DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ALAN'S DINOSAURS THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS UNIVERSAL AND MICHEAL CHRICTON.
A/n: So I was going to let this one go for a bit, but the storm that is raging just outside of my house was an inspiration to me. So much so that I just had to write this latest chapter. I originally was going to start writing another chapter of my other fic 'Warriors of Winterfell' but the idea was appealing.
Ok enough rambling for now I will start writing. Just to warn you though this chapter will be long and dark. So anyways on wards to another chapter of...
ALAN'S DINOSAURS
Chapter 24: The Jungle Ruins
SOMEWHERE IN THE JUNGLE, ISLA SORNA
The storm came suddenly and it came hard. The group was forced to remain in the cave while the waters outside raged in torrents. The amount of water that came suddenly forced them to remain as they were. It was too dangerous to cross and the current too strong to swim. Even Sarah was feeling apprehensive after the two days they had been there.
It was nearly a week since they had landed on Isla Sorna. Already they ran into problem after problem. What they thought was just a normal ride in the park turned into a nightmare fast. There were dead bodies everywhere plus sick dinosaurs to deal with. Then there was avoiding all the predators and finding shelter where ever they can find it.
"Easy there boy," Alan said to Nico as he was still recovering from a concussion. The Raptor had taken a hit while fighting off a juvenile T-Rex. The Juvenile was not as docile as Junior making it a male seeking to find his territory. Thankfully Rosco scared it off, but for how long is the answer.
The only good thing going for them was there was plenty of fish to feed the hungry dinosaurs and humans. The fish were very large and Rosco learned how to catch them to feed the injured Nico. Sarah was a great teacher and showed Rosco how to catch them by holding still. Using this technique he managed to catch his own. The other good side was the occasional animal that washed up in the cave from the torrents outside. Due to the cave being slightly above ground they manged to salvage the dead animal or two for the meat eaters.
The men also had their fill of meat from the dead animals and being careful to make sure that there were no prions ate their fill as well.
As the torrents continued they waited out the storm, and hoping to see the water recede just enough for them to leave. They could not hear the wind outside due to the sheer volume of the water falling from above them. The noise from the waterfall alone was deafening and to even talk to each other was impossible. Luckily for them hand signals were enough to communicate with.
The water did not recede for another three days. By that time everyone was getting a bit apprehensive. When it finally did recede everyone was at wits end on the fifth day.
It was also then that rations started to get low.
Cursing their luck the men had to wait until the waterfall was back to its original size and depth before being able to depart.
By now Nico had made a full recovery no longer showing signs of his concussion. Alan had to check to make sure there was no lasting damage done to the raptor before moving on. Rosco and Sarah were more then happy to leave.
Once out of the waterfall they could finally see for themselves the amount of damage done during the storm.
While safely sheltered behind the waterfall the flood that had taken place had washed out a good portion of the path in front of them. Already debris was everywhere and so they made their way around it. It was Sarah who was still on the ground that found the first outside casualty.
It was a Baryonyx a fish eating dinosaur. This one was dead having obviously drowned in the flood. Sniffing the carcass Sarah moved away slowly. Rosco was the second dinosaur to inspect it and growled low. Then it was Nico who also followed.
The three men approached the carcass and Alan looked at the animal. Sure enough the signs of infection were there. The skin was scrapped off in various places due to constant scratching and from the looks of it the tail had been bitten in various places.
"So Alan can you identify what kind of prions we are dealing with?" asked Henry who was the medical expert.
"Definitely a Scrapie type of Prions because of the sheep they had been eating. The signs are there, the bitten tail and the claw marks along the skin. I'd say definitely a scrapie type of infection." Alan confirmed.
"I knew there was something familiar about this infection," Robert said looking at the dead animal.
"So if that were the case?" Henry stated
"Then we need to make sure that no more animals are getting sick," Alan said to them.
They continued on wards following the river down into one of the valleys. It was there that they discovered the meadow and the first full encounter with the herbivores.
The road they followed worked into the valley. Having taken the left road which was the shorter way then the right. Looking at the map all three men concluded that they did not go very far from the worker's village due to the problems that happened along the way. The compound in the Worker's village was a pretty good size, but from what Henry described the main compound was by far larger then any of the buildings on the island.
Rosco's wounds were healing well which thanks to the medical supplies and the clean water from the runoffs helped to prevent the wounds from infection. After burning the body of the Baryonyx they continued on their way. Because of the saturation of water in the ground finding dry wood was difficult so starter fluid was used instead. That combined with the methane gas from the gut made for a burning sensation that scared any scavenger away.
They discovered a few compys along the way all of them infected and all of them killed. The ones who were healthy were also given a check to make sure they were not carrying the disease. The meadows below them however were vastly different then the jungle.
For one there was no cover from any predator, but the herbivores here were grazing peacefully.
It was a small herd of triceratops all of them juveniles with a few adults surrounding them. At the sight of Rosco and Nico they formed a protective circle around their young with horns sticking out. Rosco and Nico ignored them after having eaten another carcass just before entering the field. This animal was clean of infection so their bellies were full. Sarah had taken to the skies once again with Henry on her back. The Asian man surveyed the valley below them looking for any signs of danger.
So far there were none but that is to be expected with a low population of dinosaurs.
"They had not had time to fully breed yet having bred in the facilities. But once established they will start breeding," Alan said to them as they traveled further down the meadows.
They encountered other herbivores stegosaurus, brachiosaurs that were much smaller then the ones on Nublar. Parasaurolophos, Iguanadon, Maiasaurus and Corythosaurus were among the others there feeding on the vegetation of the meadow.
The bellows of other sauropods joined the group as different species started to congregate there. The group watched in the distance, but always kept an eye out.
"Any signs of infection Henry?" Alan asked from his radio.
"Negative it seems only the carnivores have the infection and so far the rain had washed out any dung droppings we could find. I am however seeing movement in the trees to the northwest where the herbivores are coming from. They don't look like any more herbivores." Henry said from the air.
