Jurassic Park Broken Lives
Jurassic Park Broken Lives
Chapter 35: Rough Start to a New Life
Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic Park
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Author Note: What happened to all my reviewers? In chapters of late it seems that I have gotten fewer reviews from my readers and those who did review at the beginning have stopped. I hope that more people will review in further chapters and remember that you don't have to have an account to review. Also, updates may take longer due to the fact that I have recently acquired World of Warcraft and am trying to get my characters to level 70. Sorry for the inconvenience and I hope to update soon. I have up to chapter 50 planned out for this story and have also posted a new story based on the book Eragon. It is an Eragon X Saphira.
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Amanda's eyes opened sluggishly, the last thing she could remember was Silver Claw pushing her onto his back when they had heard the roar… everything else beyond that was lost to her or what she had witnessed during slight moments of consciousness. The lights around her made it hard to concentrate on any one thing. However, her vision slowly focused enough to see the gritty roof of a building. She groaned lightly and shifted her body. She was covered in something soft. She tilted her head to see a large blanket placed over, though it was easy to tell that it was the velociraptors who had covered her with it.
"Amanda," A voice said softly and weakly.
Amanda smiled and turned her head to the right to see Silver Claw standing with his head lowered and an expression of concern written on his face. He stepped towards her and gently placed his snout against her cheek.
"I love you to," Amanda kissed him tenderly on the snout.
"I didn't know if moving you made your condition worse," Silver Claw said quietly and lowered his head so that it rested on the bed beside her. "I was beginning to think you would never wake."
Amanda realized what he was talking about and she sat up abruptly. She looked at her arms in dismay. The skin was torn and cut with chunks of glass still sticking out of the wounds. A sharp pain in her legs made her pull the blanket up from her ankles only to wish she hadn't. The skin on her knees was red with blood while the rest of her leg was streaked with it and pieces of glass stuck out in clusters. She shifted with discomfort and realized that she had nothing but a shirt on, he shorts were missing. She pulled the blanket tightly against her skin and kicked the end over her feet only to hit one of the many bruises that marked her skin with their purplish-green hue. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, they were not just about the pain she felt but the overwhelming sadness about the damage that had been done to her in the brief time during the time with the tyrannosaurus and what Silver Claw must have felt while she was unconscious.
"You've been out for a long time," Silver Claw whimpered. "I thought you were going to…to…" He let out a low whimper.
"How long have I been out," Amanda asked weakly, she noticed the dim light coming through a window on the far wall. It was dusk or early morning, she could not tell for sure.
"Two days," Silver Claw said in a tone so low that Amanda almost couldn't hear him. "I haven't left you side the entire time, though we did have to move you a few times because of your bleeding, though it is not as bad for the last day. That was what worried me most."
Amanda noticed that he could barely lift his head and he was quite thin. "When was the last time you ate," Amanda asked, ignoring her own condition in the horror of Silver Claw's.
"I don't know," Silver Claw turned his head. "I have not slept, ate or drank since you went unconscious."
"Silver Claw," Amanda said with tears beginning their long descent down her cheeks. "You could die, why would you not take care of yourself?"
"If you were to die, so would I," Silver Claw said without a moment of hesitation, "I could not live my life without my mate, Amanda. I refused to suffer over your death; I would rather enter the long sleep by your side rather than live out my life, broken and alone."
"Aw, Silver Claw, that's so sweet," Amanda replied and coughed a few times. "I would rather have it that we died of old age rather than the alternative," Amanda shook her head, "anyways, I'm not going anywhere for a long time." Amanda smiled and gently touched her hand to his snout which caused him to smile.
Silver Claw opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when the door opened. Sophia and Zenith entered the room, Zenith with a large case marked with a red cross locked in his maw.
"We found it," Sophia said.
Zenith set it on the on the edge of the bed and looked at Sophia. "You mean I found it," Zenith remarked. "You were standing next to it and didn't notice it at all."
"Hi Zenith, hi Sophia," Amanda said in a weak tone, her throat was dry and it was beginning to hurt when she talked.
"Oh, you're awake," Sophia said unaware that she had woken. "How are you?"
"Sore," Amanda replied and positioned her body so that she was lying in the bed again. She carefully tucked the blanket under her body.
