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Jurassic Park Dawn of Retribution Stage Ten
By JPJunkee+Yvonne
TENTH STAGE
"A single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic."
-- Joseph Stalin --
The morning had faded into late afternoon quickly, as the reasonably large group of people continued to walk. A moderate rain was coming down on them through the leaves of the trees above and thunder was echoing in the distance. A very bad storm was brewing. Grant sighed and slouched his shoulders as he moved along side Ellie and Larson's men through the thick jungle. His feet splashed in the wet mud, and then he paused for a moment, looking out to his left. There was a clearing there. A field of grass and a few small creek beds. Herbivores of all different sorts moved about the field, eating the foliage, and socializing with the others. He felt the beginnings of a smile make its way onto his face, as he observed the enormous mamenchisaurus grazing among the trees. Ellie had paused with him, and was now urging him to keep going, since she saw that one of Larson's men was making his way toward them.
She grabbed his arm and gently pulled, getting him to start walking again. He winced as a wave of pain swept up from the palm of hand and through his arm. The pain was intense, but he did not let Larson and his men see that he was suffering. Ellie saw the anguish in his eyes, but he fought the pain and walked on.
Looking ahead of him, it was just endless jungle, surrounded by mud, and a few flowing streams of water. He sighed once more and continued walking. He could see Leah and Madison being ushered along though the jungle to his right, with Leah keeping a concerned eye on him as they continued to walk. Somewhere behind him, Malcolm and Kaje walked onward.
Larson's men all had guns, and they weren't going to let Grant and the others leave. Their intentions were clear; Grant and the others were to be killed. What wasn't clear was when and where this would happen.
Grant looked all around him, their situation was hopeless. Their death was imminent. And to his shock, he accepted it all.
Moments later, Larson called for everyone to take a break as he pointed toward an outcropping of trees that would suffice as a temporary shelter from the rain. Once everyone was under the canopy, he walked briskly toward Leah, causing Grant to get a little jumpy.
"Alan, hold on," Ellie whispered, placing a hand on his arm.
She had been correct in making him wait, as they watched Larson whistle toward one of the men and yell something. The mercenary tossed a package of some sort to him and he, in turn, tossed it to Leah.
"Medicated bandages. Use this to re-dress that wound," he basically ordered, gesturing toward Grant.
She quickly nodded and whispered, "Thank you."
As she began to walk toward Ellie and Grant, Larson spoke up, "I'm not doing that to be pleasant. If he passes out from a simple wound, then that will pose a problem for me."
Leah approached Grant, who had already found a tree to lean against. He was looking very tired, as he held his wounded hand close to his wet shirt covering his chest. She glanced uncomfortably at Ellie, and then talked to him.
"Alan? I've got some new bandages for you," she whispered, hoping that he would look at her.
He did and that simple gesture caused her to smile, forgetting everything but his eyes staring back at her. Coming out of her little trance, she spotted a tree that must have fallen in one of the frequent storms.
"Why don't we go sit over there, so I can take a look at that hand?" she asked softly.
"It's fine," he said, holding the said hand close to his chest again.
"Alan, you should let her look at it," Ellie encouraged.
Ellie's voice had come from somewhere behind her, and Leah briefly closed her eyes. She knew Ellie was only trying to help, but she was perfectly capable of taking care of the situation. The whole thing was very awkward for Leah, and she could only hope that the other love of Alan's life was feeling the same awkwardness. There was no more time to think of such things though, since Grant had agreed to sitting down now. Leah followed alongside him, being careful not to let him slip as he navigated over a few tree roots and branches. When he was finally situated on the log, she sat down next to him, observing their surroundings. To Leah's happiness, Ellie had decided to stay back and let her take care of him, so she was able to relax knowing that there was no longer an immediate audience.
"Okay, let me see your hand. We need to put this new bandage on," she encouraged.
Smirking at her, Grant did what she asked and placed his right hand in hers, wincing as he did so. After examining it for a moment, she began to unravel the blood-soaked bandage. Every time she would remove the next layer away from the wound itself, he would wince. She was surprised with the amount of layers, as she continued to unwrap the bandage. With each passing layer, his reaction was getting worse. He began to hold his breath in, grit his teeth and grunt, getting more and more irritated. Noticing that he looked like he was about to stand up and stop her from helping him, she reached out and lightly touched the side of his face.
"I know it hurts, but just stay here, okay? I'm almost done."
He nodded.
Ellie watched from a distance and smiled to herself, as she watched Leah tend to him. It had been years since Ellie had been close to Grant, but she could definitely see that Leah was accustomed to his moods and actions. It looked as though Grant had finally been able to go on with his life and she was pleased to see it. All the thinking about relationships brought her back to her own reality, though, and she began to ease back into her depression. The process was thankfully altered as Madison appeared next to her, looking toward Leah and Grant. Ellie was truly grateful for Leah's friend being there. Without his help, Alan's early progress through the jungle would have gone a lot worse than it did. She would have to thank him later, if there was a later.
Leah had gotten the bandage all the way off and was staring at the horrible-looking hole in his hand. His body was already working hard to fix it, since she couldn't see through to the other side. It was more like a torn gap of sorts, than a hole now, but it was very red and he was still bleeding badly. By the looks of it, the crowbar had missed hitting the bone or nerves, but it did a wonder on his tendons and muscles. She frowned as she could see some of what she guessed was muscle, exposed near the side of the wound.
"It's not that bad," he whispered.
"Like hell it isn't," she strongly whispered back. He had taken the time to tell her what had happened to him a little earlier, before Larson had them separated. She wasn't going to let him treat this as if it were no big deal.
