Chapter 3

"We need to find the visitor center. I don't want to be traveling at night, especially on this island," Alan stated as he continued through the jungle-like island.

"Yeah, we don't want to be dinosaur meat," Malcolm stated with a smile as he caught up with Alan.

"Maybe you should stay here then," Alan stated with a smirk.

"Only if Dr. Sattler stays with me," Malcolm shot back. Alan gave him a nasty glare.

"Some things never change," Ellie commented under her breath as she followed them.

The three of them came over a grassy clearing, just as the clouds began to dissipate. The sunrays had begun to show, giving them access to more light. To their left and right side they could only see miles of jungle, except for a dirt road on the right side. Hopefully, the road would lead directly to the visitor center. In front of them was a long area of grassland, while in the distance there was the top of a gray building.

"I have a good feeling that is the center," Alan said as he pointed towards the building.

"It looks to be in the right place," Ellie commented.

"Let's get going then. The sun is beginning to set," Malcolm added as he headed in the direction of the building.    

"Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark," Alan stated as he followed Malcolm.

"Dark? No. Dinosaurs? Yes," Malcolm commented.

"Then why are you?" Alan asked as he walked past Malcolm.

"Because…" Malcolm began to say, but was unable to come up with an answer.

"Maybe it's because…you're an idiot," Alan said as if he was finishing Malcolm's sentence.

"Yeah, that's why," Malcolm shot back with a good amount of sarcasm. Alan shook his head and continued to walk.

The group stayed quiet while they walked through the grassland. The bones of previous dinosaurs scattered the ground. There wasn't a sign of human life, no footprints, nothing. It was as if the entire island had destroyed all human life and that the three of them were the first visitors ever to step foot on the island.

"I have a feeling that…" Alan began to say when he felt his feet slip out beneath him. He tumbled down the grass hill, which turned into very sticky mud halfway down. He came to a crashing halt as he landed on his back at the bottom of the hill. He gasped for air, as he came to a halt. He slowly sat up, trying to get a sense of what happened when he felt pain in both his shoulder and leg.

"ALAN!" Ellie yelled above him. He carefully turned and looked up.

"I'm okay," Alan yelled back as he slowly got to his feet. He felt even more pain in leg as he stood up.

"Stay there, we're coming down," Malcolm yelled to Alan as he and Ellie slowly walked down the hill.

Alan looked at them secretly hoping that Malcolm would slip and come crashing down. He chuckled to himself as he searched the muddy ground for his hat. He found the hat buried in a couple inches of mud. He bent down, picked it up, and examined it.

"There goes another one," Alan said to himself as he tried to shake the mud off. He pulled his backpack off his shoulder and opened it up. He pulled out one of his clean shirts and wrapped it around the hat. Hoping he could save it, he placed the hat back in the backpack.

Malcolm and Ellie made their way down the hill, towards Alan as he closed the backpack. He stood up and smiled as he slung the pack over his shoulder.

"Ouch," Alan said under his breath as he dropped his backpack and grabbed his left arm. Ellie ran over to him.

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked.

"The damn hill cut my shoulder up," Alan stated as he tried to rub his shoulder, but that only caused more pain. Ellie walked behind him to get a closer look.

"By the looks of your shirt, you might have a deep gash," Ellie stated as she touched his shoulder making Alan jump at the feeling.

"I'll be okay," Alan insisted as he reached for his backpack. Ellie grabbed it from him and slung it over her shoulders.

"You're not carrying anything," Ellie stated. Alan walked in front of Ellie and stared at her.

"Give me the bag," Alan demanded. Ellie glared at him before handing the backpack over to him. Alan placed the bag over his shoulder and started to walk towards the visitor center once again.

"Good thing you two aren't dating," Malcolm said as he followed Alan.

"Why do you say that?" Ellie asked as she followed closely behind Malcolm.

"I would be worried that you two might be breaking up," Malcolm said with a sarcastic tone.

"You're full of shit," Alan stated angrily.

