I have done my best to explain what happened to the kids' using science. I'm not sure I got it completely right, but I do hope people like this chapter.
Sammy was trying to call Yaz again but still wasn't getting through. She knew that when traveling to Wyoming the cell service would be spotty. Seeing Ben's hands creeping closer, she smacked his hand hard.
"Do not even think about hurling my phone away. Yaz has to be prepared to leave as soon as we arrive. Now pull over at the next rest stop, I'm hungry for real food, and I need to use the ladies' room."
Ben sighed as he took the next exit. "Why do you guys have to make fun of my snacks? They're healthy for you."
"There's healthy snacks and then their bone dry tasteless healthy snacks. Sorry, Ben, but your carob snacks fall in the latter category. Besides, Darius mentioned you gave real candy a chance and you liked it"
"Just the Twizzlers and I might have tried one sports drink, but that's it!" Ben proclaimed.
"Then you can understand why I want to have the real thing. So come on and don't forget your gear. You never know when you're going to run into trouble."
The duo stored their helmets in a backpack while hiding their weapons in their jackets. As they approached the sign, they saw it advertised real Stygimolochs in the lame playland.
The first thing they saw when they entered was a Gyrosphere. They shuddered as they remembered the number of times they had to use them to transverse the island safely.
There were a couple of food stands, an outdoor playground with a ball pit, and a couple of game booths. What seemed to be enticing the most attention was the big stage in the center.
A dude in sunglasses and a belt with a gaudy buckle stepped onto the stage as sparklers went off. "Welcome one and all to Dino King Playland! My name is Bobby Nublar, owner and extraordinary dinosaur wrangler!"
People were clapping and cheering as Bobby pulled out a "wild beast" to scare the crowd. The crowd got scared when the guy said that it took an enormous effort to keep the dino in place.
Ben and Sammy could tell otherwise. The poor Stygimoloch was clearly starving and severely dehydrated. From their position, they could see healing scars on the animal's back.
The collar around its neck was making it hard for the creature to breathe. It gasped loudly as Bobby yanked the chain causing it to stumble forward. This was no way to treat a living creature.
"We're not leaving until that dino and his buddies are free," Sammy whispered.
"Agreed. Let's take care of our other business, then come free them."
Thirty minutes later, the fridge was full of food and both had used the bathroom. As a bonus, they decided to "liberate" some gas from Bobby's car.
It wasn't hard to miss considering it was covered in gaudy gold decorations and a personalized license plate. Ben also took the time to disconnect the car battery so it wouldn't start. Once they were sure Bobby wouldn't be able to follow them, they made their move.
Bobby was too preoccupied with taking photos with fans and signing autographs to notice the duo sneaking backstage. Both had slipped on their SWAT helmets to make them harder to identify.
Sammy stood guard while Ben picked the lock. "Out of curiosity, did you really believe I would betray the camp family again?"
"No, but I had to at least investigate the possibility. Someone knew I was part of the Nublar Six when I had never mentioned that. I thought that you or the others might have wanted me out of the way for some reason," Ben said over his shoulder.
He was focusing hard as he wiggled the tools around trying to get the lock to give. "If it matters, I even checked on people we know who are dead coming back to life. If they can bring dinosaurs back, why not people?"
Sammy commented it was nice to know Ben's paranoia was beneficial sometimes. The lock gave and two slipped inside the cage. The three dinosaurs looked worse now that they were close to them.
One Stygimoloch had a large burn on its tail. It was likely caused by someone using an electric prod at full power for days in a row. The second one was missing some horn spikes.
Judging by the way they had been cut, the animal had been awake when the spikes were removed. It was appalling to realize how much torture these animals suffered for the Dino King's wallet.
Ben was about to release the one they had seen on stage when Sammy tapped his shoulder. "They need to feed and drink now. They don't have the energy to escape presently."
The two looked around to see where Bobby kept their food and water. After searching for a few minutes, they found one measly bag of cabbages and a small jug of water.
It obviously wasn't enough to help these dinosaurs. But it would have to do. Sammy offered each one a wilted cabbage and Ben filled the water bowl before placing it in reach of the trio.
"It's sad, isn't it? The law doesn't protect these guys. Their fate could have been ours you know," Ben remarked quietly.
