[Orrick.]
[Five Miles Away.]
In the gloomy forest path, the headlights of a suddenly halted convoy dispelled a fraction of the haze.
"Hey..."
Claire noticed a nearby signpost and lightly tapped Owen's shoulder to draw his attention. Owen followed her gaze and saw the markings on the sign, promptly suggesting:
"Let's go to town and notify law enforcent to stop them."
With that, Owen began to shift gears and turn the steering wheel, preparing to break away from the convoy and head toward town.
Click.
The crisp, lodic sound of a safety being disengaged struck Owen's heart like a heavy blow.
Claire noticed the movent and looked at Owen, only to find a silver snub-nosed revolver pressed against his temple.
"Hello there."
Wheatley, now missing an arm, appeared. His remaining hand reached through the car window, pinning the revolver to Owen's head. Owen slowly raised his hands, releasing the steering wheel in a gesture of surrender.
"You two really should have stayed on the island. You would've had a better chance of staying alive."
As Wheatley's words fell, a series of further clicks followed. Five fully ard rcenaries raised rifles of unknown models, aiming them directly at Owen and Claire in the driver's seats.
"You two really are my lucky stars. I was just wondering how I could squeeze a little more cash out of Mills."
As Wheatley spoke, his stump flailed about continuously. It looked quite comical, yet no one dared to laugh.
…
"It all began with a mosquito..."
On the television screen, Mr. DNA danced incessantly, his body twisting and writhing like a snake.
Carlo shifted his head slightly, tilting it left and then right.
It was srizing.
"Hrrr..."
Boss, are you there...
A weak, low growl drifted from a nearby containnt cell. Judging by the voice, it was Kafka.
"Hrrr..."
I'm here.
Carlo didn't take his eyes off Mr. DNA, responding with a low growl of his own.
"Hrrr..."
I can't move...
Kafka, having never experienced anesthesia before, was utterly confused by her current state. She felt as powerless as the tis Katyusha used to drag her out of sleep to pick a fight when they were young.
"Hrrr..."
You'll be fine in a bit. Don't worry.
Carlo soothed him. In the quiet basent, only the low calls of the herbivores echoed, so the two carnivores' voices reached each other clearly.
Glug, glug, glug...
The sound of drinking continued from the cage next to Carlo. The Stegosaurus had regained its vitality and was happily drinking the water provided by the staff.
Currently, the only ones awake were a few herbivores and the un-sedated juveniles. Most of the dinosaurs, including Giga Dad and Mom, were still fast asleep.
"Stay put!"
Two figures were escorted into a containnt cell identical to those of the dinosaurs. Now, two more mbers were awake – Owen and Claire.
Carlo rely glanced toward the commotion before returning his gaze to Mr. DNA on the screen. This ti, however, he wasn't following the story; his thoughts began to drift as his tail thumped rhythmically against the ground.
Kafka is awake... once Dad and Mom wake up, we can find a way to evacuate. But how should I do it? Just smash through the walls and charge out? That would be far too dangerous for Dad and Mom since they've just woken up... If only the humans would voluntarily put down their guns and have a physical brawl with the dinosaurs.
I can't leave the herbivores behind either. I have to open their cages; I can't let them stay here for humans to decide their fate.
Then again, if these people ca to "rescue" us, why did they lock us up?
"Claire, I ca over because I wanted to apologize."
Mills had received word of their arrival at so point and ca for a "prison visit." He stood by the iron bars, wiping his glasses as he spoke to the two inside about his... predicant?
"I never intended to involve you, but to catch the Raptor, I had to..."
He took a step forward, crossing the yellow caution line. Suddenly, Claire lunged toward the bars! She wanted to give Mills a piece of her mind.
"We need it!"
Mills retreated quickly, dodging the lunge. Simultaneously, Owen stepped forward to signal Claire to calm down. Claire, unwilling to waste breath on Mills, retreated to the back, leaving Owen to talk to him.
"So... is this your goal? A man as smart as you could have built a foundation dedicated to curing cancer, rather than... this... trafficking endangered species?"
Owen spoke with a calm tone, causing Mills to lower his guard slightly.
"I saved these animals."
"You betrayed a dying man for money."
Claire spoke up again to accuse Mills, but this seed to hit a nerve, imdiately triggering his "debate mode."
"Claire, I admire your idealism, but we've all made money off these animals. At least I'm honest about it."
"I have never done anything illegal—"
"You authorized the creation of the Indominus rex!"
Claire's rebuttal was drowned out by Mills' raised voice. He stepped closer, continuing his accusation:
"To make a profit, you kept a living, breathing animal in a cage. How is that any different from what I'm doing?!"
"And you... you proved that Raptors can follow orders. Did you really never think about putting that into practice... Owen? Did you really never think about how much a trained Raptor would sell for? Millions."
"The two of you are the creators of this new century."
Seeing Mills getting closer and closer to the cage, Owen's ruse succeeded. He lunged out and grabbed Mills' arm, jerking it into the cage.
Cr-crack...
Bone let out a strained sound. Nearby bodyguards instantly raised their guns, aiming at Owen.
"Let him go!"
"Owen!"
This ti, it was Claire's turn to step forward and pretend to calm Owen down. With her back to the guards, she winked at him.
"I want to break this."
Owen blinked back and spoke to Claire, who understood imdiately.
"Ah—!"
Owen released Mills, allowing him to pull away.
"Claire, I just—"
He was cut off as Claire grabbed his suit and, with a violent tug, slamd him face-first into the iron bars.
"Ugh...!"
His glasses shattered upon impact. Owen let out a satisfied, understated chuckle. Even though they had broken up, the chemistry between these two hadn't faded a bit.
Mills felt the bridge of his nose, and once he confird it wasn't bleeding, he took off his ruined, expensive glasses.
"I think we can stop the pretenses now... Bring him here!"
Wheatley appeared from the side, pushing a wheelchair. He waved his stump in greeting to the two in the cage. In the wheelchair sat the gasping, dying Lockwood.
"Mills! What are you doing?!"
"What am I doing? I'm fulfilling the old gentleman's final wish, to be with his dinosaurs forever."
The small gate on Carlo's cage was opened. Wheatley disengaged the brakes on Lockwood's wheelchair and shoved him inside.
———————
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