A/N: The ending of this chapter might be considered a case of bad timing given the events in Manchester City. If you or anyone you know was impacted by what happened, you have my deepest sympathies. For those hesitant to read on, no one gets injured or anything in this chapter. Also for anyone affected by Hurricane Harvey, you have my sincerest hope that everything turns out for the best.
Near Mt. Watson: The investigative team, Katrice, and the Gunsmith Cats had paused briefly to enjoy a snack while also taking the opportunity to learn more about each other. Except for Katrice who meanwhile was standing on top of a fallen tree staring off into the jungle with her back to them. It was hard to tell what she thinking or doing; her expression still largely hidden behind her oversized aviator glasses.
"So Tiny," began Levine when May Hopkins subsequently yanked off her small cowgirl hat and hit him hard with it in the shoulder.
"Ow, what was that for?" demanded the Becky Doll owner upset at the seemingly unprovoked attack.
"Don't call me, tiny, or shorty, or anything like that!" said May clearly not happy about jokes about her height.
"But I heard Becky call you something similar earlier…what was it?" Levine tried to recall.
"It's Minnie," said May aggravated at his insolence.
"Mini, tiny, what's the difference?" asked Levine obliviously as he drank from his thermos.
"As in Mouse!" May shouted at him as she then stood up and stalked off in a huff.
"Oh," said Levine as realization hit him and he sulked slightly upon hearing that. If there was one major competitor to his company that he would encounter on this island, it was going to have to be the one which he refused to refer to by name.
"And don't bother calling her Mini instead of Minnie, she can totally tell the difference in tonal inflection," Becky Farrah informed him while her attention was primarily focused on her notebook as she made notations here and there while sometimes erasing other parts of whatever was written down in it. Whether what she was saying was true or not, Levine wasn't sure.
"So if she won't answer my question, maybe you will," Levine turned to her as Becky took a big bite of her sandwich to give herself some time to compose an answer to his forthcoming question.
"Why her interest in high explosives?" he had to ask. Becky shrugged.
"It's a coping mechanism," the information specialist finally answered.
"For what?"
Becky didn't answer she just returned to writing in her notebook.
"Well?" Levine demanded when he didn't get a response.
"You get one answer for free, the rest will cost you!" said Becky sweetly with a saccharine smile. Clearly she didn't want to answer any more of his personal questions about her friend.
"Terrific," Levine said looking away propping his head up with his hand. This island was a powder keg ready to blow he thought. And here he was with no way to jump ship. Not that he would leave with so many dinosaurs on the island to see and watch, but he had no escape plan if things went sour. That definitely needed to go on his to-do list.
"Dr. White, can I ask you a question?" asked Thorne who was sitting a few feet away. Frankie nodded her head as she stared off into the wooded area trying to remember if she'd traversed this part of the island or not during her excursion.
"What are redwoods doing off of the coast of Costa Rica?" Thorne had to ask both bewildered and tongue-in-cheek. The native trees in this area were not palm trees and coconut trees but magnificent tall and thick redwood trees.
Frankie chortled at that, definitely amused by his confusion. "We thought the same thing when we came out here. Someone said 'it's not Costa Rica, it's close to Eureka'," she remarked in reference to Humboldt County, California whose magnificent trees was where she had done some of post-doctoral studies examining wildlife in the northern California area. It was also where InGen had trained a number of the island's support staff before letting them go on the island.
"But best guess is that either wind currents swept some seeds down here over the years or else the Germans loved the trees so much they transplanted some here," she figured leaning back against the giant trunk Katrice was standing on. "They're very beautiful but they sure help highlight the concepts of migration and non-native species."
Thorne nodded his head thoughtfully at that before his thoughts turned serious at the word "migration". However before he could give it much thought…
*SNAP*
Rally Vincent was on her feet immediately with the rifle unslung as she pointed it off into the woods upon hearing a twig snap.
"Circle formation, now," she ordered under her breath. Becky un-holstered her Browning M1911 and aimed it in a slightly different direction into the trees. Frances White unslung her taser rifle that she'd acquired back at Alejandro's camp and charged it up as an arc flew between the two forward prongs. May Hopkins, meanwhile, pulled out a long tubular object. The group was intentionally circled around the investigation team as they were all unarmed to try and better protect them from danger.
