Young Writers Society

Ax strode into the dining room and grabbed a plate before starting to serve himself. As he waited in line for the bacon, he noticed Chris, the boy who was his fan, in line in front of him.

Noticing that he seemed a little pale, Ax asked him, "You okay, kid?"

"Yes, absolutely fine. Nothing wrong here." he answered hurriedly, and Ax got the feeling that he was trying to convince himself as much as Ax. Then, abruptly, he left the line and walked quickly towards the long table.

Well, that was weird. thought Ax with a frown. Something must be bothering that kid. But he put those thoughts to the side as he caught sight of Annabelle Quail, and narrowed his eyes. He had been observing Annabelle for the past few days, and drawn some very disturbing conclusions.

After a few moments pondering, he decided to confront her, and, after shoveling some bacon onto his plate, strode over to where she was sitting, and asked politely, "Is this seat taken?" while gesturing to the seat opposite her.

"No, please sit." she replied with a grin.

Ax sat down, and as he spooned some scrambled egg into his mouth, he muttered under his breath, too low for anyone but Annabelle to hear, "I know you're not a real reporter."

At that, Annabelle froze, the color draining from her face. Then she looked up at Ax with a forced smile, and said, "Why would you think that?"

Ax smiled, then whispered, "That look on your face just now, that just proved it. For one moment, your act fell, and you looked scared."

Annabelle frowned, and said, "I was scared you were gonna accuse me of a crime or something. Besides, you haven't answered my earlier question yet."

Ax replied, "Well, my suspicions were first aroused when i found out you hadn't heard of me, despite the fact that I'm sought after everywhere from San Francisco to Machu Picchu!"

Annabelle gave a small laugh, and said, "Are you sure you aren't exaggerating just a bit? Macchu Picchu is uninhabited, you know."

Ax's gaze hardened as he replied, "Yes, I know, but journalists followed me in helicopters. Trust me, I had a hard time hiding from them on the way up and down."

Annabelle laughed, "That's hilarious, but hardly a reason for thinking I'm not what I am! This is my first job, how could I have heard of you?"

Ax stared unflinchingly as he said, "At first, I thought that too. I mean, despite the fact that your instructors would've had more experience and known of me, there would have to be exceptions right?"

Annabelle replied, "There, you see! You already worked it out, so what's your reason for this confrontation?"

Ax smiled slightly and said, "That was before I started observing you. I was suspicious since I first met you, but now I'm sure. Your attitude is what some would call practiced, but I would call it fake. You act like a journalist well enough, but it's not who you are. You ask questions, but don't really seemed concerned about the answers."

Annabelle then tried to speak, but Ax cut her off, "Don't try and make excuses. I know your type. I've been on group expeditions many times before, and have gotten quite adept at telling who I can trust and who I can't. And if someone is keeping secrets, then that's always a black mark against their character. And your entire attitude is of one putting on an act for other people, and you're way too secretive. You lack the curiosity that most other journalists possess. Now, an older journalist, who's done the same thing over and over again I could understand, but one who's just got out of college? No chance! And I know this because I know more journalists than there are mosquitoes on this island. And form the way they've been biting, there are a hell of a lot. But you've given me the greatest reason of all to know that you're not a journalist. You're as white as chalk!"

Annabelle gave a forced smile which looked much more like a grimace, "That's because I'm afraid you'll tell this to Mr.Polk, and have me kicked off the mission."

Ax gave a harsh laugh, and replied, "That depends on whether or not you're a danger to the rest of us. And I can't know that until you tell me the truth."

Annabelle shook her head and said, "I don't understand what you mean. I'm just a journalist."

Ax gave her a steely glare and said, "Fine, keep your secret if you want. But don't forget, I'm the survivalist. If things go wrong-and I think they will, given our missing friends-then I'll be responsible for ensuring the safety of everyone on this mission, in the middle of dinosaur country. Do you really want me pissed at you?"

Annabelle looked horrified as she replied, "Are you threatening me?"

Ax shook his head and said, "No, I'm just warning you. If you want to tell me the truth, then you can approach me any time. I'll keep your secret, it it's no harm to us. And if I believe you-and trust me, I'll know-and you are not a danger to anyone else, then I'll keep you safe with everyone else. If not, then I'll be forced to consider you a threat. So, until you come clean, I suggest you watch your back. Because no one else will, especially me." And with that, Ax walked away, satisfied that he had done his job well.

Annabelle Quail - Second day on the island

Annabelle's hands were shaking. She leaned over her plate to snag a bite of scrambled eggs, but the food slid off the fork before it could reach her mouth. Embarrassed, she put the fork down and fingered the silk napkin folded in her lap, allowing her hair to fall about her face like a curtain.

Ax terrified her. For one thing, he cleanly saw through her disguise. For another, he had suggested that if a dinosaur attacked her, he wouldn't try to save her. Heh, what a great guy. The very first day on the cruise ship, she hadn't liked him. He was agonizingly gorgeous, yes, but what didn't quite hit the mark was the pompous way he carried himself. And those his eyes. Those unsettlingly green eyes.

Annabelle sighed. With several unsuccessful days of the investigation having gone by, she didn't want to have to worry about both Polk and this guy.

She picked up her fork again and stabbed at her plate, successfully skewering a bite of scrambled eggs. Chewing resolutely, she decided that one pesky and supposedly famous survivalist wasn't going to ruin her investigation.

She wasn't about to trust him with her secret, either.

"Did those eggs to anything to you?"

Annabelle looked up, startled. The quiet scientist girl, Alex, was speaking to her. "What?"

"Why did you stab the eggs like that? They didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh," Annabelle said, laughing a little.

"I mean it," Alex said. "What's wrong?"

Alex's eyes, although bright and green just like Ax's, settled naturally in her face and reflected only warmth and trustworthiness. Annabelle relaxed. "Ax was annoying me, that's all."

Alex nodded as if she understood, but if she was about to say anything else, she didn't get the chance.

Polk swept into the room with his usual display of cheery bravado, a freshly-ironed Hawaiian shirt gracing his slim figure. "Good morning, Dr. Harrison! Good morning, Chris! I hope you slept well, Miss Alex? And you too, Miss Annabelle? Carson, why don't you take a seat? Today's gonna be a big day, and we need our protein!"

Carson didn't look happy to oblige, but seated himself next to Alex and slid a sausage onto his plate nonetheless. Polk took Ax's old seat between Annabelle and Christopher.

"What's on the horizon for today, Mr. Polk?" Annabelle asked, as sweetly as she could.

Polk swallowed a bite of chocolate pancake. "Many things, Annabelle. Many things."

"Like what?"

"Well, first..." he swallowed again, and then began gesturing with his chocolate-smeared fork. "We're going to take a ride in the gyrospheres. It'll be nice to inspect the grounds and see what's left of the northern World structures. You'll notice that Nigel and Richard are absent from the table; that's because they decided to set off early and do some dinosaur-watching."

Suddenly, Annabelle recalled what Ax had said about "missing friends." Is this what he was talking about?

As if on cue, Ax strode back into the room. Speak of the devil.

"Ax Fury," Polk said, rolling the name off his tongue like it was made of gold. "I'm happy you've decided to join us. Care for a chocolate pancake?"

Ax shook his head. "I've already eaten."

"Wonderful," Polk beamed. "I was just explaining the others what we'll be doing today."

"I heard. Gyrospheres. Two of our friends beat us to it and are playing the early birds."

"Exactly."

"What about Naomi, Mr. Polk? Is she out dinosaur-watching as well?"

Polk's smile faded, but he didn't miss a beat. "No. I'm sorry to say that Naomi won't be with us today. She's in her room, sick. I think the party last night was too much for her."

"Ah, I see." Ax's gaze drifted to Annabelle's and they locked eyes for a hauntingly long second.

No, Annabelle tried to tell him with a firm gaze of her own, You can't share my secret.

Polk began gesturing with his fork again. "After the gyrospheres - "

"Grandpa, look!" Christopher's chair scraped sharply against the floor as he jumped to his feet, pointing at the window. "A compsognathus!"

Annabelle whirled around. Sure enough, the distinct shape of one of those tiny chicken dinosaurs was framed in the window.

"Oh!" Polk gasped.

"Grandpa, why is there a dinosaur here?"

"Oh, uh..." Polk faltered.

"Shouldn't the fence keep them out?" Alex asked.

"Yes, but this is just a little one. It's perfectly normal..."

"Oh no," Chris whispered. Annabelle watched as his face turned from confusion to horror. "Oh no."

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Chris," Polk said. "Chris? What's wrong?"

"The alarm clock in my room. It was reset this morning."

"So?" Polk asked.

Chris gulped. "There was a power outage last night."

In the background, Ax laughed. "Smart kid."

Polk didn't reply. The tiny dinosaur was now tapping the glass with its front forearm. Dink dink.

"Carson, go scare it away," Polk said.

Dink dink.

"Carson! Now!"

"Alright, alright." Carson stood up and made his way towards the window. The compy stopped tapping the glass and cocked its head in a bird-like fashion. "Go," Carson said. The compy didn't obey. Carson slammed his palm against the glass and it jumped backwards.

Polk sighed, clearly relieved. "That ought to do it."

The compy, however, had different plans. Pointing its little head skyward, it uttered a sharp cry. Carson slammed the glass again, but this time it didn't move. Annabelle's heart sank as one, two, three, four more compys appeared in the window frame, clicking their beaks and cocking their heads.

Carson

"You've got to be kidding me." I muttered. The compys were gathering in numbers now, pecking at the window, and it was starting to fracture. I gulped loudly, as I slowly backed up from the window. Making a quick turn I watched everyone take a look from the window to look at me, back to the window, and back again. I shrugged nervously.

"I'm sure the glass will keep us safe." Polk said nervously, the sweat on his forehead obvious. I ground my teeth before coming to a decision. Moving my way past the horrified guests, I quickly made for my room. "Carson!! Where are you going?!" Poll shouted, as the number of Compys seemed to grow tenfold as they watched us inquisitively... And I might even say hungrily.

I turned to Polk, who was watching me cautiously, as if I meant to abandon him. I made a placating gesture with my hands. "It'll be ok Mr. Polk. I'm just going to grab my gear is all. Best to be prepared. And I'll go get everything ready for the tour." I left quickly, ignoring the looks from the others, as if I was abandoning them.

I made it to my room quickly. I started putting on my gear, making sure my weapons were loaded and ready. I had a feeling I would need them soon. Putting all my gear in my bag, I left the room, making my way down the stairs quickly, my senses almost heightened. Something had killed the girl from last night. But what? Almost involuntary, I switched the safety off on my rifle, as I quickly made my way to the jeeps garage. I breathed a sigh of relief, they were all there. Than something caught my eye in the corner of the garage.

With almost a sense of awe, I ripped away the tarp, revealing a black Honda CRF 450 R, possibly one of the fastest dirt bikes in the world. I started it up, grinning like a little boy as it growled at me almost. I checked the gas gauge. A full tank! No way was I going to be stuck in a little glass ball. Especially with... Things out there.

I suppressed the memories of what happens that night in Afghanistan. No way would I think about that now. I turned off the bike. I opened the doors to the garage, than returned to the bike. I leaned against it, pulling out my walkie talkie." Everything is ready Mr. Polk. You can send everyone down when your ready."

I waited for a response, met only with static. I rolled my eyes, repeating my message. Static. I scratched my head, unsure what to do. I didn't want to just leave the garage, because what if something was really in the gates? We couldn't lose the jeeps. But what if they were in trouble?

The answer to my question happened when the walkie talkie came to life, Mr. Polk's voice coming through." Get the Jeeps started Mr. Anderson! We'll be arriving shortly!" I had spent years in the military. I knew a scared voice when I heard it. Something was going on. I didn't know what, but I had my orders. I grabbed the keys to the jeeps, starting them up, one at a time, as I returned the dirt bike, starting it up. It growled to life as I got on it. That's also when I realized it wasn't the only thing growling.

Ax watched the Compys carefully, becoming wary as they grew in number. Mr. Polk assured the group that the glass would hold, but Ax could see that he wasn't completely sure. And his distress at Carson leaving seemed to prove that.

Soon after Carson left, the number of Compys increased further, until Polk started to say nervously, "You know, maybe we should leave and call some guards down-" but he was cut off as one of the Compys let out a sharp cry, which was taken up by the others. Ax watched in horror, as, as one group, the leaped on the glass, causing a network of cracks to spread across it.

Immediately, the whole room froze in fear, everyone with their eyes on the Compys. When a second attack shattered the glass, everyone snapped out of shock and started running and screaming for help.

Ax immediately assessed the situation, and knew his responsibilities. This is what he had been trained for, and he wasn't about to let that training go to waste. Especially since the Compys had cut off all exits already.

Taking charge of the situation. Ax yelled out over the chaos, "STOP! Compys are pack hunters, the only thing they'll respect is another pack! Gather next to the buffet table, anyone who runs off on their own is as good as dead!"

Many people still ran around, but some listened to what he had said and started to gather, standing bravely against the threat. Others who saw them snapped to their senses and followed, Ax bellowing out instructions as he stood near the buffet table, rushing out occasionally to help along people who were lagging.

However, Ax sensed that they were losing time. The Compys, who at first had been happy chasing people here and there in small numbers, were starting to gather in larger groups. Luckily, Ax noted, most of the guests had already gathered. Eventually, only Annabelle Quail was left to come, and Ax watched with concern as she ran towards them.

Suddenly, she slipped on the marble floor and fell, crying out with pain as her knee struck the ground, before clutching her knee and groaning. Ax sighed. He had threatened to let her die, and he knew that saving her would would reveal the truth of his threats, but letting another person die without lifting a finger to help them was against Ax's morale code.

Ax ran towards her, leaping leaping over the dining table, and going to Annabelle's aid as she lifted her hands in front of her face in a desperate attempt to protect herself from the approaching mass of Compys.

Ax lifted a chair and threw it at the Compys, scattering them as they gave surprised cries. He then lifted up Annabelle off the floor and ran to the dining table before placing her carefully on the other side and vaulting over it himself, with the Compys not far behind.

Before they reached them, Ax pushed the table onto its side, causing the Compys to stop in their tracks as they desperately tried jumping onto it, bit to no avail as their claws scrabbled for grip on its smooth surface.

Ax then helped Annabelle up, and half supported, half carried her to join the group, just as the Compys found the way around the table.

'Stick together, and keep the weak, young, and old to the rear! The Compys will strike at anyone they think is weak, so stand your ground!" Ax called out as the group backed against the wall, and placed himself in front of Annabelle, knowing that the Compys would consider her a weak point after seeing her wounded.

The Compys came towards them in a shapeless mass, chirping like a flock of birds, before finally halting as they came within a few feet of the group. For a few tension filled moments, the two groups regarded each other warily, the humans hoping that they wouldn't decide to attack, and the dinosaurs looking for weaknesses in their enemy's line.

Ax, Jorge, and a few others stood impassively in front, all understanding how vital it was to present a strong, united front to their hunters. Then, one Compy started to advance cautiously, scrutinizing Ax with its beady, intelligent eyes. Ax glared back, and then, as he got an idea, growled at it.

At that, the Compy leaped back, giving sharp cries of alarm. Ax grinned. It was just as he had hoped; the dinosaurs understood animal sounds, and what was meant by them. Ax's signal of territorial aggression had startled them, as they had thought that the humans were prey.

"Keep it up!" he urged his comrades, "Growl at them! They're getting scared, lets send 'em running!"

Hesitantly, his fellow adventurers took up the sound, rapidly becoming louder as they realized it was producing results. The Compys kept getting more and more agitated, until, with a sharp cry from the one whom Ax had identified as their leader (the one which had first charged the glass, and also approached Ax first), they ran off, and poured out the window from where they had come.

