For three days, Mantah Corp had treated Claire and her group to all the necessary benefits to their current situation. With the help of the medical officers, Grant was getting checked out and healed fast. Zia and Malcolm had been successfully retrieved from the remains of the observatory. Grant had been given a large shot of sedative and had to stay in bed for while to stop the spreading of the infection of the Pyro's bite.
Claire and the others had been told what happened to Franklin. Needless to say, it was a blow to them. But none of them were as broken by this news then Claire. Of course, Zia was right next to her about that little fact, having known Franklin just as much as she did. None of the group was prepared to lose on of their own on that voyage. To them, death by dinosaur was no stranger, but it was not one that they had ever anticipated. When he had come to, Grant shared his discontent with the news of his comrade's death. He was heavily bandaged but held up as best he could.
He leaned on his crutch as he limped over to a bench on the shore. The Mantah Corp ship had parked itself on the beach and had kept high security around the camp to ensure the safety of the group. He saw that Claire was on the same metal seat, her face turned away from him. Being a retired old man, Grant was no stranger to the emotion of acceptance. He sat down next to her. "Claire."
She quickly turned her head to him. "Oh, um, Dr. Grant! Good to see you."
"Yeah, and it's Alan." For as long as he could remember, the only two people close to him besides his own family who had called him 'Alan' was his old site manager Billy Brennan and, of course, Ellie. In this case, however, he wanted to drop the formalities with her. He had watched the news report of how the first Jurassic World incident went down. For the longest time since then, he viewed Claire Dearing as the new John Hammond. A mirror image of the man. And who could blame him? However, as time went on, he began to have a new perspective on the entire situation. Like John Hammond, Claire had shown clear remorse for her ignorance and worked her fingers to the bone to make up for it. She never wanted anyone to get hurt, neither one of them did. He knew that now. And now, looking at her in this state, he began to feel immediately sorry for her. She had just lost one of her closest friends. "Uh… I'm… I'm sorry about Franklin."
There was an awkward silence following that. Claire merely looked down at the sand below their feet as she held her hands together. Her eyes looked as if they had gotten a new perspective on the world around them. They were blank, filled with utter remorse.
"You… you wanna know the first time I met Franklin? I had been working under Masrani for three months. He was one of the tech interns. He and I met when Masrani was late for a meeting because of his helicopter. We bonded over talk about the Jurassic Park merchandise. We both called it 'Insensitive' and 'irrelevant.' He needed a job, he got one. He did find work elsewhere, so he didn't even get to be around for the whole Indominus incident. Lucky guy." She sighed as she shook her head.
"I had to find him after that, didn't I? I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. There's a lot that I'm not proud of. Meeting up with Franklin after making the DPG started all of this. It was all my fault, you know? If I didn't say to come here, none of this would've happened. It's like everything the past few years has been my fault. The Indominus. The Lockwood accident. The Dinosaurs going free. It makes me wonder what could've been different, looking back on all of that. And why did it all happen? It was because I was blind. Too blind to walk before I ran."
Grant sat there as the silence came again. He stared at her as she hung her head, immediately letting her have this silent moment for her friend. After that whole monologue of hers, all feelings of contempt and unease towards her dissolved. Even more so than before. The tired old paleontologist leaned forward in his seat as he tried to find the right words to say to her at a time like this. He stroked his beard as he looked around. His eyes soon fell on Ellie, as she conversed with two of the Mantah Corp mercenaries. Looking at his old friend gave him an idea on what exactly to say to Claire in this troubling moment.
"Um… I understand what you're saying. What you're feeling. Believe me, I've been there before. When you've seen half of the things I've seen, I can honestly say that it can stick with you. I've seen people come and go over the years. When John Hammond invited me and Ellie to visit his park, it was my first ticket to a new kind of world. Even when things went wrong, I knew that things would still be changing. Sure, there were people lost in these incidents, but they didn't go in vain. There was always a time when I looked back and thought to myself 'Was there something I could've done different?' And being in retirement for sixteen years gave me a lot of time to think about that. I also started think that maybe there wasn't anything I could do. Maybe sometimes, it takes a few losses to realize the big scheme of things. The full story of what's going on around you. Playing God is usually something you can avoid, but that's on other people. The main thing to decide is what to do for yourself. The world is changing, Claire. The question is: how do you plan to change?"
