Welcome back to The Chaos Continues! Though the stage is still being set, you can count on me delivering on that promise of more chaos. Once again, reviews and feedback are appreciated. I would love to talk about this passion project with anyone is appreciated and I like knowing that people are actually reading my stuff.
Second Iteration
"With subsequent drawings of the fractal curve, sudden changes may appear."
-IAN MALCOLM
Sarah Harding retrieved her equipment and arrived at the docks, where Lewis Johnson and Howard Ryan were waiting for her with the rest of their team, who Sarah was quickly introduced to so that they could be on their way.
One of them was a hired local wearing a hat, the man named Diego who was taking the small expedition to Isla Nublar in his boat.
There were two guides, a black man with hunting experience in need of a shave with one earring named George Lawala and a woman with long black hair and blue eyes wearing jungle gear named Sonya Durant.
Diego, George Lawala, and Sonya Durant ignored Sarah, but one of the members of the team walked up to Sarah with a friendly smile and gave her a firm handshake.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Dr. Harding," the bearded man greeted. "It's also a surprise, last I heard you were conducting research in Africa."
"I was," Sarah nodded. "But something came up. A family emergency."
"You know her, Raul?" Lewis asked curiously.
"Of course," the man beamed. "Famous animal behaviorist, especially in the study of predators. I'm Raul Herrera, by the way. I'm looking forward to working with you."
"Great," Lewis interrupted. "Now that we've all been introduced to each other, we can get a move on. Isla Nublar awaits."
Soon they were on their way, Sarah oblivious to the group's ulterior motives. Little did anybody know that there was an eighth person on board. A stowaway. A Costa Rican girl named Atlanta Cruz who had learned of the group's destination and hoped that this could be her chance to learn more about what exactly happened to her mother on the island… and perhaps get some well-needed closure.
The hospital had a no smoking rule, so John "Ray" Arnold had to take his cigarettes outside.
He leaned against the building, thinking about recent events. Some men nearby was talking and he couldn't help but listen in to their conversation.
"Where did they find him?"
"Near the edge of the jungle. Something attacked him. We don't know what, but the bite's not like anything I've ever seen before."
"Is he going to be okay?"
"I have no idea. It looked like it was infected, maybe the creature that bit him was venomous. But we have no idea what the venom will do to his body."
"At least we found him. I heard some people are just disappearing."
"There's still some hope that they'll eventually turn up. I am worried that the guy's going mad. He kept screaming about glowing eyes…"
Arnold's cigarette fell out of his mouth and onto the ground. "Excuse me?" he asked the men. "Did you say glowing eyes?"
"Yeah, I did," the man scoffed. "Now mind your own business and stay out of conversations you're not part of."
"Where is this man?" Arnold needed to know. Healthcare here was good, but if this man was attacked by what he suspected were former inhabitants of Isla Nublar, the doctors had no idea what they were dealing with or what they were doing. But he might.
Elena was shown another picture and once again she shook her head. For hours they had been trying to identify the animals that she had seen killing the baby, but so far she had been unable to recognize the creatures.
"I'm sorry," she told the man with the pictures, a bearded Welsh researcher dressed in khakis named Martin Gutierrez. "I wish that I could be more helpful.
"It's alright," Gutierrez reassured her. "There is one more picture I want to show you. Tell me if it looks familiar."
He pulled out the last picture and Elena gasped, her hands covering her mouth. She nodded quickly, tears streaming down her face as she was reminded of the baby's death that she had been unable to prevent. "That's it. That's what I saw."
The picture was an artist's depiction of a creature that supposedly went extinct millions of years ago. Compsognathus triassicus.
"You should know that this isn't the first time somebody has seen creatures like the ones you described," Gutierrez told Elena. "I've been following up on recent sightings of unknown animals and I believe that there is something is out there, in the jungles…"
"There are more of these lizards?"
"Oh, I'm looking for more than just lizards."
Arnold was eventually able to pry the information he needed out of the two locals. Hurrying back to the hospital, he asked one of the maids where he could find the head doctor.
She directed him to a room down the hall.
Arnold hustled down the hall and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" came a female's voice.
Arnold didn't know how to explain. "Uh, my name is John. I have an urgent message."
The door opened a crack and a woman peered through at him. She was an American; had a tank top on and cutoff jeans, and a stethoscope around her neck.
"Are you the head doctor?" Arnold asked.
The woman looked irritated. "No. I'm just an intern. What do you want?"
"Where's the man? The sick man who you brought in this morning?"
