Chapter 14: Convergence

  They passed the gate into the maintenance yard.

  The chain-link fence rattled once, then settled, swaying on tired hinges. The padlock still hung from the latch, a key left in it.

  JJ’s boots hit cracked concrete. The yard opened wide, an old industrial square half-devoured by jungle. Vines draped over rusted scaffolding. A forklift sagged under a collapsed awning, its tires flat, weeds threading up through its chassis. Crates stenciled with InGen and Jurassic Park logos sat scattered across the lot.

  The air felt warmer here, fresher. It carried wet earth, the faint sweetness of wildflowers, and underneath it all, that sour note from the tunnels.

  Little Bear lifted a fist.

  Everyone stopped.

  JJ followed his gaze to the far edge of the lot, where vegetation pushed right up to the concrete, tall ferns and glossy leaves shifting without wind.

  Hector’s voice slipped out low. “Could this be a nest?”

  Loni didn’t look at him. “Could be. Could also be the kill zone.”

  Little Bear gave a small nod. “Plenty of space and cover.”

  JJ’s chin tipped toward a squat building at the far end. The sign above the door was sun-faded, but still readable.

  Communication Control — Authorized Staff Only

  “That’s got to be them,” JJ whispered. The structure looked intact, with small windows and what remained of an antenna array. “If I were a pair of frightened girls trying to call for help, that’s where I’d hide.”

  Little Bear grunted and moved first, shotgun high, crossing open ground without hurrying. JJ stayed half a step behind, muzzle tracking left to right in slow arcs. Loni hugged JJ’s right shoulder, pistol up, flashlight in her other hand. Hector drifted wide for a beat, sweeping the treeline and the corners of the lot, then tucked back in as rear guard.

  As they closed in, JJ caught small details. A boot scuff near the doorframe. A smear on the handle.

  Little Bear stopped at the door and tested the knob. It was unlocked.

  JJ stepped up and kept his voice low, controlled. “Hello? Anyone inside?” He didn’t raise it, didn’t want to antagonize whatever had been tailing them through the foliage. “This is Soaring Star Rescue. We’re here to get you out.”

  Nothing.

  Hector scanned the yard, slow and steady. “Maybe they moved on.”

  Loni’s eyes stayed on the door. “No,” she said, quiet and certain. “They’re in there.”

  JJ wrapped his fingers around the knob and turned it slowly. The door opened inward with a soft scrape.

  Inside was dark. His flashlight beam slid across dead equipment racks, dusty consoles, a metal desk, and the faint glow of a status light blinking red.

  Something shifted inside. A soft breath. The sound of fabric brushing metal.

  JJ’s rifle rose instinctively.

  “Who’s there?” a voice demanded, young, hoarse, and ragged.

  JJ eased the muzzle down and took one step in. Little Bear stayed at the threshold, shotgun angled outward to cover the yard.

  “It’s okay,” JJ said calmly. “Soaring Star Rescue. We picked up your distress call. We came as fast as we could. I’m JJ.”

  “Who?” the voice asked, shorter this time.

  Loni leaned in, her tone soft but firm. “Hi. I’m Loni. EMT. Are either of you hurt?”

  Another beat, then a second voice, quieter, joined the first. “An EMT… really?”

  “Yes,” JJ answered immediately. “You’re not alone. Come on out.”

  A flashlight beam flared from inside, bright and shaky, cutting across JJ’s boots, his rifle, and climbing to his chest.

  JJ lifted his free hand, palm open. “It’s safe.”

  Outside, in the yard, something made a soft, wet chuff.

  Little Bear turned his head without moving his feet, shotgun rising a fraction as he swept the lot. Hector’s rifle tracked the treeline.

  Loni’s voice went flat with urgency. “Inside. Now.”

  JJ didn’t argue. He backed up, motioned his team through with two quick gestures. Little Bear slipped in last, closing the door.

  The silence inside the comms room felt different; they were trapped.

  JJ let out the breath he’d been holding. “Fuck,” he muttered, low. The big one from the Visitor Center had followed them overland. Somehow.

  He turned toward the two shapes in the dark. The flashlight trembled in one girl’s hand. The other stood slightly behind her, gripping an old fire axe.

  “Names,” JJ said, his voice low and clipped. There wasn’t time for softness.

  “Maria,” the one with the flashlight answered.

  “Emilia,” said the quieter one, knuckles white around the axe handle.

  JJ nodded once. The flashlight beam in Maria’s hand trembled.

  “Lower the light,” JJ said. “Keep it on the floor.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Maria lowered the beam.

  JJ gave Little Bear two quick hand signs. Little Bear stayed planted by the door, aiming his shotgun at it. Hector took the nearest window. He stood just next to the window, leaning just enough to peek out the blinds. Loni moved straight to the girls, checking for injuries.

  “Sit, please,” Loni ordered, her voice soft.

  Emilia didn’t move, her eyes planted on the closed door. Her grip on the axe was so tight her knuckles were white.

  Loni noticed and placed a comforting hand on her arm. “Emilia, you’re alright now. We’re going to get you out.”

