Bone Quarry

by K D McNiven

  “And yet they did. In fact, one of Meg’s colleagues lost his leg, and my best friend was killed by one of your so-called experiments!” he ground out, anger flashing in his eyes.

  “We need to go, Rourke,” Meg reminded him. She caught hold of Rourke’s shirt sleeve, drawing him toward the door.

  Once out of the room, they ran speedily down the hallway in search of the front entrance. They passed several labs, then met with a winding staircase. Their shoes clunked on the metal rungs as they scrambled up them breathlessly.

  Rourke grabbed hold of the rifle still slung over his shoulder to ready himself. If the two guys at the gate had woken, they would be readying themselves for a fight. The biggest problem they faced, they had no idea how many people were on staff at the compound and how many they would have to confront.

  Nearly breaking through a door at the top of the stairs, they came face to face with the barrel of a rifle. “Stop right there,” James warned them, training his weapon squarely on them. “Drop your weapon on the floor and kick it over to me.”

  Rourke’s face tightened. Enough they had to fight off Purussaurus, now they had a bunch of crazed scientists to contend with. His mind whirled as he slowly set his rifle onto the cement floor. With the side of his foot, he kicked it toward the man. But before the man could react, Rourke bolted forward, ramming his shoulder into the guy's chest and sent him sprawling backward. He tumbled to the floor, his finger squeezing the trigger on his way. A shot rang out and Rourke felt a hot burning fire in his shoulder. He grimaced but had no intention of giving in. Stooping, his hand slapping the barrel to the side, jarring the rifle from the guy’s hand. It skidded across the cement floor out of his reach.

  Rourke was incensed, and dove on top of his adversary, driving his fist squarely into his face. A spray of blood splattered Rourke’s cheek as the man’s nose broke. He grunted with pain but retaliated. He bucked like a wild bronc, throwing Rourke to the side.

  Meg panicked when the rifle had exploded, and immediately saw blood staining the right shoulder of Rourke’s shirt. She caught sight of the rifle that had slipped free from the man’s hand, and without regard to danger, rushed forward to grab hold of it. Intent on stopping them, she pointed the barrel directly at them, her finger poised over the trigger.

  “Enough!” she screamed.

  Rourke turned his head, happy to see her with the rifle, and he rolled away, his hand snagging his own rifle as he pushed himself to his feet. He swayed slightly, feeling blood trailing down his arm and chest. From his back pocket, he pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it over the wound, applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

  The man got to his feet. Distracted by Meg holding a gun on him, he did not see what was coming next. Rourke took the butt of his rifle, and slammed it against his head, watching as he dropped to the floor once again, and he stooped to check the man’s pulse, his eyes flickering up at Meg.

  “He’ll have one helluva headache when he wakes but he’ll survive.”

  That said, he stood back up and hustled toward another set of doors where he heard a lot of banging and yelling going on. When he reached the doors, he saw it was Jayden and Kyle making the racket. Unlocking the double doors, Rourke swung them open, a wide smile parting his lips. He couldn’t express how happy he was to be able to open the door for them after their harrowing experience.

  “Thank God!” Jayden burst out seeing the two of them. “I thought for sure you both had been Purussaurus food after seeing the beast go inside the culvert.”

  “Have to say, I thought we were going to be as well. You can’t imagine how close we came.” Rourke looked directly behind Kyle and laughed. Sitting at his heels was the dog, bone-in his mouth. It appeared Kyle had made a new friend.

  “I wasn’t exactly confident the dog would take to the bone instead of my leg, but I’m relieved he did.”

  “Come inside,” Meg said. “We have a woman doctor tied up in the lab downstairs. Let’s see if we can’t get some answers.”

  They began to follow Meg as she turned and headed back the way they had come. Before they made it through the first doorway leading to the stairs, another man dressed in a lab coat showed up, pistol aimed at them. His eyes were narrowed, shifting from one to another as if contemplating whether he would be able to constrain all of them.

  “Look,” said Rourke sternly. “Game over. We’re here for answers, and we’re not leaving until we get them.”