"I can still move most of my fingers, so that's positive," he said, looking from her, to his hand and back to her face again.
"Yeah," she sighed as she got the new bandage ready.
"Leah," he said. She looked up from the bandage and he could see that she was shaking some. "Thank you. I'm not sure what I would do without you."
"Well, as long as I'm breathing, you will never have to worry about that," she whispered back, getting a little more strong-willed.
He smiled, but then it turned into another agonizing wince, as she began to re-wrap his hand with the new bandage.
Larson had been keeping his eye on all of the prisoners, only waiting on Grant and Leah before the group would continue the journey. He noticed that Madison had moved closer to Ellie, probably to keep an eye on his reporter friend, while Malcolm and Kaje were held up on the other end of the tree canopy. Keeping everyone separated was something he was doing on purpose, so that they didn't mount a rebellion.
"Okay, the break is over," Larson announced.
"Just a second," Leah said, not even looking up.
Larson reached for her shoulder and grabbed the back of her shirt, lifting her up, "You're ready now," he ordered.
Grant stood instantly, slightly wobbling, but sure-footed enough to remain standing. The two adversaries stared at each other, with Leah in the middle.
"Leave her alone," Grant said in a strong manner, as he finished wrapping his own hand. "She was only trying to help me."
Larson glared at him, and then finally released Leah's shirt, pushing her toward Grant, "You're going to need more than just the help of a beautiful woman when I'm finished with you."
"You keep on promising that," Grant challenged, putting Leah next to him, where it was more safe. "How about you just get it over with?"
Larson smiled this time. The man was very hard to rile and it most definitely worked in Grant's favor at this point, since he could easily put a bullet in his head.
Leah placed part of herself back in front of Grant and pushed him backward, toward the overturned tree trunk. Larson allowed them to back away without a fight and, when they were out of his hearing range, she whispered, "Please stop it. He's not entirely stable. He's . . . crazy."
Grant's first reaction was to respond defensively. Holding up his hand, he replied, "Yeah, you think?"
The tears steadily coming down Leah's cheeks gave him cause to stop that line of reasoning. It looked like she was in the midst of a complete breakdown. And now that he wasn't thinking of his own mortality, he glanced over to Larson and noticed how strangely he was looking at Leah. Something had happened between them. It was obvious now, and he was angry with himself for not seeing it before.
He reached out to her and placed a hand on her waist, "Did he hurt you?"
His words came out so aggressively, that Leah was sure if she answered anything but 'no', he would go after Larson and get himself hurt again. Larson had made it clear that he would prolong his death, but he said nothing about harming him more and she was sure the madman would jump at the chance, yet again.
"No," Leah finally answered, wiping some tears away, "Let's just get moving and do what he says, okay? So no one else gets hurt?"
"What did he do to you?" he whispered, sensing the fear in her voice.
"Nothing, Alan," she answered, almost crying again. She embraced him and his return embrace was very reassuring to her state of being. "I'm fine," she said softly.
"Let's get moving," Larson demanded.
Grant let her go and the two of them began to walk toward the others. The rain hadn't let up and, within minutes, everyone was being drenched again as the group moved away from the canopy of trees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking quietly for about a half an hour, Larson held the rifle closely to his chest as he trudged though the rainy jungle. He listened with sharp ears as the rain came crashing down through the jungle canopy. It sounded too tranquil here, with the chirping of bugs in the trees, and the splashes of water over rock and mud. But that tranquility was deceiving. A loud roar thundered through the jungle. One could have mistaken the roar to actually be thunder from the heavens above, but Larson knew better.
The roars of the tyrannosaur were far off, but he kept up his guard, his hands firmly grasping the rifle. If a rex attacked their group in such a thick part of the jungle, the results could be catastrophic.
Larson wasn't ready to die, yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Malcolm and Kaje walked steadily through the wet foliage. Malcolm slipped in the mud, and tried to stand back up, but his beaten body prevented him from doing it on his own. Kaje stood beside Malcolm and put a hand under his arm, helping him to his feet.
"Thanks," Malcolm breathed.
Kaje simply nodded.
It was becoming apparent to Malcolm, that Kaje was not handling their current state very well. With the Ricans, Kaje had seemed a bit wary, but now he seemed frightened out of his wits. Malcolm really couldn't blame him. They were with people that were showing every bit of intention to kill them all.
"So, um, what do you think about the disease?" Kaje asked in a quiet and crackling voice.
Malcolm smiled. Kaje was trying to ignore his fear by focusing his attention on a different matter. Malcolm decided to go along with it. "I think the obvious thoughts," Malcolm said.
Kaje looked at Malcolm with a confused expression. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Malcolm shrugged. "I mean, that my thoughts on the disease are only what is in the open, only what is obvious. I wish I knew more, but for now, I only think about the obvious."
"What about what is yet to be learned?" Kaje asked.
Malcolm sighed, "There is no, 'yet'. The secrets to this disease will never be found. There simply isn't enough time."
"Not enough time? Why not? The disease won't wipe out the entire population that quickly."
Malcolm nodded, "True. But it's not because of the disease that all the animals on this island will be dead before proper analysis is given."
"What then?" Kaje asked.
"Isn't it obvious? This place is going to be destroyed very soon. Whether it be by these gentlemen, or by our friend General Aldez. By the end of the week, this jungle will be but a pile of ash and memory."
"Why would Aldez want to destroy this place? He came here to save it."
Malcolm nodded, "Yes, but how do you save something, that does not wish to be saved? This island is not like anything else Aldez has ever dealt with in the past. He's in over his head. He's afraid. And he's going to make mistakes."
