The Jurassic Park Interactive Storytelling Game

John and Trey sat in silence. Once again, they were trapped. The only difference was that instead of hiding from raptors, they were now hiding from dog-sized, white-eyed horrors. And instead of being inside the maintenance room, now they were sitting uncomfortably inside of a tool closet, crouched down in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. Then again, they really didn't even have a sense of time down here. Who knew if it was day or night? All they knew was that their lamp was running out of battery, and they were getting increasingly hot in there.

The clicking of the monsters outside the door was still going on, although now it was much less frequent. It seemed the creatures were growing tired of scratching at the door, and were beginning to go terrorize people elsewhere. Maybe soon they would give up altogether and leave the two maintenance workers alone.

---

Meanwhile, Grant and the kids' raft had caught the attention of a large theropod.

A Baryonyx had emerged from the river while passing by and had begun to sniff curiously around the raft. This was a strange object, with a strange scent attached to it. An unfamiliar smell that this Baryonyx didn't like. It started prodding the raft with its snout, grunting.

“Could you tell me more about this dangerous Troodon that everyone is worried about?” Jess boredly asked Wu in the control room.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I figured my dad would want me to learn something during this educational experience,” Jess shrugged. “Also, I’m genuinely curious and really bored.”

Wu smiled, amused. “Troodon, meaning ‘wounding tooth’, is a small omnivorous bird-like theropod that was designated IG74726f6f646f6e after we recreated it,” he explained. “They have very long legs with specialized feet, in which the middle long bone was pinched out at the top to form a shock-absorbing wedge. This allows them to run very fast. Their skin is pale gray with irregular dark dorsal stripes, a red underbelly, and a row of protofeathers running down their back. Their eyes are bulbous and have Tapetum lucidum, which is a layer of tissue that reflects light through the retina in order to see better in the dark that many animals such as cats, dogs, and raccoons have, which makes their eyes glow in the dark. As a side effect, they were unable to withstand intense light. They are just as intelligent as the Velociraptors if not more so and their primary weapon is their venomous bite. They hunt by biting their victim and stalking it as it suffers from the effect of the venom. The toxin in their saliva that their teeth retain causes hallucinations. In some cases this causes the victim to become violent and attack nearby individuals. Unless the infection is treated by an extremely powerful tranquilizer the victim will go into a series of convulsions and seizures. The final stage is paralysis and brain death. Upon Troodon’s creation Hammond did not add the species to InGen’s List because it did not fit his vision for Jurassic Park and he wanted them to be evaluated before considering adding an attraction for Troodon. Ultimately it was deemed that Troodon was a threat to his vision for Jurassic Park and he ordered that the clones be destroyed along with the records of their creation. You don’t want to be left behind by this dinosaur.”

“Why not?” Jess wanted to know.

“Well, we’ve seen a Troodon lay unfertilized eggs inside one of their paralyzed victims,” Wu recounted, remembering the poor goat. We presume that the victim’s body is used to provide both body heat and food for the hatchlings if the eggs were fertile, which would proceed to eat the corpse from the inside out. This method of rearing young is like that of Spider wasp species, which makes the Troodon being the only non-insect that uses this method.”

“That’s awful,” Jess said in disgust. “And these dinosaurs are out there in the park?”

“It seems so, unfortunately,” Wu told her. “We’re safe though. They’re nocturnal hunters, so they’re most likely asleep and nowhere near us.”

“Good,” Jess nodded. She sat up and stretched. “I’ve been sitting down too long. I’m going to walk around the building for a bit. If my dad asks, tell him I’m fine.”

“I will,” Wu promised, watching Jess leave.

A few minutes later, Ray Arnold realized that he couldn’t find his pack of cigarettes. He must have misplaced them.

-

"Get away from me!" Nima warned as she swung at the dinosaur.

The Herrerasaurus snapped at Nima as it looked for an opening. Nima had an idea and she began backing away toward the cliff. The dinosaur followed her while maintaining a safe distance, not minding this chase since he enjoyed having a little fun with his prey. He was not used to his food resisting or trying to fight back, it was a challenge he welcomed, something new besides all the livestock he was usually fed.

Nima was fast, but so was the dinosaur. Nima did her best to dodge the teeth of her opponent and the Herrerasaurus dodged her improvised weapon.

Suddenly, the dinosaur caught the branch in his jaws and bit down, snapping it in half. Nima looked in horror at her shortened club and the dinosaur growled at her. He leapt forward, trying to get his jaws around Nima's head. The woman fell back onto the ground, jamming what remained of her weapon against the dinosaur to keep her teeth from her flesh. She could feel his hot breath and his warm saliva dripping on her face, while his claws dug into her body. Having enough of this, Nima cried out and rolled to the side... off the cliff. Nima grabbed onto the edge and she felt the Herrerasaurus bite her leg to keep himself from falling to his death. Screaming in pain and feeling herself lose her grip, Nima kicked once...

The Herrerasaurus roared in frustration, which was followed by a loud SPLAT!

Nima climbed to safety, breathing hard. Her body was covered in scratches. She groaned in pain.

"Stupid dinosaur..."

Grant and the kids managed to make it safely back to the boat. Grant watched the dactyls spiraling around, gradually moving away. He sighed. But now they had a bigger problem. Grant's eyes widened when he saw the Baryonyx. The animal wasn't as big as the T-rex- it was about thirty feet long- but Grant had no doubt that those jaws and talons could do some serious damage. Grant couldn't help but feel amazed, but he knew full well that this animal was highly dangerous. He pushed the kids into the bushes. "What are you-" Grant slapped a hand over Tim's mouth. "Shh," he said. He peered out of the bushes at the giant crocodile-like animal. It prodded the raft with its long snout, quizzical. Grant hoped it wouldn't slash the raft with those big talons. If that happed, then they were gonna be screwed.

