Rodriguez led the way down the corridor, which had apparently been hewn from the actual bedrock of the Isla Nublar. The passage was larger this side of the blockage and the big Costa Rican could stand up unhindered, although his head did still occasionally brush against the odd root hanging from the cavern roof.
After a seemingly indeterminate period of walking in the pitch black, Rodriguez stopped suddenly. "Door here, señors." He explained briefly.
"Is it locked?" Asked Johnny.
Rodriguez pushed it experimentally. The door slowly creaked open.
"No señor." He replied, somewhat inanely.
They stepped through the well worn doorway and found themselves in what was apparently a huge cave – by torchlight they could make out a number of desks and control consoles, as well as what appeared to be a large glass balcony jutting out from the far wall.
"This must be the lab." Decided Steve. "D'ya reckon the lights still work?"
Eddy ran his hand down the wall beside the door and immediately found what he was looking for – a large electronic switch, situated at shoulder height.
"Hold on to your butts!" The Texan quipped, quoting his old colleague, and threw the switch.
A deep rumble echoed around the cavern, quickly followed by the high-pitched whine of turbines spooling up. The note eventually settled and the lights began to flicker on dimly. Steve couldn't help but marvel at Hammond's level of engineering.
Two years out of commission and the generators still work. Spared no expense.
Steve stepped gingerly across the floor, picking his way through the dust by the light of the gradually brightening strips above. "Alright gents, you know what we're after. Turn this place upside down if you have to."
Eddy made a beeline for the glass balcony while Johnny and Rodriguez began to rifle through a large bank of cabinets. Steve headed towards a small door cut into the cavern wall, drawing his M1911 and switching on its taclight.
Upon arrival at the entrance, Steve cast a cursory glance around and saw, to his horror, that there was a small hole in the wall near the base of the door. Once again, the hole was just about big enough for… a medium-sized dog.
I have a bad feeling about this. But still, better say something cool when you kick down the door.
Raising his weapon, he took a deep breath and kicked down the door.
"Something cool."
The room was empty.
Totally worth it.
Exhaling in relief, Steve lowered his handgun and scanned the room more closely – it was much smaller than the other cave, with one wall completely taken up by a large bank of freezers.
Bingo.
Steve cautiously lifted the lid of the first one, an icy blast hitting him square in the face. Unfortunately, it contained nothing but empty syringes and chunks of slushy coolant.
Second time lucky.
He opened the second lid – this freezer was also cold, but empty.
Third's a charm.
That one was possibly the coldest, but empty too.
One left – I bloody hope we haven't come all this way for nothing!
The fourth was anything but empty. It was scattered with shards of black plastic, oozing with some form of foul smelling goo. A horrible suspicion crossed Steve's mind and he reached inside, fishing out one of the larger pieces of material. A quick glance at it confirmed his fears – the plastic bore the words "below –20 degrees" stencilled in white.
No, no, no, NO!
Freezer number four had obviously once contained the samples they were after. But now, none of the cylinders were intact. Something had happened. Hammond's DNA was no more.
Steve stood stock still, struggling to come to terms with the repercussions this discovery would have.
No samples, no kids! Maybe we can scoop up some of that goo instead?!
Steve turned on his heel and went to join the others, desperately trying to think of an alternative solution. However, before he could leave the room, a chilling fact suddenly dawned on him – there had been no gust of cold air as he opened the last freezer. The cooling system must have failed on that unit. The contents were at room temperature.
As Steve went back to double check, something else caught his eye – there was a hole in the bottom of the freezer. A hole just big enough to allow the passage of a medium-sized dog. And in the dust beside this hole, there were footprints. Three-toed footprints. Raptor footprints.
They hatched. Cocking Nora!
Steve sprinted for the door. "We have to get out of here, right now!" He yelled, but the warning had come just seconds too late. A cry of alarm went up from the other side of the lab, swiftly followed by two gunshots. In the half-light of the larger chamber, Steve saw Johnny lying on the floor and Rodriguez brandishing his M-16 in the direction of a small pile of boxes.
Steve charged across the lab and joined the others, pistol in hand. "You okay Johnny?" He asked.
