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Dark Dawn: Leviathans II (Prologue)
By Vader
Dark Dawn: Leviathans II
I hope that this story proves to not only be entertaining, but also deliver to the reader a serious undertone message about science's role is society, human nature, and the courage that we all must accuire in the face of disaster.
-Vader
PROLOGUE - PART A: Disaster
He sat at in a wooden chair, which was scarred with all sorts of scratches, carvings, and chips that had happened to it throughout the years, leaning over his desk, his fingers resting upon his warm forehead, his face hanging low to stare with deep regret, resentment, and remorse at a stack of bills that were placed before him as the gloom from outside showered over his hunched body.
He remembered when he had first started excavations up north, decades ago. He hadn't gone to a college or a university for any formal training. Rather, he had chose to take a bold move by studying all on his own and starting out on his own instead, beginning his digging by himself and gradually bringing in other young people to become part of his team. As his work of paleontology began to bloom, while he was mainly concerned with the finding of ice age mammals, such as the woolly mammoth, he had taken a quick trip to Brazil to meet with a student that would possibly be interested in becoming part of his then-small organization.
It was in that trip that he had curiously ventured into the wilderness of jungles, rivers, and swamps. It was in that trip that he uncovered the single, most important find of his life - the discovery that literally changed his life forever. He had found several small nests throughout a remote area of the country, which contained already hatched eggs inside. After further exploration, he soon found that several species of a very unusual sort were beginning to prosper in that general location, and he could only make an assumption as to where they had come from.
Astounded at the thought of being able to come here to research these creatures - live and up close - he had immediately set to work on building a facility there, knowing how important it was to keep it a secret for fear that the eventual result would be a forced shut-down. In an effort to conceal this massive project which his organization had begun to work on, he'd created a front to his entire excavating and researching business, establishing a fake company with a false name to do handle all contact with other businesses and museums concerning the other ice age findings that were going on in the northern part of the world.
He had enthusiastically set out to recruit as many people with natural scientific interests as possible for his research facility in Brazil, which had been built for the sole purpose of having studies on the behavior and life of the beautiful, living, prehistoric creatures that had been revealed to roam in that area. Once gathering all the workers for the project, he had set strict borders to encompass the area for all studies and research, instructing not to cage the leviathans, but to do their best at keeping them from escaping the grounds. A contract was signed to keep everyone in his team - both the workers in the polar north and those in Brazil - from informing anyone else outside of that inner circle. Once all was set, he called the Brazilian facility "Pangaea", naming it after the single continent the Earth once had in its extremely early stages.
He could remember vividly his feelings at that time. He had felt that his life was in total fulfillment, that the circle was complete, somehow, and that a void had been filled. He was so happy and so giddy to be the head of the entire organization, making trips between his luxurious home in Arizona and his two research sites in opposite ends of the globe. It was a life he wouldn't trade for anything - being able to spend plenty of time with the family members he loved dearly, and being able to make a living, although in secret, by doing the job he adores most of all.
Troubles came and went frequently throughout the course of the organization. The failure of artificial intelligence inserts were a perfect example of just what kind of problems were going on - the pack of deinonychus that had been experimented on with the insets had been destroyed easily, only leaving one of its kind to exist in the research area that hadn't been experimented on, but that certainly wasn't the end of several such serious problems Pangaea experienced that needed to be corrected. Complications were piling up as he continued to use the fake company as a front to the rest of his dealings, making sure to mask himself to leave no opportunity for a government to uncover what was being done in Pangaea, while at the same time making arrangements for him to make profit from selling finds to museums throughout all kinds of technicalities. And in one, last, final effort to correct all those problems . . . it backfired.
His world, as he knew it, ended.
Tragic s counts were despicable.
His dream, even from boyhood, was brought to a close.
Pangaea was destroyed.
After the gut-wrenching experience of disaster, every single worker left in his organization quit immediately. The false front company was disposed of after the complete halt of the work done. The entire project, as a whole, failed quicker that he could have ever imagined it. He had spent so many years building it up, yet it was torn down within a matter of days. There was no future for him in paleontology afterwards - he had gone broke, he was without any records of training in a particular field, and he had no evidence that he'd worked on excavation in the past due to the way his organization had been set up. Still, all that had happened at Pangaea was kept secret - yet he lived in fear the perhaps, the secret would be revealed, paranoid that he had not covered his steps as well as he should have.
