Sketchy-Writes!!

HI!! Im sketchy, i use she/they pronouns i like art, drawing, music, and writing. if you talk to me about dinosaurs i will rant for hours because i love them so much. please concider following for silly posts :3

[sketchy-writes]

Just realized I never promoted it here but I have a personal blog now over here! Ive been really struggling to be motivated to work on my au and I've had awful art block so I apologize for not posting a chapter recently. Maybe this month I'll start working on the next chapter again. Thanks for your patience guys I promise I'm not dead. :]

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[sketchy-writes]

Chapter 10, Discovery

Billy stepped forward to the door of the shed. He grabbed the handle and tried to turn it but the rust caused him to strain. He twisted harder and broke the rust away with a loud snap. He gently pushed open the door and allowed Laianna to step inside. He wiped the rust off of his hands and onto his shirt. The rusty streaks contrasted the brown on his overshirt. They stepped over broken branches and roots that had reached in through a small hole in the wall. Laianna began to cough as she turned on her flashlight. The dusty cloud in the air obscuring the beam. She shined it across the shelves, crossing over the tools and equipment on the shelves. He saw it was mostly dusty and faded high visibility equipment and an array of basic maintenance tools. 

“Jesus it's dusty in here.” Laianna coughed. She covered her mouth and Billy did the same. Billy scanned the ground, and something caught his eye. “Hey, can you shine your light down here.” he said, pointing at the ground near the back wall of the shed. She quickly slid the light down and shined it where he had pointed. Billy leaned forward and inspected the ground. “What is it?” Laianna asked.

“Look at the dust,” he said. “It has the same footprints as the ones we found beneath the plane. It's also been swept away like something was playing, or sleeping here…” he traced the air in the motion the dust had shown. He squinted his eyes. What the hell could have done this? It was much too big to be a bird. And it sure as hell wasn't a lizard. “Could it have been like a possum or something that's slept here? And the bird just hopped through?” Laianna asked.

“No, look at how the footprints here are smudged, like their feet slid as they were standing up. This was all one or two of the same creature.” he explained. A small high pitched chirp came from the right side of the shed. Billy and Laianna whipped their heads around to see what it was, only to see a small green scaly tail whip into the foliage through a hole in the wall. The chittering continued as it grew distant, then quiet. 

“What was that?” she asked. “A bird?”

“No, birds don't have tails like that. That was a lizard.” Billy explained.

“Ive never seen a lizard run on two legs like that.” She spoke with a confused tone. Billy shined the light back at the footprints in the dust. He thought for a moment. It just wasn't possible. There was no way a compsognathus could be alive! But everything looked like it was. She placed his hand on her shoulder. “Come on, let's get the rest of this done.” They both walked back over to the door and out of the shed. Laianna grabbed a roll of yellow tape and stuck a piece above the door of the shed. They both continued along, moving twenty yards into the forest line, so they could gain some ground on the perimeter. Large sticks and branches cracked under their feet as they walked. The trees rustling in the wind. They continued mostly in silence, enjoying the sounds of the forest, and the Loon calling off in the distance.

Cooper shined his flashlight into the woods, scanning it across the trees. Rosa called Charlie's name again and again. He could hear the worry in her voice but chose not to concern himself with sympathy. He had a job and all he wanted was to get it done. Now it was obstacle after obstacle since they landed on this damn island. He felt his stomach ache. “Do you think they started making any food? I'm starved.” Cooper said. 

“Probably, I can't imagine they aren't hungry either.” Rosa didn't take her eyes off of the forest. They both walked in silence for a few moments, until Cooper broke it with a heavy cough. “Is it really that odd that he ran off like that? I mean he is a dog after all.” he said light heartedly. He didn't want to seem rude but it was a dog. 

“Hes been in service with me for years and he's never done this. He would only run off if he found something, or-” she suddenly stopped talking. He didn't want to pry anymore. He was about to change the subject until she started speaking again. “I'm just worried is all. It's not like I don't trust him, it's just that I don't understand why.” Her voice had a subtle shakiness to it. Cooper put his hand on her shoulder, but he didn't say anything.  They kept walking, and Cooper tried to ignore the sniffling that came from Rosa. He focused on scanning the woods, and getting his job done.

Later that night everyone gathered back at the tent again. The rooms had been divided into 4 sleeping areas and the main room. Amanda called it the “office.” Cooper laid still on his cot, shielding his eyes from the lamp hanging above him. Nash was folding his clothes neatly and placing them in a chest at the corner of the room. “You know, there is no need to do all that. We are on an island, this isn't a business trip.” Cooper said with an annoyed tone. Nash chuckled and turned his head over his shoulder. “They say if you keep one line of order in a world of chaos-” “Dont give me a philosophy lesson nash i just want that damn light off.” Cooper said, throwing his hands down to his sides. Udesky snored loudly from the cot opposite to coopers. Cooper felt his head aching, he felt claustrophobic. He sat up in his cot and swung his feet over the side. “Where are you going?” Nash said, placing down a perfectly folded shirt. “I need some air, it's cramped in here.” He walked past the divider and out of the front of the tent. The cool evening air was refreshing. Just being outside he felt the tension in his chest lift. He walked to the edge of the forest and started tracking the perimeter. He had his flashlight out and continued to scan the woods. Not expecting to find anything, but figured he might as well be useful. He looked back at the tent and saw Nash peering out at him. He gave a gentle, half hearted wave. He saw Nash's silhouette give a two finger salute and return inside. That must have been his way of saying “good night.” He saw the light in their shared section click off. Cooper continued his lap around the perimeter. As he reached the south east corner of the perimeter, he stopped. What was that sound? He could hear a low grumbling, or was it, growling? It was growling. It sounded like it was a dog growling but it was very faint. It was far away. 

He called for Charlie but was met with nothing. Cooper looked back at the camp, then back towards the sound. He cursed to himself and stepped deeper into the forest. Slowly the sound grew louder. He stepped over a fallen log and nearly slipped but caught himself on a nearby tree. He scanned the ground with his flashlight as he walked, looking for Charlie. He approached a very small clearing in the woods, roughly a hundred yards beyond the perimeter. He swept his light across the floor of the forest and saw the brown fur of a German Sheppard and he breathed a sigh of relief. But Charlie was still growling. He was faced away from Cooper, staring fiercely at a wall of flora. Cooper frowned. He was growing nervous, and in the pit of his stomach something told him not to move closer.

Suddenly the growling stopped. Charlie did not take his eyes off of the shrubbery. The forest was silent, deafeningly silent. Not a single insect or bird made a single noise. Cooper was frozen. He didn't want to move, and he didn't want to stay here. His mind kept telling him something was wrong. “Charlie, come, NOW.” he hissed through gritted teeth. Charlie suddenly burst away, his tail between his legs. Like a flash he had darted away into the forest, whining into the underbrush. Cooper was confused, he didn't see anything happen. But this confusion didn't last for long. The leaves rustled from behind him, back where Charlie had been staring. Cooper turned back to face whatever lay beyond the growth. A new sound filled the air. A low, guttural clicking hiss, reminiscent of an alligator. He could hear a large animal breathing softly. He shined his light up to the foliage, and saw a large, scaly head slowly emerge from the leaves. Its dark red and green complexion was striking in the dark forest. It cocked its head at the bright light, and hissed again. Cooper saw its mouth open slightly, the rows of sharp teeth lined its jaws. 

Cooper’s mind raced. What could he do? This thing was massive, over six feet tall, and he could only see the head. Could he run? Could this thing run too? He didn't know, but he had to do something, if he just stood here he would die for sure. 

Suddenly the beast had burst out of the foliage, swinging its large head towards Cooper. He reacted purely on instinct, he was running before he even realized he needed to be. He ran as fast as his legs could move. He thought about screaming but his lungs already burned. He just needed to get back to camp. If he could make it back to camp he could have everyone else shoot this damn thing. He could hear its large feet thumping behind him coming closer. Its snorting breath huffed as it chased him. Suddenly he was falling, a searing pain in his right leg. His lungs burned, as he tried to scream but nothing escaped his lips except a groan. He felt the animal thrash its head, tearing his leg and shattering his bone. He gritted his teeth and twisted his body back to face the animal. He threw his hands up to defend himself but the animal bit down harder on his leg again, and slid him back and to the side, and Cooper looked in horror, as the jaws came down directly towards his head.

