Jurassic Park Broken Lives
Chapter 24: The Parting of the Ways
Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic Park
Author Note: I would like to know whether you think I should make the chapters shorter for the time being. Shorter chapters should mean faster updates probably but not as much detail to the story as a whole. Where as, if I keep them long it will be about once a week updates except when I am out of school for more than the weekend, partially because I have started playing video games like Stargate Empire at War and other modifications to my computer games. Please Review.
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Silver Claw's eyes opened at the sound of the gunshot. His heart skipped a beat and then went into overtime as a thud and then a splash sounded through the air. Pain festered in his chest, not from the broken bones but that from anxiety…and rage, and a crippling fear that Amanda may die.
His body trembled at the thought of Amanda dying. He just found her again, she cannot die, Silver Claw thought. This could not happen. It just could not. Amanda, please be alive.
"Amanda," he whimpered. His breathing became quicker as his anger grew. "Amanda."
The sound of footsteps approaching where she had fallen quickly became louder. The same rage that caused him to attack Amanda burst out of its suppressive state and filled him. He charged from hiding and towards the bush Amanda had gone though to reach the group. He cleared distance in a matter of seconds and leapt into the air. He cleared the bush and opened his mouth. With a screech, he came down on the first thing in his path, a man dressed in a shirt with its sleeves rolled up to the elbow, shorts, and a hat that had two string the connected under his chin so that it would not fall off easily.
With the force of the collision, both hit the ground in a tremendous crash that sent water and mud spraying everywhere and onto the surrounding people. Silver Claw showed his teeth but suddenly roared in pain as a crippling wave shot through his body and caused him to topple over to the mud next to the man he attacked. Nothing hit him but his chest burned and his body ached. He was dizzy, his mind cloudy, his muscles limp, and his breath labored.
"Amanda," Silver Claw whimpered as his vision flickered. "Amanda."
The man scrambled to his feet and readied his rifle, aiming it a Silver Claw's neck. He placed his finger on the trigger. His stare was as diggers aimed at Silver Claw, almost cruel and hateful.
"No!" A female voice screamed.
Silver Claw's vision went blurry all of a sudden. He could only see shades and blotches of color. A woman or at least it looked like one, jumped at the man, hitting him as well as his rifle. A shot rang through the air. Amanda, Silver Claw thought as everything quickly faded to black and everything became quiet.
"Silver Claw" a mournful voice called out through the quiet darkness.
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Silver Claw felt sick. His eyes were heavy and refused to open. The ground below him was hard and cold, not earth or stone but concrete. Silver Claw craned his neck and forced his eyes open.
His vision was blurry at first but it quickly became clear. He was in a building, a large one. Machines and tanks surrounded him. The air was humid and stale with a faint fragrance of something rotting in the distance. A crack quickly caught Silver Claw's attention.
He turned his head to see a rodent scurry across the floor of the room and towards a door at the far end. The instinct to chase was too great. Silver Claw scrambled to his feet and chased the animal. He weaved in an out of the machines. A machine stuck out in particular, a large tank with the inscription "Nanotechnology version 10."
He did not know why it did. They saw it in the lab on the way back to the cave. What could it mean though? Did it even mean anything? Then there were the dreams Amanda had, she said that I told her she fell into a tank of something and she became a velociraptor. It this was the stuff then…just maybe…she could become a velociraptor. However, what if she liked being human, I could never force her to do something against her will...
The rodent was close. It stopped just before the door and Silver Claw lunged.
His head hit something hard and his vision became starred. When his eyes cleared, he saw that he was no longer in the building but outside, on a metal pathway overhanging a cliff. Suddenly, a door behind him flew open and Amanda came running out.
"Amanda?" Silver Claw said.
Amanda slammed the door shut and ran through Silver Claw towards the end of the pathway. Silver Claw stood, dumbstruck. What was happening and how could she run through him?
The door fell over and there stood another Silver Claw. The other Silver Claw quickly followed the path Amanda had gone down, passing through Silver Claw just as Amanda did.
