Author's Note: Yes, again, I have taken ages upon ages to update. Oh well. I guess this is just the sad way it is going to be. I will at least try to make an effort from now on. I just don't know if I like the way the story is turning out. That's rather frustrating, I must say.
Replies
Short and proud. Yeah, starting to read something when I am nearly finished is certainly the way to go. I have no idea how long it is going to take me to finish this one. I've been out of the writing mode for a while. This must be fixed!
T.E.N. Good and better is always splendid. Thank you, dear!
R.K.Binx. I'm sorry this update isn't soon. The only good thing about this is that it is now, not never. I hate it when people give up on their stories. I am in no way planning on doing that with this one.
Torold. You're only saying that because you're jealous. I know, because you told me. You were mad I had to "flames." Haha. Well I must say, that review was quite "flamey." Haha.
Billy Everyman. Hmm… I believe that was the day I posted the very first chapter, dear. The last time I updated was sometime this summer… I would never go that long without updating! And if I would, then I would delete the story because I obviously wouldn't be going anywhere with it any time soon. But, no, I assure I have updated since December 5, 2003.
Ms. Pippin Baggins. Oh my goodness! -hugs- A23 is one of your very favorites! I feel so blessed! Thank you so, so, SO much!
Geckoguy32. Your reviews make me laugh. I don't know why… probably because I know what's going to happen in the end and you don't. –laughs- By the way, dino skin is very tough… and I actually don't know what other kinds of guns everyone has. I just know how to shoot them… and I know the ones my family owns. I don't know too much else, which is sort of depressing.
What Happened Last?
"Not really," he shrugged. "But you might as well look at the bright side of things."
I groaned. "I'm in the presence of an optimist."
"And I," Bret said as we began to walk again, "am in the presence of a pessimist."
We had then reached our tents and all conversation ceased. Only two out of our three tents remained. Kevin and Knight's had been ripped from the earth, steaks and all. The contents lay scattered about the forest floor, one box having been flattened and left to breathe in the large Tyrannosaurus print on the edge of the clearing. "I guess those two will be star-gazing tonight," Bret said. He paused, then laughed heartily at his own joke.
Chapter Fourteen – The Tree
(Day Three)
After a restless night's sleep, full of memories and terrors, I again found myself walking through the forest with only Bret to accompany me. Or at least, with only Bret to talk with. We seemed to be the only individuals of our party who found it necessary to converse as we placed one foot after the other. Bret's bothersome company was far from pleasant, and his incessant need to talk quite a nuisance, but there was just no getting rid of him. No matter how hard I tried to shake him off, there he was, plodding along after me, waving his finger at my attempt of escape.
Not only was his presence unbearable, but so was the fact that I was now required to walk for hours and hours on end, carrying a heavy pack on my back. I was not in the best of conditions for this sort of physical strain. In all of the years I had been away from the island, I had not cared about maintaining my health… or my muscles. Now, my calves, thighs, feet, ankles, back, neck, and all other sorts of strange locations were protesting at the exercise they were now forced to undergo. My muscles would loosen after walking for several hours, but with every movement came a sharp pain from some place of my body, never the same.
Audrey, Kevin, and I were still not talking to each other. Audrey was conveniently avoiding eye contact whenever she could while Kevin was prone to give me dirty looks whenever he could. The fights the three of us had shared now seemed pathetically immature. I felt inclined to apologize, at least to Audrey, and maybe to explain some things.
My plan of being indifferent wasn't working too well. After being around these people for such a short amount of time, I felt a strange sensation. I didn't necessarily feel wanted, but I felt needed. They needed me here, as much as many of them hated to admit it. Half of them didn't know the difference between a Compy and a Spinosaurus, besides the fact that one was chicken sized and the other looked more along the lines of a dragon without wings and the ability to spit fire. They didn't know what to do in different situations and their incessant need to talk proved their inability to handle any situation that would be handed to them on this island. Granted, they had taken care of a significant amount of Raptors the previous day, but they took this stupidly as encouragement. They reassured themselves in thinking that they could take any situation handed to them now that they had shot down "a few pests." Their understanding of the way Isla Sorna worked was minimal. They needed me here to direct them and show them that they could not handle everything.
It was good to feel needed… but it wasn't intelligent to accept that feeling and embrace it. Not when we were here. It was making me weak and vulnerable. If someone died, as I knew they would, I would most likely feel pain, regret, and guilt. I was letting them in. My plan of indifference was failing. Especially when it came to Bret.
