Jurassic Park^TM III Novelization Page 2

  Alan spotted a dinosaur below. He was surprised to feel his heart beating faster.

  “There!” Alan said, pointing to a long-necked dinosaur lumbering along a clearing. “It’s an apatosaur. Look at the coloration.”

  Billy was amazed. “I—I’m so used to just seeing bones. It’s weird to see skin. Wow . . .”

  Alan wasn’t surprised to hear the awe in Billy’s voice. He well remembered how stunned and overwhelmed he himself had felt the first time he’d seen one of InGen’s creations.

  For Alan, it had felt as if the past had come alive. But now Alan knew the truth. These dinosaurs were never meant to coexist with man. They had brought only pain and death. And since that awful trip eight years ago, Alan had vowed to forget the wonder he’d first experienced in Jurassic Park.

  Even at this distance, he refused to let his guard down.

  So do your tour-guide duty and get the heck out of here, he told himself, noticing that Paul and Amanda weren’t even looking out the window.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Kirby!” Alan called toward the front. “If you look out the right, you can see—”

  Paul waved him away. Alan exchanged looks with Billy.

  “Weird,” Billy whispered. “But I get the feeling they’re not getting along too well. Seems like one of those second honeymoons to save the marriage, you know?”

  Alan looked back to the window. Everyone on the flight had been strangely quiet ever since they’d taken off. The pilot and copilot were hardly friendly, and the “steward,” a stern-looking man with dark glasses, sat rigid a few rows back.

  All three of them, the pilot, copilot, and steward, wore matching outfits: black slacks and T-shirts, leather boots, and expensive silver watches. Something about all three of them made Alan feel uneasy, though he couldn’t say why.

  Suddenly, Alan heard a mechanical hum and a low rush from outside. His lungs stilled. “That’s not the landing gear?”

  Paul, Amanda, and the steward didn’t respond.

  “You can’t land.” Alan stared, unable to believe this was happening.

  Paul turned back to him. “Dr. Grant, if you’ll just sit tight, we’ll explain this all in a jiffy.”

  “This plane cannot land!” Bolting from his seat, Alan sprang toward the cockpit. He would wrestle the controls from the pilot if he had to!

  The steward grabbed Alan and pulled him back. Alan started to struggle, but a well-placed fist struck him and his world went dark.

  “Eric! Eric! Are you there, honey? Ben! Eric!”

  It was Amanda Kirby’s voice. Alan realized that much as his blurry vision cleared and he came around.

  He was lying on the floor of the plane. His head was pounding as Billy helped him up.

  “Tell me we didn’t land,” Alan said.

  Billy was silent. Clearly, he didn’t want to lie to his mentor. “I think they’re looking for someone,” Billy said.

  Billy helped Alan to the exit door, then down the steps. The small plane was parked at one end of a rutted and vine-covered landing strip that the jungle had nearly reclaimed.

  The pilot, copilot, and steward were checking a cache of weapons. Alan’s heart sank. Clearly, these three fools had no idea what they were up against.

  Paul Kirby trotted over. “Dr. Grant, are you all right? I’m so sorry that Mr. Cooper had to be so, well . . .”

  Alan’s gaze followed the trio of armed men until they disappeared into the trees and brush. “What’s going on? What are they doing?”

  “Mr. Udesky—he’s team leader,” Paul said. “He, Mr. Nash, and Mr. Cooper are establishing a perimeter. Making it safe. These guys are really good. One of them was a Green Beret, and—”

  Alan cut him off. “Mr. Kirby, trust me. On this island, there is no such thing as safe. We have to get back in this plane.”

  “ERIC!”

  Alan turned to find Amanda standing on the edge of the runway, calling into the jungle with a bullhorn.

  “At least tell your wife to stop making so much noise!” Alan said. “We’re food to the animals who live here!”

  Paul cupped his hands over his mouth. “Amanda! Honey! Dr. Grant says it’s a bad idea!”

  With the bullhorn, Amanda called, “What?”

  Paul pointed at Alan. “He says it’s a bad idea!”

  Amanda shouted into the bullhorn. “What’s a bad idea?”

  Suddenly, a deafening roar came from the jungle. Everyone turned toward the sound and froze.