"Well after what happened to you, I'm not surprised," Zenith said. "You were really brave."
Amanda just smiled and closed her eyes. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep.
Sophia picked up the box and placed it by Amanda's side. "We don't know how to use this."
Amanda turned her head and looked at the box, "You found a medical kit, how?"
"Silver Claw told us what to look for," Zenith replied. "He mentioned that you used it to help with yours and his injuries before the place far away from here."
"All I did was wrap the wound to keep it from getting any worse than it was," Amanda said and rubbed her throat. "Is there any chance I could get some food or at least some water?"
"There's a stream not to far away," Zenith replied, "but it's in the forest and the tyrannosaurus is in the area still I think. He always wanders around here hoping to play our game again."
"I went out hunting but there was nothing in the area. I couldn't even find those pachycephalosaurus," Sophia set herself down adjacent to Silver Claw. "I'll try again tomorrow though the forest around here is scarce of any prey. I don't know if we'll be able to stay much longer without starving every day."
Amanda looked to the med-kit and sighed. She sat up again, though with her back to the headboard, and pressed the buttons on both sides of the case with her hands. Click. The lid opened enough by itself that Amanda could see into it. Its contents were much like any other like it but there were also several packaged syringes and a few marked bottles of a clear liquid.
Amanda picked up one of the bottles and looked at it. The label was faded but she could make out what it was, morphine or at least something that started with morph…. Several thoughts popped into her head. A pain medication if that was what it was would be the perfect thing to have on Isla Sorna, but then she remembered that one of her mother's friends became addicted to it and struggled in daily life because of it.
"What is that?" Silver Claw cocked his head upon notice of the bottle.
"It's a drug for pain I think," Amanda said. "I don't know whether it's good or not or even if I should use it."
"What do you mean," Sophia asked before Silver Claw could.
"It's used to treat pain but it makes some one on it well…" Amanda paused momentarily. "A little delirious and they may act a little weird because of it."
Sophia cocked her head and looked to Silver Claw then back to Amanda, "It's nothing like that plant, right?"
Amanda shook her head.
"Then what's the problem," said Sophia.
"I know with this little of it, it probably won't happen but…" Amanda looked back to the bottle and could see the expiry date on the bottom, it was not for another year yet, though she did not know if it was possible for it to last that long, but would it even be good still after sitting in the tropical weather for so long.
"What won't happen," Silver Claw asked after Amanda remained silent.
"It probably could never happen with only this much but I don't want to become addicted to it like my mom's friend did," Amanda placed the bottle back in the case, "He eventually died from a drug overdose, though, I don't know which drug eventually killed him. He was using many at the time."
"What do you mean by drugs, addicted, and overdose?" Zenith questioned eagerly to find out more about the world. It confused him to hear about so many new things all at once without knowing what they were.
"I'll tell you later," Amanda said.
Zenith lowered his head.
Amanda flinched as she pulled the first of many shards from her right arm. As she finished with her arm, she knew that she had to clean it before she wrapped it but with what?
Silver Claw nuzzled Amanda's cheek, "What is it?"
"I need some water to wash these cuts so they don't get infected, hopefully, but I don't have any," said Amanda, "Could one of you go and get some please?"
"How, we can not carry it."
"Well, I'm sure there is a pail or something around here that you could use to carry it from the stream and back," Amanda said softy.
Sophia sighed, "Where is something to carry it?"
"I don't know," Amanda said politely. "Look for something hollow and without any holes in it, oh and try to make sure it's clean please."
Sophia let out a snort and quickly stood up. She left the room as quickly as she stood with Zenith close behind. The patter of their feet grew steadily quieter until only a whisper remained.
Amanda felt the tears roll down her cheeks as she began to pull the glass from her arm once more. She hoped that Sophia and Zenith would return quickly, she needed water to drink more than to cleanse her wounds at the moment. She turned her gaze once more to the bottle, perhaps she would use it just once…
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A tall slender man made his way down the docks towards a small group of fishermen. He had a newly grown beard that was but a thin layer of light brown hair on his broad jaw line. His brown eyes darted nervously about under a heavy brow as he grew ever closer to a group at the dock's end. He began to sweat with nervousness.
