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Chapters
DanWorks
Loser
and Chums
DanWorks
HQ Massacre
The
Jungle
Lake
Rio
The
Plains
The
Caves
Final
Stretch
Horror at the Helipad
Hands
of Time…
Boat
of Death
Welcome
to Hell on Earth
A
Silent Partner
Death
by Dino
Self Destruct
The
Last Survivor
An
Invitation
Evacuation
The
Aviary
Return
to Isla Rio
The
Final Straw
Epilogue
Isla Rio lay 100 miles west of Britain in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It was owned by the UK and several British families were sent there to sort of colonise it. They stayed and raised their children there, in a small village that they had built with all the normal features you would expect, which was built near the coast. People rarely ventured far into Isla Rio’s jungle. It was unknown what sort of creatures were in existence there. By 5 years after the original settlement on Isla Rio, the island was full of British people who had moved there for jobs among other things. The solitary village then stretched to the outskirts of the snake-infested jungle.
One day in the summer, a group of teenagers stumbled across a heavily guarded building in the middle of the jungle. They were threatened by the guards outside of the building and hurriedly rushed back to the village, without breathing a word to their parents or anyone else in the village.
Questions soared around their heads. Who was it for? What was it for? It had probably been there since long before their arrival on the island, but no one had trekked that far into the jungle before. Most of all, they wondered, what was going on inside?
DanWorks
The genetics company DanWorks, who had been around since the fifties, always trying to make the next breakthrough, owned the heavily guarded building. For a while, they had tested a cloning process, evening managing to clone humans at one stage. There was then however, an act of sabotage on the company’s part, only managing to recover details of the amazing machine that could clone anything from one strand of hair… or bone. The sabotage set them back 10 years in the early eighties.
They abandoned the idea of basic cloning for a while and began on a new kind after a new scientist arrived with the idea in 1982. Codenaming the project “Project: Rex” after the prehistoric animal “Tyrannosaurus Rex”, DanWorks began employing palaeontologists to dig up fossils for them and bring them to Isla Rio for experiments. Using the machine, after tweaking it to dispense infants, they created a specimen, Velociraptor Mongoliensis, which had been extinct for 65 million years. They also created a whole host of other creatures. They made a list, which was as follows:
|
Species Name |
No. |
Male |
Female |
|
Velociraptor Dilophosaurus Triceratops Stegosaurus Parasaurolophus Pteranodon Compsognathus Allosaurus Spinosaurus Plesiosaurus Tyrannosaurus Gallimimus |
5 3 2 3 4 3 8 2 1 2 2 5 |
1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 0 1 1 2 |
4 2 1 1 2 2 6 1 1 1 1 3 |
All of which were kept underground for four
years. DanWorks had planned on releasing the information about the breakthrough
in the fifth year, but were unaware of the dangers that would peril them in the
summer of that year.
The
15-year-old boy who, along with his friends, “stumbled” across the DanWorks HQ
was Jason Mars (Jay for short). His friends were Bill (15), Keith (14), Adam
(his cousin, 11), Cat (short for Cathy, 12) and Sam (his brother, 6). A few
weeks after the discovery, Jay found that news they had found the base had
gotten through the village, making him more of an outcast than before. Most
people found him unbearable anyway, with his obsession with computers. He also
knew too much, for most people’s liking, about dinosaurs. He, Adam, Bill and
Keith strolled up the grassy bank and sat at the top of it. It was on the
outskirts of the village and the jungle was directly behind them. They were
fairly high up, so could see lots of things, and discovered that the village
was much more beautiful than would’ve been expected. As the sun began to set,
there came a shrill voice from behind.
“Well, if it isn’t loser and chums…” called
a girl.
“Bugger off, Jools!” Jay yelled, not
bothering to give her a look.
“Oooooo…” Jools taunted. “Touched a nerve,
have I?”
Jools was a 15-year-old girl who had a
knack of annoying people. She was, however, very popular and had lots of
friends who simply catered to her every wish.
Another girl could be seen dragging herself
up the hill. Jay waved to her. She smiled back at him. It was Cat. Jools
scowled at her. The 12-year-old, although beautiful, was very tough. Her blue
eyes shone in the sunset, for a little while, Jay found himself lost in them.
Jools gave another scowl before leaving the group alone.
Adam decided to leave too. He got up and
walked down the bank, desperately signalling to Keith and Bill to follow suit.
After a little while, they took the hint and bid farewell to their friend and
Cat. They rushed down the hill after Adam.
“Erm…” Jay muttered, thinking of something
to say.
“Where they off too?” Cat finished for him.
“I think they have the… the…” Jay froze.
“The wrong idea?” Cat continued.
“Yeah,” Jay nodded with approval. “That’s
the one…”
Night fell on the island and the jungle
awoke. Distant hoots disrupted the silence and Jay stared at Cat… obviously for
too long.
