Chapter 16

Treetops

Guiterrez stood frozen in place, staring at the approaching Dinosaurs. The five animals were hissing and hooting, their heads lowered and their clawed splayed. They were still some fifty feet away, on the other side of the small clearing, but even from a distance they looked threatening. The safety rope attached to Wu and Anderson was hanging in Marty's sweaty palm, forgotten. Through the shock that had numbed his brain, he distantly registered how peculiar these dinosaurs looked. The head had a 'v' shaped double crest running along its top, making it look somewhat like a grotesque ice cream sundae, which had been flanked with wafers. The lead animal, which was slightly larger than the others and whose crest was a deep blood red, was eying them with hesitant curiosity. Guiterrez supposed that it was sizing them up, judging whether they would make a good meal.

He, Malcolm, Sarah, Tim and Rodriguez were all backing away from the dinosaurs as slowly as possible, one step at a time. Beside him he sensed Sarah reaching for the gun at her belt, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the Dinosaurs. He felt the rope shudder slightly as she let go of it to free the weapon.

"What are they?" whispered Rodriguez to his right.

"Dilophosaurus Wetherelli," murmured Tim's voice from behind them.

The lead Dilophosaur raised its head, looking skyward, and gave a deep, hooting growl. Guiterrez was reminded of owl vocalizations, but this was colder, otherworldly.

The other Dilophosaurs were milling around behind the lead animal, apparently unsure of what to do. Guiterrez doubted that they had ever seen humans before. There animals were probably the second generation dinosaurs on this island. But how long were dinosaur's life spans? He didn't know.

Beside him he heard a resonant click that echoed in the confines of the jungle. Sarah had flipped the safety button on the handgun, and had raised it to shoulder level, pointing it at the nearest Dilophosaur. Her index finger was hovering in front of the trigger, but she didn't fire.

"What are you waiting for?" whispered Guiterrez fiercely, "Shoot the damn things!"

But Sarah didn't move, or make any indication that she had heard him. She simply stared at the Dilophosaurs, waiting.

The nearest Dilophosaur cocked its head, now standing thirty feet from them. It surveyed them through a single lizard-like eye, the vertical slit of a pupil swiveling rapidly in the socket. Sarah stopped backing away, and signaled for the others to do the same. Guiterrez cursed under his breath, but complied. When they didn't move, the Dilophosaurs hissed. Hesitantly, almost timidly, the lead Dilophosaur took a step towards them.

As quick as a flash, Sarah aimed at the ground before the Dilohposaur's feet, and squeezed the trigger.

There was a reverberating bang, and a small plume of dirt was blown several feet into the air. The Dilophosaurs screeched in surprise, and backed away slightly.

"That'll give them something to think about," said Sarah.

The lead Dilophosaur was staring at them apprehensively, one of its feet suspended in mid-air, frozen between steps. The other animals were chirping and hooting nervously, flitting around restlessly.

Guiterrez suddenly felt the rope in his hand jerk, and several inches of it slid through his fingers before he was able to tighten his grip. He caught a blur of movement from above and chanced a glance at the canopy.

Anderson and Wu had left the branch that they had been sitting on, and were slowly edging their way down the rope. Anderson had slung his automatic rifle from his shoulder, and had it trained on the Dilophosaurs.

"Don't move," mouthed Sarah, staring at them warningly. Wu and Anderson stopped their decent. Anderson made a loop in the rope, which he stuck his foot through so that he could concentrate on aiming his weapon.

The Dilophosaurs hadn't seemed to have noticed Wu or Anderson, and were once again cocking their heads, staring at the group on the ground with alternating eyes.

"What are they doing?" whispered Rodriguez.

"I'm not sure," said Sarah slowly.

The lead animal had lifted its head again. In one fluid movement it snapped its head downwards. With a low whine something flew past his left shoulder. There was a wet smack, followed by a muffled yell.

Guiterrez glanced over his shoulder, and saw Malcolm let go of the rope in shock, scrabbling at his face, which was covered in a slipping, foamy substance. Malcolm had his eyes shut tightly, and was yelling in pain. The slippery liquid was giving off a pungent odor, like dried vomit. With a pang Guiterrez realized what had happened: It had spat in his eyes.

