Like I said in the last chapter of The Chaos Continues, this story is unfortunately unfinished. The person I was writing this with hasn't responded in months and it leaves off at a cliffhanger. However, I will still share what was written for this story. And maybe one day a conclusion will be finally written for this installment of the continuity started by The Isla Nublar Incident. If you haven't read The Isla Nublar Incident and The Chaos Continues, then you probably shouldn't read this because An Act of God is a direct sequel set two months after the events of the previous stories. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this interesting continuation of the story that began on Nublar. It's a prequel to the events of the second movie/novel, showing something that has only been mentioned in the franchise: the evacuation of Site B. This is how Isla Sorna became the Lost World...

First Iteration

"At the earliest drawings of the fractal curve, few clues to the underlying mathematical structure will be seen."

-IAN MALCOLM

Isla Nublar - 120 Miles West of Costa Rica

RESTRICTED BY THE UNITED STATES AND COSTA RICAN GOVERNMENT

Inside the aquarium, bursts of gunfire and raptor shrieks could be heard. A team of armed individuals was searching the place, defending themselves when they needed to. They had ran afoul with the island's raptor population several times, but had luckily taken no casualties yet. In the building they were currently search several bodies had been found that had been so chewed up by compys that they were no longer recognizable.

Finally they came across the room they were looking for. The door was locked from the inside, an attempt to barricade themselves from the creatures prowling the hallways. One of the individuals knocked on the door, no response.

"Clear out of the way," another said, grabbing a fire ax from the wall. With it the man hacked at the door with the ax and forced his way inside.

It was a control room. This was perhaps the only building on the island that had power, the only building where somebody could call for help. That's what a team of survivors lead by Henry Wu had done. And that is why these people were here, responding to a call they got from the island.

Laura Sorkin's unconscious body rested in a chair, the phone in her hand.

When Laura Sorkin finally awoke, the first thing she heard was water. She realized that she was on a boat. Looking around, she saw that she was resting on a cot. Her various injuries had been bandaged and treated. There was another sound that Sorkin realized was people talking.

Then somebody walked up to her and offered the woman some water. Sorkin's throat was incredibly dry, so she immediately accepted the offer and drank the refreshing liquid up. Then she recognized the person who had given her the water. She smiled.

"Caleb."

"Hey mom. How are you feeling?"

"Better," Sorkin replied. She remembered now. Being pushed into the tylosaur tank by Wu. Being left there to die. Managing to climb out before she could be killed. Sneaking past raptors and sealing herself off in the control room. Calling her son for help before passing out from exhaustion.

"You didn't come alone," she told Caleb. "Who are your friends?"

"Activists," Caleb explained. "You know, Earth First."

Sorkin had heard of Earth First before, but she didn't know her son had been associated with them. They considered themselves environmentalists. Others would prefer terms like professional saboteurs and criminals. Sorkin was once an animal-rights activist herself and though she didn't always approve of the group's extreme methods, she wasn't really one to talk.

"Rest up," Caleb told Sorkin. "We can talk later."

Sorkin nodded and Caleb left. She closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep. Despite Wu's best efforts, she was still alive. And with her knowledge of InGen, Earth First may have just found themselves a valuable ally. Especially concerning the company's other base of operations… Site B.

Two months later…

Peter Ludlow exited from the meeting in a cheerful mood. Official meetings such as these, were normally quite tedious, but this one had been anything but. All in all, Ludlow was in a good mood. That was until he saw the man standing at the end of the hall, glowering at him with unconcealed contempt in his eyes. Gerry Harding. Ludlow pretended not to notice him - began to turn away - but then his butler, William, intercepted him.

"Visitor for you, sir," William said.

Ludlow sighed and took a deep breath. "Thank you William." He turned, and began to walk slowly toward Harding.

"Dr. Harding," he said diplomatically, with a slight dip of his chin. "What brings you-"

"You know exactly what," Harding spat, before he could finish.

Ludlow pulled up short. "You violated our non-disclosure agreement," he stated, cocking his head ever so slightly to the side.

"I did," Harding agreed.

"I don't think you understand the weight of your actions." Ludlow pressed his fingers together. "That, or you simply don't care."

"I did the right thing, and you made me look like a fool because of it," Harding said contemptuously. "You made me look insane."

"No," Ludlow said. "You made yourself look insane. Without any evidence to back up your absurd claims, can you really be surprised that no one believed you?"

"I have the testimonies of over fifty Costa Ricans, who witnessed firsthand the events that took place," Harding replied.

Ludlow smirked. "And who's going to believe the ramblings of a bunch of Costa Ricans?"

"I also have the report from that doctor, Carter."

That gave Ludlow pause. "You've spoken to Roberta Carter?"

Harding grinned. "She and I are going to work together to expose these lies."

Ludlow frowned. This could be bad. One man's feverish claims could be easily dismissed. But if he had the backing of another prominent figure in the medical community… that could make trouble.

Ludlow told himself to remain calm, and smiled. "Dr. Carter's mother is very ill."

Now it was Harding's turn to appear confused. "What?"

"She has a rare disease. Virtually incurable. However, I think I may have the cure. And I will give it to Dr. Carter, so long as she promises to respect our non-disclosure agreement."

Harding seethed with rage. "You can't silence us! Not for good. There will always be leaks. Always be loose ends."

"All loose ends can be tied, Mr. Harding."

