The Macmar Island Incident - Full Story

'''This article contains all of the lore produced for the Macmar Island Incident storyline, produced between December 29th 2021 - March 20th 2022. This is all for the sake of preservation, due to the storyline being a key piece of Stoneworks history. The overall story arc is not yet complete, this is only Part 1.'''

Part 1 - The Invitation
The air was warm, yet thin, as Rex stood on a hill overlooking the Ardol Formation, in blue shorts and a khaki flower shirt. His goal was simple, and he was ready. He began to steadily make his way down the hill, towards a yellow and white tent covering a skeleton. Beneath the tent was an elven woman, with long black hair and purple eyes. ''“Excuse me, have you seen someone? I’m looking for Dr Tara Sauranis.” The elven woman responded, “You’re looking at her.”'' Rex shook her hand, before sitting down on a rock. “What genus is this?” he asked.

“It’s a Venetodon.”

''“Really? That looks too large for a Venetodon, plus the skull seems too large. You can see here the eye cavity is unusually large and- “''

''“Look at the quills, John. And the teeth. See that small indent on the back edge? That’s for venom. Honestly, I thought you’d know more about an animal you discovered.”''

“Well, I didn’t come to argue, so I’ll get straight to the point,” Rex stood up and squatted down next to the skeleton, “You might have been wondering why I’ve been asking for so many bones over the past year or so, and what I’ve been doing with them.”

“Go on” Sauranis raised an eyebrow, while she continued to carefully chisel the sandstone around the skull.

''“Well, it’s hard to explain, but I’ve been doing the same with many other palaeontologists across the world. Sparwood, Nieden, Ummarnu, Eldham even. And, instead of going to every single one, one by one, to explain the same thing, why don’t I just show you? So that’s what I’m going to do. Come down to the Lhumar Docks by tomorrow, I’ll take you and the others out there, and show you what me and my friends have been up to. Think of it like a weekend off, except this weekend, you’re getting paid, and, I guarantee this, will have the experience of a lifetime. Truly one of a kind, all kitted out for the perfect holiday, spared no expense.”''

“Why, of all people, would you want me out- “

''“Rice liquor? I’m personally more of a brandy and cheese person myself, but it’s all you’ve got, and what better to do than to mull over a decision with a little bit of alcohol in your system, eh?”'' Rex stood up, walked over to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a bottle of liquor. “Ooh, strong stuff!” he wheezed, “I can smell it already!”

Part 2 - Journey To The Island
The water was calm, which was surprising for the Endless Sea, which is notorious for its choppy, high rising waves, which can sink a ship without a trace, but that didn’t seem to be happening now, at least that’s what Rex hoped. A huge storm had swept across the Endless Sea from Akan’nash the previous year, which greatly hindered progress on the island, and of all times, now was not the ideal moment for it to happen again. Rex overlooked the lukewarm sea as it stretched out across the horizon, the ripples made by the ship travelling into the distance. Beside him, a little person stood next to him, on the lower deck of the ship. He was at least a foot shorter than Rex, standing at around 5’8”, with brown hair and blue eyes. Rex looked over at them. ''“You must be… Malsiadae Kordonus, right? Filanki Death Turtle guy?”'' Mal nodded, and turned towards him.

“Pleasure to meet you, you must be the organiser of this trip?” they said, as Rex & Mal began to walk towards the bow.

''“Why yes, that’s me. Sorry for the short notice by the way, I can understand travelling halfway around the world in 2 to 3 days was a challenge, to say the least. And to be fair, if you got here earlier, you could’ve gone all the way, as it’s only a couple hours by boat on a quiet day from Syltor. Luckily, the time can be passed talking to the best in our field, aye? The best in the business, spared no expense. Have you met them yet?”''

“I believe a couple in writing, but never face to face, no.”

“Well why don’t we seize the opportunity, eh?” Rex said, seeming to burst with excitement. “Everyone, please gather at the bar deck, I say we get to know each other a little.”  The other 5 people emerged from different areas of the ship, and gathered in the foyer as Rex went behind the bar to pour some drinks. ''“Brandy & cheese, anyone? No? Just me? Ok then, now! Let’s introduce ourselves, get to know the group, we all know that fun is better with friends, or acquaintances, whatever you may consider each other after this experience. So, let’s go around the table, I’ll pour some drinks. Now… let’s see…”''

“Well, I might as well go first” Mal stood up. “My name is Malsiadae Kordonus, I am a palaeontologist from Eisenland, and I got dragged out here by the old man over there to go see his fancy zoo, as we all have.”

“My name is Joseph Bobington, Director of the RPS, and if it wasn’t for the fat cheque I wouldn’t be coming.”

''“Bobi, my friend, I assure you, this trip will be worth it, now what do you like? Beer? Champagne? Brandy? Wi-”''

“Water will be just fine, John.”

A tall, scaled man stood next. ''“I’m Raptor Amenruta. I’m standing out a lot here, due to me, well, being a lizard, and I study modern and ancient plants and animals, especially in the deserts of Najer, which are due to return to jungle in 38 million years or so. I’ll also have a water please, John.”''

Beside him, another man with dark blonde hair walked over to the table with a golden brew in hand. ''“Greetings. I’m Pablito Elquagero, I’m a Zashite descendant, so I sorta know my stuff about this region out here, as well as my fairly adequate knowledge of extinct creatures, of which I have known of since I was young. I was also the actual discoverer of dinosaur-”''

''“Not true. The RPS was founded long before your discovery, and the first ‘discovery’ of dinosaurs was made a full year before yours. I’m Tara Sauranis, by the way. What’s that?”''

“Spyral’s asleep, you see, best not to wake them” Rex whispered.

“No, I see that” Tara said, looking out at the bow, “I said WHAT’S that?”

Rex stood out at the front of the ship and grinned. “There it is.”

Part 3 - The Macmar Island Facility
“Isn’t it just gorgeous!” Rex said, laughing to himself as the palaeontologists stood agape as the ship sailed past the high-rise cliffs. “Well, he did say he spared no expense” Bobington muttered to himself as he made his way back inside. As the cliffs began to slope down towards sea level, the captain made his way down from the upper deck. “The dock’s just up ahead, so make sure you’ve all got any bags or other items you have brought with you, this boat will not be staying around for much longer.”

“Why’s that?” Pablito asked, with a look of concern.

“We’ve got routine evacuation practice today, we do it once or twice a year to make sure everyone’s prepared if one of those god damn tropical storms come back to bite us in the ass aga-”

“But there is no need to worry, we haven’t suffered a tropical storm in years, and the last one wasn’t too bad” Rex butted in, “now, everyone get ready to disembark, and prepare to embark on the journey of a lifetime!”

The group made their way off the boat, taking a look around the shiny, almost untouched beaches. “How come everything looks so… clean?” Mal asked.

“Volcanoes in the Protozash Islands have reportedly been causing hell for the wildlife here for 500 years or so” Raptor responded, crouching down to feel around in the sand.

“I’ll have you to know, they’re not the Protozash Islands,” Pablito said, correcting them, “they’re actually called the Malkkengarun, it’s a common mistake, I’d assume.” Raptor snarled, “Snobbish bastard.”

Suddenly, a distant rumbling emerged, as the group turned toward the road leading out of the dock. Rex began to grin as the tour vehicles began to emerge from the brush and drove along the road towards them. <> Spyral asked, inclining their head towards the vehicles. Rex turned towards the group, and said with a huge grin, ''“Your escorts, of course. Upgraded Fjord Model J Deluxe, cost a fortune. These are just the staff vehicles of course, pretty barebones. You’ll see the true beauties in a few hours.”'' The drivers got out and opened the doors, as the palaeontologists made their way into the autowagons. “So this is what he wanted us to see, the world’s biggest vehicle showroom, can’t wait.” Bobington muttered to himself. “This can’t be it, or else why would he fund our digs?” Mal asked from the backseat. Tara looked on at the front vehicle, as Rex, Pablito & Spyral climbed into their escort. ''“It can’t be. That’s the thing with businessmen, there’s always a catch. We’ll just have to see what it’s got to do with us.”'' The vehicle jolted forwards, as the engine turned on, and they began to move away from the dock and into the treeline.

The escorts rounded a turn and passed under a white bridge. Suddenly, the treeline ended, as they were surrounded by white buildings, with a large open lake in front of them. And then they saw it. Before them, was a large white building, bigger than they had ever seen, with 3 domes on its roof and two waterfalls at the front, beside a set of stairs. The vehicles pulled up at the entrance, with Rex stepping out and opening the doors. He then walked halfway around the stairs and shouted, ''“Welcome to the Discovery Centre! Come on, there’s a lot to show you, including behind the scenes material!”'' The group walked towards the doors as Rex swung them open, revealing the true scale of the building. Inside, a full Manothronax skeleton, hung from the roof in an attack position, rose high above them, and a full-scale café was visible behind it, as well as multiple doors to the East & West wings of the building. “What’d you build this place for?” Bobington muttered, staring in disbelief.

“Well, we built the Discovery Centre to hold around 200-300 people in the main complex, with our attractions, we do expect large turnout,” Rex responded, “now, it’s been a long journey, if you want to stop for something to eat, there’s the Café, but we do need to go via the Café to reach the Staff Only area.” Tara and Mal rushed up the stairs towards the Café, with Spyral following suit. ''“Look at all this food! And there’s a bar? Come on, I gotta pour one…”'' Tara rushed behind the bar, bringing out a large bottle of vintage wine. ''“Oh my God! You got vintage?”''

Rex grinned. “Spared no expense.”

Bobington rushed past the group, and disappeared behind a set of iron doors. Rex ran after him, shouting, “I know you might be excited, but wait for the rest of the group!” The rest of them following suit. They caught up with Bobington in the room at the end of the corridor, as he stood frozen at the door, looking into the small containment facility in front of him. He was speechless. ''“What’s the hold up? What are we looking at? Alright, ‘scuse me, coming through, what’s the-”'' Tara froze, and became breathless. Bobington murmured, ''“John? Is that what I think it is?”'' Rex nodded. Mal struggled to see over them. ''“What? What is it? What can you see?”''

