Chapter Thirty-Five
My dearest Charlotte,
If you've not thrown the envelope away and read this far, that's already more than I deserve. I owe you so much more than an apology, and yet I must ask of you yet more forgiveness. I have been selfish. I have been cold. And I have left you behind. I know it was wrong. I feel it every day. And every day I want to tell you where I am and what I am doing. What I am working on. But I can't. I don't expect you to offer your forgiveness for that. All I can do is ask for it.
As I write this, for the fourth time now, all I can say is I am aboard a ship and bound for my new work. And my new life. You knew it for a long time before I did that things were not right between us. Maybe I took this position as an escape. Maybe not. I still don't know. If I am honest, I still do not want to know. Part of me still wishes we were back in that winter, when things were good. When I thought I knew where we were going. Now I see I didn't know. But you did, and you tried. Tried to pull me back. I am sorry. I didn't let you. And I should have, because now the pain is worse knowing that this new direction I am going is truly what I want.
I can't describe the things I have seen, the work I have been involved in. But it has consumed me. Stronger than anything I could have believed. And it hurts. Hurts that I left you without a word on what could have been a whim. But Charlotte, I implore you to understand, this whim has revealed so much to me. One day you will know, and I hope you will understand. The world will know as well, and everyone will see the work that we are doing here. It is beyond a marvel. The world will change, and I will be part of that change.
I know its selfish of me. I do not deny that. But something else I cannot deny any longer is that people don't change. I know you thought I could, and I wanted to. I wanted to for you. But I know I can't now. You were one of the few people that could get close to me, and I let you in. And pushed you out. I did not deserve your patience. Maybe I thought by taking this job I could spare you the misery. The misery of knowing that no matter how much I try, I just couldn't find something warm inside me to let you be a part of. And with the things I have seen now, I do not know if I can ever find that kind of connection with a person. Maybe not ever. I do not know what it would take.
All I know is that I have hurt you, and I am sorry, but my new life is something I cannot now turn from. I am not sure if you will hear from me again, and that may suit you. I do not know. I am too cowardly to risk finding out. I am too cowardly to even face my own emotions, let alone yours. I have no excuse. I know you will not forgive me. I don't forgive me. Which is why I am not coming back.
But I want you to know that for you, I have felt the closest thing I could ever feel to love. But you are better off without me.
Yours, distantly,
Jane.
Jane heard the hard stomp of Sidney's foot hitting the gas pedal and then felt the jolt as the bus lurched forward, a spluttering cloud of exhaust misting up behind the bus through the dirty rear window. She thumped down into a seat, holding the top of it for support as the bus gained in speed. Sidney was steering it through the depot compound and out of the gate as if he were in a race, his body bent over the steering wheel.
Viv was hanging onto the aisle pole just behind him, swaying with each turn of the bus. Jane could see her chest and shoulders heaving. Jane put a hand on her own chest and felt hers was doing the same. Her heart was beating hard, thumping in her chest and not letting her forget how close they had just been to having a bullet in their heads.
She'd seen Cutters eyes. Seen that same look on Adam. He was about to do it, and Viv was alive now purely for Clint Barker's sudden change of heart. Jane looked at the back of the bus, seeing Williams leant against the side of the rear window, watching the fading compound. Looked like he wanted to go back. Jane could understand. Williams was an honourable man. Naively honourable maybe. Things were simple for him, but what Jane had just watched was far from simple. She went and sat in the seat by Williams. The old Jamaican was frowning, a hurt look across his face.
"We should go back,'' he said. "Maybe…" Jane found she had smiled sadly. Her newfound ability to feel a deeper emotion than cold disdain was still surprising her.
"I know,'' she said. "He's gone though. He made his choice."
"Did he though?" said Williams, looking at her. "He said himself he was desperate. Did he really want this? I didn't want this." Jane reached out and squeezed the mans hand. It was warm, and rough.
"He wanted it,'' said Jane. "And he knew that, Captain. He made a lot of bad choices, but he made one good one. In the end. We're alive because of Clint Barker." Williams hung his head.
"Maybe he's dead because of me,'' he said. "If I'd maybe made more effort, with my crew. Maybe I was too hard on them. On him."
