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Jurassic Park Dawn of Retribution Stage Fourteen
By JPJunkee+Yvonne
FOURTEENTH STAGE
"The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with the qualifications for adaptation, the ability to accept the inevitable and conform to the unavoidable, to harmonize with existing or changing conditions."
-- Dave E. Smalley --
Walking down the halls of the cold building, Grant noticed one of the rooms looked like a lab of some sort. There were computers and lab equipment lining the walls. It had a very futuristic appearance, especially when you considered that all of the equipment was probably installed over ten years ago. Slowly, he walked into the room. Everyone followed behind him.
"Is this the main lab?" Ellie asked.
"No," Grant said. He had been to the main lab of Isla Sorna back when he had visited the island in 2001. "I never knew of this laboratory."
Kaje was looking at the many test tubes that were lining one of the lab's counters. All the contents within the tubes were frozen.
Malcolm walked up to one of the many computers and tried to turn it on. It didn't work. Yet, the building obviously had power. The computers must have been broken from the cold, he concluded.
Grant opened one of the drawers beside one of the computer desks, and took out a large folder. He opened the folder, to find pictures of infant dinosaurs. He stared at the photos with a certain fascination he couldn't quite describe. The photos were faded, but they showed baby carnosaurs, that stood about two feet high. They were colored light blue, and had a tiny bump directly above their eyes.
"Look at this," Ellie said, beside him, holding up a spiral notebook.
"What is it?" Grant said, taking the notebook from her hands.
"Looks like a journal of one of the Doctors of this laboratory."
Grant opened the notebook at the last entry, and began to read the journal aloud, "The infants remain a mystery to me and the rest of the science division here at Sorna. Try as we may to find out their secrets, their hostile and defensive behavior keeps us at a distance. Not knowing their species or genus makes studying and caring for them all the more difficult. Their violent nature rivals that of the adult velociraptors. Sometimes I wish we had never even created the animals in the first place. Sometimes I wonder how we even came upon the two chunks of ice that held the pieces of flesh within. Hammond doesn't like to talk about it. I don't pressure him to tell me either. It's not my place to ask such questions. I'm only a geneticist.
"The rest of the scientists here at Sorna decided that the dinosaurs should be held in an enclosure with special cold temperatures. Which is why this dome was built. The DNA was taken from chunks of rotting flesh found in ice. Everyone thought it was only logical that the animals must have been animals that were used to the cold. I tried to convince them that the remains may have been found in a cold climate, but while the animals lived, the climate was probably closer to that of present day Africa. They all disregarded my comments. They thought they knew better than me. I'm just a geneticist, after all.
"Tomorrow, I will be leaving Isla Sorna, and will continue my work on Nublar. I have heard, that there have been multiple accidents that have happened on Nublar in the past few weeks. I intend to approach Hammond with a new plan I have for creating more docile and controllable animals. The two infants housed in this very building have been enough evidence to show me that these animals aren't as predictable as we had once hoped. I almost have the courage to propose that the two infants be destroyed, but I know that it would be in folly. These are dinosaurs that have never been discovered before. The board of InGen will not stand by and watch a discovery such as this, be willingly destroyed. I hope in my absence, that the others will be able to properly care for and manage these infants. Even at their young age, they could kill ever last person in this building, if given the opportunity.
"I pity the pour soul that refuses to respect these animals.
-- Henry Wu, April 4, 1992"
Grant frowned and closed the notebook. It was Wu's journal. From what Grant understood and had seen, Wu really hadn't paid much attention to the dinosaurs he was creating. It was all just genetics to him, not real animals. It concerned Grant to know that Wu would fear these animals that he spoke of, as much as he did. And it concerned Grant even more, to know that Wu and the other scientists didn't even know what the species they were dealing with.
Kaje was standing at the opposite side of the room, looking at a bulletin board where pictures and other documents were pinned on. He sighed and muttered, "Fools. Wu was the only smart one, they should have listened to him."
Malcolm was slightly amused by Kaje's reaction to Wu's journal. "Why were they fools?" he asked.
Kaje pointed at one of the pictures on the bulletin board, it was very similar to the faded photograph Grant had seen in one of the folders. It showed two small carnosaurs with big bumps between their eyes. "They did discover a new species. But, since their discovery, we have found the skeletal remains of the dinosaur. The infants that Wu speaks of, were the dinosaurs known as cryolophosaurus elliotti. This species has only been found in Antarctica. And they found actual skin tissue preserved in ice from Antarctica. But, what Wu obviously tried to explain, was that at the time that these animals existed, Antarctica wasn't where it is today. Back then, it was a much warmer place. And they decided to hold the animals in a cold room. Thus explaining why they acted so violently."
Malcolm waited for Kaje to explain further, but when he never did say anything, Malcolm asked, "Why did they act violently?"
Kaje rolled his eyes and touched one of the pictures of the cryolophosaurs. "Because of the cold. The dinosaurs were not meant for such cool conditions. Dinosaurs were warm blooded, and when they are in a cold place, such as this, they need to use more energy to keep alive, and to create more energy, they need to eat more. Thus, they became very violent with their captures."
