You leave Dr. Hurley to her own thoughts and turn to lock the door behind you. Once that is done, you walk towards the cell again and peer through the black metal bars. The something is still sitting in the corner, quietly weeping. “Excuse me, miss?” you say. Those haunting yellow eyes look directly into yours and seem to go wide with shock. A raspy female’s voice asks, “what did you just call me?” You gulp and say, “miss. I called you miss. I didn’t mean any offense.”
It gets up and steps forward into the light. Finally seeing the poor creature up close, you gasp aloud at what you see. It is definitely humanoid in appearance, standing six feet tall and bipedal. The smooth bumpy texture of its reddish orange skin immediately reminds you of a scaly reptile. The long tail and overall features seem to confirm this hypothesis. Its hands and feet are edged with blunt claws and webbed like a frog, suggesting this is a creature equally able on land and water. When you happen to get a good look at the reptile’s face, the realization of what you are looking at finally makes a connection with your brain. You see the long arching crest, the beak reminiscent of a duck’s. This is a hadrosaur, a freaking parasaurolophus to be exact!
The reptilian eyes stare into yours with uncertainty. “You called me miss? T-Thank you. Nobody has talked to me like I’m a person in a long time.” She comes closer, and puts her hands on the bars. “Please,” she almost whispers, watching the tiny Dr. Hurley on the counter, “free me. Let’s get out of here before she changes you too. Her keycard, it’s in her coat. You can open this door and let me out! I’m begging you. You don’t know what kind of things I’ve been through. I just want to get away from here.”
“Uh,” you stammer, somewhat uncertain of how you’d covertly get a six foot tall humanoid dinosaur out of the building and back to your car. “I’d be happy to help you, but how do I sneak you out?” She points a finger to the ray gun you’re carrying in your hand. “This?” you ask. “I don’t even know how to use it. What do you have in mind?” She sighs and bows her head sadly. “I don’t know how to use it either. Victoria is the only one who really knows how it works.” Your amazing new friend sighs and sits down on the cold concrete of her cell and stares at the floor. “I just thought maybe you knew how to get me out of this terrible place.”