In the control room of the ship they heard the piercing shrieks of the animals as they feasted on the bodies, and heard Delta Forces screams. Then suddenly it all stopped. All audio feed went dead, only video feeds were intact and they didn’t like what they saw. The control room was silent.
Static hissed from the speakers. Everyone that had been doing something completely stopped and stared as the video feeds on the screens went blank one after the other. Arnold, not knowing what to do, tried to lighten the mood. “Wow was that a pin drop I just heard?” He said with a forced chuckle. All heads turned to him. He shook his head in despair.
O’Neal looked at Arnold. “Alpha Squad will be ready to go.” he said.
“Ark Angles will go with you. I don’t want to take any chances.” Lorth stated. Carter nodded then left. O’Neal left the control room shortly after.
When he got to the armory his team was already getting ready. They all looked up. Jesse a Hispanic kid in his early twenties, the youngest in his force, pointed to the speakers. They had heard what had happened but they still had a job to do.
“At least they hollered to let us know they needed support.” Jesse said. There were a few awkward coughs. Death didn’t faze him in the slightest. Before Jessie joined the army he was a hit man for a Mexican cartel. He was use to death.
O’Neil suited up. They went through the same checks that Charles and his team did. When they were all suited up, they were standing in a line waiting for the all clear. Carter’s team was standing opposite them. A Clergy priest carrying a Bible and a little scepter was walking down the middle. He shook the scepter twice on each team member, while murmuring prayers in Latin. Each time he shook his scepter a little bit of holly water splashed the faces of the team members.
The priest came up to Jesse and shook the scepter at him twice. Jesse wasn’t particularly religious. His whole family had been caught in the middle of a cartel war. He was the only survivor of his family. To make it better he was always doom and gloom before a mission started.
“Gracias Padre, I feel all cleansed and shit.” He said sarcastically.
The priest frowned at him and shook his scepter at him once more before moving on.
O’Neil slapped him in the back of his head. O’Neil wasn’t religious but he felt that you should show a certain amount of respect to those who were. Each man had the right to believe in whatever they wanted. Jesse nodded his head. He understood. The priest finished anointing the last team members. A petty officer signaled that the dock was clear.
Alpha squad was the first to go down the ramp. The Ark angles followed. They ran down the jetty through the gate that Delta force passed through they entered the facility with the same elevator. Went to the elevator and went to the first floor.
O’Neil signaled them to move on. They moved down the hallway until they reached the control room.
“Carter you and your team will run tactical.” O’Neil said. Carter nodded and led her team inside. O’Neil led his team down the corridor. There was a cross road here. To the right was the generator room. To the left was the direction the Delta team went. They turned in that direction. The hallway led to the med station. On the floor where the creatures’ body had been there was only a pool of blood. The other creatures must have carried of the body. They stood outside the med station. They all knew what was in there. Still they had to see. O’Neil went first. He pushed the door open. The med station was splattered with blood. But the bodies were gone. All that was left of the team were their busted weapons.
“Whatever these things are they sure clean up good.” O’Neil observed. No bodies no entrails not even a single organ was left behind.
Nick cleared his throat.
“O’Neil they did leave one part behind but you don’t want to see it.” Nick warned.
“What part?” He asked.
Nick patted his leg close to his nether region.
O’Neil felt sick He really didn’t want to see.
He shook his head to leave. O’Neil walked back out into the hallway.
Above the hallway was a grated vent. When O’Neil was directly under the grate it suddenly fell on him. He was smashed down to the ground. He couldn’t see what had fallen on him. It was so heavy he couldn’t move. He heard a loud bang. Whatever was on top of him was just blown off. He pushed the grate away. Nick helped him up. He was holding his SPAS-12 shotgun with one hand. Nick had shot whatever it was. When O’Neil was standing he examined the specimen. It was green with brown stripes. Whatever this animal was it looked reptilian and had the same features as the ones that got Delta force. It must have been one of the ones that got Delta force. But from what they saw from the head-cams the one that attacked Charles was light drown with faded black stripes.
“Tom scan it,” O’Neil commanded. Tom stepped forward. He took out his hand scanner and scanned the specimen.
“You guys won’t believe this.” Tom exclaimed, “It’s a fucking dinosaur.”
“Stop joking, this isn’t a game.” O’Neil said.
“I’m not. Look it’s a fucking Raptor, From the Jurassic period.” Tom said, handing O’Neal the scanner.
“He’s right the scanner says it’s a raptor.”O’Neil said. “But if it’s a dinosaur then why is there information on the hand scanner and not the goggles?” O’Neil asked.
The scanner has a large data base then the goggles and scientists have partial fragments of DNA. The scanner matches the hole fragments here with partial fragment in its data base. It does the same thing when scanning any biological item it comes across. When a match has been made it pulls up all available information.” Tom explained. O’Neil thought it over made sense. He glanced at the information again.
“The scanner says that we should shoot on site. It also says that there’s an unknown substance in the DNA code.” O’Neal read, “Get a blood sample and have the scanner examine it.” O’Neil told Tom. He handed it back.
Tom inserted a little chip with a sample of the Raptors blood into the scanner. The scanner took a minute.
“The scanner still doesn’t know what the substance is. There’s no available data.” Tom said.
O’Neil nodded, “Well at least we know something about our enemy.” He signaled them to move on.
