Welcome back to The Chaos Continues! The story is about to take a very dark turn in the near future, but that isn't until the fourth iteration. Big thanks to ultimate-drax and Lola Jeery for their reviews. Seriously, it feels great knowing that people are actually reading and enjoying this story. Thanks so much. Anyway, let's get this movable feast on its way...
Third Iteration
"Details emerge more clearly as the fractal curve is redrawn."
-IAN MALCOLM
Wolfskin and his men followed the trail left by their targets deep into the jungle.
Wolfskin kept his eyes and ears open at all times, alert for the slightest movement or sound. He didn't plan on being ambushed by one of those nightmares. He'd heard the stories, seen the bites. He didn't intend to follow suit.
"Locked and loaded?" he said.
"Roger that," replied Linares, Vargas and Garza.
Suddenly, something caught Wolfskin's eye. Movement in the bushes ahead. Wolfskin lowered his rifle, took careful aim…
Malcolm remembered something. "Karen is going to be worried sick about you. I need to let her know where you are."
He called Karen up on the phone, but to his surprise another woman answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Uh, this is Ian Malcolm. Who is this and where's Karen?"
"Oh, this is Karen's sister. Karen's talking to the police right now. Called me over in tears, saying she had lost a child. Wanted me to stay here in case you called or something."
"Alright, could you just tell Karen that Kelly is safe and she's with me in Costa Rica. I'm sorry she had to go through this, but I'm thankful for her help. I'll see her in probably a few weeks."
"Okay. I'll tell her. She's going to be so relieved. Bye."
Malcolm ended the call and turned his attention back to Kelly.
"Who's this?" Kelly asked, pointing to Jess. "Have you been cheating on your daughter with another girl?" She gasped jokingly. "What sort of father are you?"
"This is Jess Harding," Malcolm introduced. "The daughter of an InGen employee. I'm watching her while her father is taking care of something. Jess, this is Kelly. My daughter who I expect to give Karen an apology when we're home for giving the poor woman a scare."
Jess waved at Kelly. "Hi. It's nice to finally meet the infamous Kelly Malcolm."
Kelly laughed. "Like father, like daughter. Dad, are you going to tell me what happened?"
"Well, I was high on medication for some of it, but Jess should be able to fill in the parts I can't…"
Tim and Lex were done with the pool and they got out, noticing Arnold and Trey talking to a Welsh man in khakis.
"Look," Lex whispered, getting Tim's attention. She pointed to an adorable stray dog that was looking at them. "Puppy."
The dog ran off and Lex started going after it, unable to resist such a cute creature. "Come on, while they're not looking."
Tim hesitated for a brief second before following his sister. They ran through alleys and streets as they chased down the dog. The dogs slipped around a corner with the kids close behind, but then they froze.
Lex covered her mouth, holding in a scream. The dog had been killed and feeding from it was a Velociraptor.
Tim almost fainted on the spot. His mind raced to make sense of it. What was a raptor doing here? How had she gotten off the island? There wasn't time to consider these questions. The raptor, Tim saw, was positioning herself to attack with her head low, tail straight, and arms drawn in to her sides. The beast let out a low hiss and then jumped-
Right over their heads. Tim seized the opportunity and began running, pulling Lex along with him. Behind him, he heard the raptor's ragged breathing.
Tim pulled Lex into an alleyway. It was a very small space between two buildings. Tim had a feeling the raptor would be too large to fit through. He was right.
The raptor's jaws clamped shut where his leg had been just a second before. She screeched in fury and began flailing with her forearms trying to reach them. But she couldn't. She was too big.
Martin Gutierrez was about to leave to call Ludlow, but he froze. "Do you hear that?"
Trey and Arnold listened. Then they heard it. A familiar shriek that they had hoped to never hear again.
Then they heard something else. Screaming. Children screaming.
Trey glanced at the pool. Tim and Lex were gone.
"Damn!" He and Arnold started running toward the kids, following the screams. A curious Gutierrez followed.
Laura Sorkin, having made it to her field laboratory, began treating herself using the medical equipment she kept there. It was nice to be back, even if her assistant David was no longer here to help her… she missed him. But there was no time to mourn. There was work to be done.
The first business that she needed to take care of was that damn lysine contingency. The lysine contingency was a genetic alteration Henry Wu performed in the dinosaur genome. The modification knocked out the ability of the dinosaurs to produce the amino acid lysine. This forced the dinosaurs to depend on lysine supplements provided by the park
s veterinary staff. In this way, dinosaurs could never escape from the park because they would never survive long without the food supplements, since the lysine contingency was intended to prevent the dinosaurs from damaging the global ecosystem. Without the lysine, the animals would collapse into a coma and eventually die.