In the sky above, Grant heard the scream of the dactyls. They had returned. Seeing the large dinosaur in their territory, the dactyls began making coordinated dives, attacking the carnivore. The Baryonyx snarled in fury as the claws of the dactyls cut into its flesh. The Baryonyx snapped at the dactyls furiously, but they flew away from his jaws. As the dactyls circled above it, the Baryonyx roared at its aerial enemies. The dactyls made another dive, dodging the Baryonyx's teeth while attempting to do as much damage as possible. The Baryonyx spun around in an attempt to take revenge, but the dactyls were too swift. And so the battle continued.

Grant and the kids watched the conflict in awe. They realized this might be their only chance to return to their raft. But was it worth the risk?

-

Nima stumbled onto the road, clutching the wounds that the now deceased Herrerasaurus had inflicted upon her. Every step was painful, but Nima was determined to find some way off this island and away from these damn dinosaurs. Her daughter was counting on her...

A jeep was heading toward Nima, but the injured woman could not muster the energy to run back into the jungle. The jeep stopped. The door opened. A man stepped out. A man wearing a stupid hat. What was he trying to be? A secret agent?

"Miss Cruz?"

It was Dodgson.

Lewis immediately helped Nima into the passenger's seat of his jeep.

"I'm glad you're okay, Miss Cruz. Do you still have the canister?"

Nima managed a smile and she showed him the shaving cream can. Then she hit him.

"Ow!"

"That was for leaving me behind last night!"

"I'm sorry! It happened so quickly, I panicked, I wasn't thinking clearly, and I didn't even know if you were still alive or if those things had gotten you!"

"They almost did..."

"But you were rescued. By one of the people on the island."

"Yes. They handcuffed me to a bed. But I was able to pick the lock and escape."

"What injured you?"

"Some type of dinosaur. Don't worry though. I took care of it."

Dodgson looked through the jeep and found a first-aid kit. He started treating Nima's wounds.

"Thanks," she told him. "So what now?"

"We go to the docks and hope a retrieval team is sent for us. The best we can do is wait for rescue."

"We'll be sitting ducks!"

"Do you have a better idea?"

She didn't. Dodgson started the jeep. "This car smells awful..."

"That's because Nedry was killed in the seat you're sitting in."

"Yep. That explains it... so did you tell the InGen people anything?"

"They know nothing except my first name."

Dodgson nodded. He was thinking. He was worried that she might somehow lead back to him. It was most important that he wasn't caught and his company's involvement wasn't revealed. He liked Miss Cruz, she was useful. But as much as he hated it, Nima might be a loose end that he would have to deal with before leaving the island. He had the can, but he didn't need the woman... and with all the dinosaurs loose, this island could be a dangerous place. Accidents happen...

Ed Regis burst into the control room, panting. "Guys-"
"I won't do it!" Arnold said. He was talking to Wu and Hammond. "You guys think it's as simple as switching a TV on and off," the engineer continued. He sounded aggravated. "Well it's not-"
"I'm fully aware," Wu said calmly yet surely. "But the fact is, you're not going to find the command that Nedry used. This is our only option."
Ed came over, temporarily forgetting his flight from the Troodon. "What's going on?" he asked.
"They're talking about shutting down the system," Ellie told him.
"Completely?"
She nodded.
"Like a hard reset?"
"Yes," Arnold said. "But we've never done it before. It may not come back on at all. Then we'd be real screwed."
"Malcolm's dying," Ellie reminded him.
"Yes, I know," Arnold said. "The fact remains-"
"The fact remains that more people are going to get hurt if you don't shut down the system!" Wu said.
Arnold turned his gaze to Hammond. He needed his approval.
Hammond regarded him for a moment, then nodded. "I just want my grandchildren back," he said softly.
Arnold sighed. Then he stood up. "Alright, you got it."
He went to the power box and unlocked it. A moment later the entire building was plunged into darkness. Ed Regis heard Arnold's footsteps in the darkness. Then he caught a glimpse of something. Two glowing white eyes. And with a sickening feeling he realized that this was the moment the creatures had been waiting for, for everything to go dark. There was a bustle of movement, scrapping sounds, and then Arnold began to scream.

The sounds of shrieking dactyls and a snarling Baryonyx faded into the distance. Grant decided it was too dangerous trying to retrieve the raft and he did not want to endanger the kids. They'd have to take the longer way back to the visitor center, but it was safer.

Suddenly, with a mighty hiss, a juvenile dilophosaur reared up right in front of them. It dropped down again. Grant and the kids turned to run back the way they came, and another dilophosaur reared up, flaring its hood. They were trapped. Grant started running laterally into the jungle, pulling the kids. On either side, hooting and thrashing in the underbrush. Directly ahead, a third dilophosaur hissed up into view. Grant and the kids dove into ferns to the side.

"What is this, a convention?" Grant asked.

On all sides, hisses and hoots. Grant and the kids, beneath giant five-foot ferns, listened. Grant slowly peeked out. Above the ferns, he saw two dilophosaurs. They are different: one larger and brightly colored, one smaller and dark. They hoot agreeably, and bob. A third dilophosaur, also larger and brightly colored appeared at the edge of the fern-frond. Immediately, the first dilophosaur screamed and flared at the intruder. The intruder matched. The first dilophosaur screamed intimidatingly. The intruder dropped its hood and backed away. The first dilophosaur returned its attentions to the small dark one. Gentle hoots. Gently replying hoots... Grant ducked back down.

