Chapter 8: Walk in the Park

The team continued their trek through the island. The further they went, the more the island grew more lush and green and less rocky and barren. Jack followed Devlin, Monroe, and Carrie out of a cave onto a stone-like bridge.

"We're almost out in the open." Monroe observed. "We have to find the stretch of water at the center of the island. That's where the planes' gonna land."

They were a good distance inland now, far away from the beach, but close enough that the ocean still loomed past the rocks beyond them. The island shore was nothing more than a treacherous bit of wave-carved rock.

There was a thick fog at this level -- clouds, really -- but far below they could make out the ocean. And at its banks, a boat.

"The other boat!" Carrie shouted in excitement.

But things weren't looking good for the second boat. They were attempting to land, but the sea was still rough with the passing storm and the currents knocked them about like a toy in a bathtub.

"We'll see them again." Monroe insisted. "Let's go. The first thing we have to do is find a place for the plane to land."

Once the boat passed out of sight, they continued across the bridge and knocked another parachuted crate down and gathered the supplies. Monroe took some ammo for his shotgun, as well as a few other weapons. They went left from the crate, around a gathering of thorn bushes, through a narrow path. Ahead, the path began to widen before them.

Monroe led the group through a dark, damp cave ahead of them. When they exited, Monroe stayed low, and hurried to a vantage point. The others followed.

And directly below them there laid a plateau, covered with the ruins of an old compound, concrete buildings and shacks, smashed open and destroyed.

"What is this place?" Carrie asked.

"Looks like some kind of compound." Devlin answered.

"Where are the workers?" Carrie asked again.

"Something bad must have happened here." Jack inquired.

"Jack, would you relax?" Devlin insisted. He took out his camera, set it up, and began filming a few shots of the village.

Thunder rumbled overhead as Devlin, Jack, Carrie, Lenny, Mark, Monroe, and two sailors clambered out of the ruined pass.

Devlin stayed low, and hurried to a vantage point. The others followed.

Devlin as he led the group into the village. Spread among the ruins was a village - a crude shanty town, built very recently, ramshackle grass and buildings. It looked as though the village had been ravaged by some unnamed force, possibly a hurricane.

"It looks deserted..." Jack added as they walked caustiously through the ruined village.

Devlin was busy rolling film on the village. "Of course it's deserted. Use your eyes, Jack. The place is a ruin! Nobody's been here for months or even years."

"Look!" Carrie shouted, pointing toward the cloudy skies.

Above them, pterosaurs flew in great flocks. They were silvery in the rising sunlight, with long bullet-shaped bodies and powerful wings. They stretched their wings wide as they rode the wind. Some of them looked down at the humans curiously.

Jack identified them as Cearadactylus. Carnivorous, but predominantly fish-eaters. Devlin filmed the creatures as they flew high above them.

The group moved deeper into the village.

But they were no longer alone.

As they approached, a pair of cold, reptillian eyes watched and waited. The image of the humans travelled from those eyes along the optic nerve to the owner's brain where the image referrenced it's memory and recognition took place.

Prey.

It's brain then sent a series of signals to it's lungs, hind legs, and clawed forearms.

The hunt had begun.

Monroe was growing uneasy. He held his rifle up at the ready.

He handed Jack a weapon - a small handgun, taken from the supply crate.

"Here, Jack. I've got a weapon for you. Take this. 9mm."

"I don't like guns." Jack protested. He didn't even like water-pistols as a kid. How much would he care for them now?

"I didn't ask you if you liked it. Take it." Monroe ordered.

Jack reluctantly took the weapon, studied it, and cocked it.

Just then, a rustling sound reached their ears. Monroe readied a handgun as both Jack and Lance scanned their surroundings. Something moved, accompanied by a loud scrape. Monroe cocked his pistol and nervously approached a crumbling garage.

SCREEEECH!!!!

A lizard-like shape jumped into the air. Instinctively, Monroe shot at it. The thing leapt from building to building, followed by a trail of bullet hits.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Devlin shouted. "We don't even know what it is!"

They heard the labored breathing of a living creature.

Jack turned to Devlin, the filmmakers eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.

