Jurassic World: Return to Isla Nublar – Chapter 24: Finding the North Dock
A/N: Well, Chapter 23 is officially published! As you might expect, we'll be getting a good dose of Dodgson for this part of the story, but we'll catch up on some other characters that we haven't seen since the earlier chapters. Also, I hope you're in for some . . . "mushy" subjects, because that's also coming up in this chapter! Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Jurassic Park except the very characters I've made up.
". . . so you know we're probably going to die right?" Taylor asked as she concluded her previous speech. Ever since the group had been walking through the maintenance tunnels, Dr. Sorkin and the other adults tried tuning out Taylor's voice, to no avail. "Once that raptor pack finds us in here, they'll chase us down and use those sharp claws to slice our guts open. Then they'll probably eat us alive. Oh! And the Troodons! Just wait till they get a hold of us! At least we'll know when we're going to die because they have those glowing eyes. You think they have a strong bite? They probably do. I bet we'll even run into a T. rex or two while we're on the island, and if you've seen movies, you'll know that you don't want to get eaten by them. We'll probably run into them when we least expect it and get eaten, since that's how it always happens in movies. But then again, if you stand still they won't see you, so maybe we won't be T. rex food. No, I think it's more likely we'd made a better meal for raptors and Troodon. Maybe we'll run into a Pteranodon and one of us will get carried off by the big creature. Not exactly a nice way to go, but I think . . ." she continued talking.
Ryan walked up to Dr. Sorkin and whispered, "How long are these tunnels? When's the next opportunity we have to get out of here? Because this girl's about driving me nuts!"
Dr. Sorkin looked thoughtful. "I haven't been down here in so long, so I'm not entirely sure. But I think we should be reaching something pretty soon."
". . . I bet the raptors can't wait for the opportunity to munch on one of us. Most of the time they only get to eat other dinosaurs, so we'll be a welcome snack–"
"Uh! Make it stop!" Grant exclaimed. "I can't take it anymore! For Pete's sake, can't you be positive for once?"
In a sassy tone, Taylor said, "OK, I'm positive we're going to make a great meal for a dinosaur once they find us."
Grant groaned. Doesn't this girl ever hush? Kids these days . . .
From another section of the maintenance tunnel, only a concrete wall away from Dr. Sorkin and the others, the alpha female Velociraptor walks down the hall with her mate and two other females (the rest of the pack is elsewhere). The creatures often hunt in these tunnels because they're a favorite location for rats, which make a perfect snack for the hungry animals when they've been unsuccessful in hunting their normal prey.
This section of the tunnels doesn't have working lights, so it's quite dark . . . perfect for ambushing rats. One of the subordinate females spies a small mammal running in the darkness. She growls to herself and begins to stalk: the mammal is a rat, and a big one at that.
The nimble Velociraptor crouches down and quietly approaches the animal. Her eagle-like eyes watch her prey as it slowly walks along the base of the wall. The dinosaur's nostrils slightly close and then open again as she smells the scent of her dinner. Her intelligent brain knows exactly when it's time to strike . . .
Unleashing a loud shriek, she leaps into the air toward the rat. The rat squeaks in panic and starts running down the hall before getting impaled by the raptor's enlarged claw, killing it instantly.
As the Velociraptor picks up her catch in her jaws, she hears distinctive chattering from the wall. She listens – humans are in the tunnel! The female raptor begins to emit her "help call" and the other raptors quickly reach her destination.
The alpha female listens through the wall and also hears human voices. Why stalk rats when humans are so close by? She snarls and leads her pack down the dark tunnel.
Taylor stopped talking. "Hold on. Did you hear something?"
The others stopped. Soldier #2 shrugged. "I didn't hear anything."
"I can't imagine you heard anything over all your talking," Grant told her.
"No seriously," Taylor said, "I thought I heard something."
"Probably a rat," Dr. Sorkin explained. "There were loads of them in these tunnels when I was working here, and there are probably thousands more by now. Dinosaurs weren't the only creatures InGen brought to the island . . . though we brought the rats incidentally."