The woman raised her eyebrows. "He's here... why?"
"That man is very sick. He's been bit by a highly venomous creature. I can tell you all about it. And how to cure him."
"And how do you know all this?" the woman wanted to know.
"I… I was there, when they were born," Arnold said. "And I was bit by one of them myself. Look."
He unraveled the bandages on his arm, revealing the scarred, mutilated skin underneath.
"Trust me. He will die if we doesn't get the proper treatment. And I have the proper treatment."
Reluctantly, the woman opened the door for him. "Fine. It stinks in here, just to let you know. My name's Bobbie, by the way. Bobbie Carter."
Grant stormed into the rotunda angrily, Ellie running after him.
"Alan! Don't run off on your own! The last time we were in this building it was full of Troodon and raptors."
Grant sighed. "Yeah, I know. I guess Wu is just getting under my skin. To be honest, I don't completely trust him. I'm worried that he might put saving his work over human lives."
"Are you regretting coming along?"
"Maybe. What's the point of keeping this data out of Dodgson's hands if Wu turns out to be just as bad? Despite everything that's happened, I think he's proud of his creations."
"We just have to put up with it a little longer, Alan. Maybe InGen will decide to stop funding Wu's work because they don't want another incident."
"Depends on who takes over the company now that Hammond is gone. Hammond was flawed, but not a bad man. He was a dreamer. The new CEO might just care about making money."
"You think history is doomed to repeat itself?"
"Maybe. I wouldn't be surprised if we go out like the din-"
Thoom. The ground shook. Grant and Ellie froze.
"Did you feel that?" Ellie asked. Grant nodded.
Thoom. It was getting louder and closer. Thoom.
"Oh shit…" Grant swore.
Grant and Ellie ran back into the room they were previously in.
Edgar looked up as they entered. He was just finishing up wrapping Sorkin's wounds.
"Did you hear that too?" he asked.
Grant nodded. "It must have been the tyrannosaur."
"Are you sure?"
Grant nodded again, slower this time. "I could never forget that sound."
The vibrations and sounds repeated themselves several more times, each time getting louder and closer.
"It's coming this way," Edgar said. He hoisted Sorkin onto his shoulder. "Get Wu and the mercs. We're leaving."
Grant and Ellie ran down the hallway to the embryonic room.
"We have to go," he announced.
Wu slung a bag over his shoulder. "Right. We have everything. We can go." He avoided Grant's eyes.
"Is that the T-Rex?" Yoder asked.
Grant nodded. "She must have picked up our scent."
"She?" Yoder repeated, looking baffled.
"Yes, she. Now come on; we don't want to be here when she comes."
Grant, Ellie, Wu, Harding, Yoder and Morales ran down the hallway to Wu's office. Edgar emerged from the office with Sorkin slung over his shoulder.
"Let's move," he said.
They ran into the rotunda when another thunderous tremor shook the building. They had the exit in the sight when a massive body suddenly stepped in front of it, blocking their way out. The Tyrannosaurus had walked into the lobby through the unfinished wall. For a moment there was a surprised silence, the humans looking up in awe at the Queen of the island. For Billy and Oscar this was their first dinosaur. Suddenly, the Tyrannosaurus roared and panic began to sink in.
Yoder, Morales, Harding, and Grant and Ellie raised their M4s in preparation to fire.
"Go back!" Edgar shouted.
They began inching their way, step by step, back the way they had come.
The tyrannosaur stood there, her yellow eyes fixated on these strange pink creatures. When all of a sudden, she took a bounding step forward.
Grant squeezed the trigger as hard as he could. The gun bunked in his hands. A spray of bullets slashed into the mighty beast's scaly hide. The tyrannosaur bellow in pain and shrank away, hurt and confused.
Grant was about to let out a sigh of relief when the dinosaur charged again, this time bellowing so loudly that it made his eardrums ache. Grant fired again, as did the others, but the tyrannosaur did not stop. It seemed every time a bullet penetrated her hide, she just got more angry.
Grant realized there was no stopping this thing. "Run!" he shouted.
Everyone ran back into the hallway. Grant shot a glance over his shoulder. Harding was right behind him. He saw the tyrannosaurus' massive feet. The head came down, jaws snapping. The jaws closed around Harding's boot. The vet let out a scream as he began to be pulled back.
After helping Dr. Carter through the proper treatment, the patient's condition stabilized and his breathing returned to normal. He was going to live. Arnold gave a sigh of relief.
