Author's Note: Happy belated National Fossil Day! Apparently, it's always the second Wednesday of October, which is a shame because if it had a consistent date, I thought it would be really funny if Ms. Moynihan one day decided to declare it as her birthday. She is a fossil after all lol.

There are some hints to future plots and teasers of possible one-shots I might write that would be in canon for this story but stand alone with nothing to do with Jurassic Park/World.

I really hope you enjoy this chapter. The second part has been kicking my butt for at least three weeks and it has been more stressful to work it out than I thought it would be. I had a choice between one really long chapter or two medium chapters. I went with the long chapter. This comes out to about 25 pages and about 25 minutes to read. HOWEVER, now I have used up all my completely written chapter buffer so you might be waiting a couple of weeks before the next one. I'm sorry! I really wanted us to get into the action soo...

Chapter 17

Call Signs and Pavlovian Sleepovers

Joanne kept her arm locked with Aaron's as she maneuvered to reach her watch and press a button. She waited, knowing her students would probably need a moment to get somewhere private before they answered.

Sure enough, she heard Caruso answer. "This is Dino One, which is the call sign I'm claiming for the week because a couple of certain someones lost their watches."

"It's in my suitcase!"

Joanne could hear Max hiss in the background while Rodger said something about his being broken.

"Who is with you?" Joanne asked, cutting off whatever bickering was about to start.

It was quiet for a moment and even without telepathy, she could practically hear them worry about the tension in her voice.

"Er…Flyboy, Spikyface, and Chomper," Caruso said, taking full advantage of the fact he probably already messed up the codename system by claiming "Dino One."

"Dino Three with Three-and-a-Half," Fiona's voice came through.

"Oh, come on," was Terri's indignant addition. Her voice was quiet, but if Fiona's watch picked it up then Joanne knew the younger teen had to be right next to her sister. It was good that they were together.

Normally, Joanne adored Terri's tenacity, but at the moment, there were other, more serious, priorities. "Where are you?" she asked her students.

"Dino Three and Three-and-a-Half went ahead to the Gyrospheres. Spikeyface and Chomper just joined Flyboy and me," Caruso said, well aware he was annoying the others. "They were late and just about to tell us a very interesting story before you called."

Caruso squawked as someone supposedly grabbed his arm to get closer access to his watch.

"Mothersaurus, we have a situation!" Rodger hissed, probably looking like he was about to bite off Caruso's wrist. "I can't be sure, but I think the dinosaurs know there's something up with us!"

"What?" That was Buzz, sounding just as confused as the rest of them.

"The T-Rex got…upset about our presence," Max explained, uncertain. He was clearly trying to give an explanation quickly. But he risked being more confusing with the vagueness.

Joanne blinked, a little stunned at the implication. Dozens of close calls with Veloci suddenly seemed far closer than she liked. She should have noticed such a thing. Were her senses weakened? She shook her head. They needed to address that, but she needed to handle one thing at a time.

"We will deal with that later," she said, cutting off the beginnings of someone else's questions. "Right now, I need all of you to get back to the main part of the park."

"Three-and-a-Half and I are out in the Gyrosphere Valley," Fiona said.

Aaron saw Joanne stiffen as she remembered Caruso mentioning the girls had gone ahead.

"Come back immediately," Ms Moynihan said, her eyes distant for a moment as she recalled the woefully not-to-scale map provided to guests. She had done her research, but she didn't trust the maps she had gotten a hold of on her own to be entirely up to date. The ones Aaron had sent her made specially for staff were coming to their use.

Depending on where exactly they were in the Valley, Fiona and Terri were far too close for comfort. Her mouth was a little dry as she spoke. "If you see anything strange, do not investigate."

She dreaded to think what would happen should any of her students have a run-in with that creature. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, willing away imaginings of blood and fear. Her trust in Fiona's capabilities and ability to act in an emergency meant little against the sheer force of something so much stronger and filled with malice. Joanne was not squeamish. Not in the slightest. But her views of death and bloodshed did not preclude her worry, nor desire for those in her care to be safe. She barely heard Fiona's response.

"…We'll head back now. What's up Mothersaurus?"

