Jurassic Island

Chapter 11 – Closer Than They Appear

Kate hissed out a breath through her nose as Todd leaned heavily against her side. She tightened her grip on the younger man's arm, and trudged onward. Sally tried her best to help, but the woman was slight, so it fell mostly to Kate to support the majority of Todd's weight on her shoulder. Thankfully the rain had lessened to a slow drizzle. She tried not to think about anything other than her next step. Running after these two idiots had taken longer than she'd anticipated, and Kate was anxious to reunite with Castle. She did not like being separated from him. Ever since his disappearance over the summer, Kate struggled with letting him out of her sight. It had taken her a while to make do with quick text messages or phone calls. It had become exceedingly more difficult when he'd been kicked out of the precinct.

She grunted, and tensed her back, tugging Todd along with her as they ducked under a lower hanging branch. After their encounter with the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Kate had opted staying clear of the pathway, just in case. Pushing through a thick batch of fronds and ferns, they finally stumbled back onto the main road.

The low rumbling of an idle engine caught Kate's attention immediately. Maybe the power had finally come back on. Usually she was a pessimist, but her husband had been slowly converting her to an optimist. Though, at present, she was leaning more towards the pessimist side of the spectrum. Shifting her gaze up from the graveled road, Kate searched franticly for the Explorers. Her eyes went wide in shock, and she nearly dropped Todd. The overturned SUV was missing. Her heart leapt up into her throat as she saw a sprinkling of metallic debris, along with twin rows of deep grooves dug into the gravel road, suggesting the car had been pushed up and over the paddock's concrete barrier.

And what made matters worse was the simple fact that Castle and the children were nowhere to be seen.

"Hey!" shouted a British accented voice from somewhere to their left, from the same direction that the idling engine could be heard.

Kate blinked, and spun her gaze to find a man dressed in a khaki park uniform, standing besides a gas-powered jeep. A yellow windbreaker hung off his shoulders, and in his hands he held an impressive shotgun. He wasted no time in rushing over to them.

"You guys alright!?" he asked, eyes wide, brow furrowed in concern. "What the bloody hell happened here!?" he questioned, swooping in to help Kate in supporting Todd's weight. The meathead groaned with the change, his head lolling forward. Sally fussed over him, her face contorting with worry.

"The Rex got out of its cage," Kate hissed out through gritted teeth. "What the hell do you think happened!?" She nearly snarled, shoving Todd into the park employee's arms, freeing herself of his dead weight. The man grunted, but held firm, shifting his hold on the shotgun and managing to catch Todd before he could fall face first to the wet ground. Not waiting for a reply, Kate pumped her legs and darted out across the road, skipping over the metal track, and shouting Castle's name as she ran.

"Castle! Castle! Rick! Oh… oh god, Rick!" her voice was close to a sob, but she didn't care. They'd been through too much for her to lose him now. It was easier to protect him when they were together. She shouldn't have left him alone. Her breath started to come out in panicked gasps, and she felt like curling in on herself as dark thoughts started to consume her. Tears streamed down her face as she surveyed the shards of shattered glass and jagged chunks of metal strewn across the road. Her heart felt heavy inside her chest as she slowly came to terms with what she was seeing.

"Miss!" the park ranger shouted, trying to gain her attention.

"No. No. No," Kate shook her head, ignoring him, refusing to believe what she was thinking.

She inched closer to the paddock's concrete barrier, almost afraid to look. Stretching up on her toes, Kate craned her neck and peered over the edge, hopelessly staring down into the darkness below. She could just about make out the swaying treetops in the dim moonlight that could manage to break through the clouds above. Narrowing her eyes, she scanned the bottom of the small ravine, her heart thumping with dread. Her mouth dropped open and she let out a strangled cry when she spotted it. Crushed and beaten, lying toppled over against the trunk of a large tree was the other car.

Spinning around, Kate spotted the park employee helping Todd, with Sally's assistance, into the backseat of the jeep. "The other car!" she shouted, a small shimmer of hope swelling inside her chest, even if her voice trembled with terror, fearful of what might be. "I found the other car!"

