Chapter 11
Crash
"Tim, can I ask you something?" said Guiterrez, leaning over in his seat. His expression was strange, a kind of grimaced smile. He looked torn between laughing at what was on his mind and enduring his fear of flying. The corners of his mouth were twitching.
"Sure, why not?" said Tim, staring out of his window.
The thumping rotors were quieter now, no longer under the strain that they had endured when climbing the mountain slopes. They had almost managed to totally block out the whir of the engine, having been in the choppers for so long. They could now speak relatively normally again.
"Most of the dinosaurs that InGen put on this island are from the Cretaceous period, right?"
"Yes, indeed they are. When I checked the records left on archive from the geneticists they found that the preserved DNA had a lower decay factor for earlier time periods. Despite being capable of being preserved for so long, several hundred million years cannot go past without affecting it to some extent."
"So given enough time it disappears completely, eventually?"
"Yes. It was far easier to extract viable material from Cretaceous amber than the previous eras inhabited by the dinosaurs; the Jurassic and Triassic.
It was only with a bit of luck that InGen managed to recover species such as the Sauropods, and the Dilophosaurs from the Jurassic. It was nothing short of a miracle that Compsognathos and Segisaurus were recovered, both of which were from around two hundred million years ago."
Guiterrez paused.
"If most of the dinosaurs are from the Cretaceous, then why in the hell is it called Jurassic Park?" he said.
Tim gave a snort of laughter, and shrugged."
"Your guess it as good as mine."
The jungle whipped past below, a green blur. The choppers glided over the jungle, occasionally flocks of birds exploded from their nests and scattered into the sky. They were racing along the edge of the western mountains, heading south. Below them, the jungle was still, no signs of life visible. But they all knew that somewhere down there, underneath the beautiful scenery, were dinosaurs. The mountain tops towered above them, the vertical cliff face filling the windows on their right. But everybody was gathered at the left side windows, staring down avidly, their eyes darting in their sockets.
They had descended considerably after arriving through the fog and were now flying low enough to see the individual tree tops. Unfortunately, that was all that they could see. Just, endless, uninterrupted trees. Their route hadn't yet crossed any of the large fields that they had seen earlier. They were all surprised and somewhat disappointed in the complete lack of dinosaurs so far.
"So, you're absolutely sure that the dinosaurs are still here?" said Harding
Tim rubbed his eyes wearily.
"Yes, I am. Look, the dinosaurs don't exactly flaunt around in full view. They are in fact very secretive animals, especially the predators. We may see a few of the herbivores here and there, but I'd be surprised to see any carnivores at all while we're here, except maybe after a kill. But unless we pass over one of the grassland areas I wouldn't expect us to see anything, this jungle is thick. In fact, we could fly over this jungle for months and not see anything through these trees."
"Are we going to pass over one of the fields?"
"I think so, if we keep on course. We should pass over it just before we reach the geothermal plant if we're lucky."
"I don't see much of the electrified fences," said Wu from the back, "In fact, I haven't seen anything except for the perimeter fence."
"Well, that had to be strongest. It was a risk that the animals could get into each other's enclosures, within the park. But it was vital that none of them ever managed to escape the perimeter," said Tim.
Several minutes had passed uneventfully.
"How much farther to the Power plant?" said Malcolm.
The Co-Pilot cocked his head to look back at them through the partition.
"Another mile, maybe less," he said.
Ian turned back to the window and took a heavy breath. His eyes glossed over as he lapsed into thought, and sat silently.
He was deeply unsettled by what had happened so far. None of the others seemed concerned, in fact, they all seemed excited. They were oblivious to the signs, the details, and the clues. They just stared on out the window, unknowing. But they would regret not listening to him when the time came. For the first time in his life, he hoped to god that he was wrong.
Malcolm had studied these details for his entire academic career; the fuses of Chaos Theory. There was always a fuse. That was how it always was when you were working with Chaos, it was never obvious, and there were always tiny anomalies, strange occurrences, which led to the inevitable instability. He had been looking for the signs since the briefing the day before.
He had noticed several small inconsistencies, small clues to what was to come.
Most prominent among them was Tim's attitude towards the situation. It was largely similar to Hammond's. He simply no longer took the situation seriously, he underestimated the threat that these animals posed.
His promise to his grandfather had caused Tim to inherit Hammond's mannerisms. He no longer perceived them as a serious threat, because they were his property, he owned them. He had seemingly forgotten that these were wild animals, from the distant past. They were not going to show him any sympathetic behavior because he was among their creators.
This lack of respect for the situation had therefore caused the expedition to unfold with unsatisfactory results.
