This had to be a dream.

Dr. Malcolm found himself in the living room of his modest home, laid back on his couch. Everywhere he looked, there was a dreamlike haze floating around him; it made the colors glimmer and the sunlight through his windows shine brighter.

As he admired the peaceful serenity of his home, he felt a gentle warmth massage his shoulder. Dr. Malcolm looked to his right to see his wife sitting beside him. Her long, dark hair, her smooth, tanned skin, her topaz eyes, and the kind soul beneath all that was more than enough to make him fall in love with her all over again. Her luscious lips moved, but Dr. Malcolm heard no words leave. He didn't need to hear, though. The loving gaze in her eyes spoke everything he needed to hear.

Dr. Malcolm had a wonderful home and a beautiful wife at his side, and yet, he felt there was something missing in his life… something that a family is never complete without.

His attention drawn to a combination of laughter and footsteps coming down the stairs. Before he could blink, his two children came bursting from down the stairs and came rushing towards their father. Dr. Malcolm held out his arms ready to intercept the two with a hug. He was hoping they would at least slow down before they end up crashing into him, but instead, his kids lunged into his embrace. It was a painful collision, but their contagious laughter eased his pain.

He felt that same gentle warmth hold and guide his hand to the smooth skin of her plump belly. He met his wife's eager gaze. He waited to hear her sweet voice tell him the news.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Dr. Malcolm groanedas he rolled to his side and shoved the pillow over his ear. "Damn alarm," he mumbled through gritted teeth. He shut his eyes as tight as he could as he persevered through the alarm's relentless onslaught. Of course, he could have simply opened his eyes, reached for the alarm, and press the snooze button; however, he knew that if he opened his eyes now, he'll never be able to return to the peaceful realm of his dreams.

The alarm might as well be the very same one the devil himself uses to wake himself up every morning in hell (if hell even had mornings). It persisted for two… three… five… fifteen minutes; fifteen whole minutes of torture that had sent Dr. Malcolm to the breaking point towards insanity.

Just when Dr. Malcolm was about to reach out and crush the alarm with his fist, silence, like the flame of a candle going out with a single breath.

Dr. Malcolm let out a sigh of relief as the tension left his body. Already he could his consciousness fade to black. A smile graced his lips as he rolled onto his back. In in just a few more moments, he'll return to the realm of dreams.

"RAWR! RAWR! RAWR! RAWR! RAWR! RAWR! RAWR!"

Dr. Malcolm eyes shot open. "God dammit, Ethan…"

A head poked into Dr. Malcolm's vision. His eyesight was a little blurred since he had just woken up, but he managed to make out the figure's long, reptilian muzzle and its red, hungry eyes that emanated a dangerous, luminous glow in this dark room.

Dr. Malcolm maintained a staring contest with a ceiling. Maybe if he ignored the kid, he'll let him get back to sleep (if it was still possible at this point). From the corner of his eye, he watched the blurred form of the reptilian head open its maw, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Just looking at them made Dr. Malcolm feel like they were cutting into his eyes. He could see the drool drip off from its teeth as it inhaled a deep breath of air, the intent clear as day in its red eyes.

Dr. Malcolm immediately sat up. "All right all right I'm up. I'M UP." He rubbed his tired eyes and lifted himself off the bed. He yawned as he dragged his tired body towards the window blinds. He rolled them up to allow the dim, morning rays to illuminate the room.

His eyes took a moment to survey his surroundings. For a park that spends its budget on family fun and entertainment, it sure knows how to drain the life of its employees. Gray walls, gray ceiling, and a shoddy bed that looked it was bought on a discount in dollar store were the only things in this stale, bland room. Really, the only other color that stood out in this room's plane of existence is the pair of baby blue pajamas with little, green figures of the long-necked brachiosauruses running all over.

But what really stood out was standing in the middle of the room, snug in those baby blue pajamas. Believe it or not, it was a dinosaur, but the term "dinoboy" would be the more accurate description. For an apex predator created by mixing together ancient history's most ferocious beast, he sure was short; the kid was barely a few inches above Dr. Malcolm's knees. He stood upright on pair of digitigrade legs each complete with a set three-toed claws that would scrape against the floor with each step if they weren't trimmed to smooth blunts on a weekly basis. His gray scales reflected the morning light, giving it a dim glow. He had a long tail hanging behind him, four-clawed hands, and a reptilian head very similar in structure to the many carnivorous predators on the island.

