Jurassic Island
Chapter 12 – Maintenance Shed 47
John Hammond was livid. He stood in the center of the control room as chaos erupted around him. The staff was rushing about, desperately attempting to organize an evacuation of the resort. This was not supposed to have happened. There had only been one incident—years ago—that had called the park's safety into question. The InGen board of directors, along with the other investors, had demanded an inspection by experts.
Those experts had been: Dr. Alan Grant, a paleontologist, Dr. Ellie Sattler, a paleobotanist, and Dr. Ian Malcolm, a mathematician who specialized in Chaos Theory. The blood sucking lawyer, Donald Gennaro, had also accompanied them, along with Hammond's grandchildren, Lex and Tim, on the original park tour. Everything had gone off flawlessly. Grant and Sattler were impressed, Gennaro had seen dollar signs, the kids had loved it, and Malcolm had been forced to admit that the park was not as bad as he had feared. It had been a good inspection—No! It had been a great inspection.
And now everything was falling apart.
He cursed under his breath, and sidestepped around some frantic staff members working at repairing the communications system. They needed to recall the ferries and helicopters. One had even suggested calling in the Marines. Hammond didn't think it had come to that yet. They could still regain control. He had to believe that. Stepping back down into the lower section of the control room, Hammond hobbled over to Arnold. The man had now lit his cigarette, needing the nicotine to calm his rattled nerves. Hammond felt for the man, knowing that he had been trying to kick the habit.
"Ray?"
"Just a sec, sir," Arnold said, hunching over the computer station, typing fervidly on the keyboard.
Hammond stepped up behind him and looked over his shoulder, watching at the computer screen filled with computer coding. He didn't know what any of it meant, but Arnold seemed to understand it.
"Access security," Arnold muttered to himself, his cigarette bouncing as his lips moved. The computer beeped, and the words 'PERMISSION DENIED' appeared under the command he had just entered. "Access main security." Again, he was denied. Undeterred, he continued. "Access main program grid." The words 'PERMISSION DENIED' flashed on the screen, followed by a continuous stream of the phrase, 'YOU DIDN'T SAY THE MAGIC WORD!'
Almost immediately afterwards, the monitor on the left end of the workstation displayed an animated cartoon image of Nedry, dressed in a white Elvis costume, declaring, "Ah, ah, ah… you didn't say the magic word" on a continuous loop.
Arnold growled in frustration, rolling his chair over towards that monitor to glare at the screen. "Please, God damn it! I hate this hacker crap!" He smacked the top of the monitor, furious.
"Call Nedry's people in Cambridge," Hammond said, picking up the phone sitting on the desk, only to then remember that all communications—saved two-way radios—were out. He slammed the phone back in its holder and huffed out a string of curses. "That fat bastard is going to pay for this. I'll kill him!"
Arnold glanced up with concern. "Look, sir… John, this is going to take some time," he said, loosening his necktie. "Why don't you go downstairs to the cafeteria and get a cup of coffee? We'll call you when we have some news."
"Perhaps I will, Ray," Hammond gave a nod, conceding to Arnold's suggestion. Even he could acknowledge that he was of very little help in here. The staff were trained professionals, and were doing the best they could under difficult circumstances. He glanced over at the blank monitors that had once displayed the CCTV park security footage. Relenting with a sigh, he patted Arnold on the shoulder. "Hold the fort down."
"I'll try my best," Arnold muttered as he puffed on his cigarette and spun back around in his chair to face Nedry's workstation.
XXX
Castle ducked his head, pushing some wayward fronds out of the way as he trudged further into the park. Zoe and Charlie were right behind him, quietly bemoaning their long jungle trek. He glanced back at them, and gave them what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He held up a thick palm leaf for them as the continued through the densely packed foliage. Thankfully the storm had let up. It only seemed to be drizzling now. Patches of moonlight shone through the gaps in the canopy of trees above their heads. It was getting late, and they were fatigued. Castle had contemplated seeking shelter in one of the taller trees, but one look at Charlie told him that the young boy wouldn't be up for that. So they maintained their journey towards the maintenance shed.
"I'm hungry," Charlie whined softly, curling his hands around his stomach. "And tired. Can we take a break?"
"I'm hungry, too, Charlie," Castle sighed, carding his fingers through his disheveled hair. "And sorry, I don't think it would be wise to take a break… yet. We should be close to the maintenance shed." And then he added, under his breath, more to himself than to the kids, "If the map is accurate."
"Rick's right," Zoe said, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder. "We need to keep moving."
"Can you carry me, Rick?"
