Work Text
Immersion Theory
Chapter One
The Beginning
Kathrine Moore was absorbed in her book, ignoring the people around her as her Father's employees moved to-and-fro in the office. She had been sitting there for over an hour now, her suitcase at her side and her sturdy, thick-clothed backpack against her hip as the giant zoology textbook on her lap took her attention. It was the beginning of Summer Vacation, and she would be starting her senior year at high school once it ended. She'd been studying like mad, keeping her straight A's and her four-point-oh average, and it had all cumulated into what was happening next. A two-month Internship at InGen itself!Her pulse raced at the reminder, her dark blue eyes glancing at the envelope she was using as a bookmark. Inside was her Internship Approval letter, the one she had been aiming to get since fifth grade, the one that was signed by Doctor Wu himself, informing her of her acceptance for their summer program. She was one step closer to achieving her dream job! If she kept to the plan, kept her grades high and her chin up, and proved herself capable and diligent during this Internship, then, upon graduation, she would have a guaranteed position in the very same lab that had re-made dinosaurs. One that would pay for her college studies, which would help her gain high positions in the lab. And maybe, one day, she could take those studies even further than even Doctor Wu had been able to.Imagine it! She could bring back any creature that had fallen extinct! Re-new world-wide energy stores! End world hunger with cloning, or grow organs that would never be rejected because they would literally be the host-body's own organ! And, even if you ignored the sheer potential of the studies Doctor Wu had birthed, she would be allowed to work with the dinosaurs themselves. She would get to study them up-close and personal, learn their habits, see them in habitats that haven't existed on Earth for billions of years. And, one day, she would get to make them herself.She just had to prove herself during this internship. Had to do as she was told, ask intelligent questions, and, maybe, she could corner some of the other, older interns and college students and gain a foot in the lab door after graduation that would help keep her ahead of the game. There were stories about how cut-throat job positions could be in the InGen labs. After all, everyone wanted what she did. They wanted to have a hand in creating dinosaurs, and Kathrine wasn't about to lose her only opportunity to do so.So, here she was studying. She was studying the biology, environment, and behavior of various species, of their habitats, habits, food, and compatibility with humans. She'd studied mostly land-creatures, but had also paid attention to sea and aerial animals as well. Everything, every animal, from blue whales to African lions, bald eagles to alligator-snapping turtles, ostriches to domesticated dogs, no animal was not at least studied in a general way within all subjects. She'd lost count of the number of articles and documents she'd printed, high-lightened, and stored away about various animal attacks, laws, numbers in wild versus in captivity, everything she could get her hands on.She would be ahead of the game. And, even if every other Intern was thinking the same thing, she highly doubted they'd done so to the same extreme that she had. After all, studying science and zoology and paleontology was one thing, but what would they know about how animals think? They'd brush that off, focus on chemistry and biology and computer science, all of which she had a decent level of knowledge in, but the animals themselves? They wouldn't be seen as living, breathing miracles, creatures with their own instincts and attitudes and reactions to stimuli. No, no, they would be 'assets'. 'Subjects' and numbers and 'specimens'. But not to her.Kathrine knew that the other scientists would be focusing on the creation of the dinosaurs. On the Science. That was fine, she liked that as well, it was incredibly important. But they were so focused on the forest they lost sight of the trees. Each dinosaur that proved viable, each re-created species a step further into genetic research and manipulation. She wasn't diminishing the level of sophistication or importance of any of the studies.But, if you were going to, say, create a new breed of dog, there were behavioral and medical issues you should consider. You want to make a large dog with medium-length fur, with a deep chest and long tail and broad skull, you had a lot to consider. There were the health issues, such as hip dysplasia, kidney issues, spinal mutations, ocular diseases, life-spans. Then there was the amount of time you'd have to put into decided which breeds to use, then each of their medical issues, and then the compatibility of the breeds.Then, there was behavior and instinctual issues. A border collie tends to herd and chase small animals and children, for example. This instinctual response, mixed with, say, the anti-social and aggressive instincts of a Tibetan mastiff, would create a sort of... hyper-aggressive herding mentality. A larger dog with a severe dislike of strangers, extreme territorial issues, and the need to chase and herd things. The potential for injuries was very high.Now, taking that same analogy, and applying it to dinosaurs, you gained a much... Grimmer, potential of disaster. They'd gotten a glimpse of it, in nineteen-ninety-three at the original park, and that incident in San Diego in ninety-seven and the fall-out of public relations as a result. Hammond had been a Visionary, Doctor Wu was ambitious, but neither of them considered the dangers of their dreams, and people died.Kathrine's mother had been one of the many Lawyers that persecuted InGen for their negligence and the lives it cost. Her father had been one of the Lawyers hired to defend them. In the end, it's what caused their divorce, and made Kathrine interested in dinosaurs. Before then, before the screaming fights, the viciously cold shoulders, the slammed doors and thin-lipped expressions, her parents had been her inspiration. She'd wanted to be a Lawyer, just like them, in fourth grade. And, within a single summer, she had dedicated herself to understanding the creatures that had torn her family apart, at first with the desire to destroy them from the inside out, but now...Now she loved them.They were animals. They had no idea the devastation, the loss, they caused. They were just following their instincts, reacting to stimuli that humans had no idea how to counter fully in this day and age. It had been human error that had caused the deaths of innocents, not animal malice. Greed, ignorance, ambition, pride, all these things had caused those incidents.And, if she studied, focused, learned, about those instincts and reactions, she could better prepare and prevent them from occurring again. And, human error? Logic could manipulate greed, explanation could educate ignorance, proof and in-depth study could re-aim ambition, and carefully modulated praise could sooth pride. Once human error was prepared for, it was the animals one had to take into consideration. And that's what Kathrine was doing."Kat?" A gentle voice called softly, and Kathrine paused her mental ramblings in order to look up, one finger automatically going to her spot on the page that she'd last been at (an anatomical depiction of a king cobra, namely the list of muscles that caused the hood to flare). Standing in front of her was Saundra Fione, her fathers secretary, the same small smile on her face that had been there for years when dealing with Kathrine. "Your father is sorry, but-""But he can't see me off," Kathrine finished, a bemused smile on her lips as the secretary nodded apologetically."Something came up in the case he's defending,"� she told the teenager gently. "However, he's given me leave to accompany you to your plane.""That's fine,"� Kathrine told her, well used to her father's schedule. She'd only seen her mother twice this last year, once on Christmas and again on her birthday, but that had become par the course since the divorce had been finalized and she'd moved in with her father in fifth grade. "I'm ready to go, if you are?"� She added, gesturing at her backpack."Of course,"� Saundra told her, smiling. "I already had the car pull around in front for us,"� she added; Kathrine nodded and got to her feet, carefully using her acceptance letter to save her place as she went. Once her textbook was safely packed away, Kathrine got to her feet."Lead the way,"� she offered the older woman, absently reaching up to tug on her ponytail to make sure none of her light brown hair had escaped. Saundra chuckled softly and did so and, like many other times in the past, Kathrine turned her back to the door leading to her father's office and followed his secretary out of the building.Her future was waiting, and it wasn't behind that perpetually closed door.
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The plane she's on is small, a thirty, maybe forty-person seater, with nineteen other passengers, no Flight Attendant, and a pilot whose English was passable at best. Luckily, his Co-Piolet spoke more than enough to get safety measures and updates across. Kathrine was vibrating in her seat, clutching her sturdy pack to her chest as she stared out the window at the open ocean. They would be going to the lab on the recently leased Site C, a small island several miles away from the InGen owned Isla Sorna and Isla Nublar, safely kept away from all actual dinosaurs save for a single trip to Nublar mid-summer in order to witness the construction and early access to the new park that was being built, Jurassic World. They would, hopefully, be allowed to witness the Hatching Labs, or at least the Coding Sites, but, until then, they would be on a small island called Pajarito, or "Tiny Bird" if her Google Translate worked right... It did sort of look like a bird, if you tilted your head properly while looking at it on a map, but, well...It wasn't nearly as interesting as the Five Deaths were.Anyways, upon reaching Pajarito, they would begin working in the lab, learning about the science behind the genetics and cloning. They'd had to sign some NDA's before they'd even stepped onto the plane, which had been interesting for her to read through thanks to her upbringing. They were going to get into the nitty-gritty details, study the length of codes and numbers behind every piece of study that went into even a single strand of DNA extracted from Amber, going back to the very first from nineteen-eighty-two. She couldn't wait to get her hands on the print-outs for that. She hoped she could get a hold of some diagnostics for the first successful cloned dinosaur, and the unsuccessful ones as well..."Excited?"� A voice asked behind her; Kathrine blinked, glancing away from the window to look over her shoulder. The young man sitting behind her was smiling, looking amused and indulgent as he looked her over. He was older than her, a college intern like literally every one else on the plane but the pilots. He was very dark skinned with short black hair and warm, dark brown eyes."Very," she responded with a grin. "Aren't you?"� He offered her a large hand and a wink and a chuckle."Jordan Michaels, biochemistry major," he told her cheerfully; Kathrine took his hand and shook it firmly."Kathrine Moore, high school student,"� she replied; his eyebrows shot up and he gave a low, impressed whistle."Damn, I thought you looked young but not high school young,"� he mused, shaking his head. "You must be damn smart then. I had to write a couple dozen papers on the theories about how InGen's chemistry and cloning process work to get spot on this plane! How'd you get in?"� Kathrine is relieved he doesn't sound offended that she was there, merely impressed and interested, something she really appreciated."I won a science fair project in two-thousand-one revolving around theoretical chemistry dealing with the additional DNA added to the recovered Amber information,"� she informed him sheepishly. "I was in the eighth grade, and it was given an honorable mention in a science magazine... I've won multiple awards and fairs since then, all honored in magazines and two referenced in major scientific journals, and have gotten several acceptance letters to multiple ivory-league colleges despite the fact that I have another year in high school..."�"Ho-ly shit,"� Jordan mused, expression deeply impressed. You said Kathrine Moore, right?"� He asked, digging out his laptop; Kathrine nodded, blinking at him. "Unless you happen to have any of those papers on you, I'm going to look them up really quick,"� he murmured; Kathrine flushed then grinned at him."Have fun!"� She chirped, turning back around at his chuckle. Her companion distracted, Kathrine quickly pulled out her textbook again, flipping it open to where her Acceptance Letter rested, and once more allowed herself to be absorbed by the book. Scattered around her, her fellow Interns either conversed with one another or read their own books. One man, the oldest of them in his mid-thirties, was fast asleep with noise-cancelling headphones on, the young woman in the seat in front of him listening to what sounded like Brittany Spears cranked up to the point that Kathrine could just barely make out the lyrics from her own seat, six rows away.Settling in, Kathrine once more began to read, and let the world around her fade away.