"Actually I'm full of blood, bones, tissues, and other a sundries," Malcolm stated with a smile. Alan turned around and headed towards Malcolm.

"What's your problem?" Alan asked even more heatedly.

"Actually what's your problem? You've been nothing but a jerk since you caught up with us," Malcolm stated matter-of-factly.

"My only problem is…" Alan said when he felt Ellie pull on his arm.

"Alan let's get going," Ellie whispered. She had already noticed the tension building up between the two. Alan glared one more time at Malcolm before starting his walk again.

The clouds had started to form again and it was beginning to rain as the trio reached the visitor center. The building showed signs of decay and the plants around it had grown around the building and went to the top. The front door was slightly open, but not enough for any creature to get in. Alan pulled out a flashlight from his backpack.

"Let's keep very close together. I don't want to get lost or come upon any trouble," Alan said as he walked up to the front doors.

"You don't suppose ringing the door bell will do us any good?" Malcolm asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Alan ignored the comment and pushed the wooden door open. The last time he and Ellie had stepped foot in this place they were being chased by raptors. They only survived because of the T-rex, but that didn't mean this place was safe. He turned on the flashlight as he walked into the main room of the building. The place itself looked to be abandoned.The paint had begun to peel, and dust had settled on the once oak handrails.

"It looks to be dinosaur free," Malcolm stated as he stood next to Alan.

"Let's go over there," Alan said as he pointed the flashlight towards the employee only sign.

The trio made their way through the scattered dinosaur bones. Ellie sped up her walk, and made her way towards Alan's side. 

"It's going to be okay," Alan stated to Ellie as they walked.

Ellie took a deep breath and grabbed Alan's left hand. Alan gave her hand a quick squeeze.  When he reached the door he pushed on it, but the door didn't budge. He then tried the door handle but found that to be stuck also.

"Well, that's great," Alan stated as he slammed his fist against the door.

"Maybe we can run into it and break it open," Malcolm suggested as he backed up a few feet.

Alan nodded his head in agreement and handed his backpack and flashlight to Ellie. She begged him with her eyes not to, so Alan used an old tactic on her; he smiled.  When he got a smile in return, he headed over to Malcolm.

"On the count of three," Alan stated. Malcolm nodded his head.

"One, Two… Three,' Alan said. After the count of three the two of them ran towards the door. Both hit the door simultaneously, with a cracking sound coming seconds later. Alan rubbed his shoulder before pushing the door open to reveal a very dark hallway. Alan grabbed his flashlight back and pointed it down the hallway.

"It looks to be safe," Alan stated as he stepped into the hallway.

"Do you guys hear that?" Malcolm asked when they were halfway down the hall. They stopped and listened. The three of them heard a chirping sound coming from the end of the hallway.  

Alan took a step closer to the sound. He raised his eyebrow as the sound got louder. Alan caught a shadowy glimpse of a flying creature. The creature itself was moving towards the group at a fast pace. He backed up as the creature came into view.

"DUCK!" Alan yelled as he dropped to the ground.

As Alan hit the ground the object came into view. It was a small blackbird, trying to escape the hallway. Alan rose to his feet as the bird flew out of the hallway and into the main room. He turned back and looked at the group. Malcolm with all his strength was trying not to laugh, but in the end he wasn't able to control it. Malcolm's laughter echoed down the hallway.

"It's not funny," Alan stated intensely as he turned around and continued down the dark hallway.

"It was a small bird, and you dropped to your knees," Malcolm commented as he tried to control his laughter.

"The shadow made it look bigger," Ellie said in Alan's defense.

Malcolm quit laughing when he heard Ellie's comment. Alan was now at the end of the hallway. There was a door to his left: rusted and very fragile. Ellie and Malcolm made their way down to Alan, just as he went to the door and twisted the knob. Unlike the other door, this one opened without any problems. The smell of dust, moths, and something unfamiliar came out of the door. Alan shined the flashlight beam into the room and began to observe what was inside. To the right side of the room there was a metal table, with an old wooden chair behind it. Both were covered in dust, but not as much as the handrails in the main entrance area. The left side had an old couch, which seemed to be in good condition considering how long the place had been abandoned. Next to the couch was an old vending machine, and across from that were two lockers. The trio walked into the room in hopes to get a better look.

