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“Hold her until the data is downloaded, send the data to the Costa Rican Police, get out of St. Louis while you still can, and stay alive.”
Those were the orders Darius and his friends were given before he died, and they were following them to a tea. This was their last chance to get home and stop Mantah Corp, and they weren’t going to waste it.
But it didn’t change how wrong it all was, even if they weren’t going to kill her.
Darius looked at Yasmina and Sammy, holding each other's hands and keeping watch on the door that, behind it, held a Raptor ready to rip them all apart if it broke loose. He turned his attention away from them and back to Ivy Pepper, gagged, blindfolded, and bound to a chair, with Kenji and Brooklynn keeping watch to make sure she didn’t try to escape. If he were none the wiser, he’d say that it was yet another case of InGen playing with God, that she was an abomination of science and nature.
Perhaps, Darius wondered, in her own way, she thought the same about them.
He looked back out through the window. It was a stormy June night, the type that created a soothing ambience for those who listened to it. An ambience he couldn’t listen to anymore, if not for the fact that he was too paranoid to have any bit of relief if it meant lowering his guard so that a dinosaur could rip him and his friends apart.
That, combined with the muffled cries for help from Ivy and the ever so close calls of a probably bloodthirsty Raptor that will surely rip everyone apart if given the chance and yep, Darius sure as hell was on edge.
He chuckled. “Just another normal adventure for the camp fan,” he whispered under his breath. What he meant to say had he not stopped himself was: This is fucking insane. All of it was. But frankly, Darius stopped caring about the insanity of all this. All that really mattered was getting home, no matter what…
But even then, he felt so awful about the whole ordeal.
He looked back to Ivy, her jacket torn in some places from Ben’s spear and shirt ripped in others from Brooklynn’s attempts to Fashion a gag and blindfold (thank god for “Brooklynn unboxes Chicago” otherwise they wouldn’t have known what to do), her hat laying on the table next to her. She looked and sounded horrified, between her desperate attempts to escape and her muffled cries for help. It all made him sick to his stomach. It was nowhere near the level of finding a severed Sinoceratops head in Mitch and Tiff’s tent, but it was sickening enough to almost make him want to vomit. And at least with the Sinoceratops, it was Mitch and Tiff’s doing, not him and his friend’s doing.
None of this was right. Not one bit of this was-
“Darius?”
Darius almost jumped as he heard Ben’s voice behind him. Maybe he was getting a little too tense. He turned to look at Ben, finding him drenched in Rainwater.
“It’s almost done,” Ben said, in a professional, almost strict tone as he shook his head dry, “just a few more minutes.”
“Good,” Darius replied, quietly. He turned back to the window, looking for the red car that he knew would soon be here.
Ben placed his slightly wet hand on Darius’ shoulder, wetting it slightly. “Are you doing okay,” he asked, calmer than he was before.
“I mean,” Darius replied, as he turned to Ben and gestured at the room. “How can we be okay? We lost our boat to the Mosasaurus and are now stuck in an Alternate Universe where Mantah Corp and the Marigolds are hunting us, we’ve kidnapped a girl who worked for some “Lackadaisy” Place in the hopes that it can cause a distraction between them and the Marigolds, and behind that door is a Raptor just waiting to sink its teeth into us if given the perfect opportunity. If anything, it’s a miracle we’re all as calm as we are.”
Darius looked down and sighed, letting a tear fall. “Besides,” he continued, “We’re always running from something, be it a dinosaur, or a hybrid, or illegal hunters, or mercenaries or cat gangsters, when can we stop running?”
Ben looked around, uncomfortably. Darius was right, none of them were really okay, were they?
“Hey,” Ben put his hand on Darius, sitting next to him. “I know, I don’t like this either. But if this is how we get home, then it’s probably the right thing to do, right?”
Silence. Darius and Ben sat in silence for a moment, both waiting for the other to respond. It was uncomfortable, made only worse by the desperate calls for help by Ivy as Brooklynn and Kenji desperately tried to keep her steady.
“Darius,” Ben asked. Darius turned to look at Ben, and sighed.
