Jurassic World: Apocalypse – Chapter 14: Feeding Time for Rexy

A/N: As I've mentioned before, since I've now seen Jurassic World the movie, my story will have several elements from it, but also from the first Jurassic Park (as you might have already guessed), several other sources within the Jurassic Park franchise and segments of my imagination. If you like dinosaurs and their relation to the story's characters, this is the chapter for you. Read on and please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Jurassic Park except the very characters I've made up.

Billy and Cheryl watched in amazement as the pair of Stegosaurus bent down by the edge of the river to drink. The two of them could still see the herd of Apatosaurus they had just passed who had come to the river for the same purpose. The dinosaurs living here were peaceful and happy, content to live almost like their ancestors did in the Jurassic.

This really is the greatest theme park in the world, Billy thought.

As the Stegosaurus continued to lap up water, several smaller ornithopod-like dinosaurs darted past them, running along the riverbank and following the tourists in their kayaks. They were about the size of a fox and had large beaked heads, long necks and tails and lengthy legs to help them run quickly. Their bodies were a light brownish-green color with mottled dark brown blotches. The dinosaurs only stopped for a moment to sniff their surroundings before they continued their walk along the river.

"The little dinosaurs," Paul explained, "are called Laquintasaura. These are some of the most recently discovered dinosaurs we have here at Jurassic World. They're small bird-hipped creatures that live in flocks. You're most likely to find them in the forest; they're omnivores, meaning they'll eat both meat and plants. The usual diet of Laquintasaura consists of insects, fruit, leaves, shoots and nuts. Our Laquintasaura especially seem to favor the island's naturally growing berries. Recent studies of Laquintasaura have shown that they have an extraordinary sense of smell, used to detect predators and sense which berries are poisonous and which ones are OK to eat."

The Laquintasaura made high-pitched clicking sounds to each other to communicate. Then, they seemed to find some berries on the ground that had fallen from one of the higher trees. They all quickly gathered around the spot to consume them. Meanwhile, Billy and Cheryl followed their group further down the river.

"Now we're traveling into a more Cretaceous environment," Paul told the group. "Dinosaurs in this region of the cruise vary greatly from the ones we see in the Jurassic. Many have adapted to fill whatever ecological niches they could, allowing them to thrive in their ecosystem. Coming up pretty soon on the right side of the river, we should see one of my favorite dinosaurs."

The group paddled into a small cove; the forest was driven back, forming a clearing where the land was separated from the water by pebbles. Here, there was a dinosaur crouching at the edge of the river (thankfully a safe distance from the boaters!). It had a long, crocodile-like snout, sharp conical teeth, a powerful neck, sharp claws on its hand (especially the one on the thumb), strong legs and a thick tail. The dinosaur's skin was dark green along its upper half, head, limbs and tail, and a paler-colored bottom half. When the group of tourists approached, the crocodile-like dinosaur looked up at growled, clicking its claws together.

"Baryonyx," Billy guessed.

"Actually, it's a Suchomimus tenerensis," Paul said, "one of my favorite dinosaurs. The 35-foot long Suchomimus is member of the spinosaurid family, which includes creatures such as Baryonyx, Irrirator, and of course, the largest carnivorous dinosaur of all time, Spinosaurus. Like other members of its family, Suchomimus is known for the distinctive sail on its lower back and the huge–"

Suddenly, the Suchomimus roared and swiped its claws through the air. Several tourists gasped in fright. As usual, Paul reassured them.

"Don't worry, folks. She's just acting territorial."

"Can't she get us over here?" a woman in another kayak asked.

"Certainly not. To ensure the safety of our guests, we've spared no expense to add a deterrent system right underneath the water. If a dinosaur gets too close, an ear-piecing, low-frequency is emitted through hidden speakers throughout the cruise route. We can't hear it, but the dinosaurs hear it very well. All of the dinosaurs have been in their enclosures for at least three months, ensuring that they've had plenty of time to learn not to get too close to us. We're safe from this distance."