"Thank you," Dr. Carter said to him. "Though this does raise more questions." She gave him a suspicious look. "You're with InGen, right? You're part of the group that was dropped off yesterday. From the island InGen is building a resort on."
Arnold nodded. "I'm John Arnold. An engineer."
Dr. Carter nodded. "Not too long ago, InGen brought me a patient. A worker named Jophery who had been severely injured. A man named Ed Regis told me that he had been injured in a maintenance accident, but I knew it was a lie because of the claw marks and flesh wounds, almost like an animal mauling. I tried treating Jophery, but he there was little I could do for him. Before he died, his last word was raptor. I didn't know what to make of it."
Arnold was silent. He remembered the accident. Jophery had been the gatekeeper and was attacked by a raptor, the Big One, while moving her into her enclosure.
"Then InGen showed up again, this time wanting me to perform surgery on a man's leg, telling me nothing about what happened on that island except that you apparently had to evacuate it. And now this patient is bitten by an unknown creature that you seem familiar with. Can you fill me on on what the hell is going on?"
"We were building a zoo on Isla Nublar," Arnold explained, trying to not reveal too much. "A lot of exotic animals, including some pretty dangerous ones. During the storm two nights ago we lost power and we had to evacuate. The creatures that attacked your patient also attacked me, but I have no idea how they got on the mainland."
"So dangerous animals alien to the ecosystem are running loose in the jungles and we have InGen to blame?" Dr. Carter asked angrily.
"Uh, yeah," Arnold said, thinking. "I could call somebody. One of my superiors. I promise that we'll do anything in our power to deal with these creatures."
Dr. Carter nodded, still suspicious. She knew that he wasn't telling her everything. "Yeah, do that. I don't want this treatment to become a regular thing, so make sure that InGen is held responsible for this and that they clean up their mess."
Arnold left the room and ran over to a phone. After a while, somebody picked up.
"Ludlow, this is Arnold. We have a situation in Costa Rica."
"Yes, I know. Everyone in the company knows. Things are going to hell."
"No, there's something else. Something that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible."
"What?"
"There are Troodon on the mainland."
"What?! How is that possible?"
"I don't know, but there's a patient in the local hospital with a Troodon bite wound. He was ranting about creatures with glowing eyes. I helped save his life, but there's still the issue of the animals themselves."
"Yes, if left unchecked this could create more trouble for the company. We can't afford to do nothing. I'll send a team of specialists over at once. They'll track down the assets and put them down. Thank you for calling me, Arnold."
"I just don't this situation to escalate more than it already has."
"That makes two of us."
The call ended and Arnold gave a sigh of relief.
The little steam boat plowed through the ocean waves.
Dodgson stood on the helm, gazing out at the vast blue waters, irritable. We should have left hours ago, he thought to himself. No doubt Wu and his team were already on the island; no doubt they were gathering up Wu's precious research. Dodgson swore to himself. If this all turned out to be a wasted effort, he'd… he'd… he wasn't sure what he would do. Fire someone, probably. But even that didn't seem enough.
Yet there was a still a chance they'd be able to intercept them, and steal the research. A slim chance, but a chance nonetheless. They had time, which was good. Because Dodgson still had to figure out what to do with their newest companion.
Certainly, she could prove useful to them. Dodgson had a wicked idea. Maybe he could negotiate a trade. The woman for the research. The woman's father was on the island, she'd told him. Certainly he'd be more than willing to exchange the research for his daughter's life.
Sounded like a plan to Dodgson. But when he shared the plan with King, the man didn't exactly agree.
"You want to what?" he demanded when Dodgson got through telling him the plan. "No way Lewis. I didn't agree to this. I told you it was a bad idea to bring her along-"
"For insurance, Howard. Like I told you," Dodgson interrupted.
King shook his head. "No, Lewis, I won't be party to this. This is wrong. Stealing Wu's research I can understand. The blockhead could do with a lesson in humility anyway. But this woman's got nothing to do with any of this."
"I don't want to do this," Dodgson told him. "I'm just saying that if there's no other choice, a bargaining chip might come in handy."
King shook his head again. "No. I won't be a part of this."
"Think for a second Howard! No one's going to get hurt! It'll be a painless transfer. The research for the girl. Come on. Think of it. If we get that data, we'll be rich men. We'll be famous. We'll be remembered for centuries as the men who brought dinosaurs back to life."
"But we aren't those men," King said. "Wu was the one who did it."
"Yeah, but the public don't have to know that. Come on Howard: are you in or are you out?"
