need to pull a man underwater to tear him apart.  A 200 pound man was no more than a snack, and might not even satiate such a large predator.

The marine reptile Predator X was over fifty feet long, yet weighed as much as a family of elephants.  It slowly perused the lagoon killing anything unlucky enough to land in it.  With the strongest bite force ever recorded, it could crush the small plexiglass and metal submarine like beer can, drowning two dozen visitors before they could be feasted upon.

Yet the worst threat was right in front of him.  Dunn could see a young, overweight college aged man on the zip line.  At the very end of the half mile long ride, the cable actually curved back up again at the end.  With a slight belly in the middle, once in a great while, someone would slow down, unable to finish the ride and needing a push from behind.

As the young man slid down, Dunn watched him slow as he tried to take a few pictures of the large creature below.  Dunn could see through the large screen monitor above him that the man on the zip line could not find the enormous apex predator.  As he slowly came to a halt near the end, the man kept looking down, scanning the tropical forest canopy below him.

 

———

“What the hell…” Bandera mouthed out loud.

Karen was now standing in between the two men. “Why did he stop?”

“Because he is so fat,” Zanza carefully worded. “Wait!” All three of them saw the same thing.  One of the trees nearby had shuttered, if only slightly.  Looking through his binoculars, Zanza could see there there was a slight hill near the end of the zip line.  The steal fencing that kept the creature in was also where the zip line came to an end, and would do this man no good.  He was at least one hundred feet away from it.

Dangling motionless above the trees, the young man could see that otherwise oblivious visitors were now fixated on him, eyes wide open.  The attendant in red shorts and a white Dinosaur Island T-shirt was looking around hurriedly, wondering where it had gone.  Other visitors were now agitated, worried.  A young woman was even standing there at the end of the zip line platform petrified.  What had she seen, he thought.

Now panicking, the man dropped his camera, grabbing at the zip line above to move himself those last few yards to safety.  He reached up but could only just touch the cable.  Hearing something rustle behind him, he let go, still held in his harness, flailing about as he tried to see what had been behind him.

“RUN!” The woman yelled. “Ru-u-un!” She jumped up and down, tears coming out of both eyes.  The man reached for the cable above him, but could only just touch it with his finger tips.  Suddenly everyone one the platform began screaming, flailing wildly.

“OMIGOD!” a girl screamed, then cried.  A few more ran to the top of the platform, screaming, panicked, jumping and moving around.

The young man spun around, trying to move, trying as hard as he could to do anything, reaching up to grab at the cable zip line to get himself moving again.  Again, his fingertips only touched the cable, but gained no traction.

From the observation booth, JD was up against the window, breathing heavily. “Omigod.  Omigod, no.  No no no!”

Dunn was now standing around the largest flat screen out front, along with all of the security guards, helpless and unable to act.  Murphy had even reacted, hitting the park wide alarm.  Flashing red lights orbited the tops of the fenced in areas and a loud emergency siren could be heard wailing throughout the park.

“RU-U-UN!” The woman finally managed to yell. “NO-O-O!” She couldn’t do anymore.

The young man saw everyone around staring at him.  Still, he could not see the creature.  At one hundred yards, the adrenaline was surging so strongly through him that he could not keep his hands steady.  Tunnel vision took over.  Grabbing at the caribeener and strap that held his harness to the cable, he pulled himself up and grabbed the cable, but from the wrong side!

Shaking hard, he managed to turn himself around clumsily.  Were there no instincts in millions of years of evolution to get him out of this?  He had to run, but his feet could touch nothing.  Pawing at the cable, he started to pull himself along as hard as he could.

He could now hear hundreds of people from around the park, many looking right at him.  The screaming overpowered the loud siren, and security guards ran helplessly up to the platform to watch.

Pulling on the zip line cable as hard as he could, the strap on his harness somehow twisted and locked the wheels that ran along it.  The panic inside him was too strong.  He couldn’t think.  The gasping and sweat rolling down took over him.  He struck the fixture with its wheels until the safety lock finally let go, allowing him to roll.

With so many people yelling, screaming at him to move, he grabbed on to the line and pulled himself, dragging the wheeled fixture to move.  He refused to look back as he began to move as fast as he could, almost a running speed, he though, as his arms found a long, full, efficient stride.

Yet he knew when he saw the blonde woman crying, now hunched over, tears pouring down, eyes barely open, that no amount of sprinting down the line would give him a snowflake’s chance in a volcano.  Whatever it was had been right behind him and would certainly reach him before he could make the last seventy yards.  He had no chance, he now realized.  He had never had a chance.  Should he at least turn around and see what would be his end, he wondered.

Finally, he simply stopped on the line, more than fifty yards from the platform.  Aside from the siren, everyone had gone quiet.  He looked back and saw nothing.  He turned back to the platform and looked at the dozen or so men, women, and children, all looking around at the ground frantically, trying to find out where the creature had gone.

He stopped, motionless.  The man knew that no movement was his only chance of convincing the predator to lose interest.  It was impossible with the adrenaline running so hard that he could barely hear the siren over the sound of blood pumping in his head.

He carefully looked back, moving his eyes, but barely adjusting his head.  Sweat ran down his brow and off of his ears and chin.

Nothing.

Instead the security control center, Dunn was staring.  Everyone was at attention, fixated on the screen.

“Where did it go?” asked Murphy, hoping that someone more astute would figure things out for him.  Dunn tried to mouth a guess, but nothing came out.

“JD,” Karen whispered silently.  She tried to come up with something that might offer some bit of help… some hope for the man.  Could there be some idea that might be acted on from the observation tower that might give the poor man a glimmer of hope?  Her mind continued to draw a blank.

Zanza stared motionless, finally looking over at JD.  From there, they saw the man on the zip line slowly and timidly start to move. “Where?” JD whispered. “Where the hell…”

Out on the line, it was a different story.  The young man felt the line move effortlessly as he tried to keep the wheels quiet.  Instead, they squeaked louder than ever.  With the line sagging so far down at this point, he could be picked off at any moment. “O God. O God… puh-p…” he whispered silently.  Shaking as he tried to slowly and quietly pull himself along, he could only see behind him as he moved.

Only the siren and the squeaky wheels could be heard.

Suddenly, he heard a very loud thump underneath the platform tower, then the loud screaming again.

“Oh God… “ was all JD could manage from the observation tower.

The young man turned to face the tower, but only saw the enormous open jaws of the dinosaur snap down onto him, nearly splitting him in half lengthwise, instantly crushing almost every bone in his body, but not killing him.

Zanza, JD, and Karen watched in utter horror as the 45 foot long zebra striped animal athletically lept from the side of the enclosure and up to snatch the young man right off the zip line.  JD’s coffee cup fell to the floor as he watched the impossible.  The huge predatory animal held the man in his death grip, pull down as it fell to the forest floor.  Rather than snap the line and strap that held the man in, the animal continued to pull down, causing the tension in the zip line cable to bend the platform in, then pull the platform over into the enclosure.

The blonde woman and the small girl both fell into the railing as it stopped, bent at more than 30 degree inward.  One of the security guards fell into the girl, who was perhaps ten years old.  The blonde woman and white shirted park attendant slammed into the railing when the platform stopped.

Murphy screamed a shrill, girlish scream at the pending disaster.  Dunn, Murphy, and the others in the security control center had absolutely no power to stop what was about to happen.

The platform still had the cable attached to it, a bloody strap and caribeener swinging back and forth with the cable.  Suddenly, the platform shifted again, being pulled and shaken aggressively into the animal’s enclosure.  The blonde woman looked down into it, seeing the hips and tail shaking violently back and forth, shaking one of the security guards off the platform and into the pit, screaming.  She saw him hit the ground with a thud, suddenly motionless as the zebra striped animal continued wrenching against the tower like an angry pit bull.

Forces she couldn’t conceive of gyrated the steal platform, which now seemed ready to give way any second.  She could hear bolts breaking and the steal supports below creaking and breaking.  The dinosaur growled angrily, ferociously, as if driven by some overly protective vendetta.  Trying to reach the stairs, she pulled herself along the rails, barely moving.  She saw the blonde girl screaming, wanting to save her, but unable even to save herself.

In an instant, she placed her foot on one of the stanchions and lept upward and forward, barely grabbing the railing at the top of the separate stair tower as the platform that she had just been on suddenly lurched and fell in with several people still hanging on.  She sprinted down the stairs as quickly as she could down to the asphalt sidewalk below, the last of the people running from the terrible scene.

Hearing the screams of those inside the enclosure, she knew that the carnivore was likely making examples of them, viciously crushing and ripping them to pieces one at a time.  She could now hearing only the attendant and the ten year old girl screaming as loudly as they could for help as people ran from the scene.  Breathing and roaring loudly, the creature could be heard grabbing into one of them, bones crunching each time the creature tore into someone.  As she sprinted to catch up with the others, the blonde woman could now hear nothing from inside.  All of them had been killed, she thought, even the small blond girl.

