Bat Trap

The Cryo siblings had been walking for a long time before they reached the entrance of the dome. Following the trail of the Oviraptors had led them down from the Highlands and zigzagged across the island before eventually landing them in front of man made tunnels that burrowed under the surface of the sea. They had waited a while at the entrance, crouched behind the rocks and drizzled with sea spray until they saw not just Oviraptors emerge, but others of their kind too. In fact, they had seen at least one of nearly every species of dinosaur make their way back out of the tunnel, the only ones missing being the purely aquatic reptiles. When they saw the same set of Utahraptors emerge after going in, they figured it was safe to make their own foray inside.

The tunnel was metal and hollow, hiding the water bearing down on top of it in a way that almost removed the peril from the young Cryos' minds. Drift was taking the lead as she normally did, but she was relying heavily on her brother to watch her back. This was an unknown territory, with unknown dangers, they both needed to keep their heads on a swivel. The light at the end of the tunnel grew closer, bright enough to obscure the other side and making the two stop to let their eyes adjust to it. Looking up, the light came from a series of hanging lights instead of the sun, further up than that a facade of the sky was painted onto a domed ceiling. On the ground, a jungle was growing in this strange dome, thick and flourishing like it was nourished by something other than the artificial lights. It was rare to find plant life thriving on the surface like this and the Cryos were baffled by it being able to do so underground. The entrance was deserted by the time they reached it, no sign of the procession of dinosaurs that had been coming in and out while they were watching from outside. 

"What do we do?" Brook asked nervously.

"We'll explore, but carefully," Drift decided, "looks like a herbivore's paradise in here but we might be able to find something interesting."

"Do you think these are the plants the Oviraptors have been planting?" Brook asked, keeping tight to his sister's side as they advanced through the jungle.

"Makes sense, if they came from here they could be gathering the seeds here and then bringing them up to the surface. Still had no idea why though," Drift noted. Brook agreed, they had come down here to figure out what the raptors were being so secretive about but so far they had more questions than answers. Some of the plants were familiar, just oversized versions of things like palm trees and ferns, but some were entirely alien to him, not even the rarest flowers in the highlands matched these strange blooms. He tried to avoid the leaves touching him where he could, something felt uncanny about these plants and he wasn't comfortable with making contact with them. Drift didn't seem as perturbed, forging ahead and ducking under the low hanging branches and vines that interwove like spiderwebs above their heads. She stopped suddenly, making Brook bump into her and he quickly followed her gesturing claws toward another bizarre plant.

Its flower was enormous, the size of a raffelesia and pitch black, its petals spread open like a prone bat against the bed of green leaves. Long white strands protruded from the centre of the flower, looking like the resting legs of a spider in a web, waiting for something to trigger them.

"Oh I don't like this," Brook whispered. His sister nodded in agreement.

"Let's try and go around it," she replied in an equally hushed voice. They crept through the conspicuous clearing, noticing that the entire radius of the flower's tendrils were free of anything but short blades of grass. The densely packed plants found in the rest of the jungle were crowded around the perimeter of this plant, confirming the older sibling’s suspicions that it was to be avoided. Barely a few feet away they saw the trampled path of previous explorers pushing through the undergrowth and without a word they agreed to make a beeline for it. If others had passed through then it was a good bet to follow them until the trail ran cold. WIth careful steps, they navigated the trip wires of the plants and crept closer to the exit. Brook was glancing nervously behind him with every movement, watching the thin white tendrils stir gently with the slightest hint of breeze the theropods were generating by moving. He was so preoccupied he failed to notice a slightly shorter one hanging at snout height, and only realised it was there when it grazed his nose. He didn't even have time to regret the contact, the flower shot towards him and clamped its petals down, swallowing his entire body and pulling him back into the body of the plant. The petals were covered in some kind of sticky fluid that hissed on contact with his feathers and glued them to the leathery surface of the plant. He tried to kick and pull away but he only succeeded in sticking more of his body to the plants, leaving him twisted at a painful angle with his head craned back. He kept struggling against the glue and felt his crest begin to tear away from his face rather than be parted from the flower. Blood tickled down the side of his face and down into the heart of the flower, disappearing into the centre like it was drinking it. The heavy scent of the blossom was suffocating too, filling his chest like unbearable humidity and dulling his mind with its perfume. He could barely draw breath by the time he felt something heavy collide with his body. He was knocked to the side and felt the plant buckle under his body weight. The flower's petals started to peel away but it suddenly grew stiff, like it had turned to stone in an instant. He felt his body being dragged in the opposite direction, something grabbing hold of the flower and pulling him along with it. 

"Hold on! I've got you!" Drift's voice came from outside of the flower trap and his heart rate picked up, sudden adrenaline returning to him. Drift had him, she was bringing him to safety. The thought made him find his feet again and he helped to push himself along the jungle floor. Drift eventually stopped pulling him and he felt her teeth starting to shred the petals around his face.

"Careful!" he warned, "My crest is right there!" She paused in her motions for a moment before resuming with a more cautious edge.

"Let me know if I grab something by accident," she said through a mouthful of plant and he tried to nod before verbally confirming when he found his head couldn't move against the glue. She managed to punch a hole through the flower, enough for him to see out of and to begin to take full breaths of fresh air. "I think we're going to have to wash this off, I can't pull it off without ripping your feathers out," Drift admitted defeat. Brook pushed himself upright and tried taking a few steps to test his movement. He could move, slowly but surely, without falling on his face.

"I think I can make it to water if we walk," he agreed. "Maybe we go back? I think sea water could be my best chance." Drift hummed in agreement, looking him over and grimacing at the fluid still sticking him to the beheaded flower. 

"That thing tasted nasty, I can only imagine how it smells in there," she said sympathetically. He was about to retort with a sarcastic response when a loud twig snapping behind them startled them both. They turned to see a strange dinosaur trundling towards them. It was short, stout and covered in bony scutes and quills that were only made more menacing by the skull it wore over its head. 

"Who are you?" it growled, eyeing them with a menacing gleam in its blue eyes.

"W-we're trying to leave," Drift stuttered, "We didn't mean to trespass, we just want to get out!" The short dinosaur regarded them carefully, looking between the anxious Drift and the barely visible Brook. As they looked closer, they saw leather straps around its back legs with sharp looking spike wheels attached to it. Two bright teal paw prints were painted onto its side, like the bright markings the Oviraptors had been wearing. They were related somehow, but Drift's natural curiosity was tempered by the way it was swaying its bright yellow tail club, like it was revving up for a swing. It seemed to come to a decision then, dropping its defensive stance and sighing.

"I'll bring you out, easiest way of getting you out of here anyway," he grumbled, "Name's Kielo, of Atlantis." The name was entirely unfamiliar to the siblings but they hurried to introduce themselves, not wanting to seem impolite after being spared a fight.

"I'm Drift, of Kiela Highlands, that's my brother Brook, he got caught in a flower," she explained in a rush. Kielo nodded like he had expected nothing different.

"Lots of you outside folk comin' by lately," he noted.

"We were following the Oviraptors, retracing their steps," Brook clarified, his voice still muffled within his plant prison. Kielo swore under his breath but didn't respond further. The siblings exchanged glances but decided against pressing him further, content to quietly follow their saviour out of this cursed jungle.