Luca pressed his lips together, deep in thought. The information about the group was less than that of the others— there was supposed to be a display about them around the park, like a mini-presentation, if he recalled correctly. The main mission of those with the 'Visitor' Role was somewhat related to this.

  What he knew was there were seven of them, led by an adult female—knew as 'Talia'— with three other females and three males with their own fairy names. There had been an eighth raptor —Talia's partner— until the lovely queen killed it. So, they left her to rule alone.

  On other hand, every and each one of them were supposedly sterile, so there was no need to worry about baby dinos.

  And... some other details, too.

  Would that be enough for the audience?

  Looking ahead, he saw the silhouette of the next enclosure growing larger and clearer. It was interesting to note that the bus was following a secondary, almost hidden path at the back of the park, one that wasn’t marked on the map. Perhaps because not just anyone had access to this 'special tour' —rich people and their initiative to court death.

  How shooking. They had got their wishes at least.

  Swiveling his chair, he turned his attention back to the audience, noticing that their demeanor was already starting to shift. Zero patience, this group.

  Luca straightened his shoulders and continued with the show.

  "I hope you enjoyed our first stop," he began, injecting some enthusiasm into his tone. "Now we’ll take a look at one of our special families—I think you already know them." He paused briefly, letting the anticipation build. "Their leader is one of the park’s most beloved members. You might have heard of her—our queen, Talia!"

  The moment her name left his lips, the visitors erupted into cheers, chanting in unison:

  "Talia! Talia! Talia!"

  Their voices overlapped in a rather grating cacophony—a layer of something almost inhuman lurking beneath the supposed joy—but Luca ignored the throbbing in his temple. It was better that they were happy than starting to complain and losing satisfaction. The last thing he wanted was for the damn bus to open its doors and throw him to the predators. Not with the two-and-a-half-meter-tall raptors and their maws full of sharp, serrated teeth.

  Their one weakness wasn’t enough to save him from that.

  "That’s right," he smiled. "And we’re almost there—" Sure enough, the entrance to the enclosure rose just a few meters ahead.

  The atmosphere shifted instantly. The cheerful chatter faded, replaced by a sudden silence as the sounds of the raptors reached their ears: low growls, high-pitched screeches, and the rustle of movement—scales and feathers brushing against leaves—coming from the other side of the bus walls.

  The visitors leaned forward in their seats, captivated, almost obsessed one might say—they held their breath (which Luca was fairly sure they didn’t need to do), their glassy eyes fixed intently on the shadows among the trees and giant ferns.

  Luca tensed but didn’t lose his composure. The lack of glass in the windows made the situation more stressful, so no one would blame him for keeping a hand on the shield button—even if it wasn’t fully charged yet. If they actually attacked the bus, it would charge completely and activate… right?

  Probably.

  It wasn’t like he had another option, he thought. The button to release the glass had disappeared after he pressed it, so his only defense was the shield.

  Through the large, feather-like leaves, dark shapes moved swiftly, keeping pace with the bus as it rolled along the designated path. Moving like water, they revealed pairs of glowing yellow or orange eyes, or flashes of iridescent feathers every now and then. Beyond that—they seemed to simply be watching. It was good for his blood pressure, but—

  …Being dead was boring, right?

  Alright then.

  "Looks like they’re a little shy today," he said, his tone light, almost playful. The audience laughed, their excitement buzzing like static in the air, and their clean appearance still prevailed over the "I-died-horribly-and-now-it’s-your-problem" look.

  But Luca only glanced at them briefly before focusing back on the forest. Among the leaves, something moved—a flash of blue and black amidst the vibrant green—scales, feathers in the small spots where light filtered through. The sound of a trill, but deeper and more guttural than one would expect from a bird, echoed through the trees, followed by sharp, brief chirps.

  Then it happened.

  Something massive slammed into the side of the bus, creating a deafening crash that shattered the intense but quiet atmosphere. The vehicle shuddered, swaying slightly, throwing Luca off balance. However, he managed to steady himself, a frown etched on his face as he looked toward the spot where the impact had occurred.

  Meanwhile, the audience screamed—not in fear, but in excitement. So damn happy.

  Luca forced a smile, even as he cursed them in the three languages he knew. "Look who’s come to say hello!" he exclaimed, his voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through his veins. His hand flew to the SHIELD button, pressing it firmly just as another impact shook the bus. And, of course, he didn’t forget the bracelet.

  Done!

  The turquoise barrier materialized in a crackling burst of energy, enveloping the bus in a protective dome. A faint smell reached his nose—ozone. Outside, the Orkoraptor that had struck the bus retreated, its dark scales glinting under the fading light. Blue feathers rippled along its back and arms, deceptively beautiful, especially those covering part of its black, razor-sharp claws.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  The creature’s golden eyes locked onto Luca’s. It was strange. Its size was obviously smaller than the Spinosaurus, but it still sent a chill down his spine. Maybe it was even scarier than Chainsaw Man.

  Was it because of this that time seemed to slow down for a moment? For an instant, he could see every detail: the way its feathers bristled, the faint gleam of saliva on its yellowish teeth, the tense muscles beneath its scaly skin from head to its feathered tail. Until the predator let out a low, rumbling growl, a sound that vibrated through the air, breaking the "moment."

  Luca blinked.

  The Orkoraptor—who Luca was sure was Talia—turned and disappeared into the foliage, fading like a shadow.

  The display showed he still had seven seconds left on the shield—so it was obvious the time had increased. Would it be enough to reach the exit without further issues…?