The group started walking again and Grant asked, "So earlier you said these tunnels were for transporting things without going overland?"
"Yes. Though they were also useful for getting to different places around the island without going above ground. These were nice to use when it rained . . . until I reached my field lab. I was hoping that they'd extend the tunnels directly to my laboratory, but they never did."
"I guess the 'we spared no expense' rule lost credibility at certain limits," said Grant.
"Hold up! Hold up!" Kailey yelled to Lex and Levine who were far ahead. They waited patiently for Kailey and Tim to catch up. "I need a break. All this walking is making me tired."
As you might recall, the group had decided to try and reach the Visitor Center so that they could find the road leading to the North Dock. Unfortunately, they had no idea where they were.
Levine looked around him at the jungle. "I think we're lost."
"Great," Tim sighed. "How are we going to get off this island? We don't even have a way to contact anybody."
Lex looked thoughtful. "Maybe we should climb to a high vantage point and see if we can spot anything familiar."
"Not sure that will work. These trees aren't exactly the best for climbing. As long as we don't run into any carnivores, though, we should be fine."
Just then, maybe around a dozen small dinosaurs recognizable as Compsognathus ran from the foliage and into the area Levine's group was at. They mostly ignored the humans. Instead, they were here to feast on insects. As an insect flew within range, one of the diminutive dinosaurs leaped into the air and caught it in mid-flight before landing back on the ground with its catch.
Lex shook her head in amazement. "They're so agile."
"And cute!" Kailey added. "But, according to Dr. Sorkin, they're not so trustworthy if you're injured and alone."
Tim watched as one of the dinosaurs found a treasure in the leaf litter – a beetle grub! The Compsognathus looked around warily to make sure no one was watching him before he started to eat it. It was obvious that this dinosaur didn't want to share! Soon, the grub was gobbled up in one bite.
"These dinosaurs are so common on this island," Tim said.
Suddenly, the bushes rustled nearby and both the Compsognathus and humans looked up in surprise. Is this a carnivore? But after a moment of questioning what was behind the bushes, two men strolled out into view. Our group recognized them instantly – these were two of Lexico's soldiers! (A/N: Remember in Chapter 19 when the raptors first attacked the group at the hatchery? One of the female raptors chased after Grant and the others and Ryan sent two soldiers to follow her).
"Oh!" one of the soldiers exclaimed. "I'm so glad we found you guys! We heard you guys from a ways off, but we weren't sure if we were just hearing things."
"Well we're glad you guys made it," Lex told them. "Whatever happened to you guys?"
"Captain Ryan sent us after you guys during the raptor attack," he explained, "but before we reached the main rotunda in the Visitor Center, we ran into . . . these strange dinosaurs with glowing eyes and to escape we fled out of the Visitor Center and into the jungle. We tried to shoot at them, but we had a hard time seeing them in the dark."
"They're called Troodon," Tim said. "They attacked us too. But hey, they're afraid of light, so all we have to do is stay in the light and we'll be safe."
"Too bad you can't say that about the other carnivores," Kailey added.
Then Tim looked to his left and thought he saw a more open area just a few dozen square yards away. If that's a clearing, maybe we'll be able to get our bearings and see if anything looks familiar.
He turned to the others and said, "There's a clearing over there. Levine and I can check it out to see if we recognize anything."
"We'll stay here," Kailey told them. "I need a rest!"
"We're coming with you," one of the soldiers said.
It was at that moment that Tim noticed something and asked, "Hey, you guys don't have your guns with you?"
One of the soldiers shook his head. "Nope, unfortunately, we accidentally dropped them when running from the Troodons."
Tim sighed. "Great, we'll just have to be extra careful and hope we don't run into anything worth shooting."
With that, the four men started heading towards the clearing.
Dodgson drove the jeep around another turn in the jungle. "Let me know if you see anything," he told Baselton.
"Alright," he answered, smacking his lips. "I'm almost done with my fried egg yokes."
"Don't you ever eat anything besides that disgusting stuff?" Halley asked him.
