Jurassic World: Apocalypse – Chapter 21: Thanks To Nedry
A/N: Once again, another fun and exciting chapter awaits you guys! Thanks again to everyone who's been showing support for this story. I'm really enjoying the time I spend writing it. Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Jurassic Park except the very characters I've made up.
Arnold shook his head in utter confusion as he stared at Nedry's main monitor. All he could see was several white lines of computer gibberish against a blue background. On the smaller monitor to his left was the annoying mock of Nedry's, "Uh, uh, uh! You didn't say the magic word!"
"Still nothing?" Henry said, leaning down toward Nedry's monitor.
"Nothing at all," Arnold answered.
"So what have we learned so far?" Hammond asked.
"It seems that when Nedry set up the de-bugging program, he used some hidden, self-made, command code. But I can't find out what it is. If I could, I'd be able to bring everything back online. That would be the first step. But I can't even do that."
A thought came to Henry. "Hidden, self-made computer command? Why would he do that?"
"Who knows."
"What do you mean by 'self-made'?" Ludlow asked.
"It's a computer code that Nedry seems to have installed himself, without my authorization. I specifically told that man to give me every computer code he installed." He turned to Anthony. "Any news?"
"The few times my call's even able to get through to Nedry's phone," Anthony said, "he's not answering."
"That weasel's up to something," Henry was convinced. "Otherwise why would he use a hidden computer command? What could he be trying to accomplish?" Arnold shrugged. Henry suggested, "Try looking at Nedry's most recent list of commands."
Arnold was surprised he didn't think of that himself. "You're the man to have in desperate times, Henry." Arnold scrolled down the list until he found Nedry's final command he'd entered: Whte_ .
"What does that mean?" Masrani asked, intrigued by the apparent hint of progress.
"Finally," Arnold announced. "There's the kicker. 'White rabbit object'."
"White rabbit?" Hammond asked in surprise. "What's that supposed to be? A private joke?"
"It's marked as an object though," Henry noticed. Knowing his computer terminology, Henry and Arnold were aware that an "object" was a block of code that could be moved around and used, like a chair in a room. An object might be a set of commands to draw a picture, or to refresh the screen, or to perform a certain calculation. "Let's see what it does."
Arnold went to program utilities and typed: FIND . In response, the computer flashed back: OBJECT NOT FOUND IN LIBRARIES. "It doesn't even exist!" Arnold exclaimed.
"Then search code listings," Henry suggested. Arnold obeyed and several lines of code began scrolling up the screen as the computer searched. Finally, it stopped. "Aha! It's not an object, it's a command!"
Arnold breathed quietly, taking it all in. "That little traitor. He set this up."
"Set it up?" Hammond asked. "What do you mean?"
"He used 'white rabbit object' as a trap door. The little weasel plugged it into the system as an object call, but it's actually a command that links the security and perimeter systems and then malfunctions everything. In summary, it gives him complete access to the entire park. He's had this installed into the computer the entire time, just waiting for the right opportunity to use it."
"That is a scary thought," Masrani said. "I want that mongrel brought back here immediately. Once we get back in contact with the ACU, they're going to bring him in."
"If Nedry intentionally caused all the systems to either malfunction or turn off, we should be able to reverse it," Henry said.
"But that doesn't explain why systems at the other parks are shutting down too," Arnold reminded him. "Something's up and Nedry's got a lot of explaining to do when we drag him back here."
Hammond said, "What can we do in the meantime?"
"All we have to do is figure out the command Nedry used. Whatever 'white rabbit object' does, it caused the computer to not file Nedry's keystrokes. The only way to find the proper command is to go through the lines of code one by one."
"How many lines of code are there?"
"About two million."
"Oh dear. Is there anything we know for certain right now?"
"Yes: I can't get Jurassic World back online without Dennis Nedry...if you want it up and running properly anytime soon that is."
Just then, Dianthus ran from his sleeping quarter in the Control Room toward Hammond. He rubbed his little head against his leg. "Don't worry, little guy," Hammond said. "Those dinosaurs can't get us in here."