He pulled his hand from the pockets of the tan shorts that he had put on to look like as casual as possible but it seemed to make him stick out more than anything. With his right hand he pulled out a small folded piece of paper, Docks at 19:00. He placed it back in his pocket and pulled out a picture of a young, brown haired girl.
It was time for desperate measures, he thought. The government would not help him and the company who owned the island hid behind their lawyers. He hated that island with a passion but he had to return for one reason, his daughter, Amanda.
How could she leave him like she did? She made a noise that sounded as if she was a feral animal and ran off with some stranger to return to the island. He spent the days after questioning anyone who would listen to him but no one would dare to venture near that island. Only the day after, the memorial of a man who ventured too close was held, though it was not for the man who had taken his daughter aboard his ship.
He tried to join the group of men headed to the island but they refused to let him, only days after did he learn that it was Ingen. He stopped. There were groups of fisherman chatting about but he knew not which of them he had to speak with or even a hint of what they looked like. All he knew was that he was supposed to meet at the docks; he found the paper stuck under the door his hotel room but he had not seen the one who had put it there.
"A bit too well dressed for a fisherman," a deep voice said, "Mr. Glendale."
Amanda's father turned around to see a dark eyed man with a large hat that shadowed his face. He had on a light blue shirt and light brown shorts. A rolled piece of paper stuck out from one of his side pockets. He was a middle aged man that seemed to have seen too many battles in his life for his expression was that of anger and hatred though it did not seem to be directed at any one person. All together, he appeared to be the sort of man that you would not want to run into in a dark ally.
Mr. Glendale gulped slightly, "Are you the one who asked me to meet here?"
"That I am," the man answered and then took no time in making meaningless chit chat and so continued, "It has reached my ears that you've been asking around the docks for someone to take you to Isla Sorna, why?"
"I…I want to find my daughter," he said a little hesitantly, "she is on that godforsaken island, Isla Sorna."
"Is that so…, it just so happens that I have set up a little venture of my own to that 'godforsaken' island and if I might inquire that you would like to join us, we could help rescue your daughter while doing our work and then return here, no questions asked."
"Really? When are you leaving?"
"Day after tomorrow," he replied, "Meet me back here at eight o'clock sharp, if you're late, you're left behind."
"Is there any chance we could leave sooner," Amanda's father asked quickly as the man turned to walk away.
"Not unless you have six thousand U.S. to pay us."
"I do, can we leave today?"
"We have equipment that has to be loaded up, so not until tomorrow, bring the money with you to this spot tomorrow morning at eight."
Mr. Glendale looked down as he watched the man walk away, "One more thing."
The man stopped with a grunt of annoyance, "What?"
"I didn't get you name."
"Dodgson, Lewis Dodgson," the man replied and disappeared before he could be asked anymore questions.
Mr. Glendale looked to the sky, it was getting dark. He had best head back to his hotel and get some rest. He had a deep feeling that it was going to be a hard few days ahead…
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Sophia grumbled as she rummaged through the numerous cabinets that lined what she had learned to be the kitchen. She pulled out several pans that crashed to the ground as she let go with out any care. Soon the shelf was empty and she had yet to find something.
"What's wrong Sophia?" Zenith asked. "Are you upset because you can't find it?"
Sophia kicked the door to another cabinet, "No, it's just…"
Zenith slowly approached Sophia and touched his snout to her neck but she immediately pulled away. Zenith lowered his head, something caught his eye. He slowly pushed past a pile of pans that had been in a spot, even since his birth, and found an object that seemed to match Amanda's description. He pulled it out. It was a large yellow bucket with a handle but without any holes that were of noticeable size. There was however a lid on it.
"I found something," Zenith declared, "Sophia I think I found it."
Sophia looked over, "I don't see where the water would go into. I don't think it would work."
"I'll check with Amanda," Zenith said, "I'll be right back."
Sophia turned her head to see Zenith disappear down a hall almost with a bounce in his step. She snorted. He almost never left her side since they came here, and he had to show her everything in the building that he knew about, even the rock collection that he had saved up over the years. Worse of all, she had found out the he never learned how to hunt and the he survived on scavenging off carcasses in the forest but more often fish which had fallen from the giant winged beast that sat on the structure outside.
