CHAPTER FOUR:
T-Rex Encounter
Dr. Grant looked around at the trees moving slowly past their jeep. He didn't want to remember anything about the T-Rex.
"The T-Rex cage!" Tim said, sitting up in his seat to get a better view of what was ahead of them.
"Sit down, Timmy!" Lex instructed her brother who was leaning up against the dash board to get a good front-row view.
"Oh, can it," he said, glaring at his sister. This, in his opinion, was cool. He would see a T-Rex without actually being eaten, threatened, or crushed by it. The trees moved by at a higher speed now, as the jeep sped up. This forced Tim to sit down in his seat and put his seatbelt on along with Lex and Dr. Grant. This was going to be an awesome tour.
"You are now instructed to please fasten your safety harnesses at this time." the voice over the radio instructed, pausing before continuing. "You will now proceed into the dark forest of Jurassic Park. Many wondrous creatures inhabit this forest, but there are equally as many terrifying beast roaming these woods."
Tim smiled in delight. He looked at Dr. Grant, who glared back at him sternly, and Tim's smile was washed off of his face.
"Aren't you excited?" Tim asked as Dr. Grant looked out the window at the now approaching barbed wire-and-steel fence.
Dr. Grant grunted.
"I have no intentions of having 'fun'." he said with a bland look on his face. "Running around with dinosaurs, dead or alive, does not entice me any longer."
The 'any longer' part probably meant since the last time Dr. Grant had visited the park. But, Tim thought, the last time Dr. Grant had been on a dinosaur-inhabited island had been when the plane crashed with the Kirby's aboard, searching for their lost son. He had never really heard Dr. Grant speak about this. He was about to ask about it, but then decided against it. The fence was before them, though it was quite different from the one they had been next to in the original park. This fence was covered in vines and leaves. It probably wasn't stronger than the original one, because the dinosaur it was encasing didn't actually live and breathe, not to mention rip at the cable when the power went out.
The fence was wedged between two large trees; probably the largest trees Tim had ever seen. He was reminded of when the jeep had been pushed off the cliff into an enormous tree, but these trees were huge! He marveled at them. Then, the jeep stopped.
"Oh, here it comes," Lex said, looking out the window. Tim had had enough of her. She was taking everything too seriously. This was supposed to be a fun trip, wasn't it? He had thought so.
"You are now parked in front of the Tyrannosaurus Cage. We call this a cage because it is so high that a roof is not needed. The Tyrannosaurus is a massive beast that lived millions of years ago. It had a unique sense of smell, but a rather poor sense of vision. Its vision was based on movement. It is a unique part of Jurassic Park."
Lex snorted.
"Unique? How about deadly?"
Tim shushed her again.
"Maybe we'll actually see this thing!" he said hopefully. "Maybe it'll be cooler than the real thing."
Dr. Grant smiled for once.
"For the amount of money people will be paying to get into this park, I hope it's cooler than the original. I'm looking forward to seeing how accurate this thing is." He looked out on his side, the side that had the fence on it. He remembered the first time he ever saw a T-Rex skeleton, and wished he had only seen a skeleton. He hadn't been able to handle seeing the real thing up close and personal.
He wished Ellie was along with him. They were a team. They had been through a lot together. But, she had to be home with her kids and husband. He didn't blame her. He wished he had somebody to be home with. But the only thing he had to be home with was his bones and tools; a dig site.
Suddenly the fence shook violently. All three of them sat bolt upright. Dr. Grant expected the fence to rip out of the tree, but this didn't happen. Instead, the whole jeep began to shake as if footsteps were shaking the ground. He spotted tree branches moving aside in the distance as if something were heading towards their jeep. He couldn't see what was coming, (the T-Rex of course), because the jeep was now shaking like mad. Tim was glad he had his seatbelt on because he would have been against the windshield.
Then, all at once, everything stopped. The shaking, the noises, and everything stopped except for the beating of their hearts.
"Wh-where is it?" Lex said, staring out at the fence.
"Don't worry," Dr. Grant said with a smile. "It's all illusi-"
But he never finished his sentence because just then a large scaly foot crashed down onto the pavement before them. He spotted the tar cracking under the foot's weight and the car shook violently.
Lex screamed as the foot lifted back up and stomped off into the other half of the woods.
Dr. Grant tried to comfort Lex, but Tim was laughing his head off.
Lex stopped, shuddering, and snapped at her brother, "What is so funny about that?"
Tim had to hold his stomach because it ached.
"It was all just a robot, Lex!" he laughed. "See? The cracks in the pavement were pre-cut! It was great! I've never been scared so much in my entire life!"
Lex groaned.
"Don't say that. You've been scared worse before."
"Not really," Tim started. "It was like my worst nightmare was happening again. I thought -" he started, but then stopped laughing. "I thought - that it was back again."
Dr. Grant shook his head with a grin.
"I have to admit that it was pretty funny," he said to Tim. Lex looked disgusted with him, and shoved him to the side as he laughed. "You're right, Tim." he said with a smile. "This isn't so bad with fake dinosaurs. It's like an old-fashioned amusement park."
"Exactly," Tim smiled.
"Well, the tour is almost done," Dr. Grant said, watching the T-Rex cage disappear behind a sea of foliage. "We'll be eating lunch with your grandfather up at the visitor center."
"Alright!" Tim said, coaxing his sister to smile.
"Oh, cut it out," she said, crossing her arms.
"But, Lex," Tim said with a smile. "They'll have all the Jell-O you could want!"
She glared at him, but a grin spread across her face.
"Alright," she said, agreeing a little that this was somewhat fun. But, she was wrong. The fun was only beginning.
