Chapter Eleven: Megalosuchus

Killer

Species: Megalosuchus

Hybrid Genome: Kaprosuchus base, Gorgosuchus and Megalosaurus traits spliced in.

Size: 21 feet long, 5 feet at the shoulder, 1.5 tons.

Diet: Carnivore, Piscivore.

Claire had to force herself not to run as she strode quickly through the hospital. Hamada had called her on the emergency line to inform her immediately about the incident, but the damage was already done.

She reached the room currently being guarded by two members of ACU and they let her in without a word.

Inside, Simon, Hamada, and Dr. Gerry were standing on one side of the room while a nurse checked on the patient on the bed—one of the animal handlers. She looked fine, save for a busted lip and bruises on her face.

The grim expressions on the faces of her colleagues told Claire, however, that the situation wasn't so benign.

"Report," she ordered Hamada.

"We're still going over the security footage," he began. "But it appears an unknown individual somehow broke into the newly-constructed Hybrid Dome and intended to release the animals inside. He obtained the clearance codes through some unknown means and then proceeded to sneak into the Hybrid Dome. Ms. Lopez here was checking up on the animal in her charge at the time and caught him in the act. He proceeded to attack her and at some point in their struggle, the hybrid inside, our Megalosuchus, saw what was going on and broke out of her habitat.

"She emerged and immediately went on the attack. Ms. Lopez's assailant was caught and savaged when he attempted to escape, then was dragged back into the habitat. Where…he still remains."

Claire blanched until Hamada hurried on. "We've already tranquilized the animal and moved her to a secure, temporary holding facility, but she was rather…shall we say, excessive about making this particular kill. It'll take a thorough investigation to ensure we found everything. Needless to say, the Hybrid Dome is closed and is under lock and key by ACU."

"She broke out?" Claire repeated in shock. "How did she…?"

Gerry grimaced. "By causing herself no small amount of physical damage. She shattered the glass after charging it several times and then pushed her way through the small breach she made. There's glass fragments caught in her skin all over her body and I have a full team of vets working to remove those pieces now. I can only assume she went to such lengths because she was in a frenzy at the time."

Claire raised an eyebrow at that, but Gerry elaborated. "Ms. Lopez has raised our Megalosuchus since she was a hatchling. I wouldn't call it loyalty or a familial instinct to protect her, but that animal knows Ms. Lopez. I suspect she witnessed the invader threatening "the hand that feeds her", shall we say, and decided that defending her was worth the damage she would suffer in the process."

"We can spin the incident to the public as an act of loyalty on the animal's behalf," Claire replied. "This invader was committing an act of terrorism, as far as I'm concerned. If he'd successfully released all the animals in the Hybrid Dome…"

"We'll have to do a DNA test to find out exactly who he is, but I suspect he's an eco-terrorist of some kind," Gerry told her. "Or some other kind of crazy extremist."

"That'll have to wait," Claire waved it off. She glanced at Simon and pursed her lips. "What about the hybrid? She was just defending her caretaker, Simon."

"I agree," Simon nodded. "The animal will not be put down—I'll see to that. Ironically grim as it is, her aggression might have saved many more lives."

Hamada nodded, his eyebrows rising high. "That's putting it lightly."

"Our first priority should be to ensure the situation is kept under control," Claire went on. "The vets should focus their efforts on providing medical care to the hybrid. Ms. Lopez will be cared for here in the hospital. ACU will continue to retrieve the remains of the invader, as well as keep the Hybrid Dome under wraps for the time being. I want our builders to repair the damage to the Megalosuchus habitat and reinforce it. I'm grateful that she was so determined to protect Ms. Lopez, but I cannot turn a blind eye on a habitat the animal knows she can break out of. I will handle our public response."

"No," Simon interrupted. "I will deal with the public. I want you to manage our efforts at the head of the situation, Claire. Do not stretch yourself too thin—I can handle this much."

Claire offered him a grateful smile. "Thank you, sir."

"We have our duties," Simon announced. "Let us go about them."

Sandra Lopez cocked her head to one side to listen to a news report coming from the radio close by, even as she focused on preparing the meal in front of her for her charge.

