by C. G. Mosley
At the rear of the building, there was a large paddock used to contain the dinosaurs that were being studied. It was covered top to bottom with commercial-grade fencing and could be electrified if necessary. It was a safe place for the dinosaurs to be allowed outside for fresh air and to allow the scientists to prepare for whatever study it was they were going to do. From the third floor of the building, a one-hundred and fifty-foot skywalk attached to the Triangle Building to allow the employees easy access to the facility during any weather condition, day or night. Hardcastle had to admit that the improvements the federal government had made to the compound were very impressive—but then there was the matter of the fence.
The twenty-foot-high fence that surrounded the entire compound had always been troublesome. Shortly after Eric Gill had spent many thousands of dollars having it constructed, Velociraptors—the curious and deadly bipedal carnivores—immediately began trying to climb it. When Hardcastle had noticed this, he began to make a habit of monitoring the perimeter once every hour via a golf cart. It had gotten to where he was finding Velociraptors attempting to get inside at least twice a day.
After consulting the paleontologist on staff, he was advised that the next time he caught one of the raptors attempting to get inside, he should kill it and leave the body for the others to find. The paleontologist believed that the raptors were intelligent enough to come to the realization that whatever was beyond the fence was clearly more deadly than they when they found their dead counterpart. Fortunately, the theory seemed to work as the Velociraptors had not attempted to get inside the compound in any of the years since Hardcastle had shot and hung one of them from a large tree just beyond the rear fence.
Though he’d managed to control the raptor problem, the issue had exposed some clear design flaws with the fencing. The mesh that was used was too conducive for climbing and Hardcastle had advised Eric Gill on multiple occasions that it would be smart to change it. In addition to that, he believed it needed to be at least six feet higher with high-voltage electric fencing across the top. Finally, he thought it would be wise for there to be a secondary fence constructed outside of the main one, like those found around prisons. Of course, his advice fell on deaf ears and no changes were ever made and thus Hardcastle had continued his hourly rounds to check the fence.
He’d really hoped that Mr. Cold would be more receptive to his recommendations to make improvements but so far, that had not been the case. Cold had stubbornly declared that the buildings were where the attention and money needed to be spent.
And now we’ve got the Spinosaurus knocking on the door, Hardcastle thought with disgust.
He quickly buttoned his shirt and then snatched his hat off the tiny table where he ate his meals. As he headed out the door, he suddenly thought of Jonathon Williams. After the incident in New Orleans, Cold and Jonathon had a bit of a falling out. Despite Cold’s insistence, Jonathon was adamant that he would not participate with any of the work being done on the island. Threats were made but Jonathon stood his ground and ultimately won the argument.
Hardcastle smiled when he thought of Jonathon. He’d tried to kill the man multiple times, but the paleontologist was one of the toughest adversaries he had ever faced. Jonathon had earned his respect and now he longed for his help on the island. As if facing a hurricane was not going to be tough enough, now he was going to have to deal with a hungry Spinosaurus too. He could certainly use the expertise, bravery, and raw toughness a guy like Jonathon had to get through the next several days. In his mind’s eye, he pictured the man reclining in his nice comfortable living room with his beautiful wife and two-year-old daughter padding around the carpet.
Lucky prick, he thought.
Chapter 5
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Dr. Matthew Walker jogged toward the double glass doors that led out into the grounds of the compound. Once outside, the tail of his white lab coat flapped wildly in the wind. He peered to the sky and thought of Hurricane Simon. The category five storm was mere hours away from landfall and it seemed the strong gusts of wind were taunting him.
“You move fast, Doc,” Hardcastle called out from behind him.
Matt whipped his head around and noticed that Hardcastle had just come through the same glass doors he’d just exited himself.
“I figured you would walk over from the Triangle Building and meet me out here,” he said, placing his hands on his hips.
