> Jurassic Park: Site Pony > by walk-in closet brony > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Life finds a way..." Twilight Sparkle "Y'know Twilight, if you keep yourself pent up in this library all day your gonna forget to eat again and then I'm going to have to force feed you... again!" Scolded Spike. The curious purple mare, eyes bloodshot after days of reading The Unicorns Guide to Teleportation, barely acknowledged her assistant. Instead, she kept her mind focused on the task at hoof. Over twenty especially large tomes sat in an organized chaos surrounding Twilight as she read through each one over and over again at an astounding speed trying to perfect her teleportation skills. She had started out small, working on basic distancing techniques to perfect her ability to accurately transfer from one spot to another. She then moved on to more advanced practice, teleporting at varied distances to test her limits. So far, she had reached a precise distance of forty feet before she could go no further without ending up somewhere she didn't want to be. "Are you even listening to me?" Asked the purple dragon. Twilight perked her head up, finishing a large passage focused primarily on teleportation during different climates. "Huh? Oh, yeah of course Spike. Uh... what were you saying again?" Asked Twilight in a daze. Her assistant face-palmed and opened up the front door to the library, letting in light Twilight hadn't seen in days. "Ah! Spike, shut the door please!" The mare said, shielding her eyes. "Twilight, you're supposed to meet Rarity and Fluttershy at the spa today. Remember?" Spike exclaimed. "Oh yeah, that was today wasn't it?" Said Twilight. Reminding herself that friends were more important than a simple magic spell, Twilight sat up and began stacking the books back up in alphabetical order. After all, friendship always came before studies. "Well, I'm gonna head out. Rarity wanted me to watch Opalescence while she was gone." Spike said with a goofy grin. On that note, Spike gleefully skipped into town, leaving Twilight to herself. "Heh, that dragon. Honestly, he would jump off a cliff for that mare." Twilight noted with a smirk. Resuming the cleanup, Twilight began employing her newly gained skills into the chore. She would teleport to one pile of books and stack them and once that was done, she would repeat the process. Finally winding down to the last few tomes, Twilight didn't bother to teleport to the next pile seeing as though they sat only a few feet away. "I guess that does it- WHOA!" Twilight tripped and landed face first on the floor. Groaning, she sat up and surveyed the wooden floor for the culprit. Gazing at the dusty lump of literature on her carpet, Twilight levitated the tome that she had so foolishly stepped on to her face. Dusting off the cover, she read the title aloud to herself. "Huh? The Multiverse: Knowledge of Teleporting and Beyond." This must have been one of the many books loaned to her by Celestia herself, one of the many perks to being the personal protégé of the princess of Equestria. The Canterlot library housed many interesting texts, but this one was quite alien to her. In all her time spent in the library, never once had she come across this book. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to read a couple more paragraphs before I leave..." Said Twilight. With a devious grin she flipped open the book and read earnestly, absorbing the knowledge laid out in front of her. Gerry Harding "But daaaaaaaaaad!" Whined Jessica, Gerry Harding's daughter. Gerry shut the box of Cocoa Crunchies and sat down to eat his cereal with a resounding thud. "No means no Jess, and that's final. I'm not letting you go see a punk rock band with a bunch of hoodlums." He chastised. "Dad! C'mon, I totally survived an island full of dinosaurs! I'm pretty sure I can handle myself at a concert." Said Jessica, crossing her arms in frustration. Gerry gave his daughter an irritated look and spoke as such. "That does not count. You almost got killed a number of times and plus, I was with you more than half of the time!" Gerry pointed out. Defeated, Jessica slid down into her chair and scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal. She hated oatmeal. Ring Ring! "I'll get it." Said Gerry, getting up from the table and answering the phone. "Hello?" A worried, feminine voice crackled through the receiver. "Is this Mr. Harding? Gerry Harding?" It asked. "Um, yes. Yes it is." Answered Gerry. "This is Doctor Ellie Sattler. I believe we've already met." Harding gasped. One of the survivors of Isla Nublar! "Dear god, of course I remember you miss Sattler. You helped me tend the Triceratops in the field before it all went down." Said Gerry. "I'm glad you got off the island alright. Listen, we need to talk." Sattler spoke cautiously. "Sure, whatever you need." Said Gerry. There was a short pause, a hesitation in her voice, and then she spoke in a quiet tone. "It's about the park. It's about Hammond..." Gerry donned a look of worry. "Oh no. What's happened this time?" He asked. "You're aware of the incident with site B right?" She said. "Yeah... that crazy mathematician visited the place with his girlfriend or something. Shit hit the fan is what I heard. Rex got loose in San Diego, public went haywire. Still can't believe that they bought the explanation the media gave them." Said Gerry. "Yes, doctor Malcolm did run into trouble with some surviving dinos. We still don't know how they made it out but we're glad they did. Anyways, something has come up..." Sattler trailed off. "What?" Gerry was determined to get right to the point. "Hammond has gone to another island off the coast of Baja California. Before he went, he consulted doctor Grant about a developing situation there and asked if he would accompany him. Naturally, Alan refused but Hammond went anyway. We haven't heard from him in three weeks. Neither from him or the expedition he took in." Said Ellie. "Oh god, not again..." Gerry gasped. "I know, we need your help though Dr. Harding. You're an expert in this field of science. We could really use you when we go looking for those people." Said Sattler. "You know I don't work for Ingen anymore. I quit after Isla Nublar." Gerry exclaimed. "This isn't funded by Ingen. It's just going to be me, you, doctor Grant, and few others." She said. Gerry sighed. He had a daughter. He couldn't just leave her. "Listen miss Sattler, I'd love to take you up on your wild goose chase but I have a kid I need to look after for the weekend. This is pretty much the only time I get to see her. Plus, I'd rather not have another run-in with a freaking Velociraptor." "I understand. It was a long shot from the start. Sorry for bothering you Mr. Harding." Said Ellie. Hanging up the phone, Gerry stood next to the counter and pondered his decision. If Hammond was interested in another god damn island, then that meant dinosaurs were most likely involved. Crazy bastard. But the prospect that Hammond had brought along a consortium to follow him in was just suicide. Plus, Sattler and Grant were going in. If anything happened to them, he would carry the guilt on his shoulders for a long time knowing that he could have done something about it, but didn't. Silently, Gerry cursed himself and picked up the phone. Pressing the redial button, he waited as the dial tone rang in his ears. "Hello?" Gerry gulped, struggling to get the words out of his mouth at first. "Dr. Sattler, I've decided to reconsider your offer..." Authors note: This story will contain elements from the first two movies and the game by Telltale studios. It takes place after the second movie and negates the third. Meaning, Hammond didn't die as he did in the book and the third movie never happened. (Even though it was pretty bad-ass) > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Louis Dodgson "That fucking idiot!" Said Louis Dodgson, throwing his coffee mug into the wall. The resounding smash startled Dodgson's colleague and right-hand-man, Gordon Bennett. Flinching from the broken fragments on the floor, Bennett stood up from his chair and approached his business partner. "Jesus Christ Lou, calm the hell down. I'm pretty sure everything that's happened can be fixed easily." He said, holding up his hands in a repressive manner. Dodgson ran his arm across his desk in one clean sweep, spilling the contents onto the floor. "Calm!? You want me to be Calm? First, that fat-ass Nedry gets himself eaten and loses the embryos! No big deal right? I just send in that dumb-shit Chadwick to retrieve them and it should all work out fine, am I right? But no, that useless moron just had to go and get himself killed too!" Dodgson began counting off on his fingers. "No sign of the embryos, no sign of that Hispanic lady that went in with him, and no sign of that bastard Hammond!" He said as he pounded a fist on the table. Bennett rolled his eyes and placed a hand on the now-clear desk. "That's what I'm here to talk to you about. Your little embryo problem is just a GPS tracker away from being gone with the wind." He spoke. Dodgson, now interested, calmed down and looked up at his partner. "Keep going..." He said with a motioning hand. "My underlying sources indicate that old coot Hammond has taken a little trip to another island. He's taken about three other people with him, and he's looking for something. Something important." Bennett smirked. Dodgson's face immediately lit up with joy when he realized what his partner was telling him. "Holy shit Gordon, this just might be the break-through we've been waiting for. Pack your things and get ready to move within a few hours." He said as he opened up a drawer and pulled out a very familiar Barbasol can. "Pack? Where are you going?" Bennett asked. Dodgson looked up with a determined face and spoke straightforwardly. "Where are we going. If you want something done right, you do it yourself." Twilight Sparkle Trotting down main street, Twilight regretted leaving the confines of her library and the comfort of her books. Especially the one she had to stop reading in order to follow through with the meet-up she had planned with her friends. After wandering a little after losing herself in her thoughts, Twilight finally came across the spa building. Sure enough, there was Rarity and Fluttershy waiting by the entrance. "Twilight dear, it's great to see you! Where have you been all these days?" Asked Rarity. "Oh, the usual. Reading. Just reading." Responded Twilight. "You know dear, there's such a thing as a little too much reading, especially if it means you lose precious hours of beauty sleep." Said the gauche mare. "Now now Rarity, Twilight is entitled to whatever she wishes to do in her home. After all, it is a free country." Fluttershy said in a timid squeak. "Of course dear, I'm only teasing. Lets have at that spa now, shall we?" Said Rarity, holding the door open for her friends as they trotted in. A few hours later, the three mares left the spa and said their goodbyes to one another. After picking up Spike, Twilight and her assistant made for the library, both having something to look forward to. Entering the tree house, Spike headed for the bedroom and stopped to look at Twilight just before he reached the door. "Well, I guess I'll go ahead and take my mid-afternoon nap. Maybe you ought to get some rest too Twilight?" Said Spike as he turned the doorknob. Smiling up at the small dragon, Twilight spoke in a fresh, awake tone of voice. "No thanks Spike. I've got a lot of reading to catch up on." Nodding with a worried look, Spike entered the room and shut the door behind him as he flopped down on the small, comfortable basket. Downstairs, Twilight shut the front door and closed the blinds as she continued to work through the mind-boggling text she had picked up that morning. Ian Malcolm Waiting impatiently with Alan Grant at a Dennys, Ian Malcolm sat in a booth as he chewed nervously on his omelet. Ellie Sattler had chosen it as an ideal meeting place seeing as though it was as equidistant as they could get where no one had to travel a ridiculous length no more than the other had to. "When are they going to get here anyway?" Malcolm finally said in a worried tone. Grant looked up from his hash browns and spoke nonchalantly. "Relax Ian, Ellie will be here in a bit with the others." "Speaking of which, who are the 'others' that we keep talking about? All I got was an urgent call to come down here after hearing Hammond was planning to follow another foolhardy plan to generate more cold-blooded killers. Mind you, it interrupted my daily self-lecture on the happenstances of eating a horribly prepared omelet." Malcolm spoke as he stared distastefully down at his brunch. Stifling a laugh, Alan downed the rest of his meal and cleared his throat. "Ellie and I have devised a team that could get us in and out of wherever we're going as quick as we can. We're only checking on the group so we aren't exactly taking a week vacation. Anyway, we're bringing in a fellow named Langston who happens to be an expert hunter of big-game in Africa, and Dr. Harding." He said. Malcolm spit the orange juice he was drinking out of his mouth and spoke with great concern. "WHAT?! How do you know Sarah Harding? It doesn't matter, we're not taking her. I'm not putting her through that again, regardless if she volunteered to come or not." Ian said with finality. Alan, looking confused, spoke in a reassuring voice. "Not Sarah, Gerry Harding. You know, the dino vet who was helping Ellie with the Triceratops in the field? Plus, I don't even know who Sarah Harding is." Sighing a breath of relief, Malcolm composed himself and went back to sipping his orange juice. Meanwhile on the other side of the diner, the door bell jingled and Ellie Sattler stepped through with Harding and Langston. Ellie walked over dressed in her usual attire, beige shorts and a khaki T-shirt. Harding looked almost exactly the same as when they had last seen him except he lacked the Ingen brand uniform. Langston donned a safari outfit akin to that of a jungle explorer minus the pith helmet. The three newcomers inched into the booth and greeted each other accordingly. "So we're all here then?" Asked Alan. "It would seem as though we are." Said Langston. "I assume your journey here to our quaint meeting place went smoothly for you Dr. Harding?" Questioned Malcolm. Nodding, Gerry pointed to his car parked out back. "Yeah, I just packed a few cases full of things I might need for the trip before I left. Don't worry about space, the largest piece of luggage is about the size of a small refrigerator." "That wont be a problem Dr. Harding. The boat we'll be taking to the island is big enough to carry a Jeep Wrangler. And it is. We'll need the transportation if we're going to locate Hammond's signal quickly. We can keep your luggage in the trunk." Said Sattler. After a short briefing of what was to come, the group of five left the diner and gave each other the correct rendezvous point for where they would take the boat to an island that was transmitting Hammond's faint signal. Twilight Sparkle "Shifting realities? Nopony can do that!" Twilight told herself as she skimmed through the last few pages in the book. The previous fifty pages listed detailed instructions on how to traverse the realm known as the multiverse. The author, who had yet to reveal his or her name, only left two words on the final page. Have Fun. Twilight was most certainly not having fun. She was instead trying to figure out how in the hay anypony was supposed to perform any of the impossible acts stated in the tome. "Hm... I suppose I could give it try. The instructions seem simple." She said. Drawing a simple white circle in the middle of her floor out of chalk, Twilight did as the book told her. "Alright, lets see. Step one, place hooves firmly on the ground." Doing so, she levitated a clipboard on the far side of the room and marked it with her quill. "Check. Step two, focus your mind, blocking out all outside distractions and perform the spell as shown in figure three of the book." Checking off the second step, Twilight's horn got to work, conjuring different spells and synthesizing them to form the compound incantations required to open a trans-dimensional portal. With her eyes closed, she did not notice the purple mist forming around her as she silently continued her invocation. Suddenly, the door to the second floor bedroom swung open and a young, misty eyed dragon emerged dragging his blanket behind him. "HEY TWILIGHT!" Spike greeted in a loud, happy tone after yawning. "Wha-AHHHHH!" Screamed Twilight as she snapped open her eyes, startled by her assistants sudden entrance. The mist in front of her transformed into a large swirling twister and began slowly dragging her in, picking up speed as it formed into a raging cyclone. Pulling her in head-first, Twilight's screams were no more than muffled whimpers as the twister flew out of control, throwing around objects and swallowing nothing but the purple mare it had already begun to digest. "Twilight?!" Shouted Spike over the noisy rampage of the magical storm. With one last defiant roar, the twister evaporated into a thin purple haze, leaving everything that it had thrown on the ground in a jumbled heap. Except Twilight. Spike picked his way through the debris of the library toward the center of the room. With no sign of Twilight, Spike began frantically scampering around in circles, wondering what in the hay he was going to do. Changing his course slightly, Spike tripped over a lump on the ground and slammed into the wood floor face-first. "OW!" Lifting the book that was now the cause of his new headache, Spike held the tome up to his eyes at the page it was left open