Lysine Dependent

Chapter Five: Isla Nublar

ISLA NUBLAR: 120 miles West of Costa Rica

TIME: 5:00 p.m.

The helicopter touched down. It seemed there was only one helipad on the entire island. Ironically, it was the same helipad that had first introduced him to the park. Malcolm laughed. "I did not know what I was in for." He thought about the first time he was here, and that this was the last place he'd be before he hurt his leg. The thought must have triggered something, because as soon as he touched his foot to the earth, a searing pain shot down from his thigh to his ankle. He yelped. Simon climbed out of the helicopter after him. "Everything alright?" Malcolm was bent over now. He realized he should have stepped out more carefully. After all, he hadn't put his full weight on that leg in four hours. He didn't answer Simon. Eventually, after transferring most of his weight onto his left leg, he straightened himself out. Simon asked again. This time, the reply was, "Yes. I'll be alright." Simon was concerned now. "Doctor, are you sure it was wise for you to come to this island?" Malcolm stared, "For me? No. It's not wise for anyone to come to this island." He heard a noise, like an growl. At his left, he determined that the sound he heard was an engine. A large, camouflage-painted van drove up the trail beside the helipad. It slowed down right before it ran into the lake in front of the waterfall. After stopping completely, the door at the driver's side swung open silently. A tall, sunburned man with untidy, short hair stepped out. "Simon! I was wondering when you'd come back!" That was when he noticed he'd brought someone with him. "Ah. This must be?" "uh. Dr. Ian Malcolm" A sudden realization struck the man. "Yes! Ian! My name's Elijah." Malcolm remembered the name. "Keys?" "Huh? Yeah. Call me Elijah."

He seemed very informal. Like Dr. Grant. Malcolm wondered if all Paleontologists were like that. They started heading toward the car beside them. The door was surprisingly light to the touch. It swung open extremely easily. "Is this custom built?" Elijah looked behind him. "What? Y-yeah. They're from Carr's workshop." "Eddie Carr? Didn't he die?" At this point, Elijah was starting to feel annoyed. "Weren't you there? He was torn in half by a pair of T-Rexes." Malcolm clenched his jaw. "Yes. I was there." The terrifying sound of Eddie's body being ripped apart sounded in his brain. He shook it off, trying to keep his cool.

Before long, Malcolm started to recognize the overgrown trail. As the car bounced along. The roadway seemed more and more familiar. It seemed to be the same trail that he had traveled along not two years prior. The road didn't smooth out as they went along and no one was trying to make conversation. "Good." Malcolm thought, "I'm glad they're taking this professionally." Through the windshield, he could see thousands of different types of plants intertwined in the foliage. It was beautiful, but Malcolm only allowed a single thought in his mind, did the Lysine deficiency have any affect on the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar, when it didn't on Isla Sorna?" He figured it must because they only sent the healthy dinosaurs to Jurassic Park, but he couldn't be sure. They strayed from the main trail on a small path off to the right. After turning, the trail led to a clearing. It was small, but large enough for a camp, and tucked away among the dense foliage around it. "Of course," Malcolm thought, "They want to be hidden. Very clever." They pulled in beside another of the cars, also painted in camouflage.

He stepped out of the vehicle, expecting to hear silence, like it had been in the vehicle. No, three people stood in the clearing, none of them noticed that the car had returned. Elijah stood beside him, pointed at a dark-skinned man, early thirties, and wearing an explorer's hat. He was dressed to be outdoors and seemed to know what he was doing. "That's Sam. He's our excavator." Malcolm realized this must be Rostango.

His hand moved to the right of Sam, now, facing a tanned man, mid-forties. He wore a tan-colored fedora slightly off-center on his head. The most interesting thing about him was the piece of equipment he held. He carried a fully automatic Belgian FN FAL battle rife with him. He sat on a log near a group of tipis. He looked up and nodded to the two men as Elijah said, "Our main line of defense. Dr. Malcolm, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Anthony Garcia." After this, he turned and started back to the van. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" "Someone's got to drive the car back!" Malcolm looked concerned. "But the car's already here!" "Not for long. I've got to take Simon back to the helicopter. I'm sure Anthony will show you around here." Anthony stood up and moved beside Malcolm. They both watched to car drive off again. He put his hand on Malcolm's shoulder and guided him around. "Our doctors are in that first tipi over there. Jennifer and James." The two headed for the row of tipis as Anthony gestured toward the second. This one was open slightly and Malcolm could see the workers inside, they all seemed very busy with whatever they were working on and seemed to be very passionate about their craft. "We usually house three or more people together but considering all the equipment they've got...anyway here's where our Palentologists will be staying. Sam, Elijah and Callie."