Chapter 47

The Lodge

"Everybody still there?" Tim said into the radio as he clicked it on in the darkened control room.

"What happened to you?" Guiterrez's voice said.

"I was hoping they'd go away if I kept the noise down," he said, staring at the twin servers blocking the glass windows, "But apparently they know I'm in here."

He stepped towards the computer terminal hesitantly as a slow snarl drifted into the room from down the hall. He hit the return key, and saw the door lock system, all glowing green strongly.

"Who know you're where?" Anderson's voice said over the roaring engine of the Jeep.

"I'm in the control room. As to who…well, that remains to be confirmed."

He heard Guiterrez give a bark of humorless laughter over the radio. "Bull," he said.

Tim sighed, and wiped the sweat off his brow, glancing over his shoulder quickly. He saw a dark shadow flick across the light streaming in through the small window on the door. "Where are you two?"

"On our way back to the visitor area," Guiterrez said.

Tim felt an unnerving sense well up from inside him, and took a deep breath. "You call for help?"

"They're on their way."

Typing quickly, he accessed the radio systems, and the screen blinked dark black for a moment, the drives whirring. And then the screen blinked, bright blue, showing 'Radio systems operational.'

Despite himself, Tim smiled for a moment. Then he shook himself. "Did you hear from Sarah or Ian?"

"They're somewhere in the jungle, they're trying to get back too. Once they find a road we'll go back out and pick them up. But for the time being we're heading back to the control room. We'll be there in two minutes."

Tim made a strange sound in his throat. "I wouldn't."

He tried to stop himself as he said it, but the words came out by themselves. He could have kicked himself.

There was a long silence, and then Anderson said, "Why not?"

Tim rubbed his forehead, growling to himself. Finally, he said, "We have a problem."

Wu lifted his head from his strained position, and smiled to himself, breathing slightly heavily. "Alright," he said, "I'm done."

Edgar turned around from the heavy metal door, frowning. "You're done?"

"I've got everything I need," Wu said. "All of the DX research data is now on the drive." He tapped the portable hard drive, which clinked dully on the shining metallic surface of the shelf.

"Don't you want to get anything else?" Edgar said, waving his hands a little ecstatically. "I mean, all the data that's on this system, isn't it valuable at all?"

Wu frowned. "Extremely valuable…but we don't need it."

"What about the GAP data? I mean, we're stuck in here for now, so why not collect as much as you can? This is your life's work; don't you want to know more?"

Edgar span around suddenly as the Raptor down in the hatchery suddenly gave a screeching yelp, and they both covered their ears against the high pitched noise, which made the metal in the room seem to vibrate.

An answering call came from the other Raptor in the genetics lab on the other side of the two metal doors, its brown, scaly body glowing in the golden strip of light.

They looked backwards and forwards at the two Raptors standing in the two different room below them, who had now both frozen, stock still. They turned their heads sideways, turning their ears towards the sky. Their eyes darted in their sockets at nowhere in particular, and Wu felt that he could almost see its mind working; he could see it thinking. He shivered at the prospect of its intelligence.

And then, simultaneously, the Raptors gave long, terrible snarls, and then turned together, and dashed towards the respective doors which marked the exits of the room that they were in. Crashes and crunches echoed from all around them as the Raptors careened into egg trays and trolleys, sending them flying; bouncing off metallic work surfaces, their claws leaving deep gouges in the material.

The first Raptor in the hatchery slammed into the rotting wooden door, tearing away a stretch of paneling as it scampered out into the corridor.

Within a few moments, both Raptors were gone, running off down towards the rotunda of the visitor centre. And then, faintly, they could hear the building sound of a vehicle's engine.

Wu stared at Edgar for a moment. And then he turned around, and accessed the GAP data, and began the transfer, trying to shake off the strange feeling building inside of him.

Anderson span the wheel, dodging around the massive pieces of broken wooden splinters, which were the only remains of the doors which had filled the stone gate, marking the entrance to the park. In the canopy of the jungle to their right was the second massive door, perched precariously, threatening to crash to the floor at any moment. They raced through the open gate, towards the visitor centre.

"What do you think he meant?" Guiterrez said, perched in his chair, looking at the black, anodized metal of Anderson's assault rifle.