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"Boys and girls, we're approaching the Islands at this moment,"� the Co-Pilot's voice announced over the static-y speaker, making Kathrine look up from where she'd been discussing genetic theories with Jordan and another intern, a scrawny red-headed man with large glasses and freckles, name Roger Tylons, who was a chemistry major. She'd just been taking notes on the redhead's suggestion that using Iguana DNA could promote regeneration in the dinosaurs if placed in the correct sequence of the Gene Matrix."Already?" She mused."Time flies when you're having fun,"� Jordan joked, the three of them shifting back to sit in their seats."If you are not buckled, you should get that way quickly, please!"� the Co-Pilot announced cheerfully. "There will be some turbulence as the thermals around the Cinco Muertos are very strong! If you have loose luggage, secure it to either your person or an empty seat! No one wants to get brained by a loose book, ha ha!"� Immediately, Kathrine made sure her pack was completely closed and her personal items all accounted for inside, before buckling it into the empty seat beside her. If the turbulence got really bad, the last thing she wanted was for her own books to bash her in the ribs if she'd worn it."Ready for some head-banging time?" Jordan asked her cheerfully; Kathrine chuckled, a nervous roll growing in her stomach as the plane began to tremble. "Just remember, if you vomit, it better be in one of the little plastic bags in front of you or it's gonna go everywhere!"� Immediately, Kathrine bit back a gag, shuddering as she instinctively swallowed. She was a sympathy puker, even the idea of throwing just made her stomach roll. "Easy, kiddo, easy!"� Jordan quickly said, mildly alarmed as he set a large hand on her shoulder. "Deep breaths, okay? Go ahead and grab a baggy, just in case..."� Kathrine nodded weakly, breath shaky as she reached into the small pocket on the back of the seat in front of her, pulling out one of the small, yellow baggies bundled up inside. They could only hold about a liter each, but that would be more than enough for her."Get ready, girls and boys!"� the Co-Pilot called, the static of the intercom getting worse. "It's gonna be a bumpy ride, ha-ha!"�"Regular comedian, this guy,"� Roger complained, just before the whole plane began to violently shake. Kathrine's breath left her in a hoarse whoosh as she clenched her hands around her belt, knuckles white and flimsy yellow bag crinkling. Her head was jerking no matter how hard she tried to brace herself, body yanking roughly in every direction as the plane swooped down and up while it shook."W-what-t-t- th-the h-hell-ll?!"� Jordan managed to stutter out loudly as the shaking rose in violence. Kathrine was gasping for air while trying not to grit her teeth, eyes stuck open out of fear. This, this didn't seem like it should be normal turbulence! She'd been on planes before, none of them shook like this!Suddenly, there was a bone-rattle explosion, a concussive force strong enough to toss them all violently forward and to one side, immediately gaining startled screams. A plume of fire roared into being from the side of the plane opposite of Kathrine."HOLD ON!" Jordan roared as Kathrine screamed, terror flooding her as the plain began to jerk and dive. A hole opened up near the front of the plane, where the explosion was, ad the tearing wind sent hair and loose items flying violent as everyone's screams rose in fever pitch. Jordan's hand clamped onto her shoulder with a bruising strength that somehow managed to pin her back against the seat better than any bracing she could have managed. Now, now her eyes clenched tight, tears of fear falling down her face. She wished she had the strength to reach up and grab Jordan's hand, but her hands were too tightly clenched around her belt to even think of it, the tough material cutting into her palms painfully.Between what felt like one moment and the next, the plane plummeted...And slammed into the sea.
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TIMELINE: (This will only appear from now on when it's been updated with information dealing with Kathrine.)1982 - DNA Extract from Amber Mosquito by InGen. Isla Nublar is leased by InGen for 99 years. Becomes Site A.1984 - First prehistoric animal brought back to life. Kathrine's Parents start dating.1985 - Isla Sorna & Archipelago leased by InGen for 99 years. Isla Sorna becomes Site B.1986 - First dinosaur cloned on Site B (A Velociraptor). Kathrine's parents get married.1988 - Construction of Jurassic Park begins. Kathrine Elizabeth Moore is born June 7th at 8:42 PM to Justin Moore and Amanda Moore (previously Collins).1990 - 1992 - Troodon's are bred but are later killed off.1993 - First JP Movie happens (June). Deconstruction of Original Park begins (November). Kathrine is five and in Kindergarten. Site B closed down (December).1997 - Second JP Movie happens. Kathrine is nine and in Fourth Grade. John Hammond dies (December)1998 - Kathrine's parents' divorce over opposing representation in the above issues; she moves in with her father. She's just about to enter Fifth Grade. This is when she starts obsessing over dinosaurs and InGen. Masrani Global takes over InGen.1999 - Spinosaurus illegally bred on Site B. Kathrine is in the Sixth Grade, top of her class.2001 - The Third JP Movie happens. Kathrine is in Eighth Grade. Her scores are starting to get attention. She wins science fair with chemistry project dealing with theoretical dinosaurs.2002 - Jurassic World construction begins. Kathrine is in Ninth Grade and has won four more Science Fairs and two Competitions. Scouters begin to take notice.2003 (Summer) - Kathrine gets her Acceptance Letter from InGen to Intern over the summer. The beginning of this fic.2005 - Jurassic World Opens2012 - Indominous is being created. Integrated Behavioral Raptor Intelligence Study Project begins.2015 - First JW Movie happens.2017 - Mount Sibo declared an Active Volcano. Dinosaur Protection Group Created. Lilly the Mosasaurus escapes to the sea.2018 - Indoraptor being planned (Mid-year). Second JW movies happens (Late-year)
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Immersion Theory
Chapter Two
First Contact
Kathrine came too to a heavy pressure on her chest and salt water coming up her throat. Coughing, vomiting water, Kathrine struggled to breath, head pounding and chest heavy even as the heavy pressure on her chest vanished and something turned her onto her side. She vomited repeatedly, sobbing, as something patted her firmly on her back."...sy, Kiddo, you're okay, you're okay, breath, kiddo, Jesus Christ, you're okay, you're okay," a voice was chanting, only now starting to filter in as she gasped for breath. Blinking weakly as she sobbed, Kathrine blearily peered up to find Jordan hovering over her, dark skin covered in bruises and small gashes, but expression utterly relieved. Behind him, pacing with a limp and thanking God that they were alive, was Roger. A few meters away from him, two more of the Interns, two young women she hadn't gotten to talk to, were huddled together, clinging to one another and crying."You're okay, you're okay, you're okay," Jordan gasped, carefully sitting her up and wrapping his arms around her, and Kathrine weakly clung to him, sobbing and confused as he carefully rocked her."Holy shit man, what the fuck even happened?!" Roger was ranting, voice tight and hysterical."There, there was a dinosaur," one of the sobbing women choked out. "A, um, Pteranodon, I think, a young one. It, it flew into the wing engine on, on our side of the plane..." She sobbed again, rocking as her friend whimpered and hid her face in her hair. "It, there, there was b-blood all over the w-window," she choked out, before returning to her crying, curling her face into her friend as they cried hysterically."You're okay, kiddo, you're okay," Jordan breathed, as Kathrine slumped into him."Where...?" she hoarsely managed; Jordan ran a shaky hand through her hair, rocking her unconsciously."We're on one of the bigger islands," he told her tiredly. "With the amount of dinosaur activity that I saw while we were swimming here... It has to be Site B." Kathrine coughed when her breath hitched."Isla... Sorna," she managed to breath, hoarse as her throat ached from the salt water and her chest felt like it was filled with sand. Jordan nodded against her head."Great, just great!" Roger shouted, terrified and furious. "Of the two dinosaur islands we could have landed on, it's the one without human contact since oh-one! That's just fucking perfect!" He shouted, and Kathrine flinched, hiding her face in Jordan's shoulder."That's enough, Roger," the dark-skinned man snapped, arms tightening around her. "You're scaring the kid.""I'm scared!" the redhead shouted back, throwing his hands in the air, eyes wide and glasses missing, a nasty gash along his right cheekbone. "Hell, we should be scared! We're stranded on an island full of man-eating dinosaurs, and the only humans are eighty-five miles away! They're not going to send a search and rescue op until at least tomorrow, which means we're stuck here, in the open with fucking dinosaurs!""Panicking about it won't fucking help, Roger!" Jordan shouted back, arms tight around Kathrine. "Keep your God damned head! You want to be a scientist?! Stay calm!" The redhead flailed at him with a high-pitched snarl."That's just it!" he bellowed. "Scientist! I'm a goddamned scientist! I work with chemistry, not fucking man-eating animals bigger than a goddamn bus! I'm not supposed to be here! None of us are supposed to be here!" he screamed, scooping a rock up off the ground and throwing it into the sea. He gave one long, wordless scream after it, before falling to his knees, gasping. "...We're not supposed to be here," he gasped, staring out at the sea before falling forward and resting his forehead in the wet sand with a sob. "We're not supposed to be here..." He fell silent then, except for his sobbing, and Jordan looked away, using one hand to carefully cradle Kathrine's head to his shoulder. Kathrine blinked slowly at the redheaded man as he just knelt there, whispering the same sentence to himself as he wept into the sand.Slowly, she closed her eyes, and just focused on breathing, her chest and stomach and head aching. Before she knew it, everything slowly slipped away.