Another disgusting idea from Henry Wu, Laura believed. She saw the whole thing as it really was, a cruel and unnecessary kill switch. However, she knew that she could add lysine to the island's water supply and she had the means to do so. After that was taken care of, Laura could focus on finding a way to get off the island. While at the visitor center, she had picked up some very special items that she wanted to save... Troodon eggs. Laura knew that she could find somebody on the mainland willing to support her research and take Wu down. She was a resourceful woman, after all.
Yep, the future was looking bright.
Sarah brushed aside from fronds and there was Lewis, sitting on a flat rock with Sonya. Both looked exhausted and terrified.
"What was that thing?" Sarah asked.
"A tylosaur." The voice came from behind. The bushes parted and Raul stepped out. Howard and Atlanta were with him. Sarah was relieved to see Atlanta in one piece.
"What's a tylosaur?" she pressed.
"A marine reptile," Raul continued. "An EXTINCT marine reptile."
Sarah squinted at him. "What are you talking about?"
There was a short pause. Then Lewis launched into a tirade:
"Hammond bred dinosaurs on this island. It was going to be a theme park, but something went wrong and everyone had to evacuate. Your father, Gerry, was the veterinarian here."
Sarah stared at the man in disbelief. "Are you making fun of me?" she demanded.
"No. I'm telling you the honest truth. But don't worry; you'll see for yourself in time."
"But it doesn't make sense! Bred dinosaurs? How?"
"There's no time to explain. We have to work out a plan."
"We have no boat. No cars. And no radio," Howard said. "What can we do?"
"Maybe we could try to find Dr. Wu," Sonya suggested.
Sarah could tell by the look on Lewis' face that the idea of seeking help from Wu disgusted him. "No. Here's what we'll do. We'll find the park facilities. There's got to be a phone there, somewhere we can use to call for help."
"But we're not even supposed to be here!" Howard objected.
Lewis shot him a furious look.
"I mean…" Howard quickly stammered, shooting Sarah a quick, nervous glance.
Sarah looked back and forth between them. "You said you had permission from the government to be here," she said. "You were lying, weren't you. You're not really supposed to be here. We're trespassers, aren't we?"
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Why are you really here?" Sarah asked after a moment.
"That's none of your business," Lewis snarled. "Look, let's just get to the park and get out of here."
"But what about Baselton, and Lawala?" Sonya asked.
"Baselton's dead," Lewis said grimly. "I saw him get pulled under. As for Lawala… he could be anywhere."
"There's a chance he might have made it. We have to look for him," Raul said.
"No. The longer we sit here, the more likely it is that something will find us," Lewis argued.
Raul folded his arms across his chest and fixed Lewis with a stubborn look. "I'm not leaving here without Lawala."
"Suit yourself. Those of you who want to live, follow me," Lewis snapped and began trekking up the hillside.
Michael Wolfskin heard something else. A hooting sound. Like an owl.
Another hoot, answering the first. Michael then realized that there was movement all around them. They were surrounded by the hooters. Michael had no idea how many were there, but he knew that they on the hunt and that Michael's men were the prey.
"Fall back," Michael told the others. They were at a disadvantage here. There was more than just Troodon out here.
In front of Michael, a creature with two crests on the top of her head hopped out of the bushes. Before Michael could react, a frill appeared and the animal hissed loudly. Something smacked onto Michael's face and he screamed as it started to burn. He dropped his gun and fell as he went blind. He felt the animal leaping onto his chest and a pair of jaws closing on his head.
The other men ran, leaving Michael behind. Whatever they had been expecting, this wasn't it.
All around them, the bushes shook and animals hooted. The mercenaries shot occasional bursts into the foliage, but didn't seem to hit anything.
Vargas and Linares heard Garza, who was the slowest, start to scream as something tackled him to the ground. But they didn't look back.
Up ahead was the helicopter. Linares climbed in and was about to take off… when something black hit the windshield.
Vargas saw the creatures standing at the edge of the jungle. He shot a few rounds at them and the animals vanished from view. But the dilophosaurs were still there, out of sight, watching…
Vargas jumped into the helicopter as Linares started the engine. The propellers began to rotate, slowly at first, gradually picking up speed. Vargas slammed the door shut. Catching his breath, he heard the monsters outside pounding on the sides of the helicopter.
