Isla Sorna Survival

ISS C25

Trio

The four of us were standing in the clearing. I couldn't help but grin. I should probably be running like hell, but I'm standing here. My arrogance will be the cause of my death. If not the arrogance, then the emotional battles, but it'll be me that causes my demise one way or another.

Bryce, Bobby and Zach didn't know what to do, so they mimicked what I was doing. They all stood and looked in the direction the Tyrannosaurs were coming from.

"So, why did you guys leave without me anyway?"

"There was some big ass white thing. The pilot said that if you were in that direction, you were dead."

"Big ass white thing? Go on."

"Some genetically engineered hybrid or something."

I knew exactly what they were talking about. There's an Indominus Rex on this island. Before the conversation could continue, three Tyrannosaurs walked into the clearing. I had my escape planned out. There was a dense area the Tyrannosaurs wouldn't fit in. I was going to run like hell into it. I just had one thing I needed to do. The other three started screaming.

"Where do we go!?"

"I don't know!"

"Why are they just standing there!?"

I didn't say anything. They're picking out a target. They know me. They know I'm fast, so they think the others are just like me. They're looking for the weakest member. There's no obvious sign to them that one of us is weak.

I threw the M107 over my shoulder. I said there was one thing I needed to do before running to the dense brush, and here it is. As I turned to start running, I shot Bobby's leg. The bullet connected. Bobby screamed in pain as the rest of us started running in different directions. The Tyrannosaurs charged and all went for Bobby. I was three steps from the brush and turned to see what was happening. That's one sight I'll never forget. I'll never talk about either. Ok, that's a lie. All I saw of Bobby was a bloody chunk of flesh. The fact that he was still screaming is what got to me for a moment. That was silenced with a quick bite from Shadow.

"Awwwww. They kissed."

Yeah, it looked like Shadow and Thorn kissed when Shadow bit Bobby. Now to track down the other two and go from there. I waited until the Tyrannosaurs were gone before I stepped out of the brush. I climbed the largest tree I could find and scoped out the area. I had no luck finding the other two, but this tree will make a good place to spend the night.

I stayed in the tree for a few hours before dark. I watched the Tyrannosaurs hunting off in the distance, and I had found the other two. They had hidden in a cave. I'll track them down later. Now it's dark, and my actions today are probably going to haunt me.

ISS C24

The Group

It was three days since I found the helicopter and I was following footprints. There were three sets of them side by side. If I had to guess, those bastards were holding hands because there's no reason to be walking side by side through the jungle. I'm surprised the footprints have gotten as far as they have. Ah well, I'll find them. When I do, I don't know yet.

As per my usual schedule, I climbed a tree because it was the heat of the day. I climbed to the highest spot that held the weight of me and my equipment, and I scoped out the area. I had the scope on 32x (scope magnification is given in #x or #-#x, depending on magnification. A 6-32x scope, like the one on the AR50, has a magnification range of 6x to 32x) and I continued following the footprints. When I couldn't find them anymore, I looked around the rest of the area on 10x (the higher the magnification, the closer distant objects look, but the less around it you can see).

Eventually, some movement caught my eye. There were three figure. It was the guys. If this reticle is any form of true, they're about six hundred yards out, easy shooting distance. I zoomed in the point I could see the whites of their eyes. I got light headed and my chest went hollow. They betrayed me. I trusted them and they betrayed me. I'm not surprised, but I'm still hurt.

Why? Why am I so sensitive? Why did the old iPad have to die? I was a post apocalyptic badass in the other version of this story, before the iPad crashed. Now, I'm a..... person. I have feelings. I can get hurt psychologically and it's killing me. It's the emotional pain that's really doing me in here. Time for a change.

I wiped away a tear. I looked back through the scope, adjusted the rifle so the butt was comfortable against my shoulder, and lined up the crosshairs. My eye was unblinking as my face went to stone. My mouth wasn't in a smile, it wasn't in a frown, it was just resting. I took a deep breath, steadied the rifle, and tensed my finger on the trigger. I felt the trigger slowly give, and then the rifle fired. I felt a small push to my shoulder from the recoil, but that was it. I watched the vapour trail as the bullet flew towards its target. Less than a second after the rifle had settled, I saw the branch I aimed at drop, and ashes spewed from the fire the guys had lit. Bullseye. The bullet ricocheted off the branch and into the fire. They'll know I'm still alive.

I climbed down the tree and made my way towards where the guys were, M107 in hand. I knew they'd be in the immediate area of the fire, probably under a bush. They're too stupid to hide anywhere else. I got to the clearing and examined the area. They had been here a while. This was their camp? Pathetic. That's all I can say. I heard footsteps behind me.

"Take another step and I will end you."

"Big words coming from the guy who shot at us while we ate."

"If I wanted you pieces of shit dead, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"You're just saying that because you're too much of a pussy to kill us."

"I have my reasoning, it won't do me any good to explain it to you."

"Why's that?"

"You aren't worth the effort."