She turned away from the cabinets and looked at the wall where a large board hung from a kind of wire. Pictures covered the board, humans mostly but there were a few of different species of dinosaurs, mostly herbivores. All the pictures had humans smiling and together like nothing was wrong with the world. Sophia snorted heavily, knocking off one of the pictures. She looked at it as it fell to the floor and landed face up. It depicted a human holding an infant velociraptor, most likely one of the elders from her pack. Both seemed to be happy, the infant had its head buried in the neck of the human holding it. The human was smiling.
Sophia gently picked up the photograph between her claws. A human and velociraptor could be happy together, she thought. She let out a whimper; she would never find a mate. It was hopeless for her even to try anymore. Silver Claw, her first and only love was taken, there was the possibility of the male in the other pack of her kind but that would be unlikely, there were no humans on the island and even then they might just leave her if given the chance. That's what every one else seemed to do. Her only option in the area was…Zenith. No! She blocked the thought from her mind, he was a green, an enemy, the only reason he was alive was because he was not a treat to them. Though if it were possible…
"Sophia," Zenith entered the room abruptly.
"What," she snapped at the disturbance to her thoughts. She closed her claws, folding the picture before Zenith could see it.
Zenith lowered his head.
"What is it," Sophia said more softly.
"Amanda says this is ok, the thing on the top is a lid so we can carry more water in it and put the lid on so it doesn't spill out." Zenith said with his usual excited nature.
"Alright then," Sophia said and headed towards where the main doors were.
Zenith followed eagerly behind with the pail in claw. His tail wagged back and forth like and excited dog. Every now and again, his claws would click against the ground in the rhythm of the songs his mother would sing to him or at least his version of it, before he went to bed.
Sophia looked back at him to see him smile at her. She shook her head and looked forward again. As they reached the main doors, she looked off the structure but the creature was gone so she pushed through the doors. She moved to the edge of the field and sniffed the air. The wind was blowing towards her and carried along with it no scents that she presumed a threat.
"Where is this stream you spoke of?"
"Follow me," Zenith said and bounced forward into a sprint.
Sophia quickly followed behind him and it was not long before they disappeared into the dense jungle that surrounded the entire complex.
Not far away from the building, a large creature with a long crocodilian snout and massive sail let out a low hiss. Its body was scarred and broken from the repeated confrontations with the rex where neither won but both walk away with injuries. Slowly it started towards the two unsuspecting raptors and it was hungry.
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A lone female raptor wandered the void that was the volcanic tunnels that spread far and wide under the island. The tunnels led out in many points all over the island, but all linked to a central chamber deep underground. That was her destination, an unpleasant one.
The raptor sighed. Her thoughts dwelled on he son, how she missed him. "Zenith," she mumbled to herself. Ever since she had spoken to the human, she could not get it out of her mind that Zenith was alive. She wondered how he could have survived on his own for so long. What puzzled her more was the fact that a human was living on the island with a velociraptor that had taken her as its mate. What could have compelled him to do that?
In the years that her kind had lived underground, they had become adapt to the darkness and only ventured above ground to find food under cover of darkness. Every raptor knew where each exit was and the quickest path to that place. The very young had to learn quickly or they were killed and eaten for being weak.
Tessa looked at her scarred body from numerous fights because of her disregard of orders from the alpha male. They had not killed her because she was one of the elders but that did not mean they could not bring her close to death several times. Because of the others, she could no longer have children, not because of any injury like some of the other females but because she was an outcast within the pack which were numbered at a few dozen. No male would be near her unless directly ordered to be.
The ground began to warm underfoot as she grew closer to the central chamber. The roars, barks and angry hisses of the other raptors echoed down the winding caves, a fight was happening. After a while, a dim red glow entered the tunnel with the flickering forms of the raptors at its end and soon, the main chamber was in sight.
The entire structure was a hollow black dome of solid rock. The ground was almost unbearably hot and the air almost suffocating from the bubbling pools of black water that was toxic to drink. At the center was a large human structure that had deteriorated and whole sides had fallen over and into the black pools which surrounded it. The lights that had once lit the cavern broke long ago. The only source of light was an opening in the floor where a river of molten rock flowed from some unknown source.