Others began to slow, then stopping and turning around, facing the tall, steel fencing where the platform tower had been pulled in.  The entire structure had been pulled inward.  Who could have thought that this setup was safe, she thought for an instant.  Someone was responsible for all of this, she realized.  People had died.  The attack was over, but these people’s families would be demanding millions.  Her legal mind, or what she imagined that she knew of the law, would question the notion of negligence.  Shouldn’t the park owners have known…

The steal wall seemed to pull back in, then wavered back and forth.  Was it going to fall?  She heard the creaking and bending, then the carnivore aggressively attacking the wall.  It pulled hard, very hard, then began to rip back and forth again.  It couldn’t break through all of that, she knew.  The reinforced steal tubing was too strong.  The thick criss crossed bars must be strong enough to stop and elephant.

But this was no two ton elephant.  Like an eight ton great white shark, its entire body had locked in to some part of the structure.  Thoughtlessly, perhaps in denial, the crowd stood by, watching at the wall leaning in and out, gyrating again.  Each motion back and forth forcing a rod to snap, a bolt to break.  Now the dinosaur grabbed into it again, with an even stronger, angrier grip.  It did more than pull, but put enormous ferocity into it, driven to break down this wall.

The woman realized that this cage could not hold him.  She turned and ran a second before others realized the danger.  They began to run away again, not bothering to look back.  With a great bending and whining, the wall’s many supports finally gave way, one attachment after another dislocating or breaking off entirely.  Steal supports that had been put in more for show snapped like twigs as the angry animal grabbed an open section of the wall with its teeth.  It pulled again, harder than ever, taking the wall in with it.  As the enormous section of wall came crashing in, people ran even harder, hoping not to become its next victim.

The huge theropod drove its bulk forward, lunging out onto the asphalt and crushing down into it, leaving a three toe impression in it.  Roaring madly, it began to step forward, then running, and finally sprinting as quickly toward the crowd as its legs could carry it.  At 15 meters in length and over 15,000 pounds, the very ground underneath their feet shook each time time the aggressive beast landed, making no effort now to be silent.  Perhaps she could just outrun one victim, she hoped.  The rest of them might be safe.

In an instant, it had reached its first victim, biting down and tearing into a man’s body as it chased forward.  Flinging the top half of him aside, it left his waste and legs to fall lifelessly to the ground.

Taking an instant to glance behind, she saw the creature propelling itself forward as hard as it could toward the crowd, easily catching up to the rest.  A woman near her tried to weave left and right, but it bit into her shoulder, ripping a large chunk of flesh from her in an instant, causing the woman to fall to the ground immediately in shock.

Another fat man from the group fell behind and was stepped on instantly.  Only his legs had been crushed, but he could only cry out in pain as blood ran out everywhere. “Why…” he tried to cry out with a hand outstretched, quickly falling unconscious.

The blonde woman now knew that it was not out for food nor even for sport, but simply to kill.  She had to separate from the group somehow.  Turning hard to the right, she hid behind a large tree that obscured a small part of the useless steal fence.  The monster ran forward ignoring her, then kicked hard right into the back of an unfortunate teenage girl, killing her instantly.

It stopped, pulling its bloody foot away, then turned its attention on the blonde woman hiding behind the tree.  She stood motionless, out of sight, but with nowhere to go.  She held her breath in to remain silent, but the dinosaur pushed its large snout forward, still breathing heavily, angry even.  It took several quick sniffs of the air on both sides of the tree.  She looked down, trembling, and could see that she had peed herself.  The sense of horror as the monster drew silent was worse than chance of death itself.

With a malevolent look in its eyes, it reached around the tree with its powerful front claws, gripping into her and pulling her into the tree.  It pulled back hard and suddenly, its claws cutting efficiently into her flesh.  There must be some possible way to survive this, she though.  If it turned its attention away, she might be able to get emergency medical help.  There were ways, she imagined, as the sharp talons cut deeper into her abdomen.  There must be some hospital here on the island, she thought.  They must offer the best emergency care in the world in case of the regular instance of dinosaur attacks on visitors.

Yet as the talons continued to dig in to her body, she recalled the one first aid room that she’d passed coming in.  Did they have anything more than a first aid kit?  Was there anything more than the powered, fake lemon flavored drink available for the occasional heat casualty?  Was there even an off duty doctor with enough free time somewhere on Dinosaur Island?

Its snout came forward past the tree, its mouth agape, and evil look in its eye as it studied the horror of its victim, even licking her face with its wide, muscular tongue.  She could feel the coarseness of the top of the tongue as it tasted the sweat on her face as its talons finally cut all the way to her back ribs, finally creating unbearable pain in her torso.  She couldn’t even breath a scream.  Then, drawing its head back behind the tree, pulling her back into it, the talons cut her to ribbons, dropping her onto the ground in a bloody mess of intestines and two bloody stumps.  As the world slowly faded to black, she felt dizzy and could barely think, seeing only that tall, useless fence that couldn’t hold back anything.

 

On the ground, Zanza and JD jumped into a white Jeep Cherokee.  It was decked out in mud tires and a tubular space frame, with a winch mounted to the front.  As the truck roared to life, JD mashed down on the gas pedal, pulling the vehicle forward aggressively.  Zanza turned around to the back seat to see that Karen had gotten into the back seat.

“Why are you here?” he asked her plainly.

“Well, you guys…” she tried to think.  Why was she here?  She could add absolutely nothing to the mission and would likely get herself killed. “Bait?”

“Good thinking,” JD offered, turning the Jeep hard onto the asphalt sidewalk as they accelerated, the engine roaring up to redline quickly. “Reach into the back!” he yelled over the engine.

She turned around as the Jeep struck a curb, throwing her into the ceiling.  She felt the back of her head hit the roof, but she pushed herself forward.  Her short shorts seemed so out of place here, leaning over the rear seat with her butt in the air.  JD noticed in the rear view mirror and was distracted by it.  She reached around in back, seeing a large, fiberglass suitcase.  Zanza’s hands were on the wheel as JD kept his attention on the reflection of her short shorts in the rear view mirror, his foot all the way down on the pedal.

“Brake!” yelled Zanza.  Bandera instinctively let off the gas and held down the brake while Zanza, from the passenger seat pulled the steering wheel over.  Mashing back down on the gas pedal as Zanza straightened out the steering wheel, JD happily kept his attention on the rear view mirror.

Karen came forward the large suitcase.  She opened it up by flipping the latches that held it closed.  Well built, she thought.  It wasn’t like the cheap, fashionable luggage that she was used to.  These two “security consultants” she’d hired actually came prepared.  As she lifted the top, she saw what looked like the largest shotgun ever. “What is this?” she barely managed over the roar of the engine.

“It’s an elephant gun,” Zanza answered. “Give it to me,” he added curtly.  She handed the two large sections of it forward, one at a time. “I need the shells, also.  All of them.” Zanza quickly assembled the large weapon.

Karen passed forward a very large, heavy box of ammunition. “How many…” she wanted to ask.  Zanza popped the box open quickly and pulled out a pair of the shotgun shells. “They’re as big as my fist!”

“Yeah,” JD added instantly. “Listen, an elephant weighs about… what, two tons?  The big ones are maybe three or four.”

“Okay,” Karen confirmed.

“So, this thing weighs over seven tons.”

“Right.  So?” Karen asked.

“So,” JD warned, “we don’t even know what we’re dealing with.”

“Where’s his heart,” Zanza demanded.

“What the hell is he?”

“Stop,” Zanza ordered.  The Jeep came to an immediate halt amongst a number of trees before a clearing. “Stop,” he whispered.  They waited silently.  Ahead was the gift shop and first aid room. “Turn off the engine,” he added, not bothering to cover his thick, Zulu accent.

“Nah,” JD refused.

“Now.  He’ll hear us,” Zanza added quietly.

No sooner than the engine was stopped did a man stumble forward only a few yard before them, utterly exhausted. “God…” he could barely say, wheezing. The man, now falling forward, saw the three sitting in the Jeep watching him. “He… help,” he could barely utter.  The man looked back from where he came.

Zanza quickly loaded the elephant gun and pulled the hammer back, cocking it quietly. “When it’s distracted…” They waited several seconds as the man tried to squirm backward, tears rolling.  He tried again to called out for help, but could only gasp.

Carcharodontosaurus.  The name literally means shark toothed dragon.  Taking its time, it moved forward like a lioness, then gracefully reached down with its talons to dismember the man.  He screamed bloody murder, trying again to pull away, but its claws now trapped him in his spot.  At 45 feet in length and 20 feet just at the hips, it was truly a monster.  Longer, taller, and heavier than Tyrannosaurus Rex, it was possibly the largest land predator of all time.  Breathing heavily, it cut into the man, its attention on his eyes as he cried, whimpering for help.