Griffin walked by them, and deliberately pushed Malcolm down to the ground, tired of the man's constant babbling. Malcolm hit the ground with a thud, and then waited for Griffin to walk away. The convoy had all but stopped, with everyone looking toward Malcolm. He got back to his feet and continued to walk.
"Nothing to see here, people. Move along," he commented.
He noticed Grant looking at him and smiling. He had managed to get the good doctor to smile. Grant hadn't done that since the whole crowbar incident had happened, so Malcolm was pleased with the small reaction.
The group began to walk again and, after a long silence, Kaje nodded and continued with his questions. "What about the origin of the disease? Where did it come from?"
"That question has been bothering me for a long time. Could it be a disease that InGen had problems with in the past, but were able to eventually control? Could it be a disease that originated from some sort of chemical in the waters off the shore? Could it have originated within the decaying bodies of these genetically engineered animals? The point is, we have no clue where the disease originated. And we probably never will know. But, some diseases just show up without reason and without origin.
"When AIDS first threatened our world in the late seventies and early eighties, no one knew what to think. Where had this disease come from? How do we treat it? How do we protect ourselves? Everyone was in a state of fear. Could I be next? Will my wife be next? How will I keep the house? All that sort of inequitable nonsense. And now, more than twenty years later, we still don't know exactly where aids first originated. And still, we're not sure how to treat it. And now, our world is threatened by a new disease; SARS. Not a soul knows where this thing came from -- other than the fact that it was first discovered in Asian countries. But really, we have no idea if it came from an animal, a research lab, or if it just appeared out of thin air. We don't know the origin. And I won't doubt it for a moment, that we may not ever know."
Kaje looked at Malcolm's eyes, not sure of what to say.
"My point is, SARS and AIDS have been around for a long time now. Many people have died from the diseases, and many more are infected by them. And we, a couple paleontologists and a choatician, get thrown on this island, and are given the task of basically studying the disease, and telling them how to treat it. It's all absurd. You can't cure a disease in the time we have been given. Hell, I would be willing to bet that this disease will never be cured." Malcolm paused for a moment, then continued, "We shouldn't be on this island."
* * *
Larson stopped walking, and stood absolutely still as all the others walked past him. He had heard something approaching. Something big. He looked all around him, trying to find the approaching animal. To his left, beyond the foliage, was the field of herbivores. Directly ahead of him and behind him, was just jungle underbrush. But to his right was a steep hill, going up approximately twenty feet. There was no way to see what could be standing at the top. Larson watched the hill and listened closely.
There was a rumbling noise from atop the hill. A small rock tumbled down the hillside, coming to rest at Larson's feet.
Quietly, Larson slowly dropped to his knees, and brought his rifle to his shoulder, aiming at the top of the hill.
A Hummer raced off the top of the hill, and came rumbling down, followed by two other Hummers.
Larson curled his lip and fired, hitting the driver of the first Hummer in the face. The windshield shattered, and blood sprayed against the glass. Then, the Hummer came careening at Larson.
Larson got to his feet, and he ran.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ellie saw the Hummers coming down over the hill, as people ran in all different directions. The vehicle types indicated that it was Aldez and his soldiers. One of the Hummers came crashing down the hill, Leah and Madison in its path. Ellie moved swiftly, tackling them, getting them out of the way. Then she stood up from the mud and looked at the scene taking place around her. The Hummers were coming down the hill, and Larson's men were either running away, or standing their ground and shooting at the Ricans. She observed Malcolm and Kaje running away from the bloodshed, and entering the field of herbivores.
Grant had been preoccupied, fighting with one of Larson's men. He had finally broken free, so he ran over to Ellie and the others and shouted, "Come on, follow me!"
Madison and the two women followed Grant, taking off running towards the field. All around them chaos ensued. Brushing branches away, they entered the field, and quickly caught up with Malcolm and Kaje.
Thunder echoed above, and lightning snapped down to the earth, like a whip of fire from the heavens. The rain began to pelt down on them.
"What now?!" Kaje shouted.
Grant stood at the edge of the field, all eyes on him, waiting for him to make some sort of decision. Everyone looked in good spirits, except for maybe Leah. She looked scared out of her mind, visibly shaking before him. He wasn't sure why he had been made the decision-making guy, but he took the role, trying to focus on the task at hand instead of comforting Leah. Behind him were Larson and Aldez in the jungle, and before him were dozens of dinosaurs of all sorts of species in the field. He spotted a shallow creek bed, that ran through the field all the way to the other side. The creek bed could provide some cover from the animals and from Larson and his men.
"This way!" he yelled, as he ran to the creek bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
General Aldez was holding the steering wheel, while sitting in the passenger's seat, the dead driver still buckled in beside him. Growling, Aldez unbuckled the dead man, then quickly pushed him out of the vehicle. Then, he moved over to the driver's seat and began to drive. Since he hadn't had the opportunity to drive himself in quite a long time, he was having a hard time keeping control.
He turned the Hummer around and drove back to Larson's men, trying to drive over any man he saw, succeeding with one unlucky man. The jungle was close quarters here, especially for such a large vehicle as a Hummer, but most of the foliage was just bushes, and the Hummer mowed them down effortlessly.
Sitting in a seat behind him, a soldier stuck his head out the window, and began to fire a machine gun. The sound of bullets firing so close to Aldez's ear made him deaf to any other sound in the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Griffin stepped out of the way, as a Hummer drove past him. Then he quickly drew his pistol, and shot one of the soldiers in the Hummer. The surprised Rican clutched his chest and tumbled off the back of the vehicle, rolling around on the ground. Griffin smiled as he walked over to the soldier, and placed a foot on the man's neck, pinning him to the ground, and choking the life out of him.
