sorry it's taking me so long to update. I really appoligize. Traveling takes A LOT of time. anywho. this is the second chappy i've updated today... enjoy
The spiral stairs ended with a metal door, it's handle firmly locked in place. But that was all that was in place. It's hinges looked as if something had tired to rip them off and steep sharp claw marks had raked across the center. I didn't know weather those bird creatures had done it, or the raptors.
"Why would they attack a locked door, when the way out was already wide open for them?" Dr. Grant asked, touching the marks.
"Unless they were raptors." Natalie muttered.
"That part would make sence…. Sort of." Eric said, "THis door was unlocked when we came…. I mean, how would we lock it from the other side? And the only creature that can both lock a door and leave marks like that would be a raptor."
"But that leads us to the question WHY did they lock it?" Dr. Grant asked, "I would think Raptors know how to lock doors because they spend their time UNLOCKING them to get their meal." Eric thought about it and then his skin began to crawl.
"Unless they locked their prey inside." He whispered. His senses were suddenly choked by fear. Dr. Grant and Natalie looked at him. Dr. Grant's eyes were dark, and Natalie's were slits and she was frowning. Eric looked back up the stairs. HE could just image a raptor head peeking around the corner, his wickedly curved claws around the railing, it's bloodthirsty eyes locked on them.
"Well then I suggest we move fast." Natalie said quietly, and pulled the door lock loose. With Dr. Grant's help, they pulled the door back. It squealed and screeched, and Dr. Grant paused. Eric listened hard, waiting to hear the clank of claws on metal floor. His heart was racing and his blood pumping. He wanted to move. He wanted to run. Finally Natalie and Dr. Grant pulled it far enough to slip though. They did so quickly and shut the door behind them, this time Eric helped. When it was shut, he was surprised to find himself breathing hard. Natalie was sweating, and Dr. Grant was panting, his eyes wide. They sat down and took a moment to breath.
"Well… that could have been worse…" Natalie said. Dr. Grant nodded, "A LOT worse. That was like a free bee."
"Not exactly… we still have to get through this…" Eric said, and waved his hand in front of him. Natalie looked up. The metal plat form they were sitting on stretched out and disappeared in the fog that hovered everywhere around them. Natalie couldn't see five yards in front of her. A chill swept down her spine. If anything was in here, they wouldn't know until it was to late.
"What is it?" Natalie asked.
"In short… a bird cage." Dr. Grant said.
"A bird cage? Birds aren't dangerous are they?" Natalie said. Eric and Dr. Grant exchanged glances.
"These ones are…" Dr. Grant said. No one said anything for a while. Finally Eric stood up.
"Hate to say this…" Eric said, "But we can't stop to rest. If I learned one thing about this island, it's keep moving." Dr. Grant nodded in agreement, though his eyes had not gone back to normal size. He stood up and pulled his backpack on tight. Natalie let out a careful sigh and got to her feet a little shaky.
"I'm going to say the most obvious thing but I feel it has to be said…" Natalie said. They looked at her, "This whole island sucks." Eric was able to crack a smile. Yeah, that was obvious. Almost as obvious as saying 'I think this island is dangerous.' The statement itself was correct in every way possible, but it was a little late to state it.
"Yeah… this place does suck." Dr. Grant said as if to make her feel better. Either it made her feel better or him, but all Eric knew was that it was good to hear other people's voices, "Come on. Like Eric said… we keep moving." He turned toward the fog and stepped forward. Then he stopped and looked back at the kids, "And keep close." Eric nodded, and Natalie rolled her eyes. Well THAT wasn't obvious either now was it? Dr. Grant continued on, hearing two pairs of feet close behind him. Eric's eyes were on the fog above them. He couldn't' see anything. The door they had come in by was soon gone, and it felt like they were suspended in the air, out in the middle of nowhere. IT made Eric feel incredibly small, yet confused. He couldn't get a grip on his surroundings. Surroundings were a key to survival, if you it right. Yet here he was, giving up his 'key to survive' WILLINGLY, and now he felt as exposed as ever. The fog did give him some comfort, as to keeping their presence hidden. But the squeaking door, and their clanking feet would give them away just as well.
The fog was heavy and wet and soon their clothes felt almost damp. Eric quickly realized if they started to run, they would have a hard time breathing, which meant they would get slower. So why would the bird things stay here? And why haven't they seen any among the island if they had gotten out? Something didn't seem right. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Dr. Grant…" Eric said, deciding to voice his thoughts. He never finished his sentence though.
"DUCK!" Dr. Grant yelled. Eric did so instantly though Natalie was a little slower. She swore she could feel the rush of air from whatever had dived at them, "Pterodactyls! Run!" Eric jumped to his feet and raced after Dr. Grant who had already taken off. He could just barely back his backpack out as it bounced around. He could only hope Natalie was behind him. He looked behind him as he ran… no Natalie. When he looked back in front of him he stopped. No Dr. Grant.
"Natalie?!" he called, "Dr. Grant?!" One yell was enough, but he got no answer. The fog was either to thick for them to hear because they were so far away, or they were close, but couldn't answer. In fact, it was smart if they didn't answer. Giving their position away like he did…
Eric ducked.