Bryce must have enough of talking because he started running at me. I turned around and swung the M107. The butt hit Bryce's rib cage and he dropped. The other two were trying to sneak up behind me and I turned around, holding the M107 sideways, and hit them with it. Zach took the barrel to the throat and dropped, Bobby took the butt to the chest and stumbled back. Bobby regained his balance and tried running at me. I didn't have much time to react as he grabbed the M107 barrel.

I couldn't swing the M107, so I tried jerking it from Bobby's grasp. No luck. We pushed and pulled and kept walking back and forth until all three guys were in front of me. Zach and Bryce stood up and started walking towards us. I guess they think they have this fight in the bag now. They don't.

I let go of the M107, and reached behind me. In my waistband, were two Desert Eagles. I pulled them out, aimed one at Bobby, and one at Bryce.

"Set the rifle down, gently."

Bobby dropped the Barrett on the ground. I lowered the Desert Eagle in my left hand and shot Bobby. The bullet grazed his leg. It left nothing more than a small scratch. So small, a doctor wouldn't be able to tell he was just shit with the second most powerful handgun on the planet. Bobby screamed in pain.

"What the fuck did you do that for!?!?!?"

"I said gently. That doesn't mean drop the fucking thing."

There was no answer.

"Now that I have your attention, you listen to me, or I abandon you and leave you to die."

"We'll be fine on our own."

"If you say so."

I put the Desert Eagle in my right hand back in my waistband, picked up the M107 and started backing away with the other Desert Eagle and the M107 pointed at them.

"You wouldn't shoot us. We know you. You won't."

"You don't know me, and I would."

"We've know you since high school. We've served along side you. We know you."

"No, you don't........... You feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"Something big is coming. There's only one species on this island that does that."

Chapter 23

Crash Site

I made my way to where the helicopter crashed. I was making good time and had maybe a mile left by noon. I sat and took a break in the shade. It was too damn hot to do anything during this time of day. I was about fifty feet up and scoping out the area. From where I was, I could see pretty much everything of significance. I was going to be up here for a while.

While sat, my focus began to wander. Great, you know what that means. Always happens when I'm alone too long. My vision bounced between blurry and clear, my head started to ache, and my chest felt hollow. My breathing stayed normal and you wouldn't be able to tell something was wrong by looking at me. Just the same, if I was with my friend or fiancée, they'd know something's been up for too long.

What is it this time? I'm not actually sure. You know what I mean? It feels like something is stirring inside you, something's up and you know it, but you don't know what it is. You can't put a finger on one specific thing. This is the worst kind of feeling crushed inside is the accumulation of little shit that just keeps piling up until it comes out in waves of seemingly meaningless disappointment and tears.

That friend of mine, I know I'm probably beating a dead horse at this point, but, well, when I say I love her like a sister, I mean it. She was the first person I cried in front of knowing full well someone knew I was crying. There was one point when I was 11 or 12 I cried because a friend of mine died, but no one was around. I didn't cry again until I was 17 and talking to her on the phone because she........ well, I don't want to talk about that incident. Long story short, I was on the phone with her for almost an hour, and of that hour, I cried for 45 minutes. She had to hang up shortly, and I was trying to figure out what the fuck to say........ because...... well, she was...... leaving.

My thought process was gone, I couldn't put three words in a row that made sense, and I felt truly helpless. I was trying to figure out what to say to her. I knew she had to hang up shortly, and I was trying to say "good bye" or "see ya" or "talk to you later" or something along those lines. Anyway, emotionally distressed me decides none of those are acceptable and says "I love you". She didn't even flinch and responded with "I love you too". That hit me like a freight train. I knew she loved me, that wasn't a surprise. What hit me was hearing someone say they love me.

I think I've explained it before. Growing up, I was emotionless cyborg. From the time my friend died in grade 6 until the time I met my best friend, I had no feelings. People never saw any emotion from me and I never implied that I had feelings. Sure, there were days I wanted to kill myself, but I didn't and no one knew any different. Like anything else, I had a conversation with her about it. It was one of those depressing conversations we periodically had. I forget the exact details, but I do remember saying its one thing to think about it, but it's a completely different story to be sitting in the woods with no one around for miles and playing with the safety on a loaded gun with tears in your eyes thinking about it. Her response to that was that for her it was knives. Regardless, I forget exactly how that conversation ended, but it ended with talking about how adorable penguins are.

The hollowness persisted and my vision continued to fade in and out. I got light headed and realized I was close to passing out. I hadn't had anything to eat or drink in the past day or two. Shit. The nearest water source was a mile from me, and food was not an option until I got a drink. I climbed back down and made my way to a river that I had spotted.

I got to the river after several hours of walking with a break every hundred feet or so. I immediately started drinking. Not too fast, but fast enough I felt my stomach go screwy for a moment. I slowed down and drank a bit more. I sat up and looked around. I could see the remains of the helicopter from here.

I walked to the remains and found one body. The pilot had died. I saw footprints. The others had survived. I'll track them down and screw with them before deciding what I do from there. Based on the fact that the pilot's corpse had been picked clean, I'm assuming the helicopter had crashed a few days ago. The guys may not even be alive anymore, but if they are, I can easily get back in the group and use them as bait when need be.

