JURASSIC DEAD CHAPTER 11: TREATMENT
"We have an emergency in Hotel Tower Five! Shelter has been compromised! I repeat, shelter has been compromised!" Lowery shouted into his earpiece. They had watched a fight break out in the lobby. Cabin fever and lock down protocols had taken their toll on the guests and patience was gone. While the teams were breaking it up, another guest grabbed a key of an ACU guard and went out one of the doors. The dead nearby immediately pounced on him and others got in the door before the security force noticed. The spread happened fast and survivors were running out the door and anywhere they could hide. "We've got civilians on the road and dead in the building!"
"ACU, do what you can, but anyone who's left the building are on their own!" Hamada ordered. "Do not take drastic measures for runners!"
"Understood!" they heard the tower team leader call back.
"Claire! Owen! How far out are you?" Simon inquired. He needed to regroup quickly and start getting everyone out now. "I need you back here!"
"Five minutes to the garage! We've still got clusters and flyers!" Owen answered back. "No sign of the raptors! Barry's gonna stay on the tracker."
"Adam, keep moving further out! Get the rest of those shelters clear! I'm pulling Alpha team back in." Hamada reported.
While the chaos was unfolding, no one had noticed that Henry had walked into the room. He waited patiently for Simon to finish delivering his orders before clearing his throat.
"Henry! Where the hell have you been? I need an update!" Simon barked.
Henry laid the suitcase he was carrying down on the nearby console table. Opening the lid he revealed a large quantity of shots with a teal colored liquid inside each one. "I've finished the anti-viral. These shots, when administered immediately upon being bitten, will reverse the effects of the infection." he smiled. It had taken everything they had, but they figured it out and produced as much as they could.
"Thank god!" Lowery exclaimed, "It's about time we had good news today."
"Excellent. Let's get them divvied up and out to the teams." Simon said.
"Be aware, we're not fully sure on all the side effects or it's efficacy. We will be playing these a little by ear." Henry warned.
"It's better than where we were!" Simon declared.
"The dynamic duo are entering the garage now." Lowery remarked.
Moments later Claire and Owen entered the control room, finding the hotel fight still unfolding on the screen.
"Claire. Owen. Good. We need start evacuating everyone now. The situation keeps getting worse. I need alpha team to guide as many out as we can."
"We need to take the raptors out of the equation. Especially Delta." Owen pleaded.
"I need Alpha team, Owen." Simon pushed back. "It's getting dark and we've got a few thousand people to move."
The two began bickering back and forth before Claire shouted for a time out. "What if Owen went with Barry and captured the raptors while I lead Alpha team." Claire offered as a solution.
Owen and Simon both looked at her quickly.
"Not happening. We're not splitting up." Owen argued.
"We don't have a choice. You need to get the raptors and I know the tunnels and have all the access codes."
"You promised me." he said, grabbing her face.
"This isn't about us. We're needed elsewhere, baby. If we get everyone closer to the docks, it means shorter, faster transport runs. This is about finally getting off the island. Today."
Owen didn't say anything. He just squeezed her tighter and kissed the top of her head.
"Let's do it." Simon spoke up finally. He tapped his earpiece. "I'm calling for full evacuation procedures. All locations be prepared to move."
"Karen, I'm telling you, take the transport." Claire argued with her sister on the phone. She was attaching her gear to her belt while trying to convince Karen to take the above ground transport. She didn't want them to take the risk in the tunnels.
"Claire, we're going with you." Karen said firmly as she watched the chaos around her. The security teams were barking at everyone to grab what they could carry and start moving. Some were being moved to the door to get on vehicle transports surrounded by security. Others were being shuffled down to the tunnel access.
"I'm gonna be in the tunnels leading Alpha team. There will be hundreds of people down there. You are safer in a transport than you are down there right now."