While Harding tried to think of a retort, Ludlow decided he'd had enough of this conversation and swiftly turned away. As he strode down the marble hall, he fully intended to forget the matter completely. There was nothing Harding or anyone could do.

Henry Wu looked through the journal that had once belonged to Laura Sorkin. He had recovered it on Isla Nublar, along with the rest of his research. Sorkin had kept many secrets from everyone else. Then again, so had Wu.

Wu put away the journal as the helicopter started to land. A welcoming committee awaited him. As Wu got out he was greeted by a woman in a lab coat.

"Welcome to Isla Sorna, Dr. Wu," the woman said as he shook her hand. "I'm Lori Ruso, high supervisor of the InGen facilities here. It is an honor to have you with us."

"I wish the circumstances were better though," Wu said.

"How long has it been since you've been at Site B?" Ruso asked.

"I don't remember," Wu answered. "Months, at least. My last visit must have been when they started shipping specimens to the park. After that, Hammond needed me almost 24/7 at Site A to make sure the resort opened by the deadline."

"I was sorry to hear about Hammond," Ruso said sadly. "It's a shame what happened."

"How much have you heard?"

"Just rumors, unfortunately. The board is being careful with how much they tell us. But you were there, right?"

Wu nodded. "Yeah… I was there."

"Usually our staff is only as large as it needs to be," Ruso told Wu. "But with all the personnel that Ludlow is sending, we might be overstaffed. But better to have more help than less help, right?"

"Are you certain that the dinosaurs on this island aren't breeding?" Wu wanted to know. "I heard that you release them into the wild to mature because of contamination issues. We don't want a population that's reproducing out there."

"We… aren't completely sure," Ruso admitted. "But we're taking action to confirm it. John Arnold, the chief engineer Hammond hired for Site A, is helping us with that problem. Do you know him?"

Wu nodded. "Is a man named Trey Roland here as well?"

"Oh yes," Ruso quickly admitted. "It's been all hands on deck. We've assigned Roland with our other maintenance teams. Even Dr. Atherton is here…"

"Norman Atherton?" Wu asked. "Chief geneticist in InGen's early years?"

"Yes. Wasn't he your mentor?"

Wu smiled for the first time that day. "He taught me everything I know."

"Well, then you must see him. I'll take you there."

Ruso and Wu got in a jeep. Behind them, the helicopter took off and headed back to the mainland as Ruso's jeep headed down the dirt road into the jungle.

Several minutes later, the worker village came into view. Ruso parked the keep, then she and Wu disembarked. Ruso led the way into the laboratory. She asked one of the scientists, "We're looking for Dr. Atherton, have you seen him?"

"Yes," the scientist replied, "I believe he is checking on Andy."

As Ruso began to walk away, Wu asked, "Who's Andy?"

Ruso smiled. "He's an Euoplocephalus," she said. "One of the originals. He has a history with diseases. Never seems to get better. Some of us think we should just euthanize him, but Atherton refuses to allow it. He's grown attached."

They climbed back into the jeep and drove off to the euoplocephalus paddock.

Another jeep was parked at the edge on the paddock. The jeep's former occupant, a man, was now in one of the paddock's fields with a tranquilized Euoplocephalus. The man spoke softly to the animal, patting her head gently as he took a blood sample from the dinosaur's thick skin. When he saw Ruso and Wu, he smiled and waved.

"You should get this blood sample tested in the lab," the scientist told Ruso when the woman got out of the jeep. "If we can cure Andy, we could care for the other Euoplocephalus more easily. This isn't just about Andy, it's about the whole species. We know nothing about these animals or their immune systems, so what can learn now will be important for the future. Especially if we want them in a condition appropriate for tourists."

"Dr. Atherton, we can talk about this later," Ruso said. "I've brought you Henry Wu."

Atherton noticed Wu for the first time. He smiled widely and pulled Wu into a tight hug. "Henry, it's been too long! How has it been?"

"It's good to see you again, Norman," Wu said with a smile. "I haven't been well, honestly. The events of the past two months have been pretty stressful…"

"I understand," Atherton said sympathetically. "An unfortunate setback, but perhaps a necessary one. We can learn from our mistakes and if the Incident had happened while the park was open, things could have been much worse."

Norman Atherton had founded InGen ten years ago alongside his partners, John Hammond and Benjamin Lockwood. He cloned a 'dwarf elephant' that Hammond used to show new investors what the company was capable of. Unfortunately, Hammond and Lockwood had a disagreement that lead to a falling out. And Atherton had been replaced by Wu due to health concerns he had been suffering. But now he insisted that his time on Site B had improved his health greatly.

"I must give you a tour," Atherton insisted. "So much has changed since you've been here. Maybe it will even cheer you up. We're making great progress and one day the world will celebrate what we've done here."

"Aren't you worried that Ludlow is going to shut you down?" Wu asked.

"Henry, look at Andy," Atherton insisted. "We brought him and many others back to life. Nobody else has ever done that. Consider the value of all that we have done. Why would anyone throw that away? It would be foolish!"

"I guess you're right," Wu admitted.

"Henry, do you know a man named Gerry Harding?" Atherton asked.

"Uh, yeah. I do."

"Well, I would like him on Isla Sorna with us. He's the best in his field and we could use his help concerning any health-related issues regarding the animals. Andy is one example, but there are others. Small problems at the moment, but I'm worried about the bigger picture. The staff is good, but we need the best. We need Gerry Harding."

