Maggie and Ruth walked the grounds carefully while in search of berries. The former used her phone as a flashlight, while the latter used night vision to see where they were going. Fortunately, the two had found themselves some pink and orange berries growing in the bushes. Maggie had no idea these grew in them, not just trees, and was thankful they both lucked out. As she picked some small fruit and put them in her backpack, Ruth reminded her not to take any dangerous ones, to which she acknowledged that she already knew, but still thanked Ruth for looking out for her.

Something had been on her mind for quite a while, and, feeling that this might be an excellent opportunity, she asked Ruth about something.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Maggie glanced as she took some berries to place in her backpack.

“Go right ahead,” Ruth replied, scanning the bushes for fruits.

“Why did you want to join us in our quest?”

“Well, uh, in my community, I'm always known as a pacifist, or coward if you will.”

“Um, no offense, but I can see why...”

“But I want to prove myself,” Ruth insisted. “That I can handle and take care of myself while also protecting others dear to me. I also want my father to stop treating me like some...” Ruth thought about what to say next. “What was the word again?”

“Seriously?” Maggie’s hands collided with her face as she groaned in response.

“No, that can’t be it.”

Without warning, a crash startled and interrupted the duo.

“What was that?” Maggie asked.

“I don’t know,” Ruth shrugged.

“Hey, where you’re going!” A voice yelled out.

“That voice, I heard it before...” Maggie whispered.

“I think it came from over there.” Ruth pointed.

The two walked up to a hill and hid in nearby bushes. They both took a small peek and checked down below. There, Maggie and Ruth could spot some Miletis running about near a fortress with small carts in their hands. One wagon spilled over, spreading colored crystals across the ground. Two Miletis, in particular, stood near the cart filled with jewels, arguing over the subject.

“Do you even know what happens when those gems hit the ground?” One of them asked.

“Yeah, I know, don’t need to tell me!” Another retorted. “How many do we even need?”

“As much as we need for our experiment.”

“Experiment, what could they be talking about?” Maggie whispered-asked, her body hunching over.

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They could hear roars from a distance. Into view came more Miletis dragging a raptor around by an electric shock collar with a handle attached to it.

More of the workers walked over to witness this, leaving the overturned cart untouched.

“Ah, there you are.” A Mileti said, crossing his arms. “So, how’d it go?”

“A little tricky,” Another replied. “But, I thought it was easy to handle.”

“All right, now all we have to do is wait for you-know-who to bring us more dark crystals for us and—”

“Wait, why don’t you say their name?”

“You don’t get it, do you? What if someone overhears us? Our plan would be in jeopardy if anyone from the other side were to find out about our secrets.”

“Oh, that’s a good point.”

Ruth and Maggie covered their mouths to prevent themselves from gasping too loud. Ruth glanced at Maggie, wondering how she’ll respond. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t move an inch of her body.

“Who do you think they’re talking about?” Ruth whisper-asked.

“Who cares right now?” Maggie hissed through her ground teeth. She clenched her fists as she continued to watch from above. “We got to help that poor dinosaur; it looks like it’s in pain. Not only that, but we also need to find out what those jerks are up to!”

“But there’s two of us, and a lot more of them down there.” Ruth pointed out. “So, how are we—?”

“Hey, did you hear something?” A Mileti asked another next to him.

“I did.” The other replied.

“Uh oh,” Ruth murmured nervously. “We need to get out of—” The bear attempted to back away. He lost his footing and accidentally tripped, tumbling down the hill, and landing in front of the Miletis.

“Well, well, speak of the devil...” They looked over at the bear with wide grins. One of them spoke while walking up to Ruth. “Of course, an Orso Looba would come help that Ceratocheloraptor...”

Ruth shook uncontrollably. “Um, I can explain?” He tried to speak up and sound intimidating, but couldn’t muster up the courage and strength to do so.

“Well, little bear, what are you going to do now?”

Maggie watched from above and ground her teeth.

She noticed that all the crazy guys had their purple eyes focused on the bear, so now seemed like a good time to help. Hopefully, without getting caught, or they’d be in serious trouble. Maggie slowly slid down the hill in a different direction so that the Miletis wouldn’t notice.

She snuck around quietly to make sure no one paid any attention to her. She went up to where the fallen cart that contained crystals stood and bent down to pick some up. The raptor glanced over at her for a bit, wondering what she was trying to do. Maggie noticed and moved her fingers toward her mouth, making a shushing sound so the dinosaur would not give away her position. Just then, another Mileti turned around and noticed Maggie snooping around their stuff.

Maggie ran and quickly threw a yellow crystal on the ground, causing the fragment to explode into bits of lightning. Lightning sparks came out and randomly attacked the field, causing everyone around her to panic. One of the Miletis lost grip of the handle as the raptor made a run for the hills while Maggie and Ruth ducked for cover.

“We’re not afraid to use these, so you better watch out and leave us alone!” Maggie yelled out.

Ruth stood beside her, still quaking in his fur. “We should tell the others about this once we get—”

Maggie and Ruth’s bodies froze, their bodies shook. Neither of them could control themselves as they fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

One of the Miletis with bruises and a bulged-up eye walked up to them, carrying a purple object in his hand.

“I knew you’d be back.” He said with a devilish grin. “Isn’t it such a shame that you failed your little endeavor this time around?” He taunted.

“What’s happening to us?” Maggie questioned.

“I don’t know...” Ruth weakly replied.

One of the other Miletis looked on with a confused expression and asked, “Why didn’t you use the purple crystal to get the raptor back?”

“Still, your tongue.” The man retorted. “It takes one of these bad boys to control a human-like creature and put them in their place, but it takes multiple to get control of a dinosaur...” He turned to face Maggie and Ruth. “So, you thought you could escape after that little fiasco? Suffice to say, you failed. But don’t worry, your friends will show up soon; I can guarantee it.”

“Why you — what are you going to do with us?” Maggie asked through her teeth.

“Oh, you’ll see...”