at. Reading it silently to himself, Spike's face suddenly grew pale. Though amazing in itself, this spell is prone to an extremely hazardous danger. Those who fail to accomplish step two will suffer dire consequences and will require the aid of another pony whose magic is greater than the castor of the spell. By breaking his or her concentration while preforming this spell, the castor will be put in great peril as an anonymous portal to a random world may open, hurling he or she into it's unknown depths. Take great care when carrying out step two and remember- The sentence was cut off, causing Spike to flip the page over to the back of the book. -Have Fun "Uh-oh." Alan Grant After the three hour drive to Santa Rosalía on the coast of Baja California, Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm sat in their car waiting patiently for the barge that would take them to the island. Ellie, Langston, and Harding were only a few minutes away and would arrive at the marina shortly to meet them. "Ah, there they are." Noted Malcolm. Looking up the street, Grant spotted two distinct cars coming down the road. As they parked, he and Malcolm exited their Ford and walked up to meet the rest of the group. "Good to see you guys made it in time. The locals are saying a storm's brewing. If that barge doesn't get here in a bit, we may have to call it off for today." Said Grant "Speak of the devil." Said Harding, pointing towards the large boat that had docked at the wharf. The occupants began waving at them, signaling them to start boarding. "Alright! Langston, why don't you help Harding pack his things while we get situated on the boat." Said Dr. Sattler. Slinging his hunting rifle, Langston popped Harding's trunk and grabbed the two first aid kits that sat in front of the final piece of luggage. The large case was hauled to the boat by Gerry, who grunted the whole way through. "Jesus, this is heavier than I remember!" He complained. "What's in there anyway?" Asked Langston. Propping it upright in the back of the jeep once he reached the barge, Harding grabbed some rope and tied the case down. "Just a bug-out kit I figured I should pack lest anything goes wrong. Rope, extra bandages, a flare gun, you name it." Chuckling lightly to himself, Langston placed the first aid kits neatly into a panel under the jeeps dashboard. "You paleontologist geeks are really giving me a good laugh you know that? All this talk about dinosaurs and prehistoric killers is total bull-crap. The only reason I'm here is because that Grant fellow over there is paying me." He said. Meanwhile, Allen and Ellie spoke to the captain of the barge near the helm of the ship. "Listen señor, I will pick you up tomorrow at five o' clock. No more, no less. Comprende?" Said the captain. Nodding his head, Grant shook the man's hand and led Ellie to the back of the ship with everyone else. "We're all set. The barge is coming back for us at five o' clock tomorrow." Said Sattler. Emerging from the back of the jeep, Harding approached Grant and asked a question that had been prying from the back of his mind since he had gotten the phone call to meet them at the diner. "How are we supposed to find Hammond anyway? It's not like we have an exact location." He said. Fishing out a small box from his pocket, Grant showed him the GPS tracker that had been sitting in there since he last talked with Hammond three days ago. "Hammond's signal transponder is relaying us a location through satellite. It should give us his general coordinates. It's kind of like what we archeologists do in the field. We give everyone markers so that we can find each other when we're working on a larger dig site." He explained. "Oh." Harding exclaimed. The next twenty minutes was spent in silence, the group totally oblivious to the smaller boat zipping across the tides under the darkened skies only a hundred feet away. Louis Dodgson "I don't get it Gordon, there isn't any islands north from here on this map!" Dodgson said as they traversed the troubled waters, a storm approaching in the distance. "You wont find any. The island we're going to is only known to the locals. They call it Isla de los muertos. Island of the dead." Bennett said with a smirk. "Charming." Said Dodgson. "Meh, it's all a bunch of bullshit anyways. We'll be in and out with those embryos before you know it." Spoke Bennett. "Good. I don't want to spend any more time on that damn island than I need to. Nedry was an imbecile, but Chadwick had some brains at least. If he bought it on an island like this one, we need to be extra careful. You've got the rifles right?" Dodgson asked as he gestured to a box at the back of the boat. Gordon Bennett nodded and spoke slyly. "Yeah. Two Crossman air guns armed with Botulinum darts. The toxin in the ammunition is one of the deadliest poisons known to man. You'll drop dead before you even know you got hit." He said. "We'll definitely need those. Hey, look!" Said Dodgson, pointing to the growing black mass in the distance. "Land. It's about damn time." Said Bennett. The two smiled deviously and steered straight toward the island ahead of them, unfathomable riches awaiting their thieving hands. Gerry Harding Waving goodbye to the boatmen after arriving at the island, Gerry proceeded to helping Alan, Ellie, and Malcolm push the jeep up the beach while Langston kept watch a few feet away. "Man, this thing is heavy! It must weigh at least a ton!" Said Malcolm. Heaving the vehicle onto a decent position on the shore, Gerry opened the trunk to check on his belongings. Both of his first aid kits were still intact along with his large bug-out case. Everything was going well so far. The syringes in the kits hadn't cracked, the jeep was in mint condition, the zipper on his bag was opening, the- Wait, what? The black zipper on Gerry's case wiggled a little bit, something inside obviously trying to get out. "Um, Dr. Harding? Is your bag moving on it's own?" Asked Sattler. Shrugging his shoulders, Gerry reached for the zipper and tugged it down the side of his bag as fast as lightening. The flap wilted down and there, sitting awkwardly crunched up in the middle of his bag, was Jessica Harding. His daughter. "Heh heh. Hi dad." Jessica whimpered with a guilty smile on her face as she waved lightly at her father. "JESSICA MARIE HARDING!" Yelled Gerry. The others cowered in the background as Gerry Harding brought down the hammer on his daughter. "This is unacceptable! First, you lied to my face when you gave me your word that you would wait in the house until your mother got there. Now this? You have crossed the line young lady!" He yelled. Cowering in the back of the Wrangler, Jessica tried to build up a case for herself. "Well, you're never around! I finally get to see you and we get chased off an island by bloodthirsty lizards! I just figured if I-" "No Jess! I'm sorry but that does not give you permission to stow away on-" Gerry was cut off when a small purple mass formed itself in mid-air and plunged straight into his chest, knocking him on his back. When the quadruped looked up at what softened it's landing, it jumped off immediately and stared at the bipedal figures in front of it. "EEP!" Was all it could muster when it tried to speak. Louis Dodgson After concealing the small boat on shore, Dodgson and Bennett trekked through the outlying jungle that immediately met them upon taking their first few steps on the island. Their backpacks held all they needed to survive for one day and one night. With this reassurance and the deadly rifles that were slung over their shoulders, both men swaggered along feeling invincible. "Alright, the signal gets stronger east of here." Said Bennett, holding the tracker in his hand. "Good. Lets keep moving, this damn jungle is killing my feet." Said Dodgson. The two businessmen wandered farther into the tropical environment, the jungle getting denser and denser with each step. "No! We're losing the signal!" Said Bennett, slapping the side of the tracker in anger. "Damn, it must be the foliage. The trees are too thick. C'mon, there's a clearing up ahead." Said Dodgson. After trudging over a thick bramble of ferns, Dodgson and Bennett stopped in their tracks. "Ho-lee shit..." Bennett gasped. In front of the breath-taken men sat an open clearing. More than ten large forms wandered nearby and tended roosts with white, speckled objects in them. "Are those..." Began Bennett. "Yeah. Maiasaura." Dodgson finished. The adults groaned and tended their eggs, the white objects turning out to be eggs. "It's just so... amazing." Said Bennett. To Gordon Bennett's right, Louis Dodgson had already dropped his gaze of boyish wonder and proceeded to pull out boxes similar to small, six-pack coolers used at tail-gating parties. "What are those?" Asked Bennett. Dodgson grinned and unslung his rifle from his shoulder. "Coolers. C'mon Gordon, we're going down there." He said. Still unaware of what he was doing, Bennett showed Dodgson the GPS tracker. "But what about Hammond and the embryos? We're so close!" He asked. "Fuck Hammond and to hell with the embryos. We're going for the next best thing." He said sinisterly as he loaded a Botulinum dart into his air gun and handed a cooler to Bennett. Starting down the hill, Dodgson brought the rifle to his shoulder. And aimed the barrel right at the head of a mother Maiasaur. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle "EEP!" Twilight could only sit there gawking at the confused figures standing in front of her. The whole series of events that took place before her arrival here was a blur. The whirlpool of mist that had consumed her was breathtaking yet horrifying at the same time. "Oh, my head..." Said the thing that had broken her fall. Where the hay was she? One minute she was safe in the middle of her house then the next she was staring down a group of bipedal life forms, one of which she now inadvertently owed her thanks to for acting as a landing cushion. They all wore what appeared to be clothing, many garments of different colors adorning their bodies. One of the beings on her far right had a long tube pointed straight at her, sweat running down it's face. "What the hell is that?" It spoke. Another, one with short leggings and longer hair than the rest, stood up and eased the thing with the tube. "Easy Langston, don't scare the poor thing." It spoke. "Shh, everyone be quiet. We might chase it off." Said one of the creatures with a darker mane and what appeared to be glasses. Realizing they probably weren't going to eat her, Twilight calmed down a little and began to think. Thinking things through during tough situations always helped. She knew first-hoof that they could speak Equestrian. No language barrier was quite a relief. Staring intently at the smaller being in the compartment with wheels next to her, Twilight caught a glimpse of it's teeth. Odd. Sharp and dull teeth. Carnivore? Herbivore? Omnivore? "Dad, why is that purple horse staring at me?" Asked the thing. Getting to it's feet, the taller creature took a defensive position by the smaller being. "Quiet Jess. That doesn't look like an ordinary horse to me." It spoke. To Twilight's surprise, the things feared her just as much as she did them. The time for communication was now. "Um, h-hello?" She asked in a timid voice. The entire group recoiled and the thing with the tube fumbled it in it's forward appendages. "HOLY SHIT! Horses don't talk!" Yelled the nervous wreck. "For the love of god, pull yourself together Langston!" shouted the long-haired thing. The smaller life-form in the wheeled-box spoke in a gentler voice. "Can you say anything else?" Composing herself, Twilight gulped and spoke again. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, personal protégé of princess Celestia of Equestria. W-where am I?" She asked. Eyeing each other, the mysterious creatures looked like they were silently debating on whether or not to answer that. "Did you hear me correctly? Am I speaking the correct dialect?" Asked Twilight. "N-no, we heard you alright. We're just having a hard time believing what we're seeing right now, and I've seen some crazy stuff." Said the thing guarding the smaller animal. Jessica Harding While the commotion involving the talking horse unfolded in front of her, Jessica Harding wiggled her way out of the case and hopped out the back of the jeep while her father was puppy-guarding it with his back turned. Walking around him, she approached the horse curiously. Turning around to confirm her location, Gerry Harding spoke in a low authoritative voice. "Jess, stay behin-" Gerry gasped in horror, his daughter now beyond his protection as she approached the horned quadruped. "Jess, stay away from that thing!" He yelled. Rolling her eyes, Jessica scoffed at her father's overprotective attitude towards this seemingly harmless thing. "Dad, calm down! Look at it, does that look like a vicious man-eater to you?" She asked. "Well, no. But that doesn't mean it isn't dangerous!" Scolded Gerry. Jessica laughed loudly upon further inspection of the horse in front of her and turned toward her dad. "Dad, c'mon. It's a friggin' unicorn. A unicorn!" She chuckled. The group behind them, also realizing this, approached the pony. "So, you can talk..." Said Malcolm. Straightening itself up, the pony cleared it's throat. "Yes, I can. Can you please tell me where I am so I can go home?" It asked. "Well, for starters you're on an island west of Baja California. Ring any bells?" Asked Malcolm. "What? Where is Baja... whatever you just said?" The unicorn asked. "South of the United States of America?" Malcolm continued. The unicorn was still just as confused. It was having hard time grasping and began to hyperventilate until something pinged in it's head. "The spell! It must have brought me here." It spoke. Looking at each other with wandering eyes, the group was speechless. They had no idea what was going on. Jessica was even more confused. She had no clue why they were on the island in the first place save a few sentences she heard from the phone call her father was engaged in earlier. "How did that return spell go again? Maybe if I..." Much to the surprise of the people in front of it, the unicorns horn began to glow a bright purple but then sputtered and died. "Oh no, it's not working!" The unicorn began panicking again, talking to itself in a shrill frantic voice. "Nobody's going to know where I am! Princess Celestia is going to stop looking for me! The elements of harmony are going to be split up forever! I'm never going to-" "HEY!" Yelled Dr. Sattler. Getting it's attention, Sattler walked up to the scared pony and calmly stroked it's mane. "Nobody's going to forget you. How about this, you can tag along with us and we'll bring you back to the mainland when we're done here. Maybe then we can sort this mess out." She spoke. Obviously soothed by her actions, the Unicorn settled in her grasp and nodded towards her decision. BEEP BEEP "Whoa, hold up guys. It's Hammond, he's close!" Shouted Grant as he grasped the GPS excitedly in his hands. "Maybe bringing a jeep wasn't such a good idea. Look at that foliage, we'll never get through all that!" Said Langston. "Damn, your right. We'll just have to leave it here for a bit. If we can't get to Hammond from here on foot we can always come back and drive around the coast looking for an easier route." Cursed Grant. "Jess, your coming with me. I'm not leaving you out here alone." Said Gerry. "Fine with me." She said as the group took off toward the tree line. Turning around, Jessica noticed the purple pony sitting by the jeep, unsure of whether going with the group of aliens was a good idea. "Hey! Are you coming or not?" She asked. Perking it's head up, the unicorn trotted over and smiled at the young girl. Returning the gesture, Jessica motioned for it to follow her into the jungle. Treading side-by-side, the two beings headed into the dense plethora of flora while a pair of large, beady eyes watched from afar. Louis Dodgson "Ha! That's how you do it!" Said Dodgson as the rest of the mother Maiasaura abandoned their nests from the imminent danger about a hundred feet away from them. Nearby, six adults lay dead, all pierced by one of Bennett's lethal Botulinum darts. With large strides, Dodgson and Bennett made their way to the first nest. "C'mon Gordon, we don't have much time before a predator comes by and snacks down on these bodies. Help me with these coolers will ya?" Said Dodgson as he carefully picked up an egg and placed it into the compact container. "Wait a second Lou, aren't eggs supposed to be kept warm? Wont putting them in a cooler kill them?" Gordon asked as he nervously handed a second cooler to Dodgson. "These aren't coolers you dumbshit. I only call 'em that because they look like them. They're specially designed to radiate heat and keep a steady temperature. It should keep the eggs alive for a while." Dodgson said as he placed the final egg into a cooler. Nearby, the tall grass rustled, and a high-pitched chirp could be heard in the near-quiet breeze. Hearing this, Dodgson and Bennett looked up and stared into the direction of the noise. Sweating profusely, Bennett's legs began to wobble as thoughts of a vicious predator flew through his mind. "Lou-" "Shh!" The grass rustled more, and much to the surprise of the men, a small creature hopped out from the foliage. Standing upright on two legs, it had a curved head and beak. It's large, beady eyes passed over the terrified humans and focused it's gaze on the nest of eggs in front of it. Leaning down, it plucked an egg from the nest and retreated back into the tall grass. Sighing, Dodgson and Bennett wiped the sweat from their foreheads. "Holy shit that was close. What was that thing anyway?" Asked Bennett. "Oviraptor. It's name means egg thief. Don't worry, It's just an egg-snatcher. Nothing we need to be afraid of." Said Dodgson. "What now Lou?" Asked Bennett, placing a cooler in his pack and slinging it over his shoulders. Adopting a sly grin, Dodgson packed away an egg-filled cooler and unslung his rifle. "We find more nests." Twilight Sparkle "So... humans?" Asked Twilight. "Yeah, that's us. Only, we get by just fine without magic or wings." Said Grant, who had taken quite a liking to the purple mare during the short duration they had to speak. Walking along the rugged terrain, the sound of the natural ambience was rivaled only by the beeping of the GPS tracker that continued to grow louder with every step. "If I may, where exactly are we going?" Asked Twilight. "We're looking for a close associate of ours who's probably doing something he shouldn't be doing right now." Said Ellie Sattler. "He has a tendency to disregard the well-meaning opinions of others." Said Grant. Confused, Jessica looked up at the man with the Stetson and spoke. "What?" She asked. "He doesn't take good advice when he should." Said Malcolm. A prolonged silence shadowed the group after that comment, many of the members remembering things best left forgotten. Twilight, just as silent, surveyed each 'human' walking alongside her. Though her concentration was often broken by the incessant beeping of the GPS tracker, Twilight attempted to recollect the information given to her by her new friends. Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm, Jessica Harding, and Gerry Harding had all gone through an obviously traumatizing experience that they only referred to as the Isla Nublar incident. Only Langston was none the wiser. He was being skeptical about something that Twilight didn't know about. Troubled by the thought, Twilight trotted next to Jessica who had strayed from the group by a few feet and hailed her. "So... Jessica?" She asked. "Yeah?" "What is everyone so worried about? That Langston fellow especially." Exclaimed Twilight. Taking a moment, Jessica swallowed and continued in a hushed voice. "My dad worked at this place you see, a zoo. He didn't tell me about it because I was going to visit him sooner or later. When I did, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Real life dinosaurs!" She said. "Dinosaurs?" Said Twilight in a clueless voice. "What, you don't know about dinosaurs? C'mon, didn't you have like, prehistoric creatures in your land? Before your time?" Asked Jessica. Shaking her head, Twilight spoke in a matter-of-fact voice. "Nope. The oldest things that exist in our world are the Alicorns, and a couple are still around." "What's an Alic-" Lacking the breath to finish that sentence, Jessica Harding stopped in her tracks as did the others when they reached the edge of the jungle. In front of them sat a large, rolling plain with a lake in the middle. Roaming the landscape were giant, four-legged creatures whose necks expanded at least fifty feet in the air. Gasping loudly, Twilight moved her head closer to Jess, who hadn't yet taken her eyes off the beasts and spoke in utter amazement. "Dear Celestia, what the hay is that thing?" She asked. "That... is a dinosaur..." Said Malcolm who stood only a few feet away. "Whoa. They're Brachiosaurs." Exclaimed Grant. The group stood in awe for a few more seconds, admiring the magnificent creatures displayed before them. Many of the younger ones lingered near the lake, taking occasional drinks. The mothers tended the nests while the others stood watch. For what exactly, Twilight did not know. "Look at them. They're breeding." Said Ellie. "Looks like Hammond's genetic sex barrier wasn't enough." Said Grant. The group looked at Ian, expecting him to add on to the discussion. Inhaling, Malcolm spoke in a low, I-told-you-so voice. "Life finds a way." "Dad! Look!" Cried Jess, pointing at a Brachiosaurus. The large creature wobbled as if struggling to stand then collapsed to the ground. The adults around it recoiled slightly, looking for the hidden culprit. Another adult, a bull Brachiosaur, flopped down to the ground. If it was dead, the group wouldn't know. They were hundreds of feet away. "Wait, are you guys seeing this?" Said Langston, looking through the scope of his hunting rifle. Following the man's gaze, Twilight and the others watched the tree line until a peculiar thing happened. Two bipedal figures stepped cautiously into the plain, aiming what appeared to be rifles of their own at the adults. After watching what seemed like the slightest recoil from one of the rifles, another Brachiosaur wobbled and dropped. "What are they doing dad?" Jessica asked in a worried tone. "I don't know sweetheart." Said Gerry. "What do you see Langston? Is it Hammond?" Asked Malcolm. "No. From the description you guys gave me, none of those guys look like him at all. They're in their mid thirties, late twenties. They... they're..." Stuttered Langston as he lowered the scope from his eye. "What are they doing?" Asked Ellie. "They're stealing the eggs!" He cried. Snapping their heads back to the anomaly taking place in front of them, the group watched as the two placed egg after egg into small containers. "They can't do that! That belongs to the mothers!" Said Twilight. "I know- Wait, hold on. What're they doing now?" Spoke Ellie. One of the two men was earnestly shaking the man who was holding the remaining eggs. Getting his attention, the skittish thief pointed to one end of the field and started off on a quick jog. Seeing something Twilight's group couldn't, the man with the eggs shot up and sprinted for the tree line. "What's got them so nervous?" Asked Gerry. "That." Pointed out Malcolm. Following his pointer finger, Twilight gazed at the tree line. Unbeknownst to the unicorn yet all too familiar to the humans, a large beast burst out from the other end of the field, charging straight at the unmoving bodies of the sauropods. Louis Dodgson The bull Tyrannosaurus charged straight at them from the other end of the plain, focused entirely on bagging itself a mid-day meal. Regardless of whether or not it was going to try to eat them, Dodgson and Bennett ran. They ran for the trees. They ran for their lives. "Go Gordon, GO!" Yelled Dodgson as he slung the pack over his shoulders and reached into his pocket for a Botulinum dart. He found none and yelled at his partner to load one into his rifle and keep going. Not hearing him, Dodgson cursed and followed his partner toward the tree line. "Gordon! The eggs!" Shouted Dodgson as he noticed the backpack slipping from the terrified man's back. Falling to the ground with a thud, Dodgson slowed down just for a minute to pick up the pack and haul it towards the jungle. Or in this case, the waiting jaws of a female T. Rex. "Holy shit! AHHHH-" But that was all Gordon Bennett could say before the T. Rex scooped him up in his mouth and bit down hard, replacing Bennett's words with in-human screams. "Oh god..." Dodgson said as he stopped in the middle of his run. The Rex chomped down on Bennett and chewed straight through the man's form, tearing him in half. The legs fell to the ground while Gordon's upper half dangled freely in the gaping maw of the carnivore. Snapping back to reality, Dodgson broke left and made a bee-line for the cover of the trees opposite that of the Rexes. "Fuck...fuck...fuck..." Panted Dodgson as he hauled ass into the foliage, not bothering to look behind him. Making sure he was safe, Dodgson checked the eggs in the coolers and found them unharmed without a crack. Noticing the screaming had stopped, Dodgson looked around the tree he was taking refuge behind and watched the two Rexes eating the Brachiosaur bodies and whatever remained of his buisness partner, the bloody strings of flesh hanging from their mouths as they ate. Not able to bear it any longer, Louis Dodgson leaned over and threw up as quietly as he could. After regaining his composure, Dodgson fit whatever eggs he had in his backpack and continued on with one pack, one rifle, and whatever Botulinum darts remained. One thought lingered in his mind as he staggered off into the wilderness searching for more nests. A simple thought about his friend, Gordon Bennett. What a dumbass. > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle "It's okay Twilight, you can look now. It's over." Said Ellie Sattler. The group sat in astonishment, watching the two rexes eat their mid-day meal. The sight was mind-boggling to Grant, who thoroughly enjoyed the prospect of dinosaur eating habits. To others like Jessica and Twilight, it was disturbing. Staring shockingly at the carcasses being fed on, Twilight shuddered loudly. "Those things... they're eating the bodies..." She said in disbelief. Grant smirked and spoke like an interested teacher giving a lecture to a class. "Yeah, notice how it eats. The hunting maneuvers were flawless. Cooperation between male and fema-" "Alan!" Said Sattler in a disapproving tone. The group was quiet for a moment before Malcolm piped up and clapped his hands together. "Well, we better get going before we turn into dinosaur chow. Hammond is going to get it when I find him." He said as he gestured to Grant's GPS. "Speaking of the old bastard, he's just on the other side of this field. As you can see, we're not going to be able to cross it. We go around." Grant said as he led the group to his right. "Who is Hammond? What's his role in all of this?" Asked Twilight. "John Hammond, is the one behind all of these dinosaurs. A couple years back, he presented this ridiculous idea to Ingen. Feeling a profitable turnout on the edge of the horizon, those selfish dirt bags agreed and gave authorization for Hammond to create these monsters." Malcolm said in disgust. Ellie shook her head in disappointment and spoke. "To think, something so beautiful could turn out so horrible." Ellie tsk-ed. "I'm guessing this isn't the first time you've seen them up close?" Asked Twilight. Gerry Harding chuckled. "Close? That's not close, try having a Velociraptor chasing you down. I swear I can still feel the breath on my back from those things." He said. Peter Langston treaded alongside them in silence, still in utter shock from what he had just witnessed. A Velociraptor? Those feathered things he used to read about in his scholastic books looked scary enough on the page let alone entertaining the thought of being chased by one. "Dad? I don't want this to turn into the park again." Jessica said as she huddled close to her father. "Don't worry Jess, I wont let anything happen to you. What made you stow away in my bag in the first place anyway?" Gerry asked. Kicking the dirt with her feet, Jessica spoke in a guilty tone without looking up at her father. "Well, I just figured you were going to go on another cool adventure. You know that mom isn't exactly the coolest person around." She said. "Adventure? Jess, we could've been killed last time! This isn't some arcade game that you can just restart when you die! We're in serious danger out here so I want you to start being more responsible if you want to prove to me that you can handle yourself on your own." Gerry scolded. An awkward silence followed, and the group didn't speak for a long time after that. Rounding the edge of the plain opposite the side the man ran into, Grant checked his GPS to pinpoint Hammond's location. "Alright, we're halfway there. He's about two hundred meters away from us through the foliage." He said. John Hammond Perched on a platform high above the field on the opposite side of the sauropod enclosure, John Hammond observed the Gallimimus milling about in the pasture one hundred yards away from him. Behind him on the high-hide stood two of his personal assistants, Claire Long and Bruce Grimes. "Bruce? Be a lad and hand me the binoculars please." Said Hammond. "You got it chief!" The young attendant said spryly as he gave Hammond the industrial-grade eyepieces. Claire sat at the other end of the platform typing away on her laptop, absorbed in her work as she documented the fascinating sightings displayed before her. "Hey Mr. Hammond, when's Frank getting back?" Asked Bruce. Frank Clarkson was away on a scouting mission collecting data on the Stegosaurs that inhabited the southern edge of the island. Clarkson, a middle-aged ambitious paleontologist, was thrilled to be on the island and instantly volunteered to head off on his own. "He should return in a few hours. Don't worry, he's a resourceful young man. I'm sure he can handle himself." Reassured Hammond. A loud roar erupted from the fields beyond the forest behind them, causing the people in the high-hide to drop what they were doing and stare at the foliage behind them. Taking up the binoculars, Hammond spotted a group of Tyrannosaurs helping themselves to the corpses of some dead Brachiosaurs. "Oh no, the Tyrannosaurs are getting closer. Mr. Hammond, I suggest we relocate before they get any nearer." Said Claire in worried voice. "Relax Ms. Long. Besides, where on earth are we going to relocate to? The trailer with the transponder was crushed two days ago." Said Hammond, glaring at Bruce as he spoke the last sentence. Bruce brought his hands up in defense. "Hey! How was I suppose to know that Triceratops was going to charge? Just be glad that the boat is coming in a few days to pick us up." Said Bruce. "Um, Mr. Hammond? What is that?" Asked Claire, pointing to the dark figures entering from the other side of the filed. Moving his gaze from Bruce to the tree-line on his left, Hammond actually spotted the newcomers quite easily. "Dear god! It's Dr. Grant! Ms. Sattler and Dr. Malcolm are here too!" Exclaimed Hammond. But something was off. Not only did Gerry Harding trail behind them with his daughter and an armed gunman, but they were also accompanied by a strange purple horse. It had a tattoo on it's flank and a horn protruding from the base of it's forehead. He was about to make a remark about the strange group member when another group of dinosaurs emerged from the opposite edge of the grassland, slowly making their way toward the Gallimimus on the other end. Twilight Sparkle "Alright you guys, he should be right over... there!" Said Grant as he pointed excitedly at the high-hide across from them. To everyone's surprise, Hammond could see them too. But he was acting strange, waving frantically and pointing to his right across the tall grass. "What's got him so hyped up?" Asked Jessica. "Hey look! Gallimimus!" Said Sattler, pointing enthusiastically to the bipedal figures grazing the pasture. The group averted their gaze from Hammond to the dinosaurs, watching with amusement at the cattle-like beings wander around. They lowered their heads, feeding off the flora of their surroundings, when one suddenly perked it's head up. Twitching it's neck, this soon alerted others, which caused the entirety of the herd to veer in spontaneous directions away from one general direction. And from that direction spawned three hungry, fast-moving carnivores. "Whoa. Allosaurus from the late Jurassic period." Gasped Grant. But the others were too panicked to notice. Twilight swapped her gaze frantically from each human, looking for an answer. "Meat eater? Meat eater?!" She asked. Nodding his head grimly, Malcolm spoke in a low, nervous tone. "Yeah, meat eaters..." He trailed off as he started for the high-hide. Following by example, the group made a desperate run for the tower, not bothering to look anywhere but at the panicking old man and his accompaniments. "Wait! I can just teleport us there!" Said Twilight. "Sounds like a plan! Put that horn to work girl!" Yelled Sattler. Focusing hard on the tower ahead of her, Twilight realized that one of the three carnivores had spotted them and was now making it's way toward the group, lunch on it's mind. She also saw that the platform was more than fifty feet away from her, a distance where her teleporting skills were at it's weakest. "C'mon Twilight, if your gonna do something, do it now!" Yelled Langston. Concentrating hard, Twilight summoned all her strength and engulfed the group in a purple flash. In less than a second, the group had successfully gone from one end of Twilights spell to the other. Directly in front of the Two Allosaurs that had already caught their prey, the third behind them looking around confusedly. "Oh god Twilight, what did you do..." Said Malcolm as the two dinosaurs looked up at them. The beasts eyed each other deviously and looked back at the group. "SCRAMBLE!" Yelled Gerry, as he grabbed his daughter and took off towards the tower. Twilight and Peter Langston broke left in a panic while the others made for the high-hide. Both of them, realizing they were heading in the completely wrong direction, continued to run hoping that they would lose the beasts in the brush ahead of them. Meanwhile, Gerry and Jess had already made it the base of the tower, everyone else tailing behind them as two of the Allosaurs chased them down in pure bloodlust. Gerry Harding "Alright Jess, you go up first!" Said Gerry, hoisting his daughter up the ladder. Climbing hastily up the tower, Jess motioned for her father to follow when she reached the halfway point. Obliging, Gerry was followed by Ellie, then Ian, and finally Alan who was being chased by two of the carnivores. "C'mon Dr. Grant!" Yelled Jess. Grasping each rung for only a second each, Alan Grant scrambled up the ladder just as the Allosaurs arrived, snapping at his feet the whole way up. The creatures gave up immediately, returning to the Gallimimus carcasses in the middle of the plain. Hammond started toward Grant, his arms outstretched. "Thank goodness your alright-" "Dear god, where's Twilight and Langston?" Grant asked