"Charlie," Zoe scoffed. "You're too big to carry."
"But I'm tired."
"Just a little big further," Castle said, attempting to reassure the boy.
Charlie nodded, nudging a small rock loose with his toe before he slumped his shoulders in defeat and continued on. Castle reached out with a hand and gave the boy's shoulder a comforting squeeze, before turning his attention to Charlie's older sister.
"How are you holding up, Zoe?" Castle asked, tilting his head down to look at the teen.
"Okay," she said with a shrug, rubbing her shoulder where it was sore. "Our Dad—real Dad—used to take us camping. Charlie was too young to remember, but it was always the highlight of the year. So… yeah, I'm doing okay. Though… we haven't really gone camping much since mom married Mike." She paused, her face scrunching up with mixed emotions. "What do you think happened to him?"
"I'm not sure," Castle answered honestly, though he feared the worse. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Zoe said with a shake of her head. "Our Dad did things with us because he cared. Mike… he just wasn't really into that stuff. He rarely did anything with us if it also didn't include my mom. This… this trip was supposed to be our big bonding moment, at least that's what my mom was hoping."
Charlie seemed to have a different attitude. "He wasn't that bad, Zoe," he interjected. "Sure, Mike didn't really like hanging out with us, but he made mom happy."
Zoe sighed, and but nodded in reluctant agreed. "Yeah, he did."
Castle placed a hand on Zoe's shoulder. "Let's focus on getting back to the visitor center, and then we can worry about the rest… okay?"
Zoe nodded. "Okay."
They continued on for several minutes, climbing over gnarled, knotted roots, and pushing through hanging vines. The drizzle had now stopped and Castle saw it as a sign to give the kids a brief respite. Charlie sighed with relief, slumping against the nearest tree. They sat in quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. Castle felt for the kids. Clearly Mike wasn't the exactly best stepfather; nonetheless his death would still hit them hard. Of course, Castle didn't know if the man was really dead or not, but he felt it was a reasonable assertion, considering.
His thoughts inevitably turned towards Kate. He was worried about her. This was supposed to have been their long overdue romantic getaway, not the disaster it had become. Dropping his head into his hands, Castle scrubbed his face, trying to rid his mind of the worse case scenarios. It was the writer's curse. But he couldn't let himself fall down that path. Not now.
Despite all that, Castle still relied on his faith in his wife and her abilities. Kate Beckett was a fierce woman, tenacious and resilient. His warrior princess, though he'd never tell her that out loud, his shoulder wouldn't thank him. He had no doubt she could handle herself in any situation. However, even knowing that, Castle still felt an uneasy feeling low in his stomach.
He was used to being by her side, something he greatly missed since the D.A. had him kicked out of the precinct. Sure, he trusted the boys to have her back, but it was difficult relinquishing the working partnership they had spent years developing. They had been through so many life and death situations together, Castle had grown used to being her partner in crime. But now, when they were facing an extremely dangerous situation, it was beyond frustrating not knowing where Beckett was or how she was faring. It was all so nerve-wracking. He was quite certain that she was probably experiencing the same anxiety.
Shaking his head, Castle sucked in a full breath, and then pushed himself up, putting a hand on his right knee, feeling it protest under the strain. He stretched his muscles, giving the kids a little more time to rest. He brushed back some loose strands of hair that had flopped down over his forehead, and tugged the map out of his back pocket. He studied it for sometime, before deciding on a direction.
They hiked up a steep slope, using the low branches and the hanging vines for support. Reaching the crest, Castle turned back around and smiled, seeing the view of the lowland behind them. He nudged Charlie's arm and pointed out towards the horizon.
"You see that?"
Charlie scrunched up his nose and stared off in the direction Castle had indicated. His eyes lit up when he saw them. Long-necked herbivores could be seen grazing, munching on the leaf rich treetops of the lowlands below them. In the moonlight, they appeared a dull gray in coloring, similar to the hide of an elephant. The small bump on their head was their distinctive feature, separating them from other sauropods.
"Brachiosaurs!" the young boy exclaimed in excitement, clapping his hands. "I read about them in Dr. Grant's book." Castle chuckled. He never got to finish the book, though he had no complaints as to what had distracted him. "According to Dr. Grant, many paleontologists once thought that because of the position of their nostrils on the top of their heads that Brachiosaurs could breathe under deep water. But Dr. Grant believed that was unlikely, because the water pressure would have stopped them from breathing."
"You're just full of information, aren't you?" snipped an annoyed Zoe.