XXX

With a painful groan Dennis Nedry heaved himself up into a sitting position. His entire body ached. Rolling around, he gritted his teeth, planting his hands in the mud, and pushed his considerable bulk up. He stumbled to his feet, dizzy and disorientated, gasping for air. Blinking his eyes, he staggered around, teetering back and forth on his feet, before he was finally able to look at his slightly out-of-focus surroundings. He cursed. Damn glasses.

"You can afford new glasses," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

He was at the bottom of a steep slope. Blinking, Nedry glared up at the tumble of trees and ferns that marked his path down the severe drop. In truth, he could only vaguely remember falling down. It was all such a blur. Though Nedry could still clearly remember the tyrannosaur. It had completely pulverized his jeep, causing him to swerve off the road and ram into a tree. His head was pounding, and he exhaled huffily, remembering what had happened next. During the struggle to get out of the car he had head his head. At least that's what he thought had happened. After seeing the big three-toed foot come down on the car's hood and stumbling wildly into the forest and then the slope, everything seemed to blur into one massive collage of chaos.

That's what it was.

Chaos. Fucking chaos.

He coughed, covering his mouth with his hand. Looking down at himself, and feeling around, he was happy to find that he wasn't that badly hurt. Though he was probably bruised from the fall. He was covered in mud and his clothing was soaked. But other than that, he seemed to be fine.

Nedry quickly glanced at his digital wristwatch. "I still have time," he mumbled to himself, patting his jacket pocket, and sighing with relief as he felt the solid outline of the shaving cream can. Nedry glanced around, trying to figure out where he was. He really couldn't tell. All he could see were dark tree trunks and underbrush. Ferns, palms, and fronds covered the muddy ground. Up above, the treetops created a canopy that blocked out any light that the moon may had provided, that was if the moon was even visible above the gray storm clouds. Nedry was glad that it had stopped raining, only a light drizzle remaining. It was perhaps the only thing that was positive at the moment.

He scrambled forward, trying to make his way back up the slope, but the ground was slippery under his feet. He grabbed the closest fern, but it gave way under his considerable weight, and the roots popped out of the ground. Nedry tumbled backward on his back, sliding back down the slope. He landed in roughly the same spot he had woken up in. After struggling to stand back up, he threw the fern away in disgust. He looked around. If he could only make it back to the road, he would be able to find his way to the docks. With the lessening of the storm, he'd wager good money that the ships were still moored.

Nedry pushed the fronds out of his way, as he stumbled forward, trudging through the small creek to reach the bank on the other side, trying to find an easier way back to the service road. After a minute or two of meandering along the creek bed, Nedry stopped and squinted into the darkness. He could have sworn he'd seen something. He blinked. No, it was nothing. It must have been the wind or a trick of the light. But no wind was blowing. He didn't feel a breeze. And there was very little light to play tricks on him. Nedry felt a slight chill, not from the air or wind, but from fear. He hesitated before continuing.

He reached a small slope, pleased to see that it was not as steep as the other one. It was muddy and slippery, but Nedry was able to shimmy up it, like a pig on its belly. He reached the top of the slope with no trouble and crawled towards a fallen tree trunk covered in a rich layering of lichen and moss. Gripping the log, he hauled himself up, breathing heavily. His heart pounded fiercely, and he contemplated taking a break, but upon further review, Nedry decided it was best to keep trudging on. He didn't want to miss the boat.

As he was shuffling along, Nedry's foot caught on a gnarled root, and he fell forward with a sharp cry. He hit the ground hard and rolled over on his back. He laid there for a moment, startled, huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath, when he heard a sudden hooting sound. Almost like an owl. He froze. It came again, much closer this time, almost like it was an answer to the previous hoot. He turned his head and saw them.

Dinosaurs!

The ten-foot tall bodies were covered in a kind of dark green, with black stripes, like a tiger. Underneath, the bellies were a bright green, like a lizard. Twin red curving crests ran along the top of the head from the eyes to the nose, making a V-shape above the squinting eyes. Nedry immediately recognized them from their pictures from the various promotional materials about Jurassic Park.

