The oddly schizophrenic split-brained deinonychus set forward on his journey through the open field. They moved cautiously together and began to grow closer and closer. The R-Complex let Brendon take full control of the body and sat in the background like a patient teacher.
(( Legs strong. Human legs not as strong. Feet different now. Balance different. Use tail. Move tail. Small steps. )) The new mind was literally helping Brendon learn to walk all over again in his new body.
(( Good! )) The R-Complex complimented, quite pleased as Brendon grew to a confident jog across the field. (( You learning friend Brendon! Be good dinosaur soon! ))
( Aw, thanks buddy! So... are you like... your own person? How do we work? Are you... a different person? )
(( Me and Brendon are... same? Me not understand. ))
They paused at the edge of the field and stared into the filthy industrial park and the fenced off manufacturing plants beyond.
(( Part of Brendon. But... not Brendon?)) The R-Complex concluded. (( Me are... me? I think I me. We have same body. ))
( I get it. It’s okay, buddy. I think you’re... a split personality. Or... perhaps a dinosaur that didn’t completely form when we were changing. I think you were what I was going to change into fully if Rick had... kept gassing us. Maybe my brain started to turn completely dinosaur and that’s what you are. )
(( Ohhhh!) The primitive mind was silent for a long time as Brendon carefully navigated forward in the dark of night and climbed an old chain link fence, rattling it as his claws lifted them up and over. (( Would be sad if Brendon go. Me would... not know nothing. Be scared. Need you. Two brothers one body. ))
This gave the deinonychus genuine pause as he vaulted the top of the fence and hunched down. It was completely dead and the yard full of pipes he had ventured into was abandoned.
( I won’t let anything happen to us. ) Brendon felt a sudden devotion to his new inner ‘friend.’ (I’ll keep you safe and keep us together. For as long as we live. )
(( Brendon kind. You say I called Are Complex? Can I have human being name like Brendon?? ))
The raptor giggled silently and nodded at his primitive counterpart as he padded through the dusty yard and used the pipes for cover from the road at the edge. Just in case. ( How about we shorten it? To... Rex? How about Rex? I think that’s a good name for you. )
(( Yes!! Me like!! Me be Rex? Yes! Me Rex! ))
(( I am Rex. )) Brendon corrected, smiling toothily as they navigated the maze of pipes and found themselves at the outskirts of a dirt road beyond an office.
(( Brendon is Rex?? Me thought Brendon want call me Rex. Confused. ))
The deinonychus actually chuffed a laugh as they snuck past the side of the office and paused behind a dumpster, hiding in a small alley at the side of the building and another tall fence. ( Nevermind, Rex. I meant something else. )
(( Oh! Okay! Me still Rex, then. ))
They fell silent for a while, basking in each other’s inter-cooperative presense as Brendon carefully lead them out of the gate at the front parking and onto a poorly paved gravel road. Besides street lamps and the odd yard light, there was little else to worry about. It must be very late, the city was quite quiet. Eventually, Brendon took them past the dirty industrial buildings and found a treeline at the edge of a suburban development.
( Almost there, Rexy! See those lights? Those are houses! )
(( Yes, me see light. What is houses? ))
( Where people live. ) Brendon offered, showing Rex snaps of his old life. Of sitting and watching TV, of playing video games, of eating suppers at home... with... his mom. Brendon’s heart sank as he realized he had forgotten her. A sudden pang of grief hit him like a truck.
They sat in the grass for a while and Rex consoled his friend. (( Brendon will see mother again. Rex promise we go see mother. ))
( Yes, yes... ) Brendon gulped, looking over his feathered body and wincing as he tried not to cry. ( Of course. Let’s get going. This is going to be very dangerous for us. I’ll need you. )
(( Yes. I here. I help. ))
The dinosaur pushed forward, passing several yards looking into the treeline and using fences and shadows as cover.
( Why are we blue and green? ) Brendon asked, trying to distract himself.
(( Hmmm. I remember plants. Plants that colour where me used to live. ))
That was shocking enough for the human to stop what they were doing and focus. ( Wait, wait, you... used to live? )
(( Yes! In dinosaur time! )) Rex said happily, not quite understanding he was recalling a life that Brendon couldn’t possibly have experienced.
( Rex, buddy! Wait a second! ) Brendon flashed back to their transformation. To the bone Rick had smashed as Brendon panicked in the tube. He focused on the bone.
To his astonishment Rex understood exactly what Brendon was trying to show him. (( Rex was dead. )) The dinosaur whispered, in shocked awe. (( Rex came back. From... bone? ))
Brendon genuinely had to sit in the dark, nestled against an old wooden fence, and contemplate the implications of this. Rex wasn’t just a split from Brendon. Rex was... a real dinosaur who had been revived in Brendon’s body. This was shocking to both of them.
(( Rex was dead. )) The dinosaur repeated, startled. (( Rex was killed from cold. Was so cold. Couldn’t stay warm. Went to sleep. Rex was... dead. Remembers... everything. ))
They went deathly still and deathly silent, save for breathing. Brendon actually felt his poor friend process his own death and the death of everything he ever knew. He felt Rex join with his mind as if clinging to him for comfort, and together they shared what they knew. Brendon showed Rex dinosaur museums, skeletons mounted in displays, paleontologists carving out rock and mineralized fossils. Rex understood and in return he showed Brendon wild untamed vistas of where he once roamed, the exhilarating rush of taking down great hadrosaurs with his pack mates, and the cataclysmic events that lead to his demise. The Earth shook. The sky grew cloudy. It began to cool. Plants were dying. Dinosaurs were dropping dead from hunger and chilling temperatures. The few feathered dinosaurs left carried on, scavenging, trying to survive their new environment. Rex sat in a cave waiting out a tremendous snow storm whipping ice through the air. He was so cold. So tired. So hungry. He was withered from malnutrition. He was sick and couldn’t breathe right. He closed his eyes... and then they were in the tube. Changing.
( How is this possible? ) Brendon whispered. ( Do you know? )
(( Brendon, Rex not even understand some your words. Rex not know. ))
( Are you okay? ) The human gulped, feeling a strange need to rip Rex out of his body and hug him tight. The dinosaur was silent. He wrapped his arms around his chest as best as he could, hoping poor Rex could somehow feel the comfort nestled there at the bottom of his brain. He felt like he was losing control of his body, like he and Rex were somehow out of sync. He knew his friend was upset.
(( Rex is okay. Brendon not let father change to human. Rex will die again. Please. Rex not want to die. ))
( I understand. ) They let out a deep sigh of relief, once again becoming harmonious. ( I will not let Rick change us back, Rex. You won’t go away again. )
Brendon felt palpable relief and trust flood into his own separate mind.
(( Thank you. )) The dinosaur whispered gently. (( Rex love you. ))
Startled, Brendon blinked several times and felt deeply touched. ( I-I love you too, Rex. I’m glad that we’ve met like this. )
(( We find mate, now? Rex mean... girl... friend? Friend that is girl? ))
( Let’s go, buddy. )
The deinonychus stood up, shook himself of dew from the grass, and they began scanning again. Brendon didn’t quite recognize where they were. He had never gone down the back treeline before.
They would have to get to the street so he could get his bearings.