Chapter 13 - saving Eric and underwater attack!

The aviary was a symphony of chaos and screaming wind.The massive Pteranodon lunged through the blinding white fog, its thirty-foot wingspan snapping open like the dark sails of a pirate ship. Before Dr. Alan Grant could swing his iron pipe, the creature's massive, clawed feet slammed into the rusted suspension cables of the bridge.The force of the impact buckled the iron walkway. Dr. Grant and Billy Brennan were thrown violently against the guardrails, while Amanda Kirby let out a shrill scream as she lost her footing.The flying predator was terrifyingly efficient. It ignored the adults. Its golden eyes, locked with red pupils, focused solely on the small, manageable weight of the twelve-year-old boy. With a sudden, lightning-fast dive, its large, tooth-lined beak clamped down on the collar of Eric's jacket."Eric!" Amanda screamed, lunging forward, but her fingers grazed nothing but empty air.With a powerful, deafening downbeat of its leathery wings, the Pteranodon lifted the boy off the bridge and soared upward, vanishing instantly into the thick fog of the canyon."Billy, we need to go! Now!" Alan roared, pushing himself to his feet.The two men didn't hesitate. They abandoned the shaking suspension bridge and scrambled across the lower catwalks, guided only by the terrifying, high-pitched shrieks echoing through the mist above them. They climbed the sheer rock face, pulling themselves up on rusted service ladders until they reached the edge of the high, cliffside nesting grounds.Through a break in the fog, they saw him. Eric had been dropped into a massive, bowl-shaped nest of woven branches, surrounded by a dozen smaller, hungry Pteranodon hatchlings. The adult was circling above, letting out territorial shrieks to ward off other flyers.Billy Brennan looked at the sheer drop beneath them, then back at the nest. "Dr. Grant, I'm going in."Before Alan could stop him, Billy unclipped his parasail gear and leaped off the cliff face. The canopy snapped open with a loud crack, and the young paleontologist glided directly through the center of the nesting grounds. He scooped Eric out of the nest in a perfectly timed, daring swoop, carrying the boy away from the snapping beaks of the hatchlings.The adult Pteranodons screeched in fury, diving after them. Billy managed to steer the parasail down toward a lower, safer riverbank at the very bottom of the gorge before the alpha flyer punctured the fabric of his canopy. Billy crashed hard into the water, letting go of Eric just in time for the boy to scramble safely onto the shore.Alan and Amanda, having scrambled down the steep maintenance stairs, burst out of the lower aviary doors and met them on the riverbank. Billy was battered and bruised, but alive."We need to move!" Alan panted, helping Billy to his feet. "This whole place is a hunting ground!"They didn't stay to catch their breath. They ran down the muddy riverbank until they reached a small, decaying wooden dock. Bobbing in the shallow water was a rusted, flat-bottomed InGen barge, its keys miraculously still in the ignition.They scrambled onto the vessel. Alan Grant yanked the ignition cable. The old diesel engine sputtered, coughed, and roared to life with a heavy, rhythmic chugging sound."We're going to make it," Amanda whispered, clutching Eric tightly as the boat pulled away from the dock and began to navigate the deep, slow-moving river toward the coast.But their relief was short-lived.The river was deep, dark, and bordered on both sides by thick, impenetrable walls of giant ferns. The fog sat heavy on the water's surface, making it impossible to see more than a few yards ahead.Suddenly, the chugging of the boat's engine was accompanied by a new, terrifying sound.Whoosh.A massive, serrated shape broke the calm surface of the water thirty feet behind the barge.It was a tall, fan-like structure of bone and skin, marked by a thick, jagged scar. It cut through the dark water like the fin of a colossal, prehistoric shark, leaving a massive wake behind it."Oh my God," Billy whispered, pointing a trembling finger at the water. "It's him. It followed us."Isaiah—Asset 87—was in his element. As a modified Spinosaurus hybrid, he was perfectly adapted for the water. His nostrils were positioned high on his long snout, allowing him to breathe while remaining almost entirely submerged. His massive, webbed feet propelled his multi-ton frame through the water with terrifying speed.The jagged sail poked out of the water, flushing a deep, warning red as it sliced through the waves toward the boat.Isaiah didn't roar. He swam in absolute, chilling silence."Alan, go faster!" Amanda screamed.Alan Grant pushed the throttle lever all the way forward, but the old diesel engine groaned and smoked, unable to outpace the raw, biological power of the monster in the water.Isaiah lunged.The dark surface of the river exploded as his massive, forty-foot body breached the water right behind the boat. His glowing amber eyes locked onto the survivors, and his elongated jaws opened wide, ready to drag them all down into the dark abyss.