Zanza threw two more of the large shells in his pocket, then darted out the passenger side door to line up a good shot.  The dinosaur instantly turned its attention toward him with a death stare, angry again. “Get in front!” he yelled as he slammed the door closed. “Get up there!”

The carcharodontosaurus pulled its talons out of the man then turned toward them.  JD started the engine and revved the engine hard, trying to distract the beast.  Karen instinctively yelled “No!” but JD pulled instantly away from his friend, who fired on shot into the side of the creature, causing it to yell angrily.

As it started forward toward the Jeep, JD honked the horn and yelled out the open windows. “HEY!” Turning the wheel and gunning it. “HEY!” Zanza reloaded and took aim again as JD circled around, drawing the dinosaur toward him.

“Why? No!” Karen cried.

“Come get some!” he yelled out the window.  Zanza fired another shot into the creature, then immediately reloaded. “Where’s his heart?!” Honking and yelling wildly, driving even harder and racing the engine, the beast turned its attention again toward Zanza. “No!”  Honking again, JD yelled “No!  Here!” It was no use.  With the monster turning away, JD grunted and turned the wheel hard over, ramming the animal’s left ankle as hard as he could.  It has almost no effect, and the angry creature turned again toward Zanza.

They could now see blood pouring down from the animals’ neck on the left side, but nothing more. “Drive!” JD screamed, jumping out of the driver’s side. “Drive, Karen!  Hit him again!” She jumped into the driver’s seat and simply rammed the predator’s rear ankle again, barely distracting it.  Zanza managed one more shot, but only angered the creature more.  JD ran to the winch, pulled out a few feet, then bravely wrapped a section around the creature’s ankle as it tried to grab Zanza.  Hooking in, he now had a hold on its leg, temporarily holding it. “Reverse!  Now!”

The noise and distraction drew the creature toward JD, who lept out of the way just in time, though landing right on his face.  Trying to lunge forward, carcharodontosaurus nearly tripped, barely holding itself up with its right foot. “Reverse!”

Karen put the four wheel drive in Low, then the transmission into R.  Barely moving, she dropped the half empty box of ammo on the gas pedal and jumped out, running away from the animal as fast as she could.

“No, Karen, the ammo box!” Zanza yelled hopelessly.  All three turned and ran toward the artificial 20 foot wide river than ran through the park, jumping in as the dinosaur fought the slow tug of the Jeep.  The three swam downriver for a minute, then turned back to see that they were not being followed.  The water, at least, was carrying them at a fairly fast pace.  They heard the roaring and yelling of the animal, then the terrible sound of crushing glass and metal, followed by a snapping sound and a vehicle being flipped over repeatedly.

“At least he’s got it out of his system,” JD offered sardonically.

“Are you sure?  You guys shot him like three times.  Why isn’t he dead?”

“No.  How long will it take before he come for us?”

“I think the better question,” Bandera suggested realistically, “is how do we kill it?”

“My father hired famous paleontologist Stephen Dunn.  He would know more about these than anyone.”

“I just need to know where is the heart.”

“It’s not in the neck, I can tell you that much, Zan.”

“You try shooting at a predator that is trying to kill you.”

Reaching a river bank, the three take to the sandbar.  There is an artificial cliff face that keeps them from climbing up the walls, but the small beach allows an easy way out.

“Hey… Karen,” Zanza asks.

“Yeah?”

“This isn’t where Super Croc lives, is it?”

“Uh…  I hope not.  Because…”

Suddenly, an enormous 40 foot crocodile lunges outward toward the group.  They run straight up the sandbar into dry land.  JD helps Karen up onto the clearing, but Zanza does not.  The croc simply pauses at the waterline, attempting to decide whether or not to pursue them.

The three turn simultaneously and look back.

After a moment of looking up motionless, the water borne reptile turns it attention back to the comfort of the water and wades back in.

“Close call!” Karen narrates.

“Yeah, we’ve been getting a lot of those lately,” JD retorts.

 

— — —

 

“Capture it?” Professor Dunn was speaking over the satellite phone. “It’s already killed or maimed at least a dozen people.” Murphy stood by, holding his hand out, wanting to take the phone, though this only added to the stress on Dunn. “My granddaughter is…” Another long pause. “Yes, I understand, but…” Whomever it was wasn’t taking no for an answer. “I appreciate your concern, but there are lives at stake…!” Murphy continued to press for the phone.  Dunn finally gave up and handed the phone off.

“I understand,” offered Murphy with his mixed Indian accent and Creole influence. “I understand…  Yessir, I understand.  We will…  Yessir, I understand.” There was now a long pause for an explanation. “Yes…  yes, and I will… will do.  We have certified staff.  Roger and out.” Murphy set down the satellite phone. “Okay, Mr. Dunn…”

“Professor Dunn.  Look…”

“Professor Dunn, yes, okay, look sir.  We are under orders to tranquilize the carcharo… charodinosaurus, and we will, we will put him down and transport him back to his original enclosure.”

“There isn’t enough…”

“Mr. uh… Professor Dunn, okay.  We have to… we have to track down the creature and we will tranquilize it, and we will transport it to its pen.”

“Look, Mr. Murphy.  That animal weighs more than three elephants.  It has been pumped up on hormones, drugs, and steroids almost since birth.  Now I don’t know what you plan on injecting this creature with, but there is not enough of it on the whole island.”

“We will shoot him again, Mis… Professor.  I have certified staff standing by.”

“You cannot pierce that hide, and the metabolism of this creature makes this impossible…”

“Okay okay.  Okay, we can achieve this objective because we are capable… and we will solve the problem.”

“Oh no.  Oh no, no, no.  We have tried to subdue carcharodontosaurus before, and it is not effective.  Now if you will allow me to…”

“Okay, I am asking you to play with the team.  We have certified…”

“This is suicide!”

“Yes, okay.  I agree, but this is the game plan, and we have the best men that money can buy.”

 

Bandera, Zanza, and Woodsworth come to the less well known rear entrance of the security command center.  From the back door, it is not nearly as impressive, and could be mistaken for a service shed.

“How did you two know that this is it?” Karen asked.

“We do our research when we are hired,” Zanza offered.

“Besides, we go through the back door all the time.”

“How many dinosaur parks have you bailed out?”

“Y’know, Karen…” He looks back at Zanza and thinks. “This isn’t the first time someone’s tried to turn an island into a theme park with dinosaurs.  Actually, they get loose a lot.” The three come to the door.  It appears to have suffered some neglect. “Is it just me or…”

“It’s just you.  My father thought of everything.”

“Where is your father, anyway?” JD sized up the mechanical number lock. “Nevermind, what’s the pass code?”

“Pass…? Uh, it was… 3, 3, something, one.”

“Three, three, something, one isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Zanza warned. “This lock uses five numbers, so I hope that something refers to two things.”

“Well…” Karen worked things out. “Yeah… actually, it might have been… three, three, oh, one… five?”

“Is that like your birthday or something,” hinting at her youth.

“No!” She looked at the mechanical lock, hoping that seeing it in person might jog her memory.

Suddenly, Professor Dunn stepped out, apparently startled to see that someone else was there. “You?!  Why are you…?  Taking a dip?”

“Long story, uh…” Bandera wondered.

“JD, this is Professor Dunn.  He’s one of the world’s foremost…”

“Paleontologists, yeah.  Hey, you gotta…”

“Do you know how to kill it?” asked Zanza.

“Chief of Operations is demanding that we stun it,” replied Dunn.

“Something tells me that you’re not in that camp,” Bandera added.

“My granddaughter is out there.” Clasping his hands together over his face, Dunn continues.  “There is a substantial cost associated with each of these creatures.  Now carcharodontosaurus is a large draw for this park.  Investors are concerned that the loss of life coupled with the loss of such an attraction…”

“Yeah,” JD finished.

“My father owns a large part of this project, so…”

“So keep feeding tourists to the beasty,” Zanza retorted.

“I don’t know,” Karen thought out loud. “I don’t know, but… “

“Karen,” Dunn offered, “the only way to restore public confidence in this island is to show potential visitors that we are absolutely serious about their safety.

Karen finally became silent, a trick that he father had taught her many years ago.  Her rigid poker face was slowly replaced with realization.  She was the decision maker.  Now, at 22, her voice would be the one to convince her father and others within the board to kill carcharodontosaurus… if it was even possible to do this.

Zanza stared at her, watching the change in her demeanor.  In true laconic style, he remained silent most of the time.  He would speak little, but he said a lot.  Karen looked again at Dunn, hoping for some other solution.

“Why not just kill it?  That’s what we’ve been…” JD was interrupted by Dunn.

“I understand,” he said quietly, “that there is a substantial price tag on this particular creature.”  He paused, making positive eye contact with her. “But people are dying.”

