Jurassic Park Broken Lives
Chapter 23: Revelations
Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic Park
Amanda suddenly woke. A cold sweat drenched her body and a chill ran down her spin. Her stomach felt sore and her muscles ached.
The air around her was dry and cold. Distant sounds from the canopy above told that it was still raining. Crickets and frogs filler the air with a chorus of chirping and croaks while the steady beat of rain acted like drums in the night.
Groggy and sore, Amanda slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes with her thumb and index fingers. Her entire body shook as another chill ran down her spine. It was dark and hard to see anything beyond about a foot in front of her face because the bush blocked out any light that may be reaching the forest floor, if there was any that got through the rain clouds.
Amanda nearly jumped when a warm, putrid breath wash over her shoulder and rustled her hair. Then she remembered that she was on Isla Sorna with Silver Claw.
The smell of his breath was something she was used to and did not bother her anymore, it was just the smell that surrounded a carnivore like Silver Claw, it was however, a little hard to adjust to the nesting grounds for the first few days during his recovery. Amanda sighed. She was sure that hers must be close to Silver Claw's after months of eating raw meat and candy bars but no one mentioned it to her but she knew it must be bad.
Amanda smiled, "hello Silver Claw."
"Did you hear it as well?" Silver Claw said softly by her ear. He rested his head on her shoulder softly and purred.
"Heard what," Amanda questioned and leaned her head gently against his rough snout.
"A loud bang," Silver Claw said in almost a dreamy voice. It was obvious he was still half-asleep. "It was somewhere in the distance."
"Thunder?"
"No, it sounded more like…the crash when the walkway fell after I chased you." A grinned formed along his snout and Amanda knew it. "But, it seemed a lot louder and there was a second one afterwards."
"Maybe some trees fell," Amanda sighed and gently rubbed her head against his in an effort to get comfortable against his scaly hide. Her eyes slowly closed, heavy with sleep, and she started to doze off. "It is storming out and the winds must be pretty harsh near the coastline.
"No, I don't think so," Silver Claw said in more of his normal tone. "Do you remember when you shot that weapon at Tyrannous?"
Amanda grinned, "Yes I do, why?"
"It was kind of like the sound as the flare thing came out," Silver Claw said, "A kind of boom."
"Like an explosion?" Amanda asked, her eyes opened and she pulled away so that she could look him in at least one of his red eyes. Her heart pumped quicker. An explosion on Isla Sorna could not be good. An expression of worry crossed her face as she thought about what could cause an explosion. Amanda suddenly gasped, "The trailers!"
"What about them," Silver Claw questioned. He turned his head to see her with both eyes.
"They're probably the only thing that could make a sound like." Amanda exclaimed. "What if something happened?"
"Would you like to go and check then?"
"Yes," Amanda said. Worry filled her. "We should go just incase something happened and they're hurt."
"I should warn you that it is cold out there," Silver Claw rubbed against her body with his snout. "And you are already very cold."
"Don't worry about that, we have to get to the trailers," Amanda said and felt around in the darkness for her clothing, she found the stone that rolled off her when she sat up.
"Let me," Silver Claw said and stood up. "I can see where they are." He grabbed her clothing and put it gently onto her lap. "No, they're still cold," Silver Claw commented and set down next to her.
A chill ran through Amanda's spine as the cold wet clothing hit her legs. It felt like pin pricks on her skin. She placed the stone off to the side of the roughly composed nest and quickly slipped into her clothing. Chills ran down her back as the wet clothing clung to her skin. She pocketed the stone. She checked the knife and slid it, sheathed, into her pocket. It was uncomfortable and cold in the cloths and once they were closer to the trailer, it would only get worse because the trees opened up around there and the rain would only make her life miserable for some time.
Silver Claw sighed. "Are you sure you want to go find them now. It's dark out, cold," Silver Claw stressed the remainder of the sentence, "and there could be other carnivores out their besides us. I don't think I can protect you if we got into trouble and if we ran into the tyrannosaur that would make things worse."
"Tyrannosaur," Amanda said worriedly.
"I think I may have heard one earlier," Silver Claw said. "Are you sure that you want to go there now?"
"I'll be fine. We have to check incase something happened." Amanda yawned. "Even if a tyrannosaurus is near there, the trailers should be safe enough to hide in. Plus, I can get some warm clothing while we're there."
