Chapter 6: Return to Sorna


Josiah's POV-

It would be an hour or two or three to get to the island. I had time to kill and rather then lay my head back and sleep, I went through my things to make sure that I had everything I needed. The translator device earpiece I kept on my person. Ain't no way I was gonna' lose it or break it when I got to the island.

Enrique had provided me my old weapons from my last visit. The rifle I had used from before was just as good as new. The gas grenades were still there as well. Oh boy. I wasn't looking forward to logging this stuff around again.

I stared out at the horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of any outlines that might be the island. But I saw nothing. I rolled my eyes. Of course, what was I expecting. We still had a long ways to go.

I decided to let my mind wonder. It went back to the night before I would leave for Costa Rica. And I remembered my mom being worried. Worried that I wouldn't come back to her. I went down to our living room to try to comfort her, to reassure her that I was going to be okay.

"Mom, you know I'll be careful," I said as I sat down on the coach beside her. "And I will be back. I promise."

"But I don't want to lose you," She said.

"You won't, mom. I'll come back to you, I promise."

"I know you will, baby," She said to me as she placed a hand upon my cheek. "Be safe."

I leaned into her warm touch and smiled at her. She smiled back and there was the tenderness in her voice that she had when I'd been small, the tenderness that she had when I was small and sick, with a cold, and she put her hand on my forehead, and the burning came into my eyes and I had turned away from her and looked out the window, forgotten the plane tickets on the table and so arrived at the airport with my things still with me now.

I felt my eyes beginning to bum and knew there would be tears. I didn't cry now. Instead my eyes burned and tears came, the seeping tears that burned, but I didn't cry. I wiped my eyes with a finger and looked at Enrique out of the corner of my vision to make sure he hadn't noticed.

The sun had risen over the ocean, finally, and in the coolness of the morning I could start to feel the tropical heat.

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"There it is, Senor Clover," Shouted Enrique. "Check it out... Isla Sorna... we have arrived!"

I took the binoculars from the seat pocket beside me and looked through them. Just barely, I could see the mountains jutting out over the sea. Thick clouds were obscuring some of the peaks. But it was Sorna all right.

The speedboat got closer and closer until we were nearly at the shores. Enrique slowed us down and steadily drove the boat in the direction of the docks where he had picked me up last time.

The docks were soon in sight and we steered toward it. I could hear the familiar sounds of the jungle and I thought I heard the whale-like call of a dinosaur. But I couldn't be sure.

Enrique docked the boat and I got out, my whole body already beginning sweat from the heat. Hot, tropical, a lost world.

With Enrique's help I was able to unload my things from the boat and onto the dock. The old thing was rotted in some places since the last time I was here.

"I once again wish you luck, Senor Clover," Said Enrique as he got back into his boat and started the engine. "Be careful out there," he added, pointing to the surrounding jungle. "You know how to reach me, right?"

I nodded. "Sure. I already have a satellite phone that was given me to use in case of an emergency, or when it is time for me to leave."

Nodding, Enrique reversed the boat away from the dock and drove out to the ocean, back in the direction of Costa Rica.

As the dot of his boat got smaller, I thought that I caught a glimpse of something else on the sea. It looked like...another boat. And it was heading in the same direction as Enrique's boat. Was it a patrol boat? I quickly looked through my own binoculars and saw that it was a boat. But it wasn't a patrol boat. It was another speedboat. And there were people in it. People with...guns. Oh, my god.

:

Enrique hadn't seen the other boat come up from alongside him. He was too focused on returning to the mainland that he didn't noticed another sound of a speedboat speeding from behind.

The men in the other boat were not of the UN or Costa Rican ocean patrols. They were drug smugglers, hellbent on keeping their operations unnoticed by outsiders...or witnesses. Each of the men, save the driver of the boat, were armed with machine guns.

"¿Quién crees que es?" One of the men asked his fellows.

"No me importa quién es. hay que ser ningún testigo. Dispararle!" Shouted the other smuggler, raising his machine gun so that it leveled to Enrique's boat. The other two men raised their guns and opened fire.