“What?” she yelled. “What is it?”
“Er…” Jay looked away immediately.
“Nothing.”
The man frowned and clicked yes activating
the closing mechanism. It was then he saw the web-cam footage of the paddocks
and realised the horrible truth. The paddocks were already empty…
He rushed to the control room door and
activated the lock before running to a silent computer operator. Placing his
hand on his shoulder, he shook him hard.
“What the bloody hell’s going on?”
There came no reply… The silent man’s head
tilted back and the mangled “face” appeared. He was dead. Long dead. The face
was hardly a face at all. It had been ripped to shreds by some sinister force.
He suddenly realised that everyone else in the room was in the same state.
“Oh my God…” the man whispered to himself.
“Something was here…”
There was a tweet, then a hoot. A green
creature, about four feet tall scooted around a nearby desk playfully. It was
mostly green, with black and white markings and a long tail. Its neck was
yellow and red in colour and on its head from back to front were two bony
crests. It was fairly cute. The phone wrung in the background. The man snapped
out of his trance and walked backwards to the phone.
“Hello?”
“Pete? It’s Jon,” the caller announced.
“There are animals all over the facility.”
“Yeah,” Pete replied. “There’s been some
sort of massacre in here. Whatever did it is long gone though.” The cute
dinosaur couldn’t have done it.
“Well,” Jon’s voice came again. “You know
which ones are dangerous right?”
“Yep,” Pete nodded, confidently. “Raptors,
Rexes, Allosaurs, Spinos and sometimes the Compies.”
“That’s most of them,” Jon told him.
“There’s one more. Dilophosaurus.”
“What’s a dilo- dilopha?”
“Dilophosaurs are green,” Jon told him.
“Young ones like we have are between four and six feet tall…”
Pete started to quiver, the phone rattled
and shook.
“Two crests?” he asked.
“Uh… yeah…”
Pete dropped the phone and sprinted for the
door. He slid effortlessly under the desks and began to fumble with the
key-card. The Dilophosaurus moved cautiously around the room, not letting Pete
out of its sight. It refrained from attacking, for some reason. Pete heard the
original swan call again, the hoot and the tweet. He turned. The Dilophosaurus
looked back at him, almost in pity. It started hissing… hissing extremely
loudly. Suddenly, the red and yellow on its neck opened in a flurry of
exploding colours as a frill around its head. It shook as it hissed some more…
as if building up to something… yet it remained on the spot, hissing and
snarling. Black “gunk” flew from the beast’s mouth and into Pete’s face. An
awful tingling sensation took over his eyes. Then it became burning. He screamed
in blinding pain and fell to the floor, paralysed.
“Pete?” Jon called from the phone. “Pete?
Is there one in there with you? Look out Pete! They’re Spitters!”
He wondered where the Spitter could be… it
had become silent, obviously waiting for total paralysis. He felt that he could
no longer move, no matter how hard he tried. An extreme force hit his face…
tearing at his skin like a thousand tiny knives… but the Spitter remained
silent. All that could be heard was the sound of Jon shouting from the other
end of the phone. Or was he screaming?
* * *
It was morning. Jay, Cat, Adam, Keith, Bill and Sam
had been out for quite a while. Jay had leaded them through the jungle and to
the DanWorks HQ, where they found not only open gates, but also an unwelcome
pursuer.
“Hey, loser!” Jools was behind them.
They carried on without giving her any
notice and headed into the unguarded DanWorks HQ with caution.
After making their way through the corpse
carpeted corridors (“Oh, I feel sick” from the ever behind Jools), they arrived
in the control room, where they found the sliding door unlocked. Cat looked at
Pete’s corpse with disgust.
“Christ!” she yelled. “Where’s his bloody
face?”
Jay decided that one of the computers would
have the answer (well, they had the answer to everything else, didn’t they?).
He dodged more corpses and got to Pete’s computer and searched the files,
finding nothing but junk, while everyone else (including Jools) searched the
room.
After filtering through the junk, Jay found
a file called “diary”. He opened it and read the first entry;
We have finally managed to create a creature from just a fossil… We have yet to determine what species it is…
There were similar entries, but with descriptions of the species. He scrolled down to the final entry;
The dinosaurs are too big to be kept here anymore, the largest being 20 feet tall and 40 feet long! We must release them into the jungle soon… before they escape…
Jay looked around the room.
“I think you were too late…” he muttered. “I think we have a Jurassic Park situation here…”
They all sat on a seat and read the document, then looked at each other in horror. Jay grabbed a map from the nearby desk.
“They must’ve escaped…” Adam whispered worriedly.
“Must’ve…” agreed Keith.
