Faren tripped over their feet several times in their rush to get the raft ashore. Finally, they gave up, dropped it and walked quickly, though not so quickly as to startle the many creatures around them, to the kids.

"Ethan! Sienna!" they cried as they reached the other raft.

"Dr. Santos!" the children cried in recognition. They then eyed each other before returning their attention to the doctor. They were worried. Obviously. They had escaped the facility after all. Dr. Santos had time to allay their fears soon enough. For now, they climbed into the kid's raft and swept them both into a huge hug.

"You kids!" They grumbled, as they pulled back away to look at them more carefully. "Are you hurt?" From what Dr. Santos could tell, there were several scratches, but they couldn't see anything more serious.

"We're fine, Dr. Santos," Sienna smiled. She opened her mouth to speak again, but closed it again.

"So these are the children that have caused us so much worry!" Audrey stepped up to their side. "Hi. I'm Audrey." She held out her hand for them to take turns shaking. Again the kids gave each other a long stare before returning their gaze to her. "I'm a friend of Faren's. Sorry, Dr. Santos. They asked me to help them find you, To protect you."

"From the dinosaurs?" Ethan asked quietly. Dr. Santos couldn't tell if it were a question or a statement.

"She's the best around. You should have seen her with the spinosaurus last night!"

"The spinosaurus!" both kids exclaimed at that one.

Dr. Santos briefly retold the tale of their adventure last night, both them and Audrey climbing into the boat, sitting on the edge to get more comfortable. As they spoke, Dr. Santos could see the muscles of the kids relax. Poor things must have been anxious for two solid days.

"And then we came the rest of the way down the river and found you."

"Well, we saw you a long while ago," Audrey interrupted. "When the tapejaras attacked you. We felt so helpless. We were too far away to do anything. But you got through it. I was impressed." Audrey rumpled Ethan's hair. It was hard not to. It was the perfect length for flopping around. She paused a moment when his eyes were fully exposed, then continued. Hopefully the boy hadn't noticed.

During their super fast paddling, Faren had taken their last chance to explain to Audrey what they would find when they reached the kids. Audrey wasn't remotely surprised. She was already certain about Sienna, and had at least an inkling about Ethan.

"And we watched you climb back in the boat," Audrey turned her attention to Sienna, her hand lightly touching the girl's shoulder. She wouldn't find anything out with that touch, Dr. Santos thought. It must just be for comfort. "You are one strong kid. In fact," Audrey looked at each kid in turn. "I am so impressed with how far you have come alone." She gave a big grin that lit up her eyes. Both kids expanded, shoulders dropping, chins rising. Audrey was surprisingly good with kids. Faren had had no idea.

"Now we have to work out what to do with you," Dr. Santos said with a chuckle. They knew they had to tread carefully here. The kids had escaped the facility for a reason. "And right now, that comes down to what you want to do." They gave each child an earnest look. They needed the kids to trust them, but it was really hard to act trustworthy when you were so aware of it.

"What do you mean?" Sienna asked.

"Well, as I see it, you have two choices. You may think of more. The first is that we return you to the company." Sienna frowned at this option. "They may not work out that you were the ones who triggered the intruder alert. But I can't be certain. If they do…" Dr. Santos paused. They really hoped the kids didn't take that option. They would go to great lengths for the kids to never find out what their escape had started. How many deaths they had caused. No-one needed that on their conscience. Dr. Santos knew, because somewhere inside, they blamed themself for giving the kids the idea of escape in the first place.

"What's the second option?" Sienna's voice was cold.

"We find somewhere to hide you." Dr. Santos took a deep breath in and released it. They had to tell them now. "Which will be difficult. You see… you know how you used to ask about the doctors all looking the same. Same shaped legs, same shaped eyes, same ears…" Dr. Santos noticed them studying their features, then Audrey's.

"You're not a doctor?" Ethan asked Audrey. Bless Ethan and his sharp mind. This may be easier than they'd imagined.

Audrey frowned and shook her head.

Ethan lowered his head slowly, a lock falling forward. Then he raised it and looked at Dr. Santos directly in the face. "We're not human are we?"

"Of course you are!" Dr. Santos exclaimed. "You think and speak like a human. You are definitely human. Just with some tweaks in your DNA."

Sienna clearly caught the drift of the conversation as her eyebrows dipped, her eyes shone, her lips whitened. "You did this to us? You made us monsters?" Several dinosaurs close by backed away from the pitch and volume of her voice.

Dr. Santos looked at the ground. They hadn't considered how to explain their role in all of this. "I did not make you. I joined the company with the suspicion that they were doing some things most people would consider unethical. You see, I wanted to stop them. What they did to you was wrong."

"We're a mistake?" Ethan's wide set eyes welled with tears. Sienna wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

Dr. Santos took another deep breath in, buying time before answering. "Your creation was unethical. But that doesn't mean that you aren't amazing people. It doesn't make you less human. It doesn't stop you from having rights. You are not monsters."

"Will the other humans believe that?" Ethan asked barely above a whisper.

"Audrey is other people. Let's ask her." Having seen her interact with the kids when she met them made Dr. Santos confident she could handle this question.

"I admit, I was very curious. But I could see straight away that you're just regular kids. You know some kids are great actors. Some play sport really well or an instrument. You will have your own talents." Audrey's tone was so straight forward, yet soft. "But I already knew a little bit about you. I have tracked your footprints and claw marks for two days now. We will have to be cautious about you meeting new people. Not everyone will understand. But I am sure that there are enough people who will understand that will become your friends."

"Friends?" Ethan's voice was still that whisper. "We can make friends?"

Audrey's face broke into a wide smile. "I already have a couple of kids in mind.

Ethan and Sienna relaxed their hug to turn to each other. "We could have friends," Ethan said. Sienna smiled at him with a nod, then turned to Dr. Santos.

"And we can trust you?"

"We will never make you do anything you are not comfortable with."

"Then I like option 2 best."

"Me too," Ethan echoed before they grabbed each other for a bear hug.