The Suchomimus growled again.

Paul continued, "Now as I was saying, Suchomimus has a huge, foot-long claw on its thumb. It uses these to help it snatch large fish from the water. In fact, this individual was previously hunting for fish until we disturbed her. As we've been able to clone these amazing creatures, we now know that spinosaurs like Suchomimus are actually semi-aquatic, spending much of their time in and around the water. This is why their eyes, ears and nostrils are located at the tops of their heads, allowing them to see, hear and smell while being almost completely submerged. If you follow me further down the river, we should be able to find one of Suchomimus' relatives, Baryonyx!"

As the group moved onward, the Suchomimus growled to herself. She submerged her body in the water, watching the boats as they got further and further away.

"Welcome to the Jurassic World Gyrosphere ride," announced the on-board prerecorded voice from the speaker beneath the monitor in the gyrosphere ball. "Be on the lookout for several different species of dinosaurs. This monitor will help you identify these relatively docile dinosaurs. Our advanced invisible fence technology assures the animals will stay in designated zones without unnecessary bars or cages. When you roll up to a dinosaur you'd like to learn about, simply touch the INFO button on this monitor. Remember that good neighbors keep a good distance from each other; don't disturb the dinosaurs or make them feel threatened. Always keep a safe distance between them and your gyrosphere, especially with mothers and their young. If you ever venture too close, our automated system will roll your gyrosphere back to a safe distance. Have fun exploring the wilds of Isla Nublar."

Tom, Aliana and Brianna rolled away from the gyrosphere station and into the wide open plains of northwestern Isla Nublar. Before them was a great area filled with exotic plant life and humongous dinosaurs. The three teenagers were bewildered.

"This is incredible," Aliana said. "Let's go straight ahead. Those look like some cool dinosaurs."

Tom nodded. He used the joystick to move toward a large multi-species herd of dinosaurs. There were great long-necked sauropods, hadrosaurs, ceratopsians and even stegosaurs here. Three large hadrosaurs were browsing on a cycad. They had large heads, walked on four legs and had a row of dermal scutes going down their neck, back and tail. They were light tan with brown patches along their flanks and made low honk-like noises. The three dinosaurs looked at the humans curiously as they approached in their giant rolling ball.

"Whoa! Big dinosaur alert!" Brianna said with a laugh.

The automated voice began to relay facts about the dinosaurs in front of them: "Edmontosaurus. Meaning 'Edmonton Lizard', Edmontosaurus was a large member of the hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur family. They lived in Cretaceous North America, are 30-35 feet long from nose to tail and weigh four tons. They can walk and run on either two or four feet and had a wide, flat mouth for gathering food. Edmontosaurus was once a favorite meal of T. rex; now these majestic herbivores can graze peacefully without threat of predation. Edmontosaurus is one of the few dinosaurs that can chew, grinding veggies into a pulp before swallowing."

One of the Edmontosaurus bellowed before all three of them returned to feeding on their cycad. Just as the recording had said, the dinosaurs ripped branches from the plant before chewing them with their flat molar-like teeth. Tom rolled gyrosphere further into the midst of this herd. Many great dinosaurs he recognized were now right before his very eyes. Several Triceratops were in the immediate area. One of which, previously napping, got to its feet and shook the dust off itself. It snorted and began walking toward the nearest shrub to eat. This Triceratops reminded Tom of Ralphie back at the petting zoo; but of course, this animal was far larger!

"That Triceratops is huge!" Tom exclaimed. "It's way bigger than Ralphie in the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo, huh?"

"You've got that right," Brianna agreed. "I think the keeper said they weigh up to 12 tons when they're fully grown. I really like its frill. What did you say they use their frill for?"

"Probably to help protect its neck. I'm sure it would also be helpful in attracting mates and deterring rival males. I'm not sure if this Triceratops is a boy or a girl though (he didn't know that all of Jurassic World's dinosaurs were bred to be female)."

