Chapter 10:
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The afternoon soon came upon the visitors' center and it had gotten pretty hot in the control room. Mike and Rick had shared a single water bottle between themselves. But the water had now been used up.
Mike left the control room and searched the upper floor for anything that might help. There were a few vending machines near the elevator that looked like they had some snacks insides. And bottles of water.
With Rick's help Mike was able to get the machine open. The boys stocked-up on food and water and brought it all back to the control room. They divided the snacks between them, but Mike had noticed that Rick took most of the good stuff like the candy bars. There was scarcely anything left that Mike didn't think was going to give him ingestion.
"Rick!" Mike said. "You can't take all the good candy bars. Give me some at least."
"You still have 3 of your food packets."
"So what?" said Mike, grabbing at a Mars bar. "You can't have all of the snacks you know."
Rick snatched back the Mars bar out of his brother's' hand. "We'll be going home tomorrow anyway, Mike. And besides, I have no more food in my pack as it is."
"And who's fault is that?" Mike shouted, standing to his feet and glaring down at Rick. "I have seen you, Rick. You're always stuffing your face whenever I'm not looking."
Rick got to his feet, his face angry and beginning to turn red. "What gives you the right to spy on me and talk about what I do in my life?"
Mike snorted. "Some life."
"Talking about my life won't get you a life,"
"Screw you, Rick!" Mike yelled. "At least I have a life outside the house. What you do you do all day, huh? Nothing. All you do at home is loath around and eat, getting fat just like dad."
"Oh, so now you're bringing dad into this?" Rick challenged. "It's not his fault that he started to gain weight, Mike!"
"Then who's fault is it?" said Mike.
"I don't know!"
The two brothers stood in silence as they glared at each other.
Finally Rick had had enough. He picked up the rest of the candy bars, stuffed them in his backpack, and left the control room.
Mike watched him go, but didn't bother to call him back. He went to the computer, sat down, and picked up the phone. If his brother was going to be like this, then fine, he'll see what dad would have to say. He started dialing.
(*)
Rick had went down to the first floor. The argument was still fresh in his mind as he stood near the doors and ate a candy bar, his hands sticky because the chocolate had melted in the heat. He finished it and tossed the wrapper on the floor.
He was still angry with what Mike had told him. He couldn't believe that he had brought their dad into this. True that their dad had gained a little weight over the last two years, but that was only because of the divorce. Dad, who had a solid build once, now had the same kind of body shape as he did.
Rick opened one of the double doors and poked his head out, feeling the cool morning air becoming more hot. He looked out over the small pond and past the trees as he let his mind wonder again.
He and Mike had come through the crash, but the dinosaurs were not possible. The one from yesterday had truly scared the living shit out of him. True he had acted like a coward, but that didn't give Mike the right to punch him. Did it? He took off his machete from his belt and looked at it. It was a good weapon to use as a means of protecting himself... but he had failed to protect Mike.
What if out of spite Mike did tell their dad? Rick really didn't want to have to explain to him how he had acted the coward instead of his brother's protector.
Rick looked out at the small pond again. He could see the reflections of the tropical trees at the other end of the pond. He suddenly noticed an image on the rippling surface. He squinted, not comprehending...
And then he looked up, and then he froze, his eyes wide.
A Velociraptor was standing on the other side of the pond.
It hadn't noticed him so Rick quickly slipped in back through the doors. He peeked around the corner of the door, hoping that the dinosaur hadn't seen him.
The raptor was a bright reddish-brown color. Its underside was white, including the inner sides of its arms and legs. Its throat and the underside of its lower jaw however was a light blue. Along its back were black stripes that ran down over the brown like a tiger. It had bright yellow eyes that were focused on the water and not on him.
Rick gulped because it wasn't the eyes he was worried about. It was the raptor's teeth and claws that he was worried about. They were sharp and deadly, the killing claws being the most deadliest.
Rick felt a chill as he watched the dinosaur drink from the pond.
Of course, the dinosaur hadn't realized that it had been seen so it continued to drink.
Rick also noticed that the dinosaur was around 6 ft tall, which was impossible in any sense. It shouldn't be that big.
The animal, as if sensing it was being watched, looked up from its drinking, it's snout sniffing the air. Then it turned its head in the direction of the building.
