Chapter 11

The Nest

In the midmorning light, the two enormous tyrannosaurs - each twenty feet high - loomed above him. The reddish skin had a leather appearance. Their huge heads were fierce-looking, with heavy jaws and large sharp teeth. But somehow here the animals conveyed no sense of menace to Manic. They moved slowly, almost gently, bending repeatedly over a large circular rampart of dried mud, nearly four feet high. The two adults held bits of rotten flesh in their jaws as they ducked their heads below the mud wall. This movement was greeted by a frantic high - pitched squeaking sound, which stopped almost immediately. Then, when the adults lifted their heads again, the flesh was gone.

There was no question: this was the nest. Malcolm had been right; one tyrannosaur was noticeably larger than the other.

In a few moments the squeaking resumed. It sounded to Manic like baby birds. The adults continued to duck their heads, feeding the unseen babies. A strip of torn flesh fell and a landed on the top of the mud mound. As he watched Manic saw an infant tyrannosaur rise into view above the rampart, and start to scramble over the side. The infant was about the size of a turkey, with a large head and very large eyes. Its body was covered with fluffy red down, which gave it a scraggly appearance. A ring of pale-white down circled its neck. The infant squeaked repeatedly and it crawled awkwardly toward the meat, using its weak forearms. But when it finally reached the carrion, it jabbed, biting the flesh with tiny, sharp teeth.

It was busily eating the food when it screeched in alarm and started to slide down the outer wall of the mound. Immediately, the mother tyrannosaur dropped her head and intercepted the baby's fall, then gently nudged the animal back inside the nest. Manic was impressed by the delicacy of her movements, the attentive way she cared for her young. The father, meanwhile, continued to tear small pieces of meat. Both animals kept up the continuous purring growl, a lullaby of sorts to sooth the infants.

As Manic watched, he shifted his position. His foot stepped on a branch: there was a sharp crack.

Immediately, both adults jerked their heads up.

Manic froze; he held his breath.

The animals scanned the area around the nest, looking intently in every direction. Their bodies were tense, their heads alert. Their eyes flicked back and forth, accompanied by little head jerks. After a moment, they seemed to relax again. They bobbed their heads up and down, and rubbed their snouts together. It seemed to be a kind of ritual movement, almost like a dance. Only then did they resume feeding the infants.

When they had calmed down, Manic slipped away, moving quietly, back to the motorcycle. Miles whispered into the headset, "Dr. Thorne. I can't see you."

Manic didn't answer. He tapped the microphone with his finger, to signal that he had heard.

Miles whispered, "I think I know where Dr. Levine is. He's off to your left."

Manic tapped again, and then turned.

To his left, among the ferns, he saw a rusted bicycle. It said, "Prop. InGen Corp" It was leaning against a tree.

Here we go, Miles thought, sitting in the trailer and watching the remote videos as he clicked on them. He now had the monitor divided into quarters; it was a good compromise between lots of views, and the images large enough to see.

One of the views looked down from above on the tyrannosaurs in the secluded clearing. It was midmorning; the sun shone brightly on the muddy trampled grass of the clearing. In the center he saw a round steep walled nest of mud. Inside were four mottled brown eggs, about the size of footballs. There were also some broken egg fragments and two squeaking infants.

Ex watched the screen and said, "Look how cute they are." then she added, "I wish we could be out there."

Miles didn't answer here. He was not all sure he wanted to any closer. The adults were being very cool about the whole scenario, but Miles found the idea of these dinosaurs unnerving in some deep way he could describe. Miles always found it reassuring to organize, to create order in his life. But this island was a place where everything was unknown and unexpected. Where you don't know what will happen He found that troubling

On the other hand, Ex was excited. She kept making comments about the tyrannosaurs, how big they were the size of their teeth. She seemed entirely enthusiastic, without any fear at all.

Miles found that annoying, with a pinch of envy to.

"Anyway," she said, "What makes you think you know where Dr. Levine is?"

Miles pointed at the screen, the image of the nest still on the monitor, "Watch."

"I see it,"

"No. Watch, Ex."

