This damn jungle was suffocating him on all sides, which was a shame really. It shouldn't be that hard to track down something that big, not at all. He could hear the sound of it moving in the underbush, the crackling of leaves and branches as its huge hulking mass slid through the jungle somewhere in front of him. But he couldn't see it at all, not one bit. Ed James wiped the sweat off his brow, as he stared out again into the jungle, trying to even see something, anything in this shitty mess. On top of that it was raining, messing up his vision even further.
He checked his weapon, making sure that the magazine was clicked securely in place. James was confident that he had enough rounds for the purpose, but one could never be sure. Back in Cupertino, they had guaranteed that the dosage would be enough to bring even a rhino down. Dead in its tracks within a minute and a half. So much for that, he thought to himself, thinking about how that dinosaur got lit up like a pincushion and still kept on going. But had they done those damn lizard trials? He'd sworn over and over to tell the lab to get started on the damn lizard trials. Some legal thing, PETA getting all upset over alligators now. Utter shit.
James thought to himself that even if their equipment weren't worth three buckets of piss, at least they had enough of it. Looking to his left and right, he nodded to his fellow companions, gesturing to them to continue following the path. Even if this jungle was thicker then he'd expected, something that big would have to leave signs, something to follow after all. They were barely half a minute behind it when the chase had begun, and now he wasn't sure that lead even existed anymore. But he would continue what he had begun, because it was his mission, the ultimate goal that had been unrealized for over ten years.
The mission of Biosyn incorporated actually, to obtain a fantastic revolution that had once upon a time, been brought to conception by INGEN. Twice they had tried, third time was the charm, yes indeed. The mistake the other times had been to try to get them directly from the source, the mouth of the river so to speak. That had been the error, putting themselves in those situations. Even Dodgson himself had made that mistake, and the company as a whole had paid the price for that. Even Rossiter himself had been forced to admit Dodgson had been telling the truth, when his right hand man had never returned.
But here they would change that, reverse the trend and bring Biosyn right into the spotlight of the world. If they could just find the damn thing. James was a very patient man, but part of him worried, it worried a LOT. What had gone wrong? It should've been over quickly, prize in hand and the witnesses paid off. Because what was money going to be once they had the gold? That would mean a nice bonus to him, a prospect he was looking forward to very much. Rossiter would be sure to promote him, maybe even give him a board seat. That would be nice, capping off his rise from a meager espionage agent into one of the chairmen of the entire company. But that would only happen if they succeeded. He was close now, he would not go home empty handed, he swore it on his life, and those of his fellow agents.
"See anything?" he asked the man on his right, who was walking with a high-powered tranquilizer rifle. Many times stronger then the automatic one James was carrying, flip side of that of course he couldn't shoot that many rounds. So his position was to be a point man, take the animal down while it was distracted. James smiled to himself; he had chosen well he thought. Of all the Biosyn agents he had chosen for his possible team, Fred Jefferson fit the bill just nicely. A man who could concentrate on the task at hand, and not blink, no matter what was facing him.
He observed the way the man just walked through the brush without skipping a beat, any sweat or fear on his face. Either acute bravery, or he was as dumb as a sack of bricks. Either way, he would serve the purpose just fine. Jefferson had been Biosyn's replacement for Baselton, since their previous PR man had disappeared at the same time as Dodgson. He'd faced that monster in the barn with all of the same stoic indifference that he presented to even the most incongruous press rabble. A good man for the job, and a dedicated one, James couldn't have done better.
"Not yet," the man said in a flat and indifferent voice, completely toneless. James noticed with a smirk that the man's eyes never once diverted to his direction, even when asked a question. "Keep your eyes open," he said to all of them in particular, swallowing. "The animal could be right next to us and we wouldn't even see it." He couldn't see it, but he could still hear it. They all could, how could anyone possibly miss that? The crunch of the leaves, the cracking of branches as something large passed, no barreled past. That led quickness to their step that he was feeling, now more then ever it seemed. His heart was pounding in his chest, as the three of them moved ever deeper into the foliage. He was still unsure of exactly how close they were to it, or even how far they had gone from the village. It seemed like hours, though he knew in all liklihood it had only been a half hour, an hour at most.
