Species: Majundasuchus
Hybrid Genome: Majungasaurus base, Nundasuchus spliced.
Size: 23 feet long, approximately 7 feet tall, just over 2 tons.
Diet: Carnivore.
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The earth carried sound well here.
He lay motionless beneath a tangle of low brush, his broad, blunt skull pressed against the packed soil as vibrations rolled faintly through his jaw. Dark, coarse scales—charcoal broken by muted rust-colored striping along his spine—blended seamlessly with the shadowed ground. Each distant footstep—human, measured—registered as a dull pulse, more felt than heard. He exhaled slowly through his open mouth, heat bleeding away as his throat sacs fluttered.
The day was unpleasantly warm.
His preferred refuge waited farther downslope where the enclosure's stream widened into a shaded pool, but hunger anchored him in place. Thick muscles lay coiled beneath his low-slung frame, weight balanced carefully across powerful forelimbs. His heavy tail curved shallowly behind him, unmoving. He did not rush meals. He never needed to.
From the viewing shelter, muted voices drifted through reinforced stonework. The caretakers were late—only slightly—but Axel noticed all the same. Routine mattered. Patterns mattered. And this one was off.
A soft spray of water misted the foliage above him without warning, droplets slipping down armored scutes along his neck and pooling briefly along his spine. He adjusted an inch closer to the ground, horned skull angling just enough to let the water run along the ridged plates there. A deep, resonant huff rolled from his chest, vibrating through his body.
The heat receded. Barely.
"Thanks for hanging in there, everyone," came a voice over the speakers. "We're keeping today's feeding brief—he's not in the mood for delays."
This voice belonged to Caleb, one of the handlers assigned to the enclosure. Axel recognized him by sound alone. Steady footsteps. Confident pacing. Predictable.
"We'll take a couple questions before we begin."
A younger voice echoed faintly from behind the glass. "Why does he lay like that?"
Caleb glanced toward the brush where only fragments of the animal were visible—part of a horn crest, the suggestion of a jawline half-buried in leaf litter. "That's a hunting posture. He presses his jaw to the ground to feel vibrations. If something walks too close, he doesn't need to see it."
Axel's eyes remained closed. The explanation meant nothing to him. The pressure against his jaw, however, told him everything.
Another question followed, sharper this time. "Is that horn real?"
"It is," Caleb replied. "Inherited from his Majungasaurus lineage, though it's more pronounced here. Reinforced by scutes. Mostly display—Axel relies on his bite far more than the horn."
A faint tremor reached his jaw.
Closer now.
Questions continued—about swimming, about temperament—but the words blurred together as Axel focused on the uneven rhythm approaching from the enclosure gate. Light steps. Hesitant. Unsteady.
Prey.
"Alright," Caleb said at last. "That's enough questions."
A mechanical click sounded above the paddock as the feeder gate disengaged. Moments later, a goat stepped hesitantly into the clearing, nose low, ears twitching as it tested the unfamiliar ground.
The crowd fell silent.
Axel did not move.
The goat wandered closer, pausing to sniff at disturbed soil less than five feet from where his body vanished into shadow. Its weight shifted.
Another vibration rippled through his jaw.
He struck.
The foliage erupted outward as his head surged up and forward in one seamless motion. Jaws snapped shut around the goat's neck with a sharp, hollow crack, the impact ending the struggle instantly. There was no chase. No excess movement. Only precision.
He adjusted his grip once, then lifted the limp body and turned away, retreating toward the water without acknowledging the stunned silence behind him.
A low, satisfied rumble resonated from his throat as he disappeared into the trees.
Caleb exhaled, letting the crowd react. "Axel prefers his meals quiet. We'll have another feeding later this evening when it's cooler. Thanks for visiting Jurassic World."
Axel paid none of it any mind.
The heat still lingered.
But now, at least, he could eat in peace.