Excited about meeting the strangers, I waved and dashed across the field.

The moment I came close, the man swore and rushed to the tree, climbing the branches.

"Hello!" I shouted, creeping closer. "Don't let the gun scare you! I'm friendly!"

Rumpole bleated.

I stepped on a funny curving rock.

I looked down. Not a rock.

A Velociraptor's severed claw. I screamed in horror, nervously searching the ground for the rest of the body.

At first I thought the man a killer, but then I realized the claw looked...old.

The man kept climbing.

"Hey!" I called up. "Is this a graveyard? Do you know? Umm...an archaeological dig? Maybe? Yes?"

He didn't answer, he just scurried like a monkey up to where the children sat.

A skinny blonde girl in a dirty purple tank top, and a plump little brunette boy, dressed like the man, but with a black neckerchief and a stripey shirt.

I craned my head up, waving to the kids. "Hey! My name's Albert! Who are you?"

The girl leaned over her tree branch, staring at me.

The man joined her on the branch. They muttered to each other, pointing at me.

I bowed to the man respectfully. "Konnichiwa!"

The man furrowed his brow. The girl, though, she smirked at me, and the boy climbed down from a branch next to her, to get a closer look himself.

I set the gun down, breaking into a performance of Chu Chu Wa.

The Spanish gospel station played the song around 8:30 every morning. Although I'd never seen anyone do the moves, I had a Spanish dictionary and could follow directions. "Compaňia, brazo extendido," for example, meant "Ready, arms out," and "Culos atras," I presumed, meant "Tail out."

I think my performance won the man over, for he appeared to be fighting back laughter. He leaned over the branch. "Excuse me...hello?" The man waved to me. "Stupid question, but...do you...speak English?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes! I was actually trying to say hi earlier, but you got scared and climbed up there."

He still had an incredulous smirk on his face, and kept staring. "Forgive me...I've been studying your...kind for some time, and I've heard you're very dangerous..."

The man glanced off in the distance, visually inspecting the grass and foliage surrounding me, around the tree, as he'd been doing from time to time during my little dance. "Where's the rest of your pack?"

"Pack?" I frowned. "Like a wolf pack?"

The man wrinkled his face like he smelled a fart. "Yes. Like a wolf pack. Raptors hunt in packs. You're the distraction, right? To keep us busy while your friends sneak up and disembowel us?"

"Again with the disemboweling! It's so messy!"

Cassie marched up beside me. "I've just read something that says raptors don't hunt in packs."

The man practically fell off the branch when he saw her.

`Go!' he mouthed in a silent yell, giving her frantic waves, like `Run!'

Rumpole clopped up along my other side. "Baa."

The man's jaw dropped.

I gestured to my two companions. "Would you consider this a pack? FYI, I don't really get along with other raptors."

The boy had snuck halfway down the tree during the course of this exchange. When the man noticed, he shouted, "Tim! Don't!"

"C'mon! It would have eaten the girl by now! And the goat!"

The man rubbed his face in frustration, probably imagining some comic book scenario where I somehow use an evil child and a goat to bait him out into a Velociraptor ambush. "Okay, just...Don't get too close to it! It's still a dangerous predator!"

Brachiosaurs softly groaned in the distance, lumbering through the grass, munching from tree canopies.

The boy hopped down to the ground, jogging up to me. He came close, but not super close, at least partially heeding the man's advice. "Hi! I'm Tim! How come you can talk?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but Cassie said, "He's got a human brain."

Tim grinned, eyes wide in excitement. I think he must have been a fan of horror movies. "Cool! Whose brain is it? Did someone donate their brain to science, or was it a prison inmate or something?"

"Umm..." I stammered. "I...don't know."

"Actually," said Cassie. "They could have just cloned some human brain tissue and stuck it in his head. I read that if you take brain tissue and let it grow under special conditions, it can actually develop its own little set of eyes."

Tim gave me a look like I would disagree with her. "C'mon, you've had flashbacks, haven't you?"

