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Dark Dawn: Leviathans II (Act IV)
By Vader
~ Continued from ACT III ~
ACT IV: PART A - Fire and Destruction
Piper's closed eye-lids fluttered open as she heard the chirping of birds just begin to start out the day outside as the dark sky began to grow to a light blue, signaling morning time. She looked out the window for just a moment, out at her street, and beyond that, the horizon of Balboa Park. She could just barely make out the sky ride over the San Diego Zoo, wich would begin running later on in the day. She directed her pupils upward, towards the sky, noticing a cloud layer rolling in from the West and the Pacific Ocean, concluding it wouldn't be an entirely sunny day.
She craned her neck the other way, her feet moving under the white, silk sheets as she looked to see her husband lying next to her. With a smile, she leaned over, bringing herself to his face and giving him a gentle kiss on the lips, stirring him awake. Once his eyes finally opened, he looked up at the ceiling for a moment, afterwards turning to look at her, a tender look appearing on his features. "Good morning, ," he reached out to hold her hand.
"Good morning," she came back. "We should be leaving pretty soon." Gavin yawned once before replying, using his other hand to rub his eyelids.
"I know," he replied. "In a second, just let me wake up." He continued to rest his head in the pillows, stroking the top of his wive's hand.
"Thank's so much for taking Jezelle to the Zoo today," she told him. "My schedule's just gotten busier since we obtained the Deinonychus. I feel bad about it, since Jezelle's anticipation had been building up for a month just to go with me. She was so disappointed when I told her I couldn't take her to work today, but at least she can go with you." She followed up her words with an exasperated inhale and exhale, perhaps a little more stressful than it should have been about her child.
"It's no just Jezelle that you feel bad about, is it?" Gavin predicted, watching her facial expression. "I can tell you're upset about something else. What is it?" Piper shook her head, wiping her brow and then leaning upon her hand, closing her eyes.
"Gav . . . I was just so happy about getting the dinosaur, and being able to have it roam freely without being in a cage. I knew that the only reason it was possible was because of the A.I.I. chip, and I had thought it was such a fantastic idea . . . that it could change every Zoo in the world." She then stopped, her eyes watering. "But now . . . I just feel . . . so cruel. Watching what is being done to that animal feels almost . . . evil. I can't help but feel ashamed, now. It's as if . . ." She paused, upset feelings over whelming her, until she finally said, "I don't know," plopped her hand back down on the top of the covers. Gavin looked at her for another moment before reaching out and stroking her hair.
"Well, I'm not sure exactly what to say. But I do know that if something bad is being done, it's not your fault. I know you would never intentionally do something wrong to an animal," he told her whole-heartedly. Piper was feeling so ashamed, she dismissed the complement almost immediately.
"If I'd only known it would be this way in the beginning . . ." her thoughts wandered as she thought about how things could be different if only the past could be changed. "Well, there's nothing that can be done now. I remember how I said it was a fantastic new dawn in technology - it's a dark dawn, that's for sure. I can't help but feel gloomy . . . for the animal, for me, for the Zoo . . ."
She cut herself short when she noticed the time on the clock across from them, hanging on the wall. "We'll have to talk about it later. It's time to go, hon," she told Gavin. Her husband nodded, giving her a final, comforting kiss.
"I'll go get Jezelle, then we can leave."
* * *
The day was blazing hot over the wilderness of jungles and grazing fields in Brazil. The shadow of the moon crept up upon the bright sun, covering it with an orb of darkness in a solar eclipse, turning the once cheerful sky to a dark red and orange color. It was as if it were a foreshadowing of what was about come to come - war, , turmoil. For almost exactly right after the sun had been consumed to give birth to such a foreboding sky, several air vehicles came buzzing over the horizon, their engines and propellers growing increasingly louder and more menacing as they neared the location.
When drawing close enough, it was recognizable that the vehicles were dark green, heavy- assault helicopters, bearing the emblem of the Brazilian army. Within the formation, a single chopper led the entire campaign, the pilot keeping one hand upon the controls as he relayed to the others that followed him. "This is Command De la Cruz," he communicated. "Stay in formation until we reached the target - from then on, break into a wide circle for full effectiveness towards the ground."