“I don’t know anymore-”
“And that’s okay,” Ben cut Darius off, “you don’t need to know everything-”
“I do, Ben,” Darius snapped back, startling everyone in the room including Ivy, before calming himself down. “I… I should know what to do, but I don’t…” Darius started to cry. “This is all my Fault, you should’ve never made me leader-”
“Hey,” Ben said, as he grabbed Darius’ hand, firmly, but gently.”If it weren’t for you, we would’ve never made it off Nublar, much less lived 6 months on that island. You’ll always think of something, no matter what.”
“And,” Darius continued, looking at Ben, “What if I-”
Ben already knew the answer: “Then whatever happens, we’ll all do it together. I promise you, we’ll be with you.”
Darius smiled, perhaps for the first genuine time in a very long time, as he pulled Ben into a hug. Ben for a minute stood there, before hugging him back.
“Thank you,” Darius said to Ben, as he held him close.
“No problem,” Ben replied.
The two stood there for a moment, letting the world pass them by. They would have hugged out the whole rest of the night if they could…
But of course something had to go wrong.
A gasp caught everyone’s attention quickly. Yasmina and Sammy backed away from the door in panic. Ben and Darius got up, looking towards the metallic door. Darius could see Ivy’s head turn towards him just as he walked towards the door, but tried his best to ignore it.
At first they were confused. There was nothing there in the slightest, why did Yaz and Sammy-
Darius’ heart skipped a beat as he saw the hole in the other side of the room. He saw why Sammy and Yaz panicked.
The Raptor was gone.
…
The sign said “BUILDING CONDEMNED, DO NOT ENTER.”
Freckle tore off the sign, and pushed open the door, entering into a dark, damp entryway.
He steadied his breath as he closed the door behind him. It was quiet, too quiet, with only the ambience of the rain to keep his ears company. A mess of dust and splintered wood greeted him in what used to be the lobby. Whatever happened to get this building condemned, it was not a good thing.
So of course whoever kidnapped Ivy decided to choose this place to execute her.
Freckle checked his Tommy Gun first: 2 clips, 50 rounds per clip. He moved on to his Pistol (it was the shitty pocket pistol, but he’ll take what he could get): 6 rounds. He heard a slight clicking noise as he checked his guns, but ignored it, as he approached the stairwell. He prayed to god that Ivy was still okay and that Rocky did whatever he could to get rid of the Marigolds from the nearby Construction site (and also that he didn’t find any dynamite for the love of god). As he approached the stairs, he took a deep breath, and started ascending them.
It was going to be a long climb to the top floor.
…
The rain drenched Darius as he stepped outside. He was used to rain, of course, being trapped on a Tropical island does that to you, but even if he wasn’t, the rain wasn’t his concern.
He looked at the device, black, with the Mantah Corp emblem on its side. He looked towards the screen, hoping that it’d be done any minute now.
It wasn’t even close.
5 minutes remained on the upload time. 5 minutes. In 5 minutes the Raptor could kill them all, why did it have to take-
Darius stopped himself from getting worked up. He began making his way back inside, glazing over the emergency lift and looking over to the nearby lake and behind it the streets of St. Louis-
And froze in his tracks.
Not too far from the building they were situated in, near the construction site where he knew for a fact a T-Rex was being held, a Red Ford Model A was parked. They were here, and he didn’t even see them because he was too distracted to-
He had to warn the others. Now. He had no time to wait any longer, he had to warn them now or else-
He froze at the all too distinctive call of a Raptor.
He looked behind himself. He saw its shadow slowly get closer, illuminated by the nearby city lights. It didn’t see him, but it was getting closer to him with every second he stood still.
Darius grabbed the device and ran for the door at that minute, just barely not slipping on the wet floor as he did so. He slammed the door behind him, locking it behind him. The whole room shook, as everyone turned to him startled. Darius took a minute to catch his breath, placing the device on the floor.
“Darius,” Ben rushed to Darius’ side, “are you okay?!” Darius gave him a thumbs up in reply. Ben sighed in relief at that moment, perhaps prematurely, but it didn’t matter. He checked the device, and again sighed in relief when he found it perfectly intact.