"Close down the metal shutters." Ax ordered, and Jorge did it, looking at Ax with respect.

Ax then turned to Mr. Polk, who was shivering nervously, and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Order your guards to go around the hotel grounds and in the hotel in groups of no less than three. Tell them they are to kill or chase out all Compys found within this area, and to lock down the building until they do. Do it now." Ax demanded.

Me. Polk swallowed nervously but nodded, and lifted up his radio, contacting his guards, trying and failing to keep the fear out of his voice. He then contacted Carson, to Ax's astonishment and told him to get the jeeps ready to take them to the gyrosphere parking lot., which as Ax recalled was a a hundred meters away (as could be seen from the resort), which would have been a safe, pleasant walk when Jurassic World had been up up and running, but positively hazardous to walk under present circumstances.

"You're still doing the tour?" asked Ax with surprise.

"Yes, of course!" replied Mr. Polk, "The show must go on, despite any hindrances."

Ax narrowed his eyes and said, "This wasn't just a hindrance, people could have died!"

Mr. Polk gave him a reassuring smile as he replied, "But no one did, and now we're safe! Our guards will take care of the Compys, and we will not travel unguarded either. A couple of gyrospheres of guards will accompany us on our expedition."

Ax hook his head and said, "But it'll be too dangerous, and too risky to try anything now!"

Mr. Polk replied, "Come now, Ax! You're our brave explorer. The guards are well trained, and the gyrospheres are very sturdy. They're even bulletproof. Besides, doesn't the chance of getting out there and seeing real dinosaurs excite you?"

Truth be told, it did excite Ax. He had dreamed of seeing real dinosaurs since he had been a kid, and, against his better judgement, he decided reluctantly to go along with Mr. Polk.

"Well, if you're sure it'll be safe," he grumbled, "Then I'm willing to do it."

Mr. Polk smiled with relief and clapped him on the shoulders at that. "You won't regret it, I promise you." he said.

Ax nodded and Mr. Polk turned to the rest of the crowd who were murmuring fearfully, and said, "Don't worry, we're all safe now! My guards are clearing out the Compys as we speak. Furthermore, our tour will be able to continue as planned! I give you my word that your safety is my first priority, and that we will be more than sufficiently guarded to make sure that nobody's life will be endangered. Two gyrospheres of guards will accompany us, one leading the way, and the other bringing up the rear. I and my grandson will be in the first gyrosphere, behind the first pair of guards. The rest of you may form your own pairs, and the order in which we travel will be ascertained once we reach the parking lot. In the meanwhile, you may wait here. A few guards will come to collect us soon."

There were some mutterings of unhappiness, but the group largely accepted what Mr. Polk had said, and started to group together.

Suddenly, Ax heard a small voice say, "Hey, Ax?"

Ax turned to see Chris, the kid who was his fan. "Oh, hey." he said with a smile. "What is it?"

Chris looked at him fearfully as he replied, "Could travel with you instead of grandfather?' he asked, "I think I'd feel much safer with you than with him."

Ax was about to reply when he noticed Annabelle coming towards him from the other side of the room. He locked eyes with her, remembering that she had a potentially dangerous secret, and said, "Sorry, kid, but I'll be traveling with Ms. Quail for this journey." giving her a glare which he hoped showed his intentions in doing so, and that he would make sure she was kicked off the mission if she tried to stop him from keeping an eye on her.

She must have at least got that that Ax was seriously threatening her, as she nodded with agreement as Chris looked at her, noticing that Ax was looking at someone else.

Chris then turned his face to the ground sorrowfully as he said, "Oh, okay."

Ax took pity on the boy and put his arm around his shoulders reassuringly and tried to sound upbeat as he said, "Don't worry, there are enough qualified people here to make sure nothing happens. And if anything does happen, I personally will ensure that you aren't harmed. Okay?"

Chris nodded, looking like he felt a little bit better and turned and strode towards his grandfather.

Then, Ax turned towards Annabelle and said, "Annabelle, if you would please accompany me to the kitchen, I'll see to that nasty bruise of yours. Also, there are things we need to talk about."

Annabelle nodded, looking unsure as Ax strode off towards the kitchen door near the broken window, Annabelle following closely behind.

~~

Annabelle sat waiting on a chair near the sink as Ax rummaged through the fridge. Not finding an ice pack nor something that could serve suitably, he took off his shirt. As soon as he did, Annabelle stared at him, blushing.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asked, her face turning an intense shade of beetroot.

Ax sighed, and ignored her as he put a few ice cubes in his shirt and rolled it up, before handing it to her.

"Use that as an ice pack." he said, and she nodded, with understanding and placed it on her bruise with a sigh of relief as the pain reduced.

Ax then sat on the counter opposite her, and both were quiet for a few seconds before Annabelle ventured to say, "Hey, I noticed you saved my life. Why?"

Ax looked at her quizzically as he replied, "Would you have preferred that I left you to die?"

Annabelle laughed shakily and said, "No, of course not, I'm grateful for what you did, but you did say-or at least implied-that you would leave me to die in case anything happened. So why didn't you?"

Ax looked directly at her and sighed. He knew that now he would have to reveal the truth. So he replied, "I don't like what you're doing. Anyone who lies about who they are is always dangerous on an expedition. But letting you die is not on my agenda. I merely implied it to try and get you to tell me what you're hiding." then Ax paused, taking in a breath before glaring at her and continuing, "But make no mistake, I'm watching you. And if you try to stop me, I will personally tell Mr. Polk that there's a traitor in his midst, and make sure that you're kicked off the expedition. And I'm sure that whoever you're working for wouldn't like that."

Annabelle nodded slowly, taking it all in. "Ax...do you have to be so nosy?' she groaned.

Ax gave her a deadly look as he said, "Nosy would be trying to find out what kind of underwear you use. I'm merely trying to keep everyone safe. And, as I said, until you come clean, I'm considering you as a threat. So, I'm keeping my eye on you until you do. Got it?"

Annabelle sighed exasperatedly but nodded.

"Good." replied Ax. "Now, we had better rejoin our fellow guests before they start wondering where we are." and he walked out of the kitchen, not bothering to see if Annabelle was following.

~~

Fifteen minutes later, wearing a fresh shirt, Ax and the other expedition members arrived at the garage where the jeeps were parked.

Noticing the tire marks of a dirt bike in the mud just outside the garage, Mr. Polk exclaimed, "Ah, it seems that Carson was eager to get started! He's probably out in the woods already. Well, no matter, we'll catch up with him."

Ax wasn't sure though. And, sure enough, just before the jeeps set off, he noticed what he thought was a dinosaur footprint outside the garage, much too large to be a Compy. But the jeep sped away too fast for Ax to be sure of it.

Ax tried to convince himself that it hadn't been a dinosaur print. And even if it was, he thought to himself, It could have been made anytime. Probably ages ago. It hasn't rained recently, so the tracks wouldn't have been washed away.

But he still felt nervous. However he pushed those thoughts to the back of his head as they came to the gyrospheres.

Ax chose the gyrosphere right behind Mr. Polk's, and took a seat at the controls, and Annabelle soon joined him. They then waited in tense silence until the radio installed in the gyrosphere crackled to life.

"Hello, all!" called out Mr. Polk's friendly voice. "We'll be starting off now." and the gyrospheres in front started moving.

When it was their turn, Ax pushed forward the control stick, and the gyrosphere shuddered as it began to roll forward.

Ax muttered to himself, "And off into dinosaur country we go." as the line moved steadily forward into the unknown.

I sat in my gyrosphere reading out of my notebook and steering with the other hand. I glanced up from my book checking off the dinosaurs I saw in my book as I did. Mostly small herbivores grazing trees and grass. I glanced over at the journalist, Annabelle I believe, who waved kindly over at me. I smiled wildly, maybe too much for such a new friend, and she quickly turned away.

"Idiot, this is why you're always alone." I mumbled forcefully turning the page in my book.

I hummed a tune to a made up song traveling down the fields with my new coworkers still trying to take in as much of this beauty as I could.

We approached a large wooded area and filed down a long dirt path deeper into the wilderness. I tapped my control stick to the beat of my song and even started adding a few head movements. I looked in my rear view mirror and caught the military guy laughing at the sight of me. I quickly looked down and my song ended.

"Nice one, freak." I whispered to myself pinching my leg in punishment.

We had arrived. There was a large fenced in area in a clearing of the woods. Polk come in through our intercoms for us to stay in our gyrospheres but I was already halfway out. My dagger was clenched in my hand as a few others followed my lead towards the massive cage. I circle around slowly, staying low and keeping my steps quiet. There was a hole through the cage and out towards the forest, escape.

Once we all realized, we stated back towards safety but it was too late. She knew we were here. A Mapusaurus rounded the corner growling cautiously at us We started to back away slowly, but she came running. We dashed back to the gyrospheres and hopped in engaging in a high speed chase through the trees. We had split up in all different directions, Annabelle and I had someone managed to stick together along with the Mapusaurus on our tails.

We swerved through trees till we reached the meadow where we found the rest of the crew.

"We're screwed!" I screamed clutching the tube of my DNA desperate for life.

Christopher Chase Polk - Sunday, Day 2 On The Island, 10AM

The events of that morning whirled through in Christopher's mind like the wind that flowed around the gyrosphere his grandfather was driving through the lush forests of Isla Nublar. Just a few hours before, Christopher was waking up, still hardly believing he was actually on an island filled with dinosaurs, still feeling as if he were in a dream. He'd disregarded the others concerns about their safety, and looked at the hotel in which they stayed as if it were a resort in paradise. But ever since he caught his grandfather talking to Carson in that ballroom, it was feeling less like a dream and more like he was waking up to a much more serious reality.

"Grandfather, why did the power go out last night?" Christopher asked. "The Compy's shouldn't have been inside the gate."

"Well, we are on an island in the middle of the ocean. Electricity can be somewhat unpredictable... But I assure you, there's nothing to be afraid of! I've got guards working to repair the gate and improve the power lines as we speak." Polk looked down at his grandson and beamed a bright smile. "The hotel will be safe and sound by the time we return."

Christopher shrugged. "Alright." Although he believed his grandfather was telling the truth, he still found himself looking over his shoulder to reassure himself that the guards were continuing to flank them.

Before long, a large enclosure with metal bars that reached forty feet into the air, came into view. Whatever was in this cage, it was huge.

Polk leaned forward and pulled his walkie-talkie off of the console. "We have arrived at our first destination! Please stay in your gyrospheres until the guards have gotten a chance secure the area..."

In the rearview mirror, Christopher could already see the strange scientist lady exiting the gyrosphere she was in. Shortly there after, others followed her lead, completely ignoring Polk's instructions.

"Umm... Grandfather?"

Polk's words trailed off as Alex, Annabelle, Ax, and Jorge passed by Polk's gyrosphere on their way to the enclosure. The guards filed out of their own gyrospheres and followed close behind them, rifles hoisted and preparing to circle the perimeter of the enclosure.

Christopher unbuckled himself and placed his hand on the lever of his door, getting ready to follow after them, but Polk pressed him back into his chair with a hand on his chest. Polk shook his head. "Let's just stay put until the guards give us the okay. No reason to take unnecessary risks, yes?"

Christopher slumped down, disappointed. "Alright," he said, but the more he thought about it, the more he began to wonder if his grandfather stopped him not because he was trying to keep him safe, but because Polk himself was afraid.

But afraid of what exactly? The power outage... The conversation in the ballroom... Polk's unwavering confidence starting to crack. What really happened last night?

And that's what he heard the screams, followed by the unmistakable percussion of rounds exiting the barrel of an M16.

The others shot out of the tree line, hightailing it back to their vehicles. The ground trembled, the dice hanging from the rearview mirror bounced, like a drum beat that continually got louder and faster, until a Mapusaurus burst out of the trees, heading straight for them.

Christopher's eyes shot wide as his grandfather franticly fumbled with the controls. A guard was running, the Mapu only a few yards behind him. He waved desperately at them and yelled, "Move! Get out of here! Go! Run!" Then the Mapu's head shot forward and its jaws closed around the top half of the guard's body, lifting him off his feet. His feet kicked franticly and his horrified screams could be heard clear as day from inside the transparent sphere, but they were silenced as quickly as they'd come.

Finally, the gyrosphere shot forward and Polk turned it around as quickly as he could. Everyone made it back to their vehicles and started off in different directions. The Mapu's roar split the air, then it started forward again. Polk pulled a hard right and they shot forward into the forest, the tall ferns slapping against the glass as they flattened out a path in their wake.

Christopher's body was as rigid as stone, his heart beating faster than he thought possible. "What now?!"

"We'll lose him in the foliage. There's nothing to worry about!"

Nothing to worry about? Christopher admired his grandfather's constant optimism, but he wouldn't exactly call being chased by a six thousand pound carnivorous dinosaur nothing to worry about.

One of the gryospheres of guards zipped by them, several yards to their right. They opened one one the side doors and opened fire on the Mapu. It roar and changed its target from Christopher and Polk, to the guards. Except, Chris wasn't even sure the bullets were penetrating the Mapu. If anything, it was just ticking it off.

The instant Polk realized they were out of the Mapu's sights, he changed course and veered off to the right, bursting out into a large clearing. The trees swayed in the distance behind them, marking the location of the dinosaur. To Chris's relief, it was going the other way... for now.

And that's when Polk slammed on the breaks. The transparent ball skidded to a halt, and Polk franticly unbuckled himself and yanked open the driver side door.

"What are you doing?" Chris's eyes shifted from his Grandfather to the tree line, and back again. The trees weren't swaying anymore, and he could faintly hear the yelling of the soldiers in the distance. Christopher didn't take this as a good sign.

"I'll only be a moment! There's something I have to get!" Polk yanked a shovel out from behind his seat and raced away, towards the tree line. He was surprisingly spry for a guy his age.

What could possibly be so important that he had to get it at a time like this? Had his grandfather actually lost his mind?

Polk dug into the soft dirt just on the edge of the tree line, over and over again. The Mapu roared again. It was much closer this time. Whatever it was his grandfather was trying to find, he was running out of time. "Grandfather!" he yelled, but Polk didn't respond. Desperate, Chris looked around the gyrosphere and his eyes fell on a shovel behind his own seat. He grabbed it, then pulled his door open and sprinted for his grandfather. If Polk refused to leave until he got whatever it was he was looking for, maybe Chris could help him find it faster.

The two of them dug, breathing hard and muscles shaking, the dirt raining down behind them. "What are you looking for? Why do we have to get it now?" Chris asked again.

Polk just shook his head. "We might not be back here again. If I don't get it now, I never will!" Finally, the tip of Polk's shovel met metal, and he threw his shovel to the side, dropping down onto the ground and digging his hands into the rich soil. Just as he pulled a silver canister out of the earth, the Mapu emerged from the trees... and its sights were once again, set on them.

They raced back to the gyrosphere, but the Mapu got there first, stomping its mighty foot down and shattering the glass dome into a million pieces.

Christopher froze, his blood running cold. He slowly raised his gaze to look up at the Mapu, eyes stricken with utter terror. And as if it knew, the dinosaur lowered its gaze to stare right back at Christopher.

But before it could do anything, a blur burst from the tree line and skidded to a halt, putting itself between the Polk's and the Mapu. It was Carson on his dirt bike. He propped something that looked like a small missile launcher up onto his shoulder and fired. A silver torpedo plunged into the Mapu's side and began sparking like a taser. The dinosaur screeched and stumbled backwards.

Carson didn't hesitate for even a moment. His head whirled around he locked his eyes on Polk. "Mr. Polk, we have to go now!"

Polk shook his head. "What about Christopher?! There's only enough room for two on the dirt bike!"

