JP: New Beginnings-Chapters 21-25

To read the prologue and the first 4 chapters, please go here....
"JP: New Beginnings-Prologue and 1-4" 

To read chapters 5-10, please go here....
"JP: New Beginnings-Chapters 5-10" 

To read chapters 11-15, please go here....
"JP: New Beginnings-Chapters 11-15" 

To read chapters 16-20, please go here....
"JP: New Beginnings-Chapters 16-20" 

-Thank you

And now on to Chapters 21-25:

Chapter 21: Introducing Ethan

The morning hours were adding up quickly, as Bodan walked back into the Main Control Room. There were two young men in the control room, typing frantically. He saw that Daniel was hard at work on the far computer.

"What's back online, Daniel?"

Daniel took a slight break from the computer, and looked up at Bodan.

"Well, sir. Most of the fences are operational again, with the exception of the Herbivore Paddock. I needed to reroute some power from there, to the Albertosaurus Paddock, after Ally went through the fence in two places."

Daniel always referred to the Albertosaurus as "Ally". Ally was his favorite, so he had given it a nickname.

"So, the fence in the Albertosaurus Paddock is fixed?"

"Yes, sir. We had the adequate supplies over at the new construction site, where the Mini-Lab is."

"Good. So it's back in its paddock, then?"

"Yes, sir. And so is one of the lost Elasmosaurs. The other one, the infant, was unfortunately found dead, floating in the water."

Bodan was honestly upset about that. Envoy was going to be very, very unhappy with that news. Maybe he would delegate the news update to Jacob.

"Any idea what happened?" Bodan asked.

"No, not yet. Jacob helicoptered the carcass over to the main lab last night. We might know more by the afternoon."

"What about the cameras? Are they working?"

"Not quite yet. I have a few online, right now, but only a small handful. Like seven of them."

"When will they be up?"

"Not until Monday, I'm afraid. Most of the computers used to serve the cameras, were in Control Room 3. There were a few here, in this control room, and that's why we have the seven cameras. The parts that I need won't be here until Monday."

Bodan didn't like that at all. He depended on those cameras quite a bit. He didn't really even realize his dependancy, until this moment. He decided to change the subject, before he grew more angry about it.

"What about the gates? Were members of the crew able to get back to this side without incident?"

"Yes. I had to reprogram the keypad, since the codes were completely wiped out. The men were frantic, though, and couldn't manage to type a correct code in. So I had to reprogram the keypad again, making it so that, no matter what five digit code they put in, the gate would still open."

"So everyone got back safe? And the boat . . . did the boat launch successfully?"

The boat would routinely leave every Friday evening, to take the crew back to the Baja Peninsula. That would leave them with a skeleton crew of about five, including Bodan and Daniel. The Baryonyx, after disabling the southern fences of the park, had delayed everything by about half a day.

"Yes, Mr. Bodan. The boat left the East Dock about an hour ago. All the necessary crew made it aboard."

Bodan walked toward the door.

"I'll be right back, Daniel. I'm going to smoke a cigarette, or two."

"Yes, sir."

Bodan walked outside and began to vent, as he lit up a cigarette. He was beyond angry, with the events that had transpired since yesterday. He still hadn't figured out who was responsible for letting the Baryonyx out. The men were protecting the guilty party, and that enraged him. He would make it a personal mission to figure it all out.

As Daniel was waiting, he began typing again. He was checking on security throughout the island. They were in the Main Control Room, located on the North side of the smaller portion of the island. This control room was only a few steps from the eight fully functional office buildings. The North Bridge was within walking distance, as well.

Daniel had insisted on having three separate computer control rooms. There was Control Room 2, on the same portion, located at the Southern tip. It was very close to the South Bridge, the only existing runway, and Helipad 2. There were also four more office buildings in that area, but they weren't used by anyone at this time. Envoy had hoped to open them for tourists, at a later date. He wanted a place where tourists could book future trips to Isla Norte, after they would hopefully be dazzled by the first trip. He also wanted to use one of the offices for legal work. A place where the tourists would have to sign in writing, that they saw nothing more than a biological preserve. None of that was needed yet, though.

And then there was Control Room 3, that had been located on the larger portion of the park, almost all the way on the West Coast of the island. Control Room 3 was stocked with wireless remote servers. Daniel always carried a laptop computer with him. Using the Secondary Control Room, he was able to operate the park from anywhere on the island.

While Daniel was waiting for orders from Bodan, he noticed a potential problem with one of the undamaged remote servers in Control Room 3. He decided to get some details squared away.

"Ethan?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm not getting a reading on RS33. Could you check into that?" He asked.

"No problem," Ethan said.

Ethan Davis was a 22 year old college graduate that Daniel had hired. After seeing some of Ethan's work on an internet website three years earlier, Daniel felt the need to meet with the man. Ethan was a whiz with computers. He had hacked his way into an online banking website, just to prove that he could. He didn't tamper with anything, besides just loading a few harmless images of his own on every page of the site, just to let them know he was there. That little stunt would have gone unnoticed, if it weren't for the fact that Daniel Nupin was the bank's web master. The fact that someone could penetrate his security, both angered and impressed Daniel. He tracked the hacker down, using his own sophisticated techniques and the mysterious hacker agreed to meet with him. Three years, and countless computer hours later, they were working here, together.

Bodan walked back into the room, as he had just thought of another question.

"With all that's happened, I almost forgot about young Ms. Grant. Are you still able to track her, Daniel?"

Daniel smiled.

"Of course, Mr. Bodan. Jodie Grant hasn't been able to get by me."

Daniel filed a few keystrokes, and a different screen appeared. It was a black screen, with green circles of varying sizes, along with a small red blinking dot. Daniel put his finger up to the monitor, right on the red dot.

"There she is, sir."

Bodan smiled.

"Well, then, let's go get her."


Chapter 22: Putting A Face With The Enemy

Alan and Jodie continued to head to the west. Alan was still helping Jodie, but she was starting to walk on her own some. Her leg was feeling a lot better, as the day progressed. For about the last hour Jodie was asking Alan a million questions about dinosaurs. She wanted to have the knowledge, in case she needed it later. Alan explained to her about all the new species that he believed were roaming the island. He explained to her how the dinosaurs were, more than likely, safely behind electric fences, but that it was only a guess, at this point. The Albertosaurus was definitely not behind a working electric fence. The fence had somehow malfunctioned. Alan figured that there could very well be other dinosaurs roaming around.

They walked for about 2 hours, stopping a few times to let Jodie rest. They were stopped right now, resting. Alan looked to the West and noticed that there was something in the distance. It looked like it could be a building.

"Jodie, can you see that?" He asked, pointing.

Jodie looked.

"Yeah. What do you think it is?"

"I don't know. Let's go that way," Alan said, looking around. "I feel like a sitting duck out here in the open like this."

"Okay."

Jodie got back up. As they started walking that way, she thought she heard something.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah."

"What is it?" She whispered.

"Sounds like . . . a car."

Jodie tensed. They were right in the open, with nothing around to run for cover.

"Come on. Let's head toward that tree line over there," Alan suggested.

He grabbed Jodie's arm and helped her go quicker. They were almost to the tree line, when a human voice was heard.

"I think that's far enough. Stop. Both of you."

Jodie instantly knew who it was. She and Alan stopped. As they turned around, Jodie whispered to Alan.

"That's Bodan."

Alan sighed. He hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Bodan yet, but he had heard about some of the awful things that Bodan had done. He turned around and saw that Bodan wasn't alone. There were two men with him, and each of them had a gun. He put up his hands. Jodie did the same.

Bodan and his two assistants got out of their jeep. Bodan approached Alan and Jodie, while the other two men stayed closer to the jeep, aiming their guns at Alan. Bodan was now directly in front of them. Alan made a mental note about just how large this man was. He was surprised just how much taller he was than himself. Alan had to look up quite a long way. He noticed a bandage on Bodan's face, and it was very much soaked in blood. It looked very painful.

