The Lost World: Jurassic Kratts

Carnivore Canyon

"Alright. Who's not dead?"
The dust cleared away, revealing the vast majority of the team unceremoniously sprawled throughout the rocky floor of the canyon. Luckily for everyone, it was Chris' quick thinking that had saved their lives; the Kratt in green had the thought in mind to activate an emergency landing pad to cushion the impact of their fall. But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt.
"Ugh. My head..." Martin groaned, still in his T-rex form. "Deactivate!" A flash of blue returned the older Kratt to his human form.
"Are you guys okay?"asked a worried Kelly as she ran up to her friends, while her father turned his attention to Sarah.
"I've had better landings." Laura replied, shaking the dust off of her hat. "But other than that, completely unharmed."
"A little shaken up but we're fine."the redhead assured the girl and her boyfriend with a smile. Inwardly though, she hoped that this kind of experience would never happen again.
"I wish I could say the same for the Raptor Decoder."lamented Chris, holding up all that was left of the revolutionary gadget, now smashed to bits. "It's ruined!" Aviva's gonna kill me, he thought.
"Well forget about that, let's focus more on getting the hell out of here."said Nick, eyes glancing about the canyon walls shrouded in fog. "This place is giving me the creeps."
"Eddie, which way do we go from here?"asked Malcolm, turning to the flying technician, who now had the map in his possession.
Eddie hovered overhead as he analyzed the map in his hands. "As near as I can tell, we have to make our way across this area called..." the tech expert gulped,"...the Valley of Death."
Malcolm rolled his eyes; part of him was not in the least surprised. "The Valley of Death? Perfect, just perfect." This was certainly Gambler's Ruin.
"How far are we from the village?"asked Chris, wanting to veer from the morbid topic.
The tech expert shared the exact same sentiment. "According to this map, the Communications Center should be on the opposite side of this canyon, just straight ahead."
Martin's optimism returned upon hearing the news as he took off with a fast jog. "Then let's go!"
"Every second counts!"added Nick, joining him. The others soon followed.
Before long, the canyon walls were shrouded in thick fog, forcing the party to slow their pace. The only sounds heard were their footsteps and the ghostly whistling of the wind high above the rim.
The mist parted. The mathematician's face paled; he did not like what he saw. "God help us." Kelly clung close to her father's arms, eyes widened in horror.
"Mungu wangu,"murmured Laura, feeling a chill running down her spine. Sarah felt the same way. "Oh my god."
The Kratt Brothers were equally petrified. "Oh no,"
Eddie jolted back. "Yikes!"
They were standing in a flat, sandy area lined with high cliffs and boulders at the sides. The flat area stretched fifty yards from side to side and as far as they could see ahead. But that's not what amazed and horrified them so; everywhere, the sand was dotted with dinosaur skeletons. Some were huge sauropods, sixty feet from head to tail tip.
Others were smaller, herbivores of many different kinds, from duckbilled hadrosaurs to ceratopsians. The more intact skeletons laid on their sides, their ribcages arcs of pale bone. But just as many had been ripped apart, bits of petrified flesh tossed in every direction.
They had stumbled upon a dinosaur graveyard.
"Well that explains the spooky name." Martin chuckled nervously.
"I do not feel lucky."said Nick.
"Let's keep moving."urged the Kratt in green, taking the lead.
They marched on at a much slower pace, tiny figures moving among the mountainous skeletons by the light of the full moon.
"What would be the likelihood of this being like an elephant graveyard... but y'know, with dinosaurs?"asked the tech expert nervously. "That they would come here to die?"
The experienced ranger shook her head; she had seen these before. "That would be a myth. Elephants don't exactly seek out specific places to die. This is no graveyard. This is a killing field."
A moment of eerie silence.
"So uhhh... could a Velociraptor umm..."stammered Malcolm, glancing up at the gallery of colossal bones.
Martin shook his head, shooting down the mathematician's question before he even spoke it. "No. Not even a large pack of raptors could bring down sauropods."
"This is the work of something much bigger." Sarah added; under better, and much safer circumstances, the paleontologist would have liked to explore and investigate this area to identify the culprit.
"Yeah. I'd rather keep moving than to stay around and find out."said Chris cautiously; he had no desire for them to linger any longer than they needed to. This was dangerous territory. They had hardly made it three steps when the ground began to tremble. THUMP!
In the confines of the ravine, the sound seemed to come from all directions. But on an island full of giant dinosaurs, there could be no doubt that there was something approaching, and it was colossal.
THUMP! THUMP! Several more steps echoed across the canyon walls like muffled thunder, followed by a low baritone moan that seemed to rattle everyone's bones.
"Wait a minute, I know that call."murmured Martin, doing a double take.
THUMP! THUMP!