[sketchy-writes]

Chapter 9: the Search

Alan sat up from his cot. He felt a twinge in his shoulder, something he was used to, but not something he enjoyed. He looked around at the rest of the sleeping people. Everyone was still sleeping except Rosa. She was gone. Alan stood and trudged to the entrance of the tent, his eyelids still heavily drooping. He pushed open the flap and stepped outside. He stretched his arms and yawned. The stench of gasoline hit Alan in the face. Gas? Why was he smelling gas? He looked around and didn't see any open containers or spilled liquids… odd. Rosa was standing twenty feet to the left of the tent. “Mornin’,” Alan said. His voice was deep and groggy. “Morning,” she replied. She was tapping the side of her leg rapidly. “Is he still not back yet?” “No.” she sighed. “This isn't like him, where is he?” “He's fine, I guarantee it.” Alan tried to comfort her. He checked his watch. Seven thirty, this was sleeping in for him but he still felt exhausted. He was glad he got the rest though. “Hey, where is that gas smell coming from?” Alan asked with a yawn. “No clue.” She didn't take her eyes off the forest. Alan heard the tent open, and Udesky, Cooper, and Nash walked out, all shaking off their sleep. 

“Do we have any kind of coffee?” Alan asked. “Sadly not, we don't have an efficient way to make it.” Udesky said. Alan nodded. “What’s that smell?” Cooper asked. “Gas,” Alan spoke, “but I don't know what it's from.”

“Maybe there is an issue with the plane.” Nash said, pushing past Cooper and Udesky. He jogged over to the front end of the plane and crouched down. Alan followed behind, worried himself. As Alan drew closer the smell of gas grew stronger. “Is everything okay?” Alan said, hiding the shakiness in his voice.

“No, something gnawed the fuel lines.” he stood up. “Looks like some kind of bird… there are tracks around the line. “A bird? What kind of bird would chew through a fuel line?” “Beats me, I just gotta find a way to fix it.” He walked past Alan back to the tent. Billy walked out of the tent to face Alan. Alan waved him over, as he crouched down infront of the plane. “What is it?” Billy asked. “Nash said a bird chewed through the fuel line.” he said, shifting his attention back up towards billy. “You know alot about birds dont you?” “Yeah, maddie taught me alot when i was with her, she loved birds so i picked up a thing or two.”

“Look at these tracks.” Alan waved Billy down under the plane. Under the plane was a large pool of mud. Dozens of small three toed footprints  were scattered around the fuel lines. The stench of gasoline seared Alan's eyes.

“Weird…” Billy said, scratching his head. 

“What is it?” Alan said, hiding his worry.

“Well if it is a bird, I'm not sure what it is. It looks kind of like woodcock footprints, but they would never do that and they dont even live around here. My next option is a killdeer but i dont think they go this far south, they tend to stick to the mainlands in the central U.S.” billy layed down on his stomach. 

“A new species maybe?” Alan said.

“It's possible." Billy sighed. “But these look oddly similar to some compsognathus tracks I found on my study trip in Spain. The indentations of the toes, and the length of the toes aswell. And the fact that there is no hullex shows it dosnt have the same balance as most modern birds.” 

Alan's heart sank. Could Hammond have owned this island too? No, it's not possible. It has to be a coincidence, right? Maybe they got on the island like when the raptors escaped on boats? Could they have stopped at this island for some reason? There can't be dinosaurs on this island, they have to all be dead, he watched them go up in flames.

“Alan,” Billy said, shaking Alan's shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine, just got lost in thought I guess.” he said wiping his face.

“Come on, it's time to look for that kid.”

Alan and Billy walked back to the tent, walking past Rosa, still standing just outside of the tent. Alan gently rubbed her shoulder as they passed by. The sounds of all of their voices filled the air arround the tent.  Billy held open the tent flap and let Alan walk inside ahead of him. Everyone was now awake and talking among themselves. Alan felt slightly overwhelmed by the overlapping voices. Beck and Mckinley were sitting in the back of the tent, playing chess. Simmons and Nash were talking about their homes and their pets.  The Kirbys were talking to Udesky about Eric. The rest of the group was discussing what to do about the plane. Alan decided to just wait outside, he didnt have the energy to deal with them yet. He just wanted to go home. 

“You go ahead, I'll wait out here with Rosa,” he said. Billy saw the discomfort on his face as he said that. He nodded and went inside. 

Billy felt bad dragging Alan into this mess. He knew how uncomfortable he was away from the dig. Especially after his bad experience with nublar. Something about a crazy old man who thought dinosaurs were in the woods. Just some old kook. But he felt it was good for Alan to get out again, especially for a good cause. Billy walked over to his bed and grabbed a fresh set of clothes and went behind the changing screen. He knew that people were trying to bring back dinosaurs, but that had to be impossible, after millions of years any DNA that was left behind would be long decayed beyond repair. Billy slid on a clean white shirt and put his overshirt on. Someone tapped on the changing screen. 

“Hey, are you almost ready?”

“Yeah, almost done changing. What's up?”

“Udesky is gonna split us up into groups to complete certain tasks. I'm pretty sure we are going to be working together.” laianna said. Her silhouette casting through the changing screen. “Any idea what we will be doing?” “I think we will be on perimeter duty. At least the east side of the camp.” “Just us?” Billy said, peeking around the corner of the screen. “Yeah I'm pretty sure Mr.Kirby and Udesky are going to be working on the West perimeter.” Billy walked out from behind the screen. He grabbed his pack and threw it over his shoulder. He waved his hand for laianna to follow him. They both walked out of the tent back in the hot sorna sun. They walked closer towards the rest of the group who were surrounding the plane. Nash was layed beneath the front end of the plane while McKinley sat in the cockpit. They both watched them shout back and forth. Something abt trying to ‘bleed the air out of the fuel line.’ Billy didnt care to know anything abt mechanic work so he barely knew why that was important. Udesky turned around to greet Billy and Laianna. 

“Ah wonderful. Simmons, you and Mr. Brennan here should get started on the perimeter. Mr.Kirby and I will start our route on the west once we get the clear form Nash that he won't need more than the help he has.” “If I can keep McKinley and Beck I'll be fine.” Nash called, muffled from the internals of the plane. “Sounds good to me. I dont mind mechanic work.” chimed Beck. Billy looked up at the cockpit to see mckinleys hand giving a thumbs up in the window. “Well, I guess that's settled. We will set a 300 foot perimeter around camp. That will give us a bit of forest cleared for searching so we can set out a full party tomorrow.” laiana spoke clearly. She turned to Billy. “We can also keep an eye out for Charlie while we are out there. Rosa seems to be having a hard time with him gone like that.” “Alright. You guys start at the north end of the runway and work your way down to the sothern end. Make sure you clear that shed over near that sign. We had Cooper scan it earlier but didnt do a hard search yet.” Udesky said, turning back to the plane. Laianna and Billy turned to the runway and walked to the end, scanning the ground as they walked. As they neared the edge of the forest Billy grabbed a small flashlight out of his bag and shined it into the shady parts of the woods.  “If he was around i dont think the shade would make him invisible billy.” laianna laughed

“You never know.” he shined the light towards her and they both laughed. As they came closer to the shed, Billy walked over to the sign nearby and wiped away the dirt and growth that had accumulated on it.

“‘East landing strip storage shed’. Huh.” he said, turning back to Laianna. “Think we can maybe find some fuel in there for the plane?”

“Most likely not, unfortunately any fuel that may have been left has most certainly expired by now.”

“Can the gas expire?” Billy asked, tilting his head slightly. “I thought gas was fine as long as it was in a can.”

“It expires in roughly a year's time. And looking at the state of this place, its been far longer than that.” She walked over to the door of the shed. “Lets get this over quick, this place is already giving me the creeps.

