The rain poured down in heavy drops and the air was muggy feeling like a sweltering Amazon rainforest. Towering ferns several meters high surrounded them accompanied by exotic vibrant flowers. Mai gazed in awe at the colossal T-rex before them standing at a staggering 20 meters in height. It seemed like a dream. Its skin was covered in green scales resembling a crocodile's hide adorned with spikes along its back and its tail had massive bulges resembling boulders. The T-rex had a robust forebody standing on thick legs with long claws and its small arms bore sharp claws. Its eyes were red, and its sharp long white teeth frothed at the mouth. It growled menacingly and emitted clicking sounds which puzzled Mai. The sky darkened and lightning struck suddenly behind them. Rain pelted down but she was unfazed. Her heart raced with excitement; she had never felt so thrilled in her life.

She stood at the forefront of a large circle formed by the people in the expedition. In the center were the military personnel and key figures including the scientists and government officials who had the final say in their mission. A deep rumbling sound filled the air, and a yellow spherical barrier encompassed them all. Mai stood right at the edge close enough to almost touch the T-rex. She could hear it breathing and smell its foul rancid odor which made her nauseous. She longed to touch it, but the barrier would sear her skin.

As people sat down discussions about the enormous creature in front of them began. Everyone marveled at its size, which far exceeded what they had read in books based on excavations.

General Henrik a muscular man with a stern countenance turned his gaze toward Dr. Piva. She was a woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail sporting round red glasses and a white lab coat. She sat before a book engrossed in her work.

"Dr. Piva, what kind of dinosaur is this? You said they were dinosaurs." General Henrik inquired coldly.

"It's a T-rex but not quite." Dr. Piva responded with a concerned tone.

A man in a white coat with short black hair adjusted his rectangular glasses. "The satellite indicated normal-sized dinosaurs, so we weren't prepared for anything beyond that."

Mai had the urge to shout that one should always be prepared even when trusting technology. She glanced at Dr. Piva who had risen to prominence by charming men in the industry despite having deceived them with her snake experiments that had swindled millions from the government. Mai surveyed the 500 people behind her and the tall tropical trees including a palm swaying in the wind.

She retrieved Kenta, a robotic dog from her leather bag and placed a small white grain on its back. Her plan had to succeed, or she'd face severe consequences possibly even death. Kenta, a black dog-like robot opened its white eyes and stared at her. It resembled a beagle with pointed Shiba Inu-like ears standing on all fours with a curled tail like a croissant. It slowly turned its head left and right then back to her blinking. It shook its head indicating that the elite team had remained on the ship as she had hoped. She nodded and hugged him preparing for her plan. Her black shirt and pants were soaked from the rain even though it wasn't raining directly on them. The air was heavy and occasionally tickled her nose with the scent of colorful incredibly toxic plants she had only seen in the tropics.

The T-rex fixed its gaze on them and roared loudly shaking the entire area. Mai's heart raced and she nervously scanned the surroundings. People had begun to panic.

"Is the barrier holding General?" a soldier asked sounding worried.

General Henrik nodded. "It's held off alien species from the Mother Ship for 10.000 years so this is nothing."

They waited and moments later the ground began to tremble more violently than before. Mai squinted her eyes and heard a multitude of footsteps approaching their location. They were undoubtedly not friendly.

Suddenly there was a high-pitched screech that made everyone cover their ears. They looked up at the sky and saw a flock of enormous moray eels with giant albatross wings. Their eyes were yellow, some had zigzag stripes on their bodies and others had spots. Their teeth were black and sharp, and they looked ravenous as they descended toward them.

"Flying fish!" a woman panicked pointing at the sky.

"Damn." Mai whispered realizing her plan might be ruined.

At the same time, they heard the sound of animals running through the leaves creating loud rustling noises. Then a group of dinosaurs appeared. Among them was one with an elephantine body, a croissant-shaped arched back and large spikes resembling broad thick fans. Mai recognized it as a Stegosaurus. There were massive raptors that resembled Megalosaurus and Deinonychus from films and books, but these had feathers and the Deinonychus had wings. The T-rex emitted clicking sounds again and the newly arrived dinosaurs immediately attacked the barrier. They roared and smashed their heads into it creating a cracking sound and suddenly the barrier cracked.

"Reinforce the barrier immediately!" General Henrik commanded.

There were distinct buzzing sounds, and an orange barrier covered them but at the same time the first barrier shattered.

Dr. Piva looked perplexed at the dinosaurs. "This doesn't match what the books say. I don't understand. Why weren't they mentioned?"

General Henrik furrowed his brows. "We can't use that information now. Tell me about their weaknesses."

Suddenly the Stegosaurus began hammering the barrier and each strike left thick black cracks, but they healed at lightning speed.

General Henrik glanced at the Stegosaurus his brow furrowing. "Our barrier can withstand anything, and the backup team is on its way."

Suddenly the T-rex emitted a clicking sound again which Mai picked up immediately. She glanced around at the other dinosaurs attempting to break the barrier. The first time the clicking sound occurred more dinosaurs arrived so this clicking sound didn't bring good news either. She cast a glance at General Henrik who appeared confident as he surveyed the situation. In his hand he held something resembling a walkie-talkie, but its appearance was deceptive. Mai knew that when he pressed the button everyone in the outer circle would receive an electric shock. Suddenly the ground trembled violently again, this time resembling an approaching army of elephants.

"General, is the barrier really holding?" a man with nervousness in his voice asked.

He had medium-length blond hair and wore a white coat sitting next to Dr. Piva.

General Henrik nodded as he scanned the dinosaurs. Suddenly some tall bushes toppled over revealing a group of Stegosaurus. Their bodies were red with black markings on their backs and their eyes were yellow. What was most peculiar was that they had two thick tails that made everyone stand up in astonishment.

"They come in red now?" a man with his mouth agape asked.

The Stegosaurus immediately began pounding the barrier with their heavy tails creating resonating echoes throughout the area. Every time they struck thick black cracks appeared, but they healed at the speed of light.

General Henrik smiled and checked his black military watch. "Five minutes."

"Five minutes for what General? The barrier won't hold that long." a soldier standing next to him said.

General Henrik smacked him on the head hard and ordered. "Strengthen the barrier immediately."

The man bit his lip and commanded. "Reinforce the barrier to the maximum."

Another soldier grumbled quietly. "Tch. I knew I should've stayed with the elite team."

General Henrik raised his right eyebrow looking annoyed but holding something back. It was evident that he was withholding something.

There were repeated loud bangs that grew louder and louder and cracks in the barrier started to heal more slowly making people nervous. Some were already planning a way to escape if the barrier were to break completely.

Suddenly Stefan approached Mai stuttering in a low voice. "D-d-do you think it'll hold?"

Mai furrowed her brows. "Why are you asking me and not Dr. Piva or General Henrik? I didn't design it."

She despised Stefan because he never listened to her love advice, so it was his own fault that women always took advantage of him. Why the heck was he seeking advice now?

She looked back at the T-rex and muttered quietly. "You'd better go back to the group."

Stefan felt his neck and massaged it revealing a large purple bump. He looked disappointed and returned to General Henrik who was surrounded by soldiers dressed in black from head to toe. Ten of them held a large black rectangular box that kept the barrier running. They controlled it with black gloves as the machine emitted radioactive rays. The Stegosaurus continued pounding the barrier and two minutes later a permanent small vertical crack appeared where a raptor was trying to stick its head in. It growled and tried to bite at people who were now closer to the center. Only Mai who stood at the far right seemed unconcerned as the crack was farthest from her. If things went awry, she would run to the left.

"Shoot it." General Henrik ordered.