Third Equation
'Finding the solution becomes more complicated when the invested become unpredictable.'
Ian Malcolm
Chapter 14
Darkness
Worry lay over Dr. Ben Hildebrand's face as he watched the last rays of the fading sun disappear over the horizon. "And so it begins."
Beside him, Eric looked over, raising an eyebrow. "You sound like a fantasy novel."
"Is that what we're in?" Ben asked, not yet taking his eyes off of the horizon. "We're in dangerous land, and we can no longer see."
Suddenly, as if on cue, massive quartz lights flooded the island.
They both turned toward the village in the distance.
"Well, that's certainly going to draw all of the wildlife," Ben commented.
"Good," Eric said. "If they're dealing with the dangers, we won't be."
"Unless that danger tries to hurt your Aunt and the other captives," Ben said. "We don't want that."
A scream echoed out through the night, followed by a roar.
Both of their eyes widened as they watched on with baited breath, hearing more roars. There was a lot of movement in the distance, but it was hard to tell what was actually going on.
"I can see people running," Eric said. "But I can't -"
"The binoculars," Ben interrupted.
Eric reached down, picked them up, and handed them out. "Here."
Ben quickly took the binoculars and held them up. "Something's out there. I can see trees swaying. There are a few dead bodies. Looks like whatever passes for soldiers in that group."
"But what's attacking them?" Eric asked. "The Raptors?"
"That's the thing," Ben said. "I can't see… There's something blurry out there. It's coming in and out of the quartz lights. Like it's… blending into the surroundings and then having to blend again. Whatever it is, it's huge. I think there are at least two of them."
"Blending into the surroundings?" Eric asked.
"Like… camouflage," Ben stated in realization. He lowered the binoculars. "I'm very glad we didn't trek in that direction. We wouldn't have seen them coming."
Eric took the binoculars and looked toward the village, trying to see what Ben had seen.
Suddenly, he could just barely see a man getting lifted into the air then bit in half by unseen, massive jaws. The creature became visible for just a moment before blending again, revealing the curved head, slender body, and very small arms.
Eric lowered the binoculars. "They're Carnotaurs."
Gunfire raged in the distance, drawing nearby and far off roars. The entire island seemed to be waking up.
"We can't stay here," Eric said.
"We have to," Ben said.
"Aunt Karen," Eric said.
Ben sighed. "We don't stand a chance against those things."
Eric grabbed up supplies from the floor of the structure and put them into a nearby bag that had been left. "You stay then. I'm going."
"I'm not letting you go out there alone," Ben said.
"Then come with me," Eric told him.
"You're going to get us both killed," Ben said. "You're hearing everything that I'm hearing. The entire island knows what's going on up North. We won't be the only living creatures going in that direction. What are we supposed to do if those Raptors are what we cross paths with?"
"It's a risk I'm willing to take for family," Eric said as he shouldered the bag and swung his legs over the side of the structure, slowly climbing down.
Ben shook his head. "This kid's going to be the death of me."
"At least you'll have a few thrills along the way," Eric offered. "That's all we ever wanted."
Ben moved out of the structure, following Eric down. "Thrills that don't get us killed."
"Just think, if we survive this, at least then all you'll have to worry about is if mom is going to kill you," Eric offered.
"Yeah, great, give me something new to worry about," Ben said.
Once they were on the ground, Ben and Eric moved off into the night in the general direction of the completely lit up village. At least they had a lit up direction to go in.
Dr. Norman Atherton chuckled inside one of the huts. "Absolutely stunning."
Beside him, Robert Muldoon grunted. "You really think your men getting slaughtered is stunning?"
"I'm referring to this unique ability," Atherton stated.
Muldoon shook his head. "Genetic anomaly. Elliot Wu told me about those Carnos once. He couldn't figure out what went wrong, and they were working with fragmented DNA, so they didn't have full strands to start over."
"I'm guessing that's why we never saw those on Nublar?" Donald Gennaro asked from nearby, trying his best to console Dr. Karen Ross, beside him.
"There are a few species like that, yes," Muldoon told him. "They were going to be part of Hammond's second phase once more than enough tourists had been through."
"Yes, he had to find new reasons for guests to return again," Atherton stated. "Clear and present business mind. He knew that the same dinosaurs all the time wouldn't draw a crowd forever."
Ross stepped away from Gennaro and over to Atherton and Muldoon. "Are you not going to do anything?"
Atherton turned to her.
"Your people are dying!" Ross exclaimed.
"They all knew the risks," Atherton replied, turning back to the massacre outside. "Besides, everything is going to plan." He grinned to himself.