The tremors continued, dislodging rocks from the canyon walls above. Fortunately, the team took cover behind the surrounding skeletons and boulders in order to stay out of sight of whatever was coming their way, and to avoid being bombarded by falling stones.
Another ghostly wail could be heard, followed by more tremendous footfalls, coming much closer.
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of– Jesus Christ!" Nick practically jumped out of his skin as a hulking figure appeared out of the fog. The rest of his companions fared no better, crying out in alarm as they looked upwards.
Everyone quickly eased; despite its gargantuan size, this creature had no malicious intent.
"Holy cow."said Eddie, his eyes never leaving the colossus. This had to be the biggest dinosaur they had ever seen. Before their eyes was a truly gigantic sauropod dinosaur, similar in build to the apatosaurs they had met earlier, only bigger. Much, much bigger.
"Dreadnoughtus!" whispered the Kratt Brothers in awe of the colossus.
Nick looked to the two in confusion. "Dread-what us?"
"Dreadnoughtus."corrected Sarah, her eyes never leaving the giant. "A titanosaur, one of the largest animals ever to walk the earth. Literally means 'fears nothing'."
"He's ginormous."said Kelly.
"He's a she."the Kratt in blue remarked. "Male Dreadnoughtus grow much bigger."
"They get bigger?!"cried Eddie incredulously.
  Taking almost no notice of the diminutive creatures beneath her ponderous feet, the titanosaur trudged on, shaking the very earth with each step, seemingly undaunted by the morbid scenery around her. The colossus definitely seemed to live up to her name.
"Jasiri." Laura said in an almost half whisper. To her questioning companions, she answered, "Her name. It means brave."
Martin nodded in agreement. "I say let's follow Jasiri out of the canyon and straight to–" Suddenly, frantic shouts could be heard in the direction that the giant dinosaur had come. Peering closer into the gloom, they could make out a pair of minuscule shapes before two InGen mercenaries, lucky survivors of the raptor attack, appeared out of the fog, panting and sprinting for their lives.
"They're coming!"
Their shouts were soon drowned out by a savage roar that echoed throughout the canyon walls, shaking everyone's cores.
One of the hunters was trampled underfoot by a massive three-toed foot, while the terrified screams of the other were cut short as a cavernous set of jaws materialized out of the gloom, closing down on the doomed man with a resounding SNAP!
Without further warning, Jasiri cried out in pain as mouthful of blade-like teeth sank into her left flank. Kelly screamed in terror while the adults huddled protectively around her, looking on in horror at the surprising speed and ferocity of the attack. The perpetrator left before the larger dinosaur could retaliate, but not before ripping away a chunk of flesh off her thigh!
A resounding trumpet filled the canyon as Jasiri began to take flight, shaking the very earth beneath her.
"Everybody run!"
It was all the humans could do to avoid being crushed by the titanosaur's stomping feet as the colossus began to move away from the unseen threat lurking among the canyon walls, pulverizing any dry skeletons in her path.
"What was that?" Kelly inquired fearfully.
Not wanting to find out, Malcolm urged her on. "Keep running!"
Running beneath the titan's vast underbelly, the fleeing party were able to catch fleeting glimpses of some large carnivorous dinosaur against the featureless rocky walls, appearing and disappearing with the fog like some malevolent ghost. Fortunately for them, the predatory giant did not seem to notice the minuscule humans as it seemed intent on harrying the wounded sauropod. Dwarfed by the gigantic sauropod, the new dinosaur measured almost 40 feet from nose to tail, as large as a Tyrannosaurus, though not as bulky. Unlike tyrannosaurs however, this beast had rather short but powerful arms, tipped with three razor sharp claws on each hand. Its skull was long, low and narrow and had small, horn-like crests over its glassy eyes. But its most distinctive feature was the single ridge of tall spines that stretched like a sail down its neck and back, adorned with spikes.
Worst of all, there was more than one as another one of its kind thundered out of the gloom to overtake their colossal prey.
Unluckily for the team, it was the predator's companion who happened to glance in their direction.  The humans had to sidestep as the predatory behemoth snaked its head between Jasiri's legs, snapping its blood soaked jaws in an attempt to grab the smaller morsels hiding beneath their quarry. Salvation came however as the action startled the Dreadnoughtus who repelled the grotesque head with a powerful kick, forcing it away. The other had to duck in order to avoid the titanosaur's swinging tail.
The relentless predators harried the injured behemoth further and further along the canyon. "They're keeping their distance!"shouted Eddie, seeing all the action from the air. All of a sudden, the hulking locomotive came to a complete stop.
Malcolm did not like this one bit. "Why are we stopping why are we stopping?!" The mathematician's question was answered by a thundering roar just up ahead where a third carnivore, larger than the other two, was lying in wait!
The other two predators were not too far behind, blocking off any escape from the rear.
"It's a trap!"cried the tech expert.