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She woke an unknown amount of time later, the sun high in the sky and dark, dangerous-looking storm clouds were rolling in. There was a rolled-up shirt under her head and a tattered jacket over her chest. Blinking slowly, she carefully sat up, neck and chest aching and throat sore. Blinking slowly, Kathrine peered around, and immediately spotted her fellow Interns. The two women were still huddled together and Roger was staring blankly into the fire they'd built while she was unconscious. Jordan had turned to her immediately when she'd sat up, getting up from where he'd been sitting beside a pile of sticks and some tattered cloth."Hey, kiddo," he called softly, as he carefully knelt beside her, reaching forward and brushing his fingers against her temple, making Kathrine realize that there was something wrapped around her head. "You remember what happened?" He asked her carefully; Kathrine carefully nodded, blinking at him."We, we crashed," she murmured. "And, and now we're stranded on Isla Sorna?" He nodded, and helped her to her feet when she moved to get up."You've been out for a few hours, now," he told her gently. "Some luggage and other things have washed up on the shore while you were out. Mostly clothes, a few plastic bottles and trash. Some... Some other things," he looked away, and Kathrine followed his gaze to find three piles of wet sand covered in leaves and sticks, with crosses made of sticks and cloth at the end of each. She winced, looking away, her gaze on the sea. She could just barely make out the tail of the plane, sticking out of the water at least a kilometer away."Is, is anyone seriously hurt?" She asked; Jordan shook his head."We're all bruised, battered, and probably suffering from whiplash and a concussion or two, but nothing seems to be broken. Right now, we're just going to wait out the night here, and wait for the rescue-plane in the morning.""Are we sure they're going to send one?" she asked softly; Jordan nodded firmly."They will, kiddo. If nothing else, it's extremely bad PR if a plane full of college students and a high-school student crashes and no search parties are sent out. The plane is close enough to the island and it's wedged into a sandbar. Its more than close enough for them to assume that some of us made it to the island, and we'll be keeping this fire high and bright for as long as we can.""Won't that attract the dinosaurs as well?" She asked him softly; Jordan slung his arm comfortingly around her shoulders, pulling her into a side-hug as he carefully lowered them to the ground beside the fire."Don't worry," he soothed her. "We're taking turns keeping an eye out for any dinos. Jesse and Veronica, those two?" He nodded at the two women Kathrine didn't know. "They're majoring in biology and ecology, respectively, and they're taking the next watch, alright? So, if you need to go to the bathroom or just need to stretch your legs or something, let them know and they'll go with you, okay?" Kathrine nodded quietly, accepting the battered granola bar he handed her as she carefully sat down to examine herself.There were several large bruises and contusions on her legs and arms, several cuts, scrapes, and abrasions as well, including one deeper cut on her left calf that was going to need watching. They didn't have anything to really do stiches with that she could tell, and an open wound in a tropical environment was just asking for septicemia. There was also the fact that they'd spent however long they were in the ocean and, despite the salt water most likely cleaning the wounds initially, there was a large number of bacteria in sea-water that couldn't be accounted for, and, wait, she had drowned. She would have to keep careful attention on her breathing for the next twenty-four hours, at least."What is it?" Jordan asked her worriedly; Kathrine blinked."Going over the ramifications of being injured and having drowned in salt-water," she informed him weakly. "We're going to have to keep a sharp eye on each other for things like delirium, fever, muscle cramps, vomiting... I would say paranoia as well, but considering the circumstances, that's just par the course to be honest," she tried to joke, smiling weakly, and Jordan grimaced instead of smiling, rubbing the back of his free hand over his face, the palm of it covered in sand."Fuck," he muttered, and, for a second, with his hand shielding his face from the rest of the group but not Kathrine, he looked exhausted and hopeless, before he took a deep breath. When his hand dropped again, his face was smooth, tired but wry as he leaned back on that free arm and looked up at the sky. "I didn't even consider the salt-water issue." He turns his head, turns that wry, tired smile her way, and Kathrine wishes she hadn't seen those walls fall just seconds ago, because he's no longer a pillar of strength for her in that second, but just a man. An exhausted, scared young man, who's doing his best to keep a kid calm and distracted from the death that was surrounding them.And it's enough to make her smile back weakly, and shoulder the responsibility of keeping herself calm and focused and cool-headed. It had already been made obvious that Roger wasn't in the right place mentally or emotionally, that Jesse and Veronica were just as compromised, preferring to cling to one another and huddle down, make themselves into smaller targets. So, she would have to step up, because it was obvious to her that Jordan was starting to crumble at the seams, and she didn't want to see him fall apart. Not when he was the others pillar still, not when he was trying so hard."I'm going to walk a little bit," she told him simply, quietly. "I'm going to stay in line-of-sight, and far from both the tree-line and the water-line, but I can already feel how stiff my muscles are, and, if we need to run, I don't want to get a cramp or tear something." He blinked at her, a flash of unease crossing his dark features, before he nodded and Kathrine rose up. She staggered a little, legs aching, but forced herself to move. Just as she promised, she stayed well within the sight of the fire, barely going a few meters away down the beach. She kept away from the trees and from the sea, limping along the sand cautiously, lips twitching as a crab scuttled out from under a piece of driftwood when she neared, watching it scuttle into the tide.As she looked around, Kathrine could admit that this place was beautiful. The jungle on her right, the sea stretching out on her left. The approaching storm was less than nice, more terrifying in these circumstances than anything, but aesthetically it was still beautiful. And, there, flying above the trees in the distance, was a living, breathing Pteranodon, a juvenile if she guessed correctly, squinting and shading her eyes with a hand so she could try and guess its wingspan....Maybe ten, thirteen feet? She mused, squinting at it as it circled above a tall tree before coming down for a landing, tossing its pointy head about before disappearing into the foliage. Adults have been recorded to have twenty-six-foot wingspans, she mused, dropping her hands to her sides as she walked forward a little bit more and began to awkwardly stretch, carefully using sore, locked muscles. Then again, InGen could have modified them to be either bigger or smaller, or the genetic coding they manipulated could have made them that way... Shaking her head, Kathrine turned so that her back was to the sea, after a second of determining that it would be the less likely origin of any dinosaur.Of course, it's just as she's carefully sat down to start stretching out her back muscles, that something happens."What's that?!" Roger's shrill voice demanded, making her look up in time to spot the redhead scrambling to his feet, pointing out at the sea. Immediately, she straightened, turning as best as she could to look as well. Jordan was on his feet, with Jesse and Veronica scrambling to follow. Fearfully, Kathrine's eyes darted around the relatively small, if slightly choppy, waves, but didn't see anything alarming aside from the remains of the plane in the distance."What is it?" Jordan's voice demanded. "What did you see?" Roger flailed at him."If I fucking knew I wouldn't have asked!" He shouts back shrilly, as Kathrine slowly got to her feet, looking away from the water briefly to make sure nothing had come out of the forest in their distraction. "There was some sort of fucking... I don't fucking know, some kinda fin?! It was as long as I am tall, and it sure as fuck wasn't completely out of the water, that's all I fucking know! I don't have my glasses on or I'd tell you what fucking color it was, too!""Alright, calm down!" Jordan snapped, as he kept his focus on the water warily. "...It could be a Suchomimus," he finally decided, squinting a little. "Or a Baryonyx. Either way, as long as we stay well away from the water, we should be fine. They tend to be pescatarian only, but that doesn't mean that they won't take advantage of red meat if it's just walking around. They were probably attracted by the blood in the water, but wary about the plane." Kathrine looked away from the forest warily, glancing over at her fellow survivors as she did. They all looked spooked, just like she felt, but Jordan's words had calmed Jesse and Veronica enough that the two had once more collapsed onto the sand with soft sobs, no doubt exhausted from the constant surge and ebb of adrenalin."I don't give a flying fuck about that," Roger's hysterical snarl declared as the red head turned his back on the sea, shoving past Jordan towards the trees. "I am getting the fuck away from here, okay?!""Roger, don't be stupid!" Jordan snapped. "You go in the jungle alone, you'll be dead meat!""I'll take my fucking chances!" The Chemist shrieked back, spinning around to gesture wildly at the forest behind him. "Everyone remembers the San Diego Incident, right?! Well, that means there's a perfectly defendable outpost in these trees! If we can make it there, we can do the same damn thing Ian Malcolm and his buddies did, and call for help! Instead of sitting here like ducks just waiting to be eaten!" He screamed, and Kathrine glanced back at the forest in front of her, knowing that the redhead had a point but grimacing anyways."We don't know where the old Labs are, Roger!" Jordan snapped. "They could be on the other side of the island! It's safer if we stay here, near the plane, and wait for rescue! Not, not gallivanting