A herd of Parasaurolophus could be seen to the gyrosphere's left, resting underneath a large tree from the hot 11:15 a.m. sun. The dinosaurs were easily recognizable thanks to their long hollow crests at the backs of their heads. Moving on, the three teens saw more Triceratops, Parasaurolophus, Edmontosaurus and finally, the titans of the island...

"Apatosaurus," the prerecorded voice said. "Meaning 'Deceptive Lizard', Apatosaurus is one of the largest animals ever to walk the earth. An average adult is longer than two school buses parked bumper to bumper – 75-90 feet long – and weighs as much as four adult male African elephants – 20-36 tons! Thankfully, these gentle giants are herbivorous, eating ferns and conifer branches. Unlike Parasaurolophus and Edmontosaurus, Apatosaurus can't chew. It has to swallow all of its plant food whole, using stones the dinosaur swallowed earlier to grind the food in the stomach for digestion."

The Apatosaurus moaned as they moved across the plains in front of their gyrosphere. Their necks were carried out in front of them in a graceful S-shape. Several of them were swishing their whip-like tails through he air. The great behemoths shook the ground with each footstep they took. One of the largest individual in the herd made a loud trilling sound that must have carried for miles across the landscape. Tom had little doubt that they had to eat many hundreds of pounds of food a day to keep these colossal bodies going.

"I think Apatosaurus is one of my favorite dinosaurs so far," Brianna said. "Right behind Triceratops." Brianna took her cellphone out and began to snap pictures of the various dinosaurs they saw. While she was doing so, Alaina leaned forward toward Tom.

"Tom, we should head to this part of the island," she whispered, showing him the map. "This is the closest section of fence to the shed in the jungle."

Tom nodded. "OK. Which direction is that from here?"

Alaina looked at the map again. "Let's see, shall we? The Gyrosphere station is...here...then the fence we're looking for should be in that direction."

Tom looked in the direction a herd of seven Apatosaurus were headed. "Let's just follow those guys, since they're going in the same direction."

The hideous roar...the ghastly appearance...the haughty, glaring eyes...the wicked claws...the gnarly jaws and teeth...Henry Wu just couldn't forget it. He'd seen all the action unfold right before his eyes from the big monitor in the Control Room. It was too much to comprehend for him. The creature he'd spent so much care and devotion to bringing to life – his own creation – had escaped her confinement as was now roaming the island, wild and free. The only thing between it and over 20,000 people was forest...or so he figured. The truth was that after the surviving soldiers from the incident reached the ACU headquarters, just north of the Innovation Center, no one really knew where Indominus rex had gone. She could have been anywhere. Hammond, Masrani, Arnold, Owen, Claire and Hoskins were having a meeting in the Control Room to determine their next course of action. Henry wasn't interested in taking part, even though he knew he should have. He couldn't handle the pressure. Henry decided that he needed a moment to clear his thoughts and regain his serenity to correctly assess the situation.

After walking past loads of tourists, he made his way from the Control Room to T. rex Kingdom, the home of the park's largest pure bred carnivore, Tyrannosaurus rex. There were several tyrannosaurs featured in this attraction (all housed in different enclosures to avoid potentially life-threatening fights), but the star of course was their largest T. rex, Rexy. She was the Queen of Jurassic World. Even on the day she hatched, Henry knew she was special. She was Henry's favorite T. rex. Henry thought that if he spent some time watching someone familiar, he's be able to regain his initial determination and focus on the issue at hand.

It was 12:00 p.m. – noontime and time for another feeding. Park guests eagerly stared out the viewing glass into the T. rex enclosure; Henry was among them. At the moment, trees and other plants were the only thing visible inside. The announcer began to talk about what the visitors would see when the feeding began, but Henry was numb to his voice. He was completely focused on the enclosure himself. Finally, after the announcer was finished with his introduction, a feeder released a live goat, attached to a small pole by a leash. The goat bleated, ignorant of its fate.

Then, a little girl leaned up against the window, right next to Henry.