  Paul looked to Alan. “What was that?”

  Billy took a step back and whispered, “Is it a rex?”

  “I don’t think so,” answered Alan.

  Paul and Billy breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Sounds bigger,” Alan said.

  A rustling came from the nearby brush. Udesky and Nash suddenly sprinted out of the jungle and headed for the plane.

  “We gotta go!” Udesky called.

  Paul didn’t look at all pleased. “What’s the problem? Can’t you guys—”

  “Everyone in the plane!” Udesky commanded. “Now!”

  CHAPTER 3

  ALAN RAN FOR THE PLANE, taking the stairs three at a time. He quickly grabbed a seat and watched Nash rush toward the cockpit. The others scrambled on board, then secured their seat belts as Udesky slammed the door shut.

  “We can’t just leave!” Amanda told her husband.

  “Don’t worry, honey,” Paul said, taking her hand. “We’ll circle around and come back.”

  Near the door, Billy confronted Udesky. “What about the other guy?”

  “Coop’s a professional,” Udesky said. “He can handle himself.”

  Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the jungle, followed by bursts of machine-gun fire. Alan looked through his window, but he couldn’t see anything.

  From the cockpit, Nash yelled, “We’re going!”

  Udesky turned from Billy and stormed forward, climbing into the copilot’s seat as Nash revved the engine.

  Clearly upset, Billy looked to Alan for some guidance.

  “Sit down and strap yourself in,” said Alan as the plane started moving. “There’s nothing either of us can do.”

  The passengers bounced in their seats as the plane quickly picked up speed along the rugged, overgrown runway strip.

  Alan leaned toward the aisle and took in the view through the cockpit’s front window. Two hundred yards ahead of the plane, a figure emerged from the jungle. It was Cooper. He stood in the middle of the runway, waving one arm wildly. His other arm, badly injured, hung limp by his side.

  Udesky and Nash exchanged serious looks.

  “Coop, you know I can’t do it, pal,” Nash said. He slammed the throttle open full. He had to reach flying speed.

  A few rows ahead of Alan, Paul gripped his seat’s armrest and called, “What are you doing? You have to stop! That’s Mr. Cooper!”

  On the runway, a shadow fell over the injured mercenary. Then, with brutal speed, an enormous beast seized him up in its massive jaws and lifted him into the air. Alan saw only a glimpse of a long crocodilian snout, powerful clawed forearms, and a spiny sail rising from the creature’s back. Then the plane rose and appeared to clear the dinosaur.

  Suddenly, there was an angry roar and a shuddering thump. The out-of-control turboprop banked into the jungle as Alan and all the passengers were thrown about.

  We’re going to crash! Alan realized. He gripped the armrests as the craft tore through the trees, losing a wing and pieces of its tail. Every impact was explosive.

  The plane finally came to rest in the jungle canopy and settled in the tree branches.

  Alan’s breathing was quick and shallow. He looked around. No one seemed hurt.

  “The cockpit radio is dead,” Udesky called. “Nash, get the sat-phone from Kirby.”

  Paul handed the satellite phone to Nash, who dialed out.

  “We’re sorry, all circuits are busy,” said a prerecorded voice. “Please try your call again later.�
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  Alan unstrapped himself, climbed back to the side door, and shoved. The door opened partially, revealing a thirty-foot drop to the jungle floor! With a gasp, Alan quickly closed and latched the door.

  A few feet away, Amanda screamed. Alan turned in time to see a huge reptilian face appear in the cockpit window, its maw open wide. Claws ripped through the thin hull and the plane was yanked from side to side.

  This time, Amanda wasn’t the only one who screamed.

  Then the claws disappeared and the plane settled into the tree branches once more. The attack had ended as suddenly as it had started.

  “Guess it’s not in the mood for sardines in a can,” Paul whispered.

  Amanda stared at him, clearly appalled that he could joke at a time like this!

  Nash and Udesky still sat in the cockpit. They squirmed in their seats as the dinosaur reappeared in the cockpit window.

  “Get out of there!” Alan yelled to them.

  The mercenaries were struggling with their seat belts as the dinosaur tore the nose off the plane, leaving them sitting in open air.

