The Jurassic Park Interactive Storytelling Game

Derrick was awakened by a loud bang coming from outside his room, followed by angry voices. Groggily, he rose from bed and stumbled to the door. He opened it and looked out. Two men stood in the hallway; a guard, and a young man dressed in a safari outfit. But wait... could that be...
"Are you Richard Levine?" Derrick asked. The young man stopped arguing with the guard for a moment, and turned to look at Derrick. "Why, yes, I am," he said, smiling cheerfully.
"Excuse me, Dr. Hoyle," the guard said to Derrick. "Sorry for waking you."
"No problem," Derrick waved him off. "Dr. Levine, I know all about your work and-"
"Excuse us, Dr. Hoyle," the guard said, "but we must go. Have a good night." He gripped Levine's arm.
"What's the rush?" Levine said, shaking him off. "There's always time to talk to a fellow scientist." Derrick found it odd that Levine would be here, and he said as much. Levine shrugged and said, "Well, I guess I wasn't exactly invited to come here, but when I heard reports that InGen was cloning dinosaurs out here, I had to look into it myself."
"You see where that got you," the guard said. "Nothing good ever comes from snooping around."
"Come on, can you really blame me? I mean, how could anyone throw aside the opportunity to see real live dinosaurs?"
"That's enough," the guard said, "we're leaving. Have a good night, Dr. Hoyle." He squeezed Levine's arm and dragged him along. As they passed Hoyle, Levine called back, "Hopefully we can talk again soon, Mr. Hoyle. I'll be in one of these rooms, and I'll have a lot of time on my hands."

Gustavus put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. Don't excite them." He was obviously talking about the Troodon.
Abby's heart was pounding in her chest, she wanted to cry. The look in Gustavus' eyes, it was the look of a killer. Abby suspected at any moment he would shoot.
"Please..." she begged, her breath quickening.
Gustavus gestured. "The closet. Behind you."
Abby turned slowly to look at the closet.
"Get inside," Gustavus told her.
Abby raised her arms and began to turn.
"Slow," Gustavus warned.
Holding back tears, Abby began to walk toward the closet. Very slowly, she reached out and turned the knob. She opened the door and went inside, carefully closing it behind her. She heard it lock. Then she heard what sounded like Gustavus walking around. Then a door opening, then closing. And then silence, except for the rattling in the cages.
Abby began to sob uncontrollably. She covered her mouth in a desperate attempt to remain quiet. Nevertheless, racking sobs exploded out of her. She lowered herself to the floor, and felt something squishy. She stood up, repulsed. It was then that she finally noticed it: the rank, disgusting smell like rotting meat. What was it? She couldn't see. But there was something dead in here.

Gustavus saw headlights and realized that a jeep was heading toward him. It stopped and somebody got out.

"Dr. Gustavus, I'm here to help," the person told him.

"I doubt that," Gustavus responded, gripping his shotgun. "What do you really want?"

"Does the name Laura Sorkin ring any bells?"

"Yeah," Gustavus nodded. "But she died on Nublar."

"That's what InGen thinks," the person explained. "Ruso, Wu, Ludlow, and Atherton are coming to investigate your bunker. They know about your Troodon. You won't be able to talk your way out of this."

Gustavus swore. "Then why the hell are you here?"

"I'm allied with Sorkin and her allies," the person answered. "We know the value of your work. Something InGen wouldn't realize. They would shut you down. The people I work for are coming to Site B. And you can come with us. It's either that or face jail time when your activities here are exposed."

Gustavus thought this over. He didn't really have a choice. "Where will you take me?"

"Somewhere safe. Decide quickly, because we don't have much time."

Gustavus nodded. "Give me a few minutes." He needed to gather up his research and release his specimens. He didn't trust this person, but preserving his work was his top priority. It was too important to be disposed of by InGen.

The jeep raced through the jungle, bouncing over potholes and the like. Harding gripped his seat anxiously; his heart was beating at a rate of a million miles an hour, and his breathing was shallow. Noah looked over at him from the driver's seat, and said "Don't worry, man. You're in good hands. I won't let nothing happen to you, or any of these boys."
Somehow, Harding didn't feel reassured.
Behind Harding, Arnold said "This is the spot; this is where we found the nest."
Noah slowed the jeep to a stop, and everyone clambered out. Harding looked around him at the impenetrable darkness, and felt all his courage leave him. Being in the jungle again was like the equivalent of being strapped to an electric chair. You know your time has come and death might be lurking around every corner...
Someone gripped his shoulder and he yelped. But it was just Arnold. The man handed him a gun. Harding accepted it with a quiet thanks.
"Lead the way, Arnold," Noah said, scanning the perimeter.
Arnold took the lead and led the hunting party into the unforgiving dark jungle.

Meanwhile in Burroughs, a worker decided to go outside for a smoke. He stood outside of a convenience store as he lit his cigarette. There was some artificial light being produced from nearby buildings, but it was mostly dark outside. It wasn't silent though, since many of Sorna's animals were active this time at night.

The worker looked up at the night sky, admiring the stars and the moon. He felt more relaxed than he had for a while now, since for the past few weeks he had worked by InGen to exhaustion. Still, it paid well so he wasn't complaining.

Then he heard a new animal sounding. Something was... clicking. The worker put out his cigarette and looked into the darkness, trying to see what was out there. He figured that it had to be a type of nocturnal mammal or something.

Glowing eyes stared back at him. They were eerie and the worker was unsettled by them. He suddenly felt unsafe and desired to go back indoors. But the eyes were getting closer, the lurking creatures approaching him.

The man started running, but he was pursued. The creatures knocked him into the ground and the man experienced pain as something dug into his flesh. The man started to scream.

The Troodon of Site B had their first taste of human flesh that morning hour.

