"Fuck!" Owen yelled as he braked the car.

"Language"

"Shut up, Barry!"

The two policemen quickly got out of the car with their guns raised, and so did those who were in the other cars. In an instant, about fifty agents had surrounded that person. The woman in front of them quickly raised her hands: "I surrender! I assure you, it's not a trick! Just take me away from here!"

"Who the fuck are you?" growled Owen.

"Soyona Santos"

"I know her!" Barry exclaimed. "You should be a black market broker. An old acquaintance of animal trafficking..."

"I'll admit whatever you want, just save me!" the woman screamed.

Owen felt a shiver run down his spine: "Save yourself from what?"

"FROM THEM!"

Soyona quickly got to her feet and ran after the two policemen, who immediately pointed their weapons at the spot she was pointing. Thanks to the light of the flames, they could clearly see what was in front of them: four dinosaurs at least two meters long with unsheathed claws, from whose mouths dripped saliva.

"Atrociraptors!" Barry exclaimed. "They may not be big, but they are lethal!"

Owen looked at the creatures in front of him. They were plucked in several places and one looked injured. But what made him shiver the most were the eyes of those animals: theirs was not a hunter's look, it was a look of pure hatred. "As we figured, Barry" he grumbled. "This place is an illegal farm"

"Shall we shoot?"

"No. We are in numerical superiority. They will withdraw"

Owen had seen it right. The four atrociraptors watched them for a few more seconds, then turned around and ran towards the fire.

Owen lowered his weapon. "How many dinosaurs are there?" he asked Soyona.

"I… I don't know exactly. Several" the woman replied.

"What kind of dinosaurs are they?"

"Sauropods, ceratopsids, stegosaurids, theropods... a little bit of everything"

Owen gripped the barrel of the gun. He had done well to order to not shoot. So many dinosaurs of so many different species would have decimated his men in open confrontation. The last thing he needed now was to antagonize the dinosaurs, or it would have been impossible to contain the fire and not involve civilians. "How many poachers?"

"About sixty, but I'm pretty sure the dinosaurs have already killed almost all of them"

Owen pointed to a policeman: "Sergeant Kayla Watts! Get this woman to safety, and then scan the area for other survivors! "

"Yes sir!" replied a woman, grabbing Soyona by the arm. The broker offered no resistance, on the contrary she almost ran towards the car: it was clear that she wanted nothing more than to get out of there.

"Everyone else, get in the cars and follow me! Stay behind me and don't shoot without my order!" ordered Owen getting back into the car. The other policemen hastened to imitate him.

"What are you going to do?" Barry asked sitting next to him.

Owen snorted. "Firefighters can't put out the fire as long as the dinosaurs are around. Given the situation, a fight would end badly for everyone. I'm not even sure if we can win"

"We have weapons, they don't"

"Yes, but they have fangs, claws, horns and thorns, and we don't know if they possess other abilities like the Cartago's dinosaurs. We cannot risk a clash with an uncertain outcome: if the dinosaurs sweep us away, no one will put out the fire that will reach the city"

"So you want to negotiate?"

"We will try. We will attack only if there are no other valid alternatives"

The policemen quickly continued down the street. Very soon they came near a farm.

The scene that appeared before them was apocalyptic: the fire was devastating all the fields and buildings and the flames were so high that the environment seemed soaked in kerosene. Many dinosaurs had taken refuge in the adjacent hills and didn't even seem to have the strength to get up, but a good number were still near the farm and were trying to break through the door of a large building.

"What are they doing? The fire will reach them in moments!" Barry exclaimed, not understanding the behavior of the dinosaurs.

"There must be something inside that building... but they will never open it" Owen murmured. The dinosaurs that were gathered around the door were trying to break it down, but this was made of metal and closed with large locks. As much as it folded, the dinosaurs couldn't open it. Perhaps the sauropods, with their bulk, could have done something, but they were all in the hills and none of them seemed to be able to get up.

"Here we go. If we help them, maybe they will help us!" Owen exclaimed, starting to press the accelerator, but a shadow came in the way, forcing him to brake. A roar shook the air, making the windows tremble.

Owen felt a shiver down his spine as he observed the jaws of the huge beast, which in the light of the fire seemed even more terrifying. "Allosaurus?" he asked Barry.

The friend shook his head. "Giganotosaurus" he replied. "One of the largest and most dangerous animals ever to appear on the planet"

"Wonderful" Owen grumbled, and then got out of the car. The giganotosaurus stared into his eyes with a defiant look. "Listen, we don't want to hurt you!"

"Then go away!" the beast roared. "Try to get close to my companions and you will regret it!"

The giganotosaurus looked threatening, but Owen knew from his tone and the light in his eyes that he was scared. And as a demonstration of this he kept turning his head imperceptibly to be able to check that the fire was still far from his companions.

