"Did you really think you could keep this from forever?!"
Mr. Lockwood was rarely moved to such fury.
Earlier, his granddaughter Maisie had whispered to him that Mills seed intent on selling the dinosaurs. At first, he hadn't summoned Mills directly, choosing instead to send soone to quietly investigate the situation.
To his shock, Mills wasn't just planning a sale; he was hosting a full-blown auction right there in the estate!
"You entrusted to take your fortune into the future, and I've done exactly that."
Mills sat hunched beside Lockwood, head bowed like a scolded child admitting a mistake.
"You scoundrel!"
The heart rate monitor nearby spiked violently, showing that Lockwood's anger had reached its peak.
"Get the phone."
The old man seed to realize he couldn't afford such agitation. He forced his tone down, his voice becoming steady and commanding, an authority that didn't need to shout to be felt.
"I want you to turn yourself in to the police."
Mills looked up, staring at Lockwood with a look of utter disbelief.
"If you confess now, you might still earn so leniency."
Mr. Lockwood's voice grew faint, heavy with the disappointnt of seeing the heir he had ntored turn into this.
"As you wish... Sir."
Mills walked toward the phone in a daze.
Lockwood still believed Mills was simply having a lapse in judgnt, seeing him as the sa passionate, ambitious college student he once was. He remained unaware that a devil had already taken root in the man's soul.
"I've been thinking... John Hammond was right."
Mills picked up the phone, only to set it back down. He turned to et Lockwood's gaze.
"What you've done here is truly against the laws of nature."
What was on Mills' face at that mont? Confusion? Fear? Greed, resolve...
"I'm not the only guilty one here, wouldn't you say?"
Lockwood knew exactly what he was referring to. He remained silent, eting Mills' gaze without a hint of fear.
"You always said... the dinosaurs were your best gift to future generations."
"But your 'gift' cost us... it cost everything!!!"
Mills exploded in a sudden rage, only to calm himself just as quickly.
"Maybe I should lock you up with your gift, let you see these animals for what they really are."
"A beast is always a beast. They were born to serve humanity."
…
Long ti no see, Stegosaurus brother.
Carlo had been successfully moved into a larger cage, but he still couldn't stand up straight. After a brief stretch, he settled back into a crouch.
The Stegosaurus's cage was close by, but the herbivore seed low on spirit. He lay on the ground looking quite uncomfortable. Noticing Carlo's movent, he rely opened one eye, looked over, and closed it again.
That's not right. The tranquilizers should have worn off by now.
Carlo worried for his friend, wondering if there was anything he could do.
Suddenly, a familiar human scent reappeared, seemingly coming from the laboratory above. The scent descended the spiral staircase and approached his position.
It was Dr. Wu.
Carlo looked toward him. Dr. Wu paused for a mont when he noticed Carlo's state, then gave a self-deprecating smile.
"You're awake... I shouldn't be surprised."
He stopped in front of the iron bars of Carlo's cage, stepping slightly over the yellow line that signaled danger, a gesture that seed to signify trust.
Carlo watched him quietly, and Dr. Wu returned the gaze. One was filled with curiosity, the other with admiration.
"When I first saw you, you were only a ter tall. Though for a newborn dinosaur, those were terrifying statistics."
After a long silence, Dr. Wu spoke, mostly to himself. He wasn't sure how much Carlo could actually understand.
Actually, it wasn't a question of if he could understand, but how much.
Following the Scorpios rex incident, Dr. Wu had analyzed Carlo's intelligence, even spending his limited free ti reviewing over 4,000 hours of live footage from the Prival Ecological Zone.
Ultimately, he had categorized Carlo's IQ as "unpredictable," simply because Carlo sotis acted erratically, much like a human making a stupid mistake or tripping over the sa error twice.
It was... fascinating.
He also noted Carlo's growth rate was staggering, though given his current size, that speed actually seed sowhat appropriate.
"I wonder... in this mont, or any other, what are you actually thinking? Or rather, what are you contemplating?"
Carlo tilted his head, looking at Dr. Wu.
To most, locking eyes with a predator was a terrifying ordeal. But to Dr. Wu, Carlo's expression could only be described as "cute."
Of course, that only applied to Carlo.
"You really haven't changed at all."
Dr. Wu couldn't help but chuckle. It was a wonderful feeling, like finding an old friend after years apart and realizing they were exactly as you rembered. It was comforting.
"Grnnng..."
Carlo finally responded with a soft grunt, though neither could understand the other's language.
"What is it?"
Dr. Wu noticed Carlo's movent seed to carry a specific aning and tried his best to interpret it.
"Grnnng…"
Carlo grunted softly again, nodding his head repeatedly toward the Stegosaurus.
Dr. Wu followed Carlo's line of sight and saw the weakened herbivore. He froze for a second, then another smile flickered across his face.
"Him. I rember him. The one with the congenital defect who survived on his own."
"He's just dehydrated. I'll have the staff prepare so water for him."
Dr. Wu turned back to Carlo and continued:
"Caring for another species... a species on your nu... that certainly sounds like sothing you would do."
"You are the least dinosaur-like dinosaur I have ever seen, and yet the most magnificent."
"One day, my creations will be just like you... I'll make sure of it."
Dr. Wu seed possessed by a certain obsession as he lowered his head into a pensive silence. Behind him, several employees dressed as laborers arrived carrying a large monitor. They assembled it in front of Carlo's cage and departed.
"To keep you from getting bored, I've prepared a small gift."
Dr. Wu snapped out of his thoughts, looked up, and turned on the screen. It played the cartoon from the Jurassic Park era, featuring Mr. DNA explaining the process of de-extinction. Dr. Wu seed to want to use this to gauge the depth of Carlo's intellect.
However, he had other matters to attend to. He would have to record Carlo's reaction with the cara and review it later.
"I have to go... and about your mother... Caroline, I'll find a way."
Dr. Wu looked back and gave Carlo a final promise as he left. He had finally rembered the mother dino's na.
"Grnnng…"
Carlo grunted softly in farewell. He didn't understand the words, but in his mind, this was a goodbye.
Then, he turned his attention to the wriggling Mr. DNA on the monitor. His tail tapped the ground in a steady rhythm, his eyes filled with genuine interest.
As Dr. Wu ascended the stairs, he glanced back at Carlo's reaction from a distance. With a slight smile, he continued his way up.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]
User Comments
0 comments from readers