Jurassic Park: The Broken Lives Saga by Dinohunter55
Chapter 23: A Trail of Blood
The jungle rushed by as Amanda held tight to Sunayana's back. She was not as attentive when dodging branches as Silver Claw had been while he carried her. Several new scratches marked Amanda's arms and legs. Time was against them however and so Amanda said nothing. She was lucky any of the velociraptors were willing to carry her.
The fog was gone but the helicopter had yet to take off.
Around them, Talon, Loki, Zathana, and Grey maneuvered among the trees. After they crossed the river, the larger hunting group split in two. Jack, Fang, Elise, and Blaze headed south for the aviary. If they found Lance and Diego, they would kill them and get Amanda to check the bodies for the antidote.
Sara remained by Silver Claw's side along with the remaining pack members, most injured and unable to run any distance.
Amanda's heart raced as a creeping terror rose in her mind. She knew what was to come. She knew what part she would play in it. People would die. The worst part of it was that she was starting to be okay with that. It twisted at her moral core, at all of the things she held dear in her life before the island. She struggled with conflicting emotions. Her innocence had shattered like glass in the face of what the real world looked like. It was brutal and ugly but held a beauty to it nonetheless. She would learn to live with it or die dwelling on regret.
A break in the trees allowed the afternoon sun to warm the jungle floor.
The pack slowed as they reached the familiar spot overlooking the camp. Amanda quickly slid off Sunayana and crept up to the cliff on shaky legs. Her heart dropped. The camp was empty.
The helicopter remained but most of the supplies lay ruined across the ground. The men were gone. A splattering of blood in the grass caught her attention.
"Something attacked them," Sunayana said as she moved beside Amanda.
"Looks like it," Amanda said. "There might be survivors. Let me go down first and check it out."
Sunayana looked her.
"I'll be careful," Amanda said. "Keep everyone in the trees for the moment."
"Who put her in charge," Talon hissed.
"I'm in charge," Sunayana hissed back, "But we're going to follow her plan for now. She can find what she needs while we keep an eye out for whatever did this. It might still be lurking nearby."
Talon hesitated for a moment but submitted by lowering his head.
Amanda looked to Sunayana and nodded. She started down the slope to the camp. The velociraptors spread out behind her.
"Hello," Amanda called out as she reached the treeline. "Is anyone alive?"
The silence made her nervous but she crept out towards the camp. The smell of blood hung heaviest where the tattered remains of one of the men splattered the grass. Little was left of him save a few bloodied strips of clothing and a single boot from which protruded a gory stump.
Amanda heaved but there was little in her stomach to come out. She quickly moved on to the rest of the camp. As she approached the helicopter, she heard a rustling from inside. It must be small, whatever it was, as she could not see it through the windows.
"Hello?" Amanda called out.
The sound grew louder and then a head looked out the open door at her. It was a microceratops and it held a bundle of wires in its beaked mouth. The little creature scrambled out the far side of the helicopter and disappeared into the jungle.
Amanda trembled as her nerves got to her. She forced herself forward however. Something destroyed the inside of the helicopter and it was not the microceratops. Blood splattered the inside with a focus around the pilot's seat. Not all of it was human, Amanda guessed. Either way, it was a lot and she looked away towards the battered boxes of supplies.
The tents were torn, folding tables bent, and food supplies empty. She looked through everything regardless. In the end, she found Lance's supplies under a bloodied bedroll but the box shattered under the weight of something large stepping on it. A few photos remained but the other contents broke. If any of the antidotes were inside, they seeped into the ground.
Amanda's heart sank.
Someone coughed.
Amanda froze.
The surrounding area was still and deathly silent. She saw one of the velociraptors move along the trees at the far side of the glade after a while but nothing else. After a few more minutes, a man groaned.
Amanda spun around. The source of the sound was coming from the jungle behind her, beyond the helicopter. She crept towards the trees, unsure if she should call out to the man or not. A trail of blood led away from the helicopter on the far side. She followed it into the jungle. A dozen meters inside lay a man against a tree, clutching his guts where a loop of intestines bulged between slick fingers.
It was Doug.
"Doug," Amanda said and rushed over to him.
His head lulled and his free hand groped the ground beside him searching for something.
Amanda grabbed the pistol, looked it over, empty, and tossed it out of his reach. He did not notice.
"Hey Doug," Amanda said. She touched his cheek and his eyes fluttered open.
"Amanda?" He whispered. Blood flecked his pale lips.