around a carnivore-infested forest in the hopes that we might be able to pull an Ian Malcolm level of luck out of our collective asses!" He shouted back. "So, sit the fuck back down, and stop. Panicking!" He was panting by the end of it, and Kathrine had joined Jesse and Veronica in staring between the two, before everyone's eyes slowly locked onto Roger.Roger who was pale and wide eyed and terrified, and staring. Staring with a level of focus that Kathrine remembered seeing in horror movies. Slowly, she turned her gaze away from him, instead following the line of his own, and felt the blood drain from her face.A horror had risen from the water during their shouting match, a horror of silvers and grays and pale, icy gray-blue, the sharp sail-fin along it's back glittering as water droplets fell down. A long, narrow snout and large, dexterous foreclaws dripped as well, its amber-red eyes locked on her fellow survivors as its long tail swayed behind it.That... That is no Suchomimus, she thought blankly as she stood, frozen stiff and staring, unmoving, unable to even breathe, less the monster looks at her. Not a Baryonyx either..."Sp-sp-sp-sp-" Roger began to choke out, staring."What?" Jordan demanded, frowning. Roger shuddered, full-bodied, once and hard."Sp-SPINOSAURUS!" He screamed, pointing at the monster even as he spun around and threw himself into the trees. Immediately, her fellow survivors whirled around, and their screams were drowned out by the Spinosaurus's roar. Spinosaurus Aegypticus, Kathrine thought blankly, completely still and unmoving as she stared, in a daze, as her companions, as her friends, threw themselves after Roger, the Spinosaurus screeching and roaring as it gave chase, the ground quaking beneath her feet, sand shifting, as it forced its way into the tree-line. It, and they, left her there, statue-still and unmoving on the beach, a far less interesting target than fleeing prey, like little rabbits running from a big cat. Slowly, her limbs trembling, Kathrine stumbled towards the trees as well, feeling light-headed and oddly blank as she did so.There was no way she'd be able to find the others in this forest. Especially not with the Spinosaurus on their tail. Their only hope was to keep running, maybe to scatter and pray that it'd go after someone else, but Kathrine? She was already alone and far behind, and she wasn't going to follow those thudding steps on a flimsy hope that they might try retracing the ground they'd covered just for her.She was on her own.
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Immersion Theory
Chapter Three
Surviving
Kathrine knew she had to find shelter soon. She'd been walking for what had to be a few hours, legs trembling with aches as she walked. The distant roars of the Spinosaurus had stopped sounding challenging and turned angry a while ago before they'd gone quiet, so she thought that maybe a few of the others had managed to evade it. Despite that, every roar had given her a general location, and Kathrine made a point of turning in the immediately opposite direction. It put more and more distance between her and any possible-survivors but...But Kathrine was afraid, and she would rather try to survive alone than face the Spinosaurus again. There was a reason that she had studied animal behaviors and read all of the journals on the de-extinct Dinosaurs that had been published since their 'grand unveiling' in ninety-three. InGen had publicly stated that they mix-and-matched the DNA strands, that they used modern animal genetics to patch the deteriorated and hole-filled strands of dinosaur they managed to extract.The Original Spinosaurus had a weak spine that made it weaker on land than in the water. It was smaller, leaner, and weaker than most land-carnos, but had a more dexterous grip so it could better hold and catch fish. But that Spino? That was a movie-monster. It went after what moved, like a cat, with thick muscles and an extra meter in every direction, its fin like the spines of a lionfish. She briefly wondered if that was just for aesthetics, or if it was poisonous as well, before dismissing the thoughts so she could focus.The air was starting to get chilly, and it was getting harder to see, so no doubt night was either falling, or that storm had gotten significantly closer. Grimacing, she looked around at the thick, mangrove-like trees, before picking one with thick vines and the lowest branch resting several meters above the ground. A lot of carnivorous dinosaurs had evolved to have more teeth, larger size, or dangerous claws, but very few had forelegs capable of helping them climb. That was a mammalian feature, and those few that did posses some ability at it, had the wrong spine or hips to pull themselves straight up. They could leap high, catch themselves, and maybe pull themselves up, yes, but they wouldn't be able to get strong hand-holds like a human or ape could, so Kathrine was confident that she could pull herself to a height that only things like Brachiosaurus and its herbivorous long-necked cousins could reach, and find a safe place to sleep for the night.With the rain coming, she would be able to use her resting tree as both shelter and reservoir, as the large, broad leaves would help cover her and make small bowls to catch the fresh water with. But she was getting ahead of herself, and she wasn't even in the tree. Grimacing at the strain she was going to be putting into her arms and back, Kathrine began to carefully heave herself up using the thick, moss-covered vines that covered her chosen tree.She nearly fell several times, hands shaking and body tired to the point of collapse from the constant flux of adrenaline and need for movement, but she finally managed to get to the lowest branch. It was still low enough for a Tyrannosaurus or Spinosaurus to reach, unfortunately, but there was a wide, deep indent into the main trunk that was big enough for her to stand in, as well as deep enough for her to sit with her back to the wood and have only her feet stick out. It was, in other words, the best she could do in her given circumstances.Sighing lowly, body shivering, Kathrine took just a minute or two to rest, curling up against her tree and closing her eyes. She was so tired, and scared, and she knew that she was going to have to seriously consider her options for surviving. She had no idea how to get back to the beach, and if it was Spinosaurus territory, it would no doubt be patrolling aggressively now that it thought the plane was an invader and that the survivors were prey... She hoped that it didn't attack the search team, if they came close enough to investigate...Sitting there, hidden in a tree, Kathrine felt her breath hitch as she realized that rescue wasn't going to come now. They would examine the plane crash, see the Spinosaurus being territorial, and assume that any survivors, if there had been any to begin with, had fallen to the giant carnivore's wrath. They might reclaim the plane, take a passenger count, assume those they didn't find had been eaten by marine-life or the Spinosaurus, but... But they wouldn't send anyone into the forest. There wouldn't be any armed teams looking for them. They were on their own....She was on her own.It hit her, worse than the exhaustion, than the aches and pains, than the terror from the Spinosaurus. Despair was a wave, sliding over her entire body and drowning her thoughts until she was just sitting there, barely breathing, staring blankly down at her knees. Slowly, she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her trembling arms around them and just rested her forehead against her knees.Tears began to fall, her breath shuddering into throaty sobs, so hard her chest hurt with them, as she hugged her knees to herself. And, as she sobbed and wept and despaired, the rain began to fall.She'd never felt so alone.
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By the time she'd managed to re-focus, to pull herself from the despair that had grabbed her, she was fatigued, soaked, and shivering. She crawled back and forth down the branch, gathering large leaves as she went, and managing to break off some of the thinner branches to give herself a little support for some shelter. She would strip down once the wall was up, use her thinner shirt as extra defense while she was hidden, that way her pants would, hopefully, dry some. She'd already set several leaves down in grooves, dips, and cracks on her branch, collecting water for tomorrow even as she forced herself to keep moving for the moment.She was so tired...It took her a few minutes, using her shirt, to tie her branches together, and then a few more minutes to carefully lay and pin her leaves over the shirt so that the water would slough off. Her shoes, pants, and underwear were spread out awkwardly on the other side of her little hiding place as she carefully leaned her makeshift shelter over the opening. Suddenly surrounded by darkness, Kathrine curled up as best as she could and just closed her eyes.She was cold, tired, hurt, and hungry. She was alone in a dangerous forest. And... And no one was coming to save her. She took a slow, shaky breath, and let it out with a shudder....She would have to go looking for food tomorrow. Food, water source, shelter, some tools... In the morning, she'd climb up as high as she could in her tree and see if she could tell where some of those things were. If she could make it to one of the abandoned labs... Even if she couldn't contact anyone, there were bound to be supplies she could use. She could hole-up in an office as a 'den' for herself, hoard what first-aide and lab supplies got left behind, maybe use something to make a make-shift weapon of some sort. If... If any of the others had survived, they would hopefully have the same idea, and head for the nearest building after getting a good vantage point. But... But, until she saw otherwise, she was going to have to assume they were dead. Hope... Hope could be a killer, so she would have to focus her all on practicality.She had a plan. She had a plan she could work with, and a good idea on how to get it working. That's what was important. Tomorrow, she would enact the plan. Until then... Until then, she needed to sleep, regain her energy, and hopefully conserve body heat.Shivering a little, Kathrine shifted into a comfortable position, and tried to get some sleep.(It came surprisingly fast, despite her fear that it wouldn't. She was just too tired to be too scared to sleep.)