As they stared at the screen, the imaged moved slightly. It panned to the left, then centered again, "Did you see that?" Miles said.

"So what? Maybe the wind is blowing the camera or something."

Miles shook his head. "No Ex. He's up in the tree. Levine is moving the camera."

"Oh." A pause. She watched again. "You might be right."

Miles grinned. That was about all he could expect to get from Ex."Yeah I think so."

"But why is he up there?"

"Maybe he just is adjusting the camera."

They listened to Dr. Thorne's breathing over the radio.

Ex stared at the four video images, each showing a different view of the island. She sighed. "I can't wait to get out there," she said.

"Yeah me too," Miles said. But he didn't mean it. He glanced out the window and saw the Explorer closing in from the distance, with Snively, Dr. Harding, and Dr. Malcolm in tow. Secretly, he was glad to see them return.

Manic stood at the base of the tree, looking up. He couldn't see Vector Levine through the leaves, but he knew he must be somewhere above, because he was making - what seemed to Manic anyway - a lot of noise. Manic glanced nervously back at the clearing, screened by intervening foliage. He could still hear the purring, it remained steady.

Manic waited. What the hell was Vector doing up in a tree anyway? He heard rustling in the branches above, and then silence. A grunt. Then more rustling.

And then Levine said aloud, "Oh, shit!" There was a loud crashing sound, the crack of branches, a howl of pain. And then Vector Levine crashed down on the ground in front of Manic, landing hard on his back. He rolled over, clutching his shoulder.

"Damn!" he snapped.

Vector wore muddy pants, which were torn in several places. His elbows and knees were skinned; his face was haggard and splattered in mud. The only thing that seemed in good condition was his head-phones and music player, sitting comfortably around his neck and hip respectfully. He looked up at Manic with wide eyes, before breaking into a smile.

"You're the last person I expected to see, Doc," Vector said. "But your timing is flawless."

Manic extended his hand, and Vector went to reach for it, when from the clearing behind them, the tyrannosaurs gave a deafening roar.

"Oh no!" Ex gasped. On the monitor, the tyrannosaurs were agitated, moving swiftly in circles, raising their heads and bellowing.

"Dr. Thorne! What's happening?" Miles said.

They heard Levine's voice, tinny and scratchy over the radio, but they couldn't make out the words. Dr. Malcolm entered the trailer at that moment. Malcolm took one look at the monitor and said, "Tell them to get out of there right now!"

On the monitor, the two tyrannosaurs turned their backs to each other, so they were facing outward in defense. The babies were protected in the center. The adults swung their heavy tails back and forth over the nest, above the babies hears. But the tension was palpable.

And then one of the adults bellowed, and charged out of the clearing.

"Dr. Thorne! Dr. Levine! Get out of there!"

Manic swung his leg over the bike and gripped the rubber handles. Vector jumped on behind, clutched him around the waist. Manic heard a chilling roar, and risked a glance back to see one of the tyrannosaurs crash through the foliage and charge at them. The animal was running at full speed - head low, jaws open, in an unmistakable posture attack.

Manic twisted the throttle. The eclectic motor whirred, the black wheel spun in the mud. They didn't move an inch.

"Go!" Vector shouted. "Go!"

The tyrannosaur rushed towards them, roaring. Manic could feel the ground shake. The roar was so loud it hurt his ears. The tyrannosaur was nearly on them, the big head lunging forward, jaws wide open -

Manic kicked back with his heels, pushing the bike forward. Suddenly the rear wheel caught, throwing up a plume of mud, and the bike roared up the muddy track. He accelerated fast. The motorcycle fished and swerved treacherously on the trail.

Behind him, Vector was shouting something, but Manic didn't listen. His heart was pounding. The bike jumped across a rut in the path and they almost lost their balance, and then regained it, accelerating again. Manic didn't dare look back. He could smell the odor of the rotten flesh, could hear the rasping breath of the giant animal in pursuit...

"Manic! Take it easy!" Vector shouted.