Tara stood agape. “It’s, it’s a dinosaur.”

Part 4 - The Ashuratitan
The dinosaur rose its head above the fence surrounding the cage, as the group stumbled into the centre of the observing deck, still looking up in shock & awe. “I don’t believe it.” Mal walked to where the animal’s neck rose over the fence, inspecting its minute details from behind the bars. Rex quietly giggled to himself as Bobington was still frozen at the door, looking up at it. “John, what species is this?” Tara asked, as the dinosaur curled its enormous neck to graze on a palm tree. “That’s an Ashuratitan, large specimen, 30 meters long.”

''“Ashuratitan, 30 meters. How old is i-”'' Tara froze as the Ashuratitan raised its neck, and let out an ear-bursting bellow, like a foghorn. “She’s about 6 months old, similarly to most of the specimens on the island” said a tall man in his mid-20s, approaching the palaeontologists. “''We were hoping to release her into the park later this week, along with 13 others, but there have been complications with a few of them catching Type-1 Entropomorphia. It’s deadly to us because we are much smaller than they are, to them it’s like having a sore stomach. I’m Dr. Vitruvius Dil, pleasure to meet you all. Welcome back, Mr Rex. Now, if you’ll follow me to this room right here, I’ll show you where we do our work.”''

The lab was a large rectangular quartz structure, with smaller circular chambers connected to the walls. Dotted across the room were small domed glass nests, upheld on quartz pillars that ascended to eye level. Inside each of these were small clutches of eggs. ''<>'' Spyral asked. “Oh no, there’s much more than that, we have to genetically modify the juveniles first, which is a tedious process, but due to their diets, they mature very quickly, so the time taken to hatch isn’t to worry for us.” Dil looked over to Pablito, who had a look of visible concern on his face. ''“So, you’re saying that all of the animals are bred here? What stops wild breeding?”''

''“It’s actually what they eat. Their prehistoric diets have been modified to make them dependent on a supplemental bacterium, Entophomia A & B. Their basic functions as an animal depend on these bacteria, so their doses determine their ability to breed. The plants on the island are naturally rich in Entophomia B, a much stronger bacterium. Just a medium controlled dose gives the herbivores all that is needed for their basic functions, including breeding. We allow the herbivores to naturally breed, we don’t see it as a problem. It’s the carnivores which cause problems. They have a low requirement for Entophomia, and each breeding system can potentially give up to 24 offspring. So, we control their doses, & we give them Entophomia A. It’s incredibly barebones, and we give the animals just enough to do their basic functions. We also have committed to another procedure to prevent any leaks.”''

“What’s that?”

“Every carnivore on the island is a female.” Dil responded, sporting a large smirk. Pablito began to laugh. “And how do you know that?”

“It’s simple, we check for genitals after birth.” Pablito froze, blushing full red, before bursting into a fit of laughter. ''“Well, I congratulate you on the commitment. I think you’ve seen more than most would like to admit.”'' Dil began to giggle. “You’re right there.” Rex stood over the eggs, giving Dil a hard stare. Dil immediately stopped dead. ''<>'' Spyral asked, as the sound of embers cracking came from them. ''“Yes, I’d be worried if they were already here. Ooh would you look at the time, its midday, well, I hope you all have a splendid day among our beautiful animals, as your tour is now here to whisk you away!”''

“The tour?” Bobington asked.

The group made their way to the front of the building, where two vehicles could be seen through the glass windows spanning the front wall of the Discovery Centre. ''“Now, here’s the fun part. You all will be taking a tour around the attractions in the park in these here vehicles, greatly modified Fjord Model J Deluxe, truly top-class touring, spared no expense. Now, unfortunately, I will not be travelling with you, as I need to keep an eye on things here in the main complex, so I wish you all the best of luck, feel free to take notes, make notice of any issues, just remember not to violate the NDA. Happy travels!”'' Rex turned, and walked up the stairs back into the Discovery Centre. Spyral, Raptor and Pablito climbed into the first tourer, with Tara, Bobington & Mal following suit into the second tourer. Mal was immediately transfixed by the intricacies of the vehicle. ''“If they have these, and mobile transport, and boats, ships, d you think they’ll have submersibles? Or at least an underwater viewing gallery, come on!”'' Suddenly, the vehicles jolted, as they turned into ignition.

Rex barged through the door into the Main Control Room. “They’ve been through the lab, seen the eggs, heard a gruesome explanation of our procedures, and now we’re ready.” He looked over to the main technician, sat in his chair looking at the map of the island. “Will you please start the tour program?” The technician got out of his chair, and walked over to a fuse box connected to the wall. It had a large array of buttons, with a large black flat switch labelled, Start Main Tour Program. Putting as much force into it as he could, he flipped the lever, as a large buzzing sound began to emerge from the box. “It’s on, people we are go, park main tour program is up, let’s hope for the best.”

Part 5 - Code 12
The tour vehicles turned a corner, as they left the Discovery Centre behind, and disappeared into the brush. Before them was a dead straight road, and a large gate that rose far above their heads. “Are we going to hit that?!” Pablito asked, as he looked in amazement at the sheer size of the large wood gates. A large creaking sound came and went as the gates opened, and the park finally came into view, with two long, curving roads that travelled into the distant treeline. The vehicles continued past a guidepost that said: Marine Facility à, ß Main Tour. This made Mal burst with excitement. ''“Oh my God, I told you, I told you! They have a marine facility! I’m putting money on it: will it have submersibles?” Bobington chuckled to himself, “Eh, why not, I’ll put 400 against it, if you put 450 on it.”''

“Deal.” Mal said as they shook hands. Tara sat next to Bobington in the back seat, looking out of the window disgruntledly. ''“Hey Tara, what’s up with you? Don’t expect to see anything yet, we’ve just started, and there’s always the chance we’ve been scammed out of a lifetime’s deal. Wouldn’t put it past John.”'' Tara took her head off the window, and looked at the other two in the tourer. ''“It’s annoying me. Despite all this, major spectacle, Dil didn’t even explain how he makes the dinosaurs. Entophomia? What? What's up with the dinosaur? How did they get it? How is it fed? How many more are there? How fast does it run? How much does it eat? What's its metabolism like? They said "she" so confidently, how do they know what sex it is? Did it lay eggs? Did they test it by just looking at its gonads, and how on such a huge creature? How is it only six months old, when the growth rings on sauropod bones indicate that they took decades to get so such huge sizes? How do they get so big, because I’d like to know, cos we know from the fossil record they grow relatively slowly, they don’t mature for 30 to 40 years, and live for well over 100 years, so how is a 6-month-old a fully grown adult? How do our bones have anything to do with these animals being brought back from the dead? And I could tell I wasn’t the only one put off by this, Spyral was clearly getting annoyed at something. And Dil seems to be avoiding questions that might call his operation into question, saying ‘we’ll know tomorrow’. Is he going to say that tomorrow? Will we never know? Because if you do, I’d love to hear it!” Tara exhaled sharply, as she put her head back against the window.''

''“Rex! You got to come see this!” the technician shouted as he looked back to the map in serious concern, watching the tourers move towards the Macronaria'' exhibit. Rex ran through the door and down to his desk. ''“You see that? We’ve picked up a tropical storm, about 67 miles north, 14 miles west of us. Looks big too.”''

''“Send out a Code 12, just in case. We never know, it could swing south like the last couple.”''

''“I doubt it. Most of those ones were full size by the time we picked them up. This one looks like it’s still growing, so we’re going to need that Code 12.”'' The technician grabbed the radio from his desk.

'“CQ, CQ, Head Complex to All Staff. We have a Code 12, storm warning. I repeat Code 12, storm warning. As of now the storm is 47 degrees 85 minutes north, 28 degrees 67 minutes west. We suggest to round up all activities within the next hour to return to either the main complex or to leave on the boat.”'

“What about the tour?” Rex asked, showing visibly more concern.

''“Should be good, but it’s likely if it keeps going, we’re going have to turn them around. Cut the tour short, pick up tomorrow where we left off. As of now, look on the bright side, John. You get to explain more, and they can see the true strength of the park’s infrastructure, so last time won’t even be a worry. Besides, they’re entering the Macronaria paddock right now, so at least they’ll see something today.”'' Rex sighed, as the technician began to radio the boat.

The vehicles drove to the peak of a rolling hill, overlooking a flat plateau that stretched to the horizon. A large group of Ashuratitans were herding in a group around a group of 3 trees taller than they were, slowly grazing on the small nest of leaves that made up its canopy. Their bellows were now greatly amplified now they could travel in the free wind, sounding more like a whale’s mating call. “Is it possible that they communicate like whales, with one bellow being a whole sentence, paragraph, essay even?” Mal pressed their face against the window. “The research that could be carried out with these animals, it’s, it’s extraordinary.” Pablito said as he looked up through the glass roof as the Macronarian’s large neck craned over them as they passed under one of the trees that bent over the track. Bobington smirked. “They’re going to make an absolute fortune with this place.” Mal looked into the treeline, as they suddenly watched an Ashuratitan acting manically, before collapsing behind the treeline. Mal sat in shock, before suddenly jumping out of the tourer. The rest of the group quickly began to jump out behind them, as they ran past the rest of the herd, chasing after Mal as they disappeared into the trees.

''“Stop the tour program. Stop it right now.”'' Rex ordered as the tourers flashed red on the map, as the occupants opened the doors of the vehicles and abandoned them. The technician swung open the fuse box, before pressing a green button that was labelled ‘Neutralise’. The vehicles stopped dead in their tracks.