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It was still raining until around noon the next day. Kathrine had climbed out onto the branch, used the restroom, and drank from her little rain-puddles, before crawling back into her make-shift den and sleeping some more. By the time the rain finally stopped, she was awake and all but her shirt, shoes, and bra were dry. She got redressed in everything but the shirt and her shoes, leaving them at her little den when she climbed as high as she could into her tree to peer around.There were a few clearings here and there, close to where she was, and she could see herds of herbivores meandering through them. And, there, in the distance, was what looked like a massive bird cage, no doubt some sort of aviary where the Pteranodons had come from. It looked like it was a few miles from where she was now, which meant that she should be able to make it there by late afternoon, if nothing bad happened. Then again, she mused, gaze going back to the nearby herds. It might be better to stick with the herbivores for a while. They knew where the water sources were, and travelling in numbers was safer than alone. Plus, if there were predators like Velociraptors or Allosaurs or anything nearby, they'd be more likely to go after prey that would actually feed them, and not her small, scrawny self.Herbivores would also know which plants were relatively safe for her to eat, or at least which berries were.Decision made, Kathrine carefully climbed back down to her den, tying her shirt around her waist and, after a moment of consideration, doing the same for her shoes. Until they dried out, the most they would do is promote fungus and bacterial growth in her feet, especially with the humidity of the tropical forest. Better to go barefoot until then, and risk stepping on something sharp, then try to put on wet shoes and end up with gangrene or gout later.If she lost her feet, she'd lose her life.Climbing carefully, slowly down the tree, Kathrine took a slow, controlled breath as soon as her feet touched the ground, mud and leaf-litter pressing up between her toes. Looking around carefully, she breathed in and held it, ears straining as she stayed perfectly still. After a few moments, she let her breath back out, just as slow, just as controlled. As soon as the entire breath was out, she was moving, padding steadily in the direction she'd clocked the closest herd at.She was actually rather grateful for the rain, she decided as she moved. Not only did it provide multiple places where water had pooled in leaves or on rocks, which would be safer than attempting to drink from the ground or ponds, but it made the leaf-litter and other ground coverings both soft and quiet, letting her slip through the trees and bushes quickly and quietly. It meant she didn't have to sacrifice speed for stealth, something she'd no doubt lose as soon as everything dried.But that wouldn't be for a good while, she decided, glancing up at the sky through the trees. It was still cloudy, pale clouds so not another storm, but she didn't doubt that it would at least drizzle throughout the day.And drizzle it did. By the time she made it to the closest herbivore herd, her dry clothes were damp and her drying clothes were still soaked. She paused in the tree-line to observe the herd carefully, squinting through the misting drizzle to identify her soon-to-be friends.There were twenty-seven adult dinosaurs in this herd, four of them with young babies, and three of them looking old and scarred and shivering in the cool air. Eleven Gallimimus, one of them being an elder. Four Pachycephalosaurus, two with a single baby each. Eight Sinoceratops, with two elders and four babies among them. And, finally, four Edmontosaurus, one with three young babies.The Edmontosaurus were closest to her, and they were also the least likely to either cause a stampede or try to injure her, besides the Sinoceratops, which InGen studies had noted were prone to aggressive mothering. But the Sinos were on the far side of the clearing, with the Pachys closest to them and the nervously twitching Gallies spread out everywhere else. The Edmontos were curled up on the ground, lounging and just enjoying the misting drizzle. The three younglings were nudging and pushing one another happily, trying to make each other trip over what was likely their mother's tail.She would have to move slowly and carefully, but if she played her cards right, she'd be a member of the herd by nightfall.She started very, very slowly, pointedly making sure that she was upwind so that they could smell her. Immediately, the Edmontos shifted around, the adults lifting their heads alertly. When she didn't attack or move any further, they slowly, carefully settled again. The Gallies chittered and crooned, darting nervously around the field, one of them managing to irritate one of the Pachys and earn itself and vicious head-butt that sent it cartwheeling away with an admittedly hilarious-sounding squawk, which immediately had the rest of the Gallies making weird cackling noises...It made Kathrine think of that little video she once saw, with the penguins, where one slipped and fell on its face and the others all 'laughed' at it.After they'd settled down again, she moved forward, carefully, slowly. She didn't freeze when they saw her, didn't react to their wary, alerting sounds, like the low bellows of cows, even as the Edmontos buck got to his feet and the other three made sure the babies were close. The Gallies chittered, the Pachys eyed her but otherwise ignored her, and the Sinos just rumbled and watched her, no doubt confident in the obvious difference in size between her and them.Kathrine made a point of moving slow, giving soft hums and trills and clicks, the kind of soothing sounds you'd give to a spooked animal, even as she made a point of never looking directly towards the herd as she moved. She bent down to pull up some grass as she moved, lifting it and pressing it into her wet hair and giving a louder hum, almost like she was gong to start singing softly. The Edmontos buck seemed to pause, staring at her with the red crests over his eyes slowly beginning to lighten. They'd gone dark and flush with blood in reaction to her, a sort of aggressive 'stay away!' color-change that a lot of animals did when they felt threatened (the chameleon, some types of octopus, the cuttlefish, the pacific tree frog, and a few others came to mind). He gave a low, deep moo, a different tone than before, less challenge and more cautious greeting.Kathrine made a point of pausing and looking his direction, crooning clearly back at him as he stared. She eyed him for a moment, before returning to her grass pulling, rubbing the roots and torn pieces against her skin and hair as she did so. The Edmontos buck grunted at her as she softly clicked and hummed, and turned to return to his little group. It was then Kathrine realize that the rest of the herd had been observing her, as well, but not because they were necessarily worried about her, but they were watching how she reacted to the Edmontos. And she realized that it was more of a test than she thought.The Edmontos that had approached her had done so alone, with no assurance of back-up. If she'd been a threat, a predator luring him out, than the rest of the herd would have left him there, and he would have stayed, to fight her and whatever packmates she had.This was... This was a previously unprecedented case of self-sacrifice in the dinosaur studies! There had been numerous cases, of course, of herd-members turning around and defending fallen or young members from predators, but a fully grown, perfectly healthy adult, moving to defend an entire herd without hesitation or fear, with the full knowledge that the herd would abandon him at the first sign that there was a legitimate threat...!Kathrine desperately wished for a notebook right then.Instead, all she could do is wander around, humming and crooning and clicking her tongue, ripping up grass and covering herself in the smell of wet earth and plants. She stuck close to the Edmontos, but made a point of ambling across the entirety of the field, staying upwind so that the entire herd could grow accustomed to her smell. As she slowly made her way back towards the Edmontos, she was pleased to see that, while still cautious, they had returned to lounging on the ground, keeping the little ones close but no longer prepared to bolt or attack her. Once she had returned to their side of the field, she sat down on the ground, pulling up tufts of grass around her carefully as she did so. The chill was beginning to dissipate and the humidity began to rise, she let herself slump down into the grass. Curling up in her little nest, Kathrine turned her head so she could keep observing the herd, humming and clicking to herself in a steady start-pause-start fashion, rhythmically. And she ate a few pieces of grass every so often as well, stomach aching with hunger. The grass wasn't good, but it was better than nothing, and, besides that, there was clovers in her particular little area, and clovers actually tasted nice enough.She knew from her research that the dinosaurs on Isla Sorna had survived their lack of lysine by eating soy plants and lima plants and other lysine-rich flora. That meant that she could find those as well, and if this herd was going to be looking for some, than sticking with them was her best bet...One of the Gallies tripped over its own feet and went tail-over-teakettle, sprawling on its back with a squawk. Immediately, the rest of the Gallies cackled, and Kathrine couldn't help but snort, trilling softly when the Edmontos buck glanced her way again, and shoving some clover into her mouth to chew and keep from grinning.She was still alone, and she was still stuck. But at least she had something fun to do while she was there.
