Zia sighed as she felt the bumpiness of the road as she continued along the forest path. It was rather straightforward, just it had not really been paved, just carved through the forest rather roughly when the land had been purchased. The Dinosaur sanctuary was oddly quiet, despite the animals that she knew must exist over in the trees somewhere...and the tracker in the cup holder of her car was telling her.
Honestly, she'd much rather have the dinosaurs, than her current 'company' today, as she looked over at the woman in the seat next to her. Amber Riley. Press woman, she knew that much, she'd seen her show, and heard her on the radio. What she'd heard hadn't impressed her, but she knew that she had been talking more or less about the animals, following it ever since the dinosaurs had first started to appear. Like it or not, it had been her reporting that had first gotten her interested in working with these animals.
She hadn't wanted to bring her, but Ms. King had been very...insistent that she come along and report on it. Something about how it would be 'good press' for what they were trying to do with the Masrani project. Zia hadn't been too sure, but she liked her job enough that she didn't say no, as she would just swallow her pride, and taken the woman along with her. So far they had driven in silence, until now.
"How much longer is it going to be?" The woman asked, as she turned to face Zia. She had been messing with her phone during the drive, probably texting. Zia didn't really care. She wasn't here to make friends with her, she was aware of that, but she had not seen any other way to get around this.
"Not too much longer. We just have to make our way over to where the animal is. The animal hasn't moved in over twenty-four hours and so we're just do a routine inspection." At least, she hoped it was. She didn't want to be put on the spot in front of a member of the press corps, she was under the impression that Jessica had a 'sweet spot' for Amber, but she personally didn't understand it. She looked at the woman again, well, maybe she could- but it wasn't her place to say it.
A beeping noise distracted her, as they both looked down at the car dashboard. There was a screen where a few red dots might be seen. "Yes. These are animals. Close by too by the looks of it." Up ahead there was a clearing, and the trees parted. Zia pulled the jeep to a stop by the side of the clearing as she looked out. It was a typical forest meadow clearing. Maybe about a mile or two by the side. And it really impressed on her just how much land Masrani had managed to acquire for the usage of the dinosaur sanctuary. Much of that land lay empty though, there were ironically more animals outside than inside now.
But that wasn't what had made her stop. Beside her, she could see the woman next to her sitting a bit straighter. Now she was off of her phone, as Zia smiled, taking in the view. In the glade, there were about eight large dinosaurs, she could tell by their large crests on the back of their heads that they were Parasaurs. Three of them were seated in equidistant rows directly in front of the jeep, while four others might be seen grazing behind them. "They're so big," Zia turned her head as she heard Amber gasp. "I didn't think-they'd be that big in person."
Zia checked the screen again just to make sure. No more red dots. She breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, the Rex was in a different section, the Dilophosaurs were on the other end, and well...the compys...She'd cross that bridge if it came to that. Then there were the Pteranodons. Which she hadn't really seen or wanted to question too hard about. At least with Jessica King running this show, asking questions didn't seem to be the modus operandi anymore, not like with Masrani.
"Just stay with the jeep. No matter what happens," Zia said as she looked out at the Parasaurs that were sitting down. Their presence had not gone unnoticed, but the animals were staring at them dully. The fact that they hadn't stepped closer meant that there was no reason for them to be alarmed. Zia looked down at her own phone as she received a buzz indicating she'd received a text message. 'How many', to which she answered back with a sigh.
Stretching her legs, she'd see Amber taking a small camcorder out of her bag, shit, she thought as she muttered under her breath. So that was why Jessica had wanted her along? She was panning it around, so that she might be able to film the valley, and the dinosaurs that were sitting- no...one had just rose, and they both might see it had been resting on a mound, in which eggs could be seen. Nesting. So that's what this was all about. Zia stepped back to the back of the jeep, taking a device out, it was slightly boxy, as she needed to see something.
Amber was tracking the camcorder over to face her now, and Zia shrugged. "This thing creates a sonic infra-sound signal. Harmless to us, but reacts to chips implanted in these animals. Once you activate it, the animals will back off, until it is deactivated." She would press the button, and there would be a very low hum, almost imperceptible to the human ear, but to the animals...
She turned, and saw the other two sitting Parasaurs sitting up, as she would see that there were similar mounds underneath them. She felt the buzz again. 'How many', rolling her eyes, she sighed as she saw Amber looking at her. "Alright. So what we're here to do is I am supposed to count how many eggs there are. Just stay in the car, and don't move." The woman pouted, and stood up in the car, leading Zia to roll her eyes, but as least she didn't exit the vehicle. She could likely film well enough where she was at, anyways.
As she stepped closer, the animals would see her as she stepped up to the nests. There was some honking noises as she tried to tune it out, instead, taking a mental inventory as she scanned the nest. Three nests, there were a few eggs in each. Two...three...one. Not bad, not bad. She would take out her digital camera, and began photographing the nests, but not actually entering. That should be sufficient proof for Jessica- at least she was hoping.
"So how many?" Amber was calling out behind her, as Zia sighed again. She knew what Jessica was wanting here, as she had been trying to legitimize herself after Masrani's passing. She stepped over to the side, as she hoped that was it...just take the pictures and they could leave. Quick and easy. Just then, she looked over at one of the nests. An egg was cracked. She frowned. "Something wrong?" She could hear the other woman calling, but she ignored her.
