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Jurassic Park: Aftermath-Chapter 1
By Texasraptor
DISCLAIMER: Any recognizable characters and the basic premise of Jurassic Park belong to the fertile minds of Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg. All other characters belong to me.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: In conceptualizing the story I’ve taken elements I liked from both the book and the film version of JP. Think of the book and film running into each other; the story is what’s left over. If you haven't read the book, then you may be confused.
He heard a menacing growl behind him, and whirled around; oh dear God, there were two raptors now, blocking their escape. Ellie, I never told you how much I love you, he thought with despair so great it all but brought him to his knees. The snarling raptors circled closer and closer, limbs outstretched, their eyes shining with a vicious intelligence. Please let it be quick, he prayed. With a final snarl, the raptor coiled its body and leaped…
“Alan, wake up, we’re about to land.”
Alan jerked awake, his heart fluttering madly. At first confused about where he was, he looked at Muldoon and Gennaro. Then he knew why he was on this damn helicopter.
“Ellie, please tell me we’re landing in Montana,” he said, only half kidding.
She looked at him sympathetically. The deep forest they had been flying over was giving way to the city. “I wish I could, honey. We’ve been headed inland; probably towards San José.”
San José meant civilization, Alan thought. He didn’t like cities but it was good enough for now. He wanted to get Tim to a doctor. Other than a few minor burns on his hands, he did not seem to have any permanent damage from the electric shock he had taken. There was no way to tell for sure without a medical exam. That he was alive at all was a miracle. He would never forget the sight of the youngster flying off the electric wire into his arms; the sickening realization that he was not breathing. Tim had survived; the four of them had survived. John Hammond and Ian Malcolm had not been as lucky.
Alan looked down. As they had been for most of the flight, Tim and Lex were propped against his chest, sound asleep. He looked over at Ellie and she shook her head, amused by his predicament. He knew it must seem ironic; he had been “adopted” by two of the very creatures he had claimed to dislike so much. The fact was in just a short period of time he had grown to feel a great deal of affection and responsibility for them.
Ellie watched the scene before her. Alan reminded Ellie of a large bird, wings spread protectively around his brood. It was such a heartwarming sight that she wished she had a camera to record the moment. Their friends would never believe it otherwise.
Sensing their forward movement slowing, he figured they were about to land. He gently shook their shoulders. “Guys, time to wake up.”
The kids groggily opened their eyes and yawned. Lex smiled at him and then her expression changed and she clutched at him in panic.
“Easy, Lex,” he said reassuringly. “You’re safe now. Nothing’s going to hurt you, I promise.”
His words seemed to calm Lex and she relaxed her hold on him. “You always keep your promises.”
“You bet I do,” he answered with a wink.
Ellie watched the exchange between them. She couldn’t understand why Alan didn’t want children. He was patient, and seemed to know instinctively what to say. He was a natural father, Ellie thought sadly.
“Where are we?” Tim asked.
“San José Airport, by the looks of it,” he answered. He vaguely remembered what the airport looked like from when they had landed before. It had just been two days ago, but it felt like an eternity ago.
They had dropped lower; their forward movement ceased and they settled gently on the ground with a slight shudder. Soon the rotors began to wind down.
Gennaro stood up and left the helicopter without a look back. As far as he knew, during the entire flight Gennaro had huddled in his seat, silent.
“He’s not a nice man,” Tim said to Alan, frowning.
“Timmy, I couldn’t agree with you more.” During their time on the island, Gennaro had done nothing to change his initial opinion of the man. He simply couldn’t stand him.
“Need any help with the kids?” Muldoon asked, glancing at Ellie while he spoke.
“We can handle it,” Ellie said icily. She was glad he had survived of course, but she wanted nothing to do with him. He was a drunken fool as far as she was concerned. He had been useless on the island when she had needed him the most, and now he wanted to help?
“Okay, then,” Muldoon responded with a shrug and left them.
Alan wondered what was going between them. “Ellie?”
“I’ll explain later. Let’s get out of here,” Ellie said.
“Sounds good to me,” Lex said as she stood up, wincing slightly.
“Sore?” Ellie asked
“Yeah, a little…”
“I know the feeling,” she said rubbing a bruised area on her arm.
Alan picked Tim up and a twinge of pain ran through his back. Ellie was certainly right about that, and he had a hunch they’d be worse off tomorrow.
As he stepped out of the helicopter onto the tarmac, he noticed a squad of military men nearby. An officer, who had been talking to Gennaro and Muldoon, approached him.
“Señor…”
“Grant… Alan Grant.”
“Señor Grant, I am Captain Rosas from the Costa Rican National Guard. Are you in charge?”
Alan thought the question was absurd. “No, I’m not in charge. You might try asking that man over there,” he said pointing at Gennaro, who gave him a panicked look.
“He said he is not in charge.”
“No, of course he isn’t…” he muttered. What an ass… With Hammond dead, Gennaro knew more about InGen’s activities than anyone. “Robert, how about you; are you in charge?”
“Nope, not me, I’m just a hired hand,” Muldoon answered, who looked amused at the situation.
The officer looked at Ellie, but did not speak, and then turned once more to face Alan.
“Please, Señor Grant, I would like to know who is in charge.”
“Nobody’s in charge,” he said testily. What is this guys problem, he wondered. Who cared who was in charge?