Tim and Rodriguez hurriedly dropped the rope, and rushed over to help him. But Guiterrez was now the only one holding the rope. Caught off guard, he wasn't prepared for the sudden jolt of weight. He was lifted off his feet, and soared through the air, towards the Dilophosaurs.

There was a sudden rush of sounds. He could hear himself yelling, and the wind rushing against his ears. Anderson and Wu were shouting incoherently above him as they plummeted towards the ground. He could hear Sarah shooting rapidly at the dinosaurs, bullets whined as they ricocheted off tree trunks. The Dilophosaurs were screeching and roaring, and he felt the ground rumble as they charged towards them.

He slammed to the ground as the rope suddenly halted, and received a mouthful of dirt. She squeezed his eyes shut as he was blinded by the dust, and the grit scraped against his corneas.

With a crash he heard Wu and Anderson land in a bush to his left, cursing. There was a massive thud only a foot away from him which made the ground shudder. Guiterrez raised his head, and opened his eyes, blinking out the dust. He nearly screamed.

The head of a Dilophosaur stared back at him sightlessly, with a slightly surprised expression on its face. Blood seeped from a ragged hole between its eyes, drooling down its snout, forming a spreading pool around it. Saliva slid from its open jaws and intermingled with the blood.

Guiterrez scrambled to his feet, gasping. Beside him the bush was rustling furiously as Wu and Anderson struggled to get up as well.

He turned to look at the others. The Dilophosaurs were charging towards Sarah, who was still unleashing a deadly volley of bullets. Another Dilophosaur lay twitching ten feet from Guiterrez. Its body had been riddled with bullets; Guiterrez was worried that Sarah would run out before she could take care of them all.

The three remaining Dilophosaurs split up, and approached Sarah from separate sides. They were too close; she wouldn't be able to get them all. Within seconds they would be upon her.

She blasted another animal to the ground, but as she turned to dispatch the other two, the nearest of them clamped its jaws onto her sleeve. It snapped its head sideways, and Sarah screamed as she was thrown bodily into the trunk of a nearby tree. The gun flew from her hand, and slid away, into the foliage.

The Dilophosaurs turned away from her, and bore down on Malcolm, Tim and Rodriguez. Malcolm was grunting, his hands clasped over his eyes, seemingly unaware of anything around him. Tim and Rodriguez seized his shoulders, and attempted to drag him away from the Dilophosaurs, but his body was lifeless and unwilling to move.

One of the Dilophosaurs rushed forwards, and seized one of Malcolm's legs. Ian gave an anguished yell as the Dilophosaur shook its head, trying to drag him from Tim and Rodriguez's grasp. But they hung on grimly, trying to wrestle Malcolm free. It was a tug of war, and Malcolm was in the middle, blood flowing from his leg.

Guiterrez turned to Anderson, who was scrambling around in the foliage alongside Wu.

"Shoot them!" Guiterrez shouted.

"I dropped my gun, I can't find it!" said Anderson, tearing at the ground.

Time seemed to slow down. Guiterrez looked from Wu and Anderson, searching in the bushes, to Sarah's limp figure, slumped against the base the tree she had been thrown against. He looked to Tim and Rodriguez's terrorized, hopeless faces, and then to the Dilophosaurs, snarling and snapping their jaws. Guiterrez did the only thing he could think of.

He picked up a large stone at his feet, and threw it as hard as he could. It hit the nearest Dilophosaur in the back of the head, which screeched in anger, and let go of Malcolm's leg. Ian fell backwards into Tim and Rodriguez, and they all tumbled to the ground.

"Oi! Yo! Over here!" Guiterrez shouted, waving his arms. "Dinner's served. Come and get it!"

The Dilophosaurs turned to face him, and roared. It was a blood curdling shriek, and a strangling sensation gripped his chest.

"Oh shit," he said, and turned and ran into the jungle as fast as he could. He felt the ground rumble beneath his feet as he pounded into trees; they had taken the bait. They were chasing him.

He tore into the foliage, throwing overhanging vines aside and leaping over fallen logs.

"What the hell am I doing?" he murmured to himself as he threw himself through a dense tangle of leaves, "What in the bloody hell am I doing?!"

His mind tried to throw together a plan, but he was terrified. Wu and Anderson had mentioned a moat when they had searched the jungle. Maybe he could lure them into it. It was his only chance. He just hoped that he was going the right way.