And then, the door's to the Control Room opened and in stepped Vic Hoskins! His clothes were all wet and his shoes were soaked with water, as evidenced by each step he took.
"Hoskins!" Masrani exclaimed. "Appropriate timing. We need your men."
"Yeah, I can imagine that," Hoskins said.
"No, it's far worse than you think," said Arnold. "Security and other systems are either screwed or offline all over each of the five parks, all the T. rex and spitters are loose."
Hoskins frowned. "Hm, that's not good. How did that happen?"
"Nedry planted a back door into the system, giving him complete access to everything in the park. He used some computer command to screw up the park's systems and we can't get a hold of him."
"Are your men ready for action?" Masrani asked.
"Yes, sir. All except the Bravo Team – D-Caf, Yoder and Oscar – are back at the ACU headquarters. I expect they're grounded in the storm. I'll catch up with them later."
"I want my park back under control. And bring me Nedry. I'd like to have a word with him immediately."
"You're wish is my command sir. Where's Owen? He's good with dinosaurs."
"He went to go check on the raptors," Henry said. "Probably not a bad thing to do in a storm like this."
Blue snarled and snapped her jaws at Owen, who was standing on the catwalk above next to Claire.
"Hey!" Owen exclaimed. "I said 'calm down', Blue! Chill!"
Blue wasn't being a good influence on her sisters at the moment. When Owen arrived, Blue (who had been kind of testy since the storm started) was chasing Charlie around the enclosure, Delta was frustratedly clawing at the ground and Echo was howling like you wouldn't believe – in some bizarre way, the dinosaurs were distressed by this storm. Now that Owen was here, all the raptors had their eyes on him, even if they weren't being very obedient. Echo slapped her tail against Delta, who snapped back in reply. Echo swiped her claws at Delta in offense.
"I see you two!" Owen called down. "Knock it off, girls!"
"Why did we have to come here first again?" Claire asked. "I'm freezing in the rain and my nephews are out there."
"I needed to make sure these animals we're trying to escape. These are wild animals, you don't want them out of containment. You think your nephews are in danger now? Well, the escape of all the other dinosaurs in the park – including I. rex – is not nearly as bad as a raptor breakout would be, as you'll remember from what happened last year."
"Yes, I remember, Owen."
Charlie suddenly sprang up at Claire and snapped her jaws shut. "It's probably best you don't look them in the eyes right now, Claire."
"I think I can see that."
Owen got a clicker from his pocket. He clicked it. "Eyes on me!" The raptors instantly stood motionless in the rain, watching their alpha's every move. "Good! Wait for it...wait for it...release!"
The raptors dispersed and took cover from the rain under the foliage in their enclosure. Owen nodded in contentment. "I think they'll be fine. Let me just check on the other raptors."
Owen led Claire across the archway that got them to the catwalk above the other raptor enclosures, one containing the Utahraptor and the other containing Big One and her gang. He went to Big One's enclosure first.
"Alright, Big One," Owen said. "Where are you?" Silence. And not just the normal silence as if one were being stalked...a very abnormal silence. Owen winced. "That's not right." He quickly went over to where they kept the food, grabbed a dead rat and threw it in. The rat landed on the paddock floor, but was not instantly snapped up by a hungry Velociraptor. "Something's wrong." He went to the Utahraptor's paddock to find her appearing very absent. "I don't see what the pro...what's wrong with you?"
Claire's jaw dropped as she gazed past Owen. He looked in the direction she was looking in and gasped – a section of the wire fence had a hole in it, the wires all twisted and gnawed upon. The hole was large enough for an animal the size of a bear to escape. But more agility than a bear has would have been needed for the creature to leap high enough to cling to the fence in the first place!
"Oh my gosh..." Claire breathed. "The Utahraptor's out."
"Not again," Owen said. He hurried back to look in Big One's enclosure. Without waiting another moment, he began climbing the ladder to get inside.