frantically, receiving horrified looks from the others as they heard a rifle shot ring out in the distance. Twilight Sparkle "RUN!" Yelled Langston as the two reached the edge of the forest. The two helpless beings ran for their lives as Langston turned around and blind-fired a shot from his rifle, clumsily hoping to stop the killer from chasing them. Now fully concealed in the jungle, Twilight and Langston turned around to see the Allosaurus still coming after them, it's nimble body able to slip through the confines of the jungle terrain with ease. "Up there! I'll teleport us into that tree!" Shouted Twilight as she nervously used her faulty spell to try and save their hides. Almost to her expectation, the spell did it's bidding but all in the wrong manner. It placed them both near the thin branch that she was aiming for, positioning them over nothing. The two fell to the ground with a loud thud. The crunching leaves couldn't tune out the sound of the approaching Allosaurus, it's roar becoming ever-louder. "God damn it! Don't ever try that again!" Yelled Langston as he scrambled up the large tree, looking for gaps in the bark that he could hang onto. Twilight hung on his shoulders, panting frantically as the Allosaurus lunged at them, it's razor-sharp jaws missing by an inch. Perching themselves on a sturdy branch thirty feet off the ground, Twilight and Langston watched in silent disturbance as the Allosaur circled the tree, eyeing them hungrily. "When do you think it'll go away?" Asked Twilight. "Gee, I don't know. As long as I'm not down there I don't care if he camps out all night." Said Langston as he huffed tiredly. "Thanks for carrying me. You saved my life." Said Twilight as she smiled weakly at her savior. Still breathless from the climb, Langston lifted his hand as a response. "Don't mention it. I owe you that for almost blowing your head off earlier." He said. Losing interest, the Allosaur left, probably rejoining it's pack. The two slumped back against the trunk and recuperated their strength, taking in breath after precious breath. "Maybe you shouldn't use that teleporting spell while we're being chased by bloodthirsty dinos. Just a thought." Langston remarked snidely. "You can say that again." Twilight confirmed. Louis Dodgson The Allosaurs that had passed him a half an hour ago were gone, permitting Louis Dodgson to clamber down the tree he was hiding in. Re-adjusting the straps on his pack, Dodgson checked the satellite imaging map Bennett's GPS had acquired for him. He still had the entire upper half of the island to scour for eggs all the while being hunted by predators. "This fucking jungle... ought to pave the whole place over." He said to himself. Walking for what seemed like forever, Dodgson was relieved when he located another dino nest. The eggs, perched in a certain ovulatory fashion performed only by one type of dinosaur, would have alerted Dodgson and made him vacate the area immediately. Too bad he didn't study Dinosaurian nesting habits of the Jurassic era in college. Collecting the eggs, Dodgson laughed to himself, imagining the type of wealth he was going to live in once he got back to his lab at Biosyn. Feeling greedy, Dodgson thought to nab one more for good measure until he heard a high-pitched chirp that made him freeze in terror. Turning slowly, he saw a small creature whose height rose to about his waist. It stared awkwardly, tilting it's head to the side. To an ignorant corporate spy trying to smuggle embryos off an island it would have looked like a stupid lizard, but Dodgson knew better. Dilophosaurus. Dodgson backed away using short steps as to not startle the thing, or provoke it to attack. Shielding the eggs from the Dilophosaurus' sight, the terrified man turned abruptly only to be met by the faces of twelve more of the chirping creatures. "Shit... GO THE HELL AWAY!" He screamed at the animals as he threw a rock at them. But this only puzzled them more, causing them to hop forward as they inched closer and closer. Dodgson could hear running water, realizing his mistake immediately just as the noise hit his eardrums. Rivers attracted animals. How could he be so stupid? That didn't matter now, he just needed to- SPLAT! One of the Dilophosaurs screeched and flared it's frill, spitting jet-black poison right into Dodgson's left eye and some of his right. "GAHHHHHH! FUCK!" He screamed as the burning sensation only intensified. Dropping his rifle, Dodgson stumbled backwards, rubbing his eyes to no avail as doing so only made it sting worse. He could hear the dinosaurs getting closer. Their chirps ringed in his ears almost louder than the sound of the water that was somewhere nearby. He could feel more liquid hit his shirt and face, knowing that the Dilos were trying to finish the job. Something hit the heel of his left foot and Dodgson fell back, feeling the impact of water on him. He had fallen in a river and was now flowing down the passageway. Still blind, Dodgson thrashed in the raging water, not knowing whether the carnivores would strike the killing blow. Hearing an immensely loud sound, Dodgson imagined Niagra Falls, listening to the rumble become louder and louder. "Shit... what the hell is that?" He whimpered to himself. Then Dodgson was falling. The feeling of water on his back had disappeared, replaced by the icy touch of air running through his clothes as he dropped through open space. Not knowing what was waiting for him at the bottom, the terrified man waited for impact, only to be welcomed by the cold embrace of more water. As Dodgson sank further into the body of water, he wondered what was to become of him and the eggs that were probably destroyed by now. Then he blacked out. > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle Twilight was confused. Sitting up in a tall tree dangling precariously over a ghastly fate was beyond anything she could have ever imagined doing. The purple mare found confusion in the fact that she had been plucked from her world into this newfound realm. She found befuddlement in wondering why she was being chased by a bloodthirsty animal that had no other thought on it's mind other than to tear her limb from limb. She had done nothing to it. What reason was there for it to try to kill her? She retained no panicked tears nor hyperventilated gasps for the current situation. All she could do was stare at the foreign terrain below her while an alien creature scouted out the territory from their position. "Well, to put it in Layman's term, we're up shit's creek without a paddle." Said Langston. Earlier, the Allosaurus had left to join it's pack and feast on whatever spoils it slaughtered but hadn't left the area, separating the two from the group that now stood in a high tower safely away from the killers. "Well that doesn't help us at all! What are we going to do, sit here and wait for some other abomination to stroll by and eat us?" Twilight asked nervously. "No, we're not going to do that. We just need to... find a way down and across that field." Spoke Langston as he brewed the idea in his mind. "Find a way down?! That's a terrible idea! Those things are still out there!" Protested Twilight. Clicking his tongue and shaking his head, Peter Langston realized that his plan was indeed, a bad idea. The ground was unfamiliar and rugged, not to mention the countless number of predators that could be lurking in the shadows. Ousting the thoughts out of his head, Langston brought the scope of his rifle to his eyes and watched the Allosaurs eat in the distance. Like the carnivores in the game grounds of the savanna, these things worked exactly like an African lion or some other beast he had killed and mounted on his mantle in his earlier years. They hunted in packs, cornering their prey until the group struck the killing blow. "You're right. They're still out there and we don't know jack shit about what we could be walking into down there. But we can't stay here. I'm pretty sure there are far more dangerous baddies than our dino friends over there that are much taller." He spoke. "Taller!? How so?" Twilight asked, the full recognition of the situation hitting her. "I don't know what they have going on here, but they've already cloned a T. Rex. You saw that nasty fellow back there munching down on a few long-necks." Said Langston. Twilight shuddered at the thought. Those things that mercilessly bit into the flesh of the other dinosaurs couldn't have had a soul. Even if they were just another animal on the food chain, those creatures didn't deserve death at the hands of those bloodthirsty murderers. "Whether we like it or not, we're going to have to get up off our asses and find better shelter." Said Langston as he peered past the Allosaurs and at the rest of his group. They appeared to be bickering over something but he couldn't tell what. Dr. Malcolm was definitely letting Hammond have it. Gerry, Grant, and Sattler also seemed to be chastising the poor old man. Jessica stood next to two others that he couldn't identify, watching the group feud over god-knows-what. "So, what's the plan?" Twilight asked with growing angst. "For starters, we get the hell outta this tree." Ian Malcolm "You unbelievable bastard!" Yelled Malcolm. Everyone was on edge in the first place, let alone the fact that Malcolm had almost strangled Hammond when he reached the top of the ladder. The two assistants had to play goaltender with the mathematician just to keep him away from the old man. "Understand, this is not my doing! Ingen thought it would be wise to-" "Ingen is the whole reason we're out here now! For god sakes, we only came here to check on you! Hell, I didn't even want to come! Ellie was the one who talked me into it!" Yelled Malcolm, not giving John an inch. "If you would just listen to me, I could explain that-" "ALL LISTENING TO YOU HAS GOTTEN US IS A COUPLE OF NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES!" Malcolm shouted. "Um, Mr. Malcolm?" Asked Jess. "WHAT?" He exclaimed, still in full rage. Jess pointed at the base of tower where the three Allosaurs stood, nudging the high-hide. The tottering began at a slow rate until it escalated into full blown tremors, knocking the people off their feet. "What the? What are they doing!?" Yelled Bruce. "They're trying to bring down the tower!" Shouted Grant, holding onto dear life. A shockwave rippled underneath their feet, and Jess went overboard. She screamed, and In a panic, Gerry rushed to the side of the platform and held out his hand to his daughter. "JESSI!" Frank Clarkson Wandering through the jungle, Frank Clarkson jotted down notes on his surroundings and his previous escapades through the island. Earlier, he had located the abandoned administration building Hammond was talking about and observed it from a distance. Though suspicious, Frank knew it was Hammond's business and didn't mean to pry but when the old man had approached him one year ago and proposed this crazy idea, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. The Stegosaurs he had encountered were definitely worth the trek. The information he gathered was completely contradicting to existing theories of the species and would prove useful when he returned to California. "AGHHHHHHHHHH!" The scream rippled through the air like fingernails on a chalkboard. Whirling around in it's general direction, Clarkson realized that the shrill sound came from the high-hide. "Oh shit. Was that Claire?" He said to himself. Near him, the green ferns rustled and loud snarls could be heard concealed within. Frank froze, images flashing through his mind. The front blades of grass protruded forward, indicating something was coming through. In a flash, Frank jumped to his left into a ditch and lied down on his stomach. Not making a sound, Clarkson waited for the things to pass as the noisy creatures skulked by. Through a small hole in a log above him, Frank spotted one distinct feature that sent shivers down his spine. A single, scaly foot with an enlarged claw on the second digit. This could only mean one thing and quite frankly, it scared Frank. Velociraptor. Twilight Sparkle They heard the scream when they were only thirteen feet down the tree. Stopping mid-climb, Langston grabbed his rifle scope and saw the unfathomable. The Allosaurs were tipping the high-hide and Jessica was dangling helplessly over the side. "Oh god. They're trying to knock over the tower!" He exclaimed. Twilight shifted her head so that she could see the tower and true to his word, the Allosaurs were attempting to collapse the sanctuary that her newfound friends were taking refuge in. Jessica hung by a few fingers while Gerry and the others tried desperately to hoist her up and get a grip on the tower. "We have to get down this tree!" Said Langston. Nearby, the tall grass shifted and a pack of intimidating creatures emerged, snarling and hissing at each other. Twilight had no idea what they were, but she knew it couldn't be good. "Peter! Up the tree, up the tree!" She ordered. Looking down at the forest floor, Langston spotted what had Twilight in such an apprehensive state. His fears coming to fruition, Langston hastily shimmied up the trunk away from the raptors passing by their tree. Thankfully, they were high up and quiet enough to not be spotted. "What are they?" Twilight asked, half amazed and half terrified. "If my memory serves me correctly, those are Velociraptors. Do not let them see or hear us. Last thing I need is getting torn limb from limb by some over-sized bird." Langston explained as he climbed the tree. Jessica Harding Jess was falling. She had lost her grip on the bar and was careening toward the ground and the open mouths of the Allosaurs. With her arms outstretched, she thrashed around in mid-air trying to grab ahold of something, anything. Her father was screaming for her but all she could hear was the near-demonic growl of the dinos below her. THUNK! Fifteen feet above the ground, Jess had grasped a thin metal pipe protruding from the tower. Holding on for dear life, Jess looked down and saw the Allosaurs chomping at the air below her. "DAD!" She yelled, waiting for her father as he scaled down the ladder. "Hold on sweetheart I'm coming!" He reassured. Swapping her gaze from her father and the carnivores, Jess spotted something peculiar from the opposite end of the field. About six large forms sprung from the tall grass emitting all too familiar hisses. "Oh crap..." Spoke Sattler, pointing off in another direction. From her right, two large Tyrannosaurs emerged from the trees and began their charge towards the assortment of animals. The Allosaurs wavered, the Velociraptors took up aggressive stances, and Jessica Harding slipped and fell the rest of the way to the ground. Twilight Sparkle "Maybe if I teleport us-" "NO! No more teleporting! Sorry, I just don't want to end up as a flat hotcake." Said Langston. A loud roar could be heard from the field, prompting Twilight and Langston to look up. The pair of Rexes had entered the field followed by the Velociraptors that had just passed them. "Oh no..." Twilight trailed off. "We have to help them!" Cried Langston, adjusting himself where he could fire his rifle. From his perched position, Langston could see the entire plain including the dinosaurs that now inhabited it. Raising the scope to eye level, Langston took a deep breath and spoke. "You may want to cover your ears." He said, squeezing the trigger. CRACK! Twilight recoiled from the sound and looked up. One of the smaller dinos, a Velociraptor, twitched and hit the ground. Another resounding crack later, one more of the terrifying beasts dropped. "No. Oh god, that thing is going for Jess!" Exclaimed Langston. One of the Tyrannosaurs was leaning down and opening it's jaws, ready to swallow Jess. Langston panicked, sloppily firing his rifle at the creature. The bullet grazed it's head, only angering the bull Rex. Seconds later, it recuperated and started moving away from the high-hide, right towards Twilight and Langston. "What do we do?!" Twilight asked frantically. The Rex was getting ever closer, and Twilight was panicking. She had no idea what to do. All her life she was able to solve any problem presented before her with ease. If not with the help of her older brother, Shining Armor, then with the magic of friendship. But there was no friendship here. It was just an island full of things that tried to kill you. "Twilight? Now listen, I'm trusting you here. Go ahead and teleport us out of this tree right the hell now!" Langston spoke in an increasingly alarmed tone. "But, what if I teleport us over the ground? Or right next to one of those things?" She worriedly asked. "Don't care, just teleport NOW!" Langston yelled. The Tyrannosaur was only a few feet away from them, opening it's gaping maw. Preparing to bite down, the Rex ran into the outmost branch of the tree causing Langston to fumble the rifle in his hand. With a resounding smash, the gun fell to the forest floor and shattered into a million mechanical shards that Twilight didn't have time to take proper notes on. "NOW TWILIGHT!" Shouted Langston. Summoning her strength once more, Twilight's horn lit up and the two were engulfed in a purple flash. Just as the Rex bit down, Twilight and Langston had disappeared, leaving the hungry carnivore nothing but a splintered branch. > Chapter 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle Twilight and Langston fell to the ground twenty feet away from the Rex. Realizing this, Langston shot up and slung Twilight over his shoulders. "HOLY SHEEEEEIIIIT!" He yelled as he sprinted deeper into the jungle, a still dazed Twilight clinging to his back. The Tyrannosaurus let out a deafening bellow and resumed it's chase after crashing through the tree that