Just then, a second gyrosphere shot out of the forest behind them and the passenger door flew open. Annabelle hung out the side, one hand grabbing the handle above the door, the other reaching out. "Chris, come on!"

Chris and Polk exchanged quick glances, then scrambled for their alternate riding arrangements. Chris climbed over Annabelle the best he could and squeezed himself into the narrow space behind the seats. Then they started forward, back into the forest.

"What now?" Chris said, completely out of breath.

"We're headed back to the hotel," Annabelle replied. "Ax says it's the best place for us to barricade ourselves from the Mapu."

"Wait, you mean... That thing that Carson used didn't stop it?"

Annabelle looked over her shoulder at him. "You wanna put your life in the hands of a dinosaur taser? I'm going to go with 'slowed it down' or 'gave us a chance.'"

Sure enough, only a couple minutes passed before Chris could hear it trampling the undergrowth once again. This dinosaur had caught their scent, and it wasn't going to let them go until it got a taste.

The parade of gyrospheres flew through the open gates of the hotel. Either Polk had lied, or something went wrong when they were away... because the fence was far from fixed... and the hotel was anything but secure.

They slammed to a halt just outside the front doors, and the seven of them fled into the hotel. The remaining guards stayed outside, preparing themselves for if the dinosaur came into the hotel grounds.

Meanwhile, Ax began piling anything and everything he could against the front doors. Once the others caught on to what he was doing, they joined in. Everyone except for Polk, that is.

He was a mess. Breathing hard, his always neatly combed hair hanging in his face, his unfazed, calm demeanor completely shattered. Finally, tables and chairs and luggage carts where piled as high as they could reach, and for the first time in what must of been a half an hour, they had a moment to breathe.

Alex clutched something to her chest and paced the floor anxiously, muttering something under her breath. Carson had his gun hoisted, never taking his eyes off the barricade.

"Polk!" Ax stormed over to his grandfather, his strong arms crossed over his chest. Ax had a bone to pick with him; he wasn't going to let this go easily. "I let the Compy's slide... but this? This is crossing the line!"

"Ax, calm down. Everything will be fi--"

"Stop that! Stop reassuring us that everyone is safe, that everything is going according to plan. The hotel's one line of defense has been down since last night and you didn't tell anyone. An entire unit of guards was eaten alive by a dinosaur that you assured us would not be anywhere near here. That's not fine, Polk! And two of our crew are missing and one is sick upstairs... except, she's not upstairs... Is she Polk?"

Polk gave an almost indistinguishable shake of his head, still clutching the canister tightly in his arms.

"The one thing you promised all of us was our safety." Ax was trying really hard to stay calm. Chris never thought he would have to see his two biggest idols in the world fighting, and he wasn't entirely sure how to process everything that Ax was saying. Chris had been right to suspect something that morning, he just had no idea it would come to this. "Before we even agreed to come on this expedition, you assured us we would be perfectly safe. You said that our lives would never be in danger. But we were in danger from the moment we agreed to come, weren't we? You knew it was a risk, and you did it anyway."

For the first time, Mr. Polk was at a loss for words. Something Christopher had never seen from him.

Christopher sank to the ground, pressing his back against the wall and bringing his knees up to his chest.

"You okay, kid?" Annabelle asked, looking down at him. "Your face is as white as paper."

Chris nodded, then swallowed hard. He wasn't okay, but he wasn't going to tell Annabelle that. She was much braver than he was... You'd have to be brave to be a Reporter. And him? He couldn't even stand up to the bullies who picked on him at school.

He tried to calm himself, to slow his breathing. It didn't feel like reality anymore. Carnivorous dinosaurs trying to eat you isn't something that happens in reality. It's what happens in a nightmare. But the Compy's breaking into the dining hall and being chased by a Mapusaurus wasn't what bothered him the most...

He'd looked up to his grandfather more than anyone, and trusted him more than anybody. He was his idol, and he wanted to grow up to be just like him. But after today, he began to wonder if his grandfather was ever the man he thought he was... or if he could trust him at all.

And if he couldn't trust his grandfather, who could he trust?

"Polk," Ax continued. "If there was ever a time when we were safe on this island, that time has passed. The hotel is no longer secure. People have died. And the state of the island's Ecosystems are not what you thought they were. I am requesting that you shut the expedition down. You wanted to know if it was possible to turn this into a Jurassic Paradise, and if the island was sustainable. If we learned anything today, it's that the answer is no. It isn't. And if you want to live to see another day, you need to shut this expedition down. Now. Call the ship, and prepare them for our arrival, because we're not spending another night here."

Polk closed his eyes, utterly defeated. Then he nodded in reluctant agreement. "Alright."

And that's when Nigel Auguste's voice came through on Polk's walkie talkie.

Annabelle Quail - Second day on the island, 11 am

Polk fumbled for the crackling walkie-talkie at his waist and pulled it free, the ripping sound of velcro nearly muffling Nigel’s haunting proclamation.

“The ship is gone.”

“What?” Alex asked, her face white. “What did he say?”

“The ship is gone!” Nigel spat, adding a few breathy curse words that came out as indistinguishable walkie-talkie crackling. “The crew is dead!”

“Where are you?” Polk asked.

“The cliff above the docks,” Mercer said. “The ship’s still in sight, but barely. It’s been taken over.”

“Taken over?”

“Yes, taken over. By your lovely lizards of paradise.”

Annabelle stumbled backwards and fell into the nearest chair.

This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. She was just acting in a movie, or experiencing a vivid nightmare. There had to be more ships, right? They just had to go to a different dock, and get home on a different boat. Couldn’t they could always contact the Costa Rican government for help, too?

She looked up and saw Polk quarreling with the walkie-talkie, Ax, and Jorge. She couldn’t understand what they were saying because her brain felt numb, but one thing was undeniable - she hated Polk with every inch of her being. He was stupid and selfish to think that he could hire a group of people to sniff out the island. He was even more stupid to think that he could bring his own grandson along.

How dare Polk call this a Jurassic Paradise. Naomi was dead. One of the gyrosphere guards was dead. The entire crew on the ship was dead. Thank God Nigel and Mercer were still alive, but two men on their own in the Jurassic wilderness wouldn’t last long.

Annabelle’s chest started to boil in anger. Why the heck was she here in the first place? Why had her uncle, a guy who had ignored her for so long, suddenly decide that he needed her to go on this super dangerous mission for the FBI? She should have never accepted; she had a full life ahead of her as a lawyer. They could have hired anyone else - anyone who had nothing better to do than run away from dinosaurs.

But instead, her body would be crushed by the jaws of a prehistoric beast. Her piano-caressing fingers would be snapped, her strong-willed heart pierced. Her death would be as useless as the slaughter of a lamb - all she would be was lizard food.

Her chest stopped boiling, tears instead stinging her eyes. “I’ll be right back,” she mumbled, although no one probably heard her. She rose from the chair and limped across the dining area to the women’s restroom, the floor, the people, the door handle, and everything else a blur.

She went to one of the sinks and turned on the hot water, letting it spill over her hands and wash away the lingering tears that slid from her eyes and fell from her chin.

It was going to be okay. She and the other survivors would find a way to get out of this mess. There were a number of guards still left who were more than capable at protecting them, especially Carson. There was also Jorge, who knew all about dinosaur behavior and would know how to lessen their chances of being eaten. And then there was Ax, the survivalist. He would protect them. He would protect her.

She glared at herself in the mirror. No. You are not going there.

And yet, she couldn’t forget what it had felt like to have him carry her to safety, his steady grip reassuring, comforting, and gentle. His skin had been warm, even though the room was cool and air-conditioned, and his muscles had been...

Dammit! Annabelle’s infuriated reflection was scowling at her again. Ax is not your Prince Charming, and you’re not his damsel in distress. You’re a strong, independent woman, Annabelle! She abruptly pulled her hands out of the scalding water and turned the sink off. She drew her shoulders back, lifted her chin, straightened her spine, and shot the reflection in the mirror an impervious glare.

“You’re a strong, independent woman, Annabelle!” she told herself.

“Independent? That’s not a good idea.”

Annabelle whirled around. “Ax!” she growled. “What are you doing here?”

“Being independent on a dinosaur island isn’t a good idea,” Ax said, his head sticking inside. “I’m just saying.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Who the heck cares,” he said, stepping all the way inside, letting the door slam behind him, and spreading his arms, “if I’m in the women’s restroom?”

“Society cares,” Annabelle spat.

“Society doesn’t matter anymore. When you’ve switched on survival mode, it never does.”

“Oh? And I assume you have plenty experience ignoring societal norms?”

“Yes. And I assume you have plenty of experience writing your little New York Times articles?” He waved a finger in the air.

Annabelle clenched her teeth. “Look, buddy. You weren’t getting that information out of me in the gyrosphere, and you’re not getting it out of me now. I think we have more important things to worry about at the moment.”

“Exactly my point!” Ax said. “We’ve been waiting for you, and I just came to get you and see if you were okay.” He opened the restroom door. “Clearly, you are. Ladies first.”

“Oh.” She stepped out. “Do we have a plan?”

“Yep,” Ax said, grinning. “A perfect survivalist’s plan.”

Professor Nigel Auguste – Sunday, 10:55 A.M.


He spent the next couple of hours sitting by the edge of the cliff, head in his hands, groaning in anger and frustration as tears slipped down his face with every distant roar, crashing of massive feet, and the crumbling of jungle trees. Or scream. Sleep-addled, his back and neck in pain from his uncomfortable sleeping position, and now becoming more and more hungry, he hadn’t the slightest clue what to do. It was a perfectly hopeless situation, and he felt perfectly hopeless for it. So he spent his time brooding, pouring through thoughts and emotions in despair, persistently worried and tense.

In this midst of his whirling emotions, his recollections of the ghastly sights from yesterday, and the conditions by which he left the hotel, it took him forever to even consider using the walkie-talkie on his person. He was convinced that the hotel had been attacked; likely, most everyone had died. Certainly Polk, which Nigel, though he didn’t want to admit, took some comfort out of. If it meant anything anymore. Everyone who didn’t die – perhaps among them the survivalist, dinosaur expert, grandson, and maybe the journalist – was probably trapped by some large monster, and he doubted they would have enough resources to last more than a few days. If they were lucky, they had some means of contacting the nearest authorities, who could relay information to the American government, thus allowing its military to swoop in and end the crisis, but he questioned how long it would take, if it could be done at all. Whatever to eliminate this dreadful island and all its ghastly residents, however. Even if he himself were to die, it would at least make him feel better knowing that Isla Nublar would get what the bloody place had coming to it.

Mercer stood watch, aiming his powerful rifle into the forest periodically. Ever cautious and alert, he said nothing, probably given that Nigel didn’t seem to be in the mood for any conversation. Sounds emanated, but none were close enough to be regarded as serious, though the hunter kept on focusing on his surroundings. Hours passed in this fashion, both men incredibly stressed and anxious from their previous experiences, and hoping not to see such horrors again. The prospect of being saved, much less hope itself, seemed to be dangling far away, over the ocean, where it chided and laughed at them from its safe perch, ever reminding them of their terrible fate and location.

Auguste couldn’t detach himself from the memory of the tourist’s body. A gruesome sight, they had been lucky not to see it fully, although it was clear the individual had been only half the person they had used to be. Literally. Perhaps it was not the putrid smell or the disgusting sight, however, that was the most gut-wrenching. Maybe it was the fact that she likely had not been close to the first victim of this “Jurassic Paradise,” and Nigel sincerely doubted that she had been the last. Polk had summoned all of these people onto this one, dangerous spot, with the full understanding of the risks the dinosaurs posed, as well as the natural potential of death that came with it. Not only did he acknowledge this, he continued regardless with an eager smile and fervor, trying his best to do the impossible, and watching as his dream, which he knew had a good chance of collapsing catastrophically, did. Nigel had no respect for him anymore, though, hopefully, he didn’t need to worry about ever contacting him again.

Until he remembered the walkie-talkie.

The gyroscope had been turned off, particularly due to the annoying and loud tutorial, and Nigel wasn’t in any mood to activate it again, especially with the threat of a dinosaur attacking because of it. Even if Polk had installed a two-way intercom system, it just wasn’t worth the risk. The walkie-talkie was, thus, his last chance to see if anyone, anybody at all, was still alive in the hotel. Sniffling, he stood up, looking over the path down to the beach, the desk, the jungle fauna, cliff, and boat, the latter of which looked like it was slightly blood from a few angles. Auguste sighed; he’d better get this over with, even if there was the potential that he could be talking to Polk. Otherwise, he was stranded, without the awareness anyone else was still alive, and danger lurking around every corner in the forest that he would inevitable have to return to for food and supplies. “I’m going to be calling everyone else,” he called to Mercer, who shouted back, in a half-distracted, as well as agitated, tone, “Okay! Be sure to tell him about the ship!”

If they’re still alive, that is, thought and grumbled Nigel, shuddering in disgust. as he established connection with the hotel, the walkie-talkie hovering over his right ear.

After a few seconds of background static, a sudden wave of more intense static caught Nigel off guard, causing him to pull away the walkie-talkie from the annoyed ear. Seeing the potential chance to talk to someone, he spoke. “The ship is gone.”

Ragged huffing and breathing, as well as gasps of fear, confirmed that there were still others alive. Auguste drew a sigh of relief, but it was interrupted midway by the prospect that Polk may be as well. Mercer, noticing this, walked over curiously, peeking behind him repeatedly to assure nothing was attempting to draw near, as Nigel heard the light, almost shrill voice of whom he recognized to be the other scientist on the expedition, Alex. She’d seemed a little strange, even by his standards, and erratic, so hearing her scared made him far more so. “What? What did he say?”

Auguste lost his cool. “The ship is gone,” he yelled, throwing in several swear words in the process. He didn’t care whether anybody would chastise him for it; it had to be said, and it brought him some comfort to release his emotions that way, however little. “The crew is dead.” Mercer stood next to him with a raised eyebrow and a curious gesture, so Nigel handed him the walkie-talkie ungracefully, storming off towards the beginning of the dirt path leading down to the beach to swear incoherently, kicking the earth as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

“The cliff above the docks,” noted Mercer, answering somebody’s question. Nigel had little doubt that it was the singsong, happy voice of Polk, which made him all the more infuriated. “The ship’s still in sight, but barely. It’s been taken over.”

“Taken over?” That was distinctly Polk. He sounded stressed and tired, his breathing deep and ragged. The last thing he sounded like, for a change, was peaceful and optimistic. Something dreadful had happened, and, while Nigel did not know what it was, it was clear that Polk had gotten his come-uppance for a change. Storming over to the phone, Nigel shouted a clear response before Mercer had the time to do so.

“Yes, taken over.” Nigel threw in another swear word or two before continuing, after taking a couple of seconds to breathe, “By your lovely lizards of paradise.” He echoed the last few words in a voice dripping in sarcasm.

Snatching the phone from Mercer, he carried on in a gruff, desperate voice. Fear had turned to anger, and was now turning into sadness, his emotions and mental bounds snapping piece by piece the more he continued. “And…and do you want to know what…else we found? What happened…to the girl you assured…was safe?” Gulping in breathes, and beginning to sob, he couldn’t dare admit that he was going through the five stages of grief, but it was absolutely clear. Sweat poured down his face as he waited anxious, tensely, for a response. All he wanted to do was run, throw himself off of the cliff, get away from this nightmare in any way he could, regardless of what he had to do. Desperation had reached a fever pitch.

