Chapter 14: Taming The Beast

              Tim finally stopped running. Lex was right next to him. Both of them were breathing heavily. Lex looked back.

              "No sign of them," she gasped.

              "Why did you have to slice him up so bad, Lex?" Tim asked.

              She looked Tim in the eye. When it came to Patrick Bodan, Lex wasn't exactly level headed. She felt a lot of hatred toward him. She looked down.

              "He had it coming."

              "Yeah, well maybe that's true. But now Bodan is going to do everything he can to get even with you," Tim pointed out.

              "You think that I don't know that?" Lex snapped. "It was the heat of the moment. I didn't really mean to do that. I just wanted to get away."

              "Well, we can't do anything about it now," Tim said. "Let's try and find somewhere to hide."

              Lex nodded and the two of them continued on.

              As they ran down the dirt maintenance road, Tim noticed cameras, positioned every 50 feet or so. As they would pass them, Tim and Lex would throw rocks at them. They managed to disable about 5 cameras, before stopping to rest again. When they resumed walking, the sound of an approaching helicopter could be heard.

              "Maybe it's a rescue," Tim guessed.

              "I don't know," Lex said.

              It was starting to get dark now, making it easier to see the helicopter. Its lights were illuminating the area. Tim and Lex watched, as the helicopter seemed to concentrate on one certain spot, near the west side of the island.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

              The helicopter pilot was finally able to find the rampaging Baryonyx. He held the helicopter steady, as they hovered over the large beast, with a massive spotlight pointed directly at it. Jacob patiently waited for a perfect shot. The Baryonyx was running down the path, toward the West Coast of the island. As it reached the end of the path, it stopped. Jacob smiled, as he finally lined up the perfect shot. He fired.

              The Baryonyx roared, as it felt the rather large dart pierce its hind leg. It became even more enraged. It began to pace in a circular motion, roaring and stomping.

              Jacob pressed a button on his headset.

              "Bodan. I've hit it once. It's still moving. You want me to hit it again?"

              "Yes. Hit it again," Bodan answered, from the Main Control Room.

              Jacob aimed and, once again, fired at the outraged dinosaur. The dart hit the Baryonyx in the shoulder area. The dinosaur began to move sluggishly, as the tranquilizers slowly started to flow through its bloodstream. It continued to walk, but it was swaying around, as it did so.

              Jacob was satisfied. He relaxed the rifle in his lap.

              "Bodan. It's starting to go down. Two darts seemed to do the trick."

              "Good. Good. Let me know when it's down and out."

              Jacob went back to watching the Baryonyx. The smile on his face, suddenly faded.

              "Oh, shit," he whispered to himself.

              The Baryonyx wasn't walking anymore. It was about to fall over, which was good. The bad thing was that it fell on a nearby building. Not just any building. One of the Computer Control Room buildings. The only computer building on the dinosaur portion of the island. It managed, in just a few seconds, to take out about half of the building.

              "Bodan?" Jacob said into the headset.

              "What the hell happened? We have alarms going off all over the damn place!" Bodan yelled.

              "The Baryonyx just fell into Control Room #3."

              "How's your fuel?" Bodan asked.

              Jacob looked into cockpit.

              "It's sufficient."

              "Good. Stay airborne. I'll get back to you."

              "Okay."

              Bodan turned toward his left. One of the computer programmers was sitting there, typing extremely fast . . . and swearing. Alarms were sounding all around Bodan. He looked at one of the computer screens. There were several blinking read lines scattered throughout the map on the dinosaur side of the island.

              "Daniel, what the hell is going on?" He yelled.

              Daniel Nupin took a break from all the typing. He leaned back in his chair and gave Bodan a look of fear.

              "Mr. Bodan. The Baryonyx caused a power failure in the entire Southern sector of the dinosaur portion."

              Bodan quickly made a mental list of the dinosaurs contained on the Southern sector. Elasmosaurus, Suchomimus, a bunch of herbivores, and Albertosaurus. He knew the herbivores would be the less threatening, of course. And the Suchomimus was very docile. Something had gone wrong in its production, as it never even moved away from the river, that went through the middle of its paddock. That left the Elasmosaurus and the Albertosaurus.