"That had better be a road flare and not a stick grenade," Thorne hissed at May Hopkins, not entirely joking knowing the young woman's apparent penchant for high explosives. May laughed nervously at that while scratching the back of her head anxiously. But Thorne noted she did not respond to his comment which left him a little unsettled and so he sighed heavily.
"Katrice get down from here, that's not a strategically defensible position," Rally snapped at the younger woman. The blonde haired woman looked down at the group below from the trunk before looking out into the jungle, shrugging briefly to herself not sure what all the fuss was about, before finally hopping off, landing without a sound, and joining them. As a rule she did not carry a firearm with her but she did snap a branch off the tree and hold it in her hands-more as a reassurance to the group than to herself. If something did happen, she'd just flee convinced she was faster than anything living or mechanical on the island.
"What are you waiting for, just fire a shot into the jungle and scare whatever it is off," Levine insisted feeling naked without a weapon and basically hiding in the middle of the circle. Thorne was no more armed but was using his binoculars to peer into the distance to try and discern whatever was out there.
"Not a good idea," Rally insisted, shooting down his suggestion. "Robert Muldoon had us all take an intensive class on hostile situations with the biological assets and firing off a round without a target means one less bullet that may be needed later. Plus it might clue the creature in on our location if it doesn't know it already. We'll wait and let them make the first move."
Thorne was continuing to stare off into the forest but not finding much that he could recognize. He then felt a tap on his shoulder and looked over to see Frances White holding out her hand expectantly with a light grin on her face. Thorne sighed and slapped the binoculars into them while Frankie handed him her taser rifle. The behavioral scientist then started looking for whatever was out there since she had much more experience in that area for spotting creatures in the bush.
After several moments of waiting and what sounded like footsteps coming from all around them, Levine finally lost his nerve, yelled, and threw a rock into the woods. It landed with a thud and then moments later, a bipedal dinosaur appeared from being a tree and roared at them. Less than a split-second later, Rally fired off a shot from her rifle with the noise causing the birds in the trees to soar skywards.
San Diego, California: On a cork bulletin board, countless photos and news clippings adorned it as felt strings went from the various points with small notes on them as well as other bits of information tacked to the sides. On the top right of the board were the words "Jurassic Park?".
"Boy if mom saw this, she'd think we were crazy," said Jessica Harding laying down on a nearby bed and taking it all in.
"We probably are crazy anyway," admitted Sarah Harding wistfully as she sat at her bedroom table pouring over the notes they'd acquired earlier from Bob Morris at the Environmental Protection Agency. His work coupled with their own had proved illuminating in many ways but frustrating in still others. They still had no conclusive proof InGen was making dinosaurs and even more importantly no clue where it was happening, just likely someplace in or around Costa Rica if Jessica's passport stamps were anything to go on.
Sarah briefly looked over at her younger sister who was still staring at the board looking to draw out any new conclusions. As little piece of information had been uncovered, they had yet to trigger any outbursts from her like that piece of amber had done back at the University of San Diego. Even the mentions here and there about dinosaurs possibly being involved. But unsettled her when her younger sister would got occasional flashes here and blurt something randomly from her repressed memory. And it chilled Sarah to the bone when at night she had recurring nightmares where she would sometimes wake sweating and screaming about being ripped to shreds. Nevertheless, the truth continued to be elusive to her and Sarah sometimes feared what would happen to her psyche when it finally did burst forth.
"So where do we go from here?" Jess asked looking over at her and snapping her out of her reverie.
"That's a good question," Sarah had to admit as she looked over at the board. "Ideally I'd like to talk to Doctor Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler. But I don't have the slightest clue how to get a hold of them."
"What about Ian?" Jess had to ask in reference to Sarah's on-again off-again boyfriend.
"He's not talking to me at the moment," Sarah confessed in a huff. "Too focused on physical rehab and some mission."
That the mysterious stranger who was guiding their efforts to uncover the truth about Jurassic Park and find her father had specifically warned her that Ian Malcolm was not to say anything about InGen-or her father's life would be at risk-weighed on heavily her mind at that moment. But she knew Ian couldn't be dissuaded by her to stop any course of action he'd decided on. So right now her focus was on getting to her father before he got better and started speaking publicly about what had happened to him. Plus what would Jessica do when she heard whatever it was he had to say…
"So where we do go from here?" Jess repeated as Sarah figured she would.
"I wish I knew," Sarah remarked as she pushed back from her desk. "We may be at a roadblock until I can get to Kenya for my research assignment with the university."
