(Part 3)
“Roger that, flight 402. Runway 5 is clear for landing.”
Today had been too long of a day. Eli hadn’t gotten enough sleep nor enough time to call his wife at home. Boy was he going to get it tonight.
“Commence landing procedure” Eli ordered the flight crew of the small private jet. The landing gear went down without a hitch and everyone was buckled in.
“Flight 402, this is tower, please verify clear landing strip.”
Eli thought for a moment, realizing what an odd request he’d been given. He looked out over the nose of the plane towards the runway.
The runways in Costa Rica weren’t usually anything more than dirt: this was no exception. The poorly lit, long stretch of land. Looked serene in the night.
“Copy that, this is flight 402. Landing strip looks clear–wait” and that’s when Eli saw it: a large animal was crossing over the runway. The plane’s lights had caught it’s attention and it now was staring straight at them like a deer stuck in headlights.
“Flight 402. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt landing! There is an animal on the runway,” the earphones screamed at him. He had seen it, but it was too late: their air speed had dropped too low: they had to land.
“Evasive maneuvers” Eli screamed out to the bridge crew who held on for dear life. Eli struggled to right the plane, bringing the pitch higher, the animal ever growing in his window.
His eyes were squinted tightly, trying to get the plane to pull up. Opening them slightly, he saw the object change from black to a flustered red-ish pink in the landing lights.
Suddenly it ran off the runway and into the forest near by. The plane continued to pull up but to no avail, the plane was coming down.
“Everybody hold on!”
There was a few bumps, and what felt like an eternity latter, the crew opened their eyes. The plane had landed safely, sliding slightly and rolling off of the end of the runway into a field.
“Flight 402. Do you copy?”
“This is flight 402. We copy you. What was that?”
There was a moment of silence, then the radio popped and the tower never answered.
“Flight 402. Prepare passengers for evacuation and the plane for taxi over.”
Eli couldn’t figure out what had just happened. It happened so quickly. First he was flying, and then he was trying to keep from crashing into a large animal that he apparently had frightened away. Whatever it was, it was long gone now, and probably for good.
“Alan!” exclaimed Ellie, echoing down the hall.
Alan turned around and saw Ellie, letting a smile develop on his face.
“Hello Dr. Grant,” came a voice from behind her. Charlie had come along too.
“What are you two doing here?” Alan asked, puzzled.
“You don’t think I’d let you have all the fun, would I?” Ellie laughed.
“No, seriously, I was called by some guy–“
”Richard Nesky.” Alan interrupted.
“Yea that’s him. I was asked to come along.”
“You know this is dangerous work Ellie. You know how quickly things can go wrong.”
“Alan, last time you almost died. If it weren’t for me, you would have.” she said, placing her hand on his shoulder.
“Face it, you need me.”
“Let’s begin this meeting,” Richard announced.
The room was situated on the 21st floor of the InGen complex building, overlooking the city below through large windows that ran the length of the room. The deep mahogany of the oval table complimented the slightly lighter shade of the walls with an InGen logo blazing behind the CEO chair.
“Welcome everyone. This is a preliminary meeting before the first excursion. Here to tell you more is Dr. Grant. Dr.” Richard finished, handing the floor to Alan who rose from his chair to address the table.
“Well, my name is Dr. Alan Grant for those of you who don’t know me. I was chosen by the to lead this expedition because of my extensive knowledge pertaining to the islands and their current inhabitants.
Alan walked over to a screen that lit up with a map of the island chain.
“This is where we are going. InGen has fashioned us with a safe haven on this, Isla Pena. The island is free of dinosaurs, has it’s own water source, and has a fort from which we will convene and work on our research.
This facility will be manned 24 hours a day for a month while we gather information on the island chain. The island is secure. Complete with water, waste facilities, housing, food, and a fence encircling the island. There is a helicopter landing site and a dock for shipping equipped with an emergency boat should the time come for such means.”
The group seemed impressed. InGen and the UN weren’t taking chances this time.
“I’d like to reiterate something to everyone. Time is of the essence. I’ve been given disturbing news that the islands are failing to maintain the animals. If this proves true, the UN may not have to do anything to destroy the islands if that is the decision, but if the decision is to save them, we are the only ones who can do this.
