Chapter 1: False Innocence

Jaime Waite's form lay still and silent. His eyes rested closed and his
spiked hair looked a bit tasseled. The book underneath him, obviously a history
textbook, lay open and seemed to better serve as a pillow then a study partner.

Tyler Connell grinned, not at the sleeping form, but at what he was about to do.
Tyler knew that he needed to test the fire alarm system, but Jaime didn't, and
that was all the incentive Tyler needed. Tyler nodded to his friends Val Linear
and Hank Beechman in warning, then, with a quick flip of a switch, a loud fire
alarm barreled through the EMS station.

Jaime's head shot up and screamed the first thing that popped into his head,
"FIRE!". With that he took off running to the fire exit, but about half way
there the laughter floating from the main room caught up to him. Jaime grunted
and turned to head back into the room. "Not funny. SO not funny", Jaime
announced as he entered.

"Well I don't know about that", Tyler Connell replied in mid-laugh.

"Yea Jaime, we all got a great laugh out of it." Hank Beechman, the head of the
team, added, then abruptly broke into laughter.

"Sure. Fine! Laugh it up! ", Jaime snorted back at them before flopping down
on the couch.

"Aw. Were sorry Jaime," Val soothed, "Besides, it was all Tyler's doing."

"I should have known," Jaime started, but was cut off by the EMS siren. All
four teenagers quickly forgot the ordeal as they hopped into the ambulance and
skidded out of the station.

"Collision," Val announced as she piled out of the ambulance and on the scene,
"A White male, elderly, car is ditched." She added. Jaime and Hank took their
cue and veered off to the ditch. "Tyler, you and me have the middle aged male
in the street," Val finished before she and Tyler took off towards a red
overturned truck. Tyler's face twisted into disgust when he saw the man. His
head had smashed nearly through the window. Never the less, Tyler, with a deep
breath, and Val silently began to pry the man from the car.

Meanwhile, a black Mercedes came into view as Jaime and Hank neared the ditch
the car had dove into. The horn of the car was going off as they approached it
in the ankle deep and murky water. Hank pulled open the door to reveal the
balding man laying unconscious on the horn. Hank quickly found a pulse and then
checked for any serious injuries. Jaime watched as Hank leaned the man back in
the chair, causing the horn to, thankfully, stop. "Jaime, grab his arms and
pull to an angel so I can grab his feet", Hank ordered. Jaime quickly obeyed
and they proceeded to pry the man out.

Val felt like she was going to cry. Whenever a patient died it deeply affected
her, but the fault hadn't been hers or Tyler's, the man was dead when they
reached the scene. However, all those thoughts were pushed aside as she ran to
help her two team mates pull carry a man out from the ditch.

Not until the man was safely on the stretcher did any of the teens notice the 4
news station trucks and several police cars. Nor were any of them expecting a
reporter to break through the police's man-chain and shove microphones in their
faces. "How serious are the injuries?! Is Mr. Hammond going to be ok?! Will he
attending the grand opening of the museum tomorrow?! How does it feel to know
that you've saved the John Hammond?!" The reporter screamed question after
question as the 4 teens struggled to make it into their ambulance. There was a
nerve-wracking silence as they sped to the hospital, but all of them were no
doubt wondering just who this John Hammond was.

***

Val rubbed her eyes as she and her teammates finally managed to escape the
madness of the hospital. It was like nothing she had ever seen. Everywhere she
turned there would be a reporter screaming questions so loudly her ears ached.
With an exhausted sigh Val pushed her thoughts away and hopped into the back of
the truck. After a few moments she closed her eyes and slipped into sleep.

"Val's out" Jaime stated as they left the hospital.

"Well, doesn't look like that took long." Hank added.

"Yea" Tyler put in dazedly. "So what do you think is so important about
that old man?" Tyler asked with out even thinking.

"I don't know..." Hank admitted. "It's not our business anyway".

"Yea," Tyler accepted. There was silence the rest of the trip, giving everyone
plenty of time to just relax. When they reached the station formal good-byes
were said and everyone took off to there homes, leaving all thoughts of the odd
man long forgotten.

***

Catie Roth's morning detention passed in a haze for her. She was often
trapped in detention so she had developed ways to keep herself busy. Brushing a
strand of her dark hair off her pale face, Catie glanced up at the clock and
smiled, only then did she set down the giant paper clip chain she had
constructed in the past hour.

"Detention is over," a high-pitched voice informed. Ms. Linton had taken
detention duty this week, and her squeaky voice was definitely not pleasant for
the AM hours. Catie quickly got up and hurried of in search of Jaime, one of her
best friends. Of course, she had to admit; at times she wished they were more
then just friends. But Jaime's feelings seemed to differ. As Catie rounded the
corner she saw her dark eyed friend, in his trademark leather jacket mind you,
rustling through his locker.

