The riot caused by the Acrocanthosaurus had delayed the main force's evacuation, inadvertently allowing Owen's group to catch up to the departing fleet.
The three of them, drenched to the bone, lay prone on a distant slope. Owen peered through a small pair of binoculars, observing the capture team as they processed the dinosaurs.
Speaking of which, the volcano is literally exploding; how did they manage to look like they just stepped out of a shower?
"Move! Move! Get everything of value onto the ship!"
A one-ard Wheatley was carried onto the vessel on a stretcher, replaced by a fresh face who was now barking orders at the crew.
The cage containing an Ankylosaurus was forced open as workers herded it toward a larger container.
A Ornithomimus had several lassos cinched around its neck; a group of burly n yanked on the ropes, attempting to trip the animal.
An Allosaurus was hoisted high by a crane, its feet flailing and struggling in mid-air. Monts later, it was sedated and lowered into a fully enclosed shipping container.
"Assholes! Don't point that gun at her head!"
Zia was being escorted by several n, yet she didn't miss a beat in berating those treating the dinosaurs with such brutality.
Her voice caught Owen's attention. He slowly panned his binoculars toward the source of the commotion.
"They've got Zia. They're packing up to leave," Owen reported to the two beside him.
"They've already caught so many dinosaurs... why did they need us here at all?" Franklin asked, bewildered.
Claire, who had been involved in the operation from the start, knew exactly that this was all Mills' doing. As for why he needed them, the answer was obvious...
"They needed the tracking system to catch the Velociraptors."
As she spoke, Owen adjusted his binoculars again, searching for his raptors.
"I see Charlie. She's in bad shape."
Charlie was crudely secured to the back of a transport vehicle with several ropes. Her chest heaved with shallow, rapid breaths. A blanket had been tucked beneath her, now soaked through with deep crimson blood.
A convoy of five vehicles passed through the edge of his field of vision. Owen adjusted his perspective once more and found a segnt of the convoy being pulled over.
"Hey! We don't need this many. Three is plenty!"
Several trucks transporting Ceratosaurus were flagged down. The driver of the lead vehicle leaned out his window, glanced at the fleet behind him, and shouted back.
"What do we do with the rest?"
"Are you an idiot? Pick two and dump 'em. We're on a clock, move it!"
The lead driver hopped down, confird the sex of the Ceratosaurus in his own container, and cross-checked the health of the specins with the other drivers. Monts later, two trucks broke formation while the remaining three drove onto the evacuation ship.
"Those two trucks... that's our chance to sneak on."
Owen lowered his binoculars and looked at his companions.
"I think we're pretty safe right here behind this rock," Franklin replied, his survival instinct, or rather, his cowardice, clearly steering him away from another encounter with the "super-predators" at the harbor.
But the volcano disagreed.
Rumble—
Mount Sibo unleashed another violent roar. Black smoke, laced with the glow of molten lava, erupted from the crater, racing toward the harbor with the stench of death.
"We have to get on that ship!"
"The boat or a lava-soaked island, Franklin. Take your pick," Owen said as he and Claire charged out from behind the rocks toward the port.
"Fine, fine! I'm coming!" Franklin scrambled up a second later, sprinting toward the trucks.
…
"No ti! Pull out now!"
The workers preparing to unload the Ceratosaurus containers abandoned their vehicles, jumping onto dirt bikes and racing toward the open stern of the ship. Their panic was a godsend for Owen's group, drastically increasing their chances of survival.
Boom!
A volcanic bomb the size of a man slamd into the earth less than ten ters from Franklin. The shockwave sent him tumbling.
"Franklin!"
Owen and Claire both skidded to a stop, but Owen remained the more rational of the two. He turned to Claire and yelled:
"Go! Start the truck!"
This was the first ti Owen had ever encouraged Claire's driving, and she didn't hesitate, scrambling into the driver's seat. Owen sprinted forward to haul Franklin up, finding the young man on the verge of a breakdown.
"Am I dead?! Am I dead?!"
"Not yet, kid!"
Under Owen's guidance, the tech-geek Franklin discovered a sprinting speed he had never achieved in his life.
As the truck began to roll forward, Owen reached it first, grabbing the half-open container door. Hanging on by one arm, he swung his body around and grabbed Franklin by the wrist, hauling him upward and throwing him into the hold.
Thud!
Franklin hit the cold tal floor, gasping for air, only to feel a warm gust of breath on his face. He looked up to find Ceratosaurus Two with its eyes closed, breathing steadily, practically nose-to-nose with him.
"Aah—"
His scream was cut short. Owen, having hopped in behind him, slamd the door shut and muffled Franklin's mouth before he could ruin everything.
Whistle—
"Hang on!"
The ship's horn blared as it began to pull away. Claire, not caring if the two in the back could hear her, scread at the top of her lungs and floored the accelerator.
Crash!
The truck flew off the edge of the pier, skipping across the surface of the water before slamming onto the ship's ramp just before it sealed shut.
"Impressive."
A few rcenaries noticed the flying truck but simply offered a grunt of admiration, never realizing their roster had just expanded.
…
Rumble—
Mountains crumbled, and lava ran rampant. Isla Nublar was on the brink of disintegration.
The island that had carried the prehistoric dreams of generations was eting its end. In the Innovation Center, the ceiling collapsed piece by piece, while the statue of John Hammond remained standing, a silent witness to the ruin.
Lava surged across the lawns. Trees were consud and toppled. The shores of the Great Lake no longer held any trace of the dinosaurs that once called it ho. A massive Triceratops skull sank into the lake bed, the hiss of water battling magma echoing through the depths.
The place where the Ceratosaurus pair first t Carlo was swallowed by smoke. The adow beloved by the Parasaurolophus mother was stripped of all life. The skeletons of Carnotaurus One and Miss Diplodocus were subrged in lava, returning to the cycle of the earth in the truest sense.
While most dinosaurs had escaped with human help, so were inevitably left behind.
The wandering, lone Dilophosaurus stood upon a hill, a skull of its own kind resting beside it. It sat there, watching its world dissolve.
"Aeeng…"
Looks like your lineage is officially over.
Years of isolation had given him the habit of talking to himself; this ti, he addressed the skull. He slowly lay down, waiting for the end.
"Aeeng…"
Next ti, listen to my plan... Boss.
The dinosaurs left behind seed to have accepted their fate…
"Aeengk!"
Wait for ! I haven't boarded yet!
A particularly large Utahraptor burst from the treeline at staggering speed, sprinting toward the ship as it pulled away from the shore.
Tap-tap-tap-tap...
Her rapid footsteps drumd against the concrete pier before she launched herself into a high leap, plunging into the water. Using her montum, she kicked her legs and thrashed her tail, swimming forward with everything she had.
Thud.
She hooked her claws onto the ship's hull.
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