Night watch

The red Jeep Wrangler quickly made its way down the game trail. The headlights were blaring in the early dusk sky as the sounds of the Jeep were all that could be heard around the general area. Dodgson sat in the passenger seat placing eggs into a container. They were Stegosaur eggs. They had just left the Stegosaur nest, without running into Malcolm and the others amazingly. Dodgson knew that he would eventually run into them and have to deal with them in his own little way, but he was glad that they hadn't just yet. He liked the suspense of what would hopefully lead into something climatic for them. Biosyn's team would have the ultimate vengeance against the InGen team and there would be nothing that John Hammond could do about it.

"Are the Stegosaurs still pursuing?" Dodgson asked.

Ed James looked behind them. He narrowed his eyes, using that wonderfully powerful vision of his to see into the early darkness. He turned back around and shook his head to Dodgson. "No."

"Good," Dodgson said. "The last thing I want is for us to be chased into the valley again."

Suddenly there was the sound of a loud explosion. Stone stopped the jeep. Everyone turned around to see the remnants of the explosion occur.

"Where the hell was that coming from?" Baselton asked.

"From the direction and the position I would guess somewhere around the labs," Dodgson replied.

"Should we check it out?" James asked.

"You spies are all the same," Dodgson said. "Every time there's an explosion, you always feel that an explanation should be found. We don't have time to play 007, Ed."

"Fine," James said crossing his arms and looking out the window. "Don't let me have any fun. What's the use of me being on this expedition anyway if I'm not here to solve the mysteries for you anyway?"

"I don't need any mysteries solved here," Dodgson informed. "All I want are eggs. Now, Mr. Stone, let's get moving."

Stone applied gas as the jeep started moving again. "Should we call for the chopper now?"

Dodgson looked shocked by Stone's question. "What? Leave with only four species? We have been doing so well. We have Triceratops, Gallimimus, Parasaurolophosus, and now Stegosaurus, but we need more."

"I was only given enough money for one day's stay on this island," Stone stated. "I'm paid by the day. Mr. Rossiter assured me that we would only be here one day."

"You must be joking," Dodgson said. "We can't leave now. We only have 4 herbivores. That won't do at all. Jeff wouldn't be very pleased."

"Then perhaps you would like to pay me for an extra day," Stone said.

"How much will that cost me?" Dodgson asked.

"If you have to ask, you don't have the cash to do so," Stone replied. The Jeep stopped where it was and just sat there on the game trail as Stone turned off the engine. Dodgson's mouth dropped at this display.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dodgson asked. "Start this car and get moving!"

"I'm sorry," Stone said. "I don't work for you anymore."

"This is preposterous!" Dodgson exclaimed. "We're sitting in the middle of a game trail for Christ's sake! Do you have any idea what creatures patrol this area at night? We have to get moving."

"I don't see how that is my problem," Stone stated.

"It will be your problem when you have Velociraptors and Dilophosaurs eating on your dead carcass! Now start the car!"

"I'm glad that you finally grew a spine, Dr. D," Stone said smiling. "I was getting a little tired of you agreeing to everything I say without challenging it. Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm calling for the helicopter to pick me up. If you four want to join me, you're more then welcome."

Stone got out of the Jeep with his rifle, but just as soon as he did, there was the sound of loud, thunderous crashes suddenly heard. All other noises in the general area ceased as Stone looked around everyone to find the source of the sound. Dodgson looked to a glass of water sitting in the cup holder beside him. Little ripples in the water were made as the crashes were heard.

"Mr. Stone," Dodgson began as calmly as possible, "I would advise that you get back in the Jeep immediately."

Stone was frozen in place. It was if he couldn't move his legs. The horrible noise kept getting louder and louder. Suddenly a large head made its way out of the foliage and peered down at Stone and the red Jeep in confusion. It apparently didn't expect to see people on the game trail. The Tyrannosaurus snorted from its nostrils as he continued to look on.

"Don't move, Mr. Stone," King informed from the Jeep. Everyone inside looked at him. "What? I read Alan Grant's book."

The Tyrannosaur perked up after the sound of King's voice arrived upon him. Stone's feet began to move backwards as he slowly started back toward the driver's door of the Jeep. A roar came out of the Rex's mouth as the animal slowly moved completely out of the foliage, revealing its massive body.

