The Lost World: Jurassic Kratts

T-rex Attack

The group had made camp in the middle of a jungle clearing. The mood was somber, most of the marchers asleep already, the nocturnal jungle hooting and buzzing around them. Three or four tents had been put up around the clearing. Inside one of the tents, Kelly was lying on a sleeping bag. Malcolm was seated next to her, stroking her hair, talking to her softly.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you."he said. "You know that, don't you? You're the most important thing in my life, Kelly, and I'll do anything for you."
"Anything?" Kelly asked.
Malcolm nodded. "In the world."
"Okay. Marry Sarah."
The mathematician froze. That wasn't what he had in mind. The girl went on without waiting for her father's reply. "You know you want to. Nothing else could ever have made you come to this island. Only Sarah. You need an anvil to fall on your head before you get it?"
Malcolm just looked at her incredulously. Before he could answer, a certain paleontologist crawled into the tent.
"You guys got room for one more?"she asked.
"Ask him." Kelly replied, gesturing to her father.
Sarah looked at Malcolm inquiringly.
"Huh? Uh, yeah. Yeah, uhh, of course."the mathematician stammered. The paleontologist giggled; Ian was adorable when he stuttered. He kissed Kelly on the forehead. "Stop thinking and get some sleep. I'll take one more look around camp and be back in two minutes." With that he slipped out of the tent, leaving the paleontologist and the twelve-year old with the place to themselves.
Sarah hung her overshirt over a bar when she noticed Kelly is staring at her, smiling. "Are you okay?"inquired the redhead.
Kelly smiled. Things were gonna look up. "Me? I'm great." Never been better, she added mentally.
At the edge of camp, Roland made his way up a convenient tree, his gun slung over his shoulder. From his vantage point, the outdoorsman found a comfortable resting place in the branches and settled back. At another end of the glade, Laura sat cross legged as she too kept a constant vigil, sharpening her axes with a stone. Leaving Eddie's tent after a quick checkup, Malcolm strolled across the center of the clearing, listening carefully, studying the jungle trees and surrounding foliage, trying to sense any possible dangers. Despite the peaceful atmosphere, appearances can be deceiving and the ever paranoid mathematician was not about to let his guard down.
After all, they were stranded on an island full of killer dinosaurs.
Suddenly Roland abruptly sat up, sniffing. He looked around until his sharp eyes landed all the way across the clearing, where he noticed a thin plume of smoke rising up over the trees, just outside the edge of camp.
"Oh, no."
A little ways away from the temporary campsite, Gourmand hummed to himself as he roasted his kill on a handmade spit, licking his lips as he gently rotated it over the roaring fire while the stolen egg sizzled in a pan in the ashes.
Just then, the Kratt Brothers erupted out of the forest undergrowth, the whites of their eyes plainly visible.
"Gourmand! Stop!"
"What the deviled egg– oof!" That was the only warning he had before both pounced on him, tackling Gourmand to the ground. The burly cook, however, had no trouble shaking them off. "Get offa me, Wild Kratt croutons!"
  In that moment, they were joined by Roland and Malcolm who came running to the scene. Laura also arrived, alerted by the sudden commotion. She did not like what she saw. One swipe of her wooden staff dismantled the spit holding the roasted carcass, sending it dropping to the floor, much to the chef's displeasure.
"Hey! What gives? That's my dinner–oof!"Gourmand clutched his stomach as he was poked rather sharply by the ranger's staff.
"Do you only ever think about eating, mafuta?"she questioned angrily.
"Are you out of your mind?" the outdoorsman hissed, grabbing the chef by his shirt collar.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"the mathematician demanded angrily.
"A Hypsilophodon."murmured Martin, having identified the dead dinosaur while Chris glared at the chef. The outdoorsman roughly dropped Gourmand to the ground before getting to work in extinguishing the flames. Meanwhile Malcolm joined Roland in kicking dirt on the fire. The fire now smoldered out, they all stood there, chests heaving, listening to the jungle for a moment, to see if its stirred any activity. Only silence.
The recent rains had left puddles scattered around the camp, and impact tremors now created ripples in the puddles– concentric circles spreading to the outer edges.
The men froze as the tremors became more frequent. Something was coming, and it was big.
