Chapter 10

The Chase

They drove the Explorer to the back of the main building, heading for the power station. On the way, they passed a little village to their right. Six plantation style cottages, and a larger building marked, "Manager's Residence." It was clear that the cottages had once been nicely landscaped, but they were now overgrown, on their way to being retaken by the jungle. In the center of the complex, they saw a tennis court, a drained swimming pool, and a small gas pump in front of what looked like a general store.

Thorne said, "I wonder how many people they had here?"

Snively snorted, "How do you know they're all gone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Manic, this place has power, after all of these years. There has to be a reason they do." Snively steered the car around the back of the loading bays and drove toward the power station, not far ahead.

Shadow stared idly out the car window, taking it all in. The power station itself was windowless, featureless, and over all nothing more than a concrete block. It's only feature was a long steel rim for ventilation around the top. The steel vents were long since rusted brown, with little flecks of yellow.

Snively parked the car by the only door, at the back. It was heavy, probably steel, with a peeling painted sign that said: CAUTION HIGH VOLTAGE DO NOT ENTER.

Shadow sniffed the air, cringing at the rotten egg smell that invaded his nostrils. Rouge noticed too, "Sulfur," she said.

"It's very strong," Shadow added, climbing out of the car.

Snively was already at the door. "Guys, I got a feeling..." he started, as he tugged at the door.

The door opened suddenly with a loud clang, banging against the concrete wall. Shadow peered into the darkness inside, only seeing a dense maze of pipes, a trickle of steam leaking out of the floor. The room was extremely hot; there was a loud, constant whirring sound.

Snively whistled, "I'll be damned," the human walked forward, looking at the gauges, many of which were unreadable, the glass was thickly coated yellow. The joints of the pipes were rimmed with yellow crust. He reached up and wiped away some of the crust with his finger. "Amazing!" he said.

"Sulfur?" Thorne asked.

"Yes, it's amazing!" Snively turned toward the source of the sound. It was a large circular vent, with a turbine inside. The turbine blades, spinning rapidly, were a dull yellow. "That must be gold. Those turbine blades are a gold alloy."

"Gold?"

"Yeah. Do you realize what this is?" Snively turned to the group, "It's incredible, it's compact, and it's efficient. Nobody has figured out how to do this yet. The technology is-"

"Are you saying it's geothermal?" Shadow asked.

"That's right," Snively grinned. "They've tapped into a heat source here, probably gas or steam, which is piped up through the floor over there. Then the heat is used to boil water in a closed cycle - that's the network of pipes above us - and then the turbine- there- which makes electric power. Whatever the heat source, geothermal is always as corrosive as hell. Most places the maintenance is brutal. But this plant still works. Amazing!"

"So that explains how the power is still on," Rouge nodded.

Snively nodded, "It doesn't look like anybody's been here in years," he said. "And a lot of the power grid is dead because of it. But the plant itself is still going.

Thorne coughed in the sulfurous air, and walked back into the sunshine. He looked up at the rear of the laboratory. Once of the loading bays was in decent shape, but the other had collapsed. The glass at the rear of the building was shattered. He looked at Shadow as the black hedgehog walked up. "You think and animal hit the building?"

Shadow nodded. "Some of these dinosaurs weigh forty, fifty tons. A single animal here has the mass of a herd of elephants. That building could have been easily been damage from an animal. You notice that path, running right there? That's a game trail going past the loading bays, and down the hill."

Thorne crossed his arms, "Bet they didn't think of that when they released the animals."

"Oh, I'm sure they planned to only release them for a few weeks," Shadow trailed off, "There was just a change of plans..."

Manic frowned, looking at the game trail with unease. Snively knew why, the path on the trail was wide. To wide for his comfort, either a large herd of those dinosaurs came through, or one large dinosaur did. He hoped it wasn't the later.

His thoughts were interrupted by a crackling electrical hiss, like static. It was coming from the Explorer. Behind him, Snively cursed, and scurried by towards the car.

"I knew it," Snively said. "Our communications module is frying. I knew we should have put in the other one." He opened the door to the Explorer and climbed into the passenger side, picked up the handset and pressed the automatic tuner.

Manic and Rouge and Malcolm were almost to the car, when the transmission locked. "-into the car!" said a scratchy voice.

Snively raised an eyebrow, "Who is this?"

"Dr. Thorne! Dr. Malcolm! And whoever the lady! Get into the car!"

As Manic leaned into the driver window, Snively turned to him, "Manic it's the kid."

Manic paled, "What?"

"It's Miles."

