Jurassic Kratts

Treetop Rescue

The tropical storm that battered Isla Nublar in fierce, torrential downpours ended as suddenly as it began. With the passing of the rains came the nightly calls of the nocturnal creatures, some of which, that were reminiscent of a chorus from a bygone era. Deep in the dense jungle, at the edge of a sixty foot concrete wall, were three figures, three men and a twelve year old girl. While the girl and two of the men, a paleontologist and an aviation pilot, gathered by the edge of the wall next to a flowing drain, tending their minor injuries in the torrents of rain water cascading forth from the culvert, the man in green sat apart from them on a solitary rock, head resting on his hands, a defeated look on his face.
  After the T.rex attack, Chris had been unusually quiet and subdued. The events of that encounter played constantly in his head, especially when he lost his older brother Martin during the fight against the primordial predator. I should've helped him, he thought, consumed by guilt. Now I have absolutely no idea whether or not he's even alive! Some brother I turned out to be. Entrenched in his despairing thoughts, he failed to notice one of the men walking up to him, until–
"Chris!"
  Startled out of his trance, the Kratt in green looked up to see Dr. Alan Grant gazing down upon him. "I'm going to need your help with getting Tim down out of that tree. Jimmy's gonna stay here with Lex until we return," The creature adventurer simply nodded before he walked off into the forest, but he didn't go far before he felt a hand on his shoulder.
  "Chris. I'm sorry about your brother."said the paleontologist sympathetically. "He was a brave man. Don't forget that he risked his life to save ours, to save yours." This earned a small smile from the younger man, feeling no shame in the tears running from his eyes. It was a long pause before the Kratt in green said hoarsely," Thank you, Dr. Grant,"
  "Just call me Alan." Chris simply nodded before he spoke once more, determination clear in his eyes, "Now let's go save Tim."
   After a short trek through the jungle, the pair had reached their destination: a massive rainforest tree, with a badly damaged Ford Explorer some fifty feet above ground. Alan looked up in dismay,inwardly cursing to himself. Chris, on the other hand, beamed at the possibility of the arboreal challenge ahead. After taking deep breaths, they were ready.
****Several Minutes Later...****
  Fortunately for the paleontologist, the forest giant's limbs were thick and regularly spaced enough for him to climb with little difficulty. Unfortunately though, he didn't possess the stamina or acrobatic skills of Chris, who was an exceptional tree climber, even without turning into a great ape. The arboreal creature adventurer was ahead of Grant by a long shot, so it was scarcely surprising that he made it to the set goal without so much as breaking a sweat. The bone digger, by contrast, was gasping for breath by the time he met up with the Kratt in green, who was patiently waiting for him at the car's level next to the driver's side.
The vehicle was in rough shape, much thinner than it used to be that afternoon. It's nose was completely smashed in, the front wheels driven solidly into a thick branch. They were the only thing holding the wreckage in place.
"Tim? Tim?"called Grant.
"You alright, buddy?"asked the creature adventurer, concern clear in his voice.
The two men looked inside and saw Tim huddled on the floor of the passenger side, hugging his knees to his chest in fright. He looks up at Chris, who was closest, with a blood and tear streaked face.
"I threw up."said the ten-year old, voice barely audible.
  The two men winced slightly before Chris replied, "That's okay.  That happened to me and Martin this one time at the amusement park, when–" he stopped upon hearing the paleontologist clear his throat. He looked over his shoulder to be met by Alan's deadpan stare that said, 'Not the time'. Regaining his composure, the Kratt in green finished, "Give me your hand." Tim doesn't move. "We won't tell anyone  you threw up. Just give me your hand."  He reached out, Tim did likewise, but they were still a foot apart. Chris grabbed hold of the steering wheel to pull himself further inside, causing it to turn slightly. Unknown to the trio, the front wheel turned, losing a bit of their grip on the stout branch they were resting on.
Chris finally managed to grab the boy's hands. The creature adventurer held onto him, arms securely around Tim's waist as they climb out of the car. Soon he was lowered into Grant's waiting arms. The moment Tim realized where they were, his face went pale and his eyes widened with fear.
"Okay, that's not so bad, eh Tim?"said Chris nonchalantly, oblivious to the boy's panicked look.
"Yes it is.."
"It's just like coming out of a treehouse."said Alan, trying to lighten up the mood. "Did your dad ever build you a treehouse?"
"No."came the shaky reply.
"Me too."replied the bone digger.