“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you,” said a scared Polk’s voice, whispering in a tongue of somebody who knew exactly what had happened, but was terrified by the realization that the knowledge had spread. His statement was obviously a lie – there was little static in their connection. By now, several people around him seemed to holding some kind of an argument, as though it was something he had not told them. Which it likely was. The sounds of a scuffle broke out on the other end, with shouting merging into a collective voice Nigel could not understand, the static starting to becoming a roar. He was too shocked to respond in any fashion, his mind having faced this sudden obstacle and was now struggling to overcome it.

“I’m sorry,” repeated Polk, now slightly shouting, “I can’t hear what you’re saying. I’ll send help as soon as possible. Just stay there, and you should be fine.” By now, anger began to creep its away into Auguste and his voice, especially in the light of the shouting, which seemed to be coming from the dinosaur expert and survivalist. They were now bickering over something, and Nigel could hear the sounds of shoving, pushing, and a desperate plea on someone’s part to grab the walkie-talkie. Polk, in spite of all that had happened, all that he had likely lost, was still blatantly lying to him. “Don’t you dare,” began Nigel, knowing what Polk was going to do next, thanks in part to the argument on the other end, and the man’s very nature. But he was too late, as the connection was at once cut out, leaving Auguste with a useless walkie-talkie.

Mercer’s hand shot out and grabbed Nigel’s arm before the enraged man, shouting in anger and swearing, tried to throw the walkie-talkie over the cliff and into the ocean. Staring firmly at the broken-hearted individual with those sharp green eyes, Richard put a finger on his lips and shook his head. Auguste had been making too much noise, and making a little more could cause even more trouble.

“We need to get out of here,” Nigel whispered, almost clawing at the air as he realized what he’d done. His now bloodshot eyes twitched, though he made no effort to fight against Mercer’s grip. “The beach is the safer destination; I don’t think many creatures come down there, especially now that that damned Polk carved a path through it.”

Richard Mercer shook his head in disagreement. “Too risky; there isn’t any foliage to disguise us, not to mention we can be easily seen and reached by whatever nears the cliff edge and sees the path. We’re going into the forest, and back to the hotel. It’s the only safe spot left on this island that either of us are aware of, and the people best suited for survival are there.”

An audible thump echoed in the far distance, followed by the sound of a crashing tree. Goosebumps formed on the skin of both individuals as they turned to stare, with wide-eyed expressions, into the wood. Their grip became tighter as they turned back to face each other. Mercer looked mildly surprised and worried; Nigel seemed on the verge of panic.

“Quietly,” they whispered at the same time.



The gyrosphere hummed lightly as it rolled its way across logs, over bumps, and traversed its way through the seemingly infinite jungle expanse.

Nigel constantly gripped the steering wheel, his gaze shifting constantly with every noise he thought he heard. Shuddering, teeth clattering in fear, he persisted nonetheless. Mercer constantly aimed his gun outwards, listening as much as Nigel did, if not more so. With every sound, Auguste would freeze in terror, Mercer would shift his gun towards the location of the noise, pay attention for a few seconds, find nothing, and they would continue onwards, going through the routine over and over again. Most of what they heard turned out to be simple enough – branches swaying, birds flying, assorted creatures running about. The rumbling in the distance, however, was likely not. Whether it was a carnivore or otherwise, it persisted, though never close enough to pose any sort of threat or danger.

Mercer acted as a guide. They had decided to not keep on the original trail, for fear of being caught in the open and dispatched by whatever lumbered past. Richard knew the general direction of the hotel, as he claimed, and so consistently advised Nigel as to where he should turn next. With each rumbling, they would shift directions, sometimes backtracking, yet always traveling in the same general direction. Minutes seemed to continue on forever, and, as they shifted into hours, it seemed as though an infinite amount of time had passed. Nigel trusted in Richard’s skills – and the man at least had the same goals as him – but he was getting more and more frustrated, on top of being immensely scared. While nothing terrible had yet happened, danger hovered at the back of his mind, acting like the hope of previous times in its brutality and annoyance. The risk of them getting attacked, eaten, crushed, destroyed. The gyrosphere breaking down, or losing essential parts, or otherwise outright failing. A million terrible things could happen, top among them the prospect of an attacking dinosaur. The foliage hid everyone, including their enemies, though it could not hide sound. That was the worst prospect of all.

Suddenly, being back on the cliff seemed like it had been the far more reasonable option. At least then they could see whatever it was that was approaching, not to mention it allowed them to gaze upon the only other hint of civilization they had seen so far – the ship. It had been attacked by predators; the crew was dead. Yet gazing upon it was easily superior to here, where fear acted like a suffocating, angry blanket, manifested in every small snapped twig, cry of a distant animal, or the shuffling of creatures through the woods. Nigel felt cornered, and had no idea where to turn, or who to turn to, for anything or anyone resembling help.

What if Richard was wrong? On the other hand, did he have any better guiding skills himself? Nigel was completely lost by now. They had shifted directions so many times, and were so far away from the original trail, that he hadn’t the slightest clue if any landmarks were familiar, or if they were anywhere close to the hotel. He hoped that Mercer knew what he was doing. If he didn’t know, they were doomed to die, stranded in the middle of a gathering of the largest, most ferocious predators on the planet. Could Nigel doubt Richard’s skills? Yes, and he did so fervently. He’d learned, thanks to Polk, that he couldn’t completely trust everyone here, even in the pursuit of something of mutual interest. However, was he better off trying to lead himself? Of course not. All he could do was hope.

A particularly loud thump echoed to their right, closer than any of the previous ones had been. Nigel’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as Mercer wheeled his gun towards the spot, peering into the inky darkness of jungle trees. “Turn left,” he ordered calmly, never taking his gaze away from the area of the noise. Auguste, with trembling breath, almost paralyzed by fear, did so.

The chattering of teeth was the only noise in the vicinity; all the birds had grown quiet, and the wind had made sure to die down at that appropriate moment. “Faster,” murmured Mercer after a second loud thump, now slightly closer. “And turn left into that grove of trees up ahead.”

Richard’s voice was laced with tension. Nigel’s heart doubled in speed as he obeyed swiftly, the gyrosphere making its way into a particularly tree-covered area of the woods. They were being approached by something, this he had no doubt of, and he knew that Mercer thought the same. Something had found them, and was now avidly looking to make a meal of them. The thought was too horrifying to bear, so he tried to bury it as best as he could by focusing on his surroundings. A forest and its beauty, the fauna running about. Each mildly blood-splattered fern, of which there were unsurprisingly many, did not help.

The third thump came, shaking the gyrosphere mildly. It was slightly farther away this time. Both breathed a sigh of immense relief, but said nothing about it. The best that they be silent.

“What…do you think it could be…?” said a freezing Nigel. He’d long ago stopped crying, and even sweating, thanks to that familiar emotion of intimidation that had come full circle. Auguste felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, terrorized by the unknown presences around him. His stressed legs seemed to want to kick and pull him from danger as soon as possible, and thus constantly nagged at him to go onwards, to be used in a superhuman burst of speed that would take him as far from Isla Nublar as possible. He didn’t know if he was going to use that energy soon, but he earnestly hoped not.

“I get the impression…” began Mercer, staring about him, pointing his gun above Nigel as he heard a sound.

And then he vanished.

The event lasted barely a few seconds. Nigel didn’t know what had happened until after then, when he was able to think beyond the wave of glass shards and the massive, brown, muscular clawed foot that came crashing down upon the gyrosphere and onto the ground below, leaving a massive impression in the earth. His shirt and jeans were suddenly ripped by a multitude of fragments of the gryosphere, leaving cuts across his back and the side of his face. And, of course, Mercer’s rifle came clattering down on Nigel’s feet.

His screams were drowned out by the deafening roar of the dinosaur, which was almost certainly a carnivore, given the way it sounded like a stock sound from the many advertisements he’d seen of Jurassic Park.

By some unknown miracle, the gyrosphere – or the half of it still left - was still capable of motion. It tipped precariously to the side, pulling Nigel and his crushed toes closer to the massive dinosaur’s foot, the rifle clattering towards it as well. Only the quick action on Nigel’s part saved him. Slamming on the equivalent of the gas pedal in the device, the still-screaming man threw his weight to the other side of the gyrosphere, causing it to rise upright and shoot past the dinosaur’s foot, which now rose into the air once more. Nigel dared not look up to see if it would fall upon him this time, much less what was possibly pursuing him. His survival instincts had taken complete control, and he was not about to stop and think about his present situation, lest he die in the process.

Glass continued to fly in all directions as he zoomed past rotting logs, over ferns, and swerved past trees. Nigel’s breathing and heartrate seemed to increase with every second as he continued screaming, wiping frantically the blood away from a cut slightly over his right eye. Pain started shooting up from throughout his body, especially towards his back and right arm and leg, which had suffered the worst damage. Yet his mind persisted to remind him to put all of his energy into driving the tottering gyrosphere, which continually threatened to throw him into the jungle. With his eyes focused devotedly to the surroundings in front of him, his battered ears could only hear the distant rumbling and stamping of a massive creature as it tried to near the swift gyrosphere, which was now running through large gatherings of tall trees. It felt like his heart had been removed from his body and was now playing ambient music, though his deafened ears were, naturally, not the most credible source at the present time.

The said ears pushed him nonetheless, reminding him that the creature that had attacked could once again approach at any time. Panic gave way to a strange sense of calm and determination that only his mouth did not agree with it, and he continued to make his way deeper into the forests of Isla Nublar. His worst fears had been realized – there was no more reason to be concerned about their happening anymore. Now he had to deal with it. By now, he didn’t care how close he was towards the hotel; what mattered was whether he lived or died. Besides, moving towards the hotel, whose location he still didn’t know, would put the lives of everyone else at risk, and that was something he did not want to do. It was the thought, along with his own spirit, that keep him moving forward, in spite of his horrible situation.

It was then that he remembered the rifle. In the midst of the loud humming of the gyrosphere, his ears (one of which now bleeding) caught the distant roar of the carnivorous dinosaur in the background. His breathing ragged and long, he allowed his hearing to guide an arm as it off-handedly snatched up the rifle, he pointing the weapon behind him while not taking his gaze away from in front of him.

Then he learned it was a terrible idea to use a powerful rifle with a nasty kickback while also trying to drive a partially destroyed vehicle in the process.

Two long bangs emanated throughout the landscape, injuring his poor ears even further. The animals in the vicinity scattered in terror, and the large creature in pursuit seemed to stop, confused and frustrated by this sudden loud noise. Or perhaps it had been hit. Whatever the case, Nigel could no longer hear the dinosaur following him anymore. It had roared one last time, in what he could’ve sworn was almost surprise, and halted itself. Whether it had decided the man was too much effort, or he’d finally outpaced the creature, which could no longer easily give chase in the mazelike forest without clear sight of him, it seemed to have stopped, and maybe even given up.

On the other hand, Nigel couldn’t hear anything at all.

Momentarily made deaf by the blast, he realized that casually attempting to use a powerful weapon was a dreadful idea. Pain exploded in the arm that he’d held the gun with – had he broken a bone? Too, if he had been even close to striking the creature with his wild aim and erratic movements, it would’ve been pure luck itself, as he may as well have aimed at the ground. Then, of course, he retracted his arm in agony, dragging the rifle with it. Nigel threw it onto the bottom of the gyrosphere in one long, frustrated movement, where it was more than happy to discharge, blowing yet another hole into the already fragile craft.

The man prayed as his tiny, unstable craft slammed into a wooden log, throwing him off of it as the said gyrosphere exploded into a flurry of glass and broken metal.

He landed ungracefully in the mud and grasses of the forest, thrusting even more pain through his back and legs. His hands scrabbled in the midst of the thick and unreliable-for-footholds wet mud. In spite of the odds, with the feeling as though everyone bone in his body was bruised or broken, Nigel persisted, groaning in frustration and pain as he made to try to sit, or even stand up. Eyes darted wildly about, capturing glimpse of the overhanging massive trees and ferns, yet without the sight of a particularly imposing, or dangerous, creature. He was safe, for now, but that would only last for so long. Even the smallest dinosaurs could be dangerous, and it was a risk that he did not want to take.

Auguste could hear the crackling of static from somewhere next to him in the mud. His ears, which were still ringing ferociously, were still enough capable to recognize it, somehow. Poking about with his unbroken arm (the other being cradled under Nigel’s body), he yanked out the muddy walkie-talkie. It must have fallen out during his brief flight. With the sound of the dying motor of the gyrosphere behind him, Nigel frantically held his head and arms above the mud as he tried to establish a connection to the hotel.

“Hello?” he called out bitterly, dryly, when the familiar wave of static reached him. His own voice sounded distant, and pain almost silenced him at once. Black spots danced around his eyes. “I…don’t know what to say. Mercer is…dead. Do you hear me, do you hear me, he’s dead!”

Tears flickered down his face. “I’m not fine…either. I’ve crashed the gyrosphere somewhere…somewhere.” Looking about him and finding no familiar landmarks, he stifled a sob and continued. “I’m dead. Everything hurts, there’s a cut over my eye, and I’ve gone through more pain and suffering than anybody should have to experience in a lifetime. I haven’t eaten, or had any water, in a day, and I don’t think I’ll find either of those soon. And…it’s not easy to think about your own death, or the deaths of the people around you…to say the least. I don’t know if any of you are still alive – Mercer certainly isn’t. He’s flattened on the ground by now. I know that I’ve better to say to mark my final words, but this is your fault, Polk. All of this is your fault. I hope you’re proud of that.”

With that, he cut the signal, and continued to fight the most important struggle of his life.

Ax walked wit Annabelle back to the group. They were all seated along a rectangular table, in what must have once been a board room. Ax took his seat at the head, with Annabelle on his right. Everyone looked to him expectedly, as he had called this meeting, and so he cleared his throat and began.

"Fellow guests, you know the problem that faces us," started Ax. "Because of Polk's idiot idea." grumbled Annabelle, but fell silent as Ax gave her a reprimanding glare.

"The Mapusaurus is coming, have no doubt." continued Ax. "But Jorge says we have a little time, while it sets the boundaries for it's new territory where it has freed itself."

"A few hours, half a day if we're lucky, given how far we are from where it escaped." added the expert. "That means we'll be able to make plans to get away."

"So the south of the island is the obvious choice." said Ax. He and Jorge had planned this together, and they were quite satisfied with their decision. "So, I will lead a small group down, along the river using whatever is there at the dock, to find out whether it's safe down there. Any objections?"

Mr. Polk spoke up. "Ax, I just don't think it's right to risk anyone in such a foolhardy expedition. We have no idea what's out there! As the leader of this group, I think that we should barricade the hotel and hold up here with our guards."

Ax sighed. "Mr. Polk, I am sorry but i must remind you that you are no longer the leader here. According to the terms of my contract, I am in charge in a survival situation. And that's what we're in now. So, unless anyone agrees with your plan, which is to wait for the Mapusaurus to come and kill us all..." and he paused and looked around the table, but no one voiced their approval of Polk's plan. "then it would seem we're going with my plan." Mr. Polk stared down at the table, and sank in his seat.

"Good." said Ax, clapping his hands. "Now that that's over, it's time to decide who's coming with me."

"I am." quipped Jorge. "You'll need a dinosaur expert to ascertain safe conditions."

Ax nodded. "Great. And...Carson?"

"Sure." said the hunter, leaning forward. "I'll supply you guys with weapons too."

"Thanks." said Ax with a slight smile. "We'll need a few guards as well. Four should do."

Carson nodded. "I'll gather a few of the boys for it."

"But you're our security expert!" protested Polk. "What will we do without you if we're attacked?"

"I'll leave Don in charge." said Carson. "He's a good man, he'll be able to keep you guys safe."

"Then it's settled." said Ax.

"Not quite. I'm coming with you." said Annabelle, giving Ax a hard look.

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed Ax. "Its far too dangerous. We don't need civilians getting hurt."