“I’ve got an idea…” Jools yelled. “Let’s get the hell outta here!”
“For once in your life, Jools,” Jay pushed up his glasses and stood up. “You’re right…”
The Jungle
Hurrying through the corridors with Sam in his arms, Jay led the group to the surface.
“We’ve been in these corridors for six hours!” Jools exclaimed pointing to her watch. “I might’ve broken a nail…”
Cat sighed and punched her in the gut. Jools let out a weird noise. She was winded. Jay, or the others, didn’t look back at her. They carried on, leaving Jools gasping for air…
They finally emerged in the outside world. The moon watched the children as they left the jungle for the village.
“We have to warn everyone…” Keith yelled.
The others looked down at him. He was the shortest, although he was the third oldest in the group.
“He’s right…” Jay nodded with approval, then he saw the village… They were too late…
* * *
Jools got up and strolled over to one of the windows, cradling her stomach. She groaned in pain. That cow… she would pay… No-one makes a fool of Jools Took and gets away with it… Especially not Cat Harvey…
After another groan of pain, Jools hobbled around the building for a while, as if looking for something… she just didn’t know what…
*
* *
Everyone was
dead. Everyone.
Jay took it the worst. He cried for at least half an hour. The others were also upset, but not to that extent. The only others who cried were Sam and Adam…
Cat eventually managed to console Jay and they headed for the village to check the damage.
* * *
Jools began trying to break into the main office. She slammed all of her weight against the door (which wasn’t much as she was practically a stick insect) and failed. She paused at the sound of a sharp tapping on the metal floors…
* * *
Jay was inspecting the footprints on the floor, while the others gathered food and other supplies for their journey. After studying the map, they decided that they would get to the Danworks Helipad on the East side of the island, where they could call for help. They were currently on the West. No one had ever ventured further than the jungle before, but they were going to have to if they were to survive.
“These markings…” Jay whispered. “They couldn’t be… oh no…”
“What is it, Jay?” asked Keith inquisitively.
“I think it’s…” Jay shuddered at the thought. “V-V-Velociraptor…”
* * *
“H-Hello?” Jools called. “Do you work here? Can you help me out?”
No reply. The tapping came closer. Louder.
“Answer me please…”
The tapping came closer. Grew louder. And louder…
Then she saw it…
* * *
“They’re about six feet tall,” Jay described. “With a long, curved claw on each foot, above two small ones. Long tail and long snout… Binocular vision too…”
* * *
Jools screamed at the sight of the Raptor. It was mostly orange, with red stripes. It gave out a horrific screeching noise before edging closer to her, moving like a large bird and sniffing the air. She moved away from it slowly… cautiously… Was its vision based on movement?
She realised otherwise the hard way.
Her screams echoed through the building then all was silent…
* * *
Jay took his final things from his room and slid them into his backpack. He and Sam headed down the stairs and into the streets. They nodded to the others, signalling they were ready to leave.
“Right,” Jay yelled. “We cross through the jungle and then to the lake. Got it?”
The others gave a half hearted “yeah” and they began heading up the bank.
Adam stretched his neck a little. He was in pain with all the food he was carrying. He paused… Did he just hear a screeching noise?
“Did you guys just hear anything?” he yelled.
The others shrugged, but sure enough, the screech recurred and this time louder. Jay didn’t need to look back.
“Run!” he yelled, picking up Sam. “As fast as you can! Just run!”
Four Raptors emerged from the village, sprinting towards the group. The hissed, snarled and screamed at each other, as if they were talking. Jay was still screaming for everyone to run. They had reached the outskirts of the jungle. He noticed the nearest tall tree.
“For God’s sake, climb!”
Jay was behind because he carried Sam’s weight as well. Bill was first up the tree, followed by Cat, Adam and eventually Keith. Jay was about ten yards away from the tree when he felt a ton of bricks hit his back. He threw Sam forward, so he wouldn’t be crushed. Adam leapt out of the tree and picked Sam up from the floor, he lifted him to Keith.
The Raptor flipped Jay over so his stomach would be exposed. He struggled under its weight. It slashed at his arm with its claw to try and stop him struggling. The scar was four inches long… The Raptors stayed behind the lead one, which was probably the alpha-male Raptor, it had pointed frills on its neck. Jay’s squeals were of little help. He saw the Raptor lick its lips, drooling over Jay’s face. It reared its head to strike, jaws wide open, aimed at the throat. Jay closed his eyes; he wasn’t going to watch himself die… he waited… and waited… The weight on his chest was gone… Was he dead? There was a squeal like a puppy in pain. Opening his eyes, he saw Cat running back to the tree, and the Raptor on the floor, struggling to get back up. She’d kicked it! Jay got up and leapt over the Raptor on the floor. It rolled around, trying to right itself.
