Michelle watched as the pterosaur scarfed down the locust, before giving her a pleading look.
"I'm sorry, but that's all I have."
The dimorphodont didn't seem to believe her, but after a quick flight around her proved that she was indeed out of tasty morsels to feed it with, the flying reptile let out a whimper and returned to its roost.
Since the eldest Saurus sibling had gone missing, Michelle had taken to caring for his animal companions. His siblings had protested, pointing out that they had more experience in dealing with such creatures, but Michelle hadn't backed down. She had also pointed out that had other responsibilities to attend to, like caring for their own companions - while Michelle had none of her own. Leyla was too distrustful of her to count. Thus, an agreement had been reached to share in caring for these smaller creatures until Tristan was rescued. And that was a question of when, not it - the team refused to consider the possibility that they could not bring him home.
As Michelle watched the dimorphodont get into a squabble with a Harpactognathus, she absentmindedly flexed her fingers - the pterosaurs had been somewhat distrustful of her and had occasionally snapped out her fingers, either out of malice or because they were too eager to eat their meals. They'd been less aggressive toward Tristan's siblings, something that Michelle had felt a pang of jealousy at - they all seemed to have no trouble getting animals to love them, yet so far, she only had a tenuous friendship with a dryptosaur.
Hopefully, she could change that. Someday.
XXXXXXXX
"So, you get tired of trying to sort through the coding mess to find Tristan?" questioned Alice, not even bothering to look her friend in the face.
"Yeah, plus I don't think I was contributing much," was Lucas response. "Everyone else has years of experience on me in this field, so like it or not, I just can't help them as much as they need."
"I see. So, you have a reason to be out here, or did you just want to see me? You're not one to tolerate such putrid smells."
Lucas shrugged. "Everyone else is busy doing something to keep their fear and grief manageable, so I guess I just wanted to talk. By the way, how many of those have you prepared today?"
Alice didn't even look up from he boar carcass she was butcher and simply replied, "five."
"Just how many of these things are there out here?"
"I don't know, but as long as there are carcasses to prepare, I'll clean and cut them."
"I can see that...So, anything you want to talk about?"
"...How long do you think Nigel's gonna stay here?"
When Alice didn't here a response, she turned to look at her friend, who gave her as blank stare. "This is his life's work. I don't think he'd want to leave for any reason."
The answer didn't faze Alice in the slightest. "It may be his life's work, but as is, he's never invited his wife or his kids here, and I don't think he'll want to stay cooped up here forever. Especially if he wants to release some of these creatures back into the wild."
Lucas opened his mouth to protest that statement, but no words came out. Thinking over Alice's words, he realized she had a point. "Guess you're right. I mean, we can save as many creatures as the park can hold, but unless we can find a way to restore their habitats and niches, they'll just be trapped her, forever, for the rest of their lives."
"Yeah. Food for thought, ain't it?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So," asked Tristan, pulling the vest over his shoulders, "how are you going to guide me through this facility?"
"I have an earpiece for you waiting just on the other side of the exit door. Once you put it in your ear, I'll be able to walk you through everything, step by step.
"I see," was the boy's response, carefully shoving knives and ammunition into the vest pouches. "Can you answer me a question?"
"And what might that be?"
"Why did you want me to take all of the survivors home with me? I mean, wouldn't they want to be rescued by your people?"
"Ignoring that I am a machine, the attack occurred three months ago, yet despite our communications system being destroyed, and being offline a few days prior due to the dust storm, help has yet to arrive. If communications fall, standard procedure is to wait a few days, then send in a search party. Yet that part has never come for us. Therefore, I am left to assume that help is not coming and never will. Additionally, repairing our communication's array is no longer possible - an attempt to wipe of these ferocious predator's complete wrecked the system."
"Define how the system was wrecked."
