Chapter 33

Airstrip

"I never saw this place," said Wu as he and Tim emerged from the dense jungle onto the broken tarmac of the runway. The island's airstrip was in disrepair, rubble and creepers littered the surface of the runway. But even after over a decade Tim could still see that had still been under construction when the park was abandoned. The tarmac that had been laid thickly only covered three quarters of the long strip of jungle which had been cleared to form to the runway. Rusted steel poles and construction vehicles, including a large crane sat at the end of the clearing, exactly how they had been left. Looking up and down, Wu guessed that this airstrip was large enough to cater for aircraft the size of a moderately sized turbo-prop.

"I never saw it either," said Tim, stepping forward, his footsteps echoing in the clearing. It was deathly silent in the clearing, and their voices reverberated off the jungle periphery. It was spooky after being immersed in the sounds of the jungle for so long. But now even the jungle was silent and still.

In the early morning a light mist hung close to the ground, shrouding the entire area, giving everything a ghostly appearance. The sky above them was a dark blue, streaked with hints of orange. The sun was just beginning to break the tops of the mountains in the distance. The air was cool as Wu walked through the mist, the white wispy fog swirling and arcing gracefully away from him as he moved.

The jungle encroached ominously on all sides; in some places the trees overhung the runway, casting dark shadows over the blackened tarmac. Green shoots and vines stuck up all over the place, fighting their way through. To the right, set off to the side from the runway, there was a control tower, which stuck up around a hundred feet. It was small, and simple in appearance. It was speckled green with mold, and large chunks of the concrete had fallen away, cracks ran up its length. Large dishes and antennas protruded from the top. An area around the tower was layered with more concrete, and would have made a parking bay for aircraft. A long thin taxiway connected the terminal to the runway, lined with thin bright yellow lines.

"They never finished it," said Tim, walking along the edge of the jungle, heading north along the tarmac. "Just like most of the other things here."

"I never knew much about the day to day construction that was going on, I spent most of my time in the lab," some Wu, walking alongside him. "Looks like it would have been nice though."

"That's my grandfather for you; always thinking big."

Wu nodded, and looked around. "You can say that again."

"Why bother building it though?" said Wu. "The helipad and the docks were fine for getting people on and off the island."

"That was just to shuttle people to and from the mainland in Costa Rica. When the park opened it was expected that there would be a massive rush of visitors. People would want to fly in from all over the world, and they wouldn't want to come via Costa Rica."

"This island isn't big enough to have more than a few dozen visitors at a time. The Safari Lodge was only built to cater for that many," said Wu.

"Yes, but construction had already began on a large hotel. My grandfather wanted at least fifty visitors at a time on-island."

"This island is small…"

"Henry, think about it. Disney land is fifty square miles, and yes thousands of people pass through it every day. This island is no less than twenty-five square miles, and despite the task of getting people across an ocean, this island could easily have over a hundred people at a time."

A high pitched bark issued from the trees on the other side of the runway, in the jungle. Wu looked over at it cautiously, watching the still jungle, cloaked in fog.

"What do you think that was?" Wu asked.

Tim looked unconcerned and continued walking, further up the runway towards where the control tower was located.

"I don't know," he said, "it didn't sound big. Just keep moving, we can't afford any more stops. Most of the animals are nocturnal, and even the ones that aren't won't be up to doing anything much this early."

"That's speculation," said Wu, frowning at Tim. "You can't know that, nobody knows anything about these animals."

Tim whirled on him. "What do you want me to say?" he asked angrily. "If you want comfort, you're on the wrong damn island. Now keep moving and ignore the fucking noises."

Wu glanced at back at the source of the bark. "Better to be safe than sorry, Tim."

Tim snorted. "On this island, there is no such thing as safe."

Wu had to agree. During his working days on the island, when he had been working feverishly with his own team of skilled geneticists to exploit the revolutionary breakthrough that had been achieved, he had never been able to shake off a strange twist in his gut. The fact that they were genetically engineering primeval monsters from the past struck at times as an extremely foolish thing to do. Especially when he saw the leniency with which some of the other staff members treated the situation. He had been one of the advisors asked to draft a summary of what they deemed necessary within the security systems of the island.

