CHAPTER 48
Robinson's mind was a fog. He saw the bloodied cockpit, but he couldn't piece together what he should do about it. His arms weakened. Earl's torso slipped from his grasp and slid to the ground. Robinson crumpled to his hands and knees. He felt like he could fall asleep right where he was.
Meanwhile, Dallas was holding his father's ankles dumbfounded. He knew he couldn't carry his dad by himself, but where would he even go if he could? His eyes darted around. The commissary was closest.
"Shelly, help!"
Shelly grabbed one leg, and Dallas held the other. Together they hauled his father toward the commissary. It was a slow process. They lurched and tugged, going inches at a time.
Robinson wanted to help. He had to help. He knew that Earl would probably die if he didn't. The swarm of compsognathus was already teeming over Earl again, even as Shelly and Dallas drug him. Robinson gathered his strength and pushed himself back to his feet. He was wobbly. It took all the focus he had not to topple. He took one step and then another. His feet dragged at first, but slowly lifted higher with each pace. The more he walked, the more he got the hang of it. He wondered if the poison was already fading, but as his vision wavered he could tell that it wasn't.
A thought occurred to Robinson. It came slow through his confusion, but he was able to piece it together. The pilot was dead. That was obvious enough, but what had killed him? Robinson's head circled toward the helicopter. There were two sinister shapes, their physiques slender and strong. Velociraptors. He felt the slightest bit of adrenalin pump through his heart. His body was fighting the poison, fighting to survive. Robinson's eyes went to Earl. There was so much blood now. Between the loss of it and the large amounts of compsognathus venom he'd been exposed to, Robinson doubted very much that Earl's heart was still beating.
He looked to the raptors. They were approaching. They were walking, not running, but they were approaching nonetheless. Then he wondered if they were actually moving slow or if it was the poison making them appear that way. He didn't think it was the poison though. Everything else seemed to be moving in real time.
The fact that the raptors were strolling so nonchalantly toward them made Robinson uneasy. It felt out of character by comparison to the swift killing he'd seen them execute earlier. It seemed that they'd learned... learned how compassionate humans were toward one another... learned how reluctant they were to leave one another behind in the face of danger. Robinson even got the sense that they were enjoying this epiphany. The raptors knew they had all the time in the world.
Robinson watched Dallas tugging at his dad's ankles. The kid didn't seem to realize his father was already dead. Robinson hated what he had to do next, but it had to be done.