That all led up to the time and place he was sitting in now. Edward Drakon was inside his small bedroom, within his tiny house, which was enclosed in a rather poor neighborhood. They had moved in only recently, and he had been put in an especially glum mood by the current circumstances. Why did it have to be this way? Why did his dream have to die? Why did his life have to take such a drastic and negative turn?
Tears sprang to his eyes at the thought of all that had been lost - his job, his career, his research, his friends, his comrades, his life itself. Here he sat at a end, deep in debt and still unable to provide for his family.
His hands began to rapidly shake from exhaustion; beads of sweat formed on his furrowed brow; his breathing rate sped as nervousness and hopelessness overcame him. He leaned down, resting his forehead on the top of his desk, running his palms through his unwashed hair, closing his eyes and giving a long, uneven sigh as a lump came into his throat.
"Honey?" came the soft, feminine voice from the other end of the room. Drakon raised his head up, his thoughts interrupted.
"L- . . . Laura?" he gulped. His wife stepped forward, easing her hand across his back, and leaning close, giving him a warm hug, closing her eye-lids with a heavy exhale. "Laura, I will find a way . . ."
"There's not much hope of going back the old way, Ed. I'm sorry, but there just isn't," she told him in a whisper, bringing herself back just a bit to look at him in the eyes. "Maybe if we each took a job," she suggested, trying to be positive, but only coming across as being depressed. "I hear that diner down the street is hiring now, and maybe you could find a job at the market, and maybe Nathaniel-"
"But that still wouldn't be enough to provide for all of us," Drakon told her, his voice beginning to collapse from the emotional torment. His wife shook her head, finally, lowering it.
"No . . . it's not," she admitted. "But there isn't anything we can do, Ed-"
"Yes, I will find a way. I will!" Drakon shook his head frantically, refusing to except the inevitable.
"Edward, there just isn't . . . there is no way," Laura protested, tears beginning to creep into the edges of her eyelids. Drakon continued to shake his head to the side, taking her hands, his messy hair hanging over the top of his face, stained with the wetness of sweat and tears.
"No, no, no, no," he demanded, turning her chin up to face him with his right hand, staring, "No, Laura. I will find a way, I don't care what it takes. You and Nathaniel are the single, only reason I am alive right now. I swear . . . I would thrown myself into that chasm after the trams to end it all - I wanted to, I was ready to. But I kept myself alive because I knew I had to take care of you and provide for you and love you. You two are the sole reason I am alive," he told her with heartfelt words, emphasizing every syllable, leaning in close to her face, his own features turning into a mix of unsureness, anguish, and determination to deliver his next words.
"And I promise, I will take any risks at all to find a way to take care of you . . . no matter how drastic . . ."
PROLOGUE - PART B: Coming Home
A sleek, silver-tinted Mercedes rolled up into the driveway of a blue-colored, two story home, located near Balboa Park in San Diego, California at ten o' clock at night. The vehicle came to a stop and the headlights dimmed as the driver's side door opened. Out stepped a woman of about twenty-nine years of age, strikingly beautiful, with slightly long, flowing hair, and in extremely shapely figure. She was dressed in olive-green clothing, with the emblem of the Zoological Society of San Diego marked across her button-down shirt's sleeve. The door was closed and the attractive woman made her way across the small stony walkway that led across her green lawn to the doorway.
She turned and reached into her purse, pulling out her keys in a jingle with a loud, tired, and exasperated sigh. Brushing the hair from her eyes, she squinted, staring at the lock, and placed the key inside. As she began to turn, the door opened with a small creak, and she looked up to see a familiar man with a rather muscular build, short brown hair, wearing a tank top and some boxers. They flashed each other smiles as the door opened wider to allow the woman to come in. "Hi, honey!" she told him with affection, slipping her arms around his neck to give him an appreciative hug, releasing another tired exhale in doing so. "I missed you today."
"So did I, Piper," the man replied with a smile, patting her on the back. "Why are you home so late? Did everything go alright today at the zoo?" Piper pulled herself backwards to look her husband in the eye, stroking her hanging hear behind her ear.
"Oh, one of the rhinos was giving birth. It took us forever to get it relocated from its paddock to the hospital and deal with the delivery," she explained as he offered to start massaging her shoulders. "I swear, she must have kicked me three times. I'm not really hurt or anything, but all my muscles are incredibly sore . . ." she trailed off her thoughts turned to the image of the infant that had been born that day. "Still, I must admit, it was satisfying to see that new life come into the world." A smile streaked across her face as she continued to recall the image, when she was startled as her husband massaged an area that was incredibly stiff. "Ooh . . Gavin, watch it!" she flinched.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he replied, pulling her closer. They stared at each other for a moment, looking at each other with deep admiration. "You want to make it all better?" he smirked, motioning across the hallway with a tilt of his head. At that inquiry, her smile grew as she let out a small chuckle.