"What's in Kenya?" asked Jess clueless as she popped her gum. Sarah reached into her backpack and pulled out a brochure of an InGen biological preserve in Kenya and handed it to her.
"From the research I gathered from Bob Morris, they've got a fairly important genetics facility there but it's not very heavily staffed or guarded like the one in San Diego is. At least not anymore since they basically packed everything up and left for Nublar or Sorna or Indigo or wherever. I figure I should be able to get away from the research team long enough to try and sneak in there and see what I can come up with," Sarah mused before spluttering her lips not sure if the effort would be worth it.
"Can I come with you?" Cassie asked with trepidation at what the response might be. Sarah shook her head as she sat down next to her sister.
"Not gonna happen. Even if I could take you, it's too dangerous out in the field for someone inexperienced," said the older sister remembering the narrow times she'd escaped death from a wild animal. Besides, she had no idea what to expect at InGen's facility. For all she knew they secretly had dinosaurs there.
"But I have to find dad and make sure he's safe!" Jessica pleaded with tears forming in her eyes. "School is starting up soon and softball practice is next month. If I don't help you now then dad…"
"I know," said Sarah reaching out and hugging her sister close to her chest as tears finally streamed down her face. The two sat in silence each pondering what there next step was and what they would find at their ultimate destination…whatever and whenever that might be.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
Sarah's cordless phone began ringing and she looked down at Jessica questioningly if she could answer it. Her younger sister nodded her head, sniffled briefly, and went to the bathroom to grab a tissue.
Looking at the Caller ID she instantly recognized the number. "Hey Nick, what's up?" she asked in a hopeful tone.
"Good news, Sarah, I found out where Nublar is!"
Isla Sorna: The Oviraptor squawked at them and ran off as the bullet narrowly missed its head and impacted on the tree just behind it.
"Damnit Katrice, you try a stunt like that again and you could end up getting yourself or any one of us killed!" shouted Rally at the younger woman.
"Sorry," said Katrice sheepishly, her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She had yawned just before the Oviraptor appeared and her stick accidentally knocked Rally's rifle pointed upwards just enough to avoid hitting the creature. To the untrained eye it might have seemed a freak coincidence but to the trained eye of Frankie, Levine, and Thorne; they each couldn't secretly wonder if the young woman hadn't deliberately done what she did in order to save that dinosaur's life.
"What is that thing doing out here?" demanded Levine bewildered. He was also slightly miffed he hadn't a chance to get a photo of it.
"It's here to eat the eggs of the Protoceratops and other dinosaurs so there's not an overabundance of random dinosaur eggs everywhere making the place stink," Frankie commented. Levine look at her quizzically.
"I thought the idea of oviraptors eating eggs of other dinosaur's nests was a myth," he stated. Frankie could only shrug at that.
"We assumed otherwise, fed them eggs for their diet when they started to grow up, released some of them into the wild and now here we are," she said as if that explained itself. Levine looked like he wanted to ask more but he was interrupted by Rally Vincent.
"Pack it up, we're leaving," she ordered the group. "We're almost to the base of Mt. Watson and I want to get there before one o'clock," the bounty hunter ordered as she began packing up her things into her bag. Becky and May knew better than to argue with her and the others followed suit and in a few minutes they were once more on their way.
"Minnie-May, can I ask you something?" asked Bobbie walking in step next to the pint-sized blonde as they two were slightly further away from the group and not as easy to be overheard.
"Sure, just so long as it's not about my height," the young woman responded as she glowered at Richard Levine who was trying to chat up Frances White who was having none of it.
"No, actually," Bobbie laughed nervously at the complete difference in subject. "It's actually about an explosion that happened at the clinic."
"Well before you piqued my interest but now you have my attention," May responded looking at her with all seriousness as Bobbie launched into her story.
After Bobbie had finished explaining what happened, May thought it over carefully for a few moments.
"I would be interested in seeing that ceiling fragment you recovered," May admitted wistfully. Earlier Bobbie had managed to convince one of the members of the repair team to let her a piece of the debris before they disposed of it all.
"You will when we get back to village," Bobbie promised. "But what I can't figure out is why someone would only set that particular corridor with a charged explosive."
"Oh, I really doubt they did," May figured. Bobbie looked at her perplexed.
"I don't under-,"
"More than likely the whole building is rigged to blow," the explosives expert concluded. Bobbie nearly tripped over her own feet upon hearing that. She looked around briefly to see if anyone else had noticed but everyone was wrapped up in their own little worlds…except for Katrice who had vanished once again.
