"It is said again and again that two plus two will always equal four. As certain as that answer may be is my certainty that there will always be anomalies in the system. The outcome is an illusion as we plan it."

-Ian Malcolm

Perimeter

The dry heat of the Mojave changed dramatically as the sun disappeared. Most of the protesters who spent their days outside of the large white gate, holding up their signs and yelling at all the large construction vehicles that entered and exited, usually left to their own homes or hotels for the night. Nick Phelps, a man in his mid-twenties with a curled beard and tattered clothing which smelled after he'd worn them for days, was the only man in his group who remained. Nicholas was tired, his skin crawled from having not showered, but he would not leave his post from the large white fence. His band of anti-zoo protesters had been waiting again and again to shut down this so called "Preserve" before it could start.

Nick watched as the sun set behind some of the Mojave hills, casting the outside in blackness. As it had every night, the light sensors in the preserve came on just after the sun began to darken out. They kept the entire place illuminated through the night, leading Nick to question why these lights weren't motion censored. Most lights like that were motion censored. Just another thing to hate about this so called preserve, Nick thought, they waste horrific amounts of energy.

"Attention valued guests of Prehistoric Preserve-" Nick cringed at the sound of that name as it was garbled out from the loud speaker system, it sounded like something a child had made up. The idea of opening a theme park based around large and endangered reptiles was absolutely absurd to Nick. "Prehistoric Preserve is now closing, come back tomorrow for more adventures. Thank you for exploring with us!" The man rolled his eyes, this place wasn't even close to a preserve. It was another god damn Sea World. It would probably be just as determined to exploit their animals and destroy their surrounding environment. That was why Nick was going to spend the night at that gate getting his point across.

The whirring of various machines had began to seductively lull Nick to sleep as he sat with his back against the fence, eyes blinking as he tried to pick something to focus on, anything to keep him up. He knew better than to fall asleep at a protest site, it was a surefire way to have an unpleasant confrontation with just about any manager or law officer. Nick yawned, readjusting himself against the white planks of fence before he heard a sudden shriek from just inside. Immediately the man shot up from his sitting position, jumping to his feet and listening with fear.

Though Nick could not pinpoint the species he'd heard cry out, he did not want any creature that may be in despair to be ignored. He wondered if perhaps one of the animals in here had gotten trapped in fencing, or if it was trying to escape a badly put together enclosure. Nick couldn't stand the thought of any creature trapped within fences and walls, not when they didn't belong there. The earth was home to humans and animals alike, and it didn't seem fair to Nick that animals were not allowed to roam as freely as man was. He looked for security cameras and saw none that appeared to be on and when he heard another cry he decided to risk it anyway. Throwing his bag over his back he forced the white gate to open enough for him to squeeze through. He wondered why the gate wasn't sturdier for a moment but then decided to not put much thought into a blessing. He started along a path lit by the streetlights in the direction of the sound. It sounded almost like the scream of a little girl. Through some thick bushes and maintenance roads he began to wonder where the hell he was, the Preserve beyond the gate seemed much bigger, like another world. Before he knew it he was running up hill when he heard the scream once more, it was close.

Nick ran until he found himself at another fence, wired off with an electric voltage sign. He stood baffled as he recalled hearing this place was a large reptile preserve, but surely no known reptiles would require a fence like this. His eyes drifted up to a red light indicating the fence was on. He didn't dare touch it, but instead stood at the bars and quietly called as if for a dog. "Hello? Hey buddy..." He said softly when a pair of yellow eyes reflected in the dark. "Are you caught in something?" He asked, pulling out his phone to use the flashlight. Before he could turn it on a series of sparks lit up the immediate area and the frightened face of a creature he'd never seen before was in view for a second. It appeared to have the face of a featherless parrot with a large rounded crest behind it's head. The creature was no bigger than a dog. Nick had never seen anything like it before and he wished he could have for longer before it scampered deep into some bushes and it was dark again.

Sparks lit the fence again and now he heard a loud cry of a creature much different from the small thing he'd seen before. He turned quickly to where he heard the loud cry from, the piercing shriek. The sparks from the fence died out before he could see more than the reflection of orange eyes. He heard claws tapping on the ground as it ran and then as if a flash, he felt a burning sensation on his abdomen. Suddenly he was on the ground, unsure what happened to him, the pitch darkness leaving him unable to inspect the wound. Nick struggled, tracing the ripped edges of his shirt with his fingers, it was already soaked with blood. He pressed them gently against his wet and slippery skin. "Oh shit... Oh shit... oh shit." He whined, it stung horribly as he felt around it. He tried to test how deep it was, only to wail out on pain as his hands slipped around on his bloody abdomen, his whole body sticky.