The other three Raptors gave chase. They screeched and screamed to each other from behind Jay. Suddenly, the fifth Raptor emerged from the jungle ahead, stained with Jools’ blood and still hungry… Jay dived through its legs and began the tree climb.
“Thanks, Cat…” he called, smiling for the first time that day.
“No probs, mate…”
The pair was dangerously unaware of the leaping terrors below them. All five of the Raptors were jumping up and down, trying to take a bite out of their ankles.
“Climb higher, morons!” Bill shouted from above.
Immediately realising the danger, Cat and Jay climbed to the next highest branch, leaving the snapping jaws of death behind them. Safe at last, the group relaxed finally.
* * *
Jay woke up with a jump. He had dreamt that he was pursued by Raptors, and had woken up on the exact moment the Raptor struck his throat. It had been a very vivid dream… It seemed so real. It took him a while to realise he had his arm around Cat. He grinned slightly then went back to sleep…
* * *
“Did we drink anything last night?” Cat asked Jay as they walked down the vine-covered path of the jungle.
“No…” Jay replied. “Why?”
“Well, when I woke up you had your arm around me…” Cat continued.
“Uh… well… erm… that is… uh…”
“Oh,” Cat smiled. “I see…” She winked.
Jay started banging his head against the nearest tree as Cat walked on.
* * *
“Well, according to the map,” Jay yelled while the others lay or sat on a log. “The lake is about a mile from here. We have to look out for something, as well… Pteranadons.”
“What’re they?” Bill asked, sitting up on the long.
“Kinda like flying dinosaurs.” Jay replied. “Man size. Gigantic wingspan… they eat meat…”
Everyone except Jay gulped.
“OK!” Jay yelled. “Are we ready to go?”
There was a halfhearted “yeah” as usual. Then the floor started vibrating…
“Earthquake!” screamed Keith.
“Its too small for one of our quakes…” Jay muttered. He looked to the right. “Stampede!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.
The herd was on the move. It was made up of Gallimimus and Parasaurolophus. Gallis had ostrich-like movement and proportions, with little arms that folded forward. Paras had a large horn-shaped-crest on the back of their heads. Gallis were seven feet tall and six feet long; Paras were fifteen feet tall and twenty feet long. They ducked around trees and bushes. They turned east.
“They can get us to the lake!” Cat yelled excitedly.
The group each leapt on a Galli (they were easier to climb onto) and were immediately zooming through the forest. Trees seemed like deadly blades at Gallimimus speed. Sam winced at the force of the wind on his face. He was sat on Jay’s lap.
It was not until a roar came from behind that Jay realised why the herd was on the move.
“Please, God…” Jay whispered. “Don’t let it be…”
Cat screamed. She knew what it was.
“It’s a T-Rex!” she screamed again. “A T-Rex!”
Sure enough, the twenty feet tall leviathan was storming through the shrubbery. It let out an awful roar, causing the herd to once again change direction, just like a flock of birds.
From its terror inducing knife-sized teeth, to its stubby little arms, the Rex was horrifying. It lunged at the slowest Galli, a baby one, trailing behind the herd. It squealed in pain and the Rex looked at it. The Galli let out a cry for sympathy, the Rex purred in reply. Then lunged, shaking the Galli around like a dog’s chew toy. The Rex dragged the carcass through the trees and back to its nest…
* * *
It was sunset. The group still sat on the Gallis’ backs, waiting to emerge from the jungle… Jay yawned from atop of his steed; it had been a long day.
The sight of the orange horizon was the greatest thing that had happened that day. Jay, Cat, Adam, Keith, Bill and Sam jumped of the Gallimimus’ that they had used as ponies since the morning. Ahead of them was a beautiful landscape which none of them had witnessed before. The Lake Rio lay between them and the caves. A small Danworks-marked dock was on the edge of the lake.
Lake Rio
The six made their way for the dock as the sun disappeared from the orange (turned black) sky. The door to the boathouse was locked. Bill kicked the door, in an attempt to open it. He failed and clutched his injured foot, wincing. Cat strolled up to the door and took a step back. She grunted as she kicked the door through, Bill went bright red.
“Bugger…” Jay groaned. “The gate’s padlocked too…”
Hastily, Adam withdrew a small object from his backpack to pick the lock. After fiddling with the padlock for five minutes, the lock opened almost miraculously. Jay shoved the gate open with a creak.
Jay hopped into one of the two speedboats. Sam climbed in, closely followed by Adam. Jay groaned at the fact that his boat was now full. Cat climbed into the second boat.