"Ok fine," Silver Claw sighed reluctantly. "Would you like me to carry you there? It would be faster for us to reach the trailers if you were on my back, and I could run with you."
"What about your injuries?"
"My chest and legs are not bothering me right now," Silver Claw said. "Also you're tired and must be sore from the walking and climbing earlier."
A smile formed on Amanda face. "Sure, as long as you can carry me that long."
"I'm sure," Silver Claw remarked. "I wouldn't have mentioned it if I wasn't." Amanda started to stand up and Silver Claw quickly grabbed her shirt to stop her. "Amanda, before I forget, I need to talk to you about something later, ok?"
"Sure," Amanda said, "What is it about?"
"You brought up something last night and then fell asleep while I was talking to you about what I thought about it." Silver Claw said and nuzzled her shoulder. "How's your neck feeling?"
"Better, it think the bandage could come off soon, they were pretty much scratches anyway."
"That's good, alright let's go." Silver Claw sniffed the air and stood up. "I'll check if anything is outside first, stay here."
"Ok," Amanda sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Please hurry."
Silver Claw nodded and stepped outside of the bush. The insects and frogs became quiet. About a minute passed, it was quiet, only a slight scrap against the bark of a tree sounded from outside the bush. Silver Claw stuck his head in the bush, "All clear," as soon as he said that, he pulled back out.
"What took you so long," Amanda asked and stood up. She stepped out of the bushes and found herself face to snout with Silver Claw. A snort from Silver Claw sent Amanda's hair behind her shoulders.
"I wanted to make sure it was safe, I think I may have heard a tyrannosaurus in the distance again." Silver Claw said and moved behind a large nearby tree, "Also, I found this hiding nearby." He tossed a microceratops to Amanda's feet. "I though you might be hungry."
Amanda bent down and picked up the limp figure of the animal. In a flash of lightning, she could distinguish the small frill and beak, long hind legs, short front legs and thin form. She gently placed her free hand on the neck to find a lethal bleeding gash from Silver Claw's killing claw.
"Why didn't I hear anything?" Amanda asked finally, she felt almost bad for the small creature for some reason. She wiped the blood from her fingers on her shirt.
"It was asleep when I found it," Silver Claw said and walked up to her. "Do you want it or are you not hungry?"
"I'm not really that hungry right now," Amanda said and held out the microceratops by the tail so that Silver Claw could grab it. He stomach felt weird and she did not want to upset it.
"Ok," Silver Claw tilted his head and took the creature. He back a few feet away from Amanda and dropped the limp form to the ground. Silver Claw placed one foot on the head and sank his teeth into the body.
Amanda cringed as the sound of snapping bones and the smell of blood, although faint, filled the air around her.
Why does it feel bad to have Silver Claw eat in front of me now? Amanda thought. I have hunted several times and I have gotten better at handling the feeling of killing something but now… Maybe being away from him and hunting so long has something to do with it…but then there was the herrerasaurus that attacked Sarah and I the other day…
"Silver Claw, can we go soon, I don't feel too well at the moment."
Silver Claw looked up from his tiny meal. Stringy pieces of flesh hung from his bloody jaws. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know. I just don't feel that great right now." Amanda looked away to a small opening in the canopy that allowed her to see the clouds. Another flash of lightning illuminated the area.
"Would you like to find somewhere safe and I can go and check if anything happened?"
"No, no, I'll come with you. Are you just about done?"
Silver Claw grabbed what meat was left of the kill and tossed his head back, swallowing the remaining scraps. "Ready," Silver Claw sighed and lowered himself so that Amanda could get on his back easily.
"Why didn't you finish the rest of it?" Amanda asked, "It's not like you to waste any food."
"I can't digest the rest," Silver Claw stated and tilted his head to the left.
"I've seen you swallow an entire compy," Amanda said. "What's wrong with this?"
"Compies have soft bones that I can digest," Silver Claw said and gestured towards the remains of the microceratops. "This creature however would make me ill to eat the rest, its bones are far too hard, and I had to break them just to get at the meat."
"Ooh," Amanda said.
"Well," Silver Claw started. "Are you going to stay here or not?"
