The Lost World: Jurassic Kratts

Uneasy Alliance

Chris awoke with a jolt, started by a thunderclap, his brown eyes wide open. A quick look at his surroundings told him that he was at the campsite by the cliffside, or at least whatever was left of it. In a flash, it all came back to him: the trailers, the T-rex attack, Amber's intervention, and their crushing defeat at the hands of Thundera and Strongfang. After a quick evaluation of his body, the Kratt in green found no fractures, no broken bones, all of his limbs were intact. He was beaten and bruised, but very much alive.
   But how?
A groaning at his side alerted him to Martin's presence, the second Kratt brother slowly regaining consciousness.
Chris turned to his older brother, shaking him by his shoulders. "Martin? Martin! Are you okay, bro?"
"Did anyone get the number of that bus?" came the groggy reply.
Chris rolled his eyes despite himself. He could tell from his brother's tone alone that he was right as rain. It wasn't long until Martin got his bearings, now fully conscious. After what felt like an eternity, it was the older Kratt who voiced out their thoughts. "We're– we're alive! But how?"
"My guess is as good as yours, bro." Chris replied, rubbing the back of his head as he got to his feet. "The last thing I remember was Strongfang throwing me around and shaking me like a rag doll before I ran into you,"
"Deja vu..." the Kratt in blue mumbled half to himself, having survived a Tyrannosaurus attack before. Chris extended a helping hand to which Martin accepted gratefully. Suddenly his blue eyes widened in the sudden realization that they weren't alone in the battle against their formidable assailants.
"Where's Amber?"
"I dunno. She must still be with–"
"Martin! Chris!" Both Kratt Brothers turned their heads in the direction the voice came from, followed by rustling among the undergrowth at the edge of the tree line until Sarah rushed towards them, wrapping her arms around them in a fierce bear hug. Ian, Nick and Eddie followed not far behind, the technician relying on the other two for support as he kept one leg well off the ground, wincing in pain every couple of steps.
  "Guys! Oh, thank God you're both alright,"said the paleontologist.
"Where's Amber?"asked Martin. "She was with you guys, right?"
The redhead nodded. "But she left us once we were out of harm's way. She must have gone back for you guys. We were worried when she didn't return."
"Oh no," was all the Kratt in blue could say, his heart racing, eyes widened in dread as he pictured the worst case scenario. "She– she didn't!" Chris placed a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. Martin made no sign that he acknowledged the younger Kratt's touch. Instead he cupped his hands to his mouth, and called out at the top of his lungs. "Amber! Amber! Amber where are you?"
His younger brother soon joined in lending his voice. "Amber! Where'd you go girl?"
But the rumbling thunderclaps and the pouring rain was their only answer.
"Hey guys! I found something," All eyes turned to Nick as the cameraman walked up to the creature adventurers with something held in his hands. The Kratt Brothers gasped sharply as they recognized what he held: the pulverized remains of Amber's Creature Thought Translator. It seemed that the young Velociraptor's loyalty and dedication had proved to be her undoing.
"Wait a minute. Isn't that–" Eddie never got to finish as the Kratt in blue interjected, "Amber's Creature Thought Translator!" Martin snatched the helmet from the photographer and held it close to his heart. He presently felt a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Martin."whispered Sarah, tears threatening to burst from her green eyes.
"She– she must have saved us."the Kratt in green murmured sadly. At the cost of her own life, like I almost did, he thought but didn't dare to say aloud.
No one could be certain of how much time passed as Martin silently wept in Chris and Sarah's arms. He loved all of their creature friends, no one could deny that, but Amber held a special place in his heart; one could say that the older Kratt loved her like she was his own daughter.
"We'll never forget you, Amber." Martin finally said hoarsely, once the last of his tears had dried.
"We need get Eddie some medical attention! I think his leg might be broken!" stated Malcolm urgently.
"Broken is kind of an understatement."groaned the injured technician, sitting on a discarded crate. "I'm more amazed that my leg hasn't been bitten off."
The grief stricken Kratt Brothers made no sign that they acknowledged, or even heard the scientist's words.
