*Edit - 2/7/2019 - The posting of 'updated' content is still underway. Expect to see some wonky chapter numbering over the next little while until everything can be completely revised and reposted.

*Edit* 4/21/2019 - As of current, the following revised chapter series have been reposted: BEGINNINGS, JURASSIC PARK, SURVIVAL, THE LOST WORLD, RECOVERY, ADAPTATIONS, JURASSIC PARK III. Up to chapter 7 of the eighth chapter series A NEW HOPE (the chapters continuing post JP3 up to the eventual JURASSIC WORLD content) has been posted. More updates to come soon!

*UPDATE* - 4/26/2019 - So...I hurt my hand Monday helping my mom do yard work. Sprained my thumb by injuring the ligament around it in the process. I guess it happened when chopping down 2 small trees with a hatchet. Now half my right hand is swollen, bruised and sore. I can't move my thumb as its in a restraint to avoid moving it so it can heal. I'm told it can take up to six weeks to heal O_O In the meantime, how much I can write will be extremely limited. (I'm normally a speed typer and now I'm reduced to pecking at the keys with my right hand) I just started revisions on the next chapter right before that too. I'd have Mike work on it for me but he's away handling personal life stuff and I don't want to bother him. Sorry for the delays in posting revisions. I'll post what I can when I can.

BEGINNINGS

1 - The Revealing

John Hammond was excited about the progression a highly secretive project of his had been doing and wondered if it could happen. A few years previously, a piece of fossilized amber was discovered by a construction crew not far from where they had been digging a new foundation to his zoo's visitor center. Once polished, a mosquito was visible inside. After analysis and thorough tests were done, it was discovered residual DNA from whatever the tiny insect had fed on could be extracted. It was then that Hammond got the idea to replicate whatever creature the DNA belonged to possibly. After all, his corporation In-Gen specialized in genetics.

That was almost five years ago when the fossil was discovered. Since then, a special team of scientists worked secretly and diligently to bring the puzzle together. And to think, it all started in the basement of his very good's mansion in Northern California. Ah, Ben. If only he could be there to bask in InGen's latest accomplishment.

Today, the long expected 'birth' of the genetically created creature was due. Hammond was eager to see what his team was able to create and rushed to the laboratory to see for himself. His hand-picked science team had been responsible for secretly creating many different cloned animals, but today was something different for his team to accomplish.

The jovial white-bearded man rounded the corner of a hallway and nodded to his top game warden. He was currently trying to help a team of scientists guide a sedated tiger strapped to a transportation cart, through the halls of a secured science facility at Hammond's zoo, Animal Kingdom.

Hammond continued through the corridors and their numerous entry control points until he eventually arrived at the lab where the specimen experiments were being conducted. With a slide of his ID card through a card reader, the access light flashed from red to green, and the electronic door locks clicked open. Barely able to contain his excitement, the man swung the door open and entered the lab's room. The air within was much warmer than the slightly nippy hallways he had just come from.

As soon as he entered, his blue eyes locked onto the brown ones of his acting lead science specialist seated behind a computer. He was a middle-aged man about fifteen years younger and with a head full of short curly brown hair.

The doctor, whose name tag read Albert Jacobs, smiled and stood to his feet. "Good morning, sir." He glanced over his right shoulder and across the room to the back wall. There, seated in the middle of a table was a ten-gallon sized glass vat, filled with a murky brownish-yellow fluid.

Hammond strode to the table and picked up a clipboard laying near the vat to review a progress chart. His blue eyes darted from side to side behind his thin frame glasses. "Everything stable? No changes?"

Dr. Jacobs shook his head. "Internal temperature has been holding at a steady ninety-two degrees, and fluid sample tests have all come back perfect."

Hammond bent down and strained to look through the murky fluid. He was barely able to make out a small foot with a sickle-shaped claw thrash about before it disappeared within the fluid. The older man excitedly asked, "What is this supposed to be again?"

The scientist responded. "Computer regeneration showed a rough DNA layout of what was best guessed as a Velociraptor."

Hammond's curious gaze fell back on the scientist's. "Best guessed?"

Jacobs buried his hands within his lab coat pockets and shrugged. "The DNA retrieved from the mosquito specimen was, in fact, Velociraptor, but," he paused to sigh, "because of the incomplete DNA code alternate and a complete DNA sample were needed to tie everything in together. So, to say," he concluded in a light laugh as he smiled a bit suspiciously, "after all that, who knows what will pop out."