They could see that the carnivore in the lead was missing his left eye, an old wound from a bygone fight. Safely beneath their living fortress of flesh, the travelers were able to get a good look at their antagonists.
"Umm... Sarah? Classification?"asked Malcolm, his eyes never leaving those marauding monsters surrounding them on two fronts, jaws salivating, teeth glistening like daggers.
"Ac–Acrocanthosaurus atokensis. Definitely carnivores."the paleontologist informed them nervously. She gulped as she added, "They hunt large sauropods."
"That explains the bones."said Nick dryly.
It was a standoff; eight minuscule humans huddled underneath an alarmed colossus, and three marauding predators standing between them and their way out.
They were trapped!
"What do we do now?"
Before either Kratt could answer, a savage roar erupted from the lead Acro who made his lunge, charging head on towards the sauropod!  The attack came from all sides as the other two spiny carnivores joined the melee, biting and tearing at her exposed flanks while inflicting deep wounds with their razor sharp claws. But despite the ferocity of these attacks, the Dreadnoughtus stood her ground, tail flickering and lashing to the sides, massive pillar-like legs creating tremors with each thundering stomp. It was all the humans could do to avoid being on the receiving end of her crushing feet.
All the while, the alpha tried to reach the giant's vulnerable neck, relentlessly snapping his jaws. Jasiri lifted her neck just out of reach of the Acro's snapping jaws before rearing back on her hind legs, virtually towering over her adversaries.
"Everybody watch out!"cried Martin.
The cowering humans had barely enough time to scramble out of the way as the living skyscraper brought her front legs back down to earth in a crashing –THOOM!
The Acros had also scattered to avoid being crushed underfoot. Luckily for the traveling party, they managed to escape by finding refuge among the boulders and cracks along the canyon walls. It was no longer safe to follow the titanosaur.
In her blind panic to get away from the predators, the retreating Dreadnoughtus slammed her right side against the canyon walls, which sent a shower of boulders tumbling to the ground. A pursuing Acro, the one-eyed leader, was stopped in his tracks as the flying stones made direct contact with his head, causing the beast to roar and groan in pain. He instinctively backed away to avoid another oncoming bombardment from above. The massive predator shook his head to relieve the pain, and by the time he had recovered, Jasiri was already gone, her ghostly wails and thundering footfalls slowly fading away. The Acrocanthosaurus filled the canyon with his howl of frustration.
The hunt had been a failure.
But it was far from over as the gargantuan carnivores began sniffing around the canyon, attempting to track down smaller, more elusive prey. But their movements had not gone unnoticed by dozens of cautious eyes peering from the darkness. Unseen by the predatory giants prowling along the canyon walls, the traveling party quickly and quietly regrouped.
"How are we gonna slip past these guys?"inquired Malcolm quietly, not wanting to speak any louder than necessary.
"If we're quiet, maybe we can sneak right past them–" but Chris never finished as his eyes were greeted by a grisly scene. Laying just ten yards away lied the body of an InGen mercenary who had likely jumped over the edge of escape death by bloodthirsty raptors. The mathematician quickly moved his daughter away from seeing the macabre sight while the two creature adventurers quickly moved in front of the group to do the same, though they were no less repulsed.
That was when the ground shook.
Nobody moved. Not a breath could be heard.
  One of the three Acrocanthosaurus appeared out of the fog, eyes glowing like bright coals, rows of teeth glistening like daggers, jaws salivating as it slowly approached the body. The theropod tentatively sniffed the carcass before plucking it with hardly any effort. The mercenary's remains were lifted skyward as the dinosaur threw back its head, his prize quickly vanishing in a single gulp. The Acro was soon joined by the two larger predators, likely its parents. Any hope of making it past these monsters was soon dashed as they turned their heads, their malicious gaze aimed straight towards them! The beasts had a taste of human flesh and they now saw the strange, minuscule two-legged creatures as prey!
And in this situation, as the predators made their slow and deadly advance, there was only one thing for prey to do.
"Run!"
Upon the realization that they were being hunted, the eight survivors bolted (or in Eddie's case, flew) in a desperate bid to outrun the seemingly ponderous monsters thundering at their heels. But being lighter built than the tyrannosaurs also made the high-spined carnivores much faster; they quickly caught up to their potential prey. One of them, the subadult, had its sights on a particular quarry: an airborne straggler hovering like some insect at just the right biting height!
"Eddie watch out!"
The technician reacted too late as the charging Acro latched its teeth onto the Insecto-Copter, effectively disabling the contraption and sending the helpless man falling nearly two stories to the ground.
"Eddie!"
There was nothing that could be done for the doomed tech expert as he disappeared out of sight among the dried bones, surely now at the mercy of the ravenous Acro who lowered his head with open jaws. Eddie Carr's high pitched screams were drowned out by the growls of the voracious flesh eaters, the last thing anyone saw was the Insecto-Copter clenched in one of the monsters' teeth, being shredded and torn apart as effortlessly as if it was paper. But there was no time to mourn as one of the larger predators released a thundering roar that echoed throughout the canyon. Joined by his mate, the two beasts began to once again give chase!