“Well, you thought wrong,” Hardcastle answered. “I took the skywalk because I needed to retrieve this first.” He held out a strange-looking contraption—a weapon that looked like a bazooka with a large bell at the end of the barrel similar to that of a tuba. Only there was no opening at the end of the “barrel,” only a very large speaker.
“Here, you’re gonna want to put these on,” Hardcastle said, tossing Matt a pair of hearing protection earmuffs.
Matt caught the earmuffs and held them by a finger as he glanced down at the strange contraption Hardcastle was holding.
“Are you sure that’s going to work?” he asked, clearly concerned.
Hardcastle looked down at his non-lethal weapon and then back up to Matt. “I don’t know,” he said with a grin. “It’s the first time I’ve ever used it.”
Matt sighed and shifted his feet, unable to hide his discomfort. “That Spinosaurus is one of the largest dinosaurs on the island, are you sure you want to take a chance with something that you’ve never even tested?”
Hardcastle threw the barrel over his shoulder and held the stock in his palm. “Come on, Doc, you worry too much,” he said as he began to walk toward the rear of the building. “Besides, it works beautifully on bears…that much I do know.”
Reluctantly, Matt followed him. When they drew near the paddock that contained the Troodons, Hardcastle slowed his progress dramatically and he motioned for Matt to slow down as well. Finally, he came to a complete stop.
“I don’t see it,” he whispered as he peered into the dense tropical vegetation just beyond the perimeter fence. He then glanced over toward the Troodons and noticed that they were still cowered on the side of the paddock furthest from the exterior fencing.
They know it’s still out there, he thought.
He turned to Matt and said, “Okay, you stay here and get your earmuffs on. I’m going to go over for a closer look. I’ve got to get this thing pointed just right because I don’t want the Troodons to get hit with friendly fire.”
Matt screwed up his face and dropped his mouth open. “What are you talking about?” he asked. “What exactly does that thing do?”
Hardcastle had turned to walk away but stopped abruptly when Matt asked the question. He turned back toward him and said, “It’s a sonic weapon—a prototype. Cold gave it to me,” he said with a toothy grin. “This baby can emit sound waves a little over 200 decibels at full blast. That’s enough to tear your internal organs apart if I point it in your direction, so whatever you do, keep your earmuffs on and stay behind me.”
Hardcastle turned away and began creeping toward the fencing again but Matt grabbed his arm, stopping him.
“Wait,” he hissed, trying to keep as quiet as possible. “Are you going to need that many decibels to incapacitate the Spinosaurus?”
Hardcastle sighed and appeared slightly annoyed. “I doubt it, Doc, but it’s nice to know I’ve got that much…you know, just in case.”
Matt continued to stare at him, shaking his head very slightly.
Hardcastle rolled his eyes. “If you must know, I’m going to start it out around 150 decibels and work my way up from there. I’ve got to be careful or I could kill it.” He turned to walk away again.
“No, wait,” Matt said, grabbing his arm yet again. “What if 150 isn’t enough? How will it react?”
Hardcastle jerked his arm away. “I have no idea, Doc, but we’re about to find out.”
“Well, what if it reacts violently?” Matt asked nervously. “Are you prepared for that?”
Hardcastl
e clenched his teeth a moment, then said, “I’m gonna go do my job now, Doc. Don’t grab my arm again!”
He turned away and quickly crept closer to the edge of the paddock. He took a quick moment to glance over his shoulder to make sure that Matt had put on the earmuffs as he’d been instructed. Fortunately, he had. Hardcastle had his own hearing protection, but he’d refrained from putting them on just yet. He needed his hearing for the moment to try and locate the Spinosaurus. An animal that large had enormous lungs too and when it breathed, it was relatively easy to hear.