Anderson pressed the accelerator, the electrical engine whining in a high pitched tone under the hood. "I don't' know, but he didn't sound very positive about anything."

"Since when has that guy been positive?"

"I don't know."

The radio crackled. "I really mean it," Tim said. "Stay away."

Guiterrez grabbed the radio, and pressed the transmit button, speaking in a low voice, trying to calm himself. "Then can you please tell us why we have to stay away?"

Tim sighed over the radio. "A moment ago we had animals in the building."

Guiterrez frowned in his seat as the cloud of mist appeared up ahead, swirling in the afternoon sun. I was thinning now, but it was still very noticeable in comparison to the brightness which surrounded them. "What animals?"

Tim didn't answer for a moment. And then he said; "Well, I'm not sure. I didn't see them."

"But something tells me you may have an inkling."

"…Velociraptors, I'd say."

Guiterrez smiled hollowly, leaning back in his seat. "You were worried about them before we came here, weren't you?"

"Yes."

"Then what are they doing here?"

"Wait, wait," said Anderson as they entered the fog, slowing down to avoid driving off of the road, "What do you mean 'a moment ago'?"

"Well I was trying to tell you," Tim began.

"Hey! What is it?" Anderson said angrily.

Tim cursed quietly. "They just left," he said, "And my guess is that they know you're coming."

Anderson cursed, and brought his rifle up from the floor of the cabin, and onto his lap, facing the door horizontally. They hurried along past the main road, and with a bump they made the transition from the tarmac to the dirt road which ran throughout the visitor area.

"You're not still coming?..." Tim said slowly.

"What else are we supposed to do?" Guiterrez said, looking out of the windows warily.

"Go and pick up Harding and Malcolm, and take them somewhere safe, for Christ sake."

They turned a last corner, and the visitor centre and the pond appeared in front of them, just visible through the mist.

"What do we do?" Guiterrez said.

Anderson gripped the wheel as they pulled up, and the engine died in the silence of the endless whiteness which surrounded them on all sides.

"When I say," he said slowly, "Get out of the car, don't look around, don't do anything else other than run up those steps, and get inside—"

With a roar the window in the back seat caved in, and the window in the boot of the car shattered with a clatter, shards of glass flying in all directions, cutting into the faces as they turned to look in horror.

Guiterrez caught a glance of brown, scaly skin flashing by his window, only to be immediately replaced by fog. He felt his heart jump into his throat, and in a moment of panic he flung the passenger door open, and despite Anderson's shouts of protest, he leapt out into the mist.

As he climbed out, he caught glimpsed of dark shapes all around them, and he heaved his lungs in panic as he tried to breath in the thick, humid air of the foggy cloud. He tripped on a rock, and with a yell he fell to the ground with a crash, grazing his elbows. Panting, he scrambled to his feet as the sound of Anderson's driver door opening filled his ears.

He pushed himself to his feet with the bottom step of the visitor centre, and as he made to run towards the two double doors they burst open, and a six foot tall, snarling figure filled the doorway. In the one second that it took for him to register its presence, and for the creature to crouch down low, ready to strike, time seemed to slow down. He saw the animal's dark brown, scaly skin, and its sharp, cold green eyes which bore vertical pupils. And most noticeable of all, he saw the jaw full of fierce, sharp teeth.

With a grunt, Anderson collided with him, pushing him out of the way as the Raptor leapt from its position with a roar, jumping ten feet in the air towards him. Guiterrez and Anderson were sent rolling in the dirt as the Raptor slammed into the roof of the cabin of the Jeep, the roof denting inwards, the photovoltaic paneling sizzling and spitting sparks. The Raptor gave a scream of anger as it turned from its perched position on the roof to face them, and Guiterrez was pulled to his feet as his lifeless body focused on the six inch retractable claw clicking up and down on both feet.

He felt his throat constrict against the material of his shirt as Anderson hauled him to his feet and pull him off, away from the Jeep and visitor centre.

They ran across the road as the fog seemed to move in closer from all directions, and he almost tripped over the metallic bar running along the centre of the road as he ran. Everything became a blur, and he felt himself shaking as he stumbled over the grassy field, adjacent to the pond.

