*I was just reminded of how much I've liked the book Jurassic Park and it's movie, so I thought I'd write a fan-fiction. This is set in a jungle in Costa Rica*
Diego swatted at the sea of jungle grass with his machete, the camera in his bag bouncing uncomfortably against his back. The greenery sliced off in sheets. He and his co-worker waded through the carnage, gasping for breath. Perspiration soaked through his shirt and trickled down his brow. Even with the clouds overhead threatening rain, the temperature was unbearably warm and humid. He could feel the haze of the heat in the air.
"Tired my friend?" Randall said.
Diego nodded, holding the machete out. Randal took it with a grin. It felt odd being referred to by something other than Dr. Ramirez. But they were out in the middle of a jungle, so what was the point of formalities? They weren't shooting a documentary at the moment. But that was what they had set out to do. So far, all they had recorded were monkeys and the stunning array of plant life that seemed to have a mind of its own.
Randall stroked the blade, wiping off a smear of green glob. "That should make it easier to cut, all that grass ooze was making you use more force to cut, because of the serrated edge of the blade being coated in it," he said and immediately began chopping away at the never ending expanse of green.
Diego remained still for a moment longer, catching his breath. He and Randall had come to Central America to embark on a trek through the jungle, searching for the mysterious creatures that had been seen in recent months. They were always seen in the darkest corners of the jungle. Los Diablos, the locals called them.
Diego shivered, The Devils was the literal translation. They had been blamed for a series of disappearances in and along the jungle. El Infierno Verde, they called this place. The Green Hell. He put his hand inside the pouch of his shirt. His fingers coiled around the satellite phone. Diego breathed easier knowing he could call for help from anywhere, should he ever need to.
Thunder rumbled, and Diego looked up. Dark clouds painted the sky in bleakness. He shook his head. While the rain would work wonders cooling his body, it could potentially ruin their filming equipment. He hoped the backpacks they were truly were weather resistant. His hand still in his pouch, Diego walked over the path Randal was making. He jumped when an animal howl echoed through the jungle, muffling the sound of Randall's chopping.
Randal stopped and held up a hand, signaling for Diego to halt. The animal howl continued.
"What do you suppose is behind that sound?" Diego said, in what was almost a whisper.
"Howler monkey most likely," Randall said. "Yes, that is undoubtedly what it is." He resumed cutting, walking forward.
Diego wondered how much longer he would be able to endure before he had to call for a break. A faint rustle from the east met his ears. His head turned to it. A thick clump of elephant leaves were swaying as if some large animal had disturbed them. No, there was an animal there.
Randall halted, this time as rigid as a statue. He craned his neck back, tendons popping out. "Did you-" he began.
"Yes," Diego whispered. Suddenly, a dark shape flashed by in a blur out from a thick clump of coiled shrubbery and vines. It vanished in the blink of an eye on the opposite cocoon of greenery. The leaves and grasses shaking. He stared wide eyed at at the foliage. It continued to move, as if going through bouts of cold. When his knees began to jiggle, he realized he was very afraid.
Randall's back was tensed as he stared to the spot where the thing had disappeared to. Taking slow steps Diego stood next to him. He turned to face his colleague and saw nothing but horror on his face. Randall's forehead was creased, and his eyes were fixed to the right as if he expected a monster to come charging out of it at any moment.
Diego's mouth went dry, realizing that it may be the case if what the local peoples stories were true. Being fluent in Spanish, Diego had felt the sincerity ring in the people's words. Accounts of viscous creatures that were as tall as adult men, and with agility much more of that of a jaguar. A boy had told him that he saw one of the "Diablos" chase down a horse, catching up to it in the... blink of an eye.
Randall and him froze as a soul piercingly horrific roar screamed from the foliage. Diego's hands twitched as the high pitched roar continued to reverberate throughout the jungle. It was like a mixture of a dolphin's shriek, a lions roar, and the laugh of a demon. Rain pattered the leaves, the rhythm making his heart pound in tempo with it.
"What in the animal kingdom is that!?" rasped Randall.
Diego could not even shake his head as the foliage began to move. He could feel his blood run cold, and he trembled down to his bone marrow. His heart beat in his throat as a dark snout protruded from it's coils. Then more of its head materialized from the green depths. Finally, the head was completely out, followed by a neck.
Those eyes. It's eyes were as fierce as those of a falcon. Diego averted his gaze from the creatures impossibility intellect gaze. It was as if it were studying him, determining how to take him down. Rain slid down its body. Teeth that looked sharp enough to bite through diamond jutted from its slight agape jaws. The jaws themselves, looked powerful enough to crush diamond. The strongest of all elements.
But the most horrifying attribute of all was the knives it had for talons. The claws on its long three digit hands were the ultimate tools of slaughter. Nothing, no where in the biosphere, had Diego ever layed eyes on such a monstrous predator.
Randall raised his machete, it shook in his hands. He looked like boy futilely trying to defend himself against the Devil himself. Diego was not a praying man, but if there had ever been a Devil, he was looking at him. The creature burst from the foliage with such speed it was as if it had simply teleported.
Long legs jutted from its sides, and a tail as long as its body ran behind it. It stood straight out ahead, like a birds tail feathers. It dawned on him that the creatures bone structure was just like that of a bird. From the way it cocked its head. But the way it walked, was unlike any creature that man could have ever imagined.
Everything, that is, except for a dinosaur. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. "Run," Diego whispered before he did an about face, fleeing. As the warm tropical wind and rain whipped at his face, Diego could hear Randall's frantic footfalls on the trail that they had made. The dinosaurs roar muffled all.
"My God!" Randall yelled as the dinosaur landed in front of them. It had jumped ahead of them in one bound! Without a seconds glance, Diego broke for the trees, hoping the thick entwined foliage would somehow slow down "El Diablo". Its roar threatened to lock his knees from sheer primal fear.
A few nit-picks, however.
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