Chapter 26

Lagoon

Guiterrez emerged from the jungle, breathing heavily. His rucksack felt heavy, and his hands brushed against the last of the ferns before he stepped out into the open. A light breeze danced over his skin, and he took a deep breath after the stuffy confines of the trees. He narrowed his eyes in the harsh light, and stared out over the expansive space which he had just entered.

He appeared to be on the western shore of a large body of water. Looking around, he saw that there was a field of grass around him, which extended to within twenty feet of the waterline, where it gave way to crisp, golden sand.

The jungle sounds seemed more distant now, without the reverberating quality of jungle. The insects and buzzing seemed more pleasant, an accompanying jingle to the wind.

He was also pleased to see that there were no dinosaurs in this area either. Looking more carefully, he saw that the water extended only for a mile or so, before land began again. He realized that he had arrived at the lagoon.

But he was also painfully aware of the fact that he had no idea where anybody else was. As soon as he had started to run from the Rex in the nest, he had lost sight of them. All he could remember was turning tail and running as fast as he could, for his life. He had run until his lungs had seared, threatening to burst, and he had collapsed onto the floor.

He had lay there for many minutes, trying to catch his breath, listening to the distant roars of the Rex. But after he had managed to sit up, and drag himself to his feet, he had panicked. He had lost the others, and didn't have any idea what to do next.

And so he had struggled on through the dense vegetation, not daring to call out in fear of attracting the attention of the Tyrannosaurs.

Now, he was relieved to finally be out in the open. But he didn't want to venture out down to the beach; if something arrived then he'd have nowhere to run to.

He decided that his best bet was to wait at the tree line and see if anybody else showed up. Maybe then they could figure out how to cross the lagoon and get over to the control centre. The sooner they could get off this island; the better.

Guiterrez walked briskly along the tree line, looking for a good spot. He found it after two minutes of looking; a large tree with a thick trunk, with a thick layer of ferns lying at the base. The branches would hang over the top of him, and it would provide good cover from being seen, yet would allow him to look out over the lagoon.

He pulled up a few of the ferns, creating a space for him to sit, and lay them over the empty space, making a soft bedding to keep him off the wet mud.

He sat down with a sigh, and dragged his rucksack off his back, and plopped it down beside him. He crossed his legs underneath him, and stared out at the shimmering surface of the water, idly listening to the jungle sounds behind him.

It was starting to get late, and the sun was reflected in the lagoon surface, casting a golden glow over the scene before him.

He enjoyed the relative cool of the late afternoon, and rubbed his aching legs. He felt tired and battered after his dash through the jungle away from the Tyrannosaur nest, and now that the adrenaline had run its course he found his eyes were heavy. He had never been so exhausted, hungry and thirsty at the same time. But he could go to sleep, not here anyway. And all he had to eat were a few energy bars, and in the tropical heat they were probably sticky and generally unappetizing.

But the thirst he could deal with. He bent over, unzipped his rucksack, and rummaged around for his water bottle. Pulling it out, he took a long swallow, feeling the cold liquid slide down his throat, easing his thirst.

His stomach shuddered as the water touched it, and he felt a strange pang of emptiness; he needed food. They hadn't eaten properly since at the airport in San Jose, which itself had been unsatisfactorily unfulfilling.

A sudden chirp interrupted his train of thought. He tensed, and put his water bottle down as slowly as possible. Slowly, he clambered into a crouching position, ready to break into a run if necessary. The jungle sounds showed no signs of ceasing, carrying on like normal. Guiterrez relaxed a little as the chirping sound came again. He didn't think that the sound was coming from anything threatening at all. In fact, it almost sounded like—

The branches in the tree above him shook momentarily, and then a beaked face popped into view. Guiterrez smiled up at the little Microceratops, which chirped happily, and ran along the branch.