Anderson pushed him ahead, and crouched down on one knee, bringing his rifle up to his shoulder. "Run!" he shouted.

Guiterrez turned and bolted across the field, his legs pumping as fast as he could push himself, his heavy, panicked breathing barely visible over the sound of rapid gunfire as Anderson unleashed a battery of bullets. Guiterrez glanced back, and saw the Raptor on the roof scream in rage as two of the bullets slammed into its chest, and it tumbled over, falling from the roof of the Jeep onto the marble steps of the visitor centre. A moment later a second Raptor appeared at the top of the stairs, standing where the first had stood moments before, and lifted its head. With a rancorous yelp, it roared at them, the sound echoing in the small valley. To his astonishment he saw the first Raptor stir, and begin to get to its feet, leaving twin red bloody splashes on the white stone steps.

Anderson leapt to his feet, and gave chase as Guiterrez turned around, and saw shapes all around him. He heard a deep splash, and with a glance he saw another Velociraptor sliding headlong into the pond twenty feet from them, swimming across with its powerful hind legs, only the top of its head visible, the cold eyes locked onto them.

Anderson caught up to him within seconds, and they both sprinted across the field; but Guiterrez had no idea where they were going. He didn't even know if Anderson had any kind of plan.

With a roar, two more Raptors burst from the foliage of the jungle ahead of them, ten meters apart, and ran right for them, closing in from two directions.

Shit, they were so organized! Guiterrez and Anderson wheeled around as the five Raptors roared and snarled behind them, running back down the main road.

There were so many of them, he thought in panic as they ran side by side; how had they not seen any of them so far? And they seemed to know exactly what to do; how to split them up, and how to get to them, and how to kill them. And here they were, running across a field, towards nowhere.

Anderson put his rifle on his shoulder, aiming behind them, and pulled the trigger, firing a burst of bullets spraying at their pursuers.

"Ah, fuck!" Guiterrez shouted as he shielded his face from the bullet casings as they flew from Anderson's rifle.

"Don't stop! We're almost there!" Anderson shouted over the roars of the Raptors.

"Almost where?" Guiterrez shouted back. But as he said it, the twin pyramid structures appeared on the other side of the bunch of trees marking the thin slab of jungle ahead of them. They were running towards the Safari Lodge.

With a crash they entered the jungle, the fog around them intermingling with darkened foliage as the thundered into the gloom, casting tall ferns out of their way. Guiterrez's hands grasped wet leaves, and rough bark; he felt splinters push their way into his fingers as he slammed into a thick tree trunk, and bounced off it, stumbling on through the trees, chasing after Anderson's dark form ahead of him.

"Come on!" Anderson shouted.

Behind them, Guiterrez could hear the Raptors crash into the jungle after them, their snarls amplified in the dark, enclosed space.

Guiterrez growled as he charged after Anderson, leaping over a fallen log, his lungs heaving as he tore air down his windpipe. The thought of the Safari Lodge caused him to surge ahead, and with a crash Anderson disappeared onto the other side of a large frond ahead of him.

Guiterrez leapt forwards, and with a crash he burst out into the bright light, the sun slamming down on his head with renewed ferocity as he realized that he had passed out of the field of fog. Thirty feet away he saw a twenty foot high, thick black cyclone fence towering above them. The fence had almost no degradation whatsoever, with the exception of a few flecks of old paint; separated from the jungle by a large field. Anderson grabbed him, and pulled him off to one side, parallel to the fence, heading straight for a eight foot high ante-chamber gate system, the outer door lay swinging open in the wind ahead of them.

With a snarl the first of the Raptors skidded from the jungle ten feet behind them, and gave a scream of rage as it saw them racing forwards towards the gate.

Anderson seized the metal door, and pulled it wide open as two more Velociraptors flew from the jungle right behind them, soaring ten feet upwards through the air.

Guiterrez dived into the antechamber, followed immediately by Anderson, who pulled the outer gate shut with a clang. Less than a second later the two Raptors slammed down on the wiring of the gate, snarling viciously. Saliva sprayed from their jaws out at Guiterrez as they swung their heads from side to side, trying to bite through the bars and to get their heads through to get at them.

