SURVIVAL

6 - Pet's Plan

It was raining and with it, a needed break from the sauna-like steamy heat the hunting party had experienced thus far. Should the rain stop before tomorrow morning, the next day would most likely be worse than the previous ones. At least for now, there was a break. The men had made makeshift tents with tarps they had stashed in their bags. The tarps were draped over and tied to broken tree limbs acting as supports. If it weren't for the above treetops breaking much of the rainfall, the tents wouldn't have lasted as long as they had. At least the wind was down to a minimum. Maybe that was because the trees were breaking that, too.

Terrence was thankful for that, considering they were less than two miles from the Tyrannosaur paddock. He wanted to travel further, but nightfall was encroaching on the island, and it made it difficult to see. Despite having flashlights, Terrence advised against using them openly in the outdoors during hours of darkness should it attract any unwanted attention.

He was stretched out under his tarp tent and clutching onto the now clean collar. The leather band felt gnarled and rough in his hands. He ran a thumb along the metal tag and explored how the many surface scratches blended into the etching of the text. The precious item had seen some better days since its owner received it some years ago in Kenya. Holding the collar and thinking about the hybrid reminded Terrence why he was on the doomed island in the first place.

He had called Ludlow earlier in the day using the satellite phone and relayed the news of the find to see what his next move should be. Obviously, the collar, alone, seemed promising for the excitement couldn't be restrained in the man's voice. Apparently, Ludlow knew the importance of the collar to the hybrid just as much as anyone who knew her did. Terrence would know more in the morning if the search was over or not after a meeting was called with other InGen executives to discuss the matter.

He sure as hell hoped so. Not only was he ready to get off this damn island, but he was ready to get the men away from Pet. He didn't know her next plan of action post their leaving, but knew she had to have something in mind. She always seemed to be planning stuff, running things through her head. No matter the change in said plans, she still had a back up to the backup should the others fail. She always was the cunning and strategic thinker.

Terrence tried to sleep. He tossed, and he turned. In his fitful tossing, the rain had stopped, and the suffocating humidity begin. As if he couldn't sleep before, now it was just plain impossible. The man was sweaty all over and felt his shirt stick to his body as he moved around to get comfortable. He eventually gave up trying to sleep and laid there.

Posted as night watchman outside the campsite was DeAndre. Since he refused to part with the night vision goggles after much argument with Jose, it gave the man no other choice but to accept the task. DeAndre studied the forest growth around him, painted in shades of green through the camera's filter. He glanced to his left and right, thoroughly and cautiously taking in every detail around him. Somewhere in the trees, he could hear nighttime songbirds chirp from their perches. Off in the distant was what sounded like trumpets echoing across the gentle breeze. DeAndre wasn't sure what animal the call belonged to, but as long as they were as far away from him as possible the better.

DeAndre adjusted the grip on his rifle and sighed in boredom. He hoped this trip paid out a decent payday after it was all finished. At least things were looking promising since evidence of the abomination's death was found. There was the concern on how the payout would be split, though, since the other Alex wasn't present at the time of the collar's discovery. Since then, the man wondered who else would lose out on their share of the earnings before the trip was concluded. Little did he know the eyes intently watching him from the night fallen shadows of the forest.

Footsteps having not a sound neared closer to the offensive man's position. Every time he looked to his left or right, Pet placed her steps carefully to remain out of his visual range behind him. Soon she was standing inches behind him and inhaling the traces of sweat laden fear on him. Since observing the man, Pet had come to learn he was right side dominant. Any time he responded to a sound or someone calling to him he turned to the right to respond. She was going to use this in her favor.

DeAndre could feel a warm air against the back of his neck and thought he even heard something breathing. He spun around with rifle at the ready, and fervently looked around. Movement through the shrubbery at his right quickly captured his attention. No other motion was seen for several seconds until a fern rustled at the base of a tree four feet away. DeAndre could see a flash of something...or someone... as it darted behind a tree. What it was, he couldn't be for sure but was determined to find out.

He proceeded deeper into the jungle growth, being mindful of his surroundings should there be other animals in the vicinity. DeAndre stopped in his quick strides when he saw a humanoid form very briefly before it disappeared behind yet another tree. The man continued after his target but didn't get far when he lost his footing. Down the incline of a washout he tumbled and landed on his back at the bottom. During the fall, the goggles fell off and were nowhere to be found in the pitch black of night.

