The warm, heavy weight of the Tyrannosaur meat sat in Isaiah's stomach, kickstarting his hyper-active metabolism. The raw energy was already flowing through his veins, dulling the throb of the gunshot wound on his shoulder.He had intended to follow the main group of humans, but as he turned away from the dead king, a faint, rhythmic sound caught his attention. It wasn't the sound of the jungle. It was a rhythmic, artificial sound.Clank. Clank.Isaiah's long, narrow snout tilted to the side. His amber eyes narrowed. It was the sound of a heavy, metal objects striking against one another. It was coming from the direction of the abandoned airstrip, moving toward the dense jungle to the south.Isaiah's sensitive nostrils flared. He caught the scent on the breeze. It was heavy with the smell of cheap tobacco, synthetic military grade fabric, and the pungent, unmistakable odor of human fear sweat.The shooter. The large man who had put a high-caliber bullet into his flesh.Cooper had not gone with Dr. Grant and the Kirbys. He was isolated. He was alone.The 15-year-old boy named Isaiah inside the monster's brain felt a sudden, cold surge of purely predatory satisfaction. Asset 87 did not tolerate being hunted. In this wild world, to be wounded and not retaliate was a sign of weakness that invited more attacks.Isaiah turned his massive frame away from the trail of the main group. He moved with a chilling, calculated silence that defied his forty-foot length. He lowered his belly close to the ferns, his heavy tail held perfectly horizontal to the ground to keep his movement completely silent.He followed the scent trail back toward the perimeter of the runway.There, pushing his way through a thick wall of woody bamboo, was Cooper. The mercenary was heavily wounded from his rough roll on the concrete runway. He was limping heavily on his right leg, grimacing in pain with every step. He was clutching his massive high-caliber rifle to his chest like a security blanket, his head darting frantically from side to side.Cooper was trying to find a high, defensible position, or perhaps a structure where he could hide and wait for a rescue that would never come.Isaiah stopped twenty yards behind him, perfectly camouflaged against the dark tree trunks. His blue bioluminescent stripes were turned completely off, leaving him a ghost in the shadows. He watched the man struggle.Cooper stopped to adjust his grip on his gun. He let out a ragged, panting breath. "Come on... come on, you bastards. Just come find me," the mercenary muttered to himself, his voice shaking.Isaiah took a slow, heavy step forward.The weight of his massive body made a low, wet squelch in the mud.Cooper froze. Every muscle in the soldier's body locked up. He didn't turn around immediately. He stood perfectly still, his eyes wide with pure, unadulterated terror. He had heard it.Very slowly, with the agonizing deliberation of a condemned man, Cooper turned his head over his shoulder.Towering over the bamboo stalks, just fifteen feet away, was Isaiah.The giant predator was staring down at him. Isaiah's amber, slit-pupil eyes were fixed directly on the man who had shot him. Isaiah opened his massive, elongated jaws just a fraction, revealing rows of interlocking, serrated teeth. A thick string of clear saliva dripped from his dark lips and splashed onto Cooper's combat boot."Oh, God," Cooper whispered, his face going pale as a sheet. "No. Please."In a final, desperate act of defiance, Cooper tried to bring his massive rifle up to his shoulder.Isaiah was faster.With a speed that defied his massive mass, Isaiah lunged. He didn't use his teeth first. He lashed out with his massive, muscular right arm. The foot-long, curved talon on his hand caught the heavy rifle, batting it out of Cooper's hands with such force that it flew twenty feet through the air and embedded itself in the trunk of a tree.Cooper screamed, a high-pitched sound of pure terror that cut through the jungle air. He turned and tried to run, his injured leg giving out immediately. He fell face-first into the mud.Isaiah stepped forward, his massive, three-toed foot pinning Cooper to the ground by his back. The immense weight of the sub-adult Spinosaurus crushed the air out of Cooper's lungs.Isaiah lowered his massive head until his snout was just inches away from Cooper's face. He let out a low, vibrating growl in his chest that shook the mud beneath them.Isaiah wanted the man to know who had caught him. He