While the man gagged underneath Griffin's foot, Griffin seized the soldier's automatic rifle, and fired upon one of the Hummers. A man was sticking his head through the back window, so Griffin took aim, hitting the man in the neck. The Hummer turned and began driving directly towards Griffin.
The thug stood his ground, his foot still on the injured soldier's throat. By now, the injured soldier was very still, blood bubbling through the wound in his chest. Griffin shouldered the rifle and fired at the driver.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aldez ducked behind the dashboard as gun fire raced through the windshield. Unnaturally, he screamed as glass rained down on his face, cutting him in many places. Somehow, he found the strength to hold the steering wheel steady as he drove towards Griffin. He was focused on mowing over this one person, a symbol for the other elusive team on the island that had significantly altered his plans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Griffin frowned when he noticed that the driver had ducked behind the dash, and that the Hummer was still bearing down on him. He stepped off the injured soldier, quickly shot a single round into the man's head, and then dove out of the way. Instantly getting up, he began to run, as the Hummer passed him by.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aldez smiled when he felt the Hummer hit something, and a loud thump was heard. Stopping the Hummer, he looked out his window . . . and to his dismay, realized that he had run over one of his own soldiers. "Hijo de puta!" he shouted in his native language, as he put the Hummer back into gear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant jumped into the shallow creek bed, lost his balance and fell into the water. Leah was right beside him to help him to his feet. The water was only up to their waists, but the sides of the creek bed were about five feet high. They turned to help the others into the creek bed, and then they all waded their way through the shallow water. Moving as swiftly, and as silently, as they could.
The rain poured from above, connecting with the waist-deep water. The splashes of the big drops of rain caused the creek water to splash up into their faces. It was as if rain was coming from above and below.
All around them, Grant could hear the noises of the herbivores. He hoped that the creek bed would provide enough cover for them to sneak past the giants. It wouldn't be good if they were forced to mingle with them. He glanced around, making sure everyone was there.
"Where's Ellie?" he yelled with intense concern.
Just as he asked, he saw her come from behind Malcolm and Kaje. The tall men had simply blocked her from his view.
"I'm okay, Alan," she said, trudging along with the rest of them.
Relieved, he grabbed Leah's hand and continued to wade through the water.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brock Larson pushed past one of his men, and then brushed the branches away from his face, as he hurried out into the field of grass. The area was in pandemonium, but he had been able to see Grant escape with the others. He had watched them run to the field, but after that he had lost them.
Cursing underneath his breath, he shouldered his rifle, and used the scope to try and locate Grant. He swept the gun's sight to the left and right, and then swept over it all again. Lighting flashed, illuminating the field and Larson saw them. He aimed the rifle towards one of the creek beds and put Grant’s head in his sights.
Fractions of a second away from pulling the trigger, he heard the trumpeting and grunting. Larson zoomed out, and saw a herd of about five pachycephalosaurs making their way to Grant and the others in the creek bed. It could prove entertaining to see what happened next.
Larson placed his finger on the trigger, and waited.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant looked up as he heard the harsh grunts from above. At the top of the creek bed, looking down were five pachys. The dome headed creatures roared at the humans, and stomped their feet.
Madison ran up to Grant and whispered into his ear, "What are those things?"
Grant continued wading through the water, pulling Leah beside him. He never looked at Madison as he replied, "Pachycephalosaurus . . . they're herbivores."
"Oh, that's good," Madison sighed.
"But they're hostile herbivores," Grant added.
"Oh."
Leah screamed as one of the pachys jumped down into the creek bed in front of them, blocking their path forward. Then, a second pachy jumped into the creek bed behind them, blocking their escape. Above them, the three remaining pachys grunted and roared at them.
The first pachy stood only about ten feet from Grant. Its head was held high, as its beak opened, barking at him.
Thinking quickly, Grant kicked water up into the pachy's face. The pachy grunted and shook its head, then barked again, taking several steps towards Grant and Leah, its domed head lowered for attack. Leah panicked. As she turned to get out of the way, she tripped over a rock and fell. Grant was still holding her hand tight so it was just a matter of pulling her back to her feet. Madison grabbed Leah from behind, severing the grip she had on Grant, as the pachy let out a soft, quiet growl. Since he was the closest to the attacking herbivore, Grant backed away, pushing Madison and Leah away as well.
There was a loud crack, and then a splash of blood. Madison screamed as the bullet flew through his arm. He fell to the ground, his blood mixing with the dirty creek water.
The pachy had made its way to the human, but then suddenly the dinosaur's neck exploded in a gush of blood and meat. The animal screamed as it fell to the ground, shaking.
Everything was happening so fast, Grant didn't know what to think. The other pachys watched as their companion flailed about in the creek, blood spraying in every direction. Then, the pachys all rose their heads and trumpeted into the air. Their calls were answered by other dinosaurs . . .
And then the ground began to shake, as the stampede began.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larson had missed his intended target twice, as another person, and then a dinosaur, stepped in front of Grant. He cursed himself again, as he took aim once more. His sights were centered on the back of Grant's skull as he ran away. He smiled as he brought his finger to the trigger---
The Hummer crashed through the trees beside him. Larson dove out of the way as a tree fell in his direction. He hit the ground and rolled, then looked back up in time to see the three Hummers racing out of the jungle beside him, and into the field.
