How much longer?
Carlo, who had been awake the entire time, was bored out of his mind. He'd been crouched in the same position for so long his muscles were starting to seize up. Why couldn't these humans build a bigger cage?
Thud.
Carlo tried to tilt his head to stretch his spine, but his skull slammed directly into the overhead bars, letting out a sharp, metallic ring.
"Holy sh—!"
The surrounding guards instantly raised their rifles, aiming toward Carlo's container. Judging by the intersecting infrared beams, at least ten weapons were locked onto him.
After all, if this "Big Boss" actually woke up, he really could dismantle the entire ship.
"False alarm?"
After a tense standoff lasting a full ten minutes, one of the guards finally checked with the men behind him.
"False alarm."
The red dots gradually vanished from Carlo's container. Silence returned to the hold, broken only by the rhythmic splashing of waves against the hull.
Thud!
Another sharp sound rang out. Carlo had lightly flicked his tail against the side of the container.
"Eyes up!"
In an instant, a dozen red dots peppered the container again. The guards' hearts leaped into their throats.
Another ten minutes passed. Not a sound came from inside the box.
"This..."
One guard lowered his rifle, and the others followed suit, looks of confusion spreading among them.
Could the swaying of the ship be causing the dinosaur to bump into the walls? But the other containers were perfectly still...
Thud!
Yet another sharp strike! Every guard's nerves were pulled taut.
To be safe, they were forced to raise their weapons again, though their posture was noticeably more relaxed this time.
"Does this dinosaur... just have a bad sleeping position?" one guard muttered.
"I think he's actually awake and just messing with us," another replied, seemingly seeing through the act. He voiced the one theory no one else wanted to accept.
"That would make him too smart, wouldn't it?"
"How would he know we're on guard? Or how long we'd stay alert? Impossible."
One of the men lowered his gun and addressed the group: "Regardless, the sedatives might be wearing off. we have to notify the other ship."
He picked up his radio to contact the acting lead on the secondary vessel.
"Quetton, the sedatives may be wearing off. Stay sharp."
A burst of static came from the other end. No one replied for a long moment.
"Quetton, come in. Over."
More static.
"Quetton?"
Inside the bridge of the other ship, logbooks, compasses, and nautical charts were scattered across the floor in a chaotic mess. A figure lay slumped on the ground. On the desk, the radio flickered intermittently, broadcasting the unanswered calls.
…
"Gak! Gak! Gak!"
A duck flapped its wings frantically, scurrying beneath a vehicle.
"Goddamn duck! Why is there a duck on this ship?!"
A patrolling mercenary was red-faced with rage, looking as though he wanted to hack the bird into pieces.
"Apparently it boarded along with that Deinocheirus. Catching that thing cost us a lot of effort," his partner explained patiently. He didn't mind the bird; the duck hadn't offended him.
"But these damn ducks kept shitting on my fuckingboots!"
"Pfft—hah!"
The first guard's roar echoed through the hold, and his partner finally lost it, bursting into laughter.
"What are you laughing at, you—"
"All units, be advised: dinosaurs may be waking up. Stay alert."
The voice from the radio cut the angry guard off. He looked ready to explode, but a signal from his squad leader forced him to stifle his temper and settle down.
"We've lost contact with Quetton. Teams One, Three, and Five stay in the hold. Teams Two and Four, head to the bridge and investigate."
The "Angry Bro" who had been graced by the duck froze, then quickly followed the leader's instructions.
"Let's go. Let's see what happened in the bridge."
…
Bang!
The door to the bridge was kicked open brutally. Three black rifle barrels swept into the room simultaneously.
Aside from the mess, nothing seemed out of place.
The leaders of the two squads entered first, clearing every blind spot before signaling their men to lower their guard and investigate the scene.
"Wait, you. Guard the door."
Considering Angry Bro was still emotionally volatile, the leader of Team Two assigned him to sentry duty at the entrance.
"Quetton? Quetton!"
The leader of Team Four was already trying to rouse the unconscious man while checking him for injuries.
Surprisingly, Quetton had no external wounds. However, there were red marks on his arms and shins; they looked like ligature marks, or perhaps he'd been slammed into something.
"Captain, look at this."
Another guard found a wet footprint on the floor. Combined with a knocked-over water cup, it was clear the perpetrator had stepped in the spill, leaving a print while fleeing.
But this print... was definitely not human.
"A dinosaur got loose?"
"This print... but there aren't supposed to be any carnivores on this ship."
A murmur of panic broke out among the men, though it was quickly hushed by the captains. The leader of Team Two reached for his radio, intending to tell the hold teams to conduct a head count, but a jolting Quetton interrupted him.
"AH! GET AWAY! GET AWAY!"
Quetton flailed his limbs like a struggling octopus, accidentally slapping the Team Four leader across the face.
"Hey! Hey! It's okay! It's us!"
The captain grabbed Quetton's flailing arms, forcing him to calm down. The man stared blankly at his teammates. Realizing he was finally safe, he burst into tears.
"It's over... it's over... tell us what happened."
As the captain comforted him, Quetton hesitated for a long time before choking out:
"A dinosaur... it charged in. It pinned me to the floor. It just sat there, looking at me. It didn't do anything, but I fainted from terror... when I woke up, I saw that face again... AH!"
The memory was too much; Quetton passed out again. The surrounding squad members exchanged looks, utterly baffled.
"Wait... where's the hot-tempered guy?"
…
In the dim, flickering corridor of the ship's lower decks.
"Stupid duck... just let me find you."
He had heard the duck's desperate quacking from the doorway and had decided to investigate alone.
Was it reckless? Please. He was holding the pinnacle of human ingenuity, the "Great Equalizer." What could go wrong? At worst, he'd get a chewing out from the captain later.
"Gak..."
A weak, pathetic sound drifted from the darkness. Angry Bro quickly illuminated the source with his tactical light, revealing... a dejected-looking duck?
What was this? The duck looked like it had been through hell...
Clack!
A pair of non-human claws settled onto Angry Bro's shoulders. Hot, reptilian breath hit the top of his head.
———————
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