Author's Note: Well it has been a total of… -counts on fingers- fifteen seconds since I completed the last chapter. Woot! Go me!
Replies:
Crazy4cocc986 Thank you, hun! –hugs-
T.E.N. You're welcome, and I know that you didn't ask for any sympathy.
Ophelia Drowning –bows- Thank you, thank you very much. –blow kisses- I'm here until Thursday!
Sulkdodds Yes, I would say Eric is getting quite annoying. And no, I don't believe that it will do him any good either. Thanks for the review!
What Happened Last?
"Please let it go," Audrey pleaded. "I don't think there's anything you can do… and besides, we really do need you! We could all very well die without your help!"
Knight huffed in reproach, but said nothing.
"Audrey, you are going to die with or without my help," I said.
Chapter Eleven – Isla Sorna
Blinking the droplets of moisture out of my eyes, I peered through the mist in hope of seeing the island that would surely bring my death. Or maybe I did not wish to see it. The only reason I was looking was because the captain (who I had discovered was the Hispanic woman I had talked with earlier) claimed that Isla Sorna was not far off.
"Eric, are you coming?" Audrey asked as she swung her leg over the side of the boat and began to descend a moldy rope ladder to the waiting raft below.
'No,' my mind said. "Yeah," is what actually came out of my mouth. 'Ugh, why the heck are you doing this, Eric? You're such a freaking imbecile.'
With a sigh and one last quick look around the boat, I swung my leg over the railing and followed Audrey's path of descent into a grey raft, knowing that every step I took was another step toward my doom. At least I would leave this miserable life behind.
Adam Knight and Bret Baker were already in their raft and were waiting for us about ten yards off. They were to lead us into shore and make sure we could land without much danger. Right, like that was going to work. Kevin Vector and Rebecca Baker were close behind them, carrying much of the supplies in their slightly larger raft. Audrey and I took up the rear once we were both situated. Audrey took control of steering while I sat up front with a large shotgun propped across my knee and pair of binoculars to my eyes, searching the fog for the island that was supposedly looming just beyond my sights.
"There it is!" Audrey yelled above the roar of the motor. I quickly looked up to see in which direction she was pointing, then looked back through the binoculars and could easily see the volcanic island jutting up out of the ocean. Large waves crashed against the side of the cliff, sending foamy white spray in every direction. We were not yet close enough to hear the roar, but with the speed of our boats, we soon would be.
The parasail was opened and Ben and I were suddenly jerked back away from the boat.
I shook my head. What was that? Blinking fiercely as a large bout of spray hit my face, I put the binoculars back to my eyes.
We were jerked up and down and suddenly, there was no more fog. Down below, the speed boat glared up at us, covered in red blood and not a person in sight.
I rubbed at my temples. These were not such pleasant memories. Seven years ago I had been stranded on Isla Sorna, due to a parasailing accident. I had been alone on the island for eight weeks. I could still remember when…
The deep green foliage rushed up to meet us. Ben continued to tell me that everything would be okay. We crashed through limb after limb of trees until we were jerked to a stop. With a bit of instructions from my soon-to-be step dad, I unclasped myself from the harness and feel to the forest floor. Quickly scrambling to my feet, I turned back and informed Ben that the video camera was still recording. He quickly turned it off. That's when it happened…
"We're nearly there!" Audrey shouted. I pulled myself out of my memories and realized that we had been skirting around the edge of the island and were now heading toward a small beach. "Hang on; this is going to get rough!" Audrey said, jerking her head toward a large wave behind us.
With my left hand I clasped the white rope that went around the raft and in my right, I held the shotgun close to my side. The binoculars swung around my neck and I could feel my stomach doing flip-flops. We dipped down suddenly, and then rose again. As we reached the top of a wave, I could see Kevin and Rebecca in their raft, but as we dipped for a second time, they were lost from my sights. Audrey strained and pulled, her muscles nearly bulging from the intense workout. "Do you need help?" I yelled back at her.
"NO!" she shouted back. "Stay in the front – I need your weight there!"
I nodded to show that I understood and watched as we breeched a wave just in time. We sped forward, just out of reach of the foaming masses of water cascading down toward us. But before they could reach us, Audrey had maneuvered us over the next wave. Down we went and few seconds after, we were found at the top of another wave. I took a quick look at the beach before we plunged down again. We were getting closer, and of what I could see, the waves would be getting smaller soon.