"Mornin', Ethan," Dr. Malcolm greeted after a long yawn.

"Good morning, Mama," the dinoboy greeted with a squeaky chirp.

Dr. Malcolm winced as he felt a jab to his manly pride. Five years ago, "Mama" was Ethan's very first word that squeaked out of his muzzle (which was odd since Ethan shouldn't have the same lip flexibility as humans, but hey, life finds a way). Dr. Malcolm should've been freaked out, but the way the dinosaur gazed at Dr. Malcolm with so much trust and adoration in his crimson eyes made the pride and joy Dr. Malcolm felt for the kid impossible to deny.

But there was a problem.

The kid's been calling Dr. Malcolm "Mama" for five years straight, and it didn't seem like it was gonna wear off anytime soon. No matter how many times the human tried getting the dinboy into calling him "Papa" or "Dada", Ethan would always respond by tilting his head to the side, confused, and stare at the human as if he was crazy.

A growl erupted from Ethan's stomach. "I'm hungry," the dinoboy whined.

Dr. Malcolm let out one final yawn. "C'mon," he said and took a hold of Ethan's hand. "Breakfast."

The human led Ethan out the room and into the long, gray corridors. Dr. Malcolm had to take glance down every now then just to make sure the kid was still at his side. They soon made it to the employee's break room, and if Dr. Malcolm was to be honest, it wasn't much different from his own dull room; just remove the shoddy bed and nightstand, expand the walls a little bit for extra space, throw in a kitchen, a fridge, cupboards, and sprinkle a couple of round tables across the empty space and you got yourself the employee's break room.

Dr. Malcolm let go of Ethan's hand and the dinoboy quickly made his way to a nearby table. The human walked over the fridge opened and tossed out a pack of bacon onto the kitchen counter. He sprinkled a little oil over a pan and turned on the stove to heat it up, all the while never noticing the hungry gaze Ethan had pierced the bacon with.

A sudden rush of wind brushed against Dr. Malcolm. He turned around to find his pack of bacon, shredded to scraps and completely void of any meat. The human raised his gaze towards Ethan. The kid was still sitting on the same spot the human left him, except this time the dinoboy was licking bits of red meat off his claws.

"Coulda at least saved me a slice," the human grumbled and frowned at Ethan.

"Sorry, Mama," Ethan said without a hint of regret in his voice.

The human sighed. And Claire always wondered why he stacked the fridge with emergency bacon.

Dr. Malcolm's attention was drawn to a new sound of footsteps entering the room. It was tall and slender young man. His skin was a shade pale, and his long, shoulder-length brown hair was a mess which signaled he had just woken up. The man noticed Dr. Malcolm and raised his hand in greeting.

"Morning…" the young man yawned out. His eyes then traveled to the dinoboy sitting on the table who gazed at him with red, curious eyes. His breathing hitched, and he froze on the spot.

"Good morning," Ethan greeted in a shy chirp.

"SHIT!" the man yelped and sprinted the other way around. The man's vision must've still been in a morning haze because his head smacked straight into the wall. He stumbled back, dazed and trying to grasp the air for support but to no avail, before falling flat on his butt.

"You must be the new guy," Dr. Malcolm commented.

The man rubbed the sore bump on his head. Fear had pumped enough adrenaline to burn out the weariness in the wide eyes he stared at Ethan.

His words sputtered out in a jumbled mess. "Y-You… t-that t-t-thing…"

Dr. Malcolm's eyes sharpened into daggers as he leered over at the fallen man. "The kid's got a name, you know."

"The hell kind of name do you give a freak of nature like that?" the man spat back at Dr. Malcolm, glaring with distrust.

"It's Ethan…" whimpered a shy voice.

When the man shifted his attention to the dinoboy, a bowling ball of guilt was dropped in the pit of his stomach. His crimson eyes quivered as he blinked to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. He kept his gaze down at the claws he held close to his chest, staring at them absently with shame and sadness.

"Shit… uh… sorry kid," the man apologized.

The ends of Ethan's muzzle curved up to resemble a sad smile. "It's okay… Everyone does that at least once…"

The man's mind was in a frenzy, trying desperately to form the thousands of questions he had racing in his mind.