Already spooked by the gunfire, the herbivores were now stampeding away from the Hummers, as the vehicles drove towards the creek bed where Grant and the others had fled. Larson lay on the ground, panting.
Griffin ran up beside him and said, "We got at least eight. They killed four."
"Grant escaped," Larson commented, ignoring the statistics completely.
Griffin nodded, "Yes, I realize that. But, Larson, we've got injured here and---"
"And you better tell them to hurry up," Larson snapped, as he got to his feet. He waited for his most trusted associate to look at him, "I'm here for one reason," he shouted over the storm, "To kill those people . . . who are now all in the creek bed below us. If you have a different agenda, let me know right now. These men I've hired were all well informed of the plan and also well informed of the danger. Not to mention they are being paid well, so I don't really care if some of them are dead or wounded."
He ran into the field, in pursuit of his prize.
Griffin sighed, and walked back to the others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant ran hard through the creek. Mud and water splashed all around them. He shouted and dodged to the side as a corythosaurus tripped, and came crashing down into the creek bed. The impact from the large animal hitting the water, produced a turbulent wave, knocking Malcolm down. Ellie saw him go under. She reached down and pulled him out, urging him to get to his feet. He did and they continued to follow Grant. The wounded animal thrashed around in the water, not able to bring its head above the surface. They ran on.
Then suddenly a parasaurolophus came crashing down into the creek bed in front of them. The big herbivore landed on its neck, a sickening loud snap followed, and then the animal was still. Grant had been running in front, concentrating on trudging through the water. His head was down, as he was pulling Leah very close behind. Thankfully, she had seen the para from above and had grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him backwards into the water. He hadn't noticed the blocked path, since there were so many loud thuds coming from every direction. With his forward motion now ceased, he got his bearings back and briefly nodding at Leah.
"We need to get out of this creek bed!" he shouted to the others.
They reached the dead parasaurolophus and Grant, taking the initiative, began to climb its carcass in hopes of getting to higher ground. When he was safely over the field, he jumped off the body and found his way out of the creek bed. The others followed without question. Madison was trying his best to not let his bleeding arm slow his progress, but it was starting to wear on him. Ellie helped him out of the creek bed, quickening his pace.
Once out of the creek bed, they continued to run, but all around them the large herbivores were running in the same direction. Grant and the others swerved from side to side, trying to avoid being trampled by the larger animals.
Malcolm was running harder than he ever had in his life. His leg hurt and his back stung, but he kept on. Daring a look back, Malcolm spun on his foot and checked to see what was behind them. He gasped when he saw that not only were dinosaurs running behind them, but the three Hummers were also in pursuit.
"When will they give up already?!" Malcolm yelled.
The others looked back and saw the Hummers closing in on them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aldez sat in the driver's seat as the pouring rain came through the shattered windshield, stinging his eyes. He could see the doctors fleeing up ahead of him. He turned his head to look in the back seat. It wasn't until that moment, when he realized he was alone in the Hummer, that he was shocked with the events of the past few minutes. He took a radio out of his pocket and said into it, "Martinez."
There was a long pause where only static was heard. It crossed Aldez's mind that perhaps Martinez might have been killed in the gun fight earlier, but those thoughts were thrown away when Martinez answered, "Yes sir?"
"Where are you?" Aldez asked as he pulled the steering wheel to the right, just missing a stampeding corythosaurus.
"I'm right behind you, sir, in the Hummer at your nine," Martinez replied.
Aldez looked back over his left shoulder to see another Hummer keeping pace with his own. Standing in the back bed of the Hummer, was Martinez.
"Good," Aldez said. "Do you see our party of Doctors up ahead?"
There was a short pause and then Martinez said, "Yes, I do. They're directly ahead of you, about one hundred feet away."
"Shoot them," Aldez sternly demanded.
"I'm sorry . . . could you please repeat that?" Martinez asked.
"Kill them, Martinez. I want you to kill them. Got that? Or should I repeat it again?" Aldez snapped in a hurried voice.
There was another pause, and then, "Yes, sir. I understand."
Aldez smiled as he saw the Hummer that Martinez was riding in accelerate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adam Kaje ducked his head low as the tail of a parasaurolophus passed over them. Then he and the others had to jump to the side as a pachycephalosaurus came barreling past them. They had been running for nearly three minutes now, but it seemed to Kaje like they had been running for hours. His thighs burned and he was nearly out of breath. He felt he could collapse any second, as the rigors of the intense situation began to take their toll on him.
He watched as Grant ran past him. Alan Grant, with an injured hand and a battered body, was running faster than he was. Even more mind boggling was the fact that the female reporter was also outrunning him. Against his control, Kaje was behind them and only getting slower, feeling much like he had earlier during the needle fiasco. Spots began to show before his eyes, and without much more warning than that, he passed out from the exhaustion.
Ellie was running as hard as she could, parallel to Grant and Leah, about three hundred feet away. Since all of the other humans were in one place, the stampeding behemoths maneuvered around them and were racing on both sides of the small group of people. The dinosaurs were naturally going much faster and each of them on the right side threatened to crush Ellie. Most of them were loud enough that she could hear them coming, stepping out of the way in time, but the gallimimus caught her by surprise. The tall yellow bipedal dinosaur was swerving amongst the other larger dinosaurs, and then it swerved into the human's little caravan. The galli broad-sided Ellie and knocked her off her feet. She didn't even let out a scream when she came racing back down to earth, landing on her lower back. She gasped when the wave of pain swept through her, but she didn't have time to think about it.
In seconds at least four separate pairs of massive feet had made their way to her exact location. She tucked herself into a defensive position and felt relief when all of the large and frightened herbivores lumbered past her.