Malcolm nodded his head, finally understanding it all. Then he asked, "How big are these things when full grown?"
Kaje shrugged, "We haven't found many remains of the animal, due to the inhospitable environment in which it is found. But, from the skeletons we have found, we could say they were somewhere between seven and nine feet tall."
Grant listened to the discussion with very faint interest. He looked away from Malcolm and Kaje, and put the folder and Wu's journal into his backpack. Then he walked to the door of the lab, and said, "Let's keep moving okay?"
The others nodded and followed him out of the room. Ellie walked at his side as they moved down the hall.
At the end of the hall, there was a large silver door. The door had been twisted and broken. It looked as though it had once been sealed shut, but something from the opposite side had busted through. The doors were now bent outward, and there was only about three feet of clearance to walk through the doors.
Half expecting to see a dried bloody hand print on the wall, Grant was thankful he saw no signs of a struggle or any type of violence. The whole sight was rather surreal, though. Whatever had broken through that door, must have been very strong.
Grant hoped there would have been another way to go from here. But, while walking down the hall, he had seen no other places that would lead to the other exit of the building. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the twisted metal doors.
On the other side, he was instantly welcomed by a gust of hot air coming from the ceiling. It felt good on his skin. This room was much warmer than the rest of the building they had just explored. Looking at what the room was, he assumed it was warm here because this room was meant for people, and people only.
There were computers lining the walls, a water jug and desks, and then a long table in the middle of the room. Littered across the table were papers of all sorts, showing graphs, and other miscellaneous data. At the other end of the room was a single door that had been left ajar.
Malcolm brushed past him and walked quickly up to one of the computers. He pressed a button on the computer tower and a green light flashed on, indicating a power up. A smile of satisfaction crossed Malcolm's face as the monitor illuminated with the familiar InGen logo.
"What are you looking for?" Ellie asked as she walked up behind Malcolm.
"Whatever I can find. I'd like to see if there was some sort of way we could contact the mainland, but I doubt I'll find anything that useful."
As Malcolm and Ellie were working at the computer, and Kaje was staring at one of the growth charts of the dinosaurs on the wall, Grant was looking through the papers on the table. He brushed dust and debris away from one of the documents, and looked at it closely.
It was a graph showing the expenses of vaccines and medication used for the animals. He frowned and tossed it aside.
Underneath it, were other papers. One was about the food given to the animals. Another was about the feces collected from the female animals, and the lab results. Then another was about disease control and the effects of the disease on the population of dinosaurs.
Grant's expression grew dim, as he began to read the article.
TO: SiteB -- Lab#8
FROM: Board of Directors
DATE: February 27, 1992
It has been discovered, that the disease does in fact only spread through the bloodstream. It is not spread through the air, and neither is it spread by simple touch. Until the disease has been properly eradicated by the antidote that Dr. Pratt and Dr. Seiley have created, all personnel must exercise extreme caution when dealing with the animals in close proximity, for risk of being infected.
It has also been proven that the disease acts much faster in female specimens, sometimes killing within hours of being first infected, depending on the species and metabolism of the specimen.
As most of you know, the disease kills by slowly cutting off blood flow to the brain. First resulting in high fevers, delusion, nose bleeds, and blurred vision. Then, as the disease grows within the body, it destroys brain cells, and then -- for reasons still unknown -- collapses the lungs.
There was more to the document, but Grant pushed it away and began to read the paper underneath.
TO: SiteB -- Lab#8
FROM: Board of Directors
DATE: April 2, 1992
After conducting tests on all animals, it has been determined that the disease, has now been controlled and eradicated.
In the time that the disease existed on Isla Sorna, there were a few fatalities. In the end, one of the tyrannosaurs, three of the velociraptors, one of the corythosaurs, five of the compies, and one of the pteranodons died. Plus, two of our own lost their lives while tending to the sick animals; Dr. Bridgette Wilkens, one of the vets who worked with the velociraptors, was scratched by one of the infants, she died five hours later. And Mr. Josh Murray also died from the disease when one of the compies he was handling bit his hand, he died one week later.
Out of all of the deaths, only Mr. Murray, one compsognathus, and one of the velociraptors were male. Every other entity that died from the disease was female. It has also been determined, as I'm sure most of you already know, that not only are the females more prone to carry the disease, but the disease also acts faster and stronger in a female host.
Grant looked up from the paper in his hands, and whispered with astonishment, "They knew about the disease."
Ellie turned away from the computer Malcolm was working on, and Kaje crossed the room, and said, "What?"
Grant held up the piece of paper. "InGen knew about the disease. They must have thought they had obliterated it ten years ago, but---"
Kaje swiped the piece of paper out of Grant's hand and began to read it. Ellie looked over Kaje's shoulder and read it too.
Grant watched as they read the paper, then he looked down at the other pieces of paper. The next one from the top, was a list of companies. At the bottom of the paper, was a swarm of signatures.
Confirmed list of major funding contributors for Jurassic Park and InGen:
AAAS --- $4,000,000
Peak Echelon --- $9,000,000
JST: Japanese Science and Technology Agency --- $6,000,000
Microsoft --- $3,500,000
FAS --- $11,000,000
A sickening smell filled the warm room. Grant looked up abruptly from the piece of paper, catching the whiff in the air. The smell was sweet and rather unpleasant.