The mathematician turned to Gourmand. "You've doomed us all." he whispered.
Meanwhile, Sarah and Kelly were beginning to retire for the night, slowly being lulled by the gentle breeze coming through the open flap. Their eyes were nearly shut when a flash of green darted into the tent, earning startled squeals from the occupants.
"What the–?" The paleontologist relaxed as their surprise guest turned out to be– "A Troodon." Heaving a sigh of relief, she told Kelly, "It's okay. They're harmless."
"Hey, it's you!" Kelly beamed silently upon recognizing the small theropod whom she had encountered earlier that afternoon. "What're you doing here?"
The Troodon remained completely motionless, not making a single sound.
This made Sarah feel very uneasy. She knew that Troodons did this when danger was near. That was when the earth began to rumble.
"Oh no."the paleontologist whispered in dread.
  As the rumbling grew closer, Sarah and Kelly were frantically sealing up any opened food into ziploc bags while Jeanie tilted her head in curiosity as she watched their antics, all the while gnawing on a candy bar in her clawed grasp. Suddenly, the brainy theropod scampered under the cover of the blankets. Kelly gasped and quickly followed her lead. The paleontologist looked over her shoulder, then wished she hadn't, catching a glimpse of a monstrous silhouette through the tent, massive jaws lined with dozens of jagged teeth.
  Sarah quickly turned off the light, before taking cover under the sleeping bags with Kelly and Jeanie. A few seconds later, the T-rex slowly poked his head inside the tent, fangs flashing in the darkness, sniffing around, gurgling and cocking his head curiously. Nestled in the sleeping bag, Sarah and Kelly's eyes were wide in panic. Next to them, the Troodon scarcely moved a muscle. The rex sniffed and nudged the bag, trying to figure out what this foreign object was.
Stirred from the ruckus, one of the hunters, Carter, raised his head where his eyes were greeted by a monstrous sight; a fully grown Tyrannosaurus rex right in the middle of their camp!
"Ahhhhh!"
All hell breaks loose as Carter's screams alerted the other hunters who woke up in fright and started to flee in all directions like panicking rats.
"Stay down! Stay down! Don't move! Don't run!"shouted Malcolm. But his warnings fell on deaf ears as they continued to scatter, oftentimes trampling over each other in their blind panic. Alerted by the commotion, Strongfang rose to his full height, taking the whole tent with him! For half a minute, the Tyrannosaurus swung his mighty head from side to side to dislodge his unwanted burden.
Once he regained his sight, he unleashed a thundering roar as he gave chase.
To make matters worse, the second Tyrannosaurus, Thundera, stepped out of the jungle, joining her mate. In her jaws was the Hypsilophodon carcass which she swallowed in a single gulp. Panic skyrocketed among the hunters who abandoned all reason and ran for their lives. To the pair of T-rexes, the sight and sound of prey on the run proved to be irresistible, and they were in the mood for a game of cat and mouse.
"Oh no!"cried Chris. Things have definitely taken a turn for the worse.
  In a flash of blue, Martin transformed into his T-rex form and stood firmly between the tyrannosaurs and their fleeing prey, arousing their ire. "Get outta here!"roared Martin Rex to his companions. "I'll hold them off as long as I can."
Chris protested. "But Martin–"
"Go!"
With no room for argument, the younger Kratt reluctantly ran off in search of their friends. Seeing their movable feast slipping away, the two giant predators attempted to follow after them only to be blocked by Martin.
"Not so fast!"roared the blue rex, baring his teeth. "You want my friends, you're gonna have to get through me!" The last part was said with a thunderous STOMP! of a three-toed foot.
The abandoned campground was filled with the bellows of giants as the Tyrannosaurus pair howled in rage, thundering towards the blue intruder head on! With no other alternatives, the blue tyrannosaur rushed to meet them, the desire to protect his friends outweighing any sense of caution or fear for his own life.
For the most part, Martin ducked and weaved, avoiding his opponents' snapping jaws while pushing them back. He knew from past experience that he was no match for one tyrannosaur, and being outnumbered two to one, the odds of emerging victorious would not be in his favor. Besides, his goal was not to win, but to buy his team enough time to escape.