"Me and Gerry aren't on speaking terms at the moment."

"Really? Too bad. Oh well, I'm sure Ludlow could convince him one way or another. All this extra personnel is appreciated. I don't mind one bit that our operations now have InGen's full attention. What we're doing here is very important. World-changing, even."

Atherton and Wu got into the jeep with Ruso. They began driving away and Wu cast one last glimpse of the tranquilized Euoplocephalus, the rest of the herd gathered around a distant watering hole.

Harding sat on his couch, exhausted. He stared at the wall for several long minutes, lost in the dark, confusing world of his own thoughts.

Then he heard a sound that sent shivers down his back: the familiar, rattling snarl of a Velociraptor. The creature was in the room! Harding leapt to his feet and whirled around. There it was, in the corner, crouched over the body of Jess. Harding screamed. He was roused by Atlanta, his adopted daughter. She was shaking his arm.

"Wake up, Gerry!" She said. She still hadn't gotten used to calling him 'dad'. "Wake up! You're dreaming."

Harding took several deep breaths as reality returned to him. "Right. Sorry," he said. "Where's Jess?"

"Out with friends," Atlanta said.

"She didn't offer to take you with her?" Harding wondered.

"She did, but I said I'd rather stay."

"Why?"

Atlanta shrugged. She looked embarrassed. "I'm not used to living in a city like this."

"Your English is really improving," Harding said, changing the subject. "In fact, I'll bet you could make a lot of money teaching English to other Costa Ricans."

"That would be good," Atlanta agreed.

The phone rang. Harding picked it up. "Hello?"

"Harding." It was Ludlow. The sound of his voice almost made Harding hang up.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to insert as much contempt into is voice as possible.

"I have a business opportunity for you," Ludlow said, cheerfully.

"You can stick it up your butt," Harding spat. "I don't care what it is: I'll never work for your company again. I'm done."

"That's too bad," Ludlow said. "I was really hoping we might be able to turn a new chapter in our relationship. Do you know Norman Atherton?"

"He helped build InGen with Hammond and Lockwood. So what?"

"He's asked for you personally to help him," Ludlow informed. "According to him, you're the best in the business."

"Yeah, because all the other guys are dead!"

There was a pause. "Should I tell him you're not interested?"

Harding almost said yes, but then had a second thought. Of course, the thought of working for InGen again reviled him, but this might be exactly the opportunity he was looking for. If he was on-site, it would make it all the easier to gather some incriminating evidence that could potentially put InGen out of business for good. And Atherton was a good man. Maybe, Harding could convince him to help him in his plight to take down InGen.

"I'll talk to him," Harding decided.

"Excellent," Ludlow said. "I'm very glad you decided to do this. I would have hated to be forced to take more… shall we say… drastic measures."

Doom rushed through Harding. "What do you mean by that?"

There was a pause, then Ludlow said, "Keep an eye on your daughters, Dr. Harding," and hung up.

John "Ray" Arnold preferred an indoor control room to field work. But he was willing to put up with insects and heat to prevent something like the Isla Nublar Incident or the mainland attacks from happening again.

He remembered what Malcolm had told him in the hospital about how the dinosaurs bred in the wild without their knowledge. Now Arnold lead the search for unauthorized breeding sites on Isla Sorna, using satellite photos and heat signatures to determine the most likely places nests would be build.

Sure enough, the dinosaurs on Sorna were breeding just like the ones on Nublar. But hopefully the population could be controlled this time. Arnold had just found another site. This time, it was the Maiasaura. The hadrosaurs tried to protect their eggs, but one of Arnold's companions used a sound-producing box to keep the dinosaurs at bay while Arnold smashed the unhatched eggs. There would still be hatched young to worry about, but destroying the sites was a start.

Meanwhile, Trey Roland was working with the maintenance crews to reinforce the fences and walls. Security and safety was the priority of these revisions. What had happened with Jurassic Park was still fresh in everyone's mind. Everyone had work to do, but nobody complained. The threats the dinosaurs posed was now being completely taken seriously. No shortcuts would be made this time.

Atherton's satellite phone began to ring. He asked Ruso to pull over, which she did. Atherton got out of the jeep and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Norman Atherton?" said a voice.

"Yes?"

"I'm Gerry Harding. I was the chief vet on Nublar," said the voice.

Atherton smiled. "Gerry! Good to hear from you! How have you been?"

There was a steady silence, which was an answer in and of itself. Atherton pressed: "Well, I'm glad you decided to contact me. I was very sorry to hear about the incident on Nublar, and Costa Rica. So many lives lost. I want to make it right, Gerry."

"You want to make it right?" Harding said, his voice rising to anger. "Then shut it down! All of it. Burn that island to the ground and then, maybe, we can start thinking about making it right!"

His anger shocked Atherton, who had never heard Harding yell before. "I understand your frustration, I really do," he said. "You're not the only one who has suffered! I lost my best friend on that island. I know just as well as you do the danger this island poses to the world. Which is exactly why I contacted you. We can't just burn it down and pretend it never happened: we have to learn from our past mistakes to prevent something from happening in the future. And we must protect this science from men like Dodgson. If it were to fall into his hands, the damage could be astronomical."

"Norman," Harding said. "You're deluded. Ludlow is a hack. He's using you and everyone else to get rich. That's all he cares about: money. I don't know what kind of lies he told you to get you to agree to help him, but you have to trust me on this: he's a liar and a fraud. He has and will sacrifice human life to get what he wants. You must be able to see that!"