The one-eyed male's first strike was directed into the thick of the group.
"Incoming!" But the humans sidestepped and scattered at the last moment, that the Acro's teeth caught nothing but empty air. In the ensuing chaos, Laura barely managed to crawl inside a small cavern, no more than a shallow crack in the canyon wall. It was hardly big enough for her, yet it was just small enough to prevent the Acro's massive jaws from coming in. The dinosaur tried to have another go, but that was when Laura thrust her shotel sword into the open jaws of the beast, drawing blood from the roof of the mouth.
As the predator drew back, howling in pain, the ranger noticed something at her feet.
Martin was about to transform into his T-rex form when– "Martin, watch out!"  The Kratt in Blue had just enough time to dodge a jaw snap that would have bitten him in two, but it also forced him to drop the tyrannosaur tooth among the ruble.
With their backs against the walls, the entire team was trapped by the trio of Acrocanthosaurs, jaws salivating, teeth gleaming like knives. And there was nowhere to run.
HISS!
Suddenly the darkness of the canyon was illuminated by a blazing red light, drawing the Acrocanthosaurs' attention. Martin and Chris gasped in horror as they saw Laura holding out a distress flare from a fallen mercenary.
"Laura, what are you doing?!"cried Chris.
"Go!"shouted the ranger, waving the blazing flare. "Get outta here! I'll lead them away!" As the three predators began to close in, Laura moved further and further away from the team. With her free hand, the African ranger hurled one of her Hunga Munga blades with all of her strength, aiming for the canyon wall. The axe struck home where it abruptly caused a crumbling rockslide, effectively creating a wall of rocks and boulders separating her teammates from the Acros. But effectively trapping her with the voracious predators.
Soon the dust settled, and the roars of the Acrocanthosaurs grew fainter and fainter from the other side of the rubble.
"Laura no!"cried Martin, racing towards the divide, tears threatening to burst from his eyes. First Amber, then Eddie, now Laura, he thought despairingly as his legs buckled, no longer able to support his weight as he fell to his knees, deaf to the shouts and protests of those that remained.
When the tears no longer fell, the older Kratt glanced down to see Wrecksy's tooth laying at his feet. His eyes narrowed in newfound determination. No! "I'm not losing anyone else on this island!" With that solid declaration, the Kratt in blue raced to the landslide where he furiously climbed over the towering pile of debris, climbing as he had never climbed before.
"Martin! Where are you going?!"asked Chris, running after him.
"I'm going to save Laura!" Martin shouted, barely looking over his shoulder. "If I don't come back soon, just go ahead without me!"
"But bro–"
"Just go!" It was too late to stop Martin as he was already climbing his way over the rubble.
Just as he was about to go after his grief stricken brother, Chris felt himself being pulled away by Malcolm and Nick. "You heard him, let's get the hell outta here!"
The Kratt in green reluctantly conceded as he led the survivors out of the canyon. But not before taking one more look over his shoulder. Martin, he thought. Be careful out there...
Deep within the Valley of Death, Laura was running for her life. A loud, terrifying roar caused her to look over her shoulder. As she did so, her blue eyes were greeted by open jaws lined with rows of blade like teeth. Laura ducked her head just in time to avoid a jaw snap that would have taken her head, but lost her footing in the process. She rolled out of the way to avoid being trampled underfoot or snapped up in rending fangs. Another set of jaws had nearly succeeded in snapping her up had it not been for the uncoordinated interruption made by a second Acro that inadvertently slammed into the first one, to the ire of its companion.
The two giants clashed, she kept running.
  The ranger led her pursuers to the boneyard, where the area was littered with the skeletons of long dead sauropods. She looked over her shoulder, then wished she hadn't; the Acros were gaining ground, jaws salivating, their teeth glistening like daggers. Laura ran through the maze of sauropod ribs jutting out of the ground like a morbid picket fence. She dared not look back as she urged herself to keep running, heart racing, gasping for breath. Behind her, 6 tons of rampaging Acrocanthosaurus came barreling down on her, smashing through dried ribs that crumbled into white dust.
Blinded by the combination of fear and adrenaline, it was instinct that led the ranger to take refuge within the rib cage of a particularly massive sauropod that had died against the rocky walls of the canyon, the hollow cavity large enough to house an elephant. The spacing between the rib bones was wide enough for Laura to slip inside the chest cavity with little difficulty. And not a moment too soon as a bloodcurdling roar heralded the arrival of the Acrocanthosaurus. The monster never lost momentum as he collided against the cage, forcing his prey to duck and cover to avoid white splinters of bone.