Dilophosaurus. Spitters.

One was a couple of feet away, while another one stood beside what appeared to be a mound of mud. Nedry squinted at the mound. It almost looked like the nest of a crocodile. A nest? How was that possible? The dinosaurs only bred on Site B. Isla Nublar was the showcase. Breeding was strictly controlled. But he couldn't deny what he was seeing with his own eyes. He must have stumbled into the nest of the dilophosaurs. Obviously, this was not a very good thing. Dilophosaurs were predators, and from the summaries Nedry had read about them, these dinosaurs could apparently spit poison, blinding their prey. His heart pounded with terror.

"Nice dinosaurs… nice dinosaurs," he whimpered under his breath, praying that they ignored him.

Nedry watched as the dilophosaurs cocked their heads and hooted back and forth. Eventually the one closest to him turned and walked back to join the other one by the nest. Nedry decided that it was time for him to leave. He slowly rolled onto his fleshy belly, and began to slowly crawl in the opposite direction as the dilophosaurs. Behind him, he could hear them hooting and chirping. Damn things were having some sort of conversation.

When the hooting stopped, Nedry froze, his breath coming out in sharp, harsh pants. He hesitated before looking over his shoulder. It was a bad idea. Rearing back as it snarled, a rattling circular sail snapped up around the dilophosaur's twined crested head. The noise resembled the warning of a rattlesnake. Nedry stared dumbly at the creature, fear immobilizing him. There was a loud splattering sound and Nedry felt a sticky wet substance on his cheek. He brought his hand came up and wiped off the oily, sticky substance. It didn't take him long to realize that the substance was the saliva of the dilophosaur because he started to feel a tingling, burning sensation on his cheek and hand.

"No, no, no," he mumbled to himself, grunting and groaning as he heaved himself up to his feet, irrationally believing he could make a run for it. A foolish idea, considering he was severely overweight.

A loud hooting came from his right. Stupidly, he turned to look. The dilophosaur snarled and hissed at him. It reared its head back. And then—

Burning! Burning!

Nedry screamed. It felt like someone had just tossed acid into his face. He closed his eyelids, but it didn't stop. His hands came up to frantically wipe at the poisonous saliva on his face. But that didn't help, either. The burning never stopped. He opened his eyes, but could only see flashing white dots. He was blind! He couldn't see. Nedry stumbled forward, dropping down to his knees, his hands spreading out before him to feel the ground. Soon he was on all fours, moving as fast as he could.

As he groped blindly about, he murmured prayers to every religious deity or icon he could think of. But not one of them answered his pleas. He fumbled to the right, and stopped, letting out a whimpering cry as he felt something cold and scaly. "Oh, God… no… please… no!" He quickly recoiled his hand, knowing what it was.

Soon he felt the warm breath of the dinosaur against his face. It was foul, like rotting flesh. He moved backward and bumped into something. He knew what that was as well, because it too was scaly. Both dilophosaurs were standing beside him, boxing him in. He waved his hands around wildly in the air and shouted; vainly hoping it would startle the beasts off. The dilophosaurs hooted in surprise and he heard one step backwards, a twig snapping under its clawed foot. His hearing was surprisingly better than he thought. Nedry listened to the soft chirping noises in the distance. One of the dilophosaurs snorted and he heard it run back to the nest. He could slightly make out what sounded like sickly wet cracking noises.

Were the eggs hatching?

Perhaps the beasts would ignore him then, in favor of tending to their young. However, the breath of one of the dilophosaurs could still be felt along the side of his face. He screamed, crazed, and waved his hands around again, but it was no use. It wasn't afraid of him. In fact, it seemed amused, if anything. It poked at him with its snout, pushing him over onto his back, playing with its food. He cried out as he fell. He felt the ground tremor as the dinosaur stepped around him, its prey. He couldn't move. His breath came in ragged heaves. He was trembling all over in fear. Soon he felt the breath of the dilophosaur on his neck. He heard the nostrils snort, and then he felt soft prickling things touch his fleshy neck. Numbed by the venom, Nedry was only dimly aware that he was being lifted into the air by the jaws of the dinosaur.