The helicopter slowly began to gain altitude, until it was soaring high above the treetops once more. But this time, they were two men short.
"Get us back to HQ," Vargas said. "We have to report to Ludlow."
"How much longer do you want to sit in this hole?" Harding asked.
Edgar stood up and poked his head through the hole. He looked around for a moment before dropping back down.
"Coast is clear. If you're all ready, we can go."
Everyone climbed out, one by one. Yoder was the last to go. Grant offered him his hand and he took it. He gave Grant a little nod of thanks.
"What do we do now?" Ellie asked.
"Go back to the visitor center?" Edgar suggested. "Call for help?"
"I don't like it. That place is swarming with Troodon. Not to mention, Laura is on the loose," Wu stated.
"Fine. Then where should we go?"
"Why not the security bunker?" Grant suggested, but as soon as he did, Wu's eyes widened with fear.
"Henry? What's wrong?"
Wu took a deep breath, seemed to regain his composure. "Nothing," he murmured. "Never mind."
"Alright then," Edgar said with a suspicious glance at Wu. "If there are no objections… Grant, will you lead the way?"
"I think you better do it," Grant told Harding. "You know the layout of this place a lot better than I do."
Harding nodded. "Okay. Everyone follow me."
George Lawala once knew and respected a man who was a tracking guide in Africa. That man was named Robert Muldoon. They started out as rivals and they had their disagreements, but when Muldoon was attacked by a lion, Lawala didn't hesitate to rescue him. From that day forward Lawala and Muldoon regarded each other as blood brothers.
Lawala wasn't on Isla Nublar for the money. When the survivors of the Isla Nublar Incident landed in Costa Rica, Robert Muldoon was not with them. Lawala was on Isla Nublar to avenge Muldoon. He didn't need the others. They would only get in the way. And it was better this way. One man versus every damn dinosaur on this island. Lawala wouldn't stop until his revenge was complete. And nothing was going to stand in his way.
Gathering up his weapons, Lawala headed into the jungle ready to face whatever was out there waiting for him…
Arnold ran, following the children's screams through a network of confusing alleyways. He hoped with all his might that he wouldn't be too late.
He turned a corner. A building loomed up in front of him.
"Dead end," he panted.
Trey and Gutierrez came up behind him.
"Come on. Back this way," Trey said.
Arnold had a feeling they were getting closer as the kids' screams were becoming louder and he could now hear the vicious snarling of a Velociraptor.
Suddenly, several booming gunshots ripped through the air. The kids stopped screaming and the raptor was silent. Either, someone had shot the thing, or she had succeeded in killing Tim and Lex. Arnold sincerely hoped it was the former.
He turned a corner and came face to face with a local man holding a rifle. Tim and Lex were alive and unharmed. On the ground lay the Velociraptor's motionless corpse.
The local man turned to look at the newcomers. "¿Qué es esa cosa?" he said.
"Era sólo un lagarto," Gutierrez answered.
The local man shook his head in disbelief.
"Are you two okay?" Trey asked Hammond's grandkids. Tim nodded, but he was shaking. Lex appeared to be in shock.
"Come on. Let's get out of here," Arnold said. He nodded to the local man. "Thank you for saving them."
Gutierrez translated his words in Spanish. The local man gave a firm nod.
They started heading back to the hotel. Trey picked Lex up and carried her. Gutierrez slowed his pace to match Arnold's limp.
"Your foot okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I just landed on it funny."
There was a brief pause. "On the bright side, I think I now know what it was you were doing on that island," Gutierrez said. "My question now is, how did you do it?"
"Ludlow can fill you in on the details, I'm sure," Arnold said not really in the mood to talk.
"So those things escaped and are loose on the mainland." Gutierrez shook his head. "No offense, but you've really screwed things up."
"Hey buddy, I'm just a mechanic. You want someone to yell at, Henry Wu's always available," Arnold said.
"But he isn't here. He went back to that island."
"Yes, he did. So you may not get your chance to yell at him, after all."
They then heard something. A shriek. The men looked up and saw a winged shape blocking out the sun. The shape was joined by several other bat-like creatures that were circling overhead. Arnold recognized them and his eyes widened in fear.
"Everyone get inside," he shouted. "Now!"
Vargas was looking over the jungle, wondering what else was out there. They were about to pass by the village the survivors were being held in. Vargas then spotted something. Black shapes heading toward them.
Vargas squinted. Were they birds? No… too big.