The fallen titan's skeleton prevented the beasts from reaching inside. But the barricade will not hold for much longer.
She yelled from the top of her lungs, trying to urge the monster into leaving. "Go away! I'm too small to make much of a meal!"
But unlike lions, these monsters were not deterred by her shouts. If the ranger was being honest with herself, she didn't even have a solid plan; her only concern was to lead these monsters away from her team and buying them precious time. And now, there was no way out.
One of the Acrocanthosaurs, the large one-eyed male, tried to force his salivating jaws in between the spacing of two ribs. Shotel blade in hand, Laura managed to slash the dinosaur on the nose, forcing him back, but she was only fighting the inevitable and she knew it.
  The beast cried out in pain, surprised by the fight in this tiny morsel. But the Acro was no more wounded than a dog scratched by an angry cat, and the stinging scratch only served to make him angrier as he renewed his vigor. The others soon followed, one slamming against the barricade while the other used its powerful jaws to slowly gnaw away the bars rib by rib.
They should all be out of this hellhole by now, the ranger thought, thinking of the friends she had left behind. Not everyone had made it, but she had at least kept part of her promise to keep them safe. That was more than enough for her.
  Time seemed to slow down as the Acros continued their assault on the bone fortress, sending splinters flying with each impact. As she got ready for what she knew would be her last fight, Laura thought back to the day she and her family received the tragic news of Muldoon's demise. The young woman had just completed her training and was ready to join the ranks of Africa's wildlife rangers; it had been her lifelong dream since she was a girl. She couldn't wait to inform her uncle, her friend, and mentor, of the exciting news; he had been away in Costa Rica for reasons unknown. Ecstatic, the usually reserved game warden had promised to return to Kenya on New Year's for a family get-together to celebrate his beloved niece's accomplishments.
He never came home.
It was months later that men in suits from InGen came to bring her family the terrible news; Robert Muldoon had died in a work related accident. The young ranger was devastated. Outraged, the family filed a lawsuit against InGen for $12.6 million, but Laura herself was not involved. None of that mattered; no money in the world could ever bring her uncle back. Since that tragic day, she spent nearly all of her time patrolling the African bush where she felt most at home, where she found an escape from her grief in doing the one thing that she loved. The pain subsided, dulled, but it never truly went away. Then, as fate would have it, she had met the Wild Kratts team, and especially Martin, the quirky but lovable creature adventurer who had been a ray of sunshine in the time she had gotten to know him.
Jitunze, Martin, she thought to herself. Take care of yourself and keep the others safe. I'm sorry.
Laura was abruptly brought back to the grim reality of the hot breath and flashing teeth of the alpha male snaking his massive head through the breach in the cage, snapping jaws now poised to snatch his prize.
Laura took a deep breath, accepting her fate. She had at least lived a good life, as brief as it was. I'll be seeing you soon, Uncle... she thought, gripping her sword tight, feeling the beast's putrid hot breath assaulting her senses, teeth glistening like daggers. If she died, she would at least take this beast down with her.
The Acrocanthosaurus lunged forward, but that was when a flash of blue slammed into the carnivore's right side with the force of a runaway freight train. The Acro was sent tumbling into a wreckage of old bones that smashed and splintered on impact.
Not far behind, the other predators held back, growling and rumbling their displeasure at the much bigger interloper in their midst; a blue Tyrannosaurus rex who snapped his teeth, blue eyes narrowed as he stood between them and their prey.
"Laura!" Martin's voice boomed, almost as though he was shouting within a train tunnel. Her scent was strong in this corner and he hoped that he wasn't too late. The sound of her name brought the ranger back to her senses. "Where are you?!"
"Martin!" To the relief of the Kratt in blue, Laura's tiny voice could be heard within the bone cage. But his joy would have to wait; The recovering Acrocanthosaurs, the leader especially, were none too pleased to have another apex predator in the heart of their territory, and they made their hostility and aggression known, flashing their fangs and roaring their ire.
The blue tyrannosaur growled; it was time to put his three-toed foot down. "Look, I know that this is your territory and not mine, but let me just take my friend here, and then I'm gonna leave."
  Almost simultaneously, the other Acros rushed in with open jaws. "Alright. You asked for it!"
Martin stood his ground as he readied himself for the inevitable clash. "Sorry in ADVANCE!" He met their charge, ramming the first Acro directly in the stomach, swinging his powerful tail straight into the face of another, before slamming it down on the last one with full force to the ground. The first theropod, the big one-eyed alpha, was quick to recover, the pupil of his remaining eye narrowing into a slit as he snarled angrily, flashing his fangs threateningly.
The blue Rex growled back. "Back off, Davy Bones!"
  But the ravenous Acros refused to yield. They quickly regrouped and began to circle their enemy. Martin had strength and power on his side, but unfortunately for the blue tyrannosaur, he was severely outnumbered, and his adversaries had the advantage of ground.