              "Is the underwater barrier out, too?" Bodan asked.

              Daniel went back to typing.

              "Yes, sir. It's out, too. I'm working on restoring it now. The Computer Control Room over on that side only had remote servers in it. This Control Room, and the one to the south of us, are functioning properly. I should be able to reroute some power to, at least, the underwater barriers."

              "How long?"

              "About 15 minutes."

              Bodan went back to talking to Jacob.

              "Jacob, head toward the Albertosaurus paddock. See if you can get that thing tranquilized, before it figures out how to escape."

              "Okay."

              Bodan looked back at Daniel.

              "How long for the fences?"

              Daniel shrugged.

              "Maybe 30 minutes. I don't know how bad the damage is yet."

              "And we need to get the cameras operational again," Bodan added.

              "I'll work on that after the fences, sir," Daniel answered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

              As Tim and Lex were walking, Tim noticed another small building, a short way up the path. They had already passed one maintenance building and passed over a river by crossing a small wooden bridge. They were discussing what they should do next, when the small amount of lights that were present, went out. They both stopped, as they were submerged in blackness.

              "What the?" Tim asked.

              "Maybe we should get inside a building," she looked all around her. "This doesn't seem very good."

              "Good idea."

              They started to run toward the small building ahead of them. After crossing another small wooden bridge to pass another river, they made it to the maintenance building. Tim tried to the door. It was locked, so he began to throw his body weight into the door. It finally opened. They went into the building and Tim shut the door back.

              "Now what?" Tim asked.

              "Now we try to get some sleep and get moving again in the early morning hours," Lex said.

              Tim's eyes were adjusted to the dark now. He looked around the room, for something to sleep on. He found a few blankets and some rain slickers. He spread them out on the floor and sat down. Lex sat next to him.

              "Lex, do you think Grandpa is looking for us yet?"

              Lex thought about it for a few seconds, before answering.

              "I think that he must be. I hope so, anyway."

              "I was supposed to meet with a professor at school tomorrow. About my scholarship and a possible summer position at the museum."

              "I don't think you're going to make that meeting, Tim," Lex said. She laughed.

              "Yeah, me neither," he said, smiling.

              Lex stretched her arms out and yawned.

              "I'm going to sleep. What about you?"

              "Yeah, in a minute," Tim said.

              Lex turned and laid down on her side and closed her eyes. Tim laid down, too. He was very quiet, as he listened to the majestic sounds of the herbivore dinosaurs nearby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

              Bodan looked nervously on, as Daniel continued to type frantically.

              "Well?" He finally asked.

              Daniel typed a few more things, and then he looked at Bodan, and smiled.

              "Got the underwater barriers back online," he said.

              Bodan sighed with relief.

              "Fine job, Daniel. Fine job, indeed," he said.

              Daniel Nupin was the first man that Marcus Envoy had come to, when he was looking for someone to write all the needed programs for his dream park. He was 25 years old now and had blossomed into a brilliant programmer. He had been employed by Biosyn years ago, to decipher all of Dennis Nedry's programming codes. Envoy really didn't care for Biosyn employees, but he had taken a liking to Daniel right away. Unlike most of the Biosyn employees, Daniel was beyond reproach. He had ethics. He was very loyal to his employer. Of course, both his employer, and Marcus Envoy, paid him very handsomely, so the idea of shopping around to get more money from competitors was not necessary. Daniel was in fine physical shape, also. He was a very healthy young man, as well as being a very wealthy young man.

              Bodan was about to ask Daniel about the fences, when he noticed the young programmer staring at one of the many monitors, with a disturbed look on his face.

              "Oh, god. Now what?" Bodan asked.

              "The Elasmosaurus Paddock."

              "What? Spit it out already, Daniel."

              "Two of them are missing. They're not showing up on the scan."

              Bodan slammed his fist down, on a nearby desk.

              "That's not good, Daniel."

              "I know, sir. Do you want me to try and track them?"

              Bodan rolled his eyes.

              "No. Why don't we let them roam free in the Pacific Ocean?" Bodan began to yell. "YES, DANIEL. TRACK THEM!"