King sighed heavily. "I'm in, but I don't like it. Who else knows?"
"No one. I'll tell them later."
King walked past him. Dodgson wandered into the cabin. Raul and Sonya were having some beers and playing cards. Sarah was nowhere to be seen.
"Has anyone seen the girl?" he asked.
Raul gestured his head. "Below deck. Think she might be seasick."
"Her, too?" Dodgson said, thinking of George Baselton, who had retreated below deck almost as soon as they left port. "Well, if you see her, tell her I want to talk to her."
Sarah was below deck, looking through the equipment that they were bringing with them. There were a lot of weapons…
Then she heard something. Movement. She went to check it out. It sounded larger than a rat.
"Is anybody there?" Sarah asked, looking around a crate.
Then she saw her. The stowaway. Atlanta Cruz.
"I'm still not clear on Chaos," Jess told Malcolm while the two ate hospital food in his room. "What exactly does it mean?"
"It simply deals with unpredictability in complex systems," Malcolm explained. "Its only principle is the Butterfly Effect. A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking and in Central Park you get rain instead of sunshine.
Jess gestured with her hand to show that this information had gone right over her head.
"Did I go too fast?" Malcolm asked.
"I missed it," Jess admitted.
Malcolm looked for another example. He pointed to the glass of water by his bed. "Here. Give me the glass of water. We're going to conduct an experiment."
He dipped his hand into the glass of water and took Jess' hand in his own.
"Now put your hand flat like a hieroglyphics. Say a drop of water falls on your way is the drop going to fall off. Which finger?"
"Thumb, I'd say," Jess guessed. Malcolm flicked his fingers and a drop falls on the back of Jess' hand.
"Aha. Okay. Now freeze your hand. Don't move. I'm going to do the same thing from the exact same place. Which way is the drop going to roll off?
"The same way."
Malcolm repeated what he did. "See, it changed. Why? Because tiny variations - the orientations of the hairs on your hand, the amount of blood distending in your vessels, imperfections in the skin - never repeat, and vastly affect the outcome. That's what?"
"Unpredictability…"
"Right."
The phone rang and Malcolm took it. "Yes?"
"Ian, it's Karen. Kelly's gone!"
Jess saw Malcolm's face change from friendly to concerned and scared. "What?"
"She climbed out of her window and took her passport with her!"
"When did you last see her?"
"A few hours ago. She said she wanted to be alone. I went to check on her, but by then she was already long gone."
"Did you call the police?"
"Of course. It was the first thing I did. Ian, I'm so sorry…"
Malcolm heard Karen crying. "It's okay. It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. Just keep me updated on the search. We'll find her."
Malcolm ended the call. "Are you alright, Dr. Malcolm?" Jess asked, worried.
Malcolm nodded. "Knowing my daughter, she probably did the one thing I told her not to do."
"What's that?"
Malcolm sighed. "She's coming to Costa Rica."
Benicio carried the trash out to the garbage bin. He removed the lid from the bin and tossed the garbage inside. As he put the lid back down, he heard a noise. A faint rustling coming from somewhere to his right. He peered into the darkness. A moment later a pair of fluorescent eyes penetrated the darkness. Staring at him. Benicio began backing away. He turned and sprinted back for the house. He heard heavy footsteps. It was chasing him! He reached the door and flung it open. He slammed the door behind him. He sank to the ground, muttering a prayer, as his family surrounded him asking him what was wrong.
Several men and women stood huddled around a fire, warming themselves and talking in hushed Spanish. They were angry, full of resolve. The monsters that had been terrorizing them for the last day had to be dealt with. Already, a little girl and an old man had been killed by them. Who knows who might die next on account of these nighttime horrors?
A storm was brewing in the camp…
Trey Roland sat back in his chair and relaxed. After everything that went down on Nublar, he needed this. He had agreed to watch Tim and Lex while Grant and Ellie went off on their recovery mission with Wu and Harding. The kids were fine at the moment, splashing away in the swimming pool, so Trey could now take in easy.
A shadow blocked his sun. It was Arnold.
"Trey Roland, right?" Arnold asked.
"That's right, Mr. Arnold. What's up?"
Arnold glanced at the kids, making sure they weren't listening. "We have a problem. There are Troodon on the mainland."
Grant grabbed Harding's arms and pulled, but the tyrannosaur was stronger than both of them and was dragging Grant as well.
Edgar threw something. "Quick, cover your eyes!"
The flash grenade went off, causing the Rex to temporarily release Harding. Grant pulled him to safety.