The words spilled out, over a decade of irritation finding some unbidden release. "Those responsible for this damned affront to nature have overstepped leaps and bounds beyond their usual arrogance." She didn't yell. She didn't need to.

The kids seemed momentarily stunned by her anger. Even Aaron. Faint static crackled across the line.

She took a breath, a little surprised at her own acrimony.

"We were just attacked," she said, noting Aaron's wince at the reminder as the teenagers exclaimed.

The poor man's adrenaline had steadily worn off and the cuts on his back and the bruises all over his body were making themselves known. The ankle that he had sprained without knowing was making sure he knew now. He had thrown up twice already. Whatever he had for lunch was not providing him with any more energy or nutrients as it lay splashed across the asphalt nearly a mile back. The sooner Joanne could properly check Aaron for any long-lasting effects of his concussion, the better. Then he needed rest.

"What happened?!" Max demanded.

"Are you hurt?" Buzz asked at the same time.

At least those were the two most clear questions she heard from five—no, six—voices. Even Terri was in there somewhere. Bless them.

"That's enough. I can't very well tell you what's happening if you're all speaking at once," she said. "You've had plenty of radio communication practice, kiddos. Caruso, you speak."

There was a pause.

"Are we…not using codenames?"

Damn. She had forgotten. How careless of her, breaking her own rules. It was a habit she tried to get them used to in case they needed to speak over a less secure channel. She must be more distracted than she thought. That was dangerous. "Our satellite comm is secure, but you're right. I'm sorry." She was too distracted to remember the codes, and Caruso's innocent joke had indeed confused her just enough.

"Sorry, Mothersaurus," Caruso said, realizing her mistake was partly his fault. "What happened?"

"We were run off the road by a…dinosaur." She hesitated to call it that. "We are mostly unharmed. Just a few scrapes and bruises. A–" She paused. They didn't have a code for Aaron. "My friend took a harder tumble than me. He has a concussion and mildly sprained ankle."

Aaron shot her a cheeky thumbs up with a pained grimace. He got that impish twinkle in his eye that had caused her enough trouble when he was a child. He leaned a little closer to her.

"Hey Dino Squad!" Aaron shouted into her watch.

She could have sworn she heard Caruso slap his watch to cover it in fright, their careful instinct to protect their secret most likely jolting through them. Joanne rolled her eyes at Aaron scoldingly as he tried to stifle his snickers at the awkward silence on the other end.

It was Terri that broke that silence.

"Ms M…Mothersaurus," she said slowly, "Exactly how many other people know about…Fi—Dino Three and the guys?" she asked, putting two and two together rather quickly.

"I was just about to ask…" Rodger muttered.

"A few very close friends of mine," Joanne assured. "Every one of them is a person I have the utmost trust for. Don't worry."

Aaron seemed to get his (pained) giggles out enough to speak. "She says 'friends.' But most of us are old students of hers. I told you…uh…Mothersaurus was the reason I got so interested in dinosaurs!"

"Yes," Joanne deadpanned. "You caused me a great deal of stress while you were growing up."

"My dad had no clue why I insisted on dressing as a raptor every Halloween for four years in a row. He thought I was a big neon green turkey."

They might have heard a mortified gasp or two on the other end of the line.

"No offense, Ms M." He shot her a charming smile as she pursed her lips. "I got into a lot of arguments with people who thought I was silly for adding feathers. Paleontologists hadn't found evidence of feathers yet."

"W-wait you've seen—?!" Buzz started.

"Kids, I'm sure Dino Six—" She fought an amused smile at Aaron's ecstatic, and completely unrestrained, little squeal at getting a codename but continued, nevertheless. Nothing was more endearing than grown adults having innocently childish moments. "I'm sure he will regale you on my inability to keep my past a secret from nosy, accident-prone children very soon, but as it stands, we currently have a far more serious issue to deal with."

That brought the focus back, despite the more questions it tempted.

"What attacked you?" Max asked the right question.

"A dinosaur has escaped, though I'm unsure if we can call it that. It seems like a mutation, but far more dangerous than anything you've dealt with."

"How so?"