Atherton was disturbed by this report of Ludlow's intentions. "What proof do you have of this?"

"The devil's in the details," Harding said. "Alright, I'll come down there. Help you contain, or whatever it is you said. More than that, I'll show you exactly what kind of a man Ludlow is. And why InGen must be destroyed."

Atherton ended his call. "Good news, Henry. Harding is on his way here."

"Oh," Wu said. "That's… wonderful."

"After the tour I want you to be there when he arrives. It would be wise to welcome Harding to Site B with a familiar face."

"I don't think he wants to see me, Norman."

"Henry, what happened on Isla Nublar wasn't your fault. Harding can't hold you responsible and he'll realize that. I'm sure he'll come around once he sees this place."

Wu nodded, but secretly he disagreed. Despite his mentor's attempts to comfort him, there was still a guilt inside that he couldn't shake. Wu couldn't blame Harding if he hated the scientist's guts. But hopefully they would be able to put their differences aside. For the greater good.

Ruso started the jeep again and Wu only half-listened to Atherton's speeches as they drove along.

Gerry Harding didn't like telling his daughters that he had to leave, especially since the Incident had only occurred two months ago. Harding explained that it was some business with InGen he had to take care of, Atlanta was suspicious and Jess was worried. He had to call Sarah, since she was out of town. Luckily, Jess' mom could take care of the girls while Harding was away. Harding's wife had been surprised when he came home with Atlanta, but she welcomed the Costa Rican into their house with open arms and accepted her as family. Harding honestly had no idea how long he would be gone, but he hoped that it wouldn't be long.

There was already somebody waiting for him at the San Diego airport. A young woman with black hair and dark eyes. "Ludlow told me to wait for you," she told Harding with a forced smile. "I'm Jane Powers, the new head of public relations for InGen. I had to handle the press when you broke your non-disclosure agreement."

Harding recognized an anger in the woman's eyes, a bitterness toward the man who made her job so much difficult after just being promoted. "You are aware of what happened to the last head of public relations, right?" he asked.

"What happened to my predecessor was unfortunate," Powers answered. "But that's in the past. John Hammond and Isla Nublar is behind us."

"You can't ignore the lives ruined by the Incident," Harding argued. "You are lying about the deaths of good people. Ed Regis is only one of them. They deserve better."

"You're going to miss your flight," Powers interrupted. "I'll be accompanying you to Site B. Ludlow wants me to keep a close eye on you."

"Of course," Harding sighed as Powers lead him to the awaiting InGen helicopter. Isla Sorna, here I come.

Ruso, Wu and Atherton stopped in front of the hadrosaur pen. Wu looked to his right, and saw a herd of enormous duck-bills. He identified them at once as Edmontosaurus.

"Edmontosaurus," Atherton confirmed. "But I'm sure you knew that."

Atherton gazed at the herbivores with a fondness in his eyes.

"Remember the very first time we bred one of these?" he asked Wu.

The corners of Wu's mouth inched upward. "Of course. It was one of the most spectacular moments of my life."

By now the herd was moving on. The lead hadrosaur trumpeted and lead her group toward the lake. It was then that Wu noticed another jeep in the pen, and two people standing near it.

"Who are they?" he asked, pointing.

"Those are the newbies," Ruso informed him. "Abby Nakajima and Derek Hoyle."

"Come on, let's go say hi," Atherton suggested. "I'm sure they'd love to meet you."

"Derek, we got company," a young Asian woman with glasses told her brown-haired partner, pointing out the people that were walking toward them. "It's Ruso, Atherton, and… oh my gosh."

"What is it?" Derek asked Abby, turning his attention away from the hadrosaurs. But Abby had already ran up to the approaching trio.

"Henry Wu!" the woman shrieked excitedly. "My name is Abby Nakajima. Big fan of your ground-breaking work. I'm a scientist myself, though I'm nowhere near your level of course. I've been here for a week with my partner, Derek Hoyle. I wanted to meet you so much, but I didn't think I would ever - it's a real honor, Dr. Wu. I'm sorry for being unprofessional, I'm just so excited."

"It's alright," Wu reassured, smiling. Abby reminded himself of what he was like when he was a student, enthusiastic and ambitious. He shook Abby's hand, who had managed to control herself.

"Derek Hoyle," the man with Abby introduced. He shook Wu's hand as well. "Though my partner already told you that."

"So what are you doing in the hadrosaur pen?" Wu asked.

"The labs are overstaffed," Derek explained. "They didn't need us, so we decided to use the extra time to get a closer look at the dinosaurs. They really are amazing."

"Do these scientists remind of someone?" Atherton teased. "I always enjoy the company of such young eager minds. Abby and Derek show so much potential. I'm certain that they will bring a lot to our staff."

"Thank you, Dr. Atherton," Abby nodded. "I also wanted to talk to you about Dr. Gustavus."

"You're better off leaving him alone," Atherton told Abby. "Dr. Gustavus is one of the top geneticists in the world. We can't afford to lose him. Steer clear of his business. The last time he threatened to quit we had to fire some of our other staff. An unfortunate loss, but InGen would do anything to keep him. Especially considering everything he knows. A company like Biosyn would give anything for Gustavus' knowledge."

"Yes sir," Abby sighed, though it was obvious she still had something to say. "Do we have to go back to the lab?"