"An attempt to kill the carnivores by trapping them in a room and using excavating charges to reduce them to a red sludge instead overloaded the power grid for the communication array, totally destroying it. And in the search for any additional survivors after the main facility was breached, the predators destroyed some of the materials required to build replacement communication equipment. All because they thought someone was hiding in the room."
"Was anyone there?"
"No - a drone attempting to remove a corpse for cremation accidentally dropped it in the storeroom, and the rest is history."
Tristan groaned at that statement. "Well these things certainly seem to be hyper-aggressive killing machines."
"I am sorry to state that I have no explanation for that. Just try and avoid fighting them."
"No need to tell me twice."
XXXXXX
Exiting the armory, Tristan found and inserted the earpiece into his right ear. "This working?"
"Affirmative."
"Alright then. So, which way do we go?"
"Medical wing has the least predators inside of it. Besides, getting a first aid kit is never a bad thing."
"Lead the way."
A set of light suddenly illuminated. Without hesitation, Tristan moved to follow them,
XXXXXXXX
Ten minutes later, Tristan was in the general part of the medical wing. The scene was...rather eerie, to say the least. As opposed to the state of manic chaos and abandonment that was present in the rest of the facility, this one was...surprisingly sterile. There were no skeletons littered about, nor were there trails of dried blood. There were a few trolleys that were out of place, but otherwise, the halls were clean. No loose paper, no spilled files, not errant boxes, just a nice, well maintained hospital room.
"...Why have you stopped moving?"
"Sorry. Just getting horror movie vibes here."
"Ah, yes, I can understand that. Is this like something you'd see in...hmm, Grave Encounters? Or perhaps Silent Hill"
"Actually, this reminds me more of Resident Evil."
"Oh. I am...not familiar with that series. My archives from that time are incomplete due to the subject matter being considered unnecessary to my functions."
"Not surpris-"
The sound of buzzing wings ended that conversation relatively quickly. Tristan's eyes darted around as he pulled out the pistol he had snatched from the armory, trying to find the source of the buzzing. "Was that one of the giant bugs?"
"Yes, but it appears to have passed. Be advised, though, those carnivores are starting to get more aggressive in the neighboring wings - their rivals are putting them on edge."
"I understand. Can you lead me to the med kits?"
"Second hall on the right."
XXXXXXXX
The hunter crawled out of a vent, snarling. More buzzers were moving into their territory, trying to steal their food. Go away, this is our turf! We killed the humans, we get their flesh!
As it prepared to scurry after another group of buzzers, though, a new sound registered. This one was...interesting. It was of a creature that walked on two legs and used its arms to carrying things.
It was...a human.
Buzzers forgotten, the hunter turned its attention toward the hall where the sound had come from. It had a meal to find!
XXXXXXXX
Securing the Med Kit, Tristan slowly exited the room, cautious of making any unnecessary noise. So far, nothing seemed to have caught onto him, but that could change at any moment.
"So, which was is stasis chamber?"
"Go to the end of the hallway, exit through the doors, then turn left. Be advised, the cameras in the outside hallway have failed, as have the other sensors, so I can provide you no warning if there are any creatures in there."
"Well, thanks anyway," was Tristan's reply as he began righting a tipped over shelf on wheels - literally the only blemish in this otherwise pristine hallway. Somehow, said blemish made Tristan feel just a little bit calmer.
Now to open the door...
XXXXXXXXX
The hunter darted over the tipped shelves and carts, passed the shattered bones and glasses, as it made its way toward the human. It had been a long time since it had eaten human flesh, and already, it was savoring the taste.
Now to just get through that door...
XXXXXXX
Just as Tristan reached the door, something stuck its hand through between the barely visible spacing. Surprised, Tristan backed up to the shelf on wheels, while creature forced its way through the door. Stepping into the open, the predator revealed itself, finally letting Tristan get a good like at its face.
Its eyeless, snarling, nightmarish face.
The predator let out an absolutely vicious snarl. Then, it charged.
XXXXXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