Ruso drove confidently, hunched over the steering wheel, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. She looks like a woman on a mission, Wu thought.
Ruso had suspected that Gustavus was up to no good for a while now, but since Ludlow favoured him so, she hadn't voiced her concerns. Now, though, she feared she would regret waiting so long.
Gustavus' lab appeared in the headlights, and for a single second Wu thought he could see a dark shape slip by. He sat forward. "Did you see that?" Ruso nodded in agreement. "What was that?" "I don't know," Ruso said. She stopped the jeep and the two of them sat there for a moment, weighing their options. Then Wu sighed "Well, might as well get this over with." He opened the door and stepped out into the night. Ruso quickly followed. She pulled her gun and led the way toward the lab.
She opened the door and the two of them crept in. Wu stopped short. The room was full of cages. Stacks of them. Metal cages, barely large enough to house a dog. What was he keeping in here?!
"Hello?" Ruso called. "Dr. Gustavus?"
"Help!" someone cried. It sounded like a woman.
"Where are you?" Ruso asked.
"The closet!" the woman sobbed.
Wu spotted the closest against the far wall. He ran towards it and unlocked it. Abby tumbled out, into his arms. She was hysterical.
"What happened?" Wu asked.
"Gustavus," Abby sobbed. "He locked me in there."
Ruso looked more closely into the closet. Then she swore. "Henry, look."
Wu looked inside the closet. There was a body. It seemed to be fresh. Like the person had died just recently.
"Did Gustavus do that?" Henry asked.
Ruso' face was caked with worry. "Abby," she said, turning to the young woman, who was beginning to calm down. "Where is Gustavus?"
Before Abby could answer, a loud voice boomed across the room.
"Are you looking for me?"
Everyone turned to see Gustavus. The scientist had a shotgun in his hands.
"What are you doing?" Henry demanded.
Gustavus smiled a fiendish smile. "Wiping the slate clean," he said. "You see, I knew it was just a matter of time before someone found my experiments."
"What experiments?" Ruso demanded. "What have you been doing?"
Henry Wu sucked in a breath. "Did you breed Troodon?"
"Guilty as charged," Gustavus said.
"Are you out of your mind?! Do you have any idea what those things can do?"
"Of course I do. I'm no fool. But you see, there's a market for certain... hyperintelligent animals. Very profitable business. The military has shown tremendous interest in the idea of weaponized dinosaurs."
Wu could hardly believe what he was hearing. "You intend to sell Troodon to the military?"
"I did," Gustavus said. "That is, until you came along."
"So what will you do now, Gustavus?" Ruso inquired, her voice brittle. "Will you gun down three defenseless people? You shouldn't have any problem with it, seeing as you killed that man in the closet."
Gustavus' face contorted with anger, and something like regret. "Willy got too nosy for his own good," he said. "I wanted to talk, work something out, but he wouldn't listen. He attacked me, and the gun went off and the next thing I knew, he was dead. So I hid the body until I could think of something to do."
"You're a psychopath," Ruso said bluntly.
"I don't want to kill you, really I don't. If you just let me go, I won't hurt you," Gustavus reasoned, he was almost begging. "It doesn't feel good- living with the knowledge that you killed someone."
In some twisted way, Wu found himself sympathising with Gustavus' plight. He knew all too well the guilt of living with that knowledge...
"You know we can't let you do that, Gustavus," Ruso said. "You've engaged in criminal activates, and for the sake of the world you must be stopped."
"Gustavus," came a new voice. A man walked into view from behind Gustavus. He was strong and muscular, and wore a gun on his hip. The stranger considered Wu, Ruso and Abby, and then turned back to Gustavus. "What's the deal, Gustavus? Had a change of heart? You know we can't let them go. Do the right thing and kill them."
"No!" Abby shrieked.
Ruso could see the conflict on Gustavus' face. A war was going on inside of him between his morality and what made the most sense from a business standpoint.
"Gustavus," she said. "You're not a bad man. A foolish, dangerous man, but not bad. Don't do this."
The stranger scowled at her. "Gustavus! Do it!" he said.
"No," Gustavus said, and dropped the shotgun.
The stranger winced; "That was the wrong choice." Quick as a whip, he yanked out his pistol and shot Gustavus in the side. Before Gustavus could even hit the ground, the man turned his gun on Wu, Ruso and Abby.
"It's nothing personal," he assured.

Wu recognized the man. He was a scientist. Artie Bridges. Back on Nublar he had been friends with Laura Sorkin and became the head of the radio station after some incidents where he hacked into the system and played some choice cuts from his collection of music. He hadn't been present for the Incident because he had taken the boat with some of the staff.

"If it's not personal, then why are you doing this Artie?" Wu asked.

"The same reason Sorkin did," Bridges answered. "To take you and InGen down. What you've been doing here won't be allowed to continue. It's time to finish what she started."

"Sorkin is dead," Wu told Bridges. "And you're going to get yourself killed as well if you continue down this path."

Bridges laughed. "That's what you want to think, isn't it? You definitely tried killing Sorkin, but it wasn't good enough. She's alive, Wu."

"You're lying," Wu insisted. "We have no reason to believe you. This is obviously insane."

"It doesn't matter anyway," Bridges told them. "You won't be around to-"

There was a loud shriek and Bridges turned around to see a dinosaur in the bunker's doorway. It was a Velociraptor, but it didn't look like the raptors Wu knew.

The raptor was male. He was a grayish blue color with light blue horizontal striping from the start of the neck to the end of the tail. His eyes were red and small with a blue ring around the socket. He also possessed quills on the top of his head. The skulls was longer and there was a red crest located on the nasal bone of the skull, a traits which was absent in the variant that Wu had bred.

