Chapter 234: Helping the dinosaurs

When the sun rose the fire had finally been put out; only a few small embers still glowed with the terrible light of the fire. What had been a farm was now reduced to a pile of ash; the fields were completely black, the fences and any other wooden structures had been worn to crumble, and what remained were only the skeletons of the buildings. The smoke still emerged from the ashes, but at least now it was white, a sign that the fire had been completely extinguished. It hadn't been an emotionless night at all. Firefighters and police had worked hard to contain the flames and prevent them from spreading. Now that the sun was rising and the emergency was over, many of them were sitting on the ground or leaning on vehicles to catch their breath. Even the dinosaurs were upset. After the cubs were released and the eggs recovered, they, along with the females and the sick, were taken away from the fire, but then all the dinosaurs still able to fight had returned to support the firefighters. prevent the flames from reaching them. Females, young, and eggs couldn't get away, or at least not so fast as to distance the fire. Snock couldn't risk the humans knowing about [Teleportation], and even in the midst of that disaster someone would have noticed the dinosaurs teleporting, so the giganotosaurus had chosen not to take any chances. Although they had worked side by side to put out the fire, now that the danger had passed, the situation had stalled again. The dinosaurs had gathered on a hill and some of them were constantly keeping humans in check. However neither side seemed willing to fight or talk: they were both too tired to do anything. Snock wanted so much to rest, but he knew he couldn't allow himself a moment of peace. He had to first make sure all the dinosaurs were okay, and then find a way to leave without using [Teleportation]. Unfortunately, however, he immediately encountered several setbacks: many of the dinosaurs on the farm, especially the females (who had been forced to lay an infinite number of eggs), were unable to travel. Some of them didn't even seem to be able to get up. Snock didn't have the ability to bestow powers like Sobek did, so he couldn't give the dinosaurs [Regeneration]. And the mind-sharing ability of [Contract] was under Sobek's control, so he couldn't ask for help or even advice. The giganotosaurus didn't know what to do. He wanted to use [Teleportation] and get out of there right away, but he was reluctant to do so: if his pack leader had ordered him not to show that ability to humans, there must be a reason. Snock remembered how Al, by disobeying a single order, had jeopardized the management of the prisoners of Cartago. What if he, showing the humans [Teleportation], would do something even more serious? He wanted to save the dinosaurs he had freed, but he couldn't put the whole herd at risk to save a few dozen individuals. However, Snock wasn't the only one who had no idea how to move. Not far from him, in fact, Owen Grady was mulling over what to do. They had saved the dinosaurs and put out the fire, and the criminals had been captured. However, now what was he supposed to do? His training hadn't prepared him to talk to dinosaurs. He had managed to make himself heard before, but the dinosaurs were frightened and desperate and probably they would have accepted even the devil's help as well in order to save the cubs and the eggs; now that the danger was pass they would surely be more cautious. A slap hit him on the shoulder; under normal circumstances he wouldn't even move, but now he was so drained that he shivered for a moment. "Sorry" said Barry, the perpetrator of the 'attack'. "Take this, you need it" Owen saw himself handed a thermos full of coffee. He didn't even answer: he just took it and took a big sip. The bitter taste tickled his tongue, but at least it gave him back some energy. "Thanks" he murmured when he was done. "Forget about it. You deserved it after this mountain of shit" "Weren't you the one who said 'language'?" "You will reproach me for life... in any case, fuck you" Owen laughed at his friend's comment. Barry snorted, but emitted a smile, which vanished soon after. "What do we do now?" That question made Owen's laughter disappear. "I don't know. We may have solved a mountain of shit, but we have another one right in front of us" Barry grunted as his eyes rested on the dinosaurs nearby. "The best choice would be to put them on a ship and send them to their fellows. They can't go anywhere after all, not on this continent at least. Sending them home would be the safest solution and no one would get hurt" "There is no doubt about this. The problem will be to convince them" "Why? They've already listened to you once, haven't they?" "Barry, look at them" Owen nodded at the dinosaurs. "They are scared. They are afraid of us, and I personally can't blame them. They listened to us because they were in an emergency situation and they helped us because it was in their best interest to stop the fire. Now that the calm has returned, they won't be very inclined to trust us. For them, we are the danger. We aren't the ones who mistreated them but we belong to the same species" Barry couldn't deny that his friend was right. If the parties had reversed