Damn Hammond, Nedry thought. And damn Dodgson. He cursed the day he'd meet the billionaire enterpriser and the corporate espionage agent.

He felt the jaws tighten around his neck, the teeth of the dilophosaur piercing his flesh. He opened his mouth to scream. And then, with a swift jerk of its powerful jaws and a loud crackling snap, everything went black.

XXX

The beam of light shot out across the dark night. Kate squinted, carefully stepping over the gnarled roots and scattering of rocks. She was trying her best not to get her hopes up, but it was hard. The beam from Muldoon's flashlight shone off to her right. Hers stayed straight, shaking in her trembling hands. The game warden hustled past her, leading the way. Kate followed, chewing her bottom lip in dread, terrified at what she might find. If she lost him, she honestly didn't know if she'd survive.

"Mr. Castle!" Muldoon called out.

"Rick!" Kate all but sobbed, making her way over to the wrecked Explorer.

The game warden reached the toppled car first. He crouched down, and pointed his flashlight inside, eyes narrowing. Kate waited with baited breath, heart pounding with each passing second.

"Do you see anything?" she demanded, desperate.

Muldoon mulled silently, his gaze piercing as he glared into the interior, sweeping his flashlight back and forth in a slow and meticulous search. "I don't know."

Frustrated with his non-answers, Kate nervously stumbled around to other side of the wreckage. She placed a hand on the bent doorframe as she leaned down to look inside the crushed car.

"Rick!?" her voice choked on his name, tears silently leaking down her face.

"They're not here," Muldoon stated softly, trying to ease the blow.

Kate shook her head, ignoring him, not wanting to hear that. Her and Castle had survived too many close calls for this to be it. No way did Richard Castle die out here in the middle of some damn amusement park.

"Detective Beckett, I've seen a lot of animal attacks," Muldoon continued in an annoyingly calm and reasoned voice. "People just disappear. No blood. No trace. Sometimes, as frustrating as it can be, that's the way it happens."

"I know how to look at a crime scene!" she snapped back.

Muldoon sighed, pulling back from the wreckage, and made his way around to join her on the other side of the fallen car, cautiously approaching her like she was some easily startled animal. "This isn't like a crime scene," he asserted, placing a hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her back from the abyss. "New York City is a completely different jungle than this one."

Kate swallowed, and reluctantly bobbed her head in understanding. "I know," she said, blinking back tears. "It's just that… Rick and I finally got married after all this… struggle. We were supposed to be happy now. We… we were supposed to be together." She sniffled, and turned away, embarrassed, wiping at her nose with the back of her hand. Kate blinked her eyes and stared down at the ground, only vaguely aware of her surroundings.

Muldoon opened his mouth to say something, whether to reassure her or reiterate the harsh realities, she'd never know, because at that exact moment, the awful roar of a Tyrannosaurus Rex boomed in the distance.

"We should get going," Muldoon said, reaching for her arm.

Kate gave a nod of agreement, when she stopped. "Wait! Look!" she exclaimed, her heart leaping up in her chest as she stared down at the ground. Moving her flashlight, she shone the light along the mud. Footprints. One was small, like a child. And the other was larger, adult male. Castle. Her eyes followed the tracks as they led off into the foliage. "He's alive."

XXX

Rick Castle stopped in his tracks, a look of confusion washing over his face. Trailing behind him, the kids almost stumbled, unprepared for his sudden halt. Castle held up his hand to stop them, arching his neck to glanced back at them, realizing the gesture was unnecessary. Charlie wiped at the snot on his nose with the back of his hand, and Zoe rolled her eyes in disgust at his behavior before turning her attention to Castle.

"What is it, Mr. Castle?"