Ignoring her, Castle and Charlie watched with awe as the gentle giants slowly closer and closer. Zoe, however, seemed nervous by their approach. She tugged on Castle's arm. And he quirked an eyebrow up as he glanced down at her.
"As much as I love the break," she drawled out with typical teenage snark, "shouldn't we get moving before those beasts come over here."
"I wouldn't worry about that," Castle said, smirking. "But, you're right. We shouldn't linger." Placing a hand on Charlie's shoulder, he gently encouraged the boy to turn away from the soothing sight and back to the jungle. As if on cue, somewhere off in the distance the tyrannosaur roared. It sounded angry. Castle could only imagine what had enraged the gigantic predator. He walked on along with the kids, doing his best to pretend like he hadn't heard the bellowing roar. But, of course, that was too much to ask for.
"Are you hearing this?" Zoe questioned, stopping in her tracks, putting a hand on Charlie's arm. The boy's eyes grew wide, and he bobbed his head.
Sighing, realizing that it was futile to ignore it, Castle shook his head in answer. "It was far off. We should be okay."
Zoe narrowed her eyes, unconvinced by his front, but relented soon enough. She wrapped an arm around Charlie's shoulder, keeping her younger brother close as they hiked onward. Castle sucked in a deep breath, and followed behind them, looking at their surroundings, trying not to think of all the horrors they had experienced and had yet to encounter.
"Look!" Charlie cried out, extending his arm out and pointing down the hill.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Castle blinked his eye and squinted in the dim light, only barely making out the solid straight lines of a concrete bunker embedded into the hillside alongside the flowing waters of a river. He pulled the crumpled map out of his back pocket and carefully unfolded it. Yes. That was it. There was a river running along side the maintenance shed on the map.
"I think this is it," he told the kids, urging them forward.
Zoe took Charlie's hand, and the children began the slow descent down the slope. Castle pocketed the map, and shoved the large ferns aside as he followed behind them, keeping a watch on their footing to assure neither fell. The trees were thick and the branches firm, providing them with secure handholds for the climb down. The ground wasn't as muddy as it had been near the barrier by the main road. To be honest, Castle wasn't even sure they were still in the tyrannosaur paddock. They could have easily wandered into another enclosure without even realizing it.
They were close enough that Castle could hear the babble of the river as the current flowed by. The children skidded ahead, dropping to their knees along the riverbank. Castle let out a puff of air and joined them, plopping down and dunking his head under the cool water. He then cupped his hands and took a couple gulps. He was too thirsty to worry about any bacteria that might be present in the water.
Refreshed, Castle pushed himself back up to his feet, reaching down to rub his bad knee. That damn skiing accident was coming back to bite him in the ass. On the bright side, it was a constant reminder of what could happen when he tried to show off in front of his wife. It was hard to hold back when it came to Beckett. They were both highly competitive individuals, a fact he learned surprisingly early in their relationship.
"Do you think there'll be a phone in there?" Zoe asked as she readjusted her ponytail, snapping the rubber band back into place.
Castle shrugged. "We can only hope."
He took the lead, marching through the bracken and underbrush, towards the concrete bunker. Stenciled in black spray paint along the sides was 'JP MAINT 47'. When they got closer, they emerged onto an access road. Startled by their sudden appearance, several small, chicken-sized dinosaurs chirped noisily and bounced back anxiously, twisting their little necks around to glance up at them.
"What are they?" Zoe inquired, gazing warily down at the little greenish brown lizards.
"Oh… I know, I know!" Charlie enthused, practically squealing with delight. "I read about them in Dr. Grant's book. Compsognathus, compys for short."
"Are they dangerous?" Zoe questioned, risking a glance towards her brother as the curious little compys cautiously approached, long necks stretching up to sniff at her scraped knees.
"Nah," Charlie shook his head. "I don't think so. The book said something about them being scavengers, feeding off the leftovers from larger predators."
Castle watched the scene with a wary eye. The tiny dinosaurs seemed quite taken with Zoe. They were prancing around her with interest. The teen knitted her eyebrows together as she stared down at the little beasts. Charlie was slowly inching in from the side with a mischievous look in his eye.
"Charlie," Castle warned.
"I just wanna pet one," the boy insisted. "They're so cute."
"I don't think they're cute," Zoe put forth, slowly backing away from the bouncing group of compys. It was then that one snapped at her leg. She yelped and jumped back, startling the little dinosaurs back. Like a flock of birds, the group hopped back as one, hissing and hooting in surprise.