Zanza now weighed in. “It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Karen finally nodded.

 

* * *

 

Surrounding the damaged steal fencing and zip line platform were Murphy and two dozen armed security guards, most with shotguns, all nervous and staring into the enclosure.  A crane and construction crew were hard at work pulling the steal platform back up.  The steal rods that had been so easily snapped were being replaced one by one with dramatically thicker bars with much larger shackles, bolts, and connectors.

“Mr. Murphy!” a man in a suit ran up to see him, carrying a large satellite phone.

“Colonel Murphy,” the security chief yelled without turning to face away from the work. “That’s part of my contract!”

“Colonel Murphy, I just got a call from high up,” the suited man said.  Murphy turned, a subtle, sly, practiced look that he’d seen in a movie somewhere.  The man in the suit tried to remain professional at the drama queen before him. “Colonel, you’re to subdue him.”

“Subdue?”

“Yes, it means tranquilize.”

“I know what subdue means,” Murphy retorted proudly. “I know,” now less certain.  He became nervous at the thought. “Does the president know that we have him closed in?”

“No… I mean, I didn’t know.”

“Can you please call and get confirmation?” Murphy asked.

“Sir,” the man in the suit was very serious, “the Board has voted.  They voted to allocate funds to tranquilize him.”

“Sergeant,” Murphy yelled at one of the security guards. “Get the heat sensing equipment.”

“Heat?” the guard replied. “With all due respect, sir, it’s almost 95 degrees out!  We won’t be able to see him with the equipment until nightfall.”

“I have orders.  Now so do you.  We will go in and track him.” Murphy was forceful, yet uncertain.  He turned back to the man in the suit. “Go back to the security command center and find our pilot.”

“Pilot?” the man in the suit was incredulous.

“Helicopter pilot.  He will be somewhere on the island.  Someone in headquarters will know exactly where he is.”

The man in the suit turned away, satellite phone still in hand.  He walked back at a brisk pace.

 

 

“They’ll want the helicopter in the air,” Dunn said aloud, driving his Range Rover away toward the far side of Dinosaur Island, all four windows rolled down.  Karen and Zanza were in the back seat, JD sight seeing from the passenger’s seat. “That’s a bad idea, but they’ll want it for show.”

“At least we know that it’s not eating people,” Karen hoped. “You know you have a yellow labrador sleeping back here…”

“Do you know that for sure?” Zanza asked, ignoring Karen’s commentary.  Silence provided a descriptive answer. “Do we know for a fact that no one is left alive in the enclosure?” Silence again.

“No,” was Dunn’s belated reply. “No, we don’t.” JD looked over at him for more information. “I counted while watching the security cameras.  Ten people went in when the platform collapsed.  Only one woman came off the tower.  Two stopped moving when they hit the ground.  Three more were mauled.” The Range Rover turned around a tight corner, hitting bumps in the muddy dirt road, almost losing control. “There was a girl who ran.  Very small.”

“Small?” Karen asked.

“She’s ten.  She ran,” Dunn stated emotionally. “She’s ten.”

“That means at least one survivor,” JD indicated, “but possibly, what, five?”

“Four,” Zanza offered. “Possible survivors.  Professor, where are we going?” he added inquisitively, curious.

“Yeah, we’re headed away from the enclosure.  That monster is back inside of it for some reason.”

“It’s not hunting for food.  It’s hunting people.  It’s killing for sport… or maybe aggression.  It’s somehow learned to hate human beings.  I think it smells us and senses us as competition.”

“Competition?” asked Karen. “How?  For what?”

“Carcharodontosaurus is intelligent by dinosaur standards, which is pretty smart.  Better than a house cat.”

“Why?” she continued.

“I don’t know, but they are sole hunters.  As part of a test, we put this one in front of a large mirror.” He slowed the Range Rover down to climb a very steep, dirt hill.  Dunn pulled a lever next to the transmission to switch to 4-Lo.  Slowly, the vehicle climbed. “Some animals don’t recognize their reflection.  A lion will attack its own reflection aggressively, and carcharodontosaurus did exactly that.  He was just a juvenile, but he was vicious.”

“Okay,” she tried to prompt him to continue. “So?”

“That’s when we realized that we needed to beef up his enclosure.  The only habitat that could hold him in the park was small, and he’s been cooped up there ever since.”

“Until the protestors,” she added.

“Yes.  When I returned from sabbatical, I saw that they’d moved him.  I filed a complaint with the Board, but it was pointless.  That steal fencing won’t hold him in.  I’m surprised that it held him as long as it did.”

“Then why won’t they just kill him?  They have weapons on the island that can.”

“They think they do.  After digging through rare fossils of these creatures, only a few fragments of intact proteins were found, not enough to reconstruct its genome.  We had to sift through everything from Velociraptor to Archosaurus to find anything, and guess at what we didn’t know.  It cost close to one billion dollars to make this animal, and it’s the primary draw for the park.”

“Okay, so we go without.”

“Mr. Bandera, it takes fifteen years to regrow them.  The oldest one in the nursery is only two years old, and he may have to be destroyed also.  No one abused this one growing up.  They’re just fiercely territorial.”

“But we’re so small.  Why would it see us as competition?” Karen asked.

“Nearly all apex predators spend as much time killing smaller competitors, even from their own species, to maintain control.  Carcharodontosaurus needed at least 500 square kilometers to have enough room to feed itself.  However it sees us, it smells meat eaters.  In fact, it smells meet everywhere.  It’s sense of smell is greater than that of a bloodhound, and visitors are devouring ten dollar hot dogs and hamburgers all day.”

“So it views us like raptor dinosaurs?” JD thought out loud. “It thinks that we’re killing off its prey.”

“Perhaps it doesn’t think that way at all.  It’s just driven by survival instinct, and we don’t know if that behavioral DNA that’s become active in adulthood has come from carcharodontosaurus or something else.  All we know is that this animal has become very territorial since it’s reached full size.”

“Omigod,” JD stated tersely, as the vehicle came to a stop.

“Is there something on the island that can kill it?” Karen said.

“There is only one thing,” Zanza responded. “Look.”

She poked her head out the open window. “I don’t understand.”

“You don’t want to understand,” JD added. “Omigod.  There’s got  to be another way.

“No, there isn’t,” Dunn replied as he maneuvered the Range Rover around to the side of a gigantic set of double doors sealing a much larger compound with steal reinforced concrete walls that were 30 feet high. “The doors have never been opened.”

“These doors should never be opened,” Zanza added.

Karen stayed in the truck. “You can’t… do this.  You can’t be thinking…” she tried to articulate.

Dunn leaned into the truck. “Karen, there may be four survivors inside the Carcharodontosaurus Habitat.  In a few hours, that number will be zero.  When that happens, it will break out at some other point and start killing again.  We cannot get people to safety by the time that happens.”

“Then we’ll have two of these things running around killing people,” Bandera warned.

“No.  No.  She can smell carcharodontosaurus right now.  She’s wanted nothing more than to hunt him down and kill him.”

“Dunn, you’re forgetting something.” Dunn looked at the other two men.

Zanza finally answered. “He’s two tons heavier.” It was true.  Carcharodontosaurus was also much longer, taller, and had vicious talons than could cut through steal, let alone another animal.  It’s arms were stronger and the height advantage could be insurmountable.  Taller animals are able to come down on competitors and deliver a fatal bit to the neck.  Such a fight could be short, with the heavier carcharodontosaurus using its massive body weight to rip back and forth, killing his challenger easily.

“Look, while these two are chasing each other, we will have time to get those people out of there,” Dunn added.

“What’s your plan if they decide to tag team the rest of us?” JD warned.

“They won’t.  Now help me open this.” Professor Dunn made forceful eye contact with JD Bandera, a simple contest of reason, rather than will.  He was right.  There was no other way.  The steal fencing would not hold, and there were not enough boats and sea planes to evacuate everyone quickly.  JD walked over to the far side of the double doors to a panel.  Dunn looked at the a second panel on the opposite side. “If I understand this, we have to turn both keys at the same time.  Do you have yours?”

“Zanza has it.”

“You two have lost your mind.” Zanza pulled a necklace out of his shirt to reveal a master security key attached. “They should have used separate keys for this one,” he added reflectively

“At the same time,” Dunn added again.

Both men broke open the clear plastic cover, disregarding the bring red and yellow warning stickers both above and on the panels themselves.  Following Dunn, Zanza placed his key inside the lock, then looked back at the professor.  Dunn nodded twice to a tempo, then slowed, turning his key at the exact same time as Zanza.

“Wait…” Karen said. “Nothing happened.”