he too would never have trusted those who until a few hours earlier had tortured and mistreated him. "So what do we do?" Owen shook his head. "We will have to squeeze our brains and find a way to make them understand what is the best choice for everyone" Suddenly there was a car noise. Some vehicles parked directly next to them. The dinosaurs seemed alerted by their arrival, but they did nothing. A rather lanky boy with a strange haircut got out of one of the cars. "Good, we just lacked the government police" Owen grumbled. "Friendly as always, I see" the boy greeted him. Barry laughed. "You know he is actually glad to see you. Thanks for coming, Franklin" Government police were roughly the equivalent of the FBI on Earth. Its members handled particularly dangerous cases, such as the search for arms traffickers and drug loops, and often ended up working side by side with the regular police. Franklin Webb was one of those members and had known Owen and Barry for about four years. The two policemen remembered what he was like when he had just joined the government police: an insecure boy, not very brave and not very inclined to fly. But over the course of four years Franklin had grown into a serious, respectful, and incorruptible detective. The three had kept in touch during those years, but in recent times they had rarely found themselves solving a problem together. Until now. "Situation?" Franklin asked. "Stable for now" Owen replied. "After all, the dinosaurs are too tired to fight or run away" "Seeing their condition, I'd say some of them can't even move" Barry added. Franklin sighed deeply. "A very shit situation" he murmured. "Have you already tried to talk to us?" "Franklin, we've spent the last three hours running from side to side to stop a fire. We don't have the strength to negotiate" Owen replied annoyed. "And at the moment I would say that they too are too tired and nervous to strike up an argument. Let's give them time to regain their strength" Franklin looked at the dinosaurs, who barely seemed able to stand up. "Yes, it's the best solution" "Franklin!" The trio turned to see a dark-haired, bobbed woman in big orange-rimmed glasses getting out of a newly arrived car and running towards them as cops tried to stop her. "Tell your agents to get their hands off me!" she screamed in annoyance. "All right, guys, she's with me!" she hastened to say Franklin. The cops finally let her through. "Owen, Barry, this is Zia Rodriguez. She is an old acquaintance of mine and she is a veterinarian, and she is also good" "The best" corrected the woman. Franklin ignored her. "I asked her to come in case there were any injuries between... them" he said pointing at the dinosaurs. "Given the situation, I certainly couldn't contact a doctor" "Well, that might have been a good idea" Barry said, holding out his hand. "I'm Barry Sembène. Pleased to meet you. The misanthrope back there is Owen Grady" "I know your names. Franklin told me about you" "You are really childhood friends, huh?" Barry laughed, only to notice a pin on Zia's dress. "Are you part of the MCD?" "I became a veterinarian because I love animals. Even if they have become intelligent, it is my duty to protect them" Zia replied. "Why? Is it a problem?" "Absolutely not. As long as you do your job you can also be affiliated with a mafia boss as far as I'm concerned" "And you'll have a lot of work, I'd say" Owen added. "Those ones aren' exactly in good shape" Zia looked at the dinosaurs. Even though they were far apart, she could recognize at least thirty different types of wounds. There were several scars and abrasions that were clearly infected. Many animals had missing body parts, especially horns. Some of the predators had even had their teeth and claws removed, and judging by the appearance of the scars, the work had been painful and unhealthy for the animals. "What were they used for?" "A little bit of everything. Those bastards used large herbivores for their eggs and skin, and theropods for their plumage. They also took horns and claws. Recently, given the situation, criminals had also started marketing the meat" Franklin explained. "Have you already questioned the criminals?" Owen exclaimed, surprised that the boy had so much information. "Yes, as soon as they got to the station. Fortunately they weren't reluctant at all and confessed everything. The prison probably seems the safest place right now to them: there the dinosaurs won't be able to reach them" Franklin replied. "We also kept the media and the population at bay. We have set up a checkpoint not far from here" "You did well. We work better without the press" Barry said. "Now we must try to..." He could say nothing more: a deafening sound nearly made his eardrums explode. All the humans in the area plugged their ears and grimaced in pain, and the dinosaurs looked pretty annoyed too. Immediately after, a thud. When the humans came to understand the situation again, they realized that the cause of that cacophony was a huge dreadnoughtus at least twenty-five meters long that had fallen to the ground on its side and was complaining, and they didn't need to be experts to understand that they were moans of pain. Even from their distance, Owen, Barry, Franklin and Zia could see a pool of blood forming near the