Chapter 5 - Night on Sorna

The night had not started well.

Firstly, it turned out Holly and James had not been coming to Sorna to take him on the Night Tour. They'd instead come to go on some date on the beach. And, secondly, James had grabbed him by the collar, got right in his face and told him "Clear off." Holly had done nothing to stop him, as usual. Nathan had simply muttered, "Charming" and walked off.

Nathan shivered. The hot day had paved the way for a bitterly cold night. Golden globes of fireflies like little stars buzzed around the branches of trees. It was a relatively peaceful night as well. There was something that was commonly used in adverts: Visit the other side of Prehistoric Park at night. Raptors would hunt in the moonlight, as the nocturnal animals howled like the devil and the giant orthocones and pliosaurs would smash the surface of the sea. With the nights getting longer as winter drew closer most likely they were waiting until later on in the night to cause a ruckus. As he walked along, the only people he saw were the occasional staff members. Few guests ventured out during the night. Families never did because of their children, some guests because at dinner they would have a few too many drinks which meant that they weren't allowed out in case they stumbled and broke their neck but mostly guests didn't venture out through fear.

Fear. The ghostly caws from raptors seemed to reverberate around the park while the unearthly cries from anonymous predators reminded people too much of stories that kept them awake at night as children. The night spoke with a thousand demonic voices. In the water the giant sharks like the Megalodon and the pliosaurs like Predator X would often skim the surface. Often people preferred it when they stayed down in the murky depths where humans had to go to them instead of the other way around. Although animals weren't the only factor. Fog and mist would descend on the islands creating an unearthly atmosphere while the forgotten statues of the damned souls who were once executed on these islands sent shivers down the hardiest of spines.

The cold slapped him in the face as he walked along. It was like knives slicing into his exposed skin. Grimacing he ventured through the mist. Through the mist he could see the meshed aviary of the Argentavis loom ominously ahead. It stretched god knows how high into the night sky to give the occupants ample flying room. Currently one of the giant birds had its head buried under one large wing with the smaller (but no less still large) Andean condors sleeping nearby.

He continued along until he arrived at the exhibit. Like the rest of the park they had tried to use natural barriers as much as possible and this one consisted mainly of a plain, surrounded by a rock wall. The only piece of fencing was at the far side which would allow the transport trucks to get in and out. For observation, there was a series of perspex panels built into the rock wall. There were few trees, since it had been made to resemble a African plain but, if Nathan couldn't see anything, it was due to the animals actually concealing themselves. Some animals didn't like to be seen and had learnt to avoid eye shine. He shined his torch into the exhibit in the hope that he could see the eye shine.

As he shone his torch into the enclosure, he suddenly noticed a pair of yellow eyes staring intently at him. Nathan briefly looked away and, as he turned round, he suddenly found himself face-to-face with a large male lion. "H-hello" Nathan stammered in fear as the lion ambled fully into the light, still staring intently at him. The lion, in response, emitted a low, throaty growl, sending a shiver down his spine. He was a magnificent looking animal, with a rather large, golden mane and a sleek, golden pelt – he looked the pinnacle of predatory magnificience. The colour of his mane, as well as the lack of scars on his pelt meant that he was quite young – older males had darkened manes, due to their greater amount of testosterone. The lion appeared more curious than anything else at Nathan's presence. Very few humans entered the park at night; the lion must have noticed Nathan shining his torch into the exhibit and thought that this was a keeper, breaking the usual routine by bringing him food at 10pm.

Eventually, the lion, understanding that he was not about to be fed, loped off, to continue patrolling his territory. He then turned round, lifted his tail and sprayed a rock; he was marking his territory. As Nathan walked away, he heard the lion loudly roaring, presumably to tell any as-yet-nonexistent competitiors that this was his turf. The roar sent a shiver down his spine; at that moment, he felt like he was on the African plains, hiding from a giant predator that wanted to devour him. That was part of the appeal of Prehistoric Park, in his opinion; reminding humanity how truly small and fragile it was. Teaching the human race some humility.

Holly had been waiting. She sat on a beach, waves cutting the water. Miles out to sea, a large, crocodile-like head broke the surface of the water and let out a haunting, whale-like cry. Holly could hear the call from miles away, briefly drowning out the cries from a dozen other creatures.

She was alone on the beach. James had gone and had been for the past hour or so. Holly sighed. She'd booked this romantic picnic under the stars in order to rekindle something. Maybe a romantic night on a beautiful tropical beach, would cause something to change. However, "maybe" just wasn't working at this moment.

