8He awoke early the next morning to find that the rain had stopped. He stretched in his bed before getting up and opening the hatch to the truck. Looking around the compound he saw no signs of the raptors. Deep puddles dotted the clearing and wisps of fog drifted up from the ground. The heat and humidity were overwhelming. He decided to leave the door open so that he might catch a slight breeze while he ate his breakfast.
He emptied his sack out and tried to decide which can might hold something more exciting than vegetables. Settling on one of the smaller ones he opened it and was delighted to see that it contained peaches. He finished off the contents of the can in just a few bites and then drank all of the juice. Wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand he smiled for the first time in days.
Poking his head out of the door he looked around the compound again. Realizing that he didn't quite have the nerve to do any exploring, he settled back to read some of his books.
It was noon before the rumbling in his stomach caused him to stop reading. He picked up one of the larger cans and opened it. This one contained beef stew. Normally he would have been overjoyed at the prospect of beef stew for lunch, but it was not very appetizing when it was cold. Realizing that he didn't have much choice in what he ate, he finished off about half of the can before stopping.
Erik knew that he couldn't spend the rest of the day stuck in the truck. It was time to venture out and explore the area around the compound. If he had learned anything yesterday, it was that he should know all of the possible hiding places in case he ever got caught away from the truck again.
He climbed out of the truck and slowly made his way to the edge of the jungle. Not daring to venture too far into the jungle he decided to just walk around the perimeter of the clearing. He just wanted to see if there were any trees he could climb if he needed to. He found several trees that he could climb if he was away from the truck and was attacked by raptors or compys.
Erik headed back into the clearing and decided to explore the largest building again. He had seen some couch cushions in the lobby area. They would make his bed much more comfortable. He carried the cushions back to the truck and made his bed.
Deciding it was time for dinner, he finished off the can of beef stew and a candy bar. The night was clear and still. Erik lay in his bed with the door open, watching the stars. As he was laying there he became aware of a distant thumping that was slowly becoming louder. Vibrations from each thump began to shake the truck. Erik jumped from his bed and closed the door part of the way. He left it open a few inches so that he could see just what was approaching.
A huge, dark shape emerged from the jungle and paused in the middle of the clearing. From his hiding place, Erik could see that it was a t-rex. He was torn between wanting to watch this giant beast and wanting to crawl back into his bed and pull the covers over his head. Before he could do anything, the t-rex began to urinate. Erik realized that he was probably the only person who had seen this happen. Wait until he told his friends back home!
Realizing that the dinosaur might be able to smell him, he closed the lid and sat on his bed, waiting in total darkness for the t-rex to move on. A few minutes later it slowly made its way out of the clearing.
Early the next morning Erik awoke and had another can of fruit for breakfast. He opened the door and looked around the clearing. He laughed when he saw the large puddle in the center of the clearing. Before he could climb out of the truck a group of compys ran into the clearing. They sniffed the air and for a minute Erik was afraid that they had smelled him. Then they all hissed, one of them made a sharp barking noise and they all ran back into the jungle.
For a minute, Erik was puzzled, what had just happened? They compys acted like they had smelled something that scared them. Then it hit him, the t-rex pee. Was that what had scared them off? If it scared the compys, would it scare other dinosaurs like raptors?
Grabbing two of his empty water bottles Erik hurried out and dipped them in the puddle. He screwed the lids back on and dipped the bottles in one of the rain puddles to rinse the outside off. This could come in handy. He decided to try it out to see if it would scare off the raptors. He poured a small amount of the urine near the opening of the building he had seen them in. He didn't know if that was the only time they were there, but if they came back he wanted to see how they would react. Hopefully it would not rain before then.
Erik returned to the truck and began to read another book about dinosaurs. Late that afternoon he heard hooting noises approaching the clearing. He jumped up and closed the door, leaving a small gap so he could watch and see what was out there. A few seconds later a group of raptors bounded into the clearing. They sniffed the air and screeched at each other. They reminded Erik of a herd of wild horses he had seen when he went to the rodeo with his friend Mike Gardner. The two of them had sat on the fence rail and watched when a dozen horses were brought into the rodeo arena to be sold. The horses had galloped in, kicking and nipping at each other. Erik had never seen such beauty and grace in an animal before. These raptors had the same wild freedom about them. The only difference was that they would kill him if they had the chance.