One of the shapes whistled and dove toward the helicopter. Vargas let out a shout as the dactyls began harassing the helicopter, which Linares was already having trouble flying because of the black spit on the windshield.
Malcolm had just finished his story when he heard something. It sounded like a helicopter. And there was something else. Whistling.
Kelly and Jess headed toward the window to get a better look. A black shadow headed toward them. Malcolm saw it.
"Jess! Kelly! Get away from the window!"
Too late. Something smashed against the window and the girls screamed, backing away. A dactyl shrieked as it struck the glass, spying the people inside the building. Letting out a cry, it flew back up to join the others in the deadly game they were playing with the helicopter struggling overhead.
"Was that a dinosaur?" Kelly asked, frightened.
"Or a creature similar to one," Malcolm answered, looking at the cracked window. "They must have crossed the ocean…"
Dozens of the pterosaurs began swooping and circling around the village letting out mournful cries.
The villagers stepped outside, many of them wielding rifles, proceeding to fire upon the humongous pests.
A dactyl dove close to the ground and a second later a woman let out a shriek as she was yanked into the sky.
It was chaos.
Arnold, Trey, Gutierrez, and the children followed a flock of people into one of the many bars scattered around town.
Arnold stayed by the window, looking up at the dactyls. It was like a scene from a monster movie. Arnold wished that were the case.
There were a few locals in the bar and they were whispering and murmuring together in Spanish. Arnold caught a couple of dirty looks thrown his way. He wasn't sure why, whether it was because of his race or the fact that he was American or something else entirely. He tried his best to ignore them.
"They're asking what those things are," Gutierrez told him.
"Oh," Arnold said. "Tell them they're called pterosaurs."
Gutierrez did so. The locals became even more agitated. "Now they want to know what a pterosaur is," Gutierrez said.
Arnold shook his head. It'd be too difficult to explain.
"They really want to know," Gutierrez pressed. Indeed, it seemed the locals were becoming more and more upset by the minute. They couldn't understand why Arnold would withhold the information from them. But Arnold didn't know how on earth he could make them understand.
Suddenly, two of the biggest men there ran forward and grabbed Arnold roughly, pushing him up against the glass. They began shouting in broken English, right in his face.
"What is? What is?! What is?!"
Gutierrez was there trying to calm them down but nothing he said seemed to work. Eventually, he put a hand on one of the men's shoulders which got him a punch in the jaw.
Then one of the women began talking in a calm voice. Arnold didn't understand what she was saying, but he got the gist of it. Whatever she said seemed to do the trick as the men eventually backed off and Arnold was allowed to help Gutierrez up.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice a bit tremulous.
Gutierrez nodded, his face red. A bruise was forming under his eye. "I think we better get out of here," he said.
Harding continued to lead the way down the little gravel path toward the security bunker. He couldn't believe it had only been a couple of days since he was last here. What's more, he couldn't believe that he was back.
The bunker came into view through the fog. And it looked just as bad as it did when Harding last saw it. The sides were scuffed up and the bars in the windows were torn through where the raptors had tried to get in.
To the right, there was a shallow pit that had recently been dug up. Upon closer inspection, Harding saw dried blood, scraps of clothing, a few bones, and bits of ragged flesh scattered around the pit.
"What was that for?" Yoder questioned.
"It was a grave," Ellie said. "A grave for one of the men who died here."
"And something dug it up?"
"Yeah."
There was a grim silence.
"Come on," Harding said, wanting to move on.
The door had been broken off its hinges and left lying on the floor. Inside, shelves were knocked over and foodstuffs and weapons were strewn around the place. Pools of dried blood were scattered around the room, but much of it had been licked up by dinosaurs.
"So where's the phone?" Edgar asked.
Harding went to the back and found the telephone where it had been before. He picked it up, but all he heard was static.
"What the heck? I don't understand. I thought we had power."
"What? What's wrong?"
"It's just static. See?"
Grant took the phone from him and put it to his ear.
"Oh, great. Well, what now?"
"I guess we have to go back to the visitor center," Ellie said.
"No. I won't go back there."
"It's okay, Gerry, we'll be fine."
"You don't know that."
"Gerry, it's the only way." That was Edgar, and he sounded exasperated, like he was dealing with a whiny child. "We have to call for help and the visitor center is the only place besides this one that-"
"I am not going back to that place!" Harding screamed. "You don't know what it's like. None of you do except Grant and Ellie and me. To be hunted by those things in the dark. To see those eyes shining at you. Look what it did to me! I'm nuts, man. I'm losing my mind. I can feel it. I can't sleep; whenever I close my eyes I see those eyes! I hear the clicks in my head. No. No. I won't go back. You remember what happened to Muldoon, my friend? He got snatched up by those things. Pulled into a dark room somewhere and got his guts ripped out. They laid EGG in his GUTS!"
