Jurassic Island
Chapter 15 – White Water Rapids
Castle worked the oars, carefully steering them around a cluster of jagged rocks that stuck up out of the water. Charlie had fallen asleep, curled up into a ball in the center of the raft. Zoe remained leaning against the bow, lazily skimming her fingers along the surface of the water. A low trumpeting howl sounded from beyond the next bend in the river, and Zoe arched her neck to look back at Castle. Her eyes were wide with worry. Slipping off down from her perch, the teen crawled around the raft until she was able to locate herself closer to both him and her brother.
Gripping the oars, Castle maneuvered the raft nicely around the bend. The moment the raft curved around the turn and settled, he looked up, and gasped in surprise at the sight before them. Lingering along the water's edge were a pair of hadrosaurs, commonly known as duck-billed dinosaurs. They were both a pale brown color, with some green mixed in around the duckbill shaped snout. One was bigger than the other, leading Castle to assume that the smaller of the two was a juvenile. A mother and her offspring.
The hadrosaurs startled at their arrival, but soon calmed, sensing no danger from them. Castle moved the oars, cutting the paddles into the water to slow the craft down. He might be in a hurry to get back to the trailers and the radios there, but he couldn't pass off the opportunity to observe two living duck-billed dinosaurs so closely. The large one prodded the smaller one with its snout, letting out a low trumpeting noise. The smaller one honked back, and dipped its head to drink from the rushing water.
Zoe reached out and shook Charlie's shoulder. The boy grumbled, and shook his head, balling up his hands into fists and rubbing his eyes. He gave his sister a disgruntled look, before spying the drinking dinosaurs.
"Hadrosaurs!" the boy enthused, scrambling up and perching himself on the edge of the raft, fear of drowning momentarily forgotten.
"Careful, Charlie," Castle hollered after him, but the boy waved off his concern, too fascinated by the duck-billed dinosaurs to care.
The hadrosaurs continued lapping at the water, unconcerned about their watchers. Castle arched his neck and peered around them, spying what looked like the rest of the herd grazing in a clearing not far behind. Zoe moved to sit beside Charlie, moving one hand up to rest along his shoulder. Castle smiled, she was a good older sister. It made him wonder how Alexis would be with a baby brother or sister, at least once he and Kate got to work expanding their family.
He was pulled out of his daydreaming of little Castle babies by the excited trumpeting cries of the herd. The mother and juvenile, drinking at the river's edge, raised their heads. Castle narrowed his eyes, seeing a dust cloud arise from the clearing, the honks and trumpeting calls of the herd growing louder and more insistent. The mother hadrosaur raised her head, craning her neck to glance back at the herd.
That was when the tyrannosaur struck.
With a thunderous roar, the beast came charging out of the densely packed foliage, latching its powerful jaws around the mother hadrosaur's neck. She cried out in pain and horror as her tail swung wildly. The juvenile honked fearfully, backing away from the river's edge, scurrying back, yet not abandoning its mother. The tyrannosaur growled, low in its belly, sinking its razor sharp teeth further into the female hadrosaur's neck.
Castle raised the oars, shifting the paddles to cease the drag, willing the strong current to speed them away from the scene. But it was too late. The tyrannosaur spotted them. Releasing the flailing hadrosaur for its jaws, it stared at them as they passed by. Behind the king predator the hadrosaur flopped around on the riverbank, before finding its footing in the mud and standing on shaky legs.
"So much blood," Charlie was shaking all over, one hand bouncing up and down against the rubber fringe of the raft.
Zoe's face had paled, and she clutched her brother's shoulder, trying to make him look away, but the boy couldn't be persuaded. Castle gritted his teeth, and rolled the oars, propelling the raft further away from the shoreline, trying to get them into the center of the river, where the current would be at its strongest.
The tyrannosaur reared its massive head back and roared. Ignoring the wounded hadrosaur and its juvenile stumbling behind it, the might T-Rex stomped along the riverbank after them. It bellowed loudly as the river current finally picked up and pulled them along at a quicker pace. Castle gripped the oars tightly, moving them when needed to avoid any logjams, both figurative and literal.