"What's going to happen to him?" she asked.

An older boy – probably her brother – playfully slapped her shoulder and said, "It's a feeding show. What do you think is going to happen?"

The girl gasped. "The T. rex is going to eat the goat?"

"Excellent isn't it?"

Rolling her eyes, the girl let out a loud sigh. Henry chuckled to himself in amusement. Then, the foliage in the enclosure began to stir. A low growl escaped from between the trees. She was here: Rexy stepped from behind the thick foliage and emitted a loud groan. Having seen her many times before, Henry was still amazed by her size and grandeur. She stood 16 feet tall and was 42 feet long from nose to tail – a colossal animal. Her jaws were huge and lined with teeth as thick as bananas, but several times more sharp. Henry knew that Rexy's teeth were actually rather dull compared to the teeth of other carnivores, like Velociraptor and Dilophosaurus. That's because instead of using her teeth to cut and slice through flesh, the teeth of a Tyrannosaurus rex were for grabbing hold, crunching right through and ripping out huge chunks of meat and bone. A tyrannosaurs dining habits were messy and bloody, which was why young children were advised not to view this showing.

The T. rex sniffed her surroundings. If she were in the wild, her cinnamon-colored scaly hide and faint black stripes would help her blend into her surroundings. Rexy looked at the goat, immediately knowing this was her meal. The tyrannosaur attacked! Issuing a loud, earthshaking roar, she lunged at the goat! The mammal saw the threat, bleated in a loud panic and instantly tried to full itself free from the leash, to no use. In an instant the T. rex scooped up the little goat in her jaws and proceeded to shake her around like a rag doll. Henry was aware that this was unnecessary for killing a little goat; perhaps she shook her prey around for the fun of it? The audience gasped and screamed in amazement and fear as the Tyrannosaurus rex killed her prey. As she shook the goat about, one of the legs became unattached and flew up against the window! Several people leaped back in surprise, watching the bloody leg as it eventually flopped off the window and onto the ground, leaving a trail of bloody smear marks on the glass.

"I hate it when that happens," the announcer said.

Having killed her prey, the T. rex swallowed the little creature and marched back into the forest.

"Bye, Rexy," Henry said beneath his breath.

Feeling better than before, Henry knew what he had to do. He walked out of T. rex Kingdom and back into the Control Room.

Tom, Alaina and Brianna continued tagging along with the herd of Apatosaurus. As they neared the perimeter fence, they saw a pair of another species of dinosaur they had never seen alive before. This one was heavily armored with spikes and flat bony plates covering its body and a club at the end of its tail. They were feeding on ferns.

"Hey! I know what those are!" Alaina exclaimed. "Ankylosaurus, one of the armored dinosaurs. Even a T. rex can't take on those beasts!"

"That's a fact," Tom agreed. "Great, so we've reached the fence. But how do we get through it?"

Brianna winced. "Through it? Why do we need to go through it? I'm pretty sure that's why it's there: to keep people out." Tom and Alaina looked at each other knowingly, causing Brianna further confusion. "What's going on here? Am I missing something?"

"Brianna," Alaina said, "Tom and I have something to tell you..."

A/N: Brianna's about to get a huge shocker, huh? She has no idea up until now about the history of Dr. Alan and Luke Grant and the rest of the JurassiQuest team. In any case, how do you think Alaina intends on getting the three of them over or through the 20,000-volt electric fence? Maybe one of the Apatosaurus can knock it down...probably not, but that's just an idea. I want to know what you guys think! What did you guys think of Rexy's scene. She hasn't had much limelight in this story, but don't worry! She'll have plenty of on-screen time a little later. Some more dinosaurs we'll probably be seeing later are Suchomimus and Laquintasaura. I'm not sure if I'll bring them up again in the story, but hopefully I can. Anyway, please be sure to favorite, follow and review on this story because next week, we're going to have a lot of awesome stuff going on...and Indominus rex might make a reappearance where she really doesn't need to be...until next time, spare no expense!