Still accepting OCs. Look at early chapters to see the requirements. They can now be part of the experiment. I'm sure you all have an idea to what it is. Also, how would they handle killing dinos and people? And should I write a lemon later on?
Chapter 13: Bloody River
Caleb knew he and his patrol were screwed the moment the Allosaurs showed up. Before then, he was crossing the river his patrol. "The map says the pipes are on the other side of the river, down at the bottom of it," he said. Some of the patrol groaned.
"Did it really have to be at the bottom of the river," complained Haley. She had been complaining for a long time now and it was starting to get annoying. Sam had complained a bit as well, but not as much.
"Seriously Haley, stop your whining," barked Dylan while trying to give her an intimidating glare. Haley just scoffed and waved him off.
"Shut up, Dylan," Sam snapped. "We're tired. Now stop trying to push us so hard." Dylan was about to say something when Kyle stepped in.
He strode right up to Sam's face, easily dwarfing him. "Stop complaining, we're in the wild now. The strong survive and he weak die. Right now, you're being weak. If you keep acting like that you won't last long around here. You need to have the strength and the will to survive. If you don't, you're dead." When he finished, Sam was at a loss for words.
"S-so what," he stuttered. "I-I… I still won't let you talk to Haley like that!" He leaned into Kyle's face, still not backing down. His hand started going to a glock at his side. Kyle saw this through his arm motion and lifted his hand to grab his striker. Sam may be able to draw quicker, but if Kyle survived the shot he could easily put a shell in Sam.
"Guys, calm down," said Sasha. "If you make too much noise you could attract unwanted attention." Jessica looked like she wanted to step in but kept her mouth shut. Leo's hand was reaching for his Remington.
"Hey, hey, calm down now. We can all be friends here," said a boy named Mark, a black-haired Caucasian boy with a small build. But the two boys ignored them.
Caleb pushed in between them. "Guys, we don't have the time for this," he said. "We have to focus on surviving for now." He looked Sam in the eye. "Sam, I know you want to protect Haley, and that's admirable, but you can't be too easy on her. She needs to learn to fend for herself, at least." Sam gave him a frustrated glare.
Caleb turned to Kyle. "And you; you are right. We need to be strong out here. If we can't stand up for ourselves, we're going to die." Kyle smiled since Caleb had his side and Sam snarled. "But you need to go easy on some of us." Kyle glared. "Not all of us are going adapt to this new life as fast as you did. You need to give some of us a break." Caleb turned around and walked to the river bank. "First we need to find out what's wrong with these pipes. Everyone who can swim, follow me."
He started taking off his clothes. After he got his shirt off, Sasha asked, "What do you think you're doing," as she blushed along with all the other girls. Caleb had a nicely toned body and a six pack, the scars making him even sexier.
"I'm going for a swim," he answered. "And I don't want to get all of my clothes wet." He stripped down to his boxers and left all of his weapons except for a six-inch hunting knife and longsword on the shore. He looked out at the water, searching for anything that might be a potential threat. All he saw was moss and a few logs and rocks poking pointing out of the water.
But Caleb knew better than to let his guard down. He remembered the lists of wildlife on Isla Sorna and looked over the list of water creatures before leaving on this mission. "Cover me," he ordered. He waded into the shallows while Mark pointed an AKS-74U at the water in case anything attacked.
Then Sasha yelled, "Look out, on your left!" Everyone's heads turned to where Sasha was pointing. She aimed a Pecheneg LMG at an object in the water. A log that was cutting through the water at an unnatural speed. She unleashed several shots along with Kyle and the log disappeared underwater. Caleb started backing up when a dark shape lunged at him, creating massive ripples as it closed in. Caleb backed up as the rest of the patrol fired on the creature.
"Here," yelled Mark as he threw Caleb's rifle at him. Caleb caught it and just before he could fire a giant maw bust from the water, aiming to catch him in its hundreds of spiky teeth. Caleb shot a burst of rounds into the mouth and it twisted away from him. The shape swam away and disappeared. Caleb splashed out of the river as Mark yelled, "It's coming back!"
The shape rushed them as they fired at it, but the bullets didn't seem to do anything. When it got a dozen meters away from the shore it began to reveal its form, a rough, greenish brown hide and a massive, ten-meter body. When it got several meters from the shore it exploded from the water and revealed its full body; it was a massive crocodile! Most of the patrol recognized it from the really thin snout and everyone was scared almost shitless. "Sarcosuchus," screamed Caleb.
The giant crocodile roared and charged the group. "Where's the flashbangs," Kyle yelled over the sound of gunfire.
"I'm on it," responded Dylan. He pulled a flashbang out of a coat pocket and chucked it in front of the thing. "Get down," he ordered, and they all turned away and covered their ears. The croc hissed in frustration when the flash grenade went off and retreated back to the water. Then Dylan threw a shrapnel grenade in the water, and when it went of the croc thrashed and leaped in the air before retreating. Dylan pumped his fist and exclaimed, "Yeah, that is how you do it!"
Caleb was impressed to say the least. "Good job, guys," he complimented with a smile. Leo was a bit surprised, but he returned the smile.
Dylan stood tall and proud. "Better than anything you could have done," he said haughtily. Kyle nudged him and he shut up.
"Dylan," Jessica said. "You need to stop being so stuck up." Dylan was confused. "You are being an absolute jerk, now cut it out!"
"Who's side are you on," Dylan asked. "Ever since Ben died you have been acting differently." Dylan crossed a line.
"YOU THINK I'M ACTING DIFFERENTLY?" Jessica was furious! "I WATCHED MY BEST FRIEND DIE IN FRONT OF ME AND YOU THINK I'M ACTING DIFFERENTLY!" Dylan backed up in fear from the fuming girl in front of him.