"No," Amanda moved over to him. She gently placed her hands at the base of Silver Claw's neck and set herself in the middle of his back. Once she was on, Silver Claw stood up slowly and looked at Amanda.
"You have a good grip," he questioned and when she nodded, he darted forward.
Ferns and shrubs lashed Amanda as Silver Claw moved into a different part of the jungle. He swerved in and out of the massive trees as he passed into the depths of the jungle towards where he thought the sound came from and where the trailers may be. Within several minutes, the faint gurgle of a river sounded in the distance.
As the forest canopy opened, a sheet of rain soaked both Amanda and Silver Claw. The rhythmical pounding of rain against the leaves continued until the river drowned it out. Silver Claw began to slow his pass until it was a slow jog as the river grew closer. He stopped at wall of brush that surrounded what he believed to be the river. Cautiously, Silver Claw pushed his head through the foliage.
Amanda pushed on the base of his neck trying to see of the top of the brush but could not. "What is it Silver Claw?"
Amanda winced as Silver Claw brought the rest of his body through the brush and braches scratched her skin. "Warn me before you do that next time," Amanda said as she reached the other side of the bushes. She gasped at what she saw.
In front of them, the river that only a day ago had been slow and small was now a ragging torrent of white water that would sweep anyone who tried to cross it to the ocean, some distance away. Branches and debris bobbed in the water but quickly disappeared under by the pull of the current. Its size had grown considerably which only made it all the more dangerous.
"What are we going to do," Silver Claw looked to Amanda. "There is no way I could jump it even by myself."
"Maybe it narrows enough down stream that you could jump across and maybe…" Amanda looked around for possible way for her to get across, then she notice large overhanging branches. "I could climb the trees and cross using the branches."
"What if I fell in?" Amanda felt a shiver run through Silver Claw.
"Well, upstream should be shallow enough that we could still walk across, I know my way to the trailers from there," Amanda said and gently rubbed Silver Claw's head to calm him down.
"Was it deep there?" Silver Claw questioned and turned his head to see Amanda.
"No, it didn't pass my ankles even," Amanda replied and straightened her back. "This river was not like this yesterday though."
"Well we could…" A low rumble shook the earth followed by a low groan in the ground below.
"What was that?"
Silver Claw nervously shifted as he scanned the surrounding area. Suddenly a thunderous crash sounded from below the river. A massive bubble of air burst on the surface sending water everywhere. Silver Claw quickly back away as the water level dropped in the center of the river to form a small whirlpool. The water rushed into the ground and from within the water, a faint but visible blue glow for a brief moment became visible, but washed away within seconds. The ground beneath the river crumbled until it had widened the rift, consuming the entire width of the river. The water rushed downward into the darkness of the cave in a brilliant wall of white foaming water.
"That was the cave we were in," Amanda remarked.
"See," Silver Claw stated, "That is one reason I do not like being underground."
"Yes, I know," Amanda sighed and glanced down the river towards the ocean. "We can cross now."
"What," Silver Claw said and followed her gaze to the muddy riverbed now exposed because of the opening into the cave. Several large boulder and rocks lay scattered about the bottom along with branches and driftwood.
Amanda quickly hopped off Silver Claw and walked towards the riverbed.
"Where are you going," Silver Claw questioned as he continued watching the rushing water in front of him.
"Crossing," Amanda jumped onto a large rock sitting in the mud near the bank and then to another. "I don't want to get stuck and you may," she paused to jump to the next one, "be able to jump most of the way across, just try not to get stuck when you land." Amanda jumped twice more and landed on the opposite bank. "Come on Silver Claw, it's easy."
Silver Claw sniffed the air, "Tyrannosaurs!"
"What, where," Amanda questioned and spun around looking at the surrounding jungle.
Silver Claw could smell her growing fear.
"In the distance," Silver Claw sighed. "I can hear them walking away from this direction."
"Don't scare me like that, it though they were right behind me," Amanda almost yelled because the sound of the water became louder. "Now hurry up and cross before the water is forced back down the riverbed."
Silver Claw chuckled slightly and walked to the riverbed across from Amanda. He smiled. Silver Claw crouched low and then jumped. He reached the other side and crashed into the ground next to Amanda.
"Silver Claw," Amanda crouched next to him. She placed her hand on his back to feel him trembling. "Silver Claw, are you ok."