Bodan studied the stranger that was with Jodie. He smiled, as he recognized the man.

"Dr. Grant, I presume."

Alan nodded.

"I'm pleased to have finally met you, sir."

Alan just stared at him. The guns aimed at his head were making him very nervous.

"You can put your hands down," Bodan said. He looked at Jodie. "You, too, my dear."

Alan put his hands down. Jodie did the same. She inched closer to Alan and grasped his hand.

"You're not much of a talker, are you, Dr. Grant?" Bodan asked, smiling.

"I guess I'm not," Alan said.

"I bet you're wondering how I found you."

"Yes. I was wondering about that," Alan said.

Bodan stepped over to Jodie and reached for her arm. The sudden movement made Jodie back away. Alan put his arm in front of Bodan, in an attempt to stop him from scaring her.

"Dr. Grant, you don't want to get shot, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Well, I suggest you let me go about my business, sir. Otherwise, my associates will be forced to shoot you."

Alan moved his arm away. He looked at the guns that were still pointing at his head. He knew he needed to remain calm.

"Thank you. Now, what I was going to show you, is this," Bodan said, grabbing Jodie's wrist.

He took off the bracelet she was wearing and tossed it at Alan.

"We affixed a little transmitter in her bracelet. We've been following her for quite a while now. Imagine my surprise, when I found you with her."

"What are you planning to do?" Alan asked.

"Oh, I'm not quite sure, yet. I do know one fact, for certain."

"What's that?" Alan asked.

"You will not be as lucky as you have been in the past, Dr. Grant. This dinosaur island will be very different."

Jodie grabbed Alan's hand again. He quickly looked at her, before turning his gaze upon Bodan again. Alan was starting to suspect that Bodan really didn't have any use for them. He could only hope that Mr. Envoy wanted them alive, for some reason.

"Again, Mr. Bodan. What are you planning to do?" Alan asked.

Jodie tensed up. She really didn't think it would be too much longer before Bodan had his men gun Alan down. She began to cry. Alan let her hand go and put his arm around her shoulder.

Bodan looked at her.

"Now, now, Jodie. Don't be sad. It'll all be over very soon, my dear."

Bodan reached his hand out to touch Jodie. Alan moved her out of the way.

"Please, leave her alone," Alan said.

Jodie grabbed onto Alan, gripping him around the waist tightly. She was still looking toward Bodan, so she was able to see him take a swing at Alan. She saw Alan deflect the attack away with his right arm. As Alan did that, Bodan's men came running up, guns still aimed at Alan.

Alan took a quick look at the guns that were now very close to his face. He held up his hands again.

"Okay, okay. Sorry. Relax," he said.

Bodan smiled. He looked at the two men.

"Dr. Grant was just protecting a family member. Everything is quite okay. I assure both of you," Bodan said. "You two can back up a little. Give Dr. Grant and I some room."

The two men did what they were told. They went backwards about 3 steps, their guns still aimed.

"So, who else is here with you, on this little rescue mission?" Bodan asked.

Alan didn't answer.

Bodan smiled coldly.

"Are you comprehending what I'm saying, Dr. Grant? Or has the sun warped your mind?"

"I'm here alone," Alan finally said.

Alan still had his hands up. Jodie was still holding onto him. Bodan stepped up and swung his fist toward Alan again. This time, the punch connected. Alan was understandably dazed as he staggered to the right, holding his jaw.

Jodie let his waist go, but grabbed onto his left arm. She was beyond frightened. She really thought that Bodan was going to beat Alan to death, right in front of her. To her surprise though, he backed off after the first hit. Instead he barked an order to one of the armed men.

"Smith. Knock him out."

Alan and Jodie both heard the command. Alan tried to come up with some sort of defense against Smith, but Bodan quickly came up to him. Bodan struck Alan in the stomach. As Alan doubled over, he saw the butt of Smith's gun coming at him. That was the last thing Alan saw.

Smith hit Alan with the gun as hard as he could. He watched him fall down. He looked, to make sure he wasn't moving. He wasn't. He was out cold.

Jodie screamed, as Bodan and Smith attacked Alan. It happened so quickly, that Jodie didn't have a chance to help. He fell down right next to her and lay, unmoving, on the ground. She knelt down next to him.

"Alan! Alan!" She said, as she began to cry.

"He'll be all right, my dear. For now, anyway. Although, one can't really know when some large creature might come around," Bodan said, smiling. "Get in the jeep, Ms. Grant."

Jodie looked up at him. She didn't want to leave Alan, in the middle of nowhere, all by himself.

"No. You can't leave him here like this."

"Would you rather I have Smith shoot him?"

"NO!" she yelled, as she kept trying to shake Alan awake.

"Well, then, get in the jeep. It's that simple. Jeep. Dr. Grant doesn't get shot. No jeep. Dr. Grant gets shot."

Jodie looked at Alan for any signs of life. He was breathing, but not much else. He was still out cold. He had blood coming from his head, as well. Jodie made the only decision she could.

"Okay. I'll get in the stupid jeep."

Jodie looked at Alan again. She leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. Bodan became impatient.

"How touching. Let's get a move on," he said coldly.

Jodie stood up and walked between the two armed men, toward the jeep. Bodan followed. When Jodie reached the jeep, she turned and looked at Alan again.

"He's not going anywhere," Bodan said.

He forced her into the jeep. She was instructed to sit in the passenger seat. The two armed men went around the rear and jumped into the back of the jeep. Bodan got in the driver's seat. Jodie never took her eyes off of Alan. He still wasn't moving, which was making her very concerned.

Bodan backed the jeep up, and continued going South. He looked at Jodie.

"Don't look so worried, my dear."

Jodie said nothing. A few tears ran down her cheek, but she didn't say a word.

Bodan grabbed his walkie talkie.

"Jacob. Bodan here. Over."

A few seconds went by and then there was a response.

"Yes, Bodan. What?"

Bodan looked at Jodie. She made eye contact with him. He smiled, as he talked into the radio.

"Jacob. Let the Suchomimus out. We're got a minor problem to contend with in Section 4."

Jodie stared at Bodan in disbelief. Then, her disbelief turned to anger.

"What are you doing?" She yelled.

Bodan laughed.

"Taking care of Dr. Grant. You really didn't think I'd let him get away, did you?"

Jodie couldn't think of anything more to say. All that she really wanted to do was kill Bodan. But since she didn't have a weapon, she did the next thing that came to mind. She jumped out of the jeep, as it was moving.

Bodan was stunned by Jodie's actions. He slammed on the brakes. The jeep skidded for quite a long ways in the dirt, before it finally stopped moving. The two armed men jumped out immediately. Bodan stayed in the jeep. He turned it around and started slowly driving back the way he came.

When Jodie jumped from the jeep, she landed on the ground very hard. She rolled several times, trying to break her fall. She quickly got up and ran toward the tree line, which wasn't all that far away at this point. Her leg was really hurting, but she forced herself to keep going. She heard the jeep's motor coming back. She turned her head to see how close it was. She couldn't see it yet. She reached the tree line and ran into the jungle. Suddenly, she could hear men talking. She stopped, so that they wouldn't hear her running. Then, she dunked down and hid. She could see the two armed men walking in the dirt, just outside of the jungle, where she was hiding. Then she saw Bodan pull up in the jeep. He got out and ran toward the two armed men.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know, sir," Smith answered.

"Well, GO FIND HER," Bodan yelled.

"Yes, sir," Smith said.

Jodie watched the two men go into the jungle. Neither of them came in her direction, which made her understandably happy. She heard Bodan's walkie talkie, so she turned her attention back toward him.

"Mr. Bodan. The Suchomimus isn't cooperating," a voice on the other end said.

"Who is this?"

"It's Ethan, sir."

"Well, Ethan, put Jacob back on."

"Yes, sir. One moment."