Several replies confirmed they had received the order from their leader as they continued to speed forward, intent on one goal, one mission. They zoomed over the terrain as it broke into a massive cliff, a waterfall springing forth from its edges, giving leeway to an entryway to further turf below. The copters lowered themselves to hug the tips of the trees, getting as close as possible to the ground. "We're coming up on them," came the alert. Immediately, all the vehicles sprawled out as the forest broke into a huge plain, filled with massive beasts, some with long necks moving along at slow speeds, others shorter moving along at faster speeds, come with long horns, others with sharp teeth - dinosaurs.
An open fire sprayed out from the weapons mounted upon the choppers, showering the entire area with bullets, causing animals to trip, fall, jump, and yelp. Before reaching the end of the grassy flat-bed, they swooped around, coming in for another run, keeping each other updated on how many were being taken out. Two of the aircraft twirled around to come in close to the largest of the animals there, each firing missiles that directly struck the center of the terrified beasts, causing gaping holes in the center of both. Before dropping to the floor, one of them swung its neck towards one of the copters, smacking it to spiral and explode on the ground, the fuselage rolling along to slam into two other Sauropoda. "One man down," the commander reported as he took out several more fleeing beasts with rapid fire.
Within a few more moments, the field was completely scattered with smoking, bloodied corpses, no longer left with any trace of life. "Good work. Now split up - reports show they've migrated to the Southwestern and Southeastern, mostly in the jungle. Choppers 3A, 4C, 8G, 9F, and 65 take the latter direction, 3D and 710 get back to Pangaea, and rest of you come with me. Complete the mission as soon as possible - it is imperative that they be destroyed before reaching any further villages." At the commander's orders, every pilot did as they were told.
As the rest went their separate ways, 3D and 710 did a loop backwards, heading in the opposite way, towards the Northeast. They flew over trees, clearings, and shimmering lakes and rivers on their way to what had once been the center of a major research project, which was still shrouded in mystery. After several minutes of flying, the copters reached their assigned destination, slowing their speed as they came to the area directly above the research buildings. They brought themselves down lower, coming close to the buildings, but keeping a safe distance away. It took them little time to lock on, and then dispatch both of their nukes. As the powerful weapons hit the cold, hard, dirty metal of the abandoned buildings, the vehicles of warfare turned and backed away as a massive explosion destroyed everything within, deducing everything to piles of rubbish in a matter of minutes.
As the pilots watched the last corner of the disheveled "Pangaea" sign burn by flames to be consumed in a charred black, they set their frequency for contact with De la Cruz. "Commander, the facilities have been taken care of," 710 confirmed the completion of their mission. In a moment, a reply came back with heavy static, afterwards clearing up.
"Excellent. We've located and taken care of the rest of the Theropoda and Sauropoda. Mission accomplished." And so that was the complete the end of it. It had been finished. Pangaea, its animals, and everything it stood for, was now permanently extinct.
Smoke billowed upward into the sky, mixing with the orange streaks to turn it blood red.
ACT IV: PART B - Escape
She opened her mouth to finish up her large burger, wiping off her hands afterwards and leaning on the table, looking across at her husband and daughter. "Have you been having a good time today, sweetie?" Piper asked her little child with a smile as Gavin finished his own lunch. Jezelle looked up and smiled, nodding.
"Mm hmm," she replied. "But I still wish I could work with you, Mommy." Piper smiled apologetically, reaching out to rub her daughter's tiny hand.
"I know. I'm sorry, honey," she told her. "I promise I'll make it up to you. At least we could have lunch together, huh?" Jezelle shook her head up and down enthusiastically, as Gavin reached over to take both of their trash, putting it on the stacked trays and putting it into the trash bin behind them.
"Thanks, ," Piper told him. "I'm sorry, but I have to be going - lunch break is over." She leaned forward to kiss her husband and then did the same to Jezelle. "Will you be going to see the Deinonychus today?"