Over the radio, Miles was saying, "Get in the car! I can see it coming!"

"What's he talking about?" Manic said, frowning. "He's not here, is he? Is he on this island?"

The radio crackled. "Yes, I'm here! Dr. Thorne!"

"There is a kid on this island?" Rouge gasped.

"I don't know!" Snively said, "Ho the hell did he-"

"Dr Thorne! Get in the car!"

If Manic hadn't already been neon green, and had possibly been a chameleon. He would have gone purple with rage. He bunched his fists, "How the hell did he manage to do this?" He yanked the handset from Snively, "Miles, God help me-"

"It's coming!"

Snively shook his head, "What's he talking about? He sounds completely hysterical."

"I can see it on the television! Dr. Thorne!"

Malcolm was looking uneasily at the jungle, "Perhaps...we should get in the car," he said quietly.

"What does he mean television?" Manic said, he was furious.

Snively said, "I don't know, Manic, but if he's got a feed in the trailer, we can see it too." He flicked the dashboard monitor. He watched as the screen glowed to life.

"Dammit!" Manic said, "I'm gonna- He's- When I find him!"

Malcolm raised an eyebrow, "I thought you liked that kid," Malcolm said.

"Well I do, but-"

"We have to get him off the island," Malcolm frowned, "It isn't safe"

Snively stared wide eyes at the monitor.

"Oh shit," he said.

Manic quickly glanced down on the tiny dashboard monitor; they had a view looking straight down at the powerful body of a Tyrannosaurus rex, as it moved up the game trail toward them. Its skin was mottle reddish brown, similar to the color of dried blood. In dappled sunlight, they could clearly see the powerful muscles of its haunches. The animals moved quickly, without any sign of fear of hesitation...

Staring, Manic said, "Everybody in the car."

The rest of the group scurried in. On the monitor, the tyrannosaur moved out of view of the camera. But, sitting in the Explorer, they could hear it coming. The earth was shaking beneath them, swaying the car slightly.

Manic felt like his heart was doing River dance, it pounded against his chest, threatening to leap out at any moment. He glanced over his shoulder into the back, "Shads what should we do?

Malcolm didn't answer. He had gone completely pale, he was frozen, eyes blank and staring frozen."

"Shads?" Manic repeated slowly.

Rouge cut in, "Don't start the car, and just stay still. It might ignore us if we keep quiet.

The radio clicked. Miles said, "Dr. Thorne, I've lost him on the monitor. Can you see him?"

"Oh God," Snively gasped.

With incredible speed they Tyrannosaurus rex burst into view, emerging from the foliage to the right of the Explorer. The animal was immense, the size of a two-storey building, its head rising high above them, out of sight. Yet for all its size, the creature moved with amazing speed and agility. Manic stared in stunned silence, waiting to see what would happen. He felt the car vibrate with each thundering footstep. Next to him Snively moaned softly.

But the tyrannosaur ignored them. Continuing at the same rapid pace, it moved swiftly past the front of the Explorer. They had hardly had a chance to see it before its big head and body disappeared into the foliage to the left. Now they saw only the thick tail, some seven feet in the air, swinging back and forth with each footstep as the animal moved on.

It's so fast!" Manic thought. Fast! The giant animal had emerged, blocked their vision, and then was gone again. He was not accustomed to seeing something that big move so fast. Now there was only the tip of the tail. Swinging back and forth as the animal hurried away.

Then the tail banged against the front of the Explorer, with a loud metallic clang.

And the tyrannosaur stopped.

They heard a low, uncertain growl from the jungle. The tail swung back and forth in the air again, more tentatively. Soon enough the tail brushed lightly against the radiator a second time.

Now they saw the foliage to the left rustling and bending, and the tail was gone.

Because the tyrannosaur, Manic realized, was coming back.

Re-emerging from the jungle, it moved toward the car, until it stood directly in front of them. It growled again, a deep rumbling sound, and turned its head slightly from side to side to look at this strange new object. Then it bent over, and Manic could see that the tyrannosaur had something in its mouth; he saw the legs of a creature dangling from both sides of the jaws. Flies buzzed in a thick cloud around the tyrannosaur's head.

Snively moaned. "Oh, fuck."

"Quiet," Manic whispered, even though he felt as if his heart would give out with fright.

The tyrannosaur snorted, and looked at the car. It bent lower, and sniffed repeatedly, moving its head slight to the left and right with each inhale. Manic realized it was smelling the radiator. It moved and sniffed the tires. Then it lifted its huge head slowly, until the eyes rose above the surface of the hood. It stared at them through the windshield. Its eyes blinked. The gaze was cold and reptilian.

