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JP3: Signs of Life
By AlanGrant5
JURASSIC PARK III: SIGNS OF LIFE
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Written by Evan Prescott
Based on the film “Jurassic Park III”
Based on characters created by Michael Crichton
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Chapter One: Beyond the Fog
A radiant sun hovered above a vast ocean, with the forbidden island of Isla Sorna in the distance. Numerous clouds festooned the blue skies, some obscuring the sun. A small speed boat glided through the crystal blue waters, headed for the infamous Site B, which was almost completely covered in a morning fog. In the boat, Eric Kirby, a twelve year old boy, consumed with a fascination for prehistoric beasts. He had been eagerly awaiting this trip for well over two months and now he would finally be able to fulfill his dreams of seeing the once extinct creatures alive and well.
Along for the adventure were Ben Larson and Rick Sanchez. Ben, an out-going man approaching the age of thirty-seven, was his mom’s first boy friend since the divorce. Eric liked Ben and had grown to like him over the past few months. Ben seemed to fit Eric’s profile more so than his own father, in that, the both of them tend to take risks and have a craving for adventure. On the other hand his father was the exact opposite; not fun, not adventuristic, and not at all like Eric. He did indeed love his father, and wished things could of worked out between the both of his parents, but their chance of reconciling was far from plausible.
The other man, Rick Sanchez, was a Hispanic male who quit fishing to start his own business as a tour guide of one of the most mysterious places in all the world; Isla Sorna. After the San Diego incident in 1997, the news of a Site B became world wide. The Costa Rican Government had ordered for Isla Sorna to be kept in tact, but to also keep it restricted from the public eye. Finding an opportunity for profit, Rick began taking paying tourists to the island, under strict confidentiality. In fact, Rick had made his customers sign a confidentiality agreement before they even set foot on the boat. Having been doing this for the past two years, Rick knew his secret had not gotten a hold of government officials and therefore he continued his illegal business, taking people to the forbidden island.
“We’re almost there!” Ben called out, pointing to the approaching island.
Once staring hypnotically at the undulating waters, Eric quickly gazed upward at an island shrouded with thick clouds.
“Can’t see a damn thing!” Ben cried, trying to study the islands features.
“You know, Rick began, Isla Sorna is in an area of ocean where the combinations of wind and current make it almost perpetually covered in fog. We used to call it Cloud Island, back when there was no mention of the island’s true name. I think the nick name suits it well.”
“Yeah, well so does Alcatraz,” Ben said jokingly.
The boat slowly approached the islands coast.
“You might want to get your camera ready! I have seen some amazing things roaming these parts,” Rick said, steering the boat along the coast of Isla Sorna. Eric quickly pulled the cam corder from his back pack and began filming. The island looked very exotic, with its colorful vegetation and surrounding wild life, consumed by a light mist. However, there was no sight of prehistoric life to be found. The boat continued to travel along the coast and still nothing.
“Take us over there!” Ben said, pointing to an estuary leading into the islands interior.
“Oh no, I’m afraid I can’t do that senor,” Rick said shaking his head.
“Why not?”
“I’m afraid that is a little too close for comfort and besides, I have never been–”
“Listen, I paid to see dinosaurs and I’m not leaving until I do. So, what do you say I give something extra... let’s say five hundred?”
Rick looked as if he were deep in thought and after a brief moment nodded. “Okay... I’ll take you closer, but not too close!” he warned, turning the boat around.
“You excited?” Ben asked.
“You have no idea,” Eric replied.
The boat was now entering the interior of the island, with jungle to either side of them. Unfortunately, the fog became even thicker as they went deeper into the island. The fog was so thick, you could taste it. Without warning, a flock of birds emerged from the fog and passed by them, as if startled by something up ahead. Eric pressed his hand on heart, shaken by the sudden commotion. Taking a deep breath, Eric continued to record their journey of a life time.
“You see anything yet?” Ben asked.
“Nothing yet,” Rick replied.