This was a new type of Velociraptor that Wu hadn't created. It must have been Gustavus' doing. Who knows what else he did in here. But Wu did know one thing. They were in serious trouble.

Artie fired on the animal several times. The bullets pierced its flesh, causing it to shriek in pain and fury, it took several steps back and crouched defensively.
Ruso drew her gun and aimed it at Artie. "Artie, I have a gun pointed at your head. Give your weapon to Wu. Then we're all going to get out of here."
"I'll never go with you," said Artie.
"Then stay here if you want and play with the raptor." Ruso nodded to Henry, who walked forward and grabbed Artie's gun from him.
The raptor snarled, once, then dashed off somewhere.
"Now, Artie, I want you to pick Gustavus up," Ruso said.
"Is he alive?" Artie asked.
Wu could see Gustavus' chest rising and falling. "Yes," he said. "He must have knocked himself out when he hit the ground."
"Good," Artie said, he sounded genuinely relieved. "Sorkin would've had my head if she knew I killed him."
"Then why'd you shoot him in the first place?" Ruso asked.
"It guess I got swept up in the moment," Artie said.
The snarl of the velociraptor echoed through the lab. "We're getting out of here," Wu said. "Abby, grab Gustavus' shotgun."
Abby grabbed the weapon. Then she and the others began to walk back to the entrance. Ruso kept her gun trained on Artie at all times, and Artie carried Gustavus' unconscious frame.
"You must see now how twisted InGen really is," Artie said.
"Stop talking Artie, you're giving me a headache," Ruso told him.
Slowly, they made their way outside and piled into the jeep. "Keep an eye on our friend," Ruso instructed Wu. Wu nodded, and took a seat next to Artie. They put Gustavus in the back.
"One false move and you're dead," Wu warned him seriously.
Artie smirked. "Really, Henry? You don't have it in you."
"I killed Sorkin, didn't I?"
"You didn't kill her. She's still alive."
"I'll believe that when I see it."
Ruso started the jeep. The headlights flashed on, illuminating the crouched form of the velociraptor. The dinosaur snarled and leapt at their jeep, landing heavily on the hood. It screeched, and Abby screamed in terror.

Trey was starting to doze off when he was suddenly awakened by a horrible scream coming from outside. He got up with a start and he saw that the scream had awakened the girls as well.

"What the hell was that?" Jess asked, eyes widened.

"Stay here," Trey told them. He wished he could have offered them more comforting words, but those were all that he could think off in the heat of the moment. He rushed out of the room and out of the building as quickly as he could.

The streets were empty, but in the limited light he could make out blood stains on the ground where a man had been forced down and dragged off. In the distance, he could make out faint clicks and hisses.

Oh no, he realized. It wasn't safe here anymore. Other men were coming out of buildings, having heard the scream as well.

"What happened?" one of them asked.

"There was an attack," Trey explained. "Wake everybody up and get as many firearms as possible. Flares too. Use your radios to get in touch with the rest of the island. Tell them that a man was killed by a Troodon. And turn on as many lights as you can."

The other workers were confused, but they didn't argue. While they did as he told, Trey went back to check on the girls. He made sure to turn on the room's lights. They asked him what was going on, but he didn't need to answer. They already knew.

"It's the Troodon," Jess realized. Atlanta whimpered a little, remembering when she had been bitten by one.

"Unfortunately," Trey said honestly. "But don't worry. We have power this time, so the light should keep them away."

Neither girl looked convinced, but Trey did his best to reassure their safety. Just in case, he checked his gun and tried to call Harding on the radio. Unfortunately, he got no answer.

Arnold led the procession of guns-for-hire through the jungle thicket. They kept their wits about them, constantly turning their heads to take in as much of the dark jungle as possible. If anything jumped out at them, the chances of someone seeing it were high.
After a few minutes, Arnold detected the stagnant odor of rotting meat, and brought the procession to a halt with a raised arm. He turned to the right, and continued walking. The smell was even more powerful now.
"This is it," he said. "This is the place. Now, everyone remember. We are in dino-territory now. And they aren't going to be happy to see us."
The men and women nodded.
"Gerry?" Arnold said. Harding looked at him. The veterinarian looked pale.
"Are there any tips you have for us?" he said.
Harding swallowed, "Uh, y-yeah." He cleared his throat, and continued in a more steady tone. "Watch for any unusual lights in the trees. Troodon have really big, really bright eyes, almost like headlights. You see those, you shoot." He paused, then continued: "As long as we're in the light, we should be fine. So keep your flares and flashlights on hand."
The group muttered an affirmation, and then Noah began to divide them into teams. He put Harding and Arnold together in one team. Noah took command of the other team. There were about twenty hunters in all; ten in each team.
"We'll fan out," Noah said. "Go about fifty feet then make a sweep of the area. Then we'll meet back up. Kill any dinosaurs you lay eyes on." The hunters grunted an affirmation. Noah cocked his shotgun, and said "Have a good hunt, boys." Then the two teams separated. Harding followed Arnold and the rest of his team into the jungle, keeping his eyes and ears out for anything.

The men crept slowly through the jungle. They never heard nor saw the Velociraptor that sped past them in the darkness. These new raptors were not given enough food by Gustavus and were malnourished. Now that they had been released by their creator, it was time to make up for those months that had been practically starving.

Noah's team found themselves in a mass of tall grass. One of the hunters heard a branch crack and turned. A Velociraptor pounced the man.

Soon the pack began ambushing the men left to right.

Guns were fired wildly. Some of the hunters tried to fire directly at the Velociraptors, but the animals were too fast to put a bead on.

Crunching, snarling, and growling sounds added to the sporadic gunfire and dying screams. More hunters were pounced and dragged to their deaths by these new Velociraptors.