This assumption had been correct. We were soon out of the immediate danger of the crashing torrents, but a more deadly and painful path lay ahead of us. Isla Sorna's rocky ledges glared down at us threateningly, as though daring us to come farther. The grey clouds above moved swiftly and cast unnatural shadows on the island.
I attempted to swallow the lump in my throat, but it just would not go away. 'You're a moron, Eric James Kirby,' I though harshly to myself. 'If you make it out alive, I hope you die the day you get home. Then maybe you'd learn.'
The beach arrived too quickly and I was soon up to my chest in the salty ocean water. Audrey had switched the motor off and I silently pulled the raft through the water, lifting my feet and gliding forward whenever a wave hit us. Kevin quickly waded into the water and helped me pull the boat up on shore, then unload it. Knight and Bret were off "making a perimeter," Kevin informed me in a whisper.
Once everything was out of the raft, Audrey pulled the pin and the craft was deflated in a mere five minutes. I helped her to fold it up, and then place it in a plastic container. We buried all of the rafts in the sand and Kevin marked the spot with a long metal stake.
Once we had set up camp just inside the cover of trees, I cautiously walked back onto the beach and stopped just before the water would have touched the toes of my boots. I knelt down and picked up a handful of damp sand and looked at it, rubbing it between my fingers.
Costa Rica slowly grew smaller and smaller as we flew into the clouds. For a few seconds all you could see out the window was white and then, we burst through the clouds into the sunshine. I clutched the armrests of my seat and clamped my teeth together. My eyes stayed fixed on the seat back in front of me and there was a slight ringing in my ears.
They were taking me back to Isla Sorna.
And there was nothing I could do about it.
"Eric?" someone asked.
I jumped and stood up, turning around. Audrey was standing just behind me. A slight breeze ruffled her short brown hair and she looked at me with a bit of concern. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," I said shortly. I turned around and looked back at the water.
"I know you didn't want to come, Eric, but," Audrey began.
I cut her off before she could say any more. "If you don't mind, I would like to be alone for a bit."
"Right," she said softly. "Don't stay out in the open too long, okay?"
There was a pause before I heard her silently walking back toward camp. With a sigh, I relaxed my hands and my handful of sand slowly slid from my fingertips.
"Lane is such geek!"
"I can't believe Lane stood up for that idiot, Eric!"
"Lane's so fat and ugly!"
Lane was sitting in front of me, and I could tell that her shoulders were tense. She could hear every word they were saying about her. She didn't deserve it. I was one the one who deserved it, not her. I had been a jerk.
A voice suddenly came over the loud speaker of the plane. "Now don't get too excited, kids. This isn't the island we're headed for." I looked out the window and saw an island below us. Strange how I had not seen it before. " This one is Isla Nublar, site A. The weather and the densities of the foliage make it pretty much impossible for us to have a comfortable tour, so we're going to be heading to the second island, Isla Sorna. On this island we will be able to see the Pteranadons and the Spinosaurus, which are two of the dinosaurs that are not on Isla Nublar."
I let out a long breath and took in another one. It was hard not to hold my breath. Lane turned around to look at me. The sun shone on her dark red hair and I wondered how anyone could dislike someone so beautiful. How could anyone think she was less than gorgeous? She smiled slightly, but this only made me feel guilty, so I turned away. I don't know when she turned around again.
Audrey opened the packets with a few swift strokes of her knife and placed the floppy, brown, rubbery looking meat substitutes on a battery powered grill. After placing a clear plastic lid over the top, she came over and sat next to me. "Have you had enough alone time?" she asked teasingly.
I lifted my head from my arms. "We really shouldn't talk," I replied. I then lowered my head back down onto my arms and gazed at the odd shadows cast on the trees by our lamps. "We shouldn't even have those things turned on," I commented.
"What things?" Audrey asked.
"The lamps," I said quietly, sighing.
"Mmm," Audrey replied simply.
With another sigh, I picked a stick up off the ground and examined it in the dim light.
There is was… Isla Sorna, looming up out of the thinning mist, threatening me and taunting me. We flew over a couple mountains and then swooped down low over a valley. The sight was far better than I remembered, but my terrifying memories caused my chest to constrict and breathing became more difficult than ever.