Annabelle narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not staying when our survivalist, head of security and dinosaur expert are going out. I'll take my chances outside."

Ax muttered a few curses under his breath. Not wanting to turn this into a drawn out confrontation, he relented. "Fine." he muttered.

He then turned to the rest of the group. "We'll keep radios with us to contact you when we need to. Get ready guys, we leave in twenty minutes."

~~~~

Ax whistled softly as he stroked his paddle into the water. pushing his kayak further each time. He paused to look back for a moment, letting the current carry him forward. He could see that the other four kayaks were still close behind him.

The group had been moving steadily along the water for about an hour, the two people in each kayak both paddling along. The current was on their side, so it was an easy ride for the most part. There were two people to each kayak, Jorge and Annabelle sharing one, Ax and Carson on one, and the four guards also separated into pairs.

Ax continued whistling, and listening to the sounds of the forest around them, no one speaking. Eventually, Carson broke the silence. "You know, it's weird that the ride's been so smooth. I would've thought that there would've at least been some rough parts of the river."

"Oh, well that's because this river is artificial." said Jorge. "It was made for the guests to cruise on, and watch peaceful herbivorous dinos while it was going on."

"Stupid, stupid people." muttered Annabelle. "That dinosaur park was a huge mistake. This island should be bombed, just like the other one."

Jorge gave her a wary glance. "They didn't ask to be created, Annabelle." he said. "They're just behaving naturally. The least we can give them in return is that we let them be, in their own ecosystem."

"I agree." concurred Ax. "We should observe, not invade their habitat. Small groups of researchers, not large groups of park builders led by industrialists should come to the island. We should try to document, and film them from a distance, not try to contain them."

"Then why did you come here?" said Annabelle, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you obviously think this was a mistake, invading their habitat."

Ax shrugged. "I didn't see any other opportunity to see dinosaurs on the horizon. It was a childhood dream."

Annabelle snorted. "Well, are you happy having seen them now? Not so fun when they're trying to kill you, is it?"

Ax sighed. "No, but this is isn't what I had in mind."

"Well, what did you have in mind, then?" shot back Annabelle.

Ax thought for a moment before starting, "Well, I wanted to see somethin-" and then he froze and stared straight ahead. Oh. My. God. About ten meters ahead of him was a large head, drinking from the water.

As they came out from forested area into a plain, they saw that it was attached to a long, long neck, which was in turn attached to a bulbous body. In short, it was a brachiosaurus.

As they passed, it lifted it's head from the water, that single body the size of Ax's kayak. It observed them, carefully, giving low calls. Carson quickly raised his rifle, but Ax put a hand on it and shook his head. Carson then swallowed and glanced at Ax before fixing his eyes warily on the animal, and lowering the weapon. Suddenly the ground shook slightly, and everyone's eyes turned from the one they were watching to see that they had come upon a herd of the beautiful, majestic creatures


They moved slowly along the riverbank, all turning their heads towards the kayaks as they passed, watching them from several story's height up, several craning their necks
over the boats to look at the strange new visitors. They moved around to get a better look, and even stepped over the river, but they very carefully made sure that they never touched the humans, showing gentleness and grace.

As they passed the herd, many of whom still had their heads turned towards them, Ax's eyes were wide with wonder, and Jorge's mouth was agape. And they weren't alone, as everyone in the group seemed to have been affected by what they had just experienced.

"That-that's what I came here to see." said Ax in a hushed, amazed tone. He received no reply, but nor did he need one from the now stunned into silence group, as the kayaks moved southward along the river.

~~~~

Ax leaped off the kayak first, jumping to the docks, before catching the ropes thrown to him by the others and tying them to a wooden post, and pulling them to shore. Carson and the others warily stepped out onto shaky and partly decayed wooden dock.

As Annabelle started to get off, Ax took her hand and gently pulled her onto the dock. She snatched it away. "I"m perfectly capable of-" she started, before the portion of the dock she had stepped on gave way, and started to crumble beneath her.

Ax grabbed her arm in the nick of time and pulled her back, losing his balance as well as hers as he toppled backwards, and she fell on top of him. She quickly stumbled to her feet, blushing furiously and stomped off without a word.

What's with her? he wondered before walking after her.

~~~~

Ax, Carson and the guards had their weapons raised, ready to shoot anything that moved as they slowly approached the abandoned hotel. Suddenly, the bushes rustled behind them, and eveyone turned.

Suddenly, a Compy came out, and observed the group carefully. More came out behind him, all looking curiously at them with intelligent, beady eyes.

"Not those little buggers again." muttered Carson through gritted teeth.

"They won't hurt us as long as we stay together. They respect another pack." said Jorge.

And sure enough, they did. The Compys followed them but kept a certain distance away. This is annoying. thought Ax. I hate those things.

When they stepped through the open gates of hotel, the Compys starting making sharp cries, that sounded a lot like astonishment. They went further through it, but the Compys didn't follow. A few hopped closer to the gate, but then ran back, looking disturbingly afraid.

Perhaps we should take that as a warning. thought Ax as they came to the doors of the hotel. As they others went through, Ax took one last nervous glance at the seemingly terrified Compys, before gulping and stepping in.

~~~~

Ax quickly regained his calm, confident composure as he rejoined the others. They were gathered in the entrance hall, and three doorways led out from it.

"We could cover more ground if we split up." suggested Carson.

Ax nodded. "Okay, how do you think we should do that?"

Carson scratched his chin. "Well, how about this; I and Raoul take the left, Mitchell, Gary and Jorge take the central doorway, and you, Annabelle and Dexter go on the right."