"You can eat later!" Dodgson snapped at Baselton. "Just get looking for something. We don't have all day! We need to track down another dinosaur nest and get off this island."
"Alright, alright." Baselton reluctantly put his food down and began looking into the jungle. Then he turned to Dodgson and said, "Wait! I think I see something!"
The jeep pulled to a stop and the heavyset scientist opened his car door and got out. He walked along the side of the road and nodded to Dodgson. "Yes, as I suspected. A dinosaur walked across the road and into the jungle here. The snapped twigs, squashed foliage and footprints all suggest that–"
"OK, that's all we need to know. We're getting out of the jeep. This mission's going to be a piece of cake! Halley, get the sound device out of the back will you?" Dodgson and Howard climbed out of the jeep and went over to where Baselton stood. Beside him on the ground were large, bird-like, three-toed footprints. Halley shivered as she approached from behind the guys.
"What is it? Tyrannosaur?" Halley asked curiously.
"Can't tell," was the response Baselton gave. "But I do know that this creature is a member of the theropod group of dinosaurs. Nothronychus was an exception among theropods, as most theropods ate meat. If we follow this trail, it might lead us to a nest, or at least it might lead us to some herbivores that have nests of their own."
Halley asked, "What happens if we do run into a T. rex?"
"That's why we've got the sonic device . . . unless someone misplaces it, again!" Dodgson patted the device that was clipped to his belt. "That's why I have it with me this time. This device will work with T. rex just like it does with the other dinosaurs."
"But if we ever lost the device, Tyrannosaurus does have one weakness," Baselton explained. "Studies have concluded–"
"Probably more like 'your studies have concluded'," Dodgson interrupted, "but go on."
"As I was saying, studies have proven that these dinosaurs can actually only see you if you're moving. If you stand still, the dinosaur can't see you at all and you'll be perfectly safe."
Dodgson winced. "Are you sure?"
"100% positive. Besides, even the famous paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant himself agreed with my theory at the time I made it. If you stand still, it won't see you."
"If you say so," Halley said as she and her brother shrugged. Dodgson's group started following the trail of giant footprints into the jungles of Nublar.
Levine,Tim and the two soldiers exited the forest and walked out into the open – they had arrived at the lush grassy plains of this part of the island and as they'd soon find out, it was the perfect place for many different species of dinosaurs to make their homes. Despite the fact that the plain was mostly dominated by grass, shrubbery and small trees were also present. There was also a small creek running through the plain.
Levine wiped some sweat off of his forehead and thought, Wow! This place has a vast array of different habitats! Though most of the island is tropical forest, we have humid open woodlands in the northern regions where we saw the Microraptors, and I'm told there's plains and hills in the south. I wonder what dinosaurs live out here. Just then, a thought occurred to Levine – he hadn't bathed since they left the USS Mars!
He turned to Tim and said, "I think I'm going to wash my face in the river over there."
"The river?" Tim asked in surprise. "You sure that's a good idea."
"Well, I don't like having all this gross sweat from yesterday and last night on my face. I may be a bit of a clean-geek for an outdoors person, but I can think clearer and feel better about myself with good hygiene."
Tim shrugged as Levine walked over to the river to start washing his face. Then he walked over to the two soldiers standing nearby and asked, "Um . . . I don't think I ever got your names?"
"I'm Rob, and this is Benjamin," said the owner of the first name mentioned.
"But just call me Ben," Benjamin corrected.
Kailey panted heavily as she took her seat on a large tree root, watching the flock of Compsognathus chasing insects nearby. "So what's plan B?" she asked Lex.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if we don't reach the dock soon, the Lexico ship might leave us here."
Lex nodded at what Kailey had said. That's true. I don't think Lester would send out just any old rescue party. But I know he wouldn't leave us here indefinitely. If he leaves the waters surrounding the island, then it's because he's got a plan.
"I think we should simply head to the coast," Lex said at last. "Because if we can find the coast and follow it, sooner or later we'll reach the North Dock. I just hope we can survive for that long without running into more carnivorous dinosaurs. Oh, those raptors and Troodons were just plain nasty!"
