Jurassic World: New Era Prologue Thunder rattled the windows of the big air transport, the AV II. Big rotors whipped 360 degrees outwards and made the pilot uncomfortable even with the weather. The AV II is a wide yet powerful helicopter designed for convey transportation, and it can withstand aggressive wind force while maintaining the speed of 50km/h. Usually transporting cargo, the AV II can carry over 70,000 kilograms. However in this scenario, cargo or speed is not the main issue. Somewhere in Isla Muerte, off the coast of Costa Rica The helicopter made its way around a vast forest while the thunderstorm grew worse, its rotors whipping around with the breeze as the rain showered down the cockpit. It won’t be an easy feat landing the air transport in a unsecure area while the storm is brewing. But the pilot has been trained for this. 23 years in service, and he had been in situations worse than this. It just doesn’t feel right, somehow. Pulling up the controls, and flicking off a couple of switches, he safely brought down the AV II on a wet field as the trees furiously waved. “Alright boys, we are here! Remember the objective must be unharmed and brought in safely and delicately. Shouldn’t be hard to locate, just follow the groans and the size of the animal. Don’t do anything stupid.” The pilot adjusted his microphone as a pack of mercenaries plopped off the transport, soaking wet as soon as they hit the ground. Loaded with elephant tranquilizers, they scoured the area and checked in safe for the helicopter to stay. “We are going in, Mr. Lopez, but we might need your assistance! That thing’s too heavy for us to carry back!” The voice boomed as the thunder cracked. But it was clear that Antonio wanted the pilot to get ready for pickup. The spined herbivore is no easy game to bring down. And the weather is getting worse. The pilot gave the mercenary a thumbs up and lifted off, the audible whips became fainter as the helicopter turned around them. Signaling the others, the group moved towards the trees. Antonio felt eased up when they entered the treetops, due to the more muted silence of the background. However, it doesn’t make things easier when they have to activate the flashlights. Given the location the animal had escaped in, they are currently in the Carnivore Alley. If everything goes right, the carnivores are already asleep during this time,despite the thunderstorm. Couldn’t hurt to be more careful though , Antonio thought. When they went further into the forest, one of the men heard an audible snore. Raising his fist up, the group froze. Raising their guns at the source of sound, the man slowly approached into the thick bushes, only to find a sleeping adult-sized Metriacanthosaurus A beautiful sight, Antonio thought. When the storm flashed, the men could make note of its brown stripes sliding down from back to the belly, its yellow scales shielding its warmth from the raindrops. To be this close to a carnivore and see it sleep soundly is magical. “Relax, people. That’s Metrica. Docile girl, but gets cranky if someone wakes her up.” Antonio turned to the man that said it, and Tyler shook his head with ridicule. Despite his night vision goggles and mask, they knew the lad had a history with the beast. “Did you just make that up, Ty? Cause that’s bullshit, I mean, who names that thing METRICA?” A couple of laughs came from Tom Gary and Thomas Gary. Big brothers, that’s for sure, but they love messing with people. “That’s enough, boys. We still have our target to acquire.” “Not if the meat-eaters get to it first.” Antonio’s stare responded back to Tyler, who silenced after the effect. “Get moving, you three.” Crouching past the dozing Metriacanthosaurus, they headed towards the objective, as a ping stationed about 50 yards in front of the group. The mercenaries were so focused on the radar they didn’t notice a glimpse of a dinosaur behind them when the thunder flashed again. “Bogey 2’ clock!” The team all eyed at a looming shadow a few meters away. When the storm flashed, Antonio cursed under his breath. A juvenile Amargasaurus is seen posed under the trees, its spines protruding out of its neck while the green scales shone over the body, except that the body had been shredded to pieces. More likely eaten. The team groaned in disgust and disappointment. Now they would have to go back and tell Henry Wu the bad news. “Damn...we had it.” The brothers dropped in tiredness. It was a busy day for all four of them. “Bravo, we need pickup...yeah, sending the coordinates...negative, the target’s dead.” Radio static rattled Antonio’s ears. The storm had blocked their signals. “Guess we are staying here for the night, boys.” Tyler looked up at the sky as the group wandered off. The thunderstorm is calming down. Lighting up his cigar, he heard a rustle. Alarmed by the sound, the merc put his lighter away and raised the tranquilizer gun at the sound. The thing that ate the poor creature might be back. Peering at the bush, he can’t make out anything but a couple of stripes...and two glaring eyes. The last thing he saw before going dark was a carnivore leaping at him. “Tyler?” Antonio and the brothers heard a yelp. That cannot be a good sign. Signaling the others to break fire when in contact