He turned to his left, watching the woman in the camo gear. Silently he wondered if it had been a mistake to bring her along. He could see her, quivering all over. She'd been fine before she went in the barn, smelled the stench of carrion and blood all over the floor. James had tried not to look, Fred hadn't been bothered at all…but for Megan it had caused her to lose her cool. He had wondered for a second back there if she was going to lose it in front of the witnesses. That might have been bad, make their disguises lack credibility. That was the last thing he needed, especially right here in this damn jungle, miles from the nearest city.
Bringing women into this had been a mistake, he'd tried to tell Rossiter, but the man wouldn't listen. Just told him that if anything big was going on in Biosyn she had to be included. Of course, pretty much everyone in the company interpreted that as she was sleeping with the boss. Or Rossiter's personal secretary/internal spy. Or both. Either way, Ed James wasn't that comfortable having her along, even though he barely knew her before now. Though he did think he knew pretty much all he needed to know. He had no time personally for people like that, who showed the slightest sign of not being fully committed. He scowled at her, not exactly sure what to say, maybe better not to say anything at all.
He tried to focus back on the jungle, looking into the foliage around him. He was no longer sure where exactly they were. There certainly wasn't a trail behind them, at least not one he could make out. Were they lost? That was one thing he certainly did not want to bring up to either of his companions, and especially not himself. No they weren't lost, it was just a matter of retracing their steps that was all. He patted the GPS tracker attached to his belt. As long as they had this they could get back anytime they wanted too, quite simple really. He just needed to make a call, on the sat phone Jefferson had, and the helicopter would be ready to pick them up whenever. It was important not to put too much stock in one person, spread it all out.
Was it just him or were the trees thinning out a bit? The rain was still driving as relentlessly as ever, but he could see a bit more in the jungle he was noticing. Hopefully that signified they were going to some open spot, though only time would tell. His grip on his weapon tightened, eyes scanning the ground and ahead of him constantly. There was sweat running down his forehead and face, but it was mixing with the raindrops so that should be okay for now as well. He could hear the thundering footfalls, they all could. Louder now, but the direction was still unclear. He realized that the animal could be going in circles around them and they wouldn't have a damn clue.
Not exactly a comforting thought, and that was exactly why he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Now if only- he thought he saw a break in the trees up ahead, branches broken right above his head in what was a tell-tale sign. It had passes through here, not that long ago. "Check your weapons," James said matter-of factly the others, as they went in, Jefferson leading the way. They all followed shortly, entering into a small forest glade. Barely five- by- five feet it was one of those little gaps in the jungle you wouldn't even notice from the air. No grass grew on the floor, the foliage of the jungle was too close for that, too overgrown. But there was light here, what passed for light amongst the pale gloom in the morning rain anyway.
Not that they were paying that much attention to the sights though, there was a strong stench around, like carrion. It wafted into your nostrils and into your sinuses. Drifting up into your olfactory senses and it was like you had been born with the smell and would never be rid of it because it was also a part of you. And your eyes watered and your nose itched and your mouth ran dry, because you desperately wanted to be rid of it but you know that was impossible. The smell was all around them, and it was evident why, very much so. The reason none of them was standing in the glade proper, but just around it sort of, hugging the fringes almost wanting to escape into the woods.
The carcass on the jungle floor had been there maybe minutes, if not less so. Yet it looked as if it had been torn apart by a pack of wild dogs. Well it was about the correct size, James thought to himself as he nudged it a bit with his foot. To his left he could see Megan looking a bit green, trying to look anywhere but at them or the floor. To his right, Jefferson was already aiming with the rifle, trying to ascertain the safety of the area. There was something odd, James thought as he noticed the glint of the light on the animal's skin. Almost unrecognizable the way it had been torn up, but there were still a few bits of skin left. Feeling a loose fragment of skin in his hands, he watched almost absently as the blood rolled down his arm as he held it up to the light. He felt goosebumps down the back of his neck and it was like a fly caught in his throat. Could it be? So soon?
Ed James had sort of expected this, what with the constant rumours flying out of Costa Rica. In fact, it was the main reason why he'd paid Baxter the money upfront; to tip him off if something like this was found. Well dead it was no use to him, but something out there was very much alive. In this dim light, he turned it over, his fingers feeling the unmistakable pebbled texture of the skin, the green and brown colors fading away upon death. He let it fall from his hand as he stood up, frowning now. There was something else wrong, he realized, very, very wrong.
