Jurassic World: Return to Isla Nublar – Chapter 31: Frilled and Dangerous
A/N: OK, so if you didn't already guess which dinosaur is making appearance in this chapter based on the sound Grant and the others heard in Chapter 30, then the title of this chapter probably gives it away. But that's OK, because there's going to be a lot of focus on it during this chapter. Please enjoy this chapter devoted to an awesome dinosaur that wasn't given much attention in Jurassic Park!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Jurassic Park except the very characters I've made up.
A soft beautiful whooping crane-like sound entered Grant's ear, but it didn't calm him down. The hair stood up on his back and his heart rate increased. He turned to the others who stood motionless in the darkness of the jungle.
"I don't like the sound of that," Grant said darkly.
"Why not? Sounds like a bird," said Taylor.
Dr. Sorkin slowly shook her head. "No, that wasn't a bird. That sound is normally made by a bird called the whooping crane, but there aren't any cranes on Nublar. That was the sound of–"
"Dilophosaurus," soldier #2 whispered.
"Yes," Dr. Sorkin agreed. "How did you–?"
"No, really, Dilophosaurus . . . over there!"
The others looked and saw a small dinosaur standing in the shadows several yards behind them. Grant quickly motioned for everyone to quickly get down beneath the height of the small ground plants. The dinosaur stood about four feet tall, and seven feet from nose to tail. Two large half-circle crests – each light brown in color with two large red spots on them – ran the full length of its head. The creature stood on its strong hind legs and allowed its two front ones to be poised for an attack on its prey. The scaly body of the animal was some shade of brown with red blotches on its legs and back; a whip-like tail extended behind it.
Fortunately, the Dilophosaurus wasn't looking at Grant. Instead, it was looking off to its left; it seemed to be preoccupied with other matters.
"Yeah, that's Dilophosaurus alright," Grant said in a low voice. He turned back to soldier #2 and asked, "How did you know?"
"I did a little research before we came, alright?" soldier #2 answered.
"Has it spotted us?" Ryan asked.
"No, it's eying something else," Dr. Sorkin told him. "If we keep quiet it will probably ignore us."
"It doesn't look all that big, so unless it's got smarts, we should be able to beat it easily."
"Sorry to disappoint you, Ryan, but that's not the case. Dilophosaurus may be small, but they hunt in packs of up to five and while they lack size and the intelligence of the raptors and Troodon, these dinosaurs can spit a potent venom from their jaws over a distance of 20 feet."
Ryan sighed. "Great, this is just great. So we don't only have to worry about teeth and claws, we also have to worry about venom!"
"Actually, their jaws aren't very strong, so you don't have to worry about teeth unless their right on top of you. We nicknamed them 'spitters' because of their venom-spitting abilities. Their venom contains seven enzymes and can cause temporary blindness, disorientation and eventual paralysis. They usually rely on the pack-leader to deliver to dose of venom required to kill prey and can even–"
"Yes, yes, yes, thank you, Dr. Sorkin," Ryan interrupted. "How about some tips on how to avoid getting killed by these dinosaurs."
"Well, they'll mostly be aiming for your eyes, so if you see a Dilophosaurus in front of you and it opens its mouth, be prepared to shield your eyes."
"So we've got venom-spitting dinosaurs too?" Taylor asked. "Oh yeah, we're definitely going to be dino-food pretty soon after they–"
"We'll be dinner tonight if you don't hush!" Grant quieted her in a whispered tone.
The Dilophosaurus started slowly walking into another direction. Its eyes didn't leave what it was focusing on. Perhaps it was hunting.
At least it's not hunting us, Grant thought.
Howard continued walking through the dense jungle, alone and unarmed. He wasn't sure how far he'd gone from the Gigantoraptor nest, but he knew that he'd best better keep moving to avoid the angry parents finding him.
Every shadow looked like a creature, and Howard flinched at every animal sound. Pretty soon, he heard a loud trumpet-like call coming from nearby.