Silver Claw gasped as he realized that he this was where he and Amanda met. The other Silver Claw disappeared around the corner. The walkway sank. Silver Claw's eyes widened as he remembered that it fell after he left it.
The metal beneath his feet gave way and Silver Claw could only grab hold of the bottom of the doorway as the path fell to the ground. He frantically kicked at the rocky cliff trying to stop from falling. A soft sound turned Silver Claw's attention upward.
Between his hands stood a rodent, a mouse, the same one he chased in the lab. It slowly moved to his right hand and looked down at him. Silver Claw hissed at the rodent as he tried to get a footing. A burst of pain cause Silver Claw to recoil his hand but that caused his body to shift so that it was at an angle he could not get his free hand back to the doorway.
His heart quickened as the rodent moved to his other hand and climbed on top of it. Silver Claw kicked at the wall, still attempting to get a hold of it but suddenly, it turned smooth. The mouse moved down to the end of one of his fingers and bit down. Silver Claw lifted the finger and then another. Only one held him in place now. How, was beyond him. The mouse appeared next to the last finger and looked at him then back to the finger.
Pain shot through the last finger and Silver Claw fell. The air rushed past him with amazing speed. He felt weightless. His feathers fluttered freely and he turned over to see the ground race up to greet him. Silver Claw a voice rang out, then darkness.
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"Silver Claw," a voice whispered through the darkness, "Silver Claw wake up."
With a groan, Silver Claw slowly opened his eyes. A blurry figure stood over him with its head by his. Slowly, his eyesight came back into focus. It was Amanda. Mud covered her clothing and exposed skin except for her face that was clear of dirt.
Silver Claw smiled. He could see every distinguishing feature of her face. Her long dusty brown hair that had grown slightly since he first met her, where it was just touching her shoulders, now it passed them, though not by much. Only the tips of her ears stuck out from the curtain of hair that hid them. Her smooth skin and other elegantly curved facial features seem to illuminate somehow. He smile and looked into her blue eyes, reminiscing on how much joy she brought him every day. He noticed several tears in the corner of her eyes.
"Are you alright Silver Claw?" Amanda asked softly and placed her hand onto his neck. "You were moving a lot and saying something I couldn't understand."
Silver Claw winced as a small jolt of pain came from his chest. "I'm ok Amanda," Silver Claw said reassuringly. He noticed a long slash in the side of her shirt. "How did you get that cut in your shirt?"
"Oh that," Amanda said and stuck her fingers through it. "When you were out cold, you kicked once and hooked my shirt."
Silver Claw's eyes widened.
"Don't worry," Amanda reassured. "It didn't even graze the skin. I'm fine."
A low murmur sounded around them and Silver Claw quickly glanced around to see a crowd of people around them. Most had guns aimed at him or close to it. The man he attacked was standing over Amanda with his rifle across his arms but ready. The man seemed to look at Silver Claw with respect but dislike at the same time.
A groan sounded next to him and Silver Claw turned his head to see Loki swaying his head back and forth almost sickly.
"He's still feeling the affects of the tranquilizer," Amanda commented, "He should be fine in a little while."
"Who are all these people," Silver Claw questioned. He heard some of them speaking in a language he could not understand.
"Ingen remember, Sophia told us," Amanda answered. "I've managed to talk them out of shooting you and Loki, Sophia is hiding I think."
Silver Claw gasped as he remembered gunshot. "Are you ok? I heard a gunshot and then you hit the ground."
"Yes Silver Claw," Amanda said and rubbed his head. "The idiot who shot at me was a terrible shot. He missed by quite a bit but I dropped to the ground incase someone else shot at me."
Silver Claw sighed in relief.
"I thought it was brave of you to try and rescue me," Amanda smiled. "Stupid but brave."
"I know," Silver Claw said and turned his head. He did not want to say that he attacked out of rage. "If you were alright, I had to know."