"Alright we will look in that direction seeing as we have to go there anyways," he said.
As they traveled through the meadow following the road towards their destination. The trees suddenly parted to see a much larger predator going after the herbivores.
"Oh fuck me!" said Alan.
"What?" asked Robert.
"If I am correct then that is a giganotosaurus it was just recently discovered. If this animal is fully grown it would be bigger then Rosco," said Alan.
"Oh shit!" said Robert then reached for the radio.
"Henry did you get that?" he asked.
"Yeah I got it from up hear it looks as if the animal has not reached its full growth yet," Henry said.
"Alright any signs of infection?" he asked Alan.
Alan had to look and sure enough the animal showed clear signs of infection.
"Yeah I got signs," he said and it was then that Robert grabbed his large elephant rifle.
"Alright lets get to it," he said.
Alan nodded as they gave chase.
COMPTON CALIFORNIA
The Witmams were a family who lived in the worst part of Compton. It seems like every day gunshots could be heard out in the street or someone was breaking into someone else's home. But for the Witmans it just was life in the ghetto. To them having grown up here for generations it was home.
Gary Witman lived with his parents and having to work two jobs to help pay for the bills. His father and mother also worked two jobs just to make ends meet and all three of them are always crossing each other out the door. Gary works at a tech firm as a low level programmer. Though Gary's skills were exceptional they were obviously not enough for the company to prompt a promotion.
Or so one thought.
The company that Gary works for is a computer firm that branches off of IBM. The smaller firm has many people working hard to help with the programming needed to keep the computer company afloat. And with that Gary was sure his skills could be of use. After all he is a better programer then most of his compatriots. But even after several years working for the firm he has yet to move up the ladder.
The reason for this is because his boss is one of those who prefers white workers to people of color. Only those of white skin were able to get promotions while better workers like Gary were left in the dust. His other job was much simpler as a worker at McDonald's.
Now Gary is a rather over weight man. His diabetes has caused him to swell more then what he normally eats. He is a strict vegetarian preferring a salad then a hamburger. It was to help control his diabetes, but that did not help stop the swell in his belly. Gary unlike most of his fellows prefers to exercise daily taking a jog around his neighborhood to help keep his blood sugar under control. This has helped a lot in keeping him mobile and helps with his ideas for his programming skills.
Gary's basement was where he kept most of his computer work and his computer systems. Having several monitors up and working is hard on the electric bill. But Gary had solved this problem with his newly made solar panels. The solar panels are on the roof of his home and provided the electricity needed to power his computers. This also helps to cut down on the electric bill.
It was on Gary's day off from both jobs that he had gotten the phone call.
"Gary dear you have a phone call!" his mother called as she was preparing to go to work.
"Alright mom!" Gary said and rolled his chair over to where the phone was at on his desk.
"Gary here?" was the answer.
"Gary wassup brother hows it been," said a voice.
"Ray?" was the reply.
"Yeah its me," Ray Arnold said from the other side.
"Oh my God Ray you know its been so long man since I last heard from you!" Gary said sounding excitedly as he held the phone against his ear.
"Yeah I've been busy working," Ray replied.
Suddenly something was heard in the back ground with what sounded like kids yelling. Then the sound of "Frankie you damn shit you better give me back my cigarettes right now!" Ray said on the other side.
All that Gary could hear was a bunch of squawking.
What was that a bird?
"Hey Ray I did not know you were into pets?" he said.
"The animal is not mine I am only babysitting it for someone and right now it is being a pest, 'Frankie for the love of God put that thing down!'" he said at the other end.
"Wow, so what is the meaning of this call Ray, not that I don't mind and all," Gary said to him.
"Alright here's the deal I got some algorithms for you to look at. The place I've been working at has been hacked and the bastard who was one of the employees wrecked the programming involved to do so." Ray said.
"Ok how am I of some help?" Gary asked.
"The fax machine still works doesn't it? I am faxing you the algorithms and I want you to read them for me. They are basically for a back door that I discovered into the system and I know the basics of what it does. But I don't know the full extent. The guy who did it has recently died of an animal attack just down the road of where I am now that is why I need your help," Ray said.
"Alright I will….what do you mean the hacker who did this died of an animal attack? Just where are you Ray?" asked Gary.
"I am in Costa Rica working for a biotech firm. And the guy who died is Dennis Nedry know him?" Ray asked.
"Nedry? BoxJellyfish1955 are you kidding me? That bastard was working with you and he is dead?" Gary said.
"Yeah pretty much," was Ray's reply.
"Holy shit if that fucker messed up your systems I am down to help you fix it. Just send me the shit and lets see what I can do," said Gary and gave Ray his fax number as well as the contact number to call him by.
It was not even five minutes later that the fax machine started to go off. With it came sheet after sheet as Gary pulled it out and his eyeballs went wide at the amount of equations on the paper.
"Fuck me in the ass like a faggot!" he swore as he looked at all the formulas. Quickly racing towards his dry erase board Gary quickly erased the useless content on the board and began to write out the algorithms instead.
When he was done he whistled.
JURASSIC PARK CONTROL ROOM, ISLA NUBLAR
Ray was staring at the algorithms when the phone rang. Picking it up Ray answered, "Control room," Ray said.
"Ray its me Gary," Was Gary's voice on the other side.
"So what have you got for me Gary?" Ray asked.
"Well from the looks of it. You were right it is a back door. But not only is it a back door it is also a virus. A god forsaken time bomb virus." said Gary.
"Alright if that was the case what does the virus do?" Ray asked.
"Well the virus was a means to break down something, and if I had to guess it was your security firewalls. Nedry must have been selling your secrets to whoevers from the start. The main code that I see here is a back door into your security system. So that way he can sneak in without anyone's notice. My guess is also that he was probably using not only his cubicle, but another computer somewhere to hack into the systems without anyone noticing." Gary replied to him.