              Daniel began to type frantically, once again. Bodan turned the walkie talkie back on.

              "Jacob? We have a situation with the Elasmosaurus Paddock. Can you get over there and search the surrounding ocean for two escaped Plesiosaurs?"

              "I need to land first. Fuel is very low."

              "Well, land at the new helipad to the North. That's the closest one to the Elasmosaurus Paddock."

              "That's affirmative. I'll get over there, ASAP," Jacob said, as the helicopter maneuvered toward the helipad.

Chapter 15: Attack Of The Loch Ness Monster

              The boat slowed down, as it approached the island. Everyone was topside, waiting for Tilk to dock at the planned location. They passed the South Bridge and continued on. As they grew closer, sounds of faint alarms could be heard. There was a helicopter flying around in the distance, as well. The helicopter lights went off suddenly and it landed somewhere to the north.

              "You think they know we're here?" Ian asked Craig.

              "No. The sirens are coming from inside the island. If they had seen us, the sirens would have been much louder. I think they're having trouble on that island," he answered.

              Ellie heard some kind of strange splashing noise. She looked to the left, and then behind the boat. She heard the splashing again. She glanced at Alan, and made her way to the back of the boat. Alan followed her. As they reached the back, he came up next to her.

              "What is it?" He asked.

              Ellie was looking out to sea. She couldn't see anything and the splashing noise was gone, too.

              "I don't really know," she said. "I thought I heard something . . . out there." She gestured toward the open ocean.

              Alan was about to say something, when another splashing noise was heard, followed by a hissing sound.

              "See. There it is again!" Ellie said.

              Pete appeared next to them. Alan looked at him.

              "Did you hear that?" Alan asked.

              "Yes, I did," Pete said.

              Ellie shivered.

              "Something is out there and it's very close," she whispered.

              As she finished her sentence, the back of the boat was rammed by something very large. It hit the boat with such force, that Alan, Ellie and Pete were thrown to the deck. Water rushed onto the deck, as the three of them fell.

              Before Ian or Craig could respond, the front of the boat, where they still were, was rammed. Craig was standing very close to the edge. The unexpected jarring caused him to fall over the side. He managed to grab onto the hand railing and scream for help. Ian quickly got to him and held onto Craig, as he saw Tilk coming from the pilot house. Tilk quickly ran to the railing and grabbed the collar on the back of Craig's shirt. He pulled hard, lifting him up and over the railing. As he was pulling him back, the unknown creature shot out of the water and snatched up Craig in its jaws. It easily pulled Craig from Tilk's grasp and pulled the unlucky man back over the railing.

              It was too dark to see much of anything. Ian and Tilk peered into the blackness, trying to see what had happened to Craig.

              "CRAIG?" Ian yelled.

              "PARKER!" Tilk yelled.

              There was total blackness, accompanied by total silence.

              Alan had hit his head on something, in the fall. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He found Ellie, and helped her up. They ran toward the front of the boat, toward Ian and Tilk. Pete was right behind them. Alan reached Ian.

              "What happened?"

              "Something grabbed Craig. Dragged him under," Ian answered.

              Ian was carefully leaning over the railing, searching for any signs of Craig. Alan cleared his throat, to get his attention.

              "Leaning might not be the best idea."

              Ian looked at him. As he did, the creature emerged, once again. Its head appeared right in front of Ian. Ellie was the first person to see the creature.

              "Get out of the way!" She yelled.

              Ian instantly dropped to the deck, followed closely by Alan doing the same. Pete ran to the cabin for a weapon. Tilk had grabbed one of the spotlights, and was pointing it in the direction of the commotion. The creature was finally revealed.

              "It's some sort of Plesiosaur," Alan said, still kneeling down, hiding behind the railing.

              The creature's extremely long neck danced up and down in the spotlight. There was blood present on its jaw. As the light shined in its eyes, it became very agitated and began to hiss. Its long neck stretched over the railing, allowing it to snap its jaws at the people on the boat.

              Alan and Ian quickly crawled toward the safety of the cabin. Ellie was already just about there. She kept looking back to make sure Alan and Ian were coming.