wanted him to feel the fear.Then, Isaiah opened his jaws wide. He clamped them around Cooper's torso and yanked him violently into the air.With a single, powerful snap of his massive neck, Isaiah swallowed the mercenary whole.The warm rush of protein and the satisfying crunch of gear put a final, dark end to his vengeance. Isaiah stood in the bamboo thicket, blood dripping from his dark jaws, a chilling sense of absolute dominance settling over his mind. He was no longer just a boy in a monster's body. He was the monster.And now, it was time to find Dr. Grant.POV: Dr. Alan GrantThe clearing was deathly still.Alan Grant dared not breathe. He stood rooted to the spot, his eyes locked onto the yellow, red-pupiled eyes of the lead Velociraptor. The creature was leaning forward, its head low to the ground, its sickle claws clicking rhythmically against the exposed roots of the banyan tree.Tap. Tap. Click."Alan," Paul Kirby whispered from behind him, his voice cracking with pure terror. "What do we do? Tell us what to do.""Don't move," Alan replied through gritted teeth, his eyes never leaving the alpha raptor. "If you run, they'll tear you apart in seconds. They are testing us."The lead raptor let out a soft, bark-like vocalization. From the tall grass to their left and right, two more raptors stepped out. They were a perfectly coordinated unit. They weren't just rushing in blindly. They were surrounding them, cutting off every possible avenue of escape, herding the humans into a tight, vulnerable circle.Amanda Kirby was shaking violently, clutching Paul's arm so tightly her knuckles were white. Billy Brennan stood perfectly still, his camera bag clutched to his chest. Alan could feel the cold sweat bead on his forehead. He had been in this position before, but these Sorna raptors felt different. They felt more primitive, more aggressive, and vastly more intelligent.The alpha raptor took a slow, calculated step forward. Its nostrils flared, catching the scent of the humans. It opened its jaws slightly, revealing rows of needle-sharp teeth, letting out a low, vibrating hiss.Alan knew exactly what was happening. They were assessing the group. They were looking for the weakest link to strike first.Just as the alpha raptor coiled its powerful leg muscles to pounce, a sudden, heavy silence fell over the jungle.The insects stopped chirping. The distant calls of the herbivores died out completely.Even the raptors noticed the change. The alpha tilted its head to the side, its red pupils contracting. Its ears twitched as it listened to a sound that the humans couldn't hear yet.Then, the ground vibrated.It wasn't the rhythmic, heavy thump of a running Tyrannosaur. It was a slow, massive, deliberate footstep that seemed to shake the very water in the mud.Thump.The tall elephant grass at the far edge of the clearing parted violently.Emerging from the green sea was a massive, scarred snout. Rows of serrated, banana-sized teeth peeked out from dark, scaly lips coated in fresh, red blood. The blue bioluminescent stripes on the creature's flanks flared to a brilliant, angry pulse, casting an eerie glow across the grass.It was the giant, sail-backed monster that had destroyed their plane.Isaiah stepped fully into the clearing, towering over the humans and the raptors alike. He lowered his massive head, his glowing amber eyes looking down at the standoff.The raptor pack instantly abandoned their attack on the humans. They turned as one to face the new, massive intruder. The alpha female let out a high-pitched, screeching bark of pure defiance, her sickle claws raised, but she backed away a step. They knew this beast. They knew the scars on his back.The humans were trapped in the middle. To their front was a pack of hyper-intelligent, lethal pack hunters. To their rear was a forty-foot-tall genetic nightmare that had just killed a Tyrannosaurus rex.Alan Grant looked up at the massive, blue-striped Spinosaurus looming over them. As the creature's yellow eyes locked onto his, Alan felt a sudden, bizarre shock run down his spine.The eyes of the giant didn't look like the cold, unfeeling eyes of the other dinosaurs. They looked complex. They looked calculating. They looked... intelligent."Oh, my God," Billy whispered from beside him, his voice trembling in awe and horror.They were caught between the ultimate pack hunters and the ultimate apex predator, and Alan Grant knew that their chances of survival had just dropped to zero.