From the safety of her bone cage, Laura could only watch in dread as the fight continued; reasoning had told her to stay where she was, as stepping in to interfere would only bring disastrous consequences. But she knew that the longer it progressed, the more at peril Martin would be, and this Davy Bones, despite his apparent handicap (and the goofy name), was a formidable fighter, able to go toe to toe with the T-rex while his mate and near grown son skirted the edges, testing for weakness. And unlike Martin, these predators had every intention to kill. This did not look good.
The blue tyrannosaur had just swatted away the subadult with a swipe of his tail when the female Acro lunged forward, sinking her teeth into her enemy's snout. "Yowwch!" yelped Martin, shaking his head as he struggled to break free, fighting through the pain. "Right on the sneezer!"
He finally managed to shove his adversary aside only to be greeted with a face full of razor sharp claws.
"Martin watch out!"
The warning came too late as Davy Bones clamped his jaws on Martin's right ankle, earning a howl of pain from the blue rex. The other two quickly moved in to subdue the rex under the weight of their bodies, all the while biting, slashing, and tearing at their rival.
  As if her feet moved on their own accord, Laura raced out of her skeletal barricade, rushing toward the fray. If something wasn't done soon, the Acros would eat Martin, and then kill him.
The male Acrocanthosaurus loomed over the downed Martin, fangs flashing as he prepared to land the killing blow. Just as the beast made his lunge, a quick flash of metallic gray flew across the canyon and embedded itself into Davy Bones' snout. The Acrocanthosaur's roar of pain filled the canyon with thunder. That was the lucky break that Martin Rex needed; the blue Tyrannosaurus summoned all of his strength to break free, ramming the injured Acro in the chest and sending him back five yards. The other two long-spined carnivores were forced back as Laura's shotel blade was slicing and nipping at their heels, hissing and growling their displeasure as they stomped away from the ankle biting pest.
Suddenly the ranger found herself literally swept off her feet by a careless tail sweep, resulting in her falling flat on her back. The frightening sight that greeted her were the open jaws of Davy Bones himself descending upon her!
  Thinking fast, the African ranger wedged her staff between the monster's gaping jaws, effectively preventing them from clamping down on her and disabling a critical weapon in its arsenal. The disarmed Acro violently shook her head to rid herself of the wooden handicap, allowing Laura to roll out of the way just in time to evade a heavy three-toed foot crashing to the ground in a THOOM!
The Acrocanthosaurus roared as he snapped the stick like a dry leg bone. Laura's heart sank seeing her favorite staff reduced to matchwood, but she quickly banished of those thoughts; better a broken staff than a broken body. Martin was quick to protect her from any further attacks, pushing the beast away with a forceful shove of his head.
"Don't leave my side."he said, more serious than she had ever thought him capable of being. "This is their turf. They have the home field advantage." The blue Rex stood tall, but the ranger could see that he was beginning to falter, visibly gasping for breath.
There had to be a way to end the fight.
Laura assessed their options. They were badly outnumbered and cornered. Both of her Hunga Munga axes were missing, her staff was chewed to splinters, leaving her with only her shotel sword which was little more than a bee sting to these giants. Above her, Martin's eyes narrowed at his opponents, but a tumbling rock was all that was needed to break his steely focus as it landed on his snout, no more than a light bump!
"Huh?" The blue Tyrannosaurus turned his attention upward, above the rim of the canyon, surely where the loose stone came from. His eyes widened, his teeth flashing in a grin as his human brain hatched an idea. I got it!
"Laura."he said at last, catching her eye. "I have an idea. Do you trust me?"
The African ranger nodded without question. The blue theropod never took his eyes off the Acros, never moved a muscle, even as they abandoned caution and moved in for the kill. Time seemed to slow down as all three theropods came rushing at them with open jaws! This was the moment that Martin had been waiting for.
"Get ready to run! Deactivate!"
The moment he changed back to human form, Martin grabbed Laura by the hand and took off faster than he ever had in his life, the ranger along for the ride. With their focus solely on the blue T-rex, the Acros were completely oblivious to the tiny humans who ran under their feet, and in their blind rush, as well as the blinding flash of blue light, they simultaneously crashed headlong into the canyon wall.
The force of the impact sent vibrations rippling throughout the wall. It started out as a ripple that grew into a swell, and from a swell to a roaring wave as the cliffside emitted a low rumbling groan that seemed to be heard all across the canyon and shake the very earth. That was when the wall came crumbling down. While the two humans quickly ran for cover, the high-spined carnivores were left roaring in panic as torrents of cascading rock came barreling down upon them. But the roaring earth drowned out their cries of terror. There was no escape as they found themselves submerged in an avalanche of rocks and debris that overtook them.