Tim had acted in haste, and hadn't stopped to think about his actions. He had rushed them all to his Headquarters, and then announced that they were to leave the following morning. Two choppers alone, with only a handful of armed men was far from sufficient so ensure their safety on such a journey. A place like Jurassic Park required so much more than a few guns and men in uniform.
And Sarah's sighting of the anomaly on the outcrop had almost certainly sealed their fate. Not that he knew what that meant. Chaos Theory was of course unpredictable by nature, and while it was possible to theorize the instability of a complex system, the eventual outcome was never foreseeable. One thing was for sure; something was going to go wrong.
In the distance a break had appeared in the trees, where the forest ended. Lighter greenery showed through the broken treetops. As they came closer it became clear that the forest gave way to a vast grassy plain that stretched away to the horizon. They could only just see to the other side, where the jungle began again. This field was far larger up close than it had appeared when they had first arrived.
Everybody had noticed it, and were peering out of their windows to look at it. Maybe now they would see something of interest.
"So, this is one of those deforested areas of the island?" asked Malcolm. He alone seemed uninterested in seeing the dinosaurs. He had done his best to remain indifferent. But deep down, he was concerned. He didn't have time to admire the scenery; he was still looking for the smallest clue, a glimpse into what was to come. That's all he would need, and then maybe he could prevent total disaster.
"Yes, it's severely deforested," said Tim, "But this area is deforested only partially because of the dinosaur's inhabitation of the island. This area was the old home of the Sauropod and Hadrosaur species, and naturally was cleared beforehand to accommodate them. Such large animals simply cannot move in dense jungle, as many of the other species can. Since the park was abandoned the field has expanded considerably, since the Sauropods and some of the Hadrosaurs seemed to have stayed within this area."
"Do you think we'll see them now?"
"Well, we'll find out, wont we?"
The trees below gave way to lush grassland, waving gently in the choppers' wake. The field in front of them stretched away into the distance, a large lake sprawled in the middle, its banks muddy.
"Go lower," said Tim, patting the pilot's headrest repeatedly.
The pilot complied, and the chopper swooped down into the field, only two hundred feet above the floor. Everybody was looking around furtively, looking for any sign of movement.
Sarah was looking every which way, watching for the dinosaurs.
But she saw no dinosaurs; the fields below them were empty, the long grass blowing gracefully in the wind. All she saw was a clump of very tall trees off to her right, at the fringes of the forest. They were completely bare, with no leaves whatsoever. They towered fifty feet into the air, standing in a small clearing just inside the forest. She couldn't see their bases, just their long trunks. But there was something not quite right about them. She frowned. Narrowing her eyes, she looked closer at the trees.
They were rounded and shaped oddly, arching over along their length. And then one of them moved slightly, and turned to face her. Sarah caught a glimpse of a pair of dumb looking, cow-like eyes, a gaping mouth full of vegetation, and a bright red ridge that ran along the top. She jumped.
"Oh my god," she said. In her mind, everything suddenly fell into place. They weren't trees at all. They were dinosaurs. She fumbled in her mind, trying to remember the name of the creature from her childhood.
"Brachiosaurus!" announced Tim, pointing the dinosaurs out to the rest of them. Despite dreading his return to Nublar, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe overtake him as he stared down at the dinosaurs. They looked far from threatening, almost peaceful.
Now they were all turning to face them, curious of the sound of the chopper's rotors. Their mouths were hanging open, giving them a stupid look. Then the largest of the animals raised its head, looking skywards, and opened it mouth wider. It gave a long, mournful cry, which echoed throughout the land, clearly audible over the beating of the Sikorsky's rotors. The other animals dropped the vegetation that they had in their mouths, and copied the first animal. They all gave exactly the same cry, in perfect unison. The sound was amplified by being given off by so many animals, and made the chopper vibrate slightly. It seemed to go right through them, and sent shivers up their spines.
"Incredible," whispered Guiterrez, staring down at the giants, as their calls welcomed the humans to the island.
"Perhaps they remember," murmered Sarah.
Tim looked up.
"What do you mean?" he said.
"Maybe they remember the choppers that used to come here."
"How would they remember that? They're too stupid."
Sarah gave him a serious look.
"You can't possibly know that. We know next to nothing about these animals. In the few short years that your scientists observed them, they could have only scratched the surface of their lives. Who knows what their long term memories are like?"
Tim nodded, and grinned again at the Brachiosaurs.
"Where are the other dinosaurs?" asked Guiterrez.
"Oh, I expect they're in the jungle at the moment, to stay out of the worst of the sun," said Tim, "We can only see the Sauropods because they're so big. Even though the other dinosaurs are massive, they're comparatively small to the Brachiosaurs."
The choppers left the field behind, and passed over the Brachiosaurs' heads. Jungle surrounded them once more, and they flew on.