Raging, Harding turned his gaze onto Wu and shoved an accusing finger at him.
"Because of YOU! All because of YOU!"
"Gerry, let's go outside for a minute," Grant said.
Harding was trembling. He tried to still the shakes in his arms, but couldn't do it. He followed Grant outside.
"I understand what you're going through," Grant said. "I do. I'm scared as well. And we're doing our best. Doing our best to get out of here. But we need a phone Gerry. We need a phone. Listen to me, Gerry. I'm so sorry about what happened to Muldoon. But I can promise you it won't happen to you, or anyone else. We're going to stay close together and not let anything happen. Okay? Those things only go after people who are by themselves, and we're in a big group, so they'll leave us alone. Got it?"
Wu was beginning to seriously regret bringing Harding along for this mission. Now both he and Grant had laid the blame for the deaths on him. That wasn't fair; Wu was only partially responsible. If they wanted to point the blame at someone, you need look no further than Hammond. After all, it was his money that bought these creatures. But it wasn't quite as satisfying to blame a dead person.
"We need to keep an eye on that man," Wu told Edgar. "I think he's losing it."
Edgar nodded. "Don't worry. He tries anything, I'll deal with him."
"What do you mean, deal with?"
"I mean whatever is required to ensure that he doesn't pose a danger to the group," Edgar said evasively.
"Alright. Just don't kill him if you can help it."
Grant and Harding walked back in. Harding looked calmer, but it was a far cry from normal.
"If there are no more problems, I think we should move on," Morales said.
With that, everyone let the building.
Leaving the bar, Arnold, Trey, Gutierrez, and the children managed to make it back to the hospital. Luckily for them, the dactyls were distracted by the struggling helicopter.
"I hate being right all the time," Malcolm said, looking around at his crowded hospital room.
"No you don't," Arnold told him as he paced. "You love the sound of your own voice."
"I can promise you that I'm not enjoying this," Malcolm argued. "Because I recognize the danger that we've all been put in."
"How?" Arnold asked. "How are their dinosaurs on the mainland? How did so many escape the island?"
"Well, you had a way of keeping track of the population, I assume."
"Yes. The motion sensors."
"And the computers took for a number of animals you put into the system?"
"Yes."
"And it only looks for that amount every time? You can put in any number?"
"What's your point?"
"The flaw is that you were always worried about having less animals than you expected, in case some escaped or died. You weren't worried about having more animals, so the computers never counted the extras born in the wild, since it only counted up to the number you previously programmed."
Arnold realized that this was true. But it was still Wu's fault that the dinosaurs had been secretly breeding to begin with.
"Did you have a rodent problem when you came to the island?" Malcolm asked.
Arnold nodded.
"Did the problem go away by itself?"
Arnold nodded again, realizing what Malcolm was implying.
"And you never looked into why?"
"We thought-"
"That's what the carnivores born in the wild ate. They took care of your pest problem. And I'm betting that they migrated to the Costa Rican mainland on supply ships. The small carnivores like the compys or the raptors could stowaway in the cargo hold unnoticed during the voyage."
Arnold remembered the raptors he saw on the beach. He remembered Grant saying that they wanted to migrate. "But how did we never notice what was going on in our own park?"
"Did you ever go into the park yourself, Arnold? No. You ruled from the control room. You people were like the king who never leaves his throne, never learning of the conspiracy going on in his kingdom until it was too late. Your overconfidence in your ability to control these animals was the park's downfall. Nedry only sped up the process."
"So the whole thing was doomed to fail?" Trey asked.
Malcolm nodded. "Hammond's project had all the problems of a major theme park and a major zoo. Then there were problems nobody had even dealt with, since these are creatures with unpredictable behaviors who had no idea what century they were in. You never had control. That was an illusion."
"And what happens now?" Arnold wanted to know.
"The predator population on Isla Nublar rose to unsafe levels," Malcolm explained. "So the animals sought to expand their territories, which is why they came here. Dinosaurs had already had their chance and nature chose them for extinction. But you gave them a second chance and placed them in an ecosystem where they had no natural enemies. They're figuring out their place in the food chain and if left unchecked or unchallenged nothing will stop them from spreading everywhere."
"They could destroy the planet," Arnold realized.