Ax was slightly annoyed that he would have to protect Annabelle as well as explore a possibly dangerous area, but he understood why Carson had thought the plan would work. Given the amount of time Ax and Annabelle had spent together, t would be reasonable to assume that they got along well. So, he agreed, and they all went off in their respective directions.

~~~~

After nearly an hour of carefully looking through every room they came through, they came to what looked like a former bar room. Ax whistled as he looked at the state of the place. The carpet was torn, the chandelier had fallen, and strange marks were across the walls.

However the bar itself seemed fine, and they went closer to it to look around. Ax noticed that the wall next to it had what looked like claw marks. "What could've made that, he muttered to himself. Meanwhile, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Annabelle was staring at a corner of the room, and Ax turned to look where she was looking, and paled to see tiny bones in a neat pile.

"What did tha-" started Ax, but he was cut off by a a scream of "OH MY GOD!" from Dexter, and Ax whirled around, just in time to see a velociraptor leap over the bar table and bring the guard to the ground! Ax lifted his gun, but was too slow as the reptile slashed the guard's throat with its toe claw, silencing his screams with a gurgle of blood, before leaping towards Annabelle, so quick that Ax missed his first shot.

Ax quickly turned, but slipped on some blood, and fell on his back, and knew he'd be too slow to stop the creature's jaws. But, in the nick of time, Annabelle karate chopped the reptile in the head, and it stumbled back with a sharp cry, giving Ax just long enough to sit up and discharge three toxin filled bullets into the creature's torso, and it fell to the the ground with a cry of pain, dead.

Ax stumbled to his feet, clutching his rifle. He turned to Annabelle, and was about to say something when he noticed she was pale and shaking. He took off his long sleeved army jacket and wrapped it around her, and she held onto it as she stumbled back and sat on an a couch. Ax sat next to her, unsure of what say, and just put his arm around her shoulders in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

Soon, Carson appeared in the doorway. "We heard the screams." he said. "What-" then stopped as he noticed the bodies of the velociraptor and the guard. His eyes fixated on them, then turned to Ax and Annabelle. "We should get out of here." he muttered. "There are bound to be more."

"I don't think so." muttered Jorge as he stepped through the door, his eyes fixed on the dead reptile. He knelt down and examined it. "This creature was hurt some time back. And by a fellow raptor from the looks of it."

"What are you saying?" asked Carson.

Jorge looked up at him. "I'm saying that I think this individual was a former pack leader, who was defeated and chased off by a challenger. So I don't think there'll be any others. Not to mention that, if there were, more than one would've attacked you, and we'd probably be dead by now."

"That's a pleasant thought." muttered Carson.

Ax ignored him and asked, "But how did it survive on its own, without a pack to hunt prey with?"

Jorge's eyes alighted on the pile of bones in the corner. "Mostly by eating Compys, considering those."

"So that's why they were so afraid." muttered Ax.

"Who cares." said Annabelle bitterly. "A man is dead. That's all that matters."

They all glanced at her before turning to the dead bodies again.

"We should give him a proper burial." said Carson.

Jorge shook his head. "The scent of his blood, even when buried, will bring predators to us. I know this isn't what's right, but i suggest we wipe up the blood, wrap them in curtains and dispose of them in the woods, a good distance away."

Carson didn't look happy but nodded. "Gary, Mitchell, get to it. Use a gyrosphere from the garage to help take them away."

The two guards nodded and did as was ordered, before moving out. The rest of them sat down, staring at the floor, thinking about what had just happened.

Carson muttered, "Well, we've checked the rest of the place, so it's safe here at least. We can call the others down."

Ax nodded sombrely, but didn't do anything as they all just sat and waited until the guards returned, seeming to have some news.

"Sir!" called one, "We're getting a radio signal."

Carson sat up as they placed it on a small table in the room, and everyone gathered around it. The guard adjusted it until a clear voice could be heard; Nigel's. "Mercer is...dead." he sobbed out on radio, and proceeded to explain everything to them, ending with how everything was Polk's fault.

He's not wrong there. thought Ax. "Nigel, can hear me?" he called out. "Where are you?" but received no reply.

"He must be in shock." muttered Jorge.

Ax looked up at the group. He couldn't help feeling responsible for the recent deaths. It had been his job to protect them, and four people were dead already. I'm not gonna let Nigel die too. he resolved grimly.

"Carson, you should head to the hotel and supervise the evacuation. I'm going to find Nigel." said Ax. "Last we heard he was on the North Coast, i'll head that way, and try and contact him when I get closer."

Carson nodded, understanding completely. "Raoul, you're in charge." he said to a guard, who nodded. "Listen to Jorge, he can help you. Try to secure this place as best you can. Mitchell is a tech expert, he can help get the electricity and perimeter fences up and running again."

"The Compy's fear will still keep them away for a while, so we should use that time to get security up and running." said Jorge, and the guard agreed.

Then Carson and Ax quickly moved towards the garage. When they got there, Ax said, "best use a gyrosphere instead of a bike, Carson. They're more silent, and you don't want to attract undue attention."

He nodded. "But how will we get everyone here? There aren't enough kayaks."

Ax replied, "Use the motorboats. I know we sad they were too noise, but if you try and paddle them along, and use the engines as little as possible, then we should be okay."

He nodded, and they each climbed inside a gyrosphere, before they both moved quickly away, and through the gate which a guard held open for thm before losing it behind them.

As they reach the point where they had to diverge, Ax gave Carson a thumbs up, and Carson did the same, before they each sped off in their different directions, both of them fervently hoping that their missions would go well.

Christopher Chase Polk - Sunday, Day 2 On The Island, 2PM

The foyer of the hotel felt strangely hollow with just Chris, Polk and Alex inside. The majestic, red satin curtains seemed duller now, and the beautiful crystal chandelier that hung above their heads flickered, as if to remind them that the power--and the fence--could go out at any moment. They were far from safe. Christ knew that now... even if the guards had gotten the fence back up and running. But for how long?

Chris sat on the cold marble floor with his knees drawn up to his chin, his eyes fixed on the Jurassic Park hat he held in his hands, originally given to him by his grandfather. Ax, Annabelle and Carson had been gone for hours, and a part of him was beginning to wonder if he would ever see them again.

Alex sat on a couch on the other side of the foyer, still clutching onto her metal cylinder. Her eyes shifted around nervously, never resting on one thing for too long. She'd been doing that for hours, and Chris wasn't sure she had blinked once.

Finally, Polk emerged from the dining hall with a walkie talkie in hand, his leather shoes clicking against the floor like an echo in a canyon. He sat down next to Chris and folded his legs. "Hey, Champ. How're you holding up?"

"Okay, I guess."

"Glad to hear it." Polk tried an optimistic smile, but let it fade as quickly as it had come. It just didn't fit anymore. "You know, Christopher. Everything is going to be all right. I promi-"

"No, it's not Grandfather," Chris said abruptly. He looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "People have died. You lied to everyone here."

"I stretched the truth a little, yes. But I wouldn't call it lying... I just knew that others wouldn't see my vision the way I saw it, so I had to stretch the truth."

"You lied," Chris said sadly.

Polk opened his mouth, then closed it again. "From now on, I promise to be completely honest. You can ask me anything. Anything in the world."

"What was so important about that thing you dug up?"

"The future of Jurassic Paradise depended on it."

"So, the future of Jurassic Paradise is important enough to you that you were willing to risk my life for it?" he asked carefully.

Polk opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He hesitated, and that told Chris everything he needed to know. He pushed himself off the ground, devastated. "I can't believe I ever looked up to you." His words were barely above a whisper.

"Christopher, wait," Polk tried as he started to walk away.

He turned back to face him. "What, Grandfather?"

Polk had never looked so defeated, so tired. "I never meant for things to turn out this way. Maybe when we get off the island, we can put this whole trip behind us and things can go right back to the way they used to be." He tried another smile, but as if that part of him had broken, it just didn't feel right anymore, and it faded away once more.

"I don't think so," Chris said. Going back would be impossible now, because to go back would mean that Chris would have to live in the illusion that his Grandfather was still the man he always thought he was, and that just wasn't true.

It never was.

Chris looked back down at the hat in his hands, the faded Jurassic Park logo dirty from endless hours of wear. Everything that hat stood for--everything he knew about his grandfather--was a lie.

And with that, Christopher turned his eyes back up to his grandfather, pressed the hat into his hands, and walked away.



Late afternoon light cascaded across the marble floors, turning their milky surface a glimmering gold. Still no word from Ax and his team. Still no sign of help.

Chris sat on the couch where Alex had been, the scientist having long since gone into the kitchen to find something to eat. But when she returned, what she had found was far from food--it was the canister Polk had dug up.

"What are you doing with dinosaur DNA?" she asked, coming through the swinging door of the kitchen.

Polk's eyes widened."Where did you get that?"

"Where did you get this?"

Polk scrambled up from the floor. "That was with my things. Were you going through my things?"

"Yeah," she said with a shake of her head, as though it was obvious. She turned her attention back to the canister. "Velociraptor. Project Nightfall. That sounds like a military term."

"Please, it's very fragile." Polk tried to snatch it from her, but she pulled it away before he could.

"Polk, why do you have military dinosaur DNA?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Who are you working with?"

"I--"

Shouting rang out from outside the hotel, followed by the sound of gunfire. "The fence is down! Fall back! Fall back!"

Chris, Polk and Alex ran to the front windows. The fence had been tipped over, now laying flat on the ground without power. A dinosauric roar split the air, and a guard was lifted off his feet, forty feet in the air.

The Mapusaurus had found them. In an instant, the ten guards who were ordered to protect them seemed no where near enough.

Christopher stared in horror. A guard yelled for them to hide, but his warning was cut short, the Mapu crushing him under its foot like a boot squashing a bug.

"Go! Go!" Polk yelled, pulling Chris away from the horrors that faced them outside. But it was too late. The Mapu crashed through the front of the hotel, forty-feet of windows raining down on them in sharp shards of glass. A shard sliced through Chris's cheek, but he ignored it and bolted for the elevators.

The ground trembled under his feet with every stride, the Mapu not far behind. Chris slid into the elevator, the last of them to get there with his short legs, and slammed his thumb over the button to the eighth floor. Come on! Come on! Come on! The doors took their time, leisurely closing with grace as if it didn't know a fourteen thousand pound dinosaur was about to end them all.

The Mapu roared, then charged. The glass doors finally closed and the elevator began its ascent up the towering wall of the lobby, looking out over the whole foyer. The more they rose, the more level they became with the dinosaurs head. It stared at them through the glass, its eye as big as Christopher's fist. For the first time, it was as if they were the caged animals being inspected from afar, not the other way around.

Just as the elevator started to pass the fifth floor, and they begin to think they were in the clear, the Mapu's head shot out and grabbed onto the bottom of the elevator with its giant teeth. They screamed as the Mapu yanked the elevator towards itself, forcing the elevator horizontal.

Chris slid and landed on the back wall, which now made up the floor. He looked forward to see the service hatch--once on the ceiling, now on the back wall. "The service hatch!" he yelled, and in and instant, they all understood.

Chris undid the latch and shoved it open only to be met with the closed elevator doors of the fifth floor. With all the strength he could muster, he helped his grandfather pull them open.

He crawled as fast as he could through the hatch and onto the fifth floor, followed closely by his grandfather. Alex was half way through when the elevator cable finally snapped, and the Mapu stumbled away with the elevator in its jaws.

Alex dangled precariously from the open elevator doors, hanging on for dear life with just her hands to keep her from falling five stories onto the marble floors below.

But she was lucky--she wasn't alone. Chris grabbed one hand and Polk grabbed the other, and together, they pulled her up the rest of the way to safety.

They all collapsed to the ground, desperately trying to regain their breath. But Christopher caught something the others didn't. A scent. More specifically, smoke. "Do you smell that?"

Before they could answer, the door on the electrical room a dozen feet away from them burst off its hinges and slammed into the opposite wall, busting a part in four big splintering pieces. A gust of fire rushed out after it, briefly lighting the hallway with orange and yellow light.

And that's when the power finally went out.

The hallway plunged into darkness with nothing to light it but the glow of the ever-growing fire, and the windows at each end. Chris's breathing quickened. "What would have caused a fire to start?"

"The electrical has been haywire since we got here," Alex said. "When the fence went down, it must have caused the power boxes in the electrical room to spark and start a fire."

Polk got back to his feet, then pulled Christopher up to his. "Come on, we can't stay here."

Chris led the way down the hallway towards the stairwell, Polk and Alex a dozen or so feet behind. As he pressed his hand against the door, a growling rose up behind him. He slowly turned, the blood rushing in his ears, to find himself staring into the face of a velociraptor just inside the doorframe of the last hotel room. Before he could react, it screeched and lunged for him, knocking him backwards into the stairwell.

He lost his balance and tumbled down the flight of stairs, hitting his head on the wall at the bottom. The world spun. Stars danced across his vision. Through the haze, he peered up the stairs to the open door. The raptor wasn't there anymore. He was no longer its target. Which only meant one thing...

It's new target was Polk and Alex.

Chris pushed himself up from the floor and stumbled back up the stairs, the world becoming more and more in focus with each step.

By the time he got to the top, the fire had spread a dozen feet in every direction. They needed to get out of there fast.

A screech echoed from one of the hotel rooms. Christopher flew down the hall and into the room it came from to find his grandfather cornered against the windows by the Raptor. It was closing in on him.

"Grandfather!" Chris yelled. The Raptor's head whipped around in Chris's direction, which gave Polk just enough time to slip away from the windows and yank a fire extinguisher off the wall. Now it was the Raptor who was cornered.

Polk pulled the pin and unleashed the high-powered foam on the dinosaur. It cried in surprise and stumbled backwards into the windows. The glass broke, and it started to fall.

But Polk was too close.

The Raptor's arms flailed as it hopelessly tried to grab on to something, and that something, was Polk's clothes.

A single claw ripped through the old man's Hawaiian shirt and yanked him backwards. Together, Polk and his beautiful lizard of paradise fell towards the ground fifty feet below.

"Grandfather!" Chris cried. He bolted for the window, threw himself on the ground and reached out a hand, nearly hanging out the window himself. Polk's fingers brushed his, but it was too late, and he watched as his grandfather fell away and disappeared into the late-afternoon fog.

Chris's whole body shook. Could his grandfather really be gone, just like that?

"Chris! Come on! We have to go," Alex said, yanking on the back of his shirt to pull him away from the window.

"He's gone. My grandfather is dead," Chris choked out, tears streaming down his face. His grandfather may have lied, but he was still his grandfather--and he still cared about him.

Alex yanked him up off the ground and forced him to look at her. "Chris we don't have time for this! Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here."

Chris nodded and wiped the tears away with his sleeve. Together, they hurried out of the room, the fire only a couple feet from reaching the door. Chris bolted down the hallway once more, but before Alex could follow him, a big regal pillar from the floor above broke through the ceiling and cut off her path. "Chris!" she yelled.

He whirled around to see her trapped. Fire behind her, pillar in front of her. He ran back to help, but she waved him away. "I can climb over, but take my bag! I don't want it to catch fire." The flames were hot against his skin, making him sweat even more than he had been before. Smoke was beginning to fill the hallway, making it hard to breathe. Alex pulled the strap off her shoulder and tossed it to him. He quickly looked in the bag to find two canisters. Alex's and Polk's.

She put her hands on the beam, but before she could climb over, they heard a crack! They both looked up. That can't be good.

Another crack! Louder this time. Alex looked back at Chris with wide eyes, and before either of them could move, the ceiling caved in, and Alex was crushed under a hundred pounds of fiery rubble.

Chris stared in horror, his blood running cold despite the growing heat. But there was nothing he could do. She was gone. Polk was gone. It was just him now, and if he wanted to live to see another day, he needed to get out of there.

He turned and headed for the stairwell once more. He pulled the door open and hurried down the stairs, flight by flight until he reached the bottom. Chris put his hand on the handle of the door leading out to the lobby, and stopped.

He couldn't stay on any of the other floors without risking the same fate as Alex, but as far as he knew, the Mapu was still around. Which had a better chance of survival? Facing a raging fire that was far too large at this point to put out with a simple fire extinguisher and would eventually cause the hotel to crumble on its very foundation, or face a fourteen thousand pound dinosaur with razor sharp teeth that had already killed a dozen guards?

Neither option was appealing, to say the least. But Chris knew if he could get somewhere safe. Somewhere the Mapu wouldn't be able to get him. Somewhere like the garage, he thought, then he might have a chance.

Chris steeled himself for what he might face him on the other side of the door, then he burst into the lobby. No Mapu. No guards. Just one very destroyed elevator.

He hurried through the foyer, fiery pieces of the ceiling raining down all around him. Halfway to the entrance, something snapped!

Chris looked up in horror at the giant chandelier above his head as it started to fall. He ran as fast as his feet could take him, his heart pounding, sweat running into his eyes. He dived at the last second, the chandelier crashing against the marble only a couple feet behind him, crystal shards exploding in every direction. Several pieces sliced into Chris's back and he let out a cry of pain. He yanked off his jacket, taking the shards with it, and pushed himself up off the ground. He just had to keep going.

He ran down the front steps of the hotel. Guards were strewn all across the hotel grounds, and as far as Chris could tell, none were still alive.

Just have to get to the garage. Just have to get to the garage.

He bolted across the grounds, leaping over guards and pieces of rubble. A roar split the air. The Mapu was still here.

The ground shook under his feet, nearly knocking him off balance. He risked a quick look over his shoulder to see the Mapu was headed right for him, and closing in fast.

He wasn't going to make it to the garage.

Chris looked all around. Maybe there was a building closer. Maybe there was a gyrosphere somewhere nearby.

But the only thing Chris's eyes fell on was a giant electrical cable next to the fence that had been ripped from its socket a couple dozen feet from an electrical box.

The cable that gave the fence power.

If Chris had any shot at stopping the Mapu once and for all, it was with that.

He bolted for the fence, grabbed the cable, and took off for the electrical box. He ran on top of the fallen fence, the links in the metal clinking against his shoes. The Mapu was closing in, its own feet not only clinking against the chainlink, but pressing them deep into the earth with its weight.

Chris leapt off of the fence and shoved the cable back into its socket. The fence sparked with electricity and flowed through the chainlink, the Mapu, still on top of the fence, getting hit by the wave. It let out a painful roar and stumbled back, then collapsed on the ground beside the fence, the whole ground trembling under its weight.

And the Mapu was no more.

Chris sank to the ground, his whole body shaking. Barely being able to process everything that had happened. And for the first time since the trip began, a thought ran through his head that he never thought he would have: I want to go home.