As the fog began to clear, an immense silhouette appeared before them. The fog, soon turning to a hazy mist, revealed a creature of staggering proportions. The creatures skin color was a dark green, identical to that of a crocodile, and had a large fin running along its back. Standing sixteen feet, with a length of well over forty, the beast stood in the middle of the river, its head burred in the water.
Rick shut off the engine, causing the boat to come to a complete stop, just yards away from the gigantic lizard. Eric set the camera down onto the floor and stared at the beast. The immense creature, it’s head resting underneath the current, stood with its tail in the air, unknowingly that there was a boat just a few yards away, watching its every move.
“It’s fishing,” Eric muttered.
Moments later, with a snap of its jaws, the creature lifted its snout from the water, with a fish jammed in between the beasts needle like teeth. Lifting its crocodilian head up in order to swallow, the dinosaur noticed the boat ahead.
“Get us out of here,” Ben whispered to Rick. With a nod Rick turned the engine back on, making eye contact with the towering lizard ahead. The lizard began a slow walk towards the boat, as it was now in its territory. With a fierce roar, the creature gave chase to the boat, each footstep made with the sound of thunder.
“GO!” Eric yelled.
It didn’t take long for the creature to catch up and when it did the boat took numerous blows. Before the lizard could sink its jaws into Eric’s arm, Ben pulled him to the right side of the boat.
“Hold on!” Ben yelled, his voice trying to over power the creatures monstrous roar.
Slamming its snout into the left hand side of the boat, Eric and Ben flew into the river with a splash, while Rick tried to steer the boat to safety. With a sharp push from the lizards head, the boat went spinning into mid air and crashed into a sea of rocks.
Pulling themselves onto shore, Ben quickly took Eric by the hand and led him into the jungle, running as fast as they possibly could to escape the terror they had just witnessed. After traveling a reasonable distance from the horrifying incident, Ben fell to his knees. Eric, catching his breath, came to his aid.
“What’s the matter? What’s wrong?” Eric asked nervously.
Ben turned himself around, only to reveal a deep gash pierced into his side. Blood oozed out uncontrollably.
“Oh shit,” Eric said, pressing his hands on top of the wound. Ben winced and pushed his hand away. “We need to find help...” Eric said, realizing there was no such thing as help on this island.
In the distance, a loud roar pierced the tranquil silence, followed by more thundering footsteps. Eric looked down at the now injured Ben Larson, with a look of confusion and fear.
“Get the hell out of here Eric! Before that thing comes back,” Ben uttered, his lungs now overflowing with blood.
“I can’t just–”
“GO!” Ben yelled, using all his strength to nudge Eric away.
Eric could hear the toppling of trees in the distance.
“GO NOW! And don’t look back!” he yelled once more. Eric did as he was told and ran deeper into the jungle. Pushing shrubbery out of his way, Eric fell to the ground. His heart pounding in his ears, Eric listened quietly for the creature’s thunderous roar. Listening intently, a scream was heard. It came upon so suddenly that even the birds in the surrounding trees were startled and flew into the morning sky. Eric leaned against a tree and listened to the song of horror made by both the creature and Ben, coming to a realization; a realization that he was stranded alone on Isla Sorna. The feeling of hopelessness became overwhelming and a single tear trickled down Eric’s cheek. “God help me, Eric whispered repeatedly, God help me.”
Chapter Two: Memory Lane
Renowned paleontologist, Alan Grant, lie on his stomach, brushing dust away from a bone belonging to a velociraptor. Sweat trickled down from his forehead and onto the hot sand, as he was overwhelmed with concentration. Surrounding him were his students, all of which took notes on what he did. Setting his tooth brush aside, Alan began to pick the dust from the crevices of the bone with his index finger and blew the remaining dirt off the fossil. Rising from the hot ground he once lied on, Alan swept the dirt off his shirt.
“Right calcaneus of an adult female raptor. Mild stress fractures. What’s this tell me?”
Waiting for numerous hands to rise, all but one student makes a gutsy attempt to answer the question. That student was Billy Brennan. He was a bright, twenty four year old who shared a love for paleontology. He reminded Grant of himself at that age. Billy was so fascinated with paleontology that he switched majors, leaving journalism behind. To see someone with so much interest in this field of work, especially since the public had full knowledge of Jurassic Park, was one of the reasons Grant refrained from quitting.