They had decided to split up into above and below ground evacuations. Though the pterosaurs were still a threat, they had spread across the island and were easier to protect against. As for the raptors, Owen and Barry would be tracking them with their team and hopefully getting them under control. They were all unsure of how many dead were left. But they were now also spread out and easier to take out.
The vehicles were being packed as tight as they could. They focused on families with children and the elderly, as well as anyone who had difficulty walking. The walk through the tunnels to the checkpoint would be a couple miles on foot. It was the only way to move every remaining survivor closer to the docks at once. As soon as the vehicles got to the dock and unloaded, they would return to the checkpoint and start picking up those coming down through the tunnel.
It was rushed and messy, but things were unstable and they couldn't waste any more time. Hotels were having more meltdowns and security was becoming increasingly difficult inside the shelters. Each trip back and forth was a risk and they'd had more losses. They were out of time.
"What about Sam?"
"He's being moved by transport as we speak. All the injured are." Claire was still dressed in her protective suit, loading guns, ammo and flares to her belt. She had a small pack of Henry's anti-viral shots and her machete, which she refused to part with now, dangling at her hip. "Please, Karen. I will worry less if you and the boys go in one of the trucks. You will be surrounded by guns until you are on that carrier. I don't know what we will run into, but it's a hell of a lot harder to get away down there."
Owen happened to walk in at that moment, wanting to check her before he and Barry left. He knew she was talking to her sister, so instead of interrupting her, he went and sat in a nearby chair. She saw him and walked over, standing between his legs, which he had sprawled out in front of him, and pulling his head to her chest, just holding him as she finally managed to convince Karen to go.
"Claire Elizabeth Dearing, if you are not on that boat when it leaves, I will swim back and bring you back myself." Karen practically sobbed.
"I will make sure I am on that boat." Claire promised, despite knowing she may break it. "I love you, Karen."
"I love you too, baby sister." Karen sniffled. "Please be safe. And tell Owen to be safe. We want you both home with us."
Claire looked down to see Owen was looking up at her, with a look she didn't recognize. "I will tell him. I will see you in a couple hours."
"You better." her sister said before finally hanging up and getting on the transport with the boys.
"Hi."
"Hi. I know, we gotta go too." he said, leaning his forehead against her stomach and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I just wanted to hold you for a minute."
Claire leaned down and kissed the top of his head, "We're getting off this island together. No matter what."
He pulled his head back to look at her again, "No matter what." She cupped his face and kissed him. He still held onto her after she pulled back, "You better get your ass safely to the other end, because I plan to be waiting for you." She just nodded and kissed him again.
He stood up and grabbed her hand, leading her to the other room where Alpha team was gathered. He stopped her in front of him and indicated that she had the lead. She smiled brightly at him before turning back to the room. "Okay fellas, this is the last run. We should be getting off this island today." The room broke out in cheers.
Owen waved his arms and hollered over them to get them to quiet down. He spoke once he knew everyone could hear, "Don't get too excited. There's a few things in the way." He nodded to Claire to continue. She unrolled the map she had on the table and they all gathered around.
"We still have a couple thousand people left to move. We are taking as many as we can by transport, but it would take a few more trips to get everyone. We can't walk everyone on the road because of loose assets and we still have dead out there. Moving that many people out in the open is a guaranteed disaster. The survivors are scared and they will run if we come across anything."
They had weighed every option possible, including continuing to wait in the shelters and moving everyone by transports, but it would take too may trips and increase the odds of being attacked by something. It would be a miracle for them to make it through in one trip without incident at this point.
"Lowery's been watching the cameras we placed. He hasn't seen anymore movement in the tunnels. So we're risking moving everyone remaining down through the tunnels to here." She pointed to a spot on the map. "This security outpost is the last tunnel access point in the line. It dumps out about a quarter of a mile from the docks. Transports should be there and unloaded to pick up more and we'll walk if we have to. It's a shorter distance in the open. The risks are there, but a lot less." she reported to them. They were going to need a lot of lucky breaks to make it through this with everyone.