blocked it's way. Twilight came to and stared at the beast heading their way. It's teeth were ground sharp, lathered in blood and entrails. Aside from the saliva dripping from it's jaws, Twilight was also distracted by the hungry eyes locked on herself and her companion. "Peter move faster!" Shouted Twilight, the rank breath of the Rex catching up to them. "I'm trying! Do something to slow it down!" Langston cried in exasperation. "Like what? Do I look like an all-powerful sorcerer to you?!" Twilight yelled in a rather annoyed voice. Langston didn't say anything back and only concentrated on the terrain in front of him. Twilight began frantically surveying their surroundings to try and see what she could do to slow down the creature. Aside from rocks, ferns, and trees, nothing came to mind until they entered a rugged gorge. Heading straight down the middle, Twilight watched in disbelief as the Rex pushed aside the rocks that blocked it's passage and continued after them down the large trench. "It's still coming!" Shouted Twilight in desperation. "You're kidding me!" Langston yelled back. Looking for a way out, Twilight eyed the top of the gorge. Nothing was worth her attention until a large pile of boulders piqued her interest. They were stacked sloppily, ready to collapse and roll down the steep incline at a moments notice. Light bulb. Summoning all her strength, Twilight enveloped the huge rocks with a purple aura and gave it her all. Within a few seconds, they were bouncing down the hill straight towards the lumbering behemoth. The beast let out a sharp whine before it was buried under the rock and dirt that was now it's tomb. "Peter, you can stop running now." Twilight sighed in relief. Not even bothering to look behind him, Langston stopped and hunched over to catch his breath. "Heh, I don't know what you did Twilight but you are a life saver." He laughed. Twilight was about to chuckle too when she spotted something that made her heart drop down into her stomach. Hopping over the pile of rocks, two large forms with frighteningly large claws on their feet snarled at them and started toward Langston. Two of those raptor things must have followed them after Peter shot the Rex. "Peter? RUN!" Yelled Twilight. "But we just sto-" Langston caught his tongue before the next words came out as he set his gaze on the two Velociraptors that now approached them. "Oh come on..." He sighed in disbelief. Jessica Harding Jessica Harding watched in awe as the Rex's jaws ascended from her small form and aimed toward the tree line in the distance. The monster was obviously occupied with something else as it now moved toward the other end of the field. Relieved, she began to stand up slowly, clutching her hand to her forehead that now ached severely. "JESSI! RUN!" Yelled Gerry as he hopped the rest of the way down the ladder and grabbed his daughter. The remaining Rex and the Allosaurs were engaged in heated combat but that didn't stop the raptors from snaking around the fight and going after the easier prey. Grant jumped down and headed after Gerry and Jessica as they fled into the forest leaving Malcolm, Sattler, Hammond, Bruce, and Claire to fend for themselves at the top of the high-hide. "Keep moving!" Yelled Grant as he caught up with Gerry and his daughter with ease. The raptors were close behind, completely ignoring the stranded people in the tower. Veering left into a thick web of foliage, the three survivors sought out refuge in the labyrinth of jungle that appeared all around them. "Keep running! Don't look back, it only slows you down!" Said Gerry. "We gotta find shelter Gerry, c'mon we'll escape the raptors through this-" The group rammed straight into another figure, effectively cutting Grant off. Scrambling to their feet, Alan and Gerry formed a human wall with Jessica behind them, fearing the worst. "Ow, what the hell?" Said the figure that had hit the ground moments after colliding with the group of three. Alan and Gerry eyed each other suspiciously and moved to observe the form on the ground. To their surprise, it was another human. Helping the man up, he spoke with surprised relief as he rubbed the lump that had formed on his head. "Who are you three? I didn't know there were other people on the island." Said the man. "That doesn't matter right now, we need to go!" Said Grant as the raptors crashed through the tall grass only a few feet away from him. All four people ran off in the same direction in a panic as the bloodthirsty creatures closed in from behind. "The name's Frank Clarkson. What the hell is going on?" Asked Frank. "I don't think now is the time for introductions Mr. Clarkson, we need to find better shelter!" Said Gerry. The group ran until the grass softened up into small patches that replaced the tall weeds. To the right of them lay a hill that sat beside the jungle edge. Seeing an opportunity, Grant changed direction and motioned the group to follow him. "This should slow the raptors down a bit! Maybe we can gather our bearings once we reach the top!" He shouted. Following his lead, the group scaled the hill and watched as the raptors emerged from the thick leaves below them. Though they struggled up the hillside, the raptors made surprising progress which only pressured the panicked humans above. "Whoa. Dad look down there!" Pointed Jess. Gerry, Frank, and Alan shifted their gaze to a large building in the distance at the base of the hill. It rose to about three levels with offices and utility sheds branching out. "That's the administration building that Hammond was talking about!" Noted Frank. "Perfect! We can barricade ourselves in there!" Said Gerry. Without a moments hesitation, all four people sprinted down the hill just as the raptors crested the top. From there it became a downhill race as the Velociraptors gained more and more ground on the fleeing humans. Getting ever closer to the nearest shed, Jess watched as doctor Grant and the newcomer flung themselves inside. Her father turned and ran back to her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her inside just as the raptors hit the metal door. "Help me bar the door! The lock is broken!" Yelled Frank. The metal door could be easily pushed open without the locking mechanism that secured the door. But it had long corroded into a rusted pile of junk. "With what?" Cried Grant as he moved to block the door. Thinking quickly, Jessica opened a locker in the small shed and pulled out a long pole with two pokers on the end. "Will this do?" She asked. "That's perfect! C'mon, hold the door while I put this thing through the lock!" Ordered Gerry. The door withheld, but the raptors continued to fling themselves at the barrier, creating a loud banging sound. Grant and Frank sat in the corner while Gerry and Jess huddled at the far end of the shed, the constant snarling, hissing, and pounding of the raptors plaguing them with an endless cacophony of noise. Twilight Sparkle "Peter get up!" Yelled Twilight as she tugged at the man's shirt. The two had fallen after Langston tripped while clambering over a tree. Langston had been unfortunate enough to hit his head on a large rock, knocking him out. With the raptors closing in behind them, Twilight did the first thing that came to mind. Covering Langston in a purple bubble, Twilight levitated him in the air and tried to gallop off in a safer direction. Unable to move fast due to the unbelievable weight of her passenger, Twilight worked her hooves as hard as she could until she broke through the thick flora that blocked most of her view. Right over the edge of a steep cliff. Without noticing, Twilight had ran herself through the brush and over the side of a plateau that she had unknowingly been climbing for the past ten minutes. Screaming as she fell through the air, Twilight's life flashed before her eyes. Her first book, the first ice cream cone she had shared with her brother, her first magic spell- WHUMP! Twilight held the magical grip on Langston and opened her eyes. She was greeted with the sight of a large grey bird with a pointed beak. It screeched a shrill call and flew lower toward the ground. She was sitting on the back of a bird... flying. She was flying. The wind through her air was exhilarating as she fully enjoyed the moment even though the thing could wrap it's head around and eat her any second. Twilight looked behind her and saw the raptors stopped at the edge of the cliff, hissing and snarling at each other. "See you later!" Twilight taunted, blowing a thick raspberry at the end. Obviously too heavy for the bird, Twilight and the motionless form of Langston hit the ground hard with a thud. Dizzy, Twilight tried to gather her thoughts but she couldn't, a dull pain emanating from the back of her head. "Oh, ow..." She muttered as she touched the back of her head. Pulling the hoof up to her eyes, the purple mare spotted blood. Twilight's head slumped to the ground as she faded out into blackness, the last thing her eyes saw being a small clawed foot approaching with interest. Louis Dodgson Louis Dodgson sat on his chrome throne caressing his newfound eggs. His partner Gordon Bennett sat close by weighing the immeasurable amount of gold that had accumulated in his own personal Swiss bank account. "Ah, isn't this great Gordon? The world is in the palm of my hands all thanks to these sweet babies." Said Dodgson, greedily staring at the speckled eggs in his lap. The following silence disturbed Dodgson, his partner never usually this quiet. "Gordon? Ain't it great?" He asked again. Shifting his head toward his friend, Dodgson held his breath and froze in horror. The body of his partner was torn and bloodied, leaking all manner of flesh and intestines. But that was not the center of Dodgson's attention. It was Bennett's head, which was now not his own. It was the head of a Tyrannosaur. It stared at him, and to his surprise, spoke in Gordon's voice. "You got that right Lou. Everything's peachy keen." Dodgson was about to scream when the dino's jaws opened wide and a flood of water washed over him. "GAH!" Dodgson awoke with a start on the bank of a river. The water must have washed over him and taken him away from his near-blissful dream. He checked his surroundings from where he sat and once he concluded it was all clear, Dodgson sighed and thought about nicer things. His private estate. His Porsche. The money he could make from dino eggs. The office desk- The eggs! Dodgson whipped his head around in a panic until he spotted a single cooler sitting next to his limp backpack. Scrambling over on all fours, Dodgson checked the contents of them and was both relieved and grief stricken. The backpack was empty save one soaked Snickers bar but the cooler next to it was dry on the inside, the eggs kept within completely safe and unharmed. "Yes! Maybe I wont be leaving here empty handed." Said Dodgson. Packing the cooler into the soggy pack, Dodgson stood up, stretched, and started off toward the southern coast where his motor boat was waiting to take him off the island. KABOOM! The crack of the thunder and the bright flash of the lightening made Dodgson jump as a torrential downpour of rain hit the island hard. Dodgson trudged through the now muddy landscape looking for shelter. He would have to wait till tomorrow to gather his bearings and leave this godforsaken island. In the distance was a small cave in which he could find temporary refuge in. Muttering under his breath, Dodgson ran inside and sat down as he unwrapped the Snickers bar. The sogginess of the wrapper coupled with his wet hands caused the chocolate bar to slip through his fingers and through a crack in the limestone. Unable to reach it, Dodgson sat back against the wall and sneered. "Great. Just fucking great." > Chapter 6 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle Twilight dreamt. She dreamt of the lovely plains and glens that dotted the wonderful countryside of Equestria. Her comfy house sat in the middle of a town that maintained a special place in her heart. With a warm cup of cocoa and a nice book on her lap, Twilight sat in her recliner and read. Regardless of whatever the book was about, she was in paradise. The window she left open allowed a cool breeze to seep into her home. "Ahhhhhhhh...." She moaned in relaxation. The kitchen smelled of gingerbread cookies thanks to Spike's exemplary cooking skills. The scent tickled her nostrils. The leathery edges of the page caressed her fore limbs. But the cushion at the edge of her chair... it stung. "What?" Looking down at her hooves, Twilight gasped. They were bleeding from various cuts in her flesh, the blood soaking her fur a dark crimson. "AH!" Twilight opened her eyes from her prone position on the ground. Instead of her fluffy chair, she felt the cold touch of the soil underneath her and the rain pattering on her face. Shifting her head to the lower half of her body where the tingling was the strongest, she noticed several small forms crouched next to them. They had their heads lowered, gnawing on the tips of her hooves. Twilight kicked them away and stared in disgust. Next to her, Langston was still unconscious. Thankfully, she could still see a faint rhythmic rise in his chest, indicating breaths being taken. "Peter?" No reply. The small green dinos had run off but not far, as they had taken up positions in the ferns a few feet away from the two, watching them with beady eyes. She could hear them chirping hungrily, waiting for them to become weak so they could feed. Twilight shuddered in disturbance and beckoned Langston once more, shaking lightly. "Peter? Please wake up!" She begged. Muttering to himself, Twilight could barely discern what he said. It was probably something along the lines of: "...five more minutes..." "Peter this is serious!" She cried. Langston stirred in his sleep, and then he opened his eyes. Gathering his thoughts, Twilight could see that he was remembering where he was and what was going on. "Oh hey Twilight, what happened earlier? My head hurts like crazy!" He said, rubbing his forehead. "You tripped and knocked your head on a rock, so I carried us to safety." She said matter-of-factly. "No kidding? There's more to you than meets the eye little pony." Said Langston as he stood up and reconnoitered his surroundings. The background had yet to change, jungle being the only type of landmark visible for miles. Night was falling, and the heavy rainfall did nothing helpful in aiding the two survivors. The rain started to come down harder, blanketing Twilight and Langston with an unforgiving barrage of icicle-like droplets. "We should probably get out of this rain!" Called Twilight. "You don't say!" Said Langston, flashing a face that would make Nicholas Cage proud. Langston started off in a random direction but was halted by Twilight's imperatively warning voice. "Peter! Wait, just look." She said. Looking ahead of him, Langston could now see the eerie light shining off of the small beady eyes staring at them from the brush. "Right. Lets go this way." He said, leading the two toward possible shelter into the darkening night. Ellie Sattler "He left us! That crazy son of a bitch left us!" Yelled Bruce Grimes. Ellie Sattler had been trying to get a grip on the situation since Grant had chased after Gerry and Jess. Not only had it begun to rain a few moments ago, but the Tyrannosaurs had become fed up with the Allosaur carcasses they had picked clean earlier. Only moments ago the bull Rex that had left returned, covered in a white shade of soot and rubble. The group braced themselves for another jolt from the beasts, holding onto the rails as the Bull Rex nudged the high hide. "What do we do? Mr. Hammond, what are we going to do!?" Cried Claire Long. "W-we need to get down from here and get to the administration building Frank sh-should have scouted out. We'll be safer there." He stuttered. "How? This is crazy! We're all going to die here!" Panicked Bruce as he clung to the far end of the platform, grasping the bars with rain-slick hands. Then the Rex bashed the tower, sending Bruce over the side. "AGHHHHH!" He screamed as he fell to the ground. Hitting the muddy soil with a wet splat, Bruce groaned in agony. He had broken his legs, and was now at the mercy of the carnivores that loomed above him. "BRUCE!" Yelled Claire as she watched the Tyrannosaurs bend down and nudge Bruce with their snouts. "This cant end well..." Said Malcolm. The bull Rex bit down on Bruce's legs, while the female clasped it's maw on his torso. With a simple tug, the creatures had succeeded in tearing him in two. Ellie looked away, still susceptible to the sickening sounds of the Rexes eating the poor kid. By the time she looked back, Bruce was no more than a clump of flesh being chewed on, his only visible arm in the Rex's jaw gone limp. Claire was crying as she clung to Malcolm who held her in his arms while Hammond could only stare at the carnage in front of him. "Ellie, if you have any ideas now would be the time!" Said Malcolm. Sattler was trying her hardest to think, glancing at her surroundings in an attempt to locate a possible escape route. But there was nothing, the only thing up here being a few tools. Claire's laptop had gone over the side so there was no use calling for help. KRA-KOW! The tree next to them was struck by lightening, causing it to break and list slightly toward the tower, it's largest branch leaning on the edge of the rails. "I've got an idea but you're going to have to trust me! See that tree? We can use it to get off this platform. After we climb down the trunk, we'll find Grant and the others, and get the hell outta Dodge!" She said, receiving mixed looks from the group. "Well? You heard the lady!" Yelled Malcolm as he grabbed the wet branch, stiffening