PER-I-LOUS,, jp-jw/hp

Chapter 5

Jelly and Scar had seemed disappointed when they returned with their kills. Ellie thought it might be because Harry hadn't transformed and hunted in his dinosaur form.

But they didn't put up much of a fuss.

The following day Mullins informed them that he needed Harry and his pack to help them locate the remains of Dennis Nedry and the embryos he had stolen.

As was her custom, Ellie was heading out with them. Alan decided he would stay at the compound and try and research more about Henry Wu's dodgy work. Ian, being limited in his actions, helped him.

It was a hot and humid trek through the park to the dilophosaurs enclosure. The first part of the trip was made with the humans in a jeep.

Ellie had suggested Harry take the opportunity to try out his new form and run with the raptors.

Jelly and Scar were clearly happy.

Ellie immediately regretted it as she saw the massive theropod bearing down on them and it brought back memories and nightmares. But she kept her mouth shut.

Once they arrived at the gates Harry turned back and the smaller group moved on.

It didn't take long for them to find the crashed jeep, lodged on the edge of a fast moving stream. The stream had shrunk a little with the storm having passed.

"They are going to tow and burn this thing, right Sarge?" Larkin asked with a grimace as he surveyed the blood and guts smothering the interior of the jeep.

"I could try a few cleaning spells." Harry offered.

"Kid, somethings can't be cleaned. Even if you got all the blood out, the memory remains."

"You mean like ghosts?"

"Yeah. I'm not much of a supernatural believer, but I've had some... 'strange encounters'."

"Ghosts are real." Harry assured him. "Magicals can see and talk to them. Hogwarts has a ton."

Larkin opened his mouth and paused before closing it.

"Problem, Danny?" Tomas asked with a smirk.

"I forgot magic was supernatural." Larkin grumbled.

"I can't see anything that would safely transport embryos, Sir." Cain reported. "But we'd have to move the jeep and dismantle it to be sure."

Mullins looked from the jeep to the path they had taken. The road was not visible from their position. "A hundred meters or more through thick jungle. I don't think we could get a tow truck down here."

"What if I tried to pull it out?" Harry offered.

"With magic or...?"

"As the rex." Harry said.

"It would be a way to put his form to the test." Ellie nodded. "The worst he could do is damage the jeep."

"I'm more worried about what he could do to himself. If he gets injured we can't fix him."

"Mmm, you're right." Ellie grimaced. "How about we do what Nedry was trying? Use the tow cables to pull it through the forest."

Mullins walked around to where the front was hanging over the stream. He examined the mechanism and surrounding trees. "I'm not sure we can get it out, but we could use the winch to lift it up so we can get under."

"Want me to go and release the cable from the tree, Sarge?" Tomas asked.

"Yeah, Bobby, Danny, check downstream, see if anything got washed away."