"No!" Jezelle exclaimed, her once cheerful attitude, suddenly becoming overwhelmed with terribleness, her eyes widening with fear. "Please don't make me, Mommy," she said in a lower, whispering tone as tears just barely began to form on the bottom of her eyelids. She stared up at her parent, as if pleading with her. "Please don't make me . . . I don't want to see it. Please . . ." Piper was taken aback at how quickly the small child had changed. She began to shake her head, scooting over to sit by Jezelle, taking her in her arms to stop any tears.
"I wouldn't make you honey. I just thought you might want to-"
"I don't like it. I don't want to see it," she continued in a barely audible tone, clearly terrified at the notion of facing the bipedal predator. Gavin, moved closer as well to help in the reassuring.
"I promise I won't take you there," he told her tenderly. "We didn't mean to scare you, honey." Jezelle closed her eyes, starting to get over the dread she had just felt. "How about we go to see the polar bears?" Wiping her wet cheeks, Jezelle nodded getting up from her seat to take her father's hand as her mother, too, got up from her seat.
"I'll see you tonight, okay?" Piper made and effort smile, giving her a short hug. "I love you."
"So do I, Mommy. Goodbye," Jezelle slowly made a smile as she rubbed her chubby cheeks with her cute little fingers once more. She waved goodbye as her and her father took off, Piper staying to watch them leave, staring, just long enough until they disappeared around the corner. Will a sigh, she turned and walked across the wide courtyard, directly toward the Deinonychus Jungle" exhibit. She trotted inside, scratching her head and then placing her hands inside her pockets, pulling out her set of keys and identifying a single, silver one for use of the ‘Employees Only' gate which led up to the control station. She unlocked it, causing it to make a short buzz, and then walked up the steps, turning around a railing, and then entering inside the control center.
She plopped down into the chair next to Fletcher, who was in the middle of smoking a , his barrel-chest moving up and down as he took puffs. "Alright, I'll take over, Fletch," she told the red-haired man. He motioned for her go ahead as he stood up and walked into the back room for a rest. Piper moved her chair over to his station, letting herself lean back for just a moment, closing her eyes in an effort to release tension, and then leaned back forward, noticing a new surge of visitors streaming through the entrance to head for the clearing, where the animal was not, therefore hiding somewhere else.
"Don't worry, I won't force you to come out," she muttered under her breath as if the animal could hear her. "At least I can just view this as security while everyone else views it as a chance to display their power," thought to herself as she flipped on the monitor to bring up a readout of the A.I.I. chip.
Immediately in doing so, she was almost jolted directly out of her seat by the surprise of a blaring noise coming from the screen ahead of her as the image of the chip flickered bright red, its center beaming forth a shade of brown. "Jeez," she breathed after the shock, moving forward to examine the problem more closely. After reading all the readouts, she didn't understand what exactly the problem was.
"Hey, Fletcher! Come here," she called into the back room. Footsteps sounded as the man came forward, running his hands across his crinkled forehead and into his hair as came to stand by here.
"What in God's name is wrong?" he said irritably. She motioned towards the readout as the man waved for her to get out of the chair, taking the seat for himself. He stretches his hands out, ing his knuckles, and then proceeded to type across the keyboard, examining the reason for the blaring. His look of casualness began to turn into concern as he reached out to activate the chip, pulling on a lever, only to get no results. His concern began to turn to dread as he continued to type, taking a closer look at the scanning data. He gasped, and for the first time, Piper saw him actually display a look of utter astonishment across his face. His eyes glared out of the room to focus on nothing as he was left with his breath taken.
"What is it?" Piper asked, fearing the answer itself. After a moment, fletcher grasped his chest, rubbing it, taking deep inhales and then turning to look back up at her, blankly.
"The brain has overpowered the chip, Piper. It's useless now," he woodenly stated, emotion strained from his voice, having been replaced with incredulousness. "The animal is not within the exhibit," he finished. Piper suddenly was stricken with the same symptom of an unexpected wave of shock. The both of them just continued to stare at each other, dwelling on what had happened and what it meant.
The silence was finally broken, when Fletch finally gulped, whispering under his breath, "Run." Piper barely registered the words in her mind as she slowly backed up towards the door, her mind still fixated on the event. "Run!" Fletcher then gave a prolonged yell. Piper snapped out of her state as she accelerated her steps backward, finally turned to dart out of the door, leaping down the flight of stairs to dash away from the control room and the jungle, heading for the announcer booth.