"We've got loose raptors, one of which has been infected. I need to get that situation under control, so Claire is taking lead. She needs a number two with her since Sam is down too." Owen announced.
"I've got her, Owen." Danny responded.
"Always got my back, brother." Owen reached over the table and shook his hand hard.
"Me too." Nick piped up from behind him.
Owen turned and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."
Nick was grinning when they pulled apart, "Are you kidding me? She's a beast! I've never seen someone react so fast as she did with Sam. None of us had even thought of that. I follow her lead, dude."
"Last couple things, fellas." Claire needed to get everyone focused again. "We have vials of anti-viral. If anyone around you gets bitten, hit them with a shot. If you can amputate, do it. We have no efficacy on the shots yet. Cut the infection off. The tunnels should help keep everyone contained, but right now, the rule is, if they run off, they're on their own. Full stop. No heroic measures. Get everyone to the checkpoint."
"You'll have other ACUs from the shelters joining you to add security. Hotels have dumped out and are headed this way now. Tower five was heavily compromised. Survivors were moved out to transports and into tunnels. So far without any more incident. This facility is currently evacuating now. Some to transports, some to tunnels. We will no longer have anyone in control. We are moving everyone now." Owen added.
"Alright let's get into position. Danny and Nick, you take point. I'll cover from the back with a few guys. We'll wait until the hotel groups pass. Then we'll take up the rear. That seemed to be where most of the action was the last time." she chuckled and looked at Owen who was frowning. "Don't start. Whatever you're thinking, let it go."
"Who said I was thinking something?" he defended. Everyone was now watching their back and forth like a tennis match.
"Your face."
"It means you'll come out last." he lamented.
"I know."
"You could be trapped, furthest from the exit."
"I know, Owen."
"I don't like it."
"I know." she said, cupping the side of his face. "But I should be last. I'm the one in charge, remember? Captain is last off the ship, or they go down with it."
"Claire..." he warned. He wanted nothing more than to toss her on a transport and send her to the carrier.
"You know I'm right." she said, crossing her arms in front of her.
He just stared at her for a moment, "Dammit." he relented, knowing he had no chance of winning this argument. And then he kissed her. "I hate that you're always right."
"Not like I can help it." she smirked.
He grinned at her before he turned back. "All right, fellas. I leave you in Claire's hands. Make sure she doesn't do anything crazy." he said to her, knowingly.
She smiled innocently at him. "Let's move out." Claire ordered at last.
Owen and Barry were heading back on the main road in the direction of the paddock using one of the security Jeeps. InGen had brought in mobile cages to transport them on Hoskins earlier orders and they were standing by if Owen and Barry could capture Blue and Echo. Barry had a tablet showing him the trackers' locations.
"Looks like we've got about a mile to their location." Barry told Owen. He had his gun in his lap and his rifle at his feet while Owen drove. They hadn't seen any pterosaurs and only a few scattered dead that Barry easily took down. The ride was mostly clear.
All of a sudden, Owen slammed on his breaks. There in the road in front of him was Hoskins, looking a lot more worse for wear than he had the last time he saw him.
"Fuck." he sighed.
"Can't we leave him?" Barry asked, only half joking.
"I wish." Owen leaned his head out the window. "Get your ass in unless you been bit!" he yelled to his boss.
Hoskins ran with what little energy he had left and threw himself into the back seat. "Thanks...fellas...rough...day..." he panted out, clearly out of shape for the workout he just suffered.
"How the fuck are you still alive?" Owen asked as he started back in the direction they were headed.
"I...know...how...to...survive..." he bragged, despite his state.
"Like a cockroach." Barry mumbled and Owen tried not to burst out laughing. "Shit, Owen! Updated location. They look to be around your bungalow."
"Blue probably smells me." he groaned. "Whelp, home it is!" Barry hopped on the radio and called the InGen team with the cages to let them know where they were.
