Chương 10: Indominus Rex (10)

When predators of the same species cross paths and come to blows over territory, food, water, or mates, the larger animal usually holds the advantage. And when they are fighting to kill, that advantage becomes even more absolute—and far more obvious. Just as it was now. The other dinosaur was so much larger that its sheer bulk alone could cut off Asset's avenues of advance and retreat. Sometimes, all it had to do was turn sideways and sweep its tail, forcing Asset to abandon her attack and defend herself.

Its claws and teeth were sharper. A single swipe could leave Asset pouring blood. Its layer of fat was thicker, allowing it to withstand counterattacks that should have been fatal. It opened its jaws nearly one hundred and eighty degrees, like a python preparing to swallow its prey. Asset was certain that mouth could close completely around her neck. If the other dinosaur managed to bite down with all its strength, Asset would probably die here. And its hide was simply too thick.

Under ordinary circumstances, Asset could have sliced open its belly. Now, she could leave only a shallow wound. Worst of all, the other dinosaur appeared to be intelligent. The moment it realized Asset's techniques were more effective, it began imitating them and adjusting its own movements as they fought. Its crude approximations were already troublesome enough. But techniques could be copied quickly. True skill and intelligence had to be hammered into shape through countless trials.

No matter how convincing the imitation or how powerful the strike, a counterfeit remained a counterfeit. How could it compare with abilities practiced so often that they had become instinct? Asset was a veteran who had carved her experience out of one hunt after another. Even against a larger member of her own species, she refused to be overwhelmed. Within only a few exchanges, she had adapted to her opponent's speed and strength and begun forcing the fight into her own rhythm.

She could not meet the other dinosaur strength for strength; she was too weak for that. Nor could she challenge it head-on. The larger dinosaur looked down upon her from above and could easily break her momentum. Its belly was also difficult to reach. Asset had considered severing its ankles, but if the creature dropped its full weight on top of her, there would be no escape. If none of those approaches would work, then she would attack from another angle. Asset made a decision so bold that it bordered on madness.

She sprinted toward a boulder, planted one foot against it, and launched herself into the air. Twisting as she leaped over her opponent, she landed on the larger dinosaur's back and aimed her jaws at its spine. For the smaller animal, attacking from behind was almost the only chance of victory. But the risk was enormous. If her opponent reacted quickly enough to leap and snap its jaws shut while Asset was still airborne, Asset would die between its teeth.

Yet if she did not take the chance, she would die anyway—either worn down slowly or tormented to death. Asset did not believe that just because the other dinosaur failed to kill her today, it would continue failing forever. They lived inside the same enclosure, their territories overlapping. The reasons for conflict would only multiply. How much food would the humans provide? Would it be dead meat or living prey? Would the other dinosaur steal her kills?

When night came, would Asset sleep—or be bitten to death in her dreams? Every one of these problems was obvious, and none could be resolved peacefully. So the moment the other dinosaur decided to kill her, Asset had to kill it first. Ideally, she needed to finish it here and now. The other dinosaur was the laboratory's favorite. Unless its own life came under threat, the humans might never open the enclosure to save Asset.

She would gamble everything on the chance that her opponent had never learned to hunt and would react too slowly. In the next instant, Asset allowed herself to be knocked aside. She rolled across the ground, scrambled upright, and raced toward the boulder. Chasing fleeing prey was a predator's instinct. The larger dinosaur roared with excitement and accelerated after her, convinced victory was already its.

Then the "prey" ahead planted a foot against the rock, vaulted upward, arched backward, and sailed directly over its head— Instinct told the larger dinosaur to jump and bite. At that moment, its chances of catching Asset were excellent. Its mind understood what it needed to do. Its body did not. A predator that had gone too long without hunting lacked the necessary coordination. It missed its best opportunity to kill Asset, who had already landed on its back. The balance of the fight reversed in an instant.