“The internal locks are being recovered on the inside of the doors,” Dunn added quietly, almost thinking out loud. “They’re hydraulic.” The sound of metal locking open could be heard, followed by a quiet whirring sound coming from several servos, then nothing. “They won’t open.” The doors, he thought, might have rusted shut.  They might have to use the Range Rover to pull the doors open somehow.  JD quickly returned to the truck, looking inside the window and into the back.

“Karen, do you see straps back there?” he asked.

“How long will it take for her to reach the doors,” Karen asked nervously.

Dunn was now motionless.  Zanza could detect the sense of danger from him, and became motionless himself, eyeing his friend.  JD stood still, eyes wide open.  They instantly turned to the double doors.

“Omigod…” Dunn mouthed silently.  What had he done?  One door moved slowly on its own, but only a few inches.  Suddenly, both doors began to move at a steady pace, driven by the motors.  Dunn looked over at Karen and JD, who now silently but quickly climbed into the back seat.  The enormous, 25 foot high double door swung wide open, perpendicular to the wall before stopping.  Zanza stood completely behind his door, and Dunn stepped quietly back, then looking back up.

“Roll the windows up,” JD whispered.

“No!” she whispered quietly. “She’ll hear us…”

JD looked over the seat right at her.  She stared back understandingly.

The yellow labrador was now awake, staring out the rear window nervously.

 

 

The helicopter made its way over the lush canopy.  A refurbished Coast Guard rescue chopper, it was still equipped with a winch and rescue equipment that would not pass inspection in the States.  There were pontoons attached for take off and landing in bodies of water.  So near sunset, it was difficult to make anything out. “Listen,” the man in the suit leaned over to the pilot needlessly, talking into his microphone. “We need to get closer to the ground.”

The pilot stared back at him incredulously.  He looked down at his controls and instruments.  Giving one look back, he let the control stick go forward a bit, easing up on the peddle and allowing the helicopter to descend. “One hundred feet, no higher,” the man in the suit added.

One hundred feet above sea level?  The pilot ran the numbers in his head.  The highest peak on the island was over 150 feet above sea level.  To come down below 100 feet would not even be allowed under international standards. “Any lower than this and I’d have to go over the lagoon.”

“We have orders from on high,” the man in the suit responded flatly.

“Micromanaging,” the pilot responded laconically.

“I won’t tell anyone you said that.” The helicopter maneuvered quickly over the palm trees, but they could barely see down, and couldn’t make out the shaded forest floor. “Looks like Costa Rica!” They turned, coming even closer to the hill, placing them in danger from below.  The pilot couldn’t see the ground, and the canopy was deceptive.  Carcharodontosaurus would certainly hear them… and not want to hear them, the pilot thought. “Closer.”

“I will have to take us over the lagoon,” the pilot insisted. “And we’re running low on fuel.  Ten minutes and we’ll have to land.”

“We have our orders.” The satellite phone rang and was answered immediately.  The conversation could be heard over everyone’s helmet.  The pilot turned and looked at the three security guards in the back, none trained for using the old rescue equipment that they carried. “Certified?  Yes, all of them.” There was a pause. “Yes, the same as the Coast Guard uses.  In fact, it’s the very same equipment.” The pilot tried to speak up, but the man held his hand up to hear.  The conversation was going on for too long.  The helicopter was hovering low, passing the beach and looking in through the canopy ashore. “Okay.” Pause. “Okay.” Another pause. “Yessir.  Roger than.  Out.”

“We have to make a water landing!” the pilot yelled out, trying to hide his frustration.  It will take hours before we can refuel.

The man in the suit looked at him as though he was from outer space. “Shit!” He put his hand on his helmet, stressed out. “Damnit!  Okay, do it!” The chopper was already descending, then rested its pontoons on the calm waters of the large lagoon.  The man finally set down his satellite phone and hit a button on the console. “HQ, HQ, this is Eagle.”

“Come back, Eagle,” they all heard over the speakers in their helmets.

“Roger, yeah… We’ve had to make an emergency landing.  Requesting the boat for refuel.”

“What’s your ten?”

Ten? the man wondered. “We’re in the lagoon,” the pilot responded.  Near an outcropping of rocks.

“Negative, negative,” the voice was heard over the radio. “Will not place the boat in the lagoon.”

The two looked at each other quizzically.  Why not?

“Why?  I mean… What… we need fuel, over,” the man in the  suit.

Inside security command, three men and a woman were talking over each other. “No no no!  Get them out of there!”

“They can’t!  Why did they land,” the woman asked, almost hysterical. “Get them out of there!”

The voice came back over a moment later, strangely trying to calm them with an excessively patronizing voice. “You five need to, uh…” he paused. “You need to uh… extricate.” Those in the helicopter were confused.  Why?  What could be here?  Would the dinosaur chase them all the way to the water?  Could it swim? “Look,” now the voice was nervous. “You need… to…” jittery, barely able to speak. “You need to… to…”

“Need to what?” the pilot asked.  Now they just heard screaming and arguing over the radio.  The three men in back of the chopper were now standing fighting to get the sliding door open. “Need to…”

“Get out!  Get out of there!  It’s coming right toward you!” was the response over the radio.  They could hear all voices yelling and arguing, nervous. “Get out, now!” The rear door slid open and one of the men jumped in, swimming as fast as he could toward the large granite rocks at that stood out.  They were only about 50 yards away. “Swim!  Swim! Swim!” The three men swam as quickly as they could.  The man in the suit looked at the pilot again for an indication, but he was frozen with fear, staring straight ahead, unable to speak.  Looking forward, a bulge in the brackish, dark water was coming toward them fast.  They heard more screaming over the speakers, the first voice trying to calm them. “You need… you… you.  God no.  God no!”

The bulge submerged.  The dark silhouette on the water disappeared.

Nothing.  Nothing.  The man heard the satellite phone ring, and for the first time, he simply ignored it.  It stopped.  Then it began ringing again, but he was paralyzed with fear.  The phone stopped, then began ringing a third time.  This time, the caller did not hang up, letting it ring continuously.

“Ahhh!” They heard screaming out the port side of the aircraft.  There were now two man swimming frantically back toward them.  What had happened to the third, he thought.  He couldn’t see anyone on the rock.  They tried swimming faster, but the second man simply submerged instantly, as though yanked down hard.

Oh no, the man thought, ignoring the ringing phone. “Don’t come back toward us!  Don’t!  NOOOO!” He frantically snaked back into the rear of the chopper, then slammed to door closed as some imaginary protection.  The man swimming was yelling and screaming for him to open the door.  Suddenly, the voice stopped.  The man in the suit began to cry helplessly.

The helicopter moved up and down, then turned as though a wave had passed underneath.  The pilot finally pulled his helmet off and jumped out the door, swimming for the rocks as hard as he could.  Oh no, the man in the suit thought.  He’d left the door open for that thing to get in!  He reached forward to close the pilots door in front, but saw a gigantic pair of jaws spring up out of the water, completely engulfing the helicopter.  Clamping down, he immediately felt the walls of it crushing in around him.  Being wildly tossed around inside its jaws, he could see the sunlight trying to drive in through its enormous teeth, each as large as his head.

The helicopter was being yanked down into the lagoon, water gushing in from everywhere.  He would drown before he was eaten.  Red emergency lights came on inside the craft, and the walls closed in even tighter, water gushing in again.

With another powerful toss back and forth, he was struck by the walls of the craft, bloodying him and almost knocking him unconscious.  The satellite phone, incredibly, was still ringing away.  With each ring, the monster seemed even more incensed, perhaps driven insane by the need to make things silent.  He now tried to reach forward to grab the phone and hang it up, but the ringing began again, followed by the helicopter being tosses around again.  Now the walls were being crushed but the enormous teeth of the sea monster.  In and out, they continued to tenderize the craft.

Trapped inside, unable to move, with only a small pocket of air left near the ceiling, the man tried to push as hard as he could to maneuver forward, but was trapped helplessly.  Immersed in water, the satellite phone continued ringing.

Finally, with a powerful pull, Predator X pulled the entire craft the back of its throat, crunching down on it completely, then pulling the wreckage down to the bottom of the lagoon.

 

The sun now setting, there was very little light to work with.  None of the four at the set up giant double doors had moved.  In an instant, the front two feet of a snout stuck out from the doors, at least fifteen feet high, JD thought.  The dog in the back seat was sensible enough to remain silent.

Almost ten inches apart, the nostrils blew out and back in several times, sniffing the air.  Karen could see the banana sized teeth sticking out from the top.  Unmistakable front teeth, uniquely D-shaped for pulling large chunks of flesh off of bone, the hunter sniffed the air to sense what was around her.  It was the dog that drew her interest.  Pushing her head out further, the eyes and ears of tyrannosaurus rex were just visible beyond the read of the door.  She pushed her head out just a bit further, coming down to inspect the truck.

The yellow lab cried in fear, but the T-Rex showed little interest in any of them.  There was no threat here, and that was all she needed to know.  She stepped forward silently, like a predator, now totally and immutably fixed on something in the distance, something that none of them could see.