Malcolm heaved a sigh. "We should go so that– that Amber's sacrifice won't be in vain. It's not your fault. What happened to Amber was nobody's fault. And I– I was wrong about her. I'm sorry. Truly I–I am."
Moved by the sincerity of his words, the creature adventurers exchanged glances before turning to the others, newfound determination etched into their features. Now was not the time for mourning. Actions must be done if they were to increase their chances of survival.
"You're right, Ian."said Chris as Martin looked up to the raging skies, not in the least mindful of the rain splashing against his face.
"Thanks, Amber."
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend Ian?"asked Sarah lightheadedly, poking a hard finger on the mathematician's shoulder.
"Hang on. I'll call the Tortuga HQ to give us a lift."said Chris reassuringly as he reached out for his Creaturepod. But his smile vanished upon seeing the sorry state of his cellular device. "Oh no! My Creaturepod! It must've been damaged during the fight!"
"Hey, Martin. Have you got yours?"asked the injured technician.
"Nope."came the reply after Martin frantically searched his entire person. Even his boots. "It probably fell out when Strongfang threw me over the cliff."
Malcolm pinched the bridge of his nose. "You have got to be kidding me."
"Oy vey."mumbled Eddie.
"Now we'll never be able to contact the gang!"the older Kratt lamented.
"So we're stuck here?!"exclaimed the cameraman, hands buried in his scalp in worry.
"Alright, Nick. Calm down. Now's not the time to panic."said the Kratt in green calmly, all while trying to ease his own nerves. "Eddie? You think you can repair the radio in the trailer?"
"Maybe, but it might take a while."the senior technician replied skeptically; truth be told, everything looked damaged beyond repair. Eddie tried to rise, but was forced to sit back down by a fresh wave of pain on his leg.
Chris was already starting to have second thoughts. "Yeah. On second thought, try not to strain yourself. Maybe it's better to just wait for the gang." To Martin, he asked, "Think we can chance moving him?"
Just then, the trumpeting bellow of a Tyrannosaurus rex sounded somewhere in the far distance, an ominous roar like a cry from some other world.
"Please chance it." Eddie squeaked, as he and everyone else glanced to the forest fearfully, half expecting one of the monstrous animals to charge out of the trees. "Nick? A little help here?"
Nick was quick to lend a helping hand, offering the wounded tech expert his shoulder. "We gotcha, buddy,"
"Don't worry, Nick. It won't be long until the rest of the Wild Kratts team comes back from their supply run in about a day or two."added the redheaded paleontologist, also assisting Eddie.
"She's right; they'll be back."Martin stated, leaning against the battered trailer. "So the best thing we can do is to find Kelly and Laura and to just lie low– Whoah!" The last part came out in a startled yelp as the creature adventurer found himself suddenly lurching backwards, the trailer losing its foothold on the muddy ground before sliding backwards over the edge.
"NOOOOO!" the rest of the castaways interjected.
"Oops."said the Kratt in blue sheepishly as they all helplessly watched the trailers tumbling and bumping down along the side of the cliff, ultimately landing on the jagged rocks hundreds of feet below.
BOOM! Without warning, the entire trailer was completely obliterated in a fiery explosion that briefly illuminated the entire cliffside.
Finally, it was silent, except for the sound of the surf.
"Can we start panicking now?"asked Nick as everyone else cast rueful glares at the older Kratt who smiled sheepishly.
The creature adventurer chuckled nervously. "Umm... sorry?"
Suddenly, from the edge of the jungle, a cris-cross of flashlight beams moved toward them.  But rather than the three or four that would signify their own group, there were nearly twenty of them. The beams of light heralded the arrival of the InGen hunters. Peter Ludlow was in the lead, followed by Roland and Ajay. Laura was there too, shepherding Kelly.
Father and daughter immediately rushed to each other, wrapping in a tight embrace, each one more than happy that the other was safe and in one piece. Paternal concern washed over Malcolm as he asked, "Are you all right?! Anything broken?"
The girl shook her head. "I'm fine, I'm fine, I was scared, I thought you— are you okay?!"
"I'm fine... I'm fine..." Malcolm reassured his daughter, patting her back.
Meanwhile Roland surveyed the destruction.