As I've said before, Bret's attention was aggravating and annoying beyond reason, but if anything were to happen to him, I didn't know what I would do while we remained on this island. He was the only one who would look me in the eye. He was the only one who made me feel as though I was wanted. Not just needed, but wanted.
Did I want to feel wanted?
I hadn't felt wanted for a while.
The clouds rolled in and darkened the sky. A slap of lightning illuminated the now gloomy tree trunks around us and thunder rolled across the expanse, driving flocks of birds into the air with cries they save only for such storms as these. The first drops of rain began to fall in only seconds and a mere five minutes after the first touched my nose, we were caught in a sudden downpour, drenching our clothes and causing strange sorts of plant life to stick to our legs as we walked past. "Quick, take cover!" I heard Knight call from the front. My vision was blurred and I was required to hold my hand above my eyes so that I could see what was going on in front of me. The rest of the group was rushing into an oddly shaped enclosure with a hole for an entrance barely big enough to admit me.
Inside was damp and dark. Kevin pulled a flashlight from his pack and switched it on, illuminating the small area. We all removed our heavy packs from our backs. While most sat down to wait out the storm, I walked around and examined the walls and floor. Something about this place seemed oddly familiar.
"Why do you have such an odd look on your face?" Bret asked me from his sitting position.
I shrugged and noticed that Audrey was watching me out of the corner of her eye. My stomach gave an odd lurch. I contemplated for a moment – was I still planning on remaining indifferent? – and then resolutely walked to her side. "Hey, can I talk to you?" I winced at how rude my question had sounded.
Audrey merely shrugged. So I sat down next to her. "I wanted to apologize," I began. Her eyes grew a bit wide but she didn't say anything, thus I continued. "I acted like a jerk that one night and… well, I guess I haven't been very nice these past few days. Or really even since we met. I just… don't like being here."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because… there are dinosaurs here," I replied.
"No, why are you being like this?" she continued.
"Like what?" I questioned, perplexed.
She rolled her eyes. "Never mind."
"No, like what?"
"Eric, it doesn't matter."
"Sure it does."
"I forgive you."
"What?"
"You apologized. I'm forgiving you."
"Oh," I said, and then paused for a moment before saying, "Thanks… I guess."
"You're welcome," she said cheerfully. "And just so you know, I know that I don't know a lot about your past or anything, but that gives us all the more reason to talk, right? It will just give us more things to discuss. And I promise I'll try to be more trusting."
"Wait…," I replied, resisting the urge to scratch my head, "I thought I was the one who wasn't trusting."
"Well then maybe we have something in common after all, Mr. Kirby," she grinned. "By the way, I think you need to talk to Kevin as well. He keeps glaring at you…"
I looked back at Kevin, who was indeed sending constant looks of near hatred in my direction. "Do I have to?" I whined.
Audrey rolled her eyes again. "Stop being such a little chicken and get over there."
With a sigh, I rose to my feet and trudged over to Kevin, who was standing at the doorway. "What?" he said when I stopped next to him.
"Audrey told me to talk to you," I said gruffly.
"Since when are you two talking again?" he snapped.
"Since now," I replied slowly.
"Oh… what did you say to her?" he questioned defensively.
"I said I was sorry," I said, raising my eyebrow at him.
"Then what did she say?" he asked.
"After a lot of confusing banter, she said she forgave me," I said, again resisting the urge to scratch my head. "I just don't understand girls sometimes."
Kevin finally grinned at me. "It happens to the best of us. You'll figure them out one of these days if you're intelligent enough."
I glared at him. Was he suddenly the woman expert now?
"Anyways, since she's back to confusing banter with you, then I'm pretty sure all is well. I'm sorry, dude," he said as he slapped me on the back.
"Right," I winced. "I… um… I'm sorry too."
Kevin gave me a lopsided grin and turned back to the doorway. "Dude! The rain stopped!" he exclaimed. I gazed past his shoulder and saw that the now puddle covered ground was spotted with random patches of mid-afternoon sunlight.
"When did this happen?" Knight asked, coming up behind us.
"Well… that kind of happens around here," I explained. "The rain comes at random times and leaves at random times."
"Next time will you warn me before one of these things comes?" he barked.
"But you can't predict them…" I said quietly. Kevin winked at me.
We all picked up our packs while Knight grumbled and raged about being behind schedule. I shook my head at his back and followed everyone out of the hole and took a look around. That's when I saw it – when I realized why everything at that particular spot had looked so familiar. It was "the tree."
I suddenly became dizzy as flashes from six years ago blinded my eyes. Lane. The dreams she had. Her smiling face. Her angry words. Her disappointed gaze.