A small, bird-like dinosaur, dark cyan with red stripes streaking its back, stood on the dusty path ahead of them. Only about the size of a rottweiler, it appeared to be a maturing juvenile. It stood on its clawed hind legs, balancing on a thick tail. A small crown of feathers lined the back of it's neck and more feathers splayed from it's scaled skin. It walked upright, bobbing its head like a bird.

It stared out at them, with weird, feral eyes.

"Finally!" Lance shouted. "Our first sighting!"

He moved forward slightly.

"Well hi there, little fella." he guiled. "What are you supposed to be? Some kind of weird bird-thing?"

The thing hissed at Lance, baring it's sharp teeth. Monroe pointed his gun at the bird-like shape. Devlin stopped him from firing.

While the others struggled to deduce what species it was, Jack was the only one who recognized it instantly:

Velociraptor.

Carnivore.

Pack-hunter.

Late Cretaceous.

A 6-inch sickle-like claw terminated from the first toe of each foot.

In deep shadow, the raptor observed with dark, crimson eyes.

A suspended moment. Devlin stepped forward.

Knowing the possible danger, Jack stepped up behind Devlin. "Lance...I think we should go back." he whispered warningly.

"I will handle this." Devlin assured.

Devlin slowly fished a Nestle Crunch candy bar from his pocket. Peeling back the wrapper, he slowly waved the candy. The raptor shrunk back, as if confused.

"Look, chocolate...you like chocolate?" he coaxed. He bit into the candy bar and chewed, noisily smacking his lips. He offered the candy again.

The raptor's eyes drilled into Devlin. It's strong tail slowly waved back and forth.

"Lance, I don't think-" Carrie began to warn.

"Carrie, trust me. I've been around predators more times than I can remember; hyenas, jackals, lions, network executives."

Monroe was not far away, his rifle slightly erect, waiting for the slightest transgression from the animal.

"Good to eat! Take it...take it!" Devlin continued.

The animal continued to stare at him. Lance squatted down on his haunches.

Cautiously, the raptor strode forward a few steps, it's claws scraping the ground.

The raptor drew closer. Lance held the candy bar in the palm of his hand. It bobbed its head, tore into the candy bar and scarfed it up.

"Jack, do you think more of them could be nearby?" Devlin questioned.

"They usually travelled in..." Jack began.

In the blink of an eye, more velociraptors began to melt out of the shadows.

"...Packs."

Devlin's smile faded. He turned his head slowly to the right. The raptors came in from all sides, forming a circle, barking and snarling as they surrounded the humans.

Jack immediately indicated the juvenile. "This one's a scout!"

"Bright idea." Devlin quipped. "Send out the young, dumb one."

As if in insulted reply, the juvenile lunged and sunk it's teeth into Devlin's wrist. He yelled in pain.

As Devlin wrestled with the juvenile, the other raptors leered at the frightened humans, their reptillian eyes aglow with murderous hunger.

The juvenile finally released it's grip on Devlin and ran off, disappearing into the velociraptor ranks.

The group started to nervously walk backwards, Devlin gestured impatiently.

Raptors emerged from around ruined buildings, as if from nowhere, before anyone could react.

Within mere seconds, they were completely surrounded.

The vicious carnivores stood six feet tall and, by Jack's guess-timate, weighed around 200 pounds each. They were bird-like in their appearance, with males having feather tufts on the back of their heads. They were also brightly colored and had small, red eyes. Both male and female velociraptors possessed feathered crests and a ridge of mid-body spines Jack supposed were displayed during courting rituals. While males sported varying shades of blue-green plumage and dark-striped cyan skin, females were mostly dull shades of orange and brown.

It made sense. In nature, in many cases where males and females appeared different, the males were the more colorful, as with birds.

The raptors' vocalizations were short, loud, hooting calls.

A raptor stepped forward, out of the gathering. He was bigger than the others and possessed a magnificent crown of blue, purple and green feathers.

Suddenly, Mark felt sharp teeth rip into his ankle. A raptor had caught him. He barely had time to cry out before the raptor yanked him away from under a rock.

Carrie stepped back in horror and screamed.

Panicked, the group scattered in all directions.

"No! Stay together!" Monroe shouted. "If we scatter, they'll pick us off!" But his warnings fell on deaf ears.

Monroe fired his shotgun. Smoke and flame shot out, blasting one of the raptors, blowing it right off it's feet. Monroe pumped the gun, the huge spent cartridge flipped through the air. He fired again, blasted another raptor, blew this one away as well. The smoke cleared.