with an unknown bogey, they marched towards the distress. Fearing for Tyler’s life, they pointed at the creature before sighing with relief. It’s a baby Metriacanthosaurus. About 10 feet long and 2 feet high, the baby theropod playfully latched on Tyler’s helmet. The mercenary had gotten knocked unconscious. Despite a half-death scare, the mercs chuckled at the sight of the small baby. “Aren’t you a little cute fella? What are you doing out here in the dark, shouldn’t you be with your Mommy?” Meanwhile the brothers joked with the juvenile and Tom played with the little Metriacanthosaurus, Antonio grew concerned. The babies should also be asleep, and even so, it couldn’t have killed a juvenile Amargasaurus. Turning to the dead carcass, it pretty much confirms it. Although there are some unusual shapes of the eaten portion. Instead of being ripped out in large bites, the teeth marks were much narrower and....more numerous. Almost like a pack of Coelophysis had joined the feast. But that’s not possible. The Coelophysis may be numerous in packs, but they don’t have the jaw power to bring the 12-foot long Amargasaurus done, let alone attack it. This is something else, but what? The carnivores are already satisfied, and already asleep. Could there be territorial disputes? Doesn’t make sense, this is the Metriacanthosaurus territory, and only 4 individuals are present. The 2 are on the western part, asleep. The lone one was only a couple meters away, but no blood splatter was present on the muzzle of the carnivore. And the little kid? Antonio knows the answer, but still cannot figure out the missing pieces. What brought the juvenile sauropod and how? The Metriacanthosaurus are highly territorial with the other carnivorous species, and the specific species that reside besides their territories are the Baryoynx, the Cryolophosaurus, and the Rajasaurus. All individuals are asleep, according to the data logs. Whatever it is, it’s bad news. “Yo, Ant, we gotta go!” Snapped back to reality, the mercenary turns around and sees a bright light. The AV II is approaching. “Ok, boys, let’s wrap up!” As the team approaches the landing spot, Thomas looked back and pointed at the carcass “What about the dead thing?” “We take it and evaluate it. Dr. Wu will lead the study. Tom hesitated when the baby whimpered. “I don’t know, man, Timmy’s spooked.” Tom gestured his hand to the dinosaur. Antonio sneered at him. What a lunatic. “Timmy? You named a-” “I had to name him, look how adorable he is!” Gesturing the creature, it hopped around and squealed. Its two puppy eyes confronted Antonio’s, and he knew he couldn't say no. The leader pinched his nose bridge. He doesn’t have the time to argue with him. In fact, that thing might be useful back in the facility. Could win some hearts of the visitors coming soon. “You know what, bring it back with us.” Without question, the brother lifted the baby as it squealed, wiggling its tail around like an energetic dog. As the AV II landed, the mercenaries attached the cables to the degrading carcass and gave the pilot a go while climbing onto the air transport. The rotors heaved as it lifted the AV II off the ground, bringing the dead sauropod with it. After some distance was placed between the helicopter and the vast forest, the trees rustled. Beneath the bushes were two eyes. Two. Shiny. Eyes. Chapter 1 Teeth Life finds a way, they say. It certainly can with dinosaurs roaming around the Earth. People had found a way to coexist with these magnificent creatures. They cooperate. They avoid. And they watch in awe. Things like Henry Wu did are near impossible and dangerous, but he has succeeded in every course and survived the process, despite so many casualties and damage. However, he is smart enough to learn from his mistakes in the past. Hybrids are no more. Sighing in disappointment, Wu opened his eyes. Getting up from his comfortable bed with DNA blankets, he dressed up his favorite robe and put on his slippers. He may be a strict and tidy scientist, but he still likes to loosen up. Pouring himself coffee, Wu opened the refrigerator and grabbed waffles. Activating the toaster, he sits down on the couch while waiting for the waffles and lets out a big sigh. It was a terrible night. First, the Baryonyxs have found a way to escape their enclosures and brawled with the Stegosaurus. No serious injuries, although a Baryoynx had bitten off a plate of a stegosaur, and now they have discovered the spinosaurids have more peculiar intelligence, security had to increase surveillance. But that wasn’t the worst of all, Wu thought, as he scrolled through the tablet that was besides him. A Pachyrhinosaurus became agitated and went rampage throughout the island, breaking into several enclosures and causing casualties. What surprises him is that the Pachyrhinosaurus didn’t fear the Rajasaurus or the Irritators. Fearsome predators, as both were capable of bringing down an Ankylosaurus in a pack of two or so. What makes things even more interesting is that the Pachyrhinosaurus was a peaceful herbivore for several months. Did not hold a grudge at anyone. No irritation, no disease, and no outbursts. Everything went fine until a couple days ago. For a brilliant mind, Henry groans in spite he couldn’t become more brilliant in knowing what ticked the ceratopsian to stomp across enclosures and kill 4 officers while severely injure dozens of others. 