Not long after the group split, Rob groaned. The trio stopped and Riley leaned closer to Rob.
Rob sat up slowly, grimacing and rubbing his head. His eyes were shut as he muttered, "What hit me."
Riley didn't have a chance to answer before Rob opened his eyes. He saw where he was sitting and gave a startled jump. He almost slid off Roger's back, but Riley grabbed his sleeve to steady him.
"It wasn't a dream!" Rob exclaimed.
Riley grinned as Rob examined Roger's back. He didn't act frightened anymore, just excited at being so close to another living dinosaur. He ran a hand across Roger's bumpy skin, then on the horns of the frill.
"This is amazing!" Rob said.
"I thought he was supposed to be frightened," Fiona said, amused.
Riley cocked his head. "He's a scientist."
Rob glanced at Riley. "Are you talking about me?"
"They thought you'd be scared when you woke up," Riley explained.
"I wasn't scared before," Rob said.
"You fainted," Riley said.
"I was playing dead. That's supposed to deter wild animals," Rob said.
"Excuse me? 'Wild animals'?" Roger repeated.
Rob leaned forward with wide eyes. "You talk, too?"
"Obviously," Roger said.
"I thought Riley and Mr. Veloci were the only sentient mutations," Rob murmured. He studied Fiona. "The mutations are flawless! Is this your only form, or can you transform back and forth?"
Fiona and Roger looked uncomfortably at each other. Riley rescued them by jumping in.
"We can't explain everything to you yet. Not when it could lead Father to them."
"Riley, he won't hurt them. He wants to protect them," Rob said, frowning. "Remember our prehistoric haven in the woods? We've been expanding it since you last saw it. There's room for a whole herd of dinosaurs in there now!"
"Don't make this so hard, please," Riley pleaded. "I want to tell you everything, but I don't want my friends to get hurt."
"They won't- oh, never mind. You're as stubborn as the day Mr. Veloci sent you off," Rob said.
"Stubborn? Riley?" Fiona asked, raising an eye ridge.
"She once ate salad for a week straight to prove a point," Rob said.
"Rob!" Riley hid her face in her paws. "I was only seven!"
"What point?" Fiona asked.
"Don't encourage him!"
"But what point were you trying to make?" Roger persisted.
"That Velociraptors could be herbivores," Riley muttered into her paws.
Fiona rumbled in amusement. "Did it work?"
"No, I only made myself sick."
"Turns out, being half dino makes Riley an obligate carnivore," Rob said.
"So that's why you don't like eating salads," Roger said with a rumble.
Riley narrowed her eyes at Rob. "Just for bringing that up, we should leave you here."
Rob held up his hands with a placating smile. "No need for that. Alright, Riley, let's hear your side out."
"Not here," Fiona said. Mentally, she added, "We're too close to where we left Veloci."
Riley and Roger nodded in agreement. They kept moving, raising their speed into a trot now that they didn't have to worry about Rob falling off. With Fiona in the lead, the group turned sharply several times and crossed rocky stretches.
Rob silently watched the passing forest. After some time, he looked at Riley with a curious expression.
"You're trying to get me lost, aren't you?" Rob asked.
Riley met his eyes. "Yep."
They also needed to keep Veloci off their trail. He'd never tracked them before -for a Velociraptor, his sense of smell stank- but they also didn't have the liberty of turning human before reaching the cabin.
"Well, you've succeeded." Rob leaned back on his hands. "Are you going to at least introduce me to my kidnappers?"
Riley snorted and bared her teeth in an amused grin. "You're riding on Trike now. Spin's in the lead."
Part of the squad's preparations had been to come up with fake names. They'd spent a long time coming up with and rejecting various names until Buzz had piped in.
"And the other three?" Rob asked.
"Terry's the pteranodon, Goz is the stego, and Rex's the T. rex," Riley said.
Riley watched Rob's face as he put together the pieces as to where the names must have come. He shook his head slowly with a growing grin.
"You're a naming genius," Rob said.
Riley grinned. "Thanks."
"Now that that's out of the way," Rob said, sobering. "Where are we going, Riley?"
"Someplace safe," Riley said.
"Riley-"
"Just hold on."
Fiona glanced back. Riley nodded to her, then the group broke into a run. Riley stayed at the back, not meeting Rob's eyes. The plan had worked; Rob was with them. But it had just occurred to Riley that, for all their planning, she still didn't know how she was going to get Rob to see the truth.
Riley couldn't keep from watching the sky, but no sign of her father or his goons ever appeared and her group arrived at the Flagstaff cabin without incident. Max, Buzz, and Caruso were waiting in dino mode when they arrived, and seemed surprised at how calm Rob was.
