Chapter Seven: Jurassic Park Much?

Another shell ripped into the right side of the creature's ugly face, taking half of it with it, bone and tooth with bloodied, smoldering skin hitting the ground. She had scrambled up the ladder, making it to the firing tower. As one creature remained, moving fast, she ran inside the weapon base, and slammed the door. She turned on her intercom, and radioed Dylan.

"Nice backup! Your turn!" She said, breathing heavily.

"You better have good aim," he said, then grabbed a signal gun from the wall. Regina immediately turned the gun around, lining it up with the creature encroaching the tower. She could see Dylan exit his tower in her sight, and out from the corner of the viewing window, she could see the head of another Allosaurus coming from around the corner.

You just keep coming, don't you?

The one closest to her leapt onto the platform beside the tower, and she moved the gun into position, and slammed the fire button. The creature let out a screaming roar. Three shells flew out from the end of the long barrel, all three finding their mark into the creature's ugly head, slamming violently and explosively from point-blank range, totally obliterating the creature's head, sending a cascade of blood spraying in all directions—not even any skin or bone flew—it was obliterated by the sheer force of the explosive shells. She quickly swerved the gun in the direction of the tailing creature. It burst out from the corner, its dark blue and spotted brown reptilian skin in full view. Dylan ran down the straightaway, and Regina could see him fire a signal flare in the air, a bright yellow ball sailing into the air.

You got it, Dylan...

She took careful aim at the creature, probably a hundred feet or so behind the running T.R.A.T. soldier, gaining quickly. When the sight flashed red, indicating a target lock, she pressed the fire button, and three more shells flew out of the gun, dancing through the air, weaving, smoke trailing behind them, as two slammed into the creature's body, ripping massive gouges as blood showered the ground, splattering over its body. The third sailed behind, hitting the ground. The force and explosiveness of the shells was enough to send the creature down, not killing it, but leaving it fatally wounded. It would probably end up dying of blood loss. Dylan had made it to the platform, and another dull thud came from their left. Another Allosaurus came from the left, but blocked by a couple of crates. There was no way around them—she'd have to blow the crates away for Dylan to pass through. He opened the door of the firing tower, looked at Regina.

"Thanks. I'm gonna head for the next firing tower. Keep covering me," Dylan said.

"Got it."

He leaped off the platform, and she swung the gun around to the left, pointing it at the crates blocking the way. It let out a roar as she fired, and in seconds, all three shells slammed into the crates, sending wood flying in all directions. He ran ahead, and the monstrosity lunged at him, its massive jaws just missing him by a couple feet. He fired another signal bullet into the air, and a few seconds later, Regina got the green light, indicating that the weapon was ready. Her hand slammed down on the fire button, and another set of explosive firepower flew through the air, gliding, slamming with much speed into its body, immediately knocking it down. One shell slammed into one of its muscular legs, tearing a large hole in the muscle and sinew. It fell to the ground, screaming, a primal roar escaping from the throat. While the other two sailed over, just missing the creature, it was not getting up—it was too much in pain. In her sights, she saw Dylan climb up to a platform, then broke for the next firing station. She saw him climbing another ladder up, then opening the metal door and disappearing inside, closing the door behind him. She heard the intercom beep, and his voice came through.

"That was close, Regina! Your turn now!"

She quickly got up, and ran out the door. She leaped off the platform, onto the stone ground, where she could see splotches of bright red blood dotting the ground. As she ran by the wounded Allosaurus, the creature lunged, its jaws clamping shut but missing by a good margin. She stopped, turned around, and looked the creature dead in its watery, reptilian eye. Her gaze remaining, she raised the signal gun into the air, and fired a flare.

Sorry. You tried to attack me. Now you'll die.

As she ran toward the third and last firing station, she could hear the loud bang of shell fire, and the whistling sounds of the shells as they shot through the air. Without even a glance back, she could hear the loud explosions as the shells careened into the ailing dinosaur, all of them hitting their mark. She didn't even have to look back—it was dead, reduced to a bloody pile of bone, muscle and sinew now. As she climbed the ladder to the tower, she saw Dylan stepping out, the danger over...for now, anyways.

"Good job," Dylan said, a look of determination on his face.

"Not so bad yourself there," Regina commented. "I still am holding to my theory that you spend way too much time playing games like these."

Dylan laughed at her joke. "Duck Hunt...classic."