Guiterrez swung around desperately in the enclosed space of the fence, and ran through to the inner door, trying to get it open, his fingers scrambling on the stiff, damp metal. He crouched instinctively as the sound of gunfire rang in his ears. The screeches of the other Raptors approaching from all sides made his fingers slip even more; he couldn't get a grip on anything; he couldn't even think.

And then, through the mayhem, he heard a crackle. He paused for a moment as another Raptor charged at the fence ten feet away, growling. The crackle came again, and then Anderson stopped firing, and pulled the small radio from his waistband.

"-et – om the –ce!"

"What?" Anderson shouted into it, stepping away from the outer door as the Raptor's cold eyes stared at them. Slowly, the metal was being pulled out of shape; the hole through which their heads could fit getting larger by the second.

"Get away from the fence!" Tim's voice shouted.

"We're trying!" Guiterrez shouted back, trying to tear the bolted inner door open.

"No!" Stand away from the fence!"

He meant to stand away from the surface of the metal, Guiterrez thought.

"Why would we--?"

"NOW!"

Guiterrez let go of the fence, and they both backed away, standing in the middle of the two doors. A moment later there was a high, building whine from somewhere beneath them, and then explosions went off all around them as the fence suddenly became electrified. Sparks flew off of the metal all around them, and Guiterrez crouched down and shielded his eyes as the Raptors gave simultaneous screams of pain.

And then the whine died, and the sparks stopped.

Guiterrez looked around with a deep breath, and then surged to his feet, and gripped the thick bolt lock of the inner door of the gate. Anderson grabbed it as well a moment later, and they both pulled at it. The metal squealed in protest, the rusted lock sliding across slowly. And then, with a clunk, the metallic lock slid rapidly to the side, and the gate swung open in front of them.

They fell through, and Anderson slammed it shut behind them, locking it back in place.

They both stood in the overgrown grass for a moment, looking at the Raptors as they backed away from the fence, snarling at each other. One of them limped as it bled from its abdomen, whimpering to itself quietly. Other than that, it seemed just as determined as the rest of them.

"I'd get inside if I were you," Tim's voice said, emanating from Anderson's waist.

They turned and hurried across the grass, and ascended the small wooden flight of stairs to the heavy wooden door of the lodge.

"How did you do that?" Anderson said into the radio.

"Do what?" Tim asked.

"The fences; you said we didn't have anywhere near enough power."

"I know I did. And we definitely do not have enough power to run the fences all the time."

"You mean we can turn them on for a little bit?" Guiterrez asked.

"Kind of. Since we got here I've been writing a program to pulse the fences around the lodge, but I don't know how long the system can handle it."

"How do you know how to do that?" Guiterrez said, turning to look at the Raptors as they gave a final snarl and darted back into the jungle.

"Having a hacker for a sister is helpful," Tim said.

Guiterrez smirked despite himself, and looked back the lodge.

It looked very sturdy; deadbolts and metal plating covered it wherever aesthetics allowed. Guiterrez looked around at the thick bricked walls, and the small windows, which were al covered by thick metal bars. The lodge was a tank, which had been cleverly disguised as a hotel.

Anderson grasped the door, and turned the handle. It clicked, and with a heave Anderson pushed, and it opened slowly, revealing a dimly lit, expensive interior.

They walked through quickly, and slammed the door behind them. Anderson quickly bolted it shut in three places, and then stepped back; looking at the ornately decorated door; the varnished wood and the elegant silky curtain cover which dressed the tiny, thick window.

"Look at this place," Guiterrez said slowly as he walked into the small atria room, looking around at the many rooms leading away from him.

Anderson looked around, nodding. The power was on in here, and the lamps were all on in every room; the chandelier high above them was glowing strongly. The building was offered no light from the outside through the occasional, tiny window, and therefore the artificial light gave the entire place a warm, golden glow from the light bulbs. It was comforting.

"Looks great," Guiterrez said, "We can hole up in here until they come for us."

Anderson was shaking his head slowly. "That's if they don't get past the fence. And we still have Sarah and Ian to worry about."

Guiterrez nodded slowly. "What do we do?" he said.

Anderson strode forwards, towards the nearest doorframe, aiming his rifle ahead of him. "First things first; check that this place is secure."