"Can we go any faster?" Zoe asked, arching her neck over her shoulder to look back at Castle.
"I'll see what I can do," he said, rowing as fast as he could. "Though, we should be okay here. I think the river is pretty deep. And we're far enough away. Besides, she can't swim."
Charlie was about to interject, his mouth half-opened, but was interrupted when the tyrannosaur's roar cut him off. On the shoreline, the big Rex dug its three-clawed foot into the mud and plunged into the water, sending white spray splashing up into the air.
"Um… I guess she can swim," Zoe shuddered.
"Of course she can swim!" Charlie shouted, irritated, covering his fear with unwarranted aggression.
"Well, how should I know?" Zoe questioned, both offended and frightened.
"Everybody knows tyrannosaurs can swim! It's in all the books!" Charlie replied. "Anyway, all reptiles can swim."
"Snakes can't."
"Of course snakes can, you idiot!"
"Hey!" Castle shouted, coping mechanism or not, completely done with their squabbling. He gritted his teeth and pumped his arms harder, putting as much strength and energy he had left into each swing of the oars. "Now is not the time for this. Zoe, get your brother away form the edge… and hold on to something!"
While the kids had been arguing, Castle had been watching the tyrannosaur, witnessing first hand just how well the prehistoric animal could swim. The T-Rex was now chest-deep in the water, but it could hold its big head high above the surface. It was at that moment that Castle realized that she wasn't swimming, but rather walking along the bottom of the riverbed, because moments later only the very top of the head—the eyes and nostrils—protrude above the surface. By then it looked almost like a crocodile, and it swam like a crocodile, swinging its big tail back and forth, so that the water churned behind it. Just behind the head, Castle could see the curve of the back, and the round shape of the tail as it occasionally broke the surface.
Exactly like a crocodile, he thought unhappily.
"Rocks!" Zoe shouted, clutching Charlie to her chest, loose strands of hair blowing wildly around her face. "Rocks, straight ahead!"
Castle cursed, and stretched his neck, gazing past the huddling siblings to get a glimpse at what awaited them. The river was narrowing, and flowing swiftly. The raft was going faster all the time, and it had nothing to do with Castle's rowing. It started to feel like an amusement park ride. Castle squinted his eyes, trying to catch the details ahead of them. That's when he noticed what exactly was going to happen.
"Shit!" he shouted, abandoning the oars and diving for the red plastic handrails along the side of the inflated tubes of the raft. "Rapids! Hold on to something!"
Zoe gripped her little brother and pulled him over to one of the handholds. The siblings stayed together as they approached the first drop. Castle risked a glance behind them, seeing the tyrannosaur rising up out of the water, the river becoming shallower the closer they got to the rapids.
The children screamed as the raft bounced down the first drop, water spraying into their faces, soaking them. Castle shook his head and blinked his eyes, curling his fingers around the handhold as they were spun around again. They were jolted left and right, tossed about violently. Zoe lost her grip on Charlie and the boy slipped out of her hold. The raft impacted against a smooth rock, and bounced backwards into the flowing water with a violent shove. The boy tumbled backwards, crying out for help.
Castle freed one hand and grabbed him just before he slid off the edge of the raft and into the open maw of the tyrannosaur tumbling along behind them. The tyrannosaur roared in displeasure. Clenching his jaw, Castle summoned up his strength and heaved the boy back away from the edge, clutching him to his chest as the raft came to another thunderous drop.
Water splashed in their faces, the roar of the water almost drowning out the roar of the tyrannosaur as she fumbled around in the rapids, desperately trying to restore her balance. The current had been too strong, and the beast had been swept up in the rapids, unable to prevent itself from being tossed around like potatoes in a sack. However, it didn't look like the tyrannosaur was being hurt at all. It only looked more furious than it already had been. Its tongue curled as it bellowed angrily. The mighty beast followed behind them down two more drops, before slamming hard against the rock face along the right side. It let out a whimpering roar and went limp, its massive bulk disappearing under the water as the current calmed and they floated out of the white water rapids.