Leah had been just a few paces in front of Kaje when he fell, and when the man passed out, her first instinct was to slow down. She could see Kaje on the ground, but he was quite a distance away.
Realizing that Leah was no longer next to him, Grant slowed some, too. He was the first to see Ellie's predicament. Without thinking, he turned to his right and began to make a dash for her.
Leah was closer to Ellie, though, and when she saw Grant making his way toward her, she went into action. She rushed toward Ellie, dodging dinosaurs of varying size.
Grant had slowed down, since he saw that Leah was in a better position to help Ellie, but a feeling of anxiousness invaded his body, as he watched the two people he cared about the most in such immediate danger. He was too far away to do anything.
Just a few seconds later, Leah was at Ellie's side pulling her back to her feet. Looking up to see where everyone was, Leah quickly yelled to Grant, "Kaje! He's down!"
Malcolm, with his injuries, was the slowest runner of them all. His bad leg was killing him and his beaten body was trying its hardest to persuade him to stop his forward momentum. He just kept his head down, struggling to keep up.
Malcolm ran right past Kaje.
Lightning flashed.
And in the harsh light of the lightning, Malcolm caught a glimpse of him, since he was looking down. Kaje was laying face down in the mud, as animals were thundering all around him. He wouldn't be at all surprised if his body had already been trampled on.
Malcolm slowed his pace a little, "To save him . . . or not to save him," he wondered out loud. He saw that Grant was looking in his direction, so he whispered to himself, "Oh, hell." Then he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "I'll get him! Go! Go!"
Grant nodded and continued to run.
Malcolm jogged to where Kaje was. He reached out for the back of his shirt collar and began to drag his limp body through the mud. When he finally got a half-way decent pace going, the sound of the approaching Hummers grew louder in his ears.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Javier Martinez stood in the back of the speeding Hummer, his rifle at the ready, and his eyes trained on Dr. Malcolm.
How was he going to do this? He wasn't going to kill them. But, he didn't think that disobeying the General's direct orders was exactly a wise idea. He needed to formulate a plan without killing anyone, and without Aldez killing him.
Malcolm was now dragging Dr. Kaje. Martinez frowned as he flipped the safety switch off and aimed the rifle at Malcolm's back.
Thunder echoed.
They were close now. They would all be easy shots. He just had to pull the trigger six times, and it would be over.
Lightning flashed.
Martinez braced as the Hummer hit a bump and bounced up and down. He lowered the rifle, and grabbed one of the bars in back, to help steady himself. Then, he aimed the rifle once more.
A dinosaur with a vocalization like none of the others, roared in the storm.
Martinez placed his finger on the trigger. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the back of Dr. Kaje's limp neck.
Then the driver of the Hummer screamed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant heard the all too familiar roar, and then the fearful scream. He didn't want to look back, but fear made him. Still running, Grant turned around and watched as the closest of the Hummers swerved to the left, and went crashing into the creek bed. One of the men in the back of the Hummer was sent flying head over heels into the grassy field. Then he saw the big black figure of the tyrannosaurus perched over the crashed Hummer, as it began to attack it.
There was a short bit of gun fire, before Grant heard the door torn of its hinges, and the driver was pulled out of the vehicle, kicking and screaming.
Grant swerved as a parasaurolophus nearly ran into him. He looked ahead of him, for what seemed like the first time, and realized that they were very near the other side of the open field. They were nearly to the trees, and from there, they could possibly find a hiding place. The other two Hummers were still bearing down on them though, and now they had the threat of the tyrannosaurus. But, he had faith they could make it.
"We're almost to the trees!" Grant shouted as they continued to run toward their only salvation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The tyrannosaur's roar was ear splitting.
Aldez cringed as the behemoth stood its ground and lowered its head. Not daring to slow down in the least, Aldez cut the steering wheel hard to the right, and swerved away from the great predator. The side of the Hummer grazed against the tyrannosaur's leg, denting the vehicle, and enraging the beast.
Aldez drove past the rex, and looked in the rear-view mirror and saw the tyrannosaur chasing after him. The roars rattled his bones, and chilled his blood. Never before in his life, did he recall ever being so frightened.
Thinking quickly, he withdrew his pistol from its holster, and then put his arm out the window. He fired the gun aimlessly, just hoping to perhaps scare off the giant creature pursuing him. But, the gun could not fend off the beast. If anything, the gun blasts seemed to give the tyrannosaur renewed interest in Aldez's Hummer.
Not even aware of what was ahead of him anymore, Aldez struck a gallimimus. The slender body of the dinosaur flipped up onto the hood of the Hummer, and stayed there.
The gruff General whimpered as he continued to drive, just barely keeping out of reach of the enormous rex.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Breathing hard, Grant rushed into the trees, pushing the branches away from his face. The leaves and sticks scraping against his wet skin and soaked clothing. He paused but for only a moment, waiting for the others to reach the cover of the trees.
Once everyone had reached the trees, they took a short breather. But, when a pachy came crashing through the trees, nearly colliding with them, they realized they weren't out of danger quite yet.
They all took a deep breath and continued to run, trees falling all around them as large bodies came crashing through the underbrush.
It wasn't long before that they were out of the trees, and were suddenly in the middle of one of the worker's villages or something. Torn up buildings were all around them. Moss covered metal glinted with ever stroke of lightning in the sky. A galli raced past them. Now was no time for staring at the village of a time long forgotten. Again, they ran.
