Whoa there friends. Sorry it's been so long. I moved, got a new job, am switching schools... basically a clusterfuck of shit right now. BUT I did finish this chapter finally. And sadly, this will be followed only by the Epilogue and then this section of the story will conclude. HOWEVER, I am also hashing out some ideas for a sequel. I'd like to do something with the storyline of Lost World because come on, that movie is epic and Abbie and Ian's story is so far from being over. Onward comrades!

"Is that part of the facility?"

I looked away from Ian to crane my neck, peering down the path ahead of us. Sunlight glinted fiercely off something in the distance. I squinted, shielding my eyes.

"I can't tell," I answered Tim. "I think it might be. I'm not sure what part of the building it would be, though. The backside, I guess?"

"It's gotta be," Ian said, more to himself than to me. "I don't imagine we've looped full circle to be coming up on the front."

I nodded and smiled at my cousins hopefully. We were close. It brought me the smallest amount of relief, but I knew we couldn't let our guard down for even a second. Still, every passing hour that brought us closer gave me that much more hope. The road eventually forked to the right, to what I presumed would be the front of the building. Keeping a watchful eye, we tried the door. It was unlocked. I almost laughed. It couldn't really be this easy, could it? We rushed inside, quickly closing the door behind us. I strained my eyes in the dim lighting, listening hard for any sounds of movement, something that didn't belong.

Nothing.

There was only silence. We headed deeper inside to a banquet hall of sorts. A mural lined the left wall, clothed tabled scattered strategically around the room. Most pleasing of all, there was a buffet set up at the front of the room. As if remembering that I hadn't eaten for the last two days or so, my stomach rumbled loudly. We glanced around at each other, the tension slowly easing.

"I should look for Ellie," Dr. Grant said quietly. "I need to see if I can find her, or anyone else for that matter."

"Are you sure?" I said quickly, remembering all too freshly the wild panic I felt out there in the jungle. Hearing the tremble in my voice, he smiled reassuringly.

"I won't be gone long. Stay put. Eat something. You'll need the energy."

I pursed my lips and nodded, watching him go. My stomach was in knots at the thought of him going back out there by himself, but I didn't have the heart to leave my cousins again. Not when we had finally found safety.

"Come on you two," I continued brightly. "I know you're probably as hungry as I am. Let's get some food in you. Tim, easy on the sweets."

I popped a few grapes in my mouth with one hand, steadying Ian with my other arm around his waist. Lex and Tim talked back and forth in quiet excited voices. I had to keep checking to see that they were safe. Somehow it felt too good to be true. Ian winced, chewing on a slice of apple.

"How's your leg?" I asked quietly.

"I've had worse," he replied nonchalantly.

I chuckled. "Worse than almost losing a leg to a t-rex? You're incorrigible."

I chewed another grape at length, listening to Lex and Tim giggling. It felt like it had been ages since I'd heard the sound. I put my hand on Lex's shoulder, smiling at the assortment of fruits and vegetables she was compiling.

"We'll be right back," I told her. "I need to get my hands cleaned up and I need to make sure Ian's leg isn't getting infected. There's a bathroom right down the hall. We passed it on the way in. We'll only be gone a few minutes. Stay alert, okay? Watch out for your brother."

She nodded and smiled back. I could see that she was afraid to be left alone. I was proud of her for being brave. She brightened up, pointing things out to Timmy to keep his focus away from what was happening. I offered Ian my support and we hobbled our way back down the hall to the restroom. The door closed quietly behind us and I went to the sink.

"Mary mother of God," I muttered.

I hadn't seen my reflection since my shower the morning of the storm. If I was being quite honest with myself I looked like shit. My skin was coated with a thin layer of grime, streaked clean in places on my face from where I had cried on multiple occasions. I was cut up and bruised and my hair was dirty and greasy. My mom was going to have a kitten when she saw me. I sighed and pulled my hair back into a tighter ponytail.

"Let me take a look," I said. "Here. Sit on the counter."