Sammy nodded as glanced back to the door. So far, no sign of Bobby. She knew it wouldn't last much longer.
The dinosaurs had managed to nibble down their pathetic cabbages. They were all drinking some water now. Slowly, Ben approached and spoke in a soothing tone.
"Stay calm, we're here to set you free. I'm going to remove your collars. Just be patient for a few minutes longer."
Surprisingly, the Stygimolochs seemed to understand what Ben was saying. They stood motionless as he took off One and Two's collars. He was about to take off Three's collar when someone shouted at him.
"GET AWAY FROM MY DINOS!" Bobby yelled at the two.
Sammy fired two bolts from her recurve crossbow. The man dove to the ground barely managing to avoid the projectiles. He snarled at the duo.
"I'll have you arrested for trying to steal my property!"
"They are not your property! They are living and breathing creatures who don't deserve to be treated this way." She fired another bolt and this time it hit its mark.
Bobby found his right arm pinned to the fence. He tried to rip the fabric off the bolt, but it wasn't working. He started to reach for something in his left pocket.
Sammy kicked his manhood to keep him from doing that. "Iggy, hurry up!"
"One more minute, Maia!" Ben shouted as he freed the last dino. Cobbling together his spear, he applied pressure to the front gate of the pen.
The dinosaurs understood what he was trying to do. Together they rammed the gate. It took two tries and Ben's help to finally break it open. Now free, the Stygimolochs decided to wreak a little havoc.
Guests shrieked as the dinosaurs started destroying the stands. One popped a giant balloon. Two and Three destroyed the Gyrosphere
Sammy and Ben were sprinting for the parking lot. Bobby had managed to finally tear his sleeve and was chasing them. "You're not getting away from me!"
Realizing their saviors were in danger, the trio turned their attention to Bobby. They turned back and formed a line defense. Once their saviors were safely past them, the trio all rammed Bobby.
The man went flying through the air and he landed in the pen. There was a loud crack, indicating something was broken. Satisfied, the trio left the playland and headed out to live freely.
Ben and Sammy were already a mile down the road. They were whooping in joy.
"I can't believe we did that! The best part is they'll be looking for people with the names Iggy and Maia, not Sammy and Ben," Sammy remarked gleefully.
"Who knew our nicknames could be handy when staging a rescue? I wish I hadn't left the spear behind. Now, I'm down to two."
"It was a worthy sacrifice. Now on to Yaz's place!"
Back at the playland, Bobby was waiting for the authorities to arrive. An ambulance had been dispatched to tend to his broken bones. Angrily, he speed-dialed a number on his phone.
"Hey, it's Bobby. We have a major problem. Two good doers by the names of Iggy and Maia just freed my dinosaurs."
"They were wearing helmets so I couldn't see what they looked like. I'm warning you to be cautious. They were armed with a crossbow and a spear. Who knows how dangerous they can be."
Meanwhile, Kenji and Darius had arrived at the halfway house. They approached the gate. The guard was waiting for them.
"Give me your cellphones and your backpack," the guard said as he eyeballed Kenji's backpack.
"My rock climbing gear is inside sir. I wanted to show it to my dad," Kenji said as he handed the bag over.
The guard inspected it and saw nothing but the gear. He really wasn't supposed to allow it, but given this was the kid's first visit, he would let it slide.
He also checked out Darius's jacket and pants pocket. He found a small bag of stones in his jacket pocket. "What are these for?"
"I collect rocks, sir. Kenji and I work together as partners. He does the climbing to retrieve the samples, and I polish them to keep or sell."
"Don't throw them around and I'll let you keep them. Do I make myself clear?"
The young men nodded and the guard escorted them to the back. "Mr. Kon, you have visitors."
Daniel stood up and looked at the gate. His eyebrows raised slightly when he saw who was at the gate. Then they fell when he saw his second visitor.
"Son, it's great to see you. How have you been?"
Kenji disregarded him and stopped a few inches in front of the man. "This is not a social call. I want to know if you had anything to do with my girlfriend's death."
Daniel's eyes broadened for half a second before relaxing. He let out a scoff and replied, "Is this another thing you want to blame me for? Musuko yo, jinsei de umaku ikanai koto subete o watashi no sei ni suru no wa yamete kudasai."