"That's what you think."the outdoorsman said, half to himself.
**** Half An Hour Later...****
The survivors of the two separate catastrophes were assembled at whatever remained of the hunters' camp, now combining their diminished supplies. Roland Tembo supervised the assembling of the resources displayed before him: there were half a dozen large plastic containers of water, thirty-seven containers of food, ranging from ziploc bags to aluminum tin, a variety of weapons, most of them borne on the hips or shoulders of the hunter team, too small to repel the attacks from larger predators. There were also the charred and scraggly remnants of several pieces of now-useless electrical equipment, a flare gun and several flares, somebody's tattered paperback copy of Crime and Punishment, a box of Hershey bars, a carton of Marlboros, Gourmand's pots and cooking utensils, along with a spare dough blaster, bolas, and Sarah's lucky backpack.
Ludlow, Malcolm, Kelly, Nick, and the Kratt Brothers stood by the big game hunter, the latter of which, also contributed with their own essential supplies. The two paleontologists, Sarah and Dr. Burke, were consulting anxiously, heads nodding in agreement. Not far away, Laura and an InGen physician were treating Eddie's leg, broken by the powerful jaws of the male T-rex. But the tech expert was lucky to escape the ordeal with his life; not many creatures have ever confronted a Tyrannosaurus rex and survived.
"Our communication equipment's been destroyed."the outdoorsman began as more of his team had gathered. Turning to the opposite team, he continued, "If your radio and satellite phone were in those trailers that went off the cliff–"
"They were."confirmed Malcolm dryly.
"Then we're stuck here, ladies and gentlemen, and stuck together. Thanks to you people!"
"Hey we came here to observe, you came to strip-mine the place!"answered Nick defensively. "Back off." This was directed at Dieter Stark who stared him down.
"Just like you meddling Wild Kratts, always sticking your noses into other people's business."rumbled Gourmand as he tapped a fat finger at Martin's chest, not at all liking the idea of being stranded on an island with his enemies.
"Well, seeing you doesn't do any good for us either." the Kratt in blue replied, equally displeased while Chris crossed his arms, a deep frown etched on his face.
"At least we came prepared, until you intentionally destroyed all our equipment."said Ludlow. "Trespassing, sabotage, assaulting InGen personnel–" here he glanced at Laura– "you could all go to jail just for being here, did you know that?"
   "Hey, now don't start a legal argument with us,"snapped Sarah irritably, "this island isn't your property, and neither are these animals!"
"And for the record, we were sent here by John Hammond himself."said the Kratt in blue in an as-matter-of-factly tone.
"And what about the Bowmans?"asked Chris suspiciously, referring to the wealthy and ill-fated British family who stumbled here. "Shouldn't they face legal charges for 'trespassing' on this island?"
The CEO of InGen had no immediate response, adding to the Kratt in green's suspicion. Long pause, no answer.
  "Five years of work and a hundred miles of electrified fence couldn't prepare the other island, did you actually think a couple dozen Marlboro men would make a difference here?" Ian criticized, gesturing to the company of ill-mannered knaves.
"It's a looter mentality."stated the photographer bluntly. "All you care about is what you can take. You have no right."
"An extinct animal that's brought back to life has no rights." The head of InGen countered. "It exists because we made it. We patented it. We own it."
  "They are not your property!"said Chris rather angrily. "They're not just numbers on a chart; they're living creatures."
"They have feelings, thoughts...and maybe even plans for the weekend."added Martin. This only earned mocking laughs from the hunters.
"They're just dumb animals!"
"They don't know nothin'!"
  "You looking for a problem?"snarled Nick as Dieter once again invaded his personal space.
"I found you, didn't I?"snarked the South African arrogantly.
That was the last straw for Nick who suddenly lunged at the hunter. Dieter retaliated and the two men pushed and shoved each other like maddened bulls. Fortunately the fight ended as quickly as it began as both parties were able to break them up.
"I know you."said the big game hunter, who took a good look at Nick. "You're that little Earth First bastard, aren't you?"
"Earth First. What's that?"one of the hunters asked.
"Everyone, keep your voices down!"warned the redheaded paleontologist. But her warning fell on deaf ears.