She stepped closer as she quickly realized that she was wrong. The egg wasn't spoiled...it was slightly moving side to side. That was ...unexpected. Zia had been on the Mesozoic project for a while, but these were the first dinosaur eggs that she was really dealing with. No one had really studied yet how these animals bred out there in the wild, the larger ones never really let you get close, and the smaller ones- well they were hard to track down. So it was still an enigmatic mystery , although more or less the basics were easy to understand.
This though, this was new. She leaned in close, and she gasped as she saw another crack...and another form at the front of the eggshell. Her eyes widened as the egg cracked again, a piece fell down and she could see the crest of the infant through the gap created. She would take a picture again, this time with her cell phone as she sent it to Jessica. Had anyone ever seen this in the wild-
"Oh wow, now this is will definitely play well on primetime-" the voice shook her out of her thoughts, as she realized Amber was now standing besides her, the camera pointed at the egg, even as the animal continued to hatch. Zia could do nothing but shake her head in sheer amazement, as she was also very conscious of just how close the Parasaurs were to them.
"I thought I told you to stay at the car," Zia started, half wondering if she should waste her breath here or not. The woman clearly was intent on getting her footage, and she felt right in everything that she'd suspected about her. Hence why she hadn't really bothered with any sort of attempt at breaking the ice here... Because she could sense this woman was of a certain disposition.
She glanced back at the Parasaurs. They hadn't moved yet, although they were clearly staring in their general direction. That was good, she could relax a bit, as she looked back down, as the infant dinosaur continued to break free of the egg. Despite herself, she couldn't help but smile slightly at the fragility of the small animal. Here at least it would be protected from predators within the confines of the sanctuary. As the infant finally broke free and started mewing, she felt another buzz from her phone.
She frowned again, as she turned away, Chip it, the chipper is in the back seat. Zia exhaled. So that was it. First birth here, and she already had her answer. Turning to Amber, she sighed. "Stay here. Don't move." If she wasn't going back to the car, at least she could hope that she would stay where she could keep an eye on her. Amber was still focusing on the infant... Speaking to herself, and to whatever viewers she imagined were on the other line.
"So the infant dinosaur takes its first steps, this is a triumphant success for the Masrani Project. Life truly finds a way here..." Zia rolled her eyes listening to the spiel as she reached in the back, rummaging through the things. There it was, a small device that looked like a tranq gun, but this one was different, as it had an electronic bar on the side of it. Turning it on, she would check and make sure it was loaded.
She would check as she looked over. The sonic was still keeping the Parasaurs at bay. How long it was going to last was anyone's guess, she figured as she stepped forward, walking until she reached the edge of the nest. She shook her head, looking up at the Parasaurs, they were staring them down, both of them. No, she didn't like this at all. She would look back at Amber. Shooing her away as she looked down at the chip gun at her hand.
Shit. She took her first step into the nest, and of course the Para's started honking. "What are they doing? Why are they so upset?" She heard from above, as she sighed, realizing in that moment exactly why she had been forced to have a 'companion' with her. Otherwise, Jessica would never know that she had done this. Stepping closer to the baby Para, she got on one knee. It was still so young, that it didn't realize what was happening. Zia felt her hand trembling as she pressed slightly down, using her veterinarian training as she steadied her arm. One ...two...three. And it was done.
"I'm sorry," Zia whispered, mainly so that the other woman wouldn't hear her, as she got up. The baby was crying, it was a low, whistling cry, but amplified through its emergent crest. As she watched, the others were reacting, some in the background were starting to move forward. Time to go, she thought, as she eased backwards, only turning to pull herself out of the way.
Thankfully, Amber seemed to get it, as she was starting to back up. "Get back to the jeep. Now." Zia said tersely, as she had some satisfaction at seeing the other woman scurry back. Of course, she was quick about it too. Zia ran, didn't walk, even as she saw the way Amber was scrambling to the car. The honking intensified, as she could see the sonic device quiver a bit, and fall backwards as the door slammed.
Shit. Zia finished the last few yards, just running, barely making the car, as she saw the Paras were already looking down at the nest. The others were looking up at them. Zia felt her hand shaking as she found the keys, the chip gun was already tossed in the back carelessly.
The car roared to life, just in time too, as the Paras were starting to step forward, the honking louder and louder. Amber was yelling something, but it was either drowned out by the Paras or Zia just wasn't listening. Turning the wheel, she managed to turn the jeep around, the ground shaking as four or five of the Paras were running towards them. As she completed the turn, she pushed the gas as far as it would go, right down the path.
Zia didn't exhale until she saw the Paras in the rearview mirror start to fade away, as she groaned. Turning, she saw Amber looking over her camera. "Now THAT is going to make a good picture shot!" Zia rolled her eyes as she took a deep breath. She understood two things. One, Jessica King would have to get someone else to do her dirty work next time. Two...the only reason Amber had been brought along at all was that she would be assured that the job was done. In any event, she thought she understood a bit more of the situation, something for Claire and Owen to know...