"Are they fighting?" Lex asked Grant.

"Not exactly," Grant realized.

"It sounds like fighting."

Grant looked again, and Tim sneaked a peek too.

"I think they might be preoccupied now," Grant whispered. "Come on."

The group began crawling away, slipping past the dilophosaurs, which were entwining their long necks, doing a complex dance like mating cobras.

"Well if it's not fighting what are they
doing?" Lex wanted to know. "Are they making babies?"

"That's right," Grant said, relieved.

"I thought so," Lex nodded.

Up ahead, Grant could see what he thought was an entrance to the maintenance tunnels. Hopefully, those would offer safe passage back to the visitor center.

Muldoon stopped the jeep and jumped out. He walked to the maintenance shed. Harding was right behind him. Muldoon opened the door and went in. It was pitch black inside, but he heard footsteps.
Harding grabbed his flashlight and turned it on. The beam illuminated the darkness. Harding moved the light around. "You hear the footsteps," he said. "But where are they?"
Harding shone his light down a hallway. At the end of the hall, a pair of glowing eyes peered at them. Then the eyes vanished.
"I don't like this," Harding said.
Muldoon stepped forward with his gun ready. "Hello?" he called. "Is anyone there?"
There was no answer. "Let's get out of here," Harding said.
Muldoon paused before nodding. They left the shed and got in the jeep. "We can't put the park back in order until those things are dead," he said. He picked up his radio. "Arnold?"
There was no reply.
"Arnold?"

Grant found a flashlight which made their journey through the maintenace tunnels easier. He hoped that they wouldn't get lost down here...

"Rats!" Lex shrieked as frightened rodents ran past their feet, ignoring the large humans as they fled from something behind them. This made Grant uneasy.

"Do you hear that?" Tim whispered.

Grant listened. It was silent, except for their breathing, rodents squeaking, and... a clicking sound that was quickly growing louder. Then there was another sound. Panicked footsteps.

Grant turned around and his flashlight revealed two maintenace workers running toward then. "Run!" one of them screamed as they ran past. "They're coming!"

A moment later Grant saw what they were running from. Creatures with glowing eyes.

Tim and Lex were already running. Grant was soon fleeing as well, trying to block out that clicking sound that was louder than ever. He didn't get a good look at the dinosaurs, but he didn't care to try to identify them at the moment. All he could do was run...

Arnold kicked out with his feet hoping to land a hit to the Troodon. But the creature easily dodged his kicks. It jumped on him. It pushed Arnold's face into the carpet. He felt the razor sharp claws in his skin and he screamed for aid.
Suddenly the weight on his back vanished. Someone pulled him to his feet and began pulling him along.
Everything ran out of the control room. Gennaro slammed the door shut behind them.
Everyone took a moment to catch their breaths. "Is everyone here?" Ellie asked hoarsely.
"Regis," Gennaro said. "Where's Regis?"
Within the control room, there came a deathly scream.
There was a sickly silence. Then Gennaro said, "I'll go warn Harding," and took off running down the hallway.

Nima was caught off guard when without warning she was pushed out of the jeep by Dodgson. She cursed as she struck the ground rolling. She picked herself up, but Dodgson had kept driving away. With the canister.

"Dammit!" Nima swore angrily. "Dodgson, you back-stabbing hijo de puta!"

Soon the jeep and Dodgson were out of sight. Nima considered her options. She knew she probably wouldn't last long out here. She could try going after Dodgson or head back to the visitor center. The visitor center was closer and the people there would have medicine and weapons. And... Nima had tried not to think about it too much, but with Nedry dead, nobody was going to turn on the power back on. The people here were trapped and threatened by the escaped dinosaurs. Nima felt bad about all the people that might die because of Dodgson's schemes. And maybe she, with her knowledge of the island and resourcefulness, could give them a better shot at surviving. Even if she would end up in prison, she could at least redeem herself for working with Dodgson. She didn't want anyone else to die and even if she imprisoned she could still take Dodgson down with her. He expected her to die so that they wouldn't trace her to Biosyn. But Nima could still make sure that he got what he had coming, even if he escaped the island with the embryos.

Muldoon and Harding drove down the road quickly. They were surrounded on both sides by dense foliage. Literally anything could be hiding in there, Harding thought.
He was worried that, despite his callings, Arnold still hadn't answered the radio. Could something have happened to them?
The visitor center came into view. They stopped the car, and both men got out and started running up the steps.

***
Grant held Lex's hand with one hand, and the flashlight with the other as he, Lex and Tim ran at full tilt through the maintenance shed. Behind them, their pursuers let out vicious shrieks and terrifying whistles. Grant had no idea what they were, some kind of small raptor-like animal maybe, but for once he didn't want to find out. There was something wrong about them, something unnatural.
He knew they were right behind them. They were going to get caught. But then he saw something ahead: a doorknob, in the gleam of the flashlight. He forced his limbs to pump faster; he reached for the doorknob; his fingers closed around it; he twisted it and flung open the door, dragging himself and the kids through, turning and kicking it shut after them.
The creatures roared and pounded on the door in an attempt to break it down, but the door was strong, thank goodness. Grant took a moment to catch his breath. He heard crying. Took him a second to realize that it was coming from him.