Asset drove her toe claws deep into the other dinosaur's flesh and clung on with all her strength, fighting to keep her balance. As her opponent thrashed violently, Asset raked with both foreclaws, tearing and biting through flesh as she fought her way inch by inch toward its spine. But her opponent was no helpless herbivore. It immediately threw itself sideways. The force of the impact knocked Asset off balance.

Then the larger dinosaur hooked Asset with its long claws, tore her from its back, and slammed her into the ground. It raised one hind leg and stamped down with tremendous force. The impact left Asset dizzy and disoriented. She forced her tail to move, using it like a snake to slide herself beyond the range of the attack. The other dinosaur's foot crashed into empty ground, sending clouds of dust into the air. Asset used the dust as cover.

She sprang to her feet, spat out several broken teeth covered in blood, then launched herself upward from below and locked her jaws around her opponent's throat. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"ROAR!" Claws plunged into Asset's belly. She did not dare release her bite. Asset raised one claw and slashed toward the other dinosaur's artery. The other dinosaur hooked its claws into Asset's abdomen and pulled out her intestines. Their blood mingled together. Their flesh was ground into a mangled mass. The other dinosaur's blood flooded Asset's throat until, at last, she heard her opponent's hysterical scream of agony. Good. She had not lost! If this thing wanted to eat her, it could go to hell!

Asset had no idea how much time passed before the strength of both animals gradually began to fade. Through the haze, she finally heard the gates of the habitat opening. The humans rushed inside, shouting over one another.

"Call the emergency team!"

"I told you we couldn't keep them together!"

"It's over—both Assets are dead!" Someone with quick reflexes managed to drive a needle into Asset amid the chaos. By then, she could no longer feel pain. She only felt cold. Death hovered beside her once again, but this time she felt no fear. There was only anger and bitter resentment. Was that damned creature dead yet? It had better be completely dead. If it was not, then they needed to let Asset go. She would drag herself upright, bite it one more time, and then die. Only then could she die in peace.

No matter what happened, she would never forget its scent. It had ripped open her belly, dragged out her organs, and nearly killed her! Still, the other dinosaur had surely committed Asset's scent to memory as well. That bite to the throat had nearly killed it. It would probably spend countless nights to come unable to sleep in peace. Good. The strong had no need of a pack. A wild beast could never be tamed. Let them remember each other. Let this continue until one of them died.

Only one Indominus rex could remain at the top of Isla Nublar's food chain. With a little luck and an extraordinary will to survive, Asset lived. Her exposed organs were pushed back into her abdominal cavity, and the gash across her belly was stitched shut with fishing line. It took thirty stitches in all, leaving behind a hideous scar that resembled an earthworm. Fortunately, she healed quickly, and her appetite remained unaffected.

After several days of eating her fill, the stitches were removed, and she was returned to the laboratory habitat to recover. Unsurprisingly, the other dinosaur survived as well. Strangely enough, its injuries were even more severe than Asset's. Asset had reportedly torn open a major artery in its neck, making both the surgery and subsequent recovery extremely difficult. But its constitution was astonishing. After receiving a transfusion of velociraptor blood, it was soon full of life again.

It returned to the outdoor habitat even before Asset did. Now it spent its days prowling around the entire enclosure, searching for Asset. Apparently, its desire to eat her had not changed in the slightest. When Asset heard what the other dinosaur was doing, she blew an irritated breath through her nostrils. Why had she not tried just a little harder and bitten the creature to death? Now there was a predator that regarded her as food, growing larger by the day. Sooner or later, it would come after her again.

The feeding chute stirred. Perhaps to make eating easier while she recovered from her injuries, the humans sent in a sheep that posed almost no threat. Asset killed it with a single bite to the neck and began eating the choicest cuts. She resolved to restore herself to full strength and settle the score for her disembowelment another day. Meanwhile, the humans reached a decision about what to do with her.

They unanimously concluded that the Indominus rexes possessed neither affection for companions nor any need for social contact or group living. They were like solitary tigers or leopards, with no concept of cooperative hunting. Whenever they encountered one another, appetite was all that remained. Housing them together was impossible. Raising them separately was the only reasonable choice.

