Not that far away, the human group rested in an open area of mostly gravel ground with small puddles all around. The vast majority of the men were dead asleep, the long trek has taken its toll on them, and the much-needed rest is taken with much gratitude. Some used their backpacks as pillows, others used larger stones for a headrest, either way, almost all snored loudly in deep sleep.
One of the few that remain awake, Peter, sees Roland return with the party that went out to look for Dieter with the help of the moonlight. Only their silhouettes are visible under dim illumination. He gets up and runs over to him. Ian is not far behind and runs over.
"Did you find him?" He inquires as the men sit on a fallen log. Roland, in unushered movements, takes a drink from his canteen before responding.
"Just the parts that they didn't like. Map," Roland digs into the bag and pulls it out, using his flashlight to illuminate it. "The operations building is right down in there. About a mile and a half from the base of these cliffs," The two men listen closely.
"How do you know that?" Ian asks.
"I've seen it," Roland continues. "Now, the climb down won't be easy," A pause. "We'll let them sleep one more hour. And then we hit it," he turns his flashlight off and walks away from the two.
Not too far, Kelly and Dr. Harding are fast asleep in their propped-up tent. Their lamp is on, and the late-night snacks are spread over the thin cloth used as a layer between the rocky ground. Ian returns to the tent where his daughter is, but a low thumping catches his attention. The puddle next to him ripples with the following vibration. His pace slows down as he processes it.
Sarah wakes up easily to the low noise, taking her just a handful of seconds to connect the dots of what is causing such heavy footsteps.
"Oh, no," She whispers to herself. Her jacket, left hanging on a rope inside the tent, swings from the soft breeze and the strong vibrations. All the other men are fast asleep when even the nocturnal bird caw as the danger approaches them. She quickly picks up all the crumbs the two had left and stuffs them in a plastic bag and under the cloth to conceal the smell of food. She then turns off the lamp by the side of their head just as the Tyrannosaurus Rex leans down to sniff around the strange structure he approached.
Ian can do nothing as he watches the massive carnivore slowly slip its head inside the tent, interested in what it smells. It sniffs the hanging jacket, then nudges Sarah with its snout. She whimpers, deadly afraid that any movement or noise she makes will make the predator aware and eat her. It continues to growl, awakening Kelly.
"What is that?" There is a strange noise and something strange touching her above the covers. She turns around and sees the giant head. Sarah just barely shuts Kelly's scream with her hand before it's too loud. The dinosaur continues to smell the inside of the tent while the two are completely defenseless.
Outside, the noise catches the attention of others. The strong sleepiness slows Carter's movements and thoughts when he sits up, disturbed by the continuous growling. His body tense when he finally sees the beast right at their camp. And so, he screams in terror. All the resting men wake up from his frightened screams, taking only a second to realize the reason behind them. They all scramble to their feet in fear as Carter shouts to kill the beast in his mother language.
"Stay down, stay down! Don't move! Don't move! Don't run!" Ian's pleas fall on deaf ears as the men run away for safety. The screaming and running finally catch the attention of the T-Rex. It lifts its head but gets caught in the tent. Everyone has but a few seconds to distance themselves as it is blind and trying to get rid of the cloth covering its head. Once its vision is cleared, it roars in anger.
Nick pushes the girls away from the dinosaur, hurrying them to move faster. A second T-Rex comes along, adding terror to the frightened humans.
- o - o - o - o -
"Did you hear that?" Bella asks the Indos. The roar is close, too close for her comfort. "We need to find a button, fast," She couldn't look into each building anymore as time was against her now. The large building catches her attention. If she is going to find anything, it will be there. "Levi, hide. Attack only those with guns that are alone, and if it's the Rexes," She quickly orders him, already going up the leaf-covered stairs, Archer right behind her. His reply is a short chuff before he walks away. His skin smoothly changes from its pale complexion to dark green. This time he does not hide his heavy footsteps, for he wants the large carnivores to become aware of his presence.
She watches as Levi disappears into the tree line before she dashes for the building. The double doors are covered in moss, and the glass is foggy from the grime accumulated over the years. She pushes both doors open so Archer can walk past without breaking them. Inside, the air is stuffy. It is too dark for her to see anything properly, much different than for Archer, who starts sniffing around whilst being able to see everything perfectly and using his echolocation in the enclosed space.
Bella digs her flashlight from her bag and turns it on. Vines cover the walls, coming from the ceiling and going all the way down to the ground and spreading even more. Opposite the front door and behind the abandoned front desk, there is a mural on the wall of the iconic gate entrance to Jurassic Park with dinosaurs crawling around, the iconic yellow, red, and green cars exiting it, and people painted in the background.