* * *
It trotted through the concealment of tall eucalyptus trees, lush ferns, colorful tropical plants, vines, and palm trees as the sound of a small waterfall lapped at its ears nearby. Its head pivoted in all directions, exploring the brand-new, wholly realized, other world that it had never entered into before. For the past weeks, it had been confined to that relatively small clearing within a jungle built just for him, to be displayed, by a power source it had not identified. But now, that power had diminished. It could not be controlled any longer, yet the scars of that control had been left upon him, for he was now left with only one hand - the other he had chewed off after it had been dangling from muscle tissue for an extended period of time.
The animal stopped at hearing the sound of laughter coming from the direction to its left. It stopped abruptly, raising its head into the air, its nostrils expanding as it smelt the air, its head bobbing side to side. It stood there for a few seconds, before slowly turning to its left, and then continuing forward, heading in the direction of the noise. It had entered muddy ground, and pasty dirt was becoming encrusted on the bottom of its feet.
It reached the edge of its foliage concealment, quickly whipping the mud away as it replaced its feet onto grass. It crouched low, peering out through a tiny gap in between conifers to eye two beings sitting upon a bench. One was and elderly woman, looking to be about seventy-five years old, dressed in a white sweat shirt with pink pants. She was with her five-year old grandson, who held a lolly-pop in his hand, holding her hand and sitting with her in front of a Gibbon exhibit, watching the primates swing from tree to tree.
The creature let out a low purr from its hiding place, sniffing the air once more as it began to edge forward. The muscles on its hind knees budged as in one mighty spring, it leaped from behind, high into the air with a loud roar, landing straight atop the old woman's back, slamming her onto the cement as the boy was whipped backwards, dropping his candy. Both the boy and the woman screamed in as the beast raised its large toe up and then striking it down to penetrate elderly lady's back. The aggravated primates immediately let out loud howls, backing away from the predator as fast as they could.
The little boy turned and ran, screaming at the top of his lungs as the carnivore moved its claw down the woman's back, slashing it right open. By then, the seventy-five year old had completely lost consciousness as the starving beast tore into her flesh for a meal long-needed.
* * *
"Attention, Attention! The San Diego Zoo is officially declaring an emergency state! All visitors and personnel evacuate immediately!" came the excited announcement over the speakers which had been stationed atop the skyride towers throughout the Zoo. Visitors on the ground all stopped their movements to listen, confused. "Repeat: The San Diego Zoo is officially declaring an emergency state! The Deinonychus has escaped! All visitors and personnel evacuate immediately!"
At that, everyone dropped what they were doing, fearfully making a run for the exit from wherever they were at inside the Zoo grounds. At that time, Gavin and Jezelle were on total opposite end of the park from the entrance and exit, having just left the polar bear exhibit. "That was Piper," Gavin identified, his eyes darting everywhere as his body froze, completely caught unaware
"It's out?!" Jezelle squealed, bringing her father out of his frozen state, her feelings she had experienced during lunch all returning in a much larger degree. Gavin thought fast as a worker nearby abandoned his job of loading several boxes into a watershed to dash away, located across the walkway on the bottom of a tall tower.
"Come on, honey, quick!" he took Jezelle's hand, running across to the catch the door to the shed before it closed, swinging it open and running inside. The door slammed shut behind them, leaving them in pitch blackness, aside from the thin line of light barely making its way inside from the bottom of the door. Gavin felt the wall beside him, his hand reaching the light switches and flipping them on. Above, there was a flicker, and finally the room lit up as the father rushed forward to lean down and place his little three-year-old daughter to sit in the middle of the floor, all kinds of crates and tables around her, and a staircase leading above to the top of the tower.
"Listen, Jezelle, listen to me," Gavin panted, holding both of her hands and leaning close to her. "If we both head for the entrance together, we'll have to go through the entire zoo. If we meet up with the Deinonychus, both off us will have our lives taken away. Now, Daddy's going to leave you here while I go for the exit - that way if I get attacked, you won't be hurt. You'll be safe here, and I promise I will sent help to come get you as soon as I get to the entrance. Do you understand?"