"I think so…" Johnny got to his feet gingerly, nursing his left wrist. "There's something down 'ere, Steve. And its got teeth."
"Behind those crates, señor. A small lizard. I saw him run." Said Rodriguez, his gaze never wavering from the pile of boxes.
Eddy chose this moment to burst onto the scene, waving his shotgun wildly. "What was it? Where?" He panted.
"I didn't see exactly." Replied Johnny. "We opened up one of these 'ere lockers and it just jumped us – must have been 'iding there the whole bloody time. Little blighter sank its nippers into my 'and, then went and 'id behind those boxes – Roddy got a couple of shots off but I reckon 'e missed."
"I do not very often." Rodriguez interjected, a touch put out.
Steve ignored him. "I reckon it's a baby Raptor," He said. "I found some freezer units in the storeroom over there. Looks like we're too late – the cooling system failed and the samples have hatched out."
Eddy stared at the young warden. "You're crazy! Surely that's not possible?"
"That's what they said about them breeding, and then look what happened." Steve replied.
"So… That's it then? No samples? Mission failed? We're just goin' to go home?" Eddy asked in disbelief.
Steve nodded sadly. "I don't know what else we can do. The cylinders were all destroyed – smashed to pieces and covered in goo."
There was silence as this information sunk in. The operation was in tatters; without the samples there was no hope for Hammond's grandchildren.
Eddy was the first to speak, a frown crossing his features. "Boys, I think we've been led up the garden path."
Steve looked at the Texan curiously. "How d'ya mean?"
"You say the casings were shattered? Shattered like an eggshell?"
Steve nodded again.
"Then I'll wager that goo is amniotic fluid. Embryos don't just hatch all by themselves, they need some kind o' host to develop in. This was never about retrievin' DNA samples – this was about us gettin' dinosaur eggs!" Eddy finished.
Steve suddenly saw straight through Hammond's ruse. Realising he'd never be able to persuade them to recover a clutch of highly dangerous Raptor eggs, no matter what the stakes, he had pretended the kidnappers were merely after the DNA. While they believed they would simply be handing over scientific research that could be sold to the highest bidder, they would actually be delivering a deadly weapon to whoever was prepared to pay the most. A weapon that could breed.
"Synthetic eggs…" Steve murmured. "Of course. They were growing Raptors in this lab… And now we're slap bang in the middle of their nest."
"So what're we gonna do?" Asked Johnny. "The DNA's all gone, an' now we're being 'unted down by baby dinosaurs."
Right on cue, an inhuman scream echoed around the chamber. Rodriguez, who had been deeply engrossed in watching the crates and played no part in the discussion, wheeled round and squeezed off a few shots in the general direction of the noise.
"How about… Run?" Steve suggested.
"Excellent notion." Johnny began to sidle towards the exit, closely followed by the others. Rodriguez brought up the rear, weapon raised as he searched for another fleeting glimpse of the unseen enemy.
"There, behind that workbench!" Eddy spotted one. Then Johnny did too. "Another, little bugger just jumped off the balcony." Rodriguez, feeling a little left out, fired off a couple more rounds into the cave ceiling.
"Hold fire." Steve whispered as they backed towards the door. Then, the attack came all at once. Another high-pitched screech sounded and the Raptors broke cover, dashing towards the four humans as one seething, wheeling mass. Rodriguez abandoned all pretence of warning shots and opened fire, his M-16 spitting tongues of flame as he attempted to mow down the aggressors. The other three followed suit and blazed away into the dimly lit room, the sound of gunfire deafening in the enclosed space. The attack was over as quickly as it had begun, and a deathly silence fell once again.
"Did… Did we get 'em?" Asked Steve, a little shakily. Rodriguez stepped forward, sniffed, crouched down and carefully checked the floor. When he got to his feet and turned to face the others, he face wore a look of bewilderment. "No dead, señor." He said. "No blood, nada. I missed again." The last sentence was spoken almost disbelievingly.
Eddy was equally bemused. "Could've sworn I smoked at least two of 'em."