[sketchy-writes]

Chapter 8:

Landing

As the plane touched down, Lianna let out a large sigh of relief. Billy looked out his window. They were on a runway? Like an actual, paved runway? He didn't know this island had people. Could there still be people on the island? No, the runway was extremely overgrown and cracked. They had to be pretty bad caretakers to let it get this bad. It must be abandoned. Billy took his eyes off the window and looked back into the plane. Everyone was already standing and grabbing their things. He looked at Alan, still asleep. He stepped over and lightly shook him awake. He sharply inhaled and lifted his hat to look at Billy.

“We’re here.” Billy smiled. Alan sat forward and groaned. He cracked his back with his arms.

“When do we leave” he grumbled. He stood up and waved his hand for Billy to move. Billy grabbed his bag off his chair. The strap caught the armrest and jerked him back. Alan chuckled at him while grabbing his bag from the overhead. Billy reached around Alan and unhooked the strap. They followed Lianna out of the plane, her leg shaking from the flight. The hot humid air hit them. Billy covered the sun with his hand. It was extremely bright. They walked down the stairs and onto the pavement.

“I didn't know there were people here?” Billy said.

“Ah, yes.” Mr. Kirby spoke up. “This used to be a research center of some kind. It was abandoned some years ago.”

“Ever think it was for good reason?” Billy walked forward to the edge of the woods. Mr. Kirby was still trying to find a response to what Billy had said.

Udesky took his flask out of his pant pocket and took a drink. “Alright, beck, nash, unload the plane. Laianna, and Sarah, set up the tent. Cooper and Rob, go set a perimeter.” Everyone took off to their respective jobs. Alan and Billy were confused. They looked at each other trying to figure it out. Why would they need a perimeter for a camping trip? Wildlife maybe? It was still weird. Billy walked to Ms. Kirby.

“So what's all of this for?” Billy asked.

“Oh, uh. Just for,” she paused. Her words were rushed and nervous. Billy saw she was tapping her hands on her thigh. “Safety I guess.” something wasn't right. Maybe they were just over preparing, but something was weird. Why would she be so nervous about it all if she wasn't hiding anything? Maybe she's just shy, she was really quiet at dinner.

Later that day the tent was set up and everyone was back in. They had put the tent about 100 feet from the plane closer to the edge of the forest. The tent was a large green military-style tent. Not exactly luxurious, Billy thought. But it does hold a lot of people. They set up cots for everyone to sleep on and they put out a campfire to cook food. They had boiled some soup for everyone. Alan checked his watch, it was six at night. Five hours to get set up and make some food wasn't bad.

“So how is this whole tour thing going to work?” Alan asked, before eating a bite of the chicken in his soup. All of Kirby's team had looked at him confused. A strange look appeared on Mr Kirby's face. Cooper started to laugh.

“I would hardly call this a tour Dr. Grant,” Cooper spoke between laughs.

“What part of this screams tour to you, scientist?” Mckinley spoke.

“That's what we were hired for.” Billy was confused. He knew something was up.

“Now gentlemen there is a perfectly reasonable explanation-” Mr Kirby tried to interject.

“Are you kidding? Then why were we dragged out here?” Alan's tone raised. “You dragged us out here to the middle of some island, for what?” this was the first time he had yelled in years. He hated it. But not this time, this time he felt justified to at least yell. They had only just gotten here and found out they had been lied to.

“Listen, Dr. Grant, we hired you because you have been here before, we needed someone who has been on the island,” Amanda spoke up. This had been the first time they had heard her speak to the whole group. “We had to guarantee you came here. Our son went missing here weeks ago and we needed a team to help us find him.”

“I haven't been on this island,” Alan said, pausing between words.

“Sure you have! You wrote that book on it.” Mr. Kirby said

“That was Isla Nublar. Not Isla Sorna.” Billy said with a frustrated breath.

“So, wait, you lied to these people Mr. Kirby?” Udesky said, holding his brow. “Why not just tell them the real reason?”

“I didn't want them to think their work was more important than my son, so I gave them a meaningless task for easy money so they would come. And you told me you needed an expert” he sighed. “I'm sorry, but you will still be paid, that I promise.”

“I didn't tell you to kidnap someone,” Udesky said under his breath.

“I want off this goddamn island. Tomorrow,” Alan growled.

“Alan,” Billy put his hand on his shoulder. “Their kid is missing, the least we can do is help.”

“I didn't agree to charity work.”

“We get paid the same, we work one day looking for a kid. Think of the funding this will give us for a day's work.”

“Fine,” Alan said with an angry sigh. “One day, that's all you get mr kirby, then I want off this goddamn island.”

“Thank you, Dr. Grant.”

Alan stood up and left the now silent tent. Billy tailed him. Alan picked up a small rock and threw it into the woods. A dull thunk came off a nearby log. Billy looked up at the now night sky. A loon howled in the distance. They both just stood in silence, taking a break from all the confusion. Alan just wanted to go home. It's not that he didn't care about the kid, he just wasn't here for that. If it was any different, he wouldn't even have agreed to stay a day. A voice called from in the tent, Rosa yelled out Chalries name. Charlie bolted out of the tent like a flash of light. And just as quickly disappeared in the nearby brush. Seconds later Rosa burst out of the tent.

“Where did he go?” she said, not stopping to let either of them answer. “Charlie!” she called.

“He will be back, he probably just heard an animal or something.” Billy said, trying to comfort her.

“No, no you dont understand. Hes trained to not do things like that. He only runs after what hes told or what hes tracking.”

“Maybe he found the kid?” Alan said.

“No, if he was tracking he would guide me, not run off like that.” They all turned to face the forest, crickets chirped in the distance, but no sounds of barking or running.

“He will be back.”

[sketchy-writes]

Chapter 7:

Takeoff

The whole group stood and began to walk towards the door. Alan lagged behind with Billy, as he struggled to take his travel bag off of the hooks he had hung it on. Alan reached up and pressed in the latch that locked the strap of the bag on the hook. Billy rolled his eyes as alan chuckled, mocking him.

“For someone so smart, you sure struggle with the simple things,” he laughed.

“It's a very complex hook, ok?” Billy joked in return. Billy lifted his bag off of the hook and put it over his shoulder. Alan quickly turned as the sound of a door shutting rang out from down the hall. “Better get moving, before they leave without us.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Alan sighed. They walked to the door and pushed it open, the hot humid air hitting Alan's face, he stopped walking and shook his head briefly, adjusting to the sudden change. Nash and Udesky were leading the rest of the group into the plane. Nash waved them over, quickly waving his hand. Alan and Billy hurried to the plane. As they stepped inside everyone else was already seated. Alan went to the back of the plane and set his bag in the overhead. Billy went to the seat across from alans and just tossed his bag on the inside seat. Alan sat down and closed his eyes, if he had to be here he was going to sleep through what he could. He did not want to interact with anyone on the flight. He needed a break.

Billy tapped his hands on the seat in front of him, bobbing his head to his own rhythm. He watched Nash climb into the plane and immediately go to the cockpit. Udesky followed but turned to face the aisle.

“Is everyone all ready?” Udesky called. A silent confirmation from everyone, and udesky nodded. He opened the cockpit door and walked in. a loud electronic screech came over the intercom, as Nash's voice came through in heavy static.

“Seatbelts everyone. Keep your hands and feet inside the plane at all times and please enjoy the ride.” Billy could sense the smile on Nash's face as he spoke. The plane moved and turned to the runway. Billy watched as the trees on the other side of the field began to go by faster, and faster. The plane lifted, and Billy looked down at the ground, watching the plane rise.

“How long is this flight again?” a shaky nervous voice called. Billy took his eyes off the ground and looked at Laianna.

“About 2 hours.” Billy said calmly. Laianna was gripping the armrest, the fabric crunching as she squeezed tighter. “But it will be over before you know it.”

“Lets hope.” she laughed, her voice still just as shaky.

Billy scanned the rest of the seats. Why were amanda and paul so far? They were sitting opposite of the same row, each in a window seat. Maybe they just both wanted window seats, but it still seemed odd. Alan was fast asleep, even for the few minutes they had been flying. Sarah was sitting in the first seat with her dog, and Beck and Robert were sitting next to each other talking about something. Billy didn’t really care to know, whatever they were saying was boring or controversial. He got that impression as soon as he met robert, he just felt so egotistical and stubborn. Beck though, he seemed to be alright. Billy rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. He looked at the clock above the cabin door, Eleven twenty two. At least the flight was going by quickly.