"What happened, Doug?"
He looked around for a moment before his eyes focused back on Amanda. "We were attacked. The bastards ran and left me for dead." He said. His head sank back and his eyes closed. "Those damn lizards ate the wires so I couldn't take off in time. It snuck up on us while I was fixing the…" His hand searched for the gun.
"The others left you behind?" Amanda said, looking back over her shoulder. She saw the raptors in the grass now. "Where did they go?"
Doug remained motionless until Amanda touched his arm. His eyes snapped open and darted about.
"Doug, where did everyone go?"
"Lance," Doug called out, "Diego?"
"They're not here right now," Amanda said and stroked his arm to calm him. "It's just me."
Doug's shoulders dropped. She saw a couple of tears roll down his weathered face.
She was losing him. "Doug, I need you to focus on something important. Can you do that for me?"
His eyes found her.
"I need to know if you have any antidotes to Lance's poisoned darts, it's important."
His eyes rolled and his head swayed. Amanda grabbed his head and held him until he recovered and focused on her once more. "What?" Doug coughed a little blood.
"The antidote to Lance's poisoned darts," Amanda said. A few tears trickled down her face. "Where is it?"
"It's in his stuff," Doug said. He weakly tried to point towards the helicopter.
"It's broken," Amanda said quickly. "Is there any more?"
"Yeah," Doug said, "It's with…" His eyes turned away from Amanda and focused behind her, growing wide with terror. He started choking and sputtering as he tried to get the next words out but could not. The fear gave him enough strength to point.
Amanda let his head drop and quickly wiped her tears. The remaining antidote was with Lance and Diego. That was what he was going to say. Amanda turned and walked up to the velociraptors.
"The other's left him for dead," Amanda said. "The antidote got crushed during the attack. Lance and Diego have the remaining supply."
Sunayana looked past Amanda and at Doug. "Will he live?
Amanda looked back at the man. His free hand groped the ground again for the gun he would never find. His eyes closed and his head lulled.
"No," Amanda whispered. She then gathered herself mentally and said, "He's on death's door. It won't be long now."
"Do you need him?" Sunayana said, looking Amanda in the eyes.
Amanda looked down and then at Doug, "No."
Zathana leapt forward and sank her teeth into Doug's throat. The man's eyes went wide and he weakly tried to push Zathana away but he had no strength. He barely had the strength to scream but even that was short lived as his windpipe collapsed. He choked and gargled out his death rattle. With a kick, Zathana opened his belly, splitting grey flesh, and spilling his steaming organs across the ground.
Amanda watched it and felt almost nothing in that moment but a cool detachment. This was life. This was her life now. She was saving Silver Claw and things like this might be necessary again. She had to accept it. That thought terrified her more than the gruesome scene before her. When Zathana started eating him however, Amanda had to look away.
Amanda walked past Sunayana and into the glade.
"You looked through everything?" Sunayana said as she followed Amanda.
"I did," Amanda said and then sank on to the log that sat beside the remains of the campfire. Even from this distance, she could hear the tearing of meat and cloth as the others joined Zathana.
"You've done well," Sunayana said. She settled on the ground beside Amanda. "Once they are done, we'll go to the aviary and meet up with Jack and the others. It gives us a chance to rest our legs for the next run. I won't be able to carry you this time though."
Amanda nodded.
"Was that the first time you've seen a human die?"
"No," Amanda said. She sniffed hard to clear her sinuses. Resting was a mistake. The emotions she pushed down all day were coming back. "My mom died in front of me when the spinosaurus attacked the yacht and I've seen a couple of my family die before that, though it was from old age or disease. And there was Ellie." Tears trickled down her cheeks.
"You were never involved though," Sunayana said.
"No," Amanda whispered.
"It will get easier," Sunayana said.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Amanda whispered. She wiped her eyes with her collar but fresh tears wet her cheeks. "I don't want to be the kind of person that finds killing people easy."
"It's to protect your pack," Sunayana said, "Remember that."
"Yeah," Amanda said. Her lips trembled. "Look at how great I am at that."
"Amanda," Sunayana said. Her tone caught Amanda off guard. "You tried your best to protect Silver Claw and our pack. You put your life at risk for all of us." Sunayana looked Amanda in the eyes. "What would Silver Claw think if he heard you talking like that?"
Amanda began to sob. "What if he doesn't make it?"
"He will," Sunayana said. "Like you said earlier, he's strong." Sunayana stood and then nuzzled Amanda's head. "Get ready to go. Don't let the others see you like this."
