I     

                The Arcanum Project was ultimately a failure. The scientists and soldiers were ill-prepared for the islands’ features, especially their wildlife. However, the islands were not abandoned. A new plan was organized. Eventually, new islands containing thought to be extinct wildlife in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific were found. The islands were kept under surveillance, observed from above rather than sending in ground troops. From the ashes of the Arcanum Project, the Parco Project was born.

*     *     *     *     *

                Hook, a Megaraptor namunhuaiquii viridi, opened his bright yellow eyes. He looked around, quickly noticing Jade, his mate, was still next to him. She was still asleep. He had little recollection of what had happened hours prior except for a sharp pain in his neck and falling asleep. He slowly stood up, examining the plants around him. Something about it all seemed off. He didn’t recognize many of the plants. He cautiously walked deeper into the jungle.

                He heard the sound again. A sound he had become familiar with over the last year- the chopping sound from the aircraft frequently above him. He had quickly figured out that the aircraft were controlled by the humans that had visited them once. Some of them were good to him. Others were responsible for the death of Stone, the Dakotaraptor. Hook would occasionally see a Dakotaraptor that looked like his late friend. He still missed him.

                Hook noticed something at the edge of the jungle. It was tall- at least twice his height- flat, and gray. He approached it and studied it. He turned his head to the left and right, quickly noticing he was contained. He rammed into the wall, but to no avail. He attempted to slash at it. Eventually, a blast of water sprayed at him. He grunted in surprise and backed off. It didn’t take him long to realize that the humans had made the enclosure and put him and his mate in it.

*     *     *     *     *

                “As you can see, spraying them was decided as a much more ethical alternative to electric fences.” Peter Muldoon, head of security at the Dinosaur Containment Site, said, “Plus, they’re not as expensive to run.”

                “Are you sure it doesn’t stress them out?” Biologist Alan Malcolm asked.                

                “What about when it gets too hot? Will they want to use the hoses to cool off?” Paleontologist Ellen Harding asked. After the Arcanum Project, they were contacted to oversee the Parco Project.

                “We don’t know the answers, but it’s working so far.” Muldoon said, “The Site’s been running smoothly for a couple months now. I’m sure it’ll stay that way.”

 II

                Hook walked through the jungle foliage, not keeping his sight off of the concrete wall. He was determined to find an exit somewhere. All he needed was a small opening he could widen with his claws. He sniffed it, poked at it, tried to find some sort of weak point.

                He found an opening. Immediately after he noticed it, he saw a Megaraptor staring right at him. He hissed and stepped back. It did the same. He snarled. It did the same. He swiped at it. His claws made contact with something flat. He cocked his head and stared at the Megaraptor, quickly realizing it was his reflection. Ignoring it, he stared out at the landscape around him. There were paths leading to enclosures similar to his.

                A human was walking on the path. Hook snarled and slammed his snout into the glass. The human looked towards him and ran off. Hook backed off as he noticed a second reflection. It was Jade. She looked out at the enclosures for about half a minute before turning around. Hook slammed into the Plexiglas again before giving up his attempt at escape.

*     *     *     *     *

                “Are you sure they’re happy?” Dr. Harding asked.

                “Yeah.” Muldoon answered, “They’re just testing their boundaries, that’s all.”

                “And what about the approaching storm?” Dr. Malcolm asked.

                “The fences are concrete and Plexiglas with barbed wire on the top. They can’t run out of power.” Ray Jones, another member of the control room staff, answered.

*     *     *     *     *

                Ferox, a Neovenator salerii gigas, slammed his snout against the Plexiglas viewing window, but to no avail. He stepped back and slammed his long, sharp claws into it, creating three small hoes. He repeated the attack, slowly growing the holes. He ignored the hoses as they blasted water at his light brown skin. Eventually, he kicked the damaged section, creating an even larger hole. After a couple minutes, he created a hole large enough to pass through. He slowly squeezed through it as alarms throughout the area began to sound. Ferox stepped onto the paved path and looked around. As he heard the faint chopping of a helicopter, he ran into the jungle.

