Zara’s End

    Just this morning, her biggest problem was her fiancé’s stupid bachelor party.  Now, Zara Young prayed that she’d even live to see her wedding.  Amidst the screams of the rushing crowd, she could hear the terrible flapping of leathery wings overhead, like sails fed by a violent wind.

    Fed.  Oh Christ.  Zara’s pulse quickened as throngs of people squeezed their way between her and her de facto wards.  The Mitchell boys escaped her earlier, but she couldn’t let that happen again.  There was no telling how the pterosaurs got loose, but she remembered her visits to the aviary with Claire.  She witnessed how they flocked around the prey that the park provided for them – mostly fish, with the occasional hog or fawn – and how they squabbled over the morsels, ripping them to shreds in the process.  She didn’t think much of it at the time; they were just animals, no different from hawks or owls.  Just larger.  Scalier.  They were nothing like that other… thing.  But with the swarms above, she found it impossible to get the image of their past victims out of her head, worsened by their sudden incorporation of people into their diet.

    In her panic, she made a misstep and twisted her ankle.  Why did I choose heels today?  Regaining her balance and ignoring the pain as best she could, she raised her head and caught a glimpse of one of the creatures scurrying about an overturned table.  It was one of the pterosaurs with the weird heads – Dimorphodon, was it?  She didn’t care when she was first introduced, and she sure as hell didn’t care now.  Wrapped around the thing’s beak was a piece of loose, torn fabric with a visible floral pattern amid the blood stains:  remnants of some woman’s sundress.  Zara’s heart skipped a beat as the creature turned to her.  She took off after the boys, and it elected not to pursue, perfectly content with its current meal.

    She saw Zach and Gray ahead, just out of reach.  If she could corral them inside one of the nearby kiosks, they could hide out until help arrived.  “Stop running!” she called.  The boys either didn’t hear her or didn’t care.  They moved on, and a wall of fleeing tourists immediately closed behind them, bottlenecking her approach.  Between the crowd and her sprained ankle, she soon found herself several paces behind them.

    Waves of terrified faces met her gaze as they pushed her out of the way.  Ignoring the fact that they were simply running for their lives, Zara felt only frustration and anger with them.  Finally forcing her way through, she saw the boys standing in a clearing, motionlessly gawking within the eye of a veritable dinosaur hurricane.  Fear mounted in her chest.  She couldn’t take being out in the open anymore.  They had to get inside now.

    “Don’t just stand there, hi-“

    Before she could finish her sentence, a pair of strong talons grabbed her shoulders and stole her breath.  A Pteranodon swiftly snatched her off the ground and lifted off with its prize.  Zara shrieked.  In the span of an instant, she saw the earth beneath her shrink away.  Dangling above the mezzanine like a grim hang-glider, she thrashed against her avian captor.  She had no idea what to do if it let go.  The fall would be her end.  Instinct had taken over, and nothing mattered except escape.

    Her attempts proved futile.  The beast didn’t budge, nor did it seem to have any trouble sustaining her weight.  Her mind flashed back to a moment when she had seen Pteranodon in the aviary catch a small deer and carry it back to its roost, where it promptly snapped the poor animal’s neck and cut open its insides with its razor-like beak.  She continued struggling and screaming in vain.  Nobody below could afford to care.  If anything, they had one less predator to worry about.

    Out of her peripheral vision, she saw a tan streak shoot across the expanse.  An equally large Pteranodon flew on a direct collision course with her.  It dove into her captor, beating it with its wings and slashing with its talons.  The swipes just barely missed Zara, but the chaos of the frenzy was enough to render her hysterical.  She realized in a moment of lucidity that she was just an object, doomed to be coveted and consumed by a horde of creatures that shouldn’t even exist.  Numerous men had fought over her in the past, and now she was trapped a fatal perversion of the same situation.

    The attacker won, and the monster holding Zara dropped its prey.  She cried out as the rush of gravity made her stomach lurch.  She thankfully faced skyward, and avoided seeing the rushing concrete that would seal her fate.  Before she could get very far, though, the assailant dinosaur swooped down and deftly caught her, wrapping its claws around her lower leg.  The sudden whiplash snapped her head back and almost made her vomit.  She didn’t realize what had saved her until the creature flew away from its defeated opponent, dragging her helpless body upside-down.