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Immersion Theory
Chapter Four
Herbivorous Study
Kathrine's herd saved her life. Not from a predator, but from starvation and dehydration. In the three days she'd spent with them, she'd found herself literally herded towards safely edible plants and relatively clean puddles, usually by the Edmontos but once or twice by one of the Sinos as well. She'd given them names as well, to a point (only one of the Gallies had a name, and it was the one that was constantly going tail-over-teakettle and angering the Pachys). She'd needed something, as time passed, to focus on besides just surviving, and naming and talking to her herd was all she had at the moment.Bo was the leader of the Edmontos, the same buck who had first approached her. His crest was darker than his herd-mates, and his eyes were an almost teal-colored blue. Of the three other Edmontos, one other was male, and she'd named him Midas, because his forelegs were a pale, golden brown compared to the rest of his pack. The female without babies was Gretchen, her eyes a pale, husky blue and her voice deeper than either of the males. She liked to sing at dawn, waking the rest of the herd with her low, rumbling croons and moos as she greeted the sun. The mother Edmontos was Lyra, her eyes a golden color that stood out amongst the blues and blue-greens of her packmates. She also had an almost frill, along her jaw, like an extra bit of skin, almost like a chicken's.Her three babies were of indeterminate gender at this point, so Kathrine had named them for their most obvious features. Gray had a silvery-gray colored tail, instead of the adults creamy-white. They were the loudest and laziest, complaining vocally any time someone tried to get them to do something they didn't want to do. Red had a larger crest than their siblings, one that covered the entirety of its brow and down the back of its skull a decent length. It all but glowed when Red pushed blood into it in order to yell at its siblings. And finally, there was Goldie, who she was pretty sure was related directly to Midas, because they had golden legs and back-stripes.The unlucky Gallimimus was named Stooge, rather aptly, she believed. Not only was it constantly getting itself knocked around by the Pachys (Three females promptly named Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, with Buttercup being the most aggressive, Bubbles being the calmest mother and Blossom being the most intelligent. The single male was called Bob, to keep with the theme, and the two babies called Boo and Babs interchangeably as she couldn't get close enough to tell them apart), but Stooge was also constantly tripping over his own feet, which were larger than any of his herd-mates.Of the Sinos, she'd named the two Elders Matron and Patron because they seemed to lead the group. The only other ones she'd named besides the babies were a dark red male she named Maverick and a greener female she named Lilly, both of whom were the lead instigators in herding Kathrine towards safe areas. The babies were the only ones that she could tell the genders for, as they were friendly and curious and liked to try and headbutt her legs and yell at her. Their mothers were also more than comfortable with letting her touch and play with their babies, which genuinely helped center Kathrine when she started feeling stressed or depressed.The oldest baby was the loudest, most playful, a little male she named Leo, because he loved to roar and bellow and toss his head at her. The second oldest was a female with almost-purple markings on her crest named Violet. The next was also female, who was just as energetic as Leo but had a high-pitched, trilling call. Kathrine named her Willow. And, finally, the youngest and sweetest of the babies was a little male who liked to snuggle against Kathrine's side if she sat down near the older Sinos. She'd named him Basil, because of his dark green coloration and the oddly leaf-shaped spots on his crest.Kathrine, she loved her herd. She loved the intricacy of their personalities, of observing them in their natural habitat and witnessing behaviors previously thought of as inaccurate or pure assumption. She enjoyed being able to study them up-close and personal, of being included by the herd when they moved or did something. Of being welcomed, being cared for and acknowledged and known. It had been a long time since anyone had welcomed her without conditions or expectations. Her Father had always expected her to be polite, punctual, and to keep her head up and her priorities clear. Her Mother had always expected her to be warm and welcoming and forgiving and pliant, to be willing to change her plans in a blink if it better suited her Mother's needs when they met up. The school expected her to keep up her GPA and Attendance and grades, to bring positive attention to them so that they could gain more funding, more fame, more interest in parents outside the local area.But here, in the wild, with these animals?She was just another member of the herd. A young one, that needed guidance and protection. Harmless, if strange, but welcomed all the same. She hadn't realized she missed the anonymity of just being another member of the group until she had it from animals that were as intelligent as cows or geese or zebras. Here, she was no leader, no backbone, no instigator of whatever plan was needed. She was just the strange creature that played with the babies and scratched itches they couldn't reach. A little stupid, by their accounts if the constant herding towards edible food and potable water sources was any clue, but still welcomed.She missed humans, sure. Missed actual conversations with actual people who could respond back. But... But this was far from a bad thing.As she sat, leaned against Matron's side, with little Basil dozing like a heavy puppy against her thigh, Kathrine leaned her head back against the Sinos side and closed her eyes with a low hum.It could be worse.It could all be so much worse.But, for now, it was good.Life was good.
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Kathrine jumped straight up into the air, grinning as the bellowing form of little Leo went charging past underneath her, running headfirst into Mavericks side as the dark red Sinos grunted at him grumpily. Chuckling softly, she side-stepped a trilling Willow who tried the same, only for the little Sinoceratops to stumble and fall into a roll, her challenging trills turning into alarmed cries as she got stuck on her back."Easy, easy, silly girl," Kathrine murmured, as she neatly reached down to heave the growing Sinos back onto her feet. Willow shook her head, making Kathrine lean back so she didn't get smacked in the face by the dull, growing horns on the baby's crest. Once she'd regained her balance, Willow hopped in place a little bit before planting her little feet and trilling loudly, and launching into a charge towards Leo, who bellowed back and braced himself for the much smaller baby. Chuckling to herself as the younger baby rammed into the older and was promptly knocked away, Kathrine smiled as she watched the two play and chase one another.She'd been a part of the herd for a little over a week now, and other than her own difficulties adapting and foraging, as well as her emotional issues, it had been an amazing experience. She longed for a notebook and pen, or even just a recording device of some sort, but all she had was her mind. She did her best to memorize everything she could, often talking to herself in order to both help remember and to keep the ability to speak at all. It got very quiet, out in the wild, and lonely, and as she had no other humans to speak with or to, she needed to keep her humanity somehow.Anyways, forget the melancholy or she'd get stuck in a depressed rut again. The things she had learned! She had learned that Gallimimus were a lot like a mix of geese, penguins, and swans all at once. They were less aggressive than swans but, as far as she could tell, they mated for life. They also gave prospective mates bright-colored things, like penguins did, in an attempt to woo them. She'd gotten to witness one such courting, when a male Gallimimus with greenish freckles had gathered some of the bright blue flowers that sometimes grew along the field and given them to one of the females with yellow splotches. He'd done this several times for an entire day, until the female had finally accepted one of the flowers and tucked it into her nest. The next day, that female Gallimimus had given the male a bright-colored feather she'd found, which the male had excepted immediately. The two had then begun to do a sort of ritualistic dance, bobbing their heads and spinning around one another repeatedly, before pressing their cheeks together and turning in a slow, bobbing circle that ended with them both arching up and pressing chest-to-chest. After that, the female had darted away, leading the male away from the herd. Kathrine had quickly climbed up a tree and, from a distance, observed them as they mated.Since then, the two had been inseparable, and the male (tentatively named Roger, with the female being Bridget) was the main nest-material gatherer. He would pad out into the jungle on his own, and return with mouthfuls of grasses and leaves and sticks, and then his mate would pick through it and put those she liked into her nest. Fascinatingly enough, those items that had been rejected would never be brought back again, which meant that Roger, and his species as a result, had to have a level of recall above that which had been previously imagined! That meant that they had at least cockatoo or corvid levels of intelligence, which, while far less than, say, a Velociraptor, was still far higher than previously believed.Kathrine was delighted with the information and knowledge she was gaining, and it was a distraction from the reality of her situation. She logically knew that she should be working harder to get to the man-made section of the island. It would be best in the long run, because she would get tools and more knowledge that would help her survive, but...But the Herd was here, was within reach and study and in a safe location. They were safe and warm and alive and Kathrine... Kathrine was afraid of the world outside the herd's fields. She was a coward, but she was also seventeen-years-old and alone in the wilderness. She felt that gave her more than ample reason to be afraid. So, she focused on her Herd, and she learned.She learned that the Sinos were more like a mix between rhinos and elephants than she'd thought. They were Matriarchal, and had a set hierarchy where each female had a place and a responsibility. Males were the caretakers for the young, the guards and babysitters, especially the younger ones. Leo, she'd noted, was already trained to recognize that little Willow and Violet were above him in station, and often abandoned his own play in order to follow their whims. For example, just this latest play-time had been taken over by little Willow. Leo wouldn't try to play with Katherine again until Willow lost interest