At the end of the hallway were two heavy metal doors. The doors weren’t locked. “Biggs, you take point. Nick and Jesse you’re rear guard.” O’Neil said. He pushed one door open and walked into an indoor forest. There was a path leading through the forest. The path had a long beep black smudge in it. The smudge dragged along and curved right into the underbrush.
“Tom scan this black… gunk.” O’Neil said.
Tom moved the red line of the scanner over the black substance. The scanner beeped.
“It’s raptor blood. He said. To the one that Charles shot they must have dragged it through the door and into the undergrowth.”
“Then let’s keep moving.” O’Neil said.
On either side of them were large pine trees oak trees. Ferns and bushes were thick in the undergrowth. The undergrowth was so thick that they were swallowed up in a tunnel of green. They followed the path. On either side of them the undergrowth prevented any sight. If those things wanted to attack they wouldn’t see them coming. They had been walking for a while when they hear loud squeaks. O’Neil signaled them to stop and to get down.
Up ahead a heard of three foot high animals were crossing the path. The animals were blue with curved beaks. They had three talon claws, with an oval crest on their heads. They had large black stripes along their back. The oval crest above their head was bright red. They had long thick balancing tales. Tom was already scanning them. The information on these animals was loading on the screen.
“The scanner says it’s called Oval raptor.” Tom whispered. “It says that their believed to eggs stealers but the biological data suggest that in great numbers their dangerous. It recommends caution when in their presence.” He handed the scanner to O’Neil. On one side of the screen was a skeletal structure of the animal on the other was all the tactical data. It had a large curving claw on each large toe like the Velociraptor but its talons were small. He looked at the skeletal structure. A mountain lion can kill a horse by jumping on its back and when a mountain lion has killed people it always grabbed a person’s face with his front claws and ripped them to shred with its lower paws. If oval raptors applied this same technique in large numbers then they were dangerous.
“Then let’s proceed with caution.” O’Neil whispered back, “Because something tells me that there’s far more.” They waited for the animals to move along. After waiting for a few minutes the animals finally scampered and hopped off. They continued down the path at a slow pace. They would’ve move faster but they didn’t want to make any noise. They didn’t see any more dinosaurs but they heard them. Squawks and chirps. Sometimes they heard squeals. This forest was never silent.
The path led them to a fork in the road. To the left was a small metal door; to the right was an identical door. O’Neil took a small coin and flipped it with his thumb. The coin had two bald eagles on both sides. It was a promotional gift. Every colonel is presented with this gift as a reminder of their responsibility to their country and there men. One eagle had a sword in its talons and the other had a scroll in its talons. The eagle with the sword represented a colonel’s that is the warrior charging into battle guns blazing, the eagle with the scroll represented the colonel that waits before going into battle the colonel that assesses the situation before making the decision to act. It was another representation of what kind of leader you will choose to be. He caught it. Heads right tales left.
Heads,
He pointed right. He looked at the eagle with the scroll. His superiors said that he was the eagle with the scroll.
The metal door was plain and ordinary. It had a knob instead of a handle. He giggled the knob experimentally. The door was unlocked. He turned the knob and opened the door. Inside the room was dark with a faint red glow.
They entered with weapons raised, fanning out. When they all silently called “Clear” they advanced more into the room. It was a large room. It was a little hard to see because of the light. He switched to night vision. There was a movement to his right. He swung his gun in an ark, the light on his gun shown on an Asian man in a white lab coat. He had a rifle in his hands. He raised his hands to his eyes. The brightness of the light momentarily blinding him, O’Neil lowered his guns.
“Are you alright sir?” O’Neil asked.
The man looked like he’d been in hear a while.
“Not really, but thanks for asking.” He said.
“We’re a rescue team from the main land.” O’Neil said.
“Glad to know the military hasn’t forgotten us.” He retorted.
“Well actually, we didn’t know this place existed.” O’Neil stated.
The man nodded his head.
“Well this is one of many cloning bays.” He went over to the wall and flicked a switch. A ceiling light came on. O’Neil turned off his night vision. The motioned them to follow. In the next room were empty incubators. “This is where we kept the eggs. I assume that “
O’Neil nodded his head in agreement.
“Yeah I never really liked the raptors.” The man said. “They were too dangerous and far too inelegant for their own good. They were always getting out of their pens. Some even chewed through the steel bars like hyenas. So we replaced the steel bars with titanium. They were cloned in the next room.”
“How did you get DNA for the cloning?” Tom asked.
“Kirk had Intec industries excavate in the arctic. While there they found frozen dinosaurs, perfectly preserved bodies with whole strands of DNA. He got that idea when scientists found that mammoth in the glassier about a hundred or so years back.” He said. “Dinosaurs have nuclei in their blood just like birds, Kirk was confident that they would. He had a gut instinct that dinosaurs were worm blooded. He said that a platypus has the beak of a duck, webbed feet and lays eggs like a chicken but it’s still a mammal. He had the idea that dinosaurs looked reptilian but were worm blooded like a mammal but he was sure that they laid eggs like birds and had nuclei in their red blood cells like birds.” The man shrugged. “’Well he was right. So cloning them was no problem. The embryos were inserted into semi organic shells. So we kept them in large nests on specially made tables, with large heat lamps to keep them warm.” The man said. “The first dozen batches were either still born or they died from post traumatic stress. But with some tinkering we started getting healthy births. We dissected several species to learn what makes them tick. Kirk wanted to make sure that we k everything about these creatures. He said that the cause to make new one would be nothing compared to the cause of having to find new workers. With some experimenting we devised a poison that will cause instant death to the Dinosaurs but no harm what so over to humans. We then loaded all are rifles with the poison.” He hefted the gun. “They were imported on one of the last shipments of supplies. Each year four supply ships come and dock at our harbor. The last ship for this year should have left a few days ago. Is that how you found out about us here?”