“Yes,” Alan said pointing to Billy.
Billy approached the prehistoric skeleton and cleared his throat, “It tells us that this bone connects to the navicula which was already found articulating to the cuboid. It also –”
“DR. GRANT! DR. GRANT!” a student called running towards him.
Grant stared at the young woman that approached him.
“There is a woman here to see you. An Ellie Satler I believe,” the student said breathing heavily.
In the distance Alan spotted a Ford Sedan and leaning on it, Ellie Satler. Alan waved for her to come over and smiled. Turning back to his students Grant continued.
“Exactly Billy. So what can we say for sure? Stress fractures in the heel...”
“She jumps,” Billy responded rather quickly.
“Right again Mr. Brennan. But why did she jump?”
Before Billy could answer, another voice came from the distance, “Possibly because it was a defensive posture against a ferocious, man-eating tyrannosaurus rex?”
Ellie Satler, with a child wrapped in her arms, approached the dig site. “Well, am I right or not, Dr. Grant?” she asked smiling.
Alan smiled, “Perhaps.” The sight of Ellie at an excavation site, brought back some old memories and feelings. The child that once was wrapped in her arms, was now on the ground running towards Alan.
“Uncle Alan! Uncle Alan!” the child exclaimed, jumping into Alan’s arms.
“Charlie! Your getting so big, I can barely carry you anymore,” Alan replied, gently setting the five year old down.
The students smiled at the sight, for it was a rare one indeed.
“If you have time, I was wondering if we could discuss the book?” Ellie whispered, trying to refrain from any unwanted attention.
“Yeah that’s fine. I’ll just be a few seconds,” Alan replied. Ellie nodded and took Charlie by the hand, making their way for the trailer. Alan gestured for Billy to come over.
“What’s up?” Billy asked.
“I want you to keep making up the plaster blotches. Whatever ratio your using, it’s perfect. And whatever you do, don’t let any tourists walk over my raptor. I don’t care if the Governor of Montana is with them; it’s just you guys. Understood?”
“Got it,” Billy replied.
“Everybody continue working! I’ll be back before you know it!” Alan said making his way toward the trailer.
Alan jogged over to the trailer and opened the door. Stepping into the trailer, Grant immediately noticed the difference in temperature. Outside it was well over ninety degrees, while inside it was barely eighty thanks to a rusty old air conditioner. Removing his hat, Alan stared at Charlie, who was gazing hypnotically into a telescope. The sight made him smile.
“He gets that from you, you know,” Alan said sitting beside Ellie.
“Gets what from me?” Ellie asked.
“The fascination with Science. I can see it in his eyes. The way he looks at things... you know he’s searching for a deeper meaning even when there isn’t one. He’s a good kid,” Alan said folding creases into his hat.
Ellie smiled, “Yeah he is. He admires you a lot you know.”
“Me? How is that?”
“Well, Mark isn’t around all that often and when he is –”
“The guy does work for the State Department Ellie,” Alan interrupted.
“I know and when he is around, even for the slightest amount of time, it makes Charlie so happy. But even then, that doesn’t inspire Charlie to want to work at the State Department. Ever since I took him down here a couple of years ago, he’s been completely infatuated with dinosaurs. You know how much I’ve spent on trying to keep the back yard ‘hole free’?”
“What do you mean?”
“Every day he is determined to find a dinosaur in our backyard. I mean, if you didn’t know we had a kid, you’d think we had a gopher infestation.”
The both of them laughed. After the brief moment of laughter, there came an awkward moment of silence. Alan cleared his throat, “I typed out the information you needed.”
“You typed? You used a computer? Congratulations Alan,” Ellie said sarcastically.
“Actually neither. I had one of my students do it for me,” he said handing her the papers.
“Wow, this is more than I expected. Thank you very much,” she said flipping through the pages.
“You know Ellie, you didn’t have to drive all the way out here just to –”
“I know, but I just wanted to see how you were doing... how ARE you doing nowadays anyway?”