***

The group decided to head to the safety bunker. Hammond, Ellie, Wu, an injured Arnold, and Jess walked down the long corridor.
"Where's the bunker, again?" Ellie asked.
"It's just through this door," Wu said, as he helped Arnold walk.
Ellie opened the door and herded her companions into the room. She closed the door after them.
They set Arnold down on a table and Wu got to work. He glanced at Ellie; "Laura's still out there somewhere."
Ellie nodded, "And Gennaro."

Muldoon and Harding entered the dark visitor center.

"Hello?" Harding called out. "Wu? Arnold? Laura? Anybody?"

Silence.

"They must have shut down the systems," Muldoon realized. "Until they reset the power, they'll probably stay in the safety bunker."

Harding nodded, comforted that his daughter is probably there.

Then, from the dark shadows, came an eerie clicking sound.

"Is that?" Harding asked.

"Yep," Muldoon nodded, tightening his grip on his gun.

Then there was a scream. A human scream.

"Mr. Genarro," Harding realized.

"Come on!" Muldoon urged, rushing to the rescue of the screaming lawyer. They hoped that they wouldn't be too late.

-

In the safety bunker, Hammond was trying to remain optimistic.

"This is just a delay," he reassured the others. "All major theme parks have delays. When Disneyland first opened, nothing worked."

"But John," a wounded Malcolm interrupted as Ellie tended to him, "when Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists."

"My dad's okay, right?" Jess asked Wu, who was treating Arnold's injuries. She was worried and afraid.

"He's with Muldoon," Wu pointed out. "If there's anyone that can keep your father safe, it's him. Everything's going to be fine."

Jess smiled a little at this. Malcolm let her have this, but he knew that the chances any of them would make it off this island alive were very slim.

Harding and Muldoon rounded a corner and came face-to-face with the most terrifying creature either of them had ever seen. It was a squat, longish therapod with a long, slender tail and two humungous glowing eyes. The creature was crouched in an attack position, and before either man could react, it leapt forward and tackled Harding to the ground.

Donald Gennaro struggled on the ground as another Troodon bit into this calf. He screamed and shook his leg, attempting to free himself, but the monster had an iron grip. Gennaro reached forward and grabbed a lead pipe. He swung the pipe down on the Troodon's head. The creature released him. Gennaro jumped to his feet and ran. There was nowhere to go. Wait, there- a pipe. A big, steel pipe. He ran for it, and climbed into it. He felt more pain on his calf as the Troodon bit him again. The Troodon began to pull him back out of the pipe...

Muldoon's gun went off twice. The first bullet struck the creature's side. The second struck the brain. The dinosaur fell to the ground with a dying hiss and Muldoon helped Harding up. The vet was shaking.

"Are you alright?" Muldoon asked.

"Yes," Harding nodded, trying to control himself. "Luckily the thing didn't bite me."

"I may have made things worst though," Muldoon realized in horror.

"How?" Harding asked.

He was answered by what sounded like angry clicking in the dark. The other creatures had heard the gunshots. They had heard the dying scream of one of their own. And now they were coming for revenge. The clicking grew louder as the things came closer...

-

Gennaro suddenly felt the Troodon release him and run off after they both heard two gunshots go off. Gennaro climbed back into the pipe, taking advantage of the opportunity. He winced in pain. Because of the bite on his calf he doubted that he would be going anywhere soon...

-

John, Trey, Grant, Tim, and Lex listened to the creatures pounding against the door. Eventually, the pounding stopped and Grant could hear the creatures hissing and clicking at each other. Talking. Then there was silence. They had left, perhaps having found out about easier prey...

"Are they gone?" Lex whimpered.

"Maybe," Grant told the others. "But we should wait a little, just to make sure."

Or maybe they should leave now before they decided to come back. Grant didn't know.

"Do you two know what type of dinosaur that was?" he asked the maintenance workers that were hiding with them.

They shook their heads. They had no idea what those things were. And neither did Grant.

"Come on," Muldoon said gruffly. He and Harding continued down the hallway.

"Gennaro!" Muldoon called loudly. "Gennaro!"

Harding shone his flashlight around for any sign of the lawyer.

"Gennaro!" Muldoon hollered.

"Here!" The voice came from the left. Harding and Muldoon stampeded down the hall. "Where are you?" Muldoon called.

They heard a faint rustling. Harding shone his light in the direction the sound was coming from. He saw a pair of legs crawling out of a big steel pipe.

"Gennaro!" Harding said with relief. He helped Gennaro out of the pipe. He was alive, but he didn't look well.

"You're bitten." Muldoon said, gesturing to Gennaro's leg. The pant leg was shredded, and soaked in blood. Gennaro nodded feebly. "It was one of those things," he said.

"What were you doing way out here, anyway?" Harding asked him.

"Looking for you," Gennaro replied.

Muldoon shook his head; "Well, you found us, so congratulations. Come on, let's find the others."

"They should be in the security bunker," Gennaro told them. Harding put his arm around the lawyer's shoulders and helped him walk. In the distance, he heard more of those terrible clicks.

"They'll be hunting us," Muldoon said. He cocked his rifle. He looked at Harding. "Move as fast as you can. I'll cover you."

Harding nodded and started helping Gennaro toward the security bunker. Muldoon stood between them and the Troodon, ears listening closely for any movement in the dark. He listened to Harding and Gennaro's footsteps as the two of them moved farther away from the danger. Muldoon's hands were on his gun, ready. He wasn't scared. The only thing that mattered to him was the safety of the survivors and fewer Troodon would greatly increase their chances of getting off this island alive. If this was Muldoon's last stand, so be it. He wasn't going down without a fight.