              Tilk was still holding the spotlight on the Elasmosaurus. It was making the creature angry, but it was also making the creature temporarily blind. Tilk started to back away, toward the cabin. As he did so, the Elasmosaurus reached past the spotlight and latched onto Tilk's arm, pulling him toward the dark ocean. Tilk yelled, as he dropped the spotlight on the deck.

              Alan was crawling right behind Ian. Tilk was dragged right past them. Ian stopped, but Alan yelled to him.

              "Go, go! I'll try to get him!"

              Ian nodded and continued to crawl.

              Alan turned around and grabbed Tilk's leg, in an attempt to pull him back the other way. Tilk grunted in agony, as the creature and Alan played tug of war with him. It didn't take Alan long to realize that it wasn't working. The Elasmosaurus was much stronger than he was. He let Tilk go and tried something different. He stood up and ran around Tilk, to get a good look at how it was holding the mercenary. It had a vice-like grip on Tilk's arm and its body was up, about half way on the boat, making the boat sway that way. Alan grabbed the spotlight, that was still on, and began to strike the eyes of the creature repeatedly. Tilk was almost to the railing now and was rapidly giving up hope.

              The Elasmosaurus finally let out a cry, allowing Tilk to get free. He quickly hit the deck and began to crawl toward the cabin. Alan smiled, as he dropped to the deck, too. As he was crawling, he felt the creature grab his lower pant leg. The good news was that it didn't pierce his skin, but the bad news was that he was being rapidly pulled toward the railing.

              Ellie was happy to see that Alan was able to save Tilk, but her happiness quickly faded. She ran from the cabin, as Alan was being helplessly pulled to his death. Pete was right behind her, with a rifle in hand. He raised the rifle, aimed, and fired . . . and hit the creature. The Elasmosaurus quickly retracted its neck and went back toward the safety of the water. Pete was able to hit it two more times, but it continued to flee. It also continued to take Alan with it. He kept kicking at it, with his free leg, but it wasn't helping. Ellie was just about to him, when she slipped in the water, that was all over the deck. She slid right past Alan. He was able to reach out and stop her from flying off the deck. They managed to share a quick glance, as the Elasmosaurus pulled Alan from the deck, and into the darkness below.

              Ellie picked up another spotlight, that had been hanging near the railing, and watched, as Alan hit the ocean and disappeared under the dark water.

              "ALAN!" She yelled, half crying.

              Pete ran up, right beside her, ready to shoot at the creature. The water was perfectly still, though. There was nothing to shoot at. Ellie started to quietly sob, as she realized she had, most likely, looked at Alan for the last time. She seriously thought about jumping in after him. That thought quickly faded away, as she thought about her children.

              Ian appeared on the other side of Ellie. He put a hand on her shoulder. They continued to watch the water, as if some miracle would happen and Alan would reappear.

              Tilk had made his way to the pilot house. He started the boat and began to steer it in a circular direction, trying to find Alan . . . or Craig. Ellie was still pointing the spotlight at the water, and Pete was still aiming the rifle in that same direction. Ellie began to yell again.

              "Alan? A L A N ?"

              There was still no sign of him. The boat went in two wide circles, with no result. Ellie was not coping very well. Ian kept trying to calm her down, but she would just slap his hand away. She had been overwhelmed with sadness, at first, but now she was growing more and more angry. She stood in silence, getting ready to explode, at any second. Her thoughts were interrupted by some movement, close to the rear of the boat.

              Ellie ran to the back of the boat. Ian and Pete followed her. She aimed the spotlight into the water, hoping to see the impossible. It wasn't what she had expected. The Elasmosaurus had floated to the top of the water. It appeared to be dead. Ellie's hope was renewed, as she desperately looked for Alan. They all looked for signs of Alan or Craig. Nothing. Ellie was about to give up hope, when she was sure that she heard Alan's voice. She looked at Ian.

              "Did you hear that?"

              "Hear what?"

              "It was Alan. I heard him," she said.

              Ian shook his head.

              "I didn't hear anything," Ian said, trying to prepare her for the worst. "Ellie, Alan is probably gone. Your mind is just playing tricks on you."

              Ellie waved him off, frowning at him.

              "I heard him, Ian. I know I did."