  Roland Tembo appeared on the scene, carrying his rifle and running in the opposite direction of everyone else. The big game hunter came upon the two tyrannosaurs locked in mortal combat with the older Kratt who had taken the form of the giant carnivores, and he was fighting a losing battle, outnumbered and most definitely outmatched. They were completely unaware of his presence. Using the element of surprise to his advantage, he proceeded to move closer. He took his aim at the bull T-rex, getting a clear visual on his target.
He pulled the trigger.
CLICK!
Nothing happened as the tyrannosaurs continued to battle. Bewildered, the outdoorsman opened the gun, pulling out nothing but spent shells.
"Bastard!"
Meanwhile, Martin was fighting for his life. The Kratt in blue was sent tumbling backwards by seven tons of enraged tyrannosaur, crashing into an ancient tree which splintered into matchwood on impact. As he regained his bearings, shaking his head to ease the dizziness within, the blue theropod spied Thundera lumbering into the ravine where everyone else had escaped.
"Oh no!"
He had to stop her. The blue theropod desperately raced after Thundera in hopes of overtaking her when Strongfang rammed into his left side with the force of a runaway freight train, causing Martin to crash into a rocky wall. The male T-rex latched onto his rival's neck before he could recover. Martin Rex could only look on helplessly as the female Tyrannosaurus took off in the direction of the retreating caravan. He struggled to break free, but his assailant proved to be far too powerful, his killer hold tightening. One bite, and it would all be over.
BANG! BANG!
Suddenly, Martin felt the grip on his neck disappear completely, and he wasted no time in regaining his feet. He looked so see none other than Roland Tembo going toe to toe with the Tyrannosaurus, armed with only a handgun. The outdoorsman emptied round after round of cartridges into the massive carnivore, which did little to harm the colossus. But his anger was deeply aroused as he stomped towards his tormentor, blaring a challenge.
"Go help your friends!"Roland shouted over the roaring din. "I'll deal with him."
The Kratt in blue did not need to be told twice. With Strongfang now distracted by his new enemy, the blue theropod thundered on in the direction taken by his team.
Away from the camp, the Wild Kratts team and the InGen mercenaries retreated to a series of rocky ravines and blind canyons. Chris stayed at the rear of the group to make sure none were left behind. He was just about to rejoin the others when the earth shook, and a thundering roar bounced off the rocky walls behind him. He looked back, then wished he hadn't; charging into the ravine was none other than Thundera the female Tyrannosaurus.
  The fact that Thundera was on the hunt could only mean that the tyrannosaurs had gotten the better of Martin.
"Oh no!"
The Kratt in green was brought out of his thoughts by a louder bellow from the she-rex stomping closer, followed by a hollering scream. Taking a closer look, he could see the huge predator snapping her teeth on a figure in white attempting to escape. Chris' eyes widened upon realizing what, or rather who, the T-rex was chasing.
"Gourmand!"
Even though it was the chef's gluttony and greed that had gotten them all into this situation, the creature adventurer couldn't just leave his enemy to his fate. He had to do something.
Gourmand was running for his life, attempting to allude his pursuer by racing in a serpentine motion when the  carnivore's jaws grabbed his pack, effortlessly lifting him off the ground. The illegal chef screamed bloody murder as the T-rex started shaking him from side to side. This would have continued had it not been for a few flying stones chucked at her nose, causing the tyrannosaur to relinquish her hold. Gourmand fell nearly two stories before landing unceremoniously to the ground in a faceplant. Just as he was regaining his senses, someone was at his side, helping him to his feet.
"Green Grape?"
"Run!"
The fry cook didn't need to be told twice. Extra motivation came in the form of the angry Tyrannosaurus rex who howled in rage, her foot crashing where they once stood. The two sworn enemies were once again on the run, with seven tons of bone-crushing fury behind them and approaching fast!
"She's gaining on us!"cried Chris. "We need some sort of distraction!"
"Leave that to me!" Thinking quickly, the chef whipped up a sizable ball of dough in the palm of his hand. He whirled around to face the charging T-rex.
"Hey, carcass breath! Eat this!"
Gourmand's aim was true, his dough ball restraining the predator's monstrous jaws. Thundera halted in her tracks as she thrashed her head violently from side to side, trying to rid herself of the culinary muzzle.