At least the man still had his rifle. DeAndre stood up and dusted himself off. Behind him came a muffled screech that paralyzed him on the spot. He had no idea what animals roamed the island and regretted not finding out before accepting the task. The man felt he had no choice but to use the flashlight on his rifle and flicked it on. He swept the light's beam from side to side and sighed in slight relief when he didn't see anything.

Then came the warm breath on the back of his neck followed by heavy breathing. That's when a clawed hand slowly reached over his shoulder and took hold of his neck. Before he could jerk away, he was rendered incapable by a body seizing pain tearing through his neck. He cried out and grabbed at the source of the pain to feel blood oozing gashes. The injuries weren't severe enough to be immediately life-threatening, but enough to promote blood flow that if not treated could become fatal sooner than later. He had to get back to the camp.

Terrence wasn't the only one who heard the distressful cries of pain. The others within the campsite started to wake up from their sound slumber.

Jose was wide-eyed in panic. "What the fuck?!"

The second Alex looked nervously at Terrence. "That sounded like DeAndre!"

The men within the camp quickly got to their feet with rifles in hand and ran towards their teammate.

Pet watched the wounded man stumble and scramble to the side of the wash-out. He wailed and pleaded for someone to help him. She cocked her head to the side and reached into a back pocket of her shorts where she had a road-side flare tucked away. "Like hell you are," she growled.

She took hold of the back of DeAndre's now bloody body vest and drug him away from his hopeful escape. She ignited the flare and shoved it through the straps along the back of the body vest and heaved the struggling man to the ground.

DeAndre yelled out in rage and squeezed the trigger of his rifle, wildly shooting into the darkness in hopes of hitting his assailant. Pet wasted no time running into the shadows of the forest to take refuge from gunfire behind a tree. DeAndre saw a flash of someone moving towards him through the forest underbrush and aimed right in that direction. Only after it was too late did DeAndre learn it was Miguel.

Terrence quickly realized what happened and jerked those closest to him to the ground. "Take cover!" The gunfire subsided, and then silence filled the air. After enduring several grueling seconds of the quiet Terrence questioned. "You guys okay?"

Juan started to panic. "He's dead, man! Miguel! DeAndre shot him!"

As Juan started to hyperventilate, Terrence's face filled with dread. He looked to his hands palm down on the ground and worried what it was he felt vibrate through the earth. "Quiet!" he snapped and waited for another tremor to come.

He didn't have to wait long when the impact tremors became more frequent and stronger. Then came the sound, like a distant thunder that too grew in intensity the closer whatever was causing the vibrations got. Terrence knew the tremors' owner had to be massive in both size and weight. For everyone's sake, he just hoped it was an herbivore and not something hungry for fresh meat.

Simon was laying on his belly and looking down at the ground in bewilderment. "Does anyone else feel that?"

Terrence answered. "Something's coming."

Tree branches were heard snapping and bushes rustling as the Tyrannosaur came into view. Its beady eyes stared down at DeAndre rolling around on the ground and desperately trying to get the flare out of his vest. From what Terrence could guess, it had been drawn to that location through a mix of factors. Seeing how DeAndre was injured and with the animal's incredible sense of smell, it most likely smelled the scent of blood. Then came the loud screams that couldn't be missed by a deaf dog.

It didn't take but a second for the T-Rex to take advantage of the easy meal at its feet. DeAndre saw the dinosaur and tried to scoot away from it until a powerful foot stepped down on his legs. The T-Rex lowered its head, and in one chomp of its toothy jaws, DeAndre was no more.

Jose yelled, "DeAn-" but Terrence covering his mouth to shut him up stopped him.

The game warden gruffly whispered into the Hispanic's ear. "Shut up! Or it'll come for us, next!" Terrence could feel Jose's body quake in unfathomable fear next to him and could relate.

Laying next to the T-Rex's foot was DeAndre's rifle. Its light was still on and provided just enough luminance of the ground for the group to see a pool of blood where their teammate used to be. They could faintly see the upper part of the T-Rex as it positioned its body for a fierce, ear-piercing roar.

From where she still hid, Pet smiled in triumph to herself. Her plan worked, just as she hoped. She didn't bother to look behind her to see if Terrence or the others were safe. All she cared about at that moment was whether or not she had been found. Since the group of hunters seemed more concerned about the T-Rex and their own survival, Pet saw the chance to further retreat into the jungle growth.