"Fuck!" was Ray's response.
"You said that this thing was also a virus for breaking down firewalls. Can you explain to me by looking at the algorithm how was he able to do that?" Ray asked Gary.
There was a pause on it before Gary replied, "Well if I am reading this right. It is a time bomb virus meaning that he was planting bombs throughout your code to break the system down on a timed schedule. So after a certain amount of time the virus would act as sort of a nuclear bomb and destroy your whole system. Or it can cause just enough damage for you to be distracted from what he was really doing," was Gary's reply.
"Stealing corporate information," Ray replied not telling Gary that Nedry was in fact stealing dinosaurs.
"Nedry also did his homework and if my guess was correct he must have done a lot of damage to your systems if you are calling me for help," Gary replied.
"He destroyed pretty much a good number of our systems. Another hacker helped us get the phones and the basics back online but that is all she did. After all she is just a kid and when they took her back home she could not do much more," Ray replied.
"Good God," Gary said.
Suddenly the babies and Frankie went silent before alarms started to go off from the dinosaurs. Cursing Ray had to apologize to Gary before hanging up and started packing.
The children were already ready to go along with Richard as they made their escape.
ISLA SORNA
The late evening was just around the corner. The sun began to dip over the horizon when they finally found the main compound. The compound itself looks deserted but the smell of death was permeated here as well. When they entered to their horror it was as if world war 3 had gone off with blackened walls and charred bodies both human and dinosaur.
"What the fuck happened here?" Robert asked.
The last time he talked to someone was about two to three weeks ago. This however was not what he had anticipated.
The compound was and looks deserted in fact a lot of the stuff one would see here was just gone. The main desk looks as if someone ransacked it and the char marks were everywhere.
"Looks like someone torched the place," Henry said as he joined them on the ground. Walking around the front office when they entered Alan, Robert and Henry left the dinosaurs to secure the area for them while they looked around. Nico was right beside them while Rosco went to hunt and to patrol the compound for larger predators. Alan was no fool so far the dinosaurs were mostly juveniles having the adults shipped to Isla Nublar for their show in Jurassic Park. Some of them had to have been bred here and became adults here. The juvenile T-Rex they had seen was the largest of them so far. But the Carnotaurus was by far the only adult dinosaur they had fought.
But what other secrets they have here.
The charred remains of many of the employees now raised Alan's suspicions and looking over his shoulder Robert and Henry's too.
"This was no normal dinosaur breakout," Henry said when they shown their flashlights around.
"Do you know where the living quarters are?" Alan asked.
"Yeah this way," Robert said as he led Alan and Henry over to a separate building. This was obviously where most of the scientists and higher ups sleep because of the way it was arranged. Robert managed to fish some keys out from behind the desk.
COMPOUND LIVING QUARTERS
"At least the living quarters is as it was years ago," Robert said when they entered the empty room.
The living quarters was spacious as well as dark and empty. Nico sniffed around first to make sure that no dangerous animals were there. They checked the vents and even the windows for any signs of danger. Alan quickly opened the balcony doors to allow Rosco to poke his head in. He emphasize the importance of letting the T-Rex see and smell them to know that everything is well.
"The last thing we need is for him to smash through the walls because he can't find us," Alan warned as the two other men quickly set up something.
It was a miracle that the lights still worked in the facility unlike the main compound where there is nothing.
"I bet the eggs have all rotted already," Henry said as they sat down. Robert went to the phones to see if he can get them to work but the lines were dead.
"Well so much for checking in with Ray on the phones," he said.
"Here let me," Henry said as he looked at the phones but he also heard no dial tone.
"Something must have happened to the lines," Henry said.
"Must have something to do with the char marks on the walls." Alan stated.
"Must have been, how else would there be this much dead corpses around. I mean what happened here? I was on the phone with the guys not even three weeks ago. So this must be recent," Robert replied.
"I agree those corpses back at the Workers Village and at the docks was no joke. This is no outbreak of Prions. In fact we only killed several animals since coming here and from my understanding Prions is rare and can be contained. The symptoms that these animals have are not your normal prions. Though the similarities are there it reminded me more of rabies then Prions." Alan said.
"I agree with Alan on this one Robert. Prions is a breakdown of protein in the brain the animals we killed so far to get here. They were not behaving like a normal Prions inflicted animal would. Their behavior was not like that at all. In fact it reminded me of a rare form of rabies. Even Rosco and Nico when they kill them tend to avoid directly biting them or getting bitten meaning that something is going on here." Henry said.
"Yeah and what about the char marks on the walls? I mean those people back there did not look like the dinosaurs had killed them. The workers village did and the docks did but I think everything that has happened, it happened here," Alan stated.
"I am curious as to what had happened here myself. If my gut is telling me anything it happened sometime after the hurricane had struck. Meaning that when the hurricane hit Nublar this island felt it first since the storm made a move north. It is actually rare to see and even rarer to feel such an impact. But Sorna did feel the storm and when we were able to communicate with them. All they could tell me was that InGen ordered them to leave. That was it nothing more nothing less. Now that I am thinking about it something does not seem right with the whole thing," Robert said.
"I have to agree with Robert, Alan I mean why spend millions of dollars on creating dinosaurs. Then suddenly throw all that money away when a storm struck. That is a wasted investment I should say. A company such as InGen who spends millions to create this place and then create the dinosaurs has to have some sort of contingency plan if something like a storm should happen. I mean it happens all the time, this is the tropics and storms such as these tend to happen." Henry said as Robert returned with something for them all.
It was canned soup that he had warmed up using the supplies that they still had left.
"I know and until we get those answers as to why they suddenly pulled out we can only assumed that something happened to kill all those people and animals. The dinosaurs I know didn't do this sort of damage. Not even at this juvenile stage can they cause this much death. And that does not explain the char marks on the walls or what appears to be an explosion. When we look into it tomorrow we can find out more once the sun is up," Alan stated.
