Jurassic Park
Chapter Ten – Rampage!
Jo solemnly glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. It was nine o'clock, and the only sound that could be heard was the incessant beating of the torrential rain as it thrashed heavily against the window, while a rushing sound of the mighty, gale-force winds encircled the house in one long, relentless howling. It almost sounded like groaning, tormented spirits pleading for shelter and warmth.
Jo's face was creased with concern as she anxiously played with her hands on her lap. She hadn't heard from Alan since he called her to inform her that he had arrived safely at Jack Carter's, and was about to turn in for the night. That had been late the night before when she had received his phone call, and he had promised to contact her again upon their arrival at Isla Sorna. They should have arrived hours ago. What could be keeping him? Why hadn't he phoned her? Surely he hadn't forgotten? It wasn't like Alan to be careless; he knew how much she worried.
All kinds of evil presentiments in the ugly forms of hideous, blood-thirsty monsters filled Jo's heart and mind as she sat musing, pondering and worrying. What if the party had been attacked by dinosaurs? What if Alan . . . no, she mustn't think that. Reprimanding herself inwardly for even suspecting the worst for a moment, Jo forced herself to look at the less harmful possibilities. Perhaps he had forgotten to take the phone with him and had accidentally left it behind at Jack's. Jo quickly dismissed this idea. No, Alan would never forget a thing like that. He was always so vigilant and organised. Then maybe he had had problems in trying to contact her. Perhaps the signal was poor . . . oh, if only she knew what was happening! If only she could be assured that her brother was safe!
Afraid, puzzled and restless, Jo at last forced herself to turn off the lights downstairs and make her way to bed. Her heart and mind were far away with Alan on that dreadful island that contained its fearful, man-eating inhabitants; nothing else could occupy her mind. Jo shuddered, but not with cold, as she thought upon the scaly fiends Isla Sorna sheltered. The winds continued to gush wildly about the house as Jo slowly crawled into bed. The room was warm, however, and yet Jo felt herself shivering. She could not explain the tumult of feelings that were rising inside her. Dark shadows of a foreboding nature seemed to haunt her, and fill her with new fears. It wasn't just Alan she was worried about – there was something else wrong, and yet Jo knew not what nor could she explain her feelings. She could almost sense that something dreadful was about to happen. Perhaps it was instinct, or perhaps it was her fear for Alan that caused Jo to imagine that all was not well. Whatever it was, the feeling clung to her, keeping Jo from finding peaceful rest that night. It was some time before she managed to close her eyes and drift away on the wings of sleep; and even then, she could only sleep fitfully, with a fixed disturbed expression upon her pale face. Jo lay upon her bed, tossing, turning, fidgeting while she dreamt of Alan, Isla Sorna and its frightful occupants, completely unaware of the drama that was taking place not so far away . . .
The raging storm tossed the large cargo ship upon the thrashing waves unmercifully. Shouts from the frightened men were utterly drowned by the deafening lament of the winds, crashing of the waves and the surge of the rain. Control of the ship seemed to have been lost completely as a result of the violent storm.
Someone burst into Professor Gates' cabin, gasping breathlessly. "Professor," he spluttered. "We've lost all control of the ship; but the Captain believes we are near the harbour in San Francisco . . ."
"Calm yourself, Bates," came the slow, meaningful and smooth voice of the grey-haired Professor. He was a large man with a small, prickly beard and short legs. He was smoking a cigarette, whilst smiling his usual unpleasant, pompous smile that generally enraged the people he had dealings with. "We've got what we wanted, and it will do no harm to wait patiently in the harbour before continuing our journey."
Bates, as always bewildered by the Professor's calm and careless demeanour, left the room. Professor Gates chuckled softly to himself and picked up a roll of paper that sat on a table to the side of him. Examining the paper, a slow, satisfied smile spread across the Professor's face. "Magnificent creature!" he exclaimed whilst studying the drawing of a T-Rex. "You, my big beauty, are going to bring me all the fame and money I have ever wanted."
Professor Gates continued in this gloating demeanour until a large crashing sound split the air whilst simultaneously jolting the ship violently, whilst it rocked forward unstably, which resulted in the Professor being tipped from his chair. As he struggled to his feet, which he did with great difficulty, Bates once again rushed into the room.
"Professor!" he cried. "We've crashed into the docks! One of the men appears to be trapped under the Compsognathus' cage which has fallen over!"
