Jurassic World: Apocalypse – Chapter 20: The Essence of Chaos
A/N: If there's one thing that can be learned from this chapter, it's that the Chaos Theory comes into effect whether or not Malcolm's around to promote it! This chapter's got some really great stuff, so I hope you all like it. By the way, thanks to everyone who's shown support for this story so far either by reviewing and/or following it. I may not respond to everyone's review, but I do read them all. It's really great to know people are liking this story. Please enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Jurassic Park except the very characters I've made up.
Anthony watched the screen and shook his head in disgust. From one of the few security cameras still online, he'd watched Rexy tear apart a gyrosphere, devour Gennaro, injure Malcolm and strand Kelly and Sarah. Arnold was already in the process of sending someone out there to retrieve them.
"We've got to get the Malcolm's in as soon as possible," Arnold said as he picked up the phone again to try making a call. "Drat. I can't get through to the ACU."
"Try a radio?" Owen asked.
Arnold nodded. "They're out too. Must be this storm."
"We've had far worse storms than this," Masrani reminded everyone. "This park was built to survive such storms."
"Apparently not too well," Ludlow mumbled.
In the corner of the room, a frustrated Claire put her phone back in her pocket. "I can't get through to my boys, I can't reach the ACU..."
"I know, I know," Arnold muttered. He placed his head in his hands. "I'm trying my best here. But nothing's working."
Hammond placed a reassuring hand on the technician. "It's alright, Ray. If we can bring dinosaurs back to life, we can solve this puzzle. What's gone wrong so far?"
"Just in this park? Let's see...fences are off, security systems all over the park are shutting down, a lot of the park's other systems are offline or malfunctioning, we've got our largest rex specimen causing mayhem in Gyrosphere Valley, three missing teenagers, Claire's nephews are missing–"
"And this," Anthony added. He pointed to his computer screen. Displayed was the view from another of the few working cameras. This camera was situated on the fence of Paddock 9, where all the Tyrannosaurus were contained. A large gap in the fence – undoubtedly Rexy's doing – was clearly visible. After getting past this fence, a tyrannosaur would have no trouble reaching just about anywhere else in the park.
As Anthony, Claire, Owen, Henry, Hammond, Arnold, Masrani and Ludlow looked at Anthony's monitor, they saw another tyrannosaur. This one was only around six and a half feet tall and 15 feet long – it was the juvenile. The juvenile T. rex cautiously stepped out of the paddock, sniffing the air in case of the larger tyrannosaurs it shared its paddock with. This predator was nearly as aggressive or strong as the adults, Owen knew, but he was aware that this creature was still fast and lethal, running far faster than the adults. Just then, a loud bellow sent the tyrannosaur sprinting into Gyrosphere Valley. It was followed by another, larger tyrannosaur, one nearly the size of Rexy. She growled and slowly stalked into the valley as well.
"Oh bother," Hammond uttered. "As if one free tyrannosaur wasn't bad enough. They'll all escape soon."
"What are we going to do?" Claire asked. "Now that the tyrannosaurs are out, they have access to almost every region of the park. Visitor lives are in danger." Everyone looked at Simon Masrani, one of only two people who could make the final decision right now. "It's you and Hammond's call."
Masrani frowned and rubbed his chin. "I don't want to put the guests on high alert..."
"We can use the inclement weather excuse," Hammond offered.
"But everyone would have to remain either in the Innovation Center or the hotel. We'd have to keep Main Street completely clear."
"That would be rather suspicious," Ludlow added.
"Exactly. Let's try to hold off on clearing out tourists for another ten minutes. If we can't raise the ACU by then, then you have my permission to get everyone to safety."
"And what are the ACU going to do?" Claire inquired.
"Get those T. rex back where they belong."
"Oh, and since we're spilling the bad news," Anthony remembered. "According to our dinosaur tracking system–"
"It's still online?" Arnold asked in surprise. "One of the few things around here."
"...as I was saying, the Dilophosaurus are escaping their enclosure as we speak, the Pachycephalosaurus are trying to headbutt their way out of their paddock and...someone's trying to feed an ice cream to a Triceratops."
"The spitters?" Henry asked. "That's not good. Where's ACU? Shouldn't they be back here by now?"
"I'll try to raise them again," Arnold said.