Mal pushed their way through the trees, as the group struggled to keep up. I have to know what happened to that dinosaur they thought as they emerged in a clearing, where they stood in shock. Before them was a full scale Ashuratitan, laid out on the ground, completely unconscious, with its neck winding towards Mal’s feet. Beside the animal, a man stood beside the animal, checking its stomach area. He was average height, only a bit taller than Mal, with a large outback hat, snapped up on one side. He had brown hair and green eyes, wearing khaki shorts and overcoat, with a white shirt underneath. In his hand he held a large musket, modified with an end-of-barrel scope and a grey colour scheme, with a retractable stock. “What happened to it?” Mal asked. The man grabbed the gun and aimed it at them, as the group came into the clearing. He breathed a sudden sigh of relief and lowered his gun. ''“I’m sorry, you caught me by surprise. I just tranquilised her, gave her a small dose of the venom of Venetodon Parvus, it knocks the big ones unconscious with no side effects. I’m Alek Viskkos, the Warden here at the park. By the way, who are you?”''

“Malsiadae Kordonus, but you can call me Mal.”

''“Oh, you’re the tour people? Well then what the hell are you doing out here? Aren’t you supposed to be in the tour vehicles? How did you even know I was here anyway?”''

“We saw the Ashura collapse from the vehicles, I came to have a look.”

“Well you’re not the only one” Viskkos laughed as Mal turned around to see the rest of the group standing around them, also inspecting the animal laid before them.

“This specimen is so much bigger than the one in the Discovery Centre, how big is it?” Tara asked as she walked past Viskkos towards the tail. “Measurements put the adults in at around 45 metres,” he responded, “I don’t think they’re supposed to be this big, must be part of the areas Dil edited.”

“Edited?” Tara said, raising an eyebrow.

“In order to make them dependent on Entophomia, Dil edits the genetic code of the species, which means he can change growth speed, growth size, speed, even create abnormalities, which is what he’s done here with the Ashuras.”

“In what way?” Tara responded, now even more intrigued as she walked up to Viskkos, who was rubbing the abdomen of the unconscious dinosaur. ''“Due to their much larger size, the immune system, which is used to a 30-metre animal, now finds it much harder now the adults are 1 and a half times bigger. This means that these dinosaurs find it very easy to contract diseases it can’t fight quick enough. This change in size also means any kind of vaccination or immunisation won’t work, which means we’re now stuck having to medicate these massive animals which are now going insane due to a new disease they contracted. Also, I wouldn’t recommend touching the animal without gloves!”'' he said, shouting to the rest of the group. “Can I grab some gloves?”  Mal asked, “I need to inspect it’s mouth and eyes.” Viskkos nodded. ''“Hold on. Has their water been checked for Termincrawlers yet?”''

“No, we don’t believe we have, it comes straight from the ocean, and we have a Hydro Pump there, but otherwise that no, it’s not.” Mal began to tut to themselves as they saw the eyes were dilated. “I think this Ashura is the host of a Termincrawler or two, it needs treatment now, and again for the next few days.” Viskkos looked over at Mal as they stood over the dinosaur’s head. ''“Hey, why haven’t you signed for a job at Gen II yet? We need some palaeodoctors here at the park, we could use your help. You’d wouldn’t be surprised to find out Rex pays his staff well.”'' Mal looked back at Viskkos as he began to grab some medical equipment out of the back of his Fjord staff vehicle. ''< > '' Spyral said to Mal. Suddenly, Viskkos’ radio started to whir. 'CQ, CQ, Head Complex to Warden. I believe the guests are near your location. Will you please tell them to return to the vehicles so we can restart the tour? We do not currently know if the Code 12 will be raised, and John is getting rather angry down here. We need those people back in those vehicles now. Over & out.' Viskkos grunted as he stood up. ''“People, I have just been contacted by HQ to remind you all to return to your vehicles. Except you, Kordonus. I need you to help out with this sick animal. We’ll meet up back at the Discovery Centre tonight, I’m sure you won’t miss out on much. The storm’s probably going to cut the tour short anyway.”'' Mal walked over to Viskkos, and began to help him start up the medical equipment while the rest walked back into the trees and towards the vehicles. Raptor was extremely confused. ''“Hey, did he say storm? We weren’t told anything about a storm.”''

''“I guess that’s why the sky is getting grey, plus it’s natural out here. I heard stories from my mother that this area was almost perpetually stuck in a storm, so this doesn’t surprise me. It should be fine though, if the tough guy with the gun isn’t worried, neither should we be.”'' Pablito responded, looking up at the sky as thunder could be heard in the distance.

Part 6 - Code 19
The rain came down hard as the storm swept over the island. The dock was overtaken by the waves as they dragged the sand from the pristine beaches back into the ocean. Back in the Main Complex, Rex sat on the stairs, staring at the map while the main technician sat at his desk and smoked some cannabis. ''“I turned the tourers around 16 minutes ago John, give it another 15 minutes or so for them to get back. They are designed to go slow, both to save fuel and to give them ample time to see our animals.”'' The technician was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the main foyer, as Viskkos and Mal returned to the Discovery Centre, walking into the office, as Rex stood up and walked towards the map, as he watched the tourers slowly move along the track back towards the complex. “It’s an absolute nightmare out there, I think we’ve been through the worst of it, and everything seems to be holding up here.” Viskkos said, trying to spur some energy back into the others. Rex turned to Viskkos, with a significant amount of worry on his face. ''“It’s not here I’m worried about, it’s out there, in the park. The moment a fence is broken there the entire island is in danger, and god help us if it damages the raptor pen-”''

“Wait,” Mal looked at John confusedly, “what raptors?”

''“Aeroraptors. About 2 to 3 metres tall, 5 metres long. Parvopoda. They’re viscous killers, large, scaly, with eyes that give it the ability to see in the dark. They hunt in packs too, and huge packs at that. Due to analysing the fossil record, we assumed that they hunted of groups of 14 to 25. It’s overkill, but it gets the job done. They’re smart too. Extremely smart. Potentially smarter than elven, humans, the whole lot. I give the best hunter in the world a million dollars if they could take out a whole pack of them.”'' Viskkos explained, as Mal began to shiver. “And then there’s the Andisaurus,” the technician said, puffing a small ring of smoke, ''“but we haven’t seen it in over 6 months. We know it’s alive, because its food gets eaten, and we feed it a lot. So either we’ve got a self-conscious main attraction or it’s dead and there are enough scavengers in there to eat 60 pounds of meat 3 times a day.”'' Rex scoffed. ''“Even if we do suffer problems, we shouldn’t worry about either of them. The Aeroraptors are protected from us by some of the best security the world has ever seen, not to mention the Andisaurus is probably asleep!”'' The lights flickered. "Hey what'd I touch?" the warden grumbled. "You didn't touch anything. What the-" the technician fumbled over his words as the map flashed red as the lights began to dim. "What is it?" Rex asked, now with deep concern. ''"We're losing power to the entire park." "Even the fences?"'' Rex asked.

The tour vehicles jolted to a halt. ''“Hey, what’s going on? Was it something I did?”'' Bobington asked. Tara picked up the radio. ''“Hello? Is this the right frequency? Hello? No response, the power must be out. We just got to wait for it to come back on, give it a few minutes. I’ll go tell the others.”'' In the pouring rain, Tara got out of the vehicle and walked to the other tourer in front of her. Inside, Spyral, Pablito and Raptor were all trying to use the radio, before Pablito rolled down the window. ''“What’s going on? We can’t radio your vehicle or the main complex, is the power off or something?”'' Tara nodded. ''“Damn. Do you know where we are?”'' Tara shook her head. ''< > '' Spyral said, pointing towards where the vehicles were facing. Tara returned to the second vehicle, where Bobington was fishing around in the back seat. ''“Come on, that can’t be the only radio. Surely they have an emergency radio, right? For these kinds of situations, right?”'' Tara shrugged. “Guess that’s another issue we’ll have to take up with John when we get back.” The two were interrupted by a large screeching sound, as the two turned to see the fence now suddenly hanging limp in the stormy wind. The noises continued as the fence swayed in the wind, with the sound resembling the distressed Ashuratitan from hours earlier, with the high-pitched sounds of metal wire being stretched and swayed ringing in the ears of the tour group. The ground beneath them began to tremor, as the sound of stomping was heard in the distance. Looking to their right, the group froze as a large brown thing moved through the trees, before the animal raised its head above the canopy, and turned towards the vehicles.

Slowly, the Andisaurus moved out of the treeline, revealing its huge body. A dark orange and brown mix made up its skin colour, with large teeth shaped like that of a shark. Its head was large and stumpy, but the thing that stood out the most was the under-skin body armour that adorned its torso and on the top of the head. The tail was long and thick, with what looked like a large thick bone towards the end of its tail for defence. For a few moments, the animal just seemed to stand there, looking over them, as if it was waiting for one of the members of the tour group to make a move. Raptor was trembling, as the animal began to look from vehicle to vehicle. Pablito grabbed the black box from the back seat, and slowly began to open it under the seat. Raptor noticed, and immediately grabbed Pablito by the arm. ''“What in God’s name are you doing? It’s staring right at us, do not move a god damn muscle.”'' Pablito wrenched his arm free, and loudly began to rummage through the box, finding a lantern alongside 3 red sticks with caps on the top. “Are those flares?”

“I don’t care, stop rummaging around, hey-”

“I know what I’m doing-”

''“No you don’t! Stop moving or it’s going to see us and we’re going to die!”''

''“We’ll be fine, I just need to- stop grabbing my arm! I’m getting the flare- stop!”''

Tara and Bobington watched from their vehicle as Pablito and Raptor continued to argue, as the Andisaurus slowly walked towards the first vehicle. “Don’t move, stop moving, it can’t see you if you don’t move” Bobington murmured to himself over and over again. ''“How do we know that? It looked like it saw us.” Tara scrubbed away at the window as it fogged up, watching as the Andisaurus'' peered in through the window of the first tour vehicle.

