Chapter 105: Talking about escape

It took the ship a short time to leave the forest by retracing the river in reverse. Once they arrived at the colony of Odaria they stocked up with provisions and then went out into the open sea via the river. For the first time, Sobek found himself crossing the ocean. Fortunately, since he was an aquatic dinosaur, he didn't feel seasick. Even during the storms he didn't feel the slightest discomfort. The only unpleasant part of that trip was boredom. The journey was rather monotonous. Sobek spent most of his time sleeping, although he had to force himself to do so as his brain didn't need to rest too frequently like normal living things. But the alternative was to stay awake and get bored. Eventually he had come to appreciate Sarah and Ian's conversations and even those of the guards. Even if they were mostly uninteresting talk, they were still better than absolute silence. Even the presence of Nick, who occasionally went down to the hold to see his friends, was a good break from the monotony. As he listened to their conversations, he knew that Sarah had finally accepted Ludlow's offer and that he was thus baptized 'Spinosaurus ingens'. Nick had been the most indignant at the billionaire's arrogance, but he too had agreed that giving in was the best choice. Sobek had never liked Jurassic Park 2's Ludlow, and he discovered that he liked the real one even less. He was a slimy, disgusting and greedy character. He promised himself to eat it if he found the opportunity. After a month, finally, Sobek felt through his senses that the ship was starting to slow down. Which meant they were approaching the coast. Initially he had planned an escape while he was still aboard the ship, causing it to crash into the dock and then give way to the destruction of the city. But then, after hearing Ludlow's words and finding out what she wanted to do with him, he chose to take the gauntlet. He would have shown that insect what happened to those who dared to try to imprison it. When the ship came to a complete stop and the cargo hold doors opened, Sobek had to squint as he hadn't seen sunlight for a month. Even if there was artificial light in the hold, natural light was something else entirely. Dozens of people arrived and brought various machines. They hauled the cage away and loaded it onto a truck. Then they covered it with a dark cloth, to avoid letting prying eyes see the spinosaurus. Sobek hoped it was a short trip, but was bitterly disappointed. "Three more days of travel, boss?" one of the guards murmured. "Already. It's a shame Flagard City doesn't have a port. We have to walk from here... well, with the truck of course" Roland's voice replied. Sobek couldn't help but snort. Although it lasted only three days, the journey was even worse than the one on the ship. The cloth captured the heat of the sun and although Sobek was a dinosaur accustomed to a tropical climate, this still created discomfort. He was sweating a lot, especially on his stomach, and this irritated his skin and made it itch. At night the situation improved a little, but not enough to become tolerable. Fortunately, Sobek was very patient. After three days of traveling he began to hear the familiar sound of people's voices, as well as an infinite amount of nauseating smells caused by the exhaust fumes. He wondered how humans managed to live in the midst of such a concentration of hydrocarbons, dust, carbon dioxide and who knows what else; perhaps thanks to their underdeveloped senses they couldn't smell that stench. After a few more hours of waiting the truck finally stopped and there was silence outside for a moment. Then the cloth was removed and Sobek could finally see where he was. It was on a beaten stone road, probably white marble, suitable for the passage of people and not cars. Around him there were only iron fences about five meters high and Sobek was sure they were electrified. Trees and benches adorned the road and just in front of him there was a fork and then a wall of some huge building. And right in front of his face was a thin and sickly-looking man. Sobek, as an expert on the Jurassic Park franchise, recognized him immediately: Peter Ludlow. The tycoon was shaking and seemed to be on the verge of having an asthma attack. "It's even more majestic than I expected" he whispered in a low voice. "Roland, this animal will save Ingen! We will make billions!" Even though Ludlow had told Ian and Sarah simply that 'business wasn't going very well', in reality Ingen was on the verge of bankruptcy. But after Spinosaurus ingens exhibited at Mega Beast Park, society would have recovered instantly. "I hope it meets your expectations" Roland said. "And don't want to take back your word about my compensation" "Don't worry, Roland. You'll