"Once again, call me, Rick," Castle said, frowning down at the wrinkled up park map he had discovered was tucked into his back pocket. He recalled picking it up when he and Kate been waiting in line at the Visitor Center. Now he couldn't stop thinking how fortuitous that impulse decision had been. "And this is a map."

Charlie stretched up on his toes to look at the map in Castle's hands. "You sure that can help?"

True, the map was rather crude, drawn in a cartoon-like fashion for the consumption of the countless tourist that came to the park, but it would have to do. Castle smoothed his hand along the thick crease down the center, a result from when he had folded the glossy pamphlet up to shove in his back pocket. The locations were clearly marked, and Castle had a vague idea of where they were and what direction they should head, but still… it did involve a lot of guesswork.

"Well?" Zoe question, raising an eyebrow at him, a look that oddly reminded him of Beckett. The teen had calmed down since being reunited with her little brother, and he was starting to get a glimpse of her independent personality.

Studying the map more closely, Castle cocked his head. Okay… so maybe he was reading it wrong, or they were just lost. "I think this little symbol indicates a maintenance shed or something like that. It looks to be four or eight miles in—" he broke off to scan the surrounding area, and then pointed off to his left, "that direction." He carefully folded the map back up and returned it to his back pocket. "What do you say, kids? You ready for a hike?"

Zoe's brow furrowed, and she glanced worriedly at the surrounding foliage, the jungle noises seeming louder than previously. Her bravado from before vanished, and she curled in on herself, her arms quivering with fear. "Do… do you think we'll run into any more dinosaurs?"

Her little brother let out a snarky laugh. "Duh!" he proclaimed with an amused expression. "What'd you expect, Zoe? This is a dinosaur park."

"Shut your snotty face!" Zoe snapped, punching him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Charlie glared up at her as he rubbed his injured arm. "That hurt."

"I didn't even want to come to this stupid park," Zoe bemoaned. "It was your dumb idea."

"I'm not dumb!" Charlie shouted back.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

Castle watched them with an amused expression for a minute before stepping in. "Now kids," he interjected, giving them a stern look. God, he had it easy with Alexis. She was no problem at all, practically raised herself. Though he had a strong notion that they're bickering was a coping mechanism, a way for them to release some of the stress they all have been under. "We'll definitely be seeing some dinosaurs if you keep making all that noise… and they won't be the friendly sort."

As if to prove his point, the roar of the fearsome tyrannosaur sounded from a distance. It wasn't close—thankfully, but the bellow was loud enough to reach their ears.

"There are friendly dinosaurs?" Zoe scoffed lightly, disbelieving.

"Yeah, you know, the herbivores," Castle said.

"That what?" Zoe knitted her eyebrows in confusion.

"The veggie-saurs, Zoe," Charlie inputted. "Veggie-saurs! That means they only eat vegetables, but I think for you, they'd make an exception."

"Charlie," Castle scolded, narrowing his eyes in what he hoped was a decent imitation of Beckett's intimidating glare.

"Oh," Zoe nodded, blessedly ignoring her little brother's goading. "Good. I hate the other kind." She shuddered at the thought, her eyes glazing over with the terrifying memories of their ordeal with the T-Rex.

Castle gave a small shrug, shifting his footing on the rough ground. "Well, the other kind just do what they do." She blinked her eyes open and gazed up at him with a look of surprising trust. He noticed Charlie was staring up at him with the same look on his face. He pursed his lips, thinking, heavy lies the crown. To tell the truth, he was finding it difficult to hold on to the mask of confidence he was projecting for the kids. Inside he was just as frightened and freaked out as they were. Castle hoped he lived up to their trust in him. "Alright," he said, holding out his hand, and smiling when Zoe accepted it. "Let's get moving."

XXX

Muldoon glanced over at the distraught woman as they crested the rise on their way back to the jeep. He was unsure how to comfort her, or if that was even possible considering the circumstances. From what he could see, Kate Beckett was a fierce and strong woman, not used to showing any vulnerability. She seemed to be the type that didn't often display such emotions in front of others. When he had first joined her by the paddock barrier, she'd made a point of introducing herself as a NYPD Detective. So he suspected that like most cops, she generally kept her feelings close to the vest. But this situation was different. The man missing was her husband.