Amanda choked back her sobs and tried drying her eyes.
"It's time to go," Sunayana called to the jungle.
After a minute, the rest of the pack emerged from the jungle, licking the blood from their lips. Grey walked with a slight limp.
"What happened?" Sunayana demanded.
"I stepped on the knife he had hiding in his pocket," Grey said. He looked embarrassed. "I still can run."
"But you can't carry Amanda now," Sunayana shook her head. She looked at the others.
"I can't carry her," Loki said. "As much as I want to, I'm still tired from Silver Claw and the run here."
"And Zathana will struggle with Amanda's weight," Sunayana said.
Zathana said nothing but looked away. She was easily the smallest of the velociraptors in the pack.
Amanda felt like a burden. It sickened her. All the comments about the weakest member of the pack came to mind. She tried not to let her tears fall again.
The radio crackled.
"Doug, are you there?" Diego said.
Amanda scrambled to find it.
"Doug, pick up the radio. I don't know what's keeping you but don't fly to the aviary. It's a death trap."
Amanda found it in the tall grass and pried it out of a hand without a body.
"Pick up the radio, damn it!"
Amanda adjusted the volume so it no longer blared. The loud sound put her on edge.
"Doug is dead," a man's voice said, "And so is my brother, Omari."
The radio remained silent for a while. "What the hell are you saying Jabari?"
"The camp was attacked by a dinosaur," Jabari said. "The helicopter will not fly again."
"What the fuck!" Diego yelled. The radio cut out.
"Jabari, where are you now?" Lance said over the radio.
"We climbed the mountain ridge to escape," Jabari said. "Santiago, Emiliano, Pedro and I are together. Emiliano is injured but he can still walk. We are over the top and see the laboratory complex."
"Damn it," Lance said. "We can't make it to you, too many raptors between us. We escaped out of the aviary and are close to the airstrip. Diego believes there's a vehicle we can use parked somewhere around there."
"Do you want to meet at the laboratory complex?" Jabari said.
"No," Lance said. "We're going to try for the harbor. Diego thinks there's a leftover boat there. Meet us there."
The radio hissed.
"Jabari, listen closely," Diego said. "There's a maintenance garage located on the right side of the complex from the front. It's a separate building from the main structure. You'll find gas and vehicles inside. Keys are hangin' on the main office wall. Don't linger longer than you have to otherwise the raptors might catch ya."
Amanda tensed. They would have to be quick to cover the distance before Diego and Jabari got the vehicles working.
"Oh, and if you see that girl," Diego said, "Shoot her on sight. She's workin' with the damned raptors."
"You…" Jabari hesitated. "You want me to shoot the young girl?"
"Yeah," Diego said. "Don't hesitate. If she's around then so are the raptors."
Amanda swallowed nervously and looked at Sunayana. She looked back at Amanda with her head tilted expectantly. It dawned on Amanda that Sunayana could not understand English and chided herself for forgetting again. She was too used to Silver Claw understanding everything.
Lance spoke next, "Radio silent unless it's important."
"Understood," Jabari said.
"Let's try to get off this rock by sundown." Lance said, "Over and out."
The radio went silent. Amanda turned it down further and stashed it in her pocket.
"They're heading for the harbor and Lance escaped the aviary," Amanda said. She pointed up the mountain ridge. "The four men that survived climbed over that. They're heading to the labs to get a vehicle."
"Did they say anything about you?" Sunayana asked.
"I'm getting the same treatment as you, shoot on sight." Amanda shrugged. She tried to play if off but the feeling sat heavy in her chest.
Sunayana snarled.
"We have a lot of ground to cover," Grey said.
"Yes," Sunayana said. "We'll need to find Jack and let him know."
"Go ahead and send one of them back if they're willing to carry me," Amanda said. It sat wrong but the pack had to move quickly and they could not with her on foot. "I'll make my way to the road as fast as I can."
"We are not leaving you behind Amanda," Sunayana said and turned to her.
"I'll carry her."
Amanda and Sunayana met eyes for a moment and then both turned.
Talon had his head turned away, not wishing to look at either of them. "I'll carry her, at least as far as the road. Further if I have to," Talon said.
Sunayana looked at him in silence.
"Hurry up and get on my back before I change my mind," Talon barked.
Amanda rushed over and got on his back. "I won't forget this," Amanda said, "Thank you." She wanted to cry as the relief washed over her.
Talon said nothing and started to run.