CHAPTER 286
On the island of Isla Sorna the jungle floor was wet. Fog still hung in the air and drifted among the foliage. The sound of bugs, the chirp of birds, and the call of dinosaurs created an amalgamation of peaceful natural noise.
A large scale clad foot pressed heavily into soft moss covered earth and settled. With a disturbance of surrounding ferns its partnering foot swept through an orb-weaver's web and came to rest beside the other with a bit more delicacy. The talons intruded through fern fronds and stabbed into rotting leaves and the soil beneath before allowing the powerful toes to splay out evenly.
In the dirt, treading its spindly legs through the air, the displaced spider uprighted its rotund buttocks and scurried away beneath a twisting root.
The enlarged killer claw on each scaled foot cocked back with a quick tic and then anchored into the mud with a slow curling action. Immensely strong leg muscles rose above the ferns and flexed to adjust the weight of the body they supported. A sleek hide of plumage rustled to shake away accumulated dew it had wicked up from surrounding plants. The ribs beneath spread and expanded as a breath was taken.
The neck of this beast poised tightly and held up the stern face of Falcon. The raptor clan's fierce leader was joined by her second in command, Vulture. Together they stood side by side and observed the jungle around them. There was an air of intellect to each utahraptor, a thirsty intelligence that sought to understand the world it was in. Keen, cautious, and guarded, they faced the reality they were introduced into. Everything was simultaneously a curiosity and a threat, the largest enigma being their relation to man.
Near by, swiftly moving velociraptors ran past and tore through the foliage ahead. Behind the overseeing clan leaders another wave of velociraptors moved much more slowly. Their pace was almost a militant march. The velociraptors chanted in time as they went. A low pitched hoot and grunt kept their pace.
Before the second wave of velociraptors reached Falcon and Vulture the utahraptors curled their lips and purred. Falcon moved first, crushing ferns underfoot as she proceeded. Vulture followed respectfully behind her, letting out a raucous bark of orders to the velociraptors around them.
In this manner the raptor clan approached the hanger. Falcon had questions, and she sought resolve.