“So, what's your story then, Billy?” Rosa called from in front of him. He leaned forward again, shrugging his shoulders.

“Don't really have much of one to tell.”

“Of course you do! Who are you? Where are you from” and what do you do and why?” she smiled brightly at him. He heard Charlie's rhythmic panting.

“Well then, since we are doing icebreakers now I suppose. I'm billy brennan, i'm from cedar city utah, and i am a paleontologist understudy working with Dr. alan grant, the best paleontologist in his field.” he nodded his head and chuckled. She painted at him with her whole hand, and shook her head.

“See? Sounds like a story to me, and I can't wait for the next part.” she laughed.

“And what about you? Same questions apply." Sarah raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure you’re ready for my story? I think it's a bit above your grade level.”

“Oh no! I get to hear about little red riding hood and her big…” he paused. Charlie looked back at him and tilted his head. “Well, just big wolf.” Sarah chuckled, and billy swore he heard a small snort. He smiled.

“Well, then. Im Rosa alvarez, im from ponce, puerto rico. I moved into america at 16, and started training to become a SAR ranger, they gave me this pup, and i worked hard and saved many people. I want to help find lost people.” she pat charlie on his head.

“So what was the last person you saved? With the help of Rosa here of course "Billy teased.

“Well, the last person he saved was an old man who vanished in a national forest for two weeks, who took shelter in a nearby cave after breaking his ankle. We got him out of there and he made a full physical recovery.”

“Sounds like he deserves a medal!”

“Actually he has 2” Billy could hear the bragging tone in her voice, but ignored it. She had every right to brag about that. At least she wasn't a prick about it either. The plane suddenly shook, dropping open the overhead storage above Sarah that fell onto robert. After it hit him he grumbled under his breath, something about how careless Sarah was to leave her door so loose like that. Billy didn't hear all of it, but he knew Robert was pissed. Sarah apologized to Robert, but he didn't say anything, just let another growl out, quietly.

She stood up and put her bag back in the overhead, latching the door with a loud click.

The plane shook again causing the door to open again, and hit robert.

“God damnit!” he yelled. “How fucking hard is it to close a damn door?”

“Im sorry rob. The latch must be broken, I’ll move my stuff to a diferent one,” she said, looking down as she grabbed her things. Billy breathed deeply. It wasn't her fault, he has no right to act like that. So what if her things fell on you, its not like she planned it. Its not necessary to be rude, just solve the damn problem and move on.

“First decent thought you’ve had since we met.” Rob said sitting down. billy shot up from his seat.

“Leave her alone dammit! It's not her fault the door broke. Maybe move if it's gonna bother you." Billy gripped the seat in front of him.

“Pipe down scientist,” Rob said, not even looking at Billy. He leaned back and put his hat over his eyes.

“Learn some goddamn respect.”

“Learn to mind your damn business”

“QUIET” Alan and Cooper called at the same time. The plane went silent. Billy sat back down. Sarah looked back at him and mouthed the words “Thank you”

Billy signed back, “You're welcome.”

As the flight continued everyone remained silent. Billy checked his watch, twelve forty-six, it was almost over. Alan grunted and stirred in his sleep. Billy sat back and closed his eyes, maybe Alan was right. Maybe this wouldn't be worth it. He tapped his fingers to his thumb, index, middle, ring, and pinky. Then reverse. He sank deeper into his chair. Nash called over the speaker. “Ladies and gentlemen, our flight will soon be coming to an end, we will be landing on Isla Sorna shortly, if you look out of your window you will see we are approaching the island.”

Billy looked out the window and saw a massive island. It was covered in mountains on the outside, forming almost a bowl shape. Good thing we didn't sail here, he thought to himself. It was covered in green trees and large ferns he could see even from here. The short beaches on the outer rim of the island. The plane reached the island and Udesky called over the speaker. “We will be searching for a landing strip, we will begin decent as soon as we find one. Please remain in your seats.” Billy didn't take his eyes off the window, the island was beautiful. The birds above the trees, to the large open plains. He saw small animals running between the trees. A large river cut the island nearly in half. And he saw… a building? The plane started to descend, but Billy couldn't take his eyes off the concrete box he saw some distance away.

[sketchy-writes]

Chapter 6:

All-together

“I can’t believe you convinced me to do this.” Alan growled.

“Come on, a few days of camping on a remote island, and we pitch in to look for a kid lost in the place. How bad could that be?” Billy looked at Alan with raised eyebrows. Alan rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Come one Mr. Grumpy hat, our flight is in an hour, are you all packed?”

“Yeah, I got it Billy.” Alan put on his hat and opened the door. He walked halfway out before stopping and looking back at Billy. “By the way, your fly's down.” Alan walked out as Billy adjusted his fly. Alan opened the trunk and put all of his luggage inside, closed it, and got in the driver seat. Why did he agree to this? He just wanted to go back to his dig in Montana, he was needed there. It’s not that he didn’t want to help find the kid, he’s not a monster. But why the hell did it have to be him? At least the dig would be funded for a few more years. Billy walked out of the hotel door, Alan pressed the button to open the trunk, and Billy put his stuff in and sat in the passenger seat. Alan started the car and left the hotel.

They pulled into the parking lot, and saw a group of a few people standing near a small building. They pulled into the spot next to a red sedan. “Ready?” Billy chuckled looking at alan.

“As i’ll ever be” he sighed, not taking his eyes off the steering wheel. They both stepped out of the car.

“Dr. Grant! Good to see you.” Mr. Kirby called from the group. “Let me introduce you to the team helping us.” He stepped over to Alan and turned around to gesture at each person. “This is Mr. Danial Nash, Thomas Cooper, Robert McKinley.” Alan reached out his hand and shook all of theirs, except for Mr. McKinley, who kept his arms folded and his hat low.

“It's good to meet you all.” billy smiled

“There are a few more inside, they are preparing breakfast for us.” Paul waved his arm for them all to follow. They all stepped inside the lounge area and sat at the large round table in the center of the room. Alan checked his watch, ten twenty-four am, they were leaving in about an hour. He looked around at the mercenaries. McKinley was leaned back in his chair, with his hat over his eyes. Nash was making conversation with a hispanic woman and petting a german shepard. Cooper was cleaning parts of his rifle, thankfully on a seperate table being that they were going to be eating soon. And udesky was talking to Mr.Kirby about the mission.

A woman walked out of a back room carrying four plates of food, followed by a tall lanky man and Ms. Kirby all carrying more plates. Each plate was laid out in front of each person. Ms. Kirby set the last plate in front of herself and told everyone to dig in. Alan looked down at his plate of two pancakes, four bacon strips and scrambled eggs. He had to admit he was hungry, he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. He scarfed down the first pancake, and two pieces of bacon, before Mr. Kirby had begun to speak.

“Alright everyone, enjoy your meal, we have a long flight ahead of us. And from the bottom of my wife’s and my heart, thank you all for helping us.” An applause broke the small moment of silence.

“So you're the expert huh?” The man sitting next to alan said.

“I don't know about expert but yes, I'm familiar with the area I believe.” Alan said quietly. The man reached out his hand.

“beck, beck peterson.” Alan shook his hand.

“Dr. Alan Grant.”

“So what were you doing here all those years ago?. Beck asked before taking a bite of his eggs.

“Oh, uh…” Alan tapped his foot, quietly. “Some old nut thought he had a paleontological breakthrough, but it was just a deadzone, nothing of value.” He cleared his throat.

“Well? What did he think was so special?” he said with his mouth still full. “I mean it had to be something right?”

Alan paused. What could he say? False remains? New discovery? Alan didn't want to lie, he hated lying. He hated the book the Costa Rican government forced him to release to the public. “He had found some bugs in the rocks, and said it was a “key to learning about dinosaur behavior” Alan sighed. At least he didn't lie.

Beck squinted, before shrugging at alan. “How the hell would bugs tell you about behavior?” Alan heard him say under his breath.

He smirked, and picked up another piece of bacon.