Gates did not seem to care at all about the unfortunate man who was lying injured under the heavy structure of metal. "What about the Compsognathus? Are they harmed? And the other dinosaurs? Are they alright?"
Bates looked at the Professor as one stunned. The Professor cared more for his precious dinosaurs than for a trapped and wounded human being. "I don't know Professor. I'm only repeating what Wilson . . ."
At that moment, a peal of terrified screams pierced the air, whilst cries of, "They've got loose! The whole blasted lot are loose!" filled the ship.
Bates and the Professor rushed from the room. They descended the narrow stairs that led down to the next level of the ship. One of the doors that led into a spacious room was ajar, and the two men ran in. A terrible sight met their eyes. The overturned metal cage was pinning down a screaming man, who was surrounded by a dozen Compsognathus, who had begun a cruel and savage attack upon him. The cage had fallen upon the bottom half of the man, leaving his chest, head and arms exposed. The Compsognathus were snapping, gnarling and biting at his body. Bates and the Professor stood paranoid as they looked on gripped with horror at the poor man's blood-soaked form. His screams suddenly subsided and his body ceased to react to his tormentors while the Compsognathus continued to consume him hungrily. They could not save him now.
Before the two terrified men could fully take in what was happening, another awful scream met their ears. "The Raptors have escaped!"
Bates and the Professor ran out of the room and closed the door, lest the pack of Compsognathus should flee. Running down the corridor to the cabin at the end, and where a trembling figure of a tall man stood in the doorway, the two men rushed to the scene.
Upon looking in, a horrible picture confronted them, which gave cause to the petrified and dismayed state of the other man. The door to the empty Raptor's cage swung loose on its hinges, and not far away from it lay the bloody, mutilated remains of a severed arm. The floor was covered in blood.
The Professor gave the stunned man an angry look of questioning. "What happened here, Wilson?"
Wilson turned very slowly to face Professor Gates. His eyes were glazed with shock. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came. He appeared to be in some kind of stupor.
Gates grew impatient. "What happened, man?" he demanded in an infuriated tone. Before waiting for a reply, he turned to Bates. "Go and gather some men. Take the tranquilising guns and go and recapture those Raptors! Quickly!"
Bates ran to obey. He couldn't look upon that awful scene any longer. His breath caught in his throat, and he felt grossly sick as the awful images that he had just witnessed flashed across his mind.
Wilson stared vacantly into space, as he said in a low, far-away voice that was tinged with an underlying sense of horror, "Sam was in there," he began slowly. "He was in this room just looking at the Raptors through the cage, when the jolt sent him flying. He must have fallen against the bolt of the door as he did so causing it to swing open. I didn't even hear him scream. When I came below to check if things were alright, I saw the door to this cabin open and looked in . . ." Wilson's voice trailed off, and he buried his head in his hands, as if to shut out the awful sight.
Gates gave a snort of indignation. "I told that fool never to come in here!" he fumed. "Now because of him we have two missing Raptors roaming San Francisco! Stupid, interfering idiot!"
A sudden battering noise from below interrupted the Professor. It was clear that Wilson was in no state to see what was going on, so Gates hurried to the other side of the corridor where another narrow staircase led to the bottom of the ship. Carefully the Professor descended the steps, and rushed over to the door where the thunderous sound of heavy bashing and clattering was ensuing. He swung open the door, just as the captive T-Rex burst through his destructed cage. He glared at the terrified and aghast Professor through dark, revengeful eyes, and with one mighty roar of absolute dominance, Gates' 'magnificent creature' rushed forward in one sudden movement, securing the screaming Professor within his fangs. A gush of red poured out of Gates' wriggling body as the Tyrannosaur sank his teeth deep into his flesh and shook him vigorously. He threw his vanquished captor across the room. The Professor lay on the floor, fatally wounded and dazed. He could not move, and he could only look on in total dismay and helplessness as the mighty T-Rex slowly approached him, uttering sounds of vengeance. He could see the dinosaur towering above him, ready to finish him off. He could only scream in terror as the Tyrannosaur pinned him down by placing a heavy foot over his body, crushing him beneath his weight, and then sinking his dagger-like teeth into his jugular the dinosaur devoured the defeated Gates.
