Jurassic Park: The Broken Lives Saga by Dinohunter55
Chapter 26: The Hunt's End
The spinosaurus growled and snapped its jaws as it tried to claw its way onto the concrete dock. The water was too deep and the years of slimy algae kept its feet from finding purchase against the smooth walls. The beast hissed furiously and shoved off the dock to sink beneath the waves. The sail broke the surface again heading south towards a ramp.
Lance lowered his rifle.
"Why didn't you shoot it," Amanda yelled.
"Didn't have a clean shot at any vitals, I would have just pissed it off," Lance said. "If I had my darts, then I could have killed it. But you," he pointed an accusatory finger at her, "Stole them didn't you?"
Before Amanda could answer, multiple gunshots rang out from the men at the gate and then the shouting started.
Amanda turned and saw a second spinosaurus shove open the gates and roar. The men scattered before it. Pedro was too slow. The beast caught him, lifting him into the air, and shaking him like a dog with a toy. His scream was mercifully short but that did not make Amanda feel any less sick at the sight. It then turned to chase Santiago and Emiliano as they ran for the equipment graveyard.
A shot fired and Amanda's ears rang.
The spinosaurus stopped, turned, and looked at them.
"I suggest you start running," Lance said as he loaded another bullet, already starting to run.
The spinosaurus roared and then charged.
Amanda started running. Lance outpaced her quickly and made his way past the building. Amanda went for the nearest door and ran inside. The roof buckled inward and tore like tissue as the spinosaurus ripped it apart to get at her.
Amanda screamed as the roof and walls started collapsing around her. She dove under a table just before the roof above her gave way. The table buckled and two legs snapped. It hit her hard and knocked the wind from her lungs. Amanda wheezed and desperately gasped for air. She felt blood wet her back.
The spinosaurus roared as it looked for her. It clawed at walls and shoved its snout through sections of roof. It tossed pieces of structure aside like sticks.
Through a collapsed section, Amanda saw the second spinosaurus emerge from the water as it climbed the ramp. It was the male baring the scars left by Silver Claw's pack. It roared as it saw the two men among the equipment.
The spinosaurus above Amanda turned and bellowed. It walked through the remaining structure and roared at the other spinosaurus.
Amanda finally caught her breath but was too scared to run just yet.
The male stopped its pursuit of the men and roared at the female. The beasts squared off. The female roared and lunged at the male. The male stepped back, hissed, and then snapped at the female.
Amanda looked around and scrambled out of the ruined building. She looked back and saw the male spinosaurus running back into the water. The female stood at the top of the ramp and roared at the male but did not follow. The spinosaurus turned its head and saw her.
Amanda did not look back again but she felt the tremors grow stronger. She made it into the waterfront warehouse through a light steel door and realized the loading doors were open on the side of the building facing the water. Shipping containers, stacked in long rows, filled the space. Amanda raced to hide among them.
The spinosaurus ripped through the wall and then stopped.
Amanda heard it sniffing and growling. She stepped as softly as she could and slipped between the shipping containers in a gap that forced her to move sideways to get through it.
The laboured breath of the spinosaurus sounded like a great bellows. It took a tentative step inside the building.
Amanda looked out from between the containers and did not see the spinosaurus. She slipped out and crept along the rows, trying to get to the opposite side of the building. The breast was close, possibly a row or two away. She passed a stack of wooden crates and plastic drums.
There was a door just a little further. If she could get out, she might make a run for the culvert. It would be a safe place to hide as long as the spinosaurus did not see her and the snake was gone. She needed to think about her next actions carefully.
A hand clasped over her mouth and an arm hooked her on the waist, lifting her feet off the ground. Amanda stifled a scream as someone dragged her into the half open door of a container. She fought for a second but stopped as the shadowed visage of Diego move in front of her and pressed a finger to his lips.
Amanda nodded as best as she could and after a moment, the man released her. She looked back at Lance. Jabari was nearby with his rifle ready but nervous.
Diego motioned everyone away from the open door.
A shadow fell over the door as the spinosaurus moved past them. It sniffed the air but continued along the rows of containers. Diego closed his eyes and gently sighed. After a few minutes, the spinosaurus moved out of the building but lingered nearby.
"There's a door nearby," Amanda dared to whisper.
"It's locked," Diego hissed.
"How long until that thing moves on," Jabari said.
"It chased off the male," Lance said. "I don't like that."
