James grinned triumphantly as he started the car, shaking his head as he breathed in. He was on top of the world right now; they were going to get out of this hellhole. Not only that, but he had a sample of a dinosaur with him as well. Too bad about the other animal really, that wasn't going to be on the agenda for today. But he would call for a larger team once he had access to a working phone. But for now he was more then happy, as the Compy would give their scientists quite a lot to work with. He tossed the backpack in the backseat, looking casually as the kid got in. Noticed the kid put his backpack on his lap before putting on that seatbelt.
"Ready to get out of here kid?" He asked, not really expecting an answer to that. The kid only grunted, and James nodded as he tried to start the damn thing. Car was a piece of crap really, though one thing at least it had a roof protecting against the driving rain. He shook his head, at the irony of it, that a Biosyn agent was operating Ingen's own jeeps that would've been used in the Nublar Park. Well, it wasn't really that far from the nearest town. All he had to do was go down the mountain, and find the main road. From there he could reach a populated village, get some more support.
He hadn't seen hide or hair of his companions yet, which struck him as somewhat odd, even as he turned the key again. He thought for sure that that Jefferson man would've been able to show up somewhere, somehow. If they were hiding somewhere in one of the buildings, he thought he'd have known it by now. The bitch was probably dead by now he knew, the Carnotaur would've seen her fear, smelt it as the most weak and vulnerable prey. Either way it was enough of a distraction that had allowed him to get away. After all, the large dinosaur would not be able to follow him into a building or a house. He could feel the ignition starting to warm up, and was glad of it.
The rain was really coming down hard and he turned on the wipers as he set his foot down on the pedal. There was a water bottle in the cup holder, and he reached for it to calm his nerves. The people in the house wouldn't dare follow him, he was sure of that. By the time they had picked up their guns, James would be long gone with the kid in tow. He would reward the kid properly of course, based on what they'd agreed on. It had been a risky gamble paying him up front based on a trip to Costa Rica. But Ismaloya had been a foci in the biting incidents all these years ago, which had brought the probability that there were remnants in the area up to a larger percentage.
The Compy in the backpack was enough proof of that, especially since he'd seen firsthand the roaming pack that must frequent this area. He had his own theories about that. He wiped the rearview mirror, looking to the side as he saw the kid staring at the backpack. What was in that thing, he wondered vaguely, but then didn't care. It was the larger animal that puzzled him. Dinosaur that size couldn't have gotten off either island, even as a juvinile. That meant that it had likely been smuggled to the mainland as an egg. If that was so, was it an isolated incident? That was something he needed to discuss with Rossiter when he got back.
As the car started, James picked up the water bottle and noticed it was half full. He stared at it for a second trying to figure out what was wrong. It just felt odd for a second, some feeling in his gut telling him to wait. His hand wasn't shaking; it was perfectly still. Yet the goosebumps were going all the way up to his arm. There was no reason why that should be so. No reason at all. He turned and looked in the rearview mirror, now just barely defogged. Nothing, why had he thought something was coming then? Or why would he automatically assume something was coming? He set the drink down, not thirsty any more. He looked to the side quickly, the kid didn't seem to notice anything, and the people in the house were still glued to the window.
He started to scoff before he realized that none of them had made a move to come outside. This was new, especially since he would probably be the first to come charging outside if the roles had been reversed. He frowned, and tried to see where they were looking, behind the car apparently, he craned his neck but the driving rain obscured his vision. Probably this shitty plastic film as well, perhaps their vision was clearer due to the glass? He didn't like this, not at all. He turned to the kid, who was finally beginning to notice something was perhaps amiss. He clutched the backpack tighter, almost instinctually. Strange… yet James wasn't staring at Baxter, but at the water bottle. He'd placed it back about a minute ago. But the water was still rippling. Rippling in almost perfectly evenly spaced intervals.
Then he started to feel it, something heavy behind them. He turned around, and glimpsed a dark shape rise out of the barn. The fear grew in his heart as his mouth froze in horror. The kid noticed as well, the expression on his face being damn near priceless. Not even aware of what he was doing, James grabbed the gears, pushed it backwards. The animal roared, but was confused enough that it waited until they stopped moving to attempt to snap at them. Ed James quickly turned the steering wheel around, towards the village. He felt it skid in the thick mud, and then he stepped on the gas.