"No, no," Atherton dismissed. "That's unnecessary. Like you said, we're overstaffed. Enjoy your time on the island. There's nothing wrong with admiring the creatures that you are helping to make. Take pride in our work and our creations. Site B is the legacy of John Hammond, to be appreciated and protected. You two are doing just fine. I encourage your curiosity."

Smiling at the two scientists, Atherton walked back to the jeep with Wu and Ruso.

"I know Dr. Gustavus," Wu told them. "Has he been causing trouble?"

"For a while now," Ruso confirmed. "He mostly keeps to himself though and most people know better than to disturb him. Some of the newbies think he's just an old coot, but he does bring a lot to the staff. Ludlow has insisted that we keep his loyalty. He is a brilliant geneticist and is worth keeping, but has caused me a lot of headaches over the past two months."

"He's been worse since the Incident?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I think that he's not confident that InGen has a future. He's been demanding more pay, threatening to quit, and has been spending more afternoons by himself. Ludlow likes his results though and for that reason alone he's not going anywhere if we can do anything about it. The staff is worried that Ludlow could shut us down any day now."

"Which is ridiculous," Atherton added.

"It still should be considered," Ruso argued. "Ludlow is in charge now. Not Hammond. If we want to stay in business, we have to please him."

Atherton didn't respond and the three got back in the jeep. Abby and Derek watched the jeep drive off, then continued observing the hadrosaurs.

"Where are we going now?" Wu asked.

"I thought we'd let you see Arnold," said Ruso, glancing at him. "He was glad to hear that you were coming."

"Glad?" Wu was surprised. Nowadays, people were anything but glad to see him. It would be nice to see a familiar face, Wu thought. He and Arnold had rarely spoken since the Nublar Incident. It was too bad; the two of them had been friends back during the days of the park.

"Of course," Atherton said, a puzzled look on his face. "You really must stop assuming that everyone hates you."

They drove down a deserted jungle road, deeper into the island. Being surrounded by trees on all sides, caused anxiety within Wu. He recalled those tense hours back on Nublar, being hunted by deadly creatures…

"Here we are," Ruso announced, as she pulled the jeep to a stop. Wu glanced up. A group of people was gathered by the edge of the road, talking among themselves. All of them were armed to the teeth. Wu picked out Arnold's familiar dark skin among the other men and women. He followed Ruso and Atherton out of the car and they walked toward the group.

Atherton greeted a man with a large beard and hazel eyes. Wu focused his attention on Arnold. He smiled and said, "Hi, Ray."

Arnold readjusted the backpack he had on his back, and nodded. "Good to see you, Wu." Arnold looked very different than how Henry remembered. He was decked out in some fine equipment, and he displayed some additional bandages on his arms. He had a long scar on his right arm where the Troodon had bit him. This was a very different man than the frightened engineer Henry had known on Nublar. And even his physique had changed - he went from a weedy computer engineer to someone who looked like he hunted dangerous game for a living. His muscles were lean and strong, evidence of many hours spent trudging through the wilderness.

"You look - tough," Henry admired, a little shocked. "I never really took you for the outdoorsy-type."

"Guess I had a change of heart," Arnold said proudly. "Engineering is always what I'll be known for, but life in the outdoors - it ain't all that bad. So what brings you here, Henry?"

"I was asked to come," Wu said, gesturing to Atherton who was still in conversation with the bearded man.

"That man with the beard? That's Noah. Noah Frazier. He's a ex-marine. Served fifteen years before they kicked him out. Became a wildlife expert - and now he works for us," Arnold said. "Tough guy. Knows his stuff. We more or less take all our orders from him."

Noah turned his eyes onto Wu, and stuck out a meaty hand. "The famous Henry Wu. An honor." He said those words with obvious contempt. Wu shook his hand. "You must be Noah."

"That's right," Noah replied. "I see my reputation precedes me. Well, we best be going. Have a lot of messes to clean up." He glanced at Wu, somewhat implying that Wu was responsible for all of their woes.

"Don't mind him," said Arnold. "He's all bark and no bite. Not having enemies shooting at him 24/7 has made him soft. I'll bet you could take him down."

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll try anytime soon," Wu said.

Ian Malcolm had just finished another lecture. It had gone smoothly, except when he was asked his thoughts on the rumors of InGen's activities in Costa Rica. Somehow the press had learned of his hospital stay there several months ago and after a story about cloned dinosaurs was leaked Malcolm had found himself hounded by people looking for a connection. Malcolm, however, had told them nothing and it seemed like the excitement over InGen's rumored genetic creations was starting to die down.

As Malcolm left the institute, he found somebody waiting for him. A pretty face he had seen during his recovery in the aftermath of the Incident.

"Dr. Harding," Malcolm smiled. "What a surprise and a pleasure. How are you?"

"It's great to see you again, Dr. Malcolm," Sarah Harding answered, returning the smile. "I'm doing fine. After everything I experienced, going back to lions and tigers is boring in comparison."

"I imagine so," Malcolm chuckled. "How's your family? Is Jess and your father doing well? What about that Atlanta girl you adopted?"

"Mom reacted to Atlanta well," Sarah explained. "Atlanta is adapting pretty well, though she is having some trouble adjusting. We just have to give her time though. Jess is fine as well. And I imagine you read about my father."

"Yeah, in the tabloids. Breaking the non-disclosure agreement was not a good idea. He didn't stand a chance against Ludlow."