Herds of fifty feet tall Brachiosauruses were standing up on their hind legs to pull leaves off of trees; waddling Ankylosauruses were eating the long grasses by a river; strange looking Parasaurolophuses were clumped together with a heard of Corythosauruses standing nearby; then who could forget the ever so famous Stegosauruses and Triceratops? It all looked so peaceful.
Everyone around me forgot the thoughts of the day and crammed together to look out of the windows as the science teacher rambled on about their eating habits and such. No one was listening to him. I looked out of my window down at the animals below, enthusiasm showing through, but fear was still wrapped around me like a wet blanket. I loved the herbivores, after all.
I glanced over at Lane as we began to circle around again. She looked happier than I had seen her in a long time…
"Eric?" Audrey asked. I looked up at her. "Why are you staring at a stick?"
I quickly dropped the stick on the ground and dusted my hands off. Clearing my throat, I looked out into the jungle, listening to the sounds around us and hissing at Bret to shut-up when he dropped his canteen. "Keep your shorts on!" he hissed back.
We must have circled and re-circled the island two dozen times before the pilot announced that we must turn back. A loud groan came from everyone but me. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well that was far better than I had expected," I heard Tina say.
Lane muttered something, but I could not hear it. She did not look happy any more. She looked extremely dejected.
"Hey look!" one of the freshmen cried. We all looked out of the windows and saw, flying along beside us, a Pteranadon. Another one joined him, then another, and then another. My stomach twisted into knots and watched with dread as the winged dinosaurs flew along beside us.
"My gosh!" a girl cried. "What are they doing? Bidding us farewell?" A lot of people laughed, including Lane. I merely felt sick to my stomach. Whatever they were doing, they were not bidding us farewell.
That's when what I had been dreading happened…
Audrey flicked the side of my head. "Are you even listening to me?" she exclaimed.
"Shush!" I said, more loudly than I had intended.
"What the heck is your problem?" she snapped. "I'm trying to be nice and civil because I know you didn't want to come, but all you're being is a jerk!"
"Look, Audrey, can we talk about this later?" I attempted to reply kindly, but I do believe it came out quite the opposite.
"There's nothing better than the present, Mr. Kirby," she hissed. She looked quite dangerous when she was angry.
"Why are you so pissed off at me?" I questioned.
"Why are you so pissed off all of the time?" she shot back. "Look, whatever. It's your problem. Just stop being so bloody full of yourself and accept that you are on this ruddy island and you will be for a while. Get used to it. Get used to us."
"You have no idea," I muttered.
"No idea about what?" Audrey snapped.
"About anything," I shot back. "About this island. About the animals here. About me."
"Do I have to know all that to tell you to get used to us?" Audrey exclaimed. "Hate to break it to you, cupcake, but I don't care! Neither does anyone else!"
Gritting my teeth, I muttered a few expletive infested insults at her, and then stalked off toward my tent.
One of the Pteranadons suddenly swooped in and hit the side of the plane with its beak, leaving behind a huge dent in the wall. A ton of the girls screamed and jumped out of their seats. I quickly buckled myself in and clutched the arm rests of my seat in terror. A slight ringing sound began in my ears and the sound of the next Pteranadon hitting the wing was slightly dulled. The plane wobbled and a couple people fell down. I began muttering things under my breath, but if anyone heard me and wondered what I was saying, I could not have told them.
The Pteranadons continued to hit the plane, going mainly after the wings. The plane lurched, dove, and rose in uncontrolled patterns as the pilot attempted to shake off the predators. Another hit, then another, and another. "Everyone sit down in your seats and buckle up!" the pilot yelled over the speaker. Though it was difficult, his orders were carried through.
The sounds of ripping, crunching, and extremely loud metallic scrapes were heard. My vision began to get fuzzy. We were wobbling uncontrollably and then, we were plunging straight towards the ground. The people around me screamed in terror. I felt my stomach clench and watched the back of Lane's head, waiting for the impact. Then, suddenly, we were stopped by a sickening crunch.
Author's Note: My goodness is that a long chapter. Don't you love me? -grins-
Guess what I am doing. Reading Lost World. Aren't you proud? But now I am upset that I did not read it sooner. They changed a bloody lot in the movies. –sigh-
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