"Let's get moving." She looked at the signal flare. "Guess I won't be needing this anymore." She discarded the gun, and the two of them continued on, finding themselves climbing up another ladder. When they got to the top, both of them paused, sensed something foul in the air, something not right. Regina could see a clearing ahead, but was blocked by some metal. She'd have to climb down to get a better view. Leaping off the platform, the smell grew stronger, but it wasn't so much the smell of death—it was the smell of gunfire, the phosphoric smoke.

"Oh, my," Dylan said, looking at the new scene. They had come upon a wide clearing, the walls around them made of metal, sandbags piled high, and concrete, all used for purposes of fortification. This was the outer perimeter of the Command Station, and along the ground, scattered everywhere, bodies. Bodies of soldiers and raptors alike littered the ground, blood and spent shotgun shells, handgun bullets remained, evidence that a siege took place here not too long ago; quite recently, in fact, if the smell of gunfire still lingered in the air. The two progressed forward, walking through the horrible scene slowly, and images of the siege at the compound came back. Raptors lay dead with shotgun holes blown into them, soldiers with missing limbs, bloodied bodies ripped in half as torsos and legs lay helter-skelter, and blood. Blood was everywhere.

This is awful...

"We're late," Dylan said solemnly.

Regina's face looked grim. "What could have happened here that led to this?"

He sighed, at a loss for words. "There's nothing more we can do here. Let's keep going."

A somber silence passed between the two, all the way to the entrance of the compound, the only things here were a single jeep equipped with a machine gun in the rear. From the entrance, a road went off into the distance, into some jungle. Dylan spotted an unfamiliar sight.

Another dinosaur, maybe?

He kneeled next to the bloody, dead creature. It was a very small creature, probably the size of a full-grown Golden Retriever, but it lay dead, lying in its own pool of drying blood. Three tiny tusks protruded from the head, giving away its identity.

"It's a baby Triceratops," he said softly. "What happened here?"

"I—" Regina began, when she heard the sound of a low thud. "Oh, not again," she said, a note of annoyance in her voice.

Dylan got up. "No, not again."

Another thud, this time followed by a low growl.

Another footstep, then another. Whatever was producing those sounds had to be a large creature.

Regina's heart began to quicken, beating loudly against her chest. "T-Rex?"

"No..." Dylan answered. "The steps are too close together for it to be him again."

"Do you think we should get into that truck, then, and maybe not stick around?"

Suddenly, whatever it was broke out into a full run, the creature turning a corner, and a Triceratops, full-sized, burst into clear view of the awed soldiers, its head low, as if intending to ram head-on.

"Holy fuck!" Regina screamed. "Let's get into the fuckin' jeep, Dylan! Don't stand there! It'll ram straight into us!" The two quickly ran into the jeep, and Dylan mounted the rear, prepping the heavy anti-tank rifle. The creature galloped at amazing speed, letting out a loud roar which sliced through the air. Regina climbed into the driver's seat, and luckily, the keys remained in the ignition. Turning the keys, the jeep came to life, and in a heartbeat, she threw the vehicle into drive and slammed down hard on the gas, turning hard to the left, toward the exit. The tires squealed loudly, smoke coming from the burning rubber, and Dylan almost flew off the car, gripping the base of the gun for dear life.

"Jesus H. Christ, Regina!!!" Dylan screamed over the roar of the engine.

"Shut the fuck up, Dylan!" She ordered.

Quickly, the military vehicle accelerated, and flew past the jungle green hulk that was the Triceratops.

"Just shoot the thing!"

The huge creature turned around in a tight arc, and wasted no time giving chase after the fleeing vehicle. As Dylan readied the machine gun, the creature appeared to go into an all-out sprint, actually gaining on the jeep as it sailed down the dirt road. Jungle, moving by in a blur of greens and browns, lined the road.

"Can't this thing move any faster?!" Dylan screamed over the roaring of the engine, the speed of the wind.

"I'm going as fast as I possibly can!"

The massive creature continued its unusual sprint, continuing to gain, continuing to close the distance between the two. It now remained a good few hundred feet away, but closing fast. If he didn't open fire, it was going to hit them.

"Shoot, you fool!" Regina screamed, and his fingers pulled the trigger and held it there, and short, bright rays of firepower shot from the gun, each bullet firing a half second or so apart. He tried to aim for the creature's head, but the bumpiness and unevenness of the dirt road made it hard to get a straight, clear shot at the head.

"Try to make the jeep straighter so I can shoot the thing!" Dylan ordered.

"I'll try!"