  “Move!” he said, making a motion with the gun toward the rear of the building where they had tied up Anna. He figured he could lock them in the lab until they could determine what to do with the intruders. His opinion, throw them out for Purussaurus food and be done with them once and for all.

  They marched down the hallway and through the door to where the woman still sat bound to the chair, her eyes brightening when she saw their assistant James in control.

  Meg wondered if they had in mind to throw them all out to be dinosaur food since they didn’t appear to be open for discussion. Not wanting to wait it out, she lunged forward, seeing the gunman distracted at the moment. She plowed into him with her shoulder, both tumbling to the floor with a crash. The gun jarred out of his fingers and skittered across the floor where Jayden quickly intercepted.

  When she struggled to her feet, she could see the surprise on Rourke’s face. Meg had always been the peace-maker, never one to make waves. The unusual act of violence coming from her was rather startling, certainly unexpected, he mused, but definitely welcome. At least now they were back in control of the situation.

  Right then, Dr. Wilhelm pushed through the door, a scowl on his face. Thankfully, no gun. He reached down offering a hand to his assistant and when James was on his feet, Wilhelm turned to remove the ropes from Anna. His bushy white brows creased as he faced the crew, lips pursed.

  “We’d appreciate an explanation,” Rourke said.

  “You had no right trespassing,” Wilhelm replied.

  “It wasn’t as if you had welcome signs out front. And, we have every right! I lost a dear friend because of your outlandish experimentation. You’re playing with dynamite. People are dying. It’s time you own up to your illegal activities,” Rourke’s face reddened with anger. “Once you realized these creatures were preying on humans, you owed it to the community to come clean. What were you thinking, man?”

  Wilhelm stood stiffly. “You can’t possibly understand the absolute thrill of discovering complete DNA in the eggs! Uncontaminated blood cells with DNA. We’ve been working around the clock, taking tissue from the local caimans and…”

  “I understand the thrill. I’m a paleontologist! Thrilling or no, when people start losing their lives, it’s time to take stock of what you’re doing. And who is funding this? This sort of experimentation must be costing millions of dollars?”

  Wilhelm shuffled nervously. “Corporations who are interested in funding scientific research.”

  “Out here in the middle of nowhere?” Rourke pressed him, faltering at the same time. It was Meg who rushed to his side, clutching onto his elbow to give support. “We need to get you to the hospital. You’re losing a lot of blood.”

  “Jayden, call the police commander and explain what has happened.” Rourke’s said, his head spinning. He staggered; glad Meg stood next to him as a crutch. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could remain conscious.

  “It’s clear there’s more going on here than meets the eye,” Rourke managed to say, his eyes blurring. He shook his head, fighting to focus on his surroundings. “And we intend to find out. You will not get away with this. Too many people have suffered.”

  With his last words, Rourke collapsed. Meg was thankful when she felt extra hands reach out and take hold of him. They gently lowered him to the floor. Meg knelt beside him, her heart pounding. If something should happen to him…she thrust the thought aside. The ambulance would get there soon enough. He’d be all right, she told herself over and over.

  While the others wer
e distracted by Rourke, Wilhelm shoved Jayden aside and bolted out of the door. He ran quickly inside his lab, bolting the door behind him, then rushed down a hallway to a secured door. He punched in the code on the wall pad and hurried down some stairs to a lower floor where his car was parked. Not wasting any time, he slipped the key into the lock and clicked the remote to open the garage door. He peeled out just as he heard the siren blaring from the ambulance and no doubt, the police.

  “I lost him,” Jayden said, returning from the chase. He took a moment to catch his breath before adding, “He slipped through a door that unfortunately had a keypad. I caught sight of him squealing around the corner in one of the vehicles, making a quick getaway.”

  “He’s not my main worry right now,” Meg said applying more pressure on Rourke’s wound. The handkerchief had soaked through and blood oozed through Meg’s fingers. She battled back tears. The thought of losing Rourke slashed through her like a knife.