I furrowed my brow ridges. "Like...what, exactly?"

"I don't know, having a job as a person, having a family, or, I don't know, a drug deal that went south..." He held up his fingers like guns. "Pew pew pew!"

Cassie rolled her eyes. "I'm thinking more along the lines of a church guy. He knows Spanish Jesus songs."

Tim scowled. "That's...weird."

I waved a claw at their adult companion, now descending the tree. "Is that your dad?"

Tim grinned. "I wish! He's only the best paleontologist in the world!"

"Yeah?" Cassie scoffed. "He doesn't even know that raptors don't hunt in packs."

"Yes they do!"

"No they don't!"

"Umm," I blurted. "Actually they do. And they don't want me in their little social circle."

"But..." Cassie mumbled.

A smug grin appeared on Tim's face.

Cassie groaned. "Only because they cloned their dinosaurs wrong."

Rumpole grazed on the field.

"Can you speak with other dinosaurs?" Tim asked me.

"No."

"Tarzan was raised by apes and he could speak to apes. You're a dinosaur with a human brain. You'd think..."

"I spend all my time in a cage. It's a neat idea, though. Wonder how it could work?"

The man hopped down from the tree. He wasted no time snatching up my tranquilizer gun.

I raised my claws in surrender. "Whoa! Easy there! You can keep that thing if it makes you feel comfortable, just don't shoot me with it! I don't want to be a T-Rex snack!"

He looked very tempted to shoot me anyway, but only replied, "Do the dance again."

"Really?" I groaned. "Okay...in the spirit of mutual goodwill, and not shooting me...¡Compaňia! ¡Puňo cerrado! ¡Compaňia! ¡Dedo hacia arriba!..."

I made him smile, and stop pointing the gun at me. Of course he didn't actually set it down...Or stop watching me like a hawk.

He marched up to Cassie, stooped to her level, looked her in the eye. "Little girl, where are your parents?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I think Dad came looking for you."

"And who is your dad?"

"Robert Muldoon. He's the game warden. Who are you?"

Tim Gawked at her. "Muldoon?"

"Alan Grant." The man furrowed his brow. "I didn't know he had a daughter!"

He grinned at her until he noticed the bandages. "What happened to your hand?"

"Dinosaur."

When Grant glanced at me, she blurted, "Not her. She's the one who bandaged me and gave me antibiotics."

"A dinosaur..." Grant couldn't look more incredulous. "Gave you antibiotics."

I stammered, unsure how to explain without making myself look bad.

"She bit someone once, but it wasn't me, so she knew what to do."

The man tensed up. "And who bit you?"

"A Proceratosaurus."

That's when he noticed my tail bandages. "Did they bite her too?"

I shook my head. "T-Rex."

Tim's mouth hung open in amazement.

Grant puffed air out his cheeks. "You got off lucky. That thing just ate a man..." He pointed to the overturned vehicle. "And did that."

I whistled. "So you got out okay? No concussions or anything?"

"Only the kids were in there, but yeah, they're okay." There was that half grin again. "How do you know about concussions?"

"He's got a human brain," Cassie said.

Tim nodded, playing with the goat. "I think they took it from a person."

"And I think it's cloned!"

"It'd have to be cloned." Grant's tone and facial expression became professorial. "You can't just cut open a couple skulls and swap brains and expect anything to work right. That's a scientific impossibility."

"Yeah, but you can do heart transplants..."

"True, but medical science has yet to advance far enough to allow for successful transplantation of the human brain. The best we've been able to do is partial transplantation in animals, so our scaly friend is unlikely to be Frankenstein's monster. I think it would be easier to put some cloned human brain tissue into a dinosaur fetus."

Cassie crossed her arms, telegraphing `Told you so.'

Grant thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "If they successfully pulled it off, it's still impressive."

"Did you see that Nedry guy around here anywhere?" I asked him.

"Who?"

"Um...big guy? Yellow raincoat? Might...possibly be dead?"