Joanne paused. "She's… intelligent." She dearly hoped her dread was coming across with all the clarity of millions of years of experience.

She recalled those eyes that had stared at her with far too much intelligence. With sapience, something she very rarely saw in animals though not entirely uncommon. She saw it blossoming in the eyes of Blue and her sisters, but they still had much further to develop.

She kept talking. "Intelligent…Enough to be asking questions. Enough to be angry and aware that she can construct a reason to hate humans and thus target them. Intelligent enough that I couldn't convince…" She trailed off.

Aaron glanced at her, just a little alarmed but not truly surprised. "You talked to her…"

Joanne looked up at him and then back at the road as they continued to walk. "I need you to describe her to them."

"I'll try…Um. Hyper carnivore…"

"…that's important…" Caruso mumbled.

"White. O-or she's supposed to be white." Aaron swallowed, looking a little ill. "She can camouflage. Like an octopus. Not a chameleon. Better than any chameleon I've ever seen. She's huge. I think she's even bigger than Rexy—"

"Rexy?" Joanne intoned.

"Oh, the T-Rex. Oh! The base genome is a T-Rex. S-she's much bigger though, and she's not even fully grown yet. They named her the Indominus Rex."

"Catchy…" Buzz said.

"Elongated body. A little closer in stance and general body shape to a Spinosaurus than a T-Rex, likely to counterweight the arms. Um. No sail though," he said. "That's really all I know. I'm not privy to the genetic stuff outside of what they tell me for my job."

"Raptor."

Aaron stiffened and nearly tripped on his own feet. "What?"

Joanne looked him in the eye. "They put raptor in there somewhere."

Aaron looked ill again, which didn't take much at the moment. He was very quiet as he processed that while trying to decipher her tone of voice. Then suddenly rage overtook him and he vibrated as he resisted the urge to scream.

"Deep breaths," Joanne whispered.

WHY WAS SHE SO CALM!?

He had been upset enough three years ago when he received the briefing for Project I.B.R.I.S. But he couldn't argue against it without looking insane. It took him a month to fly back to Kittery Point, where he then proceeded to break his NDA with extreme prejudice. He knew he sold a piece of his soul taking the job, but Joanne's assurances were enough ten years ago. He mostly couldn't understand why she wasn't more upset at the developments, three years ago and now.

"Why in the fuck would Wu…?!"

"Doctor, please," Joanne interrupted, resisting the urge to comfort him by name.

Aaron shook his head. "She…I think she ate a few of my friends..." His voice was suddenly distant, the teasing and joy at being included in the squad earlier evaporating as he remembered his situation again.

It was quiet for another moment. What were they supposed to say to that?

Joanne squashed her guilt, her heart breaking for Aaron as he refused to meet her eyes. "I'm so sorry, son," she whispered gently, covering her watch for a moment before addressing the squad as the man beside her processed another wave of grief. "That means she's tasted human flesh," she said solemnly. It was better she be blunt despite Aaron's flinching. "She's decided where humans are on the food chain compared to her. That is not a good thing."

"Do you need help?" Max asked.

"We need a car," Aaron said, still sounding a million miles away.

"I'll figure something out," Max said with certainty.

"No," Joanne said. "We'll get to the Raptor Arena on foot."

It was Aaron's turn to look alarmed. Again.

"You're not heading back to the park?" Fiona clarified, confused.

"The Arena is closer and cars are loud," Joanne explained. "We can take care of ourselves. I want you to stay together and stay safe. If you see it…" She stopped.

If they saw it, it was probably too late. She didn't want to think about that. "Do not under any circumstances try to fight it. Fiona, do you understand? Come back right now." She bit her tongue at yet another slip-up.

"Okay…I got it, Mothersaurus…" Fiona said, disturbed by Ms Moynihan's use of her name.

That was twice the older woman had forgotten to use a codename. They all knew their satellite communication was encrypted. They were reasonably safe from any prying ears.

Joanne paused and glanced at the sky, nearly giving up all the rules for a moment because she needed them to understand. The current danger outweighed even the slightest chance of Victor listening in. But still, she choked on Fiona's name and clenched it behind her teeth.