Then he heard it. A click. And in the shadows a pair of eyes lit up. "There you are..." Muldoon said, standing defiantly. Then he heard another click. A different type of click. From behind him.

BAM!

Muldoon fell forward, dropping his gun. A bullet passed through his side and he crashed onto the ground, cursing in pain. The pair of eyes in the dark vanished... but it would be back.

Muldoon looked back to see who had shot him... it was Dr. Laura Sorkin holding a handgun.

"Laura! What the hell!?"

"Apologies, Robert," Laura told him, kicking his gun away while keeping her gun trained on Muldoon. "But you were about to hurt my animals. You already killed one."

"I'm protecting people!"

"These animals deserve your protection more. You attempted to exterminate them before and they would have become extinct once again if I hadn't saved them."

"You endangered everybody on this island!"

"You, Wu, Hammond, and everyone else brought this down on yourselves. You bring these creatures back into the world after 65 million years and instead of preserving them you choose to exploit them for your own selfish desires. There was so much we could have learned... but instead you built a theme park."

"This is wrong, Laura..."

"It's unfortunate, but Hammond left me no choice. I wish I didn't have to do this, but this is the consequence of your blindness."

"Are you going to kill me? Become a murderer?"

"Of course not. I'll just let nature take its course... just as it should."

Muldoon heard it. Clicks. They were coming.

"As Ian Malcolm put it, life found a way," Laura said before running off.

Muldoon tried reaching for his gun, but the pain prevented him from going far. The clicks were louder, closer. Eyes appeared in the dark. The Troodon pack was advancing on their fallen prey, going in for the kill.

Muldoon screamed in pain until only the Troodon could be heard.

Harding and Gennaro stumbled toward the security bunker. When they were just a few feet away, the door flung open from the inside. Henry Wu stood in the doorway, waving them on.

Harding heard Muldoon's screams and looked back. "He's dying!" He passed Gennaro off to Wu, then turned and started running back the way he had come.

"Wait!" Wu shouted after him.

Harding just kept running.

Wu brought Gennaro inside. Ellie appeared beside him. "Here, let me help you." They laid Gennaro down on a table. "Three of us are injured now," Ellie commented. "Where's Harding? I thought I heard him."

Wu pointed to the door; "He's going to help Muldoon."

"Alone?" Ellie said in surprise.

"Yeah."

Ellie hesitated for a moment, then bent down to tie her laces.

"Uh... what are you doing?" Wu demanded.

Ellie said, "I won't let him go alone."

"You don't have any training, any experience with these animals..."

Ellie just gave him a dirty look. She ran to one of the shelves and grabbed a big rifle. She loaded it up and then went to the door, pausing to glance back at Henry. "You coming or not?"

Wu held her gaze for a moment, then looked down at the ground.

"I figured," Ellie said. She opened the door and went out, slamming the door behind her.

[...]

"This place smells," Lex said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"I think we're in the sewage system somewhere," John said, looking around.

"Here." Trey unclipped a flashlight from his belt and turned it on. He shone the beam around. The room they were in was small, nothing of interest. Behind them, though, was another tunnel.

"This might lead us back to the park," Trey theorized.

"Are you sure?" Grant asked.

Trey nodded. "Yeah, pretty sure."

"But what if there are more dinosaurs in there?" Lex asked in a frightened voice. Grant picked her up and held her. "Don't worry," he said. He looked at the two maintenances workers. "I don't think we have many other options. What do you say?"

John and Trey exchanged a look. "Beats just standing here," John said at last.

"Alright. Then let's go."

After a few minutes of uncomfortable darkness and eerie silence, Grant found a door leading out of the tunnels and into the light.

"Finally!" Trey said, relieved.

"Where are we?" Tim asked.

Grant didn't recognize the area, but John did. "Looks like we're close to the visitor center. This path should take us past the raptor paddock and to the garages."

"More walking?" Lex moaned.

"Don't worry, we're almost there," Grant reassured her.

The five survivors began the journey back to the visitor center, until they noticed somebody approaching. A man who was wounded, dirty, and looked quite shocked. Grant recognized him.

"Regis?"

When Ed Regis saw Grant with the kids, he smiled. Forgetting his own injuries, he ran forward. "Dr. Grant! Tim! Lex! Thank God you're-"

Grant's fist collided with Regis' jaw and Regis hit the dirt.

"Ow..." Regis managed to say. "I deserved that, didn't I?"

"Yep," Tim said, glaring.

"What? What did you deserve?" John asked in confusion.
"On the road, when the T-rex attacked, he ran and left the kids behind." Grant explained. He was upset with the public relations manager, but still glad to see him alive.
"I'm sorry," Regis said. He was red with shame.
Grant sighed. "What's done is done. Now, where are the others?" he asked Regis.
"I think they're in the security bunker," Regis replied.
"Then let's move."
All six of them started walking down the road. "I have an idea," Regis said. "Let's go to the garage and get a car. That'll be faster, and safer." He looked to Grant for his approval. Grant thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Sounds good."
They headed off down a different path toward the garage.

[...]

Harding ran back into the visitor center, his gun at the ready. He heard the clicking in the background. Following it, he ended up back in the main room, darkness on all sides. He began to feel very scared.
He spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards it. His stomach dropped; it was a blood drag. Something had been dragged across the floor, something large, about the size of Muldoon...
"Muldoon?" Harding called cautiously into the darkness. "Muldoon? Where are you?"
He heard footsteps running behind him, and for a moment he thought it was Muldoon. Then Ellie emerged from the shadows, a rifle in her arms. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Helping you," Ellie replied. "What are we up against?"
Harding looked at the blood drag. "I'm not sure."