"You know I can't speak Japanese. Before you say I have no appreciation for our culture, let me remind you that you were never around to practice with. None of the staff spoke it either."
Daniel countered he was trying to build a legacy for his family. That everything he had done was to earn the respect and honor that the Kon family merited. Since he had ended up dishonoring the name, it was up to Kenji to restore it.
"What do you mean restore it? What is the reason Brooklynn came to see you?" Darius asked casually.
"This is family business, boy. A piece of paper says Kenji is your brother, but his blood makes him my son. That means you are not part of this conversation."
Darius started to protest but Kenji interrupted him. He asked Darius to wait by the gardening shed. Frustrated, Darius kicked the dirt and exited the garden.
"Nice to see you know how to treat your subordinates. It proves you can do great as the CEO of the new company I'm starting. One that will make everyone forget our family's transgressions."
"I already have a business of my own, see?" Kenji said as showed his equipment to his father. He then put on his helmet as a symbol that he could be just as hard-headed as Daniel.
Darius did his best not to eavesdrop on the conversation. Instead, he thought about his own family. He wondered how his mom was doing. Was Brand still living at home to keep her company?
He really should have called them more often. His mother had to deal with the grief of losing her husband. Could she have helped him with the loss of his crush?
He couldn't keep shoving his family away. His camp family deserved to know the truth about why he hadn't shown up that night. He owed Brooklynn's soul that much.
The gate to the garden was thrown open and Kenji started storming away. Darius scrambled after him wondering what had gotten Kenji so riled up. "Are you okay?"
"No! Every time I have to deal with him it's a business transaction. He doesn't love me, he wants to control me, again!"
Darius let his brother rant about everything wrong with his biological father. After he finally got everything off his chest, Darius handed him some water to drink.
"We can leave if you want to. I don't want to see all your progress disappear because of him. We can find out what Brooklynn was doing here on our own."
"No, we're not leaving without that information. It's time I show him that I'm not his subordinate employee. I am his superior son."
Daniel was tending to his flowers when he heard Kenji coming back. He turned around smiling. "I knew you would see things my ow!"
Daniel was not prepared at all to be given a black eye by his son. He was astounded when his son lifted him with one arm. For the first time in his life, he was frightened of his son.
"Listen closely, Tou-San. I'm done being your pawn in your stupid games. I have worked hard to become the man I am today, and I won't let you ruin my life again!"
"Now, you're going to tell me why Brooklynn visited you and anything else related to her death. If you don't, I'm leaving and never coming back. Your precious legacy will die with you, understand?" Kenji intoned threateningly.
Darius wished he had a camera. The fear on Daniel's face was picture worthy. He seriously wondered if the man was going to lose control of his bowels.
"Alright, I'll tell you! Please, put me down!"
Kenji lowered him to the ground. Taking a few deep breaths, Daniel told them about Brooklynn's visit.
"She came to me to ask if I knew anything about dinosaurs being found in places they shouldn't be. I didn't so she then asked me how she could negotiate a deal to purchase a dinosaur."
Kenji protested that Brooklynn would never do that. Darius wanted to know if Daniel set her up to be killed because she was investigating the dinosaur underworld.
"I couldn't have told anyone because, at the time, she didn't act like she was investigating anything. She said she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty if she could get her hands on real power. Hearing her speak, she reminded me of myself when I was her age."
That's when he noticed his son and Darius were tensed. Kenji slowly handed a SWAT helmet to Darius, before pulling out the bolas from his backpack. Daniel was wondering what was going on when a clamorous growl caused him to turn around.
Panthera had landed on the water tank her chest still partially burnt. She leaped at the trio only to have her legs and tail tied up by a well-thrown bola. As she struggled to get up, Darius used his sling to hit her in the eye with a very hard and polished rock.
The two took off running with Daniel right behind them. Kenji and Darius prepared for the next Atrociraptor to appear. Coming from the other side of the cabin was Tiger. He charged forward eager to get a taste of human flesh.
Darius charged straight at Tiger. The animal ran faster and lunged at Darius. At the same time, Darius brought his left forearm to protect his face.
Tiger bit down hard and shrieked. His teeth should have gone all the way to the bone with his amount of bite pressure. Instead, something had prevented his teeth from penetrating down to the bone.