"Dear, I don't think you do…"

She used their cautious silence to gather herself.

"This thing is no animal," she explained. "Predators who know better will not waste energy on a fight they might lose. Prey will because they cannot afford to lose. Normally I would say give it your all and use your best judgment of when to run. But this is not a walrus, nor a bear, nor anything else that innately understands the balance of this world."

She glanced at Aaron and continued. "That creature does not know the…rules. She doesn't carry herself right. She…she will kill you for the curiosity of it," she said. "Dino Three, are you listening? I need you to not be the wonderful hero I know you to be, along with each and every one of you. Not right now. I need you to think of your sister. I need you to be smart and calm, but I also need you to be afraid."

Those were terrible chilling words, and she hoped they heard. Fear was a wonderful thing. When it was measured. When it kept you alive. Calm did not negate fear. Nor did fear always destroy rational thought.

"Yes, ma'am…" Fiona said.

"Good girl. Now be safe."

"Roger that, Mothersaurus," Max said, clearly more than a little rattled. "Dino Three, we'll see you soon. We'll wait at the station. Dino Two out."

"You mean Chomper."

"I'm not calli—!" The call ended then.

Aaron eyed her. "What are the chances they actually listen to you?"

"I've worked hard and done my best to teach them good judgment. But I encourage them to make their own decisions."

Aaron hummed. "So the chances aren't great…"

"Would you be this cheeky to your father?" she admonished.

He winced and shrugged sheepishly. "No, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."

The feeling of dread had not abated, but there was not much else she could do.

Aaron hummed again. "Even if a car would make too much noise," he pointed out, respectfully but not quite able to keep all his irritation out of his tone. "I'd really appreciate one right now, ma'am. I kinda twisted my ankle harder than I thought back there."

"I know. I'm so sorry," Joanne said. "I didn't want Max or one of the others somehow finding a car and coming out here to put themselves in danger."

"…" Aaron couldn't really be entirely mad about that. "If we see someone coming, I'm waving them down."

"Of course. Tell me if you need a break."

Fiona took the controls from Terri and turned the gyrosphere around. They were already out of sight of the other spheres in the valley.

"Hey," Fiona said, nudging her sister, "It will be fine."

Terri eyed the tree line as she gripped her harness. "Have you ever heard Ms. Moynihan sound scared before?"

"…No…"

They were quiet as they drove.

"I thought I was Dino Two," Rodger said.

"What's the point of sticking to the call signs when Ms M was using our names?" Caruso asked.

"Um, there are bigger issues right now!" Buzz cut in.

Max cut in sharply. "I think Ms. Moynihan was stressed and just forgot. What we're going to do is sit right here and wait for Fiona and Terri to get back."

The other guys nodded in agreement.

Max huffed, thinking for a moment. "We can't just do nothing, though."

"Something tells me we don't have to worry about that," Caruso said sarcastically.

"Caruso, you handle any staff trying to get us to leave. We aren't leaving the station until the girls get back. Rodger. Buzz. You guys try to pay attention to radios and rumors. Try to see if you can find out what's going on from the staff if they know any more. I'll call Fiona's parents and let them know what's going on. As much as we know at least. Caruso, can I borrow your phone?"

The display spoke while Terri and Fiona were already heading back to the park, their remaining time for the ride forgotten.

"This ride is now closed. Please return to the station."

Neither of them said a word.

Fiona remained focused as she navigated.

She yelped and jerked the sphere to the side as Terri grabbed her arm.

"Terri!" She was a little jumpy after Ms Moynihan's call.

Terri shook her arm harder, her fingers pinching Fiona's jacket. "Look!"

Fiona did, immediately frowning when she glimpsed another Gyrosphere disappearing around an outcropping of trees near the perimeter. It was far away, so she wasn't sure what she saw at first. "What the heck…"

"It was those guys from earlier!" Terri said. "At least I think so. Where are they going?"

Fiona itched to follow but glanced at her sister, Ms Moynihan's words and seriousness ringing through her head. "Don't worry about it. They're probably just checking out the fence or something.

"Who the heck just checks out a fence?"