"Hey" Catie said to announce her entrance.

"Hey you" Jaime replied. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing." Catie started. Jaime silently prepared himself for what
was coming next. "Except that I just got done with a detention that I was given
with no justifiable cause. I swear, I have checked all the books and no where
in their does it say that a authoritative figure can simply arrest students out
of there own free will. According to rule 3-11 in the 2nd issued manuscript
of..." Catie was cut short as the bell echoed through the halls. Unfortunate
for her, but a much-appreciated act of God for Jaime.

"Sorry, I got to go to class. Tell me all about it later." Jaime yelled
as he hurried down the hallway. He saw Catie wave in response and continued on
his way with a grin. He loved Catie, they had always been the best of friends,
but sometimes she got a little too into her resisting the oppressions of high
school mood. As the next bell sounded Jaime chocked down a curse and began
running down the now deserted hallway. Some how Jaime managed to dive into the
classroom an instant before the late bell rang. "Mr. Waite," A gray haired
woman announced, "So glad you could join us." Jaime just sighed and proceeded
to attempt a comfortable sleeping position as the class began. God he hated
history.

Just across the hall, Val sat upright in her desk, trying her best to
understand exactly what the big deal about chemistry was. A yawn fluttered to
her ears and she realized it was Tyler. She couldn't help but reveal a grin;
she had feelings for Tyler, feelings that were beyond friendship. But she could
never tell him how she felt, not if she was going to stay professional with the
squad.

Behind Val, Tyler mouthed plans for after school to Hank. Hank, however,
sat three seats behind Tyler, so this wasn't working out very well. Yet still,
Tyler proceeded with turning all the way around and attempting to have a
conversation. Although to Hank it looked like Tyler was just chewing an
invisible piece of gum like a cow.

"Mr. Connell," Mr. Nile stated, quickly snapping Tyler back to reality.
"Would you be so kind as to explain to the class the outline of Dalton's
theory?" She asked with a 'gotcha' smile.

Tyler gulped; he hadn't been paying any attention at all. "Well... it's
very... err... complicated. It's about a... theory... that...uh..." Tyler heard
a see of giggle and snickering swelling around him. He was caught, just as he
was about to admit his wrong and give up, however, the intercom sounded.

"Please excuse the interruption. It is imperative that Jaime Waite report
to the principles office," The principle started. All Jaime could think was
'great... what did I do now??' and Val, Tyler, Hank, and Catie's thoughts were
all along the same lines. The rest of the announcement however, caught then all
off guard. "The same goes for Valerie Linear, Hank Beechman, and Tyler Connell.
Thank-you." With that the intercom clicked off, leaving everyone wondering what
the over achievers of the school could have possibly done wrong.

All 4 teens almost simultaneously got up and headed towards the hallway,
exchanging a few 'what did you do' questions, but met with no answers. When
they reached the office Hank reached for the doorknob, but the school secretary,
who was beaming with the type of smile that could blind someone, surprisingly
flung the door open. "Please come in" She chirped, "Here, have a seat in hear.
I'll be back in just a few moments." With that she hurried out of the office.
They teens only managed to exchange some extremely confused looks before the
door flung open and a old man with a cane entered.

"Hello my friends!" The man greeted enthusiastically. "I am Mr. John
Hammond, and I believe I owe you fine people my life." A see of images of the
call last night flooded over them all and they realized this was the same man
from the car accident.

"I'm Val Linear" Val put in, noticing the silence. She shook his hand
gingerly. "And this is Hank Beechman, Jaime Waite, and Tyler Connell" she
added, pointing to each of her friends as she named them.

"Yes, of course. Pleased to meet all of you" Mr. Hammond said smiling.

"So, what brings you to our school Mr. Hammond?" Hank asked curiously.

"John, please." He gently corrected. "And gratitude brings me here.
Absolute gratitude. You see, you all have given me the greatest gift, life. If
you hadn't arrived when you did, I would have been dead. And so I bring a
wonderful gift." A grin slipped across the lips of the 4 students, and John
smiled even more. "I invite you all to be among the first to see the grandest
amusement park that has ever been."

"Really?" Tyler asked stunned. "I mean...th-thank-you" Tyler added,
desperately trying to regain some dignity.

"Your quite welcome my boy" John chuckled. John loved seeing the excited
smiles of his young heroes. "Now let me give you a quick run through. You see,
the park is an entire island, so we must helicopter there."

"A whole island?" Jaime asked in disbelief. "Just what kind of park is
this?"