He took one fleeting glance over his shoulder, and put on a spurt. The Dilophosaurs were crashing through the jungle behind him, and were dangerously close.

He darted left around a large tree, and ran on, pumping his legs. His lungs seared with every breath, and his muscles burned from the effort, but he couldn't stop.

The Dilophosaurs roared from somewhere behind him, still very close. Branches and twigs slapped at his face, lashing his cheeks and cutting stinging wounds into his forehead. He tripped over a root, stumbled, and sprinted off again, now limping slightly. His ankle screamed with pain, but he ignored it.

The Dilophosaurs were ripping down everything in their path, tearing after him, chasing him with surprising speed and agility. He wasn't used to such large animals moving so quickly, it just didn't seem right. It was creepy. They roared again, louder than before.

With a rush of relief Guiterrez saw a beam of sunlight up ahead. The trees were thinning out. With a grunt he put on an all-or-nothing burst of speed, and threw himself upwards. He seized an overhanging branch, and swung himself up to safety. He had timed it just right.

From his vantage point he saw that there was only another few feet of solid ground left, before it gave way to a grey cliff face. He had reached the moat.

The Dilophosaurs didn't register his absence in time, and had only begun to skid to a halt when the when careening over the edge.

"Goodbye, you fuckers!" shouted Guiterrez, as the Dilophosaurs soared out of sight, hooting and snarling.

A few minutes later Guiterrez emerged from the jungle, into the clearing now littered with Dilophosaur carcasses. But it was deserted. Wu, Anderson, Tim, Rodriguez, Sarah and Malcolm had disappeared. Guiterrez's heart jumped into his throat as he scanned the clearing frantically. Could there have been more Dilophosaurs? Or had something else dragged them off into the jungle? He ran into the centre of the clearing, vaulting a dead Dilophosaur.

"Guys?" he shouted.

"Up here," came Anderson's voice.

Guiterrez span around, and looked up. Anderson was beckoning to him from a nearby tree, twenty feet in the air. The others were huddled behind him, sitting in the crook two heavy branches.

Guiterrez breathed a sigh of relief, and then frowned.

"What in the hell are you doing up there?" he said.

"There might be more of them," said Anderson, lowering the rope for him to climb up, "and all that noise might attract attention."

Guiterrez grabbed the rope, and climbed up quickly, eyeing the ground around him. One of them Dilophosaurs was still stirring feebly, its ribcage rising and falling shallowly.

"What happened to the other two Dilophosaurs?" asked Anderson.

"Oh, they took a little tumble in the moat," said Guiterrez, smiling to himself.

He lifted himself into a free space next to the others, and surveyed them.

Malcolm lay at their feet, groaning, and clutching at his eyes. Blood was pouring from the wound in his leg. Tim and Rodriguez were tending to him, taking out bandages and ampoules of liquid from Tim's rucksack. Sarah was sitting up to the left, looking dazed and confused. Anderson was checking his gun, which he had obviously retrieved. It was scratched, and the grip was dented, but otherwise looked alright. He put it aside, and pulled out the pistol that Sarah had been using.

"How many bullets do have for that thing?" asked Guiterrez.

Anderson flicked a button on the side, and the cartridge slipped out of the bottom. He turned the cartridge over, and looked at the end. It was empty. He stowed it in his jacket.

"Enough," he murmured, pulling out a fresh cartridge, and sliding it into the pistol, and cocking it. He checked the safety, and slipped it back into its holster.

Guiterrez turned back to Malcolm. He was breathing shallowly, and straining to open his eyes. Rodriguez was bent over him, and was pouring a steady stream of water onto Malcolm's face, washing away the saliva.

"Make sure you get it all out of his eyes," said Tim, opening a plastic bag of sterile needles. He pulled out a syringe, and attached one of the needles to the tip. He cracked open one of the ampoules full of clear liquid, and inserted the needle into it. He pulled back the plunger on the syringe, and drew up a large quantity of the liquid.

"What's that?" asked Guiterrez.

"Antivenin," said Tim, tapping the syringe to get the bubbles out.

"What for?"

"The Dilophosaurus' bite is poisonous. It's carried in its saliva, and its bite. If he doesn't get this soon, his body will start to shut down. He'd be blind within hours."