She sniffed the air again, then pushed her snout up, widening her nostrils to detect what she could.  Taking one more step forward, the could see her chest and small, powerful arms, tipped with two large talons.  She flexed her shoulder muscles, moving the arms up and down slightly, then lifted her head into the air, standing motionless like a statue.

JD looked across at Zanza, who was now out beyond the door to look inside at the giant.  Again, tyrannosaurus took step forward, then another, then began a slow, silent stride.  She had found something, JD thought.  No, she had known that something had been out there this entire time.  With a powerful set of jaws like a pit bull, yet with a skull five feet long, she might actually stand a chance in a fight.  With or without any chance of winning, she appeared ready to fight to the death to control her territory.

“Wait a minute,” JD quietly mouthed.  She was thinking.  She was planning.  Some complex plan of attack was being built up inside her mind.  Processing questions and taking unknown issues into account, she had every eventuality she could think of being worked out.  Stopping again, she looked around, then at the truck, and finally back down the dirt road.  In a moment, she dropped a large pile of smelly dung out her backside, then urinated all over it.  It left an unmistakeable, masculine musk.  One could smell the combination just as soon as it had hit the air.

The dog whimpered again in the back of the Range Rover, apparently smelling aggression in the urine of the tyrannosaur.  She turned back into the back of the truck trying to find a decent hiding spot.  Seeing none, the yellow lab kneeled down in an uncomfortable position trying to look small, her tail tucked in as she took the fetal position.

It was only now that the massive tail had cleared the doors that JD finally appreciated the heft of this creature.  He could understand the crowd pleasing draw of this muscular powerhouse.  It strode effortlessly down the dirt road, making no effort to hide herself.  Purpose built for fighting other tyrannosaurs, it had no other purpose.

“Hard to believe that’s a scavenger,” Dunn stated.

Zanza gave him a slight smile. “Professor, that is no scavenger.”

T-Rex broke into a full stride, almost a run.  They could neither hear nor feel the effects of its passing.  Only the sight and smell of her remained in their memories as it disappeared into the forest.

“Amazing!” Dunn exclaimed. “Isn’t she… isn’t she something?”

“He’ll kill her, though,” Karen worried. “She’s so small compared to other one.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Stacy is only 35 feet long,” Karen warned. “Carcharodontosaurus is 45 feet long.  She’s too small.”

Too small?  Dunn thought about it.

“Something you’re not telling us?” JD asked.

“What do you mean?” Dunn stated.

“How did you know that the girl was ten?”

“I told you,” Dunn paused. “No, I thought…” He looked back and forth at the three.  I’ll explain on the way.  He jumped into the driver’s seat, followed by Zanza.  As the headed down the road, dodging the odorous package left behind, Dunn explained.

They had sent the one living tyrannosaurus to her to her death, perhaps, but this would buy them the precious time that they needed to rescue his granddaughter.  The financial cost to park could be insurmountable.  At this point, there might never be a way to keep Dinosaur Island profitable.  After all, who would spend $900 a day to bring their children to a theme park where the attractions attack and kill indiscriminately.  He explained the economic problems of the parent company, which also own a struggling shipping line.  Forced to return either to the bank or to investors, the Woodsworth family would lose even more control of the project, and perhaps even the one board seat that they had left.  Dunn ran off on a tangent arguing against corporate personhood, but the three were no longer listening, just thinking about what terrors the night could bring.

 

— — —

 

Cassandra had survived somehow, but she was exhausted walking.  She had run up as high as she could, following an old service trail that was barely wide enough to get an ATV through, to put as much distance as possible between her and the zebra striped monster, but still remaining visible in case a rescue was possible.  The trail was just visible as the one line through the forest that wasn’t completely covered in ferns and bushes.  She hadn’t seen nor heard the creature, and was in fact completely unaware that it was back inside the enclosure hunting her.  She had seen the attack on the helicopter in the lagoon, but it had been so distant from her vantage point that she tried to imagine that no one was inside when it was taken down by Predator X.

Now near the top of the hill overlooking the forest canopy below, she was clear of the palm trees, navigating shorter bushes that were barely higher than her head.  She looked around and could see almost the whole island from here.  The sun having just set, there was still just enough light to make out the lagoon and the walkway on the far side of it.  She could see the gift shops, clothing stores, food stands, and galleries on the far side of the lagoon that lined the walkway.  Turning around, she could see the hotels and restaurants, the dinosaur themed rides, and another swimsuit shop that she had passed up coming in.  There were signs, billboards, golf carts used by the maintenance staff, and even a gazebo that provided shade to guests while they devoured then ten dollar hamburgers.  Having a monopoly on guests, everything was two to three times the price, but at least the grilled food was good, she remembered.

She’d always liked greasy foods, but was now becoming aware of the need to keep the weight off.  Eat healthy, and she might become a model, she dreamed.  She saw girls barely older than her strutting up and down the runway, which she didn’t like.  Yet many others were doing photography for clothing magazines.  That seemed more practical to her.  After all, there were lots of magazines, and there couldn’t possibly be enough fit ten year old girls with time off from school to meet the demand.

Millions of people would see her, she knew.  And her attitude was so… so… what was the word.  She didn’t want to say ‘sassy,’ but it was sure appropriate.  Her mother referenced her now ‘sassy’ attitude, and had even slapped her for it.  Incorrigible, Cassandra had carefully cultivated this half-arrogance, half-classy look.  She was the best, she knew.  Her attitude, whatever it may be termed, was clearly superior to that of the other girls.

Or perhaps she would wander the streets of Paris with her sass, impressing all of the French girls with her want of respect.  Forgetting about her current predicament, she saw what looked like a black, iridescent crow land before her, but with a very long tail and what looked like wings on its legs.  It was not a bird, she realized.  Coming closer to it, she examined it closely.  It squawked, revealing its tiny teeth and lack of a beak.  It’s eyes were more predatory, and its claws more purposed for taking down small prey animals.

This was Microraptor, a probably common ancestor for birds and dinosaurs, she thought.  Putting her head closer, then reaching out to it, the animal jumped into the air and glided away, rather than fly.  She could see as it made its way back into the forest canopy that it had long feathers on its legs also, allowing it to glide down, losing very little altitude as it flew.

Under the light of the full moon and failing sunlight, she noticed some movement in some of the trees.  Barely noticeable, she tried to imagine what might be large enough to caused the palms to move back and forth hundreds of yards away.  Perhaps some large monkey had lept from one tree to another.  Whatever it was, it was too far away to go see it.  Curious, she thought she’d try to get a glimpse of what might cause that.  Worried, she remained fixated on those trees.  How long would it take to get there, she wondered.  It seemed so far.

Now the trees moved again, but this time, the palms swayed aside on a group of trees a few yards closer.  Was this a monkey?  If so, it was making good time, and it was headed right for her.  She looked around in the bushes that she was standing around.  They would not conceal her at all from the top of the hill.  Another set of palms rustled to one side, then back to their original position.  She knew that she’d better move.  Was that the huge zebra striped creature that had attacked earlier?  She thought that it had escaped the enclosure.  She walked briskly back down the far side of the hill, following the poorly maintain service trail that she had found earlier.  Her walk quickly turned into a quiet run, realizing that it must have returned.

I’m only ten.  I must be exempt from the rule, she imagined.  She had seen a horror movie about a man with a hockey mask who went around cutting everyone in half.  It left little kids alone as it crushed the heads of arrogant, drunk teenagers.  Could this monster know the rule?  Was there a way to tell it?

She ran faster, now, just able to find the trail.  It went do the hill over roots and large rocks, none of which would save her.  She was already tired and hoped that she’d lost the animal.  Could she make it to the lagoon?  It would not dare follow her in, for fear of Predator X swimming about.  It was a poor plan, but it was now all she had.  She did not need to run faster, only fast enough to get to the beach.  How long would that take, she thought as she ran hard, breathing heavily.  She felt sweat building up on her as she approach the end of the forest.  She saw light there and hope that light represented safety.

Gasping, she decided to stop and be silent.  Perhaps she could then tell if she was being followed.  Stopping, she looked behind her and listened.  Nothing.  Not a sound.  How odd that the birds were not chirping.  The crickets and other insects that she’d gotten used to were now utterly silent.  That was all she needed to know.

 

— — —

 

Back at the platform, the crane was struggling to pull the tower up.  This left an enormous opening that would not keep carcharodontosaurus trapped inside.  Starting to fix spot lights to continue work into the night, the lead engineer had started to discuss a temporary stop gap measure to string steal cables together to stitch the opening shut.  They could use large canisters of pepper spray to deter the animal from breaking through again, should he return.