"You know that's not what happened,'' said Jane. "He was in deep with the wrong people. That's all." The thought was one that wouldn't leave Jane alone. She'd been turning the connections, as vague as they were, over and over in her head. She'd caught one name whilst straining to eavesdrop on Cutter and Clint earlier. Someone by the name of Dodgson. It meant nothing to her. But clearly a lot to them. He was the man with the money. And clearly the intended recipient of the case that Clint had cradled since the lab. And maybe the true cause of all of this. Seemed a bit redundant to worry now, considering Clint, Cutter and Adam were all most likely dead. But the more Jane thought about it, the more her mind turned towards this Dodgson person. Her hand found its way into her pocket and pulled out the crinkled paper that had been in Adam's file. The one with the S. Aegyptiacus proposal, and the initials LD. And that number.
Her fingers tapped on the number. Thinking, thinking, thinking. Maybe…
Her mind turned to Gail, and her pager, and that other piece of paper. With the other initials and number. PL? What did that mean? She felt her lip twitching in frustration. She needed to know. Williams shook her from her thinking suddenly.
"He never missed a crossing you know?" Jane frowned. Back onto Clint then. "A few of the boys would often skip a shift or crossing, when we were docked at Costa Rica. Not Barker." Jane squeezed his hand again.
"You couldn't have done more Captain. Sit down. We're going to be leaving soon. And not at gun point." She gave him another smile, still a bit twitchy, and guided him into a seat. He winced as he sat, rubbing his leg, and then Jane moved down the bus towards Sidney and Viv. Sidney was still driving the bus as if a pair of Rex's were behind them. Jane almost found herself looking behind her, just in case. Viv gave her a slight nod as she approached.
"Final stretch then, Mr. Wallace,'' said Jane. "How far?" Sidney didn't look at her, but she could see his face creasing slightly.
"Well, you might want to take a seat doctor. An hour at the least." Jane frowned.
"An hour? I thought we weren't far?"
"Well, might be I was making it up as I went along, trying to think of a way to get rid of our unwanted passengers."
"And you didn't think to let us know," said Jane, maybe a little bit too prickly.
"Wasn't really the chance to, Dr. Marsden. I had to take a risk."
"So it seems." Jane held on tight as Sidney swerved around a corner. Felt like two wheels may have come off the ground. "So the need for such speed is?"
"I told Andrea to wait until nine." Jane checked her watch and looked out of the windows at the brightening dawn.
"That's still just over three hours away. We've got time to ease off the gas don't we?"
"After everything we've seen and been through, I'm not waiting a moment longer,'' said Sidney. "Anyway, I need to make up the lost ground from my little diversion. Sit tight doctor."
Jane was about to say something but found the words just wouldn't come. Didn't really need to say much more, she supposed. She sat down near Viv and Sidney, bouncing along and watching the growing green jungle zip past at breakneck speed. She gripped the seat tighter, feeling her empty stomach rolling around uncomfortably.
"Perhaps you could ease of the speed just a fraction though?" she said. "Better to arrive a bit late than a bit dead?" Sidney grunted something and Jane saw his leg ease slightly, the speed of the bus lessening a bit. Not enough to Jane's mind, but it would do. "And perhaps you could share with us the airfield? Now that we are free of murdering lunatics?" Sidney was nodding slightly.
"Hammond has a private airstrip on Sorna. We found his plane, still in its hangar. Its not too far from the Burroughs. Viv, you know the one?"
"I know it," she nodded. "By the river?"
"That's the one," said Sidney, scratching at his ruined face. Jane chewed her lip, hoping it didn't come down to her having to find her way to this private airstrip. She settled her back against the window and tapped her hands on her thighs again, this time feeling the hard square of Gail's pager in her pocket. She pulled it out, turning it over in her hands. The catch with that other bit of mysterious paper caught her thumb, and the paper slid out into her waiting palm. She read the initials again, PL, and another number. She felt someone looking at her and looked up, seeing Viv's brown eyes in her dark face watching her.
"What's that, Jane?"
"It belonged to Gail,'' said Jane. "Before she died, she gave this to Miss Lockwood and I." Jane noticed Sidney stiffen, his lip twitching. She could see he was still raw. "It's a pager. There's a pre-loaded message on it. I don't know what to do with it." Sidney flicked a glance sideways at her.
"Do you know what the message says?" said Sidney. Jane shook her head, her fingertip traced the edge of the send button. She found she was chewing her lip again. Yet more riddles to piece together.
