Jurassic Park Broken Lives
Chapter 41: Bad Tidings
Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic Park
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Amanda pulled her knees to her chest and continued to cry. They had found the cave and to her surprise the road to the building ran adjacent to the cliff in which it was housed. It was cool inside with damp walls and a cold limestone floor. Large stalagmites and stalactites rose up near the back of the cave and shimmered in an eerie glow as several holes in the ceiling allowed light to pass into the dark places. Silver Claw sat near by while Sophia and Zenith spoke to one another at the very back off the cave where none could hear them. Tessa took watch at the entrance though she seemed conflicted on whether to go and check on these humans that were searching for them or stay where she was.
"I can't believe he said that," Amanda wept. "How can you say you don't love your own daughter?" She tried wiping the tears from her face but more filled their place and then she felt Silver Claw touch her cheek with his snout. Amanda looked into his eyes and saw her own reflection and the sorrow she was in as well as that which she was causing Silver Claw. She tried to stop the onslaught of tears but they would not cease. Not since the day she was nearly raped in the cave had she felt so terribly but it was no stranger that had caused her such grief this time but her own flesh and blood, her father, which made it all the worse to bear. Never in all her life had she seen him so upset with her and her beliefs or thoughts.
"I don't know if I could ever get him to know you like I do," Amanda said to Silver Claw. "You deserve better than the way he treated you. If he knew you better, I'm sure he would accept you as a part of our family." She tilted her head so that her forehead rest against his snout and she closed her eyes. Amanda began to hum sorrowfully the tune Silver Claw would sing to her whenever she was upset. It seemed to do the trick, or at least help a bit because after a few minutes, her tears stopped and Amanda became silent.
Silver Claw didn't know what to do as she fell silent. He didn't want to say anything incase it upset her again but yet he wanted to comfort her. Slowly, Silver Claw moved closer to Amanda and let her head slide until it came to rest on his shoulder before he curled his head around and set it on her shoulder or at least the best he could. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and pulled him against her. Both could feel the others heart beating rapidly but neither could stop the pain they felt. Silver Claw exhaled deeply and began to purr deeply so that Amanda knew for sure that he was there to protect her. However, their peace was cut short as Tessa ran to them.
"There is a human coming this way," she said quickly. It is on a machine that I have not seen before but it is fast. It will be here in few moments. I suggest that we retreat to the back of the cave and wait to see if the human will just pass by." Tessa moved past Silver Claw and Amanda as they got up and followed to the back. Sophia and Zenith seemed surprised that they were interrupted but quickly hid themselves behind some several large boulders. Amanda crouched down with Silver Claw by some stalagmites but once everyone else was hidden, Tessa raced back a large boulder near the front of the cave and crouched down behind it. All became silent. A low, almost unnoticeable sound crept into the cave like that of a small motor but much quieter.
Amanda peered out from behind her hiding place and saw that Tessa was ready to pounce on what ever should move past her. She hoped Tessa wouldn't kill whoever it was, at least for now. She wanted to talk to someone in the group her father was in, though hopefully not him. The sound grew until a small motorcycle like machine slowed to a stop before the cave. Amanda squinted. Her eyes however could not distinguish whether it was male of female even. The difference in light was too great for even the raptors to see properly and the person appeared only as a silhouette surrounded by a blinding light.
The human slowly walked into the cave with a small flashlight in one hand and a handgun in the other. Amanda gulped when she heard the gun cock. The light from the flashlight created a blind spot in Amanda's vision as she tried to see who it was but a halo of light hid the human's face. She hoped that Tessa could knock the gun out of the human's hand before they got a chance to use it. The human was cautious and slow going as they moved deeper into the cave. They even checked behind every rock large enough to hide something that could be large enough to pose a threat to them.
Tessa prepared herself as the human grew within a few meters of her position. The next rock they would check was the one she was behind. The human moved to check the rock and Tessa pounced. With a loud thud, the human hit the ground and the gun slid across the ground and came to rest against the far wall. Tessa quickly pressed her killing claw against the chest of the human and hissed angrily bearing her teeth in front of the human's face. She called over the others but Silver Claw and Amanda remained hidden.
The human was panic stricken and shaking when Sophia and Zenith moved to Tessa's side. Sophia cocked her head. The human was a female about Amanda's size with violet hair. Sophia hissed and lowered her head to take in the human's scent. The human locked eyes with Sophia and seemed to light up with realization. "Friend," the human spoke in raptor. Sophia was dumbstruck. How could any other human know raptor but Amanda and why did she look at her and say it? She knew of none that lived on the island. Sophia looked back to where Amanda lay hidden. The human had spoke in raptor quiet enough that she doubted that they could hear her.
