CHAPTER EIGHT: Missing
Tim awoke to the sounds of birds chirping deep in the forest surrounding him. His eyes flickered open to see the soft reds and oranges of the sunset filtering through the trees. It didn't take long for him to notice the pain in his shoulder and his hand shot up to it, trying to rub away the sharp pricks that throbbed every so often.
Sitting up, he brushed grass out of his hair and dirt off of his clothes. It took a minute for him to remember what had happened, but it soon came back to him.
Curiously, he looked up to see the track of the coaster sloping downwards towards him. How far had he fallen?
Judging by the pain, a long way. It ached when he sat up and he didn't enjoy the way his back muscles stretched awkwardly. At least the aches and pains were all that he was feeling. There didn't feel like there were any broken bones. That, in itself, was a good thing.
Tim was going to look down at his watch to see what time it was, but stopped when he realized he had landed on it and the crystal cover was cracked, bending inward to stop the tiny hands from moving.
"Oh man..." he whined to himself as he took off the watch and placed it in his pocket. He had loved that watch. His mother had given it to him.
Despite the disappointed feeling deep in his gut, Tim attempted to brush it all away and figure out what he was going to do.
Where in the world was he?
The ride looked like it wound through the forest, and if that were true, he could be anywhere in the park. He did suppose he could follow the tracks back to the station, but they wove in and out of each other. It would get a little confusing, but he was sure he could manage.
Starting out, he discovered a slight limp in his step. He must have been out of it for a while. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had been a few hours. But why hadn't Dr. Grant and more importantly, Lex searched for him?
This hurt him a little. His own sister hadn't searched for him?
But then again, maybe it took a while to get together a search party or something. The park was fairly new and maybe staff was a little disorganized.
It was rapidly getting darker and Tim found that it was harder to see in front of him. It was a full moon, but the thick forest foliage above him blocked it, though there was the occasional shaft of blue light filtering through the leaves.
After walking for a few minutes, Tim was startled as the area was flooded with light. Apparently there were floodlights connected to the track and they all turned on, flashing once as they heated up. Tim, though he had been startled, was thankful for the light.
He'd be back at the station in no time at all...
Hopefully.
"Dr. Grant?" Lex started as she saw him return from the information booth.
Dr. Grant shook his head solemnly.
"They haven't seen him, Lex." He muttered as he fixed his hat, looking up at the sky. It was getting pretty dark and he didn't like being outside in the dark very much.
"What are we going to do?" she asked as she folded her arms beneath her chest and shivered.
Dr. Grant put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, trying to look reassuring.
"I'm sure he's fine, Lex. Maybe he just went off to the hotel?"
Lex tried to act optimistic.
"You're probably right. I mean, we weren't really paying attention to the ride exit. He could have slipped by us..."
Dr. Grant smiled, and he was glad to see it rubbed off on her a little.
"Tim's not a little kid anymore, Lex."
Lex sighed.
"I know. It's so hard to picture him as a mature young adult instead of my little helpless brother."
They both started off towards the Jeep.
"You know, Lex, I've had more fun at an amusement park than I've had in years being with you."
Lex chuckled. At second glance, Dr. Grant did look pretty handsome in the moonlight. She jumped before he could spot her staring as spotlights all along the path lit up, blasting them with light.
"You jumped." Dr. Grant said with a smile, amused.
When they finally got back into the Jeep, they buckled up and the Jeep started off automatically towards the Visitor Center.
It was unusually quiet for a few minutes, and then Dr. Grant started.
"Does this thing have a radio, or what?"
He leaned towards the front of the vehicle and fiddled with a bunch of dials until some music started. Sitting back with a smug grin on his face, he pulled his hat over his eyes and leaned back, satisfied with the station.
Lex hesitated for a moment, then leaned against his shoulder, resting her head on his arm. If Dr. Grant had noticed, he didn't mind. They both settled in, enjoying the trip back to the Visitor Center.
James pulled open the door to the Visitor Center and quietly slipped in.
Officially, he wasn't supposed to be out late, but there were a few...errands he had to run: One being picking up his monkey from his little errand.
"You're too good, Sylvester." He said to the monkey on his shoulder. Sylvester squeaked his approval of the complement.
They walked through the forest area of the Center, then James veered off the path to a hidden doorway covered in vines and leaves. He extracted a key card from his coat and slid it through a lock hidden amongst the brush and smiled as a beep sounded and the door slid open.
In a harsh contrast to the simulated forest was a plain white hallway with square doors and lights.
He counted off the number of doors to his right until he got to the fifth door and opened it, stepping briskly inside.
Technically, this wasn't his office, but that was where he spent most of his time...spying. Well, spying didn't exactly have the right ring with him. He liked to call it observing. After all, there were cameras all around the park for a reason.
He clicked a few buttons until the screen showed him the Jeep the three visitors were using. It took him a minute to notice that the third, the boy wasn't there.
"That's odd?" he started. This – after all – wasn't part of his plan. "Where's the kid?"
He clicked a bunch of buttons that flashed a grid of all the cameras in the park. It took him a few minutes, but then he found the boy, dirty and limping through the Tyrannosaurus coaster area.
"What's he doing off the ride? Visitors aren't allowed off the ride in the fenced-off area!"
But then he noticed the flashing red letters on the screen and he enlarged them to read, RIDE MALFUNCTION: REQUIRES MAINTANENCE.
"Well, well, well..." James muttered as Sylvester leaped off his shoulder and onto a chair in the corner. "We'll have to send somebody –"
But then he spotted something he didn't like at all.
On the next screen he spotted a group of men in white lab coats carrying a large box through the woods. If the boy kept on walking, he'd hit them soon. And they couldn't have that. He'd ruin everything...
"Come on, Sylvester." James started as he clicked off the screen. "We've got some hunting to do."