"Suppose it can't do any harm now,'' she murmured. Jane pushed her finger down on the button and the device made two confident beeps. On the display, the digital text read two words.
Message sent.
"Now what?" said Viv, craning forward. Jane shrugged her shoulder, unsure what to expect in any case. Viv looked almost disappointed. They sat in silence for a few moment before the pager suddenly beeped again, those same two confident notes.
G. Received. Extraction North Dock. 5 hrs. T.
Jane looked at the words as they scrolled by, her eyes squinting up as she followed each letter. Each word. She read it out loud to the other.
"Extraction?" repeated Sidney. "Just who the hell was Gail anyway?"
"I don't know," said Jane. "But she saved my life, and a few others too. All in the pursuit of Clint, and Adam I suppose." Sidney frowned again, and Jane thought she heard a low hiss escape his mouth. Far from surprising. "They were all connected in something. We were just caught in the crossfire." Sidney shook his head.
"Well, whoever she was,'' said Sidney, "someone was meant to meet her at the north dock in five hours. Maybe she was supposed to hand over Adam, or Clint? Or something?"
"Maybe,'' mused Jane. "We'll never know now. But at least there's another way off the island if your Costa Rican friend has decided to depart early."
"He won't do that,'' said Sidney, rubbing his face again. "Hopefully."
Jane turned and watched the jungle go by. The brightening sky above was peeping through the flitting gaps of the jungle, shining against the emerald greens and strange golds of the flora. The rains from the storms had given the world a shimmering coat, reflecting the deep red and orange from the climbing sun. A few strips of it slipped through the canopy above and cut across Jane's throat and face. She could already feel its warmth, and she closed her eyes against the dazzling light.
Her hand made its way to her neck, tenderly touching the sore skin. Somehow, it didn't hurt quite so bad now, and the fear and loathing that came with it was gone too. Maybe knowing Adam was gone, lost in the fires, had put that demon away for good.
Her arm too, where the female raptor had slashed her, wasn't stinging either. She wondered about the animal. Was it alive, or dead? Strangely, she hoped the latter. Her body began to relax, as much as she tried to stop it. She knew they were still in danger. As long as they were on this island, there was no such thing as safe. But as the sun climbed higher, and the horror of what had happened at the depot slipped further away, she couldn't stop the hope from spreading, even as the aches of her body began to demand attention.
Her feet felt swollen, and her hands and legs were bruised from her recent attempts at gymnastics. Her mind flashed to that awful few minutes hanging from the back of the bus, the rain pelting down as that Rex had closed on her. The look in Sidney Wallace's face as she thought he was going to let her go. She'd been sure that was it.
But here she was. Still. And so many others weren't. She recalled their faces; Debbie, Sturridge…Bertram. All of them. To begin with, they were strangers to her, people she did not know. Or care for. Just potential colleagues she would have to find a way of tolerating.
Now, these people that were left, felt closer to her than anyone ever had. Even Charlotte. It wasn't love, but it was just as strong. It was something she'd needed. And without it, she knew she wouldn't have survived.
Charlottes face flashed across her mind. She snorted softly, unable to admit how convinced she'd been that she wouldn't ever go back to her. And she'd come so close to never going back to anything ever. She closed her eyes, feeling the pure gratitude that she was simply drawing breath. She looked across at Sidney and Viv, wondering if they felt the same. A wave of relief flashed across her mind, thinking about that letter she'd written on the boat. Gone now, along with everything else. Probably a good thing.
Viv was looking out of her own window, but Sidney was looking lost. His determined fervour at driving at breakneck speed had relented, and now he seemed distant. Cold, maybe. Jane wondered if that's what she had looked like. At the beginning. Hardly surprising. She'd seen his face when Viv had brought him back without the Lockwood girl. Seen the pain before Cutter had started hitting him. The man had lost something more than a lover. She didn't know what it was, and she didn't need too. Sidney Wallace owed them all nothing.
They twisted and turned their way through the jungle over the next hour, climbing slopes and descending them the other side of the undulating landscape. The sun climbed higher still, ascending into the watery sky and spreading its light across the world. Jane breathed deeply, feeling like she was opening her eyes for the first time in years. The night had seemed endless, a dark world of noise, blood and terror that would never end. The grumble of the bus's engine in the golden light of the morning was like a soothing remedy in contrast. Jane felt a muscle untense in her shoulder, and she took another breath, enjoying it. Or as close to enjoyment as she could get. Until she set foot back down in Costa Rica, there would be no relaxing completely.