Kenji hurled a bola around Tiger's legs. Darius pushed up and smacked the creature in the jaw with a stone. A split-second release was all Darius needed to pull his forearm out.
"You were right about the chromium," he remarked to Kenji. Before they drove to the halfway house, they had stopped at one of Kenji's students' place.
He owed money for his last lesson and Kenji had told him he would accept something else in its place. The guy owned a metal shop and had crafted some chromium sheets to place between the body armor and skin.
It wouldn't completely stop the raptors' teeth, but it did help slow them down further. Long enough to get in some close body hits. Of course, the sheets weren't useful once they've been bitten through.
Ghost jumped off the roof of the cabin and growled. She was wobbling slightly because of a cast on the end of her tail. Looked like Bumpy did manage to break it.
Noticing her pack mates tied up, she approached carefully. Circling the trio she waited for any opening. Seeing Daniel was not carrying any weapons, she lashed out with her arm to slice him open.
One more bola was released. It didn't manage to wrap around both arms. Still, her right arm was tangled up tight.
Darius aimed and released five stones. He had aimed at Ghost's tail, specifically her cast. The Atrociraptor screeched as the force of the stones penetrated through her cast.
"We got to move, now!" Kenji yelled as they headed for the car. That's when they were blinded by the lights of another vehicle.
A severe looking woman with big eyes and no eyebrows popped out of a truck. She stared at them and then blew a whistle. The raptors looked up and locked eyes with her.
She didn't speak and just stared at them. The raptors then freed themselves and marched past Daniel to corner Kenji and Darius up against the fence. They encircled them so there was no room to use their weapons.
The woman brought the whistle to her lips. She was about to whistle when Daniel launched himself on Ghost. Caught off guard, the raptor tumbled to the ground.
Panthea and Tiger turned around and attacked Daniel. Before the woman could blow the whistle, Darius used his sling to hit her temple. It was hard enough to cause a trickle of blood to appear.
From the ground, Daniel yelled at Kenji to run. Kenji took a step towards his father. Daniel repeated to run and that he loved him.
Those were his last words as the Atrociraptors killed him and started feasting on his body. Kenji froze in shock, unable to move. Darius grabbed his arm and dragged him along as he ran for the car.
The woman had recovered her wits and whistled for the raptors. They looked up from their meal and saw the duo trying to escape. Another whistle told them to pursue and kill.
The raptors raced to catch the boys, who changed directions from the car to the forest line. They needed to put more distance between them and the dinos. The boys tripped and fell to the ground.
An alarm was going off because Panthera had kicked the ankle monitor out of the halfway house zone. The raptors ignored it as they got closer to the target. Before they reached the duo, a car going at top speed rammed them down.
The backdoor to the car opened. "Get in!" a voice yelled at them. Darius dragged Kenji inside the car. The driver gunned it and they sped away from the halfway house.
They had only made it about ten miles when Kenji started having a full blown panic attack. He witnessed his dad's death over and over again. The last conversation he had with his dad was a bunch of threats!
How could he be such a bad son? Why did his dad give his life for such an ungrateful son? Why was it getting harder to breathe?
"I can't… breathe. I can't breathe. Pull over."
Darius yelled at the driver to pull over. The driver asked if Darius was nuts because they had barely put any distance between them and the raptor lady. Once more, Darius demanded the driver to pull over.
Reluctantly, the driver did. Kenji was out of the car and vomiting on the ground in seconds. Tears were streaming down his face.
The driver, a middle age man of Hispanic ancestry got out of the car along with Darius. "We really need to put greater distance between us and that lady. I don't want to end up like that guy."
Darius glared at the man. "He's having a panic attack because that guy was his father. Give him a few minutes to come out of it."
Kenji was still hyperventilating and he seemed unaware of Darius as he approached. He knelt next to Kenji but didn't touch him. He didn't want to set him off.
"Kenji, can you tell me five things you, see?"
"Dirt, the road, shrubs, my fingers, your jacket."
"Can you tell me four sounds you hear?"
"Desert owl, a car running, your voice, and my breathing."
"What are three things you feel?"
"My wet face, the sandy ground, and the sharp stick under my hand."
"What are two things you can smell?"
"My vomit and car fumes."
"What is one thing you can taste?"
"My sweat."