He grimaced as he did so and I unbound his leg. I inspected it for a few minutes and took the time to rinse away the accumulated dirt and dried blood with water from the faucet. I redressed it and smiled.

"It's looking okay. You'll definitely still need a doctor of course, but it's not doing too bad all things considered."

He nodded and hopped down. "Good to know I won't be losing my leg. Let's take a look at your hands."

He carefully peeled off the bandages and ran them under cool water. The burns weren't infected and that was a plus, but they were incredibly painful and it was getting difficult to move my hands properly. We were in the middle of rewrapping my hands when I heard a sound that turned the blood in my veins to ice. I froze and looked at Ian.

"Did you hear that?" I whispered.

He looked down at me, eyes wide, and slowly nodded. Somewhere in the building the distinct snorting screech of a velociraptor echoed down the hall to us. My heart started racing. I scrambled to finish what I was doing and cracked the door open. Ian caught my arm.

"Careful," he warned. "Go slow. You don't know how many there are or where they are."

I gave a sharp nod and slinked down the hall, pressing myself against the wall. I peered cautiously around the corner. The banquet hall was empty, Lex and Tim nowhere in sight. I swore under my breath, craning my neck to get a better view. I heard a crash on the far side of the room – what sounded like pots and pans. I waved Ian toward me and waited for him to reach my side. I crossed the banquet hall, scanning the passageway on the other side. A door stood open. I could hear growls and clicks coming from the room beyond. My stomach dropped to my knees and for a moment, I lost the courage to move. An ear-splitting screech made me jump, every hair on my body standing on end. I almost turned and ran right then until I heard Lex screaming. Jolting me into action, I shot forward to the doorway. There were two, one of which was perched atop the metal countertops of the kitchen they were in. The other was charging across the room toward a row of ovens. I could Lex's reflection. She was trying to pull the cover of a cabinet down, but it was sticking. I couldn't see Tim, but I knew he was in there somewhere. Across the room, the freezer door stood open. I took a breath and I ran for it, breezing right past the second raptor. It loosed a screech and I heard the click of its claws on the tile as it raced after me. I grabbed a pole in the freezer and swung around, skidding to a hault on the icy floor. The raptor pursuing me slid into one of the shelves, growling at me as I ran past it to slam the door shut. It launched at me, shoving against the door from the other side. Ian threw himself against the door beside me, Lex and Tim struggling to put the pin through the lock once it was closed.

"Go, go, go," I whispered, ushering them toward the door.

I slammed the door shut behind us, took their hands and ran back to the banquet hall. Dr. Grant and his friend Ellie were crossing the room to meet us. Relief washed over me. I was glad to see they were okay. It was good to see they had a shotgun with them, too, for that matter.

"It's in there!" Lex hissed, pointing over her shoulder.

Dr. Grant took a quick glance around. "Come on. Let's get to the control room. We need to get the systems back online."

With Tim on one hand and my other supporting Ian, we followed as quickly as we could after him. I looked over my shoulder every few seconds to make sure we weren't being pursued. Once we reached the control room, Ellie immediately bee lined for one of the computers. Dr. Grant closed the door, eying the locking mechanism. She sat down and started muttering to herself. Lex and Tim watched while she clicked around the screen.

"Sit down," I told Ian. "Rest for a second."

He did as I asked, the anxiety evident on his face. I squeezed his hand, praying this would all be over soon.

"The door locks," Dr. Grant called out. "Ellie, boot up. The door locks."

I had been wrapped up in watching Ellie work. When the door flew open and the sound of a raptor screeching reached my ears yet again, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Dr. Grant through his weight against the door, fighting to keep it shut. Ellie abandoned the computer to run to his aid. I joined them, straining against the muscle of infuriated raptor pushing to get inside.

"Get the gun!" Dr. Grant shouted. "Somebody get the gun!"

I could see its claws curling around the door. My heart was beating painfully hard in my chest, the sensation of it in my throat smothering me. Ian held it in his hands, as shaken by the shrill screams as I was.

"I've uh… never used one before!" he said urgently.