"Fall back!" Noah ordered. They weren't prepared for raptors. He sprinted through the jungle as his men died around him. He ran for a long and climbed inside as a Velociraptor jumped onto it. The raptor tried to dig her way to him and Noah screamed.

Noah drew his sidearm and fired right at the animal's face. It snarled and drew back, blood oozing from its eye. It rubbed the wound with its forearm before retreating.
Noah took a minute to catch his breath. I almost died! he thought. Just then, another scream pierced the night. My boys! Noah thought as he climbed out of the log and looked around. No raptors were in sight. But that was the thing- just because he couldn't see them didn't mean they weren't there. There could be dozens all hiding in the bushes just out of view...
Suddenly, there was as shift in the battle. He no longer heard the dying screams of his men; instead, he heard deafening gunfire and the shrieks of dying raptors. Limping heavily, Noah hobbled toward the sound. He stumbled over something. He looked down. It was Mitch. He was dead. Noah closed his eyes, distraught. When he opened them again, Arnold was standing in front of him.
"I said, are you alright?" Arnold said. Noah realized this wasn't his first time asking. He quickly nodded. "Yes, yes... what about them?" He gestured to the bodies littered across the forest floor. Every one bloodied. Every one dead.
"Jeff, Chris and Millie are the only ones who survived," Arnold reported. "And Chris is badly wounded."
Noah couldn't believe his ears. Six of his men were dead. To be fair, the number was lower than he had initially thought. But nevertheless... six good men and women, dead in one night. And it happened so fast. Guilt and sorrow gripped Noah, and he swayed. Luckily Arnold caught him before he could fall.
"You're hurt," Arnold said, pointing down. Noah looked down, and noticed that his calf was bleeding. "We'll get you patched up," Arnold assured him. "But first we have to get out of here. We can't take on the raptors."
"Then let's go," Noah said.
"Harding!" Arnold called. "Can you lead the way?"
"I'll try," Harding replied. The group followed Harding through the jungle.

They managed to get back to their jeeps without incident. As Harding slipped into the driver's seat, he pulled out his radio.

"Trey, this is Harding. How are my daughters?"

After a moment of silence, Trey answered. "They're safe, but there was an attack. A worker was dragged off by Troodon. There's been no sign of them since then."

"We got ambushed by raptors out here," Harding explained. "Some new variant that I've never seen before. We took casualties and we have wounded that we're taking back to the facilities."

"Oh my God," Trey swore over the radio.

"Don't let Atlanta or Jess know about the raptors," Harding ordered. "They must already be scared enough. I'll go to them as soon as possible. Just sit tight."

Harding put away the radio and focused on driving. "Ludlow is going to be pissed," Arnold commented.

-

"Was that my dad?" Jess asked when Trey put the radio away.

"Yeah," Trey answered. "He promised that he's coming here as soon as he can. He's safe."

"Was he hunting the Troodon?" Atlanta asked.

Trey nodded, being careful not to say too much. He didn't want to scare or worry them.

"This won't be like last time, right?" Jess asked. "What happened in the hospital, I mean."

"Of course not," Trey promised. "We know what we're up against and we're prepared. This is nothing like last time."

Trey wished he believed that he was telling them, but for now he could only pretend to be convinced for their sake. Hopefully, they would be able to survive the night without incident. But while lights would keep the Troodon away, the same could not be said about the raptors. Maybe they would stay far away from Burroughs. But if they didn't, Trey was still willing to defend these girls to his last breath.

Ruso slammed on the gas. The Jeep bucked forward, but the raptor hung on. The raptor slammed one of its feet down on the windshield. It shattered into a million pieces. The hungry carnivore then reached inside, and bit Ruso on the arm. The woman struggled and screamed but she was no match for the predator. Reacting on instinct, Wu aimed his gun at the raptor's head and fired six times in quick succession. Four of the bullets hit their target. The raptor recoiled, and collapsed onto the hood. It didn't move.
"Are you alright?" Wu asked Ruso. The woman was clutched forward in pain, clutching her blooded arm. "Lori?"
"She's bleeding," Abby reported, her voice somewhat muffled.
"I can see that," Wu replied. He got out of the Jeep and moved around to the front. He opened Ruso's door and peered inside. "Lori, let me see your arm," he said.
Ruso extended her arm to him, allowing him to examine it. He peeled away the sleeve, revealing the ragged, torn flesh. "She needs medical help," Wu said. "Come on, Lori. You come out, and Abby will drive."
"Okay," Ruso said through gritted teeth.
But as Wu helped her out of the car, he heard a dull thump. Abby pitched forward in her seat, blood oozing from her head. Artie stood beside her. He had knocked Abby out and taken her gun, which he now pointed directly at Wu.
"Put your weapon down and move aside," he ordered.
Wu did as instructed. What else could he have done?
"I won't waste bullets on you," Artie told them as he got into the driver's seat. "I'll just let the raptors finish you off."
He pushed Abby out of the Jeep. She landed on the ground with a dull thump. Then Artie backed the Jeep up and drove off into the night. Wu cursed at him.
"Come on Lori," he said. "We're going back inside. Can you walk on your own?"
Ruso growled, "It's my arm that's hurt, not my legs, you moron." Her scathing remarks comforted Henry somewhat.
"I'll help Abby," he said. He walked over to the unconscious woman. She was smaller than him, so he didn't have much trouble picking her up. He took a moment to examine the injury on her head, and he saw it wasn't too bad. Then he and Ruso walked back to Gustavus' lab.

Wu heard a shriek in the dark jungle. It was answered by several more calls. Wu realized that it was the other raptors. They had to move quickly.

Outside the lab there were two more jeeps, the one Gustavus had driven and the one Artie had driven. However, neither had the eyes in the ignition and Wu didn't know how to hot wire a vehicle. In any case, they didn't have time. The raptor sounds were getting closer.

