Jurassic World: Return to Isla Nublar – Chapter 29: Angry Dinosaurs
A/N: Hello everyone! In case you didn't get enough of T. rex in the last chapter, here's another big T. rex scene where two very angry parents find Dodgson's group messing with their babies! Hope you all like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Jurassic Park except the very characters I've made up.
Halley, Dodgson and Baselton stared in alarm as the female Tyrannosaurus stomped into the clearing where she and her mate had left her babies while they hunted. When she saw the humans standing by her young, she emitted a loud roar that struck fear into any creature nearby.
The baby T. rex Dodgson was trying to capture ducked into the nearby foliage with her other siblings. They didn't want to be in Mom's way when she's mad!
"So . . . um . . .," Dodgson stuttered. "You said just stand still . . . right, Baselton?"
"Yes," Baselton whispered back. "If we stand completely still, it can't see us."
Neither of them moved and the female Tyrannosaurus walked briskly forward, followed by her mate. A temper no creature ever wanted to arouse was burning like a fire in the mother's stomach. Her eyes flamed with pure rage and her maternal instincts overpowered any other desire she had – she wanted to kill those responsible for messing with her babies!
Wait a minute! I forgot! Dodgson thought. I have the sonic device! He unclasped the device from its "battery" on his belt and held it in front of him, ready to flick it on.
Levine swiftly followed the sounds of roaring and stomping. He looked back at his group. "I think they're this way," he said.
"Yeah, kind of hard not to hear them," Kailey noted.
A few seconds later, Levine was just about to enter the clearing in front of him, when he stopped – he and the others saw the T. rex parents walking swiftly toward a group of three people! Levine gasped in surprise. Wait a minute, he thought. Is that a rescue team? No, it can't be . . .
"Who are those people?" Lex asked. "They look familiar."
"I'm not sure," Tim answered. One of the people was holding out a little metal box-like object with a nozzle on the side in his hands. "You think it's a rescue team from Lester?"
"No," Rob told him. "Lester would have definitely sent a larger team than that and they'd be wearing uniforms."
"Oh! I know who that guy in front and the guy next to him are!" Lex exclaimed. "That's Dr. Lewis Dodgson – the head of the genetics corporation Biosyn – and paleontologist Dr. Malone Baselton."
"I thought he looked familiar," Levine observed. "But what are they doing on the island?"
Dodgson switched the device to "on" and a loud screeching sound echoed from the device. Baselton and Halley quickly covered their ears and the T. rex abruptly made a brief stop before roaring and continuing their approach, this time even more angry.
"It's not working!" Halley exclaimed above the noise.
"It's on low, remember?" Dodgson asked. He smiled slyly as he turned it to medium.
The sound instantly became more unbearable and the tyrannosaurs made an abrupt halt. They roared again and slowly began to back away from Dodgson and the others. It was obvious that the pair really wanted to get back to their young, but the sound was more than they could handle.
"Oh!" Kailey exclaimed as she and the others covered their ears. "What on earth is that device Dodgson has?"
"It must be some kind of sonic device," Levine told her. "Clever way to keep the dinosaurs at bay, but I don't think your ears would last too long. I hope they can stop that thing soon!"
As the dinosaurs extremely reluctantly increased their distance between them and Dodgson's group, Dodgson turned to the other two members of his party and said, "Let's get out of here. We'll have to try obtaining T. rex offspring later."
The other two nodded, but just as Dodgson turned to lead the others toward the jeep, the swift movement of Dodgson's hips while walking caused the wire on the device connected to the battery to suddenly pop from the device and the sound ceased – he had stretched the cord too far. For a few moments, all was completely silent in the jungle.
"Uh . . . what just happened?" Halley asked.
"The connection popped," Dodgson said. The three of them turned around to see the angry dinosaur parents start to slowly approach them once again.