              "I'm sure you thought you did, but---"

              Ian was cut off by a familiar voice, very near the island shore. He smiled, allowing his gaze to follow the voice. Ellie aimed the spotlight toward the voice. Alan Grant was on the shore of the island, yelling to them. He was on the dinosaur portion of the island. He was standing close to the maintenance building that they had planned to take over.

              Ellie was so happy to hear and see him, that she nearly passed out. Ian held onto her, as the two of them waved the spotlight in the air, to let Alan know they had spotted him.

              "Hey, stop waving that light around. Someone from the island might see that," Pete said.

              "Oh, right. Sorry," Ian said, as he lowered the spotlight that Ellie was still holding.

              Pete saw Alan.

              "Tilk. Get us to the island. Grant is already over there," he yelled, pointing toward Alan.

              Tilk nodded and the boat moved in that direction. As they got closer, Ellie heard that same splashing noise, that she had heard before.

              "Oh, no," she whispered.

              Ian had heard it, too. He and Ellie quickly went back to the back of the boat. She aimed the spotlight down. The dead carcass was still floating on top of the water. Ellie and Ian looked at each other in bewilderment. It didn't take long to figure out what was going on.

              A much bigger Elasmosaurus shot out of the water, about half of its 40-foot body landing on the boat. The boat instantly tilted to the left, and began to tip over. Ian grabbed Ellie, and the two of them ran to the other side of the boat and jumped out to the ocean. They made for the shore on the smaller, computer portion of the island.

              Pete had immediately begun firing at the enormous creature, but this bigger Elasmosaurus was too angry to be stopped. It had witnessed its offspring killed by the 50-foot boat and, now, it was seeking revenge on the strange looking object. It wasn't much interested in the people, only the boat, at this point.

              Tilk had tried to turn the boat, as the creature attacked, but he was knocked off his feet and thrown to the floor. He hit his head on the small table bolted to the floor, and was knocked unconscious.

              The boat hadn't been very far from the shore, so Ian and Ellie were almost there. Alan was watching, from the dinosaur portion. He was watching and hoping they would safely get to the shore. He was relieved, when he saw them get to the shore, unharmed.

              Pete wasn't as lucky. The boat had flipped all the way over now, spilling him into the ocean. The Elasmosaurus had moved away from the boat, as it flipped, waiting to see if it had defeated it. Pete was under the water, looking around. The spotlight was free floating underwater and it was still on, making the area under the water look very menacing. He was holding his breath and fighting panic, as he searched for the underwater creature. He didn't see it, so he began to quickly kick to the surface. The last thing that Pete saw, as he glanced to his left, was the wide-open jaws of the Elasmosaurus coming at him. He screamed, but, for obvious reasons, no one could hear him. It crunched down around his mid-section. Suddenly, Pete couldn't scream anymore. He was out of breath and was, now, in two pieces. The sensation of having no legs, drifted away quickly, as the Elasmosaurus came in for the final kill.

              Alan shouted to Ellie and Ian.

              "Are you guys all right?"

              "Yeah, we're good," Ian shouted, giving Alan the thumbs up sign.

              Alan looked around, trying to figure out what to do. It was fairly obvious now, that all three of the mercenaries were probably dead. He looked past the shore and saw a dirt road. He was pretty sure of his whereabouts, but what about Ellie and Ian? He thought about swimming to them, but with the Elasmosaurus out there in the open ocean, that would be suicide.

              "Let's try and meet at the lab!" He shouted. He tried to remember where the mercenaries had said the lab was located. "It's on the east coast, on my side!"

              "Okay!" Ellie shouted. "The lab! We'll meet you there. At first light!"

              Alan nodded and watched Ellie and Ian walk away from the shore. He stood there, by himself, for a few minutes, and then he walked toward the dirt road.

Chapter 16: Dinosaur Information 101

              Ellie and Ian made their way to some offices. Ian walked up to the closest office, office #10, and tried the door. It was unlocked. He looked at Ellie. She nodded. He pushed the door open and they went inside. Ian quietly closed the door, as Ellie began to wonder around the office. Ian found the light switch and turned it on. There wasn't much in there. There was one computer and a room full of file cabinets. While Ellie sat at the computer to see what she could find, Ian began to open the file cabinets. Most of them were empty, but he was able to find scattered papers in a few of them. He rummaged through them, looking to see if they were anything of importance.