Rick promptly ducked out of sight, closed the doors, and dashed back up the stairs to the second floor as quickly as he could, because he was sure that the dinosaur had seen him.
(*)
Mike had just gotten off the phone with his dad when Rick came running in through the door, his eyes wide with terror as he panted.
"Rick, what's the matter?" Mike said, looking a little worried as Rick slammed the door behind him, the lock clicking.
"There's a raptor outside the building!"
"What?"
"Just outside! Across the pond! But I think it may have seen me."
Mike got up and hurried out of the control room, with Rick right behind him. They ran along the hall, got to the stairs, and looked down toward the doors. And with horror they saw, moving in through the double doors, a Velociraptor. And it wasn't alone. There were four more raptors coming in through the doors behind it.
The boys hunkered down on the balcony as the dinosaurs below them fanned out, hissing and growling softly.
"What do we do?" Rick whispered.
Mike didn't answer. He knew that the raptors would find a way up to the second floor. Damaged staircase or not, Mike also knew that raptors could jump high. Malcolm's book had told him about this.
One raptor bent down and sniffed at something on the floor near the doors. Mike peered down at it and saw that it was a candy bar wrapper. The same kind of candy wrapper Rick had taken from his hand a few minutes ago!
Mike turned to Rick and whispered fiercely, "You left a candy wrapper lying on the ground?"
Rick looked at Mike as he pointed down to the lobby. The raptor, with the wrapper in it's claws, was now sniffing the air. The other raptors did the same as they moved deeper into the rotunda. The boys knew that sooner rather then later the raptors would find their way up to the second floor.
"We need to move now!" Mike whispered. "The control room, Rick, hurry!"
They dashed back down the hall toward the control room.
As they ran, panting with fear, Mike turned sharply to Rick. "Why did you leave a candy bar wrapper lying around, Rick?"
"I didn't know there were raptors lurking around outside, Mike!"
They got back to the control room but as soon as Rick tried to open the door, he found that he couldn't. The handle would not budge. Then he remembered that he needed his access card so he dug frantically in his pockets and found... that he did not have one.
"I don't have my access card, Mike!"
Mike dug into his own pockets, too, and found that he also didn't have a card with him. "And me!" he said.
Looking in through the round glass windows, they saw that the cards were on the desks in the room, just lying there with their stuff.
And to make it worse was that they heard the sounds of the snarling of raptors. It was coming up from the hallway.
"They're coming!" Rick whispered.
"We need to go through the showcase theater window again!" Mike said as he turned and bolted up the steps and into the hallway. Rick was right behind him, panting hard as he ran.
They rounded the corridor and went down a shorter corridor that led to the theater. They heard the snarls of the raptors getting closer. Then, just as they were just about to pass another hallway, Rick stopped in his tracks and froze. Mike stopped and turned to him.
"Rick, why are you stopping?" Mike said, panting.
Rick lifted a hand and pointed down the hallway to his left, his eyes wide as he moved back beside Mike. Mike followed his finger and saw what his brother was pointing at.
In the hallway was a single, lone raptor. It had somehow gotten to the second floor. The dinosaur hissed menacingly when it saw them.
The boys knew what they had to do now; They ran for it.
They reached the theater door, opened it, and slammed it shut. Closed!
But the raptor on the other side slammed into the door with a loud thud. It screeched, a terrifying sound that echoed in the still hallway. Soon more screeches and barks joined it. Mike and Rick ran down the aisle, climbed through the broken window, and back into the control room.
Mike ran to the computer and started clicking, opening up the window screens of the tour program.
"What are you doing?" Rick shouted as he gathered up his stuff.
Mike ignored him as he clicked on the mouse, his focus entirely on what he was doing.
"There's no time for that!" Rick told him again. "We've got to get out of here!"
There was a loud bang and the boys turned to look at the door. The raptors had arrived. And they wanted in.
Mike counted that all four of them were there as he turned and clicked on the mouse a final time before quickly gathering his things. The raptors each took a turn banging on the door and the rounded glass windows. A spiderweb of cracks appeared and the boys knew that they had only a few more seconds at least before they got in.
"Where do we go now, Mike? We're trapped!"
Rick was right. They couldn't go through the theater again because the other raptor was there. And going out through the main door was not a good option at the moment.
Mike looked around. There was a hole in the ceiling that he and Rick could get in through, but the...