Just stand still, just stand still, Dodgson told himself. For the first time on this expedition, he was actually terrified! He didn't want to risk trying to plug the device back in because that would have taken time to do and would make the dinosaurs even more interested.
The baby T. rex ran from the foliage they were hiding in and went straight toward their giant mother. The male meanwhile continued to approach the closest human – Baselton – until he stood no more than six feet away. The great animal's eyes glared down at Baselton.
"Just stay calm," Baselton whispered to himself. You can do this. T. rex can only see you if you're moving.
The father dinosaur's nostrils flared aggressively as he stared at Baselton through his cold reptilian eyes. The dinosaur's diminutive claws on the forelimbs clinked together in anticipation.
It can't see me, Baselton thought.
The T. rex opened its jaws and emitted a loud roar, exposing Baselton to its harsh-smelling breath and the dinosaur suddenly lunged forward!
"Run!" Dodgson exclaimed as he dropped the lasso and he and Halley dashed for the jeep. Baselton cried out as he tried to follow them but was quickly snapped up by the male Tyrannosaurus rex. He screamed in major pain as the dinosaur lifted him high into the air and began to rapidly shake him from left to right as if he were a chew toy. The dinosaur then threw back his head and allowed Baselton to roll down his throat.
The female meanwhile made a roar of her own and began chasing after Dodgson and Halley. Dodgson tripped on a rock but was able to retain his footing; the sonic device on the other hand unclipped from his belt and fell onto the ground.
"The sonic device!" Dodgson yelled.
"Forget it!" Halley told him. "Let's get into the car!"
The two raced from the area as fast as they could. As the female T. rex tore after them, one of her giant feet stomped on the device, instantly crushing it to pieces as she tore after the Dodgson's.
The sound of the female T. rex revealed that it wasn't far behind Dodgson and Halley as they leaped into their jeep.
"See? I told you we should have brought more guns!" Halley exclaimed. "This is all your fault!"
"Oh hush already!" Dodgson snapped as he turned the ignition on and began to drive just as the female T. rex burst into view from the side of the road. She roared and as Dodgson's jeep drove away, she made a satisfied grunt and headed back to reunite with her family.
A few moments later, Dodgson stopped the jeep at the side of the road and took a few deep breaths. "So much for the 'stand-still rule'," he said.
Levine looked through his binoculars and watched as the male T. rex comforted his young ones while Kailey snapped some photographs. They seemed like the perfect family.
"So why on earth did they just stand there when the T. rex was going towards them?" Kailey asked. "Running wouldn't have necessarily had a much better outcome, but hey, they just stood there! That's like saying, 'I'm over here! Come and get me!'"
"Well, that's thanks to a theory put forward by Dr. Baselton himself," Tim said. "He did some research on the brain case of Tyrannosaurus in the 90's and was led to the conclusion that T. rex's brain wasn't much different than that of a frog's; this in turn made him theorize that tyrannosaurs also could see like frogs, meaning they could only see movement."
"I thought Grant made that theory," Lex stated.
"At the time Dr. Baselton put forth the theory, some scientists, including Grant, agreed with him, but for reasons of their own. But when some more scientists did studies on T. rex brain cases a few months later, they found out that Dr. Baselton must have seen some pretty bizarre-looking frog brains, because T. rex's brain looked nothing like that of an amphibian!"
"Besides," Levine added, "how much sense does it make to have a predator that can't see moving objects? I mean, many prey animals will often freeze or play dead when confronted with a predator; that predator has to be able to see them anyway . . . they'd starve to death if they could only see moving objects. No, T. rex could see just fine, moving or not."
"Then why didn't it attack Dr. Grant and I when we were motionless after the T. rex ate Genaro?" Lex asked. "I remember what happened very vividly: it took a few sniffs and started to push the jeep over the side of that . . ." she winced before continuing. "I forgot whether it was a moat or a cliff-like structure that the T. rex knocked the jeep into, but my point still remains. We were that close to being eaten. Is there another reason why a T. rex wouldn't attack you?"