"Someone hoping they'll see something cool on the other side."

"Just…drive past," Terri begged with a frown. "Please? Something doesn't feel right."

The other sphere hadn't reappeared while they spoke.

Fiona opened her mouth but couldn't really figure out an argument. They were just driving past, after all.

It took them a few minutes to cross the grassland to where they saw the other gyrosphere, the computer warning them it would activate autopilot if they didn't return to the station.

They went around the bend of trees and they looked down a small incline into the tree line.

Fiona's stomach plummeted. She yanked the controls back with enough inhuman strength to nearly snap the joystick off at the base, remembering to control herself at the last second.

Fencing stretched out on either side, most of it hidden by foliage. Right in front of them were the mangled remains of what might have been a gate at least twenty feet tall. Or maybe it was just a regular part of the fence. It was impossible to tell.

Whatever it was, something had torn the structure to pieces.

"We need to go," Fiona said firmly.

Terri swallowed. "What about those guys?"

Fiona was quiet.

"They came this way…" Terri added.

"I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to go down there…" Fiona said, eyeing the torn metal fencing, the thickest bars wide enough to hug with some difficulty.

"We didn't see them come out," Terri said sharply, throwing Fiona's explanation out.

Fiona didn't say anything for a moment. She directed the vehicle closer before there was an abrupt stop.

"We're sorry. This area is restricted or under construction. There are many other sights to see in the Gyrosphere Valley."

"Then how the heck did those guys get down there!" Terri snapped. "Don't tell me just because they're VIPs, they can just go wherever they want!"

"Maybe they were actually staff," Fiona said, letting go of the joystick as it turned them around. It was a stupid explanation. The younger boy looked like he was nine or ten. She eyed the trees.

This didn't feel right.

Terri looked at her. "We…we aren't just going to leave them, are we? Something took down that fence. What if it's that dinosaur that attacked Ms M?"

"Terri! That's exactly what I'm worried about," Fiona said sternly. "I can't just…"

I can't just take you with me.

But she couldn't leave her sister alone either.

Ms Moynihan outright told her not to be a hero.

But something shredded that fence, and every instinct was screaming at her, telling her that there was danger around.

Innocent people she didn't know were in danger.

But so were they. So was her little sister.

Fiona contemplated her choices, well aware she needed to choose quickly.

Her time to decide what to do was suddenly taken away.

"This ride is now closed. Autopilot activating. Thank you for visiting! Please enjoy the scenery as we return to the Gyrosphere Station. Come again soon!"

She moved on instinct, not good decision making.

Fiona quickly unbuckled her harness as the sphere slowly turned itself around. They knew it would pick up speed quickly once they were clear of the trees. "Terri! Look for an emergency latch! Try to get your side open."

"I'm looking!"

"Please remain seated…," the console said.

Fiona frantically ran her fingers along the seam of the door.

She was going to be in so much trouble...

She pulled off her jacket and threw it across the console, hoping that was where the camera for the ride was. "Terri, stay out of the way!"

Fiona braced against the seat and lifted a foot. She aimed for the weakest part of the seam and kicked, her eyes glowing.

They barely heard the too-sweet robotic voice over the sound of breaking glass.

The gyrospheres were not built to withstand a dinosaur breaking it from the inside.

Terri wiped the mud from her face. Maybe it was Gallimimus dung. She didn't want to know. It didn't smell weird. It was probably just dirt…

Her face was definitely going to break out, though.

"How much do you think we'll have to pay for that?" she asked, peering over her shoulder at the partially wrecked gyrosphere.

Fiona winced.

"How are we supposed to get back?" Terri hissed.

"It can still drive!" Fiona insisted. She didn't damage the thing that much. Hopefully.

"Can you smell them? What's the plan?"

"Quiet," Fiona whispered as they walked. "We find those guys, tell them that a dangerous dinosaur is loose, and then we all head back to the park. That's it."

"What if they don't listen?"

"Then we show them our gyrosphere and say a dinosaur attacked it."

"…that works," Terri admitted. It technically wasn't a lie.