Soon the roar of the landslide subsided and the canyon was filled with a thick cloud of dust that made breathing difficult. Once the dust cleared, where the Acrocanthosaurus stood was now a heaping pile of rubble.
For what felt like an eternity, silence reigned... until it was completely shattered by a raging bellow as Davy Bones emerged out of the heap of rubble in an explosion of stone and debris. The rest of his pack followed soon afterward, shaking their heads to relieve themselves of the dust and grit before all three sets of eyes looked to where Martin loomed over them, once again in his T-rex Power suit. For over half a minute, the three predators just stood there, gazing at the blue Tyrannosaurus as well as the tiny bipedal mammal standing under him, gazing with sheer malice.
Martin narrowed his eyes, a deep growl rumbling from his throat. Go ahead, it said. I dare you.
Defeated, the Acrocanthosaurs decided to cut their losses and retreat into the rocky labyrinths; no meal was worth this much trouble.
As soon as he was certain the Acros were gone, Martin deactivated, returning to his proper form, where he fell to his knees, gasping and panting from the exertion.
In that moment, Laura ran up to him, falling on her knees and throwing her arms around his neck in a tight embrace.
"You came back."she said, her voice thick with emotion. The Kratt in blue smiled, his eyes closed as he returned the embrace, only too happy that she was safe.
"I wasn't going to leave this island without you,"he replied. Once they parted, Laura got up and offered him her hand which he gratefully accepted, pulling him back to feet. But they still stood close to each other, the ranger resting her head against the creature adventurer's chest as she released a cascade of tears flowing freely from her eyes.
"I thought I'd never see you again."she said earnestly.
"Well get used to seeing me, because I wanna keep seeing you."he replied with as much honesty.
"Thanks for watching my back."
"Well your back's really easy to watch, my African warrior goddess–" the Kratt in blue quickly jolted back as he covered his mouth upon realizing what he had said, his face almost beet red in embarrassment. Laura giggled before pulling him by his shirt collar, planting her lips against his, causing Martin's eyes to widen in shock. He then relaxed and returned her affections. For a brief moment, time seemed to lose all meaning. It seemed that nothing could ruin this moment, not the foreboding scenery nor the wailing of distant monsters.
"Wow." Martin whispered, breathless. Laura giggled.
"You're my hero."she said.
"Or a complete majinuni."he chuckled.
"Am I interrupting something?" The pair jolted upon hearing the familiar voice somewhere within the rubble.
The two exchanged puzzled glances; they knew that voice. It couldn't be. Could it?
"Eddie?"the Kratt in blue asked. "Where are you?"
"Down here!"the tech expert's voice echoed, as if calling down from a well. "Follow the sound of my voice!"
The pair did so, until their search had led them to a fresh sinkhole carved into the earth. Peering down, their astonished eyes were greeted by the sight of Eddie Carr, dusty and battered, but alive and well... for the most part. The hole had been too narrow for his attacker to reach.
Martin couldn't believe it. "Eddie! You're alright!"
"We thought you had fallen!"said a skeptical Laura, but happy nonetheless that their teammate had miraculously survived.
"I did. Right into a hole in the ground!" There was a loud cough at the end of that sentence.
"Are you okay down there?" Martin called down. Laura rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to facepalm. She did manage to cast him a look that said, Really? He gulped.
"Oh I'm fantastic, nothing but gumdrops and ice cream down here..." came the sardonic reply. "Now get me outta here!"
"You got it!"replied Martin, tossing a rope down into the hole for Eddie to grab.
"Umm Laura?"asked the Kratt in blue, grunting all the while hauling Eddie up to the surface. "Once all this is over, would you like to umm... y'know, go out sometime? Just you and me?"
The ranger pretended to give it some thought. Then, she smiled. "Y'know what? Ningependa."she said, planting a sweet kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush. "I'd love to."she whispered to his ear in English.
Once they finally had him on terra firma, Martin and Laura carried the injured technician between their shoulders.
"Thank you, guys again, for saving my life."panted the technician who was more than grateful to be alive against the odds. "I-I don't know how I can ever thank you,"
"Friends carry no debts."said Laura.
Martin chimed in, "Yeah, don't mention it. Now c'mon! Let's go catch up with the others!"
At the end of the canyon, the rest of the team waited on a series of rocks and boulders under the leafy canopy of the forest. Chris stood some distance away from the others. He had lost count of how long he had been pacing around anxiously in a circle when–
"Chris!" The Kratt in green immediately halted, glancing up. For the first time in a long while, he smiled.
"They're back!"he cried joyfully. When he did a second take, the Kratt in green was astonished. He couldn't believe his own eyes. "And they've got Eddie!"
Everyone was immediately on their feet in that instant and raced to greet the returning trio.
"You guys made it!"
"Was there ever any doubt?" Martin replied with a smug grin on his face.