A murmur went through the crowd of people again. Silver Claw only caught several words though he could not understand them, words like "mujeres del diablo," "muchacha loca," and "Ella habla en lengüeta del devel, puede dios protegernos contra su mal."
"Do you know what the people are saying," Silver Claw said concerned. "I can't understand it."
"I don't speak Spanish," Amanda admitted. "But by the sounds of it, they are calling one of us the devil."
Silver Claw tilted his head.
"I can understand a few words that are close to the English one that means the same thing."
Silver Claw shifted and started to stand up. Immediately, rifles aimed at him.
"No, no, no," Amanda said quickly, pushing on his back. "If you stand up, they might shoot you."
"I don't like it here," Silver Claw said. "Could you tell them I won't attack?"
"I did," Amanda sighed, "But after your leap onto that guy, I couldn't tell them otherwise."
Silver Claw whimpered.
"What wrong," Amanda asked and gently placed her head against his.
"I thought I lost you Amanda," Silver Claw said. His feathers flattened.
"But you didn't," Amanda said and looked up at the crowd around them. "Can you let us go now? We only want to go to our home. Silver Claw did not mean any harm he was only protecting me."
"You are free to go," A man stepped next to her. He wore glasses. He gave Amanda the creeps for some reason. "But those animals are property of Ingen, we own them, not you, and we are taking them with us once we find a way to get off this island."
"My mate is not your property!" Amanda snapped angrily, adding a low raptor growl. "And neither is Loki!"
A murmur went through the crowd again. The men seemed even more uncomfortable and backed away slightly, though there guns stayed fixated at Silver Claw.
"Mate," someone in the crowd questioned.
"Yes," Amanda said ginning. She let out a loud shriek in raptor.
The men jumped back and nervously shifted.
"Now," Amanda said holding back her laughter. She turned her back to Silver Claw and moved her left hand to the knife handle. "You are going to let my pack leave and you are going to go home and not come back."
Peter Ludlow could not help but laugh. "You don't have a say in what we do here little girl, even if you can speak to those creatures."
The man that Silver Claw attacked looked at Ludlow. "Show some respect to the lady," he said in a tone that did not allow for question. He shouldered his gun and crouched in front of Amanda. "How old are you Amanda?"
"Sixteen," Amanda replied, gripping the knife tightly.
"And how long have you been here?" He asked in a polite tone that made Amanda even more nervous of his questions.
"A few months," Amanda replied.
"How were you injured?" He pointed to her neck.
"I was…attacked, it's nothing serious. Sarah took care of it for me." Amanda said.
"Have you hunted before?" He asked. "I saw that your first action was to grip that knife when I asked you a question."
"Yes," Amanda said without hesitation. "I'm almost as good as hunter as my mate."
"You seem a little nervous because of me," he said. "My name is Roland Tembo by the way." He held out his hand.
Amanda looked at his hand and then back at him. "I don't like hunters like you."
"Like me," he questioned and pulled his hand back.
"You hunt for the fun of it," Amanda said. "A real hunter only hunts to survive."
"You have met another hunter here, haven't you?"
Amanda looked at Silver Claw and then back to Roland. "His name was Lance."
"Lance hey." Roland mumbled to himself then louder he said. "About my height, white, arrogant, thinks he's better than everything and everyone, dressed similar to the movie character Crocodile Dundee."
"You knew him?" Amanda questioned. "He wasn't a friend of yours was he?" She moved closer to Silver Claw.
"He's a poacher," Roland said. "And no, he hunts with illegal weapons, uses cheap dirty tricks to kill. That man was nothing more than a coward and thief. He would not confront anyone up close in combat instead he would run away and attack at distance."
"Then it won't sadden you to know that he's dead."
"Your mate got him?" Roland questioned, raising one eyebrow.
"No, Silver Claw has never killed a human." Amanda railed. "He never would either."
"He hit me pretty hard," Roland disagreed. "Then he just fell over,"
"He broke three of his ribs not too long ago," Amanda said quietly, almost enough that he could not hear her.