Manic ignored him. The bike rolled up the hill. The foliage slapped at them; mud spit up on their faces and chests. He was pulled over into a rut, and then brought the bike back to the center of the trail. He could hear another roar, and imagines it was a bit fainter, but-

"Manic!" Vector shouted into his ear. "What're you trying to do, kill us? Doc! We're alone!"

Manic came to a flat part of the path, and risked a glance over his shoulder. Vector was right. They were alone. He saw no sign of the pursuing animal, though he still heard it roaring, somewhere is the distance.

He slowed the bike.

"Take it easy," Vector said, shaking his head. His face was ashen, frightened. "You're a terrible driver, do you know that? You ought to take some lessons. You almost got us killed there."

"He was attacking us," Manic said angrily. Under normal circumstances, he would handle the criticism. He was familiar with Vector's critical manner, but right now-

"That's absurd," Vector said, "He wasn't attacking at all."

"It sure as hell looked like it!"

"No, no, no," Vector said. "He wasn't attacking us. The rex was defending his nest. There is a big difference.

"I didn't see any difference," Manic said. He pulled the bike to a stop, and glared at Vector.

"In point of fact,' Vector said, "if the rex had decided to chase you, believe me Manic, we'd be dead right now. He stopped almost immediately."

"He did?"

"There is no question too it. The rex only intended to scare us off, and defend his territory. He'd never leave the nest unguarded, unless we took something, or disrupted the nest. I'm sure he's back there with his mate right now."

"Guess we're lucky he's such a good parent then," Manic mumbled, starting bike back up again.

"Of course he's a good parent," Vector scoffed, "Any fool could tell that. Did you see how thin he was? Probably hasn't eaten in weeks, because he's feeding his offspring. A Tyrannosaurs rex is a complex animal, with complex hunting behavior. He also has complex child-bearing behavior as well. It will be interesting to see what else he does. Why are we waiting here?"

Through the earpiece, the radio crackled. "It would never occur to him to thank you for saving his life." Malcolm said sarcastically.

Manic grunted, "Evidently not," he said.

Vector leaned in, "Who are you talking to? Is that Malcolm? Is he here?"

"Yes," Manic sighed.

"Ha, tell him I was right," Vector laughed, "He's probably agreeing with me right now."

Manic rolled his eyes, "Not exactly."

"Look Manic," Vector said, "I'm sorry to have upset you, but the truth is, we were never in danger. Except for your bad driving of course."

"It's fine," Manic said. His heart was still pounding in his chest. He took a deep breath, then swung the bike to the left, and headed down the wider path, toward the camp.

"I'm really glad to see you Manic, I really am. But what brings you here of all places?"

Manic explained, "It was originally an expedition plan, to study for Big Hammond. But it turned into a retrieval mission more or less. We came here to fetch Rouge Harding - I'm sure you two have already met. You were actually on Hammond's roster for the team, but we couldn't find you. Till of course...You showed up on out equipment scanner."

They descended across the valley, till they climbed back up the hill, the trailers rising up to meet them. Vector eyed the vehicles, "All the equipment is working fine?"

"Yes, so far."

"Then this will be easier than I thought. Perfect."

"Maybe not..." Manic trailed off.

Through the window of the trailer, Ex and Miles were waving cheerfully through the glass. Manic heard Vector gasp.

"You're kidding," Vector said

Shadow stood by the door of the trailer as the children raced across the clearing, shouting. "Dr Thorne! You're safe."

The green hedgehog was barely off the bike, when they hugged him. Thorne smiled despite himself, hugging the children back.

Vector slipped of the bike, "Manic, this is very unwise."

"You tell them that," Thorne replied.

"It was our decision," Miles explained to Vector, "We came here on our own."

"On your own," Vector gaped.

"We thought, Dr. Thorne might need help," Miles said. "And he did." He turned to Thorne.

Thorne nodded, "Yes. They've helped us."

"We promise we won't get in the way." Ex said. "You just do whatever you guys have to do, and we'll just-"

Shadow walked up to Levine, "We're not staying Vector. The boat comes in the morning, I suggest coming with us, unless you want to rush ahead of yourself again."