"What on earth was that?" he asked. "Must be a dinosaur, because I doubt anyone's blowing trumpets around here."
Quickening his pace, he then saw the moonlight glistening through the trees up ahead: he was nearing the edge of the jungle! This was the best news he'd had all day! All he wanted to do was find a way to the coast and get off this dino-infested island . . . somehow. He'd figure out how to get off the island once he reached the coast.
Just then, he heard the sound of another dinosaur – it sounded slightly bird-like and was relatively high-pitched – this one much closer. Then the sound came again, this time combined with the noise of a relatively small animal running through the foliage close by.
"Hello? A-a-anyone there?" he asked. He slapped himself on the forehead. Don't be silly, Howard. There's no one out here but me! Just get yourself out of here! NOW!
Without further ado, he started running towards the edge of the forest. Behind him, the sound of unidentified animals moving through the jungle was heard behind him.
Grant led his group briskly through the lush foliage. He heard the sound of the Dilophosaurus moving through the jungle, but it wasn't following him.
"Hello? A-a-anyone there?" called a voice from up ahead.
"Who was that?" soldier #1 asked.
"Was that another human being?" Taylor questioned.
"Unless Velociraptors have learned to talk – which we know they haven't – that has to be another human being," Dr. Sorkin told them.
"Maybe we've found the other half of the team," Grant suggested. "We should hurry and catch up to whoever that was before they get away!"
"Or before that Dilophosaurus gets a hold of them," Ryan said.
The group started walking briskly through the jungle toward the source of the sound. If they had found the other half of the Lexico team, that would make getting off the island a whole lot easier.
"Hey! I think I see the moonlight coming through the trees!" Taylor exclaimed.
Ryan smiled – this meant they were finally reaching the rim of this dark forest. With the full moon's light above them, they'd be able to see a whole lot better and feel much safer until they find tonight's shelter.
Howard rushed through the last of the trees before running into a huge field covered in tall grass. The moon's light made it much easier to see and Howard saw that in front of him was a large river that stretched the entire length of the field and beyond. On both sides of the river was the source of dinosaur sounds Howard heard while in the jungle – herds of Parasaurolophus and Brachiosaurus were either drinking at the river or feeding on the lush plants and trees that grew on the river's edge. There was also a large shed constructed near the river bank, several yards to the left of the dinosaurs. From the distance Howard stood, he couldn't tell what it was made of.
This is great! Howard thought. I've made it!
One of the Parasaurolophus by the river – which was around 100 meters away from Howard – stood on its hind legs and emitted a loud trumpet-like sound that echoed into the air. Howard didn't know what they were called, but he knew that these dinosaurs were herbivorous and completely safe.
Another thing he admired about this location was the presence of a small shed near the river. It looked like a terrific place to spend the night.
Let's see, if I head to that shed over by the river, I can rest there for the night, Howard thought. So he started toward the shed.
That's when the sound of an animal in the jungle caught his attention. He looked back and saw a small dinosaur with a crested head exited the forest and made a hooting sound (similar to that of an owl) before ducking into the grass. A few meters to the right of the first one, another dinosaur with a double-crested headed made a hooting sound before also ducking back into the grass. Then a third one to the left did the same thing. Those dinosaurs don't look friendly! Howard realized.
The grass betrayed the animals' movements as they slowly made their way toward Howard. Quickly realizing what they were doing, Howard turned and started running away from the dinosaurs. The predators made loud trilling sounds to each other and they began running after their prey.
Grant and the others reached the edge of the forest – they let out a sigh of relief, glad to have reached a relatively well-lit area.
"Look at the dinosaurs over there!" Taylor said, pointing out the Brachiosaurus and Parasaurolophus feeding by the river.
"See the person that we heard in the jungle?" Ryan asked. "I was pretty sure I heard him in this direction."