There was a soft growl behind him, and Grant spun around, putting the paper in his pocket as he did so.
Slowly, the foot and a half long head of a cryolophosaurus appeared between the twisted metal of the reinforced doors of the room. Held in its sharp teeth was the body of a young gallimimus. The cryolophosaurus stared blankly at Grant, and he just stared right back, not sure of what to do.
Ellie and Kaje looked up from the paper in their hands and stared at the cryo as it growled softly at the entrance of the room.
Malcolm continued to type away at the computer. He smiled, and said, "Well, it took some searching, but I think I found some way to contact the main land. Some primitive Internet source, that works through the InGen database. It'll probably take a few minutes, but I should be able to send a message, and hopefully get us out of here."
Grant, Ellie, and Kaje continued to stare at the cryolophosaurus. The animal looked bewildered by their presence in the room. In appearance, the dinosaur looked strikingly similar to the infants shown in the pictures. It was colored light blue, with stripes of dark blue going up and down its spine. And its head was black, except for the red crest that protruded between its eyes. It stood about five feet tall, its long powerful legs were rigid, ready to sprint at them at any moment.
Malcolm frowned and said, "Hello?" He looked up at Ellie who was standing the nearest to him. "What is it?" he asked. She did not reply. He shook his head and spun his chair around. That's when he saw the cryo standing in the doorway. "Oh, I see."
The cryolophosaurus walked cautiously into the room. Grant and the others braced themselves, but the dinosaur did not attack. Instead, it walked to the wall beside the bent door, and just stared at them. Blood dripped from the carcass in its mouth, giving the cryo an even more demonic appearance.
They could hear footsteps out in the hall, and then another cryolophosaurus appeared between the bent metal doors. The second cryo hesitated at the door, and stared at the humans, the same way the other had. This cryo was different than the other though. Its head was white, instead of black, and its crest was smaller and not a flashy red. In its mouth, was another dead infant gallimimus. The second cryo looked to its counterpart, and then back at the humans, taking in the situation.
Grant was completely exposed. The others had the table in-between them and the dinosaurs, but Grant had nothing to protect him. The two carnivores now stood only about fifteen feet away from him. He could hear their long breaths of air and imposing growls.
"What do we do?" Ellie whispered.
Grant looked slowly at the door on the opposite side of the room. "Slowly, make your way to that door."
Everyone nodded. And Malcolm got off the chair and stood up.
The cryos, caught off guard by the sudden movement, snapped their heads to the side and snarled at Malcolm. Then suddenly, the lighter colored cryo dropped the carcass in its mouth and charged at Malcolm, its mouth open wide.
Malcolm turned swiftly, grabbing the computer monitor in which he was working on, and then pulled it off the desk. The cryo was already upon him, when he turned back to it, and brought the monitor smashing down upon its skull. Glass and plastic shattered, and the cryo stumbled back, dazed slightly by the attack.
The other cryo was looking at Grant now. Letting out a long roar, the gallimimus body slipped from its jaws, blood splattering from its open maw.
Without really thinking Grant turned and jumped up onto the long table, and then jumped down on the opposite side, putting the table between him and the bloodthirsty predator.
The cryo watched Grant move away from it for a moment. Placing its three-toed foot on the edge of the table, the cryo propelled itself through the air, diving at Grant on the opposite side. Grant ducked down, and the dinosaur went sailing over his head and into a desk full of vials.
The lighter cryo was now regaining its footing. It shook its head to clear its vision, then opened its eyes to see Malcolm, Ellie, and Kaje sprinting away from it, heading towards the door on the other side of the room. The cryo roared and jumped up on the long table, sprinting after its prey.
Malcolm, Ellie, and Kaje were only about twenty feet from the door, when the body of the second cryolophosaur jumped off the table, blocking their way. The dinosaur roared at them and then began to lower its head to the ground, tensing its legs as it prepared to pounce.
Malcolm looked at the light cryo blocking the door, and then looked back to where they had came from and saw the dark cryo was now back on its feet, its skin covered in liquids of every color. Some of the skin burned where the liquid had touched. The dark cryo snarled as it began to make its way towards them. They had nowhere to go.
The lighter colored cryo roared and then leaped into the air. But it quickly came crashing back down to the floor, landing on its jaw. It shrieked and then spun its head around to see Grant holding onto its tail. He had grabbed the tail when the dinosaur had jumped into the air, his strength just being enough to bring it back down to earth. Wincing from the intense pain in his injured hand, Grant let go of the tail now, and turned to the door. The dinosaur growled and swiped its tail to the side, and knocked Grant flying off his feet. Grant came crashing down and through the middle of the table.
The dark headed cryolophosaurus turned away from the others, and made its way towards Grant who was laying stunned in the debris of the broken table.
"Alan!" Ellie screamed.
The light cryo stood up from the ground and walked slowly towards them, more hesitant to attack this time. Kaje stood behind Malcolm and Ellie, his back was to one of the desks full of vials and liquids. Thinking quickly, he grabbed a handful of the vials from the desk, some of the liquids spilled out over the top, burning the skin of his hand. He winced as he threw all the contents of the vials at the dark cryo.
