Chapter 6: Escape

Chapter 6: Escape is the 6th chapter of Dinosaur Creek Part 1 and the overall 6th chapter of the series. it was released on July 4th, 2021.

## Synopsis

After returning to the Terrarium base, Hero confronts the dinosaurs in his office, expressing dissatisfaction about the group’s actions today, which includes exposing themselves in public, splitting up, taking in a foreign Terrarium project (Morgan), letting Kireina commit crimes of stealing and murder and escape, and getting a human detective involved (Emily). The dinosaurs try to talk back and explain how they think it’s suspicious of him and believe the sarcosuchus they found in the city river was from his company despite his claims to not release prehistoric creatures into the world unless they’ve been processed through the anthro system. Other things include his reasons for mutating Tex with an extra muscular body, his, Caren’s and Kireina’s early release and rumors concerning dinosaur agents. To Dreda's confusion, Hero does confirm the existance of the other Terrarium bases on the other continents and the Dinosaur Agent program, but does question the sarcosuchus in the Hell Creek city moat. Emily talks back as well since her detective agency has been tracking down Hero and his motives for 25 years and wants to clear his name. Unable to let his company get exposed, Hero orders Grey to take her to the “Grinder” room and orders the rest of the squad to lock the dinosaurs back up into their rooms. Before they are taken away, Tex angrily questions what Hero’s gonna do to Emily, with him answering how he can’t let Emily leave the facility with the knowledge of it and the existence of the dinosaurs. This makes Tex realize he is going to erase her memory.

As the team gets taken away to their cells by force, they notice Elder, who Shane, Blaster, and Morgan thought escaped earlier, has been captured by Terrarium troops. He apologizes to them and says he tried to run and be free, but the rumor he heard was a lie. Now disappointed in himself that he can never go back to his old life, the team sadly watches him get taken away. This makes Tex realize they they are no longer projects, they are prisoners.

Later, the teams are locked up in their rooms. Tex sits alone in a double celled room since the company thought he would share it with Kireina. Shane and Blaster are back in their original rooms, Caren and Rover are placed in two separate rooms across the hall from the boys and Morgan is placed in a tank room filled with water since she can swim. But this limits her ability to sleep in her anthro form. The gang manages to talk to one another thanks to special microphones built into their rooms to allow communication, even though they can’t see one another.

Tex expresses how he shouldn’t have confronted Hero or likes the idea of Emily’s mind being erased. He also apologizes for getting the others involved, but Shane and Blaster admit that they believe in him more since they just learned that Terrarium turned its back on them. Blaster tries to fly around his cage and makes small talk to Morgan about how he has escaped before. But he points out how most of his escape routes have been blocked to prevent him from trying again. When Blaster accidentally slams his head into the window glass, he realizes when trying this, his bony beak is strong enough to crack it. He encourages Shane and Caren to try and break it since they have bone on their tails (Caren’s club and Shane’s thagomizer). After punching and hitting the glass, Shane, Blaster, and Caren escape. The trio helps Tex, Morgan, and Rover escape, but breaking through Morgan’s window causes water to spill out and flood the room a bit since the room’s a tank.

This escape triggers the alarms and causes the squad and Hero’s attention. Tex orders the group to stock up on any tech they may need and meet him outside while he goes find Emily. To his surprise, Rover picks up Emily's scent from Tex from when he held her earlier and uses it to track her down. The group splits up with Shane, Blaster, Caren, and Morgan breaking into the tech lab while Tex and Rover head to the Grinder room.

In the Grinder room, Sinor and Mega are setting Emily in a seat and station a helmet over her that will erase her memory. As the two prepare the machine, Mega takes the time to ask Sinor about the sarcosuchus the team discovered. To her surprise, Sinor admits she released it and placed it there, as a way to “*test phase one.*” Rover sniffs the path to the room and Tex manages to break in, scare away the two girls, and then destroys the helmet, managing to save Emily. With an exchange of thanks, the two and Rover take off to meet up with the others. In the tech lab, the group scares away the scientists and grabs an assortment of techs, such as cell phones and updated morph bracelets. They also grab their stuff they gained from the city (Caren’s book, Shane’s toy and Morgan’s clam).

Once both teams meet up at the main entrance, they are cornered by Dreda, Grey, and Kai. Deciding the group isn’t qualified to work for Terrarium, the group transforms into their Raptor forms and challenges them for a fight. Both sides clash with Tex and Shane battling Grey, Caren, Emily, and Rover battling Dreda, and Blaster and Morgan clash with Kai. Kai briefly electricutes Blaster out with an electric stick, making Morgan concerned. Morgan reveals her clam has a special flaslight inside, acting like a blinding flashlight, and uses it to blind Kai biriefly. She also manages to knock him out using her Tai Quan Doe training. Just before Dreda could sick her teeth on Caren, Emily knocks her out and gets the remote to open the doors to allow them to escape. Once the team knocks out the Raptor Generals, they make a break for the doors and escape the base. Hero observes this from the monitors and then orders a full search of the area for the dinosaurs.

Outside, the group runs through the open desert to find a way to escape the coming forces. When they notice a break in the river nearby, and remembering what Elder said before about the river leading to a forest, Morgan suggests they jump in and swim down to lose them. Though most of the team is concerned, they take the risk. Once in, the group is washed down the river and the Terrarium forces lose the group and retreat back to search elswhere.

By morning, after hours of swimming down the river, the group finds that they’ve been washed into the forest just outside the desert. There, they pull up on the shore and make sure all of their equipment is okay. Emily expresses concern now that she is miles away from the city and has no way to contact Owen or anyone she knows there. Tex apologizes for getting her caught up in this, but she says it’s okay since she says she wants to help him and his friends out since they “just made her life interesting.” She also feels ecstatic about the epic fight and escape she just endured.

After wandering the open woods, Blaster expresses relief that he and the gang have reached an untouched piece of land and don’t have to worry about humans or cities nearby. Shane, though happy as well, confides to Tex that he misses the modern feel of the city. However, they catch sight of an open area in the woods and find a cabin styled Nature Center placed in it, indicating the area is a Nature Park.

## Characters

* Tex
* Emily Tops
* Caren
* Shane
* Blaster
* Morgan
* Rover
* Leonard Hero
* Dreda
* Grey
* Kai
* Sinor
* Mega
* Owen Spencers (Mentioned)
* Kireina (Mentioned)

## Trivia

* This is the first chapter where the Raptor Generals show off their dinosaur forms.