The trio froze as they looked deep into the yellow eyes of the Andisaurus, now on full view in front of them, its head covering the window as it looked straight back at them, and deep into their souls. The beast’s slow breathing spread condensation over the windscreen in front of them, as it continued to look dead at them. It raised its head as it looked down on them through the glass roof. Suddenly, the vehicle began to rock, as the Andisaurus pushed against the side of the vehicle. Raptor and Pablito began to scream, as the dinosaur reversed, before slamming its head into the side of the tour vehicle, sending Spyral tumbling out of the unlocked door. They crawled under the vehicle as the Andisaurus reversed again, before slamming the side of its head against the tour vehicle, flipping it on its side, using its front arms to push the vehicle fully upside down. Spyral got up and began to run towards the second vehicle. The Andisaurus turned around and began to give chase, bashing its leg against the door of the second vehicle as it chased Spyral past the vehicles and down the road. Spyral continued to run, before suddenly being swept off their feet, as the Andisaurus held them in its jaws. Suddenly, it wretched, fell back and spat Spyral onto the ground as it recovered from the quick burning of its mouth and gums. The Andisaurus turned around and headed back towards into the trees, giving off a low-pitched ear-splitting roar, as Spyral collapsed in a heap on the side of the tour road, as the slow hissing of the rain against the embers echoing in their ears.

Bobington busted open the heavily dented door as he ran towards the first vehicle, which was now flipped upside down next to the fence. He got down on his hands and knees as he looked underneath the car, where Raptor lay screaming for help, and Pablito lying unconscious between the seats. “Tara, give me a hand over here, we need to get them out!” Tara ran over to the first vehicle, as Bobington was calming Raptor. “Hey, it’s bad, I know, but it’s gone now, we can get you out of here, just give me your hand.”

''“Where’s Spyral? Where did they go? They were in here with us!”'' Raptor continued to wail.

''“Spyral is… they are… we don’t know, okay? Last time we saw them was a few minutes ago, all we know is that they are alive, but we aren’t going to be if we don’t get you out of here!”''

“Give us your hand, Raptor!” Tara commanded, as Raptor outstretched his hands and grabbed Bobington and Tara’s arms. The mud and wet sand beneath his body squelched and sank below Raptor Amenruta as he was slowly pulled out. ''“Alright, Raptor, go sit under that shrub and do not move, we’ll be with you in a few moments, we’ve just got to get Pablito out, and our job has been made 3 times harder because he’s out. Cold.”'' Bobington gave Raptor a push as he ran towards the shrub, before looking back under the vehicle to see that Pablito’s arm was stuck underneath one of the seats. “We have to dislodge the sand under his arm to free it, do you think you could get in there?” Tara nodded as she slowly began to crawl her way under the vehicle, and started digging out the wet sand from under Pablito’s arm. Tara began to feel tremors as the sand quickly began to disappear from under Pablito’s arm, but realised that the tourer was slowly sinking. Bobington soon felt the tremors, and knew exactly what was coming. ''“Get under the vehicle, now! It’s coming back!” “The vehicle’s sinking, we’re going to drown!”''

“Death by drowning is a lot lower chance right now than being in the jaws of that thing!” Bobington pushed Tara into the front seat area, while he climbed underneath the backseat with the still-unconscious Pablito. He signed at Raptor to not move as the Andisaurus re-emerged into the clearing. It walked over to the first vehicle, as it began to sniff at them, before giving another ear-splitting roar. Suddenly, the dinosaur grabbed the vehicle in its jaws, as it began to flip it back upright. “Hang on to something and do not move a muscle!” Bobington shouted as he used his body as a human net to stop Pablito from falling out of the vehicle. The pair watched in terror as the Andisaurus flipped the tour vehicle right side up in its jaws, before lifting it up and shaking it, slamming the back of the tourer into the ground and finally dropping it, before picking it up by the front as it used the pure power of the neck muscles to throw the vehicle. Bobington screamed as they flung through the air, before hitting his head on the seat, and everything went black.

Bobington awoke to the sound of banging, as Tara was trying to kick the door of the tour vehicle open. As Bobington slowly woke up, he realised what situation he was in. Pablito was awake next to him, looking down through the windscreen. Then he realised. ''We’re vertical. We’re hanging. How?'' He thought to himself as he looked around him. “You awake, sleepyhead?” Tara said, ''“I won’t lie, we’re lucky we’re not dead. The impact actually woke seat hogger over here, who would’ve been a dead man if you didn’t use your body as a shield. But I can see it did a number on you, for sure.”'' Bobington began to stand on the seats, before falling back down in a lump on the back of the backseat. “Don’t try to help, you’re concussed, but we are going to need to get you all out of here somehow.” Bobington felt his face, his beard, as he realised that he had been bleeding from the head. His back was in extreme pain, and his head was banging, his ears full of radio static. He was quickly brought back into the world by a sudden crack, and a slow creak followed by a bang, as the vehicle jolted down towards the ground. “Why are we moving?” Bobington asked. “It’s because we are hanging by the back wheels onto the fence, but due to our weight, the wires are slowly giving way, and we’ve got about 6 to 7 wires before we descend into that valley over there, crack our heads open and die” Pablito explained, ''“so long story short, we need to get out of this, we already know Raptor is trying to climb into the paddock right now, and Spyral is nowhere to be found. So, give us a hand, will you?” The vehicle jolted, creaked and descended again.'' Bobington began to kick at the door, and to his surprise, his fell open like nothing. The vehicle descended again. “Go, go, go!” Tara shouted as Bobington grabbed one of the hanging wires from the fence as the tourer descended again, and began to creak as the wheels began to roll off the fence. Pablito followed Bobington, and jumped to the wire, followed by Tara, just as the tour vehicle rolled off the fence wire and descended into the valley, smashing and turning into what resembled a pile of rusted metal at the bottom of the valley. Upon climbing back up to the fence, they were greeted by Raptor’s outstretched hand. ''“Take my hand, Bobington. I took yours, it’s only fair.”'' Bobington took his hand as Raptor pulled him up and over the concrete barrier that the fence was planted in. He helped the other two over the concrete barrier. “Don’t worry, we’re safe now.” Bobington said, exhaling sharply. ''“Not yet. We need to get to the Discovery Centre, and if they don’t know where we are, and with that thing on the loose, we can’t stick around. We need to make our own way back.”'' Tara looked at the four, as they nodded in agreeance. “Besides,” Pablito said, “at least we’ll get to see things John couldn’t show us, and we can walk with dinosaurs, quite literally.” The group laughed as they walked north, towards the Ceratopsian Centre.

Part 7 - Walking With Dinosaurs
''“It’s been 30 minutes, nothing. I’ve had enough,”'' John walked from the map towards the back of the room, where Viskkos was leaning against a railing looking at John like he was crazy. “Alek, take a staff vehicle, go to the Andisaurus paddock, and bring back my guests please.” Viskkos nodded as he walked out of the room. “I’m going with him.” Mal said as they followed Viskkos out of the room and outside the Discovery Centre, where the Fjord was still parked from when they had arrived an hour earlier. They drove down the tour road and through the open main gate as the rain began to subside. The air was cold and still, making the slightest of breeze or the smallest noise sound so much louder and more imposing than they actually are. The fog obstructed any sight beyond 10 metres away, as the condensation hung in the air as the storm passed over the empty park, the only light provided by the headlights of the staff vehicle as it raced towards the Andisaurus paddock.

The Fjord rounded a turn and stopped dead in its tracks. Before it was the second tour vehicle, the door still wide open from when Bobington busted it open to help the other people. Viskkos opened a box in the back of the vehicle, and pulled out two torches, which he promptly lit and gave one to Mal as they began to search, as the creaking of the fence echoed in their ears. ''“Dr Bobington! Raptor Amenruta! Pablito Elquagero! Let me hear from you!”'' Viskkos shouted as he ran over towards the dent in the ground. ''“Tara! Spyral! Anyone?”'' Mal shouted as they ran in the opposite direction, towards the Viewing Canopy. Suddenly, Mal noticed someone, slumped over in a heap. Seeing the cloaks and hearing the slow sizzling coming from them, Mal immediately knew it was Spyral laying on one side on the ground. “Spyral!” Mal screamed at the top of their lungs, as they slumped over the body. Spyral awoke in an instant, as Mal jumped back in shock. Spyral looked unharmed. ''<>''

''“Shit, I don’t know. We can’t find them, and one of the vehicles are missing.”''

<>

''“The front one, I believe. Why?”''

''<>'' Spyral stood up and walked towards the Fjord, as they beckoned Viskkos to return to the vehicle. Suddenly, Viskkos looked over the side of the concrete barrier and shouted, ''“The other tour vehicle! I found it! Come look, down at the bottom of that valley right there, the others might still be nearby!”'' Mal abandoned Spyral and the vehicle as they ran towards Viskkos, who had climbed over the concrete barrier further away from the drop and made his way down towards the wreck.

The tour vehicle was resting against a hill, the engine cover bent in from the impacts and the bite from the Andisaur itself. The windscreen was surprisingly not broken, but every other part of the vehicle was. The back was especially bad, the boot of the vehicle had been completely crushed into the back seating area, the wheels turned outwards, with all the door windows completely smashed. The vehicle was covered from front to back in moss and leaves, with a stick forcibly shoved through the windscreen. The headlight protector on the front of the vehicle was bent and distorted from impact with the tree in front of the tourer, with the headlights themselves destroyed just as badly. Viskkos looked in, using his torch to light up the inside of the vehicle. He could see the back of the seats were covered in muddy footprints, indicating an escape before the vehicle ended up in its current state. Mal approached the vehicle, staring in shock at the condition of what was left of it.

''“Oh my god. I could have been in that-”''

''“That doesn’t matter now. From what I can gather, the rest are alive, and they won’t be far, especially if one or more of them are injured. They would, at the most, be leaving the paddock by now, it’s only been 15 to 20 minutes or so since this could have happened-”''

Viskkos was interrupted by his private radio whirring. “Viskkos on response, come in?”

'“Get out of there now. I repeat, if you are inside or near the Andisaurus paddock, get out of there now. It’s in there with you.”'