Just as Grant had listened to her, Claire had listened to everything he had to say to her. This entire speech of his seemed to not only show her that he knew how she felt, but showed her that he was not that much different from him. She had only heard Masrani mention his name out of context when talking about Hammond. But she never really met him before joining with InGen. Now that she did, she learned that there were, indeed, people who felt the same kind of remorse she had felt since 2015. So many people had suffered because of her mistakes. People lost their jobs. Lost loved ones. Were trialed and probated for their involvement. Not to mention the many lawsuits governed by Congress. And now, with another death on her hands, it helped Claire to know that there were still people on her side. All she could do now was be on theirs.
Before the two could exchange more words, the general had cleared his throat loudly. He walked in front of the group of survivors along with two of his subordinates. During the whole conversation between Claire and Grant, he must've been observing the Pyroraptor they had captured. Hopefully, they were close to a breakthrough on breaking its control.
"Excuse me, I will need to speak with you all on the ship."
*Later*
"At 0617 hours, a squad of Biosyn operatives, led by a one Lewis Dodgson, departed from their hidden base in Minnesota En Route to California. We have sent one of our spies to infiltrate their base and learned very valuable in formation." The general stood before the giant screen as everything he said was being displayed for the group.
"Each Therapod under their control have been injected with a strange substance called Hurisym. It is a serum capable of altering an animal's brain. Years ago, we had found a group of Lionesses attacking a village in Zimbabwe. Now, these were not ordinary hunting behavior. These animals were more crazed, more mindless. We studied them, and found that they had no Alpha Male. Their eyes were just the same as the pack today. In our study, we have learned more and more of the side effects of Hurisym. In ever attack, every sighting, there is a pattern. Something has called their attention away from the destruction they've caused. As we've studied the Pyroraptor that we've captured, we have come to a conclusion: They respond to Radioactive speech patterns. As you can probably already tell, Hurisym's side effects also include intolerance to Petromethane gas, which clouds their scent."
Claire watched the screen as it played the video of the Pyros running away from the gas bombs three days ago. "You're saying that these animals are responding to some sort of call?"
"Indeed, Ms. Dearing," The general nodded. "Similar to that of Raptor behavior. With further study on the effects of Hurisym, we have learned that the creatures may not have any further recollection of what happened before their injection. They have become weapons of war. Now, for several months, we had been seeking whatever it was that Biosyn was using to control these animals. But then, yesterday, we found our answer."
He then swiped his finger across the screen again to show a forest in California. The picture showed something roaming about. Something that Claire had thought she would never see again. A Velociraptor. And this one was a male. Around the Velociraptor stood several men wearing Biosyn uniforms. And then they could see the Spinosaurus and Giganotosaurus belonging to the pack as well.
"It appears that the public decree of Velociraptors going extinct was indeed proven false." The general pointed out. "According to our research, that little device in its head is meant to shock its brain whenever Mr. Dodgson feels like it. Shock therapy, if you will. Apparently, shocking it is to give it commands against its' will. It also automates its sounds, hence control of the pack." He then turned his head to Malcolm, who had his hand raised. "Yes, Mr. Malcolm?"
"Uh, yes. I would just like to ask, um, Mr.?"
"Hardy."
"Mr. Hardy," Malcolm stammered, as per usual. "I happen to have a bit of a question. Um, do have any, um, kinds of, oh, I don't know, what's the word? Theories, that's the word. Theories on what it is that these people are even doing? I mean, why exactly are they launching these kinds of attacks in the first place?"
"We wondered the same thing, Mr. Malcolm." Hardy explained. "Until the presentation Dodgson gave to the Illinois Congress just a week ago. You see, his little campaign has gone into production to a new government legislature. Biosyn has more advanced electronics than InGen and Mantah Corp combined, but unfortunately, they lacked the properties to create their own dinosaurs. What they did have, however, was terrorism. Long before even John Hammond's dream of a park, Biosyn has worked behind the scenes on illegal activities. When there were those who opposed them, one minute they're there, then they know a guy. With their advanced technology, they have become the most secretive terrorist organization in the world."
"So, you're saying that they want to become the new Government?" Sattler assumed.
"Precisely, Mrs. Sattler." Hardy nodded.
"Uh, it's Ms., now." Sattler said awkwardly. Now this was something that had caught Grant's attention. Last time he was in touch with Ellie, she was married with two young children. 'Dinosaur man', that was what they called him. Even her Parrot had called him this. So, hearing that she was single now was something that had surprised him. Geez, how long had he lost touch with her?
But of course, the clearing of Hardy's throat snatched his attention back.
"Anyways, we have kept surveillance on these people. It turns out they have informants all over the US borders. With the gathering of this many mercenaries, this would make the biggest conspiracy the world has never seen. We managed to listen in on one of their conversations. Romano, play the transmission."
