The helicopter landed on an old, abandoned helipad covered in vines and moss, and an almost unnoticeable yellow 'H' among the foliage.
"Get off!" barked a tall man in black, tucking a pistol from the seat into his uniform reading 'Fuerza Pública' on his right sleeve. "Move, let's take a look. That lady is driving the boss crazy. Let's evaluate this place and shut her up for good." He said, arrogantly.
A woman hopped off the helicopter, medium height, with brunette hair, slim build, and 'OIJ' emblazoned on her uniform. She was an officer from Costa Rica's most important investigative institution.
"I'm the one in charge here, Officer Villalta," she asserted sternly.
He frowned, but before he could speak, she cut in, "look, Alexander, I know what you're about to say. Keep your sexist trash to yourself, alright? It's 1991."
Three more Fuerza Pública officers disembarked. She glanced back at them, gesturing with her hand, "let's get moving!"
Alexander Villalta led the Fuerza Pública team, but Andrea Villanueva held a higher position and was sent to lead the team, rendering his authority null.
"Why wasn't the area restricted if they knew something off was going on here?" inquired an officer, to which another replied, "they claimed a short circuit caused a fire last year and the owners of the resort left it to be claimed back by nature."
"I don't know, man, this is kinda sketchy," said the first officer, twenty-eight-year-old Elías, puzzled.
"That's enough. Focus on the job. Keep moving," Andrea commanded, her tone severe.
As they passed through a broken gate around forty meters from the helipad, the group penetrated the dense jungle.
"Why would there be such high security fences in a tropical resort?" Elías questioned.
"Don't ask me," replied Sharon, the other officer. "I know as much as you do about this place," she added.
"I repeat, focus on the task instead of chattering around. Move in silence," Andrea said, irritated. "None of us knows what happened here." She added, attempting to be nice.
For the rest of the walk, they remained silent.
The third officer, Sebastian Barquero, a twenty-three-year-old around six-foot-tall, athletic build, had maintained a silent demeanor since their departure from the mainland. His attention absorbed by the dense foliage and the whole atmosphere that felt different from what he was accustomed to.
As they traversed the lush jungle, the treetops casted shadows that enveloped them. The air was thick with humidity, accompanied by unfamiliar animal calls, echoing through the dense vegetation.
With each step along the overgrown path, they encountered a spongy carpet of moss-covered gravel, hinting at the abandoned state of this place. Yet, amongst the foliage reclaiming the abandoned trail, faint imprints of vehicle wheels remained visible, marking a past existence in stark contrast to the present solitude.
Sebastian, breaking his prolonged silence, voiced his observations, "this whole situation feels odd. The sounds around us, they're unlike anything I've heard before." His gaze wandered, taking in the sheer density of the jungle. The calls of unseen creatures added an eerie backdrop to their journey, creating an atmosphere of surreal otherness.
Sharon nodded, unease etching her grey eyes. "Our country is known for its biodiversity, but these sounds…" She trailed off, uncertainty in her tone. Elías shot a sideways glance at Sebastian, acknowledging his observation but kept his focus ahead, scanning their surroundings.
Andrea, ever vigilant, led the way, her eyes flickering between the dense foliage and the faint, lingering signs of past human presence. She noted in Sharon's words, a hint of concern in her voice. "Stay sharp, everyone. We have no idea what we're going to find here." She said, bravely.
With each stride, the jungle seemed to cloak itself in an air of mystery. Sebastian kept his distance from the other two officers. He was a solitaire man, Sharon knew it, so she decided to keep distance from him.
As they navigated through the dense foliage, they stumbled upon a clearing, revealing a decaying structure overtaken by vines and bushes. Andrea's team approached cautiously; their eyes trained on the mysterious building emerging from the jungle's embrace.
Sebastian took a step closer to examine the front wall of the structure. "This doesn't look burnt," he noted in a composed tone, "it's just abandoned." Gesturing at the structure's façade.
Alexander and Elías exchanged glances. "You're right. It seems oddly intact," Officer Villalta agreed, his gaze shifting between the building and the young man.
Andrea, noticing his insight, moved closer to examine the building. "That's correct. Now, let's move and look what's inside."