“But it wouldn’t be a problem unless-” Viskkos stopped Mal, as he listened to the rustling of the trees near them. “The Andisaurus is fucking nocturnal.” The rustling became cracking and rapid stomping. ''“We need to go, now! Move, move, move!”'' The trees behind the destroyed tourer burst into two as the Andisaurus emerged, as the pair ran back towards the staff vehicle. The beast gave chase up the valley. Spyral was now waving as hard as they could with the torch, as the pair jumped back into the staff vehicle, Viskkos slamming on the accelerator as they pulled away, at the same moment the Andisaurus slammed through the fence into the clearing beside the road, giving an ear-splitting screech as it watched the vehicle disappear around another bend, as they travelled back to the Discovery Centre.

Deep in the valleys of Macmar Island, the rest of the tour group looked back as they heard the screech as it echoed across the island. The group passed by a long line of fencing a few minutes earlier, and now emerged into a clearing, where the night sky rained down glimmers of light onto the large herd of different herbivores that lay plain before them. The grunts of a large group of Petavrosaurus attracted their attention, their large plated overcoats grinding and bumping against each other as they grazed in peace. On the other side of the clearing, a group of Thesceloceratops clashed heads in displays of dominance. It seemed like each individual group received its own spotlight from the stars. The group stood at the edge of the clearing and took a sharp exhale of relief. From what they had just experienced, it was like they had just emerged into a completely different park; this place was more tranquil than they would have ever expected. The 4 of them climbed a large tree to their left, which took them to a bird’s eye view of the entire clearing, where Bobington promptly slumped over and fell asleep. Pablito sat next to Tara and Raptor. ''“I told you we’d see more. Look at this. And think about it. This is John’s dream, not that Andisaur, not the rampant issues, not the lawyers, not any of that kind of thing. This is what he envisions his accomplishment as. If he didn’t have the hassle of the company and the park holding him back, I think he’d spend every day in this tree, watching the herd, like a godly shepherd.”''

“It’s sad really,” Raptor added, ''“that we will be the only people to see this. There’s no way John will keep this place open, not after this. We are, whether we like it or not, the luckiest people on this planet right now. We are one of few who have seen this, this spectacle of civilisation’s achievements. We’ve come a long way from our cities back home, and this symbolises that, it embodies that.”'' Tara sighed as the distant bellows of Cerotopsids soothed her into a sense of calm. ''“Welcome to Macmar Island, land of dreams and nightmares. There’s plenty to see, near death and near heaven. And mankind’s ability to play God warping the minds of those who have that power. This is the Dinosaur Island.”'' Tara looked around to see all of the group asleep, slumped against each other like sloths. Tara closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

Part 8 - The Takeover
The argument was interrupted by the sound of glass shattering. Viskkos immediately grabbed the musket beside him as the group turned towards the sound. “That was the lab, either the lab or the kitchen.” Mal said as they walked outside into the main lobby of the Discovery Centre. There was no sign of any further noise, it could have just been Dil trying to preserve the dinosaurs still processing in the lab. Spyral and Viskkos followed Mal outside. Viskkos turned to the others. ''“Be extremely quiet. Don’t make any sudden movements.”''

“Why?” Mal whispered in confusion.

''“Because they’re here. Watching us. Everywhere. Just as expected.”''

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we’re being hunted.” Spyral started to look around them, as did the others.

''“What? The raptors?”''

''“I don’t know what it is, but if that’s true, it’s going to take more than prayers to save you. Once you give them the opportunity, they won’t stop hunting you until your corpse lies bloody on the floor.”''

Mal wretched as they slowly made their way up the left side staircase towards the café. Spyral followed behind, the steady crinkling of their embers making Mal more and more anxious, fearing they’d be heard. The café was particularly quiet and eerie, as Mal tiptoed towards the door that led to the lab. With the power off, the loud automatic door could be easily slid open with minimal noise. Mal opened the door slightly, then squeezed through into the staff only area. In front of them, they could year the sound of clicking coming from the lab, and the occasional squeak. Entering the lab, they walked past the holding chamber from earlier, this time with no animal inside, only the slight sound of the broken fence creaking in the wind. Spyral looked through the bars into the trees inside the pen, as a light hissing sound echoed from the brush. Spyral then looked to their left, and locked eyes with an Aeroraptor.

The raptor lurched forward, hitting the fence and beginning to climb as Mal pulled Spyral towards the incubation chamber. The raptor climbed over the fence and ran towards the door, with the pair blocking it as the raptor rammed the steel door. Mal breathed a sigh of relief, before turning around and screaming at the top of their lungs. There on the floor lay Dr. Vitruvius Dil, his intestines strewn out across the floor, blood curdling in a small puddle in the middle of the room. The incubation chambers around him were covered in blood and shattered glass. Part of his face was missing, as well as one of his eyes, his lab coat soaked in the familiar shade of red. <> Spyral bent down and inspected the blood. ''<>'' Whilst Spyral investigated the body, Mal tried to find where all the noises were coming from. “Hold on,” Mal turned to Spyral, who looked over at the broken windows above them, ''“remember what Viskkos said. We’re being hunted.”'' Mal looked over at the window again, then back to the door they came through, then the door to another room. Mal froze. ''“Spyral. Don’t move. I repeat, don’t move.”'' Spyral froze as the raptor peered in through the door window.

Suddenly, the glass beside Mal shattered as the raptors poured into the room, knocking over and destroying the incubation equipment as they crashed into the other side of the room. One of the raptors pinned Mal down as they Dil’s loose arm and used it to hold off the raptor. The first raptor finally busted through the door into the lab and started feasting on Dil’s corpse, ripping off large chunks of skin from his face. The raptors began quarrelling over who got the carcass, biting at each other and allowing Spyral to back into a corner and began to whisper to themselves, moving their hands in a very strange way. A large burst of light enveloped the room, as a bright beam emerged from Spyral’s hands, causing the raptors to catch fire. The raptor that pinned Mal down immediately jumped off and curled up in a corner, leaving Mal in shock as Spyral dragged them through the broken window and along towards the café. Turning a corner and slamming open the staff only doors, Spyral turned to see the raptor standing in the doorway. In an act of quick thinking, Spyral grabbed a kitchen knife and slashed at its eye, causing blood to spill all over them as Mal got up and ran towards the door. Spyral followed suit as the raptor screeched in pain and agony, being pushed aside as the other charred raptors flooded through the doors towards the group.

Running down the stairs, Mal started to scream. ''“Go! Go! Fucking go, they’re here, just fucking move, go, go, go!”'' The rest of them saw the raptors on the balcony overlooking the main lobby and began to sprint towards the staff vehicle parked outside. Viskkos retreated behind everyone else, shooting at the raptors as he went. Then, out of nowhere, the scarred raptor body slammed him, as Mal watched him screaming in pain, gripping on to the wall as the raptors tried to pull him away. ''“Get going, Mal! Get out of here! Get out while you still-”'' He was cut off by his own scream as he was pulled away, screaming until the blood poured across the floor. Mal was in shock, standing there as the raptors jumped behind the wall and the violent sound of muscle being ripped off the body. Rex pulled them away and into the vehicle as they began to burst into tears and scream.

Part 9 - The Lodge
The sun beat down on the plains deep in Macmar Island, as Tara, Raptor, Pablito and Bobington rose over a hill. Before them was a flat plain next to a ravine, with a fence running along the cliff edge, with a small gap in the middle, from which a path followed the ravine down to a building built into the cliffside. Pablito looked on in awe. ''“Guess I was right, eh? Look, it’s not all rainstorms and death. This place has safari hotels, for crying out loud! Come on, at least stop off and grab some supplies”'' Tara nodded. ''“I agree. We get some supplies. Lanterns, guns, the whole lot. Anything you see important and you’re willing to carry, carry it. We’ll need anything we can get.”''

“Do we even have a plan for how to get off this rock?” Raptor asked, looking out to sea.

''“We know the power went out, so that seems to be the key problem. If my knowledge is correct, then all we need to do is make our way back to the main complex, turn on the power, call for a boat, get the others and wait for the boat to arrive.”''

''“Rex told me when I got here that the boat usually takes about an hour to get here on an emergency call and a good day, so we shouldn’t have to wait that long. Not to mention if they have a shred of common sense, they would be in the emergency bunker by now. Now we’re actually talking about it, getting out of here is much easier than I thought.”'' Bobington said in agreeance.

''“The raptors surely won’t help. If they were correct about the operating system and Viskkos was correct about the raptor’s capabilities, then their paddock’s power would’ve gone off with the others and they would’ve already raided the main complex, which makes our job just a bit harder.”'' Pablito said, walking back across the bridge over the ravine carrying a pack full of small food supplications. As Tara grabbed the large metal gun from the cabinet in the staff room, she noticed Bobington rummaging through a large metal box embedded in the wall behind the counter. She cocked the gun as he jumped and let out a squeaky yelp. “What are you doing with the safe, Bobington?” Tara said, looking to see it had been emptied. ''“Why do you need the cash? You know it’s going to be a significant weight on you with all those coins, besides, it’s Aurlunoren Lûn, it’s virtually worthless in Novatress, isn’t it?”'' Bobington exhaled and slammed the safe shut, leaving the coin bag on the floor. Tara quickly scooped up the bag before following Bobington out onto the bridge and across the ravine. Behind them, they could hear the distant grunts of ceratopsians grunting from across the ravine and the bellows of far away ornithischians calling for their herd. The road ahead cut straight through a clearing beside a river that seemed to splash all by itself. Looking closer at the river, Pablito saw that the river was absolutely full of small Parvusaurs, their small green bodies barely visible among the small waves of water they were creating. Their small chirps sounded akin to that of a small bird like a Pygmy fowl, their heads bobbing forwards before the rest of their body like a fowl too. The group reached a large gate surrounded by woodland, with a sign that read Main Complex.

Part 10 - Restoring Power
John pulled a map over the table of the main complex, as Spyral closed the door of the emergency bunker and made their way down the stairs into the main room. The technician grabbed 2 emergency radios and a gun from the shelf beside the table. ''“Alright, I think the power can be manually restored by reactivating the geothermal pump and restarting the circuit breakers one by one, I can drive over there and power on all over the park in 10, 20 minutes. I’ll radio you once the circuit breakers are reactivated, then you should be able to make your way down to the dock and call for help. The boat should already be a few hours out, but if we call for help now, we can get it here within 40 minutes.”''