"Jessica stop," ordered Kyle. "Dylan didn't know what he was talking about." Jessica turned to him, still seething in rage. "I know you had a thing for Ben. He was important to you, so do what he would want you to do; remember who your friends are!" Jessica's temper quickly cooled down and she returned to normal. Kyle smiled and subtly flashed a smirk at Caleb.
Caleb ignored the smirk and turned to the water. "Anyway, we still need to check the pipes," he said. "Kyle, take some others with you, go back to the base and bring reinforcements." Kyle nodded and looked at Amy, Dylan, Leo and Jessica.
"What? Are you insane," Mark shouted. "With that thing still in there? You might be ready to die, but I'm not!" He turned around to walk away. "Michael was right; you really are going to get us killed. You can't expect us all to be ready to die for you!" Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. "What," he snapped, whipping around. Sasha punched him square in the face and he stumbled back with a yell. "Why the hell did you punch me, Sasha?"
Sasha grabbed Mark by the shirt and got in his face. Her size and build, combined with the unexpected punch meant Mark couldn't break free of her grasp. "If you didn't know, just about every single living organism needs water to survive, including humans. If we don't find out what's wrong with these pipes we won't have running water, therefore we won't have enough water to sustain the tribe, therefore leading to the downfall of our tribe." She sighed and calmed down a bit. "Mark, listen; sometimes we have to take risks to survive, and to ensure that others survive to, even if we must put our lives on the line. This is what you get when you live in the wild, especially in a group, and especially one this big." Mark couldn't reply for a moment as his jaw opened and closed.
Sasha continued talking. "I saw you fight in the battle for the compound. Why did you fight when you knew you could die," she asked. Mark looked away from her.
He hesitated before answering, "I fought because we had no other choice. We had just found a new home and we couldn't afford to lose it. I didn't run because I knew I wouldn't last on my own. If I ran I wouldn't be able to live with myself, knowing that I left my friends to die. I fought because we had to. . . and because I knew we could win." He looked back up into Sasha's eyes. Sasha smiled softly at him. "But why does that matter," Mark asked.
"Is that all," Sasha answered with her own question.
Mark was starting to get irritated. "Yes that's all," he answered, the irritation etching into his voice. "Nothing more, nothing less." His gaze hardened. "Why did you fight?"
Sasha's look was blank as she answered, "I fought for the same reasons you did." Mark's eyebrow rose like he was saying, 'did you really?' "But I also fought to protect the others. The difference between you and me is that you fight for yourself and I fight for others." Mark was about to retort, but Sasha held her hand up and stopped him. "I went on this mission to save my tribe and to make sure I didn't lose anyone else. I wanted to Make sure I didn't lose anyone like I lost Andon. Caleb's had my back for years, and I'm not going to let him die on me!" Her voice broke and tears streamed down her face.
Mark stood there in surprise while Sasha's hand slipped off his shoulder and she began crying. Caleb walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, and in return Sasha pushed up against him. Caleb embraced her in a hug as Sasha wept out all of her tears. Caleb patted her back calmingly. "Sasha, listen to me. If you die for me then I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I already blame myself for Andon's death and I couldn't possibly bear to be responsible for someone else dying." Sasha looked up at him with teary eyes. "I'm not ready to die yet, but I'm ready to risk my life if necessary. I'm one of the leaders of this tribe, so it's my job to protect the tribe. I know you would die for me in a heartbeat, but what would I tell your mom?" Sasha suddenly gasped. She obviously didn't think about her family when she was talking to Mark. "What about your aunt and grandpa, or your sister? If you die they'll be devastated."
Sasha spoke with a shaky voice. "But what about your mom and dad? They'll be devastated if you die!"
Caleb replied slowly and clearly. "All of us have families to go back to. Your reason to live is to protect others, right? What if you die? You won't be able to protect anyone if you die. Think about how much everyone that would be sad if you died. Try to survive so you can protect others. Not everyone will make it off alive, but we should at least try to keep as many people alive as possible. So, try not to die on me, okay?" Sasha wiped her eyes and sniffed before nodding. Caleb smiled and patted her head, her smiling back.
Mark was stuck in thought. "Am I really doing this for myself? No, I swore I'd get back home! I swore that I'd get my friends and I back home safe! But to do that do I have to actually take life threatening risks? Could I actually die for them?" Mark thought like this for a few moments, ending with more questions than answers.
Leo, who had heard the conversation, was thinking about his own reasons to fight. "I know my reasons for fighting," he thought to himself. "I'm doing this for Jessica." His gaze darkened. "And I'm going to have my revenge. Hakim, I'm coming for you, and when I find you, you're going to die."
"I'm going to go back in the water to check the pipes. I'll go alone if I have to, so if none of you go with me I don't care." Caleb knew by the looks on everyone's face that they were wondering if he was brave or stupid.
"Caleb, stop trying to show off," Jessica almost pleaded. Dylan, Kyle and Amy all looked at her with surprised expressions. Even Leo was a bit surprised.
Caleb was a bit surprised as well. "I'm not trying to show off," he replied. "But if I don't do this, who will?" When he received no answer, he turned and stepped into the river.
Then, suddenly, Sasha said, "I will." Everyone looked at her and some looked away embarrassingly as she started to take off all her clothes except for her undergarments. She looked around nervously at everyone watching her and tried to cover herself with her hands as she stepped into the water. She grabbed a harpoon from one of the other teens and rushed over to the river. As she felt the cool water chill her to the bone she noticed Caleb trying not to look at her. She gave him a smirk, saying, "I know you have a hard on for Gina." Caleb's jaw dropped as everyone chuckled, but then he just shrugged his shoulders.