"That's why I'm here, actually. You're a respected chaotician, Dr. Malcolm. If you supported my father's story-"

"I would lose my credibility and become a laughing stock. No thank you, Dr. Harding. I am not about to lose my career."

"Dr. Malcolm, the public deserves to know the truth. InGen covered up the deaths of innocent people. Deaths that they need to be held responsible for. If they're not exposed, history could repeat itself. Please."

Malcolm was silent for a moment. Then he sighed. "Fine. Let's talk about this more over lunch. And please, call me Ian."

Sarah smiled. "It's a date then. And only if you call me Sarah, Ian."

The two walked off together. They had a lot to discuss.

Lewis Dodgson was in his office, going over some paperwork. He heard a knock on the door, and called out, "Who is it?"

"Laura Sorkin," came the reply. Sorkin?! But… she was supposed to be dead! According to Wu's report, she died on the island. How was this possible? "Come in!" he said eagerly, wanting to know how this was possible.

The door opened and in walked Laura Sorkin. She looked bad, Dodgson thought. Scars all over her face. The bags under her eyes were dark. Her right eye was an odd shade of red. She looked old and frail, hardly the gun-toting scientist that Dodgson had met and worked briefly with on the island.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Sorkin walked forward and calmly took a seat. She folded her hands on her lap, then looked at Dodgson. "I believe we have a common enemy in Henry Wu," she said. "He has been your biggest hurdle for the last few years. It was his team that prevented you from getting your hands on the research which would have benefited your company greatly."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Dodgson informed her. "I have something much better."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Sorry. Company secrets."

"A shame. I really thought you trusted me."

"After you threatened me with a gun?!"

Sorkin smiled. "Sorry about that," she said, not so sincerely. "It seems I, too, was temporarily blinded by desperation. I have paid dearly for my inconsonance, as you can see." She gestured to her battered face.

"How are you even still alive? Wu said you fell into the drink, got eaten by a tylosasaur."

"Wu said," Sorkin said, a note of bitterness in her voice. "Since when did Wu's word mean anything?"

Dodgson leaned back in his seat, the way he always did when he was considering something. "So why are you here?"

"I wish to destroy Henry Wu's career once and for all, and unlike last time, now I have the means to accomplish my goal."

"What means?" Dodgson asked.

"My son is with a group. Earth First. They've long held resentment toward Hammond and his projects."

"So what are you planning?"

"I have a man on the inside. He's been feeding me information on what InGen's been doing on that island."

"Nublar?"

"No. Sorna. Site B."

Dodgson frowned. "Site B?"

Sorkin straightened up, and smiled. "I can see we're going to have to start from the beginning."

"Dr. Harding, wake up," Jane Powers ordered, snapping Gerry Harding out of his nap. "We're here."

Harding groaned upon being brought back into reality. He looked out the window and saw what was coming up.

Isla Sorna, which roughly meant 'Sarcasm Island' in Spanish. Part of a chain called The Muertes Archipelago, also known as The Five Deaths. The name came from a Native American myth about a brave warrior facing a different execution on each of the five islands: burning, drowning, crushing, hanging and beheading. InGen owned all five islands, but to Harding's knowledge all but Isla Sorna had been left alone.

Isla Sorna, the largest island of the chain, was located 207 miles west of Costa Rica and code named Site B. In the distant past the island had been occupied by Indians and in the 1860s a coffee plantation had been built. It was later owned by a German mining company, but currently the island was the location of the InGen worker village Burroughs and the various research facilities, that created most of the dinosaurs and nursed them in temporary enclosures before they were fit to be shipped off to Jurassic Park, located 87 miles west of InGen's 'factory floor.'

Gerry Harding hadn't been to Isla Sorna in several years. He was surprised that it hadn't been abandoned yet since the collapse of Isla Nublar, but Ludlow must have plans for the island. Surely he couldn't be thinking of another Jurassic Park…

The helicopter touched down on a landing strip. Jane Powers got out first and she beckoned Harding to follow her. Harding did so and he froze when he saw who was waiting for him by a jeep.

Harding wasn't sure if he should be angry or glad to see the familiar face. Henry Wu.

Ludlow was at home, cooking himself some dinner, when his phone rang. Inwardly, he groaned; usually, a phone call at this hour could only mean bad news. He wiped his greasy fingers on a towel and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Mr. Ludlow." That was Teddy, his assistant. "I have news."

"Yes?" Ludlow said impatiently. Get on with it! he thought.

"We have reason to believe that a spy has infiltrated Site B," Teddy informed him.

Ludlow leaned against the counter, suddenly dizzy. "A spy?"

"Yes sir. We intercepted some sensitive documents. Quite by accident, I might add. I think you had better read them for yourself."

"Right, right," Ludlow muttered, hardly able to comprehend the words he was hearing. Just when everything seemed to be getting back to normal… "I'll be there in fifteen minutes." He hung up, and stared at the phone for a moment before redialing. It rang for several moments, then a woman's voice answered.

"Hi, Karen," Ludlow said. "Listen, I'm really sorry but I'm going to have to cancel tonight. Big emergency at work. Yeah. I'm sorry. Tomorrow? Okay. Sounds good." He ended the call and put the phone on the counter. He glanced at the meal he had prepared, suddenly his appetite was gone. He walked to the door and grabbed his coat.

"Henry," Harding acknowledged after several moments of awkward silence.

"Gerry," Wu replied. "How are your daughters?"