Malcolm had surveyed the Brachiosaurs with a faint smile, remembering his first encounter with the majestic animals. But he had found the absence of other animals disturbing. If the dinosaurs weren't out in the open, and in the forest, then they could be anywhere. And in this vast ocean of trees, they would never find them. This would make landing far more hazardous, anything could happen. He was now very uneasy. Something was going to go wrong, he could feel it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The only question was; how big would the consequences be?
The radio crackled with static momentarily up in the cockpit, and the co-pilot pressed his earpiece closer to his ear. They could hear a distant voice emanating from the earpiece, tiny and high-pitched. Tim stood up and came to stand in the partition again.
"What is it?" he said.
"One of the guys in the other chopper saw something."
"Like what?"
"He doesn't know. Something large and black, flying past their window."
Sarah appeared behind Tim.
"I saw something like that earlier, on the outcrop."
"Put the radio on speaker," said Tim.
The pilot flicked a switch on the panel, and hissing static emanated from the speakers.
"Did you see what it was?" said Tim.
"That's a negative," said the scratchy voice.
"What did it look like?"
"Well, it looked like a giant crow or something."
"How big was it?"
"I'm not sure. About thirty feet long."
Tim frowned.
"Pterosaurs?" asked Wu.
"No, that's impossible," said Tim, shaking his head.
Ian hadn't moved, but he had closed his eyes. He was breathing slowly, as he put it together in his mind. They were in trouble, and he had to stop it now.
"Turn around, now," said Malcolm.
Tim turned to look at him, surprised.
"Excuse me?"
"We have to get out of here."
"Why?"
"Because, we are about to have a very bad day."
"I think its gone no-- Holy shit!" shouted the voice over the radio. In the background, they could hear the other men in the escort chopper yelling in fear.
"What? What's going on?" asked Tim.
"It hit us," said the Pilot.
Tim ran back into the fuselage of the chopper, and stared out of the back window. The escort chopper was swaying madly. His eyes widened as he saw a black shape loom up from behind the second chopper and strike its tail, causing it to spin uncontrollably.
The black shape turned and flew upwards, and hovered in midair for a moment. Tim stared at it, taking in its features. It was bird shaped, with a thirty foot wingspan. The wing membrane was translucent, and sunlight shone through, turning it a deep red. It had a massive, sharp looking beak, and a long crest that ran from the back of its head. It's feet ended in three razor sharp talons.
"What the hell is that thing?" shouted the pilot over the radio.
"It's a Pteranodon," said Tim, his mouth open. But that was impossible; there was no way that they could be here. They were never introduced to Jurassic Park.
"The rotors will keep them away, my ass!" shouted the pilot.
"Well, they should!"
"What do we do?"
"I have no idea," said Tim desperately. He had never read about these animals from the InGen database. All his clever plans could be undone by this, but he didn't know what to do. They were helpless.
"Chaos at work!" shouted Malcolm, "Nobody ever listens to me-"
There was a shocking impact, making the chopper sway violently, throwing Tim away from the window like a rag doll. He hit the opposite wall hard, and slumped to the floor. Out cold.
"What the hell?" said the pilot, swinging the stick, making the chopper bank sharply.
"There are two of them," said Harding. She backed away from the window as a dark shadow was cast into the chopper, momentarily blocking out the sunlight. A loud squawking sound rang in their ears, reverberating in an unearthly fashion.
Wu ran over to Tim, and inspected him. The back of his head was bleeding from a wide gash. Wu tore a piece of cloth from the hem of his shirt and made a pad to absorb the blood. Then he tore a second strip, and bandaged the pad to Tim's head.
Over the radio they could hear rapid bangs and pops. They could hear the howl of wind; they must have opened the door.
"What's going on?" asked Sarah.
"They're firing on the Pterano-whatsits," said the Pilot.
"Did they open the door?"
"I think so."
"Tell them to close it again, now!"
But it was too late. Over the radio they heard several screams, and then another loud squawk. Sarah ran back to the window, to look at the other chopper. One of the Pteranodons had latched onto its side, and its long beak was thrashing around through the open side door. The screams continued to ring over the radio, along with the whine of the choppers engines, struggling to deal with the extra weight. And then there was a different shout, it was louder, anguished. She watched in horror as the Pteranodon withdrew its head, holding a man wiggling frantically in its beak. It let go of the chopper, and beat its wings in long, powerful strokes, and dived lower.
The man in its jaws was beating the animal on the beak with his fists, trying to free himself. The Pteranodon flew on, oblivious. And then it tossed its head to the side, and released the man. He soared away from the Pteranodon, and for a moment he seemed to float in midair. And then he fell helplessly. His arms were spinning, and his legs were kicking. But there was nothing he could do. And then he was gone, disappearing into the jungle.