He scanned the crowd once again for volunteers, but found none. He was just about to go when Jessica piped up. "Wait, I want to go with you," she said, glancing over at her friends. Dylan and Amy were about to say something, but Kyle held up his hand to stop them, giving Jessica a curious look.
"Jessica, are you sure," asked Leo. She nodded at him, confirming that she wanted to stay. Leo could still see the hesitation her eyes, though. "Then I'm staying with you." Kyle, Amy and Dylan all knew right then and there that Leo liked Jessica, and Jessica blushed furiously.
Jessica turned back to the water. She did the same as Caleb and Sasha, blushing furiously as some of the guys checked her out. She picked up a crossbow she had brought before slowly wading into the river with the other two. Caleb nodded and, checking for volunteers one more time, waded into the deep, murky water. Sasha followed after him. Jessica looked back at her friends one more time. All of them were giving her questioning looks, as if she was some stranger pretending to be Jessica. "Don't worry, I'll be back," she said before joining the other two. Kyle and the other two started back toward the base.
The three of them dove into the water, swimming to the other shore in search of the pipe system they needed so badly. They could barely see a few meters ahead of them due to the water being so murky. Some fish and a few turtles were the only creatures they saw, probably because of the sarcho fight. Caleb, who was up front, struggled to see what was up ahead. He kept looking back to check on the girls and make sure they were following him. Occasionally one of them had to go back up for air and they would all take a breath, then begin the search again. Each time they searched again they would have to go deeper, the water pressure giving them massive headaches.
Several minutes after the search began Caleb was getting tired. He was about to go back up when spotted a circular object in below him, buried in the riverbank. He tried to go check on it, but his need for air was more important. He quickly swam back up to the surface and burst out after Sasha and Jessica. "I think I found it," he yelled.
"Are you sure," Jessica asked.
"Yeah, it's in the riverbank on the far side," he replied.
"Where," Sasha yelled.
"Follow me!" With that Caleb dove back under the surface. The girls followed him to the far riverbank where Caleb lead them to the circular object. As they neared the object Jessica held her head as the water pressure got worse. Sasha slowed down as well, but Caleb swam right toward the object. He looked back and noticed the girls slowing down behind him. They slowly caught up and Caleb led them to a large pipe in the riverbank. . . that was sealed shut. It actually looked like it was recently welded shut.
They were all confused. They were all thinking the same questions. "Was this the right pipe? Why is it sealed shut? Are there any other pipes around?" Caleb knew they had to tell the others this information immediately. He pointed to the shore they came from and started back.
When they got back the entire patrol was asking questions like, "Did you find it," and "Is it safe to go down?"
Caleb answered with, "Yes and yes. We found the pipes and there's no other dangerous creatures down there." They then asked him what was wrong with the pipes. "It's sealed shut, that's the problem," he answered. That got confused replies from the patrol as they all asked why the pipes were sealed. "It doesn't matter why the pipes are sealed, we have to tell everyone else what's going on," Caleb yelled over the ruckus. He pulled a walkie talkie out of his pants and activated it. "Kyle should be at the base by now," he said aloud. As the walkie talkie crackled to life he said, "This is Caleb. Kyle, where are you?"
He waited a few seconds before the reply came. "I'm at the gates to the base," he answered. "Why, what's wrong?"
"We found the pipes, but they're welded shut. It's like someone closed them and welded them shut so no-one could open them," Caleb explained.
"What," Kyle shouted, along with Amy and Dylan. They were in obvious shock from the news. "Did you say welded shut? But that would mean. . . there's other people on the island?"
"That means there could be more survivors," came Amy's happy voice.
"But why would they cut off our water," Kyle countered. "Why would anyone do that? You know what, I'm going to let the council know this. I'll come back with enough manpower and explosives to clear the pipes in no time! Kyle out!" With that Kyle left and the patrol started discussing what to do about the sealed pipes and the possibility of a human threat. Caleb and the girls got their clothes back on.
It only took about five minutes before a boy in the patrol spotted something in the trees. As it slowly stalked closer and closer he began to see a shape take form within the shadows. A girl next to him noticed him staring at the shape. She noticed the same shape he did and said, "What is that?"
The entire patrol whipped around and pointed their weapons in the same direction the girl was pointing. The shape froze as the patrol stared in that direction. The jungle seemed to freeze altogether, the only sound being the river flowing. Even the birds grew quiet. The shape in the trees didn't move a muscle.
Then, farther to the right, a loud, thundering roar sounded through the trees. Everyone turned in that direction, a few shots being fired in that general direction. A large creature was charging them from down the bank! But some of the patrol remembered the trick from the raptor attack two weeks ago. Sam was the first to say, "To the left!" The patrol noticed the shape from earlier begin to storm through the trees toward them. Gunshots quickly filled the jungle as the two creatures converged on the patrol. Someone with a grenade launcher fired a round into the trees, temporarily stalling one of the creatures. The other one, however, burst from the trees on the bank and revealed itself to be a several meter-long predator on two legs, its hands resembling a raptors. It was green and had two ridges on its head.
"Allosaurus," Caleb screamed. "Spread out, but stay close! Don't stray to far!" He could barely be heard over the gunfire, but the group followed his orders. They all spread out while staying within several meters of another person.
The boy with a grenade launcher finally got it reloaded, but the first allosaur was already up, and these things moved fast. The boy couldn't figure out which one to shoot at, and he payed for it when one allosaur lunged at him, scattering the patrol and snapping him up, ending his life with a vicious thrash.
"Caleb, call for backup," Sasha screamed, emptying her LMG into one of the allosaurs. She began reloading as Caleb pulled out his walkie talkie.
He turned it on and screamed, "It's me, Caleb!"