"Wait? We're chasing the raptors? What about the carrier?" Hoskins asked, wanting to get off the island.
"Raptors first." Owen replied. "We can drop you here if you don't want to come?"
"No, I'll just wait in the car."
"I'm taking the keys."
Moments later the bungalow came into view. They didn't want to stop too close, afraid of alerting the animals to their presence. Owen and Barry grabbed their weapons and got out. Owen took the keys and stuffed them in his pocket. He gave Hoskins a warning look before turning and making his way toward his house.
They stayed low while Barry watched the tracker feed. "Looks like Blue is inside." They could hear crashing around as she was investigating the bungalow.
"Where's Echo?"
"Looks like she's off in the woods."
"Let's see if we can get Blue. Echo can be pretty compliant on a good day." Owen whispered.
"I wouldn't define today as a good day!" Barry whispered back frantically.
"Regardless, let's aim for Blue first."
Owen stayed crouched as he ran across his yard toward the deck of his bungalow. He could still hear Blue crashing around, so he knew she was somewhat contained. He crept onto the deck as quietly as he could and kept his back to the side of the house, trying to peer in the window. He saw Blue's head pop up and flung himself back against the wall . The jarring movement managed to knock his earpiece out of his ear. "Fuck."
He started to reach down to find it when he heard the distinct growls of some wandering dead.
"Shit!" he whispered to himself as he went to move himself to the other side of the house. The growls got louder as they got closer. He peered around the corner and saw they were right next to the deck.
All of a sudden he heard a screech as Blue burst out of the house and pounced on the dead that had approached. Owen kept his tranquilizer rifle trained on her as she finished off the unwanted guests. The moment he had the shot, he took it. She screeched again and stumbled before passing out.
Barry came running up, calling on his radio that Blue was down and ready to go. "They're on route."
"Cool. One down, one to go."
"Nicely done, gents!" Hoskins yelled. "We might salvage something from this disaster!"
"SHHHHHHH!" Barry hushed him.
"We've still got Echo nearby you fucking moron!" Owen whispered angrily. "And there may be more dead. Seriously, how the fuck did you survive?"
"God has a bigger plan for me, Owen." Hoskins smirked. "I'm a survivor."
Owen and Barry just rolled their eyes and went back to searching for Echo. Barry looked down at the tracker and saw that she was still nearby in the woods. "She's straight ahead." he whispered.
"Just keep your mouth shut." Owen warned Hoskins. "We've got one shot."
They once again heard growling coming from a distance. The sun was going down and the darkness would give more cover, but also make it harder to see an attack coming. Knowing they were running out of time, Owen stayed low and quickly made his way toward the woods where they knew Echo was located. Barry was close on his heels. Hoskins stayed where he was, hiding behind the bushes.
Within moments they had her in sight. She looked to be just sniffing around. She suddenly lifted her head and chirped loudly.
"She might smell you, man." Barry whispered.
"Yeah, standby." Owen replied as he raised his gun to tranquilize her. Without warning, she snapped her head in their direction and crouched into an attack position, hissing and chattering.
"Shit!" he cursed as she started running toward them. Before they could even get up to run, she jumped over them and ran toward Hoskins, landing in front of him and hissing.
"Easy girl...easy..." Hoskins tried to soothe her, but she wasn't backing off. "Uh, gents...now might be a good time!" he yelled as she continued to step closer. Owen once again raised his rifle to aim at Echo, who had her back to him as she stalked toward Hoskins.
Before she could attack, she was knocked hard to the side by another dinosaur. Owen and Barry quickly realized Delta had also now joined them and the growls of approaching dead were getting louder, most likely attracted to the noise.
Echo clamped Delta's neck between her jaws and tossed her away. She landed so that Hoskins was trapped between the two of them. They were currently more interested in each other, but he was frozen with fear.