"Are you sure about that?" Claire asked. "Remember how the I. rex tricked us into thinking she'd escaped?"
"I don't actually think they're in here."
Owen's floor reached the ground. Unlike his squad, he had no personal experience with these raptors. They had no relationship with him other than one they'd have with one of their prey items. If they leaped out in a surprise attack now, he'd have little chance of survival. But they did no such thing.
"Hey!" Owen cried. "Hey girls!" Still no answer. He walked away from the ladder, hoping to lure them out of hiding. Still nothing. This is when he noticed some large ferns that had been unnaturally pushed together into a green clump. Owen cleared the plant life away and gasped at what he saw.
"What is it?" Claire called from above.
"There's a hole. And it's leading right underneath the concrete wall!"
"How could they have gotten out? That wall's got to be at least 15 feet deep!"
"Apparently your contractors slacked off here. This hole wasn't dug out completely today. They've been working on this thing for weeks...and by the looks of it, they used these ferns to cover up their work so we wouldn't see it. I told Hoskins these guys were smarter than we think. I hope I can get a signal. I need to contact the Control Room."
Claire put her trembling hands to her mouth. Seven raptors...she thought. Looking out into the jungles of Isla Nublar, she knew seven Velociraptors were now loose and running free somewhere on the island. Things had just gotten a lot more dangerous. But where are they?
Dr. Sorkin's Parasaurolophus herd trumpeted loudly in fear and they rose to a bipedal stance and ran away. The foliage at the edge of the clearing continued to move. This time, a deep snarl was emitted. Dr. Sorkin, Gerry Harding, Jess, Billy Yoder, Oscar, D-Caf, Tom, Alaina, Brianna, Zach and Gray all froze. Something was stalking them.
"What was that sound?" Brianna asked.
"Oh no," Dr. Sorkin said. "Raptors."
"Raptors?" Harding asked. "That can't be. They're in their own concrete paddock."
"I'm not speculating, Gerry. Look!"
Out of the bushes, a six-foot tall reptile strode into view. It was a Velociraptor, and it wasn't alone. To its right and left were three other raptors, ready for the hunt. Dr. Sorkin instantly recognized the one in the centr of the group.
"The Big One," she whispered.
"Has anyone seen, David?" Tom asked.
At that moment, they saw David walking out of the Field Lab with a clip board in his hand, oblivious to the danger.
"DAVID!" Dr. Sorkin screamed. "RAPTORS!"
The Velociraptors shrieked and tore into the clearing on their swift hind legs. David saw the threat and screamed himself, instinctively running toward the group.
Billy looked up and spotted the water tower located in the parasaur paddock. "Get into that water tower, guys! Come on!"
Without hesitation, everyone ran. The calls of the raptors were still heard loud and clear. In fact, with each second they got closer. Tom's legs pumped and pumped. He wasn't typically a runner, but at this time, his life depended on it. Would they reach the water tower in time?
David's voice reached Dr. Sorkin's ears, "Laura!" Dr. Sorkin instantly gasped when she realized David was not in the group.
Risking a glance back, she saw David trying as hard as he could to stay a step ahead of the raptors, but the pack-hunters were quickly catching up. Dr. Sorkin stopped running and cupped her hands. "You can do it, David!"
But without warning two more raptors came from the foliage to David's right! The animals had scared him right into their trap. David had no time to flee as the first raptor leaped into the air, claws pulled forward. David held up his hands and screamed. The raptor dropped onto his body, knocking him to the muddy ground. The next flash of lightning revealed a horrifying scene – all the raptors were ganging up on David, tearing into him with their claws and teeth while David screamed in torment.
"DAVID!" Dr. Sorkin called out. But it was too late. David Banks, her close friend – the only person who ever really understood her – was gone. The scientist lifted her hands to cover her face as her eyes watered. She jumped in fright when something grabbed her arm.