it so that Sattler could get a better grip on it. Claire beckoned Hammond over as they lined up for their turn. The Rexes were too busy feeding on Bruce's remains to notice them leaving. Ellie took the first step and slipped a little, making the group jump. "I'm okay, just watch out when you get here. It's a little slippery." Ellie made it to the far side of the branch and waved over Claire, who had hardly any trouble traversing the wet section of the tree. Claire was good at balancing, seeing as though she had taken gymnastics in her youth. It was just like a big balancing beam. Hammond's shaky crossing had kept the group on edge but nevertheless, he had prevailed. Now it was only Malcolm, who was able to shimmy his way across the branch, slipping once or twice. "We're all here? Good. Alright everyone, as quietly as you can, lets get down this tree and find the others." Said Sattler as she took the hold of the trunk and began her descent. Twilight Sparkle The two had been trudging in the mud for a long time, completely losing all sense of direction. They were continuing down a path that they had located earlier in the waning light of the sun. The only reason they could call it a path was because it was the only route some-what devoid of plants. Shuddering and huddling closer to Langston as she came across it, Twilight passed by a half eaten carcass, abandoned by the carrion birds due to the rain. It's ribcage hung open, the gnawed-on innards displayed to all who laid eyes on the body. "Peter? I don't want to be out here anymore." Whimpered Twilight. "I know Twilight, I don't either. But if we don't find shelter soon, we could very well be joining that poor fellow over there." Langston said, pointing to the dead dinosaur. Twilight gasped, and tears began forming at her eyes. She was scared. So unbelievably scared. She longed to be in the safe presence of her teacher, Celestia, not having to worry about the dangers of being eaten alive every waking minute of your life. She wanted her friends, her brother, Cadence as well to be there for her. She needed comfort now more than ever, and the only pony she could find possible sanction in wasn't even a pony. It was some alien creature that she had barely gotten time to know. "Aw jeez Twilight, we're not gonna end up like him. You'll see, we'll get off this island and get you someplace safe in a jiffy." Langston reassured, realizing the accidental fear he had instilled in the delicate thing. "...O-okay..." Twilight choked out between sobs. "C'mon, I'll carry you." Langston spoke, picking up the bruised and battered pony. The two walked on further, passing nothing but open fields and dense jungle. Langston had made sure he steered clear of the areas that smelled particularly like musk or urine, as predatory animals tended to mark their territory as such. It was a neat trick he picked up during his time hunting big game in Africa. "Hold the phone, what's that?" Asked Langston. Twilight perked her head up and noticed something astonishing ahead of them. Right in front of their eyes, in the middle of a vast plain, lay an immense building with annexes that lead out into individual offices and shacks. Peter began walking toward it quickly but stopped in his tracks and crouched low into the grass, hushing Twilight before she could say anything. "Quiet. Look." He said, pointing to a small shed ahead of them. Adjusting her eyes to the darkened, rain drenched night, Twilight was able to observe several figures hopping about near the shed. They snarled and hissed at it and each other, obviously trying to get whatever unlucky animal hid within. Raptors. "What do you think they're trying to get to?" She asked. "Whatever it is, it's none of our concern and beyond our assistance. C'mon, we'll go around and see if we can get into the building and barricade the doors until morning." Said Langston, creeping sideways until he was out of the peripheral vision of the carnivores. The two were able to spot a sort of staff entrance and approach the door unhindered, pushing the door open with ease. The inside was a mess. A long hall filled with dust bunnies and cobwebs, each room dotting the walls pretty much in the same shape greeted them. The overhead lights were out, what little moonlight that could seep through the cracked cieling slightly illuminating the eerie building. "We're going in there?" Twilight asked in shock. "It's our best bet, so yeah. We're going in there." Replied Langston. Taking out his flashlight and setting Twilight down, Peter Langston propped up the door with a nearby chair and led the way down the insidious hallway. Gerry Harding "Dad, are we going to die?" Jessica Harding asked her father. "No sweetie, of course not. Don't ever say that." Gerry said, comforting his daughter. Though it was easy to assure her with warm words, it was not so easy to deceive the other two grown men in the small room, completely cut off from the outside world and surrounded by bloodthirsty raptors. Frank and Alan sat across from him and talked in a low voice on how they might handle the situation at hand. To his left, Jessica had stood up and began scouring the room, examining the tools and equipment that lined the walls. "Jess, stay close." Gerry told his daughter. "Hey dad what are these things, cattle prods?" She asked. Gerry stood up and gestured to the locker that she was looking in as well as the object that was currently keeping the Velociraptors at bay. "Yeah. We use those on smaller, more skittish dinos. Y'know, like Gallimimus. We don't shock them with it, we just make them crackle. It makes things easier when we're herding them." Gerry explained. The raptors banged against the door once more, rattling the cattle prod that currently barred the door. Jess jumped, and started toward her father. "Whoa!" Cried Jess as she tripped on a small bump in the ground. Just barely catching herself, Jessica looked down at the curious little handle on the cement floor. "Huh? What's that?" Asked Frank. Gerry, Alan, and Frank leaned in and observed the small metal piece sticking out of the ground. "It looks like a handle! Gerry, pull it!" Said Grant. To their surprise, the handle gave in and a small hatch in the ground revealed itself. Sighing in relief, the group looked down into the passage. It led into a small tunnel easily accessible once you fit yourself in. "What is that?" Asked Jess. "It looks like some kind of maintenance tunnel. They must have these set up all over the facility." Explained Gerry. "Guys, I think we're sav-" Right as Frank spoke, the hinges on the door bent, the door holding back the predators now left slightly ajar. The raptors stared at them through the small crack, hungry as ever. "I think that's our cue! Let's get the hell out of here!" Shouted Frank as he motioned for Jess to get in. Just as Grant squeezed himself in and slammed the hatch shut, he could hear the door burst open and the raptors viciously claw at the small entryway . "What now?" Asked Frank. "Nowhere left but forward. Jess, lead on." Said Grant. The group of survivors started forward into the dark labyrinth of tunneling, unsure of what they would find on the other side. > Chapter 7 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle Twilight and Langston trudged through the dank, dark halls of the long-abandoned administration building. The little moonlight that managed to provide vision for the two was beginning to leave them, vanishing as the night crept along. They didn't know how long they had been walking, but it was beginning to take it's toll on the battery life in Langston's flashlight even though Twilight acted as their primary lightsource. "Damn, not now! I charged the blasted thing before we left!" He said, slapping the side of the flashlight in irritation. Twilight looked up at her new friend fidgeting with the small contraption and shook her head. Almost nothing had gone right for them during this fiasco. The life force powering Langston's little toy dying out proved her theory right. "Don't worry Peter, I've got us covered." Twilight reassured in a shaky voice, every little sound and scampering critter making the purple mare jump. The two continued their trek through the facility, all the while checking every corner and room that they passed by. Although the building was sealed off to the larger predators, Langston was extremely on edge. Something wasn't right, he could feel it in his bones. "Twilight? Do you hear anything?" He asked. "No. Why?" She replied. "That's what has me nervous. I don't hear anything. Look at these walls. There are vines growing down them! You'd think by now some other creature would call this place home just by the look of it." He reasoned. Langston looked down at the pony but she wasn't there. Glancing behind him, Langston spotted Twilight frozen in horror, looking at something at the far end of the hallway. Wheeling around to face the thing that had Twilight so scared, Langston spotted numerous pairs of glowing eyes staring at the two without motion. Then, as if on cue from some hidden leader, the eyes charged. Twilight screamed. Ian Malcolm "C'mon Claire, we're almost there." Eased Malcolm, trying to calm down the already terrified group. "If my memory serves me correctly, the old admin building shouldn't be far from here." Said Hammond as he tried to identify landmarks in the seemingly endless jungle. Malcolm was down right pissed off at Hammond for bringing the people he brought to the island into this, but he had more important things to worry about. Right now, the primary concern was getting out of the open and into some kind of protectable shelter. The Rexes weren't far behind, the destroyed body of Bruce Grimes probably sitting at the bottom of their stomachs by now. "Wait, I see something!" Cried Sattler, Pointing to the opening in the jungle foliage. The group formed up and observed the massive building in the distance. To their surprise, it was completely devoid of animal life, the only movement being the rain that started to come down harder. "Well? Don't just stand there. Lets get moving." Coaxed Malcolm as the group sauntered on through the driving rain. Unbeknownst to the group, a pair of greedy eyes sat watching them from a small cave only a few yards away. Louis Dodgson Smirking as he shrank back down within the cave rocks he was hiding behind, Louis Dodgson began mapping out an escape plan in his mind. "I don't know how the hell they're still alive, but I cant let them leave this god-forsaken place. They'll spoil the whole island, and I'll lose all accreditation for these eggs." He said to himself, rubbing the case that sat in his lap. His plan was as such. He would leave early in the morning, ducking out of the way of any dinos and get to his boat. From there, he would bribe the ferrymen not to return to the island with the cash he kept on him. That should buy enough time for the carnivores to finish them off. "Then I'll be out of here with a billion dollars worth of dino eggs." He chuckled to himself as he set his body clock and dozed off, awaiting the next day when he would screw over the other survivors and leave this cursed place. Jessica Harding The group of four had been crawling for what seemed like fifteen minutes now, ducking their way through the dark tunnels and passageways of the underground maintenance ducts. Jessica led the pack, creeping along the narrow pipes. They were definitely inside the building now as they could observe various water mains and electricity wiring snaking through holes in the wall to provide services to those in the facility. It was becoming a tighter and tighter squeeze until Jess saw a bleak light at the end of the small corridor. "Guys? I think I see something!" She exclaimed, moving faster now that she felt a glimmer of hope that she could escape these claustrophobic tunnels. "Jess wait! Don't go so fast!" Cried Gerry Harding. Jess ignored her father, inching closer and closer to the edge of the duct. "It's okay dad, I think I can poke my head out here!" Jessica leaned out and gave the all clear, only to get run over by something moving very fast on four legs. Twilight Sparkle, Two Minutes Earlier... Breathing in raspy, short inhalations, Twilight and Langston barreled down the hall. Whatever they had seen earlier was now chasing them down in hot pursuit. It's frightening shrieks could be heard from their current position in the building, indicating they weren't very far behind. "Oh shit, they're still coming!" Cried Langston, keeping pace with Twilight who was galloping equally as fast. "I got it, gimme a sec." She said, enveloping her horn in a purple aura. Suddenly, to Langston's surprise, the filing cabinets behind them toppled over thanks to Twilight's quick thinking. The dozen or so metal cases created an improvised wall large enough to stop a small car. Picking up the pace, Langston could hear whatever was chasing them slam right into the artificial barricade, tripping over each other but still coming strong. "Damn! That only slowed them down!" He cried. Twilight gasped in disbelief. Nothing could stop those things. She wanted to believe that they could make it out of the building or find a discreet hiding spot but the creatures chasing them were just too fast and the monsters outside would tear them to shreds. In the back of her mind, a little voice told Twilight that she was going to die, painfully, at the claws of some horrible flesh-eating creature. They couldn't run forever because sooner or later they would have to slow down. I'm going to die. WHAM! Any thought of crying was immediately ousted out of Twilight's mind, the imminent threat of a possible meat-eater now lingering somewhere in front of whatever just rammed into her. But it wasn't a dinosaur. Standing up and rubbing her head, Jessica Harding went slack-jawed as she stared at Twilight. "Twilight?" The two embraced as Langston rounded the corner, panting frantically. "C'mon Twilight we have to g- JESSICA?!" He exclaimed. Behind her emerged the forms of Gerry Harding, Alan Grant, and an unidentified man. "Twilight? Peter?" Said Grant. "Alright, I'm sure we're all glad to see each other right now but we need to get a move on! WE ARE BEING CHASED!" Shouted Langston. "Chased? By what?" Asked the unknown man. To Gerry Harding, the shrill call he could hear around the corner was all too familiar and sent chills running down his spine. Troodon Pectinodon. Ian Malcolm "Well, at least we're out of the rain." Said Ian Malcolm as the group stepped inside the old, dilapidated building. The weather outside had taken a turn for the worse, changing from a light drizzle into a full-blown cyclone. The progression of the storm proceeded at an alarming rate, catching the survivors completely off-guard. "I guess we can cordon of this area till morning, then we can start searching for the others." Said Claire. In the distance, coming from inside the building, Ian and the others could clearly make out a loud bang followed by a high-pitched scream. Without hesitation, the four bolted down the hallway toward the frantic scream. "Which way was it coming from?" Asked Malcolm in a panicked voice. "I don't know. You go on... I need to catch my breath..." Huffed Hammond, his years getting in the way of the rescue attempt. Malcolm grabbed the old man by the arm and tugged. "Oh no you don't, your sticking with us. We could use you for bait." Said Ian in a bitter voice, leading the group on down the hall way. The screaming and the sound of feet hitting tile a floor above them prompted Ellie and Malcolm to take a detour at the nearest staircase. With the help of Claire, Hammond was able to keep up with them. Now on the next floor, wheezing from the calorie-burning climb they had just underwent, the exhausted people whipped their heads around frantically looking for the source of the noise. "I hear it, but I don't see anything!" Said Ellie. "There!" Exclaimed Hammond. Sure enough, the rest of their party emerged from the far end of the corridor, a small purple pony in company. "Twilight!" Said Ellie in relief. "RUN!" Yelled Grant. Behind them, Ian spotted numerous forms charge around the corner of the hall, dashing toward the fleeing survivors. What surprised him the most though, were the eyes. The milky white, beady eyes. "C'mon! This way!" Yelled Claire, motioning for the others to join them at their end of the hallway. Catching up, no one was able to utter a word before the entire ensemble started off down a random passageway, escape the only option on their minds. "Oh god, which way?" Shouted Ian to no one in particular. "Um, I think we might be going the right way. Then again, we may be heading towards another dead end." Said Hammond. 