He heard Kyle's voice. "Caleb, what's happening," he asked. Caleb couldn't reply as he had to drop the walkie talkie when the second allosaur closed in on the group and began tearing into them. He fired off as many rounds as he could before he to, had to run. "This is so bad! Why did it have to be allosaurs?! We could barely hold our own against carnos with greater numbers! How is this small group going to survive two allosaurs?" He had to think quickly. "Dammit! At least the base must have heard the fighting." He looked around as the two angry dinos tore into the patrol with little effort. "We have to retreat! There's no other choice!" He shouted as loud as he could. "EVERYONE, FALL BACK NOW," he called as loud as he could. He ran into the forest, turning around to fire every once in a while. The rest of the patrol soon followed, and luckily the allos didn't.
He stopped running further upstream from the allos and waited for the rest of the patrol. The last of them showed up, and he couldn't help but shed a tear at what was left. "Dammit," he hissed, "dammit all!"
Sasha panted to a stop right beside him. "Oh my god," she wheezed, "Look at this! We leave with sixteen and now we have ten! This is insane!" She sat down next to him with tears pouring from her eyes.
Jessica, on the other hand, was fuming in rage. "AAAAAAAGH, I'LL KILL 'EM! I'LL KILL 'EM ALL," she screamed. She stomped around, screaming about how she would kill those two allosaurs.
"Jessica, screaming isn't going to bring everyone back," a girl said.
Jessica wheeled on her, almost looking like she wanted to kill the girl. "SO, WHAT? THOSE TWO THINGS ARE GOING TO DIE," she screamed in the girl's face.
"Jessica, calm down," Caleb tried. Big mistake.
When Jessica heard his voice, she loaded her SAS assault rifle and pointed it at Caleb. The girl from earlier saw what she was trying to do and lunged at her, knocking her aim off and sending the shot upwards. Jessica rifle butted the girl away from her, sending her to the ground keeling over. Two boys and another girl tackled Jessica and pined her to the ground, one boy and one girl holding her arms while the other boy grabbed the gun. Jessica head butted the boy holding her down, pulled her arm free, and punched the girl in the face before sweeping them both off their feet. She ducked a rifle but from the boy with her Jessica got back up and pulled out her crossbow, but was already in her face, sword in hand. He knocked her crossbow aside and before she could react, slammed the hilt into her stomach. She fell to her knees and bent over, coughing as she regained her breath. Caleb pointed the sword at her as she lifted her head back up. Jessica scowled at him, reaching for a Mark 27 pistol on her waist. Caleb was about to kick it away, but Sasha beat him to the punch (literally) and socked Jessica across the face, before choke slamming her into the ground.
Jessica kicked her off and got back up, ready for a beatdown. Sasha grabbed her Pecheneg and aimed it, but Jessica backflipped and kicked it out of her hands, following up bey rushing her. Sasha received several punches in rapid succession and a brutal roundhouse to the head. She collapsed with her head in her hands. Jessica turned back to Caleb and charged him, too. She tried to trip him, but he jumped over the trip, then caught an uppercut before blocking a crossover to the face. He kept playing defense, holding back, trying not to hurt the rampaging girl, but Jessica was going all out. She spun around multiple times, launching kick after kick, until Caleb's arm hurt from blocking them. He tried to dodge the last few, but one landed on his head, leave him to get pummeled by several more until he fell to the ground. She stopped spinning and picked up his longsword, then walked back to him, a murderous look in her eyes.
"Jessica, stop," Leo screamed, but Jessica completely ignored him. She raised the sword above her head, but Leo tackled her away. They rolled across the ground, both trying to hold the other down, until Leo overpowered Jessica, struggling to hold her down. "Jessica, stop! Cut it out," Leo shouted in her face. Jessica still grunted in effort as she tried to break free.
Then Leo did something that shocked everyone. He straight up kissed Jessica on the lips. She finally stopped struggling and just laid there with Leo on top of her. When Leo pulled away he made sure she wasn't going to do anything and got off of her. He stood up and offered Jessica a hand. "I've wanted to do that for a while," Leo said with a smile.
Jessica just laid there and put her hand up to her mouth. "Leo. . . w-why. . ." she couldn't speak for a few moments. She then slowly accepted Leo's hand and he pulled her up. "L-Leo. . . did y-you… really… love me?" Jessica seemed to completely forget her rampage as she stared in shock at the blushing Leo.
"Y-yeah," Leo replied, rubbing his head. Then Leo's expression turned serious. "Are you okay now," he asked.
Jessica gasped and looked around at the rest of the patrol, all of them with their weapons trained on her. Tears slowly filled her eyes and she suddenly gave an agonizing wail. She literally cried her eyes out. She cried and cried and cried, crying for the whole world hear. "I'm so sorry! I just can't take it anymore!" Her voice held so much pain it hurt for everyone to listen. "I just watched so many people die in front of me I can't take it! Ben died saving me! I can't stand watching people die! It's just too much for me to take! I just. . . I can't. . ." She hugged Leo as tight as he could, nearly squeezing the breath out of him. She cried on his shoulder as she held him tight.
"Ever since I was little Ben's always been there for me," she began. "I was bullied so much for so many reasons, and he was the one that took care of me. He was practically the brother I never had." She sniffed and hugged him tighter. "I stayed near him for so long, and when I met you guys. . . You all helped me to be strong. I was so weak at first, but you helped me become stronger. But then. . ." She started calming down as she recapped her past. "When I saw some kids avoiding me, I saw the fear in their eyes. That was when I realized, we were making other people feel weak to make ourselves feel strong. I didn't want to do it, but I-I didn't know any other options, and I didn't want to feel that way again. Ben was the only person I truly trusted, and if he follows Kyle, then so will I."