"They're professional saboteurs."answered Roland contemptuously, enraging Nick.
"We're environmentalists!"
"Criminals."
The heated argument was brought to a screeching halt by a certain African ranger who slammed her staff onto the hood of a demolished Jeep, loud enough to rival even the rolling thunderclaps. "Enough!" Laura shouted, glaring daggers at the men. "This quarreling among ourselves will get us nowhere!"
The entire camp fell into silence. Those closest to the blonde backed away a few paces.
"Oh shit," one of the hunters commented. "Note to self: don't piss the blonde chick off."said another.
"Please listen!"cried Chris urgently. "By moving the baby rex into our camp, we may have changed the adults'
perceived territory by accident!"
Sarah's eyes immediately widened in understanding. "Oh God.."
Most of the others were clueless. "Their what?"asked Ludlow.
"That's why they persisted in destroying the trailers," Dr. Burke answered. "They now feel they have to defend this entire area."
"We're not safe here."said Martin.
"We have to move. Right now." Sarah concluded.
"Move where?" Nick questioned. "Our boat, their airlift, the Tortuga HQ? They're all waiting for an order we have no way to send."
"Alright! Alright!" said Ludlow, trying to ease the ever growing tension. He pulled a file from his bag, filled with satellite photographs. "There's a communication center, here, in the operations building. It's the main structure in the old worker village. Hammond ran everything on geothermal power, it was never supposed to need replenishing. It should still work. If we can get there, we can send a radio call for the airlift."
"How far is this place?"asked the burly chef.
"It's not how far it is I'm worried about," Eddie sighed, hanging his head. "It's what's in between it and us."
"For once, I agree with you."said Malcolm.
"A day's walk, maybe more."the businessman answered before moving forward and grabbing a flask off the ground.  "Mr. Carr is right. That's not the problem."
"What is?" Roland demanded. "What is the problem?"
"Velociraptors."came the answer.
For a brief moment, silence reigned over the camp.
"Our infrareds show their nesting sites are concentrated in the island interior. That's why we planned on keeping to the outer rim."
"Hold on. Wait a minute, what's a Veloci–" before Dieter could finish, Burke replied, "Velociraptor. Carnivore. Pack hunter. About two meters tall, long snout, binocular vision, strong dexterous forearms, killing claws on both feet."
One of the hunters brandished his weapon, a Winchester Magnum rifle with a confident smirk. "I think we can handle ourselves against those beasts, just like we did that last pack."
"And just what's that supposed to mean?"asked Nick darkly, promptly joined by two less than pleased creature adventurers.
  "Take down the leader, and they'll scatter like cockroaches."came the halfhearted reply.
The Kratt Brothers were enraged to say the least. "You what?!"exclaimed Martin, now practically grabbing the man by his shoulders. "You killed the Master of the Hunt?"
"How could you?!"yelled Chris.
"What of it?" Dieter shrugged dismissively, pushing them away from the mercenary. "Bloodthirsty monsters, the lot of them."
"Those 'monsters' were our friends!"thundered Martin.
"Oh cry me a river, Blue Berry!"rebuked the illegal chef. "They're nothin' but low down dirty varmints!"
"The only good raptor is a dead one!"shouted a mercenary somewhere among the throng, and the entire camp once again fell into discord.
"Quiet! All of you!" Tembo barked, and everyone immediately fell into silence.
"And the rexes may continue to track us too, if they perceive a threat to themselves or the infant."added Sarah, breaking the ever rising tensions.
Burke disagreed. "No, you're wrong there, Dr. Harding, they'll lose us once we're out of their territory."
"Don't bet on it. Tyrannosaurus has the largest proportional olfactory cavity of any creature in the fossil record except for one."
"Say what?"asked one hunter incredulously.
"It means they have a highly acute sense of smell."Chris translated with a chuckle.
"Right, the ah.. Turkey Vulture; could scent up to ten miles."said Burke, jogging his memory.
"Right."said the businessman, feigning interest. "This is all very thrilling, but I say we should push on to the village."
"We could, ah, head back down to the lagoon."suggested Ian.