Carrie jumped up and scrambled into the middle of the street, where she hit the dirt and crawled under a fallen shed in the middle of the road. Jack rolled over to the space where Carrie was, but she was gone now. He looked around frantically. Carrie rolled onto her feet and sprinted toward the building nearest her.

Mike, a cameraman, had nearly reached a hiding place of his own when he found himself headed off by a raptor. He turned to the other way, but found there were more raptors.

He picked up a nearby large stone as the dinosaurs cautiously approached, eyeing him coldly. Not more than a few feet away, the leader of the trio stopped, peering at him. Mike threw the stone with all his might, but the dinosaurs feinted. From behind him, another raptor slashed at the back of his legs, severing his tendons. Mike cried out and fell to the ground.

Unable to walk, Mike attempted to crawl away from the animals. The effort clearly caused him great pain. But the raptors descended on Mike, making a meal out of him.

For several minutes the men fought and screamed and died dozens of velociraptors sprinted toward them.

Behind Carrie, a raptor gave chase, bounding after her with supernatural speed. Carrie ran flat-out, but her speed was nothing compared to the raptor's, and it gained on her rapidly.

In the midst of the confusion, Jack saw another raptor, the alpha-female of the pack, screaming at Carrie. The female's skin and feathers were the color of a desert stained with blood. She pierced through Carrie with her bright, golden eyes, veined with streaks of burnt sienna. She barked with rising hysterics.

Raising his pistol, Jack aimed for the female's head. But before Jack could fire his weapon, he was knocked to the ground, the gun flying from his grasp. He looked up to see a velociraptor, snarling down at him.

Elsewhere, Devlin swung at the raptors with a fallen branch. He was knocked to the ground, the raptors shrieking down at him. A bloodied, sickle-clawed foot slammed into Devlin's chest, pinning him down. The alpha-male of the pack prepared to slash Devlin's throat...

A gunshot rang out, piercing the air.

The alpha-male fell to the ground right next to a startled Lance, dead.

Mammal and reptile alike froze in their tracks.

The raptors hesitated, as if stunned. Their leader killed, they broke off and retreated. Monroe roughly hauled Devlin to his feet. "Seen enough?"

The velociraptors melted away into the darkness, vanishing as fast as they appeared.

The group bolted away, searching for a way out of the town and the madness that occupied it.

The alpha-female stood on a rock not far away, eyeing the escaping prey. Her burning golden eyes travelled to the dead body of her mate, lying in a steadily expanding pool of blood. The golden eyes burned with cold, reptillian fury.

The female shrieked, a cry of rage, echoing through the buildings to the cliffs.

The group ran through the town, Monroe and Jack scanning the area around them for more raptors. They continued on until they reached a dead-end. Not far behind, the raptors were re-grouping and coming at them again.

"Stay alert. We're on their hunting ground now." Monroe warned.

Carrie's horrified face, she saw human remains. Bones, skulls. The group had arrived amid dozens of skeletal remains littering the clearing.

"Damn it, we've hit a dead end. Looks like some kind of graveyard." Monroe cast an eye over the debris-strewn ground, his gaze rising to the far wall in front of them. The team had walked into a walled courtyard with no exits but the way they had come in.

Jack watched Devlin as he nonchalantly filmed the scene with uncontainable enthusiam. If Devlin was disturbed by the events just taken place, his face didn't betray it.

"This is the perfect place to shoot. Hehehe, this is exactly why I love shooting "on location"; Authenticity. Real life!"

Startled by this behavior, Jack hesitated from responding.

Monroe stared at Lance in disbelief. People were dying, and this tosser was still filming his bloody documentary.

That's when they heard strange barking calls coming from behind them. The explorers turned to find the entrance blocked by a group of snarling raptors. Red streaks painted their skin and feathers like war-paint on war horses. Their orange eyes glowed with vengeance in the dimmed light.

"Take cover!" Monroe shouted.

Monroe raised his shot-gun and started unloading on them. In the middle of the firefight, Jack ran low on ammo, asking Monroe for his shotgun.

"Oh my God!" Lance yelled in hysteric excitement.

"Stick together!" Monroe shouted.

"Come on." Monroe said.