Jessica started tearing up again. "When we got shipwrecked here, I always looked to Ben for advice," she continued. "I wanted to stay with him forever. When the raptors attacked, I stayed with Ben. But," she started crying again, "when he died… protecting me… I just fell apart." She closed her eyes and cried again. "He was the only one that I truly trusted, the reason I'm not cowering in fear of everything and everyone out here, and the only reason I listen to Kyle. Without him, I'd be all alone." Jessica kept weeping into Leo's shirt. "I am all alone."
Leo actually shed a tear. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl in front of him that wouldn't; no, couldn't stop crying over the loss of her best friend and having watched more people die in front of her. "No, you're not alone," he said. Jessica lifted her head and looked at him. "You have the rest of us," though, in his mind he was like, "Even if the others are assholes."
"But, Dylan's gone," Jessica sobbed, tears still streaming down her face.
Leo gently brushed her hair and wiped the tears off her face, making her gasp. "Please don't cry. You don't look as beautiful as usual when you cry," he said with a smile. Jessica gasped again and Leo kissed her. They stayed like that, Jessica's eyes wide in shock until she finally returned the kiss.
Everyone else felt awkward staring at the two as they made out in front of them. Mark finally interrupted the moment by saying, "Come on, you two, get a room." Jessica and Leo separated as they blushed furiously.
"Ah, I was enjoying that," Haley playfully whined. Sam nudged her with his elbow and they kissed each other, just to make everyone feel awkward.
"Guys," Caleb said, getting everyone's attention. "I know this is romantic and all, but. . ." He was cut off by distant roar of the Allosaurs. "Yeah," he said, "that."
The rest of the patrol grew nervous. "Those things are going to come after us," Sasha said. "We're on their territory. If we don't leave now we'll die." Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"But how will we clear the pipes," Leo asked. "This is literally our only major water source. If we can't clear these pipes we've lost our main source of water, and Sasha, what it is it that you told Mark? We lose our water, we lose our tribe or something like that?" The patrol was starting to wonder who was making more sense.
"But Leo," Mark said, stepping forward. "We can't do anything against those allos. They're way too powerful and we just don't have the man or firepower to hold our own against them. Going back there is suicide."
Leo thought for a moment. "Leo," Jessica said, her voice soft and, in Leo's case, surprisingly seductive. "We should leave now. We can find another source of water. We don't need to go back there." Jessica was practically pleading for Leo not to try and fight the allosarus's. But Leo wasn't always the easiest person to convince to retreat.
He looked Jessica in the eyes, and Jessica already knew his response. "Jess, I'm sorry, but this is the only major water source for miles. If we lose this place, we lose our water." He lifted his head so everyone could hear. "And you should all know what people will do when they get desperate." His words made the entire patrol think about the future. Would they really want to risk people turning on each other, just for resources?
"Well, then," Mark said, "what would you have us do?" He crossed his arms, wondering if Leo had a better plan.
Leo gave him a challenging look. "We return to base, get some reinforcements," he paused for dramatic effect, "and come back for the pipes." Some of the patrol looked like they were about to protest. "Don't worry, we don't have to fight them," he reassured.
"But what if find us," asked Sam. "If they see us first we're dead. And we can't fight them. Not in our current condition." Sam's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to get us killed," he asked. His tone said he was questioning Leo's choices.
In Leo's mind, he was being challenged by Sam. He turned away from Jessica and slowly stepped toward Sam, his expression changing to one of an alpha that felt threatened. He seemed to give off this aura of dominance, making everyone, even Jessica, back away from him. "Do you really want to have this conversation right now," he asked, though his tone said that he wasn't taking 'yes' for an answer.
"N-n-no," Sam stuttered. He turned his head away from Leo in fear, not wanting to deal with this guy. "B-but how do you think we deal with the Allosaurs," he asked. "You saw what they could do."
Leo thought for a second. "We don't have to kill them," he said. "We just have to avoid them. Driving them off would be better, but killing them isn't necessary, though I will admit it would be preferable." The patrol agreed with him on that.
"So, we're all in agreement," Caleb asked. Everyone nodded. "So, we call whoever was sent out here after us, because I'm sure a rescue team is on its way out here after us, and if we have the explosives, sneak back to the river and clear the pipes."
"Well, let's not wait," a voice said from the trees. They all turned to the voice to see Jacob step out of the shrubbery, all geared up with his weapons. Eli, Collin, Lancer, Kaira, Lila, Shamya, Kyle, Amy and Dylan were there, along with some other people. Jacob grinned devilishly. "What do you say we get our water back?"
Caleb grinned back and nodded. "Wait, do you guys have any strong charges," Caleb asked. Lila and Aurelia pulled off some backpacks. "I mean really strong." They pulled out several C4 and some semtex each. Caleb's grin went from ear to ear. "Move out," he ordered. "We'll show you guys where the pipes are, and then you guys blow them wide open. Follow us!" The patrol set off with their reinforcements.
They made it to the spot where the pipes had been found. Aurelia and Lila had given Caleb and Charles the explosives, and the two were currently headed back down to the blocked pipe. Jacob, Lancer, Leo, Sasha, Jessica and some others were going down with them.
Meanwhile, the others were staying on the shore to provide on lookout. Caleb had been given a helmet with a radio in it and the reinforcement group had brought an exosuit with them. Caleb was currently wearing it and trying to learn how to use the rockets on the feet to boost himself through the water. Charles, who had been in the exosuit already (thanks to his dad letting him practice with them), was talking to him through the radio on it. The people on land had to cover their noses to block out the smell of the corpses, some of them trying to wipe away their tears. You would have thought they were used to death by now, but it still hurts to see your comrades die.