"Here it is," Beckett said, gesturing towards the crumbling rubble that had once been the bathroom bunker.

Muldoon swung his flashlight out across the debris strewn across the clearing. He spotted blood and viscera, and sighed, rubbing his forehead. Great… they had their first casualty. He squatted down next to what was left of the person, lifting the palm to see if he could see a face in what remained. He grimaced. "Who was it?"

She shrugged. "I never knew his name," she said. "But he was the father of the two kids in the car in front of us."

He nodded. "We can pull up his identity once we get back to the Visitor Center," Muldoon said, scrubbing a hand down his face and sighing. He hoped to God that Hammond had followed his instructions and started an emergency evacuation of the park guests.

Muldoon stood up, and shone his flashlight towards an imprint within the mud—a large three-toed footprint. It was filled with water from the rain, and he stared at it, his experience as a hunter allowing him to notice things that others might miss. The water in the puddle vibrated rhythmically, slowly, at first, but it quickened, the rings in the water getting bigger with each passing second.

Beside him, Beckett frowned, eyes glued on the same water-filled footprint. "Do you hear that?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side, as if to hear better.

Muldoon inclined his head. "It's an impact tremor," he said, his calm voice belying the concern in his eyes.

"Why do I get the feeling that I should be alarmed by that?" Beckett questioned.

"Because your smart," he answered with a dry smirk. "Run."

Muldoon took off at a dead sprint, heading back towards the main road. He risked a glance to his right, pleasantly surprised to find the woman keeping pace with him. His suspicions were soon confirmed when from behind them, they heard the low, rumbling growl of the approaching tyrannosaur. He could hear the distinct boom of each impact as the tyrannosaur stomped against the ground. Expanding his lungs to take in more oxygen, Muldoon pounded his feet against the wet dirt, working his legs harder to move faster. Kate Beckett pushed ahead of him, her long legs giving her a decided advantage.

They burst out of the foliage and into the open road seconds later, gasping and heaving. Propped up in the backseat of the jeep, Todd frantically waved at them, beckoning them over. Sitting next him, Sally bounced anxiously.

"Hurry," the young woman cried out.

"Gotta move," Todd shouted. "Gotta get out of here. Let's go—we gotta go! Like right now. Hurry. Let's get the fuck out of here! Like now!"

The booming footsteps were much louder, and were coming at quicker intervals. Muldoon risked a glance over his shoulder, seeing the tops of trees a couple yards away begin to quake. Gritting his teeth, he turned back around and put a hand on Beckett's arm, directing her towards the passenger side of the jeep. She nodded, and quickened her pace, darting around the stationary jeep, and climbing into the passenger seat. Muldoon tossed his flashlight into the rear compartment, and jumped up into the driver's seat, sliding down into place.

"Move now!" Todd yelled, his terrified voice filling the night air, alerting all manner of beasties to their presence. "Let's go, let's go, right now, right now!"

Muldoon turned the ignition and shifted gears. He arched his neck and glanced over his shoulder at the shouting fool, intent on telling the man to shut the bloody hell up. But just as he opened his mouth, Muldoon saw the tyrannosaur smash out of the jungle, head lowered like a massive battering ram, toppling trees as it charged out into the main road. The tyrannosaur opened her massive maw, and roared. The entire world seemed to vibrate with fear.

"GO!"

He didn't need to be told twice. Muldoon quickly shifted the jeep into gear and dropped the clutch, slamming his foot down against the accelerator. The wheels squealed, kicking up mud, before finding traction. Within seconds the jeep was tearing out of there. The earsplitting roar of the tyrannosaur, hot on their trail, drowned out the roar of the engine. With its powerful legs, the beast charged after them, fierce and terrible.