Manic had the distinct impression that the tyrannosaur was looking at them: its eyes shifted from one person to the next. With its blunt nose, it pushed at the side of the car, rocking it slightly, as if testing is weight, measuring it as an opponent. Manic gripped the steering wheel tightly and held his breath.

And then, abruptly, the tyrannosaur stepped away, and walked to the front of the car. It turned its back on them, lifting its big tail high. The tyrannosaur backed up toward them. They heard the tail scraping across the roof of the car. The read haunches came closer...

And then the tyrannosaur sat down on the hood, tilting the vehicle, pushing the bumper into the ground with its enormous weight. At first the creature didn't move, but simply sat there. Then, after a moment, it began to wriggle its hips back and forth in a quick motion, making the metal squeak.

"What the hell?" Snively said.

The tyrannosaur stood again, the car sprang back up, and Manic spotted a thick white paste smeared across the hood. The tyrannosaur immediately moved away, heading down the game trail, disappearing into the jungle.

Behind them, they saw it emerge again into the open, stalk across the open compound. It lumbered behind the convenience store, passed between two of the cottages, and then disappeared from sight again.

Manic glanced at Snively, letting out a slow breath, "Holy shit!"

"Shadow, are you alright?"

Manic looked over his shoulder to see Rouge place a cautious hand on Malcolm's arm. The ebony hedgehog had not watched the predator depart, just stared straight ahead.

"Is it gone?" Malcolm asked.

"Yeah," Rouge said.

Shadow Malcolm relaxed, his shoulders dropped down. He exhaled slowly, letting his head drop to his chest. He took a deep breath, and then raised his head again, "You got to admit," he said with a forced smile, "You don't see that every day."

"Sure you're okay?" Manic asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'm fine." Malcolm placed a hand on his wrist, checking his pulse, "Of course I'm fine. After all, that was just a small one."

"Small?" Snively squeaked. "You call that small- How the hell do you know?"

"Oh I've," Malcolm paused, "seen others..." and Manic noticed Malcolm's hand brush momentarily over his thigh, and Manic swallowed thickly.

"How do you know for sure though?" Manic asked, looking nervously towards the path the dinosaur had left.

"For a tyrannosaur he was smaller. Females are quite a bit larger." Malcolm explained.

Rouge added, "The males should also do more of the hunting. But we may find out the truth for ourselves."

Snively frowned, "Wait a minute, so you're saying that one was male?"

Rouge pointed to the hood of the car, where the white paste was now gave off a pungent odor. "He scent-marked territory."

"So, maybe the females can also mark-"

"Probably," Malcolm said. "But the anal scent glands are only amongst males. And well...you saw how he did it."

Snively stared unhappily at the hood. "I hope we can get that stuff off," he said. "I brought some solvents, but I wasn't expecting, you know," he cringed, "Dino musk."

The radio clicked. "Dr. Thorne," Miles said. "Dr. Thorne? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Miles. Thanks to you," Manic responded.

"Did you see him?"

"Yeah kid, he was big-"

"No!" Miles cut in, "The green alligator."

"Vector Levine?" Manic blinked, he reached for his sensor unit. It had fallen on the floor. He bent over and picked it up. Levine's coordinates had changed. "He's moving..."

"I know he's moving Dr. Thorne."

"Yes Miles," Manic said. Then he added, "Wait a minute. How did you know he's moving?"

"Because I can see him," Miles replied. "He's riding a bicycle."

Ex came to the front of the trailer, yawning and pushing her hair back from her face. "Who're you talking to Miles?" she stared at the monitor and said, "Hey, pretty neat."

"I got into the Site B network," he said.

"What network?"

"It's a radio network, Ex. For some reason it still works."

"Is that right? But how did-"

"Kids," Thorne said over the radio. "If you don't mind. We're looking for Levine."

Miles picked up the handset. "He's riding a bicycle down a path in the jungle. It's pretty steep and narrow. I think he's following the same path as the tyrannosaur."

Ex said, "As the what?"

Manic put the car in gear, driving away from the power station, toward the worker compound. He went past the gas station, and then between the cottages. He followed the same path the tyrannosaur had taken. The game trail was fairly wide, easy to follow.

"We shouldn't have those kids here," Malcolm said, "It's not safe for them. Once we get Levine, we need to contact the pilot and get off of this island as soon as possible."

"Not much we can do right now," Manic sighed. He clicked the radio, "Miles, do you see Levine now?"