Dr. Malcolm lifted him up by the arm. "Guess it's time to fill you in," he said. He guided the man to take a seat on a nearby table as Dr. Malcolm took the chair across from dazed man. And so Dr. Malcolm proceeded to tell him the story, the story he has to tell every new employee; how Ethan was a prototype to a new species of dinosaur, how Dr. Malcolm was tasked into babysitting the prototype, and how the new guy could end up facing a lawsuit if he leaks info about the park's new attraction to the public.

The man leaned his body to the side to look over Dr. Malcolm's shoulder and watch the dinoboy tear through the bacon like it was paper. "He doesn't bite, does he?" the man asked Dr. Malcolm.

Dr. Malcolm chuckled at that. To him, the thought of someone as harmless as Ethan posing a threat to anybody was like a puppy trying to threaten its owners. "Nah, the kid's a wimp. Couldn't hurt anybody even if he tried," Dr. Malcolm assured.

The small squint in the man's eyes told Dr. Malcolm that he wasn't quite convinced. The man sighed and held out his hand for a shake. "I'm Seth, Seth Woods."

"Dr. Malcolm," he responded and shook Seth's hand.

"Listen, I just wanna say, this wasn't in the job description." Seth took another glance at Ethan to let Dr. Malcolm know what exactly he was talking about.

"And what was in your job description?" Dr. Malcolm asked, hoping to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"I work the gyrospheres."

It was tough for Dr. Malcolm to cover the shock that he had painted all over his face. The gyrospheres are the most popular attraction in the park because of how close they allowed you to the dinosaurs more than any zoo in the world would, but getting that close dinosaurs comes with a great risk. That's why the park hires only the most brilliant engineers to ensure that every gyrosphere keeps its inhabitants safe from harm (assuming the guests aren't stupid enough to ram a gyrosphere into a triceratops or something).

With how young Seth was, Dr. Malcolm pegged him as another simple college kid who decided to work here on the island for the summer. There was always a flood of students applying for a summer job here on the island. Dr. Malcolm wasn't surprised. Who wouldn't want to work here for the summer? It was the whole package: a tropical island, free beds, and getting to admire the creatures from ancient history firsthand were what flood the park with applications.

"I'm surprised they'd hire a young kid to be the techy for the gyrospheres," Dr. Malcolm commented.

Seth's expression started to falter. He avoided gazes with Dr. Malcolm, embarrassed. "Well, I don't EXACTLY work the gyrospheres… I mean I do but…"

Dr. Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"I mainly just help people get on and off the gyrospheres… and sometimes clean them up if some kid decides to vomit in them," Seth finally confessed

Something vibrated in Dr. Malcolm's pocket. He fished out tattered, old flip phone that looked as if he bought it from the dump. He let out an annoyed huff when he read the message. "It's that day of the month again?"

"What day of the month?" Seth asked.

Dr. Malcolm lifted his gaze to see the curious eyes of Seth, who leaned over the table to get a better look at the message on the black man's flip phone, which Dr. Malcolm promptly closed.

"Nah, it's nothing," Dr. Malcolm said. "The kid's got an appointment and the boss hates it when I'm late."

"Appointment? Like a doctor's appointment?"

Dr. Malcolm raised himself off the chair. "Something like that. C'mon, Ethan."

"Ok, Mama!" the dinoboy chirped and went to Dr. Malcolm's side, taking ahold of his hand.

"Hey, I'm gonna head out now. Nice talking to you Seth. There's some bacon in the fridge if you want some."

A grumble left Seth's stomach. He walked over to the fridge, opened it and leaned over to peer inside. "Hey, why do we have so much bacon?"

But they were already gone.

Ethan was practically jumping in his car seat. After being confined in his room for so long, he was getting another chance to see the human world! The dinoboy had earlier rushed to change out of his baby blue pajamas. He now wore a pair of blue shorts and a black shirt with the letters JURASSIC WORLD in blue bold, a gift his mother gave him from the park's gift shop.

Ethan watched impatiently as his mother buckled in the last straps of his car seat.

"You buckled in okay, kid?" his mother asked.

Ethan shifted a bit to better adjust his tail. His car seat was made for human children, and so the dinoboy always had trouble finding a comfortable position for his tail to avoid it getting painfully numb.

"Yes, Mama," Ethan chirped.

His mother closed the car door before moving into the jeep's driver seat in front of him. With a turn of the keys, the jeep roared to life and they were off into the road.