in practicing her headbutts against the larger baby, and Leo would let her ram into him again and again and again without complaint, and the most he would do in response would be push her back, always gently, and yell back at her in response.Patron, the oldest male Sinoceratops, and Matron's mate, was the go-to nap-watcher for the younglings, the four babies unhesitatingly curling up against the large, old male's side whenever they were tired. It was fascinating to watch the older male immediately lay down when one of the little babies wandered over and pressed their crests against his legs, making him groan lowly but lay down to let them sleep against him.The Pachys were another matter. They were more like lions than she'd thought they'd be. Bob was the unquestioned leader, the only one to get either of the Powerpuff Girls to listen. He was larger, darker, and hit harder than the three females. Boo and Babs avoided him, as he didn't have much patience for the younglings, but otherwise were content to ram heads with one another, and with Bubbles, as the sweetest female would hold completely still and let them bash against her thick skull-bone to their hearts content. The females were also the ones who found the best places to sleep and graze, compared to Bob, with Blossom finding the thickest grasses and Buttercup aggressively digging up soft earth to sleep in.As for the Edmontos, they were more like deer, from what Kathrine had been able to tell. Bo was the leader, and the group moved as one, in a group. The only differences she'd noted had been that they were far steadier and calmer than deer were, and that Bo offered himself, without hesitance, as what amounted to a distraction and bait, if the need arose. The Edmontos were also capable of a certain level of intelligence that reminded her of zebras and other horses, to a point. Bo and Midas would constantly circle their group, while Gretchen would make sure that Lyra and the babies were close together and healthy. Lyra wouldn't let the babies more than a meter from her, quickly calling them back unless they were near Gretchen or one of the males. Kathrine had no doubt that, in case of an attack, Bo and Midas would stay behind the females to keep predators away, and Gretchen would act like a bodyguard for the more vulnerable members of their little group.Kathrine adored her herd, with their specific individual personalities and quirks. She adored the things she was learning about these animals, their behavior and mentalities and abilities. If she just had a notebook, something to record it all with, something far less tenuous than mere memory...Sighing as Basil tentatively bumped his crest against her leg, Kathrine reached down and scratched behind his crest where neck and skull met, making the baby croon happily as he nuzzled his face into her leg. She still wasn't wearing her shoes, which, while dry, had begun to smell very badly and obviously. She'd ended up stuffing them full of flowers and grasses in an attempt to combat the smell, which would be a dead-giveaway if a predator came sniffing. Her shirt was another thing she hardly wore, thanks to the stifling heat and the possibility of her needing to use the spare cloth as bandages, she usually kept it tied around her waist, pulling it on during the night as an extra layer against the chill but otherwise unused.She was hesitant to get rid of anything on her, just in case. She still had the wrapper from the granola bar Jordan had given her on that beach. It was carefully folded in her pocket, waiting to one day, maybe, be of use. She didn't want to risk losing anything that connected her to other people, other humans. The Herd, they gave her companionship and warmth and a sense of belonging that she couldn't remember ever really having outside that short, disastrous plane-ride but... But they weren't humans. They weren't people. They were animals, some with a startlingly higher level of intelligence than previously thought, but still animals. And Kathrine wasn't like them. She was a human being, she thrived on touch, on both mental and physical stimulation, and on interaction. Humans weren't meant to live solitarily to this degree. It promoted mental instability and illness, and stunted the mental and physical growth of the average adult, let alone an adolescent like herself....Kathrine missed chocolate. She missed chocolate, and pizza, and movies, and music, and the library. She missed going people-watching at the mall, studying animals at the zoo, feeding pigeons and ducks at the park. She missed bubble baths and bath bombs and hour-long showers in scalding hot water. She missed fruit and steak and hot dogs and ice cream. Kathrine missed civilization.She missed her Father.Sighing, more despondent now that before, Kathrine patted Basil gently on the flank, before pulling away from the baby Sinoceratops, making him chirp sadly after her before waddling away towards his mother for a bath when the large Sinos crooned at him. Looking around her at all the animals, all these interesting, fascinating creatures... Kathrine felt a small smile rise to her face.Even if they weren't humans, even if they weren't people, they were still alive. And that was all she could ask at this point.Wandering slowly across the field, back towards the Edmontos, Kathrine hummed lowly to herself, vaguely recognizing it as one of the Brittany Spears songs she vaguely remembered that female Intern on the plane blasting. Her eyes, lazily trailing over the meandering herd as she moved, almost missed it. It was a similar color to the shaded plants around it, hidden in the trees as it watched her Herd. In fact, if it hadn't been for the sun shining across its eyes, giving them a gleam much like a cats, she wouldn't have noticed it.Freezing, Kathrine stared, wide-eyed, at the still form of the Allosaurus hidden in the trees closest to a small group of Gallimimus, her mouth suddenly dry and her heart pounding.Because the moment she noticed it, it noticed her.And, suddenly, the safety she'd been feeling within the herd vanished and she was reminded that, out here in the wilds of Isla Sorna, she was very much alone, and very, very small.The Allosaurus roared as it lunged forward, and the field erupted into chaos.
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Immersion Theory
Chapter Five
We Must Go Faster
Kathrine's first instinct when confronted by a monster is, apparently, to freeze in place. Just like the Spinosaurus, when the Allosaurus lunged from the forest and roared, Kathrine's muscles locked, her lungs froze, her mind went blank in gibbering terror, and she just went completely still. There was no logic to it, no thought processes behind a brief, terrified whisper of it worked before. But, the Allosaurus is no Spinosaurus. It wouldn't react like a large cat, and chase the slowest runner but ignore the one that stayed still if it was out of direct line-of-sight. No, Allosaurus and Carnotaurus hunted in a "Shock-and-Awe" way. They would both lunge through the trees, and roar, hoping to trigger this exact response from their prey, because neither were built for running hard, for chasing, not like a T-Rex or Velociraptor or even a Metriacanthosaurus. Allosaurs and Carnotaurs were top-heavy, short-legged, and highly aggressive.As a result, Kathrine freezing in place did nothing more than make the Allosaurus focus on her tiny form with its sharp, predatory gaze, even as it snapped its jaws harshly, jagged, dagger-like teeth missing Stooge's head only because the flailing Gallimimus tripped at just the right time. The Allosaurus roared again, and the Herd bleated and bellowed and screeched as they began to flee rapidly around her, the edges of Kathrine's vision beginning to darken as she remained completely still, wide-eyed and gray-skinned and unable to even breathe from terror.And then...Then, a tiny form was bellowing as it rammed into her legs, sending her to the ground, her back slamming into the hard earth and forcing her to gasp, sweet, sweet oxygen expanding her choking lungs. Little Basil, eyes wide as he bleated at her, panicked, scrambled off her legs to stand shakily between her and the snarling, approaching Allosaurus, and, finally, finally she could move. Gasping for breath, Kathrine lunged forward and wrapped her arms around the tiny dinosaur, throwing them to the side in a roll, just barely managing to dodge the snapping jaws of the Allosaurus as it charged past. It screeched furiously at them, but Kathrine was able to focus past her fear, because the baby in her arms was one of her little ones, one of her Herd, one of the ones who kept her sane, and she couldn't freeze while he was in danger.The baby Sino weighed a little over fifty pounds, with a soft, round belly and legs that couldn't kick very well at all, but who had the ability to toss his rock-hard head-crest in almost a full one-hundred-and-eighty degrees in any direction but backward. Despite that fact, he was still as could be in her arms as she ran with him towards the older Sinos, who had stopped running to turn their attention onto the Allosaur as soon as the missing baby had been noted. She barely felt his weight as adrenaline flooded her system, as her breath wheezed in terrified gasps and her mind remained almost blank as she focused on the singular goal of reaching the Sinos who had already formed a protective circle, the babies hidden in the center beneath Patron's stately, firm form....The Allosaurs breath was fever-hot against her back as it snarled behind her, the smell of fetid meat and old sewer crawling over her skin, threatening her sensitive gag-reflex. It snapped its jaws, and thick, hot saliva spattered against the bare skin of her shoulders and upper-back, and something tugged briefly on the end of her hair before it was severed, leaving her a few inches light on the back. Her breath stuttered, her knees suddenly feeling weak, and then she was there.Kathrine hit her knees, letting her back fall down onto her feet as she awkwardly slid between the bellowing, aggressive forms of Maverick and one of the unnamed female Sinos. As soon as she'd passed their shoulders, the edges of their crests locked together as they met the onward chard of the Allosaurus head-on. Kathrine gasped for breath as she rose up onto her knees and set Basil down, panting as she crawled with the baby underneath Patron to join the other babies.The Allosaurus screeched as it snapped and bit at the Sinos, scratching and yanking at their crests, trying to force them apart so it could get to softer bits or babies. But, a lot like what she remembered about the Spartan shields, the Sinos remained unmoving, their crest-horns locked against one another and their bodies like iron, hard and unmoving, even as blood dripped from the cuts and bites that split the tough skin over bone. Kathrine huddled under Patron, panting, as Basil chirped meekly and hid his face in her neck, as Willow trilled and cried out, as Violet braced her crest against the nearest adults hind-leg, as if she was trying to help brace them, and Leo...
Where was Leo?!
