Chapter 12: Beware Of Thunder
Jodie was sitting in a jeep. Jacob had told her to get in it, and then he had left in another jeep. Jodie was left alone with the other men. She overheard them talking about some incident that happened a little while ago. She thought she had heard that someone had gotten away.
Three men got into the jeep with her, along with the driver. They drove north, and then stopped, as they approached an electric fence. While they were stopped, Jodie saw a sign that said SOUTH BRIDGE. The driver exited the jeep and swiftly walked to the keypad, next to the gate that was there. The gate opened and the man got back into the jeep and went through it. As they continued on, they passed several buildings. All of the buildings had signs. There was a Lodge, a Restaurant, and a Visitors Center. The jeep quickly passed all of these buildings up and went over a hill. As they were driving down the other side of the hill, there was another electric fence there. The driver, once again, exited the jeep and did the same thing. The gate opened and the jeep went through. The gate automatically closed after they had gone through it, and now Jodie could see a cluster of smaller buildings. There was a sign nearby that said BIOSYN OFFICES-ISLA NORTE. There were about 8 buildings, each with a number: OFFICE 1, OFFICE 2, etc. To the left of the cluster of small buildings was a bigger building that said MAIN CONTROL ROOM. All the signs were made out of wood. Jodie thought they looked very expensive.
The jeep stopped next to the Main Control Room. Jodie noticed a sign here that said NORTH BRIDGE, with an arrow pointing toward a bridge. She turned the other way, as she heard the control room door open. A man stepped out, moving quite fast. He had a bandage on the right side of his face. He didn't look very happy. He walked up to the jeep.
"Welcome, Ms. Grant," he said.
Jodie nodded. The man smiled. He stared at the man in the passenger seat, until the man got out. There was another jeep parked there already and the man got into the driver's seat of that jeep. He was the only one in the second jeep, at this point.
"My name is Patrick Bodan and I'll be accompanying you to your safe destination, here on the island."
She nodded again. The man was creepy. Jodie didn't like him from the moment he spoke to her.
Bodan got into the passenger seat of the jeep and gestured for the driver to go. The jeep was in motion again, driving back to the south, the way it had just come. The other jeep followed. They went through one of the electric gates again, and Jodie was able to see all of the same buildings. She tried to memorize where they all were, in case that information came in handy later. The jeep made a right turn, near the Restaurant. After opening yet another security gate, the jeep went through a long tunnel. Bodan turned and looked at her. He started to talk again.
"I would like to advise you on the rules," he said.
"Okay," she said.
"First. No trying to escape. I had a little trouble with that very rule about an hour ago," he said, touching his face. "And I assure you, the escapees will be dealt with violently."
Jodie just stared. She was scared again.
"Second. Do everything that I say. You will be rewarded if you cooperate fully. You will be allowed to live."
The jeep drove on. The driver glanced over at Bodan.
"Mr. Bodan, did you get that cut cleaned up, sir? It still looks pretty bad."
"Yes. I did. All the first aid kits on this island are supplied with sutures and everything that goes along with them."
"That was good thinking, sir," the driver said.
"Yes, except for no one thought of putting something in there to numb the wound with," Bodan said, holding his face. "When I find the incompetent one, he will be fired immediately."
The driver didn't comment. He just kept quiet and continued through the tunnel. The jeep finally came out of the long tunnel, and turned left, and then took a quick right. It stopped in front of a building. Jodie didn't see a sign this time. The building looked new. It didn't even have the front windows installed yet. Jodie didn't know it, but this was the building that was modified to hold Tim and Lex. They were to be held in the rear of this building, in a separate and reinforced room.
The driver beeped the horn a few times, and two more men came out. They had guns and rifles, that they passed out to Bodan and the two other men in the backseat. They quickly made their way to the other jeep and got in. There were five people, including Jodie, in the first jeep . . . and three men in the second.
The jeeps were on the move again. They turned left and proceeded down the dirt road. That's when Jodie saw the fences. There were fences in every direction. They were very tall and made of very thick steel. Jodie also noticed that they all looked like electric fences. She closed her eyes, trying to picture the island in her head, from when she was in the air. She was fairly sure that she knew where she was. Brachiosaurus Cove must have been very close to where they were right now.
They were moving very fast. Jodie heard a beeping noise from the front seat. She watched Bodan hold up a walkie talkie, and speak into it. They were going along so fast, and hitting so many bumps, that it was hard for Jodie to hear everything that he was saying.
"Bodan here," he said.
"Sir, the Baryonyx was accidently let out," the other voice said. Jodie couldn't quite hear what the man said.
"What?" Bodan yelled.
"There was a mis-communication problem with one of the new men, sir. He opened the wrong gate."
"Well, get it back into its paddock. RIGHT NOW!" Bodan yelled.
He motioned for the driver to stop. Both jeeps came to a halt. Bodan got out of the jeep and continued to yell at the voice on the other end of the walkie talkie. All the while, he was looking around cautiously.
"What is its location?" He asked.
"It was just seen on the Section 3 monitor. It ran right past it."
Jodie was getting a little uneasy. Whatever had escaped, was really causing Bodan to panic.
"Section 3? Near the mall?" Bodan asked.
"Yes, sir."
Bodan looked at the driver.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"Section 5," the driver answered.
"Oh, that's not good," Bodan commented. He got back in the passenger seat. "Turn around. We need to get back to the safe half on the island, back over the bridge."
"Which bridge, sir? North or South?"
"Who cares! Just drive. Go the quickest way. Go. Now!" Bodan said.
The jeeps quickly turned around and accelerated, with Bodan's jeep in the lead. It was too late, though. The Baryonyx had already tracked the sounds of the motors and was coming toward them. Bodan could hear the giant steps of the creature, as it advanced. There was no sign of it yet, but the proximity of the footsteps told the men it was closer than they had wished.