James had been an absolute nightmare. He had arrived in a bad mood, which had never let up since. He'd complained about the food, calling it "shit" and said the wine was little more than "diluted water". When their concierge had arrived, he'd asked Holly out loud about how her period was going and threatened to "deck" their concierge when she'd asked him to stop doing a mocking imtiation of her lisp, causing her to leave crying. This had led to everyone giving her harsh stares; as if to say "Who the hell would date this idiot?". She looked ruefully at the tribal necklace, brought secretly in her handbag. The tribe who made it said that it was supposed to grant the bearer an everlasting love. Why wasn't it working at that moment?

After humilating and embarrasing her, James had up and left, claiming he needed to use the toilet, leaving her subject. He hadn't come back. Suddenly, her phone was vibrating. She picked it up and realise it was a text. From James. What it read crushed her. "Had 2 go bk 2 hotel for FaceTime wit budz. Bros B4 Hoes! Iwvb, anyway. Couldn't wait 2 leave."

Holly's eyes began to tear up. He'd stood her up! Inwardly, she cursed herself a fool. A fool for going out of her way for this when he clearly didn't care. And she was a fool for giving him a second chance in the first place, especially after he… Tears ran down her face at the painful memory, still gnawing at her six months later. She suddenly got up and walked away. If James didn't give two shits about their relationship, neither would she. She was going to find the one person who wanted to spend time with her tonight.

Nathan was walking away from Tunisan Plains when he met up with Holly later that night. Apparently James, being the ass that he was, had stood. Nathan felt a combination of anger and sadness; anger at James having the audacity to treat his sister like this and sadness at seeing her crying. He decided to cheer her up. He smiled at her and said "I know just where to take you".

They continued along, passing exhibits for sauropods, raptors and others, until they arrived at one of the largest exhibits on the island. Like the rest of the park they had tried to use natural barriers as much as possible and this one consisted mainly of a valley. The only piece of fencing was at the far side which would allow the transport trucks to get in and out. For observation, there was a series of perspex panels built into the wall. There were few trees, since it had been made to resemble Oligocene Mongolia but the reason for the lack of anything much resembling an animal was due to the size of the exhibit. Quite often, the only way to see a lot of the Park's animals (outside feeding times) was via the Gyrosphere or Wrangler tours. He shone his torch into the exhibit, repeating what he'd done with the lion, in the hope that he could see something, but to no avail. Holly looked quizically at him, before asking "Why are we here?"

Nathan shone his torch on the information display. It read: Paraceratherium. He smiled; he loved these animals. They were the largest land mammals and, with a large male weighing up to 12 tonnes, even dwarfed the majority of dinosaurs. They were almost a chimera of an animal; they combined the lumbering strength and power of an elephant, with the grace and majesty of a giraffe. He'd seen them on many documentaries about Prehistoric Park and thought they were some of the most majestic, marvellous animals he had ever seen. In fact, Paraceratherium was one of his favourite prehistoric animals (the others being Dimetrodon and Utahraptor).

They looked at steps leading to a small hut in a tree, reminding them of a treehouse they had when they were children. This was a hide, where guests could observe the animals that made this paddock home. They climbed up the steps, into the hide. No doubt, the pen's occupants would be asleep. But the view was still nice.

The hide was dimly lit, by a single lamp. Even in the dim light, they could see what looked like a large vending machine in the corner. It was actually a feed dispenser. Guests could put a small amount of money in and collect a bag of feed to give to the animals. Through a window in the hut he could see into the exhibit. Suddenly, as they turned round, a giant horse-like head was staring into the hut. It was a magnificent looking animal, with small, oval-shaped, orange eyes, leathery skin, and a long, muscular neck which led to a giant, powerful body. The Paraceratherium, a large male, looked at him with inquisitiveness. He was, no doubt, unused to people coming in the hide in the middle of the night and had come over to investigate.

Holly briefly pushed Nathan behind her; a protective gesture. Nathan shook his head and whispered to her, "He's a plant-eater, don't worry." Holly relaxed, but still remained a bit nervous. It was extremely large, after all. Nathan stammered "H-hey there, big fella, I didn't see you there. Are you hungry?". The Paraceratherium lowed in affirmative. Nathan put a small amount of money in the machine (kicking it for good measure) and the hook slid forward, taking a bag, which contained several lettuce slices. The bag fell out of the machine, followed by a second, and Nathan collected them, giving one bag to Holly. Nathan picked one lettuce slice out and the Paraceratherium reached out a long, blue tongue, like a giraffe, wrapped its tongue around the lettuce slice and pulled it into its mouth. Holly did likewise.

After a few minutes, the Paraceratherium shook his head from side to side, briefly causing the hide to quake. Holly took a step back, pushing Nathan behind her, and both shut their eyes in surprise. When they opened them, they saw hundreds of glowing fireflies surrouding them. They both smiled, as they buzzed around them, illuminating the room. They looked beautiful. Holly turned to both Nathan and the Paraceratherium and smiled, before suddenly grabbing the nearest one in her hands. She unfurled them, revealing the insect, emitting a beautiful yellow glow, which all three briefly regared, before Holly released it into the dark, dissapearing to a pinprick of light in the distance.