Riley snorted at the sight of Rob perched cross-legged on Roger's back, fanatically taking notes. As soon as Roger stopped, Rob hopped to the ground. The squad tensed, but Rob just went up to Max and walked around him, scribbling notes.
Riley didn't even know where the notebook had come from.
"What's he doing?" Max asked, stiffly watching Rob. "I don't want to step on him!"
The rest of the squad snorted and lowed in laughter. Max growled in annoyance, making Rob take a few quick steps back.
"He's not growling at you," Riley chirred.
Rob glanced at Max, then resumed taking notes. Riley peered over his shoulder to read the estimated measurements and descriptions Rob was writing.
"You trying to figure out how to make your own T. rex?" Riley asked, only half joking.
"I don't have a lot of time," Rob said without looking up.
"Veloci's not going to find you here," Caruso grumbled.
Rob's head jerked up. "Why do you say that?"
Ignoring everyone's glares and Max shaking his head, Caruso said smugly, "He can't."
"Caruso!" Everyone chorused.
Caruso blinked and looked around. "Were we… not telling him?"
While the others scolded Caruso, Riley turned to Rob. He was quickly backing away from the dinos, suddenly looking panicked.
"Riley, what's going on?"
Riley angled her head, then turned to the cabin. "Come on, Rob."
Instead, footsteps dashed in the opposite direction. Riley closed her eyes and listened to Max retrieve Rob, only opening them when her brother was deposited beside her.
"I'll explain inside, I promise," Riley said.
Riley continued to the cabin without waiting for Rob. Opening the door with her teeth was no easy feat and she knew she left some teeth marks on the smooth metal, but she managed.
She didn't think she could keep up her courage to face Rob in her human form.
Riley stalked into the entryway and turned. Rob hadn't moved from where Max had dropped him. The squad stood in a half circle behind him, blocking him from running again.
"Rob," Riley said.
Rob shook his head, then stormed inside and slammed the door shut behind him. The squad immediately came closer, Buzz peering through the window at the top of the door.
"Just leave us alone!" Rob snapped.
"Do what he says," Riley said.
"But-" Buzz started to protest.
"Just do it. He won't do anything to me."
The squad left with a good deal of grumbling. Fiona briefly took Buzz's place at the window before retreating.
Riley looked at Rob. "Now what?"
"Now we get out of here," Rob said, his expression stormy.
"Not now, Rob. Just hear me out." Riley studied Rob as his expression dropped. "What's wrong? …besides the obvious."
"What did they do to you?" Rob asked.
"They helped me," Riley said.
"No, they've done something to you. You're different, Riley."
"You mean I'm not blindly following Father's instructions anymore," Riley said bitterly.
"It's not just disobeying Mr. Veloci, Riley. Look at this." Rob waved a hand at the cabin. "Someone planned all this."
"We had to get you somewhere away from Father so you would listen," Riley said patiently. "I'd rather explain without dodging nets."
"If you'd just approached us calmly, I'd have listened."
Riley snorted, but conceded, "Yeah, you would."
"So what's up with the crazy act?" Rob asked.
"Because Father wouldn't have listened."
"I'd be a lot more willing to listen if I thought this was you."
Riley growled.
"See?" Rob said, like he'd proven some point. "I don't know what those other dinosaurs or their leader has done to you-"
"Besides be my friends and keep me safe?" Riley asked rhetorically.
"It's dangerous for you to be exposed like this," Rob said.
"The squad's kept themselves hidden for ages," Riley said with a sniff. "Not even Father's been able to catch them."
"But they'll make a mistake eventually. And when they do, how do you think people are going to respond to the dinosaurs running around?"
"That's what Father wants, though. To turn the world prehistoric once again. Might as well start early." Riley couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her growl.
"Mr. Veloci is going to make his move gradually, Riley."
Riley snorted.
"But if something goes wrong," Rob went on, "We have the resources to keep bad things from happening. Do your new 'friends' have that?"
"We'll deal with that problem when -if- it happens," Riley said, feeling like she was floundering for a defense.
"You don't," Rob said. "You can't protect yourself if something goes wrong. Mr. Veloci can. He's only ever wanted to keep you safe."
"Safe?" Riley repeated.
"I know his rules can seem harsh," Rob said, unaware of the fury rising within Riley. "But he has your best interest in mind. You're the most important thing to him, Riley. You know that."
"Do I?" Riley asked in a rattling snarl.
Rob raised his hands halfway. "Yes, Riley. You do. Mr. Veloci's spent your whole life protecting you."
"No."
Rob frowned. "No what?"
Practically vibrating with fury, Riley turned human and gestured fiercely to the scars she knew were now clearly visible on her face. Rob flinched back a step.
"Father almost killed me, Rob!" Riley angrily dashed away the tears blurring her vision. "How is that keeping me 'safe'?!"