O’Neil shook his head. “No we found files of the supplies that keep this place running. So we decided to see what the supplies were for.”
The man grunted.” Well we let them run around in the little forest we made for them and learned a great deal about them. Their eating habits, social behavior, mating rituals and even that some of them have a fear of loud sounds. But like kids over time they lose that fear. When they weren’t in the forest we kept them in cages. Then two days ago someone let them out. The facility was thrown into chaos. We lost a lot of people. All the guards are dead most of the people were picked off by the initial assault. I still can’t figure out how they got around so fast. I think there are some survivors on the lower levels.”
“How well do you know the facility?” O’Neil asked.
“Very well but the B2 level is locked off.” He said.
“Why is that?” O’Neil asked.
“Kirks lab and private facilities are on that level so it’s always locked off.”
“Well then, I guess we’ll check the other levels.” O’Neil said. “What’s past this place?”
“There’s the main entrance, a stair case to the second floor along with the entrance to the security check point.” He said.
“Then that’s the way we’ll go.” O’Neil said. “You’ll have to lead way Dr…...” “Lee, Lee Chang,” He said. He walked over to the other end of the room. He put his hand on a pad attached to the wall. A green light ran over his palm. A metal door in the wall slid up. He motioned for the others to follow.
The room beyond the metal door was the main entrance. It was the size of a ball room. Two metal doors were the way in and out to the courtyard, two more metal doors behind a large metal staircase led to the security check point, and the staircase led to a ledge that led to a wooden door that in turn led to the second floor office area.
“What’s on the second floor, Dr. Lee?” O’Neil asked.
“The security chief’s office and the Antenna room,” He said.
“You have an Antenna room,” O’Neil asked.
“In case of emergencies, but Matt, is the only man who has the Antenna key, he was supposed to be on level B3.” Lee Said.
“I see, so where does the security check point lead to?” O’Neil asked.
“It has the only two elevators that lead to the B1, B2, and B3 levels.” He said, “It also leads to the conferences rooms and the keycard assignment rooms.”
“What are the Key card assignment rooms?” O’Neil asked.
“It’s where scientist, guards, and workers get there key cards.” He said. “You hand a guard a paper telling them what level your card is permitted to give you access to, they take your finger print, scan it, put it on a card, and it lets you into that certain area.”
“What about a key card to the B2 area?” O’Neil asked.
“No, the B2 area has its own security check point that makes its own security cards.” He said. “It’s completely independent from the rest of the facility.”
“Then let’s get cards for the other levels.” O’Neil said, “Lead the way Lee.”
Lee walk in front of the group. Next to the double doors that led to the security checkpoint, was a little screen with a small key pad built into the wall. Lee lifted his hand to enter a code but he stopped. He stared at the screen. Then he scratched his head.
“Someone has just been through here.” Lee said. That made everyone pause. Lee pointed to the screen. “See someone has already entered. The little screed had the words ‘Accesses granted’ on the screen.”
“But the person forgot to reset the lock since there are no guards.” Lee said. He pushed the door open. “Shall we?”
Inside the room were two elevators, a vertical see through glass map of the lower facility, a large reception desk, a door to their left, and two red boxes on the wall next to the reception desk. Lee walked behind the reception desk and pushed a button under the desk. The doors clicked as it closed. O’Neil was surveying the room. The elevators had key card slots to open them. All the slots had blinking red lights to show that they were locked. Lee opened one of the red boxes. He took out a small black fanny pack. He buckled it around his waist. He hefted his rifle. There was a monitor behind the desk. He began to type. O’Neil and the others couldn’t see what he was doing.
“Whoever came in here didn’t go out the same way; he also didn’t go down the elevator.” Lee said. “Sensors monitor the elevators and the double doors so if someone went out through them the computer would remember it. Since it shows only one person entering that means he or she went through that door.” He nodded to the door on the left. “It leads to the conference room and the assignment room.”
“Then let’s go say high.” O’Neil said. He pushed the door open. It led to a hallway. There was a spot where pulssonic laser beams create a security barrier. The lasers were still on but the light on the pad was green instead of red meaning somebody had used it. Lee entered a code on the pad. The lasers disappeared.
Past the barrier the hallway forked to the right. There were two doors on either side of the hallway and one at the end. O’Neil signaled for the team to split in half. One part would clear one room while the other cleared the other room.
O’Neil was about to enter the door on the right with his team when for some reason he decided to check the door at the end of the hall. He started walking towards it. He didn’t know why but…
“Colonel, Colonel where are you going?” Wedge asked.
“I’ll clear this room you all clear those rooms.” He said. He walked down the hall to the room. He pushed the door open gently. The room was large and circular with pews for people to sit, with a podium for the speaker. The door shut behind him. There was no place for anyone to hide but he walked down the center isle just the same. The isles between the pews were empty. He walked up to the podium and looked behind it. Like the isles nothing there. He turned around to walk back up the aisle. There was a loud crash from above him. Something big and heavy fell on him forcing him to the ground. He was momentarily dazed. But when his eyes focused he was staring at a giant lizard.