                Hook ran deeper into his exhibit as the alarms blared. He had never heard the sound before. He hid beneath a palm tree and cautiously looked around. A helicopter flew over him. He had seen Ferox break out of his enclosure just a minute prior. Although Hook had killed a predator significantly larger than himself in the past, there was something different about the Neovenator. In the few instances where Hook had seen Ferox, he noticed something about him, besides his aggression. He was smart. He had spent many hours stalking around his exhibit, searching for a way to escape. Hook knew that Ferox could probably enter his enclosure if he wanted to.

*     *     *     *     *

                The workers in the control room stared in shock at the screens. Somehow a dinosaur had escaped. All of the staff had seen Jurassic Park. They had thought their containment system was better. But somehow an animal that was supposed to be extinct for hundreds of millions of years had outsmarted them.

                “How can a helicopter track it?” Someone asked.

                “Check the tracking implant!” Another staff member shouted.

                One employee sat in the corner of the room. Despite the commotion around him, he stayed focused. He zoomed in on his computer screen to the Megaraptor enclosure, quickly finding the door.

 III

                Michael Hudson picked up the phone at his desk. He glanced at his computer, staring at the Megaraptor enclosure. He dialed veterinarian Gary Johnson. The two had come to disagree on some of the site’s methods, such as how the dinosaurs were housed. They knew the paddocks were only temporary housing, and when the time came they would be moved to exhibits in some sort of zoo. Neither of the men liked the idea of the dinosaurs being taken from the wild and used as entertainment. They had developed a plan to secretly free the dinosaurs. Their chance had suddenly come when the site’s Neovenator had escaped. “Gary,” he said into the phone, “it’s time.”

                Gary stepped out of his office and walked down towards the garage. He stepped into a jeep and drove out. With all the commotion of an escape, it would be easy for him to get out and finish a plan he and a couple other employees had contrived. The dinosaurs didn’t deserve to be locked in concrete prisons or used as entertainment. They required humanity’s absence, not intervention, to continue to survive. And groups of dinosaurs slowly escaping would seem natural. After a short drive, he reached the first enclosure- a clearing in the forest housing a few Hypsilophodon. They scurried about in the enclosure, some poking their heads above the tall grass near the center. Their green scales blended in perfectly with the grass, making finding them difficult.

                Gary heard something. It was a faint snap. Something in the forest had stepped on a twig. Gary payed no attention to the noise, as it was probably some of the island’s native species. He quickly noticed something brown moving amongst the tree line. It stared at him with its orange eyes. It was Ferox. He was presumably going to break into the Hypsilophodon enclosure for food. Gary quickly drove off to his next destination.

*     *     *     *     *

                Hook watched as the jeep drove on the path towards his enclosure. It appeared to be speeding up. Suddenly, the human inside it jumped out. Hook stepped back as the jeep continued to speed towards his exhibit. Suddenly, it rammed into it, cracking the viewing window. Looking past the crashed, smoking vehicle, Hook saw his chance to escape. He called to Jade, who quickly approached him. The two slowly and cautiously stepped out of their enclosure. Hook looked around, observing his surroundings. If he stayed on the paths, he would have to face the humans and their vehicles. If he went into the rainforest, he would have to face Ferox and any other carnivore that happened to escape. He decided to face what would await him in the rainforest and ran to it.

                Within minutes, Hook and Jade were deep into the rainforest, far away from any human structures. He paused, listening for anything abnormal, smelling for the scent of another dinosaur. He heard the faint trickle of a stream to his left and walked to it. Jade followed him. Eventually, the two reached the small stream. Hook watched as the Hypsilophodon trio that had already found it ran from him. He quickly drank, but soon picked up a scent. It was familiar to him- Parasaurolophus. Two of the hadrosaurs warily approached the stream and drank. Somehow many other dinosaurs had escaped.

                Hook got the feeling that he was being watched. He glanced up and noticed something light brown moving amongst the trees, peering at him with its bright orange eyes. Hook instantly recognized it as Ferox .