"Following me now?" he asked the small dinosaur, relaxing back into his sitting position. He stuffed his water bottle back into his bag, and couldn't help sustaining his smirk. It was comforting to have the animal around, both for the company and the fact that it would almost certainly become agitated if a predator came near.

The dinosaur hopped from branch to branch above him, causing what Guiterrez would have called a considerable amount of noise. Leaves and detritus rained down on him, and he looked up again, frowning.

A second Microceratops emerged from the foliage, and chirped at the first, and then looked down at Guiterrez. It cocked its head for a second, and then hopped around like the first.

Martin watched as a whole group of the animals appeared from the jungle, and played joyously in the treetops.

"Hey, guys," he said with a small smile, "want some candy? I hope you're hungry. I find these things to be a refreshing substitute for…food."

He bent down into his rucksack again, and rooted around, looking for the glint of a candy bar wrapper. His water bottle, some rope and clothes obstructed his view.

He frowned, and dug his hand in blindly, grabbing for a slippery plastic surface. His hands felt soft fabric, coarse nylon, and then a cold metallic surface. His eyes widened as he realized what it was, and he closed his hand around it, ripping it from the rucksack with a flourish.

It was his radio. He had forgotten all about it.

Hastily, excitement flooding through him, he twisted the power dial. A strong red bubble light blinked to life, glowing strongly. Static hissed from the speaker grate at the top, filling the small space in which he sat.

The Microceratops above chattered excitedly, and Guiterrez sensed them coming lower to inspect the strange sounds.

Guiterrez pressed the talk button, and said "Hello? Is anybody there? Hello?"

A hiss of answering feedback flooded the area from the radio, and he grimaced in annoyance. The Microceratops squeaked, and Guiterrez flinched instinctively as one of them swung down beside him, upside down, hanging from a low branch. It observed him with a childish interest, and cocked its head.

Guiterrez ignored it, and continued trying. "Hello? Goddamn it, Hello?"

There was a harsh screech, and then there was a sharp crackle, and someone's voice flooded his ears. "Anderson here, who's there?"

Guiterrez's shoulders sagged with relief, and he pressed the talk button again. "It's Martin. Listen, I'm at the lagoon, where are you?"

There was a brief pause, and then Anderson's voice came again. "You are? So are we."

"Who's 'We'?" Guiterrez asked.

So Anderson wasn't alone. Perhaps everybody had survived.

"Me, Sarah and Ian." There was another pause. "Oh, and that guy, Edgar."

Guiterrez paused. "Edgar? That guy from the Rex nest?"

The sound of ruffling clothes drifted over the radio, but it could have been Anderson's gun. "Yes, him," said Anderson finally. He didn't sound happy.

Guiterrez peered out of his hiding place, and looked along the length of the stretch of shoreline. "I don't see you," he said into the radio.

The sound of Anderson's breaths and footsteps briefly floated over, and then he said, "I don't see you either. Where exactly are you?"

"I'm not sure…on the western side."

"Ah, yeah, we're nearer the eastern side. Come down here and we'll search for the others."

"Alright, I'm on my way," said Guiterrez as the Microceratops squawked sharply.

There was another pause. "What was that?" asked Anderson.

"The Microceratops that we saw around the geothermal plant."

"…Those beaky things? They followed you?"

"Must have…I guess they like me."

"Well, lose them, and get over here. And walk along the periphery of the jungle, not out in the open. If the Rex comes back you'll have nowhere to go."

Guiterrez stood up, and shouldered his rucksack. He took off at a brisk pace, walking through the dense shrubbery that lined where the jungle began. The Microceratops chattered loudly at his sudden movement, and followed him above, clattering around in the canopy.

Five minutes later he walked out into the open, and smiled at the sight of Anderson coming up to join him. The Microceratops remained in the jungle, and seemed reluctant to show themselves at the sight of another person, but they could still hear their faint playful squawks mixing in with the insects and frogs. Guiterrez and Anderson fell into step with each other, and began walking a little further up the shoreline, towards a slight bend in the jungle perimeter.