"It is my park. The park where my guests will experience wonders beyond
the imagination." John answered, leaving Jaime in even more awe. John quickly
went over the rest of the arrangements with them. They were to leave in 3 days
for a two-week escape to an island amusement park. They were to be among the
first to see the place. The only other people to be there, besides them and the
staff, would be two archeologists, John's two grand children, a lawyer, and a
scientist. The 4 teens couldn't wait to go.

***

"Your doing what?!" Catie shrieked at Jaime. Catie couldn't understand
why Jaime would want to go to that park; he didn't know hardly anything about
it.

"Val, Tyler, & Hank are going too Catie. It'll be fun. Just be happy for
me." Jaime pleaded, hoping to win her over. It wasn't like he didn't know
anything about John Hammond anyway. He knew that he was a wealthy and
respectable man who opened a park based on dinosaurs. Jaime couldn't wait to
see what his roller coasters would look like.

"OK, Jaime" Catie finally gave in. "Just be careful, OK?"

"Always" Jaime replied smoothly. With that he bid good-bye and headed
home to pack. Catie just turned and walked away, knowing that the gnawing in
her stomach probably meant something bad was going to happen.

***

Tyler stared in awe at the helicopter; they had always amazed him, one day
he hoped to even learn to fly one. He saw Val out of the corner of his eye.
She was talking to Hank and Jaime by the door of the plane. For some reason she
looked even more beautiful then ever. He always had liked Val, but since he
thought Val thought other wise there wasn't much point in drooling over her.

"All right people! Time to go!" A man in dark glasses shouted over the
roar of the helicopter. "It'll take us about 4 hours to get there! When we
reach the island you will take the jeeps to the visitor center! Mr. Hammond
will meet you there!" With that they all piled in and the aircraft lifted off
and into the sky.

The view was amazing. Hank couldn't believe how beautiful the ocean
looked from this far up. As he saw a flock of birds swoop into the crystal
water he began wishing he had his camera with him instead of in his luggage.
Hank's eyes quickly widened when the island came into view. "Guys. Hey Guys!
There it is!" He shouted to the others, and they all quickly hurried to the
windows. The island was astonishing. Lush Green trees covered it, and as they
landed a spectacular waterfall came into view. The island was indeed the image
of paradise.

As the four of them piled out a Spanish man came up to them. "My name is
Carlos, please follow me". Carlos' accent was thick and his English was barely
understandable, but they got the idea. Carlos led them to two jeeps and
introduced the second jeep driver as Juan. They then split up, Hank and Val
with Carlos, and Jaime and Tyler with Juan. Hank and Val left first, not to
mention drove considerably faster then Juan. Tyler tapped Juan on the shoulder
and asked why they were going so much slower. Juan answered him completely in
Spanish, and although what he said was probably very informative, Tyler and
Jaime didn't understand a word of it. Thankfully Juan caught this and pointed
to the pack of the jeep, which was filled with luggage. Tyler smiled and gave
him a thumbs-up, finally understanding the weight difference.

After about 5 minutes of driving Tyler and Jaime had just about given up
on seeing any rides of the park, not to mention they were now bored out of there
minds. Thankfully they saw Carlos' jeep up ahead. The boys quickly jumped out
and headed over to Val and Tyler, who were talking with John.

"Oh hello boys" John called as Jaime and Tyler approached. "Let me
introduce you all. This is Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sadler, both are
remarkable archeologists." Dr. Grant was a fairly build man with light hair the
hung quite carelessly. Dr. Sadler was a blonde haired woman that had the look
of someone who was extremely capable of taking care of herself. "And this is my
doubting lawyer, Donald Gennaro, and another doubter, but still a brilliant
scientist, Dr. Ian Malcolm" Mr. Gennaro was a man lacking in the hair
department, and he was of frail build. Dr. Malcolm was completely the opposite.
He had a head of wild curly back hair, and clearly had the look of a scientist.
Tyler and Jamie shook hands with them all as John further intoroduced who they
were, EMS, to the group.

"So, Mr.... I mean John. Why are we all meeting out here in the field? "
Jaime asked curiously.

"You will see. " John stated with a mischievous grin. And before Jaime
could question any further, he saw the sun fading and casting him into the
shade... or at least what he thought was shade. With out warning a monstrous
thump shook through the ground and Jaime, along with the others, whirled around.
Jaime couldn't believe his eyes, not more then 10 feet away stood a giant. It's
gray neck stretched for into the tree tops and Jaime couldn't help but stumble
onto his but from shock.

"That's a... a... a ..." Jaime stuttered half terrified, half memorized.

"A dinosaur..." Hank finished for him with equal terror. They all
watched as the creature reared up onto its hind legs to munch on a high tree.
All mouths hung open as its feet slammed back into the ground, causing everyone
to jump a little.

John calmly walked forward to take a satisfied look at his creature, and
then turned to the shocked group. "My dear friends," He started. "Welcome to
Jurassic Park."