He turned around, kept his gaze on the advancing dinosaur, and resumed fire. Each thundering blast was quickly replaced by the loud hum of the engine, the whistling of the wind. He held his finger on the trigger, round after round flying through the air. One of the bright lights hit the creature in the head, the huge body part tossing back from the impact of the round, but in a split second, resumed its unrelenting chase, gaining again. Another round slammed into the creature's head, taking one of its 3 tusks, blowing it away, and it faded into obscurity as the sprinting behemoth continued to gain ground. Another round slammed into the creature's face, hitting it dead on. It roared loudly, and for a couple seconds, slowed down, and Dylan watched as it shrunk, starting to fade into the background, watching the dust fly. In seconds, the creature was back, quickly back up to speed.

A loud bump shook the two of them as she drove over a pothole in the dirt road, knocking Dylan up into the air. He quickly used his reflexes, and hugged the gun, preventing him from flying off the jeep, onto the road, where death would be imminent, certain. He couldn't let the Triceratops catch up—if it did catch up, one mighty knock with its head, or even ramming into it, would send the two hurtling to their death. At the speed they were going, they would end up becoming bloody smears on the ground, dead instantly. His body slammed back to the metal surface, and he glared at Regina angrily, but she paid him no mind, and he went back to manning the rifle. In just the few seconds that had passed, it was back to where it was, just a couple hundred feet away from them, and closing fast. He fired again, the orange rounds flying out of the barrel. His aim kept wavering with each motion of the jeep, despite her attempts to keep it steady. However, when they did hit, it only deterred the creature only instantly.

She noticed a clearing some distance ahead.

Another roar filled the air, its mouth agape, and a round flew into the creature's mouth. Even from the distance away, he could see a shower of blood coming from the Triceratops.

Direct hit!

As a result, he slowed down, but not stopped, allowing Dylan to fire four more rounds into the creature's thick skin, into the dinosaur's huge head. Finally, after what seemed like endless time, the creature let out a final roar, and as it was quickly becoming a dot on the horizon, he saw the mighty Triceratops fall, finally stopped in its tracks.

"Yes!" Dylan cried triumphantly.

Men and their guns...I think George Carlin had it right...it's all related to the size of one's penis.

"That was too close for comfort, Dylan," she replied firmly.

He chuckled, "yeah, well, that was some cool driving." She turned her head to take a brief look at Dylan, a big, goofy smile across his face. He looked up, and suddenly his face turned quite shocked. "Regina, watch out!"

She looked back at the road, and saw it—the road was coming to an end, a dead end, and Regina couldn't stop the car in time, the distance was too short, and suddenly, the two found themselves in mid-air, time seeming to slow down, the jeep careening toward the open field, the two falling, falling, hoping that the impact wouldn't do too much damage.

Regina landed into the tall grass, hitting the ground hard as the wind got knocked out of her. Her cut on her side reacted, sending a sharp pain throughout her body. She let out a scream as the sensations flew through her, causing her to see red momentarily. Dylan landed a few feet ahead of her, heard him grunt as she landed. However, he got up, and ran to her side.

"Regina? You ok?" He asked, worry in his voice.

"Yeah...I'll be ok." She started to move, when suddenly, an explosion not far away from them shook the ground, creating a quick burst of heat and orange and yellow light sending a blast of wind in all directions. Dylan covered her with his body, and pieces of smoldering jeep landed around the two. As the two slowly stood up, they checked their surroundings, and realized that they were in a large open field, surrounded by tall, green grass. The sound of a helicopter could be heard some distance away. In the distance, they could see the buildings of Edward City in the distance, smoke trailing up into the air. Before anyone could say anything, they heard a cry, a cry all too familiar.

Raptors.

One raptor poked its head out of the tall grass. Then another followed. Then another.

Then three more.

Five more.

Eight more.

Until they were completely surrounded by twenty, thirty, maybe forty of them, all of them having their eyes set on the two. And then they began to move, slowly closing the gap between them, tightening in the circle.

Um...not looking very likely here...we can't outrun them...they've got us totally surrounded.

The two soldiers pressed their backs to each other, their respective weapons drawn. Both of them could feel the beating of each others' hearts as they pounded inside their chests.

"Dylan?" Regina said softly, fear seeping into her psyche. The closest ones to them began to crouch, getting ready to leap. A couple of them let out a hiss, a warning sound of what was imminent.

Death was staring at them with reptilian eyes.

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Yay for action scenes, but more to come in Chapter Eight! As always, keep those reviews coming! I want feedback! Let me know how I'm doing.