"What I want to know is why? Why waste so much money and research. I mean if it is that bad then why not improve it. I know now I am against the whole thing thanks to my babies, I am trying to think from a companies perspective," Henry replied.
"Like Alan said we can't know for sure until tomorrow when the sun is up," said Robert.
Suddenly they heard a noise and all of them instantly reached for their weapons.
Only to find Nico there with a compy in his mouth.
Breathing a sigh of relief the men backed down while Rosco having himself hunted reared up with a dead animal in his mouth. Breathing a sigh of relief the men slowly took turns once again to rest.
THE NEXT MORNING
It was a pretty uneventful night thankfully and with the sun slowly rising in the east over the mountains. The cool night air seemed to have permeated the grounds which gave it a rather cold feel. Rosco and Nico did not mind the cold much which suited the men just fine as they slept. When the sun rose they each got up to scout the room for any creatures that might have gotten in.
What they found instead was Nico defecating in the shower. At least there is no water for them to use the shower.
Each of them walked out one by one to explore the grounds to some extent. The ground was clearly saturated with the morning mists. The cool air was teaming with the sounds of birds and insects with the occasional call of a herbivore.
The sight that greeted them when they finally saw the building once again was something out of a zombie movie. The building itself looks as if something exploded with the roof of the buildings looking like something went off. There was old blood stains and char marks everywhere. But what intrigued the men were the holes on the side of the building.
Alan put his hand on the wall to examine them.
"This was no accident," he said.
"I agree I've seen my fair share of slaughter back in Africa but this." Robert said as he looked at the bullet holes.
"You think these guys were killed?" asked Henry.
"Yeah, that would explain why InGen wanted to cover up the whole ordeal. I mean spending millions of dollars on dinosaur clones only for it to be abandoned. I doubt they wanted everyone to spill the beans," Robert said.
"I doubt it," Alan said and the other two looked at him in confusion, "Look at it this way why kill off your resources? That would also be a waste of money. If I were them I would put them to good use elsewhere."
The other two men looked at him with understanding. It made sense that InGen would not waste resources. The power was gone having been taken out by whatever it was that attacked them.
Nico took the lead and began to sniff around the area. The area reeked of death as the bodies of many employees filled the walls. As they walked further in they could see more and more evidence that something tragic had happened.
"Oh dear God!" said Robert as he studied the face of someone who died along the wall. Alan and Henry both shined their flashlights into the dark corridor where the sun failed to penetrate.
There leaning against the wall with the remains of blood splattered was a body of someone in a ranger's uniform. The Jurassic Park Logo showing clearly on the man's breast but under it was the words GAME WARDEN.
"Robert is that…..?" Henry said.
"Lewis," Robert replied looking at what is left of his skull. The back of his head was torn open. His brains long gone and if it wasn't for his badge and uniform they would not have recognized him. Robert has tears coming out of his eyes as his shoulders started to shake. Then a deep wail was heard as he leaned onto the body and cried.
Alan was at a loss, but it was Henry who leaned in and explained, "Lewis and Robert are brothers," said Henry and Alan mouthed an 'Oh'.
A small whine was heard and Alan turned his head to look at what made the noise. Nico lowered his head as if sensing Robert's distress. A low mourning sound was heard as Rosco also made his presence known. The hallway was large enough for the Tyrannosaur to fit in and so he came to see for himself why Robert was crying. Leaning down his massive head he took a sniff at the body and at Robert before leaning in. As if sensing the dinosaur's intentions Robert put his head against Rosco's snout.
Nico too mourned at the dead individual in front of him. He took a sniff as if remembering his scent. His mournful cries were also heard. The other two men stood there in silence allowing Robert to mourn his brother's death.
It was then that Nico began to sniff the body and so did Rosco. It was Alan who knew the signs.
"What is it guys?" he asked.
Robert having heard Alan looked up from his mourning. His tear streaked face suddenly lit up when he noticed Nico sniffing Lewis's hand.
Looking down Robert finally noticed the object that Lewis was protecting. Opening up his hand slowly he found to his surprise a floppy disk! The disk itself was still intact with no signs of mold or mildew. It was in a protective case keeping it safe from the elements.
Taking it out Robert looked at it and saw to his surprise it said only one thing.
DX COTANGENT
Robert gave the disk to Henry who looked at it in shock.
"I thought they contained the disease," he said to them.
Robert was helped up by Nico who gave him an inquiry.
"I will be fine boys thanks," he said to the two dinosaurs. Going to a nearby water fountain that still works Robert cleaned his face as he stared at the wall.
His breathing was ragged but he slowly took deep breaths to try and control his emotions. It was a comforting hand that gave him the courage to turn around. It was Alan's hand on his shoulder and his was followed by Henry as they both offered their support of him. The dinosaurs not wanting to be left out gave mourning calls.
TEMPORARY HERDING PENS, ISLA NUBLAR
"Richard I am worried about Alan," said Jessica as she examined a goat that had gotten itself bitten by a compy.
"Why's that dear?" Richard asked his wife.
"Richard, Alan broke his ankle two weeks ago and he is now on some other dinosaur infested island with no help. How would I feel? I mean I love the man he is my friend and he and his dinosaurs are family to me, but the way he is running himself ragged with that ankle of his is not good for his health." She said.
"Abril said the same thing dear Ray told me as much, but you know Al. He will want to get at the heart of things to ensure that everything is alright. And besides with him here it would be harder to get the help he needs," Jessica said.
"I know and you can grade him when he gets back," Richard said as he gave his wife a peck on the lips to show that he means it.
The goat bayed as it felt itself swaying and Jessica quickly gave it an injection. It was one of the medications that she had read in the Jurassic Park vet center. Gerry was thorough about his notes in dinosaur care. He and his team of vets had researched how to treat dinosaur ailments and Jessica quickly added her own notes in there. She had found that the compys carry bacteria in their bite like those of any scavenger. The bite on this goat had gotten infected and Gerry suggested some methods in dealing with the bites.