Dr. Grant looked around at the trees moving slowly past their jeep. He didn't want to remember anything about the T-Rex.
"The T-Rex cage!" Tim said, sitting up in his seat to get a better view of what was ahead of them.
"Sit down, Timmy!" Lex instructed her brother who was leaning up against the dash board to get a good front-row view.
"Oh, can it," he said, glaring at his sister. This, in his opinion, was cool. He would see a T-Rex without actually being eaten, threatened, or crushed by it. The trees moved by at a higher speed now, as the jeep sped up. This forced Tim to sit down in his seat and put his seatbelt on along with Lex and Dr. Grant. This was going to be an awesome tour.
"You are now instructed to please fasten your safety harnesses at this time." the voice over the radio instructed, pausing before continuing. "You will now proceed into the dark forest of Jurassic Park. Many wondrous creatures inhabit this forest, but there are equally as many terrifying beast roaming these woods."
Tim smiled in delight. He looked at Dr. Grant, who glared back at him sternly, and Tim's smile was washed off of his face.
"Aren't you excited?" Tim asked as Dr. Grant looked out the window at the now approaching barbed wire-and-steel fence.
Dr. Grant grunted.
"I have no intentions of having 'fun'." he said with a bland look on his face. "Running around with dinosaurs, dead or alive, does not entice me any longer."
The 'any longer' part probably meant since the last time Dr. Grant had visited the park. But, Tim thought, the last time Dr. Grant had been on a dinosaur-inhabited island had been when the plane crashed with the Kirby's aboard, searching for their lost son. He had never really heard Dr. Grant speak about this. He was about to ask about it, but then decided against it. The fence was before them, though it was quite different from the one they had been next to in the original park. This fence was covered in vines and leaves. It probably wasn't stronger than the original one, because the dinosaur it was encasing didn't actually live and breathe, not to mention rip at the cable when the power went out.
The fence was wedged between two large trees; probably the largest trees Tim had ever seen. He was reminded of when the jeep had been pushed off the cliff into an enormous tree, but these trees were huge! He marveled at them. Then, the jeep stopped.
"Oh, here it comes," Lex said, looking out the window. Tim had had enough of her. She was taking everything too seriously. This was supposed to be a fun trip, wasn't it? He had thought so.
"You are now parked in front of the Tyrannosaurus Cage. We call this a cage because it is so high that a roof is not needed. The Tyrannosaurus is a massive beast that lived millions of years ago. It had a unique sense of smell, but a rather poor sense of vision. Its vision was based on movement. It is a unique part of Jurassic Park."
Lex snorted.
"Unique? How about deadly?"
Tim shushed her again.
"Maybe we'll actually see this thing!" he said hopefully. "Maybe it'll be cooler than the real thing."
Dr. Grant smiled for once.
"For the amount of money people will be paying to get into this park, I hope it's cooler than the original. I'm looking forward to seeing how accurate this thing is." He looked out on his side, the side that had the fence on it. He remembered the first time he ever saw a T-Rex skeleton, and wished he had only seen a skeleton. He hadn't been able to handle seeing the real thing up close and personal.
He wished Ellie was along with him. They were a team. They had been through a lot together. But, she had to be home with her kids and husband. He didn't blame her. He wished he had somebody to be home with. But the only thing he had to be home with was his bones and tools; a dig site.
Suddenly the fence shook violently. All three of them sat bolt upright. Dr. Grant expected the fence to rip out of the tree, but this didn't happen. Instead, the whole jeep began to shake as if footsteps were shaking the ground. He spotted tree branches moving aside in the distance as if something were heading towards their jeep. He couldn't see what was coming, (the T-Rex of course), because the jeep was now shaking like mad. Tim was glad he had his seatbelt on because he would have been against the windshield.
Then, all at once, everything stopped. The shaking, the noises, and everything stopped except for the beating of their hearts.
"Wh-where is it?" Lex said, staring out at the fence.
"Don't worry," Dr. Grant said with a smile. "It's all illusi-"
But he never finished his sentence because just then a large scaly foot crashed down onto the pavement before them. He spotted the tar cracking under the foot's weight and the car shook violently.
Lex screamed as the foot lifted back up and stomped off into the other half of the woods.
Dr. Grant tried to comfort Lex, but Tim was laughing his head off.
Lex stopped, shuddering, and snapped at her brother, "What is so funny about that?"
Tim had to hold his stomach because it ached.
"It was all just a robot, Lex!" he laughed. "See? The cracks in the pavement were pre-cut! It was great! I've never been scared so much in my entire life!"
Lex groaned.
"Don't say that. You've been scared worse before."
"Not really," Tim started. "It was like my worst nightmare was happening again. I thought -" he started, but then stopped laughing. "I thought - that it was back again."
Dr. Grant shook his head with a grin.
"I have to admit that it was pretty funny," he said to Tim. Lex looked disgusted with him, and shoved him to the side as he laughed. "You're right, Tim." he said with a smile. "This isn't so bad with fake dinosaurs. It's like an old-fashioned amusement park."
"Exactly," Tim smiled.
"Well, the tour is almost done," Dr. Grant said, watching the T-Rex cage disappear behind a sea of foliage. "We'll be eating lunch with your grandfather up at the visitor center."
"Alright!" Tim said, coaxing his sister to smile.
"Oh, cut it out," she said, crossing her arms.
"But, Lex," Tim said with a smile. "They'll have all the Jell-O you could want!"
She glared at him, but a grin spread across her face.
"Alright," she said, agreeing a little that this was somewhat fun. But, she was wrong. The fun was only beginning.