The mud was more slippery then he though it was going to be really, he had not counted on how heavy the rain had fallen. The mud was preventing the jeep from gaining much traction, especially since after the rainfall; it was already beginning to set in. Not too mention, the Jeep's transmission seemed to be having a rough time dealing with it, even when he'd pushed it all the way to fourth gear. However he wasn't worried, if they could get down to the village, he could easily outdrive the animal, and get to civilization. Hell, he knew he probably wasn't going to let his foot off the pedal until at least five miles from this damn village. He turned the steering wheel over in his hands, trying to get a firm grip with his hands.
The kids face was ashen, but he was already trying to open the window. James thought he knew what he was attempting to do, and turned sideways to swat the kids hand away. "You dumb f-" He started but didn't finish, as he quickly realized that he was swerving again. Well this asshole next to him wanted to try to gun the animal down, a joke really with a small piece like that. The Carnotaur was to the left of the car now, utilizing the advantage of the mud and James's distraction. It was semi-sprinting, lowering its head at an angle as it gave a low roar. Its intentions towards the jeep were very clear, and James knew it.
The kid dropped the piece in surprise, the gun clattering to the floor. He did not reach for it though, just held on to his backpack while giving James a low glare. In the back of his mind, James wondered what about that backpack was so damn important. But it was none of his business really; he'd gotten what he came for sort of, proof of survival right in his own backpack. Right now the only imperative was to get out of this clearing, down the hill and into the village. His palms were perspiring, and he wasn't sure that he could make the turn but he did. He grinned a bit as in the turn, the car clipped the Carnotaur a bit, causing the animal to groan. Take that you huge bastard, he thought to himself.
His smile widened as he passed the barn, and could see the path down to the village. Sure the road might be a little bumpy. He remembered only a little of how it had originally been to walk up. But here he was going to have to try a new tactic; he shifted it out of fourth gear, realizing that might cause him to go down the hill too fast. Then he stepped on the accelerator again, grinding his teeth as he began his descent. He noticed the Carnotaur stop for a second, tilting its head as if puzzled. He didn't know what the hell it was doing until it started lowering its head, and backing up. Oh shit, he thought again, as he hit the gas hard.
He wasn't quick enough however, and they felt the jolt as the large dinosaur hit the back of the car. The impact was enough to send the backpack in the backseat sailing straight into the front. He pushed it to the side not wanting a distraction, and shook his head quickly as he pressed on the accelerator again, and the car began to travel down the hill. His head was a bit wobbly from the hit, and he was trying to get his bearings. All he was really sure of was the exit to the village was somewhere past the bat, at least what he could recall from the evacuation. He was already quite a distance away, could hear the dinosaur roaring in frustration. James grinned.
He let himself sigh, as he put the gear back into first place. The kid's face was sort of off though, and he couldn't figure out why. Like he was squirming or something. He looked down for a brief instant, and swore. "Ah hell," he said as he bit his lip. The zipper to the backpack had come undone in the tumble, and he could see the Compy's head sticking out. It blinked at him curiously, craning its neck as it stared from the floor. Then slowly, it began to crawl its way out of the backpack. The kid tried to step on it, but it was a sly thing, it really was. The backpack was rolling around on the floor, and in addition to the gun, Baxter couldn't get a good traction on it while trying to get it simultaneously.
In a few seconds the lizard had squirmed its way out of the bag completely. James was finding it hard to keep an eye on the path, and the thing at the same time. He heard the kid cry out, and he looked up in surprise. They were barreling towards a tent at great speed. He couldn't stop neither could he swerve at the moment, he just had to keep it straight. There was a ton of shit in there he knew, and of course the tent flap would…he grit his teeth as the moment of impact came and passed, feeling the contents of Carter's medical tent crash into the windshield all at once. It was very much a blur; he couldn't see anything.
The windshield was slightly cracked, he supposed some heavy thing had fallen on it, but he didn't really know or care right now. The fact was he couldn't see because the damn fabric was right in front of the windshield. Under normal circumstances he would stop to tear it off, but right now he didn't really want to risk that chance. It would take too long to get everything up and running again. He turned on the window wipers, hoping to get it working. The wipers started up, and then promptly got caught on the fabric. He'd sort of expected that to happen really, and so he was not unduly bothered. He just let the wipers do their thing; hopefully it would sweep the fabric out of the way.
