Chapter 4

The return trip to the boat was nerve-racking for the group. It helped nothing that it was eerily calm and quiet since the raptors had disappeared. The only sounds they heard were those of the birds. They chirped softly to one another, as though they knew the danger present as well. The occasional roar of a larger animal resonated through the trees. The men would often stop just to listen in case the raptors were attempting to stalk them.

As the men walked forward, they passed a clearing where multiple herds of dinosaurs grazed like cattle. Among the many species, there were large sauropods, ceratopsians, and hadrosaurs. The animals peacefully watched the men walk by, not sensing any threat from them.

As the men continued to walk, they noticed a strong smell of urine. Soon, the men passed a tree where a set of large footprints from some sort of theropod lay next to a slightly moistened tree and a muddy spot at the base of the tree. The men realized this was a territory marking by some large creature, but what creature was still a mystery. The marking was very fresh, leading Michael to believe the animal couldn't have left it more than an hour ago. This caused hims some unease and they moved quicker to try to escape the creature's territory.

After nearly thirty minutes of nonstop walking, the men, smelled a new, yet equally disgusting smell. They all realized it was the characteristic smell when someone cuts open the organs of an animal by mistake as they cleaned it. Something was dead nearby and another creature was feeding on it. Because the wind was calm, though, they could not get a grasp of where the smell was originating from so they made sure they were even more cautious to not stumble upon the meal of some predator.

They entered a thicket so dense they could only see and smell the foliage they were surrounded by, thinking they'd gone the opposite way of the dead animal. As they continued, though, the smell of the dead animal became so pungent, they knew they had to be approaching it. They could not see, however, to try to turn away, and by the time they realized where they were, it was too late. They'd already broken through the thicket and stood before a dead hadrosaur lying on its side.

As soon as they broke through the brush, Michael instructed all of them to crouch behind the dead animal, in case the animal feeding on it was nearby or there resting. The men all crouched behind the corpse, waiting for further instruction. Michael held his index finger to his lips to indicate silence, and began to stalk around the corpse. Once he was beside the head, he looked around the creature to find a massive head, filled with huge canine teeth. As he looked closer, he noticed under the sleeping predator, as he decided it had to be a predator, two incredibly small arms with two fingers. Its eyes were closed lightly, suggesting it wasn't a heavy sleeper.

Michael stalked once again around the animal, back to his team. He used sign language to tell the team what he'd seen. They decided to reroute their plan, and quickly, yet quietly, moved back into the thicket. Once there, they proceeded to follow an entirely new game trail through the dense jungle.

Hours seemed to fly by as they tried to find a way through the thicket and back to the river where they'd left their boat. Soon, however, they could hear the moving waters of the river and, cautiously, proceeded towards the location they'd left their boat. As they proceeded, they began to notice how eerily still and silent the river was. This was likely the only source of fresh water on the island for the animals to drink. It would make sense for them to be nearer to the water than not.

It was then that they saw the nests. The nests weren't anything special, at first glance. From a distance, they appeared to be ordinary bird or reptile nests. As they approached them, though, they noticed these nests were surrounded by bones of kills made by the adults that nurtured them.

The men froze as they realized they had just stumbled upon a dinosaur nest. They immediately panicked and began to frantically look around the flood plain of the river for any signs of adults, waving their automatic rifles at any sign of movement. Once they determined that no adults were around, they proceeded, cautiously, through the minefield of sorts.

Once the men were through, they did a quick head count and proceeded up the river.

They followed the river for a few hundred more yards before they found the boat. Once they found it, they nearly bound to it in excitement. All of the men rushed onto the vessel, the majority of them quickly preparing all their gear for departure. The engine roared to life, echoing through the darkening jungle as the boat lurched forward, accelerating toward the cave they'd entered through to get onto the island.

They watched the sun set through the cave as they passed through it. All of them still maintaining security on the boat.

James felt his heart stop and his blood run like ice as he saw the entire raptor pack emerge from the bushes. The raptors stopped only for a second before breaking out in a dead sprint to chase the boat down. One raptor stayed behind to check on the eggs while the others chased the boat. James ordered the men to hold their fire as they were now in too deep of water and too fast for the animals to catch them.

It was then that James realized the adult raptor that was checking the eggs was looking around, scanning the foliage. He wasn't sure why, but he was certain it wasn't in search of a missing egg or something like that. It was as if the pack was missing an adult.

Why hadn't the pack noticed its disappearance until they got back? James thought to himself as he put his rifle down. The realization hit him as he watched the raptors, seemingly calling for the missing member of the pack, and cocking their heads in anticipation of a response. Where is the sentry? They must've posted one over the eggs while they hunted. So where was he?

As one final call from the other pack members came echoing across the waters, the heard, from within the cave, the return call. More specifically, they heard the return call of the sentry from within the quarters of their own vessel. It didn't seem to register in the men's minds as they stared at the door confused. It hit them, however, when something began to try and break its way out of the door.

As the men turned their rifles to the door, it finally gave way to the fierce form of a massive, 6 foot tall raptor. Without a moment's warning, the raptor burst forth, leaping on top of a man and impaling him with its six-inch retractable claw. Before the men could blink, it bounced to the next man, moving so fast it seemed to be a blur.

With now four men lying on the deck bleeding heavily, and the rest frozen in fear, a final gunshot rang out as the back of the raptor's head sprayed with blood and it fell, dead, to the deck. There stood the captain of the vessel on the second level of the boat with the steering wheel in one hand and his 1911 in the other.

As the ship broke out of the seemingly never-ending tunnel and into the ocean, the men breathed a sigh of relief. They had survived the nightmare of 'Los Cinco Muertes'.