The liquids splashed onto its blue hide, causing it to instantly let out a surprised shriek. The skin on its back began to sizzle and turn a peachy orange color.
The light cryo looked at its partner as it fell to the ground and began to wallow back and forth in pain.
Kaje then grabbed more vials and threw them at the light cryo's skull. The vials broke on impact, covering the dinosaur with the liquids inside. The creature began to wail as it fell to the ground, frantically clawing at its burning face.
Ellie ran to one of the chairs at the table, and picked it up. Then she screamed to the Malcolm and Kaje, "Get Alan!"
They nodded and ran to the table, quickly retrieving Grant, then followed her back to the door. The dinosaurs were beginning to get to their feet, so they quickened their pace.
Once on the other side of the door, they set Grant down who was still a bit dazed, on the ground. And then shut the door. Ellie took the chair in her hands, and propped it against the doorknob.
"Do you think that will hold them?" Grant asked groggily. The world was still spinning around him, but he was quickly recovering.
"I don't know," Ellie said.
There was a loud roar, and then one of the cryolophosaurs crashed into the door, shaking it violently. There was another bang. And then another. But miraculously, the door held.
There was a long silence, and then the door stopped banging altogether. Everyone looked at each other with the same expression of shock and exhaustion.
Malcolm whispered, "Notice something? It's cold again."
They all nodded. It was probably only about thirty degrees where they were now.
"Were those the cryowhatsits?" Malcolm asked.
Grant nodded.
"Yes," Kaje said. "But they were rather small. Most cryolophosaurus skeletons have been about nine feet in height. Those were only about five. I don't know if that's because of bad reproduction rates on the island due to the large number of carnivores. Or, if they were in fact young animals."
There was another loud bang on the door, causing Kaje to jump.
Ellie sighed, "In any case. I suggest we keep moving."
Malcolm smiled, "The voice of reason."
* * *
The new surroundings were very tranquil. The only thing heard was the sound of the river flowing somewhere nearby. Malcolm had been the first one to enter the dome-shaped area, so he was well ahead of the others. He followed the sound of the river, walking over a large aluminum platform. When it ended, he looked down and saw the river flowing, just about three feet below him. It looked to be very wide, flowing underneath the platform he was standing on. Looking to his left, he could see that it narrowed significantly the closer it got to the front of the dome, until it was only a very small opening that led outside.
"Looks like some sort of observation deck."
Trapped in his own utopia as he took in his surroundings, Malcolm was startled by the voice that broke the flow of the river beneath his feet. It was Grant.
"Yeah, looks that way," he answered.
The two of them studied the area, taking it all in. Grant was standing where the platform began. It was even with the ground behind him, and then outstretched toward the river as the ground slanted down toward the water. The platform itself was made up of dozens of 4x8 pieces of aluminum, so there were tiny cracks between the pieces.
There were remnants of a guard-rail along the edges of the platform, but the coldness of the dome and time had worked their wonders on it, leaving behind fragmented pieces here and there.
Grant made his way to the edge, where Malcolm was standing.
"Do you feel that?" Malcolm asked, kneeling down and placing his hand in the air over the flowing water.
"The warmth. Yeah. Everything in this room is cold with the exception of that," Grant answered, gesturing toward the river that was only a few feet below them.
"Very peculiar," Malcolm commented. He could see that Grant's injured hand was bothering him, so he added, "How are you feeling? And don't say woozy and ready to pass out," Malcolm joked.
Grant smiled faintly and attempted to move his fingers, wincing.
"I wish I had something to take for the pain. It's killing me."
"You know . . . uh, if I had a hole the size of a half dollar in my hand . . . and then wrestled a Smurf-colored evil beast to the ground, I would be a little more . . . uh, grumpy."
"I'll keep that in mind," Grant said, getting back to looking at the river below.
"You think we can try to find a way out of here?" Ellie interrupted from across the room.
Grant and Malcolm looked her way. She was still standing near the door they had come from, looking around uneasily with her arms tucked in front of her, trying to keep warm.
"Of course," Malcolm answered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sisqo and the other nameless Rican soldier had made their way around the other side of the building, slowly walking through the corridors. After the tyrannosaur attack, they had been forced to remain inside so they chose to seek shelter in the icy cool dome. He didn't expect to find the scientists, as they were presumed escaped by now, so his only mission at the moment was to find out how many exits were in the building.
Unknowingly, they had taken the opposite path from Grant and the others, and had ended up very close to the others. Hearing voices, Sisqo promptly dropped to the ground and crawled out of sight. The other Rican did the same. Smiling broadly, Sisqo only had to wait for them to walk past.
He didn't have to wait long.
The tall one dressed in black crossed his path first. Sisqo sprang from his hiding spot, causing Malcolm to jump back a few steps.