Listening in on other conversations, he had figured out everyone's names. Rosa, and her dog Charlie, Sarah wrights, and Laianna simons. He made a mental not to sit near them on the plane. Alan may not be a social butterfly, but he didn’t wanna be around people he is unfamiliar with.

Mr. Kirby stood from his seat. “It is ten fifty-five everyone, time to get going.”

Alan felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked and saw Billy, giving an empathetic look. He waved his hands, signing the words *it's gonna be fine, it will be over soon.*

[sketchy-writes]

chapter 5:

Mercenaries

Paul rolled out of his hotel bed, slowly walking to the hotels kitchen. He poured the day old coffee into a mug and sipped the cold bitter brew. With that he made a new, fresh pot of coffee. He stepped out of the kitchen and sat on his bed. He looked over at the other hotel bed, Amanda sleeping quietly. He turned on the tv and let the news quietly play in the background.

Pauls phone buzzed on the desk. He stood and leaned to grab the phone. The screen read Udesky, Paul quickly flipped his phone open and answered the call.

“This is Paul.”

“Hello Mr. Kirby, this is Mark Udesky, the lead mercenary you hired. We would love to set up a meeting for today, and we can ship out tomorrow at first light.” His voice sounded scratchy and rugged. Paul looked over at Amanda, sleeping peacefully. He checked his watch, seven fifteen am. Paul knew Amanda got up at eight thirty every morning without fail. Maybe he could go alone? Not disturb Amanda or bother her with any more stress.

“Yeah, i think we can do that, where are we meeting?”

“We will meet at the private airport near tres rios, at around o’nine hundred. Does that work for you?”

”yes i believe that will work fine.”

“Great i will send you the full address.” Paul heard other people talking in the background.

“Sounds good, see you soon.” Paul hung up the phone, and put it back on the dresser and went to go get dressed. He ran the names of the mercs through his head. Mark Udesky, Danial Nash, Thomas Cooper. He was sacrificing so much to do this. His reputation, his business, and his money, were only part of it. But it was all worth it, for Eric, for closure if he is gone and if he is still alive… then he would have his son back. He missed Eric, more than he ever thought he would. He needed his son, he felt like nothing without him. But now he had a chance to have his son in his arms again. He buckled his belt. What could be on that island that Eric could have wanted to see so badly? The only thing that would intrigue that boy to go anywhere was dinosaurs, or food. Hell the only reason his mother was able to get Eric to go to boy scouts or gymnastics was bribing him with sweets after every trip. Paul shook his head as he buttoned his shirt and adjusted his collar. Grabbing his phone, he put it in his shirt pocket and took one last look at Amanda, still sleeping undisturbed. He decided to write her a note for when she woke up. Paul walked to the kitchen and grabbed a pen and an empty envelope. He wrote on the back, had to go to a meeting with the people we hired to help find Eric, there is fresh coffee in the pot and plenty of eggs and bacon to make for food. He left the note on the dresser. Paul grabbed his keys from the hook on the wall. As he walked out, he whistled his store tune.

Paul pulled out of the hotel parking lot and drove down the road. He felt his shirt begin to buzz on his chest, and without taking his eyes off the road he grabbed the phone from his pocket and answered. “Hello?” Paul said flatly.

“Mr Kirby, it is me again, Mark Udesky, I would simply like to inform you before your arrival that I have hired some more help. Five extra people to be exact, you will meet them today along with the rest of us. This was all at no expense to you, I simply thought we would need some extra help.”

“Good, that’s wonderful. I am on my way to the airport now.”

“Excellent, see you shortly Mr. Kirby.”

Paul turned into the airport parking area, and pulled up next to an olive green jeep. Stepping out of the car, a deafening sound went off nearby. Paul ducked behind his car door for a split second. Slowly standing up, Paul walked to the nearby building and opened the glass door. Another bang. Paul stepped towards the counter.

“Hello?” Paul called across the counter. Was he in the wrong place? He double checked he was on the map. Another bang. Paul walked to the glass door that lead to the runway, and looked out. Three men all sitting behind a steel box, one of the holding something on and crouched further than the others. Paul looked closer and saw that he was holding a large rifle. Another bang, the barrel of the rifle flashed brightly. Another bang, this time directly after an even louder one followed, Paul caught himself on the counter by the door. All of the men outside were all laughing and celebrating. Paul sighed and pushed open the door, and called out to them. One of the men took off the headphones they were wearing.

“Ah, Mr Kirby! Welcome. My name is Mark Udesky.” He extended his hand. Paul shook his hand and looked at the flaming plane down range of the rifle. Paul pointed silently. “Yea, that would be Cooper's handy work. It was a dead plane anyway, we already took what we could use from it, and cooper had the idea to test his new ‘toy.’”

The man holding the rifle raised his hand while still aiming down the sight.

“So, where is the rest of the team that you hired?”

“On their way, in the meantime I'll introduce you to the ones here. First off, is cooper, who you have already been acquainted with, And Nash.

“Good morning Mr Kirby.” Nash stepped forward, he was significantly taller than Mr. Udesky, and more muscular than him too. Paul shook his hand.

“Nice to meet all of you, I’m thankful you all agreed to help me find my son.”

“No need to thank us, Mr Kirby. It's our pleasure. Plus we haven’t had much to do lately.” Udesky said, patting Paul on the shoulder. “ I’m going to go get us some breakfast to discuss everything over.” Udesky walked off towards the building. Paul walked towards Cooper, and sat in the chair next to him.

“What kind of rifle is that?” Cooper looked at him through his sunglasses.

“It’s a Barret M82, bought two weeks ago, never had a chance to use it until now. Currently trying to sight it in.” Paul looked at the large weapon. It looked like it was used to hunt elephants, it was so massive. The bullets were as long as his hand.

“Put these on. It’s extremely loud and you don’t want to damage your ears.”

Cooper slid a pair of headphones across the table towards Paul. He picked them up, and put them on his head. As the world went nearly silent, Cooper aimed down the sight, and fired the rifle. The sound was far quieter, but still startled Paul. Cooper tapped Paul on the shoulder and motioned to take his headphones off. “Fully sighted, works like a charm.”

“Do you mind if I fire it?” Paul asked. Cooper looked down at his rifle, then back at Paul.

“Have you fired a gun before?”

“Yes, I went hunting with my dad growing up.”

“Well this isn’t your typical hunting rifle.” He passed Paul the rifle and helped him adjust the stock. Putting on the headphones, Paul then shouldered the rifle, aiming down at the targets down range. “If you want an extra flash of fun, aim for the propane tanks next to the target.” He set the crosshair on the center of the target. He pulled the trigger and the weapon fired. Wincing, Paul rotated his arm, and groaned.

“She’s a strong one.” They both laughed. He looked through the scope again. He was too high.

“Oh, right, I set my scope so the perfect aim is right above the crosshair, I hate that it gets in the way.” Paul set the weapon again, before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looks back, it was Nash.

“Mr. Kirby, can I get you to help me move some supplies quickly?”

“Sure thing.” Paul stood up and walked with Nash over to a nearby plane.

“These are the boxes we need to load into the plane, they are necessary supplies for our expedition to find your son.”

“Sounds good, i'll pass them to you, and you put them where they go in the plane.” Paul lifted the first box, straining at first, but corrected himself.

“The boxes are quite heavy, i can do it myself if its too much for you-“

“No, no its fine.” Paul cut him off. He handed the box to Nash. “So…” Paul lifted another box, this one surprisingly light. “Where are you from”

“I grew up in Nigeria, and moved to America when I was fourteen. Then I lived in Nevada for many years.” He took the box from Paul and set it down next to the other.

“What branch did you serve in?”

“Navy, I was a mechanic. I worked on planes and boats. If it has an engine I can fix it.”

“So I guess you are the one who works on planes here?”

“Correct, Udesky is too busy, and Cooper is ignorant when it comes to these things.”

Paul handed him the last box, and Nash put it in the plane. Nash took out a water bottle, and drank. After he did, he held out the bottle to Paul. Paul drank from the bottle and tossed it back to Nash.

“If you were so good in the military, why are you a merc now?” Paul asked. Nash sighed.