"Happy, Devlin?" " Monroe asked, vindictively. " Had your fill of "real life" yet?"

Examining the piles, Jack found saurian remains mixed in with the human bones.

In front of them, the central space was dominated by the skull of some huge creature, mounted on its own rotting skeleton with as much embellishment as a totem. Jack stepped forward slightly, unable to help himself. He examined the skull from a few feet away.

Dinosaur. Dromeosaurid. Vaguely familiar, but Jack was unable to catalogue it in his mind, and it's skeleton had been so torn apart that he was unable to judge anatomically. But he immediately deduced it as some kind of natural enemy to the raptors; A larger carnivore battling for land and hunting territory. Judging by it's position in the courtyard, it must have been boxed in by raptors on all sides. And when it was trapped, the leader went for the throat.

"Carrie, come on. Let's get a couple shots of you in front of this skull." Devlin suggested.

"Excuse me, Lance, but shouldn't we be focusing on finding Colin and the others?" Carrie questioned.

"Finding Colin? Oh, good idea! He must have atleast three cans of film with him." he answered, distracted.

Something about the skeleton fascinated Carrie. She bent forward, getting very close to the remains. She peered right into the eye sockets of the nightmarish creature. Then, a live velociraptor lunged at her through the skeleton's ribcage. She screamed.

"Look out!" Monroe shouted.

The group desperately fought off more of the voracious carnivores as they tore through the skeletons toward them, making an exit for them. The leaping fire-light of the gunshots played across the eye sockets of the strange dromaeosaurid skull, almost bringing it to life. It seemed to watch the combatants.

Once Jack's second round was finished, about four more raptors broke through the dromeosaurid skeleton at the wall. Monroe and Jack used their combined pistol/shotgun ammo to kill them. Now, the group headed through their new exit out of the boneyard.

"All clear, let's go." Monroe said.

The shotgun fired, blasting flame and smoke through the air. They raced down the passageway, a dozen raptors striding after them. The humans raced around a corner. More raptors. They raced around another corner. More raptors. Onward they came. Methodical. Relentless. Boxing in the humans. Jack and Monroe fired as they went.

On their left, from the shadows, another raptor leaped out in attack, right toward Lance, bringing him down. It bit at the back of his legs, trying to drag him away and finish the job. Lance cried out and dropped to the ground.

"Aaagh! Help!"

Jack immediately shot the raptor off of Lance. It crumpled to the ground in a heap. Monroe stepped forward, impressed.

"Well. Not bad, for a yank." he grinned, slapping Jack on the shoulder. Jack returned the smile.

"He's hurt! I'll take care of him." Carrie said, moving to crouch over Lance.

"That was a close one." Jack sighed.

Carrie carefully looked Lance over. Luckily, he had aquired only minor injuries; scratches and bruises, Jack had stopped the raptor before it could do any real damage. But Devlin's right ankle was worse off. It had fresh bite marks, the trousers torn, soaked with blood.

Carrie wrapped a belt around his ankle. Devlin winced in pain.

"Is it broken?" Devlin asked, worried.

"I think you'll be ok." Carrie replied.

"Not me. I was talkin' about the camera." Devlin corrected, indicating the movie camera, which was, miraculously, still in one piece.

"I don't know about the camera. I only know how to fix up people." she said, irritated.

They all followed Monroe out into the open, Devlin limping slightly at first. Monroe checked their surroundings. This part of the plateau was honey-combed with old, volcanic caves and passageways, most of them leading to dead ends. The silvery pterosaurs were everywhere, riding the morning wind. Many of them also perched on the island cliffs. Monroe led the group to a rickety metal bridge, spanning a section of broken pathway. At the end of the bridge, their was another supply crate, smashed open on impact.

"Go ahead, Jack. I'll cover you. Be careful." he said, keeping a sharp eye on both land and sky.

Jack headed to the far end across the framework. The rusting bridge suddenly caved in, separating Jack from Devlin and Monroe, but Carrie began climbing the rock face to her right, heading toward Jack on the other side.

"Wait for me, Jack! I'm coming with you!" she shouted.

"Carrie, are you crazy?!" Jack yelled.

"I know what I'm doing." she said. "I'm coming Jack!"

She was only a foot away from the ledge when four raptors led out from their hiding places. They almost caught her as she pulled herself up on the wall.

