Grace and Charles ran outside to see the creatures running through the camp. They were blurs of dark navy, and a burst of light blue on the head. Half the men were sleeping, and several came out to see the lifeless corpses of the team right in front of them before the baryonyx grabbed them by the head and snapped their necks.

“What the fuck, Charles! Why would we camp here if you knew they were this close?!” snapped Grace, quickly running to cover back in the tent.

“You said you heard me talk to Luke,” responded Charles, “This whole thing is to hide C.A.B. and the other shit on this island by killing everyone here.”

“Oh god, what else could you have here other than a homicidal monster and whatever is attacking outside!”

“Several things that will be discussed later if we live.”

The same crocodilian rumble was heard from outside, and a bright blue snout slowly snaked into the tent at shoulder height. It was thin, like a gharial, but no teeth stuck out of its mouth. It stopped when its nose came in, and it sniffed loudly. It snarled, opening its mouth and showing its teeth before stomping in.

The baryonyx was large, about the size of a small elephant, with a giant claw on each hand and dull orange crest above its eyes. It raised its head higher, and the tent was lifted off the ground from the dinosaur’s strength. It looked between Grace and Charles, before its gaze shot towards the latter and struck him with its claw. He landed at the side of the tent, unmoving. The baryonyx growled before turning to Grace. It goes to snatch her before a BANG causes it to stumble, roaring in pain. Grace looked to Charles, who was still on the ground but now wielding a pistol.

“I-I’m sorry,” he stuttered quietly, before falling to the ground limp.

The dinosaur scratched at its eye and growled, refocusing its look on Grace.

“Stay still, it’s vision is based on movement, right?” she thought, hoping that she was correct.

The baryonyx’s eye bled fast, dripping from its head to the floor. It snarled again before it backed away and retreated.

Grace remained frozen, trying to comprehend what happened. She reminded herself of Charles and looked over to him. He laid on the ground, still limp, with his head facing away from Grace. She turned him over with her foot, and saw his eyes were open but barely alive.

“Charles, before you die, but what else is on this island? What are you sorry about?”

He opens his eyes a bit more and looks at Grace with a weak face. He opens his mouth, but it takes a second for sound to come out.

“There a-are twenty-one species he-here,” he whispered, “G-good luck catching the b-b-boat.”

He coughed, then breathed out slowly, his eyes losing their light and he fell on the ground. Grace attempted to check his pulse, but he was cold, and she couldn’t find it.

“Damn it, Charles. Who was he sorry for?" questioned Grace silently, "And the boat won’t le- oh shit.”

She quickly turned and ran towards the tent entrance, desperate to get back to the boat before it leaves her. She stops short when she remembers the group of dinosaurs outside. She gets on the ground and looks under the tent flap to see if the coast is clear, but instead finds one of the predators right by the tent.

Grace could only see a dark silhouette of a foot from the tent, only visible from the fire, but she could hear it sniffing the air. Grace saw the shadow of its head getting closer and closer. Grace quickly moved out of view, and she heard it smell the spot where she was. The dinosaur raised its head and called out to the others. Grace, now standing, saw the thin head of the dinosaur shoot from the bottom of the tent before it jerked and ripped the tent out of the ground.

Grace turned and ran to the dock, just a few yards from the camp. Heavy footprints followed as the baryonyx gave chase. She saw the lights of the boat slowly pulling away from the dock, with only the captain being left on the boat.

“Wait! Stop the boat!” shouted Grace to the captain.

She didn't hear a response, but Grace heard the engine of the boat start up.

Grace looked behind her for a split second to see five of the creatures following her, one close enough to grab her. She quickly changed direction, hoping to throw the predators off, but it did not faze them.

Grace dashed onto the dock, trying to reach the boat before the baryonyx swiped at her. The boat started to pull away from the dock, slowly drifting away, before speeding up and leaving range of the dock. There wasn’t any way off of the island now. Grace was stranded.

“Shit!” she yelled.

She glanced back again to see the baryonyx were still behind her. Looking around frantically for a way to escape, she jumps off the dock and holds onto the edge. Before the dinosaurs could reach her, she takes her phone out of her pocket and lets go of the dock, falling into the water. Wading underneath the dock, she hears the heavy footsteps of the baryonyx above her. One growls, followed by another stepping away and a roar. A third calls something, and Grace sees a familiar snout descending from the dock.

Grace attempts to submerge herself to hide, but the water is too shallow. The dark outline of the snout stops and smells once again, before it raises back above the dock.

“Please let it not smell me,” thought Grace, pleading to nobody.

The moment of silence that followed was chilling. The baryonyx above didn’t move or make any sounds, and Grace sighed a breath of relief. The footsteps returned, faster, and one of the creatures dove into the water. It turns its head to the dock, searching for Grace with a bloody, blinded eye.

“Damn it,” Grace said under her breath, speaking without realizing.

Before she realized, it turned to its good eye and looked directly at her, snarling, before charging.

