Jurassic Island
Chapter 8 – Big Rex
Kate glared down at the center console, gnawing anxiously on her lower lip as she held her finger over the intercom button just above the touch screen, praying that a cheery operator from the Jurassic Park Visitor Center would answer at any second. But there was nothing. She tried a couple of more times, all to no avail. The headlights were still on, running on the car batteries, but the power that had once been humming through the metal track along the middle of the road was gone. The power was out.
She flickered her eyes up to Castle. He was no help. He just sat in his seat, staring out driver's side window at the tumult of rain outside. He mumbled something that sounded like "Oh shit" just as she was about to make another attempt at raising an operator via the intercom system built into the Explorer's front dashboard. That was when she felt the tremor.
It happened again, and Kate frowned, raising her eyes to the rearview mirror, watching as her reflection vibrated as she felt another mild tremor.
"What's that?" Sally inquired from the backseat. "Did anyone else feel that?"
Kate glanced back at their riding companions. Sally was clutching Todd's hand tightly in hers. "Maybe it's the power trying to come back on," Kate offered with a shrug. In truth, Kate really didn't know what it was, but she could not deny the uneasy feeling that suddenly manifested in the pit of her stomach. Castle remained completely still, his mouth agape as he stared up through the windowed car roof. "Rick?"
She watched as he swallowed and lowered his eyes back to her. She almost gasped when she saw the trembling look of fear in his eyes.
"The power's out," he stated dumbly, his voice flat and emotionless.
"Uh-huh," she bobbed her head. "I think we all sort of guessed that."
Castle slowly raised a hand, extending his pointer finger, and gestured out the window. "Electric fence," he stammered out.
Kate frowned, flirting her eyes back and forth between her husband and the tall, electrified fence that curved along the side of the road where the two Explorers had come to a halt. And then it hit her.
The fence.
The electric fence.
A low rumbling roar filled the air, and it was then that Kate realized that the tremors she had felt were not signs of the power trying to kick back on, but of a prehistoric large predator, brought back to life by unthinking scientists, approaching the fence line. She gazed out of the plexiglass roof, and through the thick rain, she could just about make out the outline of the King of the Dinosaurs.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex stood maybe twenty-five feet high, forty feet long from nose to tail, with an enormous, boxlike head that must have been five feet long itself. It was of a dark gray hue, with some browns mixed in along its underbelly. Bloody remains of its latest meal—a small goat, from the look of it, hang from its massive jaws. The tyrannosaur stood still for a moment, before tilting its head back and swallowing what had remained of the animal in one single big gulp.
And then, someone was shouting, overwhelmed and terrified. Whoever it was, Kate couldn't blame them. She was scared shitless by the sight of the fearsome tyrannosaur, now gazing down at the two parked vehicles with an unnerving interest. The shouting and crying got louder, and Castle pulled her eyes away from the dinosaur to exchange a confused look with Kate. She shrugged in reply, just as puzzled as he was, but then she caught a glimpse of a frantic man wearing a light brown jacket run past their car. He was soaking wet and screaming his lungs off, but he was running fast. Very fast. She followed him with her eyes, seeing him rush towards a sign, on the opposite side of the road, which displayed the universal symbol for a restroom. He soon disappeared down the path.
"Where the hell is he going?" she asked out loud, turning back towards Castle.
He shrugged. "When you gotta go, you gotta go," he answered with a cheeky grin—albeit much more subdued than normal—and she reached out for his hand, knowing that humor was his coping mechanism. He squeezed her hand in return.
It wasn't until she pulled her eyes away from her husband's, and glanced out the rain smeared windshield, that she noticed that the passenger side door on the Explorer in front of them was wide open. If she strained her ears just enough over the drumming noise generated by the pouring rain, Kate could barely make out the startled cries of the children. She remembered back to when they had been waiting in the queue for the tour. The lead Explorer had been taken by a father and his two kids, a boy and girl—eleven and fourteen, respectively.
"Oh my god," she muttered under her breath, exchanging a look with Castle. From the look in his eyes, she knew he had hit upon the same thing. "He left them. What… what kind of father abandons his kids when they need him most."
"Bastard," Castle growled.
"Whoa… whoa… whoa!" Todd shouted in the backseat, quickly gaining their attention as he frantically pointed out his window. "It… the dino's touching the fence."