Terri didn't protest as Fiona tugged her a little closer, less to make her walk quickly, more to just keep her close. Terri swallowed, looking around them anxiously. She tried to focus on stepping where Fiona stepped as they avoided dry leaves and sticks. The older girl was oddly good at walking quietly and Terri had to wonder if that was something Ms Moynihan taught her sister.

They walked for a while, with the unsettling feeling getting worse, although neither could really pinpoint why.

It was getting dark. The forest blocked so much light that it nearly looked like dusk.

It was eerily silent, but Terri had a million questions rattling in her head that easily made up for the lack of external noise. There wasn't even birdsong. Where were they going? Did Fiona know? What if they ran into another dinosaur? What if that dinosaur Ms Moynihan warned them about…

Fiona halted and grabbed Terri into her chest, pulling her down and into a group of bushes.

"What—."

Ice ran through their spines as a roar vibrated through the ground, far too close for any level of comfort.

Moments later an Ankylosaurus nearly trampled the both of them.

They scrambled to their feet and sheltered behind a large tree as a couple more dinosaurs stampeded past, bellowing as they escaped into the woods.

But that wasn't what had their attention. One moment it was deathly quiet, the next they realized only a line of thick, brambled trees separated them from utter carnage. That barrier was now destroyed, courtesy of some very terrified Ankylosaurs.

There was muffled screaming.

Morbid curiosity and stubborn resistance to fear of the unknown were enough to make the two Flagstaff girls peer around the tree and through the damaged wall of foliage.

Terri was used to standing near dinosaurs who in some other version of the world might eat her.

She'd even say she was comfortable around them. But it wasn't always like that. In the early days, after the shock had faded along with the smell of wet moles, it was hard to correlate her sister with the massive Spinosaurus aegyptiacus that was larger than any other predator alive in modern times despite not even being fully grown.

Frankly, it had been terrifying. Terri would break out in a cold sweat in any proximity to her sister and her sister's friends. She was fine at home. In fact, she kinda forgot about the entire ordeal for about a week after the family was back from the cabin. It really started when Ms Moynihan invited her and her parents to the lighthouse for a better explanation and demonstration. The school teacher had even told them her identity. As if the situation couldn't get any more baffling. The ancient raptor declined a personal demonstration, unlike the teens.

Somehow Mom and Dad were so chill with everything, their support never wavering, and that made Terri feel even more like a terrible person. She loved her sister, and she thought the whole thing was so cool! So what the heck was wrong with her?

Worst of all, Terri knew she couldn't hide her subtle flinches from Fiona.

Fiona knew. The guys knew. And somehow Ms Moynihan knew, telling her privately it was a natural fear response and nothing to be ashamed of. But those words were far from a comfort. She hated her instincts betraying her logic that said she could understand that her sister and the dinosaur were the same person. Person! The inability to do away with the distinction made her feel even more terrible. She never meant to make Fiona or the guys feel like freaks. She didn't want to be afraid.

Fiona and the guys had given her space, which was the last thing she had wanted. It was two weeks before she was too fed up to take it slow anymore. She went to Ms Moynihan and asked to borrow the lighthouse garage for a sleepover with the squad. Maybe it was because she had never seen the woman as a dinosaur, but being around Ms Moynihan never triggered her cold sweat or dry mouth. Whatever the case, it was an easy request for her to ask and one that Ms Moynihan hadn't even questioned.

The older teens had been bemused about the odd idea, but they humored her at Ms Moynihan's insistence, no matter that "sleepovers" were an odd thing for teens their age. They even invited another older student, to Terri's utter surprise.

Liam did his absolute best and was incredibly happy to be invited, but in the end, he admitted that he couldn't stay the whole night. Sleeping in a new place was too much of a departure from his routine. Through his hyper-focused rambling about the process of cliff-side erosion and the resulting sound of waves crashing against rock followed by a discussion of the chemical components of machine oil and gasoline, the smell of which didn't bother the others, he admitted that the experience was just a bit too stimulating. Ms Moynihan was happy to drive him home at his request, which was a welcomed shock for Liam's mother. Apparently, he never got in a car with anyone but his mom and dad.