Kenji took a deep breath and came out of it. He glanced at Darius and hugged him tightly. "I can't accept he's gone."
Darius rubbed Kenji's back. Darius remember how he felt the moment he knew his dad was gone. It had torn his heart apart.
He had wanted to blame someone, but there was no one to blame. His father's death had been expected. Kenji's father's death had not been.
Their losses were slightly different, but the pain was the same. "This pain isn't going to go away. But I promise to be there to help you learn how to live with it."
Their rescuer cleared his throat. "I don't want to interrupt this moment. However, we need to get someplace safe."
Darius concentrated on the man. There was something familiar about him. "I know you! You're the truck driver that was there the night Brooklynn was killed!"
With a roar, Kenji grabbed the man and shoved him against the car. "Are you the one who killed Brooklynn? Was my father on your kill list or was he a casualty in your mission?!"
"No, I'm not a hitman! Brooklynn inadvertently saved my life! I'm just trying to do right by her! Please, we need to get further away from that lady and her raptors!"
Darius pulled Kenji off him. "He did save us. I think we owe him the chance to explain himself."
Kenji grumbled and got back in the car. Darius nodded at the man before getting in the backseat once more. Two minutes later, they were taking a back road to avoid being tracked.
After twenty minutes of driving their savior introduced himself. "My name is Mateo. I used to drive transports for the DWP. Your friend's death was partially my fault, even if it was unintentional."
Darius asked what he meant by that. He also asked how Mateo even found them. The man his daughter helped him track them down and she was also unintentionally involved.
"I'm not smart or skilled, but I do know how to drive pretty well. I presumed being a truck driver for the DWP would help support my family. It also allowed me access to equipment meant to keep my family safe."
He explained that months ago he had received an anonymous text telling him he could make extra money with off the book's delivery service. He didn't know who sent it and he didn't ask. "I know the drop-offs I made weren't legal, but I needed the money for my daughter's college fund."
"I didn't get the best education so menial work was the best I could do. My daughter, Hiraya, she's wicked smart. I wanted to send her to the best college I could afford so she wouldn't end up like me."
Darius and Kenji felt a sliver of compassion for Mateo. He was looking out for his child like a father should. He just went about it the wrong way.
"What happened the night Brooklynn died?" Darius asked softly.
Mateo told them he thought he was making a regular drop-off but there had been no one to meet him. He got out of the truck to see if he could find someone. That's when he learned the Allosaurus wasn't sedated and that the lock on the truck door was opened.
"I hid in the bushes trying to control my racing heart. I was sure I was about to get eaten when the animal pivoted in the direction of a sound. Two minutes later, your friend was running for her life not knowing she was leading the dinosaur away from me."
"Hearing her screams of terror made me freeze in shock. I knew I should do something to help, but I couldn't move my body. By the time I could move all that was left of your friend was the pool of blood and her phone."
He eyeballed Darius in the rearview mirror. "You showed up almost instantly. I panicked and hid the phone, afraid that it would reveal I was the one who brought the dinosaur there."
Mateo took a deep breath and finished his story. "When I got back in my truck, I saw the text on my phone. I was horrified to learn that I had been used as an accessory to murder. I nearly turned myself in right then."
"Of course, I didn't because of my daughter. That's when I stopped telling myself lies. People and animals were getting hurt because of my illegal work. That my actions had lethal consequences."
Mateo admitted he quit a short time later. His guilty conscious kept telling him to make things right. With Hridaya's help, he managed to find them.
"I know saving your lives doesn't make up for what I did. It will haunt me for the rest of my life. But I know your friend would want you to have this."
He pulled Brooklynn's cell phone out of his pocket. Kenji took it and stared at it. The soft chime as he turned the phone on reminded him of her victory cry on the island.
The Camp Family had managed to go the long way around Main Street without being caught. Currently, they were hiding in the jungle near the back side of the Visitors Center. They couldn't see any door from where they were.
"One of us has to get a closer look. That's the only way we'll know for sure if there's a hidden back door," Darius whispered. He tapped Bumpy's shoulder to get her attention.
"Can you remember anything else the Rha, I mean, the flute tooth, said about the entrance?"
Bumpy squeezed her eyes shut and tried to recall what else was said during the brief encounter. Using a stick, she drew some kind of symbol in the dirt. It looked like a bunch of crisscrossing lines.