Wu opened the door to the bunker and they walked in. Glancing back, Wu saw a creature come out of the jungle. It was another raptor, this one female. Unlike the male, this raptor was a beige color and had yellow eyes. The crest was less pronounced and not red, unlike the male. The raptor hissed and charged. But before she could reach them Wu and Ruso slammed the door in the dinosaur's face, locking it. The animal threw itself into the barrier, but it would not budge. The raptor hissed in frustration, but the humans were safe.

"Do you have a radio?" Wu asked Ruso. She shook her head.

"I left it in the jeep. You?"

"It's with Artie as well," Wu sighed.

They searched the bunker for a radio, but they found nothing. They were cut off from the rest of the island.

"They'll send a search party eventually," Wu said optimistically. "The bunker's location isn't secret. We just have to hold out for a while."

Ruso nodded in agreement. Wu then remembered her arm and he did his best to treat her with the supplies available. He also bandaged Abby's head. She was still unconscious. He could only do such much at the moment, but it was better than nothing.

"Are you alright?" Ruso asked him. "It looks like there's something on your mind."

"There's a lot on my mind," Wu answered.

"Well, duh. But if there's something troubling you especially, you can tell me."

"It's just Sorkin," Wu admitted. "Artie said she was alive and I don't know if I believe him or not. Or if I want to believe him. I've been feeling guilty about pushing her into the Tylosaurus tank on Nublar. I thought I had gotten her killed. But if I didn't kill her and she really is still alive, how much will that come back to haunt me? How many could get hurt or killed because I din't stop her when I should?"

"Don't blame yourself," Ruso told him. "Artie was probably just trying to mess with you. He'll be dealt with and we can put this behind us."

"But I don't think we can," Wu argued. "There are Troodon and raptors out there, running free. I know from experience how destructive those creatures are. There will be consequences to Gustavus' experiments. I'm worried that the worst is yet to come."

"Don't be a defeatist," Ruso insisted. "We should just get some rest. It might be a long night. And whatever happens, it's on Gustavus and not us. Ludlow is the one who wanted to keep him around, remember? These are Gustavus' creations, not ours."

Wu nodded. There were some emergency blankets among the bunker's supplies. Wu draped one over Abby and gave another to Ruso. He hoped that they would be okay waiting here, but he couldn't help but worry what was happening elsewhere on the island...

Noah was in the medical bay. The pharmacist, Norman Caldwell, was treating his injuries. Noah still couldn't come to grips with the lives he had lost. Some of those people he'd known for years. And now they were dead. How was he supposed to cope with that? Worse, Noah blamed himself for their deaths. He should have listened to Harding. They weren't prepared in the least. Noah closed his eyes, fighting back tears. There would be time to mourn later; now, he had to concentrate on getting this island back to normal.  
Arnold walked into the room, and nodded a greeting. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Not well," Noah replied honestly.
Arnold smiled sympathetically. "How are they?" he gestured to the other beds, which were occupied by Chris, Millie, and Sanders. All three were unconscious.
"Okay, I think," Noah said. "Chris is the worst. He may not make it through the night. Doc called in another doc from the mainland to come help out."
"Listen Noah, we have a situation," Arnold told him.
Noah groaned inwardly; "What now?"
"Wu and Ruso still haven't returned from checking on Gustavus," Arnold said.
"So, maybe they're a little late. Give them some time."
Arnold frowned. "Just in case, I'm going to go check on them. You stay here."
"Stay here?" Noah said. "Are you kidding me?"
"You need rest," Arnold protested, but Noah was already climbing out of bed. "I'm fine," he said. "Just a little wobbly is all."
"I highly recommend you stay in bed, Mr. Frazier," said Caldwell.
"Look at me, I'm fine. It's them you have to worry about," Noah said, pointing to Chris and the others.
"If you insist," Arnold said with a sigh.

Harding returned to Burroughs, driving as fast as he could. All the light in the village were turned on and workers were outdoors, wielding guns, flashlights, and flares. Harding ignored the commotion, however, and he parked the jeep. He leaped out as soon as it had come to a stop and he ran for the hotel. Soon he burst into his room, where Trey nervously waited with two awake and very anxious girls.

Atlanta and Jess immediately leaped out of bed and embraced Harding in a tight hug. Harding returned the hug, smiling brightly upon being reunited with his daughters. He nodded at Trey. "Thank you."

"No problem, Dr. Harding," Trey told him.

"What's going on out there?" Atlanta asked. "Were you really searching the jungle for those... things that attacked us on Nublar?"

Harding sighed. "Yes, unfortunately. However, we think there are less this time and we know exactly what we're dealing with. The Troodon will be dealt with very soon, I promise."

"Good," Atlanta and Jess agreed. They both hated Troodon.

"You two need to get some sleep," Harding told them. "It's been a long night for all of us. I promise that I'm not going anywhere. I'll probably have to arrange you girls transport back to San Diego after the night's over, for your safety."

Atlanta and Jess whined, but they understood. Nobody had expected there to be illegally bred Troodon on this island. And the farther away from as possible, the happier Atlanta and Jess would be. It was for the best.

The girls got into bed. "A wise choice, sending them back," Trey whispered to Harding.

"Yeah, this is more than any of us bargained for," Harding added. "I have a bad feeling about all of this. Like its only going to get worse."

First Troodon. Then Velociraptors. What's next?

Levine looked out his window at all the commotion going on outside. People were running around with guns and flashlights; almost like a search party. But what, thought Levine, are they searching FOR?
He hated being locked up in here. It was an atrocious waste of time. When was that fool Ludlow going to let him out of here?
Examining the window more closely, he realized that it could be easily opened. He simply switched the locks and opened the window. He smiled. Casting a glance over his shoulder, to ensure that the guard hadn't magically appeared in the room, he then opened it all of the way and climbed out. He wanted to know what was going on, and no one was going to stop him from finding out.