Shed looked behind her and saw Williams on the back seat, legs splayed out in front of him and into the aisle and his head tipped back at an awkward angle. His mouth was open, almost slack. Jane felt a creeping sensation in her stomach, and she found she was already moving in her seat, that tension and fear coming straight back. It was if it had assumed the default position in her body.
"Viv,'' said Jane, watching Williams bounce and shake in time with the bus. Viv looked up, the tone of Jane's voice clearly worrying her. "Is Williams okay or is…" Jane had just risen in her sleep when Williams put his arm up.
"I'm alright, Dr. Marsden,'' he rumbled. "Just closing my eyes." He hadn't even looked at her. Jane looked at him again, seeing him as an exhausted man this time instead of a corpse. Wasn't easy to assume he was just asleep now. She sat back down with a breath and returned to watching out the window.
Something brushed her hand and she looked down. Tucked into the fold of the seat and back rest was a solid lump of iron. Jane found she was smiling as she tugged the hammer out. Must have slipped off Cutter as he sat here earlier.
She cupped the tool in her palm, feeling the weight of it in her hand. It had saved her life, more than once. Without it, she felt like she would be a different person. But looking at it now, with the sun shining on her face and the dark terror of the night slipping further away, the hammer seemed nothing more than a cold, rigid and unfeeling tool now. She frowned, putting it back down on the seat beside her, feeling little use for it now.
They drove out into a clearing from the jungle suddenly, the lush greens of the grass and hills opening up before them like an emerald sea. Sidney drove the bus along the ridge top of the hill, giving them a view of the valley below. Below, herbivores grazed and roamed, pulling at the edge of the jungle or chewing their way through the swathes of long grass. Her eyes swept over them, counting the species. Parasaurolophus, brachiosaurs, trikes, stegosaurs. Maybe more, further away. The herds were freely mixing, and Jane felt a note of sadness sting at her. This is what she would have given up everything for. To sit, and observe, and document the animals like this. The magical peace and wonder of it was addictive, and Jane found she was craving it.
She looked away, tearing herself from the longing. Only Sidney was slowing the bus, bringing it to a stop and pointing down the other side of the hillside.
"You see those trees?" Sidney was pointing at a row of tall trees, forming a green wall at the base of the hills. Looked maybe half a mile or so away. The road disappeared from view of the hill and could be seen cutting through the trees further off. "The other side of those trees is the airfield. We're almost there." Sidney's voice had faltered a bit, as if he didn't want to believe it.
"Thank you, Mr Wallace,'' said Jane. She looked back towards the herbivores for a moment. "I wonder, if I might ask for two minutes, just to watch them?" Sidney followed her eyes and looked at the animals as well. She saw a note of sadness in his eyes. The same longing maybe? Or something else. "I might take this chance to say goodbye, if that makes sense." Sidney looked at her for a moment, then nodded, pulling open the doors and slipping the bus into park. The engine thrummed idly as Jane got up and ventured out into the bright morning.
"I think I'll stay,'' muttered Viv, frowning at the open door.
"I'll come with you, Doctor,'' said Sidney. "Perhaps saying goodbye makes perfect sense." The man stood up stiffly and followed her, slowly stepping down onto the dirt road and walking with her into the green grass.
They stood on the crest of the hill and silently watched the animals in the valley. The cool, fresh scent of the recent rains flooded in through Jane's nose. The smell was invigorating, giving her a refreshing sense of calm and peace. She wanted to sit, balancing her notebook on a knee as she jotted down her observations, just like she used to. But that was then. That was part of life before Sorna. A different Jane.
"I never got a chance to work here,'' she said. "I think I would have liked it."
"You would have,'' said Sidney. "I did." He shielded his eyes from the sun, his face looking pained. He was looking beyond the animals. Beyond the jungle. Maybe just trying to look back, to his own time before all this. Jane found she was scratching at her thigh, the urge to say something about the Lockwood girl suddenly creeping up.