Kenji's eyes lit up. "Hey, I know what that is! It's Kanji or at least close to it. I think it's the hanzi for god. Hey, didn't Brimford's video say the scientists were acting like they were gods?"
The others nodded and theorized he might have seen this symbol. "If he wanted Owen Grady to keep the gas safe, he would have left a clue to where he could get more information."
Now that they felt more confident, they still had to pick someone to look for it. Yaz was fast, but her eyes functioned better in the dark lately. Kenji, Ben, and Sammy were out because they weren't quick enough.
That left Brooklynn and Darius. None of them wanted to endanger Bumpy, who still was a bit unsteady on two legs. They did rock, paper, scissors, and Brooklynn won/lost depending on how you looked at it.
"Be extra careful. If you feel the T-Rex coming back, get out of there," Darius warned her.
Brooklynn nodded as she took a cautious step out of the jungle. Listening closely, she determined no one was around presently. Slowly, she started heading for the back of the Visitors Center.
Brooklynn did her best to keep even breaths. The back of the Visitors Center felt darker than the front. As soon as she stepped on Main Street, she paused and listened.
She didn't hear or see the T-Rex. She moved forward as cautiously and rapidly as she could. Reaching the back of the building, she scanned the wall looking for the hanzi.
She didn't see it and moved to the next section, which was next to a loading dock. There was a door there but it was highly visible. She debated if she use the key card to open it.
No, the beeping sound when it works is too loud. I have to stay silent, she thought to herself. She went a little further down as she approached the curve to the front.
Then she noticed it. Unless you got really close, the symbol looked like an imperfection. She ran her hands around it and felt a door frame. This was their way in.
She ought to get out of here. She prayed the usual bad luck wouldn't strike and bring the T-Rex here. Carefully, she made her way back to the jungle.
Thankfully, the universe seemed to be giving Brooklynn a break today. She made it back to her friends safely. She reported her findings to them. "There is a hidden door. I think I know how to open it."
Yaz's eyebrows raised. "You think you can? We need to be absolutely sure we can open it. How do you know it's not just one way?"
Brooklynn retorted if it was a secret back door, it would be really stupid not to have it go both ways. Otherwise, how would people sneak back in without being recorded at the front entrance? That shut Yaz up.
"So, we get in through the back door and find this secret lab. We get the computer to tell us about the project. How do we get back out without Rexy discovering us?" Kenji asked quietly.
"One of us will have to keep a lookout from the lobby. I don't think the T-Rex will be interested in the Visitors Center unless she's interested in finding new things for her nest," Darius surmised.
"If the lookout sees the T-Rex approaching the Visitors Center, they can warn us so we can get out of there before she gets angry."
"I'll be on the lookout. My heightened motherly instincts will most likely warn me before she comes into my sight range."
The others nodded. Ben took Bumpy's hand and told her to not let go. Slowly, the group made their way to the Visitor's center.
They cautiously stepped onto the road and tiptoed to the wall section with the hanzi on it. Brooklyn lightly tapped the symbol. The hanzi popped out, twisted around and a small panel opened.
There was a small monitor and keyboard with numbers and symbols on it. "I knew it. They wouldn't risk having someone touching or using a key card by accident. They need a password."
"Unless the password is the same to unlock the files on the computer, we don't know have it," Ben whispered. He looked at Bumpy, who started fidgeting.
"Actually, we do thanks to Kenji," Brooklynn whispered. She started tapping the period and dash keys. A minute later, the door swung open.
"They used a Chinese hanzi to mark the door panel. But Romanizing hanzi would be easy if you knew what the symbol stood for. However, not everyone knows Morse code which would be a great way to disguise the password in plain sight."
The kids slipped inside and made their way down a narrow corridor that ended at an elevator. Thankfully, the key card opened it. They piled in hoping they wouldn't exceed the max weight limit.
Once the doors closed Bumpy began to panic. "I don't like this! It's too small! It's too small!"
Ben wrapped his arms around her body. He used his left foot to pin her tail down. "You need to calm down. If you thrash around the elevator could be damaged."
"But it's too small!"
"We're almost to the top. Just count to ten and we'll be out by the time you reach it."