Thinking on my feet, I stepped away from the door and moved around Dr. Grant. I leaned on the railing of the ramp nearby kicked straight out, crushing its fingers beneath my boot. It let out a vicious snarl, struggling to pull back with the force being exerted upon the door. It slammed shut and I heard a click, looking around in confusion. Lex, who was sitting in front of the computer, looked back at us with a triumphant grin.

"You did it!" Tim said, bouncing up and down.

"What works?" Dr. Grant asked, crossing to her. Ian obligingly passed him the gun.

"Phones, security… You name it, we got," she replied.

I smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "Good job, Lex."

Dr. Grant picked up the phone and I took a few seconds to catch my breath. I looked around the room to see if there was another way out. The best we had was a ladder. We could get into the ceiling and find a way out, though I wasn't sure where exactly we would go. Tim watched me set the ladder up and climb it to move one of the tiles. I peered around, trying to get a sense of direction.

"The children are fine," Dr. Grant said.

I climbed back down, following Ian's petrified gaze to the windows. On the other side, the raptor was watching us, pacing back and forth as it gauged the material between us. I waved Lex and Tim over and they came to me without question.

"Dr. Grant," I said calmly.

Ellie must have seen the look on my face. She glanced over and stumbled back.

"It's gonna come through the glass!" she shouted.

Dr. Grant dropped the phone, raising the shotgun in his hands. I pushed Lex and Tim up the ladder, urging Ian to follow. Dr. Grant fired at it, spent rounds clattering to the floor. He abandoned the useless gun on the floor and followed me up the ladder. I heard the shattering of glass and scrambled, uncertain of where to go. I saw an opening to the right and pointed to it.

"This way!" I shouted. "Dr. Grant, go!"

He ducked past me, scrambling under the tubing and wires. I nudged Lex and Tim forward, hurrying them onward. Lex was following when the panel beneath her lifted suddenly. She screamed, the head of the raptor thrashing about as it tried to shake her off. Dr. Grant kicked it in the face as hard as he could. Panicking, I couldn't process what else to do. I leaned back on my hands and joined him. It lost its footing and fell through, taking Lex with it. I dove for her, catching her arm, nearly biting my tongue off in the process. Dr. Grant and Ian scrambled to help me pull her up as she dangled there screaming. I watched the raptor below wriggle from its side back to its feet, leaping into the air to miss her shoe by inches. We crawled through the duct ahead of us and down through the opening onto the scaffolding in the main hall of the main building. Blood rushed in my ears, kept my heart hammering. We were so close to safety and yet I could feel danger hot on our trail. As if on cue, a low, nasal growl erupted from behind us. I couldn't even tell anymore how many raptors there were. It growled at us again, crouching down. There was no way down to the floor from here. The quickest thing Dr. Grant seemed to think of was to climb onto the nearby dinosaur skeleton. I helped Lex and Tim over the bars and into Dr. Grant's waiting hands. I turned to Ian, gauging the wince on his face as he reached out. I held onto him to make sure he could get a grip before following after. I seriously doubted this thing was going to hold our weight, particularly if the twanging wires were any warning.

With a feral screech, it launched into the fray, clinging to the bones among us. The force of the impact broke apart whatever frail pieces were holding it together and sent us all spinning wildly. As the last on, I had the worst grip. I was the first to fall. It was like dropping from a two-story building onto the solid marble floor below. I grimaced and hissed at the pain, craning my neck to look up at the chaos revolving around my head like some sort of twisted mobile. Wires snapped and pulled away from the ceiling, raining bone onto the floor. I scrambled out of the way as quickly as I could. Dr. Grant was losing his grip on Tim, urging him to let go. He looked down at me as I held my arms up to him.

"I've got you," I assured him. "Come on. Not even any fence this time, right?"