"Never thought I'd say this, but nice shot Gourmand!" Boy, that sounded so wrong! he thought, inwardly cringing as they ran to put some distance between them and their monstrous foe.
"Now let's get out of here before–whoah!" Chris didn't get far when he fell face first on the hard ground. Taking a backwards glance, the Kratt in green saw that his legs were suddenly glued together in a sticky puddle of dough, making it impossible to move. Gourmand presently loomed over the immobilized creature adventurer with an evil snicker.
"What's the meaning of this, Gourmand?" demanded angrily.
"Isn't it obvious? Havin' one less Wild Kratt crouton around is no skin off my nose!" Unfazed by Chris' glower, the chef continued his gloating. "Aww don't be sad, Green Grape. She'll have you as a side dish!"
"You won't get away with this, Gourmand! You'll pay!" Chris shouted, but he knew deep down his words were little more than empty threats now.
"Oh I ready have." Gourmand chuckled as he patted his enemy's head before running off, his evil triumphant laughs bouncing off the rocky walls of the ravine. "Survival of the fittest, Green Pea! Survival of the fittest!"
  Chris could only scowl at Gourmand's retreating form; he was starting to have second thoughts about helping one of their nemeses. The Kratt in green grunted and strained as he struggled to free himself from the sticky dough, but to no avail. And the rumbling earth told him that it wouldn't be long before Thundera would come to seal his fate.
Looks like I'll be joining you soon, bro.
  Not far behind, Malcolm was able to slip past the tyrannosaurs undetected, and he was trying his best to catch up with the others. Turning over the next bend, he saw the Kratt in green's predicament.
"Chris!" As if his legs moved on their own accord, the mathematician ran to help the downed creature adventurer. "Hang on, Chris. I'm coming!"
"Ian! Thank goodness you're here!"
Grabbing ahold of Chris' upper arms, Malcolm strained and grunted as he tugged with all his strength. As he tugged and pulled, he couldn't help but ask, "How- how'd you– end up–as a dino... birthday cake?"
"Gourmand." Chris answered.
Just then a blaring trumpet echoing off the rocky walls heralded the arrival of Thundera. The mathematician hastened in his efforts. The earth continued rumbling.
"Keep... pulling!"urged the Kratt in green, feeling himself becoming more freed. "I'm almost... out!" With one final yank, Chris shot out like a rocket from his restraints. But his forward momentum lurched him forward into an unprepared Malcolm's unsteady arms, causing the two to crash to the ground.
"Whoah! Oof!"
"Let's get the hell out of here before–" but the mathematician was cut short by an ominous rumbling growl that rattled their bones. Thundera the Tyrannosaurus appeared from the opposite bend, now freed from her muzzle, a look of unbridled rage in her golden eyes as they locked in on potential prey.
The she-rex's roar filled the ravine with thunder as she made her charge. Malcolm and Chris both knew there was no outrunning her. And there was nowhere to hide. The two clung tightly to one another, with fewer alternatives than to await the inevitable death by rending fangs and powerful jaws.
The she-rex thundered closer and closer, now right on top of them. They could now feel her hot and rancid breath as she opened her jaws to deliver the final coup de grâce.
"Gotcha!"
The jaws never came. Only a resounding SNAP! and a sudden feeling of weightlessness as their feet left the ground. As they continued to gradually float higher and higher, away from the raging jaws of death, the mathematician and the creature adventurer turned to their saving grace which turned out to be–
"Eddie!"
"Are you guys okay?" a concerned Eddie asked, holding onto the pair while his artificial wings moved independently.
"We're just dandy."replied Ian sardonically, but nonetheless glad to see the tech expert. "Literally being snatched from the jaws of death."
"You can fly?! How are you flying? And–Is that the Insecto-Copter?"the younger Kratt stammered before recognizing the invention.
"Martin's idea."the inventor replied. If he could shrug, he would have done so.
"Thanks a million, you're a lifesaver."said Chris. And thank you, Martin, he thanked mentally.
"Can't this thing fly any faster?"grumbled the mathematician.
"Sorry, Ian. I'm flying for three– Whoa!" The three men screamed as they narrowly escaped a pair of snapping jaws, a blaring roar sounded from directly below them, bringing them back to their current situation. Thundera snapped her jaws at their heels, but the trio was just out of her reach. The she rex could only roar out her frustration before turning towards much easier game.