A raptor was on top of him, its long snout with its razor sharp teen just inches from his face. It hissed at him. His gun was on the floor several feet away. He couldn’t reach the knife in his boot. ‘This is it!’ he thought. ‘I’ve finally met my match.’ It drooled a bit. It slowly moved its head towards him, savoring the kill to come, when suddenly the room was filled with the sound of gun fire. The raptor squealed as several bullets went right through its skull. Blood splattered O’Neil’s face and the floor. It toppled to one side.
O’Neil got up and grabbed his gun in case there were more. But there were no more. He spun around to look for the shooter. There standing at the other end of the center isle was Charles. One side of his face was covered in blood. Part of his vest was torn. He had his M16 slung across his shoulders.
“Hi kid, looks like you’re up to your ass in trouble again.” He said.
“Well then it’s a good thing I got you.” O’Neil said.
Charles began to laugh. He walked down the aisle towards him.
“What happened to you?” O’Neil asked.
“Well there I was standing guard outside the generator room, when the generator came on. I turned my head to look back at the door, when suddenly, I was knocked down. The edge of my gun scraped the wall busting the cam. To make it worse the gun was knocked out of my hand as well.” He said. He shook his head. “So I get a good look at my attacker and find it’s a lizard. Just like that one there.” He pointed to the Raptor on the floor. “So I’m freaked out and the only thing going through my head is ‘live!’ I take my helmet and begin to bash its brains out. That also broke the helmet cam. But I whacked it in the eye so that stunned him for a second or two. Enough time to grab my gun and shoot it. But I only hit it in its rear end. But that did the trick. He ran off bleeding, so I chased the son of a bitch down and killed it. But then I got a little lost. So I went through those double doors that led to that forest. I was walking down the path and found that a bunch of those lizards were racing down the path after me. So I ran into the underbrush. I ran and ran. When I couldn’t run any more I climbed a tree. Then I noticed a door so I jumped down ran for the door, went through it and found myself in that large place with the stair case. I saw the double doors and hacked the little pad with my scanner. I couldn’t use the elevators and to tell you the truth I was dead tired. So I came in here. Picked an isle hid under one of the pews and rested there. When I heard the door open I hid on reflex. When I saw you I figured I have some fun with you and scare you like in the old days.” He said. He chuckled.
“Well you surprised me alright and saved me again.” O’Neil said. O’Neil looked over Charles head. “My team should have been here by now?”
“Not really these conference rooms are sound proof, so that the speakers can talk uninterrupted from ambient noises.” He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, who wouldn’t want to listen to a man talk for hours on end.” they chuckled.
“Well I guess this evens us from the time I carried you to the med station.” O’Neil said. Charles rolled his eyes.
The door opened. The rest of the team entered. They all stopped dead in their tracks at the site of Charles still alive. Then they all started talking at once. Asking him what happened and where he went. So he had to tell them his story all over again. Then they told him about what happened to Jackson and his team. Charles wasn’t too happy about that. But the issue at hand was how to get to the B2 area. No doubt that would be impossible without a key.
“What about hacking into the key slot?” Charles suggested. “No good, the key cards are the latest thing in new age technology, millions of bars of code that synchronize when it enters the slot.” Lee said, “Not to mention that the code changes every few seconds. It could take years to try and decode the card or the lock for that matter.”
“What if we find any scientists that have that kind of card?” O’Neal asked.
“Assuming that we do, yes, it should work.” Lee said. He frowned for a second, and then he snapped his fingers. “The guards keep a meticulous record of everyone who goes through that check point, where they came from and where they’re going.” He said. Lee spun on his heels and ran off back to the check point. Everyone followed close behind. He ran back to the security guards desk. He started typing rapidly. Then he exclaimed. “Ah ha, a friend of mine, Miller, came through here and took the elevator to the B3 level.” Lee said.
“Okay and why is that important?” Charles asked.
“Because he has a Level-A B2 security card,” Lee Explained. “He’s one of Kirks private staff and has accesses to that entire floor.
Charles mouthed “oh”.
“Then let’s get some security cards made and get down there.” O’Neil said.
They went back out into the hall. The room on the left is where they made the cards. Lee sat at the console and started typing. He made a key card for everyone. They went back to the security check point. O’Neil inserted his card. The light turned green and he entered the elevator. There was a panel with keys labeled
LAB1
LAB2
LAB3
He pushed B3. The doors closed and the elevator moved down. It was only a minute before the elevator stopped. The doors opened and they filed out. It was pitch black down there.
“Night vision, on.” O’Neil commanded. They turned their night vision on. They were in some sort of large storage facility with large metal crates and a few vehicles here and there. There was a door against one wall next to a two way window. The sign over head said “Security”. O’Neil went over to the door. He attempted to use the key panel. But there was no power.
“Lee,” He said. “There’s a slight problem over here.”
“It’s the power.” Lee said, “The generator needs to be activated.”
“Biggs, Mack, you go with Dr. Lee to activate the generator.” O’Neil said. Biggs gave Lee his extra pair of targeting goggles to see.
Lee led them away from the others. There was an old fashion metal door with a knob. He turned the knob and entered the room. The generator was huge, at least two stories high. Biggs whistled. Lee walked over to a wall. He manually opened a large metal lid pulled out a large fuel rod. When he put it down it was level with his waist. He then went over to a closet and took out an identical one. He placed that one in the other ones place then shut the metal lid. At once the lights came on. Lee gave back Biggs targeting goggles and led the way out. They met O‘Neil by the security door. O’Neil used his card to open the door. Inside there was a strange platform with empty window sills surrounding it, and in one corner was a man in a white lab coat, sprawled across the floor.