“The Raptor’s outside,” Darius continued, still out of breath from his sprint. A slight shocked emerged on everyone’s (except Ivy) face. Brooklyn walked away from Ivy and checked the door, making sure it was locked, before barricading it with a wooden table.
“Try and open this, you oversized turkey,” Brooklynn joked, as she slowly walked back to Kenji and-
“The red car’s here too,” Darius continued.
Everyone looked at him at that minute, including Ivy, who seemed to perk up at that.
“Shit, now,” Kenji asked, paranoid. “How could they have gotten here so fast-”
“Kenji, shut up,” Yasmina replied, before being pulled back by Sammy, who tightly held her arm.
“I don’t know,” Darius replied. “I just saw the car and-”
A loud creaking sound silenced everyone at that minute. They looked towards the other door, the only way in and out of the room (aside from the once fully sealed raptor room that now had a hole to the hallway), as they hushed themselves into almost complete silence. If they could stay silent, whoever (or whatever) was on the other side of the door would go away-
“FRMCHMM!”
Everyone stopped in fear, as they looked towards Ivy.
“Oh god,” Sammy let out, in fear.
…
Ivy.
Freckle turned to where he heard the sound, just down the hall to his right.
“HMMP MM-” the voice was cut off this time.
Freckle's heart dropped as he feared the worst.
Freckle rushed down the hall at that minute, barely keeping himself from screaming, as he hoped to god he made it in time. If Ivy was hurt in any way, he swore to god…
He didn’t care who was on the other side of the door, they were going to die.
…
Brooklynn had to sacrifice the blindfold in order to keep Ivy quiet. It did the job thankfully, but it was not ideal that they had been exposed and that there was nothing they could do.
“Just knock her out already,” Kenji yelled, panicking, “she’ll just scream again through all the-”
“Kenji,” Brooklynn replied, equally as panicked, “I’m in the middle of something, I do not need commentary!”
“Guys-” Sammy tried to interject, but was stopped by Yasmina holding her tight.
Darius quietly sat towards the wall, waiting. His breath came in quick rapid fire exhales and inhales, his vision became tunneled, his hands started to shake, his ears rang like bells. He could barely breathe, as if being choked-
Ben grabbed his hands. He couldn’t hear him, but he could see his blue eyes, looking at him, and could feel his hand touching his own. He tried to take a deep breath, in, and out. In and out. He could feel himself come back to reality.
“You okay,” Ben asked, as the ringing finally stopped. Darius gave a thumbs up as he stood. He was still panicking, but at least Ben was with him.
He looked towards the device. 4 minutes remained. 4 minutes too many. Dammit, hurry up, we don’t have time for-
The footsteps started to get louder.
…
This was the room. It had to be.
Freckle tried to open the door. As expected, it was locked. Dammit, can nothing ever be easy when-
“Pmmnphm, hmmp…”
That was Ivy’s voice. It was unmistakable. Oh god, whatever they were doing to her, he couldn’t imagine. Perhaps they were waiting to shoot her, or maybe they were slowly slitting her throat- Freckle didn’t want to think about that last scenario, much less waste anymore time and let Ivy continue to be kidnapped or worse. He wasn’t going to let them get away with this.
Not with their life.
He threw his body into the door, ready to break it down at any minute.
…
“Sammy, wait, stop-” Yasmina tried to warn Sammy, before she rushed to the door and put her against it to stop whoever was on the other side from getting in. She grunted as another slam attempted to throw her to the floor, but she refused to let up. The whole room was tense, as everyone hoped that whoever was trying to get in would stop.
Hope that, as usual, never came to pass.
…
Whoever was on the other side of that door was not budging. Freckle was starting to get desperate. He had to get it open, he needed to, he needed to save Ivy, whatever it took. He couldn’t just-
The rage started to consume him again.
Whatever it took, he would save Ivy.
He readied his Tommy Gun, and aimed at the door.
*CLICK*
…
Yasmina heard the click all too well. She was familiar with it after their encounter with the mercenaries: the cocking of a gun.