4 vehicles destroyed, 8 enclosures compromised, and a poor Muttaburrasaurus slowly recovering from the devastating impact. It was good timing that the force had brought down the ceratopsian with one of their own trained dinosaurs, otherwise the Pachyrhinosaurus would have fought with a Metriacanthosaurus. Wu couldn’t imagine the bloodshed the two would cause, however, he realized the evaluation is today. If he could find the cause, he might be able to get rid of it. Having cured osteosarcoma, acute renal failures, and even lymphatic cancer on the dinosaurs, no disease would be a challenge to the greatest scientist of all times. Having remembered his moments had also brought back a glimpse of Laura Sorkins. Laura...I told you before that staying behind the island would cost you your own life... He was interrupted by a knock on the door. And the smell. The smell of burning waff- THE WAFFLES! Spilling his coffee and rushing to turn off the toaster, Wu realized it’s a mess. Rubbing his temple, he grabbed for another coffee when a hand pressed against the coffee maker while the other one gestured to an orange juice drink. “It’s healthy for you, and it should refresh your burnt head, Henry.” Antonio chuckled while the man tiredly took the drink and glugged it down. Refreshing, that’s true. But it doesn’t make things better. “Thank you, Antonio. I would have killed for another coffee if I accidentally tipped off the other one.” Despite the joking mood, the mercenary looked at Wu with a concerned look. “You have been working yourself hard these days, you oughta take a break, man.” Ignoring his worrying comments, Wu grabbed his tablet and scrolled through the digital screen. Wu felt frustrated when Antonio asked about his health. “I am not a little kid, Antonio. I know when I work hard, but if you work hard, you earn hard. That’s the point of growing. If you lazily hang over the work of a lifetime, you are a failure. If you give up, you are a failure.” “You are not like your father, Henry.” Henry froze at the linger of the word. Father . Closing his eyes with remorse, he turned to Antonio with an apologizing look. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have been so rough at you, I-” “Everyone has their dark days, Wu. Just don’t dwell in the past. Take it from someone who had experience with it.” Silence circulated the room. Everyone had been working hard in the past few months, but this month has gotten worse. It’s worse than Jurassic World in Isla Nublar. But there’s no time to dwell on such memories. It’s time to move on, and strive forward. Breaking the silence, Wu spoke while going for the door. “I need you to fill me in on the details about last night’s disturbance, Antonio. Shape of the animal, body posture, bite wounds, how it had gotten in there, and if it digested any particular substances.” “I will make sure to tell you all that, Henry. After you get dressed.” Confused with the merc’s remark, before grasping the handle of the door, Wu evaluated himself. He is still on his robe and slippers. Chuckling a bit, Wu thanked his old friend for the heads-up. After dressing up, the two walked down the hallway while taking turns asking questions and answering questions. “What animal is this again?” “ Amargasaurus cazaui, about 12 feet long and mainly green coloration. Juvenile, to say at least. How did it get out of its enclosure?” “Patrols were moving the sauropod to a bigger enclosure when the Pachyrhinosaurus ran into them. Crashed into the cage, the animal ran free, heading towards...” Zooming into the tablet while they pass into the genetics lab, as a scientist carefully handles dozens of eggs with machinery to another hatchery, several logos appear on the tablet. Extending the Amargasaurus pinpoint location a few days ago on the tablet, it was calculated that the sauropod had escaped into the Valley Paracount, where herbivores spread everywhere for feeding and space. However, something is not right. Antonio pointed out to the source as Wu reviewed genetics in the lab. “You see this, Wu? The dinosaur went to a peaceful territory and onto that thing’s space. That thing’s what, an Allosaurus?” Glancing at the logo, Wu dismissed. “ Saurophaganax maximus . It is often mistaken with the known Allosaurus fragilis , due to very similar body structure, but there is a difference to reckon.” “What is it?” “You, over there, get the requested DNA here ASAP. It needs to be presented to the visitors soon.” As a co-worker paced somewhere, Wu turned around to respond to his trusted friend’s question. “The Saurophaganax is larger and bigger than an adult Allosaurus, around 48 feet. The size of the growing Indominus Rex. It also has yellow crests and green eyes. The skin is mainly red with black underbelly.” “All of them are like that?” “No. Just one. And that’s the only Saurophaganax we have.” Astonished by a singular species, Antonio bounced back to the main topic. “Well, the sauropod headed into the big guy’s territory. Can’t it sense danger?” Thanking the co-worker for bringing an oddly blue vial to him, Wu inserted the blue