NOTE: I’m running slightly behind due to the preparing for art show and running a panel for MileHiCon. Also, I had three pro writing deadlines to meet in two weeks. I have a bit of breathing space before my next two, so I am catching up the stories on FFN.

Also, I have three spots left for anyone who is looking for a Beta Reader. Also, my thanks to everyone who is dropping by to participate in my poll. It ends December 31st.

SPECIAL NOTE: Christian Gate Fan has asked me to complete ‘Left Behind SG1’. With her permission, I have made that announcement on my profile page and am including it at the beginning of my next round of stories. She will be reading each chapter first and will be posting them so we don’t lose anyone on the alert list.

Only a Theory

Dragonlots aka Dana Bell

Chapter 5

Hammond grabbed his straw hat to keep it from flying away as the rotating blades kicked up dust. The copter gently landed in the field next to the main compound and one of tyrannosaurs bugled an objection to having its dinner interrupted.

Two young figures darted out the door and were bent partially over to escape the whirling death above their heads. Nigel waved at the pilot when they were clear and the helicopter rose, heading off the grounds.

Their grandfather embraced the two young people and gave them a big smile. “Welcome,” he greeted.

Lexi looked uneasily around. Her eyes bulged at the tyrannosaur calmly munching off the top of the nearest tree.

“Cool,” Tim admired. He pulled his camera out of his backpack and snapped a shot.

“Hello, I’m Nigel Marvin.” The Brit gave the two newcomers a huge grin.

“Where’d that MONSTER come from!” Lex demanded. She edged behind her grandfather as the tyrannosaur turned its head in her direction before returning to its grazing.

“The past,” Marvin good naturedly returned. “I have more.” He looked at Tim. “Would you like to see?”

“Yeah!” Tim followed the adventurer to the waiting jeep.

“Grandfather,” Lex implored.

He patted her hand. “It’ll be fine. Prehistoric Park has much better safeguards than Jurassic Park.”

“I hope so.” She tossed her head, her long blonde braided hair coming to rest on her back. Lex smoothed a crease in her khaki pants and straightened her matching jacket. “I have a date I don’t want to miss because of some runaway dinosaur.” She hooked her arm through Hammond’s.

They joined Marvin and Tim in the jeep. Nigel gunned the jeep and they darted over the grass land.

“So, how many dinosaurs here?” Tim shouted.

“Haven’t really counted. Just enough to see if they’ll survive.”

“I have an island full of dinosaurs,” Hammond reminded the other. “They survive quite well.”

“Know all about it.” He shifted the gear and sped up. “New Zealand military picked up the pterodactyls on the radar this morning. I’m hoping they’ll come this way and I’ll snag them for the park.”

“Any idea on how you’ll catch them?”

“Not yet.”

“Hear that.” Tim grabbed the side as the jeep bounced. “He’s gonna try to catch pterodactyls.”

“Great fun,” Lex groused.

The jeep skidded to a stop outside the saber cat cages. The naturalist turned in the seat to address the two young people, “We’ve got two new cubs.”

That caught Lex’s attention. “Kittens?”

“Cubs.” He pointed his chin. “That’s our vet Suzanne. She’ll probably let you help feed them.”

“Cool.” Lex was out of the jeep. She joined the dark haired vet and went into the enclosure.

“I want to see the bugs,” Tim told Marvin.

“One trip to the bug house coming up.”

“I usually can only feed them one at a time,” Suzanne explained as she took the cub on her lap.

Lex took the other and the cub greedily latched onto it, sucking noisily from the nipple.

“Don’t let him drink too fast. Otherwise he’ll get bubbles in their stomach.”

“This is a boy?”

“They both are.”

The cub’s tail whacked Lex’s arm, leaving behind several tan and black hairs on her jacket. She giggled. “You do this all the time?”

“Yes. They’re the second set to be born here.”

“They’re both so cute.”

“I promise they won’t be in a few months.”

“What happened to the first two cubs?”

“They’re in a new enclosure. I’ll take you over there once we feed these two.”

“I’d like that.” She glanced uneasily around. “What other creatures do you have here?”

“A couple of T-rexs.”

Lex shivered. The cub mewed a protest.

“A Terror bird, tyrannosaurs, wooly mammoth, several others.”

“Any… problems?” Memories of being chased by raptors through several buildings and trying to keep her brother alive surfaced.

“Nothing Nigel couldn’t handle.”

“What happened?” Now she was curious although a part of her was scared.

“Mitilda got lose.” Suzanne gave the younger woman a sympathetic smile. “She’s one of the T-Rexes.”

“I got, I mean we, “

“I know. I read all about it. Nigel had a copy of all the records so we wouldn’t make the same mistakes.”

“I still don’t like meat eating dinosaurs.”

“You’re feeding one.”

Lex looked down at the kitten hugging her wrist while she gave him his bottle. “He doesn’t seem so scary.”

“It’s all a matter of knowing how to properly handle them.”

“Neat scorpion.” Tim watched the giant black bug with some red stripes scuttled under a huge leaf.

“We have a centipede as well. Stands,” Nigel put a hand over his head, “this high. Harmless, but startles Bob, my game keeper all the time.”

“We never got any DNA for these.” Hammond didn’t disguise his interest.

“We were lucky.” Nigel rubbed his arm. “Fellow in there stung me.”

“And you’re not dead?”

“Suzanne said it the venom was designed for insects, not people. Swelling went down after a couple of weeks.”

Tim snapped a picture of the scorpion who had come back out before darting under another broad leaf. He put his camera away and tossed his backpack over his shoulder. “Can I come work here for a few weeks during summer break?”

John Hammond stared at his grandson in surprise. “I thought after what happened at Jurassic Park you never wanted to see another dinosaur again.”

“Naw. Just got me more curious. Besides, Dr. Grant went back to the island and I’ll bet he’s been here too, huh?”

Nigel nodded. “He has.”

“If I’m gonna study dinosaurs,” Tim straightened importantly, “I can’t think of a better place to do it.”