"I want to stay with you!" Jezelle began to cry, tears streaming down her face as she curled up. Gavin reached out to enclose his arms around her in a warm embrace, feeling horrible about leaving her in this place all alone, but at the same time, knowing it would be safer for her.
"I know you do. But I don't want you to die, honey. I want you stay here where its safe and I'll send help - I promise you," he whispered in his ear, kissing her on the cheek.
"But what if you die?" Jezelle asked back shaking her head and burying her face into her father's chest. He placed his hand on the back of her head as she sobbed, stroking her beautiful hair.
"Even I get attacked, at least you'll still be safe here and someone will find you some time," he told her, his eyes closed. "I don't want anything to happen to you, and this is the only way I know it won't. Please understand, honey." At that, he bent his knees back to stand up, their arms slowly unfolding from each other as they did so. "As soon as I reach the exit, I'll send help back you get you. Remember . . . I love you so much."
They looked into each other's eyes with understanding and worry at the same time, feeling as if they could collapse under such a desperate situation. Gavin finally had to force himself to tear away from his daughter, locking the door and darting away as fast as he could to reach the other end of the park, leaving Jezelle alone, with nobody's shoulder to lean on but her own.
ACT IV: PART C - The First Arrest
President of RiCorp Insurance Rodney Fox leaned back in his office chair, his feet resting atop his desk, next to his completely outdated computer system and phone. A long, curly wire extended from the phone set, connecting to the microphone Fox was holding up to his face that moment. He ran his dirty fingers through his long, oily hair as he snickered to the person on the other line. "We've just received the 2 million dollars from the Zoo," he informed. "I'll be sending you half right away. It's been a doing business with you."
Just as he leaned forward to hang the phone back up, the door to his office was suddenly slammed off its hinges and banged to the floor, its wooden corners and edges splintering as law enforcement flooded into the room, their weapons drawn. "Freeze, put your hands in the air!" the chief officer demanded the -ed Fox, who had dropped the phone to the floor. The officer moved forward, putting his away while the rest kept theirs aimed, pulling out a pair of handcuffs, pulling Fox out of his seat and whipping him around.
"You're being placed under arrest for the illegal capture of an animal and the forming of a deceitful contract. You have the right to remain silent; anything say or do can be used in the court against you; you have the rights to an attorney; if you can not afford attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand your rights?"
"So you found out, huh?" Fox said behind his back with disgust. The officer, whirled him around and pinned him against the glad, beginning to search his pockets.
"Do you understand your rights or not?" he irritably asked again. Fox returned the question with a spit of saliva to the face.
"Yeah, I understand them," he finally told the officer, who calmly but sternly swiped the spit off of his face. He slammed the man back down into his chair, his eyes darting between the phone and Fox's face.
"Who were you talking to?" the policeman demanded. Arrogantly, Fox balked, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet back onto the table again as the officer folded his arms together over his chest.
"You can either tell us who you were talking to now, or we are going to look through your phone records." Immediately, Fox abandoned his haughty pose, slamming his feet back to the floor. "Is there something you don't want us to find in your records?"
"No, but I'd . . . rather tell you now," the criminal said rather unconvincingly.
"Glad you'll cooperate." Before continuing, the inquirer leaned back to his fellow officer, whispering, "I want you to check his phone records ASAP and make sure that the rest of the employers here have been escorted outside of the building. Also, notify the San Diego Zoo of our arrest here."
"Sir, I've notified the Zoo already," the man came back in a formal tone. "Apparently . . . the animal has escaped." The news was incredibly surprising to the officer, without a doubt, but he had no time to continue thinking about it.
"I see," he said in a disturbed way. "Well, please carry out my other requests."
"Yes, sir." After the others had marched out of the room, the officer turned back to Fox, who was looking especially bleak. The policemen leaned in close, resting his hands on the top of the desk and looking the uncomfortable, arrested Caucasian straight in the eye.
"Now . . . tell me who was on the phone that you had a ‘pleasure doing business with' . . ."
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7/4/2002 12:38:39 PM
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