Amanda peered out from behind the rock though not enough to be noticed. "Well?" She asked quietly. Sophia told her that it was a female and then told her that she spoke 'friend' in raptor. Amanda's eyes widened and she slowly stood up. With deepening wonder and feelings of confusion, she made her way to Tessa's side. Amanda looked at the human and then nearly pushed Tessa to the ground as she leapt at the person and brought them into a hug, "Ellie!"
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Tom walked with his gaze turned down. Mr. Glendale had come back in a rage and he said they had some creatures to kill, which Tom suspected he meant Silver Claw. No matter how uncomfortable he felt around the raptor, as long as Amanda was in love with him, Tom figured he never would want the animal dead. They really seemed to care about each other from what he had seen. Tom looked up to see the three men he knew nothing about. "Who are they Mr. Glendale?" Tom asked quietly. "And why did they bring you here?"
"They were coming here anyway so they said they would bring me," Mr. Glendale replied. "As for their names, the man who was talking to you earlier is Mr. Dodgson, the large man on the left is Cam and the tall one on the right is Ryan. I don't know what they're doing here but they came supplied with enough stuff to fight a small war. I say let them too, I hope every last creature on this island is going to die and soon."
"You know that that isn't really fair," Tom said in defense of Amanda and Silver Claw. "They have the right to live as much as you do." Tom received a glare from Mr. Glendale that chilled him to the bone. "Boy, when you've lost as much as I have to this god forsaken island, then you can come talk to me like that. I've lost my wife and my daughter. I have nothing left and if it's the last thing I do, it will be to destroy this place!"
"Quiet!" Mr. Dodgson said and raised his arm. "Where here but something is watching us." He looked around and spun to open fire on the metriacanthosaurus that had harassed Amanda and Tom earlier. The creature was quick to fall and soon it lay dead from a dozen bleeding wounds that were centered on its heart and head. It didn't even get a chance to call out. Dodgson looked at the one called Cam and gestured him to the body.
He walked slowly and cautiously towards to body. A slight twitch made him stop but he quickly started to move again. He pulled out a large case from his backpack and then opened it. Inside were numerous syringes and tube like what they used at a doctor's office to take blood but with much larger tips. He put together one of the needles and stuck it into the neck to the metriacanthosaurus. After he was done drawing the blood, he put it in a special canister and put everything away. The man then walked back and joined them.
"What was that about?" Mr. Glendale asked almost a temperamental manner. He was remained of the agreement by Mr. Dodgson about the terms of his coming with them but Mr. Glendale didn't seem to care anymore. "What are you actually doing here!?" He demanded to know and crossed his arms. He received an evil glare from Dodgson and then a rifle aimed at him.
"You really want to know why I allowed you to come with us," Dodgson said, "We have a problem with finding certain dinosaurs on this island before they find us. You and your daughter were going to be our bait for the tyrannosaurus among others. You see our goal was never to bring you back with us. We were going to use us to help in collecting blood so that we may make our own dinosaurs eventually without the risk to ourselves. My corporation will surpass what InGen." He raised his rifle and seemed as if he were going to shoot. "I have no other reason to keep you alive so if you wish I can spare you one of the more painful deaths you may receive later or not. Now are you going to be complicate or not."
Mr. Glendale was breathing heavily when he said, "I hope you get killed you backstabbing jackass!" With that, Mr. Glendale made a run for it. He took off into the jungle with Tom running to catch up after a moment of hesitation. Several shot rang out and Mr. Glendale howled in pain but kept running. Dodgson stopped the others before they could pursue saying, "Let the jungle have them! I'm sure he'll attract something soon enough."
Mr. Glendale ran as fast as he could with a slight limp and clutching his right arm near the shoulder. Behind him, Tom was still running a steady pace without injury. Tom looked around with worry that another shot may hit him but none came as they got further and further away from Dodgson and the others. At last it seemed Mr. Glendale could run no more and he dropped to the ground. Tom stood looking over him. A large trail of blood was running from under his hand and he seemed to be in a great deal of pain but it was not life threatening at least.