That was when the second attack came. This time the creatures struck silently, the only noise coming from the scuffling of claws upon the tiled laboratory floor. Three of the small Raptors singled out Rodriguez and flew at the big man with their jaws wide open, but they had apparently underestimated the big Costa Rican – with almost superhuman reactions, Rodriguez span and swung the butt of his rifle in a vicious arc, snapping one of the Raptor's necks and laying the other clean out for the count. The third landed on its backside and, with a terrified squeal, darted for cover.
Steve and Eddy were squeezing shots into the dinosaur ranks to no apparent avail and, seeing Rodriguez holding his own against the Raptor pack, made a break for the door. Moments later, Johnny joined them in the corridor, frantically struggling to reload his jammed M-16.
Rodriguez stooped to pick up the dead Raptor and sprinted for the exit, firing his M-16 from the hip as he ran. The Costa Rican somehow managed to overtake the raptors and reach the door first, which Steve slammed shut after him before leaning back against it and breathing hard. He noticed for the first time that there were lights set in the walls of the passage, apparently also powered by the laboratory generators.
We made it.
Eddy's shotgun roared, the sound momentarily disorientating in the confined space. Steve looked at the Texan questioningly, who wordlessly pointed at the base of the door. The others followed his finger and saw the hole that had, until moments ago, accommodated a murderous dinosaur.
"Run?" Enquired Johnny, panting.
"Run." Agreed Steve, equally out of breath.
However long it had taken to reach the laboratory, it took a tenth of the time to get back to the blockage. They pelted hell-for-leather down the passage and hurled themselves through the gap. Almost before the last man had dived through, Rodriguez began blocking up the hole, using the butt of his M-16 as a shovel while the others scrabbled at the smaller rocks with their hands.
Spurred on by the cries from the other side of the blockage increasing in volume, the team soon had the hole filled in. The small Raptors then seemed to attempt to dig a way through, but they were soon discouraged by a flurry of warning shots from Rodriguez's M-16 ("Cover your ears, señors").
At last, the screeching faded as the dinosaurs returned to their nest. The humans sank down, exhausted by their narrow escape.
"That was close." Ventured Steve.
"Too bloody close." Johnny agreed.
"Heh, we're safe with 'ol one-man-army here." Eddy motioned to Rodriguez, who smiled modestly before slinging the dead dinosaur to the floor.
"So what do you make of that, señors?" He asked.
Steve moved in to take closer look. The creature certainly resembled a juvenile raptor, with its bony head and tell-tale thumb claw. However, its markings differed from those Steve had seen before, and the scaly plates along its back shimmered strangely in the dim passage lighting. Steve estimated the creature to be about the size of a Labrador.
A medium-sized dog, of course.
Steve looked up at Eddy, who was also studying the dinosaur intently. "You're the expert."
Eddy nodded slowly, struggling to tear his gaze away from the creature's scaly hide. "It's a Raptor alright, a baby one at that. I'd say perhaps… A one-month old. But to tell y'all the truth, I've never seen one quite like this… It's anatomically very close to the 'ol park ones, but there's something… I dunno. It's different."
Rodriguez grunted his approval and drew his pistol. "You know the drill, señors."
His companions scarcely had time to cover their ears before he opened fire on the raptor carcass, the shots finding their mark with unerring accuracy. The Costa Rican then holstered his pistol, leaned over and picked up the corpse, dangling it aloft in a meaty fist. He indicated the animal's back scales, which were, incredibly, completely unscathed.
"See?" He said in distaste, throwing the corpse down again. "Bullets don't work."
This revelation, somewhat understandably, brought a disbelieving silence from the others. But, try as they might, nobody could come up with any other explanation for what they had just witnessed.
A bulletproof dinosaur. Why the hell not.
"You know, we could just go out and ask Smith." Steve suddenly realised.
"Sounds like a plan." Johnny agreed.
As they got up to leave, Rodriguez went to pick up the dinosaur but Steve stopped him. "That… Thing… Stays here." Rodriguez looked slightly disappointed at this but didn't bother to argue, instead picking up his M-16 and cradling it lovingly.
The foursome headed towards the daylight and quickly reached the entrance, momentarily blinded by the bright midday sunshine. They had apparently been inside for several hours.
As their eyes adjusted, Steve cast around for the scientist. He was nowhere to be seen.