"Well, I don't think there is anything that can be done now." Roland said and stood up.
"Sarah might be able to help," Amanda said. "Where is she?"
"She's talking with Dr. Robert Burke about…I think it was the parental instinct of a stegosaurus," Roland turned away and Amanda noticed how much mud he had on his back because of Silver Claw. He disappeared into the crowd followed by Peter Ludlow.
"He doesn't seem like Lance," Silver Claw said, nuzzling Amanda in the arm.
"He's nicer," Amanda admitted. "Do you think he'll let us go?"
"I don't know." Silver Claw sighed turned his head to look at Loki. "How are you holding up?"
"I feel sick," Loki said. His voice sounded weak and softer that it normally was.
"That should wear off in about and hour," Amanda said. "They gave you something to wake you up."
Loki tilted his head and a long sting of saliva rolled down his jaw and fell to the ground.
Amanda laughed. "That should go away soon as well."
"Amanda," Roland said as he stepped out of the crowd. "Could you come with me for a moment? Your friends will be fine."
Amanda looked at Silver Claw.
"Go ahead." Silver Claw nodded his head. "I'll watch over Loki."
Amanda slowly stood up and followed Roland into the crowd. The men quickly moved out of their way. However, they kept and eye on Amanda, mumbling things to one another. By what she could tell it was she, they were calling the devil.
Amanda felt uneasy. They were insulting her because she could talk to the velociraptors and that scared them. She was also the center of attention and that bothered her a great deal.
"Don't mind them," Roland said. "They're a superstitious bunch and they are scared of these islands and they mean in the local culture."
"I figured that," Amanda sighed.
They emerged from the crowd. Sarah, Ian, Nick, and Kelly stood close together with two armed men, Peter Ludlow, and Dr. Robert Burke. Ludlow quickly walked up to Roland and whispered something to him.
"Amanda," Sarah said and walked up to her. "How are Silver Claw and Loki?"
"Loki's recovering. Can you help with his broken ribs?"
Sarah looked down and sighed. "Not anymore, I'm sorry. All of my equipment was destroyed when the trailers fell off the cliff, and nothing is left here to do it."
Tears formed in Amanda's eyes but she quickly blinked them away. "I see."
"Amanda," Roland said, turning to face her. "Do you know about the building complex west of here?"
"Silver Claw briefly told me about it, why?"
"That's where we are headed," Ludlow said before Roland could reply. "Do you know if you could talk to the velociraptors there?"
"No, I can't," Amanda said. "I will not go anywhere near there either."
"Why not," Ludlow looked down for a second and pushed his glasses up.
"They will not allow Silver Claw, Loki or I in their territory." Amanda said and then added after a moment. "They would kill us the instant we were found."
"What did you do?" Roland asked.
"It's not what I've done, it's what Ingen did." Amanda said. "The original velociraptors they created that are still alive on this island have a grudge against almost all human. Some have accepted me and allowed me into their pack but others will kill any human on sight."
"Amanda!" Silver Claw called out.
Amanda turned and rushed into the group, pushing past anyone in her way. She quickly pushed aside some rifles aimed at Silver Claw and crouched by his side.
"Don't shoot him, he only called for me," She puffed. "What is it?"
"There are dilophosaurus coming this way." Silver Claw said, "Two adults and a juvenile I think."
"Oh my god," Amanda said.
"What is it?" Sarah asked from behind Amanda.
"Dilophosaurus are coming this way," Amanda said.
"What's a…dilophosaurus," a man said. He held a gun aimed at Silver Claw. He was scruffy looking and what looked like a small cattle prod hung from his side.
"It's a very large carnivore that can spit poison and…" Amanda started but a loud scream near the edge of the camp cut her off.
Gunfire erupted from the some of the men at the edge of the camp. More screams followed. The crowd of men dispersed in various directions in panic.
Silver Claw quickly jumped to his feet and readied his claws. Loki staggered to his feet and looked around. Both listened and sniffed the air.