For one, the pattern of the kill wasn't right, short broad slashes all over the carcass. Not something a giant carnivore like the other dinosaur would've been capable of. Not in the slightest, and he knew that anything less would merely be lying to himself. The stench was also wrong he realized, something dead for barely minutes shouldn't smell this gawdawful. This kill had preceded them for hours, if not an entire day. James backed up, shaking his head and looking at the others, at a loss for words. He felt like he was forgetting something, something important and basic…something like.
He realized what it was. A large dinosaur like that and it had not killed all three of them the minute it had broken out of the barn. He knew from overseeing Biosyn's animal research that reptiles had unusually acute sense of smell. That made sense, why go to all the trouble of hunting down your own prey… when you could take over from someone else? Of course that made sense, but then there was an even more obvious question… the dinosaur had just barreled down here in pretty much a direct line right to the glade. Why had it just bypasses it? He looked around quickly, lifting his weapon slowly. Because maybe it never meant to bypass the carcass at all, he thought with a frightening suddenness. The rain wasn't pouring down hard enough to disguise the amount of sweat running down his face, down his hands and his brow.
Why hadn't it gone directly for the kill? He asked himself again. There seemed to be only one explanation for it, one that made any sense at all. It had circled around, checking the area to see if whoever had made the kill was still around. Only then would the animal perceive the carcass as safe to feed upon for fear of interruption. But that meant if it didn't detect anything, the dinosaur would circle back, because the kill would be safe, become part of it's territory- His thoughts were interrupted by a scream, and looking to the side he could see Megan's face was pale and ashen, and she was screaming like a banshee.
James was going to have come up with some snappy remark, maybe reprimand her, but then he turned his head to see what she was so scared of. In that moment, he noticed the light in the glade began to dilute ever so slightly. The north side, directly opposite from them, that was where the light was coming in. But now it was refracted, almost transculent in its vibrancy. And even now as Ed James squinted he could see the rain giving away the form of some large shape. Blended perfectly with the trees, making a perfect mockery of their camouflage outfits, Mother Nature always did it better. He realized he couldn't speak for a second, before the light bent again, and he realized it was moving. Oh god… It's head was now in view and he could see those two terrible horns again in the profile.
The second time now something that big and he hadn't seen it. His gun felt absurdly small and useless in his hands as he lifted it but felt all the strength go out of his arm. He heard a scuffling noise to the side, and he didn't even have to turn his head to see what he knew. The bitch had lost all nerve and ran blindly back through the jungle. Well he could stand his ground here, he thought to himself. He nodded to Jefferson, gesturing to him to aim that rifle, aim it high. He found himself backing up again, bumping into the other man as the creature's profile became increasingly more visible.
The animal roared, taking a huge step towards him. James heard a shot, and the rifle bucked once, the recoil sending the gun coming down hard on his shoulder. Damn that hurt he thought to himself, but he quickly forgot his minor pain. The dinosaur was shaking its head, and as it turned, James could see the dart in the side. Now they got it, he thought to himself. Now they got it…. He lifted his own weapon in turn, pulling back the safety and ready to shoot more of the lesser tranquilizers into the thing. He did so, watching the animal attempt to bite the needle in its side. Hasta la vista, he thought as he pressed down on the trigger.
Click. The sound seemed so loud in the jungle, as James hurriedly tried to fix it. Stupid piece of shit, he should've been more skeptical when the engineers had presented him with an automatic tranquilizer. But there was really no room to curse it now. Because he could see the other needle in the animals mouth. It had ripped it out of its side, and was now spitting it on the ground. It took a step, and roared, right in his face. That of course was when James lost all nerve and turned away. Pushing Jefferson to the side he didn't even look to see if the man had started to run away. Maybe he had maybe he hadn't His loss if he didn't. Looking back, he could see the creature taking another step, its full bulk filling at least half the glade.
He broke into a run, dropping the gun as he ran. He could hear footfalls behind him, most likely Jefferson deciding to follow his lead. No, the smell behind him was of carrion and rotting flesh, it could only be one thing. Twigs snapped and branches broke as fear gave legs to Ed James. He ran and ran until he lost all sense of shape or time. There was only the breaking of branches and the snap of twigs. Just keep running he told himself that was the only way to stay alive. If he stopped, if he slowed down for even one second he knew he was dead, worse then dead. Lost forever in this forest.
And he knew his plan was crumbling apart at the seams, unraveled at record pace. From supreme confidence one second, to running for his very life the next.