A few minutes went by before Jacob communicated with Bodan.

"Bodan, the dinosaur is not doing what we were advised that it would do. When the gate was opened, it didn't run out. Instead, it refuses to leave its paddock."

"Can't you coax it out?"

"We've tried. We're still trying. I'll keep you updated."

Jodie could see that Bodan was very unhappy with the news he just received.

"Jacob. I want that dinosaur out. I want that dinosaur over in section 4 just as soon as possible."

"Okay. I'm trying my best. Maybe we should try a different dinosaur instead."

Bodan thought that over.

"Yes, maybe that would be a good idea. If that Suchomimus doesn't leave its paddock in 20 minutes, scrap that plan and go with the Tyrannosaurus Rex.," Bodan said, smiling. "I believe it's a favorite of Dr. Grant's."

"Okay. I'll let you know."

Bodan placed his walkie talkie in its place on his belt. He looked around for his two assistants.

"Smith! Come back over here! Forget about the girl. We need to leave this place right now. In 20 minutes, the T-Rex is going to be freed."

It didn't take long for the two men to emerge from the jungle. All three men knew what freeing the T-Rex meant. A lot of destruction. Bodan didn't want to be anywhere near section 4 when the giant carnivore was released. The three men got back into the jeep. Bodan started it and floored it, going back to the East, toward the office portion of the island.

Jodie waited a few minutes, and then she came out of the jungle. No one was in sight. She started to run back to where she thought Alan would be.


Chapter 23: On The Run


Jacob waited the 20 minutes, and then he instructed Daniel to close the Suchomimus gate, and to open the T-Rex gate. Daniel wasn't sure he had heard the command right.

"You want the Tyrannosaurus Rex out?" He asked.

"Yes. That's what I said. What part didn't you get, Daniel?"

"Sorry," Daniel said.

He made his way through several touch screens in order to close the Suchomimus gate. It only took about 1 minute. Then, he looked back at Jacob.

"Sir, I really think that you should rethink the Rex idea for right now."

"Why is that?"

"The accident with the Baryonyx, from yesterday afternoon, weakened some of the fences."

Jacob knew absolutely nothing about computers. They gave him a very large headache.

"How?" He asked.

"Some of the fences aren't getting full power to them. I sent Ethan to Control Room 2, in order to manually reroute some of the power again. This time, we should have everything working properly and up to code."

"Does Bodan know that the fences aren't quite up to code?"

"I don't know, sir. But I do know that the fence, just outside Section 4, hasn't been properly powered yet. I'm afraid that if you let out the Rex, it could go to that fence and force its way into Section 3. You can't want that."

Jacob was about to respond, when a frantic voice over the walkie talkie interrupted them.

"Daniel! Daniel? Are you there? Over."

Daniel picked up the walkie talkie. He recognized the voice. It was the weekend lab technician. He would sit around and make sure nothing bad happened in the lab. That was his only job. The fact that he was calling in such a frantic voice, obviously worried Daniel a great deal.

"Yeah, I'm here, what's the matter?"

"There is a . . . problem . . . with one of the dinosaurs over here!"

Jacob took the walkie talkie from Daniel.

"Jacob here. Define . . . problem."

"Well, some of the dinosaurs escaped their holding area and are running free somewhere in the lab, sir."

Jacob looked at Daniel, hoping that he would have a solution. He did.

"Tell him to seal off the part of the lab he is in and we'll send help."

Jacob nodded and relayed the message. There was about a minute of silence, and then the man's voice was heard again. It was much calmer.

"Okay. I've barricaded myself in the middle section, on the first floor. Please send help."

Jacob said something to him, that Daniel didn't quite hear. Then he looked back at Daniel.

"Now, where were we?" Jacob asked.

"The fences. They're not up to code. We need to fix them before you go letting out a 6 ton dinosaur," Daniel said, recapping the best he could.

"Good point. I'll take it up with Bodan. Hold on."

"Yes, sir," Daniel said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alan slowly started to work his way back to consciousness. At first, he just lay there on the ground, listening to the various sounds of nature all around him. Then he began to remember where he was and what had happened.

He was lying on his side. He slowly began to move his arms and legs, making sure they all worked. As he attempted to sit up, the sudden pain, coming from his head, forced him to lay back down. He reached around to the back of his head, trying to find the source of the pain. When he brought his arm back around, there was blood on his hand.

Then he remembered Jodie. He was still dizzy, as he started to look for her. He sat up, as fast as he could, and started yelling her name. When he started yelling, he realized that his jaw wasn't right, either. He held onto it for a second of two, trying to rub some of the pain out. When he moved his hand away, there was blood again. Bodan, and Smith, had really gotten him good in just those few minutes.

He managed to get up. He slowly walked over to where the jeep had been, and discovered tire tracks in the dirt. They continued to the west. He started to follow them, hoping to catch up with Jodie somehow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel was typing, and talking to Ethan at the same time on the walkie talkie. They were trying to coordinate the fences, to make sure they were all properly reinforced. They finally had completed the delicate task. Daniel, who was still in the Main Control Room, looked at Jacob.

"Okay. We've got the fences running smoothly."

"Good. Let out the Tyrannosaurus Rex."

"Yes, sir."

Daniel typed a few quick commands and the gate for the T-Rex opened. One of the cameras, that were still operational, was located near the T-Rex Paddock, so when Daniel saw that one of them walked out of the paddock, he closed the gate back, with a few more simple keystrokes.

"Okay, it's out. And it's going toward the maintenance road."

Jacob smiled.

"If we're lucky, we might be able to see it eat Dr. Grant. Any idea where he is?"

"No. The camera range isn't that great. I have no idea where he is, but I'm sure that the T-Rex will find him. Just give a few moments. It's an extraordinary hunter."

Jacob was about to say something else, when a frantic Ethan was heard over the walkie talkie.

"Daniel! Come in, Daniel!"

Daniel quickly picked up the walkie talkie.

"Yeah?"

"I just noticed something over here. I'm hoping it's a malfunction. Can you check something for me over there?"

"Sure."

"Access Fence Security for me."

Daniel typed, and quickly got to Fence Security.

"Okay, I'm there."

"Now check the Velociraptor Fence for me. I'm mainly interested in the recently added overhead electric fencing."

Daniel accessed the Velociraptor Paddock Fence Security.

"It's working, Ethan. It's online."

"That's good," Ethan said with relief.

"Why?"

"Because, according to this notation near the fuse box over here, the Raptor overhead fence is routed into the Southern paddocks, instead of the Northern ones."

"Why would they do that?" Jacob interrupted.

Daniel didn't answer him. He started to run the dinosaur field test program.

"Are all the Raptors accounted for?" Ethan asked over the walkie talkie.

"I'm checking on that now. Hold on."

"Okay," Ethan said.

Jacob watched, as Daniel typed and typed and typed. Then he just stared at the screen, not saying a word. Just staring.

"Are they all there?" Jacob asked.

Daniel looked at him.

"According to the computer, there is only one Raptor in the paddock. One."

Jacob took the walkie talkie from the desk.

"Ethan, he says the computer only picked up one Raptor in the paddock."

"Oh, my God," Ethan whispered.

Daniel looked at Jacob.

"That's a very bad thing," Daniel dramatically understated.

Jacob was furious. He began to scream at Daniel now.

"Why didn't we already know this!"

"Because none of the systems are set to automatic right now. We had to conserve system memory, in order to reroute power systems back and forth."

"What the hell does that mean, Daniel?"

"It means that we should have manually checked all of the paddocks, sir. But since the outage occurred to the south, we didn't think of checking the paddocks to the north."

Jacob looked away.

"Bodan is going to be pissed."

Just as the words came out of his mouth, Patrick Bodan walked into the Main Control Room.

