THE LOST WORLD
2 - Unwelcomed Visitors
Days had passed since the strange and curious red-headed woman arrived at the island. Pet was laid out across a tree limb, as she usually was when she observed unknown individuals, and watched the woman photograph Stegosaurus. By now, Pet had deemed the visitor of no harm but was still curious to know how far this woman would go for her studies. When the herd of Stegosaurus started to venture away from where they grazed, the woman followed.
Sarah removed her backpack and set it down on the rocky creek bed to allow her to better navigate through the shrubbery. She cautiously neared the dinosaurs again and resumed photographing.
Off in the distance, Pet could hear the voices of people become louder through the undergrowth and turned her attention to the source. More people? Were they part of the woman's excursion? Pet lowered her mud smeared body more so onto the tree limb to better blend in with her surroundings. Her raptor-like eyes widened when she saw a familiar face amongst two other men; Dr. Ian Malcolm. Son of a bitch. Pet realized why the faint residual scent on the woman smelled so damn familiar. Wait, was he carrying a gun? Was that overly paranoid and obsessed with chaos man carrying a tranquilizer gun? Did he even know how to use it? Pet snorted a screech as unfathomable anger swelled within her.
The three men emerged from the tree line and charged through an ankle-deep creek to Sarah's backpack. Ian rummaged through it, saw a hole in the top of it, and panicked. He knew the dangers of the island and that anything could've happened, careful or not. "Sarah! Sarah Harding?"
Pet's eyes fell on the woman, still following the herd of dinosaurs, and tilted her head in curiosity. Why did that name, Sarah Harding, sound so familiar? The only other Harding Pet knew was a veterinarian hired to work at Jurassic Park. The herd of Stegosaurus started to move and towards the three men.
Heavy footsteps of the large, approaching animals had Ian momentarily frozen in place. The last time he heard massive strides on an island accompanied by prehistoric creatures a Tyrannosaurus followed suit. Moments later, several Stegosaurus wandered into view, taking the breaths away of Ian's companions. Ian, however, sighed in extreme relief that at least they weren't carnivores.
One of the two men accompanying Ian climbed up onto a fallen tree and started to take his own pictures. Sarah stood nearby and heard the other's camera click as it snapped a photo. She turned to see the man and called out joyously. "Hey, Nick!"
The man, Nick, stumbled backward and stared at the woman in shock. He chuckled to himself at the situation. "I guess you got the jump on us, didn't you, Sarah?"
Her laughter subsided, though, when her eyes fell on Ian standing not too far away. He heavily sighed in an attempt to keep calm as she spoke. "Ian, I never thought in a million years Hammond could get to you come here." She climbed down off the tree and waved to the third man in the group. "Hi, Eddie. Got a granola bar or something? I'm starving."
Eddie waved back to the woman and smiled. He watched the reunited couple chat amongst themselves when the movement of something up in a tree got his attention. His pleasant smile dropped his face just as his eyes widened in disbelief. Before coming to the island, he had done extensive research on the animals as well as InGen's experiments. At one point, he had come across something he knew he wasn't supposed to find. His gaze stayed locked on the movement within the tree and in not wanting to alarm anyone, slowly turned to follow Ian now running after Sarah.
Pet knew she had been spotted, which was why she moved; to further reveal her presence. She snorted to herself and slimmed her gaze down on the group of people disappearing around a bend in the creek bed.
The howling of several Stegosaurus got the hybrid's attention, and she climbed out of the tree to follow the source of the sounds. She took cover behind a tree and watched as the woman, Sarah, tried to avoid getting attacked by the dinosaurs. Pet had to admit she found the situation quite amusing and smiled to herself. That was until she smelled it. Smoke from a fire. Further enraged, the hybrid took off in a high speed run through the trees and followed the smell. She arrived at the clearing Sarah had been camping in, but instead of finding a single tent, her eyes fell on a travel trailer and two SUV vehicles painted in a camouflage color scheme.
There, standing over the building flame in front of the trailer was a little black girl, roughly twelve to thirteen years of age. Pet growled to herself and knelt down amongst several ferns. She hated unwelcomed visitors, especially ignorant ones who insisted on introducing children to dangerous situations. Pet continued to hide where she was, uncertain of how long the little girl had been there. The hybrid didn't have to wait around for long when she heard the others run back.
Eddie called out, "Dr. Malcolm, fire, base camp!"