Jack stood at the ledge, gun cocked, shooting to protect her from the several charging raptors as she climbed across. Running low on ammo, Jack grabbed the pistol right behind him in the broken crate. Once she made it completely across, she was on the ledge above him. Jack rushed toward the rock face, trying to make his way to her. He ran up the hill and started across the rusting bridge. Once across, the two met up.

"Hurry! We'll meet up at the top, call the plane and get outta this hellhole." Monroe declared. The great-white hunter cocked his gun, letting loose a flying shell. "Come on, Devlin." With that, Monroe and Devlin proceeded into the maze of rock on there side of the divide, Devlin hoisting his precious, barely-scratched tripod camera on his back.

With a raptor in hot pursuit, Carrie came flying. Carrie jumped across the rivine, leaping onto the rock wall. Jack went for the stone steps, jumping over to them three at a time.

Raptors went after the two, scrambling over the rocks onto the rock face. The two scampered down the wall, searching for footing wherever they could get it. The raptor was just one beat behind, and it's snarling face as it chased.

The two burrowed into the nearest rock crevasse for protection. They broke off rubble and hurled it down at the raptor. The raptor was undeterred, closing the gap on the them. Jack and Carrie climbed down off of the rock walland onto a platform, part of the original bridge. They continued onto the platform. They suddenly saw a raptor, much too far to jump onto the rock face, so Jack climbed gingerly onto the nearest ledge, perilously close to the hungry raptor.

It dropped down again, and they kept moving forward. But now another raptor erupted right below them. The raptor's jaws snapped just inches from Jack's leg. But the raptor couldn't hold itself up there, and it fell back to the ground.

Jack looked around frantically and spotted the outcrop a few yards away.

They moved for it, but the raptor leaped up at them again, this time right underneath Carrie.

Jack smashed his boot into the side of the raptor's head. The raptor slammed at him, latching onto his boot for a second before the raptor's own weight pulled it back down. Carrie went down with the raptor, losing her grip on the rock, tumbling down. Jack grabbed her by the arm at the last second, but Carrie dangled there, above the raptor. The animal flipped over onto its feet and crouched to pounce just as Jack summoned his strength and jerked Carrie back onto the ledge.

The raptor sprung, but too late. Jack and Carrie scrambled over the ledge and onto the cliff.

Meanwhile, Devlin and Monroe moved along down below. Monroe moved carefully along the path, Devlin falling behind, lugging his heavy video equipment. The raptors were gone for now, but now with hungry pterosaurs hunting in the morning skies, too much movement might attract their attention.

So far, the pterosaurs that hovered up so high in the air and that perched on craggy rocks in the hills had not spotted the humans. The early morning mist shrouded them from view. Yet Monroe kept careful watch, prepared to shoot any pterosaur that swooped from the sky - or any raptor that gave them more trouble.

The silvery cearadactyls were everywhere. Many of them perched on the island cliffs. The creatures were more active now. More of them landed on the crags above, as if waiting to descend upon them. The two remained in the shadows, moving beneath rocks, afraid they might be spotted.

At the moment, he was more concerned about the cearadactyls than the raptors.

Jack and Carrie carefully made there way along their own trail, Jack taking ahold of Carrie's hand to lead her. Sometimes, Jack had to wait painful minutes until some cearadactyl would turn it's scaly silver head.

He glanced toward the ocean. Not far off, a gleaming cearadactyl dropped like a bullet toward the sea, its wings folded. It plunged into the pounding surf, then flapped its wings. As it rose from the white-capped waves, a huge glittering fish wriggled in it's mouth.

Thankfully, the cearadactyl had not seen him. Or if it had, it did not care for human flesh. Perhaps the pterosaurs had never seen animals on land until now, and did not think to hunt there.

At first, Monroe had been weary of the pterosaurs, and he'd kept still, ordering Devlin to do the same, hoping they'd be mistaken for rocks. But gradually, Monroe grew more comfortable.

These pterosaurs were probably fish-eaters, nothing more.

And then, from directly behind them, there was a strange noise. Something like an urp.

There, standing hugely at Devlin's back, was a cearadactyl. It had landed so silently, he had not heard it. It was the first he'd seen up close. The pterosaur had furry down over all of its body and huge yellow eyes like those on a fish. It had huge claws on each wing and its mouth had the strangest teeth, like huge needles that arced down from its gums. The monster's teeth vaguely reminded Monroe of a mako shark he'd seen off the coast of Madagascar.