“That’s miller.” Lee said.
Jessie, the team medic knelt next to him, he checked his pulse. “He’s still alive just unconscious.” He said. “But he’s close to dying.”
“Revive him,” O’Neil said. Jessie took a small packet and cracked it under millers’ nose. Miller began to stir. He opened his eyes. He took in his surroundings.
“Where am I?” He asked. His voice was raspy and weak. “You’re in the security room of the LAB3 area.” Jessie told him.
“Hey Miller glad to see you’re still alive.” Lee said. Miller looked at him.
“Hey Lee, so you’re still alive as well, huh?” Miller asked.
“Still alive,” Lee replied, “Miller, what exactly happened here?”
“Well, someone let the goddamn specimens go.” Miller said. “I was here when it all went down. Someone with a level-A pass entered the secure wing and let them loose. How they got down here and to all the other parts of the facility is a mystery.”Miller said,
“Who have level A security cards?” O’Neil asked.
“Oh hell, a bunch of people do at least twenty,” Miller said. He gave a little moan.
“He’s not going to last much longer Colonel.” Jess said. “He’s bleeding internally.”
O’Neil nodded. “Mr. Miller do you have your level-A card?” O’Neil asked. Miller seamed to look right through him. Miller slowly held out a small white card. O’Neil took it.
“Don’t trust Kirk.” He whispered. He leaned back against the console let a single breath escape and closed his eyes. Jessie checked his pulse. He looked back up and slowly shook his head.
“Alright we got the card, let’s get Kirk, and get the hell out of here.” O’Neil said.
The ship
The warning lights in the bridge were going off. The Tyrannosaurus–Rex on the deck of the ship roared menacingly. Arnold watched in horror as the Rex smashed the automatic gun turrets and lifted it up from the deck of the ship. The Rex had ran and leapt right onto the deck of the ship with great agility and speed. When he was done smashing the gun torrents, small lizards the size of a full grown man began to jump off its body like parasites. The animals started running to the door that led inside the ship. The door wasn’t heavily armored. The lizards began throwing themselves at the door. Arnold watched in horror as the door began to dent inward.
“All hands to your battle stations!” Arnold shouted. He like everyone else in the bridge bolted for the door. He moved down stairwell and passageways till they reached the armory. Men and women were racing in and out of there. Arnold grabbed a gun, put on a Kevlar vest and ran out like everyone else. He could hear gun fire inside the ship.
‘They’re inside the ship!’ He saw gun fire just down the passageway. They had to warn O’Neil and Carter.
“Everyone to the control room,” He shouted.
“Colonel, I’m receiving a distress call from the ship!” Tom exclaimed.
“What’s happened?” O’Neil asked.
“Listen.” Tom instructed. He pushed a button on his radio.
“O’Neil if you’re getting this, the ship is under attach I repeat the ship is under attach!” Arnold’s said franticly. “The ship is over run. It’s only a matter of time before they get in. O’Neil stay away from the ship, do you copy, stay away from the ship!” They heard a crash and a lot of gun fire. Then all they could hear was static.
“Is your ship out at the dock?” Lee asked.
“Yeah that’s right.” O’Neil agreed.
“This is a holographic security monitor.” Lee said. He grabbed a pair of gloves and stepped onto the plat form. The empty window sills glowed to life and showed holographic option icons. He pushed several icons on one windowsill. On another several security screens began to pop up. With Both hands He grabbed a Holo-screen and moved it into place in the sill in front of them.
The screen showed a security image of the ship out at the dock. A twenty foot lizard was standing on the deck on their ship. It mashed its head through the window of the bridge and ripped out a large chunk of glass and flung it away. The piece of glass flew right towards them. The screen went blank.
Lee made a face. “Sorry guys look like the cameras gone.” He said
“If we go to the second floor we can get a very good view of your ship.” Lee told them. He motioned for them to follow. He led them pass the check point again but this time he led them up a few flights of stairs. They followed him through a small office door that led into a little waiting area. It had a couple sofas and a small glass coffee table. There was a large window facing the dock. The front end of the ship was partially submerged under water. The bit of the ship that they could see suggested that there were some large holes in the hull. Lee shook his head in acknowledgement of something. The giant lizard was gone.
“Yup that’s the Rex’s handiwork.” Lee said, “Quite impressive really, did the same thing to all are ships, Rammed them full speed until the hulls began to buckle under the pressure.” He chuckled sourly. “He did that when we all ran to the harbor to try and escape from them; we had some small cargo vessels that were there for emergencies. Both the rexes sunk them all.” He sighed. “I’m guessing that you’re stranded hear too, like the rest of us.”
“Impressive? Your fucking experiments just fucking sunk our only way out.” Nick exclaimed. O’Neal pointed to the other end of the room. Nick shook his head and walked off.
“So there’s no other way off this island?” O’Neil asked. Lee seemed to be thinking it over.
“There is one way but it’s probably a long shot.” Lee told them. “But there is a Chinook at the Helipad but its old and broken down, if someone could fix it that’s our best shot.”
“Wedge, you think you can fix it?” O’Neil asked.
“Pretty sure I can.” Wedge replied.