"Eddie, are you okay?"asked a worried Sarah as she neared the trio. Eddie was still carried between Martin and Laura's shoulders.
"I'll live."he replied, wincing every now and then. Nick and Ian quickly moved in to relieve the technician's rescuers and nestled him between their own shoulders. The paleontologist's worry hadn't gone away. "We really need to get you to a doctor."
"What about the Acros?"asked Kelly, casting frightened eyes back toward the canyon. "We should get out of here before they come back!"
"Oh don't worry about them." Martin replied smugly. "They ain't coming back."
"Martin scared them off."added Laura, leaning against the Kratt in blue's chest, causing him to blush.
The girl giggled knowingly; it was about time those two got together. Sarah noticed too and smiled, but she decided to drop it; she'll probably find out more about the details later, whenever they get off this island.
When Chris' sharp eyes saw the exchange, they widened, his jaw dropped in a silent gasp as he put tow and two together. He gave a laugh of pure delight throwing his arms around his big brother.
"I'm happy for you, bro!"
"Martin, you sly dog." Malcolm chuckled. What could he say? Chaos theory applied in love as well. Anything at all can and does happen after all.
"Congratulations, Martin." Nick complimented, clapping the Kratt in blue on the shoulder before he whispered, "She's a keeper. I'll take it from here,"
  After Nick had insisted on carrying Eddie on his back, it was time to move on.
As the traveling party moved farther away from the Valley of Death, rocky terrain gradually gave way to scrub forest carpeted with moss and ferns. The change in scenery made travel a lot easier and they were making good progress. Further on, Malcolm looked up, noticing the bony shapes around them, which fell in heavy shadows like cell bars, seemed to be changing. Chris turned, and his flashlight shined on the bones. But they were not bones anymore at all, they were pipes. The animal graveyard now given over to the lifeless skeletons of manmade objects– twisted, rotting machinery. The Kratt in green hurried over a small rise where–
"Look, there it is!"
All eyes looked to where he pointed. In the distance, at the far end of the streambed, they could see the skeletal remains of the workers village looming in the moonlight.
They did it. They had finally reached their destination.
"This isn't gonna be easy." Ian told everyone frankly. "You up for it?"
Sarah was first to answer. "I'm ready."
Nick van Owen was next. "Absolutely."
"You bet."said Kelly.
"Aye aye."added Eddie.
"Totally."chimed Martin.
"No objections." Chris replied.
"Ndiyo."said Laura, her fingers intertwined with those of Martin.
The reluctant leader nodded. "Alright. Now let's get off this island and end this nightmare."
Without another word they started running again, tiny figures moving among the mountainous skeletons and withered ruins by the light of the full moon.
****Meanwhile....****
Peter Ludlow fearfully crawled out from out of the life pod in which he took shelter during the T-rex attack. Zach Varmitech had designed the secure unit, which heavily resembled a coffin covered in spikes, equipped with a first aid kit and breathing apparatus. The container was heavily reinforced to repel even the powerful jaws of a Tyrannosaurus rex. It had more than served its purpose, though he was still a little shaken up. He got to his feet, looking around in horror at the devastation. It looked as though a tornado had struck the camp. The InGen CEO absentmindedly pressed a button on the life pod, causing the contraption to disassemble until it was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.
He turned to his right and stopped, freezing in his tracks. His jaws dropped open, his eyes widened like saucers— and then he smiled, an enormous, delighted, Christmas-morning grin. He walked forward, slowly, toward the victorious hunter kneeling over his quarry. But the heavy labored breathing betrayed the fact that Roland's trophy was very much alive, but completely immobilized.
Ludlow's grin never left, spreading like fungus across his face as he thought about the possibilities. They were back in business.

**** I'm back! Sorry for the delay, life in the outside world's been getting hectic, not to mention its not easy to create an original chapter from scratch. Takes quite a heck lot of brainstorming and most of the time, I was making it up as I went along. The original movie had a muddy slide. My version? A perilous canyon of death inhabited by Acrocanthosaurs, sauropod hunters, which also explains the presence of giant skeletons littering the place. The Acrocanthosaurus was an idea from my good friend Dino Digger, formerly known as LionKingAlex.
And no, this has got nothing to do with the 'Giganotosaurus' from Jurassic World Dominion, of which I'm not at all a fan. Ugly thing. I like JW and all, but lately it's like they get their dinosaur facts from a cereal box, and putting a whole bunch of dinosaurs from different places and different time periods in the prologue? They literally threw accuracy out the window there. But maybe I'm just biased towards the 90's dinosaur designs. Speaking of which, in other news, I got my hands on Jurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History book! It's a fantastic read about the history of the JP production, and so many cool images and never before seen concept art! How I wished this was available while I was writing the first JK and I highly recommend it. We're entering familiar territory once again, so hopefully (hopefully) it won't take long for the next chapter. See y'all on the creature trail!