"Well, you guys keep working on things in here," Owen said, "I'm going to my research station. Don't want the raptors going crazy because of the storm too. They're the last thing we need escaping right now."
As Owen headed out the door, Claire looked up at the giant monitor on the wall which showed the park map. Six red dots representing carnivores – in this case, T. rex – were leaving Paddock 9. The seventh tyrannosaur, Rexy, was long gone by now and seemed to be among the Triceratops herd. Meanwhile, more red dots toward the northwestern part of Nublar representing Dilophosaurus were also leaving containment. Where they were headed, she could only guess. Zach and Gray are still out there, she thought. I hope they're safe...what am I talking about? Of course they're not safe! They could be anywhere on this island! She decided that she couldn't wait for the ACU. She needed to make sure her nephews were safe right now! She needed Owen.
"Mr. Grady," she said. But Owen had left. Quickly she hurried out the door to find him. Leaving the Control Room, she found herself on the busy second floor of the Innovation Center among droves of tourists trying to get out of the rain. She found Owen on the first floor, walking past the holographic platform which now displayed a life size Pachycephalosaurus. "Owen!"
Owen turned around in surprise as Claire rushed down the spiral staircase to reach him. "Owen," she said, "I need you. My nephews are still out there and I haven't been able to raise them and I've already–"
"OK, OK," Owen said. "Just calm down. How old are your nephews."
"They're both in high school, I think. Or maybe one of them is in middle school. One of them is a little over three quarters my height, and the other is–"
"You don't know how old your nephews are?"
Claire bit her lip, dreading the answer. The truth was, she was a certified workaholic. Ever since she went to university to obtain her degree in genetics, she'd pretty much neglected everything else in her life that she cared about. When she became asset manager of the park, she only grew more busy. In fact, she was so busy that prior to her nephews coming to the park, she hadn't even seen them in seven years.
Owen nodded. "Alright, my motorcycles this way."
Gerry Harding knew that with the tyrannosaurs running free, it was far too risky to try and make it to the park's hub. So instead, he drove through Gyrosphere Valley and through a gate that led into the Restricted Area. It was dark and rainy, but fortunately Harding knew exactly where he needed to go.
"Aren't you going to try raising the Control Room again, Dad?" Jess asked.
"I've tried five times already. The storm's gotta be messing up the radio's frequency. But I think where we're going will have reception. At least I hope it does."
"What if the T. rex finds us out here?"
"It won't sweety. We're miles away by now. Ah! I think we're almost there."
Bursting out of the jungle and into a clearing, Harding and Jess came across what looked like a large shed and a dinosaur paddock nearby.
"We're here," Harding said.
After they got out of the jeep and walked toward the building, they ran into...
"Dr. Sorkin," Harding greeted.
Dr. Sorkin turned around in surprise. She was standing in the building's garage with a David Banks and three teenagers standing in front of a large metal bucket of lime green liquid. "Dr. Harding! Nice to see you at a time like this! What brings you out here?"
"We had a bit of an incident in the valley," he answered. "Do you know what's going on? Rexy's escaped."
"Rexy's escaped?" David said in alarm. "Oh my gosh. That makes two escaped dinosaurs."
"What's the other one?"
"The hybrid."
"That's right. I remember now."
"Wait, there's a hybrid dinosaur at this park?" Jess asked excitedly.
"Yes, unfortunately," Dr. Sorkin answered. She winced. "I don't think I've met you."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Harding apologized. "This is Jess, my daughter. Jess, this is Dr. Sorkin and David Banks. They're some of the park's scientists." Harding pointed to the three teens standing behind Dr. Sorkin. "And who are they?"
"This is Tom, Alaina and...Brianna, right?"
Brianna nodded. "Yeah, you got it."
"We were in one of the gyrospheres and we got attacked by the Indominus," Tom explained. "After barely escaping alive, we made our way here."
"Gosh," Harding breathed. "That monster's a mess. We need to contact the Control Room. Are you walkie-talkies operational."
"I'm afraid not," Dr. Sorkin explained. "Everything's offline. I can't even access the security cameras from my computer anymore."
"Nice."
There was a moment of silence, the only sound was the never-ending pitter-patter of rain.
A loud dinosaur roar was heard in the distance. Jess shivered at the sound.