“Then let’s go see it.” O’Neil said. O’Neil and Lee began to move away from the window, when suddenly out of nowhere the head of the Rex crashed through the window sending shards of glass and rubble everywhere.
O’Neil and Lee were sprawled on the ground. The Rex opened his mouth and roared. An ear splitting sound, its breath stunk like urine. Its eye swung in its socket and fixed its gaze on lee and O’Neil. O’Neil stared at the mouth with calculated detachment. The teeth didn’t look very sharp and as for the pressure he was sure that the Dragon skin armor would hold. Suddenly the Rex’s left eye exploded. It roared shaking its head side to side in agony. It pulled its head out of the room and stomped away still roaring in distress. Nick slung his smoking weapon over his shoulder and helped Lee and O’Neil to their feet.
“Where is the Helipad?” O’Neil asked again.
“On the roof through that door over there,” Lee said. He pointed to a door at the end of the hallway.
“Then let’s go see it.” O’Neil said. Lee led the way out through the door. Once on the roof he led them up a little flight of stairs to the Helipad. Just as he said a Chinook was there. It was old the paint was faded. It obviously needed some work done. Wedge walked around to the back. He lifted up a panel and looked inside with the glare of his helmet light.
“What’s the diagnosis doc?” O’Neil asked. “Will she fly again?”
“Well I’ve never seen these kinds of fuel cells before but if I could just figure what powers it, she’ll fly again.” He told them.
“I can help with that.” Lee said. “The fuel cells are powered by pulssonic energy. If I remember correctly they should be held on the B2 level.”
“Then let’s go.” Wedge said. He closed the hatch and rejoined the others.
Lee took them back down to the security checkpoint. He inserted the B2 level security card. The light on the card slot turned green. The elevator door slid open. The elevator was just big enough for all of them to fit. The doors slid shut and the elevator began to move. The elevator shuddered to a stop. The doors slid open. O’Neil found himself staring at a tight corridor with a window on his left. He stepped out of the elevator and looked in through the window. On the floor was a women with her throat ripped out.
“Lee what’s this place?” O’Neil asked.
“Miller told me about this place. This is their security room. You enter your key card there.” He pointed to a little slot in the wall. “The lady in there was supposed to run a check on your card. If look like the person the card is assigned to then she lets you pass.”
O’Neil took out a grenade removed the bottom and stuck it in the glass. He pulled the pin. He pushed them all back into the elevator and closed the doors. He waited a few minutes then he opened them again. The window was a missive cobweb of shattered glass. He took his gun and bashed the glass. It shattered and fell out of place like an old curtain. He climbed through.
There was a large red and green button.
“After you insert the card I suppose that I push the large green button?” O’Neil asked.
“Or you could just push the large green button now.” Lee retorted. O’Neil rolled his eyes and pushed the button. The door at the end of the passage opened up. He climbed back through.
The B2 level was made up of spotless hallways white tile. On either side of them were sliding metal doors with little white signs.
“Pulssonic energy recycles itself.” Lee explained, “We began using it as an alternate means of power. We have several fuel cells connected to a generator down the hall. One of the researchers, Carmen, would always talk to me about it.” He laughed. “Carmen, such a sweet girl, only seventeen and she is a brilliant scientist. This is it.” He announced. The little sign said.
Experimental energy room
They entered into a large room dominated by a large cylindrical generator that extended to the ceiling. A sudden sound made them all stop. It was the sound of labored breathing.
Lee shouldered his air rifle and proceeded around the generator in search of the sound O’Neil next to him. They rounded a corner of the generator. He abruptly dropped the gun. He knelt down and immediately began to cradle a young girl with short blond hair. The girl was lying next to a Raptor with a metal pipe stuck through its head. “Carmen, Carmen are you alright?” Panic had entered into his voice. Jessie knelt beside them. There was some blood on her chest.
“Lay her down.” Jessie instructed. He quickly unbuttoned her coat. She had a several bruises along her torso but otherwise she was unharmed. Jessie cracked a pack under her nose. Her eyes flew open.
“Carmen, its Lee, you’re safe.” He whispered to her. “Lee, I can’t see you.” Jessie leaned forward and flashed a little pen light in her eyes.
“Temporary blindness,” He announced. “Usually caused by intense fear or panic, you’ll be able to see in a little while.”
“Lee who’s that, I don’t recognize that voice.” She said.
“It’s a rescue team from the mainland.” Lee told her. “What happened to you?”
“I was in here when the alert was sent to the console.” She said. “I locked down the LAB2 level just in case. I knew that someone with a card would get down here so I just waited. But then…” Her voice was shaking now. She took a moment to compose herself. “One of the specimens got in here. I grabbed a metal pipe and rammed it through its mouth. It came out the back of its head.” Her voice was steadier now. “It screamed and bashed me with its tale that’s all I can remember.”
“How did they get down here?” Lee asked.
“I wish I knew. The only way down here is by elevator.” She told them.
“Well you’re safe now.” Lee said. Just rest now.” She let out a shuddery breath and closed her eyes. Jessie brought out a medical scanner. He moved the steady red beam along the length of her body.
“She’s got a broken rib.” Jessie told them. “It is nothing Sirius but I should tape her up.”
“Go ahead Jessie.” O’Neil Said, “Dr. Lee please show wedge where the fuel cells are.”
Lee got up and directed Wedge to a large panel and the side of the reactor. Sticking out of the panel were the handles for the fuel cells. Wedge grabbed two of the handles and pulled out two cylinders.