While walking to the garages, they passed by the Velociraptor enclosure. Grant slowed down.

"What is it?" Regis asked.

Grant pointed to a hole in the fence that surroundef the raptor pen. The metal was twisted, as if gnawed, the hole is large enough for an animal to slip through.

"Oh my God," Regis realized in horror. "Aw, God. The shutdown must have turned off all the fences. Even Nedry knew better than to mess with the raptor fence..."

Grant squatted near the hole, looking at the ground. He saw sets of footprints and followed them with his eyes. The footprints headed off in different directions, but all in the jungle foliage on either side of them.

-

"My dad was here?" Jess asked Wu as the scientist tended to Gennaro.

"Briefly," Wu nodded. "He ran off to get Muldoon."

"He didn't even check to see if I was okay," Jess said, looking down.

Malcolm was watching and he decided to try to cheer Jess up. "Your dad does care if you're alright, Jess. I don't know him well, but I do know is that he values your safety more than anything else. He loves you and right now he's fighting to get you a way off this island."

Jess smiled. "Yeah, I know. And every second counts, right?"

"Exactly. When all this is over I promise that you two you will spend lots of time together."

"Do you have any kids, Dr. Malcolm?"

"Yeah, a few from previous marriages."

"So are you married right now?"

"Not currently. Why? No offense, but I'm a bit old for you." He gave a teasing smile and she laughed a little.

"No, no. I was just thinking of my sister, Sarah. I think she would like you."

Malcolm sighed. "Now's not the time to be thinking about setting me up with your sister."

Jess shrugged. "It'll give you something to look forward to when all this is over. I mean, Dr. Sattler is obviously with Dr. Grant."

"What?"

"I saw those looks you gave her while we were with the sick Stegosaurus."

"You're pretty smart, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"So, what can you tell me about Sarah?" Malcolm asked, deciding that this was a good way to get Jess' mind off her father.

Jess grinned and began explaining that her sister was a scientist that specialized in animal behavior...

Harding and Ellie followed the blood drag as far as they could.
"Those things dragged him into the vents." Harding said the words with a dull voice. He could just imagine Muldoon, struggling, as a thousand tiny teeth dragged him into that tiny space...
"Can we get him?" Ellie asked.
Harding was shaking his head. It was impossible. The network was too vast, too confused. "He could be anywhere in there. Maybe they dragged him into another room, but maybe they just left him in the vents somewhere. If he's even alive."
"We can't just leave him," Ellie said.
"You're right." Harding closed his eyes, thought for a moment. "The power. If we can get the power back on, we'll be able to find Muldoon."
"Then let's get the power back on."
"That's Arnold's department."

[...]

The two of them went back to the bunker. Jessica ran and hugged Harding. He hugged her back. "Are you okay?" she asked; "Yes, I'm fine," he replied.
"Where's Muldoon?" Hammond asked with concern.
"Not sure," Harding replied. "We think the Troodons got him and dragged him into the vents."
His words hung in the air for a few moments. Hammond's face drained of color, while Wu just appeared shocked.
"I don't understand," Malcolm said with a cough. "Why would they do that?"
"I... wish I knew," Harding answered. "Those things are... odd. I'm not sure any of us knows why they do the things they do."
"I know someone who might," Wu said.
"Right, Laura. Where is she, anyway?"
"Not sure. She left without telling anyone. Didn't give a reason why, either," Wu said.
"Well, let's hope she gets back soon. In the meantime, we have to get the power back on. It might be our only way of rescuing Muldoon, if he's still alive," Harding said. He looked to Arnold.
Arnold seemed okay. He had a bandage on his arm covering the bite mark, and Wu had given him the proper medication to stave off the deadly virus inflicted upon him by the Troodon. He was ruffled, but seemed functional for the most part. "Yeah, yeah," he said. "We have to get the power on. The only way I know how to do that is to manually reboot the system from the maintenance shed. I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't really feel up to going back out there, though."
"Well, someone has to." Harding looked around at the faces. Gennaro and Malcolm were too injured. Arnold was too valuable. Wu was the only one besides Arnold who knew how to work the computers. Hammond couldn't do it, and he would never allow Jessie to do it. That left... him. And Ellie.
He sighed... "Well... I guess I'm automatically nominated."
"No, Dad!" Jess said. "Those things are still out there."
"Jess." Harding grabbed his daughter by the shoulders. "There's no-one else."
Jess began to tremble. She scowled up at her father. "No!"
"Jessie." That was Malcolm. He pushed himself up onto his elbow and spoke in a calm voice. "We're all going to die if we can't get the power back. Your father can do this. I know he can."

[...]

"Come on," Grant said, rising to his feet. "How much farther to the garage?"
"Not far," John replied. "Just another minute or so."
They resumed walking, keeping a careful eye on their surroundings.
Regis gasped. Grant wheeled around. "What?"
Regis pointed. The branches. They were shaking. There was something in there.
Grant grabbed the kid's hands and started to run. The others followed. Grant saw the roof of the garage poking out through the trees. They were almost there!
"Come on!" he shouted.
Trey sprinted ahead and opened the door for them and they all ran inside. Panting, Grant crashed against the wall. "Good running," he told the kids.
Trey pulled out his flashlight and illuminated the interior. The garage was a vast space, full of all kinds of vehicles: maintenance, Jeeps, Land Cruisers. Regis led them toward a Jeep and got behind the wheel. Everyone packed in around him. Regis started the car. The engine rumbled to life and the headlights flicked on.
...Illuminating the velociraptor standing just five yards in front of them!

