Chapter 55: Final goodbye

Everything could be said about Marcus Jersey: that he was someone a real shark when it's talking about finance, that he didn't look anyone in the face when it came to money, that he stopped at nothing to achieve his goal, but not that he wasn't a man of honor. Just like he demanded that everyone pay the debts they had contracted with him, he always paid the debts he contracted with someone else, in one way or another. That's why he couldn't let that dinosaur die. He hadn't understood very much what Jocelyne had said (in reality, he hadn't understood very much the entire situation), but he understood that the dinosaur had saved his daughter's life and that was enough for him. He also had proof that it was protecting her when it got on top of her and had protected her with its claws when the two torvosaurs appeared. Not only that, but despite being at a clear disadvantage it had attacked the two carnivores, so as to draw attention to itself and allow Jocelyne to get away. It was risking its own life for the sake of his daughter, and Markus still didn't know how much protection he had given her while they were in the forest. Of course, that was just the idea that Markus had. Sobek had actually forgotten about Jocelyne the instant he smelled the torvosaurs and he thought only of himself. Everything else had been a lucky chain of events. But this Markus couldn't know: in his eyes, a noble animal was about to die to protect his daughter, and he couldn't allow it. He owed him a huge debt and he was going to pay it. A life for a life, it used to be said; never a proverb could be more suited for that situation. "Load the machine guns and riddle that dinosaur! Now, move! I want to see it spit blood within the next ten seconds!" he ordered pointing at the torvosaurus who was currently holding Sobek by the neck. It would have been wiser to use a bazooka or even heaviest weapons, but he didn't want to risk hurting the... what was that dinosaur by the way? He couldn't remember ever having seen such an animal, neither in books or in documentaries or in zoos. That enormous and tall sail reminded him of a... spinosaurus? He could focus on biology next. Now the important matter was to eliminate the threat. Following his orders, the soldiers fired at the torvosaurus. In less than a second, thousands of holes opened in the animal's skin from which gushes of blood emerged. The animal released its grip and backed away, but it was unable to escape the barrage of bullets. Wherever it was hit, it had a new wound. Deep sores opened all over its body and Markus was pretty sure it had been blinded. While the soldiers kept one of the torvosaurs busy, the 'spinosaurus' twisted its body and killed its companion. Markus was surprised: that animal didn't give him the idea of being very agile, instead it had been able to make a movement so articulated that it was the envy of a skilled contortionist. He returned to reality when he noticed that the dinosaur had resumed its attack position and headed for the torvosaurus still alive. "Cease the fire!" Markus ordered, realizing what the colossus wanted to do. The torvosaurus was now barely standing. Blood gushed from its wounds like a hellish fountain. Incapable even to see, it tried in vain to use its nose to orient and escape, but it didn't have the chance: two huge claws were immediately upon it. As if to take revenge for what they had done, the 'spinosaurus' grabbed the torvosaurus by the neck and bit it, and then twisted its head. The 'crack' of the broken bones was audible even from the distance where Markus was standing, more than ten meters away. With the torvosaurus finally dead, the 'spinosaurus' leaned against the corpse panting heavily. It was clear that it was extremly tired. Markus couldn't blame the dinosaur: the battle had not lasted more than two minutes, but it had been so violent as to deprive any living thing of energy. It was sufficient to look at the torvosaur bite marks on the 'spinosaurus' neck to realize how fiercely those animals had just fought. From his point of view, it was a miracle that the 'spinosaurus' could still stand up, instead of collapsing to the ground and instantly passing out from all that effort. Then, the 'spinosaurus' looked at the humans. It was a quick staring contest that lasted just twenty seconds, then the spinosaurus roared at them. It wasn't an aggressive roar, it sounded more like a warning. In Jersey it was clear: the 'spinosaurus' was yelling to them "Go away, here is not safe for you". He certainly had no problem believing to its warning and following that advice: he wasn't a zoologist, but even he knew that often predatory dinosaurs just like the torvosaurs moved in little packs and that so the two that they had just killed were only some of the dangerous carnivores hiding in that part of the forest. After having launched that warning, the 'spinosaurus' looked at Jocelyne. She waved her hand in greeting, and the dinosaur let out a slight snort and closed hits eyes a couple of times; perhaps that was its way of returning her greeting. After that last goodbye, this time definitive, the 'spinosaurus' plunged one of its clawed arms into each one of the two bodies of the torvosaurs, then dragged them away, and quickly disappeared with them in the thick of the