“One day, a plane went out for a flight, that one of our commanders was piloting. Something went wrong and it crashed in the ocean, and the pilot died. The platoon assumed I did it because I was black and hated the white commander. So they discharged me, since they couldn’t have me arrested for something they couldn’t prove I did.”

“Jesus. I’m sorry Nash, hopefully this is a decent substitute for you.”

“I enjoy what i do now far more. So no apology necessary.” Paul held out his hand and Nash shook it. He smiled at Paul and closed the plane door.

Both men returned to the entrance area of the airport and met with cooper.

“How did it go?” Cooper asked.

“The supplies are loaded, the plane is fueled, and no issues are found with the plane.”

“Perfect, now we just gotta wait for Udesky to get back, and we ship out at this time tomorrow.”

“I should really head back to the hotel soon, Amanda is probably waiting for me.”

“Nonsense Mr. Kirby, we still have breakfast to eat when udesky gets back, and the rest of the team should be here any moment.” Nash chuckled. Paul checked his watch, ten forty eight am. He had to admit he was hungry, and Amanda was well enough on her own. Just then udesky walked out of the glass door of the building and towards the men, and several people followed him and a large German Shepherd, carrying trays of coffee and bags of what he assumed was food.

“Mr. Kirby! Meet the rest of the team, Sara wrights, Rosa Rodriguez, Liana Simmons, and Beck Olson, and Robert Mckinly.”

“Nice to meet all of you, my name is Paul Kirby, thank you all for helping me in finding my son.”

“Let’s not just stand here, let's go to the lounge and eat.” Udesky waved his arm for them all to follow, cooper stood murmuring under his breath, and all of the rest began to follow. While walking, he stood next to a woman in a tan jacket and camouflage pants, who was walking with the dog by her side.

“What’s his name?” She turned her head sharply, and looked at Paul. “The dog, what’s his name?” Paul asked again.

“Oh, yes, his name is Charlie, he’s my search and rescue K9. Specially trained for finding people like your son.” Paul rubbed Charlie’s head, he felt a huge sense of relief knowing that a dog was there to help, he could sniff out where his son was.

“Is he good at what he does?”

“The best Mr. Kirby” Rosa said, smiling. “He has found kids trapped under ten feet of rubble after landslides, tracked kids for miles, and saved over twenty lives just last year alone.”

“So we got a little hero on our hands, he’s a good boy isn’t he.”

“Very.”

Udesky opened the door to the lounge and inside was a large table and a vending machine. Together, everyone sat at the round table and passed around coffee and egg sandwiches. Once everyone started eating Paul felt better about the people helping him. He felt lucky to have such willing people, like they actually cared about finding his son rather than this being just another job. He felt like at least Udesky and Nash did at least, and that was decent enough for him. He looked around at the faces surrounding him, Udesky and the bits of egg stuck in his mustache, Nash eating his food like he’s never eaten before, and Cooper, only sipping his coffee. He wasn’t sure of the others' names quite yet. A man with a stubble beard and cowboy hat was also drinking his coffee, but he was taking gulps at a time. He supposed that was Mckinly, and the man next to him was Olson. Paul shook his head, he shouldn’t judge these people just on how they look, or make assumptions about them. They were here to find his son.

Paul finished his meal, and through away his cup and the wrapper from his sandwich.

“Well, i got to go now, it was great to meet all of you. I will contact the experts I’m bringing, and we will ship out at eleven am tomorrow, and be to the island by one thirty pm.”

“Sounds good Mr. Kirby, we will see you tomorrow.”

[wormlizarding]

Fungi-taken Dilophosaurus for @sketchy-sketches

[sketchy-writes]

THANK YOU BESTIE

[sketchy-writes]

Chapter 4: persuasion

Alan opened his eyes slowly, stretching his arms and legs. Sitting up in his bed, he thought about what his day entailed, knowing full well it was the same day everyday, wake up, drink coffee, head out to the dig and begin working, lunch around three pm, and dinner around seven pm, and he’s in bed by nine. His life was simple and he enjoyed that. Alan stood, walking to his coffee pot, and began making his new batch. Abruptly Alan’s pager beeped. He read the message, it was billy. Alan grabbed his coffee pot and poured the whole pot in his thermos, and walked out of the tent into the cool dawn air, and headed for Billy’s tent.

”Billy? You beeped?” Billy was on the phone, he put his hand out, telling Alan to be quiet. Alan heard a man's voice on the phone, but he couldn’t make out what he was saying.

“Yes sir, we will meet you there tomorrow around seven, we will see you then Mr. Kirby, good bye.” Billy put down the phone and let out a sigh.

“Is everything alright? Who was that” alan stepped closer to billy.

“That was Mr. Paul Kirby, of Kirby enterprises, he wants to meet with us.” Billy smiled.

“What’s it about?”

“Not too sure, something about him and his wife want us to be some kind of tour guide.”

”why us? We aren’t tour guides.”

”No clue, but it could be a way for us to fund our dig for a while longer.” Alan scratched his head, why would they want them? Must be an exotic place, why else would the hire prehistoric animal experts. They are probably some people who don’t understand his profession, it will be a waste of time.

“When and where are we meeting them?” Alan groaned holding his forehead.

“Pecks, its a super fancy restaurant in Costa Rica,” billy began writing on a sticky note. “Our flight is in forty five minutes, go pack” billy smacked the sticky note on Alan’s chest and smiled at him. Billy turned to his dresser and began grabbing and folding clothes.

As Alan stepped off the helicopter, he felt the humid air hit him. Billy handed him his luggage before hopping of the plane. “Welcome to Costa Rica.” Billy said, smiling at grant. Grant smiled back, and began walking up the trail into the town of San Jose.

Alan still couldn’t think of a reason why the Kirby’s would want to meet with him and Billy of all people. The only thing Alan has ever talked about are dinosaurs and their world. The only thing they could possibly be mistaking are his writing about dinosaur habitats and living conditions, like how spinosaurus aegyptiacus lived in a humid and tropical climate in North Africa, or the majungasaurus from Madagascar. The only reason he wrote about locations is to understand what their world was like so we could understand them better. Could they have misunderstood? No, it would be impossible to misunderstand, only complete morons could misunderstand. Alan checked his watch, six fifteen pm, only a bit more. Alan rubbed his head. Only a little bit longer, then he can go back to Mongolia, and be back in his tent, he was comfortable there.

Bill put his hand on Alan’s shoulder. “Don’t worry Alan, this won’t take long, but maybe humor them. This could be huge for us.” Alan sighed.

“It better be” Alan turned and looked at all the buildings that surround him, he read the signs that hung on them. “Ortiz salón, la flor, Rosa verde.” All small businesses for tourists. Then he saw the place he was to go, a large building with stone arches in the front. A wooden sign with large, cursive, white letters. Alan looked at his watch again, six twenty one pm. They were early. But that was good, they needed time to find a hotel and drop off their luggage and clean up from the long helicopter flight.

Billy pushed open the door to the hotel and held it for Alan. The lady at the front desk smiled at them. “Bienvenido, one bed or two.” She said with a heavy accent.

“Two please.” Billy returned the smile. She handed them a room key and Billy handed the women fifteen dollars . Heading up the stairs to their room the two men walked in silence. Billy unlocked the room door, and put his hand on Alan’s chest abruptly.

“I call the first shower,” he said. Alan chuckled, and followed in the room.

Grant walked across the street to the restaurant, mentally bracing himself for what was to come. He walked in and saw a wooden restaurant with red banners lining the walls, lit by candles and chandeliers. Billy followed him inside, in awe at the lavish eatery. A woman in white suit came up to them, her hair tied tightly in a bun. Alan checked his watch, seven o’three. “Seating for two?” The woman asked.

“Doctor Grant!” A voice called from a nearby booth.

“We are with them, thank you.” Grant said to the woman. They walked over and sat down in the booth across from the Kirbys. Grant looked at the Kirby’s, the man was wearing a suit and tie, with gold rings and a name brand watch, and his wife wore a black dress with golden jewelry. He sat down and Billy sat next to him. Mr Kirby outstretched his hand.

“Dr. Grant it is a pleasure to meet you, I’m Paul Kirby, and this is my lovely wife Amanda.” Alan shook his hand. “We are just thrilled that you agreed to meet with us.”

”what is all of this about?”