"Are you alright?" Tom asked attentively but he got his answer nearly yelled at him as Mr. Glendale said, "Of course not!" Tom didn't know what to do, the first aid classes were never offered in school and he had no knowledge of how to treat wounds like his. Instead, Tom looked around them for any danger for he knew it was never far in this jungle. They were in a small clearing surrounded by large trees and thick brush. The perfect place to be attacked, Tom thought to himself uneasily. He looked at Mr. Glendale and told him they should get moving before something found them.
"Ah…" Mr. Glendale groaned and stood up. This was one thing that he would not disagree with. He looked around but he figured that his leg would not carry him far before it gave out. "Let's just get in a tree for now." With that he moved to the nearest tree that seemed to have enough spots to allow for easy climbing and started his accent to the highest point he could. Tom quickly passed him and helped him as he started to grow weaker. At last they reached a point in the tree where they could go no higher and Mr. Glendale sat with his back against the tree panting heavily.
In the clearing bellow, Tom spotted some movement. Out of the bushes stepped a small creature that resembled the raptors but smaller with a crest on its snout and but not claws like theirs. It sniffed the ground where some of the blood had trickled onto and then looked up. It gave a harsh barking growl and started to circle. Mr. Glendale looked down for a moment and then the world turned black as he saw no more.
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Amanda hugged Ellie as tightly as she could. She didn't care that it was putting pressure on the wounds on her arms from the glass and causing her some pain. It was Ellie! She had come back and now they would to talk to each other again. Amanda squeezed even tighter. Ellie laughed and hugged Amanda back although she was surprised to see Amanda on her first day back to Isla Sorna. At last Amanda was the one who broke the hug but grasped Ellie's shoulders with a smile on her face.
"Hi Amanda," Ellie said. "Long time no see." Amanda laughed. "I don't know where to begin asking questions right now. It's so good to see you." Ellie looked at the three raptors she didn't know and they stared back at her. She felt a little uneasy around them though a first she thought the female was Sunayana but soon realized that was not the case as she had much different makings on her scale than Sunayana did. "I think I know where I'll start though. Who are they?" She pointed to the raptors.
"Oh, they're my other friends. The green one is Zenith and the one next to him is Sophia and next to her is Zenith's mother Tessa." Amanda said. "I just met Tessa and Zenith recently. And Sophia after an unpleasant reunion with Silver Claw after he thought I was dead. Loki was with us at that time but he went home some time ago. I've had a little bit of an incident though with a tyrannosaurus, that's why there are bandages on my arms and legs as well as my chest."
"I'll asked you about some of that some time later but are you sure that they are totally trustworthy. I mean remember Tyrannous and what he did, or tried to do." Tessa seemed to perk up at the mention of Tyrannous and listened more intently. "He did try to kill us several times and you shot him which made it all the worse." Tessa's lip twitched at the mention that Amanda had shot Tyrannous.
"Yeah I know but I believe Tessa and Zenith are friendly enough, well Zenith is more than any raptor I've know," Amanda sighed and leaned back using her arms for support. "Last Silver Claw heard of Tyrannous, he was surrounded by a pack of the browns because he did something that I can't recall right now. I hope he's dead." Tessa snarled causing everyone to look at her.
"You shouldn't wish death on anyone Amanda," Tessa said angrily. "Not even your enemy. You should only kill to survive and nothing more." She stared at Amanda and Amanda quickly looked away under her gaze. "I hope on the other hand that he was not dead."
"What," Silver Claw snarled. "He killed my parents and my siblings and several other members of my old pack. He deserves death for what he did to all I knew. If I could, I would kill him right now!" Silver Claw jumped back as Tessa roared at him angrily and showed her teeth in a rage surpassing his of humans when he thought Amanda was dead. She raised her claws and made herself look even large than she was. None of the raptors compared to her in strength and she knew it. She found it hard to restrain herself from attacking him but some how managed.
"What wrong with you," Amanda asked and backed away from Tessa slowly. Ellie moved towards where her gun had landed. Tessa stared at Silver Claw and he was forced to look away under her gaze like Amanda. Tessa relaxed slightly and looked at Zenith to see him in as much confusion as everyone else. Even Sophia had backed away.
"You wouldn't understand," Tessa said in a soft, saddened tone as if recollecting on something that happened long ago. She looked at the others to see them still staring at her in fear and confusion still. "Just don't insult Alex around me again."
"Alex?" Amanda asked in puzzlement. "We were talking about Tyrannous. Where did Alex come from, who is he?" Amanda got a cold glare from Tessa. She was quiet for a while, while looking at Amanda and then she spoke at length with a deep tone of saddened memories and long lost times.