Castle released his hold on Charlie, and the boy slid into the middle of the raft, heaving in deep gulps of air. Still clutching the gunwale along her side of the raft, Zoe looked back at them, blinking her eyes.
"Do you think it drowned?" she asked.
Charlie craned his neck over the side of the raft, before darting back. "No."
Castle took a look, and saw the bubbles the boy had noticed. He narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of a faint ripple along the surface of the water…heading straight towards them. "Ah… fu—Hang on!" he shouted, just as the massive head of the tyrannosaur bucked up from beneath the surface, almost directly underneath them. The raft bounced up into the air, spinning them crazily before it splashed back down again.
"Do something!" Zoe screamed. "Do something!"
Castle didn't know what to do. The oars were gone. He'd lost them when they had bounced around through the rapids. He scrunched up his face, racking his brain for some sort of solution. You're a writer, damn it, you've written characters out of worse situations than this, he told himself.
The tyrannosaur reared up alongside them, streams of water cascading down its leathery hide. Castle stared up into the massive maw of death, for the first time truly terrified that this was it. But then, just as the tyrannosaur was about to snap its jaws shut, the river's current increased and pulled them out of range of the disgruntled Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The prehistoric predator threw its head back and bellowed, enraged.
They spun around aimlessly, and temporarily ignoring the threat of the pursuing T-Rex, Castle focused on trying to stabilize the raft. With no oars or paddles, he was forced to use his hands and arms. Zoe saw what he was doing, and did her best to help out. Meanwhile, Charlie kept watch on the tyrannosaur as it tried to catch up with them. It swung its mighty tail hard, water frothing around it as it splashed towards them. The fearsome roar made Castle's heart pound even faster in his chest.
Squinting his eyes as he looked forward, Castle let out a breathless gasp. The river was still narrow and dark, but further ahead he could see the trees ended, and there was bright sunlight beyond, and a distant thunderous clamor. The river seemed to end abruptly in a peculiar flat line… The raft bounced along at a faster clip, rushing forward with a tremendous sped. Castle renewed his paddling with a vengeance, using both hands to try and steer the raft towards the riverbank.
"What is it?" Zoe shouted, mimicking his actions.
"It's a waterfall!" Castle shouted.
The raft swept out of the overhanging darkness into a brilliant morning sunlight. The three passengers blinked their eyes, blinded momentarily by the light. The swift current pulled them towards the lip of the waterfall. The roar was loud in their ears. Castle redoubled his efforts, but he only succeeded in spinning the raft in circles. It continued inexorably towards the fall.
Charlie grabbed his arm. "I can't swim!" the boy cried with wide terrified eyes.
Castle glanced about for something that could act as a flotation device for the boy, but there was nothing. With frightening speed, they came to the edge, and the roar of the waterfall seemed to fill the world. Castle grabbed Charlie and tugged him closer to his side, while with his other hand he groped around for a handhold on the gunwale. Zoe crawled over to them and wrapped her arms around his torso, squeezing her eyes shut and burying her face in his chest.
"Hold on!" he shouted, trying to instill as much confidence into his hoarse voice as possible.
Behind them the tyrannosaur roared. Zoe screamed, and Charlie cried out in a panic, and then the raft spun around completely, the rear end dropping away, spilling them out into the air and thundering water.
And they fell.
The world went suddenly silent and slow.
It seemed to Castle that he fell for several long minutes. He had time to observe Zoe and Charlie curling into him as they fell. He had time to observe the frozen white sheets of the waterfall. He had time to observe the bubbling pool beneath them as they fell slowly, silently towards it.
Then, with a stinging slap, they plunged into the cold water, surrounded by white boiling bubbles. Castle had to suppress the gasp of pain that wanted out when he hit the water. With all his strength, he held onto Charlie as they were tumbled and spun, swirled around, and swept down through the pool. Somewhere during all that, he lost track of Zoe. But there was nothing he could do as the current pulled them along. With one arm wrapped around Charlie, Castle swam for the shore, clutching at warm rocks, slipped off, caught a branch, and finally pulled both Charlie and himself out of the main current.