The comment made Grant's fingers tighten on the gun. "I'm...not sure what you're talking about."

"I think he's the one who shut off the fences," Cassie said.

Blank stares.

"I think that's a no."

The girl in the tank top joined us, staring wide eyed.

I waved. "I'm Albert!" The goat bleated and butted its head against me. "And this is Rumpole. What's your name?"

Her eyes got wider. "L-Lex...What are you doing here? Do you...normally hang out in here? Why can you talk?"

"Long story." I sniffed. "You smell like snot."

"A Brachiosaurus sneezed on me," she groaned. "How do you even know what snot smells like?"

I shrugged. "Dinosaur."

"She didn't say Gesundheit," Tim said.

"Shut up! Why didn't it sneeze on you?"

"I've got that special charm."

"Oh brother!"

I turned my attention back to Grant. "Do I have a soul? Cassie doesn't think I do, but I don't know if she's right. What do you think?"

Grant chuckled. "Gee, why don't you ask me something hard?" He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "How about this one: `Do souls exist?' We can't prove or disprove their existence any more than a lot of other things we can't taste, touch or put into a test tube. Personally, I'd say you have one simply because you're asking questions about it, but that's a Cartesian line of thought, you know, `I think, therefore I am.' A theologian wouldn't like me bringing it up...You know where I can find some water?"

"Um...no?"

"What about the Range Rover? Find anything in the trunk?"

I dashed over there, poking my head through the broken windows. Not much glass to cut myself with, in case you're wondering, plus it's safety glass.

I climbed into the vehicle. Doors dented inwards, airbags deployed, front end crumpled. It smelled of dried vomit, T-Rex spit, damp musty carpeting, and, weirdly enough, new car smell. There had, at some point, been a kind of plexiglass moon roof, but now grass poked through the hole in the ceiling (now more or less a floor). I wiggled under the rear seat, discovering a metal first aid kit, four way lugnut wrench, a socket set, spare tire, and, lo and behold, water bottles.

By the time I'd gotten to this point, Cassie showed me up by popping the trunk with a lever beneath the steering wheel.

I grabbed the bottles, hopping out the back end.

Grant and the kids had followed us. I met them halfway, handed bottles to Grant and Lex. "Did you know that the water in this bottle has existed since prehistory?" Okay, showing off a little of my scientific knowledge that I gleaned from TV and the park PA system.

Lex grimaced in disgust. "So you're saying it's expired?"

"Water doesn't expire!" Tim argued.

Grant snickered. "Actually it does. That's why we have water purification tablets."

"It's not expired! I meant, water in general. It keeps cycling. I heard a recording about it. You could be drinking dinosaur pee."

Lex scowled at me. "You peed in the bottle?"

"No no no!"

Tim smirked. "You did say it contains dinosaur pee."

"I didn't say I was the dinosaur! I meant dinosaurs in general. Maybe a dinosaur that looked like me once peed in the bottle...great, now you got me saying it!"

"I knew it!" Lex cried. "He peed in the bottle!"

A Brachiosaurus bellowed, perhaps also in disgust at me allegedly peeing in the bottle.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Here. I'm thirsty enough to drink anything." Tim snatched the bottle out of her hands, popping the lid. "It doesn't look yellow to me."

He and Grant downed the aqueous mineral.

Giving me a dirty look, Lex grabbed the third bottle from me and took a couple gulps. "It's warm."

I could only shrug.

Once the man seemed properly refreshed, I renewed my line of questioning. "So...`I think, therefore I am?'"

"If the philosophy works for you, I'd go for it," Grant replied. "I would certainly feel horrible if someone came along and said I didn't have a soul. We don't have any empirical evidence to prove that you don't have a soul...and you are at least partly human, which is a big requirement for most religions..."

I grinned. "Is it okay if I hug you?"

The man's body language said no. To be fair, it would be like a mountain lion asking someone for a hug.

"Okay, how about a handshake?"

