History Revived

"WHERE IS ALAN?!" Bill Waters shouted, slamming his fist on the desk.

"He's not here."

"Not here? Check the coffee-machine and the... oh my God!" The inevitable truth dawned on him, and he slammed his hands on his forehead. "NO! Not Alan. Why didja do it. WHY!?"

Keith looked at him for a second and then dashed out of the room. A few minutes later, he came back, and halted in the doorway, heavily breathing.

"Bill, the embryos are gone! And there's a major electricity failure all over the place."

"Damn him!" Bill swore and reached for the intercom. He hit the button. "Hammond!"

* * * * *

"WHAT!!??" Hammond cried out in the intercom. "The fences are out?! But this is a total disaster! Not... not the fences to the Velociraptors too?"

"No, they are still functional." Bill hesitated. "But, John... The Tyrannosaur enclosure is down. She could be anywhere."

"WHAT?" Race had heard the last sentence. The big man jumped over a table and grabbed the intercom. "Say again, the Tyrannosaur is free in the park?"

"Yes Sir."

"Look Buster, my kid is out there. So is Dr. Quest's. So what are you gonna do about it, huh?"

"Well, Sir, it's impossible to go out there in this weather, Sir, and with the T-Rex..."

Race slammed the intercom back and turned to Hammond. "That's it, I'm gonna get my kid!"

[I can just imagine Race in that moment. Boy, you don't want to stand in this mans way when he wants to get past you!]

Hammond sat down, shaking as if his leg wouldn't support him. "This is a disaster... a total disaster." he mumbled and shook his head.

Benton stepped in Race's way, putting his hand on his friends shoulder.

"Roger, be careful. You don't know what you'll find out there."

"No, but I do!", a stern Australian voice said.

They turned around and saw Peter Hunt entering, holding two semi-automatic carbines and some other equipment in his hands. He tossed one carbine over to Race and turned to Hammond and Benton.

"Here, take one of these walkie-talkies, we'll keep radio-contact." He looked at them with a grim smile. "Don't worry, we'll find the kids and bring them back."

As the two men rushed out of the room, Race cocked the gun with a determined click, and they were gone.

* * * * *

Bill pushed the button on the intercom again, but the line was dead. "Dammit, now the phones are put out as well!"

He zig-zagged between the computers in the room, finding them all non-functional. Then he stopped and scratched his hair, looking at Keith leaning on a computer desk, his face pale.

"We're in reeeeeaaaal trouble!"

Then, the door opened, and Hammond and Benton hastened in. The older man's face was pale, and he clutched his hand hard around the cane.

"Bill, would you please tell me what in God's name is going on?"

Bill sighed. "It's Alan, John. He has stolen the embryos and crashed the systems. We have no control, nothing."

"But, is there nothing you can do?" Hammond asked.

Bill shook his head. "I don't know. Richter knew what he was doing."

"How about back-ups?" That was Benton. "There're usually crash-protecting programs put in the mainframe, couldn't we get to that?"

"It doesn't work. I've tried it. The bugs are too thoroughly set."

Hammond sat down, his face shifting between white and red.

"Alan. I can't believe it. After all these years..." His face turned into a mask of wrath and he slammed his cane at the floor. "And I TRUSTED HIM!"

"I now, John... we all did." Bill sighed. "But now, the important thing is to get the system going again. Grab a chair gentlemen, this is gonna take time...

* * * * *

As the rain began to fall, the three teens started walking again, after having watched the Brachiosaurs in the lake for almost an hour.
A wind had arisen, and it was getting more and more intense.

"Man, we can't go in this weather", Jonny held his arms in front of his face trying to keep the wind away.

"Well, what do you suggest we do? Stay out here til the rain stops?"

Jonny looked at Jessie. "Yeah, you got a better idea?"

The young girl sighed. "No. Guess not. What about you Hadji?"

"It will not be easy to travel in this weather. Maybe if we found a good shelter..." he trailed off, looking around him. "Dr. Quest and Mr. Bannon and Mr. Hammond must be worried."

"Nah, not dad!" Jonny said in a cheerful voice, though he knew better. "And Race..." he shook his head. "He won't worry."

"Yeah, right! Like you believe that. You know dad as well as I do. He'll tear this whole place apart if we're not back before nightfall."

"I'm sorry Jess, but I don't think we have a choice. We MUST find shelter and wait it out."

She shrugged, and wiped her hair from her face. "Alright. Let's find some place to stay then."