  Alan felt his stomach lurch as the front of the plane tilted downward. The jungle floor was visible far below.

  Udesky unbuckled his seat belt and lunged back toward the cabin. Nash tried to follow, but a long snout clamped down on his leg.

  Alan saw Nash get pulled out of the plane—then he heard the man’s screams.

  As Udesky climbed farther back into the passenger section, he lost his grip and started to slide back toward the front of the plane. Alan grabbed his arm just in time!

  Rhhhhhhrrrr-ghrrrrr!

  A mammoth snout jammed itself into the body of the airplane. Powerful jaws opened, dripping with saliva. The dinosaur lunged for Amanda, its eyes wide and burning with hunger! She pulled her dangling legs back, barely escaping the daggerlike teeth as the jaws snapped shut.

  Billy unbuckled Amanda’s seat belt and, with Paul’s help, hauled her up into the next row back.

  Then everyone scrambled to the back of the plane. The dinosaur suddenly withdrew, and the shift in weight sent the fuselage tipping backward and falling to the jungle floor!

  The wreckage flipped as it fell, and Alan and the other bruised passengers came to rest sprawled on the ceiling of the plane.

  For a few seconds, everything was quiet. Then a huge eye appeared in the window and the plane was slammed across the jungle clearing!

  Inside, the passengers were hammered against the walls of the plane, tumbling like socks in a dryer. Debris, seats, and luggage flew everywhere!

  They finally came to an abrupt stop when the plane smashed into a tree.

  Loud thumps gradually drew closer, and then a giant foot stepped on what was left of the metal fuselage, flattening it like a paper tube.

  “This way!” yelled Alan as a huge claw started to peel the plane open. He led the group out the open end of the plane and urged them into the jungle.

  As a tremendous roar came from behind them, Alan saw his assistant stop dead in his tracks.

  Billy stared speechless as he stole a glimpse at the dinosaur that had attacked them. It had a dark, horrible shape and a strange mix of features that few dinosaurs possessed—and it was coming right for them!

  With a groan of frustration, Alan raced toward his awestruck assistant and yanked him into the jungle.

  CHAPTER 4

  ALAN’S HEART RACED as he led the group through the jungle.

  The thunderous footfalls of the dinosaur grew louder as it bore down on the group. The ground shuddered and quaked.

  Crrr-accckkk!

  A young tree toppled to Alan’s left as the dinosaur smashed through the jungle. It was almost upon them!

  They passed through the underbrush. Ahead was a thick grove of large trees with wide trunks.

  There! Alan thought. The dinosaur won’t be able to fit between the trunks!

  Alan led the group through the narrow gaps between the trees. Behind him, he heard a thud that made the ground seem to vibrate.

  Rrrrhhhhh-gahhhrrrr!

  Alan sighed with relief as he heard the dinosaur’s roar of frustration. It had run up against one of the thicker trees and bounced off. It could not follow its prey.

  “Come on, keep moving!” Alan demanded. Determined to get as far away from the dinosaur as possible, he led the others at a breathless pace through the grove. The spaces between the trees finally widened, and Alan directed them into a clearing.

  Then he stopped dead and everyone halted behind him, all of them gasping for breath. At the center of the clearing lay a mass of scales the size of a house.

  Alan tensed—until he identified the animal. It was an immense, unmoving sauropod. A plant-eating long-neck. Harmless—so long as it didn’t charge at you, step on you, or smack you with its tail.

  The dinosaur lay on its side, its eyes wide and unseeing.

  “Don’t worry,” Alan said. “It’s dead.”

  The sauropod looked like a Datousaurus, a fifty-foot-long Middle Jurassic herbivore whose fossils were found in the Dashanpu Quarry of central China. Datousaurus lived in well-watered lowland. But . . .

  How could a dinosaur that large even make it into this clearing—unless there was another way in he hadn’t spotted?

  With a low, shuddering growl, a full-grown bull Tyrannosaurus rex rose up from behind the carcass. It had been feeding on the plant-eater.

  Alan heard gasps of fear behind him.

  “Nobody move a muscle,” Alan said. “A rex tracks motion.”