Dodgson's mouth dropped in excitement. "I have got to get me one of those."

Stone gulped as he looked at the gigantic creature before him. He looked to his gun at his side and knew that wouldn't do a damn bit of good. He slowly opened the door to the Jeep and got in as the Rex continued to look at him, tilting his head. Stone slammed the door, turned on the engine and put the peddle to the metal as the Jeep took off down the game trail. The Rex was caught off guard by this but quickly began following pursuit. Thunderous footsteps were heard as the Jeep bounced down the game trail. Roars were heard all around as the Rex pursued after his prey.

The Jeep bounded out of the foliage section of the game trail and kept going past the valley. Dodgson looked forward seeing to his horror that Stone was still going down the game trail.

"No, you idiot!" Dodgson exclaimed. "Not down that way!"

"The Rex stopped following," James said, looking back. "He's going back the way he came."
"Stop the damn Jeep and turn around!" Dodgson commanded.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't work for you anymore?" Stone asked.

James began looking ahead to where the Jeep was going toward. He could see a shape standing in the middle of the trail. It was small, agile looking, had claws on its hands and feet, and its deep yellow eyes were turned toward them. The animal was preparing to pounce.

"Move!" James exclaimed.

Stone just kept going straight, not seeing the animal ahead till it was too late. Dodgson was speechless as an adult Velociraptor jumped right toward the Jeep, landing on the cloth roof. Dodgson pulled up a small handgun as the raptor began tearing through the cloth. It screeched loudly as Dodgson fired the gun right at the animal's stomach. Dodgson continued to fire the gun as the raptor finally fell off.

"Go through the trees!" Dodgson yelled.

"Listen..." Stone began before being cut off.

Dodgson grabbed the wheel and jerked it to the right into the foliage. It was a hard fit to get through all of the trees, because of the close proximity of them, but the jeep just barely made it through as they cleared the forest and were back in the valley, going straight back to where the herbivores would be.

A loud screeching sound was heard. James looked back to see several Velociraptors going right toward them. He turned back around and smiled.

"Just keep going straight," James said shaking his head.

The raptors used their speed to their advantage as they sped up, just like cheetahs going for their fast prey. There were Brachiosaurs in the distance as the jeep neared their herd.

Dodgson smiled. "Go through the Brachiosaurs. They will protect us."

Stone sighed as he went toward the Brachiosaurs, moving through their legs as he got to them. The animals became spooked by the jeep moving underneath them and tried to move away, but they soon saw the raptors moving quickly toward them and got into defensive positions, swinging their tails in many directions, hoping to ward off the attack. The raptors stopped where they were in snarled in frustration at this turn of events. They turned around as a pack and started off back toward their nest. The Biosyn team was safe... for now.

The forest seemed silent in the early night air. The group had set up camp near the shed at the base of a cliff. Malcolm and Samuel were helping the four crew members unpack certain things. Jessie and Luke were sitting together on the ground.

"I hope we'll catch up to them soon," Jessie stated.

"Yeah... Hopefully we'll find them soon," Luke said. He set up the digital camcorder and began filming some of the area around them. "Location shots," he informed Jessie.

"So what has Sam said about the documentary so far?" asked Jessie.

"He says that once we get Alexandra, we can commence to fully document the island," Luke replied. "We haven't really been able to film much... except for that spectacular fight between the Rex and that other animal. Too bad Dr. Levine wasn't with us to do a running commentary while the fight was happening."

"Which is exactly one of the reasons why John Hammond hired him in the first place," Jessie said. "We don't know crap about these animals. Levine should be here to do the commentary when needed, but instead that idiot is lost with our editor."

She stood up and looked around in frustration as she crossed her arms. Alexandra was out there somewhere with Levine. If only they could figure out where. Suddenly they heard an explosion in the distance. Malcolm walked toward the clearing and looked around. He looked toward the north where he saw what looked like an explosion.

"What was that?" Samuel said as he walked over to Malcolm and took a look at the fire in the distance.

"Obviously it was an explosion, Mr. Driscoll," Malcolm replied with sarcasm. "We'll be headed that way in the morning. It isn't safe to roam this island at night, so I suggest that we got some sleep and find out what happened in the morning."