"And do what?!"snapped the outdoorsman. "Sit out in the open! Next to a heavily used water source and hope that your Captain decides to come back for you?!"
"He won't do that; he knows better."added Nick.
"Or we could wait with Tiger Claw's pack for the Tortuga HQ to pick us up,"Kelly proposed.
Martin shook his head. "Sorry, Kelly. We can't."
"Why not?"
"If we stay here, the T-rexes would pick us off in the time it'll take for the gang to reach us."answered Chris. "And even the power of the pack is no match for one T-rex, let alone a pair."
"And the last thing we want to do is to endanger them by bringing these guys with us."mumbled Martin, not liking the idea of inviting a troop of trigger-happy wackos into the pack's territory, especially when they were directly responsible for Bwana's death.
"Tiger Claw?"asked Ajay.
"We'll explain later." Laura dismissed.
"Right. Then we head for the village!"declared Tembo, already taking the lead. Ajay followed by his side. "We might find some shelter and we can call for help. Rex just fed, so he won't stalk us for food."
"'Just fed?' I assume you're talking about Amber. You might wanna show a little respect, she gave her life to save ours,"thundered Malcolm defensively, much to the surprise of his team.
Roland was quick to cut him off however, "Then her troubles are over. My point is that predators don't hunt when they're not hungry." With that he turned away, wasting no time in leading the expedition.
"No! Only humans do!"exclaimed Nick somewhere amongst the crowd.
The Great White hunter was not amused. "Oh you're breaking our hearts! Saddle up! Let's get this movable feast underway!"
Leaving the rundown campsite behind, the survivors set forth, marching through the jungle in a column, traveling south in the direction of the operations building. Two hunters led the congregation, small servo-flashlights mounted on their shoulders. Wires ran from the lights and end in sensor pads which they stuck on the skin of their necks, allowing light to illuminate in whatever direction they turned their heads. With the rainy season in full swing, the traveling party was drenched by torrential downpours, but still they trudged on towards their destination, and with it, the promise of survival.
  "Excuse me, cowboy!" Nick made his way through the procession of mercenaries until he fell into stride beside Roland who was in the lead. The Great White hunter took notice of him and rolled his eyes. "You want some gum?"he asked, offering a packet of gum to which Roland declined. "You're a lot smarter than that empty suit you're working for. What the hell are you doing here?"
"Somewhere on this island, there exists the greatest predator that ever lived. Second greatest predator must take him down."came the answer.
"Or what? It'll take over the government?"
Roland didn't bother to answer, or even look at him. Nick looked over at the hunter's gun, still slung over his shoulder.
"You plan on using that?"he asked.
"If you don't shut up."the outdoorsman remarked, mildly annoyed.
"I meant on the T-rex."the photographer corrected with a chuckle, before reaching out for Roland's Nitro Express. "May I see?"
"Take that hand away."the outdoorsman warned calmly, not even looking.
  Nick yanked his hand back before marched on in silence.
"The animal exists on the planet for the first time in tens of millions of years, and the only way you can express yourself is to kill it?"
   "Remember that chap, about twenty years ago, I forgot his name. Climbed Everest without any oxygen, came down nearly dead. And they asked him, 'Why did you go up there to die?'And he said, 'I didn't. I went up there to live.'"
"Yeah. The difference is the mountain didn't have to die."
Close by, Laura mumbled something in her second language, drawing attention from both the hunter and the photographer.
"Wait, what was that?"asked a confused Nick.
"Just an old proverb. 'Until lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.'"the ranger answered before moving ahead. Nick raised a puzzled eyebrow while Roland said nothing, possibly meditating on what he had heard.
Elsewhere among the traveling throng, Malcolm was marching alongside Ludlow, one arm wrapped around Kelly. The Kratt Brothers tagged along as well; A few InGen hunters were kind enough to offer carrying the injured technician with a medical stretcher, leaving the two unburdened as Roland had appointed them as part of the scouting team.
"Say, I haven't had a chance to wish you luck with your new business venture. You're off to a very promising start."said the mathematician, feigning cheerfulness.