“What about the others?” Mal asked.

''“If they have any common sense, they’ll be following the road back to the main complex, unless they’re already dead. They should be here shortly, and if not, we can enact a last-minute search for them, and if we find nothing, we send in a rescue team in a few days’ time once we’re out of here.”'' Mal shuddered at the sound of his cold attitude as he cocked the gun, connected the radio and headed out of the bunker, slamming the door shut behind him.

The group of survivors approached the main gate and admired the true scale of the damage it had sustained. Huge scratch marks and gashes lined the wooden doors all up the 84 feet of the structure. Raptor Amenruta walked up to the fuse box on the side of the gate and flicked every switch. Nothing happened. ''“Guess the power’s still off. Now how are we going to get in?”'' Bobington walked up to the perimeter fence connected to the gate and began striking it with the stock of the gun until the wires snapped, as he began to pry open a large gap. He turned to the others, ''“These wires are cheap. Only 2mm thin I think”'' he said looking at the snapped wire. “Spared no expense.” Pablito said as he walked over to help Bobington pry open the fence. Once through the gap, Tara looked down the road and saw a large concrete structure in the brush up ahead. “I think that’s the maintenance building.” she said as the others followed here down the dirt road.

''<< It has been 20 minutes, John, with no response from your technician. I’m going to go find out what happened, and you can’t stop me. I’m taking the Fjord as well.>>'' Rex looked on as the door slammed shut for a second time. Spyral followed the service road around the lake, looking out towards the shattered grandeur of the Discovery Centre. They took a corner and found themselves driving back along the tour road away from the Main Complex into a dense jungle east of the Discovery Centre. Soon, a concrete structure protruding from the ground came into view, and Spyral pulled the Fjord over to inspect it. The structure was surrounded by a mesh fence and the door was locked, yet was clearly labelled ‘Maintenance Building’. Seeing no other way in, Spyral drove to the edge of the road, before putting the Fjord in reverse and driving it straight through the wall of the shed, busting open the door to the building and was now able to go inside. Descending into the structure was like walking into a dark cave filled with metal piping that made up the large geothermal pump that operated the park’s systems. The catwalk over the machinery creaked with every step, as Spyral continued to descend down the stairs towards the main catwalk. Suddenly, there was the sound of whispering, creaking and the sound of walking. Spyral walked to the junction at the bottom of the stairs and lit a lantern, looking around them. ''<>'' A familiar voice responded from the dark. “You know, if you looked to your right, you’d see the circuit breakers, and I think that’s what you’re here for.” It was Pablito, the first person Spyral had properly met from the tour group. He was alive, were the others alive too? <> Spyral began to walk towards Pablito’s voice, until they saw all 4 missing members of the tour group appear from the shadows, as Spyral felt a sense of relief, before quickly running back towards the circuit breakers, before stopping dead in their tracks. The radio was lying on the floor, nothing else around. The technician must have been here, but where is he? The radio crackled as the familiar sound of Rex’s voice could be heard shouting through the radio. Amenruta picked up the radio. “Remind me to never trust you with my life ever again, John.” Everybody could hear Rex reacting ecstatically as Mal spoke through the radio, “Is everybody alive?

“Yes, everyone’s alive, but the technician is nowhere to be seen.”

''“Damn, he must have gone back to the Discovery Centre or just straight up abandoned us. Are all the circuit breakers reactivated?”''

“I don’t know what you mean by that, but they’re all red if that helps.”

Rex retook the radio. ''“Okay, you’ll need to check if the light beside the circuit breakers on the grey panel is orange. If it is, that means that the pump has been reactivated, and we can proceed.”'' Amenruta looked over and saw the light was orange and blood was left on the charging pump. ''“Affirmative, the light is orange, and there’s blood on the pump. I don’t think the technician made it.”''

“Okay, you’ll need to push the individual pumps upwards until the boxes beside them are all green, you may need a hand with this.” The group began pushing the pumps as the circuit breakers lit up green. “Okay John, all done, now what?”

''“That’s it, you’re done, now get out of there. Get back to the Control Room, call for the boat, and meet us outside the Discovery Centre.”''

''“Got it. Over and out.”'' Amenruta turned to the others. “Where is the vehicle?”

<>

“Okay people let’s move out!” Tara shouted as they turned around to see an Aeroraptor standing at the end of the catwalk, snarling.

Part 11 - Finale
It all happened so quickly. The raptor ran towards the group at incredible speed, pounced at Amenruta before a sudden bang rang in his ears as the fell to the ground, covered in blood from head to toe. He opened his eyes as Tara stood over him, a smoking gun in her hands, as Bobington tried to wipe the raptor’s brains off his face, before helping him to his feet as they collectively ran up the stairs outside, where Spyral was waiting for them in the Fjord. Bobington climbed in the driver’s seat and slammed on the accelerator as the vehicle leapt forwards and sped down the road, back towards the Discovery Centre.

Rex & Mal waited impatiently in the bunker for the sound of radio static. Rex stood up and said, ''“Hold on, we need to think about this. Why are we waiting here? More importantly, why am I waiting here? I’m the only one who knows how to operate the main system. I should be out there, we should be out there, helping them, and the raptors-”''

“Rex.” Mal said, looking at the ground, ''“They’ll be fine, the raptors would’ve left the building by now. If anything, I’d be worried about the Andisaur coming back. I know that you feel you need to save this John, but there’s no saving this. What’s done is done, this place has reminded us all of the issues of man playing God, simply put. We aren’t going back there until we get the signal. Follow the plan, don’t go rogue, and everyone still here will make it out alive. Got it?”'' Rex slammed his fist against the table, before sitting down, clenching the radio in his hand.

The staff vehicle came to a screeching halt outside the Discovery Centre. Spyral was the first to run in through the side door, as the rest followed them through the narrow hallways of the guest rooms. They ran past a conference room where the Gen II logo was on the board, slightly faded, before running through a safe door into the Control Room. Before them was a complex string of systems all joined together with wires. “Oh shit, now what?” Amenruta shouted. “Well, where there’s a will there’s a way.” Pablito said, slamming every button he could see as the Control Room lit up with all sorts of images. The map lit up as it showed the location of the boat as around 40 minutes away. Tara ran over to the technician’s desk where a radio & broadcast system lay. Tara looked through a series of notes on the technician’s desk until a sheet came up with a set of numbers:

Radio Frequencies

Channel 1 (Veterinarian) – 48-956-473

Channel 2 (Construction) – 37-468-032

Channel 3 (Mainland contacts) – 04-353-673

Channel 4 (Intercom – Discovery Centre) – 09-036-849

Channel 5 (Intercom – Park Tour) – 09-074-952

Channel 6 (Intercom – Private Sector) – 09-142-672

Channel 7 (Intercom – Site B Contacts) – 14-874-152

Tara connected the radio to Channel 3 as the static evolved into the sound of a man talking on the other end.

“CQ, CQ, this is Site A Technical Support seeking Gen II Dock Manual Support, location Lhumar?”

“Go ahead, Site A Technical Support.”

'“Following the storm, the park has suffered a dramatic power failure. Multiple casualties and the survivors are now in extreme danger. I need you to send your nearest vessel immediately.”'

'“Noted, Technical Support. Our nearest vessel is 20 minutes out at flank speed. Hang on in there.”'

Tara breathed a sigh of relief as the words reached her ear. She picked up the radio.

''“Mr. Rex, get your ass over here. Channel 3 connected, they’re 20 minutes out.”''

''“On my way. It’s about time we get the fuck out of here.”'' Tara turned to the others as they stood motionless. ''“Hey, did you hear me guys? We’re getting outta here!”'' Tara’s smile turned cold as they heard the familiar sound of screeching and grunting.

The attack came quickly, the raptors bursting through the large glass window behind the Control Room, landing on the desks or slamming against the systems, as sparks flew everywhere and Bobington picking up the gun and unloading on the raptors as they jumped into the room through the shattered window. The group ran through the incubation room and the holding pen as the raptors chased them behind the large window that looped around the Private Sector. The raptors attempting to corner them as they leapt through the window into the cafeteria. One of them rolled onto the floor in front of the group, as Bobington shot the animal clean through its skull. Another raptor came through the door and leapt at Pablito as it wrestled him to the ground, before Pablito got a hold of the animal’s neck as he strangled it, before wrestling the animal off him and pushing the weakened beast onto the balcony, before Bobington shot it, causing it to fall off the balcony and land in a bloody pile on the floor. The raptors now seemed to come from all sides, from the roof, from the windows, up the stairs. The group were trapped. “Well, only one way out!” Tara screamed as she took a leap of faith and grabbed onto the tail of the Manothronax skeleton. One by one, the rest of the group jumped onto the skeleton as it fractured and spun in the air on the cords attached to the ceiling. The raptors began to jump on the shattered skeleton, causing the cords to give way and the skeleton to come crashing to the ground. The group stood up and realised their situation. They were surrounded.

The group looked forward towards the door, as the raptor pack parted to allow a larger raptor to walk forward. It was sickly brown with a large black patch around its right eye. The animal looked straight at Spyral and snarled. <> Spyral said as the animal inspected the group. Bobington looked to his right and saw the gun laying on the floor at a little over arm’s width from him. “Here’s the plan,” Bobington whispered, “I grab the gun, you distract the big one, I’ll shoot as many of these bastards as I can.” Tara nodded. “On my count… 3… 2… 1… GO!” Bobington leapt towards the gun as the raptors jumped in shock. The main raptor leapt at the group as Bobington shot two raptors and injured another, before the sound of a second gun rang through his ears. It was a single shot, as the raptors suddenly froze. The main raptor took one last look around, before slumping to the ground, dead, the blood pouring out of the back of its head.