With Sisqo pointing his sidearm at them, Malcolm promptly raised his hands, with Grant following suit seconds afterwards. As Grant raised his arms in the air, Sisqo could see that the man was wounded with something wrapped around his right hand. He also noticed Grant absently wincing as his fingers moved around slightly in the bandage. He observed that Grant didn't seem to be too concerned with the pain, as he had his eyes on the lady across the room, looking worried about her.
Glancing over at Kaje and Ellie, Sisqo yelled something in Spanish to the other Rican, who in turn looked toward Kaje, who was already nodding and moving.
"He wants you all on the platform," the man said in broken English.
Kaje continued to escort Ellie toward Grant. When they got there, Grant unconsciously reached out and grabbed her by the hand.
Sisqo didn't like that. He approached them and waved the gun at Grant, yelling in Spanish.
"He says to keep your hands up," Kaje whispered.
Grant released her hand and did what Kaje suggested, leaving Ellie in between himself and Kaje.
Sisqo backed away and quickly checked his gun. Only three bullets left. Three bullets for four people. It wasn't going to work. He needed to think of something. Looking at the people, he decided to get rid of the woman by some other means. He yelled at the other soldier and gave the man his gun, and then he approached Ellie. A simple hit to the head to knock her out, and then throwing her in the river would suffice. Without a word, he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her toward the river.
She fought with him, but Sisqo was so strong she didn't really have a chance of getting free from his death grip on her arm. Grant was there quickly, though, trying to keep Ellie safe.
Not giving much thought to the soldier with the weapon, Grant ran up to Sisqo. With Malcolm and Kaje's verbal warnings in the air, Grant stopped right in front of the man.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size," he warned, looking up at the man. He slightly cocked his head toward Kaje and yelled, "Adam, translate that."
Shaking his head, Kaje translated and the whole thing instantly made Sisqo very irate.
A very big part of Ellie wanted to get Grant to stop provoking Sisqo, but she knew if he wasn't standing there in front of him, she would have surely been killed already.
His reach as quick as a snake's strike, Sisqo grabbed Grant by his shirt and began to lift him off the ground with his free hand.
Ellie managed to wrestle free from the large man's grip and fall to the floor, leaving her would-be savior to basically fend for himself.
Sisqo seized the opportunity.
Smiling, he released Grant and watched him drop to the platform. Grant was able to keep his balance, but it was in vain as Sisqo punched him, causing him to stagger backward. Not giving him a chance to recover, Sisqo grabbed his injured right hand and squeezed as hard as he could. Grant instantly fell to his knees, wincing and trying to catch his breath after having the pain shoot straight to his head.
Malcolm took a step forward to help, but his plans quickly changed as the over-anxious gun-welding Rican soldier aimed the gun toward him.
Ellie stood up and watched for a few seconds and then decided she couldn't just stand there, being so close with the opportunity to do something. She ran into the large man, causing him to lose his balance for a moment. Sisqo quickly regrouped, though. He released Grant's hand and kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the platform. Then, he whirled around and grabbed Ellie, determined to revisit and succeed with his first plan again. He raised one of his powerful arms in the air and was ready to strike her, when Grant started to kick at his legs, trying to divert his attention.
It worked.
Sisqo threw Ellie to the ground and focused his attention back to Grant. Things weren't going exactly as planned, but now he just became overly-angry at Grant's attempts to stop him from carrying out his duty. He had hated the scientist on sight, and now he was going to penalize him for his actions, once and for all.
The angry Rican grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him toward the edge of the platform, stopping to kick him several times. At first Grant was relieved that he was leaving Ellie alone, but the extreme pain that began to flow through his body changed his opinion. When they got closer to the river, Sisqo partially picked him up and threw him to the platform edge, with only about a foot to spare before he would have been impaled onto the rotting guard-rail that was barely attached. Grant landed on his chest, his breath leaving him involuntarily as he hit. Sisqo reached for the dazed man's right arm, twisted it and pushed it into Grant's back, gripping the injured hand and squeezing again. The agony was intense and within seconds, Grant could already feel his entire arm getting numb from the way the trained soldier was detaining him.
Ellie slowly stood up again, determined to stop Sisqo. The plan wasn't well thought in the least, but she felt as though he wouldn't even be in that situation if it wasn't for her, so she took a step towards them. Glancing at the woman, Sisqo barked an order to the other soldier.
"He told the man to shoot you if you come any closer, Ellie," Kaje translated for her in a hurried voice.
Ellie stopped moving, noticing that the Rican with the gun was nervously pointing it at her. Malcolm moved slightly, taking advantage of the man's diverted attention, but the Rican quickly waved the gun back toward him. Malcolm watched as the man with the gun was getting more and more nervous, looking around at the amount of people he was supposed to be watching and the distance between everyone.
Grant struggled with Sisqo, but it was no use. The man was very strong. Slowly and methodically, Grant began to feel dizzy as everything around him became blurry. He knew he was on the verge of passing out. He made one last conscious effort to keep his head from resting on the platform, but just minutes later he surrendered to its coldness and closed his eyes, wincing every now and then.