"I know you've lost a lot here, Sidney,'' she said at last. "Friends and…Hannah…" His eyes darted to her for a moment. For a moment it was a look like Jane used to get, that she had got all her life. "I'm sorry. For all of it. For all you've lost. There are no words for loss like that." Sidney just nodded, his eyes closing. "You haven't said goodbye yet though, have you?" His lips twitched. Jane could see he knew what she meant.
"I don't think I can,'' he said quietly. "Grace, Hannah, everything here…Adam even. Doesn't seem real." He squatted down, running his hand through the grass. "I know every road, track and pathway on this island. It was home, for so long. I knew every animal. Every person. Everything." Jane watched him take a handful of grass. Jane could see his regret. It went so much deeper than the loss of someone close to him.
"Perhaps it's time to say goodbye then,'' she said. It was quiet for a few moments longer, just the distant song of the animals drifting on the softest of breezes. The morning seemed incredibly still, as if they were frozen in that moment. Sidney stood, brushing his hands against his thighs. He hadn't said goodbye. Just fixed Jane with a look she couldn't work out. He patted her on the arm and they walked back to the bus, that look still on his face. Jane felt the aggravating curiosity of wanting to know what he was thinking. Normally she wouldn't have cared. Now, it seemed important.
They climbed back aboard the bus and soon they were moving, crunching along the road and descending towards that wall of trees, that final barrier. The tranquillity of the grazing herbivores slipped away and Jane could feel the butterflies in her stomach picking up speed the closer they got to the treeline. She found her foot was tapping, her fingers dancing on her thighs. Even Williams had sat up now. They were all craning forward, eager for a sight of something promising.
The bus entered into the jungle, passing through the dim tunnel of trees and taking a few twisting turns. Seemed a long two minutes before that golden sun shone back down onto them and they got their first look at the airfield.
A chain-link fence cut across their path, a wide gate in the middle of it leading to a large, flat and square shaped space of short grass. The jungle they had emerged from swept round and flanked the airfield on either side, the chain-link fence following its edge. Inside the fence, there was a few buildings and aircraft hangars with some vehicles scattered about them. Tall posts with spotlights or what looked like security cameras were stationed at various intervals. Jane could see no sign of any activity. Those butterflies in her stomach picked up her pace.
Sidney drove through the wide-open gate and slowed the bus as they passed the buildings. Jane could see the runway, pointing off at an angle and heading away from the hangars in a direction she hadn't been able to see a moment ago. She caught a glimpse of a glittering stretch of river what seemed like miles away at the end of the runway.
Sidney pulled the bus up alongside the compacted dirt runway and switched off the engine. Jane could see his body was tense again. His hands carefully picked up his shotgun as he slid from his seat. He gave them all a look.
"Here we are,'' he said. Jane got up and followed him out, Viv and the limping Williams close behind her. Jane wasn't quite sure what she had been expecting, being honest. A waiting plane with engine's running and open, beckoning door maybe? Some sort of sign of an aircraft at least. Instead, they was just silence. No plane. No people. Nothing. She could see Sidney's frown hardening. He flicked a glance at his watch. It was well before nine o'clock. She heard the creak of his weapon as he hands tightened on it. They moved slowly away from the bus, none of them quite ready to leave it behind without the promise of something better.
Far away, Jane heard the rumbling bellow of a carnivore. A Rex maybe. The sound was worrying, but it was clearly miles away. She hoped.
"Where the hell are they?" Sidney said under his breath.
Something moved in a doorway across from them and Jane flinched. There was sudden movement, and a door banged against a wall. Sidney was wheeling round, the metallic click of his shotgun pumping disturbing the quiet of the airfield.
"Mr Wallace!" A female voice. Jane felt her whole body relax as Dr. Michaels appeared from the doorway, crossing out on to the short grass and jogging over to them. Whether Jane was just used to seeing people covered in blood and wearing torn clothes or not, she didn't know, but Anna looked as if she'd spent the night at a comfortable hotel. Her clothes were only slightly dirty and appeared to be a hell of a lot drier than Jane's. Her short hair didn't look matted with blood, and there were only a few bruises on her. Jane found she felt a little envious. And then Anna was throwing her arms around them all, even Jane.
"Where is everyone?" asked the girl. "Where's Julia?" Jane watched the painfully familiar look of realisation sweep across the girls face as she looked at them all. It didn't get any easier. "And Todd?" said Anna. Her lip quivered a bit.