Rex stood over the animal, fired two more shots into its head, before looking at the other raptors, who had frozen. It was a phenomenon; they had all stood still after their alpha was killed. Suddenly, they all scattered and ran through the numerous exits from the building after the sound of a distant horn could be heard. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here.” Rex said, helping the others onto their feet. Mal waited in the Fjord as the group climbed inside, taking one last look at the Discovery Centre before Rex slammed on the accelerator as the staff vehicle pulled away and drove along the road into the jungle, as the distant roar of the Andisaurus echoed behind them.

The battered Fjord staff vehicle chugged to the docks, where the boat was waiting for them. A man stood on the dock waving them down, as the vehicle pulled to a stop. The man quickly hustled them in as the ship pulled away from the dock and set off into the open ocean. Rex sat down at the very same bar he had served drinks from, earlier that week. It brought back a lot of memories. He poured himself a glass, before walking out to the deck, where Tara, Pablito & Mal were standing, looking as Macmar Island began to disappear over the horizon. ''“This is only the beginning, you know. No one ever really thinks something like this will ever happen. And now it’s happened, there’s a lot of cleaning up to do. This place is a relic, a piece of history, a memento to humanity’s attempt to play God. How ironic.”''

“We’ll get through it, Rex.” Tara said, as Rex passed her a glass of wine.

“How do you know?”

“Because life always finds a way.”

Part 1 - The Invitation
Dr. Tara Sauranis groaned at the eccentric man raiding the camp’s liquor chest. Was John different in person than he was in his letters? They had only kept a mail correspondence between each other thus far, and hadn’t actually met yet, but Tara felt that writing left out a large part of Mr. Rex’s personality. Regardless, the man insisted. Another opportunity to drink, she supposed, and she grabbed two rocks glasses and poured two servings of rice liquor.

''“So… a paid vacation, from a man I’ve only met in writing before? What’s the catch?”''

Rex smirked. “''You’re doing me a bit of a favor, really. The resort is set to open next year- that is if the investors don’t kill me first. They’ve been giving me quite a bit of trouble as of late, and want to hear some, er, outside opinions on the project.”''

“What kind of opinions?”

''“Your kind, not to put too fine a point on it. You’re perhaps the top mind in the whole paleontological field, after all, and if I could get you to sign off on the park, get your endorsement and perhaps a wee testimonial, I could get back on schedule.”''

''“And in return, you’re paying for my trip to go there and bail you out of that hot water? We just dug up a new Venetodon skeleton, an articulated one at that, and-”''

“And we’ll fund your dig and research,” replied John. Tara raised her eyebrows as his promise turned the heads of a few graduate students nearby.

“…for the next three years.”

Tara stood aghast for a brief moment, but she couldn’t resist the offer for much longer.

“What kind of park is this, exactly?”

''“It’s right up your alley. That much I’ll say.”''

“Since you- and your pocketbook- insist”, remarked Dr. Sauranis. She and John spilled some liquor to the sandstone below, and offered John to drink a sip first before the two downed the rest of their alcohol together in one go.

“To a paid vacation and three years of research funding!”

Part 2 - Macmar Island
Tara herself was stupefied by the beauty of Macmar Island's cliffs as the boat approached. This impromptu vacation seemed to be worth it, after all, if the island and the fancy boat seemed to be. John really didn't spare any expense- but she supposed that was why she was roped in, to squeeze more money from the investors with her testimonial.

The boat docked in an isolated natural harbor, and as the guests disembarked whilst commenting on the pristine beaches, a rumbling noise was heard from across the port. Around the corner, operated by a single driver each, were a series of self-driving carriages, each powered by a combustion motor rather than drawn by some beast of burden. Tara intended to stay around at the beach and look at plants and things, but John insisted his guests get into the vehicles. “Your escorts, of course. Upgraded Fjord Model J Deluxe, cost a fortune. These are just the staff vehicles of course, pretty barebones. You’ll see the true beauties in a few hours!”

Tara couldn't help but wonder. With all this fancy tech, it's sure to be a resort to "captivate the hearts and minds of people the world over" or whatever it was that John said. But why was the crowd composed of all paleontologists? Shouldn't there be more engineers, technicians, alchemists, and what not? “So this is what he wanted us to see, the world’s biggest vehicle showroom. Can’t wait,” muttered Bobington. “This can’t be it, or else why would he fund our digs?” Mal asked from the backseat. Tara looked on at the front vehicle, as Rex, Pablito & Spyral climbed into their escort. “It can’t be. That’s the thing with businessmen, there’s always a catch. We’ll just have to see what it’s got to do with us.” Her mind couldn't focus on her new surroundings- she was too busy wondering what that eccentric old man was up to.

As the vehicles pushed down the jungle road, they wound around the mountains and valleys, up and down hills, until they approached a massive white building. It reminded Tara of some kind of barbarian palace. It had three thatch-roofed towers, and small waterfalls along the stairs leading up to the main door. As they walked inside, Tara took a look at the ferns planted outside the building. They were Serrena ardolensis ferns- holdovers from the Iridaceous that grew in the rainforest of Tacua Province, and pretty, but their spores contained enough deadly alkaloids that could kill a human two times over if ingested. Spared no expense, she thought, but spared some research? Maybe.

As she hurried back to the group who had by now entered the building, she saw the guests marveling at the great rotunda inside. A Manothronax skeleton stood in attack pose next to a titanosaurid of some sort. The building was painted with jungle themes, as well as a mural of various dinosaurs. Aha! So this is what we were for- a little pet project shrine to paleontology for his science museum of a resort. She overheard something about a café, and realizing how famished she was, hurriedly followed Dr. Kordonus up the stairs.

Set up buffet-style were all kinds of assorted foods and drinks. John's favorite cheeses, charcuterie meats, tropical fruits, ice cream, cake, various liquors and wines- including some particularly expensive vintage wine. "John, you mad son-of-a-wraith, you really didn't spare any expense!" She cheerily called across the room, as she helped herself to a glass. Realizing what she'd done, she quickly pretended not to have done just so, stood up straight, brushed dust off her dress, and pretended to go on with her business casually and ladylike and not at all suspicious.

Finding herself at the rear of the group once again, Tara followed the murmurs of the crowd down the hallway and past a sign that read STAFF ONLY. She kept up, reading signs on the doors and sipping wine as she walked down the corridor. "Plant operations", "Dock administration", "Guest Relations", "Restrooms", they were very milquetoast and technical. However, they slowly began to stand out. "Research office", "Specimen storage", "Necromancy", and finally an "Incubation" room with a warning for "high oxygen levels". Incubation... NECROMANCY? What in Momaganon was John messing with? A shiver went down her spine- no, whole body- as she met up with the group.

She could feel something. Then she heard a loud, low bellow. Some kind of machine? Coming to the front of the group, who had by now reached a "Pre-Release Asset Nursery" featuring a large window overlooking a large livestock pen adorned with tropical foliage, Tara finally saw the one thing that could make this whole day make sense, yet make no sense at all at the same time.

“John? Is that what I think it is?” Murmured Bobington, as John nodded with a grin wider than a dinner plate. Mal struggled to see over them. “What? What is it? What can you see?” They asked. Tara stood agape at the window, nearly dropping her drink in hand. A huge, grey-green shape moved through the trees, towering over the whole crowd even from behind the glass. Its distinctive, familiar shape struck a chord deep in the recesses of the elven scientist's mind.

“It’s- it’s a dinosaur.”

Stammering down the length of the now-outdoor observation deck, the paleontologists hurried up to the massive sauropod before them as close as they could. In disbelief, Tara looked over to her elated host as the great beast went to strip the leaves off of a tall tree-fern. "John?" She muttered with a twinge of fear and a large helping of disbelief in her voice. "What species is this?"

“That’s an Ashuratitan. Large specimen, 30 meters long-"

"Ashuratitan magnificens. 30 meters. How old is i-" She was interrupted by the ear-splitting bellow of the dinosaur before her. Her ears rang, and before she was aware a man in a lab coat had approached the tour group on the catwalk from behind. “She’s about 6 months old, similarly to most of the specimens on the island,” yelled the tall scientist in response. “We were hoping to release her into the park later this week, along with 13 others, but there have been complications with a few of them catching Type-1 Entropomorphia. It’s deadly to us because we are much smaller than they are, to them it’s like having a sore stomach. I’m Dr. Vitruvius Dil, pleasure to meet you all. Welcome back, Mr Rex. Now, if you’ll follow me to this room right here, I’ll show you where we do our work.”

Tara tried her best to interrogate this Dr. Dil before her. "Entropomorphia? What? What's up with the dinosaur? How did you get it? How is it fed? How many more are there? How fast does it run? How much does it eat? What's its metabolism like? You said "she" so confidently, how do you know what sex it is? Did it lay eggs? Did you test it by just looking at its gonads, and how on such a huge creature? How is it only six months old, when the growth rings on sauropod bones indicate that they took decades to get so such huge sizes?"

Dr. Vitruvius Dil remained silent for the whole onslaught, merely telling her that she "would hear all about the science in due time". Tara was visibly disgruntled. She sighed and downed the last of her wine.

Part 1 - The Invitation
Spyral stared back, radiating grim recognition.

<>

Azan nodded. “I have heard the legends. But my reach begins and ends in the cities.”

The pair gazed backward, the Qamiya Obelisk catching the light of the desert sun. Neither spoke for a time.

<>

Azan looked up and outstretched a hand. “I can’t promise much, but I will try to honour your request.”

Spyral took it. < <I trust you will.>>

---

Spyral rode out of the city at a steadfast pace, the track a fine mist of dust and sand.

Overhead, a kite circled, crying a shrill call. Spyral slowed their horse to a slow trot, cocking their head at the noise. Down the kite circled, until a piece of parchment was visible attached to its leg. The seal bore the crest “Gen II”.

If Spyral had lungs with which to sigh, they would have used them. <<Sharla will have to wait. The young master appears a competent fellow, I trust my brief absence will not lead to a furthering of their efforts.>>

Of all days, they deign to respond today? Spyral thought to themselves. This excursion best suit the parchment it was advertised upon.