"Thanks, Edgar," Harding said, breathing hard.
"I got bad news though."
"What?"
"Sorkin's gone. She must have woken up and slipped away in the confusion."
"No time to worry about her," Wu said hastily. "We have to get out of here."
Edgar took the lead. Yoder and Morales took the back. The group ran down several long hallways.
"Stop," Harding said. Everyone pulled to a halt. "What?" Edgar asked.
Harding put a hand to his ear. "That…"
Edgar listened carefully. He heard it. A faint, distant clicking sound.
"What is that?" Yoder asked.
"Troodon," Wu whispered. "They're not far off our trail."
"They hate the light. So long as we stick to the brightest parts of the building, we should be good," Ellie added.
Yoder shook his head. "You sure we're still dealing with dinosaurs at this point?"
"No," Grant murmured. "They aren't dinosaurs."
"Come on." Edgar motioned for them to keep going. "Is there another way out of this place, Wu?"
"Yeah," Wu said. "Just follow me."
He led them to a back door and out they went. Edgar, Yoder and Morales assumed defensive positions around the others, shielding them in the middle.
"We should be out of here within half an hour," Edgar said. "Provided we don't run into any more dinos."
Dodgson went below deck to look for Sarah. "Dr. Harding, are you down here?" he called out.
"Lewis, I found somebody," he heard Sarah shout.
Running in the direction of her voice, he was surprised to find a young Costa Rican girl who was cornered.
"Well, looks like we got a stowaway," Dodgson realized. "Let's bring her out."
D-Caf was waiting by the plane for the others to return. In the distance he heard the call of herbivores.
"They better be back soon," he said to himself. "I feel like a sitting duck out here." He checked his gun, just in case he would have to use it.
Thoom. The ground shook. Thoom.
"What the hell?"
Something was coming this way. Something big. Then D-Caf heard it. The roar of a tyrannosaur.
"What?" Trey whispered, trying not to get the attention of the kids. "How?"
"I don't know," Arnold admitted. "But I called Ludlow. He's sending some specialists."
"So he's sending mercs," Trey guessed.
"Probably. Hopefully, this is dealt with quickly before there's a panic."
"Yeah, but just in case I'm locking my door at night," Trey commented, remembering being chased down the tunnels of Isla Nublar by the creatures. He hoped that the kids weren't in any danger, but he had a feeling that they were all at risk.
By the time they reached the clearing again, everyone was soaked through with sweat and their nerves were absolutely through the roof.
"Finally," Edgar said with relief when the plane came into sight and he saw D-Caf standing next to it. "I was beginning to worry we'd never get out of here."
"About time!" D-Caf hollered at them. "I heard some weird sounds a second ago. It sounded like thunder."
"That was the T-Rex," Yoder told him. "Aw man D-Caf, you should have seen her!"
Everyone filed into the plane. As Grant took his seat, he suddenly remembered something.
"Wait!" he said. "What about Sorkin? We're not going to just leave her here are we?"
Edgar looked back at him. "We can't stay. It's too dangerous."
"But she'll die."
"Then her problems will be over," Wu said. There was a distinct spitefulness in his voice that gave Grant pause.
"Wait a minute…" he started to say.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
"Hear that?" Edgar said. "She's on her way here! We have to go. There's no time for Sorkin."
"We can't just leave her here!" Ellie protested.
"There's no discussion to be had!" Edgar shouted back, turning to D-Caf. "Get us out of here."
D-Caf flicked some dials and switches. The propellers began to spin.
Oscar leaned out the door. "No sign of her," he said, referring to the T-Rex.
But the footsteps were getting louder and louder.
The plane began to roll down the runway.
"Hold onto your butts!" D-Caf shouted to his passengers as the plane began to lift off the ground. It looked like they were home free…
Up ahead, the Tyrannosaurus stepped onto the runway, roaring. Right in the plane's path. D-Caf's eyes widened in horror. He tried to do evasive maneuvers, but it was too late. The Tyrannosaurus was too close. They were going to ram her.
As he desperately tried to avoid the collision, the Tyrannosaurus struck.
The great beast swung her head into the side of the plane.
The impact caused that side to crumple inward. D-Caf found himself pinned to his chair. Desperately, he grappled with the controls in a vain attempt to recover, but it was too late.
The plane was too badly damaged. They weren't going anywhere.
Outside, the tyrannosaur bellowed. Inside, everyone was screaming and shouting.
Arnold then noticed that a bearded Welsh man in khakis was walking toward him and Trey.