"Bodan is going to pissed about what?" He asked, as he threw the cigarette he was smoking to the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alan had made his way to the narrow concrete road, that ran through the middle of the island. The sun was beaming down on him, making him even more uncomfortable. He walked for only about 15 minutes, before he stopped for a quick rest. He had a tremendous headache. There was no where to sit, so he walked off the path and toward the tree line. There, he leaned on a tree, getting out of the sun for a minute. While resting, he spotted a building in the distance, along with something else. He squinted in the sunlight, and finally identified what it was. It was a wooden sign, coming up through the ground. He walked toward it. As he got closer, he could read what it said. It said MONORAIL ENTRANCE / MALL. The sign came up to about his waist and there was an arrow, pointing toward a rather large building, just past the sign.

"Monorail?" Alan said to himself.

He looked up and laughed. There was a track made of concrete, quite a distance above him. There were also massive concrete posts, rising up to meet the concrete track. The track led into the large building, and then came out the other side. He was laughing because he hadn't even noticed the track, until right now. The tracks went on, as far as he could see, in both directions. He sat down on top of the sign and thought about where to go and what to do. He was slightly turned around now, after being knocked unconscious, but he was certain that he hadn't seen this monorail/mall building before. Logically, he was pretty sure the lab, where he was supposed to meet Ian and Ellie, was back the other way. After checking his head, to see if it was still bleeding, he got up and started to cautiously walk the other way, toward the lab. At least he hoped so.

As he walked, he started to wonder why there weren't any people or trucks around. He didn't have very long to think about that, though. Suddenly, a loud and frightening roar was heard all around him. Alan stopped and quickly scanned the area, trying to figure out which direction the roar came from. As he was scanning, he walked backwards and toward the mall. He reached the main door of the mall and tried to open it. The door was locked, but the doors where made of glass. He looked around for something to throw into the glass, and that's when the ground began to shake. Something very big was heading his way. After a few seconds, he finally saw what belonged to the deafening roar. It was the Tyrannosaurus Rex and it was tracking him fast. It seemed to look right at him, making him temporarily freeze in terror. The T-Rex thundered toward him.

Getting the door open was now Alan's top priority. He saw a garbage can, sitting close to the concrete walkway, a few steps from the entrance. He ran toward it. In the direction of the oncoming dinosaur. He quickly grabbed hold of the garbage can and carried it back toward the glass doors. The T-Rex was all the way to the wooden sign that Alan had been sitting on, just moments before. Alan made it to the doors and, raising up the garbage can, he threw it into the doors. Glass shattered all over and the garbage can rolled down the hallway of the building.

Alan jumped through the broken glass and ran to his right, in an attempt to get out of view. When he disappeared, the pursuing T-Rex lost sight of the movement, and stopped. It stood there, trying to track which way its meal had gone. Alan was pressed up against the wall, right next to the shattered glass doors, hoping that he wouldn't be seen. He wasn't. The T-Rex stood still, and looked around, for about five minutes. Then it finally gave up the search.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jodie made it back to where she thought Alan was left behind. He wasn't there. She looked around, trying to find signs that she was, at least, in the right place. She found the jeep tracks, where the jeep had stopped and she found her bracelet on the ground, very near to where blood was splattered on the ground. There was no evidence that Alan was dragged away and eaten, so Jodie sighed with relief.

As she was looking at the jeep tracks, she noticed something else. There were footprints! Footprints going in a westerly direction. She followed them, with her eyes. They continued on, as far as she could see. They must have belonged to Alan. She smiled, as she quickly followed them.

After a few minutes, her happy mood changed. The farther she went, the more worried she became. She was starting to lose her sense of direction, plus she started to have doubts about the footprints belonging to Alan. They really could have belonged to any worker on the island. She thought that she should have ran into him by now. She didn't think he had that much of a head start. She kept on following the footprints, though. As she followed them, they ended when it looked like Alan started walking on the narrow concrete road. Jodie continued on, not really knowing if that was really the right thing to do.

After about 10 minutes, she heard a very loud roar, coming from in front of her somewhere. She stopped walking forward, and instantly ran for the cover of the trees. She stood there for a few minutes, listening to the continuing roaring. She wasn't sure if it was coming closer, or going farther away. She decided to stay put, and wait it out.

It wasn't a long wait, before she saw the source of the roar. She guessed that it was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, since it resembled what she had seen in books. She was completely captivated by the colossal creature, as it walked past her, shaking the ground with every step it took. It hadn't seen her. It just kept walking to the east, with no particular urgency. Jodie sighed with relief, as she continued to watch it move past her. The shaking of the ground also subsided. Then, just as she was thinking about going on, the ground began to shake harder again. She looked back toward where the beast had gone, and saw that it had turned around, and was studying the area that she was in. She remembered reading that the T-Rex couldn't see very well, so she stayed absolutely still. It still seemed to know that someone was there. It was bringing its huge head back and forth, sniffing the air. Jodie remained calm and still, as it began to walk toward the trees she was hiding next to. She closed her eyes, held her breath, and hoped for the best.

While her eyes were closed, she heard another high pitched growl, coming from the opposite way. It was definitely the growl of another dinosaur, originating where the T-Rex had come from. She opened her eyes, and regretted it immediately. The T-Rex had its snout very, very close to where she was. She almost screamed in panic, but then remembered the other growl she had heard. She looked beyond the T-Rex's snout, and spotted two other smaller dinosaurs, running swiftly down the concrete road. She lost sight of the smaller dinosaurs, as they ran past the T-Rex, and then caught sight of them again, when they safely made it past. The T-Rex turned its massive head, when it caught a glimpse of movement. It roared and turned the rest of its body quickly. It rumbled off in pursuit of the smaller dinosaurs.

Jodie had been standing through the entire ordeal. When the T-Rex finally disappeared from her sight, she collapsed to the ground, in a heaping mess. She sincerely hoped she was never that close to a T-Rex again. She had read Alan's account of his confrontation with a T-Rex, but couldn't truly respect it, until now. How he was able to stay perfectly calm, and to keep the little girl completely calm, was beyond her. If that dinosaur had stared in her direction for another minute, she would have broken down. That much was certain to Jodie. She would have broken down and been eaten. She stood up and began to run to the west again, in the direction she hoped Alan had gone. She needed to find him right now, before her stupidity would get her killed. She didn't want to be on her own any longer. She ran, as fast as she could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alan began to explore the hallway that he was hidden in. After the T-Rex had wandered off, he felt temporarily safe. As he was walking, he started to think of Ellie and Jodie. Mostly Jodie, since she was probably with the enemy. Probably with Bodan. He hadn't had much of a chance to get to know her. He hoped that she was safe from harm.

His mind drifted to Ellie. She had Ian with her, at least. Alan didn't like the idea of Ian being alone with Ellie. Not at all. He cringed, as he thought about Ian hitting on her, over and over again. He knew Ellie could take care of herself, but he wished that he was with her, instead of that annoying man.

As Alan was lost in thought, he heard a noise, coming from one of the other rooms. His stopped and looked around, trying to figure out which room it had come from. There were about a dozen doors, up and down the hallway, and it was beginning to make Alan a little uneasy. There were too many places for something to hide. He heard another noise and this time it was definitely a dinosaur. It was a high pitched snarl. He didn't wait around to find out what it was. He began running down the hallway, in an attempt to get as far away from the snarling as possible. He began to open and close doors rapidly, as he continued to make his way, deeper into the mall area.


Chapter 24: Raptors, Dilos, and T-Rex . . . Oh, My!

Ian smiled, as he realized that the building they were walking toward, was the lab they had been looking for. He and Ellie walked up to one of the side doors, and quietly went inside. The lab was a very big building. As they walked inside, there was a diagram of the building interior. It had two floors, and was divided into three sections, with hallways connecting every section to the next. They were standing in the section closest to the middle of the island. It was quite large, with a very high ceiling.

"Well, we made it," Ian said. "Where do you think Alan is?"

"I don't know. Let's look around for him. Come on," she said.

