THE LOST WORLD
10 - For the Best
Burke struggled to remain conscious. His weight was becoming more and more burdensome to the two people damn near dragging him back to the wrecked camp. "Stay with me," Pet said, firming her grasp on the man's uninjured arm. "Come on, buddy, stay awake. We're lmost there."
The man's footing gave way, and he slouched, bringing Pet and the other man with him to the ground. "He's too heavy," groaned the man.
"Shut up and grow a pair," the hybrid wheezed and fought to get back up. "When I was thirteen, I picked up and carried a man twice my age, height and weight for quite a good way after getting bit by a poisonous snake. Do you want to talk about heavy? That man was pure muscle!" The two people were back on their feet and carrying the injured scientist. Up ahead, she could see the form of a Tyrannosaur sprawled out along the ground and figured it to be asleep. Pet yelled out, "Roland?"
At hearing his name, the successful hunter rose to his feet to visually search for the woman. "Pet?" He could barely make out the forms of three people through the steam clouds occupying the area. Something was wrong. She was carrying something, no someone. Someone was hurt. He took one look at the heavily sedated Rex and wasted no time to join the people. "What happened?"
"The Rex," Pet panted out and led them to a tarp stretched out on the ground.
Roland ordered the fatigued man out of the way and took over shouldering Burke's weight. "Get the med kit out of the tent over by the tree!"
The man grumbled, but did as told and disappeared within the tent to find the kit. Pet resumed. "It grabbed him by his arm and was about to make him into an hors-d'oeuvre."
"You have one sick sense of humor, you know that?" The two people lowered Burke onto the tarp. The injured scientist loudly groaned in pain and reached for his mauled arm.
He clutched it and cried out as the third man rejoined them with the white emergency med kit in hand. Roland ripped open the case, and Pet dug through its contents. Together, the two people began field treating the scientist, Roland giving him a shot of morphine as Pet washed off his arm.
It looked a lot worse than it actually was. Thankfully it hadn't been bitten off. Had it not been for someone's quick thinking in making a tourniquet, the loss of blood could've been fatal.
After twenty minutes of continuous working, Burke was as treated as he was going to get. Pet wiped her sweaty brow with the back of her arm and sighed. "That's all I can do. I'm no professional field medic so don't expect me to set any bones."
Roland nodded. "Better that be left to the medics." They looked to the other and Pet frowned.
Groaning from off to the side got her attention. "Is someone else hurt?"
The hunter glanced over his shoulder to the source. "No, unfortunately. That's just Peter waking up from drinking himself under. Damned idiot slept through everything. Too bad he didn't get stepped on."
Pet lowered her brow in a sneer. "And you say I have a sick sense of humor."
Roland smiled at her, as both mutually felt the same about the man. His smile faltered, and his eyes take on an apologetic look. "You should leave before he wakes up. It's for the best." A look of insult passed over the hybrid's expression. "Should he see you when he wakes up, I do not doubt in my mind he'll try to kill you." Their gazes locked and he frowned. "Go, Pet. Run. Get out of here."
"But-"
"Go!" Roland growled. Ludlow grumbled again, and his form became visible when he sat up. His back was turned to the group, so he wasn't able to see what was happening behind him. Roland pushed the hybrid away and inadvertently to the ground. "Go!" He pleaded again under his breath. "Please!"
Pet's eyes started to water, and her lip tremble. "Tell Ian I said I'm sorry."
The hybrid got to her feet and took off into the forest, her footsteps matched only by the beating of her heart in her chest. In those minutes of mindless running, it was as though her life was flashing before her eyes. She had schemed ways of stowing away in a crate back to the mainland or maybe by chance, be given a pardon from Ludlow and be allowed to live in peace. She ran. Ran from what could be her last chance to return to humanity. Her chest grew tighter with each breath, and her legs started to ache in muscle cramps. She ran. She wouldn't stop.
Helicopters were heard flying over the jungle canopy, and she knew more people would be arriving soon. As it seemed, Ian and his team were able to call for help. Good. She was relieved it all worked out for the group of people. When her legs and body refused to move as one did the hybrid collapse to the ground in heaving breaths. Her head swam, and her body tingled everywhere like sharp needles were being driven into every fiber of muscle. She tried to move, tried to push herself but she couldn't. Her body refused to cooperate. Finally, she gave up and just laid there to let exhaustion take its course.
Silence. The jungle was completely quiet. No men talking. No machinery. No helicopters. Nothing. Complete silence. Pet whimpered in protest to moving, but couldn't take the quiet anymore. It wasn't right, especially given the level excitement that had been going on over the past couple days. After an hour of motivating herself, she was finally up and moving but barely. She limped in her return to where the InGen camp had been. There was nothing left of it. No tarps, tents or equipment. Everything was gone. She was alone once more. Heaving a sigh, the hybrid sunk to the ground and buried her face in her hands.