"It's just us,'' said Sidney, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But where is Andrea? Where is the plane?" Anna's face frowned for a moment, looking like she found words difficult, and then the wonderful sound of an aircraft's engines droned into their hearing. Their heads snapped skyward almost as one, and then Viv cried out.
"There!"
Jane watched as a plane circled into view, its white colour changing and glimmering as it caught the sun's light. The guttural sound of its engine got louder as it banked around in a wide arc, growing in size and then becoming a black silhouette as it descended and began lining itself up with the runway.
They all watched in silence as the wheels touched down and the sound of dirt being displaced and crunched filled their ears. Jane found she had gasped, the sight of the plane almost a dream or an illusion. Yet here it was, slowing down as it approached. The blur of its single propellor on its nose created a hypnotic shimmer as the plane passed by them, the rotors slowing down and Andrea's brown face giving them a wide grin from the cockpit.
The plane began to turn out into a wide arc as Andrea manoeuvred the plane back into a position facing the runway. After a moment he got it in place and the plane's engines quietened as he applied the brakes. The plane stopped and Jane let out the breath she'd been holding, drinking in the sight of their escape.
The plane wasn't large, but it looked large enough to carry them all with some room to spare. Jane would have sat in a box with wings if she'd had to. This felt like she was holding a first-class ticket and waiting to board. Along the side of the plane the words Petticoat's Dream read. It meant nothing to her, but she found she was smiling. She looked at Sidney, who was now leaning against the front of the bus, his gun couched in his arms and the look of a man mildly irritated but relieved plastered on his face. Might even have been the semblance of a smile on his face.
Andrea slid his window opened and leant out, a big grin on his face. Might have been the first time Jane had seen him smile at Sidney too, a look of approval on his face.
"You're early, amigo.'' Sidney's brow raised in a look of almost surprise for a moment before he smiled again.
"Thought you'd left us in the lurch for a moment,'' he called.
"Just warming the engines and making sure she's good to fly the distance. She's fully fuelled and ready." Andrea's eyes swept across them all. "Is this it?" The sceptical tone in his voice was sobering. Sidney nodded, a hard look crossing his face.
"This is it,'' he said. Andrea sniffed, nodding once and not pushing the question.
"You catching the next flight or this one, amigo?"
Sidney grunted and turned to Viv and Williams, inclining his head at the plane. Anna went with them, jogging to the plane and opening the side door. Jane was itching to go when she noticed Sidney looking back at the jungle, a thoughtful look on his face. He noticed her and scratched his chin.
"Just thinking about that goodbye,'' he said, slinging his shotgun on his shoulder and turning towards the plane. Andrea started up the propeller again and the engines began to pick up in pitch. Anna and Viv were helping Williams clamber up into the fuselage when Jane frowned, hearing the vague whine of a different engine. She half turned, putting a hand on the hood of the bus as she looked back at the jungle. Sidney was looking too. Jane took a sharp breath, that morning air feeling not so cool of a sudden, as a shape burst from the jungle, racing towards the open gate. Time seemed to slow.
A man was riding an ATV, crouched low with something tucked under his arm. Jane gripped the hood of the bus, the butterflies in her stomach turning to cold stones. The ATV growled as its sped along, and Jane watched as Adam sat up in the saddle, hefting that heavy looking shotgun he'd been using. She saw the flash from its muzzle, but the sound of the shot was silent under the noise from the plane and ATV engines.
Jane felt a searing burn of pain across her shoulder, and then what felt like a punch from a giant spun her away from the bus, sending her sprawling on the grass. She cried out, wincing as her shoulder stung. She looked at it, seeing a red flesh wound across its top, the fabric of her shirt ripped away. She winced again, knowing the shot had been an inch or two from blowing a hole in her instead of just grazing.
She fought her way to her hands and knees, looking up and seeing Sidney walking towards the fence, shotgun up and firing round after round at the speeding shape of the ATV. The warden was growling between each shot, each yank of the fore end of his weapon a jerking motion of fury.
Jane could hear the gunshots now, loud in her ears. People were yelling, and the changing pitch of the engines behind her made her turn. Anna was gesturing wildly from the hatch, and Jane watched in a kind of confused daze as the plane began to slowly wheel away. Andrea's face was at the window, his mouth moving, clearly shouting, clearly confused.