He reluctantly let himself drop, screaming in fear at the freefall before I caught him with a grunt of pain. The two of us tumbled to the floor in a heap. I flinched and hissed at the pain in my hands and wrists, using my elbows to push myself into a sitting position. Wires pulled at the bolts and supports in the ceiling. Lex screamed, the skeleton she was clinging to dropping a few feet. Ellie slipped and hit the floor, curling up in a ball as pieces of tail crashed down on her. I sat up on my knees, preparing to stand. The supports holding the weight of the rest of the skeleton snapped. Tim called out to me, pulling on my arm. I threw myself on top of him to shelter him from the bones crashing down around us. Luckily, the spine stopped just inches short of us. It would've hurt like a bitch. I laughed and took Tim's hand, pulling Ian to his feet with the other. Lex screamed in terror, the raptor that had followed us screeching as it climbed over the remains of the skeleton. Dr. Grant took her hand, pulling her back with him to shelter her. He nearly ran into the second raptor – the one I thought I had locked in the freezer, I assumed. It let out a trilling screech at him, the two going back and forth in those sounds that I was sure would haunt my dreams. We were trapped. I picked up one of the bones, holding it in front of me defensively as I guarded my cousins. I wouldn't go down without a fight. Not after surviving for this long.

I felt a tremor in the ground and looked over my shoulder to Ian. Judging by the way his face was quickly losing color, he felt it too. The raptors circled us, clicking, one of them crouching down as it neared us. I saw the massive head peek through the plastic of the unfinished wall across from us. We were all paralyzed by fear, helpless as we watched the scene unfolding. I flinched as the raptor made to lunge, sheltering my cousins for as long as I could. I felt arms around me, protecting me just the same. A deep, guttural growl tore through the air and the raptor let out a pained screech. I chanced a look, more than a little shocked to see that it was trapped in the jaws of the T-rex now standing in the middle of the room. It bit down hard, eliciting a shriek that was cut short. Dropping the body to the floor, it started tearing into its flesh. I looked to Dr. Grant for instruction. Should we try to sneak out while we had the chance?

The second raptor screamed in outrage, launching at the t-rex and leaping onto its back. It roared, shaking me to my core. Dr. Grant grabbed my wrist, dragging me along behind him as he edged along the outskirts of the chaos. Ian followed, holding my other hand gingerly as he limped after me. It seemed a bit surreal, the whole thing. I looked over my shoulder, past Ian, watching the t-rex strain to grab the raptor off its shoulder. Feeling a tug on my hand, I turned away to focus on the steps as we slipped out the door into open air and sunlight. My grandfather was pulling up in one of the park jeeps, right on time, as always. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He smiled grimly, his eyes tearful in a way that I had never seen before. He squeezed my arm as I helped my cousins into the car. I slowed to give him a second look. We didn't need to say anything. I forced a smile and squeezed his hand back, climbing into the back with Lex and Tim.

"Mr. Hammond," Dr. Grant said as he hopped into the front seat, giving him a pointed stare. "After careful consideration, I've decided not to endorse your park."

My grandpa gave a firm nod, shifting into gear. "So have I."

Tim trembled as he sat in my lap, watching behind us with wide eyes like he expected to be chased. To be honest, I almost did as well. It wouldn't be unwise to expect such things now. As we passed through the fences leading us to safety, I heard the t-rex roar in the distance. I shuddered involuntarily, Ian's arm stretching across the back of the seat to rest over my shoulders. I didn't relax in the slightest until I heard the sound of helicopter blades whirring. When the helipad came into view, I let out a relieved nervous laugh. We weren't going to die here after all. The reality of the situation swiftly hit me in the gut, followed by an uncontrollable flow of tears that I had mostly been able to hold back until now. Once we had rolled to a stop, and my grandfather somehow managed to pry Timmy from my arms, Ian helped me out of the jeep and toward the helicopter. With how badly he was limping now it really should have been the other way around, but I was struggling back and forth between tears and hysterical laughter at the moment and I don't imagine it was too pretty. He fastened my seatbelt for me and held my hand, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders when a medic offered one. I vaguely recall one of them saying I was going into shock (which wouldn't be all too surprising, honestly). I must have eventually tired myself out. That's the last thing I remember about the flight off the island, and the last thing I remember about my time at Jurassic Park.