A/N: This was my entry for the Jurassic Park challenge on the NFA forums. I love NCIS (favorite show, duh) and I LOVE Jurassic Park (one of my favorite movies) so how could I not join in? This entry technically won the challenge (I CANNOT GET OVER IT) but it was probably just because the other person's entry wasn't able to be finished because their internet was down - and that made me sad, cause I wanted to read it :( If you have time, though, hop on over to the NFA and read it (nfacommunity . com). It's called Haunted and Hunted by Merzibelle. She'll continue it once she has her internet back :D

Anyhow, a quick note: All of this story, save the first half of this prologue, was written in four days. From halfway through Chapter 1 to the very end was all written on Thursday - I sat down at my computer in the morning and stayed in my chair for fifteen hours straight to write almost the whole story. I did have two bathroom breaks, I think, but that was it. Because it was written almost all at once, I know it isn't very good, but I would still appreciate an honest opinion. Thanks :) This story is already finished. I'll post a chapter a day.

Disclaimer: I don't own, nor do I claim to own NCIS or Jurassic Park. If I did - well, then, I'd be in a pickle, because it would be impossible to choose between Tim McGee and Ian Malcolm. *ponders* Anyhow, no lawsuit necessary! All characters, along with anything you recognize, belongs to Bellisarius, Crichton, Spielberg and Universal.

XXX

The night air was warm and humid, and swarms of mosquitoes buzzed around happily, settling on anyone who didn't swat them away. Waves lapped calmly onto the shore, bouncing off of the sand and the cargo ship resting by the dock. The sky was clear and the moon shone brightly, not to be outdone by the stars.

It would have been a peaceful night, if not for the banging.

It was quiet at first, but as the urgency increased, so did the volume. It emanated from a large metal container, atypical in shape to the average cargo box in that the edges were curved with slits in the sides, and the opening end slid up instead of swinging out. The aggrieved sailors from the ship glanced uneasily at each other. They weren't privy to what was in the box, but they weren't positive they wanted to know, either.

What made them more nervous than the fact that something in that container seemed to be alive, however, were the scientists. There were only about four of them, but they strode around in their white lab coats and wide-rim glasses, ordering the workers around as though they had nothing better to do.

"I don't like this," mumbled an aging sailor named Joe, between puffs of his cigarette. "Somethin's up."

A younger man, listening intently, began to wring his hands nervously. It was his first trip in this job, and he lacked experience. "What is it, d'you think?"

"I dunno," Joe replied, "but I just wanna get this delivery over with an' go."

"You aren't the only one."

That came from a tall brunette woman, striding up at that moment. She seemed as uncomfortable with the situation as they were.

"Lieutenant." Joe tipped his hat respectfully.

"Hi Joe, Gary," she replied, eyeing the busy workers at the dock. "What do you think is in there?" She inclined her head towards the container.

"Not my place to speculate, ma'am, but don't you know already?"

She winked. "Not at liberty to say."

"Ah, it figures."

She patted him on the back and walked away.

Six workers approached the dock, two of them pushing a lift, and secured the container onto the lift. The banging got worse as the box was moved, followed by a long, screeching noise, similar to a cat's scratch on a chalkboard but sharper, harder and much, much louder. Everyone froze for a moment after silence filled the air, looking wide-eyed at each other. Finally, one of the scientists, a short, brown-haired man, called out for the work to be continued.

The box was pushed the rest of the way onto the lift, and then a tall, commanding woman – the head scientist, Joe presumed – lead the way off of the dock and into the lush foliage. With a tired sigh, he shoved himself off of the railing and disembarked the ship, following the strange entourage into the jungle. Gary trailed closely behind him, wide-eyed and muttering to himself under his breath.

Fighting their way through the tropical growth wasn't as difficult as he'd expected it to be, but was just as exhausting. There were hills to climb, pushing the heavy box in front of them, and to descend, holding it back from slipping down the slopes. They had to cross a few minor streams without getting the container wet – a challenge, to be sure, and a seemingly unnecessary one – and there was a tedious moment when the balance of the load seemed questionable on a cliff.

There was a designated path they were following, just wide enough for the lift, and the majority of the people present followed behind the heavy box. Despite their strain to reach their destination, the small party arrived relatively unharmed to the site.

There was a small building before them, concrete on three walls with a steel barrier on the side facing them. This barrier was lifted to reveal a spacious area inside filled with assorted indigenous plant life. The top of the structure had no ceiling, but instead was covered with a rigid wire mesh and a sign reading, CAUTION: 10,000 VOLTS in large letters on each side.

Per the woman's orders, the container was placed parallel to the opening in the building and removed from the lift, where they were given orders to push it into the waiting entrance. After a few objections from not only the crew of the ship but also the workers from the island, the grumbling men and women took hold of the handles on the sides of the box and began to shove.

The opening in the building – cage seemed a better word for it– fit perfectly to the end of the container. A tall, tan man with a foreign accent called out confidently, "Loading team, step away!"

Joe snorted with derision. Loading team. Right.

He glanced at the ground long enough to flick his cigarette butt into the grass and grind it with his heel. He then focused on the Lieutenant's face, wondering what she knew that they didn't about what was going on.

Suddenly, as he watched, her face contorted in horror moments before a scream dominated the air. His eyes widened as she was dragged, shrieking, into the container that had somehow broken open from the inside. Someone began shouting, "Shoot her!" as Joe ran forward to help; by the time he got there, her body had gone limp and her face was frozen in a mask of terror.

Before he had time to process that, Gary let out a shriek as something pulled him from his place beside Joe. He reached his arms out desperately, and Joe caught them, holding on for dear life. Whatever was inside the container gave one final pull and then retreated, releasing the younger man into Joe's arms.

Joe was relieved, until he noticed that Gary's left leg and part of his torso were missing. It was too late for the young man.

Joe angrily lowered the still-warm body to the ground and stomped over to the man trying to calm the rest of the crew. "What'd you mean, shoot 'er? We coulda saved that woman!"

The man slowly spun around to face the aggressive sailor, blue eyes piercing. "I wasn't talking about the Lieutenant."

Joe's own green orbs widened in horror, and he stumbled back, falling over the corpse and landing hard on his rear. He stared at the body before shifting his gaze to that cursed metal box.

A loud, high pitched squeal came from inside, the echo resounding in his ears. There wasn't any doubt about it anymore – something in that container was alive.

And she was angry.

It would have been a peaceful night, if not for the screams.

XXX

A/N: Well? Please review! This prologue brought to you by: My sick and twisted imagination! :D