The first round of bullets struck near Enrique's hand, sparks flying. Enrique flinched and ducked his head. Looking behind him, he saw the boat with the armed men. And in that instant he knew that was going to get killed. He accelerated, pushing the lever down all the way. He felt his boat going faster but the gunmen in their boat were speeding up. Enrique tried to zig and zag to distract them but they weren't so easily dodged.

More bullets flew at him and Enrique knew that he couldn't out-boat the gunmen for long. Whoever they were they weren't pissing about with their guns. They wanted to kill him. And unless he thought of something fast, he was going to die.

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I watched helplessly from the dock, frustrated that I couldn't help Enrique. Though I doubted that I could have done anything against armed men with machine guns. When I heard the far distance of gun fire, I knew that those men on the boat were probably criminals or worse. And I just hoped that Enrique got away cause I didn't want to think about what would happen if he didn't.

I gathered up my things, armed myself with my rifle, and started walking in the direction of the jungle. As I walked, the breeze kicking up from the beach, I silently prayed that Enrique got away and that he was safe.

As I walked from the beach and made my way onto the familiar jungle path that would take me to the town, I started to think about the men in that other speedboat. Who were they? Why were they boating so near one of the five deaths? It could have been a patrol boat, but that didn't make sense. I had gotten the clearance to come back to the island by the UN and Costa Rican government, so why was there a patrol boat shooting at Enrique's boat?

I would have time to think about that later. Right now I had to get to the town. With all my extra equipment on me, and my rifle, trekking through the hot jungle was going to take a lot out of me. But I knew the way. The old INGEN town was situated 2 miles inland, nestled in the lowlands and surrounded by high hills. It was one of the few civilizations on the island left that hadn't been touched by the hurricane those many years ago. Though the town was old, and a bit rotting here and there, it was still livable in some places. The real strain was getting there. I had to travel uphill through the narrow jungle path first, than arrive in a clearing that had several forks that led in different directions. The only way to tell which way to go was an old sign that I hoped was still standing. After that, it was another half mile before I would reach the town. If I had my jeep it would be another matter. But it was left back in the garage in the town, so walking was my only option.

I stumble a bit as I walked uphill. The wet leaves of the lush forest was really a beautiful sight. The smell of the jungle was everywhere around me, a nice mixture of moist earth and decaying wood. It sent a ripple up my back that felt like a pulse. This was where I truly felt alive.

I soon came into the clearing and looked around for the sign, but thought better not to. What did I need a sign for when I already knew which way to go? Dismissing the sign, I continued to trek, leaving the clearing, and heading up the next narrow path that would lead me to the town. The path soon got wider and I could make out some of the buildings up ahead. An old, rot iron gate and perimeter fence surrounded the town's outer rim. But it was old, the fence, and the gate into the town had long since rusted from being exposed to the elements like rain and moist air.

I smiled as I walked through them, hearing the hinges creak and squeak. The old INGEN town was just as I had left it those months ago. Though I did notice that some of the buildings had crumbled some during that time. The gas station and garage were still intact and I could see that the communications building was still there as well. Looking around, while keeping my rifle handy, I made sure that there weren't any predators lurking around. Just because this place was isolated and surrounded by high hills and an old perimeter fence, did not mean it was totally safe. I had learned that the hard before.

Seeing that there were no dinosaurs around, I made my way to the town's church. The place didn't seem to have been too damaged so I went inside. The roof was still as it had been before with a hole in it. Vines and ivy had sprouted around the gap and had snaked along the walls. The rain water had completely soaked through the wooden floor and had left another large hole.

I closed the doors behind me, put all my things in the kitchen, and made my way up the staircase leading up to my secret room at the end of the second floor hallway. I eased open the well-disguised wooden bookcase that served as the door and stepped inside my old room. It was just as I had left it, save for a few more cobwebs in the corners. I was back in my old home. I was back on the island. Now it was time to locate my raptor friends and hope that they were okay.


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