Ethan kept his gaze fixated through the window. The green forest rolled through his eyes like a film, and when it ended, it was almost like a curtain unveiled to reveal nature's most beautiful work of art: a wide, blue ocean stretching as far as the eye can see, glittering under the golden sun that shined over the azure skies. A stone bridge towered over the ocean, and Ethan let out a sharp gasp as the monorail train zoomed past his window in a blue blur of speed. He watched the train take a curve straight towards the park's resort with the jeep following not far behind.

The streets were filled to the brink with humans that his mother had to reduce the jeep's speed to a slow crawl. But Ethan didn't mind; it gave him more time to admire the world around him. Humans of all shapes and sizes swarmed around the car, and if it weren't for the extremely dark-tinted windows, they would've noticed an excited little dinoboy admiring them all with glee. His mother drove by the park's petting zoo, and Ethan watched with envy as human children around his age laughed and played with the young dinosaurs. A delicious smell made its way into the jeep; the smell was a dance of roasting meats and exotic spices mingling in his snout. Drool dripped from his muzzle as he gave his fangs a long, hungry lick. He searched for the source of the smell out his window and discovered a long line of humans standing in front of a large building with the sign "ZEPPELI'S DINO DYNASTY". Ethan had to stifle a laugh. Next to the sign was the picture of T. Rex that looked like it was pulled out of a poorly made cartoon in the 90s, complete with an Italian mustache over its snout and a chef's hat on its head.

Ethan glanced up at the rear-view mirror to see that the road rage was taking root in his mother's expression. His mother's eyes, overflowing with murderous intent, were ready to break apart with rage. Ethan could hear his mother's nails claw into the steering wheel. His mother was just itching to slam his hand against the car's horn. It was like watching a boiling volcano just waiting for some careless fool to kick a pebble into the crater to unleash all the anger and rage bubbling within.

The flood of humans was beginning to peter out, and his mother took that chance to finally give the car some much-needed speed. But Ethan noticed at the corner of the windshield, there was a human quickly rolling into view on a skateboard. The dinoboy guessed the human was a teenager judging by his appearance and by the fact he had zero attention to his surroundings.

Ethan's mother slammed his foot on the brakes. The car came to such an abrupt stop that the dinoboy's body lurched forward against the car seat's straps and crushed the breath out his lungs.

"You okay, kid?" his mother asked, concerned.

Ethan could only muster raspy breaths, so a nod was his response. He glanced up, looking over his mother's shoulder to see that the teen was standing in front of the jeep, showing a rather rude gesture with a middle finger.

His mother returned to facing the steering wheel, and when he noticed what stood in front of him, Ethan saw a great flame of rage ignite in his mother's eyes.

"Hey, Ethan, do me a favor and cover your ears," his mother warned, pulling down the driver window.

Whatever his mother said next, Ethan was glad he heeded his mother's warning. The dinoboy watched the teen's smug cockiness twist into absolute terror before he scurried off and disappeared into the crowd.

His mother tapped his snout. "Coast is clear. You can open them up, kid."

They continued the slow drive through the crowd without further incident.

Ethan felt another rush of excitement. Everything in this park was built to be grand and beautiful, but to Ethan, this was a Mona Lisa surrounded by amateur art. The Innovation Center; a great pyramid of glass that gleamed its brilliance under the golden sun. But it wasn't its beauty that entranced the young child; it was its wealth of knowledge of his species' ancient history contained inside that was free for anyone to immerse themselves in. A strand of talking DNA lecturing the young, fresh minds of the primeval era, mock fossil diggings of the ancient creatures that recaptures the essence of new discovery, and the life-size holograms of extraordinary creatures that roam inside fill the dinoboy with so much admiration and respect for this 8th wonder of the world.

The jeep finally managed to break away from the swarming crowd and into the open road. They drove up a hill, and Ethan watched with longing eyes as the people and the glass pyramid's brilliance grew smaller and smaller until a curtain of green vegetation was drawn over them.

Ethan removed his gaze from the window and slumped back into his car seat. The dinoboy yearned to be a part of human society, but…

The hell kind of name do you give a freak of nature like that?

The child looked down at his claws, unnerved how they gleamed under the light that their unnatural sharpness can easily cleave through. Ethan shifted his gaze back to the window and saw a beast; its grey, scaly hide, the sharp teeth that rips apart flesh, and the crimson, predatory eyes that stared right back at him.