As Bobbie mulled over May's words a terrifying thought occurred to her.
"Why would you only rig the clinic to explode by remote command?" the doctor had to ask.
"More than likely all the buildings in the field if not the entire island are also rigged for detonation," came the confirmation Bobbie dreaded to hear.
"Why would you do something like that? Blow up a building while your people are still inside it? Are they afraid of a mutiny?" said Bobbie cluelessly. Certainly with the lockdown tempers flaring and then boiling over would be a possibility that InGen might be concerned about. They may even have come up with an extreme way for how to handle it. But the explosion had occurred before the lockdown meaning the explosives were already there to begin with.
"Afraid psychological tactics are not exactly my forte," May admitted. Silence descended on the two as Bobbie tried to formulate ideas for why the buildings would have explosives in them.
"You're wrong. It's got nothing to do with people," said a voice cutting in as Bobbie narrowly avoided jumping as Rally Vincent had slowed her pace to walk alongside them while they were talking.
"Then what?" asked Bobbie a little perturbed she hadn't realized the Indian-American woman had been secretly listening in on them. Then again Rally was a bounty hunter and eavesdropping was likely a necessary skill to have when trying to track down her marks. Darting her eyes over to Becky Farrah who was across the way, the brown-haired woman gave her a knowing smile and then returned her attention straight ahead. Bobbie sighed at realizing all three of the Gunsmith Cats were involved in this conversation and narrowly avoided rolling her eyes at broadcasting this more she would have liked.
"It's about them; the dinosaurs," Rally pointed out at as she nodded her head at the unseen creatures. "Fences fail, they get inside the building, you blow it up, and now you have less of them to deal with."
"How is that possibly a good idea?" Bobbie seethed at such an idea.
"Well it's not like you can just predict where these animals would go if they got loose," Rally continued matter-of-factly. "These creatures don't follow the conventional movement patterns like humans would. You can't landmine the whole island because that's a danger to the employees and at the same time you can't mine certain parts in the hopes that the dinosaurs go there to be blown up. The buildings are an established location and we already know some of them have a history with attacking humans who primarily work in them. While it's possible a quick moving dinosaur might be able to avoid a minefield or the ensuing explosions, they can't avoid the entire ceiling coming down on their head."
All this was almost too much for Bobbie to reel in.
"And it looks like it works because the ceiling did come down, the raptors presumably died, and you and that other worker were lucky and lived," May pointed out.
Rather than continuing despair over what she knew and couldn't control she instead focused on a plan of action.
"Can you help me prove all this?" she nearly pleaded of the two women.
May enthusiastically opened her mouth when Rally cut in before she could respond. "The how isn't as important as the why. You tell these people the buildings will blow and you might meet some shock and outrage but then likely indifference. What you need is to figure out the whole picture, the why of why this is. Then you might be able to do something about it. And we can't help you with that."
"Right," Bobbie had to reluctantly admit. And so the group continued on through the woods.
Far behind them the bushes rustled and Frankie gave a quick glance behind her before quickening her pace to make sure she didn't fall too far behind. The Gen 1 Raptors were trailing them.
San Diego, Outdoor Restaurant: Samantha Brown was shown to her seat and found herself opposite two individuals.
"Well, well, well, I was wondering if you'd try and get in touch with me," the InGen executive admitted as she sat opposite Jeff Thomas and a younger woman whose name she didn't know but was named Cassandra Matula.
"It seemed like the right time," Jeff admitted.
"Why a public place, aren't you afraid John might be listening in?" Samantha had to ask, not that she really cared.
"Public places are harder to spy on and if we went to a private area, he'd likely be more suspicious," Jeff said with a shrug. Living dangerously was nothing new to him. "As it is, we're out for a nice lunch and you happened to find us here."
"And it's not like you're here to betray him either," Samantha deduced. Few people could cross John Brown and not come out the worse for it. That these people had apparently worked with him for at least a little while meant they should be well aware of that.
"No arguments there," said Jeff with a smile as he sipped his water. "We're just here because there are some nagging questions we need answers for."
"Myself as well," Samantha admitted with a reluctant nod of her head.
"So perhaps a mutual exchange of information might be beneficial for both of us," Cassie volunteered hesitantly at being clandestine towards her boss. But Sheila's safety was paramount in this regard.