The sight of the wall hits Bella differently. Back in Isla Nublar, when she was looking for Levi during his murderous escape, it brought her a sense of nostalgia, leaving her in a dreamy state for a few seconds at the memories she had when she was younger and heard about in the news and from her friends and family. But now, the nostalgia is there, but so is a sense of dread. She is in the past on an abandoned island with all kinds of dinosaurs living there, and she still has little to no clue on what to do to get out aside from fixing the device that has taken her there.
Hot breath hits the back of her neck on purpose from Archer to get her attention. He had finished smelling the main area when he saw her in a daze as she stared at the mural for a few long minutes. She turns around with a sullen face and a bad attempt at a reassuring smile. She has to be strong, not only for her but for her dinosaurs who depended on her.
They are sure to thrive on the island as the formidable predators they are. Not even the existing carnivores can go against them, but she has to take them home. But their home was no longer safe. if INGEN took them once, they would take them again. That can't happen. She needs to think of something. Once they are back, they will be in danger, and that is if they get back.
"Huh?" Loud purrs stop Bella's racing thoughts. The low rumblings calm her beating heart that was just beating too loud. Stress and fear leave her body in waves, and Archer does not like it. So he does the best thing he knows of, nuzzle her neck and purr. And it works. "I'm sorry, my boy," She leans her head over his snout, her hands gently grasping him for assurance. The constant rumbling soothes her immediate worries. "You're such a good boy," The purrs intensify. "Let's-" The purr suddenly changes to a warning growl.
The change in his demeanor changes in a blink of an eye, but he slowly leans away from her so as not to whip his head to the source of his disruption and hit her. Outside, Nick breaks the tree line and into the abandoned courtyard, flashlight in hand. Archer does not waste time and picks Bella up with his long arms and, with silent steps, rushes to a dark corridor before the male enters the building.
Bella is caught by surprise and does not question the Indoraptor's decision, but lets out an involuntary squeal when he picks her up. Her mental questions are soon answered when she sees a person running up the stairs with loud footsteps. The door creaks when Nick opens it, unaware of the presence a few meters away. The two keep their breaths as quiet as possible. Bela does it so they are not discovered and mess up the timeline, while Archer does it so the pesky human does not try to take his female away from him. He is even able to keep his ticks at bay.
Nick walks tentatively into the dark building. His strong flashlight does its job illuminating the area it is pointed at, but not the area around it. Thankfully, the moonlight finds a way inside the dilapidated structure, so it is not pitch dark. But for what he needs to do, he will need light and what brings artificial light to work... electricity.
With the knowledge of the creatures that reside not too far away from the complex, Nick walks softly, surveying the main entrance. His light almost reaches the hiding duo as it scours over the vines that cover the floor and walls. The painted dinosaur behind him catches his attention with a quick scare in which he lets out a frightened gasp. He quickly recognizes the dinosaur in the mural is not a real one trying to eat him but a painting.
"Oh, man," It's a sight to see, the remnants of a dream that turned to reality, before it became a nightmare.
Some of the spines on Archer's arm dug into Bella's skin. She pushes his arms to slack, but her foot comes into contact with a metal tray on the ground, making a noise. Both catch their breath and tense.
"What the hell's that?" The noise scares Nick, and the short daze he was in is gone. This brings him back to his objective. He cannot afford to lose any more time, they need to get out of this godforsaken island. "Okay," He directs his light in the direction the noise came from, but the wall in front of the corridor blocks his view from the origin.
The light moves when Nick walks in the direction of another set of doors, and Bella's body relaxes. Archer allows small gurgles to resonate in his throat, only loud enough for Bella to hear them. He does not like the male, and even if the man is clearly scared of the little noise his human made, he is still a threat. All humans were, especially males.
Oh, how he wants to shred him to shreds for disturbing his human from doing her job getting them home. He wouldn't do worse than what he wanted to compared to the disgusting male that attacked her, for he only interrupted her. But he would drink his blood and eat his limbs while the man was still alive. Maybe he would tear his muscles and tendons as the man ran, slowly draining him of life while drawing more and more fear from him.
"We should wait-" Bella whispers, stopping when she hears Nick kick a door open. "until he leaves for us to look around," This dampens Archer's murderous thoughts enough for him to understand her words. He chuffs. "You can let me go now," Although not holding her up, his long, black arms are still wrapped around her. He begrudgingly does so, huffing and puffing light enough for only her to hear.