"I would rather be with them right now, if that's what you're asking," Harding answered.

"I'm sorry," Wu apologized. "Having you come here wasn't my decision."

"I understand," Harding nodded. "This wasn't your fault."

It's Ludlow's, Harding thought.

A man came up from behind Wu and shook Harding's hand, smiling. "Dr. Harding, I'm so glad that you're here. I'm Norman Atherton. Hammond always spoke so highly of you. I look forward to working with his chief veterinarian."

Atherton reminded Harding of Hammond. Eccentric and brilliant, but dangerously naive.

"I hope that we can talk later," Harding told Atherton. "About what we spoke over the phone."

"Perhaps later," Atherton dismissed. "There are other matters to attend to first that require your expertise."

Harding saw another woman with Wu and Atherton, somebody he recognized from his last visit to the island. "Lori," he greeted.

"Gerry," the woman replied.

"What the hell?!" Harding heard Jane Powers scream. Harding's attention was taken away from the welcoming committee and to the head of public relations, who was dragging two girls by their arms.

"Jess!" Harding realized in horror. "Atlanta!"

"I found them in the luggage space," Jane explained. "I recommend we have them sent back immediately."

"Of course," Harding agreed.

"Dad, I just didn't want us to be separated again," Jess begged. "Not after what happened last time. I was worried. So was Atlanta."

"We're here to watch your back," Atlanta added. "No more splitting up. I… I didn't want you to be alone. Aren't you tired of InGen keeping you away from your family?"

"They'll be safe," Atherton promised. "I can take them to the nursery. Kathy will watch them and keep the girls busy."

Harding sighed. Jess was just like her older sister. But he couldn't blame her. "Your mom is going to kill me," he said, shaking his head. "She must be worried sick."

Atherton offered his satellite phone and Harding called his wife. She was of course furious and wanted her daughters back in San Diego, but reluctantly agreed to have the girls stay with Harding.

"Just don't let anything happen to them," she said before ending the call.

Atlanta recognized Wu and she glared at him. "I'm sorry, Dad," Jess apologized.

"It's fine," Harding said. "But when we get back home you two are grounded for a long time."

"That's only fair," Atlanta sighed. She just wanted to be here for Harding, especially after he was there for her on Nublar. It might be foolish, but her new family mattered more to her. That and proving her suspicions of InGen…

"I have some work to do. I want you two to go to the nursery with Norman," Harding told Jess and Atlanta.

"Come on. I'll bet you're excited to see some dinosaurs," said Atherton brightly.

Jess and Atlanta shared a look. "Well…"

They and Atherton got into the jeep and sped off. Harding watched them leave, anxiously.

"Don't worry about them," Ruso consoled. "Norman will keep a close eye on them."

"In the meantime, we have a lot of work to do," Wu said. "And the sooner we get done the sooner you can go home."

"Great," Harding said dryly. "Where do we start?"

Elsewhere, the infamous Dr. Gustavus returned to his private bunker on the other side of Isla Sorna. he enjoyed his privacy and his own sanctuary he could retreat to was one of his requests when InGen hired him. Luckily, they were willing to meet his needs and so far he had been left alone, though some of the newer members of the staff were starting to get nosy. But Gustavus could always get them fired before they uncovered anything.

But right now it was feeding time.

Gustavus walked over to one of the bunker's cages. Animals stirred in the dark and pairs of glowing eyes watched Gustavus. In the shadows the animals clicked and hissed at him.

"Don't worry," Gustavus reassured. "You won't go hungry on my watch."

Gustavus had brought with him ground-up sheep meat, that's what all the carnivorous dinosaurs at Site B were fed. He tossed the meat into the cage and a claw dragged the food out of sight. Gustavus listened to the creatures devouring their meal.

"You're welcome," Gustavus said, not expecting a reply. He let the Troodon enjoy the meat, they weren't the only dinosaurs he kept in here. And they were certainly hungry as well…

The jeep bounced down the jungle road. Noah was driving, and Arnold was in the passenger seat. He drank from a canteen, then offered the canteen to the man in the seat behind him, Jeff. Jeff took it and took a drink, then passed it back to Arnold. Arnold passed it to Noah, who shook his head in refusal.

"I never drink and drive," he explained.

"Smart idea," Arnold replied, and had another drink.

They were almost done for the day. Noah just wanted to hit a couple more nests. Next up were the Herrerasaurus nests. Herrerasaurus' were nasty little dinosaurs; bigger than a raptor and just a vicious, they could snap your neck with the slightest jerk. But nevertheless, Arnold would rather face a pack of Herrerasaurus than a pack of Velociraptors.

The jeep rolled to a stop. Noah grabbed his rifle and jumped out. "Alright boys, last one. Let's make it quick." Everyone grunted in reply. Arnold followed his team into the jungle thicket. They kept their wits about them, keeping watch on all sides of them at once.

Then Arnold smelled something: something rank and disgusting. He stopped, "Wait." The rest of the procession stopped, too. "What is it?" Noah asked. Arnold tapped his nose, "Smell that?" Noah's mustache twitched as he took a biff whiff: "Yeah, smells like dead meat."

Arnold nodded. He looked around, and determined that the smell was coming from a nearby hole in the ground. He made his way towards it. The stench was overpowering. He looked inside the hole. A dead Herrerasaurus. But something else too… something white and brittle. Almost looked like an eggshell. Arnold reached inside the hole and grabbed the eggshell. His fingers brushed against the rotting meat, and he gagged. He pulled his hand out and examined the object. It was an eggshell, all right.