For Samantha's part, she recognized the programmer who at the time she thought had stumbled into the laboratory on Isla Nublar. At the time she thought it was a mistake but now she knew otherwise. She would have to review her notes sometime and figure out just who was on that island from John's team and just what exactly they were up to. And just why looking at the programmer all cleaned up from her makeup disaster reminded her of Sorna's female programmer.
"Agreed," said Samantha putting those thoughts behind her. "So let's get started…"
Base of Mt. Watson: The Sorna inspection team, the InGen Workers, and the Gunsmith Cats finally emerge from the trees grateful to at last be at their destination.
"That's the last time I do this much walking out in the open," Becky complained as she looked at her frizzled hair from all the humidity in the forest.
"Don't forget we need to walk back to rejoin the food survey team," Rally took no small amount of pleasure from saying as Becky blanched at that prospect.
"So where's Katrice?" asked Frankie looking around. The unusually enigmatic and often hyperactive young woman had been the one who had led them out on this seemingly wild goose chase and if they couldn't find her than this whole trip was a waste. They couldn't just split up and walk around the base of them mountain that would likely take days.
"I'm right here," said Katrice cutting in once more having seemingly appeared out of thin air as Levine used every ounce of his self-control to not jump out of his skin. "It's this way." She pointed.
The woman showed an unexpected determination and so the team followed her curious what she had found. After a few minutes of walking they came to a part of the mountain that didn't look like part of the natural landscape geography.
"Looks like some sort of cave in," Thorne noted as he held his hand to the collapsed rocks and debris and felt a little hint of air movement. "Must've been some time ago." he also figured as grass and moss had already begun to grow on the collapsed area.
"Natural?" asked Rally crossing her arms and looking thoughtfully at it.
"No, there's definitely some sort of ridge that looks like the rocks were blasted from to come tumbling down here," May noted as she nodded her head at a large straight gash in the mountain above the rockslide.
"So something was deliberately buried?" asked Levine with a raised eyebrow.
"Sure looks that way," Thorne said as he tugged at something unseen and then pulled it loose. It was a piton with a small flag attached to it but the tag was nearly threadbare so whatever it was marking was still a complete mystery to them.
"Those crazy Germans," Becky noted of the old mining expedition as she blew a stray strand of hair from her face. "Maybe they hid some gold in there."
"Ha, you wish!" Rally laughed at that absurd suggestion. With some gold she could likely pay off the ATF to forget about her as well as have enough to cover the mortgage on the house and the lease on her gun shop but she knew things in life were rarely that easy.
Levine walked up to the rockslide and tried to push one of the boulders out of the way to little avail. "So how do we figure out what's behind there?"
"It's not like my pea shooter is going to make any difference," said Rally holding up her rifle. "Even if we took apart some of the shells for the gunpowder to blow it wouldn't make a dent in that thing."
Katrice humphed at that, not wanting to be denied whatever she had smelled just because of a setback like this. She looked around and noticed a rusted old pickaxe nearby. She picked it up, hefted it in her hands to test the weight, and then swung at the rocks with all her might only to have the axe disintegrate in her hands once it made contact. The young woman looked she was about to cry at yet another dead end.
"Well if I was able to get the Mercedes-Benz over here I might be able to do some scans to probe the interior of whatever's behind it and maybe give us a guess," Thorne offered lamely, knowing that wasn't really a solution to their problem.
"Considering how stingy Public Works is with the dynamite I doubt they'd come out here regardless," Rally said annoyed at that department's behavior for the umpteenth time.
"Especially when it involves someone whose previous stunt nearly flooded the interior of the island," Becky stated to provoke May but the younger woman was too deep in her own thoughts to notice. The information specialist made up for this by sticking her tongue out at her.
"Well we can't just give up!" said Katrice desperate.
"I don't see us having much choice," said Rally consulting her watch. "We have to leave soon to return to the food expedition or else we may not be able to catch up with them."
"I have some plastique if that would help," May chimed in all of a sudden.
"So then how long we do we have?" asked Becky curious.
"About forty-five minutes," said Rally consulting her watch.
The others continued debating for a few moments more before each of them realized what May Hopkins had said and it became dead silent in the area.
"What the hell are you doing with plastic explosive?" was everyone's general response. May shrugged as she pulled out a lollipop and began sucking on it.
"You never know when you might need to blow something up," she figured as if that should be part of everyone's normal thought processes.
"And just where do you have it?" Thorne had to ask.