That he did oblige.

He knelt before Cassie, grabbing her bandaged arm. "May I?"

She gave him a reluctant nod, so he unraveled the gauze, sucking in his breath when he noticed the damage.

"You think I'll need stitches?"

The man stared at the wound thoughtfully. "It...doesn't...look good...Was there a first aid kit in the vehicle?"

I nodded, rushing it to him. The dented box did contain needle and thread for that purpose."

"It's good you treated this early," he remarked as he sewed her up. "It's clotting nicely. Still will leave some ugly scars, could have been worse."

I politely asked, "You think you can look at mine when you're done?"

Grant bit his lip. "I...I'd almost think we'd need something like metal thread for you...tougher skin."

Once finished stitching and bandaging Cassie, and treating the cuts and scrapes of the other two children, he laid his weapon down and cautiously approached me. "Hold still, please."

I nodded. "I'll be good."

Grant unwound the gauze, examining the bite marks. "Well, I suppose this does need treatment. I'll see what I can do. Mind you, I only know how to do human first aid..."

He kept telling me to hold still the while time he was sewing. Once finished, he wrapped gauze around, remarking, "Not a great job, but you were moving around a lot...if you don't play with your tail for awhile, it might still heal okay...I think."

"Gee, don't sugar coat it, doc."

"Like I said, I'm not skilled at this."

"Guess it's better than nothing."

Grant turned around, marching to an area near the tree.

I followed him. "I saw a Velociraptor claw on the ground. Is this a graveyard or something?"

Grant laughed. "No, I just tossed it from the tree last night. Don't really have use for fossils anymore..."

He frowned at the grass, knelt down to get a better look.

The man had found a nest full of eggs. I gasped in astonishment.

The children gathered around us to see what the fuss was about.

The man picked up an egg shell, speaking in an awestruck tone. "You know what this is? It's a dinosaur egg!"

"I've heard about those!" I joked.

Grant cleared his throat. "Well, yes, but this means they're breeding."

Tim took the shell from his hand. "But...Grandpa said all the dinosaurs were girls."

"Amphibian DNA."

Lex didn't understand, so Grant explained how Hammond made creatures like me, taking dinosaur DNA from fossilized mosquitoes and injecting them with modern frog DNA. Apparently there was some West African frog that could change sexes, if placed in an environment where, say for example, all the other frogs were female. He added something about that book author guy."

"Wait, wait, go back," I cried, pointing a claw at Tim. "Hammond's your grandpa?"

The boy shrugged. "Yeah?"

I waved my arms, flustered. "He...made me! Did he ever...tell you about me?"

"No?"

I bowed my head in sadness. "All this stuff about calling him Father and he doesn't even talk about me!"

"I'm sorry..."

"She is a cloned dinosaur," Lex muttered. "Grandpa doesn't talk about a lot of his projects."

I whimpered a little, wiping a tear from my eye.

Grant cleared his throat. "Well...you have to realize that fathers aren't perfect..."

"You're right. He's not literally God." I took a deep breath, let it out slowly. "I'm okay."

Lex put her hands on her hips, staring at the egg shells. "So these things can have babies now."

I wagged my tail with excitement. "Does that mean I can also have babies?"

"No." Grant's tone meant `I don't want you to.'

"So...uh...What's next?" I pointed at the fence above us. "Thinking about going back up there?"

"Not with that T-Rex running loose...But we are trying to get back to the Visitor Center. Any idea where to go from here?"

I shook my head. "I could probably make a guess based on the PA system music, but the power's out."

"Hmmm."

Tim pulled a wrinkled map out of his pocket, pointing to a field. "I think we should go that way."

"Hey," I said as they set out. "I found a tire iron in the trunk. Is it okay for me to take it along? I got some enemies I'm worried about...dinosaur enemies."

Grant waved me on, rather impatiently.

The moment I brought the weapon out, Cassie climbed on my back again. "That's not a tire iron, that's a lugnut wrench."