“Sammy, Move,” Yasmina pushed Sammy out the way, just barely in time before-
*BANG*
Yasmina fell to the floor, grasping at her grazed ankle, as gunfire filled where Yasmina and Sammy once stood.
“Yaz!”
Sammy ran up to Yasmina, her ankle slowly bleeding onto the floor.
…
The door was reduced to a series of bullet holes in a matter of seconds. Whoever was on the other side was either dead or injured, either would work for him at this point, so long as they wouldn’t hurt Ivy anymore.
Freckle readied himself for one last shove.
…
Ben rushed towards the door, raising his spear in defiance. He was ready to keep them safe, whatever it took. If it meant he was going to die here from whoever was on the other side of the door, then he was okay, so long as they got to go home.
The only thing he’d regret would be not telling Darius about…
He looked to Darius, what could’ve been his last time, and smiled.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, “it’s okay.”
He turned back, ready to face them, to defend his family.
…
Freckle busted through the door, ready to shoot them all to hell and back-
…
And then he stopped.
…
Ben waited, and waited, and waited. They all did, for when inevitably the bullets would start again.
But they didn’t.
He didn’t shoot. Why didn’t he shoot? Why was he not shooting him?
…
Freckle would’ve had every reason to shoot them. Ivy was gagged and bound, her jacket and shirt torn and ripped. He would’ve had every reason to start spraying the room with gunfire for what they did to Ivy…
But they were just kids.
They were the same ape things he had seen before, the ones that only had fur at the top of their heads. But they were young, no more younger than he was. They were just kids, they didn’t have guns, or knives. The closest thing to a weapon any of the kids had was a spear, one that was being used as a deterrent against him.
Freckle lowered his gun. He was going to save Ivy by any means necessary…
But he refused to kill these kids.
“Just let Ivy go,” he said, calmly.
…
Ben didn’t buy it. He didn’t believe that the man who tried to kill Yaz was now just asking to let his friend go, not now. He couldn’t trust him, not one bit…
And yet, a part of him wanted to…
“Drop the gun,'' Ben ordered, firm, domineering. He waited for the exact moment the facade broke and he tried to shoot him in the chest-
…
Freckle dropped the Tommy Gun, and kicked it away from him. He watched as the chubby girl (what he assumed as a girl anyways) looked at him in shock for a moment, before she grabbed the Tommy Gun and put it to her side. She took one more look at him before she went back to tending to her friend, who’s ankle was grazed by a bullet. One of HIS bullets.
Freckle dropped to the ground, put his hands behind his back, and waited.
He looked at Ivy, who looked confused, scared. He was, too, but he still smiled: he was going to save her, she didn’t have to worry.
…
They all looked in disbelief at him.
No way in hell did he just surrender like that. This had to be a trick. No way would anyone just…
Darius was the first to speak.
“Let her go,” he said, directed to Brooklynn and Kenji.
“Wha- are you serious,” Kenji asked, as he looked at him incredulously. “This is the guy that just tried to-”
“You heard me,” Darius replied, before he then looked at Brooklynn.
She wasted no time in undoing the minutes of agonizing effort it took to put Ivy in all this, first with the gag, then with the rope. She was almost immediately shoved out of the way by her, falling down onto the floor, only to be picked back up by Kenji.
…
“Freckle,” Ivy shouted, tears streaming down her face, as she ran towards him.
“Ivy,” Freckle shouted in response, as the two embraced in a hug, their sobs mixing together as one. Relief and joy washed over the two, as if somehow the skies grew a little bit brighter.
She was safe, Freckle thought to himself. He started to get up, still holding Ivy in his arms, ready to start leaving for-
…
That all too familiar call rang out again, this time in the halls.
The kids shot up, and backed away from the door. That couldn’t be possible, the Raptor was outside this whole time. There was no way for it to get in.
…
Freckle looked towards them. He saw their faces fill with horror at the strange sound. What was so scary that-
The clicking started again.The same clicking he heard in the lobby. It sounded much closer than before.
Freckle backed away from the door, and started to approach his gun, as Ivy joined with her former kidnappers.
…
Ben approached the door. He raised his spear, and waited. Waited for the right time to jab it in the face.