"Hey, don't worry, kid," Dr. Sorkin comforted. "We're fairly geographically cut off from the rest of the island out here. Nothing but herbivores around these parts."
"Dr. Sorkin?" Alaina asked. "I think the rain's letting up just a little bit. Can we take this to the parasaur enclosure now?"
"That's probably not a bad idea," Dr. Sorkin agreed. She turned to the Hardings. "Dr. Harding, perhaps you and your daughter would like to assist us. We've been working on a cure for one of our dinosaurs' genetic disorders."
This seemed to peak Harding's interest. "Oh? Which one?"
"It's dietary. Right up your alley."
Within the next few minutes, Jess, Alaina, Tom, Brianna and David were hauling the liquid-filled bucket up the steps that led to the catwalk surrounding the parasaur pen. Gerry and Dr. Sorkin trailed behind them.
"So what is it you've done?" Harding asked.
Dr. Sorkin beamed. "Reversed the Lysine Contingency, of course!"
Harding's jaw dropped. "Wait! What?"
"What's that?" Jess asked.
"Essentially the Lysine Contingency is a genetic defect that causes the dinosaurs to die off without their weekly supply of lysine," Tom explained.
"Why would Jurassic World's scientists do that?"
"The Lysine Contingency was put in place to ensure the dinosaurs didn't escape the island," Harding told her. He turned to Dr. Sorkin. "What are you thinking? You can't give that to the dinosaurs! They need to be contained."
"Hold on, hold on. Hear me out, OK? It's only experimental and we're only giving it to the parasaurs in this pen. How are they going to get out?"
"They might somehow."
"Look, I'm not as crazy as it seems. Don't you think the dinosaurs have a right to live naturally? I'm giving them that chance. In a hypothetical situation, what if one day my dream came true and we were able to release several of our dinosaurs into a nature reserve of more natural settings? My concoction will be able to cure the dinosauria of the Lysine Contingency that they won't need. They'll be able to live without intervention of mankind."
"That seems a ways off."
"Yes, but that's what we do with the scientific method. We test and experiment long before whatever we're trying to learn may come in handy."
Harding sighed. "Alright, just to these hadrosaurs though."
The teens sat the bucket down by the fence and looked into the enclosure. Despite the rain, the four Parasaurolophus were behaving normally, content to feed on the flora in their enclosure.
"I can't express how glad am to finally have you out here, Dr. Harding," Dr. Sorkin said, "despite the circumstances. We've been conducting behavioral communications experiments with these dinosaurs."
"You've interpreted their calls?" Harding asked.
"Some of them. You'll see what I mean when we let them out."
"Let them...out?"
"Well, I'm not going to treat their water with my lysine supplement while they're still in there. David, why don't you show Dr. Harding how to work the control panel?"
"Certainly."
"And you four kids can come with me."
"Sure," Tom acknowledged.
As they followed Dr. Sorkin along the catwalk, Alaina turned to Jess and said, "So your dad works here?"
"Yeah," Jess answered. "He's chief vet here. So he looks after all the dinosaurs."
"Wow," Tom said. "That's gotta be really cool."
"It is. We were treating a sick Triceratops earlier. We finally figured out why they were getting sick. It's been stumping my dad for months. So what brings you guys to the park?"
"We were with our school group. Then the we were in one of the gyrospheres when the hybrid dinosaur attacked us and...well, the rest is pretty self-explanatory."
"So the hybrid, what kind of dinosaurs is she made up of? Do you know?"
"I don't know. Dr. Sorkin said she's not officially unveiled to the public for another three weeks, so there's a lot we still don't know about her."
"But we do know that she's HUGE!" Brianna said. "She's bigger than a T. rex and has lots of gnarly teeth and long grasping arms. I'm still amazed we survived."
"I'll bet."
Dr. Sorkin explained to the teens that speakers were situated in various places around the paddock. Since she and David had learned and recorded some of their calls – sounds to indicate food, danger or to attract the more "amorous" dinosaurs – they could blast the sounds out of the speakers to move the dinosaurs around. After the Parasaurolophus were moved out of their enclosure by issuing the danger call, Dr. Sorkin, Tom, Brianna, Alaina and Jess mixed the lime-colored lysine supplement into the water supply. David meanwhile, kept Dr. Harding occupied by the control panel.
