Jurassic Attraction (DNF)

Chapter 5: The Boss

George POV.

“Thank you so much for the tour.” I smiled as he led me out and back to the main room of the education centre. I looked over to see Karl was leaning against the desk watching the two of us from between the people who were wandering around.
“No need to thank me. It gives me something to do.” Dream shrugged.

He had led me through the museum, during which he had talked about all of the species and answered every single question that I asked. Then he led me through the insect and reptile zoo which was quite interesting plus a walk through history of Jurassic Park and all of it’s previous iterations.

I found the timeline of the park extremely interesting. Many people have heard all of the legends about the dinosaur parks but it was interesting to see what really happened… at least from their perspectives.

“And you still want an interview tonight?” Dream questioned and I gave him a nod.
“Of course. I still want my star interview. You are shouting me for dinner though, after all you invited me.” He chuckled before nodding.
“Sure, although I’m not sure that interviewees typically pay for the dinner for the interviewer.”.

I shrugged before saying goodbye to him, reassuring him of the time and place that we would be meeting for dinner and our interview. He walked off towards a staff only door and I turned and walked towards Karl. “Sorry I took so long.” I apologised. “I got caught up.”

“I could see that.” He grinned. “Anyway, my boss wants to meet you and he’s free at the moment if you would like to see him.” I nodded. I already had an interview lined up with one employee and if I played my cards right, I would be able to get an interview with the head of Jurassic Park as well.

“Great.” He smiled. “There is a back road track which takes staff to their living quarters, that is where he is at the moment.”
“I will be more than happy to go.” I smiled. With a prompt nod Karl began walking towards a staff door, different to the one Dream had disappeared through and let me in.

The two of us walked through a hallway and out into a loading dock area. There was a vehicle that looked like a golf cart however it matched the design and colours of the park logo. Karl got into the driver's seat and I got into the passenger seat, awkwardly looking at the members of staff who were around noticing a guest here.

The loading dock paved concrete wound around the building in what appeared to be the direction of the actual dinosaurs, as well as winding around the back of the hotels, restaurants, and other buildings. While I would have begged Karl to go towards the park, I knew that I would get a chance to see it tomorrow.

Instead the golf cart drove off a dirt path, weaving away from all the other buildings between the trees. It was barely wide enough for two of these golf carts to drive along, and although it looked as though it was chopped away daily, that didn’t stop the trees from encapsulating us away from the rest of the world.

Neither of us spoke as we drove. All that was there was the hum of the electric engine and the life of the forest. Birds, insects, and other creatures could be heard from all around us with the only sounds disrupting it being the walkie talkie which was chattering out instructions to different staff members.

Somewhere in the distance I heard a loud roar. My eyes widened and a grin faintly flickered on my face in recognition as I looked in the direction the noise came from. I stood up from my seat, holding on carefully to the frame of the golf cart and Karl slammed on the breaks as he realised what I was doing.

“George?” He asked. “Are you alright?” He was smiling up at me, as if hearing a dinosaur was somehow a completely normal thing to hear, which I guess for him it was.
“What dinosaur was that?” I asked, looking back over at him momentarily before beginning to look in the undergrowth again for any sign of it.

“One of the herbivores in the Fields.” He shrugged. “Sometimes our bigger species get territorial with one another and fight, usually staff separate them quickly.” He was talking about it as though it was so rooted in reality, as though it was so real and possible when in reality this was anything but.

I could barely resist grinning like a child as I looked over at him. “Do you think that maybe we could go and see?” I asked, looking hopefully over at him. Honestly I had been on this island for a few hours now and I still had not seen a dinosaur in person, unless you count the bones or the holograms, which I don’t.

“Tomorrow.” Karl reassured me. “The higher ups want to meet you though. This is not something that is offered to everyone, remember.”
“And I am still confused as to why your busy employer is so happy to see me, I just write stuff for a magazine.”

“He’s one of my best friends.” Karl admitted. “Although he is quite stupid at times. I heard he is a bit of a fan of yours though.” He rolled his eyes and I reluctantly settled down in my seat. He was right after all about the fact that I could come back tomorrow to see the dinosaurs.

When I was sitting down the taller brunette began driving again. We passed one other golf cart before the trees eventually gave way to a car park, which was directly in front of a series of buildings.

“This is the main hub for staff.” Karl explained. “A few of the buildings are dedicated to employee living, there are some control rooms for the park, and it's where the boss works.” He led me between the parked vehicles and inside. The building was a pristine white, with multiple gardens inside and outside providing a lively contrast.

There was a surprising amount of employees gathered around, some typing on laptops or discussing business while others simply were chatting and drinking coffee. Most of them stopped to glance at me, a clear fish out of water in this environment. I ignored it though, walking with Karl over to an elevator on the far end of the building's atrium.

He slid a card through a slot and the doors opened immediately. When he stepped inside he pressed the button for the top floor and I chuckled. “This is a lot of security for a theme park,” I chuckled, and Karl smiled back over at me.

“Well a lot of companies want their own dinosaurs and not all of them are for the same reasons as us.” He explained. “Some people believe they would make good weapons, others are rich people who just want the pride of being able to say they own a T-Rex. Some people offer billions for even a bone or an unhatched egg.”

“Wow,” I sighed. “That is more money than I’ll ever be able to earn.”
“It is,” Karl nodded. “But we prefer the thought of educating people, allowing them to see what dinosaurs would have been like in their own time, and giving them the opportunity to learn new things. We don’t keep those kinds of discoveries secret.”

There was a ding noise as the doors slid open, showing a reception desk where a woman was working. “Hi Puffy,” Karl greeted, walking towards her. “Is Jimmy free?” She gave a polite yes before saying hello to me and Karl walked past her.

He opened a set of double doors leading to the office of the man I assumed to be the boss and we walked in. Sitting at a large desk and scribbling some notes down was a man who was dressed a little too casually to be the boss of one of the most famous places on the planet, and he stood alongside two men and a woman who were dressed just as casually.

“Jimmy,” Karl greeted, surprisingly informal towards the guy who was supposedly his boss. “This is George Davidson, the one writing the article.”
The man grinned and stood up, walking around the table in an un-boss-like fashion. “It’s a pleasure to meet you George,” he smiled as he shook my hand.
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1447 words

Who though Jimmy would be behind a dinosaur theme park?