“Uh…” Bill smiled. “I think I’ll go in Cat’s boat…”
Jay scowled as Bill and Keith climbed into the second boat. He and Bill pulled the engine’s cord and they were off…
Lake Rio was as silent as the night. Only the hum of the speedboats could be heard. The still waters remained undisturbed, but the skies were a different matter. Jay looked up. Three Pteranadons were circling. Two were blue and white with yellow beaks and yellow Para-like-crests on the back of their heads. The other one was orange, black and red. The fingers lay in the top-centre of the beasts’ near transparent wings.
“Pteranadons!” Jay yelled.
Everyone looked up.
“Keep on moving. Dons eat people!”
The Dons were still circling. The red one swooped down to the second boat and grabbed Cat by her shoulders. She was screaming when Jay looked back. The Don was carrying her into the air above the lake.
“Cat!” Jay shouted, frantically looking for a way to distract the Dons.
Cat was fifty feet above them with the Dons squawking excitedly to each other. She struggled desperately, and then got an idea. Quickly, she turned her head to the left and bit hard into the creature’s foot. It squealed in pain and dropped her into the lake, the impact knocking her unconscious.
The splash sent ripples for a twenty feet diameter. After another shout of “Cat!” Jay dived into the murky depths of Lake Rio.
Avoiding the swaying lake-weed, Jay swam deep into the lake, trying to keep his glasses on his face (why didn’t he take them off?), and following Cat’s shadow. She sank slowly motionlessly, as if she was dead. Jay grabbed her by the waist and began to swim upwards. His glasses fell from his face and sank to the bottom of the lake. The shadow of the pair swimming to the surface was disrupted by something much bigger swimming past the glasses…
Jay and Cat emerged from the lake and Adam helped haul her onto the first boat. Jay climbed in and thought back to the first aid lessons he had had in the first year of high school. He remembered the “kiss of life”, pondered for a second on whether that would count as a kiss, but then realised there were more important things to worry about and began the CPR.
Meanwhile, the Dons were fighting off the large, lake dwelling creature that had passed Jay earlier. Another one emerged as well.
“What are those?” Adam asked, waiting for a reply from a very busy Jay.
“Plesiosaurus!” he came up for air, then went back down again.
The Plesiosaurus’ were blue-ish purple and were best described as looking like…
“Nessie!” Bill yelled pointing to the Plesiosaurus’.
Jay came up again for breath. “We’ll call ‘em that, shall we?”
The Nessies lunged at the Dons, who were flying low, trying to peck at the viscous lake-creatures. They squawked at the swan-like serpents, while the Nessies made a Raptor-like screech in reply. Bill was entranced by the creatures, so had forgotten to steer the boat. Keith had wearily crawled to the wheel (he was seasick) and was turning it. The wrong way. The boat hit a Nessie with a crunch. Keith flipped overboard and Bill hit his head on the side, the boat was going down.
“1. 2. 3…” Jay continued the resuscitation. Cat must’ve swallowed a lot of water…
After throwing up while submerged, Keith grunted and began to doggy paddle to the first boat.
Bill rubbed his head, and muttered to himself.
“1. 2. 3…” Jay continued, oblivious to the goings on in the water. “Come on, Cat!”
Adam was staring over the side of the boat, yelling for Keith and Bill to hurry up.
Bill dived from the boat into the water, still muttering until he hit the lake. He resurfaced.
“Hey!” he yelled, spitting water from his mouth. “Wait up!”
Keith was still paddling. Bill overtook him under the water. He grabbed the boat and climbed on.
“1. 2. 3…”
Keith looked over to the three people who were looking at him from the boat. They were silent and horrified. Then he realised a shadow was cast above him. He looked up at the Nessie that was above him. Its tiny, but sharp teeth were glistening.
“Oh, crud…” he groaned, stopping swimming completely. There was no point.
The Nessie grabbed his head in its mouth and pulled him into the air, thousands of needles seemed to dig into his neck. The other Nessie left the Dons alone and swam over to Keith, and grabbed his legs. He didn’t want this… he wanted a quick and painless death… The Nessies disagreed. They began to play a deadly game of tug-of-war with his body. He squirmed. Tug. The sound of his back clicking could be heard from the boat. Tug. There was a shattering sound from his body, and a muffled scream of pain. Tug. A red substance trickled into the lake from the wound, filling the once pure waters with blood. Tug. The final tug did it. He was completely ripped in half from the waist, one Nessie getting top, and the other bottom.
Adam and Sam covered their eyes with disgust. Bill seemed unmoved by the display. He imply at still, doing nothing.
“Come on, Cat!” Jay yelled, then went down for one more try. “1. 2…”
She coughed. Water shot out of her mouth. She sat up smiling at Jay.
“I guess we’re even then, huh?” she laughed. “Hey, where’s the other boat? Where’s Keith?”
Jay nodded left. Cat looked. She saw what remained of the speedboat floating in the lake. She saw the Nessies carrying pieces of Keith beneath the waves. She saw the Dons fly back to the jungle. She looked at Jay, but remained silent.