The lights suddenly turn on in the whole building complex area, exposing the two if the man were to return to the entrance area.
"Shit," Bella ducks and tiptoes to the corner of the corridor to look in the direction the man went. The glass door is open, and she can hear him talk to himself in praying whispers. His voice then goes louder.
"C.Q. C.Q. This is INGEN Operations Harvest Leader to Harvest Base. Repeating. I'm calling for INGEN Operations Harvest Leader..." Nick talks into the now working radio microphone to contact help.
This is not good for them. There is a chance the rescue helicopter will see Levi if it aggravates him. He is not the fondest in regards to helicopters since the last one shot at him during his escape.
"The operation has suffered severe casualties, and the survivors are now in mortal danger. I need you to send rescue immediately," Nick rushes the news to the radio operator.
- o - o - o - o -
Outside, Levi stands in silence a few meters behind the tree line, watching and listening to the area of the broken-down building for any newcomer. There are screams from the men that stupidly ran into the raptors' nest and were being eaten one by one, their numbers dropping one by one in quick succession. They are headless chickens running away from danger into more danger. If not for their presence, he could stay in the middle of the patio for better monitoring and protection.
If any of those men come into the area, he will just step out, and give them some futile seconds to make an attempt to run away before he eats them whole. But only if they have a gun, or else he will go against his human's orders. Both hybrids' hides are thick enough for the guns the men carry to not penetrate their skin, Archer's even more. And without them, the Indoraptor can easily take them down without the risk of a rogue bullet hitting their female.
His sensitive nose picks up the smell of the human group he had thought to have thrown down the hill close by. They are not a threat, yet. Although his human was very adamant not to harm them, if any carried a gun or hurt her, they would be his next meal. He can still remember the feeling of the man from the jeep moving inside him minutes after he was swallowed, stopping some minutes later from blood loss. He wants that again.
One of the males runs from behind the buildings, only with a book in hand. Fear clings to the man and his adrenaline pumps in his blood as he runs up the stairs into the building where the Indominus' human and fellow hybrid is. Archer is able to take care of him with absolutely no trouble, so he doesn't worry about it.
Levi's guard lowers, but only a tad. The group that poses them a threat is far and dispersed. Further, the raptors know not to go after them without the risk of being killed and having their territory and nest ruined. The lights of the buildings and the area they reside turn on, accompanied by the constant buzzing of electricity surging to the place. He growls. He does not like the artificial light. Not that it matters much, but he will be easily exposed if he manages to keep his heavy footsteps quiet before he strikes a possible prey.
However, luck is on his side. The scent of a raptor reaches his nostrils, which is followed by the sounds of leaves rustling and branches breaking. A low growl rumbles in his chest, and his quills stand up at the new incomer. A Raptor breakers from the denser tree line to stop next to Levi, a few meters away for safety.
The Indominus does not like its pretense one bit. His snout curls in an angry snarl, accentuating his jagged teeth. He is ready to snap his jaws down on the carnivore. As if sensing the impending attack, the raptor lowers its top half close to the ground in a display of submission while whining loud enough for the Indominus to hear. Then it vocalizes its intentions.
Humans here. Come to kill them.
Levi takes his attention away from the raptor for a few seconds, using his infrared vision to survey the building. He sees three humans trekking between the palm trees and tall grass to reach the buildings. He returns his attention to the raptor.
Kill them. Not mine.
Not wanting to waste time any further, the raptor takes off in the direction of the humans.
- o - o - o - o -
Meanwhile, inside the building, Bella and Archer remain hidden until Nick moves deeper into the abandoned corridors. He, for now, is oblivious to the fact his friends are being attacked by hungry Raptors. He'd maintained contact with the rescue team for a while before he decided to investigate the remainder of the building, in case any relics remained that he'd be able to take home.
Bella retreats to the end of the corridor to stand by Archer's side. Though his impatience grows, her presence restrained any destructive or murderous behavior from breaking out. He comforts himself with his snout nuzzled against her entire torso. His quills brush against her face, but she doesn't complain as she continues to caress the side of his head.
He hears the fighting outside, the Raptors screeching and the humans screaming. Their struggle incites him, but he controls himself the best he can, he can do it at a later time. He presses more onto the human in an attempt to drone out the noise outside, pushing her back flush to the wall. She grunts at the sudden force.
"You okay, Archer?" She inquires, the petting stops so her hands can turn his head so one of his eyes is visible to her. He snorts in response, then gurgles, not able or interested to divulge in what bothers him. "Just... don't push me that hard," She chuckles lightly, staring at him in amusement. A short purr tickles her body.