"You brought antivenin with you?" said Guiterrez incredulously, watching as Tim dabbed Malcolm's elbow with an antiseptic wipe.

"Better to be safe than sorry," said Tim, tapping the crook on Ian's elbow until the vein stood out.

"After all your little speeches about the impossibility of us being marooned here," murmured Guiterrez as the needle sank into Malcolm's arm.

"You'd rather I hadn't brought it?"

"Never mind," said Guiterrez.

Tim pushed the plunger down slowly, and injected the antivenin into Malcolm's system. Then he carefully removed the needle, and packed it back into his rucksack with the syringe.

"Where'd you learn how to perform injections?" said Sarah.

"The InGen archives. It was standard company procedure," answered Tim.

"Is he going to be ok?"

"He should be. We just need to bandage his leg, it doesn't look that bad."

Anderson climbed over, and took the bandages that Rodriguez was struggling with. He slid Malcolm's tattered trouser leg upwards, and expertly applied the bandages, tying it off in a neat knot.

"There we go," said Anderson, and eased Malcolm into a sitting position.

Malcolm was breathing a little easier, and he seemed to be able to keep his eyes open without too much strain.

"I really don't seem to have much luck on these islands," he panted.

Anderson returned to his spot beside Guiterrez, and surveyed the twitching Dilophosaurs below.

"That was a very brave thing you did, Martin," he said quietly, still staring at the Dilophosaurs.

"What? Running for my life?" Guiterrez said, laughing.

Anderson turned to face him. "No, you saved our lives."

"Ah, it was nothing. You would have done the same thing," Guiterrez shrugged.

"All the same, thanks," said Anderson, clapping him on the back.

They waited half an hour for Malcolm to recover, as the antivenin took its course. He was now sipping water quietly, looking a lot better. His leg had stopped bleeding, and his eyes were back to normal.

"So," said Tim, turning to Wu and Anderson, "did you find out where the power station is?"

Guiterrez had almost forgotten about why they were here. The thought hadn't occurred to him until now.

"Yeah, we found it," said Anderson, taking out Wu's compass from his pocket. "It's on a bearing due North-North west."

"Good," said Tim, standing up and looking down at the clearing below them, "I don't want to hang around here. Those bodies are a free meal to all the predators on this island, and for all the racket we made we might as well have rung the dinner bell."

"Ian, do you think you can stand?" said Anderson.

Malcolm nodded, and got slowly to his feet. He put his weight on his leg gingerly, wincing. He sighed. "I'm good, let's go," he said.

Anderson descended the rope first, training his rifle around the clearing. Then he nodded, and signaled for the others to follow. Wu and Sarah followed, and watched Malcolm as he slowly made him way downwards. Guiterrez and Rodriguez were helping him down, ready to grab him if he slipped. But eventually, their feet touched the ground without incident.

Anderson checked the compass, and was about to lead the way into the jungle when there was a rustling to their right. Anderson spun around, and aimed for the underbrush, which was shaking violently. They all held their breath as the rustling came closer.

A small Dilophosaur hoped into view, and squeaked. It was just over four feet high, and around six feet long. Unlike the adults, it had a large amount of extra skin that hung around its neck, and the striations running along its flanks were missing.

"It's only an adolescent. If we back away, it shouldn't attack," said Tim.

But the Dilophosaur wasn't looking at them. It didn't even seem to sense their presence. It was looking at the nearest adult carcass. It hoped over to it, and lowered its head to the bloody holes that riddled its body. The youngster cocked its head, and squeaked again. It nudged the adult's carcass, and cocked its head again.

"It must have been its mother," murmured Tim.

At his voice the small Dilophosaur wheeled around, and roared in a high pitched tone. The folds of skin at its neck flew to the side, and upwards, and formed a massive colourful frill. It roared again, and took a menacing step forward.

With a look of exasperation, Anderson took aim, and fired. The Dilophosaur gave a howl of pain as it flew backwards, and flopped over onto the body of the adult, unmoving.

Guiterrez almost laughed. He took a deep breath, and took a fleeting glance at the dead Dilophosaurs before they all turned and walked into the jungle.

"It is me?" he said, "or is everything on this island out to get us?"