The horizon shimmered with a faint light as the sun slowly climbed. Humanity had completely abandoned the island, and the creatures of Isla Nublar welcomed a new day, a day without fences.
Carlo peeled back the leaves covering the Parasaurolophus eggs and pushed the crate out from the shade of the trees, allowing it to soak up the morning sun.
What am I even doing?
Carlo slowly lay down, his body curling into a semi-circle to protect the nest.
"Eennng—"
A tender cry rang out. Katyusha and Karl came trotting toward Carlo.
I'm calling the police. Someone isn't watching their kids.
Katyusha, clearly an expert by now, went straight for Carlo's first trophy: the Triceratops skull that the Indominusrex had previously swatted away. Carlo had retrieved it later. Finding the skull occupied and unable to best his older sister, Karl could only turn to Carlo.
He immediately noticed the crate by Carlo's side, but he wasn't tall enough to see what was inside.
"Roar…"
Quiet down, you brat.
Carlo let out a low huff, telling Karl to behave and get some sun. At the same time, he pondered what to do with these eggs. He couldn't actually raise them, could he? He really needed to find a decent herd for them.
With that thought, Carlo stood up, gently nipped the two troublemakers by their tails, and headed toward his parents' resting grounds.
"Eennng!"
The two little ones squealed in protest, perhaps because being dangled upside down was uncomfortable. Carlo simply quickened his pace and delivered them back.
Seeing Kafka and his parents sleeping in the nesting area, Carlo dropped the two rascals and gave a low grunt, instructing the little ones to keep an eye on the adults.
Since when did I become a 24/7 babysitter?! Two in the morning, one at night, you guys are going to be the death of me.
Speaking of babysitting, Carlo suddenly remembered he hadn't covered the Parasaurolophus eggs properly. He scrambled back to hide them.
This can't go on! I have to find them a foster family!
Decision made, Carlo set off toward the edge of the Primeval Ecological Zone. As for a potential ambush? A creature that had lost an arm was no longer a threat.
…
The ferry docked. Here, Masrani Global had set up several temporary hangars filled with volunteers and professional medical staff. They were registering tourists, treating wounds, and notifying families.
Claire watched her nephews walk away into the distance before searching the crowd for Owen. Owen noticed her; their eyes met, and they slowly approached each other. Owen spoke first.
"I guess we're both out of a job."
Claire chuckled softly, looking toward the exit.
"So, what do we do now?"
Owen followed her gaze, considering for a moment.
"I think we better stick together."
He looked back at Claire and added:
"For survival."
Then, he turned and walked toward the exit. Claire smiled and followed in his footsteps.
"Darius? Kenji? Ben?"
Suddenly, loud shouts from the distance caught their attention. Roxie and Dave were weaving through the crowd, calling out the children's names, hoping for a response.
"Brooklynn? Yasmina? Sammy? If you're here, say something! Ple—cough, cough."
Roxie's throat was parched; she had shouted her way from one hangar to the next, yet there was still no sign of the kids. Dave handed her a bottle of water, trying to comfort her.
"They'll be okay. I know they will..."
Roxie took the bottle and only took a small sip, looking out at the dense crowd with a look of intense guilt.
"It's because of me. If I hadn't gone..."
Dave saw her spiraling and quickly cut her off.
"Hey, nobody could have predicted the dinosaurs would escape, right? Besides, their parents might have already picked them up... right?"
Roxy sighed. "You're right."
She resumed calling their names, and Dave followed silently behind, scanning the faces in the crowd for anyone familiar.
…
Yo.
Yo, yo, yo.
Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo.
Look who we have here.
Carlo stood beside the carcass of the Indominus rex, giving it a tentative nudge with his foot.
No reaction.
Oh, so you're actually dead?
While searching the area, Carlo had picked up the scent of the Indominus and charged over at full speed, only to find the body on Main Street.
Splash— Thump.
Movement came from the lagoon. "Teacher" Mosasaurus was likely worrying about her breakfast. Carlo leaned in and saw the Mosasaur circling restlessly in the water, looking stressed.
This is bad. Teacher Mosasaurus is going to starve.
Carlo thought for a moment, looked at the Indominus carcass, and approached it again with the air of someone giving a heartfelt eulogy.
Hey, Indominus. Look, you're already dead. It doesn't matter who eats the body, right? Let's just give you a burial at sea.
He gripped the Indominus carcass in his jaws, swung it, smashed through the lagoon railing, and kicked the body over the edge.
Plop.
"Groar…"
Carlo gave a low call. The Mosasaur in the water was alerted; she swam over at high speed, clamped onto the Indominus carcass, and dove deep into the lake.
"Groar…"
Carlo was quite satisfied with the result and gave another low roar.
Bye-bye! I'll come feed you again next time. Speaking of which, what kind of dinosaur managed to kill this Indominus…
"Aunnng-roar!!"
The next instant, a deafening roar rang out, startling Carlo. Like a thief caught red-handed, he hurriedly and quietly slipped away.
Rexy had returned to Main Street. Having caught a strange scent, she had rushed back immediately, only to find...
The entire Indominus carcass was gone?! The whole thing?!
…
"Yesterday, the world-famous attraction Jurassic World suffered an unprecedented disaster. Multiple dinosaurs escaped their enclosures, dealing an irreversible blow to the park."
The video feed showed clips of Pteranodons, Triceratops, Apatosaurus... and a series of dinosaurs, including Carlo, in various stand-offs with humans.
"As of now, Masrani Global has paid out over 800 million USD in compensation to the victims."
The scene shifted to show tourists in shelters and relatives of visitors holding signs to sue Masrani.
"According to insiders, the cause of this incident is attributed to Simon Masrani's disregard for life. Mr. Masrani himself was tragically killed during the disaster."
The video switched to surveillance footage, recording Masrani boarding the helicopter and the subsequent crash. Outside of America, almost every major news outlet globally reported the news. Because of this, many Jurassic World VIP users noticed a particular detail.
[You're right, but why hasn't the Primeval Ecological Zone livestream been shut down?]
[Does nobody know the Primeval livestream is actually on a one-day delay?]
[I just bought my VIP pass last week...]
[Actually, I'm more concerned about whether that documentary that only aired for one season is getting a sequel.]
The Primeval livestream originally had a one-day delay to edit out exclusive paid content or anything unsuitable for display. However, yesterday, the employees in the Primeval Ecological Zone had been so busy monitoring the Indominus rex that no one gave a thought to the livestream.
Because the news snippets featured footage of Carlo confronting humans, many people believed he was one of the escapees and were trying to piece together what happened through the stream.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]