The sun had long since set over the park, but sleep was the furthest thing from Jayce's mind. He crouched in the shadows of an equipment shed, his eyes scanning the darkened landscape. Beside him, Ava double-checked the contents of her backpack, her movements quick and nervous.

“Are you sure about this?” she whispered, zipping the bag closed. “If we get caught—”

“We won't,” Jayce interrupted, though his tone lacked conviction. He turned to face her, his expression grave in the dim light. “Ava, you saw what happened today. That T. Rex... it wasn't natural. Whatever Sullivan and his team are doing, it's affecting the animals. We can't just sit back and wait for things to get worse.”

Ava nodded, her resolve visibly strengthening. “You're right. I just... I can't shake this feeling that we're walking into something much bigger than we realize.”

Jayce allowed himself a grim smile. “Probably. But hey, we work with dinosaurs for a living. We're used to big.”

As Ava chuckled softly, Jayce did a final inventory of his own supplies. Flashlights, water, a first aid kit, and—after a moment's hesitation—the tranquilizer gun he'd “borrowed” from the ranger station. He prayed he wouldn't need to use it.

“I also got a map,” Ava said, unfolding a worn piece of parchment. She'd marked several areas in red, including a large section newly cordoned off by the military. “I marked here the locations where the military is positioned. It should help us avoid them.”

Jayce studied the map, committing key landmarks to memory. “Alright,” he said finally, straightening up. “Let's do this.”

They slipped out of their hiding spot, keeping low as they made their way across the park. The familiar landscape felt alien in the darkness, the usual dissonance of animal sounds replaced by an unsettling silence. Occasionally, a tremor would shake the ground, causing them both to freeze until it passed.

As they neared the restricted area, voices drifted towards them on the night air. Jayce grabbed Ava's arm, pulling her behind a cluster of ferns. Moments later, a patrol of soldiers marched past, their faces grim in the glow of their flashlights.

“—never seen the boss this intense,” one was saying. “Whatever's in those ruins, he's determined to keep it under wraps.”

“Yeah, well, I signed up to guard animals, not play archaeologist,” his companion grumbled. “This whole thing gives me the creeps.”

Jayce and Ava exchanged a look as the soldiers moved out of earshot. Sullivan's secrecy only fueled their suspicions.

They pressed on, skirting the edge of the restricted zone. Jayce found his thoughts drifting to the animals under his care. The agitated Pteranodons, the unsettled herds... had they sensed this coming? A pang of guilt shot through him. He was supposed to protect them, and instead, he'd let this threat grow right under his nose.

Finally, the ancient ruins loomed before them, a jagged silhouette against the star-filled sky. As they drew closer, Jayce noticed something odd. The stone carvings, barely visible in the moonlight, seemed to pulse with a faint, otherworldly glow.

“Ava,” he breathed, “are you seeing this?”

She nodded, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and excitement. “It's just like the old texts described. The awakening... it's really happening.”

They picked their way carefully through the ruins, Ava pausing occasionally to examine a carving or consult her map. The air grew thick with an electric charge, making the hair on Jayce's arms stand on end. Their flashlights flickered erratically, forcing them to rely more on touch and instinct to navigate.

“Look,” Ava whispered suddenly, pointing to a section of wall partially hidden by vegetation. “I think... I think it's a door.”

Jayce helped her clear away the vines, revealing intricate symbols etched into the stone. As his fingers brushed against the markings, a pulse of energy surged through him. He stumbled back, gasping, as the wall began to shift and grind open.

“Are you okay?” Ava asked, steadying him.

Jayce nodded, still catching his breath. “Yeah, just... wasn't expecting that. Should we...?”

Ava was already moving towards the opening, her curiosity overriding her caution. Jayce followed close behind, his hand hovering near the tranquilizer gun at his hip.

The passage led them to a vast chamber, its walls covered in elaborate murals depicting scenes of chaos and destruction. In the center of the room stood a raised dais, upon which rested...

“Oh my god,” Ava breathed, rushing forward. “Jayce, look at this!”

It was a fossilized skeleton, but unlike anything Jayce had ever seen. The sheer scale of the creature took his breath away, its remains dominating the cavernous chamber. The dragon's serpentine neck, easily as long as a semi-truck, curved gracefully upward, leading to a skull that could have swallowed a small car whole. Jayce estimated the entire skeleton to be at least 30 meters from nose to tail tip, dwarfing even the largest known dinosaurs.

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The skull was adorned with a crown of backward-sweeping horns, each one as thick as Jayce's thigh and stretching several meters in length. Massive eye sockets, large enough for a person to crawl through, gave the creature a haunting, almost sentient appearance even in death.

Most striking of all were the gargantuan, bat-like wings folded against its sides. Even in their skeletal state, they spanned an awe-inspiring width that Jayce guessed would exceed 45 meters if fully extended. He could imagine them blotting out the sun, casting entire city blocks in shadow during flight.

The dragon's rib cage, large enough to house a small apartment, hinted at the immense lung capacity needed to fuel such a behemoth. Razor-sharp talons, each nearly as long as Jayce's entire arm, tipped the creature's powerful limbs. A line of jutting vertebrae ran down its spine, terminating in a whip-like tail that coiled around the base of the dais, its tip disappearing into the shadows.