Caleb, on the other hand, was busy with different problems. He was trying to get used to the new technology, which reacted to his brain signals. Every time he tried to activate the rocket boots he would end up shooting about a dozen meters through the water. Each time he would have to boost back, deactivate his rockets, swing his feet around and activate them again, timing them so that he would activate them at the right time and so that he deactivated them before he shot back the other way.
They saw the sarchosucus from earlier, but it avoided them, literally swimming the other way when it got close. It was about to make a go at Sasha, but the moment Charles got near it turned the other way and dashed off in fear before swimming around them, literally brushing the shoreline.
When they finally got the pipes, Charles had to teach Caleb how to hover in the water and apply the necessary amount of pressure to avoid sinking while not boosting upwards and keeping balance at the same time. Caleb took a while to get the hang of it, but he finally managed to hover long enough to set the charges. A few other pipes had been found as well, but they were smaller, so while Caleb dealt with one of them, Charles dealt with the others.
Charles turned around to look at the others. Some of them were showing signs of tiredness so Charles pointed to them and to the surface. They understood the message, but were worried about him and Caleb. Charles pointed to himself and Caleb, then held up two fingers, then eight fingers afterwards, signifying they had twenty-eight minutes left. Most of the others understood and they motioned for the others to follow them. Charles returned to the pipes with Caleb.
"Alpha 248, connect to alpha 596," Charles said. The words 'connecting' and 'connection successful' appeared on his visor. "Caleb," he said, speaking through Caleb's radio.
The words 'incoming transmission' appeared on Caleb's visor right before Charles said his name. "Yeah," Caleb answered.
"The seal is about eight inches of solid steel welded to the rest of the pipe," Charles explained. "It's on your scanner."
"We have that," Caleb exclaimed, amazed at what these suits had. "What else can these things do," He thought to himself.
"I'm gonna have to show you more when we get back," Charles said. "It uses infrared and soundwaves to scan objects. We won't have enough explosives to completely destroy the seal."
"Then how do we clear these pipes," Caleb asked, losing faith in the plan.
"Place half your semtex on the parts where the seal's welded to the pipes, and place half your charges on the top of the seal, cluster them together," Charles explained. "The semtex and charges combined should make the seals blow off the pipe."
"But wouldn't that make the seal blow further down the pipe," Caleb asked. "We wouldn't be able pull it out. The water would still be blocked."
Charles smiled behind his mask. "Why do you think I said cluster your charges at the top," he said with a mischievous tone.
Caleb finally understood. "So the charges flip the seal around inside the pipe, letting water pass through," he said with realization.
They carried on with their tasks, both doing their respective jobs. When they were done they activated the charges and timers, then swam back up to the surface. They breached the surface as they walked up the shore, slowly emerging from the water. "The charges are set," Caleb announced. "Detonation in ten seconds." The patrol lined up on the shore, everyone trying to get a good look at the explosion. Not that they would be able to see much.
Caleb counted down the numbers on the timer, "Five, four, three, two, one," a flash of light deep underwater signified the explosion. Everyone waited for the call from base saying the water was running again.
Then Lancer heard something large rustling in the trees behind them. He slowly turned around and Shamya, who felt him moving, followed his eyes, looking in the same direction. "Um, guys," she called out.
Lancer drew back his bow and Jacob immediately lifted his LMG. "CONTACT!" He unleashed a hail of gunfire into the trees, his brown eyes shifting to orange. The entire patrol turned around and fired on the charging allosaurus as it gave a furious roar that shook everyone to bone. . . everyone except Jacob and Lancer.
Their eyes had changed to fiery orange and they both split up. Charles had snapped out of his fear before the others. "Caleb," he shouted, "snap out of it! Come on!"
Caleb blinked when the allosaurus was a dozen meters away. "Move," he ordered. The patrol reacted just in time to run away from the allo's first bite, but its claws caught onto one girl, making her give an agonizing scream as she was pinned to the ground. She screamed for help as the allo bit down on her, her plea cut short with a spine chilling 'crunch'.
That made Caleb snap. "Spread out, stay within a few meters of someone else," he yelled to everyone. The patrol obeyed, putting at least a few meters between one another. The large dino lunged from side to side with impressive mobility, avoiding as much gunfire as it could. When the allo tried to grab hold of Mark, Sasha, who was nearby, opened up on its face, interrupting its attack. When it turned to attack her, Mark interrupted its attack next. It reared up with a pained screech as a bullet found its eye. Collin couldn't find a chance to finish it off, not wanting to risk missing it because of its speed, but instead fired a round at the ground where its feet landed as it leaped around the battlefield. The angry dino tumbled across the river bank and into the river, where it splashed deeper into the water and disappeared, the only sign of its existence being blood slowly turning the water red.
The patrol gave a victory cry, thinking the battle was over. But then Leo yelled, "Where's the other one?" The celebration immediately died down as the question filled the air.
Eli, who was standing near the trees, was the one who got everyone's attention by screaming, "OH SHIT," as he fired at the second allo, who had snuck up on them as they fought its partner. The others were about to join in, but Charles leapt onto the creature's face. He tackled it with enough force to redirect its bite and send it sprawling across the beach. He took out his pistol as it shook its head, trying to dislodge the metal man that had latched onto it. Charles then began firing into the dino's making roar in fury, but the bullets couldn't get past its thick skull.
The rest of the patrol didn't want to risk friendly fire, but that wasn't a problem when the allosaur rolled over, forcing Charles to jump off. It didn't get the chance to attack him, as he was instantly pelted with bullets. It fled into the trees for cover, but still took a lot of bullets.