Hammond squared his gaze down on the scientist in skepticism. After a couple of moments, he brought his attention back to the vat. "I was informed the specimen was to be revealed this morning. How much longer until then?"

"You're just in time, sir." Jacobs clapped his hands together and headed back towards the computer. "I was about to start the procedure to engage the releasing sequence of the specimen. Basically, it prepares it for safe removal from the fluid without triggering any negative reactions." A series of keyboard clicks from his fingers typing in computer commands echoed the tense air. "Call it a type of birth."

"I see."

Ten minutes later, a blond-haired female science technician pushed an incubator into the room and joined the two. She politely squeezed past Hammond and wheeled the incubator next to the table that housed the vat and began to prepare it for the specimen.

Meanwhile, Jacobs slipped on a medical face mask and rubber gloves extending to his elbows. With the click of a toggle switch located at the base of the life-supporting container, a loud hiss filled the air as the container depressurized.

Hammond instinctively brought a hand to his face to choke back a gag upon smelling the foul air escaping the vat. "Good heavens is it supposed to smell like that?"

Jacobs chuckled. "Yes, sir. What you are smelling is shed tissue from the specimen while it was developing."

"Lovely." The older man's tone of voice was empty of all enthusiasm.

"Mr. Hammond, I'm going to have to ask you to please step outside the room. It's to prevent any foreign pathogens from contaminating the specimen." A forced smile stretched beyond the edges of the face mask. This irritated Hammond. "I will personally let you know when everything is stabilized and it safe to come back in." With a grumble Hammond reluctantly left the lab, partially slamming the door behind him. Both the technician and the lead scientist exchanged glares. Jacobs shook his head. "Alright..." He slid off the steel lid to fully reveal the murky fluid's surface. "Let's see what we have here..." His hands and up to the middle of his forearms disappeared into the fluid as he carefully felt around for the specimen. "Ah hah! Here we go." Before he removed the specimen from the protection of the fluid, he made sure his technician was ready with a clean towel. "On the count of three, okay?" The woman nodded and held her towel draped hands closer to the container in preparation. "One...two...three..."

Jacobs slowly drew his hands out of the vat to expose a newborn baby sized form covered in goop. It kicked its clawed feet about and gurgled. The geneticist's eyes widened at the sight as he found himself unable to move in horror.

Even the technician was momentarily paralyzed in lost thought. As the specimen started to cough and choke did she snap out of her speechless trance. "Dr. Jacobs?" The technician inquisitively stared at the man. "Doctor!"

"What in the hell is this thing?" Jacobs stared in disbelief at what he saw and visually examined every feature of the humanoid creature in his hands.

It wiggled and choked out a muffled cry. The technician's mind raced in panic. Seeing how the shocked doctor wasn't going to hand her the specimen, she reached over and quickly, but carefully, took it herself.

Pacing in the hallway, still, was Hammond who was mumbling under his breath in annoyance. His mumbling, however, caught in his throat when he heard a human baby's garbled cries. Frantically, he fought with his ID tucked away within his shirt's front pocket and fidgeted to slide it correctly through the card reader on the door. When the door opened, he charged into the room and went straight to the technician trying to clear the fluid out of the infant's chest.

Hammond's eyes widened after one look at the squirming human appearing specimen. His face took on a bright red hue and he bellowed. "What the bloody hell is the meaning of this?" Hammond's enraged blue eyes instantly fell on the color drained Jacobs. "What have you done?" He pointed at the baby being cleaned and snarled. "This isn't a Velociraptor! This thing looks more like a deformed child! An abomination! Did Lockwood put you up to this?"

Jacobs brought a hand to his face and swallowed back an urge to be sick. "No, sir, absolutely not! I swear, Mr. Hammond, I had no idea this would happen. I...I seriously have no idea what happened... what could've gone wrong...I mean-"

"You're fired!"

Dr. Jacobs looked to Hammond in complete appall. "Fired? Sir, I-"

Hammond shot his attention to the technician, cradling the new life within the towel in a protective and motherly manner. The man raged, "Destroy it!"

Jacobs rushed to join the technician and cut in. "This is a scientific and genetic breakthrough! We can't destroy it, yet, until we know more about it!" He could see Hammond was about to respond, but he cut him off again. "At least give my team and I a chance to study it and learn how this happened!"

"Then study it when it's dead!" Hammond harshly grabbed the still partially unclean baby and towel and left the lab. Following behind him were Jacobs and the technician, their pleading voices echoing the halls. They desperately urged Hammond to spare the infant. "This creation is an abomination. I will not have it existing under the name of In-Gen as its creators!"