The car bounced over what used to be a flower bed, and around the back of the Manager's Residence. It was a large, two-storey building, built in a tropical colonial style, with hardwood balconies all around the upper floor. Like the other houses, it was overgrown.

The radio crackled. "Yes, I see him."

"Where is he?"

"He is following the tyrannosaur, on his bicycle."

"Following the tyrannosaur," Malcolm sighed, "I should have never gotten involved with that idiot.

"We all agree on that," Manic said. He accelerated; driving past a section of broken stone wall which seemed to mark the outer perimeter of the compound. The car plunged on into the jungle, following the trail.

Over the radio, Miles said, "Do you see him yet?"

"Not yet."

The trail slowly got narrower, twisting as it ran down the hillside. They came around a curve, and suddenly saw a fallen tree blocking the path. The tree had been denuded in the center, its branches stripped and broken - probably from large animals repeatedly stepping on over it.

Manic braked to a stop in front of the tree. He got out and walked around to the back of the Explorer.

"Manic," Snively said, "let me do it."

"No," Manic said. "If anything happens, you're the only one who can repair the equipment. You're the most important, especially now that we have the kids."

Standing behind the car, Manic lifted the motorcycle off the carrier hooks. He swung it down, checked the battery charge, and rolled it to the front of the car. He turned to Malcolm, "Give me that rifle would you?" and slung the rifle over his shoulder.

Manic grabbed the headset from the dashboard; and put it over his head. He clipped the battery pack to his belt, placed the microphone alongside his cheek. "You three head back to the trailer," he said, "Take care of the kids."

"But Manic..." Snively began.

"Just do it," Manic said, and lifted the motorcycle over the fallen tree. He set it down on the other side, and climbed over himself. Then he saw the same pungent, pale secretions on the trunk; it had smeared on his hands. He glanced back at Malcolm.

"Marking territory," the other said with a shrug.

Manic made a face, "Great," he said, "Just great." he wiped his hands on his shorts.

Then he got on the motorcycle and drove off.

Foliage slapped at his shoulders and legs as he drove down the game trail, following the tyrannosaur. The animal was somewhere up ahead, but he couldn't see it. He was driving fast.

The headset crackled. Miles said, "Dr. Thorne? I can see you now."

"Okay," Manic replied.

"But I can't see Dr. Levine anymore." the kid sounded worried.

The electric motorcycle made hardly any noise, particularly going downhill. Up ahead, the game trail divided in two. Manic stopped, leaned over the bike and looked at the muddy path. He saw the footprints of the tyrannosaur going left. And he saw the thin line of the bicycle tires, also going off to the left.

He took the left fork, but now he drove more slowly.

Ten yards ahead, Manic passed the partially eaten leg of a creature, which lay at the side of the path. The leg was old; it was crawling with white maggots and flies. In the morning heat, the sharp smell was nauseating. He continued, but soon saw the skull of a large animal. Some of the flesh and green skin still adhering to the bone. It, too, was covered with flies.

He tapped the microphone, he said, "I'm passing some partial carcasses..."

The radio crackled. Now he heard Malcolm say, "I was afraid of that."

"Afraid of what?"

Rouge spoke up, "There may be a nest. Did you notice the tyrannosaur had a carcass in his jaws? It was scavenged, but he hadn't eaten it. There's a good chance he was taking the food home, to a nest."

"A tyrannosaur nest..."Manic mumbled.

"I'd be careful," Malcolm warned.

Manic slipped the bike into neutral, and rolled the rest of the way down the hill. When the ground leveled out, he climbed off the motorcycle. He could feel the earth vibrate beneath his feet, and from the bushes ahead, he heard a deep rumbling sound, like the purr of a large jungle cat. Manic looked around, but he didn't see any sign of Levine or his bicycle.

Manic unshouldered the rifle, and gripped it in sweat soaked gloves, he reached up, and one hand after the other, he tore the gloves off with his teeth, shoving the gloves into his pockets. He heard the purring growl again, rising and falling. There was something odd about the sound. It took Manic a moment to realize what it was.

It came from more than once source; more than one big animal, purring beyond the foliage directly ahead.

Manic bent over, picked up a handful of grass, and released it in the air. The grass blew back toward his legs, he was downwind. He slipped forward through the foliage.

The ferns around him were huge and dense, but up ahead he could see the sunlight shining through, from a clearing beyond. The sound of the purring was very loud now. There was another sound as well - an odd squeaking sound. It was high pitched, and at first sounded almost mechanical, like a squeaky wheel.

Manic hesitated. Then, very slowly, he lowered a frond. And he stared.