  Alan stood perfectly still as the rex moved its head from side to side. Searching. The gigantic predator sniffed the air and growled in frustration.

  Alan knew that a rex could pick up a scent from miles away. The small group smelled of soap. Aftershave. Perfume. Human sweat. Alien scents for this environment. But the carcass of the dead animal also had a scent—a rather bad one. So long as no one moved—

  A scuffling made Alan look back. “Oh, no . . . ,” he whispered in horror.

  Udesky was running!

  Alan’s gaze went back to the rex. The predator swiveled its head in the mercenary’s direction. The dinosaur’s eyes blazed. Fresh meat was clearly preferable to an old carcass.

  GRRRR-AHHHHRRRRR! the rex roared. Then it stomped toward the humans with earth-shaking footfalls.

  Alan spun and saw Paul and Amanda take off with Billy after the mercenary. He ran after them, the rex on his heels!

  They darted between the heavy trees, back the way they had just come. The rex squeezed through the spaces behind them. Smashing branches and wailing in rage and frustration, the predator was slowed in its pursuit of its prey.

  Slowed, but not stopped.

  Alan leaped over low-lying branches, darted around muddy ruts in the earth, and headed straight for the golden beams of sunlight breaking through the far end of the thick forest. Behind him, the rex smashed and crashed through the grove, gaining on him with every step.

  Ahead, Billy and the others were breaking through the cluster of heavy trees. The sun nearly blinded Alan as he joined them, wondering why they had come to a stop.

  Then he saw why.

  A shape was towering over them, blocking the sun. The nightmare black form outlined a dinosaur even bigger than the rex behind them.

  Talk about reverse Darwinism! Alan realized in frustration. This group of “intelligent” omnivores had just delivered themselves to the sail-backed predator they’d fled from in the first place!

  The dinosaur was nearly fifty feet long and over sixteen feet high. A bony sail lined its back, and its head was crocodilian, with rows of curving teeth. Sinewy, long arms extended, revealing three-fingered hands with fourteen-inch claws. The animal reached toward Paul, the closest of the gaping, speechless humans.

  Suddenly, a crash and a roar sounded from the trees behind them. The sail-back lifted its head toward the approaching rex—and let out a threatening roar.

  Good! Alan thought. Let them figh
t it out to see who gets to eat us. We can be long gone before they’re finished!

  “Go,” Alan said to the others. “Go now! Move!”

  The group scattered. Paul and Amanda went in one direction, Billy and Udesky the other. Alan moved to join his assistant and the mercenary in the brush—but something grabbed hold of his leg!

  Looking down, Alan saw that his right foot was stuck in a tangle of branches. From one direction, the rex raced toward him, maw wide, claws clicking with anticipation. From the other direction, the sail-back was flying forward.

  Trapped between the two predators, Alan suddenly knew what it felt like to be a football on the fifty-yard line of the Super Bowl!

  Dropping to one knee, Alan pulled at the branches with all his strength. They opened just wide enough for him to yank out his foot.

  As two great shadows fell over him, Alan dove for cover between a pair of massive logs. Above him, the rex and the sail-back rammed into each other, and the ground quaked and shuddered beneath him. The jarring impact rattled every bone in his body!

  Lying flat on his back, Alan let out a terrified gasp as the sail-back’s giant foot suddenly landed across the two tree trunks. The foot had been stopped just a few inches above his face!

  The sail-back attacked the T. rex a second time, but the rex sidestepped the assault, its tail knocking down small trees as it spun out of the way.

  The T. rex continued to whip around, slamming its tail into the sail-back’s flank. The blow sent the sail-back tumbling right toward Alan!

  The scientist leaped clear just in time.

  As the savage behemoths clawed and bit and battled each other, Alan spotted the rest of the group bunched together in the brush several yards away. He sprinted toward them, but was stopped by an earth-shattering crash that nearly threw him from his feet. The T. rex had fallen right into his path!

  An instant later, the sail-back descended on the wounded rex. With claws flailing and maw opened wide, the giant predator latched on to the rex’s throat.

  Backing away in horror, Alan turned and ran to join Billy and the others.

  “Come on!” Alan yelled. He led the group through the underbrush as the sail-back’s triumphant bellow echoed behind him.