Ellie walked through the section they were in, and approached the stainless steel security door. There was a place to put your hand print for identification. She frowned, as she looked at Ian.

"Okay, genius. Get us through this one."

Ian laughed at her. He was about to enthral Ellie with his intellect, once again, when the stainless steel door flew open. A man, who was on the other side of the door, ran head on, into Ian. Both of them fell to the floor, leaving Ellie the only one standing. She was about to yell at the man for needlessly plowing Ian down, when she saw that there was something else coming through the door. She yelled, as she bent over and attempted to drag Ian out of the way.

"Ian, get up!"

She knew what it was, that had burst through the door. The colorful crest on its head, identified it as a Dilophosaurus. The only positive thing she could think of, was that it didn't seem to be full grown. It was only about 7 feet tall, which was plenty tall enough, in Ellie's opinion. The frenzied man was screaming and waving his arms around, while still on top of Ian. Ian saw that Ellie was trying to help, so he reached his arm out to her. She took it, and, with all her might, managed to drag Ian out from under the frantic man. It was then, that Ian and Ellie noticed why the man was acting so strange. He had a black substance all over both of his forearms, and it seemed to be burning through his skin, like acid.

Ian quickly got to his feet and checked his own body, to make sure the man didn't pass it along. He hadn't, and Ian looked relieved . . . for a second. The Dilophosaurus let out a strange vocal noise, and then a frill lifted up, around its neck. It began to hiss. Ian looked up, as Ellie yelled at him.

"Ian, watch out! It's going to spit again!"

The Dilophosaurus was still in the doorway. It swayed its head back and forth several times, and then the last time it moved its head forward, a black substance shot from its mouth. Ian darted to his left just in time. The black substance went right by his head, and stuck to some papers, that were tacked to the wall behind him. He ran to Ellie and grabbed her hand.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" He yelled.

"What about him?" Ellie asked, pointing to the man, who was still on the floor.

Ian didn't get a chance to respond. The Dilophosaurus had bent down, as Ellie was talking, and bit down on one of the man's waving arms. Just as the dinosaur attacked the man, three more Dilophosaurs appeared behind the first one. All of them growling and hooting. One of the newly appeared Dilophosaurs joined in with the first one, and finished off the wounded man. Ian and Ellie began to run for the outside door. Ian opened it and was about to make a run for it, when another unexpected surprise greeted him.

The two Velociraptors, that had run past Jodie earlier, had lost the pursuing T-Rex, and had made their way to the lab. They had been investigating the area carefully, when Ian opened the door. They were just as surprised as he was, by the encounter. The Raptors immediately snarled and snapped at Ian, causing him to back up the other way, and into the lab again. Ellie was right behind him, and was forced backwards, as well. The two humans were in between two carnivorous species of dinosaurs. They were sure they would be torn apart, by one or the other, or both.

That's not what happened. When the Dilophosaurs saw the Raptors, they began to growl and hoot, swaying their heads back and forth. The Raptors had never seen this type of behavior before, and didn't know how to counteract it. They ignored the humans . . . for now, and went for the more serious threat, the other dinosaurs. Both of the Raptors leapt toward the four Dilophosaurs, claws extended.

As the Raptors jumped, Ian ducked out of the way, by diving to the ground. He grabbed Ellie by the arm, and pulled her down with him. From the ground, they turned just in time, to see the Raptors rising above their heads, toward the Dilophosaurs.

Two of the Dilophosaurs, frills out, spit at the flying Raptors. The black substance struck one of the Raptors in the eyes, while it was in mid air. It let out a yelp, as it hit the ground sideways, sliding toward the awaiting Dilophosaurs. When it finally stopped sliding, it was permanently blinded. It tried striking out toward where it thought its adversaries might be, but it wasn't able to connect. The Dilophosaurs were too quick. Two of them, working as a team, attacked the wounded Raptor. One of them spit at the Raptor again, hitting it in the head, while the other one started to bite at its mid section. In no time, they had the Raptor defeated.

The other Raptor had landed just to the right of the Dilophosaurs. It was all alone now, one against four. It realized that it couldn't win, so it made a run for it. It leapt completely over the two Dilophosaurs, closest to it, that were finishing off the blinded Raptor. It landed in between the other two Dilophosaurs, that were still very close to the unknown, and now deceased man. The Raptor was able to catch those two dinosaurs completely off guard. It attacked the closest Dilophosaurus, and was able to jump up, and slice its throat. The wounded Dilophosaurus cried out, and then, taking a few last breaths, collapsed to the ground, next to the half-eaten man. The Raptor, sensing that it probably couldn't do any more damage, retreated through the opened door, and ran down the hallway, toward the middle section of the lab. Two of the remaining Dilophosaurs followed it, leaving one for Ian and Ellie to deal with.

Ian and Ellie were back to their feet, by now, and were running for the outside door again. It had somehow gotten shut, in all the commotion, so Ian placed a hand on the doorknob. He didn't go any farther though. Suddenly, the ground was shaking and it was coming from outside of the lab. Ian looked at Ellie, as if to ask her what to do. As he was looking at her, he heard that same strange vocal noise. The lone Dilophosaurus growled, hooted, and then spit at them, from across the room. The black substance hit the door, just above where Ian's hand was.

Startled, Ian opened the door and began to make a run for it. As he left the building, he thought he heard Ellie say something, but he couldn't quite make it out. His momentum carried him outside, where he unintentionally spotted the source of the shaking. It was the Tyrannosaurus Rex., and it was walking very close to the lab, trying to track which way the two Raptors had gone. It instantly saw Ian, as he ran outside.

Ellie hadn't followed Ian outside. She had seen the T-Rex, through the door, when Ian had opened it. She yelled for him to stop, but he must not have heard her. He ran right out there, and just about right into the path of the T-Rex. Ellie reached for him, and managed to grab one of his arms, pulling him back inside the lab. Both of them were relieved, once again, as the T-Rex let out a majestic roar, just outside of the door.

Their happiness didn't last long. The lone Dilophosaurus was still in the room and was still spitting at them. Ellie quickly looked around for something to throw at the dinosaur. She found something suitable, a row of oxygen tanks nearby. She grabbed one and was surprised at just how heavy it was. She turned toward the Dilophosaurus and pitched the tank at it, hitting it right in the head. Ian, thinking the tanks were a good idea, started looking for a fire extinguisher. He found one rather quickly, and sprayed it at the Dilophosaurus. The first attack, with the oxygen tank, had dazed it. The second attack, with the fire extinguisher, had blinded it temporarily.

Ian and Ellie were able to get past the dinosaur, and run down the hallway, toward the middle section of the lab. They knew that the other dinosaurs had also gone this way, but the alternative was the T-Rex, and that was hardly an alternative.



Chapter 25: Getting Re-acquainted With Old Friends

Tim and Lex had made their way out of the Herbivore Paddock, and had gone into the building they had seen. They had been inside, exploring, for about an hour. There was power, because it was quite cool in the building, but there were no lights turned on. They came upon a very large room that had dozens of clothing racks, along with some cash registers, in it. It was some sort of gift shop, where the "visitors" could buy Isla Norte merchandise. Tim closed the door behind him, as he looked around. He found a water fountain, and basically attacked it, since he hadn't had food or water for a while. Lex noticed Tim running at something. When she realized what it was, she ran over to the water fountain, too. They took turns drinking the ice cold water for several minutes. When she finally had enough water, Lex walked up to one of the clothing racks and looked through some of the T-shirts. She laughed, while reading some of them.

"Isla Norte-Biological Preserve. Island of Interesting Sights and Sounds. Isla Norte-Where Man Meets Up With The Past. Norte-Where Man and Pre-History Collide. Visit Isla Norte-You'll See Things Never Seen Before By Man."

Tim walked over to her and laughed, as well.

"Do they have one that says 'Isla Norte-Where You Run For Your Life From Man Eating Dinosaurs'?"

"I'm not seeing one, sorry," Lex said, laughing.