"See if you can find any weapons," Alan directed as he and Malcolm headed towards the vending machine and Ellie headed towards the lockers.

"I don't want to even know how long that food has been in there," Malcolm stated as he looked at the selection inside the machine.

"It's at least food," Alan said as he shone the flashlight beam in the machine. The machine consisted of old candy bars, chips, cookies, gum, and trail mix. Malcolm gave him a weird look, but Alan ignored it. He took the back of the flashlight and slammed it against the glass window. The window shattered into small and big pieces alike. Alan knocked away the extra glass before pulling out a package of trail mix and looking at it more closely.

"There are no raisins in it, so it's still good," Alan commented as he pulled out two more. He handed one to Malcolm, who looked at it like it was something from another planet.

"I don't think I'm that hungry anymore."

"That's your problem."

Alan walked over to Ellie and handed her the package. She took it without any complaints. Alan gave her a quick smile before speaking.

"Any weapons?"

"Not that I can find, but I did mange to find a first-aid kit."

"That's good, we might need it in the future."

"I was actually thinking about using it on you now, to clean the cuts and that deep gash that are on your shoulder and back."

"I'm fine, just a little sore. If you have any pain medication, that would be more helpful."

"Hmm, yes and no."

"Yes and no?"

"Yes, there is pain medication. But the expiration date on it was 6 years ago."

"Well, that's just great."

Alan walked over to the metal table and took off his backpack. He dropped it on the desk, with a loud thud, causing Malcolm and Ellie to jump. The dust on the table was now partially on his backpack. Alan then took his tan jacket and placed it in the backpack. He pulled out his dark green hat and used the flashlight to examine it even better. The hat still had some mud on it, but not to an excessive amount that would cause him not to wear it. Alan smiled as he cleaned the hat a little more before placing it on his head. He then sat down on top of the metal desk, only a little bit of dust came up, but he didn't mind. Sitting down felt good, his leg was still hurting from rolling down the hill, and to just sit down and do nothing was a good thing. Ellie looked at Alan as he sat down, he then opened the bag of trail mix and began to eat small bites of the stuff that was inside the bag. Ellie sighed to herself then walked over to Alan, determined to clean the wounds he had sustained.

"Take off your shirt," Ellie said matter-of-factly, as she placed the first-aid kit on the table. Alan sat there with a confounded expression on his face. His hand wasn't far from his face, considering he was just about to take another bite when Ellie made her demand.

"Excuse me?" Alan questioned, still in a dazed state. Ellie shook her head and walked over to him.

"Let me make this simple. You have several cuts and one deep gash. I want to clean them up before they get infected."

"I said I was okay,"

"Yeah, I heard you, but now hear me. You have no choice."

"I wouldn't mess with her if I were you," Malcolm quipped in. Alan broke out of his dazed state just long enough to give Malcolm a drop-dead look. Malcolm just laughed and sat down on the couch causing the dust to fly up and fall onto his black leather jacket.

"Now, that's funny," Alan said with a smirk. Malcolm returned the drop-dead look and padded the dust off his jacket.

Ellie lightly tapped Alan's shoulder to get his attention. Alan looked back at her and sighed. He knew there was no way out of the situation. He started to unbutton his blue, long sleeved shirt. As he began to take off the shirt, Ellie smiled to herself; she had forgotten how good-looking he was without a shirt. Alan was also still in good shape for a man of his age. Ellie broke her gaze away and looked at his back. She gasped as she noticed several cuts, but the one on his shoulder looked worse than she imagined. The cuts ranged from small to big, but nothing too deep. The gash however, looked as if someone took a chunk of skin out of his shoulder. The shirt itself was completely ruined, and Alan knew that. The shirt was cut up and covered in blood; most of the blood was in the shoulder section of the shirt. His back ached and he could feel the cuts in his skin, so he already knew how bad it was. Ellie opened the first-aid kit, and pulled out a white cloth. She then opened his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water. She poured some water onto the cloth and then spoke to Alan.