  The floor quaked and terrifying roars came from the room opposite, where Rourke and Meg had climbed through the chute. Meg’s eyes flickered up. She stared at Anna questioningly.

  “It’s feeding time,” she said in a near whisper.

  “What?”

  “The Purussaurus. They want food. I usually take a couple of goats and toss into the holding chamber.”

  The banging noises increased until they heard chunks of cement clattering to the floor on the other side of the wall.

  “They’ve broken through,” Anna said, panic rising in her voice. “It’s too late to appease them with the goats.”

  “Help me get Rourke out of here Jayden,” Meg cried out. “Hurry!”

  As they helped pull Rourke to his feet, Anna had already run out of the room and down the hall. The two of them began dragging his dead-weight, making it excruciating for Meg. It wasn’t until Kyle rushed up to relieve her that she could finally pick up her pace.

  The sound of a wall crumbling echoed through the corridor. Meg passed a glance over her shoulder and caught sight of one of the Purussaurus’ through the wide window, the only thing separating them now. She slammed one of the doors as they fled. It would not hold them for long but it would slow them down a little.

  The ambulance had pulled up to the front of the warehouse. Kyle and Jayden handed him off into capable hands, then rushed for the jeep, Meg following closely behind. From the water’s edge, another Purussaurus pounded up the slick muddy embankment and ran towards them, its jaws opening.

  “Get in, Meg! Run!” Jayden called out to her as Kyle revved the engine, anxious to head out of there before the beast was on top of them.

  Meg quickened her steps. She could sense the Purussaurus was closing in on her. She leaped forward, grabbing the door handle and pulled herself inside as Kyle punched the pedal to the floor.

  The Purussaurus bellowed, running swiftly behind, but soon they were able to distance themselves. Meg’s eyes closed, sighing with relief before she slumped back onto the cloth seat. She thought her heart would burst with fear. It still thudded erratically in her chest.

  ***

  Anna punched the sequence of numbers into the keypad. Nothing. Her breath quickened and her whole body quivered like jello. When she heard the far wall crumbling, she knew with certainty the Purussaurus would gain access inside the main lab. With trembling fingers, she pushed the code number. Again, nothing. Somehow it had shorted, most likely when the wall collapsed. What to do now? Her head wheeled both directions searching for a means of escape, futilely realizing she had no other way to get out, save from dashing towards the front entrance and making herself fully vulnerable to the creatures.

  The floor began to quake with each footfall of the beast. Her eyes panned the area and seeing the wall cabinet, she willed her feet to move and dove inside, pulling the door closed behind her. Blood surged through her veins, pounding in her ears. Pinching her eyes shut, she waited in horrifying silence.

  Each footfall caused the floor to vibrate. Anna could hear the throaty rumble of the Purussaurus as it approached, and shook violently. Everyone else had made their way out of the lab, and she was alone with no one to help her. She guessed this would be her recompense for having taken part in the idea of cloning. They weren’t God after all! What could she have been thinking? Or perhaps it was merely the charming Dr. Wilhelm, his vibrant blue eyes snapping with enthusiasm, that had caught her up in his outrageous proposal?

  Anna screamed as the beast banged into the cabinet door viciously. She heard a loud crack, the door splintering near the bottom, a larger chunk broke off, clattering to the cement floor. This was her moment of reckoning. Either she made a mad dash to escape, or the beast would have her trapped in the cabinet, and she would be prey to the lethal fangs.

  Inhaling deeply, she lunged toward the opening. Adrenalin pumping, she squeezed through, scrambled to her feet, and bolted toward the exit door. She could hear the rumble of the beast’s large feet amplifying as it advanced after her. Its wide gait was double her own—she could nearly feel its hot breath on her neck. Twisting her head, she recognized the Purussaurus. Chloe, her favorite. How fitting. The one she’d held and nurtured from the moment it broke free of her egg and now it would be the one to end her life.

  Almost there, she noted…feet away. Only a few more steps and perhaps she could leap to the bottom of the steps…maybe roll under the platform out of reach…but there was the sickening sense she would not have enough time to escape. In a flash, razor-sharp teeth caught her up—seven metric tons of bite force clamped down on her, tearing her upper body away at the torso.

