It was a serene Sunday morning on Matanceros Island. The distant calls of Lonely Jack, the twelve-foot-tall Deinocheirus, echoed across the landscape. Its striking blue face and feathered body made it a remarkable sight in the swamp enclosure, miles away from Sorkin's research hut.
Inside the hut, Laura's attention was grabbed by a headline flashing on the news:
YACHT CAUSES PANIC IN PLAYA NEGRA AFTER A GROUP OF TOURISTS IS FOUND DEAD INSIDE. UNKNOWN LIZARD IS PRESUMED TO HAVE CAUSED THE ACCIDENT.
She frowned. Her spoon dropped into her cereal bowl as she saw the headline, splashing milk on the table. "What could it be?" She wondered. She knew where Playa Negra was located. This increased her concerns. "An unknown lizard?" That sounded familiar… "this can't be", she muttered, increasingly concerned, "they were confined to the island."
Abandoning her breakfast, she dashed to her room, snatching her lab coat and leaving the hut, surrounded by a dense jungle. She walked along a gravel path, and then stopped right at the entrance of a silver building. A majestic laboratory built by InGen when her team was sent to Matanceros. Hammond had spared no expense, in fact, in his own words "that was a humble lab for a bunch of mediocre scientists." But for them, it was the chance of their lives, the opportunity to do their own research without any limitations, and they took it.
She knocked at the entrance of the tall building. The door was made of stone, decorated with ammonites, small fish and a Lariosaurus fossil right in the middle.
"Richards open up!" She yelled, "we need to talk!"
A minute passed, and a six foot thirty-two-year-old guy swung open the door. Isaac Richards, the only scientist in Matanceros after Laura. He had recently joined her team, but his skills balanced the craziness and stubbornness that characterized his personality.
"Is it about the news?" He asked in a hurried tone, already anticipating the answer.
She looked at him noticing surprised face. "Correct. We're doomed, and the others are enjoying their vacations, so we have to solve this together" she replied, walking up a low staircase.
He nodded. "I know." He agreed. "It's everywhere in the local news. Come in." He said before closing the door.
As she walked in, he kept talking. "Look, we need to tell the Costa Rican authorities to hunt that dinosaur, we can't let it roam freely in the mainland." He said, moving his hands as he spoke. "That'd be a disaster!" He added with a big, faked smile, scratching his beard. He looked like he had just got out of bed, with his brunette and white hair all messed.
"We first need to confirm if that lizard is a dinosaur."
Richards' face shifted to a more serious expression. "I know" He murmured. Then, his face lit up with another smile, an idea crossing his mind. "What if we looked at the security footage from the island's cameras?" He added as he rushed to open his laptop.
"Forget it, they reset the passwords." Sorkin's disappointment was palpable. "The only way we could see the security footage is by going to the island ourselves…" She paused to then add, "and I won't set foot on that island ever again."
Richards closed his laptop and took his hat off. "Maybe you won't, but I..."
"Are you out of your mind?" She interrupted. "It's too dangerous, Isaac. We both know what's in there… I won't let you go to."
"Listen, it could be risky if people knew what's in that island. We can't let the public know about the incident, or the dinosaurs even. Besides, I already survived to that island one time. I'm sure I can survive once more." He inquired. "Look. We need to find out what that lizard is…" he paused and thought what he'd say next. "And if you don't want to go, I'll respect your decision, but I also want you do the same." He added in a careless tone, as he put his hat on. "So, expect me to come back tomorrow." He then took his keys and walked to the door.
Sorkin looked at him, severely. "The government was supposed to restrict the island after napalming it. For some reason, they didn't even go near it."
With a sad expression, he stopped and looked at her. "I'm sure that if they had restricted the zone, these kids would still be around."
"Isaac. Even if it was restricted, those kids would've gone there, in case they did." She replied. "Besides, how can we be so sure that they went there? We don't have evidence to assume they visited the island, and they even got out of there alive, that's something not anybody can do without losing a hand."
Richards stepped forward and leaned closer to her, showing both of his hands with a big smile, to which Laura rolled her eyes. He then grabbed her shoulder and looked at her. "First scene," he raised his index, "some rich boys go on vacation on a private yacht off the west coast of Costa Rica, the curtain closes." Sorkin frowned. "Second scene," he said raising his middle finger, "the yacht crashes into a beach that is close to the island, and an unknown lizard is suspect of killing two young men and a young lady." Laura stepped back, but he took another step forward, "the curtain closes." He paused for a second. She looked at him in disgust. He looked at the door. His theatricality didn't match the gravity of his words. "Third scene!" He yelled, "the mad scientist goes to the island to find out what that damned lizard is! The curtain closes once again. What's the name of the show?" He asked.
Laura, with a mix of disgust and concern, asked, "err, what is it?"
He looked directly to her eyes with a smile on his face, and pointing with his index finger, "that's enough evidence to affirm that they visited the abandoned installations. Welcome to the Nightmare Season!" He exclaimed.
"It's not! Richards, it's not a joke" she snapped; her frustration was evident. "You're out of your mind! If you go to that island, I swear I'm going to erase you from all our systems and restrict your access to our database."
He calmed down and sat on the sofa, crossing his legs. "The thing is, Laura, if that lizard is a dinosaur, we'd be facing a major problem. Dinosaurs can't be in mainland. They belong to that island. At least InGen's dinosaurs do." He said in a peaceful tone. "Even if we managed to identify the reptile, we can't be sure if we'll ever catch it in the vast coastal forest of the country."
He took a glass of water, and looking at it, without raising his eyes, he continued. "Remember what that crazy mathematician said?"
"Who?"
"Dr. Malcolm." He replied.
"You know I wasn't there when the park incident occurred." She explained.