    Please, God, help me!  They soared over the mezzanine while Zara swung like a pendulum.  Facing the direction opposite the creature’s flight path, she saw a fleet of pterosaurs pursuing the lucky Pteranodon.  She was worth more than a meal now.  She was a badge of dominance, the sweetest treat of all.  And all of them intended to collect.

    Her legs began sliding down from of the beast’s grip.  In its rush to procure its meal, it neglected to grab an appendage it could keep holding.  The uneven distribution of weight was too unwieldy, and Zara’s slender legs slipped out of their restraints.  She plummeted again, screaming the entire way, while retaining the horizontal velocity from the flight.  The pterosaurs remained determined, however, and adjusted their trajectories to intercept her.

    Meanwhile, Zara’s flailing form managed to narrowly clear the railing surrounding the central pool.  She impacted with the water, but not without significant pain.  The surface merely slowed her fall, crashing against her abdomen with a force comparable to that of a minor car wreck.  She plunged into the depths, creating a swath that cleaved the stillness of the icy blue expanse.  Unprepared for her sudden submergence, she failed to close her mouth.  Stinging fluid filled her nostrils.  She gagged and sank deeper into the abyss.

    The mid-afternoon’s sun painted the top of the pool an incandescent turquoise, but its beauty rapidly disappeared from Zara’s view.  Once-luminous halos grew dim.  The frantic cries and crashes from above became muted and distant.  For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, everything was silent.

    I made it.  I’m free!

    Zara flailed her arms, trying to counteract her descent.  Though it may be a kinder fate than what the other attendees were suffering, she had no intention of drowning.  Not after making it this far.  She struggled to climb the pillars of water, but she was too weak, beaten and exhausted from her ordeal.  Instinctively groaning, a small amount of water seeped between her teeth, coating the inside of her mouth.

    Salt?  Why does the pool have – Oh please, no!

    In her desperation, she hadn’t considered why the water stretched so deep.  She hadn’t fallen into one of the public pools – she was in the Mosasaur tank!

    Her entire body froze as dread crept up her spine.  Her heart raced as she recalled the immensity of the leviathan, and it’s equally large appetite.  She had only seen the exhibit once, and refused to attend ever again, always having other interns cover for her.  The creature dwarfed the Tyrannosaurus, and devoured the most frightening sea creatures with ease.  Just the thought of its enormous bulk, always partially obscured, gave her shivers.  It engulfed its prey whole in the most gruesome fashion while an audience offered it thunderous applause.  She felt disgusted and unnerved watching it, and suffered nightmares for weeks to follow.  Her fiancé had the gall to tease her about it, likening it to some infernal dragon that would consume her unless he came to her rescue.  And now she was trapped with the thing she fear most in the world.

     The echoes of the exhibit’s announcer repeated in her head, over and over again:  “The Mosasaur is capable of sensing subtle vibrations near the ocean’s surface, which made it the apex aquatic predator of the Cretaceous Period.”  The pterosaurs had abandoned her to the worst fate imaginable.  She had to get out, make it to the shore somehow.  Anything would be better than facing that crocodilian abomination.

    Panicking, Zara thrust her arms as hard as she could.  If she could reach the surface, maybe she could call for help.  Unbeknownst to her, several other divers made splashes just above her, sending ripples into the depths of the tank.  The Pteranodons hadn’t given up their chase.

    Fearing the anomalous ripples signaled the approaching Mosasaur, Zara frightfully turned her head just in time to see the open beak of a Pteranodon advancing toward her.  The dinosaur clamped down on her ribcage and swam upward.  Zara emerged screaming, the Pteranodon’s mouth still holding her hostage.  Pain surged through her body.  She squirmed to escape, but her kicking and crying did nothing.

    This time, the beast wanted none of her struggling.  It dove back into the water and held her there for a moment.  The creature intended to drown her, then drag her marinated corpse to a comfortable dining spot.  Zara gargled and choked on the salty water between her screams.  The dinosaur dunked her under again and again, all the while splashing profusely with its beating wings.  She was overwhelmed with fear.  She knew she was doomed.  The Pteranodon would drown her and feast on her water-logged corpse.  She sobbed uncontrollably and begged God to let it end soon.

    As the Pteranodon waterboarded her yet again, she heard a deep, guttural moan come from the darkness of the pool.  Her eyes widened and she struggled with renewed vigor.  The avian predator let go temporarily, allowing her to sink beneath the waves.  Zara saw something large move in the shadows.  Before she could react, the Pteranodon grabbed her with its talons, intent on finishing its job.  It pulled her upwards, and dangled her face-down just above the surface.