Jessica had read the notes and was doing as he had written.
As she treated the goat the sound of compys could be heard and luckily for both her and her husband Rexy had recently urinated in the area. So the Compys are more cautious about coming near the pens. A single compy was seen on top of one of the fence posts. This one they both knew well a scout they had named Peepers. Peepers had red highlighted stripes on his back and they could tell he was a male. The bright golds and reds highlighted his gender quite well and as usual Peepers only watched them.
"I know what you are thinking you little shit," Richard said to him.
Peepers only cocked his head before scampering off. Tank then appeared from the underbrush munching on some leaves. On her back was Maria with Rosie. Rosie had taken a liking to Maria and was now often seen with the youngest Grady. Tank bellowed at the compys and hearing the many feet disappearing into the underbrush showed that they were just as afraid of Tank as the carnivores.
"Thanks girl," said Jessica as she continued her work.
THE COMPOUND, ISLA SORNA
It was Henry who noticed Alan started to sweat. His face was clearly in pain as he was leaning more on the wall.
"Alan are you sure you should be here?" Henry asked the other man.
Both Robert and Henry were reluctant to have Alan go along with them even with his injury, but the man was insistent. Even the dinosaurs seemed worried with him leaning on Nico.
"I have to Henry, I want to know what the fuck is going on and even if I am injured things needed to be done. Besides this is not my first walk in the park," Alan joked.
"Even so we should find someplace for us to rest it is nearing noon," Henry said.
"Alright," replied Alan.
They managed to find themselves in an office just off to the side. Rosco was guarding the door while Nico was looking worriedly at Alan. Alan's face was in agony even after the cortisone shot wore off. The cast on Alan's leg looks downright disgusting so both men started to worry for their friend.
"We need to find a medical facility," said Robert.
"I think I remember where it is," said Henry as he stood up.
"Stay here we don't want to be separated especially with those dinosaur running around," Robert said.
Henry plopped himself down once again as he leaned down on the couch that was in the office. He accidentally knocked over the phone that was in the hand of the owner of the office. This man looked to have once been overweight. But his remains shown that he was shot by a stray bullet to the chest. When the phone landed there was a sound to it.
All three men looked towards the phone...and each other.
JURASSIC PARK CONTROL ROOM, ISLA NUBLAR
Ray was going over what his friend had told him. The lines of code making so much sense now that he was seeing the back door. Lex had managed to seal some of the breaks in the code but not all of it was repaired in the short amount of time.
It was then that the phone started to ring. Ray quickly reached over and picked up the phone.
"Control Room," he said.
"Ray?" was Henry's voice on the other end.
"Henry? Henry thank God! I had been waiting to hear from you what's the situation?" he asked.
"Ray..." and there was some hesitation with his voice, "There has been a complication." Now at the sound of this Ray's face started to frown.
"Complication? Is it Alan's foot I told that muther fucker that he should have stayed put!" Ray stated. It was then that the sound of shuffling could be heard and then Robert's voice filled his ear.
"No, Alan is in pain but he is fine. The dinosaurs are not as sick as we thought they were Ray. In fact they seem to be thriving here. We so far had been able to kill at least a dozen dinosaurs and dealt with the infected areas before the compys can spread the disease. But that is not the problem Ray." Robert said.
"Then what is the problem?" Ray asked.
"Someone has been here before us Ray." was the reply.
"Wait someone has been there before you? How?" asked Ray.
"We don't know but all the employees are dead….. including Lewis," It was then that Ray heard the croaking in Robert's voice.
"Robert, I'm...I'm sorry man," Ray replied. He liked Lewis he was a decent fellow and he knew how close he and Robert were.
"The Worker's Village was a massacre we found bodies all over the place. They stood no chance against the Troodon. And we encountered predators from the docks when we first landed. I don't know what would have happened if Alan had not insisted he'd come with his dinosaurs." Robert said to him.
"So basically something happened to everyone," Ray said hesitantly. He knew some of those people and worked alongside them for years.
Now from what Robert is telling him they are dead.
"They were shot dead here at the main compound. I have a feeling this is where it all started. Something happened and all we got is a floppy disk and bullet holes in the walls. It is a mess!" Robert said.
"If you get access to any video let me know and we can look at the tapes when you get back," Ray said.
"Alright will do," Robert said and hung up.
Ray's hand was shaking as he lowered the phone. The news was dire indeed with all those people gone what were they going to do?
THE COMPOUND, ISLA SORNA
Robert hung up the phone and stared at the others, "We need to find out exactly what happened here. And for that we need to dig deeper," he said. Just as he said it he started looking at where exactly they are at. It looks to be one of the administrators offices so he could only assume that they are still in the administration section of the building.
"So what are we looking for Robert?" asked Alan as he started shuffling through drawers.
"We need to find manifests or anything that would tell us what is going on," Robert stated.
As they dug around they noticed that papers were missing.
"There is nothing here as if someone was trying to cover their tracks," Henry stated.
"Or someone was trying to steal information," Robert replied as he dug around.
"But why would they steal information?" Alan asked.
"They wanted to know more about the dinosaurs I would guess. InGen has a lot of enemies, and those enemies will not hesitate to move in once InGen has made a mistake." Robert replied.
"You mentioned one of them once, Biosyn right?" Alan said.
"Yeah they are InGen's main competitor. They are notorious for stealing the research of other companies and using them for their own means." Henry said.
"Like cloning dinosaurs," Alan stated.
"Yeah," replied Robert.
With nothing to show for their search the three men decided to search the other offices. The sounds of the birds and passing herbivores filled their ears. The light of the day began to wane when they finally exited the administration building and returned to the living quarters. There the atmosphere was quiet while the men ate. Rosco and Nico went to hunt leaving the three of them around a makeshift fire.