Humanity would immediately kill this beast on the spot before it has the chance to offer them a handshake

Ethan sighed and watched the greenery roll by in the dull reflection of his eyes.

"All right, almost there, kid."

Ethan shifted his gaze to the front to see an imposing wall of concrete; its only entrance blocked two security guards armed with pistols on their hips.

The jeep slowed to a stop. One of the guards moved from their stoic positions and towards the jeep's driver window. His mother pulled down the window to meet the stern gaze of the guard.

"I.D." The guard demanded in a gruff tone.

His mother reached into his pocket. He raised an eyebrow when he realized he grabbed nothingness. "Coulda sworn I had it here."

The guard's expression continued to grow more impatient and fiercer with each passing second as his mother searched every pocket on him.

Ethan then noticed, just below his hanging feet, his mother's I.D on the ground. His mother must've dropped it when he was helping Ethan into his car seat. The dinoboy maneuvered his tail to the ground and firmly coiled around the card.

"Found it, Mama," Ethan chirped happily, holding out the card.

"Thanks, kid," his mother praised him.

His mother held out his I.D to the guard, who scrunched his eyes as if trying to analyze the chemical components of the ketchup stains on his mother's I.D.

The guard handed back his mother's I.D with a gruff, which his mother interpreted as a message that he was free to enter.

The other guard stepped aside and allowed the jeep through. In middle of this concrete wall was a building. If his mother were to describe it: recall how the Pentagon is called the Pentagon because it's shaped like a pentagon, but for this building, imagine in an alternate universe the Pentagon was instead called the Circle and it was shaped exactly like a circle.

There were two more guards stationed by the building's glass doors, but only this time they carried large rifles in their hands.

As his mother helped him out from the jeep, the dinoboy noticed one of the guard's eyes flicker towards him for a brief moment. Ethan sensed a jump of fear in the guard, and the rifle in the guard's hands was clutched tighter.

His mother held his hand as the two entered through the automatic glass doors. Ethan shivered when he felt the atmosphere shift from warm humidity to cold air produced from the building's AC. They walked through a long hall way before reaching what seemed to be the waiting room given by how chairs were positioned near the walls and how there were a couple of cheap magazines across the tables.

"You're late," said a stern, pissed off voice.

Terror washed over Ethan as he hid behind his mother's legs.

"Would you expect anything less from me?" came the snappy reply of his mother.

Ethan peeked his head out and examined the one human on this entire island that he feared: Claire Dearing, a stern, red-headed woman who always gave off an imposing aura of superiority around her. The striking height granted by her high heels, her unnaturally neat, white suit that had been extinguished of every wrinkle, and how her unwavering eyes saw everything around her as inferior; she carried the ideal balance of fierce intimidation and prim perfection.

Ms. Dearing noticed Ethan staring and she looked down at him, a cold smile on her lips. "At least you brought the prototype safe and sound."

Another rush of fear, and Ethan returned to cowering behind his mother's legs.

Ms. Dearing let out a small huff. "This month's examination has been delayed long enough, Dr. Malcolm, so I suggest you hurry and get the prototype through that door before you damage your paycheck any further."

His mother sighed and looked down at Ethan. "Ok, kid, off you go."

His mother let go of his hand and patted his back, directing him towards the door. Ethan looked up to his mother and nodded. Slowly, he walked towards the door, alone. He opened the door a few inches and peered inside. The room was completely empty, save for the lingering silence and a single, metal stool in the middle. There were no other doors in this room; only one way in and one way out. Ethan looked back at his mother with pleading eyes. He was scared. He was nervous. He didn't want to go in there again.

Ethan felt a spark of hope when he saw his mother shift a bit, almost like his mother was about to walk up to Ethan, grab his hand, and walk out of here; however, an impatient cough from Ms. Dearing reminded his mother of his place, stopping him.

That spark of hope was crushed.

Author's Note:

Sorry for taking so long to post this chapter. College is rough. Anyways, to answer some questions: I won't spoil what kind of species Ethan's brother will be. I prefer that to be a surprise. Also, as you may have noticed, the perspectives of this story will sometimes rotate. Sometimes it will be told from Dr. Malcolm's perspective, and sometimes Ethan's perspective.

Favorite, follow, and leave your thoughts of this chapter in your reviews if you want to help fill me with inspiration to continue this story! :D