CHAPTER 274
An hour went by, and the rain was still falling steady. Daniel was on his feet and slowly pacing about. He was so drenched that even his insides felt clammy and wet, but he ignored it. He held his gun. He paced, and he watched.
His eyes were open and vigilant even as the rain poured down his face. His hair and his eyebrows were like leaking sponges, ceaselessly dribbling through his vision. Still, he paced. Still, he watched.
Daniel studied the velociraptors. He memorized the enclosure. He observed everything within and beyond the fencing. The hatch they had come through was closed. The raptors had shut it. Ms. Murdock was still leaning against the same electrical box, presumably asleep. She had not moved. Seth and Kyra were propped aside another electrical box, huddled together against the rain. Next to them Dr. Conners was sprawled with his head in Dr. Johnson's lap. She had not left his side, and she looked quite concerned. Although Seth and Kyra might have actually dozed off, she was wide awake, and she never took her eyes off him.
There were eight velociraptors standing guard, two along each of the four sides of the enclosure. They stood like they were at attention, and Daniel could feel their eyes tracking him as he paced. The only time the raptors moved was when he observed a changing of the guards, which seemed to happen once every ten minutes. Only one guard would be swapped at a time, so a full change was achieved every eighty minutes.
Daniel continued to pace. His eyes swept the fencing over and over again. He was spying along the back edge of the building when something caught his eye.
Daniel's pacing ceased, and he stared through the rain. Something was on the fence. It hadn't been there before. He was sure of it.
Slowly he inched forward. The barrel of his gun stabbed firmly ahead of him as he proceeded. His eyes shifted around. The velociraptors were keeping a sharp watch on him for certain, but none of them moved. Daniel began to get a sense that the raptors were allowing his approach. It was as though the object was meant for him.
He paused and looked back. Ms. Murdock was still sleeping. The others were huddled together paying him no mind. Daniel turned ahead and proceeded.
When he reached the fence he was standing in front of one of the markers. The object was small and was dangling from the skeleton's right hand. It appeared to be a lanyard with a photo identification card fastened to it.
Daniel shot a glance at the two guards to either side of him. They were observing him intently, but still they remained at their posts.
He reached forward with a quick hand and plucked the lanyard from the skeleton's finger bones. Daniel held the plastic ID card up to his face and turned it over so he could see the picture. With a flick of his wrist he shook collected rain droplets away from its surface, and the photo became clear.
Daniel felt an odd twisting in his bowels as he processed the image that he saw. The gears in his head turned, and he pondered what in the world might come of this. The ID card belonged to Gary.