The time dissapeared quickly, as both Holly and Nathan had quickly found that their bags were empty. They both shook their heads at the giant animal, indicating that they didn't have any food. The Paraceratherium pulled its head out of the hide, turned round and lumbered off, letting out a low, trumpeting bellow, like that of an elephant. Nathan and Holly briefly waved at the departing giant, with Nathan calling out "Bye!", despite being convinced the giant couldn't hear him.

After that brief experience, both Nathan and Holly felt elated. They clambered down the steps and almost danced away. Nathan remembered something Stephen Fry had said in a documentary in which he visited the park, as he had watched a Spinosaurus tend to its chicks, "The gentler side of such huge creatures is just as compelling as their great size and dramatic displays of strength." Nathan paused and decided; while he couldn't say about Holly, in his opinion, he liked the gentler side better. It was more unexpected. It was more surprising. It was simply more marvellous.

Due to the large size of Sorna, they couldn't look around all the enclosures so they decided to go on a Jeep tour that only ran at night, which took them through several animal enclosures. The first stop was Flaming Cliffs. The Jeep trundled through the trees into a clearing, in which a large cow carcass lay. Holly turned to Nathan and asked "What lives in here?". Nathan smiled and said, with barely concealed pleasure, "Just wait." After what seemed like an eternity, there was a thud and a large green scaled head with a mouth full of teeth parted the trees. A pair of evil amber eyes followed it then a thick neck covered in sandy-brown feathers, then a muscly sandy-feathered body with two small forearms with long feathers coming from it. The Tarbosaurus gave a low rumble and started sniffing the air. Suddenly the attack came, as the Tarbosaurus emerged, with frightening speed and agility. It cleared the distance in no time, securing the carcass with one enormous foot. The Tarbosaurus stood triumphantly over its "kill", before letting out a loud, triumphant roar. With one growl, the dinosaur disappeared as soon as it had come, dragging its prize back into the trees. "That was AWESOME!", Holly cheered, before grabbing Nathan into a clumsy hug.

The rest of the tour was less... dramatic than that. The Jeep trundled to the Pleistocene Australia exhibit, where they saw a Megalania eagerly tear apart the carcass of a cow and Holly expressed surprise when she was told that the giant Diprotodon was actually a marsupial and Bahariya Beds, where they saw a giant Sarcosuchus basking on a river bank. "That is a goddamn huge crocodile!", Holly said with a combination of awe and fear. Nathan nodded and said "Yeah. That's Sarcosuchus, a giant crocodile from Egypt, 95 million years ago. It ate dinosaurs". Finally, the Jeep went through the hadrosaur paddock, where they looked in awe as a large herd of giant hadrosaurs, emitting low cow-like bellows, were calmly browsing. They were accompanied by a small herd of giant sauropods, their long necks gracefully silhouetted in the moonlight, as the Jeep trundled past. Nathan and Holly turned to each other and smiled as they witnessed the beautiful scene, as the Jeep trundled off into the night.

The night dissapeared quickly, as it seemed like ages ago that they had left the monorail. They stood, as the monorail whirred into the station. The monorail stopped with a hiss and Holly led a very tired Nathan into the monorail as the doors whirred open. Holly took the seat by the window as it took off into the night, heading back to Nublar and to their hotel.

Holly turned to see Nathan lightly snoring; he'd fallen asleep and snuggled against her shoulder. She felt tired too; the night had been exhausting, but it had been one of the best nights of her life. She gave him a gentle hug, before turning to see a brief glimpse of a large fluked tail slapping the surface of the water; an unidentifiable giant. She shut her eyes and calmly breathed out. She was suddenly brought back to reality, when the monorail stopped with a hiss. She nudged Nathan awake and took his hand, as the doors whirred open and they stepped out into the night…

It somewhat occurs to me that this is the first chapter that is actually, in a sense, on time. No, before any of you surmise the worst, what James did six months ago did not involve rape or physical abuse (before any people with disturbing imaginations take the line). It's going to be revealed soon, but it's actually far less than it appears, so don't worry.

Oh, and I would like clarification on this, where are the animals from the first twelve Back From The Ashes missions kept? Here are the ones I know:

Time of Titans In Texas – Muerta

Nala's Herd – Sorna

Beasts of Africa – Muerta

Gods of the Jurassic – Nublar

Hard Headed Herbivores – Nublar

Dusk of The Indominus – Nublar

I would like clarification on the other six, since I'd like to include animals from some of those missions in future chapters.

I'll upload something to go with this tommorow, because it's half 10 at night and I need to go to bed.