In the near distance he could hear the Carnotaur roaring. And to his right he could see the lizard chirping, it was now perched right on Baxter's leg. But the kid was not moving, mostly because if he let go, his backpack would fall. What was so important in that damn backpack anyway? He made a move to swat the lizard away but instead it tried to nip at him. Little bastard was going to die, nobody tried to bite him like this. They could get as much DNA from it dead as alive after all. He lunged for it again, distracting his attention. Then suddenly the kid leaned forward as well, his hand on the wheel. James had enough of these distractions today and was about to say so. Then he looked out, saw the fabric was halfway gone.
The reason why the kid had tried to grab the wheel was because they were heading straight for the side of one of the villager houses. He tried to avert it, and quickly turned the steering wheel around. The car screeched, the occupants feeling as if they were being physically pulled to one side. He thought for a moment that it would, and braced himself mentally for impact. If it got the side, then he might reduce the damage to himself. The Compy meanwhile flew backwards into the backseat, chirping as it went. James held his breath as he pressed the brakes as hard as he could, willing the car to stop. He turned and he saw the wall rushing up to meet them, and the sudden thrust of the car stopping mid-swerve.
He took a long breath as he opened his eyes and just stayed there for a second. They had come that close, really way too damn close right there. He could've died, and he saw the kids face was pale. He stared at the backpack, noticed the kid's grip was tighter, almost as if he was trying to protect the contents. The zipper was partially open, as the kid stared inside as if to reassure himself. James was naturally curious, and he turned his head to see. He blinked as he saw the ovoid spheres sticking out from the bag. So that's why the kid had been so anxious. He got lucky and found a nest, thought he could make bank without him knowing. Well not on his watch, Biosyn needed these eggs, even though he had no idea what species they were from nor did he care.
He started to say something, lift his gun up to show the kid who was going to own these eggs. But then he heard something, which caused him to whip his attention back to the windshield. The Carnotaur was standing right there to the side of them now, he had no idea how it had gotten there that fast. Of course it could've been while he was distracted with the car. He frantically hit the gas, but the car started out slowly, which proved to his disadvantage. With an angry roar, the large animal charged, coming straight at them, it's head lowered. James tried frantically to hit the gas to no avail. To the side of him he could hear the seat belt clicking, as the kid fiddled with the door. No shit really.
There was no way he could get out at this point, so he braced for impact, hoping the air bag would deploy. The kid was already out of the car and running towards the side of the house. Smart strategy really, James thought to himself in the moment before the Carnotaur barreled into the side of the jeep at the climax of the charge. He felt the world turning as the jeep was lifted to one side by the sheer force of the impact. He kept his seat belt on though; sure that it would be enough. The air bag deployed, and he quickly held on to it, as the Jeep landed harshly on its side. Still he didn't experience backlash because his knees were firmly pressed against the bottom of the steering wheel, and his hands were firmly gripped on the airbag.
The Carnotaur roared in triumph, then started biting one of the tires. James didn't have any idea why, but he saw that as a good distraction to get the hell out of here. He grabbed the butt of his pistol, and hit it against the airbag until it deflated. As it went down, he undid the seat belt buckle and crawled out of his seat. He saw the lizard staring at him as if mocking him as he went. It was standing right in front of him, its head turned to one side curiously. He kicked at it with his foot, and was satisfied that he struck it square in the body. It was slightly stunned, and the car was rocking under the weight. The animal was trying to tip it completely over, but James could see that was impossible. If that was tried, the house would prop up one half.
He grabbed the prone Compy as he scrambled down the other seat, and jumped out the window. Running to the side he looked back and stared at the massive animal. Damn it was even larger up close, he lifted his gun, and he had a good shot he thought. If only he could get a sensitive area like the eyes… He was interrupted again as he heard another rumble. At first he thought it was the dinosaur again starting to roar. But it wasn't, no it was something else entirely. The three of them, two men and a dinosaur craned their heads simultaneously at the sound. An engine, but not from the car which was already a wreck.
Another car was coming down the hill, which he had just come down. A pickup truck, and he had an idea of who was driving it. Shit, he thought again as he realized that was now the only functioning car in the village. How had he overlooked it? At least the Carnotaur's attention was distracted now… James knew that there was only one entrance and exit to the village. If they tried to go that way he would be waiting. As he turned he saw the bar, and smiled.
Levine's Hummer, the door open. Well, maybe he wouldn't have to be that drastic after all.