Wu himself had reported that it would be best to clone perhaps half a dozen animals, and study them closely, under close observation. He had thought of it as only prudent that this be the case, the animals were literally unknown to modern science. They could have diseases, unpredictable behavior and reactions to the present world. The trees were different from their time, the animals were different, even the atmosphere was different. Any of these factors could have massive consequences for the dinosaurs.

But his recommendations were casually cast aside in favor of something far grander and adventurous. Members of the InGen board demanded that the technology be utilized to mass produce the animals, and ensure that as much money would be made from them as possible, as quickly as possible. And that, Wu found, was what the whole thing came down to; money. He found that his work wasn't for the good of mankind, it wasn't to further their understanding of the world around them. It was just another scheme, another plot, another venture. To make money.

The looks of those board member's faces would be forever imprinted on his mind when he told them the expected size and grandeur of these animals. He himself only saw the animals in their infancy, but even then he found himself staring at them with uneasy caution. There was something in their eyes, something missing. They were soulless, reptilian, and frightening, no matter how old they were. Especially the raptors. He had been to their holding pen once, on a lunch break. He had heard the construction workers talking about it in the dining hall, and there had been unmistakable fear in their voices. When he had looked down into the dense foliage from the platform, he had heard the snarling. He never saw them, only heard them. But it had been enough. They were murderers, quick and decisive.

Of course he had been ordered to put on his best smile and inform the visitors of the island about the brilliance of the technology by Hammond himself. But even through that he could see that some of them felt just as he did, even if it was subconsciously. He remembered the way Grant looked at him as he held the newly hatched Velociraptor. As wonderful as the animals were, there was something chilling about it. It was unnatural, defying Mother Nature.

When the first live birth occurred, the reality and gravity of what they were doing began to sink in, and at the same time it had also hit him that it was too late to stop. Even if he wanted to stop, and refused to continue, InGen would inevitably carry on his work, with somebody else. There was far too much money at stake. And Hammond's eccentricities would have won over any administration board; he was too cheerful for his own good.

An explosion of noise suddenly erupted from the jungle where the bark had emanated before. Thrashing and the snapping of twigs rang out. Wu and Tim span around to see the underbrush at the side of the jungle was shaking. A harsh scream tore through the air, agonized and terrified.

"What the hell?" whispered Wu.

Tim grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down into a crouching position, and they both stared at the thrashing of the foliage.

"So much for 'nothing will be up to doing much this early'," breathed Wu, glancing at Tim fiercely.

"Quiet," whispered Tim.

The screaming stopped abruptly, followed by a loud crack. The thrashing ceased, to be replaced by an endless, strained silence. Tim and Wu sat as still as possible, not even daring to breath. The silence seemed to invade Wu's body, and he felt his chest constrict, and the only sound was the roar of his own blood in his ears. The silence dragged on, and he felt his pulse quicken, his breathing become shallower.

The only thing that was moving was the light fog which floated aimlessly in every direction, disrupting his line of sight towards the trees.

Suddenly a something flashed past on the periphery of his vision. Giving a gasp of fright, Wu span his head just in time to see a ghostly figure disappear into the jungle on their side of the runway. Something had just run across the airstrip in front of them. It had been fast, too fast. He had the impression of a large reptilian body, and a long tail held high off the ground. And completely silent; there had been no patter of feet on the concrete, no vocalizations, nothing. It was creepy.

Wu looked at Tim, and instantly knew that he had also seen the figure.

"Did you see what it was?" Wu said as quietly as possible, trying not to move his lips too much.

Tim shook his head fractionally.

Wu looked around as quickly as possible, not moving his head, simply moving his eyes in his sockets as far as they would go. They couldn't be attacked now; they were completely exposed. The runway was well over forty meters across, and they were at least ten meters from the first of the trees.