Christopher sat on the front steps of the hotel, staring down at his shoes. His back stung from the cuts he's gotten from the chandelier. He was shivering, but it wasn't cold out in the slightest. Beside him was Alex’s bag. Inside held her most precious possession, and Polk's most guarded secret.

He wiped away the blood that ran down his cheek from the shard of glass that had struck him. Tears cut through the soot that had covered his face, drawing clean lines down his skin.

He had killed a dinosaur, something he never thought he would have to do. His grandfather was dead. Alex was dead. All of the guards that had been assigned to protect the hotel were dead. Christopher was all alone. There was still no sign of the others, and the sun was beginning to set. He began to wonder if anyone would be coming back for him--or if he was the only one still alive. It was a lot of weight for a fourteen-year-old boy to bare. For now, he waited. Maybe there was still someone coming back for him. Maybe he wasn't completely alone on this island. But there was no way for him to know for sure.

So, it was all he could do to sit on the front steps of the hotel as it burned down around him, stare down at his shoes, and wait for someone to come find him.

Annabelle Quail - Sunday, Day 2 on the Island, 1:20 PM

Annabelle tugged Ax’s jacket tighter around her chest. Even though the afternoon was humid and hot, she was shivering. Dexter’s slain and bloody corpse hovered in the front of her mind like a frosty apparition, chilling her blood and squeezing her heart in an icy fist. She could see his mouth stretched open in an eternally frozen scream, his neck muscles taut even in death. Flecks of frost, even, clung to his eyelashes.

The last in a single-file line of herself, Raoul, and Jorge, Annabelle continued forward, doing her best to keep up as they traced their path back to the river. When the ferns around them rustled in the still air, she hardly flinched. She was too exhausted to be scared anymore. She was walking deliberately into the heart of the terrible lizard’s homeland, leaving layers and layers of vegetation between herself and the hotel, but she didn’t really seem to care. In fact, her being further from that hellish hotel was somewhat comforting. Her hand, tucked in one of the jacket’s pockets, still hurt from karate-chopping the velociraptor’s tough, pebbled-skin head.

They reached the river at last, and walked alongside it until they found a decorative but not withstanding flat wicker bridge, which had snapped in half, leaving the two ends swerving back and forth in the water’s current. Raoul brushed a curtain of black hair from his forehead, then reached out and grasped the wicker handrails, tentatively testing the floorboards with his toe. Giving even the slightest pressure to the wood would submerge it completely in the water.

“Nope,” he said, retreating. “Not gonna happen.”

A twig’s snap from across the river drew their attention. It was the two other guards, Mitchell and Gary, returning from the disposal of Dexter and the velociraptor.

“Shoot!” Jorge said, removing his glasses and cleaning them with the edge of his shirt. “How’d you guys get across?”

Gary gestured back towards where they had come from. “We came from north of the hotel, and climbed over the kayaks we’d left. They’re a good ways back.”

“You guys’ll have to get over here somehow,” Mitchell said, eying the dilapidated bridge scornfully. “We haven’t found the main geothermal energy generator yet, but it’s bound to be over here somewhere, by the fence. Chances are the designers of the park disguised it really well; those things are ugly.”

Annabelle stepped up to the edge of the river and leaned over, trying to judge how deep it was. She flinched and nearly fell into the water when she heard Gary and Mitchell suddenly cock their rifles at the same time. She looked up at them.

Mitchell’s wide eyes darted back between Annabelle and something behind and above her. Don’t move, he mouthed.

Annabelle didn’t listen. She slowly turned her neck around until she could see Jorge, who stood deathly still, and Raoul, who drew his shotgun to his chest, kissed the crucifix around his neck, took a deep breath, and whirled around.

Rapidly, he aimed and fired into the trees. Gary and Mitchell joined in from across the river, letting loose a hailstorm of bullets that flew perilously close to Annabelle’s head. She ducked and at the same time Jorge sailed toward her and tackled her into the river.

Their bodies slammed into the water and were immediately swept forward with the current. Annabelle surfaced, sputtering, just in time to see a velociraptor leap clear across the water, knocking Gary to the ground. Mitchell unleashed a chorus of bullets into the beast’s head.

The river took a sudden turn and carried Jorge and Annabelle out of sight from the bloody carnage behind them. Annabelle tried to speak to Jorge, but she only received a mouthful of putrid river water. She latched onto a fern frond, coughing and sputtering, but the frond snapped and the river pulled her back in. The foaming, frothy white water churned faster and faster, slapping against mossy rocks and tossing Annabelle along like a rag doll.

She locked eyes with Jorge, who looked terrified behind his saturated lens. He glanced at the stream ahead and then back at her, wordlessly expressing his alarm for the white water. Just a few hours ago, hadn’t he commented on the river’s pacified state, and owed it to the benefit of the Jurassic World kayak ride? One thing was certain - the river had reached wild, off-road territory, a place where no kayaks should ever go.

“Oh God,” Jorge said. “This is so—” He sputtered in the water. “—cliche.”

When Annabelle saw the river drop suddenly and plummet into a waterfall, she had to agree.

“They always—” she said, “—always survive. In the movies.”

A few seconds later, they fell.

The water from the river surged from above them and hammered them down into the lake. Annabelle drew her knees to her chest and plunged into the water in cannonball formation, sinking deeper and deeper into the lake. She released her knees and fought against the relentless water that pounded down from above, suddenly wishing she had dedicated more time to swimming classes when she was younger.

Nonetheless, she finally broke the water’s surface and gulped gratefully for air.

She swam toward the edge of the lake, where the water was shallow enough to come to her waist, and stripped off Ax’s jacket. It was heavy and wet, and for simple convenience she considered tossing it away. Instead she tied it around her waist, and slowly waded around, scanning the surface of the water for Jorge. Believing she was still in a movie, she imagined that she would find his limp body, drag him into the mud, and perform CPR on him until he sputtered and coughed back to life.

“Annabelle!”

She turned around and exhaled in relief. Jorge was staggering onto the shore across from her, waving a tired hand. Annabelle waded over. “Did you lose your glasses?” she asked, noticing he wasn’t wearing them.

“No,” he said, and lifted his other hand, which was gripping his glasses tightly. “I took them off just before we fell.”

“Good,” Annabelle said. She collapsed in the mud next to him, and stared blankly into the water.

“They are a bit scratched,” he admitted.

“A shame.”

“Yeah. They’re good glasses.”

“I had glasses once.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah,” she said. “They were good glasses.”

“Nothing like a good pair of glasses.”

“Nothing.”

Jorge rolled over onto his knees. “We should probably go.”

“Why?” Annabelle moaned.

“Lakes aren’t safe. Dinosaur hotspot.”

“Everywhere’s a dinosaur hotspot.”

“Touche.”

Jorge got up anyway, and started walking. Annabelle took a deep, weary breath, and followed.

Jorge Harrison - Sunday, Day 2 on the Island, 5:00 PM

They had been traveling for hours. It was hot during the evening, Jorge had noted. The sun was slowly sinking towards the horizon. The inky orange was now turning to a raw red. They might've been walking in circles. The hotel could be in any direction. He sighed, wiping his damp sleeve across his forehead. After falling off the cliff, Jorge felt a wave of nausea flood his stomach. It had reminded him of highschool, getting dunk into the toilet. He tried to shake the feeling off but it only grew worse as they continued.
Annabelle was surprisingly quiet, the only noise she made was her footsteps and the sniffing of her nose. You made a girl sick. I mean, she is daring but still, Jorge thought, frowning. The wetness will probably attract more dinosaurs by the looks of it.

"Hey, Annabelle," Jorge started without looking behind, "I think we need to find a place to rest."

"Everywhere's a dinosaur feasting spot. You even said yourself, Jorge."

Jorge sighed. "I know, I know. But we could be walking farther away from the hotel and besides, dinosaurs like the dark. That's when they're come out and hunt."

Annabelle whined. "Don't tell me that."

Jorge shrugged. "And movement can cause the dinosaurs to detect us better so if we were hidden, they might not find us."

Annabelle stopped walking. "I suppose. Danger always finds a way to us, doesn't it?"

Jorge chuckled. "It always does." They continued walking until the sky became black, stars shining like diamonds in the ruff. The trees were shadows and the ground was the blindspot. Jorge had to squint in the dark, trying to make out shapes. The slightest of sounds would make Jorge and Annabelle jump. It was like walking on a suspended bridge with raging waters underneath.

Some minutes later, Jorge and Annabelle stopped by a small cave. Around the cave were trees of many sorts, some rocks, and a stream that ran off in the other direction and deeper into the woods. The darkness had proved some troubles for both as Annabelle had tripped a couple of times and Jorge nearly losing his glasses. In front of the cave was a sloped in semi circle, pine needles and berries in the center. This looks like a perfect place to have a fire, Jorge thought. The trees that were above seemed to cut off the starlight. Jorge had to use a flashlight on his nearly dead phone to see.
Soon, Annabelle and Jorge were safety inside the cave. The temperature seemed to go down as the nigh soon approached. The only thing that kept Jorge warm was his hope to survive.

"Maybe start a fire?" Annabelle suggested, breaking the silence. "And one us can keep watch."

Jorge sighed. "I'll go first. You've had a long day already. Get some sleep." He then stood up and walked around the sloped semicircle to find some sticks and pine needles. Fireflies were out and about in the woods. Moving around the trees like a path. Jorge seemed to be content with the fireflies as though they seemed to clear his worries. I'll have to show Annabelle later. And then continued walking deeper into the woods.

As he approached the cave, Jorge laid the items down in the sloped semicircle while Annabelle came out of the cave, looking panic stricken.

"Do you know how long you were out for?"

"Um." He hadn't given it much thought. Deep in the woods didn't exactly had a time nor place but instead a feeling of security.

"Maybe a minute?"

Annabelle let out a laugh. Jorge raised an eyebrow as he suddenly felt annoyed. As a fire had been lit inside of him.

"A minute? Really? You've been gone for an hour, Jorge. An hour. I could've died and if you had come back, you could've seen my body like Dexter's. Clawed at."

"At least, you're alive, Annabelle. And if anything could've happened, you can call me on the walkie talkie, right?"

Annabelle scowled. "That's besides the point! You needed to just get sticks and something to light the fire-"

"Which I did," Jorge interrupted.

"But instead you probably went exploring in the woods-"

"I found a string of fireflies."

"Stop interrupting me!" Annabelle took a deep breathe before continuing. "Look, we really need to get back to the hotel. See if anyone else is alive. We do not have time for exploring."

Jorge sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, fine. After we get this fire started, we can try to find the hotel. We also need food."

"Yeah. I think Ax had some in his pocket," Annabelle said. "The jacket's in the cave. A nut bar and a bag of berries."

"Wonderful," Jorge sarcastically said. He took a lighter from his right jean pocket and flicked it.

"Where did you get that?" Annabelle asked, awing at the flame.

"Oh, uh. My dad gave it to me when I was college. He was a heavy smoker. 'You never know when you're gonna need a good lighter.' I haven't heard from him in a while, though. The last time I remember him was when he left of Egypt." A memory of his little self and his father, stepping over tombs and his father would point out the different symbols on the walls. It was a one time gig his father had.

"Anyway," Jorge shook his head, clearing such thoughts, "while I'm making the fire, you should get the food and some rest. Don't give me that look. You need it. I'm sure you only got like couple minutes of slumber before freaking out." Annabelle made a noise similar to a cough. Jorge sighed. "When I come back, I'm getting some sleep. Then, once we both wake up, we'll go find the hotel."

"Fine. Just be careful."

Jorge looked towards the cave before back at Annabelle. "I'm always careful."

A few moments later, Jorge ignited the fire. As he traveled through the woods, they reminded him of a blanket during the summer.
When he had returned, Annabelle had came out with a small hand of berries and gave it to him. She then sluggishly walked back to the cave. Alone in the wilderness with dinosaurs is something scary. Of course, Jorge thought while munching on the berries, I've only known dinosaurs from stories. We're dealing with monsters. Terrible monsters. The fire he had just lit, seemed to lower. Waste of perfectly good sticks.
Minutes passed as Jorge watched the fire slowly burning out. The thought of fire was both intriguing and frightening. It burns and builds things up. It makes wounds and helps heal. Fire is a marvelous invention of man, he thought. Grabbing a nearby stick, Jorge started to jab at the fire. Marvelous thing indeed.
Annabelle woke up, complaining about how her neck hurt.

"Did you use Ax's jacket as a pillow?"

Annabelle raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. It's not only my neck but my back. I think we should find the hotel because I want to sleep in a bed."

"Unless it is caught aflame," Jorge muttered. He was still poking at the fire, his eyes growing misty.

Annabelle looked towards the leaves, small specks of sunlight hitting her face. "Maybe we'll go after we eat."

"I just had jacket berries."

"Jacket berries can't fill up anyone unless you make a chicken and cobb salad."

Jorge sighing, throwing the stick into the fire. He then stood up and faced Annabelle.

"Then we should be on our way to find the hotel. If we stay out here any longer-"

"Dinosaurs will find us. I know, I know." Annabelle sighed. "Nothing new."

They continued east from their campsite, following a beat down trail that connected the park's ziplining. When they got to the ziplining complex, Jorge looked about making sure that the coast was clear. A stingy feeling had crept into his mind but he decided to ignore it. The complex was small; a pink walkway led to two doors, flowers were on either side of the walkway, and a couple of windows were in the front, darkness inside.

"I think if we go across the zipline, we should be able to see the hot," Jorge said.

"'Should?'"

"Yes, should."

Annabelle gave a skeptical look before walking up the walkway. Jorge shook his head and followed after. Inside there were small plants, a engraving above the stairs that led to the ziplining, that said you can't change the ocean or the weather, no matter how hard you try, so it's best to learn how to sail in all conditions. Jorge muttered the phrase, the words barely leaving his mouth. Annabelle was already at the top, tapping her foot.

"Hurry up, Mr. We-Should-Find-The-Hotel-Fast."

Jorge narrowed his eyes before running up the steps.

The second floor had chairs and tables. A sign (which read Ziplining This Way with a small arrow pointing right) was near a fountain, in the middle of the room. They followed the arrow, which then lead them a open area. There were yellow helmets with a head light, harnesses, and a picture of guy hanging upside down from a zipline with a big red x on top on a faded instructions.

"Alrighty. You're not afraid of heights, are you?" Jorge asked as he peered down over the edge. Annabelle gulped before shaking her head.

"Okay. So the first thing we should do is just get the harness on and the helmets. Then, one of us will go down there and wait for the other. I'll go first and then you'll follow me. When we are down there," Jorge pointed to a small grassy area, "we'll go to the edge of the cliff, where I think we'll be able to see the hotel."

"You've done this before?" Annabelle asked as Jorge handed her a harness.

"Many times. When your father wants to get around places fast, this," he paused as he held up a harness, "comes in handy."

They were strapped in with Jorge on the seat. He spun around sometimes, which made Annabelle feel sick to her stomach.

"You should stop or else it'll break."

Jorge sighed. He spun around to face the landing spot. "Wish me luck." And slid down. The wind rushed past his ears. The trees were slowly coming closer to him. He was flying. He was near the end. He was-



Laying face down in the first, Jorge could feel his nose bleeding and throbbing pain doubling over. Blinking a few times, he tried to figure out where he landed. As he lifted his head, a sound came to the next of him. A growl. Oh no. Rustle of leaves. Please no. He laid down his head and stilled. His breath caught in his lungs as the thing came into the clear. If he tilted his head, Jorge could see the yellowing toe-claws of the Anchisaurus. The Anchisaurus sniffed in the air, red nose slits moving like a mouth and eyes looking about at the different foliage. It was only a moment before the Anchisaurus left, deciding the leaves in the area weren't to it's proper appetite.
Jorge lifted his head after he heard the dinosaur head into opposite direction. He scrabbled up and ran towards the grassy plain. Annabelle might be worried, he thought. A headache rose into his head, causing him to stumble all over the place. When he finally made it to the grassy plain, Annabelle was already there, rocking back and forth.

"Annabelle!"

She looked in the direction where Jorge's voice called. She jumped up and ran to him, hugging him firmly around the middle. All Jorge did was pat her awkwardly on the back.

"I thought you died!"

"Well, uh." Jorge blinked a few times. "I was almost stepped on by a dinosaur."

Annabelle looked up at Jorge. "Eh?"

"I don't think it saw me. Plus, it didn't even try to eat me. Must've been a herbivor. But anyway," Jorge wiggled out of Annabelle's grasp. "We should take these off and head in that direction." He pointed to a worn down trail, weaving between the trees. "There we should be on the right track."
After a few minutes, they were on the trail. Annabelle had told Jorge about how about he had gone down, she heard a loud bang from inside the ziplining complex. A flash of yellow from the second floor.

"And after that, I just went for it. I was scared but it felt as though you were flying."

"Yeah, that's what my dad says. He broke his knee while ziplining once and his arm, I think."

As they neared the ending of the trail, the smell of smoke whiffed into both of their noises.

"What the?" Jorge muttered. Running ahead, he was on top the viewing point. You could see the tree tops and-

The hotel was on fire. Flame licked at the sides, inching their way towards the top. The blazing was an eyesore for Jorge, making him put a hand over his eyes. It looked as though the fire had just started. Who would've done such a thing? Soon, Annabelle had joined him on the overlook and saw the hotel.

"Oh no," groaned Annabelle. "This is bad. Really bad. There could've been people inside. Survivors. Now, they are-they are-"

"They can't be dead," Jorge said.

"Huh?"

Jorge faced Annabelle. "Remember? Everyone escaped when the first dinosaur attacked. I mean sure, it is possible but everyone was in their own group and going into a different direction. If anything, the people could've died while escaping or traveling back." He muttered the last part as the front of the hotel exploded.

Annabelle let out a shaky breath. "Now what? We can't go back to the hotel. We're stranded without food or water. Dinosaurs are everywhere. We could possibly die." She started to cry. "What are we going to do?"

Jorge was silent. His brain was empty. He didn't have an answer; he couldn't pull one out of thin air. He felt the same way. It was like going to the movies and expecting some big box office movie but instead, you get some crappy home movie that some fat guy made in his garage. His nose was hurting again but ignored the pain.

"I don't know what to do next," Jorge finally said. "I'm afraid if we do anything, that could lead us into danger and we might not have a way back after that. I think we should just sit and wait for help." He started to sit down, hanging his feet off the edge. Annabelle continued to cry. It hurt his heart. He never made a girl cry or see one cry either. All the girls he knew back in high school and college would only give him the nasty eye before going to class. He didn't mind that much; dinosaurs and science were what he called "love".

As Jorge continued to watch the hotel burn, a thought jarred it's way into his brain. It was a weak one, a thesis. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand, hoping the thought could ignite some reason. His thoughts seemed to be attracted to the fire. A moth to the flame. Curiosity often kills the moth, the wings slowly crumpling before the moth dies and falls. Of course, the moth can be quicker and smarter, darting around it and only exploring for overhead. It didn't make sense to Jorge but his intention was to see the fire up close. Perhaps someone will be there waiting.

Professor Nigel Auguste – Sunday, 2:40 P.M.


By some miracle, he was still alive. He didn’t know how long that would last.

Nigel had found refuge within the confines of a large tree after extricating himself from the mud. It had been incredibly hard to pull himself up the massive barky face of the foliage, particularly with a broken arm, but he had been able to find some footing and was now relaxing in the midst of some of the lower and thicker branches. There was a size-able amount of space around the trunk for him to sit comfortably on one of the branches and have enough space for the small pile of twigs and leaves that he’d fashioned from the weaker and smaller branches. Of course, by comfortable and relaxed, that meant as much as an injured, panicked, scared man could. He was a speck in a massive world by now, and that was incredibly discomforting. It took a lot of effort to ignore the cries and shouts of foreign creatures all around him.