animal's tail. The other dinosaurs looked terrified. Two apatosaurs stepped forward and tried to help the dreadnoughtus get up, but soon gave up as it was clear that their movements only made him suffer more. The other dinosaurs crowded around the giant sauropod, but they didn't even seem to have the courage to touch it. "Some wounds must have reopened... or worse" Zia exclaimed. "Come on, we have to help them! I have some antibiotics with me. Maybe I can..." "Hey, stop, stop! Where do you think you're going?" Owen stopped her, holding her by the arm. "Those dinosaurs right now are scared, nervous and angry. If you go there they will take it as an act of aggression" "But if that dreadnoughtus dies, then it will be impossible to talk!" Zia pointed out. "Or do you think that a mourning will make dinosaurs more docile and well-disposed?" The woman wasn't completely wrong, Owen had to admit that. Still, his duty was to protect people. "Even if they accept your help, we cannot be sure that you will be able to cure that animal. If it dies while you are treating it, they will blame you" When people were psychologically destroyed they looked for someone to blame: it was the law that every doctor had to face at least once in their life. But it was one thing to take the risk with human beings, who had kicks and punches as weapons and who generally limited themselves to screaming and crying; it was another thing to take it with dinosaurs that had horns, claws, fangs and jaws available and that in a fit of madness could tear a human being to pieces as if he was made of sugar. But Zia didn't seem worried. "It's a risk we have to take. If we don't help the dinosaurs they will be convinced that we don't care about their fate. If we want to avoid further destruction we cannot antagonize them!" "Owen" Barry said. "Don't be angry, but I think she is right" Owen glanced sideways at his partner, and then turned to Franklin: "Aren't you going to say anything?" "What should I tell you? I know her too well and I know that nothing I will say will make her change her mind" replied the boy with a shrug. Owen bit his lip and looked back at Zia in her eyes: "Are you really sure?" The woman nodded. "I came here today to save lives. If I pull back now, I will no longer be able to call myself a true veterinarian" Owen's body became tense, then suddenly relaxed with a sigh. "Okay, after all we haven't risked our lives enough for today" he grumbled. "Barry, you stay here in charge of the agents. Me, Franklin and Zia try to talk to those beasts. I recommend that no one draws a weapon except as the very last resort: we don't need to make them more nervous" Barry nodded and ran to give orders to the agents. Owen took off his gun and placed it on the dashboard of a car. "You too, Franklin. No weapons" Franklin was clearly hesitant, but ultimately chose that it was best to trust his old friend. So he too put the gun on the car. Zia took a bag full of medicines that she had brought with her. Then all three walked towards the hill where the dinosaurs resided; behind them they could hear the eyes of everyone present on them. For half of the way they ran into no hitches. However, when they arrived within twenty meters of the group of dinosaurs, they found their way blocked by a therizinosaurus. "Stop!" he roared. "Take another step and you will regret it!" As he spoke, the therizinosaurus waved his enormous claws. Although those one meter-long blades would have terrified anyone, the courage of the three didn't waver. In particular, Zia was focused on another characteristic of the animal: his latex-white eyes. "Wait, is he blind?" she whispered in Franklin's ear. "One of the criminals we arrested confessed that they burned his eyes with chemicals to make him less dangerous" her friend said to him. "Burned his eyes?" Zia exclaimed. "How can someone do such a cruelty?". From her tone it was clear that she was indignant. "The bastards who ran this place wanted docile and obedient dinosaurs" Owen replied with anger in his voice. "They didn't give a damn if they losed their sight. No eyes meant less chance to fight, and so they took them away" "I can hear you!" the therizinosaurus roared. "I can't see, but don't think you can fool me for this. I have very fine hearing and smell. Try to get closer and you are dead" Owen decided to take the floor. "We aren't here to hurt you. We want to help you" "Help us? What help could you ever want to give us?" "Your companion is injured. We have a veterinarian with us. She can..." "What is a vete... that?" Owen quickly realized that the therizinosaurus wasn't at all sympathetic to them; indeed, probably only the fear of retaliation was preventing him from jumping on them. It was clear that he hated them and looking at his battered eyes Owen couldn't blame him. Zia stepped forward. "I am a vet. I am a person who treat for animals. Who treat those like you. I have medicines here... drugs, antibiotics. I can help your companion" "Treating those like us... so are you a healer?" The therizinosaurus snapped its claws in a clear sign of nervousness. It was evident that he didn't believe a single word. Owen expected him to chase them away, instead he arched his neck and let out a screech. At that call one of the dinosaurs who was looking after