"I don't see anyone, but we should start moving toward the herbivores over there by the river," Grant began. "We'll be safer because they'll know when predators are in the area long before we do." Ryan and the others nodded and they started walking towards them. That is when, out of the corner of his eye, Grant made out the shape of a man running through the tall grass away from several dinosaurs. "There he is!"
The others looked in the direction Grant indicated and also saw the man running. "What's that he's running from?" Dr. Sorkin asked.
"Looks sort of like those Dilophosaurus," Ryan suggested.
Howard continued to run as fast as his body would allow, but the grass seemed to be constantly pulling him back. He didn't want to end his life like this! The sounds of the dinosaurs behind him drew closer and closer. The shed didn't look that far away . . . maybe if he could just make it in time.
Come on Howard! he urged himself. You're not too far by now!
Unfortunately, the dinosaurs' bird-like legs gave them the upper hand and they were quickly catching up to him at an alarming rate. Then all of a sudden, one of the Dilophosaurus shrilled and leaped right next to Howard!
"Yikes!" Howard exclaimed in surprise as the dinosaur ran directly in front of him and around six or seven feet away from him, blocking his path to the shed.
Then all of a sudden, the dinosaur roared loudly and a colorful neck-frill fanned outward around its neck and created a loud rattling sound. This was followed by the dinosaur snapping its open jaws upward and a black gooey substance landed on the side of Howard's face and neck.
"Ahh!" Howard screamed – the gooey substance burned his skin. He desperately tried to rub the corrosive venom off with his hand, but that only resulted in his hand burning as well! Stinging spit?! Howard asked in fright as he turned and started running away from the spitter. He now had a portion of his neck and hand burning, along with the other injuries he'd obtained from the Gigantoraptor to deal with, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was escape these dinosaurs alive.
Just then, two more Dilophosaurus rushed into view in front of him. Howard screamed as they opened their frills and roared loudly. Their expanded frills made a noisy rattling sound One of the dinosaurs then fired a glob of venom from its mouth and all of a sudden Howard's view went black. He cried out because eyes burned with excruciating pain! Acid-like pain!
"No! No! No!" Howard cried. He wiped the venom off his face – causing his fingers to sting even more – but all he saw was darkness: he was blinded!
Dr. Sorkin grimaced as she and the others watched five Dilophosaurus slink out of the tall grass and into view, circling the man while emitting their soft hooting calls. That pain has got to be excruciating, she thought.
"We should do something!" Ryan told the others. "We can't just let him die!"
Grant shook his head. "There's nothing we can do. The spitters already have him. He's been blinded by the venom and the venom has had contact with his skin. Even if we could rescue him, we don't have any major medical advances out here."
One of the Dilophosaurus suddenly roared and put forth a great burst of speed toward her prey. The man flailed his arms around wildly, trying to find out where the dinosaur was located, but his work was in vain. With a single bound the dinosaur's body collided with the man's and he fell to the ground.
Howard felt one of the dinosaurs leap onto him and send him falling to the ground. He landed on his already injured back and howled in pain. He found it even worse that he couldn't see what was happening. The predator then opened her tooth-lined maw and leaned forward toward his neck. This time, Howard wouldn't make a recovery.
The Dilophosaurus howled as they watched their leader bite into Howard's neck. Taylor turned away, not wanting to watch the carnage. With their prey down, the Dilophosaurus gathered around to start the feast.
"That poor man," Dr. Sorkin commented.
"But who was he?" soldier #1 asked.
Grant shrugged. "I don't think that was one of our team – thank goodness – but his presence here isn't good news anyway."
"Did you have another reason other than the fact that he just got killed?" Ryan inquired.
"Yes, that means he–"
"We should get a move on," Dr. Sorkin interrupted, pointing back at the Dilophosaurus. The others looked in that direction and saw that two of the dinosaurs had stopped feeding and were now looking back – directly at them!