One of the mercs present nodded as he typed across his keyboard. As soon as he was finished, an audio sample appeared on the large screen. When opened, the group could now hear the voices.
"-Baselton, have you got the bazookas ready?"
"All over it, Lewis." Came the other voice.
"You got a layout of the place?"
"You know it. According to my calculations, Z667S should give the exact order. When the pack chases them down that direction, they'll spill out onto the freeway while H522P and F116W chase another portion into that neighborhood down there."
"Excellent! Just like Wu said. Attention all Biosyn employees. The day has finally come for us to begin our greatest achievement. For as long as InGen has prevailed, we have been there pulling its strings. We have been there behind it all, and now our time has come. With the push of this button, we will begin our assault on the world and give it what it has lacked: A Government worthy of ruling them. Today marks the beginning of the new world that Wu has promised us. A world under the watchful eye of Biosyn. Standby for further instructions."
"Alright, that's enough." Hardy waved his hand, and the audio was cut off. He then turned back to Claire and her remaining companions. "We now know what they are planning. We know where they will strike. What we ask now is your assistance. Are you with us?"
"Heck yeah." Zia stood up. She knew all too well that it was all Biosyn's fault that they were on that destroyed Island. It was their fault that Franklin was gone. She wanted to get them back in any way that she could. Hurt them like they hurt her. Like they hurt Franklin's family.
Once everyone else agreed to assist in assisting Mantah Corp, Hardy then nodded to his men. "Load up, men. We sail to California ASAP. Make sure the creature is safely guarded until we deliver him to the labs."
Within thirty minutes, the mercenaries of Mantah Corp had loaded everything up from their campsite, and loaded the ship back up. The time to act was now. If no one else was going to stop Dodgson and Wu's wretched plot for controlling the world, then the job would fall onto Claire and company. The ship then departed from the shores of what was left of Isla Sorna. Away from Biosyn's hounds, who they had most likely not heard the last of. But there was someone else they had not heard the last of.
Rexy.
The tired old queen stood on the sand as she watched the great ship float out of sight. The wound on her leg was still bandaged up from her encounter with Zia. She had gone through her fair share of encounters with humans. She had little to no care for them. They had never done anything for her but lock her up three different times, create a usurper as queen of Nublar and. So why? Why, in a world overrun with Dinosaurs, would a human help her?
It had baffled her to the point of having to stare at that stretch of water for a while. None of those weird feathered things dared to try and attack her, even in their crazed state. That Cantho had taken one look at her and swam back over the ocean.
The nine-ton queen blinked her yellow eyes as she gave a low grunt. Rexy could not see the female human who had help heal her injury, but she could only guess that she was on that boat. She breathed slowly as it slowly disappeared from view. And that was when it hit her.
Perhaps the reason this human had helped her was that she felt something. Something that she, Rexy, had not felt for their kind before. What exactly was the word for it? Oh yes, she remembered.
Empathy.
She was not sure that she would have done the same if the roles were reversed. All the times in which she had helped their kind was purely out of instinct, not because she felt bad for them. She had always looked out for number one. She never had any care for those small humans. But now, she felt differently about them. This human had not locked her up like all the others. She had not judged her as a monster of evil. Perhaps now, she had better do something about it.
Suddenly, there was a loud sound behind her. It was the snapping of twigs. She did not turn around until she knew whatever creatures were coming out of the jungle were out on the sand. She turned her head to see three smaller adolescent Tyrannosaurs approaching. Two of them were female, a light brown like her. The third was a dark green, obviously a male.
She rubbed her snout against the snouts of each of her children. Besides the Pteranodons and Dimorphodons who all perched in the trees above their heads, these three had not abandoned her. She raised them since they had first hatched, out there in the world. Three years ago, she had laid them safely after learning she was not the last Rex in the world. And now, she was proud at how far they had come.
Now, it was time for them to return to the mainland.
Well, sorry for the long wait. My classes have always been my top priority, and I'm also looking for a Summer Job. Anyways, now we have a sneak peek at what Biosyn's notorious "Phase Three" will consist of. With Mantah Corp on Claire's side, the remaining group is on their way to try and stop them. Hopefully, they will make it in time. Also, it seems that Rexy and her children and followers are also willing to help the humans against the corrupt hands of Dodgson and Wu. Will any of them be able to stop Phase Three? Oh boy, the suspense is building up. Stay tuned all JP/JW fans, and Spare no expense.