Arnold and Noah drove down the dark jungle road, alongside the various temporary enclosures. Suddenly, something caught Arnold's eye and he hit the brakes.

"What is it?" Noah asked him.

"Nothing good," Arnold answered, leaping out of the jeep and running over to the nearby fence. The maintenance gate was hanging open. Using his flashlight, Arnold found the gate's bolts scattered across the ground. "Somebody tampered with this enclosure."

"Do you know what was in it?"

Arnold searched the fence for a number. He found a sign and his eyes widened in recognition. "Oh shit... do you see any signs that whatever was in the enclosure got out?"

Noah looked around. "Uh yeah. Looks like something large entered the jungle." He then stepped in something and looked down. "And I, uh, found this."

Arnold ran over. Their flashlights revealed a large three-toed track imprinted on the ground. Fearfully, Arnold looked into the foliage to make sure nothing was there. "We're not safe out here."

Suddenly, they heard a loud roar echo through the darkness. Noah realized what they were dealing with. "The Demon..."

The two men quickly got into their jeep. Arnold pulled out his radio and screamed into it. "Ludlow! Somebody sabotaged at least one of the enclosures. The Demons are out!"

Ludlow swore loudly. "Don't stay out there, it's too dangerous!"

"What about Wu?"

"He's capable and can take care of himself. I don't want to risk any more lives searching for him in the darkness. We already have Troodon and raptors. Now Demons. Do you have any idea who freed them?"

"No idea, but they have to be professionals. Alright, we're heading back."

As they drove back to the facilities, another loud roar could be heard.

Levine msde his way down the road, keeping an eye on his surroundings. A minute ago there had been lots of people on this road, but now there was no-one. It was odd.
Then Levine heard a sound. At first he thought it was just the wind whistling through the trees; but when he listened more closely, the sound was too deliberate to be wind. Then what could it be?
Levine stopped. He knew what the sound was. It was breathing. And it was coming from the forest to his right.
Maybe he should have stayed in his room.

Suddenly, the forest erupted in frightening animal roars. Levine glimpsed a large animal charging him. He turned and fled, feeling the adrenaline surge of pure panic. It happened extremely quickly. He felt a heavy weight suddenly knock him down, forcing him to his knees and in that moment Levine thought he was going to die. The animal tore the backpack, but the shape of it confused Levine's attacker. When he got up and started running again, the creature didn't chase him.

Levine knew that he had to put as much distance between him and his attacker as he could. But more importantly, he needed to warn the others in the area. This animal had come out of nowhere and they didn't know that a large predator was so close to the worker village. If anyone else was attacked, Levine doubted they would be as lucky as he was.

Back in the control room Ludlow was pacing nervously. This was a disaster. Already at least ten workers were dead, and more were injured. Ludlow had a feeling he couldn’t just brush this under the rug like he had last time. It occurred to him that this might be the final straw. InGen could very well be a lost cause. In some bizarre way, the thought comforted Ludlow. These last several months had been a nightmare for him. If InGen really was doomed, at least he could look forward to a good night’s sleep again- granted, he might be behind bars, but compared to the stress he’d endured these last few months, jail didn’t seem all that bad.
“Sir?” Atherton reported. “There haven’t been any attacks for almost fifteen minutes.”
Ludlow nodded, and he couldn’t help but feel optimistic about their situation. Maybe it was finally over.
Then the phone rang, Atherton picked it up. “Hello? Yes, Lloyd? What’s that?” His brow creased.. “Is he alright? Well, that’s a relief. Yes, take him to the doctor. Yes. Alright. Goodbye.” He put the phone down and turned to Ludlow. “Apparently doctor Levine escaped from his room and was attacked by a Carnotaurus. He survived, thank goodness.”
Ludlow shook his head in disbelief.
“That man is an idiot,” said a voice. Ludlow turned, and saw Jane Powers come into the room. “Where have you been?” He asked irritably.
“Phone call with the investors,” Jane said casually, shrugging.
Ludlow squinted. “I thought I made it clear I wanted to talk to them.”
“Sorry, sir. You seemed preoccupied,” she said. Atherton noted that Jane avoided meeting Ludiow’s eyes as she spoke. More than that, she looked slightly uncomfortable. That was odd, especially for her...

Artie Bridges drove up to the rendezvous point. Stopping the Jeep, he checked on Dr. Gustavus. Still unconscious, but thankfully alive.

He heard footsteps and he looked up. The Jeep's headlights revealed several armed men walking toward him. Artie sighed in relief. "I was worried you wouldn't show up."

"Do have Gustavus?" one of the men asked.

"Yeah," Artie nodded. "He was unfortunately shot but he'll live. I ran into Wu and some others, but the raptors will finish them off."

"Raptors?"

"Yeah, apparently Gustavus created a new genetic raptor varient in secret without InGen's knowledge. He set them loose when I told him Wu was coming."

The men lifted Gustavus out of the jeep. There was a small building nearby that was their temporary base of operations.

"Is everyone here?" Artie asked.

"The boats landed under the cover of darkness without detection, just as planned. Then we split into teams. The others are planting the charges and sabotaging the enclosures."

"A busy night for all of us," Artie nodded.

"Just wait until daylight," one of the men smirked. "That's when the fireworks will begin."