    Then she saw it.  All of the commotion had attracted it.  A grey, scaly mountain rose up to meet her.  It started to open.  Zara wet herself.  She tried to scream, but nothing came out.  The Mosasaur’s jaws unlatched, revealing a wide chasm barricaded by two rows of terrifying teeth.  Gallons of water spun down and drained into its eager throat.  By the time Zara finally let out a cry, it was completely muffled by the deafening crash of waves made by the Mosasaur’s emergence.

    The light revealed its mouth in all its horrifying majesty.  The pink tongue, covered in little nubs that Zara could only presume were the prehistoric equivalent of taste-buds; the ribbed roof of the palate; the rows of teeth, stained with blood and cluttered with the fleshy debris of its previous meal; and the gaping esophagus, sitting at the back like the gate of hell.  Zara hovered directly above it as a soft gurgling sound came from the monster’s innards.  Thick red muscles subtly pulsated around the organic sinkhole, readying itself for ingestion.  Its resonant cooing frightened her more than booming splashes of the previous moment.  Hoarse cries escaped her as the dinosaur’s tongue gently rolled, beckoning her into its guts.

    The creature’s mouth surrounded both the pterosaur and its would-be prey.  Zara closed her eyes and screamed.  The Pteranodon, fearing for its own safety, tried to rise away from the pool.  But first it had to dump its excess baggage.

    The talons released, and Zara fell a few feet before plopping on the Mosasaur’s tongue.

    No, no, no!  Please, God!  This can’t happen!

    Its tongue felt like damp rubber against her face.  Her raven hair, impeccably groomed until a few minutes ago, caught in clumps in the sticky paste.  The slimy muscles pushed upwards against her breasts as bubbly saliva coated her face.  Her lungs filled with the putrid breath that exuded from the creature’s maw.  Warm spit sprayed from the back of its mouth and drenched Zara in its filth.  Little bumps tickled her face as she stimulated its taste sensation.  Globs of condensed sludge dripped from the upper jaw, plopping nearby the poor woman.  Viscous streams oozed over her and left a gelatinous membrane around her cheeks and mouth.  She coughed against the taste of rancid fish and shook off all but a few residual traces of the concoction.  Nausea and dizziness swept over her, but not enough to make her forget her terror.  Slowly, the Mosasaur rose higher into the air.  The incline of its tongue grew steeper, and Zara felt the dreadfully familiar tug of gravity.  Except the liquid that would break this fall wouldn’t be as benign.

      Zara let out a raspy yell and tried to save herself.  She spread her arms out to try to catch something – a sore, a tooth, anything.  She slowly felt herself rolling backwards.  Her fragile and wet top unraveling in the process, exposing her bare abdomen to the tongue’s surprisingly warm texture.  Her heels scrambled for a makeshift foothold, but to no avail.  She released a pathetic whimper while the secretions from her eyes and nose merged with those of her devourer.

    She thought back to the roar of the ecstatic crowd, the excitement they had watching the Mosasaur feed.  She imagined the bloodcurdling screams of the other attendees to be a celebration of the beast’s snack time.  Laughter and applause at the explosion of blood, snapping of bones, and extinguishment of life.  They all jeered at her, the beautiful sacrifice for their amusement.  They voyeuristically delighted in seeing her scared, violated, helplessly pleading for her life.  Tears gushed from her eyes.  Nothing she had done made her deserve this.  She was about to be married.  She should have been the happiest girl in the world.  But now, she was just human chum stuck in its craw.

    Zara slipped further, knowing that the beast’s anxious throat wasn’t far behind.  At last, she planted her feet firmly into the folds of the tongue and caught traction.  Standing almost spreadeagle to steady herself, she looked up to see the encroachment of the monster’s palate, coupled with a rapid disappearance of light.  The Mosasaur was snapping its mouth.

    The Pteranodon failed to escape the creature’s range, and so the Mosasaur’s front incisors closed on the flying dinosaur.  It let out a hideous shriek as its body was pulverized.

    Inside, Zara beheld the mouth gaining a dark red hue, slightly illuminated by fading light.  The enclosure signified an end, but the second row of teeth had avoided crushing Zara entirely.  She felt momentarily grateful, only glance up and witness the Pteranodon’s gruesome demise.  She had no time to appreciate the death of her tormentor, because a shower of pterosaur blood trickled down the monster’s tongue.  The torrent spread out and slid over Zara’s hands and feet.  She lost her traction, and fell down into the chasm of the creature’s throat.

