THE LOST WORLD

6 - Urgent Matters

Eddie couldn't recall the repelling rope fast enough. He was even making Pet nervous. Kelly was already a disaster of tears and crying where was standing. Her words couldn't be comprehended behind her mutters and spasms of sobs.

"I've got to go," the man kept repeating. "This isn't good, this isn't good." Eddie tried to fasten the belt around him, but his hands were shaking too much, and his mind too wound up to even focus. Pet took hold of his hands and brought it upon herself to do what he physically couldn't. Once secured, she held the man by the shoulders to steady him.

Pet nodded to him in question, and he nodded in response to the silent question. "Go. Now, go!"

The man quickly did as encouraged and quietly slipped into the treetops. Pet looked at the little girl and bit her lips together. Now to try and calm the kid down. If not for the girl's sake, then for her own. If it was one of the things she didn't like was a child in distress whether it be emotional or physical harm.


Roland continued to follow the prominent tire tracks through the forest and paused. Off in the distance were a series of furious roars. Burke exclaimed, "Tyrannosaur and it doesn't sound happy."

Another series of roars joined the first one. "They don't sound happy," concluded Roland. What remained of InGen's team continued down the vehicle trail only to stop yet again. There was a second series of tire tracks and not far from it, a winch secured to an industrial strength strap secured around a tree trunk. Roland followed the heavy-duty cable with his eyes until it was out of sight, but what he saw next furrowed his brow. "There's someone up there."


Kelly and Pet felt the High Hide jolt and start to descend. The hybrid forced a smile for the little girl's sake and nodded. "See? It's all right. Everything's all right. I'm sure that's your father, now, coming to get you himself!"

But the hybrid found herself wrong when she watched a group of people come into view beneath the tree. InGen. She screeched a shrill and hid Kelly behind her. The hybrid knew the men weren't going to be very happy at what happened to their camp and dreaded the worst. Surely, they wouldn't bring harm to the little girl, would they? Pet didn't care what they did to her for she knew it was coming, eventually. One can only run for so long.

Kelly began to cry again as she tightly hugged the hybrid before her. The bottom of the High Hide's cage touched the ground, putting Pet and InGen's team now eye to eye with each other. She snorted a hiss and bared her sharpened teeth in a growl. Her eyes were set sternly on that of the familiar hunter's.

Roland took one look at the hybrid, and his eyes lit up in surprise. "Pet!" He laughed to himself. "You're still alive!"

He reached for the cage's gate and opened it, but stopped shy of going in when he received a fierce shrill of a bark in warning. He was mistaken, though. Her attention was not on him but Ludlow instead. Roland felt a sense of dread wash over him at Ludlow's expense. He remembered everything about the hybrid from the few hunting trips he joined her and Muldoon on. The way her claws tore through flesh was both painful and gruesome to watch.

Nervously, Roland cleared his throat. "Pet? You remember me, right?" He took a small step over to the hybrid shielding the little girl. "It's okay." She shrilled again. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Her raptor eyed stare lowered on Ludlow, and she growled. "I'm going to enjoy disemboweling you."

The hybrid leaped up to attack the man but was stopped by Roland grabbing her. The two slammed against the railing, sending Kelly into a panicked scream. She scrambled to the other end of the cage and away from the fighting people. She yelped when two strong hands took hold of her by the arms and lifted her out of the cage.

Ajay tried to calm her. "Easy, little girl!"

Pet shrieked in rage and tried to fight Roland off of her but he was good. He was really good. He had her wrapped up from behind, and his legs crossed over hers. She shrilled and tried to squirm loose. The only other person she knew capable of restraining her this effectively was Robert.

"Stop fighting," Roland growled into her ear. "You're only going to make it worse!"

Pet snorted a bark. "I won't let you bastards kill me!"

"We're not going to kill you, Pet!" Good thing Roland was no rookie to wrestling and restraining wild animals.