With Grant incapacitated, Sisqo could now deal with the rest of them. He released Grant's arm, letting it fall to the platform, and then he promptly stood up. His plan had changed without warning, but the ending result would still be the same . . . all four scientists in this room would be killed. He walked toward the woman so that he could finally dispose of her without distraction. Ellie began to back up, trying to keep away from the man, but his pursuit didn't let up. Yelling to the other soldier to bring him the gun, the Rican began to walk toward him, noticeably relieved to be getting rid of the weapon.
The almost unconscious Grant lay on the cold platform, his injured hand bleeding quite a bit. The blood pooled next to him, and then made its way through the cracks in the platform, free-falling into the warm river just three feet below.
The Rican was almost to Sisqo now and that's when Malcolm noticed Kaje taking a few steps backwards. Rolling his eyes at the man's behavior, he was about to question him, when he saw the seriousness in the man's stare. Kaje had been looking toward Grant, but upon closer inspection, Malcolm could see that he was looking beyond Grant and the platform. Not really wanting to, Malcolm forced himself to look out into the river.
There was a rather large head coming out of the water. The scaly creature had the unmistakable crest protruding from its head, making it somewhat easy to identify, considering where they were.
"Uh-oh," Malcolm sighed.
After hearing a little light splashing, Sisqo stopped and turned toward the river. His mouth gaped open at the sight. The nervous soldier, who was just a few feet from Sisqo now, stopped in his tracks, shaking at what he was seeing.
When Ellie had heard Malcolm talk, she looked toward him, and then toward the river. More of the dinosaur was out of the water now, exposing its blue skin. It didn't take a genius to figure out what it was, but what alarmed Ellie was that this particular cryolophosaurus was much, much larger than the previous two.
Malcolm spoke out her thoughts, in his own little way, by announcing, "Papa Smurf, I presume."
"Maybe it's not aggressive," Ellie hoped aloud, ignoring his attempt to inject some humor into the situation.
As the words came out, the cryo exited the water to the extreme right side and jumped onto the platform. It roared loudly, as it searched for the source of blood that had been dropping into the river for several minutes. It had a taste of it and wanted more.
The nervous soldier screamed and thought about shooting the beast, but he was much too frightened to even squeeze the trigger. Sisqo yelled and began to flail his arms around in anger, demanding that the soldier shoot at the creature. Sisqo's angry shouts were cut short, though, when the adult cryo lunged toward him, attracted by all of the movement. With only seconds before he would become the first victim, an idea suddenly hit Sisqo. He ran toward Grant, who was still lying immobilized on the platform. He would lure the hungry-looking dinosaur to the wounded man, as the blood would surely attract the creature.
Ellie saw what he was doing, but the cryo was already blocking her path to Grant, so she began to yell, "Alan! Alan, get up!"
Malcolm joined her, shouting over and over at Grant.
Sisqo looked toward his man with the gun and shouted in Spanish, "Shoot! Shoot something! Shoot anything!"
Kaje had joined Ellie and Malcolm, trying to wake up Grant, and was shouting alongside them, "Grant! Up! Now! Let's move it!"
Grant was on his stomach still. He could vaguely hear the yelling back and forth, some of it English, some of it Spanish. None of it made sense to him since he wasn't very aware. Suddenly he heard a gunshot echoing in the dome.
The soldier had taken a shot at the beast, as it was exploring the platform. The shot totally missed, hitting the closest wall and then ricocheting against several other ones. Everyone in the room ducked, as the bullet whizzed throughout the dome.
The noise angered the cryo, who was now nearing the edge of the platform and making its way toward Grant. Ellie and Malcolm began to make their way toward Grant, but Kaje could see that they would never get to him with the cryo in the way. Glancing around, he caught sight of the man with the gun and noticed that his attention was solely on the creature. He stepped toward the man, with the intention of getting the gun and helping the others.
The Rican looked at Kaje, just as he was close enough to grab the gun. The Rican pushed him away, swaying the gun back and forth, aiming it toward him. Kaje decided he was going to take a chance that the man would miss again, but just as he arrived to that decision, Sisqo was next to him. Kaje tried holding up his arms in defense, but Sisqo wound up and punched him, first in the head, and then the gut, causing Kaje to double over.
All the movement got the cryo re-interested, so it pivoted on its hind leg and looked toward the fighting men. Ellie and Malcolm were just to the right of it, so it didn't see them straight away. The giant carnivore roared, causing everyone to freeze.
The Rican shot at the cryo that was coming toward them . . . and again, missed the large dinosaur. He had hit something else, though.
Adam Kaje staggered backwards, shocked to see that he had been shot. He felt a searing pain in his upper body, as he glanced at Ellie.
"Oh, my God," she said softly.
Kaje's eyes were opened wide with panic. It seemed to Ellie that he stayed perfectly still for a really long period of time, before he finally slowly glanced down to see where the pain was coming from. As he lowered his head to get a better look, he lost his footing and tumbled into the river.
"Adam!" Ellie screamed. There was nothing any of them could do, though, as his body began to swiftly float away with the current.
The cryo swung around to investigate the splash, giving Ellie and Malcolm enough time to quietly run around it. Malcolm tugged on Ellie's arm to get her attention, as she was still watching Kaje. The splash wouldn't detract the dinosaur for very long, so they needed to move quickly.