"I don't either," Diego said. "They usually got along 'fore we left the island. You think it got a nest nearby?"
"I think so. Female looked thinner than the male to me," Lance said. "I doubt she's travel too far from the nest in a while. The male might have brought her food at one point but she doesn't want him near it now. I bet the eggs hatched and he's too aggressive."
"It's not in the harbor is it?" Amanda asked.
"No," Lance said. "If it was, that thing would have torn this building to pieces looking for us. It's near enough that she's willing to chase him off though."
"The Marine Research Complex, maybe," Diego said. "We saw it goin' that way but there might be stocked fish left over in the lake and whatever else might of survived from that project."
"Or she chased him off once already," Lance said. "It seemed to me that he was swimming south when he came upon us. The male didn't protest much when she chased him off either, despite there being food present."
Amanda moved towards the entrance to look out.
"Stay where you are," Diego hissed.
Amanda looked back at him. "Or what, are you going to shoot me?"
"I just might," Diego said. He moved his finger from the guard to the trigger of his rifle.
"Enough for now," Lance said. "We have more important issues to figure out first."
"Fine," Diego growled and moved his finger off the trigger. "Remember, she's workin' with those raptors though."
"Give me the antidote and I'll take those raptors and leave," Amanda said and crossed her arms.
"It seems I shot her pet back at the aviary," Lance said.
"Good," Diego said.
Amanda snarled like a raptor but stopped as Diego's finger went back to the trigger.
"You're on thin ice already Amanda," Lance said. "I don't want to shoot you but I will."
"I'll do it," Diego said. "Throw her body out as a distraction."
Amanda uncrossed her arms. Her heart pounded. She wondered if she could out run them for long enough to lose them. They might not shoot lest they risk attracting the spinosaurus back to the building.
"Enough," Lance said. He rested a hand on the barrel of Diego's gun. "She should have told us about the raptors but otherwise hasn't done us harm."
"What about the camp?" Diego hissed. "I bet she had something to do with it."
"It was not raptors," Jabari said. "We saw raptors at the laboratory complex as we were leaving. This was something bigger, with horns over its eyes."
"Carnotaurus," Diego said and sighed.
"Whatever it was," Jabari said. "It killed my brother and Doug."
"Yeah," Lance said and looked at Amanda.
Amanda looked down. "What are we going to do?"
"We found a boat," Diego said. "Engine is good to go but we need to drop it in the water and check for leaks."
"And there's the male," Lance said. "It might be lurking about in the inlet waiting for the female to leave."
Amanda thought for a minute. An idea came to mind but it was risky. "What if I could lure the female spinosaurus away from the harbor?"
"It'd catch you easily enough before you got far," Lance said.
"I say we let her try," Diego grinned. "Take bets on how far she gets 'fore it eats her."
"I was thinking of something that moves faster," Amanda said hesitantly.
Diego raised his gun and aimed at Amanda's head. "You bring raptors in here and I swear to God, I'll blow your brains out in front of them."
Amanda stepped back. She was thinking of asking the pack to lure the spinosaurus out but thought fast to find something else. "I-I was thinking about one of the vehicles you used to get here," Amanda said. She licked her lips.
Diego looked sceptical but lowered his rifle.
"For the love of God Diego," Lance said, "Get a hold of yourself."
"I hate raptors and I hate those spinosaurus," Diego said. He took a deep breath. "We should have killed them all during the evacuation."
"Focus on the present," Lance said.
"Fine," Diego said.
"Good," Lance said and sighed. "The problem is someone's getting left behind with that plan."
"That's not a problem if it's me," Amanda said.
Lance gave her a quizzical look.
"I told you that I wasn't leaving this island," Amanda said.
"That works for me," Diego said.
"I want something in return though," Amanda said quickly.
"What?" Diego hissed, "A gun?"
"The antidote," Amanda said, "Silver Claw is still alive and I'm going to make sure that he stays that way."
Lance crossed his arms. "You're a persistent sheila."
"I am," Amanda said. "Is it a deal?"
Lance and Diego stepped aside and whispered to each other.
Amanda took the chance to look out of the container. She did not see the spinosaurus.
"Fine," Lance said. "It's a deal."
Amanda walked up to him and held out her hand expectantly.
Lance held the pack of antidote for her to see and slipped it back in his pocket. "I'm going with you to make sure you get in the vehicle before I hand this over."
"How can I trust you?" Amanda said.