"Tyrannous and Alex are the same. Alex was his human name before we escaped from the cages. He hated humans for keeping us separate and then he thought they had shot and killed me one time when I did escape to see him, that infuriated him even more. His hatred of your kind Silver Claw comes from the time he escaped and ended up in the wrong cage with your kind after they moved me to another area in hopes that he would stop trying to escape to see and that he would not find me again. They attacked him and he nearly died because of it. Before then he was kind to all others, even humans some of the time but then he could not be happy around any of them, not even his own kind, save me." Tessa sighed deeply and the continued. "I loved him very much and I wish that he were here so we could be together again. I… was his mate, though I don't know if we still are together or not. It was so long ago that he may have forgotten me or even think I'm dead. We loved each other much like or maybe even more than you, Amanda and Silver Claw. Together we had Zenith, our child."
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Kari walked quietly behind the human. She had decided to let the human to live and that she would follow the human around for the time being. The human seemed to know that Kari was not interested in killing her but yet was uneasy. They had been walking for about a half hour and Kari was wondering where the human lived to be walking so far without a way to defend herself against attack. The jungle was calm and it seemed no large predators were in the area to the relief of both Kari and this human.
Kari continued to take in the strange scents of this place but one nagged at her, it was the human scent. It was so much different from everything else in the jungle. And it seemed to have to do with that stuff she had in her hair. The bottle that the human had had was gone because the ornitholestes had got hold of it and broken it which made the smell all that more attractive for predators to check out.
The human was timid by raptor standards, Kari thought. She seemed submissive to her when she gestured for her to move and even held herself like she was saddened by something. Maybe she could do what the human lover had done and teach this human to speak raptor. That is if she was able to speak at all because Kari had not heard a word from her yet. She wondered how the human lover taught his human to speak raptor in the first place.
The sound of the sea had grown much louder than when she was at the stream although Kari was sure they had gone away and then back towards it several times. Perhaps the human had only stumble upon the stream after walking for a long time and had no actually home. Suddenly, the human disappeared into a dense wall of brush. The sound of waves crashing was loudest on the other side. Kari stepped though and was immediately awestruck.
Kari was no longer standing on dirt like she was used to but a solid material like in the human compound by the nests of her old pack. It stretched some way down the shore to her right but stopped abruptly with jungle creeping onto it. Before her lay a massive body of water on which she could see large orange objects floating in places but in others it seemed clear. Some ways across the water was shore covered in dense jungle which led to a higher portion with steep jagged cliffs and then more jungle atop it. To the left of Kari was something she could never forget.
The odd grey material expanded outward and for some way beyond what she could see. Atop it were massive structures built by humans but like nothing she had ever seen back home. The buildings were much taller than the ones she had been shown and towered higher than most trees in the area. Large doors were open to most of them while the human vehicles lay all over the place, many of which had been knocked over by high winds or dinosaurs. Windows sat near the roofs of the buildings and most of those were broken or too dirty to see through. By the water's edge large cylinders lined the water and towering by them even more than the buildings was a crane. Kari blinked in disbelief of the sheer size of everything she saw.
Slowly, Kari's attention turned back to the human who had kept walking without notice of Kari's pause and was in fact over a dozen meters away. Kari ran to catch and soon came to a stop by the human and looked at her. She wondered how humans could build such sizable things with such small size and strength. She looked at the human and she looked back. "Amazing," Kari said even though she knew the girl could not understand her.
With a little of a tremor, the human stuck out her hand and reached towards Kari's head. Kari didn't know what she was doing but it seemed almost like she wanted to touch her, there was nothing threatening about it so she allowed it. She felt the human's warm touch and then heard her laugh a little. "Nice dinosaur," said the human. "Nice dinosaur, don't bite me."
Kari cocked her head. The human did speak but it was like she was giving her almost a command but an uneasy one at best. It didn't matter anyway. Kari wasn't going to bite but she wondered if the human knew she was understood anyway. She tried thinking of a way that she could let her know Kari could understand her. "I hope you're a nice dinosaur," the human said with a slight shake in her voice. With that Kari realized what she could do to let the human know. She nodded her head such that it was unmistakable from a normal movement.
The human paused unsure in what she saw. She was confused if what she saw was what she thought it was so asked a simple question that she never thought she would get an answer from. "Can you understand me?" When the animal standing in front of her nodded again after the question, she instantly thought of a dog taking simple commands and apes learning when taught how to understand humans. Could someone have taught it to understand humans or was it simply doing a movement or, was it actually able to understand her? Was there something she could do to confirm on side or the other?