Jane began crawling towards the plane, seeing the shape of the ATV out of the corner of her eye, flitting behind the buildings as it raced away from Sidney's barrage of fire. Hand over hand she crawled, looking towards that open hatch, only to see it slipping away, the plane gaining in speed. It was going to leave. A hole suddenly appeared in the side of the plane, and Jane heard Andrea shouting again.
The turf in front of her exploded in a shower of mud and grass, and she felt small stones dash across her face. She cried out and curled into a ball, waiting for the next shot to hit her. It didn't happen, and time seemed to stretch out again. She flicked a glance up and saw the plane was still rolling away slowly. She twisted around and saw a shape peeking out from the edge of one of the buildings, across from the runway and the bus. It was Adam. She could see his pale skin, his sandy blonde hair, and the look on his face. That shotgun poked round with his face and fired again, the round fizzing over the top of her head. She ducked down, yelping.
Sidney was roaring something now, firing at the building. Adam ducked away and the wall where he'd been burst into splinters and mortar. Jane shut her eyes, just wanting this sudden noise to stop.
Another engine suddenly growled to life, and she felt the vibrations through the ground, travelling through her hands and making her wounded shoulder itch. She glanced up, and Sidney was suddenly leaning out of the bus's driver's window.
"Come on Jane!" he yelled. She looked at the plane and went cold as she saw it was starting to pick up a bit more speed. "Jane!"
One look at Sidney's face told her it was move or be left behind. Move or die. Andrea couldn't wait any longer, not with Adam firing at them. She gritted her teeth and scrambled up, half crawling and half running to the side of the bus, hugging it and frantically skirting around it and screaming in fright as shotgun slugs slammed into the body work beside her.
She dashed up the steps into the bus, crouching down under the window and beside the seat. She looked at Sidney and saw a look of mad determination on his face. He stomped on the gas and Jane tumbled backwards, the bus tearing away after the plane.
One of the windows exploded inwards as they moved, and Jane risked a quick look outside. The buildings were slipping away, the receding shape of Adam suddenly dashing amongst them and climbing back on his ATV.
Jane stood, wobbling and unsteady as Sidney gunned the engine, catching up with the plane and manoeuvring the bus onto its left-hand side. Jane felt her stomach heaving as she realised what Sidney was attempting to do. The giddy insanity of it almost paralysed her, but she could feel the will to do it coursing through her. It was move or be left behind. Move or die.
Faces appeared in the porthole windows on the side of the plane, and the door-hatch beside them suddenly opened, Williams face and body moving into view. Sidney was veering closer to the plane, but the tail stopped him from getting close enough to the fuselage. He was growling, his head snapping back and forth between the plane and the runway ahead.
Another window shattered again, and Jane whipped round to see the speeding shape of the ATV, and Adam, racing up behind them. Sidney had seen him too, weaving the bus slightly to throw off his aim as the next shot smashed through another window and clanged into the ceiling of the bus. Jane was hunching, but Sidney was suddenly shouting.
"The wing! Jump!" Jane's eyes went wide as he pointed to the near wing of the plane, bouncing along as the speed of the plane and the bus only increased. Jane could hear the wind rushing past the open doors.
"What about you?" yelled Jane, finding she'd moved towards the doors of the bus, holding tight to the aisle poles and watching the ground, not far from her feet, rushing past underneath in a dark blur. Another shot slammed into the side of the bus, the ATV beginning to close on the bus and edge up alongside. "Sidney!" The warden glanced at Jane, and she saw that same lost look on his face. That same expression she couldn't place when they'd been on the quiet hill. His eyes softened. Then he was shouting again.
"The wing!"
Jane turned and saw the edge of the wing hovering by the open door, she could almost reach out and touch it. Her head felt light as she placed her feet on the dash and the step rail, the rushing wind plucking at her. She was horribly aware of how fast they were moving, and how much time she had left. Which wasn't much. Her stomach did a somersault as Sidney shouted, the bus jolted, and Jane leapt.
She gasped as she slammed onto the top of the wing, sliding backwards as the wind pulled at her. Her hands gripped the edge, and she looked forwards, seeing that glittering river coming closer.
Splinters burst from the wing beside her, and she yelped, shimmying away from the bullet hole. Another shot tore through the wing, flapping bits of metal rippling in the wind. She edged closer to the fuselage, glancing at the reaching hands appearing from the door hatch.