"I thought I told you to lose those things," said Anderson, glancing over his shoulder.

"Care to suggest how I would do that?"

"Never mind. Any problems?"

"Nope, didn't see anything on the way over here…Well, except for those guys," Guiterrez said, motioning to the shaking branches behind them.

They came around a corner, and Guiterrez saw Sarah crouched a small distance away, over Malcolm, who lay on the ground, apparently sleeping. The man, Edgar, stood to the side of them, looking uncomfortable at the sight of Anderson, and the way he fingered his rifle.

"Martin, glad you're okay," said Sarah absently, peering over Malcolm, who was slowly turning his head from side to side.

"Thanks," said Guiterrez, "but what's up with him?" Martin looked at Malcolm again. He noticed that he didn't look good at all. His skin had a slightly grayish tone, and his hair was matter with sweat. He was also shivering slightly.

"I don't know", said Sarah, "but I think his bite wound from the Dilophosaur attack has gotten infected."

Guiterrez approached her, and crouched down beside Malcolm, and looked at his leg. Sarah had put a fresh dressing on the wound, and from what he could see she had used water from the lagoon to clean it as best she could.

Carefully, he removed the bandage, and inspected the cut. He could see the puncture marks where the teeth of the Dilophosaur had broken the skin. The bright red flesh beneath bore no sign of discoloration. He prodded the area around the wound lightly, causing Malcolm to moan sharply, and muttered something incoherent. Everything seemed to be normal; he couldn't see any signs of infection. Of course, merely examining him like this wouldn't make anything definitive whatsoever, but his guess was that it was something else.

"Doesn't look infected," he said, sitting back on the grass.

"You sure?" said Anderson, not taking his eyes off Edgar, who remained in his rigid pose.

"No. But there aren't any obvious signs. There's usually pus, swelling, or a change in skin tone around the wound. But I can't see any of that."

"…Then what?" asked Sarah.

"I can't be sure, it might just be fatigue. He's lost a lot of blood, and he's been through a lot in the last few hours."

Sarah was staring at him. "But that's not what you think it is, is it?" she said.

Guiterrez sighed, chewing his lip thoughtfully. "It seems just like a virus. But this has come on very quickly. How long has he been like this?"

"Since just after the Rex chased us."

"And how was he before that?"

"Nothing like this, but he wasn't right."

Guiterrez shrugged, looking at the water of the lagoon.

Malcolm began muttering again. Guiterrez was able to distinguish a few words from the whispered babble, such as 'Too many mistakes, John', and 'All new ones'.

They listened to him absently until his mutters subsided to deep breathing, and Guiterrez inspected Edgar, who remained standing at the periphery of the group.

"What do you do at that company then?" he said. "That BioSyn."

Edgar stared at him for a second, and then said, "I'm Dr. Dodgson's personal assistant. I usually aid in his research projects, organize funds and such."

Guiterrez smirked. "Bet you weren't counting on this."

Edgar snorted. "No shit."

Anderson brought out his radio, and clicked it on for a second, listening to the static.

"Have you contacted the others yet?" asked Guiterrez.

"We've been trying for the better part of twenty minutes," said Anderson, flicking through all the channels and listening intently to the hissing noises. "All we got was you."

"So they're either in trouble, or haven't remembered that they have their radios yet."

Guiterrez suddenly snapped his head sideways at the sight of movement, coming from the other side of the lagoon. The others turned to follow his eyes, and paused.

Three adult Stegosaurus had just broke cover of the trees on the opposite shore, and slowly swaggered down onto the beach. Their leathery skin reflected the golden sunlight as they dipped their tiny heads to drink.

Their dangerous looking spiked tails raised into the air, swaying from side to side rhythmically, the meter long spikes glittering in the dying light.

"So, we just wait for them?" asked Guiterrez as he watched the graceful herbivores drink peacefully.

"Yes," said Anderson, pocketing the radio. "We wait."