"And how can we trust you?" Lance said, "You never told us the full truth when we met."
Amanda frowned.
"I'm a man of my word," Lance said. "I'll give it to you before you get in that vehicle. I just need to know you won't run off with it before then."
Amanda sighed. "Fine," she said. The thought of running away with it never occurred to her. It made her feel like she was a bad person. She grimly acknowledged to herself that from his point of view he was right to question her; she did seem like that kind of person from everything that happened so far.
"Use the jeep," Jabari said. "The engine sounds better than the truck unless you go over a certain speed. That's still fast enough to out run that thing. The keys are still in the ignition."
"Thank you Jabari," Amanda said and smiled.
"I'll go with Amanda," Lance said. "Jabari and Diego, you'll get the boat in the water and hopefully once the spinosaurus is lured away, the others can join us and get off this rock. Keep an eye out for the male though. I think he kept going south but I can't be sure."
"Keep an eye out for those raptors of hers," Diego said. He patted Lance on the shoulder and nodded for Jabari to follow him.
Amanda followed Lance out of the container. Diego and Jabari headed towards the far side of the warehouse. Lance headed for the nearby door.
"I thought Diego said it's locked?" Amanda whispered.
"It is. Get ready to run," Lance said. He waited for Diego and Jabari to get out of sight and then slammed the butt of his rifle down on the door handle.
The door handle broke off and clattered to the ground. The spinosaurus growled somewhere near the front of the building.
"I suggest we move quickly," Lance said. He pushed the rest of the mechanism out through the hole and then pushed the door open.
They ran into the thin jungle beyond. Amanda heard the spinosaurus inside the building. For the moment, it was not chasing them, likely slowed down by the containers in its search. They reached the fence and then followed towards the main gate, passing behind the warehouses. A hole in the wire grid caught Amanda's eye, as it was definitely not there before; the wires curled inward and looked chewed. Lance did not notice and so Amanda said nothing.
Lance stopped at the corner of the warehouse closest to the gate. It was a clear shot to the vehicles from where they stood.
The engine of a vehicle started.
"Who's behind the wheel?" Amanda said. She ran towards the jeep waving her arms to get the man's attention.
The jeep lurched forward and sped out of the gate.
"Stop," Lance yelled.
It was too late, the jeep continued down the road without them.
"That bastard left without us," Emiliano yelled from near one of the large bulldozers. He had a noticeable limp and his rifle was missing.
The ground trembled underfoot. Amanda looked back and saw the spinosaurus running along the fence. She started to run and once again, Lance outpaced her. Emiliano disappeared behind the bulldozer.
Amanda's heart pounded and her lungs ached. A brief wave of nausea hit her. She was hungry and the lack of food today left her feeling drained. Lance disappeared behind the bulldozer. She reached it and saw neither. She looked back. The spinosaurus was at the gate and getting closer.
Something grabbed Amanda's ankle and she shrieked. The men were under the bulldozer. Amanda scrambled to join them. It was a tight squeeze and she saw that Lance had to take the backpack off to achieve it. Amanda crawled until she was roughly in the middle of the vehicle.
Emiliano said something in a language she did not understand. It sounded like a prayer.
Lance shushed him.
The spinosaurus slowed and its massive foot came down beside the treads of the bulldozer. It sniffed the air. After a moment, the jaws appeared low to the ground by where they crawled under the vehicle. It sniffed again and blew a hot and heavy breath under the bulldozer. It reeked of death and blood.
Emiliano gagged audibly.
The spinosaurus growled and struck the bulldozer. It rocked forward a foot. Tangled vegetation snapped. The beast shifted its position and reached a clawed hand under the machine.
Amanda scrambled away from it. Emiliano was slower and Lance cursed at him to move. The machine lifted a few inches and then rocked forward again another foot as the spinosaurus tried tipping it over.
"Move you bastard!" Lance yelled.
Panic struck Emiliano and he kicked out, hitting the backpack. Lance yelped with pain and grasped at his shoulder where the backpack connected with it. His hand came away bloody where the sharp tip of the stegosaurus spike protruded from the bag and dug deep in his flesh.
Emiliano scrambled deeper under the vehicle as Lance struggled to crawl, his one arm did not move correctly anymore. The spinosaurus claws were getting close to Lance. Amanda crawled back to him and grabbed hold of his vest as she tried to pull him deeper.
