"At 2:45 AM on October 4th, Sir Benjamin Lockwood laid down his heavy burden. He went to his private sub-basement laboratory alone; when we found him, he was resting peacefully in his armchair, having entered an eternal sleep..."
An atmosphere of grief and mourning shrouded the cemetery. Though it was midday, a persistent chill gripped those in attendance.
Iris, dressed in a black attendant's suit, stood before the tombstone. Facing the small assembly, she read the eulogy she had written in a low, somber voice.
"His passing is a profound blow to the entire history of genetic science..."
The cemetery was so quiet that the only sound was Iris's recitation. The attendees were few; despite Lockwood's legendary status, fewer than ten people had come to say goodbye. It seemed the world had already forgotten him.
"Eeuhhe… euhh… euhe…"
A sudden burst of weeping from the crowd broke the silence. Iris paused momentarily, then continued with her reading.
In the shade of a nearby tree, a young man also wearing a black uniform watched as Lockwood's coffin was slowly lowered. He sighed, whispering to himself, "Your little protégé sure did something reckless, old man."
It was the Primeval Official.
He tipped his hat toward the headstone in a final gesture of respect and slipped away early, heading toward a nondescript van parked nearby.
Click… door opens.
"Continue the sweep. We need to find him as soon as possible."
A man with a scholarly air but a muscular build sat in the back of the van. Wearing a headset and monitoring a bank of screens displaying helicopter feeds, he was barking out coordinates.
"Any luck?"
The Official shed his black formal jacket to reveal lighter tactical gear underneath. He took the seat next to the muscular man and donned his own headset.
"Nothing. It's like he vanished into thin air... or rather, he's realized he's being hunted and is actively masking his trail," the big man replied, his eyes darting between monitors, searching for any anomaly.
"Hmm... we have to hurry. A lot of people interested in dinosaurs died at Mills' auction. This is the best window for him to evacuate. Wherever he ends up, it can't be in the U.S."
The Official adjusted his mic and continued, "InGen is already making moves. I'll find a way to pressure them, but the task of guiding the Giganotosaurus is still up to your team."
"Understood."
Click… door opens.
"Hey! Boss, I'm back. Brought some lunch, anyone hungry?"
A cheerful female voice rang out from the driver's side. It was Tiger Lady.
After the volunteer mission to rescue the dinosaurs ended, both she and the scholarly muscle-man had been recruited by the Official. They had left their previous jobs to dedicate themselves to dinosaur conservation. Unlike those radical activist groups that did nothing but protest and disrupt daily life, the Primeval Ecological Zone authorities were actually reaching into their own pockets to save these prehistoric creatures.
"Tsszz... We've found traces of wild boar blood in the forest, but no carcass."
A report crackled through the headset. The Official smiled and responded to Tiger Lady's offer.
"No thanks. I think someone else needs a full meal more than we do right now... To the airport!"
"You got it!" Tiger Lady chirped, bucking her seatbelt. Moments later, the van roared to life, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.
Across the street, previously obscured by the van, stood Maisie Lockwood. For some reason, her identity as a clone had been exposed; she was now heavily bundled up to avoid recognition.
"Let's go."
Owen Grady placed a hand on her shoulder, offering comfort with the somewhat awkward gentleness of a man still learning how to be a father.
…
[Food: 7736.9 / 10600]
Carlo hadn't eaten the boar he caught; instead, he had given it to his family.
Since the disasters on Isla Nublar began, he'd had few chances for a proper meal. If he hadn't managed to scavenge some of the feed Dr. Wu's staff had provided back at the Lockwood Estate, his hunger bar would be even lower. He could endure it, even if his food hit zero, he could still push through, but Giga Dad and the others couldn't. They needed the energy.
"Hey! More blood over here!"
The voices belonged to mercenaries, contacts the Official had sourced through the muscle-man. They were tracking the blood trail and were now less than a hundred meters from the family's position.
"Stand by. Helicopter inbound for reconnaissance."
Whirrr… whirr…
Carlo looked up at the black silhouette reappearing in the sky. He let out a low, urgent rumble to Giga Dad and the others.
"Roar…"
If there's danger, run. Stay in the trees, avoid open ground. We'll regroup later.
Katyusha and Giga Dad both froze, about to protest, but their voices were drowned out by Carlo's thunderous roar.
"ROOOAR—!!!"
The sound tore through the sky and pierced the clouds.
On the helicopter, crew members wearing noise-canceling headsets reflexively tore them off, clutching their ears in pain. In the forest, the mercenaries broke into a cold sweat, quickly tightening their formation and standing back-to-back, eyes scanning the shadows.
At the foot of the mountain, Stegosaurus bro, who had been struggling to find Carlo's trail, heard the sound from the summit and began happily trotting up the slope.
"Giganotosaurus sighted! Level One Alert! All ground units, evacuate immediately!"
Carlo watched the sky, noting the dark shape turning to face him. Without hesitation, he burst from the treeline and began sprinting down the asphalt road. His massive feet tore cracks into the pavement, and the earth-shaking thuds of his gait drew everyone's attention.
"Yellowstone Lake! Giganotosaurus No. 3!"
"Squad Six! Maintain tracking! The Boss is on his way!"
"ROAR—"
Carlo roared as he ran. Two more helicopters appeared, banking low to tail him. They maintained a steady distance, seemingly intent only on tracking. The ground troops scrambled into their Jeeps and sped away, retreating down the mountain.
Giga Dad poked his head out from the brush, watched Carlo lead the pursuit away, and then vanished into the pine forest on the opposite side of the road. Katyusha, Karl, and Kafka followed suit. The four dinosaurs obediently remained hidden in the woods, moving parallel to the direction of Carlo's sprint.
…
The scenery blurred as the pine forest thinned out. Carlo came to a sudden halt in a clearing and looked up, only to find the three helicopters that had been tailing him were gone.
Whirrr…
He began to sniff the air to relocate them, but his senses were suddenly overwhelmed by a massive, growing vibration approaching from above.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]