"What's that doing there?" Noah wondered aloud.

Arnold shook his head. "Maybe it was a nest?" He turned the shell over in his hands. There was something in the back of his mind itching to surface. Something about this was wrong, but he didn't know what. Suddenly, it came to him, and he froze in shock.

"We have to get back to mission control. Now," Arnold said, standing up suddenly, knocking into Noah. "What? Why?" the larger man asked.

"We just have to," Arnold said, and ran back to the jeep without looking to see if the others were following.

There shouldn't be any on this island, Arnold thought to himself. But he couldn't afford to take any chances. If there are really Troodon on Sorna… then we're in big trouble.

So... there's a lot to talk about.

I mentioned this before, but I did intend for Sorkin to be killed by the dinosaurs she protected at the end of The Isla Nublar Incident. When Wu locked her in the room with her Troodon, I considered her dead and I planned to have her body found in The Chaos Continues, converted into a nest. But my friend who I was doing the Interactive Storytelling Game with, TheRexMan22, was the one who revealed that Sorkin was indeed still alive and I loved that idea because of the potential conflict she could cause. Then I discussed with him the possibility of having Sorkin seemingly dying and later turning up alive be a running gag, give her Joker immunity and see how many times we could 'kill' her off before giving Sorkin a definitive, unambiguous death. So when she fell into the Tylosaurus tank in The Chaos Continues, I knew that she was going to come back. And it makes sense, since I've said before that I consider Wu the main character and she is his greatest enemy, her continued survival acting as a thorn in his side. Her son Caleb was foreshadowed in The Chaos Continues by a picture found in her lab. Caleb Sorkin actually appeared in some old storytelling games I ran on a website that no longer exists, where he was a mercenary working for InGen in a retelling of The Lost World. Caleb became a breakout character of that game, similar to Trey Roland from The Isla Nublar Incident. Earth First was brought up in The Lost World movie and I thought they could make interesting antagonists here, though I apologize if my portrayal of a real environmental extremist group makes anyone uncomfortable.

The herbivore scenes in this iteration was my attempt to make up for the lack of peaceful dinosaur scenes in The Chaos Continues, where the only herbivores in that story was Ralph's family of Triceratops and a lone Parasaurolophus. Atlanta and Jess sneaking onto the island may feel a little forced, but I did want them involved in the action because this may be the last time that they could get some focus and I wanted to continue their storyline about Atlanta adjusting to her new family. I felt like there was still more that could be done with the Harding family and I at least checked to see if a helicopter luggage space was big enough to fit two teenage girls. It was ultimately necessary because I wanted more scenes of Atlanta interacting with her adoptive sister and father, my goal being for Atlanta to call Gerry 'dad' near the end of An Act of God.

Biosyn having dinosaur eggs was only hinted at by Dodgson's comment about 'company secrets' but I did have plans to follow up on that ending more. Only time will tell if those plans will ever come through.

Yes, Malcolm does have a subplot in this story despite not being on Isla Sorna. This story is supposed to lead into the events of The Lost World and Malcolm is the main character there, so An Act of God is going to set Malcolm on the path to becoming how he is in the second movie where his reputation is ruined after unsuccessfully exposing InGen. I also wanted to have Malcolm interact with Sarah more, building up to their future relationship. I also consider Malcolm to be the other main character of this franchise besides Wu, which is why I'm using the seven iterations and Malcolm quotes each time. In the original novel Malcolm was a stand-in for the author and his theories are present throughout the series. I also just like writing Malcolm, especially thanks to his relationships with the Harding family.

I did include some references to the video game Trespasser, like some details about the history of Isla Sorna and naming the worker village Burroughs, which was a level in Trespasser and a reference in itself to the writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote The Land That Time Forgot and its two sequels. There are also references to the second novel that hint at Site B's darker side, but I won't give them away if you didn't notice them.

I did bring back the Troodon, because I still consider them to be the main dinosaur antagonists of the series and I want to continue that trend. They don't get as many dark moments as they did in The Chaos Continues though.

Finally, let's talk about all the new characters. Lori Ruso was actually a character mentioned in an email found in the second novel, an email that indicated she was the high supervisor of the facilities on Site B before they were abandoned by InGen. Here she is actually one of the main characters. Norman Atherton is also a character only mentioned in the novels. He actually died of heart cancer five years before the events of the first novel, but was still the original chief geneticist of InGen before being replaced by Wu. Lockwood from Fallen Kingdom was actually inspired partially by Atherton. In An Act of God I decided to include Atherton because he could shed some light on InGen's beginnings, following up on the appearance of Lockwood during Hammond's funeral. And since Wu is arguably the main character, showing him interacting with his old mentor could be pretty interesting. Abby, Derek, and Gustavus are all from the non-canon Topps comic "Return to Jurassic Park." I felt like the infamous Dr. Gustavus was actually the perfect way to bring the Troodon and other creatures onto Sorna. Fans of the video game "Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis" might recognize the name of Jane Powers, who helped players please their park visitors within the game. The 'Kathy' that Atherton mentioned was a minor character featured in the original novel, she'll be making a proper appearance in the next iteration. Basically for this story I looked for obscure InGen employees and threw them onto Site B, giving them a lot more exposure then they had in other material.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out soon. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.