“I strongly doubt that it would work,” Murphy argued.  He turned to continue, “Nothing stops…”

The lead engineer, Eric Johnston wondered why the head of security had stopped talking.  He turned around and saw tyrannosaurus approaching them at full stride.  Still silent, it was nevertheless making good time approaching them.

Guards and construction workers began running and shouting, fearful of another attack. “Run!” yelled Johnston. “Run!”

Men and women ran for their very lives, already setting up a panic amongst the few guests who were watching the work from afar.

The tyrannosaur ignored them, striding athletically toward the opening, the slipping inside with a quiet leap, just like like a tiger on the hunt.  A second later, the wall began to creek, then move.

“It’s pushing it!” Johnston narrated helplessly.  “It’s pushing it over!” What?  Why?  The wall now sealed shut.  It was trapping the other predator in the enclosure, he realized.  Now stopped, those guests watching began applauding as though watching some great performance.  They were being protected, if inadvertently, by the second carnivorous theropod from the first.

 

Cass couldn’t see nor hear anything, but she knew that there was something wrong.  She turned and ran again, this time as fast as she could.  Behind her, she could now hear and feel something stumbling along, twice as large as an elephant, it sounded.  Pushing trees, branches, and vegetation aside as it ran toward her, it broke into a loud sprint, disregarding the fact that she was now aware of its presence.  In fact, it was breathing heavily in order to keep up.  It even roared now, angry.  It started yelling as if to startle her.

And it was working.  Completely exhausted, the girl pushed herself as fast as her ten year old legs could carry her.  Frantically, she ran without looking back.  Seeing the cliff ahead of her, she could hear each footstep of the monster crushing vegetation beneath its feet.  Only a hundred yards away from the cliff, she knew that she would have to jump.  There would no time to hesitate or look, and she only hoped for a short drop or a water landing.

Oh no!  Not the water! The lagoon, she realized had an even worse threat swimming around.  The entire lagoon was fenced off in other parts of the park, but she knew that the service trail would have no warning.  Did she want to be eaten on land or by something coming up from underneath?

Only a few yards out, she could now feel the breath of the predator on her, also gasping for air as it ran, trying not to slip or strike a tree.  The trail had finally straightened out, and she saw only water beyond it. “No!” she cried out, seeing no possibility of surviving the night.  Even if just for a few short minutes, it was worth it to run.  Terrified of both heights and water, she reached the cliff and dove for it, feeling the snout of the predator strike her from behind, attempting wildly to clamp down and make a short meal of her.

She fell forward, hoping to at least see the water, but it was all rocks and sand below.  Had she lept just a bit harder, she might have made the water.  Would she die on the rocks or the sand, she wondered, but at least not in the jaws of that creature.

Running up underneath her was tyrannosaurus.  No, she tried to maneuver as she fell, but to no avail.  It looked right up at her, focused, then opened its jaws to let her fall into its mouth.

 

* * *

 

The Range Rover finally pulled up to the work site.  Dunn leaned out and spoke directly with Johnston, the lead engineer. “Is there some way in?”

“I am not giving you permission to enter the enclosure,” Murphy interceded with his authority.

“There’s a vehicle service entrance a little farther down, but you might not be able to squeeze this in,” Johnston informed them.

“I forbid it,” Murphy interjected again.

“Thank you,” Bandera replied.  Dunn immediately drove forward, leaving Murphy cursing at them from behind. “Thank you, too,” he yelled back out the side window.

“It’s right at the junction,” Zanza added. “I’ve had to use this once before.  It won’t fit this vehicle.  Too wide and too tall.”

Dunn drove the truck further, then came upon a tiny garage door that looked like a tight fit even for an ATV.  “How did we fit anything in there?” Karen asked aloud.

“We,” JD asked. “You’ve been in there?”

“Uh, well… once,” she replied. “Well, once we had a small… Isuzu?  No… what was it?”

“How did you get it in?” JD asked, slightly incredulous.

“The mirrors?” she thought aloud.

“It’s still too narrow,” Dunn warned. “We’ll need to get the quads!”

“Sounds like fun,” Zanza added.

“Where are they?  We need to get those people out of there,” Bandera added.

 

The tyrannosaurus rex pressed herself up against the cliff face, motionless, staying out of sight of carcharodontosaurus.  She even had the end of her long, muscular tail pressed up against the cliff.

From above, the larger hunter looked and listened for any hint of the girl below.  He tried to smell for blood, but the lagoon below overpowered his sense of smell, and the wind was blowing in from the forest.  Unable to feel any movement through his feet, he quickly gave up on any thought of her being alive.  He turned and left, retracing his steps as he frequently had before.

Below, T Rex remained still and silent.  She did not know this predator, but could figure out his patterns from the little information that she was gathering.  T Rex’s improved sense of sight and hearing aided her as she listened to Carcharodont plod away.  Its odor barely making its way down to the bottom of the cliff, she could tell that he’d taken human flesh and blood during the day.  The odor of it now permeated his thinly feathered skin.  He hadn’t relieved himself in many hours, she could tell, and she’d picked up on the fact that he’d only been back in the large enclosure for a few minutes longer than she was.

Tyrannosaurus Rex has two large sinuses, each the size of a truck radiator.  About one-third of her brain is used to process smell.

One of the most intelligent dinosaurs of the Cretaceous, her brain is as large as that of a gorilla, and was probably smarter than the average African predator.  In fact, its parietal lobes, used for planning, are larger than marbles.  She could develop and execute a plan with a group of other tyrannosaurs, were they available, to take down even the largest and strongest horned triceratops, even at twice her size.  They had needed this adaptation, given the size, power, and armaments on herbivores of the late Cretaceous era, the last few million years before the dinosaurs were wiped out.

Yet the smell of the girl inside her mouth was getting to be too strong.  It was distracting her from what she was trying to do.  Opening her mouth, she leaned down and let Cassandra down onto the sand.

“Hey, I can’t breath in there,” she complained. “Plus it smells bad.”

T Rex plodded over to the lagoon cautiously.  She places her nose forward and looked around tepidly for anything in the dark waters.  Even at the beach, one could barely make out the sand underneath the waves.

She lapped up the salty water, then let it run out of her mouth, getting the synthetic taste of plastic shoes and perfume out of her snout.  She would need her senses in the task at hand.  Cassandra wondered for a moment if she’d been spared just to keep her bad taste out of this predator’s mouth.

The dinosaur turned to face her, trying to gauge her reaction and see how smaller humans might behave differently from the larger ones who seemed to enjoy tazing and spraying her with painful smoke.  The small human seemed kind, and some bit of maternal instinct seemed to let go inside her mind.  Perhaps the wiring deep inside her mind just needed to be exercised, or perhaps T Rex simply needed to better study these small predators.  She couldn’t think of a single prey animal large enough to interest her that humans could take down with bare force.

Rather than bite her in half to find out how the girl tasted and felt—perhaps more tender than the larger ones—she would practice her mothering skills on the girl, just to stay in practice, or maybe even just out of curiosity.

When time was available, she would kill something, partially digest it, then vomit it back up to feed the small girl.  You will eat what I put in front of you, the T Rex thought, showing no emotion as she continued up the beach.  She looked back to see the small human following her.  A more practical plan might be to use the live girl as bait to draw out her opponent.  She scratched under her neck in thought using her small front claws.

Yes, she thought.  That made more sense than trying to raise a small human.

 

“I’m sorry we’ve gotta leave you, but we have only two quads,” JD stated.

“We’ve got to get back inside the main office to raise communication with the stateside,” Karen thought hopefully.  She stood by the panel to close the sliding door for the enclosure.  She always wondered why there was a door there to close, other than to keep the occasional park visitor from wandering in.  Since the large enclosure was a fairly recent addition, it had been installed a bit haphazardly, not at all fitting with either the visual or build theme of the rest of the park.

As they parted ways, driving quickly into the forest, she closed the door and ran back to the Range Rover, with Dunn in the driver’s seat.  He took off as quickly as possible, returning to the command center.

 

The girl was useful, she realized, but was not keeping up.  T Rex reached back and grabbed the girl with her D-shaped front teeth, then placed Cassandra on her back in order to continue on.  Her opponent, on the other hand, had made a B line through the forest to find one man who’d been hiding here.  After killing him, he had returned in the direction of the opening where she’d just entered.  Would the wall hold him in?  Probably not, the T Rex pondered.  By the size and depth of his footprints, he was even larger than she was, and perhaps stronger.  There was only one way to find out.

The tracks left behind showed a very slight limp.  She gave no thought as to why he limped, but it could be an advantage.  The length of his stride indicated that he was moving slowly, apparently still unaware of his presence, another advantage, if used properly.  The sound of two motorized quads approaching had redirected his path.  The zebra striped predator had wanted to avoid them?