They began walking again, slowly descending from the slopes down towards the lake.

Jonny tried to see ahead. "We must get away from this open place", he shouted through the wind.

A sudden noice interrupted him; a violent roar that rumbled in the wind. They all stopped.

"What was that?" Jessie's voice shivered, and she looked around her, seeing nothing but rain and shadows.

Jonny looked around them, trying to locate the direction. "I dunno", he said. "But whatever it was, I don't wanna meet it. Come, we must get off this plain NOW!"

They were already soaked to the bones, struggling against the rain that hit them in their faces, every drop beginning to hurt. Hadji and Jonny helped Jessie, supporting her and trying to keep her out of the wind.
They had almost crossed the plain, which was rapidly turning into a swamp.

The roar was heard again, closer this time. Jessie gave out a cry as she slipped, and Jonny grabbed her wrist, holding her up.

"Come on Jess, don't give up!" he shouted. "Hadji, help her!"

Just before they reached the trees, the roar was heard a third time. Jessie shot a glance over her shoulder and gave out a cry. Jonny and Hadji swung around, and what they saw turned their blood to ice.
A big, terrible shape had come out on the plain. It had a big, bulky body, two massive back-legs and a huge head, with a mouth full of cruel, foot-long teeth. They all knew only too well what it was.

"It's... it's a T.. Tyr... T-Rex!" Jonny said, his teeth clattering.

Jessie started moving to run for the forest, but Hadji caught her and held her back, wrapping his arms around her.

"Don't move! It does not see us unless we move."

They stood, as still as they could possibly manage, while the Tyrannosaur roamed the plain, for each turn getting closer and closer to them.

Jessie was starting to shake and twist violently, and Hadji had to use all his strength to hold her still.
Very carefully, Jonny moved his hand to his pocket, searching through it until he found what he wanted.

Not taking his eyes of the T-Rex, he whispered from the side of his mouth.

"Hadji, when I say go, you take Jessie and head for the trees. When you get there, try to climb one, and stay there, no matter what."

Hadji started to protest, but Jonny cut him off. "Don't argue, Hadji! Do as I say. Make sure she's safe!"

The steel in his voice made Hadji feel even colder, but he silently nodded.

The T-Rex was just some twenty, thirty yards away, turning its head back and forth, now and then giving its dreadful roar.

"Okay... Hadji..." Jonny called, bracing himself. "GO!"

As Hadji started for the trees, dragging Jessie with him, Jonny pulled out his hand from his pocket and turned on the flashlight he held in it.

"HEY! LIZARD! OVER HERE!"

He wawed with the flashlight, pointing its beam of light at the beast who had turned his head when the two started running. Now it turned its big, cunning and ultimate horrible head right at him, the small eyes focusing on the little creature with the light standing before it.

Jonny swallowed. This might not have been such a good idea after all. He backed quickly, wawing the flashlight.
Then he turned on his heels and ran.
He ran as he never had run before. He was a good sprinter, but he had never had this kind of competition.

The beast roared and came crashing after him, gaining for every second. Jonny flew over the plain, cursing the rain that made the grass slippery. He shot a glance over his shoulder, and wished that he hadn't. Oh man, this is it. I'm dead meat. Literally!

"AAAAAAAaaaaaahhh!" He tripped and fell forward into a puddle. Instictively, he threw the flash-light away as far as he could before cold, muddy water engulfed him.
Spluttering he lifted his head over the surface, waiting to feel the huge teeth slashing him apart. But they never did. The beast rushed past him, missing him only by a feet, towards the spot where the flashlight had landed.
It lifted a huge foot and drove the flashlight deep into the soft ground, breaking it to pieces. Then it roared once again, and began moving away over the plain, roaring and shrieking in rage.

Jonny lay with his eyes closed for what felt like hours. Then he carefully opened his eyes and spied around him, still without moving. He rose his head. The T-Rex was gone. It had went elsewhere in search for prey.
Jonny took a look at where he lay. He had tumbled down into a small hollow in the ground, filled with water.
Now he got up, carefully keeping check of his surroundings. He wiped his face with his arm, still trying to adjust himself to the fact that he was still alive. Whew, he thought, that WAS close!

Then a sudden thought flashed through his mind. Jessie! Hadji! Are they alright?
He dashed away like a madman, heading for the trees. As he run through the edge of the forest, his heart was beating like the bass-machine on a Rave-party.