Nonplussed, the officer stared at him. Well, this was certainly an interesting situation; the first Costa Rican standoff ever, he thought. What did Rosas want him to say? The question was irrelevant. He decided to try a different tact. “Captain, the boy needs a doctor as soon as possible,” Alan said.
The soldier ignored his last statement, which irritated him even more. “Señor Grant, there must be a person in authority.”
Uh oh, Ellie thought. She had learned to read Alan’s moods very well. He didn’t lose his temper very often but she knew he was about to blow up.
Motioning for Ellie to take Tim, he closed the space between the two of them; getting right in the face of the shorter man. “Listen… For the last time, there’s nobody in charge; they’re all dead,” he said bluntly. He heard Lex and Tim gasp and he instantly regretted the statement. Damn, he remembered the kids had already been asleep when Muldoon told him about Hammond and Malcolm. He couldn’t do anything about it now.
What we have here is a failure to communicate… The phrase from Cool Hand Luke popped into his mind; it certainly fit the situation. He decided to make one more try at reasoning with the man. “Captain, Timmy got a bad shock earlier today; that’s why he needs to see a doctor.”
Again, the Captain ignored what he had said; turned to another soldier and began to speak rapidly in Spanish. Alan clenched his fists. His Spanish was rusty; and he only understood a few words. He glanced at Ellie for help; she could speak Spanish much better than he could. For some reason she was staring at him, her eyes wide with shock; not paying attention to the conversation going on between the two men.
Alan saw a white van drive up, and a young man jumped out of the car. He trotted up to them; halted and looked around uncertainly.
“Señor Grant, I understand your concern about the boy, but I he appears to be fine other than a few cuts and bruises. I assure you, he will be taken care of in due time, but first you and the others must speak to representatives of my government.”
Alan’s temper, already frayed to the breaking point, abruptly snapped. He grabbed the officer’s lapel, and instantly found himself surrounded by armed soldiers.
“Alan, don’t!” Ellie shouted her attention back on Alan. She felt Tim tense in her arms.
“We are taking Tim…to…the…hospital,” Alan ground out, teeth clenched. “After that, I don’t give a damn what happens; I’ll go talk to whoever you want me too. But I’m not going anywhere before the hospital.”
“Hang on, hang on. There’s no reason for bloodshed,” said the man who had just joined them, trying to defuse the escalating situation.
“Come on Dr. Grant, back it down a notch. You’re not helping things if you get your head blown off.” Muldoon said.
In his peripheral vision, Alan saw Gennaro attempt to slink away, and noted with satisfaction that a soldier stopped him at gunpoint before he got far.
“There will be no bloodshed, if Señor Grant will kindly remove his hands from my uniform.”
“Alan, please. Let him go,” Ellie pleaded, frightened for his safety. She was relieved when he slowly released his hold on the man and stepped back.
Giving Alan a hard look, the Captain gave his men an order; they obediently lowered their weapons.
Alan shifted his gaze to the man who had spoken earlier. “Who the hell are you?” he demanded.
“Sir, I’m Joe Reiling from the American Embassy. I uh…I’m here to help you.” The truth was he wasn’t sure what to do or even what was going on. His only orders had been to meet some survivors of an accident on Isla Nublar. Accident was an understatement. Cuts; bruises were the order of the day; the man and children’s clothes had been stained red from the volcanic soil of the island. They had clearly been through an ordeal and he could understand the man’s anger; they obviously needed medical attention.
“Mr. Reiling, my name is Alan Grant, and this is Ellie Sattler. My two young friends are Tim and Lex. The Captain and I aren’t communicating very well; maybe you can persuade my friend over there to let us go the hospital,” Alan said with heavy sarcasm.
Reiling nodded. “Mr. Grant, I’ll see what I can do.” Why was the National Guard here, he wondered as he walked over to the officer. That wasn’t normal at all, and neither was the Captain’s attitude. The Costa Rican’s were normally non-confrontational, and very cordial. His instincts told him there was much more going on than just an accident.
Alan leaned against a car and tried to calm down. He watched Reiling and Rosas, who were engaged in an animated discussion. He wished Reiling good luck in persuading Rosas to let them go, the man was pigheaded. And Ellie thinks I’m stubborn.
Ellie was upset with Alan. Always protective of his friends and loved ones, she thought he had gone too far, and taken a huge risk. “Alan Grant, don’t you *ever* do that again. You scared me to death,” Ellie said, fussing at him.
Tim exhaled in relief. “Yeah, me too…”
He looked at Lex, and he had to smile at her. “Well, Lex, your turn.”
Lex stood, hands on hips. “Alan, that was dumb. They could have shot you!”
Suddenly he realized it had been a crazy thing to do. “You know…you’re right. It was dumb,” he said sheepishly.
They all laughed; it felt good to him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed; it felt like a lifetime ago.
Reiling left Rosas and came back to them. Alan couldn’t tell from his expression what the verdict was; he held his breath.
Reiling nodded at Alan. “Rosas is going to take the others down to talk to the Costa Ricans, and I’m going to take you guys to be checked out. After that you’ll go down and talk to them.”
Alan looked at him in disbelief. That is exactly what he had wanted to do. “Unbelievable,” he muttered. He saw Ellie shake her head.
“Okay, let’s go,” he said finally.
7/18/2004 8:43:52 PM
(Updated: 8/11/2004 8:34:46 PM)
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