The two remain in silence for a handful of minutes. Bella grows anxious the longer it takes for the rescue to arrive while Archer is ever more impatient. He wants to leave, he wants to go home.
Then, the familiar sound of blades whirring through the air closes in. Hurried footsteps run down the other end of the building to the main entrance. Archer furthers himself closer to the wall, only then lifting his head from his human's comforting embrace.
"Come on! Let's go!" Nick shouts to the others outside the building, his hand waving in a hurried manner for them to leave the island quickly. His bright flashlight guides the terrified trio into the building.
Bella watches as the four hurry in the direction the helicopter is landing, and relief fills her, knowing they, especially the young girl, are safe. Also that Levi has not exposed himself in seeking revenge against the loud machine. The wind from the helicopter hurries inside through the broken glass, shuffling the dead leaves inside along with all the dust.
Knowing no one would hear them with all the noise, Bella does not hold back her impending sneeze. With all the dust flying around and the bright light, her eyes are bleary and her nose itchy. The helicopter soon flies away, leaving the two to explore the building. Bella hurries out of their corner and into the area Nick radioed the rescue team. There are many buttons lightened up that she has not even the slightest idea what they are for. What is not covered in vines is cacked in years of dust, except for the places that show where Nick was using.
Archer lurks behind, his claw incessantly clicking on the floor after being contained for so many minutes. His skin twitches as he stares at Bella looking around aimlessly. The smell of anxiety flows from her in waves, growing with each passing minute. He doesn't like it. She should be calm for the humans are gone, and they are where they need to be.
Tremors from outside move in close, and out the window Archer sees Levi out of hiding. The larger male gurgles are loud enough for the smaller one to hear inside. They exchange vocalizations while Bella continues her hopeless search for... something.
Anything.
There are so many buttons to choose if she tries each one at a time, it will take forever, or worse, make the controller malfunction. The noises in the background grew clearer after the two Indos ceased communicating. Levi chooses to stay put outside, keeping an eye as the disgruntled raptors search the other buildings for the chance there is still a helpless human somewhere. They know, however, not to look into one of the buildings, for the Indominus Rex stood guard, and even with its apparent distaste of the Raptors, there was a glint behind his bright orange eyes almost begging for one of them to try so he could sink his teeth in them.
"Could this one be it?" There is a button that is barely attached to its place with a new vine branch holding it. It looks very similar to the one that melted off, a bit too much in fact. Archer comes from behind her to see what got her so still. She holds a button, one that strangely gives off an odd scent.
Bella notices Archer's close proximity and his fixation on the button in her hand. He leans his head against her shoulder while sniffing the air in the direction of the object. Confidence grows in her. If it caught Archer's attention, then she must be on the right track.
"Come on, let's go," There are no other options, so she rushes out of the building to the open area where Levi stands. "Levi, boy, I think I found it," She practically skips in his direction from excitement. Archer trails behind her, chirping at her change in attitude. She grows anxious once again when she stops in front of Levi. The Indominus leans down to be close to eye level to her. Once the three are next to one another, she takes the time travel device from her backpack.
Please work. God, please. I just want to go back home.
Her hands shake as she holds the button over the place where the previous one was. She closes her eyes, and the shaking lessens. Her eyes open and she puts the button in place. It fits perfectly. Both Indos watch in curiosity as a smile breaks into her face.
"Let us go home!" She enters the coordinates of her home and the date she left, moving it thirty minutes after the time she estimates she got transported to the past. This way she has enough time to gather her things and leave before INGEN finds her and her hybrids. "Buckle up, boys," She leans against Levi and touches Archer's snout, and once she is confident everything is set, she presses the large button once again.
The bright light blinds her once more. It takes a full minute before her senses return, but when they do, instead of seeing her property's ample fields and home, she is in the same place, the buildings around are even more deteriorated.
Desperate for answers, she looks down at the device, only to see the coordinates remain the same, but the date is changed.
010523
----------
CLIFFHANGER
Whaaa- what happened? Any guesses?
Semi-bad-but-not-really news. This is the end of the first part of the story. I know it has only been a few chapters, but the story is half way done. I have exams next week, and the project will grow harder in the next few weeks. So, the next update will be next month. I will confirm the date on my discord server and on my message board.
I hope you all are enjoying the story so far.
If you want to know what will happen further in the story, feel free to join my discord server and ask. If the link stops working, let me know since it expires every 7 days.
Please don't forget to vote and comment on what you thought, and 'see' you in the next chapter.