Nigel wished he’d been able to fashion a splint for his broken arm, but the gyrosphere had proved useless in providing many resources. As such, all he had was a couple of pieces of glass with him, and was too terrified to return to the spot where the gyrosphere had been abruptly stopped for fear of being attacked. The glass was helping him focus the sun’s rays upon his leaf pile, but also served to cut and scratch his hands. On the bright side, the cut above his eye had stopped bleeding, and his own frightened nerves and emotions drowned out the pain from what was likely multiple other cuts and bruises across his skin. Auguste, on top of his other fears, wondered what would happen when he crashed, physically and emotionally. For now, he just had to have confidence that that moment wouldn’t come for some time. However, at the least, he was hungry and thirsty, and had spent quite some time hoping that his understanding of optics and survival guide courses he’d taken a few years ago would pay off.

His outfit was mud and blood-splattered, and torn. Nigel had ditched the walkie-talkie some time ago, a move that he recognized was not fairly wise. However, it had been ruined by the mud and a couple of drops to the ground (thanks to Nigel’s having had to regain his balance and coordination after escaping the mud), and was marginally useless. At least he kept his computer and other such items in his suitcase, although he had no need for them at the present time, and there wasn’t any solid wi-fi connection to be had in the middle of a jungle. He prayed that his present efforts would do, as he had spent much of his dwindling time fashioning together a larger pile of branches and frond leaves from the local plants and remnants of trees scattered across the ground, the latter of which likely having been left behind by persistent herbivores. That assortment was now lying upon the ground a short distance from his position. And now he was afraid that he would find himself ingested by some massive creature who mistook him for a plant. That seemed an almost comfortable end, but it was not helping his situation, and he pushed it aside.

So, after a brief amount of time, joy soared through him as the sun’s rays, focused through the glass, finally began to smoke and set fire to the smaller pile. The smell of burning leaves reached Nigel’s nostrils as he stared down intently, a smile forming on his face. It then turned into a frown as he watched the newborn, smoky sparks begin to eat and curl up the leaves and branches, turning them black. He didn’t have much time now. Setting the piece of glass beside the new fire, Nigel grabbed the latter gently with his broken arm, and moved himself over the tree’s main trunk, setting down his feet on the most stable holds he could find. Gripping the tree with his other hand, he grumbled at his broken arm protested and he made his way down the structure. Pain echoed through his fingers as they dealt with the new heat, but the blaze wasn’t strong enough to warrant much of a sensation. On the other hand, Nigel would rather burn his hand than let the fire die, so this didn’t make him happy.

The fire continued to smolder and smoke, as did Nigel’s spirits, when he finally stepped upon the ground and made his way towards the larger pile, carrying the flame reverentially in his hands. Desperately hoping that his surroundings were not too moist and unfriendly, the man set down the smaller pile on top of the larger one, and focused intently on the sparks and fumes that increased gradually. Holding in his breath as much as possible, Auguste watched as flames began to work their way downwards, seizing first the smaller leaves before becoming daring enough to grasp the more imposing and size-able branches. His heart seemed to rise and lower as its efforts did. His mindset smoldered with the fire’s earliest struggles, flickered and ignited as the crescendo of flame took control of the piles, and burned and blazed contently as a black heaping of smoke cascaded into the air. By now, a full-force bonfire had sprouted into existence, and Nigel walked around the perimeter of the tree, grasping the branches and leaves scattered across the ground and adding to the flame.

This carried on for some time, until the bonfire was great and imposing enough that Nigel knew that any threats would be intimidated by his efforts, and that onlookers would be able to spot the traces of the fire and smoke it produced from a far distance away. The fire itself was bound to last for a couple of hours, especially if he kept enough attention on it, which he had all the intentions of doing. So, for now, he could be at least confident that he could attract his teammates and repulse some of the more violent of the dinosaurs. As such, he made his way back up the tree again, and relaxed against the rough branches, staring up through leafy canopies into the specks of blue sky far above. He was thinking of his family, and how long it had been since he had seen them. That would have to be Christmas, when he flew from the city of his university across the country to Atlanta, and met some of his relatives.

Nigel drifted into his memories. He wasn’t going to go to sleep, as he guessed that would be a terrible idea. Now, though, he could only think of the warm smiles of family and friends as they prepared a massive meal and set it down on a long dinner table. There were jokes traded, eggnog drunk, and a few bad sweaters complimented upon. The men in the family set up an impromptu football game in the backyard, and Auguste had served as a decent quarterback. He wasn’t one for gifts, but exchanged some rather happily with family members and his nephews and nieces. The gifts were still on his desk in the office at home, he remembered, along with the sweet hand-made cards sent by relatives on his birthday, and when he’d injured his leg in that skiing accident.

Home. How nice it would be to be there again. He smiled warmly as memories poured through him. His apartment. The university campus. His office. The classroom. The students who came in every day and chatted with him. And the studies that he had conducted and research performed. It was only now that he remembered, in the midst of all this chaos, why he had come to Isla Nublar in the first place. They’ll get a hell of a report now, he thought. And then they’ll raze this island to the ground and I can go home again. In his present situation, it was an infinitely pleasing thought.

And then he was jolted back into his senses by the sounds of something crashing through the undergrowth. As he looked around, he realized it was two somethings, coming from either side. One was orderly and composed, and Nigel could hear the quiet sounds of a gyrosphere stopping followed by something shoving aside leaves and branches. On the other side, strange noises emanated from the woods as something else seemed to be making its way through the landscape hesitantly and warily, as though unsure of something. Fear seized up Auguste’s heart. The latter could be a dinosaur that had decided to investigate the fire, or was at least made curious by its presence. Perhaps these creatures had come to associate light with human activity? After all, they were normally shrouded in total darkness, and had been until Polk had taken command and installed light fixtures at his own personal sanctuaries, which had proved to be useless (though Nigel didn’t want to remind himself of that). Of course, lighting could also start fires. Either way, it neared as the first sound did, now attracted by the way the first sound called out, “Nigel? Nigel!?”

That was Ax’s voice. Auguste realized that the man must’ve heard his radio recording, or had at least gone to Nigel’s area to see what was going on, and had managed to find the fire. As for the predator, it had likely come to the area due to the fire, or perhaps had been attracted by the large dinosaur that had killed Mercer. Maybe it had decided to come for scraps and remains, and was more than opportunistic to see what else was in the area. Now, intentional or otherwise, they were on a collision course, and it would only be a matter of time before there was a struggle. The dinosaur now heard a human, and it heard prey to hunt.

Nigel was probably safe in the tree, but he wasn’t willing to take any other chances. He grasped the bark of the tree and began to pull himself upwards to some of the higher branches. “For the love of God!” he called to Ax. “Get out of here!”

Ax's Gyrosphere flew through the trees, and his heart rose as he moved closer and closer to Nigel. He slowed down when he came to the tree he was on, and turned up his head, smiling, only too see Nigel looking frustrated.

“For the love of God!” he called out. “Get out of here!”

Then Ax heard a rustling sound, and, without turning, pressed the switch to open the compartment door behind him, and lifted up his rifle. With the speed of a viper, he whirled around and fired, and was greeted with a cry of alarm as a Velociraptor leaped back.

Ax quickly discharged a couple of bullets into it, and it collapsed to the ground. Ax gave a sigh of relief when it collapsed to the ground. Then he froze as he heard sharp dinosaur cries from out in the woods. Then he heard another, and another. And they seemed to be getting closer.

"Get in!" he yelled to Nigel, and the mathematician quickly climbed down and into the gyrosphere, before closing the door.

Ax quickly turned around the gyrosphere, and shot off into the woods, tearing across the ground. The dinosaur cries didn't seem to fade though, and just seemed to be keeping up with them.

Ax swallowed, praying inside for the gyrosphere to go faster. Suddenly, felt like something was looking at him, and slowly turned his head to see the face of a velociraptor, one eye on the side of its head scanning Ax hungrily.

He gulped but turned his head, focusing on steering. Cries from the other side and behind them told him all he needed to know; The entire pack was closing in for the kill.

Ax gritted his teeth, thinking of how to get out of the situation. But then, it was too late. The gyrosphere came out from the line of trees to face a cliff, forcing Ax to brake hard, and they slithered to a stop.

A second later, four velociraptors tore out from the trees and quickly moved to position themselves around the gyrosphere, blocking every lane of escape as they analyzed the vehicle with their large, intelligent eyes..

Ax chuckled harshly. "They herded us here. Clever Bastards." Nigel looked pale as he glanced at Ax. "Can't you start shooting?'

Ax shook his head. "If I open the door now, one of them will jump in and kill us. our only hope is for them to attack, fail and give up."

Nigel nodded, shaking. Ax felt afraid himself. Despite all he'd done, and all he'd been through, this was the scariest situation he'd been in.

One the raptors hopped towards the vehicle, but another, obviously their leader, gave a sharp cry, and it leapt back. The leader moved forward carefully, until it was staring at Ax through the glass of the gyrosphere. Ax held his stare, his heartbeat accelerating at an astounding degree. Then the creature jumped a them, it's toe claw flashing as it struck the gyrosphere, pushing it back to the edge of the cliff.

Ax tried to move forward again, but gulped as he realized that the joystick was stuck. Another raptor stepped forward, eyeing its prey curiously. Please, please don't. prayed Ax. And then the raptor struck, and Ax and Nigel screamed in terror as they flew off the cliff and plummeted down.

Ax closed his eyes and braced for impact, and clenched his teeth when the craft shuddered, making contact with something.

"Open your eyes!" yelled Nigel, and Ax opened his eyes to see that they were not dead, and nor were they falling to their deaths. The gyrosphere and fallen onto a ledge, saving them from being shattered on the ground at least a hundred feet below. But the groud beneath the gyrosphere was starting to crumble.

Ax quickly opened the door and unbuckled himself before getting out, and then helping Nigel out, before quickly running to the back of the ledgeafter the foremost part crumbled and fell, the gyrosphere along with it.

Ax then fell to his knees, and Nigel collapsed on the ground beside him, both panting. Ax peered down at the ground below, and and then analyzed the cliff face. "I think we can climb down." he said thoughtfully, "There seem to be enough nooks and crannies to make handholds."

"Do we have a choice?" muttered Nigel.

----

Three hours later, after a harrowing freehand climb down the cliff face, they were finally able to move along their way. They stumbled along, barely able to stand, until they came to a cave, the opening mostly hidden by pine trees, and the two exhausted men staggered into the cave, fell to the ground, and promptly fell asleep.

----

"Ax, get up!" said someone, and his eyes shot open. He quickly sat up, finding himself face to face with Annabelle.

"What happened too you?' she demanded. "You too look like you've been to hell and back! And why didn't you contact us earlier?"

"Well, first of all," started Ax, "We were chased by pack of velociraptors. Then everything went downhill from there. Literally. We fell of a cliff, nearly died, then had to freehand our way down before finding our way here ad falling asleep.

Annabelle shook her head. "Well, you're lucky we found you! We were exploring the area around the old hotel when we came across you two."

Ax shrugged and got to his feet. He turned to see Jorge helping Nigel up. Then a question struck him. "Hey, why aren't you guys at the new hotel?"

Annabelle explained everything as they walked through the vegetation, ending with how they met up with Carson and Chris at the hotel, along with a couple of other staff.

Ax sighed. That put them at square one when it came to staying safe. He also noticed that the sun was starting to set. Given that it was almost dark when Ax and Nigel had reached there, that meant that they had been asleep for almost twenty-four hours. Strange. I'm usually the earliest riser. I guess I was just exhausted.

The small group came to the site of the hotel, and Ax's jaw dropped. The massive body of the Mapusaurus was spread along the courtyard, and multiple dead bodies were strewn about the area. And the hotel itself was a burnt wreckage, with almost nothing left of what it had been.

This is...crazy. he thought. How could this have happened under my survival watch?

Then he heard a voice say, "Ax!" and turned to see Chris run into him and hugging him tightly, sobbing. Ax awkwardly patted him on the back as he listened to his story of what had happened.

Carson and three other people were nearby, who soon introduced themselves. The first one introduced himself as Manuel, the cook. He was thin, latino, black haired and looked to be in his early thirties. The other was Bernard, a guard, a big, barrel chested guy with a huge beard.. The last person was Fernandina, who asked to be called Fern, who refused to tell them anything about herself save that it was 'top secret'.

Ax quickly looked over the group. There are nine of us now...well, maybe eleven if Mitchell and Gary survived. We can't move silently now. We need to hide.

Everyone was talking among themselves, but then Ax called out "Cave! Now!"

The crowd fell silent, looking at him uncertainly. Carson caught his eye and, noticing the steely look that Ax had, knew he meant what he was saying with those two syllables.

"Let's go and find a cave.'" said Carson. "We'll be safer there for now."

The small group quickly moved along, selecting the cave Ax and Nigel had been in, and got ready for the coming night, setting up sheets on the floor so everyone could sleep in relative comfort. After a short meal of jerky and water, everyone started to fall asleep.

Ax took the first watch, sitting at the entrance. He stared somberly into the darkness. Seventeen deaths. he thought morosely. How can I call myself a survivalist now, if I can't save even half of the people I'm supposed to be protecting ?

This depressed Ax. He had centered his entire identity on his survival skills. It was what he was famous for, what everyone agreed he was good at. And he had failed at the one thing he thought he could depend on himself for. And miserably at that. Seventeen deaths in three days? That was almost Game of Thrones proportions!

That took him back to when he was being trained for survival situations. His mentor, Donavan Venture, famed explorer used to give him scenarios to solve. And Ax could hear his instructor scolding him for failing, the memory permanently etched in his brain.

"This is bullshit, Fury!" he yelled, banging his hand on his desk. His bushy eyebrows were narrowed and his impossible-to-meet glare was directly aimed at Ax, his mouth curved in distinct frown. "Why are you even here if this is all you can come up with?!!

Ax winced at the memory. Suddenly he heard a scrape and turned to see Annabelle sitting next to him. "It's not your shift." he whispered.

"Yeah, but i couldn't sleep. Whenever I close my yes, I see dead bodies. I thought I'd keep you company in the meanwhile." she.replied.

"I can understand that." muttered Ax. "Seventeen deaths in what was supposed to be fun vacation is a hard thing to stomach."

Annabelle nodded, looking fearful. "You can get us out of here, right? I mean, as you've said before, you've survived the toughest conditions around the world."

But not like this. thought Ax, but didn't say that. "I hope so." he said, trying to sound at least a little upbeat. "I've done this sort of thing before. Well, not quite like this of course but my training should give us a good shot." He said this trying to assure himself as much as Annabelle.

Annabelle handed him back his jacket. "Here, don't need this anymore, Thanks, though."

Ax smiled, putting it on. He immediately felt hopeful again. The jacket had always given him luck, and he felt lucky just by putting it on.

Annabelle leaned against the wall next to him and gradually fell asleep, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Chris was asleep on Ax's other side, as he had insisted, leaned against the wall. He stirred, obviously uncomfortable, and Ax folded his army jacket an carefully lay down Chris, with his head on the jacket as a pillow.

Half asleep, the boy mumbled, "Ax...you'll keep us safe, right?"

Ax made a strained smile. "Yes, kiddo, I said I'd keep you safe from harm remember? I plan to keep my word."

He nodded, seemingly appeased and quickly fell asleep again. Ax sighed. I just hope that this plan works out, unlike all our other plans on this wretched trip.

Annabelle Quail - Tuesday, Day 4 on the Island, 3 AM

In rained that night, and thin threads of water slithered into the cave, following miniature valleys in the rock and settling in shallow basins. The cave dipped slightly below ground so that soon after the rainfall began, a pool of water had amassed at its end, stalagmites reaching up from the water’s depth like ugly gray fingers. As steady and sardonic as the ticking of a clock, a steady drip, drip of rain spilled over the mouth of the cave and splattered in the mud.

As the night progressed, the survivors huddled closer and closer to one another, hungry for warmth. Annabelle was sandwiched by Ax and Nigel, the latter of which, when the rain had woken everyone up, had whispered longingly about the bonfire he had worked so hard to build.

“It was so beautiful,” he said. “So big. So warm.”

Annabelle wasn’t sure how much time had passed until she was woken again, but as she slowly pulled free from the warm sides of her companions, it was still black outside and the rain still fell in steady sheets.

She had been woken by something. What was it?

Squish.

Shoot. What was that? She turned around to see who was on watch. Jorge. His wide eyes shone through his moonlit, lens-scratched glasses.

Then, very softly, they heard the murmuring of voices.

Humans!

The FBI. They hadn’t received any signals from the ship. They knew something was fishy. They knew she was in danger.

“Help,” she croaked, before clearing her throat. “Help! We’re in here!”

“Are you out of your mind?” Ax asked, startled awake.

“The FBI are here,” Annabelle told him.

“What?!”

Suddenly, a blinding swath of light slapped them across the face. Everyone was awake now, and the noises they made were a mixture of surprised groans to jubilant cries.

The silhouettes of two FBI guys at the mouth of the cave courteously switched off their flashlights.

“Glad we’ve been so warmly accepted,” one of them said. His voice sounded familiar. As her eyes adjusted, he looked familiar, too. Where was his bulletproof FBI uniform?

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Annabelle realized who it was. Gary. Mitchell and Gary.

“FBI?” Ax asked her.

“Shut up,” Annabelle said, crossing her arms and sinking back to the wall of the cave and the warmth of her companions. “I was half asleep.”

“No, no,” Ax said, “I wanna hear this.”

“I was probably just dreaming about them coming to rescue us, I don’t know.” She turned to Gary and Mitchell, giving Ax the cold shoulder.

He huffed, but, thank goodness, didn’t ask any more questions.

The two men were too exhausted to talk much. But after resting a few moments, they explained that, after killing the velociraptor pack and quickly burying what was left of Raoul’s body, they headed down the river in search of Annabelle and Jorge. The tracks in the mud were easy to follow, but equally as easy to lose in the dense undergrowth. When they finally reached the remains of the hotel the next day, no one was there except a handful of small scavenging dinosaurs, who chased them off. Because the giant Mapusaurus was dead, they figured that some people must have survived to have killed it.

“How did you all kill such a bloody beast?” Mitchell asked, pausing from his narrative.

“Chris killed it,” Annabelle said, “all by himself. He waited until the Mapu was on top of the fence, then plugged in the electricity.”

“Brilliant!” Mitchell said.

“That kid’s going places,” Gary said.

The two men finished by explaining that they eventually stopped looking for the group and started looking for a safe, dry place to stay. They were heading south in hope of finding another building and happened by chance by the cave.

“And now I’m frickin’ freezing,” Gary said, stripping his drenched coat and twisting it like a towel to squeeze the water out.

“I want my fire,” Nigel said.