“We want you to lead a tour on a remote island off of the coast of Costa Rica.” Alan paused. Could they be trying to go to isla nublar? If they are they must have a death wish… or they must not know what is there.

“What island are we talking about here?” Alan tapped his foot nervously.

“Isla sorna, we heard you have been on an expedition of some kind in that area and though you would be the perfect fit.” Alan sighed heavily, the tension in his chest left, as he started chuckling. He forgot he wrote that book about how his ‘expedition on isla nublar had no gain to science and nublar should be considered a scientific dead end.’

“I’m familiar yes.” Alan cleared his throat. “But we aren’t tour guides. We have our dig to worry about.” Billy nodded.

”we are fully aware of your concerns with the dig and we would love to support you if you decide to help us out.” Paul took out his wallet. He took out a card and slid it towards Alan. Alan grabbed the card and read it. Kirby enterprises, trusted, quick, excellent. With a phone number at the bottom. “I own a construction company, Kirby enterprises, we are very successful and possibly willing to donate to your cause.”

“Mr Kirby, I’m not sure that we are the right people for the job. If you-“ a waiter came up and cleared his throat.

”sorry to interrupt but can I get you all started with some drinks?” A the waiter asked.

”yes can we get two margaritas on the rocks and…” Paul looked at Alan and billy.

“Rum and coke please, and a Bloody Mary for him.” He said pointing at billy. the waiter nodded and walked away. Billy looked at Alan and spoke softly.

“Alan, maybe we could hear them out, it might be worth it.”

“But the dig billy.” Alan sighed.

“Amanda, can you hand me the checkbook?” Amanda quickly reached in her bag and handed Paul the small black booklet. Paul opened it and tore out a blank check. “I can write a lot of numbers on this check Dr. Grant, you tell me what to write and its yours.” Alan looked at Paul, then back down at the check. It’s not like he was going to isla nublar again right? And its just for a week so how bad could it be? He could use this opportunity to fund the dig for the next five years. Alan sighed again.

“When do we leave?”

(Quick reminder this is rough draft, so please forgive errors <3)

[sketchy-writes]

AAHH SORRY ABOUT LATE POST

Chapter 3 is done, and just a reminder that 1. Im a novice writer, and 2. This is first draft. You all have been nothing but nice but just a reminder <3 anyway here is the next chapter.

Chapter 3:

Plan

Paul unlocked his door and walked inside. He immediately removed his shoes and button-up. He walked through his entryway hall and to his living room. He fell back onto the couch, exhaling heavily as he did. He took out his wallet and looked at the picture of Eric he keeps inside the pocket, he frowned at the thought of where he was. The phone rang, Paul stood up and put his wallet back in his back pocket. Picking up the phone Paul greeted the person on the line.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Kirby? This is Mr. Walker again from the US embassy”

“What is the news this time.” Paul said with a irritated huff

“I’m sorry to inform you but we will no longer be searching for your son, he is gone Mr.kirby.”

“What do you mean? It’s only been a week since you last called and you are already quitting the search? Eric is missing, he is my son!”

“Sir, he’s been gone for 9 weeks now, I believe it's time you accept he is dead, and we can no longer pursue a missing persons case with almost no leads. All we know is he went parasailing in the pacific ocean, only nearby landmass is restricted to everyone, including us. There is nothing we can do Mr. Kirby” hearing this, Paul fell to his knees.

“Please, Mr. Walker, I’m begging you, just one more month looking for my son, one week, one day, anything! Just please don’t stop the search, I’m begging you.” Tears formed on his face, his hands shaking. Paul is trying desperately to convince Mr. Walker to continue looking for Eric.

“I’m sorry Mr. Kirby, there is nothing we can do. I hope you find peace, and I hope you heal. Goodbye Mr. Kirby.” With nothing but dial tone left coming from the phone, Paul froze, dropping the phone from his hands. Putting one hand on the ground, and the other clutching his heart, Paul broke. He felt such pain in his chest, he was breathing heavily, tears pooled on the ground, as Paul yelled in desperation.

The next morning Paul woke up and got out of his bed, and walked to his kitchen and checked the calendar. He groaned when he realized his store was closed for today. He went to his coffee pot and poured a large cup, and sat at his kitchen table. Sipping his coffee he began thinking about what he was going to do, he still couldn’t accept Eric was dead until he saw it for himself. Then he realized, that’s exactly what he needed to do, he would go out and look for Eric himself, but how? He needed someone who could fly, someone he could pay to help him look, and someone who knew the island they were going to. 

Paul went into Eric’s old room to see if he could find anything about the island he went to go see. Eric's room here was quite bland, since he was only here every other weekend. Only a bed, a desk, 2 posters and a bookshelf. Paul knelt down to look at the books on his bookshelf. 

“This kid and his dinosaurs.” Paul shook his head and smiled. Every single book on the shelf was about dinosaurs, except one. “Isla nublar mysteries” written by Dr. Alan Grant. was this the island that Eric went to? Paul remembered it was “isla” something, and if Dr. Grant has been there, he was Paul’s best chance at finding Eric. Now all he needed was to hire a mercenary team that has access to the island. 

Paul went to his computer to begin looking for some kind of team, but when he started his search he realized hiring mercenaries is a crime. Paul took a deep breath and made his way deeper into the web, finding a team of seven, for 2,100 US dollars a day. Paul clicked on the link and contacted the lead. Next was to get one last person, Amanda, Eric’s mom. He figured it wouldn’t be right to not bring her along unless she didn’t want to. Paul picked up his phone, and dialed her number.

Paul sat in the booth at the diner, and fiddled his thumbs, as the waitress walked to him. She was wearing a blue striped uniform with a black apron and her long dark hair tied in a ponytail.  “Anything I can get you hun?” She asked kindly

“Coffee please, black” he said with a half hearted smile.

“Alrighty, it should be out in five or so minutes, gotta brew a fresh pot”  she smiled as she turned and quickly walked away. Paul scanned the diner, looking to see if Amanda was already here. He saw an older couple eating what looked like French toast, he noticed a mother and her young daughter, and a family of three, a mother, a father, and a son around Eric’s age. He got a sink in his heart, an instant wave of anger, sadness and jealousy washed over him. He shook off the feeling and tapped his foot anxiously. 

Amanda walked into the diner and began scanning for Paul. She noticed him sitting in the far corner booth and she began walking towards him.

 “Hi Paul” she greeted him with a smile.

“Hey.” 

“Why did you call me here, is this about Eric? Did they find him?” Amanda asked

“Sadly no, I got a call from the embassy yesterday and they said that they are giving up searching.” Paul said emptily, “but I have an idea, since the embassy wont find our son, we will.” 

“Paul, that’s insane. All we know is that he went missing near an island that is restricted to the public, we can’t do that.” Amanda exclaimed. “Plus how would we even know how to get around on the island.”

“I’ve hired a team to fly us and help us search the island, they can track Eric if he’s there, they said they have access to the island so we aren’t breaking any laws.” Paul said enthusiastically 

“Has anyone in that team been on the island before?” 

“No, but I think we can get someone who has, there was a man who wrote a book about isla sorna I believe, he said he was there. If we can get him, there is our guide.”

“I-“ Amanda stuttered “how do we get him to go?” 

“If we tell him that we want to take a trip there and pay him enough he is guaranteed to go, money and a good story can buy anything sadly.” Paul said. “I know its wrong, but I would do anything for Eric, and I need you to go with me. Are you in?”

“For I would walk to hell and back for Eric” Amanda spoke confidently, confidence neither Paul or her had seen in a while.

“Ill call the team and let them know, do you want any food while we are her? Ill buy.” Paul smiled at her agreement, showing true happiness for the first time in months.

After meeting with Paul, Amanda went home to do chores and clean up her home. Cleaning has been her way of distracting herself from everything going on. Her house has been spotless for the last 9 weeks, she cleans everything everyday, whether she needs to or not. But today she didn’t, though she planned on cleaning, she sat down and started to relax, knowing that she was going to be the one searching for Eric calmed her. Amanda's shoulders loosened as she sat down, Amanda had always felt comfort in control, she loved planning, she loved leading. That’s why she had left Paul, he would always break household rules, like giving Eric soda before bed, or not wiping his feet. She didn’t like how wild spirited he was, how he wasn’t orderly. 