"Are you John Arnold and Trey Roland?" the man asked the two.
Arnold nodded. "That's us. And you are?"
"Martin Gutierrez. Local researcher. I'm investigating sightings of unknown animals in the region. I have some questions to ask both of you."
Laura Sorkin made it into the garage, wincing in pain.
Getting in one of the jeeps, she started driving with the destination of her field laboratory in mind. She didn't know if she could leave the island or even if she wanted to. Or if taking down Wu was still a possibility. But there was still something she could do and the needs to carry it out were at her lab.
Tactical sergeant Michael Wolfskin looked over the Costa Rican jungles as their helicopter passed over. Ludlow had placed him in charge of the team of specialists that had been given the task of hunting down the creatures attacking locals. With him was Vargas, a soldier who had previously fought in the Vietnam War. Garza, a mercenary. And Linares, their pilot. They were Bravo Team.
"Evacuate!" Edgar shouted, making his voice heard above the clamor.
Outside, the tyrannosaur brought her great foot down on the plane. The steel crumpled and snapped under her weight.
Edgar threw open the door and waved. "Go, go, go!"
"Are you kidding?" Wu shouted back. "I'm not going out there!"
"Suit yourself!" Edgar shouted back. "Yoder, Morales! We gotta cover for them. D-Caf?"
"I'm stuck!" D-Caf cried. He was trapped in the cockpit. Edgar made his way over to him and pulled him out.
The plane shuddered. Grant looked through a broken window. He saw the T-Rex biting at the wing.
"She's distracted. Now's the time!" he said.
Edgar, Yoder, Morales and a bruised-up D-Caf ran out of the plane. Grant, Harding, Ellie and Wu followed.
Grant got ready to make a mad dash, but to his surprise found the mercenaries crouched right beside the door. Edgar motioned with his hand. Grant understood. They were going to try to sneak away undetected.
Dodgson pulled the girl out from below deck and onto the helm, calling out to the others. "Hey, everyone! Dr. Harding found a stowaway who wanted free passage!"
"Be careful with her, Lewis," Sarah told him. "She's just a kid."
"And this is a delicate operation! She's an unwanted variable that could endanger our mission!" He turned to the girl, who had been struggling against him. "Who are you?"
"Go to hell," the girl cursed.
"Don't hurt her," King said, arriving on the scene. "Sarah's right, Lewis. Take it easy."
Dodgson sighed and let go of the girl's arm, but the kid kept glaring at him.
"Sorry," he murmured. "I just can't afford anything going wrong. We can't afford to turn back and drop her off. We don't have the time. So this stupid kid is stuck with us."
"Good," the kid told him. "Because I want to go to Isla Nublar."
Dodgson's eyes widened. "How do you know where we're going?"
The girl smiled slyly. "I was in the bar. You talk too much. And too loudly."
"Why do you want to go to Isla Nublar?" Sarah asked, confused.
"Because my mother was born there," the girl told her. "Died there, too. I want to know the full story."
Dodgson had a suspicion. "Who's your mother?"
"Ninguno de tu maldito negocio, mamón," the snapped at him in Spanish. Dodgson turned to Diego.
"What did she say?"
"Uh… you don't want to know."
"Can you at least tell me your name?" Sarah asked. "We want to help you."
"Atlanta," the girl said after a few moments of silence. "My name is Atlanta."
That's all the information she gave. And that's all the information he needed. He showed no recognition, but he knew that name. Their stowaway was Nima's daughter and this definitely complicated things.
"Okay, you're stuck with us. But when we get to the island, I want you to stay on this boat. Alright? Do not take one step off this boat," Dodgson said icily. He turned to Diego, ignoring Atlanta's spiteful scowl. "You stay here with her, Diego. Got it?"
Diego grunted in response.
"Wonderful," Dodgson said sarcastically. He looked up. "We're almost there. Everyone grab your bags. Howard, get the cars ready."
Sonya, Raul and Lawala went below deck and came back with weapons and ammunition, and a very sickly-looking George Baselton.
Sarah looked at the weapons. "I thought you were just going to document."
"These are for protection," Dodgson assured her.
"Assault rifles?"
"For protection. Nothing more."
Marty Gutierrez folded his arms and regarded the two former Jurassic Park workers with a steely expression.
"I just spoke to Bobbie Carter. She says you said you worked on Nublar," the researcher said, pointing almost accusingly at Arnold. "From what I understand, your company is responsible for the creatures that have been wreaking havoc here. I want to know just what exactly they are."