“Me, I’m fine... my OCCUPATION on the other hand is a completely different story.”
“How so?”
“Raising money was never easy,” Alan began. “But before Jurassic Park became world wide news, you could at least find it. Somewhere. Now fossils are out and everyone wants to see real live dinosaurs.”
Ellie nodded.
“We’ve found raptor remains and I have developed a theory that the key to their social intelligence, the way they can work together as a team, lies in their ability to talk to each other.”
“You mean the sounds they made,” Ellie said recalling the events that took place several years ago on the doomed island of Isla Nublar.
“Given a chance, I’m certain I can prove my theory that the raptor might have been capable of birdlike vocalizations... GIVEN THE CHANCE.”
“You know if you ever need anything, I’m here. You’re bad about asking for help, but if you –”
“I know, Ellie, I know. But I’d rather go on dozens of fund-raising tours, before asking anyone for help.”
“You’ll always be the same Alan Grant. I guess I can’t change that, but Alan, don’t be afraid to change... we all do. Don’t be afraid to evolve,” Ellie said.
“It’s not that I’m afraid... it’s that I refuse. Change hasn’t been on my ‘to-do-list’, mostly because ‘change’ never really turned out that well for me. I think you know that better than anyone.”
Ellie shook her head, “Your a stubborn man Dr. Grant, a stubborn man. Thanks for the papers.” Ellie gave Alan a parting hug. “Say goodbye to Uncle Alan,” Ellie said picking Charlie up from the ground.
“Bye Uncle Alan,” Charlie muttered as Ellie headed out the door.
“Bye Charlie,” Alan said waving. “Drive safe!”
As the two of them headed back for the car, Charlie jumped from his mothers grasp and made a mad dash towards Alan.
“I forgot to give you this!” the boy said, taking out a crumpled piece of paper. “It’s a t-rex!”
The drawing of the meat eating dinosaur was hard to make out, but for a five year old, the picture was a masterpiece. “Wow this is very good! Your a great artist Charlie.”
The boy nodded his head in agreement, “Bye.” And with that, the small child ran back towards the Ford Sedan. Ellie waved and opened the door for Charlie.
“See! What did I tell you, he’s a paleontologist in the making!” Ellie yelled entering the dust covered car. Alan smiled and waved. He watched the woman he once loved, drive off into the Bad Lands of Montana. He still loved Ellie, but not in the same way he once did. As the sun became obscured by a near by canyon, Alan turned around and gazed at his dig.
“Who was that?” Billy asked walking towards Alan.
Alan paused, glanced back at the disappearing vehicle, then back at Billy. “That? Oh that was just an old friend,” Alan replied.
Chapter Three: Jurassic Funding
The next morning Alan found himself standing on a well lit stage, giving a lecture on his newest findings of the velociraptor. As he gazed out at the crowd, he saw a lack of interest overcoming his audience. With only a few minutes remaining, Alan saw an occasional person exit the auditorium, without a care in the world as to how the lecture might conclude.
“Through the painstaking study of the anterior chamber in multiple specimens, we can determine the exciting correlation between the upper palate and the larynx.” Alan gazed at the hundreds of uninterested students, who were just waiting to ask that ONE question. “This lets us theorize – theorize mind you, that the raptor was capable of sophisticated vocalizations. This would have been a tremendous evolutionary advantage. Raptors were fierce, intelligent, and socially sophisticated. They were able to hunt in numbers, and coordinate their efforts. Were it not for the cataclysmic events which over took them it is entirely possible that the raptor, rather than humans, would of become the dominate species on this planet.” Pausing for a brief moment, an uncomfortable silence over took him.
“Well, I hope this has been of some interest to you all... I know it excites us as paleontologists. There is much, much more to discover and that is why we continue to ask for your support...Thank you,” Alan concluded. He assumed the student’s didn’t even hear him dismiss them. Then, Yolanda Richardson, the dean of students began clapping, breaking the awkward silence. “Thank you, Dr. Grant...now does anyone have a question for Dr. Grant?”