Gasping, Castle dragged himself on his belly onto the scattered rocks along the shore. His lungs ached and burned, but he managed to pull himself to look back at the river just in time to see the yellow rubber raft tumble past him. Then he saw Zoe, battling the current. Wading back into the water, he stretched out and grabbed her hand, pulling her, coughing and shivering, onto the riverbank beside him and Charlie.
Chest heaving as he took in deep gulps of air, Castle pushed himself to his feet and turned back to the waterfall, watching as the tyrannosaur plunged over the edge and smacked hard into the splashing white water. There was a tumult as the tyrannosaur struggled before slipping beneath the surface, the water continuing the cascade down from above.
"Is… is it… is it dead?" stammered Zoe, rising up next to him, gasping for air.
"I don't know," he answered honestly, turning his back to the scene, and bending down to help Charlie up to his feet. He put a hand on Zoe's shoulder and encouraged her to move forward. "But we're not sticking around to find out."
XXX
Kate followed Muldoon down the dark steps, clutching the scoped rifle he'd provided tightly to her chest. Holstered around her waist, were two semi-automatic pistols, along with a tranquilizer dart gun. She highly doubted she would use the dart gun, but Muldoon had insisted. With the power now completely out, all the security locks on the building doors were open, so they'd had no trouble busting into the armory and absconding with some weapons. Muldoon had picked up a custom SPAS-12 shotgun, along with some extra ammo. Strapped to his belt were a silver pistol and a tranquilizer dart gun. Five of the ammo tubes spanning his belt contained spare darts. He'd also grabbed a sack of hand grenades.
"Just in case," he had answered her bemused expression with a half-smirk.
Now striding out into the parking garage beneath the visitor center, Kate let herself breathe. They were going to find Castle. She had to believe that, because anything else was unacceptable. Muldoon led the way around the concrete pillars, sweeping his flashlight wide, and she followed him down a small service ramp. Moving her own flashlight around, Kate spotted several park drivers milling about near one of the jeeps, looking uncertain and spooked.
Several of the men perked up when they saw them. Even more made no secret they were admiring her legs. Kate shuddered, wishing she'd had the chance to change out of her short shorts—which she had worn specifically to get a rise out of Castle—and into something more appropriate, but alas they didn't have time, and Kate wasn't about to waste time so she could have a wardrobe change.
Muldoon noticed the men's wandering eyes and gave them all a stern look. It seemed to do the trick, because they all looked away, several actually even had the decency to look shamefaced for their deplorable behavior during a time of crisis. She continued behind Muldoon as he walked down the ramp, casting a disapproving look over the group of jeep drivers.
"Sorry, lass," he muttered under his breath. "Not that I blame them, you are a very beautiful woman, after all."
Kate inclined her head in recognition of his comment.
"Mr. Muldoon, what's going on?" one man asked. "I was in the middle of gassing up my jeep when all the lights suddenly went out."
"Hammond decided we needed to shut down the entire system to wipe out whatever damage Nedry did to it," Muldoon answered them, heading over to a jeep marked with the number seven. He proceeded to load the grenades and his shotgun. Kate followed suit. "You should all probably stay here until Mr. Arnold gets the power back on. Safer than venturing out."
"And what about you, sir?" one of the drivers asked, stepping forward. Kate glanced back and narrowed her eyes. In the dim light illuminated by the flashlights, she thought he looked familiar. Yes. He did. He was the park employee who had driven her and Castle up to their trailer.
"Detective Beckett and I are heading out to find her husband," Muldoon answered. "He went missing, along with two children. We intend to bring them back."
"Why not wait for the power to come back?" the driver asked, frowning.
"The longer we wait, the more our chances of finding them decrease," Kate said, annoyed with the delay they were causing. "Now… are you going to help, or just stand there gawking?"
Muldoon glanced at her approvingly, and pursed his lips in a tight grin, before turning back to the men. "Any volunteers?"