Chapter 22

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Damage

I woke up. I looked at my surroundings. I was on a couch. Not only that, I was on my friend's couch, and I smelled pasta. I groaned as I sat up, and I was promptly tackled by my friend's husky. I laughed as the dog licked my face. Love this dog. I had to push her away to catch my breath for a minute and then I let the dog go again. One of the friendliest dogs you'll ever meet. I pushed the dog off me and sat up again. The dog walked out of the room and came back with a rope. Play time.

"You have too much energy."

The dog simply growled. Not an angry growl, but her usual "play with me" growl.

"You win."

I grabbed one end of the rope and played tug of war with the dog for five minutes or so. I stopped though because I wanted to talk to my friend. I stood up and walked to the kitchen. It was just her cooking. I assumed my other friend was upstairs watching TV.

"You're up."

"I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, I just woke up. You know what I'm like."

"That's true. What's up?"

"Same old same. Hug?"

She didn't answer, she just hugged me. We hugged a lot. We both needed it. It wasn't just a quick hug either. It was one of those tight, warm, "I love you" hugs. There was love though. Not romantic, but we weren't just friends. She's family as far as I'm concerned. Then again, she told me first she thought of me as family. I rested my head on her shoulder and sighed.

"You're going to be ok."

"I know. It's just....."

"You've told me most of it before."

"But......"

"I know. It's understandable. You know I'll always be here for you."

"I know. Knowing that helps. But........ still."

"I get it."

"I know you do. That's why I'm so open with you. You understand me better than anyone else."

There was no response, but she did tighten her grip. I smiled a little and tightened my grip. I could feel her rubbing my sides. I rubbed her back a little. It was comforting and felt nice. I was silent for a while.

"You're going to be ok."

**********

I woke up. I was in the cave again. Dammit, wrong situation was a dream. I sighed. Damn I miss her. I stood up and looked around. I needed to figure out what to do. I looked at the entrance. The rain had stopped. I walked to the entrance and looked outside. I was kinda high up. I didn't think I had ran that far uphill, but I could see for miles. Everything caught in the blaze was black and some of it was still smouldering. Everything that wasn't caught was green. It was insane. I could even see the Tyrannosaur family. Naturally, they escaped the fire unharmed.

I took a few deep breaths. Must have cried myself to sleep because I don't recall not sobbing before I passed out. So be it. No one's around to have seen it, so it won't hurt my ego. Hell, if someone had been around, I probably would have went to cyborg mode. You see, the way I am, I can't show emotion around someone unless I trust them. If I don't trust them, my only emotions will be hungry and angry. I'll be dead on the inside. My chest will hurt because I want to cry so bad. My head will be pounding because of the stress and all the thoughts rushing through my mind. On the outside though, I'll simply be a cyborg. There won't be any emotion. No tears, my breathing will remain normal, fists clenched, but nothing to alert anyone to my inside distress.

Once I'm alone or with my friend, then things change. First, my hands will relax. I'll probably close my eyes. My breathing will become erratic. I'll feel my heart pounding out of my chest. If I'm with my friend, I'll hug her and rest my head on her shoulder. More than likely, we'll be squeezing the life out of each other. The thoughts will leave my mind as a constant, sobbing series of words that don't form a sentence or even make sense, but my friend will understand. Slowly, the emptiness in my chest will disappear. My heart rate will return to normal. I'll be able to control my breathing. I won't open my eyes because I can still feel the tears flowing. My friend will be rubbing my back and sides every so often. I'll still be squeezing the life out of her, but she won't fight it. She knows it helps me, and that's the type of friend she is. Once I'm back to normal(ish), I'll loosen my grip, but not let go. I'll apologize to her for always losing it with her, for always putting my burden on her. She'll tighten her grip and tell me it's ok. She'll tell me not to worry about it and that she'll always be there for me. I'll tighten my grip again, and we'll stand in silence for however long is needed. In that time, the only sounds will be my breathing, sniffing, and her telling me I'll be alright.

I sat down and leaned against the cave wall right at the entrance. I was looking outside, trying to figure out what to do. I felt tears still running down my face, but at this point that was as bad as it was getting. My chest felt hollow, but there was no pain. I was breathing a bit funny too. Not erratic, now short and shallow, but almost panting. I was drooling a little too. Damn, I even miss her cooking and that dream reminded me of it. Well, once I'm over this breakdown, I'll be back to the me everyone knows and pretty much everyone hates. Won't give two shits because the only ones who's opinion matters to me are back home and they love me.

Based on the sunrise, I was facing south. I could see the dock from where I was. I was about a day's travel away from it, two days if I stopped for food and sleep. I started the trek to the docks. I can almost feel the freedom.

I sat, leaning against the cave wall for a while. I was surveying the landscape, and at the same time, I was calming my nerves. I was almost emotionally ready to continue the journey. I saw the remains of a helicopter halfway between here and the docks. I'll be checking that one out. That'll make my day if it was the helicopter those f*cks were on.