Castle didn't like the look of this. He reached out and grabbed Charlie, pulling him back. One brave compy moved forward, out of the group, stalking towards the alarmed Zoe. Carefully, Castle unbuckled his belt and pulled it out of the loops. Using the belt like a whip, he snapped the leather out over the compys head, frightening the little beasties.
"Back… get back!" he shouted, snarling at them, and making himself as threatening as possible. He snapped the belt again, this time striking the lead compy. The creature howled in pain and fear, skidding back. The entire group clustered close together. Castle advanced on them, again snapping the belt over their little bobbing heads. One more whack of the belt and the compys scattered, chirping and hooting fearfully. They darted in different directions, disappearing into the dense tropical underbrush.
Zoe sighed with relief. "Thanks," she said.
Castle inclined his head, and weaved the belt back through the loops on his jeans. "I think they were more interested in your scraped knees than anything else," he said, before turning to Charlie. "I believe Dr. Grant's book also said something about compys willing to go after injured juveniles… which would have included both you and Zoe today."
Charlie gulped, eyes going wide with fear. "Good thing you scared them off before I got close enough for them to bite off one of my fingers," the boy said, laughing nervously.
"You should talk," groaned Zoe, putting her hands on her hips. "They were swarming around me, snapping at my legs. They could have done a lot worse than bite me."
While listening to the children bicker, Castle arched his neck and looked down the path of the road they were presently standing on. If the maintenance shed was a bust, they could probably walk the road back to civilization. And if the compys showed up again, it would be easy enough to scare them off. Turning, he gestured for Zoe and Charlie to precede him. The two kids stopped their arguing and scampered across the road, running up the small flight of steps that led up to the bunker. The plashing of the river was much louder now. Castle looked around the corner of the concrete bunker to see the flowing water of the river running along the back left side of the maintenance bunker. The corrugated metal door was painted a dark red, and the number forty-seven was stenciled on it in a large yellow block font.
"It's locked," Charlie observed, tugging on the padlock at the base.
"Oh, that's no problem," Castle said, digging his wallet out of his pocket. He opened it, and removed a paperclip that was holding together some cards he had printed for his P.I. business: Castle Investigations. He was particularly proud of the embossed logo. Alexis had helped him with the design. Gently kneeling down on the concrete platform, he bent his back and twisted the thin metal wire of the paperclip around until he could use it more effectively.
"Whoa, are you going to pick the lock?" Zoe questioned, her eyebrows nearly rising into her hairline.
"That's the general idea, yeah," Castle confirmed, his eyes as he worked the paperclip inside the lock.
"Cool!" Zoe enthused, grinning widely as she bent down to observe what he was doing. Charlie merely furrowed his brow in confusion, but mimicked his older sister's enthusiasm.
The padlock clicked and Castle grinned, sitting back and yanking the lock back, freeing the curved rod from its holder. He maneuvered it through the loop, and stood up. Bending down, he gripped the handle along the corrugated door and tugged it up. The metal rattled as he slid it open.
Inside, the maintenance shed was dark. He had to squint to see anything. The interior was larger than he had expected, leading him to conclude that the shed's interior dug into the sloping hillside. There were some tools, a shovel and wire cutters, a spool of electrical wire, a handful of florescent light tubes, two work boots, two hardhats, and two yellow windbreakers. Nothing of much help.
Charlie started to explore, itching to discover what treasures he could find. Zoe stayed near the opening, watching Castle with wary eyes, rightfully concerned about their hopes. Castle shared a look with the teen, and then walked inside, heading deeper into the gloomy recesses of the building. He pushed past five-gallon containers of herbicide, tree pruning equipment, spare tires for a Jeep, coils of cyclone fencing, hundred-pound fertilizer bags, stacks of brown ceramic insulators, empty motor-oil cans, work lights and cables.
Ignoring those items, Castle stepped over to a metal workbench pressed up against the one wall. The surface was littered with folders and binders. Castle couldn't help but grimace at the sloppiness of the place. He flipped through some of the folders, not really sure what he was looking for, seeing only maintenance schedules and records. He grabbed a white binder with the Jurassic Park logo on it, and was pleased to uncover the landline underneath.
He eagerly snatched the phone out of its cradle and held it up to his ear.
Zoe gazed up at him with hopeful eyes. "Well?"
Castle frowned. "Nothing. The line's dead," he said, face falling with disappointment as he replaced the phone. He noted a rack of dark plastic holdings along the side wall with numerous slots for electronic devices. A black cable ran down along the wall, where it plugged into a socket. He would wager good money that that's where the radios were stored for recharge when not in use. Sadly, all the slots were empty.