the injured dreadnoughtus turned and came towards them. Owen recognized the giganotosaurus he had talked to before. Probably, he reflected, he was the 'leader' of the rebellion, or at least the one that took the decisions. A sort of boss, in short. The giganotosaurus wasn't the only one to approach: several atrociraptors also followed suit. "What do you want?" the giganotosaurus snapped as soon as he was in front of him. His tone was hard and cold and his body was as taut as a violin string. The therizinosaurus let out a snort. "They say they want to help us, Snock. The woman is a... healer, and she wants to help our companion" The giganotosaurus's eyes were on Zia. "A healer?" he growled. "Why should a human know how to heal us?" Zia dwindled under the furious gaze of the animal, but she did not lose heart. "I studied to do it. I have some medicine with me. I can save the life of..." "I don't trust you" the giganotosaurus stopped her immediately. "Go away. This is not your business" The huge theropod started to turn around, but Franklin stopped him. "Please wait! We really want to help you!" he exclaimed. "You don't trust us, and I don't blame you. But your companion is dying. If you care about his life, you must allow us to help you!" "You trusted us when your cubs were in danger. YOU trusted me... Snock" Owen interjected, luckily remembering the dinosaur's name. "Judging by how much blood he or she is leaking, your friend is definitely doomed. So isn't it wise to try every possibility? What do you have to lose?" Snock seemed to freeze at those words and his eyes stared intently at the three humans, so much so that they could have melted under his intensity. However, in his mind, Snock knew they were right. He didn't know how to heal the dreadnoughtus and couldn't use [Teleportation] without exposing himself. He had only two choices: either he let the dreadnoughtus die, or he accepted the help of humans. But which of them was the right one? The best choice would have been to try every possibility, as Owen had said; but Snock didn't trust humans. What if they actually aimed to do something much worse? What if that was just an excuse to walk up to them and stab them in the back? "I don't know what to do" he thought despondently. "I'm not good at these things... I'm not good at making decisions outside of a battle. The pack leader choosed the wrong dinosaur! I am not suited for this task! I only know how to fight!" But Sobek wasn't there at the moment. There was only him, and only he could decide what to do. The life of the dreadnoughtus was his responsibility, and only his own; complaining in his head was useless. Eventually he made a compromise. "Only the healer can come. The others go back" The three humans looked at each other worriedly. That could have been a problem. Zia, alone, in the middle of a group of angry dinosaurs ready to spring like springs? It was safer to shoot himself in the chest than her. Owen tried to negotiate: "She might need help. It would be better if..." "ONLY THE HEALER!" he roared the giganotosaurus. His tone was clear: that or nothing, take it or leave it. A trickle of sweat dripped from Zia's forehead, but then she closed her eyes and, appealing to her courage, she said, "Okay. You two go back, I'll take care of it here" "I won't allow it!" Franklin yelled grabbing her by the arm, but all she got of her was a punch in her side. "I'm not asking your permission" the woman replied. But Owen agreed with Franklin. "You don't go anywhere, not alone" "Of course, because there is big difference if all the three of us go there unarmed" Zia pointed out. "It doesn't matter! The agreement is broken, let's go" Zia looked at him sideways for a moment, then she did something no one expected: she sprinted and ran towards the dinosaurs. Within seconds she was behind the terizinosaurus. "I'm afraid I don't want to. If you disagree, come and get me" she said with a satisfied expression. Both Franklin and Owen were cursing in the heart. Snock had said that only Zia could pass; which meant that if they tried to get past the therizinosaurus as she did, the dinosaur wouldn't think twice about mowing them down. "Take me to your companion" Zia said to Snock, who motioned her to go. "You stay here and keep an eye on the other humans" the giganotosaurus said to the atrociraptors, and then turned to the terizinosaurus: "Instead you'll come with me and you'll help me to supervise the healer. If she tries to do something stupid, stick her" Snock hadn't chosen the roles at random: he was enough able to keep an eye on Zia, but he knew that humans used very small and dubious tools. Therefore the terizinosaurus, with its superfine hearing and smell, could have identified strange sounds or particular smells that would have shown hostile behavior. The atrociraptors, on the other hand, had excellent eyesight, so they were the best candidates to keep an eye on humans camped a hundred meters away. Owen and Franklin watched Zia leave with the two huge dinosaurs in tow, but they knew they couldn't do anything. If they tried to get close, the atrociraptors would have quartered them alive. So they decided to turn around and go back to Barry and prepare for a possible rescue operation. At the moment there was nothing else they could do.