Just as Ben predicted, the doors opened and Bumpy rushed out. She was hyperventilating. Sammy and Ben knelt next to her and comforted her.
After a few minutes, she calmed down. "I'm okay, I'm okay. I just don't like that small amount of space."
Darius remarked it made sense that Bumpy got claustrophobia. She had only been inside a building once when she hatched. Since she was so big, she was used to having a lot of space to move it.
"We'll try to find another way out so you don't have to go into the elevator again, okay?" Ben assured.
Bumpy nodded and stood up. The elevator had opened into the hidden lab. There was a large door that led to the lab the public could see.
Sammy quietly went out to watch for Rexy. Meanwhile, the others looked around for a computer. It was unnerving to be in this lab because a lot of experimented animals were stuck in cages.
Somehow, they had managed to survive the last few months without getting regular meals and water. Even Kenji's heart was moved by this suffering. They wondered if they should release them.
It was Yaz who spoke up. "I don't know about any of you, but I can't focus on finding a computer with those animals looking at me."
"I know, but I don't think it's wise to release them. They're not part of this ecosystem," Darius reminded them.
"Neither are dinosaurs, but they're here anyways," Brooklynn retorted. "We can just let them out in another room of the Center. They can find their own way out of the building."
So that's what they did. They removed the cages and took them to a conference room on the opposite side of the building. They opened the window a crack and then released the animals.
Returning to the secret lab, it was easier to find a working computer now that they weren't being creeped out by the sight of the animals. Brooklynn quickly made her way through the folders until she found the right one.
Finding the mentioned files she quickly entered the password. The files popped up and they consisted of both Word documents and videos. The videos were the odd numbers and the Word documents were the evens.
The first video played. "Video file 93. I have been approached today by my contact within Ingen's security forces. They are asking me to develop a way to improve a soldier's performance using dinosaur traits."
"I have already been working on this project for another company but kept quiet about it from both Masarani and Ingen. Thanks to the profits from Jurassic World, I have begun working to create the perfect dinosaur hybrid. My research into human/dinosaur hybrids will likely help me with the process."
The following document was a request form from Ingen. According to it, the request had come in three years ago. The request had come from someone named Vic Hoskins.
They went through more files but stopped when they reached file number 101. This video had Wu talking about his idea of how to introduce dinosaur DNA into a human.
"As I reported earlier, the mixing of primarily reptilian DNA with mammal DNA requires a way to ensure the chromosome pairs match. The difficulty with this is that most reptiles have too little or too many chromosomes to create an effective cohesion."
"To ensure stability, I have thought to introduce only part of the genetic material through a gas. The gas will be able to introduce genes through the pores on the skin and slowly make their way into the bloodstream. The results would be the cells in the body would slowly incorporate the DNA without trying to override the cell structure entirely."
File 102 showed a detailed diagram of how the process would be conducted. There were several notes about improving the delivery system.
There was another video of interest in File 111. "The results from my initial trials with mice have discovered a disturbing problem within the neurological system. While initially, the DNA cohesion granted the subject new abilities, the brain slowly starts to become more reptile like."
"Reptiles are very smart; however, their brain structures are different than humans. Reptiles don't have a limbic system, which is vital for both the autonoetic nervous system and endocrine systems in mammals."
"Also, the structures and interacting areas of the limbic system are involved in motivation, emotion, learning, and memory. When parts of the neurological DNA help form synapses to control the new body parts it slowly overtakes the other parts of the neurological system. This leads to atrophy of the limbic system and the loss of the individual sense of self."
"I need to look for a way to preserve the limbic system while still allowing the DNA to make the necessary changes to the brain to handle the new abilities."
The next file contained a report detailing the development of a booster based on gene replacement therapy treatment. The booster would be to ensure the human DNA would be dominant in the limbic system, certain organs, and the blood.
This would ensure that the new abilities would still work, but not override the human portion. The key ingredient in the booster of course is human cells. Finally, they understood how Bumpy was turned half human.
"That liquid must have been the booster. When she swallowed it, the booster went into overdrive to suppress the dinosaur DNA. Since it contained human genetic samples, those genes took over," Ben remarked.
"But if the booster acts as a stabilizer, why haven't our brains been affected?" Yaz asked.
"Maybe the next video will tell us that," Brooklynn replied as the next video file played.