A group of the raptors had gathered around a sickly raptor that had mistakenly ingested some toxic water and was now screaming in agony. They would not end its life without the permission of the alpha, and even then it would be a painful death as they tore it apart limb by limb or worse as dictated by the leader. The alpha's rule was an iron fist in which stupidity was not tolerated and those who broke that rule where allowed to suffer until it killed them or put to death slowly if they survived, even infants were not above his judgment. It was no wonder many killed their siblings to show they were strong.
Tessa turned her head and tried to block out the screams but she knew that it would haunt her for some time. The last time one of them had drank from the water, it had taken a full week for them to die, no one slept during that time and they all were forced to watch because of the alpha. He had warned them not to drink from it. It was as much a punishment to those that had followed the rule as it was to the raptor that had broken it. Even the hatchlings had to endure the ordeal. Any raptor that fell asleep was woken with a sharp kick to the head.
At least they would not eat the body like those who were ill of different illnesses, Tessa thought to herself as she perched on her corner of the chamber by a musty tunnel that connected to several others. The toxin stayed in the flesh and any who ingested it soon suffered its effects. The bodies were just pushed into the river of molten rock where they disappeared quickly and only a foul smell remained.
Tessa set herself down and looked out over the area. The alpha resided in the human building. He was a tyrant of a leader. His body was colored black from a reason only he knew but would not share with any other and those who asked were killed and eaten. His eyes were as black as the walls of the cavern and teeth stained a light pink from the blood he shed. Though most knew him only as Alpha, his real name was Thrascar, or as the humans had called him, 0112-543920-123445 which was imprinted on his side in bright red.
He had yet to father children amongst the pack but it was not known whether or not he could for he had tried but failed. He had one true mate but she died shortly after their consummation. Since then, he had tried with two more females but they suffered the same fate, an agonizingly slow death over several days in which they began trembling, then lost their sight, and finally bleeding from the inside then suffocation because of it.
His fury was unmatched after the loss of his third mate, his roar brought the pack to the ground for no one wanted to suffer his wrath when he went on a rampage (which happened often afterwards, mostly towards the males who had mated successfully. The resulting attack caused brutal injuries to those he unleashed his anger upon). Since the day of his taking the pack for his own, not one had challenged him because a single bite from him, no matter how small, was lethal within days. It was poisonous.
A raptor returning from the tunnels caught Tessa's attention. It was the male that had informed the pack of Silver Claw and Amanda. He had been sent back out to scout if some of the other tunnels had collapsed or not near the area of the encounter.
The male's pace slowed as he grew closer to the alpha's lair. He slopped outside and lowered himself to the ground in a panting fit. A few minutes passed before the Alpha appeared and looked down on him. Though it was impossible to tell from the distance she was at, Tessa knew exactly what had happened.
"Incompetence," shouted Thrascar as he kicked the male across the face leaving a massive bleeding wound that if only an inch lower would have blinded him. "Listen up!"
The raptors grew silent, even the one that had been screaming in agony fell silent. The raptors turned toward the leader and once they were all at attention he continued.
"I need three of you to go and put an end to this human and its mate."
Every male let out a loud roar to volunteer for the task for each wanted to taste human flesh. Fights broke out amongst the crowds but it was soon decided which three would go, two males and a female, the strongest of the entire pack.
"Go fast and swift," said Thrascar, "Bring me their heads. Kill all that oppose you. Should you fail do not return or I will personally be the one who ends your lives." With that, the three were off and disappeared into the tunnels. Thrascar soon looked down at the male, "As for you."
The wounded male looked up fearfully. He had been one of the strongest for his age and had never shown fear, except for now.
"Come with me," the Alpha demanded and disappeared into the enclosed space of his lair.
The young male looked back to the others in a plea for help but they looked away. He staggered to his feet and slowly slinked into the structure. A few moments passed then suddenly, a deathly scream came from within the building. The entire pack knew what had happened and quickly retreated back to there nest. They hated him, though they could not leave or be hunted down and killed. It they fought, they would surely die from his toxic bite.
Tessa looked at the others. They were quiet and still. She had to help he son or he would surely be killed. She jumped to her feet and rushed into the tunnel next to her nest. She had to stop them from completing their mission. She had to do it, the life of her son hung in the balance. It they found him, he was as good as dead.
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