"Oh . . . no," Grant whispered. He quickly glanced across the field and spotted the shed near the river. It didn't look too far away!
The Dilophosaurus suddenly roared and flared their colorful neck frills at the watching humans.
"To the shed!" Grant exclaimed as he started running. "Quickly!"
The others obeyed and the group was on the run once again. The two carnivores immediately left the rest of the pack and began running rapidly toward Grant's group. Even though they were a good several hundred or so meters away, their bird-like legs gave them great speed – they must have been running at around 30 mph!
"They're getting closer!" Taylor yelled.
Grant was already plenty tired of running. His legs burned from all the walking, dodging and darting he'd been doing all day, but this didn't make him slow down. If he was going to survive, he'd need to push his strength to the best of its ability. He knew that if he didn't make it, the rest of the group might not last much longer.
The shed grew closer and closer with each pace the humans made. Pushing through the grass they continued onward. Ryan looked back and gasped when he saw how close the Dilophosaurus pair were from their location – they were only 30 or so feet away! Their blood-covered jaws glinted in the moon's light, causing Ryan's adrenaline to work over time.
As they neared the river, the carnivores snarled one more time before finally slowing their pace and retracting their frills. They turned and ran back toward their pack. Grant and the others stopped to catch their breath.
"Wait, why'd they run back?" Ryan asked, worrying that they were scared off by another carnivore.
"I think that was a mock charge," said Dr. Sorkin. "Carnivores often employ that trick in order to scare off other animals that might want to steal their hard-earned meal."
"Well I certainly don't want any of what's on their menu."
The group remained silent for another minute or two and looked over at the herbivores nearby. The several large Brachiosaurus were still feeding on the short line of trees that grew next to the river, while below them, Parasaurolophus of varying ages ate low-growing plants and drank the river's water peacefully. Unlike Grant and the others, they didn't have to worry about becoming a next meal for the Dilophosaurus because of their size and because of the fact that Dilophosaurus' rather weak jaws made it only possible for the carnivore to hunt relatively small prey.
The Brachiosaurus herd and a few of the Parasaurolophus turned to look over at Grant's group for a few seconds before returning to their foraging.
"Can we get some sleep now?" Taylor asked impatiently.
"Yeah, the kid's got a good idea," Grant agreed. "We can sleep in the shed over there."
They walked closer to the small shed. Upon closer inspection, the shed was constructed of cement and had an open area in the front facing the herbivores and blocked with a gate-door constructed from bars. If they spent the night in here, it wouldn't be cozy, but it would be much more comfortable than that ventilation shaft or a tree. So Grant opened the gate and looked back at the others. "Here's home sweet home for the night." He entered the shelter followed by the rest of his group and after everyone was in, Grant re-closed the gate.
The shelter was nothing but a small concrete room with several old sacks of hay piled up against the wall in small stacks and a vending machine to the group's right.
"Hey, think the vending machine still works?" Taylor asked hopefully.
"Nope," Ryan answered. "But there's another way to access what's inside." He kicked the window of the machine with his foot and the glass shattered, exposing the snacks inside. He grabbed a few candy bars, a few energy drinks and some water bottles and handed them to the rest of the group. They then pulled some sacks of hay down from their stacks to rest on.
"Wouldn't it be nice if vending machine's had actual dinners instead of just snack food?" soldier #1 asked as he bit into his candy bar.
"Even if they did," Dr. Sorkin explained, "the food wouldn't be consumable after over 20 years."
The group sat quiet while they ate their snacks and watched the dinosaurs just outside. One of the Brachiosaurus outside made a loud bellow and it bent its lengthy neck down to begin drinking the water in the river. Grant smiled. Finally, we've got a peaceful moment just to sit here and watch the dinosaurs.
"See guys," Dr. Sorkin began, "this is what was originally intended for dinosaurs – lives of their own where they can live free and wild."