              Ellie turned on the computer. It beeped several times, and then a login screen appeared. Ellie was about to type something in, when she decided not to.

              "Why aren't you typing? We might be able to find something out, about this place," Ian asked.

              "If I try to log in, we'll probably be discovered," she said.

              Ian smiled.

              "Yeah, good point. You know, Ellie. You're not only beautiful, you're intelligent, too."

              "Thank you," Ellie said, dismissing his complements.

              "Those happen to be the exact two traits that I look for in a woman"

              "That's nice, Ian," she said, shaking her head. "Just look through the rest of the cabinets, will ya?"

              Ian laughed.

              "Okay, okay. I'm not giving up that easily though. I just want to warn you."

              Ellie didn't respond this time. She just laughed, as she went to the other side of the room to open the file cabinets over there. She found nothing of importance.

              "Ian, let's try another office."

              "Okay."

              Ellie walked to the office door, opened it, and peered outside. There was no one there, so she stepped back outside and went to the next office, office #8. Ian followed her. She opened the door and went inside. Ian shut the door and smiled at her.

              "Did I mention that I love a woman who takes charge?"

              Ellie rolled her eyes and shook her head.

              "You look over there," she said, pointing. "I'll look over here."

              "Yes, boss," Ian said, smiling.

              Ellie shrugged him off, and began to open file cabinets. To her delight, one of the cabinets was stocked full with folders. She took some of them out and began to read through them. Ian was still rambling on, as he looked through the cabinets on his side.

              "You know, Ellie. What if Alan isn't the right guy for you? He's very boring, you know. Don't you want a man who is, uh, . . . unboring . . . and . . . taller. How about taller? That's a good trait to---"

              "Look! I found something!" Ellie said, cutting him off.

              Ian straightened up and walked to her side of the office.

              "Oh, good, good. What did you find?"

              "Lab notes about the dinosaurs," Ellie said, as she continued reading. "There are about 15 species on this island. Mostly carnivorous, from what I see here."

              "I guess Envoy didn't want to disappoint the guests who wanted to see the big and bad dinos."

              Ellie stared at him for a minute, and then she spoke.

              "What did you say?"

              "I said that I guess Envoy didn't want---"

              "No, not that. Before that. What did you say about Alan?"

              "Oh, that. Nothing," Ian said, smiling.

              Ellie smiled back.

              "Ian. I'm not with Alan. I'm getting a divorce. I'm going to be on my own . . . for a while."

              "Hey! So there's a chance for me then?" Ian joked.

              "Never mind," she said. "Just come here and read this."

              Ian and Ellie sat on the floor, with a barrage of papers scattered all around. They read through most of the notes, and then Ian came upon a journal in one of the folders. He opened it, and they began to read journal entries.

Baryonyx (BX). One produced. BX doesn't behave normally. Has some sort of brain malfunction. I told Mr. Envoy that it should be destroyed, but he insisted on keeping it, until another BX is produced.

Megalodon (MEG). Two produced. Smaller of the two is somewhat baffled by the UnderWater Viewing Area in the Visitors Center. Once, it rammed into the reinforced glass, while a worker was painting the area. The worker quit the next day. Larger of the two keeps to itself mostly, although it is very protective of its smaller counterpart.

Elasmosaurus (EL). Four produced. One birthed in captivity, 6 months ago. EL's are very aggressive, especially the first one produced. The first one is also the birth mother of the infant EL.

Suchomimus (SU). One produced. Very docile. Too docile. Hoped this would be a vicious dinosaur. Produced instead of the Spinosaurus. Never leaves the safety of the river. Eats fish only. Will not eat provided food, such as goats and cows. I would like to destroy this dinosaur, and replace it with something different. Maybe Dilophosaurus (DL). Mr. Envoy said no, but I am still in the process of secretly producing DL's in the lab.