Delta looked even worse than she had. Her head was hanging low and she was drooling a lot. She was snapping and shaking her snout. Echo was crouched and circling her, chittering.
"Guys..." Hoskins pleaded.
"I don't want to take Echo down and have Delta attack her." Owen whispered to Barry. "You've got the lethal rounds..."
Barry sighed. He had gotten very close to Delta himself. Looking at her now, he knew he had a responsibility to fulfill. He raised his rifle and fired toward her head, but got her in the neck instead. "Merde!" he swore as she turned in their direction. Echo took the distraction and jumped on Delta's side. Hoskins finally leapt up and ran for the truck. He caught Delta's eye who started to chase him.
Owen thought fast and ran for his motorcycle that was propped up next to the bungalow, hopping on and revving it. This made Echo turn to him and follow as he took off down the road. "Get to the truck!" he yelled at Barry as he rode by.
Barry got up fast and ran for the vehicle. He was almost there when Delta pounced on Hoskins, who had almost made it to the passenger door.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed as she bit down on his shoulder and neck. "HELP ME!"
Barry couldn't do anything but watch as Delta took Hoskins to the ground and began ripping him apart. He used the distraction to run for the driver's side and hop in. Turning the engine, he took off in the same direction as Owen, still hearing screams from Hoskins behind him. The dead that had been getting close must have seen his tail lights because he soon had a chase with a small cluster behind him.
Owen was further down the road with Echo close on his rear. For the moment, she was just running with him and not attacking. All of a sudden he saw headlights up ahead coming toward them. The InGen team was approaching fast with the cages to contain the raptors.
They must have seen him because the trucks screeched to a halt and a bunch of security jumped out with rifles aimed. Echo shifted her focus to the threat and turned on the men ready to fire. She broke away from Owen and ran straight for the trucks. Screeching through the air, she leapt to pounce on the closest threat as all the rifles went off. She took about three shots of tranquilizer and was still able to land on one of the security guys before finally passing out. The guard she landed on was hurt, but otherwise okay.
"Move fast guys! Delta's in the area and we have some dead wandering around." Owen called out. They were moving her quickly into the open cage and racing back to their vehicles as Barry came roaring up the road in the Jeep with the dead still on his tail.
Owen revved his engine and spun his bike around, pulling out his hand gun and firing at as many as he could as he rode around them. The InGen teams jumped out and began firing as well, dropping the cluster relatively fast.
Once it was clear, Owen ran over to the lead and told him where to find Blue.
"Keep an eye out for Delta. She took out Hoskins and was still there when I left." Barry warned.
"Hoskins is dead?" Owen asked quietly. He hated the man, but no one deserved to die like that.
"Yeah." he confirmed. "Delta got hold of him and there was nothing I could do for him."
The InGen team confirmed the location and took off up the road to collect Blue. They'd deliver both cages to one of the ships and they'd be stored in a secure location on the carrier. Simon was working on containment options for when they were allowed to land. Owen felt secure that they'd be taken care of.
"Come on. Let's head to the checkpoint. I don't have my earpiece and I wanna find Claire." Owen said as he revved his bike again and headed south toward the tunnel exit. Barry nodded and headed back to his Jeep.
"Right behind you."
Meanwhile in the tunnels...
Clearing out the hotels and control center had happened without much issue. People were so desperate to get away that the remaining survivors cooperated with every instruction. They were currently moving about two thousand people through the tunnels and toward the docks. The other half had already been moved and were on their way to the carrier now.
Claire had been covering the back, walking with Lowery and Bobby, Owen's Navy buddy who tried to hit on her at the bar before things went to hell. The trip had been mostly uneventful. Some complaints about the conditions, but no dangerous run-ins.
She had been quietly scanning the area, thinking about everything they were leaving behind. The park would probably never re-open. The fallout was going to be large and intense. They'd likely be facing government inquiries, not only for the fifteen thousand deaths, but also for the release of a deadly virus into the populace. It was accidental, not intentional, but it doesn't free them from responsibility.