"So Robert how did you know Lewis?" asked Alan out of curiosity seeing as the man was just staring into the flames.
"Lewis and I are half brothers. We had the same mother just different fathers. I was the oldest of us. When my mother got pregnant with me she was raped by a man who came into her home in Johannesburg. She walked in to witness a few men were robbing her house. She screamed for someone to call the police when one of them seized her from behind. The neighbors who lived there told me the rest when I went back there to seek answers after she died." Robert said.
The others remained quiet even the dinosaurs stayed silent when Robert told this sad story.
"They told me that she was trying to run from them when one of the men grabbed her from behind. He pulled her and proceeded to touch her and then tore her clothes off and raped her. My mother lived in the worst neighborhood in Johannesburg because she could not afford any decent living. The man who raped her was a drunk bastard who went off with his friends to have a good time. That good time was trashing and robbing my mother's home. When they got her to the hospital they made her wait for several days seeing as they had other patients to deal with. When they finally got to her was several days later and she nearly died of infection." Robert said.
"By then it was too late I'd take it," Alan said.
"Yeah she was already pregnant with me. When she found out she was pregnant she nearly committed suicide but later decided against it out of cowardice." Robert replied.
"It was not till after she gave birth to me that she moved to Kenya where she met Lewis's father Ian Muldoon. Ian ran an animal sanctuary dedicated to wild life. He was a British man who had moved to Africa hoping he could help the wild life there. He and my mother hit it off and were married a year later. It was not till two years later that Lewis was born. Ian took care of both of us and even treated me like I was his own son. He raised us well and saved up enough for us to go to a British Boarding School. Lewis and I both graduated and I stayed in England to wait for him." it was at this moment that Robert reached into his shirt to pull out a necklace.
Alan and Henry never noticed it because it was well hidden even on the days he didn't have his shirt on. It was obviously a beaded necklace with red, white and black beads woven in with a cross made out of Ivory.
"Ian died just before we got home. He was killed by poachers trying to break into the sanctuary. He died doing what he loved and that was to protect the creatures that he cherished most," Robert said.
"Mother was devastated but she had us to keep her going. Lewis and I both became game rangers and did our fare share of killing people. Back then poachers would kill you to get at their prize. But we killed them back, it was a war going on just us and them. This was going on for about ten years till we both returned to the sanctuary after finding out our mother was sick with cancer. She died not long after but by then both Lewis and I sold the refuge because both of us didn't want it. The man who bought the land was none other then John Hammond. He was the one who bought it and then turned it into a proper zoo. He wanted Lewis and myself to help run it and keep everything going smoothly. This lasted for another six years till he offered us a job here in Costa Rica. I was the Game Warden of Jurassic Park while he was in charge of Isla Sorna. He would often wear a game warden's uniform to remind people of whom they work for," Robert said.
At the last moment his voice started to croak with the final things said by Lewis.
"The last thing we talked about was the situation with the storm. He spoke about leaving the island and then nothing. I figured it was because he was getting ready to pull out and head back to Nublar. But I never would have figured that it would lead to this." Robert said.
"All I do know is that we can't leave this unanswered," Henry said feeling a sense of duty to Robert and to Alan.
"You're right we need to find out what happened and then determine where to go from there," Robert said his stony face returning. He put back the necklace in his shirt and looked at the other two men. They had come here seeking answers too and then at the dinosaurs outside.
This world was not like the one he left in Africa. This world, this lost world that man created prematurely out of greed is in danger. Robert sensed that and the two men with him also sensed that. But how would they do it. Several people are not good enough to protect both islands from poachers and danger.
As they all laid there on their mats taking turns keeping watch until the return of the dinosaurs did they finally realize that something needs to be done.
THE NEXT DAY
It rained hard the next day making searching the building hard with the holes in the ceiling. Twice the men had to run due to either the dinosaurs coming in or the floods that would rain on them from water trapped on the upper floors. The holes in them were terrible as they searched through the debris. The further they went the more the explosions were. Some of the bodies they found were not even recognizable save for their name tags or ID badges. Some not even that at all and the further they got towards the labs the less the bullets holes came. Here they saw more of the dinosaurs sort of damage done to the dead. Bodies torn asunder and bite marks on a torso that was no longer there. Some bodies they found only limbs and nothing more.
Nico whined in fear at seeing this much death. Alan had to lean on him now that his ankle had started to bother him again.
This part of the building was too small for Rosco so the T-Rex remained outside guarding the building from any intruders. Nico being smaller accompanied them inside.
The Labratories were the hardest hit. When they got there the smell alone nearly sent the three men to run from the building. But after opening several windows and doors to let the air in did they see for themselves the damage done.
The building itself was covered in blood, char and shells. There was shells everywhere of bullets that hit the floors and explosive shells that were not even sizable for anything hand held.
"What the fuck happened?" asked Henry as he looked around the room. Lab equipment was destroyed and the sound of water dripping was heard in the distance. Nico was on alert as he had his head down and hissed. The only sounds were of compys that ran for cover. Some of them were still feeding on the carcasses of the dead even though it was long since rotted to nothing.
The trio immediately moved around trying to find anything that would tell them what happened. The labs provided little to no information seeing as things had been taken from them. Computers, records and even something as small as a picture was taken. It was as if the labs were cleaned out after the killings.
The administration building provided no evidence either as all their records had been taken. They searched from top to bottom finding nothing out of the ordinary. The conditions outside were not in their favor either as the rains continued to darken the skies. The dinosaurs were restless and so they had to end the search early for safety.
Back in the room the only thing keeping the men warm in this surprisingly colder weather was the fire that Robert made. Alan was currently resting off to the side his foot looking rather angry and red. Robert had changed the bandages but luckily for him Alan remained mostly off that foot.