BANG

The gunshot rung through Grace’s ears, and the baryonyx flinched. A heavy thud came onto the dock, and the blinded baryonyx craned its neck up to see onto the dock. It backed away, growling at Grace, before running to the shore. The others also ran, hearing the footsteps thump away.

Grace stomps through the water and climbs back onto the deck, seeing the large tail of one of the predators on the ground. Getting her body on the dock, she saw the body of one of the massive creatures.

Grace quickly looks to the start of the dock and sees the baryonyx run back into the thick bayou, separate from each other. She refocuses her attention back to the dead individual and turns her phone flashlight on to examine it further.

Its head was much more visible, now that it wasn’t trying to kill Grace, and she saw the similarity to a kingfisher. The dull orange crest was situated above the eye, which had its own orange pattern going down to its jaw. Its body was a dark blue-ish color, with an orange stripe trailing down its back. Its snout was long, very long, and thin like a crocodile’s. Grace moved its lips to see its teeth were also very crocodilian; blunt without serrations, looking like it’s more equipped to hunt fish than humans.

“Like a gharial,” Grace thought as she continued to examine the corpse.

Its claw was enormous, a bit shorter than the length of Grace’s forearm, and was sheathed in thick keratin. Grace looked over to its eyes, wide and unreflective, and studied them further. They were a dull green color, with a dilated, rounded pupil. The other, living baryonyx’s eyes were slanted, like a cat’s or a lizard’s.

Grace could hear running from the end of the dock and shines her flashlight towards the mainland. But it wasn’t the baryonyx, it was Adam.

“Holy shit!” exclaimed Grace, “How did you-”

“Survive in a swamp full of dinosaurs?” finished Adam.

“Yeah, how are you alive?” questioned Grace, now walking with Adam back to the remains of the camp.

“It’s a pretty long story, but the short version is the squad believed Charles and didn’t shoot when they were attacking us. I shot one, but it got up and ran away. The one I just killed was the same one.”

“So, you shot one and drove the pack right to camp.”

“They weren’t traveling together until I shot one, and I saw what they did to the camp.”

“Is there anyone left?”

Adam stopped, staring at the ground with guilt.

“No, they’re all dead.”

Grace doesn’t respond to this, merely staying silent on the walk back. The campfire still burned bright, still with canned food reheating above. The silence continued in the camp, quieted with only the cracks and pops of the fire or the chirps of crickets to fill the ambiance. The bodies were littered everywhere, blood still pooling from where they were gashed or bit. All of their eyes were opened and lifeless, faces with a permanent fearful look from the shock and pain of the dinosaur’s strikes. Grace looked over to Adam, who was visibly mourning.

“Should we bury them?” Grace whispered, so quiet that the crickets were more audible.

Adam continued to stay silent, before sighing shakily and responding.

“Yes, we should.”

* * *

By the time all the men had been buried, the sun began to rise, truly showing how the camp had been ravaged by the dinosaurs. Every tent was ripped or dislodged in some way, and the supplies were scattered.

“They were good men,” commented Adam, having covered the last grave.

“Mostly. Charles left us to die,” said Grace, looking over to the now-empty dock.

“He did, but he also unintentionally just left us a guide to everything here.”

Adam started to go back to the destroyed camp, gesturing for Grace to follow. He walked to where Charles’ tent was and searched near his fold-up desk. On the ground, there was a packet of about five pieces of paper, with one as a cover and the rest full of documents about dinosaurs.

“Darn it, there’s only four species here,” said Adam.

“He said there were twenty-one, maybe the packet just broke during the attack?” said Grace, “We can make do with information on the- hopefully this is right- baryonyx?”

“Yep, the baryonyx, argentinosaurus, brachiosaurus, and carnotaurus. Two of which eat trees, one is one of the fastest dinosaurs to have lived, and you saw what baryonyx can do.”

“So, we die to two and the other ones are near harmless.”

“Essentially, yes.”

Grace sighs, glancing at the ground, just thinking.

“Why didn’t I listen to Chris?” she echoed, scolding herself, “Why did I go?”

She imagined the different situations that she could have been in, still in her normal life. Sitting on her couch, maybe going to the police about Charles. Maybe never answering the door that night would have worked. She fell into a hole of possible outcomes, and they consumed her. The haunting memories of Avetoro started to flood, slowly and slowly.

“Grace?” said a whisper from the outside.

“Why did I come here?”

“Grace!”

“If I didn’t come in the first place none of this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Grace!”

Grace felt something touch her and leaped back, but only realized it was Adam tapping her.

“Are you ok?”

She merely looked at him, and then down to her shaking hands.

“Yes, I’m fine. We need to get moving,” she answered, starting towards the swamp, before remembering the things that lurk within it.

“New plan, we need to find a different way,” said Grace, walking back to Adam, “Last time we went through the swamp, which was fine before. Now there’s kingfisher-crocodile dinosaurs in there, most likely with a grudge.”

