The Adventures Of Minator chapter 21 -- The Captive

The Captive

A light breeze blew. There was the sound of insects buzzing, and the cry of a distant bird. Miniator lay in the shade of baobab tree; a tree that only grows in Africa. He was slowly coming to his senses. The breeze blew across his face. His mind seemed to be swimming. A Swaying feeling inside his brain. His thoughts couldn't cling to one another. There was a strong chemical taste in his mouth. His whole body ached. He opened his eyes and the world tumbled around him. Where was he? What had happened? He couldn't remember... He had been dreaming of Toolia; flying over the desert with his jet-pack... Professor Zok had been talking to him... but about what...? Each time he opened his eyes the sky seemed to fall on him and the ground began to shift beneath him. Slowly, by opening and closing his eyes repetitively the world began to stabilize.

Yes, he had been swimming... relaxing in a pool. Then it came to him, he had been shot! He looked around him... there was a very high fence, around twenty meters away. He tried to get to his feet, but stumbled onto his side. He found the trunk of the tree and used it to support himself. After a struggle he finally managed to get to his feet.

He scanned the fence. He saw there were cables attached, obviously to electrify the fence. And there were cameras fixed to the top every twenty meters or so. He staggered out of the shade of the tree, and noticed the cameras followed his movements. There was a trough of water to which he went and drank from, and ducked his head into. The water was cool and refreshing. There was a wooden platform on which there was a pile of dead chickens. He followed the fence, and the cameras followed him. He realized he was in a circular enclosure of about fifty meters in diameter in the middle of a forested area. The sun was very hot.

He suddenly heard loud voices coming from the other side of the fence, but without his suit he couldn't understand what they were saying. A group of men emerged from the trees, Three black men, and one white man. The white man carried a riffle. He was tall, with dark hair. They all wore camouflage suits. One of the black men carried a camera. They stopped at the fence, The man with the camera began setting it up on a tripod. The others just stood looking at Miniator, their expressions were of amazement and awe.

Miniator understood now what had happened. His mind had cleared, he remembered he had seen on the Earthling's internet how animals were kept in places called zoos purely for the entertainment of masses of their people... He was now in some kind of zoo! And because his species; Tyrannosaurus Rex, had become extinct, he would be the most exotic animal on the planet. He thought about his friends; his crew... He may never see them again. Them and professor Zok. He may never return to Toolia...They would, more than likely, think him dead. Drowned in that river. Without his suit he was really lost. He had no abilities, no communication. He saw no possibility of escape. If they thought him dead, they may have already left Earth. Narea would have taken command. She may have returned Swing to his time, and maybe she would return with the Dino to Toolia... to report his loss to Professor Zok. He might spend the rest of his life imprisoned, paraded as some kind of exotic curiosity. A freak! It was ironic that he should have returned to his place of origin only to be captured and made to spend the rest of his life here.

The group of humans were still staring at him, the one with the camera was busy filming him. Miniator walked back into the dark shade of the baobab tree. The shade made it difficult for them to film him. Miniator turned his back on them also. This didn't please the group. They began shouting to him and waving their arms. Miniator squatted low and refused to acknowledge them.

The white man was now talking on his phone. But it was lost on miniator.

'Hi Preston, Julius here.'

'Hi Julius, So how is the package? Did it arrive intact?'
'Yeah, no problem. He's just woke up. He's awesome! I can't believe it! He's gigantic. Four meters high...? And he must weigh around six ton
'He's acting a bit shy... he just stared at us. You know I could see a lot of intelligence in that eye... He hasn't tried to break down the fence so far. So no shocks, yet. But I suppose he's still groggy from the drug.'
'Yeah that's normal, I had to shoot him five times to bring him down, and I gave him an extra big boost before the flight. Has he eaten anything? '
'No, not yet. I put a lot of dead chickens in the enclosure, though. I'm filming his every move, I've got cameras all around the fencing. I'm going to get as much footage as possible... So when are you coming out, Preston?
'I'll be flying back to London in a few days. I have to tie up all the loose ends here. I had to promise the crew double pay and bonuses to make sure everyone stayed quiet. I'll spend a couple of days in London, then fly out to you. We really have to figure out how to do this right... get the most out of it, and get our stories right. We will need some witnesses... to its capture.'
'Yes, it has to be a sensation,... a big show. We have to appear scientifically concerned... you know, and still be able to make a financial killing. Wherever we say we captured him is going to be swarmed over by all the dinosaur boffins.'
'Well, my experience with boffins is that they believe what they want to believe... And we have the real thing here, Julius. I know a few press people here in Britain, when the time is right we could give them some video footage, and offer them an exclusive story to get them out there to see for themselves. Everyone's going to think this is a fake, at first. Then we can get one over on the boffins when they finally see him for themselves. But we must get our stories right, they mustn't find out he was shipped in.'
'Yes, you're right. Well, we have no problems at this end... only my closest people saw anything. And they know how to stay mum! I have him well away from the house in the middle of the bush, so no chance of straying eyes.'
'You must really look after him. We don't want him dying on us. You must get him eating... Animals are OK if they are eating, and we don't know what his eating habits are. You should try him on different things. He might only eat live food, like some snakes do... '
'OK, so ring me when you've got an arrival time, Preston, and I will have some one pick you up from the airport.
Miniator sat in the shade of his tree feeling very depressed and lost. He was very hungry, also, but not hungry enough to eat those chickens... He imagined being able to communicate with these people... if he had his suit... he would tell them he doesn't eat meat that had ever been living animals. And that he didn't like those cameras watching him all the time. What did they want with all this film? But without his suit he was, to them, only a dumb animal!
He decided he should take a walk around the perimeter. He shouldn't just give up. The one advantage he had was his intelligence, which they must underestimate... He now began thinking about the possibility of escape... getting over that electric fence... without being seen by those cameras. Or could he dig his way out...? They also had to deliver his food... Even if he never saw his friends again, he would not just be a passive captive. He got to his feet and began making his way around the enclosure. Inspecting the fence. The group of humans followed him. The cameraman now had the camera on his shoulder.
Mniator  began to feel very angry with the humans... he wanted to show them he was not some dumb monster. He suddenly turned and walked towards the fence. The group broke up and began staggering back. The white man quickly took the riffle from his shoulder and pointed it at Miniator, while also taking quick steps back. Miniator stopped before the fence, and fixed his eye on the white man. Singleing him out... showing his array of teeth he made a low growl in his throat. From the shocked look on the white man's face, he was aware of being singled out. Miniator raised his right arm and pointed the man out... There was a moment of tense silence that could have been cut with a knife. Miniator lowered his arm and turned from the fence. The white man stood not moving from that spot, staring hard at Miniator.