As he crept closer and closer to the exterior fencing, he listened intently for any sound at all. Just when he’d about decided that the dinosaur had left, he heard what he was listening for. There was a relatively loud whooshing sound that began emanating from somewhere beyond the leafy green vegetation. Hardcastle stopped dead in his tracks and continued to listen. He estimated that the Spinosaurus was roughly thirty-five yards away and had seemingly lost interest in the Troodons—at least for the time being. And that was the problem. The dinosaur might lumber away for a little while, but it would be back. And unfortunately, the more comfortable it got, the more ambitious it was going to get. Sooner or later, it was going to try to tear into the fence and get to the easy prey in the paddock.
I gotta send a message right here and now, he thought as he carefully tossed his hat aside and placed the earmuffs over his head. He took three more steps forward, checked the decibel range on the sonic cannon, and then aimed the bell in the direction of the Spinosaurus. He pressed the “trigger” with conviction and a high-pitched tone immediately erupted from the barrel of the cannon. It was loud enough for his ears to faintly pick up the sound from within the confined safety of the earmuffs, but it was not nearly as intense as Hardcastle had anticipated. He was beginning to think the weapon had zero effect on the dinosaur when suddenly, he heard the muffled roar of the angry Spinosaurus. Then he felt the vibration begin beneath the soles of his boots. The enormous creature was moving and as the vibrations grew in intensity, he suddenly came to the realization that the dinosaur was stomping in his direction.
As soon as he understood what was happening, Hardcastle immediately turned his attention to the dial that adjusted the decibel level on the sonic cannon. He quickly turned it up to 175 and again pointed it in the direction of the Spinosaurus. As he did so, the monstrous creature poked its crocodilian-like head through the thick enveloping trees and opened its maw widely. The animal released another furious roar and it was the first time that Hardcastle had gotten such a good look at the Spinosaurus’s rows of massive needle-like teeth.
Without further hesitation, he again put the cannon to use and blasted the Spinosaurus again. Amazingly, the animal continued to move forward and the extremely high-pitched sound waves only seemed to enrage it more. Hardcastle took a quick glance over his shoulder to check on the whereabouts of Matt. The doctor was nowhere to be found.
Figures, he thought and he made another quick adjustment to the dial, increasing the decibel level to 185. Again, he blasted the Spinosaurus with a barrage of intensely high-pitched sound waves. This time, the dinosaur stopped abruptly and released another furious roar. It seemed almost as if the Spinosaurus was trying to produce an even more deafening sound to counter the sonic cannon. Hardcastle held his ground and continued to keep the weapon trained on the looming threat thrashing and roaring just on the other side of the fence. Suddenly, something unexpected happened.
Without any warning at all, the Spinosaurus flailed its arm over the top of the barrier and then swept its claws downward, thus catching the coiled razor wire and the horizontal crossbar across the top of the fence. Hardcastle could only keep his finger planted on the trigger as he watched with growing fear as the horizontal bar slowly began to contort downward as the dinosaur continued to heave its strength and weight over the top of the fence. The barrier began to bend with more ease as it became more and more unstable. It was suddenly very clear that the Spinosaurus had forgotten all about the Troodons and now had its attention fully on Hardcastle. He contemplated releasing the trigger but didn’t for fear that without it, there would be nothing left to slow down the animal’s progress. Instead, he began to back away. In his mind’s eye, he could see the nearest door that would provide entry into the building. He began to devise a plan and decided that if he could just get inside the building, he could then turn the sonic cannon to its highest decibel and blast the Spinosaurus with a high enough frequency to kill it. Now that the animal had breached the fencing, there would be no other choice.
It felt like an eternity before Hardcastle’s back finally contacted the cool metal door that led back into the relative safety of the building. Miraculously, the fencing was still standing and somehow had kept, at least for now, the Spinosaurus from getting inside the compound. The animal was still enraged and seemed to genuinely be affected by the sonic weapon—just not in the way that Hardcastle had hoped. With one hand still manning the weapon, he slipped the other one behind him to open the door. He grabbed the handle and pushed his thumb downward on the latch—and to his horror, it was locked. Hardcastle gritted his teeth and tried his best not to panic. He began kicking the door with the heel of his boot, a frantic plea for help.