"No," Silver Claw wheezed. "I'm not."
"What happened?"
"My," Silver Claw winced as he staggered to his feet. "My chest," he wheezed again, "Just give me some time to recover."
"Why did you jump that far, you said you couldn't jump that far," Amanda started to sob. "Didn't you know you might hurt?"
"I didn't think I would hit the ground chest…," he whimpered, "first."
"Oh Silver Claw," Amanda sobbed and stood up. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Please don't do anything that could get you hurt anymore."
Silver Claw turned his head and looked at Amanda, "I can still walk so let's hurry, maybe this Sarah can help."
"Ok," Amanda released his neck and then brushed away her tears with the back of her hand. "Are you sure that you are ok."
Silver Claw only nodded his head.
Amanda moved into the jungle with Silver Claw close behind. For several minutes, they passed quietly through a large grove of ferns and cycads that surrounded massive trees that were far enough apart to allow most of the rain to fall through to the ground. Several fallen trees lay across their path, some with large growths of mushrooms. Amanda easily climbed over but Silver Claw had some difficulty because he did not want to jump and risk hurting his chest again.
Amanda sighed and looked at Silver Claw. I wonder what he wanted to talk about, Amanda asked herself. Is it about going home or…was it about something else. What did I ask him last night anyway? I cannot remember.
"Silver Claw," Amanda said as she pushed a low hanging branch away from her face and held it so that Silver Claw could pass without ducking. She followed behind him. "What did I ask you about last night?"
"You asked me what I thought about being away from our pack, us, and our life together," Silver Claw said and looked at her. "You don't remember asking me?"
"No," Amanda admitted. "I must have been really tired, sorry."
"That's ok," Silver Claw said and ducked to dodge a branch as they moved into a thicker part of the jungle with more heavily grown underbrush. "I didn't say too much."
"Could you tell me now," Amanda questioned. "We are…," she ducked under a branch, "alone, I think."
"Well I guess." Silver Claw sighed. "What would you think if we didn't go back to the pack?"
"I would want to know why you don't want to," Amanda replied.
"I was thinking maybe we could…start our own pack…just the two of us," Silver Claw raised his feathers. "It would be nice to have somewhere we could call home that did not have a pack order again, like we did in our old home until Tyrannous ruined it."
"What about Loki and Sophia?" Amanda asked. "Sophia is still your friend even if she wants to be your mate, and Loki has nowhere to go until he is allowed back to his pack."
"I never thought about that," Silver Claw admitted. "We could…bring them with us, there is an area near the top of this island where might stay."
"What's up there?"
"Not too much," Silver Claw said and carefully stepped over a small stone crevasse in the ground. "Most of the carnivores are near the island's center and so are the large herbivores that they hunt."
"So what are we supposed to eat?" Amanda asked. "It sounds like this place might be quiet and relaxing but what about a home."
"Do you have the map with you?" Silver Claw asked.
"No, it's gone." Amanda sighed tiredly. "It was with my other cloths on the mainland."
"Ok, well, I think I saw a building one time when you showed it to me and explained what everything was on the map."
"Well that could work, depending on what kind of building it was." Amanda admitted. "Our own pack, our own building and our own territory, I think that is a good idea Silver Claw."
Silver Claw purred softly. "You think so?"
"As long as there are cloths for me there, I think it would be perfect for us." Amanda said. "But what if another pack lives there, one that does not take a liking to humans in their territory?"
"There were only five packs on the island, or so my father told me." Silver Claw replied. "Two of my kind, two of the browns, and one of the green, the greens are dead, and one of the browns live near the south of the island, maybe the other browns joined to make one pack."
"Are you sure the greens are all dead, what about Tyrannous?" Amanda questioned.
"I don't think he's alive anymore," Silver Claw said. "The pack of browns we ran into that Sophia was in, surrounded him after we were leaving. I couldn't tell if he was killed by him or not."
"What do you mean by browns anyway?" Amanda asked and moved to the right of Silver Claw to avoid a cluster of trees.
"Browns are the color of that type of velociraptor females," Silver Claw said. "The males are however an orange with back stripes."
"Like a tiger," Amanda commented with a slight laugh. "How can they blend in with the environment?"
"They hunt in very tall grasses, usually about chest height on you." Silver Claw purred again. "What's a tiger?"