The Plains
Helping each other out of the lake, Jay, Cat, Bill, Adam and Sam were unsure of their next move. The caves were pretty far away and it was still dark. Would they chance moving at night?
“Maybe we should get some rest…” Jay said, looking for a tree. “It’s been a long day…”
“Again…” Bill muttered.
The five climbed up the nearest high tree. Below them, a herd of Triceratops were moving. They were mostly babies. They were elephant-sized and coloured, with two large horns above the eyes and a smaller one on the nose. They had a large neck frill, which was solid bone. Their tails swayed as they walked. Jay counted them and fell into a deep sleep, not to be disrupted by the sound of Raptors nearby.
* * *
Jay opened his eyes in the middle of the night. A clicking noise had awakened him. He saw it was just Bill searching the contents of his backpack. Slowly, Bill removed the most precious item in the pack, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Jay jumped and yelped “Christ!” Bill simply laughed at him.
“Where the hell did you get that?” Jay whispered.
“It’s my dad’s.” Bill answered. “Or was.”
Jay felt uneasy at the way he could fleetingly say was. He thought it was sick. Slowly, he forgot and drifted into a soft slumber.
*
* *
The next morning, there were two distinct groups walking. Jay and Cat trailed behind the other three, where only two spoke. Cat giggled hysterically. Bill looked back and groaned.
“Sick bowl please…”
“You wouldn’t be saying that if it was you over there…” Adam smiled for a split second before returning to his vacant gaze at the floor.
Jay looked away from Cat for a second and saw something that filled his heart with joy. A car!
“Hey!” he yelled. “Bill! Adam! A car! A goddamn car! Yes!”
After rushing to the car, which was an open-top Landrover, they wondered how it had got there.
“It says Danworks on the side…” Adam exclaimed. “Where are the drivers?”
“Who cares?” Cat yelled, leaping into the back. “Coming, Jay?”
Bill got in the front seat and Adam threw Sam into the back with the two “lovebirds”. He wasn’t pleased. They put two seatbelts on him.
The keys were still in the ignition.
“Here we go…” Bill muttered worriedly.
* * *
The drive had gone pretty well. Jay had idly chatted to Cat for most of the journey. Sam had fallen asleep and Bill had managed to keep the thing upright, which he was rather proud of.
“You see, we didn’t have to go through the lake,” Jay continued talking, as Cat had asked about how to lead a group. “But it would’ve taken at least five days for us to go around it.”
“What for us?” something dawned on Cat. “What about dinosaurs… What about Raptors?”
“Oh,” Jay thought for a second. “About a day…”
The following screech sent shockwaves through the atmosphere. The Raptor pack were chasing from behind!
“How’d they find us?” Cat screamed.
Jay looked down at the deep cut on his arm. They had followed the scent of his blood!
The Raptors were gaining on them.
“How fast are they?” Bill yelled.
“About 50 miles an hour…” Jay replied. “Maybe 60…”
Bill threw Jay the gun.
“Use it…”
Jay turned and aimed at the Raptors, and then he pulled the trigger. Nothing. Just a click.
“Turn the safety catch off!” Bill yelled.
He flicked the catch off and looked for the Raptors again. They were gone.
“Where’d they go?” Jay yelled.
Screeches from the sides answered his question. Two Raptors were pouncing at the jeep. They were on either side. They soared through the air, effortlessly. Sam, Cat and Adam ducked. Jay started frantically shooting at the Raptors, missing every single shot.
“Don’t waste bullets…” Bill yelled calmly. “I’m gonna flip us over. Get Sam out of the seat belt…”
Cat fumbled with the belts as Bill turned the jeep at 90 degrees. The belts clicked. The jeep tipped.
The Raptors crashed into each other in midair, they hissed at each other.
Bill leapt from the driver’s seat to the grassland as the jeep went up onto two wheels. Cat grabbed Sam and leapt out as well, closely followed by Adam. Jay dived from the vehicle, landing on the grass and rolling a few feet. The jeep tipped upside down and rocked a little.
Jay coughed. Dust rose from the ground next to him as he did so. He heard the Raptors preparing to attack again, pulled himself off the floor and ran over to Cat and Sam, grabbing them by the hands and running towards the caves, which were about twenty yards away.
“Adam! Bill!” Jay yelled. “Move!”
The Raptors had regrouped. They began the chase. Sam was crying. Cat risked a look back. They were gaining on Bill and Adam. She closed her eyes with horror as they were nearly on top of them. When she reopened them, she saw that the Raptors weren’t chasing Bill and Adam… they were chasing Jay…
The three reached the caves and dived into the darkness. They hid behind a huge rock. The Raptors entered next, honking, hissing and smelling the air. Smelling for blood.