I dropped my pack on the ground and ran over to the tree. The rest of the team yelled after me, but I ignored them as I climbed, using the criss-cross pattern of vines as foot and handholds. I didn't know why I was climbing so fast, but I needed to get there. I felt like if I made it to the top, then Lane would be waiting for me with open arms. This whole place seemed to radiate "Lane." Good and bad memories were held in these branches.
When I reached the top, I stumbled and squeezed through a small opening of branches and emerged into the center of the tree where Lane, Tina, Brad, Sally Grude, and I had called home for several weeks.
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I gazed up through the branches toward the sky. Stars winked down at me as though they knew something cleverly funny that I didn't. A slight rustling across the room brought my attention out of the heavens and back to the tree we had planted ourselves in. Lane was emerging from the small alcove she had deemed as her own. "What are you doing awake?" I asked, trying not to show the feelings and thoughts I had been mulling over since everyone had gone to sleep.
"You try sleeping in there all night long," Lane said, sniffing. I let out a soft laugh, hoping she had meant for this to be funny. She gave a sigh and sank to the floor, resting her back against the branches and stretching her legs out in front of herself. Did she know how beautiful she was?
We remained silent for several minutes. "Did you have the nightmare again?" I finally asked, hoping she wouldn't get mad at me again.
She sighed again and nodded her head. After pausing only a moment, I got up and went to sit next to her. "What's it about?" I asked.
Even in the very dim light, I could tell that Lane looked surprised. She stared at me for several seconds before she replied. She told about how for over a month, she had been dreaming that she was running through a fog and came up to meet a Tyrannosaurus, which she then ran from. She could never get to the end of the dream because she kept waking up. "What if this is like Scarlet O'Hara's dream?" she asked. I had no idea who that was but I decided to pretend like I did. "I mean, she always had this dream about running through a fog… and at the end of the book… you know, Gone With the Wind, she actually did run through the fog! So what if my dream comes true? Why have I been having it so often?"
"SHUSH!"
We looked over and saw that Sally was awake and sitting up.
"I'm trying to sleep, here!" she whispered fiercely.
We nodded. I looked over at Lane, her attractive features dimmed by the gloomy light and the shadow of my memory. I shrugged, got to my feet, and walked over to where I had been sitting before. In minutes, Lane was breathing heavily and I was again left to ponder.
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"Eric, what are you doing?" Audrey exclaimed, coming up beside me and poking me in the head. "We need to get going! What's wrong?"
"This… this is it," I croaked, gazing blankly at Lane's empty alcove. The empty alcove in which she had slept. In which she had spent countless hours crying. The alcove in which I had been yearning to find her curled up in once again.
"This is what?" Audrey asked, giving me a strange look.
"This is where we stayed. Last time we were here," I said softly. I looked up through the branches at the sky above. Clouds were swiftly drifting past, clearing away any trace of the recent storm. "This is where Lane…" I sighed and looked down at my feet.
"Lane?" Audrey asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.
How could someone not know who Lane was? It seemed impossible. "Lane was… here… on the island," I said, still looking at my feet.
"You mean, when you were here last time?" she questioned gently.
It took me a moment to respond as I was a bit busy trying to swallow the lump that was beginning to form in my throat. "Yeah," I finally choked out.
We stood and stared around us for what seemed like a long while. But even though the time seemed long, the end arrived too soon, for Knight finally came to retrieve his lost team members, not forgetting to curse the very ground we walked on for holding up our progress even more than the rainstorm had.
Leaving the tree was a difficult thing. So many memories were left there, just waiting for me to sit down and unwrap them. It was a safe haven in which I could barricade myself from the outside world. I could lose myself in times already past and feel no shame in any emotion that would run through me. This had been Lane's temporary home, along with mine. I didn't want to leave it, as I felt like I was leaving her.
"Eric?"
I looked up to see that Audrey was walking next to me instead of near the front of the line, where she always was.
"Will you tell me about her?" she asked. "About Lane?"
Author's Note: Well I went through all of the JP stories on Fanfiction and guess what? Return to Jurassic: Annihilate 23 is in second place when it comes to the most reviews! Bested only by Return to Jurassic. Wow… YOU GUYS ARE SO AMAZING! Cookies, cake, and hugs for all! You get a standing ovation from me too. Yep.
Now go review and make this story numero UNO!
Oh, and if you want to know which story is it third, it's "Jurassic Park Four: The Return," but I completely forgot who that amazing author is. Oops. Sorry! Go check that one out if you haven't already, people. Chop, chop!
Jamie out.