Levine was about to give Lex his opinion when the female tyrannosaur reentered the clearing. The babies looked up to her excitedly – they were glad that their mother was back. The female T. rex looked up at her mate and growled lowly. The male gurgled back in return.
"Well, looks like Mom's back," Levine said. "It's amazing just how attentive these tyrannosaurs are to their young. I mean, they're so doting!" Just then, he remembered that Lex was asking him a question. "I'm sorry, Lex, what did you ask?"
"I asked if there was another reason why a rex wouldn't attack you?"
"Yes actually, a rather obvious reason: if it's not hungry. That T. rex that you were talking about had already eaten a goat and a lawyer, so perhaps its hunger was satisfied for the time being. But there might be some credibility to the 'motion-seeing' theory – many predators almost simultaneously attack when a prey item flees. Just think of what happens when you roll a ball of yarn in front of a cat! The cat starts stalking or runs after it immediately."
"But if you don't move, a T. rex will still see you?" Kailey asked.
"Yes, I'd never recommend staying still to avoid being eaten by a T. rex. Making no sudden moves might help you survive, but don't count on it; Tyrannosaurus is going to get you, moving or not. Considering the fact that most scientists nowadays know T. rex could see motionless objects, there's only one thing to say about Dodgson: he was listening to the wrong scientists."
The group watched as the female T. rex bellowed to her youngsters. She took a moment to sniff the environment before marching off into the jungle with her mate and youngsters close behind. Levine figured that since the babies were attacked in this area, the mother probably wanted to move on to avoid any future run-ins.
"I have another, more important question," Lex proposed. "What on earth is Biosyn doing on the island anyway?"
"I was wondering the same thing," Tim said. "I didn't think anyone else was on the island. In fact, I didn't think anyone else knew about the island in the first place."
Levine nodded as he turned to the others. "Yeah, I'm not sure either. Let's think about the situation a bit . . . why would they be on the island?"
"Hey! Didn't you all notice the lasso Dodgson was holding?" Kailey exclaimed.
"Lasso?" Tim began. "Oh yeah! He was holding one, wasn't he? There's only one purpose for a lasso . . . I think I have some idea why they're here in the first place! Let's put the pieces together: first of all, they apparently had disturbed the baby T. rex who were calling for their . . . parents . . ." his voice trailed off when he remembered hearing the loud moaning sound in the plains that made the T. rex decide not to attack them. Wow, if Dodgson hadn't disturbed those baby T. rex, we wouldn't be hear right now, he thought. Indirectly, Dodgson had saved their lives.
"So that's what that noise was," Rob stated.
"Anyway," Levine said, trying to get back on topic, "I bet my bottom dollar that Dodgson's team was trying to capture the baby T. rex, probably to make some money. One T. rex – even a baby – would be worth at least millions, and even that's probably a gross understatement! I was reading something in the news before this expedition and it said that Biosyn was on the verge of closing its doors due to financial troubles and–"
"Biosyn actually gave out that information for the public to know about?" Kailey asked in surprise.
"No. The information in the article I read was . . . um . . . I think it was from some undercover pseudo-employee of Biosyn who actually worked for a newspaper company or something. Anyway, just think, maybe Biosyn decided that taking dinosaurs off the island would be worth a lot of money. They've tried stealing dinosaurs before – by trying to steal embryos – but this time they've apparently moved to babies and/or eggs."
"That's not good," Tim said. "How did they find out about the island anyway?"
There were a few seconds before Levine answered, "Who knows. Once we get off this island, we'll have to report them."
"If they don't get eaten by a dinosaur first," Lex reminded them with a grin.
"We should probably get moving while it's still light out," Levine observed.
"Good idea," Kailey agreed. "Where are we going from here?"
"Probably in the forest surrounding the plains, right?" Rob recommended. "I think I know where that is from here."