"A type of cat," Amanda said.
"And a cat is…?" Silver Claw leaned playfully against Amanda but not enough to push her too far.
"Never mind," Amanda said and pushed Silver Claw.
Silver Claw nipped at her sleeve but Amanda pulled it away before he could grab it. Amanda laughed and kissed him on the scales under his eye. Silver Claw purred.
"Amanda," he said softly. "You want to go to the trailers but you don't seem in too much of a hurry."
"Are you complaining about it?" Amanda asked softly.
"No," Silver Claw said and lowered his head. "I was just wondering why?"
"I'm sure they're fine," Amanda said. "You haven't said anything about the tyrannosaurs recently and there have been no other explosions or bangs…so I just though we could take our time and have a little bit of fun for a change, any objections?"
"No," Silver Claw said and raised his feathers. "I hope my chest gets better soon so we can play that predator game I told you about."
"I could easily win if you were after me," grinned Amanda.
"How," Silver Claw could only ask.
"You can't climb trees," Amanda said.
"And you can't stay in them," Silver Claw added and let out a short repeating chirp.
Amanda turned red and she pushed on his head. "Are you ever going to let me forget it?"
"No," Silver Claw purred and pushed against her hand. "Along with that," Silver Claw moved around her hand and next to her ear, "tattoo."
Amanda's face glowed red with embarrassment, "You're lucky that you injured Silver Claw or else I'd have you on the ground so fast right now, even you would be surprised."
"I doubt that," he taunted. He stopped and sniffed the air.
"What is it?" Amanda asked and looked around at the darkness.
"I smell something," Silver Claw said. "It's very strong but it is far away, it's a terrible smell."
"What does it smell like," Amanda said and sniffed the air, but she knew she could not smell even close to as well as Silver Claw.
"I…I don't know," Silver Claw stated, "It's musty, I don't like it."
"It's a little hard to tell you what it is, when I cannot smell it," Amanda said and stretched her arms above her head.
"There is another smell…humans…several of them if I am not mistaken." Silver Claw raised his head even higher and sniffed again, "At least…twenty…maybe more."
"Twenty," Amanda said confused. "There are only five at the trailers, are you sure?"
"Positive," Silver Claw said, "And by the smells of it, mostly males."
"Where would they have come from?" Amanda questioned.
"I don't know," Silver Claw said.
"I was just talking to myself," Amanda said. "Maybe there were more to Sarah's group."
"Do you want to check it out still," Silver Claw said, a little on edge and it showed in his posture.
"You're nervous," Amanda pointed out.
"Well, I may not have been accepted to well after what happened and if there are more humans…" Silver Claw paused for a moment. "Well, the only good experiences I have had with humans are with you and Ellie."
"Don't worry," Amanda said. "You only need to have me around anyway."
"So you don't want other humans around with us?"
"Well I like to have another human around to talk to," Amanda said. "It's just…well…I don't want another person like Lance to show up and ruin our happiness like he almost did."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Silver Claw said and looked to his scared leg and then back to Amanda. "What about other raptors?"
"Well it depends on if they're nice to me," Amanda said and started to walk in the directions of the trailers.
Silver Claw followed next to her. "Was Sophia nice to you before you found me?"
"Kind of," Amanda said. "She did attack me but I talked to her and that's when I found out she wanted you."
"Oh," Silver Claw said surprised. "Did she hurt you at all?"
"No, she just knocked me to the ground and held me there," Amanda sighed.
"Stop," Silver Claw said.
Amanda looked around. In front of them a large tree laid across the ground, the dark surrounding jungle was eerily quiet, and the rain stopped. Then, in the distance, a faint sound that seemed like arguing men echoed through the jungle.
"Did you hear that?" Amanda said.
Silver Claw only tilted his head and looked at her.
"Oh yeah," Amanda gave a humorless laugh. "Let's check it out."
"Ok," Silver Claw said. "But we stay in the jungle until we are sure it is safe for us."
Amanda agreed with him and climber over the log. Once she jumped to the ground, Amanda jogged through the jungle towards the group. She kept her eye on the ground in a hope to avoid any roots that stuck above ground. Silver Claw trotted closely behind her. An icy breeze suddenly swept through the jungle and chilled Amanda's already cold body.