Amanda began tapping her leg, and looking around at her home. She yawned and decided to stay busy while she relaxed, so she went into Eric’s room to grab one of the puzzles he keeps on his desk. One in particular caught her eye, it was a dinosaur puzzle, with a large dinosaur that had a crocodile-like head and a large fin on its back. She grabbed the puzzle and brought it to the living room table to begin working on it.

[sketchy-writes]

Chapter two:

The Kirbys

Paul paced around his living room, his fists clenched as he walked from his kitchen entryway to his bedroom door. Walking back and forth. He occasionally stopped and stared at the phone for a moment before he scoffed and continued pacing, hours he spent just nervously walking. Until the phone rang and he picked it up instantly,

“Yes? Hello?” Paul said instantly, not giving the man on the other side a chance to answer.

“Mr.kirby? This is Mr.Walker from the US embassy, Costa Rica, we still have no information about your son.” The man said

“Then call me when you do.” Paul Began to put the phone back on the phone back when he heard the man say something.

“What was that?” Paul said curiously.

“Mr. Kirby, I think its time to accept the inevitable, he’s gone sir, its been 6 weeks since he disappeared.”

“Well maybe if you did your job instead of wasting both mine and your time we would have found him by now!” Paul shouted into the phone, balling his fists.

“With all due respect sir, why would you let your son go parasailing in the middle of the pacific, it's almost impossible to say he is alive.”

“Listen Mr.walker, I told you to call me only if you had information, I did not ask you to tell me to give up, I asked you to find my son, so unless you are telling me that you found him, do your job.” Paul slammed the phone down and threw himself on his couch, beginning to sob to himself quietly. Suddenly his phone began ringing again. He opened his eyes and groaned as he stood up. He read the caller ID on the screen.

“Amanda…” he mumbled softly. “Hello Amanda” said as he picked up the phone.

“Any news on Eric?” She asked. Paul could hear that she was holding back tears, he shook his head.

“None, but they are still looking.” Paul paused for a moment. “How are you holding up?”

“About as well as a divorced mom who lost her boyfriend and son can.” Amanda spoke somberly. Paul's heart broke for her, he knew this was a lot for her. If their son Eric going missing wasn’t bad enough, she also lost her boyfriend, Ben Hildebrand.

“I’m sorry Amanda, we will find him. I know he is okay, I can feel it” Paul reassured.

“I hope you are right. I'll talk to you tomorrow, let me know if they find anything. Goodbye Paul, take care.” Amanda said, pauld could hear her voice breaking and could tell she was holding back tears.

“Goodbye Amanda.” Paul hung up and put the phone back.

He checked his watch, seven fourth seven pm. He walked into his kitchen and grabbed a microwave dinner from his freezer, and put it in the microwave. He walked out to let it cook and sat on his couch turning on the tv as he put up the leg-rest. As the news talked about the weather, Paul cried silently, clutching his fists.

Paul woke up slowly, stretching his arms above his head. He got up off of the couch, wiping the dried tears off his face. He went to his kitchen to get his “morning life,” or at least that’s what he would tell Eric when he would watch his dad drink it every morning before he drove him to school. Paul smirked at the memories, then sobbed at them. He missed the mornings he would drive Eric to school, singing their favorite songs together, laughing at jokes. Paul missed both Eric and himself, he missed the happy man he was, how he viewed the world as kind and giving, rather than cruel and greedy. Paul set his coffee on the counter and went to his room to get dressed. He put on his button-up shirt and jeans. He rubbed his neck as he walked to his front door and grabbed his keys, humming his store's tune as we walked out of the door.

[sketchy-writes]

Jurassic Park 3 AU

This is my JP3 AU, I am a novice writer so be kind but constructive criticism is appreciated. <3

Chapter 1: Montana Dig Site

In the foothills of Montana, Dr. Alan Grant hunches over to examine a recently uncovered fossil, the hot midday Montana sun beating down on him. He lightly traces the femur bone of the creature, brushing away the burning sand surrounding the bone, noticing a fracture in it.

 “Billy,” Grant said. “ it was injured. It most likely died in a fight with another dinosaur, or it was left by its pack to die because of its wound. A fracture like this would make it unable to walk.”

Billy looked up from his clipboard and bent down to look for himself. Billy Brennen was a young fit man, standing about five and a half feet tall, with short hair. He took the back of his pencil to point out another break in the animal's vertebrae. 

“I think it could do less than walk, I don't think it could move.” Billy studied its ribs and noticed tiny marks on the ribs.

“It was alive when the scavengers got to it. But it couldn't move. I've seen these marks on other fossils, but these ones are smaller and more careful, meaning that the scavengers were wary of the situation.”

“And that's why we keep you here Billy,” Alan said with a laugh. He stood up with a grunt, with his age it was deserved, being a nearly 60-year-old man. “Vicious creatures,'' Alan said under his breath.

“Velociraptor?” billy asked

“You can debunk that it was eaten alive but you can't identify the creature with confidence? Kids these days.” Alan chuckled as he spoke. “You will get there one day. But at least you got it right, have confidence Billy." Alan began to walk away, still lecturing Billy about how he is smarter than he thinks. Billy wrote down all of the notes they made on his clipboard. Smiling at the fact that he got it right. He looked up to Alan, like the father that he never had growing up. Billy had graduated top of his class in paleontology from Harvard University. He was a smart man with a child-like love for these creatures, but it's not like everyone in the dig didn't have the same love for them. Billy is simply intrigued by these giant creatures because they were so different from modern animals, yet they weren't, they have so many similarities to modern birds and reptiles. It's amazing how life changes to its surroundings, life is truly one of the most powerful forces, because no matter what, it finds a way to keep living. He bent back down to continue to study the raptor, noting things like size, estimated age, and what fossils are missing from the animal.

Alan walked into his tent, setting down his tools, and brushed the dust off his hands. He sat in his desk chair and studied his fossil records. He looked at the newest discovery, the raptor. He compared it to the ones he encountered so long ago. He knew how dangerous they were, but they are so different from what they would have been in reality, Ingens monsters only looked like dinosaurs, though they were far too reptilian compared to recent discoveries. That is the issue with bringing back and trying to recreate extinct animals we have never seen, we can never truly know everything about them, so we can never truly have them back. “Damnit Hammond” he cursed. 

Alan leaned back in his chair and sipped the coffee on his desk. He checked his watch, seven fourteen pm. Alan began to stand up and head to his bed to lie down. Billy abruptly burst through the entrance of the tent, speaking frantically at Grant. Billy made swift gestures with his hands and ran out of the tent. Grant, still confused by what just happened, was only able to make out “we found something amazing” and to follow him. Grant stood with another grunt and began speed walking out of the door. As Grant exited the tent, the cool dusk air hit his face and he walked towards Billy, rushing him into the tent.

Grant stepped into the lab tent, looking around and seeing all the scanners, 3D printers, and other technology. 

“Dr. Grant! Look at this!'' Billy exclaimed with excitement. Alan walked towards him, getting closer to the machine Billy was standing at. 

“Alan, we discovered something amazing about velociraptors, look at the screen” he studied the monitor, it showed a velociraptor skull and neck bones, adding 3D modeled muscles, then suddenly it stopped to show a highlighted area of the throat, then continuing to finish the tissue and feathers. 

“What is it highlighting?” Grant asked.

“It's a syrinx, they could vocalize, Alan”

“Like birds?”

“Maybe better”

“Incredible…”

“This is something that could be in so many species, Raptors, Triceratops, Procompsognathus, maybe even the Tyrannosaurus”

“different species would most likely have different capabilities for producing sounds, meaning the development of communication could be based on intelligence”

“Raptors being incredibly smart would be able to communicate well, while triceratops would essentially be an oversized rhino”

“This is amazing Billy, this information will fund our dig for at least 3 more years.”

Alan patted Billy on the shoulder and smiled. As he walked back to his tent to turn in for the night, Billy took out his phone and dialed a number. After two rings, someone on the other side answered. 

“It's me,” Billy said gravely, “I got something I think you are going to like.”