Tim nodded. "OK, let's go. Maybe we'll find the North Dock."
Grant and the others stood in the depths of the network tunnels, waiting for Dr. Sorkin to make up her mind on which way they were going to go. At the moment, she was looking at some pipes along the wall, trying to find out which ones led to their respected areas around the park; if she could figure this out, they'd be able to find out where they were on the island.
"If this blue pipe goes this way . . ." she began, "this could lead us to the Marine Facility . . . I think."
"Any closer to getting us out of here, Doc?" Ryan asked impatiently. "We've been in these tunnels all day! I'd like to get outside."
"I'm working on it, Ryan," Dr. Sorkin responded.
"And I'm hungry!" Taylor complained. "You do know we didn't have breakfast this morning, right? I bet there's nothing to eat on this island." Just then, Taylor's stomach growled. "See? Told ya I'm hungry! I wonder what a dinosaur's stomach sounds like when it's hungry. They're so big that we'd probably be able to hear them from a mile away . . . or maybe not. They've probably got specially designed stomachs to quiet down the stomach rumbling sound so that prey can't hear them. Boy, I bet those dinosaurs are thinking about having us for dinner now!"
Grant sighed. "Dr. Sorkin, what exactly are you trying to accomplish. We've been in these tunnels the whole day and–"
"We haven't been in here all day, Grant," Dr. Sorkin argued. "What time is it?"
Grant looked at his watch before answering, "It's 4:36 p.m. Because of last night's activities, we slept till anywhere between 11 a.m. and 1:00ish p.m. Now it's almost the end of the day and not once have we seen the sun."
"Would splitting up be a good idea?" soldier #2 asked.
"Then we'll get even more lost," Ryan said. "Admit it, Dr. Sorkin: we're lost."
"No, we're not lost! I just don't know exactly where we are."
"And by definition we're lost."
"No, once I've pinpointed our location on the island, we just navigate from there toward the north. If I had a blueprint map, I'd be able to identify exactly where we are, but we're short of that. Once we've reached the northern portion of the island, we'll–"
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Why don't we check over land to see where in the world we are. Where's the nearest location out of here?"
"A couple hundred yards down this way and then we'll run into a staircase. Once we head up the staircase and open the big metal door at the top, we'll be outside." Dr. Sorkin paused. "I don't think that it's a good idea though. I thought we'd agreed not to go above ground."
"Well I think we all – with the exception of yourself – are getting tired of walking around in these little tunnels getting nowhere. In fact, we've probably been walking in circles!"
"We haven't been walking in circles, Ryan! We just got a little mixed up! I'll have us back on the trail in a minute!"
"Yeah right, then we'll be back on another tangent!" Ryan nearly yelled as he made gestures with his hands to make a point. "We'll never get off this island if we stay down here!"
"Look, Ryan, I haven't been down here for over 20 years! How could I possibly remember every little detail! That's a scientific impossibility! Of course we may be a little off the trail, but it's not like getting lost in the jungle! There is a way out through these tunnels!"
"There may be a way out, but if we're going to get off the island faster, we need to go above ground!"
"Why don't you yell a little louder? I think there was a dinosaur on the other side of the island that didn't hear you!"
"Guys!" Grant interrupted. "Can't you just agree to disagree? Arguing won't change the circumstances any. We need to reach a logical conclusion and then act upon it. Yelling and shouting won't make a difference."
"I'm not the one arguing!" Ryan snapped. "If you want to talk about reaching logical conclusions, talk to this poor excuse for a tour guide!"
"Poor excuse for a tour guide?!" Dr. Sorkin asked. "Is that how you're viewing me right now?"
As the adults continued to bicker, Taylor leaned against the wall, crossed her arms and sighed. This really is going to take forever, especially if they're just arguing. For crying out loud!
At that moment, Taylor heard a low snarling sound coming from a grate in another hallway just a few meters away from the hallway they were in. Taylor initially ignored it, but she heard the sound again. Was that just her imagination. Taylor started slowly walking towards the grate when soldier #1 stopped her.