"Listen to me, mr..."

"My name is Snock"

"Snock. I am Owen. You want to enter that building because there are other dinosaurs inside, right?"

Owen was no fool. If the dinosaurs had not yet fled from the sight of the flames, it was because there must still be someone to save in the place they were trying to enter. "We can help you. We are policemen and there are firefighters with us. We can keep the fire at bay and open that door!"

"Should I trust a human?" Snock growled furiously.

Owen could have answered in many ways. He could have said that he knew what the giganotosaurus was going through, that he was right to hate humans, who weren't all poachers. However, he took the quicker route and simply asked: "Do you have any alternative?"

Snock was caught off guard. In fact, he was running out of options now. He didn't know what to do to open that damn door and as much as he puzzled he couldn't find a solution. He looked at the fire: it wasn't long before he reached the building where the puppies and eggs were contained.

"All right!" he roared in the end. "But I warn you: one false move and I'll kill you! Now hurry up!"

Snock no longer had the faintest idea what he was doing, he just wanted to save those dinosaurs trapped in the building. The fire was near and it would soon charred everything. He might as well have appealed to humans too, so much by now he had lost all shred of common sense.

Owen immediately started the engine and headed for the building. The giganotosaurus ran after him. When the other dinosaurs arrived they immediately became aggressive, but Snock ordered them to calm down and let them do it.

"To all units, assist the firefighters! Do what you have to do, but you must at least be able to contain the fire!" Owen yelled into the radio. "Barry, with me! Get the tools, we'll have to break open that door!"

The two got out of the car and ran towards the door. Around them the other cars continued their race towards the fire and the fire trucks began to shoot hectoliters of water at the flames.

Owen knew what he had to do. The door was small and too strong to break through by force. But Owen was an expert burglar; in the many years he had done his job he had learned the tricks of the criminals he captured. It took him a few minutes and a good dose of coolness, but eventually he managed to break the lock.

He was greeted by a cacophony of cries and screams. The interior of the building was full of cages with dinosaur cubs inside. The poor animals were desperately hitting the bars trying to get out and escape the fire, which was starting to envelop that house as well.

As soon as the door was opened, several small dinosaurs, especially dromeosaurids, threw themselves inside and tried to open the cages. Owen and Barry wasted no time and shot all the locks. The dinosaurs grabbed the cubs and carried them out. And not just the cubs: the dinosaurs were also taking several eggs.

"Quickly! Let's gather on the hills!" Snock roared, and the dinosaurs promptly obeyed. Owen and Barry breathed a sigh of relief as they retreated.

"Shall we let them go?" Barry asked.

"They can't go far in any case, and there are more patrols on the way. For the moment, the fire is our immediate concern!" Owen answered. "Follow me, a shitty night awaits us"

The two policemen got back into their car and hurried to catch up with their comrades, who were already desperately trying to stop the flames. Owen almost got out without stopping the car first and started shouting orders left and right.

Snock and the other dinosaurs reached the hills. There their companions were waiting for them, and they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the puppies safe and sound. At least one problem was solved. Unfortunately, however, they were far from safe.

Snock considered whether to use [Teleportation], but he soon discarded that idea: there were too many humans and in the sky he could see some lights that were definitely helicopters. But they couldn't get away either: most of the dinosaurs were too tired. But if they stayed there soon the fire would catch up with them.

"Whoever is still able to fight, follow me!" Snock roared. Several dinosaurs got up behind him and ran after him. Snock reached the artificial lake and took a large amount of water with his mouth, after which he spat it out against the fire. The other dinosaurs followed suit.

The mouths of the dinosaurs could carry several liters of water at a time. The precious liquid temporarily slowed the fire, but it would not be enough. "Dig, quick!" Snock roared. "Remove wood, grass, straw, everything! Anything flammable! We have to create a line between our companions and the fire that the flames cannot overcome!"

The dinosaurs readily obeyed and began to work frantically. Meanwhile, Snock continued to collect large quantities of water and keep the fire at bay.

Their actions did not go unnoticed. "Owen, look at the southern front of the fire!" Barry exclaimed.

The humans were focused on stopping the advance of the flames on the east front, because it was in that direction that the wind was blowing and that was where the city was; but that did not mean that the fire was spreading elsewhere as well. So, seeing that the dinosaurs were working hard to keep the fire at bay, Owen could only be happy.

"Why are they helping us?" Barry asked.

"They don't help us, they protect their families" Owen replied looking at the dinosaurs in the hills. "It doesn't matter. Whether it is for their or for our interest, they are helping to stop the fire. Let's do the same!"

Like the dinosaurs, humans also kept running frantically from side to side, digging ditches and spraying with pumps. From above, the helicopters dropped enormous quantities of water. It would take hours for the flames to begin to subside.