Chapter 9

 

 

Alan didn’t know how to start…what was he supposed to say. He had been lying to everyone for the last year or so and now he had to come clean about the mistake he made. Part of him was telling him to run…run far away and hope that this entire situation was a dream. While the other part was telling him to tell the truth, they would listen and in all likelihood they would even forgive him.

 

“Alan?” Ellie calling his name pulled Alan out of his trance.

 

“I’m working with Radcliffe,” Alan replied quietly.

 

The group looked at him in shock. Here was a guy who came to this park and fought for his life. He later on made a promise to never ever return to the island or to have anything to do with helping dinosaurs become an attraction. Well, it didn’t surprise Ellie that Alan didn’t keep his promise, he had returned to the island with the Kirby’s and now for God knows how long he had been working with the enemy to reopen the park.

 

“Why?” Malcolm asked, angered.

 

“I needed the money and Radcliffe offered me the cash, saying that it was from Mr. Hammond. If I agreed to help him, then I would receive enough money to further my dig sites. So I agreed, and in the beginning it seemed possible and then one day I realized what a mistake it was and that the experiment wasn’t going to be successful no matter what I did. So I went to tell Radcliffe and he told me flat out I was under contract.” Alan took a deep breath before continuing on. “He tricked you guys to the island, to use you as bait in order for me to follow and then he could get the information he needed from me.” Alan finished with a sigh.  

 

“I thought we were doing this as a favor to John,” Ellie stated.

 

“Mr. Hammond has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease,” Alan replied with sorrow.

 

“No, he hasn’t,” Lex and Tim shouted in response.

 

“When was the last time you visited your grandfather?” Alan asked strictly.

 

“Six months ago or more, we talked to him on the phone, though,” Lex replied.

 

“Lex…Radcliffe has been putting words into your grandfather's mouth, what he told you over the phone was all a lie. Did he ask you to come to the island over the phone?” Alan asked.

 

“Yes” Tim whispered.

 

“So this is all your fault?” Lex asked angrily.

 

“No,” Alan murmured.

 

“Yes it is. If you hadn’t bothered to do business with that asshole then we wouldn’t be here. Instead we would be with our grandfather…and families. But no, here we are once again running for our lives,” Lex shrieked.

 

“You wanted to come here, you volunteered. I didn’t force any of you. So don’t you dare try to blame this on me,” Alan shouted back, as he felt his temper rising fast.

 

“No, Alan. We are here because of you. It was your experiment and paper work that brought us here. We were asked to finish what you started, in order to make the park safer. We never knew the person who came up with B.C.D, but we figure he had to know our grandfather. But, not even in my wildest dreams would I ever believe that you were the one behind it all,” Lex said tearfully before turning around and heading into the jungle.

 

“Dr. Grant, as far as I’m concerned, you’re the enemy, not Mr. Radcliffe. Lex wait,” Tim said as he ran after his sister.

 

“You guys going to leave, too?” Alan asked the rest of the group angrily.

 

“Don’t take your aggravation out on us,” Malcolm replied.

 

“Go to hell, Ian,” Alan shot back. He was tired of this whole situation. “See what you made me do?  I told you it wasn’t any of your business, Ellie. But no, you just had to know. Why don’t you just get the hell away from me? Head back to your family, they need you… I don’t,” Alan said furiously.

 

“No problem, Alan. But just so you know, I didn’t come back to just help the children. I came back because of you,” Ellie stated tearfully.

 

“What?” Alan asked surprisingly.

 

“I’m still in love with you. I got a divorce and came looking for you, but now I’m not sure if you're even the same Alan Grant that I feel in love with all those years ago,” Ellie said sobbing.

 

“You're right, I’m not the same person,” Alan said maliciously.

 

“Bastard,” Ellie shouted and headed into the jungle. Malcolm and Sarah followed her silently, making sure not to make eye contact with Alan.

 

“Fine leave, see if I come to save your ass next time,” Alan yelled but he knew they wouldn’t come back.

 

He slumped down on a nearby log. Closing his eyes, he tired to control his temper. He knew there was only one thing he could do and that wasn’t going to be pleasant. He raised his head up to look at the sky.

