JURASSIC NATION

Monster

The road was quiet and had deteriorated badly. There were weeds bursting out of the gutters, clusters of potholes every kilometer or so and if not potholes then a carcass of some half eaten herbivorous dinosaur left to dry. Other than that, the road was an adventure filled with clear skies and scenery. Owen hummed the tune of Sweet Home Alabama which played softly on the radio along with a hissing static interrupting now and then. Claire had her head rested on the window; she had fallen asleep a few miles back. Maisie had soon after, also dozed off. A distant blur of a town was lurking relatively far away, behind a hill or two. As Owen approached the small town of Lone Pine, he consulted his thoughts as the scenery whizzed by. He knew how much Zach and Gray meant to Claire, and he knew that she will forever blame herself for their parents death. Many months ago, Claire received an invite from Karen to Zach's graduation. Karen wanted company because Scott would be there. Claire had all intentions to go but didn't. That was when Maisie and Beta were kidnapped. How was Claire supposed to explain herself? She only replied on the morning of the ceremony. Now that Karen was dead, Owen could not deny the turmoil that was going on inside Claires head.

Outside the windows of the vehicle, the wilderness had blended into a series of small houses, all looking similar in size, identical porches, brown walls and wooden rooves, each house completed with a small white picket fence on the verge. Owen felt like he was visiting the days of cowboys and Indians until he saw a gas station on his left. He pulled over.

The gas station was worn down. Plants were breaching over the gutters; the green paint was dry and cracked. It looked haunted. The town, itself, was hollow. Since people had drifted underground in search for shelter form the dinosaurs, the small towns and villages were the first to go as they were targeted the most. There was not a soul in sight, except a skinny ginger cat that was sitting under the petrol bowser and scrambled as the truck drove up. Owen got out his truck and walked over to the fuel gage. He was sandwiched between the bowser and his vehicle. He unplugged the pump and jammed it into the fuel gage. He began fiddling with the machine, determined to get his tank filled up.

Claire became alerted when she felt a buzz in the right pocket of her jeans. She wafted from her dreamy stated and became conscious. She stretched with her arms behind her head and realised that they were parked in a strange, ghastly looking place. She familiarised herself, it was a gas station. She turned in her seat and saw Owen fidgeting with the fuel pump. Obviously, they had stopped for gas. She clasped her phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. There was a pending message lying on a grey box on her screen. She had not got one of those in a long time. She tapped, anxious to open it. It read:

Dear Claire Dearing,

As Dr Wus requirements, you are one of our many honorary invited guests to attend our opening function tonight at the New Lone Pine City Lodge, 6:30 PM. For honorary guests, use the code 4756 to enter. Your opinion is desperately needed on an urgent matter. We look forward to seeing you there and introducing you to our latest project,

InGen Labs.

Was this a joke? Claire could not be sure. She uneasily opened the door, still looking at her phone. She walked around the back of the truck to Owen.

"Owen, I got this really weird message..." She said.

"From Dr Wu? InGen? Me too." Owen grunted. He was also staring at his phone, "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know, its not making sense," Claire crossed her brow. She was not certain of how to respond.

"What I find weird is how do they know that we are near Lone Pine?" Owen looked at her and said.

"We here? I mean, they are here?" Claire was shocked, "Could it be a co-incidence?"

Owen held his head down as he unhinged the pump from the fuel gage. He plugged it back into the bowser. He sighed.