Panic filled Lance's eyes as the spinosaurus claw scrapped his calf. He desperately tried to reach across himself to grab his rifle with his good arm. The claws found his leg again and hooked him.
"Help me!" Lance cried as the spinosaurus dragged him and Amanda. He hooked the strap of his rifle with a finger.
Amanda twisted herself around and managed to plant her feet against one of the few square surfaces along the otherwise smooth underside. She pulled as hard as she could but Lance kept sliding, threatening to drag her out with him.
"I'm trying," Amanda cried.
The spinosaurus pulled hard. The vest tore. Lance slid out from under the bulldozer and screamed. His rifle went with him and flew into the grass as his one finger lost hold of the strap.
Amanda closed her eyes and trembled.
Lance kept screaming.
The spinosaurus started moving away. Lance was still alive. Amanda rolled and looked out from under the machine. The spinosaurus held Lance by one leg in its jaws as it walked towards the gate. It was taking him somewhere.
Amanda started to sob and hugged the vest to her chest. It was not her fault, she told herself; she tried to save him. She reached into the pocket and pulled out the antidote. Two broke in the box but another two remained. She had to get back to the nest.
After a minute, Lance's screams faded as the spinosaurus left the area. Amanda crawled out from under the bulldozer. The area was clear.
"Diego and Jabari are at the far warehouse with the boat getting ready to leave," Amanda said to the man cowering beneath the machine. She walked towards the gate and put the vest on, tying the torn sides together to keep it on her. It felt a little morbid but she needed the pockets right now. "I doubt they'll wait long," she called back to him.
Emiliano scrambled out from under the bulldozer and started limping quickly towards the building. It looked like he injured his ankle at some point in the chaos. She remembered the brief radio exchange and wondered how much of it was from the initial attack. Let him tell Diego whatever he wants. She tried to save Lance in the end. She could live with that.
Amanda walked towards the gate and looked down the road. She saw the spinosaurus heading southwest towards the direction of the holding pens and livestock pens. There was only one way in and out of that area according to the map. No wonder the spinosaurus likely had a nest in there. No predator would risk entering the area.
Amanda looked towards the water. She did not see the other spinosaurus. The gentle waves of the inlet gave no hint of the predator. She would give Emiliano a chance to get out of sight and then call for the pack she decided though they may already be watching her.
Emiliano neared the truck. A velociraptor leapt onto the hood and snarled. It pounced on him. Emiliano screamed as Talon tore into the man. Talon was savage in his attack. He spilled Emiliano across the cracked pavement.
Amanda looked away. The screams stopped soon after.
Shots rang out from the distant building. That alarmed Amanda. She quickly moved towards Talon so she could see the warehouse. Sunayana emerged from the hole left by the spinosaurus. She was alone.
"Sunayana," Talon barked.
Sunayana looked in their direction and ran towards them.
"What happened, Talon?" Amanda asked. "Where are the rest? Is Grey alive?"
Talon breathed hard and looked at the man dead at his feet. He gave the body another kick with his inner claw. "My Dad is alive," Talon said and looked at her. "They shot him in the foot and he broke a rib in the fall."
"I'm sorry," Amanda said.
Talon snarled at her. "Don't take the blame for these humans. They did it to him." He grabbed the man's head and wrenched it with a sickening crack.
"I couldn't get Diego," Sunayana said as she reached them. "The other human shot at me and I had to flee." Blood flecked her claws.
"It's ok," Amanda said. "I have the antidote. Are you hurt?"
Sunayana shook her head.
"We can go then?" Talon asked.
"Yes," Amanda said. "Where's Jack?"
"He's watching over Grey," Sunayana said. "With the spinosaurus around, he didn't want to risk Grey being discovered." Amanda noticed the blood leaking from Sunayana's gums; she must have chewed through the fence wires.
"Lance and Diego seemed to think the spinosaurus has a nest nearby." Amanda said. "We should get out of here quickly."
"Agreed," Sunayana said.
Amanda ran out of the harbor beside the velociraptors. She heard the distant rumble of a boat engine. They passed through the gate and turned right, heading into the jungle. A distance in, they found Jack standing watch over Grey. Grey licked his injured foot where the bullet tore through his flesh.
"Do you have it Amanda?" Jack said. His tone was stern.
"I do," Amanda said. "There are two left for Silver Claw."
"Good," Jack said. He turned his body. "Get on my back and hold tight. Let's hope it not too late."