"Great. Now where's he got to?" Steve growled. "Everyone spread out, see if you can find them."
The others obeyed and made their way out of the clearing, carefully combing the surrounding forest in search of the missing members of the expedition. After a few minutes of fruitless hunting, Rodriguez's voice boomed out through the trees.
"Señors! Over here!"
It took Steve mere moments to reach the big Costa Rican, who was crouching down beside a clump of swamp grass – red swamp grass.
A horrible chill ran down Steve's spine as he approached the scene. The grass was indeed red with blood – the blood of a stricken scientist. Kneeling down next to Rodriguez, the young warden saw that Smith didn't have long left. He was bleeding from multiple places, his face ashen, skin clammy and – this was the worst part – very little remained of his left leg.
Seconds later, Johnny and Eddy burst through the trees and pulled up short. Johnny reached for his medical kit instinctively, but his hand dropped away when he saw the extent of the scientist's injuries. He had needed hospital a good thirty minutes ago and was well past the doctor stage now – a priest would have been more appropriate, but somehow Johnny doubted the scientist would have wanted last rites.
Steve looked at Johnny for confirmation of Smith's condition and the medic shook his head, the message clear – there was no hope.
Somehow, Smith sensed this and managed to open his eyes, his pupils gazing unseeingly skywards. Steve knew he had to take his chance – the dying man could still help the others survive.
"Hey…" To his anguish, Steve realised he didn't even know the man's first name. "Look, I know you must be in a lot of pain, but we need to set some things straight." Steve began gently, before Eddy motioned at him to hurry up – time was of the essence. "Those dinosaurs you were breeding in the lab… Just how special were they?"
The scientist opened his mouth and coughed once, twice, thrice – then spoke, his voice bubbling. "Ahhh yes… My little… Babies… Special… So very, very special…" He wheezed, breaking off into what may well have been a giggle. "My greatest achievement… Our finest hour… Project…" He trailed off and his eyes began to close for what Steve suspected would be the final time. He suddenly remembered the other member of their party. "And Miller? Where's Miller?"
"Miller… He drew them away… They chased him and left me alone… To die… I'm going to die… Die…" His eyes closed and, as realisation suddenly dawned, he began to cry. "Don't let me die."
"I'm sorry." Was all Steve could think of to say. "I'm so sorry." On impulse he reached for the scientist's hand and grasped it tightly, as if he could help the suffering man cling on desperately to life. As Steve felt the final breath leave Smith's body, a lump rose in his throat. He let go of the scientist's hand and the limb fell lifelessly to the floor, landing with a slight *splash* in a pool of deep red blood.
Steve got up and turned away from the others, striding away from the dead scientist – he had to get away, anywhere but there. 'There' was a bad place. He heard murmured conversation from the others and felt their eyes on him as he left the scene and made his way back to the clearing. Chest heaving, he sat down and leant against the sun warmed rock face. He couldn't help but think about the man he hardly knew – the man who had died under his command, entirely because of a decision he had made. If he had let Smith come with them into the lab, he would still be alive. There were no two ways about it.
Miller was right… I'm not a leader. He's dead because of me.
Hearing the others approaching, Steve hastily rubbed his eyes and took a long drink from his canteen. Johnny came over and sat down beside the young warden.
"You ok mate?" He asked, unknowingly mimicking Steve's words from a few days ago – it seemed like a lifetime.
"Yeah, fine." Steve lied. "It's just… How many people have to die in this place? There's been so much death here, so much pain… I wish we… No, I wish I never came here, fat lot of good I've done – one man dead, another missing, all for nothing… And all because of me. If I hadn't sent them out of that cave, Smith would still be alive right now. It's my fault, goddammit! How many more people are gonna die because of me?!"
Johnny took was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "D'ya know why Hammond chose me for this mission, Steve?"
Steve answered wearily. "Yeah, 'cause you're the best of the best and all that."
Johnny shook his head. "Nope, not true. Remember when I said I was injured in a training exercise?"
Steve nodded.