Grant had heard a splash very close to him, but didn't look. Then, he heard a low growl, as people began to pull on him, dragging him away from the edge of the platform. He finally looked up groggily and saw three massive talons land in the small area of the platform that he had fixated on, pointing away from him. In his daze, he stared at the claws, and then slowly gazed upward, until he saw the side view of the whole terrorizing nine-foot frame. The large carnivore walked very close to them without looking in Grant's direction . . . yet. Fear and adrenaline began to course through him all at once, waking him quickly. He tried to help his rescuers by standing, but his legs were like rubber.
Sisqo went for the gun, trying to regain control of the situation. As he neared the frightened soldier, he ordered the man to give him the weapon. The man was about to do just that, when Sisqo noticed the cryo had finished its investigation of the splash. It was too late for the soldier to get to safety, but he did manage to attempt to throw the gun. It didn't go much farther than exactly where he was standing, as the cryo leaned over and attacked, its jaws engulfing the entire top portion of the soldier. The dinosaur bit down and Sisqo was close enough to hear the muffled cry and the breaking of dozens of bones all at once. Sisqo took a great many steps backwards, seemingly afraid, which was something very new for a man of his character.
Still being dragged, Grant could see Ellie running ahead of him, then swinging back around to look at him, and then running again. She made it to the door on the far right and tried to open it.
"Locked!" She screamed.
Malcolm hauled Grant against the wall and waiting for him to stand on his own, and then he tried his luck with the door. Since it was locked, he began to run his body into it, hoping to jar it loose. He and Ellie had switched places and she was now helping to keep Grant steady. It wasn't really necessary though, as Grant was pretty much alert now. One glance toward the carnivorous creature ripping apart Sisqo's associate, was all Grant needed to start helping with getting the door open. The two men hit the door together several times, but it was holding. Discouraged, Ellie looked around for something to help open the door. As she was looking, she happened to glance toward Grant and Malcolm just as they were able to force the door open. They hit it so hard, Malcolm fell through the opening and landed on a concrete floor on the other side.
Grant had grabbed onto the doorframe, keeping his balance. Turning back to get Ellie, he noticed that Sisqo had his back to everyone, observing the cryo. Then, it finally became obvious what he was looking at. The gun was lying on the platform, only a few feet from where the cryo was finishing off the other soldier.
Ellie's face suddenly took over Grant's line of vision, as she stepped in front of him.
"Come on!" She yelled, as she latched onto his hand and began to pull.
He stopped her, noticing that someone was missing from the picture.
"Where's Kaje?" he asked.
"He fell into the river. He was shot," she answered.
"Go make sure Malcolm is okay," he said softly.
"Alan, we need to go. Now."
Grant wasn't looking at her anymore. Sisqo was getting very close to the gun now and he felt the need to stop him.
"Check on Malcolm," he repeated. When she didn't listen, he looked at her again, gesturing toward Sisqo, "He's going for the gun. If he gets the gun, he'll follow us out and kill us."
"We need to just get out of here . . . right now," she begged, emphasizing the suggestion by trying to pull him through the door again.
Malcolm appeared in the doorway. Brushing off some debris and adjusting his shirt, he asked, "Why in the hell are we still here?"
"Sisqo is going for the gun," Grant answered.
"So what?" Malcolm said, shrugging, "It doesn't look like he'll get far with it. Our large blue friend is finished with the appetizer, and about to enjoy the entree. So, come on!"
Grant regrettably realized something. Malcolm was right. He hated it when Malcolm was right, but he didn't argue with the man any further. Finally nodding in agreement, he followed the others through the door. Only being a few steps from the door, they all heard a gunshot, followed by Sisqo's screaming. Grant turned and peered through the door and frowned in disgust, as he saw that the man was missing an arm. Blood was pulsating from the wound and Sisqo had fallen to his knees, in complete shock.
Malcolm and Ellie were right behind Grant by now, and Ellie looked away, sickened by the horrendous scene. Malcolm was just as intrigued as Grant though. Looking closer, he saw that the cryo had Sisqo's arm in its maw, getting ready to crunch down. In the hand of the bloodied arm . . . the gun . . . still being held by the severed extremity. Satisfied that the man would get what was definitely coming to him, Malcolm finally motioned to Grant that it was time to go. Grant nodded and they made their way down the hallway. As they were looking for a way out of the facility, Grant couldn't help but slightly smile at the thought of Sisqo being ripped to shreds.
* * *
The boat slowly chugged along with Sarah standing just outside of the bridge. She had been concentrating on trying to catch a glimpse of the island she so desperately wanted to reach. The storm from the previous night had left a thick blanket of fog, making it very hard to see much of anything. Nathan Scott had told her they were still many hours away from getting there, but she was certain that if she kept looking, she would see the outline of the island in the distance.
She saw nothing.
A clanking sound distracted her from her mission, as she watched men begin to run in various directions. Scott exited the bridge just then, so she grabbed his arm, "What's going on?"
"The ruptured bunker didn't hold. We're losing fuel again."
"Nathan, we have to get there soon," she reminded him, a hint of worry in her tone.