"What do we do?" he whispered frantically.

Tim glanced at him, and then ever so slightly nodded his head forwards, towards the other end of the runway. Wu followed his nod, and saw that he was indicating the control tower. It was located right at the end of the runway, almost half a mile from where they were crouched. It looked secure and strong, made of thick concrete, like the geothermal plant. But if they broke cover now and ran for it, there was no way that they would make it there.

"We can't, it's too far," he whispered.

"No choice," murmured Tim.

A sudden splash from behind them floated across to them, and they both snapped around instinctively. A large puddle from the storm lay in a slight depression in the tarmac. Ripples were slowly and lazily coursing their way outwards towards the edge of the puddle; something had just stepped into it, moments before.

First in front of them, and now behind them. There was either more than one animal, or something was circling them. Stalking them. They were in trouble.

Tim was slowly rising from his crouch into a half-standing position, as if he were an athlete preparing for the starting pistol in the one hundred meters sprint.

Wu turned in a wide circle, his eyes darting from tree to tree, desperately trying to find the animal.

"You can stay here if you like, Henry," whispered Tim, breathing deeply, looking towards the control tower, "but I'm going for it."

Wu gave him a look. "As soon as we start running, we're done for."

"You stay here, you're dead anyway," said Tim.

In the silence of the jungle a single snarl broke through the fog like a hot knife through butter. And then the bushes at the side of the runway behind them shook.

"Now!" said Tim, and with a massive heave he soared from his position on the ground and sprinted towards the control tower.

A second later Wu ran after him, not knowing what else to do. There was no way he was going to be left behind, but he was also sure that they couldn't make it all the way to the control tower without being intercepted. After everything that had happened to them on this island the previous day, it would be foolish to entertain the notion of moving across the island undetected.

Tim was running flat out, his arms pumping, his legs a blur in front of Wu. Wu himself was marshalling all the strength he could muster, but he realized after only a few seconds that they could be easily outrun.

Another flash of movement to his left, and Wu caught a glimpse of a powerfully muscled hind limb, disappearing into the jungle.

He put on a spurt, his muscles screaming in protest. The world seemed to swirl around him as he broke out in a cold sweat, and he forced himself to run on.

Less than a minute later Wu watched as Tim sprinted around the side of the control tower, only a few meters in front of him. Wu rounded it after him a moment later, and found Tim tearing open a small steel door built into the concrete of the building. It didn't look anywhere near as strong as the door in the geothermal plant, but now he wasn't going to complain about a shelter.

Wu bounded forwards and flew through the threshold of the door, into deep darkness. Failing to stop himself for several more steps, carried forwards by his momentum, he heard Tim run towards the door and slam it shut. The small amount of light that had been filtering through the door was cut off suddenly, and they were thrown into perpetual darkness.

Wu doubled over, struggling to catch his breath. The room was cool and the air was damp. He could hear water trickling from a crack in the roof into a puddle on the floor somewhere deeper in the room. He had the sense of standing in a sizeable room, but he couldn't see a thing. There was no window in sight.

"Tim?" he said into the darkness, his voice echoing back to him.

"Here," said Tim, standing a few meters away, at the door.

"Do you hear anything out there?"

"No."

Slowly, Wu's eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he started to pick up faint details. He stood still and let them adjust, and slowly his mind began to build the picture of the room.

He was standing in the middle of a room twenty feet across. A metal, skeletal looking staircase lay against the wall to his left, stopping at a balcony ten feet up and continuing in the opposite direction out of sight onto the next level. A lift sat built into the wall underneath the balcony of the stairs, the doors glinting dully in the gloom.

"You see this stuff?" he said to Tim, who he guessed from the hunched shape of his silhouette had his ear pressed up against the door.

"Yeah. It's silent out there. I don't think we're in trouble, whatever that was, it wasn't big enough to knock this door in."

Wu looked at him. "That doesn't mean that it's safe to go back out. And there are no windows in here, we can't see out."