"Sit," the human said. Kari looked at her confused, she knew what she said but why she had said it, she knew not. Kari did not want to take an order since she was no longer in a pack and so shook her head. She knew that simple gestures were easily understood by other species so she guessed that was how the human lover told his human what to do. She kind of wished that he were here to help her figure out how to speak to her.
"No," the human said a little confused. "So you can understand me and were not taught by anyone?" When Kari nodded again, the human continued. "I must be dreaming this can't be real." She pinched herself and flinched. "Ok, maybe not. So, are you actually a nice dinosaur that is not going to eat me?" Kari nodded once more but she didn't like not being able to speak to the human. "Phew, I was a little worried but I guess if you were going to you would have already. Are following me?" Kari nodded. "I don't know why but I guess you don't see many humans. Have you?" Kari shook her head. "This is a little too weird for me."
With a sigh, the human turned and walked towards a small structure by the edge of the water. It was sturdy with very little, but small windows. A large door was its only entrance. It was a single floor by the looks outside and only about a dozen meters in length. The girl had trouble opening the door but with a hard tug, managed it. She stepped into the darkness and disappeared from sight. Kari looked around and then slowly followed. Once she was in the darkness, the door shut.
Kari looked around, there was barely enough light for her to see but then a flash lit the area and she was temperately stunned. When her vision returned to her, she could see that the building was a single room filled with large machines though none seemed to be working. At the center of the building was a large round dome which the human was turning a handle on top of it. Kari watched with a curiosity in how humans used their machines and other things, she could learn from it and perhaps even use it someday.
A loud click echoed from the dome and with a lot of effort by the looks of it, the human pulled it open and started to climb inside. A musty smell hit Kari and she cocked her head before walking over to see what was down there. It was too dark for her to see and she didn't know how to get down. Another flash of light let her see that it was a dark room that she would have little room to move in. Kari watched as the human disappeared through a door and out of her sight.
Kari grew a little anxious. She wanted to follow but how could she get down the hole? The human had climbed down with her legs first but that wouldn't work for her because of her tail, not unless… Kari got an idea and walked past the dome. She looked back and slowly tilted her body until her tail was inside and then slowly, she placed her feet on the ladder and started down. It hurt a little to do so but once she was far enough in, she jumped off the ladder and once she was on the ground she turned around to see she was staring out the entrance of a large tunnel some ways under the surface of the water. Lights along the outside of the tunnel allowed clear view of the sediment along the bottom as well as the large number of plants and fish that lived around the tunnel's structure. It had an eerie feel to it and though she didn't want to go any further, she forced herself onward.
The clear blue waters around her were filled with an abundance of large fish which began to make her hungry again. She wished she could reach out and grab on that was too close to the tunnel but knew that the clear material holding out water could shatter easily when hit hard enough. She saw a door at the far side where she assumed the human was and so ran to it. When she stepped inside, she stopped, she was overlooking a railing with a stairway leading down but for sure she could not get down it for it spiraled down and no matter how much she could turn, she would not be able to get down it.
Instead, Kari looked over the edge and saw that there was ground with in a reasonable area where she could jump down without injury. She looked back down the tunnel, there was no where else the human could have gone so she climbed on the edge and leapt off. She hit the ground with a loud thud and looked around. Kari was along side a large rectangular section of water that was unusually still. On the far side was a door as well as one beside her. A small splash within the water caught her attention. Was it the human?
Suddenly a crocodilian maw burst from the water and Kari shrieked in fright as it snapped shut only a few inches from her body. It was nothing like she had ever seen. The creature was about three meters long with four broad flippers and a sleek blue-grey hide and blood red eyes that seemed to glow. The creature began to heave itself out of the water and tried again to get hold but Kari jumped back but was running out of room quickly. She heard a slam behind her and looked to see the human waving for her to come.
Kari didn't think twice about it. She ran into the room and looked back to see the human close the door behind her. Kari panted heavily, she didn't like deep water for that reason, she heard stories about the things that lived in it and they scared her. Her heart was racing but she felt like she was safe now. The human walked away from her and up a narrow staircase. This time, Kari was able to follow and soon she stood in another room like the building they had entered by but with many more human items that seemed out of place and even a few plants in jars along large windows overlooking the pool where several dark shadows beneath the water circled. Kari looked away to see the human sit on a large rectangular cushion and begin to cry. Kari lowered her head and slowly walked over to her.