“Alright I’ll take these up to the Chinook and get started.” Wedge told them. “Charles do you think you could watch my back?”
“Sure thing kid,” Charles said. “Let’s hope she’ll fly.”
“Nick, you take Biggs and Tom. Search the other rooms for Kirk.” O’Neil ordered. Nick nodded and left with Biggs and Tom.
“Why do you want to find Dr. Kirk?” Carmen asked as Jessie was helping her to sit up.
“Because we’re going to arrest him,” O’Neal said.
“Why t I’m sure he disserves it what did he do?” She asked.
“Well for one creating these Dinosaurs without a license is against the law.” O’Neil said.
“Well, he’s most likely dead.” She replied, “But if he is still alive then the likeliest place to look would be the tunnel system.”
“What tunnel system?” O’Neal asked.
“The tunnel system is used to transport cargo to different parts of the facility.” She explained.
“How can we get there?” O’Neal asked.
“The best way to get there would be thought the B3 Level.” She said.
Nick, Tom, and Biggs came back into the room. “O’Neal we checked the other rooms. Kirk isn’t here.”
Carmen scoffed, “Well he wasn’t here in the first place.”
O’Neal’s radio crackled, “O’Neal, this is Wedge, do you read me, over.”
“Here Wedge, go ahead, over.” O’Neal said.
“Well I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news.” Wedge replied, “Good news is the fuel cells work. The bad news is, the Chinook needs a key to start it.”
Lee swore under his breath.
“I thought the key would have been in there or else I wouldn’t have bothered to mention it.” He said.
“Do you have any idea where the key might be?” O’Neal asked.
“Well Fred usually has the key. He’s the copilot of the Chinook. He’s usually in the security room. It would be located down the hall?
“We already tried getting into the security room. It’s all locked up.” Nick said.
“I know the code for the security room.” Carmen said, “It’s 248984.”
“Nick, Tom, and Biggs, go see if the key is in there.” O’Neal ordered.
They nodded and exited the room.
Nick, Tom, and Biggs walked down the hallway to the security room. Nick punched in the six digit code.
The metal door slid open. Before they even entered the room they found Fred slumped down by the side of the console.
“Well I guess we found Fred.” Nick said. They stepped inside the room and Nick searched his body for the key. “Great, now what are we going to do? He doesn’t have the key on him.”
Suddenly Fred’s radio crackled, “Fred, Fred you there?” said a voice over the radio. “Listen Fred if you’re there I got the key for the helicopter. But I’ve got a lizard on my tail. Meet me at the B3 cargo elevator.”
“I guess we better get going.” Nick said, “O’Neal another guy has the key. He’s going to be at the B3 elevator. Permission to go get him?” he called over his headset.
“Permission granted. But be careful.” O’Neal replied.
They ran down the path of the corridor to the B2 elevator. Nick inserted the card into the card slot. Once inside the elevator Nick clicked the B3 icon of the panel. The elevator lurched downward.
The elevator came to a stop and the doors came open. Off to the right was a large metal door for the cargo elevator. They could hear the elevator coming down. The cargo elevator shuttered to a stop and the door slid open. A man came running out. On the elevator was an upturned jeep. Next to the jeep, with one foot resting on the passenger door was the Rex. Blood still dripped from its eye. The Rex stared at them then roared. It fixed its eye on Nick. There was a
Screen on the wall next to the cargo elevator. Nick ran to it. Next to the screen were a green button and a red button. Nick slammed his hand onto the red button. With surprising speed the elevator door began to shut. It took only a few seconds for the door to close. But instantly the Rex pounded on the door. Nick pushed the surface icon on the screen. They could hear the Rexes frustrated Roar as the elevator began moving up again.
Nick rejoined the others. The man who supposedly called Fred on the radio was still panting.
“You got the key to the chopper?” Nick asked. The man looked at him then at Tom and Biggs.
“Who are you? I’ve never seen you guys before.” He said.
“We’re with a rescue team from the mainland.” Nick told him, “Do you have the key to the chopper?” Nick repeated.
“Yes I have the key, but where’s Fred?” He asked.
“He’s dead.” The man nodded, “I’d thought as much. But I hoped that I was wrong.”
“Follow us.” Nick ordered. They took the man to the chopper so he could give Wedge the key. They left the man with Wedge and Charles and returned to the B2 level. O’Neil and the others were waiting.
“We took the pilot to Wedge.” Nick told him.
“Good, Carmen will lead us to the tunnel system where we might find Kirk.” O’Neil said. Carmen tried to stand but collapsed against Lee. She hissed in pain.
“She can’t,” Jessie told him, “We shouldn’t push her.”
“I’m fine, I can move just give me a second.” She said.
“I’ll carry her.” Lee said. “I know where the tunnel system is too.” Lee lifted her in his arms.
They followed Lee to the LAB3 level. There was a door at the back of the security room that led to a tunnel system. The tunnel system was basically a long concrete tunnel. No turns or passageways. The only way was East or West.
They follow the tunnel east. Up ahead they saw a small golf cart parked along the side of the wall. A man with short red hair was lounging in the back.
“That’s him.” Lee said.
“Dr. Kirk?” O’Neil asked.
The man sat up. “Who wants to know?”
“Just answer the question.” O’Neil said. He was getting very annoyed.
“I’m Kirk.” He said.
“Dr. James Kirk you are under arrest for illegal cloning.” O’Neil said. “Just come along quietly.”
