When Alyce Caplanski woke up in the middle of the night she had a strange feeling that something was wrong. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but she knew something was amiss. She was still in her shorts and t-shirt she wore to bed although she wasn't under her fleece blanket on top of a soft mattress. Instead she was lying on solid concrete with what appeared to be a street lamp shining I her face. She could feel a small amount of heat radiating off of it. Her head was far to clouded to realized where she was. Alyce closed her eyes to go back to sleep but then sprang upright. She knew now where she was. It may have been empty but that didn't mean she wouldn't recognize the sign across from her.
"This must be a dream." She said. That was the only explanation for her being face to face with the Doctor Octopus sign. Alyce looked around to see she was sitting on the curb at Marvel's Super Hero Island. During the day this portion of Islands of Adventure was packed shoulder to shoulder with guests from everywhere waiting to experience what the park had to offer. But now it was well into the night and the park was closed. "It has to be." She said under her breath.
"You!" she her someone call behind her. Alyce turned around to see a short girl with long blonde hair approach her. She recognized her but she wasn't sure who she really was. "Aren't you the Hufflepuff girl?" the other one asked, her blue eyes meeting Alyce's green ones. Alyce nodded.
"Hammond?" she asked. "Hammond if that's you, you can turn off the accent." The other girl raised an eyebrow.
"You…sure you're that Alyce girl?" she asked. Alyce nodded again. Now she was sure this was a dream. Irene Hammond was just like her, along with four other teens. All of them were called in to be part of a digital holographic tour guide system being installed at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure. Each of them were filmed, motion captured and programmed to serve in one of the six islands with a particular character they had to play. Alyce was known as Alyce Caplanski the head girl of Hufflepuff. Of course for her role, she had to fake a British accent, since she came from Davenport, Florida. Irene was only known as Irene Hammond, at least to Alyce, the character who was the granddaughter of John Hammond. Her island was Jurassic Park. It wasn't hard for Irene to score that role, she already had the perfect accent. Though whether it was fake or real was beyond the knowledge of Alyce.
"Oh right, does this sound better?" she asked, transitioning to a perfect accent. Irene looked skeptical at first but accepted it.
"Sounds more like you. At least, your character." Irene said and approached Alyce. She held out a hand, which Alyce took and hoisted herself into a standing position. "Do you have any idea what's going on here?" she asked. Alyce took a moment to look around, examining Irene. Both of them were in their pajamas still.
"Isn't this just a dream? Aren't I, you know, asleep?" she asked in return. Irene help up her hand and gave Alyce a punch to the shoulder. "OW!" She shouted, rubbing her shoulder.
"I thought the same thing. Gave myself a pinch but when I realized I wasn't asleep I decided to look around. You won't believe what I saw." Irene said. Alyce had no words, only a look that meant she wanted to hear the rest of the story.
"Well?"
"The Tyrannosaurus Rex is a popular photo spot, you know the one by the jeep? Guess what?" Irene asked. She didn't leave room for Alyce to answer. "It's gone." Alyce's eyes widened. Even she knew that wasn't possible. She pushed her brunette hair out of her face.
"What do you mean it's gone? It's always there."
"I said the same thing! It's stationary, it can't move. But I did see it over by the gift shop." Irene said. "It was walking."
A walking dinosaur did not sound like something they would put in Jurassic Park. Or anything they would test at night. Once again, Alyce had no words.
"We're awake right now in this park. But that doesn't help to explain why there's a dinosaur walking around in Jurassic Park. It's breathing, walking and roaring." Irene said.
"Wait, wait, wait. The dinosaur is alive? Right now?" Alyce asked.
"Yes that's what I said! I saw it with my own eyes." Irene said. Alyce took a moment to consider the possibilities but her thoughts were interrupted by something else. A males voice, screaming in the distance.
"That's coming from Storm Force, come on!" Alyce said, grabbing Irene by the arm. The two took off running as fast as they could around the corner. They were greeted by a sight they didn't expect. First the dinosaur, and now they were face to face with Doctor Doom. He was standing menacingly in front of a boy the two girls recognized. He had blonde hair and dull, grey looking eyes. He was dressed in an old and dirty looking soccer jersey and basketball shorts. Irene pulled on Alyce's arm to bring her behind a wall to avoid being spotted.
"Something's not right here." Irene whispered.
"You think? That's Doctor Doom! I highly doubt it's an actor. Especially at this time of night…" she replied. They couldn't make out the words but all they could see was the boy looked scared out of his mind. "Hold on…I know him!" Alyson said. She looked to Irene. "That's Elijah, this is his park he hosts."
"Convenient he landed here then, eh?" Irene asked. They continued to watch the two talk. Then the boy bolted around Doctor Doom and took off running at light speed. Before Doom could catch up to him, Irene held her arm out and grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him close to her. She used her free hand to cover his mouth. "Shhh, don't say anything." She whispered in his ear. Doom began to walk past them but didn't see the group. Once the coast was clear, Irene took her hand off his mouth.
"Are you alright?" Alyce asked.
"What happened?!" Irene asked. Elijah needed a moment to calm himself down. After all, not everyone came face to face with a bad guy like that.
"I don't know what happened. I woke up on the ground just outside the Incredible Hulk coaster." Elijah said shakily. "I went to look around to see if this was someone's idea of a joke, then Doctor Doom grabbed me. He asked me how I got here."
"And?" Alyce asked.
"That's all! I was more focused on trying to get away." Elijah said. Suddenly the group felt a spell of dizziness. Neither of them knew how to react but they tried to stay focused.
"Look, something is going on around here. You know we're awake here in the park. Tomorrow after your day of classes we need to meet somewhere. You know the local coffee shop? I'll be there at four o'clock sharp." Irene said.
"Why are you saying this now?" Elijah asked, his words becoming slurred together.
"Because something isn't right here…"
That was the last thing Alyce hear before her alarm clock woke her up.