"My team is intact, Doctor. I'm sorry for the loss of your man.... err raptor."the head of InGen replied almost indifferently. "It's very easy to criticize someone who generates an idea. Someone who takes all the risks, who puts everything out on the–"
Malcolm cut him off, "You know, excuse me for interrupting, but every time you try to sound like Hammond, it just comes off like a hustle, doesn't it? It's not your fault, they say talent skips a generation. I'm sure your kids'll be sharp as tacks." The two creature adventurers chuckled.
"Hammond's reach exceeded his grasp." Ludlow countered, inwardly fuming. "Mine does not."
"And another thing."said Chris, joining the conversation. "With all due respect, Mr. Ludlow, we don't think you quite understand what you're getting yourself into with this."
"What do you mean?"
"For most zoos, care and feeding for one elephant would cost over $70,000 annually."the younger Kratt explained.
"Times that by several more for a herd of elephants, since elephants are sociable animals."added Martin.
"And you wonder why I never got you a pet elephant when you were younger."whispered Malcolm to his daughter's ear. Kelly silently giggled
Chris wasn't finished. "And that's not even the half of it; the minimum requirements of an elephant enclosure should be 1,800 square feet per elephant. That way there's enough space for animals to get away from each other whenever they need their space and to get just the right amount of exercise."
"In the wild, elephants can travel forty miles in a single day–" Martin commented.
"Your point?"asked the capitalist, raising an eyebrow.
"Now imagine a sauropod dinosaur–"said Chris before Martin interjected: "That's the longneck variety."
"Right. Now we're talking about animals that weigh as much as an entire herd of elephants and require more food and space."
The businessman chuckled. "You're exaggerating."
"Oh no, we're sugarcoating it."the older Kratt retorted. "Any normal zoo would go bankrupt trying to take care of just one multi ton vegetarian, let alone a herd."
"And let's not get us started on the predators!"said Chris. "Not only do they need a steady amount of food, but also wide open spaces to roam around. The bigger the carnivore, the more space is required.
  "And then there's intelligent species like Velociraptors,"
"And Troodons," Martin interjected.
"Right. Those dinosaurs also need lots of intellectual and social stimulation."
"Otherwise,"added the Kratt in blue, "they'll grow bored. And when they get bored, they become too dangerous to handle. And we wouldn't want another Jurassic Park incident now, would we?"
A long pause. "I understand what you're saying, and your comments are valuable," Ludlow finally said, "but I assure you that once we're through, animal husbandry will be the very least of InGen's problems."
"Jesus Christ."muttered Malcolm half to himself.
"And you've made partners with Donita, Zach, and Gourmand?"questioned the Kratt in blue, casting a quick glance at the burly chef who traveled in the rear. "No offense, but they're not what you would call creature friendly."
"I'm well aware that there's no love lost between you. Running a successful business sometimes requires... unsavory partnerships, shall we say?"
Hearing these words, Chris could hardly suppress a scowl as he said rather seriously: "Word of advice: stay away from them."
His older brother shared his sentiments. "They're bad news."
Ludlow wasn't swayed but politely replied, "Thank you very much, brothers Kratt. InGen will uhh.. take it under advisement."
"Taking dinosaurs off this island is the worst idea in the long, sad history of bad ideas."Ian stated with the bluntness of a hammer. "And we're gonna be there when you learn that."
The match continued well into the break of dawn,the sun rising ever higher as they left the relative safety of the jungle behind and reached more open country, where the grassy plains stretched as far as the eye can see, occasionally dotted with rocky outcrops and a few scattered trees. With the change in landscape and the absence of trees, Chris took to the sky to scout ahead, courtesy of his Peregrine Falcon form, while Martin, Gourmand and a couple of InGen mercenaries guarded the rear, eyes darting from left to right, ever watchful for potential dangers on the ground. Ahead of the scouts, the Great White hunter took the lead, with Ajay and Ludlow at his side, holding a rifle and a map respectively.
"Clear!"screeched the green avian every so often, swooping over the hikers' heads, This went on for an hour or so as they passed until Chris was circling above them, signaling the party to halt. The signal for approaching danger.
Dropping altitude, he landed gracefully before deactivating his CPS to join the others who were waiting expectantly for the news.