Arnold and Trey exchanged a glance. They were both under a nondisclosure agreement that strictly forbade them from speaking out about anything to do with Jurassic Park. But in all honesty, Arnold just didn't care anymore. Hammond's experiments had almost killed him. Besides, the truth was bound to come out eventually. Why not say it now and possibly save some lives as a result?
"I think you better speak to Peter Ludlow," Arnold told Gutierrez.
"Who's he?"
"The current CEO of InGen. Probably the last there'll ever be, too."
"Okay. Give me his number."
Edgar, Yoder, Morales, D-Caf, Grant, Harding, Ellie and Wu did their best to stay quiet while they attempted to sneak away from the dinosaur that was wrecking what had been their only way off the island. The survivors made occasional glances back at the Rex, to make sure that her attention was on the plane.
There were almost at the safety of the jungle, only about ten yards away from the trees, when they heard the roar. She had seen them. And she was charging.
"Run!" Edgar screamed. "Run!"
Bobbie found her camera and took pictures of her patient's injuries. It was almost… parasitic. She frowned. What the hell was out there? And what else had InGen released upon the world?
She then heard something. A sound that she was used to hearing by now. A helicopter.
Looking out the window, she saw a helicopter circling overhead. She recognized the logo. InGen. Finally hear to deal with the consequences of their actions… or to cover them up.
A nurse entered Malcolm's room. "You have a guest, Dr. Malcolm."
Malcolm nodded. "I've been expecting one. Send her in."
The nurse left to get Malcolm's visitor. Jess turned to Malcolm. "You think it's your daughter?"
"Do I think that my daughter snuck out of her bedroom and flew to Costa Rica just to see me? Yes. Yes I do."
"Are you mad?"
"Of course. But after the ordeal on the island, it will be good to see her again."
The nurse returned to the room and she wasn't alone.
"Dad!"
Malcolm hugged his daughter. Then he stood back and gave her a stern, slightly angry look.
"I'll be back home in a matter of weeks," he said. "Couldn't you have waited?"
"I had to know what happened," Kelly said simply.
She regarded his twisted, bandaged leg.
"So what did happen?"
Malcolm sat down on his bed. He wasn't sure how to proceed. On the one hand, he'd signed a nondisclosure agreement. On the other hand, the man who'd insisted he sign such an agreement was dead. And the company was doomed. What was the point in keeping secrets anymore?
"Alright," he said. "Here's what happened…"
Edgar led the way into the trees. Behind them, the tyrannosaur bellowed and gave chase, her footfalls thundering through the earth.
Wu tripped and almost fell, but luckily was able to recover himself.
Wu's terror was extreme. It was like a drug that propelled his arms and legs to pump faster, harder.
This was the third time this week he regretted sorely ever breeding these animals.
They reached the treeline. They'd made it! Wu kept a step or two behind Morales. Branches slapped his face as he ran; his feet tripped over roots and rocks. Behind him, the T-Rex let out another fearsome bellow. Wu afforded himself a glance back.
To his horror, he saw the pilot D-Caf trapped in the jaws of the fearsome monster. The man flailed helplessly and screamed for help. His screams were cut abruptly short as the Rex bit down on his tiny body. A gush of blood spewed out and Wu looked away, sickened.
"Keep going!" Edgar shouted hoarsely.
Wu followed, stumbling through the foliage.
"Here!" Yoder said. He was pointing at the ground. Wu walked over and saw a hole, leading down into darkness.
"We can hide here," Yoder said.
"What if something's down there?" Morales asked.
Yoder produced a flare from his pocket, lit it, and dropped it down. The flare landed with a thunk on the soft earth.
Everyone peered in. "There's nothing down there," Edgar confirmed. "Alright. Everyone get in."
One by one, the survivors jumped into the pit. Edgar was the last. It was pretty cramped in there and smelled of dirt, but Wu knew better than to complain.
In the faint, flickering light of the flare, Wu studied the mercenaries' faces. They were grim, somber, clearly mourning the loss of D-Caf. Wu felt no such sorrow. Not that he didn't feel sorry for him, but because he had no prior connection to him. Maybe, if it had been Grant or Harding, Wu would have felt something.
Then Wu realized something. He reached for the strap of his bag. It should be around his shoulder. But it wasn't.
"I've lost it!" he cried in anguish.
"What?" Grant asked.
"My bag. I've lost the research, the embryos, everything!"
Wolfskin looked out the open door at the vast jungle below them.
"Set us down here, Linares!" he shouted.