Chris' eyes widened in horrific realization. "Oh no! She's going after the others!"
Malcolm felt chills running down his spine. "My god."
The younger Kratt's resolve hardened. "We gotta find them before she does! Fly, Eddie!"
   Down below, all was total chaos as Nick, Sarah, Kelly and Laura, along with the mercenaries ran for their lives through the narrow ravine, with Thundera now hot on their tails. A few stragglers attempted to climb the rocky walls, but where quickly picked off by the gigantic T-rex who devoured them. The vast majority of the men were clustered into a tight knit group, scrambling and clawing their way to the front as nobody wanted to be last in line. In the confusion, one of the men, Carter, tripped over a puddle and was trampled by his comrades in their urgency to escape the jaws of death. Once the stampede had passed, the man tried to get back on his feet when a gigantic three-toed foot came bearing down upon him!
STOMP!
Stuck to the bottom of the tyrannosaur's foot, he was carried up and down a few times, being flattened with each seven-ton blow until finally, his pulverized body was crushed into the earth. Unaware of all that transpired, the she rex continued pursuing her intended prey.
  In the now abandoned camp, Roland Tembo was facing off against Strongfang the male Tyrannosaurus rex. His pistol had long since ran out of ammunition, and the big game hunter knew that without a proper weapon, he stood virtually no chance against his primeval foe who easily towered over the minuscule human and was armed to the teeth. And those teeth were poised to end the life of his tormentor if he would only stand still. In the confined spaces of the campsite, it was rather difficult for the large and cumbersome animal to maneuver.
  Roland had no such problems.
At the last moment, as the tyrannosaur made his lunge, he grabbed a fistful of ash from the ruins of Gourmand's campfire and threw it into his attacker's sensitive eyes and nostrils, throwing off the beast's snap and buying him precious time to escape out of range. With Strongfang temporarily blinded and disoriented, the outdoorsman scrambled across the ground and clanged open a metal box, revealing three tranquilizer rifles. A yellow tag screamed:
  WARNING! VETERINARY TRANQUILIZERS! CONTAINS CONCENTRATED NERVE AGENTS! USE EXTREME CAUTION!
Roland was on his knees, frantically loading one of the tranquilizer guns. He managed to break it open, revealing the cartridge bay. But the enraged bull T-rex had the human in his sights.
He charged forward with open jaws, bellowing his fury.
Roland worked overtime, snapping two tranquilizer dart cartridges into the bay as Strongfang closed in, only forty yards away. Still fumbling with the cartridges, the outdoorsman rolled over into his back. The mighty theropod drew closer still, now thirty yards away. Roland smacked the gun shut, raising it to his shoulder. The rex closed to twenty yards, then ten, then pulled up short and bellowed furiously, right in the hunter's face. The Great White hunter closed one eye, drawing a bead on it.
  It was now or never. He pulled the trigger.
Down in the ravine, it was becoming obvious that there was no outrunning the T-rex, and Nick knew it. He burst ahead of his friends before spotting something off to the corner of his eye: A green, scaly chicken darted into an oncoming waterfall, apparently right in front of a sheer rock face. But there was something about the way the water was falling that told the photographer something.
"Guys! Over here!"he shouted.
"Nick, the hell are you–"
"Jump! Follow that green thing!"urged Nick, leaving Sarah no room for argument.
Options limited, the four of them followed the Troodon's lead and sprang right at the waterfall, disappearing through the torrents of running water. Behind the waterfall, there was a small recess, which is what Nick had hoped for. It was only four or five feet deep, but just deep enough for him, Sarah, Kelly, and Laura to hide behind the flowing water while their reptilian companion curled into a ball in the very back. Breathless, terrified, they could hear the mayhem outside.
  With an enormous SPLASH, something burst through the cascading water, crashing into them. It was Burke.
"Get out of the way!"he shouted, mad with fright as he bulled his way against the far wall, as far away from the water as he could.
FOOOM! Now another shape burst through the watery curtain with open jaws. It was none other than Thundera the T-rex whose roar filled the cavern with thunder.
Burke had given them away.