"Mr. Kratt. What is the matter at hand?" Roland demanded.
  "We need to move fast. There's a large herd of Dryo–" Chris had hardly started his report when a cloud of dust was sighted over the oncoming hill. What followed was a squawking, shrieking pandemonium as a herd of small, bipedal dinosaurs sprinted past the incredulous travelers. The herd was made up of more than forty animals, several more than ten-feet long, none of them paying any heed to the strange, two legged creatures in their path. The traveling party wisely took cover behind a large rocky outcrop to avoid the stampeding throng.
"Dryosaurus. Late Jurassic."Burke observed, identifying the fleet footed runners that possessed the grace and agility comparable to gazelles. "They're herbivorous."
"Where are they going?"asked someone among the crowd.
"Buggers are fast,"
"Look at 'em go!"
Something about the Dryosaurs' retreat caused the research team to be on edge. "I know that flight pattern,"mumbled Martin half to himself, noticing that some of the animals ran in a uniformed pattern, never running in a straight line. Addressing the entire company , he said aloud, "They're trying to get away from something."
"From what?"asked Nick warily.
Malcolm breathed a sigh. "Something tells me we're about to find out,"
  As if in answer to the mathematician's halfhearted remark, a bloodcurdling roar echoed from over the rise, causing the entire group to jolt.... before a large shape raced down the hill in the path taken by the Dryosaurus.
The beast was easily over thirty feet in length and carried its two-ton bulk on two powerful hind legs. Along the animal's back were rows of bony scutes and osteoderms that ran from head to tail, giving it the appearance of an armored dragon. The creature's arms were little more than two stubs, but its most defining feature was the pair of horns crowning the rather shortened, bulldoglike skull, jaws lined with sharp teeth.
"Boy, do I hate being right all the time," the mathematician remarked dryly.
  Upon a silent command from Roland, the humans sank further into cover the better to avoid detection; even those untrained in the paleontological field could instantly tell that this was a predator.
  With surprising speed for its bulk, the horned predator managed to overtake a straggling individual from the herd, slamming its grotesque skull into its prey's left flank like a battering ram. The unfortunate Dryosaurus was sent flying on impact, crashing against the boulders with a sickening thud!
The collision had killed it.
The travelers could soon hear the crunching of bones and the tearing of flesh coming directly from the other side of their hiding place. Soon the metallic smell of blood was carried by the wind and it was all that the hidden humans could do to keep from getting sick, their stomachs tied in knots.
Despite the whispered protests of her colleagues, the redheaded paleontologist dared to take a quick glance from behind the rock. She didn't like what she saw. "Carnotaurus!" Sarah whispered in horror. "Get down!"
"Carno–what?!"asked Gourmand cluelessly.
"Carnotaurus!"exclaimed the Kratt in blue quietly, as not to rile the brute's attention. "A mouthful of teeth with a bad attitude!"
"I take it that they're dangerous?" Dieter inquired. All the wrangler really knew was that these creatures were not captured during yesterday's roundup.
Chris nodded. "Extremely."
"They can't be that bad. Not with those arms," Gourmand scoffed, unimpressed by the Carnotaur's useless appendages. "And I thought T-rexes had feeble arm strength."
"Don't let those vestigial arms fool you," Sarah warned, "Carnotaurs are unpredictable, highly aggressive, and they're among the fastest carnivores out here! More than forty miles per hour max. Only raptors are faster."
"But that's not the worst part!" Chris quickly added.
"It's not?"asked Eddie, not liking this one bit. "Then what is?!"
"Carnotaurs usually hunt in–" a hellish bellow cut off Martin's sentence. He looked back at the Carnotaurus, then wished he hadn't. The beast was soon joined by six or seven more of his kind, all coming to claim their share of the prize. "Groups."
"Fruitcakes." Malcolm cursed. It seemed as though the odds were stacked against them.
"How are we gonna get past those demon lizards?" a nearby mercenary asked.
  Slowly, quietly and with extreme caution, the Kratt Brothers and the Great White hunter peeked over from behind the boulder. To their relief, the pack of horned flesh eaters were too busy fighting for the Dryosaurus carcass to even take notice of their presence.