"I had no choice," Vector frowned at Shadow. "There is an outbreak going around in Costa Rica, they're blaming it on the dinosaurs carcasses washing up. It's a pitiful excuse, if you ask me, they'll use it as a reason to burn every dinosaur on the island to the ground."

"Hammond sent us here to study them," Snively piped up. "So it can become a reserve."

"A genius idea," Vector nodded, "I came here to get as much information as I could from these dinosaurs."

Shadow crossed his arms, "So you came here alone?"

"Oh nonsense Shadow. Stop looking at me like that. I was going to call you as soon as I verified the island. And I didn't come alone. I had a guide named Diego, a local kid who swore he had been on this island as a kid years prior. He seemed entirely knowledgeable. He let me up the cliff without a problem. Everything was fine-"

"What happened to him," Shadow growled.

"We we're attacked."

"By what?"

Vector shrugged, "I didn't really see. It happened so fast." for a moment he looked grieved, "The animal knocked me down, and tore the backpack, and I don't really know what happened after that. My pack must have confused it, because I got up and started running again, but it didn't chase me."

Shadow stared at him, long and hard, "You're damn lucky, Vector."

"Yes, well. I ran for a long time. When I looked back, I was alone. I was lost, and I didn't know what to do, so I climbed a tree. That seemed like a good idea at the time. I tried to call someone with a satellite phone. But couldn't get the damn thing to work. You made them too difficult Snively. Then around nightfall, the velociraptors showed up."

"Velociraptors?" Miles asked.

"Small carnivores, well smaller anyway. Basic body shape, long snout. Roughly two meters tall. Very fast, very intelligent, nasty little dinosaurs, and of course they travel in packs. The night prior there were eight of them, jumping all around my tree, trying to get to me. All night long, jumping and snarling, jumping and snarling...I didn't get any sleep at all."

"What a shame," Shadow frowned.

"Look," Vector said, "It's not my problem if-"

Thorne cut in, "You spent the night in the tree."

Vector let out a huff, "Yes, well anyway. By the morning they were gone. I still waited awhile before climbing down however. I've heard of Grant's theories that raptors can't set traps. I started to look around, and found the lab. Clearly it was abandoned in a hurry, leaving everything, including the animals behind. The power still worked, and some systems too after all these years, including the cameras. I had a very lucky break. So I decided to check on those cameras, and I was hard at work when you people barged in-"

"Hey, wait a minute," Snively snapped, "We thought you were in trouble."

"I fail to see why you would think that-"

"Look here Vector," Shadow frowned, "We're calling a boat, and tomorrow it's coming to take everyone off this damn island. It's your choice whether or not you stay here, but I high advise against staying."

"Well, the boat won't come till tomorrow, and the pilot is busy today," Thorne said crossing his arms, "Well call first thing in the morning, but for now we're stuck here."

"Here we go," Snively said.

There was a click as he connected the flexible cable to the Explorer's power winch, and flicked it on, where it slowly began to move.

He had moved farther down the road - he made sure it wasn't a game trail first - to a large mass of tree's that had a perfect view of the valley below.

There was a herd of hypsilophodons in the valley now, sensitive to everything around them. They lifted their heads every time they heard the metal of the High Hide clink. Manic, Miles and he had been working for the past few minutes, assembly everything together, into what now looked like an oversized version of pick up sticks.

"Here we go," Manic said, rubbing his hands together.

As the motor turned, the aluminum struts began to move, and slowly lifted into the air. The emerging structure appeared spidery, delicate even, but Snively was fully aware that the cross-bracing would give the structure surprising strength. The little house carried up, till it was almost midway up the tree, concealed amongst the branches. But the silver metal still shone brightly in the sun.

"Is that it?" Miles asked with his never ending curiosity of the structure.

"Yep," Manic nodded. He turned to Snively, did you uh, adjust the cable so..." He trailed off, so the kid didn't hear.

Snively smiled, "Yeah don't worry, I switched out the cables, we're no longer - how did Malcolm put it? We are no longer at a 'convenient biting height'. This cable has us over two and a half-storey tall. We're well away from the biggest thing on this island with sharp teeth."