The five of them screamed as the rex's jaws snapped left and right, searching for them among the nooks and crannies of their hideout, falling just inches short.  They squeezed as far back against the wall as they could get, far out of range of Thundera's snapping jaws. Unable to fit her head into the crevice, she uses her tongue, a long, dark blue shape that slithered out of her mouth, touching the humans, trying to wrap around them, to pull them into her waiting maw.
Burke, blind with panic, forced himself even further into the cave, pushing Kelly further out into harm's way.
"Stop!"cried Sarah.
"You're pushing her out you son of a bitch!"shouted Nick. "He can't reach you!"
"Go away!" Kelly screamed, staring wide eyed at the tyrannosaur's nightmarish jaws.
"She can't reach us!"
But the paleontologist didn't listen, throwing elbows to make room for himself. frantic His movements dislodged a portion of muddy earth, and a startled banded coral snake slithered into his shirt collar. If Burke wasn't scared before, he was certainly terrified now.
"Oh my god! A snake! Help me!"
"Burke! Stay back!" But Sarah's warning was in vain as Burke ran straight into the she-rex's waiting jaws, which clamped down on the man's left arm in a vicelike grip. Screaming hideously, he is dragged out through the waterfall, and disappeared.
CRUNCH!
Silence. Sarah, Nick, Laura and Kelly all stared in horror as the white screen of water turned pink with Dr. Robert Burke's blood.
"It's okay, it's okay." Nick said reassuringly to Kelly who was quaking in his arms. "It's coming back!"
  Heart hammering in her throat, Laura reached for her sword almost instinctively, ready to show the tyrannosaur that they were one meal that's not worth the trouble.
  She struck.
"What the hell?!"
"Yikes!"
The ranger's hands froze, the steel of her blade stopping mere inches from Malcolm's alarmed face. Chris was just behind him, mirroring the mathematician's expression. Laura jumped back in shock.
"Dad!" Almost instantaneously, Kelly flung herself into her father's arms, sobbing against his chest.
The mathematician turned his attention to the cameraman who had taken it upon himself to keep his daughter safe. "Thank you."
"Where's Martin?"asked Laura, her voice laced with worry as she sheathed her sword. Upon the mention of his brother, Chris frowned as he refused to meet the ranger's gaze, unable to answer. But luckily, he didn't have to.
"Out here!" All eyes turned in the direction of the deep voice from outside. As they left the walls of water, they saw Martin Rex looming over them. He was battered and bruised, blood trickling from the side of his mouth, but alive.
The younger Kratt was overjoyed. "Martin! You're okay!" He ran over to embrace his dino brother's huge snout, delighted that he had survived once again.
The older Kratt chuckled. "What'd I tell ya? I only almost died. And it'll take a lot more than a pair of angry T-rexes to do me in."
Nick looked up, he was pleasantly shocked. "Eddie! You can fly?"
"Isn't technology great?"was all the technician replied. "But how'd you guys know to hide in the waterfall?"
"We had a little help." Sarah replied, gesturing to the green Troodon.
"Jeanie!"the Kratt Brothers exclaimed excitedly. The brainy theropod chirped excitedly, bobbing her head in a birdlike manner, before darting through the now vacant ravine. The terror stricken men had long since ran ahead of them, leaving the rocks as quiet as the evening wind. But most importantly, there was no sign of the T-rex pair.
"I think she wants us to follow her."said Laura, wasting now time mounting on Martin's broad back. "Tupande!" It was time to ride out of this hellhole.
Martin Rex filled the canyon with his thundering roar the moment the last passenger was safe and accounted for. "C'mon. We have a communications center to get to."
***** I'm back! Sorry it took me so long. I've been busy as ever with my life outside of Fanfic and it's good to be back! This pandemic has been hard on everyone, but I sense a change in the wind. This year's gonna be different, with new changes, new challenges and new opportunities. And of course, new Fanfiction stories which I've been working on. Happy New Year everybody!
  In other news, this is the year that Jurassic World: Dominion will arrive on the big screen, and the trailer for that was insane! So many familiar faces old and new. I almost forgive them for postponing the theatrical release to another year. Can't wait.
And to reward my faithful readers, I've got a surprise! Stay tuned and keep on Creature Adventuring!