"No time, Doc!" Billy told her. "We've got to go now!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, Big One looked up from the kill, her jaws and claws now stained red with blood. She was staring directly at Billy and Dr. Sorkin. A snarl escaped her mouth. In a flash, she called to the rest of her pack and they became aware of additional prey. Dr. Sorkin and Billy turned to flee, hurrying to catch up with the others who were already making their way up the water tower.
"Hurry!" Gray shouted.
Jess called, "You're almost there!"
While one of the raptors remained behind to feed on David's body, the other five were hot on Dr. Sorkin and Billy's tail. Dr. Sorkin was up the ladder first, followed by Billy, who narrowly escaped with raptors literally snapping at his heels.
"Holy cow!" Alaina exclaimed. "You made it!"
Dr. Sorkin breathed heavily, resting her body on her knees. "Yeah...we did." Despite her success, her voice remained dry and unexcited.
Below, the raptors leaped up at the structure, bearing their teeth and calling out. However, there was no way of them to climb up. Harding glanced over the edge at the voracious killers. It might take them awhile, but Harding decided that they would probably give up soon enough.
"We should be safe up here for now," Oscar said. "They can't reach us."
"You sure showed them, Dr. Sorkin!" said Jess cheerfully. But her happy expression faded when she saw that Dr. Sorkin was still visually upset. "What's wrong, Dr. Sorkin?"
"David..." she said quietly.
Harding frowned and placed a comforting hand on the paleogeneticist's shoulder. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Laura."
Nedry drove the vehicle forward in the rain. It was 1:58 p.m. He needed to reach the East Dock in two minutes. Thankfully, he was only about two minutes away. You've got time, you've got time, he thought to himself. You can do it. Come on, Dennis. He wasn't rushed because he was running late however; he'd received multiple calls from Anthony at the Control Room. Nedry was concerned that someone might have started to figure out exactly what he'd done to the park's systems. If he wanted to avoid getting into any trouble, he needed to get back to the Control Room fast.
After a final turn, he rode out of the foliage and parked, just beyond the tree line and out of sight from the East Dock's crewmen, who were hurrying to get everything secure so it wouldn't get damaged or misplaced by the storm. Nedry had made it to the dock with a minute to spare. Making sure the canister was in his jacket pocket, he quickly got out of the jeep and found Chadwick waiting for him, just like he always did.
"You're a minute earlier than usual," Chadwick said.
"Yeah, I know," Nedry said. "I think the guys at the Control Room might be on my tail. I've got to scoot back over there pretty quick. How'd you get here this time?"
"Supply ship. As usual. I might be stuck here for a while though. They're not leaving in this storm, I can tell you that! Anyway, so you've got the goods?"
"Yes. I got them right here." He removed the canister from his pocket and handed it to Chadwick. Chadwick grinned with glee as he unscrewed the top to check on the embryos inside.
Chadwick nodded. "Sweet. This is going to make Dodgson very happy." After closing the top, he handed a brief case full of money to Nedry. Nedry giggled happily.
"So...I've got to get back now."
"Yeah. You do–"
Suddenly, a high-pitched hooting sound, much like the whooping crane's call, was heard from somewhere in the jungle behind Nedry.
Chadwick panicked. "Ah! What was that?"
Nedry shrugged. "Probably just some dumb, ole bird."
Then, Chadwick gasped, his skin turning whiter than a sheet of paper. "Dude, that's no bird." He pointed behind Nedry.
Nedry turned to face the forest. At first, nothing out of the ordinary caught his attention...that is, until theropod with a double-crested head rose out of bushes. A whooping crane-like call escaped its mouth. It was a Dilophosaurus.
A/N: Nedry, Nedry, Nedry...that guy's really messed things up this time! So we've got malfunctioning park systems, Indominus rex, seven T. rex, several Dilophosaurus and NOW a pack of Velociraptors and a Utahraptor! How could things get any worse? Well, you'll find out real soon. Again, please be sure to favorite, follow and review on this story and be sure to come back and read Chapter 22 in two weeks. In the meantime, here's my word of advice: never hire Dennis Nedry to work your computer!