"This might sting a little."

Ellie slowly began to rub the cloth across Alan's back, making sure to stop at each cut. Alan jumped a little at the feeling of cold water hitting his back.

"Sorry," Ellie stated. She felt sorry for him, and to make it worse she hadn't even gotten to his shoulder yet.

"It's okay," Alan said as he looked down towards the floor.

"Err, hmm…I think I'm going to go and explore the place a little more," Malcolm stated, feeling as if Alan didn't need him there to witness him going through pain.

"Fine with me," Alan said cruelly.

"Take this," Ellie said as she grabbed a flashlight from her backpack and tossed it to Malcolm.

"Let him go without it," Alan said as Malcolm caught the flashlight and turned it on.

"Hush," Ellie said to Alan as Malcolm walked out of the door.

"It's beyond my understanding of why you're nice to him," Alan said after Malcolm was out of sight.

"Well, its beyond me of why I care so much about you," Ellie shot back as she poured some more water onto the cloth. She had made her way up to his shoulder, and the last cut happened to be the gash.

"This may sting a little," Ellie stated again as she rubbed the cloth across the gash. Alan winced at the feeling of pain, but tried not to show emotion. Ellie thought to herself, 'typical male, can never show that they are in pain.'

"Okay, I just need to clean the wounds with alcohol, bandage them up and you'll be fine.

"I shouldn't have agreed to let you do this."

"You didn't have a choice," Ellie said as she pulled out the small bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured some of it onto the cloth. The smell of alcohol filled the room, it seemed to kill the dust and moth smell they had smelled before.

"I have a good feeling this is going to sting," Alan said as he smelled the alcohol.

"I think you may be right," Ellie stated before placing the cloth on the cuts. Alan winced in pain.

"I was in much less pain falling down the hill, before you added the alcohol," Alan stated as the pain began to disappear. But, he knew the pain was only going to get worse.

"This is going to hurt a lot," Ellie said as she placed the cloth onto the deep gash. Alan yelled in pain and then pulled his shoulder away from Ellie. He then jumped off the table and began to rub his arm. Ellie looked at him apologetically.

"I'm done," Alan stated as grabbed his shirt. Ellie walked up to him and looked him in the eye.

"Please, do you want it to get worse Alan?" Ellie asked. The question made Alan sigh, as they stared at each other.

"I can never say no to you," Alan said as he sat back down on the table. Ellie smiled and went back behind him and started to clean his shoulder once again. She felt him wince every time she touched his shoulder.

"Okay, I just need to bandage them up," Ellie said as she finished cleaning the gash. She pulled out some bandage and a gauze. She placed the gauze on the gash and then bandaged it up.  

"You're done," Ellie said as she walked around to look at Alan.

"Thanks and I'm sorry."

"No problem."

Alan stood up and looked at Ellie. Their eyes did all the communication. Years of romance between the two of them seemed to come back as if it was just beginning. Ellie moved her head forward, while Alan lowered his head towards her. Their lips were centimeters apart when…

"This place is empty," Malcolm stated as he walked into the room. Alan and Ellie jumped away from each other with nervous looks on their faces.

"Did I interrupt something?" Malcolm asked with a smirk.

"No," Alan stated quietly. He then grabbed his shirt and put it back on. He buttoned it up again before sitting on the table.

Special Note:

Thanks to Yvonne for all of the effort she puts into my story, in the correction, etc, etc. You're such a big help. I hope to be as good as you one of these days.

Thanks to Lori for correcting all the mistake in my story and for being a good friend and actually reading the story.

Also please leave a review when you're done reading the story. That is if you want to.