"It makes no sense that they could have done this?" said Henry as the night came and the rains came down harder. This time lightning had graced the skies striking the buildings here and there where metal was protruding from holes created in the roof. The men had to hunker down for the night. Rosco and Nico were very nervous with the coming of the rain.
And with good reason.
The sound of Troodon could be heard throughout the buildings along with what the three men assumed were larger predators. The sounds could be heard throughout the jungle and Rosco had taken to leaving scent trails all over the area the men slept.
They had taken to sleeping out in the open area where Rosco could get to them. The larger T-Rex was sheltered in the lobby of the crew quarters. His much larger body was used to shelter the men as they slept around the fire. The cold temperatures made matters worse with the sudden coldness that came in. The winds from the mountains had pushed the air towards them making the night miserable. Even in the tropics there are places that are cold.
This was one of them.
Rosco and Nico could sense that the men were cold and used their bodies to help warm them up. Rosco and Nico both started growing their feathers again. Much to the surprise of Alan and the other two men.
"It must be the environment," said Robert.
Alan had to agree as he leaned against the larger predator. The free range hunting that the two made could account for the changes in them as well. Rosco was well muscled and the new cuts and scars along his body a testament to his fighting with other dinosaurs. Nico also sported some wounds he had gotten while fighting off Troodon. Alan also noted that the raptor pack they met earlier had returned. Only this time they were coming in closer to the humans then they were comfortable with.
But so far the interactions with them were not hunting tactics.
The raptors were watching them with interest. It would seem that Nico and Rosco had intrigued them and they were impressed.
The other problems seem to be the much larger predators that Robert and Henry had no idea about. As they were resting with Alan keeping watch. It was Rosco's head the raised in alarm. They were followed by a now fully feathered Nico both large feathered dinosaurs growled low in their throats.
Nico was the first to rise followed by the much larger Rosco. The men quickly gotten up and grabbed their guns. As the trees parted a predator they had yet to identify appeared. This one was clearly larger then Rosco, but with its rather pointed snout and dark black and yellow coloration it was a formidable creature. Rosco being now covered in feathers may make him look less intimidating but they were used for protection.
Somewhere above them they could hear Sarah. The pteranodon had taken refuge on the higher parts of the building seeing as they provide a vantage point for the pterosaur should they need it. She had flown down to them and remained just above their floor with her wings stretched out in warning. The pounding rain had made it harder for her to stay in the air but she managed.
The predator stared them down as Rosco growled his warning. The creature was clearly an adult with is elongated jaws and bright fiery patches on its body. There were yellow stripes along its flank surrounded by red stripes. The main color was black but they could clearly see the stripes.
It was Henry who finally identified the dinosaur, "Ah Fuck!" he said.
"What?" asked Alan and it was when he finally could see that he could identify the dinosaur.
"Is that a Carcharodontosaurus?" he asked and with Henry's affirmation he cursed. Robert only cocked his gun before he stood up along with the other two men.
The predator clearly was eyeing Rosco, but the T-Rex would not move from his spot under the cover of the buildings. The larger predator only eyed him out before rising to an even higher height. Spreading his claws out he roared a challenge to Rosco.
Knowing that a fight was about to happen. The three men backed away slowly from the larger predator. Then the Carcharodontosaurus charged as well as Rosco and Nico. Sarah being useless remained behind to protect the humans.
Nico reached the predator first as he charged. Leaping onto his side he started his attack just as the larger predator engaged Rosco. The two massive predators started slashing each other with the larger dinosaur on the advantage. It bit into Rosco's neck causing the Tyrannosaur to nearly stumble. Nico then climbed onto the side again this time nipping the larger dinosaur's ankles causing it to scream in agony.
Then working the distraction to his advantage Rosco rammed his head into the Carcharodontosaurus's underside forcing the other predator to try and fend off the T-Rex. But Rosco was not about to let this one hurt his humans.
Suddenly as the T-Rex was about to push the advantage. The other predator slashed his toe claws into Rosco's side. The T-Rex screamed in agony as he was in pain. Then as he fell the Carcharodontosaurus took advantage and leaped onto Rosco going for the kill.
Suddenly a gunshot was heard and the Carcharodontosaur screamed in pain.
Blood began to ooze from one eye as the creature thrashed.
Robert and Henry both turned to see Alan there leaning on a vantage point with his gun still smoking. Robert and Henry both took advantage of the situation and started to open fire on the other predator.
Now nearly blinded Nico took advantage by spring boarding off of Rosco and back onto the Carcharodontosaur. Going for the other eye he used his sickle claws to spear the eye now blinding the creature.
Screaming in rage and agony it tried to fend off Nico. It was hard to see through all the rain and the men had a hard time aiming. To make matters worse they could hear the clicking noises of the Troodon that started to arrive.
"Oh fuck," said Henry as he opened fire on the troodon. Attacking in packs they started to go after the two men. Sarah opened her wings in a threatening display.
But they did not fall for it this time. They only had enough time to fend themselves when they heard the thunder around them. Robert knew that sound when he heard it. Thinking quickly he grabbed a wire and threw it at the Troodon just as lightning struck. The resulting shock that came to the dinosaurs was tremendous. Though some still managed to get through and Sarah's beak and claws proved to be formidable weapons.
The pteranodon shown that she can fight as well on the ground as in the air. Henry used this to shoot several that managed to come through a vent. Robert was busy fending off around five of them when a large head appeared and they all scattered. Turning Robert only had a few seconds before something white came streaking towards him. He moved out of the way just in time to avoid a Troodon that came from behind.
Having moved out of the way he rolled as another one came for him. Henry was fairing no better and Alan had it worst off due to his injury. The good news is that none of them were bitten by the animals. That would have been very bad if they did.
As they came at them again the sounds of an animal in pain was all that they could hear. Then there was silence as the sounds of the rain was all they could hear.
The Troodon pressed the attack again trying to go for the humans and this time they got a hold of Alan's shoe. Alan's shoe was then taken off but not before the Troodon was speared by Sarah's beak.