Sharon, casting a curious glance around, sought something at the edge of a stagnant lake, its surface-tinged green from overgrown algae and surrounded by decaying lily pads. A worn-out banner that was starting to get covered by moss and lichen, captured her attention. Its once golden letters read 'Welcome to Isla Nublar,' hung in what looked like a lamppost, right next to the rails that formed a curve that stretched into the jungle, disappearing into the dense foliage, losing themselves in the distance, marking an old path that was once traversed by the electric safari vehicles, now overtaken by nature's power.
Andrea turned to follow Sharon's gaze, her eyes narrowing at the unexpected discovery. "That's... peculiar," she muttered, her mind wrestling with the implications of the faded banner and the concealed rails. "I think there's more to this place than what we previously thought," she added, in a deeply concerned tone. "Alright, let's move." She said as she walked along a staircase, overgrown by vegetation, leading to two giant wooden doors that closed formed the silhouette of an egg with lines that mimicked light shining from the middle.
Sebastian's earlier unease heightened at this unusual sight. His gaze shifted from the structure to the rails that disappeared amidst the thick greenery. "This keeps getting stranger," he thought.
The team exchanged puzzled glances, the enigmatic surroundings fueling their apprehension.
Alexander looked at the three officers examining their surroundings in deep concentration. "Alright, let's go. I'm sure we'll find some answers inside this thing."
Andrea tried to open one of the doors on her own, but it was too heavy that Alexander and Elías joined pushing it as hard as they could. Sharon and Sebastian were inspecting both sides of the structure. Sebastian was looking at the left side that looked like a curved terrace, and then turned back as he noticed three tall windows on each side. "These plants are rather peculiar." He noted. On the other side, Sharon walked down a curved ramp, "at least they considered disabled people in this place." She went back and looked both sides of the staircase. Each side was decorated with what was left of a planter and what seemed to be fountains.
A loud noise jumpscared them as they were concentrated investigating the façade. They looked back and Elías called them in with a hand gesture.
Andrea turned around. "Okay. No loud noises. No touching. Just see and let's get moving." She commanded.
They walked across a large room. In the background, a mural that display various dinosaurs of different species, coexisting peacefully. On the left, a doorway that led to the outside. On the right, a room and a curved staircase. Finally, they looked up.
"This place was not a normal resort, don't you think?"
"I guess not. Something bad happened here, and not just a fire as they said."
They noticed the conical roof supported by ten red wooden beams and thatched hay hanging from the outside. From the beams, burst cables. A broken ribcage hanging from one of them.
"Interesting." Inquired Sebastian. "Something used to hang from there, so…" He paused and looked down. "There." He pointed to a pile of bones on the ground. "They look like dinosaur skeletons. This place is very particular."
Andrea walked slowly to check the bones. "Dinosaurs…" She repeated in a low voice. "Yeah, this was a tropical, dinosaur-themed resort. Problem solved. Let's go upstairs." She said, determined to finish the investigation protocol as soon as possible. The structure's atmosphere was eerie. Something felt strange, and the unknown animal sounds that came from the outside raised the tension within the team.
Andrea turned right and stopped right at the staircase base. "Come on, let's get this done before this thing collapses over us." She said as she looked at every corner of the building with her flashlight.
The team followed her until she stopped at another door, this was normal sized, with the same design as the front doors. She opened it and before continuing, she flicked the switch next to the door frame. The bulbs flickered and immediately exploded, leaving the hallway in complete darkness.
Andrea turned on her flashlight, shedding light to the hallway. On her right, there was a sign, overcome with moss and lichen, which she removed with her hand, revealing formerly golden, now green letters that read 'Showcase Theater." With a hand gesture, she commanded the team to follow her. "Let's go. Do NOT touch anything in there." She said, severely.
The team followed her, stepping on fallen objects that broke easily, victims of time and corrosion.
As soon as she opened the door, a glass window, darkened by time and mold, was revealed. Next to the door, a platform with four rows of seats, one higher than the previous one, greened by the overgrowing moss. The group stopped, and Andrea walked across the room, testing the state of the platform and the place in on itself. When she reached the other side, she stopped upon a fallen iron door, and with a hand gesture, she called the officers.