"What!?" Kate exclaimed, craning her neck to look out the driver's side window. Sure enough, the tyrannosaur was nudging his nose against the previously electrified wires of the fence. It pulled back, its massive jaws opening. The tyrannosaur roared, and then lunged at the fence, its razor sharp teeth snapping the wires.
"What's it doing?" Sally cried.
"I… I don't know," Castle stammered out, squeezing his hand tighter around Kate's. They looked at one another, his eyes large with fear. Kate quickly closed the distance, not knowing what else to do, and kissed him soundly.
"I love you, Rick," she said softly, her voice quivering in fear and uncertainty, not knowing what was to come.
"Kate… oh, Kate," Castle breathed out, running his trembling hand down the side of her face. "I love you, too. So… so very much." She kissed him again, fingers curling into his shirt.
Outside along the rain swept road, the fence creaked and groaned under the agitated tyrannosaur's assault. It wasn't going to hold up for much longer. The fence was beginning to buckle. The post bent, and it was only a matter of time before it could no longer support the weight. It swayed precariously for a moment, but miraculously held. The tyrannosaur let bellowed out a low growl, lowered its head and rammed into it again. This time, the post gave way under another impact from the massive bulk of the gigantic beast. The tall post collapsed with a crash, falling down across the road between the to cars, bouncing violently against the track, no sparks or flashes of electric energy burst forth. Kate needed no further proof that the power had gone out.
"My God!" Castle exclaimed, all his boyish excitement at seeing the legendary King of the Dinosaurs gone. "Look at the sheer size of it!"
Panic filled her as the barrier completely gave way. The tyrannosaur snarled loudly, arching up to snap its powerful jaws around the other post. The metal groaned and twisted. The goliath seemed to be pleased. It shook its head, and bellowed, asserting its dominance, as it strolled out onto the road. The ground shook with each step it took. The tyrannosaur stopped in the center of the road, and lowered its head, sniffing the toppled post lying across the track. Seeming satisfied that it had vanished its foe, the prehistoric beast roar.
"Jesus!" Todd cried from the backseat.
Kate's chest was heaving as her heart pounded with each breath. The tyrannosaur's roar was earsplitting and heart stopping. It was one of the most terrifying sounds she had ever heard, raw and primeval. The kind of fear that coursed through her veins was ancient, born from a primal dread from human kind's earliest days on this Earth.
Castle's hold on her hand tightened. "Stay still," he instructed.
"What?"
"Its vision is based on movement," he said.
"And how do you know that, Mr. Writer?" scoffed a disbelieving Todd, reaching his breaking point. Sally immediately tried to admonish him, but he was having none of it. "You a dino expert now? Last time I checked, you just write pulp fiction for a living. Just nothing but made up nonsense if you ask me."
"I read it in that book Dr. Grant wrote," Castle spoke calmly, ignoring Todd's belittling of his work. Sure, Richard Castle's novel may not be literary masterpieces, but that man did do his research. And he could tell one hell of a good story.
"Yeah, but wasn't that all just theoretical?" Kate asked in a quiet voice, her eyes still trained on the tyrannosaur. Thankfully it was still keen on gnawing the fallen fence post. "Castle, I don't think now is really the time for theories." She cringed. It had come out harsher than she'd intended.
He flashed her hurt eyes, and she gave him an apologetic look, squeezing his hand in contrition. But before she could open her mouth and say anything, they felt the Explorer jerk. Sally whimpered from the backseat. Kate gasped in startled alarm when she noticed that the tyrannosaur was now close. Very close. It was nudging the front of their Explorer with its snout. With each bump of its nose, the Explorer shook.
"Stay perfectly still," Castle murmured, keeping his voice quiet.
Kate held her breath, her heart pounding profoundly within her chest. It was beating so hard she was almost concerned it would jump right out of her chest. Every muscle in her body tensed as she held still. She had never been more grateful for the many hours of yoga she'd practiced. It helped with centering her core energy and sustaining fixed positions. After his return from the hospital, Kate had roped Castle into doing a few postures with her. He bitched and moaned about it, but he couldn't deny the results, especially now.
Risking a glance in his direction, Kate was pleased to discover that even with only doing the bare minimum with her on the yoga mat—he got distracted easily—Castle was fairing better than she'd expected. With his lips pursed and sealed, his chest rose and fell with each breath through his nose. He was rock, back ramrod straight as he held his position. Kate had to admit, she was proud… and a little impressed.