Tim awoke to the sounds of birds chirping deep in the forest surrounding him. His eyes flickered open to see the soft reds and oranges of the sunset filtering through the trees. It didn't take long for him to notice the pain in his shoulder and his hand shot up to it, trying to rub away the sharp pricks that throbbed every so often.
Sitting up, he brushed grass out of his hair and dirt off of his clothes. It took a minute for him to remember what had happened, but it soon came back to him.
Curiously, he looked up to see the track of the coaster sloping downwards towards him. How far had he fallen?
Judging by the pain, a long way. It ached when he sat up and he didn't enjoy the way his back muscles stretched awkwardly. At least the aches and pains were all that he was feeling. There didn't feel like there were any broken bones. That, in itself, was a good thing.
Tim was going to look down at his watch to see what time it was, but stopped when he realized he had landed on it and the crystal cover was cracked, bending inward to stop the tiny hands from moving.
"Oh man..." he whined to himself as he took off the watch and placed it in his pocket. He had loved that watch. His mother had given it to him.
Despite the disappointed feeling deep in his gut, Tim attempted to brush it all away and figure out what he was going to do.
Where in the world was he?
The ride looked like it wound through the forest, and if that were true, he could be anywhere in the park. He did suppose he could follow the tracks back to the station, but they wove in and out of each other. It would get a little confusing, but he was sure he could manage.
Starting out, he discovered a slight limp in his step. He must have been out of it for a while. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had been a few hours. But why hadn't Dr. Grant and more importantly, Lex searched for him?
This hurt him a little. His own sister hadn't searched for him?
But then again, maybe it took a while to get together a search party or something. The park was fairly new and maybe staff was a little disorganized.
It was rapidly getting darker and Tim found that it was harder to see in front of him. It was a full moon, but the thick forest foliage above him blocked it, though there was the occasional shaft of blue light filtering through the leaves.
After walking for a few minutes, Tim was startled as the area was flooded with light. Apparently there were floodlights connected to the track and they all turned on, flashing once as they heated up. Tim, though he had been startled, was thankful for the light.
He'd be back at the station in no time at all...
Hopefully.
"Dr. Grant?" Lex started as she saw him return from the information booth.
Dr. Grant shook his head solemnly.
"They haven't seen him, Lex." He muttered as he fixed his hat, looking up at the sky. It was getting pretty dark and he didn't like being outside in the dark very much.
"What are we going to do?" she asked as she folded her arms beneath her chest and shivered.
Dr. Grant put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, trying to look reassuring.
"I'm sure he's fine, Lex. Maybe he just went off to the hotel?"
Lex tried to act optimistic.
"You're probably right. I mean, we weren't really paying attention to the ride exit. He could have slipped by us..."
Dr. Grant smiled, and he was glad to see it rubbed off on her a little.
"Tim's not a little kid anymore, Lex."
Lex sighed.
"I know. It's so hard to picture him as a mature young adult instead of my little helpless brother."
They both started off towards the Jeep.
"You know, Lex, I've had more fun at an amusement park than I've had in years being with you."
Lex chuckled. At second glance, Dr. Grant did look pretty handsome in the moonlight. She jumped before he could spot her staring as spotlights all along the path lit up, blasting them with light.
"You jumped." Dr. Grant said with a smile, amused.
When they finally got back into the Jeep, they buckled up and the Jeep started off automatically towards the Visitor Center.
It was unusually quiet for a few minutes, and then Dr. Grant started.
"Does this thing have a radio, or what?"
He leaned towards the front of the vehicle and fiddled with a bunch of dials until some music started. Sitting back with a smug grin on his face, he pulled his hat over his eyes and leaned back, satisfied with the station.
Lex hesitated for a moment, then leaned against his shoulder, resting her head on his arm. If Dr. Grant had noticed, he didn't mind. They both settled in, enjoying the trip back to the Visitor Center.
James pulled open the door to the Visitor Center and quietly slipped in.
Officially, he wasn't supposed to be out late, but there were a few...errands he had to run: One being picking up his monkey from his little errand.
"You're too good, Sylvester." He said to the monkey on his shoulder. Sylvester squeaked his approval of the complement.
They walked through the forest area of the Center, then James veered off the path to a hidden doorway covered in vines and leaves. He extracted a key card from his coat and slid it through a lock hidden amongst the brush and smiled as a beep sounded and the door slid open.
In a harsh contrast to the simulated forest was a plain white hallway with square doors and lights.
He counted off the number of doors to his right until he got to the fifth door and opened it, stepping briskly inside.
Technically, this wasn't his office, but that was where he spent most of his time...spying. Well, spying didn't exactly have the right ring with him. He liked to call it observing. After all, there were cameras all around the park for a reason.
He clicked a few buttons until the screen showed him the Jeep the three visitors were using. It took him a minute to notice that the third, the boy wasn't there.
"That's odd?" he started. This – after all – wasn't part of his plan. "Where's the kid?"
He clicked a bunch of buttons that flashed a grid of all the cameras in the park. It took him a few minutes, but then he found the boy, dirty and limping through the Tyrannosaurus coaster area.
"What's he doing off the ride? Visitors aren't allowed off the ride in the fenced-off area!"
But then he noticed the flashing red letters on the screen and he enlarged them to read, RIDE MALFUNCTION: REQUIRES MAINTANENCE.
"Well, well, well..." James muttered as Sylvester leaped off his shoulder and onto a chair in the corner. "We'll have to send somebody –"
But then he spotted something he didn't like at all.
On the next screen he spotted a group of men in white lab coats carrying a large box through the woods. If the boy kept on walking, he'd hit them soon. And they couldn't have that. He'd ruin everything...
"Come on, Sylvester." James started as he clicked off the screen. "We've got some hunting to do."