The first allosaurus suddenly burst from the river, absolutely pissed off beyond belief. It lunged into the crowd of humans in front of it as they scattered, snapping up on boy as he tripped and fell, then shook him like a ragdoll, literally tearing him in half. His top half landed on some poor girl and she screamed before joining him.
The patrol fired on the first allo, but the second erupted from the trees as they were distracted. It stepped on one boy and broke his back, then chomped down on another and slammed him into the ground before turning back to the one under its foot. The boy shot a sniper rifle at its face, but that only pissed the thing off. It was being shot at by other people, so it finished him off by wrenching its toe claws further into him.
Caleb knew they wouldn't last much longer. "Retreat! Back to the base," he shouted. He didn't need to say it twice. What was left of the patrol fled back to the base as fast as they could. This time the allosaurs decided to finish what they started and pursued.
Shamya and Dylan, who were carrying flashbangs and smoke grenades, covered the patrol's retreat. Collin fired his grenade launcher at a tree and caused it to fall on top of one allosaur, and the other one stopped to help it up.
They all ran for who knows how long, eventually losing track of one another. Jacob, Collin, Lancer, Eli, Lila and Shamya were able to find each other, though. "Everyone, follow me," Collin yelled. The group started following him and they soon found a part of the river that branched off from the main part.
Screams and gunshots echoed throughout the forest. This situation brought back horrible memories from them ship, back when the raptors had first attacked. Eli was having shell shock and hyperventilating badly. "Hey," Jacob said, patting his back, "don't worry." Eli looked up at him. "I won't let you die here. After all, neither of us are dying virgins, right," Jacob said with a smile. Eli managed a chuckle and a smile.
Lila, on the other hand, was crying badly. Collin hugged her, and she pressed up against him. "I don't want to die here," she cried. She hugged him as tight as she could.
Collin just kept on hugging her right back. "I'm not letting you die here," Collin soothed. He lightly kissed her head and she held him even tighter.
Unfortunately, the allos had tracked their scent, and one of them had found the small band of survivors. It slowly stalked toward them, but Lancer shouted, "Over there," and shot an arrow into its shoulder. The dino roared and charged them, but just when the group were firing on it the second allo emerged from the trees behind them, separating Collin and Lila from the rest of the group. It chased them through the jungle as the first kept the rest of the group busy.
"Collin, Lila," Jacob screamed as they disappeared from his sight with an angry allosaurus on their tail.
"Jacob," Eli screamed, causing Jacob to see the allo's mouth and jump away from it with impossible speed. Eli put a shell in its arm to stop the follow-up.
The allo turned its attention to Eli and rushed him. Eli had almost no time to react as the allo snapped at him, dodging just enough that he felt its breath right behind him. But the allo knocked him airborn with its head and grabbed his legs midair. Eli screamed in agony as he felt his legs being torn off by serrated teeth. He punched the allo in the face with his robot arm, but it only bit down harder, making him scream louder. He used his good arm to shoot a shell into its bad eye, making it screech and throw him through the trees. He managed to catch a tree trunk with his robot arm, but he tore through the bark. He grabbed a branch with his good arm and successfully stopped his fall, but also got it caught in the fork of the branch and he swung around snapping every bone in his arm. He passed out from the pain and fell to the ground.
"ELI," Jacob screamed. His eyes shifted to blood red and he screamed in fury, his claws and dagger teeth appearing. He emptied the last of his clip into the allo and drew his katanas as it charged him.
"Jacob," Charles screamed. "Jacob can't be serious," he thought. "He's gone mad!" Charles shot the allo in the face, and that was the opening Jacob needed. He jumped right on top of the allosaur and held his swords down, stabbing the dino and latching onto it. Charles and Shamya stared in amazement as they watched him continuously stab the dino, but Lancer only blinked in surprise before firing his bow again. Charles fired again, and finally so did Shamya, but the whole time Charles was thinking, "ow is Jacob doing that?" But then, he suddenly remembered something and stopped dead in his tracks. "Could it be? No way, it couldn't be. Could it?" Charles asked himself these questions, but his answer came in the form of the allosaur knocking a tree down and crushing Shamya with it.
Shamya couldn't move out of the way in time and the tree fell on top of her. It wasn't a big tree, but Shamay screamed when it landed on her. The allo had finally managed to use some branches to brush Jacob off its back, but things were about to get worse.
It noticed the downed target under the tree and decided to go for it. Lancer got there first. "Shamya, can you hear me," he called through the branches and leaves.
"Lancer," Shamya replied. "Lancer, I can't see you; this hurts so much! Get it off, please!" Lancer was about to try and move the tree, but Shamya screamed, "Behind you!"
Lancer spun around to see the allo charging him. Charles came from the side and slammed into it, aiming for its bad eye, but the but the allo rubbed its face against the dirt, causing him to jump off and leave himself vulnerable to its jaws, since he couldn't dodge midair. The allo chomped down on his suit and tossed him through the air. Then it turned back to Shamya and Lancer.
"Don't you dare touch her," Lancer screamed. The allosaur roared back the challenge. But something in Lancer's mind snapped. He hadn't felt this rage except for one time. . . two weeks ago in the compound. He felt his body start to change, his nails sharpening into claws and his teeth becoming like knives. His eyes shifted blood red, and the scent of blood nearly drove him mad with excitement. "fine then," he hissed, "you're dead." He drew his saber and pistol.
But the allosaur didn't get to charge. Jacob appeared behind it and jumped onto its back again. The allosaur easily shook him off and turned to him, but Lancer rushed in from behind and slashed its thigh. It backed up as the two superhumans tag teamed it, both slashing it from different angles.
Charles was watching with astonishment. . . and horror. "Not Lancer to," he thought to himself. "Both of them are. . . hybrids?" his thoughts returned to the battle when the allosaur screeched in pain and fury before managing to tail whip Jacob and send him flying. Now it just had to deal with Lancer.