Eyes snapping to the left and right, Katherine spun around, pulling away from Basil and making him cry out, distressed. She shushed him softly frantically, patting his back and rubbing behind his crest, even as she desperately searched for little Leo amongst the thick legs of the Sinos. After a few seconds of frantic searching, she spotted him, but not within the safety of the Sinos circle, but out in the open, curled into a small ball, his head arched back so the entirety of his crest protected his spine. Kathrine wanted nothing more than to lunge out of the circle, grab the young dinosaur, and pull him into the safety of the Sinos guard but common sense beat her out. He was out in the open, yes, but the Allosaurus didn't know he was there, had been completely distracted by Kathrine and Basil, and now the older Sinos, who were battering it back with every desperate, hungry lunge it gave.She looked away from him, desperate to not draw any attention to him. Luckily, it looked like the Allosaurus was too busy being angry about its lack of progress in breaking through the guards. Maverick had thick gouges all over his face, as did the female beside him, and, if she wasn't so grateful for their continued protection, Kathrine would be trying to help, at least a little, in hopes of protecting their eyes but...But better they get blinded, and she stays alive.Kathrine is seventeen and terrified and so, so desperately selfish but she wanted to live and she wasn't supposed to be here!("We're not supposed to be here!" Roger screamed, collapsing to the sand. "We're not supposed to be here..." He whispered, sobbed, broke.)The Allosaurus snarled and backed away, slowly pacing first one way and then another, snarling as each Sino bellowed and jerked their crests at him aggressively. It ducked it head and roared at them, long jaws open wide, saliva flying-Only to suddenly jerk forward, roar interrupted abruptly cut off into a hoarse, choking sound. It jerked around and, standing behind it was Bob, Buttercup, and Blossom, the three of them kicking their feet and barking aggressively. Bubbles, Boo, and Babs were nowhere to be seen, no doubt hiding somewhere nearby. Kathrine blinked at them rapidly between the legs of the Sinos, honestly stunned that the three Pachys had returned from fleeing to aid their Herd-mates. The Allosaurus snarled at them, and Bob bellowed back, running forward even as the Allosaurus snapped at him. The Pachys forward charge was faster than the predator was expecting, and Bob slipped right under its snapping jaws to ram full-pelt into its lower body, sending it staggering back, where it fell with a yowl onto its side, dangerous legs flailing. Immediately, Buttercup and Blossom bellowed as well, and joined their leader in harrying the downed Allosaurus, sending it into screeching fury as they forced it to roll and grunt and fall at every attempt to stand.As the Pachys distracted and attacked the Allosaurus, the Sinos continued to bellow and yell, the whole group shuffling along slowly so that the Allosaurus was never out of sight. As they did so, Matron let out a sharp, almost-whistle of a call, and little Leo sprang up from his very, very still place and ran over to the group. He was big enough that the adults had to separate to let him in, but once he was pressed safely against Patron's side, they closed ranks, and Kathrine gave a shuddering sigh of relief as she reached forward and gave the grumbling baby a relieved pat.The Allosaurus screeched, shaking its head as it staggered onto its feet. Bob bellowed back at it, Buttercup grunting and tossing her head as Blossom huffed, tossing her head as well and exposing the shallow cut the Allosaur had left on her face. The carnivore snarled, shaking his head, before turning and stomping back towards the tree-line again. Kathrine stared after it, through the legs of the Sinos, heart pounding and stomach churning. Everything in her, every bit that screamed prey and child and hidehidehide don't-let-it-see-you, begged her to stay still and small and quiet, that just because she couldn't see it, didn't mean it was gone. She was terrified, clinging to baby Basil and huddling under Patron as the elderly male Sino remained still and steady above her.
She just wanted to go home!
She just... She just wanted to go home...
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Maverick and the female Sino she was tentatively naming Cynthia allowed her to examine their wounds, stunningly patient as she gently traced her fingers around the gouges and scrapes and punctures on their crests and around their faces. She... She hadn't studied veterinary sciences, she didn't really know how to take care of an animal's wounds, let alone a dinosaur's. She'd focused on anatomy, on behavior and genetics and chemistry, not, not healing, but she didn't think that it would hurt, just keeping an eye on them. So, for the next three days, after the Herd had reunited, she would wander over to the injured Sinos, and gently touch and press against the outside of the wounds, looking for lumps and heated spots. Maverick was far more patient than Cynthia, but he was also more likely to slather her in spit whenever she did examine him.Blossom, on the other hand, refused to let her anywhere near her, and, whenever she even hinted at approaching, Buttercup would posture and bellow at her until she moved away. Unfortunately, this meant that she wasn't able to keep a close eye on the Pachys injury and, since she wasn't able to use water and her irreparably stained shirt to clean the wounds out, the cut on her face grew greatly infected. Pus oozed down the Pachys face, the wound getting re-opened with every sharp headshake and headbutt she gave and received. Kathrine watched her, sad and tired, as she stumbled around, panting and grunting as she did so.As sad as it was, Kathrine wasn't as upset about Blossom's illness and inevitable death. Because they were more solitary and distrusting of her compared to the Sinos, Gallies, and Edmontos, she hadn't gotten as close to them. It was, it was more like something natural to realize the Pachycephalosaurus was dying from an injury. If Maverick or Cynthia had gotten sick, or, God forbid, one of the babies, she had no doubt that she would have been devastated. She'd formed connections with the Sinoceratops, with the Edmontosaurs, and even to Stooge and, to a lesser degree, his flock-mates.With the Pachys, it felt more like a nature-study, or field study, like she was a part of a documentary, watching them in their natural habitat. It was sad, yes, that Blossom was going to die, but she didn't feel the need to interfere like she did with Maverick and Cynthia. Bubbles was more than capable of taking care of both Babs and Boo, so it wasn't like the babies would die without her. And the Allosaurus would come back, she knew, especially if it couldn't catch something in the meantime, and, as battered as it had been when it finally left, she didn't think it would be back to peak condition very soon. That meant it would be looking for easier prey, and with Blossom smelling like sickness, and the babies being priority for their groups...Kathrine wasn't looking forward to another day of terror and paranoia and tears. The rest of the day after that first attack, she'd been a mess, panicky and twitchy and prone to crying. The second day, she'd been exhausted and shivering and had cried for different reasons. She'd spent the day curled up against and even huddling under Patron and, for a few hours, Matron had herded her into the center of the Sinos to join the little ones for sleep during the brighter parts of the day.Tending to Cynthia and Maverick had pulled her from the exhaustive cycle, focusing on how the Herd re-grouped and returned to their routines and habits. Bo had circled around her twice before using his head to push her towards some lima-bean baring plants beside a stream, where she'd tentatively drank some of the water from the center, having walked in and gotten her clothes soaked to wash away the dust, dirt, and cooled, tacky remains of fear-sweat. Roger and Bridget had fixed their lightly-damaged nest, adding some large leaves and some of the underwater plants from the stream. The Sinos tended and nurtured their young and let her fuss over their wounds. And the Pachys continued to grumble and grunt and butt-heads, but Blossom was being slowly pushed to the outskirts of their group.Even her baby, Babs, was beginning to avoid her, and Blossom was avoiding it, as well. The Pachycephalosaurus knew she was a weakness, a target, in the Herd, that she was sick, and the last thing the Herd needed was illness spread through them. And the babies were already vulnerable to predators, keeping them from a sick adult is just survival instincts being utilized. Modern-day animals did it, abandoning the injured, crippled, or sick. Predators, especially, did this.Kathrine remembered watching a documentary on lions, and a cub had gotten its back broken by a cape buffalo. It was still alive, and could still move, but its hind-legs had been useless. Its mother had stayed with it for a few hours, resting from fighting off the buffalo, but, when the sun started to sink, she'd gotten up and just... walked away. Kathrine remembered how heartbreaking it had been, watching that baby lion chirp and cry for its mother, trying to follow after her, only it'd been unable to keep up. Night had risen, and hyenas had found the distressed cub, and killed it.Nature... Nature could be horrifying as well as beautiful. And on this island, she had no doubt it was the same. She could only be thankful that the Troodon's actually had been killed off after the ninety-three fiasco of them being 'rescued'. The idea of being a living incubator, that somethings eggs would hatch inside her and then eat their way out...!There were just some things that didn't need to be bred into dinosaurs. They were already larger than life and amazing and interesting. She didn't really see a reason that they should be... Mutated, to be deadlier. Perhaps to raise their rate of survival, that would be one thing, but adding things like venom or higher-level intelligence... That just seemed like it was asking for trouble.Still, she mused as she perched on Patron's back, she was glad to see some of the mutations added to the dinosaurs. The lack of feathers, while scientifically inaccurate, was more aesthetically pleasing for her. She knew that several species had feathers, there was just something more... Natural, seeing giant lizards as opposed to giant, feathered lizards. Then again, it might have just been an effect of the modern day very of animals that meant that. After all, she'd noted that the Edmontos had similarly shaped tongues to parrots, the sort of strangely rounded, dry appendage that was more like an extra, orally-fixed digit, which they used to guide food to their truly magnificent teeth. The Sinos had wetter tongues, but they also had bright splashed of color across their crests, much like several bird species. She also absently wondered, sometimes, if the Gallimimus would have had some feathering around their forelegs and head, which they would have been able to use in their mating dances...Sometimes, the contemplation of the inaccuracies and intricacies of the InGen dinosaurs was all that distracted her from her homesickness and near-constant hunger.Sometimes, it was all she could do to focus on anything at all these days.
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It was a week after the first Allosaurus attack that it returned. Blossom had grown weaker, her face swollen and oozing pus, making her unable to eat. The Herd had fled, and Kathrine, clinging to Patron's back as the babies ran beside and beneath him, looked over her shoulder in time to witness those powerful jaws snap onto the back of the staggering, bleating Pachycephalosaur. Kathrine shuddered, forcefully swallowing back bile as the Allosaur shook Blossom violently, sending blood droplets flying as something broke in the Pachys body, and she went completely limp. It immediately dropped her as the Herd continued to run, and she watched as it set a foot onto the corpse and screamed after them.Grimly, Kathrine turned away, ducking her head so that she was mostly tucked under Patron's crest. Death was a part of life, and she'd known as soon as the infection started that Blossom was going to die, either to Allosaur or illness or starvation. She'd known and accepted and had even wondered, vaguely, how it would affect the Herd and if she would be able to study the aftereffects of her death.But there was knowing something was going to die, and bearing witness to it.Death was a part of Life.And Life, as Doctor Ian Malcolm liked to constantly state in his books, finds a way.