Jacobs continued. "That abomination is worth over millions of dollars of In-Gen's money! You can't just destroy it! What will the board of executives say?"

Hammond burst through double doors that lead outside to where several controlled holding pens were located for animals to await veterinary examination. He scanned the area for a hopeful face and continued to the geneticist.

"I own In-Gen and its board of executives. I don't give a damn what they say!" Hammond found the person he was looking for, who was the zoo's lead game warden Robert Muldoon.

Though the game warden was busy aiding in the pinning down of a warthog for a veterinarian to administer a tranquilizer in its the neck, he could see Hammond angrier than he had ever seen him before. Visible in his arms was a soiled towel wrapped around something making a mix of sounds akin to a crying baby and squawking bird hatchling.

Muldoon was confused and stood up when he saw his employer proceed in his direction. "What in the bloody dazes is that?" The game warden pointed a dirt splotched finger at the blanket.

Hammond forcefully handed Muldoon the baby. "Shoot it, feed it to lions, I don't care! Just rid of that damned thing!"

The game warden looked at the screaming towel kicking in his arms and pulled back the edges of it to find a crying baby girl as red as Hammond's face. In shock at the request, Muldoon looked to Hammond. "This is a baby! I can't kill it. What in the bloody hell is the matter with you?"

"That thing is not a baby! It's a disgrace to my corporation, and I want it destroyed now!"

Again, Muldoon glanced down at the baby to see her eyes resembling a reptile's golden yellow ones. They groggily looked around as little clawed hands flailed about. Her feet resembling nothing to what a human baby's should and slashed at the air with a distinct large inner toe having a small sickle-shaped claw. As the baby's mouth was open from crying, a few barely visible teeth buds starting to peek out from the gums in the front of the mouth could be seen.

The dumbfounded game warden shook his head in complete shock. "Why would you allow this to be created?"

Hammond seemed insulted. "I didn't! My science team decided to create it instead of a Velociraptor with the DNA provided from the amber sample. How that," he shook a finger at the crying form, "came to be, I am about to investigate!" Hammond glared at Jacobs and his assistant over his shoulder.

Muldoon swallowed his swelling nerves and walked over to his rifle where it leaned against a nearby fence post. He picked it up with a hand now starting to tremble with nerves. In the man's mind, he couldn't help but feel how morally wrong it was to shoot the specimen, a science goof up or not. It wasn't the infant's choice to have been created and nor was it fair for it to be destroyed. He set the towel bundled, crying baby down on the ground and cocked his rifle. Never before had his favored rifle felt so heavy as he hoisted it upwards to shoulder it. He aimed at the genetically created creature and drew in a deep breath. In the sights of the rifle, Muldoon could see the flailing infant desperately cry and uncontrollably roll around on the towel. It tore apart the man's insides.

Hammond could see the hesitance of the game warden and demanded, "Shoot it already!"

Muldoon's finger lightly squeezed the trigger almost to the point of firing but paused a moment. He exhaled his breath and completely removed his finger from the trigger altogether. He disarmed the rifle, slung it over his shoulder and bent down to pick up the hysterical baby. "I'm not going to kill it. I'm sorry. It may be an abomination, but it is still a life and a life that deserves to live." He shoved past Hammond and handed the baby back to Jacobs. Muldoon gave his employer a disgusted look and clenched his jaw. "Fire me if you will, but I will not do it."

Jacobs snorted and cradled the baby against him to keep it warm. "He fired me. Why not you too?" Both the senior scientist and technician then left the immediate area and disappeared behind the double doors that led to the secured science labs.

Muldoon collected his signature beige hat from the same fence post his rifle had leaned against and slid it on his head. He locked gazes with Hammond. "Then consider this my two weeks' notice." The older man was furious and watched his most senior game warden follow the scientists.

Raven, here, with a quick P.S. To anyone questioning or going on to themselves about why I'm adding random stuff and expanding onto the Beginning chapters, well.. here's why. It's called BEGINNINGS for a reason. It's supposed to build on Pet's past so later chapter series and primary franchise characters will tie in better to what's going on. If not one for build up fluff then there's the Jurassic Park stuff. Have fun with it. Now, regarding what my plans are involving Jurassic World and Fallen Kingdom stuff, well...It'll happen. My friend, Mike, and I have been brainstorming what to do as far as revamps to the dig site stuff. I have my opinions, he has his. We'll see what happens.