"JESSIE!!! HADJI!!! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS!?", he shouted as he ran. A sudden noice made him stop dead, turning around, preparing himself to face another enemy.

"Jonny!"

His heart jumped and missed a beat with joy. It was Jessie.

"We are up here, my friend." Hadji's voice came from above.

He looked up, and the sight filled him with relief. Up in a huge tree, with branches sticking out everywhere, he saw his two friends. Jessie came rushing down and threw herself around his him.

"Oh Jonny, you're alright! Thank God!" She hugged him tight, and clung on to him sobbing violently. He lamely put his hands on her back, patting her hair comforting.

"I'm okey, Jess, I really am", he mumbled. Hadji came climbing down too, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to see you again, my friend." Jonny smiled bleak at him.

"Yeah, I'm quite thrilled to see you too. Thought I was gonna end up as dino-snacks back there."

Jessie laughed between her sobs, and Hadji smiled. "We all did for a while." His face lit up. "We have found a good place to stay." He pointed upwards. "The tree will shelter us from the wind and rain, and it should be safe. At least, Tyrannosaurs don't climb trees."

Jonny looked up in the tree. "Great. But we gotta have something to eat."

"Well, there's a little left of the picknick", Jessie said.

"And I have a couple of chocolate-bars." Hadji reached into his pocket, picking up three small bars.

"Good. And we can collect rainwater - ain't really a lack of that - to drink."

Jonny looked at his friends. "Sounds like a plan. We're gonna make this, we really are. We just have to be careful."

Jessie was a little taken aback over Jonny. Usually, he would just run off without thinking, jumping right into the gap of hungry dinosaurs unconcerned of the dangers. But now, he was acting really constructive, being thoughtful and caring. He seems to handle this fine, she thought, knowing that she couldn't honestly say the same about herself. And Hadji was as cool and calming as always.
She was so glad that they were with her, knowing that they wouldn't split on her or let her down.

Jonny realized that she was looking at him, and looked back. "What?"

She shrugged, just smiling at him. "Nothing."

He wrinkled his brow, and shook his head smiling as he turned away and started climbing.

Hadji motioned for her to climb next and then he followed them upwards.

They found a spot where a thick branch stuck out, forming a small hollow. They all fitted in it, finding it a perfect den to stay in. They were sheltered from both rain and wind, and it was no risk to fall down.
They split the chocolate and a bit bread that was left since the swimming. The boys cheered when Jessie picked up a fruit-soda from the bag as a better substitute for rainwater.

During the circumstances, they all thought it was like a feast. They talked and laughed for hours, exorcising the dark thoughts from their minds, suppressing their fear. And after a while, the rain started to thin out and soon stopped completely. The heavy clouds draw away, and the stars began to glitter high above them on the black sky. Even a pale moon appeared, shining down on them, wrapping the landscape in a cold and white light.

Jessie nuzzled down between Jonny and Hadji, and went to sleep. The two boys looked at the sleeping girl, and looked at each other.

"If something happened to her...", Jonny started in a low voice, "I wouldn't know what I'd do."

Hadji nodded. "I know. I feel the same way."

Jonny sighed. "She means so much to me, Hadj. When I saw the T-Rex... I went mad in a way. I didn't really know what I was doing. The only thing I could think of was to get her into safety."

"What you did back there was brave, my friend. I'm not sure that I could have done the same. You saved our lives. Again", he added with a smile.

"Aw come on, Hadj. You guys have saved my butt more times than I dare to remember." He shrugged a little uncomfortably. "Let's talk 'bout something else. Like how did the T-Rex get out here? Hammond said it was kept in a secured area."

"I don't have a clue. But something has happened, that's for sure. We'd better get back to the base as soon as possible."

"Yeah, we'll start first thing in the morning", Jonny nodded. "But now, we all need some sleep."

They too cuddled up, on each side of Jessie, pulling their bathing-towels over them, trying to keep warm.

Before he went to sleep, Jonny lay watching Jessie, her head close to his shoulder. Her fiery red hair had fallen over her face, and she mumbled something in her sleep. She moved and put her head on his arm, sinking back deep into sleep.

Jonny carefully removed the strands of hair from her face, looking at her delicate features. His heart was filled with something he didn't recognize. It was true, what I said before, he thought. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Jess.

Soon, he too was fast asleep. And the night was peaceful and quiet where they lay, safe between earth and sky.

* * * * *