"A terrifying and amazing incident occurred in Jurassic World last week, when a known eco-terrorist broke into the park's Hybrid Dome and attempted to release the animals kept within. He was caught by one of the park caretakers, Sandra Lopez, and attacked her, causing the woman to suffer mildly serious injuries. But during the assault, the caretaker's hybrid, a Megalosuchus known in the park as Lady Saber, managed to break free of her habitat while sustaining severe cuts from the glass in the process. She immediately attacked Lopez's assailant and then dragged him into the habitat, leaving Lopez to stagger away to safety.

"The assailant was killed by the Hybrid, but security footage and an investigation of the incident at Jurassic World confirm that the animal was just defending her caretaker in an act of self-defense. Since then, Sandra Lopez is confirmed to be recovering from the injuries she sustained during the attack, as is the animal in question. Simon Masrani assured the public and animal rights activists, who clamored to keep the animal safe for merely defending Lopez during the incident, that there were never any plans to euthanize the animal for her act of heroism, and that she would return to her habitat shortly once a security check ensured she would not be capable of breaking out again. Furthermore…"

Lopez tuned out the report as she heard a growl to her right, and turned her head to smile at the massive reptile watching her with sharp eyes. "It's almost ready, Lady. Don't get snappy with me."

The Megalosuchus merely chuffed and lowered her head to watch Lopez more comfortably. Her caretaker was relieved, she thought, as she observed the numerous stitches covering her charge's body that had—so far—avoided infection.

It had been terrifying to watch as Lady smashed the glass walls while Lopez was being attacked by that horrible man, then dragged herself through the razor-sharp glass shards to lunge into the room. Covered in blood, the sound that had left the hybrid's throat was less a roar and more a scream of fury. She'd rushed Lopez's attacker as he scrambled to escape and knocked him over before sinking her teeth into his leg.

Lopez didn't remember much of what happened after that. She'd been too dazed as the Megalosuchus dragged the screaming man back into her habitat, where, the ACU members had told her, she'd proceeded to eviscerate the terrorist with extreme prejudice.

She had not asked about the details of the mauling.

Lady had been more tired since the incident, mostly because she was recovering from her injuries and the multiple surgeries that were needed to remove the dozens of glass shards buried in her flesh. All the excitement had worn her out, but thankfully, it had done nothing to sate her still-voracious appetite, which was why she was recovering as well as she was.

In the end, Lopez had, surprisingly, come out of the incident better off than her animal.

Finally done with her preparations, Lopez filled up a large tray of meat, then carried it over to a large slot near the floor—the only place where Lopez could access the interior of the habitat. She slid the tray into the habitat and watched as Lady stood up to approach the feeding area.

The Megalosuchus growled in appreciation, her panther-like body lowering to feed. Lopez watched as the crocodilian hybrid pawed at a bit of meat for a moment with her front foot before taking a bite, swallowing the morsel whole before she moved on to another piece.

She'd always known, even when Lady was just a tiny hatchling that could fit in both of her hands, that she was a predator—a killer. Lopez had worked with South American caiman in the past, after all. She knew that the animals were more than capable of doing vicious damage to anything they sank their teeth into, had witnessed it first-hand more than once.

She never let herself believe that Lady would see her as anything but a food source. To get comfortable with a predator like that was to take a stupid and potentially life-threatening risk. And Lopez knew that Lady had just been defending her because she did not want her food source to be damaged.

There was nothing sentimental about the Megalosuchus's valiant efforts to defend Lopez, and they both knew that.

Nonetheless, she was grateful for even that violent display of loyalty. After all, Lady could have just as easily grabbed Lopez while she was dazed and savaged her. But she'd chosen the assailant, and so she'd be seen as a hero and not a merciless predator.

Well, no more so than normal.

"Shall I heat up your pond, my pretty Lady?" Lopez asked lowly, smiling as the massive reptile paused in her meal to lift her viper-like skull. Pale green eyes regarded her and that long tail swished back and forth with deceptive laziness. "Would you like to swim after you eat?"

The Megalosuchus merely snorted and returned to her meal, familiar with this question. It was practically routine.

Lopez would heat up the pond anyways, and Lady would digest halfway in the warm waters as she took a nap on the bank. She always did.

A/N: Woohoo, another chapter, and way faster than I expected since I found myself on a Hybrid Theory binge! Bit of a different spin on this one, showing that everything is not always sunshine and daisies in Jurassic World! Look forward to the next chapter, which will be focused on a Pterosaur Hybrid!