"Help! Help I'm bleeding!" Nick cried out, a hand pressed to the large wound on his abdomen, his assailant gone. "Oh God, I'm really bleeding..." His voice came out entirely panicked as he felt the blood quickly squishing through his fingers. Nick had been injured before, but never like this. Whatever had attacked him, had really attacked him. "Please, someone help, call the cops on me I don't... care..." The more he yelled the harder it became for him to breathe. "You... you stabbed me..." He said accusingly, all thoughts of anything besides a security guard far from his mind. "You... stabbed me." He accused again. This was far beyond some case of Police Brutality on a security guard's part. This was scary. This was farther than Nick ever thought he would go with a protest. Of course he'd dreamed of dying protecting the animals he loved so much, but this was needless. This was him dying on a stupid breaking and entering for a strange animal that didn't even seem hurt at all.

"I'm dying, I'm dying..." The man's voice came out in a weak whine as he laid on the dirt walkway, the maintenance shed in clear sight. He knew the footsteps that approached, each step clicking against the ground, would more than likely not be a hero come to save him. Whoever this was, they had come to finish what they started. What kind of security guards did this preserve have? What were they trying to protect? What did they have to hide?

Creature

A high pitched, shrill sound, came from near by, one she'd learned to associate with the men and their big yellow gloves. She heard their zapping sticks and jerked her head up from her kill before they could even come close to her. A bit of flesh still hanging from her mouth she could now hear their muttering voices. The men were still a good run away. Her three toed foot descended on her kill to hold it steady as she yanked the man's arm up into her mouth, pulling it from the body. With her dinner, her prize, in her custody, she abandoned the rest of the man and began to run.

She darted along the trail that the men had carved for a few moments, but she was aware they would follow her so she continued to bite down tight on the arm before taking off the trail into the thicket. With ease she made her way through the bush despite every branch that scraped against her tough skin. She paused a moment, sniffing the air, though the smell of the bloodied arm slightly overwhelmed her senses. She could hear the men still following her. Letting out a soft growl she thought a moment about the land she knew before taking off again along the inside perimeter of the big white fence. She knew there was a gate that could open and close if she could only reach it. It was down the hill, around where the man came in from. His smell still lingered on the trail he took. The creature followed it to the gate he'd squeezed in though. She was too big for the same small hole as him so she leapt against it, her full weight smashing it open a bit wider. Her escape was so close. She tested the opening and noticed the little chain, if she could only unhook the little chain...

She dropped the arm, blood still tickling her mouth and chin as she raised her clawed hand to the chain, trying to unhook it. She first tugged down, noting what it snagged on. She then lifted up and noted the same snag. She tapped the snag with her claw, trying to unhook it. She heard the people coming. She could hear the charge from their zapping sticks. Her flesh twitched at just the thought of getting hit again with one of them. She slammed herself into the gate again but the snag on it was too rough. She continued to fight the chain with her claws, but the men were still approaching.

The creature could see them now. She looked around at each of them, a low growl escaping her throat. The men were all wearing their blue uniforms, holding their elongated sticks with the loops, their zapping sticks, she could see the transportation van behind the men. Nervously she searched for a break between all of them and ran foreword trying to break between them. She ran quickly and struck someone with her claws and knocked the man aside as he let out a blood-curdling scream. Without hesitation another man lunged foreword with the stick in hand. Quickly she felt the popping sensation against the back of her neck. It caused her to lurch foreword, her whole body feeling as though her veins were exploding. Another popping sensation burned her ribcage. She fell to the ground instantly, her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth. She looked upwards, unable to move. The loop was put around her neck, the man tightened it as he attempted to pull her up. "This damn thing is too heavy to keep doin' this." The man grumbled.

"Sir, Andy's hurt bad..." The other man said as he saw the one she'd attacked trying to cover the claw wound on his side.

"That's why you stay out of their damn way... Andy, you'll be fine." He simply grumbled, finally lifting her enough to begin loading her onto the cart. "Somebody throw that arm to the Rex, you know we can't afford to leave that stuff behind."

Waterfall

Grey thunder-filled monsters hung over the open Mojave land. A well dressed man in a grey suit stood with his arms crossed, peering through his sun glasses at the sloped rocks before him. They were stacked meticulously to make the most beautiful clay-like waterfalls he had ever seen, if he could only get the water for them. "I'm not sure why I would pay out my asshole for waterfalls that don't work unless it's raining, would you like to answer that for me, Gina?" He turned to the mousy-haired girl who stood besides him, looking to the sky. "Gina..." He said frustratingly when she didn't answer immediately.

