The heavy, metallic sliding gate of the compound groaned as it slammed shut, but Isaiah's momentum was unstoppable.He lowered his massive center of gravity, shifting several tons of muscle and bone into pure forward kinetic energy. He did not care about the reinforced steel mesh or the jagged spikes welded to the top. To Isaiah—Asset 87—human structures were nothing more than fragile obstacles standing in the way of his territory and his prey.CRASH.The sound of twisting, screaming metal echoed across the worker village like a localized bomb detonation.Isaiah's armored snout and massive shoulders slammed directly into the gate. The iron bolts anchoring the hinges to the concrete posts sheared off instantly, sending high-tension sparks raining down into the mud. The massive sliding gate was ripped completely free from its tracks, crumpling like tin foil as Isaiah plowed right through it.The humans, who had barely made it twenty yards past the gate, were thrown to the ground by the sheer concussive force of the impact."Get up! Go, go, go!" Alan Grant roared, pushing the Kirbys forward as clouds of rust and dust filled the air.Isaiah didn't stop to shake off the debris. He burst through the cloud of dust, his massive three-toed feet tearing up the compound's gravel paths. His amber eyes were locked onto the small group of running humans.He could smell them clearly now. He smelled the salt of Amanda's tears, the adrenaline in Alan's veins, and the sweet, raw fear of Paul Kirby.Paul was at the back of the group, his legs burning with exhaustion. He looked over his shoulder and let out a pained, high-pitched scream of pure terror. Isaiah's towering silhouette was just feet behind him, the blue bioluminescent stripes on his flanks pulsing with a hungry, rhythmic dark light.Isaiah lowered his massive, elongated snout. He didn't just bite. He used the extreme reach of his neck to close the gap.With a chilling, predatory precision, Isaiah opened his jaws and clamped them down around Paul Kirby's torso."Paul!" Amanda screamed, looking back in horror.Paul had only a second to look his wife and son in the eyes before Isaiah yanked him violently into the air. The multi-ton predator lifted the screaming man easily, shaking his massive head from side to side to break Paul's struggles.Isaiah tossed the man upward and snapped his jaws shut, swallowing the rich protein in a single, brutal gulp. The taste of another human hit his system, feeding the dark, violent instinct of Asset 87.Isaiah didn't break his stride. He lowered his snout back to the ground to resume the chase, his heavy tail whipping through the air to maintain his balance.But the brief pause to feed had given the remaining survivors a crucial few seconds.Dr. Grant, Amanda, and Eric had rounded the corner of a massive, decaying laboratory building. They ducked into a narrow, dark alleyway filled with overgrown vines and rusted ventilation pipes.Isaiah thundered around the corner, his massive claws skidding on the concrete, but as he looked down the narrow passage, his vision was obstructed by a heavy, thick wall of green hanging moss and steam pipes. He sniffed the air, but the overwhelming scent of decaying laboratory chemicals and rust masked the humans' scent trail.He let out a low, frustrated rumble that vibrated deep in his chest. He had lost sight of them.POV: Dr. Alan GrantAlan Grant pressed his back against the cold, rusted metal of a heavy generator, his chest heaving as he fought for oxygen.Beside him, Amanda Kirby had collapsed to the concrete floor of the narrow alleyway, her body wracked with silent, violent sobs. She had just watched her husband get devoured by a monster that defied all known paleontology. Eric sat huddled beside her, his face pale, his small hand gripping his mother's arm in a desperate attempt to comfort her."He's gone," Amanda choked out, her voice barely a whisper. "Paul is gone."Alan didn't offer empty platitudes. In this world, there was no time for them. He adjusted his glasses with shaking fingers and peeked around the corner of the heavy machinery.At the end of the alley, he could see the massive, dark silhouette of the sail-backed titan moving slowly through the fog. The blue lines on its flanks cast an eerie, pulsating glow against the concrete walls of the abandoned village. It was sniffing the air, letting out deep, guttural clicks."Nobody move," Alan whispered, his voice barely audible above the heavy thud of the dinosaur's footsteps."Dr. Grant," Eric whispered, his voice small and trembling. "I've seen that one before. The big one with the sail. It doesn't act like the others."Alan looked down at the twelve-year-old boy. "What do you mean, Eric?""It doesn't hunt in a pack like the raptors, and it doesn't just smash everything like the T-Rex," Eric whispered, his eyes locked onto the giant in the fog. "It's smart. It waits. It tracks. And it watches things. It looked at me once through the fence... and it didn't roar. It just looked."Alan Grant looked back out at the glowing monster, feeling a deep, terrifying chill run down his spine. If Eric was right, they weren't just dealing with a hyper-aggressive predator. They were dealing with something possessing a terrifying level of active, calculating intelligence.And right now, that intelligence was searching the darkness for them.