Alexander went first, moving carefully, looking at his surroundings. He then stopped halfway on the platform, and looked forward, between the seats and the window, where he noticed holes on the floor. When he reached Andrea, he looked at the other officers and called them to go after him.
"You go first." Elías said to Sharon.
"Why me?" She replied.
With a sideways glance, Sebastian went on and crossed the room, being as careful as Alexander. And without looking back, he reached Andrea and Alexander. Afterwards, with a slight punch on her shoulder, Elías told Sharon to walk before he did, which she did.
Seeing that he was the last one, Elías, with fear, walked insecurely. Shaking, he hopped on the theater flatform, causing it to tremble.
"Be careful!" Said Sharon. "Come on, it's safe." She said, cheering him up.
"Wait, this thing is moving too much." He said, his voice shaking.
"Stop there, let it settle." Said Alexander.
The tremble released a loud deaf noise that echoed across the half-circular room. Soon, the silence came back, and only Elías' steps could be heard. He walked slowly across the platform. When he was near the edge, a light came from the other side of the door, and with a loud sound, a cartoonish distorted voice started speaking: "BI- BINGO! DI- DINO- DI- DINO- DINO DNA!" Immediately, the voice was interrupted by an explosion accompanied by sparks that spread across the room, and the screen went black.
Soon, Elías hopped off the platform, which started moving to the right, trapping his legs first. Screaming, Sharon attempted to go help him, but Sebastian took her by the wrist, stopping her. She tried to get free, but he was very strong, leaving her powerless.
Elías screamed as his legs were ran over by the platform, breaking his bones slowly.
Sharon turned around and hugged Sebastian, covering her eyes to not see the horror that was occurring in front of them. He hugged her back and closed his eyes, as Elías' screams intensified.
The platform moved uninterruptedly, smashing him slowly. It broke his pelvis, shredding it to pieces as it kept going. His belly exploded, leaving a pond of blood and his organs spilled all over the place. He was still alive when the platform got to his chest, killing him as his heart got smashed with brutality. Then, the platform stopped right in front of the screen with another explosion. The destroyed remains of Elías spread across the floor, and a trail among the blood left by the platform's wheels, leaving a grotesque scene behind.
The horrified officers went through the door frame. Andrea was covering her mouth trying to not vomit. Alexander had a grossed-out face, his lips pinched and his eyes half closed, trying to not see back. They entered the room on the left, closing the door immediately. After all they saw, they stopped for some minutes to rest and recover from what they just had seen.
Sharon started sobbing after the shock had passed. "It was my fault!" She yelled, punching the floor. "He was supposed to go first! It should've been me." Sebastian was next to her, trying to give her comfort as she was deeply affected.
"My God, what just happened?" Alexander said, still shocked by the scene of Elías being triturated by the moving platform replaying over and over in his head.
Andrea whispered a shush to him, also shocked by the grotesque scene, still covering her mouth with her hands.
Sharon couldn't stop sobbing, so Sebastian, still hugging her whispered: "listen, I know he meant a lot to you. Although I can't do much, I will stay by your side if you let me, okay?"
She nodded, wiping her tears off her cheeks. "Thanks."
Alexander stood up in a sharp move taking his flashlight out, and started looking around. He walked down a low staircase, examining every detail in the room, looking for clues that could help them find any evidence of suspicious activities in the island, but everything he could see were a bunch of desks and computers without power, so he went back to where the others were. In the middle of the room there was a cylinder that reached the metallic mesh ceiling. Next to the cylinder, one of the metallic panels on the ground. "Signs of fighting." He thought. He walked back where the team was.
"So?" Andrea asked in a demanding tone.
"Nothing, just a bunch of desks and those useless things." He said in disappointment.
Sebastian looked up quickly. "What useless things?" He asked.
"Look it up yourself." Replied Alexander, lighting with his flashlight the room as he moved his hand around to give him a better look.
He showed instant interest after seeing the cylinder and the desks with monitors all over the room.
Sharon frowned. "What is that?"
"What's what?" Asked Alexander, who didn't register the room thoroughly.