For days, she roamed the island and pecked through the traces of InGen's crumbs left behind: an empty case here, a coil of cable there, a broken lamp or two. Maybe this time, InGen had learned their lesson and would stay off the island. Hell, any man for that matter. These animals weren't anything to mess with, despite how much control anyone thought they had over them.
She slowly made her way back to where Ian's trailer had been and sat down on the cliff's ledge. In her examining the ocean sparkling beneath the sun, she saw...ships? And a lot of them for that matter. "Oh, you've got to be shitting me..." she huffed.
One, in particular, led the group and she frowned. Had InGen finally said to hell with it and sent an army of military ships to strike the island down with long-range missiles? Such was not the case the more she watched. Pet followed the ships' direction in their going to the island's dock, where a sedated Rex was lifted from a cargo hold and lowered on the pier. A woman emerged from the hold, as well, and with the baby Rex in her arms. The hybrid was taken by surprise. Wasn't that the same Rex Roland had tranquilized? Why was it being returned to the island? And why was the unloading ship in such a hurry to leave? As quickly as it had come, it left.
"Well okay then," Pet breathed out and watched the sleeping adult Rex and baby.
After everything had calmed down, Ian Malcolm found himself pulling up to John Hammond's mansion, still unsure if this was a good idea. He drew in a deep breath and reached into the right side pocket of his leather jacket to make sure he still had the envelope. He mumbled to himself. "What the hell are you doing? You're...you're trying to help her, that's what you're doing...so...so go help her."
Ian slid out of the car and attempted to appear as casual as possible in his strides up the front door. It was hard to seem relaxed when continually looking over the shoulder with the paranoia of being spied on. He went into the mansion and ignored the butler chasing him from the base of the stairs in his approaching Hammond's bedroom door. He knocked on it and anxiously waited for an answer.
The butler explained, "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You cannot be here."
Ian finally set his dark eyes on the butler and stated in a cold tone of voice, "I am here to see John Hammond, and like hell, you're going to stop me."
The bedroom door opened and startled both men as they turned to see a slightly pale and weary Hammond stare back at them. His features, however, brightened when he saw Malcolm. "Ah, Ian! Come in, come in!"
Hammond gestured for his visitor to come into the room to talk privately and waved a dismissive hand to the butler. In the heat of the stare, the hired help nodded his head in oblige and left. The wealthy man shut the door and turned his excited face back to Ian. "What brings you back here? I wasn't expecting to see you again, especially in light of everything that has happened."
"Funny how chaos works, huh?" Hammond's smile faded into a glower. "Here, I thought you might want to take a look at this." Ian withdrew the envelope from his jacket's pocket and handed it to the older man.
After he peeled open the fold of the envelope, Hammond slid out a wallet-sized picture showing an all too familiar face. "Pet...?" His confused blue eyes locked onto Ian. "She's alive?"
"Oh yeah. She's very much alive and not happy, that's for sure." Hammond, still holding onto the picture, strode over to his bed and plopped down, lost on what to think. "The other team knows she's alive, too. They tried to bring her back to kill her, John...and unless I'm wrong, should word of her get out to the rest of InGen, they'll attempt to kill her again. And this time, I'm damn near certain they won't fail. Your nephew seemed pretty set on killing her as soon as he saw her, then."
Hammond set the picture down on the bed and solemnly shook his head. "Yes, well, he seemed to have had an unfortunate encounter with the baby Rex before it was sent back to the island."
"She's not safe on that island, John."
Hammond nodded and released a labored breath. "I'll assemble a team, then, to try and recover her...before they can." As if the man's grim mood couldn't get any deeper, it did with his overall posture slouching. "I can't protect her anymore, Ian. As you said, she's not safe on that island. The man currently acting as the chief executive official of InGen is just as ruthless as Peter was. No doubt he'll do whatever is necessary to find her and kill her." The man fidgeted with his hands and looked over to his nightstand with a bit of uncertainty in his eyes. "What Pet needs is someone within InGen who can protect her, just as I did." Ian's eyes ping-ponged between his friend and the nightstand. "I wonder," Hammond questioned under his breath. He pointed a frail finger at the table. "Look in the top drawer, there, and see if you can find a black address book."
Ian did as requested and pushed aside several envelopes; some opened some not, as well as pens and a phone book. Beneath the phone book was a black address book. "I take it you know someone who can help us?" He handed the book to Hammond.
The older man snatched the book from the other and hastily flipped through to a section labeled 'M'. "Hopefully help Pet. He's a very kind soul or at least was the last time I spoke with him some years back. Time tends to change people, whether for the best or worst. I do know, he's a fairly wealthy fellow and if I can, I might can persuade him to do me a favor or two."
Ian could see how truly troubled the other man was. "Let's hope it's for the best, whatever happens."