  Chapter Eighteen

  ⁂

  “What are you telling me?” Daisuke Nakamura asked, agitation dripping in his voice.

  Inhaling deeply, Dr. Wilhelm fought to explain. “I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Nakamuru. There has been a team anchored offshore doing a conservation study…the Oceanic Research Center. Their crew stumbled onto a mass of bones just offshore. This discovery prompted them to begin a search of the area. Unfortunately, they found our compound and connected us to the project.”

  “You couldn’t find a way to get rid of them?”

  “We tried, believe me! They are persistent and broke into the lab. They realized we had discovered uncontaminated dinosaur eggs with DNA and that we had used caimans as surrogates to recreate the Purussaurus.”

  “I assume you have a plan to do away with them?”

  Wilhelm gulped. Sweat popped up on his forehead. A plan? Not exactly. He batted several things around, searching for something reasonable to hold back Daisuke’s anger. “When things settle, I’ll try to lure the beasts back into the compound, at which point I’ll contact you to come for them.”

  “When things settle?” he said. “I’ve invested millions into this project Wilhelm. I expect you to fulfill your obligation to me. It’s one of the reasons I’ve decided to send a few trained men there to assist you. I assume I can depend on your immediate cooperation? I’ll not wait for the dust to settle. These people must be dealt with without delay!”

  “Of…c-course,” he spluttered. “I’ll be expecting them. However, I also am expecting the police to come snooping around as well.”

  “If you value your life, Wilhelm, you’ll find a way to elude them. Whatever it takes. My ship is heading this way as we speak. They are equipped to tranquilize the beasts, net them, and haul them on board. I expect the animals will be en route to Japan within the week. We don’t have time to waste on these people. Do whatever you can to get rid of them. I’ll leave you alone for the time being so you can take immediate action.”

  “I appreciate your patience,” Wilhelm said, clicking the stop button on his cell phone. Angry, he flung his phone against the far wall. “Bastard!” he yelled out loud.

  When silence filled the small hotel room where he’d fled, he felt nausea sweeping over him. How on earth would he be able to ward off the police and at the same time see a research team murdered? He had been trying for more than two
hours to reach someone at the compound. Presently, no one answered. Wilhelm couldn’t be sure if they had been arrested or what fate had befallen them. All he knew, was that he alone had been left to figure out how to fix the whole mess.

  Once more, with trembling fingers, he punched in Anna’s number. Immediately, it went to voicemail. His heart sank. “My dear Anna,” he whispered. “What has happened to you?”

  ***

  Meg paced the tiled floor, the smell of antiseptic assaulting her nostrils. She wondered what could be taking the doctors so long? It had already been two hours, and she had yet to hear any word as to how Rourke was doing. He had lost so much blood, she mused and had been unconscious the entire way to the hospital.

  Meg turned as she felt the pressure of fingers on her shoulder. When she turned her head back, Jayden was looking squarely into her eyes; sympathy stamped on his face. Meg didn’t have to tell him how worried she was but managed a smile anyhow.

  “No news?” he asked, handing her over a cup of hot coffee.

  She shook her head, taking the cup out of his hand and taking a drink. “Thanks for the coffee and thanks for staying with me.”

  “I’m anxious to hear how he’s doing too.”

  “Yeah. The whole crew has been calling. Were you able to get hold of the police?”

  “I spoke over the phone with Commander Fernando Carvalho. He said he would send a couple of his men out to check out the compound and see what’s going on.”

  “That was a close call,” Meg said with a sigh, remembering how she and Rourke had managed to slip through the chute to escape the enormous jaws of the Purussaurus, and when they fled, the beast nearly locked its teeth in their bumper. She would be happy when this drama closed. Too nerve-wracking for her.

  Right then the nurse came around the corner and motioned to them. Meg and Jayden rushed over, anxious to hear news on Rourke. The warm smile on the nurse’s face reflected she had good news to impart.