Dr. Wu talked about his success with creating the booster. He had tested on more mice. The limbic system remained intact but there was another complication to deal with.
"It appears that the older mice need a larger amount of the booster regularly to keep the limbic system from atrophying. The younger ones with developing brains need only a small single dose to continue to function. It remains to be seen if this will be the same in human trials."
Yaz remembered collecting the samples. A small amount had touched her skin. She had then touched everyone else during the cleanup. That's likely when they received the booster.
"What do the remaining files have to say?" Darius asked Brooklynn.
They viewed more of the files. The rest of the files talked about the progress of the project. The videos showed Dr. Wu perfecting his formulas until he was ready to create the gas for human trials.
They played the last video. "After one year, I have finally perfected the experiment gas. I will have to visit the Menagerie to obtain the DNA samples to lace the gas with."
The screen went blank and the teenagers looked at one another. "Kenji, do you know what the Menagerie is?"
"No, Dino Nerd. I'm starting to realize that there were plenty of hidden things kept from Masarani. I'm betting the Menagerie was one of them."
"Perhaps, it where the flute tooth went too," Bumpy suggested.
"It's probably where the Tarbosaurus and those Deinonychus also came from. Since we're only encountering them now means they must have escaped the Menagerie a week or two before the storm because the Tarbosaurus had a nest," Brooklynn reasoned.
Darius agreed that it fit the timeline. The female could have been pregnant and made her nest rather quickly due to the amount of junk that had been in there. If she was bringing prey back for her future babies, she must have been comfortable in her new surroundings.
"We need to find this Menagerie. There might be more information about this project there. Maybe, even a way to undo what's been done to us," Yaz stated calmly.
"The question is where on the island is the Menagerie? Dr. Wu had a secret lab in this building. Who knows how many other hidden labs he has scattered across the island?" Ben pointed out.
Sammy came running into the lab. Everyone tensed expecting her to tell them about the T-Rex only to notice she seemed excited. "Guys, you have to come with me. I think I found something important!"
Kenji hissed at her about watching for the T-Rex. Sammy assured them that she hadn't seen her yet. "This won't take long. I promise."
So, they followed her out of the hidden lab and up to the next floor. "Remember how that book said everything is camouflaged throughout Main Street?"
The others nodded. "I started to wonder if it was the same inside the buildings. I climbed up a floor to get a better look out of the window when I spotted this on the wall."
At the end of the hall was a mural. The plaque read this was a recreation of the mural found in the original Visitor's Center. Unless you were looking extremely closely at the mural, you wouldn't realize that one of the scales on the Velociraptor was a slightly different color.
Sammy ran her hand over it. "It's a keyhole. I figure whatever is inside could help us. I was hoping Yaz's claws or Ben's thumb spikes could open it."
Ben stepped up and positioned his thumb spike into the keyhole. He wiggled it around for a few minutes. They heard a click and the raptor's front claw came out to form a handle.
Yaz pulled the handle and revealed a hidden drawer. What was stored inside puzzled the group. It was several sets of blueprints.
"Why would someone store blueprints in a hidden drawer?" Darius asked. Kenji looked over his shoulder and then grabbed the blueprints. "Hey!"
"Chill Dino Nerd. I need to borrow this for a minute." The VIP looked at the blueprint of the Visitors Center from different angles. He traced his hand over some sections while muttering under his breath.
Bumpy asked curiously what the pictures on the paper meant. Kenji replied he knew why these blueprints were hidden. They were the true original blueprints for the park.
"On one of my VIP tours, I was shown the blueprints of the buildings on Main Street. I remember them clearly because I was trying to think of pranks, I could pull without being noticed."
He looked at each of them before pointing to the prints. "These plans show the hidden lab, secret backdoor, heck, even this drawer. The ones I saw before, didn't."
"Of course! The blueprints help determine if something can be removed or changed during renovations," Brooklynn exclaimed. A very soft trill came out of her crest. "If you want to hide something, you need to make certain no one can find it on a blueprint."
A confused Bumpy asked what all this meant. Sammy told her it meant the plans for the Menagerie were most likely here. "Using those, we can find this place and figure out how to undo this mess."
Bumpy wagged her tail along with the others. They now had hope. Hope that they can be restored to normal.