Malcolm shook his head. "No. The planet is not at risk. We are. These creatures came before us. And if we're not careful, they'll be here after us…"
Linares was trying his best, but there were too many of them. The glass windshield started to shatter and several dactyls got caught in the helicopter's blades. They were going down.
Vargas pulled Linares out of his seat. "We have to jump!"
Before Linares could argue, Vargas leaped out of the helicopter, pulling Linares with him. Behind them, the helicopter struck the village's docks and exploded into a fireball. Vargas and Linares hit the water safely.
Dodgson's group trudged their way up the steep jungle incline. Dodgson was sweating buckets and he could tell the others were doing just as bad, but he refused to stop for a break, despite multiple requests for one. Dodgson's reasoning was that they were far too exposed out here and needed to find shelter as soon as possible. Surely, the park itself would be safe.
Right now, he kind of wished he had agreed to stay and find Lawala. The man was expertly trained and knew his business, unlike most everyone else in Dodgson's party.
Soon, it became evident that people would start passing out if they didn't stop for a rest. "Fine," Dodgson told them, "but only for ten minutes." But the second Dodgson sat down, he realized that time would have to be extended greatly. After countless minutes of trekking up that hill, blistering his feet, it felt so good to finally sit down and take a breather.
"This might be a good time to take inventory," Sonya said. Dodgson agreed.
In total, they had three packs. King's, Sarah's, and Sonya's. All the others had been lost in the sea. The packs contained the necessities: bottled water, food, first-aid, flashlights, lighters, matches, what have you. King divided the food six equal ways and distributed it to every member of their party.
"We have to ration it," King said when Dodgson looked disdainfully at the pathetically small amount of food he'd been given. "We could be out here a while."
Dodgson wolfed his food down like he'd never eat again, which, he considered, might in fact be the case.
"What do we have in terms of weapons?" Raul asked.
Those who had them laid their weapons out on the ground. Two rifles. Sarah had a machete, but that was it. Two guns and a machete.
It was decided that Sonya and Dodgson would have the guns, Sonya because she was the most experienced, and Dodgson because he insisted on it. He claimed to have lots of experience, but in truth he didn't remember ever firing one in his life. Still, better to go with one than without one.
"I think we better move on now," Sarah said.
Dodgson nodded and made an effort to be the first one to stand, proving to the others that he was a strong and capable leader.
"Alright. Let's go," he said.
They continued making their way through the jungle, ears and eyes alert for anything unusual. They were trespassers, unwelcome on this island. Everyone was paranoid, remembering the tylosaur that had so quickly killed two of their group members and how it had come out of nowhere.
Dodgson froze and rose his hand, signaling the others to stop. "Shh…"
Everybody stopped and they listened. At first, they heard nothing. Then they caught it. The sound of footsteps coming closer.
"Get your gun ready," he whispered to Sonya. She nodded.
Dodgson slowly began moving forward, the others trailing behind. His hands tightened on the gun. They stepped out of the trees and onto a path. Up ahead, figures were materializing out of the fog. People. Armed people.
When the other group saw Dodgson's party, they paused. For a moment nobody did anything. Then a voice broke the silence.
"Sarah?"
"Dad?"
Edgar and the mercenaries pointed their guns at Dodgson and his group.
Sonya raised her rifle as well, finger on the trigger.
"Put it down," Oscar barked.
Sonya ignored him.
"I said put it down!" Oscar roared. He had a very commanding voice.
"I'd suggest doing what he says," Edgar advised. "We can talk this out, but not with guns in our faces."
Slowly, Sonya lowered her rifle.
"Ah, Dr. Dodgson," Henry Wu said, aloof. "I see you managed to sneak your way here. Congratulations, you've been caught red-handed in the act. Seems the game's finally up, eh?"
"Don't be so certain," Dodgson warned in a quiet, threatening voice. "We're not done here yet."
"Oh, I think you are. Edgar - detain them, will you?" Wu said.
Edgar, Yoder and Oscar strode forward and quickly handcuffed Dodgson and his team members except for Sarah.
Harding hugged his oldest daughter and then said "What are you doing here? And what are you doing with them?"
"They lied and told me they were part of a research team. I went along, but I had no idea what was really going on here," Sarah told him.
"I'm just glad you made it this far," Harding said.
Then his eyes fell on Atlanta.
"You brought HER?"
"She snuck on board," Sarah explained.
"Why?" Harding asked.
"Because, I want to know what happened to my mother," Atlanta told him. "What REALLY happened."
"I'll tell you everything once we get off this island," Harding promised her.