"You're telling me!" Kailey agreed with a smile. There was a brief silence as Kailey went into deep thought about how they could get off the island, and then to the guys who were scouting around the grassy plains outside of the forest. Then she thought about one particular guy – Tim. She had to admit that she'd been rather confused by his behavior over the last day or two. He seems like a naturally nice guy, so I guess that's why he'd be treating me nicely . . . but is that just because he's being nice or does he . . . like me? I guess he is kind of cute . . .
Kailey looked up at Lex. "Say, Lex . . . um . . . does Tim have any girlfriends back home, or is he single?"
Lex grinned. "Not to my knowledge . . . no he doesn't. I guess he's been so busy at Grant's dig site that he hasn't really had much time." She looked slyly at Kailey. "Why do you ask? Are you . . . 'interested'?"
"I . . . I really don't know. I'm just not sure at the moment. It's just that I wasn't sure if he was or not, because I think he sure acts like he likes me." With a smile she added, "But I do have to admit I get this certain feeling of safety and that strange indescribable feeling when I'm around him. Plus he's actually kind of cute."
Lex giggled. "Yeah, so you do like him! He has that . . . attractive effect on people – though he wouldn't really know it. Guys like him miss their female admirers right underneath their noses. With a little more effort though you could get through to him. You should ask him about it."
"What? Are you kidding? No way! I barely know what to say on the topic! I'd faint of embarrassment!"
"Oh. Well, I think you two would really make a great couple if you two got closer acquainted."
"But that's just it! I don't know if he likes me or is just being nice."
"How about this, I'll find out for you."
"You will? Don't tell him I said anything."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Taylor passed a large poster on the wall of the tunnel they were walking through – it showed a picture of Mr. DNA and a speech bubble above his head declaring: We have been officially accident-free for: 49 days! Keep up the good work!
That sign needs to be changed, Taylor thought.
Grant let out a loud cough and everybody stopped walking. "You OK, Dr. Grant?" Ryan asked.
The paleontologist nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just got a little something caught in my throat, but it's gone now."
"Can we break?" Taylor asked. "I'm tired of all this walking! These tunnels are too long!"
"Well, it's either that . . . or we walk above ground where we have a great chance of running into every kind of dinosaur alive," Dr. Sorkin explained. "But I'm getting tired too, let's rest for a few minutes."
This section of the tunnels had a few dozen vehicle tires stacked in piles of two or three next to the wall, a few large crate-like wooden boxes and a forklift vehicle; the group took a seat on their own tire pile and sat silently for a few minutes.
"Dr. Sorkin," Ryan began, "we probably shouldn't be just walking around down here. We need a plan to get off the island and find the other half of our group."
Dr. Sorkin carefully repeated Ryan's words in her head and said, "Yeah, that is a good idea."
"Do you know where we are yet?"
After looking around, she shook her head. "Not exactly. I figured that by walking down these tunnels for a while I could re-jog my memory, but I still haven't the slightest idea where we are."
"Wait! I forgot!" Grant exclaimed. "I have a map of the island!" He quickly forged the map out of his pocket and opened it up to show the others. "We're probably not that far from the Visitor Center, you think?"
"We could be, Grant. It takes longer traveling over land than it does through these tunnels, so we might be farther than we think."
"So what do you suggest we do from here?" Ryan was trying to quickly reach a conclusion so they could continue walking.
"First, we need to figure out where the other half of our group is. Let's see, they left the Visitor Center and were in the trailer as of when we heard from them last."
"Do you think the Troodons got them?" Taylor asked. But the others ignored her and Dr. Sorkin continued.
"I'd think that they'd try to go to the North Dock, since that's where the Lexico ship is supposed to come to pick up Taylor. If they didn't reach the dock in time, we can't be sure if they're waiting for us. But let me get back to Levine's group. If they're headed for the North Dock, what do you think will be the best way to reach it?"
"The direction of the sun?" soldier #1 asked.
"Right. Or they could follow the coast to reach the northern portion of the island. If one traveled along the coast, then they'd obviously reach the north sooner or later."