He watched as the raptors approached the doorway where he had poured the t-rex urine and was amazed when they all stopped at the same time. They lifted their noses, sniffing the air and let out an ear-splitting screech before heading back into the jungle as fast as they could. It worked! The raptors were afraid of the t-rex scent. Erik was elated. He could go into the building without fear of being attacked by the raptors or the compys.
Erik waited a few minutes to be sure that the raptors were not coming back before heading to the building to do some real exploring. He carried one of the bottles of t-rex urine with him in case he needed to keep anything else away. After thoroughly exploring the building and bringing back several more books, magazines, cans of food and bottles of water, he decided that it might be a good idea to use to use some of the urine on the tool shed in case he ever needed to take refuge there again. After pouring a generous amount of the liquid around the building he went back to his truck to have dinner. Just as he was settling into bed he heard something huge approaching the clearing. Whatever it was shook the ground more than the t-rex had. Not only was it larger than the rex, it was moving very fast. A loud bellowing roar shook the air. Erik didn't have the nerve to open the hatch and find out what it was. All he could do was lie in his bed and hope that whatever was out there didn't know he was in here. The sound of metal being torn apart split the air. Curiosity got the better of him and he crept out of his bed and carefully opened the door. In the moonlit clearing he saw a gigantic dinosaur with a sail on its back. The enraged beast was destroying the tool shed. Erik closed the hatch and curled up on his bed, not daring to make a sound, not that that monster could hear it over all of the noise he was making.
The dinosaur continued to roar in anger as it destroyed the building. Erik could feel the ground shaking as the animal stomped around the clearing. Shaking with fear, Erik only hoped that this dinosaur would leave soon. He was thrown from his make-shift bed when the something hit the side of the truck, causing it to rock back and forth. Terrified that he had been found, he grabbed one of the gas grenades, hoping that the smoke could cause a distraction if he had to run for cover elsewhere.
The noise outside finally subsided as the enraged dinosaur finally figured out that the t-rex was not in the tiny building. Erik heard the dinosaur stomp out of the clearing and back into the jungle.
Erik remained in his hiding place for several hours after the gigantic dinosaur left. He couldn't figure out what was going on. Why would this dinosaur suddenly attack a building? Then it dawned on him. It was the t-rex urine. It kept the smaller dinosaurs away, but it attracted this one. He resolved not to use it unless it was an absolute emergency.
Erik's hopes of rescue began to diminish. Days ran together in a blur and he realized that he had no idea just how long he had been on the island. Hope for rescue was beginning to fade. Maybe his mom really couldn't make anyone come for him. He continued to make quick trips into the various buildings; getting new books when he had finished the ones he had, bringing back more food when his supply ran low. He had finished off all of the bottled water, so he had set out tubs and pans he found in the kitchen to collect rainwater.
Late one evening when he was coming out of the main building, he heard the familiar sound of velociraptors in the clearing. Peering around the corner of the door, he saw that they were sniffing around one of his water tubs. Could they smell him? He knew that he could not get back to the truck before they attacked him and they were no longer afraid to come into the building because the t-rex scent had long since been washed away. His only hope was to use one of the gas grenades that he carried with him. Grabbing the pin and pulling it out, he threw the grenade just upwind of the raptors. Ducking back behind the doorway, he waited for it to go off. Seconds later he was rewarded with the hiss of escaping gas and the screech of the raptors. He carefully poked his head out of the door in time to see the group of raptors running from the clearing. Laughing to himself he hurried back to his truck, climbed in, and pulled the door shut.
As the days passed, Erik realized that he was spending more and more time inside the truck and much less time exploring. As much as he hated to admit it, he was being overwhelmed by the idea that help would probably not come.
A few days later, while he was exploring the jungle near the compound he heard the now familiar sound of the raptors. He knew by the noises they were making that they were hunting something. Just as he decided to retreat back to his camp, he heard human voices. Hardly daring to trust his ears, he carefully made his way towards the sounds. In a small clearing he could see a tall man surrounded by a pack of the ferocious dinosaurs. Quietly taking the bag containing the tear gas grenades off of his shoulder, he removed the pins from them and threw them, one after another, into the clearing. Running into the thick, smoke, he yelled to the man, "Come on! They'll be back!" Grabbing the man's hand he pulled him in the direction of the truck.
Once the two were safely inside the truck, Erik took a moment to look at his guest. He couldn't believe his eyes. The man he had just rescued from the pack of raptors was Dr. Alan Grant. It looked like his mom had really come through with a rescue after all.