Darius turned back to see Ivy unlock the door. The door to the outside, where-
Darius had a realization at that moment. Of course the Raptor didn’t manage to get back in, it wasn’t alone to begin with.
“Ivy, wait-”
Just a second too late, before Ivy swung open the door, and screamed in terror.
…
Freckle turned back, grabbing his tommy gun, as he saw Ivy running away from the now open door to the roof, and…
“What the hell is that?!”
Freckle opened fire in the bipedal lizard’s direction, causing it to jump to the side, hiding away in the rain-covered darkness of night.
“Raptor,” one of the kids, the black skinned one, answered, as Freckle turned back to look at him, confused on what the hell a Raptor was.
“It’s a Raptor,” the kid said again, still not answering his question.
“We need to get out of here now,” another kid, tall, yelled out. He was about to walk towards the other door when-
Of course there was another one.
…
Why did he have to be right?
Ben charged to the Raptor, jabbing it with his spear, causing it to stumble away for a brief moment. The other cat, Freckle, opened fire towards it, causing it to jump back into the hall.
The hallway had a Raptor waiting to kill them, and the roof had a Raptor waiting to kill them. They were completely trapped, with no way out-
Darius stopped, and realized something.
The emergency lift was on the roof too.
Darius took a deep breath, grabbed the device and ran out onto the roof.
“Darius, are you insane,” Kenji called out.
“What other choice do we have,” Darius replied, as he rushed towards the emergency lift. Freckle followed him, holding his gun close.
…
The kid, Darius, turned back to him.
“I need a few more minutes,” Darius told him. “Just give us time to get the emergency lift ready.”
Freckle nodded. He would’ve asked a lot of questions at this point, about what the hell those things were, who they were, what that weird box thing was, but it didn’t matter. None of it did. Not as much as saving Ivy, and these kids.
Funny, just a few minutes ago he was ready to kill them for kidnapping Ivy, but now he’s protecting them with his life. Had he know they were just-
He heard a screech from above: Raptor, he assumed.
…
Freckle turned around and shot at the Raptor, forcing it to run from its hiding spot and into the open. Darius ran towards the emergency lift, as the others, Ivy included, ran into the outside, Ben following behind as he held his spear.
Darius checked the device one more time: Just a minute remained.
He hoped this one minute wouldn’t be their end.
…
How fast were these things?
Freckle swore he had managed to get a good shot on them enough times at this point, but everytime he did it somehow managed to avoid, running faster than even he could. These “Raptors,” as they were called, just avoided any shot or hit they threw at them. How could that even-
*CLICK*
The clip was empty. Freckle prepared to reload, just as he saw the Raptor start running towards him.
“Screw it,” Freckle thought under his breath.
He threw the now empty clip at the Raptor’s face,causing it to stumble a little bit.
Freckle didn’t have time to wait and laugh at the damn thing, he had to reload before-
“BEN, FRECKLE, COME ON!”
Freckle looked up and saw Darius calling for him and Ben. He was immediately grabbed by Ben, before the other raptor slashed at the place that he once stood.
The second he neared the lift, he felt Ivy tug him the rest of the way inside, as he turned to fire at the Raptor once more.
…
Ben slammed the button, and thus made the lift begin its descent. Freckle fired a few more shots, causing the pursuing Raptor to back off just in time for it to miss the lift.
Darius looked at the device. It was ready to be sent.
Darius slammed the send button at that minute.
“Yes,” he shouted almost on instinct, as the files that would expose Mantah Corp were sent to the Costa Rican Police. Everyone (except for Freckle and Ivy) cheered at the realization. They did it, they won.
They could go home now.
…
Freckle didn’t know what the kids did, or what that thing Darius was holding did, but whatever happened must’ve been a good thing. He smiled at that minute. Ivy smiled at him, tentatively, as she hugged him.
“It’s okay, Ivy,” Freckle told her, calmly, “It’s all over now.”
