Chapter 4

David opened his eyes and looked out the windshield. For a few seconds he watched the one remaining windshield wiper swish back and for across the spider-webbed glass. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and everything around him seemed very distant. The Jeep's headlights shone up the hill, lighting up the path it had taken. Small trees and branches hung at odd angles where they had been broken and water gushed down the hill through the ruts made by the Jeep's tires. It looked as if they had slid about fifteen feet off the road. David wondered how they had managed to keep from tipping over. A moan from the passenger seat cleared his head immediately.

April was sitting forward in her seat, holding a hand to the right side of her head.

"April, are you ok?" Groggily she opened her eyes and lowered her hand. David couldn't see any blood on either her hand or her head, but she seemed dazed. She took a deep breath before answering.

"I'll be fine," she said after a moment, blinking to clear away the cobwebs. "How about you?" April looked concerned as she turned to examine David.

"Yeah, just a sore wrist." The steering wheel had jerked so violently from the impact that David thought his wrist might be broken, but a few circles of motion produced only minor discomfort. A low roar echoed throughout the jungle. April jumped and quickly began looking out the windows. It was the Tyrannosaur, but it sounded miles away.

"David, we have to get out of here! Somewhere safe!" She sounded close to panic.

He felt the same, but the Jeep was stuck. No matter what he tried, the tires got no traction. He opened his door to look at the wheels and watched them spin deeper into the wet ground. Then he remembered the information building. If they could reach it they would have a safe shelter. But it would mean they had to risk being out in the open to get there. "Please David." The fear in April's voice made up David's mind.

"There's an information building not more than a few hundred yards from where we are right now." April turned to look at David with hope. "We'll be safe inside, but we'll have to run to get there. It's that or stay here and spin the tires."

April began unbuckling her seatbelt before David had even finished talking. He handed her one of the extra raincoats from behind his seat. "Here, put this on." It was still raining heavily and the last thing he wanted was for her to be sitting in the building soaking wet. "I'll help you up the hill and once we get on the road we'll have about two hundred yards to the building. It won't take long." David was assuming it would be a clear sprint. He didn't want to think about any animals being close. He felt his pocket to make sure the master key was there and grabbed the flashlight.

"OK, I'm ready." April licked her lips in anticipation. She had the raincoat on, the hood pulled up to cover her head.

With a deep breath, David opened his door and jumped from the Jeep.

His foot hit the ground and immediately sunk into the mud. Swallowing a curse, he ran over to help April who was having no problem with her footing. David took her hand and they began scrambling up the hill. They made their way along the outside of the tire ruts where broken branches and leaves littered the hill. The downed palm fronds offered little traction, but there were enough small trees to provide adequate handholds.
As they reached the top of the hill, David paused to look up and down the roadway. Nothing moved except the trees in the rain. The opposite side of the road was dark beyond the first line of foliage. Just ahead to the right was the soft glow of the battery-powered security light above the doors to the information building. David could feel water running down his back as raindrops drummed on his hood. He looked back at April who brushed away a strand of wet hair from her cheek. She seemed ready to make the sprint, ready to follow David. What if something was waiting for them in the trees across the road? He pushed the thought away. Clutching the flashlight in one hand, he squeezed April's hand with his other. Together they burst from the jungle and raced toward the building.

David ignored the muddy water that splashed on his jeans as he ran. For a brief moment a massive footprint deep in the mud caught his eye. He sped past before his mind had time to think about the animal that made it.

A hundred more yards. The light above the entrance became clearer, brighter as they got closer. He could see the two steel doors set back in the white limestone façade. Beside him, April all but pulled him, running just as fast if not faster than he was.

Fifty more yards. The rest of the building was coming into view through the trees. It was a pale white, with palm leaves stuck to the side by the storm. Something moved in the foliage just across the street from the building. Was it just the wind?

Twenty yards. David let go of April's hand to grab the key from his pocket. He spotted the keyhole from ten yards out and shined the flashlight on it. The ground changed from mud to concrete. With a thud, David and April crashed against the doors. Immediately David worked on the lock. The small overhang offered a little shelter from the rain, but the key was still slick in David's hand. He could hear April breathing heavily beside him.

With a metallic click the right door opened inward. David held it open just wide enough for April to squeeze through. Removing the key from the lock, David followed April into the darkness, slamming the door shut behind him.

The light from the flashlight illuminated much of the interior of the building. David saw three doors on the left side of the building; two were men's and women's restrooms and the third was labeled "Authorized Personnel Only." Sweeping the flashlight across the room, David could see the two massive observation windows along the back wall. Just in front of the windows was a row of four wooden benches, facing the overlook. A flash of lightning gave a brief glimpse of the overlook through the windows. Small black shapes were darting through the high grass, chasing or being chased David couldn't be sure. The flash was gone, leaving the windows black.

The wall to the right was covered with a large cartoon map showing the entire park. Its bright colors showed up even in the poor light. The entire island was there, with various points of interest drawn larger for emphasis. Enclosures were clearly outlined in red with cartoon pictures of the animals inside each pen. A large X on the map marked the building they were in. David noted that the map placed them about halfway to the main compound, still a good five miles away.

Beside him April sniffed. She was standing against the wall with the map, her arms wrapped around herself, her head down. David quickly went over to her.

"April, we're safe now." She looked up at the sound of his voice. Tears were welling up in her eyes. Her breathing was shaky, not from the run but from holding back sobs. David reached up and slid the hood from April's head. He ran his hand over her hair and looked into her eyes. "You're okay. Nothing can get us in here."

David had been amazed how composed April had remained throughout the ordeal. She had kept her spirits up and her wits about her. But now it was as if she had used up the last of her strength. She collapsed, sobbing into David's arms.