The Caves
The Raptors continued to sneak towards them, each step making them tap on the floor with the large claw on each foot. They were right above the rock where Jay, Sam and Cat were hidden, smelling the air. The alpha-male had found them; it turned and honked to the group, which hissed excitedly. It snarled and began to poke its head around the rock. Jay turned to the left to see it vaguely in the darkness. It was licking its lips. He closed his eyes.
There was a yelp and a sound like something being shaken at great force. He looked around the corner to see the alpha-male Raptor being shaken like a rag-doll by a much larger beast. It was even bigger than the Rex.
It was brown with black stripes and had a tall sail on its back. It had a long thin snout, like a crocodile, and Raptor-like arms. It shook the Raptor harder.
“What is it?” Cat asked Jay.
“Spinosaurus…” Jay whispered. “We have to move…”
“What about the others?” Cat asked.
“They can catch up…”
* * *
Once they were a decent distance away from the Spino, the three rested for a while. The inky blackness now surrounded them. They could see nothing, and were relying on sound to guide them. Jay searched his backpack for some things he had packed a few days before, several flashlights. He found them, and gave Cat one. He strapped his to the gun using some tape that he had brought and they flicked them on. There was still silence. Or was there?
“Did you just hear that?” Jay whispered. “Footsteps…”
“Yeah…” Cat nodded. “From over there…”
Jay held the gun up and walked to the source of the sound. He shone light all over the place, then in front of him, where someone suddenly said, “boo!”
“Argh!” he screamed, falling backwards. “S***, Bill! I was gonna shoot you!”
He took Bill and Adam to the other two and they sat down to decide what they were going to do. Bill yawned, lifting his arms. Suddenly, a green claw appeared from the darkness and dragged him back, screaming.
“Flash the light on him!” Jay yelled. “Scare it off!”
Cat and Jay shone the light at Bill and his predator. Jay aimed the gun at the creature that was attacking Bill, it was five feet tall and green, with a large frill opened, covering its head from the angle they were at. Jay fired several shots, scaring the creature away. He and Cat rushed to Bill’s body. He was dead. His throat was pulled out and his face was mangled. Jay couldn’t look anymore.
“The hell was that thing?” Cat yelled.
“Dilophosaurus…” Jay muttered. “A ‘Spitter’…”
The floor started to shake heavily. The Spinosaurus was returning.
“Oh, s***…” Cat yelled.
The four remaining members of the group sprinted in the opposite direction of the beast, which took the free meal on the floor next to it.
They walked through the caves for several hours. There was a distinctive hooting noise, which seemed to get louder as time went on.
“What’s that sound?” Adam whispered.
“Spitters…” Jay replied. “This must be their nest.”
The hooting noise was unbearable at that time. Jay pointed his gun around the cave. They were surrounded by several Dilophosaurus’, three juvenile and at least five babies. They were all calm however, not one had its frill open.
“Run.” Jay whispered. “We have to run. Turn the lights off…”
There were two clicks as he and Cat switched off their lights. They sprinted again, but made too much noise. There were horrific hissing noises from behind them; the Spitters were ready to attack. Jay could see the moon outside the cave. They were nearly free!
“The exit!” he yelled. “Keep running! Have the spat at anyone?”
“No!” Cat yelled. “Don’t worry!”
He felt relieved at that. No one was harmed. Then he felt it. A huge blob of venom hit him in the leg and began to burn. He let out a yelp of pain, but didn’t stop running, even if he was limping. The venom burned his leg unbearably, but it was no matter, they were out of the caves and safe… for now…
The Final
Stretch
They looked down on the long field of five feet tall grass below them.
“Elephant-grass…” Jay muttered.
Ahead of that was the helipad area where they could radio for help, it was a large building with a cargo elevator on the side. The Spitters had returned to the caves… Jay decided that it was because they didn’t like the outside world. He looked at his watch. They had walked for two hours in that cave, and rested for about three. His leg was throbbing. The other three laughed.
“We’re going home!” Cat yelled, referring to the United Kingdom as home.
“Come on then!” Jay smiled and started limping down the hill to the elephant-grass.
“Jay,” Adam called. “What’s wrong with your leg?”
“It’ll be OK…”
“I’ll take Sam…” Adam shouted, placing Sam inside his backpack, where Sam sat down.
They dived into the elephant-grass and began to run towards the helipad. Then they heard a purr…
“Oh my God…” Jay muttered.
Cat heard it too. “How’d they get here before us?”
“Probably when we were resting!” Jay called, limping faster now. “Run for it!”
The other three overtook him. His leg became almost unmovable. He groaned in pain.
“Jay!” Cat screamed.