In the bunker, one of the handheld radios suddenly came to life.

“Hey, is anyone there?” a woman’s voiced asked. “Can anybody hear me?”

Harding recognized the voice and he snatched up the radio. “Nima, is that you?”

“Yeah, I found some guy’s radio. He won’t be needing it in the state I found him in. Look, I want to help.”

“What?” Harding asked, surprised.

“I can’t change what I did,” Nima admitted. “If I go to prison after this, so be it. But I can’t let innocent people die. I think I could give you a better shot at survival and I want to make up for what I did. I don’t want anyone else to die, so tell me what I can do to help out.”

Harding looked around at the others. “Should we trust her?”

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Wu decided. “She might be useful and we need to take any aid we can get at this point.”

Harding nodded. “Alright, Nima. We’re counting on you. We need to turn the power back on. The only way to do that is to manually reboot the system from the maintenance shed. Give me your location and we’ll walk you through the process.”

Jess was relieved that her father wouldn’t be going back out there and hoped that Nima would be able to help them in this time of need.

"I'm just outside the big building with the dome," Nima reported.
"That's the visitor center," Harding told her. "Do you see a little gravel path leading off into the trees?"
Nima scanned the area. "Yes, I see it."
"The maintenance shed is down that path."
"Okay. Here I go."
Nima started walking down the gravel path.

[...]

Regis slammed his foot down on the gas and the Jeep shot forward. Right toward the raptor. At the last possible second, the raptor jumped clear and the Jeep raced past it. Grant looked back. The raptor turned around and started chasing them!
"Faster!" Grant shouted.
The big garage door opened up before them like the maw of a huge beast. Grant looked back once more. The raptor was gaining on them.
The Jeep sped through the door. The raptor followed them right out. "He's not giving up!" John said. "I hope you know some moves, Regis."
Regis smiled hysterically.

Dodgson's jeep came to a halt. He swore, realizing that he had run out of gas. Getting out, he began walking the rest of the way to the docks, scanning the surrounding jungle for threats while he went down the dirt road. He felt more vulnerable, like every noise could be a carnivorous dinosaur ready to pounce and devour him whole.

Finally, he could see the docks. Filled with relief, he ran the rest of the way and was delighted when he saw that there was a boat there. What luck!

As he stepped into view, several mercenaries pointed their guns as Dodgson, who immediately raised his hands to show that he was unarmed with the exception of a can of shaving cream.

"Lewis?" one of the men asked. Dodgson recognized the man and he relaxed. The man ordered the mercenaries to lower their weapons.

"Thank God," Dodgson grinned. "It's good to see you, Howard."

Dodgson gave the other man a hug, thankful to see a friendly face and a way off this damn island.

"What the hell happened out there, Lewis?" Howard King asked.

"It's a long story," Dodgson explained. "Don't bother waiting for anyone else. Dennis, Bob, Miles, and Nima are dead. I'm the only one who survived."

"Jesus," King said, shocked. "Let's get you out of here."

"First, do you have any water?" Dodgson asked. King nodded and he gave Dodgson his canteen. Dodgson quickly emptied it. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Dodgson, King, and the mercenaries boarded their boat and were soon heading away from Isla Nublar. Dodgson laughed as they left the island behind. It was over. He had won. He opened the can of shaving scream, deciding to check on the embryos...

His smile fell.

The canister was empty. The embryos had been removed. Despite everything, Dodgson had nothing to show for his work. All of that was for nothing. It was indeed over, but he had still lost.

"NOOO!" Dodgson screamed in anger as he headed back toward the mainland... to face the consequences of his failure...

-

Wu listened to Harding instruct Nima over the radio. He wondered if Nima still had the canister. Or if she knew that he had found out that the canister was a container for the embryos Nedry had stolen. Or if she knew he had returned the embryos to where they belonged, in his possession.

It didn't matter now, Wu decided. Not when there were lives at stake. Nima would be held responsible later. But at the moment they had to work together if they were to survive.

"I see the shed." Nima was standing on the gravel path, looking at the squat white building in front of her. She could hear a gentle hum emanating from somewhere inside.
"Excellent. Great work, Nima," Harding congratulated over the radio. "Now, just go inside and I'll talk you through the rest."
Nima approached the shed. She opened the door and peered within. It was pitch-black. Nima hesitated; she was unwilling to walk straight into the darkness.
"Are you inside the shed yet?" Harding's voice nagged.
"It's very dark," Nima told him.
"Yes. Well, hmm. Try, uh, try propping the door open with something," Harding suggested.
Nima scanned the ground. There was a stick about ten yards away. She went over and got it and brought it back. She opened the door and put the stick on the ground. The door closed on the stick. The remaining gap allowed for sunlight to seep into the dark shed.
"Okay, here I go," Nima said, and went in.

Nima went toward the catwalk and walked along the corrugated metal. Up ahead was the stairway leading down to the generators. Another ten yards.

Darkness. The light shining through the gap was gone.

Nima looked back to the door and saw that the light was blocked by the body of a Velociraptor. The animal bent over, and carefully sniffed the stick she had propped the door open with.

-

The radio had gone silent.

"Nima?" Harding asked. "Nima, are you there? Did something happen?"

No response.

"What now?" Wu asked.

Harding didn't know. They had run out of options.