If only he had a gun. Ludlow watched the frantic hybrid, disbelieving what he was seeing. So, she was still alive. After he was told she was dead. The thought of being lied to infuriated him. He knew better than to believe that two-faced game warden from Hammond's zoo! His eyes took in every feature of the feral woman from her animalistic eyes, to her toothed jaws, clawed hands and finally to the signature sickle claws on her inner toes.

Pet shrilled and bucked within the man's grasp. Roland still refused to let the furious hybrid go. "Damn it, Pet, I'm not going to hurt you!"

Kelly yelled out, "Let her go!"

Roland neared the hybrid's ear and spoke in a low voice only she would hear. "I know you're better than this, Veronica." He could feel the woman subside in her struggling. "Yes, I know that name. Robert told me all about what happened on Isla Nublar and about your little crush giving you a name. What if he were here, now... your doctor fellow? Do you think he'd want to see you like this? I know that little girl over there doesn't." Pet snorted. "If I let you go and you start to act like a rabid animal, I will personally shove a tranquilizer in your ass myself."

Pet's heavy breathing sounded something like a series of lesser snorts, her eyes never leaving Ludlow's. Even as he backed away from the cage's railing did the hybrid never look away from him. "What about him? That nutless pig tried to have me killed..."

Roland looked to the company CEO and noticed his face washed of all color and eyes wide with horror. "Should he try anything, he'll have to get through me first." Pet could feel the hunter's strong embrace start to relax and she waited till completely loose.

Before Roland could stop her, again, she jumped the railing and lunged for Ludlow. The force of her impacting him knocked the air from his lungs and sent him to the ground in a thud. Pet held a clawed toe to the inside of Ludlow's upper leg and a clawed hand to his neck.

She snarled through clenched teeth, "I'm going to rip you open from top to bottom, you damn coward!" Her shrieking startled the man, and he shivered beneath the hybrid. Before she could carry through with her threat, a strong blow to the side stopped her.

Dieter kicked the hybrid off the executive that sent her sliding in the mud. Pet got up to attack him next, but Roland beat her to it. A forceful punch sent Dieter to a knee. A second blow sent him completely to the mud.

Roland pointed at the hybrid and announced to the rest of the men standing around. "This girl is under my protection! If anyone dares try to harm my goddaughter, then don't bother praying to God for help. God won't be here to save you." He cocked his rifle in emphasis to his warning. "Understood?" Roland went over to the grounded hybrid holding her side and visually looked her over. "I would ask if you're all right, but I know it'd take more than that to do any significant damage to you."

Pet cocked a smirk at him and scoffed. Kelly broke away from the Indian man holding her back and ran to the hybrid. She flung her arms around the other's waist, which drew a restrained growl from the older woman. Her jaw muscles flexed to not vocalize any weakness to pain after getting kicked. A clawed hand patted the little girl's shoulders, but her raptor eyed glare was on Dieter getting to his feet.

Roland blocked the hybrid's view of the other man. "I suppose you know who it was that wrecked our camp, hmm?"

Pet looked away from the man's piercing green eyes and snorted a laugh. "You fuckers had it coming, after doing what you did." She returned her watch to her godfather. "I thought you were smarter than that...capturing and taking a baby Rex from its nest? The fuck is the matter with you?"

"Calling the kettle black, are we? I saw yours and one other's footprints in the mud where the infant had been kept. Someone took off with it and seeing how it's obviously not here with you, it has to be somewhere!" The two people stared intently at the other.

Kelly was back to panic mode. "Daddy! We have to go check on him!"

Ludlow peered around Roland as he made sure not to overexpose himself to another potential attack. "Where is your daddy, little girl?"

Kelly looked to Pet, who glared threateningly to the executive. "Why, so you and your men can dispose of them before they break any more of your toys?"

Roland cut in. "They could be in danger. Just tell us where they are."

Pet's embrace around Kelly tightened protectively.