Just as it looked like the tyrannosaur was losing interest with them, a beam of light from a high-powered flashlight shot out from the back of the other Explorer.
"No, no, no," Castle hissed. "Turn it off. Turn it off."
But it was too late.
The tyrannosaur raised its head, growling low, as it turned to gaze menacingly across at the other car. Kate's heart thumped in her chest as she mimicked Castle's pleas for the kids to turn off the flashlight. The beam of light bounced around, turning this way and that. It was enough to entice the tyrannosaur. It roared, turned fully away from their vehicle, and stomped over to the first car.
"The kids are alone in there!" Kate exclaimed, gasping out a breath, turning to meet Castle's panicked eyes.
"We've got to do something," he agreed.
"What?" Todd frowned. "What the hell can we do?"
Kate furrowed her brow, unable to answer that. She glanced back at Castle, seeing his brow scrunched up in thought. Outside the tyrannosaur snarled. The deep low rumbling sound caused the hairs on the back of Kate's neck to stand on end. She flickered her eyes back up, noticing that the door to the other Explorer had been closed. The flashlight, however, was still on. It kept bouncing around. And like a cat with a laser, the tyrannosaur followed the beam of light around. Her eyes grew wide as she noticed what was happening as the flashlight shifted angles, pointing straight up through the plexiglass roof of the car.
She wanted to do something, but she was helpless, forced to watch as the tyrannosaur lowered its massive head through the glass door, roaring and snarling. The screams of the two children could be heard even through the heavy drumming of rain. Castle banged his hands against the steering wheel, no doubt feeling just as useless as she did. Sally was crying softly in the backseat, clutching Todd, her head buried in his chest.
They watched in horror as the tyrannosaur attacked the Explorer like it was prey. It gripped the frame with its powerful jaws and shook the car violently. All the remaining glass shattered, and the tyrannosaur pulled back, lowering his box-shaped head. Using its massive bulk, the tyrannosaur flipped the car over. Metal crunched and shattered under the beast's powerful assault. The tyrannosaur attacked the car's underside, gnawing and gnashing at the piles and gears. The children continued to scream, crying for help.
"Kate!"
She turned her gaze away from the horrifying sight. Castle's eyebrows were raised and his eyes were wide. Oh, she recognized that look. He'd thought of something. "What is it?"
Before answering her, Castle quickly undid his seatbelt and gripped the headrest, pulling himself up out of his seat. "It was something I read in Dr. Grant's book before we…," he glanced at Kate, quirking one eyebrow, leaving the rest unsaid. She nodded. He climbed through the gap between the front seats, squeezing past Todd and Sally into the rear compartment. He bent his back and ruffled around in the trunk before finding whatever it was he was looking for. Kate heard a plastic snap, like something was popping open, and then Castle was crawling back into the front seat with what looked like a flare.
"Oh no," she shook her head, already guessing his intent.
"Oh yes," Castle bobbed his head. "It's the only way. We have to save those kids."
Kate bit her lower lip, reluctant to let Castle take the risk. She glanced back out through the windshield. Dissatisfied with the underbelly of the Ford Explorer, the tyrannosaur was now chewing on one of the tires. Opening its massive jaws, the beast lunged at the tire. The metal clanged loudly as it bent under the pressure. Its razor sharp teeth sunk into the rubber. Retching its head back, the tyrannosaur ripped the tire off the car, sending the rubber tube flying into the air. Now satisfied, the King of the Dinosaurs placed a large three clawed foot on top of the overturned car, and reared its head back as it roared in triumph, the sound reverberating throughout the air, making the ground tremble.
"Fine," Kate snapped, snatching the flare from Castle.
His eyes went wide in shock. "What? No, Kate… don't," he began to object. But before he could finish, she was already popping open her door and climbing out into the rain.
Kate gasped as the rain pelted her from above. It was like being stabbed by tiny little daggers. Bringing a hand up, she flicked her already soaked hair out of her eyes and stepped forward, ignoring Castle's pleas for her to get back in the car. Heart in her throat, body trembling with complete and utter fear, Kate stepped away from the car, not entirely believing she was doing this.