Nima swore as she began backing away from the animal. The animal lifted its snout, and let out a long, reptilian hiss. The hairs on the back of Nima's neck stood on end. Quickly, she scanned her surroundings for a weapon.
The raptor took a delicate step forward. Nima turned and ran down the staircase. She lost her footing and fell forward. She stuck out her arms to catch herself and landed heavily on her right hand. Pain seared through her hand and she screamed. Wrist! My wrist is broken! Blinking away tears, Nima stood and continued to run, blind and disoriented, having no idea of where she was going. That was when she realized- the animal wasn't following her. She turned, just to be sure. No. The animal wasn't following. It was just standing in the doorway. Staring at her. Why? What was it waiting for?
That was when she heard the clicks.

[...]

Regis took the corner fast. The tires skidded in the soft earth. Beside him, Grant swore. "You have to slow down."
Regis shook his head. "Not a chance!" He looked in the rear-view mirror. The raptor was still chasing them. It was fixated on them, jaws parted in a terrifying grin. The sight of it made Regis' stomach turn.
"Regis!" Grant yelled. "You have to slow down!"
They took another corner, sharp. The tires skidded. Regis' stomach flipped as the tires lost traction and the Jeep flipped over onto its side. Regis remembered squeezing his eyes shut; then there was just tremendous, shuddering pain and final blackness.

Nima recognized those clicks and her eyes widened in horror. No. Not again…

She found herself shaking in fear at the memory of the creatures that bit her. They were here. Inside the shed. With her.

Nima tried to focus and she considered her options. If she left the shed, the raptor would kill her. If she stayed in the shed, the Troodon would get her. She liked neither outcome.

Then a pair of eyes lit up the dark and Nima ran. Eventually, she found herself at the end of a corridor. She slammed a mesh door shut behind her, but she knew that it would not keep them away from her for long. Behind the mesh several pairs of eyes watched her curiously, unseen Troodon clicking at each other.

Nima desperately looked around for an escape, but she had trapped herself in the small space. It was difficult to make out anything in the blackness except for a gray box…

Nima realized what the gray box was and couldn’t believe her luck. She fumbled in the dark for her radio.

“Harding! Harding!”

“Nima, there you are? We were worried wh-”

“Shut up and listen to me! I don’t have much time! I found a big, gray box with cable terminating from it and I think it says High Voltage though it’s hard to tell.”

“That’s great! Open it!”

Nima threw open the box, revealing a vast array of breakers and switches inside. “Now what?”

“Well, before you throw the main switch by hand, you have to pump up the primer handle to give you a charge. It’s a large, flat, gray-”


“I found it!” Nima told him. She pumped the gray handle, which was sluggish. Above it, a small white indicator went from ‘discharged’ to ‘charged’. Nima slammed the gray lever back into position.

“Alright, it’s charged,” Nima said, trying to ignore the clicking sounds behind her.

“Right!” Harding said over the radio. “Now, under the words ‘contact position’ there’s a round green button that says ‘push to close!’ Push it!”

Nima did. The ‘contact position’ light went over to ‘closed’ and lights started to go on all over the panel. Nima watched as the column of twelve white indicator lights flashed on the control panel. They were clearly labeled, each one for a different area of the park.

“Now Ellie, the red buttons turn on the individual park systems,” Harding explained. “Switch them on.”


As Ellie punched the buttons, they light up. Behind her, she heard the sounds of the mesh door being torn apart, but she tried to stay calm.

She pushed the final button and the fluorescent lights in the maintenance shed came on. When she turned around, the mesh was completely destroyed, but the Troodon were nowhere to be seen. They had fled from the lights. Nima gave a sigh of relief.

“I did it, Harding!” she said into the radio. “I think we’re back in business!”

Then she heard something that made her blood freeze. The shriek of a Velociraptor.

-

“Harding, can you promise me something?” Gerry heard Nima over the radio.

“Is something wrong, Nima? What happened?”

“I have a daughter on the mainland,” Nima explained quickly. “Her name is Atlanta Cruz. She’s staying in a clinic in the fishing village Bahia Anasco with a nurse named Elena Morales. Atlanta is fourteen. I don’t want her working for local cartels, living on the streets, or dealing drugs. Promise me that you’ll find and take care of her.”

“Nima, what is go-”

“Promise me, Harding!”

“Y-yes, I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“Nima, are you in trouble?”

“I’m sorry…”

Gerry then heard something else over the radio. A raptor shrieking. Followed by Nima screaming. Gerry quickly turned the radio off so the others wouldn’t have to heard the rest.

Everyone was silent. Gerry felt tears run down his cheeks. He barely knew Nima, but she had just sacrificed herself for them. She didn’t deserve to die like that.

But he could still honor her sacrifice by calling the mainland for help… and keeping his promise.

In the darkness, the velociraptor feasted on its latest kill, savouring the delicious human meat. All of a sudden, it jerked its head up, having heard a strange sound. It let out a long, low hiss. Its keen scent had picked something up; something it didn't like. The raptor stood to its full height and let out a fearsome screech.

The raptor's shrieks were answered by several clicks. In the shadows, several eyes lit up the darkness. The raptor hissed and pulled its kill away from the eyes so that it could enjoy its meal in peace.

-

Grant started dragging Regis away from the crash. The raptor was ignoring them and was already feeding off somebody, though he couldn't tell who. It must have been one of the maintenance workers. The raptor hissed at the humans trying to get away, but then went back to its kill.

Tim and Lex were crying, terrified.

"Come on," Grant told them. "We have to get out of here."

The kids nodded and followed, putting distance between them and the feeding raptor.