substance and scrambled to the keyboards while talking. “All herbivores sense dangers in a different way. Considering the sauropod being 2 times smaller than the Maximus , it should still see it coming from a mile away. And that’s not the place where it died, is it?” Antonio shook his head with anticipation. He is itching to get this done and over. So many questions to ask. And he thought dinosaurs were boring to talk about. But with Dr. Wu, it became an exciting matter. Looking down and scrolling the tablet, there were at least 2 other enclosures the Amargasaurus had travelled through; the Edmontonia territory and the Metriacanthosaurus territory. The mention of the last carnivore startled Wu at last. Antonio could see something is terribly wrong with this. Things get more interesting when Wu grabs hold of the mercenary’s arms. Working out, I see, doc , Antonio grimace at the strength he felt. “ Metriacanthosaurus parkeri ? That’s impossible. They feed on sauropods, and there were 4 of them. The Amargasaurus can’t get 5 feet across the enclosure once it enters!” Beating, Wu darkly asked. “How far did it travel through?” “200 feet, sir.” Wu became furious, shaking his head as if he lost his favorite cereal. Processing the trouble, Wu paced towards another laboratory with the blue vial so fast, Antonio had to jog. “That is absurd! No herbivores have gotten that far without the carnivores noticing the scent! We need to evaluate the surveillance cameras and the creatures themselves. This is a mistake.” The mercenary was about to continue the issue when a co-worker with a name tag Kyran Opkun interrupted them. His wrinkly eyes beg attention and his lab coat seems to be shredded to pieces. The duo is shocked to see the old man alive and well after seeing the state of his clothing. “You need to see this, Dr. Wu. The test subject 903 is a success.” Antonio looked back at the scientists back and forth, confused. “Test subject? Wu, what’s going on?” “This needs to wait, Opkun. We already have another issue in our hands, my hands are full as well.” Shaking with disbelief, the old scientist insisted. “The test subject has displayed the behavior and patterns just as you predicted, Dr. Wu, and the DNA is finalized. No virus.” Just as Antonio thought they would go back on topic, he cursed the timing, because Opkun had gotten Wu’s attention at last. “No genetic disorders? 70% of the DNA reversed in motion and resupplied with lysine antibodies meanwhile the 30% has other genetic portions left unattended?” With Wu’s curiosity, Karan Opken smiled with a sparkle in his eyes. “Everything went perfectly as planned, Dr. Wu.” Both scientists grinned. The mercenary had no idea what’s going on. Before he could even ask again, Opken motioned towards a section of the laboratory, and it appears that there is a giant metal door in front of what seems to be a vault. Must be something of value, but what? Typing in the code and scanning his fingerprints, Opken showed his perplexed guests the way inside. After all were in, the door had shut off, and Antonio could hear the air wheezing soundly. He knew the vault was meant to be pressurized, given the loud steam coming in his ears. As they stood stale, a thud was heard. The old scientist opened the door in front of them and revealed a whole new laboratory system, in fact, a VAST laboratory so big it could fit 2 T-Rexes inside. As they walked across the corridors of the lab, Antonio remained astonished. He had never seen anything like this before. Brand-new technology, fancy equipment, and- EGGS? Staring for a moment at a large incubator, there were at least a dozen eggs laying there comfortably, awaiting to have themselves hatched. However, some eggs had distinctive patterns. A few were colored red with black spots, others had weird deformations, and there were small oval-shaped eggs as well. Antonio moved closer to take a cleaner look, when he was interrupted by Wu. “Hey, pay attention.” “Sorry Wu, this is just, wow. What is this place?” As Antonio walked with Wu still perplexed, he smiled with ease. This is beyond his imagination. “This is a laboratory, just like in headquarters, but for more interesting topics.” The merc suddenly shifted his attention to Wu with not an astonished tone, but with a dead-serious voice. “What interesting topics?” “You will see.” Before Antonio could force the conversation further, he had gotten an answer when a low shriek erupted from a glass door. Studying his surroundings, he had forgotten that they had passed by the lab and went into another section, This is a viewing gallery, but for what? All he could see were vegetarians, surveillance cameras, a pond, and a black bird. Wait. What black bird? Peering into the deep forest from the viewing gallery, he could make out a slim black figure approaching them from a distance. However, the closer it got, the more horrified Antonio became. That’s no bird. Hovering over 20 feet, the creature raised its arms at a tree and began scratching, as its big, plumby feathers whistled along with the muscles of the arms. It does look like a bird for one, Antonio thought, but there was a distinctive characteristic of this creature. Instead of having claws the size of a pencil, its claws are scythe-like and