As they carefully walked across the gift shop, Tim noticed that there were large double doors across the way, on the other side. They were closed. There were no light switches anywhere, that Tim could find, so the room was still quite dark. He motioned Lex to go in the direction of the double doors. She nodded and walked toward them. Tim was just about to follow her when . . . WHAM!

The large door that Tim had just shut behind him, suddenly flew open! Tim let out a very loud scream, while Lex just dove down behind a nearby check out area. Tim glimpsed a figure coming straight for him. A extremely fast moving figure. Tim suddenly realized, to his relief, that it was a man - not a carnivorous dinosaur. The man wasn't looking in Tim's direction, though. He had been looking back at the door, and ran right into Tim, knocking him down to the concrete floor. Tim and the man came crashing down with a giant thud. Tim looked up at the man and thought he looked vaguely familiar.

When something ran into the room and knocked Tim down, Lex took cover and started to search for a weapon. She found one. It was a part of one of the metal clothing racks. It was pretty big and a little awkward to swing around, but she managed. She started to run toward the man that tackled her brother. She figured it was Bodan.

Tim was finally able to recognize the man. It wasn't Bodan, like he had guessed, too. It was Alan Grant! But how and why he was here was a mystery.

Alan started to get up and apologize, but as he rose to his feet, Lex attacked him from behind. He fell right back to the ground, as he was struck in the head by the metal rack. He had his back to Lex, as she prepared for another attack. After a few moments to get his bearings back, he tried to turn over. As he did, he quickly had to get out of the way of approaching metal rack. It came crashing down next to his ribs, just missing him. He put his hands up, in a surrendering gesture.

"I give up. I give up!" He shouted.

He finished turning over and looked in the direction of his attacker. He saw that it was a young woman, but he didn't know who it was yet.

Lex stood over him, yelling at the man to leave her brother alone. She was on her third swing, when she finally saw whom she was attacking.

"Dr. Grant? Oh, my God! I thought you were someone else! Dr. Grant? Dr. Grant? Are you okay? Dr. Grant?" Lex yelled, as she threw the clothing rack to the floor.

Alan peered up at his attacker. His head was spinning. He was very lucky that it wasn't a direct hit to his head, as he could have been killed. He couldn't quite focus on the figure hoovering over him, ranting on and on and on. Then Lex came into focus.

"I guess you're not happy to see me?" Alan said slowly.

"Of course I'm happy to see you. I am so sorry. Are you okay?" She asked again.

Lex helped Alan to his feet. His head was beginning to clear now, as the dizziness passed. He noticed how much older and mature she looked. She must have been in her twenties by now.

Lex was beyond happy to see him. She immediately began to feel relieved. Not only did they run into an adult, but they ran into the adult she had longed to see more than anyone. Now she was positive about getting off the island alive.

"I think I'm all right. Really. Just a little bump on the head, that's all," Alan said.

Tim was equally happy to see Alan. He had just been sitting on the floor, staring at him, since Lex had attacked him. He noticed some blood on the back of Alan's head. He stood up and joined in on the conversation.

"It looks like more than just a little bump to me. You're bleeding," Tim said.

Alan reached around and touched the back of his head. He was bleeding, but mostly from the previous blow to the head . . . not Lex's attack.

Lex frowned, as she thought about how she could have possibly killed him. She couldn't bring herself to look at him again. She looked down at the floor, in embarrassment.

"Lex, it's okay. I was already bleeding before I ran into this room. Someone else had already attacked me."

"Bodan?" Tim asked.

Alan looked at Tim.

"Yeah, Bodan. Well, Bodan and his henchman, Smith. Neither of them was very pleasant to me," Alan said.

"We've met Bodan, too," Tim said. "Lex cut his face and we were able to get away from him."

Alan was stunned that Lex could do a thing like that. He was impressed.

"So you're the reason for that bandage that was on his face?" Alan asked.

Lex didn't answer. She was still looking down.

"Lex? What's wrong?" Alan asked softly, rubbing the back of his head.

"I could have killed you," she said, finally looking up at him.

Alan smiled. He took several steps in her direction.

"Well, you didn't. So don't worry about it, okay?" Alan asked.

Lex still didn't feel very good about attacking him. The longer she stood there, the more regretful she felt.

"Let's just get this behind us," Alan said. "I'm all right." He took a good look at them. "It's really good to see both of you. I just wish it was under different circumstances."

"Yeah, like maybe a dinner or something," Tim said.

Alan smiled. He looked over at Lex and noticed that she wasn't smiling. She had taken a few more steps toward him, though. There wasn't a whole lot of distance between them now.

"Come here," Alan said, holding his arms out.

Lex quickly went to his awaiting arms. He embraced her. She felt so completely safe. All the things she was remembering earlier to calm herself down, rushed back into her mind, as Alan held her. The one person she wished was here with her, was now here with her. And to make it even better, he was gently rocking her back and forth. She really felt like he had forgiven her for almost killing him. She stood there, in his arms, wishing the moment could last forever.

Now that they were all calm, Alan looked over at Tim. The boy was all grown up now, and it looked like he was about as tall as himself. He was wearing black pants and a white buttoned down shirt, each of which were battered and torn. He was sporting his hair a little longer, than when he was a kid. It was very messy, but it looked like Tim still combed it to the side. Alan let Lex go, and looked her over, as well. She was wearing black pants, and some sort of dressy shirt, that was now torn in several places, with blood splattered across it. Her hair was long and flowing, just past her shoulders. She was a very beautiful young lady.

"You two look like you've been holding your own fairly well," Alan said.

"Barely," Tim commented.

"How old are the two of you now?" Alan asked.

"I'm 18. I just graduated . . . about 2 days ago . . . in these very clothes actually," Tim said, laughing. "Well, congratulations," Alan said.

"Thanks."

Alan looked at Lex.

"Tim's 18, so that makes you, what? Twenty-something?"

"Twenty-two," she said.

Alan laughed.

"Wow. Where did the time go? I turn my back for a minute, and the two of you become adults," Alan said, smiling.

Lex smiled back. She still thought he was handsome. He was her first crush. Alan Grant would always hold a place in her heart. He saved her life, after all. Several times.

Tim burst into her thoughts.

"Hey, Alan, what are you doing here?" He asked.

Alan started to walk around all the merchandise racks, trying to get a feel for his surroundings.

"Oh, that. Well, I was talked into going on another one of your Grandfather's missions. Right before we were supposed to leave, we found out that you and Lex were taken. Along with my cousin Jodie."

"Your cousin is here, too?" Lex asked.

"Yeah. I found her once, but then Bodan found us and knocked me out. I haven't been able to find her again."

As Alan was looking around, he spotted the water fountain. He went in that direction. Tim watched Alan walk away, then he looked at Lex..

"Seems you get hit in the head a lot," Tim commented to Alan, as he grinned at his sister.

"Shut up, Tim," Lex said.

Alan laughed. He reached the water fountain and took several big gulps of ice cold water, instantly feeling better. The heat had taken a toll on him outside. He was extremely happy to be in an air conditioned building, complete with an ice cold water fountain.

Tim had wondered into the candy isle of the giant room. He stuffed his pockets with whatever he could find and Lex did the same. Tim called out to Alan, and when he looked, threw a candy bar his way. He caught it and ripped into it, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.

"Thanks," Alan said.

"So, when did you see Jodie last?" Tim asked.

"I think it's only been a few hours. I was unconscious, though, so I don't really know. I assume that Bodan took her with him. I was going to follow the jeep tracks, but then a Tyrannosaurus Rex had other plans for me," Alan said.

"A T-Rex?" Lex repeated.

"Yeah, it tried to follow me into this building."

Alan shivered, as he thought about the chase that almost ended badly.

"Wow," Tim said. "We're lucky that it didn't figure out a way to crush the building."

"So, what did my Grandpa want you to do?" Lex asked.