“Here we go,” Alan whispered to himself watching a sea of hands being waved in the air. “Very well, is there anyone who has a question NOT related to the events that took place at Jurassic Park?” A good portion of hands came down. Alan looked at the remaining hands left standing, and smiled. “Or the San Diego incident...which I did not witness?” Now all but two hands were left raised. “Yes,” Alan said pointing to a young man.
“My name is Robbie Turner...your theory is good and all, but isn’t it a bit moot? I mean on one side you have fossils and on the other you have the REAL DEAL. Wouldn’t it be easier if scientists just went to the island themselves and studied them? I mean, that way you can get some facts, and not have to jump to these wild theories,” the young man said folding his arms in his chest.
Alan smiled sarcastically, “The REAL DEAL? The REAL DEAL is what we find fossilized in the rock. The REAL DEAL, Mr. Turner, existed millions of years ago. What John Hammond and Ingen did was nothing short of playing God. Let me give you a situation Mr. Turner. I’m at an excavation site in...oh I don’t know, lets say in the Bad Lands, okay?”
Robbie nodded.
“Now I have to go away for a while...lets say a day or two. Are you following me or have I lost you already at such a slow pace?”
Robbie felt a little offended, but nodded nonetheless.
“Now, knowing that Mr. Turner, what is the difference between fossilized dinosaurs and the InGen freaks John Hammond created years ago?”
Robbie shook his head, “I don’t know.”
“Of course you wouldn’t. The difference is this: when I come back to my dig, the FOSSILS will still be there...which is the least I could say for Hammond’s creations. You see the dinosaurs on that island are nothing but theme park monsters created to attract naive people like you and I, not to mention the money we have, that they need. If you want to see the REAL DEAL Mr. Turner, than I suggest you go into the field of paleontology. But if you want to see the REAL DEAL in which you speak of, I suggest going into the entertainment district.”
The young man sat back in his seat, as if he were a dog who had just been scolded for doing something wrong. Alan looked over at the other raised hand, but the person had decided to disregard their question. It was as if he had scared the person from asking their question.
“Is there a question you’d like answered miss?” Alan asked.
The girl looked at him with wide eyes, “No...you answered it. Thanks anyway...”
Grant stood red faced, in the middle of the stage watching them all leave...the rest of them anyway. All except for one left the auditorium. A white man with silver hair, most likely in his early fifties, who wore a black trench coat, stood at the exit. Alan turned around and started to put all of his papers back into his brief case that conveniently slid around his shoulder. Alan fluffed out his hat and placed it on his head.
“Thank you Dr. Grant, that was really...interesting,” Yolanda said extending a hand shake.
“The pleasure was all mine,” Alan said politely. Yolanda walked off the stage and out of the auditorium. When Alan had gathered all of his belongings, he turned only to be greeted by the man who once stood by the exit.
“Dr. Grant?”
Alan turned in response to his name being called.
“Let me just start off by saying, wow. Your lecture was sheer brilliance, I mean you really know what your talking about,” the man said, extending his hand.
“Yeah, well I try,” Grant replied sarcastically, accepting the hand shake. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch your name.”
“That’s because I haven’t given it to you yet. The name is Paul Kirby, Kirby Enterprises.”
“Nice to meet you Mr. Kirby...”
“Please call me Paul.”
“All right then... Paul, is there something I can do for you?”
“Actually there is something I wanted to talk to you about, but I find it difficult to discuss the matters here. What do you say to dinner with my wife and I?” Paul said pointing to a beautiful blonde haired woman standing at the doorway of the auditorium. She nodded appropriately at Alan and walked out.
“I’m sorry, but I have to get back to my –”
“It would make all the difference. I have an offer I’d like to propose and it’ll be well worth your time, I promise.”
“I’m not quite sure what this is about, but –”
“The offer I’m proposing would be of great financial importance to you and possibly the future of your digs.”
“That’ll be great,” Billy said, walking down the isle of seats.
Grant looked at Billy with intensity and began to shake his head secretly behind Paul’s back.
“Great... there’s a place down the street, Jack’s Grill. We’ll meet you there at, let’s say, seven?”
