AFTERMATH
JURASSIC PARK

Colin Thomas Nichols

This work is not affiliated with nor endorsed by

Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, any of

their partners or affiliates, or the Jurassic Park franchise.

It is a fan-made work for non-profit entertainment purposes only.


Isla Nublar

120 Miles West of Costa Rica

1993

Prologue

THE PEACEFUL DEMEANOR OF THE JUNGLE betrayed the violence that occurred earlier in the day. Dr. Harding, Jurassic Park's lead veterinarian and Park Ranger, drove a Jeep down an access road. It was dusk, and the orange light of the setting sun cut through the trees and ferns. He stopped at a large electric fence, hopped out, and swung the access gate open. Once he drove inside, he closed the gate behind him and continued through the enclosure. There was no road or path anymore, but Muldoon – the park's seasoned Warden, had instructed him where to go.

Before long, he could see Muldoon and a group of his security guards at the border between an open field and the jungle. There were several flatbed vehicles with large metal containment boxes mounted to them, and Muldoon spun to the jungle as he saw Harding's Jeep.

Muldoon must have already tranquilized the other Velociraptors; he was always quick to the trigger. Harding wished he would have waited. Muldoon seemed to forget, or ignore, that these were animals and were very susceptible to overdoses. Harding should have been there to verify them.

He exited his Jeep and greeted the men. "You found it here?"

"We did." Muldoon replied dryly. "Between the clearing and the ferns." He put his hands on his hips and looked at the containment boxes. "She's whittled the pride down to two others."

Harding ignored the boxes as he approached the ferns. Muldoon was referring to the other raptors. InGen had bred eight of them originally, but one of them had been attacking the others to assert her dominance. Apparently, this was her latest victim. "This is all that's left?" Harding asked.

"That would be it." Muldoon replied. There was a clawed finger among the blood drenched foliage. Harding used a pencil to push aside some leaves. There were a few other pieces of flesh, and what looked like a chunk of tail. The skin had faded and turned a sort of orange in the heat of the tropics.

Harding sighed. Cannibalism was not unheard of in animal societies, but he wished the raptors were more tolerant of each other. Each of these animals were so expensive…

He shuddered. It was especially unnerving when a pack animal ate one of its own – like it was mutiny or something. In any case, Muldoon was going to be unrelenting about moving the remaining raptors now. He had wanted to put them all in a much smaller enclosure, closer to the Visitor Center. That way, he could keep a closer eye on them, and Harding could study their behavior and interactions better. Out here in their enclosure, they had too much room. They could go undetected for days, and that usually meant they had killed something – either one of the cows they used to feed the dinosaurs or one of the pack-mates. Muldoon cleared his throat. "We're going to move them tonight."

Harding sighed. "They might be nocturnal. You might have a better chance at moving them during the day."

Muldoon shrugged. "I want them in that pen as soon as possible."

Harding returned to his Jeep as Muldoon barked orders at his men. He quickly scribbled some notes down in a notebook and set off toward the Visitor Center – there was more work to be done today, and Muldoon's men would dispose of the remains.

One of the guards slipped on a pair of surgical gloves, opened a black plastic bag, and scooped the remains inside. There was no sense in keeping them – he would be asked to bundle them with other biological waste that would be taken care of later in the week.

When all the other men left, the guard hopped inside the last remaining Jeep and put it into gear. He drove across to the far end of the enclosure near the coast of the island. Once he reached the fence, he stopped the Jeep and hopped out, grabbing the bag. He slowly approached the fence, looking past it and into the enclosure on the other side.

It was swampland – a huge pond with water lilies and cattails – surrounded by dense foliage of ferns and palms.

He opened the bag and held a piece of flesh in his hand. What was the point of working in a dinosaur park if you never saw the dinosaurs? He crouched, waiting to see movement.

There was a small ripple in the swamp, the lilies bobbed up and down. He tossed the piece of meat through the electric fence, which floated after it plopped in the water. Something dark and lumpy rose to the surface.

He took out the chunk of tail and as he looked back at the swamp, the other piece was gone. The water was moving, but the dark lump was gone. The guard sighed and tossed the chunk over, landing it in the water near the shore of the pond.

His heart raced as he watched, refusing to take his eyes off the bait this time. After a moment, the water began to ripple again, and dark lump surfaced.

He watched intently. The lump approached the meat slowly.

In a flash, a three-foot long mouth exploded out of the water and snatched the chunk. It was a long and narrow snout – like a crocodile – and it was a dark brown and green coloration. The eyes, set far back from the nose, were tiny and piercingly yellow. Within a second, it was totally submerged in the water again. That's so cool!

The guard grabbed the last piece of meat from the bag and got ready to toss it – but heard a small chirp in the bushes beside him.

He spun his head to look. He was suddenly nervous, wondering if there was a dinosaur in the enclosure with him. He was in the Velociraptor paddock, but all the remaining raptors had been tranquilized and were being moved to Muldoon's Pen. Must've been a bird.

He scanned the jungle for a moment more but couldn't find the source. He turned back to the enclosure, and the dinosaur was gone. The water was still. He grabbed the last few chunks of meat in a handful and tossed them over, waiting to see the giant creature again.

It never returned. Disappointed, the guard headed back to his Jeep and drove back to the Visitor Center.