"Whoa now," he said, "where do you think your going? You need to stay with the group."
"I thought I heard something from inside that grate," Taylor responded.
The soldier glanced over at the grate and nodded. "Sure it wasn't a rat?"
But before Taylor could answer, the snarling sound came again. The soldier cocked his gun and started in that direction, followed by Taylor. When they reached the hallway, they found it to be dark because the lights in this area didn't work.
"Good thing I have my flashlight," soldier #1 said proudly. He retrieved his light from his pocket, flicked it on and the light instantly revealed the face of a Velociraptor right in front of them!
Taylor shrieked in fright . . . but the raptor didn't move; its eyes didn't blink; its nostrils didn't flare; its mouth was dry, yet shiny . . . it looked quite fake.
"Wait a minute," said the soldier. He reached out and grabbed the raptor's head and neck and pulled it off the wall to reveal that it was merely a hand puppet that someone in the past had stuck onto a large nail in the wall. Taylor and soldier #1 laughed, thinking themselves silly to have been scared by a puppet. "This little guy's funny-looking," the soldier added. He placed his left hand into the puppet and manipulated its mouth.
Taylor turned to walk back when sudden loud roar caused her and the soldier to leap back in fright. They looked to the right and saw the scary face of the alpha male Velociraptor – this one however was undoubtedly real.
"AHH!" Taylor screamed.
The soldier quickly removed the puppet from his hand and lunged it at the raptor. The puppet hit the dinosaur in the head and with it momentarily distracted, Taylor and soldier #1 ran from the hallway. The raptor made the loud "help call" and the sounds of more raptors were heard throughout the hallway.
"No going outside isn't a good idea . . ." Dr. Sorkin stopped talking when she heard the sounds of the raptors. "Those are raptors!" she exclaimed.
Ryan and soldier #2 cocked their guns when they saw Taylor and soldier #1 run from around the corner and toward them.
"What happened?" Grant asked in concern.
"Raptor!" Soldier #1 was nearly out of breath from his run. "It was in the hallway over there!"
But this is when things when from bad to worse – suddenly, the alpha male raptor dashed into view, followed by another female. From a metal door in the same hallway Grant's group was in came the alpha female and another subordinate female. The dinosaurs snarled ferociously and approached for the attack!
"On the other hand, going outside isn't a bad idea!" Dr. Sorkin exclaimed. "Follow me!"
With that, the group took off down the hallway, running as fast as they could. The dinosaurs, hungry due to a lack of successful hunts, growled and started the pursuit. The claws that the dinosaurs' used to walk on clinked on the concrete as they ran. The humans quickly cut a corner and came across an area similar to the one they rested in several hours before – it was filled with several small stacks of tires, a forklift, large and medium-sized wooden boxes and a wooden table in its center. The staircase wasn't too far away!
Grant turned to Dr. Sorkin and Taylor. "You two, go outside! We'll be with you in a moment!"
Dr. Sorkin wanted to object, but there was not time to do that. So she grabbed Taylor's arm and they ran up the stairs. Grant, Ryan and the other two soldiers turned just in time to see their foes race around the corner and stop to access the situation. The alpha female roared aggressively as she eyed her prey with her cold eyes. This time, she was determined to make a kill! The quills on the back of her head and neck fluffed up to give her a more frightening appearance, she was just about ready for the next move.
Grant said, "And, as a wise man once said, 'So . . . we meet again.'"
A/N: Dr. Grant and the others can't seem to get away from Velociraptors, huh? Oh well. This raptor scene won't be as long as the first one, but it should still be pretty exciting. Next week, I'm seriously considering adding another species of dinosaur to the story that hasn't made much of an appearance in the Jurassic Park movies that I hope has a good-sized scene in the upcoming Jurassic World movie. Catch you all next week!