The harbour was a hub of activity. The Velociraptors had escaped into the harbour, snarling viciously and scattering shocked, alarmed and screaming people as they tore forwards on the rampage. The air was filled with barks of commands, shouts of confusion and screams of terror. Bates, who was unaware of the T-Rex's escape, had amassed fifteen of the crew's men, all armed with tranquilising guns to set off after the Raptors. They were no longer to be seen in the harbour. Panicking, the men rushed forwards, directed by some of the petrified people, who would either point or shout some hurried words to usher them in the right direction, as they ran in fright and terror to some place of safety. Beginning to grow frantic, the men realised with alarm that the Raptors had escaped into the city itself. There were crowds of screaming people blindly surging everywhere, unconscious of where they were going, only desperate to get away from the escaped dinosaurs. Sirens added to the noise and confusion of the atmosphere, as several police cars and ambulances began to arrive on the scene in rapid response to the dilemma.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the ship's crew were gathered on the harbour, some engaged in conference with the police, who were beginning to block off the area, and others were just standing around, stupefied and frightened by all the events. It was still raining heavily, and the wind continued to howl wildly.
Suddenly, an even more terrifying sound filled the air. It was the sound of the ship splintering and rupturing under the tyrannical influence of the T-Rex. The people watched, spell-bound, as they heard an enormous air-splitting roar. Absolute horror filled their faces as they beheld the almighty Tyrannosaur break through onto the deck, glaring at them through sinister eyes of slaughter. His jaws were dripping with fresh blood, and his eyes seemed to speak that he wanted more. Terrified, the people began to stampede in a desperate attempt to run away from this exterminating monster. They began to scatter like ants in all directions, casting back looks of extreme fear as the T-Rex charged forwards, roaring horribly as he displayed his blood-stained teeth.
The T-Rex continued to charge, crushing all within its path: cars, people . . . everything that stood in the way was destroyed. The whole city of San Francisco was under the threat and terror of the Tyrannosaurus as he roared and rampaged through the city, terrorising everyone that crossed its path. People ran screaming to their homes, cars screeched and wheeled on the roads, sometimes crashing into other vehicles, and others securely locked their doors and windows and turned off their lights, lest it should attract the deadly dinosaur that was wreaking so much havoc in the streets of San Francisco.
The roads were a pile of crushed and demolished cars; those who hadn't been crushed under the foot of the T-Rex, had been involved in car crashes through the panic and alarm of the drivers. Many could only sit powerless, vulnerable and trapped inside their damaged vehicles, watching in incomprehensible dread and terror as the over-powering form of the Tyrannosaur came thundering towards them.
The T-Rex could sense the public's intense fear of him, and he seemed to glean a certain cruel and malicious pleasure from it. He stood in the middle of the road, and emitted a fierce and spine-chilling roar as he surveyed the pale and frightened faces of the trapped people, who beheld the awesome figure of the T-Rex as though he had just stepped out of a horror movie. One man made the mistake of bolting from his car. The sudden movement caught the attention of the dinosaur, and it was just like a moving target for him. The T-Rex easily grabbed his screaming prey, and onlookers could only watch in horror as the dinosaur tore into the man's flesh and began to consume him with relish. The pelting rain added to the pool of blood that was forming on the road.
The group of men that had been pursuing the Raptors had not gone far before they heard the terrified screams of the public, and the blood-curdling bellows of the T-Rex. They could feel the ground quaking beneath their feet as the terrible dinosaur stomped through the city. Turning back, they rushed towards the direction of the T-Rex, their tranquilising guns at the ready. When they were within full range, they began to fire the darts at the dinosaur, who looked at the men, snarling with rage.
The other crew members who had scattered from the harbour upon the emergence of the T-Rex now reappeared, carrying great lengths of rope with them. As the armed men continued to shower the angry Tyrannosaur with the tranquilising darts, the other men endeavoured to rope the dinosaur in order to hold it down whilst they waited for the drugs to take effect.
The T-Rex bellowed and struggled, and a few times dragged the men who were on the other end of the rope several feet across the ground, as they ventured to subdue the dinosaur. It was a long and weary battle, made more tiring as the men had to combat the harsh weather conditions, too. More than twenty minutes must have passed before the T-Rex began to tire and slacken in its attempts to fight off its combaters. The drugs were beginning to be effective as they worked their medicine upon the Tyrannosaur. Soon after, the dinosaur released a groan of defeat, tottered and fell unconscious to the ground.