Surely, he thought, the doc couldn’t have gone far…
As his leg began to tire, it was becoming quickly apparent that there was no one coming to open the door anytime soon. Hardcastle had just about made up his mind to release the trigger for the briefest of moments just to turn the dial to full blast. The Spinosaurus seemed to read his mind and released another deafening roar. It then lunged itself forward and the fence bent further inward.
It’s going to get through, he thought. I’ve literally got seconds to figure something out…
The angry dinosaur’s eyes widened and its crocodilian jaws snapped—it seemed to realize a meal was mere seconds away too. The fence began to creak a sickening wail as the dinosaur again used its weight to its advantage. Hardcastle could only look on and contemplate what he could’ve done differently in the moment to prevent the impending doom that was about to eat him alive. He wondered if he’d just gone ahead and made an adjustment on the sonic weapon, if that would’ve been enough to prevent it all. He took a deep breath and watched helplessly as the vertical fence posts began to fold over as if they were made of a metal no more significant than aluminum.
And then, he began to feel it.
The rumble under his feet was subtle and almost unnoticeable at first. In fact, when Hardcastle finally did notice it, he figured it was originating from the thrashing dinosaur trying with everything in its being to get to him. But then the rumbling began to increase, so much so that he decided an earthquake was occurring—and then a most welcome thing happened. The Spinosaurus seemed to become spooked by the strange occurrence and immediately ceased its assault on the fencing. Hardcastle looked on in grateful amazement as the dinosaur became rattled by the strange sensation beneath its large feet to the point of turning and running away into the jungle.
The earthquake went on for what Hardcastle estimated to be forty-five seconds before it ceased as abruptly as it began. With the Spinosaurus gone, he released the trigger on the sonic weapon, ripped the earmuffs from his head, and fell to his knees. His heart was beating so hard in his chest he could hear the thumping in his ears and for the first time in a long time, he felt utterly and completely scared. He stared at the torn and mangled fence that leaned awkwardly in toward him and wiped the sweat from his brow. The next forty-eight hours were going to get awfully interesting.
Chapter 6
“I could’ve died!” Hardcastle growled through clenched teeth as he shoved Matthew Walker against a locker.
They were in the employee break room on the third floor. After Glenn Hardcastle managed to cheat death, he immediately marched back indoors to search for Matt. In his mind, there was no blaming Matt for deserting him, but what he was angry about was the fact that he’d been inadve
rtently locked out of the building. At least it was inadvertent according to Matt.
“I had no idea that the door locked automatically from the inside!” he yelled in response. “I would’ve never locked you out intentionally!”
Hardcastle took a long look at him before taking a few steps away with his hands up. “Okay, Doc,” he said. “So you just shut the door and ran straight up here like a coward? Is that what you’re saying?”
Matt clenched his jaw. “I ran back in to get a weapon from the armory,” he explained. “About the time I got to it, I felt the ground shaking. My first thought was that I was too late and the dinosaur was already crashing into the building.”
Hardcastle took a deep breath, removed his hat, and scratched at his head. “That’s a good story,” he replied, unconvinced.
“It’s the truth,” Charlie said suddenly. She’d been leaning against the doorway listening to the two men bicker. “I was watching everything from the monitors in the lab. When I realized what was happening, I rushed downstairs to see if there was anything I could do to help. Matt was making his way to the armory when I got down to the second level. When the building began to shake, we both panicked and decided to head for the exit. By the time we got to the ground floor, you were coming in and it was over.”
Hardcastle took another deep breath through his nose. He was clearly annoyed, but he seemed to be more accepting of Charlie’s story. He liked and trusted her. He looked at her for a moment and then to Matt.
“Okay,” he said finally. “I still think you’re a coward, but if we’re going to get through the next couple of days, we’ve got to get along.”