Tim's figure moved away from the door, further into the room. "No, not here, but there are upstairs."

Wu nodded, and moved towards the staircase. He saw that it had a distinct brown and orange tinge; it was heavily rusted. Which, he realized, was to be expected in the damp interior of the tower.

"Do you think there could be anything in here?" he asked as the possibility occurred to him suddenly.

He heard Tim scoff in the dark. "That door was shut, and there's no window down here. How could they get in?"

"Upstairs maybe…"

"So something scaled a one hundred foot wall and crawled inside?"

Wu shrugged, and moved forwards, and gripped the handrail. He could see that the steps of the staircase were grated, and that in some places they had begun to rust away.

Tim began climbing the steps, and his footfalls echoed with deep booms. The stairs creaked as Wu steps onto them, gripping the handrail to stop himself tripping.

He stepped onto the balcony and was about to begin climbing the next when the light filtering beneath the door dimmed for an instant, a shadow passing across it. He froze, Tim kept climbing above him, his footstep's booming slowly dying away.

He squinted at the door, not moving a muscle. It didn't happen again. Shaking his head, swearing to himself, he passed it off as his imagination playing tricks on him, and climbed after Tim.

Wu turned the door handle, which creaked loudly, and opened the thin wooden door which stood guard at the top of the stairs. They had climbed over ten flights of stairs, and several times their feet had fallen through the metal grating of the stairs. The hinges creaked, and a wide arc of detritus on the floor was cleared as the door opened. This room was much brighter, as faint sunlight was coming in through the glass windows which made up most of the opposite wall. The glass windows were weathered to the point of being translucent, but the room still had a pleasant orange glow. The room was lined with servers and computer consoles, which were all off and dead.

"Do you think that any of this stuff could be used to contact the mainland?" asked Wu, walking over a staring at one of the computers.

Tim sat down heavily on one of the old swivel chairs, and a cloud of dust was displaced into the air. "No, none of the equipment was ever brought online here. Anyway, the main power line that he activated doesn't run through here."

Wu shook his head, and walked towards the closest of the windows, and stared at it. He couldn't see through it at all.

"We wasted our time coming up here then," said Wu, just before Tim's leg came swinging out of nowhere and plunging through the pane of glass. It shattered with ease, and a shower of glass pieces fell away from the frame towards the ground below, clattering on the ground like a thousand Christmas bells.

Wu looked at him sharply, but Tim was already leaning out, looking down at the floor below. A light gust of wind blew in, ruffling their hair.

"Well, at least they know we're here now," said Wu.

Tim ignored him, and continued to look downwards, his head turning in a wide arc. Wu stepped back and let him look, eyeing him with cautious eyes. Tim seemed to have finally snapped, he was acting rashly.

"Doesn't seem to be anything out there," Tim said finally.

Looking out, Wu saw that the sun was now stronger, higher in the sky, and that the fog close to the ground was beginning to evaporate.

"How long until we reach the garage?" Wu asked.

"Another three hours maybe, if we're lucky."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"As in, if nothing goes wrong. But by this point I'm going to assume that something is going to go wrong."

Wu sighed, and sat down in another of the chairs, which had a large chunk of foam missing from the seat.

"What do you think it was, out there?" he asked. "It was about six feet tall, right? I saw a big tail and back legs."

"I don't know," said Tim with an edge to his voice which indicated the contrary. He stalked across the room towards the door. "The coast is clear, let's get moving."

Wu turned in the swivel chair, resting his head on one of his hands and frowned. "What's going on Tim? You know something."

Tim froze at the threshold of the doorway, and looked over his shoulder. "I don't follow you," he said hollowly.

"Enough games, I'm done with half truths. What's out there?"

Tim's hand gripped the door, sliding up and down nervously. "I don't know."

"What's out there?" shouted Wu, standing up angrily.

Another snarl rose up from the ground below, and Tim turned around to look him in the eye. "You know what's down there. And it's not going away. Now quit playing and get your ass moving. We have work to do."