"Close the goddamn door!" shouted the pilot over the radio.
"We have to get out of here, now!" said Wu.
"But-"
"Now, damn it!"
The pilot nodded, and turned the stick. The chopper turned slowly. Their escort copied them, and both choppers raced back towards the western mountains. The Pteranodons were no longer visible. They all scanned the skies, but saw nothing.
Guiterrez hadn't said anything during their encounter; he had remained in his seat, and was staring forward. He was blinking slowly. His face was completely white, and he was shaking.
"Are you alright?" asked Malcolm.
Guiterrez didn't answer; he just continued to stare forwards.
A loud bang emanated from the radio. Looking back at the other chopper, Sarah could see that both Pteranodons were circling the escort chopper. She could see the pilot looking out through his windshield, straining to see the animals above him.
One of the Pteranodons folded its wings and dived at the chopper. Its body struck the tail section where it joined the fuselage, and then flew past, flying back upwards. A thin crack had appeared on the tail, running from top to bottom. The men inside were shouting loudly.
The other Pterosaur copied the first animals' movement and struck exactly the same spot as the first. As it flew past, Sarah could see that the crack had widened. Over the radio she could hear a high pitched alarm. The pilot was swerving the chopper erratically, trying to avoid the animals. But it was no use, they were too agile.
The first Pteranodon folded its wings again and dived a final time. It dived down, and this time aimed its beak straight forwards. The sharp tip easily plunged through the metal of the tail, like a hot knife through butter. And then it flew on. The tail of the chopper tore open, bending backwards on itself, and smashing into the fuselage. And then it broke off, tumbling down into the forest.
The nose of the escort chopper span in a wide circle, and began falling. It plummeted towards the ground, swinging around helplessly.
"We are going down," shouted the pilot over the radio, "repeat, we are going down!"
And then it was gone, disappearing through the trees. The radio clicked, and went silent.
"Oh my god," breathed Sarah.
The Pteranodons were now wheeling around to face them, beating their wings powerfully, and accelerating forwards. Guiterrez was sobbing, and had drawn his knees up to his chest.
"Everybody brace for impact," said the Pilot.
Behind them, Sarah could see the animals rising up again, preparing to attack. Any second they would be struck, and would be killed, just like the others.
"What can we do?" she said.
Wu and Malcolm looked at her blankly.
"We can't do anything. All the weapons were in the other chopper," said Wu.
"We have to do something," said Sarah. She scanned the interior of the chopper desperately, looking for something, anything. Nothing. No weapons, nothing to help them. The chopper was practically empty. Outside the Pteranodons squawked. Sarah turned back to window. Both Pteranodons folded their wings in unison, and dived towards her with astonishing speed. She threw herself backwards, onto the floor, and braced herself.
The impact was stunning. The chopper was turned on its side as both of the animals threw themselves against it. The entire wall of the fuselage caved in as one of the animals' beaks tore through. Wind blew in through the gaping hole, and blew all around them. Everybody screamed at once, grabbing for a handhold to prevent them from being sucked out. Wu had to grab Tim by the collar to stop him sliding forwards.
The animals thrashed around outside, and another beak tore through the roof. It waggled about for a second, and then withdrew. With an ear shattering squawk both of the animals launched themselves away from the body of the chopper, and flew off, satisfied. They had done what they needed to do.
Everybody was in hell. The roar of the wind was loud in their ears, trying to suck them through the gaping hole. Above them the chopper's engine sputtered and died. The beating of the rotors slowed. And then it was gone. The pilot grunted in the front, throwing the stick around, trying not to crash too badly. There was no way that they could fly any longer, the engine was dead. Then a gust of wind smashed against them, making the chopper begin to roll.
"Come on, you bastard!" he shouted at his chopper.
But there was nothing he could do. The chopper rolled over, onto its back. The world swirled around them, and they were thrown around wildly. Their feet dangled as they struggled to hang on to their handholds. They were falling, fast.
"Mayday!" shouted the pilot in the radio. "Mayday, we are going down!"
Malcolm was gripping the arm of his chair with all his might, clinging to the cloth desperately. Time seemed to have slowed down. He had time to observe everybody around him. Wu was holding onto a bracket on the wall with one hand, and held a choking Tim in the other. Sarah was holding a chair leg, still on the floor. Guiterrez was screaming at the top of his lungs, wrapped around a pole near the back.
It was chaos at work. After all his warnings, after all his speeches, he was facing the inevitable. Nobody had listened to him, and now they were going to die. He looked out of the window below him, and breathed in sharply as he saw the treetops rise up to hit them.