Together, they ran up to one of the buildings. It looked like a convenience store. Grant tried the door knob, but it was locked. Backing up, he rammed his shoulder into the door. A slight wave of hope washed over him, as he felt the door crack against its hinges. But, it was not open yet.
Grant backed up again, and put his shoulder down.
Leah's hand grabbed his shoulder. "Wait!" she screamed.
"What?" he asked.
There was a loud crash of breaking wood and glass as the convenience store's roof came crashing down from the foot of the gigantic mamenchisaurus. If Grant had made it into that building, he would now be dead. The large dinosaur acted as though it didn't even notice the building it had just demolished, as it lumbered away.
"Wow," Malcolm said in awe.
The roar of the tyrannosaurus, reminded them of how much danger they were really in. Ellie grabbed one of Kaje's arms and began to help Malcolm drag the man's limp body.
Again, they ran, passing by the buildings that now seemed to all be to be too small to protect them from anything. All around them, the dinosaurs thundered through the village. Debris was flying everywhere, and the rain was falling hard like rocks from the sky. His previous high hopes crushed, it occurred to Grant that they may never get out of this village alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
General Aldez was driving the Hummer with the pedal to the floor. He was to the edge of the clearing now. He would have to go through the trees. He looked in his rear-view mirror, to see the powerful tyrannosaur still pursuing him. Then he looked back at the trees ahead of him. He didn't dare slow down.
Driving through the trees, the big Hummer mowed down the underbrush like it was nothing. Aldez swerved the vehicle left, and then right, trying to avoid running head on into a tree and ending his life. Behind him, he heard the sound of the rex smashing through the trees, trying desperately to get to him.
A big tree, that was once blocked by foliage, suddenly appeared in his path. He screamed and turned the wheel to the left in a desperate attempt to avoid a collision. But, the side of his vehicle struck the tree, causing him to lose control.
But then, he was out of the trees, and onto the street in the middle of the village. Aldez sighed as he got the Hummer under control, and continued to drive it more cautiously than before.
The tyrannosaurus roared as it crashed out of the trees, and charged directly at his vehicle. Again Aldez accelerated the Hummer, but the back tires were digging into a large patch of deep, thick mud. The General let out a scream as he looked out the back window, and saw the tyrannosaur's head ram into the back of his Hummer, and send it forward. The Hummer was only on its front wheels for nearly ten seconds, as Aldez took advantage of the vehicle's four wheel drive system, and continued to flee the big carnivore.
But the rex was already upon him again. It ran along the right side of his vehicle and used the side of its boxy head to broad-side the Hummer, sending it up on the left two wheels.
The Hummer came crashing down on all four wheels once again, and Aldez groaned as he realized he had lost control of the Hummer. The rex stood back, as the Hummer began to swerve in the mud, and drove towards one of the taller buildings.
The last thing Aldez saw in his headlights, was the silhouettes of Grant and the others. In a last desperate attempt to make his death worth something, he aimed the Hummer at their running bodies.
The Hummer ran head on into one of the buildings. There was a loud crash of screeching metal and breaking glass. Then the air bag deployed, and rushed into Aldez's face. He fought with the bag, for a moment . . . until it dawned on him that he was alive. Then he remained absolutely still, as he began to cry.
In the last few moments before he blacked out, he could hear the sound of the building he had crashed into, begin to creak and groan. Shortly afterwards, he heard the faint sound of the tyrannosaurus, as the very ground it walked upon trembled as it approached his busted vehicle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant looked back and saw the Hummer run into the building beside him. They all jumped to the mud, as glass and debris flew at their heads. He could hear the tyrannosaurus approaching the Hummer. It would not be long until the big rex found them as well. Grant got to his feet and pulled Leah along with him. The stampede had ended, but the danger they were in was anything but resolved.
Then he heard the sickening noise of the groaning building beside him. He looked at the tall, three-story building, as it lurched to the side for a quick second.
"Oh no, Leah run!" Grant shouted.
"What is it?!" she screamed back at him.
Grant reached for Kaje, who was still being carried in Ellie and Malcolm's arms. He grabbed the limp body of the younger man, and literally tossed him ten feet to the side. Ellie and Malcolm looked at Grant with eyes of concern, but didn't question what he was doing.
The building groaned and tilted to the side. The wood siding, splintered and snapped as the building fell to the side of its foundation, crashing down at them.
Ellie and Malcolm both darted for the clearing, where Kaje had been thrown.
Grant ran for Madison, who was still in the shadow of the falling building.
Madison was running, but his injury slowed him down some.
Grant looked up at the building as it loomed over his head, threatening to crush his body into the ground. Grant reached Madison, and grabbed him by the arm, and then began to run full tilt away from the shadow of the falling building.
Any second now, Grant thought, I could die.
His grasp on Madison's hand tightened as he pulled the man with him to safety.
The building crashed to the ground.
Madison's hand was ripped from Grant's own. A wave of sickness and despair washed through Grant, as he turned to look at what he already knew had happened.
In the mud, Aaron Madison was laying on his stomach. The destroyed building was covering his body, from the waist down. Madison strained his neck upwards, and looked at Grant.
It all happened in slow motion. The rain as it pelted down on Grant's face, which echoed his unprepared shock of the moment. The screams from Leah, as Malcolm and Ellie held her back from running to her fallen friend. And the smile that grew upon Aaron's face, as he looked up at Grant.
The thundering roar of the tyrannosaurus brought everything back into focus. Grant looked up, as the big predator warily made its way towards them.
"Go," Aaron breathed.
"I don't think so," Grant stated, preparing to help Aaron.
Aaron reached out as far as he could and grabbed Grant's arm. It wasn't much of a grip, as the man was weakening fast.