"Oh, yes," she laughed as she pulled away and sprinted down the hall while beginning to unbutton her shirt, with Gavin spinning and running after her, taking off his shirt as he entered the bedroom after her. He closed the door behind him, watching Piper pull the rest of , revealing her sensual body underneath. She jumped into bed with another giggle as Jake crawled in after her, wrapping her arms around her abs and hips, bringing her closer. They immediately engaged in intense kissing, clinging to each other with strong passion.
"I love you so much, Gavin," she told him, suddenly stopping him as he begun to move his lips down her body. "Wait, wait a second, ," she told him, putting her hands on his head and turning it up to look at him. "Thank you for all the support - I know its been a little exasperating lately. I really, deeply mean it," she insisted, "I love you more than you know."
"And I love you just as much, ," Gavin smiled. "I am so glad we found each other, and 'm also so glad we could start a family together," he continued, putting strong feeling behind his words. The two star-crossed lovers looked deep into each others' eyes, clinging to every second of time that was passing. "I can not live without you," he emphasized every single syllable. She then moved in, giving him another, long, intense kiss on the lips.
They began to resume their experience, wrapping their arms and legs around each other again when the relative quietness was broken by and ever-so-small knock on the door. They stopped their motions and listened, wondering if they'd just heard something. Again, the timid knock on the door came. The husband and wife quickly slipped on nightgown and night shirt from the dresser beside their bed, propping themselves up on their elbows. "Yes?" Piper answered when they finished
The door opened forward slowly, a tiny little hand grasping the doorknob. In stepped a small, adorable of about three years old, dressed in pink pajamas, her hair tied in cute pig- tails. Her hand grasped a stuffed animal that was nearly her own size, while her lip was curled outward, clearly showing she was on the verge of tears. "Mommy, Daddy?" she asked in an intimidated voice. "I heard a tiger in my closet. Can . . .", gulped to hold back her crying, then continuing, "Can I sleep with you?"
Piper and Gavin pivoted their heads to look at each other. Their look of surprise turned into amused smiles as they gave a shrug. They looked back to their little and patted the bed, motioning for her to come up. Overjoyed, the skipped forward and lunged into the covers. "Cuddle up now, Jezelle!" Piper grinned as Jake pulled the covers over the child. Once she was tucked in, both the parents curled up with their wide-eyed daughter.
"Goodnight, sweety," Gavin whispered, kissing her forehead tenderly.
"Goodnight, Daddy. Goodnight, Mommy," she smiled. The small turned on her side, still clinging to her stuffed animal, falling asleep in no time. The husband and wife looked up at each other, rubbing their feet together, giving a look that suggested ‘maybe tomorrow night.' Mouthing to each other one last ‘I love you', the mother and father slipped onto their backs and rested their heads in the pillows. And each fell into sleep, lying peacefully under the gleam of the moonlight that streamed through the bedroom window.
PROLOGUE: PART C - The Adventurers
Joel Rockwell stood in front of the mirror in his small bathroom, in a gray t-shirt and sweat pants, his bare feet standing atop the white tile floor, his hands feeling his unshaven chin and side-burns. Afterwards, he opened the cupboard above the mirror, drawing out the shaving cream and spraying a handful of it into his left hand palm, placing the bottle back into its place and rubbing the smooth lather across his scratchy face, spreading it evenly and being careful not to get it too thick. He was a man of about twenty-six and had striking features. His head was full of short, brown hair, cut in a butch-style fashion, and a pair of thin glasses rested atop the brim of his nose.
From behind, another young man, a few years younger than Joel, entered the bathroom, dressed in tan, corduroy jeans, and a gray sweat shirt, his quite long, wavy hair combed straight back. His face and physique looked similar to Joel's, but his clothing and his style were distinctively different. The sound of rock music flooded into the bathroom from the room behind them as the young man entered, leaning forward beside the sink to reach for his toothbrush and toothpaste while Joel finished putting the cream on his face and picked up his razor.
"Well, little bro," Joel spoke as he started to shave on the right side of his face, being careful not to cut himself, "Just because we're getting ready to leave on our trip doesn't mean we can't review some points from our college classes."