"I'll take it out if you decide to use it. I'm not letting the cat out of the bag for nothing," May snorted as she went back to concentrating on her lollipop.
The group resumed debating.
"This is insane, wanting to use explosives on a dormant volcano," Thorne grumbled after a few more minutes as the conversation seemed to be sided with finding out what was behind the rockslide regardless of the consequences. "I'm part of the team here to determine the stability and security of this island. Potentially sending it to the bottom of the ocean is not what I signed on for."
"Ah, live a little," Becky complained of his attitude. "Bust it out May!"
Minnie pulled off her shoes and popped off the heels revealing compartments for the gel and the detonators.
"You've been walking around with high grade explosives in your shoes this whole time?!" shouted Levine as this was almost too much to bear.
"Ah, relax. As Doc knows this stuff is harmless without the detonators plugged in," May shot back, offended by his ignorance about explosives. She walked up to the rockslide and began examining it for the best place to apply the stuff.
"Nuts," said May looking at her trigger to set off the detonators.
"What?" demanded Rally not happy with any of this either.
"I brought the short wires. Guess this is going to make for one exciting explosion," said May chuckling to herself with a big grin anxiously awaiting the thrill that lied ahead.
"Don't give me that, those detonators can be made to receive a remote signal," Thorne pointedly disagreed. May pouted briefly at that before her smile returned.
"This is a short range transmitter so I'll still need to be close," she said, pretending to be upset at still possibly being in harm's way when the exact opposite was the case.
"I can extend the range with the tools I have on me," said Thorne refusing to back down.
May narrowed her eyes at him. "You're no fun!" she said sourly before sticking out her tongue at him. Rather than wait for her to hand it over, Thorne just snatched the remote from her hand and began working on the antenna.
"So nobody sees the stupidity in doing this?" asked Rally of the group. She got noncommittal shrugs from the others.
"Either we die now or we die later when the fences fail," said Frankie as if that was a foregone conclusion.
"Guess this lockdown has affected us all mentally and psychologically," Bobbie said nonchalantly…her own lackadaisical attitude at that statement taking her by surprise.
"All done," said Levine handing the transmitter back to May. "Let's get clear of the area."
The group retreated to the tree line and then stood there waiting. Unbeknownst to them the Gen 1 Raptors were only a little further behind them and closing in.
"So who gets the honor of setting it off?" asked Becky of the elephant in the room. "I don't think May should do it because she's already in enough trouble with upper management."
"Well I can't do it, I'm supposed to be saving lives not putting them at risk," Bobbie said as she quickly recited the opening to the Hippocratic Oath.
"Katrice could, this is her discovery after all," Rally pointed out as she nodded her head at the young woman who did seem intrigued by pressing the switch.
"No, her record is still pure. I don't want her to get dirty by doing this," said Frankie standing up for her protégé.
"So then-," began Rally again when Levine stepped.
"Ah to hell with this, I'll do it," he declared, snatching the detonator from May's hand and in the process inadvertently pressed the explosives switch.
***THHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM***
Whether Minnie-May had underestimated the explosives necessary, intentionally used too much plastic, the amount of rocks being less than anticipated, or something unknown about the composition of the mountain itself, the resulting explosion and shockwave launched them off their feet and sent rocks and debris flying everywhere while scaring the Gen 1 raptors into full retreat.
The resulting explosion also reverberated across the entire mountain and the surrounding area.
The Fortress: Nicolette Stefrassa was absently tapping her pencil on her ever important report trying to sort out various important and sometimes conflicting details in her mind when a small pop was heard and then suddenly the whole building shook violently.
As her frazzled thoughts settled down, a terrifying idea hit her and in less than a moment she was out the door running back to the observation area.
Cone of the Volcano: "What the hell was that?!" demanded Henry Wu bewildered after the shaking stopped. He looked around the rim of the volcano but nothing looked to be disturbed, certainly not the cylindrical objects Jake and he had been inspecting for the past few hours. If they had, they would've known instantly.
"I don't know, but we'd better back to the Fortress to figure out what's going on," Jake ordered. The two were just beginning to head back when the inside rim of the volcano which had been destabilized from the explosion finally gave way and a small landslide began dumping rocks and debris off the edge and straight into the caldera.
Henry Wu caught himself in time by yanking on his climbing rope but Jake Whitacre lost his footing and soon was sliding straight down the slope right towards the magma chamber far below.