 

“Forgive me, God,” Alan whispered.

 

 

 

Meanwhile…

 

Ellie, Malcolm, and Sarah were hurrying to catch up with Lex and Tim. Ellie felt betrayed and was talking out loud to everyone that was around her.

 

“How could he, doesn’t he know what he has done. And to think we have been trying to stop a project he created in the first place,” Ellie stuttered. “God I hate him.”

 

“No, you don’t Ellie, you’re just mad at him. I would be too if it wasn’t for…” Malcolm started to say but stopped.

 

“If it wasn’t for?” Ellie questioned.

 

“If it wasn’t for him, then we wouldn’t be here and neither would the children. No matter how you look at it, Alan did save our lives and I highly doubt that the man we just saw and the one that we know are two different people,” Malcolm explained kindly.

 

“When did you become such a sweet talker?” Ellie said calmly as she stopped to look at him.

 

“Came with age,” Malcolm said with a grin.

 

“Now you see why I love him,” Sarah replied as she gave Malcolm a quick kiss on the cheek before heading off towards the direction in which the kids were running.

 

“I hope you’re right. I hope to God you’re right,” Ellie said as she looked at Malcolm one more time before following Sarah.

 

“I am,” Malcolm said silently to himself.

 

The three of them finally caught up with the kids near a small river. Lex wasn’t crying anymore, instead she was just sitting at the edge of the water staring off into space. Tim noticed the three of them and walked over.

 

“She isn’t talking, and that is never a good sign,” Tim stated.

 

“Why?” Sarah asked.

 

“Because as long as I can remember, when she doesn’t talk that means she is beyond being anger or very depressed and I speak from experience,” Tim said with a grin.

 

“Why don’t we let her cool off for a while, then we will find a way out of here,” Ellie said as she walked over to Lex and sat down.

 

“Hey, Lex…you don’t mind me calling you that do you?” Ellie asked as she looked at Lex.

 

“No, my friends call me it…and I still consider some people in this group friends,” Lex said quietly.

 

“Can I tell you something, privately,” Ellie asked, Lex nodded her head yes.

 

“Alan can be a scum, but most the time he is the man you first met. He just goes through these periods in which his excavations are more important than anything else in the world. I remember I once asked him how far would he go to have money to fund them and he told me he would sell his soul for the money. I never thought he would go through with it, but in this case he did. However, Malcolm is right, somewhere beneath all the lies is the man that rescued you and the man that I love.”

 

“You still love him?” Lex asked shocked.

 

Ellie nodded her head.

 

“Then why did you marry that other guy?” Lex asked quietly.

 

“Because every once in a while people do dumb things,” Ellie said with a smile.

 

“I know that…I’ve done some dumb thing also.”

 

“Ellie, we should get going,” Malcolm stated as he looked at the sky.

 

“Yeah,” Ellie agreed as she rose to her feet and then offered a hand to Lex.

 

The group started their march north, just as the clouds started to build up above them. The smell of rain hung heavily in the air and the only sound other than the jungle was the cracking of branches and leaves as their feet walked down a covered path that once looked to be open.

 

 

 

Across the island

 

Alan was cussing silently to himself, he hated it when it rained. The rain always made him cold and not to mention it always destroyed his digs sites. And here he was once again walking by himself, heading towards a place that would lead to no good. But he had to finish what he started once and for all. As he reached the visitor station he took a deep breath before pushing on the door.

 

“Hello,” Alan called out to the abandon room.

 

“Dr. Grant,” said a tall dark man carrying a rifle.

 

“Yes,” Alan said unevenly. The man motioned him to follow. Alan took a deep breath and forced himself to follow the man. 

 

Alan was led down a dark corridor,  one he didn’t remember from the first time he was here, but then again it was dark inside the entire building so that could explain everything. He could see a light in the distance and hear a voice but it was barely audible.  The light became brighter as did the sound of the voice. He watched as the man opened the door. He signaled Alan to wait outside.

 

“Sir, Dr Grant is here,” the man said firmly.