  A thin, strangled sound escaped Maria, something between a laugh and a sob. She sank onto the floor beside the metal desk, one hand still clamped around the flashlight. Her knees drew tight like she was trying to make herself smaller.

  Emilia slowly lowered herself next to Maria, the axe still held across her body like a shield.

  Loni crouched beside Maria, her touch light. She checked her wrist, forearm, and shoulder. “Any bleeding?”

  Maria shook her head too fast. “No. I’m, I’m fine.”

  Loni’s eyes moved over her with a penlight. She saw dirt, some scratches. Sweat had dried into salt lines at her collar.

  Loni glanced at Emilia, checking her over. “How about You? Any bleeding? Headache or dizziness?”

  Emilia shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  “Great,” Loni said. “I love fine. Fine is my favorite word.” She smiled at Emilia. She turned to JJ with a thumbs-up. “They’re okay.”

  JJ kept his rifle lower. He returned the thumbs up, glad they were okay.

  Maria’s gaze lifted to JJ. “What happens now?”

  “Well, first we need to figure out how to get rid of the big guy outside.” JJ nodded at the console. “You sent the call from here?”

  Maria swallowed. “From the Visitor Center first. Then… we found Tunnel C. Came out here.”

  “You get a reply from the Visitor center?” JJ asked.

  Maria’s eyes flicked down. “We got… something. A voice. Some static. Then,” Her throat worked. “Then we heard… things. Sounds outside the building. Breathing and scraping. After that, we stopped talking.”

  JJ didn’t press. He watched her hands instead: how they gripped the flashlight, how her fingers twitched when the outside wind made the building creak.

  A soft, wet exhale sounded through the door.

  Everyone froze.

  It wasn’t loud, but it was unmistakable. Little Bear tensed. Hector’s rifle came up as he backed away from the window. Loni turned on her knees, pistol up, her eyes on the door.

  JJ held his breath. If whatever came through, he didn’t know if they could kill it, but they would try.

  Another exhale came from the door. Then a scrape from outside. Something brushed against the building’s wall. The sound lasted two seconds, then stopped.

  JJ’s voice came out low. “How long has it been following you?”

  Maria stared at him. “Since the visitor center. Maybe before.”

  Emilia’s grip tightened on the axe handle. “It was there last night. We heard it.”

  A new sound drifted in, faint, the rapid clicking from the tunnels. It came from further out in the yard.

  Little Bear shifted his stance, turning his head slightly, listening. “That’s the one from the tunnel.”

  JJ nodded. “Is it too much to hope they kill each other?”

  Maria shuddered. “What are we gonna do?””

  JJ kept his tone flat. “I got some ideas.”

  Loni glanced at JJ. “Care to share?”

  “I will,” JJ smirked. Then turned to Maria and Emilia: “Tell me about the others. What happened?”

  Maria’s mouth opened and shut several times. The words didn’t want to come. Emilia answered instead, her voice tight. “Cassy. Jake. Samuel. Sandra. Clark. We were arguing about whether or not there were still Dinosaurs on the island.”

  “There are,” Hector said.

  “No shit. "We know that now,” Emilia snapped. She glared at Hector, but continued. “They went up a trail toward a nearby ridge. No one came back.”

  “Why did they go?” Loni asked.

  “The ridge overlooks most of the island. If there were Dinosaurs, then they’d be able to see them from there,” Emilia said.

  JJ let out a sigh. “Did you see what took them?”

  Maria shook her head. “We found a camera and watched what was on it.” Her voice cracked on the last word. “There was… movement and screaming. Then the scream went black.”

  Outside, something tapped against the door.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  Little Bear stepped closer to the door. “Boss, if we’re gonna do something, we need to do it soon.”

  “I know LB,” JJ said.

  JJ thumbed his own handheld mic and pressed the transmit button. “Challenger, this is Muldoon, respond, over.”

  Static hissed. Then a voice snapped in, compressed and clean. “Copy, Boss. Reading you.”

  “We have two survivors located at the maintenance yard comms building. Requesting air support. Over.”

  A pause. A click. “Copy, Muldoon. Jayhawk spinning up. Standby.”

  Emilia’s eyes narrowed. “We’re leaving?”

  JJ nodded. “Yes, the Jayhawk will shoot whatever is out there. We’ll take the service road back to the Visitor Center and our ATV.”

  Maria’s voice came out small. “What about… the others?”

  JJ held her gaze. He didn’t soften it. “We get you off first. Then we decide what we can do without adding six more names to the list.”

  Maria swallowed hard, angry tears gathering and not falling. “Okay.”

  Outside, the wet exhale came again, closer, drawn out, like something tasting the air.

  Then the door handle moved. A slow, deliberate test.

  Little Bear’s shotgun tracked it.

  JJ took one step to the side, so he had a clear line past Little Bear if the door opened.

  He spoke without raising his voice. “Eyes on the door. Loni watches the girls. Little bear, as soon as we get the all clear from the Jayhawk, you take point.”

  The handle turned again.

  And on the other side of the door, something heavy shifted its weight, close enough that the metal gave a faint, complaining groan.