"Over there." She said, pointing to something that looked like shoes in the back of the room, behind a desk.
"Hmm. I didn't see that." Replied Alexander, curiously.
Sebastian seemed more interested on the computers than that thing laying back there. "Sir, can I look around to see if I can manage get those computers running?" He asked.
"Yes, you can." He replied in a lower-pitched tone, looking at Andrea mockingly.
So, he let go of Sharon and stood up dusting his clothes with his hands, taking out his flashlight as he started walking, determined to turn the computers on to see whatever had happened in that place.
Sebastian's parents were very demanding. They used to make him go to different courses on his school breaks so he couldn't waste time, this led him to become a very smart kid at the expense of any social skills he could acquire during this time. During one of these breaks, his parents made him have a computing course, fascinating him with the endlessness of the programming world, becoming a computer enthusiast.
"I think I can get these to work if there's still electricity running this place." He said.
Alexander looked back at the strange object behind the desk, and walked in that direction, moved by curiosity. As he approached, the scene became clearer. Soon, he was in front of a rotten corpse. It was dried, its skin shrunk, letting his skeletal figure visible. Inside the abdomen cavity, a hole with different objects and broken eggshells. As he moved up his flashlight, a skeletal face appeared, it was John Hammond's decomposed body. Alexander backed off as he looked at Sharon and Andrea, who were attentive to anything he'd do. After noticing his uneased expression, they exchanged glances, narrowing their eyes in confusion. Villalta looked at Sebastian, who was concentrated connecting wires and clicking keys on a computer facing the officers.
"And… alright, I got it. I basically connected that green wire and…"
"Since when are you an extrovert?" Asked Alexander, from the other side of the room.
Sharon shot him a glance, her eyes bulging in anger. She thought his comment was unrespectful.
Sebastian, without raising his eyes from the keyboard, "I just think this is interesting." He said, uninterested in replying back to Alexander's comment. Then, he leaned forward and with his thumb, he clicked a button on the screen that immediately turned on, revealing lines of very complex codes.
"And now we wait." He said. "From what I can see, these computers are very sophisticated. They seem to be connected to that over there. It's a Cray XM-P, one of the most powerful supercomputers to this day."
Andrea, fascinated by the young man's knowledge said: "you do know about computers? I'm impressed". She liked computers, she would stay hours researching about programming, even her job had a lot of computing involved, mostly used to identify DNA samples in crime scenes.
"You should learn from him. He knows more than you do. And you're their boss, huh?" She added, mocking Alexander, who didn't look very happy by her comment.
"Alright, you'll want to look at this. This system is both complex and practical at the same time. From what I can see, I can run the place with only this one."
Alexander frowned as he approached the screen, trying to convince Andrea he knew about computing. "Alright smart-pants, let me handle this." He said, pushing Sebastian away from the computer.
Sharon moved forward, but Andrea stopped her with her arm. "Just keep watching." She whispered with a smirk.
Sharon watched him try to get the computer to work, as Sebastian attempted to gain back control over the device, which Villalta refused to give away.
"Let him do his job, smart-pants. We don't want this to explode, do we?" Said Andrea in a mocking tone.
Alexander moved away from the computer, letting Sebastian resume what he was doing.
"Alright, muscle-boy. Tell us what you're doing." He said, shooting Andrea a sideways glance, licking his lip.
"Basically, these monitors are connected to the cylinder over there." Sebastian was pointing at a twelve-feet-tall cylinder. "That's a supercomputer. It basically automated everything in the resort from what I can see." He was saying, looking at the screen as it showed up a list of names. "It's uh, okay. I think this was more than a dinosaur-themed resort." He said slowly, frowning. "Uhm, come here and look yourselves." He called them, touching his chin, his lips pursed. On the screen, a list popped up:
Jurassic Park resort
1. Visitors Center
2. Park Drive
3. River Ride
4. Vista Views
5. Hypsilophodont Highlands
6. Segisaurus South
7. Sauropod Swamp
8. Safari Lodge
9. Iguanodon Inn
10. Les Gigantes
11. Pteratops Lodge
12. Trails of the Phanerozoic
13. Marine Facility
14. Viewing Dome
Intrigued, Andrea looked at Alexander, and without hesitating, she asked: "what's that behind that desk?"