jungle. The humans could hear the sound of its heavy footsteps for a few more minutes, then neither those aymore. The 'spinosaurus' was really gone. Markus noticed that Jocelyne looked a little sad to see her friend leave. He didn't know how they had met, even less about what they had been through together, but it was clear that his daughter had grown fond of that dinosaur, for her, that must not be a happy goodbye. "Hey, starlight" he said to cheer her up. "Let's go home now" "Will it be okay?" Jocelyne asked with a worried face. Markus knew what she was referring to: the wounds the torvosaurs had inflicted on the 'spinosaurus' were quite deep. There was a high probability that they would have gone into septicemia. He was pretty sure the animal wouldn't have survived the night. However, he certainly couldn't answer her like that. He knew his daughter well: she was mature and smart, much more than someone would have expected from her age, but when she got something in her head she became very stubborn. If he had admitted that there was a good chance that the 'spinosaurus' could die, he was sure she would have insisted on following it and helping it. And that was something that Markus doubted he could do: modern medicine was marvelous, but it wasn't infallible. It was difficult for an animal to survive such deep wounds even if it had medical treatment. "Of course. You saw it, it's strong. For predators like that one, such cuts are normal". It wasn't really a lie, but a half-truth. Jocelyne didn't seem convinced of the answer, but for some reason she didn't insist. Markus was a little surprised: it was rare for his daughter to give up so easily. What he didn't know was that she had witnessed the healing speed given by [Regeneration], so she knew that even if the 'spinosaurus' was badly injured it would surely have gotten away with it. It had survived the bites of the carcharodontosaurus, it was unlikely that for the torvosaurs' ones the situation would have been different. Jocelyne and Bethany got into a jeep and finally the little girl was able to enjoy a hot tea and a blanket. Just five minutes after he had achieved these things, her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep. Apparently she was really exhausted. The soldiers quickly began to dismantle the base camp. While they worked, Jackson walked over to Abe; after all that had happened, he needed to have a few words with him. "This day couldn't get stranger" he said. "Sure? After all that happened, I wouldn't be surprised if we spot a dragon flying in the sky on our way back to town" Abe joked. "Anyway, I'm just as surprised as you are. I never thought I'd see a giant predatory dinosaur behave like that. If it weren't for the fact that I didn't drink a drop of alcohol since we started looking for the little miss, I'd think I'm drunk" "Yeah, me too" "You? Ah! What a joke. You haven't been well drunk for at least a year, Rafiki" "I'm sorry if I don't usually visit the slums like you" "You're missing out on real delicacies with this mentality. Beer, vodka, spirits ... I've found the best of them in what you call 'slums'. True delights" Jackson smiled. Even in that situation, his brother could keep him entertained like that. "What do you think they are saying?" he said pointing to the other soldiers, who while they were working were divided into small groups and were talking to each other. "Probably the same things we're telling now" Abe replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if in a week or little more in the militia will start circulating stories about the little miss that tames dinosaurs. Or maybe they will give her the role of the little princess that is protected by a noble animal that was moved with compassion by her purity" "Maybe they will even say that this dinosaur had been sent by God" "Nah, I don't believe they will go that far. But who knows, people's imagination has really no limits..." Jackson let out a slight laugh, but before he could reply he noticed Markus walking towards him. Quickly he and Abe stood at attention awaiting orders. As soon as he reached them, Markus immediately turned to Jackson: "You filmed everything, right?" The soldiers of all the private militias had a camera built into the flak jacket, this is because even if they ended up in ambushes it was possible to send videos to the headquarters through which they could discover the culprit. Jackson nodded. "I think everyone has done it" he said, and Abe shook his head to confirm. Markus was beaming. Once such images were made public, a true storm would happen! And if Jocelyne ended up in the spotlight, no one would ever dare kidnap her again. She wouldn't become a national treasure, but she would have the eyes of the scientific community on her. There was even the possibility that they would offer her to study abroad! Who in those conditions would have risked his face trying to capture her? Not to mention that the fact that the previous kidnappers had gone badly would certainly not created a good reputation that would have further discouraged the assailants. "Call an international press conference immediately. Invite all the most distinguished biologists, scientists and scholars. This is first-class news material" he ordered. "And make sure nobody posts it on the Internet, even on our private line!"