At the far edge of the camp, an adult dilophosaurus burst from the trees and headed towards a group of scared men. It stood about five meters tall and about seven meters long. Its black hide specked with bright yellow dots provided cover in the dark. A long tooth filled maw suddenly snapped shut on a man killing him instantly. A V-shaped crimson crest was the most distinguishing feature besides the flailing frill.
It chased the other men that it had missed on the first strike. It grabbed another man and tossed him like a twig into the air. Gunfire sounded throughout the men and soon the creature dropped to the ground, bleeding from at least a dozen wounds.
Amanda looked at Silver Claw and Loki. She looked to Sarah and the other panicking people. "Silver Claw, are the dilophosaurus in that direction?" She pointed into the darkness of the nearby jungle.
"No, they're on the other side." Silver Claw said and ducked his head as more shots rang through the air. "Why?"
"One second," Amanda ran up to Sarah. "Sarah, I would like to say good bye."
"What?" Sarah asked, turning to face Amanda.
"Good bye," Amanda said and ran towards Silver Claw and Loki. "Come with me," Amanda said as she passed by the velociraptors.
"Amanda!" Sarah called. "Amanda, come back!"
Loki staggered slightly but soon followed. Silver Claw looked at the panicking people for a moment and followed Amanda.
Another group of screams sounded from near to where the dilophosaurus died. Another, slightly larger creature leapt from the jungle and made a B-line for the largest cluster of men. The men dispersed and the juvenile jumped out of hiding onto a man. More shots filled the chilled night air.
Amanda, Silver Claw, and Loki passed into the tree line and the humans and the dilophosaurus disappeared from sight. The jungle became thick with undergrowth and it quickly became harder to move about. Amanda and the velociraptors continued to race deeper into the jungle along with Silver Claw and Loki, the screams of several more men and gunshots filled the air before fading into silence.
The four jumped over a large rotting log and continued onward. Large damp ferns and branches lashed against them. The jungle became suddenly thinner, the canopy opened up, and the air became heavy and humid.
Silver Claw looked at Amanda with concern as the sounds in the distance faded. She left the humans, he thought, some were her friends. Why would she do that? What could force her to do that?
The ground became steeper and after a few minutes, they came to a stop at the base of a cliff. Large boulders and jagged rocks lay on the ground. The edge of the jungle was about three meters from the base of the cliff.
Amanda quickly looked around and then she noticed something. Several large boulders seemed to form a semicircular shape against the cliff base. With a wave, Amanda, Silver Claw and Loki moved to the more protected area.
Amanda leaned over panting when they stopped inside the area. Loki staggered and fell to the ground, drool still dripped down from his jaw, though not as much as when he first woke.
"We left them," Silver Claw said and had to ask why.
"Because," Amanda replied. "They wanted to take us to where you say Tyrannous."
"Why would they go there?" Loki asked. He slowly staggered to his feet and leaned against the cliff for support.
"I don't know," Amanda said. Tears formed and rolled down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?" Silver Claw asked. He walked up to her and gently nuzzled her shoulder.
Amanda sank to the ground and leaned against the cliff. She covered her eyes so that Silver Claw would not see her crying.
Silver Claw lowered his head to look her in the eye but her hands were in the way. "Amanda," he said softly, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Amanda sobbed and pulled her knees to her chest.
"Amanda," Silver Claw pushed her hands aside gently with his snout. "As you mate and friend, I want to know."
Amanda brushed away her tears but new one quickly replaced them. "See those men kill brought back images of when my family was attacked."
Silver Claw gently placed his head against hers. "I'm so sorry Amanda. Is there anything I can do?"
"Something's coming our way Amanda, Silver Claw." Loki said nervously. He was still suffering the side effects of the drug.
"Why did you get yourself captured?" A female voice boomed. Sophia stepped out of the bushes. "You could have died Silver Claw!"
"It's nice to see you too," Silver Claw said.