have your money after tonight's performance" Ludlow replied without taking his eyes off the majestic animal. Sobek didn't roll his eyes just to avoid making the humans suspicious. Even without opening the Internet, he was absolutely sure that they would organize a super exhibition to show it to the public and market it to the fullest. If he had opened a social network at that time, in all likelihood he would have found an immense advertising campaign there. Humans were so predictable... and then they were surprised if he could fool them so easily. "So is it true? Do you want to show the dinosaur already tonight?" Roland asked in surprise. Although Ludlow had informed him, it was unusual for an animal to be shown to the public immediatly: it was generally preferred to wait a couple of days to make sure the safety measures were sufficient. However Ludlow was not the type who liked to wait. "Of course yes. We practically emptied the tickets and offered a place of honor to journalists, commentators, youtubers, instagrammers, bloggers... in just one night the whole world will know that Mega Beast Park has the new king of the dinosaurs! It would surprise me if we didn't earn a billion within a month" "New king of the dinosaurs ... never a name was more appropriate" Sobek thought satisfied. Being introduced to the world with such a title wasn't bad at all. With a name like that, his fame would be magnified. "You can leave it to our employees now. They will take care of it from here". Ludlow rubbed his hands, then he seemed to remember something. "Oh, are Dr. Hardy and professor Malcolm with you by any chance? I would like to exchange a few words with..." "No, they preferred to go their own way as soon as we reached the city" Roland replied bluntly. "Oh... too bad. Well, it's their loss" Ludlow said disappointed. "With your permission, I take my leave. I'll come tonight to watch the performance... and claim my fee" Roland said, putting his cowboy hat back on, then turning on his heels and quickly disappearing from Sobek's field of vision, followed by his men. Ludlow was dumbfounded, but before he could find the words to reply, only he and a few men Sobek suspected were the zoo keepers remained. "Well... okay. From here you take care of it" Ludlow grumbled shrugging, then he headed somewhere and disappeared too. The remaining people sighed heavily. "Obviously it's up to us to do the dirty work" one of them said, and then he grabbed the radio: "Control room, how soon will the cage be ready?" A croaking voice emerged from the microphone: "A little more time. It takes a few minutes to open it... even if it is specially designed not to let anything escape, the mechanisms that regulate it slow down the process" was the answer. "Hank, Jack, check out the dinosaur. When the time comes we will come and get it" "Yeah, don't take too long" the guard grumbled, putting the radio away. The colleague approached him and handed him a bored cigarette, which he gladly accepted. Sobek snorted at the sight. It was clear that despite his size the two guards didn't fear him. If only they had known he could go out whenever he wanted... but he had to be patient. He was going to put on a show tonight. Rather, he had other things to deal with. He had in fact noticed that in the nearby enclosure there were eyes that were observing him. Thanks to his nose, he could perceive the unmistakable smell of a carnotaur. Sobek opened his mouth slightly and let out what sounded like a very ordinary growl to human ears, but which were actually words for the dinosaurs: "Come out! I'm talking to you, the one hidden among the trees. Yes, you with the big horns" From the smell and the noise he heard, he was sure that the carnotaur had jumped at hearing his voice. Sobek said no more: now he just had to wait. In fact, a few moments later a large dinosaur with unmistakable bull horns emerged from the vegetation and approached the enclosure. The carnotaur was at least 11 meters long, an exceptionally large measure for one of its species, which normally didn't exceed 9 meters; but on the other hand, if that zoo was called Mega Beast Park there had to be a reason. Its eyes betrayed its confusion. Looking by its impressive horns, it was very likely a male, and in fact when he spoke its voice was extremely masculine: "Can you talk to me?" "I can talk to everyone" Sobek replied. "What is your name?" "Carnopo" was the carnotaur's answer. Unlike dinosaurs that lived in nature, those that lived in captivity had names, because the humans who cared for them gave them one to distinguish them. Over time they got used to identifying themselves with those words. "Carnopo, huh? Nice name. Mine is Sobek" the spinosaurus said. "And now that we introduced ourselves, you and I can talk about escape"