“Why would a dinosaur hold a grudge? At most they’re as smart as a lizard,” remarked Adam.

“Because Charles shot one in the eye, and it followed down under the dock.”

“It did?! I would’ve killed it if I knew it was stalking you!”

“Yeah thanks for that, but again,” Grace said swiftly, “How do we get through? It seems like it’s the only way into the island.”

“Well, when we were in the swamp, they ran after they heard gunfire. When I shot the one, they all took off again. Maybe they dislike gunfire?”

“Astounding conclusion, Sherlock! Maybe all animals don’t like loud sudden noises,” said Grace sarcastically.

“Well, do you have a better idea? All I know about baryonyx is they like fish, they have claws, they're found in England, and now an added homicidal instinct.”

“Well, maybe they have sensitive ears with a really good sense of smell. We mask ourselves with something to hide our scent, we travel through quietly, and if we’re found we fire.”

“Damn, you’d think I’d come up with that.”

“Not really, I’ve only known you for like three days.”

“Excellent point.”

“I often have them.”

The pair went back to camp and started gathering supplies. They grabbed duffel bags and placed guns, canned foods, flashlights, and ammo. Lots of ammo. Grace searched throughout the camp for the ATVs she knew they had unloaded off the boat. Inside the ammo tent, she found a small crate of hand-held radios, neatly stacked and lightly powdered with sawdust.

“Ah hell yeah!” thought Grace as she picked one up and checked the battery. It was empty.

“Damn it.”

She walked outside the tent, now holding two of the radios, and saw Adam driving one of the ATVs over.

“Where was it?” remarked Grace.

“A tent in the back had them. There was only one, though. D’you find anything?” he said, getting off of the vehicle.

“I got an empty duffel bag, put some ammo and water bottles in there, and I found a crate full of these. They don't have any batteries though.”

She pulled out one of the radios and gave it to Adam.

“Oh yeah, I forgot we brought them. I’m pretty sure there’s batteries in Charles’ te- oh right.”

“It’s not that bad. There might be something in one of the research stations.”

“Good, then we know where to go.”

Adam gets back onto the ATV, now with Grace on the back, and starts towards the swamp.

“Hey, you never told me, what’s the swamp called?” asked Grace, just at the edge of the beast that is the swamp.

“Marabou. Marabou Swamp.”

Adam continues driving into the humid, dark space. While it had been light outside, barely anything could come through the straining leaves of willow trees or the thick bursts of reeds. He drove the vehicle slow enough so that it wouldn’t make much noise, but swift enough so that if one of the baryonyx came back he could immediately take off. Crickets chirped and frogs croaked louder than they ever could, the sound bouncing on the maze of trees and foliage until dissolving once it reached the top of the trees.

Grace felt uneasy, looking around throughout the swamp, so dense you could only see three feet from your face. The reeds were constantly rustling from small things moving, running from the strange sounds the ATV was making. Some were larger than they should, nothing that would be in a Caribbean swamp.

“Probably that weird monkey-lizard I saw,” thought Grace.

Looking ahead of the ATV, she saw the glare of eyes looking down from the tiny gaps in the foliage. Tall enough to be over the baryonyx’s head but short enough to be on the ground. Grace reached for a flashlight and shone it into the mass of flora where the eyes shown, as the same frilled faces from earlier are seen for a split second, before running away deeper into the bayou.

“Keep your eyes out for anything on the trail,” whispered Grace to Adam, who nodded in response.

The drive continued, with the occasional bird flying out in front of the ATV. Nothing came out of the brush, they all kept away. Grace heard a splash to the right, heavier than the ones from the other smaller creatures. It was followed by fast, familiar thumps hitting the ground. She turned the flashlight back on and looked to where the sound was coming from, but it wasn’t the baryonyx.

The carkylonyx’s attention was focused on the ATV, weaving through the reeds and trees masterfully. Grace quickly studies it, having not seen it for two years. Its face was ugly and pointed, with teeth that jut out haphazardly and four horns around its face. Its dark gray back was covered in osteoderms, from the start of its neck to the tip of its clubbed tail. It roars, catching Adam’s focus.

“Adam, keep driving!” shouted Grace as she pulled out one of the pistols and shoots at it.

It kept running, unfazed by the shot’s noise. The bullets hit the osteoderms, falling off into the mud. Grace aims for its legs, hitting it in the thigh and sending it tumbling to the ground. Adam sped up, and the dinosaur roared from behind them, slowly becoming more and more faded.

“Was that it?” questioned Adam, looking behind him to Grace.

“Yeah, tha-that was it,” stuttered Grace, staring behind her to where it had stumbled.

Grace looks ahead after a minute and sees a familiar area up ahead.

“Slow down,” she says to Adam.

In response, he slows to a near stop in front of an old, dilapidated building covered in vines and jungle. Its garage door was rusted and slightly opened, permanently dented with holes from the beast that just attacked them.

“We’re here. The research station.”