Despite them being hybrids Charles wasn't going to let his friends die. He used his rocket boots to boost himself through the air and land on the allosaur's head once more, this time with Lancer on the side. The allo was now getting desperate, obviously fighting a losing battle. It was getting up to try and slam its head against something, but Jacob was already up. He quickly lined up his dash and slashed its achilles tendons on both feet in one lunge. The allo screeched as Lancer shot its other eye out and Charles shoved a grenade into its other eye. He jumped off, telling Lancer to do the same, and they watch as the allo's head exploded.
Lancer suddenly passed out. Charles was about to pick him up, but hesitated. Jacob noticed this. "What's wrong, Charles," Jacob asked.
Charles glared at him. "Nothing," he growled at Jacob.
Jacob new by the tone of his voice something was wrong and he quickly two and two together. "You know, and you hate us," he growled right back. "Well, I'm not like that."
Charles chuckled darkly. "Why not? You were created that way."
Jacob had to use every ounce of self control he had to keep himself from ripping Charles in half. "We'll finish this later," he said. He went over to Lancer and picked him up while Charles carried Shamya and Eli.
With Collin and Shamya, after they were chased off by the allo, Collin had kept it at bay with his M16 while Lila used her colt. 45s. This one seemed less aggressive than its partner, especially since it saw Collin use a grenade launcher. She attached a C4 charge to a tree they passed and detonated it when the allo passed by, keeping it further back.
They ran until they reached a gorge that overlooked the stream. The allo finally decided to charge them, but Collin turned, lined up his grenade launcher and fired. 'BOOM!' The frag round exploded behind the allo. "How do these dinos know how to dodge grenade launchers," Collin screamed inside his head as he reached for another round. His hands closed around leather. "Shit, I'm out!"
Lila grabbed his arm. "We have to jump," she said. Collin grabbed her arm and they jumped into the rushing water below right before the allosaur could take a bite out of them.
Collin and Lila broke the surface of the water, gasping for air, but they went underneath right after. Collin broke the surface again, but this time Lila was gone. "Lila! Lila, where are you," he screamed.
"Collin!" He turned to where his name came from. "Collin!" Lila was further downstream. The allosaurus was waiting for her at the end of the gorge.
Collin began swimming towards her as fast as he could. "Lila," he screamed. "Move, now!" He tried to fire his gun, but it was too wet. Lila turned around right as the allo opened its jaws. It looked like Lila was done for when she pulled out a knife, pointed it at the allo's eye and shot the blade into it. The allo reared back and screeched in pain, turning back and running away.
But it wasn't over yet. A waterfall awaited them at the end of the stream. Lila paddled as hard as she could, but it barely slowed her down. Collin paddled with the current, giving himself much more speed. Collin managed to reach Lila right before they went over. They screamed as they held each other tightly, praying for the best. They splashed at the bottom together and swam for the surface, this time keeping each other in sight.
When they reached the shore, Collin pulled an exhausted Lila up onto a log. They caught their breath as they sat down. "See, I told you I wouldn't let you die," Collin panted with a smile. Collin returned the smile and they kissed next to the waterfall that saved their lives.
Suddenly a hiss and splash later, Collin and Lila jumped to their feet as a waiting sarcosuchus decided to strike. Collin rolled out of the way and unsheathed his knife, but Lila screamed in terror. . . and pain.
The sarcho crunched her leg between its jaws, and there was an audible snap as Lila screamed. She tried to pistol whip the sarco off her, but she couldn't reach its eyes; the snout was too long.
"Lila," Collin screamed in terror and fury as he charged the sarcho. The sarcho simply tail whipped him aside as it turned around and dragged a screaming Lila back to the water.
"Collin," Lila screamed in desperation. The sarcho bit down harder and she screamed louder. "Collin, help me!" She reached out a hand as Collin stood up and sprinted into the water.
Collin grabbed her hand tried to pull her away from the sarcho. "Lila, hold on," he pleaded desperately as he pulled. The sarcho, angry that someone was trying to take its meal, yanked Lila out of Collin's hands, making her scream again. Her leg was broken so much she was literally from the sarcho's mouth.
"Collin," Lila screamed as she was dragged into deeper water. "Collin, help me! COLLIN!" She disappeared under the surface and the water quickly turned red.
Collin fell to his knees in the shallows. "No," he whimpered, reaching out his hand to the red spot in the stream as it continued to grow. "No. . . no. . . no. . . LIIIILAAAA!" He screamed so loud the birds in the surrounding trees flew away. "AAAAAAAAAH, LIIIILAAAA!" He wailed for at least a minute until something floated up to him. The object revealed itself to be a hand, Lila's hand to be exact. Collin reached out and grabbed it as it floated closer. He held the hand to his chest and screamed out his sorrow.
The sarchosuchus decided it wanted a full course meal as well as seconds so it slowly emerged from the water headed straight for Collin. Collin didn't even try to run away or fight back. He just sat there, almost like he was waiting to be eaten.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "Collin," and a barrage of bullets pelted the sarcho. Kaira and Aurelia ran toward the sarcho from opposite sides, shooting at its eyes. The sarcho, apparently having enough, decided to turn around leave.
Kaira turned around and ran to Collin's side. "Collin are you okay? Where's Lila? I heard her and then. . ." Aurelia gasped and pointed at the hand Collin was holding. Kaira's eyes widened. "Collin, where's Lila?" Collin answered by holding the hand closer to his chest. Aurelia hugged him and started crying with him. Kaira hesitated for a moment before hugging the two of them, listening to Collin sobbing for a while longer, grieving over the loss of his lover.