Chris soon joined them on a neighboring branch. "You know, the main thing about climbing is you never, never look down."advised the tree-climbing specialist. This however, prompted the ten-year old to do just the opposite.
"This is impossible. How am I going.. I can't make it. This is... It's about fifty feet."
"We're gonna help you with your footing—" but the paleontologist was cut short by a groan heard over their heads. They looked up to see the car sagging in their direction, dramatically shifting towards them!
Not again.. Thought Grant, before urging Tim down the tree. "Go, Tim, go! Go!"
The two raced down, as fast as they could, as the big branch supporting the car creaked, ready to give way any second.
"Faster! Faster!"
The tree limb snapped, disintegrating as the vehicle came crashing towards them. Grant and Tim let go of the branch they were on and fell, thudding into another branch a few feet down. The paleontologist then realized something wasn't right. Where's Chris? But he banished those thoughts as the car smacked into the branch they had just vacated, and briefly stopped there.
The pair were now half climbing, half falling down the forest giant, slipping on the resin-covered branches, just trying like hell to get out of the way. The second branch broke, and now the vehicle was battering through a network of smaller branches, reducing them to matchwood, headed straight for them. It hit open space and began to free fall.
Alan turned, putting his arms out in defense, anticipating the car's crash landing. But the crash never came. Only a faint rustling could be heard.
The paleontologist looked up, eyeball to eyeball with the car's grill, but then he noticed the car was simply dangling there without apparent restraints. That was until he noticed a green figure in the branches above, and recognized Chris, once again in orangutan form, holding on to the rear of the car with all his strength.
"Just go! I'll hold the car for as long as I can!" The ten-year and the paleontologist didn't need to be told twice, but continued their flight down the tree.
Can't. Hold on... Much.. Longer... the green simian thought as he felt the tree limb he was grasping beginning to crumble with the added weight of the damaged vehicle. He looked down to see that Alan and Tim were back on solid ground. At that moment, the branch relinquished its strength and snapped, sending Chris falling with the car.
"Heads up!"warned the Kratt gone ape, holding on for dear life as the falling car hurtled its way down the tree, straight towards the pair below! Fortunately the wreckage landed on the forest giant's buttress, standing vertically for a brief second. But the oversized tin can was still heading for the paleontologist and ten-year old, now tipping over with the green ape's added weight, falling straight at them! Options limited, Grant balled up in front of Tim, shielding him and–
CRASH!!  The Explorer  fell on top of them, sending Chris landing on his back. Alan, amazingly unhurt, looked up in confusion. They're in the jeep again, saved by the hole where the sunroof once was. Chris could be heard from outside.
  "Alan? Tim? Are you guys okay?"
"Well, we're back...in the car again."said the Dino-fanatic.
"At least you're out of the tree."replied the bone digger.
  ****One Hour Later...****
  " I know we decided on not waiting by the culvert, but isn't it more dangerous to hike on foot? Couldn't we just climb back up the wall and continued from there?"asked a skittish Jimmy Z, eyes looking from left to right. The group of five people were currently trekking through a jungle trail, Grant taking the lead, Jimmy and the kids in the center, and Chris guarding the rear. The only other sounds that could be heard were the nightly calls of various insects and other nocturnal creatures. Overhead, the full moon shone, lending her light to the weary travelers.
The paleontologist rolled his eyes in amusement as he answered the Tortuga pilot's question. "We can't go back the way we came. What we have is a free-range T.rex on the road. There's fences on either side. If we meet him between there and the lodge, we'd have problems. But what this means, what this means, is that this whole paddock is empty. It's safe."
"It's safe?"wondered Lex doubtfully.
"It's safe."assured Alan.
"Might be kind of slow, but it can't be more than three or four miles. I'd hoped the Rex finished feeding by now, but let's not kid ourselves. Did you know a carnivore can eat up to 25% of its body weight in one sitting, so he's probably just ready to move on to the main course right now—"
He stopped in the middle of the sentence, noticing he's alone with the exception of the Kratt in green. They turn around, seeing that the kids and the pilot have scampered into the foliage behind them, terrified. "What's the matter?"asked Grant, confused. "Was it something I sai–"
"Shhh..."warned the creature adventurer silently before he whispered,"We're not alone out here."
The paleontologist gazed in the direction Chris was pointing, and straight ahead were three dark silhouettes lurking in the undergrowth, eyes glowing green in the surrounding darkness. It seemed they definitely weren't alone..