The cearadactyl glared at Lance with it's large eyes, studying him. After a few tense moments, the creature cocked it's head--

And suddenly snapped at Lance with it's nasty-looking jaws.

Monroe turned and fired at the pterosaur. It flapped away, startled. But it did not end there. The gunshot had attracted others from the flock, who now flew in and perched on the rocks above, studying the humans below.

This did not bode well.


Further above, Jack and Carrie had found their own problems. Standing not twenty feet ahead of them, was a raptor, a scout, on the prowl. The two immediately struggled for a hiding place, but to no avail, as before the raptor had seen them with glaring reddish eyes, it had smelled them. It sized them up, like a lion, preparing to attack. Jack struggled to load a cartridge into his pistol as the raptor approached. Finally, as it coldly approached and finally leapt into the air at them, Jack cocked the gun and fired, hitting the raptor right between the eyes. The animal fell in a heap in front of them. Not far away, hearing the noise, a second raptor turned a corner.

This time, the two found a hiding place behind some sparse shrubbery. The raptor studied the area, snapping it's jaws and purring deeply, searching for signs of a threat or prey. It spotted the dead raptor ahead. It stepped toward it's fallen comrade, studied him for several long seconds - then tore into the flank of the fallen raptor, tearing off a piece of meat.

"Did you see that?" Carrie asked, astonished. "They eat their wounded."

"Yeah. Everything on this island seems to be food for something else, so let's try to stay off the menu, huh?" Jack suggested. Together, they slunk away, heading for the higher ridge, escaping the feasting raptor.


Monroe continued to hold off the inquisitive and hungry cearadactyls. The gunfire attracted them by the score now, and cearadactyls shrieked in the air, flocking down from the cliffs. Several of the creatures had collapsed around them, but others were wheeling from the skies in a feeding frenzy.

Jack looked down from the cliff, watching the struggle.

Cearadactyls screamed, a great shrieking cry, and dove out of the air on leathery wings. They soared over the stones and swiveled their heads. Teeth gleamed in the daylight. The men scattered and tried to hide beneath huge slabs of stone.

"We've gotta get outta this nightmare." Carrie said. Jack took her hand and led her into another cave passage.

Suddenly, a great shadow blocked the sunlight at the mouth of the cave exit. A cearadactyl shrieked, a cry so piercing that the walls around Jack and Carrie trembled. They pressed themselves against the side of the cave. Outside the mouth of the fissure, the pterosaur clutched the rock with it's wing talons. It let out a piercing cry again, and Jack knew it was no use.

They'd been seen.

The pterosaur's shriek had alerted others from the flock. They vied for position as the first pterosaur wedged its long silver head into the cave opening. Teeth longer than hypodermic needles flashed near Jack's face, and he could smell the scent of dead fish on the pterosaur's breath.

Below, Monroe still struggled to fight off the attacking pterosaurs. Devlin, weaponless, was forced to stand back and only film the struggle. It was just them now. What few crew members had survived the raptor attack had been quickly picked off by the frenzying cearadactyls.

For a moment, the pterosaur beat its wings against the stones, blocking their escape.

The battle became a dance of sheer survival.

After several long minutes, Monroe began backing toward the mouth of the cave. He had an idea. If he could kill the cearadactyls at the very mouth of the cave, the bodies would block the entrance. If enough entrances were blocked, they might have a chance. He fought his way back ferociously, shooting and clubbing. He had just gained the entrance when he heard a familiar shriek.

Monroe barely had time to glance at the pterosaur, for three more pterosaurs had gathered at the mouth of the cave.

Devlin sat huddled beneath his rock, filming the debacle. Cearadactyls lay at Monroe's feet, and more were coming. The hunter stood with the mouth of the cave yawning wide behind him, aiming his rifle and preparing for the worst.

Smoke rose from the cearadactyls' mouths as they let out their piercing cries in the chilled morning air. But the cries had changed from hunting cries to signals. Suddenly, what was left of the flock shrieked and leaped into the air. The pterosaurs circled the cliffs twice, then flew off in defeat.

Exhausted and weary, the four humans continued on their respective paths. They had no choice.