Jessie moved over quickly. "But something could've happened to Dr. Levine and Alexandra! We have to find them now!"

"Calm down, Mrs. Wilkins," Malcolm said. "I'm sure they're away from what happened. It might've been the other team that caused it. We have no idea what their intentions on this island are."

"That doesn't mean that we shouldn't help them if they're in trouble," Samuel stated.

"They could be dangerous people for all we know," Malcolm said.

"But we don't know that," Jessie said. She was beyond terrified now. She had a sickening feeling that the explosion had to do with Alexandra and Levine. She was desperate to find out if they were alright.

Luke got up and moved over to his wife. He hugged her tightly as she began to cry into his shoulder. "It's alright, baby. It's going to be ok. We'll find them."

"Jessie's right," Samuel stated to Malcolm. "We don't know if those people are dangerous or not. For all we know, Mr. Hammond send them here to help us. He might've figured we could use some extra hands in carrying equipment. He didn't know that we were going to have the ship's crew helping us. Speaking of which, I think it would be safer if we put the High Hide up. I think we could all fit inside it. It's built light and strong from what Hammond told us. He had it specially made by Thorne Mobile Field Systems."

Malcolm looked at Samuel a little less then interested. "Really? That's quite fascinating, but personally I don't give a damn about your little high hide. This expedition was preposterous from the start and I could care less if you ever finish that documentary. All I want is to find Richard and Alexandra and get the hell off this island before anyone else dies. We've lost one crew member so far, and I don't plan on loosing anyone else and that includes setting up some blasted observation station in the middle of the night. Now, do you understand me, Mr. Driscoll? We'll set that blasted thing up tomorrow. Not tonight. Now if you don't mind, I think I'm going to get some shut eye. I would suggest that you all do the same. You have to stay on your toes when it comes to a place like this. Believe me, I know."

Malcolm coldly removed himself from the conversation as he moved to his tent, got in, and closed it. The three documentarians were left there in their own shock over the speech that Malcolm had given them. The night air brought about the cold and the sound of distant thunder, bringing a storm system their way. It would be a long night.

The forest broke apart and they were now in a large clearing. Alexandra, Richard Levine and Edgar Santiago looked around.

"Down toward our left is the valley," said Edgar. "But we must stay out of the way for now. We can sleep in the forest to our right. Next day we should really be headed toward the Aviary."

"What's in the aviary?" asked Alexandra.

"The Pterosaurs. We should be safe there for now," said Edgar. They began walking toward the forest toward their right. As they entered, Levine turned and saw a few Compies in the valley area. They were hopping around effortlessly trying to get at some of the bugs.

"Perhaps we should go high into the trees," said Levine.

"Why?" asked Edgar. Levine pointed toward the Compies and Edgar understood. They began climbing a tree and soon they were deep within a few of the trees that had grown very close to each other.

Alexandra couldn't sleep. Neither could Levine for that matter. They looked at each other.

"Some day," Levine said.

"Yeah. Some day," Alexandra agreed.

"Just think…tomorrow will be better," Levine said.

"Oh boy I can't wait," she commented. Levine chuckled.

"Can't be all that bad. I'm sure we've had our fill of adventure for one day but we'll be safer tomorrow. What could go wrong?" Levine said.

"Don't know," Alexandra said.

"Well I say we try to get some rest," Levine said.

"Good idea," she said. Levine tried to fall asleep.

"When did you want to be a paleontologist?" asked Alexandra. Levine looked up at her.

"When I was 20. Thought it was an interesting field of study," he replied. "When did you want to be a film editor?"

"When I was very young. I didn't so much want to be a film editor as I wanted to work in film in general. I just wanted into the industry. Then I found I had a knack for splicing filmed footage together and making it look good. I got hooked," she said.

"Was your first gig with Samuel?" asked Levine.

"Actually it was. He wanted fresh faces for his documentaries and saw that I was just getting started. Naturally he wanted to see what I was capable of so he hired me on the spot. We hit it off afterwards and he's never wanted to work with anyone else since," she replied. Levine thought for a moment. He looked at her and found that she was now asleep. He looked up at the top of the forest. There he soon fell asleep himself.