"It's a puppet." He replied, rubbing his nose.
"No, it's not." She said, clearly irritated. "Who was that?"
Sweating, Alexander refused to answer her questions, knowing that if he said what was laying behind the desk, Sharon could have another crisis, since Elías' death affected her severely.
With determination, Andrea snatched away his flashlight, pushing him roughly causing him to almost fall over the desk. Sebastian took the monitor, preventing it from falling. Sharon looked at Sebastian, she felt that something wasn't quite right. She then saw Andrea walk back, with a different expression, her eyes widened. Alexander covered his face in a sign of frustration. Sebastian remained silent. His stare fixated on what Andrea would say next.
"We have to get out of this place. These people didn't die in a fire… they were killed by whatever is in this island." She said, alarming the young officers, who immediately ran to the door, followed by Alexander. She who stopped right in front of the computer, checking if she had read what was there correctly, confirming her suspicions. "This can't be!" She thought.
Sharon stopped right at the door frame, seeing nothing but a deep darkness that surrounded them. Out of nowhere, she felt a strong hand taking her. It was Sebastian, who grabbed her by the forearm and lit everything with his flashlight, revealing the bloody trails imprinted by the platform's wheels. A mix of a metallic and a terrible odor flooded the room, forcing them to cover their noses, trying to avoid the smell.
With his flashlight, Sebastian led their way out, running out of the hallway next to the Showcase Theater, and downstairs, passing next to the broken dinosaur bones.
Upstairs, Andrea pushed Alexander, who was hesitant to move. She took him by the arm and, almost dragging him, she made him walk. But the tremble of their footsteps activated the platform, which started moving back to the same position they had found it in. Villalta looked back, and out of horror, he pushed Andrea out of the room, causing her to fall on the ground, falling next to her. Inside the room, the platform stopped, causing a loud noise that echoed across the hallway.
From the darkness, high pitched noises, clicking sounds and hisses came from the end of the hallway. Andrea rushed to pick up her flashlight, and when she turned it on, six pairs of glowing eyes appeared. She screamed in horror. Alexander stood up with a jump, but when he tried to help her stand up, a three-feet tall creature pounced on his back, slamming him against the floor. Andrea took her gun and shot the creature, scaring the animals, fleeing from the scene. She then grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing him to stand up. They ran to the base of the staircase, where Alexander stopped.
"Come on!" She yelled.
But suddenly, he started shaking, losing his balance, falling on the floor. His eyes turned white, and his skin started to become green. The animal had bit his neck, poisoning him. He started convulse.
She rushed back upstairs, but the animals came out of the darkness, running toward her, revealing their slender bodies, bugled eyes and zipper-like mouths. Their backs were covered in black quills, and their hands curled in a pronated position, on their feet, sickle claws sharp enough to rip apart flesh without any effort. She ran downstairs as fast as she could, leaving Alexander behind.
"So, this was the Visitors Center." Sebastian whispered, unnoticed by Sharon.
Andrea stopped at the main doors, panting. "Let's go, move!" She said to the officers who were panting outside the building, standing above the rails.
They looked at her and noticed that she wasn't with Villalta, when suddenly a scream came from inside the building. The dinosaurs were dragging him into the darkness as they ripped apart his belly, eating his viscera making space to lay their eggs. Without any hesitation, they started running left the Visitors Center, following the same path they traversed earlier, back to the helipad, but the dense jungle deceived them, losing their way.
"What path did we come from earlier?" Said Andrea, still panting.
"I don't know. Gosh, I hate intersections." Said Sharon, calming down.
"Let's go this way." Sebastian implied, pointing an overgrown path that curved in the distance.
"I'm sure it's not that way." Sharon inquired.
"I think it is, let's go." He insisted.
Andrea, ignoring them, followed the path that branched to the right side.
Sebastian shot a confused glance at Sharon. She shrugged, wiping her tears from her face.
Within the dense vegetation, a rocky path could be discerned, leading Sharon and Sebastian to the unknown as they walked along the trail, diverging from Andrea's way.