Velociraptor (VEL). Twelve produced. Very intelligent, as foreseen. Not violent toward one another, like Hammond's VEL's. All twelve work very well together, during feedings. Electric fence needed to be extended over the top of the area, as the VEL's were working together, in an attempt to get up and over the fence. All day and night long, they attempt to break free of their paddock.

Pterodactyl (PT). Four produced. PT's are the newest production. I'm not all that familiar with them, as they act very differently from Pteranodons (PN). They are lighter than the bigger PN's, and therefore, much faster. They don't seem to like many foods. Only food that has been blended into a very gross paste.

Albertosaurus (AL). One produced. More to come. The AL is an exceptional dinosaur species. I have always wanted to observe this species, and now I have finally been granted the opportunity. Its visual acuity is much greater than that of the Tyrannosaurus Rex (TREX). It can actually track objects that are hardly moving. Once it snatched up an unfortunate worker that was planting trees in its paddock. The worker had believed the dinosaur had been tranquilized, but he was sorely misinformed. He had stood still, but the AL was still able to get him, because of the uncontrollable shaking the man was doing.

Tyrannosaurus Rex (TREX). Three produced. This was the first species produced for Mr. Envoy's new island. It should prove to be the crowd favorite, as most people know what it looks and acts like. Nothing unusual to report at this time, about TREX. All three are fine, healthy specimens of the Tyrant Lizard.

              Ellie shook her head.

              "What in the hell were these people thinking? Why would anyone want to knowingly produce potentially dangerous creatures?"

              "I don't know. That's why we're here. To stop them . . . and to rescue some innocent bystanders," Ian said, still holding the journal.

              "Whose journal is that? Does it say?" Ellie asked.

              Ian turned to the inside cover. He read the name to himself.

              "I'll be damned," he said.

              "What? Who is it?"

              "Henry Wu."

              Ellie knew the same sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

              "Who?"

              "Dr. Henry Wu. Hammond's old chief geneticist. Remember him?" Ian did his best imitation of Dr. Wu. " . . . all the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park are female . . . blah, blah, blah . . . "

              Ellie laughed.

              "Oh, yes. I remember him," Ellie said, thinking about it. "Why do you think he would want to work here?"

              "He probably jumped at the chance to observe all the new species of dinosaurs here. Probably got paid a whole lot, too," Ian said.

              Ellie was reading another file, while Ian was talking. She became serious again.

              "Well, I don't think he'll be spending any of that money."

              "Why? What did you find?" Ian asked.

              Ellie handed him the paper. It was a death notice. Ian read it out loud.

              "Isla Norte Public Relations. Dr. Henry Wu passed away today. He was 41 years old. He had an unfortunate accident with one of the attractions in the lab."

              "Why would they even put that on paper? Why would they want evidence of it happening?"

              "It looks like this office was abandoned quite a while ago, Ellie. They probably don't even know this paper exists. Or any of these papers, for that matter."

              "Well, we need to save these papers, and that journal. They all prove what's been happening here."

              "Any ideas where?" Ian asked.

              Ellie thought about it. She couldn't think of a good place, either.

              "I don't know. Can't you think of something?" She challenged.

              "Okay, okay. Give me the folders. I'll secure them in my inside jacket pocket."

              Ellie put all the needed papers and the journal into one of the folders. She handed it to Ian. He folded it slightly and put it in his jacket. He looked around the room.

              "I think we should wait out the rest of the night here."

              Ellie looked at him for a second. She wasn't sure if he was being sincere, or just trying to hit on her again. She decided that it didn't matter. Staying where they were was the best idea, either way.

              "Yeah, I agree," she said. She saw him smile and take a few steps toward her. "You sleep over there. I'll sleep over here."

              Ian smiled. It was at that moment, when he knew Ellie would never be interested in him. It's not like he couldn't figure that one out right away. He had just never given it much thought. He wasn't Alan Grant, so he didn't have a chance. He decided to stop the advances toward her, since she genuinely seemed to be uncomfortable with his playful teasing.

              "Uh, Ellie. Can we call a truce?"

              Ellie looked relieved.

              "That would be nice."

              "Okay, then. A truce it is. Good night."

              "Good night, Ian," Ellie said, smiling.

              The two of them laid down, on opposite sides of the small office.

© 2002 by Yvonne Bartha