    She hit a mucosal wall, and a rumbling from deeper within the Mosasaur immediately followed.  The dinosaur reflexively swallowed.  The smooth muscles surrounding Zara contracted and pulled her down.

    Anything but this!  God, why?!

    As the Mosasaur savored the Pteranodon, a soft but visible bulge travelled down its neck, coupled with a muffled scream.

    Zara’s incessant shrieks followed her down an endless tube.  Crushing suction affected every inch of her body.  She struggled to breathe, compressed against the constricting walls and drowning in the beast’s mucous and saliva.  The heat and pressure were unbearable.  The entire complex shook as the Mosasaur collapsed into the pool again.  Further down the tube, Zara heard the deafening pounding of the dinosaur’s gigantic heart.  It beat slowly and lazily; it hadn’t needed to expend any effort to consume her.

    Sounds of slurps and rumbles were emitted beneath her feet, now rendered bare due to the suction’s theft of her heels.  She drifted deeper, each contraction rhythmically squeezing her exhausted form, her face leaving an imprint of horror on each segment of fleshy tissue.  Guttural bellows joined a choir of unspeakable noises that reverberated through the organic cavern.

    Finally, a sphincter opened up before Zara, dumping her into a large, dark chamber.  She tumbled into a pool of searing liquid, carrying the indistinguishable smell of vomit.  Sounds of bubbling, gurgles, and groans filled the atmosphere.  The walls undulated softly.

    Please tell me this is a dream.  I’ve been eaten?  Alive!?

    “Somebody help me!” she cried aloud, knowing it was futile.

    The park’s scientists knew about the Mosasaur’s ability to devour prey whole, so they tried to avoid using live animals at feeding time.  Zara was experiencing an unprecedented event in the history of mankind:  being digested alive.  Jurassic World was all about taking bold steps into uncharted territory.  Zara sobbed that her contribution was an expedition into a dinosaur’s bowels.

    She swam around in the acid and bile, hoping for a miracle.  The solution was thick and stung her skin.  The pain was inescapable.  She wailed discordantly.

    A sudden idea took hold.  If she could get a hold of Claire, she could initiate the containment procedures to drain the pool, kill the Mosasaur, and cut her out before it was too late.  Zara reached through what was left of her pants for her phone.  She found it, amazingly intact, a fumbled for the power button.  The screen lit up, and Zara immediately regretted her decision.

    The LED revealed the smooth contours of creature’s belly, the faint web of capillaries pumping blood through the organ.  She twisted in revulsion and looked down, the phone’s light reflecting on the pale yellow, bubbling soup she treaded.  Her heart raced as she opened her contacts and found Claire.  Madly tapping on the screen, she begged her boss to answer.  The device made a series of quick, negative beeps.  She didn’t have any service.  Between the water and acid, the SIM card had shorted out.

    Zara’s arms dejectedly slumped to the side as she dropped her phone in the deadly swamp.  She raised her hands back to her face and covered her eyes as she resumed weeping.

    Another noise echoed through the Mosasaur’s stomach as the sphincter opened again, dumping the chewed remains of the Pteranodon and a deluge of salt water.  The new contents unleashed a tidal wave that engulfed Zara, dunking her in the peristaltic swirling of acid.  Surges of fluid swung her around the perimeter and pressed her against the stomach lining.

    Zara no longer had the energy to fight.  The air was thin within the Mosasaur’s gut, and the collection of sea water and acid increased continuously.  She sobbed while creature’s fetid bile lapped against her face.  Her fiancé’s cruel joke haunted her thoughts.  She was in the belly of the thing she feared most, destined to be absorbed and lost forever.  Would he even know what happened to her?

    It’s not fair!  It’s not fair!  I was just trying to help!  Please let me out!

    Her relationships, aspirations, dreams, none of it mattered now.  She imagined telling herself as a child, “Hey, when you grow up, you’re gonna be food!”  You’d appreciate life a lot more if you knew you were going to become a meal for an extinct reptile.  The humiliation and regret stung almost as much as the acid.

    Pockets of gas rose and popped all around her.  The stench made her sick.  Her skin tingled until it became numb.  Her whimpering grew softer as she sank into the monster’s stomach contents.  The stomach churned violently, starting digestion in earnest.  Agony and despair defined her last minutes before losing consciousness.

    The Mosasaur gently rested in its oversized tank.  It need only wait for its next delicious meal – hopefully one with the same unique flavor as last time.