Hide (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom)

Chapter 13

We tip-toe around the halls, freezing at every sound and echo. Owen maintains a death grip on my hand, as if I'll somehow get separated from him again if he dares let go. Not that I'm complaining; my grip on his hand probably matches his.

We end up down a dark hallway, and steam hisses from the pipes that line the wall. A faint voice echoes down the hall as we slowly creep around a corner, and Owen leads us quietly.

"Twenty one million dollars!" The voice gets clearer as we get closer, and I can start to hear more numbers getting called out. My stomach twists as I realize what the numbers mean. The dinosaurs. They're bidding on the dinosaurs down there, like they're property they can just own and control.

"Sold!"

I glance back at Claire who holds Maisie's hand, and from her expression I can tell she has the same thought as me.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, that we are halfway through the evening, we'd like to offer a special treat to our... discriminating buyers."

My first thought is Bella, and my blood boils. They are not selling her like a piece of jewelry.

But his next words replace that anger with confusion.

"This evening we will preview a new asset that we've been developing." I glance at Owen and see concern etched into his features.

"A creature of the future made from pieces of the past."

Owen glances back at me as we approach a small window. Peering out, we can see the small crowd below us and the announcer closest to the window.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please be warned, this is the perfect blend of the two most dangerous creatures that have ever walked the earth."

I glance at Claire again. That sounds awfully familiar.

"We call it... the Indoraptor."

I watch in concerned anticipation as a cage slowly moves forward on tracks. My eyes widen more and more as the creature comes into view, and my grip on Owen's hand tightens even more without me realizing.

What did they do? What did they make?

"The perfect weapon for the modern age," he continues. He is proud of this thing.

"Built for combat, with tactical responses more acute than any human soldier."

"What is that thing?" Claire mutters beside me.

"A monster.." I whisper without thinking. I meet Claire's eyes. This is worse than the Indominus.

Maisie's voice pipes up from beside us.

"They made it." Her voice still sounds scratchy from crying. "Mr. Mills, and the other man."

"Other man?" Claire asks, and Maisie points into the audience.

As if on cue, the man rises and is introduced.

"Designed by Mr. Henry Wu, with an intelligence quotient comparable to a Velociraptor."

I inhale sharply, the anger already flooding through my veins now increasing upon seeing him here. They go on about biospecs and the hunting advantages, and eventually talk about the laser targeting system. A guard raises a gun and aims it at a random guy in the audience. We watch in mute horror as the creature focuses on the man, and, as a piercing ring is released from the gun, she begins to thrash around, trying to reach the man through the cage. I mean, he deserves it, but that's still horrifying.