"Yes, I know that. But if we don't have the fuel, then we don't have the fuel." Before she could say anything, he held up a hand, "I'll be right back. I need to talk with the boat mechanic."
"Okay," she said, nodding.
Sarah stood on the deck, observing the fast-paced activity, as men ran in all directions yelling things she didn't understand.
A half an hour had gone by now and she was getting antsy. She took it upon herself to follow the next person that passed her, hoping that he would lead her to Scott.
She quietly continued to follow the man down some stairs she didn't even know were there, relieved to finally have found Scott.
Her relief turned to worry as she noticed the look of disappointment on his face.
"You want the good news or the bad news?" he asked, rubbing his forehead with the back of his greasy hand.
"Bad first," she replied, finding it hard to hear him over the machinery.
"Well, we have lost about half of the fuel."
"What's the good news?" she asked.
"The good news is that we can still make it to the island."
"Wonderful . . ." Sarah started to say.
"But there is a little more bad news, I'm afraid," Scott interrupted, as he gestured toward the steps. "Let's go topside first."
"Okay."
When they made it back to the deck, Scott continued, "We were putting too much pressure on the patched bunker, causing it to rupture. We were going too fast. It was stupid to go so fast, but it's too late to worry about that now."
"So, what is the plan, then?" Sarah asked.
"The plan is to take it very, very slow. If we go over five knots, it'll cause another rupture and this time it might not be able to be fixed."
"So, how long?"
"You cut right to the point, don't you?" Scott observed, attempting to lighten the situation.
"How long?" she repeated.
Scott frowned, realizing his attempt had failed, "We won't be there until daylight tomorrow, Sarah."
"Are you crazy!" she shouted. "We needed to get there yesterday, damn it!"
"Some things just can't be foreseen. I'm sorry about it. I really am."
"I know."
"We've radioed for help, so another boat should be out here hopefully by tomorrow so that we all have a way back to the mainland. Other than that, there's nothing much more I can do, but to get you there by tomorrow."
Sarah didn't respond verbally. Instead she nodded at him, watching him turn and walk back into the bridge. She knew that it really wasn't his fault. At least they were still going to get there.
"I'm coming for you, Ian. Just hang on one more day."
* * *
Sergeant Javier Martinez waved another swarm of flies away from his face, then went back to covering his nose to block out the stench from the rex that was steadily rising in the hot sun. He now stood only about five feet away from its left hind leg. The tail of the giant predator had been severed from the body, and now all that remained was a pink fleshy stub, covered with bloody bone fragments and shredded muscle tissue. Martinez looked away from the cut-off trunk and moved his eyes up the rest of the body. Bullet holes, some deep and some merely scratches on the rough skin, covered its torso. The big head was hidden inside the entryway of the building, left where it had fallen. Martinez caught himself wondering how old the animal probably was. How old were they when they reached their full size? And for that matter, how big could these things get?
He looked at the blocked doorway. Aldez was standing next to it, probably looking for a way to get past the rex. Like a dragon protecting a treasure, Martinez smiled at the amusing thought.
"They're moving again, General," one of the soldiers said, bringing the tracking monitor over to Aldez.
It struck Martinez as odd that no one had been sent to investigate all sides of the building for any exit that Grant or the others might have taken. But Aldez was probably afraid of losing any more men, and a dead tyrannosaurus could send a message to other predators. Pushing the unrelated questions and concerns aside for the moment, Martinez approached the General.
Aldez held the tracking monitor in his two hands and watched the green blip on the screen as it moved swiftly away from their current position.
Aldez frowned. "They're moving too fast. Obviously they're out of the building now, but even so, they're moving very fast."
Martinez shrugged his shoulders, looking at the green display. "I don't know," he said. "Some things on this island could motivate you to run very fast."
Then the green blip on the display came to an abrupt halt.
"They've stopped," Martinez said.
Aldez waved his hand to the other soldiers, getting their attention. "Come on," Aldez said. "Let's finish this."
The soldiers nodded and then together everyone began to hustle around to the other side of the building and then down river where the tracking device led them.
"And what about Sisqo?" Martinez asked as they hurried along. He had always strongly disliked the man, but he couldn't help but think that they were leaving him to his death within the building. Sisqo was also a very big man, and wouldn't have been able to keep up with the pace of the scientists as they ran away at the speed the tracking device had just recently shown.
"He's been in that building for a long time," Aldez said, "If he was alive we would have heard from him by now. He's dead."
"You're just going to leave him there without knowing what happened?" Martinez countered.
"And what would you do if you were in my position?" Aldez asked. "Would you lead your men into the building, a dangerous place where one of your most experienced soldiers has most likely lost his life, all the while taking your eyes off the prize and abandoning your quarry? No, you would keep tracking your quarry because like me, you're not stupid enough to sacrifice all your men for the mere hope that a single person still draws breath. Sisqo is dead, accept it." Aldez shook his head, then turned away and started running again.
Comments are appreciated!
--JPJunkee and Yvonne
cryolophosaurus elliotti
Image courtesy of dinosauricon.com
10/8/2003 3:59:22 PM
(Updated: 10/8/2003 4:12:31 PM)
(Updated: 10/20/2003 11:15:08 PM)
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