Voices grew louder as Amanda and Silver Claw got closer to the clearing. The deep rumble of the ocean waves at the base of the cliff grew louder. The area became brighter from what seemed to be numerous lights. The jungle began to spread out and the underbrush grew thinner.
Amanda stopped and moved behind a bush. When Silver Claw was out of sight of the clearing and next to her, Amanda said, "I think this is as far as we can go."
Silver Claw lifted his head to look over the bush and quickly ducked down again. "Yeah, I think you're right. There are a lot of humans out there, but no trailers."
"What?" Amanda questioned. "Where would they have gone?"
"I think I saw the young girl," Silver Claw said. "It was hard to tell though. She had a blanket over her."
A twig snapped behind them. Amanda whipped around to see a white velociraptor step out of the bushes behind them, the killing claws extended and teeth showing. Silver Claw turned his head.
"Hello Sophia," Amanda said.
"Hello," Sophia said and eased her posture to a less aggressive one. She looked to Silver Claw. "I thought you two were part of the human group out there. By the way, the trailers are gone."
"What do you mean gone," Amanda questioned.
"Two tyrannosaurs destroyed them," Sophia said. "Those stupid humans brought an infant tyrannosaur back here and the parents followed."
"Where's Loki," Silver Claw looked around. "I do not smell him around."
"He was shot," Sophia said. "They have his body in the clearing, from what I have heard, they want to take him back to somewhere alive."
"But you said he was shot," Silver Claw said.
"Maybe it was a tranquilizer," Amanda said. "It puts the creature it hits to sleep."
Sophia laid herself next to Silver Claw but away from Amanda. "What are we going to do?"
Silver Claw looked at Amanda.
"I could go and talk to them," Amanda said. "Did you hear who these other people work for?"
"Loki told me," Sophia said. "He said they are the ones who created the animals on this island."
"Ingen, but Sarah said that she was hired by John Hammond to do some research here," Amanda said, "Why would he send two groups?"
"I don't know," Sophia said. "Loki said they arrived by some kind of flying machines that carried the vehicles."
"Helicopters most likely," Silver Claw said and looked at Amanda.
"Yeah probably, did Loki tell you what they were doing up until now?"
Sophia snorted. "Yes, he said that they were capturing the animals and putting them in cages, that was until Nick, Sarah, and Loki set them free."
"Oh," Silver Claw said. "Where is the other place where these other humans were?"
"You could have asked that question better," Sophia commented, "but I don't know, by the time he said that, the tyrannosaurs were gone and he went to check on the rope that Ed…Eddie put in the trailer before they fell, to see if anyone survived and that was when he was shot."
"Ok," Amanda said. "It looks like everyone is leaving. I'm going to go talk to them."
"Be careful my mate," Silver Claw said and licked her cheek. "If you need help, just call me."
"Ok," Amanda said and stood up. She walked around the bush and towards the departing group.
Sophia sighed. "All these people are trapped," Sophia said. "Both places were destroyed."
"So," Silver Claw said. "I'm sure that they will be able to care for themselves."
"Who said they could not be our prey," Sophia replied.
"Sophia!" Silver Claw snapped. "Amanda and I decided to claim a territory for ourselves in the empty part of the island. She said we should still have you around but now I am having second thoughts. You are my friend and always will be, but your choices are starting to worry me."
"No, it's yours," Sophia railed. "You've gone soft because of Amanda. You would have easily killed every one of them if you had the chance before you met her."
"How do you know what I would have done," Silver Claw hissed angrily.
In a soft tone, Sophia said. "Because I know you, or at least I did."
"Hey wait up!" Amanda called out.
Silver Claw's eyes widened. She had called it out in raptor. To the humans it would have sounded like a loud growl and two short but loud chirps.
"Amanda, wait!" Silver Claw said and jumped to his feet. He saw her disappearing into a bush at the clearing.
"Hey wait for me." She said again.
"No, Amanda you're speaking in…"
A loud gunshot rang through the air followed by a thud and a splash…
Author Note: As usual, any suggestions you have to improve my writing are welcome. For those who do not know, I have updated my Reign of Fire story and am hoping that someone might review. As well, I have posted the prequel to this one, Jurassic Park The Beginning. Thank you for Reading. Please Review.