Ryan said, "You know, if InGen had stuck to recreating only herbivores, they'd still be open because when the power went out, nobody would get eaten."
"Yeah, but you know that tourists are going to pay more to see their favorite carnivore. Jurassic Park wouldn't have been the same without T. rex."
Grant placed his fedora on the hay sack beside him, yawned and stretched out on the hay sack he was resting on. "You guys can stay up and talk, but I'm getting some sleep."
Halley continued rubbing two sticks together in an attempt to make a fire to ward off any carnivorous dinosaurs that might be nearby while Dodgson sat in one of the tree branches above her. So far, no sparks were visible.
After the Dracorex had been angered by Halley's car-honking earlier, the dinosaurs began to use their heads to bang into the sides of the car, many times almost knocking it over. So the Dodgson siblings had leaped from the vehicle and fled into the jungle with the angry Dracorex on their tails. Fortunately, the dinosaurs' behavior must have been more territorial since they soon left the Dodgson's alone and presumably returned to their puddle. As the hours passed, Dodgson and Halley continued to make their way into the jungle in an attempt to make their way back to the jeep, but they had gotten lost and by now, they were preparing to settle down for the night.
"Hey, think I saw a spark," Dodgson said sarcastically.
"I'll get a fire going . . . you just watch!" said Halley. "If I keep rubbing these sticks together we should have something soon."
She added haste to her stick-rubbing, but still nothing was happening.
Dodgson shifted his position on the tree branch and sighed. This is just great! Those eggs are pretty much goners unless we get back to the jeep! Drat! If it weren't for knuckle-headed Halley we'd still have our jeep! I wish we could contact Biosyn to have them send the chopper, then we'd . . .wait . . . I don't think I ever took my sat. phone out of my pocket!
He sat up straight and dove his hand into his pocket. "Yes!" he exclaimed when his hand touched the satellite phone. He yanked it out of his pocket and immediately began trying to find the correct frequency.
"Biosyn? This is Lewis Dodgson," he said. "Over."
"We hear you Dodgson," said the masculine voice on the other end. "How are you guys? What can I do for you?"
"Alright Phil listen up: the mission's pretty much been a failure. Both Howard and Baselton are dead and we've lost our jeep, most of the equipment and the dinosaur eggs we've already collected have been lost."
"Baselton and Howard are dead?!" Phil asked in shock. "You do realize that Dr. Malone Baselton was the only scientist between Biosyn and a bad reputation for the company right?"
"I already know that! Just listen to me: I think we can relocate the eggs. All I need you to do is send the chopper back to the island with some fresh supplies, weapons and a vehicle. You should be able to find us based on the location of this sat. phone, am I correct?"
"Yes, Dodgson. We can do that. I'll have the helicopter sent over there first thing in the morning–"
"Not in the morning, you lunatic!"
"But those were the original plans–"
"I know those were the original plans, but things have changed! If you send it first thing in the morning, it will be close to noontime by the time it reaches us. No, I need it sent now. Can you do that?"
There was a moment of silence before Phil's voice was heard again. "Yes sir, Mr. Dodgson," Phil responded. "I'll get the helicopter over there pronto."
"Excellent."
With that, Dodgson turned off the phone and laid his head back against the tree trunk. He smiled to himself. Sure the mission wasn't according to plan, but it wasn't too late to save Biosyn. All he needed to do was have the chopper over here with some fresh supplies, more weapons than last time and then find the jeep with the Nothronychus eggs and make it off the island successfully.
I've finally got the perfect plan, Dodgson concluded.
A/N: That concludes chapter 31. How did you like the inclusion of Dilophosaurus in the story? Spitters didn't really get a lot of screen time in the film, so I figured that they'd be a nice addition to the story. Be sure to reach next week's chapter, because that's when Lester's new team is going to disembark on their mission to locate and rescue the original Lexico team. You'll also be introduced to a completely new character that I think you all will enjoy! R&r!