"Sir!" a technician exclaimed.
Ludlow turned from regarding Jane, to face the technician. She was staring at a monitor. He approached her. "What is it?" he said.
The tech pointed at the screen. On it, Ludlow saw a group of people. They appeared to be in conversation. Then, two people carrying a third, unconscious man walked into frame. Then the whole group walked out of frame.
"What was that all about?" Ludlow demanded.
"I don't know, sir," the tech said.
Atherton walked over to see what was going on. Ludlow told him what he had just seen.
"Sounds suspicious," Atherton noted.
"Was that the spy?" Ludlow wondered aloud.
"Could be. Let's send someone down there to check."
"Better make it four someone's." Ludlow got on the intercom and explained the situation to Arnold.
"Be right there," Arnold promised.
Ludlow got off the intercom and sat down heavily in a chair. What was happening to his island?

Somebody was trying to reach Harding on his radio. He answered it. "Yes?"

"Dr. Harding, this is Kathy," came a woman's voice. "I work at the nursery and watched over your delightful daughters yesterday. Withe everything I heard, I think it would be best to get the girls away from where the attacks are taking place. The facilities are probably the most secure part on the island, so I think they would be safer here."

Harding thought about it for a moment and he glanced at Atlanta and Jess. "Good idea," he decided. "Best not to take any chances. We're heading over there now." He ended the call.

"Who was that?" Jess asked. She was still awake, probably having a hard time falling asleep while knowing what might lurk nearby.

"Kathy," Harding answered. "The woman from the nursery. She was worried about you two and thought it would be safer in the facilities."

"She's probably right," Atlanta thought.

"I'll come with you," Trey volunteered. "Some extra protection couldn't help."

Harding gave Trey a grateful smile. "Thank you."

Leaving the room, Harding and company passed a man who was asking if anyone knew where somebody named Abby was.

"She's not in her room," the man explained, worried. "I can't reach her on the radio either. What id something got her?"

Harding tried to offer him words of comfort, but couldn't chat for long. Soon he was with Trey and his girls, driving toward the facilities and away from where the rogue dinosaurs had been seen last...

-

While Ruso slept, Wu searched through Gustavus' lab. Most of the research had either been destroyed or taken in a hurry, but there was still some bits left. And what Wu found was very fascinating.

Wu could understand why InGen had worked so hard to keep Gustavus. He really was brilliant. And since Wu had his own secret projects, he felt it would be hypocritical if he held these private experiments against Gustavus. While what he did here was dangerous, it was a shame that he hadn't shared this earlier with Wu. Gustavus had some great ideas, especially concerning the concept of genetic hybrids.

We could have done great stuff together, Wu thought regretfully.

Wu was alerted by the sound of footsteps, and turned sharply, his heart thumping in his chest. But it was only Abby. The young woman looked disoriented.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Wu said.
"No," Abby replied. She blinked several times in quick unison. "Where are we?"
"We're in Gustavus' lab," Wu told her.
Abby looked confused. "Why? Why haven't we gone back yet?"
"Because Artie took our car. That's how you got that bump on your head. He knocked you out."
"Oh," Abby said. Hmmm, Wu thought. Abby was acting strangely. Of course, it was normal for a person to be a bit out-of-sorts if they got hit on the head; but there was something more going on here. Wu worried that Abby might have suffered some kind of brain damage. "How do you feel?" he asked lightly.
"Bad," she replied, and put a hand to her head.
"You got a pretty good bump. I think the best thing for you to do would be to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we'll take you back and let Dr. Caldwell take a look at you," Wu told her.
"Okay," Abby said, but she didn't move.
Wu walked over to her and took her hand. He led her back to the room where Ruso was. She lay down and within moments, was snoring.
"Is she okay?" Ruso asked. Wu didn't realize she was awake.
"I think so, but she might have a concussion or something," he told her.
Ruso sat up on her elbow. "We need to get her back soon."
"Arnold or someone should come looking for us soon," Wu replied hopefully.
"They should have been here an hour ago," Ruso said.
"Maybe something held them up. It's crazy out there," Wu reasoned.
"Maybe." Ruso lay back down. "Try to get some sleep, Dr. Wu."
"I can't sleep. It's too nerve-wracking."
"We're safe in here."
But Wu was smart enough to know that when it came to Troodon, no where was safe. But just to make Ruso happy he decided to lie down. They lapsed into silence, and then Wu whispered, "Do you have a family, Lori?"
"We all do, don't we?" Ruso replied.
"Well, yeah."
There was a brief pause, and then Ruso continued: "I have two sons. Tommy and Fred. Good kids. What about you?"
"No kids. No wife. These last few years I've been married to my work," Wu said.
Ruso chuckled a little. "Ever have a girlfriend?"
"Of course." He thought about that for a minute. "Not in the last ten years, though."
"Wow. You really are married to your work," Ruso said.
"What about your husband? What does he think of your work?"
"He could care less. I haven't seen him in over nine months."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Well, that's life."
They were quiet for several minutes, then Ruso spoke in a soft monotone:
"When that guy Artie pointed that gun at us, I thought I was going to die. It seemed the most likely outcome. And again when that raptor attacked our car and ripped my arm to pieces. I thought I was going to die. And of course I was scared; I don't want to die. But that wasn't what frightened me most. The act of death, I mean. No matter how painful. What scares me most is the thought of some policeman going to my house late at night and telling my two sons that their mommy died. That's what frightens me."
Wu was silent as he considered her words. "That would be awful," he agreed.
"And on that cheery note, I'll see you tomorrow." Wu heard her turn over, and her breathing relax into a steady rhythm.
When was sure she was asleep, Wu sat up and pulled out a flashlight. After what Ruso had just told him, he wasn't going to fall asleep, someone had to stay up and watch, to make sure those little boys' mommy would make it home.

Levine was in the infirmary, having been taken there to get taken care of by Dr. Caldwell. He knew he was lucky to have survived the attack. But as terrified as he was, he was also just as curious. From what he heard, the dinosaur that had attacked him was a Carnotaurus. And InGen's Carnotaurus seemed to have the ability to camouflage. Very interesting.