"We can't leave yet," Henry Wu interjected. "What about my research?"
"Forget your stupid research. We have to get out of here while we still can."
"I'm not leaving here without it."
"Then where is it?" Sarah asked.
"I lost it while running away from a T-Rex," Wu admitted. "It's in the jungle somewhere, in a knapsack."
Billy Yoder stepped forward. "That's all well and good, but I don't think it's such a good idea to stand out here in the open like this. Finish your conversation inside, alright?"
"Very well," Edgar said. He jostled Dodgson forward. "Move it, and don't try anything funny. I've got my eye on you."
"And your hand as well," Dodgson jibbed.
Edgar cuffed him.
Then… the ground shook and the survivors felt a familiar vibration. Thoom.
"What was that?" Sarah asked, looking around. She saw her father's eyes widened in fear.
"It's the Rex," Harding told her.
"The WHAT?!" Sarah said in disbelief. He had to be joking.
He wasn't. Her fears were confirmed when he heard a terrifying roar not too far from where she stood.
Another vibration. This one closer. Thoom.
"Oh no…" Sarah realized.
They were in the territory of the island's super predator. And she was coming for them.
"Let's go inside, shall we?" Edgar said.
They hurried as fast as they could to the visitor center. Grant pushed open the big front doors. Inside, the place was a wreck, but at least it had light. No need to worry about Troodon in this place.
"Are we safe in here?" Raul asked.
"I wouldn't count on it," Edgar told him. "We had a run-in with the princess earlier. She had no troubles breaking her way in here."
"Then let's move on," Sarah suggested.
Harding hung back. "Not a good idea to go too far in," he said. "That's where THEY are."
Edgar frowned at him. "I don't see we have much of a choice. Don't worry; we'll stick together."
The mercenaries, shepherding Dodgson's cronies, led the way deeper and deeper into the complex.
"I think we should go to the control room," Grant said.
"No. It's not safe there. The Troodon have already gotten in there twice," Ellie told him.
"Ah, but that was when it was dark. Now we have light!" Wu reminded her.
"We can't go in there. That's where Muldoon is," Harding murmured.
Edgar sighed heavily. "Can you just make up your minds?"
"Fine. Listen: we're going to the control room. Anyone who doesn't agree can stay here." Wu said, and began promptly striding down the hall.
After a moment the others followed.
Wu opened the door that led to the control room and everyone went inside. Except for Harding. He lingered at the door, looking at the ground. Sarah looked back at him.
"What's wrong?"
Harding couldn't find the words. "Just look," he said.
Sarah looked. While everyone was getting settled in, no-one seemed to acknowledge the pile of ferns and leaves and straw in the far corner. Sarah hesitantly approached it. She gasped. There was a man in there. He was dead.
"What happened to him?" Sarah whispered, horrified.
"The Troodon got him," Grant said grimly. "And laid eggs in his stomach."
"WHAT?"
"That's what they do. They're like those spider wasps that lay eggs in their victims, so that when the eggs hatch-"
"I get it!"
Someone whimpered. It was Dodgson. All the color had drained from his face.
"And those things are in this building?!" he shrieked.
Wu nodded aloofly. "That's right. So why don't you zip it before you draw them right to us?"
"Where's the phone?" Edgar said, his voice tense. Clearly, he'd been put off by the grim realization. "Let's just make the call and get the heck out of here."
Wu found one sitting on the desk and picked it up. He put it to his ear. "It's working." He handed it off to Edgar.
Edgar got in touch with the military and requested an evac team come in. There was nothing for the others to do but wait.
"Do you think the T-Rex followed us here?" Oscar asked Grant.
"I don't know. She has a remarkable sense of smell. I'd say, more than likely," Grant told him.
Edgar hung up the phone. "They're on their way. But it's going to be a few hours at best."
"Okay. What do we do in the meantime?"
"Lay low I guess. Try not to get eaten." Edgar shot a glance at Muldoon's corpse.
"This is good." Startled, everyone looked at the person who had said those words: Wu.
"I mean… it's good that we have some time to get my research," Wu explained hastily.
"You're still worried about that?" Yoder asked.
"Of course I am. Don't want it falling into the wrong hands." He shot Dodgson a look. Dodgson just smiled.
"But you lost your research. It's out there in the jungle somewhere," Edgar reminded him.
"Yes. We have to go find it."
Edgar smiled mockingly. "You're on your own then."
Wu put his hands on his hips like a pouty child. "That's the whole reason we came, isn't it?"