"What's the difference?"

"Got me!"

"You know, I'm not really a pony," I groaned.

She grabbed a simulation leather Jurassic Park pillow out of the Range Rover, placing it on my back. "There. Now you have a saddle."

When she rode me up to the group, the other children snickered. I blew a raspberry, which made them laugh more.

We had a long hike ahead of us. Lex looked miserable.

"I bet you'd rather be indoors playing on your computer," Tim scoffed.

"I'm a hacker, so yes!"

"Hacker is just another word for nerd."

"What's a hacker?" I asked.

Lex looked proud. "I have a special skill for breaking into computers."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Nerd."

I padded closer to her. "Maybe you can help me with mine sometime."

Lex gawked at me. "You have a computer?...What type?"

I told her. She informed me that I'd been given an obsolete model.

"Oh. Do you have a Nintendo?"

When we started talking about our favorite games (actually her favorite games, since I'd destroyed my console), Tim muttered, "See, Lexie? You found a new friend! Doing something new isn't always bad!"

Lex glared at him like she wanted to say something in disagreement, but instead told me about a game called Magic of Scheherazade.

I changed the subject. "Do you think I should wear clothing?"

"Why do you think you need clothing?"

"I don't know, because I'm naked? What do you think would be a good look for me? Should I wear a dress or pants? I don't know if anyone makes pants in my shape...I'm partial to a kimono, what do you think?"

Lex grinned. "Technically you're female. I think a kimono would look kinda cute. Don't know if they make any of those in your size, though."

"You might be able to get a tailor to do some alterations," Grant helpfully suggested.

"I'll have to look into that."

We kept walking. Well, Cassie rode on my back, but everyone else...

"I'm tired and hungry," Lex complained. "Albert, you didn't find any food in that van, did you?"

"It's a Range Rover," Tim corrected.

"Who cares? Was there food?"

"Sorry, no. It would have been nice."

Although unwise to mention it, Cassie told her, "I had a box of stale donuts and a Coke."

"You had donuts?" Lex practically yelled.

Being diplomatic, I added, "She also got bitten by a dinosaur, and lost a lot of blood, so there's that..."

That deflated Lex's rage somewhat.

Since humans generally don't eat bloody meat, I pondered alternatives.

On that note, Rumpole still trailed us, bleating at me. "Does anyone know how to milk a goat?"

"That's a male," Grant said.

"So...that's a no, right?"

"I wouldn't recommend it."

Lex marched up beside me. "I'm exhausted. Can I ride on your back?"

"I already got someone on my back. Plus Cassie's smaller."

"I could ride," Tim suggested.

Lex scoffed at him. "You're so short, you could ride on the goat!"

Rumpole bleated in apparent protest, hopping away from them...He didn't go away, though.

Grant slowed his pace to talk to me. "Lexie's not that big."

Cassie dismounted. "I'm kinda getting sore anyway."

I rolled my eyes, allowing Lex to climb up.

"He's right," I said. "Do you actually eat?"

Grant froze, raising a staying hand.

"What?" Lex asked.

The man shushed her, straining to listen.

Then we all heard it. Animal bellowing and rumbling.

Grant pointed to a group of dinosaurs in the distance. "There! Kids, can you tell me what those are?"

"Gallimimus..." Tim said.

The rumbling and bellowing got louder.

"They're flocking this way."

Grant marched forward.

We could see them clearly now. Dozens of towering, ostrich-like dinosaurs. Teeny heads, huge feet, long necks and tails.

They stomped closer, flapping their dinky feathery arms.

"Stampede!" Grant cried.

Lex's hands clenched my back tightly. "Guys..."

Tim and Grant froze, transfixed, but Cassie blurted, "I...think we should go."

"Look at the wheeling, the uniform direction change," Grant breathed. "Like a flock of birds evading a predator!"

That's when we heard the deafening roar of the T-Rex.

I frowned. "Ummm...about that..."

"Shit."