Jayce stood transfixed, overwhelmed by a mixture of wonder and primal fear. This wasn't just a dragon – it was a force of nature preserved in stone, a creature of legend made terrifyingly real, its size defying the limits of what he thought possible for a flying creature.

“It's real,” Jayce murmured, amazement and terror warring within him. “The dragon... it actually existed.”

Before Ava could respond, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the chamber. Panic shot through Jayce as he recognized Sullivan's voice among them.

“—must remain undisturbed. The consequences of interference could be catastrophic.”

Jayce grabbed Ava's arm, pulling her behind a fallen column just as Sullivan and his team entered the chamber. From their hiding spot, they watched as the archaeologist approached the fossilized dragon, his expression a mix of reverence and concern.

“It's magnificent,” one of Sullivan's team members whispered. “Sir, with all due respect, shouldn't we be studying it more closely? The potential applications—”

“Are far too dangerous to contemplate,” Sullivan cut in sharply. His voice softened as he gazed at the ancient bones. “This creature... it represents a power beyond our understanding. Our duty is to protect it, to ensure it remains safe.”

Jayce's heart pounded in his chest as he met Ava's confused gaze. Sullivan's words didn't match the sinister intentions they'd imagined. They were trapped, moments away from discovery, with more questions than ever about the fate of the park and the secrets it held.

Jayce's mind raced as he and Ava crouched behind the fallen column. Sullivan's cryptic words echoed in the chamber, each one adding to the mystery.

“The energy readings are unprecedented,” one of Sullivan's team members reported, her voice hushed with reverence. “If this power were to be unleashed—”

“It won't be,” Sullivan interrupted firmly. “That's precisely why we're here. To safeguard this site and prevent any misguided attempts to harness its energy.”

Ava's hand found Jayce's in the darkness, squeezing tightly. He could feel her trembling, or maybe it was him—it was hard to tell with the waves of energy pulsing through the chamber.

Sullivan approached the fossilized dragon, his movements careful and respectful. “You've guarded your secrets for millennia,” he murmured. “And we'll ensure they remain protected.”

He turned to his team. “Set up the containment field. We need to stabilize the energy fluctuations before they draw any more attention.”

As Sullivan's team bustled about the chamber, setting up strange devices around the fossil, Jayce's mind whirled. They had misjudged Sullivan's intentions, but why all the secrecy? What was he truly protecting them from?

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shuddered violently. Dust and small rocks rained down from the ceiling as everyone in the chamber struggled to keep their footing.

“Sir!” one of the soldiers called out. “We've got multiple containment breaches across the park! The tremors are agitating the animals!”

Sullivan's expression darkened. “It's already affecting the local fauna. We need to act quickly.” He turned to his team. “Activate the dampening field. I want these energy spikes contained. The rest of you, with me. We need to stabilize the situation before it escalates further.”

As Sullivan and most of his team rushed out of the chamber, Jayce saw their chance. He caught Ava's eye and nodded towards the fossilized dragon. She understood immediately.

They crept out from their hiding spot, keeping low and moving quickly. Only two of Sullivan's people remained, focused intently on the strange equipment they were setting up around the fossil.

Jayce's hand closed around the tranquilizer gun at his hip. He took a deep breath, steadying himself, then stood and fired two rapid shots. The darts found their marks, and Sullivan's team members slumped to the ground, unconscious.

“Nice shot,” Ava whispered, already moving towards the fossil.

“Thanks,” Jayce replied, his voice tight. “But we've got maybe five minutes before someone comes to check on them. What's the plan?”

Ava was examining the equipment surrounding the dragon skeleton, her brow furrowed in concentration. “I'm not sure,” she said. “Sullivan seems to be trying to contain something, but what? And why all the secrecy?”

Another tremor shook the chamber, stronger this time. In the distance, they could hear the roars and screeches of panicked dinosaurs.

“The animals,” Jayce said, torn. “I need to help them.”

Ava looked up at him, her expression resolute. “Go. I can handle things here. Maybe I can figure out what Sullivan is really up to.”

“Are you sure? I don't want to leave you alone.”

She managed a small smile. “I'm a park ranger, remember? I'm trained to handle unexpected situations. Besides, those animals need you more than I do right now.”

Jayce hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. But be careful, and get out of here at the first sign of trouble.” He handed her the tranquilizer gun. “Just in case.”

As Jayce turned to leave, Ava called out, “Jayce!” He looked back to see her face etched with concern. “You be careful too.”

With a nod, Jayce sprinted out of the chamber and into the chaos of the park beyond. The scene that greeted him was one of utter pandemonium. Alarms blared across the compound as security teams scrambled to contain the escaped animals. In the distance, he could see the silhouette of a Dreadnoughtus lumbering dangerously close to the visitor center.

Pushing aside his exhaustion, Jayce raced towards the nearest containment breach. He had a job to do—to protect the animals and the people of Pangaea Wildlife Preserve. But even as he threw himself into the crisis, his thoughts kept drifting back to Ava, alone in that ancient chamber with forces beyond their understanding.