The chopper lowered steadily until it touched ground. Wolfskin and his men jumped out and began setting up the perimeter.
"Reports indicate that the things were last spotted here," Wolfskin said.
Sarah looked toward Isla Nublar as they approached. She then noticed something. They looked like sea birds. No, Sarah realized. They were too big. And they were getting closer. One of the 'birds' gave a mournful cry and swooped down toward the humans.
Sarah now saw that the 'birds' looked more like huge bats, with pink membranes stretched across their fifteen-foot wingspans, heads like crocodiles, toothy beaks, and furry bodies. Lewis saw the creature's fast-moving shadow and he looked up. "Dactyls!" he shouted to the others.
Before Sarah could ask what Lewis meant, she heard gunshots go off. The bat-like creature was struck by bullets and fell, whistling as it hit the water.
The other 'dactyls' screamed and hurtled downward. Sarah got down as the members of Lewis' group kept firing at the attacking creatures. She covered her ears, trying to block out the sound of gunfire and the screams of the winged beasts.
She risked a glance and was shocked by what she saw. Something lunged out of the water and snapped its jaws on one of the dactyls before falling back into the water.
"What the hell was that?!" Sarah demanded.
"A Tylosaurus," Raul answered.
"A what?!"
"It's coming toward us!" somebody screamed. The dactyls were fleeing and Sarah could see the top of the tylosaur over the water heading toward them. Lewis' team began firing at the tylosaur, but they couldn't stop it from striking the boat.
Sarah had trouble processing what came next. She remembered being thrown into the air and landing in the water. She remembered seeing the boat that had taken her here slowly sinking. She remembered desperately swimming toward the island and seeing others doing the same. She remembered hearing Diego scream horribly and vanish beneath the surface, the blood where he had been turning red.
She couldn't save him. There was nothing she could do about that. All she could do now was swim for her life.
Atlanta swam with all her might. The water was freezing cold and chilled her to the bone, but fear, fear of that unseen creature that was lurking just beneath the surface and that had dragged Diego underwater, adrenalized her limbs, causing them to move faster despite the cold.
She heard another gurgled scream cut too short as the victim was yanked underwater. She didn't stop to wonder who it had been this time. She just kept swimming.
Eventually, she reached the bank and quickly scrambled up it. Her arms and legs and stomach muscles were on fire and she collapsed, panting, on the soft grass. She tilted her head to the side to see where the others were. Raul and Howard were still in the water, frantically swimming to shore. Lewis and Sonya were at this moment dragging themselves onto shore a few yards away. Sarah, Lawala and Baselton were nowhere to be seen.
Atlanta wagered it was either Lawala or Baselton who the beast dragged under, judging by the person's scream. It had definitely been male. That was relief; Atlanta liked Sarah, and would be sad if she died.
Shaking from the cold, Atlanta got to her feet and waited for Howard and Raul to reach the shoreline. The two men appeared exhausted and cold and terrified. Raul was muttering incoherently. Howard seemed to be in better condition. He fixed Atlanta with a look.
"Are you okay?"
Atlanta nodded her head, willing her arms to stop shaking.
"Do you know who else it got?" Howard asked.
Now Atlanta shook her head.
"I think it was Basetlon," Raul stammered. The older man was sitting on his ankles, rocking himself slightly. "But I'm not sure."
Howard nodded. "Okay. Well, let's find the others. Come on." And he started making his way further up the bank.
Atlanta followed after a moment, and finally Raul did as well.
John "Ray" Arnold will really get to shine more here, since in both the movie and the novel he was killed by raptors on Isla Nublar. Not even being played by Samuel Jackson helped him in the movie, where he died offscreen.
Also, Dodgson is once again stranded on Isla Nublar. This is the second time it happened to him in a week. Poor guy can't catch a break. I honestly feel sorry for him.
A few of the new characters here are from the novel, like Bobbie Carter and Marty Gutierrez. Their role here is much larger than it was in the books, thanks to the mainland plot in The Chaos Continues. Michael Wolfskin is actually one of the playable characters from a video game called "Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues." Yep, that's where I got the title from. The others with him were Bravo Team in Telltale's "Jurassic Park: The Game." They weren't in it long because Vargas got bitten by a Troodon, went kinda crazy and killed the others. Things will play out slightly different here.
If you're interested, here's what Atlanta said to Dodgson in Spanish: None of your damn business, cocksucker. Yeah, she gets her mouth from her mother.
Anyway, stay tuned for the third iteration!