…
Darius’ heart skipped a beat when he heard Freckle say that. Of all the things he could’ve possibly said at that moment, of all the various sentences that could’ve escaped his mouth, ‘It’s all over now’ had to be the worst possible thing he could’ve said. Because the minute you think you’re safe, the minute you let your guard down enough to think that it’s all over-
Darius heard the raptor land behind him, as the cables keeping the lift in place snapped, causing the lift to list on its side and stopping the lift right in its tracks.
…
Ivy yelped as she slipped and nearly fell off the lift. Freckle grabbed her hand, before nearly slipping himself. He grabbed a hold to the edge of the lift, as he watched his Tommy gun fall off the edge, and into the water below. They were now hanging from the lift, mere seconds from falling to an untimely end.
Freckle had a pit in his stomach at that moment.
…
Of course something had to go wrong, Darius thought, something always goes wrong. Freckle and Ivy were about to fall off the edge, the others were not much better, and Ben was facing a Raptor alone. Just as soon as they had hope, it was crushed. This was it, unless somehow some miracles comes in to-
A faint splash caught Darius’ attention. He looked down and saw-
“Everyone, jump for the lake,” Darius shouted out, causing everyone to look at him in shock.
“Are you insane,” Kenji replied, as he looked down to the lake.
“You have to trust me,” Darius replied, as he took a deep breath and jumped to the lake below.
…
Freckle thought it was insane, but at this point what choice do they have. It’s either risking their life by jumping into the Lake below, or stay on the lift and surely become a victim of the Raptors.
He would rather take a risk.
“Ivy, you have let go,” Freckle told Ivy, as his grip started to fail. Ivy looked back up to him, horrified. “You have to trust me!”
Freckle readied himself, hoping that she made it to the lake, as he saw what he assumed to be the other 2 girls fall next to him.
“One,” Freckle started counting. Ivy started to take deep breaths, as 2 other people, the pink haired girl and the tall guy fell next to him.
“Two,” The raptor was charging at Ben, as he continued to skirmish with it.
“Three,” Ivy took a deep breath, and let go of Freckle’s hand, falling into the lake below.
…
Ben made his way towards the edge, ready to drop into the lake below-
Before being knocked over by the Raptor’s tail, his spear falling off the edge. Ben took a look at the Raptor, it’s razor sharp talon clicking, as it’s made it’s approach towards him-
Before wincing in pain as it was shot in the tail.
…
Freckle never expected the Pocket Pistol to actually be useful in this whole ordeal. He thanked god that he brought it with him.
The Raptor turned back to him, snarling. Freckle took another shot, aiming for the head this time-
And hit the cable keeping the cart suspended, snapping it.
Ben made a leap towards the lake, as Freckle let go of the lift just in time, taking 3 more shots at the Raptor. All of the shots missed.
Freckle took a deep breath, as he prepared to hit the lake.
*SPLASH*
…
Darius coughed as he breached the surface, the water that entered him as soon as he splashed into the lake pouring out. He noticed the others coming not too far behind him. First Yasmina and Sammy (with the former being held by the latter), and then Brooklynn and Kenji. Darius took a sigh of relief, they got out of this alive-
*SPLASH*
He saw Ben crash into the lake below, followed by Freckle. It was then that his heart sank.
Ivy hadn’t resurfaced.
…
The cold oppressive sensation of the summer lake waters stabbed Freckle’s body as he landed in the lake, illuminated by the ambient lights of the city next to him. He took a minute to reorient himself, as he searched for his Tommy Gun. He found it quickly, and grabbed it, before make his way to the-
He stopped dead in his tracks as he heard Ivy’s grunts.
He turned to find her, desperately trying to swim, as her leg was caught in seaweed.
“Oh god no!”
Freckle rushed down to Ivy, and began tearing at the seaweed, desperate to remove it before-
It was cut instantly by a wooden Spear.
Freckle turned back to see Ben, smiling at him, before making his way to the surface. Freckle grabbed Ivy and began their ascent.
…
*SPLASH*
Darius rushed over to Ben as he resurfaced, hugging him tightly. He thanked god that he was okay.
*SPLASH*
Coughing caught their attention, as they turned back to find Ivy and Freckle resurfacing as well, barely having made it out.