'Wait a minute, you've been here before haven't you?" Asked Grant as they ran. "Well... once or twice. I only supervised it's construction." Hammond puffed. Ian skidded to a halt at an intersection in the hallway, stopping the group in their tracks. "Alright then, there's a lot of valuable embryos here isn't there? Where would you go if you were under attack and trying to keep them safe? A panic room maybe?" He interrogated. "Of course, it's down the hall on your left!" Hammond pointed out, steering the group in the correct direction. The group came upon path after path, the entire facility an intricate maze-like structure. Finally rounding a corner, Hammond pointed them toward a small chrome gateway on the opposite side of the room, the entrance no larger than an ordinary door. Crossing the futuristic workroom filled with all the panoply of a mad scientist's lab, Ian heard the dinos closing in on their position. "In here! Quickly now, quickly!" Said Hammond as he ushered the group in. Confirming everyone had safely huddled themselves in the small box-like room, Hammond went for the electronic door control and frowned. "Damn!" He exclaimed. "What, what is it?!" Cried Jess. "This door operates on a manual and automatic locking system. The auto lock on this door is long broken, corroded by time probably. The only other way to close this door is manually. The lock for that is..." Hammond looked up at a switch sitting on the far side of the room, a big red sign above it read 'Manual Shut-off'. "That thing? But wait, if one of us goes out there to lock it, they'll be trapped out there with the dinos!" Said Grant. Just as this dawned on the rest of the group, the Troodon smashed through the glass on the opposite end of the room. Peter Langston Watching the dinosaurs slowly inch toward them sent shivers down Peter Langston's spine. The door that was supposed to save them wasn't even in working condition, and the only other way to shut it was blocked by the advancing dinos. "Twilight, cant you use your magic? Y'know, force the switch to close?" Asked Grant, not taking his eyes off the carnivores staring them down. "No, I'm sorry. It's too far away!" She said teary eyed, stricken with grief about what was going to happen in a few moments. Accepting their fate, Jess and Gerry went in for one last hug, Ellie and Alan held hands, and the rest just stared at the frightening creatures about to kill them. No. "Gerry, Alan, Dr. Malcolm, cover the door. Miss Sattler, keep the others as far back as you can." Said Langston gathering his strength. He knew what he had to do. "Wait, what are you going to do? Peter?" Asked Twilight. Without answering, Langston dropped his pack and anything that would slow him down. He would need every ounce of speed he could get. "Peter?" The distraught purple mare questioned again. "Whatever you do, do not leave this room." Said Peter, glancing at the terrified people and the pony he had spent the last few hours surviving with. Then he took off. In an impressive display of speed, Langston leapt out of the room and over the dinos toward the switch. Ignoring the other's calls to return, the hunter hopped over a table, getting closer and closer to the red handle. Almost there... In a flash of pain, Langston was forced onto a knee, one of the dinos hanging by it's jaws that had clamped onto his back. "Agh!" He cried. The others saw it too, but the men were too occupied with keeping the few other dinos at bay with whatever they could find in the small panic room. "C'mon, almost... almost.." Langston was inches away from the other's freedom, the small switch within arms reach. Three more dinos leapt onto his back, biting at any exposed flesh, causing Langston to reel in pain. Almost... With one last defiant push, Langston pulled the lever down, the resounding slam of the metal doors closing was heard in the background. Collapsing on his stomach, Langston smiled. He had saved the others, but at a price. Oddly, he couldn't really feel anything. He could however, faintly hear the dinosaurs chewing viciously at his backside. Langston slipped into darkness just as the Troodon broke through his skin and clothing, ripping out portions of his spine and intestines. > Chapter 8 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle The waning hours of the night had passed by rather slowly since the screams of Peter Langston had been silenced, and Twilight had sobbed her way through the entire ordeal. "Shh, it's okay hon. Let it all out." Said Ellie Sattler as she stroked Twilights frazzled mane, tear streaks lining her own face. None of the group had gotten any sleep in the darkened room that night, even as the first light of the morning crept it's way through the cracked ceiling everyone was still wide awake. Jessica and Gerry huddled together in a corner, while the rest of the survivors gathered their bearings and tried to concoct an idea to escape the dino infested room beyond them. "So, just how the hell do we get by these things?" Asked Alan Grant. "Well, I suppose we could charge out guns a-blazing." Ian proposed sarcastically. The group scoffed in silent disapproval, rubbing their heads and chins in disbelief. Twilight was too distraught to notice anything at the moment. She had just lost the closest thing to a friend she had in this Celestia-forsaken world. Not to mention the fact that the other two, Claire Long and Frank Clarkson, were still staring in awe at the talking purple pony. Even though the Troodon had stopped eating Peter's body hours ago, the lingering stench of rotting meat hung in the air. Shuddering by just thinking about it, Twilight coughed in between her silent grieving. "What is this place exactly anyway?" Asked Ellie. Hammond stood still for a moment and sighed. Then he spoke. "You see, after the disaster at site B, we at Ingen decided that leaving the dinosaurs that survived on Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna was doomed to catastrophic failure, because somehow they were migrating to their neighboring islands. So we chose this completely uncharted and deserted island as a backup plan. Instead of euthanizing the animals, we bought the land from the local government and followed through with doctor Sorkin's plan. We created a dinosaur preserve and left the animals here to live out the rest of their lives. I returned to catalogue the remaining species to see what we could salvage." Admitted Hammond. Some of the group scowled and refused to look at the old man while the others just stared in disbelief. It was quiet for quite a long time until Frank Clarkson decided to break the silence. "Wait a second, Hammond? This is a safe room right?" Asked Frank. "Well, yes." He replied blatantly, as if it was common knowledge. Donning a face of curiosity, Frank Clarkson continued. "A safe room needs protection right? Obviously the phone lines are down, but I'm pretty sure there would be some way of those trapped in here to defend themselves in case of a breakthrough, am I correct?" He pondered out loud. The others nodded, and began frantically searching the small space for any cabinets or compartments that may have withheld salvation. "Guys! Over here!" Yelled Claire Long. The crowd of survivors surged over to the young woman and struggled for a look at the storage container that was hidden in the walls. The darkness of last night must have concealed what little evidence of it's existence, but now in the illuminating light of the sun, it was clear as day itself. "Open it!" Yelled Grant. The men budged, but couldn't force the small compartment to reveal it's insides, the hinges on the door long rusted and jammed. "I've got this." Said Twilight, trudging past the men and planting her hooves on the tile floor in front of the box. The hinges lit up in a purple aura and rattled until they came loose, the copper stained hatch falling to the ground with a loud clang. "Good show Twilight!" Exclaimed Hammond. The others followed suit with compliments of their own, and Twilight beamed proudly. She had needed that. She knew it would be a long time before she could recover from the monstrosities she had witnessed on this island. "Oh my god..." Gasped Ian Malcolm. The cabinet revealed long black tubes that Twilight had never seen before. Then again, she had never laid eyes on any of the strange human technology held in the facility, but these black rods were different from anything else. The humans had a distinct sense of relief in their sighs so she knew it couldn't be bad. "Hammond, of all the bullshit you built here, remind me to thank you for adding a gun cabinet." Said Malcolm, reaching for one of the two SPAS-12 shotguns sitting on the metal rack. Not saying anything, Hammond remained in the corner, watching the men grab what little shells stocked the small drawer. It wasn't many, only sixteen of the small red slugs. "What are those things? Are they like Peter's lightening contraption?" Asked Twilight, now more curious as she watched Grant and Malcolm load the tubes with the red cylinders. "This, sweetheart, is a gun. Yeah, a lot like Peter's." Said Malcolm. "Dad, are we going out there again?" Jessica asked fearfully. Gerry knelt down to her daughter and held her shoulders tight. "Yes. But I promise I will not let anything happen to you." Gerry said with reassurance. "Promise?" Jess doubted. "Promise." The group had split the guns between Grant and Malcolm, eight shells for each gun, and prepared to pry the door open with the help of Twilight's magic. They would make their way to the jeep and drive to the rendezvous point where they would meet up with the barge to take them off the island. "Ready?" Asked Grant. The others nodded silently. "Alright, on three. Twilight, get ready." "1..." "2..." "3!" The men, coupled with Twilight's magical pull, pried open the door and flooded into the room, ready to kill if need be. But something was wrong. The room was entirely empty. A large pool of dried blood sat in the center of the room by the red switch. The survivors, especially Twilight, set their gazes on anything but that. "They must have bailed when the sun came up." Said Jess in a shaky voice. Grant checked his surroundings, and with a clear nod of his head, he spoke in a determined voice. "Lets get outta here." Louis Dodgson The blinding rays of the sun shone on Louis Dodgson's face, rousing him from his fatigue-induced slumber. He checked his bags, ensuring the cooler and the eggs were still intact, and started toward the mouth of the cave with the pack shouldered. His time on this island was coming to a close, he could feel it. "Alright Lou, lets finish this." He said to himself. Surveying his surroundings, Dodgson made sure that the clearing around the cave was devoid of all life, save the buzzing insects. Nearby, the grass rustled, but it was just the flowing embrace of the wind. Even still, Dodgson jumped. "Damn it. If every little thing is going to scare me then..." The grass rustled again, and Dodgson knew it wasn't the rush of the wind this time. The foliage snarled, and a large creature hopped out of the brush, poised to strike. It hissed, and Dodgson ran for his life. Twilight Sparkle As the group ran through the illuminated halls of the abandoned administration building, thoughts raced throughout Twilight's mind. She could finally be going home, or become chow laying at the bottom of a dinosaur's stomach. She had spent one day in this Celestia-damned world and she already wanted nothing more to do with it. She only hoped that the princesses and her friends could find a way to bring her back, and soon. "We're almost out, as soon as we get through these doors, we should cut left. We left the jeep on the southern shores!" Said Grant. Grant and Malcolm braced themselves to ram down the double doors that lay ahead, positioning their elbows to take most of the impact. With a resounding smash, the doors flew open and the group found themselves standing stock still... ...staring straight into the gaping maw of a Spinosaurus. "What... is that?" Twilight said in voice that reflected pure terror. "Doesn't matter, RUN!" Yelled Ellie. Just as the beast chomped down, the group dodged left toward the tree line. Following a deep roar, the dinosaur charged, moving surprisingly fast. It gained on them quickly, and leaned down to take a bite directly out of Jessica Harding's head. "DAD!" She yelled. "Oh no you don't!" Gerry shouted, grabbing his daughter and swinging her on the opposite side of him and out of reach of the Spinosaurus' razor sharp teeth. Grant and Malcolm blind fired the shotguns behind them, but dropped them clumsily during their frantic attempt to run away. "Damn! It's no good!" Yelled Grant as he dropped the gun with Malcolm following suit shortly after. The group had reached the forest edge by now, but that didn't stop the hungry carnivore as it barreled down trees and any other obstructions that laid in it's path. The only route left for the group was a small uphill rise, just large enough for the Spinosaurus to tread on. Before they could realize what exactly was going on, the group of survivors noticed that they were running on a fairly small mountain pass hanging them precariously above the ground that sat almost sixty feet below. But still the Spinosaurus persisted. It bit at them whenever it got the chance, only stopping to balance itself on the ledge that continued to grow smaller and smaller. One bite in particular caught Twilight off guard, and had her tail caught dangerously between the giant's teeth. "TWILIGHT!" Shouted just about everyone in the group, powerless to stop the beast. "NO!" Shouted Twilight as she prepared the first spell that came to mind and fired it straight into the monsters face. The spell struck home, and before the dinosaur knew it, the tip of it's nose was now a ripe orange. Shaking Twilight off as it struggled to comprehend what just happened, the purple mare slipped out of the creatures mouth and over the side of the drop-off. "AGHHHHH!" She screamed as she fell into tree after tree, hoping one of them could break her fall. Twilight bounced off of a large fern and fell twenty feet the rest of the way to the ground. Awaiting the painful impact of hard soil, Twilight's life flashed before her eyes once more. Too many loving memories flooded her mind, and she was about to cry, but that all ended when she hit the ground. Or, at least, the backside of Louis Dodgson. The two lay in a daze on the forest floor, trying to gather their bearings. Dodgson caught a glance at Twilight, and spoke in a groggy voice. "What the..." Twilight was about to say something back, but the tall grass behind them exploded, and four Velociraptors hopped out, ready to tear the two helpless beings limb from limb. > Chapter 9 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle Twilight shook her head in a daze. The man in front of her was certainly a curious new find, but what actually had her attention at the moment were the raptors that had just shown themselves a few feet away. The beasts snarled and took aggressive stances, poised to strike. The one in front, the largest of them all, pounced first. "Oh Shit!" For the briefest of moments, Twilight's gaze was averted back to the human lying in front of her. The man shot up and started running through the tall grass. The raptor was still coming, and Twilight hadn't moved an inch. Run. Her mind ordered. So she did. The purple mare soon found herself galloping right next to the human that had broken her fall earlier, and he was running like Nightmare Moon herself was coming after him. "What the- you again?" The man exclaimed as he ran for the hills. Twilight didn't respond seeing as though speaking would only waste valuable breath, hindering her escape. They didn't mean to, but the two survivors ran together for the next ten minutes, taking different routes every-now-and-then but somehow meeting up with each other at the end of each pathway. The raptors were following close behind, hissing and shrieking primal rage at their prey. As crazy as it may have sounded, Twilight was actually bemused at this constant running. Running towards a destination was one thing, but running just because you had to run? The fact that you needed no direction? Somehow, she found it exhilarating. Until the two reached a creek. The man, huffing and puffing his way along the slippery rocks, tripped on a mossy stone. His pack, withered from his previous exploits, hit the ground and spilled open. Twilight stopped for the briefest of seconds to help the man until she saw the white speckled objects in the small box that had fallen out of the backpack. "It was you! You were the one that took the eggs!" Twilight gasped. The man recoiled, looking dumbfounded as hell at the quadruped standing in front of him. Even though it didn't stop him from hastily packing away the container back into his pack, he gaped at Twilight every time he looked up at her. "You... you can talk?" He exclaimed. Twilight was about to answer back when the raptors that had been chasing them emerged from the path they had just taken, racing down the creek toward the two helpless beings. Without hesitation, Twilight and the man continued running, taking the only route that was available to them. A sunken, narrow gorge surrounded by steep sides. Seeing as though climbing up the sides was out of the question, Twilight followed the human through as they ran for their lives. The raptors, wising up to their prey's remarkable speed, took shortcuts over the trench as they skimmed along the rim waiting for a good ambush point. Twilight, trailing slightly ahead of the man, had reached a dead end in the gorge. A high, rocky wall dammed the small valley, insinuating that this must have once been a river. "No!" Twilight said frantically. She was about to start sobbing, realizing that she was going to be eaten, until she remembered a particular escapade one of her friends had gone through. Rainbow Dash, prideful as ever, had raced a plethora of her possible pets through Ghastly Gorge one day. During the final home stretch, Rainbow Dash was caught under a pile of loose rocks... just like these. An invisible light bulb popped up over her head as she got to work stacking the nimble rocks upon each other until they formed a loose staircase leading out of the trench. Taking small leaps at first, Twilight eventually scaled her improvised ladder and reached freedom just as she heard a peculiar gasping coming from where she had just been trapped. The man with the eggs. Rounding a corner, the human saw the rock ladder and started towards it. As if some divine call from the cosmic goddess herself dictated that this man wasn't allowed to live, the rocks in front of him collapsed into a dusty heap just as he reached it, trapping