Kirk lifted he hands.
“It appears I have no other choice.” Kirk said. “Although I must say that your timing is impeccable.” He looked past O’Neil and fixed his gaze on Lee and Carmen. He walked past O’Neil and place both hands on Carmen’s face. “My dear girl I thought you were lost.” He said to her.” I went to the LAB2 level and found you there with the raptor and all that blood…”
He stopped.
“Almost, but then again I’m hard to get rid of.” She said. He planted a kiss on her forehead.
“I’m glad you’re all right.” Kirk told her.
“Thanks dad, but I owe it to these guys though.” Carmen said.
“I apparently owe you all a great deal of gratitude.” Kirk said.
“Don’t mention it.” O’Neil replied.
“I assume you have a ship ready nearby.” Kirk said.
“It’s gone.” O’Neil said. “The Rex got it.”
Kirk sighed. “Well, the Rex was always trouble.”
“We’re getting out of here with the chopper on the roof.” O’Neil informed him.
“Sounds like a strait forward plan.” Kirk said. “Only, I have no intention of going to jail.”
“Whether you intended to or not you are going to jail.” O’Neil said. “Now come along quietly please.” Kirk shrugged.
“Lead the way.”
They walked back the way they’d come. Kirk walked along side Lee and his daughter. They went through the same door again. They crossed the LAB3 control room to the elevator. They took the elevator to the second floor. They crossed the hall to the roof. Wedge, Charles and the pilot were waiting for them. “Colonel you ready to go?” Wedge asked.
“Ready as we’ll ever be wedge. O’Neil replied. “I’ll call Sam,”
“Sam You there?” He asked.
“Here Colonel,”
“Sam the choppers ready we’ll be waiting for you guys” He said.
“Roger that colonel we’re on our way.”
Too much excitement
Carter collected her team and left the control room. She followed the trail of blood down the hall to the med station. The raptor that Nick had shot was now crawling with little foot high lizards. They chirped and hopped around. Taking bites out of the dead animal. Rick their teams’ technician began to scan the little dinosaurs.
“Their called Procompsognathus, scanner says that their supposed to be scavengers. Like vultures and jackals.”
“Then let’s leave them to their diner” She said. They walked around them. The little lizards didn’t pay much attention to them. They passed through the double doors. Sam and her team were walking along the path when the undergrowth behind them began to shake. Raptors began to emerge from both sides of the path. The snarled and hissed at them. As a single unit they charged. James and Rodger the rear guards fired at them.
“Let’s get moving people!” Carter shouted.
They ran down the path James and Roger firing at the raptors over their shoulders.
Carter came to the same fork in the road O’Neil and his team did. Which way? She thought.
She made a decision. She ran for the left door. She held it open for her team then slammed it shut. She collapsed on the floor. She was panting. She got up and took in her surroundings. She and her team were in an artificial swamp. A long metal jetty ran through the swamp. Two large fences met in the middle above the jetty making a tunnel.
The water was murky and a thick mist covered the ground.
They couldn’t go back they could only go forward. She motioned for the other to follow her. She walked onto the jetty. It was solid and didn’t creak or groan.
They were somewhere in the center of the swamp when something burst out of the water. It was some kind of giant snake It had a long muscular neck It’s head tower eighteen feet above them. It opened it’s jaws to reveal rows of sharp pointed teeth. No that wasn’t right snakes didn’t have teeth. They had two fangs for secreting venom but they didn’t have a full mouth of fangs. Now that she paid attention its head looked nothing like a snakes. It longed for them. Its head bounced off the fence. It struck again with the same affect. It hissed and moaned at them. Carter let out a little laugh of relief. It couldn’t reach them. It roared a low moan. More head emerged from the water. On both sides of the jetty,
“Come on people let’s not gloat over our victory.” She said. They followed her as she continued along the jetty. The creatures followed them. Over to her right Carter saw a little island and on the island was more of those creatures. But their bodies defiantly weren’t snake like. Those long necks were attached to large fifteen foot long bodies. The animals had large fins. Not like a fish but more like whale fins.
“Sea serpents,” The name came to her. They were sea serpents. For centuries sailors had talked of these massive beasts the rose up out of the ocean and grabbed sailor from their ships. She chuckled. They were very real alright. Up ahead the jetty came to an end. She could see the door but the problem was that the serpents were waiting for them at the other end. Wasn’t that lovely, she sighed. She shouldered her gun and prepared herself. “James Rodger and Rick you guy take the right.” She ordered. “I, Major, and Allis will take the left.”
They ran for the door firing at the Sea Serpents as they ran. One of the serpents lunged at Carter. She somersaulted forward. The serpent missed her. Allis shot it in the head with her Uzi. Sam was the first to reach the door she opened it and held it open for the other. One serpent was lunging for James. She fired along its neck. It rear and bellowed, shaking its head from side to side. They passed by her and she slammed the door shut. They were in the main entrance for the facility. She walked up the winding stair case. She opened the door to the second floor. She passed by the little lobby and caught eye of the shattered window. She opened the door at the end of the hall and walked out onto the roof. O’Neil and the others were waiting for them next to the chopper.
“You’re late, what took you so long.” O’Neil asked.
“Oh, you know the usual raptors lots of them, giant sea serpents…” She was still a little out of breath.
“Well you all look like you got some a excitement.” He said.
“A little too much excitement for one day,” Sam said. “I say fuck excitement and let’s go home.”