There was a noise, above the screaming engines of the plane and bus. Jane looked forward, not believing her eyes.
The trees to the left of the runway were swaying, thrashing, and then a shape appeared from them. Huge, dark, and powerful. A tyrannosaur. A large one, its skin a dark green. Almost black. Its huge jaws were hanging open as its head panned towards the plane, and the bus speeding beside. It roared, heading towards all of them.
She looked back towards the bus, seeing Sidney stood by the doors, looking like he was about to leap out as she had done. He had seconds left if he planned to. Jane felt like she was going to be sick watching him.
Behind him, she caught a glimpse of his shotgun stuck through the steering wheel, its stock pressed down onto the gas pedal. Jane slid closer to the plane's body and felt hands grasping her, pulling her. Firm hands. Just as hands appeared through the driver's window of the bus, pulling Adam up and half into the driver's seat. She locked eyes with him, seeing that dark red wound she'd given him. Seeing those eyes. Wild and murderous.
Then Sidney's eyes. Sad, fierce, but no longer lost. He looked at Jane, then at the approaching tyrannosaur, and then turned and dived towards Adam and the steering wheel as Jane was pulled inside the plane, her glasses almost ripping off her face.
She pressed her face to the hatch window as the plane lurched into the air, her stomach feeling like it had been left behind on the ground.
The green grass and jungle below was dropping away quickly as she looked down. The bus was on its side, wheels still spinning. The dark Rex was stood with one foot on the side of the hood, its head thrashing. Something was in its jaws. Someone. Jane couldn't tell though. Adam or Sidney?
Jane saw the dinosaur bite down on the man and then it disappeared from view, replaced with the endless tops of the green trees and rolling hills and distant, fog wreathed mountains. Jane slumped against the hatch, seeing the shocked faces of the others. Anna looked white. Williams and Viv looked like they didn't know what to say. Jane didn't know either.
She wiped her nose with her sleeve, her shoulder itching again. She got to her feet, wending her towards and through the eight empty seats on the plane. She reached the cockpit, slumping into the chair beside Andrea.
The Costa Rican frowned at her, a few beads of sweat on his face.
"Wallace?" he said. Jane shook her head. A hiss of air escaped Andrea's nostrils.
"How far to the mainland?" asked Jane, rubbing her shoulder gently.
"About two hundred odd miles. Maybe a bit more. Couple of hours." Jane nodded, sinking back into the seat and feeling the strength fade from her body. The skies ahead of her were a striking blue, vast and open. Free.
She exhaled, wanting nothing more than to close her eyes. Andrea adjusted a few dials in front of him. Then the plane lurched slightly, as if they had hit some turbulence. Jane sat upright, her hands gripping the edge of the seat.
"Shit,'' muttered Andrea, gripping the controls tighter. Jane could see his knuckles in his bunched fists, standing sharp from the dark skin.
"What's wrong?" said Jane, trying to find the calm but failing to stop the squeak in her voice. Viv and Williams appeared between the seats, worry on their faces.
"The wing. That bastard and his damn shooting,'' said Andrea. He was leaning across Jane now, looking out of her window. He couldn't see the wing, but Jane could.
She got up, pushing past Williams and Viv and looking out of another window. The underside of the left wing sported two holes, the flapping bits of metal now ripping away in small strips. The plane lurched again, its stability clearly in question.
"What do we do?" asked Anna, hysteria creeping into her voice. "Are we going to crash?"
"No," said Andrea from the front. "Not yet at least." Jane looked out of the window, seeing the ocean now replacing the green of Sorna, a streak of rippling gold cutting across it. The dark blue of the sea looked somewhat threatening.
"Can we make it?" Jane said. Andrea was quiet for a few moments. A few moments longer than Jane would have liked.
"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not…unless…" Jane saw him scratching at his hair.
"Unless what?" she said.
"Unless we know of somewhere closer." He looked over his shoulder at her, his eyebrow arching slightly. Jane felt that nasty feeling of knowing what he meant. Williams was frowning at her.
"What's going on, Dr. Marsden?" he asked. Jane gave him a twitching smile, patting him slightly on the shoulder. She looked at Viv and Anna, giving them the same twitching smile. She moved forward and stood behind Andrea. The man looked up at her, as if waiting for an answer. An answer she really didn't want to give.
"Do it,'' she said, closing her eyes. "Take us to Nublar."