33Chapter One: Majundasuchus
Ambushing
Species: Majundasuchus
Hybrid Genome: Majungasaurus base, Nundasuchus spliced in.
Size: 23 feet long, 7 feet tall, 2 tons.
Diet: Carnivore.
A low rumble echoed through the ground as the violet and black scaled animal kept her lower jaw flat on the forested floor. Today was hotter than normal and she wanted nothing more than to go to her creek and slip into the water waiting for her there, but her stomach demanded she eat.
Unfortunately, her human caretakers were on a schedule, so she would have to wait in the shade until they set the goat loose in her paddock. They were no more thrilled about the heat wave than she was, and one of them was kind enough to pull out a hose and spray cool water over the leaves where the dinosaur was hiding. She gave a sighing hiss of appreciation and knew her caretaker had heard her when the human laughed a bit from her high perch, where the predator could not reach her.
At least the water and shade made the heat slightly more bearable.
Finally, her taller caretaker put on a mic and started talking to the group of people hiding behind a viewing area cleverly disguised as a boulder. "Hey there everyone, glad you could make it to the Majundasuchus feeding show. My name's Josh and I'll be running things today. We're gonna make this show fast because our pretty girl is feeling too hot and probably wants to go swimming. We'll do some quick questions and let her go relax. Anyone want to start?"
Another employee working the show inside the viewing hide went to a boy who was likely in middle school and held a mic up to him. "What's with the horn on her head?"
"It's a mutated variation of the horn from her genetic ancestor, Majungasaurus," he answered. "It's normally blunter in Majungasaurs, but the scutes our girl here has sharpened it. It's just ornamental though—she doesn't use it for anything besides looking taller."
Said Majundasuchus could hear everything that was being said, but she couldn't have cared less in that moment. Her eyes were closed and her jaws opened to expel excess heat as the people in the viewing hide tried to get a better look at her. She was hiding in the foliage and they could only make out her head and some mottled body scales.
Another question was put to them by a decidedly more science-oriented young lady. "She has crocodile genes in her, right? Does she display any behaviors like crocodilians?"
"Technically, it's Archosaur genes," Josh corrected. "Nundasuchus DNA makes up part of her genome and they weren't really crocodiles, but there are some similarities that she's displaying for us now. She rests with her jaws open like that to get rid of excess body heat, like some modern reptiles today, and she's also quite fond of water. That tail makes her a pretty good swimmer. But she's also hunting right now—see how her jaw is flat on the ground? She can pick up vibrations when she does that. When she feels dinner walking close to her, she jumps it without even having to see it."
Another child offered the next question. "Does she like fish?"
"Some of them," Josh admitted. "But she's not fond of bony fishes. She prefers smaller fish and she's not that great at catching them, but she does surprise us now and then. We give them to her as treats sometimes."
"Does she have a name?"
He smiled at the resting animal fondly. "We call her Lavender, or Lav for short. And I think that's probably enough questions for now."
He finished the Q&A when the Majundasuchus let out a deep, rumbling growl not unlike a crocodile's to let them know she was getting irritated with the lack of action. She wanted her lunch.
Josh hit a button on his podium well above Lav's reach and watched as her eyes flit open and her jaws snapped shut without a sound, awaiting the approach of her meal. An unsuspecting, black-furred goat wandered into the paddock and bleated a few times curiously, sniffing at the ground.
"Fair warning folks, she's quick about this, but it might still scare some of the younger kids," Josh told them. "She's not as messy as Rexy, but it can be a shock."
All eyes darted back and forth from the Majundasuchus and the unsuspected goat as it wandered innocently into the paddock. The animal paused to nibble at some grass, but Lav did not move. Not yet. She was a skilled, patient killer.
And a hungry one at that.
The goat had barely nosed at some ferns four feet from Lav's body when she exploded with movement. Powerful jaws opened and snapped shut as she erupted from her hiding place, biting into the neck with a swift crunch that killed the animal with barely a sound. The goat didn't even feel the bite before it's brain registered bodily death.
Lav shook her prey twice for good measure before dropping the goat, then repositioning her jaws around the torso to carry it more easily. Her prize in her mouth, she let out a rumble and padded off to her creek to enjoy her dinner in peace.
Josh smirked as the crowd gasped and made a few disappointed sounds over the ambush that spanned barely three seconds before the hybrid was leaving. "She likes her quiet when she eats. Sorry for cutting the show so short, folks. She'll have another feeding this evening at 7 when it's cooler, so it should be longer. Thanks for coming to see our pretty girl her at Jurassic World!"
Lav ignored the sounds of her caretakers as she stalked through the undergrowth to bring her meal to the creek. It was too hot, and all she wanted now was to eat in peace and quiet.
And chew on some of the bones.
A/N: I've wanted to do something fun like this for a while, just post random snippets on random dinosaur hybrids from the Jurassic World franchise. Most of these will be based on the hybrids in the games, mostly Jurassic World: Alive and Jurassic World: The Game if you're looking for visual references. Whatever the case, I hope you enjoy these dino-packed short stories!