Later, the others finally understood Terri's reason for the sleepover when she asked them if they were able to sleep as dinosaurs. They could.

She spent the night in her pajamas leaning against her surprisingly warm sister's scales, anxiety dripping off her as they teased Buzz without words when he stole all the pillows and sleeping bags that were no longer being used.

He made something of a nest up on a walkway with a perfect view of the large white sheet they hung up to project movies on.

Every nerve in Terri's body rebelled against falling asleep, no matter how much she told herself she was safe as Fiona curled around her somewhat like a cat. She had tried to imagine it was just like when she was a little kid and crawled into Fiona's bed. The rising and falling breaths of Fiona's massive lungs sure broke the illusion.

Max had taken a while to figure out the best position, but eventually, he managed, crouching like a chicken at first before figuring out how to stretch out while resting his big head. Rodger had it easiest, just lying on his side while resembling an elephant. Caruso had the most trouble as he worried about moving his dangerous tail in his sleep, so he had to position himself while being cautious about the other living beings and equipment lying about. Eventually, they just tied Caruso's tail to the floor with heavy-duty lifting straps and tennis balls on the spikes for good measure. (It was a chaotic morning when Caruso woke up and groggily forgot his tail was still tied down.)

Terri eventually was so tired that she passed out, thanks to carefully planned sleep deprivation and a movie marathon. But her plan worked. Mostly.

Something about falling asleep around Fiona and the guys in a fun relaxing environment "forcibly" eased Terri's body into the idea that she was well and truly safe. Honestly, nowadays, she might even be willing to maybe take up camping if she was around them.

Dinosaurs trumped bears.

Maybe it took a couple more "squad nights" to expel all the anxiety and truly condition herself into the appropriate emotional response, but ultimately, these days, she didn't tense up whenever she walked into the family bathroom half asleep in the morning to find Fiona straining to study a miniature sail sprouting from her spine.

Terri got a good grade for her psychology class report based on her thoughts about Pavlov's conditioning theories, so that was a bonus.

All that fear from being around a large predator—fear that she worked so hard to chase away when it came to dinosaurs—flooded back with viciousness, knocking the breath from her lungs.

The teenager stared in terror as the Indominus Rex turned the poor Ankylosaurus on its back. She whimpered at the brutal crunch of bones and shut her eyes.

It was so close.

They were too close!

Terri clapped her hands over her ears as a roar ripped through the trees. She couldn't help but feel like there was something excited about the roar.

It seemed almost…prideful to her. She had to be imagining that.

In the chaos, somehow the gyrosphere she and Fiona had been looking for had landed so very close to their hiding place. Ten feet away, if that.

The boys had crashed into the next tree over and were now hanging upside down as sparks flew from the base of their vehicle.

Terri could hear them breathing hard and loud. She could see the back of their heads. But they were okay. They were alive.

Fiona pulled her back and pressed her against the tree, a shaky finger to her lips as Terri frantically nodded.

It was quiet for too long and the two of them slowly huddled against the roots, paranoid that the monster Ms M had described would swing its head around the tree and grab them without warning.

There was the buzz of a cell phone against a hard surface and Fiona froze, hoping the Indominus was more interested in its meal than two humans that hopefully weren't worth the trouble. She didn't have much time.

She needed a plan.

Fiona risked a look just as the younger brother did and she froze just as he did.

"Zach," the boy wheezed out.

Too close…

Fiona could count the teeth visible to her as they protruded past white, scaly lips.

The Indominus eyed the boys from her crouched position like they were a treat within a nut.

The dead Ankylosaurus lay behind, all that meat ignored.

Then her red eye shifted, peering through the space between the seats.

Fiona froze, not able to process for at least a second that it was looking directly at her.

She and the guys had fewer facial expressions when they were dinosaurs. They just didn't have the facial musculature for the complexity. Nevertheless, they still had them. They were just subtle and heavily supported by body language.

Fiona was chillingly sure she saw amusement in that eye. She watched the moment it decided to go for the boys.

The human hiding behind a tree in arm's reach was just too easy.