"Oh please don't let it be Geometry," the other groaned as he spread the toothpaste across his toothbrush, ran it under the spicate water, as began to clean his mouth.
"‘Course not, Hayden. Why on earth would I put you in agony like that?" Joel sarcastically remarked. "I was thinking more . . . in the paleontology area. It is our major, and you know finals will becoming up soon after we get back from Brazil."
"Start the quiz," Hayden replied, his mouth full of toothpaste as he said so. Joel nodded, running his shaver under the water and bringing it back up to his chin to continue.
"Alright - first step in excavation. What do you do?" Hayden was about to say something, but then stopped himself, reconsidered for a split second, and then spoke.
"Well, of course the entire process of excavation depends on the finer details of the exact specimen you are digging up - every situation is different. However, in terms of the basic instructions and rules, the first step you do it set up a grid system all around the specimen. That way, you are able to snap some more photos and pinpoint on maps exactly where the bones found."
"Good, good. Then what?"
"You'll have to clear away the sediments on the surface, but be sure to leave three feet of space between each bone. As each is exposed, cover it in polyvinyl acetates and document the findings with the camera."
"Good job - nice to see you can remember something!" Joel teased.
"Yeah, well look who's talking," Hayden spat back in a playful manner.
"Okay, okay, back on track. What's next?"
"Continue to dig around the bone until it is propped on sediment from underneath. Then, you'll have to use either paper or aluminum foil to cover it in order to separate it from what will be put on next - burlap reinforced plaster of Paris."
"Or?"
"Um . . . oh yeah a substance of linen products. And then you have to turn the specimen over and over again until you cover the entire thing using that process - the resulting amount of rock and plaster will determine how reinforcing will be needed in order to lift it safely."
"You skipped something."
"Huh? No I didn't."
"Yes you did. Remember - you must take samples of the sediment from underneath the bone where the rock hasn't been exposed to air yet. Then you seal them in an airtight container to serve as your pollen samples."
"Oh, yeah, right. I knew that." Joel rolled his eyes and smirked.
"Next step?"
"Well, when am I going to quiz you?" Hayden balked as Joel finished his shaving and began to wipe his face off with a moist face cloth.
"You can quiz me later. Now what's next?" Hayden spat out his toothpaste and rinsed off his toothbrush.
"Then you have to transport it of course. Generally, wooden planks are used to lift it up, but if the block is over 500 pounds, then you'll need to use anything stronger." Joel shook his head in affirmation, finishing wiping his face with water and was then drying it off. "Now," Hayden began, putting his toothbrush back. "Let me grill you!"
"Fine - start spewing, General Inferiority Complex," Joel laughed. Hayden couldn't help but a smile at that tease.
"Oh you'll pay for that one," he chuckled, trying to maintain his outburst of laughter. He darted into the other room, sweeping up a pillow from one of the two separate beds in the room and slammed it over Joel's head, slamming him to the floor.
"I can understand your feelings - I was always better at the paleontology orientations at the museum," Joel continued to pick on him with a chuckle as he threw Hayden to the floor beside him.
"Yeah, well I always was better at remembering the sauropod names when we were kids!" Hayden shot back, laying a punch to the abl area in retaliation. At that, Joel stopped, suddenly out of the mood for a good old, light-hearted, brother brawl. Hayden looked at him, his attitude changing as he sensed his older brother contemplating something. "What is it?"
"You just made me remember all that fun we had when we were only in elementary school," Joel gave a lop-sided smile, propping himself up on the side of his own bed. "Remember how we always used to try and quiz each other on the dinosaur names? And you could never unce Carcharodontosaurus whenever you read it out of our book, you would always say "Car-churro-saurus" - and man, you some lisp back then too." The two brothers both started to grin with amusement at the thought.
"And hey! Remember how we always used to play we were digging up fossils in the backyard with our shovel? And that one time, we were digging near the tree and hit one of the roots - we ran inside and told mom we found a T. Rex leg bone. She kept insisting it was only a root, but we refused to believe it," Hayden recalled.
"Yeah . . . those were some good times. I never doubted I wanted to be a paleontologist when I grew up, back then." As they sat there, thinking, Joel suddenly realized where the time was going. "Oh, damn," he breathed, looking down at his watch. "We'd better grab our bags, almost time to go." At that, both of them darted up in an extreme hurry, quickly whipping their bags into their arms and rushing out the door, leaving the dorm in silence.
~Please Comment~
6/26/2002 12:24:47 AM
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