“Sounds great,” Billy answered.
“Good. Seven it is. You won’t be sorry Dr. Grant!” Paul made his way out the auditorium.
Alan continued to stare at Billy with awe. He had pushed him into a corner, enabling a chance for Alan to speak for himself. “What in the hell are you doing?”
“Financial gain, Alan... did you hear a word that man said? Have you seen the car their driving? These people are loaded!”
Alan grunted and pushed Billy out of his way.
“Where you going?” Billy asked.
“I’m going to cancel,” Alan said, making his way towards the parking lot.
“You can’t do that!” Billy exclaimed.
“Watch me,” Alan replied, stepping into a vacant parking lot. Paul Kirby and his wife were nowhere to be found. He couldn’t cancel now. “Damn,” Grant muttered, removing his sun glasses.
“Just go through with this Alan... what harm could it do?” Billy said, catching up with him.
Chapter Four: The Proposition
A few hours later, Alan found himself sitting in a booth at Jack’s Grill, awaiting the Kirby’s presence. Sitting to his left was no other than Billy Brennan. Seeing how he was the one who got him into this situation, Alan wasn’t about to let him off the hook that easily.
Entering the restaurant were Paul and Amanda Kirby. Seating themselves across from Grant and Billy, they exchanged greetings, along with a brief introduction of who’s-who. The waitress set down a loaf of bread and four glasses of water, just as the group was getting acquainted.
“To make a long story short, my wife and I admirer your work and have followed it with great intrigue,” Paul began, sipping water from a gleaming crystal glass. “Having read your book and listened to your lectures, it is easily said that you are one of a kind Dr. Grant. You’ve made several contributions to well accepted theories and have encountered living, breathing, dinosaurs for crying out loud –”
“They were far from dinosaurs Mr. Kirby,” Grant corrected.
“Yes... yes of course. But the point and fact is, there isn’t anyone in the world who knows more about dinosaurs then you do.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“I would. And that is why I’ve asked you to be here.”
“How is that?”
“Well, my wife and I have an anniversary coming up. Every year we do something... out of the ordinary, I guess you’d say. Galapagos, K2, the Nile, you name it, we’ve done it. And we want this to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. So... we’ve charted a private jet, to fly us over Isla Sorna. And we want you to be our guide.”
Grant smiled and began to chuckle. “You can’t be serious. Over Isla Sorna?”
Billy nudged Alan, urging him to stop while he was ahead.
“We are quite serious,” Amanda answered.
Alan regained his sense of stability. “I’m sorry, but there is no way you can get me anywhere near InGen’s creatures again. I can give you a list of paleontologists that will be more than willing to go –”
“But you’re the best,” Paul said insistently. “You’ve seen these animals in the flesh. No one even comes close to you.”
Alan sighed. Paul was a talkative, cheerful fellow who seemed to be missing an “off” switch. Alan knew the type well. Unfortunately, Paul’s species were in no danger of extinction.
“No, I’m sorry. Besides, with the air restrictions after the San Deigo incident, you can’t fly low enough to see anything of interest.”
“Yea, well you see, that’s the thing. We have permission to fly low,” Amanda added.
“How low?” Billy asked, joining the conversation.
“Well, I’m no aviation expert, but I do know it’s a lot lower than anyone else.” Paul said.
“We can fly as low as we want,” Amanda replied. “Paul’s made some connections through his business over the years and in this case, with the Costa Rican government.”
Grant stared at the couple, disbelievingly.
Paul removed a check book from his coat pocket. “I’m prepared to make a sizable contribution to your research Dr. Grant. Just give me the number and it’s yours.”
Alan’s eyes widened and for the first time throughout the entire conversation, he was fully awake.
“What’s it going to take Dr. Grant? Name your price.”
Alan gazed at the blank check hypnotically. He had vowed to never set foot in that vicinity ever again and yet he found himself in a situation where it would be difficult to say no. So close to proving his theory... he was running out of money and options. Little did he know, his choice would be a fatal mistake.
4/14/2002 2:27:39 PM
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