"But we only have one suitable habitat, and the second one is still growing. Are we supposed to put it in with the velociraptors? God, that would turn into another bloodbath!"

"If we don't have another habitat, we'll build one. It needs to be far away from the first. They hate each other, so they certainly won't want to be neighbors. Who wants to fall asleep smelling someone they despise?"

"But constructing a new habitat will take at least three years. We won't be able to manage it once it reaches six months."

"Use one of the old enclosures in the high-voltage sector," someone suggested.

"The second one isn't as violent as the first, and its temperament is more stable. As long as it has enough food, it probably won't leave its comfort zone."

"But dinosaurs escaped from the old sector ten years ago. We can't take that risk."

"The electrical grid has been repaired. Let's try it." In the end, they hurriedly restored one of the old habitats and transferred Asset there when she reached six months of age. She had no choice but to bid Mr. DNA "farewell." She understood that her days of learning inside the laboratory had come to an end. Afterward, she was housed alone in the old habitat—the enclosure that had once belonged to the velociraptors. At the same time, Susan reappeared after her long absence.

She was still Asset's keeper, and her familiar scent made Asset feel at ease. Away from the laboratory, Susan became noticeably more "lively." She often entered the enclosure to clean with the easygoing fearlessness of someone who had already lived long enough. Sometimes she was even bold enough to go without protective equipment. Asset never frightened her or approached her without reason. As they spent more time together, Susan also became more relaxed. She even began calling Asset a "good girl" with a smile.

The keeper seemed to sense that Asset was different from other dinosaurs. After a while, Susan began bringing a chair and sitting outside the enclosure to read the newspaper. Whenever Asset finished eating, she would walk to the fence and lie quietly beneath the broad leaves, watching her.

"Good girl?" Susan called. She turned toward the thickest part of the foliage, but all she could see were leaves. There was no sign of a dinosaur. Susan did not mind. She merely smiled.

"All right, I know you're there, even if I can't see you. Have you come to listen to me read the newspaper again? Oh, how remarkable—a dinosaur that enjoys the news. Those idiots in the laboratory have no idea what they're missing, do they?" Susan continued to chatter.

"People my age tend to ramble. Even my daughter can't stand listening to me anymore. But you, my good girl, never seem to mind. Animals really are better listeners than humans—and they don't even charge for it." The sunlight was warm, and a gentle breeze drifted through the enclosure. Susan began reading the newspaper's front-page story, which described a horrifying incident.

"Private plane lands on deserted island; seven people torn apart by unidentified animals. Let me see the coordinates of the incident…" She examined the article.

"Well, it happened on another island owned by the genetics company. If I remember correctly, wasn't that where they ran Camp Cretaceous?" She adopted a thoughtful expression.

"Camp Cretaceous… Was that where Dr. Wu created the first-generation Scorpios rex?"

"Oh God. Did they leave the Scorpios rex on that island?" The familiar words Scorpios rex jolted Asset out of her drowsiness. She focused her attention and listened, but Susan did not continue. Instead, she moved on to another part of the newspaper. Susan was already old. She seemed to have worked for the genetics company for a long time and knew many of its secrets. Even so, despite being a biologist, the only position available to her now was that of an animal keeper.

Perhaps she had once possessed great ambitions. Perhaps she had once considered resisting the corporation. But as she grew older, she gradually came to understand how little power one person possessed. She also realized that the company would never allow people like them to leave. Those who knew its secrets would remain trapped on this island until they died. She understood that. Yet during these ordinary and extraordinary final years of her life, she encountered a very special dinosaur.

"Good girl, if you ever get the chance, you must escape. Don't grow old and die on this island like me." Susan smiled.

"Go and see the sky beyond this place. It's beautiful. And while you're out there, show the whole world what happens when science is allowed to operate without restraint. Those lunatics really will create anything." Asset released a low breath that almost sounded like an answer. Susan heard it. She fell silent for a long time before murmuring:"…I can't be the first person to have thought this, my dear. Your intelligence terrifies me."