“Thank you,” Freckle managed to cough out as he took a breather.
“No problem,” Ben responded, as he put around Darius and started to-
The screech of a Raptor forced Ben to push Darius ahead of him and block it with his spear.
…
Freckle watched as the Raptor emerged from the water, barely blocked by Ben’s spear. He grabbed Ivy and ran, preparing to blow that thing to hell with-
*CLICK*
No.
*CLICK*
No no no no no.
*CLICK*
Freckle checked the chamber, and his heart sank. The Tommy Gun was jammed.
Freckle dropped it and checked his Pocket Pistol: Only 1 round remained. He began taking his aim towards the Raptor-
And turned around in fear when he heard another break through the front door.
…
Ben backed away from the Raptor, the group forming a circle, with Freckle holding gun towards whatever Raptor was closest, and Ben holding spear high, ready to stab whatever Raptor came close.
…
He could barely even hit the raptor with 5 shots, how was going to hit 2 raptors with 1?
Freckle realized it was hopeless, as the Raptors started to get closer. He prayed to god that whatever Rocky was doing, whatever batshit insane plan he had cooking up, that it would be enough to stop them.
He readied himself, keeping Ivy behind him as one the Raptors jumped at him-
And was suddenly caught in the jaws of something else.
…
T-Rex.
They all knew exactly what it was, as it threw the raptor to the lake, causing an audible splash. The other Raptor lunged onto the Rex's back, causing it to stumble towards the building. Darius watched as it did so, before a red Red Ford Model A pulled up behind him. Freckle turned around and shouted at that instant.
…
“ROCKY?!”
And on cue, his cousin swung open the door.
“Fear not friends, for help has arrived,” Rocky shouted, followed by his all too iconic laughter.
“Rocky,” Freckle shouted back, “What the hell is-”
Rocky laughed again, “I HAVE NO IDEA!!!”
Of course he had no idea. Freckle grabbed Ivy and headed for the car, before turning his head back and shouting at the kids
…
“GET IN THE CAR!”
Darius didn’t think twice before following ahead, as the others followed suit. It was tight fit getting everyone in the car, but it would do.
“Freckle, Is it just me or-” Rocky tried to ask, before Freckle cut him off, Ivy sitting on his lap in the front seat.
“Just drive Rocky,” and on cue, the Raptor landed right next to them, before getting picked right back up by the Rex.
…
Freckle held on to Ivy for dear life as the car accelerated, watching behind him as the Raptor was thrown into the building by the creature. It roared triumphantly after that, loud enough that it made his ears ring.
Freckle was thankful that it didn’t seem, at the very least.
…
Darius took a breath. The rain finally started to stop, dissipating into a light drizzle. They were on the outskirts of St. Louis, pulled over to the side of the road. It was calm, and at least they weren’t as crowded as before.
“That the hell was that thing,” Freckle asked him, taking Darius by surprise, not just because he showed up behind him, but also because he didn’t know what the hell a T-Rex was. Who doesn’t know about the-
Darius stopped himself, he didn’t want to complain to the man who saved their lives.
“It’s a T-rex,” Darius replied, “and it’s not the only dinosaur in there.”
…
‘Not the only dinosaur?’
“How many more of these things are there,” Freckle asked again, paranoid.
Darius took a minute to respond, before asking “Carnivores or Herbivores.”
“... What?”
Darius sighed, “Meat eater or plant eater?”
Freckle looked at him incredulously, before replying, “Meat-eater?”
Darius replied again, “Aside from the Rex and Raptors, there’s also the Dilophosaurus, Monolophosaurus, Spinosaurus, Baryonyx-”
“Who are you people,” Freckle asked, “and what the hell’s going on?”
…
Darius looked at Freckle, and hesitated. How was he going to explain everything to him? How could he explain it to him? The fall of Jurassic World, being stuck on Nublar for six months, the Scorpios Rex, Mantah Corp experimenting with Multiversal Travel, all of it. How could he possibly explain it all to him if he doesn’t even know what a T-Rex is.
“It’s a long story,” Darius replied. He was ready to explain it all.
This was going to take a while.