There was another crack of glass as another raptor slammed into the window, screeching. Rick was looking around and spotted an air duct across the room. The duct was big enough for them both to crawl into. He ran over to it, pried open the lid, and waved Mike over. "In here!" he said.
Mike ran over to him, got on all fours, and crawled into the vent. Rick followed after him just as he heard the window shatter behind him. They hurried through the vent, hoping to find a way that led away from the control room. Rick heard the raptors snarl from behind him, but he and Mike were already deep within the vent.
"Where are we going?" Rick coughed as he crawled after Mike. There was a large build-up of dust that had gathered over the years. Mike ignored him as he crawled along. Behind them they could hear the sound of the raptors snarling in rage, but they were faint. Too bad for them.
They finally came to another service hatch at the end of the vent. Mike pushed it open and almost fell out into open air. He felt around in the semi-darkness until his hands touched the metal rail of a service ladder. He positioned his body enough so that he was able to climb down. Rick followed down after him with the backpacks.
"Where are we?" Rick said as he climbed down the ladder.
Mike looked around as he descended the ladder. His feet touched flat concrete after eleven feet.
Rick soon joined him but couldn't see very good in the dark. "I can't see shit," he said.
Mike smiled smugly in the dark. "That's why I have these," he said. He took out his night-vision goggles from his backpack and put them on.
The light from the goggles lit-up and Mike was able to see where they were.
Rick grumbled as he kept close to Mike. "Oh, that's fine for you, Mike, but what about me?"
"Just stay close to me, Rick. I think we're in the garage under the center." Mike said as he led Rick forward. In the phosphorescent green vision of the goggles he saw a small row of tour cars lined up across a wall. There were even a few Wrangler Sahara jeeps as well. The boys moved forward until they finally reached the exit door that led outside. The big garage door was closed shut so there was no way that they could open it.
Mike pressed the handle and the door opened. He took off his goggles as bright sunlight met him.
"Now where do we go?" said Rick.
Mike looked around then stepped out onto the small road that led uphill to the front of the building. "We need to get to the tour car." he said.
Rick was still nervous as he looked around at the surrounding jungle. "But what about the raptors? Won't they know that we are outside?"
"Maybe, but I activated the tour program right before the raptors showed up at the control room." said Mike. "We have less then two minutes before the car takes off."
"But we are suppose to stay here at the building." said Rick as he followed after Mike. "Dad said so."
Mike shook his head as he crept around the building. "I called dad and he told me that the rescue team will be docking at the East dock tomorrow some time in the late afternoon. We have to get there first so that they won't come inland to the visitor center, Rick. If they do, and they will, the raptors will ambush them."
Rick looked doubtful as he followed his brother to the front of the building.
The tour car was still there, its electric motor humming on standby. The boys quickly put their stuff in the back trunk and climbed into the car. A few seconds later the vehicle started off with an electrical hum. The boys were both astounded and relieved as the car started moving. A computerized voice said, "Welcome aboard! Please keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times. Never mind the steering wheel. Our completely automated fleet will handle the driving for you."
Rick said, "Where's this car going to take us?"
"To the East dock," said Mike as he slid himself into the front passenger seat. The car drove along down the road, but it didn't go very fast. "Once we pass through the gate, we will be travelling south down the tour road. Then a bit east, and then finally north."
"So basically the dock is on the other side of the island, right?" said Rick.
Mike nodded as he looked at the car's speed metre. "I wish this thing could move a little faster though. We're only travelling at 12 mph."
Rick then got a thought in his head. "Hold on, Mike. How's this car even moving? I thought the track in the middle of the road was all broken and stuff, even after four years. Doesn't it need it to, you know, run?"
Mike said simply, "Not if the two antenna on the car can still pick up a signal relay from the control room. And as long as the road isn't too damaged, the car can still drive. But I think we'll be okay."
Rick looked out through the rear window doubtfully. "I hope you're right, Mike." he said. "I hope you're right."
The car continued down the road, passed through the main gate, and disappeared beyond the jungle from sight.
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Sorry its taking me so long to upload these, I'm doing my best to do one a day. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am. And thanks for the reviews so far. If you have any ideas or opinions you can leave em in the reviews or PM me.
Mike and Rick belong to me.
Jurassic Park/isla nublar (C) Universal