"Yes, and we lost a man in the process."
"That's irrelevant. I'm sorry for your loss, yes, but the mission is still the same."
"No it's not. We have no idea what we're up against."
Wu wasn't done yet though. "It's too valuable to leave behind!"
"More valuable than human life?" Edgar asked.
Wu hesitated. "Of course… not. Of course not. But-"
"But nothing. Forget the research. The mission now is to just get off this island alive. None of us is going anywhere," Edgar said.
And just like that, the lights flickered and went out.
In the maintenance shed, Laura Sorkin smiled as she smashed the power grid to smithereens with a sledge hammer. A good job the sledge hammer had been there; otherwise, she didn't know what she would have done.
Sparks flew off the grid as she brought the hammer down again and again until it was reduced to nothing but rubble. Panting, she threw the hammer aside and stepped back to admire her handiwork. Was this a good idea? Probably not. One thing it would do, though, is buy her more time to figure out a way to ruin Henry Wu's carrier. Wu and his group would be too terrified to leave the visitor center now. That gave Sorkin time to work out her next move.
Vargas helped Linares into the local hospital, supporting the wounded pilot with his body.
"I need a doctor!" he shouted to the staff. A woman rushed forward. Vargas recognized that she was American, not a local Costa Rican.
"I'm Dr. Carter," the woman introduced. "What do you need?"
"What does it look like, Doc? My friend got attacked outside. He's injured!"
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine," Vargas insisted. "Just focus on helping my friend."
Vargas then remembered something. "Wait… does this place have a phone?"
Dr. Carter nodded and told him where. Vargas rushed to the phone and tried calling Ludlow. He was disappointed.
"What the hell?" he swore. "The phones are out! They won't work!"
The hospital lights flickered and went out. Vargas heard patients and staff cried out in surprise. The village's power grid was down. They were cut off from the rest of the world. No communication. No electricity.
Malcolm blinked in surprise as the lights in his room went out.
"What's going on?" he heard Kelly ask.
"Just a minute," Jess said. She walked to the door and opened it. "Lights are out here, too."
"They're out all over the building," Malcolm sighed. "We best prepare for the worst."
"What do you mean?" Kelly asked.
"I mean someone better lock the doors and seal the windows while they still can."
He heard footsteps running out. "Who was that?"
"I think it was Jess," Kelly told him.
"Where's she going?"
"To help, I guess."
Malcolm reached out to his daughter. "Come here."
She came and sat next to him.
"Whatever happens, I'll watch over you," he promised.
Arnold felt himself being jostled around in the darkness by both patients and staff as they ran this way and that.
One panicked individual knocked him so hard that he fell down. His glasses flew off his face. He felt along the floor for them. Someone stepped on his hand. Someone else kneed him in the face. Forget the glasses, he told himself and stood up. Not like glasses would be much use in this situation anyway.
Suddenly, a beam of light cut through the darkness. A flashlight. Arnold made his way towards it, disoriented now without his glasses. A maid was directing people to a safe room. Arnold followed with them, wondering where the kids and Trey and Gutierrez had gone. Surely, they'd make their way here as soon as they could.
Trey turned on his flashlight and shone it around. "Where's Arnold?"
Gutierrez looked around. "He must have gotten pulled into the crowd," he said.
Trey looked at Tim and Lex. "We better get them someplace safe."
"Agreed," Gutierrez nodded. "Go with the crowd. I think they're being led to a safe room."
"Where are you going?" Tim asked.
"To help fortify this place," Gutierrez said.
In the dark control room everybody had fallen silent. Nobody moved. Just listened. Then they heard it. The sound many of them feared. A clicking sound. Followed by many others. Getting nearer.
On both Isla Nublar and Costa Rica, the sun was starting to set. It was the end of a long day. And the beginning of a long night…
For the Troodon it was time to hunt.
Yeah, and this is where things get dark. The "long night" where the Troodon are on the hunt. One of the first ideas I had for this sequel was following up on the reveal in The Isla Nublar Incident that Troodon had migrated to the mainland. I wanted to explore the horrifying implications and consequences of this. Of course, they aren't the only ones on the mainland. The Chaos Continues is one big reference to early mainland plots: the compys from the novel, the raptors and the dilos from the comics...
And yeah, Malcolm quoted Fallen Kingdom. This was originally written around the time that Fallen Kingdom came out and it had a bigger influence later on in the story. And for the record, I loved Fallen Kingdom.
Anyway, I'll see you all next time! Don't forget to leave a review!