him in the gorge along with the raptors that were very close by. Looking up, the human noticed Twilight and scowled. "You did that on purpose you purple bitch!" He cursed. Twilight panicked and looked hurt at the same time. "No! I'm sorry, I swear I didn't!" She proclaimed in a teary voice. The man muttered something under his breath as he began climbing the wall of rocks. Nearing the top, the human noticed that the strap on the left side of his pack was tearing, the small container housing the eggs beginning to slip out of the now unzipped flap. Struggling to continue his climb and keep the eggs in check, the man began slipping. He clasped his hand that was keeping the eggs in the backpack onto a rock, causing the container to fall out. "Oh no you don't!" He yelled. Twilight watched as the human's mysterious desire for the eggs overtook his need for survival as he pulled a hand off the rocks and grabbed the small package. He was close to the top though. So very close. "You need to drop the eggs!" Twilight shouted as she reached a hoof out to the human. The man looked at her as if that was the stupidest thing ever said. "Are you nuts? These things are worth more than your life!" He yelled back. Twilight felt great pity on the man as she reached further for his hands. He was obviously slipping. Any more stress on the one arm that held him up would send the human tumbling to the ground. "Here, at least let me take that from you for a second!" Twilight said as she enveloped the container in a purple aura. The man, seeing Twilight's magic for the first time, looked both astonished and angry as the purple mare's telekinetic grip caused the eggs to slip out of his hand. Growling in an alarming rage, the human screamed at Twilight. "Oh, I see! You just want the eggs for yourself! Well you know what? Fuck you!" He shouted. As if he was using the last ounce of strength in him, the enraged human swung the hand carrying the egg case up into the air, striking Twilight in face. The impact caused Twilight to reel back as her magical grip on the case loosened, the man holding it falling down into the gorge below. "Oh no!" Said Twilight as she stood up and looked over the side of the trench. The man was on the ground rubbing his forehead which was now bleeding and clutched the egg case to his chest with his other hand. Twilight shook her head in disbelief realizing that she couldn't save this poor soul, and that he was about to die. Tears falling from her eyes, Twilight turned and ran in the general direction her friends had gone. She galloped so fast that she hadn't even noticed the log she had accidently kicked as it rolled over the side of the gorge and fell right onto the poor man below, pinning him to the ground. She also didn't notice the one raptor that had ignored the human and was now silently pursuing her. It's legs moved quickly, saliva dripping from it's eager jaws. Louis Dodgson The log hit him like a pile of bricks. Dodgson found himself struggling to move the heavy object off of his chest as he attempted to push it with his feeble hands. It was no use though, the gnarled old tree's trunk so large that it covered his entire upper torso. He was about to continue trying to remove the log until he heard something that caused his heart to skip a beat. A loud, cacophony of hissing. He couldn't see them considering his current situation on the ground, but he could hear the raptors clear as day as they closed in on him, snarling at each other as if... as if they were arguing who gets first dibs. Thinking about that, Dodgson began silently whimpering to himself as he heard the crunch of dry leaves under the raptor's claws as they neared his position. He felt it in his left foot at first. The beasts removing his shoe then a sharp, painful gnawing. Then it turned into a tidal wave of pain as the raptors bit at it shrewdly until the skin was raw and the tendons had loosened. Finally, in one fell swoop, his foot was gone. He screamed in pain as the raptors chewed madly on it. He could feel the beasts wildly attacking anything they could get their teeth on, the pain coming from it unbearable. "OH GOD! MAKE IT STOP!" He pleaded, but it was no use. He felt the pain of his right leg as the bones snapped off, then the agonizing burning he experienced when the raptors reached his crotch. Shortly after, the carnivores moved onto his stomach. Dodgson could faintly see the head of one as it broke through the T-shirt and the weak skin, tearing out his small intestines like party streamers. The torment was unbearable, and just as he began to wish something would end it, a lone raptor popped it's head up over the log and tilted it's head hungrily at Dodgson. The man had gone into shock by now, but he could still see and hear everything. Slowly, the raptor bent it's head down and bit out chunk-after-chunk of flesh from Dodgson's face. And he had to watch every second of it. Alan Grant The group of survivors had made it off the mountain pass but were still being chased by the enraged Spinosaurus. Grant was the only one to see Twilight go over the edge of the pass, and he planned on keeping that to himself for as long as he possibly could. The others had more than enough to worry about at the moment. "There! It's the jeep!" Yelled Sattler as she pointed towards an opening in the jungle. The Wrangler was parked on an open stretch of beach undisturbed by anyone for the past few hours. All they had to do was sprint the final hundred feet and they would be home free. Malcolm was leading the pack, working his legs as if he never had the injuries he sustained on Isla Nublar. "C'mon! We're almost- WAIT!" Malcolm yelled. Ian skidded to a halt right before he fell into the dark abyss that sat in front of him. Frank, Claire, and Gerry subsequently ran into his backside, almost sending them over the side. "What?! When did this get here?" Yelled Jess. A large ravine cut into the earth, the result of the heavy rain last night caused a shift in the water table, creating this fifty foot deep hole. It stretched across about twenty feet so there was no hope of jumping it. "Great! What do we do now?" Cried Frank. Grant was wondering the same thing as the group wandered around hopelessly, the Spinosaurus getting closer and closer by the second. Hammond stood nearby, leaning up against a burnt tree with a defeated look on his face. If Grant had a light bulb, he would have held it above his head. The tree must have been struck by lightening the night before, it's trunk slightly uprooted and the leaves and branches singed black. Almost easy enough to push. "The tree!" Grant yelled as he motioned for the group to follow him over to the gnarled trunk. With everyone assembled and the dinosaur's roar not far off, Grant began explaining how they could use the tree to bridge the large gap between them and the jeep. From there they would drive to the meet up point and get off the island. Everyone except Twilight... Grant shook the thoughts out of his head and took up position behind the tree trunk. "Everybody push!" He yelled. The group heaved once or twice then, sure enough, the tree creaked and groaned until it's roots snapped and the behemoth of a tree fell to the ground, bridging the gap between the survivors and the jeep. "Yeah!" "Alright!" The group cheered but was cut short when the Spinosaurus crashed through the foliage behind them, roaring bloody murder. "Across the bridge, across the bridge!" Grant ordered frantically as he hastily ushered the group across the tree. Grant made sure he was the last across, pushing everyone along. When everybody was finally on the opposite side of the ravine, Grant looked back at the carnivore charging them. It obviously hadn't seen the large gap in the ground as it tripped on it's clumsy legs and fell, tumbling into the darkness fifty feet below. "Take that you overgrown lizard!" Jess cheered. Everyone stood huffing and puffing for a moment, smiling all the while until a look of concern hit Ellie Sattler's face as she nervously looked around, scanning her surroundings. "Where's Twilight?" She asked frantically. Twilight Sparkle Twilight galloped as fast as she could. She could hear the raptor closing in on her faster than ever, the promise of a fresh meal probably lingering in it's mind. She had noticed it not five minutes ago stalking her from afar. As soon as the raptor had seen this, it charged, scaring the living daylights out of the small purple pony. "No, no, no, no!" Twilight kept telling herself as she felt the raptor's hot breath on her backside. A small gap opened up in front of her causing her to jump, making her just barely miss the deadly chomp of the dino behind her. For what seemed like forever, Twilight galloped away from this monster that never seemed to give up. Just when she didn't think it could get any worse either, she caught a glimpse of another dark form approach her from the side. Another Velociraptor arriving to join the hunt. Tears streaked down her face as she lost all hope of surviving even though she continued to run. After all, running was all she could do at the moment. Run and never look back. Ellie Sattler "I'm going back for her!" Said Ellie as she removed any extra accessories on her at the time to enable faster running. She would need it if she was going to get back to Twilight in time. "That's crazy Dr. Sattler, you'll never get to her in time on foot!" Hammond spoke. Sattler knew this. She also knew that she probably wasn't coming back from this either. "Wait! Ellie, use the jeep." Said Grant. The rest of the survivors looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you kidding? We need that jeep to get to the rendezvous point!" Shouted Claire. "Oh calm down. We don't need it that bad, it's only a half a mile down the beach. Ellie, take the jeep and find Twilight. You know where to find us." Said Grant. Ellie nodded and stepped into the Wrangler. Turning the ignition key, Ellie put on her best game face and floored the gas petal, driving through the dense foliage towards the mountain pass. And Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle Ten minutes later, Twilight was still doing the same thing she was earlier. Running for dear life. She had passed by numerous rocky bluffs and hills that would only hinder her escape. It was as if the raptors were leading her on, drawing her into an ambush. She galloped through a prickly bush only to find herself falling flat on her face and rolling down a small, rocky escarpment. Finally reaching the end, Twilight sat sprawled out like a ragdoll, at least one of her legs broken beyond repair. She would probably be limping on that for the rest of her life. Who am I kidding? I'm about to die anyway... Twilight's thoughts were cut short just as the two raptors jumped down directly in front of her, a triumphant sneer on their reptilian faces. Twilight could only inch away as the two beasts closed in on her, snarling at each other as they prepared to dig in. Twilight shut her eyes as she prepared for the inevitable. WHAM! With a start, Twilight looked up. In front of her stood a large cumbersome object, equivalent to a taxi carriage back home. On the hood, squished together, were the two raptors as they were held in place by the vehicle and the adjacent rock wall. The window rolled down and a frantic looking human poked her head out. "Twilight?" 20 minutes later... The barge and the rest of the survivors looked on in relief as they saw the battered jeep pull up on the beach. The grill was filled with bits of meat as if the Wrangler had rammed into something organic at speeds faster than light. Dr. Ellie Sattler stepped out of the jeep and ran to the barge, an exhausted purple mare in the crook of her arms. As soon as the distraught woman reached the loading barge, the estranged crew winded up the anchor and set out for the port city from which they came. "Get her some blankets. The poor thing is dying over here." Ellie said tiredly, leaning up against the side of the cabin. Twilight stirred in the cushions she was given, shaken and scared. The humans she had come to know were standing before her, some milling about and others standing close by to make sure she was okay. She had no idea where she was, but in her heart, she knew she was finally safe. The boat, her friends, the terrifying island just a black speck in the distance. It was all so perfectly mind easing. And in a blinding flash of light, it was all gone. Twilight Sparkle The purple mare opened her eyes slowly, taking in her surroundings. She was no longer on the hard surface of the boat, instead she felt a comforting carpet-like feel on her underside. Carpet? She looked up and gasped. She was back in her library, all the books remaining in the exact place that she would have alphabetized them. She went bug-eyed as she noticed what stood in front of her. The two princesses of the realm stared at her with looks of astonishment, observing Twilight's frazzled mane and bloodied fur. But it was what lay behind them that brought tears to her eyes. Twilight gazed upon the sights of all her friends, including one worried purple dragon, standing stock still as they too looked on in amazement at the mess of a pony sitting in front of them. In a flash, they all surged forward asking concerned question after question. Twilight could barely make out whatever they were saying, all she could do was bask in the company of her friends and teacher as tears streamed from her eyes. She grabbed them all in a tight hug and wept loudly, choking on sobs of joy. She was finally home. > Epilogue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle had been home for two weeks now. Her bed-rest period was closely overseen by princess Celestia herself, providing her with the best medical care and company the purple mare could possibly receive. Twilight's friends stuck by at their friend's side for as long as they could, sometimes even spending the night. Twilight had horrifying night terrors following the first few days she arrived back in Equestria, prompting Spike to have to attend to the poor pony every time she began screaming throughout the night. Twilight spoke next to nothing for the first week, uttering only belligerent phrases from time-to-time. Two weeks time it had been since her departure from the island. "Wow Twilight, did all that stuff really happen to you?" Asked Rainbow Dash as she trailed alongside the limping pony. Twilight quaintly nodded her head as she continued to enjoy the day. She requested to be able to take a trot around town, assured it would assist in the recovery process. By now princess Celestia had left Ponyville, leaving the studious mare to her own thoughts. The two ponies passed the threshold into the town square, receiving concerned looks from the other citizens. Even though everypony kept quiet about it, they still got the gist of things. "How about we stop in Sugarcube Corner? That usually cheers you up!" The cyan mare suggested. Twilight nodded solemnly once more, allowing Rainbow to hold the door open for her as she trotted in. The two took a seat in the back end of the eatery, the normal spot where the Elements of Harmony took their seats on a normal day. "Hey Twilight! It's great to see you out on such a beautiful d-" The blur of pink received an abrupt cyan hoof to her mouth, stopping her flood of speech. "Maybe now's not the time Pinkie?" Said Rainbow, gesturing to the bandaged mare next to her. The pink mare quieted down and took a seat next to Twilight and Rainbow, taking her time to soak in the train-wreck of a mare that sat in the swivel chair next to her. The group of three was quiet for a while, not doing anything in particular. "Pinkie? We need you to help fill these orders!" Cried Mrs. Cake from behind the counter as she wrestled a diaper onto Pound Cake. "Sorry girls, I gotta head out. Take care Twilight." The pink pony said softly. Twilight was too busy staring out the window at a nest sitting in a tree, it's inhabitants roaming free as if nothing in the world could stop them. Heh, try one day on that island... see what happens. She thought to herself. "Twilight? What actually happened to you? You never fully explained anything." Rainbow said, trying to avert her eyes from a large scar that Twilight received from a gash in her foreleg while she was gone. Twilight remained quiet, reminiscing about a past event that would remain in her thoughts for a long time. "C'mon Twilight, you can tell me. I'm your friend, and that's what friends are for." Rainbow soothed. So she told her about it. Twilight told Rainbow everything. She told her about the island, her friends, the monsters that tried to kill them every chance they got. She told her about the man with the eggs and Ellie Sattler's daring rescue. She spoke to her about Peter too. By the time Twilight was done talking, Rainbow was on the verge of tears. "Oh... wow... nopony should have to go through that Twilight." Rainbow said as she pulled the purple mare in for a hug. Twilight gratefully accepted the gesture, embracing her friend as she quietly wept to herself. The tropical island was once again a vacant lot for human souls, the only things remaining being a few million insects, the local flora, and the unforgettable dinosaurs. Night had overtaken the island, and the Troodon Pectinodon began their hunt in the old admin building. In a rocky gorge, a dirty blood-stained pen that read 'Louis Dodgson' was nestled in the torn, ragged clothing of a bony corpse, the carcass picked clean by scavengers. Somewhere far off, in a deep ravine, a roar emanated from it's depths that scattered every animal in the area. In it's starving jaws sat loose strands of purple hair underneath it's nose that was now an orange.