"He said that dinosaurs were escaping the island."
Her surprise was evident. "That's impossible, Wu made sure the animals couldn't survive the real world, he would call it the 'Lysine Contingency Protocol'. And, of course, that was one of the reasons I stepped out of his immoral team."
"That's not the point." He replied, offended. "The thing is, if dinosaurs were getting off the island while the park was running. Now that it's abandoned…" he paused.
"Do you think that…?"
He nodded. "Yes, I think they're escaping now that there's no one controlling them." He pressed.
With determination, she grabbed the phone and dialed the Costa Rican government.
"Woah, what are you doing?" He asked.
"I'll make them restrict the island immediately."
"Good luck. The last time we tried to convince them to restrict InGen's properties, they said it was pointless. And for the record, I'm still going there." He grinned.
"Look, we'll discuss that later. Right now, it's important to get that place restricted."
A dim voice came from the phone, "InGen's head executives told us to napalm the island, but their reason was too stupid to be taken seriously. Also, the procedure is too expensive."
She looked at Richards, who was drinking a cup of tea as he watched the news. "Right. That's not the point. You have to restrict the island." She added.
"You know that we can't just restrict the area without evaluating it first."
"Yes, I know…"
"And the place lacks further security measures as you may know." The man continued.
"Oh, of course, I kno…"
"Which means that we'll have to send a team to evaluate the place." He interrupted.
"Of cour- wait, what?" She exclaimed, alarmed. "The island should've been listed as a restricted area right after the incident, sir."
"Ma'am, we don't think a wildfire is enough to restrict the island." The man added, "that's why we agreed to not explode it."
"Sir, that incident wasn't just an electricity malfunction."
"Then what was it?"
She paused, trying to come up with a convincing explanation, but nothing came to her mind.
"That's it, if you won't tell me 'What really happened there', I'll have to hang up. I have more important calls to attend right now."
"No, wait." Before she could speak, the man hung up, leaving her with a hopeless expression.
Richards was staring at Laura while she argued on the phone. Even when the situation was serious, he couldn't keep a straight face. For him, it was funny to see the faces she made while trying to convince the local authorities to give the situation any importance without having to bring up the dinosaurs.
"So?" He asked with a smile, "what'd they say?"
"Nothing can be done for now. He said that they'll send an investigation team to the island", she announced, her voice defeated.
He grinned and looked at her with a mocking face. "Oh, that's cute, they have zero idea of what's awaiting them in that place. I told you they wouldn't listen, they never do", he chuckled.
"It's not funny, their lives are at stake." She said firmly.
"It's funny because they won't listen." He then changed his leg position, crossing his other leg. "They'd rather risk their own lives than restricting the damn island." He added, putting his tea down.
"The problem is that they think that what happened there was a wildfire or something like that." She explained. "Richards, please, they have no idea what really happened there. They'll die."
"We can't do anything to stop them, Laura. I'll go to the island and try to find out what happened to those kids, and maybe I can get to help those ticos." He looked through the window behind. "Matanceros is a beautiful place, isn't it, Laura?" He said, trying to change the topic of discussion.
"You know what? Do whatever you want. I'll go get my stuff; I'm going to mainland."
"For what exactly?" He asked.
"If the government is going to risk their asses to find out what happened, I'll risk mine to find out what got on the loose in that beach."
Richard was shaking his head. "No, no. Laura, listen to me. You won't find anything in the vast jungles of Costa Rica. Let's get to the control room and look at the security footage from that day, I'm sure we'll find out."
She shook her head. There was a pause. "I refuse. I'll get Marisa to come with me." Marisa was one of the newest New World science team members, she witnessed the park incident along with Richards, and moved with Laura to Matanceros a month after. "I'll get my stuff. We'll find out on ourselves if that's what you want." She took the phone and added, "I'll wait in my hut until the boat arrives."
"Are really going to call her during her vacations? That doesn't matter. I'll get the answers before you two." He winked.
She shot a sideways glance at him, and with a severe voice, "it's not contest either, Isaac."
With a smile, Richards looked away and went to his room to pack his stuff, where he grabbed a small briefcase and put it next to his suitcase.
From the other room, Sorkin shouted. "I'm expecting your call tomorrow. Please, don't die." The stone door closed with a tremble.
As soon as he heard the door close, he rushed to take the phone, and dialed one of the other New World scientists.
"Come on, get the phone." He said impatiently.
A voice came from the other side of the line.
"David?" He asked with a joyful tone.
"Hello? Richards?" The man asked.
"Yes! Hey, David, I need you." He said, desperate.
"What's it for? Does it have anything to do with the incident that involved those tourists?"
"Yes! Yes. Yes, David. It does." He said, nervously. "So… so. Yes. It does." He added, stuttering. "I need your help."
"Yes, I know. You already said that." He replied, patiently. "How can I help you?"
"I'm going to the island to look at the security footage." Said Richards, sweating. "And I think you're an amazing friend, and I was wondering if you could come with me?" He asked, waiting for David's response. There was a pause. "So?" He asked, impatiently.
A sigh came from the other side of the line. "Let me guess." He said, as he chuckled. "Laura didn't want to come with you. Right?" He asked in a mocking tone.
Richards' face went serious. "Correct." He said lowering his voice. "She's going to the mainland with Marisa, to find the dinosaur."
"It's not a dinosaur, Richards. There's no way that thing came from that place." Said David without hesitating.
"Before the park's demise, dinosaurs were escaping."
There was a pause.
"What about the Lysine Contingency Protocol?" David asked, astonished.
"I'll explain when you come."
"Who said I was coming? I'm enjoying my vacations, Richards." He said, annoyed.
"I'm expecting you in an hour." Richards said with determination, hanging the phone.