Unfortunately, Levine knew that others weren't as excited about these creatures as he was. Levine wasn't the only one spending the night in the infirmary.

"What attacked them?" Levine asked, referencing the unconscious men resting in the medical bay's beds.

"I was told that there was an ambush out there," Dr. Caldwell admitted. "Velociraptors."

Levine nodded. He had read studies on the proposed intelligence and behavior of the Velociraptor, especially the theories written by Dr. Alan Grant. He wondered how true Grant's ideas were. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to find that out himself.

Levine sighed and laid back in his bed. It would be best to play it safe and not try to get in any more trouble. One close call was enough for him. Levine did not wish to add himself to the night's death toll.

-

Kathy smiled when she saw Dr. Harding, his daughters, and a member of the maintenance crew enter the nursery. "I'm so glad you were able to make it safely. It's been a hell of a night."

A period of awkward silence followed. Nobody was sure what to say. They certainly didn't want to pretend like there was no danger. They couldn't pretend that people hadn't died that night.

"I'll go get some sweets from the vending machines," Trey offered. "I'm sure we could all use a treat about now."

The others nodded in agreement and Trey left. A few minutes later, he returned with his arms full of snacks which were then divided among the group.

Atlanta, however, was distracted. Her eyes were focused on a poster hanging from the nursery's wall. "Help prevent DX."

Atlanta had seen similar posters all over the facilities. What was DX?

"Are you okay, Atlanta?" Harding asked.

"I'm fine," Atlanta lied, looking away from the poster. "Thanks for asking though."

They returned to an uneasy silence, feeling everything would come crashing down on their heads any moment now.

Artie walked with his accomplices down to the docks. He was aware that this area would be monitored by security cameras; but it didn’t matter, by the time someone figured out that something was afoot, it would be too late.
The boat was just ahead, gently swaying in the water, waiting for them. Artie waited as two of his companies lowered the unconscious Gustavus into the boat. “Uh, guys?” Lance, a bearded man said. He pointed behind Artie. Artie turned to see a Jeep rumbling toward them, its headlights glaring at them like a pair of eyes. “Uh oh,” he said.
“Hurry, get in!” Shouted one of the men.
“No, it’s too late,” Lance said. “We won’t get away in time.” He drew his firearm. Artie looked at him doubtfully.
“It’s our only chance now,” Lance told him.
Artie nodded and drew his own gun, and began to fire at the oncoming Jeep.

The silence in the nursery was broken by the echo of several gunshots throughout the hallways, startling Harding's group.

"Did a dinosaur get in?" Jess asked, trying to not sound panicked.

"Maybe," Trey considered, pulling out his gun. "Or it could be something else. Stay here."

While the others did as they were told, Trey ran out of the nursery with his handgun withdrawn. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing. Hell, he was just a repairman with a gun. But it he had a chance to save lives that night, he was going to take it.

He raced down the hallways, trying to listen for more gunshots. There weren't any, but Trey doubted the shots they had heard was the end of it.

The windshield shattered before Arnold’s eyes. “Get down!” He screamed, above the sound of gunshots. He ducked under the steering wheel, keeping his head low as bullets continued to riddle the Jeep. Beside him, Ronnie Jacobs, a security guard, slumped forward in his seat; when Arnold turned to look at him, he saw that the man was dead.
He heard a door opening and banging closed. Noah jumped out of the Jeep and began returning fire. Arnold pulled his gun and peeked above the steering wheel, through the shattered windshield. He saw two bodies lying on the dock. He saw people jumping into a boat as the boat began to speed away. Arnold opened his door and got out. He ran towards the boat, firing at it as he went. But the boat was too fast. By the time he got to the end of the dock, the boat was cutting the waves and speeding off into the night. He heard the occupants cheering and hooting victoriously. Arnold fired one more shot, just for good measure.
“Jacobs is dead.” Arnold turned to see Noah. The man looked unharmed, but very mad.
“What about Reynolds?” Arnold asked. Then he saw the man. He was crouched over the bodies of the men Noah had shot.
“Guys!” Reynolds said. “This man is alive.”
Arnold and Noah walked over to him. The man whom Reynolds was crouched over was none other than Artie Bridges.
Arnold swore. Noah looked at him, quizzically. Without taking his eyes off of Artie, Arnold began to explain. “This man is Artie Bridges. He’s a scientist. He worked on Nublar.”
“What is he doing here?" Noah wondered aloud. "What were any of them doing here?"
“I don’t know,” Arnold answered truthfully. “But maybe he can give us some answers.”
“I’d like to question him,” Noah said immediately. Arnold cast him a questioning glance. “This man killed Jacobs. Just killed him in cold blood. I want to know why. I WILL know why,” Noah said.
“Come on,” Arnold said seriously. “Let’s get out of here.”

The ground shook beneath Arnold's feet. Thoom. The men felt another vibration. Thoom.

Arnold's eyes widened in horror and realization. "Oh no... move! We have to leave now!"

Noah and Reynolds dragged Artie into the jeep as quickly as they could.

"Is one of the rexes seriously free?" Noah said in disbelief. "This night is just getting worst!"

"Those people Artie was working with might be responsible," Arnold suggested. "Remember the Carnotaurus enclosure?"

Noah nodded. "Shit. Who knows how many dinosaurs are free now?"

The vibrations were getting louder and closer. In the distance branches snapped and trees shook. Something very large was heading in their direction, attracted by the sounds of gunfire.

Arnold wasn't planning on staying to greet the rex. He started the jeep and began driving, hoping that would avoid the approaching predator.

A terrifying roar filled the ears of the men as the unseen rex announced its arrival.