She snapped the top cap off the flare, and ignited it. The smell of sulfur hit her nostrils and she released a breath. Kate planted her feet firmly in the ground, giving herself a silent prep-talk. She recalled all of her Academy training and all her long talks with Dr. Burke about fear, the power it could hold, and how to master it. She steeled her gaze, and glared out at the tyrannosaur gnawing at the chassis of the rolled over Explorer.
Kate took a deep breath, summoning up all her courage. She hoped Castle was right about that vision based on movement thing.
"Hey!" she shouted, waving the lighted flare in the air above her head. "Hey!"
It worked. The tyrannosaur tilted its head up and looked at her. It roared, and Kate shivered in fright from her head to her toes. She could feel the fear deep down in her bones. She gulped down a breath of moisture heavy air, and shouted at it again, gaining the prehistoric monster's full attention. Slowly, she began to wave the flare back and forth, and damn if the tyrannosaur's large black eyes didn't follow the red light back and forth.
This might work, she thought, trying to think positively.
After one final sweep, now positive that she had its complete attention, Kate used all her strength to hurl the sparkling red flare away from the road and back into the park enclosure. The tyrannosaur took the bait, letting out a bellowing roar and went pounding after it. Kate stood perfectly still, holding her breath so that even her chest didn't move with the intake of air. She watched the tyrannosaur approach the concrete barrier, preparing to step over it and back into its paddock… and away from them.
Kate could vaguely hear what sounded like an argument coming from the car behind her, but she ignored it, praying it wouldn't distract the tyrannosaur. She heard a smacking sound and a thud, and the car rocked slightly, though, fortunately, not enough to capture the dinosaur's attention.
And then someone was jumping out of the car. She clenched her jaw and hoped to God that it wasn't Castle trying to do something brave, because if it was, she'd kill him.
"Hey! You, ugly face! Over here!"
Kate turned with incredulous disbelief, grounding out in frustration when she saw Todd igniting another flare. What in the hell did the meathead think he was doing!?
"Todd!" she yelled over the din of rain, not bothering to hide her disapproval and anger at him. "Freeze! Freeze! Get rid of that flare!"
He shook his head, ignoring her sound advice.
"Get the kids!" he shouted back, slowly stepping backward, grinning like he thought he was the hero of the hour.
And before she could even respond to that, Todd was waving the flare above his head and gaining the tyrannosaur's attention. It seemed to like this game, roaring delightfully as it changed course, stomping towards the idiot. Todd held the flare up into the air as he ran for his life towards the foliage and the path that would supposedly lead to the restroom where the kid's father had rushed off to earlier. Kate stood there, shaking her head at the utter stupidity of the man. He was going to get himself killed. For his sake, the restrooms had better been built of solid reinforced concrete. The ground quaked as the tyrannosaur chased after him, and soon the dense jungle engulfed the pair.
After letting a second or two pass, Kate stalked back to the car, yanking the door open to find Castle nursing a rapidly developing black eye. Sally was silently sobbing, trembling all over. Ignoring Castle for the moment, she turned to attempt to comfort the stricken young woman. But before Kate could reach her, Sally was shoving her aside and darting off in the same direction her idiotic fiancé and the killing machine that was the Tyrannosaurus Rex had disappeared.
"What the hell happened?" Kate growled out, beyond frustrated, not that she blamed Castle. From the look of the bruise forming around his eye, he'd put up a good fight.
"Todd wanted to be the hero," he groaned, accepting Kate's proffered hand as she climbed out of the car and into the pouring rain. Kate grabbed his head in her hands and held him still as she examined the bruise. "Well?" he asked tentatively.
"Pretty butch, Castle," she smirked.
"Yeah?" he gave a small humorless laugh. They both sobered quickly when they heard the cry of the children. "Someone better go after her," Castle said, speaking of Sally.
"I'll go," Kate offered, narrowing her eyes, decision made. "You get those kids."
He nodded, and she moved to leave, but Castle grabbed her arm, stopping her. Her eyes flicked up to his, and they said more in that single gaze than could ever be said in hours of conversation. Castle pulled her back to him and claimed her mouth in a fierce kiss. "Be careful," he murmured when they parted.
"You too," she replied, taking a moment to caress the side of his face with her fingertips, gazing into his eyes with all the love she had for him and taking comfort in seeing it reflected back, before she pulled away and ran after Sally and her idiotic fiancé… and a ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex.