Jodie was looking behind her, like everyone else. She was terrified of what might belong to those thundering footsteps. It wasn't long before the Baryonyx burst through some trees and showed itself. Jodie, as well as a few of the other men, screamed.
Bodan glanced back. The Baryonyx wasn't directly behind them, as he expected. It had surprise attacked them from the side, darting out in between the two jeeps.
"GO FASTER!" Bodan yelled, as the Baryonyx let out a long and terrifying roar.
The driver stepped on the gas. Jodie watched as the enormous creature went after the second jeep. The second jeep, skidded and slid, as the Baryonyx stepped in front of it, cutting it off. The three men in the jeep began to shout for help. The Baryonyx began roaring at all of the noise. Bodan's driver spoke up.
"Sir, should we try and help?" He asked, slowing down.
"Hell No. Keep going! Now!" Bodan yelled. "Get us to the damn bridge!"
The driver hesitated for a few seconds, clearly wanting to try to help, but then he accelerated once again. As Bodan's jeep raced away, everyone in it was watching the horrific scene unfold behind them.
The Baryonyx reached its very long snout into the open jeep and came up with its first snack. Bodan couldn't tell who it was, only that the man was screaming in pain. It had its razor sharp teeth locked down on the man's upper body, with the man's head inside the massive crocodile-like jaws. As it had its first victim secured, it slammed one of its massive feet down onto the jeep, stopping the rest of them from driving away. It easily crushed the hood of the jeep, as it turned its attention back to the food in its mouth. The Baryonyx leaned its head back and crunched down on the man, silencing his cries for help. It easily swallowed the man, whole. It bent back down, hunting for more of the tasty morsels.
Everyone in Bodan's jeep was still watching. Including the driver, through the rear-view mirror. With his attention drawn away from the road, the jeep drove slightly off the road. The driver attempted to correct it, but ended up overcorrecting. In a panic, the driver tried to regain control of the jeep, but it ended up sliding off the road, to the right. It did a few spins, before it would eventually come to a stop.
Bodan tried to hold on, but couldn't quite manage. He was thrown from the jeep. He tumbled and tumbled, until a nearby tree stopped his momentum.
Jodie looked around. The driver had managed to knock himself out. The two men who were on both sides of Jodie, quickly scattered in two different directions. One of the men crawled into the front seat and tried to push the driver out of the way. The other man jumped out to check on Bodan. In all the confusion, Jodie had been left alone. She jumped out and started to run for the jungle.
The Baryonyx was still attacking the other jeep. It was able to use its long claw to grab onto another unfortunate man. The man was unwillingly pulled from the backseat floor, where he was attempting to hide. The third man, still in the jeep, began to shoot at the 2- ton beast. The bullets were no match for the thick hide of the Baryonyx. It didn't even feel it, as it crunched down on its second snack. Blood splattered this time, coming down on the man with the gun. He panicked and jumped out of the jeep. He crawled under it, trying to hide. Unfortunately for the man, the Baryonyx had been watching. It bent down and tried to get at the third man, but it couldn't quite reach him.
Bodan had been dazed by the collision with the tree. As he tried to get up, one of the men was there to help him.
"Where's the girl?" He asked.
The man had forgotten all about her. He quickly looked toward the jeep. Jodie wasn't there.
"I . . . I don't know."
"You incompetent!" Bodan yelled.
He got up and pushed the man out of his way. He scanned the area for the girl, and spotted her. She was almost to the tree line.
"There she is!" He yelled, pointing. "Shoot at her!"
The man hesitated for a second. He didn't want to shoot a little girl. But when he looked at Bodan shooting at her already, he knew that if he didn't shoot at her, Bodan would, more than likely, kill him. He reluctantly began to fire at Jodie.
Jodie heard and felt the bullets whizzing by her head. She was crying pretty hard, as she finally made it to the jungle. She ran between the trees and bushes, where she was able to hide herself.
Bodan was about to go after her, when he heard the very distinctive sound of metal grinding against metal. He looked in the direction of the second jeep. It didn't even resemble a jeep any longer. The Baryonyx had totally smashed it into the ground, mangling it. It tipped it over and exposed the third man, who had still managed to stay safely hidden under the rubble. It snatched up its third snack. When it was finished, it looked in Bodan's direction. It let out a roar and came rumbling toward him.
Bodan ran for the jeep, along with the other man next to him. The man who was trying to get the driver out of the way, managed to get that done. The jeep was still running. Bodan and the other man reached the jeep, just as the ground began to shake. The Baryonyx was coming after them at its top speed. Lucky for them, that its top speed wasn't anywhere near the jeep's top speed.
Jodie watched from the safety of the jungle, as the jeep disappeared down the road. The Baryonyx gave up the chase very quick, as the jeep put more and more distance between them. It sniffed at the air and looked around. Jodie froze in terror, as it suddenly seemed like it was looking directly at her. It turned away though, and began to walk back the way it had come from. Jodie began to relax a little, as the thundering footsteps were shaking the ground less and less, telling her that it was going in the opposite direction.
Bodan began shouting orders into the walkie talkie.
"Jacob! Get someone out in Sections 5, 6, 7 and possibly 8. Right now! The Baryonyx just had three of my men for lunch. Get that damn thing tranquilized."
Jacob answered right back.
"Okay. There's a helicopter team on its way."
"Good," Bodan said.
He turned the walkie talkie off and hit the dash of the jeep, as hard as he could.
"Damn it! In the last 5 hours, I somehow managed to lose all three of those damn kids!" He looked at the driver. "Get us back to the Main Control Room."
"Yes, sir," the driver said.