"OK," Ryan started, "so first priority is to find the others. To do that, we'll need to find out where north is from here and try to reach the northern portion of the island where they're probably headed. Then once we reach the dock and find the others . . . how do we get off the island?"
"I'm not sure yet. Perhaps if we can pick up a radio signal of some kind from one of the buildings then we could contact the mainland."
"So much for our study," Grant sighed.
"We're still conducting it," Dr. Sorkin told him as she removed her glasses from her face to wipe them with her sleeve before putting them back in place. "From what we've observed so far, it appears that the dinosaurs are actually thriving on this island as they apparently have been for the past 20 years since humans have been here. They've adapted to fill the crucial and different niches that must be filled in order for an ecosystem to run smoothly. There are predators; there are prey; there are herbivores; there are carnivores; there are scavengers; the plant life is diverse and grows in enough numbers to keep a healthy population of dinosaurs running. This is what I had in mind for Jurassic Park . . . if only Hammond had learned to quit to try and create a spectacle instead of actually giving these animals the respect they deserve."
Ryan picked up his rifle and got to his feet. "Well, we're not going to get off this crazy island if we just sit here. Let's get a move on people!"
A familiar man with an amber-topped walking cane and a straw hat (you know, the one from the first movie) entered the Lexico's Snakewater, Montana headquarters (as you'll recall, they also have one in San Diego, California). As you might guess, this was John Parker Hammond himself!
"Oh, hello Mr. Hammond," the receptionist at the front desk said when she saw him. "Here to see Lester, right?"
"Yes," Hammond answered with a smile. "He called me earlier and said to come see him pronto. Have no idea why."
"Alright then, his office is on the second floor, third right, can't miss him."
"Thank you." Hammond walked over to the elevator and went to the second floor.
Barely looking up from the paperwork he was currently signing when a knock was heard on his door, Lester announced, "Come in."
The door opened and Hammond entered. "Hello, Mr. Murphy."
"Sit down, please," Lester said. Hammond obeyed.
"You know I'm anxious to hear about the team's progress," Hammond said excitedly. "You really should have given me more information than you did. Lex and Tim are my grandchildren after all."
"Well, that turns out to be the problem," Lester announced. "Actually, one of many problems."
Hammond removed his hat and frowned. "What are you saying?"
"Problem's are seeming to occur one after the next. First, we had to stop on Isla Sorna because the ship had to be 'checked' by my Jimmy the mechanic. The 'pit-stop' almost cost the deaths of our research team. Then we have a little girl stowaway on-board and–"
"Wait a minute! You're saying that there was a little girl on the ship? Where is she now? Is she on the island still?"
"Yes, unfortunately. We were going to pick her up to bring back to the mainland but a storm blew in and prevented us from reaching the island, so the team's stuck with her. Then, Lex wouldn't answer any of our calls. Then we finally were able to reach the North Dock to pick up Taylor, but they weren't there."
Hammond said, "Are you telling me the team . . . has vanished?"
"In a literal sense, yes. We have no idea what happened to them."
"What? Then what are you doing just sitting around writing on your little paperwork?! The group – including my grandchildren, one of which happens to be your wife, AND a little girl – are trapped on Isla Nublar and you're just sitting here in your office doing nothing! We must do something! Why didn't you send a rescue party to retrieve them? We should be doing something rather than just sitting around acting like it's a normal day in the office!"
"Yes! Thank you that is blindingly obvious!" Lester nearly yelled as he slammed his fist on his desk. Realizing the verbal lashing was uncalled for, Lester added, "Sorry about that. Look . . ." he took a deep breath. "It's not that I don't . . . care . . . about the team or Lex, but I didn't want to just send a rescue party to the island. One can only speculate at what might happen if they got lost or eaten themselves. The last thing we need is to be sending rescue parties to rescue the rescue parties and the research team."
Hammond nodded. "Then, what are we going to do?"