 

“Send him in,” said Radcliffe. Alan entered the lit room and was rewarded with more guns pointed at him.

 

“Forgive me for the extra protection. I can’t seem to trust you or your friends at the moment,” Radcliffe stated.

 

“They’re not here, just me,” Alan replied.

 

“Good.”

 

“I want to make a deal. I’ll give you all the information I have and work with you to solve the final problems. The only thing you need to do is let the rest of my friends go.”

 

“Like I said before, I can’t do that. I think they are worth too much. However I’m a very compromising man, how about I let everyone go except Ellie and when you finish your work then she can go.”

 

“No. I don’t trust you with her, how can I be sure that you won’t hurt her if the experiment fails.”

 

“You can’t, but right now it is all you got. Put him in the room,” Radcliffe said to his men.

 

 

 

Back on the island

 

“Dammit, Malcolm where are you leading us,” Ellie yelled as it poured down rain.

 

“I have no clue,” Malcolm shouted over the sound as he looked at Ellie.

 

“We need to find shelter before dark comes,” Tim stated.

 

“Wait…if I remember correctly we should be not far away from the visitor station. Tim, what do you think?” Lex asked as she stood next to Tim.

 

“I’m not sure, but at the moment it is our only hope,” Tim replied with a shiver.

 

“Lex,  take the lead,” Ellie said as she looked around her surroundings.

 

The rain came down in sheets; the path was unidentifiable and muddy. With each step they took, the harder it was for them to pull their foot out of the mud. The wind had come up and between the rain and wind it felt as if they were going nowhere. Finally through the branches, Lex saw the outline of an unmistakable building. She motioned to the group to speed up. As they reached the door they saw it was ajar.

 

“Should we go in?” Lex asked.

 

“It’s shelter, we’ll deal with anything that comes our way,” Malcolm chattered.

 

They entered the room slowly and to their surprise there was no hints of dinosaurs, but rather the smell of a dusty and abandoned building. The room was dark and even though the sun was still up, the clouds had taken away any light that would have helped them see their surroundings. Suddenly there was a bright light shining in their faces. The group slung their arms over their eyes to shield the brightness.

 

“Look who we have here gentlemen. The rest of the group,” Radcliffe said.

 

“What are you doing here?” Malcolm asked angrily as his eyes adjusted to the light.

 

“Staying dry, my friend,” Radcliffe smirked.

 

“We’re not your friends,” Ellie retorted.

 

“Maybe, but we do have one thing in common,” Radcliffe replied.

 

“What, brains? If that is the answer then you're wrong since the evidence shows you weren’t born with one,” Lex stated.

 

“Cute,” Radcliffe laughed.

 

“What do you want?” Ellie asked annoyed.

 

“Why don’t you follow me and I’ll show you,” Radcliffe said as he offered his arm to Ellie.

 

“Go to hell,” Ellie spat.

 

“Okay, then why don’t I bring him to you…even though any more damage might cause more harm,” Radcliffe replied.

 

“You have Alan” Ellie stammered.   

 

“Yes, but if you don’t want to come with me, then I’ll just have my guards forcefully bring him out,” Radcliffe said with a grin.

 

“No, we will follow you,” Ellie said as she walked up to him. “Won’t we.”

 

The group followed Radcliffe as he led them down a different corridor. When he finally came to a room, he turned and looked at the group.

 

“He should wake up shortly and then we will all make an agreement,” Radcliffe stated as he opened the door.

 

The room was dark, but from what they could see it looked to be a small break room. There were tables, couches and a fridge. Ellie allowed her eyes to search the room until they came to rest upon a figure on the couch. She knew it was Alan, but she also knew he was unconscious. She ran over to him, the group not far behind. As she knelt down next to him, she heard the door close behind her and the key locking it.

 

“Alan, wake up,” Ellie said quietly as she shook him ever so lightly.

 

“Ellie, I think they knocked him unconscious. There is a huge bump and dry blood on the back of his neck,” Sarah stated as she looked at the back of Alan's neck.

 

“Alan, listen to me, you need to wake up and soon,” Ellie said quietly as the storm above them escalated.