I'm resurrecting this account from the dead and starting with a fresh story. I may be a bit rusty at this whole writing thing...

This story is mostly meant to be light-hearted summer fun. Everything takes place well before the events of the movie.


Heat and sun exposure were nothing new. Farmer tans and sweat stains had long since become badges of honor, the marks of a long day's work. After so much time outdoors, you learn to avoid nasty things like dehydration and sunburns. You drink a ton of water, you apply sunscreen religiously unless you want to look like an old leather shoe in ten years; you buy and wear UV protected clothing, none of that cotton t-shirt shit. You wear hats on the daily, you buy special lip balm with SPF 30. You ditch the dainty lady deodorant for men's deodorant, which will be sweated off by mid-afternoon.

But there's only so much you can buy to prepare your body for working in intense heat. It takes acclimation. Adapt to survive, as you could say.

Erin felt prepared enough for the heat. She grew up in Texas, worked in places like Arizona and Africa. But for someone so prepared, she forgot to factor in the intense Central American humidity.

In the beginning, she sweated far more than usual, which in turn washed off sunscreen and dehydrated her. The first few weeks on the island, Erin sported a fresh sunburn while sluggishly trying to keep up with the rest of the park staff who had already acclimated to the climate.

Almost two months into the job, and Erin was almost completely adapted to Isla Nublar's climate. For the most part, at least. She still wasn't a fan of the humidity.

However, she was a fan of the job. Working at Jurassic World had been a long shot. Months ago, she heard through the grapevine of the zoological community that there would be staff openings. A few phone calls, emails, and Skype interviews later, Erin had found herself on the shortlist of potential new candidates. After an extensive background check and many letters of referral, Erin was flown in for an in-depth interview, a psychological examination, and a tour of the veterinary facilities. Two weeks after she was sent back home, she received an official offer and contract.

Getting ready to move to the island didn't take much preparation. Erin was up to date on all of her shots, she already had the necessary gear and equipment, including appropriate clothing. She was glad her new job didn't require much of a uniform, since she worked in the field for the most part.

Erin didn't have much by way of personal items, seeing as she lived in cabins and tents for the past two years. When she arrived on Isla Nublar, she had three bags- her trusty sky blue pack that had been a graduation gift to herself containing all of her clothes, a bumper sticker covered trunk that had seen her through four years of summer camp, all of undergrad and vet school, and several years in the field, and a messenger bag holding her electronics and corresponding cables.

She hadn't been entirely sure what to expect her living situation on the island to be like, but when she was shown to her small apartment, she thought that perhaps she had been taken to the wrong place. The apartment was nothing special, but Erin was amazed at the powerful air conditioning, full kitchen with working appliances (and a microwave!), a TV with cable and excellent wifi, and a beautiful bathroom including a shower/bathtub combo. Erin couldn't remember the last time she had taken a bath, much less seen a bathtub in person. After unpacking her few belongings, it still looked like nobody lived in the apartment. Erin hoped she would slowly start to accumulate some decorations.

But all of that was two months ago, and if it weren't for the mess of papers and books in the living area, the pile of dirty dishes in the sink in the kitchen, and the pile of dirty clothes in the bathroom, the apartment was still bare and empty. Which was fine; Erin either wasn't home or was too busy sleeping or studying up to even notice.

Jurassic World was an incredible feat of human arrogance, Erin thought. But they paid incredibly well, she still had student loan debt, she got amazing benefits, she got free room and board, having the park on her resume almost guaranteed her work for the rest of her life, the people she worked with her talented professionals, and she was working with dinosaurs. So far the only downside to the job was the humidity, and Erin was determined to get used to it.

Erin didn't really have a specific job title or post. The ID clipped to her shirt pocket only showed her photo, a Jurassic World logo, and the word "veterinarian" under her name. So far, she was just a floater. There was a well-staffed veterinarian station close to the Creation Lab, but it was unrealistic to bring in dinosaurs whenever something seemed off. And for the most part, the dinosaurs didn't need that kind of care. The island was stocked with healthy herds.

Erin's job mostly consisted of riding around the park, observing and collecting data. Though the park had been open for going on ten years, these were still new animals. People didn't know that much about them, apart from the obvious. Only so much information can be gathered from fossil records, and caring for animals was a lot more complicated than knowing what they liked to eat.

Keeping detailed documentation and records on the animals, including behaviors, was a large and necessary part of the job, but a boring one as well.

Apart from certain attractions, most of the park operated very similarly to a normal game reserve. Herds of animals shared their space and lived their lives as close to how they would have 65 million years ago. Except unlike a normal reserve, or how life would have been when dinosaurs ruled the earth, there were no natural predators or diseases. The carnivores were kept separate from everything else, for obvious safety reasons. There were no injuries or emergencies to take care of. Every once in a while there would be a territorial scuffle, but that was the extent of the excitement.

Taking samples and keeping records was all well and good, and Erin was learning so much. She was grateful for the job, and she did enjoy it. But every once in a while she did get the feeling that for living on an island full of dinosaurs, her life was getting pretty dull.