Sophia snorted. "We should get moving before those dilophosaurus decide to follow us, if they are still alive."
Amanda slowly stood up. She wiped the tears from her face. "Yeah, I guess so."
Slowly the four moved along the cliff. The ground became rocky. Then suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed over the island. Though Amanda could not hear it, in the distance, a large creature pushed through the jungle towards the hunter camp.
"What was that?" Amanda said concerned.
"Tyrannosaurus," Loki said. "They're in the distance but getting closer."
Amanda noticed an odd shape in the cliff and squinted to see it better. It looked like a path leading up the cliff. "Silver Claw, you can see better than I, is that a path along the cliff?"
"Yes," Silver Claw replied once he found it. "It looks large enough so that we could follow it to the top of the cliff."
"Ok, let's get out of here before something comes." Amanda said and moved towards the pathway.
The velociraptors soon followed her. They slowly moved onto the rocky pathway and made their way up the cliff. Rocks crumbled under foot as they progressed steadily higher. The rough wall and winds made for a perilous trek.
Amanda sighed and looked her right. They were above the treetops and the camp was visible in the distance. Amanda noticed that they were only at a small, secluded part of what had been the camp. A few fires still burned in the main section and the wreckage from destroyed vehicles lay strewn about. West of the camp, a large lake glistened in a black aurora.
A crack of thunder in the distance made Amanda look to the sky as another downpour drenched the island. Amanda quickened her pace and within minutes, the four reached the top of the cliff. Amanda quickly took cover under a massive pine that acted like an umbrella. The velociraptors slowly stepped under.
The jungle around was a lush green, even in the dark. Dead leaves lay strewn about the jungle floor, which with the rain, made the ground sticky. The rhythmical beat of the rain against the leaves of the forest canopy echoed throughout the jungle in a soothing ripple. A heavy gust of wind swayed the trees and broke branches that fell harmlessly to the ground.
"Where are we going to go?" Loki asked and approached Amanda.
"Well, I think we could head north and go where Silver Claw and I were talking about." Amanda said. She twisted parts of her shirt to get rid of the water.
Loki cocked his head. His body shook slightly.
"Oh yeah, I forgot that you were not there. We were thinking of going to the northern part of the island." Amanda said. "Silver Claw said there might be a building we could stay in."
"What about my parents pack," Loki said. "You belong to it and I'm sure the pack would be delighted to see that you are alive and well."
Amanda sighed. "You know that some of the pack does not like me."
"After taking down an adult triceratops," Loki started. "They would treat you with respect. Even a lone velociraptor will not…"
"What about me," Sophia interrupted. "I'm banished from my pack."
"You could come with us," Amanda said and looked at Silver Claw, "As long as you would like her to stay with us."
"I guess she could," Silver Claw sighed. He remembered his talk with Sophia before someone shot at Amanda but did not want to bring it up.
"And me," Loki cocked his head. His voice was becoming clearer every moment and his body stopped shaking. He no longer drooled from the effect of the tranquilizer.
A lightning bolt snaked across the black sky, illuminating the lake in a white flash. A deafening crack sounded afterwards that shook the trees and rattled the earth underfoot.
"You could come with us," Amanda said. "That is if you want to."
"I'll go with you most of the way but I should return to our territory, maybe my father will allow me back."
"Perhaps," Silver Claw said. "He did not like having to banish you, you know."
"Yeah," Loki sighed.
"Shall we get moving," Sophia said and moved into the jungle. She pushed past a large fern and disappeared into the darkness.
Loki followed behind her and quickly disappeared as well. Amanda paused for a moment and looked out towards the camp. The men were heading west. The light from their flashlights illuminated the jungle around them. Some ways away, the jungle rocked back and forth with the movement of a large creature, probably a tyrannosaurus.
"Good bye civilization," Amanda whispered to her self. A single tear rolled down her cheek and fell to the ground. Amanda sighed, turned around, and disappeared into the jungle along side Silver Claw.