The trio went back into hiding.
"They seem to be preoccupied with feeding." the Great White hunter observed. "While they're still feasting, the beasts should leave us alone."
"But not for long."said Chris, noticing that the feast was quickly disappearing under the Carnotaurs' voracious appetites. The Dryosaurus was too small to make much of a meal; all were receiving mouthfuls but none were satisfied.
"Maybe we can sneak right past them without being noticed."whispered the Kratt in blue.
Roland nodded in agreement as he wasted no time in rallying his charge. "Come. There's no time to lose."
Under a silent hand signal from the leader, the very nervous traveling party fell into line without question, moving along the waist high grass quickly yet quietly to avoid detection. Sarah lingered for a little while to observe the Carnotaurus pack through her binoculars when she noticed that the carnivores were becoming more quarrelsome.
Two of the Carnotaurs, the lead bull and a smaller juvenile, a younger male, fought for possession of the meager remains of the Dryosaurus carcass in a vicious tug of war. In the contest of strength, the alpha easily prevailed over his younger opponent, yanking the prize out of his grasp. But before the victor could relish in the raw taste of victory, the younger carnivore rammed his head into the leader's chest, forcing him to relinquish his hold on the carcass. Infuriated, the older Carnotaurus quickly turned on his attacker with open jaws on the insubordinate's neck. The young dinosaur struggled in his alpha's grip until he was able to break free of his assailant's hold, suffering only a few minor injuries thanks to his bony armor. Back to square one, the two horned dinosaurs began to butt heads, pushing and shoving with all their might. For a while, both Carnotaurus seemed to be evenly matched in strength and tenacity, until the older male, a veteran in the combat zone, placed a quick bite to the juvenile's left shoulder before ramming his enemy's chest with the force of an oncoming automobile, sending the challenger crashing and tumbling to the ground.
Having had enough, the defeated animal slunk away from the fringes of the pack to nurse his wounded pride, leaving the alpha male to make off with the spoils of his victory. Upon noticing that she was starting to fall dangerously behind, Sarah made her way back to the others when suddenly, the paleontologist noticed that the young Carnotaurus froze, raising its head to sniff the air, perhaps catching scent of something in the wind. The theropod's head moved slowly until its gaze fell upon the retreating humans. The dinosaur's gaze never left as he slowly advanced towards them like a lion stalking its prey. The paleontologist's eyes widened in horrifying realization:
The Carnotaur had picked up their scent!
  A series of hellish shrieks resounded across the plains as the Carnotaurus came charging straight towards them with open jaws. But that wasn't all; the rest of the pack was very much in evidence. Alerted by the roars of their comrade, they were quick to join the hunt, quickly closing in on the group of awkward, two-legged creatures they now saw as potential prey!
Alerted by the noise, the survivors quickly took notice in the Carnotaur's sudden change in behavior.
"Those Carno-monsters are coming!"a hunter shouted.
"Oh no!"cried Chris, hands at his scalp. This was beyond bad.
"Plan B: Run!"exclaimed Martin.
**** Enter: Carnotaurus. As many of you know, these guys made an appearance in Michael Crichton's The Lost World and later in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. And while I was excited to see this guy finally appear in the JP franchise, I thought he could be more properly introduced (let's face it, every time Carno appeared on screen, Wrecksy's hogging all the spotlight..)
And based on what we now know about Carnotaurus, these guys won't have the camouflage abilities of their counterparts in the novel. Besides, who needs stealth when you have great speed?
And speaking of Jurassic World, it's unlikely that I'll write a JW/WK fanfic. A twenty plus year span from JP is a really long time, and Wrecksy won't be the only one who will be old and gray...:P but I'll keep an open mind..
I also want to give a special thanks to Omar Garcia Jr for giving away my secret identity. *gives pointed look* Yes, me and Loxodonta14 are one and the same, potato potahto. *in British accent* Fanfiction was just a showroom, something for the tourists. Site B was the factory floor, that was on Wattpad.
And thank you amarastra5814 for your words of encouragement. And know that I have every intention of continuing this story, and others, no matter how long it may take..;)