"Well, I was part of a small team that was supposed to go to an island owned by Biosyn. An island with offices only. We were supposed to get some information from the computers."

"And?" Lex said, knowing that her Grandfather never gave all of the necessary details.

"And then we came here instead, to rescue you, Tim, and Jodie. Only what I didn't know, was that the offices were on the same island. On the right portion of this island. There are two bridges connecting the two portions, so your Grandfather had told me that the island with computers was a separate island. He made it sound like there were two totally separate islands."

Lex was angry with her Grandfather.

"Well, isn't he the clever one? Lying to the only people who would actually care about his sorry butt."

For some reason, Alan felt the need to defend Hammond.

"Well, he didn't actually lie. He just didn't provide all the details, as usual," he said.

"Alan?" Tim asked, interrupting them.

"Yeah?"

"What were you running from?" Tim asked.

"Oh, that. It don't know. I thought I heard something back there. Must have been the T-Rex trying to get in, that's all."

Alan went back towards the door he had just ran through. He carefully looked through the door. There was nothing there and he was relieved, as he was almost sure that the sounds were coming from inside the building. The fact that he hadn't run into anything, gave him reason to believe that it must have been the T-Rex, trying to find another way inside. Still, the noises had gotten him so spooked, that he had started running through every door he came to. Then, he had literally run into Tim . . . and Lex.

Lex was getting slightly alarmed. Something about Alan's voice didn't seem right. It was like he was hiding something. She felt like she needed more of an explanation.

"You really didn't see anything?" She asked. "Because you're starting to scare me a little bit."

"Lex, don't worry, everything is fine," he pointed at the double doors. "You guys been through there, yet?"

Tim and Lex both shook their heads no.

"Well, let's just keep on going in this direction, okay?"

The three of them went over to the other side of the room, and reached the double doors. Alan carefully peered through one of the doors. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so he motioned the kids to follow him.

Now, they were well into the hallway. To the right, a dead end. To the left, a long hallway, then a door. Alan started to walk down the hallway to the left. He headed for the door over on that side, looking around as he did so.

Tim and Lex were looking around, too. In front of them, along the whole outside edge of the wall, there were gigantic crates lined up all the way to the ceiling. In between the crates were a few rather large cages. Tim thought that a human adult could easily fit into one of those.

Tim went closer to the crates to inspect them. Lex was right behind her brother, as he reached out and touched one of them. The tiny bit of force that Tim used was enough to topple over the crate. And then another, and then another. Like a chain reaction, all the crates fell to the floor one after another. As the first one started to fall, Tim quickly moved out of the way. He jumped so fast, he lost his balance and fell to the floor. Lex wasn't so lucky. The crate caught her leg, as she tried to dodge it. It landed on her leg and buried it up to her knee. She screamed out in pain. She tried pulling her leg out, but the crate was too heavy.

Alan, who was almost to the door on the other side, ran quickly toward the two kids, just missing getting hit by the array of falling crates. He got there just as Tim got to his feet. Alan tried lifting the giant crate off of Lex, but it was too heavy, even for him. Together, with all their might, Alan and Tim managed to pick up the crate and Lex was able to get her leg out. When she was clear of the crate, Alan and Tim let it go. It fell back to the ground with a very powerful thud.

"Lex, you okay?" Alan asked frantically. "Hey, you okay?"

Lex just sat there, on the brink of crying. Her leg was throbbing, but she didn't think it was broken. She could wriggle her toes, so that was a good sign. She forced herself into not crying. She wasn't a baby any longer and she wasn't going to let her emotions pour out. She looked up at her brother, and then at Alan.

"Yeah . . . I'm . . . I'm okay, guys," Lex said. "I saw that thing coming at me and thought I was going to be flattened. I'm okay, really. You think one of you could help me up, instead of just staring?"

"Oh . . . yeah," Tim and Alan said simultaneously.

Alan held out his hand to Lex and she took it. He pulled her up close to him, while she placed her right arm around his neck. Alan started to walk with her, to see if she could put weight on her leg. She didn't seem to be able to walk very well.

"Come on Lex, I think you can walk on your own. It's not like you're dying or something," Tim said sarcastically, very aware of how his sister was hanging all over Dr. Grant. Not again.

"Oh, yeah, Timmy. Sure. It only hurts when I WALK, you idiot!"

That was the second time she had called him Timmy, and he was fed up with it.

"Hey! Don't call me Timmy," he yelled at her.

"I can if I want to. It's a free country, you idiot!" Lex yelled.

"Come on guys, let's not fight," Alan managed to say.

He was able to get a few words in during the sibling scuffle. Tim and Lex were fighting, just like they did when they were children. Alan had been baffled by it back then, and he still was now. He helped Lex get to the door that was at the end of the hallway. She was leaning on him pretty heavily. It seemed to him that she was seriously hurt, so he couldn't figure out why Tim was so mad. Kids. They're a very strange breed indeed, he thought. Then he corrected himself. Young adults. Another strange breed, with a whole new set of problems to deal with.

The three of them got to the door. It was a different kind of door than the others. It was a very wide door, a little shorter, and very heavy. Alan tried to open it with his free hand, but couldn't.

"Tim, could you open the door for me please?" Alan asked. "I got my hands full here."

"Yeah, I'll say you do. Just drop her. She's being a baby."

Lex had enough from that brother of hers now.

"Tim, you better shut up, or I'll make you shut up."

Alan gave them both a look of disappointment. He was just about to yell at the two of them, when Tim opened, and then pushed the large door forward. Tim pushed until the door wouldn't go any further. It stopped up against the side wall. When he let it go, it came back toward him. It was spring loaded. He pushed it back into the room again, and held it there, letting Alan and Lex enter the room. Alan noticed it looked like the room was air tight, the door was used to seal the room shut. As he looked inside, his mood became very serious. The kids saw his gaze and stopped fighting.

The room they were walking into now was very tiny. There was another door straight across from them only about 20 feet away or so. There were a few of those same crates from the previous room here too, plus one of those cages. In addition, there was a hole in the ceiling tile, right above their heads.

Alan helped Lex through the door and across the tiny room. Tim was behind them. Alan and Lex got to the door on the other side. Alan opened it slowly. It was a very noisy door. It seemed to be needing a little oil. As Alan opened the door, Tim let the other door go, allowing the springs to draw the door back to the closed position.

When the three of them had first entered this tiny room, there was something hidden in the corner. After a slight mishap, it had found itself stuck in the tiny air tight room. When Tim opened the wide door and pushed it toward the wall, the beast was concealed behind the door. Because of the room being air tight, it didn't hear the children fighting before. But now, the noisy door that was opening across the tiny room, alerted it.

Lex was the first one to see the thing, as it was now exposed, after the door had shut. It shrieked at the humans. She screamed. Alan quickly turned around to see a Velociraptor. It was full size and very angry. He figured it must have accidently been locked up in here, since the doors were spring loaded. It was tucked up against the wall and was now rolling itself out from the wall onto the concrete floor. It jumped out at them with amazing speed.

Alan still had the other door held open. With a firm hold on Lex, he started to run out of the room. Tim was right behind them. Tim let the door go, as he passed through, hoping that would slow the Raptor down some. It didn't help. The Raptor just plowed right through the spring loaded door before it had the chance to shut. It wasn't about to get stuck in that tiny room again. It hurried after its prey, sizing them up. After a quick inspection, it decided on the one that was wounded and limping.

As the three of them ran from the room, there were two ways to go. Left and right. Alan chose the left and Tim ran to the right.

Alan and Lex didn't get far. They took about 8 running steps and almost immediately came upon a dead end. Alan turned around and saw that Tim was well on his way down the long hallway and that the Raptor was not following Tim. The Raptor was standing in the hallway, looking directly at them. It wasn't moving, just staring.

"Oh God," Lex whispered to Alan. "It's after me, I'm the wounded one."

"Well, it's not getting you without a fight," Alan challenged.