However, the jeep was slow to work through the first few gears. Allowing the tyrannosaur to close the distance. Muldoon clenched his teeth and cursed. He gripped the wheel, and turned them down the access road along side the main road, hoping to lose their pursuer. But it didn't. The tyrannosaur plowed through the tunnel of trees, undeterred.

In the passenger seat, Beckett was clutching the dashboard and glaring back at the monster as it chased them down the road. Muldoon was amazed at how formidable she looked. There was no fear in her eyes. She just stared the beast down. The tyrannosaur got closer, and in the backseat, Sally screamed loudly. Muldoon tried to swerve the jeep to avoid a collision with a fallen tree, nearly sending them into a ravine. He punched his foot down harder, pedal to the metal and all that.

The tyrannosaur roared, leaning in to snap its massive jaws at them. Muldoon's gaze flicked down to the side view mirror, which told him, in small red lettering along the bottom, that "Object Are Closer Than They Appear." No shit, he thought. The tyrannosaur was still gaining on them, its powerful stride nearly matching that of the jeep, thanks—in large part—to the slow acceleration of the jeep through the gears. Muldoon, along with the rest, all stared back at the Rex in terror.

"Faster, faster!" Beckett encouraged beside him, pounding her fist against the dashboard.

"Must go faster, it's getting closer—must go faster!" Todd instructed, a backseat driver.

The tyrannosaur swooped its head down for another pass, snapping its powerful jaws just above their heads. Beckett let out a string of curses, hunkering down in her seat, as Todd sprawled his body out over Sally, trying to shield her.

"Fuck, dude… go, go, go!" Todd shouted. "Open it up! Go. Man… go!"

Muldoon wanted to reprimand the man for backseat driving, but he held his tongue, and turned back to focus on driving. But when his eyes landed back to the access road, he saw a half-fallen tree branch right in front of them, blocking the path of the road.

"DOWN!" he yelled.

Everyone immediately ducked on his command. Beckett curled down into her seat, head pressed low over her lap, similar to the emergency landing position on an airplane. The thick branch smacked right into the windshield, sending shards of glass shattering up into the air, stripping it from the jeep. The back piping above the backseats were wrenched away, flying off noisily in a metallic screeching crack.

The tyrannosaur ram right through the branch, unhindered, smashing it entirely. The jeep bounced violently, the wheels dangerous close to losing traction. Todd was knocked about, his body shoved forward into the front compartment of the jeep. Afterwards, the fool kept leaning back, away from the danger of the Rex, and his elbow struck the gear shaft, knocking it back into neutral. The engine protested, spinning uselessly, and the beast closed in again. Muldoon growled in frustration, trying to keep control of the vehicle, while also outrunning a very pissed off Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"Bloody move!" Muldoon shouted at Todd, but the meathead couldn't hear him over the roar of both the engine and the tyrannosaur.

Thankfully, Beckett noticed what was happening. She exchanged a quick look with him, before turning to Todd, placing a hand on his shoulder, and pushing him back off the gear shift. Nostrils flaring as adrenaline pounded through his veins, Muldoon gave Beckett a grateful nod, before gripping the stick and ramming it back into gear. The jeep picked up speed, starting to pull ahead. Muldoon felt the beginnings of a smile tug at his lips, but he kept it at bay, not wanting to tempt fate.

Losing ground, the T-Rex roared in outrage, and made one final lunge for the jeep, smacking its massive bulk of a head roughly against the left rear quarter panel. The jeep bounced into the air, but Muldoon maintained his grip and control on the wheel, steering them safely through the assault. He punched his foot down on the accelerator, and jeep roared away. The tyrannosaur let out a roar of defeat, and gave up, slowing its stride, fading away into the distance.

Muldoon finally let out a breath, and looked back over his shoulder to check on Todd and Sally. The young blonde was crying hysterically, her face buried in the man's chest. Todd looked out of breath, ready to just pass out from sheer terror. Muldoon whistled in relief and glanced at Beckett in the passenger seat. She was leaning back in her seat, one hand on her heaving chest as she caught her breath. Her eyes flicked up to meet his and she smirked ruefully.

"Think they'll add that to the tour?"