“Don’t worry!” he yelled back. “I’m gonna make…”
He never finished the sentence. A Raptor flew from behind and took him into the long grass, snapping its jaws like mousetraps…
* * *
“Jay…” Cat screamed. “No!”
“Come on!” Adam yelled, holding back his tears.
Sam was bawling. The other three Raptors had lifted their heads and were pursuing them. Adam grabbed Cat by the shoulder and dragged her out of the grass and to the cargo elevator. He flipped the switch and the elevator began to lower. Slowly.
“Too slow…” he muttered. “Too slow…”
Cat could see the Raptor that had taken down Jay was feasting on his remains; its tail was swaying above the grass like a tree in a hurricane.
The elevator arrived. Adam pulled her in and swung the mesh shut as the Raptors arrived and began hissing on the other side…
* * *
“Don’t worry!” he yelled back. “I’m gonna make…”
He never finished the sentence. A Raptor flew from behind and took him into the long grass, snapping its jaws like mousetraps.
The Raptor flipped Jay over onto his back and snarled at him. Jay struggled to escape. He looked up and could see the other three Raptors rush past them, obviously hunting Adam, Cat and Sam, who were probably at the helipad by then. The Raptor tapped its claw on the floor.
“Argh!” Jay screamed. “F*** I’m gonna die!”
The Raptor wouldn’t waste any more time. It lifted its leg and slashed with its foot across Jay’s belly, spilling his intestines. Jay shrieked an un-natural shriek as the Raptor drooled over the wound, before shoving its head into the opening and eating Jay alive. He couldn’t close his eyes… he found it impossible… so he watched as he was eaten by the most terrifying creature ever to walk the earth.
Horror at the
Helipad
The elevator started its journey up. It was on the outer edge of the building. Cat was sat in the far corner, sobbing. Sam was bawling in the other corner. Adam was staring at the Raptors, who were ten feet below them; they were pacing and staring at their prey. Cat heard a clang and looked up. A Raptor had leapt up and grabbed the mesh! It clung on and growled menacingly. Cat screamed and Sam jumped onto her lap. The elevator had reached the destination; they were fifty feet above the ground below. Adam was opening the mesh of the exit.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Yeah…” Cat replied, grabbing Sam and getting prepared to leap out of the elevator and onto the helipad.
After swinging the exit open, they leapt onto the helipad and ran to the control room, slamming the door behind them. Cat ran to the radio and spoke into the receiver.
“Hello?” she muttered.
“Uh, roger, roger…” the reply came. “Who’s this? Over.”
“We’re on Isla Rio!” she yelled. “There are only three survivors… we need rescue immediately!”
“Roger that,” the voice replied. “We’ll send a chopper right away.”
Cat breathed a sigh of relief and stared at the Raptor on the other side of the door. It growled and snorted. The sound of the elevator was heard.
“Must be broken…”
The other three Raptors were on the helipad. They’d used the elevator! They attacked the door. Cat and Adam looked at each other, then up at the skylight above them. Adam rushed to a computer and ripped the keyboard out. They climbed onto the desk and smashed the skylight through just as the four Raptors crashed through the door.
The three humans climbed onto the roof and crawled to the edge. A Raptor leapt out of the skylight and onto the roof. Adam slipped and fell off the edge. He dangled above the helipad, more Raptors below him. He pulled up and climbed back onto the roof. The other Raptors rushed inside and leapt through the skylight in front of them.
“I’m jumping down!” Cat yelled. “Pass me Sam when I’m down!”
“OK!”
Cat leapt from the roof and onto the helipad. Adam grabbed Sam and dropped him into Cat’s arms.
Adam prepared to jump down with them, but instead he stared at the violent beasts. He noticed one was covered in blood. Jay’s blood. He growled and charged at it.
“Adam!” Cat screamed. “No!”
He leapt at it and shoved it off the roof. It snarled and fell fifty feet to the ground. Adam turned in midair and managed to grab the roof and shimmy sideways to the elevator roof.
The helicopter was now above them. Cat was running to it and she and Sam jumped in.
Adam leapt off the elevator to the helipad floor. He sprinted to the chopper. The Raptors leapt off the roof after him. Cat reached for his arm as the chopper took off. She pulled him in and slammed the door shut.
The force of the helicopter blew the Raptors away. They hissed and screamed at the victorious children who had escaped, the only survivors of Isla Rio.
Cat sat by the window with Sam at her side. Adam had fallen asleep opposite. The sun was rising as the helicopter soared over the Atlantic. Sam cuddled into Adam and fell asleep. Cat looked down at the island that had been her home for five years. An island that she learned to hate. An island that would forever be a lost world.
* * *
Deep in
the elephant-grass field, there was a cracking noise… an egg. Its shell cracked
open and a small orange creature emerged. Velociraptor Mongoliensis.
END
OF PART ONE
PART TWO
Coming soon…