"Well, I've already had the little girl's parents notified about the whereabouts of their daughter and I've decided that we need a rescue party that actually knows what they're doing. We need not only more Lexico soldiers this time around, but also people who have either been on Nublar before or know what they're doing when dealing with creatures such as the ones your scientists created. I've already got my third-in-command, Rebecca Brown, contacting people to meet up with us here at Lexico's Snakewater headquarters."
Hammond nodded again and looked out one of the windows in Lester's office. Please be safe, Lex and Tim, he thought. We'll come to rescue you soon.
Sarah Malcolm squealed with excitement as she ran out the front door and wrapped her arms around Kelly. Ian Malcolm and Sarah's kids, Kelly (who, as you might recall, was Ian's daughter from a former marriage and was now grown up), Douglas and Tracy (who were born of Sarah and somewhere between the ages of eleven and thirteen). Sarah then tightly hugged Tracy and Douglas, who were both glad to be back home.
"Did you guys have fun at camp?" Sarah asked.
"Oh yeah!" Douglas exclaimed. "We did all sorts of cool stuff!"
Just then, Ian Malcolm came out of the house to greet his kids. He smiled as he said, "Don't think you guys are escaping from giving me a hug!"
"Daddy!" Tracy and Douglas proclaimed excitedly as they began hugging him.
After they released their father, Malcolm looked over at Kelly. Kelly smiled. "Come here, Dad!" she said as she embraced him.
"Don't you think you're a little old to be at a summer camp made for middle schoolers?" Malcolm asked, though she knew he was kidding because she was helping out at the camp.
Kelly rolled her eyes and responded, "Yes, yes I am."
"Quit goofing around you two," Sarah said. "Let's go inside and get you all something to eat."
As the family sat down at the "dinner" table to enjoy their brunch, Malcolm's phone began to vibrate. He retrieved it from his pocket. If this is from Levine, I'm going to kill . . . wait, it can't be Levine! He's on the island! he thought.
Malcolm frowned when he saw who was called: Rebecca Brown, Lester's third-in-command.
"Who is it?" Sarah asked.
"It's Lexico," Malcolm answered.
"What could they possibly want?"
Malcolm shrugged and answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello, Dr. Malcolm. Sorry to interrupt you, and I hope this isn't an inconvenient time for you, but you've been requested to come to Lexico headquarters for a three o' clock meeting."
Malcolm's smile disappeared in a flash. "But . . . but my kids just got home from summer camp not more than ten minutes ago!"
"Sorry. But Lester says it's important. Oh! And Sarah needs to be here too."
After a moment of silence, Malcolm said, "Alright. We'll be there. Bye now."
Malcolm made a fake smile as he hung up and looked back at his family.
"That's so fake, Dad," Tracy told him.
"What's wrong now?" asked Sarah.
"You and I have been called to Lexico for an 'important' meeting by Lester."
Sarah groaned with annoyance. "Couldn't they wait at least until after we've had some quality family time? Guess not. What time are we leaving?"
"Well, we need to be there by three."
"Aw, Dad," Kelly complained. "Can't you tell them you're sick or something?"
"I'm not sure Lester would take 'no' for an answer," Sarah explained.
"If Levine has anything to do with this . . ." Malcolm began. Great, our kids just came home from summer camp and now Sarah and I might be a little while. Now that's Chaos Theory!
A/N: I think it's safe to say that we've just about reached the middle of this story. A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I have a poll on Fanfiction where you can vote on your favorite character in this story . . . but I haven't quite figured out how to set it up! Sorry about that! Instead, you can say which character from this story is your favorite via reviewing. How do you all like the story so far now that you know where I'm headed with it? With all the action-filled chapters I've had recently, I thought we should take a little break with some calmer chapters . . . but don't worry! Action-filled chapters are coming back pretty soon. What do you think is going to happen next in the story? What dinosaurs do you think will appear? What dinosaur do you think Dodgson's group has found the footprints of? What's your opinion on Kailey+Tim romance? Who's your favorite character so far? Which dinosaur that's appeared so far is your favorite? Please feel free to express your theories via comments! By the way, you won't want to miss Chapter 25 when it's published, because an all-new species of dinosaur is going to make its presence on Nublar known!