Then she thought of the dinosaurs. Many of which were still locked up in their paddocks. "Lowery? I need you to do something for me." She said, finally breaking the silence that had settled over them.
"What's up?" he replied, still looking down at his tablet and monitoring video feeds.
"Right before you lose your link to the control room, I want you to open all the paddocks remotely." she said seriously.
Lowery stopped walking and looked over at her. "Are you kidding?"
"No." she sighed as she stopped walking. "We won't be back any time soon, if at all and they deserve a fighting chance. I can't rest thinking they might be starving to death. I want to give them the opportunity to live or die as they would naturally." she shrugged.
Lowery just smiled at her, "You know, I always knew that cold boss bitch wasn't who you were. I knew you actually cared. Owen's had a good affect on you."
"Even the boss bitch needs a kick in the pants once in a while." she grinned. She realized they must have been passing a maintenance outpost because there was a small garage door off to the side. "Hey Lowery, can you open that door? There might be something useful."
He looked down at his tablet and hit a series of buttons. Before long the door began lifting, revealing a large underground maintenance shed. Inside they found a number of tools and a couple ATVs.
"Bingo." she smiled. "We must be near the golf course based on the stuff in here. Let's grab the ATVs. They'll give us a couple more transports."
Claire hustled over and hopped on one, turning the engine. "Lowery, why don't you grab the other one and go check-in out front. We're almost to the end of the tunnel at this point."
"You got it." he replied, jumping on the other vehicle and heading to the front of the crowd. Bobby stayed walking to the side of Claire as she ran the vehicle slowly behind the throng of people.
"So Bobby, how are you holding up?" she asked, trying to pass the time with small talk.
"First vacation in over ten years. Bout what I expected." he chuckled. "I hoped I'd at least get laid."
"Sorry. It's not usually this eventful." she smirked at him.
"Figures." he laughed. "I shoulda known how the week would go when you shot me down the first night."
"Can't say I don't appreciate your taste." she grinned. "When we get to the carrier, remind me to introduce you to my assistant."
"I'll take it!" he smiled.
Claire just laughed and shook her head. They continued chatting until Lowery returned to the back of the crowd. She cut the motor when he reached her.
"Boats are back and loading now, but it's still probably going to take a couple of runs. The admiral is allowing for rescue ships from the carrier to help with the the evac. But we're a little exposed for a bit." he replied.
"Where's Simon?"
"He and Hamada are organizing ACU and the Navy guys around to provide cover until we get everyone clear."
"Owen?"
"No sign of him yet."
She nodded, now worried. She tapped her earpiece, "Owen? Please answer if you're there." Still no response. "Let's go find a radio and see if we can get Barry."
She was about to restart the ATV when they heard the distinct sound of growling coming from further in the tunnel. Both Claire and Lowery froze, looking in the direction the noise was coming from.
"There must have been more further behind us and we didn't even know it." she whispered. They could hear the approaching noise getting louder and angrier.
"Sounds like a lot of them..." Lowery pointed out quietly. "Claire, we haven't even moved everyone to the dock yet!" he whispered frantically. He knew it would be a massacre.
She thought fast and remembered there was an access room under the golf course nearby and they had just passed the turn for that tunnel. She pulled a flare from her belt and lit it, revving the motor on her ATV. "GO LOWERY! GET EVERYBODY OUT FAST! BOBBY! COVER THE REAR!" she yelled as she drove in the direction of the horde trying to head them off.
"Claire!" he yelled as she took off back into the tunnel. He could see in the distance where she turned and how many were following her. "Shit!" He rode back toward the opening where the crowd was going. "Simon! There's about a hundred still in the tunnel! Claire just went to divert them to the golf course! She needs help!" he called on his earpiece as he ran to catch up. "We've got incoming! Get them out of this tunnel!" he shouted as drove as fast as he could.