"Hey, guys!" Charlie called out from the other end of the bunker. "I think I found something"
Castle and Zoe quickly crossed the distance to join him.
"What is it?" Zoe asked, her desperation leaking through the tone in her voice.
Charlie pointed up to a plastic gray case mounted against the wall. Stenciled across the case were the words: RAFT. The boy looked up at Castle and Zoe, and smiled. "You think this could help?"
XXX
The jeep barreled on down the road. Kate leaned back in the seat, her heart still pounding fiercely against her ribcage from the close call with the T-Rex. For a moment there, she had really thought that the ancient predator would catch up with them and they would be goners. But thankfully, the power of modern automobile engines had been enough to get them to safety, projecting them at speeds that surpassed the capabilities of the mighty tyrannosaur.
At present, despite some of her objections, Muldoon was taking them back to the Visitor Center complex, where evacuations were underway. Kate would prefer to go back and do a more thorough search for Castle and the kids. However, she had to concede that Muldoon was right. They needed to get Todd and Sally back to the Visitor Center, especially Todd, who needed proper medical attention.
The jeep swung around a turn sharply, and Kate had to grip the dashboard to keep her steady. Muldoon wasn't taking any more chances, wanting to put as much distance between them and the tyrannosaur as possible. In the beam of the headlights, Kate could barely see what looked like little dinosaurs scurrying along the side of the road. A greenish-brown hue, they were about the size of a chicken, the largest of them about the size of a domestic cat. They had pointy snouts and beady little eyes. Seeing them now, Kate could understand why some scientist believed that modern birds were related to dinosaurs. Their heads rested on a long, slender neck, and their slim bodies moved easily through the dense foliage, as they bounced around on chicken-like legs, their long tails keeping them balanced as they scampered from one fallen log to the next perch. Concerned, she pointed them out to Muldoon, who groaned.
"Compys," he said with an annoyed expression. "Don't worry, they're harmless."
Watching the compys scamper about, a thought suddenly struck Kate. "So it wasn't just the tyrannosaur paddock that lost power?" she concluded, making it a question just because she wasn't entirely sure if she was correct in her assumption.
"Huh?" Muldoon frowned. "Oh… No. Whole bloody park is down… except for the raptor pen, that's on a different system. But those compys, nah… they're like pigeons, or worse… rats. They're everywhere. We've never been able to keep them caged up. Smart little bastards. But they're mostly harmless. They're scavengers, like hyenas. They rarely threaten guests. Mainly just feed off the leftovers or crumbs. People seemed to like seeing them. So we let them roam free."
"Seems dangerous," Kate hedged, craning her neck to gaze back at the little dinosaurs hopping around along the side of the road. She watched the compys chirp and jump around for a second or two, before shaking her head and turning her attention back to what really mattered, at least to her. "What about Castle and the kids?"
Muldoon glanced briefly at her as he steered them along the curvy access road. "I'm sorry, Detective Beckett," he said. "But right now, we have other fish to fry. We've got to get Mr. DiLaurentis back to the med lab."
"I know," Kate sighed in defeat, arching her neck to glance back at Sally and Todd. The blonde had quieted, and was leaning against her injured fiancé, curled into him. Despite how she felt about Todd and his meathead attitude, Kate sympathized with the couple. She'd probably be the same way if their roles had been reversed and it was Castle with the broken leg. Turning back to Muldoon, she continued, "I… I just feel so useless right now. I've got faith in Castle. He can take care of himself. He's proven himself enough over the years we've been together. I just… I've always been there, you know? To make sure he didn't get himself into too much trouble."
"Look, I know how you feel," Muldoon told her with a sympathetic expression. "I don't like it either. But running blindly into things won't help either. Once we get back to the Visitor Center we'll be able to better assess the situation. In the meantime, just focus on your faith in him. If anything, that should help."
She nodded, pursing her lips as she turned her gaze back out to the foliage flying past them. Kate had faith in Castle and his abilities. But even with that, she couldn't help but worry about him. She couldn't lose him. Not now. Not after everything they'd been through to get to this point in their relationship. There was still so much more for them to do. She couldn't—NO… she wouldn't lose him. She loved him too much for that. Sighing, she leaned back in the passenger seat, closing her eyes as the wind whipped around her hair. She'd go along with Muldoon's plan for now. But once she gave Mr. Hammond a piece of her mind, she'd find whatever weapons she could, and then she would go back out into the park and find her husband.
Nothing would stand in her way. She was going to get Castle back, alive and unharmed.