  He swallowed, forcing himself to focus. "You’ve seen that our friends have beautiful plumage along its bodies, like birds," he said, his voice echoing through the bus. He glanced at the audience for a split second and then at the Orkoraptor pacing outside the SHIELD. "What might surprise you to know is that, at the time of their, uh—" Luca searched for the right word, "—recreation, researchers didn’t have enough material and ‘patched’ it using DNA from Milvus cyanoptera, a blue bird that shouldn’t be confused with its cousin. This blue milvus is a bird of prey —exclusively carnivorous."

  Some poor biologist was probably dying in the 'real world' because of his words, but there was no warning about the level of satisfaction, so Luca assumed it was a success. If his charisma were higher, this fucking trip would’ve been much easier, of course, but with his ‘normal’ stat, it was more than enough to keep satisfaction from dropping.

  Luca turned his attention forward. Ahead, a narrow gap between reinforced steel bars marked the massive exit of the predator’s habitat. Though the bus was steadily moving toward it, the pace was excruciatingly slow. So damn slow.

  The SHIELD timer ticked down in the corner of his vision.

  An Orkoraptor dashed past one side, missing the dome by barely half an inch. It turned its head as it passed, its intense orange eyes locking onto Luca.

  He knew it. He recognized that look. From before.

  They had marked him as prey.

  Luca pressed his lips together as the Orkoraptor turned, slipping between two ferns and disappearing from view.

  Only three seconds remained.

  It should be enough time—no. Forget it. It wasn’t enough. The bus had barely begun to reach the edge of the vegetation, still about twenty meters away from the exit. At this pace, it was no surprise when the shield flickered before they reached ‘safety’—and then shut off, the blue fading off.

  Luca forced himself to focus on his surroundings, unsure if they wouldn’t try to leap at the obvious gap in their defenses—which basically surrounded him on almost all sides. The chair, at least, could swivel, giving him some range of movement, but it wasn’t something he’d call a great advantage.

  A shadow leaped into the air, and the impact came from above. The Orkoraptor had jumped onto the roof, its claws screeching against the metal. It was like nails on a chalkboard, but worse. Luca grimaced, his hands tightening on his pants, wishing he could have brought something—anything—to protect himself. A stick, even.

  He was the only one feeling the pressure.

  The ghosts—materialized memories, whatever they were—erupted in cheers, the noise echoing through the bus. At the peak of the moment, the shadow leaped off, landing on the ground, and screeched in his direction, its feathers bristling.

  Luca took note of this.

  The bus lurched forward, finally crossing the "threshold"—only about ten meters left to the exit.

  "We should say goodbye to our friends!" he said, more confidently than he felt. He didn’t know if it would work, but why not try? "Together! One, two, three, goodbye!"

  "Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye!"

  With the audience following his lead, the noise level shot up like an arrow. In response, the Orkoraptors finally retreated into the shadows of the vegetation. As the exit opened, a low, guttural trill echoed behind him in more than one voice.

  Luca turned and saw the yellow and orange eyes watching him from among the leaves—small but intense lanterns burning with hunger.

  Did no one fed them or something?

  The moment they finally faded, the messages appeared, and Luca leaned back in his chair.

  Luca didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What was that saying? ‘El que avisa, no traiciona,’ his grandmother used to say. He didn’t remember Spanish anymore, excepting those bits.

  So demanding, he complained in his mind. He couldn’t let satisfaction drop, not when he was thinking about cutting their ‘fun’ short. He wasn’t stopping the bus anymore. "Night is starting to fall," he announced, injecting false enthusiasm into his tone, "but don’t worry. Our next friend doesn’t go to bed early."

  At the end of the short path—less than three blocks between each enclosure, really, how did that work with so little space between each territorial carnivore?—the entrance appeared before them, marked by tall steel bars reinforced with thick cables and red lines with universal (multidimensional? understandable for 'natives' and 'foreigners'?) symbols of 'warning' and 'caution.'

  Hmm. This enclosure belonged to the cannibal. Joy.

  "They call him 'Gladiator'—" Luca began, letting the name hang temptingly in the air like a piece of bacon.

  "Gladiator! Gladiator! Gladiator!" they chanted, more hysterical than the fans at the rock concerts Luca had seen.

  The moment the bus crossed the entrance, something moved in the shadows of the dense foliage—was it him, or were there more flowers in this enclosure?—something much larger than an Orkoraptor. The path opened into a clearing bathed in artificial light, casting long shadows across the landscape—and yes, there was something moving beyond.

  "Did you know…?" he continued, leaning slightly toward the microphone as if sharing a secret. "A while back, Gladiator wasn’t alone. He had a pair of brothers who lived with him, hunted with him, and even slept under the stars with him. But sometimes, nature changes its mind." His voice softened, adopting a somber tone as he recounted one of the fragments of information he’d gathered from the museum.

  The audience fell silent, the 'mysterious' stains fading from their clothes in favor of the cleaner version of themselves.

  "Accidents happen, they said. Now, Gladiator enjoys his solitude." Luca added a smile to his speech. "But don’t follow his example. Fratricide is pretty frowned upon these days."

  It wasn’t his story that caused this but the slight tremor of the bus—how? Well, the ground must have been shaking too. The deep, rumbling sound that accompanied it also helped. Thanks to the few lights already on, Luca could see the massive figure approaching from one side in the now-dark, starless night.

  A small bean-like small orange eyes glowed faintly in the darkness as it tilted its head. Fixed with a hungry intensity in his direction. Moving slowly forward, closer to the light, the predator fully revealed itself—and wow, the name fit its owner perfectly.

  So... you’re Gladiator.