The pack became too much as the humans found themselves about to die. Then a shadow came over them and a thunderous roar could be heard. The troodon scattered as Rosco came walking in followed by Nico.
Both dinosaurs quickly entered and scared away the Troodon. Nico was limping and Rosco too sported grievous wounds along his side. His feathers stained in blood. The Carcharodontosaurus's roar could not be heard as they waited. Still they saw to the dinosaurs and then to themselves.
Robert had slashes along his chest and back. Henry along his flank and his lower torso.
"Look at it this way Henry your girlfriend would find that sexy," Robert joked as they started patching each other up.
"Really?" Henry asked.
"Well what would she expect? A man who spends most of his time in the gym not knowing how to fight. Or would she prefer a man who likes to get out and do something for a change. Even if it includes running from dinosaurs," Robert joked as he finished patching Henry's wounds.
"Ha ha very funny Robert. Cindy is in the military she sees scarred men all the time what would my scars say to her, probably nothing." Henry replied as he leaned back into Rosco.
The now feathered dinosaur was actually more comfortable then the couch. In fact Henry started petting his feathers much to the dinosaurs delight.
Alan from what they saw was clearly in pain but he managed as he inspected his brace and cast. The ankle was clearly swollen much to their dismay.
"I told you Al that you should have stayed on Nublar or at least stay with Josè!" Robert said.
"And then who can help you with the dinosaurs," Alan replied as they relaxed once more.
The rain continued to pour while Rosco, Nico and Sarah groomed each other while the men slept easier that night.
The next morning brought even more grim news.
The rains had finally let up allowing them to see outside. But the way was marked by the damage done to the parking lot. The fight had been fierce with cars overturned and trees toppled. The blood of the dead dinosaur had brought numerous scavengers all attracted to the smell of fresh meat. The group had to remain under the cover for safety. Plus the dinosaurs didn't want to move in case they came there.
The following night was the same as more predators came to feast on the dead dinosaur. Some tried to get to the hiding place but Rosco and Nico scared them off.
Two more nights it rained hard until the third day under the covers of the lodge did Rosco and Nico finally were able to get up and move around. Their wounds had started to heal much to the men's delight and Alan's swollen ankle had died down a bit. The cold rain water helped in cooling it down.
The first thing the men did was head over to the medical bay in the Labs. There all three of them managed to treat their wounds better and treat the dinosaurs as well. When they got back to the labs they managed to see better thanks to the new hole that the dinos made the night before.
When they passed where they left off the three men continued to search the building. It was when they finally reached the Embryonics that they encountered their next predator.
It was the same raptor they encountered in the forest. Its milky white hide with black spots was all that was seen on it. The other two raptors were there as well. They all stared at the men and the men stared at them.
Then the white one approached her head and tail low in a submissive gesture. Nico who was the only one who could fit was there. He raised himself up with feathers high. She gave a submissive whine as she neared them.
It was also then that Alan noticed something on her neck.
"Guys she has something on her," he said.
The others looked down and sure enough she has a sort of collar on her neck.
"Shh its ok," Alan soothed as he got closer to her. She growled low in her throat but Alan held his ground.
She cocked her eye at him and he noticed that it was not slitted like Nico's or the raptors on Nublar. In fact it was more like a birds. It was rounded but he could clearly see the intelligence there. She leaned in after sniffing Alan's hand. She clearly was not a danger to the group. As she turned to Alan she exposed her neck for him to look at the collar. Alan slowly reached out and undid the collar. The other two raptors did the same and then disappeared into the gloom.
"Ok that was strange," said Robert.
"Those raptors are not like the ones on Nublar. Henry what do you know of it?" Robert asked.
"I don't know much but if I remember something it had to do with what they told me on Sorna. I remembered receiving a report on a strain of DNA that was not the same as the raptors we originally bred. I told them to wait till we get a descent sample but it appears as if they didn't listen and cloned them anyways," Henry stated clearly surprised.
"What do you mean wait?" asked Alan.
"Well when we find a new sample of dinosaur DNA we have to make sure that the sequence is intact before we begin cloning. If not then we would risk getting a mixed dinosaur species. You have to remember that the mosquitoes sometimes goes for more then one species at a time. In order to get a single species we have to separate the different sequences to make sure that they are one animal. Most of the mosquitoes we get are filled with several different species all in one belly. So we have to be careful when extracting them. It takes weeks just to separate the different sequences and when that is done determine the species it belongs to. It is not an easy task and one I openly challenge anyone to do." Henry stated as he looked at the collar that Alan gave him.
It was a thick leather like those used in radio tracking. It held no receivers or transmitters of any kind. In fact the collars don't look like collars at all.
"Guys," he stated holding his up.
"These look like belts!" he said finally noticing something odd about them.
Looking down they finally saw that they were indeed belts worn on humans.
They were filled with pockets of all sorts and even though they were torn up. The men opened them to see what was inside.
What they found was astonishing. The first held cassette tapes of all sorts but not just any ordinary cassette tapes.
"This is security footage!" Robert said noticing the dates.
"Oh my God someone was smart enough to put them on the dinosaurs before he or she died." Alan said.
"Fuck!" said Henry.
"We need to find out more what does the other two have?" asked Robert.
"Mine has disks of all sorts," said Alan.
"Mine has more tapes only they are beta cassettes so maybe someone wanted us to find them," said Henry.
"I have to agree there is more to this then we thought." Alan said.
Just as he said it Nico gave a call of warning meaning something was here.
Just as the raptor warned them something came crashing through.
"RUN!" Henry said.
TBC
A/n: Wow now this chapter was getting a bit long and I wanted to cram a lot into this one. But after it getting longer and longer I decided to split it in two. This is the first part of what happened on Isla Sorna. I am going to be working on some other projects so an update will not be here soon enough. But I will try. So what do you think?