Dinner was filled with awkward silence and the scraping of forks against plates. Melissa tore apart her steak and chewed it like the cow had personally wronged her. Her eyes darted about the room, never settling on one place for more than a few seconds. I delicately cut my stake and chewed each bite carefully. Mark and Andy were seated on either side of me, looking about as comfortable as I felt.
The four body guards - I'd already forgotten their names - sat stoically and looked directly across the room without ever breaking eye contact from the wall. I tired to start up a conversation a few times but it died out pretty quickly. As soon as Melissa set her fork horizontal across her plate the bodyguards stopped eating as well. I exchanged glances with Andy and Mark, we all set out utensils down as well.
"Dinner is over, report back to your bunk rooms. I will awaken you at 400 hours precisely. Have your gear together because from there it's Isla Ciaru," Melissa barked. That was the longest sentence said all night. I followed the bodyguards out of the cabin and back to the bunk room - they remained passive as I wished them a good night.
Melissa kept to her promise and the cabin door was flung open not three seconds after 400 hours. Her hands clasped behind her back as she stood in a military stance, she had on her blue uniform and dog tags like we were going into combat. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and dressed in the same outfit I had worn on the shift; cargo shorts, hiking boots, and a tee shirt. The turquoise bracelet felt like a shackle so I slipped it off and dropped it into my backpack.
"Simon, Vincent, Muhammad, and Greg were waiting on lifeboat bobbing in the ocean like a buoy. Melissa scaled the side of the ship like a spider and dropped into the boat. I stood precariously on the railing before lowering myself with a rope. Vincent caught me securely around the waist and pulled me safely into the smaller boat. Andy and Mark were next, after a brief struggle with the rope they were panting next to me. The bodyguard handed us each a padded and insulated backpack filled with eggs. I strapped the egg bag on over my personal backpack.
I felt a breath of wind sharp against my neck and I turned to see Isla Ciaru rising up in the distance. The whole island was dense with trees and jagged cliffs - but there was supple beach and I wondered again why we weren't just flown in by chopper. Maybe there was too much wind? I had a bad feeling but pressed it down as the jitters.
"Remember we have four days to complete the mission. We hike to the nesting grounds, drop off the eggs, and hike back to the beach. Another boat will be waiting for us to take us back to Isla Nublar where we will be flown back to DC. If we are not on the beach in 96 hours we will be left here," Melissa said gravely.
"Why is the time schedule so crucial?" I asked. Even if the eggs did hatch in the next four days the dinosaurs would be too small to do any harm.
"The eggs aren't the only prehistoric creatures on the island," Simon said in a Spanish accent. The way Melissa's eyes flashed made me think he wasn't supposed to say that.
"What?" Mark exclaimed. "I was not informed we were going to a death zone!"
"We were told the island was uninhabited!" Andy chimed in, outraged. i was too stunned to speak. Melissa rubbed her temple before speaking.
"You know the truth, this will be dangerous, and for whatever reason Dr. Richard trusted you three to help us get the job done. And it must be done. All will go according to plan, have no fear. We drop off the eggs and get back to the beach in 96 hours." she said frankly.
"And what if we refuse to help?" I demanded hotly. She looked me dead in the eye and a chill crawled up my spine.
"Then you wait on the beach and get eaten,"