JURASSIC NATION

Nightfall

"So, you're telling me, she is a... hybrid?" Grey said. They had been walking for a few minutes. Maisie told them the whole story of how Wu created her.
"Yes. She is made up of dinosaur and human DNA. Although, it looks as if the person-side got the better of her. She has... primal instincts, let's say." Maisie said sure of herself.
"How is she older than you?" Zach asked. The more Maisie talked, the warmer he became towards the girl. But he was still as cold as the Iceberg that hit the Titanic at this point.
"I guess dinosaurs grow faster than humans? It makes sense, if you really think about it. Humans developed bigger brains in evolution and so gave birth earlier because their heads were too big otherwise. Whereas, she is both. So..." Maisie tried to puzzle this together.
"So... she is dumb?" Zach said making Maisie roll her eyes.
"Actually, I think it depends when she was born. Like, she could have been born very late for a person but very early for a dinosaur." Grey suggested. This intelligent talk excited him. He hadn't been so energized to get back into the prehistoric history since the Jurassic World incident.
"That could be right." Maisie said.
"Ever think she was hatched from an egg?" Zach added.
"No..." Maisie and Grey said together but then stopped to think... there were simply infinite possibilities.
"Carry on walking, you're behind." Zach pushed through to catch up to the girl who was ahead. The two snappily scampered after him. The girl has gone into the brightness of a clearing where a road lead down a hill and into what looked like an abandoned mall with a wise parking lot. Construction scaffoldings was still there along with cranes. All abandoned and growing vines. They heard a bellowing. What now? They thought.
A cow-ish head soared over the tree tops. Soft rumbles hit the ground. A heard of Brontosauruses crossed the road in front of them. All tall and gray, looking like ripe giraffes. The peacefully protruded through. There must have been about twenty in total, along with pitter-pattering little calves lagging behind trying to keep up. The four of them stood and beholden this sight. It was indeed humbling. They honked and bellowed, flattening the earth below them with their soft elephant feet. Surprisingly, despite their size, they were quiet. Gentle beasts.
The four watched them disappear just as easily as they arrived, being swallowed by bushes and trees until the only sound they heard was their breath against the chilly air. They then crept along the road again, heading to the mall.
Claire and Owen sat anxiously in the backseat. Alan drove while Ellie stared out the wind shield. The sun was lowering. Their worrying increasing. They were riding in an old Land Cruiser. It was found abandoned on the side of the road. It was white and had various scratches and marks all over it. Nevertheless, Owen knew how to hot wire these things, and it worked. His hand had almost recovered completely, there was still scar tissue there and he couldn't move it that much. When he flexed it, he could feel his muscles stretch in agony. Hence, why Alan drove. They all were tired.

"Listen, you guys don't have to do this. We can find them on our own. We don't want to worry you." Claire said in a monotone voice. She appreciated the help, but did not want to involve them any more than what they comfortable with.
"No, we in this together." Ellie said assuring. Although the plan was simple – find Maisie, grey and Zach – she knew another reason Alan was more interested in. That hybrid. Some form of curiosity was sparked in Ellie and Alan. They resented its exitance, but had a deep desire to know more. As they drove, Alan switched on the headlights and continued to follow the road ahead. Ellie had a knot in her stomach that she was using Owen and Claire for research rather than friendly favors.

Another cold, lonely night was settling in. Malcolm was bored out of his mind. After eating an apple, he got sick and threw up in the basin. His stomach ached and grumbled. How long? He thought. He was now standing hunchbacked by the window. His hand propping him up against the glass. The moonlight glittered off the ocean.
"I'm sorry if I failed you." Malcolm said to no-one. By the second, he was losing his face of a worldwide mathematician and growing the mask of jaundice mad man who looks death in the eyes every time he thought about survival.
The mall had floor to ceiling windows, triple storey, and islands in the middle which revealed the floors above and below. They entered through jammed sliding doors that were open. The entrance was like an open plan theatre. Two broken escalators were parallel to each other leading to the second floor. This building was old, cracks ran along the floor and paint peeled. Vines were growing through every corner and creek. But the shops were almost fully stocked. To the left, clothes hung in the windows from shops like Louis Vuitton, Zara and H&M. Maisie immediately looked at her bedraggled looks, feeling ashamed. She then caught on an idea. She looked at the hybrid, her clothes were in a worse state.