No, she quickly realized.  She was setting a trap for them.  Looking down at the bloodied body of the security guard, she knew that these two human males on quads would eventually find him, then stop and spend a disproportionately wasteful amount of time making human noises to each other.  She had always hated the murmuring, and even loud “come hear me and kill me” noises that they always made, giving away their position with reckless abandon.  She preferred to avoid the forest if at all possible.  All things being even, the ambusher tended to be victorious, rather than the ambushee.  Humans were too small to make such noise, and had no chance of survival if caught off guard.

Their one defense seemed to be that horrible, synthetic odor that they carried around with them.  That they would eat the most horrible foods and liquids only to maintain that defense, she found reprehensible in the extreme.  A tyrannosaur should smell like a tyrannosaur, not something that someone had found under a sea shell rotting on the beach, or some pungent tree nettles or weeds.

She thought about the girl sleeping on her back.  What would become of her after the fight had finished?  If she lost the fight, would her opponent still kill the girl?  Would it really matter?  Once dead, tyrannosaurs had no need to worry about killing others anymore.  Killing was only a part of survival, and anything in your way had to die for life to continue.

She gave thought to the presence of the other apex predator.  Why was it on the island?  It must have smelled her just as she had smelled him.  Why did he now behave as though he was unaware of her proximity to him?  Whatever the reason, she would exploit every advantage now available to her.  She would take positive action to make up for every disadvantage.

Her size, for one.  To engage an animal so much larger presented a problem.  Once he dug in, the fight would move wherever he chose to move it.  He would likely be stronger than her, also, and, based on the kill pattern with the humans and the damage done to the wall, he would be hyped up on aggression, willing to deal as much damage as possible early on.  A drawn out fight would not be in her favor unless she could knock the wind out of him, or break that adrenaline by shocking him with a very painful bite.  Indeed, more than ten feet longer and several feet taller than her, it was impossible for her to imagine any advantage that could be exploited in an ambush, other than a lucky kick or bite.

Maybe she could strike from behind and get him on the ground, then kick hard at his abdomen.  She did not know how strong his stomach muscles were, but she might be able to disembowel him, ending the fight instantly.

The sound of the two quads became louder.  He had set an ambush for the two.  She was smart enough to stay downwind of all three.  Crouching, then lying down behind shrubbery, it had become a waiting game.  She knew from years of hunting and sneaking that she was invisible in the shadows, and she would make neither noise nor odor to give away her position, no matter what crawled onto or off of her.

 

Zanza had taken point, almost standing on his quad, rolling through the forest at full speed.  He came almost to a stop, seeing a few small spots of blood on a leaf.   He turned, then circled around.  Bandera waited patiently, both with tranquilizer guns on their backs, looking and listening for anything.  Zanza finally stopped, then looked around.  Another obvious spot of blood on the ground.  From experience, he looked up, seeing blood on leaves ten feet over his head.

Had someone died, then climbed a tree, he thought?  He looked back at JD.  They were being led into a blood trap, he knew.  There would be a human body nearby.  They had seen this once before at a game preserve, then led on a wild goose chase for several days.  Why did predators continue to use worn out tricks over 65 million years old?

They let the engines run, then allowed one to move ahead on idle, slowly making its way up the trail and toward a clearing.  Right before the clearing would be their prey, waiting for them.  It was literally the oldest trick in the book.  It was probably old in the late Jurassic when this animal’s ancestors figured it out.

JD rode behind, while Zanza walked behind him, tranquilizer gun in hand, ready to shoot.  Focusing keenly, JD realized that the bloodied body was just up ahead.  He saw boots, and, as he came closer, bloodied legs.  It was a real body, all right.  They were supposed to spend time looking down at the body, and there Carcharodont would be waiting for them, ready to pounce and kill them both.  With Zanza behind him, it could not work, and Bandera hid his smug smile behind a cool exterior, feigning ignorance.

Yet their apex predator would know this, though.  As thoughts ran through his head, Bandera realized that they had been trapped after all.  Following the unmanned ATV, they would have to go full speed toward the clearing, but Zanza would be unable to.  Where, in this thick jungle, would their attacker be waiting?  Nowhere near the body, he realized.

From the clearing, he could see something small running at them.  A human?  Too small.  It was too legged, but was running at them through the shadows, crying. “Hey!  No!” She yelled.  It was that girl!  And still alive… “Turn around!” he realized what she was saying. “Behind you!  No!”

Zanza was too far back.  He couldn’t hear what she was saying.  JD turned his quad around as hard as he could and gunned it, only seeing the Carcharodontosaurus running at them from behind as fast as it could.  Zanza realized their folly, but too late.  He wheeled around to fire a shot at the animal, landing one in is open mouth, but not slowing it at all.  The huge animal lunged forward jaws wide open, lowered to the ground where Zanza stood.

 

“Is anyone with a radio near the opening, over?” Dunn asked over the radio.  No response. “They were just there ten minutes ago!  What’s the matter?” he asked Karen.

“Try again.”

“Is anyone…” Dunn stopped.

“I’m going to need more than what I’ve got,” Johnston said. “Now there are two of them in there, and what we’ve got won’t hold either one.”

“It might hold the T Rex,” Karen added hopefully.

“Are you kidding?” both Dunn and Johnston exclaimed simultaneously.

Dunn went first. “Karen, tyrannosaurus rex was the strongest meat eater that ever lived.  I’m not worried about keeping carcharodontosaurus in.  It’s her.”

“You should have seen how she shoved that wall right back up, like it was cardboard,” Johnston retorted.

 

An instant before grabbing Zanza in its mouth, T Rex shot forward from motionlessly hiding to a full run, grabbing the larger predator in her mouth just at the base of the neck, locking down hard, and pushing him down into the ground.  Without letting go, she pulled him back up and spun herself around, throwing his body and tail through nearby trees, breaking them as she went.  She spun back the other way and run him into the tall steal enclosure, forcing him right through it.

Carcharodontosaurus continued trying to get more than one foot down on the ground, but T Rex continued lifting and twisting as she ran with him in her mouth over the asphalt and past the construction crew and running security guards.  Still reaching for some kind of grip, she rammed him hard into the gift shop, destroying every wall in the stores.

Bikinis, lotion, shelves, sandals, Dinosaur Island T-shirts and shorts, hangars, displays, and sunglasses all were thrown to the floor as she continued to push him through the next wall.  Into the hallway and small shopping center, glass, tables, chairs, left over Chinese food, paper cups, and garbage cans were all knocked down.  Not slowing, she forced him right through the drywall, displays, and glass doors on both upper and lower levels, bringing part of the building down with him.  Through the far side of the outside wall, he was thrown to the ground bloodied and stunned.

From the ground, she grabbed him again, spin him and slamming his hips into a concrete support for the overpass, breaking it and letting it fall on him.  He squealed like a pig as tons of concrete and steal landed on his chest and face, breaking his lower jaw in the process.

Again she took him by the neck, yanking his weakened body out from under the rubble and steal, pushing him through a billboard, small trees, and signage.  Still crushing down with her powerful jaws, she lifted and pushed him all the way to the beach sands of the lagoon, as if to drag him.  He remained angry and defiant, ready to use his mass, agility, and height to come down on her.  He growled angrily and stood pushing hard with both legs to gain as much height as he could, pulling her lighter, five ton body up in the process.  For the first time since infancy, she had neither foot on the ground, left toes only inches above.  She thought of letting go of his neck in order to get back on the ground and maneuver, but he was simply too large, and she would tossed around like a toy, something that she was in danger of now, anyway.

In an instant, his growling stopped, his eyes shut with pain.  Something had him, dragging him backward.  He tried to growl ferociously, but could only whimper in pain.  Digging in to the ground, his claws only dug through the asphalt as he was pulled back farther.  Gradually, her feet reached the ground again, but whatever was pulling him was pulling her toward the water, too.

She gripped the ground, digging in hard, but she was going in right along with.  Opening her eyes, she saw that the enormous Predator X had his hips and tail in a crushing death grip.  Using his front paddles to pull Carcharodont back into the water, he was pulling all three predators.  The zebra striped apex predator was now the rope in a tug of war, his feet barely holding the sand.

T Rex finally found a good spot to dig in with one foot and a fix concrete outcropping with the other.  Now, Predator X had its front flippers back to the water.  Bending at the middle, he began his death roll.  Flipping and turning wildly, the two snapped Carcharodont’s back like a dry branch.  T Rex pulled back hard, eventually pulling his head and shoulders clean off as Predator X continued his death roll, then pulling the bulk of his victim back into the lagoon, its tail still flailing about.

The head and shoulders were now dropped lifelessly onto the beach sand, taking a few of her teeth with it.  She gasped for air, vindicated, exhausted.  After a moment, the onlookers from the observation tower, standing behind gates, and lining up inside what was left of the shopping center to see her, stood in awe as she slowly returned to the jungle to lick her wounds.  In a moment, she was back under the protection of the canopy, avoiding man made accouterments and returning to nature.

 

THE END