He put Lex behind him and started to take a small step backward, away from the Raptor. The Raptor stood up on its hind legs and let out a cry. This scared Alan a little bit. He backed up even more. Lex was behind Alan, holding onto him, hoping that he would somehow get them out of this. The last time she and Alan were surrounded by Raptors, the good ole T-Rex had saved the day. She didn't think that would happen again, since the hallway they were in wasn't big enough for such a large predator.

The Raptor came back down from its high stance and slowly began to move toward Alan and Lex, in a very meticulous way. Alan really didn't have a clue of what to do. He remembered talking to the Raptors, back on Isla Sorna, years before. But without the resonating chamber to help him out, that wasn't going to work. He had to think of something quick.

"Lex, let go for a minute, I've got an idea,"

Alan waited for Lex to let go and made sure she was balanced up against the dead-end wall. He tried an aggressive approach to the situation. He moved his arms around and took a few quick steps toward the Raptor, yelling as he did so.

The Raptor was slightly taken aback by the human's strange movements. Humans usually cowered when face to face with the 6-foot carnivore. The Raptor took one step back.

Alan couldn't believe it. He was actually driving the Raptor back. The victory didn't last long, though. To Alan's horror, the Raptor didn't take any more steps back. Instead, it took a leap forward and lunged toward Alan with its toe claw aimed at his upper body. He was very close to the Raptor, as it jumped. He was sure it would connect with him. He started moving backwards with his eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable.

Lex was still up against the wall. When she saw the Raptor leap toward Alan, she pushed herself off the wall, grabbed the back of his shirt, and pulled as hard as she could.

With his eyes closed, Alan felt a sudden tug from behind him. Lex had pulled so hard, Alan fell backwards onto the floor. As he was falling, the Raptor had reached him. It buried its razor sharp claw into his left shoulder and fell down with him.

Lex tried to limp back to the wall, but Alan and the Raptor knocked her over. She fell down and quickly crawled toward the dead-end wall, looking back to check on Alan. If Lex hadn't pulled him, the Raptor might have killed him instantly. Now the Raptor had missed its mark and had settled for his shoulder. She saw him on the ground, both he and the Raptor slightly dazed. She heard him scream in agony, and then she saw the Raptor slash out at him with the other foot. It missed its mark, as Alan moved his head, wincing as he did so. The Raptor opened its mouth and bent down to silence its prey. Using her good leg, Lex kicked at its head. It lifted back up, long enough for Alan to reach out with his right arm and push its head back. He had never, in his life, actually touched a live Raptor before. He continued to wrestle with it, the best he could.

Alan was still struggling with the Raptor, when Tim showed up. He had ran back into the merchandising room and grabbed the metal clothing rack. He came up behind the Raptor and struck it, as hard as he could, hitting it in its back. It hardly did anything to distract the Raptor. It only succeeded in helping the Raptor push its claw further into Alan's shoulder. Alan screamed again. This time, Lex could see blood coming out from under him. She started to panic. She didn't want Alan to be hacked up into pieces, and especially not right in front of her.

"Hit it again, Tim! In the head. Hit it hard. Really Hard!"

Tim wound up and swung the rack at the Raptor's head, hitting it directly on the back of its head. This time he got the Raptor's attention! It pulled its claw out of Alan, making him wail in pain once again. It turned around and looked at its new adversary.

Tim held his own against the Raptor . . . for a little while. As Tim fought off the Raptor, Lex quietly crawled to Alan, trying to help him.

"Dr. Grant, are you all right? Alan?"

Alan was feeling a bit woozy. There was blood everywhere and his shoulder was still bleeding heavily.

"I . . . I'm not sure . . . I . . . I don't think so."

Lex helped him sit up on the floor. She ripped a part of her shirt sleeve off and pushed it into his wound. He winced in pain. She saw how much pain he was in, but couldn't do a thing about it at the moment. The two of them sat on the floor for a few seconds, then Lex turned her attention toward Tim.

The Raptor had backed Tim up almost all the way to the far side of the long hallway. Lex noticed that Tim was still swinging the metal clothing rack at the Raptor. It was working for now, but she knew she had to figure out a way to help him, and fast. She looked around quickly, trying to think of something to do.

Alan was leaning against the dead-end wall, with his head slightly turned up. He noticed the crates high above them. He looked up and followed the crates with his eyes. They were lined up, all the way down the hallway. All the way to where Tim was. If Lex could somehow knock one down, it might be able to start another chain reaction in there.

"Lex, can you get up?" He asked.

"I think so," she said.

He pointed up with his good arm.

"Try and knock one of these crates down."

Lex moved into a position where she would be able to get up. Her leg was really throbbing. Alan helped her the best that he could, but he felt like he was about to pass out. Lex began to panic again, but then stopped herself. She had to help save her brother.

Lex put her back up against the dead-end wall, and then used it to help herself rise up. When she was on her feet, she looked up at the crates. She tried reaching for one, but it was up too far. She jumped for it and missed it. When she landed back on the floor, she screamed in agony. Her leg hit the floor just right, making her feel like passing out herself. Tears were streaming down her face, as she was about to jump again.

Alan looked up at her. He could see how much pain she was in and how determined she was. His entire upper body, on the left side, was starting to feel numb. He began to feel like he was floating away. He guessed that the only way he was awake right now, was because his body was in shock.

"Lex, wait," he said.

Tim was all the way back against the far door now. He was still swinging at the Raptor, but he was getting tired. The Raptor was barely moving now, just watching and waiting for this human to tire itself out.

Lex looked down at Alan.

"Help me over to the other wall and I'll boost you up," he said.

Lex didn't think that would work. Alan was way too weak for that. She looked back at Tim, watching him try and defend himself against the Raptor. It was snapping at him now, almost playing with him. She realized that Tim didn't have much longer.

"Okay."

Alan held out his right arm and Lex grabbed it. Holding his arm tightly, and with his help, she dragged Alan over to the other wall. He winced and grunted, as she pulled. She situated him right below the first crate. He looked up and motioned for her to come. He held onto her and pushed her up and over his head. Lex heard his groans, as he lifted her. She put her good leg on his good shoulder to balance herself. She knew he couldn't hold her for very long. She reached up and with a quick shove, managed to knock the crate down!

The crate came crashing down next to Alan and Lex, just missing them. Alan helped her down and the two of them went back to the dead-end wall for cover. Lex was in the front, and Alan was shielding her with his good arm.

The crates came crashing down, one at a time, just as Alan had hoped. He watched as the falling crates keep getting closer and closer to where Tim and the Raptor were.

Tim was about to give up. He couldn't hold his arms up anymore. He was totally exhausted. The Raptor saw this, and came in for the kill. Tim just threw the metal clothes rack at the beast and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, he heard a succession of very loud thumps hitting the concrete floor. Tim opened his eyes, just in time to see the last crate come crashing down on the Raptor, which was directly in front of him.

"Oh, my God, it worked! It really worked!" Lex yelled.

She got up from the corner and half-hopped over toward Tim, on the other side. She was too happy to worry about the pain in her leg. She reached him.

"Tim, you okay?"

Tim was still standing there in disbelief. He was prepared to die just a few seconds ago, and now he was safe and sound, talking to his sister. She hugged him.

"Yeah, I think I am. Good idea, using the crates," he managed to say.

"Thanks. It was Alan's idea really. Right, Alan?"

Tim and Lex looked back across the hallway. Alan was still in the corner, sitting there where Lex had left him minutes earlier. He wasn't moving.




More To Come Very Soon!!!
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To read the prologue and the first 4 chapters, please go here....
"JP: New Beginnings-Prologue and 1-4" 

To read chapters 5-10, please go here....
"JP: New Beginnings-Chapters 5-10" 

To read chapters 11-15, please go here....
"JP: New Beginnings-Chapters 11-15" 

To read chapters 16-20, please go here....
"JP: New Beginnings-Chapters 16-20"