"Please, get out of here and get Leah to safety. I can't stand to think of her falling victim here. Please, Alan."
Grant nodded reluctantly, as he finally turned his back to Aaron and slowly made his way to the others.
"Aaron! Oh God, Aaron!" Leah was screaming over and over again.
Grant took a hold of Kaje's arm and began to drag him. Quickly making it to the rest of them, he turned to the distraught woman, "Leah," he said softly, "We need to go now."
"No! We need to save him!" Leah screamed, as she fought with Malcolm to get to her friend.
"It's Aaron's wish that we go . . . right now," Grant whispered.
The rex was now walking past the fallen building, making its way towards them. It growled softly. The jaws of the big dinosaur worked up and down, almost as if it was imagining chewing on their bones.
"Um, shouldn't we be running again?" Malcolm asked.
The tyrannosaurus was now only about thirty feet before them, bent down with its snout almost touching the wet ground. It would be folly for them to try and run now.
"Hey! You big gormless piece of shit!" Aaron screamed as he did his best to throw a broken piece of wood at the tyrannosaur. The wood hit the animal in the eye, causing it to let out a surprised little gasp of a roar. It turned its head backwards and saw Aaron waving his arms on the ground. "Oh, only kidding no harm meant . . . I really think you're a wanker!"
"Alan, we need some extra time to drag Kaje out of here. Let's go now," Ellie said.
"I'm not leaving him there like that," Leah announced, looking at Madison.
Grant grabbed her arm, "This is the way he wants it. He told me to get you out of here."
Leah glared at him, wrestled away from him and began to make her way toward Madison.
"Leah!" Grant yelled.
The rex stood over Aaron's fallen body, and growled menacingly. Grant glanced toward Leah, trying to figure out what to do next and how to go about doing it. Malcolm noticed.
"Go, I'll get her," Malcolm whispered.
Grant nodded, as he and Ellie ran with Kaje to the front porch of one of the buildings.
Malcolm made it to Leah and grabbed her around the waist from behind, fighting to pull her in the opposite direction.
Madison saw that Leah was being stubborn. He had always loved that in her, but right now, it was misplaced. He saw the rex look toward her, so he tried to divert its attention yet again.
"Hey! Stop picking on defenseless women and come over here so I can kick your ass!" Aaron screamed as he threw another piece of wood at the rex. The wood hit the animal somewhere in the chest area, but it didn't even react. "Damn you . . . bastard!" Aaron shouted with anger.
Malcolm pulled on Leah's arm as she continued to scream for Aaron. It occurred to him, that perhaps he should slap her or something, to get her back under control. But just when that thought entered his mind, he frowned to see the woman's elbow come racing for his face.
Leah's elbow smashed into Malcolm's nose, and he fell to the mud. Leah was now out of Malcolm's grasp, and was running to Aaron.
Aaron looked up, and saw Leah running towards him. "Leah no! Get out of here!"
Grant and Ellie had found a safe place to leave Kaje, so all three of them were out of view. Hearing Aaron shouting caused Grant to take a few steps back toward the road, just in time to see Leah running for her friend. His first reaction was to go and get her.
"Alan, wait," Ellie spoke up, pulling him back behind the safety of the porch.
"Wait for what? Wait for her to die?" he shouted at Ellie in anger.
She hadn't been prepared for his verbal attack, but she kept herself calm.
"Aaron will handle it. He'll talk her into getting away. She'll be alright," Ellie said, still holding him back.
He looked at her like she was crazy, but he didn't move toward the street. She opened a nearby door and urged him to drag Kaje inside.
Leah had stopped in her tracks and looked at Aaron, as he frowned at her, shrugging his shoulders.
"Someone's gotta be the hero, right? It's like a rule," Aaron said, his voice hardly audible over the rain.
"No," Leah breathed.
The rex reared its head back, then opened its maw and brought it down on Aaron's body. Aaron's last words were, "Leah, RUN!"
"NO!" Leah screamed.
The rex took Aaron Madison's body into its mouth, and then pulled it out from underneath the building wreckage. It held Aaron in its long dagger like teeth, as it began to thrash him back and forth.
Malcolm shook his head, as he sat up in the mud. He saw the rex shaking Aaron's lifeless figure, and then he saw Leah standing in the middle of the muddy street screaming. He turned his head to look back at the building where Grant and Ellie had ran. Where were they? It wasn't like Grant -- or Ellie for that matter -- to leave anyone behind.
Malcolm staggered to his feet, rubbing his bleeding nose. Was it broken? he wondered . . . why would he wonder that, he wondered. He was dizzy, and not thinking clearly.
"Leah, come on!" Malcolm screamed to her.
The rex brought its head back as it swallowed Aaron Madison's body. Then, it growled as it turned its attention to Leah and Malcolm.
Leah turned her head to Malcolm, then back to the rex, which was now in the middle of the street, blocking her path to get to him. Having only seconds before the rex would react, Leah ran to the opposite side of the street where she reached a broken window and jumped inside.
The rex watched Leah run, then looked back at Malcolm.
"Um, oh, this is bad," Malcolm said to himself.
The rex roared and began walking towards him.
"Uh, no correction, this is really bad," Malcolm sighed as he ran back to the building where Ellie and Grant had went into. He reached the door just in time, as the rex's snout nudged against the door. And then with a triumphant roar, the big rex walked away from the village. Its hunger satisfied, for now.
Ian Malcolm rested his head against the back of the door, letting out a long sigh.
Comments are appreciated!
--JPJunkee and Yvonne
9/4/2003 3:17:14 AM
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