"It's kinda shiny," Miles pointed out.

Manic nodded, "Kids right, Snively we need to hide it."

Snively jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, "You want me to spray it? I think I brought black paint."

"No, that will smell," Manic thought for a moment, "We could use plants. How about those palms?"

"Yeah we could do that." Snively walked to a cluster of nearby palms, and began to hack away big frongs with his machete.

"This is so cool," Miles sighed.

Manic grinned, "You want to come up?"

"Yeah!"

They had only been up there a little while, when Miles noticed Snively coming up the scaffolding, tugging rope. The rope held onto a large mount, there were five video cameras on it, with dangling wires attached to solar panels.

"What's that for?"

Thorne reached over to grab the mount, while Snively climbed in. "Well since we were orignally here to study, we were set up for one. We're gonna get as much footage as we can before we leave," Thorne explained.

"Here, kid," Snively said, handing Miles a large pile of palms strapped together, "Spread these out the best you can to hide the metal while we set up the cameras."

As Miles spread the palms out, first on the floor, then, twisting them amongst the outer bars, "So how are we going to send the video to Hammond?"

"We're going to uplink it back to California," Thorne said. "We'll leave this set of cameras here with the high hide, and angle them for different vantage points."

"So we don't have to be here?"

"Right,"

Miles looked down at a large cage below, he had recognized it earlier in Thorne's shop, "Is that for catching dinosaurs?"

Snively glanced over, "Opposite in fact, it's a predator cage, and it keeps them out. If something bad happens, and you're down there, you go hide in there."

"What will happen?"

"Nothing," Thorne said, "Nothing ever will."

Miles leaned back and looked out at the valley below, feeling just a little less scared then before.

Vector Levine came up and joined them then, the little house was now crowded, but no one seemed to care, "Tell me Miles, were you aware that those Apatosaurus out there use their long neck in defense," he was like a teacher, ready to shoot out a pop quiz.

Miles blinked in surprise, and lifted his binoculars, eager to take on the challenge. He looked at the large dinosaurs, easily the largest one's here, "Defense how?"

"Well it's rather obvious," Levine said.

Miles bit his cheek, he hated it when teacher's said the answer is obvious. He glanced over a Dr. Thorne, and caught his eye. Thorne made a V with his fingers, and then pushed one finger, tilting it over. The movement forced the second finger to shift at well. So the two fingers were connected...

If it was a clue he didn't get it. He frowned.

Thorne mouthed: "Bridge"

Miles looked, and watched the whip-like tails swing back and forth over the younger animals. "I get it!" Miles said. "They use their tails for defense, and they need their long necks to counterbalance for the long tail, or the animal would fall over! It's like a suspension bridge!"

Levine squinted, "You figured that out very fast," he said.

Thorne turned away, hiding a smile.

Mile grinned.

Ex Curtis listened to the sound of the shower. She couldn't believe it. She stared at the muddy clothes tossed casually on the bed, shorts and khaki short-sleeve shirt.

Rouge Harding's actual clothes.

She couldn't help it. Ex reached out and touched them. She noticed how the fabric was worn and frayed. Buttons sewn back on ; they didn't match. And there were some reddish brown streaks near the pocket that she thought must be old bloodstains. She reached down and touched the fabric -

"Ex?"

Rouge was calling he, from the shower.

She remembered my name.

"Yes?" Ex said, her voice betraying her nervousness.

"Is there any shampoo?"

"I'll look Dr. Harding." Ex said, opening the drawers hastily. The Malcolm had gone outside to see if he could contact the pilot early, and Miles and the rest of the group were setting up the high hide, leaving her alone with Rouge while she showered. Ex searched desperately, opening the drawers, slamming them shut again.

"Listen," Rouge called, "it's okay if you can't find any."

"I'm looking..."

"Is there any dishwashing liquid?"

Ex paused, there was a green plastic bottle by the sink. "Yes, Dr. Harding, but-"

"I'll take that. It's all the same stuff really." The hand reached out, past the shower curtain. Ex handed it to her, "And my name it Rouge."