"Not true either. I served in the Gulf War as a combat medic with the Royal Marines. My section were out on patrol one night when a gang of 'ostiles jumped us – took out the entire squad, all save for me and another young lad – Jimbo, we called 'im. Anyway, we popped smoke and made a break for it. Looked like we were getting away pretty good, but then we come to this big open area. Long story short, I told 'im to go first while I covered. Poor bugger stood on a land mine. I 'ad a look, but there was nothing left – just a bit of 'elmet and his gun. What makes it worse is, I got back to base without a god damn scratch on me. Even got an 'onourable discharge on bloody psychological grounds… I still have the nightmares. But listen, the point is, if I 'adn't sent 'im across that field first, 'e would still be alive today. It should 'ave been me that stepped on that land mine… Should 'ave been me…" Johnny trailed off.
Steve didn't know what to say, but luckily Johnny continued after a pause. "Point is, we're all 'ere for a reason. For me, guess it's 'cos I've got somefink to prove. To my family, to Jimbo's family, to myself, I don't really know - I just owe 'im this one. Just remember, we all make mistakes, and when you really fink about it, how was you to know that scientist type would get attacked by a gang of fuckin' dinos when we ain't seen none all day – no more than I knew that field was chock full with land mines. Remember… You're not alone."
"We've got your back, Steve-o." Eddy slapped the young warden on the back. "If we didn't trust you, do you really think you'd have made it all this way?"
Rodriguez concurred. "Is not your fault, señor. Shit happens."
This last sentence raised a chuckle.
"So, what's the plan now boss?" Eddy inquired.
"Bury Smith, I guess." Replied Steve, reluctantly. Rodriguez took a sharp intake of breath and shook his head vigorously. "Bad idea señor. Very bad."
"Roddy's right, Steve." Johnny chimed in. "We ain't got the time to stay in one place and do our best sitting duck impression. The dinos will see to 'im, rest assured."
"I guess you're right." Steve conceded. "Suppose we'd better try and find Miller then." He looked around and his eyes set upon a tree a good deal taller than the rest. "I'll shin up that tree and see if I can spot him in the paddock."
This seemed like a sensible plan, so the others nodded in agreement as Steve slipped off his pack and headed for the tree. There were plenty of branches, making climbing easy, and Steve made good progress up the tree.
Miller led the dinos away from Smith… Could I have been wrong about him? He's a bit on the cold side, granted, but he's a bloody brave man.
These thoughts whirling around his head, the young warden quickly reached the summit of the huge tree and surveyed the surrounding landscape in search of anything that may provide a clue to Miller's whereabouts.
Unfortunately, the search proved fruitless, and Steve already considering his next move when something caught his eye – a thin plume of blue wood smoke had begun to rise from what the young warden had so far assumed to be a small clearing in the distance.
Steve rummaged in his thigh pocket for a pair of binoculars and inspected the thicket more closely - he could scarcely believe what he saw. The clearing was in fact a thick layer of camouflage netting enshrouding a circle of five large, round tents. The smoke originated from a small campfire in the centre, which was being vigorously attended by a large man who apparently wished to extinguish it. Sweeping the area, Steve saw that the tents were actually pitched within an overgrown Dilophosaurus holding pen, and that the surrounding electric fence had been surreptitiously cleared of vegetation.
Bloody hell… Someone's set up a full blown dino-proof campsite!
After observing for a few moments more, Steve was about to vacate his lookout and inform the others of his find when he detected movement within the circle of tents. A small figure darted out from one of the canvas constructions and began sprinting towards the fence. Judging by the long hair, Steve guessed it was a girl. A moment later, two more men came barrelling out from inside another tent and gave chase. The pursuit didn't last long, ending abruptly when the first figure reached the perimeter fence discovered she had nowhere to go.
Looks like she's trying to escape…
From this point, it took the men but a few seconds to apprehend the girl by means of rugby-tackling her to the ground. She was then hauled to her feet and unceremoniously dragged back inside the nearest tent. However, there was still time for an event that would change the entire outlook of the mission - just before she vanished from sight, the girl screamed.
Despite the distance, Steve nearly fell out of his tree when the faint cry reached his ears. He knew that sound only too well, having grown very familiar with it over two years ago. That scream belonged to Alexis Murphy.