"Perfect!" Alaina exclaimed. "We're all done. Lysine is now fully-integrated into the diet of these dinosaurs."
"Excellent," Dr. Sorkin congratulated.
For a few moments, they watched as the Parasaurolophus fed on the shrubs growing outside their pen. Soon, it would be time to move them back in. But for now, they were free to roam. "Just like they always should have," Dr. Sorkin said. "To be honest, I never really wanted Jurassic World to be a theme park."
"You didn't?" Brianna asked.
"No. I wanted it to be a nature preserve. Of course, InGen's board of directors outvoted me and this park is what we built instead. There wasn't any money in a nature preserve."
Harding walked over to the group. "So you're all finished?"
"Yes, we are," Dr. Sorkin said.
Thunderclapped and the rain seemed to come down even harder.
Alaina held her hands over her head. "Good thing, because I think the rain's coming down hard again."
Brianna scanned the area. "Where's David."
"He went back to the Field Lab to see if he can reach the Control Room. Hopefully he can–"
"Wait," Alaina interrupted. "Do you hear that?"
Above the sound of thunder and rain, a mechanical whirring noise was heard, getting louder as it approached. Everyone looked around until they saw an InGen helicopter fly overhead, coming in for a landing! Alaina and Brianna cheered.
"We're rescued!" Brianna cried.
The helicopter landed on the ground between the lab and the paddock. Everyone quickly hurried to meet whoever was in the helicopter. The first person to exit the chopper was a solider – it was Billy Yoder!
"Yoder," Harding said. "You have no idea how glad we are to see you."
"Yeah, we are too," Billy responded.
"So David must have reached the ACU," Dr. Sorkin concluded.
"We haven't heard anything from the ACU. Radio's down. We were actually sent to fly around the northern part of the island looking for three missing teenagers. Then this storm was getting just too much for the chopper, so we barely made it here."
"Were the three teens attacked in one of those gyrosphere balls?" Tom asked.
"Yeah."
"That was probably us then."
"Well, now I'm extra glad we made it to Doc Sorkin's field lab."
"I'm surprised that wind didn't knock us down first," said Oscar as he exited the helicopter.
"You're telling me," said a dark-haired teenage boy who was also exiting the helicopter. His clothes were tattered and he was bruised in some places. However, Alaina instantly recognized him as one of the boys he met at the airport. He seemed to recognize Alaina too. "You look...familiar."
"Yeah, we met briefly at the airport," Alaina said. "I forgot your name though."
"Zach. My brother's name is Gray." He looked back inside the chopper. "Dude, we've landed. You can get out now."
In a second or two, Gray was out of the chopper and in the torrential rain, followed by D-Caf, the pilot of this chopper.
"What happened to you guys?" Dr. Sorkin asked.
"That dinosaur attacked us," Gray answered. "We were in a gyrosphere, and then someone insisted on going through the hole in the fence after we were told to get back to the station."
"Dude, how was I supposed to know that thing was out there?" Zach defended himself.
"Well, there was a big fence and it looked like something big had broken through it."
"Alright you two," Oscar said.
D-Caf sighed as he scratched the back of his neck. "Well, with this rain, I don't think I'll be able to get back in the air for a good while. Hope you don't mind if we crash here for a bit, Dr. Sorkin."
Dr. Sorkin shrugged. "I don't think you really have any alternatives. Thankfully, I've got some refreshments already prepared inside my lab. We can all get something to eat after we get the parasaurs back in their pen and–"
Suddenly, one of the Parasaurolophus stood up nice and tall and gave a loud, haunting cry. The other hadrosaurs joined in to create a chorus, all the while looking around the clearing. Dr. Sorkin bit her lip. "Oh dear..."
"Dr. Sorkin...?" Harding started. "What's wrong?"
"That...is the danger call," she said quietly.
"Well that's not good," Billy said.
The foliage near the edge of the clearing moved – something was definitely close by...and it likely wasn't friendly!
A/N: Well, this just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser, doesn't it? What dinosaur do you think is stalking Dr. Sorkin and the others? How on earth will ACU get seven tyrannosaurs back into their paddock? Will the tourists be in danger? I guess you'll have to wait to find out! But man, I am so excited to write the next chapter. As always, please be sure to favorite, follow and review on this story and I'll publish the next chapter in two weeks. Spare no expense!