"Okay Dr. Harding."

"Rouge."

"Okay, Rouge."

Rouge Harding was a regular person. Very informal and normal.

Entranced Ex sat on the seat in the kitchen and waited, swinging her feet, in case Dr. Harding - Rouge - needed anything else. She listened to Rouge humming "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair." After a few moments, "What do you like to do Ex?"

"Me?"

"Yeah,"

Ex paused, "Well I used to do gymnastics."

"Used to?"

"Yeah, I thought I was pretty good...But they cut me from the team." Ex said.

The shower turned off, and her hand reached out and took the towel on the hook. And then she came out, wrapped in the towel.

Rouge ran her fingers through her short hair, which seemed to be all the attention she gave to her appearance. "That feels better. Boy, this is a plush field trailer. Manic did a great job."

"Yes," Ex agreed, "It's nice."

She smiled at Ex," How old are you Ex?"

"Fifteen."

"What is that, eighth grade?"

"Ninth."

"Ninth grade," Rouge said thoughtfully.

Ex said, "Dr. Malcolm left some clothes for you. He said he thought they'd fit." She pointed at a clean pair of shorts and a tee shirt."

"Whose are these?"

"Dr. Thorne's I think."

Rouge held them up. "Might work, I'm a bit more curvy than Manic..." she took them around the corner into the sleeping area, and started to get dressed. She said, "What are you going to do when you grow up?"

"I don't know," Ex answered.

"That's a very good answer."

"It is?" Ex's mother was always pushing her to get a part-time hob, to decide what she wanted in life.

"Yes," Rouge said. "Nobody smart knows what they want to do until they get into their twenties or thirties."

"Oh?"

"What do you like to study?"

"Actually, uh, I like math," she said, in a sort of guilty voice.

Rouge heard her tone, because she said, "What's wrong with math?"

"Well girls aren't supposed to be good at math. I mean, you know."

"No I don't" Rouge's voice was flat.

Ex felt panic. She had been experiencing a warm feeling with Rouge Harding, but now se sensed it dissolving away, as if she had given a wrong answer to a disapproving teacher. She decided not to say anything else. She waited in silence.

After a moment Rouge came out again, wearing Dr. Thorne's baggy clothes, the shorts stopping loosely at her hips. She sat down, putting on a pair of boots. She moved in a very normal, matter-of-fact way. "What did you mean, girls aren't good at mathematics?"

"Well, that's what everybody says."

"Everybody, like who?"

"My teachers..."

Rouge sighed. "Great," she said, shaking her head. "Your teachers..."

"And the other kids call me a brainer. Stuff like that. You know." Ex just blurted out. She couldn't believe what she was saying all this to Rouge Harding, whom she hardly knew at all except from articles and pictures, but here she was, telling her all this personal stuff. All these things that upset her.

Rouge smiled cheerfully, 'Well if they say that, you must be pretty good at math huh?"

"I guess."

"But boys don't like girls who are smart."

Rouge's eyebrows shot up, "Is that so..."

"Well, that what everybody says..."

"Tell that to Shadow out there," Rouge said with a laugh. She finished tying her boots and stood, looking down at Ex with sparkling eyes. "All your life people will tell you things. And most of the time, probably ninety-five percent of the time, what they tell you will be wrong. But I know you'll do great Ex."

Ex said nothing.

"I know how you feel kiddo, I've been there."

"You do?"

"Sure, my mom used to tell me I'd never amount to anything." Rouge shrugged with a smile, "So did my professors, the only person who didn't was my dad. He told me the same things I'm telling you."

"Really?" It just didn't seem possible.

"Oh yes," Rouge said, "As a matter of fact-"

From outside the trailer, they heard Malcolm shout, "No! No! Those idiots! They're going to ruin everything!"

Rouge immediately turned, and headed for the door. Ex jumped off her seat, and hurried after her.

Idiots? Who could that be?

Get ready for another thrilling chapter!

Hope you enjoyed this one!

-SS