"Sorry sir, it was supposed to rain today," The girl sighed, hearing a rumble of thunder from the clouds, but this far into the desert that meant almost nothing. "But I did warn you that the desert weather really... doesn't usually have a lot of rain. I offered you artificial waterfalls but-"

"Artifical waterfalls are filled with chlorine and all kinds of chemicals our animals have never been exposed to!" The man exclaimed, it seemed to Gina like he almost actually cared. It worried her slightly. "I need this water to be safe for the animals, Gina. They're expensive animals and all of the vets have advised me to-"

"The vets don't have to make the cogs and gears of this park move, Mr. Totton, I do." Gina said stubbornly. "The weather out here is too unpredictable, even with our water recycling systems there will not be enough water for these falls and the rivers of this habitat. It's a miracle we got the system working for the lake, but running rivers and complex waterfalls, it's nearly impossible, I'm sorry David." The woman explained as she noticed a rain drop fall to the ground and rolled her eyes, already knowing what her boss's next words would be.

"We've already achieved the impossible, Gina. I need these waterfalls up and running, we can not push back the park's opening date any longer." He turned to walk away. "Make it happen, Gina."

Parasaurolophus Paradise

A sigh of relief escaped Gina's dry lips as a few droplets of rain fell from the sky. Immediately a low and drawn out honk was heard from below where she stood towards the top of the waterfall. The woman looked down at the creature bellowing from the bottom of the rock formation, it's mouth opened wide to try and receive rain drops as another bellowing honk escaped it. She remembered hearing one of the Preserve's paleontologists explaining that the noise didn't actually come from this particular dinosaur's mouth or throat but instead from the horn at the top of it's head. She didn't concern herself much with the park's animals, after she'd seen the horrors that came about in the 1990's with InGen's failed creation of Jurassic Park, she wasn't taking her chances with any of the Preserve's creatures. Still she'd heard that the Parasaurolophus's were all vegetarians, much like herself. She saw as the large one cried out, a series of honks came from out of the makeshift hide's made from some basic plywood as more of the creatures appeared to feel the rain.

As water fell more steadily from the sky Gina decided it would be just about time to return to her office and try to track if they would be receiving enough rain to fill their wells and make the Parasaurolophus waterfalls run properly. The poor creatures were water and swamp dwellers and out in the Mojave sun they'd had no sun until the rain came. Most of them had gone into their hides and tried to sleep off the dehydration while the big one always waited by the base of the waterfall, what would soon be a lake, and watched the sky. Gina shook her head now as their two different species of the dinosaurs gathered to lay close to the ground and rub their massive bodies in the mud. She stepped down the edge of the waterfall path, one arm on a guard rail, and her nose crinkled as she noticed the stench of the large animals. It smelled more or less like the barn her grandmother owned when she was a child mixed with sweat and the sun.

When the largest of the creatures looked at her and honked five times it caused the woman to jump. "Christ..." Gina let out, pulling her clipboard closer to her body. These animals were certainly scary, even the plant eaters. The creature walked up to her and stood, towering above her. "God... Uh... hello, big, stinky dinosaur." She said and took a few more steps. The creature honked loudly again and dropped to all fours and stood in front of her like a giant dumb cow. The creature stuck out a massive tongue and licked her and honked again. Despite the smelly saliva all over her, Gina thought it was a bit cute. "Thanks for the kiss." She said with a small smile. "Which one are you?" She asked, trying to recall the animal's names that were posted on the sign outside the fence. "Donald... no... Daisy... Scrooge..." She shook her head. "Huey!" She exclaimed and the dinosaur seemed to agree. Perhaps the big stupid creature had learned it's name after all. "Thanks for the kiss Huey." She smiled and walked off, maybe all dinosaurs aren't so bad.

She beelined through all the herbivore exhibits, it was a more leisurely walk in the steady rainfall, she loved the rain. She was passing the Protoceratops Pen when she noted an odd smell. "God, smells like the carnivores." She said to herself when she noted the puddles around her, running red from a point by the fence. "Oh god, oh god, oh god..." She let out, her mind immediately ran to what Mr. Totton would say.

"Those Proto's are $100,000 a piece. You just let one of them die!" It would be a disaster. She prayed for a moment that this blood might just be from a slightly injured proto, or perhaps something entirely unrelated.

A moment later she resented that wish.

Just outside the fence, laying still, was a bloated man. Brunette with a beard, blood running down from the corpse which was already shredded and missing an arm. His eyes stared foreword in horror, the open cavities looked like something had already gotten to them. Probably bugs or small lizards, she assumed whatever took the arm was probably a much larger predator. She knew it right away, this damn Preserve and their money saving ideas. Just clean up after your damn raptor next time. She shook her head, turning on her walkie to tell security exactly that.