He just barely missed the swooping claws from above. He crawled forward a little big then jumped to his feet and continued to run. He ran straight and fast into the fog without a clue where he was going. Then he saw something ahead…. something big. To big to be a dinosaur. As Eric got closer he saw it was a rock wall. With a fenced walk way along side it. Good, he thought. If he stayed close to that he would find the outer wall of the bird cage sooner or later and then he would only have to watch one side. It was easy. Eric was quickly reminded nothing was THAT easy by loosing his footing. He yelled as he dropped, his hands whaling around. He just barely managed to grip the edge, stopping his fall. The floor or platform had been cut off. There was a huge gap impossible to jump between him and the walkway against the wall. And better yet… he was loosing his grip. Eric struggled to hold on, but the fog had made everything dense with wet air and it was hard to not slip. Eric shut his eyes tight, willing himself to keep a good grip. When he opened them, something caught his eye. There were poles crisscrossing underneath the platform he had just been running along. Quickly Eric swung his legs forward and curled them around one of the poles. He got a firm place to set his legs, just as his hands let go. He was going to make it!
Then his feet slipped.
The poles were just as slippery as the platform and as soon as he let go, the momentum yanked his feet loose.
"AAAHHHH… oofF!" Eric fell maybe four feet before he hit hard ground. He laid there for a second, winded and surprised. WHOOSH! A set of sharp claws swiped just inches from his head. Eric rolled away and swore as he rolled right off the edge of a cliff. Eric grabbed the edge again. He just couldn't get a break! But this time, what he gripped wasn't metal and not as slippery. Quickly Eric pulled himself up, and collapsed on the ground breathing hard. It was then he noticed something. The air wasn't as thick as it was before. Why? The fog seemed lighter, and he could see further. What was going on? Wind. The wind from the wings of the Pterodactyls was disturbing the air, mixing it up… making it disappear. Eric heard the trickle of water below… the river. And by the sound it was a long way down. Eric looked around. The fog seemed to to be mixing and evaporating at this very second. He began to see where he was, and his fear s rose, sitting in his stomach like a cold rock. It was on a cliff, maybe six feet in length and eight feet long. Not much space to move.
"Eric!" Natalie yelled. Eric spun his head and found Nattalie trapped on a high cliff on the mountain in the middle with a angry Pterodactyl in front of her that had landed.
"Natalie!" Eric yelled back. He looked around, looking for some way to get to her. Nothing but a fist sized rock. He picked it up, "Three years of baseball…" he muttered to himself as he chucked it across the gap between them. The rock flew with perfect accuracy right next to Natalie's head and square in the face of the dino bird. The bird jumped, surprised by the attack, and lost it's footing. It slid off the cliff letting out a loud squak. It clawed at the cliff as it fell over, trying to hang on. Finally it lost all grip and fell back. The bird twisted in the air and caught itself on it's wings before it could drop any further. But the cliff was crumbeling now. Natalie screamed a scream that filled the air and seemed to peirce right through what was left of the fog. She fell back still screamed flairling her arms.
"Natalie!" Dr. Grant yelled coming into vewi around the monaitn on the walkway. Eric heard a splash far below. "Eric!" Eric looked up as Dr. Grant's warning. He was pointing behind him. Eric spun around, on his toes to find a pair of sharp claws open and ready to slash at him. Eric let his knees buckly and he covered his neck with his hands. The bird bolted overhead, and Eric stood up before it could turn around. He jumped. He jumped onto the next cliff, and rolled to a stop. On his feet in a second, he jumped again, to the next cliff, and the next, slowly making his way towards Dr. Grant. Dr. Grant held the railing with one hand and reached the other out to Eric. One more jump. Eric bunched his muscles, and sprung himself in the air.
Suddenly a pair of claws snatched him from the air, and Eric's hand brushed against Dr. Grant's fingers.
"AAHH!H!" Eric's terror escaped through his lips. The birds clawed grip on each of his shouders wasn't enough to kill him, but firm and making him bleed. He sturggled to get loose as he heard Dr. Grant yell. Eric cranned his neck to look around behind him over the bird's leg. There were four Prerodactyl hovering over him, pecking, clawing, diving for him. One ripped open his backpack, and a few got a bite of flesh. A jerk and a drop in the bird's flight made Eric turn around. His skin crawled and the panic pumped his blood fast. They were heading toward a nest! Eric quickly reached around and grabbed the ankles of the bird, and swung his legs up. He put all the force he could, every inch he could spare into the kick square in the brids, skinny, fleshy neck. The bird went limp for a second, it's wings folding up, it's head jerking in an unnatural way, sputtering at the lack of air Eric had caused. That secodn was all Eric needed. He dropped into the fog, his fear and panic making his stoamch turn. He dropped through the fog and into the warm water beneath. Eric was enveloped in the water the bubbles tickeling him all over his body. He dropped, further and further into the water, the air in his lungs beginning to go stale. He kicked and pumped his arms, straining to get to the surface, fighting the force and momentum of the drop. His lungs began to burn, and sting. He broke to the surface, and filled his lungs with fresh air. He quickly found there was a fast current pushing him towards a fence. Eric knew if he got pinned on the fence he was as good as dead. As he started for one side of the river, he realized his body was going numb. He went for a rock as Natalie jumped over and grabbed his shirt. Slipping and struggeling Eric was pulled safely onto shore. There was a screech and they jerked ready to dive. Dr. Grant was running down the ramp to the shore, wounds red with fresh blood.
"RUN!" He yelled. Natalie took off behind Eric.