Already had arrived at the camp was Nick, him grabbing a large jug of water out of the back of one of the SUVs and dumping it on the fire. Sarah stated, "No! Water makes the smoke billow. Use dirt!" and started to kick dirt onto the fire.
Ian was genuinely puzzled. "Who started the fire?"
The black girl re-emerged from the trailer, this time with a skillet and spatula in her hand as she explained. "I just wanted to make dinner. I wanted it ready when you guys got back."
Even from a distance and through the fern leaves, Pet could see Ian's face turn several shades of pink before settling on a bright red in anger. He bellowed, "Kelly!? What the hell are you doing here?" He grabbed the skillet from her hands and set it down and reached for her arm next. He harshly tugged her to where one of the SUVs sat. "Eddie, where's that satellite phone?" Kelly leaned against the front of the vehicle and sighed. "Eddie, phone?" Ian turned his attention to the shorter man, noticing his back now turned as he looked off into the woods. "What? Do you see something?"
Eddie had a strong gut feeling they were being watched and intently scanned the several limbs of trees surrounding the clearing for the figure he had previously seen. "I did, earlier." He turned his attention to Ian. "Someone is out there, Ian. We're not alone."
"What? No, you couldn't have. There's no one else, here, Eddie. It's just us." Ian turned his attention back to Sarah. "You've been here a while. Have you seen anyone else?"
Sarah stood up from where she knelt over the smoldering fire and wiped at her brow. "No, it's just been me. I haven't seen any tracks or signs of anyone else here since I arrived."
Ian turned his attention back to Eddie. "See? There's no one out there."
Pet called out, "Wrong," and rose up out of her hiding spot. Her unblinking, raptor-like eyes locked onto Ian's dark ones. She sensed the sudden explosion of fear from him and snorted. "Hello, Dr. Malcolm."
Everyone's attention was on the newcomer now, disbelieving what they were seeing. "You?!" Ian backed away from the hybrid as she took a step more into the clearing. "You...you're dead. The letter Hammond sent me said so. There was proof. You were found dead!" The hybrid hissed a screech. "How...?"
Pet scoffed. "So that bastard kept his word, did he? Surprise." She growled. "Guess he's not as worthless as I thought."
"What?" Ian watched the hybrid proceed further into the camp, everyone but Sarah, drawing back. Pet's unsettling stare remained on Ian, the man realizing she was challenging him and went back to Kelly to protect her.
Pet snorted a louder screech. "You never should've come here."
Ian nodded in agreement. "Yes, I know this, but Hammond roped me into it." His gaze fell on Sarah, the hybrid sensing the shift of emotion from fear to worry.
Pet raised a brow in realization. "A rescue attempt, I see. Interesting." Eddie was about to speak but was cut off by the continuing hybrid. "Must be someone special to come back for."
Ian could feel the animosity in the hybrid's tone of voice. "Look, I know you're probably a little upset about being left-"
"A little?" She shrieked. "I was left behind...betrayed by the people I thought were my friends! My father most of all! He swore to me he would personally come back for me the first opportunity he got! But...he...didn't..."
Nick jumped when he heard the shriek from the newcomer. Ian tried to remain calm and licked his dry lips. "John Hammond did what he did to protect you. He explained to us why he had to leave you... and he was right. Hammond was right." The hybrid shrieked a bark and dug her sickle claws into the dirt. A flicker of fear flashed in Ian's eyes at the thought of what that claw could do against flesh. "InGen had someone waiting on the mainland, ready to shoot you. You would've died, Veronica."
That name. The moment that name left the man's lips it slammed into Pet's chest and knocked the air out of her lungs. She gasped and blinked in surprise. Dr. Alan Grant had given it to her the night in the tree. Hearing her be addressed by that name again only peeled away the scab to an un-healing scar. The hybrid released a shrill in anger and lunged at the man. Ian grabbed Kelly and barely avoided the attack as the hybrid landed on the hood of the car. She knelt there a moment and glared over her shoulder at the man shielding the little girl.
Ian continued. "Trust me, we all wanted to help you. We really did. It didn't feel right leaving you behind, especially after everything you did to help save the kids. Hell, even Dr. Grant wanted to go back and get you himself."
The hybrid snarled a hiss. "And Robert?"
"Who? Oh, oh yeah...the game warden. Yeah, he was unconscious pretty much the entire time." Pet leaped off the car and paused where she landed next to it. "You being left behind is what saved you." Ian's gaze watched the angered features of the hybrid sink to sadness, and he felt bad for her. He turned his attention to Eddie. "Now, where's that satellite phone?"