Spyral outstretched their hand, grasping at nothing. Out of the air, a staff appeared in their hand alongside two tattered tomes.

Begrudgingly, the Djinn set out for the western coast, cloak lapping behind them in the desert breeze.

Part 2 - Journey To The Island
Spyral had arrived on the boat to Macmar isle some time before, and had spent little time with the passengers. Sauranis and Rex conversed on the floor above them, their voices reduced to muted hints of conversation. Spyral themselves was immersed in an old time borrowed from an old friend’s library; tattered at the edges and the spine coated in a thin layer of sap. This journey leads us so far adrift of the continents, that this can scarcely be considered Rathiri waters, Spyral thought to themselves. We’re to be accommodated on the isle, yet Gen II holds resources to operate so far adrift from the mainland, with seemingly no speedy method of access. Just how are they doing it?

Spyral roused themselves from their inner thoughts and strode out of their cabin. In the mid-morning sun, an isle loomed in the distance: Macmar Isle. Tall and rigid, like the stony tip of a giant’s finger. The others were all on deck before them, staring at the horizon as the docks loomed.

---

Stepping off of the boat, Spyral heard the voices of the others come into earshot. “The dock’s just up ahead, so make sure you’ve all got any bags or other items you brought with you, this boat won’t be staying around much longer.” Wasn’t the book back on the ship? Cursing their memory, Spyral slowly outstretched their hand, fingers drifting ever so slightly in the ocean breeze. A familiar tug of strength followed, and sure enough the book appeared in their hand as if it had always been there. Spyral hastened to fit it back in their knapsack. Looking back, Spyral noticed a stare from the blond palaeontologist, who quickly withdrew his gaze. Rumbling started in the distance, breaking what tension was beginning to form, before metallic objects emerged from the road ahead. Spyral noted the smoke, the vibration of the front, the four wheels. It dawned on them. <<My word. They’ve come this far?>> If memory served them, these were combustion engines!

Part 1 - Journey To The Island
Malsiadae Kordonus had been surprised by many things in their life. They were expecting to get rejected from the Gen II voyage due to their… specifications… yet here they were, standing on the deck of the most expensive looking sailing ship they had ever seen. He watched as the water bobbed the ship up and down, the Endless Sea is what the westerners called it. Fitting, it sure looked endless. The man next to Mal looked at him,

“You must be… Malsiadae Kordonus, right? Fislanki Death Turtle guy?”

Mal nodded, and turned towards the doctor. John P. Rex, the organizer of this… event… he was a tall man compared to Malsiadae, a little more than a third of a meter taller. “Pleasure to meet you, you must be the organizer of this trip?” Mal asked, as the two walked toward the bow of the ship. They really didn’t have to ask that question, but it simply seemed polite. “Why yes, that’s me. Sorry for the short notice by the way, I can understand traveling halfway around the world in 2 to 3 days was a challenge, to say the least. And to be fair, if you got here earlier, you could’ve gone all the way, as it’s only a couple hours by boat on a quiet day from Syltor. Luckily, the time can be passed talking to the best in our field, aye? The best in the business, spared no expense. Have you met them yet?”

“I believe a couple in writing, but never face to face, no.”

“Well, why don’t we seize the opportunity, eh?” Rex responded, his eyes and expression were full of glee. A small group of people emerged, sitting down at the bar deck. Everyone stood up and introduced each other. John offered drinks to a couple of the palaeontologists, Mal intervened and asked for a beer. Everyone was finishing up their conversations. What a nice night, Mal thought to himself. Then, Dr. Sauranis looked over the bow, almost in shock, she asked, “What’s that?”  Mal looked over Tara toward the bow, and saw their destination, he stood agape, dropped his glass and everything.

“There it is”, Rex said in a proud tone.

Macmar Island, here we come.

Part 1 - The Island
Joseph Bobington was sat squarely in his leather chair in the drinking room of the Bobington Estate, next to him was a small round table with a few paper documents and a bottle of the finest Bobington Brand Whiskey. In his hand was a classical short and wide whiskey glass which was filled to the brim and contained a large square ice cube floating in the center. A moment later, Joseph heard a knock on the mahogany door and exclaimed, “You may come in.” With that, the doors flung open and an old, humanoid, automaton hobbled in. “What is it you require Bartholomew?” Joseph said as the Automaton entered. Bartholomew is a sentient robot that Joseph had acquired about 10 years prior while he was participating in a high stakes poker game with a few of the wealthiest people in Rathnir. Little did those players know that Joseph had been counting cards at the time, and was only there to obtain the one-of-a-kind droid he heard so much about in the paper. After a measured pause, Bartholomew said in a raspy and monotonous voice, “I have received a letter from Doctor Rex with the Paleontological Society,” “It's about time those lazy bastards actually did something,” Joseph mumbled, “What is it that they want?” “Well sir, they want you to visit the Gen II project you have been funding.” Unbeknownst to the members, Joseph had been using the Society to launder a large sum of money Joseph had obtained through a complex series of illegal business activities, and Rex’s latest Gen II project had not only served that function, but also acted as a wonderful tax write off. “Ah wonderful!” Joseph exclaimed, “Tell him I’ll be there.” With that remark Bartholomew marched out and the room returned to its eerie silence. Joseph then turned his head toward the window and stared into the evening night, he was looking forward to seeing whatever abomination Rex had conjured this time around.

A few days after Joseph Bobington had received the letter, he departed from his abode with his signature cane with a pearl handle and imprinted with the Bobington house seal on the top. Behind him was Bartholomew carrying two suitcases. One of the suitcases was filled with Joseph’s semi formal business attire and the other contained his collection of hand-crafted rapiers, just in case whatever was going to see wasn’t as safe as Rex had promised. Joseph had told his assistant to take over his affairs at work while he was away, and to only make contact in an emergency, although Joseph knew despite declaring himself to be on vacation, he would still be pestered by work affairs. Joseph made his way to the dock where a shuttle waited to bring Joseph to the designated meeting location. Joseph sat down inside the small boat's cabin and prepared for a little ways sail to where Rex was held up. About half way through the trip Joseph heard two loud booms. Joseph rushes to the deck to find the captain screaming at the two other crew mates and two to the left of the shuttle, a boat a little bigger than ours had harpooned us and was pulling us toward it,probably as a means to rob the shuttle. “BARTHOLOMEW!” Joseph thundered, “Dispatch these ruffians.” “Yes sir,” Bartholomew replied. Bartholomew calmly walked down into the cabin and shuffled back on deck with a rapier. In the blink of an eye the automaton jumped into the air onto the other vessel with swift and calculated movements that were in great contrast to how he was moving a moment prior. Once he landed, he paused a moment as the pirate crew regained composure, then without missing a beat lunged toward the enemy. In a flash the entire crew had been “dispatched” and the decks stained red with their blood. The captain of Bobington’s shuttle looked on in horror as Bartholomew returned to the ship “Good work Bartholomew. Captain! Resume your course.”

Upon the arrival to the meeting place Joseph stepped off the shuttle twirling his cane and with Bartholomew in tow carrying his bags. “Rex!” Bobington yelled, Rex, standing next to the gangway leading up to the rather extravagant vessel the group would use to reach the island, whipped his head toward the call and waved. Bobington walked toward Rex with the coat tails of his suit flapping vigorously in the wind, once Bobington got within speaking distance of Rex Joseph said, “So this is the ship that will take us to your little passion project?” Rex with a smile said “well of course, nothing but the best! Unfortunately though, your… uh… robot? Will not be able to attend as it did not sign our NDA.” “Oh really? How unfortunate. Bartholomew! Load my bags then wait for my return on the shuttle.” “Yes sir” Bartholomew replied. Rex led Joseph up the gangway onto the boat. “You are the first to arrive, Joseph.” Rex explained “I see. Why don’t you show me around this boat while we wait for others?” Joseph replied “That’s a wonderful idea!” The pair walked into two doors that led to the main room. This room was a nice room reminiscent of a western bar with a bar in the centre against the back wall and a few round tables in front of it. On either side of the bar were doors. One led to the crew quarters, the other led to the toilet room. “This is it.” Rex said “I see.” Joseph replied. Joseph walked into the room and looked around. Almost immediately Joseph noticed the bar lacked any Bobington Brand alcohol, and although he didn’t mention it, he was a little disappointed. Rex then said “I am off to greet the other guests.” And turned around and left. Joseph sat down at the bar and poured himself a whiskey. As he sat, he contemplated much of his existence as people entered and exited for most of the trip.

About three and a half hours into the four hour journey a man sat down and introduced himself to Bobington, who at this point had already drunk half a bottle of whiskey by himself. “Hello, my name is Mal.” The man said “I am Joseph Bobington, current Director of the Rathnir Paleontological Society.” “Oh… you're different from what I would imagine. I thought you would be more… scientific.” “That was rude. I assume you're a paleontologist.” “Yes! I am a paleontologist. I am most interested in aquatic species and I am glad your organization could provide me with the resources to investigate them.” “I am glad it could as well, it’s good to know that the organization has more than one use.” “What’s the other use?” “Nothing! Don’t worry about it.” “If you say so…” <<what’s going on down here?>> “What the hell was that!” Mal exclaims. In walked a man covered in cloth from head to toe “You must be Spyral! The paleontologist who speaks without words…” Joseph says with a smirk < <I am glad by reputation precedes me, you must be Joseph>> “I am. Glad to finally meet you, Spyral. You see, I have a proposition for you.” <<oh?>> “Yes, I have taken great interest in your ability to project your voice into others minds, and…” mid-sentence mal interrupts Joseph and asks, “do either of you know why we are going to this island?” <<I do not>> Spyral projects, “I know a little about what’s going on, I have been receiving the bills for it after all.” “What do you know!” Mal leans toward Joseph “well” Joseph says, “All I know is that whatever it is it’s very advanced and requires a LOT of specialists.” “Interesting...” After a moment of silence Spyral walks off into the crew quarters and the other two continue to wait to arrive at the isle.