The puzzle was far more fun. She would retrieve her treats before turning her attention to the poorly hidden human. Possibly two humans. After all, even if the humans ran away right then, they wouldn't get far before she was done.

Fiona could only watch in horror as it turned the gyrosphere upright, the two people inside hyperventilating in terror. She needed to…!

Fiona jumped at the cracking of glass over the panicked screaming. She gripped a hand tightly against her sister's mouth as she watched the Indominus Rex get to work on the ball, first puncturing it with a claw, then gripping it in her jaws as she slammed the entire thing into the ground.

Like a bird cracking a nut.

Her sister moved as if to take a peek, but Fiona held her firm. She didn't know if the Indominus knew Terri was there, but she wasn't about to risk it.

She tried to drown out the screaming and cracking of glass as she ducked behind the tree fully and whispered harshly into Terri's hair.

"Listen to me." Fiona grabbed Terri's arm and buckled her watch to her sister's wrist. "Go back to the park and tell the guys what's happening as soon as you get a clear signal."

"W-what are you doing?" Terri breathed.

The screaming continued. Screaming was good! Screaming meant the Indominus was busy and no one was dead yet!

Fiona shook her sister. "Listen to me! You run! Do you understand?! You run! As fast as you can. Get to our sphere and don't you dare look back!"

With that, she shoved Terri in the direction they came, forcing her out of their hiding place, well aware Terri was in view of the Indominus.

Terri stumbled a bit, scrambling backward as the Indominus paused to look at her, teeth still sunk into the glass ball.

Then Terri saw Fiona's glowing eyes, utterly transfixed on the white creature.

Terri was horrified. Not because Fiona shoved her into the eye line of that thing. She didn't fear for herself. In fact, strangely enough, she never felt safer. That was insane.

She turned and ran, her legs pumping while she promised to thank her parents for making her join the track team if she wanted a new computer.

She could already feel some tears choking her. She was safe.

Fiona was making sure of it.

Something happened before Fiona could launch herself at the Indominus when it gave even a hint of considering going after her sister.

Unacceptable.

She thanked anyone who listened for the lucky timing as the two boys suddenly fell out of the hole in the glass the Indominus had created by her smashing of the gyrosphere. It was a welcomed distraction but it also meant her time was up.

Fiona dove into the fray, her hands yanking the two boys to their feet with more strength than should be possible for her frame. But they were up.

"RUN!" she screamed at them.

The three of them bolted. The guy who was around Fiona's age gripped his brother's shirt as he pulled them both along without even the whisper of a question passing his lips as Fiona pushed him.

She heard the crash as the Indominus finally got the gyrosphere loose from her teeth and roared after them.

Good. Better her than Terri. The strangers were the unfortunate tagalongs.

Fiona wasn't thinking as she ran. She let the boys overtake her, their terror drowning out any concern for her as a stranger. She just hoped they didn't look back.

She abruptly turned at full speed, her momentum nearly toppling her, and faced the Indominus that was on her heels, its mouthful of bloodied teeth promising a swift if gruesome death. She ducked, which wouldn't do much to delay the inevitable if she was human. In fact, it might have changed her death from being eaten to being stepped on.

But the move surprised the Indominus enough as jaws snapped above her head with a pop as the sheer power of the bite displaced the air.

The hairs on the back of her neck tingled even as they melted into ruddy yellow scales. She could feel her everything shifting, begging to explode from her skin.

Moments before she fully transformed, throwing all her weight toward the ashy legs that took up her vision, she had one discerning thought.

Ms. Moynihan was going to kill her.

Author's Note: I had a choice between one really long chapter or two medium chapters. I went with the long chapter. This comes out to about 25 pages and about 25 minutes to read. HOWEVER, now I have used up all my completely written chapter buffer so you might be waiting a couple of weeks before the next one. I'm sorry! I really wanted us to get into the action soo...

Even though they aren't written yet, now that we're in the action of the movie, I expect I might be able to slip into another round of short chapters published over a few days.

Please leave a review!

There's a lot here to unpack hopefully so there should be a few things of interest to point out. That sounds arrogant but I read reviews to gauge whether certain details or plot points were impactful enough for someone to want to mention it in writing.