Dinopocalypse: "Two Flowers"

Chapter Four

Vicki directed the girls down the hall towards the breakroom as soon as she had gathered her things. When they reached the door, Cassandra immediately hung back and murmured to herself. Tracey was quiet while she peered at the damage parts of the door.

“Stop being such a whimp, Cassie,” Vicki snapped. “There’s nothing in there that can hurt you.”

“Those scratches weren’t made by a human,” Tracey offered.

“Nobody asked you. Cassandra, go get the print off so we can get out of here.”

Cassandra took three more steps back, and shook her head vehemently. “No, I don’t want to go in there.”

“Or I’ll use this,” Vicki raised up the remote control for Cassandra’s collar.

“Wait,” Tracey said. “I know where the printer is. Cassandra, I’ll go with you.”

“Get moving then. And, don’t try anything,” Vicki said.

Tracey looked Cassandra directly in the eyes, and mouthed the words, “trust me.” Reluctantly, the other girl nodded, and they entered the breakroom together.

Benjamin had been trained not only how to treat a dino bite wound, but how to manage the effects of their venom. Mental discipline helped to slow the impact his transformation would have on his personality. Or, at least that was in theory. A pounding headache had made thinking hard enough when he was dialing his cell phone, but now it seemed like every muscle in his body was spasming. As he hung up his call, he lost control of his hand and dropped the phone on the ground. He clutched his head with both hands now, trying to subdue the pain in his head. Other than the spasms and the headache, and the tingling sensation all over, he felt a hunger which was growing more intense by the moment. There was an aroma that he didn’t recognize, yet he was instinctively drawn to it. The thought of sinking his teeth into its flesh made his mouth salivate. He reached up to wipe drool from his chin, but stopped when he felt something sharp rub across his wrist. He carefully touched his teeth with his fingers. Were those his?

Suddenly the source of the aroma was closer, standing right in front of him. It was speaking. He could almost understand it. “Who was on the phone?” It demanded. “Who were you talking to?”

Benjamin looked up at the source of the voice. It was the human he had been fighting named Marcus. He could remember why they entered the grassy field together, but not why. “Leave me alone,” he growled. His voice surprised him, it was so deep and gruff. The transformation was much faster than he had been lead to believe at the academy. He remembered, though, being given a field kit with a syringe. He reached into his jacket now, slipped his fingers into an inside pocket and pulled out a syringe. Not a cure, but something to counter act the mutagen from the venom.

The human had seen the syringe, and was asking more questions. “Where did that come from?”

Benjamin’s muscles steadied enough that he could pull the cover off the needle. It took all of his concentration now to remember that the antidote needed to be administered in a specific way. He tore the sleeve off the left arm of his jacket, and was about to plunge the needle into his arm when something hard struck him in the side of his face. Benjamin sprawled backwards, and the syringe flew off, somewhere into the weeds.

“No!”

“I want answers,” the human asked. “Who were you talking to on the phone? Where were you going to take my daughter?

Anger swelled inside Benjamin’s body as the beast began to take over. His eyes focussed on Marcus and he let out a long, deep growl which revealed his sharp set of teeth. Humanity had been pushed aside, and now there was only room for one word in his mind: Light snack.